Grapple in the Big Apple

* amy goodman hosted a debate (The Grapple in the Big Apple) between galloway and hitchens - u can watch it here - 2hours. or its on cspan 2 a few times over the weekend. i recommend you watch it. there are many hilights - i think my favourite moment was hitchens claiming that the iraq war was really good because it was in iraq that the 82nd Airborne learnt how to pass out water, which was good practise for doing so in nola.

* chris hayes recalling the freedom fries walk: "I felt like I was standing in a really long line to buy movie tickets."

* "The fact is, according to Reuters -- and this has not been widely reported -- President Bush did indeed take a bathroom break after passing the note to Rice." (link)

* "O’Reilly: The truth of the matter is our correspondents at Fox News can’t go out for a cup of coffee in Baghdad....
Condi: Bill, that’s tough. It’s tough. But what — would they have wanted to have gone out for a cup of coffee when Saddam Hussein was in power?" (link)

* "(Reuters) - The Justice Department and the special counsel investigating the leak of a CIA operative's identity pressed Congress to block legislation that would compel the administration to turn over documents related to the case, the department said in a letter released on Thursday.
The Justice Department, in a letter dated September 14, said special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald had advised that producing documents and holding hearings would interfere with his investigation...
Lawyers close to the Plame investigation say there are signs that the 20-month-long inquiry could be wrapped up within weeks." (link)
please save us, Patrick.

* " The case of Jose Padilla is quite simply the most important case in the history of the American judicial system. Hanging in the balance are all the fundamental principles of American jurisprudence including habeas corpus, due process and "the presumption of innocence". All of those basic concepts were summarily revoked by the 3 judge panel of the 4th Circuit Court...
The entire affair has been a grotesque mockery of justice. The hard-right groups that engineered this plot know exactly where the fault-lines in American jurisprudence lie; in the inalienable protections of its citizens." (link)

* the above padilla quote is from the rabid comsymps at counterpunch. a usatoday editorial isnt nearly as hysterical: "That sounds more like the power accorded a dictator than the president of the United States. Repeal of the Constitution's Fourth, Fifth and Sixth amendments wasn't part of the package when Congress passed that anti-terrorism resolution after the 9/11 attacks." (link)

* uri avnery: "from the first moment, I was sure that Arafat had been poisoned." (link)

* further to my recent comments about chemical weapons being used in iraq, we now have this odd story: "An Al-Qaeda linked Sunni group in Iraq said it used chemical weapons to attack targets in Baghdad today, according to their statement released on an Islamist website.
Jaish al-Taefa al-Mansura (Army of the Victorious Community) said its fighters fired shells filled with chemical agents at the interior ministry, foreign ministry, the 'green zone' and Baghdad's security academy." (link)

* christian amanpour is interviewed iranian president - cnni are gonna show the interview - will cnn?

* "The emphasis over the last five years on promoting abstinence from sex has led to widespread neglect of discussions about the safety of various sexual practices, Wagoner said.
"One of the most shocking statistics now is that the incidence of teen gonorrhea in the United States is 70 times that in the Netherlands and France," he said. "We are paying a big price for shutting down discussion."" (link)

* "Today forty members of Congress, led by Maurice Hinchley (D-NY) are urging Fitzgerald to look into the fraudulent claims that BushCo. made regarding Iraq's nuclear capabilities in its justification for war" (link)
omg.

* can mitt romney please stfu and go directly to hell, without collecting $200