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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama on Tuesday will announce $3.4 billion in government grants to help build a "smart" electric grid that will save consumers money on their utility bills, reduce blackouts and carry power supplies generated by solar and wind energy, the White House said.
It marks the largest award made in a single day from the $787 billion stimulus package approved by Congress, and will create tens of thousands of jobs while upgrading the U.S. electric grid, according to administration officials.
Read More
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091027/ts_nm/us_ob...
IFFFF the pilots had been BLACK or FEMALE, wouldn't you hear the roar about 'grounding them permanently'?
just askin'.
http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/declassified/arc...
Almost 1,600 agents and officers took part in the raids, which followed investigations in 36 cities, according to the FBI, local law enforcement agencies and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Included in the arrests were 60 suspected pimps, according to the FBI and local police officials.
Authorities say the youngest victim was 10.
52 children rescued in nationwide sex-trafficking raids
U.S. Human trafficking (slavery) and child prostitution rings are U.S. elephants in the room.
by Charles Lemos, Mon Oct 26, 2009 at 11:23:35 PM EST
Honoring a campaign promise, the President today signed into law the Veterans Healthcare Reform and Transparency Act which authorizes Congress to approve veterans' medical care funding one year in advance to better anticipate and meet the demands of the Veterans Administration that provides health care to the nation's veterans.
From the American Forces Press Service:
The Veterans Healthcare Reform and Transparency Act fundamentally changes how the Department of Veterans Affairs receive health care funding. The reform calls for appropriations a year in advance after more than two decades of regular budget delays, Obama said from the White House East Room.
"Over the past two decades, the VA budget has been late almost every year, often by months," the president said. "At this very moment, the VA is operating without a budget, making it harder for VA medical centers and clinics to deliver the care our vets need."
Obama said that because of budget shortfalls, new doctors, nurses and critical staff aren't hired on time. New health care facilities and programs often are put on hold, leaving veterans to pay the price for the government's neglect, he said.
"This is inexcusable. It's unacceptable. It's time for it to stop," he said. "And that's just what we'll do with this landmark legislation."
The law gives VA more funding predictability so officials can better budget their needs, recruit better-trained professionals and upgrade equipment. Mostly, Obama said, the law gives veterans better access to quality care.
"In short, this is common-sense reform," he said. "It promotes accountability at the VA. It ensures oversight by Congress. It is fiscally responsible by not adding a dime to the deficit, and it ensures that veterans' health care will no longer be held hostage to the annual budget battles in Washington.
"Keeping faith with our veterans is work that is never truly done," he continued. "Today's veterans expect and deserve the highest quality care, as will tomorrow's veterans, especially our men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan."
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) was effusive in its praise for the President.
"This victory comes after years of advocating by AFGE and numerous veterans' organizations," said AFGE National President John Gage. "AFGE thanks President Obama for keeping his campaign promise to us and -- more importantly to America's veterans -- to guarantee advance funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs."
The President also reiterated his commitment to continue in efforts to build a 21st-century VA and to end homelessness among veterans.
http://www.mydd.com/story/2009/10/26/232335/86
-The President did WHAT?
Damn socialist! (snark)
Posted by Zandar
House Republicans want to remember the glory...
Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) and 75 other House Republicans have introduced a resolution "expressing gratitude and appreciation to the individuals and families who participated in the Taxpayer March on Washington on September 12, 2009" -- and claiming that the Tea Party march drew many, many times more protesters than it actually did.
The resolution -- which has been referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform -- declares that "the fundamental American principles of limited government and personal liberty are under direct assault" and that "when the current trends of government expansion and freedom retrenchment are reversed, it will be due in large part to the efforts of the hundreds of thousands who marched on Washington, DC, on September 12, 2009."
The 9/12 march's headcount has been a matter of some debate, though the resolution's contention that there were "hundreds of thousands" who attended is many, many times higher than the estimates of mainstream media organizations.
Hundreds of thousands of American patriots, who refuse to sit idly by as the Federal Government advances skyrocketing deficits, taxpayer-funded bailouts, pork-barrel projects, burdensome taxes, unaccountable policy czars, command-and-control energy policy, and a government takeover of health care, came to Washington, DC, to show their disapproval.
The resolution also says crowd estimates "range as high as 1,700,000 marchers" -- an inflated number that Glenn Beck has advanced but that is 200,000 higher than the 1.5-million figure that march organizer FreedomWorks first claimed -- and then later had to cut by half.
Are Republicans really, really incapable of telling the truth? Ever? About anything?
I mean, it's not like this is one of those subjective "Brooks Robinson was the greatest third baseman of the modern era" arguments, this is a complete distortion of actual numerical fact and the House Republicans are wanting to pass a House resolution enshrining this lie into the record of the the country's business as official.
Then again...they're House Republicans. They lie. It's what they do.
http://zandarvts.blogspot.com/2009/10/because-w...
-So let them soak in a vat of battery acid...and stick Glen Beck in there with them.
Webb Asks: Dayum--Is it a college or is it GQ magazine? Has Miranda Priestly/Anna Wintour taken over the administration at Morehouse?
Here's what's new...
Since the policy was released, a lot of attention has centered on the standard that prohibits men from wearing women’s clothing on campus. Some critics have concluded that Morehouse seeks to discriminate against certain groups of students, specifically gay, transgendered and bisexual men. This is not our intent. In fact, we have worked diligently to ensure that Morehouse is a safe, inclusive, and respectful community with a strong commitment to social justice, diversity and respectful tolerance.
The full statement is available on our open thread.
Someone forwarded me an email. You need a more direct link? Here you go.
http://weeseeyou.com/2009/10/27/tuesday-open-th...
Posted by Zandar
The Snowe Queen has been dethroned, and she is not amused. But as Steve Benen points out, nobody on the Democratic side of the aisle really gives a damn.
In other words, I suspect the key question is no longer, "How do we keep Olympia Snowe happy?" Rather, it's, "How do we convince Ben Nelson, Blanche Lincoln, and Mary Landrieu to let the Senate vote on health care reform?"
As for Snowe's argument that the trigger "could have been the road toward achieving a broader bipartisan consensus," I think there's ample evidence to the contrary. For one thing, several leading Democrats -- Pelosi, Rockefeller, et al -- really hate the idea. For another, leading Republicans hate the idea, too. Snowe may have missed it, but just a few weeks ago, Susan Collins, Snowe's moderate Maine colleague, was asked whether she could support a trigger as a compromise. "No," Collins said. "The problem with triggers is that is just delays the public option," and she rejects public-private competition.
Around the same time, the office Republican weekly address told the public, "These so-called healthcare reform bills have different names: a public option, a co-op, a trigger. Make no mistake, these are all gateways to government-run healthcare."
The trigger measure was never the course to "broader bipartisan consensus" -- it was way to possibly get one GOP vote.
And doing the math, gaining one GOP vote while losing several is not the way to get anything passed. Even Harry Reid figured that one out. As I said all along, it's far past time to jettison the Party of No from the proceedings and move on without them. They never were going to vote for any health care reform bill that the Dems and Obama would have been able to take credit for even if the bill included everything the Republicans said they wanted.
They know it's political suicide with the Wingers from a strictly cynical power standpoint, and that's solely how Republicans operate. They abandoned any pretense of going along with it, the Wingers will crucify any Republican in either chamber who does vote for it (ask Dede Scozzafava what the Winger base does to moderates who don't tow the party line on hating minorities, gays, Muslims and environmental science!) and it was never going to happen.
Finally, finally, the Democrats understand that this Republican Party is against anything and everything the Democrats try to do.
So, see ya Snowe Queen
http://zandarvts.blogspot.com/2009/10/snowe-job...
If you believe that sentence I have some scrap steel to sell you from a bridge.
They don't eat much...really.
That's like leaving the fate of Civil Rights in the hands of George Wallace and Bull Connor.
The legisaltion is also designed to take affect in 2013. My greatest fear is that lag time may allow this or another administration to backtrack by then.
And yes, if it meant sticking it to that ni___er in the White House, they would most certainly deny their constituents access to health care coverage.
While the Obama White House, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Congressional Democrats debate among themselves whether a so-called "opt out" public health insurance option will be included in reform legislation, Minnesota Governor and GOP presidential wannabee Tim Pawlenty has already weighed in. Asked if he would "lead a charge" in his state to opt out, Pawlenty replied, "I think so because I don't like government run health care."
That's easy for him to say. As it turns out, Minnesota is the exception that proves the rule of red state socialism. An increasingly blue state with the 4th best health care system in the nation, the Land of 10,000 Lakes sends far more tax dollars to Washington than it receives in federal spending in return. But for Pawlenty's fellow Republican refuseniks, leaders of red states offering dismal health care and beneficiaries of a one-way transfer of taxpayer funds from DC, opting out may not be an option.
In recent weeks, Texas secessionists and Georgia legislators have echoed Pawlenty's confused reading of the Tenth Amendment by endorsing a state veto over federal health reform mandates. But just in time for the debate over the merits of a state-by-state "opt out" of a national public health insurance option, the Commonwealth Fund has released its 2009 state health care scorecard. As in 2007, the data reveals the critical condition of red state health care. All of which could present Republican governors and legislatures with a dilemma: Will they refuse to offer lower cost insurance coverage for their residents by rejecting a system funded in part by blue state taxpayers?
Read More
http://www.perrspectives.com/blog/archives/0016...
They aren't. They're only interested in echoing the wails and catcalls of their FOX News constituencies. It's the reason they'll allow the public school system to collapse; it's why they're opposed to 21st century mass transit, while willing to pay $10/gallon for gas; it's why they're willing to get sick and die for lack of health care.
These people--and the politicians they elect--are sick with a fear, hatred and resentment that is centuries-old. They will scorch the earth they live on, if it means not giving in to the reality that they are no longer supreme and superior.
65,000 people lined up at Cobo Conference Center and at Neighborhood City Halls in early October for a few dollars to pay rent and utility bills. If this many people can come out during the day, imagine how many more are desperate and suffering.
Gov. Granholm has the legal and constitutional powers to declare an economic state of emergency in Michigan. In doing this she could automatically impose a moratorium on foreclosures, evictions and utility shutoffs.
With winter approaching hundreds of thousands of people are facing imminent peril. Unemployment is rising around the city and state, and consequently, more people will face evictions and the termination of their heating, electrical and water services. This corporate and state-sanctioned terrorism must stop. The people must clearly state that everyone has a right to a home, an income and utility services.
Mayor Bing has remained indifferent to the worsening conditions of the people in Detroit. We are demanding that he request emergency assistance for the people from the Governor and the federal government.
We must let President Obama know that the stimulus money is not reaching the people. We need jobs and an income now! We demand the enforcement of the Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act immediately! There are over 30 million workers in the United States who need full-time employment. The government has a legal obligation to put all of these people back to work.
Together we can fight back and win. Recently at the Highland Towers Apartments, residents organized and forced DTE Energy to restore their electrical power and cover the re-location costs for the tenants and their families.
The Moratorium NOW! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures, Evictions and Utility Shutoffs is working to build a city and statewide organization that will struggle to win the fundamental rights of workers and the poor. Join us for an organizing meeting on November 7 at our offices in Detroit.
The November 7 meeting will discuss the next phase in the fight to win a moratorium on evictions and utility shutoffs. We will examine the budget crisis and urge the people to demand freedom from the banks who are at the root of the deficit.
Moratorium NOW! Coalition to Hold Organizing Meeting in Detroit on November 7; Declare An Economic State of Emergency
Good to see, citizen activism.
I looked at the consitituion of 1963 and do not understand how he arrived at this conclusion.
Activists point out that the governor has the legal, constitutional powers to declare a state of economic emergency. During the 1930s, after such an emergency declaration, the Michigan legislature imposed a five-year moratorium on foreclosures. The mayor can likewise request emergency help, as is done when a tornado or flood occurs. Activists are also demanding that President Barack Obama use his authority to similarly declare a state of economic emergency under federal law. http://www.workers.org/2009/us/detroit_1022/
Edit:
“In Russell v Battle Creek Lumber Co., 265 Mich 649 (1934), the Michigan Supreme Court upheld the emergency moratorium statute, Act No. 98, Pub. Acts 1933, which with subsequent amendments placed a five (5) year Moratorium on foreclosures in Michigan during the 1930’s depression.
“The Michigan Supreme Court adopted the ruling of U.S. Supreme Court in Home Loan & Building Loan Ass’n v Blaisdell, 290 US 398 (1934). In that case, in upholding a Minnesota Moratorium on Foreclosures, the U.S. Supreme Court held that upon a declaration of a State of Emergency and pursuant to a state’s police power during an emergency economic crisis, a moratorium on foreclosures was constitutional, and that a state’s power to protect the health and welfare of the people during crises essentially superseded the contract clause of the constitution. In Makar v Peoples Wayne County Bank of Dearborn, 284 Mich 489 (1938), the Michigan Supreme Court again upheld the constitutionality of the Michigan Moratorium Act, which had been in effect for four years when this case was decided. The Court noted in upholding this Act that one of its purposes was ‘to prevent valuable property from being sold at distress prices occasioned by an economic emergency and to give mortgagors a chance to preserve their equities.’ ”
http://stopevictionsmichigan.blogspot.com/2009/...
The oath of office notwithstanding, the Obama Presidency began Nov. 4—not Jan. 20.
Election night 2008 went late in Chicago. Many campaign staffers who had spent two years helping Barack Obama get elected celebrated in Grant Park until the wee hours. But if senior aides were under the impression they might get the following day off, they were mistaken. Obama's transition director, John Podesta, scheduled a senior staff meeting for the next morning, Wednesday, Nov. 5, at 10:30 a.m. Podesta, Bill Clinton's former chief of staff, figured it would take a half hour, 45 minutes tops, to bat around some scheduling options and maybe even tell a few war stories from the campaign. But the soon-to-be commander in chief had other plans. To him, Wednesday was another workday—or, more precisely, the first day of his presidency.
Read More
http://www.newsweek.com/id/219372
Did CNN analysts include these facts in their 90-day report card?
By: David Dayen Monday October 26, 2009 3:23 pm
In a conference call with reporters today, three Democratic Senators charged Republicans with obstructionism in all aspects of public policy, particularly stopping the Senate from passing a bill that would extend unemployment to millions of Americans, at a time when 7,000 Americans a day are losing their benefits.
Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) vowed to move forward with a motion to proceed on the unemployment bill, tied up with non-germane amendments (about things like ACORN funding and E-Verify which have already been voted on in the Senate in other forms) from Republicans that “amount to a political agenda” in Stabenow’s words, as soon as tomorrow. “The votes are there to pass this bill,” said Shaheen. Stabenow said that the bill could have passed a few weeks ago.
Asked by Mike Lillis of the Washington Independent, who has a writeup on this up, why the Senate cannot just plow forward on this bill, given their 60-vote majority in the Senate, Stabenow answered that “you can only do this one at a time.” She countered that Republicans have slow-walked practically all critical legislation since 2007, forcing cloture votes on ordinary measures to take up floor time and generally obstruct the legislation. Obstructionism in the Senate is not limited to filibusters, but also procedural actions when filibusters can be overcome. The result is a slow crawl that creates anxiety among Democrats and liberals and emboldens Republicans to claim that Democrats are running a “do-nothing” Congress. It’s a neat trick.
Democrats hope for a final vote on this bill by the end of the week.
http://news.firedoglake.com/2009/10/26/senators...
The greatest threat to the U.S. economy is not creeping socialism. It's creeping subsidism
http://www.salon.com/news/taxes/index.html?stor...
Sheila Bair, chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), suggested that only commercial deposit-taking institutions, where customers' cash is safeguarded by a guarantee, should be permitted to describe themselves as banks.
"Everything gets called a bank these days," Bair told the annual conference of the American Bankers Association. "Wall Street firms, mortgage firms ... Maybe there should be some legal constraints on who should call themselves banks – maybe only FDIC insured institutions should have that label."
Such a definition would exclude the likes of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, which do not take consumer deposits but often describe themselves as investment banks. It would also leave out thousands of "mortgage banks" that typically act as go-betweens linking consumer and secondary financial markets.
Wall Street firms should not be called banks, US official says
Go get em Sheila!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/
Also, if any of you are interested in global issues of food justice, here is physicist and ecologist Vandana Shiva really rocking The Future of Food and Seed: I believe that she is the person in the world right now who is truly following in the footsteps of Gandhi. It's a 45 minute talk she gave last February in Oregon and I assigned it to my graduate EJ class this week to look at the impact of "corporate science" on global food justice:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3833110...
Chaka Khan - Love You All My Lifetime (Love Suite Mix Opus 12") pt1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJPcFpmhQp8
ANTI-JAZZ: THE NEW THING REVISITED
Please join International House Philadelphia and Ars Nova Workshop for our
latest four-concert subscription series, Anti-Jazz: The New Thing Revisited.
In 1961, Down Beat magazine published a review of a John Coltrane
performance referring to the music as "anarchistic" and as "a horrifying
demonstration of what appears to be a growing anti-jazz trend." This review
documented one of the most controversial moments in the history of jazz: the
advent of Free Jazz or "The New Thing." Anti-Jazz: The New Thing Revisited,
celebrates the 50-year trajectory of Free Jazz. The series, while bearing in
mind landmark contributions such as Ornette Coleman's Free Jazz and John
Coltrane's Ascension, is a glimpse at the current state of the phenomenal
Free Jazz continuum featuring many of the founding visionaries and
iconoclasts - including the Sun Ra Arkestra, Bill Dixon, Bobby Bradford and
the Art Ensemble of Chicago - along with an emerging generation of
distinguished instrumentalists.
Saturday, October 31, 8pm
SUN RA ARKESTRA
Saturday, December 5, 8pm
BILL DIXON AND EXPLODING STAR ORCHESTRA
Saturday, January 30, 8pm
CIRCULASIONE TOTALE ORCHESTRA
Saturday, March 6, 8pm
ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGO
Tickets for all four concerts are only $65!
Purchase tickets to the series: http://ihousephilly.org/anti-jazz.htm
http://jazzsermon.com/listening-post-five-piece...
Thanks.
So?
http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/1751/idontca...
Just wondering.
Humans have been used as subjects for research of one kind and another for ages. The research may have been for practical or theoretical reasons but basically to learn something about human biology or humanity. Unfortunately, there has been some research on human subjects simply to boost the researcher’s ego or standing or for purely political or ideological reasons. Because of the Nazi experience and subsequent court trials, the Judgment of Nuremberg Code was written and since then there have been other codes and laws to attempt to make research using human subjects as rational, safe and ethical as possible. In more recent years withn the U.S., institutional research boards (IRB) have been set up to screen research on humans at the local level as well as an office for the protection of human subjects at a federal level. But there still are mistakes in research or worse and it takes organizations such as the Alliance for Human Research Protection (a national network promoting the protection of human subjects in medical research) and others to keep watch. Despite legal protection and institutional "review", there still are areas of human research which needs more attention including informed consent, conflict of interest, studies of children or mentally incompetent, study results not being published and issues of patent rights amongst many others.
Read More
http://bioethicsdiscussion.blogspot.com/2005/07...
A Pipeline Through a Troubled Land: Afghanistan, Canada and the New Great Energy Game documents the proposed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline, which will transport natural gas 1,680 kilometres from southeast Turkmenistan through southern Afghanistan, to Pakistan and India.
The report, written by international energy economist and former lead economist of PetroCanada John Foster, describes the U.S.-backed pipeline as turning Afghanistan into “an energy bridge” between Central and South Asia.
“The U.S. is our ally and it clearly asserts the geopolitical importance of the region. But the quest for 'energy security' risks drawing Canada unwittingly into a new Great Energy Game," said Foster.
A Gas Pipeline Framework Agreement, signed by representatives of the four nations on April 25, 2008, commits the four nations to initiating construction of the $7.6 billion gas pipeline in 2010, supplying gas by 2015.
“Canada’s debate has been devoid of any discussion about how building a U.S.-backed pipeline through Kandahar would affect Canadian Forces’ efforts to build peace and stability in Afghanistan’s most troubled province,” said Bruce Campbell, CCPA Executive Director. “Will Canadian Forces become guardians of this pipeline?”
The report notes that Canadian Members of Parliament and officials have participated in regional energy meetings; but in government speeches and media reports, it’s as if no meetings have ever taken place.
A Pipeline Through A Troubled Land: Afghanistan, Canada, and the New Great Energy Game - PDF File, 4008 Kb
http://www.policyalternatives.ca/doc...ubled_La...
By JEANNIE KEVER
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
A long-simmering disagreement between broadcaster Tavis Smiley and Texas Southern University ended Friday when the university's governing board agreed to strip Smiley's name from its communication school.
Smiley promised in 2004 to donate $1 million and to raise another $1 million for TSU. The school later created the Tavis Smiley School of Communication in his honor.
In return, Smiley made one $50,000 donation in mid-2005 and raised $250,000 from three corporate donors.
But he said Friday that he had intended to fulfill his personal $1 million pledge.
“Any institution that turns away a $1 million gift in this economy, I think ought to have good reason for doing that,” he said in a telephone interview.
He also said former university President Priscilla Slade offered to name the school for him before he pledged any money.
“I even made a joke, how much is this decision going to cost me?” he said. “She said, ‘This decision has already been made.'”
“It doesn't feel good,” he said of the board's decision. “My intentions were to help the students.”
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolita...
2. Tavis promised to raise $2 million dollars for the school, 1 million from his pocket and 1 million from pledges. Tavis only gave $50K out of his pocket, so he still owes the school $950,000 from his own personal pledge.
3. I do not know why Tavis is talking this "I don't know WHO would refuse a $1 million dollar pledge in this economy." Maybe he needs to pony up the other $950K he's pledged to the school. I'm sure he's made that and more with Wells Fargo and his little PBS show. The school can't refuse what they never got.
Basically this Tavis/TSU thing breaks down like this:
Tavis promised the money.
Tavis never paid the money.
The school yanked his name.
Tavis is salty because once again people aren't feeling him.
Wash, rinse, repeat.
"Mr. Accountablility" stiffed the school!
I'm shocked, SHOCKED, I tell you!
October 26, 2009 12:47 pm ET by Chris Harris
After six days, the Republican National Committee finally removed a picture from its Facebook page that called the mixing of races a "crime against American values." In 2004, the RNC demanded an apology from MoveOn.org after a supporter posted a video comparing President Bush to Hitler. Will the RNC live up to its own standards and apologize?
http://mediamattersaction.org/blog/200910260003
Monday, October 26, 2009
Did Roland Burris save the public option?
by John Aravosis (DC) on 10/26/2009 05:48:00 PM
Kinda wild.
Reid and the leadership faced this basic math: There is only one Snowe and there are 60 members of the Democratic caucus. If just a few Democrats abandoned the bill, it would fall short even with Snowe's support.
"It's a zero-sum situation," said Durbin, who is in charge of counting votes in the Senate. "If we thought that just putting the trigger in meant that we'd end with 61 votes," he explained, then that's what leadership would have done.
"But there were some [senators] that felt that that just didn't go far enough moving toward a public option," said Durbin, who is himself a backer.
"We have 60 people in the caucus," Reid said. "We'll all hang together and see where we come out."
Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.) had insisted he would oppose any bill without a public option and rejected the trigger as a compromise. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent and self-described democratic socialist who caucuses with Democrats, had come close to making such a threat but said he was "playing it day to day." Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.) said over the weekend that the lack of a public option was a "good reason" to vote against it.
The only clear vote "no" was Burris.
http://www.americablog.com/2009/10/did-roland-b...
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/business/27ai...
::
Maurice Greenberg is a mad genius.
Fluff? You decide. French Vogue puts a model in Blackface. Do Black women still read Vogue? If so, why??? Have a good day.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33489374/ns/world_n...
::
A very good read!
From the article:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Korengal and other areas, he said, taught him "how localized the insurgency was. I didn't realize that a group in this valley here has no connection with an insurgent group two kilometers away." Hundreds, maybe thousands, of groups across Afghanistan, he decided, had few ideological ties to the Taliban but took its money to fight the foreign intruders and maintain their own local power bases.
"That's really what kind of shook me," he said. "I thought it was more nationalistic. But it's localism. I would call it valley-ism."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After a fairly quick read, I don't see any mention of the idea that simply securing the border is important to help Pakistan go after groups related to AQ and Taliban on their side of the border. I would like to know what Hoh thinks of that.
The bottomline for me is that I think there is a kind of burden of proof on those who want to continue the military commitment. There needs to be some justification of the cost and explanation why there are no other creative alternatives. It needs to be understood in terms of how the local cultures function. And the rationale has to be stronger than the "scary stuff COULD happen" explanation.
the only way to seperate AQ is to provide protection in the cities, the towns and for the government(yes, the government needs to be competent and non coruupt-we don't even have that here)to provide services and change. You can't fix the things that woul hve the most immediate appeal like fixing the irrigation canals and keeping the water supply clean and available if AQ is strong enough to blow it up day after day because it isn't protected.
AS to the "scary stuff" you seem to be ignoring tat AQ isn't ied down to Pushtons for support. They have recruited Hansa form Nigeria, Somali's from Somalia, Uzbeks, Tajiks, Eritreans, Tigre's from Eithiopia, bosian muslims, turks Saudis, iraqi's basically form any ethnic/national group that is Molsem. To operate at level beyond inconvience they can't have a base to hide, regroup and plan. That they had in Afghanistan and that was real as 1994 and 2001 proved .
One of the reasons that I mentioned the lack of discussion about religion is that I believe as a religious group AQ presents a threat to Islam in that islam has not reconciled itself w/ modernity(how ever you want to define it) in totality. Saudi we have laws women can't drive but they can be chemists, physicist and doctors, no mixing of the Sexes still rejected in Iraq and was in Iran prior to the overthrow of the Shah. This we will have a huge time figuring out how it plays into the mix because for each Islamic country it means something else.
The other thing about the scary stuff is it is a place to hide,IMO. It is very similiar to president obama's refusal to deal w/ racism. It is a difficult subject to address because it requires time and thought. Time that people in America do not even want to spend on regarding their own health. They prefer to spend it on fantasy football.
I'm not saying there is a concern. I'm also concerned. I'm saying there is a question of probabilities and some of the scary scenarios that get floated to justify an escalation in Afghanistan are getting a little remote in terms of probabilities.
I agree that a more informed, wider scoped and more detailed discussion is needed. Unfortunately that won't fit most cable network infotainment outlets. And I really take your point on fantasy football.
I think one of the things that could help the current national dialog would be if we suddenly took the number of troops off the table. I think Obama could move things forward by building anticipation for his upcoming strategic announcement on Afghanistan. Then when he gives it, he focuses primarily on political, economic and social strategies. The only thing he mentions about troops is the need to keep the same present in order to provide a baseline of security.
An approach like that (for at least one hour before the MSM twists it) would get Americans and others of the world thinking in terms that are likely to be more productive.
McChrystal is viewing the troops as necessary to keep control and safety of key areas of Afghanistan. He knows he cannot stop every suicide bomber. He can set up postions where the local people can come and receive services. He can protect dams, irrigation canals, schools-intially for men and agricultural information, protect the market place where people exchange goods,services and ideas.
The goal is to reach critical mass of services, goods and educated people.The latter is the most imortant of the three. Educate people can then read the Koran themselves or have their children read it to them. If that happens you have competetion of ideas about Islam. You have soldiers and police whom can handle their responsiblities. The law becomes more civil and less religious. You will not have people abandoning their families to AQ Islamic law. Most importantly they will turn against AQ when AQ forces them to chose between AQ's version of law and their culture. .
By: bmaz Tuesday October 27, 2009 12:29 am
Vice President Joe Biden is set to make an appearance in his home state of Delaware today to make an announcement that Fisker Automotive will be purchasing, retooling and opening up operations in a shuttered former General Motors facility in Wilmington. From the Washington Post:
Vice President Biden will make the announcement that Fisker Automotive of Irvine, Calif., is expected to invest $175 million to retool the plant.
Fisker, which will pay the old GM $18 million for the facility and equipment, is getting tax incentives from the state of Delaware, although officials there declined Monday to say how much.
Fisker plans to make a car in Delaware that is being developed under the name “Project Nina” after the ship belonging to explorer Christopher Columbus. Russell Datz, a Fisker spokesman, said that the project’s name is meant to be “symbolic of the transfer from the old world to the new in terms of auto technology.” The car is expected to cost about $39,900 after tax incentives.
The Fisker facility is expected to create 2,000 jobs and will likely be operational by 2011. Administration officials said the deal will indirectly create another 3,000 jobs once the plant is fully operational, expected in 2014. Administration officials say that Fisker expects many of the jobs will go to former GM or Chrysler auto workers.
Time will tell, but on the front end this looks like a wonderful deal in a lot of ways. Fisker is a company that has been putting the pieces together behind the scenes for a couple of years for a major production move, and their initial prototype, and soon to be production model, the Karma, is absolutely stunning and, from all reports, technologically sound. Wilmington is an area that, while not as hard hit as Detroit, is certainly depressed and has been further decimated by the recent closing of the large GM plant there as well as a separate Chrysler plant. When fully up and running, the Fisker Nina plant in Wilmington may be able to reemploy many, if not most, of those orphaned workers.
The Fisker Nina will sell for approximately $39,000 after an anticipated $7,500 tax credit and has been described by the company as follows:
Design
“Nina is the project name for a family oriented, user friendly plug-in hybrid featuring cutting edge technology, radical styling and world-class quality,” said Euslberg
It seems likely Fisker already has some significant design development underway, but perhaps no sold models. However, we are going to have to wait a while before seeing any of them. “We are not currently releasing designs,” he said.
Battery
The car will use lithium ion batteries for energy storage. Like the Karma, the new vehicle will also source its batteries from Indiana-based EnerDel (NASDAQ: HEV).
Charger
Fisker will be using level 2 or 240 Volt home chargers built by Lear.
Engineering Architecture
The Karma is utilizing an extended-range electric architecture wherein the car is always powered by the electric motor, and can deliver up to 50 all electric miles, with the gas range extender going on after that.
Even more interesting is the synergy and interplay at work by the government (presumably with Ed Montgomery having a large hand) below the surface. Fisker will be paying GM $18 million for the plant and is expected to invest up to $175 million to retool and fit the plant for their needs and, conveniently, Fisker was awarded last month a $528 million loan from the US Department of Energy’s $25 billion Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Program. The ATVMP is designed to encourage the domestic design and manufacture of new battery technology and electric cars. And, of course, the US government is now a substantial stakeholder in GM itself. If this works, it is a marvelous and efficient interjection of government seed and green stimulus money and everybody will benefit.
It is nice to get this project for Wilmington Delaware, and it is surely needed there. Now that Vice President Biden’s backyard has been greened, how about Michigan? If there is any place in America that could use just this kind of stimulus more than Michigan, it is hard to figure where it would be. And Michigan would have been prime for Fisker as they just opened a design and engineering facility in Pontiac Michigan last year. Fisker may not be able to handle a second new facility this quickly, but surely the Obama Administration can find some analogous love to spread around in the state most desperate for it.
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2009/10/27/5378/
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/health/27hiv....
Before I can go whole hog on something like this, I'd like to know for what other purposes are the results going to be used, who has access to the results, will testing be mandatory and if so, what happens if a person refuses, will treatment be automatic and if so, will the residents receive a standard course of treatment or something the gov't is experimenting with?
The good questions you are raising serves as barrier to implementing AIDS testing in prisons.
Now that we know willful negligence created this mess, how do we go forward?
You keep mentioning testing in prisons but the article is pretty clear that the majority of persons who get testing, don't follow up with treatment and counseling. So now these prisoners may know that they're HIV positive, but it doesn't prevent the continued spreading of the disease within the prisons or once they are release. The only difference is now they know that they are HIV posiitve. Until there is coordinated effort to prevent as well as test, not much is going to change.
Speaking of coordination. As a public safety issue, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has a duty to follow HIV positive prisoners into unsuspecting communities where the prisoner is returning.
So the choices are: affordable health care for me and my family ... or ... a gimmick that makes my political party look clever.
Remind media that consumers make their jobs possible, not corporate sponsors.
Reconciliation, Here We Come
by mcjoan
Share this on Twitter - Reconciliation, Here We Come Tue Oct 27, 2009 at 11:48:08 AM PDT
In my interview with Sen. Schumer today, I also asked him if reconciliation was still on the table for healthcare reform. He talked about how it wasn't the preferred way to go because of the complications and limitations, but didn't say it wasn't the route anyone wanted to take. Now that Joe Lieberman has pulled another Lieberman, that needs to be revisited.
Back in September, when the potential for reconciliation came up, Schumer thought it had potential. Here he is, in the context of having a full caucus, before Sen. Kennedy's seat had been filled.
Are you planning on having an interim appointment from Massachusetts?
No, I don’t know. That would be up to the Massachusetts state legislature but I know they’re considering it. Ah, so, so the bottom line is that even with 60 or even if Olympia Snowe comes to some kind of agreement, it’s going to be hard, and I’ve always favored using reconciliation for good parts of the bill. I think that will get you the best bill, the strongest bill and the bill that will have the greatest positive effect on the American people. Ultimately, we’ll be judged not by whether we pass the bill, but ultimately we’ll be judged by whether it works. Leaving the bill as something that doesn’t work, even if we pass it, leading to hurting both the country and the party.
Is it possible that using reconciliation will produce an ineffective bill, because of procedural problems like the Byrd rule?
We’ve looked at it and you can’t use reconciliation for everything, [but] you can use it for a good number of things. There’s nothing wrong with using it for the places where you can use it and then trying to get the 60 votes on the places where when you can’t. You’d be surprised — the number of places where you can use it is larger than we first thought.
Let's use reconciliation for the good parts of the bill, like a robust public option that Schumer says would be most effective, and use the regular legislative process for the insurance company refroms, etc.
And, while the Senate is at it, they should be stripping Lieberman's chairmanship and removing him from the caucus.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/10/27/79...
After reading Hahn’s review, liberal blogger Matthew Yglesias was apparently struck by the need for “the concept of a ‘black conservative’ political tradition” in order to best understand Washington’s life and accomplishments. Thankfully, a little Googling revealed that a black conservative tradition does exist, though Yglesias might have searched a little further before typing this: Actually, the great Harlem Renaissance author and journalist George Schuyler—who was known as the “black H.L. Mencken”—published “general rightist sentiments” long before Clarence Thomas came on the scene, including Schuyler’s unambiguously titled 1966 autobiography Black and Conservative. And the celebrated novelist and folklorist Zora Neale Hurston both endorsed conservative Sen. Robert A Taft in the 1952 presidential election and repeatedly attacked FDR’s New Deal, including this 1951 assault from the pages of the Saturday Evening Post: So I think it’s safe to say that Clarence Thomas has a few more prominent forebears than just Booker T. Washington. And while I wouldn’t call him a conservative, Frederick Douglass absolutely counts as one of America’s greatest classical liberals.
The Black Conservative Tradition
Subliminal messaging to convince Blacks being a conservative is a good thing?
Supporters of the bill say severe weather patterns some scientists believe to be the result of climate change have a disparate impact on minority and poor communities. But Frank Stewart, the president and chief operating officer of the American Association of Blacks in Energy, believes the legislation could lead to a transfer of wealth from urban communities with large black populations to rural areas that stand to benefit more from “green” jobs created by a carbon cap.
...
Less has been made of climate change as a civil rights issue, although the support of minority communities could prove critical to the bill’s ultimate success, given the political power of groups like the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC).
The NAACP, the Hip Hop Caucus and the Intertribal Council on Utility Policy join the NWF at a press conference on Tuesday as the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee begins the first of three hearings over the next three days on the climate bill introduced by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.).
Hilary O. Shelton, the NAACP’s lead lobbyist, said his group’s work on climate change is an evolution of its now decades-old push on environmental justice issues.
“Racial and ethnic and poor communities end up being the dumping ground for toxins and pollutants,” said Shelton, explaining NAACP’s efforts on clean air and other environmental issues.
Hurricane Katrina turned climate into an environmental justice issue for the NAACP, Shelton said.
“We want to make sure our policymakers address the severe weather conditions like Katrina that are caused by major shifts in our climate,” Shelton said.
Civil rights groups join climate talks
War has such an emotional and devastating effect on these guys.