Daily News Bucket

15 Comments

1. 

   ask on February 7, 2006 at 10:27 am

   does not let up, and is getting uglier.

   Four killed in attack on Norwegian-led military base in Afghanistan

   Demonstrators in Afghanistan, joining an international wave of Muslim fury over the publication of offensive cartoons, attacked a Norwegian-led military base on Tuesday. Four demonstrators were killed and at least 20 others injured, including five Norwegians.

   The Norwegian-led military camp is in northwestern Afghanistan.

   The demonstrators threw stones and hand grenades at the offices and military camp of the Norwegian-led troops in the town of Maymana, capital of the Faryab province in western Afghanistan. That turned the protest action, which began peacefully, into “a violent episode,” according to an observer.

   The 33 Norwegian military personnel on duty at the base were attacked by as many as 300 demonstrators. Five of the Norwegians were injured when they were hit by flying rocks and splinters from the grenades.
   (more)

   • 

     Oui on February 7, 2006 at 5:22 pm

     .
     in Afghanistan to assist Norwegian ISAF Forces under attack with rocks and grenades at their military NATO base.

     The F-16 fighter aircraft tried first with several low passes, but needed to fire their board cannons as warning that the crowds should back-off. Afghan police came in for support and gunfire was exchanged leaving at least four dead.

     Four killed as Afghan crowd attacks Norwegian base

     KABUL (Reuters) Feb. 7 — British troops were sent to the northwestern city of Maymana to secure the airfield, after crowds attacked a NATO base with guns and grenades.

     “Police had to open fire. Some people are aiming to disrupt and disturb security,” said Azim Hakimi, spokesman for the provincial security department. “Some people used guns.”

     
     Afghan protesters hold banners and chant slogans during a protest in Herat against cartoons published in Denmark.  Protests were also staged in Kabul, Peshawar, Tehran and Kut in Iraq (5,000 men), the stronghold of Al Sadr. Ahmad Fahim/Reuters

     The Norwegians fired teargas while Dutch F-16 jets flew over Maymana in a show of force, a spokeswoman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said.

     The worst of the violence was outside Bagram, the main U.S. base north of Kabul, with Afghan police firing on some 2,000 protesters as they tried to break into the heavily guarded facility, said Kabir Ahmed, the local government chief. Two of the demonstrators were killed and five were injured, while eight police were also hurt. No U.S. troops were involved in the incident, Ahmed said.

     “But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.”

     ▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY

2. 

   idredit on February 7, 2006 at 10:38 am

   Jack Carter, son of former President Carter has announced his candidacy for the Senate-NV.

   Speaking at his son’s side President Carter said, the ‘president has broken the law – eavesdropping is illegal’  Carter has offered to testify if asked.

   link here

   http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060207/ap_on_re_us/eavesdropping_carter_6

   looking up.

   • 

     on February 7, 2006 at 10:39 am

     people need to quit calling this shit “eavesdropping”–noticed Olbermann use that term yesterday. It sounds too harmless.

     It’s spying. Wiretapping. Bugging, whatever, but it’s not eavesdropping.

     Am writing Olbermann to complain today.

     • 

       rba on February 7, 2006 at 11:05 am

       You’re right.  The term of art is “surveillance”.  “Spying” by any other name.

       • 

         on February 7, 2006 at 11:23 am

         Yeah. That’s the word I’ve been looking for. Exactly that. Thanks.

       • 

         on February 7, 2006 at 11:34 am

         FYI: sappy and lame, I know, but….

         Dear Keith Olbermann,

         First, let me say thank you again for your integrity, courage (and humor!) as a journalist. I’m a die-hard Olbermann fan and your show is like the spoonful of sugar that makes the bad news easier to swallow.

         However, I noticed last night that you are also using the word “eavesdropping” to describe the domestic spying program and I wish you would not. To speak in terms of “eavesdropping” diminishes the severity of what is going on here and renders it rather harmless. What it is is domestic surveillance. Eavesdropping is when I accidentally stumble on a conversation I know was not intended for my ears but listen in anyway. Surveillance is when I actively seek access to information that was not intended for me.

         Please consider bearing that difference in mind and using the term “surveillance” to describe these activities in the future.

         Thank you again for your great reporting and keep up the good work.

         Anyone else want to follow suit:

         KOlbermann@msnbc.com

3. 

   IndyLib on February 7, 2006 at 11:15 am

   Since it became the first state to give formal legal protection (in the form of civil unions) to queer domestic partners in 2000, it has not escaped the notice of some keen eyes in the Vermont lege that the state has not been invaded by Armies of God or burned to the ground by angry villagers. There have been no plagues whether by frogs or locusts, lice or flies. The state was not suddenly plunged into an inexplicable darkness extending from Battleboro to the Canadian border. It has not been deluged with water, blood, or the righteous tears of a thousand heterosexual virgin angels. Near as we can make out, there has been no retributive smiting in Vermont’s general direction. Thus the Vermont state lege is pondering a bill that would provide full marriage equality for gays.

   Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas suggested Monday that if the legislature passes a gay marriage bill he would veto it.

   Thanks, asshole. If your equality ever comes up for a vote somewhere, I hope there’s some vindictive queer around who can return the favor.

   • 

     AndiF on February 7, 2006 at 11:33 am

     Now, now Indy, let’s not forget how important it is to keep marriage safe for Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise.  

4. 

   Oui on February 7, 2006 at 11:18 am

   .

   Scientists find ‘Lost world’ in jungle

   OSLO (Conservation International) Feb. 7 — Scientists have found a “Lost World” in an Indonesian mountain jungle, home to dozens of exotic new species of birds, butterflies, frogs and plants.

   “It’s as close to the Garden of Eden as you’re going to find on Earth,” said Bruce Beehler, co-leader of the US, Indonesian, and Australian expedition to part of the cloud-shrouded Foja mountains in West Papua.

   The expedition found a new type of honeyeater bird with a bright orange patch on its face, known only to local people and the first new bird species documented on the island in over 60 years.

   
   This previously undescribed honeyeater
© CI, Bruce Beehler

   See my diary —
   Berlepsch’s Six-wired Bird of Paradise  A ‘Lost World’

   “But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.”

   ▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY

5. 

   on February 7, 2006 at 11:50 am

   Sorry state of affairs when we’ve got to go panhandling to the people and government of Freedom for assistance, isn’t it?

   Full story at truthout

    

   New Orleans – Shortcomings in aid from the US government are making New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin look to other nations for help in rebuilding his hurricane-damaged city.

       Nagin, who has hosted a steady stream of foreign dignitaries since Hurricane Katrina hit in late August, says he may seek international assistance because U.S. aid has not been sufficient to get the city back on its feet.

       ”I know we had a little disappointment earlier with some signals we’re getting from Washington but the international community may be able to fill the gap,” Nagin said when a delegation of French government and business officials passed through on Friday to explore potential business partnerships.

       Jordan’s King Abdullah also visited New Orleans on Friday and Nagin said he would encourage foreign interests to help redevelop some of the areas hardest hit by the storm.

       ”France can take Treme. The king of Jordan can take the Lower Ninth Ward,” he said, referring to two of the city’s neighborhoods.

   […]
   French Transport Minister Dominique Perben, leading the French delegation to a city that was founded by France in 1718, said, “This catastrophe has deeply upset the French people and the French government.”

       France, Perben said through a translator, “wants to be a long-term partner for Louisiana and New Orleans.”

6. 

   idredit on February 7, 2006 at 12:12 pm

   FDL has been keeping us updated on new discoveries in the “traitorgate” puzzle.

   Reddhedd has the latest on the conspiracy aspect, posing some questions:

   Dickerson Speaks..And Drops Some Bombshells

   [snip]

   Which lends intself to these questions: who might be ripe for the flipping? Who else is Rove willing to throw under the bus to save his sorry ass? And how long does Libby have before the Administration considers him the sacrificial lamb and cuts him loose to the wolves — and how will he and his family feel about being thrown out like yesterday’s stale trash?

   [snip]

   read the whole piece here

   http://firedoglake.blogspot.com/2006_02_05_firedoglake_archive.html#113932391843077983

   Patience.

7. 

   Arcturus on February 7, 2006 at 5:32 pm

   too tired & depressed to do anything with these, so I’ll just dump ’em:

   Haitian elections today

   Haiti: Dark storm brewing over elections

   Botched Job: The UN and the Haiti’s Elections

   Kevin Pina interviews the most-wanted man in Haiti: Amaral Duclona

   US General Admits Troops Are Destabilizing Middle East

   Military Starts
   New H-Bomb Project

   The Taliban’s bloody foothold in Pakistan, by Syed Saleem Shahzad   

   The Iran Crisis: ‘Diplomacy’ as a Launch Pad for Missiles, by Norman Solomon

   Headed for Iran, Juggernaut Gathering Momentum, by Ray McGovern

   month old, but important topical reads:

   Iraq, Iran and China: a New Global Alliance? by Noam Chomsky

   Why the Bush Doctrine Violates the Constitution: The Unitary Executive, by Jennifer Van Bergen

8. 

   Man Eegee on February 7, 2006 at 5:37 pm

   From the WaPo:

   Horse slaughter for meat will continue in the United States, despite votes in Congress to halt the practice, the Agriculture Department announced Tuesday.

   American horse meat is sold mostly for human consumption in Europe and Asia, although some goes to U.S. zoos.  [snip]

   Rep. John Sweeney, R-N.Y., denounced the decision, saying, “Commerce and greed have ruled the day.”

   “To end this practice, Congress, with widespread public support, passed this amendment by a landslide vote in both the House and the Senate,” said Sweeney, who serves on the House Appropriations Committee. “This action is a direct defiance of congressional intent.”

   The department “is thumbing its nose at Congress,” said Michael Markarian, an official of the Humane Society of the United States. “The lives of America’s horses, which have served us faithfully and provided us with companionship, are at stake.”

9. 

   Oui on February 7, 2006 at 6:56 pm

   .

   Collection paintings seized by the Nazis during WWII occupation

   A priceless collection of more than two hundred paintings, once the private property of Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker, will now be returned to the heir, Marei von Saher by the Dutch state.

   
   Tobias and Sarah by Jan Steen

   The Algemeen Dagblad says this has caused terrible stress for the Bredius Museum in The Hague, which will now have to hand over its prized possession, Jan Steen’s “Tobias and Sarah”.

   Bonnefanten Museum in Maastricht will be particularly hard hit by the decision, since it has between 30 and 40 paintings from the Goudstikker collection.

   Jacques Goudstikker – A History  

   Riding, Allan. “Heirs Claim Art Lost to Nazis in Amsterdam.” The New York Times 12 Jan. 1998:
   “Jacques Goudstikker, leading art dealer in prewar Amsterdam, was one of many wealthy Jewish collectors whose artworks were seized by Nazi Germany in the early 1940’s; his widow’s efforts to reconstitute collection after war were thwarted by Dutch authorities, and 160 of Goudstikker’s paintings hang in 17 Dutch museums without any reference to their provenance; still unknown is what happened to rest of his collection, close to 900 paintings, 100 sculptures, Venetian glassware and antique furniture; Marei von Saher, heir to Goudstikker, is being forced to go to court to recover lost legacy, in face of Dutch Government’s insistence that it alone is righful owner of collection” (NYT summary)

   “But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.”

   ▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY