Will Lunatic Bolton Be Fired?

By Ian Mosley
Sept. 25, 2006

Could it be–could it just possibly be–that Congress is on the verge of re-discovering something remotely resembling a spine, and deep-sixing one of the worst embarrassments that the neocons have inflicted on America and the world, our ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton?

The Times of London reports that “John Bolton, President Bush’s controversial Ambassador to the United Nations, is in danger of losing his job as opposition to his appointment increases in the Senate. Mr Bush’s nomination of Mr Bolton to the UN met such opposition on Capitol Hill last year that he was forced to install him by means of a recess appointment, when Congress was not in session.”

The abuse of recess appointments, originally intended solely to be used in the case of genuine emergencies, is -by the way- one of the many examples of our transformation into a dictatorship from a representative republic.

The BBC goes on the say, “That appointment in August last year limited Mr Bolton’s tenure to the duration of the current Congress, which concludes on January 3, unless the Senate confirms him formally before then. The White House had hoped to get Mr Bolton confirmed this month, but Senate approval is looking increasingly unlikely. Another failed nomination would be a significant blow to Mr Bush, who has remained determined to see his choice confirmed permanently to the post, and a humiliation for Mr Bolton…Last week the Senate Foreign Relations Committee postponed a vote on Mr Bolton indefinitely after Lincoln Chafee, a moderate Republican in a tight mid-term Senate race, said that he still had doubts about the nomination.”

(more…)

Germany’s Far-Right Wants to Expand West

By Uwe Hessler
Sept. 24, 2006

Encouraged by their successes at polls in the economically sagging eastern Germany, far-right political parties are now trying to appeal to disgruntled voters in the western part of the country.

“Now we want to tackle the west,” said Udo Voigt, chairman of the far-right extremist National Democratic Party (NDP), this week in Berlin, just days after his party won more than 7 percent of the vote in state elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pommerania.

Under the motto “Work - Family - Home,” leaders of the NPD and the right-wing German People’s Union (DVU) renewed their alliance Thursday, saying their strategy of striking separately but winning together has been bearing fruit. (….Full Article)