The search for a brain goes on...

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Bush To Undergo Colonoscopy; Cheney To Assume Presidential Authority


President Bush will undergo a medical procedure tomorrow that will require him to temporarily transfer his presidential authority to Vice President Dick Cheney.

White House press secretary Tony Snow delivered the news that Bush was having a colonoscopy in his noon press briefing. The procedure, which involves a snake-like probe of the large bowel through the rectum, requires sedation and can last up to an hour. Regular colonoscopies to check for signs of colon cancer are recommended for men and women over age 50 every five years.

Sedation?! What a wuss. I had a colonoscopy a few years back and there was no question of sedation.

You do need to have a good clear-out beforehand though, accomplished by strong laxatives and a 24 hour fast, so at least there will be one day in George Bush's life when he isn't completely full of crap.


Lords a'Leaping

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No charges on 'cash for honours'
Four people were arrested - including two of Tony Blair's aides - during inquiries into whether honours were sold and whether a cover-up followed.

Police interviewed 136 people, including former prime minister Tony Blair. All denied any wrongdoing. SNP MP Angus MacNeil, whose complaint prompted the investigation, said the outcome was "quite extraordinary". BBC political editor Nick Robinson says Scotland Yard is preparing to make a public defence of its officers.

Funding Facts: (Via Guido)

* 80% of Labour's election funding came from the covert Loans for Lordship program.
* Every donor who has given the party more than £1 million has been given a knighthood or a peerage.
* Three quarters of those individuals who have given more than £50,000 to the Labour Party since 2001 have received an honour.

This was John McTernan, Blair's Director of political operations, who helped draw up names for honours, on Newsnight:






Didn't they do well?

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America is just starting to wake up to the awesome scale of its Iraq disaster
"The revitalising of militant Islamism and enhancement of the international appeal of the al-Qaida brand; the eruption for the first time in modern history of internecine war between Sunni and Shia ... the alienation of most sectors of Turkish politics from the west, and the stimulation of authoritarian nationalism there; the strengthening of a nuclear-hungry Iran; and a new regional rivalry, pitting the Islamic Republic of Iran and its allies, including Syria, Hizbullah and Hamas, against Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan."



Calling the Dirty Digger

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Blair and Murdoch spoke days before Iraq war
Tony Blair spoke to the media mogul Rupert Murdoch three times in the 10 days before the outbreak of the Iraq war - once on the eve of the US-led invasion - it was disclosed yesterday. The telephone conversations were among six calls between the two men detailed by the cabinet office in response to a freedom of information request by the Liberal Democrat peer Lord Avebury. The information was released the day after Mr Blair handed over power to Gordon Brown last month, following a three and a half year battle by the Lib Dem peer. Lord Avebury waited until yesterday to publicise the information.

More bloody repeats!

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The J-Walk Blog: Bin Laden Video Is A Rerun
A videotape that was heralded as "new" footage of Osama bin Laden by many quarters of the press has been conclusively proven to be more than 5 year old re-released footage, leading to questions about why the government and the media continue to act as willing propagandists for the terrorists while striking fear into Americans by claiming an attack is inevitable...In reality, the tape was being released for the third consecutive time, having first popped up in 2002 before re-airing again in 2003. The footage of Bin Laden was filmed six years ago in October 2001.