U.S. Missile Strike in Pakistan

From NPR.com 

Alleged U.S. Missile Targets Al-Qaida In Pakistan

Suspected U.S. missiles hit a house frequented by an Arab militant near the Afghan border Friday and killed 15 people, intelligence officials said, in the latest alleged American attack on targets inside Pakistan.

It was unclear if the Arab, identified as Abu Kasha Iraqi, was among those killed, the officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Suspected U.S. missile attacks have killed at least two senior al-Qaida commanders in Pakistan's wild border zone this year, putting some pressure on extremist groups accused of planning attacks in Afghanistan - and perhaps terror strikes in the West.

However, a marked uptick in their frequency over the last two months has badly strained America's seven-year alliance with Pakistan.

The strike Friday took place in Mir Ali village in North Waziristan, the officials said, citing reports from agents and informers in the area.

The United States rarely confirms or denies firing the missiles, which are launched from unnamed drones.


Okay. This is really starting to freak me out. Why isn't this making bigger news!? I don't know how many times I can say that. I mean, this is reminding me of the Cambodian invasion during Vietnam. When did the war in Iraq also become the war in Pakistan, and let's not forget about Syria. Our government is still refusing to acknowledge that we killed anyone there recently. BUT unlike the secret Cambodian invasion during Vietnam, this expansion of violence isn't a secret (at least some of it) and still, there are no protests. At least, not any that have been picked up by the news networks because we're constantly talking about this damn election. 

On a similar note, this little tidbit is from DemocracyNow.org. It's good to know where our tax dollars are going. 

A new government audit has found at least $6 billion in US taxpayer money has gone to private military and security companies operating in Iraq. The Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction says that’s about 12 percent of the $50 billion in Iraq reconstruction money that has mostly flowed to American corporations. A recent internal report found the US has contracted at least 310 private security companies in Iraq. The most notorious of the companies, Blackwater Worldwide, has yet to face any charges for the September 2007 massacre of seventeen Iraqis in Baghdad’s Nissour Square.

One Final Week

Yes, it's coming down to the wire. It's to the point that there's a constant anxiety in the back of my head and I don't really realize what it's from until I stop for a second and remember that there's only a week left until this election. (I mean yes, it could be about the cost of my college education, or the economy, or my sadly empty refrigerator, or the unspeakable number of nuclear weapons floating around this planet....) but, one week and this additional drama will finally be over. I won't have to worry about our democracy being threatened by voter suppression, or the "accidental" acts of not mailing absentee ballots in swing states, or wondering if my absentee ballot will "accidentally" be lost in the mail. 

It seemed like some of my worst fears were confirmed today as two neo-Nazis were arrested in Tennessee for making plans to assassinate Obama. The more I talk to people about this election, the more this fear keeps rearing its ugly head. Hatred is still running rampant in this country and it isn't helped by the increasing economic disparities between us. A United Nations report just came out highlighting that there are levels of inequality in cities like New York, Washington, Atlanta and New Orleans that rival the inequality seen in cities in Africa. They report that the US has the highest inequality and poverty after Mexico and Turkey. I feel like I need to pause for just a second to let those statistics sink in. It's an abomination is what it is. How did we get to a place where it became alright waste all of our resources on preemptive wars in the Middle East while our own people are living in such unspeakable inequality with one another. 

As a follow up to my post yesterday about Syria, their Foreign Minister, Walid Al-Moualem, is accusing the US of terrorism and is warning of retaliation if the US continues to strike...and I continue to ask, why isn't this getting more press coverage? Shouldn't the headlines be shouting "Regional War in the Middle East?" But no, I had to scroll all the way to the bottom of the CNN home page to find a link to anything related to Syria.  

From DemocracyNow! -  

"US Threatens Iraq Over Status Forces Agreement"

In news from Iraq, the McClatchy Newspapers report the US military has warned Iraq that it will shut down military operations and other vital services throughout the country on Jan. 1 if the Iraqi government doesn’t agree to a new agreement on the status of US forces. Many Iraqi politicians said they view the move as akin to political blackmail. In addition to halting all military actions, US forces would cease activities that support Iraq’s economy, educational sector and other areas.

This is also being wildly under reported. This could potentially be the end of the war in Iraq. Unless I'm missing something...

And one more thing: Anyone else think it's just a little bit funny that a major Alaskan newspaper, the Anchorage Daily News, is endorsing Obama? 

US Attack On Syria

So I'm wondering...did they think that just because there are only 8 days until the election that we'd all be too preoccupied to notice that they're invading a new country?!

US helicopter-borne troops have carried out a raid inside Syria along the Iraqi border, killing eight people including four children, Syrian officials say.

The official Syrian news agency Sana said the raid took place in the Abu Kamal border area, in eastern Syria.

It said that American soldiers on four helicopters had stormed a building under construction on Sunday night.

The US says it is investigating. It has previously accused Syria of allowing foreign militants into Iraq.

Syria has summoned the US and Iraqi envoys in Damascus to protest at the raid.

"Syria condemns this aggressive act and holds American forces responsible for this aggression and all of its repercussions," a government official said.

If confirmed, the raid would be the first known attack by US forces inside Syrian territory, says BBC diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus. - From BBC.com

So, the economy (not just our economy, the Global Economy) is collapsing, and it's not really making the news anymore, we're still in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it's really not making the news anymore...and now, we're attacking people in Syria? I mean I know it's important that the McCain campaign is paying Sarah Palin's makeup artist more than any one else on staff and that they spent $150,000 on her high school principal MILF outfits...if we have to talk about Palin at all, can't we talk about the fact that she's still under investigation in Alaska? 

But, can't we, for once, talk about the stuff that really matters? How about the fact that a "suspected US strike" killed 20 people in Pakistan. I mean we're picking off the sovereignty of these countries like cucumber sandwiches at a lobbyist party. Anyone notice the nice drop in gas prices lately? I've actually been seeing them for under $3.00 (Amazing.) but OPEC just threw an emergency meeting to make this decline end. Yep. 

I'm not really asking for a lot here...but sometimes getting anything of quality out of the media does seem like asking for snow in Southern California on Christmas. 

Republican Colin Powell Endorses Barack Obama

The Final 2008 Election Presidential Debate

As I was sitting on the bus today, allowing myself a brief respite from my textbooks and listening to Democracy Now, I realized that this was the last Presidential debate that my friends and I can play a drinking game to until 2012. I don't even know where I'm going to be in 2012. I could be out of the country....well, I could be out of the country a lot sooner than that depending on what happens on November 4. Just kidding...mostly.

Actually, there's a side note that I want to address. I'm tired of hearing conservatives criticize liberals for being "anti-American" for looking critically at our society and our government. People who take the time to think about what's going on, and who are paying attention to our country (and the world) are patriotic. Yes, I sit here behind the security of my computer and I say some things about conservatives (and sometimes liberals -- if I haven't yet, don't worry, I will) that are less than flattering, but the people I find to be truly anti-American are those who refuse to educate themselves about how our democracy works and then don't exercise their right to vote out of ignorance. When people complain about how neither major party represents them and that they are therefore not going to vote, they seem to either be unaware or indifferent to the fact that there are other parties to choose from. On my ballot, I can vote for the Green party, the Independent party, the Peace and Freedom party, and the Libertarian party in addition to the Democratic and Republican parties. I, for one, would love to see more parties with powerful roles in this country. I would love to see more of a Parliamentary system where there is a representational government based on popular vote. Anyway, I completely digressed. What I wanted to say was that just because I question my country doesn't mean that I am not incredibly proud of our diversity and our freedoms, and it doesn't mean that I don't get a little choked up when I hear the national anthem -- see, that elementary school brainwashing is very effective.

Alright. The debate. I think that John McCain improved upon his last performances, at least at the beginning. Although, I think it may be a little late at this point in the game. But we'll see. I'm not going to read through the transcript like I did for the last debate, so this commentary is going to be a bit more general. 

There was a point, maybe about forty-five minutes in, where McCain seemed to get a little heated up over the negative campaigning and the subject of Bill Ayers. I've heard today, that he actually spent more time discussing this and other non-issues like ACORN than his economic policy. Correct me if I'm wrong.

It seems that every day McCain never fails to remind us that his campaign is running on fumes. The fumes of oil from offshore drilling that will take ten years to hit our markets. Or maybe he's running on nuclear waste? He may have made a point with his "zinger" that he is not George Bush (because if there was more than one GWB the earth would have probably already spun out of orbit and into the sun), but it's impossible to deny his voting record and his "don't bother me with the facts, I'm a gutsy from the heart maverick" attitude. If you were watching CNN last night, you probably noticed that most of the debate was broadcast with a split screen. For the first time, I was more captivated by the many facial expressions of John McCain that I was by that undecided Ohio voter opinion tracker. And yes, Obama had a few good ones too.

No matter how sincere McCain trained his voice to be, I think that his facial expressions really gave the game away. I have gotten a lot of amusement from the comparison between him and the neighborhood old scrooge who shuffles outside to get the newspaper and yells at the kids who walk on his lawn. Because really, McCain looked pretty incredulous during a good part of the debate, like he couldn't believe that Obama had the nerve to oppose him. This image, by the way, is really too good to pass up. Did anyone else catch this at the end of the debate? It was one of those moments when I wished that I had a Tivo hooked up, because I really wanted to hit rewind, multiple times.

That other star of last night's debate, Joe the Plumber, what about him? I'm now considering going into the plumbing industry since he must be making over $250,000 a year, because according to the Joe the Plumber story, he would be losing big with Obama's tax plan...and (I swear I've already been over this) with Obama's tax plan, if you're making under $250,000 a year, your taxes are not going up. So yes, my new vocation, plumber's school. Why waste my time with this whole University education thing? 

I'm sure there are a lot of other things to be commented on after last night's debate. But to be quite honest, I'm just about ready for this election to be over. I've cast my ballot, my vote is in, and I encourage all others to do the same, as soon as you can. And unlike McCain tonight at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, I wish both candidates luck. All I'm really asking for, is a fair election. 

I'll be back early next week for an update on national and international affairs. Enjoy the weekend!

Second Presidential Debate

My friends...alright, yes, I know I'm a little slow on the updates, and we've already moved on to the crumbling global economy and the fact that the DOW closed under 9,000 points today. Did everyone hear about the audience members at the Republican rallies, calling Obama a terrorist and saying "Kill him!"? Yeah. I'm not even going to go there. 

We've already heard all of the pundits' reactions, we've already gossiped with our friends and singled someone out as "That One" just to get a laugh. We're all awaiting the report on Alaska's Sarah Palin investigation, which is to be released tomorrow, and wondering how much voter registration fraud has happened in our districts.  I'm personally wondering if I'll be recieving my absentee ballot and voter's guide on time. But, despite all of that, I'm going to return to Tuesday night's debate and go through the transcript so that some of the statements made get the attention they deserve. And by attention, I generally mean criticism, because who really has time for anything other than attack ads these days? 

In McCain's response to the first question, which addressed the current economic disaster, he said that "we've got to stop sending $700 billion a year to countries that don't want us very --- like us very much." He then went on to talk about the $10 trillion dollar debt. Is it just me, or has that debt he's talking about largely been caused by the war in Iraq, the war that John McCain has supported from day 1 and continues to support? Are we not sending billions of dollars into a country whose people want us to get the hell out? Then he mentioned reform to bring "peace in the world." Am I crazy, or did McCain just contradict himself within the first two minutes of the debate? He then made his, not Obama's or Bush's, but his, big economic proposal, which is to order the secretary of the treasury to buy up the bad home loan mortgages and renegotiate new values for those homes...which he admits will be very expensive....but he promises not to raise taxes for anyone. Hm. Interesting. 

I'm a big fan of Bill Maher's show Real Time on HBO. At the end of every show he does his "New Rules" section, which is exactly as it sounds. I think I might throw in some of my own New Rules as I go through this. 1) New Rule: John McCain must stop saying that he suspended his campaign in order to go to Washington and pass the rescue plan aka bailout bill. His campaign was still airing commercials on TV and taking online donations. On top of that, he continued on his campaign before the bailout was passed. 

Obama and McCain both reiterrate the same messages that we've been hearing for weeks. Obama focuses on the middle class, health care, education, change, change, and change. McCain repeatedly talks about stabilizing the housing market (well I guess he hasn't been saying that for weeks, since he only recently realized we have a problem, but I think he's very excited about his new idea). He also repeatedly mentions his history of bipartisanship in questions completely unrelated to his answers. 

2) New Rule: If John McCain wants to discuss Obama's earmarks (which I think is a fair and valid point), he must also discuss Sarah Palin's earmakrs as governor of Alaska. He must also explain why he voted for the $700 billion dollar bailout bill when an additional $110 billion of pork was written in to sweeten it up. 

McCain brings up a good point in discussing Obama's small business tax increases. This is definitely a point that the Obama campaign doesn't want to draw a lot of attention to. Raising taxes on buisinesses does make products more expensive for us consumers. But funding for things like health care has to come from somewhere...and hence, a key economic difference between a Democrat and a Republican... However. It is difficult to say how many small businesses will actually be affected by Obama's tax plan due to the different ways in which people file their income taxes. So, McCain's assertion that taxes will increase on 50 percent of small business revenue is very misleading, if not entirely false. It is unlikely that taxes for more than a few percent of small businesses will actually increase. 

Speaking of health care. I wonder how all those voters in Florida are feeling about McCain's position on privatizing health care and the possibility of losing Medicare? Speaking of Florida...

One thing I think we were all looking for in this debate was for McCain to address some of the issues that have been taking the spotlight in his most recent attack ads...Bill Ayers for example. But it seems as if McCain has a more difficult time bringing up ridiculous accusations when he actually has to face Obama. In fact, he seems to have a difficult time looking at Obama at all. 

The VP Debate Followup + the Economy

I don't really think that this video needs an introduction. I have a feeling that most cognizant Americans will have seen or heard about it by tomorrow, so I figured I'd just keep up with the latest trends. Maybe one day that will make me....trendy. Unlikely.



In my last post I said that I would talk about the 700 billion dollar Wall Street bail out plan that was passed last Friday by over 2/3 of the House and Senate. I'm going to just say, right off the bat, that economics are not my strong suit. (However, I am also not running for president...but maybe I could be?) It has been a long two weeks for any American with a stake in the stock market...and the Americans like me who don't...okay, it's just been a long two weeks...two months...eight years. We're all affected. Unemployment is increasing faster than it has in five years. The Dow Jones lost 777.68 points on Monday when the House rejected the first bailout bill. This is the largest one day loss in history. Even after the House passed the revised bill on Friday, the stock market still lost 157 points.

So what does this mean? You're damned if you do, you're damned if you don't? The thing is, no one seems to know exactly what to do or what is going to happen. Even after listening to hours of radio and news broadcasts and reading dozens of articles of "expert analysis," I still find the subject to be confusing; and I am not in the least bit reassured that this bill is going to actually benefit me or my country. The "economic recovery plan" is by no means a guarantee. In fact, the $700 billion was just a randomly picked number. Yup. It just sounded good.

I know that the big buzzword this election year has been Change. It has been reiterated so frequently that it has become just more empty rhetoric, an optimistic platitude. However, when it came to voting for this bill, both Senator Obama and Senator McCain were in full support. How exactly does their support for bailing out a failed system reflect their willingness for change in Washington? Especially after packing it with pork in order for Congress to pass it? We're talking tax cuts for makers of wooden arrows and worsted wool, racetrack operators, film producers and rum importers. Seriously. If I were a politician, I would be thinking twice before jumping onto the back of a plan that was so heavily courted by the Bush Administration (who gave us nonexistent WMDs, Mike Brown, Scooter Libby, Alberto Gonzales, etc.). Bush appeared on the White House steps Friday just to congratulate Congress on a job well done.

However, I am certainly not a politician or an economist. I can only come to my own conclusions after becoming as informed as my free time allows...and after this week I know that I will be making very careful choices when it comes to which Congressional Representative will get my vote this November.

Just to note: Tuesday is the second Presidential debate in which the candidates will be taking questions from the audience...as far as I can tell...information is a little scant. I will be working that night and my response will be coming as quickly as I can sit down to watch.

The Real Place for Politics

It's being called the most important election in recent US history, at least by those in the running. While president George W. Bush has been president I have accomplished many things. 12 year old molars, the first kiss in the back of a greasy movie theater where you suddenly have a popcorn and Slurpee tongue reaching down your throat, graduating from training bras and the discovery of the thong, one week of AP physics, a sober prom, a short film, defeating Costa Rican cockroaches, the blog. The list goes on. On the top of this list though, is realizing that the rapidly changing world in which we live will never be the same as it was during my childhood of the 1990s. I have often heard it said that my generation, generation Y, is indifferent to the world outside of our cell phones, Facebooks, and iPods. I would like to take a brief moment to say that this is not entirely true: if the economy crashes and the cost of power becomes so extreme that we can't recharge our iPods and connect to the Internet to access our Facebooks...I think you'll find that a lot of my fellow generation Yers will be at the forefront of political action and agenda.

This week there was one of the most highly anticipated Vice Presidential debates of all time in which 70 million people tuned in to watch. Republican Governor, Sarah Palin, and Democrat Joe Biden took the stage for an hour and a half of uninterrupted political discussion...I mean debate. Why did so many people decide to spend their Thursday night watching politics instead of The Office? Well, I think it was for the same reason that people enjoy watching NASCAR races or Project Runway. There's always that possibility that someone is going to go into a tailspin and end up on an ambulance for more than just a bruised ego. I know that when I turned on my TV, I was awaiting Sarah Palin's next big verbal tailspin as much as I was hoping for Joe Biden to lose his cool and tell Ms. Palin to get off the stage. Well, like so many other Americans, I have to say that I was a little disappointed by the lack of any dramatic or embarrassing episodes.

Sarah Palin gave us an hour and a half of well rehearsed folksy charm *wink* and Joe Biden gave us straightforward, fact based, practiced politician style prose. I think while it's safe to say that Biden easilly came out on top, it was interesting to hear Palin twist her answers into something relating to her expertise in energy policy and the overall mavericky nature of both herself and John McCain. Biden reminded us that he is able to count to at least two, and he also reinforced McCain's history of deregulation and the current financial crisis which, as we all know, McCain was a little slow to get on board with ("Still, the fundamentals of our economy are strong!").

I want to call special attention to a few facts that Sarah Palin seemed to find it necessary change...or else was just unaware when she was speaking incorrectly. As far as I know, she beat out Biden on the creation of factual fallacies. (However I will be the first to admit that I pay more attention to news sources that are more likely to talk about Sarah Palin's blunders than Joe Biden's --- at least I am able to name which news sources I utilize, and no, it's not "All of them." They include: The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Democracy Now, NPR, BBC, CNN, Fox, MSNBC.) I think I'll go Biden style and number my responses to this. 1) The troop levels in Iraq are not lower than they were before the surge. 2) Barack Obama did not vote to raise taxes for people making $42,000 a year or more. 3) The General in Afghanistan is David McKiernan not Civil War General George McClellan. 4) McCain does not, in fact, want to allow bankruptcy judges rewrite mortgages.

Phew. Although I think there were a few more moments to be commented on, I'll leave it at that. Y'know, it's not that I can say I personally dislike Sarah Palin. I've never met her and it would be presumptuous of me to assume that she and I would not get along. In fact, as long as we agreed to not discuss politics, I'm sure she could teach me a few things about decapitating moose. What I can say though, is that John McCain has given me a very serious reason to question his ability to make sound decisions by placing this self-proclaimed pit bull with lipstick hockey-mom a heartbeat away from that big chair in the Oval Office. I'm not even sure if I would want this woman running my child's PTA, especially if she were to tell my daughter that she had to pay for her own rape kit in a medical examination.

More to come on that $700 billion bailout when this full-time student with a part-time job has made more time for this full-time hobby -- because I, unlike some politicians we all know, can walk and chew gum...at the same time.