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Archive for the ‘War’ Category

This ‘n That

Posted in 51 Percent, Congress, Feminism, Finance, Health and Food, Health Care, Justice, Politics, War, women, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 24, 2010| 1 Comment »

I’ve just been so busy with some home remodeling and the new shop, I really haven’t had time to post.  However, I hope you all are keeping up with events.

Did you read Dakinikat’s financial innovation post, HERE, over at the Confluence?

BlueLyon reports the stats that Nevada now has the highest percentage of underwater home loans in the Country at 70% – truly an astonishing figure. California, by comparison, only comes in at 35%.

Marching and petitioning are at the top of the list today.

The AFL-CIO is asking for signatures to their petition HERE, to keep Whirlpool from closing their last shop in the US that makes refrigerators. The Evansville plant has a long history and a fine working base. Whirlpool took Stimulus money and now wants to move the plant to Mexico.

BlueLyon is asking you to boycott FedEx. (I think that would also mean Kinko’s since they are the same company.) HERE is why.

The Women’s National Law Center is asking you to do a virtual march and send an email HERE to Congress. Let them know that being a woman is not the same is a “pre-existing medical condition”.

Send your thoughts to Senator Carl Levin on Blackwater (XE Services). It’s hilarious, in a deeply twisted way, that Blackwater (now XE Services) was able to divert hundreds of guns, including 500 AK-47 assault rifles intended for the Afghani Police, and pass them out like popcorn amongst themselves. Remind me again, for whom these people are working and why we need mercenaries? Blackwater’s contract to protect diplomats in Afghanistan ends this year, but the Defense Department is looking at them to train Afghan police. In the way of things political, I imagine the reason we are now addressing these complaints are those upcoming contractual events. Blackwater still hasn’t returned all the weapons. I’ll bet they can’t, with reports about that some weapons were sold on the black market.

Here is Senator Levin’s latest statement on the hearings being conducted today.

The Senate passed their version of the jobs bill this morning. I’ll have more on it later.

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Former Rep. Charlie Wilson Dies

Posted in Congress, Feminist Majority, War, tagged , , on February 10, 2010| 1 Comment »

Politico is reporting:

Charlie Wilson dies

[Former Rep. Charlie Wilson, a colorful 12-term congressman who pushed the covert action that helped Afghanistan rebels defeat the mighty Soviet Union, died Wednesday afternoon at a hospital in Lufkin, Texas….]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0210/32794.html

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Rep. John Murtha Dies

Posted in Congress, Politics, War, tagged , , , on February 8, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Politico reports that PA Rep. John Murtha has died.

POLITICO Breaking News:

—————————————————–

Rep. John Murtha has died at 77.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0210/32691.html

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#253 – After it Landed

Posted in Feminism, Humanism, Justice, Politics, War, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 29, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Is everyone else watching this media ping-pong?

We find out that:

“Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has been briefed on the incident aboard Northwest Airlines flight #253 and is closely monitoring the situation.

We learn that Mr. Abdulmutallab may have boarded without a Passport? The flight originated in Amsterdam. Hello!?

We learn the system is “working”? However, Secretary Janet Napolitano sure is glad those passengers were on board and: Thanks!

By the way, she says, expect boarding delays and new screening.

To prove how competent everyone is they haul another Nigerian man with diarrhea off the same plane the very next day.( All right, two days later!)

In the mean time Congressman Peter King says he doesn’t like Napolitano’s “tone”. Does that mean she’s failed as woman? Or she didn’t have a man’s “tone”? WTF? No one questions whether the 48 hour wait was purposeful for the Prez. King displayed a great example of how to ask the wrong questions and look like a real sexist idiot.

We learn that, yes, SHS Napolitano, said something inane yesterday but gee, we only have forty screeners to prevent this kind of thing in the entire country. It’s the Republicans fault. I’m not sure why that matters, since the flight DIDN’T ORIGINATE IN THIS COUNTRY.

Mike Littwin at the Denver Post reminds us that WE are the front line on “War on Terror.” I like that sentimental reference to a Bushian statement. (Terrorism, not Terror.)

We then learn that it is the weak minded Liberals who caused this incident.

Jake Tapper had some ideas about who can claim success in a foiled bomb attack.

(Hint. It’s us; we decided to stop being sheep to 1960’s passenger protocol.)

Speaking of protocol, we learn from Carol Lee over at Politico that we are observing presidential protocol in action as to how unexpected problems are handled. I don’t know why this is news. Obama showed us how he managed problems the night of the McCain/Obama debate. He’s pretty cool all right; He lets the other chickens run around.

Then we find out that some Yemeni jihadists are claiming this schnook’s actions are a result of our bombing them. However, Obama calls them out, cuz doncha know, this guy left Yemen BEFORE the bombing occurred. This of course means we knew he was coming, we just didn’t know what for. Never mind that the Yemeni air strike was on the 17th, and Abdulmutallab didn’t show up in our flight zone until the 25th.  I guess Yemen is in some sort of bubble, and once you leave there you lose all contact with everyone. However, since we have already pretty much committed to cleaning up terrorists everywhere, for the foreseeable future, I imagine this kind of incentive doesn’t hurt.

President Obama gets HIS tone in gear and says: “His Administration ‘Will Not Rest’ After Attempted Terror Attack”.

Then we find out that just maybe, but we aren’t sure, there is a Guantanamo link. Is it real or is it incentive? Hmm.  Hey, I’ll tell you what, the Prez is ON IT!

He’s gonna get those plane bomb plotters. Not only that, US terrorism databases and air travel screening are gonna get checked.

While we are pondering this, over at the Secretary of State’s office Mr. Ian Kelly is telling the press that they did everything right. Yes, they could have pulled Mr. Abdulmutallab’s visa, but in June when they issued it, there was no reason to. They put the father’s concerns into the database, but it wasn’t their job to kick the Undie Bomber off the plane. He was flagged on November 20th. It was someone else’s job to watch him, (National Counterterrorism Center) and no, Nigeria has said they have nothing to do with this.

Then we find out that systemic failures are the Republican’s entire fault, and especially DeMints! (Or maybe the Unions!?)

Today, we get the official grand update from the Prez. Yep, it’s systemic failure all right, it was there before he was Prez, (So sure as shootin’ it’s the Republican’s fault.) and we are ON IT!

In the mean time we get to ponder to possible mind meanderings of another lost soul and his possible relationship to Stockholm syndrome, a life confined by the strictures of expectation, perfectionism and naivety. He was on the Internet telling the world that he was lonely. He was 23, trying not to have sex and rebelling against his parents’ meat choices. He essentially runs away from the Dubai school his father wanted him to attend and winds up on a plane to it’s sister city with a bomb. Why go on that plane?

Great balls of fire! The symbolism just reeks.

Assuming anyone else in Yemen really planned this, as opposed to just sending a schnook to his probable death, I’m wondering why he or she picked a Detroit flight. With 44,000 empty homes and a still floundering economy, it seems an odd choice to make a show.

It’s the reality. There are schnooks everywhere. 300 or more could have died. And didn’t.

Thank you, crew, passengers, and especially, Jasper Shuringa!

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http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2009/12/21/the-stories-of-the-two-somalis-freed-from-guantanamo-by-andy-worthington/

Posted in 51 Percent, Human Rights, Humanism, Justice, Men's Rights, Politics, War, Women's Rights, tagged , , , , , , on December 21, 2009| Leave a Comment »

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2009/12/21/the-stories-of-the-two-somalis-freed-from-guantanamo-by-andy-worthington/.

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http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2009/12/19/saudi-warplanes-rain-1011-missiles-on-yemen/

Posted in Humanism, Justice, Politics, War, tagged , , , on December 20, 2009| Leave a Comment »

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2009/12/19/saudi-warplanes-rain-1011-missiles-on-yemen/.

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Agreement of Sorts at Cop15

Posted in Climate, Communications, Feminism, Health and Food, Human Rights, Humanism, Justice, Men's Rights, Nature, Politics, War, Women's Rights, tagged , , , , , , , on December 18, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Revised 4:33 PM, PST

“Mitigation.  Transparency.  Financing.”

Politico says agreement of a sort has been reached at Cop15. Read their article. It sounds like everyone is going to go home to lick her/his wounds and figure out what to do next. Phrases like “a visibly angry Obama”, “no binding agreement”, “leaving before the last vote (Obama)” and “funds to poor countries remain on the table only as long as the Chinese submit to monitoring”, all lend credence to the idea that none of this is a done deal and a lot of posturing all around was needed. I suppose after eight years of Bushco, the refined US position was a pretty big change to take in for China and India.

POLITICO Breaking News:

—————————————————–

The U.S. China, India and South Africa have reached a “meaningful” climate change deal that sets a cap on worldwide temperature increases, according to administration officials.

For more information…http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1209/30794.html

Ban Ki-moon’s entreaty for nations to get it together and commit, have common sense and move forward, I think, reflects in all of us.

The bottom line was introduced by the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). It has found “that to stave off the worst effects of climate change, industrialized countries must slash emissions by 25 to 40 per cent from 1990 levels by 2020, and that global emissions must be halved by 2050”.

Both China and India have been deeply and increasingly involved with trade negotiations in Africa for some time. If you think how our trade with Mexico has worked, you will understand the similarity; cheaper goods, fewer laws in place to protect environment and people, and cheaper labor. In particular, raw goods are wanted. As an example, China only has a little over 14% arable land, having lost one fifth to desertification, and a population of around 1.39 billion, as opposed to the United States with 18% arable land, and a population of a little under 308 million. At first glance, India seems in better shape with arable land of around 50%, however they live with yearly losses due to monsoons. Also, they have a population of just under 1.67 billion. One thing all three have in common is very large coal reserves, increasing the temptation to assign value to it’s use.

An interesting comparison of international environmental treaties signed and ratified by these three or any other countries can be found in the CIA World Fact Book. This is the list as of December 18th, 2009. The Fact Book is updated regularly and these may change as countries work toward further agreement.

USA
Environment – international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Hazardous Wastes
China
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
India
Environment – international agreements:
Field info displayed for all countries in alpha order.
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

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Cop15 – Clinton says: “We Are in a Common Boat”

Posted in Children, Climate, Communications, Feminism, Finance, Human Rights, Justice, Men's Rights, Nature, Politics, War, Women's Rights, tagged , , , , , , , on December 17, 2009| 2 Comments »

Politico has a lot to say about Cop15 today:

By GLENN THRUSH | 12/17/09 7:20 AM EST

Updated: 12/17/09 10:23 AM EST

[COPENHAGEN — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton threw a climate change Hail Mary on Thursday in hopes of salvaging the Copenhagen talks from collapse – pledging U.S. participation in a multinational fund to provide poor nations with a $100 billion a year by 2020. This is considerably more than the 10 billion originally promised, though not as much as some would like the US to commit….]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1209/30723.html

Since, however, President Obama is still planning to show up at the Conference on the 18th, we are all hopeful that she is again paving the way for one of his triumphant entrances.

Just in case you weren’t sure we had enough USAns rampaging through Copenhagen, Nancy Pelosi took 20 house members with various interests in Science, there on Thursday. Should I hazard a guess that this is the contingent of House members that will be expected to support the 100 billion pledge Clinton promised, to poor countries to keep from drowning when their islands disappear? Sub Saharan Africans, too are in the process of drowning in an ocean of sand, as skyrocketing maternal mortality rates, starvation, coastal fishing loss, and loss of water are enveloped by desperate and futile wars.

The consensus is that 90% of the new emissions will come from poor and developing countries, not China and the USA. We already reached close to our “full” capacity at production of airborne water and landborne garbage.

In counterpoint, certain senators, including one Ben Nelson, of recent abortion news fame, think that even though the US has been THE leading polluter, and therefore one of the MAIN causes of warming, the poor countries ought to just fix it themselves. After all, we are having such a difficult time at home, they ought to just give us a break. Can you believe this?

“They’ve got to come up with their own,” said Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.). “We’re not asking them for money, as far as I know.”

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1209/30690.html

Why aren’t they suing us? Careful guys, your caste mentality is showing.

Finally, Dipnote sends a lovely factoid. Did you know that traditional cook stoves, per unit, are the considered the worst polluters in the world?

And who usually winds up slaving over them?

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Clinton Speaks on Human Rights at Georgetown

Posted in Children, Human Rights, Humanism, Justice, LGBT, Men's Rights, Politics, War, Women's Rights, tagged , , , on December 14, 2009| Leave a Comment »

What she said HERE.

Amnesty International is calling this an important speech.

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Recent US Status Force Agreement Negotiations

Posted in Politics, War, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on December 14, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Do you know under what rules USA military troops abide when they go overseas and interact with locals? It’s in the Status Force Agreements.

I don’t know if you have been following this, but there has been quiet a bit of ongoing diplomacy and negotiation over USAn agreements with other nations for military installations.

A case in point is the Marine Corps Airbase in Okinawa. In 2006 an agreement was made between the US and Japan to move a portion of US troops, numbering 8000, from Japan to Guam. Since the election of Japan’s new Prime Minister, Yukio Hatoyama, that agreement is coming under scrutiny. Part of the agreement was to move US troops stationed at Futenma to Kadena Air Base. (Both bases are in Okinawa.) Japan is rethinking whether they want the also want the airbase removed and are negotiating for the idea that the Futenma troops will be completely removed to Guam.

Local sentiment in Okinawa is growing over this dispute. Part of the mix is the Japan- US Status of Forces Agreement. The recent incident of an alleged hit and run accident by an Army sergeant has brought the issue to the front. The man has been detained by the US military, to be handed over to Japanese authorities upon indictment. However, local officials are calling for him to be handed over now.

Air force bases are not easy to move. While in Guam recently, Japanese Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa to Guam, met with Guam Governor Felix P. Camacho. Camacho said he was confident the stand-off between Washington and Tokyo would be resolved. However, during their meeting Camacho stated that the island did not have the capacity to provide a new home for the Futenma airbase as well.

There are other concerns. As a territory of the US, Guam has representatives in the US House. However, those representatives are unable to vote. This places them in a similar position to Washington DC, and constitutes taxation without representation. The have legitimate concerns over the additional damage that dredging to expand the current military facilities would cause to coral reefs and what is left of their fishing industry. Their economy depends on the US military and tourism, mostly from Japan. Unemployment of the native population, poor structure and educational deficits are all locked into the system.

Upon that textural ground then, walks Ellen Tauscher, until recently, my District’s elected member of the US House of Representatives. She was appointed to be Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs, by Barack Obama and some ways is very like Hillary Rodham Clinton, whom she supported in the presidential election primary.

Last week she and her team concluded an agreement with officials in Poland to install a missile defense system there. While it remains to be ratified by the Polish government it is likely that it will. This will allow certain commitments, agreed to under the Bush presidency to be met.

Alluded to as being a reduced plan that will mollify Russian concerns, of particular interest to the Polish government was the nature of the Status Force Agreement. As the CS Monitor reports, Poland’s Deputy Defense Minister Komorowski said:

“It was virtually the most important provision that we wanted to obtain. The American side expected us to drop this claim, but finally, we’ve established that in every case, the Polish justice system will be given the priority of jurisdiction over crimes committed by U.S. troops on Polish soil,” Poland’s Deputy Defense Minister Komorowski told the Rzeczpospolita daily. “However, on the US government’s special request and in extraordinary circumstances, we may decide not to use this power,” he added.

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