by TChris

In response to the unnecessary death of a college student in Boston last week, the Seattle Police Department has suspended its use of pepper-spray pellet guns. The student, Victoria Snelgrove, died after she was shot in the eye as the police tried to disperse "a rowdy crowd of Red Sox fans."

The Boston Police Department also suspended use of the pepper gun.

The reassessment came as Boston police girded for another potential Sox-inspired frenzy, with the hometown team standing on the brink of a World Series victory against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Other police departments believe the weapon is safe and effective, and the manufacturer cautions against pointing the gun at a target's head. But Boston's experience provides evidence that the gun can cause greater harm than the need for crowd control justifies:

Officers fired into a crowd of fans, striking Snelgrove and at least two others. Paul Gately, 24, needed stitches to patch a hole in his cheek and suffered bruises and welts on his torso. Kapila Bhamidipati, of Bridgewater, N.J., was struck in the temple and said doctors had to remove small pieces of plastic from his forehead.

President Bush invoked the name of John F. Kennedy in a stump speech the other day. In response, JFK daughter Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg issued this statement.

“It’s hard for me to listen to President Bush invoking my father’s memory to attack John Kerry. Senator Kerry has demonstrated his courage and commitment to a stronger America throughout his entire career. President Kennedy inspired and united the country and so will John Kerry. President Bush is doing just the opposite. All of us who revere the strength and resolve of President Kennedy will be supporting John Kerry on Election Day.”

[Source: email from John Kerry campaign]

BOP News has the Tora Bora Calendar tracking Osama's whereabouts in November of 2001.

Before getting to the surprising Bush comment, here's the background. This AP article concerns Pete Coors and Ken Salazar and their race for Colorado's open Senate seat. A few eyebrow raisers-- Republican Coors opposes the death penalty while Salazar, (not suprisingly for an Attorney General,) favors it. Coors also suggested recently that "Congress might have balked at authorizing war in Iraq "given what we know today."

Coors has stumped with Bush on most if not all of his Colorado visits. Bush has supported Coors. So what does Bush have to say about Coor's non-supportive war statement?

President Bush brushed off the comment as he stumped for Coors the next day, saying he would be able to count on the beer executive "on the big issues."

What's a bigger issue than Iraq to American voters? To the soldiers and their families? Maybe Bush thinks opposition to gay marriage, which Coors supports him on, is a bigger issue than Iraq?

Bush wants us to believe the 350 ton weapons cache "may" have gone missing from al Qa Qaa before U.S. troops arrived. An Iraqi official responds that is an impossible scenario:

A top Iraqi science official said it was impossible that 350 tonnes of high explosives could have been smuggled out of a military site south of Baghdad before the regime fell last year.

The official is Mohammed al-Sharaa, head of the science ministry's site monitoring department. He worked with UN weapons inspectors while Saddam was in power.

The officials that were inside this facility (Al-Qaqaa) beforehand confirm that not even a shred of paper left it before the fall and I spoke to them about it and they even issued certified statements to this effect which the US-led coalition was aware of."

Sharaa also warned that other nearby sites with similar materials could have also been plundered. "The Al-Milad Company in Iskandariyah and the Yarmouk and Hateen facilities contained explosive materials that could have also been taken out," the official told AFP in an interview.

Who's in charge of the area now? It doesn't sound like we are.

The area in Babil province...is now one of the most dangerous parts of the country rife with crime, kidnappings and attacks. Several headless bodies hav been found in the area, according to marines stationed there.

It may be already too late to salvage many of these sites, which are controlled by bandits and beyond the control of Iraqi forces," warned Sharaa.

Four former Guantanamo detainees, now back in Britain, have filed suit against Donald Rumsfeld and others alleging they were tortured in violation of international law. The suit seeks $10 million in damages for treatment it describes as including

...repeated beatings, death threats, interrogation at gunpoint, forced nakedness and menacing with unmuzzled dogs, among other mistreatment, during more than two years at Guantanamo Bay.

Lawyers for the men held a press conference today.

This is a case about preserving an American ideal — the rule of law," [attorney Eric]Lewis said at a news conference. "It is un-American to torture people. It is un-American to hold people indefinitely without access to counsel, courts or family. It is un-American to flout international treaty obligations."

On a related note, Amnesty International released a report condemning President Bush's response to the 9/11 attacks, which it said has resulted in "an iconography of torture, cruelty and degradation."

Reuters reports on the latest Reuters/Zogby tracking poll released today...Bush has a one point lead over Kerry....that's great news for Kerry who has been shoring up his base:

Kerry has consolidated his base support just as Bush did early in the race, taking a 2-to-1 lead among Hispanics, 90 percent of blacks, 84 percent of Democrats, 55 percent of union voters and 65 percent of singles.

Only 4 percent of likely voters remain undecided.

The number of likely voters who thought Bush deserved reelection, 48 percent, was equal to those who wanted someone new. Bush's presidential performance was rated as excellent or good by 49 percent, and 51 percent said it was only fair or poor.

Six days left. Volunteer to get out the vote. In Colorado, go here. In other states, start here.

The Kerry campaign is recruiting people to help get out the vote. Thousands of volunteers are needed! Many of you have been volunteering all this time, but for those of you who haven't....make the call or go on line. They are looking for volunteers who can give at least two hours of their time this weekend, on Monday, or on election day.

You can also voluntee through MoveOn. It's all about getting out the vote now. We can do this.

If you're interested in Colorado politics and news, I'm following it, and writing at the new blog at 5280, Denver's glossy, upscale monthly magazine. It went live today, but already there are several days of posts.

The politically astute blogger Colorado Luis (Luis Toro)and 5280 Editor Daniel Brogan are also contributing. The blog is non-partisan, so my views on the news will continue to be found here. And in the interest of full disclosure, yes, I'm being paid.

The Broward County Elections office blames the Post Office. The Post Office denies responsiblity. Voters can't get through on phone lines. More than 58,000 mailed absentee ballots failed to reach their intended recipients.

Broward election officials say they are overwhelmed. Their phone lines were never equipped to handle the volume of calls they have experienced, they say, and they blame their limitations on the confined spaces within the county administration building. "It's a real, real problem," Salas said.

Democrats have already filed nine voting-related lawsuits in Florida.

The Independent has some startling new allegations about Bush's decision to go to war with Iraq:

Secret plans for the war in Iraq were passed to British Army chiefs by US defence planners five months before the invasion was launched, a court martial heard yesterday.

The plans were revealed during the court martial of L/Cpl Ian Blaymire, 23, from Leeds, who is charged with the manslaughter of a comrade while serving in Iraq. Sgt John Nightingale, 32, a reservist from Guiseley, West Yorkshire, died after being shot in the chest on 23 September last year.

The court, at Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire, heard that contingency plans were drawn up by Lt Col Christopher Warren, staff officer at Land Command, Salisbury, Wiltshire, who was responsible for operational training.

Lt Col Warren said US planners had passed on dates for which the invasion was planned. The hearing was told Army chiefs wanted the training for the Army to start at the beginning of December 2002. However, due to "sensitivities" the training was delayed.

This has got to be making Republicans crazy. So far, 36 newspapers have abandoned Bush and are endorsing John Kerry. That's 36 papers that endorsed Bush in 2000.

These include the Chicago Sun-Times, the Los Angeles Daily News and the Memphis Commercial Appeal, according to industry magazine Editor & Publisher. Bush has won over only six papers that backed Al Gore, including the Denver Post, which received 700 letters -- all of them protesting the move.

How many papers that endorsed Al Gore in 2000 are now endorsing Bush? A paltry six. Factor in another nine papers that have abandoned Bush without endorsing Kerry. That's 45 newspapers that once supported Bush but have changed their opinions of his ability to lead this country as our President.

The New York Times has an article today asserting that the former staff director for the 9/11 Commission, Philip Zelikow, now praises recent compromises acceded by the House conferees in the Intelligence Reform Bill and says they are reasonable and reflect the goals of the 9/11 Commission. One problem. The "former staff director" does not speak for the Commission. He's a lone wolf. And the 9/11 Commissioners do not agree with him.

[the memo] prompted a spokesman for the former members of the Sept. 11 commission to distance the former commissioners from Mr. Zelikow. "He's a private citizen, he's not affiliated with the P.D.P.," said Adam Klein, a spokesman for the 9/11 Public Discourse Project, the lobbying group set up by the 10 former members. "The commissioners speak for the commissioners and for this organization. Dr. Zelikow speaks for himself."

Even Zelikow admits this: