The families of missing University Students angrily ask for help to find their loved ones in Haiti. They are pleading something be done to find mostly young adults that went to Haiti to serve the people of that country before the earthquake. I echo their frustration. Why hasn't more been done by the U.S. with rescue operations? As one family member argued: "Time is running out."
Monday, January 18, 2010
Video: Families of Missing Students Plead with U.S. Government for Help
Video: CNN Exposes "Embarrassment" - No U.S. Field Hospitals in Haiti
This is a shocking scandal. One person interviewed said he was "embarrassed" to be an American because of the failure to set up field hospitals. Only the Israelis have done so.
Education Reform: The Civil Rights Issue of Our Time
He's right about that. Unfortunately, the administration's preoccupation with health care reform, and the war in Afghanistan, are crowding out other issues like education.
in reference to:"Today is a special day of reflection and renewal as we remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his fight for civil rights. While it is discouraging to recall the hate, bigotry and injustice that are inextricably tied to the civil rights movement, it also makes me hopeful. It gives me a sense of optimism because the civil rights leaders were able to take a sledgehammer to how we viewed and accepted the world around us. They shattered norms that had been around for generations. They imagined something and then peacefully forced it to happen. They made us believe in change. We Americans know that change can happen. We have come a long way in the United States, the land of opportunity, the land of plenty, the land people risk their lives to get to. But even here, far too many people are left behind. Historically, quality public education was one of the things Americans could always be most proud of. Even in the beginning, Thomas Jefferson said, "If the condition of man is to be progressively ameliorated, as we fondly hope and believe, education is to be the chief instrument in effecting it.""
- John Legend: Education Reform: The Civil Rights Issue of Our Time (view on Google Sidewiki)
New poll: Martha Coakley 'in freefall'
This is a disaster for the Democrats.
in reference to:"A new InsiderAdvantage poll conducted exclusively for POLITICO shows Republican Scott Brown surging to a 9-point advantage over Martha Coakley a day before Massachusetts voters trek to the ballot box to choose a new senator. According to the survey conducted Sunday evening, Brown leads the Democratic attorney general 52 percent to 43 percent. "I actually think the bottom is falling out," said InsiderAdvantage CEO Matt Towery, referring to Coakley's fall in the polls over the last ten days. "I think that this candidate is in freefall. Clearly this race is imploding for her.""
- New poll: Martha Coakley 'in freefall' - David Catanese - POLITICO.com (view on Google Sidewiki)
Defense chief says no US police role in Haiti
This is the kind bureaucratic logic that is costing the lives of Haitians. How do you save lives when there is no order in the country. Didn't one of these politicians evade that country and overthrow the government there? So why can't use troops now to save lives now. In the weeks to come there will be stories about how enough wasn't done to save lives in Haiti. Limbaugh was right today about this: If Bush was blamed for Katrina, why shouldn't Obama be blamed for the fiasco in Haiti. And if MLK Jr. were alive today, what would he say about the relief effort no going on over in Haiti. Would he be praising the President's performance? Or for that matter, that of the UN?
in reference to:""I haven't heard of us playing a policing role at any point," Gates told reporters traveling with him to India for talks on defense cooperation, trade and relations between India and Pakistan. Gates gave a fuller explanation of the rules under which U.S. troops are operating than the Pentagon previously provided. Gates approved rules of engagement for U.S. forces on shore and aboard nearby ships. "Anywhere we deploy our troops they have the authority and the right to defend themselves," Gates said, adding that the troops could also defend others "if they see something happen." On Sunday, Lt. Gen. Ken Keen of the U.S. Southern Command said some violence has hindered rescue workers trying to help earthquake victims. He said providing humanitarian aid requires a safe and secure environment, and while streets have been mostly calm, violence has been increasing. "We are going to have to address the situation of security," Keen said. Keen said about 1,000 U.S. troops are in Haiti and 3,000 more are working from ships. More than 12,000 U.S. forces were expected to be in the region by Monday. Fear of looters and robbers has been among factors slowing aid delivery. After last Tuesday's 7.0 magnitude earthquake, maintaining law and order fell to the 9,000 U.N. peacekeepers and international police already in Haiti, even though those forces also sustained heavy losses in the disaster. International aid agencies and U.S. officials say they are watching for signs violence is rising as people compete for scarce resources. "After all we can't deliver the food and water if we don't have a reasonable security situation, so that obviously has to be an element of any work that we're doing with the government of Haiti and the U.N.," Gates said."
- Defense chief says no US police role in Haiti (view on Google Sidewiki)
Surgery Tech Details Stealing Painkiller
This scum should be executed. But more importantly there should be better safety procedures instituted. Hopefully something will be learned from this case.
in reference to:"A surgery technician who infected three dozen people with hepatitis C and may have exposed thousands of others by switching used syringes with ones filled with a powerful painkiller says she got careless while at two Colorado hospitals and doesn't expect to be forgiven. Ahead of a hearing where she'll be sentenced to 20 years in prison, Kristen Diane Parker described for prosecutors how she slipped through a hospital's drug screening process and began stealing drugs as she coped with a heroin addiction. "I can't ask for forgiveness," a tearful Parker, 27, told Assistant U.S. Attorney Jaime Pena during a videotaped interview Jan. 11. "I don't expect anybody to forgive me for what I've done. You know, I'm human. I was a drug addict." Parker pleaded guilty to tampering with a consumer product and obtaining a controlled substance by deceit or subterfuge. She admitted stealing syringes filled with Fentanyl from operating carts while employed at Denver's Rose Medical Center and Colorado Springs' Audubon Surgery Center."
- Surgery Tech Details Stealing Painkiller - CBS News (view on Google Sidewiki)
Jet bomb plot review shows more missed clues
This is exactly the kind of ineptitude the led up to 9-11. Nothing has changed. And nothing will change, apparently.
in reference to:"Worried about possible terrorist attacks over the Christmas holiday, President Obama met on Dec. 22 with top officials of the C.I.A., F.B.I. and Department of Homeland Security, who ticked off a list of possible plots against the United States and how their agencies were working to disrupt them. In a separate White House meeting that day, Mr. Obama’s homeland security adviser, John O. Brennan, led talks on Yemen, where a stream of disturbing intelligence had suggested that Qaeda operatives were preparing for some action, perhaps a strike on an American target, on Christmas Day. Yet in those sessions, government officials never considered or connected links that, with the benefit of hindsight, now seem so evident and indicated that the gathering threat in Yemen would reach into the United States."
- NYT: Jet bomb plot review shows missed clues - The New York Times- msnbc.com (view on Google Sidewiki)
Taliban militants attack Afghan capital; 5 killed
The Taliban are gaining ground. Something has to change or they will win.
in reference to:"Taliban militants struck in the heart of the Afghan capital today, launching suicide attacks on key government targets in a clear sign the insurgents plan to escalate their fight as the U.S. and its allies ramp up a campaign to end the war. At least five people, including a child, were killed and nearly 40 wounded, officials said. The Defense Ministry said seven attackers also had been killed. After a series of blasts and more than three hours of subsequent gunfights outside several ministries and inside a shopping mall, President Hamid Karzai said security had been restored to the capital, though search operations continued amid reports that more attackers were hiding in the city. It was the biggest assault on the capital since Oct. 28 when gunmen with automatic weapons and suicide vests stormed a guest house used by U.N. staff, killing at least 11 people including three U.N. staff. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told The Associated Press that 20 armed militants, including some with suicide vests, had entered Kabul to target the presidential palace and other government buildings in the center of the capital. Explosions and heavy machine-gun fire rattled the city for hours. Debris was strewn on the streets, which were quickly abandoned by crowds that normally fill the area. Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi said a child and a policeman were killed. The Ministry of Public Health later said five people -- a civilian and four security forces -- were killed and 30 others wounded."
- Taliban militants attack Afghan capital; 5 killed - latimes.com (view on Google Sidewiki)
U.S. Official: Violence in Haiti Hindering Aid
This is starting to turn into a fiasco. Too many celebrities and politicians are showing up in Haiti to express their concern and get a photo-op. Too much talk about doing something. Not enough doing.
in reference to:"Some incidents of violence in Haiti have hindered rescue workers trying to help earthquake victims, a top official leading the U.S. government's relief efforts said Sunday. Providing humanitarian aid requires a safe and secure environment, said Lt. Gen. Ken Keen of the U.S. Southern Command. While streets have been largely calm, he said, violence has been increasing."
- U.S. Official: Violence in Haiti Hindering Aid - The Americas - FOXNews.com (view on Google Sidewiki)
5 Americans detained in Pakistan allege torture
I wonder what the administration thinks about it.
in reference to:"Five Americans arrested in Pakistan on suspicion of terrorism told a court Monday that they had been tortured by police - charges that could add to political sensitivities surrounding the case. The men made the allegations during a hearing before a special anti-terrorism court in Sargodha. The session was held in order for police to submit a charge sheet alleging that the suspects had conspired in a terrorist act, a formal legal step that brings them closer to a possible indictment. The men also shouted the allegations to reporters as they were driven from the building. No details as to the nature of the alleged torture were given. Prison authorities and police denied any ill-treatment. A U.S. Embassy spokesman said he had no immediate comment about the torture allegations, but noted consular officials have visited the men. The five men, all young Muslims from the Washington area, were detained in December at a house in the Punjabi town of Sargodha not long after arriving in Pakistan. Police have publicly accused them of plotting terror attacks in Pakistan, having links to al-Qaida and seeking to join militants fighting U.S. troops across the border in Afghanistan after contacting Pakistani militants on the Internet. Lawyers for the men say they wanted to travel to Afghanistan and had no plans for attacks in Pakistan. The case comes amid strong anti-American sentiment in Pakistan among the public, media and government, and could become an irritant between the two nations, especially if there are suspicions that they are being mistreated or their trial is unfair. The judicial process in Pakistan is prone to corruption and pressure by powerful interests, and terrorism trials take place behind close doors. Allegations of mistreatment of prisoners are commonly heard."
- Latest News | Top Stories | News Articles (view on Google Sidewiki)
UN's Ban urges desperate Haitians to be patient
Empty words. Although Ban deserves credit for showing up. That's more than can be said for the President of Haiti, Preval. Where is he hiding?
in reference to:"U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon made an emotional visit to the Haiti peacekeeping mission's devastated headquarters Sunday and delivered a message of hope to the country's earthquake victims, acknowledging that many of the survivors are growing desperate. On a whirlwind trip to the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, Ban said he recognized "that many people are frustrated and they are losing their patience." The U.N. World Food Program plans to start feeding 1 million people in two weeks and 2 million people in one month, the secretary-general said. WFP spokesman David Orr said the agency hoped to reach more than 60,000 Sunday. With an estimated 3 million to 3.5 million people in need of aid, Ban was asked whether it would be enough to avoid riots. "I sincerely hope and appeal to Haitian people to be more patient," he said. "We do not want to even imagine that kind of situation." Ban made a stop at the plaza in front of the severely damaged National Palace where thousands of Haitians were camped out and a group of men and boys were shouting that they needed food, water and work. "I have seen and I have met many people on the streets in front of the presidential palace," he said. "They are appreciative of the help of the international community. From their faces and from conversations with them, I saw that they are committed. They are looking for a better future. ... I told them that I'm here to give them hope and to bring them a better future.""
- UN's Ban urges desperate Haitians to be patient - Yahoo! News (view on Google Sidewiki)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
