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WIKILEAKS PLANTS A DATA MINE ON THE AFGHAN BATTLEFIELD
The Afghan War Diary an extraordinary secret compendium of over 91,000 reports covering the war in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2010. The reports describe the majority of lethal military actions involving the United States military... We have delayed the release of some 15,000 reports from total archive as part of a harm minimization process demanded by our source. WIKILEAKS Oh dear oh dear. Well, to start -- it does appear to me that the Times made the right call in printing these materials. The Pentagon Papers is the obvious parallel. Steps were taken to protect individual identities and to shield genuinely top secret documents. But providing this fuller picture of the Afghan conflict -- that is the job of journalists. It's possible that General Petraeus and his team do have a renewed strategy, which makes use of the additional troops we have sent in the past year. If so, I wish them every success. But if the conditions remain as they are described in these documents, we have to consider how long we will stay and provide a clear adversary for Taliban recruiters to point to. Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/The War Logs: Reactions to disclosure of military documents on Afghan War <> Little novel. However the fact that such documents are released while the struggle against the 9/11 perpetrators is ongoing appears to me very sad.
Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/The War Logs: Reactions to disclosure of military documents on Afghan War <> I remember 1969 like it was yesterday. I was in Vietnam as an infantryman.
Read the article HUFFINGTON POST/WikiLeaks "Afghan War Diary" provides ground-level account of Afghan war
Documents don't put our troops in danger, fighting a war with no end in sight puts our troops in danger. Part of me feels angry that these classified documents were leaked. But I think it's really because deep down, the truth hurts and I don't really want to know the dirty details of what's going on. On the other hand, I think our country owes it to the Afghan people to at least be well informed of the consequences of our actions. Read the article CNN/Afghanistan says it's shocked by leaked U.S. documents <> I have seen with my own eyes Taliban fighters set off IED's by the roadside with children well within the blast radius. For each innocent child we have killed on accident, the Taliban have killed 10 through their callousness. So when is the last time you looked at a news headline condemning Taliban atrocities? Most likely never. And that is why Afghanistan will descend into hellish chaos the minute we leave. Because we entered in to this conflict for all of the wrong reasons and we lack the collective political will as a people to allow our military to win. We Americans are the most dreadful of hypocrites. If we are going to send our troops in to harm’s way we should not shackle them to rules of engagement that are doomed to fail. If it’s not worth our country's full declaration of war, then it’s not worth our while to be there period. Either fight the war and lay waste to this area or get out and stop offering our kids up in sacrifice in 2's and 3's. Read the article YAHOO NEWS/More U.S. documents coming on Afghan war <> No troop movements were disclosed, and the newest document in the collection is almost a year old. Whose lives are in danger? Or is this "danger" in a more general sense, like the argument that leaking abuses in Abu Ghraib prison aided the insurgency by making coalition forces "look bad?" Read the article NPR/Leaked reports paint an 'unvarnished and grim picture of Afghan war <> How fortunate that the attitude of revealing all did not appertain during the Second World War! Hitler would have won easily if he had had access to all the British and allied reports. There is a case for not having any British troops in Afghaninistan, but there is no case for sending troops there, supported by all three of the main parties, and then stabbing them in the back. This is good news for those who are opposed to feminism: more little girls shot on their way to school; the imposition of the burka; female circumcision; the killing of daughters who have the temerity to have sex with anyone not approved by their male relations; no women in jobs. This is good news for the pseudo-liberals but bad news for the increasing numbers of real liberals. Read the article GUARDIAN/Afghanistan war logs: live blog
I think it's the fault of the organizers and the people as well. They shouldn't have used a tunnel for letting thousands of people through it, and people do not know when to stop pushing when they are moving forward in large groups. People get trapped in a closed space, start panicking, and thus, the result. Wacken is much better organized because it's at an open space, if something happens people can simply jump over the fences, and they're off. Unlike a tunnel where they are trapped. Read the article DEUTSCHE WELLE/Readers decry loss of lfe at Love Parade <> In 1979, I was there when 12 people were crushed at the Who concert in Cincinnati. The media blamed kids "stampeding" to get the best seats, which bore no resemblance to the truth. It was a slow crush built up in a physically confined space with no escape. Those on the perimeter had no idea their gentle pressure toward the venue would sum up to deadly pressure up front. No one opened the doors. Read the article TIME/Atter stampede, concert organizers nix future love parades
NORTH KOREA THREATENS "PHYSICAL RESPONSE" TO JOINT EXERCISES
I spent two very long tours over there in the eighties, and we had several joint exercises - Team Spirit, and so forth... the entire country gets involved, in one level or another. These are complex, multiforce exercises with several nations contributing; it is more than a readiness exercise; it IS sabre-rattling and a very intimidating 'diplomatic' tool. NK is upset that we would continue to train and prepare and would rather hgave the world see an unprepared, feeble force on the penninsula. Every time it is demonstrated that Korea and it's allies can in fact prepare for and actually repel an invasion, NK loses face.
Read the article CNN/North Korea threatens physcial response to U.S. military exercise
The North Korean strategy includes, but is not limited to, the fact that US military forces are involved in two other fronts. The North Koreans are not worried about 28,000 US troops in South Korea, as there were 150,000 US troops in South Korea before the South Koreans took responsibility for their own defense. You have a country of about 12 million people shaking their fist at a country of 312 million people & getting away with it because we are otherwise occupied. They sank the ship, everyone knows they sank the ship, they wanted to sink the ship, & they don't want to be held accountable for sinking the ship. They have never admitted to anything. ever. It's the 98 pound weakling trying to be the schoolyard bully because he has a big friend at his back. Even big friends get tired of it all. China has its own problems & doesn't need North Korea as much as North Korea needs China. Read the article YAHOO NEWS/N Korea tensions spike at Asian forum <> Never underestimate a dictator, he might be crazy by our way of looking at it but he knows we are fighting on two fronts now and that the American people are getting tired of wars with no end in sight and no real results. He may be gambling that we would not be willing to enter into another conflict that would put a further drain on our resources. Read the article YAHOO NEWS/N Korea tensions spike at Asian forum PANDORA'S BOX? -- KOSOVO INDEPENDENCE 'NOT ILLEGAL,' U.N. COURT RULES
This decision is unsurprising, since I don't think anyone in their right mind thought Kosovo could ever be reintegrated into Serbia.
Read the article GUARDIAN/The end of the battle for Kosovo <> The right to self determination is not limitless. There is a certain size limit (either population or geographically) that means that certain areas that might want independence could not become viable states. Granted there are sum exceptions (The Vatican, Liechtenstein, etc...) but what is the end game? Every town and village becomes its own sovereign nation? Every time a group of people find a majority they can all of a sudden decide that their decision somehow is in a vacuum. What if you redraw the line of what is to be Kosovo and now include a bunch of ethnic Serbs. Then you would have a majority in favor of rejoining Serbia. The US fought a war prevent secession, Yemen is doing the same, they are arguing about a referendum in Sudan. I understand your point but the world is very complicated and you have to take a more nuanced view of events and decisions which is why the article on self determination is not rigidly enforced for all people (if it were I guess we'd all have to invade Saudi Arabia, China, North Korea, England (they do still have a King), Canada (Still has a Queen who happens to be the Queen of England and 15 other nations) and Iran. Read the article ALJAZEERA/An important week for Kosovo <> International law ha, ha. It does not exist. There is only international politics, which to give itself an aura of legitimacy uses the "l" word.
Feel sorry for the Serbs, first because of bad leadership which dragged them into new wars and then the international community which shafted them. Read the article GLOBE & MAIL/World court says Kosovo independence lawful
LOOKING AT CORE ISSUES BETWEEN APPLE AND INTEL
This is a very interesting read, but I find it hard to believe that Apple and Intel are "destined to clash". The two companies have very different business models and sell very different products, so in some places their interests will coincide and in some places they'll diverge, but they're not likely to diverge so much that Apple doesn't keep using Intel CPUs for its Macs. They just seem to be too perpendicular to one another to ever become adversarial -- Intel sells the little bits underneath the magic that Apple doesn't want its customers to even care about. For example, if Intel was to come up with a super great ultra-mobile solution, there's no reason why Apple wouldn't use that instead of ARM. Read the article ARS TECHNICA/There will be blood: Why Apple and Intel are destined to clash <> I think Intel is a bit worried about the future of consumer computing in a broad sense. ARM deices could take it over. I think that iOS shouldn't be thought of as a mobile platform but as a consumer platform. In three years, perhaps even sooner, most consumer's computers will be their 'phone'. Most of the pieces are already in place as it's possible to sync the iphone with a BT keyboard. Can it be that hard or that far off to sync an iphone with a monitor and mouse? I suspect Apple already have an iphone version of iWork waiting in the wings. Being able to check email, surf the net and do light office productivity work would cover a lot of consumers' needs. Read the article ARS TECHNICA/There will be blood: Why Apple and Intel are destined to clash <> I don't buy the argument that Intel getting into the smartphone business means that Apple has to abandon using their x86 laptop/desktop processors. Microsoft and Apple have had a similar OS/app relationship where they both compete and cooperate simultaneously in different areas. Sure Steve isn't happy about having a big competitor enter a market where he's having fun playing, but that's life. And Steve & Co. have been around long enough to know that the only constant is change. Read the article ARS TECHNICA/There will be blood: Why Apple and Intel are destined to clash STAR OF STARS, MORE THAN 300 TIMES THE MASS OF THE SUN
This is pretty disturbing news for astronomers, truth be told. Read the article ARS TECHNICA/Researchers find giant stars with 300 times the sun's mass
Hardcovers were more likely to be purchased by hardcore readers (and in smaller numbers). So it makes sense that Kindle would overtake them so quickly on Amazon. Many people are switching right from hardcover to Kindle. I think Kindle has some of the appeal DVDs had, i.e. a longer-lasting format. Plus, digital is instant and not threatened by fire or theft, and is essentially weightless, i.e. buy as much as you want. Read the article ARS TECHNICA/Hardcovers fall behind Kindle books at Amazon <> Apparently Kindle-hate is still with us, though seemingly not as strongly as it was when the product launched. But John Siracusa got it right: Kindle is now a mainstream success, regardless of what some might have thought a couple of years ago. Read the article ARS TECHNICA/Hardcovers fall behind Kindle books at Amazon
Facebook is great for keeping up with friends. For everyone who says they don't see a point I can only assume you either live right next to all your friends or just don't have any. My friends ended up all over the place after we graduated about 5 years ago. I call them a decent amount and talk to them online but facebook lets me feel like they're still my roommates because I still know what they are up to on a day to day basis. It makes it easy for us to organize large events and organize visits. I get hear about when they're getting married and having kids. People are too paranoid about their information. There's nothing wrong with putting info out there about what you like and dislike. Obviously don't be throwing up everything on your account as far as your private info and be careful with your privacy settings and who you're sharing it with. Read the article WASHINGTON POST/Facebook to hit 500 million users, but meteoric rise has come with growing pains <> Facebook is for people who have nothing better to do. Who cares if your high school friend is married or where your college roommate is living. If they were important you would already know. And no one really needs to know what's going on in another person's life on a day-to-day basis over the internet. It's unseemly the amount of information one can find out about others from Facebook. Disconnect, join the real world, make real face to face connections. Or join the zombie herd, turn more of your life over to Facebook, your wants/needs/desires. See what they do with that in 5 years. You'll be amazed. Read the article WASHINGTON POST/Facebook to hit 500 million users, but meteoric rise has come with growing pains . <> When will mainstream media quit accepting the Facebook pap of "500 Million" users. It's a very simple thing to understand that 500 million "accounts" does not equal 500 million "people". 500 Million active people would be a big deal. 500 Million accounts, not so much. Accounts can be abandoned (and have been). People can have multiple accounts (and they do). Give me sufficient time, and I can create 500 million account on any social web site. But does that mean anything significant? This fictional milestone of half a billion "people" actively using Facebook is an exercise in marketing mumbo jumbo, nothing more (and a whole lot less). Read the article COMPUTERWORLD/The five stages of Facebook grief IPHONE 4 USERS
While agree that the problem is probably overblown in terms of percentage of people affected, Apple definitely went too far in the other direction. It is just insulting that they're basically saying I'm lying. Read the article ARS TECHNICA/Apple IPhone 4 Press Conference - Live Blog <> While true that there are some that take great pleasure in mocking Apple for wrongs real or imagined, here it is different. Functionality is directly being affected by an engineering error and it only affects a relatively small amount of users. However, what is driving a lot of the anger is that Jobs has the balls to stand up and imply that users are stupid and the way they've been handling the phone (even when they have done this on previous models) is wrong. Apple is not taking ownership of the problem, that is a huge deal and here have a free bumper does not set things right. The way this is being handled speaks volumes of how little they care about their customers. If this is how they handle something that is pretty trivial, how will they react when something else goes very wrong? Read the article ARS TECHNICA/Apple IPhone 4 Press Conference - Live Blog
<> I just ran that through my iPhone's "The Oracle of Steve" app. It translated The Divine Steve's words as, "We're not perfect. I'm still perfect, but the rest of these dolts who work for me aren't." Read the article USA TODAY/Apple to give IPhone 4 users free cases to remedy antenna woes
BOTTLE RETURN: PLASTIKI TAKES MESSAGE ACROSS PACIFIC
It truly is alarming the amount of plastic bottles and waste that is jettisoned into the world's oceans on a daily basis. There are islands in the Pacific, in particular in the Hawaiian archipelago, that receives tons and tons of plastic garbage. It's so thick that you can dig several feet down on the beaches, and still find plastic shreds underneath. What does this tell you? The oceans are our most precious and fragile ecosystem. If they go, we die out with them. If this plastic boat can draw more attention to the plight of our oceans, then it was worth it. Read the article CNN/Plastiki, boat made of plastic, nears end of Pacific voyage <> A few quick notes:
>> The idea of an ecosystem not suffering under the consequences of overfishing was baffling to researchers." Read the article ARS TECHNICA/Overfished eco-system held together by a single species
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ARIZONA JUDGE PARTIALLY BLOCKS IMMIGRATION LAW
You cannot get past this: Maintenance of the national borders belong to the federal government, not the states. The argument that the feds aren't living up to their responsibility is one worth debating and suing to change, but it is not one that trumps what the constitution says. In fact, if the federal government WANTED a completely open border with a neighboring country, that would still be within their legal right to do. That is not the case of course, but unless we amend the constitution to dissolve the Union and let the states make their own foreign policy, that is what it says Read the article DAILY BEAST/Judge blocks Arizona immigration law <> Stopping illegal immigration is like trying to stop the waves on the shore of an ocean. We can set up defenses, and try and keep it to a minimum, but some will get through. Read the article DAILY BEAST/Judge blocks Arizona immigration law <> The Arizona law should be allowed to stand as passed. I hope that similar laws will be passed in every State. The historical failure of our Federal Government to protect our borders, or to enforce our immigration laws, should not become a limiting factor. Illegal immigrants need to come into compliance with our laws and become tax paying Americans. Their only other option should be to leave, willingly or not. I do not express this out of bias. My own family is multi-cultural. I am pro-immigration, indeed the grandchild of immigrants - who were proud to become American citizens and contribute to this great nation. They taught us to be proud and patriotic Americans and to make our own contributions. Immigrants have given everything good to America to help make us the great country that we are. Still, those who emigrate here illegally and do not legally support the system by becoming taxpayers, even though they may be good people otherwise, should not be entitled to remain here, as a drain on our society. Read the article NPR/Arizona immigration law partially blocked by judge <> I enjoy reading the comments on here that blame illegal immigrants for all the issues in the United States of America. Whenever there is an issue in society the weakest are always blamed. In this case it would be those who are classified as illegal immigrants. I have been in this country illegally for the last 15 years of my life, and I’m only 22 years old. I have never stolen, used government assistance, committed tax fraud,or all those other things that illegals are blamed of doing. Why don’t we target those people that live off the government. That use unemployment benefits as their full time job? Aren’t they abusing the system too? I love this country as if it where my own, my family came here for a better life and everyday we work hard and we thank GOD for the opportunity we have to be here. I just want those of you who make inhumane comments on here to remember that WE ARE PEOPLE! AND DESERVE TO BE TREATED AS HUMAN BEINGS! Read the article REUTERS/Key parts of Arizona immigration law blocked <> I was an alien for many years before proudly becoming an American Citizen, which was probably the best thing I ever did. Before that, I always carried my Green Card and often had to provide it, to whosoever asked. these included, Employers, Doctors, Airlines, Police and Border Agents. As I was an honest and lawful resident I was honored to show my “Papers”. So why all this fuss, if you are an in the US legally, you have nothing to fear. If you are illegal, get papers or get out, it is that simple. Read the article REUTERS/Key parts of Arizona immigration law blocked <> Reading the comments there is a big deal regarding documentation to prove legal residence, I do not think this should be such a big deal, I'm a legal immigrant and have carried my permanent resident card right behind my drivers license since it was issued. Read the article WALL STREET JOURNAL/Judge blocks key part of arizona anti-immigration law <> This ruling is disappointing. If the state law could result in "racial profiling", then the federal law could do the same thing, making any immigration law virtually unenforcable. It is a move by the left to completely open our borders. This is a big mistake. At some point, we need law and order. Get over the racial propaganda already. Read the article WALL STREET JOURNAL/Judge blocks key part of arizona anti-immigration law
FOR SALE: AMERICA'S OLDEST FAMILY FARM
It seems such a tragedy to see this farm go the way of the dodo. It's almost a shame it couldn't become a community farm with volunteers in the area pitching in to grow their own food. Imagine the pride in feasting on food you yourself brought to life. Read the article BOSTON GLOBE/End of a 378-year era <> So many good comments; some tinged with a bit of sepia and nostalgia for a world that always looks better in the imagination. Unfortunate reality though. If you're running animals and land you need intensive labor. That's why multi-generational extended families last longer in farming. The day starts at 4:00 am and ends around midnight. Then starts all over again. You can piece out the chores any way you want then, but nobody ever goes to bed truly blissful. It's a labor of love; not pay. If you don't KNOW the difference between "hand-made" and "store-bought", the concept, not the words, then you really have no idea what is about to happen in Dover, NH Read the article BOSTON GLOBE/End of a 378-year era <> It seems such a tragedy to see this farm go the way of the dodo. It's almost a shame it couldn't become a community farm with volunteers in the area pitching in to grow their own food. Imagine the pride in feasting on food you yourself brought to life. Read the article BOSTON GLOBE/End of a 378-year era "LET'S WORK TOGETHER" -- SHIRLEY SHERROD SEIZES THE MOMENT
"We've got to get beyond this [racial division]," she said. "... My message has been, 'Let's work together.' That's what my message has always been." For info, I'm a southern, white, 66 year-old male who has lived through the time when most of the folks I knew called blacks "n_____", and who even then thought that that wasn't right. Read the article CNN/Sherrod's steadfast motto: "Let's work together." <> This is an incredible story. A story about what real Americans do for each other, despite our differences. Sherrod reached beyond herself and her comfort zone a quarter century ago to help a family that she thought she had nothing in common with--only to find out how much the same they were. Then, 25-years later, that same family rushed to her aid to protect her from similar disparity and lack of fairness. What happened to Sherrod was wrong, all these people were used as pawns between the NAACP and the right wing media outlets/tea parties. Guess what though, not only did the truth come out (as it has a tendency to do eventually), but we became aware of this woman's story and the story of this family. And...it's a good one, illustrating for us -- like the "should have been perfect baseball game" and that one heck of a kicked call -- how good people respond in awful circumstances. We are better for knowing it. Read the article CNN/ Former USDA official: Department's reconsideration is 'bittersweet' <> As a USDA employee, I find it shameful of the Secretary of Agriculture (really the White House) to oust a longtime Federal employee without allowing her to show mitigating or exonerating evidence--all done in a knee-jerk reaction to save the USDA and the White House from further embarrassment. Now it's even more of a negative reflection on those two because they're considering a reversal and promising precisely the kind of careful consideration of the merits of the case that they so willfully and foolishly dispensed with just 24 hours earlier. And these are the people running the country at the highest level? I voted for the man in the White House and I work for the USDA. Call me jaded but I've lost all faith. It's all about CYA (cover your behind). Let's shoot and ask questions later, shall we? And let's not blame Fox or the Breitbart "film editing" job. (Yeah, I'm talking about you, Mr. Jealous of the NAACP, as well as every fool starring in this farce.) Anybody with some common sense and a bit of a political nose would have smelled a rat with regard to the selective footage but not YOU GUYS! You guys have shown yourselves to be shockingly and reprehensibly gullible and thus undeserving of whatever exalted positions you occupy. Get out of the joint before you stink it up further. Shame on you for playing the victim. The real victim here is that poor woman who had her life's work sacrificed for political expediency. I hope she has a good lawyer. Read the article WASHINGTON POST/Firing of USDA official now under review <> Couple of quick thoughts: Read the article CNN/ Former USDA official: Department's reconsideration is 'bittersweet'
Willie! It's so good to see you here! And so good of you to take the time to tell this story! I have been so impressed with Ms. Sherrod this week! I'd probably make her Ag Secretary if I were in charge for a day! If I had an address, I'd surely send her flowers! She walks the walk. She is a genuine, honest, honorable, thoughtful human being, who worked through her own grief and prejudices to make herself a better and more effective person in her community. Count THOSE folks on one hand outside the NPO world! They are in such short supply these days. Maybe this was Life's way of casting her into the spotlight for the good of us all. We can hope. Read the article HUFFINGTON POST/Willie Nelson:Shirley Sherrod, a Family Farmer's Friend <> How shocking that a young Ms. Sherrod had a negative view of white people after they got away with murdering her father, lynching her relatives, burning crosses in her yard. How dare she be wary of them? Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/THE LEDE - Longer video of speech in question is released by NAACP <> I was so incensed by it that I went online last night and became a member of the NAACP. It's easy, and only $30/year. I'm proud to be a new member of an organization that recognized it made a serious mistake and is now apologizing for it...and proud to be counted among those who publicly repudiate and refute (but don't mix up the words!) the notion that the NAACP is racist, that somehow the only vestige of racism left in this country is BLACK racism! That's a slanderous, repulsive lie! But I heard it, AGAIN!, this morning on local talk radio. Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/THE LEDE - Longer video of speech in question is released by NAACP <> This woman was recounting a time long ago when it took a white farmer to help diminish her own prejudices, she despite her demons helped this man and his family when nobody else would and the farmer is forever grateful for it 'his words' Read the article DAILY BEAST/Farmer's wife defends 'racist' worker' <> By his own admission, Andrew Breitbart received a couple of clips edited by someone else, from a speech that he did not hear. He had no way of telling how accurately the clips portrayed what a woman that he did not know had actually said, but he posted it on the internet. At best, his actions were flagrantly irresponsible. If he were a journalist, HE should have been fired on the spot; even better, if he were a journalist, perhaps those clips would have never have seen the light of day, because an editor would have insisted that he listen to the whole speech. Read the article NPR/Conservative blogger pushes for NAACP takedown <> Let's not confuse accusations of racism with a serious discussion of race, which none of this week's bluster has really been about.
Read the article MCCLATCHY/NAACP ask administration to re-hire Sherrod 854,000 PEOPLE HAVE SECURITY CLEARANCES -- WASHINGTON POST
How much is too much? Perhaps another way to phrase it is, how safe is safe enough? Good questions. For starters let's assume government has a role protecting citizens from untimely death. Next let's consider the magnitude of the risk and the costs of mitigating that risk. Let's assume with a pre 9/11 level of spending terrorists would successfully execute a 9/11 scale attack every 5 years thus killing on average 600 Americans per year. This works out to 5 times fewer people than die from meat purchased in the supermarket and 100 time less people than die from preventable causes in US hospitals. One must conclude much the money currently spent on counter terrorism could save more lives if spent elsewhere. Read the article DAILY BEAST/Top secret America grows out of control <> In this field, expansion can be beneficial.The federal government and local law enforcement, especially the NYPD significantly increased its intelligence staff and formed larger counterterroism task forces after 9/11. These have proven effective in not only attack prevention but also in the capture and prosecution of militant extremists, as the swift highly competent response to the Times Square plot demonstrated. Unnecessary spending should be trimmed, but don't rush to the chopping block with the budget of the most important component of our shared national defense. Read the article CNN/Cafferty: How effective is U.S. intelligence with 1,300 govt agencies, 2,000 private companies? <> Having spent most of my adult life in the intelligence business, I can easily tell you that there is so much redundancy, overlap, and unnecessary activiities in the intelligence business: no one can take the chance of being wrong on a call. The President is briefed daily on current events by the intelligence community and that briefing is vetted with a fine tooth comb to insure everything he's told is accurate and without any negative "PC" connotations. It is rare for a career intel professional to stick his/her neck out because if you do and you are wrong or slightly off track, then that "error" lives with you and affects your career forever. In addition, there is considerable competition between the various agencies, NSA, CIA, DIA etc. They are always fighting for funds, so they cannot afford errors of any size or shape. Read the article CNN/Cafferty: How effective is U.S. intelligence with 1,300 govt agencies, 2,000 private companies? <> This is an important topic. I once worked for a major intelligence agency with a clearance. I researched public-domain information at the National Archives, then someone in my office would stamp it "Top Secret" and it would be filed. This was done for Google searches, too, which was often the way the "intelligence analysts" would gather their data. Stamping something "Top Secret" was a badge of importance: it had nothing to do with national security and everything to do with saying "Hey, I'm important. Keep paying me $100K with full benefits to sit in a cube all day and do nothing." Read the article WASHINGTON POST/Top Secret America: A hidden world growing beyond control
I agree that fear of terrorism greatly exceeds the risk. I don't think 9/11 occurred because militant Islamic terrorists thought we were not capable of retaliation, but they sure showed us the chinks in our national armor. We know that no matter how many FEMA or CIA employees are on the payroll there is no guarantee that the next creative effort on the part of those who want to frighten us out of our security can't or won't happen. It's the nature of terrorism; people willing to give up their lives in a way we would never dream of in America. Read the article DAILY BEAST/Top secret America grows out of control <> I know lots of people with SCI/Tech clearance. I'm pretty sure you didn't mean Top Secret literally. That's a specific classification and there are dozens of compartmentalized classifications. Sci/Tech is one of the more common ones. If you work for a defense contractor in any number of roles you would need one. Hell if you're a machinist working on tanks you'd need one. Sci/Tech or one of the similar classifications takes anywhere from 6-18 months to acquire. That's why there are so many of them. It's hard and expensive to replace if that resource goes away. And Top Secret is by no means the highest or even one of highest classifications. There are quite a few higher and along side, of that. That's really what's at issue here. Not, as GG alludes that it's all part of some planned ultra secret shadow government but that its very structure makes it unmanageable and inefficient. If you care, you can find a small book called "Secrecy" by D. P. Moynihan and forward by Richard Gid Powers which covers this brilliantly. Read the article SALON/The real U.S. government
TAKING CARE WITH KIDS AND MEDICAL DEVICES
Children and health-care professionals need to pay more attention to proper use and care of contact lenses, which is involved in nearly one-quarter of all device-related injuries that needed emergency care including scratches of the cornea,ulcers on the eye and infection. . Read the article NPR/Medical devices problems send kids to emergency rooms <> Our daughter was in the ICU for three days because of an insulin pump that failed. Not only did it fail to deliver insulin...its screens said that delivery was occurring. We could have lost her over that. Read the article NPR/Medical devices problems send kids to emergency rooms THE AGONY AND ECSTACY OF HIGH HEELS
I am a womanist. And I like sexy heels with pointy toes. And sexy boots. With buckles. And it is my right as a woman to choose my footwear, and my body shape, and if that means eating nothing but cabbage soup and mutilating my own feet and I feel like a goddess--it's all good. That being said I usually wear my birkenstocks and eat gas station food. But sometimes I switch it up and in no way do I feel like I am pandering to some wacko matrix of man-dictate. Even though on some level intellectually, I know that I am perpetrating my own sexual incarceration. And I think on it...and then my eye wanders over to the hot little slingback number staring back at me from the corner of my closet, purple with black ribbons to tie... Read the article NPR/Why high heels hurt even after you take them off <> Imagine how Barbie feels. Read the article NPR/Why high heels hurt even after you take them off <> Back at the dawn of liberation, the sisters burned the wrong garments. They should have begun with high heels. Read the article THE ECONOMIST/Stiletto stiffness AVANDIA ANXIETIES? LOOKING AT THE CHOICES
I was diagnosed in 2005 with Type ll. They gave me boxes of Avandia. Did a modicum of research and ended up throwing it all away after 3 days use. Threw away all other diabetic drugs. INSTEAD, decided to to lose weight, work up a hard sweat over 45 minutes daily, cut out carbs with the exception of veggies. Five years later, at 54, I'm near my college weight, I'm in some of the best shape of my life, and my testing reveals a range of 80 or so to 140 depending on time of day and whether I've eaten or not. Here's the absolute truth: Type ll's don't need diabetic drugs. It's all nonsense, and no matter how well meaning our docs are, they are part of a culture that is drug-dependent, and beholden to companies like Glaxo, who make BILLIONS a year on these dangerous drugs. When are we going to wake up and take our health back? Read the article CNN/Concerned about Avandia? Here are other choices <> I am diabetic, but live in Canada, where they are more concerned with weight loss and diet control that putting you on the latest pill. Read the article CNN/Concerned about Avandia? Here are other choices <> I really sympathize with Avandia users. It can be very hard to find the right medicine to control this disease. Some just don't work for some people, others actually make them ill. So when you find one that works really well, you stick with it. To find out that it's putting you at risk for the same things you're taking the medicine to prevent is devastating. But if you feel it's worth the risk, you should be able to keep taking it. Read the article CNN/Concerned about Avandia? Here are other choices |
ON THE "DEMONIZATION" OF B.P.'S TONY HAYWARD
People here seem to be forgetting that Hayward was a geologist who worked on oil rigs. He gradually rose up the ranks of BPs oil exploration arm not by sitting in an office but by working in the field - just the sort of manual work that some of them posters here seem to like. He's the rare example of an engineer or scientist ending up as the CEO of the company, something that should be lauded. Instead people seem to be comparing him with fat cat bankers like Fred Goodwin and holding Hayward personally responsible when all the emerging evidence is that the accident had little to do with BP beyond the fact they are legally responsible, and that BP has been the victim of negligent contractors. You can make a good argument that executive compensation is OTT in general, but Hayward spent decades working his way through BP from spending months at a time posted on windy oil rigs in the North Sea (you try it and see if you can handle it), and although he may be senior management now he is one of the leading geologists in his field so might not be the best example around. Why do people think he was able to personally take charge of the spill? This is in total contrast to Goodwin who had no qualifications in banking or accountancy and when RBS was on the ropes proceeded with another ill-advised take over. Speaking as a shareholder of BP I have no issue with his payout and think BP has made the best of a bad situation - the company isn't bankrupt, it's taken a one-off hit and will claw rather a lot of that money back over time as it sues the crap out of the contractors who caused the mess. If we are going to have CEOs they should be more like him having spent their lives with the company they worked their way up through it. It's a real shame when the Haywards of the world get compared to the Goodwins Read the article GUARDIAN/BP makes record loss as Tony Hayward quits <> Quite understand the shock-at-the-massive-payoff horror, but not sure how the more excitable class warriors among you manage to turn this into such a major 'toffs grinding down ("screwing", sorry) worthy salt-of-the-earth proles" thing. Quite apart from the question of legal / contractual entitlements pointed out passim (we workers mostly have those - don't we?), take a look at Hayward's (sorry, "tosser's") Wiki entry (no, no, please don't divert to Wiki conspiracy theories). Born Slough. One of 7 children. Local state grammar school (that was allowed). 1st class degree from Aston (so, not an envy-inducing Oxbridge product). PhD from Edinburgh (whoops - 1st mistake?). No actual mention of a silver spoon (unless there is a coded reference to Eton in there somewhere). I'm sensing a clever and hard-working non-toff here, one who would very likely do extremely well in his specialist field and doubtless make a lot of money - more than you, probably. So whatever trenchant criticisms can be levelled at Hayward's shortcomings as CEO of BP and his handling of this disaster, and however much anger there may rightly be about the consequences of the spill - human, ecological and financial ('my pension woe') - maybe best not to weaken them by getting incoherent with rage about the wrong issue Read the article GUARDIAN/BP makes record loss as Tony Hayward quits <> What you gonna do eh? It's a publicly listed company, he's worked for the them for 30 years and risen up through. The company haven't been bailed out with money from the public and the company hasn't caused a global depression the likes of which we've not really seen before. They are providing compensation promptly to the victims, plugging the well and cleaning up their mess, which now transpires was likely the result of safety failures by TransOcean and there's no giant lake of "heavier than water oil" at the bottom of the Gulf waiting to explode. Makes no difference to my day how much the man takes home, especially when you consider he's been the CEO of a FTSE 100 company, some bankers take home similar amounts and are apparently accountable to no one, manage no one and gamble with the economy. Read the article GUARDIAN/BP makes record loss as Tony Hayward quits
How do most Americans feel about Tony Hayward and BP? Very different from what is in the news! This morning a poll was taken by one of the news stations here and to the great shock of the moderator over half of those who responded thought Tony Hayward should continue as CEO. I was sorry to see him go and don't begrudge him his pension. Read the article BBC/HAVE YOUR SAY- What next for BP?
Hayward did not cause the oil spill. He was in London, try his best to run a multi-billion dollar company, employing tens of thousands of people, when a couple of low-level, local employees, without Hayward's knowledge, made some bad decisions and [literally] blew it. Following the spill Hayward had BP step forward and accept full responsibility for the spill, despite the fact that the law limited BP's liability for same. Hayward's "want my life back" comment has been totally taken out of context. Hayward was only trying to explain that his interests where aligned with those of the people on the Gulf, their lives had been disrupted, his had to, he wanted all our lives back. So far as Hayward's "yachting", I fail to see what is so wrong about a man spending a week-end with his kids. Our president golfs many weekend, just took a vacation to Maine. So what? In our anger over "yachting" I see jealous and anger, because Hayward makes a lot of money. If he had taken his kids fishing from a dock, in Vermillion Bay, we would have thought nothing . . . but "yachting" . . . "he's one of those rich guys, that we hate, because he is rich". Be ashamed. In fact, most "hate" stories about Hayward mention his "compensation". How UGLY. Whether Hayward makes ten cents or ten million a year has nothing to do with anything . . . he did not cause the oil spill . . . had BP accept responsibility for it . . . it is WE, not Hayward, who are whining about his supposed whining . . . and I don't care what kind of boat he drives . . . none of anybody's business. WE should be ashamed for hating a man . . . mostly because he make a large salary. Read the article NOLA-TIMES PICAYUNE/Good-bye and good riddance to Tony Hayward
BEN BERNANKE HOLDS COURSE AMID UNUSUAL UNCERTAINTY
There is a well-documented theory that the American prosperity of the quarter century ending in 2007 resulted from the baby boom following WWII. By the 1980s and 1990s, the baby boom generation was approaching its peak earning period. The boomers bought new and larger homes for their families, they bought their dream homes, they bought cars for their children, and they spent a fortune educating their children. Now, as they enter retirement, their incomes are dropping and they are saving for retirement, rather than spending. This means that our current “recovery” may have already reached its peak. It may be many decades before we see another period of prosperity as we had in the last quarter century. Government at all levels needs to adjust its spending accordingly. Read the article WALL STREET JOURNAL/Bernanke signals no policy shift during congressional testimony <> The reality is that we are coming off of and now need to pay the price for the massive deficit created by the Bush wars and tax cuts (See: Alexander's notes about the debt load of European nations in the great depression) - this, at the very same moment in history when we are going through a massive change in the way we do business that is just as "transformative" as was the invention of the internal combustion engine. We have massive numbers of people who are simply not equipped to compete in the digital age. We have eliminated thousands of clerical positions and photo processing positions as a result of the productivity that is now afforded to us via our personal computers. Commercial real estate will suffer for a very long time simply due to the fact that businesses are now relying upon the efficiencies of people who work from home and/or the smart phone that they carry with them all of the time. That "bunch of problems" on a multitude of fronts was not caused by the bad actions of Obama and the Dems in the immediate past 18 months. The issue, in my mind is not blame. The issue at hand is what, if anything, can the government to do to get Americans back to productive work. Bernanke, Geithner, and a bunch of smart folks are trying - they are NOT clueless.......at least, in my opinion. Read the article WALL STREET JOURNAL/Bernanke signals no policy shift during congressional testimony
And all this because of trying to solve moral problems with economic measures. Wall St. and the politicians pimping them just defrauded shareholders and taxpayers to the tune of at least a trillion dollars. Instead of setting an example with the American Justice System, and confiscating all those ill-got bonuses, salaries and profits from shady and extremely lucrative deals that finally filled the banks with holes and bankrupted the system, and of putting all those fraudsters in jail, the politicians are now trying to blot out the sun with their little finger by filling up all those holes with printed money and saving their friends', the fraudsters', bacon, and their own. The reason the US is going nowhere economically is that the trust is gone. Trust, not printed money, is the base of any economic system. Read the article GUARDIAN/Federal Reserve chairman warns of 'unusually uncertain' outlook U.S. economy SHADOWS BEHIND THE GREAT PAYWALL OF LONDON
It depends how much the advertising revenue falls. The Times Online just became a lot less attractive to advertisers. The question is obviously whether the subscriptions are worth more than the lost advertising revenue. This is not necessarily true. With a subscription model, your readers tend to be more affluent and more engaged with the content, compared with a "free" site. This makes them instantly more valuable to advertisers. You also know more about your readers, because they've all signed up, so advertisers have a clearer picture of who their ads are reaching. Again, this is not the case with a free site. So, just because The Times has lost 90 per cent of its online readers -- as expected -- doesn't mean it necessarily loses 90 per cent of its ad revenues. Still, the bottom line is that online ad revenues alone cannot sustain the current editorial budgets of national newspapers and show no likelihood of doing so in future. If you want serious journalism to survive, someone's got to pay for it. Read the article GUARDIAN/Times loses almost 90 % of online readership <> I find it odd that people are get so upset about a paywall, largely on the basis that it has been orchestrated by RM. Papers are bleeding money. One board of directors believes a paywall online is the way forward, the other board thinks that free is the future. RM is free to do what he wants with the paper he owns, and his model is the more traditional one. The one which papers were founded upon. If it works, it works. It's not like he is introducing a paywall to medical treatment for orphaned babies, it's for a newspaper, that's all. I think the more interesting question is; would you pay a few quid a month to carry on using The Guardian? I think I probably would. Read the article GUARDIAN/Times loses almost 90 % of online readership BOEING'S DREAMLINER BECOMES REALITY
The impressive part of this airplane is not the interior or the exterior, it is the savings in operation of the aircraft, in fact it will change the status quo once it is delivered. Read the article WALL STREET JOURNAL/Boeing 787 lands in Farnborough <> In today's airline market both of the major manufacturers have to outsource some of their manufacturing, because the airlines in key areas demand it. In Asia, particularly, the airlines and government are much more closely aligned than in the U.S. These governments want their national manufacturing champions to have a piece of the manufacturing action, and will make it known that whoever best helps the local economy will win airplane orders. Read the article WALL STREET JOURNAL/Boeing 787 lands in Farnborough THE BIGGEST FINANCIAL REFORM PACKAGE SINCE THE GREAT DEPRESSION
This bill will force banks to actually be – well – banks! Small business owners don’t need banks to make risky investments in hedge funds and private equity funds. Whenever I put my money into a bank, I expect it to stay there! We’ve had enough of banks using our money to make long-term bets. Good job, Obama. Read the article WASHINGTON POST/Senate passes financial overhaul bill <> This is a political victory, and perhaps a real economic victory in the long run; however, in the short-run all this will do is to herald in an era of deflation. Read the article WASHINGTON POST/Senate passes financial overhaul bill <> I have a job and gladly pay my taxes. And I'm anything but wealthy. I suppose one could call me "one of the little people." Fact of the matter is, I'm not at all ashamed of that label. And as such, I'm pleased with the passage of this bill. Read the article HUFFINGTON POST/Wall Street reform passes <> "All told, the bill directs regulators to write 533 rules, according to an analysis by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. By contrast, the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley accounting law mandated 16 rule-makings. " Read the article WALL STREET JOURNAL/Senate passes sweeping finance overhaul
WHAT'S BEHIND BULLFIGHTING BAN IN CATALONIA?
Bullfighting isn't part of the 'amazing' culture of Spain, it's a blemish on it. You have a bunch of narcissists torturing an animal for a while, then the head narcissist comes out after the animal is 70% dead and kills it. Bravo? Read the article BREITBART/Spain's Catalonia on verge of banning bullfighting <> The bulls in Spain are treated as prime possessions for most of their life. The farms where the bulls are raised are beautiful. The bulls roam freely and are fed the best grains. Then at the end, some of the best bulls are chosen to be fought in the bull ring. These bulls are still treated with the highest respect before the fight. Then once the fight begins, the bull is given a chance to face the matador. Read the article BREITBART/Spain's Catalonia on verge of banning bullfighting <> This issue goes way beyond simple animal cruelty. The Catalan people are no more Spanish than the Scots, Irish or Welsh are English. As the article alludes, bullfighting was never part of Catalan culture, but imposed upon them after the region fell under full control of Madrid’s centralist government towards the end of the Spanish War of Succession in 1714. Over the last 300 years bullfighting, along with the Spanish language (Castilian) and other cultural aspects of central and southern Spain have been forced upon the Catalans in an effort to “nationalize" the region, an act that was tantamount to cultural genocide. Since the fall of Franco and the return of political autonomy to Catalonia, its government has been slowly reversing these actions. Getting rid of this barbaric “sport" is just one of their latest efforts. Read the article NPR/(N)Ole! Spanish region says adios to bullfighting ANSEL ADAMS "GARAGE SALE'' NEGATIVES BOUGHT FOR $45 WORTH $200 MILLION?
I am a serious fine art photographer, holding an advanced degree and having taught it for over thirty years. I am very knowledgeable about the career of Ansel Adams as well as his work. And, while this makes an interesting story, I seriously doubt that this bunch of negatives is worth anything close to $200 million. First off, during his lifetime he made thousands of images, many of them nothing remarkable. People may debate this, but I believe he made about ten iconic images. This is actually pretty good because most photographers are lucky to produce one. A vintage print of an iconic Adams image can bring over a hundred thousand dollars, but it has to a good example, made at a certain time, and bear his signature. These are only negatives which do not bear his signature. If prints were to be made from them, they would not be Adam's interpretation or bear his signature. Adams himself said "the negative is the score, the print is the performance". Read the article CNN/Experts: Ansel Adams photos found at garage sale worth $200 million <> While Adams himself may have said "the negative is the score, the print is the performance", without the score, there can be no performance...or at least not a very good one. But with regards to the value of this collection, I detect a rather strong resentment on your part...that of being somewhat jealous that it was his work valued at that amount, and not yours. And as a result, you simply want to degrade it. I am also a Photographer/Artist among other things, and I will agree with the estimate. And while I certainly wish it was me (who doesn't), I am not the least bit jealous of this person's find. Good for him! I hope he uses his money well, as I would like to think I would, should I ever have such good fortune Read the article CNN/Experts: Ansel Adams photos found at garage sale worth $200 million <> It's not the photographs that make them cost so much, it is who the man was to the art world, along with the brilliance of these photos; the gray scale, the lighting, the angles. Yes, I am sure you could all take great pictures or better pictures, (sarcasm), but it's who the man is. Is a signed Babe Ruth baseball that great? It's just ball with 108 stiches, right? Read the article CNN/Experts: Ansel Adams photos found at garage sale worth $200 million
LINDSAY LOHAN GOES TO JAIL
Those of you so vociferously complaining about this being non-news are proving that it is, in fact, newsworthy. Read the article CBC/Lindsay Lohan surrenders in L.A. <> A spoiled brat 'famous' person that gets special treatment and she creates her own havoc. I'm disgusted with her antics as well as those of other 'celebrities'. A some point, she probably worked hard for her fame, but the money and fame also may be what is taking her down. Grow up girl and stop looking for that negative attention you seem to crave. Her so called prison time SHOULD be spent with the rest of the population just so she can get a taste of what her life could become if she doesn't straighten out. I have absolutely no sympathy for this young girl. Read the article ABC NEWS/Lindsay Lohan booked; could find out jail release date today <> Please stop calling it prison! It is the county jail and yes there are some pretty rough county jails but in no way is this prison! She should have to complete the full 90 days. Then a full 90 days in rehab. I truly want this girl to get help but it angers me that she has the ability to pay and get help but she chooses not too. They are those out there that want help but due to the lack of funds struggle to get their lives back on track,,,,,some make it some don't and that is often because there is no one to give them moral, emotional and financial support. This girl does have it all available to her but she does not care. It is sad to see a wasted life whether famous or just your average Joe! Read the article ABC NEWS/Lindsay Lohan booked; could find out jail release date today THE BOSS: "HE NEVER STOPPED TRYING"
YANKEES OFFICIAL PHOTO GALLERY Man was decades ahead of Giuliani in cleaning up New York. Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/George Steinbrenner, who built Yankees into powerhouse
No philosophizing here about the game of baseball, which has evolved, if anything, too much in sync with the rest of the world. I only want to say I liked George Steinbrenner from the outset and always said so. All that magnificent turbulence. You want to criticize him, fine, what could be easier? He wasn't put on this earth to make the rest of the world happy. Just us Yankees fans. Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/George Steinbrenner, who built Yankees into powerhouse
As a Red Sox fan I thought that George was bad for baseball, until I woke up and realized that he and Marvin Miller brought baseball kicking and screaming into the 20th century. George was a lot of things. He was arrogant, viewed as a bully, opinionated, brash, outspoken, but he genuinely cared about the Yankees and their loyal fans. He made a lot of money, but put much of that back into the product. As for the earlier comment about his firing of Billy Martin, that's only part of the story. Billy's been fired, re-hired, and fired yet again. This in only a few short hours. Read the articleNEW YORK POST/George Steinbrenner has died at 80
Sure he did a lot of good off the field, but people seem to be ignorant or forget the fact that Steinbrenner outpriced baseball for the majority of Americans. Free agency started in 1975 and since then he has continually pushed the bar higher with new record deals. He started treating baseball players like immortals and paid them like gods. He helped dissipate the true foundations of a beautiful sport. People call him passionate, but I call him selfish when it comes to the game. For him, it was always "I want, I want, I want" and he would whine if he didn't get his way. The average person couldn't get away with this, but his money made up for his behavior. If you ask me, he did more bad than good for baseball. Read the article BOSTON GLOBE/Actually, there was a lot to like
KHMER ROUGE JAILER GETS 35 YEARS -- 14,000 DIED IN HIS CUSTODY
My mom escaped from Cambodia, 9 months pregnant with me still inside her stomach. Her parents were murdered & she also had 5-6 brothers & sisters tortured & executed. These people were no joke, they’d toss crying infants into the air & shoot them with rifles. They slit my uncle’s neck just a little bit each day until he eventually bled to death. This guy got off way too easily Read the article CNN/Khmer Rouge survivors angry over Duch sentence <> Being a survivor of that genocidal regime, I am touched by the comments, support for the victims, and anger for the injustice. Like ALL Cambodian families, I lost love ones, my father and two younger siblings. There is nothing more harrowing than a child witnessing people being shot because they can no longer carry the burden of the 18 hr/day slave labor, hacked to death because they try to escape, hang or beaten half dead because they were hungry and “stole” from the “people” by sneaking out to pick wild fruits and berries to supplement the meager watered down rice soup ration, or witness his father being bounded and taken away simply because it was discovered that he was an educated man. Read the article CNN/Khmer Rouge survivors angry over Duch sentence <> I was in Cambodia last summer, and learned this tribunal was open to the public (translation headphones were provided). I sat in for a morning of testimony, hearing one of the few surviving witnesses describe how he and his wife were taken by the Khmer Rouge, sent to work in the fields, then brought to S21 - that was the last day he saw his wife. He described the torture he endured and Duch's involvement. Duch sat there expressionless entire time. If anything, he seemed bored. I hope they continue with the other leaders. Read the article NPR/Khmer official sentenced to 35 years <> Duch was a top student in school and came second in the country in examinations. He carried his dedication to studying into political action, becoming a wholly committed Khmer Rouge. Now he's a dedicated Christian, speaks fluent French and taught himself English... He truly believed those arrested were state enemies and deserved their fate. Even had he not, he would still have had no choice at Tuol Sleng. Almost all of those who worked there were themselves arrested and murdered. Saving even a single life would have resulted in his own death. Read the article GLOBE & MAIL/Khmer Rouge jailer convicted of war crimes REMEMBERING DANIEL SCHORR, "A LIVING HISTORY BOOK"
Daniel Schorr stood in that pantheon of television journalists who reported history and shaped history. My earliest impressions of the world were formed by his reports, as were my ideals as a professional journalist, a vocation I've pursued for nearly 40 years now. I've not had as many significant confrontations over truth-telling as he, but when I did, Dan Schorr was one of the moral guides against whom I gauged my own actions. We shall not see his like again, but perhaps there are some younger journalists out there who will seek to emulate his model of honesty and persistence in their own ways. All of his listeners will miss him deeply. Read the article NPR/Journalism legend Daniel Schorr dies at 93 <> It is a sad day to lose a voice such as Daniel Schorr's. Other journalists would do well to take note of his healthy skepticism - it would be a welcome tonic to the misreporting that often passes as journalism. Daniel Schorr did not refrain from criticizing- just by presenting the facts. Giving every utterance equal weight in the name of objectivity is not journalism. Daniel Schorr understood that to obtain a more objective view, that the research had to be done and present information to cause listeners to think about the issue and draw their own conclusions. Read the article NPR/Journalism legend Daniel Schorr dies at 93 <> Dan Schorr spoke with the honesty, integrity and fearless of men and women my father's generation who always understood right and wrong, spoke up to power and chose for the right even when it cost him his job(s). My grandmother called him a mensch years ago when he made the "enemies" list, but among the wonderful condolences below, the greatest honor comes from the edited bigot and hater who "honored" his unswerving defense of a woman's right to choose. To me, it was almost as if I were listening a reasonable evenhanded kindly uncle who happened to be a great historian and honored scholar suggesting I weigh the facts carefully as I decide. As that uncle, I loved him and respected him and the honor Scott Simon showed him in their wonderful interviews. And Now, I miss his council and humor already, another Yahrzeit in a crowded month of Yahrzeits Read the article NPR/Journalism legend Daniel Schorr dies at 93 A TORMENTED PATH FROM "ISLAND BOY" TO "BAREFOOT BANDIT"
I think that Colton Harris, all his young life, was just trying to find a way to survive the best way he could. His mother could not have met his needs in any way. She in fact did the damage. He obviously is smart. I think it is a sad, sad commentary on our society. Someone in his community ( including the school) could perhaps have stepped in and helped this boy before things got so bad. The school, social services and community all failed him. What would any of us have done growing up with no nurturing and an abusive mother like that? I find it surprising that so many people feel so vindictive in regard to this kid. He didn't have a chance. Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/'Barefoot bandit' started life on the run early <> Mr. Colton Harris-Moore was extremely lucky he was not apprehended by citizens here in the San Juan Islands. He terrorized these islands for over a year, and he would not have been dealt with gently. Most of the people he robbed were not wealthy, they were mom-and-pop stores and homeowners. More than that, he robbed us of a way of life--of unlocked houses and neighbors trusting neighbors. Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/'Barefoot bandit' started life on the run early <> I know what it's like to starve and be in the home of someone who does nothing but drink and run around. I didn't choose the path that he did but it's a wonder that I didn't. If you haven't lived this life of growing up and not knowing where you will get your next meal or gone through having to open a can of green beans that will be your breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the day-then I say you have NO IDEA what it does to a child. If you didn't live like this then shut the hell up. It must be nice looking down on children who grow up like this from your ivory towers while holding silver spoons full of food in happy homes. It wasn't right to steal but you learn quick how to survive when NO ONE cares for you or takes the trouble to protect you. Even DCFS didn't help him when they could. And now he's a thief, go figure. First we make thieves and then we punish them :( Read the article PEOPLE/Report sheds light on Barefoot Bandit's troubled youth
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