Transcript: ABC's 'This Week' (8-8-10)

Transcript. Excerpt below:

AMANPOUR: But five months after elections, Iraqi politicians have not yet formed a government, and violence continues. Last night, three explosions at a market in southern Iraq killed dozens of people. And today, two car bombs went off west of Baghdad.

Joining me this morning from Baghdad, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, General Ray Odierno. General Odierno, thank you very much for joining us on "This Week."

And I want to start by asking you about the handover. You have just handed over all combat operations to Iraqi forces. Are they really ready to stand up once you draw down by the end of this month?

ODIERNO: Well, this is something that we've been working for a very long time with the Iraqi security forces. For the last 20 months, we've been slowly and deliberately turning over more and more responsibility to them, and they have stepped up. They continue to do broad-scoped operations across all of Iraq. We continue to help them as they do these, and that will continue after 1 September, our assistance. But we do believe they are ready to assume full operations in Iraq.

AMANPOUR: Well, let me ask you about the violence. This weekend alone in Basra in the south, there has been a big explosion that's caused dozens of deaths. What is it? Do you know what it is, in fact, was it a terrorist attack?

ODIERNO: Well, I think it probably was. We're still sorting through that, because there was conflicting reports, but my guess is it was probably some sort of an improvised explosive device that went off.

I would just say, this is a reflection -- we have ups and downs here. As I step back, having been here since the dark days of 2006 and '7, to where we are today, what I see is a broad change in the security environment here in Iraq.

Transcript: Obama DNC Speech (8-5-10)

Obama shows off new stump speech at Chicago DNC fund-raiser. Transcript:

He's not in this to help lobbyists or special interests. He's not one of those politicians who's going to put out his finger to the wind to see which way it's blowing. He is somebody who is committed to you. You can trust him. He is going to be an outstanding senator, and I need you to fight for him so he can fight for you in Washington -- because we've got a lot of work to do. (Applause.)

Now, look, the last few years have been incredibly challenging. Over -- almost 20 months ago, I stood in the Capitol and was sworn in as the President. And that month -- some of you might have been there -- it was cold, remember? (Laughter.) It was cold, but a hopeful day.

But even as everybody was feeling that sense of hope and optimism, we had lost almost 800,000 jobs in that month alone. The economy was contracting at about 6 percent. Ultimately we discovered that we lost 8 million jobs in this recession -- the worst by far since the Great Depression. And had we not taken some steps immediately to address the crisis, we might have tipped into a second Great Depression.

Now, this would have caused enough hardship, but it was also compounded by the fact that we had had 10 years of sluggish growth, 10 years of inadequate job production, 10 years of incomes and wages that were flat-lining even as the costs for middle-class families were going up on everything from health care to tuition.

So the middle class, working families across America, were already feeling under enormous pressure. A lot of them were just barely hanging on, and then suddenly this storm sweeps in.

In the last six months of 2008 alone, 3 million Americans lost their jobs. And so these aren't just statistics. Behind each of these numbers is a story of heartache and frustration. A factory worker who might have just been a few years short of retiring -- suddenly he's lost his job, maybe he's lost his pension. A single mom who's sent out job applications to everywhere she can think of -- she's still waiting for the phone to ring day after day after day. A college graduate who thought her degree would land her a good job with a decent paycheck -- suddenly all she's got is a mountain of debt.

L.I. Woman Convinces Government She’s Alive

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2010/08/06/ll-i-woman-convinces-government-that-shes-alive/

Ice Chunk Larger Than Manhattan Breaks Off Greenland Glacier

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20100806/sc_livescience/icechunklargerthanmanhattanbreaksoffgreenlandglacier

Milwaukee teachers fight for Viagra drug coverage

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rawstory/gKpz/~3/rSSs-VuixYo/

Beer Warehouse Shooter long Complained of Racism

No amount of injustice justifies what this individual did. He is a cold blooded murderer. That's it. The media keeps playing up the racism angle. They are irresponsible in reporting this. What about all these people he murdered? Were they all involved in discriminating against the shooter? What is the message being here? That it's justifiable to murder a human being because you've suffered indignity? Those that fought and brought down Jim Crow didn't go around murdering whites. And why didn't he make a complaint about being discriminated against? Did his family urge him to complain to civil rights organizations.

Lebanon Bent on Building up army after Israel Clash

Israeli arrogance and aggressiveness is could lead to a world war. Their attitude of we-can-do-whatever-we-want-because-the-U.S.-will-back-us is a dangerous attitude that will lead to a major war in the Middle East. And American support for Israel during such a war would then lead another major power to support the other side. This could easily lead to miscalculation and thus escalation involving the major powers on different sides.

The Obama administration needs to start getting involved in this. He can't just try to stay cool and remain above the fray. That is not a solution. His preoccupation with domestic political matters leaves the world in a dangerous state. He better start demanding the Israelis stop with their poking everyone in the eye. They need us, not the other way around. Unfortunately this means taking on the powerful pro-Israel lobby. I'm not sure this President, like his predecessors, do not have the courage to stand up to them.

Two Lebanese soldiers, a Lebanese journalist and a senior Israeli officer were killed in a rare cross-border skirmish on Tuesday, the worst such violence since a 2006 war between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas.

The clash -- in which Lebanon and Israel gave different accounts of what happened -- raised fears of wider conflict. Both countries have since worked to calm tension at the border.

Speaking in the southern Lebanese village of Adaisseh where the clash occurred, President Michel Suleiman said the cabinet would meet to ratify a three- or five-year plan to arm the military "so that it can protect the nation's dignity."

13-Year-Old Raises Money for School Art Supplies

Here is a lesson for those of means. Everyone and Anyone can make their community better. If a teenager can make a difference then so should those who are powerful, wealthy, and famous. And you don't need government to mandate such actions. If Americans are dying in Afghanistan for us, then we are obligated to make sacrifices for our neighbors. And you don't have to give up your life to do it:

"I wanted to spread the enjoyment of art," Tae Tae said. "And the homeless kids didn't really have the utilities to paint or express themselves through art," Tae Tae told CBS News correspondent Kelly Cobiella.

Tae Tae got the idea last year after her school cut art supplies from the budget. Tae Tae worried that kids who could not afford their own supplies would be left out. So she traded the brush for a pen and started writing letters to big companies asking for help. She wrote 50 letters in all, and heard back from 45.

Donations flooded in from some of the biggest art and office supply companies in the country.

Attack Kills U.S., Foreign Doctors on Medical Mission in Northern Afghanistan

This is why we shouldn't leave Afghanistan. The Taliban is made up of murderous thugs. They mustn't be allowed to return to power. That would endanger Pakistan and allowed the revival of al Qaeda. The Taliban should be brought up war crimes charges:

An attack on a caravan of American and European medical personnel in a remote area of northern Afghanistan has killed 10 people, officials said on Saturday.

Afghan officials said the group of doctors, traveling through northern provinces to provide medical care, were found shot to death and robbed of their belongings on Friday in Badakshan, a relatively peaceful mountain province which has nevertheless suffered from deteriorating security and a growing Taliban insurgency in recent years.

Study: Women attracted to men wearing red

Study: Women attracted to men wearing red

Veteran Lawmakers Find Promotions Tough To Get

This is a chance to shakeup the political establishment in Washington. We now know that the Obama "change" was a scam. We are not going to fall for the false promises any longer:

Ah, the cruelty. Veteran lawmakers who toiled for years in Congress waiting for a chance at political promotion have discovered an inconvenient truth: This election year, Washington experience can be a career-ender.

Four House members who abandoned their seats to run for governor have failed to survive their party primaries, and the list could grow in the coming weeks. Tennessee Rep. Zach Wamp was the latest to stumble in Thursday's Republican primary.

GOP Cash Woes Threaten Fall Gains

GOP cash woes threaten fall gains

The Republican National Committee is entering the fall election season with dire financial problems and, to an unprecedented degree, will be forced to rely upon outside groups to fund activities traditionally paid for by the national party.

While embattled RNC Chairman Michael Steele and a top aide sought to use the party’s summer meeting here to publicly put the best face on the cash shortage, behind the scenes senior Republicans expressed grave concern that their fundraising deficiencies may be the difference between a good election year and a great one.

I hate to be an I-told-you-so. But you should have fired Steele when you had a chance...

- Newsvine - RNC Chairman Michael Steele Must Be Fired...Now
- Michael Steele: Republicans Won't Take Over House in 2010
- Only Matter of Time before RNC Chairman Steele gets Fired

Chinese 'Carrier-Killer' Missile Could Reshape Sea Combat

Chinese 'Carrier-Killer' Missile Could Reshape Sea Combat

China is developing an unprecedented new missile that is designed to be launched from land with enough accuracy to penetrate the defenses of even the most advanced moving aircraft carrier from a distance of more than 900 miles, sources say.

Initial reports on the new missile suggest it could reshape conflicts at sea, but U.S. weapons experts told FoxNews.com that it's no game-changer, nor a revolutionary threat to America's aircraft carriers -- which are the center of U.S. Pacific defense strategy.

Michelle Obama's Spanish Vacation Draws Critics

Can you say, out-of-touch:

As the president preaches frugality in lean economic times, his wife and youngest daughter are vacationing at a luxury resort outside Marbella. Officials say the Obamas will pay for personal expenses.

Afghanistan War: Petraeus Tightens Rules of Engagement

Afghanistan War: Petraeus Tightens Rules of Engagement

In his first tactical directive since assuming command of international forces in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus doubled down on the orders imposed by his predecessor that put a premium on protecting civilians first to win their support. For months those rules of engagement, formulated by General Stanley McChrystal, have led to rank-and-file grumblings by U.S. soldiers. The servicemen say that the strict rules put them in greater danger, even as they aim to avoid civilian casualties. The grumbling is unlikely to diminish with the new directives that Petraeus issued on Wednesday.

Deadly heat wave searing South

http://pheedo.msnbc.msn.com/click.

- Anybody still doubt whether global warming exists?

Economy sheds more jobs than expected

http://pheedo.msnbc.msn.com/click.phdo?i=218da45cd53fee0315a366102cc67537

- This is why Romer is leaving. It is becoming increasingly clear that the stimulus failed.

Romer, key Obama economic aide, resigning

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9HDLJUG1&show_article=1

- Time to abandon a sinking ship. This administration is rudderless even before her leaving.

CIA Whisked Detainees From Guantanamo Before Giving Access To Lawyers (The Huffington Post)

http://www.wikio.com/info?id=207099855

Milwaukee teachers fight for Viagra drug coverage

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rawstory/gKpz/~3/rSSs-VuixYo/

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