Insta-Hoglets 22nd Dec

And thick and fast they came at last...

Tony Blur gives the Party Line while visiting troops in Basra. This is a completely different situation from the situation a year ago he says while signalling Britain could begin drawing down troops in Iraq in 2006. There's the usual crap about Iraqi security forces being able to defend their own nation (without tanks, artillery, aircraft or other equipment) which translates as a permanent US Protectorate of Iraq too.

Meanwhile, Rummie is talking the same line, hinting that two brigades of US troops will not be deployed to Iraq as scheduled. I will translate for the hard of understanding - we are going to concentrate our air-power and armor into heavily defended fortresses so that we can hold on top our Protectorate while their civil war rages. That's why we need less troops. Oh, and it will play well in domestic elections...

No-one is yet talking about bringing the mercenaries home - a contingent that outnumbers British troops in Iraq by more than 2 to 1. It's way too lucrative for that. However, a lawsuit brought against their employer by the relatives of four contractors executed in Fallujah last year might change some of that.

From the WTF? Files - The presiding judge of a secret court that oversees government surveillance in espionage and terrorism cases is arranging a classified briefing for her fellow judges to address their concerns about the legality of President Bush's domestic spying program, according to several intelligence and government sources. You mean they hadn't already been briefed? It would seem not - most admit they learned of Bush's snooping from the NY Times! To not have briefed the senior judges who sit on the FISA Court well before now shows complicity and conspiracy to deceive.

Carpetbagger has the story of how John Gibson at Faux News was driven into a foaming rage - on and off air - because Rob Boston of Americans United for Separation of Church and State called him on the "War on Christmas" crap he and O'Lielly have been putting out. Gibson later phoned Boston and threatened him, allegedly. It may be time for a post on "How the Christians Stole Yule - and Every Other Pagan Holiday".

Scott Shields at MyDD has some poll numbers that show - despite some incredibly nasty rightwing propaganda - New Yorkers support the striking transit workers. Even so, workers have voted to return to work while they keep negotiating with the highly intractable Metroploitan Transportation Authority.

Ron Brynart does some great work showing why Assrocket from Powerline left out the hyperlinks in his recent opinions on the legality of Bush's wiretapping. Its becuase the stuff he cites doesn't support him the way he wants it to. This, my friends, is a GOP-supporting lawyer. I'm reminded of Peter in the movie "Hook" - Scientists want to replace lab-rats with lawyers. There are two reasons. One, the scientists get more attached to the rats. Two, there are some things even a rat won't do