Refresh Tag(s): Afghanistan; Military; Oppression; Rape; Taliban
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March 5, 2010 at 11:09:48Promoted to Headline (H3) on 3/5/10:
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1-2-3 What Are We Fighting For? This?
By Dave Lindorff (about the author) Page 1 of 2 page(s)
For OpEdNews: Dave Lindorff - Writer
By Dave Lindorff
The stated goal of the US-led War in Afghanistan, according to the Obama Administration, is to defeat the Taliban and establish a stable democratic government over the entire country. Critical to that goal is establishing a professional Afghan army and police force that is not corrupt, and that has the respect of the Afghan people.
But reports out of Canada suggest that far from creating such a military and police force, the so-called International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) is turning a blind eye to the thuggish criminality of those organizations, both to avoid growing opposition in ISAF member countries, and to avoid offending those organizations in Afghanistan.
The issue in question is routine rape and sodomy of children by Afghan soldiers and police operating on Canadian-run bases in the Kandahar region.
As reported last fall in the Ottawa Citizen newspaper, Canadian military chaplins and some soldiers have been complaining as far back as 2006 that Afghan security forces have been sodomizing young boys on their base. These military whistle-blowers charge that the military brass has been ignoring or burying their complaints, fearing the bad publicity they could generate.
The paper reports that Canadian military police have also complained, as reported by Brig.-Gen. J.C. Collin, commander of Land Force Central Area, that they were being told "not to interfere in incidents in which Afghan forces were having sex with children."
According to the paper, the Canadian military command has argued that, even though sex with children is against the law in Afghanistan, the practice is culturally accepted and that the Canadian forces "should not get involved in what should be seen as a "cultural' issue."
Makes you wonder what other "cultural" issues involving Afghan security forces that the Western occupiers might not want to get involved in. Perhaps the oppression of women? That's certainly part of the culture. How about bribery and extortion? Based on the evidence--that the police in Afghanistan are a wholly corrupt entity, and that the army is not much better--arguing that corruption is "culturally acceptable" would be easy to do. How about drug dealing? Again, that appears to be quite the culture in Afghanistan.
Kudos to the Canadian grunts, MPs and chaplins who found the sexual abuse of children more than they could stomach, and who brought their concerns to public attention at home in Canada when their own commanders sought to cover it up.
It makes me wonder, though, why here in the hyper-moralizing US, we haven't heard a peep from our troops about similar behavior by Afghan forces on US-run bases.
It's hard to believe that a practice so common on a Canadian base that it provoked such outrage among Canadian soldiers is not also occurring elsewhere.
This leaves us with two possiblities:
US soldiers and marines are just not as willing to go outside the chain of command and go public with their complaints, or
The US media are not interested in investigating this kind of story. It involves only Afghans, and who cares about Afghans? What American journalism covers is Americans. (Remember the big spate of stories about the sex escapades of guards at the US embassy in Kabul?)
I'd say it's probably a combination of the two.
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Dave Lindorff's writing is available at www.thiscantbehappening.net. He is a columnist for Counterpunch, is author of several recent books ("This Can't Be Happening! Resisting the Disintegration of (more...)
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(Or you can set your preferences to show all comments, always)Any military that by Archie on Friday, Mar 5, 2010 at 3:04:19 PMAccomplices by Teresa Pasch on Friday, Mar 5, 2010 at 6:19:58 PMFreedom To Sodomise. by Eddy Schmid on Friday, Mar 5, 2010 at 10:23:00 PMGood reporting-Cointelpro redux by JohnPeebles on Friday, Mar 5, 2010 at 11:46:39 PM
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Saturday, March 6, 2010
OpEdNews - Article: 1-2-3 What Are We Fighting For? This?
OpEdNews - Article: Michael Moore: There's Going to be a Second Crash (And Glenn Beck Can F--k Off)
Refresh Tag(s): Crashes; Glenn Beck; Government; Michael Moore; Politicians
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March 5, 2010 at 11:34:23 Promoted to Headline (H3) on 3/5/10:Michael Moore: There's Going to be a Second Crash (And Glenn Beck Can F--k Off)
By Cenk Uygur (about the author) Page 1 of 1 page(s)
For OpEdNews: Cenk Uygur - Writer
We interviewed Michael Moore on The Young Turks today and he was not shy about sharing his opinions. Anyone surprised? He had very strong words for the Democratic Party, the state of our political system and Glenn Beck.
What he thinks of Democrats and Republicans:
You know, I tell you, these Democrats are disgusting. Wimps and wusses and weasels. You know, get some spine. This is why I have to admire the Republicans. They at least stand for something. They at least have the courage of their convictions. They get elected to office, they come into town, and they go "Get outta my way, there's a new sheriff in town. This is the way we're doing things. Get outta here." And then they do it. You know. I mean what they do is crazy. But dammit, they are good at it. We should take a page out of their book.Can we fix the broken political and economic system in America?It's not going to get fixed. There's going to be another crash. The commercial real estate bubble hasn't burst yet. That's going to burst. The credit card debt is so huge right now, it will never be repaid. That's a house of cards waiting to fall. So the crash of '08 is going to look like coming attractions. And we're in for a much, much worse time.What he would have said to Glenn Beck if he was in Van Jones place:f*#k off! That's what I would have said. But again, you mentioned Glenn Beck, and of course, he's the guy that's called for my removal from the planet Earth, so...Watch the whole interview here:Read full transcript here. There's one thing you know about Michael Moore, he's going to come strong. Unfortunately, I share his pessimism about the system. But I believe there is hope at the end of that tunnel. And as corny as it sounds, that hope is with the American people. We have to stop letting corporate interests buy our politicians and government officials. Make a change.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cenk-uygur
Cenk Uygur is host of The Young Turks, the first ever live, daily web television talk show. The Young Turks are on XM/Sirius Satellite Radio 8-9PM ET on XM 167. The Young Turks is one of the Top 100 You Tube Partners, with over 13 million views a (more...)
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5 comments To view all comments:(Or you can set your preferences to show all comments, always)Nothing is as it seems by P. Orin Zack on Friday, Mar 5, 2010 at 2:20:50 PMLet the monster crash. by daveys on Friday, Mar 5, 2010 at 3:56:54 PMThe question is by GLloyd Rowsey on Friday, Mar 5, 2010 at 8:32:22 PMMoore Mohr More by Denise Hubbard on Saturday, Mar 6, 2010 at 1:06:02 AMCheckmated by Perry Logan on Saturday, Mar 6, 2010 at 6:07:57 AM
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he said fuck!
OpEdNews - Article: Mainstream Media FAIL with Overhyped Coverage of Control Tower Kids
By Richard Wise (about the author) Page 1 of 2 page(s)
For OpEdNews: Richard Wise - Writer
The week of February 15 was a vacation week for many New York City school children. So on Tuesday and Wednesday, two city elementary school students went to work with their Dad. They saw how their father makes his living and, under Dad's watchful eye, even got to talk to some of his customers.
That would be a great story of parent-child togetherness, hardly worth a second glance at a busy national news desk unless the editor wanted to close with a short human-interest piece.
But there was one hitch: Dad was an air-traffic controller at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. And his customers were pilots in the cockpits of outbound commercial jets. That changed everything.
Air traffic controller Glenn Duffy, 48, had taken his nine-year-old twins to work on two separate days that week, and on each day let the child transmit a few routine instructions to departing flights. The incident came to the media's attention thanks to a person listening to control tower conversations on www.LiveATC.net.
And what exactly did these kids say? Here's a recap of one child's calls on February 17th:
Around 5:50 PM "AirMex 403 cleared for takeoff."
A few minutes later "AirMex 403 contact departure " adios!"Around 6:57 PM "JetBlue 195 contact departure " adios amigo!"
Around 7:31 PM "JetBlue 171 cleared for takeoff."
A few minutes later "JetBlue 171 contact departure."That's it five routine calls, under supervision, in an hour an forty-five minutes. The pilots certainly seemed to enjoy talking to their young interlocutors: "Awesome job!" one told a youngster. "Adios, amigo," said another. One pilot told the dad, "I wish I could bring my kids to work!"
It was all innocuous enough until the mainstream media got hold of the story and fashioned it into an event worthy of international news headlines 1,792 headlines, to be exact. That took some doing and the media did it.
"JFK Tower Allowed Kids to Direct Air Traffic" and "Double Trouble: Two Children Took to JFK Controls" blared MSNBC on March 3rd, two weeks after the fact. "Child In Air Traffic Control Tower "Not Acceptable'" CNN bawled the same day.
CNN mashed the transmissions into a 90-second report, commingled them, and even sprinkled in a few conversations in which no child was involved, to make it sound like the kids were juggling multiple flights on several runways almost simultaneously.
"Countdown" stand-in Lawrence O'Donnell filed a breathless 2-minute report on the incident, with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood calling the incident "outrageous." LaHood bloviated that it showed a "total disregard for the safety of the people on the airplane."
One commentator asked gravely, "What if the pilot did not understand because it was a child's voice?" She must think commercial airline pilots are automatons or dolts. Well, Madame, what would you do if you did not understand, "Cleared for takeoff"? You would not take off!
From the distorted, misleading, and hyperbolic coverage in the mainstream media, one might have thought Kennedy Airport had been overrun by a passel of pint-sized jihadists bent on taking down the US transportation system.
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Rick Wise is an industrial psychologist and retired management consultant. For 15 years, he was managing director of ValueNet International, Inc. Before starting ValueNet, Rick was director, corporate training and, later, director, corporate (more...)
Social Media Use Among Teens, Boomers and Moms: New Studies Reveal Great Insight | Social Media Examiner
Social Media Differences Among Teens, Boomers and Moms: New Study Findings
By Amy Porterfield
Published March 5, 2010
Relationship building via social media marketing is not a one-size-fits all endeavor. Moms, teens and Baby Boomers are three big social media subgroups groups that are unique.
Just like with traditional marketing, the more you know your audience, the more successful you will be at grabbing their attention and keeping it.
In terms of marketing opportunities, recent online buzz shows teens, Boomers and moms as three of the most desirable social networking groups. They are active on these sites and their behaviors have been studied closely.
Each group is unique, and the secret to success is understanding where they are spending their time and how they are using the social sites to engage and connect.
According to The Nielsen Company, global consumers spent more than 5.5 hours on social networking sites in December 2009. In December 2008, users were only spending about 3 hours on the same sites. That’s an increase of 82% in just one year.
Along with the data on overall social media usage, current studies have come out that focus on three major demographics. Here’s insight into the social media usage of teens, Boomers and moms.
Teens Blog Less, but Use Social Media More (Pew Research Center)
Recent surveys from Pew provide insight on social media usage among teens and young adults. The 37-page report highlights the attitudes and behaviors of people 18 to 29 years old (Millennial generation).
Here’s a snapshot of some of the key findings:
Social Networking: As can be expected, online social activity is highest for teens and young adults. The data shows that nearly 72% of young adults and teens use social networking sites, compared to 40% of adults 30 and older. This is expected as younger people tend to be digitally savvy and socially connected online.
Social Sites: The sites teens and young adults are spending time on differ from those of adults. The younger audiences are much more inclined to use MySpace (66% of young profile owners have an account, compared to 36% of adults). The same younger group is much less likely to have a LinkedIn profile, with only 7% participating in this career-oriented site, compared to 19% of adults. Most interesting are the similarities in Facebook activity among the groups. 71% of the younger generation actively maintain a Facebook profile and 75% of the older generation maintain one as well. Once again, Facebook always seems to come out above the rest in terms of social media adoption and engagement.
Blogging: 14% of teens say they blog, compared to 28% in 2006. Fifty-two percent of teen social network users report commenting on friends’ blogs, down from the 76% who did in 2006. Pew offers one explanation, “As the tools and technology embedded in social networking sites change and use of the sites continue to grow, youth may be exchanging macro-blogging for microblogging.”
Twitter: Twitter is a unique exception to most of the other data on teens and adults. The data points out that teens have not been drawn to Twitter as they have to Facebook and MySpace. This is the one area that teens do not dominate usage over adults. Ten percent of online teens ages 14-17 and only 5% of those ages 12-13 use the tool. Here’s another interesting stat: 13% of high school girls and only 7% of boys the same age use Twitter.
This report is extensive and offers insight into many more areas of online activity. It’s definitely worth the read.
Baby Boomers Take on Social Networking (eMarketer)
A recent report by eMarketer looked at the social network usage of multiple generations. They broke up the generations as follows: Millennials (14-26), Generation X (27-43), Boomers (44-62), and Matures (63-75).
Some of the most interesting data focused on Baby Boomers and their major jump in social media activity from just 2008 to 2009.
Forty-six percent of Boomer respondents said they maintained a social network profile (compared to 30% in 2007, according to a recent Deloitte study).
Here’s the breakdown on 3 popular social sites:
Facebook:
- Baby Boomers using Facebook increased 107% from 2008 to 2009
- 73% of Boomers maintain a Facebook profile
- 90% of Matures maintain a Facebook profile (That number comes as a surprise considering it was the highest of all generations.)
Twitter:
- Twitter usage jumped 714% from 2008 to 2009
- 13% of Boomers maintain a Twitter account
- 17% of Matures maintain a Twitter account (again, higher than the Boomers!)
LinkedIn:
- 13% of Boomers
- 4% of Matures
“Boomers expect that technology will help them live longer and better lives and keep them connected to family, friends, co-workers and, eventually, healthcare providers,” said Lisa E. Phillips, eMarketer senior analyst. “To fulfill these expectations, Boomers are turning to social media, where they keep up their offline social connections and make new ones. Online marketing messages that help them build on their connections—and foster other online relationships—will get their interest.”
Tech-Savvy Moms Increase Social Media Use by 462% and Favor Facebook Most
According to a study by BabyCenter, LLC, the number of moms who use social media regularly has jumped 462% since 2006. In addition, 44% use social media for word-of-mouth recommendations on brands and products and 73% feel they find trustworthy information about products and services through niche online communities (parenting, groceries, family, etc.).
In addition, data from lucid marketing and Lisa Finn found a whopping 96.3% of the moms surveyed said they used Facebook to keep in touch with friends and family while only 10.4% said they focused on checking out companies or products while on social networking sites. The good news was that moms were more receptive to marketing in general, a big plus for companies marketing in this space.
Here are some facts to keep in mind when marketing to moms on Facebook:
- 75% are Facebook fans of at least one company or brand
- 16% of mom Facebook users followed more than 10 companies’ fan pages
- 59.9% of moms feel neutral about Facebook ads, while 36% actively dislike them
- Their favorite pages focus on parenting info, and pages focused on coupons, restaurants, groceries and entertainment (kid-oriented entertainment being the most popular).
“Facebook is fertile ground for marketers to engage mothers and drive sales, but it needs to be done on their terms,” said Kevin Burke, president of lucid marketing, in a statement. “They have no time for brands that don’t ‘get it,’ but they do embrace brands that play by their rules.”
Now it’s your turn!
Do you market specifically to any of these three groups online? If so, does the data support your experiences or is it missing something? What other groups do you think marketers should start paying more attention to in the near future? I’d like to hear from you. Please comment below.
Tags: baby boomers, blogging, boomers, digitally savvy, emarketer, facebook, generation x, global consumers, linkedin, lisa finn, lucid marketing, macro blogging, marketing opportunities, matures, micro blogging, millennial generation, momsn new studies, multiple generations, myspace, online buzz, pew, pew research center, relationship building, social media activity, social media marketing, social media research, social media studies, social media usage, social network profile, social networking groups, social networking sites, social sites, socially connected, tech savvy moms, teens, The Nielsen Company, traditional marketing, twiter, word of mouth recommendations
OpEdNews - Article: The 'Mumia Exception' - Explaining Injustice
By Linn Washington (about the author) Page 1 of 3 page(s)
For OpEdNews: Linn Washington - Writer
Two inmates on Pennsylvania's death row raise the same issue on appeal blatant misconduct by prosecutors and police yet Pa's Supreme Court issues different rulings in these respective cases.
The Pa Supreme Court released Jay C. Smith directly from his death row cell, ruling the misconduct by prosecutors and police so "egregious" that retrying Smith for murdering a school teacher and her two children would violate fair trial protections in Pa's state Constitution.
However, in appeals from convicted Philadelphia cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal, Pa's highest court repeatedly rejects solid evidence of wrongdoing by prosecutors and police despite that misconduct being more extensive than misconduct in Smith'scase.
Why, people wonder worldwide, does Mumia Abu-Jamal remain imprisoned when mounds of evidence unearthed since his 1982 trial undermine all aspects of the controversial conviction that sent this acclaimed journalist to death row?
The answer to this justice denying/logic defying question is simple: "The Mumia Exception."
This "Mumia Exception" is the phrase devised to describe the practice repeatedly employed by state and federal courts to strip Abu-Jamal of the same legal relief those courts extend to other inmates raising the same legal issue when challenging violations of their legal rights.
Jurists bending and/or breaking the bedrock American legal principal of equal justice under the law is the driving dynamic of "The Mumia Exception."
This "Exception" explains how Pa's Supreme Court in the Smith case castigated authorities for illegally withholding evidence crucial to the high school principal's defense while that court constantly refuses to criticize any of the misconduct that crippled Abu-Jamal's defense.
The fact that courts including the U.S. Supreme Court have consistently upheld the conviction of the world's most recognized death row denizen is a key argument advanced by persons backing Abu-Jamal's execution when countering claims of his innocence.
Execution advocates reject "The Mumia Exception" as the reason why courts uphold Abu-Jamal's conviction despite the fact that dismissing the role of the "Exception" requires embracing scenarios that defy statistics and common sense.
For example, Philadelphia and Pennsylvania appellate courts overturned 86 Philadelphia death penalty convictions between Abu-Jamal's December 1981 arrest and October 2009 after finding various errors by prosecutors, police, defense attorneys and even judges including the judge at Abu-Jamal's trial.
Yet, those same courts declare that not a single error evidentiary or procedural exists anywhere in the contentious Abu-Jamal case a statistically improbable circumstance.
Pa and federal courts have even brushed aside credible evidence that on the eve of Abu-Jamal's 1982 trial the presiding judge, Albert Sabo, declared he would help prosecutors "fry the Nigger" an odious admission oozing racial bigotry and lack of impartiality clearly violating Abu-Jamal's constitutionally guaranteed fair trial rights.
The twin pillars of this "Mumia Exception" are: courts refusing to apply their established legal rulings (precedent) to Abu-Jamal's appeals; and/or courts creating new legal standards to sabotage Abu-Jamal's appeals.
Linn Washington Jr. is a veteran investigative journalist who writes regularly on issues involving the criminal justice system, the news media, race-&-racism, constitutional rights and the Mumia Abu-Jamal case. He is passionate about examining (more...)
THE ROOF IS ON FIRE!
COINTELPRO: THE NAKED TRUTH FBI Domestic Intelligence Activities
Have You Thought Of Leonard Peltier Lately? by Harvey Arden
In the Spirit of Crazy Horse by Peter Matthiessen
Prison Writings: My Life Is My Sun Dance by Leonard Peltier
The Trial of Leonard Peltier by Jim Messerschmidt
Blogspot: Friends of Peltier: The 'Mumia Exception' - Explaining Injustice
we are three...
Nashville,TN: Social Serivces Uses Federal Funds to pay for MDHA Errors
Nashville, Tennessee.
MDHA pays thousands in rent unaware that the tenant has been homeless for four months, because and legal aid refuses to provide assistance to assist client with disability resources.
Social service worker and and state employee becomes homeless after being evicted from a federally funded housing facility.
Federal funds prove more costly for the state as the number of homeless increase in Tennessee. Federal Stimulus Funds are not allocated for job training or social services to prevent homelessness.
Loses job as a substitute teacher in Metro Nashville after Legal Aid fails to provide a referal or pro-bono assistance for to assist with eviction proceedings, court costs, re-employement, access to transportation and job training for community access programs and services for people wit disabilities.
My name is Elyssa.
Nashville,TN: Social Serivces Uses Federal Funds to pay for MDHA Errors
Nashville, Tennessee.
MDHA pays thousands in rent unaware that the tenant has been homeless for four months, because and legal aid refuses to provide assistance to assist client with disability resources.
Social service worker and and state employee becomes homeless after being evicted from a federally funded housing facility.
Federal funds prove more costly for the state as the number of homeless increase in Tennessee. Federal Stimulus Funds are not allocated for job training or social services to prevent homelessness.
Loses job as a substitute teacher in Metro Nashville after Legal Aid fails to provide a referal or pro-bono assistance for to assist with eviction proceedings, court costs, re-employement, access to transportation and job training for community access programs and services for people wit disabilities.
My name is Elyssa.
