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25 Jul 2010 20:47

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Politics: Why Wikileaks does what it does – even if people don’t like it

  • We believe that transparency in government activities leads to reduced corruption, better government and stronger democracies. All governments can benefit from increased scrutiny by the world community, as well as their own people. We believe this scrutiny requires information.
  • A note on the Wikileaks Web site • Noting why they do what they do, despite the controversy it creates. Let’s face it. They’re very self-promotional. They know how to get their name out there. And they want to get a message out there. The message this time? “[The leak] shows not only the severe incidents but the general squalor of war, from the death of individual children to major operations that kill hundreds,” said Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Jul 2010 20:30

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World: Holy crap: Wikileaks just unleashed the Afghan War motherlode

  • 92,000 documents from Wikileaks source
  • three newspapers – The New York Times, The Guardian and Der Spiegel – were given first crack at the info
  • yes the papers each decided to run the news at the same time, but took great care not to reveal state secrets
  • no we have no idea who leaked the info online – our wildly inaccurate guess is Adrian Lamo
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Jul 2010 10:52

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U.S.: David Petraeus jumps into Afghanistan just in time for the Fourth

  • We are in this to win. We have arrived at a critical moment.
  • Gen. David Petraeus • Speaking to his Afghan troops on the Fourth of July (of all days), his first official day of service in the region. It’s been a difficult month in the region, with more coalition casualties in June than at any period since the war began. Petraeus reflected that in his speech. “As you and our Afghan partners on the ground get into tough situations, we must employ all assets to ensure your safety,” he said, “keeping in mind, again, the importance of avoiding civilian casualties.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Jul 2010 20:58

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Politics: Michael Steele is an idiot, reason 3,149: Trashing the Afghan War

  • “This is a war of Obama’s choosing.” Wait a second, we’re not geniuses here, but we’re pretty sure that the GOP largely supports the Afghan War, too, not just Obama. And here’s Steele suggesting it can’t be won, that a land war in Afghanistan is “the one thing you don’t do.” Whether or not these comments were taken out of context, let’s face it – this guy says incredibly stupid crap from time to time. Both parties are criticizing him for this one. And they should. It totally shows a lack of understanding of his own party’s message. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Jun 2010 10:33

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World: Nice try, Taliban: NATO fends off an attack on their Afghan air base

  • In this incident several insurgents were killed and I can tell you that the security perimeter was not breached and the insurgents were being stopped by Afghan and ISAF forces very effectively.
  • NATO spokesman Brigadier General Josef Blotz • Refuting claims by the Taliban that they killed dozens of Afghan and coalition fighters in the midst of a firefight outside Jalalabad’s Bagram Air Base. Instead, six Taliban solders were killed and two coalition soliders were wounded. The Taliban’s attack was flashy but ineffective – first a car bomb went off and then a bunch of insurgents tried to storm the air base, but never got close. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Jun 2010 11:26

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World: Hamid Karzai has zero confidence in pretty much everybody

  • The president has lost his confidence in the capability of either the coalition or his own government to protect this country. President Karzai has never announced that NATO will lose, but the way that he does not proudly own the campaign shows that he doesn’t trust it is working.
  • Former Afghan intelligence director Amrullah Saleh • Explaining his feelings about Hamid Karzai’s take on the war. Essentially, he has no confidence in either his country or his coalition. He reportedly thinks the Americans were behind the attack (on a national peace conference, no less) that led to Saleh’s resignation. He and one other top security official resigned in the wake of the attack. A diplomat hiding behind anonymity agrees: “Karzai told me that he can’t trust the Americans to fix the situation here. He believes they stole his legitimacy during the elections last year. And then they said publicly that they were going to leave.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Jun 2010 10:41

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World: In Afghanistan, a suicide bomber turns a wedding into a disaster

  • 40+ number of people killed in the suicide bombing, during a wedding in the village of Nagahan
  • 70+ number of people injured; the groom was a anti-Taliban militia member who was badly injured source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

31 May 2010 23:20

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World: Mustafa Abu al-Yazid: Another Al-Qaeda leader goes down?

  • He’s a top-ranking dude in Afghanistan. It’s still not confirmed, but the U.S. believes that Mustafa Abu al-Yazid was a victim of a missile strike that hit over the last couple of weeks. Al-Qaeda is talking about the dude like he was killed. “His death will only be a severe curse by his life upon the infidels,” a member of the group wrote on a radical Web site. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 May 2010 14:48

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Politics: Posted without comment: Helen Thomas grills Obama on Afghanistan

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 May 2010 20:42

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Politics: “The War is Making You Poor Act”; Alan Grayson good with names

  • Let’s face it; this bill has about as much a chance of passing as anything Dennis Kucinich has submitted in the last fifteen years, but it’s pretty brilliant in its conceit; take the extra money for the Iran and Afghan wars and give most of it it to the taxpayers, and use the rest to pay off the federal deficit and federal debt. It’s kind of a dream bill for the far left, especially given its name. However, much like everything Grayson has done in the last year and a half, it’s an attention grab. Well, it worked. Kucinich wishes he had this kind of attention. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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