Friday, June 30, 2006

BIG BUSH DEFEAT TheNation: "The Bush administration's attempt to demonize the New York Times - a newspaper that gave the administration plenty of aid and comfort when the White House was spinning lies about WMDs in Iraq - will be remembered as one of the ugliest chapters in the history of press freedom in the United States. The question that will ultimately be asked is not whether the Times did the right thing in revealing to the American people the details of Bush-authorized spying programs - by any measure, the newspaper was right to do what it did and history will provide more than enough vindication." It is one of the tactics of the criminally disposed to defame those who dare to tell the truth about their lies and criminal deeds. And George W. Bush has blood on his hands. LATimes: "The Supreme Court declared Thursday that President Bush had overstepped his authority in the war against terrorism, ruling he does not have the power to set up special military trials at Guantanamo Bay without the approval of Congress." WashingtonPost: "A federal appeals court delivered another legal blow to the Bush administration's broad plan to overhaul the federal employee personnel system, ruling yesterday that the proposed changes would illegally limit the scope of collective bargaining." But Bush is going on. Yahoo: "At the White House, Bush said he had not fully reviewed the ruling and would consult with the U.S. Congress to attain appropriate authority for military tribunals." ThinkProgress: "The impact of today's Supreme Court decision on military commissions goes well beyond Guantanamo. The Supreme Court has ruled that the Authorization for the Use of Military Force - issued by Congress in the days after 9/11 - is not a blank check for the administration. The point here is that the AUMF [Authorization for the Use of Military Force] does not authorize activity that was not specifically contemplated in the text or legislative history. This is incredibly significant. The administration is relying on the AUMF to justify its warrantless wiretapping program." 11:31:44 AM

DUTCH GOVERNMENT RESIGNS EUObserver: "The Dutch government resigned on Thursday over an immigration row, raising the prospect of early elections which could see a battle over a new referendum on EU treaty changes. D66, led in the parliament by former MEP Lousewies van der Laan, had in a marathon nightly debate on Thursday morning demanded the resignation of hardline immigration minister Rita Verdonk over a row involving the Dutch nationality of Somali-born former member of parliament Ayaan Hirsi Ali." The past years the government did no longer have the backing of the people. But the ruling parties rejected all motions of non-confidence in parliament only because they knew new elections would drastically reduce their support. No Harry Potter wizardry could save the prime minister (they say he was a Potter look-alike) this time. The VVD, the neocon party, has become totally incredible after their own minister, Verdonk, repeatedly breached the law with her immigration policies; nevertheless, they continued supporting Ms Verdonk. The construction by which Hirsi Ali was first granted the Dutch nationality, which Verdonk then planned to take away and later bent the rules so that Hirsi could keep her passport, was a farce from beginning to end. At one moment Hirsi said she had lied about having lied earlier. More than 26,000 people are in the same position as Hirsi Ali, nevertheless they don't get a passport. The missions in Afghanistan and Iraq were not supported by the Dutch population, nevertheless the government sent troops. Balkenende's economic policies (privatisation/deregulation) have damaged the country considerably. I am glad the government fell. 11:18:42 AM

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