What's good for the goose...

Scooter Libby's attorneys have submitted a massive discovery request to prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's office, asking for a staggering amount of classified docs to aid their defense. Fitzgerald was not happy:

..the handover of such material to I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby could harm national security, infringe grand jury secrecy and executive privilege and unnecessarily delay the trial.

No doubt a scattergun approach by Libby's team to overwhelm the prosecutor with document requests they know can't or won't be honored. Much thought has gone into this game.

Libby's defense is already crystalizing--in addition to dragging every prominent journalist in DC and NY into court and forcing them to decide whether to give up sources or face jail, he'll also generate document hamster dances around Fitzgerald, requiring the need to release classified information:

"As the defendent well knows, the PDB is an extremely sensitive document which implicates very serious concerns about both classified information and executive privilege,"

The ultimate goal is to force the media and prosecutor into deciding whether it's really worth pursuing a perjury case in light of all the above.

Ready to give up yet?

Consider the following headlines regards our efforts in the war against barbarism:


"White House ordered to release spy papers"

A federal judge ordered the Bush administration on Thursday to release documents about its warrantless surveillance program or spell out what it is withholding, a setback to efforts to keep the program under wraps.

Let's change the headline to "federal judge demands to see all national security secrets because Bush is well-known liar and there's not really a war on."

"Annan says US should close Gitmo prison"

The United States should allow "a full and independent investigation" at Guantanamo and also give the United Nations access to other detention centers, including secret ones, in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, Nowak said by telephone from his office in Vienna, Austria.

"We want to have all information about secret places of detention because whenever there is a secret place of detention, there is also a higher risk that people are subjected to torture," he said.

One question, if it's a secret prison (which means nobody has seen it) how does he know there's a higher risk of anything?

"More Abu Ghraib Prison Abuse Photos Leaked"

blah, blah, blah, America bad, blah

Might as well have shown them buck naked exposing tatoos of Mohammed on their posteriors while flushing Korans down the toilet.

"Iraqis say Saddam could exploit Abu Ghraib images"

"This is evidence that Saddam was ruling the country with justice. We did not see any Iraqi being tortured in his time."

Well, it's nice to see Baghdad Bob is getting out these days.

Keep in mind the enemy who started this conflict never allows their detainees to consult lawyers before head separation activities, much less get a day in court. The law they DO recognize emanates from their Holy Book, the same one used to justify the head chopping. They explode concealed bombs in cities killing women and children rather than soldiers.

Others believe justice is done by spraying chemical gas or invading neighbor countries to pillage, rape and steal. Still others believe their neighbors have no right to exist at all.

Yet,

"Impeaching Bush is a cause worth fighting for, actor says"

"Unless you are willing to accept torture as part of a normal American political lexicon, unless you are willing to accept that leaving the Geneva Convention is fine and dandy, if you accept the expansion of wiretapping as business as usual, the only way to express this now is to embrace the difficult and perhaps embarrassing process of impeachment."

Nothing like fighting for the cause, Mr. Hooper.

The Arab port deal

Many are understandably aghast over the recent government approval of the sale of a British port operations company (P&O Lines) to a state-run Arab company from the UAE. It brings to mind the brouhaha with COSCO (China Overseas Shipping Company) during the Clinton years. But is this Emirates deal as bad as cracked up to be?

First, the UAE/Emirates are presumably western friendly. It's not as if Yemen, Sudan or Iran were suddenly taking over the port of Newark. Second, this company won't actually control the port itself. The government-run port authorities will retain control and oversight as they always have. The UAE company will only be running the offload/transload operations.

Yet there should be concerns. Similar to handing over a tract of land to communists in southern California, we're handing over port transloading operations to people who have a higher than average potential for being turned into crazed fanatics. For example, let's say someone in the UAE company converts to Wahabbism. Think he could get a few containers with WMD through the port? Or, how about blackmail from al-Qaeda groups?

Keep in mind how the intermodal business operates-- containers come in on ships, are loaded onto trailers, where they're either placed on railroad flatcars for long distance delivery or hooked to trucks for shorter range delivery.

Thousands of these boxes are rolling the streets and tracks of America at any given time. At left is a "container train" rolling into the outskirts of Memphis a few years back. So, having a hearing might not be a bad idea. Maybe they can ask Treasury Secretary Snow, former CEO of CSX Railroad/SeaLand Intermodal, a few questions about the deal, just to ease our minds.

HEARINGS BEFORE BILL, FOLKS 2/17/06

The dems think they have another issue, but it may turn out to be a boat anchor:

Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Hillary Clinton of New York said they would offer a measure to ban companies owned or controlled by foreign governments from acquiring U.S. port operations.

"We wouldn't turn the border patrol or the customs service over to a foreign government, and we can't afford to turn our ports over to one either," Menendez said in a statement.

Other than the fact P&O itself is foreign-owned (British), the ports themselves will not be outright "controlled" by these operators, just the loading/unloading operations. We need to keep that straight.

But we also need some historical perspective. Legislation to stop foreign operators from staking out beachheads at American ports is hardly without precedence. Perhaps Hillary has forgotten her husband's position regards the Port of Long Beach and COSCO? Maybe Charlie Trie and Johnny Huang could refresh her memory, wherever they are.

Anyway, as noted I'd be in favor of hearings on this matter. But to sponsor a bill essentially limiting only Arab countries from investing in US ports is hard to justify in light of what we've already allowed. Meanwhile, perhaps an eager journalist can "follow the money" and find out what's really going on here. After all, that's what helped unravel the COSCO deal.

MEATHEAD! 2/18/06

From a Newsmax story on the ports:

Flynn and others said even under foreign control, U.S. ports will continue to be run by unionized American employees. "You're not going have a bunch of UAE citizens working the docks," Flynn said. "They're longshoremen, vested in high-paying jobs. Most of them are Archie Bunker-kind of Americans."

See--those union dock workers are gonna keep them A-rabs in check.

MORE 2/18/06

This issue seems to be bringing both sides together. Meanwhile, LASunsett shares some rage with Michelle.

An even larger concern might be that DP World will not only control American stevedore ops, but former P&O port ops around the world. Check out this P&O webpage for perspective.

But the bottom line is always the money, and in this case: gobs of it:

"[DP World] is owned by a monarchy, but it's a business and its money is the same color as everyone else's, only it's got more of it," said Peter S. Shaerf, managing director of AMA Capital Partners LLC, merchant banking firm focused on the maritime and transportation industries.

Shaerf said the sale price is the most ever paid for any port operations company, and was considered high by many analysts after DP World and rival, Singapore-based PSA International, bid up the price.

DP World, formerly known as Dubai Ports International, began as the port authority in Dubai. In 1999, it began aggressively buying up other port operations in the Middle East and around the world, Shaerf said. In January 2005, the company moved further into Asia and Europe with acquisition of the international terminal business of CSX Corp. With that acquisition, it changed its named to Dubai Ports World.

CSX? What say you, Mr. Snow?

If nothing else this issue certainly brings forth questions on how capitalism fits within a GWoT. Time for some hearings.

ed-cleaned up misconception on who's on whose side above..

2/20/06

Think foreign companies don't already have their hands in American ports? Check out this photograph by local Memphis photographer M.J. Scanlon. It shows a Canadian National railroad locomotive switching freight cars at one of America's bigger inland ports, the port of Memphis at President's Island.

Trivia..this railroad used to be called Illinois Central, made famous by Arlo Guthrie's song the 'City of New Orleans' years ago. No one seemed to complain when it was taken over in 1999 during the Clinton administration by the our friends in the frozen north.

Riders in the sky

We were promised flying cars, but flying Harleys? See the video here.
Now imagine traffic control with these suckers zipping around.

Hansen drops the N word

James Hansen's bark is apparently just fine. The NASA researcher, who recently claimed the Bush administration was trying to muzzle him because of his dire global warming projections, showed up unannounced last week at a seminar in New York called "Politics & Science: How their interplay results in public policy".

Hansen apparently came to the dais and issued his stock disclaimer (I’m not speaking for Uncle Sam--[he forgot to instruct everyone to ignore his status as a NASA department head-ED]) then accused our favorite political pinata of fiddling while the planet burns.

But what would a Bush-bash be without a Bushitler moment, speaking about his colleagues at NOAA:

"It seems more like Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union than the United States," he said, then disappeared moments after his panel concluded.

At least give him credit for diversity--he's insinuating Bush might be some kind of weird fascist-communist hybrid.

Alison McCook of the New Scientist Blog was in attendance and points out a possible blowback from using such imagery:

However, in a subsequent round table discussion, David Goldston, the chief of staff of the House committee on science, took Hansen to task for making such an extreme comparison between the US and these nefarious regimes. Goldston said he normally defends the NASA scientist, but using inflammatory language keeps the debate about global warming polarized, running the risk of alienating people in "the middle."

Ya think? The way I see it Hansen officially stepped onto the Moonbat express by making that reference, which tanks his credibility to persuade about two-thirds of the citizenry. It's clear now why some in the administration didn't want him running loose. The debate simply must be more civil.

Captain, more dilithium crystals!

A team at RPI has developed table top device to produce cold fusion:

The device, which uses two opposing crystals to generate a powerful electric field, could potentially lead to a portable, battery-operated neutron generator

As you might remember, we've been here before. But if this small particle generator can be safely perfected, it might provide small amounts of power, one day providing value as strap-on cancer treatment devices or airport security scanners, among many other uses. Hardly warp drive, but as they say, baby steps.

Around the horn

Various and Sundry..

How long before COPS gets a hold of this?

The Incredible Hulk is now a Los Angeles County sheriff's department reserve deputy. Lou Ferrigno, who's 54, was sworn in during a ceremony Monday night. He tells The Associated Press his father had been a New York City police officer, and he's always had a high respect for officers.

Not gonna take long before he goes green in that place.


Zacarious Moussaoui. Poor guy. He's trying to be controversial, but it just ain't working, not with Saddam still in the picture. Still he tries, taking a shot at the judge today, "I am al Qaeda. I am your sworn enemy". I bet he was lots of fun at parties. Reminds me of that Francis character in Stripes.


What a sterling example of faith this guy is setting. I'm sure some will blame his imbibing on the pressures of his sexuality. But you know, as Paul said, not everyone can do it. Or thereabouts.


This was either due to the cartoons,
or maybe it was that dang Monopoly contest again.


Here's to red-heads, the most mocked, scorned, trashed white folk on earth. Especially if they were once step-children.


DHS has a new "Cheney Alert System". Color-coded, too!


Some folks hate Valentines Day. Maybe they don't understand the true meaning.

It's a crazed world. Oh well, happy Birthday Dad.