U.N. Report Details Rampant Sexual Violence in Darfur

Gang rapes in Darfur.

Why are we not there?!

Where is the Presidents morality? I guess when Bush asks himself what Jesus would do, he says "let them be raped".

Link: U.N. Report Details Rampant Sexual Violence in Darfur.

"Rape and gang rape continue to be perpetrated by armed elements in Darfur, some of whom are members of law enforcement agencies and armed forces, and the government appears either unable or unwilling to hold them accountable," the 29-page report said. "Many women do not report incidents, out of fear of reprisals, and are discouraged from reporting by the lack of redress for sexual violence.

Troops developing Mental Disorders

Thanks Mr. president! You've helped us out here at home too!

Link: More troops developing latent mental disorders - Mental Health - MSNBC.com.

Thirty percent of U.S. troops returning from the Iraq war have developed stress-related mental health problems three to four months after coming home, the Army%u2019s surgeon general said Thursday.The problems include anxiety, depression, nightmares, anger and an inability to concentrate, said Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley and other military medical officials. A smaller number of troops, often with more severe symptoms, were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, a serious mental illness.

Rick Santorum - JUST WEIRD

Link: J.B. Poersch - 7/26/05.

The DSCC's Media Response Project has produced a hard-hitting new video that will counter the right-wing spin and show America that Rick Santorum's values are way outside the mainstream.�

ABC White Washes War in Variety Show - Jessica Simpson says she's upset about ABC not showing any of the reality of the war!

Good for her. Now, if she's made of any substance at all, she wouldn't let this drop.

Link: JESSICA SIMPSON - SIMPSON UPSET ABOUT MISSING IRAQ FOOTAGE.

JESSICA SIMPSON wants to know where missing footage of her and husband NICK LACHEY's harrowing trip to Iraq got to - because she thinks Americans would like to see just how bad conditions are there. The pop singers-turned-reality TV couple travelled to the war-torn nation to visit US troops as part of a recent ABC TV variety special, and they were both left shellshocked by what they saw. But all the controversial moments and harrowing footage of the trip didn't appear in the fun-filled TV show. Simpson says, "It was unbelievable. They didn't show a lot of what really went on with the enemy attacks and the shelling. There was so much stuff that went on and somehow the tapes got mysteriously misplaced. "It put everything in perspective for me. It really did teach me the definition of sacrifice. I can't even fathom being out there right now. I was ready to come home."

Frist Flip Flops

Link: Senate's Leader Veers From Bush Over Stem Cells - New York Times.

The move could also have implications for Mr. Frist's political future. The senator is widely considered a potential candidate for the presidency in 2008, and supporting an expansion of the policy will put him at odds not only with the White House but also with Christian conservatives, whose support he will need in the race for the Republican nomination. But the decision could also help him win support among centrists."I am pro-life," Mr. Frist says in the speech, arguing that he can reconcile his support for the science with his own Christian faith. "I believe human life begins at conception." But at the same time, he says, "I also believe that embryonic stem cell research should be encouraged and supported."

Sidney Blumenthal on the Re-Branding of the War

Link: Salon.com | Selling the war.

Never before has a president suddenly discarded his self-proclaimed "mission." But after declaring himself the commander in chief in the "global war on terror," President Bush has tossed the catchphrase aside in an elusive search for a new one. The "global war on terror" was his slogan to link the war in Afghanistan to the invasion of Iraq, the battle supposedly being one and the same. The quest for a new slogan is more than a public relations gesture. It reflects not only the failure but also the vacuum of his strategy.

Judith Miller's Husband Cruising The Mediterranean

...all while Miller sits in the slammer...

...teee heee heee...

...they're perfect for each other!

Link: THE NEWS BLOG.

"One passenger with his mind soberly on home is the literary icon Jason Epstein. ... Ms. Miller would have been on the cruise had she not gone to jail." His wife's in the slammer and he cruises the Med?

Garrison Keillor was in Karl Rove's office...

Time to snicker...

Link: TMS Features.

I feel it's time for me to step forward and tell what I know about Karl Rove's conversation with columnist Robert Novak in which Mr. Novak reportedly told Mr. Rove that CIA operative Valerie Plame had been responsible for her husband Joseph Wilson going to Niger to debunk the White House's claim that Saddam Hussein was shopping for uranium in Africa to make nuclear weapons and that's why we invaded Iraq, and Mr. Rove said, "Yes, I've heard that, too." Mr. Rove has been accused of revealing the identity of a covert intelligence officer. This simply isn't true.

I happened to be in Mr. Rove's office when the phone rang. I was there on behalf of my publisher, to see if Mr. Rove knows enough to make him worth a $6 million advance on his memoirs. (Answer: Not really.) He picked up the phone and the voice at the other end sounded like a rat trapped in a coffee can. "Novak," whispered Mr. Rove and he pretended to stick a finger down his throat. He listened for several minutes. "Yes, I've heard that, too," he said.

Former PM Major on the War in Iraq

Tony Blair must be thrilled...

Link: Independent Online Edition > UK Politics : app2.

The war in Iraq has heightened the threat of terrorist attacks in Britain, the former Prime Minister Sir John Major has claimed. His intervention is a setback to Tony Blair's attempt to play down any link between the London bombings and the Iraq conflict. Sir John told BBC Radio 4 yesterday: "I think what has happened is not that the Iraq war and other policies created that threat, I think it was there and growing, though it was not in full bloom.

Toyota, Moving To Canada

Link: Toyota, Moving Northward - New York Times.

Canada's other big selling point is its national health insurance system, which saves auto manufacturers large sums in benefit payments compared with their costs in the United States.You might be tempted to say that Canadian taxpayers are, in effect, subsidizing Toyota's move by paying for health coverage. But that's not right, even aside from the fact that Canada's health care system has far lower costs per person than the American system, with its huge administrative expenses. In fact, U.S. taxpayers, not Canadians, will be hurt by the northward movement of auto jobs. To see why, bear in mind that in the long run decisions like Toyota's probably won't affect the overall number of jobs in either the United States or Canada. But the result of international competition will be to give Canada more jobs in industries like autos, which pay health benefits to their U.S. workers, and fewer jobs in industries that don't provide those benefits. In the U.S. the effect will be just the reverse: fewer jobs with benefits, more jobs without. So what's the impact on taxpayers? In Canada, there's no impact at all: since all Canadians get government-provided health insurance in any case, the additional auto jobs won't increase government spending.