Daily Archives: April 28, 2007

Open thread

April 28, 20071:04 a.m.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Open thread | Comments (15)

It must depend on the definition of ‘candid’

April 28, 20071:02 a.m.

“Something’s got to give” is the sentiment around Washington, columnist David Ignatius wrote. He quoted one Republican senator who said, “This is the most incompetent White House I’ve seen since I came to Washington.”
President Bush’s summation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ recent testimony as a “very candid assessment” had to make even his most loyal followers cringe. The stubbornness exhibited by Bush appears to be exasperating government officials and lawmakers, no matter what their party affiliation.
Posted by Patrice Hein

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under President Bush | Comments (15)

Diplomacy is better late than never

April 28, 20071:01 a.m.

Egypt will be hosting a meeting on Iraq next week. The topic of discussion: how to end the violence. High-level representatives from Syria, Turkey and the United States are planning to attend. According to a Reuters report, Iran has not yet decided whether Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki will participate.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who attended the first Iraq neighbors’ conference in March, said, “We’ll have a chance to, in a sense, test the proposition that Iraq’s neighbors have more to lose from an unstable Iraq than to gain from it.”
The summit will also be a test of the Bush administration’s interest in diplomacy.
Posted by Patrice Hein

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Foreign affairs | Comments (12)

911 only works when dialed

April 28, 20071:00 a.m.

Kids know how to call 911 in case of emergency. But some area adults apparently don’t — or won’t. Two recent Eagle stories have shown what can happen when nobody calls for help: They can get stabbed (trying to break up a fight). Or they can lose their lives or property (if they ignore a wailing smoke detector).
“When people see disturbances at these parties,” Sgt. Steve Yarberry told The Eagle, “call 911 and let us handle it.”
And “if you smell smoke in your house, call 911,” said Fire Marshal Ed Bricknell.
Let’s hope the reluctance to call in fights is an aberration and not some local manifestation of what Anderson Cooper reported on Sunday on “60 Minutes” — the hip-hop “Stop snitchin’” code that effectively means, “don’t cooperate with the police, no matter who you are.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Crime | Comments (14)