From Time:
Sources with knowledge of the case tell TIME that behind closed doors at the E. Barrett Prettyman federal courthouse, nearby the Capitol, a grand jury began hearing testimony Wednesday in the investigation of who leaked the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame to columnist Robert Novak and other journalists.
I’d sure like to see the results packaged up and delivered to the people well before November.
Via Atrios.
Deb is unhappy with whoever stole her food from the refrigerator at work. This is the first I’d heard of Skinny Cows.
Jaquandor contemplates headless chickens, replacements for Britney (a regular series) and ER.
Brian Micklethwait, having nothing better to do then surf the normally unwatched digital end of British TV, found and watched part of an interview with a woman whose secretly filmed undergarments are apparently now circulating on the web. Brian now regrets not watching more of the interview and contemplates what the rules should be regarding this tyupe of filming.
Tim Dunlop recommends this title for David Kay’s new book:Still haven’t found what I’m looking for. Well, these guys all publish a book don’t they.
Josh Marshall notes that Richard Perle confirms that Drudge’s and the WSJ’s ($) latest hack at Clark’s Iraq postion are pure bs.
No matter your politics you should be outraged by this:
That’s all they had: guilt by the most remote of computer- generated associations. But, according to Attorney General John Ashcroft, that was more than enough to justify Arar’s delivery to Syria’s torturers.
Besides, Ashcroft added, the torturers had expressly promised that they would not torture him.
Our intelligence agencies have a name for this torture-by-proxy. They call it “extraordinary rendition.” As one intelligence official explained: “We don’t kick the s — out of them. We send them to other countries so they can kick the s — out of them.”
This secret program for torturing suspects has been authorized, if that is the right word for it, by a secret presidential finding. Where the president gets the authority to have anyone tortured has never been explained.
Read Maher Arar’s story here.
Brad Delong thinks this is worth an impeachment and Brian Weatherson wonders how many conservative bloggers will condone this behavior and thinks that the perps should at minimum spend time in jail.
I’ll go along with Brad on the impeachment idea.
Richard Perle produces a jewel:
Two of President George W. Bushmilitary advisors said that the US inability to find illegal weapons in Iraq means little.
“I don’t think that you can draw any conclusion from the fact that the stockpiles were not found,” Pentagon advisor Richard Perle said…
Hmmm…many of us might think that you can draw some conclusions like: 1) there were not any stockpiles and 2) it is more likely that the administration really did lie when justifiying the war.
Earlier today Kevin Drum warned:
BETTER DUCK AND COVER, PAUL….{snip} But then there’s this:
O’Neill, who was asked to resign because of his opposition to the tax cut, says he doesn’t think his tell-all account in this book will be attacked by his former employers as sour grapes. “I will be really disappointed if [the White House] reacts that way,” he tells Stahl. “I can’t imagine that I am going to be attacked for telling the truth.”
He’s got to be kidding. After all this time is he really that clueless about the kind of people he’s dealing with?
And just a few minutes ago from Hesiod:
IT’S STARTING: Drudge has a preview quote from a “White House source” attacking former Treasury Secretary, Paul O’Neill.
The White House got its “side” of the story into the Washington Post before O’Neill’s interview with Leslie Stall airs on “60 Minutes” tomorrow night.
Good. I hope they piss Paul off even more, and he starts saying all sorts of “crazy” things.
The upcoming week could be a lot of fun.