Followers of foreign relations have been buzzing for the past few months about President BushÂ’s support for the Law of the Sea Treaty. In May he asked the Senate to ratify, but it looks like his office has supported the treaty for longer than that (PDF). Of course, this corresponds to the AdministrationÂ’s abandonment in the last year of core Republican principles. more...

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 09:38 AM | Comments (32)
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Amazing.

In “The Nine,” which goes on sale Sept. 18, Toobin writes that while the other justices tried to put the case behind them, “David Souter alone was shattered,” at times weeping when he thought of the case. “For many months, it was not at all clear whether he would remain as a justice,” Toobin continues. “That the Court met in a city he loathed made the decision even harder. At the urging of a handful of close friends, he decided to stay on, but his attitude toward the Court was never the same.”

Posted by: Ace at 09:33 AM | Comments (72)
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Heh. Pretty neat. The opening question is about Ron Paul's plan to issue letters of marque to private citizens to hunt down bin Ladin.

Did I hear right? Did he say he thought three letters of marque would do the job?

Posted by: Ace at 09:06 AM | Comments (22)
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Wow. The surprises just keep on coming.

Tallying The Bagman: Suitably Flip follows the money, and there's a lot more of out there than Hillary! has agreed to donate to charity. The DSCC has received $120,000 from Hsu and his network of likely straw donors.

Via Allah, who's skeptical of the broader implications, but even he's wondering where Hsu is actually getting his money from, since his companies have an odd tendency to turn out to be frauds.

Posted by: Ace at 09:04 AM | Comments (14)
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There's pandering, and then there's weapons-grade pandering:

"Iowa, for good reason, for constitutional reasons, for reasons related to the Lord should be the first caucus and primary,” Richardson, New Mexico’s governor said at the Northwest Iowa Labor Council Picnic....

“That was a little weird,” said Sioux City resident Joe Shufro. “I don’t know what God had to do with choosing Iowa among other states. I found that a little strange.”

He also expressed his opinion that the entire state of Florida was Satan. The whole state.

Needless to say, because it doesn't fit the MSM's narrative they'll bury this, a declaration that manages to offend non-believers and believers alike. Democrats don't make weird statements about religion according to the media.

Rob Port questions his grasp of the constitution, too. Iowa didn't even exist when the Constitution was signed; I'm not even sure there was even a sizable effort at colonization there yet. But apparently it singles Iowa out for first-in-the-nation causus voting. Who knew.

Posted by: Ace at 08:52 AM | Comments (35)
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Apparently running a legal brothel is just like any business, the key is knowing your target market and catering to it. If you run one of the brothels in Sydney, Australia, site of this years Asia-Pacific summit, well itÂ’s like Christmas has come early this year.

SYDNEY (AFP) - Sydney's brothels are preparing for a business boom as thousands of delegates and journalists descend on the city for a major Asia-Pacific summit this week, local media reported Monday.

One well-known bordello is offering "The Presidential Platter" with a variety of pleasures or a "United Nations" double with women from a range of countries, according to the news and gossip website Crikey.

My guess is similar preparations are being made in Boston ahead of the upcoming Acepalooza event. ItÂ’s just a rumor at this point but word is Thai-Tranny Hookers are planning to fly in from all over the country to meet the expected demand.

Posted by: DrewM. at 07:09 AM | Comments (23)
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While us slackers are nursing our holiday weekend Valu-Right induced hangovers and forgetting itÂ’s not Monday but Tuesday, the good guys were kicking some terrorist ass around the world:

First to Afghanistan, where it turns out you may get the S. Koreans to roll over by kidnapping a bunch of them but you better enjoy it while it lasts because you may be dead the next day.

KABUL (Reuters) - A senior Taliban commander involved in the abduction of 23 South Korean missionaries was among dozens of insurgents killed in clashes in southern Afghanistan overnight, police said on Tuesday.

Ali Shah Ahmadzai, police chief of Ghazni province, said Taliban commander Mullah Mateen was among 22 insurgents killed in a clash in the province's Qarabagh district.

"He was involved in the kidnapping. We have reconnaissance colleagues on the ground," Ahmadzai told Reuters by telephone from Ghazni.

And in Denmark, home of the cartoons of blasphemy, police have disrupted a terror plot featuring members from a broad strata of society:

COPENHAGEN, Denmark - Denmark's intelligence service early Tuesday arrested eight Islamic militants linked to leading al-Qaida figures, and said the suspects were plotting an attack involving explosives.

"With the arrests we have prevented a terror attack," said Jakob Scharf, head of the PET intelligence service.

He did not identify the target.

The suspects — six Danish citizens and two foreigners with residence permits — had been under surveillance for some time and were arrested after police gathered enough evidence against them, he said.

"They also have been producing an unstable explosive in a densely populated area," Scharf said.

Posted by: DrewM. at 06:35 AM | Comments (10)
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Apparently, some scientists must have cured cancer and AIDS, because they spent a ton of money researching...

more...

Posted by: Open Blog at 04:07 PM | Comments (58)
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Teamsters Union President James Hoffa, and, well, us.

Hoffa and his allies at the Sierra Club and Public Citizen have sued in federal court to stop the government from issuing permits to Mexican freight haulers. Their lawyers argued in court that Mexican trucks pose a danger on the roads and threaten increased human and drug smuggling.

"Dangerous trucks should not be driving all the way from Mexico to Maine and Minnesota," said Hoffa in a prepared statement. "What is it about safety and national security that George Bush doesn't understand?"

My emphasis. OK, so the Teamsters are likely more interested in protecting their union than the public safety.

But still. They donate a metric assload of money to Democrats. It's always nice when your interests and those of your opponents coincide. Even on a smallish (for now) issue like this.

"We chose to do this incrementally and cautiously," said John Hill, who runs the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which regulates truck safety and is responsible for the cross-border trucking plan. "These carriers are going to be safe."

Right. For about five minutes, which is the time it takes for all manner of Mexican smugglers to corrupt them.

Be fun to see what turns up at the weigh stations when these trucks start hitting the road, which could start as early as this coming week.

Posted by: LauraW. at 03:07 PM | Comments (100)
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"I just want to thank Gaia, the faeries Breena and Brucie, and the good folks at Mystickal Voyage Liquor and Wine"*

* I might be wrong about the name of the liquor store, the AP story is a little vague on facts, which is quite out of character for them. I might also be paraphrasing his expression of gratitude. Hey, he's grateful. That's a nice aspect of character.

Elwood "Bunky" Bartlett lays claim to at least part of the $330 million dollar jackpot.

Money won't change Bunky, he claims.

Bartlett said the money won't change him, although he plans to invest in Mystickal Voyage. "I'm going to live my life like I have been," he said.

Well hell, that's what I'd do. Wouldn't we all?

All the best Bunky. Good news pal, those missing relatives? You'll find them soon buddy. They will seek you out, to congratulate you.

This world ain't so bad after all! It's magickal!

Posted by: Dave In Texas at 12:41 PM | Comments (111)
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