CORKSPHERE is devoted to news accounts about AFGHANISTAN, IRAQ, SYRIA and current events. EDITOR: BILL CORCORAN
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Blond Sniper Demos Headshot | Military.com
WTF: I didn't have anyone who looked like this when I was in the Army
Blond Sniper Demos Headshot | Military.com
AFGHAN CITIZENS SUFFER AS WINTER BITES
CLICK ON ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO
As winter sets in more and more Afghan people are without basic living resources.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
CLOSE CALL FOR U.S. TROOPS AT AFGHANISTAN BASE
CLICK ON ARROW TO PLAY
Close call for U.S. troops at base in Afghanistan
Monday, December 24, 2012
U.S. CONTRACTOR KILLED BY AFGHAN POLICEWOMAN IN KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
The situation in Afghanistan is getting worse. An Afghan policewoman today killed a U.S. contractor in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Read the full story here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/24/nargas-afghan-policewoman-kills-us-adviser_n_2358236.html
HISTORY LESSON ON VIOLENCE FROM AN OLD CODGER
I was born in 1929 which gives me a perspective on violence in
America down through the years like few people in the media have ever witnessed
or know anything about.
I have been following the news reports and pundits on cable TV
talking about the Sandy Hook Elementary school slaughter when Adam Lanza used a
Bushmaster assault rifle to kill at point blank range to shoot 18 students with
between three and 11 bullets and wound two other kids who later died at the
hospital. Lanza also used his Bushmaster assault rifle to kill six school
administrators and teachers.
The Bushmaster assault rifle Lanza use was equipped to hold clips
of 30 rounds of ammunition and police found almost 100 of the 30 round clips on
Lanza's body after he committed suicide.
What has pissed off this old codger more than anything else is how
the media, especially FOX NEWS and RUSH LIMBAUGH, has bought
hook-line-and-sinker the BS WAYNE LaPIERRE, executive director of the NRA
(National Rifle Association), has tried to pin the blame for LANZA's murderous
killing spree on everything from mental illness to video games, violent movies
and television show, but not guns.
So I've got a little history lesson for WAYNE LaPIERRE, the NRA and
the media.
In the 1930s and 40s, I used to go to double-feature movies and
between showing the movies the movie theaters would play cartoons and movie
shorts.
The cartoons were filled with violence and the movie shorts also
used violence as the underlying theme of the movie short.
The feature movies many times were filled with gun violence albeit
not as graphic as the movies of today, however they depicted gangland violence
as it was in that era and not like the movies of today which depict violence
with all the special effects to jazz them up so they don't even come close to
real life.
We didn't have video games, but we did have games that had a
violence theme.
When World War II broke out, the movies that were among the most
popular were movies with a violent war theme.
Mental illness was just as prevalent in the 30s and 40s as it is
today, but the big difference is we had mental institutions that housed many of
the more severe cases of mental illness because psychiatric drugs had not yet
been introduced into our culture.
When Ronald Reagan was elected as President of the United States,
he set out to shutdown all the mental hospitals and institutions all across the
country. Hundreds of thousands of mentally ill people were tossed out into the
streets and the homeless population in the country skyrocketed.
When television made its debut in the mid-40s, the TV fare was very
tame, but then Hollywood started to come up with Western series, and series
built around cops and robbers and in both cases guns and gun violence was a
staple of every series.
All throughout the 30, 40s and 50s right up until today, cartoon
series many times featured a violence theme.
The NRA started out as an organization which was interested in
teaching gun safety, but then in the 1980s Wayne LaPierre and his NRA cohorts
saw a chance to sell more guns and thus increase the NRA's membership by
lobbying members of Congress and urging them to kill any legislation that would
be introduced that would stifle the sale of high-powered assault guns and
ammunition that would come in 30-round clips like the kind Andy Lanza used to
carryout his slaughter at the Sandy Hook Elementary school just over a week
ago.
The NRA came up with a slogan: "Guns don't kill people. People kill
people." The NRA, of course, never edited their slogan to read: "Guns don't
kill people, but people WITH GUNS kill people."
The NRA has also hidden behind the Second Amendment and have
twisted the words around so much you would think the Founding Fathers had used
the word "guns" in the amendment, but in reality the wording is "the right to
bare arms."
In the eyes of the NRA, "the right to bare arms" can mean anything
from a Bushmaster assault rifle to a nuclear bomb.
Remember Timmoth McVeigh used fertilizer and a rented truck to blow
up the building in Oklahoma City killing close to 200 people including little
kids who were attending a nursery school in the building. McVeigh was a
card-carrying member of the NRA.
Wayne LaPierre's rant on "Meet the Press" this past Sunday was more
like an infomercial for the NRA than offering any solution to the gun violence
in America that has reached epidemic proportions.
LaPierre trotted out all the same defenses the NRA has used in the
past. Blame mental illness, video games, movies and television, but never admit
that Adam Lanza was able to get his hands on a Bushmaster assault rifle, two
Glock rapid fire guns and even a shotgun which he left in his mother's car
parked out in front of the Sandy Hook Elementary school.
Lanza was able to get the guns because his mother, who he shot four
times in the face killing her from point blank range while she was asleep at
home, had purchased them within the past year and she even used to take her son
to gun ranges so he could learn to fire the weapons.
History plus personal experience is a great teacher. I grew up at
a time when gun violence was just as much a part of the American landscape as it
is today. The vast majority of us looked at the violence we saw in movies,
movie shorts and cartoons as entertainment and not a study guide for the life
style we should follow.
President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, who will head up the
task force looking into what can be done about the explosion of gun violence,
have their work cut out for them in bringing any meaningful gun legislation into
existence.
Joe Boehner, Republican Speaker of the House, has already signaled
he would probably not bring up any gun legislation for a vote in the House of
Representatives.
Why should he? The House of Representatives is under the control
of Republicans and most of them are the recipients of money funneled to them by
NRA lobbyists in Washington with an unwritten note to vote "NAY" on any
legislation that would put a halt to the sale of military-style assault rifles
and ammunition that comes in 30-round clips and drums.
If history repeats itself, we are just days or weeks away from the
next mass murder spree from a copycat gun nut only this time it could be at a
shopping mall, a theater, a rock concert or a major sporting event---anywhere
where innocent Americans gather.
BREAKING NEWS: Two firefighters were SHOT this morning, Christmas
Eve day, when they responded to a fire in Rochester, New York.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
SUNDAY MORNING TV TALK SHOWS
It will be worth the price of admission to
watch how NRA exec WAYNE LaPIERRE rolls over NBC's DAVID GREGORY on this
mornings edition of "Meet the Press." GREGORY will let LaPIERRE get away with
"murder" and will refuse to challenge him on his ridiculous idea of putting cops
in every school in America.
#####
The "fiscal cliff"
is not the most important topic in the eyes of Americans, but you would never
know it by watching the hideous Sunday morning TV shows who want to devote
almost the whole time to the "fiscal cliff" and dump the massacre in Newtown
Conn. to a side-bar story even when polls indicate Americans are more interested
in what is going to be done about assault rifles than the "fiscal
cliff."
####
Fox News trio of
Sunday morning slugs are already talking about the Benghazi, Libya attack that
ended up with 4 Americans dead, but refuse to mention to Sandy Hook school
slaughter that killed 20 young kids and 6 adults, and also how Bush and Cheney
lied us into a war with IRAQ that cost 4,700 young American
lives.
####
NRA exec WAYNE
LaPIERRE will guest on NBC's "Meet the Press" only Sunday morning because he
know host DAVID GREGORY will give him the kid glove treatment and let the NRA
off the hook for in anyway being responsible for the slaughter in Newtown,
Connecticut.
####
The "fiscal cliff"
is NOT the most important topic on the minds of American, but the massacre at
the Sandy Hook school is yet the four Sunday morning TV shows will devote almost
all their time discussing the "fiscal cliff" and ignore what Americans want to
hear about and that is what is the NRA going to do about assault rifles and ammo
that can fire 30 rounds in seconds.
Army Patrol Seizes Taliban Compound - Captures Drug Cache - Intense Comb...
CLICK ON ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO
Army patrol seizes Taliban compound and captures drug cache
Friday, December 21, 2012
SCHOOL MASSACRE ALREADY OFF MEDIA RADAR SCREEN
One week ago today, Adam Lanza busted into the Sandy Hook
Elementary school armed with a Bushmaster assault rifle and two Glok pistols,
and he immediately shot the school principal and school
counselor.
He then turned and went down the hall until he found a room full of
six and seven year old students. With the precision of a gangland execution,
Lanza fired anywhere from 3 to 11 bullets point blank into EACH of the
children. When he was finished, the floor of the classroom was littered with 18
slaughtered children and two who were seriously wounded and would die later at
the hospital.
In all, a total of 26 people were killed at the Sandy Hook
Elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, before Lanza took his own life by
shooting himself in the head.
Just one week later the NRA (National Rifle Association) held what
it called a "press conference," but they didn't allow any questions to the
Executive Director Wayne LaPierre. LaPierre's big announcement was to hire
retired police officers and place them at EVERY school in the United
States.
LaPierre went to great lengths to avoid mentioning guns as the
cause of gun violence.
The only time LaPierre came close to mentioning guns, he said; "The
answer to a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun."
LaPierre went on to blame mental illness, video games, motion
pictures and TV shows and the music industry for all the violence in the
American culture.
Another unfolding American gun massacre has produced an avalanche
news coverage, but it's coverage that continues to omit crucial context about
gun violence and the
rash of often public shooting sprees that plague the
country. It's a troubling journalism trend, and one that seems to be getting
worse. As America recoils from new shootings, the news media are casting the gun
horrors in less context, not more.
It's true that the press is moving away from presenting shooting
sprees as isolated incidents. The coverage of the Sandy Hook elementary school
massacre in Newtown, Conn., has been rich with references to the Aurora, Colo.,
movie theater massacre from this summer. Then again, how can reporters
not connect the dots from those two rampages to a sweeping
cultural and criminal problem, and one that continues
to worsen and extends to all
corners of the country.
But simply acknowledging the deadly trend doesn't mean the news media are providing much-needed context. For instance, each year roughly 30,000 Americans die from gun violence. By comparison, since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, approximately 4,300 Americans have died in that conflict.
As Forbes' Rob Waters noted, from the period between 2000 to 2009, "If you exclude natural causes of death and consider only deaths caused by injury, [gun violence] is the second-leading cause of death over that time span; only car accidents (417,000) killed more people." And according to Bloomberg News, the number of Americans killed by guns will soon exceed the yearly number of auto fatalities, as auto-related deaths are falling and gun fatalities are rising.
To understand the larger story of gun violence in America, people have to understand the context. People have to be aware of the 30,000 figure. They ought to know, for instance, that that in the week since Newtown, an estimated 500 Americans have died from gunfire, and more than 1,200 have been wounded. They ought to know that just since the Sandy Hook School massacre, approximately 50 more American children and teens have died from gunfire.
If we don't understand the saturation status we're not going to understand the steady stream of public shooting sprees.
But news consumers aren't getting that information from the media - at least not in the wake of the Newtown tragedy.
Very few mentions of the 30,000 statistic have appeared in newspaper articles or on television segments about the Connecticut massacre. In fact, a Nexis search uncovers only two major newspaper news articles that referenced that key figure in the last week, one in the San Francisco Chronicle, on December 18, and one in the Hartford Courant December 19. (The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Tampa Tribune and Indianapolis Star published references to the 30,000-death statistic in opinion pieces about the Newtown killings.)
On television, the references were just as rare: I found only four. One each on PBS, CNN, NBC and MSNBC.
It's possible that a handful of additional newspaper news accounts and television discussions mentioned the fact that approximately 30,000 people die from gunfire every year. (Nexis transcripts don't capture every cable news segment.) But given the extraordinary amount of coverage of the Newtown shooting, the press had ample opportunities to highlight the 30,000 number. But these findings indicate that the references were quite scarce. In fact, they were even scarcer than when I urged the press to include crucial gun death context following the Aurora gun massacre in July.
Other key points that have been largely ignored in the Newtown coverage:
•There are huge economic costs associated with gun violence. For example, firearm-related deaths and injuries resulted in medical and lost of productivity expenses of about $32 billion in the U.S., according to most recently available data.
•Gun violence is among the leading causes of premature death in the U.S.
•Among the world's 23 wealthiest countries, 87 percent of all kids killed by guns are American kids.
The point here isn't to simply to wallow in a grim statistics. It's to illustrate how little context is included in the so-called 'gun debate' in this country. And especially the so-called gun debate that takes place in the media.
If that conversation is really going to happen it's imperative Americans understand what's at the center of the topic, and that sadly, this crisis extends far beyond Newtown.
Thanks to Eric Boehlert, Media Matters, for contributing to this article.
But simply acknowledging the deadly trend doesn't mean the news media are providing much-needed context. For instance, each year roughly 30,000 Americans die from gun violence. By comparison, since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, approximately 4,300 Americans have died in that conflict.
As Forbes' Rob Waters noted, from the period between 2000 to 2009, "If you exclude natural causes of death and consider only deaths caused by injury, [gun violence] is the second-leading cause of death over that time span; only car accidents (417,000) killed more people." And according to Bloomberg News, the number of Americans killed by guns will soon exceed the yearly number of auto fatalities, as auto-related deaths are falling and gun fatalities are rising.
To understand the larger story of gun violence in America, people have to understand the context. People have to be aware of the 30,000 figure. They ought to know, for instance, that that in the week since Newtown, an estimated 500 Americans have died from gunfire, and more than 1,200 have been wounded. They ought to know that just since the Sandy Hook School massacre, approximately 50 more American children and teens have died from gunfire.
If we don't understand the saturation status we're not going to understand the steady stream of public shooting sprees.
But news consumers aren't getting that information from the media - at least not in the wake of the Newtown tragedy.
Very few mentions of the 30,000 statistic have appeared in newspaper articles or on television segments about the Connecticut massacre. In fact, a Nexis search uncovers only two major newspaper news articles that referenced that key figure in the last week, one in the San Francisco Chronicle, on December 18, and one in the Hartford Courant December 19. (The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Tampa Tribune and Indianapolis Star published references to the 30,000-death statistic in opinion pieces about the Newtown killings.)
On television, the references were just as rare: I found only four. One each on PBS, CNN, NBC and MSNBC.
It's possible that a handful of additional newspaper news accounts and television discussions mentioned the fact that approximately 30,000 people die from gunfire every year. (Nexis transcripts don't capture every cable news segment.) But given the extraordinary amount of coverage of the Newtown shooting, the press had ample opportunities to highlight the 30,000 number. But these findings indicate that the references were quite scarce. In fact, they were even scarcer than when I urged the press to include crucial gun death context following the Aurora gun massacre in July.
Other key points that have been largely ignored in the Newtown coverage:
•There are huge economic costs associated with gun violence. For example, firearm-related deaths and injuries resulted in medical and lost of productivity expenses of about $32 billion in the U.S., according to most recently available data.
•Gun violence is among the leading causes of premature death in the U.S.
•Among the world's 23 wealthiest countries, 87 percent of all kids killed by guns are American kids.
The point here isn't to simply to wallow in a grim statistics. It's to illustrate how little context is included in the so-called 'gun debate' in this country. And especially the so-called gun debate that takes place in the media.
If that conversation is really going to happen it's imperative Americans understand what's at the center of the topic, and that sadly, this crisis extends far beyond Newtown.
Thanks to Eric Boehlert, Media Matters, for contributing to this article.
RAW VIDEO: U.S. MARINES CLEAR AFGHANISTAN TOWN IN "OPERATION JAWS"
CLICK ON ARROW OR YOU TUBE TO PLAY VIDEO
Marines with Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment participate in Operation Jaws, clearing the town of Zamindawar in Kajaki, Afghanistan, a known insurgent stronghold. Following the combat scenes are informative interviews with 1st Lt. Benjamin Royal, platoon commander from Clinton Township, NJ, and Staff Sgt. John Wildman, platoon sergeant from Laurel, MS.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
FOX NEWS SAYS HILLARY CLINTON FAKING CONCUSSION
Just when I thought FOX NEWS couldn't sink any lower, several of the on-air people have said SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON is faking the concussion she suffered after falling. FOX NEWS offes no proof CLINTON is faking the concussion and said she did it so she wouldn't have to testify today at the Benghazi, Libya hearings that get underway before a special Congressional committee.
BULLET-PROOF VEST AND BLACK NINJA WARRIOR GARB
How did ADAM LANZA, the 20-year old who slaughtered a total of 26
children and adults, get a bullet-proof vest and a Black Ninja Warrior suit
before he went on his shooting spree at the Sandy Hook Elementary school killing
20 innocent six and seven year olds and six school teachers and
administrators?
Newtown, Connecticut, scene of the crime, is a one stop light town
and there couldn't be too many places in town selling bullet-proof vests and
Black Ninja Warrior body armor suits.
Law enforcement authorities and the media have been concentrating
on the firepower Adam Lanza used in the mass shooting, but nobody has mentioned
how he would have been able to buy a bullet-proof vest and the Black Ninja
Warrior suit Lanza was wearing.
In fact, the new Task Force headed up by Vice President Joe Biden
should expand the investigation beyond enforcing gun laws and into looking into
stores that sell bullet-proof vests and Black Ninja Warrior gear because that
would be a sure sign somebody is up to no good.
As for the bullet-proof vest, the only people who should be allowed
to buy one should be law enforcement officers or security guards, and then they
should have to prove their identity with the proper identification.
Black Ninja Warrior suits were worn by the two shooters at the
Columbine school mass murder and by Adam Lanza in his shooting spree last week
at the Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.
Fox News continues to try to shift the focus from guns and
gun control to mental illness, video games, violent movies and television shows
as the primary cause of the killing spree by Adam Lanza in Connecticut.
The Fox News attempt to downplay guns as the cause of the killings
is nothing more than a smokescreen that doesn't hold water when held up to the
3,000 gun-related murders every year in the United States that are not mass
murders by a mentally ill person or persons, but instead from robberies,
drive-by shootings, gang violence, domestic violence and murder/suicide cases
not carried out by someone with mental illness problems.
US FAILS IN REBUILDING AFGHANISTAN
CLICK ON ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO
A political analyst tells Press TV that Afghanistan is a conflict-plagued country and because of the nature of being a war-torn country it is hard to carry out projects that could be effective.
About 13 million dollars of US funds sourced from American taxpayer money to upgrade a power infrastructure project in Afghanistan is "sitting unused in storage" due to a lack of a clear installation plan, a report says.
Interview with Waliullah Rahmani, executive director of the Kabul Center for Strategic Studies.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
OBAMA NAMES BIDEN TO GUN VIOLENCE TASK FORCE: FOX NEWS WANTS TO DWELL ON MENTAL ILLNESS
President Obama has named Vice President Biden to head up a Task Force looking into gun violence.
Meanwhile, FOX NEWS wants to shift the attention away from guns and dwell on mental illness.
Here is the link to story on Obama's proposal: http://tiny.cc/blzkpw
Obama wants to put back in place the assault rifle ban that President Bush let expire in 2004. Obama also wants to close the loopholes that allow people to buy guns without proper identification.
FOX NEWS wants to shift the attention away from guns to mental illness based on a Rasmussen poll which indicated most people want to investigate mental illness instead of the over 300 million guns that are in the hands of Americans all across the country.
Experts say the problem with the FOX NEWS approach to the epidemic of gun violence is it doesn't take into consideration the thousands of gun-related deaths from drive-by shootings, domestic violence or robbery which have nothing to do with mental illness.
There are over 3,000 deaths a year from guns and mass killings like what took place in Connecticut last week make up only a fraction of the gun deaths.
FOX NEWS is a staunch advocate of the National Rifle Association (NRA) which has always pointed at anything but guns as a reason for gun violence.
Obama said he wants Congress to act immediately on gun control.
FOX NEWS "BENGHAZI-GATE" SHOT DOWN
Poor Fox News.
Another one of their conspiracy theories has been shotdown by a report indicating there wasn't anyone in the White House or the Obama administration involved with a cover-up of what took place in Benghazi, Libya where four Americans were killed.
The independent study found there were a series of systematic failures that led to the tragic death of the U.S. Ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, and three other Americans at an outpost in Benghazi, Libya.
Infact, the Republican led House of Representatives voted down anymore funding for U.S. diplomatic installations all around the world.
Fox News has been carrying out a 24/7 attack on the Obama administration and UN Ambassador Susan Rice claiming there was a giant cover-up in the Benghazi, Libya attack.
The truth, according to the report, is Susan Rice presented exactly what the CIA "talking points" were at the time she appeared on five Sunday morning political talk shows.
Fox News has once again put on public display they are not a news organization, but instead the public relations branch of the Republican Party.
Read the full story here: http://tiny.cc/remkpw
ADOPTING GUN REGULATIONS MAY NOT BE AS EASY AS THOUGHT
Ezra Klein has written an excellent piece for the Washington Post on the stumbling blocks which will be encountered when the Obama administration and Congress gets around to trying to fix the serious problem of gun control facing America in the wake of the horrific massacre last week at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
The fact that there are almost as many guns, close to 300 million, in the hands of Americans, as there are citizens of the United States only exacerbates the problem.
Closing loopholes, background checks and limiting the sale of clips which hold 30 rounds of ammunition are just a few of the suggestions which have been offered.
Screening of people who have been diagnosed with a mental illness is another idea which is under discussion, but privacy rules come into play when any government body begins digging into the privacy records of any citizen of the United States.
Violent video games, movies and television shows are also going to be looked at, but First Amendment rights could prove to be another problem for people calling for tougher gun laws.
You can read the Ezra Klein Washington Post story here: http://tiny.cc/0r2jpw
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
MEDIA HOODWINKED
The mainstream media have been hoodwinked by the NRA and FOX NEWS
who have sidetracked the reason behind the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting
into a discussion over mental illness, arming teachers, video games, violent
movies and television shows instead of the real culprit which is plain and
simple: GUNS.
Like a well-oiled political campaign, the NRA and FOX NEWS have
shifted the discussion to people who suffer from mental illness and whether
school teachers should be allowed to carry guns into school.
FOX NEWS has been quick to point out how video games and violent
movies and television shows are the real reason why Adam Lanza grabbed a
Bushmaster assault rifle, two Glok pistols and hundreds of rounds of ammunition
and busted into the Sandy Hook Elementary school and carried out his
massacre.
Media reports indicate Lanza fired anywhere from three to eleven
bullets into the small bodies of the 20 school children ages six and seven. He
reloaded the Bushmaster assault rifle three times with 30 round clips before
taking one of the handguns and putting it to his own head and committing
suicide.
Unfortunately, the mainstream media are like lemmings and they
follow the lead of the NRA and FOX NEWS into the sea and drown in a pool of
confusion, which is exactly what the NRA and FOX NEWS wants to happen.
Everytime there is a mass shooting, the NRA and FOX NEWS trot out
the same routine and shift the attention away from any kind of gun control to
topics like mental illness, arming teachers, video games, movies and
television or the need for more conceal and carry permits.
The air waves are filled with psychiatric experts and school
administrators and each of them provide some cockamamie reason why Adam Lanza
went on a shooting spree in Connecticut killing 20 young children, six adults
and his mother.
The NRA and FOX NEWS are pros at distracting people away from the
real culprit in any mass shooting and that is guns.
Just yesterday, Rupert Murdoch, who owns FOX NEWS, the Wall Street
Journal, the New York Post and scores of other media outlets, issued an edict to
anyone who works for any media outlet in his empire to not bring up the subject
of gun control.
President Obama has vowed to take action, but as each day passes
since the horrific massacre at the Sandy Hook elementary school, the NRA and
FOX become more firmly entrenched by hoodwinking the media and public into
thinking Adam Lanza carried out his murder spree because of mental illness,
video games, movies or television.
When is the mainstream media going to wake up and realize the real
problem is the proliferation of guns in America and not any of side show
issues the NRA and FOX NEWS are "selling" to an unsuspecting
public?
NBC REPORTER RICHARD ENGEL AND TEAM RELEASED
NBC NEWS Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel and his team have been released unharmed after they were captured five days ago in Syria.
You can read the full report here and see video: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/18/15985279-richard-engel-and-nbc-news-team-freed-from-captors-in-syria?lite
Monday, December 17, 2012
MSNBC REPORTER RICHARD ENGEL MISSING IN SYRIA
RICHARD ENGEL, the very best foreign news correspondent in journalism, has been reported missing in Syria.
ENGEL, who works for NBC/MSNBC, has always put himself in harms way when covering a story from one of the many war zones in the Middle East.
Here is the link to the story: http://gawker.com/5969029/richard-engel-is-missing-in-syria-nbc-news-enforces-news-blackout
FOX NEWS AND NRA LAUNCH MEDIA BLITZ AGAINST GUN LEGISLATION
In the wake of the dreadful Sandy Hook elementary school shooting,
FOX NEWS and the NRA have launched a series of misleading statements in an
effort to put a stop to the public's demand for stricter gun laws.
Both FOX NEWS and the NRA are attempting to shift the attention to
people who suffer from mental illness as the reason why Adam Lanza went on a
shooting rampage with a Bushmaster semi-automatic rifle killing 20 children ages
six and seven and six school administrators and teachers and Lanza's mother.
FOX NEWS, who obviously know nothing about mental illness, have
gone so far as to say everyone with some form of mental illness should
periodically be subjected to an evaluation to see if they might be a danger to
society.
What FOX NEWS fails to realize is a person with mental illness
could go off their psychiatric meds and within a matter of a few days turn into
a psychopathic killer.
It is also noteworthy to point out, FOX NEWS is one of the
strongest advocates for cutting mental health funding by both the Federal
government and state governments.
The upshot is FOX NEWS and the NRA will do and say anything to
block any legislation which might be proposed to tighten gun sale loopholes or
the sale of semi-automatic weapons.
The weapon Adam Lanza used was a Bushmaster semi-automatic rifle
and police authorities say he fired between three and eleven bullets into each
of the victims.
In the coming weeks, FOX NEWS and the NRA will be pulling out all
the stops to deflect attention away from guns, especially semi-automatic rifles,
to mental illness, poor parenting or anything else they can come up with just so
they can maintain 271 MILLION guns that are now in the hands of Americans all
across the country.
Myths and lies about guns has to be broken and here is a link to
five common myths and lies the gun lobby, the NRA and FOX NEWS advocate: http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/12/14/1340531/five-lies-the-gun-lobby-tells-you/
Bill Corcoran,
Sunday, December 16, 2012
WARNING: VERY GRAPHIC VIDEO: Landmine blast in Afghanistan against ANA militant
CLICK ON ARROW OR YOU TUBE LOGO TO PLAY
EXTREME WARNING: This is a very graphic video showing a landmine blast that seriously wounds an ANA soldier in Afgahanistan and how the U.S. Medevace team responds.
Sounds starts after 1:08 seconds.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
BREAKING NEWS: AP REPORTS AFGHANISTAN WANTS U.S. AND FOREIGN TROOPS TO LEAVE AFGHANISTAN
The AP is reporting the Afghanistan government says they want all U.S. troops and NATO troop to leave the country.
Read more here: http://hosted2.ap.org/CARIE/0260ea4c3e85456b80715585ba3c7b5b/Article_2012-12-15-Afghanistan/id-f6fd128707e74a129039f068fcb62f82
Friday, December 14, 2012
RICE RANT
I waited until MSNBC's "Morning Joe" and FOX NEWS "Fox and Friends" went on the air this morning to see how Republicans like Joe Scarborough from "Morning Joe" and "The Three Stooges" from "Fox and Friends" would treat the news that U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice had withdrawn her name for the job of Secretary of State.
True to form Scarborough and "The Three Stooges" were gloating and
smirking like a Cheshire cat that Susan Rice's potential nomination went down in
flames.
Also although they didn't say it, Scarborough and "The Three
Stooges" were elated because....
(A) A woman of color had removed herself from the possibility
President Obama would announce Susan Rice as his choice for Secretary of
State.
(B) That a woman would not be getting the job as Secretary of
State.
(C) That Obama left Rice twisting in the wind.
Rice had gone on five Sunday morning talk shows right after the
Benghazi, Libya attack and read from the "talking points" she was given by the
CIA on what took place when the U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and three
other Americans were killed at the compound, not the embassy which is located in
Tripoli, Libya.
For the past two months, Susan Rice has been the subject of a
brutal attack by Republican Senators John McCain, Lindsay Graham and Kelly
Ayotte.
Fox News, which is not a news organization but a propaganda branch
of the Republican Party, weighed in 24/7 with attacks on Rice and information
which later proved to be false and misleading.
What the American public is left with now after this debacle is a
gaggle of "talking heads" on TV and radio speculating on what took place behind
the scenes or in the Oval Office, and because they command the "bully
pulpit," not a single one of them has a clue what is the real truth and what
they are talking about.
Meanwhile, Susan Rice's dream of someday being Secretary of State
has been dashed by a plethora of Republican racists, sexists and Democrat
haters.
Susan Rice has served two administrations in the foreign affairs
branch and she is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate from Stanford University, a Rhodes
Scholar and a Phd from Oxford University.
She had the resume and academic credentials, but unfortunately in
the eyes of the Republicans she was Black, a woman and a
Democrat.
You can read the full story here and watch a video of Susan Rice:
http://tiny.cc/gn1apw
Bill Corcoran
Thursday, December 13, 2012
WHAT THE BUSH/CHENEY WAR WITH IRAQ ACCOMPLISHED
The Bush/Cheney war with IRAQ was a disaster and this story tells what has happened since we invaded Iraq.
In addition to the mess we left Iraq in, the U.S. suffered 4,700 dead, 70,000 wounded and close to one million Iraqi citizens killed.
Read story here: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO1212/S00203/over-five-million-iraqi-children-deprived-of-basic-services.htm
NEW RARE FOOTAGE: Special Operations Helmet Cam Firefight in Afghanistan
CLICK ON ARROW OR YOU TUBE LOGO TO PLAY VIDEO
Rare footage of Special Operations, Afghan local police, and members of A Company, 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry regiment come under brief contact from Taliban fighters in Zombalay Afghanistan.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
WAR DRUMS
The Republicans and their propaganda machine FOX NEWS have been
beating the drums for war with Syria and now North Korea since they fired off
a missile yesterday.
Republicans are going back to the days right after 9/11 when they
started beating the drums for war with Iraq even though Iraq had nothing to do
with the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Dick Cheney and his cohorts in the Bush administration used phony
intelligence to lie to Congress and the American people about how Saddam Hussein
had Weapons of Mass Destruction and was completing work on a nuclear bomb.
As everyone knows, we invade Iraq and didn't find any WMDs or any
facilities for making a nuclear bomb, but the war dragged on for four more years
costing the United States the lives of over 4,700 young Americans and in
addition another 70,000 young Americans seriously wounded and upwards of one
million Iraqi citizens killed.
The Iraq war was costing American taxpayers over $9 billion dollars
a month and the Bush administration never added the cost of the Iraq war to the
national debt.
When Obama took office, he removed all troops from Iraq and turned
his attention to Afghanistan which is where Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaida had
come from and staged the attack on 9/11.
Obama also found that the war with Afghanistan which had started
ten years before was also costing $9 billion a month and like Iraq had never
been tacked on the national debt.
Over 2,300 young Americans have been killed in Afghanistan and
Obama is promising to pull all troops out Afghanistan by 2014.
Now Republicans are all over TV, especially their puppet outlet FOX
NEWS, calling for the Obama administration to consider military action against
Syria and North Korea.
What Republicans and FOX NEWS won't tell the American people is the
Department of Defense says the United States does not have the capability of
launching a ground war without resorting to a mandatory draft for every young
American, male and female, who is 18 years old.
Republicans and FOX NEWS don't believe in diplomacy to settle the
Syria and North Korea problem, but instead they keep beating the war drums
calling for President Obama to begin planning for an invasion of Syria and North
Korea.
There is, however, one giant problem with the Republican and FOX
NEWS strategy.
You won't find a single Republican or anyone who works for FOX NEWS
who wants to see their children, grandchildren or military age relatives
recruited to serve in the United States military.
Bill Corcoran.
CHENEY SURFACES AND BLASTS OBAMA ON FOREIGN POLICY
Former Vice President Dick Cheney, the architect who led the U.S. to war with Iraq with lies and false assertions about WMDs and nukes, and eventually cost the U.S. over 4,700 lives and additional 70,000 seriously wounded, spoke at the Hudson Institute, a right wing "think tank" and told the audience a pack of lies about President Obama.
Cheney was introduced by Lewis "Scooter" Libby who went to jail for "outing" CIA agent Valerie Plame, when Cheney was still in the Bush administration.
Ed Schultz, host of the "Ed Schultz Show" on MSNBC, reveals in a video clip here Cheney's lies and introduces Lawrence Wilkerson, who was Colin Powell's assistant in the Bush/Cheney administration and who points out the many areas where Cheney lied and how he is still pushing for additional wars in the Middle East.
Watch video here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45755822/#50169555
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
KICK-ASS VIDEO: U.S. Marines Firefight In Sangin
CLICK ON ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO
U.S. Marines from 2nd Platoon, India Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, engage in a firefight with Insurgents during an operation in Sangin, Helmand Province,
HOLLYWOOD LEGEND ED ASNER HAS SENT FOX NEWS SEAN HANNITY INTO A FIT WITH THIS VIDEO
SEAN HANNITY and the rest of the mopes in the right wing media have gone completely nuts over this animated short narrated by Hollywood legend Ed Asner.
Watch it and you will know why.
Hollywood Legend Ed Asner Has Outraged Republicans Over This Animated Short
How Much Weight Do Infantry Soldiers Have To Carry
CLICK ON ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO
When I was in the Army during the Korean War we carried 60 pounds, but that did not include our M1 rifle, ammo and ammo belt and bayonet.
Watch video to see how much weight our GIs are carrying in Afghanistan.
Monday, December 10, 2012
U.S. DRONE KILLS 3 SUSPECTED MILITANTS
This is a report from one of the largest news services in Afghanistan. They are reporting a U.S. Drone has killed three suspected militants.
Read story here: http://www.khaama.com/us-airstrike-kill-3-suspeted-militants-in-north-waziristan-1095
BREAKING NEWS: 3,000 U.S. TROOPS SECRETELY DEPLOYED TO KUWAIT/IRAQ
According to sources in the Middle East, the United States has secretely deployed 3,000 U.S. troops to Kuwait because Al Qaida has strengthened their position in IRAQ.
The war in IRAQ has already cost millions of lives and billions of dollars that were never added to the national debt by the BUSH administration.
Read more here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-dennis-kucinich/iraq-ten-years-a-million_b_1932280.html
Read additional story here: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/12/09/277127/3000-us-troops-secretly-return-to-iraq/
Sunday, December 9, 2012
AFGHANISTAN WAR DESERVES MORE PRESS
A loyal follower of my blog, Jo, sent me the link to this article and I sincerely concur with what this young college student wrote.
Read story here: http://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/Afghanistan-war-deserves-more-press-4098073.php
DRAMATIC VIDEO: A MOMENT OF VIOLENCE: WHEN WILL THIS EVER END IN AFGHANISTAN
The Afghanistan War has been going on for 12 years now and we are no further along than when we invaded the country.
This video points out the violence and questions when will it ever end.
Click on link to view video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wU7M5bU46RY&feature=youtube_gdata
VIDEO: ARMY WIVES SHARE SECRETS
A group of Army wives shared what it is like to be home alone while their husbands are deployed to Afghanistan.
Watch video here: http://www.aol.com/video/revealed-the-struggles-of-army-wives/517575579/?icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl23%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D242537
Saturday, December 8, 2012
U.S. NEEDS MORE CASH TO CONTINUE AFGHANISTAN WAR
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been talking to allies in an effort to get them to contribute more cash so we can continue to conduct the war in Afghanistan.
Watch video and read report here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcvWR2CV67Y&feature=youtube_gdata
Friday, December 7, 2012
WASHINGTON POST. SEX/SUICIDE SCANDAL HAUNTS NOTRE DAME JUST BEFORE BCS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME AGAINST ALABAMA
Melinda Hennenberger, Washington Post Reporter and a Notre Dame grad, reveals why she won't be cheering for her alma mater, Notre Dame, when they face Alabama in the BCS championship game early in January.
A scandal that first came to light in 2010 involving a Notre Dame football player and a young female freashman from nearby St. Mary's College, resulted in the female student committing suicide and the administration at Notre Dame was slow to investigate the tragedy.
Watch the Henneberger interview with MSNBC's Chris Matthews here: http://tiny.cc/hgxxow
Read Washington Post story here: http://tiny.cc/o6xxow
Thursday, December 6, 2012
ANN COULTER GOES ROGUE ON FOX NEWS SEAN HANNITY
ANN COULTER, the ultra Conservative and controversial author and pundit, went rogue on Fox News Sean Hannity and told him "we lost the election."
Coulter was trying to educate Hannity on why the Repulicans should give in to Obama's request for a tax hike on the two percent of Americans who make up the upper class.
Watch video here and read story: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/06/ann-coulter-gop-taxes-obama-hannity_n_2249545.html?utm_hp_ref=media
AFGHAN PRESIDENT BLASTS U.S. FOR AFGHANISTAN INSECURITY
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai told NBC NEWS that the U.S. is the reason there is so much insecurity in Afghanistan.
Isn't it time to get out of Afganistan?
Read full story and watch video here: http://tiny.cc/vsswow
SERIOUS ACCUSATION: AFGHANISTAN ACCUSES U.S/BRIT. FORCES OF COMMITTING CRIMES AGAINST AFGHANISTAN CITIZENS
CLICK ON ARROW TO PLAY THIS VIDEO
A political analyst tells Press TV that the problem in Afghanistan is that there is no law to restrict international forces activities and the Afghan government is not authorized to trial them if they commit any crimes.
This comes after British forces in Afghanistan have been accused of killing four boys in Afghanistan's southern province of Helmand in October. According to a report published by the Guardian on Tuesday, a group of lawyers recently sent a letter to British Defense Secretary Philip Hammond, demanding that the UK government investigate the alleged killings.
Press TV has conducted an interview with Habib Hakimi, political analyst, to further discuss the issue.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
RACHEL MADDOW RIPS INTO REPUBLICANS FOR BLOCKING BILL FOR DISABLED VETS
MSNBC's RACHEL MADDOW rips into Republicans for blocking passage of a bill that would provide veterans other disabled people with rights that are available to all disabled people in 152 countries around the world.
It boggles my mind how Republicans can be so callous and turn their back on people with disablities who defended our country in the military service and other Americans with disabilities.
Watch the video here: http://tiny.cc/htsuow
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
SENATE REPUBLICANS DEAL MAJOR BLOW TO DISABLED VETERANS
Dole Appears, but G.O.P. Rejects a Disabilities Treaty
By JENNIFER STEINHAUER, New York Times
WASHINGTON — Former Senator Bob Dole of Kansas sat slightly slumped in his wheelchair on the Senate floor on Tuesday, staring intently as Senator John Kerry gave his most impassioned speech all year, in defense of a United Nations treaty that would ban discrimination against people with disabilities.
Senators from both parties went to greet Mr. Dole, leaning in to hear his wispy reply, as he sat in support of the treaty, which would require that people with disabilities have the same general rights as those without disabilities. Several members took the unusual step of voting aye while seated at their desks, out of respect for Mr. Dole, 89, a Republican who was the majority leader.
Then, after Mr. Dole’s wife, Elizabeth, rolled him off the floor, Republicans quietly voted down the treaty that the ailing Mr. Dole, recently released from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, so longed to see passed.
A majority of Republicans who voted against the treaty, which was modeled on the Americans With Disabilities Act, said they feared that it would infringe on American sovereignty.
Among their fears about the disabilities convention were that it would codify standards enumerated in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child — and therefore United Nations bureaucrats would be empowered to make decisions about the needs of disabled children — and that it could trump state laws concerning people with disabilities. Proponents of the bill said these concerns were unfounded.
The measure, which required two-thirds support for approval, failed on a vote of 61 to 38.
Mr. Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, his voice rising as senator after senator moved slowly into the chamber, rejected the concerns of Republicans and made a moral argument for approval of the treaty.
Mr. Dole, he said, had not come to the Senate floor “to advocate for the United Nations.”
“He is here because he wants to know that other countries will come to treat the disabled as we do,” he added.
Approval of the treaty, Mr. Kerry said, would demonstrate that “what we do here in the United States Senate matters.” He added, “Don’t let Senator Bob Dole down.”
A handful of Republican senators voted for the measure, notably Senator John McCain of Arizona, in opposition to the other Arizona Republican, Senator Jon Kyl. The others who supported it were Senators Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, John Barrasso of Wyoming, Scott P. Brown of Massachusetts, Susan Collins and Olympia J. Snowe of Maine, Richard G. Lugar of Indiana and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas praised the treaty in a news release with Mr. McCain in May but voted against it. Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi voted yes at the beginning of the roll call vote and then switched his vote to no. Calls to the offices of Mr. Moran and Mr. Cochran were not returned.
Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, said the measure would return to the Senate floor in the 113th Congress.
“It is a sad day when we cannot pass a treaty that simply brings the world up to the American standard for protecting people with disabilities because the Republican Party is in thrall to extremists and ideologues,” he said in a statement.
TALIBAN POISONS 120 AFGHAN SCHOOL GIRLS
CLICK ON ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO
More than Afghan 120 schoolgirls and three teachers have been poisoned in the second attack in many months blamed on conservative radicals in the country's north, Afghan police and education officials said.
These are the kind of "animals" we are fighting in Afghanistan.
HEAVY COMBAT - U.S. TROOPS vs TALIBAN
CLICK ON ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO
SIX MINUTES OF HEAVY GROUND BATTLE, WITH MORTARS, RPG'S ROCKETS, MACHINE GUN NESTS, APACHE HELICOPTERS, AND A10 WARTHOGS.
AS USUAL MEDIA DOESN'T TELL US IF THE DEAD ARE AMERICANS
Two NATO soldiers were killed in Afghanistan, but as usual the media fails to reveal if they were American.
You can read the story here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/bomb-attack-in-southern-afghanistan-kills-2-nato-service-members/2012/12/04/cd9d8626-3dda-11e2-8a5c-473797be602c_story.html
Monday, December 3, 2012
DOG HANDLER'S VIDEO: REMARKABLE HELMET CAM FOOTAGE OF A DOG HANDLER DURING FIREFIGHT IN AFGHANISTAN
CLICK ON ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO
A firefight between members of the 30th Infantry Regiment, Special Operations, Afghan Local Police and Taliban in the village of Zombalay Afghanistan, is captured on 2 separate helmet cams.
Helmet cam video shows dog handler and his dog during a firefight in Afghanistan.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
FIRST VIDEO OF TALIBAN ATTACK ON U.S. BASE IN AFGHANISTAN
The Taliban has launched at least three attacks on a U.S. base in Afghanistan. It is not known if any U.S. troops were killed or injured.,
Watch the video here: http://tiny.cc/vwuoow
BREAKING NEWS: TALIBAN ATTACK U.S. BASE
The mainstream media won't be reporting this so I thought I would post it on my blog for all of you to see.
The Taliban have attacked a U.S. base in Afghanistan.
Read all the details here: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/02/us-afghanistan-jalalabad-explosions-idUSBRE8B100X20121202
Saturday, December 1, 2012
AFGHANISTAN WAR IS NOT A WAR
The Afghanistan War, which is now in its 12th year, is not really a
war but more like a basic training exercise only with real
bullets.
For over four years I have been posting stories and videos from the
Afghanistan war on my war blog, http://corksphere.blogspot.com
and for the like of me I don't see a single difference between the Afghanistan
war and what we went through during basic training in the Army except Americans
are dying or are seriously wounded.
Our troops in Afghanistan take a small village or wipe out a
handful of Taliban, but within days the Taliban have mounted an attack and
retake the village.
The see-saw battle lacks any military planning and there isn't an
end in sight.
President Obama says he will pull out all but 10,000 troops by
2014, but the question remains why are we keeping any troops in Afghanistan at
all?
The invasion of Afghanistan was initially to drive Al Qaida out of
the country.
That goal has been pretty much accomplished and now all our troops
are doing are engaging the Taliban in skirmishes that are totally pointless.
Nobody wants to talk about the Afghanistan war and interest by the
mainstream media has sunk to a new low and with it interest in the war by the
American public has also dropped to the point where the only people interested
in the war are those that have a family member deployed to Afghanistan.
MSNBC's Rachel Maddow examines the war in Afghanistan and other
questionable involvement by U.S. forces in the Middle East and airs a speech by
Jeh Johnson, General Counsel for the Department of Defense, at Oxford University
where Johnson outlines how he thinks the war will be brought to some
conclusion.
You can see the video here: http://tiny.cc/14hmow
Friday, November 30, 2012
WHY YOU SHOULDN'T TRUST FOX NEWS
There are many reasons why you should not trust FOX NEWS to bring
you the truth, however the most important reason IMO is because FOX NEWS has
loaded up their programs with retired military personnel and retired politicians
who are now working as lobbyists for a wide variety of defense contractors who
would like to see the United States engaged in more wars.
FOX NEWS has been critical of President Obama's plan to pull all
troops out of Afghanistan by 2014 and FOX NEWS trots out scores of former
military personnel and political pundits from the Bush and Cheney administration
who cite all kinds of reasons why exiting Afghanistan would be a bad
idea.
The biggest problem with their thinking is they don't provide any
reason why we should stay in Afghanistan other than to say the country would
fall into the hands of Al Qaida again if we pull all of our troops out of the
country.
Afghanistan has such a weak government that it won't make any
difference how long we stay in Afghanistan because once we do leave the country
will be taken over by Al Qaida, or elements of Al Qaida, and the Taliban.
FOX NEWS has been careful to never mention the number of young
Americans killed in Afghanistan.
The latest figures released by the Department of Defense indicates
over 2,000 young Americans have been killed in Afghanistan over the ten years we
have been waging a war in the country.
FOX NEWS did the same thing with the war in Iraq and never
mentioned the number of Americans killed in that war.
According to the Department of Defense over 4,700 young Americans
were killed in the Iraq war and another 70,000 were seriously wounded including
many who will be disabled for the rest of their lives.
The Iraq War was started when President Bush and Vice President
Cheney lied to the American people and to Congress about how Saddam Hussein had
Weapons of Mass destruction and was close to producing a nuclear
bomb.
United States forces who invaded Iraq never found any weapons of
mass destruction nor did they find any facilities capable of producing a nuclear
bomb.
President Obama pulled all U.S. troops out of Iraq two years ago
and the fragile Iraq government has become friends with Iran and now Al Qaida
and other terrorist elements are creating havoc all across Iraq.
Yesterday 52 Iraqi civilians were killed and 236 were injured when
an Al Qaida led attack killed them as they made their way to a
religious gathering.
The former military personnel and retired politicians who appear on
FOX NEWS used every appearance as a means to suggest the United States should go
to war with Iran, Syria and even North Korea.
FOX NEWS also never mentions our troops are stretched to the
breaking point and it would be impossible for the United States to get involved
in another war without re-instating the military draft.
Judging on how the American public and the mainstream media have
turned a deaf ear on the war in Afghanistan it is obvious the citizens of the
United States do not have an appetite for another war---especially if the next
war would have to be fought with their own children and grandchildren who would
be drafted into the United States military.
Iraq Bloodbath: 54 Killed, 237 Wounded in Attacks against Shi’ite Pilgrims and Security Forces -- Antiwar.com
IRAQ is coming apart at the seams.
54 killed and 237 wounded in Iraq bloodbath.
While FOX NEWS and three GOP Senators concentrate on destroying SUSAN RICE and her possible nomination as Secretary of State, Iraq is falling apart and it appears as though the 4,700 Americans killed in the Iraq was all for nothing.
FOX NEWS and Republican Senators McCain, Graham and Ayotte have been spinning everything Susan Rice said about the Benghazi, Libya attack that killed 4 Americans while at the same time ignoring the lies told by the Bush administration that put the U.S. into a war in Iraq that eventually killed over 4,700 young Americans and left over 70,000 seriously wounded.
Read more here:
Iraq Bloodbath: 54 Killed, 237 Wounded in Attacks against Shi’ite Pilgrims and Security Forces -- Antiwar.com
Thursday, November 29, 2012
THIS COULD SINK SUSAN RICE'S SEC. OF STATE APPOINTMENT MORE THAN BENGHAZI DUSTUP
Susan Rice, who has been at the center of an attack by FOX NEWS and three GOP Senators over her statements made on five TV shows following the Benghazi, Libya attack that killed four Americans, could be facing an even bigger impediment to her selection as Secretary of State over findings she has invested close to $600,000 in TransAmerica the outfit that wants to build a pipeline from Canada
to Texas to transport tar sands.
Read the full story here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/29/susan-rice-secretary-of-state-tar-sands_n_2214169.html?1354228997&icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl5%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D239804
RACHEL MADDOW INTERVIEWS JAKE TAPPER ON NEW BOOK, "THE OUTPOST"
MSNBC'S RACHEL MADDOW interviews ABC's JAKE TAPPER re his new book, "The Outpost," which follows one platoon in a far-fetched area of Afghanistan in a war that seems to be going on forever.
You can watch the whole interview here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/ns/msnbc_tv-rachel_maddow_show/#50003921
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
FRIGHTENING OUTLOOK FOR AFGHANISTAN
CLICK ON ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO
While US troops have been slated for withdrawal from Afghanistan by 2014, the country will remain in the clutches of imperial control by thousands of armed US mercenaries.
In the background of this in the setting of the US invasion and decade-long occupation of Afghanistan the United States and the Afghan government have come to an agreement to withdraw most US military troops from Afghanistan by 2014.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
ABBY HUNTSMAN BEST LOOKING ANCHOR ON TV
ABBY HUNTSMAN best looking anchor on TV. Her dad ran for President as a Republican, but ABBY is now a Democrat.
Read story and watch video: http://tiny.cc/u2ygow
FOX NEWS AND GOP SENATORS ATTACK SUSAN RICE
Susan Rice, U.S. Ambassador to the UN and possible candidate for Secretary of State, met with three GOP Senators on Tuesday to discuss the "talking points" she presented on five TV shows three days after the Benghazi, Libya attack that killed four Americans.
FOX NEWS and the GOP Senators said the one hour meeting with Rice left them with more questions than answers.
Are you kidding me?
A one hour meeting and they didn't get the answers they wanted. This sucks.
Does FOX NEWS, GOP Senators McCain, Graham and Allotte want us to believe they couldn't get all their questions answered in a ONE HOUR MEETING with Rice?
This whole Benghazi investigation has turned into a witch hunt and a partisan attack on the Obama administration with shades of racism and sexism.
Read the full story and video of the meeting here: http://tiny.cc/8lwgow
FRIGHTENING: OBAMA MOST THREATENED PRESIDENT IN HISTORY
The Most Threatened President in History
By Nathaniel Patterson, Causes
27 November 12
SECRET SERVICE SAYS THE NUMBER OF THREATS AGAINST THE PRESIDENT IS OVERWHELMING
resident
Barack Obama is the target of more than 30 potential death threats a day and is
being protected by an increasingly over-stretched Secret Service. He is the most
threatened President in history.
Since the President took office in 2008, the rate of threats
against the president has increased 400% cent. Some threats to the President
have been publicized, including the well known alleged plot by white
supremacists in Tennessee to rob a gun store, shoot 88 black people, decapitate
another 14 and then assassinate the first black president in American
history.
Most however, are kept under wraps because the Secret Service
fears that revealing details of them would only increase the number of copycat
attempts.
According to the U.S. Secret Service agents, their goal is to
immediately respond to any direct threat against the president, the first
family, the vice president, or visiting heads of state. Agents are then
responsible for determining the credibility of the threat.
Each time there is a threat, the Secret Service consults with
the Protective Intelligence Division in Washington, D.C., to decide how far an
investigation is going to go. If a federal arrest takes place, it will lead to
the most serious or extreme of the end results.
Recently, when Anton Caluori, 31, allegedly emailed the FBI on
the morning of August 21st to say he would "kill the president," a Secret
Service agent was immediately dispatched to his residence. According to the
Department of Justice, Caluori was armed with multiple weapons, making his
threat not only credible, but viable.
"This case had all the troubling ingredients: threats of
violence and explosive devices, multiple weapons with hundreds of rounds and
even brandishing of a weapon at law enforcement," said U. S. Attorney Jenny A.
Durkan. Caluori was subsequently arrested and charged in federal court with
making a threat against the president and assault of a federal agent. If
convicted, he could face up to 25 years in prison. He is scheduled to appear in
federal court in Seattle Monday for a detention hearing.
Recent national events are a stark reminder that the Secret
Service has to take these threats of death or violence seriously. While the
Secret Service says they take every threat against the president seriously, not
all will end in arrest. Threats will come our way from high school students,
even junior high school students in the way of prank type calls. There are
threats on Twitter and on Facebook and other social sites that allow such
comments, but they have to look at them all. People need to know that any type
of threat against the president is a violation of federal law.
The Secret Service says that many of those who make such threats
are mentally ill, and it is the goal of the Secret Service to find them help. It
can be "sobering," they said, when agents show up at their door
.
.
According to the Secret Service, the president is the most
threatened person in the U.S., regardless of political party.
The President is not made aware of all threats against him,
however, because as the Secret Service says, "the sheer number would be
overwhelming and, frankly, distracting."
Click on link for full story:
FOX NEWS DUMPS PULITZER PRIZE WINNING REPORTER
Fox News anchor Jon Scott abruptly cut short an interview with Pulitzer Prize winning reporter Thomas Hicks when Hicks told Scott Fox News overhyped the Benghazi, Libya attack and was acting like a shill for the Republican Party.
Hicks, who has seen personally many military attacks and protests, told Scott that Fox News was wrong about much of what they have been reporting.
Scott immediately cut off the interview after 90 seconds and dismissed Hicks in an awkward moment.
For the record, Fox News has been telling their viewers a series of lies about the attack on the Benghazi, Libya compound that cost the lives of U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
For the past month, Fox News has been taking out of context what Susan Rice, U.S. Ambassador to the UN, told five different networks about the attack when she had made it clear she was only presenting the "talking points" given to her by the CIA.
Fox News has become the laughing stock of the world of journalism and shouldn't even be considered a legitimate news organization, but instead a propaganda branch of the GOP.
To see the video and read more, click on this link: http://tiny.cc/gj5eow