wednesday reads

Bush Lawyers Discussed Fate of C.I.A.Tapes

At least four top White House lawyers took part in discussions with the Central Intelligence Agency between 2003 and 2005 about whether to destroy videotapes showing the secret interrogations of two operatives from Al Qaeda, according to current and former administration and intelligence officials.

The accounts indicate that the involvement of White House officials in the discussions before the destruction of the tapes in November 2005 was more extensive than Bush administration officials have acknowledged.

Those who took part, the officials said, included Alberto R. Gonzales, who served as White House counsel until early 2005; David S. Addington, who was the counsel to Vice President Dick Cheney and is now his chief of staff; John B. Bellinger III, who until January 2005 was the senior lawyer at the National Security Council; and Harriet E. Miers, who succeeded Mr. Gonzales as White House counsel.

Firedoglake: Disappeared Into Secret Pakistani and US Prisons


A white separatist group planning a Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in Jena is suing the town, claiming officials are violating the Constitution by asking participants not to bring firearms, changing the parade route by one block and requiring the posting of a bond.


Turkish troops crossed into northern Iraq in pursuit of Kurdish guerrillas yesterday, as the US warned against any action that could further destabilise the region.


David Byrne and Thom Yorke on the Real Value of Music and
David Byrne's Survival Strategies for Emerging Artists — and Megastars


Quote of the Day: "After 10 full years inside the GOP, 90 days among honest criminals wasn't really any great ordeal."


In a case that could affect passengers delayed on planes at airports nationwide, an industry trade group is challenging New York's law requiring airlines to provide food, water, clean toilets and fresh air to passengers stuck on the ground for more than three hours.


What do you get when the Beatles cover Led Zeppelin?
The Beatnix - "Stairway to Heaven"


Found this video over here