Odds and Ends

More miscellaneous rescued from the cracks...

No huge news revelations this week, the news cycle is starting to feed on itself.

President Bush recess appoints another unqualified person rejected by Congress to a key position... this time appointing Richard Stickler to head the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Stickler is a crony whose nomination was twice rejected by Congress (his lack of qualifications deemed troubling in light of recent mine disasters). Heck of a job, Bushie.

The Republicans suspended a Democratic staffer "pending a review to determine if that staffer leaked a classified National Intelligence Estimate to the New York Times"... However, Rep. Ray LaHood (R-IL)- who requested the suspension- admitted that it was "payback" and stated that "I’ll tell you why I did it. The reason I did it was because Jane Harman released the Duke Cunningham — who sat on our Intelligence committee — report." That report was not classified. Aren't they just keen??

Iraq's Prime Minister has has given an order "to stop providing mortality figures to the United Nations, jeopardizing a key source of information on the number of civilian war dead in Iraq." No comment.

A rare portrayal of the human costs of war?? The comic strip 'Doonesbury'.

Meanwhile, Vice President Cheney loves to lie.

The Christian Science Monitor explores the difficulty of Western nations in integrating their Muslim immigrants. This has been sparked by recent debates in England and elsewhere over the veil that Muslim woman wear over their face.

Condoleeza Rice expresses tolerance/'deference' to a gay couple; pisses off conservatives.

Finally, farmers become more eco-friendly in the wake of global warming.