POLITICO 44: The Obama Presidency. Minute by Minute - POLITICO.com

Then we aren't serious about the problem: "'We are in year nine of our time in Afghanistan. We're not going to be there another eight or nine years,' Gibbs said.'"

It takes 20 years to build a country.

Bernanke Says Limiting Fed Independence Would ‘Impair’ Economy - Bloomberg.com

It's a turf fight, but if Bernanke thinks it's his turf to begin with, he needs to read the Constitution.

From Art I, Section 8 (in pertinent part): The Congress shall have Power...To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin,....

"“A number of the legislative proposals being circulated would significantly reduce the capacity of the Federal Reserve to perform its core functions,” the Fed chairman said in a commentary in today’s Washington Post. The measures “would seriously impair the prospects for economic and financial stability in the U.S.”
Bernanke has presided over the most expansive use of Fed powers since the Great Depression. While the 55-year-old Fed chairman has said he averted a financial meltdown, lawmakers have voiced concern about taxpayer-sponsored bailouts and proposed the most sweeping dismantling of Fed authority since the creation of the institution in 1913."

War tax proponent Obey calls expected troop surge a 'fool's errand' - TheHill.com

From the Department of "It Takes One to Know One": "But Obey said supporting a corrupt Afghan government by adding troops amounted to a 'fool's errand.'"

Proof:
"If policymakers believe continuing the war effort in Afghanistan was an important public policy, Obey added, then they should be willing to pay for it by raising taxes on higher income levels. The war would likely cost as much over the next decade as the effort to reforming the healthcare system, Obey said."
Only if war funding is going to increase by a factor of 6.

More Proof:
"'In this war, we have not had any sense of shared sacrifice,' Obey said."
I've addressed this before. If REP Oeby is not sharing the sacrifice, that speaks about him and his character, not the nature or conduct of the war.

Brown: Catch Bin Laden | The Sun |News

"But he said: 'We have got to ask ourselves why eight years after September 11 nobody has been able to spot or detain or get close to Osama Bin Laden.'"

Because he's dead?

Obama White House Validates Bush Administation Policies Yet Again

"With full support from the Obama administration, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed a bill last month reauthorizing the law that has in recent years sparked much controversy over rights to privacy protected under the Constitution, with some minor tweaks.
...
In renewing only two of the three sunsetting provisions, the House version has defied the White House, quietly pushing Congress to totally renew its predecessor's law. "

Counter-Terrorism: Night Terrors

"Once it has been confirmed (usually by Afghan police, using local contacts) that one or more Taliban are living in a village or neighborhood, they get a warrant and then a convoy of U.S. and Afghan vehicles go to the place at night and, using SWAT gear and tactics (along with night vision goggles), quietly go in and arrest the one or more Taliban thugs who have been terrorizing the place. The Taliban don't retaliate, because the villagers did nothing (except be quietly relieved that the Taliban bully is gone). The Taliban are reluctant to send replacements to the village, because another such night raid is a strong possibility. Now it is the Taliban's turn to be terrorized."

Intelligence: Moving The Method To Afghanistan

"Afghanistan has now become UAV central, and Iraq is being stripped of the large fleet of larger (over a few hundred pounds) UAVs it used to enjoy. In particular, the U.S. Air Force is sending most of its fifty new MC-12 manned reconnaissance aircraft to Afghanistan. So far, nearly 30 have been delivered. One of these MC-12s flew its first combat mission, in Iraq, on June 10th. But the plan was always to send most of them to Afghanistan."

Afghanistan: The Fight Against Fun

"Afghanistan has gone through some major changes since the Taliban lost power in last 2001. There is a thriving media, mostly radio and television (because over 60 percent of the population is illiterate). Cell phones are also common, as these can be used by illiterates (most of whom still know how to count and handle numbers). This has made life more difficult for the Islamic conservatives, who are constantly trying to shut down electronic media they don't agree with (most of it, especially if it's entertaining). This fight against fun underlies much of the popular dislike for the Taliban. But the Islamic conservatives and tribal traditionalists are willing to fight for their cause. That's why they're called radicals. The electronic media show more Afghans, more often, and more convincingly, that there's more to life than guns and violence and being the poorest nation in Eurasia."

Iran: They Would Be Brave, Then They Would Be Dead

"While the government is increasingly unpopular, they know that, as long as they can sell their oil, they can keep their Islamic police state functioning, and keep the clerics in power. The clerics believe that the world cannot do without their oil, and by selling much of it to China, Iran has 'bought' a powerful ally in the UN (who can veto any serious sanctions) and on the world stage. The clerics may be under threat, but they are also confident and undeterred. They will get their nuclear weapons, and then start bullying their neighbors again. Iran will be a local superpower once more, and that will make the clerics more popular with most Iranians."

Counter-Terrorism: Wanted: Dead Or Alive

"More Pakistanis and Afghans are taking advantage of the reward program, and living to spend the money. That's a big change, and it has made the Taliban leadership, on both sides of the border, very uneasy. The U.S. has given Pakistan's main intelligence agency; ISI (Inter Service Intelligence agency), tens of millions dollars for rewards, since September 11, 2001. The U.S. money was paid as rewards for the capture or killing of wanted Islamic terrorists. The live ones were turned over to the United States. Pakistan says it captured over 600 of these terrorists, but the actual number is believed to be greater. The U.S. did not look closely at exactly who got the reward money."

New plasma device disinfects human skin in seconds

"A new plasma device being built and trialed by the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics is capable of disinfecting human skin safely and quickly within seconds, cutting down the time taken to disinfect ones hands to around ten minutes a day. In addition to annihilating MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) and other drug-resistant kinds of bacteria that currently cause approximately 37,000 deaths from hospital induced infections every year in EU countries, only electricity is needed, no fluids or containers."

Obama Plan Must Help Build Afghan Army, Levin Says (Update1) - Bloomberg.com

SEN Levin demonstrates his clulessness: "Asked about the report, Levin said “there would be a good chance we would not have forces or need to have forces there” today, had bid Laden been captured or killed. “But this has been kind of well-known for some time.”"

The Senator's high selectivity regarding the facts surrounding Operation Anaconda and Tora Bora in particular is what has been "kind of well-known for some time."

But the big takeaway here is how the nature of the conflict in Afganistan generally has completely eluded the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Perhaps President Obama, in his exceptionally tardy announcement currently scheduled for 1 December at West Point, will change the stated and acknowledged nature of our war aims. That would be his prerogative as Commander in Chief. But up to this point, the capture of bin Laden has never been a primary goal. Making it so would be exceptionally wasteful. Capture of bin Laden serves no militarily useful strategic, or even tactical purpose. It would satisfy political needs and desires, but even then the other political consequences will likely overshadow the accomplishment.

Add to this, that the capture of Saddam Hussein was a fluke, historically. From Pancho Villa to Mohammad Farrah Aidid, the military has not been particularly good at capturing "fugitives" and using us as an overseas Marshall Service is not a good idea.

Further, the very statement feeds into a common civilian misconception of war itself--that, as in chess, somehow by capturing the opposing "king" the war will end. Not this one, and not just because the comparison of war and chess is inapt, and not only because terrorists don't need central leaders, but because Osama bin Laden is, and has always been, nothing more than a front man. He has/had a lot a money and connections, and arguably the al Qaeda concept was his, but he's not an operational leader. His money and contacts are of little use over the last several years, except to keep him hidden.

If anything Dr. al Zawahiri is, far and away, the larger credible threat, but we rarely, if ever, talk about him.

Operation Khanjar restores government control in Khan Neshin

"CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan – Afghan National Police and forces from Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan have restored government control in the town of Khan Neshin as part of MEB-Afghanistan’s ongoing Operation Khanjar, designed to provide stable conditions for the Afghan people by disrupting insurgents’ lines of communication and freedom of movement in Helmand province."

Information Warfare: Mind Games In Afghanistan

"This kind of terror is hard to deal with, but the army Special Forces and eight years of everyone's experience in Afghanistan has been captured and turned into documents that provide a wide variety of things you can do to counter Taliban operating methods. A lot of this collecting (bits that work) and disseminating (to all the other troops) began informally on the Internet. That's where the army got the idea, from troops that were already doing these things out of self-interest (in not getting killed.)"

Infantry: On The Frontier With Radar Technology

"American ranchers along the Mexican border have been using ground radar to detect illegal migrants passing through their land. When illegals are detected, and confirmed by other sensors (day/night cameras and ground sensors), a call is made to the Border Patrol, which comes and makes the arrests."

Chris Matthews vs. Bishop Tobin - Ramesh Ponnuru - The Corner on National Review Online

"The Church's teaching is that the state has a duty to protect peaceable human beings in the embryonic and fetal stages of development (as at all subsequent stages) from being deliberately killed; to wish that the law would ignore that teaching is to reject it."

Support: Simulating Success

"But there's a dark side to this use of cheaper, and safer, simulators for training. The biggest threat to American air superiority is not Russia selling high performance combat aircraft to countries like China, but the development of really inexpensive flight simulators. Over the last decade, computers have become a lot cheaper, and the graphics capability of these machines has skyrocketed. That's important in bringing the cost of realistic flight simulators down to a level that any country can afford."

Sen. Cornyn Delivers 2,074 Page Reid Health Care Bill to Austin Public Library

"“Today I want to provide Texans with something that as a Member of the Senate I was not – ample time to examine and critique the 2,074 page Reid Health Care Bill before it’s voted on,” said Sen. Cornyn. “Texans ought to be able to see the bill’s devastating Medicare cuts, increased premiums, and higher taxes for themselves before the Senate begins debate on this budget-buster next week.”"

Information Warfare: F-35 Tries To Keep Its Secrets

"The F-35 source code comprises about 8 million lines of code (a file about two gigabytes in size, that could easily fit on a thumb drive). Most modern PC operating systems have source code ten or more times as large. The contractors who created the F-35 software, did not let the source code anywhere near the Internet, to insure that Chinese hackers did not grab it."

Army may Separate Short-Term Soldiers

Replacing Stop Loss: "Under the Enlisted Involuntary Early Separation Program, soldiers who have fewer than 180 days left on their enlistment will be given a choice when their units deploy: They will be offered incentives to complete the deployment or be involuntarily separated up to 90 days prior to the end of their enlistment, according to an Army message."

Muppets: Bohemian Raphsody

Lending Declines as Bank Jitters Persist - WSJ.com

"Total loan balances fell by $210.4 billion, or 3%, in the third quarter, the biggest decline since data collection began in 1984, according to a report released Tuesday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The FDIC also said its fund to backstop deposits fell into negative territory for just the second time in its history, pushed down by a wave of bank failures."

Dollar hits 15-month low; steepest drop since July

"The safe-haven dollar slid to a 15-month low against the euro, was within striking distance of 14-year lows versus the yen and dipped below parity against the Swiss franc Wednesday as markets absorbed the Federal Reserve's indication that interest rates will remain at super-low levels for a while and it was not overly concerned by the U.S. currency's decline."

Hot Air » Blog Archive » Video: Beck discourages re-enlistment under Obama?

"Few would disagree with the thought that we should put the men and women who dedicate their lives to this country as our first priority, either, and that we should give them the resources to win fights when we put them in the middle of a war. But going on national television and advising them not to re-enlist?"

Yep. This is dumb.

When I counsel young people who ask me about my service and if they should or should not, whenever it's come around to whether there was a war, would be a war or, as in this case, who the President is, I offer the same advice: If you think that serving udner a particular commander or during a war would be a problem for you, then don't enlist. Things change and at some point, it's going to be a condition you didn't want and you can't control it. Only sign up if you can stomach whatever situation you find yourself in, or perhaps more importantly, if you want to learn to stomach whatever situation you find yourself in.

Hydrogen-economy on the way? New hydrogen-storage method discovered

"Scientists at the Carnegie Institution have found for the first time that high pressure can be used to make a unique hydrogen-storage material. The discovery paves the way for an entirely new way to approach the hydrogen-storage problem.

The researchers found that the normally unreactive, noble gas xenon combines with molecular hydrogen (H2) under pressure to form a previously unknown solid with unusual bonding chemistry. The experiments are the first time these elements have been combined to form a stable compound. The discovery debuts a new family of materials, which could boost new hydrogen technologies."

If you believe in American principles, you can’t be a teacher [Darleen Click]

"In a report compiled last summer, the Race, Culture, Class and Gender Task Group at the U’s College of Education and Human Development recommended that aspiring teachers there must repudiate the notion of “the American Dream” in order to obtain the recommendation for licensure required by the Minnesota Board of Teaching. Instead, teacher candidates must embrace — and be prepared to teach our state’s kids — the task force’s own vision of America as an oppressive hellhole: racist, sexist and homophobic."

Gold Rises to Record on Dollar Drop, Report India May Buy More - Bloomberg.com

"“Funds and central banks around the world are nervous about the future of the U.S. dollar and the world economy, and that’s why they are buying gold,” Lee said by e-mail. “We’ve reached ‘irrational-exuberance’ levels on many commodities,” including gold and copper, he said."

EDITORIAL: Hiding evidence of global cooling - Washington Times

"Professor Phil Jones, the head of the Climate Research Unit, and professor Michael E. Mann at Pennsylvania State University, who has been an important scientist in the climate debate, have come under particular scrutiny. Among his e-mails, Mr. Jones talked to Mr. Mann about the 'trick of adding in the real temps to each series ... to hide the decline [in temperature].'"

Bob Ainsworth criticises Barack Obama over Afghanistan - Telegraph

"A “period of hiatus” in Washington - and a lack of clear direction - had made it harder for ministers to persuade the British public to go on backing the Afghan mission in the face of a rising death toll, he said.

Obama's 'dithering' hurts Afghan mission, British sources say Senior British Government sources have become increasingly frustrated with Mr Obama’s “dithering” on Afghanistan, the Daily Telegraph disclosed earlier this month, with several former British defence chiefs echoing the concerns.

But Mr Ainsworth is the first Government minister to express in public what amounts to personal criticism of the US president’s leadership over the conflict which has so far cost 235 British lives."

Pakistan court 'indicts seven over Mumbai attacks' | France 24

"Pakistan has been holding seven suspects in connection with the November 26-29 siege in India's financial capital, including the alleged mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and alleged key Lashkar-e-Taiba operative Zarar Shah.
'All seven of them have been indicted, including Lakhvi. The accused pleaded not guilty as evidence is not supported by the charges,' lawyer Shahbaz Rajput told AFP by telephone."

Obama vows to 'finish the job' in Afghanistan | France 24

"US President Barack Obama promised Tuesday he would unveil his decision 'shortly' on whether to escalate the war in Afghanistan and pledged: 'It is my intention to finish the job.'

'I will be making an announcement to the American people about how we intend to move forward. I will be doing so shortly,' Obama said during a joint public appearance at the White House with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh."

'Shortly' being a relative term, of course.

Prosecutors demand 40-year sentence for Khmer Rouge jailer | France 24

"Prosecutors asked Cambodia's war crimes court Wednesday to hand a 40-year jail term to former Khmer Rouge prison chief Duch, accused of overseeing 15,000 deaths at the regime's main torture centre.
The former cadre, whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav, was set to give his final remarks later Wednesday in which he is expected to beg forgiveness for his role in the communist movement behind the 'Killing Fields' atrocities."

Weapons: U.S. Army Agrees That The M-4 Sucks

"The army is also making three other changes, as part of the M-4 component replacement. There will be improved trigger pull characteristics, a stronger (less likely to fail) rail on the top of the rifle (for fitting scopes and other accessories), ambidextrous controls (to make life easier for lefties) and a round counter (in the pistol grip) to track the number of bullets fired over the lifetime of the rifle (makes for better data on how rifles perform over time, and for scheduling the replacement of components.)"

Counter-Terrorism: Keeping Iran Out Of Yemen

"Thus the four month war against rebel Shia tribesmen in Yemen has now become a joint Yemen-Saudi campaign against the common enemy. Saudi aircraft signaled this new relationship when, during the first week of November, when they used several hundred missiles and bombs on Yemeni rebel targets near the Saudi border. This was triggered by an incident on October 14th, when Saudi police caught two al Qaeda members trying to get past a border post dressed as women, and carrying weapons and bomb making material. The two were killed in a gun battle, along with a policeman. The Yemeni Shia rebels have been forced back to the Saudi border, where they are hiding out among some 60,000 civilian refugees from the fighting."

Support: Sustaining Short Shelf Life Skills

"New ideas on how to fight, and deal with terrorists in general, have been coming in so fast (thanks to the Internet), that the army has found its 'how to fight' manuals obsolete before they are published. Thus many of the more detailed 'how to fight' documents are being put on the web, where they can be quickly modified, and be immediately available to the troops.

Earlier this year, the army went one step further, and came out with a top line field manual (FM 3-07) "stability operations" (the kind of "small wars" being waged in Iraq and Afghanistan.) The army has always had an FM-7 for "full spectrum operations" (total war, against troops in uniform, armed with a full spectrum of weapons and tactics). Now it is committed to training for both types of combat. The key to this is training the commanders. One discovery in the last decade is that the troops can switch from conventional combat, to irregular type operations, more quickly and efficiently than their bosses."

SEALs Being Charged for Giving Terrorist a Fat Lip?

"They could've executed him in the desert and left him in a shallow grave for all I care, but the SEALs are professionals, and so they brought the man behind the 2004 murder of four American contractors in Fallujah to the Green Zone, where one SEAL told investigators that he 'had showered after the mission, gone to the kitchen and then decided to look in on the detainee.'
'I gave the detainee a glance over and then left,' the SEAL wrote. 'I did not notice anything wrong with the detainee and he appeared in good health.'"

India-Pakistan: Heading For The Hungry Hills

"The Pakistani Taliban have declared their voluntary withdrawal from the valleys (where most people live) in South Waziristan, and movement into the surrounding hills. The temperatures up there are slipping below zero, and there are problems getting food to a lot of armed men hiding in the highlands. Many Taliban didn't get the word, or didn't move, and these have been killed, or surrendered, in large numbers. Among the several hundred Taliban losses this week were also dozens who were arrested. The Taliban force, originally believed to include over 10,000 armed men, has lost about a third of that just to desertion."

Iraq: The Good Guys Are Now The Bad Guys

"Western archeologists are finding that many of the news stories coming out of Iraq about the theft or destruction of ancient artifacts were false. The national museum had preserved nearly all its treasures, and there was no widespread damage to archeological sites. Like much of the reports from Iraq over the last six years, the main intent was to get an exciting headline, not report what was actually going on. Some reporters, especially those embedded with U.S. troops, reported having their stories rewritten, or simply not published, because their editors felt what was actually happening over there contradicted the U.S. medias belief about what was actually going on. Some of this attitude persists."

Congress.org - News : This is your brain on argumentation

"How long do you have to persuade someone in a political argument?

Five minutes? Ten minutes?

Try 250 milliseconds.

In an experiment, psycholinguist Jos Van Berkum of the Max Planck Institute found that the brains of volunteers lit up that quickly after they read a statement they disagreed with.

Yes. That. Fast."

Threat Matrix- By The Long War Journal

"From February to May 2007, al Qaeda attempted 10 suicide attacks in Anbar, Baghdad, and Taji where the bombs included chlorine gas containers. US and Iraqi forces also found several chlorine bomb factories and intercepted several of the bombs before they were detonated. The attempts to disburse chlorine gas in the explosion were crude; nearly all of the Iraqis were killed in the bomb blasts, but many Iraqis were severely sickened by the strikes. In Anbar, al Qaeda directed many of the chlorine gas attacks at civilian locations; their target was the Awakening, the grouping of tribes and former insurgents who opposed al Qaeda."

Climate Emails Stoke Debate - WSJ.com

"Some emails also refer to efforts by scientists who believe man is causing global warming to exclude contrary views from important scientific publications.
'This is horrible,' said Pat Michaels, a climate scientist at the Cato Institute in Washington who is mentioned negatively in the emails. 'This is what everyone feared. Over the years, it has become increasingly difficult for anyone who does not view global warming as an end-of-the-world issue to publish papers. This isn't questionable practice, this is unethical.'"

Gold Jumps to Record as Slumping Dollar Spurs Investment Demand - Bloomberg.com

"The U.S. Dollar Index, a six-currency gauge of the greenback’s value, slid on speculation that the Federal Reserve will hold U.S. interest rates at historic lows indefinitely. The Fed cut the target range for its benchmark lending rate to zero percent to 0.25 percent in December. The dollar index is down 7.6 percent this year."

Raise The Damn Rates!

Health Care Reform - Rasmussen Reports™

"The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 56% now oppose the plan."

The Weekly Standard: Afghanistan is a lot like WWII

"But, you know what? On second thought, Imperial Japan and al Qaeda have a lot in common -- and so do the Second World War and the war in Afghanistan. The Japanese attacked us at Pearl Harbor, killing more Americans than any attack on U.S. soil until al Qaeda launched its own sneak attack on 9/11. The Japanese and al Qaeda also share the same fanatical devotion to their 'cause.' The Japanese had kamikazes and al Qaeda has kamikazes -- with hundreds of passengers on board. Our enemies in both wars shared a suicidal commitment to an impossible delusion of world domination."

Health Haggling Heats Up - WSJ.com

"A handful of Democrat centrists say they can't support the government-sponsored health-insurance plan -- known as the public option -- that is included in the bill. And Democrats are divided over abortion, an issue that nearly derailed the House earlier this month when it narrowly passed a health bill that blocked abortion coverage from federally subsidized insurance plans, including some run by private insurers."

Attrition: The U.S. Army Revives The RIF

"In any event, the U.S. Department of Defense planned to halt using 'Stop Loss' in two years (except for a few emergency cases) anyway. Over the last year, about 12,000 soldiers have been affected by Stop Loss (kept on active service despite scheduled retirement or discharge) at any given time. Many officers and NCOs believe that the end of Stop Loss will cause more casualties, and make units less effective in combat. That's because key people will no longer be going into combat with their units.
Use of Stop Loss peaked in 2005, at 15,758 troops a month. The lowest number held was in May, 2007 (8,540), but climbed back to 12,000 a month because of the demands of the build up for the Surge Offensive in Iraq that year. On average, over the last eight years, about 6,500 soldiers were on stop loss status at any given time."

Surface Forces : The Other LCS Aces Sea Trials

"The USS Independence is a little lighter (2,800 tons) than Freedom. The most obvious difference between the two designs is that trimaran design provides a larger, and more stable, flight deck for helicopters, and more interior space. The trimaran design is based on one pioneered since he 1980s by Australian ship builder Austal. This design has been used by several successful fast transports, used with much success in the Pacific since the 1990s. Austal was selected to design the Independence based on the success of their earlier trimaran designs, some of which were used by the U.S. Navy. Next year, the two designs will be put to a lot of tests to see if one is sufficiently superior to the other to justify a single design being used for all 50 LCS ships."

FT.com / Europe - Germany warns US on market bubbles

"Germany’s new finance minister has echoed Chinese warnings about the growing threat of fresh global asset price bubbles, fuelled by low US interest rates and a weak dollar.

Wolfgang Schäuble’s comments highlight official concern in Europe that the risk of further financial market turbulence has been exacerbated by the exceptional steps taken by central banks and governments to combat the crisis."

Germany and China are right. If we want to really fix the economy, the first step will have to be raising interest rates. Until that happens, nothing is going to stick.

House Attacks Fed, Treasury - WSJ.com

"The House Financial Services Committee voted, 43-26, to approve a measure sponsored by Texas Republican Ron Paul, vociferously opposed by the Fed, that would direct the congressional Government Accountability Office to expand its audits of the Fed to include decisions about interest rates and lending to individual banks. The Fed says the provision threatens its ability to make monetary policy without political interference."

Add the Fed to the growing list of people who need to read the Constitution.

I do not, and never have, disputed the Constitutionality of the Federal Reserve, though I know many who do. I understand the argument, but I don't agree.

But my agreement is predicated on the idea that Congress, being the party empowered to make monetary policy, may delegate that authority.

If it's delegated, those entrusted with it, must be accountable.

Add to this that monetary policy is, inseparably, political.

anti-Liberty Democrats by the numbers [Darleen Click]

"· 0 – the number of provisions prohibiting the rationing of health care.
· 0 – the number of government-run entitlement programs that are financially sound over the long-term.
· 10.2 percent – our national unemployment rate, the highest in 26 years.
· 70 – total number of government programs authorized by the bill.
· 1,697 – times the Secretary of Health and Human Services is given authority to determine or define provisions in this bill.
· 2,074 – total pages in this bill.
· 2010 – the year Americans start paying higher taxes to pay for this bill
· 2014 – the year when this bill actually starts most of the major provisions of this bill
· $6.8 million – cost to taxpayers per word
· $8 billion – the total amount of new taxes on Americans who do not buy Washington-defined health care.
· $465 billion – Cuts in Medicare at a time when it faces a $38 trillion unfunded liability to finance more government spending.
· $494 billion – total amount of new taxes in this bill
· $2.5 trillion – the real cost of the bill
· $12 trillion – our total national debt"

Information Warfare: Cell Phones To Die For

"If you can get into the phone system, you can also play with radio and TV broadcasts. Pretty regularly, Israel has been hacking into Lebanon based Hezbollah radio and TV broadcasts, and inserting messages that point out mistakes Hezbollah has made, or lies Hezbollah has been pushing, or simply ridiculing the Islamic radicals. Israeli Information War teams have also spammed Lebanese cell phone users with anti-Hezbollah voice mail and text messages."

Intelligence: America And The Enemy Within

"A polyglot nation like the United States has citizens, and non-citizens, from all parts of the world. This creates opportunities (for recruiting intelligence operatives) and dangers (spies in our midst) in wartime. And we are at war, with over a dozen Islamic terrorist attacks within the U.S. so far this year. All but one of those attacks was aborted before anyone (but a few terrorists) were hurt. Intelligence operatives who understand Islam and Arabic were instrumental in detecting and neutralizing these attacks."

Air Transportation: Higher And Higher

"The MV-22s proved easier to maintain than the CH-46 aircraft they are replacing. The MV-22s needed 9.5 man hours of maintenance for each hour in the air, versus 24 hours of maintenance for each hour the CH-46s fly. These helicopters are all over twenty years old, which adds a few hours to their maintenance requirements. While the MV-22 required less maintenance than expected, the dust and sand in Iraq led to some engines being replaced earlier than expected. That problem has been tended to, so the MV-22s in Afghanistan will have less of a problem."

The National Guard - Shinseki urges Guard leaders to spread VA message

"But of the 23 million veterans in the United States, Shinseki said, fewer than 8 million are enrolled in VA programs.
'In purely business terms, that would describe a 30 percent market penetration,' Shinseki said. 'Veterans are our clients, so caring for veterans and providing them the services and benefits they have earned is VA's sole reason for existing, yet 70 percent of our market chooses to go elsewhere for support, or they do without.'"

Maybe the quality of the service has something to do with it?

The Weekly Standard

"According to documents obtained exclusively by The Washington Times, Associate Attorney General Thomas J. Perrelli, No. 3 official in the Justice Department, had to recuse himself on at least 13 active detainee cases and at least 26 cases listed as either closed or mooted...
Mr. Perrelli's recusals presumably stem from the work that either he or his former firm, Jenner & Block LLP, did on behalf of detainees while Mr. Perrelli served on the firm's management committee and on its appellate and Supreme Court practice groups. And Mr. Perrelli is just one official; a number of other Justice Department officials apparently did private-sector work on detainee cases."

Conventional Folly » Brett Favre: History’s Greatest Monster

"According to a military official, detainees at a Wisconsin National Guard camp in Iraq are using Brett Favre as a manner of getting at the guard troops there.
“They know Favre by name,” said First Lieutenant Tim Boehnen, who is from New Richmond, Wis.
“One of the big words they know now is shenanigan. They’ll constantly talk about ‘Favre shenanigans,’ ‘He’s so good for the Vikings,’ and ‘The Packers have got to really feel bad about that one.’ “"

Information Warfare: The Perils Of Paranoia

"The fact is, that the NSA is best qualified to point out to software manufacturers where weaknesses might be in software that communicates with the Internet. This is nothing new. For example, earlier this year, it was revealed that the NSA worked with the U.S. Air Force and Microsoft to develop a special version of Windows XP that had over 600 operating system settings shut down or modified so that hackers have a harder time penetrating air force network security. Some of it was simple stuff, like ensuring that the highest level password (the admin password, which gives you access to everything) can never be the same as a lower level (user) password. The system is also modified to have passwords expire every sixty days, forcing users to create new ones. NSA also assisted in preparing a special version of Windows 7, which the air force will begin to issue over the next year."

Infantry: Making Combat Wi-Fi Work

"For the last two years, these battlefield Internet systems have been used in combat. The current stuff is pretty popular, mainly because of reliability and dealing with a large number of specific troops criticisms. Anything that tends to fail, when the going gets rough, is quickly shunned by the guys who are putting their lives on the line. The latest gear provides Blue Force Tracker (icons showing where all friendly troops are) capability, as well as wireless updates of maps and transmission of video. The latter is important for commanders and intelligence operatives, who can make key decisions, or analyses, more quickly if they can see what the troops in combat are seeing."

U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson : Serving the 3rd District of Texas

"“It’s just not worth it. I’m deeply concerned that the government keeps writing checks that our children and grandchildren can not cash. Furthermore, where is the accountability? Why do the facts keep shifting and why did the White House spend $18 million on a website,” wondered Johnson."

Threat Matrix- By The Long War Journal

"The short clip, from As Sahab, al Qaeda's media outlet, perfectly drives home the point Tom Joscelyn and [Bill Roggio] made in Al Qaeda is the tip of the jihadist spear, that the Taliban and al Qaeda are closely linked and efforts to bribe the Taliban out of the relationship will fail."

Major Hasan reintroduces 'Terror and Consent' (SWJ Blog)

"How should Western societies respond to the generalized problem of terrorism, especially the domestic variety? Constitutional law professor and former National Security Council staffer Philip Bobbitt attempted to provide a comprehensive answer in his grandly ambitious book Terror and Consent: The Wars for the Twenty-first Century. In a message that ruffled feathers on every point on the political spectrum, Bobbitt argued that in order to defend Western values of liberty and the rule of law, both domestic and international law would need to become more muscular. Bobbitt rejected that there is a trade-off between civil liberties and government power. In a future world of “market-state terrorism” he fears we are headed to, Bobbitt argued that more law authorizing more surveillance and more foreign intervention would be the only way to protect basic liberties."

Positive Petraeus lessons - Washington Times

"According to Gen. Petraeus, there's much to praise. 'The major development in Pakistan,' he said, '... was a true shift in popular opinion [10 months ago] - all of the citizenry virtually, all of the political leaders including the major opposition figures ... and the vast majority of the clerics, all coming together to oppose and to confront the extremists - the internal extremists - and seeing them as ... the most pressing threat to the existence of the Pakistani state, to the very writ of governance. That is a hugely important development ... very, very significant.'"

COL. MILLETT: MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENT, FORMER GUARDSMAN DEAD AT 88

"On Feb. 7, 1951, Millett led Company E on an assault against dug-in Chinese positions near Soam-Ni. Millett trained his men in the use of the bayonet. He once said, 'I had every rifleman in the company fix his bayonet to his rifle and leave it fixed 24 hours a day. I fixed my bayonet to my M1 and left it there.'

Led by Millett, the soldiers stormed the Chinese positions, throwing grenades and using their bayonets with extreme effectiveness. Although wounded by grenade fragments, Millett continued to lead the charge and consolidated the company's positions once the enemy was routed. For his actions, he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

The bayonet Millett used during his famous charge is on display at the National Guard Memorial Museum's Medal of Honor Gallery."

Is this blog on?: Great News!

"Government Motors only lost a billion dollars last quarter."

Is this blog on?: Look at my breasts

"I mean, why should we be concerned that a government task force has determined that breast cancer screening is too expensive for women under 50? It's not like any of us know any women who had breast cancer under the age of fifty"

Murphy's Law: Taliban Secrets For Sale

"ISI has long supported Islamic terrorists, and now Pakistan appears determined to root out 'Taliban spies' in the ISI. The problem is that these Islamic radicals have been operating openly in the ISI for three decades, and were put there by the government in the late 1970s, when it was decided that Islamic conservatism was the solution for Pakistan's problems (corruption and religious/ethnic conflicts.) These guys are not just 'Taliban spies,' but Pakistani intelligence professionals that believe in Islamic radicalism."

Attrition: Soaring Suicides Stall

"Both the army and marines have introduced several programs to identify and treat those at risk for suicide. This effort is linked with the overall program of dealing with combat stress. Because of much reduced casualty rates (a third of those in Vietnam and World War II), far more troops are spending more time in combat. During World War II it was noted that troops could only take so much combat stress before they developed debilitating mental problems. The military has developed many programs to counteract the stress, but nothing that can eliminate it."

Colombia: All For Show

"President Hugo Chavez makes it clear that he wants to establish a socialist dictatorship for the region. Chavez can't do this militarily, because he has crippled his armed forces by replacing most of the key officers with men selected for their loyalty to Chavez, rather than their military abilities. Chavez has ruined the economy with similar interference, especially in the national oil business, which represents the major export and largest source of government revenue. To further harm the economy, Chavez keeps closing the border with Colombia, disrupting trade that is vital to people on both sides of the border."

Naval Air: The Melting Deck Plates Muddle

"Earlier this year, the U.S. Navy discovered that the heat from the MV-22's gas turbine engines, which blow their exhaust right on to the deck of the LHD while waiting to take off, caused high enough temperatures to the steel under the deck plates, to possibly warp the understructure. This was already a known potential problem with the new F-35B vertical takeoff jet fighter. So now the navy has two hot new aircraft that require an innovative solution to the melting deck problem."

Information Warfare: A Dialog With God

"The navy planned to use LRAD to warn ships to get out of the way. This was needed in places like the crowded coastal waters of the northern Persian Gulf, where the navy patrols. Many small fishing and cargo boats ply these waters, and it's often hard to get the attention of the crews. With LRAD, you just aim it at a member of the crew, and have an interpreter 'speak' to the sailor. It was noted that the guy on the receiving end was sometimes terrified, even after he realized it was that large American destroyer that was talking to him. This apparently gave the army guys some ideas, for there were soon rumors in Iraq of a devilish American weapon that makes people believe they are hearing voices in their heads (sometimes claiming to be God)."

Intelligence: Watching The Policeman

"Congress has regularly stymied the FBI from using technology that is commonly used by corporations, because of the fear that the FBI might abuse it. Case in point is data mining. Politicians tend to oppose this technique because access to too much information creates the possibility of the government oppressing people. Actually, politicians are well aware that data mining is more likely to uncover corrupt practices by politicians, than to cause any problems with the average voter."

Morale: The Sailors Lament

"In the last eight years, over 60,000 U.S. Navy sailors have served as 'IAs'. The number has been increasing, and it's no longer voluntary. While most of the IAs are still volunteers, many who have not been IAs, and are up for a new assignment, are being told to do an IA tour, or not be able to re-enlist. The navy has been downsizing over the past few years, so they can get away with this. The navy still has no problem getting the recruits it needs."

Obama admits Guantanamo won't close by Jan. deadline

"President Obama directly acknowledged for the first time Wednesday that the prison facility at Guantanamo Bay will not close by the January deadline he set, but he said he hoped to still achieve that goal sometime next year.
Obama refused, however, to set a new deadline."

Thor's The Warriors Three Cast! - Superhero Hype!

"Variety reports that Marvel Studios and Thor director Kenneth Branagh have signed Stuart Townsend, Ray Stevenson, and Tadanobu Asano to play The Warriors Three, a trio of Asgardian adventurers who fight alongside the Norse god.

Townsend plays Fandral, Stevenson is Volstagg the Valiant, and Asano plays Hogun the Grim."

Special Operations: SOCOM Takes Osprey To War

"The V-22 is the first application of the tilt-rotor technology in active service. The air force is already working on improvements (to make the V-22 more reliable and easier to maintain), but these won't be installed for another few years. The V-22 gives the marines and SOCOM a lot more capability, but, as it often the case, this is a lot more expensive. The initial production models of the CV-22 cost over $60 million each. SOCOM insists on a high degree of reliability for its aircraft. Commando operations cannot tolerate too many mistakes without getting fatally derailed."

India-Pakistan: God Tells Them To Keep The Girls Ignorant

"The Taliban will not be destroyed, because the thinking behind the Taliban has always existed among a minority of the tribesmen in these hills. But as a large, organized Islamic radical organization, the Pakistani Taliban are rapidly fading away. In response to that, the Taliban are trying to deny responsibility for bombings that cause the most civilians casualties. These the Taliban blame on the ISI, who is trying to muster more public anger against the Taliban."

Warplanes: China Struggles To Build An F-22

"But given the quantity and quality of data Chinese hackers have been stealing in the past five years, it's possible that they have much of the American technology that makes the F-22 and F-35 possible."

BLACKFIVE: Overthinking Afghanistan

"That is not a complex decision-making process, that is paralysis by analysis. The problem with smart guys like our President is that they think that if they apply their massive intellect to any problem they will eventually come up with the ideal solution. Sorry, but that just isn't so and definitely not in war.
A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week.
George S. Patton"

Report: 15 Million May Owe Taxes on Stimulus Tax Credit | ChattahBox News Blog

"The Making Work Pay tax credit, issued to taxpayers under the stimulus package last February, may bring some Americans an unwelcome surprise when the time arrives to prepare their tax returns. A new report released by the Treasury Department’s inspector general for tax administration, warns that many taxpayers may end up owing unexpected taxes on the credit benefit."

Well No Kidding! It was never a credit!

Dollar falls, sending gold to record high - Yahoo! News

"As the dollar dropped against the euro and yen, gold struck an all-time peak of 1,133.20 dollars an ounce.
In late morning trading here, the euro climbed to 1.4969 dollars from 1.4918 dollars late in New York on Friday.
Against the Japanese currency, the dollar fell to 89.42 yen from 89.66 yen late on Friday."

THE PELOSI VERSION OF HR 3200 - Connelly

"When I first read HR 3200 in its entirety several months ago I was appalled at the blatant disregard in the bill of the basic tenets of our Constitutional form of government. However, I underestimated what is actually being done to us. The newest version of HR 3200 that has been labeled the Pelosi Bill is the original bill on steroids. It is the most “in your face” challenge to the American people as a whole that has ever occurred. While Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and President Obama continue to reassure the American people about what the bill will do, the proof is there in black and white."

Threat Matrix- By The Long War Journal

"Britain's Ministry of Defence website has an article that perfectly illustrates what is wrong with the rules of engagement in Afghanistan. A British sniper spotted what he believed was a Taliban spotter who was directing fire on the sniper's fellow soldiers, and instead of killing the spotter, he fired a warning shot:"

Threat Matrix- By The Long War Journal

"According to the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), a Paris-based group comprised of Iranian exiles (and some insiders in Iran), Tehran’s Grand Ayatollah, Ali Khamenei, has sanctioned the creation of a new intelligence organization charged with shielding the regime from domestic uprisings.
Hassan Taeb, previously a lead commander of the Basij militia, is heading the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). According to unconfirmed reports, this new unit will report directly to the Grand Ayatollah and will incorporate many other agencies previously organized under Tehran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security."

SWJ Blog

"The more President Obama examines our options in Afghanistan, the less he likes the choices he sees. But, as the old saying goes, to govern is to choose - and he has stretched the internal debate to the breaking point. It is evident from the length of this deliberative process and from the flood of leaks that have emerged from Kabul and Washington that the perfect course of action does not exist. Given that reality, the urgent necessity is to make a decision - whether or not it is right."

baldilocks

"Does this pose look familiar?"

Hot Air » Blog Archive » Video: Giuliani goes nuclear on Obama over KSM’s trial

"In a sane world, a jihadist who limited his attacks to military targets that are capable of defending themselves would receive more legal protection than one who targeted civilians. In our world, the guy who ordered jumbo jets flown into skyscrapers gets the full complement of constitutional rights in federal district court. Simply put, a terrorist looking to run up a body count is better off going to the mall than to a military base, where the UCMJ might come into play."

Nonpartisan agency says House bill would reduce senior care - washingtonpost.com

"A plan to slash more than $500 billion from future Medicare spending -- one of the biggest sources of funding for President Obama's proposed overhaul of the nation's health-care system -- would sharply reduce benefits for some senior citizens and could jeopardize access to care for millions of others, according to a government evaluation released Saturday."

Attrition: The Growing PTSD Plague

"The army has been able to deal with the unprecedented amounts of stress by providing the troops with what previous generations of soldiers would have considered luxuries. For example, when possible, combat troops sleep in air conditioned rooms, and have access to the Internet and video games, as well as good food and other amenities. The video games and Internet resulted in an unexpected positive effect. The surveys found that troops that spent 2-4 hours a day on the Internet or playing video games (even violent ones) had far fewer stress problems. Having exercise facilities available also helped, despite the physically strenuous nature of combat in Afghanistan. While the combat troops spend most of their time out in the countryside, living rough, their commanders know what even a few days back at a larger base, with all the goodies, makes a big difference in attitudes, morale and combat effectiveness."

Weapons: IEDs Move East

"So, U.S. and NATO forces are now on the search for ammonium nitrate. Even the supplies held by farmers are being taken. But the troops are paying twice what the farmers paid for it. Thus many farmers are voluntarily turning their ammonium nitrate (usually in 50 kg/110 pound bags) in for the instant profit. Other, non-explosive, fertilizers will be made available to the farmers, at equivalent cost to ammonium nitrate. Imports of ammonium nitrate into Afghanistan will be monitored. All this won't make it impossible for the terrorists to get the stuff, but it will be more difficult. This will result in fewer, and less powerful, bombs."

Counter-Terrorism: Target America Is Under Attack

"Privacy in the modern world is a misunderstood concept. While the law keeps the government from using many forms of information, or information searching, for law enforcement or national security, there are far fewer restrictions on commercial use of similar data and tools. The difference is that, without the access of commercial users to credit card, real estate, and other commercial transactions, the cost of these transactions would go up because of increased fraud. Thus the public tolerates this degree of surveillance to reduce fraud, and what they pay for things. And then there's data mining, an old technique that, as long ago as the 1970s, was used to identify and arrest terrorists in Germany. Yet the same techniques today are seen by the law as an assault on privacy rights. Meanwhile, data mining has been used by commercial firms for decades to sort out who to sell to."

Winning: Generosity Batters The Taliban

"'Tribal politics' is something most Westerns just can't take seriously, or even get their heads around. But consider that in the main combat zones of the war on terror (including Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and many more), tribal politics cannot be ignored. U.S. appreciation, and exploitation, of tribal politics led to victory in Iraq. The same thing is happening in Afghanistan."

Special Operations: Special Forces Use Zombie Tech In Combat

"All this is happening, in spite of the fact that, two years ago, after ten years of effort, and about $500 million, the Land Warrior program was cancelled. Well, sort of. A lot of this futuristic gear for infantrymen is already out there and in use. However, the Land Warrior program included a lot of technology that still wasn't ready for prime time. In effect, the Land Warrior program is dead, but the Land Warrior concept lives on with new stuff the combat troops are using. And the effort has been renamed 'Ground Soldier Ensemble.' The troops will continue to get new tech that works on the battlefield."

Afghanistan: Why We Fight

"While there is a central government, the real power is in the hands of warlords and tribal leaders. Many foreigners cannot accept this, or even comprehend it. Then there is the problem with 'war crimes.' Most of the warlords, and some of the tribal leaders, committed what the foreigners consider atrocities. The Afghans consider it justice or vengeance, and are perplexed at the reaction of the foreigners. Same thing with the foreigner reaction to the corruption. This is mainly stealing government money and foreign aid, and distributing to your fellow tribesmen and followers. This is how things have been done for thousands of years, and Afghans believe in tradition, and ignoring the criticism of foreigners."

Nato Labrador Sabi found safe and well a YEAR after being lost in fierce Afghanistan battle | Mail Online

"Sabi the black Labrador was with a joint Australian-Afghan army patrol when it was ambushed by Taliban militants in September 2008.Nine soldiers were wounded in the ensuing gun battle, which earned one Australian SAS trooper the country's highest bravery award.But there was no sign of the bomb-sniffing dog after the battle in a remote area of Uruzgan province.Sabi's handlers spent months scouring the desert looking for the four-year-old animal, but to no avail."

High Costs Weigh on Troop Debate for Afghan War - NYTimes.com

President Obama pondering the costs without regard to the value? "So even if President Obama opts for a lower troop commitment, Afghanistan’s new costs could wash out the projected $26 billion expected to be saved in 2010 from withdrawing troops from Iraq. And the overall military budget could rise to as much as $734 billion, or 10 percent more than the peak of $667 billion under the Bush administration."

The Weekly Standard

"But I think if people will, in a neutral and detached way, look at the decision that I have made today, understand the reasons why I made those decisions, and try to do something that's rare in Washington--leave the politics out of it and focus on what's in the best interest of this country--I think the criticism will be relatively muted."

May God protect us from those who can be dispassionate about and toward those who commit mass murder and war on our country.

The Weekly Standard

Homage to a Government

Next year we are to bring all the soldiers home
For lack of money, and it is all right.
Places they guarded, or kept orderly,
We want the money for ourselves at home
Instead of working. And this is all right.

It's hard to say who wanted it to happen,
But now it's been decided nobody minds.
The places are a long way off, not here,
Which is all right, and from what we hear
The soldiers there only made trouble happen.
Next year we shall be easier in our minds.

Next year we shall be living in a country
That brought its soldiers home for lack of money.
The statues will be standing in the same
Tree-muffled squares, and look nearly the same.
Our children will not know it's a different country.
All we can hope to leave them now is money.

--Philip Larkin

The Weekly Standard

"[Lt. Col.] Kilcullen is right: either do it or don't do it. Unfortunately, Obama doesn't believe in America's unique place in the global equation. Afghanistan could be our greatest defeat, or our finest hour. Here's hoping President Obama 'does it.'"

U.S. Treasury Confident Congress Will Increase Debt Ceiling - Bloomberg.com

"The White House wants an increase of at least $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion, according to a person familiar with the deliberations between lawmakers and the administration. Record budget deficits are pushing the national debt closer to the $12.1 trillion statutory limit."

Leadership: Selling Security

"U.S. arms exports last year (ending in September) were $38 billion. This was a record, and sales are expected to be the same, or up a few percent, next year. That's up from $36 billion last year, and $23 billion in 2007. Top U.S. customers this year were were the UAE (United Arab Emirates) with $7.9 billion, Afghanistan $5.4 billion, Saudi Arabia $3.3 billion, Taiwan $3.2 billion, Egypt $2.1 billion, Iraq $1.6 billion, NATO $.92 billion, Australia $.8 billion, South Korea $.7 billion. Some of this was stuff bought with American aid money (Afghanistan, Iraq and Egypt), but most of it was foreign money."

Somalia: Beyond The Breaking Point

"Meanwhile, the U.S., which supplies most of the food, is holding back aid, because so much of it is being stolen by Islamic terrorists. The aid groups have to give up a lot of the aid to the terrorists, or risk attack. The terrorists believe that the foreign aid groups would not dare cut off food aid, and risk the bad publicity from the resulting starvation. Over a million Somalis are on half rations because of the American attempt to halt, or at least reduce, the food thefts."

Intelligence: Afghanistan Is Different

"Pattern analysis is one of the fundamental tools Operations Research (OR) practitioners have been using since World War II (when the newly developed field of OR got its first big workout). Pattern analysis is widely used by the financial community, by engineers, law enforcement, marketing specialists, and now, the military. The basic application uses a special video camera system to observe a locality and find useful patterns of behavior. Some of the cameras are mounted on light (C-12s, mainly) aircraft, others are mounted on ground structures. Special software compares photos from different times. When changes are noted, they are checked more closely, which has resulted in the early detection of thousands of roadside bombs and terrorist ambushes. This has largely eliminated roadside bomb attacks on supply convoys, which travel the same routes all the time."

KSM to be tried in NYC?

Call your Congressman and Senator right now. Tell them they should use every tool at their disposal to block this. The number to call is 202-224-3121.

Today Barack Obama is going to announce that the terrorist mastermind of September 11th, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, will be sent to New York City for a criminal trial in a civilian court.

In that trial, the terrorist will get all the rights afforded an American citizen in a criminal trial, including the right to a fair trial, the right to a taxpayer funded attorney, the right to review all the evidence against him, potentially including classified intelligence matters, the right to exclude evidence against him including, potentially, any confession obtained through enhanced interrogation techniques, etc.

At best, this will be a show trial fit not for the American Republic, but a third world kleptocratic totalitarian regime. At worse, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will gain access to classified material he can then leak to other terrorists while New York yet again becomes a target for terrorists. We have already had occasions in this country where terrorists' sympathetic lawyers have conveyed information, orders, and plans to other terrorists.

You can find more details here.

The Trailer for Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths

"In Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, a "good" Lex Luthor (Chris Noth) arrives from an alternate universe to recruit the Justice League to help save his Earth from the Crime Syndicate, a gang of villainous characters with virtually identical super powers to the Justice League. What ensues is the ultimate battle of good versus evil in a war that threatens both planets and, through a diabolical plan launched by Owlman (James Woods), puts the balance of all existence in peril."

Army Always Seeking to Improve ACU

"The Army is exploring alternate camouflage patterns in two ways. First, the Army is equipping two battalions in Afghanistan with uniforms and personal equipment in alternate camouflage patterns. One battalion is receiving uniforms in MultiCam, a pattern worn by some Special Forces troops in Afghanistan. The other battalion is receiving uniforms in Universal Camouflage Pattern - Delta (UCP-Delta), a variant of the current ACU camouflage pattern that incorporates the Coyote Brown color and reduces the percentages of sand and gray colors. The battalions also will retain their standard ACUs."

Counter-Terrorism: Major Hasan Embraces Tradition

"This radicalism comes along every few generations. By the 1980s, many Moslems had become disillusioned with socialism and democracy. All along, Islamic conservatives had been suggesting the “Islamic way.” This meant using Islam as a form of government, as well as a religion. This is how Islam worked back in the beginning. Unfortunately, it didn’t work back then. This failure was explained away (as someone else’s fault, or not doing it right, take your pick). And so began the popularity of radical Islam. When you’re on a mission from God, the ends justify the means. It was a small step from accepting the need for an Islamic form of government, and then getting behind terrorism in the name of God."

History in a Hazelnut Shell - The New York Times

"At that point, the germ of a theory began to bud in my caffeine-depleted brain. It is destined to dethrone every theory about the rise and fall of the great powers developed in the last four centuries -- from Machiavelli via Gibbon and Spengler to Lenin and Paul Kennedy. Bad coffee equals expansionism, imperialism and war; good coffee drips with civility, pacifism and lassitude. That is the long and the short of it."

AdaEveningNews.com - Ada, Oklahoma - Brothers each earn Bronze Star in Iraq

"Chickasaw brothers Jay and Mike Mitchell value their time together so much that they weren’t going to let a little enemy gunfire from Iraqi insurgents spoil it.

“We were out hitting golf balls one day and there is a tower out there probably 200 meters away and it comes under direct fire. We kind of look around and say. . .” Jay said before glancing at Mike, who interjected “‘are they shooting at us?’”

Jay finished, “I guess they’re not shooting at us, so we just keep hitting golf balls,” as they both chuckled.

“Any other place in the world you hear fire like that and you would run into a building, but over time, you get used to it,” Jay said. “You assess the situation and say ‘okay, we are not in harm’s way,’ and go ahead do what you were doing.”"

Naval Air: Rushing The Robots Into The Air

"The most urgent demand is for the navy's new helicopter UAV, the MQ-8B (formerly the RQ-8) Fire Scout. Already on the fast track, the MQ-8B is being assigned to another class of ships, besides the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) it was first designed for. That's because the LCS is behind schedule and the Fire Scout isn't. The first ship to carry this helicopter UAV is a Perry class frigate, the USS McInerney (FFG-8). This ship is assigned to the 4th Fleet, and will be operating in the Caribbean, chasing drug smugglers. This will give the Fire Scout some real world experience, although not with the fire Hellfire missiles it can carry."

Morale: The Glow Of Anger

"U.S. Air Force personnel stationed in combat zones are in an uproar over a regulation that requires them to wear safety belts (of reflective material that glows in the dark) whenever they are on the flight line (air strip). When out there, the troops are exposed to enemy fire, and the last thing they want at night is a reflective belt that makes it easier for enemy gunmen to find them. The belts are intended to give taxiing pilots vehicle drivers warning of nearby personnel. The belts must also be worn when on the street or a parking lot, to prevent getting hit by vehicles. The troops in Afghanistan are particularly upset over this policy, as the Afghans, more than the Iraqis, are often good shots. All they need at night is a clearly defined target. So far, air force brass have ignored the protests."

Counter-Terrorism: Ignoring The Threat Does Not Make It Go Away

"An example of this was the recent terror attack in Fort Hood, Texas. There, a Moslem army officer, shouting 'God Is Great', murdered 13 soldiers and civilians, and wounded over thirty others. The major had previously been detected by the counter-terror intelligence system (both via emails to known terrorists and his public calls for attacks on non-Moslems.) When the FBI (which handles counter-terror intelligence inside the U.S.) urged the army to do something, the army declined. The FBI did not press the matter. One can imagine army commanders, confronting what the FBI described as a 'potential' terrorist, realizing that in the current political climate, disciplining (or discharging) a Moslem army officer would endanger the careers of the generals involved in such a decision. So nothing was done, until the terrorist made his move."

Gorbachev Says Obama Should Start Afghan Withdrawal (Update2) - Bloomberg.com

Because it takes a winner to know a win.... Oh, wait. “I believe that there is no prospect of a military solution,” Gorbachev said in Russian through a translator. “What we need is the reconciliation of Afghan society -- and they should be preparing the ground for withdrawal rather than additional troops.”

Interview with the President: Jail Time for Those without Health Care Insurance? - Political Punch

Except that it isn't, even remotely, the same thing: “What I think is appropriate is that in the same way that everybody has to get auto insurance and if you don't, you're subject to some penalty, that in this situation, if you have the ability to buy insurance, it's affordable and you choose not to do so, forcing you and me and everybody else to subsidize you, you know, there's a thousand dollar hidden tax that families all across America are -- are burdened by because of the fact that people don't have health insurance, you know, there's nothing wrong with a penalty.”