Judge critical of Guantanamo war crimes case dismissed

A judge hearing a war crimes case at Guantanamo Bay who publicly expressed frustration with military prosecutors’ refusal to give evidence to the defense has been dismissed, tribunal officials confirmed Friday. LA Times

Rice defends Bush policy on Iran as ’successful’, said same about Iraq in 2001

“‘I think this is called a successful multilateral coalition of states that have the same view’ that Iran should be rewarded for its cooperation or isolated for its defiance, Rice said.

She added: ‘I would like to see what other options there are for the international community, given that this policy is one that I think is the best course for us.’”AFP

This can only mean one thing: because everything is working, there needs to be war.

Why? Because she said the same about Iraq:

The Third Reich and microphones

I live in Germany and am shopping for a speech microphone for my Podcast at DorfRadio.com. While researching which one to get (Neumann are the best for what I try to do, but they are also the most expensive) I came across this really interesting NPR piece on a couple who’s building cheap microphones based on famous, usually expensive, microphones.

Almost in passing they explain how the Third Reich used newly created microphones to give guys like Hitler and Göring the ability to broadcast better sounding speeches than had been heard on radio before. Everything the couple knows they learned from the guy who built them.

The technology was then adapted and used by Frank Sinatra and the Beatles. Funny how that sometimes works.

If you want to listen to it, you can find it here: link

US postpones first Guantanamo war crimes trial

A military judge on Friday postponed the first war crimes tribunal at Guantanamo Bay, saying he wants to wait until the Supreme Court makes its highly anticipated ruling on the right of detainees to challenge their confinement in civil courts.

Navy Capt. Keith Allred ruled the trial for Osama bin Laden’s former driver should be delayed seven weeks, until July 21, in case the Supreme Court ruling affects his case. He scheduled pretrial hearings to begin a week earlier.

A Supreme Court ruling is expected by June 30.”AP

And of course it’s only a mere coincidence that after witnesses attested the timing of the trials was political in nature, they will now postponed and occur even closer to the US election in November. Mere coincidence, I tell you.

US lists polar bear as threatened

Finally!

The United States has listed the polar bear as a threatened species, because its Arctic sea ice habitat is melting due to climate change.

But even though a Supreme Court ruling said it should:

(…) However, the government stressed the listing would not lead to measures to prevent global warming.” BBC