Good evening and let's kick things off with Democracy Now!
Arrest Warrants Issued for Ex-Iraqi Officials
Also in Iraq, arrest warrants have been issued for several officials from the US-backed interim government of former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi. According to the Associated Press, five ministers -- including Allawi's defense minister Hazem Shalaan -- are among 28 ex-officials accused of misappropriating one billion dollars in military funds. Most of the officials have already fled the country.
Who put Allawi into place? We did. We ignored the rumors of him killing jailed Iraqis, we looked the other way about him being Chalabi's cousin. We are the occuyping power and we did nothing to ensure that the funds were going where they were supposed to. This is our screw up.
New Poll: 59% of U.S. Wants Troops Out of Iraq
Meanwhile, a new CBS News poll shows that 59 percent of Americans want US troops to leave Iraq as soon as possible, even if the country is not completely stable, an increase from 52 percent last month. Iraqis are four days away from voting in a nation-wide referendum on a new constitution drafted by the transitional government.
But little bitty minds will say, "Gosh guys, you know we broke it so we have to fix it." They can't get it through their little bitty minds that we haven't fixed dick and we won't fix it. How many years are they willing to committ to the misguided occupation before they wake up. Polls demonstrate that Iraqis don't want us over there. We don't want to be over there. But it's the little bitty minds that keep us there.
Tony asked me why I wasn't noting CounterRecruiter lately? There was a period where there wasn't anything new up and I honestly stopped checking. I asked C.I. about it and C.I. pointed out that Mike Burke (who does most of the stuff but not all of it) had been working on the Hurricane Katrina story for Democracy Now! in addition to his regular duties for Democracy Now! I'm glad Tony told me they were back to posting. They've got a lot of important stuff up and I'll note this thing by Kat Aaron called "Military, Facing Huge Recruiting Shortfall, Insists 'Not in Gloom Mode:'"
The military will now be taking more recruits who get low scores on military aptitude tests. Until now, the armed forces have been admitting no more than 2% of the recruiting class from enlistees who get a Category IV score, the lowest test score above a failing grade. That'll be upped to 4%.
"The Department of Defense is clearly getting desperate for new recruits," Representative Anna G. Eshoo (D-Palo Alto) of California told MTV.com. Eshoo has co-sponsored a bill dubbed the Student Privacy Protection Act of 2005, which, if passed into law, would change a provision in the No Child Left Behind Act that allows military recruiters easy access to student information courtesy of their high schools.
CounterRecruiter is a great site that covers issues that I care about and that readers who have e-mailed care about. Since the last time I noted them, they've put up a lot of important stuff so check it out.
Leigh Ann wrote me that the funniest online today is C.I.'s "NYT: The Littlest Judy Miller" and could I give a shout out. Heck yeah!
I can do even better for you Leigh Ann, I called C.I. to ask about the entry and C.I.'s not crazy about. It was written because 15 members had e-mailed on it this morning. Juan Forero gives C.I. a headache to begin with but C.I. was feeling under the weather anyway this morning and already running back and forth between the computer and the bathroom to throw up ("repeatedly"). That's why you only have 2 non New York Times links in the two morning posts.
I'm sure having to address Juan Forero didn't make C.I. feel any less sick this morning but the entry was a big hit in my house with my sister going around all day singing "Little Juan . . ." to the tune of Madonna's "Promise To Try." She's really into Madonna and excited about Madonna's new CD that comes out soon so let me put that in because she says all her friends ask why I never mention her much. Here's one reason - when I started this she asked me not to mention her by name. She was all, "I'm really popular and I don't want you using my name to become some little internet star." :D
Right cause the whole web is just waiting to hear about my high schooler sister and who she's dating this week! :D
She's going to be pissed when she reads this so let me say something nice before she decides to live in the bathroom - she really already does. She has very pretty hair. She spends hours on it to make it pretty! :D
Let me be serious and stop talking about her hair, if I listed all her hair products, she would be so mad!
I will say this though, why does she do the ponytail thing at least once a week? She's not in the bathroom in less on those mornings? Elaine wrote a thing about how women wear a pony tail when there's no more time for anything else or something like that so I asked her about and she goes that just cause my sister comes out with a pony tail doesn't mean she intended to. Like she was probably in there trying to get her hair to do something and finally gave up and just went with a pony tail.
(And remember to check out Elaine because we're doing the same 2 items.)
I never wear a pony tail. :D Seriously though, my hair is short and I run my fingers through it if that. I drop my drawers, hop in the shower, lather up, rinse off, dry off, brush my teeth and shave in less than 6 minutes. My sister's in the bathroom for an hour some mornings and "quick" to her is like being in there half an hour. What's she doing in there all that time? That is her real nose, right? She's not like having to glue on her nose and her ears is she?
If you ask my siblings who've moved out they'll tell you no 1 was like my sister when they were living at home and how good that was because we're a big family and we've only got the 2 bathrooms.
Sometimes when I'm banging on the door she'll scream for me to go use our parents' bathroom and I'll be, "All my junk's in there." I can't shave without my razor and my folks use Prell and if I use that shampoo my hair is just this huge, fluffy ball. I'll look like that Marx brother who couldn't talk! I'll be like, "Just pass me my shampoo" and she'll be, "I am putting on my make up!" When she finally gets done, it doesn't look like she's spent all that time putting on make up and she goes "That's what takes so long!" :D
She's really a good sister. I tease her but she's okay. I'll even put in, because I'm sure she's bragged to her friends in high school about this, that Tony told her she looked really good a few weekends ago. She probably went to school going, "College men like me!" :D
She is pretty. But Tony knows she's under age and my sister so she better not be hoping to date him or any of my friends.
I'm trying to think of something nice to say about her other than her great hair but come to think of it, that'll probably be enough for her. She'll read this and give me a dirty look, then sigh and say, "At least you mentioned my hair." :D
Speaking of great hair, Kat's going to be writing something about D.C. She tried before and lost the post and got really pissed but she said she was going to try again so look for that.
juan forero
the new york times
the common ills
like maria said paz
counterrecruiting
democracy now
kats korner
my sister lives in the bathroom
