This is an interesting first hand account of the day after Pinochet died from the Santiago Times.
By 12 a.m. on Sunday night the streets of Santiago were calm and empty, save for smoldering bonfires illuminating the shattered glass of broken shop windows. Isolated acts of mindless violence occurred in downtown Santiago as the crowd of anti-Pinochetistas dispersed, marring the largely peaceful celebrations…
CIA assisted, Chilean ex-dictator dies. His legacy has come to haunt international courts and polarize Chilean politics since he left office in 1990. In October of 1998 he was arrested in London, but it wasn’t until March of 2000 that the court concluded he would not be extradited to Spain where he was set to face charges. Finally, in May of 2004 the Chilean Supreme Court ruled that Pinochet was capable of standing trial and would stand trial for human rights abuses. Here are two obituaries of Pinochet I found interesting. First is the UK Guardian obituary, and second is Al Jazeera’s obituary on Pinochet.
It seems only fair at the outset to give Gates the benefit of the doubt. He could conceivably whittle away some of the influence Cheney has enjoyed over the past six years—the need for a fresh approach to Iraq being so obvious and urgent. At very least, Gates can hardly match the disaster Rumsfeld wrought with his fancy language and fanciful ideas; but this amounts to damning with faint praise. Unless Gates’ years outside the Beltway have wrought major behavioral change, it is highly likely that in the end he will bend obediently to the wishes of Cheney and Bush. Those close to Gates now say he has been privately critical of the way the war has been conducted. But he is the consummate chameleon, with an extraordinary capability to change colors quickly in adapting to a new environment….” Ray McGovern headed the CIA’s Soviet Foreign Policy branch, which is where Gates began his work in the CIA. McGovern’s article on the Gates change.
“Iran-Contra, Redux: Once More Into the Breach of Trust:
It comes down to this: a small, gray man of almost eerily symmetrical features, his face schooled into an expression of rigorous blandness, looking up at the red-draped dais of his inquisitors. In a resting state his lips seem slightly pursed, as though he balances an ice cube on the tip of his tongue…” Robert Gates and Iran
The November midterm elections have created a significant change in government. Both parties have started to shift strategies, trying to find political stability in this new environment. This week I thought you might like to know a little about the background about all the new names being thrown around. The Quickie this week (the top post of each topic) has bios on some of the people I will be watching out for.
The first big change was the resignation of Rumsfeld and subsequent announcement that Bush was appointing Robert Gates as the new Secretary of Defense. His long history of government service is documented in this short biography of Gates on the Texas A&M website where he served as the 22nd president. Of course there is also the Wikipedia on Gates. Finally, The New York Times posits its own interpretation of Gates previous CIA experience.
Expect more updates, Robert Gates is just the beginning!
“I told Congresswoman Pelosi that I looked forward to working with her and her colleagues to find common ground in the next two years.
And in my first act of bipartisan outreach since the election, I shared with her the names of some Republican interior decorators…
(LAUGHTER)
… who can help her pick out the new drapes in her new offices.”
Full Text of President Bush’s News Conference on November 8th, 2006
“That’s the whole purpose of engaging taxi drivers and educating our community: to get out and to vote and to support even those who are not citizens yet to learn the process. Democracy is not only a piece of paper. You have to participate. You have to do it. And those becoming citizens come the next election, they will go and vote, as well as volunteer for the campaign,” - Abdulaziz Kamus
A plan to help the elderly and newly registered immigrants vote
Vice President Dick Cheney will spend Election Day hunting in South Dakota, his press secretary said Sunday.
It will be Cheney’s first hunting trip since February, when he accidentally shot a hunting companion while attempting to fire at a covey of quail on a private ranch in Texas.
…Whittington, then 78, suffered a mild heart attack when bird shot migrated to his heart muscle. He was released after six days in the hospital.
Nothing Like The Smell of Burnt Flesh in November
