This is no small matter. All those involved in seating guests and allowing people into the State Dinner should testify. It's only right.

...Rogers' late father, Roy Glapion, (click here) was president of the prestigious Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club, New Orleans' oldest black Mardi Gras krewe. She was Queen of Zulu, an honor usually extended to a debutante or young woman deemed to be socially important, in 1988 and 2000. After college at Wellesley and business school at Harvard, Rogers and her then-husband, John Rogers (president of Ariel Capital Management) cut a high-profile swath through Chicago's glittery gratin. And she's regularly cited as one of the country's best (and okay, most adventurously) dressed women.
All great preparation for her current job at the White House.
But Rogers' style and glamour are a double-edged sword, one that might have drawn a little political blood over the past few days after the gate-crasher snafu....

I am please President Obama feels very sage in his home at 1600 Pennsylvania Blvd., but there is a limit to being generous when it comes to securing himself and the First Lady and their daughters.

The White House, the Senate and House need to come to understand how this all occurred. It can be an upsetting set of circumstances that should be taken very seriously. All the facts need to be known and I don't see that one set of 'particulars' are any more or less important than another.

Basically, what went right and what didn't.

This isn't that difficult.

There is absolutely no reason for blood sport. This isn't about anything except understanding the issues as they presented themselves.

I would hope everyone at the State Dinner would be eager to solve this mystery. I would hope.

The Beluga Whale has critical habitat protected after a severe drop in population.

The current population of Beluga Whales is very low, only 300 individuals. That number runs the risk of genetic loss and diversity. The Beluga whales of Cook Inlet must be protected. There is little time to waste.

Habitat protection proposed for endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale (click title to entry - thank you)
Wednesday, 02 December 2009 10:31
THE United States federal National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) today took an important step toward protecting critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for the Cook Inlet beluga whale in Alaska by proposing to designate more than 3,000 square miles of the endangered whale’s habitat for protection.
The overdue proposal comes after a 2007 petition by various local and national groups to NMFS to list the beluga under the ESA, and on the heels of a formal notice of intent to sue by the Center for Biological Diversity.
Once habitat is designated, federal agencies are prohibited from taking any actions that may “adversely modify” it. Species for which critical habitat has been designated have been found to be more than twice as likely to be recovering, and less than half as likely to be declining, as those without it.
“NMFS has clearly relied on the best available science to identify and designate the habitat needed to give the Cook Inlet beluga whale a fighting chance at survival,” said marine mammal biologist Craig Matkin, Executive Director of the North Gulf Oceanic Society.
In October 2008, NMFS listed the whale as endangered over the objections of then-governor Sarah Palin. The listing occurred following petitions and litigation by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) and local and national organizations. However, rather than designate critical habitat for the beluga at the time of listing as required by the Endangered Species Act, NMFS deferred habitat protection for a year. That year came and went with no action by NMFS, and on October 29, 2009, CBD formally notified the agency that it would file a lawsuit to force the overdue designation.
“If we quickly act to designate and protect the critical habitat of the Cook Inlet beluga, this highly imperiled whale has a real chance of recovery,” said Rebecca Noblin, attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity’s Anchorage office. “A species as critically imperiled as the Cook Inlet beluga whale should not have to endure further delay before its habitat is truly protected.”
Today’s proposal triggers a public comment period and likely public hearings before the rule is finalized and takes legal effect.
“Cook Inlet beluga whales are one of the most endangered populations of marine mammals in the world,” said Taryn Kiekow, staff attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Marine Mammal Protection Project. “The decision to designate critical habitat is long overdue and absolutely necessary to preserving and protecting this unique population from further harm.”
The Cook Inlet beluga whale is a genetically distinct and geographically isolated population whose numbers have plummeted in recent decades. Recent surveys show the Cook Inlet beluga whale’s population now hovers between 300 and 400 animals, down from an estimated population of approximately 1,300 whales in the 1980s. The Cook Inlet beluga whale is one of five populations of beluga, or white whales, in Alaska.
“Historic data shows that ESA listings and healthy economies go hand in hand, said Toby Smith, Executive Director of the Alaska Center for the Environment. “This habitat designation will bring about the balance we need to promote truly responsible development while protecting one of Alaska’s most popular wildlife icons.”
The original decline of the Cook Inlet beluga was likely caused by unregulated harvests, but the population has failed to rebound since hunting was curtailed in 1999, indicating that other factors likely are interfering with its recovery....

The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Wind Chime) is:

Local Time: 11:51 AM AKST (GMT -09)

Lat/Lon: 58.8° N 137.0° W

Temperature :: 39 °F

Conditions :: Scattered Clouds

Windchill :: 33 °F

Humidity :: 70%

Dew Point :: 30 °F

Wind :: 9 mph from the SSE

Pressure :: 30.18 in (Rising)

Visibility :: 10.0 miles

UV :: 0 out of 16

Clouds:
Scattered Clouds 5000 ft
(Above Ground Level)

Elevation :: 33 ft

12/1/09

The Native American whale hunt should be banned. The children, especially, should not be exposed to these high levels of toxins. It is a matter of health care policy and public concern and not native American rights.


...Alaska Native beluga whale subsistence hunt at Point Lay, Alaska (Chukchi Sea). With the assistance of the North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife Management, specimens from this population of beluga whales have been archived by AMMTAP. Samples of blubber from these animals have been analyzed by NIST and DFO Canada (D. Muir) for PCB's and chlorinated pesticides; liver samples have been analyzed by NIST for 35 elements, including: mercury, methyl mercury, selenium, cadmium, silver, arsenic, copper, and zinc. (This photo is from the collection of G. Carroll, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Barrow, AK)

President Obama took responsibility for all the nations involved in Afghanistan and got a good response from NATO.

The follow up to the President's speech regarding the efforts with Afghanistan is impressive. It looks as though all the 'good will' and speeches by our President resulted in a NATO commited to filling in the gap to 40,000 troops requested by General McCrystal. The General should find some solice in realizing his President has provided a strong international platform for his strategy.

Leaving Afghanistan isn't as easy as leaving Iraq. I am not referring to logistics, I am referring to treaties and allies. We aren't the only North American country committed to this effort. That is what is so reprehensible about the negligence of the previous administration in regard to supporting the Afghan government and the allies that see the effort as vital to their National Security.

I have listened and read the view points of my peers and they are correct. This is very painful. We have a President we love and are loyal to, yet, we disagree sincerely with his decision. The decision by the way was praised as 'contemplative' during the time he took to make it. We praised his reflection on the facts. He believed in him during that time.

When McCarther wasn't allowed to move against China, we had only one goal in mind and that was to secure South Korea. We did that. When Ford removed the troops from Vietnam it was a unilateral decision with hideous conditions. It was an easy decision to make. Vietnam was about wrongful economics and politics as well as a country without nuclear ambitions.

The decision President Obama made with a great deal of fact finding and thought wasn't as easily reached as his predecessors. He had a lot hanging in the balance and needed to believe in his General and the possibility NATO didn't carry the burden through years of neglect by the USA for no reason.

I would be more critical of President Obama if he hadn't been so transparent and forthright about the vast corruption that existed in Afghanistan as he executed his fact finding mission and made tough choices. However, this is still a very painful period of time.

The USA has been manipulated in its priorities with Iraq vs Afghanistan and we are all very suspicious of a continued war, even if both Iraq and Afghanistan engagements end in 2011. However, I understand his priorities and we are contributing to the national security of our allies as we are compelled to do under treaties. President Obama is going above and beyond with this commitment to NATO. He didn't have to do it, but, felt it necessary to uphold the integrity of our alliances. He is correct on that count. This is also not a strategy that is being touted as a 'marginal' effort. General McCrystal is stating he anticipates victory and success.

I don't look forward to the next 18 months in anticipation of a successful and rewarding war. I find nothing thought provoking about discussions of strategies and death of enemies. But, I do recognize the fact that NATO has 'stood the line' while Bush and Cheney dabbled in Iraq. They stood the line in hopes that a USA President would be elected to finish the fight and establish stability in the region. We have an obligation to them and we can't look the other way.

I hope General McCrystal is successful, he states he will be. The USA by majority is not a warring country, it is difficult for its citizens to support prolonged wars, especially when they have gone as "W"rong as this one. But, through the graces of an intelligent President, the effort has more time and more troops. I am pleased President Obama has resolved to put a limit on this effort and return economic stability to the USA over and above prolonged efforts in Afghanistan. The people of Afghanistan need to believe in their country and take on the responsiblity of defending it. It is time for that transition and we can only hope the Afghan people live up to their responsibility as we stand down from ours.

If I were President Obama I wouldn't pay much attention to the media, except for pundits and sincere journalists, during the next eighteen months. They are going to use it to hack away at his credibility in regard to this effort, as example, even the wayward Rove is attempting to be Advisor and Chief. I mean, who is he to say squat? I guess its a paycheck for him. Then in a completely laughable moment, Murdoch's Hannity stated, "He doesn't think the deployment is worth the effort, so why bother at all." There is no way that is ANYTHING but propaganda for the Right Wing seeking a political 'wedge' on the issue for their own priorities and outcomes.

I stand with my President. I believe he did the 'best' he could, but, I look forward to the return of our troops. These next eighteen months will give all the NATO countries time to make their own decisions and prepare for an Afghanistan yet to be realized.

More U.S. troops in Afghanistan will help Canada’s mission: minister (click here)
By Peter O’Neil and Allison Cross, Canwest News Service
Canada’s Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said Wednesday an injection of 30,000 more American troops into Afghanistan will help Canada better achieve its own objectives in the war-torn country.
Mr. Cannon made these remarks in a teleconference with media from Brussels, where he is meeting with other NATO foreign leaders.
“Canada welcomes the additional military and civilian resources the U.S. will deploy to Afghanistan, in particular to the south,” he said. “This will allow Canada to further concentrate its efforts on its . . . priorities and . . . signature projects.”...

From (L), Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (click title to entry - thank you), Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen testify on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, 02 Dec 2009, before the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on US strategy in Afghanistan Gerald Herbert

...The Secretary of State spend a full day in Congress Wednesday with other senior administration officials defending President Obama's decision to send 30,000 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan.
After another hearing Thursday, she leaves for Brussels for talks on Afghanistan Friday with fellow NATO foreign ministers, and those of other participants in the 43-nation International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, ISAF.
Clinton said she spoke with NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen between Congressional hearings and said he gave an encouraging report on his efforts to generate new troop pledges among the allies....

NATO chief: Allies will provide 5,000 more troops (click here)
By Craig Whitlock

Washington Post Foreign Service

Wednesday, December 2, 2009; 2:28 PM

...In Brussels, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen pledged that U.S. allies would "send at least 5,000 more soldiers to this operation, and probably a few thousand on top of that." He told reporters in Brussels, "This is not just America's war. This is our fight, together."...