Palin has signed 20,000 books, aide estimates

The power of celebrity. No matter how stupid she comes across, people are apparently flocking to her. Not that these people would vote for her. But sensationalism overrides that. Which goes to show that the power of media is overwhelming. And the dumber the better.

in reference to:

"Sarah Palin has signed 20,000 copies of "Going Rogue" during her nationwide book tour, a staffer traveling with the former Alaska governor estimates. Palin will have visited 13 cities and traveled 4,000 miles by the end of Tuesday, with 80 percent of that travel done aboard the "Going Rogue" bus, according to Jason Recher, an adviser to Palin during her vice presidential bid now assisting with book tour logistics. Recher ticked through the statistics while riding the bus to Palin's stop at The Villages retirement community in central Florida."
- CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time Blog Archive - Palin has signed 20,000 books, aide estimates « - Blogs from CNN.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

ABC's 'Good Morning America' Cancels Adam Lambert Performance

Good for you, GMA.

in reference to:

"Access Hollywood has learned from a rep for Adam Lambert that ABC's "Good Morning America" has canceled the singer's live morning show concert tomorrow morning."
- UPDATED: ABC's 'Good Morning America' Cancels Adam Lambert Performance - omg! - Yahoo! Buzz (view on Google Sidewiki)

Feds: Former US Prosecutor Helped Rub Out Witnesses For Gangster Clients, Ran Drugs And Call-Girls

Government is a lot like organized crime, now a days.

in reference to:

"From federal prosecutor to accused violent gangster, pimp, and drug-dealer...That's the unusual career trajectory taken, say the Feds, by Paul Bergrin, who was indicted earlier this month in a 39-count racketeering indictment. In a drama that could have been made for HBO, Bergrin -- a white-collar defense lawyer who once represented, pro bono, a solider accused of abusing Abu Ghraib detainees -- seems to have allowed his gangster clients to drag him into a world of violent crime. And he may have gone a lot further than Maury Levy ever did for Stringer Bell. Bergrin, a former AUSA with the U.S. attorney's office in New Jersey, is charged with leading a criminal enterprise that used violence, intimidation, and deceit to generate millions of dollars, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. Among the most eye-catching allegations against him: - That he used a Newark restaurant as a front for a cocaine-distribution network. - That he oversaw a $1,000-an-hour call-girl ring in New York City. - That he had a witness killed in one drug case, and hired a hitman to kill another."
- Feds: Former US Prosecutor Helped Rub Out Witnesses For Gangster Clients, Ran Drugs And Call-Girls | TPMMuckraker (view on Google Sidewiki)

Girl May Have Arranged Classmate's Gang Rape

" A 14-year-old Alabama girl might have helped arrange the gang rape of her ninth-grade classmate and could face charges as an accomplice based on her comments in a televised interview, a district attorney said.

The girl told reporters last week that she and her 14-year-old classmate had planned to have sex with the suspects who have been charged with rape. The girl under investigation is dating one of the three suspects who are 16, 17 and 20 years old.

"The victim told police that the attack did begin as consensual contact," Monroe County District Attorney Tommy Chapman told the Press-Register of Mobile for a Monday story. "But when all three suspects began to join in, she told them no repeatedly, but they did not stop."'

in reference to:

"A 14-year-old Alabama girl might have helped arrange the gang rape of her ninth-grade classmate and could face charges as an accomplice based on her comments in a televised interview, a district attorney said. The girl told reporters last week that she and her 14-year-old classmate had planned to have sex with the suspects who have been charged with rape. The girl under investigation is dating one of the three suspects who are 16, 17 and 20 years old. "The victim told police that the attack did begin as consensual contact," Monroe County District Attorney Tommy Chapman told the Press-Register of Mobile for a Monday story. "But when all three suspects began to join in, she told them no repeatedly, but they did not stop.""
- Girl May Have Arranged Classmate's Gang Rape - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

Economy Grows Again, But at Slower Rate

This is the key to employment, GDP growth. And 2.8% is not adequate to get people working. More evidence that the "stimulus package" has not worked.

in reference to:

"The economy grew at a 2.8 percent pace last quarter, as the recovery got off to a slower start than first thought. The Commerce Department's new reading on gross domestic product wasn't as energetic as the 3.5 percent growth rate for the July-September period estimated just a month ago. The main factors behind the downgrade: consumers didn't spend as much, commercial construction was weaker and the nation's trade deficit was more of a drag on growth. Businesses also trimmed more of their stockpiles, another restraining factor. The new reading on GDP, which measures the value of all goods and services produced in the United States - from machinery to manicures - was a tad weaker than the 2.9 percent growth rate economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected."
- Economy Grows Again, But at Slower Rate - CBS News (view on Google Sidewiki)

More Than Half Of Teachers Report Buying Hungry Students Food With Their Own Money

This is a national outrage.

in reference to:

"We often hear about U.S. teachers being paid poorly for all the work they do to educate children. But did you know that 63 percent of teachers report buying food for the classroom each month with their own money? That's just one statistic from a report put out by Share Our Strength, which surveyed teachers across the country about hunger in America's classrooms."
- More Than Half Of Teachers Report Buying Hungry Students Food With Their Own Money (view on Google Sidewiki)

Obama To Announce Increase Of US Troops For Afghanistan On December 1

"President Barack Obama is expected to announce a "sizeable force" increase in US troops for Afghanistan early next week, tentatively December 1, according to a report from NPR.

Obama met with his war council on Monday evening to decide how many troops to send in addition to the 68,000 already deployed. According to the Associated Press, "Military officials and others said they expect Obama to settle on a middle-ground option that would deploy an eventual 32,000 to 35,000 U.S. forces to the 8-year-old conflict." General Stanley McChrystal, the top US commander in the region, had been pressing for 40,000."

in reference to: Obama To Announce Increase Of US Troops For Afghanistan On December 1 (view on Google Sidewiki)

Mom: Son in coma heard everything for 23 years

Incredible.

in reference to:

"A man who emerged from what doctors thought was a vegetative state says he was fully conscious for 23 years but could not respond because he was paralyzed, his mother said Monday. Rom Houben, 46, had a car crash in 1983 and doctors thought he had sunk into a coma. His family continued to believe their son was conscious and sought further medical advice. Professor Steven Laureys of Belgium's Coma Science Group realized that the diagnosis was wrong and taught Houben how to communicate through a special keyboard, said Dr. Audrey Vanhaudenhuyse, who is on Laureys' team."
- Mom: Son in coma heard everything for 23 years (view on Google Sidewiki)

U.S. slow to build new flu defenses

"After a lethal bird flu virus emerged in Asia, U.S. officials launched an intense effort to build new defenses against a pandemic, including replacing an antiquated vaccine system, which depends on millions of chicken eggs.

But six years later, as Americans from Washington to California line up to get inoculated against the swine flu, the slow progress toward developing better ways to make a vaccine has become glaringly obvious."

in reference to: U.S. slow to build new flu defenses - washingtonpost.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

New iPhone worm can act like botnet say experts

"A second worm to hit the iPhone has been unearthed by security company F-Secure.

It is specifically targeting people in the Netherlands who are using their iPhones for internet banking with Dutch online bank ING."

in reference to: BBC News - New iPhone worm can act like botnet say experts (view on Google Sidewiki)

Warming's impacts sped up, worsened since Kyoto

" Since the 1997 international accord to fight global warming, climate change has worsened and accelerated—beyond some of the grimmest of warnings made back then.

As the world has talked for a dozen years about what to do next, new ship passages opened through the once frozen summer sea ice of the Arctic. In Greenland and Antarctica, ice sheets have lost trillions of tons of ice. Mountain glaciers in Europe, South America, Asia and Africa are shrinking faster than before."

in reference to:

"And it's not just the frozen parts of the world that have felt the heat in the dozen years leading up to next month's climate summit in Copenhagen: _The world's oceans have risen by about an inch and a half. _Droughts and wildfires have turned more severe worldwide, from the U.S. West to Australia to the Sahel desert of North Africa. _Species now in trouble because of changing climate include, not just the lumbering polar bear which has become a symbol of global warming, but also fragile butterflies, colorful frogs and entire stands of North American pine forests. _Temperatures over the past 12 years are 0.4 of a degree warmer than the dozen years leading up to 1997. Even the gloomiest climate models back in the 1990s didn't forecast results quite this bad so fast. "The latest science is telling us we are in more trouble than we thought," said Janos Pasztor, climate adviser to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon."
- Warming's impacts sped up, worsened since Kyoto (view on Google Sidewiki)

Georgia Third Grader Suspended for Pointing Toy Gun

This political correctness gone wild. None of this protects our children or society.

in reference to:

"A Macon area third-grader was suspended from school after he pointed a toy gun at a parent while walking home from school Thursday. Police haven't identified the boy, who is a student at Ingram-Pye Elementary. Police say the parent notified authorities who later learned the boy had brought the toy in his backpack. It's on of several recent incidents in Bibb, Jones and Dublin schools in which students or young adults carried real and toy guns onto campus."
- Georgia Third Grader Suspended for Pointing Toy Gun - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

Transcript: 'FOX News Sunday' (11-22-09)

"WALLACE: I’m Chris Wallace and this is “Fox News Sunday.” Health care reform moves forward in the Senate, while it’s wait and see on President Obama’s strategy for Afghanistan. We’ll tackle those issues and more with these key senators -- Republicans Lamar Alexander and Kit Bond, and Democrats Debbie Stabenow and Arlen Specter."

in reference to:

"Senator Alexander, now that the Democrats’ plan is on the Senate floor, what is your plan to beat it? Will you try to fix the bill, or will you urge all your members to vote against all the amendments? ALEXANDER: Well, our goal is to let the American people know what it -- what it does for them and to them, that it has higher premiums, higher taxes, Medicare cuts, puts 15 million more low-income Americans into a medical ghetto called Medicaid. And we think if the American people know that, the bill will collapse of its own weight. And we can get then started on going step by step toward reducing costs, which is what we’ve been trying to do... WALLACE: But do you... ALEXANDER: ... all along. WALLACE: Specifically, is the plan to vote against all amendments? ALEXANDER: Well, it depends on the amendment. But our -- the bill is fundamentally flawed. I mean, we -- if you expect Mitch McConnell to roll in a wheelbarrow with a Republican 2,000-page bill, it’s not going to happen. But we do have proposals to let small businesses to pool their resources, to reduce junk lawsuits, to let people buy insurance across state lines. And I think most people would be much more comfortable with us biting off what we could chew instead of this arrogance of thinking we can fix the whole system all at once. WALLACE: Senator Stabenow, there were several people voted yesterday for the bill to bring it to the floor who made it very clear -- probably four or five -- that they would vote against this bill on final passage because there are certain aspects that they cannot accept. My question, I guess, is since any amendment on the public option, or abortion or any of the other key issues needs 60 votes, how does the Democratic caucus -- how do you decide what you can accept, which may pick up two votes here but lose two votes here? How do you keep your super majority together? STABENOW: Well, first of all, let me say we all agree that the status quo is not working, and my Republican friends had six years of total control of the Congress and the White House, did nothing about making sure that small businesses and individuals without insurance who are seeing their premiums skyrocket actually saw any improvement. And so we’re all together on the fact that doing nothing is not an option. Doing nothing means that businesses will see their costs double in 10 years... WALLACE: OK. STABENOW: ... and we’ll lose another... WALLACE: But I -- would you... STABENOW: ... 3.5 million jobs. WALLACE: ... answer my question, please? STABENOW: I will. But I want to start from that premise. Secondly, we all agree that this is about saving lives, saving money, protecting Medicare. So there are some differences, as you know, as to how we move forward to get competition with private insurance companies. I support a public insurance option."
- CQ Politics | CQ Transcript: Sens. Alexander, Bond, Specter and Stabnenow on ‘Fox News Sunday’ (view on Google Sidewiki)

NY Times to Goldman Sachs: Pay up to cut public debt

The NY Times is tougher on Goldman Sachs than the government.

in reference to:

"A New York Times editorial slammed Goldman Sachs for its role in the financial crisis and said that instead of paying big bonuses to its employees it should make a multibillion-dollar gift to help reduce the U.S. national debt. The editorial, published November 21, attacked Goldman for everything from its top executive's failure to apologize properly for his investment bank's part in creating the crisis as well as Goldman's awarding of bonuses related to profits that the paper said were boosted by a government bailout. The Times sniffed at Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein's acknowledgment last week that his bank "participated in things that were clearly wrong," saying that he was not specific about what the company had done wrong and his remarks did not "come close to an apology.""
- NY Times to Goldman Sachs: Pay up to cut public debt | Reuters (view on Google Sidewiki)

Video: SNL Parodies Sarah Palin '2012' Trailer

Saturday Night Live (SNL) parodies Sarah Palin and the movie '2012'

Transcript: Shunning Dissidents, Obama Leaves China Without Firm Pledges on Trade, Climate

"President Barack Obama’s first official trip to China resulted in no firm agreements and has been criticized as being tightly scripted by Beijing. We discuss Obama’s visit and the future of US-Chinese relations with British author and journalist Martin Jacques, author of When China Rules the World: The End of the Western World and the Birth of a New Global Order."

in reference to:

"AMY GOODMAN: Well, for more on President Obama’s visit and the future of US-Chinese relations, I’m joined here in Burbank, California by British author and journalist Martin Jacques. His latest book, just out in the United States, is called When China Rules the World: The End of the Western World and the Birth of a New Global Order. He is a visiting senior fellow at the London School of Economics and a columnist for The Guardian and New Statesman in Britain. Martin Jacques, welcome to Democracy Now! You’re here speaking at UCLA and USC, University of Southern California. First, assess Obama’s trip. How significant was it? How historic? What was accomplished? MARTIN JACQUES: Well, I think that the relationship between the United States and China is going to be absolutely pivotal to global affairs, because they’re the two most important countries in the world, and they’ve got to get on. And I think that the fact that they’re talking, the fact that they discussed many issues, from currency questions to global warming and so on, that in itself is a significant achievement. And there are going to be many such exchanges, of course. AMY GOODMAN: Talk about the main points of the meeting, what you think President Obama wanted to accomplish, President Hu, what he wanted to accomplish. Many are saying President Obama got very little from China. MARTIN JACQUES: Well, I think that the two key issues are about the state of the global economy. The Chinese angle on this is that they want to, as far as possible, protect their money, the huge amounts of money in US debt. So they’re worried about the value of the dollar. And they’re also worried about the buoyancy of the American and Western markets in terms of their own exports, because those are their biggest export markets. But on the American side, they’re particularly concerned about the valuation of the RMB, the Chinese currency, which they feel to be undervalued. There was no significant shift on either side in relationship to this, as far as one can tell. But these things are rarely—any shifts will not be taken at a meeting like this. That is not how the Chinese operate. AMY GOODMAN: How do the Chinese operate? MARTIN JACQUES: Well, the Chinese—the Chinese do not want to be seen to be pressured. So if you pressure them, you’ll get a negative response. But they do listen. And over a long period, there’s been a lot of cooperation between the United States and China. It’s not that the Chinese are immune to what the Americans say, but if the Americans say it in the wrong way, they’ll get the wrong Chinese reaction."
- Shunning Dissidents, Obama Leaves China Without Firm Pledges on Trade, Climate (view on Google Sidewiki)

Transcript: Health Care Debate on 'This Week'

'"This Week with George Stephanopoulos" with Sens. Nelson, Coburn, Reps. Wasserman Schultz and Blackburn"

in reference to:

"STEPHANOPOULOS: But are there 60 Senate votes to pass reform? Can there be agreement with the House? SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, R-ARIZ.: Bernie Madoff went to jail for this kind of behavior. SEN. CHARLES E. SCHUMER, D-N.Y.: I have no doubt we will pass this bill. STEPHANOPOULOS: And are those controversial new cancer guidelines the future of health care? (UNKNOWN): This is how rationing began. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: This is an independent task force. It's not the government. STEPHANOPOULOS: Those questions this morning to four key players from the Senate and the House, our "This Week" debate. Then, as the president tours Asia, Sarah Palin tours the country. That and the rest of the week's politics on our roundtable with George Will, Robert Reich of the American Prospect, Republican strategist Liz Cheney, and best-selling biographer Walter Isaacson of the Aspen Institute. And, as always, the Sunday funnies. DAVID LETTERMAN, TALK SHOW HOST: They're having a big Thanksgiving dinner at Sarah Palin's house, and people say, "Well, is she a good cook?" And I said, "Well, sure. She cooked John McCain's goose." (END VIDEO CLIP) ANNOUNCER: From the heart of the nation's capital, "This Week" with ABC News chief Washington correspondent George Stephanopoulos, live from the Newseum on Pennsylvania Avenue. STEPHANOPOULOS: Both sides called it historic, but while Republicans insisted that yesterday's vote to break a filibuster is the decisive vote on health reform, several Democrats said there was nothing final about it, simply a vote to begin the debate. And let me begin our debate this morning by bringing in our panel. I am joined by Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Republican of Tennessee, Senator Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma, Senator Ben Nelson, Democrat of Nebraska, and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Democrat of Florida. And, Senator Nelson, let me begin with you on this -- on this overall question. You heard Senator McConnell, several other Republicans yesterday saying this is the vote. And -- and a couple of weeks ago, you -- you seemed to agree. You were talking to our Jon Karl, and you said, if you couldn't live with the bill, then you wouldn't vote to let the debate begin. So that does mean that you can live with this bill? NELSON: No. What I -- what I meant by that is that, if I thought the -- the vote -- the bill couldn't -- this was before I saw the bill, but I thought the bill couldn't be amended and couldn't be corrected and improved, then I wouldn't move -- vote to move it forward and move the debate. But when I saw the bill, I said, "This can be amended. It can be improved." And the -- the debate should begin, and ought not to stop the opportunity to improve the bill when it..."
- Transcript: Health Care Debate - ABC News (view on Google Sidewiki)

Transcript: Sarah Palin on 'The O'Reilly Factor' (11-20-09)

Read the complete transcript Sarah Palin's interview with Bill O'Reilly (The Factor) on 11-20-09:

BILL O'REILLY, HOST: President Obama, you said, somebody asked you give him a grade. You gave him a four out of 10.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARBARA WALTERS: Where do you rate Barack Obama?

PALIN: A four. A four. I think there are a lot of decisions being made that I and probably the majority of Americans are not impressed with right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'REILLY: So you think that he's not doing a good job?

SARAH PALIN, FORMER GOVERNOR OF ALASKA: No, I think in the two areas that I am most concerned about, national security, there's some questionable actions that he's taken so recently that I believe weakens our country and our security.

O'REILLY: Give me an example. I mean, what is he doing wrong?

PALIN: Gitmo. We decide we're going to close Gitmo without a security plan? We're going to bring Mohammed over here? And we're going to create this circus atmosphere here in New York and try this terrorist in our court system that is reserved under our Constitution for American citizens to be able to have their rights exercised. That's a problem.

O'REILLY: OK, so Gitmo and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed are mistakes. And I agree on both of them. I put them — if you had to close Guantanamo Bay for PR purposes, which is, you know, what their argument is, I'd put them in Alaska. I'd put them away up in Alaska. I'd build a little prison up there way away from everybody and see how they like it up there.

PALIN: You know, we do have a vacated base up there.

O'REILLY: Sure.

PALIN: And that too, where perhaps…

O'REILLY: Let me…

PALIN: ...but hey, let's hear what Alaskans would say about that. Terrorists on our homeland.

O'REILLY: You know what I think Alaskans would say? Yeah, come on, bring them on up. Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, 88, Alaska, minus 15. OK. Barack Obama, socialist?

PALIN: Scares me the road that he has us on, not seeming to understand what it is that built up America's economic system, the free enterprise principles, the shrinkage of government, not the expansion to allow the private sector to grow and to thrive and to do what it does best and our families keep more of what they earned, so that they can reinvest and prioritize instead of government doing it for them, which is a step towards socialism. So some of the steps we're taking economically right now scare the heck out of me.

SNL Spoof Video: China Wants It's Money Back

Saturday Night Live has a way of conveying a political message that is effective but with humor. They've been ridiculing Barack Obama lately for his accomplish-nothing administration. I'm sure the White House is not happy. They depend on positive media coverage. More importantly, the public is learning that the government in Washington is worthless. That they have sold us out. We are at the mercy of a totalitarian regime that wishes us harm.

Police: IRA dissidents plant car bomb in Belfast

"Irish Republican Army dissidents left a 400-pound (180-kilogram) car bomb outside police reform headquarters in Belfast but the homemade device failed to detonate, Northern Ireland's police commander said Sunday."

in reference to: Nation & World | Police: IRA dissidents plant car bomb in Belfast | Seattle Times Newspaper (view on Google Sidewiki)

Police: Gunman Randomly Shoots Passenger at Oregon Intersection

It's too easy to get a gun. And this attack could have happened to you. The answer: strict gun laws. But it would happen with a Congress that is beholden to the gun lobby. That is why we need the People's Term Limits.

in reference to:

"A gunman fatally wounded a passenger in another vehicle at an Oregon intersection Saturday, setting off a police chase that ended when the suspect crashed and was killed by officers, authorities said. The passenger, 56-year-old Danny K. Le Gore of Hillsboro, was rushed to a local hospital where he died. Police did not immediately identify the gunman. Police initially called the violence a road rage shooting that followed a traffic altercation, but later they backed away from that report. Hillsboro Lt. Henry Reimann said it still wasn't clear what happened at the intersection, and information from witnesses hadn't clarified the incident. But he said it appeared that the gunman opened fire on the Le Gore vehicle as it was moving, pumping at least six rounds from a handgun into it. "It appears that this victim had no connection to the suspect in this case, and it appears to be a random act of extreme violence," the police said in a statement."
- Police: Gunman Randomly Shoots Passenger at Oregon Intersection - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

Report: Leaked UK documents detail Iraq war chaos

Politicians should be prosecuted for lying to the public in violation of their oath of office. Blair should at the very least be made a pariah for being a lapdog of George Bush and participating in the fraudulent Iraq War. He had to have known the truth.

in reference to:

"Leaked British government documents call into question ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair's public statements on the buildup to the Iraq war and show plans for the U.S.-led 2003 invasion were being made more than a year earlier, a newspaper reported Sunday. Britain's Sunday Telegraph published details of private statements made by senior military figures claiming plans were in place months before the March 2003 invasion, but were so badly drafted they left troops poorly equipped and ill-prepared for the conflict. The documents - transcripts of interviews from an internal defense ministry review of the conflict - disclose that some planning for the Iraq war had begun in February 2002. Maj. Gen. Graeme Lamb, then head of Britain's special forces, was quoted as saying he had been "working the war up since early 2002," according to the newspaper. In July 2002, Blair told lawmakers at a House of Commons committee session that there were no preparations to invade Iraq. Critics of the war have long insisted that Blair offered President George W. Bush an assurance as early as mid-2002 - before British lawmakers voted in 2003 to approve U.K. involvement - that Britain would join the war. The leaked documents are likely to be supplied to a public inquiry established by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to scrutinize prewar intelligence and postwar planning, and which will hold its first evidence sessions later this week."
- Nation & World | Report: Leaked UK documents detail Iraq war chaos | Seattle Times Newspaper (view on Google Sidewiki)

Health Care Bill Clears 1st Senate Hurdle

"Invoking the name of Edward M. Kennedy, Democrats united Saturday night to push historic health care legislation past a key Senate hurdle over the opposition of Republicans eager to inflict a punishing defeat on President Barack Obama. There was not a vote to spare.

The 60-39 vote cleared the way for a bruising, full-scale debate beginning after Thanksgiving on the legislation, which is designed to extend coverage to roughly 31 million who lack it, crack down on insurance company practices that deny or dilute benefits and curtail the growth of spending on medical care nationally.

The spectator galleries were full for the unusual Saturday night showdown, and applause broke out briefly when the vote was announced. In a measure of the significance of the moment, senators sat quietly in their seats, standing only when they were called upon to vote."

in reference to: Health Care Bill Clears 1st Senate Hurdle - CBS News (view on Google Sidewiki)

Sen. Levin: ‘Significant evidence’ Ft. Hood shooting was ‘terrorism’

"US Army Major Nidal Hasan, accused of killing 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, intensified contacts with a radical Yemeni American cleric just months before the shootings and began discussing surreptitious financial transfers, The Washington Post reported Saturday."

in reference to:

"Citing two unnamed sources briefed on a collection of secret e-mails between the two, the newspaper said the e-mails were obtained by an FBI-led task force in San Diego between late last year and June but were not forwarded to the military. Some were sent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Washington field office, triggering an assessment into whether they raised national security concerns, but those intercepted later were not, the report said."
- Sen. Levin: ‘Significant evidence’ Ft. Hood shooting was ‘terrorism’ | Raw Story (view on Google Sidewiki)

80 Taliban lay down weapons, join Afghan police

If only they could keep repeating this success story. But I'm not optimistic. This is 80 out of thousands.

in reference to:

"TALIBAN militants have laid down their weapons and joined Afghanistan's police force, accepting a government amnesty aimed at ending a vicious insurgency. In a ceremony at police headquarters in the eastern city of Herat, the 80 men handed over their weapons and pledged to end their fight against the government, Herat police chief Asmatullah Alizai said. "Negotiations have been going on with their commander Solaiman as we have been trying to absorb him into the government," he said, referring to Mula Solaiman, a former border guard commander who changed sides a number of times."
- AdelaideNow... 80 Taliban lay down weapons, join Afghan police (view on Google Sidewiki)