UPDATED 11/05/08: New version for Obama’s victory.

Tip o’ the hat to Hardy Drew and the Nancy Boys

This. Is. Awesome.

Crossposted under my real name at Huffington Post’s Off the Bus.

It’s likely that most Americans have never heard of Katherine Gun. She is the former British secret service officer who leaked an email describing a plot orchestrated by the Bush and Blair administrations to force the hand of the United Nations in authorizing the invasion of Iraq. Gun was put on trial for leaking the email and the story garnered wide coverage in Europe. Unsurprisingly, in the hype that characterized the runup to the war here in the States, the story received little media play.

The larger story is being told for the first time in long form. PoliPoint Press has just released “The Spy Who Tried to Stop A War,” Gun’s story as written by Marcia and Thomas Mitchell, the former a senior executive for the Corporation of Public Broadcasting, the latter a former FBI special agent.

I caught up with Gun on her recent trip to the U.S.

Like leftover Thanksgiving turkey, I got to interview bestselling author Vincent Buglosi during the DNC. Hope you enjoy! – ctrenta

Vincent Bugliosi is a renowned prosecutor and respected lawyer. How good is he? Bugliosi successfully prosecuted 105 out of 106 felony jury trials, including 21 murder convictions without a single loss. His most famous trial, the Charles Manson case, became the basis of his classic, Helter Skelter. Many consider Helter Skelter to be the best true-crime story ever written. Bugliosi also wrote two others New York Times best sellers: And the Sea Will Tell and Outrage: The Five Reasons Why O.J. Simpson Got Away With Murder.  Other books include No Island of Sanity: Paula Jones v. Bill Clinton: The Supreme Court on Trial, Till Death Do Us Part, The Betrayal of America: How The Supreme Court Undermined the Constitution and Chose Our President, and Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Bugliosi’s latest, The Prosecution of George W. Bush For Murder, is an explosive look at the un-reported (or under-reported) crimes committed by the Bush Administration. In The Prosecution of George W. Bush For Murder, Bugliosi skillfully and meticulously sets forth a legal architecture for the case against Bush and unequivocal evidence of his guilt. He also establishes the jurisdiction, on a federal and state level, for close to 1,000 prosecutors throughout the U.S. to prosecute Bush for the crimes of murder and conspiracy to commit murder. ??

Bugliosi spoke in Denver during the Democratic National Convention. He didn’t address Party stalwarts, delegates, super-delegates, or the party faithful. Bugliosi took it to the people at the Central Presbyterian Church in downtown Denver. Here is what Vincent Bugliosi had to say.

The Sarah Palin stuff is annoying but this one should grant an exception.

Raw Story is reporting that Republican veep nominee Sarah Palin credits her electoral success on a preacher who claims he can successfully hunt down witches. Raw Story’s John Byrne writes the following.

“In 1988, Pastor Muthee and his wife traveled to Kenya after being “called by God.” Setting up shop in the basement of a grocery store, they claim to have brought 200 people “to God” and away from the town’s “spiritual oppression.”

The source of the oppression? Witchcraft, Muthee says. When researching the community, they found that a woman named “Mama Jane” ran a divination clinic that drew a large following in the town.

“We prayed, we fasted, the Lord showed us a spirit of witchcraft resting over the place,” Pastor Muthee said.

Muthee made his experiences into a video called Transformations, which documents his “spiritual warfare” against demons and occult practices. Spiritual warfare is more common in Latin America and Africa, where the concept of day-to-day demons has a stronger hold. The video’s trailer is available here.

Here’s the video of Palin crediting the pastor.

So much more. Read the rest of the story here.

… and it’s not Sarah (a.k.a. “Caribou Barbie”)

H/t to Counterpunch.org.

This is it. The last slide show from the Democratic National Convention. Included are photos from yesterday’s Progressive Democrats of America conference and the main event at Invesco Field. Obama’s speech was amazing. I don’t know how the GOP can actually respond to this. They’re toast as far as I’m concerned.

Hope you enjoyed the coverage. I’ll have a final recap sometime soon. It was fun out here. It really was.

– ctrenta

SO many things going on. I didn’t get a chance to submit these last night because I was too damn exhausted. As I was heading home last night, I came across a biker stand off with police at 15th and Blake Streets in Denver. One guy got hauled off and arrested but the picture I took came out all fuzzy. It was one of those spur of the moment photographs that just didn’t come out right when you needed it to.

I’m including these photos because the Democratic National Conference is more than just a dog & pony show. Political conventions have always been about protests, overreactive police force, etc. These photos capture some of the things that took place. When I left the bikers were chanting “The whole world is watching! The whole world is watching!” Activists never get credit for the actions they do. That’s why they belong here.

As always….. more to come.

– ctrenta

More pictures from inside and outside the Big Tent. Lots more to come. Believe me!

The delegate count got to New York where Senator Hillary Clinton asked Speaker Nancy Pelosi to suspend the rules and nominate Barack Obama outright. It’s official. Howard Dean said expect the unexpected with Hillary Clinton. That’s an understatement.

Pelosi just announces Obama accepted the nomination.

The Pepsi Arena is going wild. The Big Tent is going wild.

It’s done. It’s all over.

… now back to some Fat Tire Ales.

Correction: Here’s what Chris Grotke, friend and co-founder of iBrattleboro.com. IMO his words were accurate with what happened.

Pelosi guided them through the voice vote and that was that.

I just talked to Jane Hamsher of FDL who told me an ABC News producer was arrested for taking pictures of fat cat donors coming out of a fund raiser. Here’s the diary she wrote at Firedoglake. But Brian Ross of ABC News has the story. Check it out.

You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Me.

Here’s the link to the story. They’re not just going after activists…. now they’re going after…

THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA?

Sweet Jesus! What have we come to? Spread the word…. and more to come.

Too much to say, too little time. I got into the Pepsi Arena but my pass was only good for the hallways, not the arena itself. Still… I got some good pictures. Thanks to a friend of mine, I’ll make it onto the floor tonight. So stay tuned y’all. Here’s my slide show from yesterday, If you have any questions, Comment here and I’ll respond. All of you at Docudharma are the best!

– ctrenta

h/t to Raw Story for covering this. Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now!, and A-list bloggers Glenn Greenwald and Jane Hamsher were all shut out of a Blue Dog Democrat party sponsored by AT & T. All three of them had press credentials. Here’s how Amy Goodman covered the event. Welcome to the Dems version of Dick Cheney’s energy council.

Hang tight. More to come! – ctrenta