Here we go again.
President Bush has been threatening to veto a two-month war spending bill that Congress is floating around to members, and House Speaker Pelosi is threatening to take him to court over it, saying the President is overstepping the separation of powers.
I hope she does, because she will find out that it is Congress that is violating the separation of powers in this instance.
This is an attempt by Pelosi to violate Constitutional procedures by denying the President the right to veto the bill, and her own failure to get enough members of the House to override the Presidential veto.
She will ultimately fail to override the nuts and bolts of the Constitution.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Monday, May 14, 2007
Looking Forward: Pentagon Needs to Carefully Plan Withdrawal of U.S. Forces, or We'll Lose a Ton of People on the Last Day
The recent clashes between Congress and the White House over withdrawal dates for U.S. forces from Iraq have me worried that the government may err on how they go about actually doing it, when the time comes to leave Iraq.
One nightmare scenario that I can see happening is that the U.S. military will be on the move under cover of darkness to their pre-invasion positions in Kuwait, as well as heading for Saudi Arabia. No one will realize what exactly is going on, until one of the networks put two and two together and announce that the U.S. pull-out is underway.
When it goes on the air, you can bet that al-Qaeda and many insurgent groups will head to the American withdrawal routes and start staging ambushes.
The same kind of thing happened to the Soviets when they withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989; they lost a lot of soldiers to snipers and ambushes; Soviet President Gorbachev bitterly complained that they were leaving and they shouldn't be shot at, but the mujahideen didn't care. Bullets and bombs continued to hit the Red Army as they headed back into Soviet territory.
Hopefully the Pentagon is looking at this carefully and determining how they will get our troops out. I think a gradual quiet withdrawal is the way to go, instead of having tens of thousands of vehicles and 140,000 troops on the move at the same time. That's a disaster waiting to happen.
We don't need tons of casualties on the last day simply because the withdrawal of troops from Iraq was planned in the same way as the occupation was. We don't need to go there.
One nightmare scenario that I can see happening is that the U.S. military will be on the move under cover of darkness to their pre-invasion positions in Kuwait, as well as heading for Saudi Arabia. No one will realize what exactly is going on, until one of the networks put two and two together and announce that the U.S. pull-out is underway.
When it goes on the air, you can bet that al-Qaeda and many insurgent groups will head to the American withdrawal routes and start staging ambushes.
The same kind of thing happened to the Soviets when they withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989; they lost a lot of soldiers to snipers and ambushes; Soviet President Gorbachev bitterly complained that they were leaving and they shouldn't be shot at, but the mujahideen didn't care. Bullets and bombs continued to hit the Red Army as they headed back into Soviet territory.
Hopefully the Pentagon is looking at this carefully and determining how they will get our troops out. I think a gradual quiet withdrawal is the way to go, instead of having tens of thousands of vehicles and 140,000 troops on the move at the same time. That's a disaster waiting to happen.
We don't need tons of casualties on the last day simply because the withdrawal of troops from Iraq was planned in the same way as the occupation was. We don't need to go there.
Now that the "Emergency" Military Bill is Dead, Can They Please Dispense With the Nonsense and Pass a Funding Bill?
Congress and President Bush both got their two cents in when Congress passed a doomed "emergency" spending bill on the military and their pork projects, and President Bush vetoed it.
Now that the hubris from Round 1 is done, will they please get off their lazy fat asses and pass the original bill as it was written, and without non-military not-emergency earmarks that Pelosi & company used to bribe members of their own party?
The House in particular had better get a move on; their job approval ratings are virtually the same as President Bush's, and every House seat is in play in 2008. Thirty-three Class II U.S. Senate seats are also up for grabs. If they don't do their jobs, they'll be joining President Bush in looking at new career options after 2008.
The military has already begun to make cuts in their equipment maintenance and repair apparatus; this is impacting how quickly used and battle-damaged equipment makes it back onto the battlefield. The troops are relying on this hardware to complete their missions and to keep them alive.
Thousands of the new family of mine & IED-resistant armored vehicles (MRAP) have not been shipped over yet either; many more are halted on the production lines because the funding is part of this hot-potato spending bill.
A mine-resistant Cougar vehicle being tested.
Congress and the President must make haste and table everything else for another time. They shouldn't allow the military to run out of money and not provide the troops with the tools that they need.
Get it done, NOW.
Now that the hubris from Round 1 is done, will they please get off their lazy fat asses and pass the original bill as it was written, and without non-military not-emergency earmarks that Pelosi & company used to bribe members of their own party?
The House in particular had better get a move on; their job approval ratings are virtually the same as President Bush's, and every House seat is in play in 2008. Thirty-three Class II U.S. Senate seats are also up for grabs. If they don't do their jobs, they'll be joining President Bush in looking at new career options after 2008.
The military has already begun to make cuts in their equipment maintenance and repair apparatus; this is impacting how quickly used and battle-damaged equipment makes it back onto the battlefield. The troops are relying on this hardware to complete their missions and to keep them alive.
Thousands of the new family of mine & IED-resistant armored vehicles (MRAP) have not been shipped over yet either; many more are halted on the production lines because the funding is part of this hot-potato spending bill.
A mine-resistant Cougar vehicle being tested.Congress and the President must make haste and table everything else for another time. They shouldn't allow the military to run out of money and not provide the troops with the tools that they need.
Get it done, NOW.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Tenet's New Book: Telling Everyone What He Should Have Said When He Was CIA Director
Former CIA Director George Tenet went on a media blitz over the weekend, promoting his new book which blasts the Bush Administration of how it handled 9/11, and the subsequent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
It looks like an exercise in shifting blame to others; most notably Vice-President Cheney.
For instance, he was very aggressive in his book and on his media blitz about his "slam dunk" comment being taken out of context with regards to Saddam Hussein's possessing chemical and biological weapons.
For someone in such an important position, such as the directorship of the Central Intelligence Agency, he should have been very wary about using a term like "slam dunk" in ANY context.
He had the ear of the President from 9/11 to the end of his tenure at CIA, and he should have gone after the incorrect political interpretation of his agency's intelligence data. But instead he played it safe and went with the flow, which helped to lock our nation's future with an Iraq that may not hold together. And by saying "went with the flow" I meant he didn't do enough to get around administrative roadblocks that were there.
And now he has a book deal, and is telling everyone what he should have been SCREAMING at Cheney, Rove, and the other hawks during those meetings. Too little, too late.
What a shame.
It looks like an exercise in shifting blame to others; most notably Vice-President Cheney.
For instance, he was very aggressive in his book and on his media blitz about his "slam dunk" comment being taken out of context with regards to Saddam Hussein's possessing chemical and biological weapons.
For someone in such an important position, such as the directorship of the Central Intelligence Agency, he should have been very wary about using a term like "slam dunk" in ANY context.
He had the ear of the President from 9/11 to the end of his tenure at CIA, and he should have gone after the incorrect political interpretation of his agency's intelligence data. But instead he played it safe and went with the flow, which helped to lock our nation's future with an Iraq that may not hold together. And by saying "went with the flow" I meant he didn't do enough to get around administrative roadblocks that were there.
And now he has a book deal, and is telling everyone what he should have been SCREAMING at Cheney, Rove, and the other hawks during those meetings. Too little, too late.
What a shame.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Dog Food Recall Goes International: 5,000+ Brands of Pet Food Now Affected
The pet food recall nightmare is continuing to unfold, and it has gotten worse and worse.
A careful review of all the current brands under recall at the FDA web site shows that over 5,000 individual brands of pet food have been recalled.
Now word is getting out that other countries have the same problem that we do: contaminated wheat gluten was exported overseas; it may have been fed to other animals, such as pigs, cows and other farm animals, which made it possible for contagions to enter into the human food chain as well.
The Chinese clearly aren't up to manufacturing food products for export; our FDA also isn't up to intercepting inbound poisons that made their way into the food chain from countries like China.
I think this shows that while we should be concerned about avian flu, we should be more worried about contaminated food, which has the ability to knock down many more people than bird flu would/does...and much faster too.
This definitely needs more attention from the government.
A careful review of all the current brands under recall at the FDA web site shows that over 5,000 individual brands of pet food have been recalled.
Now word is getting out that other countries have the same problem that we do: contaminated wheat gluten was exported overseas; it may have been fed to other animals, such as pigs, cows and other farm animals, which made it possible for contagions to enter into the human food chain as well.
The Chinese clearly aren't up to manufacturing food products for export; our FDA also isn't up to intercepting inbound poisons that made their way into the food chain from countries like China.
I think this shows that while we should be concerned about avian flu, we should be more worried about contaminated food, which has the ability to knock down many more people than bird flu would/does...and much faster too.
This definitely needs more attention from the government.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Airing of Killer's Rants Leads to Backlash Against Media
The Virginia Tech community reacted with outrage at the airing of a series of disturbing videos, photos and writings of the perpetrator of Monday's massacre on the VT campus. Some families pulled out of appearing on the Today Show to protest the callous airing of the rant.
And ALL the news organizations played parts of the video; shame on ALL of them for giving this killer air time.
I'm in total agreement with Dr. Michael Warner, who said in an interview "...just listen, if you can take Imus off the air, you can certainly keep [Cho] from having his own morning show."
All these analysts should close their mouths and quit trying to analyze this lunatic killer. They're just adding insult to injury when they play back parts of the trash he mailed to the media to help explain why this evil human being did what he did.
This really sucks.
And ALL the news organizations played parts of the video; shame on ALL of them for giving this killer air time.
I'm in total agreement with Dr. Michael Warner, who said in an interview "...just listen, if you can take Imus off the air, you can certainly keep [Cho] from having his own morning show."
All these analysts should close their mouths and quit trying to analyze this lunatic killer. They're just adding insult to injury when they play back parts of the trash he mailed to the media to help explain why this evil human being did what he did.
This really sucks.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Virginia Tech Massacre: Remembering the Lost and the Injured
Memorial services were held today for students and professors who lost their lives in yesterday's mind-blowing and horrific attack on the Virginia Tech community.
All of this brings memories of Columbine back anew.
It's all so sad and meaningless. Thirty-two people were murdered by a madman; it emerged that a fellow Virginia Tech student was responsible for the heavy loss of life.
Thinking of all the victims and their families, as well as everyone at VT. May God be with them all.
All of this brings memories of Columbine back anew.
It's all so sad and meaningless. Thirty-two people were murdered by a madman; it emerged that a fellow Virginia Tech student was responsible for the heavy loss of life.
Thinking of all the victims and their families, as well as everyone at VT. May God be with them all.
Friday, April 13, 2007
USS Pueblo Still Intact and Being Used By North Korea for Anti-American Propaganda Purposes
North Korean officials took a surprised U.S. delegation aboard a captured U.S. Navy spy ship on Monday, saying it represented "...continued U.S. aggression against North Korea."Governor Bill Richardson said it was a pure propaganda move on the part of the North Koreans.
The USS Pueblo was captured in January 1968; it's crew was held for eleven months before being released by North Korea. They kept the ship and have used it for "anti-American education" ever since.
North Korea has dangled returning the ship to the U.S. Navy in exchange for a high-level visit from the U.S. Secretary of State, but that has been flatly refused by the U.S. government. The U.S. Navy still has the Pueblo on the books as an active unit, and does want it back, but the current level of tension between the U.S. and North Korea has made it impossible to facilitate a transfer.
The Pueblo is the only U.S. warship under the control of a foreign power, and was the first ship to be captured since 1941, when invading Japanese forces captured the USS Wake in Shanghai's harbor.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Duke Rape Case Dropped: Critical Mistakes by Former Prosecutor Plus Witness Changing Story Guaranteed This Outcome
Surprise, surprise, surprise.
The Duke lacrosse rape case totally (and finally) collapsed today when the North Carolina Attorney General dropped all charges against three lacrosse players from Duke University, clearing the way for the formerly accused to get their lives back on track.
This case should never have been brought.
The former prosecutor didn't interview the "victim", released statements to the media which looked like he was prosecuting the case on TV, violated police line-up procedures, ignored DNA evidence which pointed away from the accused players, and ignored the victim changing her story repeatedly.
The former prosecutor is facing disciplinary action from the state bar related to his conduct during this case. They need to make an example out of him to discourage other "borderline" prosecutors from this kind of conduct.
Prosecuting someone for political gain and not for breaking the law is a terrible abuse of power.
The Duke lacrosse rape case totally (and finally) collapsed today when the North Carolina Attorney General dropped all charges against three lacrosse players from Duke University, clearing the way for the formerly accused to get their lives back on track.
This case should never have been brought.
The former prosecutor didn't interview the "victim", released statements to the media which looked like he was prosecuting the case on TV, violated police line-up procedures, ignored DNA evidence which pointed away from the accused players, and ignored the victim changing her story repeatedly.
The former prosecutor is facing disciplinary action from the state bar related to his conduct during this case. They need to make an example out of him to discourage other "borderline" prosecutors from this kind of conduct.
Prosecuting someone for political gain and not for breaking the law is a terrible abuse of power.
Monday, April 09, 2007
Powers That Be Announce That Gas Will Be $2.75 Per Gallon Over Summer: THANKS FOR NOTHING!
The powers that be in the oil industry have delivered news from on high that gas prices will be $2.75 per gallon over the summer. Some are saying it will be much higher than that.
Oh, joy of joys.
Oh, joy of joys.
39,000 Pets Get Sick or Die From Food Contamination
It's much worse than many thought.
According to a major chain of veterinary clinics, some 39,000 dogs and cats have gotten sick or died from eating recalled pet foods across the nation.
And every day, it seems like there are updates on the FDA and Menu Foods web sites announcing more and more recalls.
The latest expansion of the recall was announced just before Easter; contaminated wheat gluten is suspected of being the culprit. It's hard to believe that this recall has affected over a hundred brands of pet food; that it's taken this long for these companies to react to a critical situation isn't helping at all.
This has been going on for over a friggin' month now. And there are STILL no answers. China announced that it was looking into the contamination on it's end, but the damage is already done, leaving families heartbroken.
Too little, too late.
According to a major chain of veterinary clinics, some 39,000 dogs and cats have gotten sick or died from eating recalled pet foods across the nation.
And every day, it seems like there are updates on the FDA and Menu Foods web sites announcing more and more recalls.
The latest expansion of the recall was announced just before Easter; contaminated wheat gluten is suspected of being the culprit. It's hard to believe that this recall has affected over a hundred brands of pet food; that it's taken this long for these companies to react to a critical situation isn't helping at all.
This has been going on for over a friggin' month now. And there are STILL no answers. China announced that it was looking into the contamination on it's end, but the damage is already done, leaving families heartbroken.
Too little, too late.
MSNBC's Don Imus in Big Trouble: So What Else is New?
Many of the news channels have been following the antics of Don Imus today, for calling a women's basketball team a racist term, which I will not post here.
CBS and MSNBC announced that they were suspending the Imus show for two weeks as a disciplinary action.
I have a question...why did CBS and MSNBC have this man on the air at all, given his prior controversies? He's been referred to as the "Howard Stern of intelligent people," though he's had a public feud with Stern for years--in particular a vicious exchange on the air in 2003.
The man is a lightning rod for controversy.
Yet the two companies had him on both radio and on TV in simulcast.
Imus went on Rev. Al Sharpton's radio program this morning (a huge mistake), but made little headway in calming the raging inferno, as Sharpton's thirst for revenge neutralized his efforts. Sharpton's now calling for a boycott of all advertisers who advertise on the Imus show.
Later on in the day, the networks suspended Imus.
Imus's comments WERE way over the line, but Sharpton's handling of the situation on his show made the situation worse; what happened to forgiveness of others?
All Sharpton wanted was to get Imus fired, or better yet, to have Imus sign a resignation letter in his presence and on the air. It didn't happen, so he decided to add his two cents (and more) to the controversy.
There's no winner in this controversy; not CBS, MSNBC, Imus, Sharpton, or the people who were insulted by the racist comments that Imus made.
CBS and MSNBC announced that they were suspending the Imus show for two weeks as a disciplinary action.
I have a question...why did CBS and MSNBC have this man on the air at all, given his prior controversies? He's been referred to as the "Howard Stern of intelligent people," though he's had a public feud with Stern for years--in particular a vicious exchange on the air in 2003.
The man is a lightning rod for controversy.
Yet the two companies had him on both radio and on TV in simulcast.
Imus went on Rev. Al Sharpton's radio program this morning (a huge mistake), but made little headway in calming the raging inferno, as Sharpton's thirst for revenge neutralized his efforts. Sharpton's now calling for a boycott of all advertisers who advertise on the Imus show.
Later on in the day, the networks suspended Imus.
Imus's comments WERE way over the line, but Sharpton's handling of the situation on his show made the situation worse; what happened to forgiveness of others?
All Sharpton wanted was to get Imus fired, or better yet, to have Imus sign a resignation letter in his presence and on the air. It didn't happen, so he decided to add his two cents (and more) to the controversy.
There's no winner in this controversy; not CBS, MSNBC, Imus, Sharpton, or the people who were insulted by the racist comments that Imus made.
Congress Keeps Overstepping It's Constitutional Boundaries: Pelosi Trip Was Most Recent Example
The shredding of the Constitution continues.
Now that the Bush Administration has been forced to stop doing it, Congress has started doing it themselves.
Congress needs to be reminded that the White House is in charge of day-to-day diplomacy with foreign nations. There is one branch of government that carries on diplomacy with other nations--not two with 536 Presidents (535 in Congress plus the real one in the White House).
Congress can ratify or reject treaties, vote on foreign aid appropriations and regulate commerce with other governments. There is no provision in Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution for Congress to conduct foreign relations.
Article 2 Section 3 of the Constitution provides for the President to receive Ambassadors of foreign nations (and to conduct diplomacy) on behalf of the entire nation.
Pelosi's trip violated the spirit of the Constitution; but all it really did was showcase her grandstanding. If the Democrats want their foreign policy to be paramount, they have to win the Presidency in an election first. Not before.
Now that the Bush Administration has been forced to stop doing it, Congress has started doing it themselves.
Congress needs to be reminded that the White House is in charge of day-to-day diplomacy with foreign nations. There is one branch of government that carries on diplomacy with other nations--not two with 536 Presidents (535 in Congress plus the real one in the White House).
Congress can ratify or reject treaties, vote on foreign aid appropriations and regulate commerce with other governments. There is no provision in Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution for Congress to conduct foreign relations.
Article 2 Section 3 of the Constitution provides for the President to receive Ambassadors of foreign nations (and to conduct diplomacy) on behalf of the entire nation.
Pelosi's trip violated the spirit of the Constitution; but all it really did was showcase her grandstanding. If the Democrats want their foreign policy to be paramount, they have to win the Presidency in an election first. Not before.
Pelosi Made a Fool Out of Herself on Her Mideast Trip: Her Lack of Understanding of Israeli/Syrian Relations Really Showed
I am of the opinion that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's recent trip to the Middle East was a unmitigated fiasco.
House Speaker Pelosi not only carried our nasty internal politics onto the world stage for all to see, but her short-lived foray into international relations proved that she needs to practice her listening skills, her sensitivity to the needs of our allies, and the way she expresses her views to foreign leaders.
Not only did she misunderstand Israel's point of view, but she didn't listen to them, then misrepresented their views (publicly) to the Syrian government. She did make a clarification later on, but it was too little, too late.
Israeli Prime Minister Olmert issued a statement and corrected our wayward goodwill ambassador.
Nice going, Speaker Pelosi. Next time, stay home and run the House--as you were elected to do. And that goes for Congressional Republicans, too, who have met with Syria's leadership on less-publicized trips recently.
House Speaker Pelosi not only carried our nasty internal politics onto the world stage for all to see, but her short-lived foray into international relations proved that she needs to practice her listening skills, her sensitivity to the needs of our allies, and the way she expresses her views to foreign leaders.
Not only did she misunderstand Israel's point of view, but she didn't listen to them, then misrepresented their views (publicly) to the Syrian government. She did make a clarification later on, but it was too little, too late.
Israeli Prime Minister Olmert issued a statement and corrected our wayward goodwill ambassador.
Nice going, Speaker Pelosi. Next time, stay home and run the House--as you were elected to do. And that goes for Congressional Republicans, too, who have met with Syria's leadership on less-publicized trips recently.
Saturday, April 07, 2007
O'Reilly and Rivera GO AT IT Over Illegal Immigration and Drunk Driving
WOW!!
Bill O'Reilly and Geraldo Rivera really went at it on the O'Reilly Factor during Thursday's edition. Rivera was insisting that the story at hand was about drunk driving, while O'Reilly felt that the subject was illegal aliens breaking laws.
It turned into an all-out SCREAMING match. Both feel very strongly about their positions, and both said that there were no hard feelings afterward.
Spectacular, and sad.
I do think that Rivera was more correct about it being a drunk driving case, though O'Reilly's position on illegal aliens breaking laws and officials turning a blind eye was also valid.
Drunk driving cuts across all ethnic lines, and two teenagers are dead because someone (who happened to be a drunk illegal alien) got behind the wheel of a car who had no business doing so. What a mess.
Bill O'Reilly and Geraldo Rivera really went at it on the O'Reilly Factor during Thursday's edition. Rivera was insisting that the story at hand was about drunk driving, while O'Reilly felt that the subject was illegal aliens breaking laws.
It turned into an all-out SCREAMING match. Both feel very strongly about their positions, and both said that there were no hard feelings afterward.
Spectacular, and sad.
I do think that Rivera was more correct about it being a drunk driving case, though O'Reilly's position on illegal aliens breaking laws and officials turning a blind eye was also valid.
Drunk driving cuts across all ethnic lines, and two teenagers are dead because someone (who happened to be a drunk illegal alien) got behind the wheel of a car who had no business doing so. What a mess.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Iranian President Should Have Apologized to British Navy Members For Waylaying Them, Not The Other Way Around: SICKENING
News hit this morning that Iran was releasing it's hostages that it had taken nearly two weeks ago in the Persian Gulf, and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was shown receiving the gratitude of the captive British sailors and marines, one at a time. It was a SICKENING display of manipulation on international television.
Ahmadinejad should have been the one apologizing for invading Iraqi waters and waylaying a British boarding party that was doing it's job under a United Nations mandate.
Sick and wrong.
Ahmadinejad should have been the one apologizing for invading Iraqi waters and waylaying a British boarding party that was doing it's job under a United Nations mandate.
Sick and wrong.
Sunday, April 01, 2007
British/Iranian Crisis is Latest Excuse for Oil Prices to Increase: Oil Speculators At It Again
Let's see where increased oil prices fit into this latest Persian Gulf controversy:
Has the Strait of Hormuz been closed to international shipping? NOPE.
Has the Strait been mined? NOPE.
Has Iran threatened to sink any tankers? NOPE.
Any refineries set ablaze? NOPE.
Any oil production facilities damaged or destroyed, leading to a drop in oil production? NOPE.
Any net effect whatsoever on the available oil supply? NONE.
Any tidal waves, hurricanes, tornadoes, or other natural disasters that could explain the price increases? NOPE.
Hmmm....
Are the oil speculators worried? Yep.
So, in spite of the fact that there is no decrease in oil output from the ongoing feud between Britain and Iran, and the oil supply is unaffected, the price for a barrel of oil has gone way up again.
The oil speculators and oil companies should pay for the artificial increases that they've created WITHOUT charging more at the pump. The British/Iranian issues are irrelevant to the cost of a barrel of oil, unless the missiles start to fly. Enough of the excuses, already!
- British Navy intercepts cargo ship to inspect it in disputed Iraqi/Iranian waters...
- Iran seizes 15 British sailors and marines who were the boarding party and take them to Tehran for questioning....
- Britain and Iran exchange angry words....
- Reports of U.S. and Iranian troops exchanging fire inside Iraqi territory. U.S. troops retreat out of fear of being taken hostage....
- Iran is isolated from the international community...again.
- Bush, Blair and Iran's terrorist president start the blame game anew.
Has the Strait of Hormuz been closed to international shipping? NOPE.
Has the Strait been mined? NOPE.
Has Iran threatened to sink any tankers? NOPE.
Any refineries set ablaze? NOPE.
Any oil production facilities damaged or destroyed, leading to a drop in oil production? NOPE.
Any net effect whatsoever on the available oil supply? NONE.
Any tidal waves, hurricanes, tornadoes, or other natural disasters that could explain the price increases? NOPE.
Hmmm....
Are the oil speculators worried? Yep.
So, in spite of the fact that there is no decrease in oil output from the ongoing feud between Britain and Iran, and the oil supply is unaffected, the price for a barrel of oil has gone way up again.
The oil speculators and oil companies should pay for the artificial increases that they've created WITHOUT charging more at the pump. The British/Iranian issues are irrelevant to the cost of a barrel of oil, unless the missiles start to fly. Enough of the excuses, already!
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Pet Food Recall News: Web Site Reports Nearly 2,000 Dogs and Cats Die From Contaminated Pet Food
Menu Foods is reporting the deaths of sixteen pets from contaminated pet food that was recalled on March 16th, but this number may be vastly under-reported.
One web site is reporting that nearly 2,000 pets are now deceased and base that number on the number of people who have registered with their web site and who have filed complaints with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Another report said 845 pets were deceased and over a thousand were sickened.
I'm sensing a cover-up here. If it isn't a cover-up, it's a severe misunderstanding of what's really going on in the veterinary clinics and animal hospitals on the part of Menu Foods.
My dad's neighbor up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula just lost his beloved dog after feeding it a can of Science Diet dog food, which he didn't realize was under recall. The dog suffered apparent kidney and pancreatic failure and died overnight while under the care of the vet.
The vet reported that there may have been another issue going on, but the timing between the dog eating the can of recalled dog food and it's death within 48 hours was too strange to be something else. It's possible, but the timing is highly suspicious.
Someone at Menu Foods needs to get out in front and take charge. And why the hell didn't their own chemists and scientists pinpoint the cause of the deaths before New York health officials did??! They should have lead the charge, instead of issuing this idiotic statement expressing relief that New York health officials had done Menu Foods' J-O-B in discovering why their product was killing dogs and cats! MORONS!
One web site is reporting that nearly 2,000 pets are now deceased and base that number on the number of people who have registered with their web site and who have filed complaints with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Another report said 845 pets were deceased and over a thousand were sickened.
I'm sensing a cover-up here. If it isn't a cover-up, it's a severe misunderstanding of what's really going on in the veterinary clinics and animal hospitals on the part of Menu Foods.
My dad's neighbor up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula just lost his beloved dog after feeding it a can of Science Diet dog food, which he didn't realize was under recall. The dog suffered apparent kidney and pancreatic failure and died overnight while under the care of the vet.
The vet reported that there may have been another issue going on, but the timing between the dog eating the can of recalled dog food and it's death within 48 hours was too strange to be something else. It's possible, but the timing is highly suspicious.
Someone at Menu Foods needs to get out in front and take charge. And why the hell didn't their own chemists and scientists pinpoint the cause of the deaths before New York health officials did??! They should have lead the charge, instead of issuing this idiotic statement expressing relief that New York health officials had done Menu Foods' J-O-B in discovering why their product was killing dogs and cats! MORONS!
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Menu Foods Recall is Troubling: Rat Poison Discovered in Wet Dog and Cat Foods
The Menu Foods recall of dozens of varieties of cat and dog food is very troubling. Rat poison contamination of pet food was discovered as the culprit in the deaths of an unknown number of cats and dogs.
Of particular concern to me is the recall of several types of Nutro dog food, specifically. I feed my dog Nutro Natural Choices Lamb Meal with Rice Formula, which he enjoys a great deal. It's a dry dog food, which are not part of this recall.
But it hasn't stopped me from checking the Menu Foods web site daily, to see if this problem gets any worse. They've recalled several varieties of the wet version of my dog's food.
I've already had a scare with the Diamond dog food recall, which was more than a little responsible for my switching my Jack Russell Terrier over to Nutro. They initially recalled Diamond dog foods in Michigan as well but later canceled it upon finding out where the foods from the affected plants were sent.
Upon hearing about the Diamond recall at work, I hurried home and checked the label to see if the bag was under recall--(it wasn't).
Now Nutro is under a cloud. Though this recall doesn't affect my dog's food (yet), I'm not a happy camper.
Of particular concern to me is the recall of several types of Nutro dog food, specifically. I feed my dog Nutro Natural Choices Lamb Meal with Rice Formula, which he enjoys a great deal. It's a dry dog food, which are not part of this recall.
But it hasn't stopped me from checking the Menu Foods web site daily, to see if this problem gets any worse. They've recalled several varieties of the wet version of my dog's food.
I've already had a scare with the Diamond dog food recall, which was more than a little responsible for my switching my Jack Russell Terrier over to Nutro. They initially recalled Diamond dog foods in Michigan as well but later canceled it upon finding out where the foods from the affected plants were sent.
Upon hearing about the Diamond recall at work, I hurried home and checked the label to see if the bag was under recall--(it wasn't).
Now Nutro is under a cloud. Though this recall doesn't affect my dog's food (yet), I'm not a happy camper.
Iranian Capture of 15 British Troops is a Repeated Violation of the Iraqi Border: Iranian Troops Captured in Recent Months Were in Iraqi Territory Too
A lot of people are waiting for the British Navy to sink the entire Iranian Navy in reprisal for the seizure of 15 British sailors and marines in Iraqi waters by the Iranian Navy.
They apparently roared in on their gunboats and took an entire British boarding party prisoner while still on the Iraqi side of the maritime border.
The British were carrying out a U.N.-mandated inspection of a seagoing vessel when they were captured.
Iran apparently has a great deal of trouble determining where the Iran/Iraq border actually is. Members of their Revolutionary Guard have been caught aiding insurgents on the Iraqi side of the border--some of them as far into Iraq as Baghdad itself.
So it should come as no surprise that Iran is continuing to violate the sovereignty of Iraq's borders. But this hostage-taking maneuver is highly unusual. They were probably hoping that the men (and woman) that they seized were Americans to put pressure on Washington to release Iranian terror operatives who were captured in Iraq or "disappeared" while in third countries.
Should be interesting to see what comes of this.
They apparently roared in on their gunboats and took an entire British boarding party prisoner while still on the Iraqi side of the maritime border.
The British were carrying out a U.N.-mandated inspection of a seagoing vessel when they were captured.
Iran apparently has a great deal of trouble determining where the Iran/Iraq border actually is. Members of their Revolutionary Guard have been caught aiding insurgents on the Iraqi side of the border--some of them as far into Iraq as Baghdad itself.
So it should come as no surprise that Iran is continuing to violate the sovereignty of Iraq's borders. But this hostage-taking maneuver is highly unusual. They were probably hoping that the men (and woman) that they seized were Americans to put pressure on Washington to release Iranian terror operatives who were captured in Iraq or "disappeared" while in third countries.
Should be interesting to see what comes of this.
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