News – No Loads of WMD in Iraq

Did we expect anything but?

Yet the farce will continue.

Iraq

Six months after going on, still no sign of the stockpiles purported by the Bush Administration. David Kay parrots the ‘big country’ excuse again, but I’m not buying it. He says they’ll know better in another 6-9 months. And then will it be another few months? And then another? Seems US intelligence on this matter is, quite simply, wrong.

Oh, wait, they found a vial that might have a biological agent in it and “dozens of WMD-related activities and significant amounts of equipment concealed from the UN“. So I guess they found something, though not enough to justify war.

OF course, we knew that Blix would weigh in on this eventually.

Meanwhile, Iraqis have concerns other than weapons. They need jobs, security and reliable services.

Israel/Palestine

Papers from around the world sound off on the Israeli wall. They don’t like it.

Afghanistan

Four Afghans dead, two missing after a blast by a US base.

UN

Kofi’s getting tough with an open rebuke of recent US attempts to get international backing. I guess he’s tired of the US not heeding him. Lots of people are. 😉

US

A federal judge has ruled that prosecutors of Zacarias Moussaoui can’t seek the death penalty and can’t present evidence that he had anything to do with 9/11 because the government won’t allow him to question alQueda captives. A fair trade IMHO.

The House has passed a bit of legislation that could ban partial birth abortions. It still has to be passed through the senate and will likely face a flurry of legal action against it.

The White House is accusing democrats of using the CIA leak for political gain. Wow, really? You mean like republicans did with Clinton and his screw up? Like Republicans and Democrats have done for decades through American political history? Perish the thought!

Man, please.. cry me a river. :p The people are calling for a special investigation, not just the democrats. Listen to the people for once, Bush. Keep ignoring them and you’ll not have a second term.. on second thought, do ignore us. 😉

Some lawmakers want to make part of the $87 billion for Iraq a loan. I’m a bit divided on this, so I’ll have to think about it some more. There are also moves to expand military health care to some reservists and national guard who don’t get it.

Microsoft is getting hammered on security. Yet another class action lawsuit, filed from California. Microsoft, IBM and other companies are also under fire for part of their Trusted Computing initiatives, part of which is seen as a threat to computer users.

To add insult to injury, Steve Jobs beat out Bill Gates as the most important man in technology.

The Gaffes of John Kerry: Kerry’s ‘regime change at home’ remark got him some raised eyebrows, though he passed it off as a quip. A quote on being Irisht hat he may never have said and a bad joke about HW Bush and Dan Quail cap off this series of gaffes.

A history lesson on Richard Nixon and his part in originating Republican populism.

A look at the clash of constitutional rights over the do-not-call list. Which rules, the right to speak or the right to not listen? It’s been ruled both ways by the Supreme Court, so which will take the field in this issue?

An article helpful for trying to decipher the meat of the White House leaks and counter leaks over Valerie Plame..

General

The numbers say that couples with boys are more likely to stay together than coupes who have girls. The art is trying to figure out the qualitative reasons behind the numbers. What is it with families and sons or daughters?

In defense of the hypothetical question, they’re never that irrelevant, a good way to gauge someone should they answer unlike most politicians these days.

Lara Tabac, a medical anthropologist for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, talks about killer deodorant and the way she feels about bioterrorism and mentions her latest project. Looking into the smallpox vaccination program.

A musing of Dr. Phil and his TV fat fighting crusade. Looks annoyingly similar to reality television. Too bad he can’t do something original.

Today’s Papers has Arnie apologizing for his groping days, the Justices Department’s set back against Moussaoui and the lack of solid evidence from David Kay. News on a page right here.

Amusements

Forehead Shavecut – Don’t take this flash seriously and don’t operate heavy machinery for four hours after watching it.

Yeah right

A good idea it was

Note to self: Don’t microwave full jars