tagged w/ United States of America
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If you live in the United States of America, you live in a giant prison where liberty and freedom are slowly being strangled to death. In this country, the control freaks that run things are obsessed with watching, tracking, monitoring and recording virtually everything that we do. Nothing is private anymore. Everything that you do on the Internet is being monitored. All of your phone calls are being monitored. In fact, if law enforcement authorities suspect that you have done something wrong, they will use your cell phone microphone to listen to you even when you think your cell phone is turned off. In many areas of the country, when you get into your car automated license plate readers track you wherever you go, and in many major cities when you are walking on the streets a vast network of security cameras and "smart street lights" are constantly watching you and listening to whatever you say. The TSA is setting up "internal checkpoints" all over the nation, Homeland Security is encouraging all of us to report any "suspicious activity" that our neighbors are involved in and the federal government is rapidly developing "pre-crime" technology that will flag us as "potential terrorists" if we display any signs of nervousness. If you are flagged as a "potential terrorist", the U.S. military can arrest you and detain you for the rest of your life without ever having to charge you with anything. Yes, the United States of America is rapidly being turned into a "Big Brother" prison grid, and most Americans are happily going along with it.If you live in the United States of America, you live in a giant prison where liberty... more
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On Sunday, May 1, 2011 Barack H. Obama, the 44th President of the United States announced that Leader of al Qaeda & terrorist Osama bin Laden Killed by the United StatesOn Sunday, May 1, 2011 Barack H. Obama, the 44th President of the United States... more
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ESPN is an American network that relates to games. ESPN is an abbreviation of Entertainment and Sports Programming Network. The network was launched in 1979 by and his Bill Rasmussen and his son. They started the channel to cover the news of sports in Connecticut, and he bought a 24 hour national wide network. Today ESPN is owned by The Walt Disney Company and Hearst Corporation, 80% and 20% respectively.ESPN is an American network that relates to games. ESPN is an abbreviation of... more
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America is home to the fattest people in the Western World and being overweight is now the 'norm', according to a new report.
The U.S. has the highest Body Mass Index (BMI) for men and women among high-income countries, with average scores of more than 28.
Under World Health Organisation guidelines, a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 is considered ‘healthy’, 25 to 29.9 is overweight and 30 or above is clinically obese.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1353761/U-S-home-fattest-men-women-Western-World.html#ixzz1DE04fC3T
Being overweight or obese raises the risk of heart disease, diabetes, some cancers, arthritis and other health conditions.
The report showed that in 2008 more than one in ten of the world’s adult population – around half a billion – were obese, with women more likely to fall into the category than men. The total is nearly double the level recorded in 1980.
For British men, the average BMI was 27.4, matched by Cyprus and Luxembourg in Western Europe. This was up from 24.7 in 1980.
Among the rest of the world, other high-scoring countries included Russia (27.2), Israel (27.3) and Malta (27).
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1353761/U-S-home-fattest-men-women-Western-World.html#ixzz1DE07YOJnAmerica is home to the fattest people in the Western World and being overweight is now... more
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actress, Gina Wilhelm, macy, macy s, macy s thanksgiving day parade, macy s thanksgiving day parade 2010.Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade takes place in just a few hours on Thursday, Nov. 25, 2010, in the streets of New York. You can Watch 84th Macy's ...actress, Gina Wilhelm, macy, macy s, macy s thanksgiving day parade, macy s... more
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Wikileaks has leaked one of the biggest secrets documents ever in the history of United States of America. Wikileaks, the secret document publishing website has leaked 400,000Wikileaks has leaked one of the biggest secrets documents ever in the history of... more
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UFO New York issue has also been under discussion on the tweeter and people are sending their videos and pictures of UFO New York. Another reason of UFO New York news is because it was reportedUFO New York issue has also been under discussion on the tweeter and people are... more
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This November, Libertarian Party candidates are challenging 89 incumbent members of Congress who voted for the TARP bailouts in 2008. View the list here.
The list includes 27 Republicans and 62 Democrats.
LP Chair Mark Hinkle commented, "Few acts of Congress have evoked as much fear, ire, disgust, and disapproval from Americans as the 2008 TARP banker bailouts, passed with bipartisan support in Congress, and signed into law by Republican President George W. Bush."
Hinkle continued, "Bailer-in-chief John McCain, who famously suspended his 2008 losing Republican presidential campaign to rush back to Washington DC to vote for TARP, tops our list. He'll face Libertarian Party co-founder David Nolan in November."
[Note and correction: An earlier emailed version of this release incorrectly stated the number of Libertarians at 97.]
According to Congressional Quarterly, twelve of these TARP incumbents are in close re-election battles (classified in the "tossup" or "leans" category). The Libertarian Party hopes to help kick them out of office. "They tried to justify TARP by claiming our economy was going off a cliff. Let's push their teetering careers off a cliff," said LP Executive Director Wes Benedict.
The twelve most vulnerable TARP incumbents in races with Libertarians:
Harry Mitchell (D-AZ, District 5)
Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ, District 8)
Barbara Boxer (D-CA, Senator)
Dan Lungren (R-CA, District 3)
Kendrick Meek (D-FL, incumbent Rep. running for Senate)
Bill Foster (D-IL, District 14)
Brad Ellsworth (D-IN, incumbent Rep. running for Senate)
Joe Donnelly (D-IN, District 2)
Roy Blunt (R-MO, incumbent Rep. running for Senate)
Ike Skelton (D-MO, District 4)
Joe Sestak (D-PA, incumbent Rep. running for Senate)
Chet Edwards (D-TX, District 17)
CQ Senate ratings
CQ House ratings
Benedict continued, "The Tea Party revolt is one potentially positive reaction to TARP. But any Tea Partier who votes for a TARP-supporting Republican is a plain old hypocrite, just as bad as the incumbent he or she is pushing back into office. Every Tea Partier should take a pledge to vote against ALL incumbents who voted for TARP, period.
"Liberals should also vote against TARP incumbents. Hundreds of billions for Wall Street bankers and their stockholders and bondholders is not what Democrats are supposed to stand for. Any liberal-leaning voter who votes for a TARP-supporting Democrat, when a Libertarian alternative is available, sends a callous message to the middle class and poor: Thanks for your taxes! Get another job if you can find one -- we want even more of your money to pass up to the Wall Street fat cats!
"Fortunately, these voters have a better option: Libertarian candidates who would have proudly voted against TARP, and who will consistently vote against other foolish, unconstitutional, taxpayer-abusing measures.
"After the TARP bailouts passed, Republicans repeatedly tried to defend their support, sometimes saying that they hadn't done a good enough job explaining it to the American people. Now the recent pandering Republican 'Pledge to America' says 'End TARP once and for all.' Which is it, Republicans? Was it a bad sales pitch, or are you trying to pretend that you never supported it? I suspect that the Republicans don't know what to think. That's a problem with many ignorant and spineless members of Congress today.
"Some incumbents have tried to make the excuse that they voted for TARP because President Bush and Secretary Paulson scared them, or because drops in the stock market made them worry. Such worthless excuses are beneath the dignity of their office. Voters should not let TARP-supporters make excuses for themselves.
"Last year, William A. Niskanen of the Cato Institute wrote this article describing five instances in which the members of Congress caved in to executive-branch hysteria, leading to disastrous consequences. (TARP is #4 chronologically.) Each time, the members of Congress failed to uphold their crucial responsibility to view all executive requests with care and skepticism.
"If all it takes is for a president to shout 'The sky is falling!' to get Congress to pass whatever he wants, then we might as well make the president a king, and give him all the power.
"In addition to the huge transfer of wealth from taxpayers to bankers, TARP created tremendous moral hazard by sending this loud message to bankers: 'Your goal is to get big, because then you can claim you're too big to fail, and you can get Congressmen to force taxpayers to bail you out for whatever stupid or self-serving decisions you make.'
"It's hard to think of another government program that did more to reward stupidity and punish prudence.
"TARP is both a short-term and long-term failure. We would be better off today if Congress had done nothing."
http://www.lp.org/news/press-releases/libertarians-challenge-97-tarp-supporting-incumbents-in-congressThis November, Libertarian Party candidates are challenging 89 incumbent members of... more
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There's a new book out claiming to explain the source of America's striking income inequality. The huge—and expanding—gap between rich and poor in the U.S. has been vexing liberal political scientists and economists for some time; while such a large gap isn't unheard of, it's exceptional among industrialized countries. Now, Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson's Winner-Take-All-Politics, a synthesis of recent studies, argues that the growing political influence of the rich is the real force behind growing inequality. Or, as their subtitle puts it, "Washington made the rich richer." A number of left-leaning bloggers are enthusiastic about its arguments. Here are their thoughts, as well as more skeptical ones, on this new cut on a decades-old debate.
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What This Book Does Mother Jones's Kevin Drum summarizes. There's been "no shortage of answers" to the question of why economic inequality in America is so striking, he says, but they've all been "limited and therefore unsatisfactory ... until now." Here's the core idea Hacker and Pierson present, he says: as unions in the '60s were declining, "business interests [took] stock of the country's anti-corporate mood and beg[an] to pool their resources to push for generic pro-business policies in a way they never had before." Here's what you get:
With liberal money and energy focused mostly on non-economic concerns, the country moves steadily leftward on social issues. With conservative money and energy focused mostly on the interests of corporations and the rich--and with no one really fighting back--the country moves steadily rightward on economic issues.
* What It Doesn't Do The Wall Street Journal's Michael Barone is much less complimentary, pointing out the typical left-right divides in the debate: "Messrs. Hacker and Pierson don't really explain how the high earnings of, say, Steve Jobs leave the rest of us worse off," he says, nor do they "explain why there is something inherently illegitimate about businesses lobbying the government when it is threatening to take away large amounts of their money." Ultimately, they "argue that Americans are ignorant of or easily fooled about their real interests," and that corporations are running the show. "But," as an alternative explanation for pro-business policy, "couldn't these middle-class Americans [in the '60s and '70s] have simply feared that government was gobbling up the private-sector economy, and couldn't their representatives in Washington have acted on that concern?"
* Why It Doesn't Do It Political science professor Henry Farrell thinks the book is great: while the thesis isn't "necessarily original ... What is new is both the specific evidence that the authors use, and their conscious and deliberate effort to reframe what is important about American politics." The book's shortcomings, he thinks, are the fault of America rather than the authors: America has no real field of political economy to fall back on.
The authors set the book up as a whodunit: Who or what is responsible for the gross inequalities of American economic life? ... For me, the culprit (the American political system) was like OJ. As matters stand, I’m pretty sure that he committed the crime. But I'm not sure that he could be convicted in a court of law, and I could be convinced that I was wrong, if major new exculpatory evidence was uncovered.
The lack of any smoking gun (or, alternatively, good evidence against a smoking gun) is the direct result of a major failure of American intellectual life. As the authors observe elsewhere, there is no field of American political economy. ... We do not have the kinds of detailed and systematic accounts of the relationship between political institutions and economic order for the US that we have e.g. for most mainland European countries.
* The Influence of the Wealthy, by the Numbers James Kwak at The Baseline Scenario talks about the book's argument that "public opinion on ... inequality has not shifted over the past thirty years," for example--the real change being that "Congressmen are now much more receptive to the opinions of the rich." The rich, the authors explain, pointing to a study, in "strongly support[ing] a policy change," make it "almost three times the chance of becoming law as when they strongly opposed it," while the opinions of those of median-income do little. Says Kwak: "One of the singular victories of the rich has been convincing the rest of us that their disproportionate success has been due to abstract economic forces beyond anyone's control (technology, globalization, etc.), not old-fashioned power politics."
* How the Rich Benefit Disproportionately From Economic Growth The Washington Post's Ezra Klein pulls out a table from the book "showing how incomes would look if growth had been equally shared from 1979 to 2006--much as it was in the decades before 1979." He turns it into a graph which shows that those from the bottom fifth to the bottom 80-90% groups would be making more money today if growth had been shared, while those in the 95-99 percentile would be making marginally less and those in the top 1 percent would have had their incomes "cut by more than half, down to $506,002." But instead, economic growth in this period disproportionately favored the rich, while tax rates on them dropped as well.There's a new book out claiming to explain the source of America's striking... more
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Over the past several years, entities closely linked to the private security firm Blackwater have provided intelligence, training and security services to US and foreign governments as well as several multinational corporations, including Monsanto, Chevron, the Walt Disney Company, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and banking giants Deutsche Bank and Barclays, according to documents obtained by The Nation. Blackwater's work for corporations and government agencies was contracted using two companies owned by Blackwater's owner and founder, Erik Prince: Total Intelligence Solutions and the Terrorism Research Center (TRC). Prince is listed as the chairman of both companies in internal company documents, which show how the web of companies functions as a highly coordinated operation. Officials from Total Intelligence, TRC and Blackwater (which now calls itself Xe Services) did not respond to numerous requests for comment for this article.
One of the most incendiary details in the documents is that Blackwater, through Total Intelligence, sought to become the "intel arm" of Monsanto, offering to provide operatives to infiltrate activist groups organizing against the multinational biotech firm.
Governmental recipients of intelligence services and counterterrorism training from Prince's companies include the Kingdom of Jordan, the Canadian military and the Netherlands police, as well as several US military bases, including Fort Bragg, home of the elite Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), and Fort Huachuca, where military interrogators are trained, according to the documents. In addition, Blackwater worked through the companies for the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the US European Command.
On September 3 the New York Times reported that Blackwater had "created a web of more than 30 shell companies or subsidiaries in part to obtain millions of dollars in American government contracts after the security company came under intense criticism for reckless conduct in Iraq." The documents obtained by The Nation reveal previously unreported details of several such companies and open a rare window into the sensitive intelligence and security operations Blackwater performs for a range of powerful corporations and government agencies. The new evidence also sheds light on the key roles of several former top CIA officials who went on to work for Blackwater.
The coordinator of Blackwater's covert CIA business, former CIA paramilitary officer Enrique "Ric" Prado, set up a global network of foreign operatives, offering their "deniability" as a "big plus" for potential Blackwater customers, according to company documents. The CIA has long used proxy forces to carry out extralegal actions or to shield US government involvement in unsavory operations from scrutiny. In some cases, these "deniable" foreign forces don't even know who they are working for. Prado and Prince built up a network of such foreigners while Blackwater was at the center of the CIA's assassination program, beginning in 2004. They trained special missions units at one of Prince's properties in Virginia with the intent of hunting terrorism suspects globally, often working with foreign operatives. A former senior CIA official said the benefit of using Blackwater's foreign operatives in CIA operations was that "you wouldn't want to have American fingerprints on it."
While the network was originally established for use in CIA operations, documents show that Prado viewed it as potentially valuable to other government agencies. In an e-mail in October 2007 with the subject line "Possible Opportunity in DEA—Read and Delete," Prado wrote to a Total Intelligence executive with a pitch for the Drug Enforcement Administration. That executive was an eighteen-year DEA veteran with extensive government connections who had recently joined the firm. Prado explained that Blackwater had developed "a rapidly growing, worldwide network of folks that can do everything from surveillance to ground truth to disruption operations." He added, "These are all foreign nationals (except for a few cases where US persons are the conduit but no longer 'play' on the street), so deniability is built in and should be a big plus."
The executive wrote back and suggested there "may be an interest" in those services. The executive suggested that "one of the best places to start may be the Special Operations Division, (SOD) which is located in Chantilly, VA," telling Prado the name of the special agent in charge. The SOD is a secretive joint command within the Justice Department, run by the DEA. It serves as the command-and-control center for some of the most sensitive counternarcotics and law enforcement operations conducted by federal forces. The executive also told Prado that US attachés in Mexico; Bogotá, Colombia; and Bangkok, Thailand, would potentially be interested in Prado's network. Whether this network was activated, and for what customers, cannot be confirmed. A former Blackwater employee who worked on the company's CIA program declined to comment on Prado's work for the company, citing its classified status.
In November 2007 officials from Prince's companies developed a pricing structure for security and intelligence services for private companies and wealthy individuals. One official wrote that Prado had the capacity to "develop infrastructures" and "conduct ground-truth and security activities." According to the pricing chart, potential customers could hire Prado and other Blackwater officials to operate in the United States and globally: in Latin America, North Africa, francophone countries, the Middle East, Europe, China, Russia, Japan, and Central and Southeast Asia. A four-man team headed by Prado for countersurveillance in the United States cost $33,600 weekly, while "safehouses" could be established for $250,000, plus operational costs. Identical services were offered globally. For $5,000 a day, clients could hire Prado or former senior CIA officials Cofer Black and Robert Richer for "representation" to national "decision-makers." Before joining Blackwater, Black, a twenty-eight-year CIA veteran, ran the agency's counterterrorism center, while Richer was the agency's deputy director of operations. (Neither Black nor Richer currently works for the company.)
As Blackwater became embroiled in controversy following the Nisour Square massacre, Prado set up his own company, Constellation Consulting Group (CCG), apparently taking some of Blackwater's covert CIA work with him, though he maintained close ties to his former employer. In an e-mail to a Total Intelligence executive in February 2008, Prado wrote that he "recently had major success in developing capabilities in Mali [Africa] that are of extreme interest to our major sponsor and which will soon launch a substantial effort via my small shop." He requested Total Intelligence's help in analyzing the "North Mali/Niger terrorist problem."
ARTICLE CONTINUES AT LINK: http://www.thenation.com/article/154739/blackwaters-black-opsOver the past several years, entities closely linked to the private security firm... more
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Can you imagine a world where you, possibly without even knowing it, receive a vaccine via laser beam? Well according to Nature Nanotechnology this soon may become reality.
Scientists from Georgia Tech can now blast a hole in a cell, place a molecule inside and seal it back up a split second later using a laser pulse.
The new technique could deliver drugs,vaccines and other molecules that otherwise wouldn’t be able to get past a cell’s defenses.
“Cells are surrounded by membranes, which keep what’s inside, inside, and what’s outside, outside,” said Mark Prausnitz, a scientist at Georgia Tech and co-author of the new Nature Nanotechnology paper. ”There is very little that can pass through the membrane, but our goal is to put molecules into cells that have a hard time getting (there).”
Could it be used for Forced Vaccinations?
If there was ever a method of delivery for vaccines that goes against our right to choose not to take vaccines this very well just may be it. The possibility exists that technology such as this could be used against our will in a national emergency.
Read More:
http://morichesdaily.com/2010/08/frickin-laser-beams-zap-vaccines-cells/Can you imagine a world where you, possibly without even knowing it, receive a vaccine... more
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WARNING: EXPLICIT VERBAL CONTENT. Since the days of Audiomight in 2002 and the release of "The Art Of Being Alive" in 2007, SAVAGE SUN has earned a international reputation for his performances & song writing ability, but less known to the public is the fact that SAVAGE SUN began his performing career as a battle MC. Now in 2010, SAVAGE SUN revisits this dimension as he is called out on the streets of Verona, Italy by an up and coming Italian MC. SAVAGE SUN reminds enduring fans of his roots as a battle MC in this epic showdown that is one for the ages.WARNING: EXPLICIT VERBAL CONTENT. Since the days of Audiomight in 2002 and the release... more
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...If you told me that calling upon the professional termination of a World Cup official for a controversial call is harsh and unreasonable because referees are only human and prone to make mistakes from time to time and that’s just the nature of the game–I’d agree with you.
But Koman Coulibaly, refereeing his first World Cup match, did not make a controversial call. By definition, a “controversy” is “a discussion marked especially by the expression of opposing views.” Here, there appear to be no opposing views about the call. Sports analysts and soccer fans around the globe are united in the view that Coulibaly, for no apparent cause, disallowed a critical U.S. goal that would have given the Americans a 3-2 lead to seal their victory and advancement. So, when spectators worldwide are in agreement that Coulibaly called back a goal for no apparent reason and robbed the U.S. team of its winning goal, you don’t have a controversial call, you have a blatantly bad call, which, in this case, is suspicious at best...
http://www.thereviewchimp.com/?p=149...If you told me that calling upon the professional termination of a World Cup... more
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By David P Shirk
It is foolish to attack what you do not understand. Being foolish is being ignorant of the facts and acting upon your limited knowledge. It is not possible for one person to know everything, and therefore foolish to act more than they have too. However whenever you place a power over you to make decision that you could not, than you are twice the fool.
The problem with being a governed people is that we all too often want our politicians to fix the injustices of this world as we see them. The problem is that in the pursuance of this, we are often blissfully unaware of the collateral damage until it becomes too late. This has a multitude of unintended consequences that only serves to further divide our nation. This creates a very diverse set of rules that attempts to please everyone, but only has one conclusion – a collapse.
For instance, Hamilton thought that the only way to protect the newly formed union was by making a standing army with a solid navy. At the time, there was only one way to accomplish this, and that was to create a fiscal military state. This means that the lion’s share of the national income goes to paying for said entities. However he recognized from earlier examples of other nations that the only way to build a sizable military was to institute a central bank that could fund such a debt that is inevitably created by having standing armies.
In this particular case he met well, but was blissfully naive as t...
http://www.peacefreedomprosperity.com/?p=3604By David P Shirk
It is foolish to attack what you do not understand. Being foolish... more
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"Officials from a Japanese island have rejected the prime minister's proposal that they host US troops relocated from an unpopular base in Okinawa."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8668705.stm"Officials from a Japanese island have rejected the prime minister's... more
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Defense company BAE Systems PLC pleaded guilty to conspiracy on Monday and a judge imposed a $400 million fine, among the largest in the Justice Department’s efforts to combat overseas corruption in international business.
The defense contractor knowingly failed to ensure compliance with legal prohibitions on foreign bribery. The company’s conduct impeded U.S. efforts to be certain international trade is free of corruption, said acting Deputy Attorney General Gary Grindler.
The gain to BAES was more than $200 million from false statements and failures to disclose information to the U.S. government, according to court papers in the case. From 2000 to 2002, the company told the Defense and Justice departments that it would carry out compliance measures in accordance with anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and with similar foreign laws.
According to papers filed in the case, BAES took steps to conceal from the U.S. government undisclosed payments to marketing advisers who assisted in securing sales of defense items, and the company failed to scrutinize its relationships with some of the advisers. BAES paid some marketing advisers through offshore shell companies and encouraged advisers to establish their own offshore shell companies to receive payments from BAES, the papers added.Defense company BAE Systems PLC pleaded guilty to conspiracy on Monday and a judge... more
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(Jan. 5, 2010) — The Post & Email can publicly confirm that on the first of December, last, U.S. Congressman Nathan Deal (GA-R) challenged the eligibility of Barack Hussein Obama to hold the office of the U.S. presidency.
Todd Smith, Chief of Staff for Representative Nathan Deal of the United States House of Representatives serving Georgia’s 9th district, has confirmed today that Deal has sent a letter to Barack Hussein Obama requesting him to prove his eligibility for the office of President of the United States of America. The letter was sent electronically the first of December 2009 in pdf format, and Mr. Smith said that Representative Deal has confirmation from Obama’s staff that it has been received. The letter did not have additional signatories. It originated solely from Representative Deal.
Now, what does this mean? This is probably the first time in 233 years of American history that a sitting member of the House of Representatives has officially challenged the legitimacy of a sitting president….one full year into his term.
This forever changes the public discourse.(Jan. 5, 2010) — The Post & Email can publicly confirm that on the first of... more
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"Pingpong diplomacy" thawed relations between the United States and China in 1971. Can "baseball diplomacy" help do the same for the U.S. and Cuba?
Americans ranging from 12-year-old ballplayers to softballing senior citizens are visiting the communist island to engage in their own kind of field work, and there's talk of another trip by a major league team.
These bat-and-ball initiatives come as the Obama administration takes steps toward improving relations with the Cold War rival, such as loosening financial and travel restrictions on Americans with relatives on the island.
Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos, who staged exhibition games with the Cuban national team in Havana and Baltimore a decade ago, told The Associated Press that he hopes to so again next spring. Two groups of baseball youngsters from Florida are planning to visit next year as well.
Baseball enthusiasts feel the time is right for this type of outreach. In September, the U.S. sent a senior diplomat to Havana for unannounced meetings with Cuban officials — believed to be the highest-level talks between the two nations in decades. And last month, Cuba's foreign minister said his country is willing to hold talks with the United States "on any level."
If Angelos gets his way, next spring his Orioles will play in Cuba, as well as host the Cuban national team, in a repeat of the exhibition games staged in 1999 during the Clinton administration. He said he decided to do so now because of the Obama administration's overtures toward Cuba.
More @ link"Pingpong diplomacy" thawed relations between the United States and China in... more
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