Another Reason to Abolish the Death Penalty

The Houston Chronicle reports that Texas executed an man in 1993 for a crime he did not commit in 1984, when 17 years old.
Read the Chronicle story here.

Neretva River Delta

This is an area of the Neretva River delta on the Dalmatian cost of Croatia that has been intensively developed for agriculture.

Remember Curveball?

Remember “Curveball”, the Iraqi “engineer” whom was served up by Chalabi and the INC. Laura Rozen excerpts an L. A. Time piece “How the U. S. Fell Under the Spell of ‘Curveball’” that includes the following gem.
But for the fact that tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis have been killed and maimed, that the [...]

Senator Bob Graham Puts the Lie to the Latest Republican Talking Point

Former Florida Senator and member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, who voted against the authorization for he illegal invasion of Iraq, points out, in Sunday’s Washington Post, that Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Hadley, and their media propagandists are lying again, in their repeating the latest republican talking point that the 100 democratic congresspersons had access to [...]

"Faking the Case Against Syria"

Trish Schuh, who write about Middle East politics, has produced a very interesting, fairly long article “Faking the Case Against Syria”. The story and the characters are all very familiar.
Read the article here.

A Busy Day for Criminal Charges

Jack Abramoff partner Michael Scanlon has been charged with conspiracy to bribe government officials. Scanlon has apparently flipped, made a deal with prosecutors, and will testify against others.
By James V. Grimaldi and Susan SchmidtWashington Post Staff WriterFriday, November 18, 2005; 4:47 PM
“Michael Scanlon, a former top congressional aide who became a partner of high-flying lobbyist [...]

I Love Mexico

I Love Mexico
You know how at the grocery store there are people standing in the various aisles offering free samples of products? Well it’s the same here.
Today I went to Tiendas Chedraui to get another bag of lamb manure fertilizer for the garden and was approached by a woman asking if I would [...]

Another Fitzgerald Indictment & George Will – Media Whore

Sorry, this one has nothing to do with the Plame Name Game. Fitzgerald has indicted Conrad Black for fraud in the looting of Hollinger International, Inc., a Toronto based media conglomerate holding company.
“CHICAGO (Reuters) – U.S. prosecutors announced criminal fraud charges on Thursday against Conrad Black and his former associates, accusing the ex-publisher of [...]

Raw Story Reports Hadley is Woodward’s Source

Jason Leopold and Larisa Alexandrovna, who have broke lots of correct reports of the Fitzgerald investigation, are reporting, at “Raw Story” that Steven Hadley, Director of National Security, is Woodward’’s source.
Hadley, a committed neofascist who, as you will recall was placed by Director of Transition, Dick (I favor torture, can’t help but lie, and could [...]

Fitzgerald Isn’t Done

“WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald said in court filings that the ongoing CIA leak investigation will involve proceedings before a new grand jury, a possible sign he could seek new charges in the case.In filings obtained by Reuters on Friday, Fitzgerald said “the investigation is continuing” and that “the investigation will involve proceedings [...]

Washington Post Executive Editor Discusses Woodward’s Digression

Anyone whose interested, and has a has an half hour to waste, here is a link to Leonard Downie Jr.’s answers to on-line questions about Bob Woodward’s withholding from Post editors, for over two years, the information he was provided by “a senior administration official” about Valarie Plame.
Read it here.
Mr. Downie, as far I as [...]

Mushrooms are sprouting in the compost pile, speci…

Mushrooms are sprouting in the compost pile, specifically on the palm frond leaves.
They are a bit yong for identification but have veils, volvas at the stem bases, and scales on the caps.

Douglas Feith’s "Intelligence" Cooking Under Investigation

“WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Pentagon’s inspector general has agreed to review the prewar intelligence activities of former U.S. defense undersecretary Douglas Feith, a main architect of the Iraq war, congressional officials said on Thursday.”
Feith, you will remember, was characterized by General Tommy Franks as ‘the fucking stupidest guy on the face of the planet’; and [...]

Former CIA Director Stansfield Turner Skewers Torture Advocate Dick Cheney

“We have crossed the line into dangerous territory,” Turner, who headed the Central Intelligence Agency in the 1970s, said on ITV news.
“I am embarrassed that the USA has a vice president for torture. I think it is just reprehensible. He (Mr Cheney) advocates torture, what else is it? I just don’t understand how a man [...]

Bob Woodward Deposed by Fitzgerald

Washington Post Assistant Managing Editor Bob Woodward has been deposed by Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald in the Plame Name Game investigation. Woodward has testified that a “senior administration official” informed him of Plame’s identity and her work for the CIA a month before Novak blew Plame’s cover.
Reportedly the “senior administration official” informed Fitzgerald [...]

Full Moon Over Merida

Tiendas Chedraui

I’m so relieved, one more source of anxiety has been removed from my life. I will never again have to visit Walmart.
My new neighbors Laura and Jeff, from Canada, informed me during our dinner party Sunday evening that one block down from Walmart is a Tiendas Chedraui, essentially the Mexican version of Walmart.
Chedraui has [...]

Apartment Complex Sunday Evening Salon

As I indicated in my Walmart confession, the occupants of the other apartments here and I had planned to have a pot luck dinner on the back patio last evening. As it turned out, it began to rain, at times quite heavily, at about 4:00 PM and continued. Consequently, the five of us squeezed around [...]

Watermelon Bed

This is the watermelon bed I put together yesterday.
What I’m having to do is find a spot between the limestone boulders too large to remove, excavate the soil as deeply as I can with the mattock, remove the large rocks, lay stones around he excavated area, and fill in the bed with the soil from [...]

Rusty

Here’s Rusty, my neighbor’s dog I have mentioned a couple of times.
Rusty’s about 6 months old and broke his rear leg a couple months ago being a bit too rambunctious in the rock strewn rear yard. He is due to have his external splint removed today.
He has a plastic water bottle chew toy with [...]