You Want Lies With That, Mister?

so, let's see here. blackwater mercenaries gun down something like 16 unarmed iraqis, get backed by the bush administration who claim it was defensive fire, then they get investigated by the FBI and the FBI finds that blackwater mercenaries actually did kill innocent iraqis and it passes the benchmark into murder. hmm, sounds like blackwater is in the shit, right? done and done. no more free handouts, bad doggie, no bisquit.
but, oops. just the other day comes this:

"Presidential Airways, Inc., an aviation Worldwide Services company (d/b/a Blackwater Aviation), Moyock, N.C., is being awarded an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) type contract for $92,000,000.00. The contractor is to provide all fixed-wing aircraft, personnel, equipment, tools, material, maintenance and supervision necessary to perform passenger, cargo and combi Short Take-Off and Landing air transportation services between locations in the Area of Responsibility of Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan. This contract was competitively procured and two timely offers were received. The performance period is from 1 Oct. 2007 to 30 September 2011. "

Presidential Airways is the aviation wing of blackwater. so, blackwater is under investigation for, well, murder and it is still receiving contracts to operate in, huh, countries other than iraq, but still either border iraq or are in the general area.
and, then, there's this:
"During today’s House Oversight Committee hearing on the performance of State Department Inspector General Howard Krongard, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) revealed that Krongard’s brother — former CIA Executive Director A.B. “Buzzy” Krongard — sits on Blackwater USA’s board. Krongard vehemently denied the allegation, calling it an “ugly rumor”..."
what the fuck...

Hey Chinese Subs: La La La, We Can't Hear You!

The uninvited guest: Chinese sub pops up in middle of U.S. Navy exercise, leaving military chiefs red-faced
When the U.S. Navy deploys a battle fleet on exercises, it takes the security of its aircraft carriers very seriously indeed.
At least a dozen warships provide a physical guard while the technical wizardry of the world's only military superpower offers an invisible shield to detect and deter any intruders.
That is the theory. Or, rather, was the theory.
(good thing we're the world's only superpower and our ability to detect really, really big machines with really, really big bombs is as good as our ability to detect toothpaste tubes weighing more 3.5 ounces at airports)

Bush's bishops: Exit Iraq now
President Bush’s church, long at odds with him on matters of public policy, called on the United States and its partners today to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq immediately.
(i was born, baptised and raised a methodist and have never been very comfortable with the national leaning towards conservatism. christ was a radical, condemned by almost all, so it should be that a church who claims to follow his teachings should truly follow it and not fear the label. yet, mostly, this church has. so, it's nice to read that it is breaking with some of its old blindness)