|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
Western Afghanistan is ideal for growing poppies, and as demand for other cash crops has dried up over the years, Afghans have turned to poppy fields to earn a living. Currently, 93% of the worlds opium used to make heroin comes from Afghan poppy fields. Much of that revenue is used by the Taliban to procure weapons and kill American soldiers. One would think that as US troops move into the country’s westernmost provinces, they would but slashing and burning the poppy fields as they go. But they’re not. They don’t want to upset the locals.
“It's kind of weird. We're coming over here to fight the Taliban. We see this. We know it's bad. But at the same time we know it's the only way locals can make money," one soldier told the Associated Press.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee is the first member of the United States Congress to address the issue of “net neutrality” with legislation. Conyers yesterday entered a bill that would ensure that the companies wouldn’t in the future charge more for access to certain content than other content. The bill stipulates that internet service providers must structure their content delivery systems in a “reasonable and nondiscriminatory manner so that all content, applications and services are treated the same and have an equal opportunity to reach consumers”.
For years, telecommunications conglomerates like Verizon have been eager to create a hierarchy of content delivery. Clients who paid a premium would have their content delivered to internet users the fastest, while every day websites and blogs would load more slowly or might not be able to carry the more demanding technology the future may bring.
|
A spokesman for Verizon had this non sequitur: “"Broadband deployment is a bright spot in the U.S. economy that provides high paying jobs, unprecedented infrastructure investment, and innovation. Why would Congress want to jeopardize all that with this bill,” Reuters Reports.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sen. David Vitter (R-LA), who, for a time, looked like he was going to become a casualty of a particular sordid Washington sex scandal, has been cleared of all wrongdoing in the “DC Madam” case. Vitter, whose telephone number appeared on the client list of Washington madam Deborah Jeane Palfrey will face no repercussions from the Senate Ethics Committee, because, the Committee found, Vitter’s actions occurred before he was sworn in as a United States senator in 2005. The Washington Post points out that though he was a member of the United States House of Representatives at the time, the House Ethics Committee has no jurisdiction over him now that he’s in the Senate.
|
Vitter suffered the humiliation of sex scandal less than two years after taking the oath of office for his very first term in the Senate. When his phone number turned out to be among the ones on Palfrey’s list, a former prostitute from New Orleans known as Wendy Cortez gave a tell-all interview with Hustler claiming that Vitter was a client of hers for many years while he was a state legislator in the late 1990s. The timing of the scandal was unfortunate as well: Vitter was among a number of Republican lawmakers who’s behavior undermined Republican electoral chances during the midterm elections in 2006.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
All the world is ready to rally to the aid of devastated Myanmar, a country where United Nations and international aid workers fear hundreds of thousands were killed by a cyclone this week. There is nothing short of outrage being expressed in the world community about Myanmar’s ruling junta’s refusal to let aid workers into their country and bring humanitarian supplies and food to the 1.5 million people now at risk to die from starvation, cholera or malaria.
The Junta has historically been skeptical of NGOs operating within its borders and has been perilously slow to act to address the problems the country faces. It has dealt UN and humanitarian workers heavy-handedly, and has only let a few cargo planes-worth of food of humanitarian supplies into the country. These past few days have been critical to the survival of untold numbers of people, but in Myanmar, the government doesn’t seem too concerned.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In a move sure to delight whichever candidate becomes the Democratic nominee for president, Cindy McCain said today that under no circumstance will she release her tax returns – even if her husband wins the election and becomes president of the United States and she first lady. “You know, my husband and I have been married for 28
years and we have filed separate tax returns for 28 years,” she said. “This is a privacy issue. My husband is the candidate.”
Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean disagrees. "Throughout this campaign, he has acted like his own calls for openness and accountability apply to everyone but himself. Now he thinks he can bring that same double standard to the White House."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Networks Silent Over Military Analysts
5/9/2008 9:00 AM
|
|
|
|
There’s a story out there that the media doesn’t want to cover. The New York Times ran it on the front page of its Sunday edition last weekend and, according to Politico, the response from network news has been “deafening” in its silence.
According to the Times story, the Pentagon utilized former military personnel, often with contracting jobs or other conflicts of interest, to push military
talking points on TV. Perhaps much of the media silence is due to the fact that it casts the networks in not too flattering a light. In the five days that have passed, more and more members of Congress have called for investigations into the “analyst” program, which may, at some point, force the story into the mainstream consciousness. Of all
of the Networks implicated in the report, only one has responded so far.
|
|
He defended his network and the military analysts who appeared on his program. Network news outlets lack methods for public criticism for the most part, a holdover from the media model of the 20th century
|
|
|
|
|
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has become ensnared in a bribery
5/8/2008 8:00 PM
|
|
|
|
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has become ensnared in a bribery investigation that threatens to destroy his government. The Israeli leader held a press conference at his official residence after the court hearing his case loosened the gag order that had forced Olmert to remain silent about the scandal. There, he said “I look into the
eyes of each and every one of you and I say I never took a Bribe.
I never took a penny for myself.” Olmert has come under fire for his association with an American citizen who Olmert admits helped him raise money during various campaigns. But the conservative Prime Minister said that that is where the relationship
ended. Even so, Olmert said that he would put the good of the country before his own political future. “If I am indicted, I will resign my post,” he said at the press conference.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Top Al Qaeda in Iraq Leader Arrested
5/8/2008 7:51 PM
|
|
|
|
The senior-most leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq has been arrested in Mosul, Iraqi officials announced today. Abu Ayyab al-Masri was exposed by an informant who led security forces to the Al Qaeda captain’s house late last night. Masri was asleep when they entered. Masri has a bounty of $5 million on his head is one of the most wanted men in the world. Masri’s operation is suffering lately, as renewed operations against
it by US forces and a lack of popular support has pushed his group to Northern Iraq. AQI no longer has a significant presence in Baghdad or in Anbar province, which was at one time overrun by violence.
According to a Reuter’s report, Mosul is the group’s “last major stronghold,” in Iraq, and US generals hope that Masri’s capture today will destabilize what is left of the organization. Still, US military commanders warn that even though it is critically weakened, AQI still has the capability to launch devastating attacks across Iraq.
|
|
|
|
| |