Edward Spiegel's Home Pages

Bush Appointments to the Federal Bench

A new web site details George Bush's appointments to the federal bench. Almost every appointment has strong ties to the industries that are Bush's biggest contributors. Visit the site at:

http://www.courtinginfluence.net/

Read it and weep.

U.S. Prisoner Abuse Not Just the Work of Bad Apples

It is time for the press to start putting some facts together and put the lie to the Pentagon and White House' characterization of the abuses at Abu Ghraib as the actions of a few aberrant soldiers. The similarities between what we know to have happened at Abu Ghraib and what we are discovering to have happened in American run prisons in Afghanistan are simply too compelling to ignore. Since all of these abuses bear similarities to techniques used at Guantanamo Bay, it is time that the press make Americans more aware that these practices are the direct foreseeable consequences of inhumane practices advocated by Sec. Rumsfeld and the White House in contravention of both all sense of morality and everything that is known about interrogation techniques. As experts testify over and over, coercion is not an effective technique for getting good information out of subjects. The facts on the ground make this abundantly clear. The administration still has no idea of the state of the insurgency in Iraq. Clearly, no useful information resulted from these tactics. Additionally, the world's awareness of this inhumane and brutal tactics has made us more hated than ever before. The brutality has made us more of a target than ever and will not soon be forgotten anywhere but in America.

Coffee Roasting Tips!

Thanks to an article in the Food section of the San Francisco Chronicle, I have begun roasting my own coffee -- using a hot air popcorn popper. I have posted a page with tips for successful roasting and will be expanding that part of the web site when I can find the time.

Blogging Hiatus

I have stopped keeping up my blogging of under-reported news. My day job has kept me very very busy the past couple of months and will continue to do so. So, given the number of great blogs that are covering the same territory, I am taking a break from reporting under-reported news.

I highly recommend Salon.com's War Room for political coverage and Brad DeLong's blog for economic and political insights

I will be updating the politics pages with my favorite links.

News You Might Have Missed

Iraq is worse off than before the war began, GAO reports
Bush Criticizes Edwards' Lack of Experience [You're Kidding Right?]
Bush Directs Majority of Democracy-Promotion Funds to Autocratic Regimes
Few Iraq Detainees Are Foreign Fighters
Defense Undersecretary Used Unauthorized Inspections to Push Contracts for Friends
C.I.A. Held Back Data That WMD Programs Abandoned
Cheney Had No New Data on Saddam, Al Qaeda-Panel
Iraq is worse off than before the war began, GAO reports
Ashcroft faces whistleblower secrets probe
Justice: Sharing Data Would Crash System
Audits Criticizing CPA Released
Inquiry Confirms Medicare Chief Threatened Actuary

DETAILS OF ALL STORIES BELOW:

Aschroft and DOJ News (underreported)

Justice: Sharing Data Would Crash System
Ashcroft faces whistleblower secrets probe

DETAILS OF ALL STORIES BELOW:

More underreported news

Bush Continues to Tout Discredited Qaida/Saddam Links
Experts Doubt Credibility of 9/11 Details Provided Under Torture
Rumsfeld Issued an Order to Hide Detainee in Iraq
Krugman on Ashcroft
Speech Outlining the Nature and Dangers of Anti-Americanism

DETAILS OF ALL STORIES BELOW:

Bi-partisan Group of U.S. Diplomats and Military Officers Rebukes Bush

A bipartisan group of former U.S. diplomats and military officers has issued a statement severely rebuking Bush for its incompetent handling of foreign affairs. This group includes Reagan and Bush (the elder) appointees including former ambassadors to the Soviet Union. Here is the first paragraph.

The undersigned have held positions of responsibility for the planning and execution of American foreign and defense policy. Collectively, we have served every president since Harry S. Truman. Some of us are Democrats, some are Republicans or Independents, many voted for George W. Bush. But we all believe that current Administration policies have failed in the primary responsibilities of preserving national security and providing world leadership. Serious issues are at stake. We need a change.
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More underreported news

Panel Says No Signs of Iraq, Qaeda Link
POLL: Majority of Iraqis Would Feel Safer If We Left
DOE official in charge of cleanup resigns
Bush's Lavish Spending of U.S. Funds

DETAILS OF ALL STORIES BELOW:

More underreported news

GAO Finds Problems With Awards of Iraq Contracts
Early Attacks on Iraqi Leaders Killed Only Civilians
Cheney Continues to Cite Discredited Hussein-al Qaida Connection
League of Women Voters drops paperless vote support
More Outrageous Halliburton Expenses (that we are paying for)
Effort Fails to Block Study of New Nuclear Arms
USDA Calls French Fries Fresh Vegetable

DETAILS OF ALL STORIES BELOW: