“US President George W. Bush walks away from a briefing with the media, refusing to answer questions after he was asked about Enron and the reported indictment of former CEO Kenneth Lay, who was a close adviser and fund-raiser for Bush and his father, earning him the presidential nickname of ‘Kenny Boy.'” (Yahoo! News – Top Stories Photos)
Daily Archives: 9 Jul 04
Blatant Lies Continue
Had to get this taken care of forthwith as the campaign against a distinguished military veteran ramped up: Pentagon Says Bush Records of Service Were ‘Destroyed’:
“Military records that could help establish President Bush’s whereabouts during his disputed service in the Texas Air National Guard more than 30 years ago have been inadvertently destroyed, according to the Pentagon.
It said the payroll records of ‘numerous service members,’ including former First Lt. Bush, had been ruined in 1996 and 1997 by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service during a project to salvage deteriorating microfilm. No back-up paper copies could be found, it added in notices dated June 25.
The destroyed records cover three months of a period in 1972 and 1973 when Mr. Bush’s claims of service in Alabama are in question.
The disclosure appeared to catch some experts, both pro-Bush and con, by surprise. Even the retired lieutenant colonel who studied Mr. Bush’s records for the White House, Albert C. Lloyd of Austin, said it came as news to him.
The loss was announced by the Defense Department’s Office of Freedom of Information and Security Review in letters to The New York Times and other news organizations that for nearly half a year have sought Mr. Bush’s complete service file under the open-records law.
There was no mention of the loss, for example, when White House officials released hundreds of pages of the President’s military records last February in an effort to stem Democratic accusations that he was ‘AWOL’ for a time during his commitment to fly at home in the Air National Guard during the Vietnam War.
Dan Bartlett, the White House communications director who has said that the released records confirmed the president’s fulfillment of his National Guard commitment, did not return two calls for a response.” (New York Times via Jerry)
Reuters headlines this item ‘We’re Not Making This Up…’
“A blind Quebec student, who was denied entry to English classes at a Canadian university because his guide dog responds only to French commands, will be allowed to attend class, the school said on Wednesday.
Yvan Tessier was turned away from an English immersion course at the University of New Brunswick because he would be forced to give his dog, Pavot, instructions in French.
Students in the course are expected to communicate only in English, at all times, during the intensive five-week course. That was to include talking to the dog, but the university relented, saying in a statement that Tessier will be allowed to use ‘essential commands in his native French language to his guide dog.'”
US disowns Kabul ‘bounty-hunters’
“The US State Department says three US citizens arrested in Afghanistan are counter-terrorism mercenaries operating outside Washington’s command.
Spokesman Richard Boucher said the US government ‘does not employ or sponsor’ the three, who were arrested by Afghan authorities on Monday.
Afghan officials accuse the men of running a private prison in Kabul.
Correspondents say the US bounty for al-Qaeda fugitives has drawn many foreign vigilantes to Afghanistan.
The US government has promised $25m for anyone who facilitates the arrest of al-Qaeda kingpin Osama Bin Laden.” (BBC)
Duh
“Pakistan’s Gen. Pervez Musharraf is not a convincing ally in the struggle against Islamic terrorism, nuclear weapons proliferation and dictatorship.” (New York Times editorial)
Effort to Curb Scope of Antiterrorism Law Falls Short
“An effort to bar the government from demanding records from libraries and booksellers in some terrorism investigations fell one vote short of passage in the House on Thursday after a late burst of lobbying prompted nine Republicans to switch their votes.
The vote, a 210 to 210 deadlock, amounted to a referendum on the antiterrorism law known as the USA Patriot Act and reflected deep divisions in Congress over whether the law undercuts civil liberties.” (New York Times)
Republican procedural hanky panky to keep the rollcall open until the measure was defeated prompted uncharacteristically heated outbursts on the House floor. But I wonder if the real dirty trick to ensure the defeat of this vote wasn’t going on across town with the announcement of the usual ‘credible evidence of a major terrorist threat’ by ‘al Qaeda’ to ‘disrupt the democratic election process’ this summer or fall. The real purpose of the timing of this threat assessment, however, relates to the Presidential campaign, of course. And could the emphasis on bin Laden’s role in planning another attack be seen in light of the ‘October surprise’ many are expecting, whose timetable may actually be being moved up? Administration pressure on Pakistan to deliver bin Laden before the November elections has considerably ramped up (New Republic).
…the Pakistanis “have been told at every level that apprehension or killing of HVTs before [the] election is [an] absolute must.” What’s more, this source claims that Bush administration officials have told their Pakistani counterparts they have a date in mind for announcing this achievement: “The last ten days of July deadline has been given repeatedly by visitors to Islamabad and during [ul-Haq’s] meetings in Washington.” Says McCormack: “I’m aware of no such comment.” But according to this ISI official, a White House aide told ul-Haq last spring that “it would be best if the arrest or killing of [any] HVT were announced on twenty-six, twenty-seven, or twenty-eight July”–the first three days of the Democratic National Convention in Boston.
However, you cannot trust this report. Not only was it in TNR but it was co-written by a man with an Arab-sounding name.
Series of Failures Is Cited in Evacuation of Capitol
“Security officials mistook a police plane carrying the governor of Kentucky for a terrorist threat last month and ordered an evacuation of the Capitol, because of a combination of equipment failure on the plane, incompatible computers on the ground and a series of human errors, experts testified Thursday at a House hearing.” (New York Times)
Anemia Drug Shows Promise in Treating Several Diseases
“Amgen’s anemia drug, the best-selling product developed so far by the biotechnology industry, might have broad new uses, recent studies have found.
Laboratory and animal studies have shown that in addition to bolstering the body’s red blood cells, the drug, EPO, is present in the central nervous system and acts to protect cells and tissues from damage and death. That could make it useful as a treatment for strokes, spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis and many other ailments. Testing in humans is in very early stages.” (New York Times)
In my own field, the drug will be investigated as a treatment for schizophrenia, although I think the hypothesized mechanism is such a longshot that it is medically implausible, unlike possible benefits to other CNS pathologies such as stroke or Alzheimer’s Disease.
Ironically, the original purpose of the drug, to boost the body’s production of red blood cells, becomes a liability if used in someone who is not anemic, as it can thicken the blood to the point of increasing clot risk. (Athletes who have used EPO to increase their blood’s oxygen-carrying capacity — it is one of the drugs implicated in the ‘doping’ scandal — place themselves foolishly at this risk.) With the discovery of these added potential benefits, a modified version of EPO which does not generate RBC production but still seems to protect tissue is under development.
