Haliburton Scams America - NewsWorldWide1 YouTube Video

WRBA Holds First Meeting of 2011 Snow Tops Concerns by Lisa Fraser - Leader-Observer

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Resident David Quintana asks representative from Congressman Anthony Weiner's office to communicate to the the Congressman that we need to get out of Iraq and Afghanistan wars at WRBA's first meeting of 2011.

The Woodhaven Residents Block Association held their first meeting of 2011 last Saturday, January 8, at the Woodhaven Richmond Hill Ambulance Corps. Topping concerns: the slow snow removal process on many of the blocks in Woodhaven.

Residents complained of uncleared snow on their respective blocks days after the storm, and one, Maria Concolino, said she noticed that some vendors on Jamaica Avenue and along the side streets didn't bother to shovel the snow to make a walkway for pedestrians.

Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley was on hand to discuss the frustrations residents faced and stated that she would confront the Mayor and sanitation on why the streets were not cleared in a timely fashion.

"When EMS workers cannot get to an emergency because the snow is now plowed, I do not believe that is the fault of the emergency service people," she said.

She informed the residents that a hearing would be held in the borough regarding the snow cleanup at Queens Borough Hall on January 21.

Assemblyman Michael Miller was also present and shared with residents, his experience with the storm – his block in Glendale was not plowed until Wednesday night because of a stuck car that the sanitation crew refused to move.

Edward Wendell, president of the block association, urged residents to become block captains so that they could be the eyes and ears of their block in situations such as the blizzard. Captains will report on to the WRBA what's happening on the block.

"The idea is to prepare ourselves for the next storm, whether it be a snow storm or a rain storm that we had last year ripped down trees," Wendell said. "We need to be able to quickly assess the damage in the neighborhood."

The WRBA would then get in touch with the captain so that in the event that sanitation or a local official contacts them, they know which blocks to hit first, and which trees are down or which blocks are without power. A map outlining the blocks that need a block captain can be found on the association's blog, wrba.wordpress.com.

Another nuisance that has been bothering a few residents in the recent weeks centered around a food truck vendor parked on 85th Street and Jamaica Avenue next to the J train station.

Vamce Barbour, treasurer of the WRBA, pointed out that he recently saw the vendor selling food at 10 p.m. one night. Another resident also reported seeing the vendor a few nights later. Maria Thomson, financial secretary of the WRBA said that he has no right to be parked on a residential street.

"I was able to get him off of Jamaica Avenue after many months," she said. She contacted Crowley's office in hopes to rid the vendor, who sells Mexican food, because he disrupts business on the avenue. She's now aiming to get him off of the residential block.

The next residents association meeting will be held on February 12. The meetings are held on Saturdays now because it is more convenient for residents to attend on the weekend instead of after work on a winter weeknight.

Police Arrest 131 Antiwar Protesters In Front Of White House by Dan Froomkin - The Huffington Post

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WATCH video excerpts of the arrests. Organizer Mike Ferner, the president of Veterans for Peace, gets dragged away, and Ellsberg flashes a peace sign before getting handcuffed.

Hoping to spark the country's silent majority into action, 131 antiwar protesters got themselves arrested Thursday, in one of the larger acts of civil disobedience in front of the White House in some time.

Carrying signs that frequently included question marks -- "Peace on earth?" and "How is the war economy working for you?" -- protesters organized by a Missouri-based veterans groupmarched up to the White House gates and refused to disperse, holding their ground for several hours on a snowy and blustery day.

Among those arrested was Daniel Ellsberg, the Vietnam-era whistleblower who leaked the Pentagon Papers as an act of protest in 1971. Thursday's arrest was his 80th.

All the arrests were appropriately peaceful although some protesters went limp, forcing police to carry them to the loaned Metrobuses waiting to take them to a booking facility. Only one protester actually attached himself to the gate with a bicycle lock.

All were charged with failure to obey lawful order, a misdemeanor, said Park Police spokesman David Schlosser.

Schlosser said the protesters would be released after either forfeiting $100 or accepting an assigned court date.

A new poll shows that a substantial majority of the country agrees with the protesters on some central points. As Amanda Terkel reports for the Huffington Post, the poll finds a record 60 percent of Americans now say the war in Afghanistan is not worth fighting.

Before the mass arrest, speakers at the rally, which was attended by at least 500 people, attacked the war and defended WikiLeaks and Bradley Manning, the army officer suspected of leaking secret State Department cables to the website.

Earlier on Thursday, Ellsberg told a Washington news conference that Manning and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange were no more deserving of prosecution than the New York Times, which published the Pentagon Papers in 1971, or Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward, who helped uncover the Watergate conspiracy.

New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand with Up Close with Diana Williams - 7online.com

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Diana Williams sits down one on one with New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.

Get to know Senator Gillibrand better by watching this interview...

Chairman Towns Opens Inquiry into Quality of Troops’ Body Armor and Vehicle Safety...

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Chairman Edolphus “Ed” Towns (D-NY) is asking Secretary of Defense Robert Gates for explanations about management of the Department of Defense’s (DoD) troop armor procurement and testing programs. The inquiry follows a DoD Inspector General (IG) report issued recently that identified problems with the Army’s body and vehicle armor testing process. Since the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq began, DOD has consistently struggled to deploy safe and reliable body armor to troops on the front line, and the IG has issued several reports outlining the challenges to DOD’s armor procurement policies and potential solutions. Chairman Towns, an Army veteran, is committed to ensuring the safety of our troops.

“For almost a decade, our troops have sacrificed life and limb to defend our nation. At the same time, DoD has repeatedly struggled to manage its programs and testing related to protective armor, including body armor,” said Chairman Towns. “If we are going to continue sending troops into harms way, we must know that DoD is doing all it can to provide effective and save body armor and armored vehicles.”

A January 2009 DoD IG report identified problems with the U.S. Army's testing processes. The IG found, among other things, that testing of some body armor was not consistently conducted in accordance with contract requirements—and that body armor that was recorded as having passed testing had actually failed. A separate review of body armor testing by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) the Army did not follow established testing protocols, did not maintain certain internal controls, and recommended an independent assessment of armor test results.

The letter from Chairman Towns to Secretary Gates is the latest in a series of inquiries from the House Oversight Committee into Federal procurement and waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars. In the letter to Gates, Chairman Towns requested that DoD brief the House Oversight Committee on the Department's efforts to ensure that our troops have effective and safe body armor and armored vehicles, as expeditiously as possible.

Specifically, the Chairman requested an overview of key ongoing armored vehicle and body armor acquisition programs of the Services, including the Army's Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle program (MRAP); contractors involved in the maintenance or procurement of body armor or armored vehicles; and field experience with the effectiveness of protective armor, including body armor, along with any analysis comparing experience in the field with the results of laboratory testing.

“I am aware that DoD has made some progress addressing past problems with the body and vehicle armor provided to our armed services,” said Chairman Towns. “However, I want to make sure DoD’s progress continues. There is nothing more important than providing our troops with the best protection possible.”

The full text of the letter from Chairman Towns to Secretary Gates is below.

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Documents and Links

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Letter from Chairman Edolphus Towns to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates

Weiner, Paterson, and Israel Visit Officials, Troops in Baghdad

Representative Anthony Weiner (D-Brooklyn and Queens), along with Governor David Paterson, Representative Steve Israel (D-NY) and members of the New York congressional delegation visited American troops and top officials in Baghdad on Sunday. The delegation shared meals with service men and women, toured American bases and met with U.S. and Iraqi officials during the trip.

Left to Right: Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY), Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY), Governor David Paterson (D-NY), Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY), and Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick, the Commander of MNSTC-I (Multi-National Security Transition Command Iraq). Photo credit: Office of Rep. Israel / Mike Ryan

Community of Veterans - Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA)

Community of Veterans

About this site:

A joint effort of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) and the Ad Council, this site is designed as a resource to our nation’s newest Veterans. Comprising less than 1 percent of the population, Veterans face a myriad of challenges while feeling isolated and cut off from those to whom they can best relate – other Veterans. While addressing a range of topics, this site is ultimately a point of connection where Veterans are helping Veterans.

IAVA
Founded in 2004, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) is the nation's first and largest group representing veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. IAVA is a non-profit and nonpartisan organization with more than 125,000 active veteran members and grassroots supporters in all 50 states. For more information, visit www.iava.org.

IF YOU ARE A VETERAN of OIF or OEF, you are eligible to become an IAVA member. Joining IAVA is free- just click below to get started. A new window will open with the registration form from the main IAVA website.

Join IAVA

The Advertising Council
The Ad Council, www.adcouncil.org is a private, non-profit organization that marshals talent from the advertising and communications industries, the facilities of the media, and the resources of the business and non-profit communities to produce, distribute and promote public service campaigns on behalf of non-profit organizations and government agencies in issue areas such as improving the quality of life for children, preventive health, education, community well-being, environmental preservation and strengthening families.

The mental health consequences of combat threaten to overwhelm a new generation of veterans. There are 1.7 million men and women who have served, or are currently serving, in Iraq and Afghanistan. About 1 in 5 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are suffering from a mental health injury, ranging from depression to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), as a result of their service.

Less than 1% of the U.S. population has served or is serving in the current conflicts and when they return home, their sense of isolation is often magnified. This campaigns long-term objective is to decrease the depression and PTSD-related outcomes among returning Vets by taking a two-pronged approach encouraging Veterans to join other Veterans at the first ever online community exclusive to OIF/OEF Vets, and separately, to empower their Friends and Family by helping them learn how to start constructive conversations. The challenges facing returning vets are myriad but with support from other Veterans, family, and friends the issues can be effectively dealt with.

Liberal Pranksters Hand Out Times Spoof by Sewall Chan - City Room Blog - NYTimes.com

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Sorry, folks, the paper isn’t free. And the Iraq war isn’t over, at least not yet.

In an elaborate hoax, pranksters distributed thousands of free copies of a spoof edition of The New York Times on Wednesday morning at busy subway stations around the city, including Grand Central Terminal, Washington and Union Squares, the 14th and 23rd Street stations along Eighth Avenue, and Pacific Street in Brooklyn, among others.

The spurious 14-page papers — with a headline “IRAQ WAR ENDS” — surprised commuters, many of whom took the free copies thinking they were legitimate.

The paper is dated July 4, 2009, and imagines a liberal utopia of national health care, a rebuilt economy, progressive taxation, a national oil fund to study climate change, and other goals of progressive politics.

The hoax was accompanied by a Web site that mimics the look of The Times’s real Web site. A page of the spoof site contained links to dozens of progressive organizations, which were also listed in the print edition.

(A headline in the fake business section declares: “Public Relations Industry Forecasts a Series of Massive Layoffs.” Uh, sure.)

The Associated Press reported that copies of the spoof paper were also handed out in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington, and that the pranksters — who included a film promoter, three unnamed Times employees and Steven Lambert, an art professor — financed the paper with small online contributions and created the paper to urge President-elect Barack Obama to keep his campaign promises.

According to The A.P., software and Internet support were provided by the Yes Men, who were the subject of a 2004 documentary film.

New York Times Special Edition Video News Release - Nov. 12, 2008 from H Schweppes on Vimeo.

On Wednesday, the Yes Men issued a statement about the prank, stating, in part:

In an elaborate operation six months in the planning, 1.2 million papers were printed at six different presses and driven to prearranged pickup locations, where thousands of volunteers stood ready to pass them out on the street.

Catherine J. Mathis, a Times spokeswoman, said: “This is obviously a fake issue of The Times. We are in the process of finding out more about it.”

Alex S. Jones, director of the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, and a co-author of “The Trust,” a history of the family that controls The Times, said in a telephone interview that the paper should be flattered by the spoof.

“I would say if you’ve got one, hold on to it,” Mr. Jones, a former Times reporter, said of the fake issue. “It will probably be a collector’s item. I’m just glad someone thinks The New York Times print edition is worthy of an elaborate hoax. A Web spoof would have been infinitely easier. But creating a print newspaper and handing it out at subway stations? That takes a lot of effort.”

He added, “I consider this a gigantic compliment to The Times.”

There is a history of spoofs and parodies of The Times. Probably the best-known is one unveiled two months into the 1978 newspaper strike. A whole cast of characters took part in that parody, including the journalist Carl Bernstein, the author Christopher Cerf, the humorist Tony Hendra and the Paris Review editor George Plimpton.

And for April Fool’s Day in 1999, the British business executive Richard Branson printed 100,000 copies of a parody titled “I Can’t Believe It’s Not The New York Times.” A 27-year-old Princeton alumnus named Matthew Polly, operating a “guerrilla press” known as Hard Eight Publishing, edited that 32-page spoof of the newspaper.

W Trailer - The Film by Oliver Stone...

The trailer for Oliver Stone's new movie - "W"

US Representative Weiner: Wars In Iraq, Afghanistan Taking Costly Toll On New York City Taxpayers - Various Media Sources - June 23rd - Times Square

Times Square, NYC

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NEWS: REPORT - CITY WORKERS HAVE MISSED 700,000 DAYS OF WORK IN IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN

New York City – City police officers, fire fighters, and municipal workers deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan have missed nearly 700,000 days of work since 2001, according to a new report released today by Representative Anthony Weiner (D – Brooklyn & Queens), co-chair of the Bipartisan Congressional Caucus on the Middle Class. The report, based on City payroll data and salary estimates for municipal workers, found that City taxpayers have paid more than $65 million in salaries for workers deployed overseas. The monetary costs and productivity losses – which come on top of 51 City residents who have tragically died for their country – result from 2,028 City employees who have taken military leave since September 11th, including 1,191 from the NYPD and 251 from the FDNY.

The loss of first responders poses a particular hardship to New York City’s ongoing effort to keep 8 million residents and 4 million daily mass transit riders safe. Rep. Weiner announced a new comprehensive revenue sharing bill, which will provide $40 billion in Federal aid to economically-challenged cities, including localities incurring costs when first responders are called to active duty.

Rep. Weiner said, “Dozens of New York families have lost loved ones in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But all New Yorkers have paid in economic price for this foreign policy folly.”

KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF THE REPORT

- Since September 11th, City employees have missed a total of 691,493 days of work while on military leave.

- Of the 691,493 missed work days, the NYPD has lost 405,927 days and the FDNY has lost 70,819 days due to military leave.

- In 2007, the NYPD had a total of 362 members deployed and the FDNY had a total of 76 members deployed. These first responders missed a total of 60,893 work days at an estimated cost of $3.3 million to the City.

- In total, the City has paid $123.3 million to City employees on military leave, including $79.4 million paid to NYPD employees and $13.2 million to FDNY.

- After salary reimbursements, the City has spent $65.6 million since September 11, 2001 to fill salary gaps between City pay and military pay, with $40.9 million specifically funding first responders.

- Of the $92.6 million paid to first responders, an estimated $43 million has been refunded to the City, leaving the City to pick up a $49.6 million tab.

- Currently, there are a total of 488 City employees on leave, including 281 NYPD employees and 59 FDNY employees.

Typically, when City employees are called up for active duty, they forfeit their regular paychecks, and take their new paychecks from the military. Under most circumstances, this amounts to taking a pay cut.

To honor the service of New York’s City employees, the City has set up a program to make up the difference in their salaries – so that the families of men and women deployed overseas are not put under additional financial hardship.

For example, if Mr. Smith makes $55,000 annually as an NYPD officer and his military salary is $45,000, serving in the military would normally mean taking a $10,000 pay cut. Instead, the City continues to pay Officer Smith $55,000 annually, the military pays him $45,000 and he must refund to the City the lesser of the two – in this case the military pay. In the end, Officer Smith gets paid $55,000 – his City salary – to serve in the military.

Under Weiner’s comprehensive revenue sharing proposal, the Federal government would provide cities and states with $40 billion in aid, part of which would reimburse the City for the $10,000 it expends to fill the gap between Officer Smith’s City pay and his lower military pay.

NY1-Weiner: Wars In Iraq, Afghanistan Taking Costly Toll On New York City Taxpayers

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The ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are taking a financial toll on city taxpayers, according to a study released Monday by Representative Anthony Weiner.

The study finds the city is owed more than $65 million in salary reimbursements for its workers deployed overseas.

According to the report, more than 2,000 city employees have taken military leave since September 11, 2001.

That number includes nearly 1,200 NYPD officers and 251 City firefighters.

The city has paid more than $123 million to fill the salary gaps between those first responders' civilian pay and military pay, which can be much less than what officers and firefighters typically earn.

"While it is important that we honor the patriotism of those that go to serve overseas, we should realize that for every police officer that is off the streets of New York City patrolling the streets of Fallujah or Baghdad, New York City taxpayers are footing the bill," said Weiner.

Weiner has introduced a new bill in the House that would provide $40 billion in federal aid to reimburse cities that incur costs when first responders are called to active duty.

NY Sun - Weiner: Reimburse Cities for Employees Deployed to War By Anna Phillips

US Armed Services Recruiting Station, Times Square, NYC

A newly released study by Rep. Anthony Weiner, a likely candidate for mayor in 2009, is calling on the federal government to reimburse New York City for the millions of dollars it has spent paying city employees who are serving in Iraq.

The report, "Taking a Toll: The Cost of War on New York City," states that police officers, firefighters, and other civil servants who are paid less by the military than by the city continue to receive their larger city salaries and are supposed to send their smaller, military-issued checks to City Hall. But they often don't, and have cost the city $65.6 million since September 11, 2001 — "a historic loss of revenue," according to Mr. Weiner.

He has proposed that city employees be required to send the city these refunds and that the federal government give a total of $40 billion to certain cities and states that have suffered financially because their police and firefighters have been sent to Iraq.

The deployment of civil servants overseas has especially affected the city's police department, according to the study. Of the department's 38,000 employees, 281 are currently deployed overseas.

"Last month, the NYPD chose to end its policy of guarding the entrances to subway tunnels under the East River. Why? Because the cost of paying officers overtime was too high — in large part because so many members of New York's finest are on duty in Iraq," the study says.

A police department spokesman, Assistant Chief Michael Collins, said no such decision had been made and that officers are currently guarding the tunnels. "The present coverage hasn't changed in two years and that has nothing to do with anyone serving overseas," he said.

The report compiled by Mr. Weiner's office states that in the last seven years, New York has lost nearly 700,000 workdays as a result of city employees being deployed overseas.

"While it is important that we honor the patriotism of those who go to serve overseas, we should realize that for every police officer that is off the streets here in New York City patrolling the streets of Fallujah or Baghdad, taxpayers are footing the bill," Mr. Weiner said at a news conference yesterday.

Commissioner Raymond Kelly "has not seen the report, but he would not be against reimbursements for the officers now serving in the Armed Forces," Mr. Collins said.

Metro - Weiner Eyes Federal Cash for Soldiers by S. Spencer Scott

Chart detailing Day Missed by NYC Personnel - High Cost of War to NYC Taxpayers

City municipal employees have missed nearly 700,000 days of work on military deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan, a report released yesterday said.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, 1,191 police officers and 251

firefighters have been called from their posts to serve in National Guard and Reserve units overseas. The report, released by the office of Congressman Anthony D. Weiner (D – Brooklyn & Queens), noted that 488 city workers are currently on military leave, including 288 employees from the NYPD and 59 from the FDNY.

In addition to the loss of what Weiner called, “boots on the ground,” the report highlighted the $65 million that overseas deployment of municipal workers has cost New York City taxpayers.

The hefty price tag is tied to a program where the city makes up the difference between a worker’s city salary and typically lower military pay.

Weiner has introduced a revenue sharing bill to provide $40 billion in federal aid to municipalities incurring costs when first responders are called to active duty.

NY Post - Reservistss' Duty Costs City $65M by Rebecca Rosenberg

Representative Weiner Presenting His Case to the Media in Times Square

More than 2,000 city workers have been called up to serve in Iraq or Afghanistan since 9/11, costing the city $65 million, Rep. Anthony Weiner said yesterday.

When municipal workers who are military reservists are called up for active duty, the city makes up the difference in salary.

Since 2001, city workers on military leave missed a total of 700,000 days of work, said Weiner (D-Brooklyn/Queens).

"For every police officer taken off the streets of New York to serve in Fallujah, New York taxpayers are footing the bill," he said.

He proposed a $40 billion federal revenue-sharing bill that would include aid for US cities that lose manpower due to military leaves.

Some city 1,191 cops and 251 firefighters are among the 2,082 municipal workers have been called up since 2001, Weiner said.

Currently there are 488 city workers on military leave.

"It's time that the military reimburse New York for its sacrifice," Weiner said.

Gothamist - Weiner Wants Reimbursement for War Costs By Jen Chung

The Assembled Press Corps

Congressman Anthony Weiner sounded the call for cities to be reimbursed for employees fighting in the Iraq War. Like he did last year, Weiner cites the fact that civil servants, like cops and firefighters, still get paid by the city when their military salaries are less. And since many don't send their military salaries to the city, Weiner says NYC has lost "$65.6 million since September 11, 2001," per the Sun. Weiner said, "While it is important that we honor the patriotism of those who go to serve overseas, we should realize that for every police officer that is off the streets here in New York City patrolling the streets of Fallujah or Baghdad, taxpayers are footing the bill." More info here at Weiner's website.

Try the Bush-McCain Challenge - Move-on.org

Remember the Pepsi-Coke Challenge? Here's a new twist: Try the Bush-McCain Challenge—our new online quiz—and see if you can tell the difference between Bush and McCain!

We challenge you to tell them apart—it's harder than you'd think.

Ready to get started? Just click a button below to start this new 3-minute challenge:

1st Question:

Q: After Saddam Hussein was captured in 2003, who said "Mission Accomplished"?

Take the challenge...

Play a round, then send it to your friends.

The Bush-McCain Challenge is a great way to show that voting for McCain is basically like voting for a third term of Bush. On every important issue facing our country, they stand together.

John McCain has built a moderate image (much like George W. Bush, who first ran for president as a "compassionate conservative" promising a "humble" foreign policy)—but the Bush-McCain Challenge tells the real story.

Next week, ads will go up on CNN.com and other top news websites. MoveOn members will set up tables outside of McCain events and do the Challenge. And we may even take it to TV.

177/168 by: robert.harding - the albany project

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5 years ago today, May 1, 2003, our moron President boarded the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln dressed in a military outfit and declared victory in Iraq. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED indeed. 4064 deaths later, we remain in a quagmire in Iraq. The same fools who tell us the surge is working are the ones who displayed aluminum tubes as proof there were weapons of mass destruction. Enough gullible Americans bought it. God damn the pathetically incompetent leaders who have brought this nation down a destructive path these past 8 years, and God damn those who should have known better. The innocent whose children arrive home in flag-draped coffins suffer while the privileged few still make the terrible decisions...

Below are the names of the 177 troops from New York out of the 4,064 soldiers who have died serving their country in Iraq. The list includes the 168 New Yorkers who have died since President Bush declared Mission Accomplished.

May these men and women, who served their country honorably and heroically, rest in peace.

Eric James Orlowski, Tamario Demetrice Burkett, Robert Marcus Rodriguez, William Wayne White, Eric Allen Smith, Bernard George Gooden, Gregory Paul Huxley Jr., Riayan Augusto Tejeda, Joseph Acevedo, Rasheed Sahib, David Evans Jr., Raheen Tyson Heighter, Heath A. McMillin, Joseph E. Robsky Jr., Kevin C. Kimmerly, David Travis Friedrich, Michael L. Williams, Rayshawn S. Johnson, Linda C. Jimenez, Jacob S. Fletcher, Irving Medina, George A. Wood, Charles E. Bush Jr., Luis A. Moreno, Thomas D. Robbins, Roger G. Ling, Doron Chan, Timothy Toney, David M. McKeever, Isaac Michael Nieves, Nathan P. Brown, Kevin T. Kolm, Jason L. Dunham, Michael J. Pernaselli, Nathan B. Bruckenthal, James G. West, Shawn A. Lane, Kevin A. Cuming, Luis A. Perez, Ronald Winchester, Ramon Mateo, Michael A. Uvanni, James E. Prevete, Brian K. Schramm, Segun Frederick Akintade, Matthew D. Lynch, Brian K. Baker, Jeffrey Lam, Steven E. Auchman, James C. "J.C." Matteson, Catalin D. Dima, Dimitrios Gavriel, David L. Roustum, Christian P. Engeldrum, Wilfredo F. Urbina, Pablo A. Calderon, David M. Fisher, Henry E. Irizarry, Cari Anne Gasiewicz, Joseph O. Behnke, Victor A. Martinez, Julian S. Melo, Jeff LeBrun, Kenneth G. Vonronn, Nathaniel T. Swindell, Francis C. Obaji, Michael A. Arciola, Christopher M. Pusateri, Azhar Ali, Wai Pyoe Lwin, Matthew A. Koch, Christopher W. Dill, Angelo L. Lozada Jr., Jacob M. Pfister, Kelly M. Cannan, Joseph S. Tremblay, Charles S. Cooper Jr., Michael V. Postal, Terrence K. Crowe, Phillip T. Esposito, Ramona M. Valdez, Manny Hornedo, Efrain Sanchez Jr., James D. McNaughton, Anthony N. Kalladeen, Hernando Rios, Jose L. Ruiz, Regilio E. Nelom, Mark H. Dooley, Casey E. Howe, Tulsa T. Tuliau, Leon G. James II, Seamus M. Davey, Ramon A. Acevedoaponte, Jared J. Kremm, Robert C. Pope II, Dominic J. Sacco, Aram J. Bass, Steven C. Reynolds, Clarence L. Floyd Jr., Lance S. Sage, Marlon A. Bustamante, Sergio A. Mercedes Saez, Nicholas Wilson, Thomas J. Wilwerth, Benjamin C. Schuster, Dwayne Peter R. Lewis, Carlos M. Gonzalez, Timothy J. Moshier, Scott M. Bandhold, Bobby Mendez, Jose Gomez, Elisha R. Parker, Michael L. Licalzi, Steve Vahaviolos, John W. Engeman, Jose M. Velez, Nicholas J. Whyte, Collin T. Mason, Irving Hernandez Jr., Julian A. Ramon, Hai Ming Hsia, Michael Dennis Glover, John James McKenna IV, Howard S. March Jr., James N. Lyons, Mario Nelson, Denise A. Lannaman, Michael K. Oremus, Julian M. Arechaga, Jonathan E. Lootens, Justin R. Garcia, Schuyler B. Haynes, Jeannette T. Dunn, Kenneth W. Haines, Travis C. Krege, Yevgeniy Ryndych, Jason C. Denfrund, Joseph D. Alomar, Shawn Patrick Falter, Nathan P. Fairlie, James J. Regan, Angel R. Ramirez, Lorne E. Henry Jr., Michael D. Rivera, Anthony A. Kaiser, Henry W. Bogrette, Brian E. Ritzberg, Daniel A. Fuentes, Steve Butcher Jr., James E. Lundin, Matthew E. Baylis, Kimel L. Watt, Shawn P. Martin, Alphonso J. Montenegro II, Le Ron A. Wilson, Christopher G. Scherer, Charles E. Bilbrey Jr., Juan M. Alcantara, Reynold Armand, Paulomarko U. Pacificador, Courtney Hollinsworth, Jonathan Rivadeneira, Chirasak Vidhyarkorn, Dwane A. Covert Jr., John D. Linde, Daniel J. Shaw, Steven C. Ganczewski, Isaac T. Cortes, James D. Gudridge, John P. Sigsbee, Justin R. Whiting, Jack T. Sweet, Kevin S. Mowl, Dayne D. Dhanoolal, Jordan C. Haerter

RIP, God bless our troops..!

Letter to the Editor - Keeping Money For Our Kids - Queens Ledger

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Queens Chronicle - Protested Budget Cuts

March 23, 2008

Dear Editor,

Last Wednesday (March 19^th) I attended a rally at City Hall in the pouring rain to demand an end to Mayor Bloomberg's proposed cuts to the public school budgets.

I think it was telling that on the 5^th anniversary of the Iraq War that students, parents, teachers, administrators, city council members and concerned citizens were protesting budget cuts to our children's educations.

By most accounts this war is costing our country over $1 billion dollars a week and I have read that when all is said and done the US Treasury will be out between $1.5 to 2 trillion dollars. Thats not to mention the tragic loss of life to our brave military heroes, the NY Times having just reporting that the 4,000th death occurred over the Easter weekend and over 30,000 soldiers have been irreparably injured and maimed.

What does it say of us as a society when we can find the cash for a preemptive, illegal and immoral war based upon lies told by President George W. Bush and his Administration against a sovereign nation that posed absolutely no threat to America, but we cannot fully fund a sound basic education for our children..?

These cuts come at a time when equity seemed to be in sight for New York City's public school students - through the court-ordered increase in funding by the protracted 12 year litigation by the Campaign for Fiscal Equity (CFE) law suit against former Governor Pataki; which he endlessly fought to the detriment of NYC schools - that our Mayor and his Chancellor would slap the children and parents of the City in the face by proposing these draconian budget cuts.

I am pleased to report that most of the Queens members of the City Council were present at the rally. I was especially pleased to see my City Councilman, Joseph P. Addabbo Jr., was present and standing strong with the parents and students of his district. The Council members stated that they would not pass the Mayor's budget unless these funding cuts were reinstated into the Mayor's budget proposal. I applaud their statements and their resolve, now it's up to us to hold them to their words and their rhetoric.

Notably absence from the rally was Queens Councilman Peter Vallone, Jr - a possible Queens Borough President candidate in 2009. I suppose he felt that attending a rally on behalf of our children's educations amounted to additional homework for him which we all know he has repeatedly spoken out against – it was a major disappointment.

Another person absent from the rally was Chancellor Joel Klein. It would seem to me that he should be fighting the budget cuts tooth and nail, scrambling to secure every last dollar for our schools. I believe he should have been on the front lines and forcefully speaking out against these cuts.

But I imagine he knows that his salary will be the one budget line that doesn't get cut. We all have to tighten our belts in tough times, of course, except the Chancellor. Thats why I believe the Chancellor should not be beholden to the Mayor but to some outside democratic body, such as the City Council or a board overseen by the Public Advocate, empaneled by parents, educators and other major stakeholders.

The proposed mayoral budget does not take any money from the Chancellors public relations apparatus either. The media relation department at Tweed is second only to the City Hall press corps, with over 15 positions with salaries of over $150,000. Their primary function is to “spin” the public into believing that the Chancellor is doing a good job and to further Mayor Bloomberg's political agenda, enhance his national image and further his political clout paving the way for future political office.

Tell me how many times have you heard that Mayor Bloomberg is the Education Mayor? Now, tell me how many times you have heard that from a parent, an educator or any other major stakeholder for our children, probably none. I suspect you have been taken in by Tweed spin machine just as the Mayor and Chancellor have planned, with our tax dollars.

I feel that the top down bureaucracy at Tweed should be cut to the bare bones before any budget cuts are passed on to the school class rooms, but this is not what happens in the Bloom/Klein era of public education.

To summarize, the CFE lawsuit made a $7 Billion commitment to new school funding to be phased in over the next four years, along with strong accountability measures and a public review process to ensure the the money is well spent and is not wasted. NYC's share of the new funding was committed at $3.2 Billion from the State and $2.2 Billion from the City budget – which was agreed to by the Mayor and the City Council.

Now the Governor and the Mayor have proposed cutting funding from their commitments, passed into law to fairly fund our schools. The State has proposed a $193 Million cut to NYC schools. Our Education Mayor has already enacted $180 Million cut (school budgets were cut 1.7% across the City last month) and he has now proposed an additional cut of $324 million next year. The combined cuts to NYC education funding will be almost ¾ of a billion dollars (less than the cost of one week of the Iraq war).

I ask that you join me and the thousands of others who rallied at City Hall to demand a full restoration of educational funding by the State and the City. It is time for the Governor and the Mayor to obey the law, our children have waited long enough..!

Sincerely,

David M. Quintana
Ozone Park, NY
http://davidmquintana.blogspot.com

Talk by Naomi Wolf - The End of America

10 Steps to Fascism
Naomi Wolf, author of The End of America - A Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot

1. Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy.
2. Create secret prisons where torture takes place.
3. Develop a thug caste or paramilitary force not answerable to citizens.
4. Set up an internal surveillance system.
5. Harass citizens' groups.
6. Engage in arbitrary detention and release.
7. Target key individuals.
8. Control the press.
9. Declare all dissent to be treason.
10. Suspend the rule of law.

Sound familiar to you..??

h/t to: Yellowcake Walk

The Real Iraq We Knew - washingtonpost.com

Read original...

By 12 former Army captains
Tuesday, October 16, 2007; 12:00 AM

Today marks five years since the authorization of military force in Iraq, setting Operation Iraqi Freedom in motion. Five years on, the Iraq war is as undermanned and under-resourced as it was from the start. And, five years on, Iraq is in shambles.

As Army captains who served in Baghdad and beyond, we've seen the corruption and the sectarian division. We understand what it's like to be stretched too thin. And we know when it's time to get out.

What does Iraq look like on the ground? It's certainly far from being a modern, self-sustaining country. Many roads, bridges, schools and hospitals are in deplorable condition. Fewer people have access to drinking water or sewage systems than before the war. And Baghdad is averaging less than eight hours of electricity a day.

Iraq's institutional infrastructure, too, is sorely wanting. Even if the Iraqis wanted to work together and accept the national identity foisted upon them in 1920s, the ministries do not have enough trained administrators or technicians to coordinate themselves. At the local level, most communities are still controlled by the same autocratic sheiks that ruled under Saddam. There is no reliable postal system. No effective banking system. No registration system to monitor the population and its needs.

The inability to govern is exacerbated at all levels by widespread corruption. Transparency International ranks Iraq as one of the most corrupt countries in the world. And, indeed, many of us witnessed the exploitation of U.S. tax dollars by Iraqi officials and military officers. Sabotage and graft have had a particularly deleterious impact on Iraq's oil industry, which still fails to produce the revenue that Pentagon war planners hoped would pay for Iraq's reconstruction. Yet holding people accountable has proved difficult. The first commissioner of a panel charged with preventing and investigating corruption resigned last month, citing pressure from the government and threats on his life.

Against this backdrop, the U.S. military has been trying in vain to hold the country together. Even with "the surge," we simply do not have enough soldiers and marines to meet the professed goals of clearing areas from insurgent control, holding them securely and building sustainable institutions. Though temporary reinforcing operations in places like Fallujah, An Najaf, Tal Afar, and now Baghdad may brief well on PowerPoint presentations, in practice they just push insurgents to another spot on the map and often strengthen the insurgents' cause by harassing locals to a point of swayed allegiances. Millions of Iraqis correctly recognize these actions for what they are and vote with their feet -- moving within Iraq or leaving the country entirely. Still, our colonels and generals keep holding on to flawed concepts.

U.S. forces, responsible for too many objectives and too much "battle space," are vulnerable targets. The sad inevitability of a protracted draw-down is further escalation of attacks -- on U.S. troops, civilian leaders and advisory teams. They would also no doubt get caught in the crossfire of the imminent Iraqi civil war.

Iraqi security forces would not be able to salvage the situation. Even if all the Iraqi military and police were properly trained, equipped and truly committed, their 346,000 personnel would be too few. As it is, Iraqi soldiers quit at will. The police are effectively controlled by militias. And, again, corruption is debilitating. U.S. tax dollars enrich self-serving generals and support the very elements that will battle each other after we're gone.

This is Operation Iraqi Freedom and the reality we experienced. This is what we tried to communicate up the chain of command. This is either what did not get passed on to our civilian leadership or what our civilian leaders chose to ignore. While our generals pursue a strategy dependent on peace breaking out, the Iraqis prepare for their war -- and our servicemen and women, and their families, continue to suffer.

There is one way we might be able to succeed in Iraq. To continue an operation of this intensity and duration, we would have to abandon our volunteer military for compulsory service. Short of that, our best option is to leave Iraq immediately. A scaled withdrawal will not prevent a civil war, and it will spend more blood and treasure on a losing proposition.

America, it has been five years. It's time to make a choice.

This column was written by 12 former Army captains: Jason Blindauer served in Babil and Baghdad in 2003 and 2005. Elizabeth Bostwick served in Salah Ad Din and An Najaf in 2004. Jeffrey Bouldin served in Al Anbar, Baghdad and Ninevah in 2006. Jason Bugajski served in Diyala in 2004. Anton Kemps served in Babil and Baghdad in 2003 and 2005. Kristy (Luken) McCormick served in Ninevah in 2003. Luis Carlos Montalván served in Anbar, Baghdad and Nineveh in 2003 and 2005. William Murphy served in Babil and Baghdad in 2003 and 2005. Josh Rizzo served in Baghdad in 2006. William "Jamie" Ruehl served in Nineveh in 2004. Gregg Tharp served in Babil and Baghdad in 2003 and 2005. Gary Williams served in Baghdad in 2003.

LiveLeak.com - Sally Fields UNCENSORED Speech

LiveLeak.com - Sally Fields UNCENSORED Speech

Canadian broadcaster CTV did not censor Sally Fields...

CODEPINK : Don't Buy Bush's War!

My daughter Madeline with Code Pink Co-founder, Medea Benjamin at the Brooklyn Peace Fair in Spring 2007...!

Sign the PLEDGE to Whip Congress into Shape!...

CODEPINK : Watch Video - Don't Buy Bush's War!

MoveOn.org Political Action: General Petraeus or General Betray Us?

MoveOn.org Political Action: General Petraeus or General Betray Us?

NY Times Frank Rich via greenpagan: Shuffling Off to Crawford, 2007 Edition...

greenpagan: Shuffling Off to Crawford, 2007 Edition

THE cases of Pat Tillman and Jessica Lynch were ugly enough. So surely someone in the White House might have the good taste to draw the line at exploiting the murdered Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. But nothing is out of bounds for a government that puts the darkest arts of politics and public relations above even the exigencies of war.

As Jane Mayer told the story in last week’s New Yorker, Mariane Pearl was called by Alberto Gonzales with some good news in March: the Justice Department was releasing a transcript in which the long-incarcerated Qaeda thug Khalid Sheikh Mohammed confessed to the beheading of her husband. But there was something off about Mr. Gonzales’s news. It was almost four years old.

Condoleezza Rice had called Ms. Pearl to tell her in confidence about the very same confession back in 2003; it was also reported that year in The Journal and elsewhere. What’s more, the confession was suspect; another terrorist had been convicted in the Pearl case in Pakistan in 2002. There is no known corroborating evidence that Mohammed, the 9/11 ringleader who has taken credit for many horrific crimes while in American custody, was responsible for this particular murder. None of his claims, particularly those possibly coerced by torture, can be taken as gospel solely on our truth-challenged attorney general’s say-so.

Ms. Pearl recognized a publicity ploy when she saw it. And this one wasn’t subtle.

Read more...

Video Surfaces of Cheney, in 1994, Warning That An Invasion of Iraq Would Lead to 'Quagmire'

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Video Surfaces of Cheney, in 1994, Warning That An Invasion of Iraq Would Lead to 'Quagmire'

By E&P Staff

Published: August 12, 2007 10:20 AM ET
NEW YORK It's not the first time that citizen "investigative journalists" have uncovered some embarrassing, or telling, nugget from the past that apparently remained buried for years. But it has happened again with the posting of a now wildly popular video on YouTube that shows Dick Cheney explaining in 1994 that trying to take over Iraq would be a "bad idea" and lead to a "quagmire."

The people who put it up come from a site called Grand Theft Country, the on-screen source appears to be the conservative American Enterprise Institute, and the date on the screen is April 15, 1994. That looks right, by the age of Cheney.

Posted on Friday, it had received over 100,000 hits by this morning, after being widely-linked around the Web. The transcript of this segment is below.

Cheney had helped direct the Gulf War for President George H.W. Bush. That effort was later criticized for not taking Baghdad and officials like Cheney had to explain why not, for years. Some have charged that this led to an overpowering desire to finish the job after Cheney became vice president in 2001.

Here is the transcript.
*

Q: Do you think the U.S., or U.N. forces, should have moved into Baghdad?

A: No.

Q: Why not?

A: Because if we'd gone to Baghdad we would have been all alone. There wouldn't have been anybody else with us. There would have been a U.S. occupation of Iraq. None of the Arab forces that were willing to fight with us in Kuwait were willing to invade Iraq.

Once you got to Iraq and took it over, took down Saddam Hussein's government, then what are you going to put in its place? That's a very volatile part of the world, and if you take down the central government of Iraq, you could very easily end up seeing pieces of Iraq fly off: part of it, the Syrians would like to have to the west, part of it -- eastern Iraq -- the Iranians would like to claim, they fought over it for eight years. In the north you've got the Kurds, and if the Kurds spin loose and join with the Kurds in Turkey, then you threaten the territorial integrity of Turkey.

It's a quagmire if you go that far and try to take over Iraq.

The other thing was casualties. Everyone was impressed with the fact we were able to do our job with as few casualties as we had. But for the 146 Americans killed in action, and for their families -- it wasn't a cheap war. And the question for the president, in terms of whether or not we went on to Baghdad, took additional casualties in an effort to get Saddam Hussein, was how many additional dead Americans is Saddam worth?

Our judgment was, not very many, and I think we got it right.