Owner: Dyre Portents URL:http://crapomatic.blogspot.com Join Date: Sat, 05 May 2007 21:38:00 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: The rantings and ravings of a radical moderate. Speaking truthiness to power since February. Site statistics:Click here
22% Believe Bush Knew About 9/11 Attacks in Advance 2007-05-05 09:51:49 From Rassmussen Reports:
Friday, May 04, 2007Democrats in America are evenly divided on the question of whether George W. Bush knew about the 9/11 terrorist attacks in advance. Thirty-five percent (35%) of Democrats believe he did know, 39% say he did not know, and 26% are not sure. Republicans reject that view and, by a 7-to-1 margin, (86%) say the President did not know in advance about the attacks. Among those not affiliated with either major party, 18% believe the President knew and 57% take the opposite view. Overall, 22% of all voters believe the President knew about the attacks in advance. A slightly larger number, 29%, believe the CIA knew about the attacks in advance. White Americans are less likely than others to believe that either the President or the CIA knew about the attacks in advance. Americans are more likely than their elders to believe the President or the CIA knew about the attacks in advance. full report22% of America? Geeez! That's hard to believe. I never Read more:Advance
Quick Note 2007-05-04 09:55:47 I decided to remove the Snap site preview tool from this blog. It greatly increased loading time even on broadband and given the choice of ditching Snap or the video clips I chose to say goodbye to snap. I want this blog to be as dial up friendly as possible and Snap was just increasing loading time too much thereby offsetting what benefits it brought to the site.
Read more:Quick
Republican Presidential Contenders face Off 2007-05-04 09:34:55
Well with the Republican
primary debates over the question is who won? According to two major Republican blogs Red State and Powerline McCain did although Redstate throws in the caveat that as no participant truly captured one's spirit Fred Thompson won by default.
Frankly given Giuliani's centrist views I don't see him winning over the GOP base. I foresee a deal in which he drops out and becomes a vice-presidential nominee. But then again I think the same about Obama. Only time will tell.
Read more:Presidential
, Republican Presidential
D.C. Law Firm Suspends Woman Who Worked as Escort 2007-05-04 08:51:55 From ABC News:
A legal secretary at one of Washington's most prominent and well-connected law firms, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, has been suspended after telling her bosses she secretly worked at night for the escort service run by the so-called D.C. Madam, Jeane Palfrey.
The woman both serviced clients and, at times, helped to run the business, Palfrey told ABC News in an interview to be broadcast on "20/20" Friday.
The firm said it would not make her name public.
According to e-mails the woman sent to Palfrey on her Akin Gump account, she "enjoyed and even missed" the work she did at night for Palfrey, who has been charged by federal prosecutors with running a large scale prostitution ring. more
Obviously she either was being underpaid or was overdue for a promotion to client services.
Read more:Law Firm
, Suspends
Terrorists Improving Internet Operations 2007-05-04 03:50:08
I had previously covered this topic last year when the FBI's computers were hacked:
And according to this interview Al Quaeda has been the pushing the boundaries of what can be done over the internet for 20 years
"I've been tracking Al Qaeda and actually bin Laden and his group forward since the late 1980s. And it's simply because as a group that is operating in what can be referred to as best practice, they really are very good at what they do. I'm always willing to learn from somebody who may learn something that I should know. So I've been watching them for quite a while. And they are very, very good at everything from money laundering, to secure communications. And to underestimate them at any point in time is suicidal."
Read more:Internet
, Terrorists
U.S. says leading al Qaeda figure killed in Iraq 2007-05-04 03:48:57
Reuters
Thursday, May 3, 2007; 2:20 PM BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Thursday it had killed a top al Qaeda
operative in Iraq
whom it accused of involvement in the kidnapping of American journalist Jill Carroll, peace activist Tom Fox and other foreigners.U.S. military spokesman Major-General William Caldwell said Muharib Abdul Latif al-Jubouri was the "senior minister of information" for al Qaeda in Iraq.Interior Ministry spokesman Brigadier-General Abdul-Kareem Khalaf said Jubouri was also Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the leader of the self-styled Islamic State in Iraq, a Qaeda-led group which has claimed many major attacks in the country.But a statement from the group, posted on a Web site used by insurgents, said they were two different men and that Baghdadi was still alive. Jubouri, who the group identified as its spokesman, was killed in an air raid after a clash with "soldiers of the Cross" which lasted eight hours, it said. more
Well if we got him and the reports o Read more:figure
Koo Koo Ka Choo 2007-05-03 20:23:01 From The Caucus:
Bush: ‘I’m the Commander Guy’
WASHINGTON, May 2–And you thought he was still “the decider.” President Bush coined a new nickname for himself — ‘’the commander guy” — on Wednesday, as he criticized Congressional Democrats in a speech to the annual gathering of the Associated General Contractors of America, a construction industry trade group. The man who last year proclaimed “I’m the decider,’’ in response to a question about whether he would fire Donald Rumsfeld as defense secretary, came up with this latest moniker in explaining why he vetoed an Iraq war spending bill that dictated a timeline for troops to withdraw from Iraq. “The question is, ‘Who ought to make that decision, the Congress or the commanders?,’’ Mr. Bush said. “As you know, my position is clear – I’m the commander guy.” more
I'm hoping that he claims to be the Walrus next.
Leashing the Blogs of War? 2007-05-03 20:03:20 From the WaPo:
Blogs
Chronicle War from Soldiers' Perspectives
(major snip)
On April 19 the Army released an updated OPSEC policy, Army Regulation 530-1. This policy requires Army personnel to consult with a supervisor and their OPSEC officer before posting information in a public forum. This includes letters, e-mails, Web site postings and blog postings among others types of information, according to the policy.
...Army OPSEC Program Manager Maj. Ray Ceralde, who helped author the revision, said bloggers shouldn't be concerned.According to Ceralde, the new regulation does not require bloggers to have each post approved by officers, but rather instructs bloggers to alert commanders and OPSEC officers when they initially create a blog. This is similar to the policy already put in place in Iraq, he said. "Soldiers have the right to express themselves as long as they don't reveal information that will subject their unit or personnel to harm," Ceralde said.Dr. Leonard Wong, an as
Rice Meets With Syrian Counterpart 2007-05-03 19:04:39
SHARM El-SHEIK, Egypt -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said her meeting with the Syrian foreign minister, the first high-level talks in years between the United States and Syria, was "professional" and focused on how to improve security in Iraq.
Rice met with Walid Moallem for a half-hour on the sidelines of a two-day conference about Iraq's future, taking the opportunity to air U.S. concerns about Syria's notoriously porous border with its neighbor.
"I didn't lecture him and he didn't lecture me," Rice said afterward. "I would say it was professional. It was businesslike."
Rice said she was not seeking a similar meeting with Iran's foreign minister.
(snip)
Rice has also said she was willing to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, after years of accusations and name-calling between the nations. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had also expressed interest in such a meeting. Full article
Well it looks like we may have a new strategy on the diploma
Iraq Probes Reports of al-Masri's death 2007-05-03 05:24:16
U.S. and Iraq
i officials chased reports Tuesday that the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq was killed by rivals north of Baghdad. But U.S. authorities urged caution and warned that even if the claim were true, the death
of the shadowy Abu Ayyub al-Masri would likely not spell the end of the terror movement in Iraq.
Reports of al-Masri's death first emerged from the Interior Ministry, which said the al-Qaida leader was gunned down by rivals in his movement Tuesday at a bridge near Lake Tharthar just north of Baghdad, where the U.S. military believes al-Qaida operates training camps.
Later, however, ministry spokesman Brig. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf said al-Masri's death had not been confirmed. Another senior official, Maj. Gen. Hussein Kamal, told The Associated Press that "we are trying to investigate and confirm the report."
Other Iraqi officials said word of the purported death came from an informant and that efforts were under way to retrieve the body. They spoke on condition of an
Florida Senate approves bill telling funds to divest from Sudan and Iran 2007-05-02 20:12:35 From the St. Petersburg Times courtesy of TMV
Florida
looks to lead charge on businesses in Iran, Sudan
TALLAHASSEE - The state of Florida may soon sell pension funds invested in some companies that do business with Iran and Sudan.State senators on Friday unanimously voted in favor of a bill that would require divesting pension funds from companies doing business with the petroleum sector in Iran and the government of Sudan, where the Darfur region has been bloodied by violence that by some estimates has left more than 400, 000 people dead and 3-million people homeless.Sen. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, sponsored the legislation. Deutch said there's no reason for the state to invest in genocide and terror, and Florida residents "don't want their money being used this way." more
Read more:Senate
Clip: 4 Years Later Mission Accomplished? 2007-05-02 06:47:27
Meanwhile...
Republicans Buck Bush On Iraq Benchmarks
By Jonathan WeismanWashington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 1, 2007; Page A05 Brushing aside White House opposition, Republican leaders in Congress said yesterday that negotiations on a second war spending bill should begin with benchmarks of success for the Iraqi government, and possible consequences if those benchmarks are not met.Democratic leaders will send a $124 billion war funding bill to President Bush today that would establish such benchmarks and tie them to troop withdrawals, which would begin as early as July 1 if they are not met. The bill will arrive at the White House on the fourth anniversary of Bush's speech aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, when he declared an end to major combat operations in Iraq before a banner that proclaimed "Mission
Accomplished." more
Bill on Iraq to Be Delivered 4 Years
After Bush’s WordsBy NY Times Reporters SHERYL GAY STOLBERG and JEFF ZELENY Published: May 1, 2007 Read more:Mission Accomplished
McCain and I 2007-05-01 11:34:25 You know, I like John McCain
. But lately he's been heading in directions that makes me wary.
Yesterday Donklephant had a nice piece about just that....
Dear Senator, So, I see that you tinkering with your campaign after getting reports that you aren’t raising so much money as your GOP rivals. When I heard about this, I had hoped you were going to announce that you would return to your so-called maverick status in 2000. Alas, what I learned was that you were employing some of the same fundraising ideas that the President has used in the past. Listen, John, (can I call you John?) your campaign isn’t doing so well. Lot’s of people thought you would be the nominee next year. As the saying goes, Democrats fall in love, Republicans fall in line. You had been denied the nomination seven years ago, so it would make sense that it should be your turn to shine. But things aren’t going according to plan, are they? I mean Mitt Romney is raising more money than you and Rudy Giuliani is
Lieberman: "Bloggers Have Added Another Dimension of Vituperation Toxicity" To Politics 2007-05-01 11:12:59 Courtesy of Think Progress by way of the GTL
Sen. Joseph Lieberman
said recently on C-Span2:
"And I do think there is a larger message here for our politics. I think the public is fed up. They feel that both the political parties, mostly because of the primaries, maybe because of attack ads, the kind of divisiveness of the cable news coverage of politics, talk radio, the bloggers have added another dimension of vituperation toxicity to it. The majority of people are sick of it. They think our political system is sick. I will just end with this warning that if the two major — the fastest growing political party in america is that no party. people are registering as an event is because they are fed up with — they don’t see them in the two major parties and they are sick of the kerri, the partisanship and on civility and i think if the two major parties wouldn’t hear this going into ‘08, there is a real chance of an independent third-party candidacy. and watch out if that ha Read more:Dimension
Red Vs Blue? Opt out 2007-05-01 08:44:52 Believe it or not, I don't read a lot of blogs regularly. I tend to click a link on my alliance blog roll and see where it takes me and then follow a link from there to somewhere else. About once a week I visit DailyKoS or Instapundit to see what's up. Slowly through this random blog surfing has reinforced one belief of mine and that's this: There are a lot of sheep out there. Red sheep, Blue Sheep, and just plain freaky conspiracy theory oriented sheep that think the Illuminati stole their wool. (That last herd of sheep can make for some highly entertaining reading though.)
I'll come back to that later. Having been on the internet now for 12 years and having been a BBSer before that I am well aware of one of the true downsides of e-communication. It allows people to behave really badly in "public" with no real consequences. Then came blogs where you could yell whatever you want all day long. And boy is it ugly out there. I get 1300 hits on Google when I search for the phrase "K
McCain Seems to Have Gotten the Message 2007-04-30 11:07:29 I recently posted that the direction McCain
had been going had me worried. However from his recent TV appearances he seems to have gotten his ducks in a row and seems to be back to his old no BSing self. Which is the only way he stands a chance of winning in my opinion. Take for example this snippet of his recent interview on Fox:
WALLACE: How would you fight the War on Terror differently than it's being fought now? J. MCCAIN: I would probably announce the closing of Guantanamo Bay. I would move those detainees to Fort Leavenworth. I would announce we will not torture anyone. I would announce that climate change is a big issue, because we've got some image problems in the world. I think that we've got to understand — diplomatic, intelligence-wise. Clearly, in the area of, quote, "propaganda," in the area of the war of ideas, we are not winning as much as — well, in some ways we are behind. Al-Jazeera and others maybe, in the view of some — my view — may sometimes do Read more:Message
82-Year-Old Ex-Beauty Queen Stops Intruder by Shooting Out Tires 2007-04-30 06:45:48 From the AP
WAYNESBURG, Ky.
Miss America 1944 has a talent that likely has never appeared on a beauty pageant stage: She fired a handgun to shoot out a vehicle's tires and stop an intruder. Venus Ramey, 82, confronted a man on her farm in south-central Kentucky last week after she saw her dog run into a storage building where thieves had previously made off with old farm equipment. Ramey said the man told her he would leave. "I said, 'Oh, no you won't,' and I shot their tires so they couldn't leave," Ramey said. She had to balance on her walker as she pulled out a snub-nosed .38-caliber handgun. "I didn't even think twice. I just went and did it," she said. "If they'd even dared come close to me, they'd be 6 feet under by now." Ramey then flagged down a passing motorist, who called 911. Curtis Parrish of Ohio was charged with misdemeanor trespassing, Deputy Dan Gilliam said. The man's hometown wasn't immediately available. Three other people were questioned but wer Read more:Beauty
, Beauty Queen
, Intruder
, Queen
, Stops
Joe at TMV Needs Your Help 2007-04-30 04:56:29 Joe Gandelman over at The Moderate Voice needs a little help. He moved the blog over to Wordpress Pro (1100$) just before a family member took ill. TMV is a great blog and a full time job for Joe so please take the time to visit and drop a buck or two in the tip jar over there.
Read more:Needs
In Anbar the Seeds of Hope are Sown 2007-04-30 02:02:45 The NY Times is reporting that tribal and militia leaders have joined forces with the US military in rooting out Al Qaeda in Iraq. Why? Because as much as they may dislike us Al Qaeda has proven itself far worse. I am wondering if they aren't looking ahead to a time when the US isn't there and Al Qaeda finds itself with too much free time and ammo on its hands. How long till they start punishing/terrorizing the citizens and leaders wantonly for violations of Shariah law?
An insurgency can only be effective if it has the support of people in the area in which it operates. Al Qaeda has apparently lost that in Anbar.
Uneasy Alliance Is Taming One Insurgent Bastion
RAMADI, Iraq — Anbar Province, long the lawless heartland of the tenacious Sunni Arab resistance, is undergoing a surprising transformation. Violence is ebbing in many areas, shops and schools are reopening, police forces are growing and the insurgency appears to be in retreat. “Many people are challenging the insurg
Rush Going the Way of Imus? 2007-04-29 23:54:20 According to The Moderate Voice Mr. Limbaugh opted to play a song entitled "Barrack The Magic Negro". Having listened to it does tend to push the boundary of good taste. But judge for yourself and then drop by there for the Blog Roundup.
Of course in my opinion the odds of Rush "craploads of ad revenue" Limbaugh going the way of Imus are slim to none unless the sponsors start pulling out.
Read more:Going
They Like Me, They Really Like Me! 2007-04-29 23:41:35 I'm happy to announce that Dyre Portents has been nominated for a Blogger's Choice Award (by me) in the categories of Best Political Blog and Worst Blog Ever (I'm often of two minds). I would just like to take this time to thank those (me) that appreciate the time and effort I (more often than not) put into this blog. And its nice to know that people (I) think so highly (and lowly) of my efforts.
However as Donklephant is also in the running I doubt I'll be winning. On the bright side you can vote for us both. So feel free to click the banner on the right and vote for somebody.
Yet Another Announcement 2007-04-29 10:12:16 I've overhauled the blogs template as it was rather bland after the update. In the process I dropped a blogroll which should decrease loading time. I also opted NOT to put on more ads on the site but added a tip jar on instead. I'd get rid of the ads completely save that Google doesn't pay out till you have 100$ accrued and I've only got like 40$ so far most of which is from another site I used to have. I promise to use the 100$ to buy my sweetheart 2 reloads for her taser or a night out. Let me know what you think of the changes.
Read more:Announcement
I'm Calling BS... 2007-05-08 14:13:47 On Erick and Jeff Emanuel over at Red State:
So I'm looking a Memeorandum this morning to see what's being blogged about today and I see article below over at Redstate and I go to see what all the fuss is about:
"For the Legacy of These Men, You Should Call Congress and Stop This Bill.
These are the heros of Guam. The men of the United States military who rescued Guam from the Imperial Japanese. These men shed their blood that Guam might be free. And yet, the House Majority Leader thinks this is not enough. Steny Hoyer thinks we should also have to pay Guam reparations for what Imperial Japan did to Guam.(snipped out call congress at this no. part )
You can stop this madness. You can call your Congressman and tell him to vote against this bill. Call right now and tell your Congressman to oppose H.R. 1595." whole thing
Followed by a list of every serviceman who died liberating Guam. And at the bottom of that post is a link to the original post of which I am only posting Read more:Calling
Spy Coin Culprits Caught Red Handed 2007-05-07 22:25:39 Numismatic nanotechnology is crossing our border. Spy coins are sneaking their way into our pockets, rental cars, and piggy banks thereby threatening our national security by tracking our movements and sending our conversations to their shadowy creators....or not.
'Poppy Quarter' Behind Spy Coin Alert
By TED BRIDIS
The Associated Press
Monday, May 7, 2007; 3:56 PM
WASHINGTON -- An odd-looking Canadian quarter with a bright red flower was the culprit behind a false espionage warning from the Defense Department about mysterious coins with radio frequency transmitters, The Associated Press has learned.The harmless "poppy quarter" was so unfamiliar to suspicious U.S. Army contractors traveling in Canada that they filed confidential espionage accounts about them. The worried contractors described the coins as "filled with something man-made that looked like nano-technology," according to once-classified U.S. government reports and e-mails obtained by the AP.The silver-colored 25-c Read more:Caught
Sarkozy Wins, Vows to Restore Pride in France 2007-05-07 07:32:05
By John Ward Anderson and Molly Moore
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, May 7, 2007; A01
PARIS, May 6 -- Nicolas Sarkozy
, the combative son of a Hungarian immigrant, was elected president of France
on Sunday, promising a new generation of leadership to transform the country, restore its self-respect and reinvigorate ties with the United States and Europe.Sarkozy, a member of the ruling party and France's former top law enforcement officer, defeated Socialist Ségolène Royal, who waged a determined battle to become France's first elected female head of state, by a 53 percent to 47 percent vote, according to final results. Voter turnout was a near-record 84 percent.In a victory speech before a jubilant crowd of supporters in Paris, Sarkozy said voters "have chosen to break with the habits and behavior of the past." He pledged "to give greater value to work, to authority, to respect, to merit.""I want to give French people back the pride of being French -- to finish with rep Read more:Pride
, Restore
Hezbollah in this Hemisphere 2007-05-10 14:42:15 From the Blotter:CIUDAD DEL ESTE, Paraguay - The Iranian-backed Hezbollah
militia has taken root in South America, fostering a well-financed force of Islamist radicals boiling with hatred for the United States and ready to die to prove it, according to militia members, U.S. officials and police agencies across the continent.From its Western base in a remote region divided by the borders of Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina known as the Tri-border, or the Triple Frontier, Hezbollah has mined the frustrations of many Muslims among about 25,000 Arab residents whose families immigrated mainly from Lebanon in two waves, after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and after the 1985 Lebanese civil war. An investigation by Telemundo and NBC News has uncovered details of an extensive smuggling network run by Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim group founded in Lebanon in 1982 that the United States has labeled an international terrorist organization. The operation funnels large sums of money to militia leaders in the
UK: Blair Prepares to Bow Out 2007-05-10 14:16:14 Odds are come June 27th we'll have one less ally in Iraq.On the bright side after that we'll be able lump the Limeys in with the French, which will provide them both with a great source of consternation.
Read more:Blair
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