| Posted: 12/29/08 01:48 PM [ET] | |
| Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) is calling for a United Nations investigation into Israel’s attacks on Gaza, criticizing Israel for a disproportionate response to Hamas rocket attacks. The criticism stands in stark contrast to the statements of other Democrats, who have offered near-unanimous support for Israel amid the latest violence in the Middle East. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and other Democrats have blamed Hamas for the violence, which has left more than 300 people in Gaza dead. One person in Israel has been killed by a Hamas rocket. Kucinich likened the Israeli attacks on Gaza to its war with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon in 2006. In both cases, he said, civilian populations were attacked and “countless innocents” were killed or injured. “All this was, and is, disproportionate, indiscriminate mass violence in violation of international law,” Kucinich said in a statement. “Israel is not exempt from international law and must be held accountable.” Pelosi and other Democrats have refrained from criticizing Israel’s government, which has responded to the Hamas attacks with a rocket assault on Gaza. “Peace between Israelis and Palestinians cannot result from daily barrages of rocket and mortar fire from Hamas-controlled Gaza,” Pelosi said in a statement posted on the Speaker’s website on Monday. “Hamas and its supporters must understand that Gaza cannot and will not be allowed to be a sanctuary for attacks on Israel. Reid said he “strongly” supported Israel’s right to defend its citizens from the Hamas rocket attacks and to restore its security. He also blamed Hamas for any humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. “Hamas’s failure to stop these attacks only exacerbates the humanitarian situation for the residents of Gaza and undermines efforts to attain peace and security in the region.” In March, the House voted 404-1 for a resolution condemning Hamas and other Palestinian groups for rocket attacks on Israel. It also condemned the use of Palestinians as human shields. Hamas has been criticized repeatedly for shooting rockets into Israel from civilian areas in Gaza, which leads to the deaths of civilians when Israel counterattacks. The only member of Congress to vote against the resolution was Rep. Ron Paul (Texas), a Republican candidate for president in 2008. Four Democrats, Reps. Jim Moran (Va.), Neil Abercrombie (Hawaii), Michael Capuano (Mass.) and Jim McDermott (Wash.), voted present. Kucinich was not present for the vote. Kucinich said the perpetrators of attacks against Israel should be brought to justice, but that Israel “cannot create a war against an entire people in order to attempt to bring to justice the few who are responsible.” Pelosi said the U.S. must continue to do everything it can to promote peace in the region and a negotiated settlement between Israelis and Palestinians. She said humanitarian needs of all innocent civilians must be addressed, but added that when Israel is attacked, “the United States must continue to stand strongly with its friend and democratic ally.” Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Israel had a “duty” to defend itself in response to the attacks. “The loss of innocent life is a terrible tragedy, and the blame for that tragedy lies with Hamas.” Similarly, Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) laid blame with Hamas. “Hamas is abusing the people of Gaza by using their homes as a base for terror operations,” he said. “The world should no longer tolerate a terrorist government in the Gaza Strip.” President-elect Obama has yet to weigh in on the violence, although top adviser David Axelrod on Sunday noted statements Obama made over the summer that respected Israel’s right to defend itself. Kucinich said in his statement that he had sent a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon requesting an independent inquiry. He said the attacks on civilians represented collective punishment, which he said was a violation of Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/kucinich-criticizes-israel-wants-u.n.-probe-2008-12-29.html |
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Kucinich criticizes Israel; wants U.N. probe
Monday, December 29, 2008
Caroline Kennedy says she's best for the job
(CNN) -- After weeks of criticism that she was being too elusive, Senate hopeful Caroline Kennedy is now talking about why she believes she is the best person for the job.
In a media blitz this weekend, Kennedy sought to explain what sets her apart from the handful of other people being considered for Hillary Clinton's Senate seat.
"I would be an unconventional choice -- I haven't followed a traditional path, but I think I bring a lifetime of experience to this," she told NY1.
She also told The New York Times that "there's a lot of different ways that people are coming to public life now, and it's not only the traditional path."
Asked if she thinks she's the best fit, Kennedy told the Times, "Well, I wouldn't be here if I didn't think I would be the best."
New York Gov. David Paterson has the sole responsibility of picking Clinton's replacement. His pick would serve for two years before running for election in 2010. If the candidate won that contest, he or she would have to run again in 2012, when Clinton's term ends.
If Paterson selects Kennedy, it would mean the continuation of a Kennedy legacy in the Senate that began 56 years ago with the election of her father, John F. Kennedy, as the junior senator from Massachusetts.
But some are questioning whether she's ready to follow the path taken by her father and her two uncles.
Kennedy, 51, has been involved in education reform and women's issues but has never held public office and has mostly stayed out of the public spotlight.
Hank Sheinkopf, who worked for President Bill Clinton's 1996 re-election campaign, said name recognition does not make Kennedy qualified for the job. "Does she have name recognition? So does Jennifer Lopez," Sheinkopf said.
"The Senate seat is not a legacy place. We haven't had a Kennedy elected to office from New York state since 1964, and a lot of people would like to keep it that way," he said, referring to Caroline's uncle Robert Kennedy.
Kennedy has insisted that she brings more to the table than her name.
"If my last name was not Kennedy, maybe I would have run for office a long time ago," she told NY1. "I'm proud of my family tradition. It means a lot to me. That's something that I want to live up to, and that's why I feel that I've been preparing myself to do this. But it isn't fundamentally about me -- it's about who can do the best job for the people of New York -- who Gov. Paterson thinks can do the best job for delivering for the people of New York."
But now that she is publicly seeking the seat, her name does make it easy for her to get attention, according to Lynn Sweet, the Washington bureau chief for the Chicago Sun-Times.
"This is the megaphone of the Kennedy celebrity. This is one -- this is the most famous political family in America, the legendary family," she said.
"What's interesting here, one of the other people who would like to be appointed, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, he comes from another big New York political family, but, yes, it's hard even for him even to be heard."
Cuomo is the son of former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo. He is one of New Yorkers' top choices for the seat, according to recent polls.
A new national poll suggest that just over half of Americans think Kennedy has the necessary qualifications, with 52 percent saying she is qualified and 42 percent saying she is not. Read what Americans think about Kennedy
The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey, released Monday, also shows a gender gap -- with 57 percent of women saying she's qualified, compared with 47 percent among men. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
"Men may think of qualifications for public office in terms of work experience, while women may be looking at a candidate's life experience," said CNN polling director Keating Holland. "Caroline Kennedy has a personal history that may be compelling to many women, but her résumé is not very long, and that may be a mark against her to some men."
The mother of three has spent most of her life in New York City, working there after graduating from Harvard, meeting her husband, Edwin Schlossberg, on the job at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and attending Columbia Law School there.
Her most prominent public roles to date involved overseeing her father's presidential library and presenting the annual Profiles in Courage Award.
Most of her leadership positions have been based in the arts: hosting the annual nationally televised Kennedy Center Honors in Washington and serving as the honorary chairwoman of the American Ballet Theatre, as her mother had.
Sweet, of the Sun-Times, said there's no clear path to the Senate, so it's hard to compare résumés for the job.
"We know that people come to this from all walks of life. There is no one qualification for Senate," she said.
Kennedy has said she's always considered political office, but was finally moved to action after working on President-elect Barack Obama's presidential campaign. She endorsed Obama early in the campaign and served on his vice presidential search team.
Paterson has said he will not appoint Clinton's replacement until the seat officially becomes vacant.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Dictator Stalin voted third-greatest Russian
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Scores die in Israeli air strikes
Israeli F-16 bombers have launched a series of air strikes against key targets in the Gaza Strip, killing at least 155 people, medical chiefs say.
Gaza officials and the Hamas militant group said about 200 others were hurt as missiles hit security compounds and militant bases across the territory.
The strikes, the most intense Israeli attacks on Gaza in years, come days after a truce with Hamas expired.
Israel said it was responding to an escalation in rocket attacks from Gaza.
Palestinian militants frequently fire rockets against Israeli towns from inside the Gaza Strip; large numbers of rocket and mortar shells had been fired at Israel in recent days.
In a statement, Israel's military said it targeted "Hamas terror operatives" as well as training camps and weaponry storage warehouses.
In the West Bank, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas - whose Fatah faction was ousted from Gaza by Hamas in 2007 - condemned the attacks and called for restraint.
But Hamas quickly vowed to carry out revenge attacks on Israel in response to the air strikes, firing Qassam rockets into Israeli territory as an immediate reply.
At least one Israeli was killed by a rocket strike in the town of Netivot, doctors said.
"Hamas will continue the resistance until the last drop of blood," spokesman Fawzi Barhoum was reported as saying.
Israel also stood firm, saying operations "will continue, will be expanded, and will deepen if necessary".
International reaction was swift and expressed concern, with many world leaders calling for calm and an immediate ceasefire.
Rising toll
A White House spokesman said the United States "urges Israel to avoid civilian casualties as it targets Hamas in Gaza".
"Hamas' continued rocket attacks into Israel must cease if the violence is to stop," the spokesman, Gordon Johndroe, added.
The UK Foreign Office said: "We urge maximum restraint to avoid further civilian casualties."
The French presidency of the EU meanwhile called for an immediate halt to the shooting by both sides.
Reports of the casualties in Gaza mounted swiftly after news broke of the Israeli operation, in which at least 30 missiles were fired by F-16 fighter bombers.
Images from the scenes of strikes showed dead and injured Palestinians, burning and destroyed buildings, and scenes of panic and chaos on Gaza's crowded streets.
Residents spoke of children heading to and from school at the time of the attacks, and there were fears of civilian casualties, although no detailed information was available from hospitals.
Israel hit targets across Gaza, striking in the territory's main population centres, including Gaza City in the north and the southern towns of Khan Younis and Rafah.
Egypt opened its border crossing to the Gaza Strip at Rafah to absorb and treat some of those injured in the south of the territory.
Most of the dead and injured were said to be in Gaza City, where Hamas's main security compound was destroyed. The head of Gaza's police forces, Tawfik Jaber, was reportedly among those killed.
Reuters news agency said at least 20 people were thought to have died in Khan Younis.
Hamas said all of its security compounds in Gaza were destroyed by the Israeli air strikes, which Israel said hit some 40 targets across the territory.
The air strikes are the most intense Israel has launched against Gaza for some time, and come amid rumours that a ground operation is imminent.
Israeli security officials have been briefing about the possibility of a new offensive into Gaza for some days now, says the BBC's Paul Wood, in Jerusalem.
But most reports centred on the possibility of a ground offensive, and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was not expected to authorise any operation until Sunday at the earliest.
Although a six-month truce between Hamas and Israel was agreed earlier this year, it was regularly under strain and was allowed to lapse when it expired this month.
Hamas blamed Israel for the end of the ceasefire, saying it had not respected its terms, including the lifting of the blockade under which little more than humanitarian aid has been allowed into Gaza.
Israel said it initially began a staged easing of the blockade, but this was halted when Hamas failed to fulfil what Israel says were agreed conditions, including ending all rocket fire and halting weapons smuggling.
Israel says the blockade - in place since Hamas took control of Gaza in June 2007 - is needed to isolate Hamas and stop it and other militants from firing rockets across the border at Israeli towns.
from BBC.co.uk
What the fuck?! Granted Hamas has been behaving terribly. They refused to renew the truce and have been firing rockets into Israel. But--as per usual--those rockets killed or injured a very small numer of Israelis. I think 1 Israeli has been killed in the last week. So Israel levels part of Gaza wih air strikes and kills 155 people? How is that in any way a balanced response? God damn it. Gaza is already like a 140 square mile prison, especially since the Israeli embargo. People live in appalling conditions. And yes, Hamas is to blame for a lot of it. But popular opinion has tunred against Hamas over the last coupe of years. But I can bet it increases now. And it will increase even more when Hamas starts killing dozens of Israelis in suicide attacks. For Christ's sake Israel should see this coming.
Update: Nearly 200 killed. Many civilians. Even sadder.
....now over 225.
....nearly 300 and now more attacks...
....over 350 and 1400 injured. At least 60 civilians. 2 Israelis killed by Hamas rockets.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Israelis reopen Gaza's crossings
 |
Israel has reopened crossings into the Gaza Strip to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Israeli officials said Defence Minister Ehud Barak took the decision after talks with security chiefs and requests from the international community.
About 80 trucks with supplies such as medicine, food and other goods are expected to cross on Friday.
The move comes despite Israeli warnings to Palestinian militants in Gaza to stop their rocket attacks on Israel.
Some 50 rockets have been launched from Gaza in recent days, after the killing of three Hamas members by Israel.
A six-month ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas ended last week.
Cairo talks
UN officials have warned that the Hamas-controlled territory is facing a humanitarian catastrophe. Four out of five Gazans are dependent on food aid and the UN warehouses there are now empty. The UN says the deliveries fall far short of what is needed.
The Israeli defence ministry did not say for how long the Gaza crossings would remain open but a spokesperson said the security situation was re-evaluated on a daily basis.
The ministry said a smaller number of rockets was fired on Friday morning than on previous days and therefore it was judged that the humanitarian need in Gaza was greater than the security need in Israel.
In November, Israel re-sealed the border with Gaza after temporarily opening it to allow in a limited amount of food and fuel. That step was taken after a rocket was fired at Israel from Gaza.
On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he would not hesitate to strike Hamas and also Islamic Jihad militants in Gaza.
Separately, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said after Thursday's emergency talks in Cairo with top Egyptian officials that the latest escalation was "unbearable".
The BBC's Christian Fraser says some will see Ms Livni's visit as the first of several diplomatic steps Israel must take before launching military action.
A small bit of good news. Good decision Israel.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Bailout Anger Brews
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
This precisely what I have been saying for a while now. We got at best hoodwinked and at worst totally screwed. TARP was one off the worst ideas ever.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Blind man navigates maze
Scientists have discovered that a blind person can navigate through a maze of obstacles unaided using the power of "sixth" sense alone.
The man, left blind by a stroke, was able to intuitively walk around chairs and boxes without bumping into them using hidden pathways in the brain.
The study suggests we all use subconscious brain resources and can do things we think we are unable to do.
The Harvard Medical School research is published in Current Biology.
The patient, known only as TN, was left blind after damage to the visual (striate) cortex in both hemispheres of the brain following consecutive strokes.
His eyes are normal but his brain cannot process the information they send in, rendering him totally blind.
However, he was previously known to have what is called "blindsight" - the ability to detect things in the environment without being aware of seeing them.
For instance, he responds to the facial expressions of others.
But he walks like a blind person, using a stick to track obstacles and requiring guidance by others when walking around buildings.
A video recording shows him completing the obstacle course set up by the scientists "flawlessly", without the aid of his cane or another person.
Lead researcher Dr Beatrice de Gelder of Tilburg University, The Netherlands, and Harvard Medical School, US, said TN was "not aware of doing anything exceptional" and thought all he had done was walk straight ahead along a long corridor.
It is an important message for those with brain damage in particular, she said.
"You can experience a total loss of your cortical vision but still retain some capacity to move around inside and out without damage to yourself," she told the BBC.
"It shows us the importance of these evolutionary ancient visual paths. They contribute more than we think they do for us to function in the real world."
The research was carried out together with colleagues in the UK, Switzerland and Italy.
Sonal Rughani, optometrist and senior advisor to the UK charity, the RNIB, said it was a striking observation, and further evidence that the brain is very flexible.
But she said relatively few numbers of people were left blind through brain injury, and most people with sight problems following a stroke could be helped by complex therapy regimes.
"These are very exciting findings but it will require further research," she added.
video link:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7794766.stm
Just kind of cool. Like Daredevil...sort of. Only rather than doing acrobatics this guy can actively *not* fall over a camera tripod or wastebasket. But all the same, it's pretty neat from a scientific standpoint.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Pope: Gays Greater Threat than Rain Forest Destruction
Pope Benedict XVI has said that saving humanity from homosexual or transsexual behaviour is just as important as saving the rainforest from destruction.
He explained that defending God's creation is not limited to saving the environment, but also protecting man from self-destruction.
The pope was delivering his end-of-year address to senior Vatican staff.
His words, later released to the media, emphasised his total rejection of gender theory.
Pope Benedict XVI warned that gender theory blurs the distinction between male and female and could thus lead to the "self-destruction" of the human race.
Gender theory
Gender theory explores sexual orientation, the roles assigned by society to individuals according to their gender, and how people perceive their biological identity.
 |  If tropical forests deserve our protection, humankind... deserves it no less  Pope Benedict XVI |
Gay and transsexual groups, particularly in the United States, promote it as a key to understanding and tolerance, but the pope disagreed.
When the Roman Catholic Church defends God's Creation, "it does not only defend the earth, water and the air... but (it) also protects man from his own destruction," the pope said.
"If tropical forests deserve our protection, humankind... deserves it no less," the 81-year-old pontiff said, calling for "an ecology of the human being."
It is not "outmoded metaphysics" to urge respect for the "nature of the human being as man and woman," he told scores of prelates gathered in the Vatican's sumptuous Clementine Hall.
The Catholic Church opposes gay marriage. It teaches that while homosexuality is not sinful, homosexual acts are.
'Rock festival'
The pope uses his traditional end-of-year speech to offer his Christmas greetings and say a few words about what he considers the important issues of the day.
This year, Pope Benedict also deplored the tendency to depict the Catholic church's World Youth Day, which he attended in Sydney earlier this year, as mere spectacle.
He stressed that the event should not be considered a "variant of modern youth culture, as a kind of ecclesiastical rock festival with the Pope as the star," but as the fruition of a "long exterior and interior path".from BBC.co.uk/news
Every time I think the Church is becoming a bit progressive it goes and says/does something retarded. Gender theory will ruin humanity? What the fuck? I mean, I don't buy a lot of gender theory--I believe in parts of it--, but even if people's sexuality is determined by social construction, why does that lead to the downfall of humanity? I don't get it. I especially don't get how the "gay threat" is more dangerous than rain forest destruction. Ugh....
Thursday, December 18, 2008
UN split over homosexuality laws
| By Laura Trevelyan BBC News, United Nations |
Sixty-six countries at the United Nations have called for homosexuality to be decriminalised.
The countries signed a declaration sponsored by France and the Netherlands demanding an end to legal punishment based on sexual orientation. 
Sixty other countries of the UN's 192 member states, including a number of Arab and African states, rejected the non-binding declaration.
They said laws on homosexuality should be left to individual countries.
Gay men, lesbians and transsexuals worldwide face daily violations of their human rights.
Homosexuality is a criminal offence in more than 80 countries, while in at least seven nations, including Saudi Arabia, sex between men can be punished with the death penalty.
Considerable opposition
This month marks the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the French and Dutch governments are using this to highlight discrimination against homosexuals.
Their statement calls for an end to the execution, arrest and detention of homosexuals and transexuals.
The Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen said it was a significant declaration.
Yet there is considerable opposition to this at the UN. Socially conservative countries in the Arab world and in Africa did not want anything to do with it.
Syria spoke on behalf of 60 countries, arguing that domestic laws should be respected, and claiming the declaration could legitimise deplorable acts including paedophilia.
The US was the only major Western nation not to sign the declaration.
Even though the US Supreme Court has ruled that states cannot make homosexuality a crime, diplomats claimed the declaration was not compatible with the division between between state and federal law.
France and the Netherlands hope more countries will sign up to the declaration in the future.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/7791063.stm
Gay Man for Navy Secretary?
By Jessica Bennett and Daniel Stone
As gay activists protest the selection of evangelical megapastor Rick Warren to give the inaugural invocation, they could have reason to cheer a future Obama announcement. Sources tell NEWSWEEK that the president-elect is considering the appointment of the first openly gay chief of a military branch.
Bill White, president of the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York, is being backed by congressional and former military leaders to be the next secretary of the Navy. Among White's vocal supporters are retired Gen. Hugh Shelton, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat whose district includes the newly renovated Intrepid museum which sits on an aircraft carrier in the Hudson River. Nadler says members of Obama's transition team have reached out to him about White. "They're clearly vetting him," he tells NEWSWEEK.
Another favorite caught in the Beltway chatter for the job is Juan Garcia, a former naval aviator who attended Harvard Law School with Obama and was chairman of his campaign in Texas.
Because the Navy secretary is a civilian job, White's appointment wouldn't directly conflict with the military ban on gays. But it would certainly bring new attention to the Pentagon's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy as Obama gets ready to take office. Getting rid of that law--under which more than 12,000 members of the military have been discharged--was an Obama campaign promise, though the president-elect has since acknowledged its repeal might take some time. If nominated, White, 42, will likely face questions about his take on that policy, implemented by President Clinton in 1993.
Though he's never served in the military, backers say White has extensive contacts in the armed forces through his role with the Intrepid Museum and the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, a $100 million nonprofit set up to help military families and wounded vets. White also serves as a trustee of the Fisher House Foundation, which provides free housing at military and veterans hospitals for families who want to be near the recovery process. Reached by telephone, a spokeswoman for White said he would not be commenting, but has considered his work with the armed forces "truly the highest privilege."
"I certainly recommend him," Nadler says. "For the many years that I've known him, he's been an advocate for military personnel and their families, and for veterans." A source close to the talks says that incoming secretary of state Hillary Clinton has expressed support for White's nomination, although a spokesperson for Clinton (who remains a senator until she is confirmed next month) did not return calls for comment.
Supporters of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" have said that nominating White would send the wrong signal. "It's a matter of judgment, and I think that would be very poor judgment on the part of the commander in chief," Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, told The Washington Times, which first reported the White rumors. Meanwhile, in a statement released by the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay advocacy group, President Joe Solmonese said White's nomination would be a "concrete demostration" that the Obama administration sees "no place" for employment discrimination in government. "President-elect Obama has said both during his time in the Senate and on the campaign trail that overturning 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' was a priority for him, but he's also been straightforward and realistic that this is a measure that's going to require a great deal of strategy," Solmonese tells NEWSWEEK. "The consideration of this appointment certainly bodes well for keeping with Obama's commitment to address this issue."
The Obama transition team declined to comment.
from www.newsweek.com
I thought this was interesting, sort of. I also thought it odd that he runs a museum and has no military background. I did some checking, and it seems that most Sec. of the Navy have not been military, they have been business people or academics and congressmen. I also noticed in my browsing that there have been 6 Navy Secretaries under Bush. Does that seem high? Anyway, assuming he is qualified I like the message it sends about Obama's administration. Hopefully that dumbass don't ask don't tell will be repealed before too long. 12000 soldiers discharged? Pretty lame reasons when the military is begging people to enlist.
US Aid to Georgia Funds Luxury Hotel
In September, the United States pledged $1 billion in aid to Georgia to help the country recover from its August war with Russia. The money was intended to “help Georgia sustain itself,” Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said. With several Georgian towns badly damaged by Russian bombing and 20,000 refugees from South Ossetia still unable to return home, there were seemingly many worthy causes for all that cash. So why was $176 million of the aid money earmarked for loans to businesses—including $30 million to a real estate developer for a luxury hotel: the 127,000-square-meter Park Hyatt in downtown Tbilisi, an area that was not at all damaged in the war? The 183-room, five-star hotel will include 70 luxury condominiums, a fine-dining restaurant, conference facilities, and a health spa with juice bar.
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. government agency facilitating the loan, is also financing a $40 million office building across the street from the Georgian Parliament building and a $10 million renovation of a historic building into a convention center. The loans, OPIC President Robert Mosbacher told Eurasianet, were “a clear, unequivocal signal about the confidence we [the U.S. government] have in the future of this country.”
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s ill-advised military operation in South Ossetia might have been a disaster for many of his people, but thanks to Uncle Sam, it seems to have turned out just fine for Tbilisi’s real estate developers.
from Foreign Policy Magazine
Seriously? Hilarious..but couldn't that money have gone to, I don't know, building a school for every child in Afghanistan? Providing insurance for poor children in America? Like a milion other things?
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Obama to use Science to govern
 Mr Chu won the Nobel Prize for physics in 1997 |
Barack Obama has named physics Nobel Prize winner Steven Chu as his energy secretary and tasked him with finding alternatives to fossil fuels.
The US president-elect said the new administration's priorities were to end US dependence on foreign oil and fight climate change.
Naming his environment team, he said US energy dependence had grown even as global resources were disappearing.
Mr Obama has pledged to make big changes in environmental policies.
After eight years, he said, the US could not accept more broken promises when the new administration took over on 20 January.
Despite the current economic crisis, the president-elect has vowed to make the environment a priority with an ambitious promise of creating 2.5m new jobs, says the BBC's Andy Gallacher in Washington.
Boundless opportunities
Announcing his environment team at a press conference on Monday, Mr Obama vowed to "move beyond our oil addiction and create a new hybrid economy".
| All of us know the problems that are rooted in our addiction to foreign oil Barack Obama  |
"All of us know the problems that are rooted in our addiction to foreign oil," he said. "It constrains our economy, shifts wealth to hostile regimes and leaves us dependent on unstable regions."
He said these "urgent dangers" were only eclipsed by the long-term threat of climate change.
"Unless we act, [climate change] will lead to drought and famine abroad, devastating weather patterns and terrible storms on our shores and the disappearance of our coastline," said Mr Obama.
He added that there were boundless opportunities to create new jobs in the environmental industry.
Trapping atoms
The energy secretary-elect is an energy specialist and the director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
 Ms Jackson would be the EPA's first African-American administrator |
Dr Chu is a leader in the field of combating climate change using scientific methods.
He shared the 1997 Nobel Prize for physics for his work on cooling and trapping atoms using laser light.
Announcing his environment team nominations, Mr Obama named Lisa Jackson, currently the chief of staff for New Jersey's governor, as head of the environment protection agency (EPA).
Ms Jackson, who also worked for the EPA under Mr Clinton in the 1990s, would be the agency's first African-American administrator.
Mr Obama said Carol Browner, the former head of the EPA under Bill Clinton, would co-ordinate White House policy on energy and climate change.
He also named Nancy Sutley, a deputy mayor of Los Angeles, as head of the White House council on environmental quality.Exactly what we (by which I mean me) have been waiting for: a leader that will solve our problems with science. Go science! Wo-who! A refreshing change after the witchcraft and Luddism of the current admin.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Shoes thrown at Bush on Iraq trip
A surprise visit by US President George Bush to Iraq has been overshadowed by an incident in which two shoes were thrown at him during a news conference.
An Iraqi journalist was wrestled to the floor by security guards after he called Mr Bush "a dog" and threw his footwear, just missing the president.
Showing the soles of shoes to someone is a sign of contempt in Arab culture.
During the trip, Mr Bush and Iraqi PM Nouri Maliki signed the new security agreement between their countries.
The pact calls for US troops to leave Iraq in 2011 - eight years after the 2003 invasion that has in part defined the Bush presidency.
I apologize for mixing sources. The article and link are from the BBC. I do not know how to cut video from the site though, so I have posted video of the event from MSNBC.
I wonder what got that Iraqi journalist so mad. Oh wait, I bet I know. It's probably that Bush is responsible for the utter destruction of the poor guys country. Yeah, that's probably it.
********
By way of an update. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7785338.stm
Friday, December 12, 2008
White House considers auto rescue
The White House says it is considering using money earmarked to rescue the US banking industry to bail out the country's struggling automakers.
A $14bn (£9.4bn) bail-out deal for the US car industry failed to get Senate support, raising fears of job cuts and a possible industry collapse.
The White House said that the US economy could not withstand a body blow like the collapse of the auto industry.
The Federal government may have to step in, a spokesman added.
'Irresponsible'
Earlier this year, the US approved a $700bn (£467bn) bail-out for the finance industry, known as the TARP programme.
It had previously been reluctant to use this money for other industries but White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said it would consider other options, including the use of the TARP program, to prevent a collapse of troubled automakers.
She added that it would be "irresponsible" to further damage the economy by allowing the Detroit car companies to fail.
"The current weakened state of the economy is such that it could not withstand a body blow like a disorderly bankruptcy in the auto industry," she added.
President-elect Barack Obama said he was disappointed that the Senate failed to act, adding that "millions of jobs rely directly or indirectly on a viable auto industry".
"My hope is that the administration and the Congress will still find a way to give the industry the temporary assistance it needs while demanding the long-term-restructuring that is absolutely required," he said.
'Devastating'
The Big Three - Chrysler, General Motors and Ford - employ 250,000 people directly, and many more indirectly, in companies making auto parts and car dealerships.
The United Automobile Workers (UAW) union on Friday warned that if a bail-out was not forthcoming, the result would be "devastating."
The union's president, Ron Gettelfinger said he was confident that there were "enough sane" people in Washington to find a solution despite the Senate's defeat of the bail out bill.
Tense and emotional
The White House had said the plan was American carmakers' "best chance to avoid a disorderly bankruptcy".
Shares fell sharply around the world after the bail-out was rejected - with carmakers among the hardest hit. General Motors fell 10% while Ford lost 7% in early trading.
In Asia, stocks in Toyota, Honda and Nissan all lost at least 10%.
The Republicans refused to back the bail-out after the UAW union refused to cut wages next year to bring them into line with their Japanese counterparts. UAW's current contract with the car makers expires in 2011.
"We were about three words away from a deal," said Republican Sen Bob Corker. "We solved everything substantively and about three words keep us from reaching a conclusion."
The BBC's Andy Gallacher in Washington said it was always going to be a battle to get the US Senate to approve the $14bn bridging loan.
With a majority of just one in the Senate, the Democrats needed some Republicans to back the bill as some in their own party were expected to vote against it.
The atmosphere in the Senate was tense and at times emotional, our correspondent says, as the Democrats made last-minute pleas to get their Republican counterparts to vote in favour of helping America's biggest car domestic makers, Ford, Chrysler and General Motors.
Millions affected
The failure of the bail-out raises the prospect of huge job losses.
The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, said he was "terribly disappointed" when it became clear the vote had collapsed, calling it "a loss for the country".
"Millions of Americans, not only the auto workers but people who sell cars, car dealerships, people who work on cars are going to be directly impacted and affected."
The deal would have given the Big Three carmakers access to emergency funding to help them cope with the sharp downturn in sales because of the global financial crisis.
General Motors and Chrysler have said they risk ruin without immediate aid. Ford says it may need funds in the future.
The bosses of the three firms had previously asked for $34bn from Congress.
They have all seen sales fall sharply this year in the US, partly reflecting an industry-wide fall, and partly because their large gas-guzzling vehicles are no longer what customers want.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/7779981.stm
I am torn on this issue. I was totally against the bailout and I am not really for "rescuing" the Big Three with billions of dollars. But I would rather see American jobs saved than money go to banks that are showing they are not unfreezing the credit market or attempting to assist the economy. Instead, banks are raising interest rates, not giving loans to long-time, good -standing customers, cutting jobs to increase profits, and shoring up funds for later. At least if you take some of the money to help the Big Three, we might see some good come of it. Help me with some other perspectives guys.
**I will reiterate again too, the Bank Bailout was a terrible idea .**
A sad, sad day...
Bettie Page, one of the most famous US pin-up models of the 1950s, has died in Los Angeles, aged 85.
Her provocative poses - often in bikinis - made her a cult figure and she was one of the first models to appear in Playboy magazine.
Bettie Page was credited with helping to pave the way for the sexual revolution of the 1960s.
Some pictures of her showing bondage and spanking generated controversy and attracted a congressional subpoena.
The secretary-turned-model was admitted to hospital last month, suffering from pneumonia. She had a heart attack last week and never regained consciousness.
Goodbye Bettie.
Five Years Later, How They Got Saddam Hussein
http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=98174979&m=98174953
This was really pretty interesting. I was pleasantly surprised to hear Maddaox argue emphatically that you cannot get good information from people with threats of violence and coercion.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
So that's how diplomacy works?
(image from http://www.smbc-comics.com/)
This is hilarious, I never knew I could be a natural diplomat.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Just. A few. More. Weeks. Can't Wait.
Ah well, only a few more weeks.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Customers injured in crush suing Wal-Mart
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Two customers are suing Wal-Mart for negligence after being injured in a mad rush for post-Thanksgiving bargains that left one store employee dead, the men's attorney said Tuesday.
Temporary Wal-Mart worker Jdimytai Damour, 34, was crushed to death as he and other employees attempted to unlock the doors of a store on Long Island at 5 a.m. Friday.
Attorney Kenneth Mollins said Fritz Mesadieu and Jonathan Mesadieu were "literally carried from their position outside the store" and are now "suffering from pain in their neck and their back from being caught in that surge of people" that rushed into the Wal-Mart.
New York Newsday reported that the Mesadieus are father and son, ages 51 and 19.
The lawsuit alleges that the Mesadieus' injuries were a result of "carelessness, recklessness, negligence."
In a claim against the Nassau County police department, the men also contend that they "sustained monetary losses as a result of health care and legal expenses ... in the sum of $2 million."
"This is a tragic situation that could have and should have been avoided with the exercise of reasonable care. There are very simple measures that could have been put in place to avoid this, such as barriers along the line to spread people out, extra security and a better police presence," Mollins said.
He said his clients and others who were at the scene contend that the police "were there ... saw what was happening, and they left."
Calls seeking comment from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. were not immediately returned.
Lt. Kevin Smith of the Nassau County Police Department said, "it's our policy that we don't comment on open litigations" and would not respond directly to Mollins and his clients' claim that officers left the scene.
He said it is "incumbent upon the store to provide security" but noted that there was no security force present when officers responded to an initial phone call after 3 a.m. Friday for an unknown disturbance at the site.
Smith said the officers noticed a lack of order with the crowd and began to organize them into a line, remaining on site for about 30 minutes until the crowd had become orderly.
Throughout the morning, officers went back to check on the crowd and continued to notice no disturbance, Smith said.
He said that there were no additional calls for assistance until about 5 a.m., when people began rushing the doors of the store and trampled Damour.
An autopsy showed that Damour died of asphyxiation after being trampled, Nassau County officials have said.
Video showed that as many as a dozen people were knocked to the floor in the stampede of people trying to get into the store. The employee was "stepped on by hundreds of people" as other workers attempted to fight their way through the crowd, said Nassau County Police Detective Lt. Michael Fleming.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Britons 'saving money with sex'
As the credit crunch bites, Britons may be turning to sex as a cheap way to pass the time, a charity says.
A YouGov survey of 2,000 adults found sex was the most popular free activity, ahead of window shopping and gossiping.
The Scots were most amorous with 43% choosing sex over other pastimes, compared with 35% in South England.
Aids charity the Terrence Higgins Trust, which published the survey, also welcomed recent figures showing an increase in condom sales.
Around one in 10 respondents to the survey, carried in November, said their favourite free activity was window shopping and 6% chose going to a museum as the cheapest way to pass the time.
But the sexes differed on their priorities, with women preferring to gossip with friends while men had sex firmly at the top of their list.
Safe sex
Publishing the results to coincide with World Aids Day, the Terrence Higgins Trust reminded people to practise safe sex and pointed out that a packet of condoms costs a fraction of the cost of a night out.
| Rates of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections are on the up so when you snuggle down with a partner, make sure you do it safely Lisa Power, Terrence Higgins Trust |
Lisa Power, head of policy, said: We're glad that people are finding ways of relieving some of their credit crunch woes, but if there's one thing it's worth forking out for, it's condoms.
"Alternatively you can get them free from family planning and sexual health clinics.
"Rates of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections are on the up so when you snuggle down with a partner, make sure you do it safely."
Rebecca Findlay, from the Family Planning Association advised: "If anyone's having more sex at the moment whatever the reason, do think about your contraception, your condoms and any testing you might need for sexually transmitted infections.
"And you can get all of these for free on the NHS."
from BBC.co.uk/news/health
Bully for them. What's really funny is the difference between the number of people listing museums as the best free activity compared to those listing sex. Not that I blame them. But are either of those really free?
