Civilian deaths in Afghanistan rising, US officials halt raids

Because of a concern that rising civilian casualties in Afghanistan, including women and children, could limit the United States' goals in the region, US officials have stopped some raids in the area.

According to the NYT - "Still, there is little dispute that the increased intensity of American military operations in Afghanistan last year has contributed to the rise in the civilian death toll. As President Obama sends thousands more troops to the war-ravaged country, some officials worry that each civilian death may only drive Afghans toward the Taliban and other militant groups."

This is the question. How will regular civilians react to an increased US presence? Could this fuel a nationalist response, or the emergence of the Taliban as a seemingly better alternative in the eyes of Afghani citizens?

Interesting strategy game being played by Obama here... he'll drop the defense shield in the Czech republic if the Russians will collaborate on stopping the Iranians from developing nuclear weapons. Too bad the Russians aren't biting.

UN Security Council passes Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution

What is happening to people in the Gaza strip is terrible. According to this video, aid workers, including those from the Red Cross, are having difficulty offering aid to the wounded and starving.

Hopefully peace will be reached soon.

"THE WIRE" IS REAL

Baltimore Mayor indicted on 12 counts of corruption... for those of us who watcHBO's "The Wire," you couldn't find a better example of life imitating art.

McNulty would love this.

Obama Economy Speech

Can 2009 be the turn around year that we so desperately need? Barack Obama's economic plans are now of the utmost importance for this country. This video is absolutely worth a watch. I was incredibly glad to hear the President acknowledge the very real competition that exists from countries like China and India (although he only mentioned China by name in his speech). I'm reading "The World Is Flat" by Thomas Friedman right now, and Friedman paints a pretty scary picture for our country - provided that we continue to put science and education on the backburner. China and India have larger populations that we do, with more ambitious, and oftentimes, more productive workforces. We absolutely need something like a focus on energy technology to secure American jobs and America's position as a world leader and innovator. The more I think about the past eight years, and how many opportunities have been missed by this administration, the more frustrated I become. Listening to this speech, I am so happy to hear both energy and education mentioned as top priorities for the economic stimulus plan. Granted, one man can't do everything, but if Obama can pull this off, we really will be a nation MUCH better off.
(the video quality isn't fabulous, but the speech is right)

SCARY shiz.

Bush's Final F.U.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/24991066/bushs_final_fu

"The administration is rushing to enact a host of last-minute regulations that will screw America for years to come"

"In its final days, the administration is rushing to implement a sweeping array of "midnight regulations" — de facto laws issued by the executive branch — designed to lock in Bush's legacy. Under the last- minute rules, which can be extremely difficult to overturn, loaded firearms would be allowed in national parks, uranium mining would be permitted near the Grand Canyon and many injured consumers would no longer be able to sue negligent manufacturers in state courts. Other rules would gut the Endangered Species Act, open millions of acres of wild lands to mining, restrict access to birth control and put local cops to work spying for the federal government."

"It's what we've seen for Bush's whole tenure, only accelerated," says Gary Bass, executive director of the nonpartisan group OMB Watch. "They're using regulation to cement their deregulatory mind-set, which puts corporate interests above public interests."

EPA veils hazardous substances

http://www.physorg.com/news149193242.html

"The newspaper's findings are just the latest example of how EPA administrators more often than not put company interests above the needs of consumers. Over the past 18 months, the Journal Sentinel has reported on numerous EPA programs that bow to corporate pressure, frustrating health and environmental advocates and disregarding the agency's own mission to inform the public of potentially dangerous chemicals."

China blocks access to the New York Times online

Freedom of speech is something so highly protected in this country that recent international events seems shocking. Following in the wake of Russia's move to pass legislation that would label all Kremlin critics as "traitors," the Chinese government blocked Internet access to the New York Times online in China. The government defended itself by saying that it is not alone in blocking certain websites... but The New York Times? This is a surprising move, considering China's big show of internationalism at the 2008 Olympics. Additionally, the NYT is one of America's most trusted and widely read news sources. It seems odd that the Chinese government would limit access to this site, when earlier moves by the Chinese government seemed to hint at a desire to be seen as more benevolent (such as the Olympics, the efforts it has made in international law, such as its commitment to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and its increased educational exchange - consider the "China" semester that is being sponsored by University of Michigan).

I'm curious to learn of their official reasons...

Putin's new threat to human rights

According to Thursday's Wall Street Journal, Putin is backing legislation that would label any critic of the Kremlin a "traitor." It appears that the bill will pass. This is the latest in some very troubling moves by the Russian leader, one that seems Stalin-esque. Human rights activists worldwide are understandably concerned. If anyone in Russian can be labeled as a traitor for simply having a dissenting opinion, we can expect huge abuses of power and oppression.

Frightening... I'm surprised this isn't bigger news.

Human Rights are Eroding, according to Al Jazeera

Human rights eroding, analysts warn
By Adla Massoud in New York

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was a significant document which enshrined the liberties of all peoples when it was adopted by the UN in 1948 but has seen its significance erode from one conflict to another, analysts have said.

Human rights experts and advocacy groups say politicisation of the UDHR by governments in the past 20 years has severely undermined its value along with its power to inspire.

Mary Robinson, the former UN high commissioner for human rights and the first woman president of Ireland, believes that despite the UDHR's efforts to bridge social and racial differences, the world today is more divided than ever.

"We are more divided on values than we should be, given the Universal Declaration and that's because human rights have become too politicised."

She says lines have been drawn between the West and the Islamic world, the poor and the rich.

More Shoe Chaos

Via Dan Savage of Seattle's The Stranger:

From Slog tipper Karen...

You must please encourage people to follow the Iraqi journlist and mail their shoes to the White House for Christmas.

Anyone want to get this campaign off the ground? I have a couple of pairs of old shoes I could see shipping to the White House.

"Shoe thrower" Hates US and Iran...

So, in case you missed it, a reporter named Muntadhar al-Zeidi threw both of his shoes at President Bush the other night. If you want to see a video, scroll down. It's posted on here, and if I do say so myself, its a little gem. Bush has impressive reflexes, who knew?

And here's a little bit more information about the shoe thrower. Apparently, he hates the United States AND Iran. And a lot of Iraqis agree with him. It's time we stop using military force in the world for our own short term gains. Because, it isn't doing us an ounce of good, let alone the havock its brought to the Middle East region. It you look at the instability in that area of the world, its all too obvious that our involvement has done nothing to bring "peace and freedom" to the world. So, what's the plan for Afghanistan now? And Iran? Because I'm skeptical about whether we can use military force to really fight the Taliban effectively. To some extent, we're fighting an ideology that is extremely anti-Western, and that logically will only grow in intensity the more that we get involved. And with Iran, I think diplomacy is the best bet. A former CIA agent, Robert Baer, spoke about how we would benefit extremely from entering into a strategic alliance with Iran. According to Baer, Iran can stabilize the Middle East. We, on the other hand, cannot. Our imperialist reputation is such a hindrance at this point that I don't see how we can expect to maintain any credibility in that region of the world.

To make matters worse, Latin America didn't invite us to participate in their latest regional conference. We're like the kid who has to eat his lunch by himself in the cafeteria. It doesn't matter how delicious our freedom fries are if we have no one to share them with.

Riots intensify in Greece

(from the AP wire...)
ATHENS, Greece – Inside the gates of Athens' main university, bonfires rage and masked gangs stockpile petrol bombs, broken paving stones and marble hacked from the neoclassical buildings. It's their arsenal for more possible clashes with weary police.

But a week into Greece's worst civil unrest in decades — sparked by the police shooting of a teenage boy and then fed by anger at the country's economic unraveling — the rioters' best weapon is arguably the law.

They have used, some say abused, a decades-old code that bars police from university campuses. The grounds of the Athens Polytechnic have become a combination of sanctuary and makeshift armory for the bands of young men and women who have left parts of the capital ransacked and smoldering.

The self-proclaimed anarchists and revolutionaries based at the Polytechnic have become outnumbered on the streets by more typical demonstrators — such as labor unions and opposition parties — who have called for Greece's increasingly unpopular conservative government to resign.

Yet it's the rage and destruction of the masked youths that have become the symbols of the showdown.

Nearly every night in the past week, the streets around the Polytechnic become an urban battleground. Riot police emerge through clouds of tear gas and the smoke of flaming barricades.

Black-clad youths — their faces covered by masks, scarves and motorbike helmets — hurl petrol bombs over the hulks of torched cars. Late on Saturday night, one pushed a shopping cart full of rocks and chunks of marble to replenish the stocks. Another stumbled into the campus wearing a Spiderman mask.

"Stones! We need more stones!" someone bellowed in the dark. One young man, his face hidden behind a bandanna and a hood, began smashing pieces of concrete from one of the university's buildings, lit only by the orange glow of bonfires.

"Don't waste the Molotovs, damn it! Use them wisely!" another shouted, his voice hoarse from the tear gas fired by riot police night after night.

One man staggered as he came through the gate, retching and with tears streaming down his face. Another rushed up to him, pulling out packs of cotton and cream to soothe the burning.

"You took a strong hit tonight. You took one for the cause," he shouted above the din.

The demands now are mostly cries against the country's increasingly unpopular conservative government and the economic hardships faced by many Greeks — particularly young people — as the economy stalls after years of moderate growth.


.....

US exluded from Latin American conference

Dec. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Latin American and Caribbean leaders gathering in Brazil tomorrow will mark a historic occasion: a region-wide summit that excludes the United States.

Almost two centuries after President James Monroe declared Latin America a U.S. sphere of influence, the region is breaking away. From socialist-leaning Venezuela to market-friendly Brazil, governments are expanding military, economic and diplomatic ties with potential U.S. adversaries such as China, Russia and Iran.

More...

And now Cuba too...

RUSSIAN WARSHIPS VISIT CUBA...

Following trips to Nicaragua, Venezuela... First time Russian ships have gone to Cuba since the Soviet era...

What does Mr. Putin have up his sleeve? He is clearly sending a message of an reemerging Russian power. At this point, Russia's military presence seems like more rhetoric than a substantial threat, but this does seem to imply that the US position of hegemony is weakening.

Just the lastest Cold War-esque news...

Russian warships visit Cold War ally Nicaragua

By Ivan Castro

MANAGUA (Reuters) - Russian officials donated generators and computers to Nicaragua on Saturday during a visit by three Russian warships to the Central American nation that opposition leaders condemned as illegal.

Russia donated about $200,000 worth of equipment to hospitals, police and the army during the stop at the southern port of Bluefields, Gen. Julio Aviles, the Nicaraguan army's chief of staff, told state radio.

The visit by the anti-submarine destroyer Admiral Chabanenko and two support vessels was the first since the 1990 fall of Daniel Ortega's Marxist Sandinista government, which allied itself with the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Ortega, who returned to power in 2007, has courted Russia and has aligned Nicaragua with regional leftists, including Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

The United States, which funded rebel groups opposed to the Sandinistas in the 1980s, suspended a $175 million aid program to Nicaragua earlier this month, citing concerns over November's municipal elections, which Ortega's opponents say were rigged.

The Russian naval tour, which includes another old Cold War ally, Cuba, as well as Venezuela, is part of Moscow's bid to rebuild its global influence.

Opposition politicians protested the visit, arguing foreign military forces were forbidden from entering Nicaragua without the approval of the National Assembly.

Ortega requested authorization for the visit earlier in the week, but opposition lawmakers refused to allow the National Assembly to sit.

The Russian ships arrived in Nicaragua late on Friday and were scheduled to depart early on Sunday.

Reporter throws shoes at President Bush

At a press conference in Iraq, a reporter actually removed his shoes and chucked them as President Bush. Bush's response - "So what if a guy threw his shoe at me?" He passed it off as someone "calling out for attention". I think its a perfect accident of a metaphor. If Bush was able to realize that there was probably more a desire for "attention" behind the obvious outrage of the reporter, perhaps he would be able to create policies that the people of Iraq actually want...

Afghani crisis

Afghani refugee crisis... watch

Senate denies Auto Bailout

Senate Repubs refused to pass the Bill backed by the White House and Congressional Democrats.... Chrysler and GM will not be receiving bail out money.... both companies may not last through the month....

What does this all mean??

One Senator was very candid (quote from the NYT article):
“It’s over with,” the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, said on the Senate floor, after it was clear that a deal could not be reached. “I dread looking at Wall Street tomorrow. It’s not going to be a pleasant sight.”

Mr. Reid added: “This is going to be a very, very bad Christmas for a lot of people as a result of what takes place here tonight.”

The counterpoint, offered by a Republican McConnell:
The Republican leader, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said: “We have had before us this whole question of the viability of the American automobile manufacturers. None of us want to see them go down, but very few of us had anything to do with the dilemma that they have created for themselves.”

Mr. McConnell added: “The administration negotiated in good faith with the Democratic majority a proposal that was simply unacceptable to the vast majority of our side because we thought it frankly wouldn’t work.”

(Check out a video that explains the opposition position)


Now there is pressure on Obama to do something from within the administration....

maybe now the auto companies will have to come up with something good, like what Friedman talked about in his op-ed piece last week..

We shall see....
The whole economy seems to be collapsing. I wonder what this means for us? At what point will it really hit home?
How have your lives changed since the crisis?

Now they tell us

What a surprise:

U.S. aims for more troops in Afghanistan, Gates says

By Andrew Grey

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he hoped a U.S. troop increase for Afghanistan would be mostly done by late spring, as his commander warned Afghan forces were three or four years from leading the fight.

Gates, visiting a dusty NATO base near Kandahar in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, criticized the United Nations and the European Union for not doing more to help stabilize the country.

Africa: Wait There's More

As if things weren't bad enough in Africa...

new cold war? and even more dangerous?

keith on bush legacy

Clinton owns Fox news, talks about Afghanistan and Bin Laden

jon stewart and mike huckabee discuss gay marriage

What was the image that opened your eyes to human rights?

Witness

A little pick me up... thank you helen :)

Big Three Bailout....

Op-Ed Columnist
While Detroit Slept
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Published: December 10, 2008
Someone is already developing an alternative to Detroit’s business model. I don’t know if it will work, but I do know that it can be done — and Detroit isn’t doing it.

Today's NYT: Official Calls for Sensitivity to Afghan Demands

The chief of the UN mission to Afghanistan warns about the importance of cultural sensitivity...

Outrage in Afghanistan about US military operations...

Weariness over slow reconstruction process....

President Karzai urges that debates and efforts should be on Afghan terms... calls to "Afghanize" efforts...

This article raises some important points. The US effort needs to be extremely sensitive about encroaching on Afghani sovereignty and tailoring its efforts with respect for Afghani culture and needs... Let's hope Obama's team is reading this stuff.

New York Times on Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan — Most of the additional American troops arriving in Afghanistan early next year will be deployed near the capital, Kabul, American military commanders here say, in a measure of how precarious the war effort has become...

For the incoming Obama administration, a first priority will be to weigh which is the greater risk: drawing down American forces too quickly in Iraq, potentially jeopardizing the gains there; or not building up troops quickly enough in Afghanistan, where the war effort hangs in the balance as security worsens...

(Read more)