Wednesday edition - July 23, 2008

Bush will ride mountain bike with American athletes in Olympic opening ceremony  - Grant Gerver, www.seriouskidding.com

The-World-Is-A-Safer-Place-Without Saddam

• US military deaths in Iraq war at 4124 The Associated Press

• Four Germany-based soldiers charged in detainee deaths in Iraq Stars and Stripes

• 30,000 Iraqi troops poised for assault on Qaeda bastion AFP

• Iraq elections face delay after Talabani rejects bill AFP

• Afghan police needs 2,300 additional trainers: US general AFP

• US, Iraq to set 'time horizon' on troop cuts- US Reuters

Blackwater Update

The world over, guns for hire are known as "Blackwater guys" — and that's the reason Blackwater Worldwide wants to move beyond the business of private security contracting.

But Blackwater's breakneck growth in the past decade has come largely from successfully protecting the nation's top diplomats on the world's most volatile streets. The company has earned more than $1 billion since 2001 in government contracts, much of it providing security and protective services for U.S. diplomats working in Iraq.

McCain is hopping mad that the surge that he backed, and Obama resisted, has now set the stage for the Bush puppet Maliki to agree with Obama’s exit strategy...It doesn’t work for McCain — and his foreign policy guru Henry Kissinger — to keep insisting that timetables will lead to defeat.

The Angry One can try to paint The One as having bad judgment. But who is being advised by Kissinger, the man who helped keep us in Vietnam and get us into Iraq? - Maureen Dowd, NYT
 

Disturbing News

• Hurricane Dolly front edge hits Texas-Mexico coast AP

• WWF blasts EU's illegal wood imports, led by Finland AFP

 Iraq Looks to Iranian Tourism!

The opening of a new airport Sunday in the southern city of Najaf is expected to help boost the number of religious pilgrims, mostly Iranians, visiting Shiite shrines to 1 million this year, double the number that came in 2007.

I like that John McCain. He looks like the guy they’d send out to the mound to settle down a young pitcher. - David Letterman

Republican-Shenanigans News

• McCain tells Md. Republicans: 'I know how to win wars' Baltimore Sun

• McCain says Obama would rather lose the war than the ... USA Today 

• Planned Ron Paul rally blossoms into three-day mini-convention Minneapolis Star Tribune

• Paul supporters sue to stop GOP panel from picking delegates Carson Times

• Bush drops in for fund-raiser Atlanta Journal Constitution

• Baseball Fans Chant for McCain/Giuliani 2008 Ticket ABC News

• House Republicans push to get McCain editorial in NY Times Politico

• Savage Loses Advertisers New York Times

McCain volunteer speaks out CNN Video

President Bush spoke with the U.S. Olympic team at the White House Monday before they took off for China. The athletes were warned that their BlackBerrys could be copied, their cell phones could be tapped, and their hotel rooms could be searched. This is the last time they stay in a hotel President Bush reserves for them. - Argus Hamilton

Rock-The-Voter News

• Barack Obama tours Holocaust memorial in Israel AP

• Tory MPs abandon Republicans to back Barack Obama Telegraph.co.uk

• New poll finds Obama with big lead in NJ Newsday

• Obama campaign: McCain flubs on Iraq timeline AP

• PUMAs stalking Obama CNN

Texas Ranger Chuck Norris has just joined the McCain campaign. Just what the candidate needed: a Walker. Laugh Lines

Obama Press Told To Cover Up

Reporters traveling overseas with Sen. Barack Obama were thrown a bit of curve last week when the campaign emailed a “dress code” for Israel and Jordan. Aides had passed along as a courtesy the list that they had distributed to their staff to follow.

But some of the tips raised a few eyebrows, particularly among the female reporters.

Alaska Approves Natural Gas Pipeline

The Alaska State House of Representatives has approved a state license for a Canadian company to pursue a natural gas pipeline project that could unlock 4.5 billion cubic feet of North Slope gas reserves daily.
 

Biz-Tech News

• Oil prices extend losses as Dolly fears recede AFP

• Congress Pursues $80 Oil With Trading Limits, Disclosure Rules Bloomberg

• Speculative trading isn't cause of record rise in crude oil prices ... Los Angeles Times

• High Gas Prices Drive Down Traffic Deaths, Study Suggests NBC 4.com

• Pickens sees answer to energy crisis in the wind Los Angeles Times

• Mortgage Rates Near a Year High Wall Street Journal

• US winery that shocked Paris bought by French Reuters 

Talk about bad luck: I just replaced tomatoes in my diet with jalapenos. - Grant Gerver, www.seriouskidding.com

Norway Upset At Gas Taxes

In Norway, many motorists are up in arms over why they have to pay the highest petrol (gasoline) prices in Europe when the country is the world's fifth-largest oil exporter and a recent tax hike has done little to cool tempers.

Bush-Prison-Torture News

• Military Trial Begins for Guantánamo Detainee  New York Times

A new study says that Viagra may help arouse women who are taking antidepressants, presumably because their husbands are taking Viagra. - Laugh Lines

Go-F**k-Yourself News

• Want to have lunch with Dick Cheney? Los Angeles Times, CA

'Vanity Fair' gives the McCains a 'New Yorker' cover treatment
USA Today 

For Opera Lovers YouTubeUK

“In San Francisco, a 75-year-old woman came out of retirement to start a new career as a stripper. 75 years old. See, that's when you know we got to do something about Social Security, okay?” - Jay Leno

I hope you had a good time today!

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Odd News

• 58 years later, records unsealed in Rosenberg spy case CNN

• Flight with 7 congressmen makes emergency landing AP

• Kid Rock gets probation for brawl Reuters

• 'Batman' star arrested and released in London San Francisco Chronicle

• China warns media about "vulgar" ads Reuters

• Senate office building jumper surrenders United Press International

• Woman runs sword into foot during Wiccan ceremony AP

The new China Central Television headquarters building is seen in Beijing Thursday July 17, 2008. The building consists of two angled towers connected at the top to form a continuous loop of horizontal and vertical sections. The spectacular 230 meter (755 foot) building, one of Beijing's tallest, will house more than 10,000 staff. The building is one of a series of landmarks, notable for their futuristic design, that will greet visitors to the Olympics Games, which open Aug. 8.
Photo/Greg Baker

Peace.