I'd like to thank all the democrats in the US who voted in drove to combat the excesses of an out of control White House. Your victory in these mid terms elections is only the beginning. The true hard work starts now in finding ways to defuse many of your president's falsehoods that have driven your country to ugly contradictions and behavior. Defusing these presidential constructs will be like defusing live bombs. Your representatives will need firm and steady hands and will need some patience, and nerves of steel. Finding the best exit policy our of Iraq will lead to finding which are the red or green wires of the exploding device set up by the president and his acolytes, those wires leading to a massive construct in which the true reasons of the war will become dangerously exposed. In some way, those who believe that the mess in Iraq was not foreseen by the White House are too naive. There are very intelligent people there, but they are also very greedy, though careless. The grand prize carefully disguised with the bumbling routine of George W Bush and the carefully crafted press secretary theatre is OIL. There are many hidden players in the woods, some are multinational companies some are whole countries, like Saudi Arabia. Cut the wrong wire and the bomb explodes... Remove one wrong card from the stack and the stack collapses... The "stuff happens" mess in Iraq has only been a tragic side-show to the powerful undercurrents of greed for massive profits and control. Beware. tread carefully, the pathways have been booby-trapped by the White House.
But I did not have to tell you all this, did I?... You know that.

From our ABCBush to meet Iraq Study Group for war recommendations
As talks continue in Washington between US President George W Bush and the newly resurgent Democrats, there are further signs of a shift in policy on Iraq.

The White House has announced that early next week Mr Bush will meet members of the Iraq Study Group, which has been drawing up recommendations for ending the conflict.

Opposition to the war in Iraq is seen as a major reason for the Republicans' poor showing in this week's mid-term elections, which saw the Democrats take control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

A day after lunching with top House of Representatives Democrat Nancy Pelosi, Mr Bush met her Senate counterpart Harry Reid and senior Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, who will control the upper chamber when the new Congress convenes in January.

After meeting the Democrat Senate leaders, Mr Bush said there was a chance to show the country both parties could work together.

"There is a great opportunity for us to show the country that Republicans and Democrats are equally as patriotic and equally concerned about the future and that we can work together," he said.

From Al Jazeera

Scores killed in Iraq violence

Saturday 11 November 2006, 6:12 Makka Time, 3:12 GMT

About 100 Iraqis die in violence each day in different zones

At least 59 Iraqi [http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/72AF48A6-2C25-46D7-A61A-F69B2B4016FA.htm|civilians] were killed or found dead on Friday in a conflict that increasingly moves towards all-out civil war.
In one of the day's bloodiest incidents, a suicide bomber in an explosives-rigged car killed six Iraqi soldiers he had lured from behind a checkpoint, just hours after Iraq's army said it captured the Egyptian leader of an al-Qaeda in Iraq cell in Anbar province, an anti-government stronghold.
On the same day, the US military announced the deaths of five more service members in the 44-month-old conflict that has grown increasingly unpopular at home.
Friday's civilian death toll was little changed from previous days. The UN estimates about 100 Iraqis die in violence each day, while Iraq's health minister on Thursday estimated 150,000 civilians had been killed in the war - about three times previously accepted estimates of 45,000-50,000.
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Gus: Rummy and Condi, and a host of other warfathers, George, Wolfie, Cheney, etc have engineered this tragic chain of events... The former Premier of NSW was in good form last night on Lateline with [http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2006/s1786146.htm|Maxine] on this subject, but then lost the plot on the big nuclear issue...

From the Guardian

Uncle Sam no longer big in Asia

Simon Tisdall
Tuesday November 14, 2006
Guardian Unlimited

As a young man [http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1947690,00.html|he was less than keen] to go to Vietnam, but after his mid-term "thumping" George Bush may welcome the chance to hole up in Hanoi at this Friday's 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit. Vietnam is a one-party state. After last week, the US no longer is.

read more at the Guardian

From the ABC

Burrito isn't a sandwich, judge rules
A United States judge in the state of Massachusetts has settled a legal food fight by ruling that a burrito is not a sandwich.

Bakery-cafe restaurant chain Panera Bread has been trying to keep competitor Qdoba Mexican Grill from opening a new restaurant in a shopping mall where Panera was already doing business.

In a lawsuit filed earlier this year, Panera had cited an exclusivity clause in its lease agreement that prevented the shopping mall from renting space to any restaurant or bakery that derived more than 10 per cent of its sales from sandwiches.

Shopping mall owner White City Shopping Centre countered that Qdoba is not in the business of selling sandwiches but rather burritos, tacos, nachos and enchiladas.

In deciding the case, Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Locke found the meat of his ruling in the dictionary definition of the word 'sandwich'.

Judge Locke says the New Webster Third International Dictionary's definition of sandwich, "two thin pieces of bread, usually buttered, with a thin layer (as of meat, cheese, or savoury mixture) spread between them", indicates there is no reason to keep White City from renting to Qdoba.

"Under this definition and as dictated by common sense, this court finds the term 'sandwich' is not commonly understood to include burritos, tacos, and quesadillas, which are typically made with a single tortilla and stuffed with a choice filling of meat, rice, and beans," the judge said.

Neither Panera nor Qdoba's corporate parent, Jack in the Box have responded to requests seeking comment. AFP

Iraqis give mixed reaction to US status report

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki says he has received a copy of the Iraq Study Group report on US strategy in his country and agreed with some of the main conclusions.

But the report's call for US President George W Bush to reduce US support to Iraq if Baghdad fails to improve security has drawn a sour response from Iraqi politicians, who say Washington has an obligation to back their government.

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Gus: see cartoon at the head of this line of blogs...