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Thursday, Mar 06, 2003

laden ladens

"Still, we are left with the question of why both Bush Jr. and Clinton would hold back disclosure of Saudi funding of terror. I got the first glimpse of an answer from Michael Springmann, who headed up the U.S. State Department's visa bureau in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, during the Reagan-Bush Sr. years. "In Saudi Arabia I was repeatedly ordered by high-level State Department officials to issue visas to unqualified applicants. These were, essentially, people who had no ties either to Saudi Arabia or to their own country. I complained bitterly at the time there." That was Springmann's mistake. He was one of those conscientious midlevel bureaucrats who did not realize that when he filed reports about rules violations he was jeopardizing the cover for a huge multicontinental intelligence operation aimed at the Soviets. Springmann assumed petty thievery: someone was taking bribes, selling visas; so he couldn't understand why his complaints about rule-breakers were "met with silence" at the Bureau of Diplomatic Security."

Wednesday, Mar 05, 2003

mauling of america

"NEW YORK (Reuters) - A lawyer was arrested late Monday and charged with trespassing at a public mall in the state of New York after refusing to take off a T-shirt advocating peace that he had just purchased at the mall."

Tuesday, Mar 04, 2003

remark of distinction

"Bulgaria's ambassador, Stefan Tavrov, said that having the U.S. eavesdrop on their missions was almost a mark of prestige for smaller countries. "It's almost an offense if they don't listen," he said. "It's integrated in your thinking and your work."

A U.S. government official with experience at the world body confirmed that American administrations long have relied on spying at the U.N., and not just during times of crisis.

"We've always done it," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "It's routine."

too much information

malcolm gladwell enlightens as to the problems inherent in intelligence gathering mechanisms.

plunder plunder plundercrats, ho!

bush has hired a new cabal of campaign slogan writers but i dont think they have his best interest at heart. which one do you think best fits the man and his (di)vision?

married by america

jake tapper picks up on the un bugging 'dirty tricks' story.
and if you bother to get a day pass you might as well read the piece about colin powell.

jimmy who

my good friend sarah silverman is co-hosting with jimmy kimmel this week (pre-empted tomorrow night because of nightline, and i know you were going to watch too). ok, shes not my good friend but i did meet her after one of her standup shows and was invited to dinner along with a bunch of people. we didnt go though. seems like a bad decision in retrospect, that i was invited at all, i mean. anyway, i read somewhere that they are dating. im not sure how that effects my opinion of either of them (and they keeping bugging me about it). but one thing i am sure of, theyre on tv and im watching them.
as for the show, kimmel is a terrible interviewer and quick to embrace the lowest common denominator but has an endearing shnooky quality. if anyone saw bruce willis sit in for letterman last week, you could see how easy it is to look bad behind the desk. so kimmel seems like he'll be around for a little while, if he can get guests to appear on his show. apparently, its hard to get big names, that is MOVIESTARS promoting their latest picture, because the other shows might not have you on. they only want virgin guests. who knew the late night shows acted like the alpha girls in junior high? or maybe its a sergeant shrub ethos, youre either with us or against us. in any case, i hear sarah silverman is developing a pilot for hbo....

meanwhile digby plumes the depths of la noonan but finds only a sign that reads 'gone fishin.'

Monday, Mar 03, 2003

blog virus

"The Project Blogger network of personal sites was created to connect our clients with individuals like you who would be willing to help advance their marketing efforts. Sometimes these clients want to pick your brain through a survey. Other times, they want to take advantage of your site traffic to launch products like cell phones or new drinks. For your efforts, you get advance access to these products, cool free stuff, and yes, even hundreds of dollars in compensation."

postcards from the edge

"The Democratic candidates who seek to unseat President Bush in 2004 now know they must not only convince a skeptical public that they can lead the United States through its current crises but that they can lead the country better than Bush. FOREIGN POLICY magazine asked four Democratic presidential hopefuls to articulate their vision of the United States� role in the world."

deter detour

"The belief that Saddam�s past behavior shows he cannot be contained rests on distorted history and faulty logic. In fact, the historical record shows that the United States can contain Iraq effectively�even if Saddam has nuclear weapons�just as it contained the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Regardless of whether Iraq complies with U.N. inspections or what the inspectors find, the campaign to wage war against Iraq rests on a flimsy foundation."

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