Who put this deal together, Paulson? He was in China often enough. He was in China very frequently.

I sincerely doubt the Afghan people will be using their own copper as craftsmen. Nothing like supplying a Chinese company with a NATO military to secure the mines.

This is a concern.

I think there needs to be reassurances from China it will contribute to the BENEVOLENT development of Afghanistan if it is going to be a 'trade partner.'

While Afghanistan's people need an economy and some of this is good news to them, I sincerely hope China will be employing local people to conduct the operation. That will require the Chinese to be educating the Afghans in technical information to conduct the mining. China's mining techniques have not necessarily proven the safest and the country of Afghanistan frequently is open to earthquakes. There is much more to mining this copper than meets the eye.

China has been involved with Pakistan as well, selling Musharraf weapons. That creates tension with India. China has to take a hard look at the issues with stability to the region and address these trade relationships in a way that will benefit the 'region' as well as Chinese companies.

The possible corruption of a 'payoff' to secure the mining rights is an issue. If indeed Mr. Mohammad Ibrahim Adel is now a wealthy man, he needs to be building schools and hospitals and adding to the benevolence of the Afghan economy and not his own offshore bank account.

This is tough, because, when there are 'divided' loyalities in a country among the government when these ministers act as warlords, all kinds of trouble can contribute to local dynamics that act against the efforts of an American general.

This is case in point. Here a NATO British soldier was on foot patrol and shot by small arms fire. Why? What did he stumble into he wasn't suppose to?

How can NATO proceed when there are divided loyalities among the inner circle of the Karzai government? How can President Karzai lead a country to be united to stop the violence of the Taliban when in fact his own advisors might seek to align themselves with Taliban if their secrets are too dangerous to have revealed and how does NATO know that if the going gets tough for someone like Mohammad Ibrahim Adel and China has an investment in the copper that China won't be compelled to arm the Taliban if asked to do so.

I mean China compromised itself if it paid a 'ransom' for the rights to the copper mine. That is what a bribe is. It is a ransom to the rights being bargained for. I would hope China is smarter than this. China should seek to compel 'good business dealings' and stop any covert bargaining to make these trade relations legitimate. They aren't legitimate if there were bribes paid. The relationship China has with Afghanistan can fall under scrutiny if all the transactions are not open and honest. China is compromising the security of its own investment by dealing outside the understanding of benevolent consent. There should not be anything covert in a war zone.

There are a lot of questions here and it would be beneficial to ALL the parties involved to 'clear the air' and set up a trusting relationship that benefits the people of Afghanistan while disarming the Taliban and stopping their violence.

I don't see that the USA or any NATO country has to be the ONLY trade partners Afghanistan has, but, in the same methodolgy, those other trade partners have to agree to benevolent terms to their participation. It is the soldiers of NATO and the USA that have more on the line here than simply 'trade.' I apologize if that sounds as though I am placing trade in an insignificant light compared to the struggle to secure Afghansitan from the violence of the Taliban, but, the life and blood of the soldiers are a commodity that doesn't belong as part of any trade agreement.

China has to understand that while it is admirable to begin benevolent relationships with Afghanistan, there is a war going on in a region of the world where men sought to attack the USA through its civilian population. China cannot engage in any adverse actions to the USA and NATO operations in Afghanistan.

This could be a very interesting opportunity for all the countries involved. Recently Russia decided to sell NATO helicopters. Hard to believe NATO had to go to that extent, but, on the other hand it is an indication that Russia is more or less a full partner to end the violence in Afghanistan and secure the region.

Basically, every country involved with Afghanistan has to be working toward the same goal. If that could be accomplished we will see a secure Pakistan and Afghanistan. The region will actually provide some kind of decent quality of life to its people. A lot is going on with Afghanistan and the corruption has to end. But, it has to end with the efforts of all involved, not just NATO and the USA as a cheerleading section.

Russian helicopters for NATO's war in Afghanistan (click here)
01:3704/11/2009
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti military commentator Ilya Kramnik) - Russia is ready to provide NATO with helicopters for its war in Afghanistan - on commercial terms.
Dmitry Shugayev, general director of the state-owned corporation Russian Technology, made this announcement last week at a meeting in Brussels with officials in charge of logistics for NATO forces.
During its operations in Afghanistan, the alliance has faced an acute shortage of helicopters. In Afghanistan's extremely harsh conditions, helicopters often break down and need replacements even in non-combat situations. And the need for military hardware grows with continued increases in troops....

Last message of TA soldier shot in Afghanistan: 'Still waiting for new body armour' (click here)
Two weeks after being deployed Rifleman Andrew Fentiman was shot dead while on foot patrol in Helmand province
Richard Norton-Taylor
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 17 November 2009 21.33 GMT
He had put his career as a sales manager at a software firm on hold to pursue his ambition of becoming an army officer.
In a blog from the frontline, the Territorial Army soldier Andrew Fentiman, 23, described his Afghan base as calm and was cheered by the cheap cigarettes but worried troops were still waiting for the body armour and helmets they had been promised. Two weeks after being deployed Rifleman Fentiman, who was serving with the 7th Battalion The Rifles, was shot dead while on foot patrol near Sangin in Helmand province on Sunday....

China Metallurgical Group Corporation (click here)


Published online 28 November 2007
Nature 450, 599 (2007)
News in Brief
China secures contract for Afghan copper mine (click here)
Afghanistan last week announced that a Chinese firm has won the bid for the first post-Taliban natural-resource development project: the US$30-billion Aynak copper deposit outside Kabul (see Nature 449 , 968–971 ; 2007).
The state-owned China Metallurgical Group will now negotiate the final terms of the deal, in which China is pledging $2.9 billion to Afghanistan to create a mine in five years that will tap the estimated 13 million tonnes of ore.
China's operation of Aynak will be closely watched by scientists, aid agencies and economists because of environmental and socio-economic concerns raised over mining projects elsewhere.

There is a much broader picture regarding Fort Hood that over shadows the base.

Ft. Hood has had 10 soldier suicides this year, the second-highest of any Army post. Families of troops who have committed suicide say troubled soldiers are slipping through the cracks.

Teri Smith holds a photo of her son, Iraq veteran Staff Sgt. Justin "Jon" Garza, who shot himself in July at a friend's apartment near Ft. Hood, Texas. Last week's shooting rampage has drawn new attention to soldiers' mental health. "My son slipped through the cracks," Smith says. (Luke Sharrett / New York Times)

From the Seattle Post Intelligencer:

Last updated November 19, 2009 11:22 a.m. PT
Gates names West, Clark to lead Fort Hood review (click here)
By PAULINE JELINEK AND ANNE GEARAN

ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WASHINGTON -- Trying to avert another tragedy like the Fort Hood shootings, Defense Secretary Robert Gates named a former Army secretary and former Navy chief to review a broad range of Pentagon programs, ranging from medical and personnel policies to how well military bases are secured.
Army Secretary Togo West and former chief of naval operations Adm. Vernon Clark will head the 45-day review.
"The shootings at Fort Hood raise a number of troubling questions that demand complete but prompt answers," Gates told a Pentagon news conference. He said the review would seek to ensure the health and safety of military members and their families.
The review will try to find gaps in procedures for identifying service members who could pose threats to others, he said....

Togo West named Pentagon's next U.S. Army Secretary (click here)

Nomination by President Clinton

Brief Article

A distinguished 51-year-old Howard University trained lawyer who served as the Navy's general counsel during the Carter administration was selected by President Clinton as the next U.S. Army Secretary at the Pentagon.
If he is confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Togo Dennis West, Jr. will take over the duties of an office which recently was vacated when John W. Shannon, who was the Pentagon's highest ranked civilian Black, was placed on administrative leave on charges of shoplifting a $30 blouse and skirt ensemble....

Something tells me these men know a little bit about the military.

STATEMENT OF ADMIRAL VERN CLARK, U.S. NAVY (click here)
CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS
BEFORE THE SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE ON STATUS OF THE NAVY
27 SEPTEMBER 2000

Vernon E. Clark (click here)

Vernon E. ClarkChief of Naval Operations, U.S. Navy (retired)
Admiral Vernon E. Clark joined SRI’s Board of Directors in 2007.

...Admiral Clark serves on the boards of Raytheon Company, Horizon Lines, Rolls Royce North America, the Armed Forces YMCA, the World Board of Governors of the USO, and he is a member of the Defense Policy Board. He is on the Board of Trustees at Regent University and the Board of Visitors at Air University. Admiral Clark is on advisory boards with Fleishman-Hillard Inc., the U.S. General Accounting Office, Computer Science Corporation, and Whitney, Bradley & Brown.

Could "The Ed Show" be the next Walter Cronkite? Quite Possibly.

We can't stop now.

USA: GDP UP 3. 5% IN THIRD QUARTER (click title to entry - thank you)
...The last GDP growth in the U.S. was in the second quarter of 2008, while the U.S. economy had officially entered a recession at the end of 2007. Consumer purchases in the third quarter are up 3.4%, the highest growth rate since the first quarter of 2007. Three months ago the had shown a 0.9% drop....

For as long as I can remember I have advocated for a return to local economies that will benefit the American people directly in sustaining their country and hence their freedom with a high quality of life standard. That message is finally taking shape and Congressman Defazio is leading the nation in recapturing this focus. I believe the first stimulus did what it was supposed to do and stopped the country from sliding into a far worse recession, but, it also was sapped into recovering from the grossly misguided eight years of Bush/Republican crony spending. We simply can't do that anymore.

Defazio Wants Another Stimulus Package (click here)
9:29AM
He says the previous stimulus didn't create jobs.
by Julia Gray / KBND News Sources
Take the TARP money back; Wall Street can bail out Main Street. That's what Congressman Peter Defazio wants to do. He says it should have been done in the first economic stimulus package. Defazio wants to create a second economic stimulus package in the form of a jobs bill. He wants this one to focus on transportation and infrastructure projects, which he says will put Americans to work.



What I find refreshing about The Ed Show is the fact there aren't words minced with politics. It is the truth and the blantant truth. I appreciate that. And if that isn't 'bipartisan then I don't know what is.

All too frequently I am hearing how President Obama never meant to be sincerely bipartisan, but only said it for votes. That is a lie. The meaning of bipartisanship takes on many dynamics and speaking THE TRUTH is what this administration and Democratic Congress is all about. The truth is more non-partisan than any other words that can be stated.

The fact of the matter is that the USA sovereignty can only be guaranteed by an internal economy that carries the nation's needs now and for future generations. That is only possible with strong and viable local economies that contribute to the federal and state tax bases. It is upto people like Congressman DeFazio working with Labor, Governors and Mayors to bring about the best economic stability and viability for the people of the USA.

As far as TARP, I believe Congressman DeFazio is correct. Secretary Geithner and Mr. Summers is talking right past the President and Vice President whenever they make testimony and speak to the allocation of TARP as Wall Street as the focus.

While I believe some of the funds being returned to the USA Treasury needs to be set aside as these banks might actually continue to fail and we can't allow it in order to reap our treasury back, there is still yet another TRUTH that Congressman DeFazio is exactly correct.

If funds are not directed into the infrastructure of small business in the USA, the economy here will never improve. The Deficit will never be paid down and the USA will enter into a negatively spiraling economy that will be impossible to recover to raise the standard of living of the people of the USA with low unemployment and companies that provide valuable services.

Given that, the question arises as to how much of the TARP funds were actually squandered by bailing out these banks and will never be recovered. It is a reality no one likes to address in that Bush's Bailout is actually a huge folly.

What if those banks are never able to pay back the TARP funds and there is little to no income for the Treasury due to the neglect of the 'real economy' that the USA needs to generate. The American electorate actually believes the banks were going to put people back to work by lending and rebuilding the country in a functional way. That isn't happening, but, it was some of the propaganda that was being handed out when the Congressional votes were coming down.

The USA needs an autonomous economy that can provide good paying jobs to people. It is the 'income of our people' that will stabilize this economy. It is time we had a strong economy in the USA and if that means a strong dollar along with it, then I am not going to apologize for it.

While having some residual in the USA Treasury to attempt to keep these failed companies alives is prudent, having that as the only focus to our treasury is more of a folly than that of Bush's Bailout.

We need another stimulus package and THIS time the states can't simply 'take the money and run.' It has to go to building the infrastructure the first one was supposed to provide along with loans to small businesses to stabilize the USA on a firm basis realizing we may have to pay the entire TARP mess ourselves.

GOP is terrified of its own reality.

They broke the law. They committed atrocities against other peoples under the pretense of a National Defense, they tortured human beings when they shouldn't have and now that the cases are moving to the venues of the USA Justice Department, the GOP is scared they are going to loss because of their own 'illegality' in handling evidence and treatment of prisoners.

There is nothing else to say. Gitmo is a MEDIUM security prison and those prisoners should have been in maximum security since their arrests. So, now, it is upto the USA Courts to try the prisoners and secure justice for the American people. It is going to be interesting, because, the defense lawyers won't hold back. The GOP stood behind their Executive Branch and now they feel compromised because they have been replaced with people that uphold the law the way it was supposed to be upheld. Let them learn that the USA lives by 'The Rule of Law' and NOT 'The Rule of Men.' Incompetent men no less.


GOP senators grill Holder on decision to try 9/11 suspects in federal court (click title to entry - thank you)
12:00 AM CST on Thursday, November 19, 2009
FROM WIRE REPORTS McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON – In a series of testy exchanges, Republican senators confronted Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday over his decision to try the Sept. 11 terrorism suspects in civilian court.
President Barack Obama, meanwhile, expressed certainty that the suspects would be found guilty and executed.
In his testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Holder didn't go as far as Obama did. But the nation's top prosecutor said he was confident justice would be delivered to Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and other accused plotters of the 9/11 attacks.
"Failure is not an option," Holder declared.
Opponents of the plan have accused him of adopting a "pre-9/11" approach to terrorism. Holder emphatically denied that.
"We are at war, and we will use every instrument of national power – civilian, military, law enforcement, intelligence, diplomatic and others – to win," Holder said....