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It shows how pathetic the man is
I wrote earlier about the useless Karzai offering to meet w/Mullah Omar. I actually tracked down and listened to his entire comment. To paraphase the fool, he said that if the foreign powers did not like his proposal, they can remove him. He just admitted that he is just a simple stooge and has no moral basis to occupy the position. Because of this, I hope the Foreign Powers who have kept him as a nominal figurehead will in fact remove the idiot. All of us have committed our treasure and our blood for Afghanistan. So far, nothing has happened. It broke my heart when walking around the local memorial to the fallen erected at Mission Viejo City Hall in Mission Viejo, California. The men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice were from all walks of life. They were fathers, brothers, sisters, sons and daugthers who were forever lost to all us. Yet, we have to continue to prop up a useless fool who readily admits that he has lost all crediblity. I do take comfort in Barack Obama having noted that there are problems with the people in charge in Afghanistan. This really proved to me why the Taliban has gained as it has. It is not because NATO has not tried. It is because NATO can't do it alone.
January 20th cannot arrive fast enough so that we can hopefully see some movement. TIme is of the essence. Barack Obama seems to realize that.
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Scary scenes indeed.....
For the second time is as many months, California is up in flames yet again. All the major "mainstream" online media and local television has had nonstop coverage of the fires in Southern California. One of my friends sent a few of the images from the frontlines late on Saturday:
What should we do?
Geese!!!
There has been hardly any rain or snow. We seem to have no relief in sight. The fires will eventually be put out, people will overcome and rebuild their lives. Yet, the fundemental problems of our environment remains. What scares me is that the focus on the environment will simply not be there because of the economic Tsunami we are dealing with.
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Will it in fact happen?
The Tsunami is in full force. I was at a FedEx Office location talking to an old friend of mine. He was telling me about how things had truly changed. He told me that he walked into the office this morning and did not even have a single FedEx Ground box. As I was talking to him, the shipments ready to be processed were basically non-existent. This is When people cut back, they stop shipping. Why is this signifcant? It is signifcant simply because it shows how truly terrible things are.
When I see the retail numbers tanking and the markets imploding, I am not sure where the bottom will hit. I also am concerned when I see the front page of the New York Times for Friday noting that the Auto Industry Bailout Plan seems to be a non-starter. Furthermore, the fact that the economic stimulus package President Elect Obama talked about at his first news conference is also running into trouble concerns me greatly. Whatever monies paid out by the U.S. Treasury's TARP program has apparently been hoarded by the banks and used to buy up rivals, pay dividends and rewards management. There is nothing for Main Street, yet. I wonder if the hotshots in Washington know that Main Street is in fact suffering when Citi annouced a 10,000 job cut and Sun Microsystems annouced a job cut of 6,000 workers. I don't think they really do. I sure know the Republicans don't
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Senator Clinton "supposedly" saw President-Elect Obama in Chicago. The mainstream blogs Politico & Huffington Post are saying that Mr. Obama has offered her the job. I don't know if it is true or not. To me, it is speculation. Everyone is trying to be "first". I do wish that he puts together a true "Team of Rivals" that will rival what Abraham Linclon's Cabinet in 1860. The work by Doris Kearns Goodwin, to me, is a great blueprint for Senator Obama. I think Senator Clinton will have a major role. I am sure that Mr. Obama will make the right choice. To me, the choice of Joe Biden and Rahm Emmanuel have been right on. I would imagine that the Cabinet selections will also be just as onpointe. I wish the "mainstream" media would have just focused on the future and stop this speculation. It is probably wishful thinking.
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What a Fascinating Character....
I have been fascinated by Louis Farakhan. The Nation of Islam Leader sure has had his share of controversy over the years. I briefly commented on his sermon to his congregation this past Sunday. I found him to be reasoned and reminding his congregation of the need to make sure that African Americans do their part to overcome. He was not angry. He also was not angry when he talked to Ritz Khan. Maybe his bout with cancer changed him. Maybe, the election of Barack Obama changed him. Maybe he wants to leave a legacy that overcomes all the misconceptions he has had. Here is the interview (courtesy of Al Jazeera):
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Why is the world wasting its' time?
The so-called President of Afghanistan is in London. I was just listening to him on the BBC. He wants resources for the Afghan Government to do its' job to overcome drugs, the taliban threat and everything else. The question I have for the idiot is this: what do you think the world has done over the past seven years? The world has paid a heavy price. Yet the useless fool keeps asking for more. Until the fool is no more, Afghanistan will not change. As for the Taliban, they now seem to understand how to play the publicity game. There was a spokesman actually talking to the BBC. The Taliban are stronger while the world figures out what to do. At least Barack Obama is thinking about a bit more than just throwing more soldiers at the problem.
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Alternatives are quite scary
I wrote earlier on the post-mortem on Hank Paulson's comments on the shift in focus that the bailout was going to take. Paulson will not take on the "toxic assets" and create a Resoution Trust Corporation-Type bailout. To me, this is the second lousy decision he has made in as many months. He is the same guy that decided to let Lehman Die and look what it got us!!!
The reports I have seen note that the Government has burnt through about 400 Billion with frankly nothing to show for it. I am starting to now truly believe that Main Street seems to have been forgotten in it all. The markets have been truly brutal. After the Dow bloodbath, markets around the world are in a free-fall. So, Mr. Paulson, wake up and smell the roses. I continue to believe that something had to be done. But, so far, nothing seems to be working. I thought about Apollo 13 and the leadership shown by the Flight Director. We need that kind of bold, frank-talking leadership now. Maybe Mr. Paulson should watch this and learn something
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let's focus on the future...
Although I think Keith Oberdman of MSNBC's Countdown sometimes goes a bit overboard at times, I found this he had quite interesting. It seems to me that the Bush Adminstration should simply just focus on holding the fort and get the new Adminstration ready for a smooth handover. The Congressional Review Act of 1996, which Jonathan Turley talks about in this segment, is another "great" check on the excesses of Executive Power. The Bushies are trying to push a lot of things through. The worst one is the Presidential Signing Statements which is the worst atrocity of it all.
Obama's team is already on the case, though. With Obama's view of the Constitution and having served as a Constitutional Law Professor, there should be no issues with getting this right. I have no doubt
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Can the Incoming Adminstration Do Anything About it?
I was anxious to hear Hank Paulson today. I was not there to ask questions, but was frankly surprised that he noted that the bailout was working. The questions, in my view, was softball big time. As I listened to him, I wondered what he or anyone for that matter could do. Right now, banks are not lending. Cars are not being bought. Retail sales are pretty much stagnant. So, the fact that Hank Paulson noted that the recovery plan is working was shocking to me. The markets did speak, though: The Dow lost over 4% today. I am not sure if the incoming Obama Adminstration can truly do anything about it.
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An Ordinary Man's Perspective
Just like "ordinary folks", I was out on committments for the day. Although I don't every think that those of us who think and take the time to write about our world are necessarily ordinary. But, I wanted to once again be witness to history. So, I popped into a place where I could watch CNN as I worked on some paperwork and happened to call in to a conference call I needed to be in. It was just another ordinary day for an "ordinary guy".
Today was the day Mr. Obama went to Washington. As I watched this on CNN, I again was in awe as to the peaceful and seamless transfer of power that has begun in the United States. There was a new poll that came out about how unpopular President Bush is. As I heard that, my reaction was "so what". I see the role of the President right now is one thing: to insure a smooth, seamless transfer of power. There is one President, that's for sure. But, let's focus on the future while being mindful of the world around us. I am gratified and frankly proud to be an observer as this transfer is going on. The signifcance of a man of color visiting a house built by Slaves shows how far America has come. I caught this image as CNN was showing the two men walking down the corridor to the Oval Office
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Infotainment at its' best
Silvio the clown (aka the Prime Minister of Italy) was in Russia. According to a report in the Times of London, the clown said that, ".... Russia and America can do business together.." He went on to say that, "...I will try to help relations between Russia and the United States, where a new generation has come to power. I don't see problems for Medvedev in establishing good relations with Obama, who is also handsome, young and suntanned".
According to the report, he said that he had intended the remark as a compliment and those who failed to understand this were "imbeciles". The clown is the imbecile. He is the idiot. I am sorry that President-Elect Obama has to deal wi
Mike Pouraryan
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