Angels From The Sea: The Soft Power of The United States

Today the Washington Post reports on another example of the Bush administration’s disastrous response to Hurricane Katrina. While Katrina victims suffered the Bush administration failed to make use of the massive outpouring of aid from foreign countries:

As the winds and water of Hurricane Katrina were receding, presidential confidante Karen Hughes sent a cable from her State [...]

George Tenet Slams The President

George Tenet is pissed. His reputation has been soiled. The Medal of Freedom is weighing on him.
Tenet complains to CBS:

A former U.S. spy chief accused President Bush’s administration of ruining his reputation by misusing a "slam dunk" comment he made during a White House meeting ahead of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Former CIA Director George [...]

Breaking: Military Government Losing Ground In Bangladesh

[Via Drishtipat]
The military government in Bangladesh has given up trying to exile two former prime ministers due to pressure from within the country and from the international community.
There is breaking news from bdnews24.com and the Daily Star from Bangladesh:

Dhaka, April 25 (bdnews24.com) – The military-backed government Wednesday lifted the ban on Sheikh Hasina’s homecoming and said [...]

Watch This Space

Fighting Back Against The Army In Bangladesh

The military in Bangladesh has suffered a setback in its systematic plan to dismantle democracy in what was the world’s 5th most populous democracy. There have been a number of fast breaking developments in the last 48 hours. Early yesterday the military was poised to forcibly send one former prime minister, Khaleda Zia, into exile while [...]

An Appeal To Senator Edward Kennedy

[Cross posted from the Daily Kos. I sent the following letter to Senator Kennedy last night. I sent similar letters to Senators John Warner and Jim Webb, and Congressman Frank Wolf of Virginia.]

Dear Senator Kennedy,
A few months ago I wrote a diary on the Daily Kos thanking you for coming to the aid of the [...]

Breaking: Bangladeshi Former PM Sheikh Hasina Prevented From Flying Back To Bangladesh

From BBC News:

Bangladesh’s ex-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been prevented from boarding a flight home from London after the Dhaka government barred her return.
The military-backed interim government has asked all international airlines not to carry her.
It says she will be arrested over the deaths of four protesters during a riot last October if she [...]

Breaking: Bangladesh Military Forcibly Expelling Ex-Prime Minister

At this moment, according to sources from Bangladesh, the immediate past prime minister of Bangladesh, Khaleda Zia, is being forcibly expelled from Bangladesh by the military. News reports from Bangladesh suggest that reporters are amassed at the international airport in Dhaka awaiting the former prime minister. Sources from Bangladesh tell me that three cars with tinted [...]

The Fix Is In: Thuggery In Bangladesh

Overnight the new military rulers of Bangladesh took decisive steps to consolidate their hold on power. On the heels of charging the former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, with murder, the military declared today that she will not be allowed into the country.
In a official press note barring Hasina from returning to Bangladesh from the [...]

Subhuman

[Via mcjoan]
In the aftermath of the tragedy at Virginia Tech, some have revealed themselves to be subhuman.
There is this from John Derbyshire at the National Review:

As NRO’s designated chickenhawk, let me be the one to ask: Where was the spirit of self-defense here? Setting aside the ludicrous campus ban on licensed conceals, why didn’t anyone [...]