Overnight - A roundup of news items that you might have missed

KU 84, UNC 66 It started out a bloodbath and Roy Williams looked like he had a bad taco for lunch. On the other side of the court, Bill looked like what can only be described as "Self Satisfied." KU meets Memphis in the final game Monday night. Rock! Chalk! Jayhawk!!! (Can someone tell me what the hell that means???)

List of Bangladeshi War Crimes released Two decades in the making, the list of war crimes committed in the bloody struggle for independence from Pakistan was published on Friday. The list runs some 1600 names, and the War Crimes Fact Finding Committee (WCFF), comprised of veterans of the war and intellectuals, who published the list, are demanding prosecution of those still living. The WCFF also recommends establishing a truth and reconciliation commission like the famously successful post-Apartheid commission that has served as a model for subsequent panels.

Charlton Heston has passed away...I guess it's time to pry the gun from his cold, dead hand. (Direct your wrath at my husband. He said it. I laughed and stole it. We are gun owners, by the way. Just not insane about it.)

Retaining Blackwater is "bad news" says al Maliki advisor Sami al-Askari. "I personally am not happy with this, especially because they have committed acts of aggression, killed Iraqis, and this has not been resolved yet positively for families of victims."

Ethnic tension in China isn't just for Tibetans, you know Uighurs are restless, too. "It's a very volatile situation," says Nicholas Bequelin, a China researcher for Human Rights Watch, a New York-based advocacy group. "People feel their cultural identity is being threatened."

Oh, sweet God of Irony, I give you Hosea's and Blessings! Remember when Bill-O was caught lying about the Peabody he never actually won? Well choke on this Bill-O! The Colbert Report won an actual Peabody award parodying you! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! (doffing my cap to Blue Gal (no relation) blogging at C&L. The comments thread over there is hilarious.)

Climate Change endangers Koala Bears Increases in greenhouse gases are making Eucalyptus leaves inedible, and threatening the survival of Australia's most beloved species. Increased CO2 levels are reducing nutrients in the leaves, while simultaneously raising the levels of toxic Tannin, and changing to texture of the leaves to tough and leathery. "What we're seeing, essentially, is that the staple diet of these animals is being turned to leather," said Bill Foley, a science professor at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra. "This is potentially a very significant development for the future of some marsupial populations. Life is set to become extremely difficult for these animals."

The Joint Chiefs are worried about the stresses of repeated deployments Repeated deployments are ratcheting up the PTSD rates and straining the Army to the point that readiness for emergent conflicts is severely compromised. While about 12% of active duty personnel serving in Iraq suffer from PTSD after on tour, that number jumps to almost 19% for second tours and 28% for third tours. It is evidence that we are screwing over our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines. Especially our Soldiers. Ya know, it's a really bad idea to abuse those who volunteer to serve. This pisses me off on a visceral, personal level, but those who read my ranting know that already.

Weyrich flip-flops on Mitt Romney Last fall, it sent shockwaves through the religious right when Paul Weyrich endorsed the Mitt Flopper for the republican nomination. Now he has done a 180 and is denouncing Romney as a vice-presidential nominee. "To be clear, we all welcome anyone who has come around to the cause of life and family. However, Romney’s actions as governor flatly contradict both the values widely associated with his faith as well as his pro-life and pro-traditional marriage campaign rhetoric."

Biden denounces the Surge™ as a failure because political reconciliation hasn't happened, and American troops are still committed in large numbers. I've said it before and I'm certain to say it again - the Surge™ was a success only in that it ran time off the clock so aWol can hand it over to the poor schlub who follows him so the repugnant ones can replay the dolchstoslegende in three part harmony, accompanied by the Wurlitzer™ - just like they did after Vietnam - never considering for one second that they were supporting the wrong war, and never accepting that it is indeed possible to win every battle and still lose the war decisively. Vietnam wasn't lost in the brush - it was lost in the streets and universities of America, did you know that? That's the story that a few delusional fuckwits who confuse might with right have been sticking to for over three decades, despite the amazing advances we have made in psychotropic drugs that successfully abate hallucinations. The help is there, but they stubbornly refuse to take it.

In Oman, Gates reaffirms that diplomacy is the preferred course of action with Iran in a meeting on Saturday with Omani leader Sultan Qaboos bin Said. The Gates visit comes on the heels of a visit by Cheney in mid-March. I automatically presume that Gates is doing damage control. As a low-key U.S. military ally, Oman permits the use of four air bases by United States forces. Refueling and logistics operations, along with warehousing of pre-positioned materiel are staged from bases in Oman and certain critical supply lines originate there.

And not a moment too soon Next week the announcement will be made that Army deployments will roll back to 12 month rotations some time this summer for Soldiers deploying to Iraq or Afghanistan. The decision will be announced formally next week as Petraeus blows in to testify before Congress and try to polish this turd.

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Saturday Afternoon - wrapping up what I missed last night

I don't think this surprises anyone...61% of historians polled rate aWol officially the Worst. President. Ever. Keep in mind, this is a group that is for the most part old enough to remember Nixon.

This, on the other hand, surprises everyone...It is with deep sadness that we tell you of the demise of the Salon Blog Report. Friday saw the curtain come down for that august roundup of some of the best of the blogosphere, right left and center. We are extremely proud of the fact that we produced content that our good friend Steve Benen saw fit to highlight over there. A lot of our modest success is directly attributable to the fact that we got those links. Thanks Steve, and thanks Salon. I guess that now it's up to those of us who got part of our loyal readership thanks to the Blog Report to take it upon ourselves to make sure we make an effort to link to smaller blogs and help them out a little, since that wide, smooth path we were able to walk is now closed to them.

Can our children have real, comprehensive sex ed now? Nothing good can come of intentionally withholding truthful information from teenagers. When their curiosities are not informed, they take bits and pieces and speculate, and you end up with kids who think that drinking bleach will prevent HIV. They also think that drinking Mountain Dew and smoking weed will prevent pregnancy, when in reality the only way that can be even remotely true is that the Mountain Dew and the resulting munchies make them so fat they have trouble attracting partners. The stupid...it burns...

Joblessness claims highest since September 2005 The Department of Labor reported Thursday that more people filed for unemployment in the week ending March 29 than at any time in the last two and a half years.

Tony Snow-Job is at it again Did you know that when government forces set out to take on a militia, and that militia stands it's ground and fights to a draw, in spite of those government forces having the support of the guys with the heavy armor and airpower, they badcked off because they were 'getting crushed'? I don't think so - I think this makes more sense.....Sadr's militia fought hard, and proved their mettle. But he is not a stupid young man, and he wants to live to fight another day, and if that fight can be political, all the better. He knew that the time was nigh that hell would rain down from above. There are no fair fights when only one side has air power. Accept that. You can win every battle and still lose the war. You can also fight smart and fight to a draw and strengthen a weak hand. He got the stuff he wanted, and his stock is high now heading into the provincial elections. How the hell is that 'getting crushed'? If you choose to defend his thesis, be specific and show your work.

Popline blocking abortion querries Popline, the search site is run by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Maryland. It's funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, the federal office in charge of providing foreign aid, including health care funding, to developing nations.....The massive database indexes a broad range of reproductive health literature, including titles like "Previous abortion and the risk of low birth weight and preterm births," and "Abortion in the United States: Incidence and access to services, 2005.".....But on Thursday, a search on "abortion" was producing only the message "No records found by latest query." A spokesman for Hopkins said she was unaware of the censorship, and couldn't comment at that time.

Damnit, now I have to eat a Big Mac Since I make it a point to patronize businesses that the Wildmon Wingnuts organize boycotts against (except Wal-Mart - I just couldn't) I have to choke down something from McDonalds, and I don't think I have eaten McDonald's since the last time a kid getting over a stomach bug looked at me pitifully and said "Mommy, I'm hungry now, and I think I could eat some McNuggets." Since the youngest one is 21, that's been a while.

Four #1 Seeds in the Final Four for the first time in tournament history. UCLA v Memphis and UNC v KU.

Rock!

Chalk!

Jayhawk!!!

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Friday News Roundup

It has been a long time since I did one of these, and today seems perfect. I have an insanely busy day ahead of me, and far too much to do to blog properly about everything that has me fired up, so I'm going to hit the highlights here and offer links.

From the Politico:

The historian who was cited by Bush as he addressed the VFW earlier in the week in an attempt to draw parallels between Japan and Iraq angrily pushed back.

“They [war supporters] keep on doing this,” said MIT professor John Dower. “They keep on hitting it and hitting it and hitting it and it’s always more and more implausible, strange and in a fantasy world. They’re desperately groping for a historical analogy, and their uses of history are really perverse.”(emphasis mine)

“I have always said as a historian that the use of Japan [in arguing for the likelihood of successfully bringing democracy to Iraq] is a misuse of history,” he said when notified of the Bush quote.

Ah well…The guy who has never had a real job can’t really be expected to respect another man's life’s work, can he?

*****

Via Think Progress:

Bill the Bloody (who has never served) was on Faux Noise this morning, avering that we should "stretch our Army and Marines" for "another year or so" in Iraq. “Is the cost of losing in Iraq great enough that we need to stretch our Army and Marines for another year or so,” asked Kristol rhetorically. “I think the President’s gonna make that decision.” (TP has video)

*****

Via CNN:

Ethically-challenged Republican congressman Rick Renzi of Arizona will not seek reelection. Renzi is the fifth GOP congressman to bail on the sinking GOP ship. He follows Deborah Pryce of Ohio, Ray LaHood of Illinois, . Chip Pickering of Mississippi and former house speaker Dennis Hastert who have announced that they will not seek reelection.

*****

Also from CNN:

Rudy has decided that if he is to have the merest vesper of scamming the American people into electing his phony and hypocritical ass to the White House, he has to buff the old image, because too many people see him for what he is: A craven opportunist with a shabby record and an embarrassment of a personal life.

*****

From the LA Times:

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Corps General Peter Pace, now on his way out after the DoD declined to renominate him, is now speaking up, advocating for a draw down in Iraq.

Administration and military officials say Marine Gen. Peter Pace is likely to convey concerns by the Joint Chiefs that keeping well in excess of 100,000 troops in Iraq through 2008 will severely strain the military. This assessment could collide with one being prepared by the U.S. commander in Iraq, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, calling for the U.S. to maintain higher troop levels for 2008 and beyond.

This sets up a potential clash between members of the top brass. Yet another feather in the cap of aWol's pathetic non-legacy.

And for the record...these round-up thingies are a lot easier when OPIT is blogging and offering his link-fests, rather than out doing mundane things like making a living. Hurry back, Opit! I'm lost without you!

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And now to the blogs...

Atrios has an absolutely withering takedown of Tom Friedmans self-puffing appearance on Charlie Rose earlier this week. I will be co-opting his “Moustache of Understanding” snark.

*****

Dan at A Blog Named Sue sat down and did a bit o' cypherin' and determined that there are well over a hundred thousand well-armed mercenaries in Iraq, and probably closer to two hundred thousand. These mercenaries are not beholden to the Geneva Conventions, nor to the UCMJ. Over a thousand of these mercs have lost their lives.

*****

I was going to blog about the personal outrage I feel at the fact that psycho-bitch Lisa Nowak is still a commissioned officer in the Navy, but I don't have to. My friend and co-conspirator in St. Louis, Angry Black Bitch, did a damned fine job of doing just that, so go read it. (You should be checking her every day anyway.)

*****

Badtux the Snarky Penguin has a nice, nostalgic trip down memory lane. It will be appreciated by everyone of a "certain age" - and he takes a swipe at M$M behemoth CBS in the process. Good stuff.

*****

And finally...the always-excellent Marc McDonald at Beggars Can Be Choosers has a great post that makes the case for ending the war by boycotting China. Click the first link, which goes to the blog, not just the article, and look around. The post below the one linked, about Faux Noise and how they blew their shot at relevancy, is a delight. (This is another blog you should be checking daily, btw.)

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