Bush Bombs With Bomber Jacket Gift for Brown - The Sleuth

BUSH BOMBS WITH BROWN
British prime minister Gordon Brown, intentionally it seems, did not reveal the gift that President Bush presented to him during his visit to Camp David early this week. Instead, they found it by happenstance: a gold box with a presidential seal sitting neglected in an empty seat in the back of the plane taking Brown back to London.
(WASHINGTON POST)

AR-bonics

SOUTHERN DICTIONARY
Well, just what is the difference between being cattytwompus and something that is antigogglin? These are actual words and phrases used in common parlance by educated people. While many of these words and phrases have their origins in a semi-isolated rural heritage, they do follow coherent and consistent grammatical rules.
(Suggested by Kathryn King)

San Francisco Orders Medical Marijuana Dispensaries to Sell Fatter Bags | Stop the Drug War (DRCNet)

MORE BUD, PLEASE
Regulation of medical marijuana distribution can have some interesting side effects. The following email, sent to a dispensary operator by an employee of the San Francisco Department of Health, shows that the city is requiring clubs to be more careful in their measurements.
(STOPTHEDRUGWAR.ORG, unearthed by Paul Whitehurst)

TSUNAMI TUESDAY?
Barack Obama has a slim advantage in two out of the four early primary states, but he would get crushed on "Tsunami Tuesday" by Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination for President?
(TOWNHALL.COM)

NSA Spying Part of Broader Effort - washingtonpost.com

SPY PROBE BROADENS
The Bush administration's chief intelligence official said yesterday that President Bush authorized a series of secret surveillance activities under a single executive order in late 2001. The disclosure makes clear that a controversial National Security Agency program was part of a much broader operation than the president previously described.
(WASHINGTON POST)

Budget Office Analysis Says War Could Cost $1 Trillion - CommonDreams.org

WAR COULD COST TRILLION
The war in Iraq could ultimately cost well over a trillion dollars — at least double what has already been spent — including the long-term costs of replacing damaged equipment, caring for wounded troops, and aiding the Iraqi government, according to a new government analysis.
(COMMON DREAMS)

ABC News: Judge Awards $101M to Men Framed by FBI

FBI STUNG
In a stinging rebuke of the FBI, a federal judge has ordered the government to pay a record judgment of nearly $102 million because agents withheld evidence that would have kept four men from spending decades in prison for a mob murder they did not commit.
(REUTERS, unearthed by Paul Whitehurst)

WRITER DUMPS HUBBY FOR TED | | Gossip - New York Post Online Edition

TABLOID DREAM INDEED!
Put down your cup of coffee or you might spill it," Butler, 62, wrote to his graduate students and fellow professors at Florida State University in Tallahassee. "Elizabeth is leaving me for Ted Turner."

Elizabeth is Butler's wife of 12 years, Elizabeth Dewberry, 44, an author in her own right, who might be attracted to Turner, 68, because the media mogul resembles the grandfather who molested her as a child, Butler writes in the shocking e-mail.
(NEW YORK POST)

NPA.RMLABS.NET - Phone Number Geolocator

TRACK THAT PHONE NUMBER
Here's an interesting spin on telephone number lookups. Okay, so you tried finding their address using Google or some other reverse number lookup and you can't find it. Well, knowing the area code and the exchange can help you narrow down the location if you use the Geolocator. We tried this and it works pretty well - with one important caveat: the area codes appear to be out of date. We had to use Mobile's old area code (334) for this to work.
(Suggested by Lifehacker)

CINDY SHEHAN VISITS ALABAMA
“We can’t stay in the blue states always preaching to the choir" Cindy Sheehan told a group of Alabama fellow travelers during her recent visit to Mongtomery. "We can’t do that. … We need to come where we can make the biggest impact.”
(COMMON DREAMS)

Detainee Transfers Concern Senators - washingtonpost.com

GULAG TRANSFER WORRIES SENATORS
Senators have expressed 'grave concern' that detainees at Guantanamo Bay will be sent to countries where they have a credible concern of mistreatment upon their arrival. The senators cited recent transfers of detainees to nations such as Libya (yes, Libya!) and Tunisia.
(WASHINGTON POST)

Queen storms out of Leibovitz photo shoot | AccessAtlanta

ICE QUEEN
You'd have thought she'd been asked to pose with Johnny Rotten or something. Annie Leibovitz received an icy stare and a stern response when she asked Queen Elizabeth II to remove her crown for an official portrait, according to a BBC documentary.
(ATLANTA JOURNAL)

WORTHY OF A HEISMAN
A father and his two children awake to flames and smoke. An upstairs window is the only way out. A barefoot hero stands below ...Adolph Cobb and his two children leaned outside a window of their third-floor Decatur apartment gasping for air and trying to decide whether to trust a voice below urging him to toss his babies to safety.
(ATLANTA JOURNAL)

POLL SHOWS IMPEACHMENT SENTIMENT GROWING
A survey by the American Research Group found that 45 percent support the US House of Representatives beginning impeachment proceedings against Bush, with 46 percent opposed, and a 54-40 split in favor when it comes to Cheney.
(COMMON DREAMS)

FOR A NICE SPIN ON THIS ISSUE CLICK HERE TO JUMP TO TALKING POINTS

2 lawyers found after kidnapping | ajc.com

LAWYERS FREED AFTER BEING HELD HOSTAGE IN "CABBAGETOWN" (NO, REALLY!)
The text message sent by one man to his brother was chilling: "We've been kidnapped. Please call the police and help us."
(ATLANTA JOURNAL)