Clipmarks | n2sooners's Comments

Why more troops won't help Afghanistan

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 21:16:11 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: The nature of the conflict has changed from regional to a nation-wide warlord/Taliban alliance fueled by a separate and huge opium-poppy economy. This is what the Soviets failed to defeat, despite massive infusions of blood and capital.

Clip Source: www.atimes.com

The nature of the war in Afghanistan is changing, though, and it is not the sheer numbers that coun

Beyond the Taliban, local alliances between warlords and former

mujahideen commanders

have added a fresh dimension

They had been lured into the American camp through various inducements, including jobs, monetary benefits and the opportunity to take part in politics. It was considered better to have them fighting in parliament than on the battlefield.

once the Taliban insurgency took firm root in the south the writ of the government evaporated and the peasants were allowed and encouraged to grow poppy. By 2007, a parallel economy flourished and, finding the riches irresistible, former warlords, tribal chiefs, clerics and other segments of society sided with the Taliban.

The indications are that NATO wants to tackle the problem by pouring in troops

could help secure arteries, but as the Soviets - who in the 1980s had more than double the NATO number of troops - learned, it's not size that matters

Tags: afghanistan, war on terror

McCain's Mansions

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 06:26:34 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Why expect government to bail you out when you could just marry into money?

Clip Source: www.truthdig.com

McCain’s Mansions

Courtesy of the Brave New Films team, here we have a property-by-property breakdown of John McCain’s many fancy domiciles, which provide ironic contrast to footage of the presumptive Republican nominee holding forth about how Americans with mortgage troubles can just scrimp ’n’ save their way back to solvency.

[Video]

Tags: mccain, rich

Republican spotted McCain's "cross" story plagiarism

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:21:41 GMT

clipped by: reimers
clipper's remarks: Sunday, December 11, 2005 11:31:36 AM

Clip Source: www.freerepublic.com

Looks like McCain has been reading Solzhenitsyn.

From The Mayor's daily posts at FR's Finest and The Canteen from the devotional "Our Daily Bread" comes Sunday's reading...

World-famous Russian author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was sent to a Siberian prison because he criticized communism. Languishing there under intolerable conditions year after year, he decided to end his life. But suicide, he firmly believed, would be against God's will. He thought it would be better for a guard to shoot him.

So at a public assembly of the prisoners, he sat in a front row, planning to get up and walk toward an exit, compelling a guard to kill him. But to his surprise, another prisoner sat down, blocking his exit. That unknown man leaned over and, to Solzhenitsyn's astonishment, drew a cross on the dirt floor.

The cross! Wondering if that fellow prisoner might be a messenger from God, Solzhenitsyn resolved to endure his imprisonment.

Breakfast of a Champion?

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 09:48:58 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: The announcement yesterday that Phelps, 23, winner of a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics, would grace Frosted Flakes and Corn Flakes boxes instead of the traditional athlete's choice of Wheaties left many perplexed.

Frosted Flakes has three times the amount of sugar as Wheaties and 1/3rd the fiber.

This doesn't matter much to a virtuoso swimmer who consumes 12,000 calories a day.

Still, in a country where childhood obesity is an alarming issue, Phelps' iconic image sharing space with Tony the Tiger sends the wrong message, experts say.

"For a guy like Michael Phelps who isn't worried about obesity because he's burning thousands of calories as an athlete...eating Corn Flakes and Frosted Flakes every so often is not an issue," Solomon said.

The Phelps-emblazoned cereal boxes hit supermarket shelves in mid-September

Clip Source: www.nydailynews.com

After winning a record eight Olympic gold medals in Beijing, American swimming superstar Michael Phelps signs on with sugar-loaded cereal.

You better eat your . . . Frosted Flakes?

Olympic legend Michael Phelps will appear on boxes of the Kellogg's brand sugar cereal, drawing sharp criticism from health experts worried about the message he'll be sending to children across America.

"I would not consider Frosted Flakes the food of an Olympian," said nutritionist Rebecca Solomon of Mount Sinai Medical Center.

"I would rather see him promoting Fiber One. I would rather see him promoting oatmeal. I would even rather see him promoting Cheerios."

Tags: michael phelps, kellogg, frosted flakes and corn flakes

Zogby has McCain up by 5

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 18:07:04 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners

Clip Source: uk.reuters.com

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a sharp turnaround, Republican John McCain has opened a 5-point lead on Democrat Barack Obama in the U.S. presidential race and is seen as a stronger manager of the economy, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.

McCain leads Obama among likely U.S. voters by 46 percent to 41 percent, wiping out Obama's solid 7-point advantage in July and taking his first lead in the monthly Reuters/Zogby poll.

McCain now has a 9-point edge, 49 percent to 40 percent, over Obama on the critical question of who would be the best manager of the economy -- an issue nearly half of voters said was their top concern in the November 4 presidential election.

That margin reversed Obama's 4-point edge last month on the economy over McCain, an Arizona senator and former Vietnam prisoner of war who has admitted a lack of economic expertise and shows far greater interest in foreign and military policy.

Tags: poll, mccain, obama, politics, election

JFK talks about being a liberal

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 07:21:42 GMT

clipped by: kroqben
clipper's remarks: i love it, read the whole thing

Clip Source: www.myleftwing.com

What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label "Liberal?" If by "Liberal" they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer's dollar, then the record of this party and its members demonstrate that we are not that kind of "Liberal." But if by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal."

President John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Obama campaign caught selling 'free' tickets

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:27:38 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners

Clip Source: www.redstate.com

Channel 4 News in Denver, CO is reporting that the Obama campaign has been lying about tickets to the Obama speech at Invesco Field in Denver, CO.

Reporters discovered a hidden link on the Obama website targeted to known high dollar donors. The Obama campaign solicited those donors for $1000.00 in exchange for tickets to the event.

This is directly contrary to what Obama's campaign claimed.

See the news story here:

[Video]

Tags: obama, election, campaign, politics, lies, money

How to Start War with Russia--101 (Lesson from the Neoconservatives)

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 21:34:10 GMT

clipped by: blueridge
clipper's remarks: Bush Implements Neocon Lesson: Have Condi go to all the satellite states and sign missile placement deals about 100 miles from Russia, then sit back and watch Russia "invade or attack its neighbor" to disarm the threat. Meanwhile, this is precisely what the US was provoked by from Russia in the Cuban Missile Crisis!

Purpose? This is part of the neoconservative plan for "global hegemony" which Bush is now implementing just prior to leaving office, ensuring sparked conflict into the next presidency (which would also help McCain, although Obama is a CFR shill too), setting a continuation of the neocon agenda for another four to eight years.

Early in his pResidency Bush met with Putin in blue jeans at his Texas ranch. Now he will stab him in the back as he leaves office.

This is normal if one reviews US foreign policy since the 20th century and sets the stage for WWIII based upon dangerous absolute Alliances, as Condi refers to with Poland "as much as if it was a US territory"

Clip Source: www.breitbart.com

Russia warns of response to US missile shield

MOSCOW (AP) - Russia says its response to the further development of a U.S. missile shield in Poland will go beyond diplomacy.

The United States and Poland signed a deal Wednesday to place a U.S. missile defense base just 115 miles from Russia's westernmost fringe.

WARSAW, Poland (AP)—Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Polish counterpart signed a deal Wednesday to build a U.S. missile defense base in Poland, an agreement that prompted an infuriated Russia to warn of a possible attack against the former Soviet satellite.

Rice dismissed blustery comments from Russian leaders who say Warsaw's hosting of 10 U.S. interceptor missiles just 115 miles from Russia's westernmost frontier opens the country up to attack.

Rice said. "It's 2008 and the United States has a ... firm treaty guarantee to defend Poland's territory as if it was the territory of the United States. So it's probably not wise to throw these threats around."

Tags: bush, condi rice, neoconservatives, russia, nato, cold war, wwiii

Hey Congress! Georgia Attacked South Ossetia First!

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 13:56:07 GMT

clipped by: blueridge
clipper's remarks: Let Congress know who is being overlooked in the US-Russia-Georgia conflict--the people of South Ossetia who want and prefer Russian rule since their declaration of independence from Georgia years ago--whom Georgia attacked and invaded, killing civilians! Russia responded.

Congress needs to stop listening to White House propagandists and see the real story, before they start a new Iraq conflict, with Russia, and even towards world war (i.e. NATO versus Russia and allies)! And Congress needs informed people to help wake them up to these documented facts:

The Ossetians, a divided people with one section living within Russia on the north side of the Caucasus mountains, and the other in Georgia, generally felt more comfortable with Russian rule than as part of the new, post-Soviet Georgian state. A small and nasty war with Tbilisi in 1990-92 led to a declaration of independence

Is it not the Ossetians that have the stake in all this, who will govern and rule them?

Clip Source: www.opendemocracy.net

South Ossetia: the avoidable tragedy

Georgia and Russia have stumbled into a war that need not have happened.

The epicentre is South Ossetia, which is home to both ethnic Ossetians and Georgians (the latter accounting for about a third of the 70,000 population). The destruction there has been appalling, and it looks as though many hundreds of civilians have died, in the first place as a result of the initial Georgian assault of 7-8 August 2008.

Ossetians fleeing the conflict-zone talk of Georgian atrocities, including the indiscriminate killing of civilians.

in a second wave of violence, Georgians - from Gali in Abkhazia to Gori in the north of the country - are fleeing and dying.

Behind the explosion

Saakashvili went for the military option. The Georgian military launched a massive artillery attack on Tskhinvali, followed the next day by a ground assault involving tanks. This against a city with no pure military targets, full of civilians

Ossetians

felt more comfortable with Russian rule

Tags: georgia, south ossetia, russia, bush, nato

The Young Turks: "Did John McCain Lie About His P.O.W Record?"

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:40:53 GMT

clipped by: Spiritualmonkey
clipper's remarks: I firmly believe that the generation of politicians that came to power before the age of YouTube and the like are going to find themselves bitten in the ass over and over again.

They've gotten used to changing their stories over and over, and up until now no one was paying attention.

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

Did John McCain Lie About His P.O.W Record?

[Video]

Watch more at http://www.theyoungturks.com

Tags: mccain, politics, the young turks, vietnam, solzhenitsyn, quotes, liar, video

SIERRA CLUB against BIG OIL-The Drill of it All

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 01:15:22 GMT

clipped by: klippety
clipper's remarks: More Drilling, More Profits and More Energy Taxes for Big Oil....STOP this Nonsense, NOW

Clip Source: action.sierraclub.org

The Drill of It All
Did you know that oil companies are already sitting on 68 million acres of leases that they aren't even drilling? Which kind of makes you wonder: Why are Big Oil and its allies suddenly desperate to get their hands on the last few places that are still protected -- our natural treasures, wildlife refuges, and pristine coastlines? They wouldn't use the concerns caused by high gas prices as an excuse to grab it ALL, would they?

Check out our map showing how much of our country Big Oil has already got and spread the word by forwarding it to friends who agree: Enough is enough.

August 19, 2008:

In This Edition of the Insider

Stand Up to Big Oil!

Join the 30% Solution

Clean Energy and Jobs for West Virginia

So far, one woman has stood up to Big Oil. Let's thank Speaker Pelosi for keeping a cool head and holding out for real solutions.

Number of Insured Continues to Grow in Massachusetts

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:32:51 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: blogs.wsj.com

The number of people with health insurance continues to grow in Massachusetts, home of a closely watched universal health insurance plan.

Some 439,000 people have signed up for insurance since the plan went into effect in 2006, state officials said in a report released yesterday. (The figures exclude Medicare.) That’s more than two-thirds of the estimated 600,000 who were uninsured in the state two years ago, the Boston Globe reports.

Indeed, so many people have signed up for insurance that the program is costing far more than expected, and there’s currently a fight in the state over how to pay for it.

Still, there’s a financial upside. The number of people showing up at emergency rooms for routine care — an inefficient, high-cost way to get such care — has fallen 37% since the plan went into effect, the Globe says. That decline has saved the state an estimated $68 million.

The report is online here; a Washington Post story on the report is here.

Stores reward hybrid drivers

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 22:55:39 GMT

clipped by: dgreplay
clipper's remarks: Its a start...

Clip Source: www.chron.com

Ikea has designated hybrid-only spaces across the U.S., including one at its Houston store on the Katy Freeway. Home Depot and Office Depot are trying out similar parking perks for fuel efficiency in Austin, Chicago and several other cities.

Tags: green energy, hybrid technology

Doctors Can't Deny Lesbians Care on Religious Grounds

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 23:56:45 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: abcnews.go.com

The California Supreme Court today ruled unanimously that doctors cannot cite their religious beliefs as grounds to deny gay and lesbian patients medical care.

Justice Joyce Kennard ruled that two Christian fertility doctors who refused to artificially inseminate a lesbian couple cannot claim a free speech or religious exemption from California's anti-discrimination law.

The ruling extends a state law barring sexual orientation-based discrimination to the medical profession.

In 1999, after a year of surgeries and hormone treatments — all covered by insurance — Benitez was finally ready to get pregnant. But at the crucial moment, her doctor refused to do the procedure for "religious" reasons.

Benitez is a lesbian and sued her doctors under California's civil rights laws, charging that they discriminated against her because of her sexual orientation.

Tags: medical, gay, lesbian, religion, belief, discrimination

DNCC tickets wrap Obama in upside down flag

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:03:20 GMT

clipped by: n2sooners

Clip Source: hotair.com

Maybe the DNCC has kept track of the polling this summer and figures the Democratic nominee is officially in distress. That’s the only explanation for a silly gaffe by the convention committee for the graphics on their credentials for those allowed to see Barack Obama’s acceptance speech at Invesco Field. The holographic image uses an American flag motif with the blue field at the bottom, with Obama’s head emerging from it in one of the two alternating images

the Obama campaign says the flag is not upside down. He says it is a stylized flag designed to blend the stars on Senator Obama’s shirt with the flag blowing in the wind.

Yes — a flag blowing upside-down. The DNCC would not even admit they used a flag:

The DNCC community credentials incorporate patriotic design elements. They do not depict an actual American flag.

Blue field …. check. Stars …. check. Alternating white and red stripes …. check. Looks like the flag to me.

Update: Maybe the DNCC got the motif from their last nominee:

Tags: obama, election, democrats, politics