Odds and Ends

New York City flooded again yesterday. I love summer in the northeast. Here's the news...

It's bad enough for the administration that Britain has begun its withdrawal from Iraq, but the new leadership is also taking a tougher line on Guantanamo. They called "for the Bush administration to release five British residents held at Guantanamo Bay."

Barack Obama clarifies his controversial comments about Pakistan.

Speaking of Pakistan: "Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has pulled out of a major tribal council in Afghanistan aimed at ending Taliban and Al-Qaeda-sponsored terrorism, officials said Wednesday."

And the AFP news service refused to do the White House any favors by passing along its propaganda. A new report on administration statements begins: "US President George W. Bush charged Monday that Iran has openly declared that it seeks nuclear weapons -- an inaccurate accusation at a time of sharp tensions between Washington and Tehran." Imagine that... providing the reader with context!

The NY Times decides to end its pay-subscription system for its op-eds and archives.

We may also be closer to learning the dirty secrets of how NYC officials handled all those dangerous hippies during the 2004 RNC: "A federal judge yesterday rejected New York City’s efforts to prevent the release of nearly 2,000 pages of raw intelligence reports and other documents detailing the Police Department’s covert surveillance of protest groups and individual activists before the Republican National Convention in 2004."

Finally, will Minneapolis' damage be fixed before the Gulf Coast? Local politics suggest 'yes'.