Welcome Friends!

Thanks Jesse!

Democratic National Committee

You don't deserve support if you allow lobbying to destroy this, the energy legislation and other similar efforts! You need leadership! Where is it?

Dick Glick
www.CorpFutRes.com

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July 2, 2005

Drug Lobby Got a Victory in Trade Pact Vote
By STEPHANIE SAUL New York Times

The sidewalk between the drug industry's headquarters in Washington and the United States trade representative's office has been taking a pounding from the wingtips of industry lobbyists.

The work of these drug industry courtiers, who represent what is arguably Washington's biggest and wealthiest lobby, appears to have succeeded in the Central American Free Trade Agreement. The agreement would extend the monopolies of drug makers and, critics say, lead to higher drug prices for the mostly impoverished people of the six Latin American countries it covers.

The accord cleared the Senate on Thursday but faces a difficult floor vote in the House of Representatives this month. The agreement's pharmaceutical provisions are a sideshow in the Congressional debate, eclipsed by concerns of the textile and sugar industries and the labor unions that their interests would not be protected.

In contrast, the agreement's pharmaceutical provisions, which provide five years of market exclusivity to brand-name drugs, have been front and center in Guatemala, where poor AIDS patients have marched in the streets to protest.

The six countries affected by the pact "understand that the net effect of these pharmaceutical provisions will be to raise the price of medicine," said Frederick M. Abbott, a professor of international law at Florida State University. "The way they have to view it is that they're getting something out of the agreement that will give them a net trade benefit."

The problem with such an analysis, Professor Abbott said, is that the textile employers and agricultural producers gain, but the economic benefits may never flow down to the people who cannot afford medicines.

According to Representative Sherrod Brown, Democrat of Ohio, the trade agreement is an example of how the pharmaceutical lobby rarely loses on trade issues, often by quietly working behind the scenes.

"A voter walking down the street would never think of the pharmaceutical industry's influence in another country through the U.S. trade representative," said Mr. Brown, who has criticized how the industry and other corporate interests shaped the trade accord.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the drug industry association, is the single biggest influence group at the trade office, according to a new analysis by the Center for Public Integrity, a government watchdog group. The analysis is based on the sheer number of reports, 59, filed by lobbyists for the group since 1998.

The reports do not have to disclose how many individual contacts the lobbyists made.

The industry's primary interest at the trade office is protecting its intellectual property, which Peter R. Dolan, the chief executive of Bristol-Myers Squibb, recently called the "lifeblood" of the industry.

Like movies and software, pharmaceuticals require a lot of time, money and creativity to develop, yet they are fairly simple to replicate. The industry association estimates that intellectual property infringement in 21 countries costs its members $7 billion a year. Therein lies the problem for drug makers, and the reason they are fighting a global war to protect their patents.

In defending their efforts to extend intellectual property protection abroad, industry officials point out that pharmaceutical companies subsidize treatment for millions of people in developing countries. Bristol-Myers, for example, has invested $150 million to set up AIDS clinics and other charitable programs in Africa, a figure that does not include the low-cost drugs the company distributes there.

The industry association also argues that extending its patent protections worldwide will result in greater access to medications by encouraging drug makers to enter those markets.

"It provides certainty for companies to be able to market and sell their medicines in those particular markets," said Mark Grayson, a spokesman for the trade association.
The certainty, according to Professor Abbott of Florida State, results from the agreement's "highly restrictive market exclusivity rules which allow the originator companies to block any registration."

One of the most contentious provisions in the trade pact is a requirement that gives brand-name manufacturers market exclusivity for five years after a drug is registered in the countries, even if the 20-year patent has expired. A similar five-year period exists in the United States, but the trade agreement would require countries to enforce the five-year period even if the exclusivity period in the United States has already expired.

During that period, manufacturers who ultimately wanted to register a generic equivalent to the drug in that country would be barred from using the animal and human test data submitted for the drug's approval, a provision that critics say could delay the approval of generics beyond the five-year period.

By protecting marketing exclusivity, the industry says, the trade agreement would also spur innovation and encourage pharmaceutical companies to register drugs in the small countries, ultimately helping deliver those drugs to the needy.

It is a philosophical argument that the United States trade representative's office has embraced.

"Trade rules that protect innovation and research foster a system that produces the types of medicines American health consumers and health consumers around the world use and need to fight diseases," said Richard Mills, a spokesman for the trade office. Former Representative Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican, was sworn in to the cabinet-level trade post that runs the trade office in May.

The issue of intellectual property protection for pharmaceuticals has been highlighted in the last week with the Brazilian government's threat to break Abbott Laboratories' patent for the AIDS drug Kaletra by authorizing one of its domestic drug manufacturers to make a copy at roughly half the cost.

The Brazilian government currently buys Kaletra for about 180,000 citizens with AIDS. Abbott Laboratories charges Brazil $2,500 a patient annually. That represents a special price break from the company, which charges $6,000 to $7,000 for the drug in other developed countries, according to figures supplied by the company. Despite the special deal his government is getting, Brazil's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, wants the drug cheaper.

If President Lula goes through with his threat, he would invoke rarely used "compulsory licensing" provisions of a 1994 World Trade Organization agreement on intellectual property. The agreement forced countries to adopt American-style patent rules for pharmaceuticals, but allowed flexibility in cases of overriding public health issues by giving countries the right to order compulsory licenses.

Citing the Brazilian example, Representative Pete Stark, a California Democrat, referring to the industry trade group, said, "My guess is that Pharma's worry is that one of these countries will say, ' To hell with you,' and start making their own drugs."

Critics of the trade agreement say it sets up barriers to compulsory licensing in the countries it covers - the Dominican Republic as well as Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica. The combined gross domestic product of the six countries amounts to a third of the annual revenues of major drug makers.

The pharmaceutical industry has also been successful in influencing trade "priority lists" and "watch lists" issued by the trade representative in recent years, according to the Center for Public Integrity analysis, released this week. Inclusion on the trade watch lists constitutes the first salvo in a trade war.

Last year, the pharmaceutical trade group requested action against 38 countries for infringing on American patents, producing counterfeit drugs and releasing confidential test data. Of those, 31 found their way onto some level of the trade watch list, according to the center's analysis.

The report for 2005, released in May, again showed the extent of the industry's influence. Of 41 companies recommended for inclusion by the industry, 32 made it onto one of the trade lists, the center said.
The trade representative's office disputes the analysis, however, saying the office complies with exact pharmaceutical industry requests involving the priority and watch lists only about half the time.

The 59 reports filed by lobbyists for the pharmaceutical association do not count dozens of reports filed by individual companies. The analysis revealed that Pfizer lobbyists had filed reports about lobbying the trade office 32 times during the same period; Bristol-Myers, 27 times; and Wyeth, 19 times.

Over all, the various representatives of the pharmaceutical association and its individual companies filed 289 reports of lobbying at the trade representative's office since 1998, making pharmaceuticals the fourth-largest lobbying interest group, behind miscellaneous manufacturing, business associations and agriculture, according to the center's analysis.

Mr. Grayson said extensive lobbying efforts by his industry were a good sign.

"If we're not doing a lot, we're not doing our job," Mr. Grayson said.

Remember how the Republicans were saying that the newly elected Leader in Iran (whom Bush was very against), was the one who lead the taking of our US Hostages??? Well, see this article, an analysis of the photo says NO he is not the man.

WASHINGTON -- U.S. investigators have concluded that newly elected Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is not the glowering Islamic militant seen escorting an American hostage in a 1979 photograph that was widely publicized this week, U.S. officials said Friday.

The conclusion casts doubt on what had been considered a key piece of evidence that Iran's new president was among the leaders of the group of Islamic fundamentalists who seized control of the U.S. embassy in Tehran, the capital, and went on to hold 52 Americans hostage for 444 days.

A U.S. official familiar with the investigation of Ahmadinejad's role said that analysts had found "serious discrepancies" between the figure depicted in the 1979 photo and other images of the Iranian president. The discrepancies included differences in facial structure and features, the official said.

"If there is a case to be made" that Ahmadinejad was among the hostage-takers in 1979, the official said, "it doesn't look as if it will be done on the basis of those photographs."

Analysis of the photos was just one of many avenues in what has become a multi-agency inquiry, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Link

Can you believe the guts this guy has, to go up against Rove? We need to send MSNBC emails commending this guy.

letters@msnbc.com

"NEW YORK Now that Time Inc. has turned over documents to federal court, presumably revealing who its reporter, Matt Cooper, identified as his source in the Valerie Plame/CIA case, speculation runs rampant on the name of that source, and what might happen to him or her. Tonight, on the syndicated McLaughlin Group political talk show, Lawrence O'Donnell, senior MSNBC political analyst, claimed to know that name--and it is, according to him, top White House mastermind Karl Rove.

Here is the transcript of O'Donnell's remarks:

Link

no one goes up against Rove. I love this guy. How are you Pamb?

A fun place to dabble on Political donations made by Celebrities last election

Morning, Jen.

I am well, how about you?

don't forget to send a quick email to MSNBC on Lawrence O'Donnell.

I read something the other day, how after any Left -leaning articles or reports, that the newspaper or TV network is deluged with angry calls and emails from Right wingers. It would appear that the Republicans have an organized effort, to intimidate and send hate messages, in an effort to keep the media on a leash. We have to start being more pro-active on the other side.

The blog seems to be responding nicely this morning, to posting. Thanks to Jesse and Josh on their continuing efforts.

Well, the heat wave seemed to have broken here in Sunny CT, so will go catch up on some yard work, like weeding and dead-heading flowers, etc.

BBL

you're right Pam B, I'll get right on that. Positive reinforcement! I'm glad you're well. I hope you are going to have a fun weekend.

Is it true you can no longer view archived open threads, or am I just missing it?

I read something the other day, how after any Left -leaning articles or reports, that the newspaper or TV network is deluged with angry calls and emails from Right wingers. It would appear that the Republicans have an organized effort, to intimidate and send hate messages, in an effort to keep the media on a leash. We have to start being more pro-active on the other side.

Posted by PamB on July 2, 2005 at 10:43 AM

Pam darlin', tell me you just mean that we have to contact those media organizations with the truth after a Right-leaning report (Wow, that will probably keep us busy for a century or so.) I would hate to think you're advocating using the Right's methods of fear and intimidation.

PamB, thanks for the link to celebrity political contributions. very interesting.

I think she is advocating giving positive feedback for Lawrence O'Donnell and any other truth tellers we can find, etc.

Goodness, please make haste on fixing the blog software.

If Rove did it then it is a criminal offense. I encouraged MSNBC to keep reporting the truth.

(I guess Mr. O'Donnell should be on this list)

Poll Results

Of the list below, who is your favorite News Anchor?

Answers Votes Percent

1. Keith Olbermann 8 53%

2. Anderson Cooper 2 13%

3. Aaron Brown 0 0%

4. Brian Williams 0 0%

5. Chris Matthews 2 13%

6. Jim Lehrer 3 20%

7. George Stephanopoulos 0 0%

8. Lou Dobbs 0 0%

9. Wolf Blitzer 0 0%

10. Soledad O'Brien 0 0%

7th try...... gawddddddddd

Ahhh, positive feedback! I see what yer saying...cuz positive and negative cancel each other out, so we therefore will eventually come to a balance. (And then overrun the muthas with a whole bunch of touchy-feeliness, lol!)

well, i've sent negative, disapproving comments to the media. but i certainly don't use fear or intimidation. can't hurt to let people know what we're thinking, now can it?

Good job you guys are doing,don't post much,but enjoy all you fine people...Seems like there's alot of good *DEMS* here.My kinda people!!!

No GregL, I do not condone using intimidation methods, when we are contacting media sources.

I do want them to know, that there are other viewers out here, with a different point of view than those they are getting deluged with. I write a letter to Editor almost every single day, even though they will only publish one per 6 weeks. I feel that they at least know People are paying attention.

Here in the Blue State of CT, our Hartford Courant is now owned by the Tribune, which is extremely Right winged. There has been a major shift in Bias in their reporting. Articles that show Bush in a bad light, are ususally hidden inside somewhere. Headlines are skewed to show a tilt to the Right. I remind them daily of this new Bias and Slant, so they know not all people are ignorant to them. But I do it in an informational way, not with hatred and anger.

Just to show you that Republicans even in Blue States carry that hatred and viciouness within them, my sister and I both have bumper stickers, "Don't Blame Me, I voted For Kerry".

My sister has had old men tooting and giving her the finger, and I had someone throw a milkshake all over my driver door while parked at a mall.

Now I see Bush Stickers, but it would never occur to me, to show Hatred to those people. ( I might shake my head, like "you poor, poor misguided soul", but would never be violent.)

now, I really will bbl.

greg, wait up. What's for dinner?

Good Morning!

i said i would report on the meeting here in the hudson valley i attended so here it is:

first i want to paint a picture as it is so nice. our weather broke last night and it is cool, not humid and clear skyed here. the folks hosting this presentation by the leaders of friends of hudson have this circa 1799 barn, about 50' by 70' , four stories high, post and beam, totally restored, painted red. the entrance is a big opening like 20' by 30' with a huge american flag hanging in it, there were about 60 people sitting on chairs and bails of hay and the speakers at the other end which is open with corn fields, tree line and hills behind them.

i couldn't stop looking at the incredible mortise and tenon construction, the huge hand hewn beams and so on ...a real bit of americana

the presenters spent alot of time on how they built the organization, and over a 7 year period played a major role in beating an international corporation that spend 58 million trying to get their cement plant in. there were local groups there that were fighting for various causes and the head of the town democratic party and i had a good conversation about efforts to try to beat our congressman sweeny who is a real repub slime and who was in florida with bolton and olson stopping the vote counts...its a long shot but i signed up to do some work. this event was not partisan but it was a good chance to connect with local dems who were of course very well represented.

thats is and company is arriving...bbl.

Well the NW had a bit of good news this morning...they found the little girl from Id that has been missing since her parents were killed and she was alive...still no word on the little boy but finding the little girl definitely adds new hope!

awesome gregg, thanks for that!

hurray Kristen!

hi DemStratt! good to see you!

Testing....1, 2, 3

If this works, thank you Dors and Jen, for your patience in helping me get to this point...:)

Good morning everybody!

and everybody's left.. go figure

Have a wonderful day, fellow bloggers and lurkers!

let's see if this link thingie works...

The freedoms sought for Iraq in danger here

The freedoms sought for Iraq in danger here

Just as you might expect, a group of poll-watching, finger-to-the-wind conservative congressmen have pledged to fight for legislation that would allow the Ten Commandments to be posted in courthouses around the country. A pair of recent Supreme Court decisions — one of which struck down such displays — has handed them a chance to seize the low ground on yet another hot-button issue.

These are the same congressmen, no doubt, who roar with approval every time President Bush pledges that the United States will help Iraqis install their own version of Jeffersonian democracy — one that protects government critics, religious minorities and criminal defendants. So, if that sort of constitution is such a good idea for Iraqis, why isn't it a good idea for Americans? ..........

yeah!! and four posts without crashing, this is so exiting

ok, I'm really out of here for now

WASHINGTON -- U.S. investigators have concluded that newly elected Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is not the glowering Islamic militant seen escorting an American hostage in a 1979 photograph that was widely publicized this week, U.S. officials said Friday...

Awwww...it had the makings of a great media frenzy and excuse for war.

Good Morning, Everyone!

:)

Good Afternoon Democrats!

Hi Jen and GiG,

Greg - nice post!

test - I got one more silver dollar

Ohio Democrats victims of break-in
Thieves grab computer from party headquaters in Columbus

Thieves targeted the Ohio Democratic Party Headquarters this week, stealing a computer and a high-tech communications gadget belonging to party chairman Denny White.

click my name for link

This is aggravating. Try try again.

Pugs to run ads slamming Durbin starting July 4th:

(Chgo Tribune, 7-2-05)

WASHINGTON -- More than two weeks after citing Nazis and other brutal regimes in criticizing U.S. tactics at the Guantanamo Bay detention center, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) remains under fire from critics who claim the lawmaker's subsequent apology was insufficient.

Move America Forward, a group affiliated with the conservative political public relations firm Russo Marsh & Rogers, is planning a national ad campaign that scolds Durbin for his June 14 statements and what the organization refers to as his "non-apology."

Durbin's office called the move a media stunt, designed to attract coverage by news organizations.

"It's a cheap shot to try and raise money for their extreme-right cause," said Durbin spokesman Joe Shoemaker.

Durbin's Senate floor remarks addressed the details of an FBI agent's e-mail describing heavy-handed interrogation tactics at Guantanamo. Among other things, the e-mail described detainees being chained to the floor in severe temperatures and denied food or water for excessive periods.

"If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime--Pol Pot or others--that had no concern for human beings," Durbin said.

Though he initially stood by his remarks, Durbin later delivered an teary-eyed apology on the Senate floor.

"I'm sorry if anything that I said caused any offense or pain to those who have such bitter memories of the Holocaust, the greatest moral tragedy of our time," Durbin said. "I'm also sorry if anything I said in any way cast a negative light on our fine men and women in the military."

Durbin's apology was noted approvingly by such Republicans as Sen. John McCain of Arizona. But others are not satisfied.

"Sen. Durbin's non-apology is not accepted," said Melanie Morgan, co-chair of Move America Forward.

"He has offered the lame excuse that he never meant to disparage our soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen. But if not them, then who was it that he was accusing of acting with such butchery and murderous behavior as the Nazis, Soviets and Pol Pot?" Morgan said.

Move America Forward will launch its ad campaign Monday, July 4. The ad, punctuated by shadowy images of Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia, questions Durbin's loyalty to U.S. troops.

The group has purchased national air time on Fox News Channel as well as time on three Illinois stations: WCIA in Champaign, WMBD in Peoria and WREX in Rockford. It's unclear how long the ads will run.

Happy Holiday Weekend, {{ALL}}

WASHINGTON -- More than two weeks after citing Nazis and other brutal regimes in criticizing U.S. tactics at the Guantanamo Bay detention center, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) remains under fire from critics who claim the lawmaker's subsequent apology was insufficient...

Which is exactly why you should never apologize to Republicans. They're going to attack no matter what you do and the faster you run from their smears the faster they'll chase you with them. Dean knows it....Durbin's learning it.

Dear Karl Rove,

Treason

The Constitution defines treason as "levying War against [the United States], or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort." A contrast is therefore maintained with the English law, whereby a variety of crimes, including conspiring to kill the King or "violating" the Queen, were punishable as treason. In Ex Parte Bollman (1807), the Supreme Court ruled that "there must be an actual assembling of men, for the treasonable purpose, to constitute a levying of war."

Section Three also requires the testimony of two different witnesses on the same "overt" act, or a confession by the accused in open court, to convict for treason. In Cramer v. United States, the Court ruled that "every act, movement, deed, and word of the defendant charged to constitute treason must be supported by the testimony of two witnesses". In Haupt v. United States, however, the Supreme Court found that two witnesses are not required to prove intent; nor are two witnesses required to prove that an overt act is treasonable. The two witnesses, according to the decision, are only required to prove that the overt act actually occurred.

Furthermore, Section Three permits Congress to determine the punishment for treason. However, this punishment may not "work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person" so convicted. In other words, the descendants of someone convicted for treason could not, as they were under English law, be considered "tainted" (i.e., their blood could not be corrupted) by the treason of their ancestor. Furthermore, the clause permits Congress to confiscate the property of traitors, but that property must be inheritable at the death of the person convicted.
[edit]

Isn't the punishment for Treason "Death by firing squad"?

Hey, DPD,

did you get my email?

I need help.

AAAHHHHH!!!

Hi, Pam. Yes I did. The open threads for the past few days are on the Topics page. For threads before that just change the number in theURL to a lower one (This is open thread 6. Change the date, and the thread number to the desired date and blog.) For the first few days my computer was automatically remembering them, and all I had to do was keep hitting the Back button. Skawoowy.

Hope this helps.

Hey, that post went right on in. All I had to do was log off and log back on a thousand times.

Whoo Whee!! 2 for 2

GM Democrats! Sunny 75 degrees here, supposed to top out at 95!

BlackMale, you can keep your 95. We had 8 or 9 days in a row of that nonsense. 71 right now. Ahhhh.

Dear Karl Rove,

Treason

The Constitution defines treason as "levying War against [the United States], or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort." A contrast is therefore maintained with the English law, whereby a variety of crimes, including conspiring to kill the King or "violating" the Queen, were punishable as treason. In Ex Parte Bollman (1807), the Supreme Court ruled that "there must be an actual assembling of men, for the treasonable purpose, to constitute a levying of war."

Section Three also requires the testimony of two different witnesses on the same "overt" act, or a confession by the accused in open court, to convict for treason. In Cramer v. United States, the Court ruled that "every act, movement, deed, and word of the defendant charged to constitute treason must be supported by the testimony of two witnesses". In Haupt v. United States, however, the Supreme Court found that two witnesses are not required to prove intent; nor are two witnesses required to prove that an overt act is treasonable. The two witnesses, according to the decision, are only required to prove that the overt act actually occurred.

Furthermore, Section Three permits Congress to determine the punishment for treason. However, this punishment may not "work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person" so convicted. In other words, the descendants of someone convicted for treason could not, as they were under English law, be considered "tainted" (i.e., their blood could not be corrupted) by the treason of their ancestor. Furthermore, the clause permits Congress to confiscate the property of traitors, but that property must be inheritable at the death of the person convicted.
[edit]

Isn't the penalty for Treason "Death by Firing Squad"?

Re: Posted by DPD on July 2, 2005 at 01:34 PM

I think if the Democrats were to replay Durbin's actual speech, including the graphic descriptions he gave along with the reference to the Nazis, etc., the overall impression would be so revolting that the viewers would start calling their congresspeople.

JALINE

Are you there? I'd like to talk to you about your neighbors. Watch for me, OK?

Posted by Paul on July 2, 2005 at 02:08 PM

Of course I'm expecting the commercial to "Conveniently" leave out the line..."Now if I didn't tell you...."

Changes the whole context. I also think they are wasting their money running the ad in Rockford, Peoria and Champain (a College town) Durbin is very popular in those parts. He won his last race 65% to 34% and carried every County except DuPage. (His Pug challenger's home)

blackmale,

I am not sure if you saw my 10:40 post or not, but it is something you may find of interest, as it includes Actors, Singers, etc.

U.S. Lawmakers Vow War With Iran Anyway

(UPLie) A Leading Republican and "New" Democrat in Congress are insisting that war with Iran is inevitable despite the conclusion of government investigators that newly elected Iranian President Mohammad Khatami was not a hostage taker in the 1979 seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran.

"How dare the people of Iran choose a president who even remotely resembles someone who brought upon this country the greatest shame it has ever known -- at least until the first President Bush threw up on that Jap prime minister," thundered foreign relations committee chairman Sen. John W. Warner from the Senate floor.

In a show of bipartisan unity, ranking committee member Sen. Joseph "Clueless Joe" Biden added. "I don't who this guy thinks he is, but what matters is who I and some Americans think he might be. After the intelligence failures leading up to the invasion of Iraq, we simply can't trust a conclusion that might not lead to war with Iran."

The Bush admistration has insisted that it has no plans for war with Iran and that spy drone overflights of Iranian territory and troop concentrations on the Iraq/Iran border are being caused by faulty GPS equipment.

b>Four Tops' Benson dies of cancer

Renaldo "Obie" Benson, a member of Motown singing group the Four Tops, has died, aged 69.

The singer died in a Detroit hospital on Friday from lung cancer. He was diagnosed after having a leg amputated due to circulation problems.

The Four Tops sold 50 million records and had hits including Reach Out (I'll be There) and I Can't Help Myself.

The only surviving original members are Levi Stubbs and Abdul "Duke" Fakir. Lawrence Payton died in 1997.

Fakir said Benson had "enjoyed every moment of his life".

"He put a smile on everyone's face, including my own, " he said.

pam, I saw that list. Sammy Hagar 100% Pug? Drew Carey? WTF? Dwight Yokum? The world's gon mad, I tell ya.

Ted Nugent 67% Dem? I like the occupation for Monica Lewinski (100% Dem)

Monica Lewinski Presidential mistress

HAHAHA

Iranian President-Elect May Be '89 Killer

Saturday, July 02, 2005

VIENNA, Austria (AP) — Austrian authorities have classified documents suggesting that Iran's president-elect may have played a key role in the 1989 execution-style slayings of an Iranian Kurdish leader and two associates in Vienna, a newspaper reported Saturday.

Austria's Interior Ministry and the public prosecutor's office are investigating alleged evidence pointing to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's possible involvement in the attack, the daily Der Standard reported.

The allegations against Ahmadinejad come as some of the Americans who were taken captive in Iran in 1979 implicate the newly elected leader in the hostage crisis. Radical Iranian students took over the U.S. Embassy and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days.

In Austria, Green Party leader Peter Pilz told the newspaper he wants a warrant issued for the arrest of Ahmadinejad, who he alleged "stands under strong suspicion of having been involved."

Pilz accused the hard-liner of planning the murders of Kurdish resistance leader Abdul-Rahman Ghassemlou and two of his colleagues, all of whom were shot in the head at a Vienna apartment by Iranian commandos on July 13, 1989. A fourth victim survived the attack and was able to crawl out of the apartment and alert Austrian authorities.

Pilz told Der Standard his source was an unidentified Iranian journalist living in France, who he said also claimed to have evidence that former Iranian President Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani gave the order to have Ghassemlou killed. He did not elaborate.

He said Ahmadinejad, then a high-ranking member of Iran's elite revolutionary guard, allegedly traveled to the Austrian capital a few days before the slayings to deliver the murder weapons to the commandos who carried out the attack. Austrian authorities have said the gunmen apparently entered the alpine country with Iranian diplomatic passports.

Pilz said the journalist was contacted in 2001 by one of the alleged gunmen, described as a former revolutionary guard who has since died in a drowning accident.

"The descriptions of the informant contained details of the scene (of the slayings) which could only have come from someone who was there," Pilz said. He said the gunman's account, which included "very convincing" evidence implicating Ahmadinejad, was turned over at the time to Austria's federal counterterrorism agency.

Prague's Pravo newspaper reported similar allegations on Friday, quoting Hossein Jazdan Panah, an exiled Kurdish opposition member, as saying Ahmadinejad "was in charge of hit operations abroad" at the time of the Vienna killings.

Wow, what a spread on that Lou Dobbs poll.

More Liberal 80%

More Stoopidur 20%

Should the Next Justice Be More Liberal or More Conserative?

CNN Lou Dobbs Poll

Ma, It's doing it again. My post ended up before the one I was commenting on (several minutes later)

Posted by PamB on July 2, 2005 at 02:31 PM

Excellent!

Thank You

Pam,

That list is quite amazing... Looks like Drew Carey is one of few who supported republicans. Hollywood should of came out a tad stronger for John Kerry me thinks... I bet a few on that list would be interested in backing political hip hop too...

I don't know if anyone is getting the 'Live8" concert, but WXRT.com is streaming it. FWIW

Wow, what a spread on that Lou Dobbs poll.

Yep, that's what I first thought when I saw it DPD. Let's all vote and "make that pie higher".

Posted by WD on July 2, 2005 at 03:00 PM

I refuse to vote in a poll that doesn't have the correct answer (grin)

I don't know if y'all can get the Live 8Concert, but WXRT.com is streaming it

Whitney Houston recording artist $789 100% dems... LOL... I suprised she didn't put that in the pipe.

Why are my posts not showing up, and then POW several places above where they should be?

Arianna Huffington pundit $5,344 0%Dems 100%Repubican ... Huh? I thought she supported Kerry?

"Iranian President-Elect May Be '89 Killer"

Wow. Those who ae itching for war with Iran are quick. The corpse of the story about Kathami being a hostage taker isn't even cold and now they're saying he's a murderer. Next thing you know they'll be saying he "gassed his own people."

And wasn't 9/11 hijacker Mohammed Atta (falsely) claimed to have been in Vienna -- or was it Budapest?

It's as if the propagandists have prewritten stories which they can simply insert names into and plant in the press.

(5 attempts to post. Reports of the blogs' new health are premature.)

I Posted that 3:13 post at 3:15, After BlackMale's Huffington post. This is going in right after Joan @ 3:16

Do you ever look at your reflection in a mirror, and not recognize that it's you?

I had to sign my name on my Visa slip at the store today and I was surprised that it wasn't Carl.

go www.fladems.com

Nope, I guess it didn't. Anyone want to know what will happen 1 minute into the future?

Whoa!!! I made it on the first try!!!! Hope things are better than they were about 1:00 AM this morning. Everything was posting so out of order there was no way to follow a conversation. So I gave up and called it a night.

I saw Drew Carey on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno a couple of years ago. When he told Leno he was a gung-ho Republican, Jay said "but years ago you used to be a Democrat". Drew replyed "yeah, but that was when I was poor before I became sucessful. I have lots of money now so now I'm a Republican".

And that's a true story, not one of those UPLie fake news articles.

So I thought maybe I can't drive home but then I did.

Guy,

I agree... They will find any way to get the oil. They will kill their mothers for a few extra bucks...

I had a couple of posts early morning just go down a black hole somewhere, never saw them again. Is this still happening???

Oh yeah, hello Joan.

Well it seems comments are posting in order.

J, my posts are posting a few minutes Before I type them, above the post I am responding to.

People shouldn't kill their mothers, they will go to jail Blackmale.

you just have to think really hard

Posted by Joan on July 2, 2005 at 03:24 PM

I certainly hope so...

Oh, C'mon. my 3:23 was posted at 3:25 After Joan's 3:24.

Well, that last one vanished into the ether. My 3:23 post was typed at 3:25, AFTER joan's 3:24.

Presidential Microsoft Filtered China Speech

A Bush Presidential speech in China. I want to thank the ‘blankey-blank’ people of China, and how they respected Hong Kong ‘blankey-blank’ and ‘blankey-blank’. One of my goals is to support ‘blankey-blank’ and ‘blankey-blank’ here. I also want to protect ‘blankey-blank’ rights and ‘blankey-blank’ rights. Values we have help installed in Iraq by giving them ‘blankey-blank’ and ‘blankey-blank’. American soldiers going out in the field to give them ‘blankey-blank’ and ‘blankey-blank’ rights. I am sure the people will under stand my words, for I am a ‘blankey-blank’ President. ‘Blankey-blank’ bless you.

Posted by Joan on July 2, 2005 at 02:38 PM

Renaldo "Obie" Benson, a member of Motown singing group the Four Tops, has died, aged 69.

The entertainment world is grieving the loss of Luther Vandross, but this is also a great loss to music: Obie Benson of the Four Tops. This is my generation of music that I did my teen years in. The Motown Sound was awesome and will never be duplicated.

That's it. I posted the LAST one after J's post about that 4 Tops guy.

BBL, Too frustrating for now, and I have to set up the grill.

Carry On, Dems.

I had a nightmare last night that I was imprisoned at Guantanamo by Executive Privilege, on American conservative intelligence, claiming me a Liberal terrorist, then being judged by FoxNews! Talk about a WMD scenario, the truth never had a chance to report itself, in a ‘fair and unbiased’ defense of myself. To make matters worse, Judge O’reilley Factor sentenced me 24/7 to listen to him and his loose bowels. I mean vowels, now that is pure mental abuse and against all Geneva Conventions principles, further more it stinks, you know the less smelly kind. Just then, a preacher on TV shouting, saved me. I yelled, “Halleluiah, Thank you, for I have seen the light Lord, for surely I had just seen pure hell.

like when you have to remember where's my car and think really hard do I know how to drive it

Wd is going to post @ 3:22 about Junior.

Posted by J on July 2, 2005 at 03:27 PM

Do you know the same band played for alomost every artist on Motown? Same drummer, same guitar player etc... That's how they got that "classic" Motown sound...

I read that Junior ran to "hide under his bed" again when a plane got within miles of the WH. He sure is a little fraidy cat, ain't he?

I saw Drew Carey on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno a couple of years ago. When he told Leno he was a gung-ho Republican, Jay said "but years ago you used to be a Democrat". Drew replyed "yeah, but that was when I was poor before I became sucessful. I have lots of money now so now I'm a Republican". I saw Drew Carey on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno a couple of years ago. When he told Leno he was a gung-ho Republican, Jay said "but years ago you used to be a Democrat". Drew replyed "yeah, but that was when I was poor before I became sucessful. I have lots of money now so now I'm a Republican". And that's a true story, not one of those UPLie fake news articles.
Posted by WD on July 2, 2005 at 03:19 PM

Sounds as if Drew was engaging in some political satire as well.

Posted by WD on July 2, 2005 at 03:32 PM

I'd be scared to if thousands upon thousands of ppl wanted me dead..

BlackMale, last year we had a running debate on what Junior had under his jacket during his debate with John Kerry, the one were the public was present. Most said they thought it was a transmiter giving him the answers. A few like me thought it was a bullet proof vest. What do you think it was?

Live 8 is also on MTV, and will air on ABC at 8 PM.

Yo Joan! You okay?

It looks like hast Groene turned up this morning at a local Denny's in COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho...

Seems her brother is still missing and feared dead.

Authorities say a sex offender is in custody by the name of Joseph Edward Duncan III ... Well I google searched the dickheads name and it seems he has a habit of touching young boys...

Yeah, Black, it's so sad/scary. Thank goodness for that waitress at Denny's who recognized Shasta. I hate to think what that Duncan bastard did to her.

I didn't know about the young boys thing. Makes me feel more afraid of what he did to her brother. Only good coming from this is that the authorities will probably get a lot more information about what happened to the family.

Joanie, Hon,

did you take your medicine today? You don't sound well. Anything I can do for you?

I always equate Fargo as a strange place (where Duncan is from). If you haven't seen the movie, Fargo, I highly recommend it. William H. Macy stars in it -- based on a true (very twisted) story.

Posted by WD on July 2, 2005 at 03:42 PM

I know exactly what it was. We actually sell the units at the business I work at. It's called a wireless in ear monitor. The ones we sell are made by a company called sennheiser. It's a wireless receiver that attaches to your belt or anywhere on your body. It's used for musicians to hear music without relying on a big clunky floor monitor.

Here it is...

EVOLUTION G2 SERIES
EW300IEM-G2

Pam, I think she'd be okay if her danged ex would just go back home!! ;-)

BlackMale, last year we had a running debate on what Junior had under his jacket during his debate with John Kerry, the one were the public was present. Most said they thought it was a transmiter giving him the answers. A few like me thought it was a bullet proof vest. What do you think it was?

Wired Again?

(UPLie) Harking back to the 2004 debates, diligent Bush watchers have once again spotted wires at a presidential event. But this time the wires weren't leading to a microphone in Bush's ear, but to the testicles of the soldiers seated behind him during his latest "Stay the course in Iraq...9/11" speech.

Throughout the speech, soldiers sat rigidly behind Mr. Bush nodding in unison with every spoken word, and once actually clapping (at the instigation of a White House staffer.)

At a morning-after news briefing WH press secretary Scott McClellan admitted that the soldiers were wired but insisted that, "No soldiers were harmed in the making of this film ... er...speech. In fact, they weren't even shocked once. We've learned at Gitmo and Abu Ghraib that you only have to hook up wires to men's balls in order to get them to do or say anything you want." McClellan then added laughing, "What are you going to do about it?"

Even in the face of the WH acknowledgemnt of testicle wiring, prominent centrist or "New" Democrats called the charges, "...the work of tin-foil-hatted-conspiracy-theorist liberals who want to undermine our ability to collaborate with our esteemed Republican colleagues and the president to bring about greater corporate profits at the expense of consumers, taxpayers, and our troops in Iraq."

Posted by RoseZ on July 2, 2005 at 03:48 PM

It seems the guy likes young boys, not girls by his sexual history. I hate to see what he did to the young boy that is nowhere to be found.

I wonder if he knows Michael Jackson?

Posted by RoseZ on July 2, 2005 at 03:54 PM

Or any Catholic Priests...

Ewwww! Yeah.

hi guys!

Hey Jen!

ricky schroder, what went wrong with that boy?

arianna huffington used to be repug. those donations were from before she saw the light.

mr smith! jimmy stewart? say it ain't so.

yoakam gave 200 bucks to rnc in 1991. that's it. so maybe he's seen the light?

hey RoseZ! what up?

Hey Jen. I'm just hangin' out. No festivities this weekend. My husband and younger son left for Maine at 6:30 this morning.

Hi Jen and Rose

The ones that hurt me, are Bob Barker, Ernest Borgnine, James Cagney.

Why are these Old men giving to Repubs? None are THAT rich to be benefitting big time from Bush's tax cuts.

does anyone know if there are any Democrats near or around denison iowa who hold regular meetings?

I don't understand Bob Barker. He loves animals. Like the Repubs do?

Green Day does We are Champions. RIP Freddie Mercury

does anyone know if there are any Democrats near or around denison iowa who hold regular meetings?

that sounds relaxing RoseZ!

Bob Barker is a dirty old man.

Maybe he's an animal lover because he's an animal? lol

What's wrong with the news?

newsbreakers

I'm worried about Joanie. I hope she is okay.

I hope so too. {{{Joanie}}}

Okay. Well I guess I'll head out to get some good snacks for later when my son and I will be doing a West Wing marathon.

BBL.

every move you make
every vow you break
every smile you fake
every claim you stake
we'll be watching you

Bush, Putin, Blair, Chirac, Schroeder, Martin, Koizumi, Berlusconi

we'll be watching you! G8

later Rose!

NY Times Miller: "I'll never betray my little Karl!"

(UPLie) New York Times reporter Judith Miller, facing jail time for refusing to disclose the name of the WH source who revealed that Valerie Plame was an undercover CIA operative, vowed today to do nothing that will endanger her relationship with her "little Karl."

"It was my little Karl who made my journalistic career by feeding me false stories about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq which I dutifully passed on to a gullible public," Miller said. "I'll betray the public's trust until the cows come home in order to advance my career, but I'll never betray my little Karl."

Ms. Miller also requested that she be placed under house arrest rather than serve time in jail because, as she says, she willl never reveal her source anyway. In a related developement, criminal trial lawyers across the nation also filed similar requests, insisting that their clients will continue to commit criminal behavior even inside jail and after their release as well.

Asked by reporters if he is the "my little Karl" Miller referred to, presidential political propagandist and manipulator Karl Rove would only say, "Judy, Judy. Judy! I owe you more than words can tell."

NY Times Miller: "I'll never betray my little Karl!"

(UPLie) New York Times reporter Judith Miller, facing jail time for refusing to disclose the name of the WH source who revealed that Valerie Plame was an undercover CIA operative, vowed today to do nothing that will endanger her relationship with her "little Karl."

"It was my little Karl who made my journalistic career by feeding me false stories about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq which I dutifully passed on to a gullible public," Miller said. "I'll betray the public's trust until the cows come home in order to advance my career, but I'll never betray my little Karl."

Ms. Miller also requested that she be placed under house arrest rather than serve time in jail because she said she willl never reveal her source anyway. In a related developement, criminal trial lawyers across the nation also filed similar requests, insisting that their clients will continue to commit criminal behavior even inside jail and after their release as well.

Asked by reporters if he is the "my little Karl" Miller referred to, presidential political propagandist and manipulator Karl Rove would only say, "Judy, Judy. Judy! I owe you more than words can tell."

Blackwell: The Republican Hillary?

That's what an article in this week's edition of The Other Paper, an alternative newsweekly in central Ohio, calls him. Click. Read. Discuss.

test

Good Afternoon Folks!

Mr President, I'll fly my flag at half staff on July 4.

www.fladems.com

Repost on the recovery of Shasta Groene.

cbc

Hi Jen,

How's it going and is Joan alright??? Said hello to her earlier and she didn't respond and that's not like her.

I can't help but to laugh at Republicans every time the supreme court make a bad decisions like they did with the property rights, as they try to blame libral activist judges, and that they need to be stopped by appointing Republicans. the reason i have to laugh is because if memory serves me right, and i know it does, wasn't seven out of the nine judges currently serving on the bench appointed by a Republican President

Check it out at
http://www.usscplus.com/info/index.htm

testing

I linked it for you, J.

fldems

Hey Jen, Rose, PamB, and J,

MSNBC Analyst and a Newsweek Reporter Say Karl Rove Named in Matt Cooper Documents.

Now that Time Inc. has turned over documents to a federal judge, revealing who its reporter, Matt Cooper, identified as his source or sources in the Valerie Plame/CIA case, speculation runs rampant. Lawrence O'Donnell, senior MSNBC political analyst, now claims that at least two authoritative sources have confirmed that one name is top White House mastermind Karl Rove.

Posted by J on July 2, 2005 at 03:27 PM

Do you know the same band played for alomost every artist on Motown? Same drummer, same guitar player etc... That's how they got that "classic" Motown sound...

Posted by BlackMale on July 2, 2005 at 03:30 PM

Yes I did! The conditions that the music was recorded under would be considered primitive by todays standards, but did they get some perfection.

Lizzy, I'm not surprised. The question is what consequences will Rove face?

Hmmm. About the same as WAR CRIMINAL Rumsfeld?

Pardon me while I hurl.

Posted by J on July 2, 2005 at 03:27 PM

Do you know the same band played for alomost every artist on Motown? Same drummer, same guitar player etc... That's how they got that "classic" Motown sound...

Posted by BlackMale on July 2, 2005 at 03:30 PM

Yes I did! They recorded under what would be considered primitive conditions today, but the music was sheer perfection.

I am okay, and I don't know about Joan. I hope she's okay J. She may be having a bad day.

hi Lizzy, Rose, Everyone

Posted by RoseZ on July 2, 2005 at 05:42 PM

Thanks RoseZ, but I use the address as my test post. Once anyone sees that address, I'm coming on. Such a considerate act of kindness, thanks again.

i love the motown sound

Ah, okay, J. I'll keep it in mind for future reference.

Act of kindness or too much time on my hands? LOL! A little of both.

For that matter, why the hell did nothing happen to that bastard, Novak?

It blows my mind how this administration and its cronies gets away with everything.

i love the motown sound

Posted by Jen on July 2, 2005 at 05:50 PM

Oh I know you do, Jen!!!

From today's Editor & Publisher:

MSNBC Analyst and a Newsweek Reporter Say Karl Rove Named in Matt Cooper Documents

By Greg Mitchell

"I can't help but to laugh at Republicans every time the supreme court make a bad decisions like they did with the property rights, as they try to blame libral activist judges, and that they need to be stopped by appointing Republicans."

Trouble is, it was Clinton's appointees who voted in a 5-4 decision to give corporations the same right to take property as the government already possessed.

It's just the latest example of the merge of corporations and the state (which Mussolini described as the real meaning of fascism) that is taking over this country. It's also the latest example of ordinary people being sold down the river by corporate kissing Democrats whose control over our party needs to be eradicated if winning again is to have any real meaning.

Water Plant Fire Deepens Misery in Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A mortar attack sparked a fire Friday that forced authorities to shut down a water plant, leaving millions of weary Baghdad residents with dry taps in 100-degree heat, Iraqi officials said.

Not good... I can't stand when the power goes out for 10 minutes. Imagine having no water and power when it's over 100 degrees...

pink floyd reunited at live8 watch on mtv

Rove Caught With Pants Down Over Plame: