I’m not sure where I should stand here. I think I might actually be agreeing with Bush (for once).

Is this really the time for congress to be taking up this matter? Don’t these people have anything more important to do? What is the reason for hanging a label on a group or country for actions taken a century ago?

If I’m wrong here… if I’m missing something, please let me know.

Turkey Threatens Repercussions for U.S.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey, which is a key supply route to U.S. troops in Iraq, recalled its ambassador to Washington on Thursday and warned of serious repercussions if Congress labels the killing of Armenians by Turks a century ago as genocide.

Ordered after a House committee endorsed the genocide measure, the summons of the ambassador for consultations was a further sign of the deteriorating relations between two longtime allies and the potential for new turmoil in an already troubled region.

Egeman Bagis, an aide to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, told Turkish media that Turkey - a conduit for many of the supplies shipped to American bases in both Iraq and Afghanistan - might have to “cut logistical support to the U.S.”
[...]

The Bush administration, which is lobbying strongly in hopes of persuading Congress to reject the resolution, stressed the need for good relations with Turkey.

“We look forward to his quick return and will continue to work to maintain strong U.S.-Turkish relations,” said Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council. “We remain opposed to House Resolution 106 because of the grave harm it could bring to the national security of the United States.”

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the measure is damaging relations at a time when U.S. forces in Iraq rely heavily on Turkish permission to use their airspace for cargo flights.

Christopher Torchia, Associated Press

Source: AP

John Lennon - “Across the Universe”

It would have been John Lennon’s 67th birthday this past Tuesday. Here’s a fan vid for one of his prettiest tunes, that also features some of his most evocative lyrics. Here’s some footage of John and the lads in India.

From CNN:

Rep. Ralph Regula of Ohio, the second longest’serving Republican in the House, will announce Friday that he will retire rather than seek re-election to a 19th term next year, two GOP congressional sources told CNN Thursday.

Regula, 83, a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee and the senior Republican in the Ohio delegation, will make the announcement back home in his northeast Ohio district, the sources said.

I don’t know about this. Looks good on paper, but I doubt it’ll happen. Too many variables. Too many groups that love to hate.

Giving Peace a Chance

In an unprecedented letter, Muslim leaders across the globe invite the world’s Christians to the table.

Oct. 11, 2007 - Getting religious leaders to agree on anything is notoriously difficult. So this morning’s announcement-that 138 of the world’s most powerful Muslim clerics, scholars and intellectuals from all branches of Islam (Sunni and Shia, Salafi and Sufi, liberal and conservative) had come together to write a letter to the world’s Christian leaders-is being hailed as something of a miracle.

In a display of unprecedented unity, the letter-which calls for peace between the world’s Christians and Muslims-is signed by no fewer than 19 current and former grand ayatollahs and grand muftis from countries as diverse as Egypt, Turkey, Russia, Syria, Jordan, Palestine and Iraq. It is addressed to Christianity’s most powerful leaders, including the pope, the archbishop of Canterbury and the heads of the Lutheran, Methodist and Baptist churches, and, in 15 pages laced with Qur-anic and Biblical scriptures, argues that the most fundamental tenets of Islam and Christianity are identical: love of one (and the same) God, and love of one’s neighbor.

Emily Flynn Vencat, Newsweek

MSNBC.com

So what Putin is basically stating here is that Iran is “innocent until proven guilty“. What a novel idea! Imagine how many lives would have been saved if our own elected officials practiced this philosophy.

Rice Says Iran ‘Lying’ About Nukes

SHANNON, Ireland (AP) – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Thursday accused Iran of “lying” about the aim of its nuclear program, saying there’s no doubt Tehran wants the capability to produce nuclear weapons and has deceived the U.N.’s atomic watchdog about its intentions.

“There is an Iranian history of obfuscation and, indeed, lying to the IAEA,” she said, referring to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“There is a history of Iran not answering important questions about what is going on and there is Iran pursuing nuclear technologies that can lead to nuclear weapons-grade material,” Rice told reporters aboard her plane as she headed to Moscow.
[...]

Russian President Vladimir Putin said this week there is no proof Tehran is trying to build the bomb. Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates are scheduled to see him in Moscow on Friday.

Matthew Lee, Associated Press

Source: AP

More precisely, the Republican view.

(click HERE for larger view)

SLAP!

Judge blocks U.S. illegal worker crackdown

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A U.S. federal court judge on Wednesday blocked a key part of the Bush administration’s stepped-up efforts to crack down on illegal immigrant workers and those who employ them.

Judge Charles Breyer of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted a preliminary injunction against a program that would force employers to verify Social Security numbers and fire workers whose numbers did not match official records.

The federal program developed by the Department of Homeland Security is at the heart of a new crackdown on the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the country, after Congress failed to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

But the “no-match letter” program was challenged in a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union, the AFL-CIO and other labor groups claiming it was unlawful and hurt all workers, including legal ones affected by errors in the data base.

Leonard Anderson, Reuters

Reuters

Write one that makes sense. Write one that doesn’t allow big telecommunications companies to ride roughshod over us. Wrap it all up in pretty paper with a gold ribbon on top, then shove it down the bastard’s throat!

Bush: Surveillance bill must not hamper fight against terrorism

President Bush says a new foreign surveillance bill must give flexibility to intelligence professions.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – President Bush said Wednesday he will not sign a government surveillance bill unless it provides the tools and flexibility intelligence professions need to protect the America against terrorism.

The bill, the president said, must “keep the intelligence gap firmly closed and ensure that protections intended for the American people are not extended to terrorists overseas who are plotting to harm us.”

Retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that cooperated with electronic surveillance, must also be part of the bill, Bush said.

He said the companies “are facing multibillion-dollar lawsuits only because they are believed to have assisted in the efforts to defend our nation following the 9/11 attacks.”

Bush wants to strengthen the Protect America Act, a temporary measure passed in August and set to expire in February. Democrats want to roll back some of the powers granted in that bill.

CNN

CNNPolitics.com

Tell it, Jimmy!

But this is kinda old news. I think most Americans were onto Dick from the beginning. Still nice though to hammer Cheney’s ass in the public arena whenever the chance presents itself.

Jimmy Carter calls Dick Cheney a ‘disaster’

Former president also says U.S. tortures prisoners

WASHINGTON - Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter on Wednesday denounced Vice President Dick Cheney as a “disaster” for the country and a “militant” who has had an excessive influence in setting foreign policy.

Cheney has been on the wrong side of the debate on many issues, including an internal White House discussion over Syria in which the vice president is thought to be pushing a tough approach, Carter said.

“He’s a militant who avoided any service of his own in the military and he has been most forceful in the last 10 years or more in fulfilling some of his more ancient commitments that the United States has a right to inject its power through military means in other parts of the world,” Carter told the BBC World News America in an interview to air later on Wednesday.

MSNBC News Services

And what does the Dick camp have to say about all of this?

Oh please! Anyone not toeing the republican line gets taken to the woodshed. In this case, they simply can’t argue with Carter’s statements.

MSNBC.com

Two U.S. soldiers were killed today when Camp Victory, a major U.S. base in Iraq, was attacked.

The Marine Corp. is pressing to have their troops removed from Iraq and sent to Afghanistan.

Reports in recent days have noted more barbaric actions by Al-Qaeda as they have increased attacks during Ramadan using indiscriminate violence, murder and intimidation,” Major-General Kevin Bergner said on Wednesday. At least 16 people killed and 45 wounded in various attacks, including seven involving improvised bombs

The scale of the overall displacement of Iraqis is unprecedented in the modern history of the Middle East. The BBC reports there are now over 4 million Iraqis forced to flee their homes and the number is rising.

The State Department is said to be considering limited use of mercenaries in Iraq.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan may ask parliament on Thursday to authorise a military incursion into northern Iraq to fight Kurdish rebels using the region as a base. Turkish warplanes and helicopter gunships attacked suspected positions of Kurdish rebels near Iraq on Wednesday, a possible prelude to a cross-border operation that would likely raise tensions with Washington.

Security developments 10/10/07