December 4, 2006

THE THINKING SPOT

Lantos and the 1990 "incubator" story *** Remember the famous "incubator" scam leading up to the first Gulf War? --- A 15-year-old "hospital volunteer" (who later turned out to be the daughter of the Kuwaiti ambassador to the US) FALSELY testified that she had seen Iraqi soldiers taking babies out of incubators and leaving them on the cold floor to die. --- WELL, her testimony was given before a panel that was set up to look like a Congressional committee (but it wasn't really one), and one of the two FAKE chairmen was none other than . . . TOM LANTOS *** This then must be Lantos's major qualification to be chairman of the International Affairs Committee. Think about it.
http://tinyurl.com/ydo5xd

Katherine Harris contributor indicted for sending white powder, threats to liberals, while our famously free press yawns --- So, a winger sends threats and white powder to liberals, the LA Times buries the story in local news, and nobody else picks up on it. THAT DARN LIBERAL MEDIA!!!
http://tinyurl.com/ygs6do

ALERT

Alert #1 - E. coli in N.J. is linked to Taco Bell
http://tinyurl.com/ufu94

WAR

Through the Looking Glass. Bush aide: 'We have not failed in Iraq.' Excuse us, but if this isn't failure, what would failure look like? Because Iraq looks like Hell.
http://tinyurl.com/yxqsbm

Bush Is Weighing Options for New Strategy in Iraq, Aide Says - Hadley Says Previously Rejected Ideas Are on Table, Including Suggestions in Rumsfeld's Memo
http://tinyurl.com/yd438r

Saudis and Iran prepare to do battle over corpse of Iraq
http://tinyurl.com/y6r6gw

1,245 Secret CIA Flights Revealed by European Parliament -- It has been reported that 737s were used for these flights. Each 737 carries about 100 passengers. Over 120,000 victims of US torture.
http://tinyurl.com/urad8

Mideast allies near a state of panic *** Instead of flaunting stronger ties and steadfast American influence, the president's journey found friends both old and new near a state of panic. Mideast leaders expressed soaring concern over upheavals across the region that the United States helped ignite which de-stabilized the region in ways that will take decades for the people of that region to repair and rebuild. -- de-stabilize the region in ways that will take decades for the people of that region to repair and rebuild.
http://tinyurl.com/yam5tl

THE WHITE HOUSE

Argentine Auction Site Lists Barbara Bush's Stolen Cell Phone....
http://tinyurl.com/yy99lf

CABINETS, COMMISSIONS, etc

Bolton Resigns From UN
http://tinyurl.com/yme52c

Bush accepts Bolton's U.N. resignation
http://tinyurl.com/uztay

FBI taps cell phone mic as eavesdropping tool -- The FBI appears to have begun using a novel form of electronic surveillance in criminal investigations: remotely activating a mobile phone's microphone and using it to eavesdrop on nearby conversations.
http://tinyurl.com/yngzp5

POLITICS

Blowing the Whistle on Big Oil
http://tinyurl.com/yax238

SCANDAL

Citigroup Exec Arrested For Running Meth Lab Out Of His NYC
http://tinyurl.com/yjw29p

ELECTION ITEMS

Clinton Hires National Fundraiser For Likely Presidential Bid…
http://tinyurl.com/yal9d2

CONGRESS

Sen Biden: I'm “Not A Big Fan of Putin's”...US Needs A “Direct Confrontation” With Him...
http://tinyurl.com/ssjxd

Sen. Reid'S plan may kill future Bush recess appointments
http://tinyurl.com/yhmmqw

DOMESTIC

Flattening the Great Education Myth & the Free Market Fundamentalists
http://tinyurl.com/yaxjxq

Future Of Cruise Ships: Superjumbo “Floating Towns”...
http://tinyurl.com/yyd2fo

More Than 380 Sick On World's Largest Cruise Ship...
http://tinyurl.com/y4yfle

Wal-Mart Launches Thank You Program To Calm Employee Discontent...
http://tinyurl.com/yedyde

INTERNATIONAL

Chavez Wins In Landslide…
http://tinyurl.com/yy4vg3

Russian firm slams Forbes article
http://tinyurl.com/yknzk6

MEDIA AND JOURNALISM

The Surreal Politics of Premeditated War *** "Ron Suskind of the New York Times learned how the Bush administration works, from a 'senior advisor to Bush' (Karl Rove is a suspect): 'We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality.' They have done that, incessantly, and it is the source of the surrealism. Spins, evasions, omissions, jingoisms, distortions, 'perception management' (i.e., propaganda), and deliberate lying, all contribute to a political discourse adrift from what is honest, true, and reliable."
http://tinyurl.com/y5hjyd

'In trouble,' President turns to FOX News for interview
http://tinyurl.com/ydl4zv

HEALTH

Pacemaker Wearers: Beware of Magnets
http://tinyurl.com/uq8rt

Cholesterol Drug's Failure Is a Blow to Researchers - The discovery that an experimental cholesterol drug is dangerous is a major setback for what has been considered one of the most promising new approaches to fighting the nation's leading killer, experts said yesterday.
http://tinyurl.com/yhp9co

New Clues into Bedwetting
http://tinyurl.com/yfl2f2

SPECIAL INTEREST ITEMS

What to do with those excess packing peanuts.
http://tinyurl.com/ymf9mj

Drunk infant dropped off at hospital
http://tinyurl.com/vy44g