U.N. to remove Taliban from blacklist: Karzai

(Reuters) - The United Nations has agreed to remove Taliban members who renounce ties to al Qaeda from a U.N. blacklist on a "gradual" basis, Afghan President Hamid Karzai's office said on Tuesday.


Senior diplomats from the 15-nation U.N. Security Council were in the Afghan capital on Tuesday, following a call for a review of the names of Taliban figures on its sanction list at a peace conference in Kabul earlier this month.


"The president asked the U.N. delegates to remove Taliban members from their blacklist and the delegates agreed to do so gradually and provided the members had no links to al Qaeda or other terrorist groups," Karzai's palace said in a statement.

U.N. Security Council Resolution 1267 freezes assets and limits travel of senior figures linked to the Taliban, as well as al Qaeda, but recent Afghan efforts to engage some insurgents in diplomacy have raised doubts about who should be on the list.

At least five of those named on the 137-name list are former Taliban officials who now serve in parliament or privately mediate between the government and the insurgents battling NATO-led forces and their Afghan partners.

Earlier this month, Afghanistan held a three day peace "jirga," or conference, in a bid to find a national consensus on ways to end a violent insurgency that has dragged on for almost nine years.

A statement summarizing the June 2-4 meeting of 1,600 tribal and religious leaders in Kabul urged the Afghan government and foreign powers to "take serious action in getting the names of those in opposition removed from the consolidated blacklist."


So, let me get this right.  There are peace council members that are all citizens of Afghanistan that will hold a meeting on whether or not the Taliban are going to be peaceful. 

What?

Where are the international IMPARTIAL mediators that will hold peace negotiations with all the parties within Afghanistan?


Peace council members to be impartial: Kashaf
Rahmatullah Afghan - Jun 15, 2010 - 13:34
KABUL (PAN): Members of the high council which will mediate between Hamid Karzai's government and the Taliban will be impartial and acceptable to both sides, a senior official said on Tuesday.
Deputy Chief of the peace jirga, Qayamuddin Kashaf, told Pajhwok Afghan News the council would be established soon and that it would have provincial offices.
The 1,600-member jirga which took place on June 2-4 stressed that negotiations with the Taliban and other militant groups were the only solution for lasting peace, calling on the Taliban to lay down their arms and stop "killing your brothers".
On his visit to the southern province of Kandahar on Sunday, Karzai promised he would form the high council as soon as possible.
The Afghan president met Monday with the leadership of the peace jirga and heads of the gathering's 28 committees. Based upon their suggestions, a 16-article declaration was drawn up which included establishing a high council for peace to open negotiations with armed opposition groups.
Without mentioning a time-frame, Kashaf said the council would start working soon.

http://www.pajhwok.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=96278



Karzai issued fresh warning on cabinet


Abasin Zaheer - Jun 21, 2010 - 12:46

 KABUL (PAN): Setting a Wednesday deadline for President Hamid Karzai to introduce his remaining cabinet picks, the Wolesi Jirga on Monday warned it would stop debating bills if the introduction was further delayed.
 The Jirga's annual vacations, starting June 5, have been postponed till the introduction of the rest of the ministers by the president.


However, the speaker Younus Qanuni told the meeting on Monday that they could not postpone their vacations for a long period.


He said he had talked to the president about the introduction of the ministers this morning and the president assured him that the ministers would be introduced till Wednesday.


He said the jirga would take a decision if the ministers were not introduced by Wednesday. His decision was approved by the ministers as well.


Under the Afghan Constitution, the working period of the Wolesi Jirga would be nine months in a year. However, the jirga could increase the period if it likes so.


Some members insisted the vacations should be postponed till the introduction of the rest of the ministers. Attaullah Ludin, from Nangarhar, said they could not wait further for the introduction of the ministers.


Fourteen members of the cabinet had been approved by the jirga, with remaining nine yet to get the trust vote.


http://www.pajhwok.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=96680



Danish PM vows continued help for Helmand
Zainullah Stanikzai - Jun 21, 2010 - 19:29
LASHKARGAH (PAN): Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen on Sunday arrived in Lashkargah, capital of southern Helmand province, where he met with troops from his country and local Afghan officials.
After meeting the governor, Gulab Mangal, the two officials addressed a joint press conference at the office of the Danish provincial reconstruction team.
Rasmussen said his brief visit to the province was aimed at assessing the security situation and discussing the ongoing development schemes with provincial officials.
He said he was satisfied with the security in Lashkargah.
"Our assistance is not only confined to security in Helmand. We will continue to support the civil sector, more importantly education and reconstruction of Helmand," he said.
Denmark had pledged to reconstruct a power station in Greshk district and a road connecting the district to Lashkargah two years ago, but so far, the work has not been completed.
Although Denmark is a small country, it had given a lot of aid to the province for improvement of security and the implementation of reconstruction projects, Mangal said.
Over the past two years, Denmark had assisted with education and other projects in Greshk, the governor said.
Around 750 Danish soldiers are serving under NATO's command in Helmand. So far 33 Danish soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan.


http://www.pajhwok.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=96674



UN report on Afghan police opposed
Lalit K Jha - Jun 18, 2010 - 20:11


WASHINGTON (PAN): Afghanistan has strongly objected to a UN report that places the country's police among a list of organisations which recruit children as soldiers and subject them to sexual harassment.


"Such a listing undermines the good work being done by the Afghan National Police in protecting the people and maintaining the law and order," the Afghan ambassador to the United Nations told a special debate of the Security Council on Children and Armed Conflict.


In its report on Children and Armed Conflict submitted to the Security Council, the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, listed six organisations from Afghanistan that recruit or use children, kill or maim children and or commit rape and other forms of sexual violence against children in situations of armed conflict. These are Afghan National Police, Haqqani network, Hezb-i-Islami, Jamat Sunat al-Dawa Salafia, Taliban forces and Tora Bora Front.


My government is disturbed by the decision of enlisting the Afghan National Police Force in the Annex of the present report, Tanin said as he talked about the steps taken by the Karzai administration to address the particular needs of children in armed conflict....

http://www.pajhwok.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=96446



Turkey donates $3 million to ANA
Pajhwok Report - Jun 15, 2010 - 18:00
KABUL (PAN): The Turkish Armed Forces has donated more than $3 million in weapons and equipment to the Afghan National Army at a ceremony at Camp Dogan in Kabul.


The donation included mortars, machine guns, boots and travel bags as well as sewing machines, the Turkish army said in a statement on Tuesday.


Lt. Gen. Baz Muhammed Javhari, ANA deputy minister for logistic affairs, thanked the Turkish Armed Forces for the contribution and expressed his desire for the friendship between the two nations to continue.


Since 2003, Turkey has donated more than $71 million in weapons and equipment to the ANA. In addition, Turkish military personnel have trained more than 1,200 ANA soldiers, according to Col. Can Bolat, Turkey's military attach to Afghanistan.


http://www.pajhwok.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=96262


The tribes in Afghanistan are using the Taliban to blackmail their government? 

Oh? 

I guess if villagers use the right words, such as rape and sexual abuse of women and children they can intimidate nearly anyone. 

I see. 

No trials for these grievances? 

Oh. 

So, the 'charged' police officers are simply fired.  No charges, no trials, no jail, just fired.  I see.

Barakzai tribesmen demand removal of police chief
Ahmad Umeed Khpalwak - Jun 15, 2010 - 22:41
TIRINKOT (PAN): Nearly 200 residents of central Uruzgan province demonstrated in the provincial capital on Tuesday, demanding the removal of the provincial police chief who they said was discriminating between two tribes.
Police chief, Brig. Gen. Juma Gul Himmat, had dismissed police at four check-posts in an area populated by the Barakzai tribe, protesters said.
"Even though we supported President Hamid Karzai against Taliban insurgents, today the police of our tribe have been disarmed," a tribal elder, Mirakhan, said.
"I am an official policeman, but still the police chief disarmed me," another protester, Attiqullah, said.
The police chief and his associates took all items and money from the checkpoints, he said.
The protesters threatened to allow the Taliban to openly operate in their village if officials did not remove the police chief.
Another tribal elder, Abdul Khaliq, said, the police chief was trying to fuel a dispute between Barakzai and Popalzai tribes. "The police chief handed the police checkpoints to the Popalzai tribe, so we are supposed to fight against them," he said.
But Himmat, the police chief, rejected the accusations and said he had dismissed police at the four checkpoints on the orders of the Ministry of Interior.
He said the fired police men had violated human rights by sexually abusing a woman.
"I don't support a particular tribe and neither is tribal discrimination involved in this issue as there are still Barakzai in five police checkpoints," he added


http://www.pajhwok.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=96273

It would be unfortunate if General McCrystal left his command in Afghanistan. I believe he is a good man. Joe Biden isn't Dick Cheney if that was the 'measure' for Veeps. Thank God he isn't Cheney.

But, the military will be the military and they measure leadership differently.  They put their lives on the line and that gives them moral authority to pass judgement. 

It is unfortunate the dynamics of Afghanistan has been so blastedly disgusting after nearly a decade of neglect by the previous Executive Branch.

But, there are issues of sorts with the esteem General McCrystal holds his Commander and Chief.  I don't know why exactly, but, I believe it has a lot to do with NATO and their focus of Afghanistan.

There have been comments made in Europe by the General at times that are a bit out of line with the current methodology of this White House and it may be out of step with the State Department's efforts as well.  But, they are 'soldiers comments' and show a more aggressive approach to the combat theater.  Sometimes, to allow such 'dissonance' is simply respect for the 'four stripes' on the General's sleeve.

It would have been better if this General and this President were able to speak 'on message' to achieve the goals of the best outcomes in Afghanistan. 

Afghanistan and its Poppy Economy has to be an irritant to General McCrystal, but, in his judgement to rattle that apart in order to achieve some idea of 'moral content' to that country would be to cause greater gaps in loyalties to the current government by citizens and place soldiers in greater danger.

The 'side effect' may be an Afghan soldier sadly unable to protect Afghanistan due to substance abuse.

Permitting a Poppy Economy is Anti-American and in some corners of the military and possibly the administration that may be ridiculed.  We don't know if General McCrystal and his staff have been putting up with 'sore comments' either.  It could be there are many 'aggravations' to the comments by General McCrystal's staff and him as well.  It seems completely obvious the 'culture' currently at work within and about the Afghanistan War isn't good for anyone.  Unfortunately, it might be enough to destroy the relationship between the General and the President.

General McCrystal is a remarkable military officer.  It might be the hubris has taken on a life of its own.  The question is, will the President find any prolonged 'difference' between the two more than he is willing to tolerate.  It might be that General McCrystal might see it the same way.

What does anyone expect it is Louisiana where they put oil ahead of citizens. Corruption rules.

Ships and drilling rigs surround the Discoverer Enterprise as it continues to recover oil from the Deepwater Horizon drill site in the Gulf of Mexico on June 15, 2010. (Xinhua/U.S. Coast Guard/Bob Laura)


The Plutocracy must be served.  Judge Feldman ruled knowing the Executive Branch would appeal the decision.

His operative words were "explicitly justify."  It is corruption.  Feldman  doesn't read the newspapers or watch the news?  He doesn't know what is going on?  No, sure he does, but, he is going to make the Executive Branch of the USA 'dance on the head of a pin' with the verbiage of the moritorium. 

..."We will immediately appeal to the 5th Circuit," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said. "The president strongly believes, as the Department of Interior and the Department of Justice argued yesterday, that continuing to drill at these depths without knowing what happened…potentially puts the safety of those on the rigs and safety of the environment in the gulf at a danger that the president does not believe we can afford right now."...

The argument that employment is being lost and oil companies are losing income is completely irrelevant.  BP is liable for all those losses.  All of them, including the losses of other oil companies.  This is ridiculous and outrageous.  There are eleven people dead and those deaths mean absolutely nothing to Feldman.  To Feldman this is all a game of who types better and more explicitly.

It's Louisiana, where corruption is a way of life.

President Obama did what was correct to protect lives and secure the understanding of what occurred. 

You know, the petroleum industry is required to drill a relief well at the same time they are drilling the main well.  Why?  Because the North Atlantic has FREQUENT fires on their rigs.  FREQUENT.  By that MEASURE  ALONE, the Petroleum Industry is putting lives at risk.  Their neglegence in this instance is OBVIOUS and yet a Louisiana District Judge has no backbone to stand up to them.

The worst oil disaster in the North Seas was the Piper Alpha which was operated by Occidental Petroleum.  The disaster occurred in 1988 after the platform began to pump methane in greater quantities than oil.  There were 167 human lives lost with a financial loss of $3.4 billion, without the gushing oil.

There is a very long history of explosions and deaths of people working the rigs.  BP has an abysmal safety record.  It is a fact.  These explosions happen frequently enough to say the Petroleum Industry does not care or do they even want to care about what ACTUALLY occurs when these rigs explode WHEN there is HIGH  METHANE content from the drilling. 

For a USA Judge to simply dismiss the Executive Branch concerns regarding poor safety track records and eleven deaths while an entire coastline becomes economically handicapped for decades to come, in my opinion is gross malpractice by Feldman.

Another Example:

BP's Disaster: No Surprise to Folks in the Know



Andrew B. Wilson: Anyone Who Understood the Corporate Culture Could See This Coming a Million Miles Away


...Only it wasn’t an explosion. A gas line had ruptured-allowing thousands of pounds of pressurized gas to escape at supersonic velocity. That caused a thunderous sonic boom. Debris from the burst pipe and its cladding rained down, adding to the impression that “an artillery shell had just hit the platform.” The escaping gas quickly formed a huge and potentially lethal cloud around the rig. Now the threat of an actual explosion was very real. The smallest spark would detonate more than a ton of methane gas.
No one died or was even hurt that day on Forties Alpha, thanks in part to high winds that helped to disperse the gas after about 20 minutes of extreme danger to the platform and its crew of 180 people. But Houston, the number two in command aboard Forties Alpha, knew full well what could have happened. “Unlike a similar incident on the ill-fated Piper Alpha platform,” he observes, referring to an earlier accident in the North Sea, “the gas did not ignite, so what could have been a major disaster for myself and everyone else on board was averted by sheer luck.”...


http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/06/22/opinion/main6605248.shtml


Immediately after the Deepwater Horizon blew up, there was another platform in Venezuelan waters that was pumping nothing but methane and it exploded and sunk as well.  The Petroleum Industry is out of control.  The disaster of the BP rig is the event to stop the clock on 'luck' in order to come to understand the devastating consequences of poor insight and management by these companies.  Feldman is completely "W"rong.  He removed the purpose of the moritorium and sought to place Executive Authority as a 'volley' to the order.  It is pure unadulterated corruption.

Feldman's words are hideous in their content as well.

...Judge Martin Feldman called the Deepwater Horizon spill "an unprecedented, sad, ugly and inhuman disaster."...

He tries to cover up his 'bate and switch' routine by appearing to understand the 'human tragedy' better than anyone else.  Please, this is such garbage, the ruling belongs in the nearest land fill.


Rig: ODECO Ocean Odyssey Semi-Sub



Date: 22 September 1988


Location: Shearwater Field, Block 22, UK Continental Shelf


Operator: Arco (now a subsidiary of BP)

...At around 1130 hours, a rapid rise in casing pressure was seen, with substantial mud returns and the presence of gas vapour at the rotary table. With the bit at 13200 feet, the circulating pressure was not great enough to prevent a gas influx into the well and the well began to flow. The control room operator was then alerted to a gas kick and all rig crew were ordered to lifeboat stations as a precautionary measure. At around 1255 hours, the first explosion occurred and the four remaining crew on the drillfloor evacuated to lifeboats. The well was not shut in completely with the lower rams. At around 1305 hours, catastrophic choke hose failure caused by the uncontrolled flow of aggressive fluids through the choke hose led to the release of large quantities of gas and caused fires both on the rig and on the surface of the sea beneath the rig....


http://home.versatel.nl/the_sims/rig/o-odyssey.



September 14, 2005 12:00 AM (Published in the July 2005 issue)
LOCATION: TEXAS CITY, TEXAS


EVENT: OIL REFINERY EXPLOSION


DATE: MARCH 23, 2005



...As workers restarted a component of the unit, abnormal pressure built up in the production tower, and so three relief valves opened to allow highly volatile gasoline components to escape to the 10 x 20-ft. "blowdown" drum. But so much fuel flooded into the drum that its capacity was rapidly exceeded. Liquid and vapor shot straight up the 113-ft. vent stack, into the open air.
Witnesses saw a cloud of vaporizing fuel geyser out of the stack and cascade to the ground. One person reported hearing a desperate call crackle over a handheld radio. "What is this? Stop all hot work! Stop all hot work!"
But too much equipment was running to shut it all down. As vapors were sucked into its engine, an idling pickup at the base of the tower began to rev up, according to witnesses. A worker raced to turn it off, but he was too late. Somewhere in the cloud of fumes, perhaps in the truck's engine, a spark touched off the gas and ignited a firestorm....
...BLOWDOWN

Texas City knows industrial facilities and their dangers. Often referred to as "Toxic City," it is home to four chemical plants and three refineries. The sprawling BP complex, built in 1934, is the third largest of 149 petroleum refineries nationwide. At night it glows like a forested landscape of steel Christmas trees, strung with flickering safety lights. Since records were kept in 1971, there have been at least nine other accidents at the refinery that injured or killed workers, but the explosion on March 23 was by far the most destructive....

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/news/1758242



Fifth anniversary of BP Texas refinery explosion-have we learnt any lessons?

By Sam
Mar 24, 2010


Mar 24, 2010- Five years ago, terrible explosions rocked BP’s Texas refinery complex that resulted in several fatalities and injuries. The question that is now being raised is, whether any lessons were learned from this by manufacturing companies in general and hydrocarbon processing companies in particular? Apparently not many, as evidenced by the several accidents that took place in refineries and chemical complexes after this accident....

...The CSB issues the following statement from CSB Chairman John Bresland:



Five years ago today, at about 1:20 p.m., a series of explosions rocked the BP Texas City refinery during the restart of a hydrocarbon isomerization unit.

Fifteen workers were killed and 170 others were injured. Many of the victims were working in or around work trailers located near an atmospheric vent stack. The explosions occurred when a distillation tower flooded with hydrocarbons and was over- pressurized, causing a geyser-like release from the vent stack. The hydrocarbons found an ignition source and exploded.

I urge everyone in the oil refining industry to take a moment today and think about that tragic loss of life and the severity of so many injuries which continue to afflict workers five years later.
Today would be an appropriate time for company management to pause and personally pledge to do everything in their power to prevent this kind of catastrophic accident from happening at their refineries. And in my view it would also be appropriate for BP to recommit to safety in a way that builds on the steps it has taken in the aftermath of the Texas City tragedy.

In the CSB’s final investigation report issued two years after the accident, we found organizational and safety deficiencies at all levels of the BP Corporation. It was the most comprehensive and detailed investigation the CSB has ever done. Our investigation team turned up extensive evidence showing a catastrophe waiting to happen. that cost-cutting had affected safety programs and critical maintenance; production pressures resulted in costly mistakes made by workers likely fatigued by working long hours; internal audits and safety studies brought problems to the attention of BP’s board in London, but they were not sufficiently acted upon. Yet the company was proud of its record on personnel safety.

I urge everyone involved in operations and safety programs at refineries to take time to visit the CSB’s BP investigation web page, review the key findings in the report, and ask “Is any of this happening at my facility?” I also recommend taking a lunch hour to view with your colleagues the CSB Safety Video “Anatomy of a Disaster”, an extensive examination – with computer animation – of the factors that caused the BP tragedy.

http://industrialplantsafety.com/anniversary-bp-texas-refinery.html


The point is, the Petroleum Industry does not care, nor do they want to care.  They make so much money that fines and bad publicity means nothing to them.  The only entity standing the way of citizens' deaths and this industry is the government and Feldman is a prime example of corruption at the core of the power of industries that are allowed to control economic dynamics.  Money is truely more important than human life and this is more proof of it. 

Feldman is well bought and paid for whether it is 'stupid ideology' over economics or some 'moronic idea' that the President is supposed to have the power to protect citizens over their right to work.  That is an oxymoron considering Louisiana is a 'will to work state' whereby employees have to rights anyway.  The entire situation is pure corruption from top to bottom and it is CULTURAL CORRUPTION at its worst.

"Cultural Corruption" is what Republicans rely on to achieve elections and re-elections. 


BP Faces Record Fine for ’05 Refinery Explosion
By STEVEN GREENHOUSE

Published: October 30, 2009

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced the largest fine in its history on Friday, $87 million in penalties against the oil giant BP for failing to correct safety problems identified after a 2005 explosion that killed 15 workers at its Texas City, Tex. refinery....

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/30/business/30labor.html
 
 
$87 million in fines is just a 'speed bump' in the bonus scale to any CEO.  It means absolutely nothing to the Petroleum Industry or their stockholders.
 
 
THINK  GREEN, THINK  LOCAL  and save your lives.  It is up to us !!!!

Actions speak louder than words. Senator Kyl needs an ethics review for his lies about the President. It goes to prove that Republicans are a 'regime' that cannot be trusted.

Kyl took advantage of a private meeting with President Obama to 'set up lies' to defame his Presidency.  President Obama cannot meet with Republicans alone from today forward.  They are not trustworthy and the nation knows it.  They use words to manipulate not communicate.

...Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona told a Tea Party gathering in North Phoenix, Ariz., on Friday of his recent private meeting with Obama in the Oval Office. Kyl, the Senate's second-ranking GOP leader, said he pressed Obama to secure the border against illegal immigrants....

The Republicans are evasive in their commitment to citizens while they use power to benefit Wall Street.  That is simply the truth.  They apologize to oil companies that don't belong anywhere near the borders of the USA and now this.  It never stops.  They scream liar at the State of the Union Address and this is simply an extension of the same hatred of the Preasident.

Barack Obama meets Mexican leader

Page last updated at 01:45 GMT, Tuesday, 13 January 2009
Mexico's violent drugs war, immigration and trade have dominated talks between US President-elect Barack Obama and Mexico's President Felipe Calderon.
Monday's meeting in Washington DC was Mr Obama's first with a foreign leader since his election in November.
His transition office said the talks highlighted the importance of the relationship between the US and Mexico....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7823862.stm



Obama: Mexico drug war ‘sowing chaos’

U.S. president signals he won't seek reinstatement of assault weapons ban
msnbc.com news services

updated 7:15 p.m. ET, Thurs., April 16, 2009
MEXICO CITY - Acknowledging a Mexican drug war that is "sowing chaos in our communities," President Barack Obama signaled Thursday he will not seek the reinstatement of a U.S. assault weapons ban but instead step up enforcement of existing laws against taking such weapons across the border....

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30232095/



THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary
___________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release August 10, 2009
PRESS CONFERENCE BY PRESIDENT OBAMA,
PRESIDENT CALDERÓN OF MEXICO,
AND PRIME MINISTER HARPER OF CANADA
Cabanas Cultural Center
Guadalajara, Mexico


11:15 A.M. (Local) 
 
PRESIDENT CALDERÓN: (As translated.) Ladies and gentlemen, representatives of the media, national as well as international. The leaders from the United States, Canada and Mexico have completed two fruitful workdays for the benefit for our co-nationals. The leaders for North America share the vision and insight for the regional community that is safe, secure, and competitive, that can face successfully the challenges of the present and the future.
We coincide in pointing out that in an age marked by globalization, the challenges can only be overcome jointly -- thus the importance of keeping the dialogue, trust and cooperation amongst our three countries. Americans, Canadians, and Mexicans have reiterated that the values upon which our societies are founded are democracy, freedom, justice, and respect of human rights.

Our three nations have reiterated our decision to combat in the struggle of the transnational organized crime in order to bring about more security to our communities. The struggles we have led in Mexico for the rule of law and the security of our Mexican people forces us to stop the traffic of weapons and of money that go from north to south that strengthen and nourish organized crime gangs. The notion of responsibility, co-responsibility, accountability, the exchange of information, and the building of our institutions should be the guidelines for our cooperation....
 
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Press-Conference-by-President-Obama-President-Calderon-of-Mexico-and-Prime-Minister-Harper-of-Canada/

 
Bomb Damages US Consulate in Mexico
04/10/10 08:27 PM
MEXICO CITY — An attacker threw an explosive device over the wall around the U.S. consulate in the border city of Nuevo Laredo, breaking windows and startling employees inside but causing no injuries, the U.S. Embassy said Saturday.
The attack, which took place about 11:30 p.m. Friday, is under investigation, embassy spokesman Claude Young said.
Young said the consulate and the consular agency in the border town of Piedras Negras would be closed Monday pending a review of security measures.
Mexican federal prosecutors in the capital said they were reviewing evidence from the scene, including video feeds from security cameras at the consulate.
Nuevo Laredo, across the Rio Grande River from Laredo, Texas, and other cities have seen increased violence in recent weeks as powerful Mexican drug cartels battle over control of lucrative trafficking along the border.
U.S. State Department employees in the area had not been victimized until last month. That's when gunmen separately chased down and killed an American woman who worked at the U.S. consulate in Ciudad Juarez along with her husband in their SUV and another man married to a Mexican consulate worker in a similar vehicle. All three had been at the same party....


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/10/bomb-damages-us-consulate_n_533059.html




Mexico gunmen kill three American consulate members
REUTERS, Mar 15, 2010, 03.01am IST
MEXICO: Gunmen in the drug war-plagued Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez killed two Americans and a Mexican linked to the local US consulate, an attack US President Barack Obama said "outraged" him.
An American woman working at the consulate in Ciudad Juarez, just over the border from El Paso, Texas, and her US husband were fatally shot by suspected drug gang hitmen in broad daylight on Saturday as they left a consulate social event, US and Mexican officials told Reuters.
A Mexican man married to another consulate employee was killed around the same time in another part of the city after he and his wife left the same event, a US official said....


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Mexico-gunmen-kill-three-American-consulate-members/articleshow/5683948.cms



President Obama to send more National Guard troops to U.S.-Mexico border
By Michael D. Shear and Spencer S. Hsu
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
...President Obama will deploy 1,200 National Guard troops and request an extra $500 million to secure the Mexican border, his administration said Tuesday, a move dismissed by Republicans as insufficient to win their cooperation on an overhaul of the nation's immigration system.
By reinforcing the 340 Guard members already monitoring border crossings and analyzing intelligence, the initiative echoes 2006's Operation Jump Start, in which President George W. Bush devoted 6,000 guardsmen to a two-year commitment in support of the Border Patrol....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/25/AR2010052503227.html


Previous to the President's inauguration, President Obama has been sincerely concerned regarding the fluid border between Mexico and the USA.  From before his inauguration he has sought a relationship with Mexican leadership to solve the problems of that border.

There is absolutely NO  BASIS for the statements by Kyl from Arizona, whom's state currently is being reviewed by the US Justice Department for a suit against the laws they pass for the purpose of political fervor.  Laws that violate human rights as well as citizens' civil rights.

It is completely obvious the Republicans are doing NOTHING to resolve the issues of the USA in regard to illegal immigration and the movement of weapons across the border from the USA into Mexico.  They are USING the issue for NOTHING but political maneuvering and fiscal support of their cronies. 

President Obama moved USA troops into place after the USA Consolates were attacked and had NOTHING to do with bargaining for comprehensive immigation reform, yet, the OUT OF TOUCH Republican Regime sought to ridicule the legitimate actions of a deeply concerned President. 

They are adversarial to this President for all the "W"rong reasons and they are obstructing appropriate legislation the nation needs.  They are hostile entities to the government and nothing sort of it.  Their demeanors are OUT of LINE with the facts and their ethics are grossly out of step with reality.

Consumer awareness - How does this stuff get made and on the market? As a joke it isn't very funny either !

A Light Saber?

I don't think so !

...The device - with a beam 1,000 times stronger than sunlight on the skin - is touted by makers as "the most dangerous laser ever created"....

Link:

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Lightsabres-Lasers-Compared-To-Star-Wars-Weapon-Sold-On-Web-To-The-UK/Article/201006315649563?lpos=World_News_News_Your_Way_Region_1&lid=NewsYourWay_ARTICLE_15649563_Lightsabres%3A_Lasers_Compared_To_Star_Wars_Weapon_Sold_On_Web_To_The_UK

UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite show a Midwest that could receive severe weather today and a hurricane attempting to form near Venezuela. Click for 12 hour loop.

Don't take my word for it.  The Accuweather forecast for the Midwest:

More severe storms capable of producing tornadoes will target the Plains and the Midwest through tonight. During the day, some communities from Iowa to Illinois and eastern Montana to West Texas will get hit by these potentially damaging and life-threatening storms.

Today's Severe Storm Threat
Severe storms will shift east across Iowa, southern Wisconsin and Illinois today, while another round of severe weather will unfold this afternoon and evening over the High Plains, from eastern Montana and North Dakota southward to New Mexico and West Texas.
 http://www.accuweather.com/blogs/news/story/32999/more-severe-storms-tornadoes-t.asp

The Pole Satellites are not doing well today, but, Earth is a hot planet. The heat transfer systems into Antarctica are huge extending all the way to equator, especially noted in the Pacific north of Australia.

Summer Solice, beginning of the real hurricane season, June 21, 1020 at 11:28 AM

20,000 people attended traditional gatherings at Stonehedge.

The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (crystal wind chimes) is:

Local time :: 3:10 AM ADKT (GMT -08)

Lat/Lon :: 58.8° N 137.0° W
Elevation :: 33 feet
Temperatures :: 48 F
Conditions :: Scattered Clouds
Windchill :: 47 F
Humidity :: 87%
Dew Point :: 45 F
Wind :: 4 mph from the South
Pressure :: 30.06 inches (steady)
Visibility :: 10 mph
UV :: 0 out of 16
Clouds :: 6000 ft above ground level

Alaskans Celebrate Midnight Sun

June 19, 2010

For people who live near the Arctic Circle, summer days get so long that nighttime almost disappears. So, if you were living in Nome, Alaska, you'd live through an eye-popping 22 hours of daylight Saturday. To get a sense of what it's like to live with nearly constant daylight, host Guy Raz speaks with Nome resident and tour operator Richard Benneville.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127955950


Coldest day of the year in Antarctica with longest hours of darkness.

Current Conditions across the continent show a high of 34 F on the Peninsula and a low of -93 at Vostok at the highest point of the ice.  (click here)

Winds range from calm to Northeast at 69 mph, and conditions range from clear to snow.

The Costner Oil - Water Separation Machine should be deployed first where the oil is only now arriving.

There might be half a chance to stop the deteriorating Gulf Coast if the oil is interceded by such a technology.

Preparing for hurricane season was never like this. Tyvek suits distributed to Louisiana First Responders. Click title to entry. Thank you.

What happens to the people stuck between the two fences in Arizona? Do they know there is an opening some place else? Who gives them directions?

Local rancher Glenn Spencer stands by a vehicle barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona. (Courtesy of American Border Patrol)

Pat Shannahan/ The Arizona Republic


Border fences like this one may help deter illegal immigration, but no measures are an absolute deterrent.

Mr. Krentz's death had nothing to do with politics.  He got in the way of an illegal crossing, even if by accident.  Illegals, in some instances, carry guns evidently.  If that is the case and they come armed then what indeed is this?

By Daniel B. Wood, Staff writer / March 31, 2010
Los Angeles

The killing of Arizona rancher Robert Krentz has prompted the state’s governor, its most influential senator, and its farming community to say that Washington is not doing enough to prevent illegal immigration and secure the border with Mexico.

Mr. Krentz was found Saturday, fatally shot and slumped over in his all-terrain vehicle, which still had its lights and engine on. Law enforcement officials tracked footprints from the scene back to the border, raising speculation that the killer is an illegal immigrant....
 
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0331/Robert-Krentz-killing-stokes-fears-of-rampant-illegal-immigration


The Political Right can blame the political Left and so on, but, no one is going to stop illegal immigration. 

The answer is to solve Mexico's problems.  We don't have this issue with Canada.  It is the poverty and now FAMILY that drives them north across the USA border. 

I don't see anything stopping this, not even a poor economy.

The only thing that changed since time beginning in that region 'of the continent' is the USA border and the right of the USA to expand West.  Nothing else has changed.  Basically, the white man fought for the right to occupy the land and claim land rights and mineral rights.  The people have always moved back and forth across that border. 

Illegals were always considered welcome as cheap labor for centuries.  Now, because the political right of the USA decided they want their southern border secured that is going to make it happen.


Mexico ruling party: Federal police for elections



By MARK STEVENSON (AP) – 10 hours ago
MEXICO CITY — The leader of President Felipe Calderon's conservative party said Saturday he wants federal police to patrol 14 Mexican states that are holding local elections this year.
National Action Party leader Cesar Nava charged that state governors from the old ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party are planning to use local police in favor of their candidates.
"Recent history shows us that some PRI governors are preparing to use police to make it easier to round up voters for their party and impede the free movement of our supporters," Nava said at a gathering of his party's leadership in Mexico City.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h3HsghO9eeYbwqsn_rMPKhmzYegQD9GEMKN80

Morning Papers - Its Origins

The Rooster
"Okeydoke"

For the past three weekends, it has been an interesting venue in following "All the President's Men" of which many don't receive media exposure.

It is the responsibility of every voter to seek to understand the good works of their government in all aspects of its prowess.

Good night.

Secretary Ray Lahood a person of conscience. No more distracted driving ! (The Blog click title to entry - thank you.)

We all know about the "Cash for Clunkers Program" and his recognition for ending the danger of "Texting while Driving," but, else is he doing?

What is happening with a change in fuel sources?  Biodiesel?  Ethanol? 


DOT 104-10



Thursday, May 27, 2010
Nearly $80 Million in High-Speed Rail Funds Delivered to States


Vice President Biden Praises First Round of Grants
The U.S. Department of Transportation today announced that nearly $80 million in grants have been delivered to states as part of President Obama's historic high-speed and intercity passenger rail program. These grants will go toward the development of a brand new Recovery Act funded high-speed rail system in Florida as well as critical upgrades to existing passenger rail service throughout the country.
"Delivering these funds is an important step forward in our efforts to upgrade and transform America's transportation system, while spurring economic activity and creating jobs here at home," said Vice President Joe Biden. "Our unprecedented investment in high-speed and intercity passenger rail is not only going to provide real environmental benefits and greater convenience for travelers, but also long-term economic development for communities across the country."
"The President's vision for high-speed rail will forever change the way Americans travel by offering new transportation options," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "The grants released today are merely the very beginning of many more to follow."


http://www.dot.gov/affairs/2010/dot10410.htm
 
 
 
Funding doubled for bicycling, walking projects



By JOAN LOWY (AP) – 3 days ago
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration more than doubled transportation spending on bicycling and walking last year as it seeks to coax Americans out of their cars, according to a Federal Highway Administration report released Wednesday.
Spending on biking and walking projects rose from less than $600 million in 2008 to $1.2 billion in 2009. Twenty years ago, the federal government was spending only $6 million a year on such projects.
The spending on biking and walking projects was scheduled to rise last year anyway, but the administration boosted it with $400 million in funds set aside under the economic recovery program.
The new focus on biking and walking represents a turnaround from the administration of President George W. Bush. Mary Peters, transportation secretary under Bush, dismissed biking paths and trails as projects that "really are not transportation," saying they had no place in federal transportation policy.
In March, Obama's transportation secretary, Ray LaHood, announced a policy "sea change" that gives biking and walking projects the same importance as automobiles in transportation planning and the selection of projects for federal money.


http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iC5PCOTxzMe22vlNbr2qCfzFz8ygD9GCHUT00

Shaun Who? I have never read one article on this Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Scary. An entire Cabinet Secretary is invisible to the USA media. Wiw.

America, meet your HUD Secretary, Shaun Donovan.  Can't get more Irish than that.

So, what has he been up to?


HUD CHARGES NEW HAMPSHIRE LANDLORD WITH DISCRIMINATING AGAINST INTERETHNIC COUPLE


Owner allegedly harassed family because of Hispanic husband


WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today announced that it is charging a Monroe, New Hampshire, landlord with violating the Fair Housing Act for harassment of tenants who are an interethnic couple. According to HUD’s charge, landlord Lothar Riba told a female tenant that he didn’t think it was appropriate for her to be married to a “Spanish guy.”
HUD alleges that Riba harassed and threatened the family by monitoring and photographing their activity, removing their apartment’s window handles, and physically assaulting and injuring the wife. Riba allegedly told the wife that she should get her “monkey” family off of his property and that her Hispanic sister in-law could not visit, remarking, “If one comes, they all start coming like a bunch of cockroaches.”...


http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/press/press_releases_media_advisories/2010/HUDNo.10-128




HUD TO HELP NEARLY 1,300 HOMELESS VETERANS FIND PERMANENT HOMES



Additional $7.5 million allows HUD to help total of 9,000 homeless vets


WASHINGTON – U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan announced today $7.5 million in additional funding to allow local housing agencies to provide a permanent home for 1,255 homeless veterans. The funding is provided through a second round of grants under HUD’s Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing Program (HUD-VASH) program.
Working closely with local Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Centers, local public housing agencies will target these grants specifically to homeless veterans in their area. Earlier this month, HUD announced $58.6 million in HUD-VASH grants to provide 7,500 vouchers for homeless veterans. For a local breakdown of the vouchers announced today, visit HUD’s website.


http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/press/press_releases_media_advisories/2010/HUDNo.10-127






HUD AWARDS $2.3 BILLION TO MORE THAN 3,000 PUBLIC HOUSING AUTHORITIES TO IMPROVE, PRESERVE PUBLIC HOUSING ACROSS THE U.S.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today awarded more than $2.3 billion to 3,131 public housing authorities across the U.S, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The funds will allow these agencies to make major capital improvements to their public housing units. To view the full list of grantees, visit HUD’s website.
“Housing authorities will add this funding to the $4 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 they received last year to continue addressing long-standing capital improvements that public housing communities need,” said Donovan. “This funding will also stimulate the economy and create jobs in these communities.”


http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/press/press_releases_media_advisories/2010/HUDNo.10-126


Looks like Shaun still has a lot of work to do.


Nation's economic collapse triggers rise in homeless families, report says


By TONY PUGH


McClatchy Newspapers
Record job losses and foreclosures helped push more than 170,000 families into homeless shelters in 2009, up nearly 30 percent since 2007 when the recession first gripped the nation, a government report released Wednesday shows.
While the total number of homeless people on any given night fell by 5 percent from 2008 to 2009, the number of homeless families increased for the second straight year, according to the 2009 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress prepared by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
"Throughout the course of a year, approximately 1.56 million people found themselves without a place to call home," said Mercedes Marquez, HUD assistant secretary for community planning and development.

http://www.kansascity.com/2010/06/16/2022583/nations-economic-collapse-triggers.html

Secretary Janet Napolitano - Homeland Security

Talk about Baptism by Fire.  Wow.  I fully expected an al Qaeda attack of some sort during this President's first year.  It happened with Clinton, then Bush and I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Then came The Christmas Underwear Bomber.  Since that didn't work, the Times Square bomber was recruited into a failed attempt.

It would seem as though Homeland Security doesn't get a break, even from those that would assassinate police at the Holocaust Museum.


FIGHTING home-grown terrorism by monitoring internet communications is a civil liberties trade-off the US government must make to beef up national security, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said.

As terrorists increasingly recruit US citizens, the government needs to balance civil rights and privacy with the need to keep people safe, she said. But finding that balance has become more complex as people have used the internet to reach out to extremists abroad for inspiration and training. Those contacts have spurred a recent rash of US-based terrorism incidents.
Ms Napolitano said it was wrong to believe liberty was sacrificed if security was embraced, and pointed to restrictions on full-body scanners at airports to protect privacy.


http://www.smh.com.au/world/privacy-tradeoff-20100619-ynwi.html
 
 
Yemen Arrests French National for Al-Qaida Links
VOA News
06 June 2010
Yemeni security officials say authorities have arrested a French national on suspicion of having links to al-Qaida.
Officials said Sunday authorities detained Jeremy Johnny Witter in late May in the capital, Sanaa.
Investigators say he was studying at the Sanaa Institute for Arabic Language - the same school attended by a Nigerian man, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, arrested for trying to blow up a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day (December 25).
Yemeni authorities have arrested dozens of foreigners on suspicion of al-Qaida links since the failed Christmas Day bombing, including at least one American and one Briton.


http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/Yemen-Arrests-French-National-for-Al-Qaida-Links-95724384.html
 
 
I realize what this is all about, but, the real solution is ending the hatred by Islam and removing the USA as a threat to their countries.
 
 
Airport whole-body scans called vital by Napolitano



Machines' use to continue, says Homeland chief


By ALAN BLINDER


WASHINGTON BUREAU


June 19, 2010, 1:58AM
WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Friday that controversial whole-body imaging technology is necessary to combat terrorists who continue to target airliners.
"The reality is simple: Al-Qaida and other terrorist groups continue to target commercial aviation," Napolitano said in a speech to the American Constitution Society. She added that the groups have sought to use explosives that do not contain metal and, therefore, do not set off alarms at metal detectors.
"Weapons and explosives have become harder to detect," Napolitano said....

Arne Duncan became Secretary of Education on President Obama's Inauguration Day.

Arne Duncan and his family take part in the Bud Billiken Day parade. (click here for parade information)
Photo: Dean la Prairie

Faced with a underfunded educational effort called, "No Child Left Behind," Arne Dunkin has an opportunity to revitalize the federal effort for the USA.  He developed a program called, "Race To the Top."  It received $100 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The commitment by the Obama Administration for transparency was carried out by Secretary Duncan in publishing the applications and scorecards for participating states in "Race to the Top."  (click here)

The program is a reform standard that required participating states adoption minimum standards to all their schools.  It has been mostly successful in bring a single American standard to the country.

...Forty-six states and the District of Columbia today will announce an effort to craft a single vision for what children should learn each year from kindergarten through high school graduation, an unprecedented step toward a uniform definition of success in American schools....

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/31/AR2009053102339.html

It provided an opportunity to unite the country under a standard of excellance.  The states were scored on their efforts to achieve excellence in their school systems.  There is currently a second round to "Race to the Top," but the first round proved to be interesting to most administrators.  In trying to acheive excellence there were changes made to assessing the success of teachers and in some states it meant offering more opportunity for Charter Schools.

Common Education Standards will prevent corruption and promote democracy as a country that cares about all its children equally.

States should adopt common education standards



ON NATIONAL EDUCATION STANDARDS
March 15, 2010
As the world shrinks, few things have become more important than a flexible, portable education. Elementary school students in California may find themselves one day working in Rhode Island or Russia - and they'll need to start learning the skills that will take them anywhere right now.
That's the thinking behind the Common Core Standards for English and math, which were released in draft form last week. The standards, which were created by the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association with encouragement from the Obama administration, may become national benchmarks for all K-12 students. The draft standards are the product of almost a year's worth of work, and they're open for public comment through April 2.


http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-03-15/opinion/18831644_1_standards-aim-common-core-standards-draft-standards


In his confirmation hearings, Duncan called education "the most pressing issue facing America," adding that "preparing young people for success in life is not just a moral obligation of society" but also an "economic imperative." "Education is also the civil rights issue of our generation," he said, "the only sure path out of poverty and the only way to achieve a more equal and just society." Duncan expressed his commitment to work under the leadership of President Obama and with all those involved in education "to enhance education in America, to lift our children and families out of poverty, to help our students learn to contribute to the civility of our great American democracy, and to strengthen our economy by producing a workforce that can make us as competitive as possible."

The remaining high profile military of the Obama Defense Department is Admiral Thad Allen.

For all those that are STILL CONFUSED as to whom is 'in charge' in the Gulf of Mexico, including the New York Times and Gulf State Governors, just stop.  For political volleys they are making fools of themselves.  Don't these people want to be correct?

It has been stated over and over that Admiral Allen is in control of the circumstances surrounding the BP damage to the USA coast.

...“We’re working very closely with British Petroleum,” he said. “BP laid out and we’ve approved where they are headed right now to bring in needed capacity. And under the current containment cap that sits on the well head by bringing additional vessels in and being able to draw oil off the choke and the kill lines and produce that on the surface, we expect to get to a capacity of around 53,000 barrels a day by the end of June.”...



Admiral Than Allen

Short of seeking a subterrainian explosion of the oil well, I don't know anything that was not done by this Admiral of the USA Coast Guard.

He was more than a valuable asset for the USA during the response to Hurricane Katrina emergency and he is proving to be a leader that can get the job done with the Gulf Oil disaster.

I sincerely believe the USA legislature owes Admiral Allen an apology for allowing such 'runaway' incidents the potential to occur.  One thing is true of the USA military, they respond to the needs of their country, and on a rare occassion are they asked what needs to be done to avert multi-billion dollar costs to the nation.

The response by the USA military was 'spot on.'  They did nothing wrong and as soon as it was preceived to be an incident of national security, the military was taking action to secure the nation.  As the website at the title to this entry shows, the Coast Guard has anticipated every adverse outcome including hurricane impacts on the very unstable oil rupture in the Gulf of Mexico.

I thank Admiral Allen for a dedicated and life long service to his country and spotless response to the Gulf Crisis.


Allen: Progress being made on containment


By Curt Chapman


Staff Writer


(Created: Saturday, June 19, 2010 4:05 PM CDT)


FAIRHOPE, Ala. — National Incident Commander Adm. Thad Allen said Thursday that BP continues making progress in its effort to contain oil rushing from the floor of the Gulf of Mexico, where the Deepwater Horizon platform exploded and sank in late April. Discussing meetings he and Obama administration officials held with oil company executives, Allen said recovery capacity is increasing.



“As of (Wednesday), we have the added capacity now what we call the Q4000 mobile drilling units on scene. It is actually drawing oil up through the kill pipe. That’s where we actually sent the mud down during the top kill operation. We’re actually using that as a way to evacuate more oil out in addition to what’s being produced by the Discover Enterprise.
Allen said once both resources are fully operational, crews could potentially bring up as much as 28,000 barrels a day. He noted the rates will be brought up slowly to make sure the pressure can be controlled, but added it won’t stop there.
He said, “We’ll look at, further down the line, the ability to actually transfer that oil ashore and actually offload it. But for now, it’s giving us several thousand more barrels a day capacity and that’s several thousand barrels a day that’s not going into the environment.
Allen said BP has been ordered to increase redundancy and capacity of the containment operations....


http://www.baldwincountynow.com/articles/2010/06/19/local_news/doc4c1bd7b4eb0d8830946991.txt