At least 25 dead, 101 injured in three bombings in Bali overnight. Almost three years to the day after suicide bombings in Kuta killed 202. Apparently there were two other bombs defused on the night, and actually was a bomb placed in a hotel earlier in the week, which the Indonesians said was a hoax, but in the light of what has happened, the authorities may have just been trying to cover themselves. Casualties include Indonesians, Australians, Koreans, Japanese and Americans.
Not going to mention the proposed new anti-terrorism laws agreed to in Canberra on Tuesday, not going to mention them at all.
Grr, Labour took the New Zealand election after the special votes were counted, well, as much as anyone could take this election. National lost a seat, but the Greens didn't gain one, which was the informed guessing, so it's time to go, Nandor Tanczos (he thinks in Gretel Big Brother style). Googling that name may be of interest LOL. Final results, with a 121 seat Parliament - Labour 50, National 48, New Zealand First 7, Greens 6, Maori 4, United Future 3, ACT 2, Jim Anderton's Progressive 1. How stable will minority government be this time around?
Another week, another military offensive in Iraq - last week it was Tal Afar, this week it is Sadah, near the Syrian border, 1000 US troops doing a sweep called Operation Iron Fist. Two US soldiers killed in bomb blasts today, and I read that a Danish soldier also died in another bombing. Over 1900 US troops dead since the war started, and how many WMD did we find?
And that of course doesn't cover civilian casualties, in Baghdad alone there are an average of 1000 Iraqis dying a month. Earlier in the week, there was a series of suicide bombings in Balad, and in two bombings alone there were 110 dead. Good article from the NYT today about how the Iraqi middle class is 'coping' with the ongoing chaos.
From the stupid Republican files, which are fit to overflowing this week, what with Tom DeLay getting indicted for illegal fundraising and 'heck of a job' political appointee/FEMA sacrificial lamb Michael Brown getting in front of Congress, saying he isn't Superman and blaming the New Orleans and Louisiana officials for not evacuating the city earlier (hmm, I am sure Nagin said get out, get out now a day or two before Katrina - Brownie must have been reading the same 'New Orleans Dodged A Bullet' newspaper on August 29 Dubya was reading LOL).
Anyways, from the stupid Republican file, comes this story of a Reaganite education secretary said on his radio show 'abort all black babies and crime will come down'. Not going to comment further on that, the stupidity of it is just astounding. Of course, as I think I read in Wonkette, now we all know that William Bennett has a radio show somewhere out there in red-state conservative radio land. Oh, and he was drug czar under Bush Senior - and we all know how great a job he must have done at that job LOL.
Yes, yes, I know there are stupid Democrats out there in red state land, but they can't even sort out their own party at the moment, let alone think about running the country.
Oh, Lynndie England, the anti Jessica Lynch of the US military, got sentenced to three years in jail and a dishonorable discharge for her part in the whole Abu Gharib fiasco. No one above the National Guard Major General who was in charge of the actual unit at the jail has been convicted of anything though, and that really puzzles me. Surely these part time soldiers didn't just get it into their head to abuse prisoners without orders from higher authorities, or perhaps military intelligence? Puzzling.
Especially if failings of government about New Orleans and the wider Gulf Coast in the face of Katrina may possibly have the buck stopping with the President, why not in Iraq? A war which he ordered, no the buck stops with a National Guard Major General, with a force of nature, the buck may possibly in some circumstances somewhat land at the Oval Office. Grr.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) won a court case earlier in the week as well, against the US government, to release further photos and videos from the whole Abu Ghraib mess. The government was saying to release them now would give further encouragement to the insurgents and terrorists, and that what was happening in April last year is no longer happening anyways, but the judge noted that if the things weren't released, then the terrorists would be able to say there are worse things out there that they are covering up. Get them out, get the issue out of the way as soon as possible, and maybe, just maybe, take a bit more responsibility about it all. More grr. The government has two weeks to appeal the decision...
Later peeps
Pauly
Not going to mention the proposed new anti-terrorism laws agreed to in Canberra on Tuesday, not going to mention them at all.
Grr, Labour took the New Zealand election after the special votes were counted, well, as much as anyone could take this election. National lost a seat, but the Greens didn't gain one, which was the informed guessing, so it's time to go, Nandor Tanczos (he thinks in Gretel Big Brother style). Googling that name may be of interest LOL. Final results, with a 121 seat Parliament - Labour 50, National 48, New Zealand First 7, Greens 6, Maori 4, United Future 3, ACT 2, Jim Anderton's Progressive 1. How stable will minority government be this time around?
Another week, another military offensive in Iraq - last week it was Tal Afar, this week it is Sadah, near the Syrian border, 1000 US troops doing a sweep called Operation Iron Fist. Two US soldiers killed in bomb blasts today, and I read that a Danish soldier also died in another bombing. Over 1900 US troops dead since the war started, and how many WMD did we find?
And that of course doesn't cover civilian casualties, in Baghdad alone there are an average of 1000 Iraqis dying a month. Earlier in the week, there was a series of suicide bombings in Balad, and in two bombings alone there were 110 dead. Good article from the NYT today about how the Iraqi middle class is 'coping' with the ongoing chaos.
From the stupid Republican files, which are fit to overflowing this week, what with Tom DeLay getting indicted for illegal fundraising and 'heck of a job' political appointee/FEMA sacrificial lamb Michael Brown getting in front of Congress, saying he isn't Superman and blaming the New Orleans and Louisiana officials for not evacuating the city earlier (hmm, I am sure Nagin said get out, get out now a day or two before Katrina - Brownie must have been reading the same 'New Orleans Dodged A Bullet' newspaper on August 29 Dubya was reading LOL).
Anyways, from the stupid Republican file, comes this story of a Reaganite education secretary said on his radio show 'abort all black babies and crime will come down'. Not going to comment further on that, the stupidity of it is just astounding. Of course, as I think I read in Wonkette, now we all know that William Bennett has a radio show somewhere out there in red-state conservative radio land. Oh, and he was drug czar under Bush Senior - and we all know how great a job he must have done at that job LOL.
Yes, yes, I know there are stupid Democrats out there in red state land, but they can't even sort out their own party at the moment, let alone think about running the country.
Oh, Lynndie England, the anti Jessica Lynch of the US military, got sentenced to three years in jail and a dishonorable discharge for her part in the whole Abu Gharib fiasco. No one above the National Guard Major General who was in charge of the actual unit at the jail has been convicted of anything though, and that really puzzles me. Surely these part time soldiers didn't just get it into their head to abuse prisoners without orders from higher authorities, or perhaps military intelligence? Puzzling.
Especially if failings of government about New Orleans and the wider Gulf Coast in the face of Katrina may possibly have the buck stopping with the President, why not in Iraq? A war which he ordered, no the buck stops with a National Guard Major General, with a force of nature, the buck may possibly in some circumstances somewhat land at the Oval Office. Grr.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) won a court case earlier in the week as well, against the US government, to release further photos and videos from the whole Abu Ghraib mess. The government was saying to release them now would give further encouragement to the insurgents and terrorists, and that what was happening in April last year is no longer happening anyways, but the judge noted that if the things weren't released, then the terrorists would be able to say there are worse things out there that they are covering up. Get them out, get the issue out of the way as soon as possible, and maybe, just maybe, take a bit more responsibility about it all. More grr. The government has two weeks to appeal the decision...
Later peeps
Pauly
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