Atrios, Calpundit, TPM and Billmon have the Plame situation covered quite well. I can’t really add anything, so just check those blogs out.
Oh, and The Poor Man has a great synopsis of the right-wing response to the Plame scandal. And on the day I watch the kick ass ROTK trailer.
Bush-Appointed Panel Finds U.S. Image Abroad Is in Peril
WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 � The United States must drastically increase and overhaul its public relations efforts to salvage its plummeting image among Muslims and Arabs abroad, a panel chosen by the Bush administration has found.
“Hostility toward America has reached shocking levels,” the panel stated in its report, which will be released Wednesday. “What is required is not merely tactical adaptation but strategic, and radical, transformation.”
We spent money on figuring that out? Jesus, read a damn Arabic newspaper.
The panel warned that the war in Iraq and the intensified conflict in the Middle East have increased anger at the United States, and that people throughout the world are ignorant of or misinformed about American policies.
…
The advisory panel said that it recognized that American policies might well be the root of the problem, but that Washington could do far more to present its side of the issues and rebut widespread misinformation among Muslims overseas.
Well, uh, they just don’t understand our policies! Yeah! I mean, bombs exploding in residential areas, killing children are bound to give the wrong impression. Of course, we didn’t MEAN for that to happen. It was an accident. A terrible, frequently recurring accident. Well, maybe it is our policies, but nevermind that, we’re America, we’re never wrong, so we can’t help it.
Actually, can you imagine the discussions of the panel? The liberals on one side (assuming it actually was bipartisan like the article says) arguing it’s our policies, the conservatives arguing that we’re doing what’s right, and calling the liberals anti-American. Apparenlty they won the minor concession of that throwaway point. Ahh, the wonders of our discourse.
Good interview with the authors of Weapons of Mass Deception in Salon.
Part of it got me thinking: I saw a post on a right wing message board that said Michael Moore was anti-American and pro-Saddam because he had a picture of him pulling down a statue of Bush, a la the pulling down of the Saddam statue. When there are people like this in the country, I don’t know that revealing propaganda will do any good.
Programming assignment due tomorrow, so that means one of two things:
1. No posting for the rest of the night.
2. Plenty of posting, because I’m procrastinating.
So, uh, yeah, there you have it. You may be asking yourself, what’s the point of this post? The point is that I’m procrastinating, and needed something to post. Hmm, plenty of homework to do, sounds like a good time to rant about why I don’t like Christianity. Maybe later. Or not. I don’t know.
Apologies to all those in resolutions under 1024×768, the comic is hard to read. Click for full size.
Leak of CIA Name Being Investigated
A senior administration official said two top White House officials called at least six Washington journalists and revealed the identity and occupation of Wilson’s wife. That was shortly after Wilson revealed in July that the CIA had sent him to Niger last year to look into the uranium claim and that he had found no evidence to back up the charge. Wilson’s account eventually touched off a controversy over Bush’s use of intelligence as he made the case for attacking Iraq.
“Clearly, it was meant purely and simply for revenge,” the senior official said of the alleged leak.
Who’s it gonna be? Rove? This is going to be interesting. It looks like they’re really gonna go after whoever did this. Took long enough, but we got here. It’s incredible that someone had the audacity to threaten our national security in this way, especially from the admnistration that is supposed to be doing a wonderful jjob protecting us (they aren’t, but that’s beside the point). This could be huge.
New logo is up there now. I’m happy with it.
…….is a new logo! Hopefully I can get the mental picture of it into a coherent design, which I’m terrible at (I am not artistic). And then put my meager Photoshop skills to the test. We’ll see what I come up with.
US tries to drop charges against 9/11 ‘conspirator’
US prosecutors attempting to bring a case against the so-called “20th hijacker”, Zacarias Moussaoui, have been forced to ask for all charges against him to be dropped, a legal manoeuvre they hope will keep him from calling other terrorism suspects as defence witnesses.
Prosecutors ran into trouble with the case after two district court orders gave Mr Moussaoui the right to question three suspected al-Qaida members who he says could testify he was not a conspirator in the September 11, 2001 attacks. The government argues he does not have the right to question suspected terrorists.
The justice department wants the district court judge to drop the charges against Mr Moussaoui, so that an appeals court can hear the case and overrule the district court orders.
“In light of the rulings this court has already made … the government believes that, at this juncture, dismissal of the indictment … is the surest route for ensuring that the questions at issue here can promptly be presented to the 4th circuit [court of appeal],” the government’s written motion said.
US district judge Leonie Brinkema has said she would impose a punishment on the government next week for defying the two orders, which gave Moussaoui – a French citizen – the right to question the witnesses through a satellite link.
It appears they’re doing everything they can to circumvent the courts. No surprise, really, but I’m still a bit confused about the whole thing. Are they afraid that he can clear himself, and they’ll lose him? That’s what it seems like to me, they have to find people to punish, and they reached a bit when capturing these people. Not to say they’re innocent, but we’re sure doing a lot more to get around the court than to actually try the guy. Take the evidence you have and try him. I mean, you captured him for a reason (I’m assuming), so try him. This is a bit mind-boggling.
