the pope is still dead

QUICK UPDATE AMONGST THE NOISE OF THE DELAY STORY (not sorted)

* "Homeland Security: 'We're still looking for Gannon credentialing'" LINK
have they looked on top?

* bumiller ups the ante in the EliteFluffPatrol stakes. this is possibly one of the worst ive seen. and ive seen a lot. (actually this article in the iht seems to be running a week later for some reason. i missed it first time round) LINK

* actually bumiller has outdone herself already. "President Bush concluded a recent news conference in a White House press briefing room so sweltering that his secret transmitter, if it ever existed, would have been setting off sparks." go read the rest for fun. LINK

* after my ranting about the houstonchron, they *slam* DeLay in this editorial - it opens thusly: "Although Tom DeLay portrays a believable Third World dictator, it is time that he stopped trying to transform the United States into his own ideological fiefdom." and just gets slammier. (its from the Austin desk) LINK

* "GOP senator makes comment saying violence against judges is a result of their not being accountable" LINK

* "(Bear in mind that Cornyn is a former District Court judge, a former member of the Supreme Court of Texas and a former Texas Attorney General.)" LINK

* "The hypocrisy of Washington’s self-proclaimed crusade for democracy in the Middle East found damning expression this week in the nearly total silence of the US government and the American media over a demonstration that brought tens of thousands of protesters into the streets of Bahrain last Friday demanding democratic reforms... Friday’s peaceful march saw an estimated 80,000 people—roughly 12 percent of the Gulf state’s total population—demanding constitutional reforms." LINK

* "The ACLU said the reason for the delay in delivering the more than 1,200 pages of documents was ”evident in the contents”, which include reports of brutal beatings, ”exercise until exhaustion” and sworn statements that soldiers were told to ”beat the f**k out of” detainees. One file cites evidence that military intelligence personnel in Iraq ”tortured” detainees held in their custody. " LINK

* frankluntz slams bush and blair! "I can see it now: Lib Dem posters plastered throughout traditional Labour constituencies of a smiling Tony Blair looking wistfully at a smirking George W. Bush over a simple four-word slogan: “Need we say more?” Trust me, it would work." LINK

* heres another notgannon interview - i think this is the highlight: "I think people believe I have been "outed," but I continue to maintain that my personal life is private. " LINK

* the pope is still dead.

* will the next pope be a black woman?

* the illers just linked to me again. bless their hearts. it feels like a coming-of-age blogging moment when people start linking to you without u actually pointing to a piece youve written and saying 'hey - i think u might think this is worth pointing to' - and bless CI's heart again, they actually seem to have a keyboard macro which says 'Luke is often noting things that others (including me) miss.' - like "Democracy Now!, "always worth watching" (Marcia)" status. and while im at it, its amazing to see that commonillers actually write in to CI and say 'hey - u should quote what luke wrote' - thnx natalie and billie and monica. and thnx to CI for blogrolling me. and thnx to ron for the same. i actually just blog to keep in touch with four friends and to keep them up2date with what im reading. paul who got engaged last month, brent who had a baby last week, mike who had a party & a holiday last month, and adam (im not sure what he did last month). anyways - feel free to say hi via comments or email.