July 22, 2008 archive

I flew United, Milwaukee>Ohare>Austin for the Netroots Nation bloggers convention last week.

Landing, 2 bags out of 66 passengers were not on the carousel, mine and agnostic’s, another raucous Dailykos poster. We were told they’d been mistakenly sent to Scranton, would be delivered to out hotel around midnight. Actually arrived 4:00 the next afternoon, with 2 pieces of tape, one from TSA, and another from Homeland Security. Missing, my hairbrush, and Ms. Agnostic’s scarf.

As I connect the dots, when our dossiers were run, an alert HSA drone noticed empty datafields for our DNA. No longer empty.

(h/t huff-puff)

~♥~ Pony Party is an Open Thread. Please don’t wRECk the Pony. ~♥~  

Recently publisher here and crossposted here.

I wanted to try and generate some discussion on a subject that will continue to resonate regardless of who wins in November: the pathological coupling between fundamentalism, flag worship, and what can be called, for lack of a better term, “warrior worship.” Join me below the fold, won’t you?

Hey!

Don’t Listen

To Him

He’s The

Iraqi Prime Minister

Women Are Now Equal as Victims of Poor Economy



By LOUIS UCHITELLE

Published: July 22, 2008

Across the country, women in their prime earning years, struggling with an unfriendly economy, are retreating from the work force, either permanently or for long stretches.

They had piled into jobs in growing numbers since the 1960s. But that stopped happening this decade, and as the nearly seven-year-old recovery gives way to hard times, the retreat is likely to accelerate.

Indeed, for the first time since the women’s movement came to life, an economic recovery has come and gone, and the percentage of women at work has fallen, not risen, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.

COUNTDOWN TO BEIJING

China on war footing ahead of Olympic Games

Fearing terrorist threats, Beijing has deployed tens of thousands of security personnel, banned cars into the capital and is installing surface-to-air missiles near stadiums.

By Barbara Demick, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

July 22, 2008

BEIJING — In China, the preparations for the Olympics look more like a military deployment than arrangements for a sporting event.

The government is installing surface-to-air missiles near the stadiums and setting up checkpoints to stop out-of-town cars from entering Beijing. It has enlisted 110,000 security personnel and more than 1 million citizens to protect the Games against what it says are credible terrorist threats.

Unmanned drones are to patrol the skies above Beijing for the duration of the Games, from Aug. 8 to Aug. 24. The 800-mile border with North Korea will be sealed, according to reports from South Korea. Beijing’s airport will be closed during the opening ceremony to enforce a “no fly” zone around the city.

USA

Guantanamo Judge Blocks Use of Some Statements

‘Highly Coercive’ Conditions Are Cited

By Jerry Markon

Washington Post Staff Writer

Tuesday, July 22, 2008; Page A01

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba. July 21 — Prosecutors in the trial of Osama bin Laden’s former driver cannot use as evidence some statements the defendant gave interrogators because they were obtained under “highly coercive” conditions while he was a captive in Afghanistan, a military judge ruled Monday evening.

As the first U.S. military commission since World War II got underway, Navy Capt. Keith J. Allred threw out the statements that Salim Ahmed Hamdan made after he was captured in Afghanistan in late 2001, including detailed descriptions of bin Laden’s whereabouts.