tagged w/ news & politics
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Surveillance video at a gas station in Springfield, Oregon shows a car crashing through the station’s wall, nearly running over an employee. The worker was not seriously injured.Surveillance video at a gas station in Springfield, Oregon shows a car crashing... more
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Armed patrols prowled neighbourhoods and tanks appeared in the streets for the first time in Manama after riot police with tear gas and clubs drove protesters from a main square where they demanded sweeping political change for the kingdom.Armed patrols prowled neighbourhoods and tanks appeared in the streets for the first... more
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It is one of the world’s most popular beverages, and now a radio programme in the United States claims to have cracked the secret formula for Coca Cola. It has even brewed up its own batch, to see if it tasted like the “real thing.” Al Jazeera’s Scott Heidler reports from New York.It is one of the world’s most popular beverages, and now a radio programme in... more
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CBS News says correspondent Lara Logan is recovering in a US hospital from a sexual attack and beating while reporting on the tumultuous events in Cairo last Friday.CBS News says correspondent Lara Logan is recovering in a US hospital from a sexual... more
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Omar Suleiman, the Egyptian Vice president, has been criticized by the White House for making remarks about Egypt was ‘not ready for democracy’.Omar Suleiman, the Egyptian Vice president, has been criticized by the White House for... more
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China’s juggernaut economy is the envy of the world, but at what cost to the country’s people and environment? 101 East investigates.China’s juggernaut economy is the envy of the world, but at what cost to the... more
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Interactive map of Tahrir Square – the rally point for protesters.
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The Egyptian military guarded thousands of pro-democracy protesters pouring into Cairo’s main square on Friday. Meanwhile the White House is in talks with Egyptian officials about a possible transition government.The Egyptian military guarded thousands of pro-democracy protesters pouring into... more
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http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/10/ministry_of_truth_obamastyle.html
The essence of America is freedom for all who seek it. This includes freedom of the press, freedom to speak the truth, freedom to criticize our leaders. If America becomes a land of "freedom for some," it will cease to be America. There is no possible justification for the desecration of liberty, and if an ideology requires the desecration of liberty to succeed, it has no place in America. Freedom of speech, that precious gift men have died to protect, is rubbish to Cass Sunstein, who considers the Constitution to be nothing more than a set of outmoded guidelines.
In Sunstein's ideal new republic, any plan of the Obama administration would be unchallengeable. Inconvenient facts would be unreportable. Not even the infamous Sedition Acts approached the degree of disdain for the Constitution inherent in Sunstein's philosophy. Sunstein would scrap the First Amendment if it saved him political embarrassment. And Sunstein provides plenty to be embarrassed about, such as writing to endorse the use of cap and trade, to conceal redistributive justice, or saying that animals should have the same rights as human beings.http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/10/ministry_of_truth_obamastyle.html
The... more
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Voight asks, "Is President Obama creating a civil war?"
Actor Jon Voight is on his way to Cincinnati, and Atlanta, in order to participate in Fox News host Sean Hannity's latest "Freedom Concerts." But first, he paused long enough to share some extra nuttiness with the Washington Times.
"There's a real question at stake now. Is President Obama creating a civil war in our own country?" Voight said in an interview with the paper.
He continued:
We are witnessing a slow, steady takeover of our true freedoms. We are becoming a socialist nation, and whoever can't see this is probably hoping it isn't true ...
Do not let the Obama administration fool you with all their cunning Alinsky methods. And if you don't know what that method is, I implore you to get the book "Rules for Radicals," by Saul Alinsky. Mr. Obama is very well trained in these methods.
The real truth is that the Obama administration is professional at bullying, as we have witnessed with ACORN at work during the presidential campaign. It seems to me they are sending down their bullies to create fist fights among average American citizens who don't want a government-run health care plan forced upon them. So I ask again: Is President Obama creating a civil war in our own country?Voight asks, "Is President Obama creating a civil war?"
Actor Jon Voight... more
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Baptists in a Middle Eastern country* are partnering with Southern Baptists to give their neighbors, as the old saying goes, "a hand up, not just a handout."
In 2007, believers in the country brought their neighbors' plight to the attention of Southern Baptist humanitarian workers in the region, and together they developed a strategy that would meet short-term needs while helping parents develop skills to better provide for their families over the long term.
Residents of the area struggle to survive, earning only about 40 percent of their country's normal standard of living. On a day-to-day basis, they cannot afford necessities like food, medicine and heat for their homes, and their long-term prospects are clouded by the scarcity of jobs and their lack of training. Because the country predominantly follows another world religion, Christians find themselves faced with significant obstacles in reaching out to people in need.
In consultation with Abraham Shepherd, who with his wife, Grace, directs Baptist Global Response work in the Middle East, local Baptists and the Southern Baptist humanitarian workers developed a two-pronged strategy. To meet immediate needs, they provided packets of food -- including sugar, rice, oil, eggs, milk, tea and pasta -- essential medicines, heaters and blankets the families could not afford. They also designed a program to train locals in skills that would enable them to improve their standard of living and help them provide better for their families.
The long-term strategy included educational centers where literacy courses, English classes and computer training are offered. Individuals also were taught how to develop their own businesses. In the component of the program that ran between January and April 2009, an estimated 800 people were helped at a cost of $31.25 each from resources provided by Southern Baptists who gave to their World Hunger Fund.
Another benefit of the program is that while local Baptists were helping their neighbors, they also were developing their own leadership and serving skills. Because relationships are so important in the local culture, local Baptists were able to break down barriers by demonstrating God's love for their neighbors.
"The object of this project is to work through local believers to reach the poor of this nation," said the project director*. "Our desire is for local believers to have a passion for their neighbors' needs and be able to reach out in love. As the local believers get involved in sharing, they will be encouraged by seeing what God is doing and what great things he can do."
Even a small gift to the Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund sets in motion a ripple effect that touches lives for generations to come, Shepherd said.
"By their generous giving to the World Hunger Fund, Southern Baptists trigger a chain reaction of caring that reaches across oceans," Shepherd said. "It touches people in need and shapes national believers in the lesson of generosity and giving to their neighbors in need."Baptists in a Middle Eastern country* are partnering with Southern Baptists to give... more
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A 3-year-old boy has drowned at a northern Ohio indoor water park that calls itself the nation's largest.
The boy drowned Sunday in an outdoor pool at Kalahari Resorts water park in Sandusky on Lake Erie. Police and park officials say lifeguards were on duty at the time.
Kalahari spokeswoman Carrie Leum says park employees are "deeply saddened" by the toddler's death. She says the park is cooperating with law enforcement.
The state has taken disciplinary action against Kalahari at least five times since the resort opened in 2005.
Inspectors with the Amusement Ride Safety Division told Kalahari management last May the park had fewer lifeguards than expected and "many water rides were operated in a careless and unsafe manner."
The 173,000-square-foot park features rides such as the Elephant Trunk and the Rippling Rhino.A 3-year-old boy has drowned at a northern Ohio indoor water park that calls itself... more
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Navy pilot Michael "Scott" Speicher was shot down over the Iraq desert on the first night of the Gulf War in 1991 and it was there he apparently was buried by Bedouins, the sand hiding him from the world's mightiest military all these years.
In a sorrowful resolution to the nearly two-decade-old question about his fate, the Pentagon disclosed Sunday it had received new information last month from an Iraqi citizen that led Marines to recover bones and skeletal fragments _ enough for a positive identification.
His family issued a statement Sunday saying, "The news that Captain Speicher has died on Iraqi soil after ejecting from his aircraft has been difficult for the family, but his actions in combat, and the search for him, will forever remain in their hearts and minds."
President Barack Obama called the news "a reminder of the selfless service that led him to make the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom."
"My thoughts and prayers are with his family, and I hope that the recovery of his remains will bring them a needed sense of closure," Obama said in a statement issued Sunday.
Former President George H.W. Bush, who was commander in chief in 1991, said, "We already knew he was a hero, one who helped lead our way to a historic victory in the Gulf, but now his family and countrymen know _ and history will finally record _ that he was one of the very first patriots to give his life in the liberation of Kuwait."
Shot down over west-central Iraq on a combat mission in his FA-18 Hornet on Jan. 17, 1991, Speicher was declared killed by the Pentagon hours later. Defense Secretary Dick Cheney went on television and announced the U.S. had suffered its first casualty of the war.
But 10 years later, the Navy changed his status to missing in action, citing an absence of evidence that Speicher had died. In October 2002, the Navy switched his status to "missing/captured," although it has never said what evidence it had that he ever was in captivity. More reviews followed, without definitive answers.
The family Speicher left behind, from outside Jacksonville, Fla., continued to press for the military to do more.Navy pilot Michael "Scott" Speicher was shot down over the Iraq desert on... more
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A senior House Democrat threatened banks Wednesday that if they don't volunteer to save more homeowners from foreclosure, Congress will make them.
In a sternly worded statement, Rep. Barney Frank said Congress will revive legislation that would let bankruptcy judges write down a person's monthly mortgage payment if the number of loan modifications remain low.
Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, also said his committee won't consider legislation to help banks lend unless there is a "significant increase" in mortgage modifications.
Frank's statement was aimed at adding momentum to a deal struck Tuesday between Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and more than two dozen mortgage companies. The two sides agreed to set the goal of adjusting 500,000 loans by Nov. 1.
But it was far from clear whether that would happen.
Loan servicers say they are still trying to play catch up to a deluge of customer requests by hiring and training thousands of new employees. Banks also are trying to sort through which customers face a legitimate financial hardship.
Also, many loans have been bundled and sold to investors as securities, complicating efforts to modify the terms.
Congress tried earlier this spring to pass legislation that would give people a chance to keep their homes by filing for bankruptcy. But while President Barack Obama said he supported the measure, he did little to see it through and it was defeated amid an aggressive lobbying effort by banks.
The measure failed in the Senate by a 45-51 vote, falling 15 votes short of the 60 needed to overcome procedural hurdles.
"People in the servicing industry and in the broader financial industry must understand that if this last effort to produce significant modifications fails, the argument for reviving the bankruptcy option will be extremely strong, and I think there is a substantial chance that the outcome will be different," Frank said.A senior House Democrat threatened banks Wednesday that if they don't volunteer... more
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1. President Barack Obama repeatedly tells us that one reason national health care is needed is that we can no longer afford to pay for Medicare and Medicaid. But if Medicare and Medicaid are fiscally insolvent and gradually bankrupting our society, why is a government takeover of medical care for the rest of society a good idea? What large-scale government program has not eventually spiraled out of control, let alone stayed within its projected budget? Why should anyone believe that nationalizing health care would create the first major government program to "pay for itself," let alone get smaller rather than larger over time? Why not simply see how the Democrats can reform Medicare and Medicaid before nationalizing much of the rest of health care?
2. President Obama reiterated this past week that "no insurance company will be allowed to deny you coverage because of a pre-existing medical condition." This is an oft-repeated goal of the president's and the Democrats' health care plan. But if any individual can buy health insurance at any time, why would anyone buy health insurance while healthy? Why would I not simply wait until I got sick or injured to buy the insurance? If auto insurance were purchasable once one got into an accident, why would anyone purchase auto insurance before an accident? Will the Democrats next demand that life insurance companies sell life insurance to the terminally ill? The whole point of insurance is that the healthy buy it and thereby provide the funds to pay for the sick. Demanding that insurance companies provide insurance to everyone at any time spells the end of the concept of insurance. And if the answer is that the government will now make it illegal not to buy insurance, how will that be enforced? How will the government check on 300 million people?
3. Why do supporters of nationalized medicine so often substitute the word "care" for the word "insurance?" it is patently untrue that millions of Americans do not receive health care. Millions of Americans do not have health insurance but virtually every American (and non-American on American soil) receives health care.
4. No one denies that in order to come close to staying within its budget health care will be rationed. But what is the moral justification of having the state decide what medical care to ration?
5. According to Dr. David Gratzer, health care specialist at the Manhattan Institute, "While 20 years ago pharmaceuticals were largely developed in Europe, European price controls made drug development an American enterprise. Fifteen of the 20 top-selling drugs worldwide this year were birthed in the United States." Given how many lives -- in America and throughout the world – American pharmaceutical companies save, and given how expensive it is to develop any new drug, will the price controls on drugs envisaged in the Democrats' bill improve or impair Americans' health?
6. Do you really believe that private insurance could survive a "public option"? Or is this really a cover for the ideal of single-payer medical care? How could a private insurance company survive a "public option" given that private companies have to show a profit and government agencies do not have to – and given that a private enterprise must raise its own money to be solvent and a government option has access to others' money -- i.e., taxes?
7. Why will hospitals, doctors, and pharmaceutical companies do nearly as superb a job as they now do if their reimbursement from the government will be severely cut? Haven't the laws of human behavior and common sense been repealed here in arguing that while doctors, hospitals and drug companies will make significantly less money they will continue to provide the same level of uniquely excellent care?
"to see the rest, follow the link"1. President Barack Obama repeatedly tells us that one reason national health care is... more
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One of Hip Hop's most dynamic minds and respected personalities, Bobbito Garcia [click to read], has reportedly taken the Chief Creative role at the advertising group Project 2050 yesterday. Garcia is known for his writing in The Source magazine's glory days, an author on sneaker culture, co-founder of Bounce magazine, and record label experience, both as a seminal A&R at Def Jam, as well as launching the '90s Fondle 'Em imprint (MF DOOM, Mhz, Cage). Most notably, Garcia was also responsible for the Stretch & Bob radio show throughout the '90s New York, with partner Stretch Armstrong. The Columbia University-sponsored show was responsible for the partial discovery and development of Nas, O.C., Organized Konfusion and others.
Project 2050 is a New York-based company known for its impact on the Hip Hop marketplace. In 2005, the outfit launched with Obey's Shepard Fairey as founding creative director.
"Bobbito was a natural fit for us in our ongoing mission to align ourselves and our clients with the most highly respected and influential figures in the worlds of culture and creativity. His essence encompasses what Project 2050 is all about," stated Matt Pressman, Project 2050's President in a press release.
"I'm elated to join the Project 2050 family," Garcia said. "The shop has always been focused on being genuine and I've always held a high regard for their creative process. Their work ethic and forward thinking attracted me to the opportunity the most. For those who know me well, I have always been passionate about exposing cultural movements that begin on the street level and eventually influence the globe. I look forward to working with my friends at W+K, TBWA, Nike, EA SPORTS, New Era Caps, Gatorade, and many more in my new capacity. We will continue to work with agencies, brands and people we admire and trust."
Read more on Bobbito here.............
http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.9515One of Hip Hop's most dynamic minds and respected personalities, Bobbito Garcia... more
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From the Rodney King beating in 1991 to 2008's tragic shooting death of Sean Bell [click to read], many of the calls from the Hip Hop community to end racial profiling by various police departments have seemingly fallen on deaf ears. Songs such as NWA's "Fuck The Police" and "Police State" by dead prez have chronicled the long history of racial profiling and police harassment experienced in many communities. And while the thought of having an Officer In Chief who name checks Kanye West and Jay-Z [click to read], as well as other Hip Hop artists is represents a change from the Bush Administration, Wednesday night may have marked the first admission from the White House that America's police forces target a disproportionate amount of African Americans and Latinos.
While answering a question posed by Chicago Sun-Times writer Lynn Sweet, President Obama gave his thoughts about the recent arrest of Harvard professor and noted author Henry Louis Gates Jr.
"Now, I don't know, not having been there and not seeing all the facts, what role race played in that," President Obama said. "But I think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry; number two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home; and, number three, what I think we know separate and apart from this incident is that there's a long history in this country of African Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately. That's just a fact."
A number of Hip Hop artists came out in strong support of President Obama both before and during his election last November [click to read]. The rocky relationship between law enforcement and many artists has been well documented. Much like last year's presidential election, HipHopDX will make efforts to poll members of the Hip Hop community to see if statements similar to the ones President Obama made Wednesday echo the sentiments of Killer Mike included below.
"So I think Hip Hop has a significant slice [of credit for Obama’s victory] because Hip Hop exposed us to one another before politics did. Hip Hop has done wonders in terms of breaking down the false walls of racial differences in this country. It’s brought us in big part to this point. Thank God for the art form of Hip Hop.
Read more on Obama here.................
http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.9518From the Rodney King beating in 1991 to 2008's tragic shooting death of Sean Bell... more
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