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From Kuro5hin:Mon Mar 17, 2008 at 02:14:11 AM EST
“Asia’s governments come in two broad varieties: young fragile democracies–and older, fragile authoritarian regimes.” - Paul A. SamuelsonSince Taiwan, the “democratic entity” also known as the Republic of China, claims reluctant sovereignty over the territory of Tibet also, this weekend’s uprising in Lhasa has been of particular interest to us here in this “rebel province.” The Tibetan uprising is also of serious concern here because next week’s (03/22) crucial presidential contest, between pro-unification Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) leader Ma Ying-jeou and the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Frank Hsieh, could easily be turn upside down by China’s current actions in the “Tibetan Autonomous Region.”
Story Comtinues @ Sourced Site.
From The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Nearly half of U.S. diplomats unwilling to volunteer to work in Iraq say one reason for their refusal is they don’t agree with the Bush administration’s policies in the country, according to a survey released Tuesday.
Security concerns and separation from family ranked as the top reasons for not wanting to serve in Iraq. But 48 percent cited “disagreement” with administration policy as a factor in their opposition, said the survey conducted by the American Foreign Service Association, the union that represents U.S. diplomats.
In addition, nearly 70 percent of U.S. diplomats who responded to the survey oppose forced assignments to Iraq, a prospect that sparked a storm of controversy last year when the State Department announced it might have to require such tours under penalty of dismissal in the largest diplomatic call-up to a war zone since Vietnam.
The results suggest the State Department may be facing a far more serious revolt over Iraq among its ranks than previously thought, and call into question its ability to fully staff diplomatic missions in Iraq, as well as those in Afghanistan and other dangerous posts deemed critical to the administration’s foreign policy goals.
Deep frustrations among respondents
The survey was conducted late last year among the 11,500 members of the U.S. diplomatic corps and found deep frustration among more than 4,300 respondents over Iraq, safety and security issues elsewhere, pay disparities and the leadership of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her top deputies.
“The results of this survey raise serious questions about the long-term health of the Foreign Service and, with it, the future viability of U.S. diplomatic engagement,” said union President John Naland. “This argues for immediate action to deal with the concerns highlighted in the survey.”
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack dismissed the findings, noting that the poll was “self-selective” and not necessarily reflective of the entire foreign service. He also defended Rice’s record in fighting for diplomats and the department, which he said she had brought “back to the center of U.S. foreign policy formulation and execution.”
McCormack declined to comment on the implications of the percentage who said they had policy differences, but noted that “when we signed up for these jobs, we signed up to support the policies of the American government. If people have a problem with that, they know what they can do.”
Under their contracts and oaths to uphold the Constitution, U.S. diplomats can be required to serve anywhere in the world under penalty of dismissal with limited exceptions. More…
From Yahoo/AP
By JUDITH KOHLER, Associated Press WriterMon Dec 10, 6:40 PM ET
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The gunman believed to have killed four people at a megachurch and a missionary training school had been thrown out of the school a few years ago and had been sending it hate mail, police said in court papers Monday.
The gunman was identified as Matthew Murray, 24, who was home-schooled in what a friend said was a deeply religious Christian household. Murray’s father is a neurologist and a leading multiple-sclerosis researcher.
Five people — including Murray — were killed, and five others wounded Sunday in the two eruptions of violence 12 hours and 65 miles apart.
The first attack took place at Youth With a Mission, a training center for missionaries in the Denver suburb of Arvada; the other occurred at theNew Life Church in Colorado Springs, where Murray was shot to death by a security guard. The training center maintains an office at the 10,000-member church.
“Through both investigations it has been determined that most likely the suspect in both shootings are one in the same,” police said in court papers.
Colorado Springs police said the “common denominator in both locations” was Youth With a Mission.
“It appears that the suspect had been kicked out of the program three years prior and during the past few weeks had sent different forms of hate mail to the program and-or its director,” police said. -More>
Washington State:
From The Seattle-PI:
By TOM PAULSON
Under a brilliant blue sky Saturday, thousands of people sang, chanted and marched through the streets of Seattle, one of 11 cities nationwide participating in a coordinated protest against the war in Iraq.
“Veterans need to take the lead on this,” said Chanan Suarez-Diaz, president of the Seattle chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War. “This has been a war for oil, for profits and for corporations. It’s time for the occupation to end and veterans should be at the head of the movement to end it.”
The 25-year-old Suarez-Diaz was wounded by shrapnel from a rocket-propelled grenade while serving in Aramadi, Iraq, as a member of a U.S. Navy medical team supporting the Marines. Joining the young man at the protest was David Meeds, 74, of Monroe, also a navy veteran.
“I served in the Korean War,” said the white-haired Meeds, holding a sign saying: “War is Not the Answer.” Meeds said he has been demonstrating weekly, at a strip mall in Monroe, against the war in Iraq since before it began because he views it as contrary to American values and principles. He said he was heartened by the Seattle protest, seeing that more young people are becoming active and speaking out against the war.
“This is our generation’s war,” said Eva Walker, an 18-year-old musician and Seattle resident who with her twin brother Cedric helped organize — and musically launch — the protest with the aim of bringing out more young people. “We need to pay attention, get involved and vote. This is our future.”
The Seattle protest, coordinated nationwide by the organization United for Peace and Justice, began in the Central Area’s Judkins Park as musicians like the Walkers and speakers rallied a crowd estimated by organizers to be about 3,000 people. Banners for Code Pink (Women for Peace), Veterans For Peace, the Seattle Anti-Imperialist Committee and other such organizations fluttered across the park as the group prepared to march.
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From NBC5
CHICAGO — Thousands of Chicagoans gathered Saturday at Union Square Park to represent the city in a mass mobilization in hope that it will send the message to the Bush administration that Americans want an end to the war in Iraq and our troops home.
From Union Square Park, the protesters marched south on Ashland Avenue, east on Jackson Boulevard to Federal Plaza at Dearborn and Adams streets, where they held another rally.More than 150 local groups joined hands to speak out against the war in Iraq. Veteran, labor, immigrant, environmental, religious, student and community groups took part in the rally. In addition to the groups, a number of community and religious leaders also voiced their opposition to the war.
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New York, NY:
From The Epoch Times/Reuters:
NEW YORK-Anti- war demonstrators marched in a dozen U.S. cities on Saturday to call for an immediate end to the war in Iraq and a cut-off of funding by Congress.The “national day of action,” sponsored by the United for Peace and Justice coalition, attracted throngs of protesters in cities from Boston and New Orleans to Chicago and Los Angeles on the fifth anniversary of the U.S. Senate’s vote authorizing the invasion of Iraq .
Wet weather dampened the turnout in New York, but thousands braved the rain for the anti- war event in Manhattan, where protesters carried signs reading ” End the war now,” demanding a cutoff of its funding; “Healthcare, not warfare;” and calling for the impeachment of President Bush for ” war crimes.”
One contingent began its trek in New Jersey, marching across the George Washington Bridge en route to a rally in Manhattan’s Union Square, where speakers included anti- war veterans and families of servicemen in Iraq .
Leslie Kielsen, a local UPAJ organizer, said the “half a trillion” dollars spent on the war was money that could have been used for education, housing and to feed the hungry.
The demonstrators, who included labor unions activists, also spoke out on issues including nuclear weapons and what some see as the increasing likelihood of U.S. military intervention in Iran over its escalating nuclear program.
They then marched peacefully to Foley Square near some of New York’s largest courthouses and federal office buildings for another rally. En route, they observed a two minute period of silence to honor the war dead.
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Across The Nation:
The BrandonSun/The Canadian Press:
SAN FRANCISCO - Thousands of people called for a swift end to the war in Iraq as they marched through downtown Saturday, chanting and carrying signs that read: “Wall Street Gets Rich, Iraqis and GIs Die” or “Drop Tuition Not Bombs.”The streets were filled with thousands as labour union members, antiwar activists, clergy and others rallied near City Hall before marching to Dolores Park.
As part of the demonstration, protesters fell on Market Street as part of a “die in” to commemorate the thousands of American soldiers and Iraqi citizens who have died since the conflict began in March 2003.
The protest was the largest in a series of war protests taking place in New York, Los Angeles and other U.S. cities, organizers said.
No official head count was available. Organizers of the event estimated about 30,000 people participated in San Francisco. It appeared that more than 10,000 people attended the march.
“I got the sense that many people were at a demonstration for the first time,” said Sarah Sloan, one of the event’s organizers. “That’s something that’s really changed. People have realized the right thing to do is to take to the streets.”
In the shadow of the National Constitution Center and Independence Hall in Philadelphia, a few hundred protesters ranging from grade school-aged children to senior citizens called on President George W. Bush to end funding for the war and bring troops home.
Marchers who braved severe wet weather during the walk of more than 30 blocks were met by people lining the sidewalks and clutching a long yellow ribbon over the final blocks before Independence Mall. There, the rally opened with songs and prayers by descendants of Lenape Indians.
“Our signs are limp from the rain and the ground is soggy, but out spirits are high,” said Bal Pinguel, of the American Friends Service Committee, one of the national sponsors of the event. “The high price we are paying is the more than 3,800 troops who have been killed in the war in Iraq.”
Vince Robbins, 51, of Mount Holly, N.J., said there needed to be more rallies and more outrage.
“Where’s the outcry? Where’s the horror that almost 4,000 Americans have died in a foreign country that we invaded?” Robbins said. “I’m almost as angry at the American people as I am the president. I think Americans have become apathetic and placid about the whole thing.”
The rigged poll is funny too.
Hat Tip Cliff Schecter
I wonder if any Republicans will think it’s a brilliant idea?
Her make-up always makes me think of Homer’s Make-up Gun.
Marge: [gasps] Homer! You’ve got it set on “whore”.
Thank you to Betsy the Texas News Ninja for this story.
From SFGate:
Monday, September 24, 2007
Pool boys are supposed to conduct torrid affairs with lonely pool owners. James Razsa has passionate feelings about his client, but not the kind likely to turn romantic.
Razsa cleans former President George H.W. Bush’s pool, in Kennebunkport, Maine.
An enduring American figure, the pool boy has long stood for one lowly half of the nation’s class gulf. When the pool owner happens to have been the most powerful man on the planet, and the pool boy happens to be one of the planet’s great despisers of power, the metaphor explodes into 1,000 points of light.
“If every American had to pool-boy for these people for a day, you’d have a revolution on your hands,” is how he sees things.-More.
Gonna jump in here on Gene’s post real quick. James said:”I look at the biggest middle finger in the world all day”. Just want you to know, James buddy, the rest of the world looks with you, and we don’t think it’s funny. -Sue
Investors dumped dollars yesterday, sending the euro to a record high and putting the American currency at par with the Canadian dollar for the first time in more than 30 years.
In practical terms, the recent drop in the dollar’s value is making Boeing jetliners and Manhattan pieds-à-terre a lot cheaper for Europeans and Canadians, while Americans will have to pay more while on vacation in Paris or when buying snowmobiles made in Quebec.
While the dollar has generally been drifting down against both currencies, along with the British pound, for much of this decade, its fall has gathered pace in recent weeks as traders foresee a slowing American economy while expecting more robust growth overseas.
The Federal Reserve’s decision this week to cut interest rates put further pressure on the dollar by making investment returns in other countries comparatively more lucrative.
As American assets become cheaper to buyers overseas, foreigners may step up their purchase of businesses and land here, creating political and cultural tensions. Yesterday, a stock exchange from Dubai, on the Persian Gulf, announced plans to take a sizable stake in Nasdaq, drawing a mixed response in Washington. And a prominent private equity firm, the Carlyle Group, sold a minority stake to the Abu Dhabi government. More…
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