Nbc News: Jun 8, 2009

Democrats Wanted Clinton Out of Senate
Monday, June 8, 2009

A very interesting excerpt from Renegade by Richard Wolffe, which will be available tomorrow:

"His decision to offer her the job of secretary of state came surprisingly early. Well before the end of the primaries, when his staff and friends still felt hostile to her, Obama decided that Clinton possessed the qualities to carry his diplomacy to the rest of the world. 'We actually thought during the primary, when we were pretty sure we were going to win, that she could end up being a very effective secretary of state,' he told me later. 'I felt that she was disciplined, that she was precise, that she was smart as a whip, and that she would present a really strong image to the world... I had that mapped out.'

Democrats Wanted Clinton Out of Senate

[Source: Good Times Society - by The American Illuminati]

Democrats Wanted Clinton Out of Senate

[Source: News Weekly]

Democrats Wanted Clinton Out of Senate

[Source: Abc 7 News]

Democrats Wanted Clinton Out of Senate

[Source: Kenosha News]

posted by 88956 @ 11:09 PM, ,

Swat offensive stalls as Taliban strike outside the war zone

Aftermath of the May 22, 2009 bombing outside a cinema in Peshawar. AFP Photo.

As the Pakistani military operation in Swat is called into question, the Taliban have stepped up attacks in the central region in the Northwest Frontier Province. Over the past 24 hours the Taliban conducted three deadly attacks against security forces and civilians in Peshawar, Tank, and Dera Ismail Khan.

The largest attack took place today as the Taliban detonated a car bomb outside a cinema in the busy Khyber Bazaar in the provincial capital of Peshawar. Ten civilians were killed and more than 75 were wounded, some critically, according to Geo News.

The bombing was timed to maximize casualties. ?SThe blast took place when a film show had just ended and the people were coming out,? a witness told Dawn.

Just hours after the attack, Taliban fighters tossed two hand grenades at a police checkpoint in Peshawar. No casualties were reported in that attack.

Peshawar has been the scene of several Taliban attacks; the last one took place just six days ago when a car bomb killed 11 people after it was detonated near an ice cream shop and Internet cafe. The security situation has deteriorated to the point where the city has been described as under siege. The Taliban have been enforcing Islamic law in regions of Peshawar and have ordered cinemas and CD and video shops to close.

Two attacks took place yesterday in the districts of Tank and Dera Ismail Khan. In Tank, a suicide bomber rammed into a Frontier Corps fort in the Jandola region, killing five paramilitary troops and four civilians, and wounding 25 more. And in nearby Dera Ismail Khan, five civilians were killed and another 25 were wounded after a roadside bomb was detonated at a bazaar. The Taliban have conducted numerous attacks in both districts. The Pakistani government has admitted that both districts are essentially under Taliban control.

Pakistani Army makes little progress in Swat

In Swat, Buner, and Dir, the Pakistani Army?"s reported successes are being called into question. The Pakistani Army has barred independent reporting from the battlefield and has closely controlled the message. But the military's reports have often been contradictory and have been described as ?Swildly exaggerated.?

The military has reported massive Taliban casualties with few casualties incurred by security forces. Nearly 1,200 Taliban fighters have been reported killed while only an estimated 60 security forces have been reported killed. No senior Taliban commanders have been killed or captured during the operation.

The military has refused to acknowledge that any civilian casualties have occurred. And there has been no word on the status of more than 100 members of the police, Army, Frontier Corps, Levies, and the Special Service Group who were captured by the Taliban. Four of the elite Special Service Group commandos were killed attempting to escape; the military never acknowledged this, however.

More than a week ago, the Army claimed that the main town of Mingora was surrounded; subsequent reports indicate, however, that troops are still advancing. Today, the military reported it captured ?Sthree-fourths of a ridge? outside of Mingora.

More than a week after air-assaulting into the small and isolated town of Peochar, a Taliban stronghold, the military has failed to clear the town.

?SPeochar is a small town, it is strange that it hasn?"t been cleared by now,? A US intelligence official tracking the operation told The Long War Journal. ?SThis tells you two things: the Army is fighting a tough, well trained Taliban force; and the operation isn?"t going as well as the Army brass wants us to believe.?

In the town of Kalam in northern Swat, the military is absent while the Taliban are attempting to overrun the region. The tribesmen raised a lashkar, or tribal militia, and asked the Taliban to leave the region to spare it from military attacks. The lashkar then captured eight Taliban fighters.

In response, the Taliban blocked the roads to prevent security forces from advancing to the region and began hunting down members of the lashkar. The military has failed to come to their aid after the tribes ?Smade fervent [appeals] to the government, particularly the Army, to reach the area and save the local population as the local Lashkar lacked sophisticated weapons and a trained force to challenge the Taliban,? according to a report in The News. The government, however, has claimed that the tribe in Kalam has been successful in opposing the Taliban.

The military also claimed the district of Swat has been sealed off. ?SThe noose is tightening around them,? Major General Sajad Ghani said. ?STheir routes of escape have been cut off.?

But the military failed to deploy enough forces to block the routes into and out of Swat at the onset of the operation, and only began moving forces two weeks after the start of the offensive. Taliban forces have moved into Shangla, Mardan, and Battagram in units ranging from 50 to 150 fighters, and have established footholds in the regions [see LWJ report, Taliban move forces eastward into Battagram]. Just four days ago, a force of 70 Taliban fighters moved into a region in Shangla.

Journalists and residents who are fleeing Swat have questioned the military?"s claims of success in Swat. A reporter from The Associated Press, who was one of a few journalists given a brief tour of the battlefield, was skeptical of the military?"s claims of fierce fighting in the district.

?SFrom the air, there was little evidence of the fierce fighting and air strikes that the military claims have already killed more than 1,000 militants as well as some 60 soldiers,? Dawn reported.

A resident who recently left Swat told the BBC that the Taliban still controls much of Swat and that the military's claims of success are false.

?SThe government spokesmen, sitting in Islamabad or Peshawar, are making false claims about the situation in Swat, saying they have taken control of the situation, or captured that place, or killed so many Taliban,? Mehmood told the BBC. ?SI swear upon God that it's nothing like that.?

?SExcept for some parts of the GT (Grand Trunk) road, some mountain tops and the circuit house in Mingora, all of Swat is under the control of the Taliban,? he continued. ?SIf the government really has cleared and taken control of the region, it should bring in the media and let the whole world see it for themselves. I keep moving around, and in several places I have seen army checkpoints with a Taliban checkpoint nearby.?

Mehmood also said the military is largely killing civilians, not Taliban fighters. "A majority of the people killed here are civilians."

Swat offensive stalls as Taliban strike outside the war zone

[Source: Good Times Society]

Swat offensive stalls as Taliban strike outside the war zone

[Source: Cbs News]

posted by 88956 @ 10:36 PM, ,

What Make Up Do You Wear?

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I remember the day my mom told me I was old enough to wear makeup. I was so excited that I immediately went out and bought Maybelline eye shadow, lipstick and blush.

At the age of 16, I thought it was the greatest makeup ever. It was about the time I graduated college that I decided to graduate into the higher end cosmetics.

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What is your favorite cosmetic brand? Did it make our list? If not try searching for cosmetics on AOL Search or check out AOL Shopping for all of your cosmetic needs.

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Permalink?|?Email this?|?Linking?Blogs?|?Comments

What Make Up Do You Wear?

[Source: Good Times Society - by The American Illuminati]

What Make Up Do You Wear?

[Source: Valley News]

What Make Up Do You Wear?

[Source: News Weekly]

What Make Up Do You Wear?

[Source: Abc 7 News]

posted by 88956 @ 12:49 PM, ,

ABC News analyst: 50-50 chance that explosion brought down Air France jet from Rio to Paris

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John Nance, the former FAA administrator, and now an aviation consultant to ABC News, says that there's a 50-50 chance that the missing Air France jet went down in an explosion. The story was just on ABC. They tended to downplay Nance's comments, but I have to admit, i was wondering about the possibility of terrorism as well. Obviously, it's too soon - and it's suspicious that no terrorist group is claiming credit, since they're usually not very shy about such things.

ABC News analyst: 50-50 chance that explosion brought down Air France jet from Rio to Paris

[Source: Good Times Society - by The American Illuminati]

ABC News analyst: 50-50 chance that explosion brought down Air France jet from Rio to Paris

[Source: International News]

ABC News analyst: 50-50 chance that explosion brought down Air France jet from Rio to Paris

[Source: Cbs News]

ABC News analyst: 50-50 chance that explosion brought down Air France jet from Rio to Paris

[Source: News Station]

posted by 88956 @ 12:35 PM, ,

Will GOP Look to Senate for 2012 Nominee?

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Interesting point from First Read: "We've wondered what Obama's election would do to other senators. For years, senators were told they'd never get to the White House, and the stats proved it. Now, with governors in general less popular now than before, having a well-rounded issue experience that a senator gets may mean more to voters than so-called executive experience."

Will GOP Look to Senate for 2012 Nominee?

[Source: Good Times Society - by The American Illuminati]

Will GOP Look to Senate for 2012 Nominee?

[Source: Television News]

Will GOP Look to Senate for 2012 Nominee?

[Source: Salem News]

Will GOP Look to Senate for 2012 Nominee?

[Source: Television News]

Will GOP Look to Senate for 2012 Nominee?

[Source: News Herald]

posted by 88956 @ 11:52 AM, ,

Will the Killing of George Tiller Have an Effect on Public Opinion Regarding Abortion?

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Just last week, Denver Post and Reason.com columnist David Harsanyi asked, "Is The Abortion Debate Changing?" Based on a recent Gallup Poll, which found that a majority of Americans considered themselves "pro-life" for the first time since the question started being asked in 1995, Harsanyi suggested "that Americans are getting past the politics and into the morality of the issue" after decades of legalized abortion. And, he argued, the morality of abortion is a lot more complicated than most pro- or anti-abortion slogans let on.

Earlier today, in response to killing of Kansas abortion doctor George Tiller, Jacob Sullum asked why anti-abortion activists rushed to condemn the death of a man who by their own accounts was slaughtering innocents. Jacob understands why the activists might say that, but argues that it's really a tactical response: That they need to distance themselves from murderous extremists.

So what do Reason readers think? Will the killing of George Tiller push more Americans to identify as pro-life? Or will it push voters in the other direction? Does it matter that Tiller was known for doing late-term abortions, which are statistically rare but gruesome?

You go back to that Gallup Poll and one thing sticks out on the basic question of whether abortion should be legal under some circumstances: Since 1976, the percentage answering yes has been around 50 percent or higher (there are a few years where it dipped into the high 40s). That is, it's been pretty stable at or around a majority number.

And the percentage of people saying abortion should be illegal under all circumstances has rarely cracked the 20 percent figure (though it has again in recent years). Similarly, the percentage saying abortion should be legal under all circumstances, which peaked at 34 percent in the early 1990s, has always been a minority position (which currently stands at 22 percent and has been dropping lately).

I suspect that as abortion becomes rarer (as Reason's Ron Bailey pointed out in 2006, abortion has been getting rarer since the 1990s and also occurs earlier in pregnancies than before), it's quite possible that the either/or positions might change, but that their movement will have little effect on the middle position of abortion staying legal under some circumstances. Even those, such as Harsanyi, who is plainly troubled by the logic of abortion, generally concede that prohibition would cause more problems than it would fix ("I also believe a government ban on abortion would only criminalize the procedure and do little to mitigate the number of abortions.").

Back in 2003, on the occasion of Roe v. Wade's 30th anniversary, I argued that regarding abortion the country had reached a consensus that

has little to do with morality per se, much less with enforcing a single standard of morality. It's about a workable, pragmatic compromise that allows people to live their lives on their own terms and peaceably argue for their point of view....

This isn't to say that the debate about abortion is "over"-or that laws governing the specifics of abortion won't continue to change over time in ways that bother ardent pro-lifers and pro-choicers alike. But taking a longer view, it does seem as if the extremes of the abortion debate - extremes that included incendiary language (including calls for the murder of abortion providers) - have largely subsided in the wake of a widely accepted consensus. Part of this is surely due to the massive increases in reproduction technologies that allow women far more control over all aspects of their bodies (even as some of those technologies challenge conventional definitions of human life).

That isn't an outcome that is particularly satisfying to activists on either side of the issue or to people who want something approaching rational analysis in public policy. But it's still where we're at and it's unlikely the Tiller case will do much to move things one way or the other. The one thing that would likely change it would be if there was a massive shift toward later-term abortions, which seems unlikely based on long-term trendlines and technological innovations.