The Jed Report: I like Russ Feingold, but WTF! And I thought this guy, or maybe this guy, was the the Douchebag of the Week.

Balloon Juice: How the politicization of that patronage mill we laughingly call the Department of Justice could hurt Obama in November.

David E's Fablog: At the International AIDS Conference, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged nations “to follow Mexico’s bold example and pass laws against homophobia.”

Whiskey Fire: And you shall know us by the rolling of our eyes

TPMCafe: Somebody should drive a stake through the heart of the WaPo's coverage of economics, especially the Federal budget. The atrocities continue below...

ANNALS OF JOURNALISM: Pedaling stupid...They love the 'elitist' meme but only for the black guy...WaPo calls out uppity Obama, later admits bungling his quote, but won't run retraction...Broderella mistakes Ted Stevens for the Prince of Peace...Media stenos gobble up 'Race Card' spin...Poli-tech 'reporter' for the Moonie Times...FBI obtained reporters' phone records...Things they didn't report...What you should know about the Associated Press...CNN anchor (Mrs. Dan Senor) scoffs at hearings critical of her husband's former employers....The Scum Also Rises...CNN uses selective breeding advocate as a source for "Black in America" series...MoDo hits bottom, keeps digging...The Real News Network...

Brad Reed has compiled the extensive list, but I'll give you the Reader's Digest version here. Go read the full article at Alternet:

10: Bush Gets Re-elected
9: Alberto Gonzales' Congressional Testimony
8: North Korea Conducts a Nuclear Test
7: Colin Powell's Bogus WMD Presentation at the U.N.
6: The Terri Schiavo Affair
5: Bush and Condi's Excellent Gaza Adventure
4: "Brownie, You're Doing a Heckuva Job"
3: Abu Ghraib
2: 9/11
1: "Mission Accomplished"

Seems like the hardest part is simply narrowing it down to just 10.

The suffering continues.

YINGXIU, China - Rescuers rushed to reach 24 coal miners trapped underground by China's earthquake almost two weeks ago, officials said Saturday as the government sharply raised the death toll and warned it could exceed 80,000. It was not known if the miners were alive, but authorities were hoping for the best until they learned otherwise, said Wang Dexue, the deputy chief of the government's work safety department.

Premier Wen Jiabao returned to the quake zone on Saturday and hosted U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a visit to Yingxiu, one of the hardest-hit towns. Jiabao said China's death toll has passed 60,000 and could rise to 80,000 or more...read on.

The Opinion Mill's Sunday Bookchat: 1968 revisited — "What journalists have forgotten about covering political conventions! What wingnuts need to learn about Winston Churchill! What George F. Will needs to learn about book reviewing!"

Daily Howler: Remember a key rule of "liberal" journalism — praise McCain's honesty and honor, especially while reporting his dishonesty and dishonorable conduct.

Lance Mannion: A key concept of liberalism explained in seven sentences (well, really five, but you'll see).

Tom Dispatch: Changing the world, one camera shot at a time. Myanmar/Burma: Why the U.N. and the U.S. should invade Myanmar (but can't), why we shouldn't, and why such actions shouldn't be taken lightly.

The Neocons: Neither honesty, nor reason, nor shame, shall keep them from their self-appointed rounds of starting another unnecessary war.

Guest roundup by Batocchio. That's it for me for now! Next up is Media Bloodhound. Please send your tips and suggestions to mediabloodhound at yahoo dot com. Thanks!

Yes, AP is reporting that A U.N. envoy's session Sunday with detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was "highly orchestrated." MSM is missing an important point and a big part of the UN visit: confirmation that she's alive and was not removed from the house where she has been under arrest.

BBC has more: Mr Gambari is believed to be the first foreigner to meet Ms Suu Kyi for 10 months.

Keeping a good thought here for Aung San Suu Kyi and for Mr. Gambari's efforts.

Bad Astronomer: Some Creationists are still dangerous even when they're in jail for tax evasion.

Mother Jones: Laura Rozen War and Piece interviews journalist Douglas Farah, co-author of a new book on Viktor Bout Farah tells how the Tajik-born arms dealer forged a lucrative career skirting U.N. embargoes to sell weapons and air transport services to warlords and despots—not to mention the U.S. military and its contractors in Iraq.

Truly Equal: Iraqi refugees forced into prostitution.

James Fallows: The Iraq speeches, take two...

Balloon Juice: John Cole provides a dandy analysis of the latest faux controversy roiling wingnuttia...

guest round-up by Blue Gal.

It looks like we found where Saddam hid those weapons of mass destruction...or do you suppose John Bolton was planning on taking out those ten stories he scoffed at?

CNN:

Workers found vials believed to contain the poison gas phosgene at a U.N. office building in New York Thursday.

U.N. spokeswoman Marie Okabe said U.N. chemical weapons experts quickly secured the toxic material.

U.N. archivists for UNMOVIC, the U.N. chemical weapons agency, unexpectedly turned up samples of material from an Iraqi chemical weapons plant in old files.

The samples were in weapons inspectors' files dating back to the 1990s, but the substance is not believed to pose any immediate danger, U.N. officials said Thursday.

The building where the samples turned up is several blocks away from main U.N. Secretariat building along New York's East River. Tests found no toxic vapors in the offices, U.N. spokeswoman Marie Okabe said. [..]

The material was taken from al-Muthanna chemical weapons plant north of Baghdad. The samples are sealed and have been there since 1996.

The samples were in containers that ranged in size "from small vials to tubes the length of a pen," Okabe said.

Ewan Buchanan, a spokesman for UNMOVIC, said the substances are in a sealed metal box and wrapped in a plastic bag, "so there is no immediate danger."

One of my favorite commenters is Nonny Mouse. I've seen her referred to as the "voice of reason" at C&L, and I think that is a perfect description of her measured prose and reasoned posts. I ran across this article on Monday and the tone struck me as almost schizophrenic, but I also knew that my own skills would not do it as much justice as Nonny would, so Nonny graciously agreed to write up the following post:

~*~*~*~

Knight the bellman stands erect and proud, waiting to carry bags. He is dressed in a crisp brown uniform, obediently manning his post next to the front door in the air-conditioned, marble lobby of the Grand Hotel in Kinshasa, Congo. He flashes a beaming smile when approached by those who seek his services.

His work is noble and steeped in the history of his continent. His is the tradition of willing, strong men, who in ages past picked up heavy steamer trunks, balanced them on their heads, and trekked untold miles through the thick and steamy Congolese jungle searching for Dr. Livingston.

Sounds like something out of a Victorian travelogue, dunnit? Back in those pleasant days of Empire when proper colonial gentlemen wore handlebar mustaches and safari helmets, and women and darkies and the lower classes all knew their place. Except it was published this week, by Eric Shawn, a FOX News correspondent and the author of the "fair and balanced" The U.N. Exposed: How the United Nations Sabotages America's Security and Fails the World.

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HuffPo:

European diplomats are considering a meeting with Iran on the sidelines of next week's U.N. General Assembly in hopes of de-escalating the standoff over Tehran's nuclear program - but the United States won't be getting an invitation.

The Bush administration, which is pushing for U.N. sanctions against Iran, has said it will join European-led negotiations with Iran only if it stops its uranium enrichment work first. Read on

Actually, given Bush's table manners and peculiar notions of decorum among world leaders, it may actually be a good thing for all involved if he was not there. However, as one of the five Permanent Members of the U.N.and a stated desire to prevent Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapons program, it's hard to believe that Bush's "lone cowboy" status is helping us in the global arena.

The situation in Darfur continues to get worse and George Clooney spoke to the U.N. Security Council today about the problems and to urge help.

Clooney: So after September 30th, you won’t need the U.N. You will simply need men with shovels and bleached white linen and head stones.

Download | play - WMV Download | play - QT

God bless George Clooney and his dedication to this crisis. The right likes to attack "liberal Hollywood" for speaking out on political matters but isn't that their right and responsibility as Americans? As fellow members of the human race? Clooney (and every other person on the face of this earth) has that right and responsibility to do their part in trying to bring an end to preventable mass killing and suffering.

(H/T Mike for the post)

here's some of the transcript

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