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Source: Agence France-Presse Posted on 12.16.10 by Steve Trinward “Riders on the Washington metro system were warned Thursday to expect random checks of carry-on items two days after the government disclosed the arrest of an Afghan man for allegedly threatening to bomb the system. The stepped-up security [sic] measures at the height of the Christmas shopping season also coincided with a warning by Interpol that it had received information about possible Al-Qaeda attacks in the United States and Europe.” (12/16/10) Link: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/dc-subway-random-searches/ Filed under: CANDi News and LAND News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Christian Science Monitor Posted on 12.16.10 by Steve Trinward “An $858 billion package to cut taxes and help the long-term unemployed was unexpectedly pulled from the House Thursday, suggesting that Democratic leaders underestimated the depth of opposition to the bill as well as the possibility that House members could amend it. The development means Democratic leadership will have to work behind the scenes to shore up support for the package before bringing it back to the floor — a process that could take anywhere for a few hours to a few days, if possible.” (12/16/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2a69bj2 Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Boston Globe Posted on 12.16.10 by Steve Trinward “The Massachusetts Public Health Council voted unanimously yesterday to ban the sale and manufacture of baby bottles and sipping cups containing the chemical BPA, but turned aside a push by environmental activists for more sweeping restrictions on use of the chemical linked to possible health risks in children. Bisphenol A is used in a wide variety of products, including plastic bottles, children’s sipping cups, and the lining of canned food containers. Children and adults can ingest tiny amounts of BPA when they drink or eat from the containers, and studies of laboratory animals have suggested that the chemical could cause developmental problems for children if they are exposed to small quantities early in life.” (12/16/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2aes3p9 Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Washington Post Posted on 12.16.10 by Steve Trinward “One in six Americans every year gets sick from food, and about 3,000 people die from those illnesses, according to new data released yesterday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. … The numbers mark the first time the federal government has updated the estimates for foodborne illnesses since 1999, when a landmark study known as the Mead report offered a rough calculation of the extent of food poisoning in the United States.” (12/16/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2v5h2jf Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Christian Science Monitor Posted on 12.15.10 by Steve Trinward “The escalating legal battle over the constitutionality of President Obama’s health-care reform law moves Thursday to Florida and to a federal judge who has already expressed skepticism about the statute. In October, US District Judge Roger Vinson dismissed four of six counts in the Florida-based lawsuit challenging the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. But in upholding two other counts, the judge appeared receptive to arguments questioning the constitutional validity of the health-care law.” (12/15/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/23vukhk Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Boston Globe Posted on 12.15.10 by Steve Trinward “In a groundbreaking decision, a Suffolk Superior Court jury yesterday found a tobacco company liable for the death of a Roxbury woman who said that, at age 9, she received free samples of Newport cigarettes in a targeted marketing campaign. The jury awarded a judgment of $50 million to the estate of Marie Evans, who, before she died of lung cancer in 2002, testified that she first received free Newports as a child, while living in the Orchard Park housing development in Boston. She smoked until her death at age 54. Her only son was awarded $21 million. Lorillard, which denied it targeted youth with free cigarettes, plans to appeal.” (12/15/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2ey9xr6 Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Posted on 12.15.10 by Steve Trinward
“Marijuana use continues to increase among young people in the United States, according to an annual survey of drug, alcohol, and cigarette use among US youths…. Because cigarette smoking has been declining among high school seniors, marijuana is more popular than cigarettes by some measures.” [editor’s note: Strong decline in use of a known carcinogen, to which millions are addicted; slight increases in those trying “wacky weed” (which to this date has still not been conclusively proven to harm anyone in the least) — please explain the problem! - SAT] (12/15/10) Filed under: PND News | |
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Source: The Wall Street Journal Posted on 12.15.10 by Steve Trinward “The U.S. unit of French food giant Danone S.A. agreed to settle state and federal investigations into alleged false advertising about the health benefits of its Activia yogurt and DanActive dairy drinks for $21 million, federal officials announced Wednesday. The Federal Trade Commission said Dannon, a unit of French food and bottled waters company Danone, will drop claims that its Activia yogurt and dairy products will help prevent colds or alleviate digestive problems. The company wasn’t immediately available for comment.” [editor’s note: Umm … I learned years ago that one of the best ways to reverse acid reflux tendencies is to eat a little yogurt now and then; Dannon’s just using common wisdom as an ad-gimmick - SAT] (12/15/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2a6ryqj Filed under: PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Associated Press Posted on 12.15.10 by Steve Trinward “The House introduced a bill yesterday that would overturn the military’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy on gays, a move intended to pressure the Senate to delay its holiday adjournment plans and take up its own repeal bill. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Democrat of Maryland, and Representative Patrick Murphy, a Democrat of Pennsylvania and a veteran of the Iraq War, cosponsored the bill, and a vote was expected as early as today.” [editor’s note: Sometimes I just wonder if Congress passed a secret “don’t think, don’t have a clue” bill without telling us - SAT ] (12/15/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/29gq2w4 Filed under: PND News | |
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Source: USA Today Posted on 12.15.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “The House has easily passed a bill to repeal the policy known as ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.’ The vote was aimed at sending a message to the Senate, where efforts to repeal have been blocked by Republicans. The final House vote was 250-175, primarily along party lines. There were 15 Republicans who joined 235 Democrats to support the measure.” (12/15/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/27rnwam Filed under: PND News and RRND News and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Raw Story Posted on 12.14.10 by Steve Trinward “If Amazon.com won’t host leaked diplomatic cables posted by the website WikiLeaks, Michael Moore will. The liberal filmmaker and author announced in a web posting Tuesday that he had donated $20,000 to the cause of Julian Assange, WikiLeaks’ embattled chief who is being held in the United Kingdom on sexual offense charges and is seeking to be released on bail. ‘I support Julian, whom I see as a pioneer of free speech, transparent government and the digital revolution in journalism. His commitment to exposing the follies of government and business offers the greater society a chance to protect itself from these follies,’ Moore wrote in a web posting Tuesday.” (12/14/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/23wv6b6 Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Fox News Posted on 12.14.10 by Steve Trinward “Some call it a disturbing trend Others call it a win-win for accident victims and low to middle-income families across America who might not otherwise be able to afford to seek justice in a court of law. The issue is legal lending; to plaintiffs who don’t have the money to pay for surgery related to a claim or pay their bills while their case is tied up in court, or to law firms who can’t afford to hire expensive experts or survive a lengthy drawn-out battle with a corporate giant. Supporters say more legitimate cases are now being heard and that means more little guys are now getting an opportunity for justice. Critics say this practice leads to an increase in frivolous cases that clog courtrooms.” (12/14/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/23kwv5u Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Washington Post Posted on 12.14.10 by Steve Trinward “No other state has produced more guns seized by police in the brutal Mexican drug wars than Texas. In the Lone Star State, no other city has more guns linked to Mexican crime scenes than Houston. And in that Texas oil town, no single independent dealer stands out more for selling guns traced from south of the border than Bill Carter. Carter, 76, has operated four Carter’s Country stores in the Houston metropolitan area over the past half-century. In the past two years, more than 115 guns from his stores have been seized by the police and military in Mexico.” (12/14/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2ebeub9 Filed under: 2AM News and PND News | |
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Source: Associated Press Posted on 12.14.10 by Steve Trinward “Sexual assault pervades the military, but the Pentagon refuses to release records that fully document the problem and how it is handled, the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups said in a federal lawsuit that seeks access to the records. Tens of thousands of service members have reported some form of sexual assault, harassment, or trauma in the past decade, according to the lawsuit filed yesterday in New Haven against the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.” (12/14/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2fzbj9h Filed under: CANDi Events and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Boston Globe Posted on 12.14.10 by Steve Trinward “The Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, the nonprofit group that has spearheaded opposition to the nation’s first offshore wind farm for nearly a decade, may have breached federal tax law by airing a radio ad critical of Governor Deval Patrick in the final days of the governor’s race, according to a Globe review of the Internal Revenue Service code and agency guidelines. The ad, which aired on five stations covering Greater Boston, the South Shore, and the Worcester area, criticized Patrick for supporting the Cape Wind energy proposal while noting that ‘the other candidates for governor’ opposed the project.” (12/14/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2wxce8n Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Christian Science Monitor Posted on 12.14.10 by Steve Trinward “A drive through Atlanta’s older ‘intown’ residential areas quickly bears out new Census findings: That segregation by race in the US is fading in many, though far from all, American neighborhoods. Atlanta is one of several predominantly Southern and Western cities that showed a noticeable integration trend over the last five years as both middle-class blacks and whites moved into each other’s neighborhoods, according to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey of 10 million Americans, released Tuesday. The ACS is the largest demographic survey ever done in the United States.” (12/14/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2wdykh6 Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Time Posted on 12.13.10 by Steve Trinward “The man behind WikiLeaks has won the most votes in this year’s Person of the Year poll. Readers voted a total of 1,249,425 times, and the favorite was clear. Julian Assange raked in 382,020 votes, giving him an easy first place. He was 148,383 votes over the silver medalist, Recep Tayyip Ergodan, Prime Minister of Turkey. But Assange wasn’t the winner in all aspects — Lady Gaga trounced him on Facebook, receiving 65,417 ‘likes’ on Facebook to Assange’s 45,643.” (12/113/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/26cdbhu Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Arizona Republic Posted on 12.13.10 by Steve Trinward “A peace march called by local authorities in western Mexico turned into a show of support for a slain drug lord Sunday, with adults and children carrying signs lauding the capo known for handing out Bibles to the poor. Hundreds of people turned out for the march in Apatzingan, the birth place of La Familia cartel leader Nazario Moreno, who was known as ‘the Craziest One’ and reputedly indoctrinated his gang members in pseudo-Christian ideology. The government says Moreno was killed in Apatzingan on Thursday in a shootout with federal police.” (12/13/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/22wgrrh Filed under: PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Tennessean Posted on 12.13.10 by Steve Trinward “Mayor Karl Dean asked Tennessee lawmakers Monday not to approve immigration-related legislation that could hurt the city’s economic development efforts. ‘I’m asking them, as the mayor of Nashville, not to do anything that will put our city and our state at a competitive disadvantage,’ Dean said in a speech to the Rotary Club of Nashville. … ‘Our hospitality industry and the success of our colleges and universities depend upon it. We need to be serious right now about jobs and prosperity and education, and we can’t do that if we tie our hands by creating a global reputation as an unwelcoming, unfriendly state.’” (12/13/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2b7268n Filed under: PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Christian Science Monitor Posted on 12.13.10 by Steve Trinward “Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s a … lawyer. The US Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up the thorny issue of how far lawyers may go when seeking to attract clients through whimsical and gimmicky advertising. The action lets stand a ruling by a federal appeals court invalidating a portion of New York’s rules of professional conduct mandating how law firms in the state are to behave while advertising for new clients. The rules, adopted in 2006, had prohibited the use of nicknames, trade names, and marketing slogans that might imply an unproved ability to win cases. The rules also barred use of marketing gimmicks and other attention-grabbing techniques that do not contain objective information about legal services.” (12/13/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2f2an6y Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Associated Press Posted on 12.13.10 by Steve Trinward “One of the solar system’s most evocative mysteries, the origin of Saturn’s rings, may be a case of cosmic murder, new research suggests. The victim: an unnamed moon of Saturn that disappeared about 4.5 billion years ago. The suspect: a disk of hydrogen gas that once surrounded Saturn when its dozens of moons were forming. The crime: the gas forced the moon to plunge into the planet, and those spectacular, colorful rings are the only evidence left. As the doomed moon made its death spiral, Saturn robbed its outer layer of ice, which then formed rings, according to a new theory published online yesterday in the journal Nature.” (12/13/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2drehzw Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: New York Times Posted on 12.12.10 by Steve Trinward “When Hajji Juma Khan was arrested and transported to New York to face charges under a new US narco-terrorism law in 2008, federal prosecutors described him as perhaps the biggest and most dangerous drug lord in Afghanistan, a shadowy figure who had helped keep the Taliban in business with a steady stream of money and weapons. But what the government did not say was that Juma Khan was also a longtime American informer, who provided information about the Taliban, Afghan corruption, and other drug traffickers.” (12/12/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2aod7fk Filed under: PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Associated Press Posted on 12.12.10 by Steve Trinward “What’s a tweet, between friends? The law says sometimes it’s a threat. One man thought he was just bantering with his pals when he joked about blowing an airport sky-high. Another was reacting to a radio phone-in when he mused about stoning a journalist to death. Because they made their throwaway comments on Twitter, both are in legal trouble. Their cases have outraged civil libertarians and inflamed debate about the limits of free speech in a Web 2.0 world. The Internet makes private jokes, tastes, and opinions available for public consumption, blurring the line between public and private in a way that has left the law gasping to keep up.” (12/12/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/24afj8y Filed under: LAND News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Los Angeles Times Posted on 12.09.10 by Thomas L. Knapp “Despite Democratic efforts, Republicans on Thursday prevented a vote on the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy, putting the repeal of a ban on gays serving openly in the military in doubt. … Republicans have vowed to block any votes until after resolving the unrelated issue of expiring tax cuts.” (12/09/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/297z9q4 Filed under: PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Stop The Drug War Posted on 12.09.10 by Steve Trinward “Once again, this time last week in Michigan, the federal DEA has teamed up with recalcitrant state and local law enforcement in a bid to negate the will of the public and the law of the land. Heavily-armed state and federal lawmen raided a pair of medical marijuana gardens in the town of Okemos, outside Lansing, breaking windows, throwing smoke grenades, and seizing thousands of dollars worth of equipment and medical marijuana plants — all in a raid of a facility that is undeniably within the confines of Michigan’s medical marijuana law.” (12/09/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2ecl74f Filed under: PND News and RRND News and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Raw Story Posted on 12.09.10 by Steve Trinward “An unnamed Russian official suggested Wednesday that detained WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should be awarded a Nobel prize. ‘Non-governmental and governmental organizations should think of ways to help him,’ a source in the Kremlin administration told RIA Novosti. ‘Perhaps he could be awarded a Nobel prize.’ The remarks by the Kremlin official come after Assange was arrested Tuesday morning by London Metropolitan police on a warrant out of Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning. He is accused of one count of unlawful coercion, two counts of sexual molestation, and one count of rape. … Assange claims the charges against him are politically motivated.” [editor’s note: And by all that is holy, they are! Even a cursory look at the “evidence” shows consensual sex in both cases - SAT] (12/09/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/24luoo2 Filed under: PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Fox News Posted on 12.09.10 by Steve Trinward “Jim Morrison was posthumously pardoned Thursday for a 1969 indecent exposure conviction in Florida, a move a woman who said she was married to The Doors lead singer called a cheap political ploy. Morrison, a Florida native, was appealing the conviction when he was found dead in a Paris bathtub in 1971 at age 27. The pardon came a day after the singer would have turned 67. Outgoing Gov. Charlie Crist asked for the pardon, which the Clemency Board granted unanimously. Crist said he doubts Morrison actually exposed his penis during a rowdy March 1, 1969 concert at Miami’s Dinner Key Auditorium. He and a three-member Cabinet serve as the Clemency Board. The surviving members of The Doors supported the pardon.” [editor’s note: Crist is finally making right something that shoulda been thrown out almost 40 years ago - SAT] (12/09/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2fcxsjv Filed under: PND News | |
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Source: Associated Press Posted on 12.09.10 by Steve Trinward “At least $3 billion is needed over five years to restore the environmental health of the Gulf of Maine, according to a new report described as the most comprehensive ecological needs assessment ever done for the gulf. Two years in the making, the US Gulf of Maine Habitat Restoration and Conservation Plan identifies the major environmental problems in the gulf, including habitat loss, pollution, climate change, and the spread of invasive species. It also gives solutions for the problems and, for the first time, attaches a price tag to those solutions.” (12/09/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2febu6t Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Boston Globe Posted on 12.08.10 by Steve Trinward “Nearly two years after Bernard Madoff’s swindle became public, one of his most enduring clients and friends, Boston philanthropist Carl J. Shapiro, has agreed to return $625 million that Madoff stole from other people and paid to him over four decades. The legal settlement, announced yesterday, is the largest so far in the Madoff case and resolves the government’s civil claims against Shapiro and his extended family. … Shapiro, 97, admitted no wrongdoing in yesterday’s settlement.” (12/08/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/26m9byo Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Tennessean Posted on 12.08.10 by Steve Trinward “The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee has warned school officials across the state about holiday celebrations. In a letter to the 137 public school superintendents, the group reminded them that holiday celebrations focusing primarily on one religious holiday amount to a school’s unconstitutional endorsement of religion.” [editor’s note: So does that mean Christmas decorations, without at least a menorah and a Kwanzaa headdress alongside ‘em, are now illegal in school? - SAT] (12/08/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/32pd8ss Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Christian Science Monitor Posted on 12.08.10 by Steve Trinward “One of America’s top Democratic pollsters says the American public is still trying to figure out President Obama. ‘The American public doesn’t hate him. And they are not rooting against him. But they are taking the measure of him,’ Peter Hart said Wednesday at a Monitor-sponsored breakfast for reporters. ‘The hope was that he was going to be John Kennedy for the 21st century. I think at this stage of the game, they are not sure who he is going to be.’ … Hart’s comments were based in part on a focus group conducted Dec. 6 with voters in Pennsylvania’s bellwether Seventh and Eighth Congressional districts.” (12/08/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/3a955jo Filed under: PND News | |
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Source: Fox News Posted on 12.08.10 by Steve Trinward “For more than a decade, as Christmas approached and a bone-chilling cold held the Midwest in its grip, officials in Willoughby, Ohio, would take down the most prominent American flag in town and replace it with … a pole-dancing Santa Claus. The illuminated Santa is part of an elaborate holiday light display in a downtown park, and leaders in the city located 18 miles northeast of Cleveland say Saint Nick has been swinging on that same 100-foot flagpole for about 12 years. But this year, for the first time, some residents of the town of 23,000 are saying the tradition is unpatriotic, especially in a time of war.” (12/08/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/23othn9 Filed under: LAND News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Yahoo! News Posted on 12.08.10 by Mary Lou Seymour “Lately, a handful of new discoveries make it seem more likely that we are not alone — that there is life somewhere else in the universe. In the past several days, scientists have reported there are three times as many stars as they previously thought. Another group of researchers discovered a microbe can live on arsenic, expanding our understanding of how life can thrive under the harshest environments. And earlier this year, astronomers for the first time said they’d found a potentially habitable planet.” (12/08/10) Link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101208/ap_on_sc/us_sci_alien_life Filed under: LAND News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Washington Post Posted on 12.07.10 by Steve Trinward “Ayad Allawi had hoped his political coalition’s strong showing in Iraq’s parliamentary election would propel him to the job of prime minister. But after more than eight months of acrimonious negotiations, the secular Shi’ite lost his fight — and is now the greatest uncertainty as incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki moves forward with forming a new government. In a nation divided along sectarian and ethnic lines, Allawi became a symbol of secularists and the Sunni Arab minority. The possibility that he may not participate leaves many US officials … worried that the government that stands at the end of 2011, when US troops are scheduled to leave, could be seen as illegitimate, worsening a fragile security situation.” (12/07/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/24v8yq3 Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Associated Press Posted on 12.07.10 by Steve Trinward “The legal fight over California’s gay marriage ban went before a federal appeals court yesterday in a hearing that reached a nationwide TV audience eager for a final decision on whether the measure violates the US Constitution. The hearing before a three-judge panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals also focused on whether supporters of voter-approved Proposition 8 have legal standing to challenge a lower court ruling that the ban was unconstitutional. The judges did not issue an immediate ruling and no timetable has been set.” (12/07/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/25z4zj9 Filed under: PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: The Guardian [UK] Posted on 12.07.10 by Steve Trinward “China and 18 other countries have declined invitations to Friday’s Nobel peace prize ceremony, organizers said today, as Beijing launched a fresh attack on the decision to honor jailed dissident Liu Xiaobo. … Beijing has urged diplomats in Oslo to stay away from the event, warning of ‘consequences’ if they go. Several of those who have turned down invitations are long-term allies or trade partners. The full list comprises Pakistan, Iran, Sudan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Colombia, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Iraq, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Venezuela, the Philippines, Egypt, Ukraine, Cuba and Morocco.” (12/07/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/27dhdad Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Fox News Posted on 12.07.10 by Steve Trinward “Louisiana is close to approving new biology textbooks that ignore recent challenges to Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, despite calls by conservative groups for revisions. A Louisiana committee on Tuesday rejected calls by conservatives to include references to the debate over evolution and the religious-based concepts of intelligent design or creationism in state-approved biology textbooks. The committee of the state’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted 6-1 to approve the new biology textbooks for public school students.” (12/07/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/273ormm Filed under: PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Christian Science Monitor Posted on 12.07.10 by Steve Trinward “Defense Secretary Robert Gates is touring Afghanistan this week to gauge progress on the ground, but back in Washington, the Pentagon is already wrestling with what to do about the ’significant’ increase in the number and effectiveness of roadside bombs throughout the country. Between June 2009 and 2010, insurgents’ use of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, rose by 22 percent. More worrying, say senior US military officials, is that the rate of effective attacks — in other words, bombs that result in injuries to NATO troops or Afghan civilians — has increased 45 percent.” (12/07/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2d5ew54 Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Tennessean Posted on 12.06.10 by Steve Trinward “State Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, is working on a Tennessee version of the controversial Arizona law that made it a state crime to be in the country illegally [sic]. It also gave local police power to question and detain anyone they suspect of being an illegal immigrant. Ketron said he expects to file his bill by Thursday. ‘You can’t deny how (illegal immigration) is affecting us, from education to health care to the judicial system to incarceration, and more importantly the number of jobs it’s taken away,’ he said.” [editor’s note: Yes you can deny it; xenophobia, scapegoating and racism are the only purpose of this nonsense - SAT] (12/06/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/29k7n68 Filed under: CANDi News and LAND News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Christian Science Monitor Posted on 12.06.10 by Steve Trinward “The US Supreme Court on Monday agreed to examine a major environmental lawsuit that seeks to force six electric power companies to cap and reduce their carbon-dioxide emissions to fight global warming. The lawsuit — filed in 2004 by eight states, the City of New York, and three land trusts — targets what it claims are the largest emitters of carbon dioxide in the United States and among the largest in the world. It seeks a judicial order declaring that the fossil-fueled power plants are a ‘public nuisance.’” (12/06/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/39exs7e Filed under: PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Associated Press Posted on 12.06.10 by Steve Trinward “Ethel Johnson couldn’t get her prescription for pain medication filled fast enough. The 60-year-old Buffalo woman was hurting — but investigators said that was not the reason for the rush. Her pain pills were allegedly destined to be sold on the street. According to secretly recorded telephone conversations, the sooner Johnson could pick up her pills, the more quickly she could sell them to her dealer. Johnson is among 33 people charged so far in a large-scale investigation into an emerging class of suppliers in the illicit drug trade: medical patients, including many who rely on Medicaid to pay for their appointments and prescriptions.” (12/06/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2byho8c Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: ABC News Posted on 12.06.10 by Steve Trinward “In what is being called a first of its kind study, researchers at Binghamton University, State University of New York (SUNY) have discovered that about half of all people have a gene that makes them more vulnerable to promiscuity and cheating. Those with a certain variant of the dopamine receptor D4 polymorphism — or DRD4 gene — ‘were more likely to have a history of uncommitted sex, including one-night stands and acts of infidelity,’ according to lead investigator Justin Garcia. DRD4 is the ‘thrill-seeking’ gene, also responsible for alcohol and gambling addictions.” (12/06/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2375eko Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Washington Post Posted on 12.05.10 by Steve Trinward “The hit squad drove up about 10 p.m. in a pair of sporty cars, one Italian, the other German, and opened fire with AK-47 assault rifles smuggled in from Eastern Europe. When the dry crack of gunfire went silent, a 16-year-old drug-runner lay mortally wounded and an 11-year-old boy who had gone out with his sister for pizza was bleeding profusely …. With that attack, on the evening of Nov. 19 in the dark alleys between low-rent public housing blocks at Clos La Rose on the northeastern edge of the city, Marseille’s long-discreet drug wars suddenly went public.” (12/05/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2aw6qgn Filed under: PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Christian Science Monitor Posted on 12.05.10 by Steve Trinward “The long-running fight over gay marriage in California heads to a federal appeals court on Monday for two hours of high-stakes argument that could set the stage for an eventual showdown at the US Supreme Court. A three-judge panel of the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco must decide whether a federal judge was correct when he ruled in August that the US Constitution protects the right of gay and lesbian couples to marry. The federal judge said a state effort to restrict marriage to heterosexual couples ‘unconstitutionally burdens the exercise of the fundamental right to marry’ guaranteed to all persons. The case has national implications because if the US Constitution protects a fundamental right to gay marriage, no state would be permitted to limit marriage to only those of different genders.” (12/05/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/243kapj Filed under: PND News | |
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Source: AOL News Posted on 12.05.10 by Steve Trinward “The FBI is warning that a new Barbie doll could be a gift — to pedophiles. In an alert sent to investigators, the feds warned that the new Barbie Video Girl, which features a camera and an LCD screen, could be used to create child pornography. The camera is capable of filming clips as long as 30 minutes, according to CNN. The FBI says that the doll is safe if used properly, and it has not encountered any instances of the doll being used to create pornography.” [editor’s note: Reminds me a lot of the hoplophobes (or the “drug paraphernalia” fearmongers) — targeting the tool, not the person - SAT] (12/05/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2aunlr2 Filed under: PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: San Francisco Chronicle Posted on 12.05.10 by Steve Trinward “By any measure, Netflix is having a really good year. Its subscriber base jumped by 52 percent in the third quarter, and its stock price has doubled since July 1. … the company now accounts for 20 percent of all Internet traffic during a typical evening, according to Sandvine, which makes network-monitoring equipment. At San Francisco’s Web 2.0 conference in mid-November, an onstage interviewer asked Netflix Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings whether the Internet’s infrastructure can withstand the strain as his streaming business grows.” (12/05/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2alazyl Filed under: CANDi News and PND News | |
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Source: Tennessean Posted on 12.02.10 by Steve Trinward “The executive committee of the state Republican Party at a meeting this weekend is expected to consider a proposal to require party registration before voting in Tennessee primaries. The General Assembly would have to approve any change in current state law, though the GOP’s expanded majorities in both chambers would likely lend more weight to the executive committee’s recommendations.” [editor’s note: Perfect timing, now that the courts have ruled that “minor party” candidates may so identify themselves on final-election ballots; if this leads to party-designated registration of voters, the dynasties could all fall apart - SAT] (12/02/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/24u763v Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Christian Science Monitor Posted on 12.02.10 by Steve Trinward “Madonna, always the tough girl, did not let the news of drug-fueled beheadings and butchering in Mexico scare her off. The pop queen inaugurated her Hard Candy Fitness gym in a posh Mexico City neighborhood on Monday night, with Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard in the crowd. ‘A lot of places I go to are considered dangerous whether that’s Tel Aviv or Rio, [but] that never stops me from going somewhere to put on a show. … But if drug traffickers could not keep her away, something arguably even scarier might: Mexican bureaucracy.” (12/02/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2d3yxhf Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Boston Globe Posted on 12.02.10 by Steve Trinward “[I]n what residents are calling a tax on their dogs, Brookline officials are proposing to charge a fee for the right to let dogs run off-leash in designated parks. Residents would have to pay $50 a year to let a dog loose in the parks; nonresidents would have to pay $100. And the fees for park usage by professional dog-walkers would be considerably steeper …. Dog owners say the proposal puts them in an awkward position: pay the fee, or risk having their beloved canines turn into overweight, antisocial couch potatoes.” [editor’s note: The reality is, this is a (relatively small) “user fee” that applies only to those wishing to let their dogs run free in the parks - SAT] (12/02/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/25zwny2 Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Fox News Posted on 12.02.10 by Steve Trinward “A high school football player in Tacoma, Wash., got flagged for dropping to his knee and pointing to the sky after scoring a touchdown during a playoff game. ‘It’s just something I do every time I get in the end zone,’ said Ronnie Hastie, a Tumwater High School running back. ‘To honor my Lord because I play for him. I give him the glory because he’s the one that gives me the strength.’ Although Hastie’s strength may be divine, high school referees are apparently not.” (12/01/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/235gglk Filed under: CANDi News and LAND News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: New York Times Posted on 12.02.10 by Steve Trinward “Police in Spain and Thailand arrested 10 people suspected of operating a counterfeiting network that provided fake European passports to terrorist groups linked to Al Qaeda in order to smooth their entry into Western countries, the Spanish Interior Ministry said yesterday. Seven people — six Pakistanis and one Nigerian — were arrested in Barcelona in raids late Tuesday and early yesterday. Three more people — two Pakistanis and one Thai — were arrested in Bangkok in the same period, the ministry said in a statement.” (12/02/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/29xrcq7 Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Associated Press Posted on 12.02.10 by Steve Trinward “The night sky may be a lot starrier than we thought. A study suggests the universe could have triple the number of stars scientists previously calculated. For those of you counting at home, the new estimate is 300,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000. That’s 300 sextillion. The study questions a key assumption that astronomers often use: that most galaxies have the same properties as our Milky Way. And that’s creating a bit of a stink among astronomers who want a more orderly cosmos. It’s one of two studies published online yesterday in the journal Nature that focus on red dwarf stars, the most common stars in the universe.” (12/02/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/26aqgrs Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Agence France-Presse Posted on 12.01.10 by Steve Trinward “The US space agency has created a buzz with its announcement of a press conference Thursday to discuss a scientific finding that relates to the hunt for life beyond the planet Earth. ‘NASA will hold a news conference at 2 pm EST (1900 GMT) on Thursday, December 2, to discuss an astrobiology finding that will impact the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life,’ it said on its website. Space enthusiasts and believers in alien life took to the blogosphere in a flurry of speculation over the potential meaning of the announcement, though NASA declined to elaborate further.” (12/01/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/3y9lfw2 Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Raw Story Posted on 12.01.10 by Steve Trinward “An expert in the fight against child sexual abuse is raising the alarm about a technique the TSA is reportedly using to get children to co-operate with airport pat-downs: calling it a ‘game.’ Ken Wooden, founder of Child Lures Prevention, says the TSA’s recommendation that children be told the pat-down is a ‘game’ is potentially putting children in danger. Telling a child that they are engaging in a game is ‘one of the most common ways’ that sexual predators use to convince children to engage in inappropriate contact, Wooden told Raw Story. … The TSA policy could ‘desensitize children to inappropriate touch and ultimately make it easier for sexual offenders to prey on our children,’ he added.” (12/01/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2v58kd4 Filed under: CANDi News and LAND News and PND News and RRND News and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Associated Press Posted on 12.01.10 by Steve Trinward “To ease surging budget deficits, Americans preferred cutting federal services to raising taxes by nearly 2-1 in a new poll. Yet there was little consensus on specific, meaningful steps — and a wariness about touching two gargantuan programs, Social Security and Medicare. An Associated Press-CNBC Poll showed widespread anxiety about budget shortfalls exceeding $1 trillion a year. Eighty-five percent said they worry that growing red ink will harm future generations …. Fifty-six percent said they think the shortfalls will spark a major economic crisis in the coming decade.” (12/01/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2fjktak Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: CNN News Posted on 12.01.10 by Steve Trinward “An atheist billboard that calls Christmas ‘a myth’ has sparked a growing controversy near the Lincoln Tunnel …. The full message, which appears with a nativity scene, reads: ‘You know it’s a myth. This season, celebrate reason.’ Its $20,000 price tag was paid for by American Atheists …. ‘We are addressing the 50 million atheists in this nation,’ Silverman said. He said the group erected the sign in a high-traffic area in an effort to challenge drivers to ‘think hard about whether or not they actually believe in what is, in reality, an invisible magic man in the sky.’” [editor’s note: Are they talking about Santa, or God? The actual existence of either one is irrelevant to the spirit of Christmas; the atheists are being as doctrinaire about their religion as the believers are - SAT] (12/01/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/23fc9nj Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Boston Globe Posted on 12.01.10 by Steve Trinward “By all accounts, the cocaine delivery that made its way here from the Mexican border Monday night had started as a sophisticated, organized operation. But by the end, it turned out to be one of the largest seizures of drugs by law enforcement in state history, according to police and prosecutors. A team of local and State Police and federal agents arrested two people and seized 89 kilograms of cocaine during the raid in an industrial area of Railroad Street, officials said.” (12/01/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/3a6tugl Filed under: PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Raw Story Posted on 11.30.10 by Steve Trinward “What does the release of over 250,000 secret US State Department cables by WikiLeaks ultimately reflect? ‘What that reveals is the profound hatred for democracy on the part of our political leadership and of course the Israeli political leadership,’ Noam Chomsky, renowned American linguist and political dissident, told Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman on Tuesday. In the context of Israeli and US policymakers view of Iran shown in the cables, Chomsky said that the perspectives of the leadership stand in sharp contrast to the opinions of the populations they supposedly serve.’” [editor’s note: If only it was that, instead of the “profound hatred of liberty” that USA, Inc. truly displays, at home and abroad - SAT] (11/30/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2c2sced Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Associated Press Posted on 11.30.10 by Steve Trinward “Less than a year after removing most limits on election spending by corporations and organized labor, the Supreme Court is signaling trouble for another campaign law that aims to curtail the political power of big money. The court yesterday said it will consider dismantling Arizona’s program that gives extra cash to publicly funded candidates who face privately funded rivals. Similar matching funds programs exist in a half-dozen other states and a handful of big cities.” (11/30/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2bzxm3r Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Fox News Posted on 11.30.10 by Steve Trinward “Fans of the Gadsden Flag may soon be able to display its familiar rattlesnake and ‘Don’t Tread on Me’ message every time they pull out of the driveway. At least three states — Virginia, Nevada and Texas — are weighing or have already approved proposals to add ‘Don’t Tread on Me’ specialty license plates to their state rosters. The Gadsden Flag, originally used by the U.S. Marine Corps during the American Revolution, was meant to represent the 13 original colonies and their battle for independence from the British monarchy. It has recently been adopted by some Tea Party groups as a message against big government.” (11/30/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/27f2bjr Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Christian Science Monitor Posted on 11.30.10 by Steve Trinward “For the first time, North Korea made its uranium enrichment program a matter of written record Tuesday with the proud claim in the country’s leading newspaper of a modern facility that is already operational. That revelation in the Workers’ Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun marks another step toward North Korea’s emergence as a nuclear power. The North’s ‘modern uranium enrichment plan’ was still under construction but was already ‘equipped with several thousand centrifuges,’ according to the newspaper. In recent years Pyongyang has already exploded two nuclear devices with plutonium at their core.” (11/30/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/36auhtk Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Washington Post Posted on 11.30.10 by Steve Trinward “The streets of Haiti’s capital were mostly quiet yesterday, as the international observers who monitored Sunday’s tumultuous elections called for the vote-counting to continue and results to be respected, saying they had witnessed irregularities but not the ‘massive fraud’ alleged by most of the country’s presidential candidates. Those findings challenged a statement made Sunday by 12 of the 19 presidential candidates that called for the election to be invalidated. They said the government of outgoing President Rene Preval had rigged the process to install his protege, Jude Celestin.” (11/30/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/29sn6vg Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Agence France-Presse Posted on 11.29.10 by Steve Trinward “A computer hacker known as the ‘Jester’ who calls himself a ‘hacktivist for good’ is taking credit for temporarily taking down the WikiLeaks website. WikiLeaks.org came under a distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on Sunday shortly before it began releasing the first batch of some 250,000 US diplomatic cables. The ‘Jester,’ a hacker who has targeted extremist websites in the past, claimed responsibility for the cyberattack on WikiLeaks in a message on his Twitter feed. … Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at computer security firm F-Secure, told AFP he believed the hacker could carry out the attack on WikiLeaks.” (11/29/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/3yrcbwt Filed under: CANDi News and PND News | |
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Source: Associated Press Posted on 11.29.10 by Steve Trinward “Swiss voters on Sunday approved a plan to automatically deport foreigners who commit serious crimes or benefit fraud, in a significant victory for the nationalist party that pushed the proposal against the will of the government. Some 52.9 percent of voters backed the proposal put forward by the nationalist Swiss People’s Party. The plan was opposed by 47.1 percent of voters. A government-backed counterproposal failed. It would have required case-by-case review by a judge before deporting a person. The government will now have to draft a law requiring automatic expulsion of foreigners found guilty of crimes such as murder, rape, drug dealing or benefit fraud.” [editor’s note: As long as the “crimes” involved aggression (incl. fraud) against others, there’d be nothing wrong here; the inclusion of “drug dealing” taints the deck, though - SAT] (11/29/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2dpvkf9 Filed under: PND News | |
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Source: Christian Science Monitor Posted on 11.29.10 by Steve Trinward “While Democrats and Republicans are at odds and polls expressing historic voter dissatisfaction, disgruntled voters in a handful of states now an outlet that could channel that populist anger into real-world solutions, say several political analysts. The idea is called the ‘there oughta be a law’ contest, in which citizens send ideas for new laws to lawmakers who then bring them before state legislatures. The movement began in California in 2001 and has now grown to about half a dozen incarnations from California to New York.” [editor’s note: Horrors! This authoritarian putsch needs a civil liberties-driven counter-movement of “there oughta be NO law” ASAP - SAT] (11/29/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/29dkmop Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Los Angeles Times Posted on 11.29.10 by Steve Trinward “European officials rescued their second country in seven months Sunday, offering financially strapped Ireland a bailout package worth $113 billion in a bid to shore up confidence in the battered euro. Dublin quickly accepted the lifeline, hoping to calm investors ahead of the opening of international markets today. The move was a humiliating concession by the Irish government, which had insisted for weeks that it did not need outside help to deal with its crushing public debt and crippled banking sector. All eyes are now turned to Portugal and Spain, where, in many ways, the true mettle of the Irish bailout will be tested.” (11/29/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/234pdme Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Guardian [UK] Posted on 11.29.10 by Steve Trinward “Scientists claim to be a step closer to reversing the aging process after rejuvenating worn out organs in elderly mice. The experimental treatment developed by researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, turned weak and feeble old mice into healthy animals by regenerating their aged bodies. The surprise recovery of the animals has raised hopes among scientists that it may be possible to achieve a similar feat in humans — or at least to slow down the aging process.” (11/29/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2bxdgqv Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Washington Post Posted on 11.28.10 by Steve Trinward “The capture of Mohamed Osman Mohamud is the latest indication that the government is increasingly turning to undercover operatives to infiltrate extremist cells and fight what authorities call a wave of homegrown terrorism. Agents arrested Mohamud moments after he tried to detonate a van he thought was packed with explosives in the crowded public square Friday night, the Justice Department said. As he was taken away, Mohamud, 19, kicked agents and screamed ‘Allahu Akbar!’ (Arabic for ‘God is great’) officials said. The bomb was an elaborate dud, assembled by FBI technicians.” [editor’s note: I hate the precedent of FBI “set-ups” (cf. Vietnam War-era peace activists?), but it’s a bit hard to argue with the methods in this case - SAT] [additional editor’s note: As more facts emerge, no, it’s not hard to argue with these methods. The FBI apparently purposely kept the guy unemployed and unable to travel while trying to lure him into a “terror plot” entirely of its own manufacture - TLK] [follow-up note: After posting this one, I read Greenwald’s latest analysis, and return to my initial reservations; if it takes this much effort to “find” a domestic terrorist, chances are there aren’t many to choose among - SAT] (11/28/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/28fyohw Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal Posted on 11.23.10 by Steve Trinward “A proposal to surrender the charter of Memphis City Schools is now before the school board. … If approved by the board — which will vote no earlier than next month — and the voters, the surrender would turn over operation of the city schools to the Shelby County Schools board. The resolution was a response to county schools leaders’ desire for status as a special school district with the power to freeze its boundaries to prevent schools consolidation. … If the board approves the measure, citizens would be asked to vote within 80 days.” (11/23/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2bajj7v Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Fox News Posted on 11.23.10 by Steve Trinward “Using a condom is a lesser evil than transmitting HIV to a sexual partner — even if that means a woman averts a possible pregnancy, the Vatican said Tuesday, signaling a seismic shift in papal teaching as it explained Pope Benedict XVI’s comments. The Vatican has long been criticized for its patent opposition to condom use, particularly in Africa where AIDS is rampant. But the latest interpretation of Benedict’s comments about condoms and HIV essentially means the Roman Catholic Church is acknowledging that its long-held, anti-birth control stance against condoms doesn’t justify putting someone’s life at risk.” [editor’s note: Good to know the Pope’s concerned about more than gay hustlers on this issue - SAT] (11/23/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2gxfal3 Filed under: PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Christian Science Monitor Posted on 11.23.10 by Steve Trinward “After a man some officials believe to be simply a Pakistani shopkeeper duped NATO and members of the Afghan government into thinking he was one a top Taliban leader, the focus in Afghanistan is shifting from reconciliation and back to the mechanics of the war. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday morning, the day news of the Taliban impostor broke, Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai was less interested in talking about meetings with the Taliban and more focused on what the NATO summit in Lisbon meant for his country.” (11/23/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/39cuva4 Filed under: PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: BBC News [UK] Posted on 11.23.10 by Steve Trinward “An unusual legal test case is taking place in Canada aimed at clarifying whether polygamy is a crime. … Over the next few months, a court will decide. Cradled in the picturesque Creston Valley, near the province of British Columbia’s border with the US, is the secluded hamlet of Bountiful. What distinguishes this settlement of some 1,200 from its rural neighbours is that many of its residents openly practise polygamy. … Bountiful’s residents are part of a fundamentalist breakaway Mormon sect, which believes that a man must marry at least three wives in order, one day, to enter heaven.” (11/23/10) Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11776534 Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Associated Press Posted on 11.23.10 by Steve Trinward “‘Prosecutors in the money laundering trial of Tom DeLay, the former House majority leader, made a final pitch to jurors yesterday to connect the dots among the mounds of circumstantial evidence and find him guilty. DeLay’s lawyers said prosecutors needed jurors to infer DeLay’s guilt because they had presented no proof that the former lawmaker committed a crime. Jurors deliberated for about three hours after closing arguments without reaching a verdict. They will resume their deliberations [Tuesday].” (11/23/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/2dexwcq Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News | |
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Source: Boston Globe Posted on 11.22.10 by Steve Trinward “It’s often said that the two certainties in life are death and taxes. For 2010, a hint of ambiguity has entered into that adage. This year, death has not been followed by federal estate taxes, due to a quirk in the law. It has cost the US Treasury billions of dollars and fueled a battle in Congress, and it may be prompting end-of-life discussions in some of America’s wealthiest families. Bluntly put, a very rich person could save his or her heirs a lot of money in taxes by dying before New Year’s Day. Starting Jan. 1, the federal estate tax is scheduled to return automatically after an unusual one-year hiatus, unless Congress takes action.” (11/22/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/23e46rb Filed under: CANDi News and PND News and RRND News and Twitter-Worthy | |
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Source: Christian Science Monitor Posted on 11.22.10 by Steve Trinward “As Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg was leaving a Monitor breakfast last week, he was asked about the possibility that President Obama might face a Democratic primary challenge in 2012. Mr. Greenberg’s two-word answer: ‘Watch Afghanistan!’ Indeed, of all the issues on Mr. Obama’s plate, the war in Afghanistan is his biggest area of political vulnerability among his own Democratic base. … Among Obama’s own party, only 33 percent say the US is doing the right thing in Afghanistan; 62 percent say it’s not.” (11/22/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/26f3ytb Filed under: PND News and RRND News | |
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