Walter Cronkite, the premier TV anchorman of the networks' golden age who reported a tumultuous time with reassuring authority and came to be called "the most trusted man in America," died Friday. He was 92.
Cronkite's longtime chief of staff, Marlene Adler, said Cronkite died at 7:42 p.m. at his Manhattan home surrounded by family. She said the cause of death was cerebral vascular disease.
Adler said, "I have to go now" before breaking down into what sounded like a sob. She said she had no further comment.
Cronkite was the face of the "CBS Evening News" from 1962 to 1981, when stories ranged from the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to racial and anti-war riots, Watergate and the Iranian hostage crisis.
It was Cronkite who read the bulletins coming from Dallas when Kennedy was shot Nov. 22, 1963, interrupting a live CBS-TV broadcast of the soap opera "As the World Turns."
Cronkite was the broadcaster to whom the title "anchorman" was first applied, and he came so identified in that role that eventually his own name became the term for the job in other languages. (Swedish anchors are known as Kronkiters; In Holland, they are Cronkiters.)
"He was a great broadcaster and a gentleman whose experience, honesty, professionalism and style defined the role of anchor and commentator," CBS Corp. chief executive Leslie Moonves said in a statement.
CBS has scheduled a prime-time special, "That's the Way it Was: Remembering Walter Cronkite," for 7 p.m. Sunday.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Chechens celebrate withdrawal of troops
GROZNY, Russia - Chechens danced in the streets and waved flags to celebrate Russia's decision Thursday to end its decadelong counterterrorism operation in the war-weary southern region.
The order by President Dmitry Medvedev paves the way for the withdrawal of tens of thousands of federal troops, whose presence has been hugely unpopular amid allegations of widespread abuses against civilians.
The counterterrorism operation — launched at the start of the second of two separatist wars that have battered the region in the last 15 years — involved curfews and limits on civilian air flights and limited access for journalists, among other measures.
Its cancellation boosted the authority of the region's Kremlin-backed President Ramzan Kadyrov, who joined several thousand people Thursday in dancing in a square in central Grozny.
Motorists blared horns and waved Chechen and Russian flags from car windows, as schools and a university interrupted classes to let students to join celebrations.
"I'm very happy that the horrible years we saw will never come back," said 21-year-old student Isa Musayev. "We spent those years in constant fear for our lives."
The order by President Dmitry Medvedev paves the way for the withdrawal of tens of thousands of federal troops, whose presence has been hugely unpopular amid allegations of widespread abuses against civilians.
The counterterrorism operation — launched at the start of the second of two separatist wars that have battered the region in the last 15 years — involved curfews and limits on civilian air flights and limited access for journalists, among other measures.
Its cancellation boosted the authority of the region's Kremlin-backed President Ramzan Kadyrov, who joined several thousand people Thursday in dancing in a square in central Grozny.
Motorists blared horns and waved Chechen and Russian flags from car windows, as schools and a university interrupted classes to let students to join celebrations.
"I'm very happy that the horrible years we saw will never come back," said 21-year-old student Isa Musayev. "We spent those years in constant fear for our lives."
Iraqis take control of Baghdad
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi forces assumed formal control of Baghdad and other cities Tuesday after American troops handed over security in urban areas in a defining step toward ending the U.S. combat role in the country. A countdown clock broadcast on Iraqi TV ticked to zero as the midnight deadline passed for U.S. combat troops to finish their pullback to bases outside cities.
"The withdrawal of American troops is completed now from all cities after everything they sacrificed for the sake of security," said Sadiq al-Rikabi, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. "We are now celebrating the restoration of sovereignty."
Fireworks, not bombings, colored the Baghdad skyline late Monday, and thousands attended a party in a park where singers performed patriotic songs. Loudspeakers at police stations and military checkpoints played recordings of similar tunes throughout the day, as Iraqi military vehicles decorated with flowers and national flags patrolled the capital.
"The withdrawal of American troops is completed now from all cities after everything they sacrificed for the sake of security," said Sadiq al-Rikabi, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. "We are now celebrating the restoration of sovereignty."
Fireworks, not bombings, colored the Baghdad skyline late Monday, and thousands attended a party in a park where singers performed patriotic songs. Loudspeakers at police stations and military checkpoints played recordings of similar tunes throughout the day, as Iraqi military vehicles decorated with flowers and national flags patrolled the capital.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Russia to close down casinos
One of the largest mass layoffs in recent Russian history is to occur on Wednesday, and the Kremlin itself is decreeing it, economic crisis or not.
The government is shutting down every last legal casino and slot-machine parlor across the land, under an antivice plan promoted by Vladimir V. Putin that just a few months ago was widely perceived as far-fetched. But the result will be hundreds of thousands of people thrown out of work.
The government is shutting down every last legal casino and slot-machine parlor across the land, under an antivice plan promoted by Vladimir V. Putin that just a few months ago was widely perceived as far-fetched. But the result will be hundreds of thousands of people thrown out of work.
Friday, July 10, 2009
World's 65 and older population to triple by 2050
The world's 65-and-older population will triple by mid-century to 1 in 6 people, leaving the U.S. and other nations struggling to support the elderly.
The number of senior citizens has already jumped 23 percent since 2000 to 516 million, according to census estimates released on Tuesday. That's more than double the growth rate for the general population.
The world's population has been graying for many years due to declining births and medical advances that have extended life spans. As the fastest-growing age group, seniors now comprise just under 8 percent of the world's 6.8 billion people. But demographers warn the biggest shift is yet to come. They cite a coming wave of retirements from baby boomers and China's Red Guard generation that will shrink pensions and add to rising health care costs.
Germany, Italy, Japan and Monaco have the most senior citizens, with 20 percent or more of their people 65 and older.
In the U.S., residents who are 65 and older currently make up 13 percent of the population, but that will double to 88.5 million by mid-century. In two years, the oldest of the baby boomers will start turning 65. The baby boomer bulge will continue padding the senior population year after year, growing to 1 in 5 U.S. residents by 2030.
The number of senior citizens has already jumped 23 percent since 2000 to 516 million, according to census estimates released on Tuesday. That's more than double the growth rate for the general population.
The world's population has been graying for many years due to declining births and medical advances that have extended life spans. As the fastest-growing age group, seniors now comprise just under 8 percent of the world's 6.8 billion people. But demographers warn the biggest shift is yet to come. They cite a coming wave of retirements from baby boomers and China's Red Guard generation that will shrink pensions and add to rising health care costs.
Germany, Italy, Japan and Monaco have the most senior citizens, with 20 percent or more of their people 65 and older.
In the U.S., residents who are 65 and older currently make up 13 percent of the population, but that will double to 88.5 million by mid-century. In two years, the oldest of the baby boomers will start turning 65. The baby boomer bulge will continue padding the senior population year after year, growing to 1 in 5 U.S. residents by 2030.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
1 Billion Hungry
ROME (AP) — The global financial meltdown has pushed the ranks of the world's hungry to a record 1 billion, a grim milestone that poses a threat to peace and security, U.N. food officials said Friday.
Because of war, drought, political instability, high food prices and poverty, hunger now affects one in six people, by the United Nations' estimate.
The financial meltdown has compounded the crisis in what the head of the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization called a "devastating combination for the world's most vulnerable."
Compared with last year, there are 100 million more people who are hungry, meaning they consume fewer than 1,800 calories a day, the agency said.
"No part of the world is immune," FAO's Director-General Jacques Diouf said. "All world regions have been affected by the rise of food insecurity."
Because of war, drought, political instability, high food prices and poverty, hunger now affects one in six people, by the United Nations' estimate.
The financial meltdown has compounded the crisis in what the head of the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization called a "devastating combination for the world's most vulnerable."
Compared with last year, there are 100 million more people who are hungry, meaning they consume fewer than 1,800 calories a day, the agency said.
"No part of the world is immune," FAO's Director-General Jacques Diouf said. "All world regions have been affected by the rise of food insecurity."
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
World without Nukes?
[7/7/09] MOSCOW — President Obama signed an agreement on Monday to cut American and Russian strategic nuclear arsenals by at least one-quarter, a first step in a broader effort intended to reduce the threat of such weapons drastically and to prevent their further spread to unstable regions.
Mr. Obama, on his first visit to Russia since taking office, and President Dmitri A. Medvedev agreed on the basic terms of a treaty to reduce the number of warheads and missiles to the lowest levels since the early years of the cold war.
Mr. Obama hailed the arms agreement as an example for the world as he pursued a broader agenda aimed at countering — and eventually eliminating — the spread of nuclear weapons, a goal he hopes to make a defining legacy of his presidency.
While the United States and Russia together have 95 percent of the world’s nuclear weapons, Mr. Obama also views Russia as an influential player in deterring nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea.
* * *
[posted 5/1/09] Just hours after North Korea launched a long-range rocket, President Barack Obama called for "a world without nuclear weapons" and said the United States has a “moral responsibility ” to lead the way, as the only nation ever to use them.
Obama’s speech was long planned as the centerpiece of his first presidential trip overseas, but it gained new urgency after North Korea sent a multi-part rocket soaring over the Sea of Japan early Sunday morning.
North Korea insisted the launch was meant to put a satellite into space but the U.S. and other nations believe Pyongyang is trying to develop the capability to launch a nuclear warhead.
The president, who was woken up just after 4:30 a.m. local time by news of the launch, spoke to the authoritarian state in remarks hastily added to his text.
“Now is the time for a strong international response, and North Korea must know that the path to security and respect will never come through threats and illegal weapons,” Obama said to thousands thronged into the cobblestone square outside the elegant Prague Castle, in what was the largest crowd of his five-country, eight-day swing.
“All nations must come together to build a stronger, global regime. And that's why we must stand shoulder to shoulder to pressure the North Koreans to change course.”
Even without what Obama called North Korea’s “provocation,” the speech was set against considerable symbolism.
The president directly addressed the Cold War history of this former Soviet bloc city, calling the remaining nuclear weapons “the most dangerous legacy” of that era.
He again pointed to history to say that America must lead. “As a nuclear power – as the only nuclear power to have used a nuclear weapon – the United States has a moral responsibility to act,” he said.
Obama proposed doing so by reducing America’s arsenal, if not altogether eliminating it; hosting a summit on nuclear security; seeking ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty; strengthening the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; and pursuing a new agreement aimed at stopping the production of fissile materials.
Also, he proposes gathering up all vulnerable nuclear material – or “loose nukes” – within four years. That’s an issue Obama also worked on in the Senate, with Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.).
* * *
In the depths of the cold war, in 1983, a senior at Columbia University wrote in a campus newsmagazine, Sundial, about the vision of “a nuclear free world.” He railed against discussions of “first- versus second-strike capabilities” that “suit the military-industrial interests” with their “billion-dollar erector sets,” and agitated for the elimination of global arsenals holding tens of thousands of deadly warheads.
The student was Barack Obama, and he was clearly trying to sort out his thoughts. In the conclusion, he denounced “the twisted logic of which we are a part today” and praised student efforts to realize “the possibility of a decent world.” But his article, “Breaking the War Mentality,” which only recently has been rediscovered, said little about how to achieve the utopian dream.
Twenty-six years later, the author, in his new job as president of the United States, has begun pushing for new global rules, treaties and alliances that he insists can establish a nuclear-free world.
“I’m not naïve,” President Obama told a cheering throng in Prague this spring. “This goal will not be reached quickly — perhaps not in my lifetime. It will take patience and persistence.”
Yet no previous American president has set out a step-by-step agenda for the eventual elimination of nuclear arms. Mr. Obama is starting relatively small, using a visit to Russia that starts Monday to advance an intense negotiation, with a treaty deadline of the year’s end, to reduce the arsenals of the nuclear superpowers to roughly 1,500 warheads each, from about 2,200. In an interview on Saturday, Mr. Obama, conscious of his critics, stressed that “I’ve made clear that we will retain our deterrent capacity as long as there is a country with nuclear weapons.”
Mr. Obama, on his first visit to Russia since taking office, and President Dmitri A. Medvedev agreed on the basic terms of a treaty to reduce the number of warheads and missiles to the lowest levels since the early years of the cold war.
Mr. Obama hailed the arms agreement as an example for the world as he pursued a broader agenda aimed at countering — and eventually eliminating — the spread of nuclear weapons, a goal he hopes to make a defining legacy of his presidency.
While the United States and Russia together have 95 percent of the world’s nuclear weapons, Mr. Obama also views Russia as an influential player in deterring nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea.
* * *
[posted 5/1/09] Just hours after North Korea launched a long-range rocket, President Barack Obama called for "a world without nuclear weapons" and said the United States has a “moral responsibility ” to lead the way, as the only nation ever to use them.
Obama’s speech was long planned as the centerpiece of his first presidential trip overseas, but it gained new urgency after North Korea sent a multi-part rocket soaring over the Sea of Japan early Sunday morning.
North Korea insisted the launch was meant to put a satellite into space but the U.S. and other nations believe Pyongyang is trying to develop the capability to launch a nuclear warhead.
The president, who was woken up just after 4:30 a.m. local time by news of the launch, spoke to the authoritarian state in remarks hastily added to his text.
“Now is the time for a strong international response, and North Korea must know that the path to security and respect will never come through threats and illegal weapons,” Obama said to thousands thronged into the cobblestone square outside the elegant Prague Castle, in what was the largest crowd of his five-country, eight-day swing.
“All nations must come together to build a stronger, global regime. And that's why we must stand shoulder to shoulder to pressure the North Koreans to change course.”
Even without what Obama called North Korea’s “provocation,” the speech was set against considerable symbolism.
The president directly addressed the Cold War history of this former Soviet bloc city, calling the remaining nuclear weapons “the most dangerous legacy” of that era.
He again pointed to history to say that America must lead. “As a nuclear power – as the only nuclear power to have used a nuclear weapon – the United States has a moral responsibility to act,” he said.
Obama proposed doing so by reducing America’s arsenal, if not altogether eliminating it; hosting a summit on nuclear security; seeking ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty; strengthening the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; and pursuing a new agreement aimed at stopping the production of fissile materials.
Also, he proposes gathering up all vulnerable nuclear material – or “loose nukes” – within four years. That’s an issue Obama also worked on in the Senate, with Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.).
* * *
In the depths of the cold war, in 1983, a senior at Columbia University wrote in a campus newsmagazine, Sundial, about the vision of “a nuclear free world.” He railed against discussions of “first- versus second-strike capabilities” that “suit the military-industrial interests” with their “billion-dollar erector sets,” and agitated for the elimination of global arsenals holding tens of thousands of deadly warheads.
The student was Barack Obama, and he was clearly trying to sort out his thoughts. In the conclusion, he denounced “the twisted logic of which we are a part today” and praised student efforts to realize “the possibility of a decent world.” But his article, “Breaking the War Mentality,” which only recently has been rediscovered, said little about how to achieve the utopian dream.
Twenty-six years later, the author, in his new job as president of the United States, has begun pushing for new global rules, treaties and alliances that he insists can establish a nuclear-free world.
“I’m not naïve,” President Obama told a cheering throng in Prague this spring. “This goal will not be reached quickly — perhaps not in my lifetime. It will take patience and persistence.”
Yet no previous American president has set out a step-by-step agenda for the eventual elimination of nuclear arms. Mr. Obama is starting relatively small, using a visit to Russia that starts Monday to advance an intense negotiation, with a treaty deadline of the year’s end, to reduce the arsenals of the nuclear superpowers to roughly 1,500 warheads each, from about 2,200. In an interview on Saturday, Mr. Obama, conscious of his critics, stressed that “I’ve made clear that we will retain our deterrent capacity as long as there is a country with nuclear weapons.”
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
110,600 Iraqis dead
Iraq's government has recorded 87,215 of its citizens killed since 2005 in violence ranging from catastrophic bombings to execution-style slayings, according to statistics obtained by The Associated Press that break open one of the most closely guarded secrets of the war.
Combined with tallies based on hospital sources and media reports since the beginning of the war and an in-depth review of available evidence by The Associated Press, the government figures show that more than 110,600 Iraqis have died in violence since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
The number is a minimum count of violent deaths. The official who provided the data to the AP, on condition of anonymity because of its sensitivity, estimated the actual number of deaths at 10 to 20 percent higher because of thousands who are still missing and civilians who were buried in the chaos of war without official records.
The numbers show just how traumatic the war has been for Iraq. In a nation of 29 million people, the deaths represent 0.38 percent of the population. Proportionally, that would be like the United States losing 1.2 million people to violence in the four-year period; about 17,000 people are murdered every year in the U.S.
While the Pentagon maintains meticulous records of the number of American troops killed — at least 4,276 as of Thursday — it does not publicly release comprehensive Iraqi casualty figures. American units around the country do compile figures, drawing them mostly from the Iraqi military. They are not released publicly but are used to determine trends, according to Lt. Col. Mark Ballesteros, a U.S. spokesman in Baghdad.
Combined with tallies based on hospital sources and media reports since the beginning of the war and an in-depth review of available evidence by The Associated Press, the government figures show that more than 110,600 Iraqis have died in violence since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
The number is a minimum count of violent deaths. The official who provided the data to the AP, on condition of anonymity because of its sensitivity, estimated the actual number of deaths at 10 to 20 percent higher because of thousands who are still missing and civilians who were buried in the chaos of war without official records.
The numbers show just how traumatic the war has been for Iraq. In a nation of 29 million people, the deaths represent 0.38 percent of the population. Proportionally, that would be like the United States losing 1.2 million people to violence in the four-year period; about 17,000 people are murdered every year in the U.S.
While the Pentagon maintains meticulous records of the number of American troops killed — at least 4,276 as of Thursday — it does not publicly release comprehensive Iraqi casualty figures. American units around the country do compile figures, drawing them mostly from the Iraqi military. They are not released publicly but are used to determine trends, according to Lt. Col. Mark Ballesteros, a U.S. spokesman in Baghdad.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Taliban and al-Qaida
Q: Could you explain in really simple terms the difference between the Taliban and al-Qaida?
A: The Taliban and al-Qaida are Islamic extremist groups joined in battle against the United States.
The Taliban, Arabic for religious students, ruled Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001, when they were ousted by an American-led invasion following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to a New York Times history. Their rule was characterized by strict adherence to fundamentalist Islamic law.
Al-Qaida, often spelled al-Qaeda, is a terrorist network first formed to drive the Soviet Union out of Afghanistan. It was created by Osama bin Laden, a Saudi Arabian native who orchestrated the Sept. 11 attacks.
During their reign over Afghanistan, the Taliban sheltered bin Laden’s al-Qaida. After the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush demanded that the Taliban give up bin Laden. When they refused, the United States launched a major air and ground campaign that drove the Taliban out of major Afghan cities. U.S. forces also battled al-Qaida in the Afghan mountains, killing and capturing some of its leaders, but not bin Laden.
With U.S. forces turning their main attention to Iraq, the Taliban regained strength in Afghanistan. President Obama has increased the number of American troops in Afghanistan to battle the Taliban.
A: The Taliban and al-Qaida are Islamic extremist groups joined in battle against the United States.
The Taliban, Arabic for religious students, ruled Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001, when they were ousted by an American-led invasion following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to a New York Times history. Their rule was characterized by strict adherence to fundamentalist Islamic law.
Al-Qaida, often spelled al-Qaeda, is a terrorist network first formed to drive the Soviet Union out of Afghanistan. It was created by Osama bin Laden, a Saudi Arabian native who orchestrated the Sept. 11 attacks.
During their reign over Afghanistan, the Taliban sheltered bin Laden’s al-Qaida. After the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush demanded that the Taliban give up bin Laden. When they refused, the United States launched a major air and ground campaign that drove the Taliban out of major Afghan cities. U.S. forces also battled al-Qaida in the Afghan mountains, killing and capturing some of its leaders, but not bin Laden.
With U.S. forces turning their main attention to Iraq, the Taliban regained strength in Afghanistan. President Obama has increased the number of American troops in Afghanistan to battle the Taliban.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Attacks on Reagonomics
the more one looks into the origins of the current disaster, the clearer it becomes that the key wrong turn — the turn that made crisis inevitable — took place in the early 1980s, during the Reagan years.
Attacks on Reaganomics usually focus on rising inequality and fiscal irresponsibility. Indeed, Reagan ushered in an era in which a small minority grew vastly rich, while working families saw only meager gains. He also broke with longstanding rules of fiscal prudence.
On the latter point: traditionally, the U.S. government ran significant budget deficits only in times of war or economic emergency. Federal debt as a percentage of G.D.P. fell steadily from the end of World War II until 1980. But indebtedness began rising under Reagan; it fell again in the Clinton years, but resumed its rise under the Bush administration, leaving us ill prepared for the emergency now upon us.
The increase in public debt was, however, dwarfed by the rise in private debt, made possible by financial deregulation. The change in America’s financial rules was Reagan’s biggest legacy. And it’s the gift that keeps on taking.
-- Paul Krugman
***
more from Krugman
The debate over the “public option” in health care has been dismaying in many ways. Perhaps the most depressing aspect for progressives, however, has been the extent to which opponents of greater choice in health care have gained traction — in Congress, if not with the broader public — simply by repeating, over and over again, that the public option would be, horrors, a government program.
Washington, it seems, is still ruled by Reaganism — by an ideology that says government intervention is always bad, and leaving the private sector to its own devices is always good.
Call me naïve, but I actually hoped that the failure of Reaganism in practice would kill it. It turns out, however, to be a zombie doctrine: even though it should be dead, it keeps on coming.
Let’s talk for a moment about why the age of Reagan should be over.
First of all, even before the current crisis Reaganomics had failed to deliver what it promised. Remember how lower taxes on high incomes and deregulation that unleashed the “magic of the marketplace” were supposed to lead to dramatically better outcomes for everyone? Well, it didn’t happen.
To be sure, the wealthy benefited enormously: the real incomes of the top .01 percent of Americans rose sevenfold between 1980 and 2007. But the real income of the median family rose only 22 percent, less than a third its growth over the previous 27 years.
And then there’s the small matter of the worst recession since the 1930s.
There’s a lot to be said about the financial disaster of the last two years, but the short version is simple: politicians in the thrall of Reaganite ideology dismantled the New Deal regulations that had prevented banking crises for half a century, believing that financial markets could take care of themselves. The effect was to make the financial system vulnerable to a 1930s-style crisis — and the crisis came.
“We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals,” said Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1937. “We know now that it is bad economics.” And last year we learned that lesson all over again.
Or did we? The astonishing thing about the current political scene is the extent to which nothing has changed.
Attacks on Reaganomics usually focus on rising inequality and fiscal irresponsibility. Indeed, Reagan ushered in an era in which a small minority grew vastly rich, while working families saw only meager gains. He also broke with longstanding rules of fiscal prudence.
On the latter point: traditionally, the U.S. government ran significant budget deficits only in times of war or economic emergency. Federal debt as a percentage of G.D.P. fell steadily from the end of World War II until 1980. But indebtedness began rising under Reagan; it fell again in the Clinton years, but resumed its rise under the Bush administration, leaving us ill prepared for the emergency now upon us.
The increase in public debt was, however, dwarfed by the rise in private debt, made possible by financial deregulation. The change in America’s financial rules was Reagan’s biggest legacy. And it’s the gift that keeps on taking.
-- Paul Krugman
***
more from Krugman
The debate over the “public option” in health care has been dismaying in many ways. Perhaps the most depressing aspect for progressives, however, has been the extent to which opponents of greater choice in health care have gained traction — in Congress, if not with the broader public — simply by repeating, over and over again, that the public option would be, horrors, a government program.
Washington, it seems, is still ruled by Reaganism — by an ideology that says government intervention is always bad, and leaving the private sector to its own devices is always good.
Call me naïve, but I actually hoped that the failure of Reaganism in practice would kill it. It turns out, however, to be a zombie doctrine: even though it should be dead, it keeps on coming.
Let’s talk for a moment about why the age of Reagan should be over.
First of all, even before the current crisis Reaganomics had failed to deliver what it promised. Remember how lower taxes on high incomes and deregulation that unleashed the “magic of the marketplace” were supposed to lead to dramatically better outcomes for everyone? Well, it didn’t happen.
To be sure, the wealthy benefited enormously: the real incomes of the top .01 percent of Americans rose sevenfold between 1980 and 2007. But the real income of the median family rose only 22 percent, less than a third its growth over the previous 27 years.
And then there’s the small matter of the worst recession since the 1930s.
There’s a lot to be said about the financial disaster of the last two years, but the short version is simple: politicians in the thrall of Reaganite ideology dismantled the New Deal regulations that had prevented banking crises for half a century, believing that financial markets could take care of themselves. The effect was to make the financial system vulnerable to a 1930s-style crisis — and the crisis came.
“We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals,” said Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1937. “We know now that it is bad economics.” And last year we learned that lesson all over again.
Or did we? The astonishing thing about the current political scene is the extent to which nothing has changed.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Michael Jackson
We've just learned Michael Jackson has died. He was 50.
Michael suffered a cardiac arrest earlier this afternoon at his Holmby Hills home and paramedics were unable to revive him. We're told when paramedics arrived Jackson had no pulse and they never got a pulse back.
A source tells us Jackson was dead when paramedics arrived. A cardiologist at UCLA tells TMZ Jackson died of cardiac arrest.
Once at the hospital, the staff tried to resuscitate him but he was completely unresponsive.
We're told one of the staff members at Jackson's home called 911.
La Toya ran in the hospital sobbing after Jackson was pronounced dead.
Michael is survived by three children: Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr., Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince "Blanket" Michael Jackson II.
* * *
When you think of Michael Jackson, the first thing that comes to mind might be his unique dancing ability — particularly his moonwalk dance, where he would spin then glide in reverse, giving an effortless impression that he was impervious to the laws of gravity. But those skills sometimes overshadowed his undeniable musical talents and innovations, which spanned several decades, beginning in the '70s and lasting into the new millennium.
It all began for MJ as a member of the Jackson 5, a sibling outfit comprised of him and his brothers.
* * *
[7/7/09] Michael Jackson memorial
Michael Jackson filled Aloha Stadium twice
* * *
[8/24/09] Coroner rules Jackson’s death a homicide
Michael suffered a cardiac arrest earlier this afternoon at his Holmby Hills home and paramedics were unable to revive him. We're told when paramedics arrived Jackson had no pulse and they never got a pulse back.
A source tells us Jackson was dead when paramedics arrived. A cardiologist at UCLA tells TMZ Jackson died of cardiac arrest.
Once at the hospital, the staff tried to resuscitate him but he was completely unresponsive.
We're told one of the staff members at Jackson's home called 911.
La Toya ran in the hospital sobbing after Jackson was pronounced dead.
Michael is survived by three children: Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr., Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince "Blanket" Michael Jackson II.
* * *
When you think of Michael Jackson, the first thing that comes to mind might be his unique dancing ability — particularly his moonwalk dance, where he would spin then glide in reverse, giving an effortless impression that he was impervious to the laws of gravity. But those skills sometimes overshadowed his undeniable musical talents and innovations, which spanned several decades, beginning in the '70s and lasting into the new millennium.
It all began for MJ as a member of the Jackson 5, a sibling outfit comprised of him and his brothers.
* * *
[7/7/09] Michael Jackson memorial
Michael Jackson filled Aloha Stadium twice
* * *
[8/24/09] Coroner rules Jackson’s death a homicide
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Bush and Clinton brothers?
Former President George W. Bush called former President Bill Clinton "his brother" and the two rarely disagreed in their first-ever appearance together on stage.
The Republican and Democratic ex-presidents defended each other at a Toronto forum on Friday, disappointing some in the crowd of 6,000 who expected a more heated debate.
Bush and Clinton did differ on Iraq. Clinton said U.N inspectors should have been given more time to conduct the search for weapons of mass destruction and Bush should have concentrated on Afghanistan. Bush disagreed.
"I don't buy the premise that our attention was diverted," Bush said.
Bush joked about how much time his father, former President George H.W. Bush, and Clinton spend together. He said his mother, Barbara Bush, "said President Clinton and Father share the stage so much, he's like a son to her."
He said, "So brother, it's good to see you."
The Republican and Democratic ex-presidents defended each other at a Toronto forum on Friday, disappointing some in the crowd of 6,000 who expected a more heated debate.
Bush and Clinton did differ on Iraq. Clinton said U.N inspectors should have been given more time to conduct the search for weapons of mass destruction and Bush should have concentrated on Afghanistan. Bush disagreed.
"I don't buy the premise that our attention was diverted," Bush said.
Bush joked about how much time his father, former President George H.W. Bush, and Clinton spend together. He said his mother, Barbara Bush, "said President Clinton and Father share the stage so much, he's like a son to her."
He said, "So brother, it's good to see you."
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Duke Bainum
City Councilman Duke Bainum was remembered yesterday as a political moderate who reached out to help those most in need.
Bainum was "always committed and always ready to do what was the best for the people in his district," said council chairman Todd Apo.
He seemed to be a perennial candidate who rarely fit the mold of a typical Hawai'i politician.
"He was a medical doctor and naturally liked healthcare, and anything related to people issues, having to deal with human and social issues," said Richard Port, former chairman of the Hawai'i Democratic Party.
His message resonated with immigrants while Bainum's personal appeal also attracted moderate-to-conservative voters.
"He did well with Filipinos, in particular," said John Hart, a Hawai'i Pacific University professor of communication who specializes in political communication and rhetoric. "But he also appealed to haole voters. I would characterize him as that middle-of-the road politician who appealed to many demographics."
Bainum appeared fine at work Tuesday and later played with his two young sons but experienced chest pains at night and was taken to the hospital, said Mallory Fujitani, a senior adviser.
Bainum had been driving along Wilder Avenue around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday when he experienced chest pains and pulled over and called 911, city spokesman Bill Brennan said.
Paramedics took him to The Queen's Medical Center, Brennan said. Bainum died around 11 p.m. of complications from an aortic aneurysm, said Honolulu medical examiner Dr. Kanthi De Alwis.
There were no warning signs other than chest pain, said Mallory Fujitani, Bainum's senior adviser.
Bainum was "always committed and always ready to do what was the best for the people in his district," said council chairman Todd Apo.
He seemed to be a perennial candidate who rarely fit the mold of a typical Hawai'i politician.
"He was a medical doctor and naturally liked healthcare, and anything related to people issues, having to deal with human and social issues," said Richard Port, former chairman of the Hawai'i Democratic Party.
His message resonated with immigrants while Bainum's personal appeal also attracted moderate-to-conservative voters.
"He did well with Filipinos, in particular," said John Hart, a Hawai'i Pacific University professor of communication who specializes in political communication and rhetoric. "But he also appealed to haole voters. I would characterize him as that middle-of-the road politician who appealed to many demographics."
Bainum appeared fine at work Tuesday and later played with his two young sons but experienced chest pains at night and was taken to the hospital, said Mallory Fujitani, a senior adviser.
Bainum had been driving along Wilder Avenue around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday when he experienced chest pains and pulled over and called 911, city spokesman Bill Brennan said.
Paramedics took him to The Queen's Medical Center, Brennan said. Bainum died around 11 p.m. of complications from an aortic aneurysm, said Honolulu medical examiner Dr. Kanthi De Alwis.
There were no warning signs other than chest pain, said Mallory Fujitani, Bainum's senior adviser.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
What Olbermann would pay
The debate over torture is getting personal for two of cable TV's prime-time hosts. After Fox News Channel's Sean Hannity made a seemingly impromptu offer last week to undergo waterboarding as a benefit for charity, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann leapt at it. He offered $1,000 to the families of U.S. troops for every second Hannity withstood the technique.
Olbermann repeated the offer on Monday's show and said in an interview Tuesday that he's heard no response. He said he'll continue to pursue it.
* * *
[5/28/09] NEW YORK (AP) — Keith Olbermann's offer for a donation if Sean Hannity undergoes waterboarding is off the table, the money gone instead to radio host Erich "Mancow" Muller's charity of choice after Mancow's disquieting experience with the interrogation technique.
Muller said Wednesday he volunteered to be waterboarded last week to prove that the controversial technique isn't torture. Instead, he said the experience showed he was wrong.
"I thought I was going to die," he said.
Waterboarding has been a hot topic on talk TV and radio the last several weeks. The liberal Olbermann of MSNBC contends it's torture; the conservative Hannity of Fox News Channel says it's not. Olbermann leaped on it when Hannity said on the air last month that he'd be waterboarded for charity.
Muller did it in his Chicago studio last Friday. He said it was worse than drowning, something he nearly experienced as a boy before being rescued. Muller went on Olbermann's MSNBC show Tuesday to talk about his experience, after Olbermann pledged $10,000 to Veterans of Valor, an organization formed by Iraq War veteran Klay South to help injured veterans.
"I was laughing about this, that it was a stupid radio thing," Muller told Olbermann. "I thought I could go 30 seconds. I'll hold my breath. Big deal, they'll sprinkle water. It is a big deal. It's torture."
* * *
[5/29/09] Erich "Mancow" Muller, responding to a report he faked being waterboarded on Chicago's WLS-AM 890 a week earlier, said Friday that both his experience and subsequent newfound belief that the controversial interrogation technique is torture were "absolutely real."
Before Muller went on MSNBC's "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" for the second time this week on Friday night to discuss the latest developments (above), Muller readily acknowledged in an interview with the Chicago Tribune that the waterboarding stunt was not and never meant to be an exact re-creation of how the technique is administered to detainees at Guantanamo Bay.
Olbermann repeated the offer on Monday's show and said in an interview Tuesday that he's heard no response. He said he'll continue to pursue it.
* * *
[5/28/09] NEW YORK (AP) — Keith Olbermann's offer for a donation if Sean Hannity undergoes waterboarding is off the table, the money gone instead to radio host Erich "Mancow" Muller's charity of choice after Mancow's disquieting experience with the interrogation technique.
Muller said Wednesday he volunteered to be waterboarded last week to prove that the controversial technique isn't torture. Instead, he said the experience showed he was wrong.
"I thought I was going to die," he said.
Waterboarding has been a hot topic on talk TV and radio the last several weeks. The liberal Olbermann of MSNBC contends it's torture; the conservative Hannity of Fox News Channel says it's not. Olbermann leaped on it when Hannity said on the air last month that he'd be waterboarded for charity.
Muller did it in his Chicago studio last Friday. He said it was worse than drowning, something he nearly experienced as a boy before being rescued. Muller went on Olbermann's MSNBC show Tuesday to talk about his experience, after Olbermann pledged $10,000 to Veterans of Valor, an organization formed by Iraq War veteran Klay South to help injured veterans.
"I was laughing about this, that it was a stupid radio thing," Muller told Olbermann. "I thought I could go 30 seconds. I'll hold my breath. Big deal, they'll sprinkle water. It is a big deal. It's torture."
* * *
[5/29/09] Erich "Mancow" Muller, responding to a report he faked being waterboarded on Chicago's WLS-AM 890 a week earlier, said Friday that both his experience and subsequent newfound belief that the controversial interrogation technique is torture were "absolutely real."
Before Muller went on MSNBC's "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" for the second time this week on Friday night to discuss the latest developments (above), Muller readily acknowledged in an interview with the Chicago Tribune that the waterboarding stunt was not and never meant to be an exact re-creation of how the technique is administered to detainees at Guantanamo Bay.
swine flu alert
The Geneva-based World Health Organization today raised its alert level for the fast-spreading swine flu to its next-to-highest notch, signaling a global pandemic could be imminent.
The move came after the virus spread to at least 11 U.S. states from coast to coast and swept deeper into Europe.
"It really is all of humanity that is under threat during a pandemic," said WHO Director General Margaret Chan. "We do not have all the answers right now but we will get them."
Raising the alert level to 5, the second jump in three days, means a pandemic, or a global outbreak of a new virus, is imminent. It would be the first global pandemic in 41 years.
[4/30/09] Swine flu shuts down Mexico
The move came after the virus spread to at least 11 U.S. states from coast to coast and swept deeper into Europe.
"It really is all of humanity that is under threat during a pandemic," said WHO Director General Margaret Chan. "We do not have all the answers right now but we will get them."
Raising the alert level to 5, the second jump in three days, means a pandemic, or a global outbreak of a new virus, is imminent. It would be the first global pandemic in 41 years.
[4/30/09] Swine flu shuts down Mexico
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Oahu Cell Phone Ban
[4/23/09] Members of the City Council who were around in 2002, the last time an attempt was made to ban cell-phone use while driving, recall a vastly different atmosphere.
"The lobbyists from the phone companies descended on us and lots of folks came in to voice their disapproval," Councilman Duke Bainum recalled yesterday. "It didn't even get out of committee."
But now, he added, "Many accidents and, unfortunately, lives later, we're at a point where the environment is completely different."
That was evident yesterday as the Council gave final approval to Bill 4, a measure to ban talking on a cell phone while driving unless a hands-free device is used.
[5/7/09] Starting July 1, Honolulu motorists will not be allowed to use hand-held cell phones and other electronic devices while driving, under a bill signed by Mayor Mufi Hannemann today.
[6/26/09, posted 7/7] New rules of the road
[6/29/09] It's about time for such a requirement, inadequate as it might be. More than 40 countries have such a law, along with four states and numerous municipalities. Twelve years have passed since a study published by the New England Journal of Medicine found that the risk of an accident while the driver is on a cell phone quadruples, about the same risk as driving drunk.
Not that a Bluetooth headset is any safer. Nearly eight years have passed since researchers at the University of Utah completed a study finding that hands-free phones are as distracting for motorists as hand-held cell phones.
[7/19/00] Extensive research shows the dangers of distracted driving. Studies say that drivers using phones are four times as likely to cause a crash as other drivers, and the likelihood that they will crash is equal to that of someone with a .08 percent blood alcohol level, the point at which drivers are generally considered intoxicated. Research also shows that hands-free devices do not eliminate the risks, and may worsen them by suggesting that the behavior is safe.
A 2003 Harvard study estimated that cellphone distractions caused 2,600 traffic deaths every year, and 330,000 accidents that result in moderate or severe injuries.
Yet Americans have largely ignored that research. Instead, they increasingly use phones, navigation devices and even laptops to turn their cars into mobile offices, chat rooms and entertainment centers, making roads more dangerous.
[7/22/09] In 2003, researchers at a federal agency proposed a long-term study of 10,000 drivers to assess the safety risk posed by cellphone use behind the wheel.
They sought the study based on evidence that such multitasking was a serious and growing threat on America’s roadways.
But such an ambitious study never happened. And the researchers’ agency, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, decided not to make public hundreds of pages of research and warnings about the use of phones by drivers — in part, officials say, because of concerns about angering Congress.
On Tuesday, the full body of research is being made public for the first time by two consumer advocacy groups, which filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit for the documents. The Center for Auto Safety and Public Citizen provided a copy to The New York Times, which is publishing the documents on its Web site.
In interviews, the officials who withheld the research offered their fullest explanation to date.
The former head of the highway safety agency said he was urged to withhold the research to avoid antagonizing members of Congress who had warned the agency to stick to its mission of gathering safety data but not to lobby states.
Critics say that rationale and the failure of the Transportation Department, which oversees the highway agency, to more vigorously pursue distracted driving has cost lives and allowed to blossom a culture of behind-the-wheel multitasking.
“We’re looking at a problem that could be as bad as drunk driving, and the government has covered it up,” said Clarence Ditlow, director of the Center for Auto Safety.
The group petitioned for the information after The Los Angeles Times wrote about the research last year. Mother Jones later published additional details.
The highway safety researchers estimated that cellphone use by drivers caused around 955 fatalities and 240,000 accidents over all in 2002.
The researchers also shelved a draft letter they had prepared for Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta to send, warning states that hands-free laws might not solve the problem.
That letter said that hands-free headsets did not eliminate the serious accident risk. The reason: a cellphone conversation itself, not just holding the phone, takes drivers’ focus off the road, studies showed.
The research mirrors other studies about the dangers of multitasking behind the wheel. Research shows that motorists talking on a phone are four times as likely to crash as other drivers, and are as likely to cause an accident as someone with a .08 blood alcohol content.
"The lobbyists from the phone companies descended on us and lots of folks came in to voice their disapproval," Councilman Duke Bainum recalled yesterday. "It didn't even get out of committee."
But now, he added, "Many accidents and, unfortunately, lives later, we're at a point where the environment is completely different."
That was evident yesterday as the Council gave final approval to Bill 4, a measure to ban talking on a cell phone while driving unless a hands-free device is used.
[5/7/09] Starting July 1, Honolulu motorists will not be allowed to use hand-held cell phones and other electronic devices while driving, under a bill signed by Mayor Mufi Hannemann today.
[6/26/09, posted 7/7] New rules of the road
[6/29/09] It's about time for such a requirement, inadequate as it might be. More than 40 countries have such a law, along with four states and numerous municipalities. Twelve years have passed since a study published by the New England Journal of Medicine found that the risk of an accident while the driver is on a cell phone quadruples, about the same risk as driving drunk.
Not that a Bluetooth headset is any safer. Nearly eight years have passed since researchers at the University of Utah completed a study finding that hands-free phones are as distracting for motorists as hand-held cell phones.
[7/19/00] Extensive research shows the dangers of distracted driving. Studies say that drivers using phones are four times as likely to cause a crash as other drivers, and the likelihood that they will crash is equal to that of someone with a .08 percent blood alcohol level, the point at which drivers are generally considered intoxicated. Research also shows that hands-free devices do not eliminate the risks, and may worsen them by suggesting that the behavior is safe.
A 2003 Harvard study estimated that cellphone distractions caused 2,600 traffic deaths every year, and 330,000 accidents that result in moderate or severe injuries.
Yet Americans have largely ignored that research. Instead, they increasingly use phones, navigation devices and even laptops to turn their cars into mobile offices, chat rooms and entertainment centers, making roads more dangerous.
[7/22/09] In 2003, researchers at a federal agency proposed a long-term study of 10,000 drivers to assess the safety risk posed by cellphone use behind the wheel.
They sought the study based on evidence that such multitasking was a serious and growing threat on America’s roadways.
But such an ambitious study never happened. And the researchers’ agency, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, decided not to make public hundreds of pages of research and warnings about the use of phones by drivers — in part, officials say, because of concerns about angering Congress.
On Tuesday, the full body of research is being made public for the first time by two consumer advocacy groups, which filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit for the documents. The Center for Auto Safety and Public Citizen provided a copy to The New York Times, which is publishing the documents on its Web site.
In interviews, the officials who withheld the research offered their fullest explanation to date.
The former head of the highway safety agency said he was urged to withhold the research to avoid antagonizing members of Congress who had warned the agency to stick to its mission of gathering safety data but not to lobby states.
Critics say that rationale and the failure of the Transportation Department, which oversees the highway agency, to more vigorously pursue distracted driving has cost lives and allowed to blossom a culture of behind-the-wheel multitasking.
“We’re looking at a problem that could be as bad as drunk driving, and the government has covered it up,” said Clarence Ditlow, director of the Center for Auto Safety.
The group petitioned for the information after The Los Angeles Times wrote about the research last year. Mother Jones later published additional details.
The highway safety researchers estimated that cellphone use by drivers caused around 955 fatalities and 240,000 accidents over all in 2002.
The researchers also shelved a draft letter they had prepared for Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta to send, warning states that hands-free laws might not solve the problem.
That letter said that hands-free headsets did not eliminate the serious accident risk. The reason: a cellphone conversation itself, not just holding the phone, takes drivers’ focus off the road, studies showed.
The research mirrors other studies about the dangers of multitasking behind the wheel. Research shows that motorists talking on a phone are four times as likely to crash as other drivers, and are as likely to cause an accident as someone with a .08 blood alcohol content.
Thursday, April 09, 2009
the last afternoon Star Bulletin
After more than 150 years, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin printed its final afternoon newspaper on Thursday.
The paper never missed an afternoon print in all of its years despite power outages, hurricanes and earthquakes.
Starting on Monday, the paper will convert from a standard "broadsheet" newspaper to a tabloid size, similar to the size of MidWeek.
The job cuts and suspension of the afternoon edition mirrors the newspaper troubles happening around the country. Many big-name newspapers such as the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Rocky Mountain News, Chicago Tribune and Philadelphia Inquirer are in bankruptcy, closed or transformed to an online entity.
* * *
Funny, I don't see the story on this at starbulletin.com, though it's on the front page of the printed edition.
* * *
[4/13/09] The new Star Bulletin
The paper never missed an afternoon print in all of its years despite power outages, hurricanes and earthquakes.
Starting on Monday, the paper will convert from a standard "broadsheet" newspaper to a tabloid size, similar to the size of MidWeek.
The job cuts and suspension of the afternoon edition mirrors the newspaper troubles happening around the country. Many big-name newspapers such as the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Rocky Mountain News, Chicago Tribune and Philadelphia Inquirer are in bankruptcy, closed or transformed to an online entity.
* * *
Funny, I don't see the story on this at starbulletin.com, though it's on the front page of the printed edition.
* * *
[4/13/09] The new Star Bulletin
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Obama “Gun Salesman of the Year”
In recognition of the unprecedented demand for firearms by nervous consumers, The Outdoor Wire, the nation’s largest daily electronic news service for the outdoor industry, has named President-elect Barack Obama its “Gun Salesman of the Year”. With the selection, Outdoor Wire publisher Jim Shepherd says it is time the firearms industry recognizes the fact that without President-elect Obama’s frightening consumers into action, the firearms industry might be suffering the same sort of business slumps that have befallen the automotive and housing industries.
“It’s credit where credit is due,” says Shepherd, “Mr. Obama has consistently voted against individual rights to firearms, appointed a re-tread Clinton administration full of gun banners, and made it plain to anti-gun groups that despite what he might say to the contrary, he’s on their side.” That history, along with the unquestioned support of anti-gun organizations, Shepherd says, has spooked consumers into a buying frenzy for firearms that could be outlawed in another Assault Weapons Ban.
[vis wstr75]
“It’s credit where credit is due,” says Shepherd, “Mr. Obama has consistently voted against individual rights to firearms, appointed a re-tread Clinton administration full of gun banners, and made it plain to anti-gun groups that despite what he might say to the contrary, he’s on their side.” That history, along with the unquestioned support of anti-gun organizations, Shepherd says, has spooked consumers into a buying frenzy for firearms that could be outlawed in another Assault Weapons Ban.
[vis wstr75]
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
court shuts down Superferry
Hawaii Superferry will cease operations and its future in the Islands is in doubt after the state Supreme Court ruled that a state law that saved the project two years ago is unconstitutional.
Hours after the ruling yesterday, Superferry contacted passengers who have booked travel between O'ahu and Maui to notify them of the situation. The Alakai will make one additional roundtrip between the two Islands on Thursday to return passengers and vehicles.
The court ruled that the law that allowed Superferry to operate during an environmental review is improper because it is a special law created just for Superferry.
Hours after the ruling yesterday, Superferry contacted passengers who have booked travel between O'ahu and Maui to notify them of the situation. The Alakai will make one additional roundtrip between the two Islands on Thursday to return passengers and vehicles.
The court ruled that the law that allowed Superferry to operate during an environmental review is improper because it is a special law created just for Superferry.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Italy's no. 1 business
Revenue raked in by Italy’s mob surged 40 percent last year, turning crime into the nation’s No. 1 business, Eurispes said in its annual report.
Income increased to 130 billion euros ($167 billion), up from about 90 billion euros in 2007, according to figures supplied by Eurispes and SOS Impresa, an association of businessmen to protest against extortion. Drug trafficking remains the primary source of revenue, bringing in about 59 billion euros, and the mob earned 5.8 billion euros from selling arms, the Rome-based Eurispes research group said today.
“During a crisis, people lower their guard,” Roberto Saviano, who wrote the bestseller “Gomorrah” about the Camorra crime bosses, said in an interview. “Studies show the criminal market never suffers during a crisis. I’m convinced that this crisis is bringing huge advantages to criminal syndicates.”
“With people more desperate, loan sharks thrive,” Amedeo Vitagliano, an Italian crime expert at Eurispses, said in a telephone interview. “While the country is on its knees, the mob rejoices.”
Income increased to 130 billion euros ($167 billion), up from about 90 billion euros in 2007, according to figures supplied by Eurispes and SOS Impresa, an association of businessmen to protest against extortion. Drug trafficking remains the primary source of revenue, bringing in about 59 billion euros, and the mob earned 5.8 billion euros from selling arms, the Rome-based Eurispes research group said today.
“During a crisis, people lower their guard,” Roberto Saviano, who wrote the bestseller “Gomorrah” about the Camorra crime bosses, said in an interview. “Studies show the criminal market never suffers during a crisis. I’m convinced that this crisis is bringing huge advantages to criminal syndicates.”
“With people more desperate, loan sharks thrive,” Amedeo Vitagliano, an Italian crime expert at Eurispses, said in a telephone interview. “While the country is on its knees, the mob rejoices.”
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
U.S. troops to pull out of Iraq by 8/10
President Barack Obama is expected to order all U.S. combat troops to leave Iraq by August of next year, administration officials said, closing the door on a war that has led to the deaths of at least 4,250 members of the U.S. military.
The pullout recommended by Obama's security advisers would free up troops and resources for the war in Afghanistan, where Obama has said the threat to national security is acute. The Iraq withdrawal would be completed 18 months from now.
"We are now carefully reviewing our policies in both wars, and I will soon announce a way forward in Iraq that leaves Iraq to its people and responsibly ends this war," Obama said in his address to Congress on Tuesday.
The pullout recommended by Obama's security advisers would free up troops and resources for the war in Afghanistan, where Obama has said the threat to national security is acute. The Iraq withdrawal would be completed 18 months from now.
"We are now carefully reviewing our policies in both wars, and I will soon announce a way forward in Iraq that leaves Iraq to its people and responsibly ends this war," Obama said in his address to Congress on Tuesday.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
This is Stimulus?
The Wall Street Journal takes a look at Obama's stimulus plan.
The 647-page, $825 billion House legislation is being sold as an economic "stimulus," but now that Democrats have finally released the details we understand Rahm's point much better. This is a political wonder that manages to spend money on just about every pent-up Democratic proposal of the last 40 years.
We've looked it over, and even we can't quite believe it. There's $1 billion for Amtrak, the federal railroad that hasn't turned a profit in 40 years; $2 billion for child-care subsidies; $50 million for that great engine of job creation, the National Endowment for the Arts; $400 million for global-warming research and another $2.4 billion for carbon-capture demonstration projects. There's even $650 million on top of the billions already doled out to pay for digital TV conversion coupons.
In selling the plan, President Obama has said this bill will make "dramatic investments to revive our flagging economy." Well, you be the judge. Some $30 billion, or less than 5% of the spending in the bill, is for fixing bridges or other highway projects. There's another $40 billion for broadband and electric grid development, airports and clean water projects that are arguably worthwhile priorities.
Add the roughly $20 billion for business tax cuts, and by our estimate only $90 billion out of $825 billion, or about 12 cents of every $1, is for something that can plausibly be considered a growth stimulus. And even many of these projects aren't likely to help the economy immediately. As Peter Orszag, the President's new budget director, told Congress a year ago, "even those [public works] that are 'on the shelf' generally cannot be undertaken quickly enough to provide timely stimulus to the economy."
[via valuhunt3r]
The 647-page, $825 billion House legislation is being sold as an economic "stimulus," but now that Democrats have finally released the details we understand Rahm's point much better. This is a political wonder that manages to spend money on just about every pent-up Democratic proposal of the last 40 years.
We've looked it over, and even we can't quite believe it. There's $1 billion for Amtrak, the federal railroad that hasn't turned a profit in 40 years; $2 billion for child-care subsidies; $50 million for that great engine of job creation, the National Endowment for the Arts; $400 million for global-warming research and another $2.4 billion for carbon-capture demonstration projects. There's even $650 million on top of the billions already doled out to pay for digital TV conversion coupons.
In selling the plan, President Obama has said this bill will make "dramatic investments to revive our flagging economy." Well, you be the judge. Some $30 billion, or less than 5% of the spending in the bill, is for fixing bridges or other highway projects. There's another $40 billion for broadband and electric grid development, airports and clean water projects that are arguably worthwhile priorities.
Add the roughly $20 billion for business tax cuts, and by our estimate only $90 billion out of $825 billion, or about 12 cents of every $1, is for something that can plausibly be considered a growth stimulus. And even many of these projects aren't likely to help the economy immediately. As Peter Orszag, the President's new budget director, told Congress a year ago, "even those [public works] that are 'on the shelf' generally cannot be undertaken quickly enough to provide timely stimulus to the economy."
[via valuhunt3r]
Thursday, January 22, 2009
The Inheritance
An interesting interview on Charlie Rose with New York Times correspondent David Sanger author of The Inheritance on the problems that Obama will take over from Bush.
[2/18/09 -- see also Obama's Challenge]
[2/18/09 -- see also Obama's Challenge]
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
stimulus too slow?
It will take years before an infrastructure spending program proposed by President-elect Barack Obama will boost the economy, according to congressional economists.
The findings, released to lawmakers Sunday, call into question the effectiveness of congressional Democrats' efforts to pump up the economy through old-fashioned public works projects like roads, bridges and repairs of public housing.
Less than half of the $30 billion in highway construction funds detailed by House Democrats would be released into the economy over the next four years, concludes the analysis by the Congressional Budget Office. Less than $4 billion in highway construction money would reach the economy by September 2010.
The economy has been in recession for more than a year, but many economists believe a recovery may begin by the end of 2009. That would mean that most of the infrastructure money wouldn't hit the economy until it's already on the mend.
The findings, released to lawmakers Sunday, call into question the effectiveness of congressional Democrats' efforts to pump up the economy through old-fashioned public works projects like roads, bridges and repairs of public housing.
Less than half of the $30 billion in highway construction funds detailed by House Democrats would be released into the economy over the next four years, concludes the analysis by the Congressional Budget Office. Less than $4 billion in highway construction money would reach the economy by September 2010.
The economy has been in recession for more than a year, but many economists believe a recovery may begin by the end of 2009. That would mean that most of the infrastructure money wouldn't hit the economy until it's already on the mend.
Obama inaugurated at 44th President
Barack Obama delivered a sobering assessment of where America stands and a hopeful vision of what it can become during his inaugural address as the nation's 44th president.
"Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time," Obama told those gathered on the National Mall -- a crowd estimated at about 2 million -- and millions more watching on television and the Internet.
"But know this, America -- they will be met," he said.
"Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time," Obama told those gathered on the National Mall -- a crowd estimated at about 2 million -- and millions more watching on television and the Internet.
"But know this, America -- they will be met," he said.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
I Can See Russia From My House
Sarah Palin lost the election, but she's a winner to a connoisseur of quotations. The Republican US vice presidential candidate and her comedic doppelganger, Tina Fey, took the top two spots in this year's list of most memorable quotes compiled by Fred R Shapiro.
First place was "I can see Russia from my house!" spoken in satire of Palin's foreign policy credentials by Fey on Saturday Night Live.
Palin actual quote was: "They're our next-door neighbours and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska."
Palin also made the third annual list for her inability to name newspapers she reads. When questioned by CBS anchor Katie Couric, Palin said she reads "all of them, any of them that have been in front of me over all these years".
First place was "I can see Russia from my house!" spoken in satire of Palin's foreign policy credentials by Fey on Saturday Night Live.
Palin actual quote was: "They're our next-door neighbours and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska."
Palin also made the third annual list for her inability to name newspapers she reads. When questioned by CBS anchor Katie Couric, Palin said she reads "all of them, any of them that have been in front of me over all these years".
Monday, January 12, 2009
The final news conference of George W. Bush
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a nostalgic final news conference, President George W. Bush defended his record vigorously and at times sentimentally Monday. He also admitted many mistakes, from the "Mission Accomplished" banner during a 2003 Iraq speech to the discovery that the alleged Iraqi weapons of mass destruction that he used to justify war didn't exist.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
lunch with the presidents
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Barack Obama hailed a rare Oval Office gathering of all U.S. presidents as an extraordinary event on Wednesday as the current occupant, President George W. Bush, reminded his predecessors and successor that the office "transcends the individual."
"I just want to thank the president for hosting us," the president-elect said, flanked by former President George H.W. Bush on one side and his son on the other.
Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, both smiling broadly, stood with them.
"All the gentlemen here understand both the pressures and possibilities of this office," Obama said. "For me to have the opportunity to get advice, good counsel and fellowship with these individuals is extraordinary."
In a swift photo opportunity, the current president wished Obama well before all five men headed to a private lunch.
"I want to thank the president-elect for joining the ex-presidents for lunch," Bush said, even though he's not quite a member of that club yet.
"One message that I have and I think we all share is that we want you to succeed. Whether we're Democrat or Republican we care deeply about this country," Bush said. "All of us who have served in this office understand that the office itself transcends the individual."
He added: "We wish you all the very best, and so does the country."
Bush and Obama also met privately for roughly 30 minutes. That one-on-one meeting, coming just 13 days before Obama's inauguration, likely focused on grim current events, with war in the Gaza Strip and the economy in a recession.
"I just want to thank the president for hosting us," the president-elect said, flanked by former President George H.W. Bush on one side and his son on the other.
Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, both smiling broadly, stood with them.
"All the gentlemen here understand both the pressures and possibilities of this office," Obama said. "For me to have the opportunity to get advice, good counsel and fellowship with these individuals is extraordinary."
In a swift photo opportunity, the current president wished Obama well before all five men headed to a private lunch.
"I want to thank the president-elect for joining the ex-presidents for lunch," Bush said, even though he's not quite a member of that club yet.
"One message that I have and I think we all share is that we want you to succeed. Whether we're Democrat or Republican we care deeply about this country," Bush said. "All of us who have served in this office understand that the office itself transcends the individual."
He added: "We wish you all the very best, and so does the country."
Bush and Obama also met privately for roughly 30 minutes. That one-on-one meeting, coming just 13 days before Obama's inauguration, likely focused on grim current events, with war in the Gaza Strip and the economy in a recession.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Afghanistan signs cluster bomb treaty
In a last-minute change, President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan agreed on Wednesday to join some 90 other nations signing a treaty banning the use of the cluster munitions that have devastated his country in recent years.
The decision appeared to reflect Mr. Karzai’s growing independence from the Bush administration, which has opposed the treaty and, according to a senior Afghan official who spoke on the condition of anonymity following diplomatic protocol, had urged Mr. Karzai not to sign it.
“Until this morning, Afghanistan was not going to be a signatory,” said Jawed Ludin, Afghanistan’s ambassador to the Scandinavian countries and the leader of its delegation here. He said the president’s change of heart came as a result of pressure by human rights organizations and cluster-bomb victims, including Soraj Ghulam Habib, a 17-year-old from the city of Herat who lost both legs when he accidentally stepped on an explosive cluster remnant seven years ago.
Mr. Ludin’s announcement was greeted by raucous cheers in Oslo’s City Hall, where the signing ceremony began Wednesday after two years of diplomatic work by Norway. By the end of the day, more than 90 nations — including 18 of 26 NATO members — had signed the treaty, called the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bars adherents from using, producing, selling or stockpiling cluster munitions.
Norway’s foreign minister, Jonas Gahr Stoere, said he expected several more nations to sign on Thursday. Among them, however, will not be the United States, Russia, China, India, Pakistan or several Middle Eastern nations. But Mr. Gahr Stoere said universal compliance was not necessary for the cluster-bomb treaty to work.
In recent months, Mr. Karzai has sharpened his public criticisms of the American mission in Afghanistan. He has spoken out against aerial bombings and other operations by the American-led forces in the country that have caused civilian casualties, offended cultural sensitivities and undermined popular support for the war that routed the Taliban in late 2001.
While several Afghan officials interviewed Wednesday said that the United States did not publicly press the Afghans to reject the treaty, an official in the Karzai administration said that throughout the process that led to the treaty, the Americans made it clear “that they would prefer that Afghanistan stay out of it.”
The United States has not used any cluster bombs since 2003, said Marc Garlasco, a senior military analyst for Human Right Watch, who was at the event in Oslo. A NATO policy banning the use of cluster munitions in Afghanistan has been in place since 2007.
American officials said the United States would continue pursuing measured restrictions on the use of cluster bombs by trying to amend the 1980 United Nations convention on conventional weapons. The members of that treaty include Russia, China and most of the others that have refused to sign the Oslo treaty.
The decision appeared to reflect Mr. Karzai’s growing independence from the Bush administration, which has opposed the treaty and, according to a senior Afghan official who spoke on the condition of anonymity following diplomatic protocol, had urged Mr. Karzai not to sign it.
“Until this morning, Afghanistan was not going to be a signatory,” said Jawed Ludin, Afghanistan’s ambassador to the Scandinavian countries and the leader of its delegation here. He said the president’s change of heart came as a result of pressure by human rights organizations and cluster-bomb victims, including Soraj Ghulam Habib, a 17-year-old from the city of Herat who lost both legs when he accidentally stepped on an explosive cluster remnant seven years ago.
Mr. Ludin’s announcement was greeted by raucous cheers in Oslo’s City Hall, where the signing ceremony began Wednesday after two years of diplomatic work by Norway. By the end of the day, more than 90 nations — including 18 of 26 NATO members — had signed the treaty, called the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bars adherents from using, producing, selling or stockpiling cluster munitions.
Norway’s foreign minister, Jonas Gahr Stoere, said he expected several more nations to sign on Thursday. Among them, however, will not be the United States, Russia, China, India, Pakistan or several Middle Eastern nations. But Mr. Gahr Stoere said universal compliance was not necessary for the cluster-bomb treaty to work.
In recent months, Mr. Karzai has sharpened his public criticisms of the American mission in Afghanistan. He has spoken out against aerial bombings and other operations by the American-led forces in the country that have caused civilian casualties, offended cultural sensitivities and undermined popular support for the war that routed the Taliban in late 2001.
While several Afghan officials interviewed Wednesday said that the United States did not publicly press the Afghans to reject the treaty, an official in the Karzai administration said that throughout the process that led to the treaty, the Americans made it clear “that they would prefer that Afghanistan stay out of it.”
The United States has not used any cluster bombs since 2003, said Marc Garlasco, a senior military analyst for Human Right Watch, who was at the event in Oslo. A NATO policy banning the use of cluster munitions in Afghanistan has been in place since 2007.
American officials said the United States would continue pursuing measured restrictions on the use of cluster bombs by trying to amend the 1980 United Nations convention on conventional weapons. The members of that treaty include Russia, China and most of the others that have refused to sign the Oslo treaty.
Monday, January 05, 2009
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
attacks in Mumbai
MUMBAI, India - Teams of gunmen stormed luxury hotels, a popular restaurant, a crowded train station and a Jewish center, killing at least 101 people and holding Westerners hostage in coordinated attacks on India's commercial center that were blamed on Muslim militants. Dozens of people were still trapped or held captive Thursday.
Police and gunmen were exchanging occasional gunfire at two luxury hotels and dozens of people were believed held hostage or trapped inside the besieged buildings. Pradeep Indulkar, a senior official at the Maharashtra state Home Ministry, said 101 people were killed and 314 injured.
Police and gunmen were exchanging occasional gunfire at two luxury hotels and dozens of people were believed held hostage or trapped inside the besieged buildings. Pradeep Indulkar, a senior official at the Maharashtra state Home Ministry, said 101 people were killed and 314 injured.
Friday, December 19, 2008
George Bush, shoe salesman
The shoe hurled at President George W. Bush has sent sales soaring at the Turkish maker as orders pour in from Iraq, the US and Iran.
The brown, thick-soled “Model 271” may soon be renamed “The Bush Shoe” or “Bye-Bye Bush,” said Ramazan Baydan, who owns the Istanbul-based producer Baydan Ayakkabicilik San. & Tic.
“We’ve been selling these shoes for years but, thanks to Bush, orders are flying in like crazy,” he said in a telephone interview. “We’ve even hired an agency to look at television advertising.”
[12/19/08, posted 1/16/09]
The brown, thick-soled “Model 271” may soon be renamed “The Bush Shoe” or “Bye-Bye Bush,” said Ramazan Baydan, who owns the Istanbul-based producer Baydan Ayakkabicilik San. & Tic.
“We’ve been selling these shoes for years but, thanks to Bush, orders are flying in like crazy,” he said in a telephone interview. “We’ve even hired an agency to look at television advertising.”
[12/19/08, posted 1/16/09]
Monday, December 15, 2008
Bush ducks shoe
President George W. Bush ducked a pair of shoes hurled at his head — one shoe after the other — in the middle of a news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Both shoes narrowly missed their target and thumped loudly against the wall behind the leaders.
"Don't worry about it," the president said as the room erupted into chaos.
Iraqi reporters started shouting what Bush later explained were apologies for the incident.
[posted 1/7/09]
Both shoes narrowly missed their target and thumped loudly against the wall behind the leaders.
"Don't worry about it," the president said as the room erupted into chaos.
Iraqi reporters started shouting what Bush later explained were apologies for the incident.
[posted 1/7/09]
Obama and McCain discuss football
The bitter general election campaign behind them, President-elect Barack Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain met Monday to discuss ways to work together in the future.
The two former rivals met in Obama's transition headquarters in Chicago. Obama said before the meeting that he and McCain planned "a good conversation about how we can do some work together to fix up the country, and also to offer thanks to Sen. McCain for the outstanding service he's already rendered."
Obama and McCain sat together for a brief picture-taking moment with reporters, along with Rahm Emanuel, Obama's incoming White House chief of staff, and South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, McCain's close friend. Obama and McCain were heard briefly discussing football, and Obama cracked that "the national press is tame compared to the Chicago press."
When asked if he planned to help the Obama administration, McCain replied, "Obviously."
The two former rivals met in Obama's transition headquarters in Chicago. Obama said before the meeting that he and McCain planned "a good conversation about how we can do some work together to fix up the country, and also to offer thanks to Sen. McCain for the outstanding service he's already rendered."
Obama and McCain sat together for a brief picture-taking moment with reporters, along with Rahm Emanuel, Obama's incoming White House chief of staff, and South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, McCain's close friend. Obama and McCain were heard briefly discussing football, and Obama cracked that "the national press is tame compared to the Chicago press."
When asked if he planned to help the Obama administration, McCain replied, "Obviously."
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Hawaii to charge up cars?
By 2012, Hawaii is poised to become a national leader in electric car use under an ambitious plan announced yesterday by Gov. Linda Lingle.
Palo Alto, Calif.-based Better Place has proposed a $1 billion plan to be funded through private investments that would include up to 100,000 charging stations around Hawaii and possible state incentives for thousands of electric car buyers to be rolled out in the next several years.
It is the first statewide project of its kind, and follows a similar outlay announced last month in San Francisco.
* * *
[5/13/09] Better Place of Palo Alto, Calif., the company with an ambitious $1 billion plan to launch a mass-market electric vehicle system in Hawaii, is feeling optimistic these days.
Besides the passage of key bills by the state Legislature and the governor's support, Better Place unveiled yesterday its first demonstration model of an electric car charging spot and battery-swapping station, in Yokohama, Japan.
"I'm excited about what this means for Hawaii," said Pete Cooper, of Better Place Hawaii. "This technology moves us closer to realizing the environmental and economic benefits of electrical vehicles : clean transportation using our state's natural, renewable sources of energy instead of imported fossil fuels."
As envisioned, Hawaii would be home to at least 3,000 electric cars in 2010 and 50,400 in 2015. By then the isles also would be outfitted with a network of up to 100,000 charging stations powered by renewable energy sources.
Palo Alto, Calif.-based Better Place has proposed a $1 billion plan to be funded through private investments that would include up to 100,000 charging stations around Hawaii and possible state incentives for thousands of electric car buyers to be rolled out in the next several years.
It is the first statewide project of its kind, and follows a similar outlay announced last month in San Francisco.
* * *
[5/13/09] Better Place of Palo Alto, Calif., the company with an ambitious $1 billion plan to launch a mass-market electric vehicle system in Hawaii, is feeling optimistic these days.
Besides the passage of key bills by the state Legislature and the governor's support, Better Place unveiled yesterday its first demonstration model of an electric car charging spot and battery-swapping station, in Yokohama, Japan.
"I'm excited about what this means for Hawaii," said Pete Cooper, of Better Place Hawaii. "This technology moves us closer to realizing the environmental and economic benefits of electrical vehicles : clean transportation using our state's natural, renewable sources of energy instead of imported fossil fuels."
As envisioned, Hawaii would be home to at least 3,000 electric cars in 2010 and 50,400 in 2015. By then the isles also would be outfitted with a network of up to 100,000 charging stations powered by renewable energy sources.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
The issues
PARADE has boiled down the candidates' stands on various key issues from their many speeches, debates, and position papers. Note that when we say a candidate "would" do something, it reflects a promise, not a guarantee.
Monday, December 01, 2008
Obama selects national security team
President-elect Barack Obama called for “a new dawn of American leadership” on Monday as he formally introduced his national security team, led by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton as his nominee for secretary of state.
“We will strengthen our capacity to defeat our enemies and support our friends,” Mr. Obama said in Chicago. “We will renew old alliances and forge new and enduring partnerships.”
The new president said he was sticking to his goal of removing American combat troops from Iraq within 16 months, which he called “the right time frame,” and that this would be accomplished with safety for the troops and security for the Iraqi people.
He introduced his team one by one, starting with Senator Clinton, his former bitter rival for the Democratic presidential nomination; then Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who will stay on, at least for a time, in the new administration; Gen. James L. Jones, the former NATO commander, to be national security adviser; Gov. Janet Napolitano of Arizona to be secretary of homeland security: Susan E. Rice to be ambassador to the United Nations, and Eric H. Holder Jr. to be attorney general.
“We will strengthen our capacity to defeat our enemies and support our friends,” Mr. Obama said in Chicago. “We will renew old alliances and forge new and enduring partnerships.”
The new president said he was sticking to his goal of removing American combat troops from Iraq within 16 months, which he called “the right time frame,” and that this would be accomplished with safety for the troops and security for the Iraqi people.
He introduced his team one by one, starting with Senator Clinton, his former bitter rival for the Democratic presidential nomination; then Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who will stay on, at least for a time, in the new administration; Gen. James L. Jones, the former NATO commander, to be national security adviser; Gov. Janet Napolitano of Arizona to be secretary of homeland security: Susan E. Rice to be ambassador to the United Nations, and Eric H. Holder Jr. to be attorney general.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Karzai demands U.S. stop killing civilians
President Hamid Karzai has made an immediate demand of President-elect Barack Obama to prevent civilian casualties.
Kandahar province villager Abdul Jalil says he was hosting a wedding party for his niece when Taliban militants fighting U.S. forces took cover near his home. Jalil says 37 people were killed when U.S. warplanes later bombed the wedding party.
No Afghan officials could immediately confirm the number of casualties, which happened in a remote and dangerous part of Kandahar province. But Karzai referred to the incident at a news conference Wednesday held to congratulate Obama on his U.S. presidential election victory.
Karzai said he hopes the election will "bring peace to Afghanistan, life to Afghanistan and prosperity to the Afghan people and the rest of the world." He applauded America for its "courage" in electing Obama.
But he also used the occasion to immediately press Obama to find a way to prevent civilians casualties in operations by foreign forces. He then said airstrikes had caused deaths in the Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar province.
"Our demand is that there will be no civilian casualties in Afghanistan. We cannot win the fight against terrorism with airstrikes," Karzai said. "This is my first demand of the new president of the United States - to put an end to civilian casualties."
The U.S. military says it is investigating the reports but a spokesman said "if innocent people were killed in this operation, we apologize and express our condolences."
The alleged airstrikes come only three months after the Afghan government found that a U.S. operation killed some 90 civilians in western Afghanistan. A U.S. report said 33 civilians died in that attack.
Kandahar province villager Abdul Jalil says he was hosting a wedding party for his niece when Taliban militants fighting U.S. forces took cover near his home. Jalil says 37 people were killed when U.S. warplanes later bombed the wedding party.
No Afghan officials could immediately confirm the number of casualties, which happened in a remote and dangerous part of Kandahar province. But Karzai referred to the incident at a news conference Wednesday held to congratulate Obama on his U.S. presidential election victory.
Karzai said he hopes the election will "bring peace to Afghanistan, life to Afghanistan and prosperity to the Afghan people and the rest of the world." He applauded America for its "courage" in electing Obama.
But he also used the occasion to immediately press Obama to find a way to prevent civilians casualties in operations by foreign forces. He then said airstrikes had caused deaths in the Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar province.
"Our demand is that there will be no civilian casualties in Afghanistan. We cannot win the fight against terrorism with airstrikes," Karzai said. "This is my first demand of the new president of the United States - to put an end to civilian casualties."
The U.S. military says it is investigating the reports but a spokesman said "if innocent people were killed in this operation, we apologize and express our condolences."
The alleged airstrikes come only three months after the Afghan government found that a U.S. operation killed some 90 civilians in western Afghanistan. A U.S. report said 33 civilians died in that attack.
Friday, November 21, 2008
new cars being warehoused
Gleaming new Mercedes cars roll one by one out of a huge container ship here and onto a pier. Ordinarily the cars would be loaded on trucks within hours, destined for dealerships around the country. But these are not ordinary times.
For now, the port itself is the destination. Unwelcome by dealers and buyers, thousands of cars worth tens of millions of dollars are being warehoused on increasingly crowded port property.
[via chucks_angels]
For now, the port itself is the destination. Unwelcome by dealers and buyers, thousands of cars worth tens of millions of dollars are being warehoused on increasingly crowded port property.
[via chucks_angels]
Friday, November 14, 2008
Obama's challenge
Obama will soon face the problem of beginning to disappoint people all over the world, a problem built into his job.
... his Achilles' heel, as it was for Bush and for many presidents, will be foreign policy. He has made what appear to be three guarantees. First, he will withdraw from Iraq. Second, he will focus on Afghanistan. Third, he will oppose Russian expansionism. To deliver on the first promise, he must deal with the Iranians. To deliver on the second, he must deal with the Taliban. To deliver on the third, he must deal with the Europeans.
[2/18/09 -- see also The New President and the Global Landscape]
... his Achilles' heel, as it was for Bush and for many presidents, will be foreign policy. He has made what appear to be three guarantees. First, he will withdraw from Iraq. Second, he will focus on Afghanistan. Third, he will oppose Russian expansionism. To deliver on the first promise, he must deal with the Iranians. To deliver on the second, he must deal with the Taliban. To deliver on the third, he must deal with the Europeans.
[2/18/09 -- see also The New President and the Global Landscape]
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Barack Obama elected President of the United States of America
Barack Obama, a 47-year-old first-term senator from Illinois, shattered more than 200 years of history Tuesday night by winning election as the first African-American president of the United States.
"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America -- I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you -- we as a people will get there," Obama said in Chicago, Illinois.
Obama said he was looking forward to working with Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin "to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead."
McCain on Tuesday urged all Americans to join him in congratulating Sen. Barack Obama on his projected victory in the presidential election.
"I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face," McCain said before his supporters in Phoenix, Arizona.
McCain called Obama to congratulate him, Obama's campaign said.
Obama thanked McCain for his graciousness and said he had waged a tough race.
President Bush also called Obama to congratulate him.
Bush told Obama he was about to begin one of the great journeys of his life, and invited him to visit the White House as soon as it could be arranged, according to White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.
With his projected win, Obama will become the nation's 44th president and its first African-American leader.
"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America -- I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you -- we as a people will get there," Obama said in Chicago, Illinois.
Obama said he was looking forward to working with Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin "to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead."
McCain on Tuesday urged all Americans to join him in congratulating Sen. Barack Obama on his projected victory in the presidential election.
"I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face," McCain said before his supporters in Phoenix, Arizona.
McCain called Obama to congratulate him, Obama's campaign said.
Obama thanked McCain for his graciousness and said he had waged a tough race.
President Bush also called Obama to congratulate him.
Bush told Obama he was about to begin one of the great journeys of his life, and invited him to visit the White House as soon as it could be arranged, according to White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.
With his projected win, Obama will become the nation's 44th president and its first African-American leader.
Saturday, November 01, 2008
How many don't pay income taxes?
I've seen a number of figures of the percentage of Americans who don't pay income taxes. Like in the mid-40s say the Republicans.
Googling brought this article from The Tax Foundation
During 2006, Tax Foundation economists estimate that roughly 43.4 million tax returns, representing 91 million individuals, will face a zero or negative tax liability. That's out of a total of 136 million federal tax returns that will be filed. Adding to this figure the 15 million households and individuals who file no tax return at all, roughly 121 million Americans—or 41 percent of the U.S. population—will be completely outside the federal income tax system in 2006.1 This total includes those who pay no tax, and those who pay some tax upfront and are later refunded the full amount of the tax paid or more.
And this article from Wikipedia
According to a 2007 report by the Statistics of Income division of the Internal Revenue Service,[5] in 2006 the Internal Revenue Service received 134,372,678 individual income tax returns, of which 90,593,081 (67.42%) showed that they paid or owed federal income tax for 2005. That is, 32.58% of those Americans who filed income tax returns did not owe any federal income tax at all for 2005.
However, the federal income tax is only one of several taxes Americans pay. Other taxes, like excise taxes, sales taxes, and especially the payroll tax (a.k.a. FICA), are regressive — that is, the poor pay them at a higher rate relative to their income than do the non-poor. Just because somebody does not pay any federal income tax does not mean that they are part of a “non-taxpaying class,” or even that they pay a smaller percentage of their income in taxes than someone who does pay federal income tax.
Who are these lucky duckies? They are the beneficiaries of tax policies that have expanded the personal exemption and standard deduction and targeted certain voter groups by introducing a welter of tax credits for things like child care and education. When these escape hatches are figured against income, the result is either a zero liability or a liability that represents a tiny percentage of income.
* * *
Didn't realize that there were so many "poor" people in this country. So the Republican solution is to give more money to the rich corporations so they can create more jobs resulting in less poor people. This is trickle-down economics. The question is whether the corporations will actually create more jobs or keep the money and become more rich. Probably both.
The alternative is to continue these "handouts" to the economically challenged which the conservatives say would reduce the incentive to work harder to get out of their situation.
Googling brought this article from The Tax Foundation
During 2006, Tax Foundation economists estimate that roughly 43.4 million tax returns, representing 91 million individuals, will face a zero or negative tax liability. That's out of a total of 136 million federal tax returns that will be filed. Adding to this figure the 15 million households and individuals who file no tax return at all, roughly 121 million Americans—or 41 percent of the U.S. population—will be completely outside the federal income tax system in 2006.1 This total includes those who pay no tax, and those who pay some tax upfront and are later refunded the full amount of the tax paid or more.
And this article from Wikipedia
According to a 2007 report by the Statistics of Income division of the Internal Revenue Service,[5] in 2006 the Internal Revenue Service received 134,372,678 individual income tax returns, of which 90,593,081 (67.42%) showed that they paid or owed federal income tax for 2005. That is, 32.58% of those Americans who filed income tax returns did not owe any federal income tax at all for 2005.
However, the federal income tax is only one of several taxes Americans pay. Other taxes, like excise taxes, sales taxes, and especially the payroll tax (a.k.a. FICA), are regressive — that is, the poor pay them at a higher rate relative to their income than do the non-poor. Just because somebody does not pay any federal income tax does not mean that they are part of a “non-taxpaying class,” or even that they pay a smaller percentage of their income in taxes than someone who does pay federal income tax.
Who are these lucky duckies? They are the beneficiaries of tax policies that have expanded the personal exemption and standard deduction and targeted certain voter groups by introducing a welter of tax credits for things like child care and education. When these escape hatches are figured against income, the result is either a zero liability or a liability that represents a tiny percentage of income.
* * *
Didn't realize that there were so many "poor" people in this country. So the Republican solution is to give more money to the rich corporations so they can create more jobs resulting in less poor people. This is trickle-down economics. The question is whether the corporations will actually create more jobs or keep the money and become more rich. Probably both.
The alternative is to continue these "handouts" to the economically challenged which the conservatives say would reduce the incentive to work harder to get out of their situation.
FactCheck's Whoppers of 2008
The last five weeks have brought so many ads we feel like we're drinking from a fire hose – and we'll bet you're pretty saturated, too.
Since our first "Whoppers of 2008" piece, we've seen some of the same themes repeated. McCain's campaign doesn't tire of distorting Obama's tax plan, it seems, and in the process has whipped up at least 15 minutes of fame for sudden star Joe the Plumber. Obama continues trying to pull seniors into his camp by making deceptive claims about what McCain would do to Social Security, and he has new distortions about his opponent's plans for Medicare.
And there are some fresh deceptions gobbling up airtime, including false depictions of McCain's position on stem cell research, Obama's connections to former Weatherman Bill Ayers and the community group ACORN, and both candidates' health care plans. Then there's a new parlor game, pin-the-blame-on-the-candidate for the financial crisis that has gripped the country.
For more on these and other mendacities and misrepresentations we've found recently, please read on
Since our first "Whoppers of 2008" piece, we've seen some of the same themes repeated. McCain's campaign doesn't tire of distorting Obama's tax plan, it seems, and in the process has whipped up at least 15 minutes of fame for sudden star Joe the Plumber. Obama continues trying to pull seniors into his camp by making deceptive claims about what McCain would do to Social Security, and he has new distortions about his opponent's plans for Medicare.
And there are some fresh deceptions gobbling up airtime, including false depictions of McCain's position on stem cell research, Obama's connections to former Weatherman Bill Ayers and the community group ACORN, and both candidates' health care plans. Then there's a new parlor game, pin-the-blame-on-the-candidate for the financial crisis that has gripped the country.
For more on these and other mendacities and misrepresentations we've found recently, please read on
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Rashid Khalidi
The Republican's new weapon against Obama is Rashid Khalidi.
John McCain's presidential campaign Tuesday accused the Los Angeles Times of "intentionally suppressing" a videotape it obtained of a 2003 banquet where then-state Sen. Barack Obama spoke of his friendship with Rashid Khalidi, a leading Palestinian scholar and activist.
The Times first reported on the videotape in an April 2008 story about Obama's ties with Palestinians and Jews as he navigated the politics of Chicago. The report included a detailed description of the tape, but the newspaper did not make the video public.
Hannity and Colmes on Fox is trumping that they now have their hands on the tape (well, more Hannity). While Keith Olbermann is smirking that McCain gave Khalidi 400 Gs in the past.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., did a live interview with Radio Mambi in Miami this morning in which he went after Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., for his connections to a “PLO spokesman.”
McCain was referring to Rashid Khalidi, who, five years ago, Obama toasted at a going-away party before Khalidi headed off to New York City to become a professor at Columbia University.
In April, the Los Angeles Times’s Peter Wallsten wrote about the toast, saying a “special tribute came from Khalidi's friend and frequent dinner companion, the young state Sen. Barack Obama. Speaking to the crowd, Obama reminisced about meals prepared by Khalidi's wife, Mona, and conversations that had challenged his thinking.
But McCain has his own connection to Khalidi.
In 1993, McCain became chairman of the International Republican Institute. He still chairs that respected organization.
That same year, Khalidi helped found the Center for Palestine Research and Studies, self-described as “an independent academic research and policy analysis institution” created to meet “the need for active Palestinian scholarship on issues related to Palestine.” (Its archived Web site is HERE.)
Khalidi was on the board of trustees through 1999.
According to tax returns, the McCain-chaired IRI funded the organization Khalidi founded and served on to the tune of $448,873 in 1998.
John McCain's presidential campaign Tuesday accused the Los Angeles Times of "intentionally suppressing" a videotape it obtained of a 2003 banquet where then-state Sen. Barack Obama spoke of his friendship with Rashid Khalidi, a leading Palestinian scholar and activist.
The Times first reported on the videotape in an April 2008 story about Obama's ties with Palestinians and Jews as he navigated the politics of Chicago. The report included a detailed description of the tape, but the newspaper did not make the video public.
Hannity and Colmes on Fox is trumping that they now have their hands on the tape (well, more Hannity). While Keith Olbermann is smirking that McCain gave Khalidi 400 Gs in the past.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., did a live interview with Radio Mambi in Miami this morning in which he went after Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., for his connections to a “PLO spokesman.”
McCain was referring to Rashid Khalidi, who, five years ago, Obama toasted at a going-away party before Khalidi headed off to New York City to become a professor at Columbia University.
In April, the Los Angeles Times’s Peter Wallsten wrote about the toast, saying a “special tribute came from Khalidi's friend and frequent dinner companion, the young state Sen. Barack Obama. Speaking to the crowd, Obama reminisced about meals prepared by Khalidi's wife, Mona, and conversations that had challenged his thinking.
But McCain has his own connection to Khalidi.
In 1993, McCain became chairman of the International Republican Institute. He still chairs that respected organization.
That same year, Khalidi helped found the Center for Palestine Research and Studies, self-described as “an independent academic research and policy analysis institution” created to meet “the need for active Palestinian scholarship on issues related to Palestine.” (Its archived Web site is HERE.)
Khalidi was on the board of trustees through 1999.
According to tax returns, the McCain-chaired IRI funded the organization Khalidi founded and served on to the tune of $448,873 in 1998.
Friday, October 17, 2008
mayoral race
[9/25/08] It's disappointing that someone representing the Sierra Club would actually stoop to politically motivated hatchet jobs like the one authored by Randy Ching in yesterday's Star-Bulletin. His mean-spirited attack on Mayor Mufi Hannemann was riddled with distortions from beginning to end, and was a gross mischaracterization of the mayor's impressive environmental record.
-- A.J. Halagao is campaign coordinator for Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann's re-election campaign.
[9/24/08] Oahu's sustainability can't withstand another four years of Mayor Mufi Hannemann. On nearly every key environmental concern - energy, recycling, land protection, clean water, safe streets - Hannemann's policies have been devastating.
-- Randy Ching is chairman of the Sierra Club, Oahu Group
-- A.J. Halagao is campaign coordinator for Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann's re-election campaign.
[9/24/08] Oahu's sustainability can't withstand another four years of Mayor Mufi Hannemann. On nearly every key environmental concern - energy, recycling, land protection, clean water, safe streets - Hannemann's policies have been devastating.
-- Randy Ching is chairman of the Sierra Club, Oahu Group
Sunday, October 12, 2008
killing civilians?
[10/19/08] Iraqis protested the deaths of at least seven people during an American raid and airstrike on Friday in the northern town where Saddam Hussein was captured in 2003.
Americans say the raid succeeded in killing its target, a senior operative of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, also known as Al Qaeda in Iraq, who had been suspected of involvement in bombing attacks along the Tigris River Valley.
But Iraqi officials said the strike had used excessive force in killing eight members of one family, who the officials said were innocent. They accused the Americans of shooting down men and women from the air as they fled. The Americans said seven people had been killed.
[10/6/08] On Hannity & Colmes, Sean Hannity praised Gov. Sarah Palin for citing Sen. Barack Obama's remark that more coalition forces are needed in Afghanistan "so that we're not just air-raiding villages and killing civilians, which is causing enormous pressure over there." Hannity did not note that Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently offered Afghans "sincere condolences and personal regrets for the recent loss of innocent life as a result of coalition airstrikes" and that news outlets have repeatedly reported that U.S. airstrikes in Afghanistan have resulted in civilian casualties.
[10/2/08] During a discussion of Afghanistan in the vice presidential debate at Washington University, Palin slammed Obama for saying all our troops are “doing in Afghanistan is air raiding villages and killing civilians."
... If the charge seemed oddly and painfully familiar it's because it has been levied at Obama - and subsequently dismissed - several times before during this election season.
[8/14/08] before about 800 people in Nashua, Obama made a comment likely to further the spats he was warned about.
Asked whether he would move U.S. troops out of Iraq to better fight terrorism elsewhere, he brought up Afghanistan and said, "We've got to get the job done there and that requires us to have enough troops so that we're not just air-raiding villages and killing civilians, which is causing enormous pressure over there."
Americans say the raid succeeded in killing its target, a senior operative of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, also known as Al Qaeda in Iraq, who had been suspected of involvement in bombing attacks along the Tigris River Valley.
But Iraqi officials said the strike had used excessive force in killing eight members of one family, who the officials said were innocent. They accused the Americans of shooting down men and women from the air as they fled. The Americans said seven people had been killed.
[10/6/08] On Hannity & Colmes, Sean Hannity praised Gov. Sarah Palin for citing Sen. Barack Obama's remark that more coalition forces are needed in Afghanistan "so that we're not just air-raiding villages and killing civilians, which is causing enormous pressure over there." Hannity did not note that Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently offered Afghans "sincere condolences and personal regrets for the recent loss of innocent life as a result of coalition airstrikes" and that news outlets have repeatedly reported that U.S. airstrikes in Afghanistan have resulted in civilian casualties.
[10/2/08] During a discussion of Afghanistan in the vice presidential debate at Washington University, Palin slammed Obama for saying all our troops are “doing in Afghanistan is air raiding villages and killing civilians."
... If the charge seemed oddly and painfully familiar it's because it has been levied at Obama - and subsequently dismissed - several times before during this election season.
[8/14/08] before about 800 people in Nashua, Obama made a comment likely to further the spats he was warned about.
Asked whether he would move U.S. troops out of Iraq to better fight terrorism elsewhere, he brought up Afghanistan and said, "We've got to get the job done there and that requires us to have enough troops so that we're not just air-raiding villages and killing civilians, which is causing enormous pressure over there."
Saturday, October 11, 2008
The campaign heats up
[10/13] ABC's Imtiyaz Delawala and Ron Claiborne report: Gov. Sarah Palin significantly ratcheted down the rhetoric in her Sunday evening at an outdoor rally in Rush Run Park in St. Clairsville, OH. Unlike rallies earlier in the week that at times whipped up the crowd to a frenzied state, she made no mention of Sen. Barack Obama’s connection to former anti-war radical William Ayers, and used nearly-apologetic language when making criticisms of the Democratic presidential nominee.
* * *
Later Saturday, Lewis issued a statement saying a careful review of his remarks "would reveal that I did not compare Sen. John McCain or Gov. Sarah Palin to George Wallace."
"My statement was a reminder to all Americans that toxic language can lead to destructive behavior," Lewis said. "I am glad that Sen. McCain has taken some steps to correct divisive speech at his rallies. I believe we need to return to civil discourse in this election about the pressing economic issues that are affecting our nation."
* * *
In a statement, Obama-Biden spokesman Bill Burton writes that, while Obama does not agree with the comparison of McCain's campaign to those of segregation advocate George Wallace, he does believe that Rep. John Lewis is justified in his condemnation of "the hateful rhetoric that John McCain himself personally rebuked just last night," as well as Palin's assertion that the candidate "pals around with terrorists."
Here's the full statement: “Senator Obama does not believe that John McCain or his policy criticism is in any way comparable to George Wallace or his segregationist policies. But John Lewis was right to condemn some of the hateful rhetoric that John McCain himself personally rebuked just last night, as well as the baseless and profoundly irresponsible charges from his own running mate that the Democratic nominee for President of the United States ‘pals around with terrorists.’ As Barack Obama has said himself, the last thing we need from either party is the kind of angry, divisive rhetoric that tears us apart at a time of crisis when we desperately need to come together. That is the kind of campaign Senator Obama will continue to run in the weeks ahead,” said Obama-Biden spokesman Bill Burton.
* * *
McCain has written about Lewis, praising his actions in Selma, Alabama, during the civil rights movement. The Republican nominee even said during a summer faith forum that Lewis was one of three men he would turn to for counsel as president.
But the Arizona senator blasted Lewis' remarks, and called on Obama to repudiate them.
"Congressman John Lewis' comments represent a character attack against Gov. Sarah Palin and me that is shocking and beyond the pale," he said in a Saturday afternoon statement released by his campaign.
"The notion that legitimate criticism of Sen. Obama's record and positions could be compared to Gov. George Wallace, his segregationist policies and the violence he provoked is unacceptable and has no place in this campaign. I am saddened that John Lewis, a man I've always admired, would make such a brazen and baseless attack on my character and the character of the thousands of hardworking Americans who come to our events to cheer for the kind of reform that will put America on the right track.
"I call on Sen. Obama to immediately and personally repudiate these outrageous and divisive comments that are so clearly designed to shut down debate 24 days before the election. Our country must return to the important debate about the path forward for America."
* * *
Georgia Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights-era icon, invoked segregationist Gov. George Wallace of Alabama in accusing John McCain and Sarah Palin of fanning the flames of hatred at Republican campaign events.
"What I am seeing reminds me of too much of another destructive period in American history," Lewis said in a statement released to FOX News. "Senator McCain and Governor Palin are sowing the seeds of hatred and division, and there is no need for this hostility in our political discourse."
"George Wallace never threw a bomb. He never fired a gun, but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who were simply trying to exercise their constitutional rights," Lewis added. "Because of this atmosphere of hate, four little girls were killed on Sunday morning when a church was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama."
* * *
During each of his rallies, Obama thanked his GOP rival for toning down the heated rhetoric that has been coming from both the McCain campaign and its supporters.
“I appreciated his reminder that we can disagree while still being respectful of each other,” Obama said, adding, “I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again - and I expect all of my supporters to understand this – Senator McCain has served this country with honor. He deserves our thanks for that. Every veteran deserves our thanks.”
* * *
WITH his electoral prospects fading by the day, Senator John McCain has fallen out with his vice-presidential running mate about the direction of his White House campaign.
McCain has become alarmed about the fury unleashed by Sarah Palin, the moose-hunting “pitbull in lipstick”, against Senator Barack Obama. Cries of “terrorist” and “kill him” have accompanied the tirades by the governor of Alaska against the Democratic nominee at Republican rallies.
Mark Salter, McCain’s long-serving chief of staff, is understood to have told campaign insiders that he would prefer his boss, a former Vietnam prisoner of war, to suffer an “honourable defeat” rather than conduct a campaign that would be out of character – and likely to lose him the election.
McCain believes the attacks have spun out of control. At a rally in Lakeville, Minnesota, the Arizona senator became visibly angry when he was booed for calling Obama “a decent person”. He took the microphone from an elderly woman who said she disliked Obama because he was “Arab”, saying, “No ma’am, no ma’am”.
When another questioner demanded that he tell the truth about Obama, he said: “I want everybody to be respectful and let’s be sure we are.”
* * *
A allegation by Republican U.S. vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin that Barack Obama has ties with terrorists is "offensive," an Obama spokesman says.
Palin, governor of Alaska and running mate of Republican U.S. presidential nominee John McCain, Saturday accused Obama, a U.S. senator from Illinois and McCain's Democratic opponent, of associating "with terrorists who targeted our own country."
It was an apparent reference to Obama's dealings with University of Illinois at Chicago Professor William Ayers, who in 1969 co-founded the militant anti-Vietnam War group Weather Underground.
Obama campaign spokesman Hari Sevugan told CNN Palin's comments were "offensive" and "not surprising" given the McCain campaign's statement that "they would be launching Swift Boat-like attacks in hopes of deflecting attention from the nation's economic ills."
CNN said its own investigation of Obama's links to Ayers found they were confined to the two men working together on a non-profit group to raise funds for a Chicago school improvement project and a charitable foundation, adding there was nothing to suggest anything inappropriate.
"What's clear is that John McCain and Sarah Palin would rather spend their time tearing down Barack Obama than laying out a plan to build up our economy," Sevugan told CNN.
* * *
Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, speaking at a fundraiser in Colorado, accused Barack Obama of "palling around with terrorists."
Palin claimed Obama is close to Bill Ayers, a leader in the 1970s radical Weatherman group who is now a college teacher and activist in Chicago, The Denver Post reported. She said a campaign aide had suggested that "the gloves are off, the heels are on."
The Alaska governor met with Blue Star Mothers at a diner before her appearance at a breakfast fundraiser at Centennial Airport. The group brings together mothers of military service members.
At the fundraiser, Palin said she and Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, view the United States as "a force for good in the world."
"Our opponent, though, is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect, imperfect enough, that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country," she said.
Ayers and Obama live in the same Chicago neighborhood and served together on a non-profit group's board for several years.
* * *
Later Saturday, Lewis issued a statement saying a careful review of his remarks "would reveal that I did not compare Sen. John McCain or Gov. Sarah Palin to George Wallace."
"My statement was a reminder to all Americans that toxic language can lead to destructive behavior," Lewis said. "I am glad that Sen. McCain has taken some steps to correct divisive speech at his rallies. I believe we need to return to civil discourse in this election about the pressing economic issues that are affecting our nation."
* * *
In a statement, Obama-Biden spokesman Bill Burton writes that, while Obama does not agree with the comparison of McCain's campaign to those of segregation advocate George Wallace, he does believe that Rep. John Lewis is justified in his condemnation of "the hateful rhetoric that John McCain himself personally rebuked just last night," as well as Palin's assertion that the candidate "pals around with terrorists."
Here's the full statement: “Senator Obama does not believe that John McCain or his policy criticism is in any way comparable to George Wallace or his segregationist policies. But John Lewis was right to condemn some of the hateful rhetoric that John McCain himself personally rebuked just last night, as well as the baseless and profoundly irresponsible charges from his own running mate that the Democratic nominee for President of the United States ‘pals around with terrorists.’ As Barack Obama has said himself, the last thing we need from either party is the kind of angry, divisive rhetoric that tears us apart at a time of crisis when we desperately need to come together. That is the kind of campaign Senator Obama will continue to run in the weeks ahead,” said Obama-Biden spokesman Bill Burton.
* * *
McCain has written about Lewis, praising his actions in Selma, Alabama, during the civil rights movement. The Republican nominee even said during a summer faith forum that Lewis was one of three men he would turn to for counsel as president.
But the Arizona senator blasted Lewis' remarks, and called on Obama to repudiate them.
"Congressman John Lewis' comments represent a character attack against Gov. Sarah Palin and me that is shocking and beyond the pale," he said in a Saturday afternoon statement released by his campaign.
"The notion that legitimate criticism of Sen. Obama's record and positions could be compared to Gov. George Wallace, his segregationist policies and the violence he provoked is unacceptable and has no place in this campaign. I am saddened that John Lewis, a man I've always admired, would make such a brazen and baseless attack on my character and the character of the thousands of hardworking Americans who come to our events to cheer for the kind of reform that will put America on the right track.
"I call on Sen. Obama to immediately and personally repudiate these outrageous and divisive comments that are so clearly designed to shut down debate 24 days before the election. Our country must return to the important debate about the path forward for America."
* * *
Georgia Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights-era icon, invoked segregationist Gov. George Wallace of Alabama in accusing John McCain and Sarah Palin of fanning the flames of hatred at Republican campaign events.
"What I am seeing reminds me of too much of another destructive period in American history," Lewis said in a statement released to FOX News. "Senator McCain and Governor Palin are sowing the seeds of hatred and division, and there is no need for this hostility in our political discourse."
"George Wallace never threw a bomb. He never fired a gun, but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who were simply trying to exercise their constitutional rights," Lewis added. "Because of this atmosphere of hate, four little girls were killed on Sunday morning when a church was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama."
* * *
During each of his rallies, Obama thanked his GOP rival for toning down the heated rhetoric that has been coming from both the McCain campaign and its supporters.
“I appreciated his reminder that we can disagree while still being respectful of each other,” Obama said, adding, “I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again - and I expect all of my supporters to understand this – Senator McCain has served this country with honor. He deserves our thanks for that. Every veteran deserves our thanks.”
* * *
WITH his electoral prospects fading by the day, Senator John McCain has fallen out with his vice-presidential running mate about the direction of his White House campaign.
McCain has become alarmed about the fury unleashed by Sarah Palin, the moose-hunting “pitbull in lipstick”, against Senator Barack Obama. Cries of “terrorist” and “kill him” have accompanied the tirades by the governor of Alaska against the Democratic nominee at Republican rallies.
Mark Salter, McCain’s long-serving chief of staff, is understood to have told campaign insiders that he would prefer his boss, a former Vietnam prisoner of war, to suffer an “honourable defeat” rather than conduct a campaign that would be out of character – and likely to lose him the election.
McCain believes the attacks have spun out of control. At a rally in Lakeville, Minnesota, the Arizona senator became visibly angry when he was booed for calling Obama “a decent person”. He took the microphone from an elderly woman who said she disliked Obama because he was “Arab”, saying, “No ma’am, no ma’am”.
When another questioner demanded that he tell the truth about Obama, he said: “I want everybody to be respectful and let’s be sure we are.”
* * *
A allegation by Republican U.S. vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin that Barack Obama has ties with terrorists is "offensive," an Obama spokesman says.
Palin, governor of Alaska and running mate of Republican U.S. presidential nominee John McCain, Saturday accused Obama, a U.S. senator from Illinois and McCain's Democratic opponent, of associating "with terrorists who targeted our own country."
It was an apparent reference to Obama's dealings with University of Illinois at Chicago Professor William Ayers, who in 1969 co-founded the militant anti-Vietnam War group Weather Underground.
Obama campaign spokesman Hari Sevugan told CNN Palin's comments were "offensive" and "not surprising" given the McCain campaign's statement that "they would be launching Swift Boat-like attacks in hopes of deflecting attention from the nation's economic ills."
CNN said its own investigation of Obama's links to Ayers found they were confined to the two men working together on a non-profit group to raise funds for a Chicago school improvement project and a charitable foundation, adding there was nothing to suggest anything inappropriate.
"What's clear is that John McCain and Sarah Palin would rather spend their time tearing down Barack Obama than laying out a plan to build up our economy," Sevugan told CNN.
* * *
Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, speaking at a fundraiser in Colorado, accused Barack Obama of "palling around with terrorists."
Palin claimed Obama is close to Bill Ayers, a leader in the 1970s radical Weatherman group who is now a college teacher and activist in Chicago, The Denver Post reported. She said a campaign aide had suggested that "the gloves are off, the heels are on."
The Alaska governor met with Blue Star Mothers at a diner before her appearance at a breakfast fundraiser at Centennial Airport. The group brings together mothers of military service members.
At the fundraiser, Palin said she and Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, view the United States as "a force for good in the world."
"Our opponent, though, is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect, imperfect enough, that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country," she said.
Ayers and Obama live in the same Chicago neighborhood and served together on a non-profit group's board for several years.
Friday, October 03, 2008
Bill O'Reilly on Obama
Like him or not, you have to give Barack Obama credit for waging a smart, focused campaign. Destroying the Clinton machine was a major achievement and so was putting together a successful convention in Denver. Obama is now firmly a part of U.S. history, no matter what happens in the presidential election.
The problem some Americans continue to have with the Senator is that he is long on charisma but short on detail. This frightens some voters. Who the heck is this guy, anyway?
* * *
On the other hand, I happened to tune in to FNC yesterday and caught O'Reilly with Barney Frank. Pretty sad (though some may find it funny).
The problem some Americans continue to have with the Senator is that he is long on charisma but short on detail. This frightens some voters. Who the heck is this guy, anyway?
* * *
On the other hand, I happened to tune in to FNC yesterday and caught O'Reilly with Barney Frank. Pretty sad (though some may find it funny).
Thursday, October 02, 2008
The New President and the Global Landscape
We have no wish to advise you how to vote. That's your decision. What we want to do is try to describe what the world will look like to the new president and consider how each candidate is likely to respond to the world.
[I assume he'll get to the new president's likely responses in a follow-up article.]
[I assume he'll get to the new president's likely responses in a follow-up article.]
The Debates 2008
Presidential Debate 3: FactCheck, SNL
Presidential Debate 2: FactCheck, SNL (who won?)
VP Debate: FactCheck, SNL, (Sarah and Hillary, Sarah and Katie, on SNL)
Presidential Debate 1: FactCheck, SNL
Presidential Debate 2: FactCheck, SNL (who won?)
VP Debate: FactCheck, SNL, (Sarah and Hillary, Sarah and Katie, on SNL)
Presidential Debate 1: FactCheck, SNL
Friday, September 19, 2008
Iraqi pullout?
The United States is moving towards ending its military control of Iraq by agreeing to withdraw combat troops from Iraqi cities and towns by next June and from the rest of Iraq by 2011, according to Iraqi and American negotiators.
The withdrawal of US troops to bases outside the cities, towns and villages would make the Iraqi government, whose security forces number half a million men, the predominant military power in Iraq for the first time since the US-led invasion of 2003.
The withdrawal of US troops to bases outside the cities, towns and villages would make the Iraqi government, whose security forces number half a million men, the predominant military power in Iraq for the first time since the US-led invasion of 2003.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
mayoral debate
The three leading candidates for Honolulu mayor last night traded sharp questions and personal attacks while engaging in a contentious debate on issues ranging from the proposed commuter rail project to public safety and the fiscal condition of the city during difficult economic times.
In their only scheduled debate before the Sept. 20 primary election, Mayor Mufi Hannemann, Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi and University of Hawai'i engineering professor Panos Prevedouros met onstage at the Hawai'i Theatre before more than 250 supporters and others.
In their only scheduled debate before the Sept. 20 primary election, Mayor Mufi Hannemann, Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi and University of Hawai'i engineering professor Panos Prevedouros met onstage at the Hawai'i Theatre before more than 250 supporters and others.
Monday, September 01, 2008
Hurricane Gustav
[8/30] Spooked by predictions that Hurricane Gustav could grow into a Category 5 monster, an estimated 1 million people fled the Gulf Coast Saturday — even before the official order came for New Orleans residents to get out of the way of a storm taking dead aim at Louisiana.
Mayor Ray Nagin gave the mandatory order late Saturday, but all day residents took to buses, trains, planes and cars — clogging roadways leading away from New Orleans, still reeling three years after Hurricane Katrina flooded 80 percent of the city and killed about 1,600 across the region.
The evacuation of New Orleans becomes mandatory at 8 a.m. Sunday along the vulnerable west bank of the Mississippi River, and at noon on the east bank. Nagin called Gustav the "mother of all storms" and told residents to "get out of town. This is not the one to play with."
"This is the real deal, this is not a test," Nagin said as he issued the order, warning residents that staying would be "one of the biggest mistakes you could make in your life." He emphasized that the city will not offer emergency services to anyone who chooses to stay behind.
[9/2] Sept. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Gustav, now downgraded to a depression over western Louisiana, spared New Orleans the devastation wrought three years ago by Katrina, while Tropical Storm Hanna hit the Bahamas on a course for the Carolinas.
Gustav lashed Louisiana and Mississippi as a hurricane, toppling trees, tearing off roofs and leaving half of New Orleans without power. The city's flood defenses were intact and the death toll may have been kept to single figures, officials said. Katrina flooded 80 percent of the city and killed 1,800 people.
Mayor Ray Nagin gave the mandatory order late Saturday, but all day residents took to buses, trains, planes and cars — clogging roadways leading away from New Orleans, still reeling three years after Hurricane Katrina flooded 80 percent of the city and killed about 1,600 across the region.
The evacuation of New Orleans becomes mandatory at 8 a.m. Sunday along the vulnerable west bank of the Mississippi River, and at noon on the east bank. Nagin called Gustav the "mother of all storms" and told residents to "get out of town. This is not the one to play with."
"This is the real deal, this is not a test," Nagin said as he issued the order, warning residents that staying would be "one of the biggest mistakes you could make in your life." He emphasized that the city will not offer emergency services to anyone who chooses to stay behind.
[9/2] Sept. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Gustav, now downgraded to a depression over western Louisiana, spared New Orleans the devastation wrought three years ago by Katrina, while Tropical Storm Hanna hit the Bahamas on a course for the Carolinas.
Gustav lashed Louisiana and Mississippi as a hurricane, toppling trees, tearing off roofs and leaving half of New Orleans without power. The city's flood defenses were intact and the death toll may have been kept to single figures, officials said. Katrina flooded 80 percent of the city and killed 1,800 people.
Friday, August 29, 2008
McCain chooses Elaine?
(CNN) -- Sen. John McCain on Friday announced Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential candidate, calling her "the running mate who can best help me shake up Washington."
Who's next, Kramer?
Who's next, Kramer?
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
CVS to buy Longs
CVS Caremark Corp., the second-biggest U.S. drugstore chain, said it would buy Longs Drug Stores Corp. for $2.9 billion, including debt, to expand its reach in the western U.S.
Longs Drug investors will receive $71.50 a share, the companies said today in a statement. That's 32 percent more than Longs Drug closed at in New York trading before the announcement.
CVS Chief Financial Officer David Rickard said in a 2006 interview that the drugstore chain wanted to expand its presence on the West Coast and was open to doing so through acquisitions. Longs Drug has 521 locations in California, Hawaii, Nevada and Arizona.
* * *
Walnut Creek, Calif.-based Longs Drugs Stores Corp. has developed a loyal following in Hawaii, with a history here dating back 54 years.
Longs reportedly open-ed its first store on Hotel and Bishop Streets in 1954, and was a hit with customers from the start.
Longs Drug investors will receive $71.50 a share, the companies said today in a statement. That's 32 percent more than Longs Drug closed at in New York trading before the announcement.
CVS Chief Financial Officer David Rickard said in a 2006 interview that the drugstore chain wanted to expand its presence on the West Coast and was open to doing so through acquisitions. Longs Drug has 521 locations in California, Hawaii, Nevada and Arizona.
* * *
Walnut Creek, Calif.-based Longs Drugs Stores Corp. has developed a loyal following in Hawaii, with a history here dating back 54 years.
Longs reportedly open-ed its first store on Hotel and Bishop Streets in 1954, and was a hit with customers from the start.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
George W. Bush sewage plant
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A measure seeking to commemorate President Bush's years in office by slapping his name on a San Francisco sewage plant has qualified for the November ballot.
The measure certified Thursday would rename the Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant the George W. Bush Sewage Plant.
Supporters say the idea is to commemorate the mess they claim Bush has left behind by actions such as the war in Iraq.
Local Republicans say the plan stinks and they will oppose it.
The measure certified Thursday would rename the Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant the George W. Bush Sewage Plant.
Supporters say the idea is to commemorate the mess they claim Bush has left behind by actions such as the war in Iraq.
Local Republicans say the plan stinks and they will oppose it.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
no WMDs welcome
PARIS (AP) - Forty-three nations, including Israel and Arab states, have agreed to work for a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction in launching an unprecedented Union for the Mediterranean aimed at securing peace across the restive region.
In a final declaration, the nations represented at the summit - including Israel, Syria, the Palestinian Territories and countries across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa - agreed to "pursue a mutually and effectively verifiable Middle East Zone free of weapons of mass destruction."
The statement said that includes nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and their delivery systems, and said the countries will "consider practical steps to prevent the proliferation" of such weapons.
It was unclear, however, how the signatories - who included Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Syrian President Bashar Assad - would enforce the pledge.
In a final declaration, the nations represented at the summit - including Israel, Syria, the Palestinian Territories and countries across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa - agreed to "pursue a mutually and effectively verifiable Middle East Zone free of weapons of mass destruction."
The statement said that includes nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and their delivery systems, and said the countries will "consider practical steps to prevent the proliferation" of such weapons.
It was unclear, however, how the signatories - who included Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Syrian President Bashar Assad - would enforce the pledge.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
My Friend John McCain
It’s hard to believe it’s been 37 years since, as a POW in North Vietnam, I was moved from a fairly “easy” satellite POW camp to one of the cavernous cell bays of the medieval-like Hoa Lo prison in downtown Hanoi with 26 other “bad attitudes.”
“Because you have bad attitude you will go to a place more harsh,” the “V” snarled. ("V" was our generic slang term for the Communist interrogators.)
There, at what became known as the Hanoi Hilton, in cell bay No. 7, I first met Lt. Comdr. John McCain.
- by Jerry Coffee, Midweek, July 9, 2008
“Because you have bad attitude you will go to a place more harsh,” the “V” snarled. ("V" was our generic slang term for the Communist interrogators.)
There, at what became known as the Hanoi Hilton, in cell bay No. 7, I first met Lt. Comdr. John McCain.
- by Jerry Coffee, Midweek, July 9, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
At the G8 Summit
After yesterday’s session of the G8 summit, today, the leaders of the group of eight met with the leaders of eight other emerging economies, namely India, China, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, Australia, South Korea and Indonesia. These sixteen countries together account for 80 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Climate change has dominated the discussions at this year’s G8 summit in Japan. Yesterday, the leaders of the Group of Eight countries had decided to half the global emissions by 2050. However, in today’s discussions, only Indonesia, Australia and South Korea have supported the G8’s vision. All developing countries argued hard that it was developed countries who sacrificed nature during their growth and industrialization and now they should bear the brunt of taking on the expenses of curbing carbon emissions.
However no consensus could be achieved on the proposed target of carbon emissions, and leaders ‘safely stuck to their target’ of 50% less by 2050.
These countries have agreed to cut their greenhouse emissions but they avoided setting specific targets for the same. Chinese President Hu Jintao said that China being a developing country was on the path of industrialization and improving people’s welfare. United States is already opposed to committing to firm targets without assurances that big emerging economies will act too. Experts are doubtful that any substantial steps to fight global warming will be taken unless the new U.S. president assumes office in January 2009.
Climate change has dominated the discussions at this year’s G8 summit in Japan. Yesterday, the leaders of the Group of Eight countries had decided to half the global emissions by 2050. However, in today’s discussions, only Indonesia, Australia and South Korea have supported the G8’s vision. All developing countries argued hard that it was developed countries who sacrificed nature during their growth and industrialization and now they should bear the brunt of taking on the expenses of curbing carbon emissions.
However no consensus could be achieved on the proposed target of carbon emissions, and leaders ‘safely stuck to their target’ of 50% less by 2050.
These countries have agreed to cut their greenhouse emissions but they avoided setting specific targets for the same. Chinese President Hu Jintao said that China being a developing country was on the path of industrialization and improving people’s welfare. United States is already opposed to committing to firm targets without assurances that big emerging economies will act too. Experts are doubtful that any substantial steps to fight global warming will be taken unless the new U.S. president assumes office in January 2009.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Obama = Carter?
I am writing in regards to Jade Moon’s column on Barack Obama. I don’t know why she is so big on him. Being a former newscaster and having lived through the Jimmy Carter presidency, I grew up in the ‘70s, just a she did, and wanted “change” from the old Nixon/Ford administration. I had just turned 19 in 1976 and jumped on the bandwagon of “change” and decided that I, along with all the other young, naïve people, were going to make a difference. We did, and got Carter elected.
Once he did, I realized that all of his policies led to a rapid rate of inflation, much higher gas prices and sky-high interest rates. I got my first car loan in 1978 and paid a 12.5 percent interest rate. All of his tax increases on the “rich” caused prices to get so high that the $200 he saved me through “tax breaks” cost me an extra $500 or more per year in inflation. Some change! An increase on capital gains taxes, raising taxes on big business and environmental restriction costs were passed on to regular people like me, people these changes were supposed to help!
Mr. Obama wants to implement these same laws and restrictions that have already failed in the past! How naïve can one be to think these policies would work now. I was a staunch and loyal Democrat for most of my life, and the Democrats have failed me. I refuse to make the same mistake twice!
As far as race or gender are concerned, and Jade Moon wants a “first,” why not nominate and elect Condoleezza Rice? She is highly intelligent, an expert on foreign policy, speaks numerous languages and actually knows something about the economy - qualities that Barack Obama seems to be lacking. I truly believe she would make a great president.
I think Jade Moon is seeing things through rose-colored glasses. Electing Obama will not only be a mistake, it will be one we have made before.
Mark Katayama
Honolulu
Once he did, I realized that all of his policies led to a rapid rate of inflation, much higher gas prices and sky-high interest rates. I got my first car loan in 1978 and paid a 12.5 percent interest rate. All of his tax increases on the “rich” caused prices to get so high that the $200 he saved me through “tax breaks” cost me an extra $500 or more per year in inflation. Some change! An increase on capital gains taxes, raising taxes on big business and environmental restriction costs were passed on to regular people like me, people these changes were supposed to help!
Mr. Obama wants to implement these same laws and restrictions that have already failed in the past! How naïve can one be to think these policies would work now. I was a staunch and loyal Democrat for most of my life, and the Democrats have failed me. I refuse to make the same mistake twice!
As far as race or gender are concerned, and Jade Moon wants a “first,” why not nominate and elect Condoleezza Rice? She is highly intelligent, an expert on foreign policy, speaks numerous languages and actually knows something about the economy - qualities that Barack Obama seems to be lacking. I truly believe she would make a great president.
I think Jade Moon is seeing things through rose-colored glasses. Electing Obama will not only be a mistake, it will be one we have made before.
Mark Katayama
Honolulu
Sunday, July 06, 2008
curbside recycling coming islandwide
[11/17/08] The blue bins are for aluminum cans; glass bottles and jars (without lids or tops); plastic containers marked with the 1 and 2 number code in a triangle; newspapers, minus magazines and glossy inserts; and corrugated cardboard only.
According to the opala.org Web site, materials in the blue bins are shipped to remanufacturing facilities, while yard waste placed in the green bins is composted locally.
"Low-grade" plastics and papers, such as plastic bags, Styrofoam containers, telephone books and cereal boxes can be tossed into the gray regular refuse cart to be burned at the city's HPOWER plant.
The city says those products "provide greater benefit to the island in local energy production than shipping to distant markets to be made into new products."
Tin or steel food cans should be tossed into the regular trash, not the recycling bin, because those metals are pulled out by magnets at HPOWER, then sold by the city to a metal recycler.
* * *
The city will roll out its curbside recycling program to the rest of Oahu by giving each homeowner one refuse and one recycling pickup each week without the option to pay for additional trash service.
The city Department of Environmental Services announced Tuesday that it selected the pickup method in Hawaii Kai, where the curbside recycling program is being done on an experimental basis.
"Definitely, we're going forward," said Marcus Owens, spokesman for the Environmental Services Department. He said the program will expand in September when the bins for 39,000 East Oahu homes are rolled out. The entire island will be converted by May 2010.
According to the opala.org Web site, materials in the blue bins are shipped to remanufacturing facilities, while yard waste placed in the green bins is composted locally.
"Low-grade" plastics and papers, such as plastic bags, Styrofoam containers, telephone books and cereal boxes can be tossed into the gray regular refuse cart to be burned at the city's HPOWER plant.
The city says those products "provide greater benefit to the island in local energy production than shipping to distant markets to be made into new products."
Tin or steel food cans should be tossed into the regular trash, not the recycling bin, because those metals are pulled out by magnets at HPOWER, then sold by the city to a metal recycler.
* * *
The city will roll out its curbside recycling program to the rest of Oahu by giving each homeowner one refuse and one recycling pickup each week without the option to pay for additional trash service.
The city Department of Environmental Services announced Tuesday that it selected the pickup method in Hawaii Kai, where the curbside recycling program is being done on an experimental basis.
"Definitely, we're going forward," said Marcus Owens, spokesman for the Environmental Services Department. He said the program will expand in September when the bins for 39,000 East Oahu homes are rolled out. The entire island will be converted by May 2010.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Rush Hour worst in Honolulu
Cities like Los Angeles and Chicago would top any list of the nation's worst traffic areas, including a study released yesterday by a provider of national traffic trends. But Honolulu?
"If you happen to be driving on a Thursday from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. on its main highways, you're no longer in the Aloha State," according to the report compiled by INRIX. "You're in the worst place and worst hour of any single roadway in the U.S., taking 88 percent more time to get where you're going than if there were no congestion."
INRIX, a privately held Seattle-based corporation, yesterday released its National Traffic Scorecard, and ranked Honolulu as having the worst drive-time travel time in the nation.
"If you happen to be driving on a Thursday from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. on its main highways, you're no longer in the Aloha State," according to the report compiled by INRIX. "You're in the worst place and worst hour of any single roadway in the U.S., taking 88 percent more time to get where you're going than if there were no congestion."
INRIX, a privately held Seattle-based corporation, yesterday released its National Traffic Scorecard, and ranked Honolulu as having the worst drive-time travel time in the nation.
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Oil rises
Crude oil rocketed more than $10 a barrel Friday to a record high of $138.54, snuffing out motorists' hopes that gasoline prices might ease soon.
"It's like every time I look at the prices, they have jumped another 10 cents a gallon," groused James Freedner, 57, of Sun Valley. "I just don't know when this is going to stop."
The biggest one-day surge ever in crude prices was fueled by a mix of factors, including a gloomy U.S. job report and interest-rate fears that drove down the dollar, unease in the oil-rich Middle East and a prediction by a major brokerage firm that crude could hit $150 a barrel by July 4.
"Never before seen, unprecedented, amazing, epic, all those fit to describe today's [trading] session for crude oil and refined products," Denton Cinquegrana of the Oil Price Information Service wrote in a report to clients late Friday.
The $10.75-a-barrel jump at the New York Mercantile Exchange followed Thursday's increase of $5.49 and is expected to flow through quickly to the gas pump.
"It's like every time I look at the prices, they have jumped another 10 cents a gallon," groused James Freedner, 57, of Sun Valley. "I just don't know when this is going to stop."
The biggest one-day surge ever in crude prices was fueled by a mix of factors, including a gloomy U.S. job report and interest-rate fears that drove down the dollar, unease in the oil-rich Middle East and a prediction by a major brokerage firm that crude could hit $150 a barrel by July 4.
"Never before seen, unprecedented, amazing, epic, all those fit to describe today's [trading] session for crude oil and refined products," Denton Cinquegrana of the Oil Price Information Service wrote in a report to clients late Friday.
The $10.75-a-barrel jump at the New York Mercantile Exchange followed Thursday's increase of $5.49 and is expected to flow through quickly to the gas pump.
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