Nearly 20,000 people were in Iraqi-run prisons, detention camps, police stations and other holding cells as of the end of March, according to a U.N. report issued last month, an increase of more than 3,500 from the end of January. The U.S. military said late last week that it was holding about 19,500 detainees, up more than 3,000 since the U.S. and Iraqi governments began implementing the security plan in mid-February.

Back to Tom Ricks' book Fiasco again, this is one of the things that caused such a god-awful mess in 2003-4 that got us where we are now.

At this point, I'm sold. The "surge" is going to make Iraq into an even worse bloodbath for us than it was before and guarantees, we will not have a stable, allied Iraq anytime soon, and probably not ever. Getting out by next spring/summer won't do it. If we simply picked everything up right now and got the hell out of Dodge in the middle of the night like the Colts leaving Baltimore, we'd be better off.

New Detainees Strain Iraq's Jails - washingtonpost.com

"With two carrier strike groups in the Gulf, we're sending clear messages to friends and adversaries alike," said Cheney on a visit to the John C. Stennis aircraft carrier off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, a close U.S. ally.

Yes, we're saying, "look how incredibly stupid we are to put all of these huge boats in this little tiny bathtub for you to send zodiac suicide bomb boats and launch silkworm missiles at if we even twitch!"

Cheney warns Iran, assures allies on Gulf visit�|�Politics News�|�Reuters.com

"The surge needs to go through the beginning of next year for sure," said Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the day-to-day commander for U.S. military operations in Iraq.

General Odierno is the former head of the 4th Infantry, and appropriately blasted for the actions of his command. If he's in charge of the ops Petraeus is writing, there is no way in hell the "surge" will do anything but make things even worse.

Petraeus is the right guy to run the show there but is probably too late. With Odierno behind him, he's screwed, and so are we.

Commanders in Iraq See 'Surge' Into '08 - washingtonpost.com

The White House fought back Tuesday against criticism from Kansas' governor that National Guard deployments to Iraq are slowing the response to last week's devastating tornado.

White House press secretary Tony Snow said the fault was Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius'.

We've been down this road before, it's called "Heckuva job Brownie!"

White House Disputes Guard Shortages | The Huffington Post

The governor said the state's response was limited by the shifting of emergency equipment, such as tents, trucks and semitrailers, to the war in Iraq.

"Not having the National Guard equipment, which used to be positioned in various parts of the state, to bring in immediately is really going to handicap this effort to rebuild," Sebelius said.

Situations like this are one of the primary purposes of the National Guard. They don't have what they need to do the job anymore. Enough.

Kansas Families Return to Town in Ruins

It also comes after FEMA acknowledged earlier this month that it would not have a federal plan ready for responding to emergencies before the approaching hurricane season, which begins June 1.

You have got to be kidding me. In 2004, four hurricanes hit Florida. In 2005 Katrina and Rita hit the gulf coast. It's now 2007 and they still don't have a plan? Who the hell are these morons???

FOXNews.com - Report: FEMA's Katrina-Related Waste May Have Been Illegal - Politics | Republican Party | Democratic Party | Political Spectrum

Did the most powerful Republicans in America have the computer capacity, software skills and electronic infrastructure in place on Election Night 2004 to tamper with the Ohio results to ensure George W. Bush's re-election?

The answer appears to be yes. There is more than ample documentation to show that on Election Night 2004, Ohio's "official" Secretary of State website -- which gave the world the presidential election results -- was redirected from an Ohio government server to a group of servers that contain scores of Republican web sites, including the secret White House e-mail accounts that have emerged in the scandal surrounding Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's firing of eight federal prosecutors.

That would be means, motive and opportunity, and as RFK Jr pointed out a year ago in Rolling Stone there is little question that it happened. The end is nigh.

Network Hosting Attorney Scandal E-Mails Also Hosted Ohio's 2004 Election Results

Birkhead, a 34-year-old California photographer, then hugged his rival, Howard K. Stern, who has been caring for baby Dannielynn since Smith's sudden death in February.

The hearing was a pivotal moment in the battle over who gets custody of the girl, who could inherit a fortune from the estate of Smith's late husband, J. Howard Marshall II. Although Birkhead is the father, Stern's name is on the birth certificate. Another custody hearing was scheduled for Friday.

Does this mean we're heading for a real life version of "My Two Dads" with a half billion dollars at stake?

DNA Shows Birkhead Is Baby's Father | The Huffington Post

Mayan priests will purify a sacred archaeological site to eliminate "bad spirits" after President Bush visits next week, an official with close ties to the group said Thursday.

"That a person like (Bush), with the persecution of our migrant brothers in the United States, with the wars he has provoked, is going to walk in our sacred lands, is an offense for the Mayan people and their culture," Juan Tiney, the director of a Mayan nongovernmental organization with close ties to Mayan religious and political leaders, said Thursday.

But tell us how you really feel?

Priests to Purify Site After Bush Visit | The Huffington Post

Magnet America, the largest manufacturer of the product, has seen sales fall from a peak of 1.2m in August 2004 to about 4,000 a month and now has an unsold stockpile of about 1m magnets.

I think this may be a good metric for looking at support for the war.

FT.com / World / US & Canada - Yellow ribbons dwindle with war support