18 June 2004

EUlite put a fork in Europe

[source]

A deal has been reached on the first constitution for the European Union after hours of talks at the EU summit.

The final text of the constitution was put to leaders of the 25 EU states, who approved it a short time ago.

I understand why Old Europe embraced this suicide pact, but why did the newly free nations of Eastern Europe do so?

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How not to pick a headline

Here’s a classic poorly worded headline from Real Player for the Rather/Clinton interview:

Clinton on Monica

I guess it summarizes the whole thing well.

P.S. Let me say that I hate Real Player. The technology’s a bit flaky and it is so annoyingly in my face. I don’t want the premium service, I don’t want it to check for whatever stupid things it’s always checking. If it weren’t a required corporate standard it would be in the bit bucket faster than Clinton’s pants hit the floor when he “consulted” with Monica.

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Ignore them, what do they know?

[source, source]

A 9/11 commission staff report is being cited to argue that the administration was wrong about there being suspicious ties and contacts between Iraq and al-Qaeda. In fact, just the opposite is true. The staff report documents such links.

The staff report concludes that:

  • Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden “explored possible cooperation with Iraq during his time in Sudan.”
  • “A senior Iraqi intelligence officer reportedly made three visits to Sudan, finally meeting bin Laden in 1994.”
  • “Contacts between Iraq and al-Qaeda also occurred after bin Laden had returned to Afghanistan.”

Chairman Thomas Kean has confirmed: “There were contacts between Iraq and al-Qaeda, a number of them, some of them a little shadowy. They were definitely there.”

Following news stories, Vice Chairman Lee Hamilton said he did not understand the media flap over this issue and that the commission does not disagree with the administration’s assertion that there were connections between al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein’s government.

Yet even intelligent observers are labeling this as “no Iraq/Al Qaeda” connection. It’s especially amusing to read arguments that support that contention via the authority of the Commision when the Chairman and Vice Chairman are confirming those links.

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We don't care that we don't care

Here’s a headline for you:

Climate Change Experts Despair Over U.S. Attitude

Note that these are not experts on climate but on climate change. A bit of pre-ordination, but at least they’re open about it. Bummer about that obstinate American attitude, though.

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Putin confirms Ba'ath regime didn't like USA

[source]

Russia warned the United States on several occasions that Iraq’s Saddam Hussein planned “terrorist attacks” on its soil, President Vladimir Putin said today.

“After the events of September 11, 2001, and before the start of the military operation in Iraq, Russian special services several times received such information and passed it on to their American colleagues,” he told reporters.

Mr Putin said Russian intelligence services had many times received information that Saddam’s special forces were preparing terrorist attacks in the United States “and beyond its borders on American military and civilian targets.”

“This information was conveyed to our American colleagues,” he said.

He added that Russian intelligence had no proof that Saddam agents had been involved in any particular attack.

Oh right. Everyone knows that Putin is another Cheney run sock puppet, used primarily for testing out repression techniques in the Russian laboratory before imposing them on the unspecting USA. Of course he’d say this kind of thing. Wake up people!

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