WASHINGTON - Banana company Chiquita Brands International said Wednesday it has agreed to a $25 million fine after admitting it paid terrorists for protection in a volatile farming region of Colombia.
I’m Chiquita Banana and I’ve come to say That I’m in a lot of trouble and I have to pay Twenty five million dollars is the fine for me Because I paid protection money to the A.U.C.
Gave money to the terrorists Protect the employees We know it was illegal And so now we’re copping pleas
If you ever own a company and want to make a profit fairly quickly Make sure not to fund the terrorists or it can get real sticky
“Attorney General Gonzales is a nice man,” Mr. Schumer said. “But he either doesn’t accept or doesn’t understand that he is no longer just the president’s lawyer but has a higher obligation to the rule of law and the Constitution, even when the president should not want it to be so.”
Gonzales promising to find out what went wrong is the equivalent of O.J. Simpson vowing to find his wife's killer. Even though e-mails show that White House involvement regarding the attorney firings began with correspondence between former WH counsel Harriet Miers and Sampson, there can only be two options in this matter: 1) Either Gonzales truly didn't know and therefore has no clue what going on under his nose in his office or 2) he knew full well and is equally responsible. Either way, it's a bad state of affairs.
And let's not forget that we are shown yet another example of the abuse of power in this Administration. What on earth could this amendment in the Patriot Act, enabling the President to replace federal attorneys for an indefinite period and bypassing Senate confirmation, have anything to do with the war on terror?
“We now know that it is very likely that the amendment to the Patriot Act, which was made in March of 2006, might well have been done to facilitate a wholesale replacement of all or part of U.S. attorneys without Senate confirmation,” said Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, who serves on the Judiciary Committee. “Who authorized all of this? Who asked for that change?”
Who indeed? Federal prosecutors are usually replaced when a new administration takes over. But it is unprecedented that a wholesale change of 93 prosecutors be replaced in the middle of an administration. Sure Clinton did it. So did Bush 41. But it was done at the outset of their tenures, and I defy anyone to find one example of eight prosecutors being dismissed simultaneously while they were either in the middle of investigations against Republicans or unwilling to leak information about investigations against Democrats.
*NOTE: My apologies to the Muppets for using an image of such a likable character in an article depicting such a vile one.
MAN! What a weekend! I'd love to continue because there's plenty more to cover, but alas, it's accountant appointment day to deal with my 2006 taxes. So hopefully I'll have time to comment on the above stories later.
But let me get an easy one out of the way now. What the hell is an 82 year old man doing playing golf in 94° heat?! Even I get faint after 18 holes in that kind of weather. What an idiot.
Well, I have to tell you, I have thoroughly been enjoying my blogging for the past few months and it seems I've had less and less time to do it. It gives me an outlet to vent my frustrations and also gets the creative juices flowing.
There's been so much to write about this week! The Walter Reed scandal and the Scooter Libby verdict alone is enough for any "full-time, I get paid to blog" writers to develop Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. And let's not forget the hearings on the fired Federal Prosecutors and the daily FOX News distortions. The possibilities are endless and make my head swim.
But shlubs like me who do this as a hobby don't have the time to be able to put it all down, let alone develop informed opinions while making it entertaining to read. So, as my fiancee would kill me if I brought my laptop on our weekend getaway, I'll be walking away from my desk and leaving the bitter cold of New York for sunny Las Vegas for three fun-filled days. (I'll keep a note pad handy and scour the local papers in search of my next topic.)
In the meantime, those who read my blog (all three of you), continue to search for the truth on any of the sites listed on the right, search for new blogs and support the writers who post fervently by leaving them a comment. Believe me, it makes all the difference in the world when you realize someone might actually be interested in reading what you write. Let them know you're tuned in - leave your own opinion. If a blog is never read, does it still rant?
I'll be back soon enough and ready to pounce on the next insane story. I most likely won't write about my weekend, because what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
How does the world feel about George the Liar? An educated guess would indicate that his approval rating is probably far lower than the 29% he is currently holding in the United States. But hold on!
It seems that Bush's Latin-American tour has been causing quite a ruckus south of the border. It includes a stopover beginning late Sunday in Guatemala. On Monday morning he is scheduled to visit the archaeological site Iximche on the high western plateau in a region of the Central American country populated mostly by Mayans.
Of course after he leaves, they'll have to cleanse the site. Mayan priests will purify the sacred archaeological site to eliminate "bad spirits" after President Bush visits next week, an official with close ties to the group said Thursday. "That a person like (Bush), with the persecution of our migrant brothers in the United States, with the wars he has provoked, is going to walk in our sacred lands, is an offense for the Mayan people and their culture," Juan Tiney, the director of a Mayan nongovernmental organization with close ties to Mayan religious and political leaders, said Thursday.
How do you like that? They are fearful that even Bush's presence will offend the Gods. Maybe Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez wasn't so far off the mark when he called Bush "the devil". There's been a lot of bad joojoo going on in the West Wing lately. We don't want it spreading like the plague and causing some kind of famine or earthquake in Guatemala.
SF Gate: (03-02) 04:00 PST Washington -- The House minority leader threatened Thursday to get his members to vote against a $96.3 billion spending bill for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan if Democrats persist in plans to attach conditions to the money that would tell President Bush how to conduct the wars.
Murtha's plan would "attach requirements that no units could be sent back to Iraq until they are fully trained, equipped and rested." Sounds like a good idea, doesn't it?
But here is what John Boehner said: "We will not support a bill that inhibits the president's ability to wage this war,'' he told reporters. Boehner added that if the committee bill includes such conditions, he will direct top House Republicans to press their members to vote against it.
So let me get this straight:
The "We-Support-the-Troops" GOP House leader is saying that they will vote against funding $96.3 billion for the war because of the condition that the troops should be fully trained, equipped and rested before being deployed... is that what I'm hearing? These pigs would cut off funding for the troops they say they support if there is oversight on how the money is spent?
The only thing inhibiting the president's ability to wage war is his myopic view of the world through his rose-colored glasses.
The blank check days are over, Johnny! Get that through your thick skull. And you sons of bitches have the audacity to crow about the Democrats not supporting the troops when you'd rather send them into a meat grinder ill-equipped and poorly trained? How are poorly trained troops supposed to win your war on terror if they don't know what the hell to do once they get there, you idiot? Go ahead, vote no. You'll save the Dems a lot of trouble answering questions from the morons who insistDems don't support our military.
You and everyone like you make me sick. Support the troops my ass! You bastards will do anything to further the corporate cause, making money hand over fist while American blood soaks the sands of Iraq in a pre-emptive, illegal war that is destroying their country when THEY HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH 9/11!
No sooner is Scooter Libby found guilty of 4 counts of perjury, obstruction of justice and lying to the FBI that the conservative spin begins on the verdict.
John Gibson, FOX: "So the vice president and Libby wanted the press to know because they were getting pointed questions about why did you send this guy if you weren't going to pay attention to his report. And they found out that his wife had sent him. They wanted people to know. Problem was, she was a covert spook, at least technically.
So if you are the vice president or his assistant, can you out the spook if the spook is pulling strings behind your back to make you look bad? Evidently not.
Personally, I'm glad they did. There was a cabal inside the CIA working against the president's policy and they wanted to hide behind their secret status while they did what was essentially an anti-war political hitjob.
...So why would Cheney send an anti-war activist to investigate a key fact in the decision to go to war? Answer: He wouldn't. And the person who did was trying to sabotage the president."
Sure, that's it John. They were just trying to protect themselves against a vast left-wing conspiracy. A "cabal inside the CIA"? What are you smoking, Gibson? You're right on one count. Cheney didn't personally send Wilson. He asked the CIA to investigate to try and give credence to the ridiculous 'yellowcake-from-Niger' story. Plame, a non-official cover CIA Agent (NOC) sent Wilson, the most qualified person with the most knowledge of the region to assess, and he found nothing. When his findings were ignored and he saw that we were being lied into a war, he spoke out. That's when Cheney went psycho and became obsessed with punishing Wilson by outing Plame. As SilentPatriot at Crooks and Liars says, Gibson manages to rewrite history in three minutes.
But that's only the tip of the iceberg. The Washington Post Editorial of March 7th calling the Libby trial a "pointless Washington scandal" was a ridiculous tirade of misinformation and revisionist history, so much so that of the 36 pages of posts I scanned through, I couldn't find one that was in agreement with the editorial. Most posts gave vague little pieces of advice like, "You should retire", "I'll be expecting a retraction" , "You should read the paper you write for" and "This is the worst piece of editorial drivel that the Post has published in a very long time."
Of course, this gave more ammo to the right-wingers.
DNR Online, Harrisonburg, VA: "The verdict of guilty in the case of Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the former chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney is one more step in a "pointless Washington scandal." Those last three words are not those of rightwing extremists, but the headline of an editorial in The Washington Post." Oooh! That radical left-wing rag, The Washington Post! It must be true, unless we disagree with it, of course. Then it's all lies from that radical left-wing rag!
Here are some other quotes I came across in the OCRegister's Opinion Page: "Anyone should get a pass when you can’t remember specifically what you said, especially considering numerous daily contacts that Libby made over the span of months."
"This farcical verdict should be summarily overturned and the rogue “special” prosecutor should get a taste of his own medicine. Better yet, he should be disbarred. What a disgrace."
Reading posts on conservative blogs and websites, it is amazing to me how the GOP has convinced the kool-aid drinkers and FOX News have convinced their viewers that:
1) Libby did nothing wrong: "Scooter Libby is going to jail for not remembering who he told what. He didn't lie, evidently. He didn't remember right, and that is a federal crime, of course, if you happen to be speaking to a FBI agent when your memory fails."
2) Valerie Plame was not covert, therefore no crime was committed.
Once again sheeple, the trial was not about the Plame leak. It was about Scooter Libby perjuring himself in front of a Grand Jury, the FBI and hindering an investigation.
Verdict: Guilty.
I don't think Libby could have gotten as far as he did professionally if he had a "forgetful memory". C'mon John, "he didn't lie, evidently"? This kind of classified information isn't what you might tend to forget, especially when your boss is obsessed with the Plame/Wilson affair. It's not as if he couldn't remember where he'd left his keys. It isn't that trivial. Besides the fact that people who know Libby are crediting him with an excellent memory and being incredibly sharp. Oh and by the way, Mr. Gibson, if you're "personally glad they did" leak the name of a CIA covert operative, then you should be investigated for treasonable offenses as well. A man in your position in agreement with treason? Par for the course for FOX News. Of course no one has been charged with leaking Plame's name - the investigation into that matter was OBSTRUCTED BY LIBBY! And let's not start discrediting Patrick Fitzgerald in all this. Remember, this "rogue 'special' prosecutor" was appointed for this job by the WHITE HOUSE! But he didn't play their game. How soon before he gets fired? Anyone starting a pool? Everyone is also acting as if this thing is over because it isn't as big as Watergate. It is not over. This can of worms has just opened. There will be plenty more to spill out of this administration before it's all over.
Do a little research yourself today. Google "Libby verdict" and you'll get a pack of editorials all trying to suggest that this was a non-crime, Libby was a scapegoat, Patrick Fitzgerald should be disbarred, Libby didn't leak the name, blah, blah, blah.
It's amazing what people still won't believe when it is staring them right in the face.
Due to his early presidential run announcement and "wasted" lives comment on Letterman, falling behind to Rudy Giuliani AND MITT ROMNEY?, not appearing at the Conservative Political Action Conference and his constant support for the war in Iraq and George the Liar, John McCain's fledgling campaign may be over before it even begins.
McCain was supposed to announce much later in the year. Many of his staff were blindsided by his [Letterman] campaign announcement. " ...When you do that, and you're not prepared for it, the staff goes crazy. Some of his coordinators in different states were pulling their hair out!" And several aides were so outraged that they've quit, say Republican insiders.
"One of the top aides to the Republican leadership told me that McCain has lost so much support, he's simply beside himself. He's wringing his hands. Things are sinking fast—in two or three weeks, we'll know if there is any recovery."
NEW YORK TIMES: WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 — I. Lewis Libby Jr., the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, was convicted today of lying to F.B.I. agents and grand jurors investigating the unmasking of a C.I.A. operative amid a burning dispute over the war in Iraq.
The question remains if there will be further investigations including Cheney's involvement and obsession with discrediting Joe Wilson and triggering the Plame leak. Initial reaction from prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald indicates that as of now, "the investigation is inactive."
In an unrelated(?) note, the Dow is up over 80 points today and climbing since the verdict.
UPDATE: (5:04pm EST)
VP CHENEY: "I am very disappointed with the verdict. I am saddened for Scooter and his family. As I have said before, Scooter has served our nation tirelessly and with great distinction through many years of public service. Since his legal team is seeking a new trial, persuing an appeal, I plan to have no further comment on the merits of this matter until these proceeding are concluded."
How convenient. Oh, and the Dow closed up 157 points.
"There is no such thing as a 'little bit' of torture."
The HBO Documentary "Ghosts of Abu Ghraib" is a must see. There isn't much more I can say about it. If you don't have HBO, find someone who does and have them record it for you.
It's a shameful, horrific situation not only that this could happen, but that it was condoned in the highest levels of the Bush administration.
Abu Ghraib may seem like an old story, but the US Military has still not released how many people died at Abu Ghraib.
The blogophere strikes back as Verizon, Sallie Mae and Georgia based NetBank pull their advertising from Ann Coulter's website for the comments made last Friday against John Edwards at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
It was initially brought to their attention by VelvetElvis, a diarist on DailyKos, who posted contact information for companies hosting ads on Queen Ann's website, in the hopes that complaints to these companies would cause them to act. Great job, Elvis!
Yes, George the Liar's approval rating is now at 29%. That is a very sad number indeed. An even sadder number is 65%. Yes, 65% of Republicans still approve of the way our fearless liar is doing his job.
Are they blissfully ignorant? Are they that partisan that they refuse to see what is happening to this nation and the world with their own eyes? I cannot fathom the idea that ANYONE would look at the Chimp's handling of anything - Iraq, Iran, Katrina, AbuGhraib, the Plame/CIA leaks... the English language - and find it in their "wisdom" to still think they approve of the Commander in Thief. Did the pollsters get a hold of an insane asylum patient list and start calling before they realized who they were polling?
Pollster: "Hello sir, do you currently approve of the job that President George Bush is doing?"
Patient: " Why, yes. Yes I believe the President is doing a wonderful job on all fronts. GET THESE SPIDERS OFF MY SKIN! STOP LOOKING AT ME!!!"
I only have one question for those 29% that still approve of the job that Bush is doing: WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!
Wingnut Ann Coulter spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday. She is certifiably insane. Here is one of her comments:
“I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate, John Edwards, but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the word ‘faggot'–so…"
No, no really...she actually said that. Here it is - see for yourself.
The audience's reaction? Audible "Oooh"s.. and then laughter, cheers and applause. Applause?! ...APPLAUSE! After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I couldn't help but feel torn. I laughed at the thought that this was the best that CPAC had to offer and I was outraged at the fact that yet another Republican smear was going to permeate the simple minds of the country and before you know it, John Edwards drops out of the race after falling behind in the polls because 35% of the country thinks he's a closeted homosexual.
Oh, Ann, Ann, Ann. It's a shame that you have to resort to these type of attacks for lack of any substance. But then why would you be any different than any other Swiftboating Republican hack? You're their Queen. The drones swarm to you in order to propagate the species.
From Think Progress: The Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese issued the following statement: “We demand that every single Presidential candidate in attendance at this conference, along with Vice President Cheney stand up and publicly condemn this type of gutter-style politics,” continued Solmonese. “If not, then their silence will be deafening to the vast majority of Americans who believe this type of language belongs no where near the discussions about the future of our country.”
The Conservative Political Action Conference was attended by 2008 Republican Presidential candidates: Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO), Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) and former Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA). Vice President Dick Cheney also attended the event.
I believe that Mr. Solmonese's request is a valid one, and can't possibly be ruled unreasonable or out of the question. Surely the "liberal media" in this country have jumped all over Queen Ann to condemn her comments as despicably bigoted and trashy. Without fail, Vice President Cheney, who attended the conference, and who is the father of a pregnant, lesbian daughter, would make a statement disapproving of Coulter's smear... No? No one?
Wait a minute... why didn't I initially hear about this on televised news? Why did I hear about this on the Internet? Oh right, we were inundated with Anna Nicole's funeral all day long. You know, important stuff.
What vexes me about Coulter's statement is that, once again, if the very pointy shoe was placed on the other foot, if a Democrat had made a similarly disgusting remark, the Limbaughs and Hannitys of the world (and the Coulters too for that matter) would attack like the hyenas they are and the said bigot would be exiled to a remote island or launched away on an ice floe.
I keep waiting for the day when Queen Ann goes too far in her attacks, even for neocons, and says something like: "I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate, Barack Hussein Obama, but it turns out you get a cap popped in your ass if you use the word ‘nigger'–so…"
Then perhaps finally, she'll no longer be able to hold a job in which she can spew her hate, except for maybe standing in the middle of a corn field scaring the crows away. Unfortunately, it's more realistic to assume that there would just be another media blackout to further protect the likes of Ann Coulter.
Rudy Giuliani: “The comments were completely inappropriate and there should be no place for such name-calling in political debate.”
Kevin Madden, a spokesman for Mitt Romney: “It was an offensive remark. Governor Romney believes all people should be treated with dignity and respect.”
Ann Coulter's e-mailed response: “C’mon, it was a joke. I would never insult gays by suggesting that they are like John Edwards. That would be mean.”
Susannah Meadows' Newsweek interview with Dennis Kucinich is available online. She questions his thoughts on the Democratic race, the war in Iraq, domestic issues and his new marriage.
'It's Called Heart' With Vilsack out, there's one less dark horse in the running. Can Dennis Kucinich capitalize? The pride of Cleveland on how his anti-war politics went mainstream, what he's got on Obama and Hillary, and what makes him run.
KUCINICH: Four years ago, people weren’t sure about the war. Today, my stand is mainstream. Four years ago, people weren’t sure how they felt about a not-for-profit health-care system, Medicare for all. Today my position is mainstream. And so I think what’s happened is on the biggest international issue and on the biggest domestic issue, my candidacy emerges as the one to win.
For all the Republican talk condemning Democrats (or anyone else for that matter) opposing troop escalation and the war in Iraq, Hersh states that "To undermine Iran, which is predominantly Shiite, the Bush Administration has decided, in effect, to reconfigure its priorities in the Middle East. In Lebanon, the Administration has cooperated with Saudi Arabia’s government, which is Sunni, in clandestine operations that are intended to weaken Hezbollah, the Shiite organization that is backed by Iran.
The U.S. has also taken part in clandestine operations aimed at Iran and its ally Syria. A by-product of these activities has been the bolstering of Sunni extremist groups that espouse a militant vision of Islam and are hostile to America and sympathetic to Al Qaeda."
That's right, you read it correctly. The Bush Crime Family has secretly been supporting extremist Sunni groups to further their cause in Iran and Syria. Groups "sympathetic to Al Qaeda." The ones we're supposed to be fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq. The ones that were responsible for 9/11 (if you believe the "official" story).
Meanwhile in another part of the world, Dearth Cheney continues to criticize opposition to the war in Iraq, particularly Nancy Pelosi, when saying the Congressional leaders' approach of attempting to revoke the Iraq War resolution would "validate the al-Qaeda strategy."Can you believe the lack of scruples in this war mongering, blood sucking troglodyte?
So the Democrats who want to end the war are siding with the terrorists, but the Bush Administration who are funding the terrorists are the patriots?! What kind of backward-ass policy is this?!
There's a special place in hell for bastards like these.
From the NY Times: KABUL, Afghanistan, Feb. 27 — A suicide bomber blew himself up this morning outside the main gate of the United States military base at Bagram while Vice President Dick Cheney was inside the base. Mr. Cheney was not hurt in the attack.
The Taliban took responsibility for the attack and claimed that Cheney was the target. The inital reports of fatalities are inconsistent, but at least one US soldier was killed in the blast.
Do us all a favor, Dick: stay home. You're hated here too, but I think you're probably a little safer here than in the Middle East. By the way, the reason I suggest this is so you'll stop putting our troops in harm's way.
On "Fox News Sunday" Febuary 25th, Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State of the United States, compared the Iraq situation and the possibility of Congress revising the Iraq resolution to World War II and Adolph Hitler.
Whaaaaaaa?!
If Congress were now to revise the Iraq authorization, she said, "… it would be like saying that after Adolf Hitler was overthrown, we needed to change, then, the resolution that allowed the United States to do that, so that we could deal with creating a stable environment in Europe after he was overthrown."
Wasn't this nitwit the Provost of Stanford University? How is it possible that she has a Ph.D. in Political Science and doesn't know her basic United States history? I'll stop myself here because Keith Olbermann scalds Condi in his latest Special Comment. He does it so well, you'd be remiss not to catch it. Go on, click... you know you want to.
OLBERMANN: This administration has long thought otherwise, but you can't cherry-pick life — whether life in 2007, or life in the history page marked 1945. You can't keep the facts that fit your prejudices and throw out the ones that destroy your theories. And if you're going to try to do that; if you still want to fool some people into thinking that Saddam was Hitler, and once we gave FDR that blank check in Germany he was no longer subject to the laws of Congress or gravity or physics, at least stop humiliating us. Get your facts straight. Use the Google!
You've been on Fox News Sunday, Secretary Rice. The Fox network has got another show premiering Tuesday night. You could go on that one, too. It might be a better fit. It's called "Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?"
Last week, George Stephanopoulos hosted a Democratic forum in Carson City, Nevada to kick of the Democratic race for the Presidential nomination. I caught a repeat of it on C-Span and immediately took a liking to Dennis Kucinich's "no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is" attitude.
Now I know he's been around for a while, and has been in the shadows of the more "electable" Democratic candidates. But it is a shame that this man can't get his message out on the mainstream media.
It's a shame that he won't have a chance (my cynical side showing). He's too much of a straight talking, normal guy for anyone to seriously consider listening to him, let alone voting for him. I mean, if the general public can't handle the Howard Dean "yee-haw"ing smear in 2004, how can they deal with the truth? I've already contributed to his campaign because he needs it the most. I was in the middle of documenting the video from C-Span when I came across a YouTube version from the audience persective, courtesy of Chad Ely.
Congratulations to Academy Award winner, Al Gore for Best Documentary "An Inconvenient Truth". I've been meaning to watch this movie when I had the time, but sometimes that time never comes. Just as planning for a wedding has slowed my blogging down over the last couple of weeks, you intend to dosomething, but there aren't enough hours in a day.
So after last night's Oscar win, I was stirred to pay-per-view it today.
If you haven't watched this movie yet, stop, take a breath, and schedule to watch it then next free chance you get.
ShareThis