I like President Karzai and admire his contribution to Afghanistan for the past seven years, however, he sounds a bit scared no different than Musharraf. His perspective may have been sculpted out of the negligence of the Bush/Cheney administration and his necessity to balance the Taliban's interest to maintain a stable government in Kabul.
I believe it will take a new President with a relationship with a new American General to 'begin again.' The Central Government in Kabul cannot be another 'Baghdad' where a 'figure head authority' debates the global affairs of the country while the country is allowed to breed extremism.
What concerns me is the close proixmity of a Taliban Headquarters so very close to Kabul and no concern raised about that at all. How is the Capital of Afghanistan EVER going to be a secure city with an oppressive regime having a hostile facility nearby? There is a lot of power the Taliban have enjoyed in Pakistan under Musharraf and they have become accustomed to being 'catered to' by President Karzai due to the abandonment by the USA.
He raises a legitimate question in that Afghanistan is betweeen a rock and hard place when it comes to USA commitment. It is that commitment that will determine the path of Afghanistan. The USA moving to Iraq was NOT a good idea, it compromised the Karzai administration in Afghanistan, hence, the national security of the USA.
So.
While I am more than concerned about President's Karzai's openly connected alliance to the Taliban within Afganistan, it is the commitment of NATO and the USA to 'succeed' in Afghanistan that will determine the outcome of the defeat of al Qaeda and the defeat of the oppression of the Afghan people by the Taliban. It may be that if the USA and NATO return to 'Bushesque' strategies it would return the outcome that President Karzai came to realize and enforce it.'
I believe at the real core to the interview with President Karzai on GPS is the issue of money and more of it. He'll accept more troops so long as it comes with financial assistance, but, the troops on all levels will be impuned from defeating any Taliban stronghold, which, in my opinion is a hideous circumstance. I don't see the current status of the Taliban lasting at all.
Abdullah supports troop increase, but within a broader plan (click title to entry - thank you)
By John Amick and T. Rees Shapiro
FOX NEWS SUNDAY - Abdullah: Afghans must have faith in runoff
Afghan opposition candidate Abdullah Abdullah said he would not fully support the Nov. 7 runoff vote against incumbent president Hamid Karzai if reforms did not take place to improve transparency and reduce fraudulent ballot numbers in the electoral process.
Abdullah also ruled out the possibility of a power-sharing agreement with Karzai, and said he believed his constituents did not have faith in Karzai's ability to clean out the country's corrupt government and reduce the threat of extremist violence....
Given this view by Foreign Prime Minister Abdullah Abdullah it is clear he in no way supports the current Karzai government and could not participate even after the election. I think Afghanistan has a real crisis in leadership due its abandonment by Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld. The question is can General McCrystal work within any parameters that include the Karzai priorities. And. I believe he has already answered that.
What will occur in the USA with 'State Opted Public Option' is that people without insurance or insurance that is too expensive will migrate around the country seeking relief from their plight. That will only place heavier burdens on States that supply the Public Option and therefore quite possibly increase unemployment rates and welfare rates, school systems and local taxpayers will become stressed and there will be disproportionate financial burdens placed on local economies.
ABSOLUTELY NO STATE BASED PUBLIC OPTION. If the Senate undertakes this approach they need to be replaced! It is grossly irresponsible to all citizens and not just the uninsured.
President Barack Obama is actively discouraging Senate Democrats in their effort to include a public insurance option with a state opt-out clause as part of health care reform. In its place, say multiple Democratic sources, Obama has indicated a preference for an alternative policy, favored by the insurance industry, which would see a public plan "triggered" into effect in the future by a failure of the industry to meet certain benchmarks....
Our Democratic Capitalist is calling for "350" to be the most important number on Earth (click here)
I am asking to take it one step further. The United States of America has the largest coal deposits in the world. There is no such thing as Clean Coal Technology. It is impossible to 'burn' coal without emitting CO2. Impossible. Can't be done. Carbon sequestration as a way of producing energy from coal is nothing more than a ticking time bomb and is grossly ineffective.
Obtain a copy of the film, "Beyond Coal," have a house party and organize an effort to stop the production of CO2 in the USA. Demand it. For your children. (click title to article, thank you).
Since when does Murdock decide the outcome in elections? I thought the electorate was supposed to be well informed. Being lied to and indoctrinated isn't being informed, it is be 'strategized' for a political outcome. No. No. That isn't democracy. That IS a form of communism whereby propaganda controls the electorate. No more !
It is perhaps not unsurprising but still disappointing that several in the mainstream media rallied around Fox News this week following the White House's well-warranted castigation of the network as an "arm" of the Republican Party. The most prominent defense of "one of our sister organizations" came from ABC News' Jake Tapper, who was baffled as to why the White House would declare Fox News "not a news organization." On Tuesday, he had the following exchange with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs:
Tapper: It's escaped none of our notice that the White House has decided in the last few weeks to declare one of our sister organizations "not a news organization" and to tell the rest of us not to treat them like a news organization. Can you explain why it's appropriate for the White House to decide that a news organization is not one --
(Crosstalk)
Gibbs: Jake, we render, we render an opinion based on some of their coverage and the fairness that, the fairness of that coverage.
Tapper: But that's a pretty sweeping declaration that they are "not a news organization." How are they any different from, say --
Gibbs: ABC --Tapper: ABC. MSNBC. Univision. I mean how are they any different?Gibbs: You and I should watch sometime around 9 o'clock tonight. Or 5 o'clock this afternoon.
Tapper: I'm not talking about their opinion programming or issues you have with certain reports. I'm talking about saying thousands of individuals who work for a media organization, do not work for a "news organization" -- why is that appropriate for the White House to say?
Gibbs: That's our opinion.
Of course, Tapper was lauded by Fox News and other conservatives. (Which is not the first time.) Glenn Beck called Tapper a "watchdog of freedom," while Sean Hannity praised Tapper's ability to "recognize the great quality of Fox News." Bill O'Reilly said Tapper did "pretty good" and "really challenged" Gibbs, and the Fox & Friends gang called him a "great reporter" for his defense of Fox. Lou Dobbs called it an "extraordinary exchange."
It isn't as though President Obama is attempting to divide the country. It would be nice if he had 'half a chance' to accomplish uniting it.
The USA cannot continue to live in this 'limbo' of inertia to propagate Murdock's playground. FOX is playing with lives and government legislative outcomes, it has stop somehow.
It doesn't practice 'equitable' journalism. It EXCLUDES any liberal journalist from contributing to their news cycle and they literally throw money at any news item to gain viewership, leveraging unfair advantage against other news organizations.
When CBS, NBC, ABC and CNN stands in unison against the willingness of the Obama White House to be exposed to interviews, it states they are all equal. That is not the case. FOX 'makes' the news they want to have aired, they don't report it. They 'spin' lies and deceptions at 'innocent' people and expect the outcome they receive. They 'strategize' against the public and the government for control for financial gain. That isn't reporting, that is seeking control of capital it is not entitled to and it is an egregious political environment for the country. The media is not doing the citizens of the USA any favors by 'siding' with the wrongful practices of the Murdock news agency.
Kindly pay attention to 'the threat' to the Amazon, its biotic content and its people and write your legislators regarding this atrosity by American Oil Companies we will all be sorry for. A healthy and sustainable Amazon means healthy and sustainable people.
Currently, the 'slick' American lawyers working for the companies are using the American Courts to delay a decision and people are dying.
Thank you.
We can begin the 'critique' of Bush the Commander and Chief and Puppet of Cheney with the realization they backed a coupe government in Pakistan. It would seem with President Obama, a President with backbone, as Commander and Chief and a new and freely elected President of Pakistan, President Zardari, another President with backbone, the people of Pakistan are willingly becoming allies to their own military.
It is imprudent and negligent to treat the public as if they are a 'management' issue and not people that have a right to know what is going on with their own 'home,' Earth. This is NOT 'simply' El Nino at work on Earth in the year 2009!!!!!
Get over it !
..."It's going to be very stormy," said John Cessarich, chief meteorologist at WYFF 4.
Even though the National Weather Service is predicting highs in the 70s for much of the rest of the week, the long-term forecast from December through March promises to be harsher.
"El Nino in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean is expected to be a dominant climate factor that will influence the December through February winter weather in the United States," according to the Weather Service 2009 winter outlook....
October 19, 2009
2130z
UNISYS North and West Hemisphere Water Vapor Satellite (click here for 12 hour loop)
In the loop noted above there is a 'dissipating' of the middle vortex as it moves over the continent. That is simply it adjusting to higher temperatures in its traverse. The dynamics don't really change, the direction of 'the air mass' remains the same and the velocity doesn't change and it is still bringing Arctic Air from the North Pole and Arctic Ocean across North America. What changes is the 'heat exchange' between the 'air mass' and the 'land mass.'
This was a big kill for ANY of the revolutionaries in Iran. The Iranian government needs to be sure they have the right people and they don't know that. Why do they need to be careful? Because if they 'get it wrong' or 'scapegoat' anyone then they haven't solved the problem.
If the President of Iran DECIDES to assassinate people to simply lay blame and move on in hopes it will terrify the people to stop their revolution, it will only serve to enhance it. The more innocent people the President of Iran kills, the worse the streets will become !
Jundullah have been blamed for attacks aiming at destabilising Iran (click title to entry - thank you)
By Roger Hardy
BBC Middle East analyst
The Iranian authorities have accused a shadowy group called Jundullah - the Soldiers of God - of carrying out a suicide bombing in mid-October which killed six commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. But what is Jundullah, what does it want - and who is behind it?
It was founded in 2002 to defend the Baluchi minority in the poor, remote and lawless region of south-east Iran.
Its leader, Abdolmalek Rigi, denies the group has either foreign links or a separatist agenda.
In an interview in October 2008, he said the group - also known as the People's Resistance Movement - was not interested in trying to break away from Iran.
It simply wanted the state to respect the human rights, culture and faith of the Baluchis....
President Ahmadinejad must have a question to whom could carry out this violence. It may very well be al Qaeda or an al Qaeda backed rebel group. Iran has problems. Iran needs to stop escalating nuclear armament to threaten global stability and seek to solve their internal problems.
He is asking Pakistan to arrest terrorists and rebels. I do believe the Pakistanis are doing exactly that, so Mahmoud needs to 'rethink' whom is out to take over the government by coup. Iran will not 'back' the Taliban in Pakistan either. They need to focus on the 'unrest' and 'neglect' of the people of the country.
Ahmadinejad calls on Pakistan to help arrest terrorists, rebels (click here)
www.chinaview.cn
2009-10-19 19:27:25
TEHRAN, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- In a telephone conversation with Pakistani counterpart on Monday, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on the Pakistani government to help arrest the terrorists and rebels and bring them to justice, the official IRNA news agency reported....
...Early on Sunday, a deadly bomb attack occurred in Iran's southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan near Iran's border with Pakistan, killing some 45 people, including a number of Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) commanders, and wounded dozens others.
The Sunni rebel group Jundallah (God's soldiers) has claimed responsibility for the deadly suicide attack.
Hello?
A United States Army soldier and a Marine searched the home and compound of an Afghan farmer in Khan Neshin. American officials are debating whether cracking down on the drug trade will anger farmers dependent on it for their livelihood.
This is more than a little silly and why there needs to be a REFORMER elected in Afghanistan in the Presidential Runoff Elections.
By allowing the current 'dysfunctional' drug economy to exist there are several things that are going to make this war difficult and hideous.
1. The USA should not be intimidated into being a drug warlord and throw in the society.
2. The Afghan people do not want to live under Taliban oppression.
3. The Afghan people are in the circumstances they are now because of the Taliban. They oppressed democracy and economic reform and the people of Afghanistan are only allowed to have an economy that services al Qaeda while causing problems in Advanced Societies.
4. The poppy fields have to go!
Only a very small share of Afghanistan's land (about 15 percent), (click here) mostly in scattered valleys, is suitable for farming; about 6 percent of the land is actually cultivated. At least two-thirds of this farmland requires irrigation. Water is drawn from springs and rivers and is distributed through surface ditches and through underground channels, or tunnels, which are excavated and maintained by a series of vertical shafts. Such a tunnel is known as a karez or qanat. In 1987 about 26,600 sq km (10,300 sq mi) of farmland were irrigated.
Wheat is the most important crop, followed by barley, corn, and rice. Cotton is another important and widely cultivated crop. Fruit and nuts are among Afghanistan's most important exports. Afghanistan is noted for its unusually sweet grapes and melons, grown mostly in the southwest, north of the Hindu Kush, and in the fertile regions around Herat. Raisins are also an important export. Other important fruits are apricots, cherries, figs, mulberries, and pomegranates....
Texas' soldier-farmers seek to remake Afghan farming (click here)
Monday, August 25, 2009
By Chris Vaughn
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
In uniform, they look like any other soldier.
But the heart of Lt. Col. Stan Poe’s unit of Texas National Guard troops is radically different than most combat outfits in Afghanistan, answering to the sounds of agriculture and the sight of crops.
Soldier-farmers, one might call them.
The Texas soldiers, agricultural experts who come from Aledo to Weslaco, are on the forefront of a new National Guard initiative to bring Afghan farming out of the 19th century, in a place where decades of war have destroyed infrastructure, wrecked government capabilities and provided a favorable environment for illicit poppy production....
The Afghan government needs to build 'strengths' when it comes to economics. They have to develop a service economy and a manufacturing economy. Sheep, goats can provide wool for weaving, leading to clothing, draperies, etc. Therefore, there is an industry for designers and marketing. The problem is that the food for the animals will inhibit the ability to propagate that economy.
From there they need to develop craftsmen and craftswomen, build REAL homes, hospitals and schools, educate teachers, doctors and nurses and provide public services. They need to have a fire department so their homes are made of something more than stone and plaster and they need to develop 'central plumbing' and find water sources along with sewage treatment.
A change in 'quality of life of these people' will develop an economy that is servicable through taxes from wages, no different than the USA economy. Police, trash removal and a transportation department that provides for tourism. Conservation and park quality viewing. Don't tell me it doesn't exist in Afghanistan because there are plenty of incredible vistas,
So.
The next President needs to set 'standards' for the people to live by and they need to organize themselves around a mayor and council and not the strength of warlords that can kill them if they are not obedient.
I mean honestly !
The President of the United States just signed a bill sending gobs of money to 'rehabilitate' Afghanistan. That includes drug treatment centers and monies to improve the infrastructure. THAT does not mean that the infrastructure is going to SEVICE al Qaeda. No. No. There is 'change' due the USA people in Afghanistan and we want it now!
It goes like this. The Republicans in the House and Senate want to 'appear' to cooperate with the President, after all come November 2010 if they are sequestered in their own little GOP world it might cost them votes.
So, the Senate FINANCE Committee decided to 'set aside' all animosities and work for their cronies to pass a bill they can vote for; it would give everyone 'the face of success' including President Obama and the Democrats. Everyone that is, except, the American people in the majority.
Now that the Senate Finance Committee, acting against their colleagues and stabbing them in the back, has placed a stamp of approval on the Technologies Spending Bill (AKA The Health Care Reform Bill, or should I say Formerley Known As) the Republicans are attempting to place a 'wedge' issue into their strategy and turn the tables stating the Democrats don't know how to be bipartisan.
It's corruption through and through. What occurred in the Senate Finance Committee was the undermining of health care reform. It was during the media circus following the Committee's ? Work ? that the health care insurance INDUSTRY came out against the Democratic Majority and their bills. It is more obvious than ever and quite frankly the Senate Finance Bill is the last ditch effort for the Health Care Industry to stop a Public Option and provide for lining their coffers.
On CUE, case in point, still yet another version of a Republican lead charge, dissing the Baucus Bill, against the American people. What is the cry "Too much money." So what else is new from a Republican?
Health reform: Bipartisan plan will help all Americans (click here)
By Peter J. Pitts
October 18, 2009
Congressman Bill Cassidy, R-La., recently broke some news that could turn the health care debate on its head. During a radio interview, he revealed that Blue Dog Democrats have been quietly reaching out to Republicans to draft an alternative health reform bill.
This isn't surprising. After all, neither Republicans nor centrist Democrats nor the majority of Americans approve of the clumsy hodgepodge of big-government policies that make up Sen. Max Baucus' health care bill.
Fortunately, an alliance between Republicans and moderate Democrats could give Americans the reform package they're looking for — one aimed at lowering costs while promoting competition....
The next section of the House Bill which begins on page 931 with a title concerns itself with Health and Wellness, which is where billions are appropriated and that isn't because spending is a choice by Democrats, it is because it costs more than a dollar per person to be sure 300 million Americans are receiving COST SAVING Preventative Care.Page 934, lines 12 through 15:
‘‘(4) for carrying out section 3161 (Core Public Health Infrastructure and Activities for State and Local Health Departments)— ‘‘(A) for fiscal year 2010, $800,000,000;
Page 935 begins the 'particulars' of the definition and focus of Preventive and Wellness provision:Page 960, lines 9 through 15:
‘‘(1) The term ‘core public health infrastructure’ includes workforce capacity and competency; laboratory systems; health information, health information systems, and health information analysis; communications; financing; other relevant components of organizational capacity; and other related activities.
The Republicans protestation of how Democrats GROW 'Big Government' is such a joke. The following provision CONSOLIDATES assets of the people of this nation to streamline decision making and facilitate the expediant care of the people.
Page 961, lines 9 through 22:
(1) FUNCTIONS, PERSONNEL, ASSETS, LIABILITIES, AND ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS.—All functions, personnel, assets, and liabilities of, and administrative actions applicable to, the Preventive Services Task Force convened under section 915(a) of the Public Health Service Act and the Task Force on Community Preventive Services (as such section and Task Forces were in existence on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act) shall be transferred to the Task Force on Clinical Preventive Services and the Task Force on Community Preventive Services, respectively, established under sections 3121 and 3122 of the Public Health Service Act, as added by subsection (a).
There are pages of 'Best Practice' statues, identifying existing, developing new, evaluation of, implementation and transparency to the public. How careful can the House be?
Page 972, lines 1 through 6:
(4) OBSTETRICS.—Improving the provision of obstetrical and neonatal care, including the identification of interventions that are effective in reducing the risk of preterm and premature labor and the implementation of best practices for labor and delivery care.
This particular statute addresses the Mother, Infant Death Rates in the USA. Those death rates, also may be considered 'survival' rates receive plenty of criticism by the Global Community. The USA does not have the best track record.
This is from the CIA World Factbook and the USA ranks 44th in Infant Mortality Rates. (click here) The chart is recorded from highest death rate to lowest and the USA is 44th from the 'least' infant morality rate. 6.26 infant deaths per 1000 births in current 2009 statistics with Singapore the lowest at 2.31.
Something I want to focus on is the GDP per capita. Singapore has the fourth largest GDP 'per capita' of any country on Earth. It is third on the list of the World Bank and fourth on the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and seventh on the CIA list. The USA is ranked below Singapore in its GDP per capita on all lists. The USA is ranked fourth by the World Bank, fifth by the IMF and eighth by the CIA list.
It is a way of looking at 'how' the USA is spending its money per person. How much the USA earns and how outsourcing and the lack of manufacturing effects the people of this nation.
Page 981, lines 12 through 19:
TITLE V—OTHER PROVISIONS
Subtitle A—Drug Discount for Rural and Other Hospitals
SEC. 2501. EXPANDED PARTICIPATION IN 340B PROGRAM.
(a) EXPANSION OF COVERED ENTITIES RECEIVING DISCOUNTED PRICES.—Section 340B(a)(4) (42 U.S.C. 256b(a)(4)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
This is not a subsidy provision, it lifts restrictions on hosptials to participate in group purchase, including generic substitution, of pharmaceuticals to bring down the cost of health care.
Page 993, lines 1 through 12 and Pages 21 through 25:
Subtitle B—School-Based Health Clinics
SEC. 2511. SCHOOL-BASED HEALTH CLINICS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part Q of title III (42 U.S.C. 280h et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 399Z–1. SCHOOL-BASED HEALTH CLINICS.
‘‘(a) PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall establish a school-based health clinic program consisting of awarding grants to eligible entities to support the operation of school-based health clinics (referred to in this section as ‘SBHCs’)....
...‘‘(A) evidence that the applicant meets all criteria necessary to be designated as an SBHC;
‘‘(B) evidence of local need for the services to be provided by the SBHC;...
I don't want to hear from Right Wing political extremists how the government is going to be handing out condoms to children. It is the most outrageous idea I have ever heard. The House bill provides for the establishment of School Based Health Clinics in areas of the country and in communities where they do not exist today. This is an opportunity to bring better health care to all the children of the USA. I don't want to hear it, because this provision does not effect everyone, as they have to 'qualify' for the clinics to fill a need that is unfulfilled today.
Page 999, lines 5 through 15:
‘‘(C) OPTIONAL SERVICES.—Additional services, which may include oral health, social, and age-appropriate health education services, including nutritional counseling.
‘‘(2) MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS.—The term ‘medically underserved children and adolescents’ means a population of children and adolescents who are residents of an area designated by the Secretary as an area with a shortage of personal health services and health infrastructure for such children and adolescents.
Page 1001, lines 9 through 11 and lines 21 through 24 and Page 106, lines 15 through 23:
Subtitle C—National Medical Device Registry
SEC. 2521. NATIONAL MEDICAL DEVICE REGISTRY....
...‘‘(g)(1) The Secretary shall establish a national medical device registry (in this subsection referred to as the ‘registry’) to facilitate analysis of postmarket safety and outcomes data on each device that—...
...(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall establish and begin implementation of the registry under section 519(g) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as added by paragraph (1), by not later than the date that is 36 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, without regard to whether or not final regulations to establish and operate the registry have been promulgated by such date.
This is self explanatory.
Page 1008, lines 4 through 16:
Subtitle D—Grants for Comprehensive Programs to Provide Education to Nurses and Create a
Pipeline to Nursing
SEC. 2531. ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) PURPOSES.—It is the purpose of this section to authorize grants to—
(1) address the projected shortage of nurses by funding comprehensive programs to create a career ladder to nursing (including Certified Nurse Assistants, Licensed Practical Nurses, Licensed Vocational Nurses, and Registered Nurses) for incumbent ancillary health care workers;
The word 'pipeline' is a bit odd unless one is discussing oil and gas, but, in this case the words 'Clinical Ladder' would have been far more important. It is a program to facilitate the movement of health care workers from vocational programs to higher education and RN jobs. It is a good idea and will provide for more 'career' oriented persons in the health care field of nursing.
That is basically 'it' for the HOuse health care bill. The provisions that add people receiving subsidies above the 200% level of poverty has to be an amendment because I didn't find any 'scale' of income attached to any of these provisions as is being discussed in the media. So, the House Bill is substantial in how it addresses the issues of Health for the people of the nation, how it relies on previous legislation to validate its precedent status, measures in addressing the issues of the nation in a continuous and 'responsive' mannner and how the provisions are implemented and enforced.
The 'body' of the bill is significant and cannot be altered in the future, however, the amendments can be modified and of course amendments can be added to it, but, that is the case of all USA legislation.
I like the House Bill. The country needs reform in this industry. The reform has been neglected for nearly two decades that Republicans held majorities in the USA and it is time to get on with it. I don't want to hear how after these bills are passed, people within the borders of the USA died because the legislation wasn't passed in time. No more delays.