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Yes, yes, to fight the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11. But eight years later, American blood and treasure are still being poured into a country of dirt-poor, illiterate people who support themselves by growing poppy for opium and heroin under one of the most corrupt governments in the world.
As Barack Obama makes a midnight visit to honor the incoming dead and console their families, critics may sneer at his theatricality, but the President seems to be trying to clear his head and heart of the numbers and jargon that have dominated months of discussion about whether or not to send up to44,000 more troops to do what those who are now dying there in record numbers have been unable to do.
During the Bush years, despite pockets of fierce opposition, the American mindset was dominated by a Neo-Con vision, unleashed by the trauma of 9/11, of a superpower with "a Reaganite policy of military strength and moral clarity."
That led us into Afghanistan and then Iraq, where the blood still flows in factional fighting, and now the pressure persists on a President elected with a far different vision to stay on that course at the risk of being accused of dithering and defeatism.
At home on the economy, Barack Obama has been forced into pushing for Change on an unprecedented, unsettling scale, but polling shows the American people slowly overcoming their doubts.
How would they react to a daring Change in foreign policy? What would happen if, instead of escalating troop levels, the US took a different approach? Tom Friedman suggests one possibility:
"Yes, the morning after we shrink down in Afghanistan, the Taliban will celebrate, Pakistan will quake and bin Laden will issue an exultant video.
"And the morning after the morning after, the Taliban factions will start fighting each other, the Pakistani Army will have to destroy their Taliban, or be destroyed by them, Afghanistan’s warlords will carve up the country, and, if bin Laden comes out of his cave, he’ll get zapped by a drone."
This may be as wishful as the Neo-Con faith in nation-building in Afghanistan and Pakistan that has cost Americans so much and produced so little, but it deserves as serious consideration as what Friedman describes as the result of their alternative: "China, Russia and Al Qaeda all love the idea of America doing a long, slow bleed in Afghanistan."
Those are the choices Obama is facing.
http://ajliebling.blogspot.com/2009/10/why-are-...
HSBC, led by ordained Anglican priest Stephen Green, has profited more than any other institution from companies that manufacture cluster bombs. The British bank, based at Canary Wharf, has earned a total of £657.3m in fees arranging bonds and share offerings for Textron, which makes cluster munitions described by the US company as "leaving a clean battlefield".
Campaigners maintain the deadly weapons can explode years after combat, killing or maiming innocent people.
HSBC will face protests outside its London headquarters today. Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, JP Morgan and UK-based Barclays Bank are also named among the worst banks in a detailed 126-page report by Dutch and Belgian campaign groups IKV Pax Christi and Netwerk Vlaanderen.
Goldman Sachs, the US bank which made £3.19bn proft in just three months, earned $588.82m for bank services and lent $250m to Alliant Techsystems and Textron.
Cluster bomb trade funded by world's biggest banks
The same few invent ways to rob the masses and commoditize human misery from every angle.
White House releases first broad look at stimulus-funded employment, focusing on $150 billion in spending
The first $150 billion spent on stimulus has saved 650,000 jobs, according to the latest Obama administration report.
Based on approximately $150 billion in spending from the $787 billion recovery package, the tally is the first broad, concrete look at the stimulus program's impact on the economy. The numbers are drawn from tens of thousands of reports from state and local recipients as well as private companies.
The White House said the actual number of jobs created so far is likely closer to 1 million, since its report on stimulus job creation only focused on $150 billion of the $339 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds spent so far.
The Obama administration is expected to announce further details Friday afternoon, after the government posts complete reports online on its stimulus data tracker Recovery.gov.
As many as a million more jobs could have been lost if it wasn't for the stimulus. Sobering numbers this morning indeed. The same people who are complaining that Obama did too much would now be complaining if he did nothing, as the unemployment rate would be even higher than it is now.
http://zandarvts.blogspot.com/2009/10/here-he-c...
Yogi, you dog!
SWEET!
Thanks to Retired U.S. Army Captain Tony Odierno and all who serve.
Congressional ethics report leaked, reveals names
Congress need personnel with IT training? Remember the horrors of the "leaked" whistleblowers list?
by shmuelman
Share this on Twitter - Supreme Court of Pa vacates 6500 juvenile convictions. Thu Oct 29, 2009 at 10:04:17 PM PDT
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled late Thursday that almost all juvenile delinquency cases heard by former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella from Jan. 1, 2003 to May 31, 2008 must be thrown out.
Ciavarella took millions in kickbacks to incarcerate juvenile offenders in private detention facilities.
shmuelman's diary :: :: This is an excellent link about this story, one of the most egregious abuses of judicial power (outside of appointing Bush President) in the history of the United States.
http://www.abcnews.go.com/...
Ciavarella and Michael Conahan ,who was serving as president judge of the Luzerne County Common Pleas Court, a position that allowed him to control the county-court budget, entered a plea deal that would have them serve 7 year sentences. The federal judge presiding over the case, 83-year-old Edwin M. Kosik, last month rejected the plea agreements Ciavarella and Conahan had signed in exchange for their admissions of guilt.
Kosik ruled the sentences were too lenient and Conahan and Ciavarella had failed to fully accept responsibility for their alleged wrongdoing.
They now face much more serious charges including racketeering, bribery, extortion and money laundering. They have and pleaded not guilty, an opportunity that they did not extend to the thousands of juveniles they put in detention.
The State Supreme Court today vacated almost all of the their juvenile cases - http://www.standardspeaker.com/... (with a link to the ruling).
Right now, Ciavarella and Conahan are attempting to dodge civil liability by claiming judicial immunity. The key issue centers on whether acts Conahan and Ciavarella took were part of their judicial duties http://www.timesleader.com/...
One would hope that naked racketeering from the bench would be beyond the pale of judicial immunity.
Over 7.2 million adults are on probation or parole or incarcerated in jail or prison in 2006. That's about 2.4% of the U.S. adult population, or 1 in every 42 adults.
At midyear 2008, there were 4,777 black male inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents being held in state or federal prison and local jails, compared to 1,760 Hispanic male inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents and 727 white male inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/...
If I am reading this properly, nearly 5% of black males are behind bars.
25% of all prisoners in the world are in the U.S., which comprises about 4% of the population. To my knowledge, we are the most incarcerating country in the world.
The United States comes in first, too, on a more meaningful list from the prison studies center, the one ranked in order of the incarceration rates. It has 751 people in prison or jail for every 100,000 in population. (If you count only adults, one in 100 Americans is locked up.)
The only other major industrialized nation that even comes close is Russia, with 627 prisoners for every 100,000 people. The others have much lower rates. England's rate is 151; Germany's is 88; and Japan's is 63.
The median among all nations is about 125, roughly a sixth of the American rate. http://www.nytimes.com/...
It's my opinion that Ciavarella and Conahan represent the extreme case of an industry that rivals the military-industrial complex - the prosecution/enforcement/incarceration industry.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/10/30/79....
Posted by Zandar
Number of GOP co-sponsors for Harry Reid's Senate resolution this month to delcare the week of October 25-31 as National Hispanic Media Week: zero.
Number of GOP co-sponsors for House GOP Rep. Mike Spence's resolution this month to honor the 1.93 Million Invisible Teabagger March: seventy-five.
I'm not worried that the GOP will somehow magically take over Congress next year because they're doing everything they possibly can to lose.
http://zandarvts.blogspot.com/2009/10/why-im-st...
Republican Administrations always raise taxes, either directly , as George “Read My Lips” Bush did, or indirectly through deficit spending and debt, as Ronald Reagan and George “Mission Accomplished” Bush did. So Republican claims to guardianship of the American pocketbook are disingenuous at best, sinister at worst.
Read More
http://trueslant.com/jeffmcmahon/2009/10/30/rep...
...
The use of Predator drone aircraft, armed with guided missiles, is credited by U.S. officials with eliminating a growing number of senior terrorist group leaders this year who had used the tribal lands of Pakistan as a haven beyond the reach of U.S. ground forces in Afghanistan.
During an interview broadcast live in Pakistan with several prominent female TV anchors, before a predominantly female audience of several hundred, one member of the audience said the Predator attacks amount to "executions without trial" for those killed.
Clinton faces Pakistani anger at Predator attacks
Mighty Diamonds W/Gregory Isaacs - Idler's Corner
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-765K335_JA
The move came just before 7 p.m. Alabama time this evening after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and other Senate Republicans allowed the nomination to go through after delaying it for several weeks over an unrelated issue.
"I'm kind of glad it's over," Benjamin said afterwards in a brief phone interview of the Senate's decision to give her a four-year term as what is officially described as the nation's chief health educator. "I'm excited, looking forward to it, sad that I won't be able to continue to see my patients."
President Obama nominated Benjamin for the post in July. A White House spokeswoman could not immediately say whether Benjamin must be formally sworn in before assuming her new post.
Regina Benjamin confirmed as U.S. surgeon general in U.S. Senate vote
Well, thats one nominee who is no longer held hostage. Thugs in Congress who held the SG nomination hostage really do not care about the public facing the H1N1 flu.
If you have not gotten your flu vaccine, stand in line and get it. I got my flu vaccine yesterday. This H1N1 is serious.
If there was any doubt that Rush is/was a racist, and to this crowd there wasn't, Rush Limbaugh has removed it.
Who are these 46 million Americans without health insurance? I look at the latest census data.
What do Senators Evan Bayh and Joe Lieberman have in common? They both have been bought and paid for by the healthcare lobby.
2.Got mine because I have myasthenia gravis and any flu could kill me
3.There is no doubt at least to the sane ones among us
4.I believe the numbers are much higher.like unemployment numbers everyone is not counted
5.And the sun rises in the east.Tell us something we dont know
Separate probes focus on ties to lobbying firm founded by Hill aide
Nearly half the members of a powerful House subcommittee in control of Pentagon spending are under scrutiny by ethics investigators in Congress, who have trained their lens on the relationships between seven panel members and an influential lobbying firm founded by a former Capitol Hill aide.
Read More
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/ar...
"The nation's largest insurers, hospitals and medical groups have hired more than 350 former government staff members and retired members of Congress in hopes of influencing their old bosses and colleagues, according to an analysis of lobbying disclosures and other records.
The tactic is so widespread that three of every four major health-care firms have at least one former insider on their lobbying payrolls, according to The Washington Post's analysis. "
"Halloween at the White House: Sorry, kid, you're not on the list
(Alex Wong/Getty Images)For a few hours this week, students from 30 District schools thought they were getting a special Halloween treat -- an invitation to a private White House party Saturday night -- but it turned out to be a trick of fate. A D.C. school superintendent accidentally forwarded the invitation to all her schools, rather than the ones it was intended for, resulting in a rush for tickets and inevitable letdown.
Perhaps another party on another date, kids -- the Obama White House has a regular habit of having local students over. This time, President Obama and the first lady invited 2,500 elementary students and their families to the party; makes sense, because the days when Malia and Sasha could go trick-or-treating in the neighborhood are gone. Saturday's guest list includes military families, pupils from the far suburbs and 1,000 kids from five District schools -- Stanton, Powell, River Terrace, Oyster-Adams and Achievement Prep charter.
Details of the celebration have been closely guarded (the White House declined to comment), but news reports say guests will be entertained by Chicago's Redmoon Theater, known for creating fantastic outdoor spectacles. And no -- for security reasons, there's no trick-or-treating at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. But good news for kids who'll be there. Even the health-conscious White House understands what little goblins need on Halloween: candy."
CPS students compete in culinary contest
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/l...
The newspaper reported that Moon received "congratulatory greetings" from Senator Joe Lieberman, former secretary of state Alexander Haig and former president George H W Bush, "hand-delivered by his son Neil Bush".
At the heart of Moon's political project in the US is the Washington Times, a newspaper that, according to some reports, has cost Moon more than US$3 billion since its founding. However, the importance of the Times to the conservative movement far outweighs its expensive price tag
New moons are rising
Anyone remember this? Sun Myung Moon crowned King of Peace at Senate Building
But, there are objections for a resolution honoring MJ's contributions.
Harvard, UofW & UofVA researchers have an online test that you can take to test your preferences and biases. (Project Implicit) You can also take other tests about biases...
https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/ *Click on Demonstration
Or just like when you go to Walmart looking for Holiday Barbie or Cabbage Patch Kids and 95% of them are white and the black dolls are pushed to the back. I just about bust a gut one Christmas Eve when a white woman was trying to get a Cabbage Patch doll for her daughter who REALLLLLY wanted one and the only one left in the store was the black one. lol
Or when the "good" black women are Tyra, Beyonce, Rihanna and Alicia Keys and the "bad" black women are the stars of Charm School and Flava of Love.
Or when you look at the Dr. Miracles' hair ad and the woman with "bad, rough hair" is a dark skinned black woman with her eyes bugging out, big lips poked out looking crazy but the beautiful black woman is the one with the smooth hair and lighter skin. Now THAT'S a miracle!
That's what it says.
DAMN.
which is still interesting because I just took the light skinned/dark skinned one and the same results were present. 27% strongly preferred light faces; 27% moderately preferred
Do Black participants show a preference for Black over White on the race attitude IAT?
Answer: Although the majority of White respondents show a preference for White over Black, the responses from Black respondents are more varied. Although some Black participants show liking for White over Black, others show no preference, and yet others show a preference for Black over White. Data collected from this website consistently reveal approximately even numbers of Black respondents showing a pro-White bias as show a pro-Black bias. Part of this might be understood as Black respondents experiencing the similar negative associations about their group from experience in their cultural environments, and also experiencing competing positive associations about their group based on their own group membership and that of close relations.
Words fail to describe this woman.
Republican Guide to Undermining Health Care Reform
GOP strategist Frank Luntz briefed Republican lawmakers this week "on his new plan for undermining Democrats' health-reform without making the GOP look bad," reports Mike Allen.
Luntz's 8-page memo is a fascinating read. He notes Republicans "still need to acknowledge the need for reform." He also says President Obama "is right: what Americans want is a solution, not continued political bickering."
However, Luntz says that once Republicans have "articulated the goal of bipartisanship, it is fair game (and according to our polling, supported by independents) to level a sharper attack on those who control Congress: 'The Democratic Party controls a 77 seat majority in the House and almost 20 seats in the Senate, along with the White House. If they cannot get a bill passed with such overwhelming control of Washington, it says there's something wrong with the legislation. Rather than forcing a bill through with only limited support, they should keep working until they can get a bill that represents the opinions of most Americans.'"
Here's the memo via Politico:
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2009/10/30/re...
So THAT'S what the Republicans are calling "Just Say No: The Next Generation"
I wanted to echo Brother Matt's point at Foreign Policy Watch that this AP article at the Huffington Post, "Troops In Afghanistan Outnumber Taliban 12-1" written by Slobodan Lekic, does completely miss the point. We don't expect journalists to understand military theory before they write about military issues, so this doesn't surprise us. But it does bear correcting the observations within the article.
There are already more than 100,000 international troops in Afghanistan working with 200,000 Afghan security forces and police. It adds up to a 12-1 numerical advantage over Taliban rebels, but it hasn't led to anything close to victory.
Now, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan is asking for tens of thousands more troops to stem the escalating insurgency, raising the question of how many more troops it would take to succeed.
-----------
The 12-1 ratio may be misleading because two-thirds of the Allied force is made up of Afghans, who lack the training and experience. The Taliban usually fight in small, cohesive units made up of friends and fellow clansmen. A more meaningful ratio, then, might be 4-1 or 5-1.
Historically in guerrilla wars, security forces have usually had at least a 3-1 advantage.
Now, any strategist worth his/her salt will tell you that numerical supremacy within a theater of operations doesn't count for squat. It doesn't matter whether the US coalition outnumbers the Taliban by a ratio of 12-1, 5-1, or 3-1. What matters is what the ratio is when US forces are engaging the Taliban in tactical battles, such as those in Nuristan provinces. If the side with superior forces is spread out and trying to cover everything, then the side with fewer numbers and more agility has the combat advantage. This has happened time and time again through history.
These numbers and rations ought not to be considered in McChrystal's request for 40,000 more troops. What matters is what strategy is pursued - country-wide COIN operations, conducting combat operations, protecting "ink spots" and vital regions, or just training Afghan security forces and protecting the government. McChrystal didn't ask for enough to do a country-wide option, so I'm guessing that he's going for "ink spots" plus combat operations. President Obama seems to be leaning toward just doing the "ink spot" strategy, which might not require additional troops.
So ignore the talk about force ratios and troop increases - it's not relevant until a sustainable long-term regional strategy is developed and implemented. The real unanswered question remains, "How does this all end?"
http://crooksandliars.com/jason-sigger/its-not-...
If you have the time check it out
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-757428...
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference announced her election as president Friday morning.
Civil rights org elects MLK's daughter president
Should have taken bets.
Lou Dobbs: "They (insert Hispanics here") are shooting at me.
Law Enforcement: It was probably hunters.