US Senator and possible Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards blasted the Bush administration on Friday for the chaotic aftermath of the Iraq war and said US President George W. Bush, not his underlings, is to blame.
"If you look at what's happening, there's a lot of discussion and debate around the country about Don Rumsfeld and whether the secretary of defense should be fired and whether he should resign," Edwards said in a fiery speech to the Texas Democratic Party annual convention.
"Let me say this very simply -- the person who is responsible is the commander in chief," he said to loud applause from the enthusiastic crowd in Bush's home state.
"Where I come from, we say a fish stinks from the head down," said Edwards, who is from North Carolina.
Edwards is considered one of the top candidates to be Senator John Kerry's running mate in the November election. He praised Kerry profusely and urged the delegates to work hard for his election.
At one point, his speech was interrupted by chants of "V.P., V.P." which brought a smile to his face, but no comment.
Prominent Texas trial lawyer John O'Quinn, wearing a necktie that looked like a US flag, spoke after Edwards and criticized Republicans for questioning the patriotism of Democrats.
He ripped off his tie, held it up and said: "They can put that idea where the sun don't shine."
An American scientist convicted of lying to US authorities about payments from China while he was at Harvard University has rebuilt his research lab in Shenzhen, China, to pursue technology the Chinese government has identified as a national priority: embedding electronics into the human brain. Charles Lieber, 67, is among the world’s leading researchers in brain-computer interfaces. The technology has shown promise in treating conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and restoring movement in paralyzed people. It also has potential military applications: Scientists at the Chinese People’s Liberation Army have investigated brain interfaces as a way to engineer super soldiers by boosting
Indonesian police have arrested 13 people after shocking images of alleged abuse against small children at a daycare center went viral, sparking outrage across the nation, officials said on Monday. Police on Friday last week raided Little Aresha, a daycare center in Yogyakarta on Java island, following a report from a former employee. CCTV footage circulating on social media showed children, most younger than two, lying on the floor wearing only diapers, their hands and feet bound with rags. The police have confirmed that the footage is authentic. Police said they also found 20 children crammed into a room just 3m by 3m. “So
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