December 27, 2009 archive

Dec 27 2009

Docudharma Times Sunday December 27




Sunday’s Headlines:

Elite U.S. Force Expanding Hunt in Afghanistan

In N. Korea, a strong movement recoils at Kim Jong Il’s attempt to limit wealth

Plane suspect was listed in terror database after father alerted U.S. officials

Michele Bachmann is welcome at tea parties

Japan’s ‘grass eaters’ turn their backs on macho ways

Sharia tightens its grip on Banda Aceh

The IRA’s culture of silence extended to child abuse

Eurostar executive’s promotion ‘absurd’

Reporters attacked in crackdown by Iran militia

Gazans still angry one year on from Israeli offensive

Brazil Aims to Prevent Land Grabs in Amazon

Witnesses Report Fierce Clashes at Tehran Protest

Filed at 6:16 a.m. ET

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: December 27, 2009

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters in the capital Sunday, killing at least four people in the fiercest clashes in months, opposition Web sites and witnesses said.

Thousands of opposition supporters chanting ”Death to the dictator,” a reference to hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, defied official warnings of a harsh crackdown on any protests coinciding with a religious observance on Sunday. Iranians were marking Ashoura, commemorating the seventh-century death in battle of one of Shiite Islam’s most beloved saints.

Dec 27 2009

Let Our Better Angels Guide Us

Inky99 has everyone riled up with his chart-topping post denouncing Obama’s recent embrace of torture.  In “3/5 of a President,” Inky99 declared,

“The United States is now legally free to torture whomever it wants, thanks to the Supreme Court of the land, and the political power weilded (sic) by Barrack Hussein Obama.”

So angry was Inky99 that he took the opportunity to post a racist picture and declare, “I hate Obama…because Obama IS Bush,”.  Much invective ensued.

Inky99 badly misrepresented what actually occurred.  I followed the path back to the beginning, reviewed the actual sources, and will explain below the fold why Inky99 is wrong about what happened, and is also wrong to be angry about what actually did happen.

I will then suggest that this kind of false hysteria reflects poorly on us as blogging community, and keeps us off the path to making real change.

Dec 27 2009

Ten More Years, At Least. At What Cost?

I should start by saying this essay focuses on money, not the number of US military lives spent or those of the Iraq and Afghanistan citizens, and not the horrendous cost to the nations of Iraq and Afghanistan.  If I had my way, that would be the true cost and the ultimate reason to end the wars.  But the American public has become so apathetic to the sins of war, it seems the only thing that may awaken them enough to stop the madness is to appeal to their greed.

The United States military, NATO, and it’s hired guns will be in the Middle East and Central Asia for at least ten more years.   Regardless the promises made by Obama, or the SOFA agreement with Iraq, there is no way military forces will be out of, or even drawing down from, either country by the end of 2011.   The counterinsurgency (COIN) efforts currently being deployed as ordered by CINC Obama and directed by Generals Petreaus, Odierno and McChyrstal in both countries are generally agreed upon by experts as tactics that could take decades.  

Dec 27 2009

Late Night Karaoke

Open Thread

Dec 27 2009

Homeless Helpers

Mystery donor rents rooms for homeless in Colo.

December 25, 2009

AP

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Fifteen homeless people are getting hotel rooms for Christmas, thanks to a mystery donor who paid for the rooms.

Employees at the Express Inn in Colorado Springs say a woman paid $640 Tuesday for four rooms for a week. She insisted the rooms be given to homeless men and women camping along Fountain Creek.

She gave the name “Linda Craft,” but the Gazette newspaper could not find anyone by that name. She said God told her to buy the rooms.

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