Wonkette

Bangladesh Operative: hey, so the government just turned the internet and cell phones back on after like two days!
Alex: hahahahahaha wow
Op: nobody’s covering the internet being off, you could be the first to break the story….
Alex: haha ok
why did they turn the internet off??
ppl wasting too much time on youtube?
Op: because there’s rioting like everywhere!!
people are pissed!!!
Alex: you guys ok? no cars overturned on you or anything?
Op: no, we went and checked it out yesterday and like all the windows of the shops on our streets were broken, and there was a bonfire going in the road
so we went back inside
Alex: wow MORE »

The hard copy of today’s Washington Post contains this photograph and caption:

The road trip by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has personified the “special relationship” of the United States and Britain.

Ah, the power of scare quotes! It’s amazing what such innocuous-looking punctuation marks can do.

In the online version, the Posties have toned down the caption innuendo. But the article, by Glenn Kessler, is still full of disturbingly suggestive references:

A sly smile began to form on Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s face as British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw explained Monday why they had the authority to put pressure on Iraqi politicians to form a government. The massive investment of money and manpower by the United States and Britain, he said, gave them “a right to say, ‘We’ve got to be able to deal with Mr. A, Mr. B or Mr. C. We can’t deal with Mr. Nobody.’ “

Rice broke in, “Jack, I’m sure we’d be all right with Miss A or Miss B or Miss C, too, right?” As reporters burst out laughing, Straw put a hand against his face and recovered, “Yeah, we would. . . . “

Flirtatious banter between foreign ministers? Clearly we have a romantic comedy on our hands. We nominate Halle Berry and Hugh Grant for the leads.

Additional excerpts and commentary appear after the jump.

MORE »

• Bush squashes “global struggle against violent extremism” phrase: “Make no mistake about it, this is a war against people who profess an ideology, and they use terror as a means to achieve their objectives.” [NYT]
• Congress skims $8.5b from highway bill. [WSJ, NYT]
• Roberts admits not disclosing that he registered as a lobbyist in 2001. [LAT, NYT]
• Bush lauds the economy in new effort to raise his approval rating by claiming responsibility for “economic vitality.” [WP, LAT, WT]
• Democrats plan to quiz Roberts on discrepancies in his stated opinions. [WP]
• Roberts aided gay activists during Supreme Court case in 1996 with pro bono work. [LAT]

MORE »

• Bush has not changed his position on stem-cell research and will veto legislation pushed by Frist; bill has enough support to pass without a filibuster. [WSJ, LAT, USAT]
• Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd dies at 84; Crown Prince Abdullah pronounced monarch. [AP, Reuters]
• Bush receives bills to sign as lawmakers leave town. [WSJ]
• Bush consoles over 30,000 Boy Scouts after four troop leaders are electrocuted. [NYT, WT, AP]
• 50% have unfavorable view of Bush in Gallup Poll. [USAT]
• DLC would prefer that Hillary take on the left. Brownstein: “If Clinton succeeds [at unifying the party], she will consolidate her position as the Democratic frontrunner for 2008. But if she fails, she risks damaging her stature on both sides of the party’s divide.” [LAT]
• Santorum challenges Hillary to a debate on family values after describing her views as “radical.” [WT]
• Roberts played an active role in the creation and presentation of the Reagan administration’s positions on civil rights [WP]
• Roberts‘ opinions about capital punishment are largely unknown. [WP]
• Influence of the Federalist Society “is the source of ever-swelling myth, mystery, insinuation, denial and debate.” [NYT]

Does anyone know if Stephen Glass enlisted recently? CNN points out that two statements released by the U.S. military about bombings in Iraq contained almost identical quotes by “one Iraqi man who preferred not to be identified,” even though the releases were in response to two separate bombings, over a week apart. About the July 13 attack that killed several children, he was quoted thusly:

“‘The terrorists are attacking the infrastructure, the children and all of Iraq,’ said one Iraqi man who preferred not to be identified. ‘They are enemies of humanity without religion or any sort of ethics. They have attacked my community today and I will now take the fight to the terrorists.’”

About Sunday’s attack, which was against the Iraqi Security Forces, he said:

“‘The terrorists are attacking the infrastructure, the ISF and all of Iraq. They are enemies of humanity without religion or any sort of ethics. They have attacked my community today and I will now take the fight to the terrorists,’ said one Iraqi man who preferred not to be identified.”

Well, sticking to talking points is an important component of “American-style democracy.” Actually, if the Army made a mistake here, it’s probably in thinking that this unidentified Iraqi was giving them a quote. These bombings are so common these days, what he said wasn’t a comment, it was a standard greeting. You know, “Hello, how are you, they are enemies of humanity without religion or any sort of ethics and it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity.” MORE »

D.C. Metro officials were quick to respond to news of the second round of London bombings:

From: DC Text Alert [mailto:alert565@alert.ema.dc.gov]
Sent: Thursday, July 21, 2005 10:08 AM
To: DC Text Alert Users
Subject: Message from Alert DC MORE »