HIV: Can You Picture A Cure?

Nature is reporting further discoveries in how HIV behaves with antibodies:

Medical researchers have found a chink in the constantly shape-shifting armour of the HIV virus. The discovery could be a significant step forward in the ongoing quest for a vaccine.

The AIDS virus evades the immune system because most of the proteins that cover the surface of the virus constantly change their structure. But researchers have now identified a site that doesn't change, and shown how an antibody can bind to it. If the body could be stimulated to produce its own copies of this antibody before infection, then in theory, it would allow it to attack the otherwise elusive virus and prevent infection.

"For a long time people have been asking whether an HIV vaccine is even possible," says Peter Kwong of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Bethesda, Maryland, who led the research. "What this finding says is that it's not just a dream — there is this site of vulnerability."

It may look like something that kids would scribble on a piece of paper with their crayons but it really may be another clue in finding a cure to HIV:

The structure of an antibody
bound to an HIV protein,
giving hope for a vaccine.

For those of you that are more scientifically inclined, they go into more depth on this and other possible steps towards finding a cure for HIV that have resulted because of the original X-Ray image scientists captured, and that the scribble above is based on:



As a HUGE side note:
Take a look at the search results on the word "WIKI" on a search of Nature's site. (Most of them are "premium articles" for subscribers) Everything science appears to be going Wiki for conveniences' sake, showing that DemFromCT's "Flu Wiki" may really have been a pioneering standard for modern science.

AND NO! I don't mean the Flu Wiki was meant for scientific research, but it does allow for the sharing of ways to deal with an influenza pandemic:

Just a Bump in the Beltway, The Next Hurrah and Effect Measure blogs announce the launch of a new experiment in collaborative problem solving in public health, The Flu Wiki.

The purpose of the Flu Wiki is to help local communities prepare for and perhaps cope with a possible influenza pandemic. This is a task previously ceded to local, state and national governmental public health agencies. Our goal is to be:

• a reliable source of information, as neutral as possible, about important facts useful for a public health approach to pandemic influenza
  
  
• a venue for anticipating the vast range of problems that may arise if a pandemic does occur
  
• a venue for thinking about implementable solutions to foreseeable problems
  

No one, in any health department or government agency, knows all the things needed to cope with an influenza pandemic. But it is likely someone knows something about some aspect of each of them and if we can pool and share our knowledge we can advance preparation for and the ability to cope with events. This is not meant to be a substitute for planning, preparation and implementation by civil authorities, but a parallel effort that complements, supports and extends those efforts.

While we will continue to administer and maintain the Wiki, we are turning the wheel over to the community, to take it where the road leads us. There is a bit of a learning curve to driving this rig. We hope you will find the instructions sufficient to get started. You’ll soon be learning on your own.

This was a novel approach to sharing information on how to deal with this issue at the time. An idea that could, and should, be replicated with shared input from scientists, doctors, and emrgency services providers for many different and varied emergencies that require coordiantion and input from "everywhere."

Only an idiot Neocon could fuck things up this badly

Only a Neocon child could think that building a case on lies would help him when he is being charged with perjury...

Libby lawyers rest in CIA leak trial:
"The change in who would testify prompted U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton to reverse course, too. He told defense attorneys that if Libby didn't testify he would not allow some classified information to be presented to the jury as Libby's defense team had planned.

'My absolute understanding was that Mr. Libby was going to testify,' Walton said, recalling why he had agreed months ago to allow some classified information into evidence. 'My ruling was based on the fact that he was going to testify.'

Walton's decision blocked Libby's plans to call three CIA briefers Wednesday to testify about the classified national security issues Libby faced in mid-2003, when CIA operative Valerie Plame was named in the media."

If you are a juror in this case: You have to be taking the Judges statement pretty seriously here when you are considering the credibility of the soon to be criminal Neocon Libby.

If you are the judge in this case: You have to be thinking about this blatant contempt for the legal process when you hand down a sentence at the end of it all.

Talk about double-fucking yerself there little Neocon scapegoat.

Nadler Speaks Truth to Power on the Floor of the House

Representative Nadler speaks a little truth to power on the floor of the House:

Crooks and Liars:
Nadler from the Floor: “Enough already!”:
"The Iraq War is President Bush's war. The President deceived the American people and Members of Congress when he made the case for war. Every reason we were given for invading Iraq was false. Weapons of Mass Destruction? Not there. Saddam Hussein working hand-in-glove with Al Qaeda? Not true. And the more information that leaks out, the more apparent it becomes that these were not mistakes, but deliberate lies.

I ask you: if the President had gone to the American people and said we must invade a country that poses no imminent threat to us, and sacrifice thousands of lives in order to create a democratic government in Iraq, would we have assented? I think not.

And as the President now says to us that we should continue indefinitely to expend American blood and treasure to support one side in a sectarian civil war, should Congress continue to consent? I think not.

We need to say 'Enough already!' Enough with the lies, and the deceit and the evasions! Enough with the useless bloodshed. We must protect our troops and ensure their safety while they are in Iraq"

C&L has the video up on it...

Why is the GOP afraid to debate Iraq on the floor?

Think Progress Has the latest on why the GOP is afraid of debating the issue of Iraq on the floor...



They are affraid of the fact that they will lose the debate on almost any issue concerning Iraq. Talk about playing politics with soldiers lives. They know they can't defend their positions so they try to run and hide from them.

How do the childish GOP, led by Shadegg and Hoekstra, want to try to frame the debate?

Rather, the debate must be about the global threat of the radical Islamist movement. No radical Islamist leader, including Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahari, and Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, has ever claimed that the goal of radical Islam is Iraq alone or if they succeed in Iraq this war against us would end. In fact, Robert Kagen recently wrote a piece for the Washington Post entitled “Grand Delusion” noting many politicians’ desire to wish the war away. He notes that those who call for an end to the war don’t want to talk about the fact that the war in Iraq and in the region will not end, but will only grow more dangerous if and when we walk away.

Thanks to the liberal mainstream media, Americans fully understand the consequence of continuing our efforts in Iraq — both in American lives and dollars.

Firstly, they will try and say that leaving now will create chaos... But no mention of the fact that everyone already knows that our soldiers presence is at the heart of the cause of the chaos. And whether we leave now, in 2 years, or even in 5 years, there will be chaos there. That is what these GOP twits don't understand. Secondly, they will blame the SCLM for, you know, telling Americans enough of the truth for them to figure these facts out on their own.

Go ahead you Neocon GOPee-ons... Shift the debate and lose that argument too. These GOP talking point idiots are afraid of their own disastrous shadow that they have cast across the entire Middle-East.

Six months ago, we launched a groundbreaking new index that asked more than 100 of America's top foreign-policy hands if the United States was winning the war on terror. Their answer? No. Now, surveyed again today, this bi-partisan group sees a world that continues to grow more dangerous and a U.S. national security strategy that is failing on several fronts. In the second FOREIGN POLICY/Center for American Progress Terrorism Index, these experts warn that not only is another attack imminent, but that the United States may be distracted from the threats that matter most.

Everyone knows Neocon and GOP policy has failed on every front... STFU and bring the soldiers home. Quit playing politics with American soldiers lives.

The Repeated Escalations

The CT Post has statements up from local Reps as they are forced to show their true colors and take a stand, either with the failed bush administrations "stay the course" policy OR against it.

Here is where Rep. Chris Murphy stands:

Rep. Chris Murphy, D-5, said that the resolution is the "cleanest, clearest statement" that Congress can provide expressing its opposition to the escalation plan.

"There is obviously a lot more to say than what is in the text of this resolution, but the focus of this debate needs to be on sending a clear message to President Bush that Congress has joined the military establishment, foreign affairs establishing and the public in opposing his plan," Murphy said.

While Chris Murphy makes sense, nincompoop Chris Shays is saying he is against staying the course but, in typical GOP Bush admin. shill fashion, is voting for stay the course since he won't even consider supporting a non-binding resolution against this re-repeat of temporary mini-escalations.

Just how much of this is dressed-up "Stay the Course!" BS? Take a look at this graph showing troop levels past, present and future (If the incompetent bush gets his way):

Note: Proposed Surge Assumes 20,000 Troops (Graph H/T Tparty)

WHOA! Is this a familiar pattern? And someone out there representing CT supports this rinse and repeat policy? Sure enough, Bush can always count on Joe Neocon Lieberman:

During his campaign last fall, U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman claimed he was ready to carefully scrutinize the president's policies on Iraq. Safely re-elected, Lieberman is as enthusiastic as ever about Bush's policies and plans for escalation.

Well, Shays is off in Neocon "Torture is Sex" territory again, and against supporting the will of Nutmeggers just like his bedmate Lieberman.

And the GOP wonders why they are losing ground in Connecticut year after year? They need to take a hard look at how they are consistantly putting Neocon wet dreams ahead of the wishes and concerns of their constituants.

Whackamole Revisited

A while back many of us were ripping on McCain for originally suggesting sending more troops and pointed out the fact that the Generals were telling the McCains and Lieberman's of the world that this could never work.

McCain has repeatedly said that he would like to see another 20,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. As General Abizaid explained, McCain’s plan runs counter towards our goal in Iraq — specifically, the Iraqis taking responsibility for their own country. Abizaid said, “It is easy for the Iraqis to rely upon to us do this work. I believe that more American forces prevent the Iraqis from doing more, from taking more responsibility for their own future.”

McCain makes a good point with his "whackamole" comment, but clearly the only other thing that McCain is correct in when he talks about sending 20,000 more troops to Iraq is at the end of the video where he says, "I don't know where the troops are going to come from."

Well McCain and Lieberman's ESCALATION of targets, err, soldiers are starting to hit the streets of Baghdad in this newest Neocon strategery and, aside from stretching our military forces to the breaking point, this is what they are finding there:

American officers, interviewed at the sprawling Camp Victory base at the western edge of the capital, also acknowledge they are finding little in their initial searches of Baghdad neighborhoods _ suggesting either they received faulty intelligence or that the massive publicity that preceded the operation gave militants time to slip away.

OR, perhaps, suggesting that the Iraqi insurgents have decided that, considering this newest repeat of temporary mini-escalations, they will continue to play whackamole.

The definiton of insanity is doing the same things over and over and expecting different results. How many more rounds of "Stay the course WHACKAMOLE" does McCain, Lieberman and bush get to play with our soldiers, and Iraqis, lives on the line before we get to rightfully define them by their repeated actions?

Buh-Bye

I hope that this will be enough to hold off the idiots for now...

Sorry for any inconvenience that whomever illegally accessed my account may have caused.

Science/Nature | 'Doomsday' vault design unveiled

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | 'Doomsday' vault design unveiled:
"The final design for a 'doomsday' vault that will house seeds from all known varieties of food crops has been unveiled by the Norwegian government.

The Svalbard International Seed Vault will be built into a mountainside on a remote island near the North Pole.

The vault aims to safeguard the world's agriculture from future catastrophes, such as nuclear war, asteroid strikes and climate change."

Let's be honest here... At this point there can be NO DOUBT that they are protecting the WORLD from the USA and its enemies.

A BIG thank you, in advance, to our European friends with intellectual foresight. You are the modern day "Noah's Ark", and the neocons missed the boat...

Report Says Pentagon Manipulated Intel, Report Depicts Pentagon That Purposely Manipulated Intelligence Before U.S. Invasion of Iraq

OK...

Report Says Pentagon Manipulated Intel, Report Depicts Pentagon That Purposely Manipulated Intelligence Before U.S. Invasion of Iraq - CBS News: "A 'very damning' report by the Defense Department's inspector general depicts a Pentagon that purposely manipulated intelligence in an effort to link Saddam Hussein to al-Qaida in the runup to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, says the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

'That was the argument that was used to make the sale to the American people about the need to go to war,' said Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich. He said the Pentagon's work, 'which was wrong, which was distorted, which was inappropriate ... is something which is highly disturbing.'"

Let's be honest here: Why only ask this question several years too late?

We knew this as fact for eons, and yet YOU ask this question only now? C'mon Levin...If you were being honest, this would have been the first question out of your mouth given the facts, not the last.

There is always something to be said for misleading the truth. Fuck you... Too little, too dishonest. Oh yeah... And too late, after the fact as per usual, that is.

Where were you when we pointed out this fact BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER the illegal invasion?

GOP Looks CHILDISH on Pelosi Flights

The GOP has done its best to make a scandal over the White House's policy of providing secure transport for the 2nd in line to replace the president, the Speaker of the House, since 9-11. They are trying to blame Pelosi for something she has little to do with.



Barny Frank drives home the fantasy of this non-existant "scandal" manufactured in the right wing MSM and childishly perpetuated by the GOP.

"The plane, Boss! The Plane!"

To make the point even more clear: Pelosi reportedly (on Faux news, of all places?) offered to take commercial flights rather than take the government flights.

They told me the first day that I was supposed to go that I couldn't make it across the country. And I said well, that's fine, I'm going commercial. ... I'm not asking to go on that plane. If you need to take me there for security purposes, you're going to have to get a plane that goes across the country, because I'm going home to my family. ... I'm happy to go commercial. But they want me to go on this plane, so the issue was distance, not size. And again, it's not about having a plane. It's about having transportation. These planes are used for other purposes in between trips, which are, you know, take place once or twice a week, going or coming. So, it isn't about that. But there are probably those in the Department of Defense who are not happy with my criticism of Secretary Rumsfeld, the war in Iraq, other waste, fraud and abuse in the Defense Department and I guess this is their way of making their voices heard. But it has nothing to do, as I say, with the president of the United States. He has encouraged my having the security I need.

(Via Josh Marshall)

Will this be enough to lay the right wingnut lie-fest to rest on this issue?

If the MSM's past record is any indication... I doubt it. They will just assign the propaganda to the next GOP mouthpiece in the GOP talking point echo chamber known as the MSM.

NSA Employee Pleads Guilty to Conflict of Interest

$770,000.00 worth of conflict of interest.

NSA Employee Pleads Guilty to Conflict of Interest:
"Wayne J. Schepens, 37, of Severna Park, Md., pleaded guilty today to engaging in a conflict of interest by using his official position as a National Security Agency (NSA) employee to cause government contracts to be awarded to companies owned and operated by Schepens or his spouse, announced Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher for the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein for the District of Maryland.

'While he was working for NSA, Wayne Schepens arranged to award government contracts worth over $770,000 to companies in which he and his wife had a financial interest,' said U.S. Attorney Rosenstein. 'It is a crime for government employees to participate in awarding contracts that bring them personal financial benefits.'"

What I find galling is that instead of getting ALL OF THE MONEY back the government only fines these con-artists a fraction of the amount. Maximum of $250,000.00 fine in this case.

And to make matters worse, this guy was stealing from a program that is supposed to train soldiers. And in the meantime soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan, and even here in the USA don't have all of the equipment they need to do their jobs safely.

The crook has yet to be sentenced and I hope he gets made an example of. Give Halliburton-Cheney something to think about.

Is The GOP Caving on Iraq Debate?

Does anyone doubt that the GOp's constituants raised a little hell over their refusal to get the Iraq debate to the floor with their procedural filibuster?

7 GOP Senators Back War Debate - washingtonpost.com:
"Senate Republicans who earlier this week helped block deliberations on a resolution opposing President Bush's new troop deployments in Iraq changed course yesterday and vowed to use every tactic at their disposal to ensure a full and open debate.

In a letter distributed yesterday evening to Senate leaders, John W. Warner (Va.), Chuck Hagel (Neb.) and five other GOP supporters of the resolution threatened to attach their measure to any bill sent to the floor in the coming weeks. Noting that the war is the 'most pressing issue of our time,' the senators declared: 'We will explore all of our options under the Senate procedures and practices to ensure a full and open debate.'"

Another GOP filibuster flip-flop?

But some Republicans were uneasy about appearing to have stymied the debate. The letter appeared so suddenly that, although it was addressed to Reid, the Democratic leader had not seen his copy before Warner read the text on the Senate floor.

snip

"There's no doubt in my mind that the dialogue here in Washington strengthens our democracy. Period," Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified before the House Armed Services Committee. He added that potential enemies may take some comfort from the rancor but said they "don't have a clue how democracy works."

Or maybe they are finally ready to actually support the troops in a very real and democratic way?

Definately a punch to the gut of irresponsible Republican Neocons like Bush, McCain, and Lieberman.

Blog Link Meta Backlash

(Here I am with another "Link damnit!" moment...)

Skippy hops along in Jon Swift's "Liberal Linking Policy" footsteps:

skippy the bush kangaroo:
we got yer 'amnesty' right here

"and who are we to limit political discourse diversity? what's going on here? it's as if the major blogs are trying to emulate the democrats in washington who suddenly forget about their constituents.

(ok, it's not. our metaphors suck tonight. but we're pissed. so cut us some slack.)

ergo, we here at skippy are planning to retaliate by offering real blog amnesty. and here's how it goes:

many smaller blogs link to skippy for one or more of a few reasons: out of politeness, out of a hope that we might notice them and link back, or simply out of the imitation of what it takes to make a good blog. it's the second reason that interests us (we really should have put it as the last reason to be more clear with sentence structure (on the other hand, using less paranthetical phrases in a paragraph would go a long way towards grammatical clarity (too late now))).

to wit: any blog that has linked to skippy and has not received a reciprocal blogroll link will now be included on our roll! all you have to do is notify us in our comments section or email us, and we will happily include you! that will show those big shot elitists too good for the little guy blogs! ha!"

At a time when the bigger Blogs need to be doing more to help build the left community some are, and some aren't. I find it ironic that I posted just last week on Chris Bowers argument that we need to link more effectively:

If everyone on the left works a little harder on this we can turn the tides on on the Google Wars and win. We have already made a lot of inroads since this 2004 picture:

The graphs represent the aggregate linkage going on leading up to the 2004 election. Reds (them) are the Republican bloggers, and Blues (us) are the Democratic bloggers. The full expanation of the graphs particulars are on page 9 of the PDF paper. Basically, the first graph connects dots (blogs) when there is strong linkage between them (+25 during the period), the second one where there is less stronger linkage (+5), and they've a 3rd map that includes all linkage that I've not included.

Between blogs then (not taking into consideration that diaries on #8DailyKos and #17MyDD serve to allow massive coordiantion and spreading of message), there's just a lot more coordination through linking among Republican than there has been with Democratic bloggers, at least on the surface of particular URL's. The other interesting thing I noted was that the blog by George Bush's campaign didn't even make the top 40-- now that's pitiful.

We were less coordinated in '04. But in '06 we did little things a little better. I am sure the more recent graphs would look a lot better. But you know that we can still keep on improving on this.

Remember that every time you link to any site you are, over time, creating a kind of GOOGLEBOMB effect on that site when it comes to site rankings, search results, etc.. Tagging and choice of words that are used to link are important in these cumulitive effects as well.

Now this week... Brilliant at Breakfast has the scoop on how MyDD has become an apologist for those attempting to cut out the links that we need to build the Left:

Shorter Chris Bowers

"We innovate more than you, we hired people to help us, and because we did that there is no place for you lone bloggers anymore -- because WE decide who makes it and who doesn't."

Oh, you really have to read this self-congratulatory drivel to believe it. It's truly amazing to see one blogger fellating the entire Big Name Blogosphere in one post, while at the same time consigning the rest of us to the ranks of the MySpacers.

Kool Kidz Klub indeed.

It's funny how Bowers uses a quote by Jeffrey Feldman to illustrate his point, because as I've mentioned before, I had a very nice conversation about blogging just last week with Mr. Feldman, who seems to be in no way a blog snob. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to see that there is at least one Big Name Blogger who isn't puffed up with his own self-importance.

But with Kos and Atrios making a big show about "culling the blogroll", and Chris Bowers playing "Mine's Bigger" with the rest of the blogosphere, is this really what it's come to? Is this the Revenge of the Nerds come to fruition? Is this the guys who DIDN'T get laid on prom night finally staking their claim to coolness?

If so, are we going to sit by and take it? Are we going to just toil away while guys like Atrios and Kos and Chris Bowers define the rules and brand the rest of us as useless?

What an amazing flip-flop-contortion there Bowers... This leaves me wondering just how committed he really is to the cause.

Jon Swift puts it all in perspective:

I adopted this policy in a spirit of both self-interest and altruism. In the blogosphere links are like capital. By offering links to others, others would be more inclined to offer links to me. But I am also very grateful to those who helped me out by throwing a link my way or adding me to their blogroll when I was just starting out. Now that I am a Large Mammal, according the Truth Laid Bear Ecosystem, I have tried to return the favor by helping out those further down the food chain.

Links are capital! It is the foundation of bringing views from fellow bloggers out of obscurity and into the top of search engine results. And just how much does it cost any blogger to spend some of this valuable capital?

ZIP. Zilch. Zero dollars.

Not even one penny to use the most effective marketing tool that Blogtopia has to offer.

All you have to do is put a few seconds into the act of cut'n'paste into your Blogroll or into a post... And you make a huge difference for everyone in our fight.

As ctblogger commented in an earlier MLN diary of mine on building a better community:

We should all work together to fight the good progressive fight and not be so critical in terms of other people's sites. I read CTBlue, Ed's Daily Rant, CT Local Politics, and the watch sites everyday and I learn something new from all of those guys which I incorporate into my site and that's the way it should be. Learn something from me and I learn something from you.

2006 is going to be a HUGE election year and Connecticut will be ground zero in terms of who controls Congress (2nd, 4th 5th district races). The faster we can all work to get this site up to full-speed, the more national attention it will recieve.

He also called me out for not having links to his sites... Which I quickly fixed. lol

2006 is behind us but there are still a lot of common causes that we all share, and we can all help eachother in achieving our goals. Linking is the first, easiest AND cheapest way to start.

For more background on all of this: Boston Joe has a Meta diary up x-posted at BooTrib and at MLW covering a bit more of this Meta discussion in a thoughtful way. Both have generated a lot of comments. I usually hate Meta... But this topic is the foundation of what Blogging is all about.

Independent Republican Joe Lieberman Proposes New TAX

Independent Republican Senator Joe Lieberman proposes a "Military Industrial Complex TAX":

An outspoken supporter of the Iraq war on Tuesday called for a new tax to pay for its astronomical cost as Congress opened a debate on President George W. Bush's $2.9 trillion budget plan for next year.

Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut proposed a "war on terrorism tax" at a Senate hearing during which he said the Pentagon's $622 billion defense budget proposal for fiscal 2008 threatened to crowd out funds for domestic programs.

To clarify the matter for you Joe: There already is a massive tax for the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq... It is payed in the blood of Americans and Iraqis.

Independent Republican Joe Lieberman
addresses the Dead Elephant caucus of the GOP.

Got Tinfoil? You are going to need it!

Senator Bob Graham points the 911 conspiracy finger squarely at the criminal Bush administration:

9/11 hijackers tied to Saudi government, Graham says in book - The Boston Globe:
"WASHINGTON -- Two of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers had a support network in the United States that included agents of the Saudi government, and the Bush administration and FBI blocked a congressional investigation into that relationship, Senator Bob Graham wrote in a book to be released Tuesday.

The discovery of the financial backing of the two hijackers "would draw a direct line between the terrorists and the government of Saudi Arabia, and trigger an attempted coverup by the Bush administration," the Florida Democrat wrote.

And in Graham's book, "Intelligence Matters," obtained by The Miami Herald yesterday, he makes clear that some details of that financial support from Saudi Arabia were in the 27 pages of the congressional inquiry's final report that were blocked from release by the administration, despite the pleas of leaders of both parties on the House and Senate intelligence committees."

OK... Now if this doesn't make a certain "moderate right-wing libertarian" look like the paranoid one after banning all of those conspiracy diarists...

[update] And in the UNFUCKIN' REAL FILE...

Who else but FAAARRRR-RIGHT-WINGNUT REPUBLICAN Joe Neocon Lieberman would stand up and attempt to give Bush political cover today concerning escalation in Iraq:

Via Scarce at MLN:

Republicans bump Sen. Collins (R) for Lieberman
Sen. Collins (R-ME) would later vote for the resolution, Lieberman would not.

Grotesque as always.

Giuliani Files for 08

Rudy Giuliani announces his bid:

In a sign that he's serious about running for the White House, the two-term mayor filed a so-called "statement of candidacy" with the Federal Election Commission indicating that he would seek the presidency as a Republican should he decide to go forward.

Needless to say, the republican tag on his party affilliation should be a real drag on his campaign. Though, the same can be said of almost any GOP candidate given the current political climate based on the GOP's past records that more closely resembles criminal rap sheets than curriculum vitaes.

Popcorn Time! Libby tapes to be released

I see many juicy tidbits concerning White House lies in your future...

Audio recordings of former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's secret grand jury testimony will be released publicly after they are presented at his trial, the judge at Libby's trial ruled Monday.

In a victory for the news media, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton said he had little choice but to make them public under the law as applied in the federal court system in Washington, D.C, even though he has concerns about releasing the recordings while the case is under way.

Libby is charged with perjury, obstruction and lying to the FBI in an indictment that focuses in part on his statements to a federal grand jury investigating the leak of the CIA identity of Valerie Plame.

If this is the precedent, I hope they have to enter Cheney's lying, err, testimony to the Grand Jury as evidence in this case as well. heh

The more witnesses' Grand Jury testimony tapes are entered as evidence, the better picture we will get as to the inner workings of the propaganda machine that brought us to an illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq.

Hadley on Pressing Forward to Failure - Pincus Propaganda

Hadley's response to the reporter's question:(paraphrased)

"I agree, I was spinning, so let me try and spin it completely another way: Please let the preznit continue to press on towards failure... It's our last-best chance to fail!"

Ok... Maybe you should watch the Video and get the real quotes...

"One of the things you should conclude from this NIE is the best plan is to have this plan succeed."

What plan? Stay the fuckin' course? Puhleeeese... That is all the ESCALATION/surge really is.

And of course in the WaPo, Pincus and DeYoung lie the BIG LIE:

In a discussion of whether Iraq has reached a state of civil war, the 90-page classified NIE comes to no conclusion and holds out prospects of improvement.

Let's take another look at the declassified version of the NIE to compare:

*The Intelligence Community judges that the term “civil war” does not adequately capture the complexity of the conflict in Iraq, which includes extensive Shia-on-Shia violence, al-Qa’ida and Sunni insurgent attacks on Coalition forces, and widespread criminally motivated violence. Nonetheless, the term “civil war” accurately describes key elements of the Iraqi conflict, including the hardening of ethno-sectarian identities, a sea change in the character of the violence, ethno-sectarian mobilization, and population displacements.

snip

*Nevertheless, even if violence is diminished, given the current winner-take-all attitude and sectarian animosities infecting the political scene, Iraqi leaders will be hard pressed to achieve sustained political reconciliation in the time frame of this Estimate.

Yeah... I think the NIE says Pincus is lying. I gave up reading the Pincus propaganda after I got to his second graph lie. It's like reading the thoughts of Bush, Lieberman or St. McCain. There is no point to it since they are all insane or liars or both.

The Rovian spin machine is cranking it up a notch.... We had better be ready to fight back.

[update] Billy-Willy Kristol seeps up from the Daily Muck:

When decadent neoconservatives lose political battles over the war, the results aren't pretty. The byline here reads Bill Kristol, but the words could very well have come from Shakespeare's Richard III (like, say, Act V, Scene IV):

John Warner of Virginia, Gordon Smith of Oregon, and Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine are the four Republican senators (in addition to Nebraska's Chuck Hagel) currently signed on to the Democrats' anti-surge, anti-Petraeus, anti-troops, and anti-victory resolution.

That's right: a nonbinding anti-surge resolution is an act against the troops.

Oh, and there's more. Kristol threatens dire political consequences to all anti-surge GOP senators...

It is another full-court press from all of the usual ass-kissing Bush hacks...

Iraq NIE

Below are the Key Judgements of the NIE (at least the declasified version taken from the PDF that was released) and it is obvious that it does not paint a pretty picture. Of note is that while it mentions the influence of Iran, they also make it clear that Iran's influence is the negligible when you look at the overall picture of chaos.

I am including the "Explanation of Estimative Language" at the bottom of this so that you can get a clearer picture of what they mean to say with their specific choice of wording. Also, all emphasis and formatting is NOT mine, and is included as originally in the report.

-------------

Key Judgments

Iraqi society’s growing polarization, the persistent weakness of the security forces and the state in general, and all sides’ ready recourse to violence are collectively driving an increase in communal and insurgent violence and political extremism. Unless efforts to reverse these conditions show measurable progress during the term of this Estimate, the coming 12 to 18 months, we assess that the overall security situation will continue to deteriorate at rates comparable to the latter part of 2006. If strengthened Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), more loyal to the government and supported by Coalition forces, are able to reduce levels of violence and establish more effective security for Iraq’s population, Iraqi leaders could have an opportunity to begin the process of political compromise necessary for longer term stability, political progress, and economic recovery.

• Nevertheless, even if violence is diminished, given the current winner-take-all attitude and sectarian animosities infecting the political scene, Iraqi leaders will be hard pressed to achieve sustained political reconciliation in the time frame of this Estimate.

The challenges confronting Iraqis are daunting, and multiple factors are driving the current trajectory of the country’s security and political evolution.

• Decades of subordination to Sunni political, social, and economic domination have made the Shia deeply insecure about their hold on power. This insecurity leads the Shia to mistrust US efforts to reconcile Iraqi sects and reinforces their unwillingness to engage with the Sunnis on a variety of issues, including adjusting the structure of Iraq’s federal system, reining in Shia militias, and easing de-Bathification.

• Many Sunni Arabs remain unwilling to accept their minority status, believe the central government is illegitimate and incompetent, and are convinced that Shia dominance will increase Iranian influence over Iraq, in ways that erode the state’s Arab character and increase Sunni repression.

• The absence of unifying leaders among the Arab Sunni or Shia with the capacity to speak for or exert control over their confessional groups limits prospects for reconciliation. The Kurds remain willing to participate in Iraqi state building but reluctant to surrender any of the gains in autonomy they have achieved.

• The Kurds are moving systematically to increase their control of Kirkuk to guarantee annexation of all or most of the city and province into the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) after the constitutionally mandated referendum scheduled to occur no later than 31 December 2007. Arab groups in Kirkuk continue to resist violently what they see as Kurdish encroachment.

• Despite real improvements, the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF)—particularly the Iraqi police—will be hard pressed in the next 12-18 months to execute significantly increased security responsibilities, and particularly to operate independently against Shia militias with success. Sectarian divisions erode the dependability of many units, many are hampered by personnel and equipment shortfalls, and a number of Iraqi units have refused to serve outside of the areas where they were recruited.

• Extremists—most notably the Sunni jihadist group al-Qa’ida in Iraq (AQI) and Shia oppositionist Jaysh al-Mahdi (JAM)—continue to act as very effective accelerators for what has become a self-sustaining inter-sectarian struggle between Shia and Sunnis.

• Significant population displacement, both within Iraq and the movement of Iraqis into neighboring countries, indicates the hardening of ethno-sectarian divisions, diminishes Iraq’s professional and entrepreneurial classes, and strains the capacities of the countries to which they have relocated. The UN estimates over a million Iraqis are now in Syria and Jordan.

The Intelligence Community judges that the term “civil war” does not adequately capture the complexity of the conflict in Iraq, which includes extensive Shia-on-Shia violence, al-Qa’ida and Sunni insurgent attacks on Coalition forces, and widespread criminally motivated violence. Nonetheless, the term “civil war” accurately describes key elements of the Iraqi conflict, including the hardening of ethno-sectarian identities, a sea change in the character of the violence, ethno-sectarian mobilization, and population displacements.

Coalition capabilities, including force levels, resources, and operations, remain an essential stabilizing element in Iraq. If Coalition forces were withdrawn rapidly during the term of this Estimate, we judge that this almost certainly would lead to a significant increase in the scale and scope of sectarian conflict in Iraq, intensify Sunni resistance to the Iraqi Government, and have adverse consequences for national reconciliation.

• If such a rapid withdrawal were to take place, we judge that the ISF would be unlikely to survive as a non-sectarian national institution; neighboring countries—invited by Iraqi factions or unilaterally—might intervene openly in the conflict; massive civilian casualties and forced population displacement would be probable; AQI would attempt to use parts of the country—particularly al-Anbar province—to plan increased attacks in and outside of Iraq; and spiraling violence and political disarray in Iraq, along with Kurdish moves to control Kirkuk and strengthen autonomy, could prompt Turkey to launch a military incursion.

A number of identifiable developments could help to reverse the negative trends driving Iraq’s current trajectory. They include:

• Broader Sunni acceptance of the current political structure and federalism to begin to reduce one of the major sources of Iraq’s instability.

• Significant concessions by Shia and Kurds to create space for Sunni acceptance of federalism.

• A bottom-up approach—deputizing, resourcing, and working more directly with neighborhood watch groups and establishing grievance committees—to help mend frayed relationships between tribal and religious groups, which have been mobilized into communal warfare over the past three years.

A key enabler for all of these steps would be stronger Iraqi leadership, which could enhance the positive impact of all the above developments.

Iraq’s neighbors influence, and are influenced by, events within Iraq, but the involvement of these outside actors is not likely to be a major driver of violence or the prospects for stability because of the self-sustaining character of Iraq’s internal sectarian dynamics. Nonetheless, Iranian lethal support for select groups of Iraqi Shia militants clearly intensifies the conflict in Iraq. Syria continues to provide safehaven for expatriate Iraqi Bathists and to take less than adequate measures to stop the flow of foreign jihadists into Iraq.

• For key Sunni regimes, intense communal warfare, Shia gains in Iraq, and Iran’s assertive role have heightened fears of regional instability and unrest and contributed to a growing polarization between Iran and Syria on the one hand and other Middle East governments on the other. But traditional regional rivalries, deepening ethnic and sectarian violence in Iraq over the past year, persistent anti-Americanism in the region, anti-Shia prejudice among Arab states, and fears of being perceived by their publics as abandoning their Sunni co-religionists in Iraq have constrained Arab states’ willingness to engage politically and economically with the Shia-dominated government in Baghdad and led them to consider unilateral support to Sunni groups.

• Turkey does not want Iraq to disintegrate and is determined to eliminate the safehaven in northern Iraq of the Kurdistan People’s Congress (KGK, formerly PKK)—a Turkish Kurdish terrorist group.

A number of identifiable internal security and political triggering events, including sustained mass sectarian killings, assassination of major religious and political leaders, and a complete Sunni defection from the government have the potential to convulse severely Iraq’s security environment. Should these events take place, they could spark an abrupt increase in communal and insurgent violence and shift Iraq’s trajectory from gradual decline to rapid deterioration with grave humanitarian, political, and security consequences. Three prospective security paths might then emerge:

• Chaos Leading to Partition. With a rapid deterioration in the capacity of Iraq’s central government to function, security services and other aspects of sovereignty would collapse. Resulting widespread fighting could produce de facto partition, dividing Iraq into three mutually antagonistic parts. Collapse of this magnitude would generate fierce violence for at least several years, ranging well beyond the time frame of this Estimate, before settling into a partially stable end-state.

• Emergence of a Shia Strongman. Instead of a disintegrating central government producing partition, a security implosion could lead Iraq’s potentially most powerful group, the Shia, to assert its latent strength.

• Anarchic Fragmentation of Power. The emergence of a checkered pattern of local control would present the greatest potential for instability, mixing extreme ethno-sectarian violence with debilitating intra-group clashes.

------------------------

What We Mean When We Say:
An Explanation of Estimative Language

When we use words such as “we judge” or “we assess”—terms we use synonymously—as well as “we estimate,” “likely” or “indicate,” we are trying to convey an analytical assessment or judgment. These assessments, which are based on incomplete or at times fragmentary information are not a fact, proof, or knowledge. Some analytical judgments are based directly on collected information; others rest on previous judgments, which serve as building blocks. In either type of judgment, we do not have “evidence” that shows something to be a fact or that definitively links two items or issues.

Intelligence judgments pertaining to likelihood are intended to reflect the Community’s sense of the probability of a development or event. Assigning precise numerical ratings to such judgments would imply more rigor than we intend. The chart below provides a rough idea of the relationship of terms to each other.



We do not intend the term “unlikely” to imply an event will not happen. We use “probably” and “likely” to indicate there is a greater than even chance. We use words such as “we cannot dismiss,” “we cannot rule out,” and “we cannot discount” to reflect an unlikely—or even remote—event whose consequences are such it warrants mentioning. Words such as “may be” and “suggest” are used to reflect situations in which we are unable to assess the likelihood generally because relevant information is nonexistent, sketchy, or fragmented.

In addition to using words within a judgment to convey degrees of likelihood, we also ascribe “high,” “moderate,” or “low” confidence levels based on the scope and quality of information supporting our judgments.

• “High confidence” generally indicates our judgments are based on high-quality information and/or the nature of the issue makes it possible to render a solid judgment.

• “Moderate confidence” generally means the information is interpreted in various ways, we have alternative views, or the information is credible and plausible but not corroborated sufficiently to warrant a higher level of confidence.

• “Low confidence” generally means the information is scant, questionable, or very fragmented and it is difficult to make solid analytic inferences, or we have significant concerns or problems with the sources.

A Moment of Clarity

A moment of clarity, if you are one of those Bush-Lieberman-McCain clones that refuse to accept the reality of the situation, from former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski's prepared testimony for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“The war in Iraq is a historic, strategic, and moral calamity.”

“If the United States continues to be bogged down in a protracted bloody involvement in Iraq,” Brzezinski cautioned, “the final destination on this downhill track is likely to be a head-on conflict with Iran and with much of the world of Islam at large. … It is obvious by now that the American national interest calls for a significant change of direction.”

Ya don't say? Anyone that supports the axis of weasels' (Bush, Lieberman, McCain, AEI) continuence of failed policy in Iraq is playing right into the terrorists' hands... These idiots need to be removed from office and/or prosecuted for their criminal negligence.

Lincoln Group - Funding the Insurgents?

Ok... Who or what, exactly, are "Sunni Religious Scholars":

Lincoln Group - SourceWatch:
"Hiring Sunni Religious Scholars, Working with AEI's Michael Rubin

The New York Times reported January 2, 2006, that the Lincoln Group 'has been compensating Sunni religious scholars in Iraq in return for assistance with its propaganda works ... [T]he company's ties to religious leaders and dozens of other prominent Iraqis is aimed also at enabling it to exercise influence in Iraqi communities on behalf of clients, including the military. ... Lincoln has also turned to American scholars and political consultants for advice on the content of the propaganda campaign in Iraq, records indicate. Michael Rubin, a Middle East scholar at the American Enterprise Institute ... said he had reviewed materials produced by the company.' [24] Rubin was political adviser for the Coalition Provisional Authority (Baghdad), 2003-2004, following two years (2002-2004) as staff assistant on Iran and Iraq in the Office of Special Plans in the Office of the Secretary of Defense."

Can you read "Fundementalist Clerics"... And why the fuck would the Lincoln propoganda team have been funding these "Sunni Religious Scholars" (a plan supported by AEI) when many of these "Scholars" are the ones that are the most responsible for all of the exploding Iraqis everywhere?

Are they trying to feed the fire and tilt Iraq further into the chaos of Civil War? Just WTF kindof crack are these assholes smoking?

Sell propaganda to the US government to help spread peace in Iraq... Meanwhile fund the insurgents that help create more chaos there.... Sell more propaganda to the US government to help spread peace in Iraq... Meanwhile fund the insurgents that help create more chaos there...

Rinse and repeat.
Rinse and repeat.
Rinse and repeat.
Rinse and repeat.
Rinse and repeat.

Without heroes like the Lincoln group the Shia wouldn't have such a well funded insurgency to to attempt to ethnically cleanse.

And, right now, Mr. Bush and his insane clown posse is trying to spin to you that it is Iran that is supporting much of the chaos?

But even our feeble knowledge here at TPM is enough to tell us that when we start hearing catch-alls like 'Iranian-trained' for anything that happened in southern Iraq, we're dealing with meaninglessly vague words meant to bamboozle and hoodwink. Remember too this incident occurred in Karbala, where the Badr Brigade is headquartered.

To be clear, I'm not saying the Badr Brigade was behind this, only that in the context of paramilitaries in southern Iraq, 'Iranian-trained' is a meaninglessly broad category.

Really? Spin, Spin, Spin! What a fuckin' racket...

WAR is a racket. It always has been.

It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.

A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small "inside" group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes.

I smell an early House election campaign in California

Hypocrisy in action in CA-42:

Gary Miller (not to be confused with George Miller, D, CA-7) was first elected to the House in 1998. In 2006, he ran for election unopposed. His growing seniority has garnered him an appointment as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Investigations on the House Financial Services Committee. (And under investigation as a tax cheat! Yikes!!)

snip

LUCRATIVE LAND DEAL
Dennis Hastert cleared a cool million for land he sold for a highway development he slipped into an earmark. And the Pombo family in California apparently benefitted from a similar highway related deal. So this kind of thing is not unheard of. But Miller’s real estate windfall was an order of magnitude greater than Hastert’s. A cool ten million! CREW filed a IRS complaint against the Congressman last summer:

In 2002, Rep. Miller sold 165 acres to the city of Monrovia, California, making a profit of approximately $10 million. In 2004, Rep. Miller reinvested the proceeds of the sale in land and building purchases in Fontana, California, and Rancho Cucamonga, California. Rep. Miller again claimed IRC 1033 exemption when he sold some of his Fontana land and building acquisitions in April and June of 2005. He used proceeds from this sale to purchase additional land in Fontana, which he subsequently sold to the city in 2006 for $50,000 more than his original purchase price.

So, ten million profit in a land deal. And federal earmarks for improvements that increased the property value. This has been business-as-usual for entirely too many Republicans in Tom Delay's short-lived "Permanenet Majority." Sigh.

The Democratic party out west might want to start think about lining up a candidate for this one ASAP... Whether Miller manages to hang around until 2008 or not, the campaign is on. The sooner there is a candidate to oppose him the better. Get that "name/face recognition" spinning in the media now.

As a side note: I may not write much the next couple of days... I am trying to do a bit of research to help out ePluribusMedia and it involves WAY TOO MUCH reading! lol

One possible source of Krayeske's illegal treatment

I am not saying that this is how Ken Krayeske ended up on "THE LIST" but it is definately a possibility.

FBI turns to broad new wiretap method:
"The FBI appears to have adopted an invasive Internet surveillance technique that collects far more data on innocent Americans than previously has been disclosed.

Instead of recording only what a particular suspect is doing, agents conducting investigations appear to be assembling the activities of thousands of Internet users at a time into massive databases, according to current and former officials. That database can subsequently be queried for names, e-mail addresses or keywords.

Such a technique is broader and potentially more intrusive than the FBI's Carnivore surveillance system, later renamed DCS1000. It raises concerns similar to those stirred by widespread Internet monitoring that the National Security Agency is said to have done, according to documents that have surfaced in one federal lawsuit, and may stretch the bounds of what's legally permissible."

For those of you that are unfamiliar with Carnivore:

Carnivore Redux:
In late 1999, Corn-Revere, a partner at the Davis Wright Tremaine law firm, had been fighting on EarthLink's behalf to keep a government surveillance device off the company's network. A short while later, though, a federal magistrate judge sided with the FBI against the Atlanta-based Internet provider.

Worried about the privacy impact, Corn-Revere revealed the existence of Carnivore in testimony before a House of Representatives subcommittee on April 6, 2000. "They were using a technology called Etherpeek, which was off the shelf," Corn-Revere told me last Friday. "When we challenged it, they said, 'We're not using that. That would be wrong. We have our own software developed. It's called Carnivore.'" (Etherpeek is a Windows surveillance utility from WildPackets that can decode protocols used with e-mail, Web browsing and instant messaging.)

Now history is repeating itself. A flurry of press reports this month noted that the FBI has ceased using Carnivore, which had been renamed DCS1000. But not all of them mentioned that the government is hardly calling a halt to Internet wiretaps--instead, it's simply buying its surveillance tools from private companies again.

A review of the government's self-reported wiretap statistics from 2000 to 2003, the most recent data available, shows that the total number of "electronic" wiretaps has stayed between 4 percent and 8 percent of all reported wiretaps each year. (In 2003, for instance, there were 1,442 reported non-terrorism wiretaps in total that intercepted 4.3 million communications or conversations.)

snip

...those numbers don't include "pen register" and "trap and trace" devices, which tend to be about five to six times as popular as traditional wiretaps. Those awkward names, which hail from the days of analog phone taps, refer to capturing only the addresses of Web sites visited and the IDs of e-mail and instant-messaging correspondents rather than the complete content of the communication.

Translated: The concept of Carnivore isn't going away. If anything, police surveillance of the Internet is increasing over time.

There is a possibility that this sort of software is what may have brought Krayeske to the FBI and CTIC's attention since it would track and find sources of comments on Blogs. IMHO it is highly likely.

If this sort of illegal surveillance is what brought Krayeske to their attention, it still would not explain the human error of actually taking anything Krayeske has said, written, or done in the past as a sign that he should be on "The List"... Anyone that actually read the full comments refered to as reasons for the abuse of his rights would see that he is just a photo-journalist/blogger/peaceful political activist.

Are there any CT politicians that could ask for the original source of these Federal agencies monitoring Ken Krayeke? My guess is that question will lead back to software controlled "wiretaps" that are inherrantly illegal because of the wide net they cast in surveillance of the internet without any probable cause.

Given the subject matter of this diary... They are probably reading this! What a fuckin' waste of taxpayers' money.

You are what you eat?

Is this a case of "you are what you eat" or was the author making a political statement after the fact?



The book was written by the White House pastry chef. The author wrote the book before being hired to work at the White House so they must have hired the chef based on his ability to cater to the current White House occupants' needs...

Revolution in DC - Out of Iraq

out of Iraq and into
PEACE!