Buckdog

The following article by Steve Holland is chilling. It details a lengthy period of American military occupation in Iraq in order to stabalize oil supplies for decades to come.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush would like to see a lengthy U.S. troop presence in Iraq like the one in South Korea to provide stability but not in a frontline combat role, the White House said on Wednesday.

The United States has had thousands of U.S. troops in South Korea to guard against a North Korean invasion for 50 years.

Reuters

Robert Alan Soloway A 27-year-old man described as one of the world's most prolific spammers was arrested Wednesday in the U.S., and federal authorities said internet users could notice a decrease in the amount of junk e-mail.

A U.S. federal grand jury last week returned a 35-count indictment against Soloway charging him with mail fraud, wire fraud, e-mail fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering.

-CBC.ca
-PCWorld

The Liberal party's stand against anti-scab legislation resulted in Stephane Dion being heckled off the stage at an Ottawa Labour rally.

Dion was heckled and booed by union members chanting "anti-scab, anti-scab" to object to the Liberals' lack of support for legislation that would prevent federally regulated companies from hiring replacement workers.

-The Star
-Canada.com

I have been critical of Pope Benedict in the past where I felt it was warranted - so to be consistent, I should acknowledge actions that he makes which I believe are positive.

The Vatican is reporting that Pope Benedict XVI plans to restore a Vatican office that specializes in relations with Muslims a year after he was criticized for disbanding it.

Church relations with Muslims were badly strained after a speech by Benedict in Germany last September that made a link betweem Islam and violence. In the aftermath, Benedict said he regretted that Muslims were offended by his remarks and made a special trip to Turkey where he was the first Roman Catholic Pope to pray in a Mosque.

Here is the official teaching on Islam and Muslims in Catholic Theology:

841: The Church's relationship with the Muslims.
"The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the One, Merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day."
CATECHISM OF THE
CATHOLIC CHURCH
APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION
FIDEI DEPOSITUM ON THE PUBLICATION OF THE
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Associated Press

See Section 841 - Catechism of the Catholic Church


tag pope benedict

Jury members in the Conrad Black trial in Chicago were shown the video surveillance footage of Conrad Black and his driver removing boxes of sensitive records from his company.

-Video Footage
-The Globe and Mail

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have been getting some bad press lately with scandals in their pension fund.

Hold on to your seats, the venerable force is about to be rocked by further scandals that apparently have allegations of criminality. A report in the Toronto Star indicates that misdirection of force funds and internal vendettas will be brought out in public.

The Toronto Star

P.E.I.'s Liberal party has won a surprisingly easy victory in the provincial election.

The Liberal victory brings 11 years of Tory rule to an end, and marks the end of a surprising campaign that started with a confident Progressive Conservative party, and a seemingly tentative Liberal party.

Here are the unofficial results from Elections PEI.

CBC

Parliament reconvenes today and is scheduled to sit until the summer recess commences on June 22nd.

The Whips of all parties are meeting today to see if they can't get the House to cooperate enough for some work to occur.

Don't hold your breath.

-CBC.ca
-National Post

The UK based Telegraph is reporting that intelligence sources have revealed President George W Bush has given the CIA approval to launch covert "black" operations to achieve regime change in Iran.

According to the Telegraph, Mr. Bush has signed an official document endorsing CIA plans for a propaganda and disinformation campaign intended to destabilise, and eventually topple, the theocratic rule of the mullahs.

Under the plan, pressure will be brought to bear on the Iranian economy by manipulating the country's currency and international financial transactions.

bush cia iran

According to a report by SAVE THE CHILDREN, Iraq’s child mortality rate has increased by a staggering number. Some 122,000 Iraqi children died in 2005 before reaching their fifth birthday. More than half of these deaths were among newborn babies in the first month of life.


-Save The Children

-Boston.com

From Associated Press:
AMHERST, Mass. (AP) -- President Bush's former chief of staff Andrew Card was loudly booed by hundreds of students and faculty members as he rose to accept an honorary degree at the University of Massachusetts on Friday.

The boos and catcalls - including those from faculty members who stood onstage with Card - drowned out Provost Charlena Seymour's remarks as she awarded the honorary doctorate in public service. Protesters claim Card lied to the American people in the early days of the Iraq war and should not have been honored at the graduate student commencement.

Associated Press

Canada's top soldier, Gen. Hillier addressed the Economic Club of Toronto with what can only be called a purely political speech.

There was a time in the 1980s and 1990s when Canadians were not so united behind their troops, he said, which he blamed partly on a profound disconnect between the military and the public and partly on an organizational command structure that did not give Canada the strategic edge it could have had internationally.

Gen Hillier said that was no longer the case. He said the Canadian Forces was in the midst of a "revolution" that was changing "everything we do and how we do it..."

Gen. Hillier said this new vision of the Canadian military aims for what he called the "Vimy effect."

"The geopolitical strategic implications of Vimy, carry on to this day," he said. "What we want to do is sort ourselves out in such a manner and do our job in such a manner that the geopolitical strategic implications for Canada will resonate from every tactical job that we do."

Hillier's comments about the Canadian Armed Forces in the 1980's and '90's totally disrespects our peacekeeping missions and those men and women who served in Cyprus, Egypt, Rwanda, and numerous other locations.

Hillier's right wing political world view is showing through and I want a chance to vote against him. Oh wait, he serves Canada, I can't; he is not a politician.


National Post

There is a race currently underway between different flanks of the administration to determine the future course of US-Iran policy.

On one flank are the diplomats, and on the other is Vice President Cheney's team and acolytes -- who populate quite a wide swath throughout the American national security bureaucracy.

The person in the Bush administration who most wants a hot conflict with Iran is Vice President Cheney.

Multiple sources have reported that a senior aide on Vice President Cheney's national security team has been meeting with policy hands of the American Enterprise Institute, one other think tank, and more than one national security consulting house and explicitly stating that Vice President Cheney does not support President Bush's tack towards Condoleezza Rice's diplomatic efforts and fears that the President is taking diplomacy with Iran too seriously.


-Time/CNN
-Washington Note

tag iran cheney

This weeks departure of Rev. Dick Dewer as CEO of Canada's Miracle Channel highlights an ongoing dispute that the Canadian Radio and Television Commission (CRTC) has had with the the christian broadcaster. An article by Grant Robertson in the May 25th edition of Report On Business carries the details of the dispute:

"One of Canada's biggest religious television networks was hit by the sudden departure of its president this week, but a management shuffle at the Miracle Channel will have little impact on its clashes with the federal broadcast regulator.

The CRTC had recently required the Miracle Channel to provide revamped fundraising guidelines several months ago after fielding complaints.

Hosts have told viewers to cash in their RRSPs, one of several on-air statements that prompted CRTC concerns. "There is somebody right now watching, and God is speaking to them about RRSPs," a host told viewers in 2004. "They've got RRSPs, and they've got a sizable amount, and it's a security thing. Well, it's not a security thing; your security is in God. And God's speaking to you to cash those in. And I dare you to do it."

The CRTC warned the network in a subsequent letter: "Encouraging viewers to donate does not pose a problem in itself; however, manipulating viewers into giving to the station is not acceptable."


Report on Business

After speaking to the press concerning the testimony of a witness at his fraud trial, Conrad Black has been reprimanded by the presiding Judge.

"I suggest that you tell him and admonish" him, U.S. District court Judge Amy St. Eve told Lord Black's defence lawyers this week, according to court documents. "If you can't control him ... I'd be happy to do it."

The warning was issued after assistant U.S. attorney Eric Sussman complained about comments Lord Black made after David Radler completed two weeks of testimony as the star witness for the U.S. government last week


-National Post
-BUCKDOG on Black - A compendium

OTTAWA – The NDP’s Finance Critic Judy Wasylycia-Leis (Winnipeg North) today launched a campaign to tackle unchecked corporate crime in Canada that has seen average investors soaked while CEOs run away with record salaries and little consequences.

“Germany, France and the UK all have new laws in the post-Enron era,” said Wasylycia-Leis. “The United States and Australia introduced tough legislation on accounting and whistleblowers, both under conservative governments. We’re calling on victims of corporate crime to take the lead and join us in fighting for reform. That’s the only way this minister will act.”

-NDP News
-Toronto Star

The following article by Pablo Fernandez, Sun Media, appeared in the May 21st edition of the Calgary Sun:

"The nomination process in Calgary West has turned into a disgraceful game of charades, those battling to unseat the incumbent Tory MP in the riding charged yesterday.

Unless the Conservative riding association changes the rules back to reflect a more democratic approach to nominations, controversial MP Rob Anders is well on his way to his second acclamation in less than a year, said Calgary businessman and nomination hopeful Walter Wakula.

"If they wanted to grandfather him into the candidacy, then they should've just done that instead of coming up with this kind of a contest ... it's just crazy," he said. "

Buckdog has been following the Rob Anders case for sometime. Stay tuned for further developments!

Calgary Sun


Photo coutesey http://www.robanders.com/EN/4128/46535

CALGARY - The founder of Canada's first national Christian television network has resigned after admitting to an "extra-marital relationship."

Rev. Dick Dewert started the network in Lethbridge in 1995 with his wife, Joan, who has also resigned to "stand with her husband," a news release issued from the Miracle Channel said.

The Miracle Channel is carried by cable providers and is renowned for lengthy fund raising specials where a variety of preachers speak in tongues and pour 'holy' oil over the prayer requests of contributors.

-Edmonton Journal
-CBC

An unprecedented move by the Conservative Party of Canada's National Council to deny voting rights to new members in Calgary West is curtailing any potential challenges to MP Rob Anders in a court-ordered second nomination battle.

The new party rule applies ONLY in Calgary West Constituency and gives a vote only to those who were party members in the middle of August last year and contrasts with every other Tory riding in Canada, where anyone who has held a membership for more than three weeks can vote at a party nomination.

University of Calgary political analyst David Taras says the Tories' solution to the infighting in Calgary West flies in the face of the populist, grassroots-style party that Prime Minister Stephen Harper embraced as a Reformer in the early 1990s.

"What you really want is to have an open nomination process, and the purpose of course is to get the best candidates, to open it up to citizens, to stir involvement and passion. That's what political parties are all about."

"This is the Reform party in reverse. This is closing down memberships, this is not allowing the grassroots to be vocal and shows the great distance that's been travelled between the old Stephen Harper and the new Stephen Harper."

Buckdog has been following the Rob Anders case for sometime. Stay tuned for further developments!

Brooks Bulletin

The results of the Manitoba Election:
The NDP WIN THIRD TERM!


36 New Democrats 47.79%
19 Progressive Conservatives 38.12%
2 Liberals 12.38%
0 Green 1.33%

0 seats to report
29 needed to win

At dissolution the Manitoba Legislature was composed of:
35 New Democrats
19 Progressive Conservatives
2 Liberals
1 Independent
1 Vacant

This week, Mr. Bernard Grenier, a retired Superior Court judge, delivers his report on Option Canada, the shadowy organization said to have funnelled close to $5-million in federal money into the No campaign before Quebec's 1995 sovereignty referendum.

Spending limits for the referendum allowed each side a budget of no more that $5-million. The allegation is that Option Canada gave the No side double the money the Yes side spent.

The late Claude Arpin, a Montreal Gazette reporter, discovered the fact that the Council for Canadian Unity created a "bogus firm" called Option Canada.

-Ottawa Citizen
-National Post

tag Liberal party adscam

The polls are open and 713,908 registered voters are eligible to decide the makeup of Manitoba's government for the next four years.

If you live in Manitoba.... GET OUT AND VOTE.....!!

Election Edition

The recent ban by Pentagon officials on the use of Youtube on military computers has sparked a reaction from the online community.

YouTube's co-founders are challenging the Pentagon's assertion that soldiers overseas were using too much bandwidth by watching online videos.

That's the main reason the military gave for blocking popular Web sites from Defense Department computers. Company officials doubt that would have any real effect on the military's massive computer network.

And they're puzzled by the block because it came just days after the military launched its own channel on YouTube offering what it calls a "boots - on - the - ground" perspective of scenes of combat.

However, a new Iraqi government policy implemented this month bans news photographers and camera operators from filming bombing scenes, meaning video taken by citizens and uploaded to YouTube could become the only imagery the public sees of such devastation!

-Canada.com
-USA9.com

tag US military youtube myspace

Manitoba voters go to the polls on Tuesday. Here is some of the chatter going on today from the pages of the Winnipeg Free Press:









Big jump expected in advance polls

Battle is fierce for NDP 'safe seat'

Tories try to take rural seat back

Manitoba Provincial Election Section

From Yahoo News:
LONDON (Reuters) - A British judge admitted on Wednesday he was struggling to cope with basic terms like "Web site" in the trial of three men accused of inciting terrorism via the Internet.

"The trouble is I don't understand the language. I don't really understand what a Web site is," he told a London court during the trial of three men charged under anti-terrorism laws.

Prosecutor Mark Ellison briefly set aside his questioning to explain the terms "Web site" and "forum." An exchange followed in which the 59-year-old judge acknowledged: "I haven't quite grasped the concepts."

Yahoo.com

Former President Carter says President Bush's administration is "the worst in history" in international relations. Carter also also took aim at Bush's environmental policies and the administration's "quite disturbing" faith-based initiative funding.

"I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history," Carter told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in a story that appeared in the newspaper's Saturday editions. "The overt reversal of America's basic values as expressed by previous administrations, including those of George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon and others, has been the most disturbing to me."

CBS

Michael Coren, resident right wing nut bar with the Toronto Sun, loses his perspective again this week with his high praises of the late Rev. Jerry Falwell.

"The snivelers had their way this week. As soon as Jerry Falwell's death was announced, the promoters of pornography, the gay zealots, the drug users, the professional blasphemers, the big money/small morals brigade all giggled and smirked."

[...]

"If he was a fool, he was a fool for Christ. Flawed, sometimes wrong, occasionally annoying. But still better than the vast majority of people who dare to tell us what to do and how to behave.

Rest in peace, sir, and God bless you."


(BLETCH!!!!!)

Toronto Sun

The Progressive Conservative party dropped dramatically in public opinion during the provincial election campaign, according to a survey commissioned by the Winnipeg Free Press and Global Television.

Winnipeg Free Press

'Troops don’t need bigger pay raises', White House budget officials said Wednesday.

How typical. When it comes time to take some action that backs up all of the right wing rhetoric, where does Bush come down on policy decisions? - This is called putting your money where your mouth is. Bush fails.

Army Times

H/T to Pissed on Politics

Eight years ago the Rev. Jerry Falwell warned parents that BBC children's television star Tinky Winky was a hidden symbol of homosexuality. Falwell died Tuesday at 73, and the world wanted to talk to Tinky Winky. When asked about Falwell's death, Winky turns serious and chooses his words carefully.

"I'm not going to pretend I'm sadder than I am," he says. "There were late nights during the dark times when I wished to hear news like this."

"At the end of the day, I'm not terribly sad, and I think a lot of people feel the same way. Jerry Falwell was a divisive person, a hateful person, and what I've tried to be all about, in the Teletubbies days and since then, has been love. I've got to keep it that way. I don't want anybody feeling good about it when it's my time for Tubby bye-bye."

Tinky Winky on the Passing of Rev. Jerry Falwell

tag jerry falwell tinky winky

The Conservative government has asked for offers from the private sector to buy nine well maintained federal buildings owned by the people of Canada in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. The government then plans to lease the buildings back for a period of 25 years at a tidy profit for the new owners! The sell-off will cost the government – and Canadian taxpayers – considerably more than it will to operate the buildings they already own.

According to the Public Service Alliance of Canada, the sell-off will give private investors a license to print money. The government is guaranteeing that the buildings are debt free. Some buildings are new and some are recently renovated. Once the buildings are sold, for the next 25 years, taxpayers will be forced to rent back properties it owns now.

Right wing ideologues will argue that the government will no longer have to be responsible for maintenance and repairs. This is a ridiculous argument. Since the federal government can borrow money at a much lower rate than the private sector it would be cheaper for the government to keep the buildings and pay for the cost of any repairs.

Taxpayers will be fleeced. It's the Tory way. Get ready for more of this.

-PSAC.com

-PSAC.com

Tory MP and Deputy Speaker Royal Galipeau was behaving badly in the House of Commons on Wednesday and apparently laid hands on a fellow Member of Parliament while in a loud rage. He admits he lost his cool, but denies he behaved in an intimidating manner.

"Yes, I was pretty upset, but I was only upset because I was surprised." said Galipeau.

It doesn't matter what political party Galipeau belongs to - it doesn't matter what political party the assaulted MP belongs to.

If we do not want our Parliament to degenerate into what goes on in Taiwan, then there simply must be a ZERO tolerance policy when it comes to violent acts in the Canadian Parliament.

I am not calling for him to resign his seat, but I sure as HELL am demanding that he step down as Deputy Speaker. Today!

cnews.ca

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE:
Galipeau Apologizes - NOT GOOD ENOUGH - YOU CAN'T BE DEPUTY SPEAKER, MANDATED TO UPHOLD THE RULES OF THE HOUSE WHILE YOU ARE BREAKING THE RULES OF THE HOUSE - RESIGN!!!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Next Tuesday’s election will be decided on the NDP-Liberal teeter-totter in the dozen or so geographically scattered ridings that now straddle Manitoba’s NDP-Conservative parallel universes."
Frances Russell
Winnipeg Free Press May 16 2007

canadiandimensions.com

The melting of snow cover in January, 2005 was the most significant Antarctic melting seen since satellites began observing the continent three decades ago, NASA said Tuesday.

"Antarctica has shown little to no warming in the recent past, with the exception of the Antarctic Peninsula, but now large regions are showing the first signs of the impacts of warming as interpreted by this satellite analysis,"

-CBC
-NASA
-realclimate.org

Maybe I will just let Mr. Falwell's words speak for themselves:

"God continues to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve."

"God himself preserved the Bible, and brought it down through the ages."

"If you're not a born-again Christian, you're a failure as a human being."

"AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals; it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals."

"It is God's planet - and he's taking care of it. And I don't believe that anything we do will raise or lower the temperature one point."

"I believe that global warming is a myth. And so, therefore, I have no conscience problems at all and I'm going to buy a Suburban next time."

"The idea that religion and politics don't mix was invented by the Devil to keep Christians from running their own country. The idea was that while you can attack a public figure, you shouldn't be able to attack his mother, or is wife, or his children, they are not public figures."

"Billy Graham is the chief servant of Satan in America."

A story carried by Canadian Press, written by Nelson Wyatt, has the title, 'Harper doesn't understand Canadian economy, Dion tells Quebec fundraiser.'

The story states: "MONTREAL (CP) - Liberal Leader Stephane Dion says Prime Minister Stephen Harper doesn't understand the Canadian economy and has opened the door to foreign takeovers of Canadian companies. "Canada needs a prime minister and a government who understands the world economy, who sees just how difficult and merciless it is," Dion told a Liberal fundraiser Monday evening. "Mr. Harper has made our taxation less competitive. He has given the green light for foreign acquisitions in Canada and the red light to Canadian acquisitions abroad."

Dion is grossly underestimating Stephen Harper's motivation and actions.

Let's face it. Stephen Harper hates Canada the way it is right now. Here is what our Prime Minister is on record as saying ...

"Canada is a Northern European welfare state in the worst sense of the term, and very proud of it. Canadians make no connection between the fact that they are a Northern European welfare state and the fact that we have very low economic growth, a standard of living substantially lower than yours, a massive brain drain of young professionals to your country, and double the unemployment rate of the United States."
- Stephen Harper, then vice-president of the National Citizens Coalition, in a June 1997 Montreal meeting of the Council for National Policy, a right-wing American think tank.

"Canada appears content to become a second-tier socialistic country, boasting ever more loudly about its economy and social services to mask its second-rate status," ...
- Stephen Harper in his article "It is time to seek a new relationship with Canada," December 12th, 2000.

Harper's hard right wing politics came throught loud and clear when he headed up the National Citizens Coalition and later when he sat as a Reform Party Member of Parliament. He sees Canada as a failed leftwing experiment, and he LOVES Bush's Republican America. He is attempting to remake Canada into some sort of right wing North American partner with the U.S.

Dion is misinterpreting Harper's actions on the econmy. Harper's goal is to force as much integration with the United States as Canadians can tolerate.

Buckdog - January, 2007 -


tag stephan dion stephen harper

Reminiscent of the time a drunken Boris Yeltzin grabbed a baton and started conducting an orchestra, now President George Bush is demonstrating how he is starting to really lose it.

Examiner.com

tag george w. bush

According to a memo sent Friday by Gen. B.B. Bell, The United States Defense Department will begin blocking access "worldwide" to YouTube, MySpace and 11 other popular Web sites on its computers and networks.

The sites covered by the ban are the video-sharing sites YouTube, Metacafe, IFilm, StupidVideos and FileCabi; social networking sites MySpace, BlackPlanet and Hi5; music sites Pandora, MTV, 1.fm and live365; and the photo-sharing site Photobucket.

Newsday

tag US military youtube myspace

As the Manitoba campaign moves closer towards 'E-Day' on May 22nd, it is becoming more and more evident that incumbent Premier, Gary Doer is going to win a third term in power.

Canada.com

The Harper government is tightening up regulations for Canadians flying domestically in Canada under a program called, Passenger Protect.

Under the new measures, a new 'no-fly' list will come into effect on June 18th that will bar anyone considered an immediate threat to aviation security. As well, all Canadians flying within the country over the age of 12 must be prepared to present one or more pieces of official identification to prove identity.

Toronto Sun

"Billions of dollars' worth of Iraq's declared oil production over the past four years is unaccounted for, a US newspaper reports today.

The New York Times said between 100,000 and 300,000 barrels of Iraq's daily output of roughly 2 million barrels is missing, possibly due to corruption or smuggling.

The newspaper cited a draft report prepared by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) and government energy analysts which is expected to be released next week.

The discrepancy was valued between $5 million and $15 million daily, using a $50 per barrel average, the report said.

That adds up to billions of dollars over the four years since the March 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq."

The Irish Times
May 12, 2007


Irish Times

I'm a westerner who has spent a lot of time in Montreal over the years. One of my favourite places in the entire city was Ben's deli.

I know that it closed in December but the fact that it will now fall to the wrecking ball, has inspired me to post one last post in praise of this gastronomic and historic shrine.

The kosher food at Ben's was exquisite. I worked my way through the menu over the years. The Montreal smoked meat was always hot and stacked high on the finest rye bread. Some mustard, the obligatory pickle, that crisp coleslaw. The '40 era cutlery and plates. Sigh. Usually late late at night or early early in the wee hours of the morning after probably a beer or two more then I needed. Hungry. Needing to end the day. Sigh.

If you have any memories .... now is the time to share them.

Montreal will never feel like Montreal to me again.

Their grievances against Stephen Harper and his 'conservative' government have a number of disaffected right wingers shaking their heads. In fact, today, a group are meeting to consider the logistics of reviving the Reform Party.

The frustration started when David Emerson crossed from the Liberals to sit as a Conservative cabinet minister, followed by the appointment of Conservative party hack, Michael Fortier as a Senator as well as Public Works Minister. Then there was the vote to declare the Quebecois a nation, the 'Liberal-style' budget, a financial settlement with Maher Arar that many believe was too generous, a shocking reversal on income trusts, a complete reversal on environmental policy and the final insult to right wing ideology, the Prime Minister's capitulation on same-sex marriage.

Will we see a revival of the old Reform Party? Maybe. Let's face it, no one can fracture like the right wing when they start to navel gaze and there are a lot of 'conservatives' who do not like the direction that Harper & Co. are taking.

Here's wishing the Reformers well at their venture!

Globe and Mail

"Dion joined the separatist cause while a CEGEP, or junior college, student in the early 1970s, Toronto journalist Linda Diebel writes in Against the Current, published by Viking Canada.

Young Stephane had been enthralled by the campus speeches of Parti Quebecois firebrand Claude Charron, later a prominent provincial cabinet minister under Rene Levesque."
Paul Gessell, CanWest News Service
Published: Friday, May 11, 2007

Canada.com


tag stephane dion

In the right wing environment that is George Bush's America, there are still examples of progressive action happening.

The State of New Jersey is taking action to ban capital punishment and would be the first state to legislatively abolish execution since the U.S. Supreme Court allowed states to reinstate the death penalty in 1976.

New Jersey officially reinstated capital punishment in 1982 but has not executed anyone since 1963. The State Legislature adopted a moratorium on executions in December, 2005. As part of the measure, a commission was created that studied the death penalty. The current proposal to ban execution comes from the work of that commission.

Chronicle

If you aren't a hardcore political junkie, or French, then you might not want to bother reading this post.

For those who are - here are the district by district results of the 2007 French Presidential Election.

Voici la carte des résultats du second tour de l'élection présidentielle française de 2007, département par département.

Royal = red Sarkozy = Blue


Vive La France

A number of American State Governors are seriously concerned about the depleted ranks and equipment of the National Guard as a result of the ongoing war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Recent tornado disasters demonstrated how depleted the National Guard is when they were called up this week to provide civilian rescue and emergency services.

The Chronicle

Things are starting to come unhinged for President George Bush over his disaster in Iraq. Eleven Republican Members of Congress pleaded yesterday with President Bush and his senior aides to change course in Iraq or they will all lose their seats and the GOP will lose the Oval Office.

-Story from Think Progress
-boomantribune.com

tag iraq bush

Talk about an understatement.

Vice President Dick Cheney said Wednesday that Iraq remains a dangerous place, a observation that was driven home by a huge explosion that shook windows in the United States Embassy in Baghdad where he hid out for most of the day.

Speaking to reporters, Cheney said he still believes that the conflict in Iraq will continue to require a substantial U.S. commitment.

Cheney talks - don't listen?

Senior Saskatchewan Cabinet Minister Pat Atkinson says that 'heads should roll' in the Official Opposition for misleading the Legislature and the press over when they came into possession of stolen Regina City Police reports.

CBC Saskatchewan reports:
"For the past two weeks, the official Opposition has been raising concerns about an apparent fraud in the NDP caucus office back in 1992. Among the documents it tabled in the legislature, and handed over to the police, were (stolen) police reports from 1992 and 1994.

Until now, they've maintained that they first received the documents at the beginning of this session, which began March 7.

But Saskatchewan Party MLA Ken Krawetz, who has led the attack in the legislature about the NDP caucus money, is now saying that upon review, that wasn't the full story".

CBC Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan's Official Opposition MLA's claimed they only found out about what was in two stolen Regina City Police reports just before the start of the spring session of the Legislature. However, officials with the Saskatchewan Party Caucus now say their chief-of-staff, Reg Downs, received the stolen material an entire year earlier, but that he put the Police reports aside without realizing exactly what they were ..... oh, okay..

The Saskatchewan Party Caucus placed the stolen Police Reports on their website, until the Regina City Police asked them to take them down immediately.

Regina City Police are continuing their investigation.

newstalk 980

More Buckdog coverage of this story.

Well, actually, it is 196,000 cans of beer, and they are destined to be poured down the drain by officials.

Malaysian customs officials plan to send the smuggled beer gurgling down the drain after confiscating them from a gang that specialized in reselling duty-free drinks to pubs and grocers.

Yahoo.news