Wandering through the news

Ok, the weekend is here, or close enough to consider it with the summer at hand. And after reading the papers and listening to news and interview radio shows (I don't watch TV news, too cryptic, what have I gleaned of importance enough to rant awhile here? LIke it matters? Except to me of course.

Ok, onward.

Why is that all the nations who have nuclear power industries, most with nuclear weapons programs, want to restrict if not prohibit non-nuclear nations from having nuclear industries and especially nuclear weapons? I'm against nuclear weapons, but I don't understand where the Bush administrations is helping India with its nuclear industry and now its nuclear weapons program even though they have not signed the innternational treaty on nuclear programs but is trying to restrict Pakistan's own nuclear weapons program because they developed theirs without US help (A.Q. Khan) and is trying to prevent Iran from having any nuclear industry let alone a weapons program?

Isn't that the definition of hypocracy? When 100 non-aligned and another 15 aligned nations nations agreed to allow nations indedendent nuclear industries endorsing Iran's program, what else can be said. It's the haves and have nots, and haves are being greedy? Yes, I know the dangers of nuclear weapons programs, but the US has never stopped developing new nuclear weapons against the nuclear weapons treaty.

What's not to understand the biggest hypocrit in the room is the US? And when we're trying to help nations develop industries and vibrant economies, the sad reality is that sometimes and some places nuclear power is the answer when other sources of energy isn't available or won't work. It's the nature of reality and we're being the bad guy?

It's about the water. That's what the investigation into the Salmonella discovered. The farm in Mexico which grew peppers and the company that processed for those and tomatoes where the souce of the illness was found. It wasn't the food itself, but the water, and why water treatment and processing is so important in the world today.

We have more than enough water to do what we want and we know how to treat water to restore it to better than when it was initially withdrawn from the environment. That's the simple truth. Water is so flexible, we only have to treat it, but that's the expensive part of the equation. We don't need new sources of water, just process what you have and return to the beginning of the cycle.

But we don't because it's far more expensive to do and cheaper to build new water supply and delivery systems and new water treatment plants to dump partially treated water into the environment. We only need to add the next step of tertiary treatment and we have new water again. So when will we learn?

Is the Bush talk of troops cuts in Iraq political fodder for McCain?

Why is Bush talking about troop drawdown when he's said that's not a reality? But he isn't promising drawdown, only the discussion of the possibility of potential drawdowns, meaning we're just thinking. But he also, as his advisors have probably told him, talking of something is good politics for the administration and especially the party in an election year and for the Republican nominee McCain.

This takes away the political criticism from Obama who can't talk about "them" wanting to sustain troops levels indefinitely. It doesn't matter that no significant drawdown has happened and even if they do, it's the drawdown of last year's surge, so the troop levels will continue to remain high as the troops are merely transferred to Afghanistan.

The reality is that it's simply talk to disguise doing nothing. It's about appearances and we, and especially the journalists, should recognize it for what it is, political rhetoric.

The good news?

A federal court judge has said that ex-administration officials are not covered by executive privilege. You have to be an active employee to be covered so all the ex-administration officials and advisors will have to answer to Congress and their subpoenas, even if they cite the 5th Amendment. It's about the legal rights of Congress and the supposed imperial presidency Bush and his advisors tried to build.

So to all those folks, including Mr. Cheney too, beware, Congress will be knocking on your door some day with a subpoena. We want the truth to know who lied when. We know you did about damn near everything you did. You fucked the people in your own arrogance about our republic and laws. And now we want Congress to get answers, or at least putting your butt in a chair before Congress.

And I really want to hear what Karl Rove has to say about his role as the senior advisor. I'm not sure who's worse Rove or Cheney, they're both equally bad, but Rove has a longer history with Bush.

Anyway, that's the news of the week I found interesting. And my parting jesture is a Granny and her cats. Have a good weekend.