Video: Robber Gets Knocked Out by Pizza Restaurant Employee

This is really funny. There is also a twist. The robber is the father of the girl seen separating him and the employee who knocks him out.

Obama NAACP Speech Transcript: We Must be More Responsible

Read the entire transcript:

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was but a 26-year -old pastor when he led a bus boycott in Montgomery that mobilized a movement. John Lewis was but a 25-year-old activist when he faced down Billyclubs on the bridge in Selma and helped arouse the conscience of our nation. Diane Nash was even younger when she helped found SNCC and led Freedom Rides down south. And your chairman Julian Bond was but a 25-year old state legislator when he put his own shoulder to the wheel of history.

It is because of them; and all those whose names never made it into the history books – those men and women, young and old, black, brown and white, clear-eyed and straight-backed, who refused to settle for the world as it is; who had the courage to remake the world as it should be – that I stand before you tonight as the Democratic nominee for President of the United States of America.

And if I have the privilege of serving as your next President, I will stand up for you the same way that earlier generations of Americans stood up for me – by fighting to ensure that every single one of us has the chance to make it if we try. That means removing the barriers of prejudice and misunderstanding that still exist in America. It means fighting to eliminate discrimination from every corner of our country. It means changing hearts, and changing minds, and making sure that every American is treated equally under the law.

[...]That is what I’ve been fighting to do throughout my over 20 years in public service. That’s why I’ve fought in the Senate to end tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas and give those tax breaks to companies that create good jobs here in America. That’s why I brought Democrats and Republicans together in Illinois to put $100 million in tax cuts into the pockets of hardworking families, to expand health care to 150,000 children and parents, and to end the outrage of black women making just 62 cents for every dollar that many of their male coworkers make.

[...]When CEOs are making more in ten minutes than the average worker earns in a year, and millions of families lose their homes due to unscrupulous lending, checked neither by a sense of corporate ethics or a vigilant government; when the dream of entering the middle class and staying there is fading for young people in our community, we have more work to do.

[...]It’s about the responsibilities that corporate America has – responsibilities that start with ending a culture on Wall Street that says what’s good for me is good enough; that puts their bottom line ahead of what’s right for America. Because what we’ve learned in such a dramatic way in recent months is that pain in our economy trickles up; that Wall Street can’t thrive so long as Main Street is struggling; and that America is better off when the well-being of American business and the American people are aligned. Our CEOs have to recognize that they have a responsibility not just to grow their profit margins, but to be fair to their workers, and honest to their shareholders and to help strengthen our economy as a whole. That’s how we’ll ensure that economic justice is being served. And that’s what this election is about.

[...]That’s why I’ve introduced a comprehensive strategy to recruit an army of new quality teachers to our communities – and to pay them more and give them more support. And we’ll invest in early childhood education programs so that our kids don’t begin the race of life behind the starting line and offer a $4,000 tax credit to make college affordable for anyone who wants to go. Because as the NAACP knows better than anyone, the fight for social justice and economic justice begins in the classroom.

But it doesn’t end there. We have to fight for all those young men standing on street corners with little hope for the future besides ending up in jail. We have to break the cycle of poverty and violence that’s gripping too many neighborhoods in this country.

That’s why I’ll expand the Earned Income Tax Credit – because it’s one of the most successful anti-poverty measures we have. That’s why I’ll end the Bush policy of taking cops off the streets at the moment they’re needed most – because we need to give local law enforcement the support they need. That’s why we’ll provide job training for ex-offenders – because we need to make sure they don’t return to a life of crime. And that’s why I’ll build on the success of the Harlem Children’s Zone in New York and launch an all-hands-on-deck effort to end poverty in this country – because that’s how we’ll put the dream that Dr. King and Roy Wilkins fought for within reach for the next generation of children.

Video: Talk Show Host John McLaughlin Calls Obama ‘Oreo’

I've been critical of Obama's flip-flops lately. But then he turns around and gives a speech on the lack of responsibility of young black males whom are missing fathers. It takes courage to do that on the part of the Senator. He is doing a great service to not young black males but to all males who have sex without regard for the consequences. It is why the practitioner of the politics-of-blame-others-for-our-problems, Jesse Jackson, hates Obama. As for McLaughlin, he thinks he is being politically correct and cool by calling Obama an 'Oreo.'

Is Your Bank the Next to Collapse?

This a question that needs to be asked. How safe is our banking system? We know they are insured for the first $100,000. But can we really trust the banks and the government? They've been lying and cheating us for so long how can we trust them. On the hand a panic would be the worst thing that could happen. If the government and big business don't come together to solve the crisis panic will eventually set in.

Even as the Bush administration moved to rescue the nation’s two largest mortgage finance companies, confidence in the banking sector spiraled downward Monday.

In Southern California, lines snaked around branches of IndyMac Bancorp, the large lender that was seized by federal regulators on Friday, as customers hurried to withdraw their money. As the anxiety spread through the financial markets, two other big banks, one in Ohio and another in Washington State, were compelled to assert that they were sound.

Rumors lead to panic. The greatest rumor mongers are the speculators. And its the speculator that have gotten us into this mess:

Bank stocks swooned again Monday as rumors flew around trading desks about which bank would be the next to be taken out.

But wait a minute Weren't we reassured on Sunday that the Securities and Exchange Commission was going to try to put a stop to rumormongering on Wall Street?

Turn up the laugh track, please.

Rumors are as much a part of trading culture as spitting is a part of Major League Baseball. And like insider trading, intent is difficult to prove. One trader's rumor is another trader's conventional wisdom, and it doesn't take long for sentiment to grab hold, particularly when the slightest inkling of news is picked up and repeated ad nauseum on cable television.


Even as federal regulators issued assurances that depositors’ savings were safe, Wall Street analysts circulated lists of lenders that might be vulnerable. Shares of regional banks plunged in one of the sharpest declines since the 1980s.

[...]Regulators and investors are bracing for a small number of banks to fail over the next 12 to 18 months. Analysts predict that 50 to 150 banks might stumble. In the first quarter this year, the F.D.I.C. listed 90 banks as troubled, which is far lower than the levels during the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s. Still, Ms. Bair said that number would increase. IndyMac, for example, was not on that first quarter list at the F.D.I.C. but was still seized by regulators.

And it is the speculators that helping to drive up food prices:

The massive inflow of speculative funds into commodity markets is playing a big part in driving prices of oil and food higher, harming the world's economic growth and the lives of the most vulnerable, an annual government report said Tuesday.

This is the first time that the industry ministry's white paper on international economy and trade has provided a detailed analysis of soaring oil and food prices, officials said.

[...] "Therefore, it is believed that the inflow of speculative money, comprising pension funds and hedge funds, is also having a big influence," it said.

In the wake of the U.S. subprime lending crisis, the report said global investors seeking safer returns are pouring money heavily into commodities as a hedge against flagging stocks and the U.S. dollar.

The paper said that the futures price of corn in Chicago was $6 per bushel as of May this year, only about half of which was explainable by the supply and demand balance.

New Yorker Magazine Cover Shows Obama and Wife as al Qaeda Terrorists

This sort of thing is expected of a right-wing publication [see picture]. The New Yorker is a leftist magazine. They claim it is an attempt to satirize the anti-Obama elements out there. The problem is that there is no article accompanying the cover to give it context. It could easily be seen as an attack. The main purpose of this outrage is to get publicity for a magazine that is seeing it's profits collapsing.

The New Yorker says it's satire. It certainly will be candy for cable news.

At a press availability Sunday afternoon in San Diego, Senator Obama was asked, according to the diligent Maria Gavrilovic of CBS News: "The upcoming issue of the New Yorker, the July 21st issue, has a picture of you, depicting you and your wife on the cover. Have you seen it? If not, I can show it to you on my computer. It shows your wife Michelle with an Afro and an AK 47 and the two of you doing the fist bump with you in a sort of turban-type thing on top. I wondered if you've seen it or if you want to see it or if you have a response to it?"

Obama (shrugs incredulously): "I have no response to that."

Afghanistan: The New Pre-Surge Iraq

It is was predictable. Afghanistan had been ignored for years. Now the situation has worsened dramatically. A two front war could not be sustained. That was the mistake we made in Vietnam/Laos/Cambodia. It didn't work then it won't work now. This is mess that will eventually mean troops in Pakistan. The Bush administration is inattentive. They busy trying to start a war with Iran.

Taliban insurgents carried out a bold assault on a remote base near the border with Pakistan on Sunday, NATO reported, and a senior American military official said nine American soldiers were killed.

The attack, the worst against Americans in Afghanistan in three years, illustrated the growing threat of Taliban militants and their associates, who in recent months have made Afghanistan a far deadlier war zone for American-led forces than Iraq.

[...] The militants have since regained strength in the tribal areas of Pakistan, which they have often used as a base for raids into Afghanistan, an increasingly sore point for the American and Afghan governments.

The new American commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan emphasized that issue on Sunday in an interview that took place before details of the Kunar attack were disclosed, asserting that the militants were not only entering Afghan territory but also firing at targets from the Pakistan side.

“It all goes back to the problem set that there are sanctuaries in the tribal areas that militant insurgent groups are able to operate from with impunity,” said the commander, Gen. David D. McKiernan, who took over the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in June.

The quagmire will extend into the next administration. Mr.Obama will get us into the mess deeper because he needs to prove something and keep his promises made during the campaign. He lacks the expertise to get us out. He needs some advisers or running mate who really understands what is going on and won't play political games.

Senator Barack Obama is proposing that the United States deploy about 10,000 more troops to battle resurgent forces in Afghanistan, a plan intended to shift the American military focus from the Iraq war to the marked rise in violence from the Taliban.

“As president, I would pursue a new strategy, and begin by providing at least two additional combat brigades to support our effort in Afghanistan,” Mr. Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, wrote in an Op-Ed article published on Monday in The New York Times. “We need more troops, more helicopters, better intelligence-gathering and more nonmilitary assistance to accomplish the mission there.”

Mr. Obama, who is among those who maintain that Afghanistan has been neglected because of the administration’s Iraq policy, has not previously offered such a specific plan for how to strengthen troop levels in Afghanistan. His proposal comes as he prepares to visit American commanders to assess progress in Iraq and needs in Afghanistan.

You need further proof that Obama is attempting to establish his foreign policy bona fide:

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama will be visiting the Palestinian Authority president in the West Bank next week, a Palestinian government official said Monday.

Obama will be meeting with President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on July 23, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said.

Obama is expected to visit Israel, but officials could not yet confirm what his plans are there. Erakat was in Paris, France, where Abbas had been attending a summit.

This visit would be a dangerous and unnecessary stunt. It gives an opportunity for the extremists to assassinate him.

Video: FOXNews Anchor Makes Dangerous Assertion About Measles Vaccine

This FOX "reporter" makes an irresponsible claim in the process of questioning a medical professional on the issue of the measles vaccine. There is a current surge in the cases of measles in the U.S. (the highest in 10 yeats). She asserts what is little more than a urban legend. The doctor being questioned testily refutes the unproven notion vaccines cause autism. The consequences of spreading such a myth are dangerous. It was a stupid line of questioning on the part of the anchorwoman.

Nader Hails Pickens Energy Plan in Letter to McCain / Obama

Dear Senators McCain and Obama:In the July 9, 2008 edition of the Wall Street Journal, the versatile, legendary, outspoken oilman, T. Boone Pickens, offered a practical plan to replace oil with natural gas for vehicular transportation.

read more | digg story

Transcript: Obama Dayton Speech on Energy

Read the entire transcript:

• "...we are nearing a point of no return when it comes to our global climate crisis. And with each passing day, it is clear that our addiction to fossil fuels is one of the most serious threats to our national security in the 21st century."
• "For the last eight years, this Administration has narrowly defined security as fighting an open-ended war in Iraq."
• "If Iran decided to shut down the petroleum-rich Strait of Hormuz tomorrow, they believe oil would skyrocket to $300-a-barrel in minutes, a price that one speculator predicted would result in $12-a-gallon gas. $12 a gallon."
• " The nearly $700 million a day we send to unstable or hostile nations also funds both sides of the war on terror..."
• "We are not a country that places our fate in the hands of dictators and tyrants - we are a nation that controls our own destiny....And it's why we must end the tyranny of oil in our time."
• "We've heard talk about curbing our use of fossil fuels in nearly every State of the Union address since the oil embargo 1973. Back then we imported about a third of our oil. Today we import over half."
• "So when he talks about the failure of politicians in Washington to do anything about our energy crisis, understand that Senator McCain has been a part of that failure."
• "When it comes to offshore drilling, even Senator McCain has acknowledged that it won't provide short-term relief. In fact, if we started drilling today, we wouldn't see a drop of oil for seven years, and even then it would have little if any impact on prices."
• "Second, we'll launch a Venture Capital Fund that will provide $50 billion over five years to get the most promising clean energy technologies out of the lab and into the marketplace."
• " Third, to create a market for alternative sources of energy like solar, wind..."
• "Fourth, we'll use our clean energy fund to invest over $1 billion a year to re-tool and modernize our factories and build the advanced technology cars, trucks and SUVs of the future..."

Iraq Government Thwarts Bush Plan for Permanent Occupation

The goal all along for the Bush/neocons to occupy Iraq indefinitely. They wanted to make the country safe for the western oil drillers and Israel. It seems that plan has gone out the window. This is the Bush's ultimate defeat in Iraq.

U.S. and Iraqi negotiators have abandoned efforts to conclude a comprehensive agreement governing the long-term status of U.S troops in Iraq before the end of the Bush presidency, according to senior U.S. officials, effectively leaving talks over an extended U.S. military presence there to the next administration.

[...]The failure of months of negotiations over the more detailed accord -- blamed on both the Iraqi refusal to accept U.S. terms and the complexity of the task -- deals a blow to the Bush administration's plans to leave in place a formal military architecture in Iraq that could last for years.

And now Bush will be forced to remove troops from Iraq to send to the other quagmire, Afghanistan. It's all unraveling for the incompetent President in American history.

The Bush administration is considering the withdrawal of additional combat forces from Iraq beginning in September, according to administration and military officials, raising the prospect of a far more ambitious plan than expected only months ago.

[...]One factor in the consideration is the pressing need for additional American troops in Afghanistan, where the Taliban and other fighters have intensified their insurgency and inflicted a growing number of casualties on Afghans and American-led forces there.

More American and allied troops died in Afghanistan than in Iraq in May and June, a trend that has continued this month.

Although no decision has been made, by the time President Bush leaves office on Jan. 20, at least one and as many as 3 of the 15 combat brigades now in Iraq could be withdrawn or at least scheduled for withdrawal, the officials said.

The desire to move more quickly reflects the view of many in the Pentagon who want to ease the strain on the military but also to free more troops for Afghanistan and potentially other missions.

Despite Passing Mickey Mantle A-Rod Doesn't Compare

Alex Rodriguez has been in the news quite a lot lately. Some of it having to do with his on the field exploits. Now he's passed Mickey Mantle on the all-time homerun list. Does that mean he is better? Definitely not.

Unlike Mantle, Rodriguez has been implicated in the steroid scandals impacting the MLB. In addition, A-Rod has never won a World Series; Mickey won many. I argued when New York acquired the arrogant superstar from Texas that they would never win a title with Mr.Rodriguez. A-Rod has always been a distraction on team he's been on. In fact, both Seattle and Texas improved after he left them.

Like Barry Bonds, Rodriguez is all about himself. Teams that win require a team that sacrifices egos for the greater good. Just look at the Boston Celtics. The Yankees team that won world titles at the end of the last century played with great chemistry. Alex Rodriguez does not know the meaning of teamwork.

I've looked at numbers and have determined that Rodriguez's homerun numbers are the result of steroids. The proof? Many of the great true homerun hitters were consistant. Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron, and Mike Schimidt, showed great consistancy throughout their careers. All four had Standard deviations of 11 percent. The 3 most famous homerun hitters suspected of steroid, or using chemical enhancement , like Mark McGwire, all had deviations of 14% or greater.

And one final point. Mickey Mantle is a beloved figure. Alex Rodriguez, like Barry Bond, will be remembered as jerks.

Rangel's Rent Arrogance and Two-Party Rule

Charles Rangel has "represented" one of the poorest districts in America for decades. So you would think that Harlem's Congressperson would be a little embarrassed by living so well through his connections seemingly above the law. The rents of New Yorkers are skyrocketing. So when we learn that Charles Rangel pays rent half of what the rest of us do, it seems unfair. Instead, the Congressman gives his poor constituents the middle finger. Why? Because he knows that he will keep his job in perpetuity. A person elected to Congress has a good chance of keeping that job for life. Is that democracy? This is what the two-party system has bequeathed to us.

Representative Charles B. Rangel on Friday angrily defended the unusual housing bargain he has been granted by a major real estate developer, saying that he did not believe he was being allowed four rent-stabilized apartments because of his status as a congressman.

He is so out of touch that Rangel doesn't realize the obnoxiousness of what he is saying:

Responding to an article in Friday’s New York Times, Mr. Rangel said there was nothing illegal or unethical about his relationship with the Olnick Organization, his landlord at the Lenox Terrace complex in Harlem. He also said that he did not believe it was unfair to avail himself of the multiple rent-stabilized apartments at a time of soaring rents in Manhattan and evictions of many rent-regulated tenants.

“I didn’t see anything unfair about it,” he said at a news conference he convened at the apartment complex, on 135th Street between Lenox and Fifth Avenues. “I didn’t even know it was a deal.”

Corruption by any other name:

A government watchdog group asked the House ethics committee on Friday to look into the arrangement and find out if it violated a ban on members’ accepting gifts of more than $100. The group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, also filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, seeking a review of whether the Olnick group, by granting Mr. Rangel the use of a below-market apartment for an office, was making an illegal corporate campaign contribution.

Mr. Rangel, a towering figure in New York City politics and chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, paid a total rent of $3,894 a month for his four units in 2007, according to state records obtained by The New York Times. The Olnick Organization’s Web site now advertises similar apartments in Mr. Rangel’s building at a combined market rent of $7,465 to $8,125 a month.

IndyMac Collapse: Only the Tip of the Iceberg

I think at this point we need to worry. We still behave like the economy is running the same it did 4 years ago. Gramm was wrong: we don't whine enough. Not only don't we whine but we are apathetic. We are behaving like we did prior to the 9-11 attacks as it relates to terrorism. Instead of planes hitting skycrapers, this time it's banks collapsing. We are on the verge of economic collapse. Wake up people. The politicians aren't going to help you. They are the problem. We must demand action.

IndyMac Bank's assets were seized by federal regulators on Friday after the mortgage lender succumbed to the pressures of tighter credit, tumbling home prices and rising foreclosures.

The bank is the largest regulated thrift to fail and the second largest financial institution to close in U.S. history, regulators said.

[...]The lender's failure came the same day that financial markets plunged when investors tried to gauge whether the government would have to save mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Shares of Fannie and Freddie dropped to 17-year lows before the stocks recovered somewhat. Wall Street is growing more convinced that the government will have to bail out the country's biggest mortgage financiers, whose failure could deal a tremendous blow to the already staggering economy.

The FDIC estimated that its takeover of IndyMac would cost between $4 billion and $8

Pork Barrel Spending Continues to Increase

And you thought that things would change with the takeover of Congress by the Democrats after the last election. The Congress won't change it's wastefulness as long the two-party system (which is really a one-party system) remains in control. The only thing that changes is the name of the party. Just remember that in November when you predictably vote for a Democrat or Republican. This from The Hill Blog.

The picture doesn’t look very sunny for taxpayers. Where CAGW [Citizens Against Government Waste] was able to make apples to apples comparisons, there are increases in numbers of earmarks and the costs associated with them. In the House Labor/HHS bill, the number of earmarks were in nearly a steady state from FY 2008, but the dollar amount shot up dramatically. In total, there are 1,370 earmarks worth a staggering $618.8 million of taxpayer money. This represents a 5 percent increase in number of projects, but a whopping 122 percent increase in dollar amounts over the FY 2008 version, which had 1,305 earmarks costing $277.9 million. The top three porkers were Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii), $168.5 million; Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), $161.3 million; and Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-S.D.), $148.5 million.

The House Financial Services Approps bill went from having 226 earmarks worth $111 million in FY 2008 to having 247 earmarks worth $134.9 million, a 9.3 percent increase in projects and a 21.5 percent increase in dollar amounts.

For the House Commerce, Justice and Science Approps bill, CAGW excavated 1,123 projects at a cost of $409.8 million. The top five porkers are CJS Appropriations Subcommittee member Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) with $9.95 million; CJS Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.) with $9.7 million; CJS Appropriations Subcommittee member C.A “Dutch” Ruppersberger (D-Md.); with $8 million; CJS Appropriations Subcommittee member Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) with $7.9 million and House appropriator Ralph Regula (R-Ohio) with $7.7 million.

Crisis: Fears rise on trillion-dollar trouble for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

This could be catastrophic.

US mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are facing growing pressure as fears intensify about a potential calamity at the firms, which underpin trillions of dollars in home loans.

On Thursday, Freddie Mac shares plunged 22 percent to eight dollars, and are down over 40 percent this week and 75 percent this year.

Fannie Mae sank 14 percent to 13.20 dollars, down 26 percent in the week and 64 percent for the year.

[...]One research note this week said the two firms may have to raise tens of billions of dollars in fresh capital under new accounting rules to offset massive losses in their home loan portfolios.

And predictably the free entreprisers are now calling for government intervention. Big business doesn't want government to intervene in the economy until they start having problems.

"The government has to step in and do something," said Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. analyst Paul Miller.

[...]Testifying on Capitol Hill, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke sought to calm investor jitters about the financial health of Fannie and Freddie, while urging Congress to give them new regulatory tools to better protect the country from economic and financial havoc if a major Wall Street firm were to fail.

[...]Bernanke defended the Fed's decision to provide about $29 billion in loan assistance in JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s takeover of Bear Stearns earlier this year, but said it "is not something I want to do again."

Despite Wall Street's questions about Fannie and Freddie, and concerns about other investment banks faltering, Congress has a full plate and is unlikely to give financial regulators new powers before the next administration takes over.

McCain Top Economic Advisor Calls Americans "Whiners"

Talking about out of touch. Former Senator Phil Gramm is McCain's top economic advisor. He believes America's economic problems are imaginary. McCain says he disagrees with his own adviser. How can McCain argue that he is fit to be President with such a schizophrenic campaign. This is pure incompetence, as well as being outrageous. And why hasn't Gramm been fired yet? Obama just got a gift from his principal opponent. This video reinforces the perception that McCain doesn't know much the economy.

McCain Squirms to Explain his Birth Control Vote

This might be the most laughable of McCain's many gaffes. He contorts trying explain the contradiction in his vote, which he can't remember. He doesn't recall voting to not allow insurances to pay for birth control, when it pays for viagra. And the fact that one of his top advisers supports the idea makes this priceless.

Backlash fears as Sudanese President faces Genocide Indictment

It is meaningless to indict a current ruler on crimes against humanity without moving to capture that individual. And why shouldn't Mugabe be indicted as well.

The UN is braced for a fierce backlash from the imminent indictment of the Sudanese president for genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

Omar al-Bashir will become the first sitting head of state and the first Arab leader to be charged by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which celebrates the 10th anniversary of its founding charter on Thursday.

Diplomats say Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the international prosecutor, will seek an arrest warrant for Mr al-Bashir from ICC judges in the Hague on Monday.

Thousands of UN peacekeepers in Sudan have regrouped and received extra provisions in recent days in anticipation of a hostile Sudanese response to the prosecutor’s move.

[...]Sudan has repeatedly threatened retaliation for charges being levelled against its leader after the slaughter in Darfur was referred to the ICC by the UN Security Council in March 2005.

UN officials fear the indictment, which must be approved by ICC judges, could precipitate the collapse of the fragile UN force in Darfur, where some 300,000 people have died since government-backed Janjaweed Arab militias began driving villagers from their homes in 2003.

UN says it will Investigate Bhutto Killing

If the UN does an honest and competent investigation they will find that Musharraf had her murdered. The U.S. government has chosen to accept the absurd claims of their Pakistan "ally" in the war on terror, so they can't trusted to find the truth. And if the UN finds it was the Pakistani government that had Bhutto murdered will they hold Musharraf accountable? I'll believe it when I see it.

The U.N. chief has agreed to Pakistan's request to establish an independent commission that will investigate the killing of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's office confirmed the agreement moments after it was announced by Pakistan's top diplomat.

"The objectives are for the commission to identify the culprits, perpetrators, organizers and financiers of the assassination," Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told reporters Thursday, just after a brief, private meeting with Ban.

Determining who was behind Bhutto's killing could help stabilize a nation that is a key U.S. ally in the fight against terrorism, but has been struggling against an influx of insurgents joining with al-Qaida and other militant groups in Pakistan's remote tribal and mountainous areas.

The previous government blamed the Taliban in Pakistan for the attack against Bhutto, but suspicions surrounding her death have been cast far and wide _ a further reason for the government's pressing to clear up the matter. Qureshi assured reporters that Ban would appoint "well-respected, eminent people" to the independent commission.

Previous Posts:

• Scapegoat: Teen Arrested for Bhutto Assassination
• CIA, Pakistan Concur on Bhutto's Killer
• Mysterious Crowd Suddenly Stopped Bhutto's car, Officer says

Rove Ignores Subpoena, Refuses to Testify

Let's see if the Democrats in Congress have the courage and decency to punish the evil genius behind Bush's criminal administration. Or will they play games until after the elections.

Former White House adviser Karl Rove defied a congressional subpoena to testify Thursday about allegations of political pressure at the Justice Department, including whether he tried to influence the prosecution of a former Democratic governor of Alabama.

Rep. Linda Sanchez, chairman of the House subcommittee that called Rove, ruled with backing from fellow Democrats on the panel that Rove's claim of immunity was invalid — perhaps the first step toward holding him in contempt for refusing to cooperate.

Lawmakers subpoenaed Rove in May in an effort to force him to talk about whether he was involved in prosecutors' decisions to pursue cases against Democratic politicians or in the firing of federal prosecutors two years ago.

He had been scheduled to appear at a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing Thursday morning. A placard with his name sat in front of an empty chair at the witness table, with a handful of protesters sitting behind it calling for Rove to be arrested.

The House already has voted to hold two of President Bush's confidants in contempt for failing to cooperate with its inquiry into whether the administration fired federal prosecutors for political reasons.