Intact tomb discovered in Valley of the Kings, Egypt

First intact tomb since King Tut's. Cool. Read More......

Two top phone record sales companies close shop

That's good. BUT, it appears these guys may be running a number of Web sites under all sorts of different names. So it's possible this is just an effort to close the two sites that have gotten all the attention, in order to keep working under different sites doing the same thing. Perhaps not. But just a warning to the law enforcement, legal and congressional types out there - make sure this isn't a trick.

From AP:

Following a wave of negative publicity and pressure from the government, several Web sites that peddled people's private phone records are calling it quits.

"We are no longer accepting new orders" was the announcement posted Wednesday on two such sites, locatecell.com and celltolls.com.

"Thank you for your patronage. It was a pleasure serving you," the sites said.

The Federal Trade Commission this week conducted a sweep of 40 sites known to have been selling private phone records. According to the FTC's Lydia Parnes, more than 20 sites have recently shut down or stopped advertising for new business.

The agency has sent letters to about 20 other sites, warning them that they may be violating the law and should review their business practices, said Parnes, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection.

Read More......

Friday Orchid Blogging

Paphiopedilum delenatii

This is a species orchid. Considered one of the more common orchids, it's quite cute, relatively easy to grow, likes it moist, but not too moist, you let it just about dry out then water again, decent lighting (not bright sun, but not total shade all the time). Anyway, I got this one around Christmas, and it just bloomed this week. It's actually quite large, I think, for a delenatii - from petal tip to petal tip the width is 7.1 cm.

Anyway, enjoy!

JOHN Read More......

US Vice President Dick Cheney attends conference where keynote speaker calls Muslism "ragheads"

Well, if Bill Bennett didn't cause a few more riots in the Muslim world, I suppose we can always count on Dick Cheney. Last night Cheney spoke at the annual CPAC convention, a big big big Republican affair here in DC. Now what kind of people was Cheney there giving his good name to? People who rise up in boisterous applause when keynote speakers call Arabs and Muslims "ragheads." For any of our foreign readers, that's an American racial slur.

From my good friend Max at the Huffington Post:

Coulter on Muslims: "I think our motto should be post-9-11, 'raghead talks tough, raghead faces consequences.'" (This declaration prompted a boisterous ovation.)

Oh, but that wasn't the only comment that the audience loved.

Coulter on killing Bill Clinton:

(Responding to a question from a Catholic University student about her biggest moral or ethical dilemna) "There was one time I had a shot at Clinton. I thought 'Ann, that's not going to help your career.'"

Coulter on moderate Republicans:

"There is more dissent on a slave plantation then amongst moderates in the Republican party."

Coulter on the Holocaust:

"Iran is soliciting cartoons on the Holocaust. So far, only Ted Rall, Garry Trudeau, and the NY Times have made submissions."

Coulter on the Supreme Court:

"If we find out someone [referring to a terrorist] is going to attack the Supreme Court next week, can't we tell Roberts, Alito, Thomas and Scalito?"

Isn't that special? The darling of the Republican party makes racial slurs against Muslims at a time when Muslisms are rioting over, well, racial slurs all over the world, attacking and killing people - so Ann thought it would be funny to whip things up a little more. Then she jokes about murdering a former president and blowing up the Supreme Court - things that get you investigated normally in America - but I guess Ann figured out the way around that: just make sure the Vice President of the United States is lending his good name to the conference too.

So does Dick Cheney think Muslims are "ragheads"? Stay tuned.

Cat-murderer, GOP Senator, and Republican presidential candidate Bill Frist was asked that very question, since he was standing in the hallway at the conference just after Ann spoke. Frist's reply?

"I wasn't there so I better not comment."

Note to Frist: In polite society it's ALWAYS okay to be AGAINST racial slurs. Then again, you are running from the far-right of the party, so I guess I can understand your reticence.

PS More recent racist attacks from Coulter this week against Muslims. Read More......

Cliff's Corner

The Week That Was 02/10/06

Another week. More preposterousness to report.

Where does one begin this week? How about Libby fingering Cheney (not in a Ken Mehlman kinda way) in the leak that ended up outing (not in a Ken Mehlman kinda way) a covert operative and endangered our national security? That’s the scuttlebutt in Washington—and it sure must have sent an extra jolt through Cheney’s angina while he was preparing to down his usual breakfast of orphaned school kids and lox. This was revealed, of course, just as Porter Goss was employing some young paper-cut-strewn Neocon to pen an op-ed to The New York Times about how it’s “criminal” that President Bush’s unconstitutional program of spying on Americans was leaked to the press. Porter apparently thinks that “the terrorists gain an edge when they keep their secrets and we don't keep ours.” He might want to share those thoughts with Dick (and Karl), the next time the veep stops off in Langley to pressure CIA analysts to concoct falsehoods about weapons of mass destruction.

This week we also had the pleasure of experiencing African-American-birthing scholar and criminologist Bill Bennett open that rather large orifice below his nose again, and what he had to say, after a few $1000 poker chips, an IOU and a pork chop fell out, was up to his usual level of sensitivity and pedagogy. Bennett, weighing in (no pun intended) on the Danish cartoon situation, blamed all of Islam for the riots besieging many Muslim countries. And of course he’s right, as what’s going on right now obviously bears no resemblance to Pat Robertson’s wishing doom upon Dover, PA or other “men of the cloth” advocating the murder of abortion doctors. I can’t figure out what the common link is?

But I have a solution. I’m thinking grudge match. Ayman Al-Zwahiri v. Bill Bennett.

They’re both on the corpulent side—it should be fair. No gloves. Ear biting encouraged. Brit Hume can cover it live after he’s finished pasting his hair to his cranium. All proceeds go to charity. Hell, they still charge for Tyson's fights, and I’m pretty sure he just went through menopause. Give the money to a good cause, like universal health care or rat poison for Ann Coulter (for the media, that was just a joke). The loser has to play naked chess with Jonah Goldberg. I see it as win-win.

Speaking of right-wing air balloons, Alberto Gonzalez, he of the endorsement of nipple electrodes and disemboweling of Guantanamo “guests,” went to Congress this past week to tell them, in between lies, that Dear Leader would “listen to their views” when it comes to their unconstitutional spying on Americans. Now I don’t carry a copy of the Constitution on my person, but I seem to remember some rather wacky concept of co-equal branches and the separation of powers being part of whole scheme.

Luckily for Gonzalez, however, he wasn’t up on the Hill when the weekly alarm went off in the Russell Building, signaling there “might be” a weapon of mass destruction in the attic. And no, I’m not talking about the constantly whimpering John McCain after a bowl of Senate bean soup. It turned out to be a false alarm, kind of like in Iraq, but with no recent crimes committed against leggy blonds in Aruba, Rita Cosby was on that faster than Republicans sensing slight criticism at a funeral.

Yes, once again, the GOP was up in arms, not about their Simian King admitting he broke the law or allowing a U.S. city to be destroyed, but over the fact that President Carter and the Reverend Joseph Lowery actually criticized the Failed One at Coretta Scott King’s funeral. I mean, how dare them uppity Negroes and libruls criticize their cult leader? Glenn Beck, another in the long line of turbo-drooling right-wing talk-show hosts, called Carter a “waste of skin.” I guess he’s jealous, because if you’ve seen a picture, it’s pretty clear he’s using all of his. And luckily you’ll get to see him more as CNN has added Bennett and Beck to their stable…of talent. Nice hires, guys, just don’t forget to up the fried-food quotient in the CNN cafeteria. Read More......

Ex-CIA official testifies that White House misused Iraq intelligence to trick Americans into war

Surprise surprise surprise. HIs most important point goes to the Bush administration's now-defense, gosh the intel was bad, that wasn't our fault, we just followed the lead of that bad bad CIA:

"Official intelligence on Iraqi weapons programs was flawed but even with its flaws, it was not what led to the war," Pillar said in an article written for the March/April issue of Foreign Affairs and posted on the magazine's Web site on Friday.

"If the entire body of official intelligence analysis on Iraq had a policy implication, it was to avoid war -- or, if war was going to be launched, to prepare for a messy aftermath," he said.

And the White House only chose to use the intelligence that supported their argument, while ignoring the intelligence that said that war would be a disaster.

Pillar, a widely respected intelligence analyst who spent 28 years at the CIA, said it has become clear since the 2003 invasion that the White House did not use official intelligence analysis in making even the most significant national security decisions.

Policymakers instead employed a "cherry-picking" approach that selected pieces of raw intelligence that seemed most favorable to its WMD claims and the charge of a relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda.

The White House ignored intelligence reports that said Iraq was not fertile ground for democracy and warned of a long, difficult turbulent post-invasion period that would require a Marshall Plan-type effort to restore the country's economy despite its abundant oil reserves.

Reports also predicted an occupying force would be a target of resentment and attacks including guerrilla warfare.

Pillar said the Bush administration politicized Iraq intelligence by repeatedly calling for more material that would contribute to its case for war, a tactic that he said skewed intelligence resources toward topics favoring the White House.

Read More......

Plagiarism at the Moonie Times. Is nothing sacred?

Tsk tsk. The Republican party's favorite cult-run newspaper publishes a hit piece earlier this week attacking liberal bloggers. Then a few days later, liberal bloggers catch that same reporter publishing content in that same cult rag that sure reads exactly like content published previously by a real newspaper, the Chicago Sun-Times. Did the cult reporter attribute the content to the Sun-Times? Yeah right.

Plagiarism, massive coincidence akin to two monkeys (that's monkeys, not moonies) typing Shakespeare after a million years? You decide.

More from Markos. Read More......

Open thread

By the way, this is to the folks at Vocus. You can stop emailing me your clients' press releases. I've banned your domain, and alerted the other bloggers to what you're doing. Big kiss.

JOHN Read More......

Maryland GOP Senate candidate offends Jewish leaders by comparing stem cell research to Nazi science, in front of Jewish leaders

Of course Michael Steele is the man who made up the fake "they threw Oreo cookies at me" controversy, so his civil rights radar is pretty much stuck on lying about incidents he's been involved in AND conveniently using civil rights as cover for his terrible record.

From the Baltimore Sun:

Discussing his position on embryonic stem cell research with Baltimore Jewish leaders yesterday, Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele said he is "concerned about the destruction of human life" and made a comparison between the controversial science and experiments done on Jews during the Holocaust.

"You of all folks know what happens when people decide they want to experiment on human beings, when they want to take your life and use it as a tool," said Steele, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, to a crowd of about 40 at a Baltimore Jewish Council board meeting....

You, of all folks? Let's just say that "you of all folks" wasn't very pleased.

"If the lieutenant governor was drawing a comparison between stem cell research and human medical experimentation during the Holocaust, he must understand the pain this kind of analogy would inflict on survivors and their families," Art Abramson, executive director of the Baltimore Jewish Council, said in a statement to The Sun. "We absolutely reject any comparisons between ethical and lifesaving medical research, and the horrors committed by the Nazis in their evil drive to create a master race. We welcome any clarification Lt. Gov. Steele can offer about his remarks."

Now get a load of Steele's response:

"When I was asked the question about stem cell research, I had just finished speaking at length about my first trip to Israel and the powerful memories I had of my visit to the Holocaust museum there," Steele said. "Those memories have had a lasting impression on me, but in no way did I intend to equate the two or trivialize the pain and suffering of more than six million Jews."

Uh, now he's going to lie about what he said by claiming he never compared the two? Of course he did. And rather than admit what he obviously did, and apologize for it, Steele takes his lead from George Bush - never admit you're wrong, never apologize.

The criticism continues:

Jewish Council board member Michele Lax said after the lunch that Steele's comments revealed a "total lack of sensitivity."

"I was just really shocked and outraged," said Lax, a retired attorney from Owings Mills. "I can't believe that he could make a comparison to the Nazis with embryonic stem cell research, which saves lives. It just shows you what his true colors are and how far right wing he is."

Sam Penn, a retired businessman and the board member who questioned Steele, said he thought the lieutenant governor's answer was "ludicrous."

"The Holocaust, they were killing people," Penn said. "Stem cell research, we want to help people."....

"Michael Steele's comments were offensive to both millions of Americans who stand to benefit from this research and to Holocaust survivors and their families," the congressman said. "Michael Steele has it backward. This is not about experimenting on humans. It is about saving lives."....

Curt I. Civin, a cancer research expert at the Johns Hopkins University, expressed disappointment with Steele, saying that it doesn't sound like he stands with the governor, who has indicated an openness to embryonic research.

"I certainly would reject any comparison between what stem cell researchers want to do and the Holocaust," Civin said. "What stem cell researchers want to do is learn about diseases. ... This is so unlike the medical horrors that were done during the Holocaust that I can't even begin to compare them. We're trying to save lives by doing this."

Douglas Greenberg, executive director of the University of Southern California Shoah Foundation Institute, a group that was founded by director Steven Spielberg and has recorded the testimony of 52,000 Holocaust survivors, said he believes that politicians should never use the Holocaust to make a contemporary political point. He said he was pleased that Steele revised his remarks.

"What he originally said, whether he intended it to be or not, is an insult to those men and women who are still alive who survived these awful experiments," Greenberg said. "And also to the memory of 6 million murdered men and women and children."

Ladies and gentlemen, the man running for the US Senate from Maryland. Let's have a round of applause for another Republican profile in courage. Read More......

The Brownie smack down of Norm Coleman

How pathetic does one have to be to get smacked down by Brownie? Pretty pathetic. Norm Coleman (R-MN) knows first-hand the humiliation according to the account at Talking Points Memo. Josh notes getting your butt kicked by Brownie is a "singular accomplishment."

This hearing is Brownie's revenge. Read More......

Last time I harass you for another month - AMERICAblog-athon

It's that time. Like us? Send some love. Use the yellow boxes at the left - you can give one time, or set up a recurring payment that automatically donates a set amount each month.

Okay, that's the last time I badger you until March :-) Thanks as always, JOHN Read More......

The Scooter/Cheney leak story is getting major coverage

Major news coverage about the blockbuster revelation that Scooter was instructed by his White House bosses -- including Vice President Cheney -- to leak classified information for purely political reasons. This is a serious issue. The Bush/Cheney administration cannot be trusted on national security. Maybe now the traditional media will think twice about just adopting that theme (I know that's a reach, but it had to be said.)

New York Times:

I. Lewis Libby Jr., the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, told a grand jury that he was authorized by his "superiors" to disclose classified information to reporters about Iraq's weapons capability in June and July 2003, according to a document filed by a federal prosecutor.

Associated Press:

A former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney told a federal grand jury that his superiors authorized him to give secret information to reporters as part of the Bush administration's defense of intelligence used to justify invading Iraq, according to court papers.

Washington Post:

Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff testified that his bosses instructed him to leak information to reporters from a high-level intelligence report that suggested Iraq was trying to obtain weapons of mass destruction, according to court records in the CIA leak case.

Cheney was one of the "superiors" I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby said had authorized him to make the disclosures, according to sources familiar with the investigation into Libby's discussions with reporters about CIA operative Valerie Plame.

Reuters:

Vice President Dick Cheney directed his aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby to use classified material to discredit a critic of the Bush administration's Iraq war effort, the National Journal reported on Thursday.

Court papers released last week show that Libby was authorized to disclose classified information to news reporters by "his superiors," in an effort to counteract diplomat Joe Wilson's charge that the Bush administration twisted intelligence on Iraq's nuclear weapons to justify the 2003 invasion.

Read More......

NYT's new word for "terrorists" is the "America-haters." This is in objective NEWS stories.

WTF? This is now what passes for objective journalism, using the word "America-haters" in an article about Bush's alleged foiling of the plot to attack the tallest building in Los Angeles.

Today's NYT (and mind you, this is the reporter's word, not a quote of someone else):

Counterterrorism officials said months ago that the Los Angeles skyscraper (Mr. Bush mistakenly called it the "Liberty Tower") would be a logical target for a West Coast attack, although Mr. Bush had not spoken in detail before about the officials' suspicions. Given the building's iconic status, it is easy to see why America-haters would rejoice at seeing it fall — as some rejoiced when the Twin Towers in New York collapsed.

Apparently the ghost of Judy Miller lives on at the New York Times. Read More......

Friday Morning Open Thread

Busy, busy week. Now, DC is under a "winter storm watch" which means everyone here will start to freak out. DC doesn't do well with snow. Read More......

Cheney wants to make domestic spying a political issue

Weighing in on the Rove "fear" strategy, Cheney threw the domestic spying scandal in to their campaign strategy. The interesting thing about this speech is that Cheney gave it at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). That crowd includes a lot of "black-helicopter" types, like NRA leaders, who fear government intrusion. Numerous leading conservatives have spoken out against the Bush domestic spying operation including David Keene the head of the American Conservative Union which sponsors CPAC. The opposition is increasingly bi-partisan. Yet, Rove/Bush/Cheney want it to be a political issue:

Vice President Cheney suggested last night that the debate over spying on overseas communications to or from terrorism suspects should be a political issue in this year's congressional elections.

Speaking to Republicans gathered for the annual CPAC convention, Cheney said the debate over the National Security Agency surveillance program "has clarified where all stand" on an issue that has drawn criticism from congressional Democrats and some Republicans.

A bigger political issue is, of course, that Cheney's top aide, Sccoter Libby, got indicted for undermining national security. Yesterday, the National Journal reported that Libby got permission to leak national security info. from Cheney himself. Read More......