What Juan Cole says

When things are going wrong in the Middle East, I always check on what Juan Cole says about it to gain some perspective on how serious it really is:

What happened in Benghazi was the action of a tiny fringe, sort of like Ku Klux Klan violence in the US. It isn’t typical of the new Libya, and Benghazi is not a lawless or militia-ridden city. One of the narratives of what happened there, in fact, is that the police may have been *too* heavy-handed in an attempt to curb the militants’ demonstration, provoking the latter to bring out their one RPG launcher.
The crowds both in Egypt and Libya were tiny. Their militancy is not typical of Egypt or Libya today, both of which are struggling toward more democratic forms of governance. In Cairo, there may have been a failure of policing; police in Egypt feel unfairly demonized because they had been seen as bulwarks of the Mubarak regime, and they often decline to show up to their jobs as a result of this low morale. This police foot-dragging has allowed an increase in petty crime, though Cairo is still far safer than most Western cities.
The government of Egypt is still pretty powerful, and will likely act to curb the militants, as it did in the Sinai recently.

#romneyshambles

I thought we would have to wait until the debates for Mitt Romney to demonstrate his manifest unfitness to be president. Instead, it happened already and its still eight weeks until the election:

Romney’s decision to use a fatal attack on Americans as an opportunity to seek political gain based on a complete lie is just the latest example of his copyrighted #romneyshambles campaign. It is a classic #romneyfail.

Bush and Cheney were the hollow men

Its like caring for someone who had been mentally ill, as they gradually recover their sanity and begin to understand how delusional they were.
As the years go by, the United States seems finally to be able to acknowledge what everyone else in the world has known for years -- 9/11 happened because Bush and Cheney were too stupid to prevent it.
Contrary to all the "nobody could have predicted" excuses, the CIA knew that Bin Laden was dangerous.  They warned Bush and Cheney again and again, month after month.  But Bush and Cheney didn't listen because Rumsfeld and his neocon brain trust in the Pentagon (Wolfowitz, Cambone, Feith) were too busy creating fairy tales about Saddam Hussein:

The direct warnings to Mr. Bush about the possibility of a Qaeda attack began in the spring of 2001. By May 1, the Central Intelligence Agency told the White House of a report that “a group presently in the United States” was planning a terrorist operation. Weeks later, on June 22, the daily brief reported that Qaeda strikes could be “imminent,” although intelligence suggested the time frame was flexible.
But some in the administration considered the warning to be just bluster. An intelligence official and a member of the Bush administration both told me in interviews that the neoconservative leaders who had recently assumed power at the Pentagon were warning the White House that the C.I.A. had been fooled; according to this theory, Bin Laden was merely pretending to be planning an attack to distract the administration from Saddam Hussein, whom the neoconservatives saw as a greater threat. Intelligence officials, these sources said, protested that the idea of Bin Laden, an Islamic fundamentalist, conspiring with Mr. Hussein, an Iraqi secularist, was ridiculous, but the neoconservatives’ suspicions were nevertheless carrying the day.
In response, the C.I.A. prepared an analysis that all but pleaded with the White House to accept that the danger from Bin Laden was real.

This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper.

Banjo Bowl

The Banjo Bowl in Winnipeg follows the Labour Day Classic in Regina -- which (ahem!) the Riders won this year by 52 to zero, thank you jeebuz. How the Banjo Bowl was born: In 2003, Blue Bombers placekicker/punter Troy Westwood was being hauled over the coals for insulting Saskatchewan and he decided to reply:

"I had referred to the people of Saskatchewan as a bunch of banjo-picking inbreds," Westwood said that afternoon in the Bomber locker-room. "I was wrong to make such a statement, and I'd like to apologize.
[wait for it]
"The vast majority of the people in Saskatchewan have no idea how to play the banjo."

UPDATE: 25 riders 24 bombers. Yay, team!

In the blink of an eye

I was about to post something a little snarky last night about how Pauline Marois couldn't quite close the deal with Quebecers. Then I read about the shooting and saw her amazingly confident ability to react quickly but calmly, and prevent panic.
In the blink of an eye, my opinion of her changed. As the Montreal Gazette put it, In moment of crisis, Marois shows Quebecers formidable poise:

Take her measure. She showed sangfroid — cold blood — in a moment of crisis.
She hit the correct notes in her news conference on Wednesday, pointing out that Quebec is not a violent society, that the incident had nothing to do with politics.
Quebecers will take note of the formidable Madame Marois’s poise today. She can be expected to benefit, especially, from appearing in a positive light to the majority of Quebecers, who did not vote for her.
Marois was elected with the weakest possible mandate: 31.9 per cent of the popular vote and 54 seats. Facing an unpopular premier in the midst of a student crisis and a corruption inquiry, she was unable to make the sale.

But that was then and this is now. She's shown now that she has what it takes.

Invisible Obama Derangement Syndrome

*Yesterday upon the stair
I met a man who wasn’t there
He wasn’t there again today
Oh, how I wish he’d go away

Jon Stewart thanked Clint Eastwood for making it clear to the nation that only the Republicans can see the Kenyan socialist fascist who they think is Barak Obama:

By criticizing an invisible Obama for doing things that the real Obama hasn’t even done, Stewart could reach only one logical conclusion: “there is a President Obama that only Republicans can see,” and this Invisible Obama is the one they have been running against all along.

As if we needed any more proof that they can see invisible people that no one else can see, today, the rightwing blogs celebrated "empty chair day" . And here's the latest from Chuck Norris:

A video released this weekend by action movie hero Chuck Norris claims that America faces “1,000 years of darkness” if President Barack Obama is reelected.

These people are nuts.

Deja vu

Bill Maher - New Rules 31.08.2012 - YouTube:
"

Texts from the dog

I'm impressed that somebody actually thoughtof this:

And The Guardian did an interview about it -- with the dog, of course.

Twins

I am a twin myself and I remember how great it was to always have someone to laugh with:


(H/T Nancy Nall)

Quel suprise

Following the sudden appointment in June of a new "low-key" Commissioner of Canada Elections, questions were raised about the impact this would have on Elections Canada investigations of Conservative party election scandals like robocalls and sending voters to the wrong polling station.
Two months later, its no surprise to find out that the investigations are at a virtual standstill. Instead of the "sweeping investigation" promised, what I think we're seeing is an earnest attempt to just sweep everything under the nearest rug.
Nothing to see here, folks, just move along, move along.
In fact, the only parties so far who have actually been responsive to complaints are the NDP and the Liberals.

I'm entitled to my entitlements

The spirit of David Dingwall lives on.
RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson thinks he was entitled to use "volunteer" RCMP as a backdrop at his wedding.
Toronto mayor Rob Ford thinks he's entitled to ignore a legal requirement to reimburse lobbyists for donations they made to his charity.
Former Quebec lieutenant-governor Lise Thibault thinks she's entitled to sovereign immunity to avoid prosecution for claiming fraudulent expenses of $700,000 during her decade in office.

Harper tries to make rules for knife fights

When I read this story, I just felt an overwhelming sadness for my country: Ottawa allows RCMP, border agency to use torture-tainted information .
The Harper Conservatives think they have figured out how they can still claim the moral high ground even though they want to use information obtained by torture. They have set up a bunch of rules and procedures which will supposedly restrict how and when CSIS, the RCMP, and Customs can ask for or use information obtained by torture.

“The objective is to establish a coherent and consistent approach across the government of Canada in deciding whether or not to send information to, or solicit information from, a foreign entity when doing so may give rise to substantial risk of mistreatment of an individual,” says the four-page framework. ....
[The directives] say that in “exceptional circumstances” the RCMP or border agency “may need to share the most complete information in its possession,” including information foreign agencies likely obtained through torture, “in order to mitigate a serious risk of loss of life, injury, or substantial damage or destruction of property before it materializes.”...
They also spell out procedures for information sharing when the risk of torture is “substantial” — meaning a “personal, present and foreseeable risk” based on something more than “mere theory or speculation.”
The decision must be referred to the RCMP commissioner or the border services agency president when there is a substantial risk that sending information to, or soliciting information from, a foreign agency would cause harm to someone — and it is unclear whether the risk can be managed by seeking assurances that the material won’t be misused.

But a thin veneer of bureaucratic process will not obscure a cowardly and corrupt policy which will condemn unknown numbers of people to torture.
Because it is not possible to establish rules for knife fights.

Hot air

My husband says it will be interesting to see who blows more hot air in Tampa, Hurricane Issac or the Republican Convention.

Imagine

Chris Selley flips out at the announcement the Ottawa carillon would play "Imagine" for Jack Layton.
Well, its a certainty that no one will ever associate that song with Stephen Harper or his caucus.

And who would that be, pray tell?

Comparing the Democratic and Republican convention speakers, Politico concludes

Democrats lack some of the star power among governors and senators that the Republican convention will have next week in Tampa...

Describing Republican politicians as having "star power" is a little ridiculous. Is America breathless to hear what that guy from Jersey has to say about anything?