'Imagine' A World Of..... Peace,Understanding,Tolerance

About That brewer And Her Finger Pointin!!!!

2012-01-28T12:23:00.001-05:00

Rickey Smiley Goes Off On Jan Brewer for Disrespecting President Obama

AMEN!!!!

Moyers & Company: January 27, 2012

2012-01-28T07:52:00.001-05:00

Full Show: How Big Banks are Rewriting the Rules of our Economy

January 27, 2012 - Big banks are rewriting the rules of our economy to the exclusive benefit of their own bottom line. But how did our political and financial class shift the benefits of the economy to the very top, while saddling us with greater debt and tearing new holes in the safety net? Bill Moyers talks with former Citigroup Chairman John Reed and former Senator Byron Dorgan to explore a momentous instance: how the late-90’s merger of Citicorp and Travelers Group – and a friendly Presidential pen — brought down the Glass-Steagall Act, a crucial firewall between banks and investment firms which had protected consumers from financial calamity since the aftermath of the Great Depression. In effect, says Moyers, they “put the watchdog to sleep.” read more & transcript link>>>

Moyers & Company Show 103: How power and influence helped big banks rewrite the rules of our economy. from BillMoyers.com on Vimeo.

St Louis: "Welcome Home Soldiers"

2012-01-28T06:48:00.002-05:00

Welcome Home Little Brothers and Sisters!!
And there will Still be No Demand for Sacrifice by Country

Soldiers Honored in St. Louis

January 27, 2012 - They are reading the names of all 6,502 soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan at Soldier’s memorial. A bell was rung after each name was read.
St. Louis is recognizing veterans and those who gave their lives in a higher calling.
Tears and hugs were exchanged. Family and friends of fallen soldiers came to participate in the event.
“I went through a lot, I’ve seen alot and I have eleven friends on that list…my best friend is on that list” one veteran paused repeatedly as he talked with KMOX News.
“I think St. Louis is showing the rest of the nation , this is what we need to do.” said another.
Saturday marks the Welcome Home Parade for veterans in downtown St. Louis. It’s a first in the nation. The parade Steps off from Kiener Plaza at noon. Veterans who want to walk in the parade should meet at Broadway and Clark at 10:30 Saturday morning. read more>>>

St. Louis hosting nation's 1st big parade for Iraq War veterans

No Revenues = No Sacrifice = No Support = DeJa-Vu all over again!. Now a decade and counting added to the previous decades of under funding the VA, while the peoples reps Still try and lay blame on the Agency, after rubber stamping wars and costs of and those represented cheer on these wars!

While the wealthy and other investors garner their booty, still, from both and many have the chutz·pa to call themselves more patriotic{?} then others wrapped in those false flags, using false slogans and various cheap symbols of!

USN '67-'71 All Shore GMG3 Vietnam In Country '70-'71

UpDate, video feed no sound of parade

Healthy Dividends in a Green Economy

2012-01-27T10:17:00.002-05:00

Green Economy in a Blue World

January 25th, 2012 - Healthy seas and coasts would pay healthy dividends in a green economy, according to a report released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and partners that highlights the huge potential for economic growth and poverty eradication from well-managed marine sectors.
The report, Green Economy in a Blue World, argues that the ecological health and economic productivity of marine and coastal ecosystems, which are currently in decline around the globe, can be boosted by shifting to a more sustainable economic approach that taps their natural potential – from generating renewable energy and promoting eco-tourism, to sustainable fisheries and transport.
The report was produced by UNEP in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Maritime Organization (IMO), United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA), International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), WorldFish Center and GRID-Arendal.
It highlights how the sustainable management of fertilizers would help reduce the cost of marine pollution caused by nitrogen and other nutrients used in agriculture, which is estimated at US$100 billion (EUR 80 billion) per year in the European Union alone.
With five months to go before world governments meet at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Brazil, Green Economy in a Blue World presents a case to stimulate countries to unlock the vast potential of the marine-based economy in a paradigm shift that would significantly reduce degradation to our oceans, while alleviating poverty and improving livelihoods. read much more>>>

Green Economy in a Blue World

More Federal Money = Homeless Vets Find Homes

2012-01-25T15:04:00.001-05:00

Now if only the ronnynomic free market capitalist 'job cremators' actually swayed from their con game and 'created jobs' instead! But lets not tell their hired government representatives, supposed to be representing the ones that pay their salaries, for them folk wanna maintain the con!

As local programs get more federal money, homeless vets find homes

Jan. 24, 2012 - Laid off as a laborer and truck driver for the city of Minneapolis in the depths of the recession, Wes Winkelman found himself unable to find another job.
Homelessness and trouble followed. He drank too much.
"The first victim of homelessness is sobriety. You've got nothing else in life to do. You're broke. After awhile, stuff happens," Winkelman, a week short of 58, confides as he describes his transition from self-supporting to unemployed and homeless to housed.
His life spiraled downward. "One thing led to another. I got into some mischief," he admits, giving for example a DWI and also mentioning medical problems.
Nights, the 1970s U.S. Army veteran and medic laid his head in homeless shelters, listing among the best those operated by St. Stephen's Human Services and Simpson Housing Services.
On the other hand, at the worst shelter in town, he says, "It's kind of scary because some of the people in there are pretty much like me, bozos, but some more are in need of adult supervision. More are in need of correctional supervision. Some are in need of real looking at."
His homelessness lasted until he found housing two years ago with the help of a permanent supportive housing program funded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Now he lives in a one-bedroom apartment near 36th and Grand Avenue on the south side of Minneapolis. read more>>>

Number of homeless female veterans more than doubles

24 January 2012 - The number of homeless female military veterans more than doubled from 2006 to 2010, according to new government estimates.
Acknowledging "limited VA data," homeless female vets numbered 3,328 in 2010, according to a report by the General Accounting Office published on Monday, up from 1,380 in 2006.
The report says actions are necessary to ensure homeless female veterans get the housing and services they need.
The GAO says a lack of coordination among the Veteran’s Administration and Housing and Urban Development, two government agencies that provide housing and services to homeless veterans, is hampering efforts to help these. read more>>>

GAO: Rapid Rise in Homeless Female Veterans Numbers

As it says in the writeup above, 'a lack of coordination between the VA and HUD', that isn't as much the problem as the underfunding for both especially as to the VA, which helps create that so called lack of coordination and oh so much more, and the whole decade of not, added to the previous decades, as two more wars were waged. America I'm Lookin At You and Those 'Job Cremators' of our present capitalism and our supposed congressional representatives who will lay blame on the agencies in your names!

Haditha Says Justice Failed Victims

2012-01-25T06:07:00.002-05:00

Part 1: AIR DATE: Jan. 24, 2012 Plea Deal in Haditha Killings Opens New Wounds in Iraq

SUMMARY A military judge on Tuesday recommended 90 days of confinement and reduction in rank for Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, the remaining Marine charged in a case that shook Iraq and the U.S. -- the gunning down of 24 civilians in Haditha in 2005. However, because of a pre-trial agreement, he will serve no time. Margaret Warner reports. Transcript>>>

Watch Plea Deal in Haditha Killings Opens New Wounds in Iraq on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

Part 2: AIR DATE: Jan. 24, 2012 Was Justice Served After Haditha Killings?

SUMMARY At his sentencing hearing Tuesday, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, the remaining Marine charged in the 2005 Haditha killings, expressed sorrow for the victims, and said he hadn't meant for his men to kill innocent Iraqis. Margaret Warner discusses his plea deal with two retired Marines, Lt. Col. Gary Solis and Capt. Bing West. Transcript>>>

Watch Was Justice Served After Haditha Killings? on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

Iraqi Town Says Justice Failed Victims Of U.S. Raid

January 25, 2012 - In this town which saw 24 unarmed civilians die in a U.S. raid seven years ago, residents expressed disbelief and sadness that the Marine sergeant who told his troops to "shoot first, ask questions later" reached a deal with prosecutors to avoid jail time.
They were outraged both at the American military justice system and at the refusal of Iraq's Shiite-led government to condemn the killings and at least try to bring those responsible to face trial in this country.
"We are deeply disappointed by this unfair deal," said Khalid Salman Rasif, an Anbar provincial council member from Haditha. "The U.S. soldier will receive a punishment that is suitable for a traffic violation."
Haditha, a town of about 85,000 people along the Euphrates River valley some 140 miles northwest of Baghdad, is overwhelmingly made up of Sunni Muslims. Sunnis lost influence in this country with the fall of Saddam Hussein and feel increasingly squeezed out of their already limited political role. read more>>>

Special Report: PTS

2012-01-24T18:24:00.000-05:00

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Tuesday, 24 Jan 2012 - Imagine going through something so traumatic it paralyzes your mind. Changing who you are and how you interact with others. Meet 3 people who are living with what's known as post traumatic stress disorder. They're sharing their stories because they want you to know PTSD is real and now is the time to talk about it. read more>>>

Special Report: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: MyFoxPHILLY.com

St. Louis to 'Welcome Home' OIF Soldiers and Vets, 28 Jan. 2012

2012-01-24T08:54:00.001-05:00

Craig Schneider, an organizer of the St. Louis parade to welcome home veterans of the Iraq war, talks to MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow about the grassroots effort to honor the troops.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Parade Starts at NOON January 28th, 2012
for parade route please click important information link {at their site, visit for much more. }
Veterans Resource Village will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Live entertainment at Veterans Resource Village from 3 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

As they say on their site: It’s about people, not politics

You can visit, and ask to join in support, their facebook site or their twitter site

Report of the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) 2012

2012-01-23T08:37:00.002-05:00

World Future Energy Summit Bulletin Volume 187 Number 11 - Thursday, 19 January 2012
SUMMARY OF THE WORLD FUTURE ENERGY SUMMIT 2012
16-19 JANUARY 2012

The Fifth World Future Energy Summit (WFES) 2012 took place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), from Monday, 16 to Thursday, 19 January 2012, hosted by Masdar. WFES was attended by over 25,000 participants, including 3,000 summit delegates from 148 countries, three heads of state, ministers, the UN Secretary-General, heads of intergovernmental agencies, and over 700 exhibitors.
The Summit was convened around a high-level segment focusing on policy and strategy, and three forums on: business and policy; technology and innovation; and finance and regulation. Issues considered by WFES participants included: wind power; solar power; natural gas; energy efficiency; cities; transportation; China; rural development; and capacity building; technology; energy storage; energy-smart infrastructures; carbon capture and storage (CCS); bioenergy; nuclear power; regulations and trade; venture capital; and innovation on financial products for sustainable energy.
In addition to the Summit sessions, WFES 2012 included an exhibition, the Project Village, roundtable discussions, Innovate @ WFES, the Young Future Energy Leaders programme, corporate meetings and social events. Many WFES participants attended the award ceremony for the Zayed Future Energy Prize for long-term vision and leadership in renewable energy and sustainability, which was awarded to Schneider Electric, Ashok Gadgil, and the Carbon Disclosure Project.
The following report contains a summary of the WFES sessions, as well as a sample of the side events. Summaries of the plenary sessions are grouped in chronological order, followed by summaries of the parallel sessions and side events. More detailed information and photographs can be found at: IISD Reporting Services.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF MULTILATERAL PROCESSES ON RENEWABLE ENERGY read more>>>

A Summary Report of the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) 2012

Much more information and htm or pdf files can be foung Here>>>

Don't Worry - Live

2012-01-23T05:07:00.002-05:00

Dance along with the Playing For Change Band as they rock Vancouver's Commodore Ballroom! This was the final stop in the PFC Band's 2009 International Tour, and the audience that night certainly had "that good vibration."

VA and the Ancestry.com Foulup: Misidentified Veterans

2012-01-21T10:36:00.001-05:00

VA Providing Credit Monitoring to Misidentified Veterans

WASHINGTON – January 20, 2012 - The Department of Veterans Affairs is offering free credit monitoring to more than 2,200 Veterans whose personal information, including social security numbers, was posted on Ancestry.com following the mistaken release of data through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
“VA places the highest priority upon safeguarding the personal information of our Veterans,” said Jerry L. Davis, VA’s chief information security officer. “When lapses occur, we will immediately take prompt remedial action, such as notification.”
The family history website, which provides access to genealogical and historical information, had requested information from VA about deceased Veterans. Under FOIA, VA is obligated to release requested records upon written request unless they may be withheld. Therefore, VA provided the website with the data on March 18, 2011.
On Dec. 13, 2011, after the information had been posted on the history website, VA learned that it included data about some living Veterans because some of the death reports provided to the website were inaccurate.
“Fortunately, no personal health information was included in this data release,” Davis said. “Ancestry.com has worked with us and immediately removed all the information that we had supplied them.”
There is no indication personally identifiable information of any Veteran has been misused. However, VA is still notifying all potentially affected Veterans so they can be vigilant and take steps to protect against identity theft. VA is also offering credit monitoring for one year at no charge to every Veteran whose name was mistakenly released and posted on the history website. read more>>>

Moyers' & Friends: Crony 'c'apitalism, Capitalism that isn't!

2012-01-21T08:05:00.001-05:00

One of the extremely main positives of Moyers coming back, doing what he has always done, is nobody, or extremely few and mostly on the internet, are talking about how we as a country got to where we are today and the recent previous years, starting back some thirty, and why we're not moving forward as we should be faster, we means the 99%.

January 20, 2012 - Bill Moyers and former White House budget director David Stockman on how politics and high finance have turned our economy into a members-only private club.

This weekend, continuing its sharp multi-episode focus on the intersection of money and politics, Moyers & Company explores the tight connection between Wall Street and the White House with David Stockman – yes, that David Stockman — former budget director for President Reagan. read more>>>

David Stockman on Crony Capitalism from BillMoyers.com on Vimeo.

Moyers and Stockman explain it very well and easy to understand, it ain't rocket science as they say. For the top tier, changing Capitalism into 'c'apitalism for their benefit, the collapsing economy was just a speed bump in the road especially for corporate profits and wall street roulette investments, for most of them. What's really telling is we're in the Presidential campaign mode, tepubs have come to the tube in their own reality show with what they call debates and corporate persons are spending multi-millions on ads and more and not, as these tepub candidates call them 'job creators', on job creation while getting their monies worth as congress, especially the house, haven't brought up any jobs bills to reverse the damage already done by those extremely wealthy 'job creators'. And these so called candidates, a couple especially the mittens greatly benefiting from building easy wealth from the seed money that existed for him and his cronies and the newt gets from his connections and grifting same for santorum, paul is doing what he's always done running under the (R) banner, recruiting into the extreme end of libertarian ideology, are not being asked the why the reagan economics failed, especially as they invoke saint ronny into the speak, as many forecast it would and in just the way it did.

January 20, 2012 Moyers talks with Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter and columnist Gretchen Morgenson on how money and political clout enable industries to escape regulation and enrich executives at the top.
Gretchen Morgenson on Industry Influence from BillMoyers.com on Vimeo.

You won't see guests like this on the fox, but 'if' ever there it'll be talk over and multiple interruption time by the unprincipled, who apparently think of themselves as quality journalist, that are programmed in the talking points of the what they call political? party propaganda machine, of the extreme right, who's so called reporting is taken as gospel by their riveted flock paying attention to only them and the offshoot parrots of and no one else nor the reality easily found.

Spain Court Reactivates Gitmo Investigation

2012-01-21T06:55:00.001-05:00

Spanish Court Resumes Gitmo Prosecution

January 18, 2012 - On Friday, a judge from Spain’s national security court, the Audiencia Nacional, issued a decision directing the resumption of criminal proceedings relating to the torture and mistreatment of three prisoners held in the American detention facility at Guantánamo Bay. El País reports (my translation):

Judge Pablo Ruz of the Audiencia Nacional has reactivated a case initiated by [Judge Baltasar] Garzón relating to the torture of four Islamists, one of them the so-called “Spanish Taliban,” during their captivity at the U.S. base at Guantánamo; according to the judge the case involves crimes of torture, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
The judge concluded that there is sufficient basis to support a finding of jurisdiction for the Spanish courts to investigate the facts, as the case has a “connection relevant to Spain.” Even though the plenary chamber of the court’s criminal division has established a preference for U.S. jurisdiction in such cases, the exercise of Spanish jurisdiction would be appropriate because there is no evidence that either the U.S. or the U.K. had opened an investigation or commenced a prosecution of the crimes in question.
The case has a long history. The three former prisoners were released from custody in 2007 at the request of the British government, and were then turned over to Spain under a Spanish arrest warrant charging them with complicity in acts of terrorism. read more>>>

U.N. asked to probe U.S. efforts to squelch Spain torture probe

Jan. 19, 2012 - Two legal rights groups on Thursday asked the United Nations to investigate allegations that Spanish and U.S. officials collaborated to quash criminal probes into whether the Bush administration authorized illegal killings and torture of terrorism suspects.
The request, made to the U.N.'s special rapporteur for judicial independence, accused the United States of interfering with Spain's justice system in three different criminal cases. The New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights and the Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights asked that the U.N. demand that both governments refrain from meddling in court cases. read more>>>

N.C. Human Rights Group Report on Torture Flights

2012-01-19T18:14:00.002-05:00

Human rights group calls on state to probe alleged 'torture flights'

19 January 2012 - A North Carolina human rights group is calling on state officials to investigate and stop alleged CIA missions originating in Johnston County that involve illegal torture.
North Carolina Stop Torture Now delivered a University of North Carolina School of Law report Wednesday to the governor, attorney general and others that claims the Central Intelligence Agency relies on Smithfield-based Aero Contractors Ltd. to provide planes and pilots to transport prisoners overseas from the Johnston County Airport for secret interrogation using torture techniques.
The 67-page report says the so-called "rendition flights" by the company and its employees violate laws against torture by aiding and abetting.
It includes an affidavit from a Moroccan-born Italian who said that he was captured in 2002, had his clothes sliced off him, was dressed in a diaper and torn T-shirt and dragged aboard a small plane operated by Aero. read more>>>

N.C. Connection to Extraordinary Rendition and Torture Flights Report

A, U.S. Navy Veterans Association Scam, Settlement

2012-01-18T13:31:00.000-05:00

Telemarketing company to refund donations to Navy Veterans scam

The settlement says the telemarketers were unaware of Navy Veterans' bogus nature.
USN Veterans Assoc. Scam Artist the fake Bobby Thompsen
January 18, 2012 - Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli said Tuesday that the state has reached a settlement with a telemarketing company that solicited funds from Virginia residents for a fraudulent veterans charity that is under investigation in multiple states.
The settlement requires Michigan-based Associated Community Services Inc. to pay more than $65,000 in refunded contributions, civil penalties and other costs for alleged violations of Virginia law. The company was soliciting funds for the now defunct U.S. Navy Veterans Association, a fraudulent organization that purported to raise money to aid disabled veterans and send care packages to troops serving overseas.
The settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing by Associated Community Services. The company maintains that it was unaware of the association's fraudulent activities.
A state investigation last year concluded that the association collected at least $2 million from Virginia residents over a five-year period that ended in 2010. The case was turned over to Cuccinelli's office, which has civil enforcement authority under the state's charitable solicitation law.
Cuccinelli did not play a role in the civil case against the telemarketing firm because he accepted $55,500 in campaign contributions in 2009 from the director of the fraudulent charity. The man, who used the name Bobby Thompson, disappeared in 2010 shortly after questions emerged about the charity. Ohio authorities have charged him with identity fraud. read more>>>

This phony scam artist and grifter is still on the loose, they captured his girlfriend about a year or more ago, she's been tried, convicted and is now in prison but they're still looking for this scumbag and the millions he grifted!!

Halting Canadian Bush Prosecution Violated International Obligations

2012-01-18T12:55:00.002-05:00

JURIST Guest Columnists Matt Eisenbrandt, Legal Director for the Canadian Centre for International Justice, and Katherine Gallagher, a Senior Staff Attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, say the Canadian government not only rejected the opportunity to prosecute George W. Bush, they improperly removed private citizens' ability to bring criminal proceedings as allowed by Canadian law...

January 17, 2012 - In his memoir and other venues, former US president George W. Bush admitted that he authorized the waterboarding of detainees in US custody. His exact words of approval were, "Damn right." Bush ordered several other interrogation techniques that numerous experts, including the International Committee of the Red Cross and several UN rapporteurs, have found to constitute torture. Nonetheless, he has not been held accountable, in the US or elsewhere, for his oversight of a worldwide torture program that included abuses at Guantánamo, Abu Ghraib, Bagram and secret CIA "black sites."
Recently, Canada disregarded an opportunity to shatter the global impunity Bush enjoys and in so doing violated international law. On October 20, 2011, Bush, joined by former president Bill Clinton, visited Surrey, British Columbia as a paid speaker at a regional economic summit hosted by Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts. Rather than comply with Canada's legal obligations under the UN Convention Against Torture and submit Bush for prosecution, the Government of Canada refused to take action. Then, faced with privately initiated charges, the Attorney General of British Columbia intervened to shut down the case.
Three weeks before Bush's widely publicized visit to Canada, we sent a letter [PDF], a 69-page draft indictment [PDF] and approximately 4,000 pages of evidence to the Attorney General of Canada on behalf of the Canadian Centre for International Justice and the Center for Constitutional Rights. We called on him to investigate and prosecute the former US president. In response, we received a terse two-sentence letter [PDF] from the manager of the Department of Justice Correspondence Unit acknowledging nothing more than that our letters had been received over two weeks after Bush had left. Several other human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, called for Canada to arrest Bush. read more>>>

Coming: Occupy Davos

2012-01-17T07:52:00.000-05:00

Not to take away from Occupy Congress what may or may not come during today's actions in DC, hopefully there will be much more of the positives messages as well as the people, caught this yesterday and may be the next big event to catch and wanted to give the heads up:

Protesters ready igloos to Occupy Davos

Jan 16, 2012 - Occupy protesters with their sights set on the World Economic Forum, the annual gathering next week of the rich and powerful in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, unveiled their igloo accommodation on Monday.
When fully erected, Camp Igloo will include two heated teepees and a field kitchen alongside the ice houses to sleep about 50 people in sub-zero temperatures, activists said.
Davos, which brings together politicians, central bankers and business leaders, has become a byword for globalization.

snip
"This is the wrong solution as it is undemocratic and cynical. Democracy is not only the right path for the Arab states but is also urgently needed again in the West."
The Swiss campaigners invited activists from around the world to join them at the camp, being set up with permission in a car park outside the tight security cordon that surrounds the World Economic Forum meeting.
"Don't let them decide for you! Occupy WEF!" read a banner draped across the first igloo, which took five hours to build. read more>>>

Find Near You, the Nation's Biggest Polluters

2012-01-16T16:18:00.001-05:00

EPA Reveals GHG Data of the Nation's Biggest Polluters

January 11, 2012 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today lifted the veil on a new tool that gives the public easy access to facility-level greenhouse gas emissions data.
That means individuals, communities and companies can see how much global warming pollution is being produced by facilities in their areas. But the data only covers the nation's largest polluters -- those generating 25,000 metric tonnes or more of carbon dioxide equivalent. Power plants and petroleum refineries represent the largest stationary emissions sources.
"Our hope is that people outside the EPA and outside the federal government will use this data as a powerful resource for better decision making, and in the end, use the data in ways that we here at the EPA have not even contemplated," said Gina McCarthy, EPA assistant administrator, during a conference call today with reporters. "What we can bank on is that better information will always lead to a better informed public, which will lead to better environmental protection.
The data publication tool covers 2010 calendar data from more than 6,700 facilities, equal to about 80 percent of total U.S. emissions. Users can search and download data by facility, location, sector and type of greenhouse gas. Facilities in nine sectors are now covered, including power plants, refineries, steel mills and cement producers. read more>>>

Special Coverage | World Future Energy Summit

2012-01-16T08:55:00.002-05:00

World Future Energy Summit: Monday, 16 January, 2012

*Dubai Supreme Council of Energy to present 1,000MW solar park at WFES 2012- Press Release
*Supreme Council of Energy participates in WFES - Press Release
*Masdar Capital Announces Plans to Form New Renewable Energy Project Platform with Development Bank of Japan- Press Release
*UN Secretary-General calls for Action to Achieve Sustainable Energy for All by 2030- Press Release
*German fund plans to develop $2b integrated solar projects- Times of Oman
*UAE: Energy summit opens in Capital today - Khaleej Times
*Global meeting starts today to explore innovative technology - Gulf News
*Averda working with the CWM - Abu Dhabi to participate in World Future Energy Summit- Press Release
*UAE launches strategy to develop green economy- Gulf News links for above and days leadin up to can be found here>>> the next couple of days of the summit will be added as it proceeds.

Cracking a Vietnam War Mystery

2012-01-16T06:39:00.000-05:00

New Book Uses Long-Hidden Communist Sources to Explore a Potential Missed Opportunity for Peace in 1966 Evidence from James G. Hershberg, "Marigold: The Lost Chance for Peace in Vietnam" (Cold War International History Project) Stanford University Press/Wilson Center Press, January 2012 National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 369

Washington, D.C., January 15, 2012 – Casting new light on one of the most controversial and enduring mysteries of the Vietnam War, a new book using evidence from long-hidden communist sources suggests that the U.S. Government missed a major chance to open peace talks with North Vietnam in late 1966, more than eighteen months before the opening of the Paris peace talks and more than six years before the accords that finally ended US direct involvement in the fighting. The revelations contained in Marigold: The Lost Chance for Peace in Vietnam by James G. Hershberg imply that the United States might have escaped its Vietnam predicament with a far lower toll: the secret Polish-Italian peace attempt code-named "Marigold" by U.S. officials culminated at a time when roughly 6,250 Americans had perished, compared to the more than 58,000 who ultimately died in the war.[1]
At one point the clandestine diplomacy verged on a breakthrough, with the apparent mutual agreement to hold an unprecedented meeting between US and North Vietnamese ambassadors in Warsaw to confirm Washington's adherence to a ten-point formula for a settlement. "I thought I had done something worthwhile in my life," recalled the American ambassador in Saigon at the time, Henry Cabot Lodge, of that moment of seeming success with his diplomatic partners from Poland and Italy. "We had a drink on it."[2] A date was even tentatively set for the enemy ambassadors to meet: December 6, 1966. But before the encounter could take place, the covert effort was first suspended—due, the Poles said, to the U.S. bombing of Hanoi, the first such strikes around the North Vietnamese capital in more than five months—and then collapsed, for reasons which were disputed in acrimonious private US-Polish exchanges at the time. Before long, those arguments seeped into the press, sparking an international scandal and leaving behind a convoluted historical mystery—until now. read more>>>

Guide into Torture and Rendition Inquiries - UK not U.S.

2012-01-15T10:34:00.003-05:00

UK investigations into torture and rendition – a guide

A series of investigations have sought to get to the bottom of claims that British officials were implicated in abuse of detainees 12 January 2012
Operation Hinton
Scotland Yard's investigation into MI5's interrogation of Binyam Mohamed after the CIA told the agency he was being "continuously deprived of sleep", shackled and threatened. Details of what MI5 knew before the official identified as Witness B was sent to Pakistan to question Mohamed were made public on the orders of the appeal court after the last Labour government failed in lengthy attempts to keep them secret. Compensation was paid to Mohamed in an out-of-court settlement. The police investigation lasted two and a half years, during which time detectives at the Yard attempted to trace responsibility for Witness B's actions up the chain of command. Police and the Crown Prosecution Service concluded there was insufficient evidence to press charges.
Operation Iden read more>>>

Welcome Bill Moyers Back into Our Homes

2012-01-14T12:32:00.001-05:00

Always sensible talk and discussion, in the now to often disrespectful talking over others and much more opinionated speak by so called 'experts' and labeled as fact and news with many too lazy to research what they're being told, we now and for too long have had to put up with from our free speech media outlets, it's very refreshing to have him back and as one of the few voices with common sense and critical thought for the masses, especially those who still do think for themselves, Moyers and Company.

The links prior to the video's can be found abit more information on each segment as well as the sites video's.

Jacob Hacker & Paul Pierson on Engineered Inequality - January 13, 2012
Bill Moyers explores how America’s vast inequality didn’t just happen, it’s been politically engineered.

Jacob Hacker & Paul Pierson on Winner Take All Politics from BillMoyers.com on Vimeo.

In the above their book they are discussing: Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made the Rich Richer--And Turned Its Back on the Middle Class

Bill Moyers Essay: Occupying a Cause - January 13, 2012
What’s the common cause behind Occupy protesters?

Bill Moyers on Occupy Wall Street from BillMoyers.com on Vimeo.

Lessons on Democracy from Woody Guthrie - January 13, 2012
In this web-only video essay, Bill looks back at the life and work of singer Woody Guthrie to draw meaning about the current state of our economy.

On Democracy: Is This Land Made For You And Me? from BillMoyers.com on Vimeo.

The Recent Video's Impact On Afghan Operations

2012-01-13T11:22:00.000-05:00

Marines Worried About Desecration Video's Impact On Afghan Operations

13 January 2011 - The uproar over a video that appears to show four U.S. Marines urinating on the bodies of three dead Taliban fighters in Afghanistan continues, and as we reported yesterday investigators believe they've identified two of the men and are vowing that if they're guilty of what seems to have happened they will be brought to justice. read more>>>

Everytime they add with the supporting rhetoric here, now the whole decade of, they add the targets to those we sent into these occupations of others, as they do from the comfortable seats here using the tubes the radio and this technology, the little chickenhawks and even hawk veterans!!

Meanwhile from those same hawks, and others, while wavin those flags: No Revenues = No Sacrifice = No Support = DeJa-Vu all over again!. Now a decade and counting added to the previous decades of under funding the VA, while the peoples reps Still try and lay blame on the Agency, after rubber stamping wars and costs of and those represented cheer on these wars!

Vets' Support Downtown Iraqi Eatery after Hate Crime

2012-01-12T06:52:00.002-05:00

Downtown Iraqi eatery's plate full with vets' support

01/11/2012 - An area veterans group pledged to fill every seat in Babylon, a downtown Iraqi restaurant where owners feared hatred drove a man to throw a 20-pound rock through a window last Wednesday.
Instead, those veterans filled every seat twice.
Lowell police said they identified the man who threw the stone, and that he confessed. He will be charged in Lowell District Court, though police say his motive was not hatred.
"Unless this gentleman is lying to us -- and I don't believe that he is -- he didn't even know this restaurant was affiliated with people from Iraq," said Lowell police Superintendent Kenneth Lavallee.
The suspect, a New Hampshire man who will not be identified until he is arraigned, will be summonsed to court to face a charge of breaking glass in a building, a misdemeanor.
Patrick Scanlon, a Vietnam veteran and coordinator of Veterans for Peace who organized the show of support, voiced skepticism that hate wasn't involved, but said it was nonetheless important to show support for the family that had been hit hard by fear.
Scanlon was joined at 25 Merrimack St. by veterans of the Iraq war, such as former Army Sgt. Rachel McNeill, of Allston, who served from 2002 to 2010 and spent a year in Iraq serving on a gun truck that escorted convoys, and Chris Borden, of Chelmsford, who continues to serve in the Army Reserves after deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Scanlon was also joined by veterans like Paul Brailsford, 96, of Ipswich, a former captain in the Merchant Marines who served in the Pacific hauling weapons and supplies to Gen. Douglas MacArthur's troops during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. read more>>>

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Many VFP members and chapters have been not only active in Iraq, especially after the first Gulf War, but have many Iraqi friends, some I'm sure may not be with us anymore, or are now refugee's in other countries, after the past almost nine years of occupation. One of the projects some took on was the Iraq Water Project, this is an earlier posting, this one is more recent, we are one of many NGO's who tried to bring normalcy back to at least some Iraqi's after the sanctions and bombings in the first Gulf War and are still trying to help. Though now the peace for the citizens of long ago, even under the supported by us dictator, in that country is no more as the factions within now seek to control. If you click on either of the above links you can find out more on the project by a search of "Iraq Water Project" which will bring up links to other reports as well as pdf's.

Iraq: A country in shambles

2012-01-09T08:02:00.002-05:00

Despite promises made for improvements, Iraq's economy and infrastructure are still a disaster

Seven years after sieges, Fallujah struggles. With their city largely destroyed by two US military assaults, residents of Fallujah continue to suffer. ( 04-Jan-2012 )
09 Jan 2012 - As a daily drumbeat of violence continues to reverberate across Iraq, people here continue to struggle to find some sense of normality, a task made increasingly difficult due to ongoing violence and the lack of both water and electricity.
During the build-up to the US-led invasion of Iraq, the Bush administration promised the war would bring Iraqis a better life, and vast improvements in their infrastructure, which had been severely debilitated by nearly 13 years of strangling economic sanctions.
More jobs, improved water availability, more reliable electricity supplies, and major rehabilitation of the medical infrastructure were promised.
But now that the US military has ended its formal military occupation of Iraq, nearly eight years of war has left the promises as little more than a mirage.
Ongoing water shortages read more>>>