it begins (a few months earlier than one would expect...)

In an interestingly specific press conference Sunday Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said newly acquired information points to five potential Al Qaeda targets: the International Monetary Fund and World Bank headquarters in Washington; the New York Stock Exchange and Citigroup Center in New York; and the Prudential Financial building in Newark. Apparently, intelligence shows that al Qaeda has been methodically casing those buildings, and perhaps others, since well before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center, and also since then. Authorities said they do not know when the operatives were planning to carry out any of the bombings.

The surveillance, detailed in newly obtained documents, included the location of security desks and cameras in the buildings; traffic and pedestrian patterns surrounding them; employee and vehicle routines; the locations of nearby fire departments, police stations, libraries and schools; and what kinds of explosives would do the most damage to the structures.

I would love to applaud the work of the FBI, yadda yadda… But I can’t help but ponder suspiciously the idea that someone is setting up a situation to scare people into voting for Bush, or even to further the idea of “postponing elections.” I would like to have a little more faith in the FBI so I am going to stop short of inferring that this is leading to the “October Surprise” that many of us “accursed liberals” have been alluding to.

So yeah… first and foremost I think everyone should stop by Salon.com (as always). We are pushing for sanctions and a removal of the government in Sudan due to the genocide there… yet in all the UN meetings I have caught I have yet to hear anyone refer to it as genocide… I need to get transcripts.

Um… Headlines:

Blasts Target Christian Churches in 2 Iraqi Cities

Kerry Pledges Iraq Troop Cut Within Four Years

Convention Oratory, Increasingly Shoved Aside

Plan to Ease Voter Registration For Spanish Speakers Stalled

Powell Gave Statement to Grand Jury

Kerry's Sister Angers Abortion Foes

I am working on getting through the 911 Commission Report right now… I am sure I will end up posting excerpts whenever I find anything compelling, so sit tight… oh, and send me an email if you need to get your hands on the book, I think I can get my hands on it pretty cheap.

Alright, I’m off, for now.