Good Morning! - Morning Headlines

Morning headlines brought to you by

Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com

Top Story

Bush: "I've Got God's Shoulder To Cry On, And I Cry A Lot"
In response to Mr. Draper's observance that Mr. Bush had nobody's "shoulder to cry on," the president said: "Of course I do, I've got God's shoulder to cry on, and I cry a lot." In what Mr. Draper interpreted as a reference to war casualties, Mr. Bush added, "I'll bet I've shed more tears than you can count as president."
President crybaby. He doesn’t cry nearly as much as those of us who have been saddled with his ridiculousness.—Caro

The Heretik

The World

AP ANALYSIS: Bush Calls Anbar a Success
(T)he progress in Anbar was initiated by the Iraqis themselves, a point (Secretary of Defense Robert) Gates himself made, saying the Sunni tribes decided to fight and retake control from al-Qaida many months before Bush decided to send an extra 4,000 Marines to Anbar as part of his troop buildup.

Bush says U.S. Iraq troop cut possible with success
AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq (Reuters) - President George W. Bush raised the prospect of troop cuts in Iraq after meeting top commanders at a desert air base on Monday but said any reduction would only be made from a position of strength.
Another head fake? Don’t be surprised.—Caro

British troops quit last Basra base
Iraqi soldiers hoisted the nation’s flag over the Basra palace compound Monday after British troops withdrew from their last garrison in the city, a move that will hand control to an Iraqi force riddled with Shiite militiamen.

On Two Fronts, One Nuclear, Iran Is Defiant
Two announcements Sunday appeared intended to enforce Iran’s refusal to back down in the face of stepped-up pressure from the United States.

Twin Pakistan suicide bombings kill 24
Two suicide bombers blew themselves up on a bus carrying Pakistani defence ministry workers and in a market in the garrison city of Rawalpindi on Tuesday, killing at least 24 people, officials said.

US says NKorea must do more to get off terror list
North Korea emerged Tuesday as a key focus of an Asia Pacific summit here as a top US envoy said the communist state must do more to end its nuclear drive before it is taken off a US terror list.

Sydney protest peaceful ahead of Bush's APEC visit
SYDNEY (Reuters) - The first APEC protest was staged in Sydney on Friday, hours before U.S. President George W. Bush was due to arrive for a summit of 21 Asia-Pacific leaders, but police and media far outnumbered activists.

British Iraq pull-out fuels strains with US
LONDON (AFP) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown defended Monday the withdrawal of troops from Basra city in Iraq, but the move will do little to ease mounting signs of tension between London and Washington.

The Nation

Dems face fall tests
Congress returns Tuesday to a busy fall agenda framed by looming White House veto threats over must-pass bills that will test whether Democrats will bend to President Bush, who faces the increasingly daunting task of minimizing Republican defections as election season kicks into high gear.

Iraq with an N? Anatomy of a Rumor That Has to be Taken Seriously (By Todd Gitlin)
The Democrats have to stand up this week, loud, clear, and demonstrative, and declare that they will not get hustled into supporting a mindless, counterproductive attack on Iran. They will not appropriate funds for it. Half of them in the Senate got hustled at the equivalent moment in 2002 and now regret it, even if are only willing to use the euphemism "if I knew then what I know now."

Envoy’s Letters Counter Bush on Plan for Iraq
(Former envoy L. Paul) Bremer provided the letters to The New York Times on Monday after reading that Mr. Bush was quoted in a new book as saying that American policy had been “to keep the army intact” but that it “didn’t happen.” The dismantling of the Iraqi Army in the aftermath of the American invasion is now widely regarded as a mistake.

I Don't Remember Where the Buck Stops
(Bush) may not have been aware (the decision to disband the Iraqi army) was a key decision - that seems to be the case - but not understanding how important it was doesn't absolve him of responsibility for it. Instead, it highlights the poor understanding he and others in the administration had about what postwar conditions would be like, and what would be needed to stabilize the country.

Special prosecutor should arrive on scene as Gonzales departs (By Elizabeth Holtzman)
There remains plenty of truth to get at, including questions of possible criminality that demand a special prosecutor's scrutiny. Who authorized the U.S. attorney firings? Were they intended to deter or punish investigations or prosecutions of Republicans, and do they constitute obstruction of justice or other crimes? Did Mr. Gonzales perjure himself before the Senate? What was his role in the illegal surveillance of Americans, mistreatment of detainees and other erosions of federal law and constitutional guarantees?

Swift Boat Ad Backer Linked To State Electorial Vote Proposition
LOS ANGELES -- Lawyers behind a California ballot proposal that could benefit the 2008 Republican presidential nominee have ties to a Texas homebuilder who financed attacks on Democrat John Kerry's Vietnam War record in the 2004 presidential campaign.

Media

Permanent link to MTA daily media news

I really love McClatchy. Look at these two headlines from this morning: “Bush makes a surprise visit to Iraq and sees progress” and “As Bush claims success in Iraq, the British leave Basra”. No blogger could have done a better job of composing those headlines.

Investigating an Outsourced War
We need the press to step up and get to the bottom of the corruption in Iraq, because the Bush administration is clearly uninterested.

Romney Fundraising Scandal Ignored By Liberal Media - Clinton Gets Hammered Over Hsu
August was a disastrous month for Republicans and the Romney campaign took a huge hit when it’s national finance committee co-chairman, Alan B. Fabian was charged in a 23 count indictment, including charges of money laundering, mail fraud, perjury and obstruction of justice… (Y)ou may not have heard much about this scandal. However, you may have heard of a scandal involving Senator Hillary Clinton’s campaign and a less-than savory character named Norman Hsu… While both scandals hold equal potential for damage to the respective candidates involved, the media, for unknown reasons, gave Mitt Romney a pass, while devoting ample time to Hsu and the Clinton campaign.

Newspaper Staffer Arrested in California for Terrorist Threat
Bizarre case involving classified ad.

Movies Soon Really Will Smell; This One, in an Ad, Like a Cake
Several newspapers are looking into new ways to use fragrance to entice marketers to buy more ad pages.

Cartoonist is still winning awards for paper that let him go
Scott Nychay, who lost his Northwest Herald editorial cartoonist job last October, was recently recognized in AP and Illinois Press Association contests. "Nychay called IPA and the AP to explore the possibility of renouncing his awards," writes Michael Miner. "Not to sound ungrateful, but he didn't much like the idea of the Herald entering him without his permission and basking in his triumphs."

BooksConnect Aims to Bring Authors & Readers Together
CountryBook, a UK-based online store for local books, has launched a social network for its service, in an effort to connect the various aspects of book buying, selling, recommending, and promotion. With the new network, entitled BooksConnect, you can browse for books by title, author or ISBN number, and add titles to your bookshelf. Similar to networks like Shelfari, you can view others’ bookshelves, find recommended books, write and read reviews, and create groups to interact online with other users. The new community also aims to provide a resource for events and the promotion of authors. So you can find out what’s going on in your town, or add an event of your own.

Whiting Out the Ads, but at What Cost?
A software program that blocks ads is a two-edged sword: It stops annoyances for consumers, but it threatens to break down the business model that helps pay for Web content.

Technology & Science

Faster Wi-Fi in works to transfer data
ATLANTA - With a wave of his hand over a homemade receiver, Georgia Tech professor Joy Laskar shows how easily — and quickly — large data files could someday be transferred from a portable media player to a TV.

Study: Men Men Go for Good Looks
WASHINGTON (AP) - Science is confirming what most women know: When given the choice for a mate, men go for good looks. And guys won't be surprised to learn that women are much choosier about partners than they are.

9% of U.S. Kids Have ADHD
But most aren't getting the medications they need, researchers say.

Study: Obese Toddlers Have Iron Deficiency
CHICAGO (AP) - Pudgy toddlers have an alarmingly high rate of iron deficiency, and Hispanic youngsters are more affected than other groups, a new study finds. The study is the first to discover a link between obesity and low iron levels in preschoolers. Iron deficiency can cause mental and behavioral delays, so the findings underscore the importance of healthy eating habits in children ages 1 to 3.

Aboriginal bush medicine heals body and soul
NHULUNBUY, Australia (Reuters) - As the campfire burns slowly, a group of Aborigines build a "place of healing" in a remote outback camp where they will treat the ill using traditional bush medicines.

Mysterious Solar Ripples Detected
Mysterious waves that help transport the sun's energy out into space have been detected by scientists for the first time. Researchers hope their discovery of the energetic ripples, known as Alfven waves, will shed light on other solar phenomena such as the sun's magnetic fields and its super-hot corona, or outermost atmosphere. A new video shows the ripples in action.

Environment

Back to School, Eco-Style
The back-to-school rush is on. If you’re a college or university student eager to help save the planet, you may want to consider carefully the impact of your return to campus. From recycled school supplies to local food, environmentally savvy students have lots of options for lightening their eco-footprints.

Agreement reached on greenhouse gas curb
Negotiators from 158 countries reached basic agreement Friday on rough targets aimed at getting some of the world's biggest polluters to reduce emissions of the greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. A weeklong U.N. climate conference concluded that industrialized countries should strive to cut emissions by 25 percent to 40 percent of their 1990 levels by 2020.

Dutch build towering wind turbines out at sea
IJMUIDEN, Netherlands (Reuters) - There is no shortage of wind in the densely-populated Netherlands but there is a shortage of space and in a nation which likes its houses small and its gardens cosy, opposition to wind farms is immense.

Europe photovoltaic capacity seen tripled by 2010
MILAN (Reuters) - Installed capacity of photovoltaic systems, which turn sunlight into power, will triple by 2010 to 3 gigawatts (GW) in Europe due to efforts to fight climate change, the sector's industry association said.

For more headlines, visit MakeThemAccountable.com.

:hi:

"“Clinton’s making a lot of money.”

9% of kids should be on medication? WTFF. How many of their mummies are on Anti-D's this week? 20%? More?

(from the local TV news)
Mum has a food addiction, so that's why her little darling is fat. BS. Her little darling is fat because she stuffs the same shit in her little snot's face as she stuffs in her own. Even presuming a full blown addiction, the two years before the little bugger can even make a start at foraging for their own food (in the wilds of the pantry) is more than enough time to wean them off crack, let alone crackling. And it's generally another ten before they start telling you how lousy a parent you are and playing the blackmail card.

Yes the food manufacturers do push unhealthy crap. But they push what sells and what sells is shit. And the only person that can be blamed for that is the consumer. What's the figure now? 25% or so IIRC. So roughly 90 million people in the US, man, woman & child, lack the self discipline to stop eating (or stop serving) what they know is killing them (or their kids).

AND BS on the price of food. Anyone with the skill not to burn water can put a meal on the table for about $2 per head. (That's a roast dinner BTW, I can do pasta (with a meat sauce) for considerably less). Any TV dinner which can be bought for less than that will probably be less nutritious the packaging it came in.

Food staples are cheap. Preparing them takes time. However, if Yuppies working 70hr weeks can find that time, then there are very few in the workforce who can't.

And if the kids won't come to the party, well empty the pantry anyway. It's a scientifically proven fact that no child under five has voluntarily starved to death. And it takes a major eating disorder in the other direction to the problem at hand, for anyone else not trying to make a political statement.

Brave New World reference for those who don't know.

:kick:

Caro ;-)