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| | There are probably more than 100 billion galaxies in the observable universe. Each galaxy with billions of stars, just like our own Sun.
Can we be alone?
[Submitted by Michael] | |
| The Picayune Item
By Cal Thomas
Syndicated columnist
When Barack Obama was elected president of the United States, some suggested that race played a factor in his success. People “wanted” to elect a black man president because of our history of slavery and the denial of civil rights for so many years to African-Americans. It is never “racism” to vote for someone because he is black. It is only racism to oppose the policies of a black Democrat.
As the president’s approval ratings fall and rise and fall again, some of his supporters in journalism and politics are returning to days of old when the label “racist” could end any discussion and force the accused either into stunned silence, or groveling repentance. I suspect the tactic won’t work this time because Obama supporters will have difficulty explaining how a mostly white country could elect a black man president last November and ten months later become a racist majority.
Racism has always been a one-way street for the Left. When Clarence Thomas was nominated to the Supreme Court, some liberals called him a “handkerchief head negro” and an “Uncle Tom.” According to liberal doctrine, black people can never be racist because they are members of a victim class created by white liberals as a kind of modern plantation to keep blacks voting for liberal Democrats.
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, African-American like President Obama, grew up in Birmingham, Ala., at the time of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing by members of the Ku Klux Klan, which killed some of her friends. She has more “street cred” than others who claim to have it, but she got no points from liberal Democrats when she ascended the ladder of power and influence. It was the same with Colin Powell. The Left strongly criticized Powell for adding credibility to the claim that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction thereby winning U.N. approval to use force, if necessary, against the Iraqi dictator. Were those who opposed Powell racist? Using the formulation now being applied to President Obama that opposition to any of his policies — from health care, to record amounts of debt — constitutes racism, they were.
The polar opposite case could be made that, despite his race, President Obama is being treated just like any other politician, which proves he’s being treated equally. He is getting the same heat every president gets, sooner or later. The president’s race would be a factor only if Americans shied away from criticizing him because of it. That they are not is a triumph of Martin Luther King Jr.’s hope that people be judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin. Some opinion polls show that Obama’s character is being judged and found wanting by a rapidly growing number of Americans, at least a small percentage of whom are black.
With Democrats controlling all three branches of government, including significantly wide margins in Congress, isn’t there a better explanation than racism for why the president is having difficulty with some of his proposals? If racism is the cause of his difficulties, there must be many congressional Democrats who are racists, because they have the power to enact the president’s agenda, but some are reluctant to do so.
The Pew Research Center has noted a 10 percent drop in Obama’s approval ratings, which includes a 3 percent decline among blacks. As black conservative columnist Star Parker has written, “If we assume this reflects the 16 million blacks who voted for Obama last November, a three-point shift means there are about a half-million blacks who now have buyer’s remorse.” Are these black Obama voters racist?
There is a better explanation for the growing opposition to President Obama. It has less to do with his ethnicity than it does his credibility. Character, after all, is colorless.
[Submitted by Michael] | |
| By Jessica Ravitz, CNN
November 26, 2009 9:16 a.m. EST
(CNN) -- Mustering up thanks for the very, very simple things was about all Therese Borchard could do when she began jotting notes in a gratitude journal. She was grateful for her bagel and cream cheese. Desserts and coffee, too, got nods. So did the warm water in her shower.
Borchard, 38, was slogging through depression after the birth of her second child and searching for tools to re-engage with the world. She took the advice of her great aunt, who, like Borchard, had once suffered through a nervous breakdown and had collected information about how optimism and gratitude could be learned.
" 'You have to work on your thoughts and on staying positive,' " Borchard, a writer living in Annapolis, Maryland, remembered being told. "I learned from her about forcing gratitude into my life. Some people have an easier time with it. People like me have to try extra hard to see the cup as half full."
As families across America prepare to gather around Thanksgiving Day dinner tables, many will carve out a little time to share what they're grateful for before they carve into the turkey. They'll exchange nods and smiles, feel warm and fuzzy and then eat themselves into a stupor. But what if people acknowledged what they were grateful for throughout the year?
People like Borchard, whose new book "Beyond Blue: Surviving Depression & Anxiety and Making the Most of Bad Genes" will be released in January, say that increased focus on gratitude can offer a lasting boost. In her Beliefnet blog, "Beyond Blue: A spiritual journey to mental health," she recently outlined "12 Ways to Be Thankful", tips she said can be especially helpful during the holiday season, which can be difficult for many. Keeping a gratitude journal, in which people simply jot down what they're grateful for, is just one tool to help shift a person's outlook -- and one that's gained buzz on talk shows, including Oprah's.
The benefits from counting blessings are tangible -- emotionally and physically.
--Robert Emmons, "gratitude doctor"
Robert Emmons, often referred to as a "gratitude doctor," has been researching the power of gratitude for more than 10 years. The psychology professor at University of California, Davis is the editor-in-chief of The Journal of Positive Psychology and author of a number of books, including "THANKS!: How The New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier." He pointed to the results of several studies of more than 2,000 people to show the value of what he and others are learning.
"The benefits from counting blessings are tangible, emotionally and physically," he said. "People are 25 percent happier and more energetic if they keep gratitude journals, have 20 percent less envy and resentment, sleep 10 percent longer each night and wake up 15 percent more refreshed, exercise 33 percent more and show a 10 percent drop in blood pressure compared to persons who are not keeping these journals."
But keeping a gratitude journal and, more significantly, changing the way you look at the world isn't as easy as just jotting down a few words, said Sonja Lyubomirsky, a psychology professor at University of California, Riverside, who wrote "The How of Happiness."
She said part of happiness is determined by genetics, another by life circumstances and it's only the third part that can really be controlled by a person's thinking and behavior. But doing this "takes work, just like any other goal in your life," she said. It's something you have to be aware of "every day in your life, not once a year."
Opportunities to express gratitude, of course, go beyond journaling. Thankfulness can be shared with a running partner or written in letters to people who've made an impact in your life. It can also be shown to complete strangers.
GRATEFUL TIPS
- Make regular entries in a gratitude journal
- Find a gratitude partner, someone to talk thanks with
- Write thank-you letters
- Reach out to those who've affected your life and tell them
- Surround yourself with grateful, positive people
- Give to others the way you've been given to
- When stress rises or moods change, remember what you're grateful for
Scott Truitt, who grew up an Air Force brat, launched The Gratitude Campaign a little more than two years ago. The 39-year-old frequent business traveler found himself after 9/11 watching how people in airports behaved around military servicemen and women. What he saw amounted to a bunch of awkward glances, so he came up with a simple gesture, involving a hand over the heart, which allows people to simply acknowledge those in uniform. The gesture has been taught through a much-seen video -- 13.8 million visitors have viewed it on Truitt's Web site, another 2.3 million have seen it on YouTube, and millions more have seen it as a public service announcement, he said.
"It's not about debating the war in Iraq," he said, before adding that only 6 percent of those serving in the military, including reservists, are based in Iraq. "They all signed up to protect our freedoms."
Two entrepreneurs in the Washington area in September launched Thankfulfor.com, an online gratitude journal that's shared through social networks so people can feed off one another's thanks. The site also offers gratitude to-do tips for the holiday season and recently launched a gratitude challenge, asking people to commit in November and December to write down daily three to five things they're grateful for.
"When you do something like that over and over every day, it changes your whole psyche," said one of Thankfulfor.com's founders, Jen Consalvo, 37, who has kept her own gratitude journal for several years. Keeping a gratitude journal, "helped me through the dark times and helped me realize how much I have."
Pegged to Thanksgiving for the second year in a row, a nonprofit called Epic Change will host TweetsGiving, a 48-hour celebration of gratitude and giving that encourages people to use Twitter to offer thanks and to host "gratitude parties" where money is raised to give a gift "built from gratitude." Last year the $10,000 raised in two days built a classroom in Tanzania.
When people are grateful, turns out they're more likely to pay it forward, said best-selling author Debbie Macomber, whose most recent book is entitled "One Simple Act: Discovering the Power of Generosity."
The word "generosity," she said, isn't about money alone. It can be a generosity of time or spirit, a simple and random act of kindness. This reality came to light for her when she had a coffee mishap in a Newark airport terminal. She was fumbling with too many bags when her cup of java spilled all over the place. As she frantically tried to clean up the mess, a man standing in the nearby Starbuck's line watched and delivered a fresh cup of coffee before walking away.
"I just felt so good. But it's not just about how the recipient feels, it's about how the giver feels," she said. "Smiling at a stranger, opening a door, taking a cart back to the store -- you'll feel better making a contribution to life no matter how small."
[Submitted by Michael] | |
| By: Mike Blades (FaceBook.com)
Today, I'd like to introduce you to an Army Medic. He crewed a UH1H "Iroquois" and his job was to fly into harms way to medivac wounded soldiers out of combat and into the waiting hands of Army angels and the doc's they worked for. How many lives was SSG Brown responsible for saving? Your guess is as good as mine! Help me honor SSG Brown by supporting H. Res 111, to establish a Select Committee on POW and MIA Affairs in the House of Representatives.
Name: Harry Willis Brown
Rank/Branch: Staff Sergeant/US Army
Unit: 50th Medical Detachment, 43rd Medical Group, 44th Medical Brigade, Tuy Hoa, South Vietnam
Date of Birth: 16 August 1943
Home of Record: Charleston, SC
Date of Loss: 12 February 1968
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 121721N 1074713E (ZU030600)
Status in 1973: Missing in Action
Category: 4
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: UH1H "Iroquois"
Other Personnel In Incident: Wade L. Groth, Alan W. Gunn, and Jerry L. Roe (missing)
REMARKS:
SYNOPSIS: By early 1967, the Bell UH1 Iroquois was already the standard Army assault helicopter, and was used in nearly every "in-country" mission. Better known by its nickname "Huey," the troop carriers were referred to as "slicks" and the gunships were called "Hogs." It proved itself to be a sturdy, versatile aircraft which was called on to carry out a wide variety of missions including search and rescue, close air support, insertion and extraction, fire support, and resupply to name a few. It usually carried a crew of four.
On 12 February 1968, 1st Lt. Jerry Roe, aircraft commander; W2 Alan Gunn, pilot; SP4 Wade Groth, crewchief, and then SP5 Harry Brown, medic; comprised the crew of a UH1H (tail #66-17027), call sign "Dustoff 90," that was conducting an emergency medical evacuation mission to the Gia Nghai Special Forces Camp, Darlac Province, South Vietnam. The medivac aircrew had been on standby at Ban Me Thuot in support of Special Forces operations in the area.
Base operations at Ban Me Thuot received an urgent request for a medical evacuation from Gia Nghai Special Forces Camp. In response to that request, Dustoff 90 departed Ban Me Thuot at 1959 hours. The aircraft's progress was monitored by the US Air Force Tactical Control Radar Center that was also located at Ban Me Thuot. At 2019 hours, 20 minutes into the flight, the radar technician noted the Huey's signal disappeared from the radar screen. At the time the aircraft disappeared, no Mayday calls were heard, there was no indication Dustoff 90 was experiencing any mechanical problems or under enemy fire from known anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) positions and/or small arms fire that was frequently directed at passing American and South Vietnamese aircraft.
The area in which the Huey vanished was on the northeast side of a mountain covered in triple-canopy jungle that had been nicknamed "VC Mountain" by US forces due to the continuous communist activity emitting from there. The location of loss was also approximately 15 miles east-southeast of Dak Sang, 19 miles due east of the South Vietnamese/Cambodian border, 32 miles southwest of Ban Me Thuot's runway and 115 miles southwest of Tuy Hoa, Quang Duc Province, South Vietnam.
Since Base Operations at Ban Me Thuot was confident in knowing the basic location where the Huey disappeared, search and rescue (SAR) operations commenced immediately. According to other members of the 50th Medical Detachment who participated in the search mission, US Army helicopters from the 155th Attack Helicopter Company and a US Air Force A1E Skyraider conducted the initial operation. Upon their return, the aircrews reported seeing "fire and lights" on the mountain, which meant that enemy forces were actively moving around in substantial numbers and seeing by means of candles.
The following morning a Huey from the 50th Medical Detachment, which was piloted by the unit's commanding officer, Major Ronald C. Jones, and the unit's executive officer, Capt. Ronnie Porta, joined the search operation. Another member of their aircrew was a Special Forces soldier equipped with a "sniffer" devise that detected the presence of ammonia in human urine. According to the SAR participants, "Flying low and slow over a mountain that you normally could not fly close to made the search seem almost surrealistic. We could have reached out and picked the leaves off the trees. It was unbelievable."
Standard operating procedure for SAR operations during this timeframe was that if no trace of a missing aircraft of aircrew was found after nine days, the search was suspended and the crew declared missing. Per standard practice the formal search effort was terminated on 22 February 1968. At that time, Jerry Roe, Alan Gunn, Wade Groth and Harry Brown were reported as Missing in Action. However, while the formal operation had been cancelled, many pilots from their unit continued to keep a watchful eye for Dustoff 90 and its crew during other missions in the area.
In July 1971, a Vietnam People's Army soldier defected. In his post-rally debriefing, he reported he had seen a number of American POWs in a POW camp near Vinh City, North Vietnam in August 1970. The rallier was shown pre-capture photos of POW/MIAs and the rallier selected photos of both Harry Brown and Jerry Roe as two men he believed he saw as Prisoners of War. The CIA was asked to analyze information provided by the former communist soldier along with the photo identification of the missing Americans. According to the agency's evaluation, the CIA could not determine why the source selected the photos of 1st Lt. Roe and SP5 Brown. The agency analyst went on to state that the identification of two men from the same aircrew, one black and one white, one whose photo appeared at the front (Brown) of the photo album and the other near the rear of it (Roe) was by "coincidence."
In July 1974, a Vietnamese woodsman found the wreckage of the Huey. He reported its location to authorities. By the description provided by the woodsman, the helicopter was intact and upright minus its main rotor blades.
In 1979, Sean O'Toolis, an Irish-American was reportedly in Vietnam on a trip to purchase guns for the Irish Republican Army (IRA). According to statements attributed to him after departing Southeast Asia, the North Vietnamese gave him a tour of the Bong Song Prison Camp, 40 miles south of Hanoi. Mr. O'Toolis reported he met and spoke with American POWs Wade Groth and Brendan Foley. He also said he spoke with other POWs whose last names were MacDonald, Jenning and O'Hare or O'Hara. He brought a message to Brendan Foley's brother along with two sets of fingerprints reportedly belonging to POWs' Foley and O'Hara. The contents of that message had not been made public.
US personal from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) showed Mr. O'Toolis pre-capture photographs of American POW/MIAs in an attempt to confirm his story as being either truthful or a fabrication. During the extensive review of the DIA's pre-capture photo album, Sean O'Toolis was able to identify old photos of Wade Groth. Further, he provided the DIA analysts with believable descriptions of both Brendan Foley and Wade Groth. Further, as part of his debriefing, Sean O'Toolis worked with a CIA sketch artist to draft pictures of the prisoners he saw and talked with. His description of Wade Groth was so detailed and accurate; including his dark red hair, that it was easy to tell it was Dustoff 90's crewchief. However, the US government chose to discount Sean O'Toolis' and his information because he was a gunrunner working for the IRA.
In April 1991 the US government released a list of Prisoners of War and Missing in Action who were known to be alive in enemy hands and for whom there is no evidence that he or she died in captivity. This list, commonly referred to today as the USG's "Last Known Alive" list, included Harry Brown, Jerry Roe, Wade Groth and Alan Gunn.
In October 1992, a joint American/Vietnamese team under the auspices of the Joint Task Force for Full Accounting (JTFFA) traveled to Darlac Province to investigate the loss of Dustoff 90. After interviewing local residence of the region, the team conducted a site survey of the wreckage of the Huey before starting the actual excavation.
In addition to finding the Huey minus its rotor blades, the JTFFA team excavated and recovered an Ambu Bag, gold rimmed glasses, part of a flak jacket, spent M-79, M-16 and .30 caliber ammunition shell casings along with other aircraft and crew related items. They also found and recovered properly stored flight helmets and gloves inside the helicopter indicating the aircraft was downed by mechanical failure, not enemy action. The team found no human remains or any indication that any of the men aboard Dustoff 90 died in its loss. The items found and recovered during the site excavation supported the long-held belief that the crew did in fact survive, that they expected to be evacuated and their aircraft salvaged within a reasonably short length of time.
If Jerry Roe, Alan Gunn, Wade Groth and Harry Brown died as a result of their loss incident, each man has the right to have his remains returned to his family, friends and country. However, if they survived, there is every reality they were captured by enemy forces known to be operating in and around VC Mountain and their fate, like that of other Americans who remain unaccounted for in Southeast Asia, could be quite different. Either way there is no doubt the Vietnamese have the answers and could return them or their remains any time they had the desire to do so.
Since the end of the Vietnam War well over 21,000 reports of American prisoners, missing and otherwise unaccounted for have been received by our government. Many of these reports document LIVE American POWs remaining captive throughout Southeast Asia TODAY.
Aircrews in Vietnam and Laos were called upon to fly in many dangerous circumstances, and they were prepared to be wounded, killed or captured. It probably never occurred to them that they could be abandoned by the country they so proudly served.
Dustoff 90's aircrew is the only one from the 50th Medical Detachment to become POW/MIA during the Vietnam War.
[Submitted by Michael] | |
| InBev to buy Anheuser-Busch for $52B | | | |
| ST. LOUIS, Missouri (AP) -- Belgian brewer InBev has announced it will buy its U.S. rival Anheuser-Busch for $52 billion to create the world's largest brewer.
The deal would create the world's largest brewer and put the U.S. beer-maker in the hands of Belgian-based InBev.
The acquisition means control over America's largest brewer, the No. 2 worldwide, moves overseas. Based in St. Louis, Missouri, Anheuser-Busch has more than 48 percent of American market share with brands that include Bud Light.
InBev confirmed the details of the purchase of Anheuser-Busch early Monday. It first bid for Anheuser-Busch on June 11.
InBev is the world's second largest beer maker, with brands that include Stella Artois and Becks.
The deal must be approved by shareholders and European and US antitrust regulators. The merger will produce the fourth-largest consumer product company worldwide.
Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. did not return messages seeking comment Sunday evening.
The Wall Street Journal said the deal was for $70 a share, a $5 increase over the offer Anheuser-Busch rejected in June.
It wasn't immediately clear how long approval might take from regulators and shareholders. Several Missouri politicians have expressed concerns about the merger -- especially how it would affect the approximate 6,000 people employed by Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis.
InBev has said it plans to use St. Louis as its North American headquarters, and that it will keep open all 12 of Anheuser-Busch's North American breweries.
InBev SA announced its intent to try and purchase Anheuser-Busch on June 11. The Anheuser-Busch board initially voted against the merger, calling the initial $65 per share offer too low.
That prompted much squabbling between the companies over the past few weeks. InBev filed a motion seeking the removal of all 13 Anheuser-Busch board members; Anheuser-Busch filed suit calling the InBev effort an "illegal scheme" that threatened to defraud Anheuser-Busch shareholders. Among other things, the suit noted that InBev failed to disclose it operates a brewery in Cuba.
So it was with some surprise when reports surfaced on Friday that the two companies were sitting down for merger talks, reportedly after InBev upped its offer by $5 to $70 per share.
The merger, if completed, will bring to an end to one of the most iconic names in U.S. business and a name synonymous with St. Louis. From college buildings to offices to the stadium where the Cardinals play, the Busch name is virtually everywhere in the Gateway City.
Eberhard Anheuser acquired the Bavarian brewery in 1860 and renamed it E. Anheuser & Co. His son-in-law, Adolphus Busch, joined the company in 1864 and it was eventually renamed Anheuser-Busch.
The company survived Prohibition by selling products ranging from ice cream to root beer.
In addition to opposition from politicians and civic leaders, at least two Web sites sprung up opposing the merger. SaveBudweiser.com claims to have more than 60,000 signatures from merger opponents. SaveAB.com hosted a recent anti-merger rally that drew hundreds to downtown St. Louis.
InBev has not said if layoffs will occur as a result of the merger. But some cutbacks seem likely.
Even without the merger, Anheuser-Busch said last month it planned to cut pension and health benefits for salaried employees as part of an effort to slash $1 billion in costs by the end of 2010. The plan called for offering early retirement to 1,300 salaried workers 55 and older.
The cost-cutting effort -- dubbed "Blue Ocean" by the company -- was part of a strategy to fend off the merger.
The beer industry has been consolidating in recent years amid rising costs for transportation fuel and key ingredients.
[Submitted by Michael] | |
| House whip Clyburn will support Obama, sources say | | | |
| WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The House majority whip and the top ranking African-American in Congress is expected to endorse Sen. Barack Obama in the Democratic presidential race on Tuesday, several sources told CNN.
Rep. James Clyburn has so far been neutral in the race between the front-running Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton, the former first lady.
But sources close to the South Carolina congressman and high-level Democratic operatives said Clyburn will throw his support to Obama on Tuesday -- the day of the last Democratic primaries, in South Dakota and Montana.
Meanwhile, four of the 17 uncommitted Democratic senators gathered at the party's Senate campaign committee headquarters to discuss their course of action after those primaries. All are party superdelegates whose support will tip the balance of the Clinton-Obama race.
"It was just a dialogue about moving to peace -- how are we going to create unity in the Democratic Party," said Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colorado, one of the participants.
Another participant, Maryland's Sen. Ben Cardin, said he expected to make a decision in the next few days.
"I think most people realize this process is coming to an end, and it's important to bring this matter to a conclusion," Cardin said. "As I've said all along, I've said my support would be for the person who had the most support, without any specific formula, in the primaries and caucuses and had the momentum going into the general election and has our best chance of winning in November. I think most of the information is known. Just two more states to go."
Most of the 17 will endorse Obama later this week, two sources familiar with the senators' discussions said. But Montana Sen. Jon Tester, who did not attend Monday's meeting, said he was willing to wait until Tuesday's results before making a decision.
"I want to wait until it all plays out in Montana," Tester said. "I think that what's happened over the last couple weeks in Montana and South Dakota has been nothing short of amazing, with Sen. Obama and Sen. Clinton crisscrossing both of those states and giving us the kind of exposure to national candidates like we've literally never had before."
Tester and Cardin were among the Democrats whose 2006 wins gave the party control of the Senate.
Clinton told reporters Sunday after winning the Democratic primary in Puerto Rico that she was taking the presidential race "a day at a time" and is reviewing the "options available" as she moves ahead with her campaign.
Her campaign got a boost from the Saturday ruling by the party's Rules and Bylaws Committee that gives the disputed delegations from Florida and Michigan half their votes.
"People have been trying to get me out of this race since Iowa and my political obituary has yet to be written and we're going forward," she said.
Obama is 46 delegates short of the 2,118 needed to clinch the Democratic nomination, while Clinton needs 202. There are 31 pledged delegates up for grabs in the Tuesday contests, and 202 superdelegates have yet to commit to either candidate.
Obama has the support of 331 superdelegates -- unpledged Democratic elected officials and party leaders. Clinton has 292.
[Submitted by Michael] | |
| Poll: More disapprove of Bush than any other president | | | |
| WASHINGTON DC (CNN) -- A new poll suggests that President Bush is the most unpopular president in modern American history.
A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll shows 71 percent disapprove of President Bush's job performance.
A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Thursday indicates that 71 percent of the American public disapprove of how Bush is handling his job as president.
"No president has ever had a higher disapproval rating in any CNN or Gallup Poll; in fact, this is the first time that any president's disapproval rating has cracked the 70 percent mark," said Keating Holland, CNN's polling director.
"Bush's approval rating, which stands at 28 percent in our new poll, remains better than the all-time lows set by Harry Truman and Richard Nixon [22 percent and 24 percent, respectively], but even those two presidents never got a disapproval rating in the 70s," Holland said. "The previous all-time record in CNN or Gallup polling was set by Truman, 67 percent disapproval in January 1952."
While Gallup polling goes back to the 1930s, it wasn't until the Truman years that they began surveying monthly approval ratings.
CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider adds, "He is more unpopular than Richard Nixon was just before he resigned from the presidency in August 1974."
President Nixon's disapproval rating in August 1974 stood at 66 percent
The poll also indicates that support for the war in Iraq has never been lower. Thirty percent of those questioned favored the war, while 68 percent opposed it.
"Americans are growing more pessimistic about the war," Holland said. "In January, nearly half believed that things were going well for the U.S. in Iraq; now that figure has dropped to 39 percent."
The numbers on the Iraq war come on the five-year anniversary of Bush's "Mission Accomplished" moment on board the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, when he proclaimed that "major combat operations in Iraq have ended."
The record-low support for the war in a CNN poll could be one reason behind the president's unpopularity, but it probably is not the only one.
"Support for the war, the assessment of the economy and approval of Mr. Bush are all about the same -- bad," Schneider said.
[Submitted by Michael] | |
| Filmmaker Moore speaks out on Obama, Wright, Clinton | | | |
| (CNN) -- "Larry King Live" has devoted lots of time to the views of all the presidential candidates and their backers. Last week, King spoke to Sen. Hillary Clinton, and there's a standing invitation to all three candidates to appear as guests on his show any night.
TV host Larry King interviews documentary filmmaker Michael Moore on Wednesday.
Image: http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/2008/POLITICS/05/01/moore.q.a/art.moore.king.jpg
On Wednesday night, King spoke to Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Michael Moore, who in April endorsed Sen. Barack Obama. Not surprisingly, Moore didn't hold anything back.
Larry King: When you were last here in February, you said you had opinions on the race, but were not endorsing anybody. What changed?
Michael Moore: Well, I think that the whole movement behind Obama is very impressive. And I think it's a good thing for the country. As far as Obama as a candidate, I think that this is a very decent individual. And I've been just impressed through the various debates as to how he's handled himself, how he has responded to the issues and responded to people.
King: What about how he's handled the Rev. [Jeremiah] Wright thing?
Moore: Jeez, you know, I mean I go to Mass still. I'm a practicing Catholic. I've been that way all my life. But if I had -- if I had gotten up every time I heard a priest from the pulpit in my travels around the country say things like I've heard them say, that birth control is a sin, that women should not be priests, that women should have a different role in church ...
King: You'd be walking out all the time?
Moore: I would have been walking out so much -- that would have been so much aerobic activity for me ... I wouldn't look like this.
King: OK. You announced your endorsement of Obama on April 21 in a letter on your Web site. You also slammed Hillary Clinton. ... Why so rough?
Moore: Well, I supported her run for Senate. My wife and I contributed to her campaign. But the huge disappointment was when she was presented with an opportunity for a moment -- a profile in courage moment in October of 2002 -- to not give Bush the authorization to go to war, she voted for war. And she continued to vote for war for the years after that ... and I'm disappointed in that. But when I said [i] 'disgusted,' that came with the ABC debate. When she threw out [Nation of Islam leader Louis] Farrakhan, when she said the word Farrakhan and Hamas -- to somehow attach that to Sen. Obama -- I just thought that was beneath everything that she used to stand for. And I think at some point, she's going to be disappointed in herself for having done that.
King: Are you so disappointed that you would consider, if she got the nomination, [voting] for [Sen. John] McCain?
Moore: Absolutely not. No, no, no ... most people I know are just going to stagger into the voting booth in November and look for the big "D" on the ballot. And it really isn't going to matter what the name is on there, whether it's ...
King: You think a Democrat's going to win?
Moore: Yes. ... We've been through eight years of misery. And it's not just the war, although that should be enough right there. But it's everything from what people are paying for gas now to our health care mess and everything else in this country that has just -- we've lost so much time.
King: Don't you think, Michael, that the Democrats [are] the one party that can figure out a way to lose this?
Moore: It's not about the Democratic Party. This has gone beyond that. That's what's so great about Obama is that he's not a partisan person in that way.
King: Do you think the Rev. Wright thing is over?
Moore: It's over when cable news decides it's over ... and when these networks come up with something new. I mean, I was kind of enjoying the flag lapel controversy. By the way, Larry King, where is your flag lapel pin? I don't see it on you.
King: Where's yours?
Moore: Well, I'm wearing mine. That's right. It's the world's smallest flag lapel pin. ... You just can't see it.
King: Microscopic.
Moore: That's why you don't wear a coat, so you don't have to wear the flag lapel pin.
King: So you found me out.
Moore: Yes, that's right.
King: How are [Americans] going to turn out and vote -- what percentage?
Moore: I think we're going to have a huge turnout this year. People are crying uncle right now with what they've had to go through, and they're not going to want four more years of this. In spite of whatever concerns they may have about Sen. Obama, or if it turns out to be Sen. Clinton [who is the nominee] ... they'll put those aside when they think about four more years of what we have had for the last eight years. That's not going to go down with the American people.
King: Are your security guards ready to escort you out?
Moore: I actually have no security here ... the power of prayer protects me.
King: As a good Catholic, I understand that.
Moore: I do believe that. Thank you very much
[Submitted by Michael] | |
| 6 Gitmo detainees to face trial for 9/11 | | | |
| WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Six men being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, will go before military commissions and could face the death penalty if it is judged they were involved in the September 11, 2001, attacks, a general said Monday.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is one of six Guantanamo detainees to be charged, a general says.
The men will be treated like members of the U.S. military during their judicial proceedings, he said.
The proceedings will be dictated by the Military Commissions Act, which Congress passed to handle arrestees in the war on terror. The act requires that the detainees have access to lawyers as well as to any evidence presented against them.
They also will have the right to appeal a guilty verdict, potentially through a civilian appeals court and perhaps the U.S. Supreme Court, according to the act. The government plans to make the proceedings as public as possible, said Brig Gen. Thomas Hartmann. Watch Hartmann outline the charges »
What is murkier, however, is whether a military prosecutor will be able to use any information or confessions gleaned through controversial tactics like waterboarding, an interrogation technique designed to simulate drowning. That will be up to a judge to decide, Hartmann said.
"It's our obligation to move the process forward to give these people their rights," he said. "We are going to give them rights that are virtually identical to the rights we provide to our military members."
Despite Hartmann's guarantees, Charles Swift, a former U.S. Navy attorney, said the process will not afford detainees an adequate defense. He also raised concerns that trying and executing the men unfairly could make them martyrs in the eyes of extremists.
"The losers will be the American public unless some fundamental changes are made very quickly," he said.
Hartmann, the legal adviser to the military commission trying the men, announced Monday that the government will seek the death penalty against the six detainees, including alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Prosecutors hope to try the men together.
Among the charges leveled against the men are murder and conspiracy "in violation of the law of war," attacking civilians and terrorism. Four of the suspects will also be charged with hijacking, Hartmann said.
The 169 charges allege a "long-term, highly sophisticated plan by al Qaeda to attack the United States of America," he said.
Though the proceedings will not be televised, Hartmann said the government intends to keep the proceedings as open as possible except when classified information is presented that could compromise national security.
"I've been advised by the prosecutors that relatively little amounts of evidence will be classified, but it's still a possibility, and we have rules and procedures and rules of evidence in place to deal with that," Hartmann said. "There will be no secret trials."
The suspects are accused of helping plan the September 11 attacks in which hijackers flew two jets into the World Trade Center in New York and another jet into the Pentagon in Washington. Another hijacked plane crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
According to the 9/11 Commission Report, 2,974 people were killed in the attacks, not including the 19 hijackers.
Charged along with Mohammed are:
Mohammed al-Qahtani, the so-called 20th hijacker in the 9/11 attacks;
Ramzi bin al-Shibh, accused of being an intermediary between the hijackers and al Qaeda leaders and finding flight schools for the hijackers;
Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, alleged to have sent approximately $127,000 to hijackers and arranging travel for nine of them;
Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi, accused of providing the hijackers with money, clothes and credit cards;
Walid bin Attash, who is accused of training two of the 9/11 hijackers and assisting in the hijacking plan.
Mohammed, bin Attash, al-Shibh and Ali will also be charged with hijacking or hazarding an aircraft, Hartmann said.
Judge Susan Crawford will decide whether to approve the charges and prosecutors' request to seek the death penalty, Hartmann said. The detainees would then enter pleas within 30 days.
A military commission would be assembled within 120 days at the U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. If Crawford approves the charges, it will mark the first time that Guantanamo detainees have been charged in the September 11 attacks.
About 380 foreign nationals are being held at Guantanamo. The detainees' lawyers have repeatedly complained that their clients are being denied due process.
The U.S. Supreme Court has twice expressed reservations about how the government handles detainees at the U.S. naval base.
In 2006, the high court ruled the Bush administration's use of military tribunals was unconstitutional because the system did not allow terror suspects to challenge their detention.
Congress last year passed the Military Commissions Act, which provided terror suspects with a limited right to appeal convictions and reduced the jurisdiction of federal courts.
According to the act, the detainees will be allowed to see all evidence against them, call defense witnesses and cross-examine prosecution witnesses.
If Crawford approves seeking the death penalty in the cases, the 12-member military commission must unanimously find the detainees guilty. The detainees will be allowed to appeal guilty verdicts in the Court of Military Commission Review, then the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals and then the U.S. Supreme Court.
Several legal and political challenges will be presented during the proceedings, and CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said it could be five years before the trials are complete. Watch why the trials could prove to be difficult »
"One thing's clear about Guantanamo is that the next president is going to have to resolve this," Toobin said.
One hurdle lies in seeking the death penalty. Key U.S. allies like Australia and Britain have blasted the U.S. for seeking the death penalty and have vowed to fight efforts to execute any of their national held at Guantanamo. Most countries join Australia and Britain in their opposition to capital punishment.
Another issue expected to stall the process is whether prosecutors will be able to use information gathered using controversial interrogation techniques.
On February 5, CIA Director Michael Hayden for the first time publicly confirmed Mohammed and two other terror suspects were subjected to waterboarding.
The technique was used on top al Qaeda detainees in the aftermath of the attacks to "help us prevent catastrophic loss of life of Americans or their allies," Hayden said.
After Monday's announcement, Hayden, in a memo obtained by CNN, wrote CIA employees to laud the decision to try the detainees and called it "a crucial milestone on the road to justice for the victims of 9/11."
[Submitted by Michael] | |
| Adrian Jaimes, a 5 year old | | | |
| The Austin Texas Police Department canceled the Amber alert after the boy was found safe on Thursday evening. No information on the suspects is available at this time.
The Austin Texas Police Department issued the Amber alert for after the boy was kidnapped in North Austin on Thursday morning. Police believe they may be headed south to the Mexican border.
Adrian Jaimes, a 5 year old Hispanic male. He is about 4 feet tall and weighs about 50 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a green jacket, black t-shirt and dark blue pants. He may have a bloody nose from alergies.
The suspects are three Hispanic males in their late teens.
The suspect vehicle is a Volkswagen Jetta with dark tinted windows.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Austin Police Department at 512-477-3588 or dial 911.
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- Michael
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