Day: December 6, 2005

Kerry spokesman David Wade, responding to criticism from RNC Chair Ken Mehlman and Radio host Rush Limbaugh, regarding John Kerry comparing American troops to terrorists: 

‘Ken Mehlman’s filthy and shameful lie about a decorated combat veteran is disgraceful. Political hack Ken Mehlman and draft dodging, donut eating Rush Limbaugh have something in common. Neither of them know anything about how to make American troops safe. John Kerry will continue to speak out about how to succeed in Iraq and protect brave American troops’…

Yes, yes, John Kerry has a plan. How often did we hear that during the 2004 campaign? Kerry’s handlers must really get tired of defending the man’s idiotic statements. I mean really, there can’t possibly be anyone inside the Kerry camp that believes in the “troops are just like terrorists” concept. Or even if they did believe it, surely they wouldn’t have given Kerry the nod to say such an outrageous thing.

Right?

(Ahem) Right?

<insert chirping cricket sound>

Has Castro looked in the mirror lately?

MORE: Jeb – “It’s an honor”

Give an inch and…well, you know the rest.

Canadian health authorities want to make permanent the country’s first test facility for heroin injection. Set up in 2003, the three year experiment was exempt from drug laws, and today, they shoot-up 800 addicts per day.

“It’s all-round positive, with no downsides,” said Perry Kendall, British Columbia province’s chief medical officer.

Yet another happy graduate of the Joycelyn Elders School of Drug Legalization.

No downsides huh? Well, there is that little problem of dealing with 800 addicts roaming the street looking for the next dealer who will sell them a dime bag. And then they have to find their way back to the clinic, which is easier said than done when you’re tripping on china white. Not a problem though, because any addict can make a pit stop at the local city park and shoot up there, if they can’t wait.

The clinic looks like an innocuous storefront in Vancouvers squalid Downtown Eastside district, Canada’s most impoverished neighbourhood with more than 5,000 heroin addicts concentrated in a 10-block area.

Addicts bring in drugs purchased illegally on the street, and self-inject them under medical supervision. There are onsite emergency services in case of overdose and staff nurses and counselors to provide health care and referrals to rehabilitation facilities.

Hey all you Conservative, right minded Canadians! Come on, I know you’re out there somewhere! Ain’t it great to see your tax dollars in action! Beauty eh?

The Vancouver clinic is a stone’s throw from the border with Washington state, and since it opened the White House has criticized it as an “inhumane” medical experiment.

Phew! If it weren’t for the Minuteman, we’d have all sorts of riff raff to deal with.

Advocates for drug users protested that the police crackdown is cruel because the clinic can only serve a minority of drug users.

“It’s just a really destructive thing,” said Ann Livingston of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users.

She notes that the supervised site can handle just 800 of 15,000 heroin injections daily, and staff are prohibited from physically injecting addicts or letting other addicts inject incapacitated users.

“There’s also no place for addicts who smoke cocaine”, said Livingston.

Oh, the inhumanity, the injustice! Foul! Foul! And what about the poor souls who want to huff spray paint, or the meth addicts? Yeah, what about them? They have rights too you know.

    O Canada!
    Our home and native land!
    True patriot love in all thy sons command.

    With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
    The True North strong and free!

    From far and wide,
    O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

    God keep our land glorious and free!
    O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

    O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Canada has stopped standing guard. Now she’s laying face down in the gutter.

It appears that today was the day Saddam Hussein realized he wouldn’t be able to manipulate a court of law to wrestle free from his chains of bondage. No more payoffs. No more threats of immediate death. No more intimidation.

Saddam now knows the good ‘ol days are over.

The trial of Saddam Hussein adjourned for the day Tuesday, with the former Iraqi leader indicating he’s unlikely to return when the court reconvenes Wednesday.

“I will not be in a court without justice. Go to hell, all you agents of America,” Hussein said.

His announcement came after five witnesses testified about brutalities they experienced during a government crackdown 23 years ago.

The rantings of a desperate former dictator. Pathetic and sad, but nonetheless amusing.

It’s as if the whole Valerie Plame matter never happened.

ABC News is blowing their ‘EXCLUSIVE’ horn again in an ongoing investigation to ‘out’ a handful of secret CIA prisons where alleged “enhanced interrogation techniques” are authorized for use by 14 CIA officers. Officially, the CIA has declined to comment on the existence of these prisons, let alone the intensity of interrogation tactics used at any such facility. President Bush has said plainly that the U.S. does not use torture as a means of extracting information from captured terrorists. But…

ABC News has access to information which they believe will prove otherwise. And how does ABC News assume any confidence in their investigation?

Current and former CIA officers are leaking information, confidentially of course.

Given what happened with Valerie Plame, why would any current or former CIA official want to slip information to a major news media organization? I believe there are two reasons.

Reason #1 – ABC News has been chasing this ambulance ever since CBS broke the news about Abu Ghraib. The logic is this. If there’s one prison where torture and humiliation tactics are used to interrogate prisoners, there has to be more. Incorporating their own AVIS slogan, ABC News is pushing a “WE TRY HARDER” methodology in this investigation. They aren’t satisfied with tips from soldiers, or seeking out a random CD-ROM containing damning photos. No, they are heading right to the agency who would know – the CIA, and when they won’t talk, ABC News will move on current and former CIA agents, promising anonymity in exchange for the real dirt.

In short, CBS got theirs and ABC News wants one too.

Reason #2 – The breakdown of loyalty inside the CIA family. I believe a serious rift within the agency occurred just before George Tenet resigned, and wounds remained open through the leadership of interim director John McLaughlin right through to today’s direction from Porter Goss. As such, it has become easier for news organizations to gain information from current and former agents/officials who have yet to remove the chip from their shoulder. Agents used to guard their identities with their life, and that protection extended to other agents and to the secrets held by the agency as a whole. But, in the last few years we’ve seen a shift from blanket loyalty to a ‘watch your own back’ protectionism. Today, identities are only as good as the confidentiality covenant between a reporter and their source. Ask Bob Novak how rock solid that guarantee is. Even still, agent to agency loyalty has been tossed under the bus in favor of retribution, power struggles, and political gain.

In short, a call to a CIA official from ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, FOX, WaPo, NYT, MSNBC (ad infinitum), is a call to take, even if risks exist.

The Plame Affair cracked the informant door open wide enough that it now swings freely, and news organizations like ABC are willing to take advantage of the sieve if it means a win in the race for ratings, and the all important ad revenues. Meanwhile, CIA officials with an ax to grind are whispering into cell phones and conducting meetings over coffee at an undisclosed Starbucks.

So, what’s the problem? After all, it’s only the secrets of the CIA, and ultimately the national security of the United States that is in serious jeopardy. For some, the risks are worth the temporary gain.

Related: AP Poll – Most Say Torture OK in Rare Cases | Condi: U.S. does not condone torture |