Evening Edition is an Open Thread

1 Hope for Gulf as BP plugs well, most of the oil gone

by Matt Davis, AFP

Wed Aug 4, 8:01 pm ET

2 Judge overturns California gay marriage ban

by Rob Woollard, AFP

Wed Aug 4, 7:48 pm ET

3 US economy adds private jobs but at lackluster pace

by P. Parameswaran, AFP

Wed Aug 4, 5:25 pm ET

4 40 US billionaires pledge half wealth to charity

by Sebastian Smith, AFP

Wed Aug 4, 6:03 pm ET

5 BlackBerry security backlash spreads to Lebanon

AFP

Thu Aug 5, 1:06 pm ET

6 NATO admits civilian deaths in east Afghanistan

by Samoon Miakhail, AFP

Thu Aug 5, 1:07 pm ET

7 Naomi Campbell admits receiving diamonds gift

by Mariette le Roux, AFP

1 hr 7 mins ago

8 Wyclef Jean jetting to Haiti to announce presidential run

AFP

49 mins ago

9 Haitian excitement builds for Wyclef presidential bid

by Clarens Renois, AFP

Thu Aug 5, 12:41 pm ET

10 Russia bans grain exports due to drought

by Stuart Williams, AFP

36 mins ago

11 Ex-teammate ‘says Armstrong encouraged doping’

AFP

Thu Aug 5, 11:52 am ET

12 Kenya ‘yes’ camp hails referendum victory

by Jean-Marc Mojon, AFP

Thu Aug 5, 9:02 am ET

13 Paradise for sale or rent, with help from Germany

by Yannick Pasquet, AFP

Thu Aug 5, 7:56 am ET

14 British drink to good health at beer festival

by Robin Millard, AFP

Thu Aug 5, 5:49 am ET

15 BP cements Gulf oil well, sets up for permanent kill

By Kristen Hays, Reuters

11 mins ago

16 GM at work on IPO filing but not ready yet: CEO

By David Bailey and Bernie Woodall, Reuters

1 hr 30 mins ago

17 Wary U.S. employers keep hiring plans on hold

By James B. Kelleher and Nick Carey, Reuters

1 hr 33 mins ago

18 Jobless claims raise doubts about economy

By Lucia Mutikani, Reuters

19 mins ago

19 Pentagon tells WikiLeaks: "Do right thing"

By Sue Pleming, Reuters

1 hr 17 mins ago

20 Petraeus clarifies rules on Afghan air strikes

By Phil Stewart, Reuters

Wed Aug 4, 10:35 pm ET

21 Karzai orders probe into Afghan civilian deaths reports

By Sayed Salahuddin, Reuters

Thu Aug 5, 10:41 am ET

22 Tired of war, thousands of Iraqis want to go to U.S.

By Khalid al-Ansary, Reuters

Thu Aug 5, 10:11 am ET

23 Supermodel Campbell tells court of "dirty pebbles"

By Aaron Gray-Block and Reed Stevenson, Reuters

Thu Aug 5, 10:37 am ET

24 Social Security 2010 outlays to exceed receipts

By Mark Felsenthal and Glenn Somerville, Reuters

Thu Aug 5, 12:57 pm ET

25 Republican senator sets conditions for backing START

By Susan Cornwell, Reuters

Wed Aug 4, 7:50 pm ET

26 Google Android gains pace, social Web a focus: CEO

By Alexei Oreskovic, Reuters

Thu Aug 5, 12:21 am ET

27 BP finishes pumping cement into blown-out well

By GREG BLUESTEIN and HARRY R. WEBER, Associated Press Writers

14 mins ago

28 Appeal filed over gay marriage ruling in Calif.

By LISA LEFF and PAUL ELIAS, Associated Press Writers

2 hrs 46 mins ago

29 Senate confirms Kagan as 112th justice

By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, Associated Press Writer

41 mins ago

30 Medicare fund will last extra 12 years – maybe

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR and MARTIN CRUTSINGER, Associated Press Writers

54 mins ago

31 In an uncertain economy, shoppers are choosy again

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO and CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER, AP Business Writers

12 mins ago

32 Naomi Campbell denies receiving blood diamonds

By TOBY STERLING, Associated Press Writer

21 mins ago

33 Senate approves jobs bill to stop teacher layoffs

By ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press Writer

21 mins ago

34 Texas Rangers exit bankruptcy protection

By ANGELA K. BROWN, Associated Press Writer

4 mins ago

35 Source: Google, Verizon near net neutrality plan

By JOELLE TESSLER, AP Technology Writer

Thu Aug 5, 4:04 am ET

36 Zimbabwe fools media with plane accident report

By CHENGETAI ZVAUYA and SLOBODAN LEKIC, Associated Press Writer

Thu Aug 5, 1:07 pm ET

37 Obama boosts Democrat seeking his old Senate seat

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Associated Press Writer

2 hrs 13 mins ago

38 Poll: Language a barrier for Latinos in schools

By HOPE YEN and CHRISTINE ARMARIO, Associated Press Writers

Thu Aug 5, 5:21 am ET

39 NJ court: Nazi-naming parents shouldn’t get kids

By BETH DeFALCO, Associated Press Writer

1 hr 47 mins ago

40 UN calls on Iraq to take steps to end sanctions

By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer

Thu Aug 5, 2:14 pm ET

41 NM gov meets with lawman Pat Garrett’s descendants

By BARRY MASSEY, Associated Press Writer

Thu Aug 5, 4:41 am ET

(4 pm. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

Gareth Porter is an historian and investigative journalist and US foreign and military policy analyst. He writes regularly for Inter Press Service on US policy towards Iraq and Iran. Porter is author of four books, the latest of which is Perils of Dominance: Imbalance of Power and the Road to War in Vietnam.

Porter talks with Real News Network’s Paul Jay with a dissection of Obama’s Iraq ‘withdrawal’ smoke and mirrors kabuki.

PAUL JAY, SENIOR EDITOR, TRNN: Welcome to The Real News Network. I’m Paul Jay in Washington. And in Atlanta on Monday, August 2, President Obama spoke about his plans to get American troops out of Iraq. Here’s a little bit of what he had to say.

~~~

BARACK OBAMA, US PRESIDENT: I made it clear that by August 31, 2010, America’s combat mission in Iraq would end. And next month we will change our military mission from combat to supporting and training Iraqi security forces.

~~~

JAY: Now joining us to talk about his take on President Obama’s plans is Gareth Porter. He’s an investigative journalist and a historian, and written extensively on Iraq. He writes for IPS, and he’s a regular contributor to The Real News Network. Thanks for joining.

GARETH PORTER, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: Thank you, Paul.

JAY: So what’s wrong with that? President Obama said he’s going to get out, and he says again now he’s going to get out.

PORTER: Well, there are two problems. One is that, first of all, he had promised the American people a year and a half ago, 18 months ago, that he was going to withdraw all US combat brigades from Iraq by this date, that is, the end of August of this year. He didn’t say anything at all about that in his speech on Monday.

JAY: Now, was it the actual full withdrawal by the end of August, or by the end of 20-I mean of combat troops.

PORTER: He didn’t say a full withdrawal of troops; he said full withdrawal of combat troops, of combat brigades.

JAY: By the end of August 2010.

PORTER: At the end of August.

JAY: Okay. Let’s take a look at that clip.

~~~

OBAMA: I’ve chosen a timeline that will remove our combat brigades over the next 18 months. So let me say this as plainly as I can. By August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end.

~~~

JAY: So what’s the difference between what he said then and what he just said last week?

PORTER: Well, first of all, he’s not addressing the question of whether there are combat brigades or combat troops there now, and he’s admitted-essentially, he’s implicitly admitting that in fact he is not withdrawing combat brigades at all, that in fact what we have remaining is combat brigades, but that the combat mission itself has changed, is now ended, and that now the mission is being changed to advising, assisting the Iraqi forces. Now the problem with that is-again, that the way in which he defines a combat mission ending is very malleable. It’s politically manipulable. It doesn’t mean that they’re going to stop fighting. What I was told by a person who said this could be attributed to a senior administration official is that most of the fighting that will be done by US troops now, after August 31, it’ll be defensive military action. He didn’t say all of it would be defensive; he said that it would be mostly defensive.

JAY: And “defensive” can mean anything, ’cause if you’re out in the streets and someone attacks you, now you’re defensive.

PORTER: That’s right. They can still-

JAY: But not just mean attacking them in their bases.

PORTER: -they can still go out on patrols, knowing that going on patrols will be provoking a likely response if they’re going to a place where they know insurgents are located. So that distinction, you’re right, it’s not a very hard and fast distinction. But what he also said was something that people are not being told by the news media, much less by the administration itself, and that is that should the Iraqi government decide that it wants the United States to join in an offensive campaign, for example, against some insurgents, that the United States is going to be sympathetic to that request. So really it’s a matter of degree here. That’s all it is.

JAY: So they’re putting a new label on the troops. They still have all the same combat capacity. We’re just redefining this as not a combat mission. But they can still fight.

PORTER: Essentially they relabeled-.

JAY: What about the actual troop levels, though? Are they going to-I mean, is there not-he seems to have been committed to lowering, at the very least, the number of actual troops that are there.

PORTER: There are now roughly 70,000 troops-at least there were, at the end of last month, the beginning of this month, around 70,000 troops. They’re talking about reducing that to 50,000 by the end of this month. So it’s a significant last one-month reduction in troops [inaudible]

JAY: And weren’t they also committed to having all troops out, and not just combat, by, what is it, the end of 2011?

PORTER: They are in fact committed not just by a policy, but by the US-Iraq withdrawal agreement, which was signed in November 2008, to getting all US troops out of Iraq by the end of 2011. That’s now a treaty commitment, or at least a formal international commitment, if not a treaty.

JAY: Of course, unless Maliki, their guy, happens to say, well, you can stay longer.

PORTER: Well, that’s right. And of course we know that US military leaders have been saying, since even before that treaty or that agreement was signed in November 2008, they wanted to keep US troops there long, long beyond, way beyond 2011. We know that even after Obama was elected, the month of the signature of this agreement, November 2008, that General Odierno, the commander of US troops in Iraq, told Tom Ricks of the The Washington Post, when he was asked what kind of US military presence do you foresee in 2014-2015 (that’s four years after the supposed event of US military presence under the agreement), his answer was: I foresee, and what I would like to see, is 30,000, 35,000 US troops remaining, and that they would still be on combat mission.

JAY: Now, that may be what they want, but what the Iraqis want is something else. The Iraqi parliament more or less want-maybe a majority of the parliament wanted the US troops out yesterday. When you talk to most Iraqis, they want the US troops out yesterday.

PORTER: Absolutely. There’s no ambiguity about that.

JAY: They may not have a lot of choice, unless they want to face another full-scale insurrection again.

PORTER: There’s no ambiguity about it: public opinion in Iraq overwhelmingly in favor of complete exodus of US troops; the parliament absolutely committed to all US troops out by the end of 2011, if not before. So that’s clear. But what the US military clearly is hoping for is to use the bargaining position, bargaining power the United States has with al-Maliki, which is that he needs us to provide, you know, more weapons, particularly air force. He wants more air power from the United States. He’s already bought some air assets from the United States. He needs spare parts from the United States. And he needs his training for what he’s already gotten and what he hopes to get. So the US could use that bargaining position to try to get him to up the ante, to include not just a few trainers, not just continued spare parts and new weapons systems, but also some small, at least, combat contingent. I think that’s what they’re hoping is going to happen, that it’ll be done quietly enough so that, you know, the parliament will not be aware of it, or they’ll regard it as too small to care about, and that somehow we can have some sort of continued military presence, continued combat presence, even, after 2011. I have no doubt that they’re still hoping for that. They have not ruled it out. And if you look at the language that Obama himself used in his address on Monday, he did not say that all US troops are definitely coming out at the end of 2011; he said they are scheduled to come out at the end of 2011. That language is not chosen without a purpose.

JAY: So in terms of their long-term objectives in Iraq, then, I mean, number one, they have to make sure before they get out that there’s some kind of government there that’s going to remain in their sphere of influence. And even the al-Maliki government is very friendly with Iran, which is supposed to be the main bogeyman on the block. On the other hand, they’re stuck, in the sense that they can’t face another full-scale uprising against them. And if they-there’s a point here where they could be facing a united Sunni-Shiite resistance against them if they stay longer, especially past 2011. So how do they-what do they do here?

PORTER: I think that this represents a genuine, fundamental dilemma for the US military, because their absolute sort of intuitional instinct as military leaders is they want to stay with as many troops for as long as possible wherever they can, particularly when it’s an ambiguous situation, when they haven’t been able to declare complete victory and withdraw with drums and, you know, bugles blaring, which is what, of course, they would like ideally. But they want very badly to have a continued military presence. But at the same time, just as you’ve said, they face two problems. One, that government is-it’s not a pro-American government; it’s not a client government of the United States. That was revealed in 2008 when that government forced the United States to sign an agreement they did not want to sign, by any means, and further information or further evidence showing without any question that the Iranians have far more influence over that government than the United States does, in many, many ways.

JAY: So, the tactic seems to be delay getting out and see what happens.

PORTER: Exactly. I mean, they have no idea what they’re going to face a year from now, two years from now, three years from now, and yet they prefer to continue to press as much as possible, to use all the influence they can to try to keep as many troops as they can there [inaudible]

JAY: So can President Obama sell this to the American people? He made a promise to get out within a certain time period. So does the rebranding work? ‘Cause the American media seems to be buying it.

PORTER: Well, you know, I don’t know what Obama is thinking about this. He has not tipped his hand, except insofar as it’s keeping open that option. Presumably, he would only follow that option if he can say that it is in the context of being requested by the Iraqi government, and that this is an exceptional circumstance, and that we are keeping the peace. And could he manipulate the American public opinion insofar as it’s required to support that? Probably he can.

JAY: Well, given that he doesn’t have to worry about being attacked-on this issue, at least-by the Republicans, because the more war the better, it seems, for them. Thanks very much for joining us.

PORTER: Thank you.

JAY: And thank you for joining us on The Real News Network.

(4 pm. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

With the careful ruling by Judge Walker yesterday that Proposition 8 violates the 14th Amendment’s due precess and equal protection, the arguments to reverse Judge Walker had already started even before the decision was revealed. The defendants asked that the decision be immediately stayed if it did not go in their favor, which it didn’t. So, Judge Walker issued an immediate stay until this Friday, Aug 6, to give the defendants time to file for a permanent stay while the appeals process continues. Now, it will be up to the 9th Circuit Court to decide the stay and if the full court will hear the appeal.

Last night, Rachel Maddow had as her guests Dahlia Lithwick of Slate and the two lawyers who successfully challenged Prop 8, David Boies and Ted Olson.

First is Rachel with Dahlia. The video with Boies and Olson is below the fold, also links to other opinions and analysis on the ruling.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Dahlia Lithwick: http://www.slate.com/id/2262766/ A Brilliant Ruling

Joan Walsh: “We’ll be back!”

bmaz at FDL: BREAKING NEWS: Court Overturns Prop 8; Joy For Marriage Equality

Linda Hirshman: Proposition 8 ruling: Don’t pick the caterer just yet

Alex Pareene: The anti-gay right responds to the Prop 8 ruling

“Punting the Pundits“ is an Open Thread. It is a selection of editorials and opinions from around the news medium and the internet blogs. The intent is to provide a forum for your reactions and opinions, not just to the opinions presented, but to what ever you find important.

From the Editorial Board of the New York Times: Marriage Is a Constitutional Right

Until Wednesday, the thousands of same-sex couples who have married did so because a state judge or Legislature allowed them to. The nation’s most fundamental guarantees of freedom, set out in the Constitution, were not part of the equation. That has changed with the historic decision by a federal judge in California, Vaughn Walker, that said his state’s ban on same-sex marriage violated the 14th Amendment’s rights to equal protection and due process of law.

The decision, though an instant landmark in American legal history, is more than that. It also is a stirring and eloquently reasoned denunciation of all forms of irrational discrimination, the latest link in a chain of pathbreaking decisions that permitted interracial marriages and decriminalized gay sex between consenting adults.

As the case heads toward appeals at the circuit level and probably the Supreme Court, Judge Walker’s opinion will provide a firm legal foundation that will be difficult for appellate judges to assail.

E.J. Dionne Jr.: Is the GOP shedding a birthright?

Rather than shout, I’ll just ask the question in a civil way: Dear Republicans, do you really want to endanger your party’s greatest political legacy by turning the 14th Amendment to our Constitution into an excuse for election-year ugliness?

Honestly, I thought that our politics could not get worse, and suddenly there appears this attack on birthright citizenship and the introduction into popular use of the hideous term “anchor babies”: children whom illegal immigrants have for the alleged purpose of “anchoring” themselves to American rights and the welfare state.

John Gapper of the Financial Times: Keep the spies from our computers

The shift over the past two decades towards the use of e-mail, the internet and other technology – by both companies and individuals – has provided a potential trove of data for security services and governments. Were it not for barriers such as privacy laws, data encryption and companies’ scruples, the world would a far easier place for police and spies.

That is why the battle in the Gulf between the governments of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, and Research in Motion, the maker of the BlackBerry smartphone, is vital. If companies that store and transmit vast amounts of personal data do not provide protection against routine snooping, we can all wave goodbye to a large slice of our privacy.

snip

Due process has also been under pressure in the west since the terrorist attacks of September 2001. The US Patriot Act made it easier for agencies to make cable and telecoms companies provide customer data, and Yahoo is currently fighting an effort by US prosecutors to obtain e-mails without warrants.

There is, however, a big difference between inquiries into individuals approved by judges and routine scanning of data by agencies and the police. The rule of law is the best hope for innocent users of the internet and mobile phones to keep their civil liberties.

(emphasis mine)

David S. Broder The Senate, running on empty

Earlier this week, as the Senate went through the motions of debating Elena Kagan’s nomination to a Supreme Court seat that almost certainly will be hers, readers of the New Yorker could review journalist George Packer’s masterful article “The Empty Chamber“, tracing the decline and fall of that same Senate.

Packer shares with thousands of citizens across the country what every reporter who covers the Capitol knows: that the public disdain for Congress, measured in record-low approval scores in polls, is mirrored by the frustration of the members of both parties who have to serve and bear the scorn.

I heard that frustration over lunch one day last week from a conservative Republican senator with three years of seniority. He was bitterly disappointed that he did not find the collegial, challenging body that his predecessor had described to him — or the cross-party friendship that Vice President Biden had told him he once enjoyed in his travels with a Republican counterpart from the senator’s own state.

David Ignatius: Obama offers Iran an opening on engagement

President Obama put the issue of negotiating with Iran  firmly back on the table Wednesday in an unusual White House session with journalists. His message was that even as U.N. sanctions squeeze Tehran, he is leaving open a “pathway” for a peaceful settlement of the nuclear issue.

“It is very important to put before the Iranians a clear set of steps that we would consider sufficient to show that they are not pursuing nuclear weapons,” Obama said, adding: “They should know what they can say ‘yes’ to.” As in the past, he left open the possibility that the United States would accept a deal that allows Iran to maintain its civilian nuclear program, so long as Iran provides “confidence-building measures” to verify that it is not building a bomb.

Matt Miller: Lower the voting age to 10

What this country needs is a movement to lower the voting age to 10. Hear me out.

Wherever you look, from debt to schools to climate to pensions, the distinctive feature of American public life today is a shocking disregard for the future. Yes, politicians blather on about “our children and grandchildren” all the time — but when it comes to what they actually do, the future doesn’t have a vote. If you want to change people’s behavior, you need to change their incentives. It’s time to give politicians a reason not simply to praise children, but also to pander to them.

About 125 million Americans voted in the 2008 presidential election. There are about 35 million Americans ages 10 to 17. Giving them the vote would transform our political conversation. It would introduce the voice we’re sorely missing — a call to stewardship, of governing for the long run, via the kind of simple, “childlike” questions that never get asked today.

This is your morning Open Thread. Pour a cup of your favorite morning beverage and review the past and comment on the future.

On this day in 1957, American Bandstand goes national

Television, rock and roll and teenagers. In the late 1950s, when television and rock and roll were new and when the biggest generation in American history was just about to enter its teens, it took a bit of originality to see the potential power in this now-obvious combination. The man who saw that potential more clearly than any other was a 26-year-old native of upstate New York named Dick Clark, who transformed himself and a local Philadelphia television program into two of the most culturally significant forces of the early rock-and-roll era. His iconic show, American Bandstand, began broadcasting nationally on this day in 1957, beaming images of clean-cut, average teenagers dancing to the not-so-clean-cut Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” to 67 ABC affiliates across the nation.

The show that evolved into American Bandstand began on Philadephia’s WFIL-TV in 1952, a few years before the popular ascension of rock and roll. Hosted by local radio personality Bob Horn, the original Bandstand nevertheless established much of the basic format of its later incarnation. In the first year after Dick Clark took over as host in the summer of 1956, Bandstand remained a popular local hit, but it took Clark’s ambition to help it break out. When the ABC television network polled its affiliates in 1957 for suggestions to fill its 3:30 p.m. time slot, Clark pushed hard for Bandstand, which network executives picked up and scheduled for an August 5, 1957 premiere.

 642 – Battle of Maserfield – Penda of Mercia defeats and kills Oswald of Bernicia.

910 – The last major Viking army to raid England is defeated at the Battle of Tettenhall by the allied forces of Mercia and Wessex, led by King Edward and Earl Aethelred.

1100 – Henry I is crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey.

1305 – William Wallace, who led Scottish resistance to England, is captured by the English near Glasgow and transported to London where he is put on trial and executed.

1388 – Battle of Otterburn, a border skirmish between the Scottish and the English in Northern England.

1583 – Sir Humphrey Gilbert establishes first English colony in North America, at what is now St John’s, Newfoundland.

1600 – The Gowrie Conspiracy against King James VI of Scotland, later to become King James I of England.

1620 – The Mayflower departs from Southampton, England on its first attempt to reach North America.

1689 – 1,500 Iroquois attack the village of Lachine, in New France.

1735 – Freedom of the press: New York Weekly Journal writer John Peter Zenger is acquitted of seditious libel against the royal governor of New York, on the basis that what he had published was true.

1763 – Pontiac’s War: Battle of Bushy Run – British forces led by Henry Bouquet defeat Chief Pontiac’s Indians at Bushy Run.

1772 – The First Partition of Poland begins.

1858 – Cyrus West Field and others complete the first transatlantic telegraph cable after several unsuccessful attempts. It operated for less than a month.

1860 – Carl IV of Sweden-Norway is crowned king of Norway, in Trondheim.

1861 – American Civil War: In order to help pay for the war effort, the United States government levies the first income tax as part of the Revenue Act of 1861 (3% of all incomes over US $800; rescinded in 1872).

1861 – The United States Army abolishes flogging.

1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Baton Rouge – along the Mississippi River near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Confederate troops drive Union forces back into the city.

1864 – American Civil War: the Battle of Mobile Bay begins – at Mobile Bay near Mobile, Alabama, Admiral David Farragut leads a Union flotilla through Confederate defenses and seals one of the last major Southern ports.

1870 – Franco-Prussian War: the Battle of Spicheren is fought, resulting in a Prussian victory.

1874 – Japan launches its postal savings system, modeled after a similar system in the United Kingdom.

1882 – The Standard Oil of New Jersey is established.

1884 – The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty is laid on Bedloe’s Island in New York Harbor.

1888 – Bertha Benz drives from Mannheim to Pforzheim and back in the first long distance automobile trip, commemorated by Bertha Benz Memorial Route since 2008.

1901 – Peter O’Connor sets the first IAAF recognised long jump world record of 24ft 11¾ins. The record will stand for 20 years.

1914 – World War I: The German minelayer Königin Luise lay a minefield about 40 miles of the Thames Estuary (Lowestoft). She is intercepted and sunk by the British light-cruiser HMS Amphion.

1914 – In Cleveland, Ohio, the first electric traffic light is installed.

1925 – Plaid Cymru is formed with the aim of disseminating knowledge of the Welsh language that was at the time in danger of dying out.

1940 – World War II: The Soviet Union formally annexes Latvia.

1944 – World War II: possibly the biggest prison breakout in history occurs as 545 Japanese POWs attempt to escape outside the town of Cowra, NSW, Australia.

1944 – Holocaust: Polish insurgents liberate a German labor camp in Warsaw, freeing 348 Jewish prisoners.

1957 – American Bandstand, a show dedicated to the teenage “baby-boomers” by playing the songs and showing popular dances of the time, debuts on the ABC television network.

1960 – Burkina Faso, then known as Upper Volta, becomes independent from France.

1962 – Nelson Mandela is jailed. He would not be released until 1990.

1963 – The United States, United Kingdom, and Soviet Union sign a nuclear test ban treaty.

1964 – Vietnam War: Operation Pierce Arrow – American aircraft from carriers USS Ticonderoga and USS Constellation bomb North Vietnam in retaliation for strikes attacked U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin.

1969 – Mariner program: Mariner 7 makes its closest fly-by of Mars (3,524 kilometers).

1974 – Vietnam War: The U.S. Congress places a $1 billion dollar limit on military aid to South Vietnam.

1979 – In Afghanistan, Maoists undertake an attempted military uprising.

1981 – Ronald Reagan fires 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers who ignored his order for them to return to work.

1989 – General elections are held in Nicaragua with the Sandinista Front winning a majority.

1995 – The city of Knin, a significant Serb stronghold, is captured by Croatian forces during Operation Storm. The date is celebrated as the Victory Day (Croatia).

2003 – A car bomb explodes in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta outside the Marriott Hotel killing 12 and injuring 150.

(10 pm. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

I read with sorrow this evening that Dr. Harrison is closing his practice.  He is an excellent physician, and skilfully delivered my firstborn son in 1985.

Dr. Harrison has been in a bit of controversy, since he is the only OB to provide abortions in the northwest Arkansas area.  This man has guts.  The fundies are rejoicing.  I am mourning.

When the former Mrs. Translator and I visited his office in late 1984 and early 1985, he also practiced OB-GYN and delivered babies.  The costs of that became large afterwards, so he limited his practice to abortions.

By the way, Dr. Harrison is also a Kossack, but I have not seen any post from him in quite some time.  He is closing his practice because he has developed leukemia, and I regret that he is ill.  He was great with us.

When Eldest Son was delivered, Dr. Harrison displayed not only excellent surgical skills (as a double footling breach baby, Eldest Son might have not made it, let alone the former Mrs. Translator).  He skilfully opened her uterus and extracted him just before he became too blue from anoxia.

He allowed me into the OR at the hospital in Fayetteville, where he had privileges.  He also allowed me to use our Pentax 35 mm camera to snap excellent color shots of Eldest Son being brought into the world.  They really vacuum pack those little ones in there, and cover with a material that looks all the world like cream cheese, a natural lubricant for vaginal birth.

Dr. Harrison did such a good job at the Cesarean section that our next two children were born vaginally.  Lots of times the OB will weaken the uterine wall so much that all subsequent children have to be Cesarean as well, but not Dr. Harrison.  He did well.

My recollections about visiting his office whilst the former Mrs. Translator are vivid.  Anti abortion protesters were everywhere, one of them sort of famous in Fayetteville for being a crank and on probation for burglarizing a “head shop”, which were legal at the time there.  They shouted at us, waved signs at us talking about saving innocent lives, and all the other rot.

They were stupid!  Several of them were there for month after month, as as the former Mrs. Translator went from barely showing to full fledged ready to drop, they still taunted us about killing our baby.  Did they not ever think that if we had desired to do that only one visit would be needed?

No, they were stupid.  Even as she waddled (this is not in any way an insult to pregnant women, you know that walking changes as your get nearer the delivery time), the anti crowd would taunt us about being baby killers.  We never responded.

Looking back, I am glad that they did not follow us home to do harm to me, at least.  In those days there was a bit less violence, and Fayetteville was a really nice place to live at the time.

In any event, Eldest Son is now married to a extremely wonderful female.  He is just about to get a Master’s Degree in Zoology (he takes after his mum), and his wonderful wife is a medical professional.  Please join me in wishing them well, and also Dr. Harrison for making it all possible.

On the bright side, many folks his age (he is 74 now) die with leukemia, not from it.  He most likely has many years left.  My aunt had it as well, and lived for almost 20 years after diagnosis, but did feel tired lots of the time.

Please join me, again, in wishing this fellow Kossack well.

Warmest regards,

Doc

Crossposted at Dailykos.come and Thestarshollowgazette.com

Keith, Rachel, and the Boys, but you don’t have to watch news on my account though maybe you’ll want to.  Is Shark Week over yet?

I’m of mixed mind about The Assassins.  On the one hand it has Sylvester Stallone.  On the other hand it has Antonio Banderas.  Given the subtext about aging action hero studs you could find it interesting.

Or not.

• ESPN– White Sox @ Tigers
• FX– Next x 2
• Turner Classic– None But the Lonely Heart, Pinky.  Ethel Barrymore (Drew’s Great Aunt) night.

What?  You think I’m slighting Ghost Hunters?

Later-

Dave has Julia Roberts and The Dead Weather.  Jon has Bruce Henderson, Stephen Michael Posner.  Alton does espresso (too much caffine?  Why do you think that?)

• AMC– Rubicon repeats.
• Turner Classic– Rasputin and the Empress (John AND Ethel)
• FX– Motherfucking Snakes on a Motherfucking Plane (can I have some Ice Tea with that?)

Showdown at Cremation Creek.  This is HUGE.  If you ever hope to understand why David Bowie is The Sovereign of The Guild of Calamitous Intent you’ll examine every frame individually using your DVR and then watch it again at 5 am (hey, you’ll be up in time for Home Movies, Mets Fast Forward, and Monster Trucks).

Not that I would know anything about it.

Evening Edition is an Open Thread

1 Hope for Gulf as BP plugs well, most of the oil gone

by Matt Davis, AFP

1 hr 10 mins ago

2 BP begins crucial well ‘kill’ in Gulf of Mexico

by Matt Davis, AFP

Tue Aug 3, 6:28 pm ET

3 BP ‘plugs’ Gulf of Mexico oil well

by Matt Davis, AFP

Wed Aug 4, 7:20 am ET

4 US economy adds private jobs but at lackluster pace

by P. Parameswaran, AFP

Wed Aug 4, 1:03 pm ET

5 Ahmadinejad unhurt after motorcade explosion

by Hiedeh Farmani, AFP

Wed Aug 4, 10:19 am ET

6 Medvedev sacks officers over Russia fire failures

by Stuart Williams, AFP

29 mins ago

7 UAE decision to ban BlackBerry services ‘final’

by Ali Khalil, AFP

1 hr 16 mins ago

8 Kenyans vote on new constitution

by Francois Ausseill, AFP

Wed Aug 4, 9:07 am ET

9 Obama says "long battle" in Gulf close to end

By Deborah Zabarenko and Caren Bohan, Reuters

1 hr 19 mins ago

10 U.S. billionaires pledge fortunes to charity

By Michelle Nichols, Reuters

1 hr 48 mins ago

11 Work remains even with BP leak plugged, oil fading

By HARRY R. WEBER and GREG BLUESTEIN, Associated Press Writers

8 mins ago

12 GOP presses concerns on Kagan on confirmation eve

By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, Associated Press Writer

47 mins ago

13 Missouri vote puts health care back in crosshairs

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR and DAVID A. LIEB, Associated Press Writers

1 hr 5 mins ago

14 Jobs bill to stop teacher layoffs nears approval

By ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press Writer

38 mins ago

15 Iran says explosion near president just fireworks

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer

Wed Aug 4, 12:45 pm ET

16 Naomi Campbell to speak at Taylor war crimes case

By TOBY STERLING, Associated Press Writer

Wed Aug 4, 1:49 pm ET

17 Retail data: Americans remained cautious in July

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, AP Retail Writer

Wed Aug 4, 10:50 am ET

18 Wyclef bro: Haiti presidential bid ‘very serious’

By JONATHAN M. KATZ, Associated Press Writer

Wed Aug 4, 1:26 pm ET

19 Another incumbent down as Michigan Rep. loses

By LIZ “Sprinkles” SIDOTI, AP National Political Writer

Wed Aug 4, 9:40 am ET

20 Police: Gunman at beer warehouse targeted managers

By STEPHEN SINGER and JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN, Associated Press Writer

38 mins ago

21 China mostly silent on latest school attack; 4 die

By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN, Associated Press Writer

Wed Aug 4, 12:31 pm ET

22 AP Exclusive: USDA racial flap reconstructed

By JULIE PACE, Associated Press Writer

2 hrs 17 mins ago

23 Ginsburg anticipates being 1 of 3 female justices

By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press Writer

Wed Aug 4, 7:25 am ET

24 New BlackBerry is badly needed flagship for RIM

By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer

Tue Aug 3, 9:40 pm ET

25 Century-old tower marks Mayflower’s first landing

By BOB SALSBERG, Associated Press Writer

1 hr 51 mins ago

26 Travel industry courting ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ fans

By BETH J. HARPAZ, AP Travel Editor

2 hrs 7 mins ago

27 Ex-US prosecutor accuses UN chief of hiring bias

By JOHN HEILPRIN, Associated Press Writer

2 hrs 17 mins ago

28 Indonesia joins countries mulling BlackBerry ban

By NINIEK KARMINI, Associated Press Writer

Wed Aug 4, 1:09 pm ET

29 Scion xD still looking for attention

By ANN M. JOB, For The Associated Press

Wed Aug 4, 12:03 pm ET

30 On Time cover, Afghan woman symbolizes war stakes

By JENNIFER PELTZ, Associated Press Writer

Wed Aug 4, 3:19 am ET

31 Expert disputes trial testimony about Toyota crash

By AMY FORLITI, Associated Press Writer

Tue Aug 3, 9:03 pm ET

Proposition 8 has just been ruled unconstitutional by Federal Circuit Court Judge Vaughn Walker:

“Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license.”

Ruling enjoins enforcement of California’s Proposition 8.

(10 am. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

When Barack Obama gave the OK to assassinate an American citizen, Imam Anwar al-Awlaki, who was deemed a terrorist without due process, his father, Nasser al-Awlaki, retained the ACLU and the Center for Constitutional Rights to to seek a federal court order restraining the Obama administration from killing his son without due process of law. But guess what, the Treasury Department has a regulation that prohibits any American from “engaging in transactions” with individuals labeled by the Government as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist”, including lawyers. The lawyer would have to seek a special “license” to represent such a client.

Up Date: Rep. Dennis Kucinich has announced that he will introduce a bill in the House to prevent anyone, including the President, from targeting American citizens for assassination.

The bill states that “No one, including the President, may instruct a person acting within the scope of employment with the United States Government or an agent acting on behalf of the United States Government to engage in, or conspire to engage in, the extrajudicial killing of a United States citizen.” It adds: “the authority granted to the President in the Authorization for Use of Military Force… following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is not limitless.”

The bill would require the president to submit to the Intelligence Committees a report “on the identity of each United States citizen that is on the list of the Joint Special Operations Command or the Central Intelligence Agency as `high value individuals’ or `high value targets’.”

h/t to Jeremy Scahill at The Nation for his excellent article

The rest from  Glen Greenwald:

On July 16 — roughly two weeks after Awlaki’s father retained the ACLU and CCR to file suit — the Treasury Department slapped that label on Awlaki.  That action would have made it a criminal offense  for those organizations to file suit on behalf of Awlaki or otherwise provide legal representation to him without express permission from the U.S. Government.  On July 23, the two groups submitted a request for such a license with the Treasury Department, and when doing so, conveyed the extreme time-urgency involved:  namely, that there is an ongoing governmental effort to kill Awlaki and any delay in granting this “license” could cause him to be killed without these claims being heard by a court.  Despite that, the Treasury Department failed even to respond to the request.

Left with no choice, the ACLU and CCR this morning filed a lawsuit on their own behalf against Timothy Geithner and the Treasury Department.  The suit argues that Treasury has no statutory authority under the law it invokes — The International Emergency Economic Powers Act  — to bar American lawyers from representing American citizens on an uncompensated basis.  It further argues what ought to be a completely uncontroversial point:  that even if Congress had vested Treasury with this authority, it is blatantly unconstitutional to deny American citizens the right to have a lawyer, and to deny American lawyers the right to represent clients, without first obtaining a permission slip from Executive Branch officials (the Complaint is here).  As the ACLU/CCR Brief puts it:  

“The notion that the government can compel a citizen to seek its permission before challenging the constitutionality of its actions in court is wholly foreign to our constitutional system” and “[a]s non-profit organizations dedicated to protecting civil liberties and human rights, Plaintiffs have a First Amendment right to represent clients in litigation consistent with their organizational missions.”  The Brief also argues that it is a violation of Separation of Powers to allow the Executive Branch to determine in its sole discretion who can and cannot appear in and have access to a federal court.

As of just a few minutes ago from Glen’s Tweets

Treasury just granted the license to ACLU/CCR to represent Awlaki. They’ll still try to challenge the legality of the licensing requirement

If I wanted more off Bush’s policies that trashed the Constitution and he Rule of Law, I would have voted McCain and Palin. Disgusting