Richie Havens opening at Woodstock
“Handsome Johnny”
“Freedom”

I’ve been listening to music from back in the day all evening. Man I feel blessed to have lived when this music explosion was going on, and to have been able to see so many of these greats in person. As much as I try, there’s not much of today’s music that I can get excited about. Not like I did then. Maybe it has to do with youth. Or drugs. Or maybe it was just better music. I don’t know…… it was what it was and I am glad I was there.

Ok, somebody explain to me why they didn’t bring their own plane? If they don’t have a plane, I’m sure they have enough money to charter one. I understand that this is their custom, but if you can afford to travel with an entourage then you’re wealthy enough to charter a plane and do things the way you do things. Otherwise, sit down, strap yourself in and STFU. Obnoxious….

Three Arab princesses were thrown off a packed British Airways flight after refusing to sit next to male passengers they didn’t know.

The dispute - in which the three princesses from the ultra-conservative Qatar royal family demanded segregated seating - left the London-bound plane delayed on a baking Italian runway for nearly three hours.

Furious passengers whistled and clapped as the row intensified before the captain eventually ordered the women to be escorted off the plane.

The princesses, wearing traditional Arab dress, were returning from a day’s shopping in Milan. They arrived at the city’s Linate airport and boarded Heathrow-bound flight BA 563, which was due to take off at 4pm on Thursday.

The women, all relatives of the oil-rich emir of Qatar, Bader Bin Khalifa Al Thani, were booked into business class in a party of eight which included the emir and an entourage of cooks, servants and other staff.

Tim Russert (Meet the Press) discusses Gonzales testimony this week.

Senators Leahy and Specter on Face the Nation today.

The Attorney General is a Liar

Russ Feingold talks to Chris Wallace about Iraq, Gonzales, the FISA law, the US attorney firings and censure on Fox News Sunday. Chris Wallace is such a friggin tool. I wonder how many Democrats on his program want to just smack him right in the head. I know I do…….

Grandma with a ice pack is held at airport for three hours and asked, “Do you know Osama Bin Laden?” Heckuva job Homeland Security!

WOOT WOOT WOOT!

Iraq erupted into a rare explosion of communal joy Sunday as its national football team beat Saudi Arabia 1-0 to secure an historic victory in the Jakarta-based final of the Asian Cup. The moment the final whistle was blown, fans surged from cafes and other TV viewing points out onto the streets in extraordinary scenes of jubilation right across the nation.

Younis Mahmoud, 24-year-old captain of the giant-killers who had already disposed of tournament favourites Australia and South Korea, assured himself of a place in the country’s sporting history with his headed winner in Jakarta’s Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.

Khalef headed home a corner kick in the 72nd minute. Iraq had never made the final four before in the Asian tournament, while Saudi Arabia were bidding for an unprecedented fourth Asian Cup title.

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By Chalmers Johnson

In politics, as in medicine, a cure based on a false diagnosis is almost always worthless, often worsening the condition that is supposed to be healed. The United States, today, suffers from a plethora of public ills. Most of them can be traced to the militarism and imperialism that have led to the near-collapse of our Constitutional system of checks and balances. Unfortunately, none of the remedies proposed so far by American politicians or analysts addresses the root causes of the problem.

According to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, released on April 26, 2007, some 78% of Americans believe their country to be headed in the wrong direction. Only 22% think the Bush administration’s policies make sense, the lowest number on this question since October 1992, when George H. W. Bush was running for a second term - and lost. What people don-t agree on are the reasons for their doubts and, above all, what the remedy - or remedies - ought to be.

The range of opinions on this is immense. Even though large numbers of voters vaguely suspect that the failings of the political system itself led the country into its current crisis, most evidently expect the system to perform a course correction more or less automatically. As Adam Nagourney of the New York Times reported, by the end of March 2007, at least 280,000 American citizens had already contributed some $113.6 million to the presidential campaigns of Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, Mitt Romney, Rudolph Giuliani, or John McCain.

If these people actually believe a presidential election a year-and-a-half from now will significantly alter how the country is run, they have almost surely wasted their money. As Andrew Bacevich, author of The New American Militarism, puts it: “None of the Democrats vying to replace President Bush is doing so with the promise of reviving the system of check and balances. The aim of the party out of power is not to cut the presidency down to size but to seize it, not to reduce the prerogatives of the executive branch but to regain them.”

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I think this speaks volumes about the spirit of people in general, and how hard it is to break it. Through all this country has been through (thanks to GW), they still have the spirit to survive and train a soccer team that just may win the Asian Cup. There’s not a single member on the team who hasn’t lost a family member to this war. This team has brought together Iraqis of different religious and ethnic backgrounds. I wish them the best of luck and hope they take it all the way!

In the Asian Cup final against Saudi Arabia on Sunday, Iraq is the underdog in every way imaginable.

Saudi Arabia, which has appeared in five of the last six finals, is a three-time champion. Iraq has never been to the finals and last played in the semifinals 31 years ago.

But that is only the beginning of the uphill fight for Iraq’s young, beleaguered players.

When the Iraqi national soccer team left Malaysia for the finals here, they were delayed three hours in the Kuala Lumpur airport before collapsing into their cramped, economy-class seats.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s team strolled onto its stylish, private jet, accompanied by media representatives, interpreters, doctors and coaches, and was whisked here.

This has been the story for the Iraqis the entire tournament. The underfinanced team has been plagued by endless complications with travel, accommodations, food, training and equipment.

“From A to Z, everything has been a problem from the very beginning,” said Jorvan Vieira, the head coach from Brazil who brushed aside death threats to take his short-term job with Iraq.

More at the New York Times

Looks like the topic of the week is Gonzales. What, no talk of terror?

Sunday Talk:

* MTP: reporters’ roundtable on 08, Gonzales and other hot topics; WaPo’s Dan Balz, LA Times’ Ron Brownstein, CNBC/WSJ’s John Harwood, NBC’s Andrea Mitchell, WaPo’s Eugene Robinson, NBC’s Chuck Todd
* FTN: Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) & Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) on Gonzales; SI’s Frank Deford, WaPo’s John Feinstein and Kansas City Star’s Jason Whitlock on trouble in sports; Politico’s Jim VandeHei
* This Week: Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) & Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) on Gonzales and Miers & Bolten contempt; Bob Dole & Donna Shalala (co-chairs of Wounded Warriors Commission); roundtable of Newsweek’s Fareed Zakaria, Cokie Roberts and David Gergen on hot topics; Jacob Komar on recycled computers for needy families
* FNS: Newt Gingrich; Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI); Cal Ripken Jr.
* Late Edition: US Amb to UN Zalmay Khalilzad; Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY); Rep. Chris Shays (R-CT); Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO); Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA); National Urban League Pres. Marc Morial; ex-OH SoS Ken Blackwell (R); roundtable of CNN’s Bill Schneider, CNN’s Ed Henry, and Hotline’s Amy Walter.

TV Alerts
* Political Capital with Al Hunt (Bloomberg, repeats throughout weekend): Sen. Bob Dole (R-KS)
* Chris Matthews Show 7/28-7/29 Time’s Michael Duffy, NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell, WaPo’s David Ignatius, and USN&WR’s Gloria Border discuss “What is the truth behind the President’s predictions of horror if US troops are pulled out of Iraq? Who won the contest between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama this week?” Quotes here.
* Newsmakers (C-SPAN, 10am, 7/29): VA Sec. Jim Nicholson
* Road to the WH (C-SPAN, 6:30pm, 7/29: Rudy Giuliani in IA; Tom Tancredo in IA.
* 60 Minutes 7/29: Medicare Part D passage in Congress; Dennis Kozlowski interview; mixed martial arts
* Q&A (C-SPAN, 8pm, 7/29): “Shooting Michael Moore” filmmaker Kevin leffler
* The Daily Show: Alastair Campbell on 7/30; Lewis Gordon Pugh on 7/31; Jed Babbin on 8/1; Matt Damon on 8/2
* The Colbert Report: Evan Osnos on 7/30; Kathleen Kennedy Townsend on 7/31; Michael Beschloss on 8/1; Michael J. Behe on 8/2;
* Letterman: Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) on 7/31; Al Franken (DFL-MN) on 8/2;
* Leno: Anderson Cooper on 8/1;
* Ellen DeGeneres: Al Gore (rerun) on 8/2
* The View: Anderson Cooper on 8/3

Source: Newsie8200