Random News & Views Roundup

- Another indicted Republican: The DNC says it looks like Kentucky's Republican governor should have pardoned himself.

- Howard Dean screwed up the Dem's 2004 platform on gay marriage when he appeared on the 700 Club. (What was he doing there in the first place?)

- Americans can now thank Qwest online for not giving up their personal phone records to Bushco. (h/t to Crooks and Liars)

- Just how soon will attacks against Iran come to a teevee screen near you? Raw Story has some hints.

- In the meantime:

Today more than 200 scholars, academics, commentators, and former U.S. government officials issued a strong condemnation of the threat of U.S. military action against Iran and called on the Bush administration to enter into face-to-face negotiations with the government in Tehran.

Isn't this all sounding very familiar?

- Cool mirage off a Chinese shore. Check it out.

- Harper on Darfur: whoops

- Solberg thinks Canada has to cut down on the number of immigrants, but he has no clue what the revised number would actually be. Was this 'clueless in Ottawa' week? (rhetorical question)

- CIA extraordinary rendition in Italy: The Italian government says it wasn't involved. Well, it's not like they'd admit it of they were.

Spataro, the Milan prosecutor, has issued arrest warrants against 22 CIA agents he believes were involved in the operation. But last month, the Italian justice minister said he would not forward to the United States an extradition request for the agents.

Milan prosecutors want to put the agents on trial. Spataro has said he would ask the incoming center-left government of Romano Prodi to forward his request to Washington.

- Foreign intellectuals take note: Uncle Sam Doesn't Want You. America - closing its doors to great minds everywhere.

- Leaky Conservatives

OTTAWA (CP) - Conservatives bent on killing the federal long-gun registry are wielding a leaked report by Auditor General Sheila Fraser as the latest weapon to advance their cause.

But gun control advocates fought back Thursday, insisting that even if the controversial registry has been plagued by cost overruns in the past, that's not an argument for abolishing it now.

They can complain about the Liberal's "billion dollar boondoggle" all they want but they sure aren't the party to talk since they just gave away $1 billion to American lumber companies in the softwood deal.