Bush lies about lying

If two wrongs make a right, do two lies make a truth? Not only did Bush lie about Iraq and WMDs, he lied last week when he said the intelligence was faulty.

In an interview with the Politico and Yahoo! News, President Bush blamed faulty intelligence.

“I don’t think so. … Intelligence communities all across the world shared the same assessment. And so I was disappointed to see how flawed our intelligence was.”

“Do I think somebody lied to me?” he said. “No, I don’t. I think it was just, you know, they analyzed the situation and came up with the wrong conclusion.”

Yes, they did analyze the situation. They came to the right conclusion. You ignored it and now you’re blaming intelligence,

Let’s take a look at the intelligence the Bush administration ignored going into Iraq:

1. As early as September 12, 2001, Bush administration officials quietly questioned the claims. Richard Clarke, Bush’s then counterterrorism advisor, responded to Bush’s query whether Hussein was linked to the attacks.

“But you know, we have looked several times for state sponsorship of al Qaeda and not found any real linkages to Iraq.”

2. Beginning November of 2001, Defense Undersecretary Douglas Feith led a team to explore the relationship between Iraq and Al-Qaeda. Almost a year later, the team briefed Colin Powell and then-CIA director George Tenet on their findings. On September 25th 2002, Bush linked the two:

“They’re both risks, they’re both dangerous. The difference, of course, is that Al Qaeda likes to hijack governments. Saddam Hussein is a dictator of a government. Al Qaeda hides, Saddam doesn’t, but the danger is, is that they work in concert. The danger is, is that Al Qaeda becomes an extension of Saddam’s madness and his hatred and his capacity to extend weapons of mass destruction around the world.”

In July of the same year, the Defense Intelligence Agency found “compelling evidence demonstrating direct cooperation between the government of Iraq and Al Qaeda has not been established, despite a large body of anecdotal information.”

In April 2001, the CIA drafted a report called Iraqi Support for Terrorism, that found “no credible information that Baghdad had foreknowledge of the 11 September attacks or any other al-Qaeda strike.”

3. September 8th, 2002:

“We do know that he is actively pursuing a nuclear weapon. We do know there have been shipments going into . . . Iraq, for instance, of aluminum tubes that really are only suited to—high-quality aluminum tools that only really suited for nuclear weapons programs, centrifuge programs.”

In April 2001, the Energy Department concluded that “while the gas centrifuge application cannot be ruled out, we assess that the procurement activity more likely supports a different application, such as conventional ordnance production.” In September of 2002 when the CIA was preparing the NIE, the Department reminded them of their findings. The CIA ignored them.

4. In his September 28 radio address, Bush claimed:

The Iraqi regime possesses biological and chemical weapons, is rebuilding the facilities to make more and, according to the British government, could launch a biological or chemical attack in as little as 45 minutes after the order is given. The regime has long-standing and continuing ties to terrorist groups, and there are al Qaeda terrorists inside Iraq. This regime is seeking a nuclear bomb, and with fissile material could build one within a year.”

Until three weeks ago, there was no National Intelligence Estimate regarding Iraq and WMDS. The CIA scrambled to complete one, later debunked by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence: “Postwar findings do not support the 2002 National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) judgment that Iraq was reconstituting its nuclear weapons program.”

5. His 2003 State of the Union addresses mentioned Iraq buying Uranium from African countries.

“The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.”

As early as March 2002, the intelligence community was divided about the link. During that month the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research published a report named “Niger: Sale of Uranium to Iraq Is Unlikely.”

During July of that year, the Energy Department found “no information indicating that any of the uranium shipments arrived in Iraq” and the “amount of uranium specified far exceeds what Iraq would need even for a robust nuclear weapons program.”

The 2006 Senate Select Committee on Intelligence confirmed this:
“Postwar findings do not support the 2002 National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) assessment that Iraq was ‘vigorously trying to procure uranium ore and yellowcake’ from Africa. Postwar findings support the assessment in the NIE of the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) that claims of Iraqi pursuit of natural uranium in Africa are ‘highly dubious.”

6. On February 3, 2003 Colin Powell presented to the UN.

“My colleagues, every statement I make today is backed up by sources, solid sources. These are not assertions. What we’re giving you are facts and conclusions based on solid intelligence. I will cite some examples, and these are from human sources.”

He also claimed that “a senior terrorist operative telling how Iraq provided training in these weapons [of mass destruction] to Al Qaeda.”

Six days earlier, the CIA had concluded that the detainee “was not in a position to know if any training had taken place.”

No Mr. Bush, the intelligence was correct. What you took from that intelligence and told the American people is what’s flawed.

Thanks Center for Public Integrity!

var MyShoutItURL = “http://www.shoutwire.com/comments/162924″;

5/31 News

US absent from conference banning cluster bombs

The United States was absent at a Friday conference of 111 countries agreed to ban the use of cluster bombs. The summit in Dublin, Ireland expressed concern about the civilian effects of cluster bombs, which are unreliable and inaccurate.

The signed document expresses concern “that cluster munition remnants kill or maim civilians, including women and children, obstruct economic and social development, including through the loss of livelihood, impede post-conflict rehabilitation and reconstruction, delay or prevent the return of refugees and internally displaced persons, can negatively impact on national and international peace-building and humanitarian assistance efforts, and have other severe consequences that can persist for many years after use.”

According to human rights groups, countries with the most frequent cluster bomb use such as the USA, China, Russia and Israel all were absent from the conference.

CNN

Algerian student interviewed after detained for possessing Al-Qaeda training material

An Algerian grad student at Nottingham University and his friend were detained under the Terrorism Act for six days last week, and gave an interview to The Guardian yesterday. His friend was researching Al-Qaeda training techniques for his MA and gave a copy to Hichem Yezza. A colleague noticed the documents on his computer and alerted authorities. Yezza is currently being held at the immigration center near Heathrow.

“This is not the way I should have been treated. It is hurtful to see myself being treated this way in a country I love, would protect and where I’ve done everything I can to engage with and be a good citizen.”

Guardian

Iraqis protest security agreement

Thousands of Iraqis hit the street Friday to protest the proposed US-Iraq security agreement. Many are suspicious of how long the US government will keep troops and permanent bases in their country.

“We denounce the government’s intentions to sign a long-term agreement with the occupying forces,” said Asaad al-Nassiri, a sheik loyal to anti-American leader Muqtada al-Sadr.

President Bush signed a statement with Iraq prime minister Nouri al-Maliki pledging to sign an agreement by July 31.

Huffington Post

Obama and McCain battle over misstatements, Iraq knowledge

Presumptive nominees John McCain and Barack Obama exchanged blows over McCain’s Thursday claim that “We have drawn down to pre-surge levels. Basra, Mosul and now Sadr City are quiet.”

Obama responded with “That’s not true and anyone running for commander in chief should know better.” Troop levels haven’t returned to the pre-surge level.

There are currently around 155,000 troops in Iraq, compared with approximately 135,000 before the surge.

McCain’s campaign blamed the misstatement on verb tenses, while McCain insisted that he didn’t misspeak. “Of course not. I said we’ve drawn down. The rest of them will be home at the end of July.”

Yahoo!

Cal Thomas: Democrats are liars (Ignores Bush)

This was in the Indy Star today:

Fraud: “deceit, trickery or breach of confidence, perpetrated for profit or to gain some unfair or dishonest advantage.”

The HBO movie “Recount” tells the story from the Democratic Party point of view that the 2000 presidential election was improperly won by George W. Bush because of the trickery of his fellow Republicans and the Supreme Court. That has been shown to be untrue by no less a source than the reliably liberal and pro-Democratic New York Times, but facts rarely influence propaganda.

Here’s a better example of fraud straight from the donkey’s mouth that you can bet will never be told on film. It comes courtesy of 12-term Congressman Paul Kanjorski. During a town meeting last August in his Pennsylvania district, Rep. Kanjorski made a remarkable statement about the 2006 election in which Democrats recaptured the majority. Rep. Kanjorski acknowledged that he and his fellow Democrats “sort of stretched the facts” about their intention to end the war in Iraq and bring American troops home.

A video of his remarks, now on YouTube, shows Kanjorski explaining that Democrats pushed the rhetoric about the war “as far as we can to the end of the fleet – didn’t say it, but we implied it – that if we won the congressional elections we could stop the war.” Democrats also promised to bring down gas prices if they won a majority. That worked out well, didn’t it?

“Now anybody who’s a good student of government,” continued Kanjorski in a condescending manner, “would know it wasn’t true.” I wonder how non-students of government felt about that insult? “But you know,” he said, “the temptation to want to win back the Congress – we sort of stretched the facts.”

Many politicians “stretch the facts” at some point in their careers, but this was more than that. While Republicans do the same thing on another level – like campaigning for spending cuts and then outspending Democrats when they become a majority – what Kanjorski has admitted to is outright fraud. Those who don’t believe in the war, which includes some Republicans, had a right to believe that if they cast their votes for Democrats in the 2006 election, a Democratic congressional majority would end the war. Instead, while huffing and puffing about it, Democrats have continued to approve funds for Iraq and Afghanistan, attaching numerous pet pork projects. Pork covers a multitude of sins.

Some Democrats have made their careers by lying about Republicans and their attempts at necessary reforms of Social Security. My Democratic friend, Bob Beckel, likes to tell the story of his mother who lived in Florida and called him after seeing campaign commercials, which he produced, that claimed Republicans were about to eliminate Social Security. Beckel says he told her, “Mom, don’t worry about it. You vote for Democrats on Tuesday and come Wednesday your Social Security will be back.”

Kanjorski has taken cynicism about Washington and politicians to a new and lower level.
No wonder the disapproval rating of Congress is higher than it is for President Bush.

In cases of fraud, the victim usually has redress in the courts. With political fraud, voters must seek redress at the polls. They should start – but not stop – with Rep. Kanjorski, who is faced with his first competitive race since 2002. But he has a lot of co-conspirators and even one who is not a “good student of government” ought to know when they’ve been duped by fraudulent political practices.

Cal Thomas attacks the Democrats for not living up to their election promise. The Democrats have the President fighting them, who vetoes every bill that tries to fulfill their election promise of getting out.

By attacking Democrats for lying, Thomas ignores the bigger, more fraudulent elephant in the room. Does Bush saying “The Iraqi regime possesses biological and chemical weapons” (9/26/02) sound familiar? Or maybe McCain’s claim that “We will win this conflict. We will win it easily.” (9/4/02) or Rumsfeld’s infamous “I can’t tell you if the use of force in Iraq today would last five days, or five weeks or five months. But it certainly isn’t going to last any longer than that.” (11/14/02)

Kanjorski honestly admits his party lied. Bush lies about lying by blaming faulty intelligence. “Intelligence communities all across the world shared the same assessment. And so I was disappointed to see how flawed our intelligence was.” (5/13/08) This contradicts a late September CIA testimony that found “no credible information that Baghdad had foreknowledge of the 11 September attacks or any other al-Qaeda strike.” Is that double fraud?

9 OS 10.5 apps that changed my life

So it might be a stretch for some. We’ve all seen lists of great OS applications, but either I’ve done huge projects with these apps help, or I use them daily.

This list is in no particular importance.

1. IEatBrainz(Also PC)

As someone who gets a significant amount of music online, I like having the real name of the song and the album filled out. The tagger scans MusicBrainz’ music database and matches your songs with the official label.

2. FFmpegX

Got a video file in the wrong format? FFmpegX can convert practically any video file into practically any other video file. It’s fast and can do multiple files at once.

3. Shrook

Yeah, there are plenty of RSS feeders out there. I like Shrook because it’s super fast and simple, and can scan websites for RSS feeds.

4. TubeTV(Also PC)

Let’s face it, it’s a hassle downloading videos from Youtube. TubeTV is a slimmed-down web browser that downloads and converts Youtube (and other video sites) videos to mp4s.

5. iConcertCal(Also PC)

If you listen to a lot of music it can be hard to keep track of concerts and CDs. iConcertCal replaces your iTunes visualizer with information about upcoming concerts and CD releases, and even links to online ticket hubs.

6. You Control iTunes

Bulky name, small size. You can put a small iTunes toolbar on the top window. It’s super customizable, fast, and beats flipping through apps to get to iTunes.

7. Handbrake(Also PC)

Handbrake is your premiere DVD ripping program. You can select certain parts of the DVD and set all sorts of options, great for putting movies on your iPod.

8. Miro(Also PC)

Miro is a video RSS feeder. There’s some legit video podcasts and programs you can watch, but it’s even more useful when you utilize TV RSS and get your videos downloaded automatically, which you can then convert with FFmpegX!

PS-To properly use TVRss, find your show and copy the link. Then make a new Miro channel with the link. Free TV!

9. Songbird(Also PC)

Imagine that Firefox, iTunes and uTorrent had a three-way. The love child would be Songbird. Though the beta is a bit slow, the music player can browse the internet and features a search engine that scans music sites and blogs for hosted music. The downloads are rapid and the results huge-just compare the variety and speed to Limewire.

Compare with one of my favorite bands, The Polyphonic Spree
Limewire:

Songbird:

Tell me if you enjoy any of these.

5/30 News

CIA says Al-Qaeda in trouble

Al-Qaeda is near defeat, according to CIA director Michael Hayden. He said the organization collapsing in its strongest areas, Saudia Arabia and Iraq. He also cited global advances as the religion of Islam distances itself from its extremists.

“Near strategic defeat of al Qaeda in Iraq. Near strategic defeat for al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia. Significant setbacks for al Qaeda globally — and here I’m going to use the word ‘ideologically,’ as a lot of the Islamic world pushes back on their form of Islam,” Hayden said this morning in a Washington Post interview.

Reuters

Bush releases climate change report

The White House bowed in to a court decision and released a climate change report online yesterday. The report reiterates much evidence like the spread of heat-loving pests and the effect of rising sea levels. It also projects the health effects of a warmer global climate.

The Scientific Assessment of the Effects of Global Change on the United States predicts heat waves will pose a threat to children and elderly adults. It estimates the spread of the spread of food and water-borne diseases plus animal-spread viruses like West Nile.

A 1990 law requires the president to submit to Congress a report on global climate and the environment every four years. The last report was released by the Clinton Administration. Bush releases a series of reports in 2003 but a circuit judge decided that didn’t fit the requirements.

NY Times

Bush authorized Libby leak

Scott McClellan’s controversial memoir hasn’t even been published yet, and is already creating a stir. It not only criticizes the administration but brings to light new information regarding the Scooter Libby leak case. According to the book, President Bush personally authorized Scooter Libby to leak classified information, including the identity of Valerie Plame, to select media sources.

The AP provides this excerpt:

The president was leaving an event in North Carolina, McClellan recalled, and as they walked to Air Force One a reporter yelled out a question: Had the president, who had repeatedly condemned the selective release of secret intelligence information, enabled Scooter Libby to leak classified information to The New York Times to bolster the administration’s arguments for war?

McClellan took the question to the president, telling Bush: “He’s saying you yourself were the one that authorized the leaking of this information.”

“And he said, ‘Yeah, I did.’ And I was kind of taken aback,” McClellan said.

“For me I came to the decision that at that point I needed to look for a way to move on, because it had undermined, I think, a lot of what we had said.”

Huffington Post

5/29 News

McCain staff leave Vets for Freedom

Senators Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) left the independent organization Vets for Freedom after yesterday’s story surfaced about the group’s anti-Obama ads. The group aims to promote victory in Iraq and Afghanistan but McCain’s “Relevant” policy prohibits his campaign staff from being involved in any independent organizations that comment on presidential candidates.

McCain started the policy after his Virginia leader Craig Shirley was discovered to be a paid advisor to a group that attacked Obama also.

NY Times

News Corp Chairman predicts Obama victory

Rupert Murdoch said at the Wall Street Journal’s All Things Digital conference last night that he thought Obama will win the election.

The Chairman of News Corps and the inventor of conservative media like Fox News called Obama a “rock star.” “I love what he is saying about education.” “He will win in Ohio and the election.” “I am anxious to meet him.”

Murdoch admitted he was a friend of McCain but cast doubt about his economic policy and long career in Congress.

Huffpo

DNC gives Florida and Michigan half of delegates

The Democratic National Committee’s legal team ruled yesterday that Florida and Michigan’s delegates can count for no more than half. The full count would’ve given Senator Clinton a huge boost in the delegate race. Both Clinton and Senator Obama pledged not to campaign in the states since they broke party rules and moved their primary too early. Obama had his name removed from the Michigan ballot.

Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said “We don’t think it’s fair to seat them fully,” but “we’re willing to give some delegates here.”

Washington Post

DNC falling short of convention fundraising

The DNC is having trouble raising money for it’s August convention in Denver. It’s still $15 million short of the roughly $40 million needed for the convention. The party is planning to give corporations a way to underwrite the convention. Many insiders partially blame the prolonged primary race for stealing Democrat donors.

NY Times

New York to recognize gay marriages and unions from other states

New York Governor David Paterson pushed state agencies yesterday to recognize gay unions and marriages made in other states. Currently California and Massachusetts are the only states to allow gay marriage, while some states like New Jersey allow gay unions. Paterson called the measure “a strong step toward marriage equality.” Former governor Elliot Spitzer failed to get a gay-marriage bill passed last year.

Ny Times

5/28 News

Bush planning Iran attack by August

The Bush Administration is planning an Iran air strike within the next two months, according to an anonymous source who appears to have talked to several other media outlets as well. Two US senators were briefed on the matter and plan to go public with their opposition the source says.

The source is a retired US diplomat and a former assistant Secretary of State. It says that the US is planning to air strike the headquarters of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps’ elite forces, the Quds. Likely targets include garrisons near the Iran-Iraq border.

Last year the Senate passed a non-binding resolution classifying Qud as a terrorist organization. The Bush Administration has also accused Iran of helping Iraqi insurgents and still insists on the potency of their probably now-defunct nuclear weapons program.

The source claimed that Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) would write a op-ed in the New York Times “within days.”

Asia Times

Former Press Secretary attacks Bush Administration

Former White House Press Secretary attacks Bush’s misinformation and propaganda regarding the Iraq War, the CIA leak case and the “Scooter” Libby case in his memoir hitting bookstores next week. He also attacks the press corps for going to easy on the Administration in the days following up to the war.

The tone is harsher than expected. McClellan was one of Bush’s first and most loyal aides but wastes little space on nostalgia and praise. He also attacks the Administration for their denial and lack of action regarding Hurricane Katrina.

“I had allowed myself to be deceived into unknowingly passing along a falsehood,” McClellan writes. “It would ultimately prove fatal to my ability to serve the president effectively. I didn’t learn that what I’d said was untrue until the media began to figure it out almost two years later,” he remarked about the Libby case.

Politico

McCain’s voting record in line with Bush

John McCain and George Bush have strikingly similar voting records, according to a recent CQ report. The report tracked when McCain was present to vote and when President Bush stated an explicit opinion of a bill since 2001.

Though McCain has been busy campaigning, he voted 100% in line with President Bush. The rest of the time his support borders between 90%-95%.

Progressive Media USA

Cal Thomas ignoring past 8 years

I stumbled across this gem in the Indy Star this morning…

OBAMA: SEE NO EVIL

By Cal Thomas

Tribune Media Services

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is the polar opposite of John F. Kennedy.

Judging from recent comments, Obama apparently would pay no price, bear no burden, forsake any hardship, support any foe and oppose any friend that wished to pursue liberty. Kennedy understood that evil exists in the world. He saw it in World War II as his generation defeated the evil that gripped Europe and Japan. And he witnessed it as president when Nikita Khrushchev approved the building of the Berlin Wall and the installation of Soviet missiles in Cuba, acts that flowed from Khrushchev’s perception that the young president was weak and inexperienced.

Obama thinks he can negotiate with evil and transform evil into something else. Initially his foreign policy platform was a naive pledge to meet “unconditionally” with the leaders of Iran, North Korea, Syria, Cuba and other nations dominated by dictators. In recent days he has changed his tune somewhat. He would still meet with the heads of these mini evil empires without preconditions, but “there must be careful preparation. We will set a clear agenda.”

This leads to an important question: On what basis does a free nation negotiate with nations that are not free? Does Obama expect leaders who got where they are by undemocratic, even violent means, to embrace press freedom, religious liberty, political pluralism and rights for women? What would evil leaders demand of him? Any concession given to dictators, who are not known for keeping their promises, would surely result in the United States being taken less seriously and contribute to the undermining of our national security.

In his recent speech to the Israeli Knesset, President Bush pointedly noted that evil cannot be accommodated, negotiated with, pampered, or appeased. It must be opposed and defeated.

Obama’s “strategy” for dealing with evil is the progeny of a secular age that sees everything bad as curable through counseling, good intentions masquerading as wishful thinking and/or pharmaceutical intervention. Prosperity and a sense of entitlement have dulled our senses to what evil looks like. These days, evil is the political party to which you don’t belong and the ideology to which you do not subscribe.

Evil has a definition. Dictionary.com calls it: “morally wrong or bad; immoral; wicked.” There is a presumption contained in this definition. It is that a standard exists by which evil (and its opposite, good) may be judged. Too many of us have been taught in government schools and by contemporary culture that such notions belong to another, less sophisticated era. In the Internet age “evil” has become extinct.

Obama’s only foreign policy strategy seems to be diplomacy, not the defeat of evil. Such an approach when not supported by a credible threat of military power is bound to encourage more evil, not less. Obama debunks the value of experience, claiming the experience of President Bush and John McCain got us into the lengthy Iraq War. That war didn’t start in Iraq and it won’t end there, even if our objectives are achieved. Those objectives are closer to being realized than they were a year ago, but Obama and his fellow Democrats cannot acknowledge progress because they are preoccupied with victory at the polls more than victory over evil.

Recently, The Washington Times carried a story by Rowan Scarborough that quoted intelligence officials who believe terrorist attacks could occur in the early month’s of the next president’s administration. Terrorists attacked in February 1993 just two months after Bill Clinton’s Inauguration and again on Sept. 11, 2001, less than eight months after George W. Bush became president.

The central question for voters ought to be this: who do we want in the White House should another terrorist attack occur; one who seeks to negotiate with evil, or one who is a warrior and wants to crush it?

Ah, good old warmongering. No better way to get started in the morning.

First I’ll start off with his lack of sources. Cal Thomas follows in the paths of media pundits by attempting to analyze Obama from one quote. I still don’t see what’s wrong with talking to Iran. Of course, the Neocons might be sore after the Iran bombing option got uncovered.

Next, he says Obama blames McCain’s and Bush’s war decisions…on their experience. We don’t even get a quote for this one, Lord knows what Obama actually said. Obama usually chooses his words pretty carefully, and that doesn’t sound like something he’d say.

Next…what is evil? Well, according to Thomas, it’s “morally wrong or bad; immoral; wicked.” That’s right, now we need to wage war on sluts, lying and obesity too. Just because the almighty US doesn’t agree with someone does not make them evil.

A government can’t fight evil. They can fight threats. Who/what are threats to the US? Bears? Iran? No.

Thomas asks if we want a president who negotiates with evil. Maybe he should ask if we want one that can recognize what’s evil and what’s actually a threat the US can deal with.

The candidate is Barack Obama and the threat is world policing and the eternal warfare state.

Is Hilary Rosen a sign of things to come?

We all love us some Huffpo. The #1 Technorati blog. I don’t even know if blog is the right term for this news site.

Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut (That’s a long but) they just hired a new political director. No, not a politician or journalist. They hired a former CEO of the RIAA. Hilary Rosen, whose time at the RIAA included:

The dismantling of the Napster and Audiogalaxy Internet file-trading services.

Passage of the controversial Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Initiating the Grokster lawsuit on which the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the record industry

Passage of the Performance Rights Act creating a public performance right for the first time for sound recordings

Passage of the Record Rental Act providing additional rental protection for sound recordings

Passage of numerous trade treaties providing increased protection for US intellectual property abroad

So now you can blame her for DRM AND watering down the Huffpo. Why do I think she’ll do that?

Well, does Rosen seem like the kind of person who sticks up for individuals? Or fights corporatism and for a free press? Not really.

Arianna Huffington said in a Wired interview that having Rosen on staff would help with political connections.

Now, back to the buuuuuuuuuuuuut. Isn’t that what CBS, NBC, CNN, ABC and FOX do? Trade in impartiality and fairness for contacts? Water down their coverage for easier leads? I hope the Huffpo remains an independent source for news. It would be a terrible thing to waste.

PS-email them at info@huffingtonpost.com

5/27 News

McCain staff advise Obama attack group

Recently John McCain created the “Relevant Policy” for campaign members, prohibiting his staff from participating in a 527 or any other independent group that endorses or criticizes presidential candidates. However, the Daily Kos has picked up some stinging information regarding Vets for Freedom, a Joe Lieberman-backed 527 group that recently launched an Obama attack add.

The clincher is that both Lieberman and Senator Lindsey Graham serve as McCain campaign co-chairs and honorary advisors to Vets for Freedom.

Graham recently appeared on CBS and reiterated the attack ads claim that Obama hasn’t visited Iraq in two years and his platform has suffered because of it.

Daily Kos

UN says Iran is uncooperative

A UN watchdog agency said yesterday that Iran’s nuclear research regarding warheads is concerning and demands “substantive explanations.” The International Atomic Energy Agency reports that Iran has built roughly 500 more uranium-enriching centrifuges since February, when 3000 were discovered at the underground Natanz facility. The report also accuses Iran of a lack of cooperation.

NY Times

Fidel Castro comments on Obama

Barack Obama received a mixed endorsement from Fidel Castro this weekend, who called Obama the “most progressive candidate to the U.S. presidency” but criticized him for pledging to continue the Cuba embargo.

The topic arose when Obama talked to the Cuban American National Foundation and explained the embargo must continue to pressure Cuba to turn democratic. However; Obama said he would relax travel restrictions and exchanging money. Castro refrained from praising him wholly, saying “Were I to defend him, I would do his adversaries an enormous favor. I have therefore no reservations about criticizing him.”

NY Times

Obama grows superdelegate lead

Obama picked up six more superdelegates this weekend, raising his total to 1974.5. A former Alaskan governor and three Hawaiian party members advanced Obama’s superdelegate lead. He is now 51.5 delegates from the nomination.

MSNBC