She knew 9/11 was coming

Dick Cheney's own domestic-propaganda agent, the jailbird ex-New York Times reporter Judith Miller, always had amazing "luck" when it came to covering the White House's terror wars.

Now it turns out she had something else -- something that 3,000 Americans who died on Sept. 11, 2001, would've surely appreciated: Judith Miller says she had advance knowledge of the 9/11 attacks.

In an interview published today by AlterNet, Miller claims her intelligence and White House sources (anonymous, of course) told her in July 2001 that an Al Qaeda attack on America was imminent.

The information was reportedly based on the now-familiar "chatter" that followed the bombing of the USS Cole the previous October, Miller claims.

It was never published -- not specific enough, she says.

Questions unanswered by the AlterNet report are why should anyone believe anything Miller writes or says, and why is an independent media site suddenly promoting the story of a proven liar and White House propaganda agent.

Once again, it doesn't make sense

Miller offers very little to back up her claims and seems -- as usual -- coldly disinterested in the horrible fate of the actual people who were murdered on that day.

She even parrots the bizarre response of Bush himself upon learning of the World Trade Center attacks. Miller tells AlterNet that her initial response to seeing that gaping, smoking hole in the tower full of people was: "Gosh! That was a pretty big space for a Cessna or something to have gotten into that building."

Gosh, indeed.

But the strangest part of her questionable revelations -- seemingly timed to coincide with the Pentagon's tardy and suspicious release of two vague surveillance camera footage of the explosion and the White House's increasingly desperate defense of the NSA wiretapping/phone records scandal -- is her story of the "Al Qaeda operatives" overheard through (of course) surveillance by U.S. intelligence agencies.

"The incident that had gotten everyone's attention was a conversation between two members of Al Qaeda. And they had been talking to one another, supposedly expressing disappointment that the United States had not chosen to retaliate more seriously against what had happened to the Cole," Miller tells AlterNet.

"And one Al Qaeda operative was overheard saying to the other, 'Don't worry; we're planning something so big now that the U.S. will have to respond.'"

What?

"I thought it was a very good story," she continues.

It's a weird story, at least.

After nearly five years of the "War on Terror" and enough crimes, scandals and outrages to end the presidency of anyone not lucky enough to be wrapped in the bloody flag of 9/11, America is now supposed to believe the goal of "the terrorists" wasn't to kill us because they hate our freedoms, nor to avenge the Medieval Crusades, nor to destroy Israel, reclaim Spain for some nonexistent Caliphate, stop women from wearing bikinis nor any of the other dozen ever-changing "Why Do They Hate Us?" reasons used to justify the absolute worst American policies in this country's long history.

Instead, according to Judith Miller's new claims, the Sept. 11 attacks were designed to make sure America destroyed the countries where the terror attacks were allegedly planned. The entire fantastic 9/11 hijacking-bombing horror was to make sure the United States blew up anybody who might've had a part in it, along with everybody who had the bad luck of living in the same Muslim part of the world. It was Islamic fundamentalism saying "Please kill me" to the United States.

That "Al Qaeda" chatter of "something so big now that the U.S. will have to respond" does sound remarkably like another shadowy group's plans, however -- a neo-con pro-war group that includes Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, Donald Rumsfeld, Richard Perle, "Scooter" Libby and John Bolton on its membership list. In a report titled "Rebuilding America's Defenses" (PDF) that was published by the think tank in September 2000, the group writes:

"Further, the process of [military] transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event -- like a new Pearl Harbor."

Always in the 'right place'

When the fake-terrorist anthrax attacks hit a shaken nation just a week after 9/11, Miller just happened to have a new book about anthrax attacks (published on Sept. 10, 2001) -- and she conveniently had some (fake) anthrax mailed to her at the Times.

When Cheney's office planned its operation to blow the cover of CIA agent Valerie Plame and discredit her husband Joe Wilson for being skeptical about the planned Iraq invasion, Judith Miller was sitting in the White House office of Cheney's top henchman, the now-indicted "Scooter" Libby.

When the White House needed an important "liberal newspaper" to promote the made-up story about the United States catching shipments of nuclear-weapons materials allegedly headed to Saddam Hussein's military, Judith Miller put the propaganda on the front page.

And when a gangster named Ahmed Chalabi had been chosen by the White House to run the "new and improved" Iraq, his longtime friend Judith Miller repeated his every lie in the pages of the New York Times.

Experience you can't trust

It was all just a replay of her propaganda work for the first Bush administration's Iraq War.

As the U.S. buildup to the 1991 war began, Miller had a new job at the Times that was ideal for spreading the White House line: The newspaper had made her the "Persian Gulf special correspondent" in October 1990.

To capitalize on the coming war while simultaneously demonizing a Middle Eastern leader who had been a staunch ally of the United States until the mysterious Kuwait crisis, Miller had a quickie paperback published, "Saddam Hussein and the Crisis in the Gulf."

Her co-author was the loathsome Laurie Mylroie, a neo-con disciple of the War on Terror's primary figures including the aforementioned "Scooter" Libby, Paul Wolfowitz and John Bolton. Both Mylroie and Miller were clients of the same public relations firm that represents a cabal of neo-con think-tank figures who push for constant Middle Eastern war with their books, articles and media appearances.

I just love this song!!!

-Remix-

-Origional-

911 Vendette

I found this at the captain's Blog. I am a huge fan of the V for Vendetta movie, and I love this new "remake".

Just following orders

Millions of marching migrants and the White House's refusal to wall off the border may outrage the working-class white Republicans responsible for all the GOP's political gains since the mid-1990s, but George W. Bush shouldn't be expected to listen to such people.

Like any powerful politician, Bush works for multinational corporations and their millionaire stockholders. And those people know the truth: The house of cards known as the American Economy would collapse overnight if illegal foreign workers were deported.

The elitist investment newsletter Kiplinger Business Forecasts spelled it out for its subscribers in an April report:

"Legal and illegal immigrants will account for almost all the growth of the labor force, which is aging rapidly. When baby boomers start to retire in big numbers after 2010, there won't be enough U.S. natives to step up and take the jobs they're leaving. Immigrants tend to be younger and more willing to tackle jobs that too few Americans want, especially in agriculture, construction and the hospitality industries."

And what if illegal workers suddenly vanish?

"Without the growth from immigration, the U.S. risks a stagnant economy."

Kiplinger's reminds its wealthy and powerful readers that the United States faces the same grim future as shrinking nations such as Germany and Japan.

"With far fewer immigrants seeking jobs there, the median age of their workforces is already soaring. In the coming decades, the situation will only get worse, straining government budgets for social services and choking off growth."

Constant growth is the one goal of the global corporate overlords, just like cancer.

The intentional confusion over illegal Latino migration to the United States tends to confuse the facts. "Liberal" voters want to be nice to the economic refugees by letting them stay, while "conservatives" want the borders closed because they don't like people sneaking across the border and speaking Spanish.

That may be just the sort of impotent confusion that international corporations require to keep a "slave pipeline" running to U.S. industry and agriculture.

"Rob Sanchez" wrote the following to USA Today after that corporate newspaper published articles that were sympathetic to illegal workers:

"I wish to applaud James Fulford's rebuttal of the offensive article 'USA just wouldn't work without immigrant labor.' Articles of this kind are nothing but cheap propaganda by greedy corporations that hope to convince the public that Americans can't handle hard work. They use this to justify the importation of foreign workers to bust unions, lower salaries, and destroy workplace standards."

And that's where traditional liberal values such as unionized labor, minimum wages and workplace safety collide with liberal support for the human rights of economic refugees from Latin America. The globalized corporations abhor the former and require the latter.

Bush flops again

All George W. Bush had to do tonight was throw some "red meat" to the regular Republican voters.

These people are scared to death of an "invading horde" of Mexicans. They are heartbroken over America's tragic loss in Iraq. And it has become impossible for them to continue pretending that a gang of whoremongering felonious con-artists in Washington could give a damn about "conservative values."

With their adjustable mortgage payments skyrocketing and gasoline at more than $3 a gallon and good jobs completely out of reach, the beaten working class of Red State America just wanted their fake-Texan failure to come out and promise he would build a Great Wall between the U.S.A. and Mexico.

The White House lies about everything. Couldn't they at least send Bush out with a pretty lie about stopping the evil Mexicans? Turns out the answer is No.

Bushbots no longer

"President Bush and Congress fail to realize that it is a buyer's market and we are not interested in what they are selling," blogger USMC_Vet wrote on Blue State Conservatives.

"Bush has lost touch with reality, arguing that guest worker/amnesty will reduce the incentive to cross the border," Filipina hatebag Michele Malkin wrote on her wildly popular website.

"Yup it's all just a joke. He's humoring us. Pisses me off that he's doing it with a straight face," two-time Bush voter Kevin Ecker wrote after the televised speech. "Aaaaah, Mexico is our friend. Bushit."

"Blah, blah, blah...Illegal immigration...amnesty that is not amnesty...jobs American's won't do...we can't round them all up and send them back...my poll numbers just dropped faster than Paris Hilton's panties at a Hollywood party," wrote a furious Oklahoman who has surely attended many Hollywood parties. "Iran? Who is Iran?...Their just people that want to have a better life BY BREAKING F**KING LAWS!!!! Bush you just killed the rest of your political career and any chance for the Republican Party to win in 2006 and 2008!"

"Meanwhile, we have felons who have evaded authorities for years, who have no loyalty or intention of becomeing Americans demanding that we accept them," a member of FreeRepublic.com typed tonight. "They demand we teach their children in Spanish, they demand we teach them their history and their culture. The demand we celebrate 'Cinco de Mayo', the wave their flags on our soil and demand we recognize them."

David "I made up the 'Axis of Evil' phrase for Bush" Frum tersely described the performance as "one of those rare presidential speeches that drives the president's numbers down, not up."

And the PowerLine blog was nearly as blunt: "President Bush doesn't have many chances left to salvage his second term. After tonight, he might not have any."

Bush Country

The once-mighty "Bush majority" has eroded down to just three barren Western states that still approve of the doomed presidency, according to dismal new statistics released Monday.

Idaho, Utah and Wyoming -- with just 4 million people or about 1.5% of the American population -- are the last three U.S. states where a very slim majority approves of the shamed president's wretched administration.

Those lonesome states are currently reporting 52%, 51% and 50% job-approval ratings for Bush.

Just 16 months ago, the Bush campaign claimed 30 of the 50 U.S. states and 51% of the nationwide vote.

The arid Western trio of lightly populated states all have a slight natural loyalty to a "Republican" administration.

Idaho is a rugged land known for its extremist white supremacists and bland Boise suburbs, Utah is the official state of the ultra-conservative Mormons, and Wyoming and its miniscule statewide population of 498,000 is the dubious home turf of Dick Cheney.

But there's another factor just barely keeping these last three states in the Bush column: mysteriously low gasoline prices.

Cheney's Wyoming actually has the lowest gasoline prices in the entire United States -- despite being a barely-populated backwater as far away as possible from U.S. ports.

The most populous states have been clobbered by $3.50-per-gallon gasoline ... except for Bush's adopted state of Texas. He may no longer be appreciated in the Lone Star state, but gas is still available in the semi-reasonable $2.85 range.

Worse than Clinton

The headlines have been reminding Americans almost daily how little they think of the current president. The newest poll holds Bush up to the harsh, unforgiving light of his predecessor.

In a poll conducted last week by Opinion Research Corp. for CNN, 1,021 people were asked to compare George Bush's performance to that of Bill Clinton.

Slick Willy kicked Dubya's ass.

Even though Vice President Cheney has assured us that "deficits don't matter," 63% of Americans think Clinton did a better job with the economy. Only 26% opted for Bush.

Though Bush fancies himself a regular guy, only 25% of folks think he's been effective in handling the problems of ordinary Americans. Clinton was preferred by 62% of those polled.

Bush famously once declared himself a "uniter," but 59% say he's done far more to divide the country. People clearly recognized that Clinton did far more to bring people together, as only 27% felt he was divisive.

Despite near-unanimous acknowledgement that Clinton committed perjury, 46% said he was the more honest of the two. Only 41% went with Bush.

As one goes down the list, on every front -- foreign affairs, taxes, natural disasters -- Americans went with the fat, lecherous, up-by-the-bootstraps hillbilly over the pampered, ever-falling-up faux cowboy.

Captain Quahog: "The Final Solution"

READ THIS!!!!!!

Captain Quahog: "The Final Solution"

No success like failure

Proving again that there's no success like failure, George W. Bush has once again topped himself when it comes to people saying he sucks.

A new Harris poll shows the hated president can now claim "job approval" from just 29% of Americans. Only five months ago, Bush was polling in the low 40s.

It's even worse when broken down by his administration's sundry and staggering failures, scandals and crimes.

Only 13% -- apparently the last psychotic members of the collapsed and heartbroken Bush cult -- can pretend to approve of Bush's handling of the gasoline crisis.

That's eating away at what's left of the "Republican base," along with a White House immigration policy that is probably the only rational policy in the Bush Administration's history, but one that utterly ignores working-class Republicans' intense fear of Mexicans.

As for Iraq, even the most fanatical couch warriors have anything good to say about the prospects for anything beyond a long, bloody and humiliating defeat.

Congress is more despised than even Bush and his royal court, probably because there are so many more people to hate in the House and Senate. The almost-daily indictments, convictions and whore-bribery scandals aren't helping, either.

But the lame and criminally complicit Democratic Party shouldn't be celebrating.

Their "leaders" are about as unpopular as Bush himself.

According to yet another new poll, Hillary Clinton is in the best position -- with a pathetic 34% approval rating.

The last two losers are much worse off, with Al Gore at 28% and John Kerry at 26%.

FBI Creates Web Site for Corruption Tips

By SETH HETTENA
Associated Press Writer

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- The FBI has established a Web site to make it easier for the public to pass along tips on corrupt government officials, FBI Director Robert Mueller said Thursday.

More than 1,000 corrupt government employees have been convicted in the last two years as a result of FBI investigations, many of which began with tips, Mueller said.

Even more cases go unreported out of indifference, fear of retribution or because witnesses were unsure what to do with the information, he said.

"There is a growing intolerance by the American people of public corruption, an intolerance reflected in the willingness to come forward and report abuse of public office," Mueller said.

The public can now submit tips through the Internet at http:reportcorruption.fbi.gov.

Mueller announced the Web site during a speech in San Diego, where former Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham pleaded guilty last year to accepting $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors in return for government contracts. Cunningham was sentenced in March to more than eight years in prison.

FBI investigations also led to the conviction of a former city councilman and the indictment of several former members and officials of the board overseeing San Diego's pension fund.

On the Net: http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/pubcorrupt/pubcorrupt.htm

Evil priest as guilty as sin

An evil priest is finally going to pay the brutal ritualistic murder of an old nun 26 years ago.

The Rev. Gerald Robinson, 68, was convicted by an Ohio jury this morning for his satanic crime. They deliberated for just over six hours, and the blood-stained priest was immediately sentenced to 15 years to life.

It was on Holy Saturday (the day before Easter) in 1980 when 71-year-old Sister Margaret Ann Pahl was found strangled and stabbed to death in the sacristy of Mercy Hospital's chapel.

She was stabbed some 30 times in the pattern of an upside-down cross and then covered with an altar cloth.

The Toledo Diocese began a massive cover-up that lasted for a quarter-century, even though the evil priest was an early suspect in the gruesome crime.

Robinson appeared as calm and emotionless as he has throughout the trial. Reporters covering the trial noticed that he would "come to life" when the jury wasn't in the courtroom, being very outgoing with his lawyers.

Prosecutor Julia Bates can now go after the Catholic church for obstruction of justice, the Toledo Blade reported today.

Claudia Vercellotti of the local Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests group said the church cover-up is massive.

"This case embodied far more than a murder, if that's possible. It embodied the culture of cover-up. It's time it's cracked," Vercellotti said.

Her group helped re-open the 26-year-old murder case after a local woman said she had been ritually abused by Robinson and other priests.

"Toledo Diocese spokesman Sally Oberski said the unprecedented murder conviction of a priest has left her and the Diocese at a loss," the Blade reported. "The Vatican will most likely get involved, she said, but she could not say exactly what the process would be for dealing with the future of Robinson in the church."

Outrageiously, Robinson is still an ordained priest of the Catholic Church. The only action taken against him after his arrest in 2004 was barring him from holding Mass or other public priestly duties. He continued to wear the collar and costume of the Catholic clergy with the diocese's approval.

This afternoon, Robinson's lawyers said they would appeal the verdict, but they wouldn't say on what issue they would attempt to appeal.

Sicker than fiction

At the same time the Vatican is running a multi-million-dollar campaign to convince the public that priests aren't crazy ritual murderers just because there's such a character in "The Da Vinci Code" novel and movie, the conviction of Robinson proves just the opposite.

Beyond the diocese's cover-up of Robinson's horrific crime, there's the awful issue of a whole coven of priests who ritually and sexually abused children for decades.

Far beyond the all-too-common individual molestation of children by priests, Robinson's gang apparently defiled children as part of complex demonic rituals.

Toledo detectives are still investigating those awful crimes, but they're having a particularly tough time because the diocese is protecting these evil priests.

"For Toledo police, it was a rare assignment: search an abandoned house on the edge of a cornfield in western Lucas County where people reportedly took part in ritual abuse ceremonies," the Blade reported in February 2005.

"The search of the decrepit, wood structure last year was a sign the investigation of the Rev. Gerald Robinson was moving beyond a murder case. No longer was the probe focusing solely on the man accused of killing Sister Margaret Ann Pahl, but was expanding into a new direction: accusations that children were molested and raped by priests in ritual services."

In 2004, the Toledo Catholic Diocese paid off 19 of the 23 victims who had come forward -- a total of $1.19 million.

The diocese apparently bought the victims' silence, as well, because few details of the Satanic ceremonies have come to light.

-Damn it, and I was just about to convert, then this happens.

You can call him snow ball

Some hoped that Tony Snow would bring a critical eye to his new job as White House Press Secretary. Others just hoped for a well-run press conferences. Turns out everyone was wrong.

Things went so poorly for the normally media-savvy Snow that he had to acknowledge, "This is just a mess."

Questioned on the countless NSA scandals, Snow had to defer to deputy press secretary Dana Perino, who lamely tried to excuse her boss' ignorance.

"There's a very limited number of people who are briefed on that program," she said.

When the press complained they couldn't hear the soft-spoken Perino, Snow began reading a list of talking points.

He finally gave up, saying "As the new kid on the block, I'm not fully briefed on the issue."

Snow had troubles right from the start, as he had the "gaggle" -- a mini-briefing -- moved to his office. He started too early and the room was too small.

Asked what he would change in anticipation of his on-camera debut on Tuesday, Snow tried to make a joke.

"Apparently the gaggle."

The media surely viewed it as a justified serving of humility for Snow, who had spent the days leading up to his debut attacking various members in the press.

Snow's office has criticised the "New York Times" -- "continues to ignore America's economic progress" and CBS -- "misleadingly reports" via email of late.

Bush stands by his man

As the president's nominee to head the CIA goes back up on Capitol Hill for a fifth day of meeting with senators, the White House remains unflinching in its support.

It's been known that Gen. Michael Hayden has been the "human face" of the NSA's warrantless wiretapping. Yesterday it was learned that he had also been part of an effort to spy on every last American, regardless of innocence or guilt.

"We're full steam ahead on his nomination," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Thursday.

And why shouldn't they be?

If the president were to withdraw Hayden's name, it would be a de facto admission that the NSA had been doing wrong. It would by extension be an confession of the president's guilt. That will not happen.

As Hayden himself said, "Everything the NSA does is lawfully and very carefully done." Because the president said so.

Congress will remain powerless to mount a challenge to Hayden because it would carry the same implication of Bush's guilt. The fools on the Hill wouldn't dare. They're terrified of the man. If they haven't tried to impeach him yet, they aren't going to call him guilty now.

Senator John Kerry tried put on a brave face yesterday.

"Enough is enough," Kerry said in a speech at American University in Washington. "It is long overdue for this Congress to end the days of roll over and rubber stamp and finally assert its power of advise and consent before Gen. Hayden becomes Director Hayden."

Only entrenched lifers like Kerry, Schumer and Feinstein -- the folks that party ideologues look to -- can dare make a stink about Hayden. Three votes won't be enough to stop him.

Senators Agree to Revive Immigration Bill

By SUZANNE GAMBOA, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 15 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Senate leaders reached a deal Thursday on reviving a broad immigration bill that could provide millions of illegal immigrants a chance to become American citizens and said they'll try to pass it before Memorial Day.

The agreement brokered by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., breaks a political stalemate that has lingered for weeks while immigrants and their supporters held rallies, boycotts and protests to push for action.

"We congratulate the Senate on reaching agreement and we look forward to passage of a bill prior to Memorial Day," said Dana Perino, deputy White House press secretary.

Key to the agreement is who will be negotiating a compromise with the House, which last December passed an enforcement-only bill that would subject the estimated 11 million to 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States to felony charges as well as deportation.

Frist said the Senate will send 14 Republicans and 12 Democrats to negotiate with the House, with seven of the Republicans and five Democrats coming from the Judiciary Committee. The remaining seven Republicans will be chosen by Frist and remaining seven Democrats chosen by Reid.
-continued-

Well, if the bill falls through, atleast we have a tried and true posse, to round all the illegals up, and keep our borders safe. Lets see, there averaging one a day, there is how many millions of illegals? 11 or 12 million? So lets see, one per day, divided into lets say 11.5 million,,, so we could be illegal free is 32,877 years, as long as the posse works 24/7 and can secure the borders from more illegals moving here. Wow, can't wait. Life willbe sweet when there all gone. Party at my place.

Phoenix-Area Posse Nets Just 1 Arrest

By AMANDA LEE MYERS, Associated Press Writer
Thu May 11, 4:30 PM ET

AVONDALE, Ariz. - Following a week of tough talk, a 250-member sheriff's posse that was assembled to catch illegal immigrants made just one arrest in its first desert search early Thursday.

The posse — made up of Maricopa County sheriff's deputies and trained volunteers — launched night patrols Wednesday in the desert and along major roads southwest of Phoenix.

Deputies attempted to pull over a pickup truck about 12:45 a.m. Thursday, but the truck took off in the desert and its 15 to 20 occupants scattered. Only one person was tracked down, despite night-vision equipment, spotlights and a helicopter.

"It just makes me angry," Sheriff Joe Arpaio said. "People say these are helpless people coming into the United States just to work, and yet when they see law enforcement, they run. If they were trying to obey the law, why are they running?"

Arpaio speculated that the night was slow because potential border crossers have heard about that the county is cracking down. He said the operation will continue.

Arpaio's posse is looking to arrest illegal immigrants under a new state law that allows local law enforcement to arrest and charge immigrant-smugglers with felonies. Sheriff's officials already have arrested 147 illegal immigrants and smugglers under the law.

A human-rights group is challenging County Attorney Andrew Thomas' contention that the law applies to illegal immigrants as well as immigrant smugglers.

-Nothing like a highly trained posse to bring justice and curb lawlessness in the wild wild west.

HAVE 200,000 AK47S FALLEN INTO THE HANDS OF IRAQ TERRORISTS?

FEARS OVER SECRET U.S. ARMS SHIPMENT

SOME 200,000 guns the US sent to Iraqi security forces may have been smuggled to terrorists, it was feared yesterday.

The 99-tonne cache of AK47s was to have been secretly flown out from a US base in Bosnia. But the four planeloads of arms have vanished.

Orders for the deal to go ahead were given by the US Department of Defense. But the work was contracted out via a complex web of private arms traders.

And the Moldovan airline used to transport the shipment was blasted by the UN in 2003 for smuggling arms to Liberia, human rights group Amnesty has discovered.

It follows a separate probe claiming that thousands of guns meant for Iraq's police and army instead went to al-Qaeda

Amnesty chief spokesman Mike Blakemore said: "It's unbelievable that no one can account for 200,000 assault rifles. If these weapons have gone missing it's a terrifying prospect." American defence chiefs hired a US firm to take the guns, from the 90s Bosnian war, to Iraq.

But air traffic controllers in Baghdad have no record of the flights, which supposedly took off between July 2004 and July 2005. A coalition forces spokesman confirmed they had not received "any weapons from Bosnia" and added they were "not aware of any purchases for Iraq from Bosnia". Nato and US officials have already voiced fears that Bosnian arms - sold by US, British and Swiss firms - are being passed to insurgents. A Nato spokesman said: "There's no tracking mechanism to ensure they don't fall into the wrong hands. There are concerns that some may have been siphoned off." This year a newspaper claimed two UK firms were involved in a deal in which thousands of guns for Iraqi forces were re-routed to al-Qaeda.

One arms broker's lawyer is said to have admitted that nearly all of a shipment of 1,500 AK-47s went missing. And a US official said £270million of equipment could not be traced.

Meanwhile, Aerocom, the Moldovan air firm at the centre of the 200,000 missing AK47s, was stripped of its licence by its national authorities a day before the first shipment.

Two other companies in the complicated sale claim to have papers proving the guns were delivered in Iraq but refuse to show them.

Amnesty has now called on Britain to clamp down on the arms trade.

Spokeswoman Kate Allen said: "It's out of control and costing hundreds of thousands of lives every year. The UK has a real chance to do something about it when the UN meets in June."

Wanted felon

Back in February it was reported that America's favorite anorexic viper was a suspected felon. Now she is a fugitive from the law.

The Brad Blog has uncovered an official document that outlines what exactly happened. If Palm Beach election officials are to be believed, not only did Coulter commit voter fraud, she did so after being asked not to.

In his incident report Precinct Advisor James Whited tells of noticing that Coulter's home address did not match the one on her voter registration, and his subsequent discussion of the issue with her.

Ms. Coulter then said, "What was the problem?" It was explained that she needed to fill out a change of address form in order to vote in Precinct 1198. She countered with, "Where would I vote with the address that I have?" I advised her that it would be at St. Edward's Church. She said ''thank you" and hurriedly went out the door and down the driveway. I followed her to the edge of the driveway trying to get her to return but to no avail. I had no idea where she was going when she left the precinct.

It turns out she was going to the polling place that matched her phony voter registration.

Shortly after Palm Beach's city council elections, word broke that Ann Coulter had registered to vote using not her own address, but that of her real estate agent, Suzanne Frisbie.

"She never lived here," said Frisbie. "I'm Ann's Realtor, and she used this address to forward mail when she moved from New York."

In the subsequent weeks, as Coulter continued speaking at campuses across the country, she dismissed questions about the incident.

"I don't live in Palm Beach. Maybe you shouldn't read retarded news!" she hissed at one poor truth-seeker.

Except she does in fact live in Palm Beach, as proved by county tax records.

The county elections office has made repeated attempts to contact Coulter regarding this matter, but to no avail.

"We may start the administrative procedure to remove Ms. Coulter from the voter rolls this week," said Charmaine Kelly, deputy elections chief. "There will be a public hearing to cancel her registration. If that happens, she won't be able to vote until she re-registers. It's a rather rare procedure."

Kelly says that following the hearing, Coulter's case may be referred to the state attorney's office for criminal prosecution. Coulter could face up to $5,000 in fines and five years in prison if convicted.

NSA kills inquiry into NSA

With the stroke of a pen in 2002 President Bush effectively gutted the Fourth Amendment so his cronies at the NSA could listen in on your phone conversations. Tuesday the investigation into the agency's illegal warrantless wiretapping was shut down - by the NSA.

Wednesday, H. Marshall Jarrett, of the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility, notified Democratic Rep. Maurice Hinchey of New York that his staff was ending its investigation into the NSA, because the very same agency refused to grant them security clearance.

"We have been unable to make any meaningful progress in our investigation because OPR has been denied security clearances for access to information about the NSA program," Jarrett wrote in a fax.

Jarrett says that beginning in January he and his staff made repeated requests for clearance. On Tuesday they were denied.

"Without these clearances, we cannot investigate this matter and therefore have closed our investigation," Jarrett wrote.

Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse maintained the administration's "trust us" stance, insisting the wiretap program "has been subject to extensive oversight both in the executive branch and in Congress from the time of its inception."

The program has been under the watchful eye of Gen. Michael Hayden, Bush's nominee to take over the CIA.

Hayden yesterday told Senator Dick Durbin that he may be open to hearings that would change the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act laws that the wiretaps were designed to break.

"With all the publicity that has surrounded this program, we may be closer to the possibility of asking for a change in FISA. "He didn't say he would," Durbin said.

Now that everybody knows Hayden and his boss are criminals, they're open to changing the laws they've been breaking?

Bushites

The U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary has made it known that anyone who doesn't like President Bush is not fit to receive federal funding.

On April 28 in Dallas, Texas, HUD's Secretary Alphonso Jackson was among the featured speakers at a forum sponsored by the Real Estate Executive Council.

He told of how after years of progress, HUD had improved its relationship with minority-owned businesses. Then he warned those in the majority that their kind was not so welcome at the government trough.

Jackson told of a man who after a decade of struggle had gotten his firm listed on the General Services Administration list, before finally being selected for a contract.

"He came to see me and thank me for selecting him. Then he said something ... he said, 'I have a problem with your president.'

"I said, 'What do you mean?' He said, 'I don't like President Bush.' I thought to myself, 'Brother, you have a disconnect -- the president is elected, I was selected. You wouldn't be getting the contract unless I was sitting here. If you have a problem with the president, don't tell the secretary.'

"He didn't get the contract," Jackson continued. "Why should I reward someone who doesn't like the president, so they can use funds to try to campaign against the president? Logic says they don't get the contract. That's the way I believe."

Monkey see, monkey booze

The gap between man and monkeys has narrowed just a little more since researchers introduced rhesus macaques to the wonderful world of booze.

Not only do monkeys love it as much as we do, they drink it in almost identical patterns.

Remember that Christmas when dad got wasted and started stumbling about, only to throw up as he fell through the yule tree? Scott Chen at the National Institutes of Health Animal Center in Maryland says monkeys do the same thing.

"It was not unusual to see some of the monkeys stumble and fall, sway and vomit," Chen said. "In a few of our heavy drinkers, they would drink until they fell asleep."

Chen says that monkeys actually get drunk regularly, when given the chance.

"Blood alcohol levels often exceeded the .08 percent level, which is the legal limit for most states in the U.S."

Researchers started by hosting a cocktail hour for lady monkeys. Each of the 21 monkeys was outfitted with a collar to measure consumption before they were set loose on an open bar offering an aspartame-sweetened ethanol beverage. Each had their blood alcohol levels tested after the party.

Next, 10 of the monkeys sat home alone with a stash of booze to drink at their own discretion, free from the judging gaze of friends.

"The singly housed monkeys certainly drank more than the socially housed monkeys -- at least two to three-fold more," Chen told Discovery News. "With the socially housed monkeys, there are a number of factors that can potentially compete with access to alcohol, such as social status or dominance ranking."

Again, as with humans, low-class monkeys tend to drink more than their better-off counterparts, and male monkeys drank more than females. Also, each monkey displayed his or her own taste and tolerance for hooch.

"Similar to humans, rhesus macaques have individual differences in taste preference, stress levels, drug tolerance and genetic background that lead to differences in alcohol intake," explained Chen.

A similar study gave males 24-hour access to liquor. Like most men, their need for a drink spiked at the end of a busy workday.

"Like humans, monkeys are more likely to drink after stressful periods, such as soon after the daily 8-5 testing hours and after a long week of testing," said Chen.