A Bracelet Can Be Removed

This report just aired on CBS Evening News:

Woman wears POW/MIA bracelet for nearly 40 years

March 7, 2011 - Kathy Strong was 12 years old when she put on a bracelet to keep vigil for a solider missing in Vietnam -- now it's time for her to take it off



While the war raged in Vietnam, POW/MIA bracelets were all the rage. The metal bracelets, sold by the millions, each bore the name of a soldier who was either still a prisoner in Vietnam, or missing in action.

CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman reports the idea was to wear the bracelet and only take it off your wrist when your Veteran came home.

They were very popular with kids. In 1972, when she was 12-years-old, Kathy Strong got a bracelet in her Christmas stocking.

"I was really excited," Strong said. "I read the paper that came with it. And I just thought. I'm going to keep it on until he comes home."

Strong, now 50, still remembers the name: James Moreland. Moreland was a Green Beret who'd been stationed in Lang Vei.

Moreland went missing in the winter of 1968 after the enemy over took his position. At the time, no one knew much more than that - so Kathy remained optimistic.

"They showed footage of the soldiers coming off the planes, and I always thought wherever he's flying into I'm going to be there and I'm going to give him my bracelet and I'm going to put it on his arm. That's how I always pictured it," Strong said. "But that wasn't meant to be." {continued}

As a Vietnam veteran, Navy '67-'71 All Shore GMG3 Vietnam '70-'71 last of my four years of service, I have worn a POW/MIA bracelet not starting as I came home but when we were trying to help in getting the OK for the Vietnam Memorial, The Wall, built on the Mall in DC. I choose not to just wear one of a brother lost that came from the same community as myself but to let them send me one at random, this is the name and information I've had on my wrist all these years:



ELLIS ERNEST AUSTIN

CDR - O5 - Navy - Regular

His tour began on Apr 21, 1966
Casualty was on Jun 19, 1975
In , NORTH VIETNAM
Hostile, died while missing, FIXED WING - CREW
AIR LOSS, CRASH ON LAND
Body was not recovered

Panel 06E - Line 125

This Navy brother has yet to return, as I still have the bracelet on my right hand wrist, name can't be read anymore, but I know it's still etched within!

Gates on New Military Commission Charges

Statement by Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Resumption of Military Commission Charges

March 07, 2011 - “I have today rescinded my prior order suspending the filing of new military commission charges. I issued the prior order to permit the new administration time to conduct a comprehensive review of the status of each Guantanamo detainee. That review is now complete. In addition, there have been a number of key reforms to military commissions brought about by the Military Commissions Act of 2009 and other efforts. I also support the other initiatives announced today. In addition to bringing detainees to justice in reformed military commissions, I believe that it is important that we maintain the option of prosecuting alleged terrorists in federal courts in the United States. For reasons of national security, we must have available to us all the tools that exist for preventing and combating international terrorist activity, and protecting our nation. For years, our federal courts have proven to be a secure and effective means for bringing terrorists to justice. To completely foreclose this option is unwise and unnecessary.”

I assume, as this is the only thing coming up at DoD, he's talking about this: The Manual for Military Commissions a 238pdf.

The Great Stagnation:

Earlier today I posted up an article I found on one of my sites, this one related to the Green Economic growth going on mostly everywhere but here in the U.S., though here we are finally doing some things. I was going to leave it at that posting but low and behold I started streaming NPR and caught a related short interview with an author that wasn't directly related to Green but was about what we once had as an economy here in the States, which gives me the title.

For those who were born and grew up during or after World War II you know what we once had and once were envied for, think of the extremely cheap and poorly made products found on the store shelves back in your childhood days and as you grew into your workforce professions. Those expanding economic and middle class growth days filled our first half of life, the second half, if paying attention to what was happening to our folks or friends or relatives, we gave that all away to those who once produced the extremely cheap and poorly made.

This was that first article and what I quickly wrote in a lead in:

Not only are many joining the move in advancing, economically and technology, that which the U.S. once was the leader in up till some thirty years ago, the new developments in the needed technologies, tools, materials and other products will mostly be produced by others then the U.S., they've already started and are rapidly taking the lead. Environment is a main lead in the need for advancing but there are many other just as important benefits to be gained, as there always has been from world societies moving forward.

Global market for green building materials set to expand to us$406 billion by 2015

March 5, 2011 - A growing demand for green building material has been noted in the regional real estate industry. This is driven by the increasing stress on implementation of green building standards by local governments and civil authorities.

Concern about the impact the construction industry has on the local environment and a realization of the need for sustainable development has fuelled a drive to align the construction industry to green building standards. This perceptible shift in the construction industry is expected to be reflected at Hardware+Tools Middle East 2011 – the only dedicated trade event for the hardware, tools, machinery and construction material in the Middle East.

According to recent research, the global market for green building material is expected to be worth US$406 billion by 2015, driven largely by environmental consciousness, high energy costs, and the understanding that green buildings contribute to long-term benefits such as improved efficiency, cost savings and higher production. As costs of green building materials drop, they are becoming increasingly popular the world over.*

“The push to conform with global best practices in sustainable real estate development is gathering pace in the Middle East,” said Ahmed Pauwels, Chief Executive Officer of organiser Epoc Messe Frankfurt. “As construction majors look to decrease their carbon footprint and adopt environmentally-friendly building methods, the demand for green building material is quickly gathering pace,” he added. {continued}

I placed it in an open thread as well on kos and came back with a reply to the replies about the Green Economy here:

It was pushed down before, some thirty plus years ago I was involved in many solar installations, some you can still see on homes etc. who knows if they're still hooked up, but the same that are leading the denying now, corporate interests, were the same pushing it out before, yet it slowly continued.

That was the start of our losing the once leadership we had and yes again envied for, shortly after we started losing trades, innovations from and experience in while sending all that to those who were the ones who did that envy as they tried to copy what we had.

The trouble now is the misuse of the 'global warming' meme to beat down the obvious advancements we used to do just to perfect the society a tad or more more!

You see this isn't just about 'global warming' or better 'climate change', the reality, that's the hopefully big and obvious results from, but there are not only many many more possible and propabal results in many area's just think if we had kept on advancing on the earlier attempts for cleaner energy etc. and were doing so here, producing the products, perfecting those products and developing new, all these years. But we like to talk now and let others do.

We used to make and then perfect products and services. You should have seen the washing machine, no dryer, we had as kids. Look what we got now that were perfected here but mostly others now make. Or how about the early refrigirators, same as that I just wrote. How about those earlier black and white TV's, same again, and on and on and on.

This is what was just on NPR this morning:

Misconception: Can U.S. Economy Grow Indefinitely?

March 7, 2011 - Economist Tyler Cowen in his book ”The Great Stagnation: How America Ate All The Low-Hanging Fruit of Modern History,Got Sick, and Will (Eventually) Feel Better”, argues that U.S. economic growth largely plateaued in the 1970s. He tells Renee Montagne the resources that fueled the country's progress over the last 300 years are largely gone, and expectations need to be readjusted.

We no longer have many of the trades that we developed, which led to innovations and perfecting, after World War II, we shipped those mostly oversea's and they now have the experiences to develop and perfect the needs of us human animals, just look around you, not much you own came directly from here and if so they probably are foreign owned companies on this soil.

Look as you drive by or are near new construction projects, how many American tradesmen and women do you see, I worked in those trades for over forty years, much of that work is now done by hard working, but cheaper labor cost, by the way as a construction tradesman my wages and benefits have stagnated the past some thirty years as have the labels of what we once were, no longer professionals but skilled labor, immigrants some coming here illegally. Your homes, your stores, your office buildings, we gave away and are still doing so the trades, the years of experience, the jobs, to others and that isn't only happening in construction but across the board right here on this soil, they now have and are developing the experiences and do the work we need done.

Private capital, i.e. reaganomics, was and is a con and is not being invested here. If we don't force that issue, best way would be taxation with more public investment, we keep taking this country down to levels not seen before as others lead and pass us by.

The private sector is destroying this country and everything it once was or could have been!

A Goodwill Returns to War-Torn Afghanistan

Angelina Jolie, UN goodwill ambassador, returns to war-torn Afghanistan

March 07, 2011 - Angelina Jolie made a surprise return visit on Wednesday to Afghanistan as part of her work as a goodwill ambassador for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The 35-year old Hollywood actress first visited the war-torn country in 2008. Jolie met with refugees who were displaced by the war in Afghanistan.

She met school girls in Qala Gudar village just outside Kabul, where she is sponsoring a new school. The students received educational materials during Jolie’s visit.

Angelina Jolie also issued a statement calling for additional services to be provided for the refugees.

“The focus needs to be put now on reintegration and that means not just putting up shelter but making sure there is water, job opportunities, a school for the children and medical clinics,” she wrote in her statement. She warned of “a continued cycle of instability and new crises” if long-term needs are not met. {continued}

"The Wrong War"

Bing West's "The Wrong War," on Afghanistan strategy

March 4, 2011 - In a new book about the war in Afghanistan, distinguished military affairs writer Bing West argues that hazy objectives, bad political assumptions and a long strategic muddle have burned away whatever structure of success American grunts have built on the battlefield. In this telling, tactical excellence and the considerable courage of frontline troops are forever being rendered nugatory by failed leadership.

West spreads the blame widely, but finds a failure of political culture at the heart of the problem. Endlessly engaged in euphemism and rhetorical triangulation, American generals and politicians insist on a story in which war isn't war, and doesn't center on killing. Official doctrine instead declares that professional warriors are engaged in a nation-building strategy "to serve and secure the population," a focus that West argues has "transformed the military into a giant Peace Corps."

Few leaders are spared. Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, pronounces that "we can't kill our way to victory" in a counterinsurgency. West's judgment: "That was political drivel." He writes that "the senior ranks were determined to sell counterinsurgency as benevolent nation building," a politically motivated story that promised to minimize domestic opposition.

While he speaks poorly of most military leaders, West argues that the "political drivel" started at the top. Former President George W. Bush "proclaimed his messianic belief that all peoples desired freedom, regardless of the cultural context," wading into war without a clear idea of what it would entail. As a result of this unrealistic organizing vision, the Bush administration "did not have a coherent strategy and was riven by internal dissension." The effective prosecution of a war requires that it be organized with achievable objectives that grow from realistic expectations. Here was the first in a long string of failures. {continued}

Enviro. Concerns Will Drive Demand For Green Building Materials

Not only are many joining the move in advancing, economically and technology, that which the U.S. once was the leader in up till some thirty years ago, the new developments in the needed technologies, tools, materials and other products will mostly be produced by others then the U.S., they've already started and are rapidly taking the lead. Environment is a main lead in the need for advancing but there are many other just as important benefits to be gained, as there always has been from world societies moving forward.

Global market for green building materials set to expand to us$406 billion by 2015

March 5, 2011 - A growing demand for green building material has been noted in the regional real estate industry. This is driven by the increas-ing stress on implementation of green building standards by local governments and civil authorities.

Concern about the impact the construction industry has on the local environment and a realisation of the need for sustainable development has fuelled a drive to align the construction industry to green building standards. This perceptible shift in the con-struction industry is expected to be reflected at Hardware+Tools Middle East 2011 – the only dedicated trade event for the hardware, tools, machinery and construction material in the Middle East.

According to recent research, the global market for green building material is expected to be worth US$406 billion by 2015, driven largely by environmental consciousness, high energy costs, and the understanding that green buildings contribute to long-term benefits such as improved efficiency, cost savings and higher production. As costs of green building materials drop, they are becoming increasingly popular the world over.*

“The push to conform with global best practices in sustainable real estate development is gathering pace in the Middle East,” said Ahmed Pauwels, Chief Executive Officer of organiser Epoc Messe Frankfurt. “As construction majors look to decrease their carbon footprint and adopt environmentally-friendly building methods, the demand for green building material is quickly gathering pace,” he added. {continued}

Agent Orange: "Seed of Hope"

Sowing seeds of hope in Vietnam

Founder of the "Seed of Hope" scholarship for Vietnamese child victims of Agent Orange, Masako Sakata was brought face-to-face with the problem in a very personal way when her American husband died suddenly from cancer in 2003. A friend told her that it may have been his exposure to Agent Orange during his military service in the Vietnam War that ultimately led to his death.

Although 36 years have passed since the end of the war, the tragedy continues for many children in Vietnam who are born with congenital disabilities caused by Agent Orange, which was used by the U.S. military.

Touched by their plight, Sakata, 63, wanted such children to be able to have dreams for the future and so set up the Seed of Hope Scholarship.

Following a visit to Vietnam, she made a documentary in 2007 titled "Hana wa Doko e Itta? (Where have all the flowers gone)--Agent Orange: A Personal Requiem." Although it was her directorial debut, the film received several awards.

The funds that she raised at screenings of the movie were used in various ways to support victims of Agent Orange in Vietnam.

One day, a young Vietnamese girl told Sakata that she wanted to become a doctor so she could help victims like herself. This prompted her to establish the scholarship. {continued}

Get on Your Tractor and Ride to Madison

They got Themselves a Convoy!!

{Hey they don't have one for tractors, or do they, if so put it up, if not someone with talent quickly write one!!}

This site, and message, just popped up on FaceBook and many are joining in even if only in spirit for most. But hey if you're in that region and can make the run, join in.

Join the Farmer Labor Tractorcade

What's it about:

Time Saturday, March 12 · 12:00pm - 2:00pm

Location The Capitol, Madison WI

More Info

Next week, farmers from across the dairyland will bring tractors and solidarity to the WI capitol to fight for labor rights and a just state budget. Rural communities will be disproportionately hurt by the cuts to education and badgercare, and farmers in Wisconsin stand with state workers, and all working and middle class families in the state. The event is sponsored by Family Farm Defenders, Wisconsin Farmers Union and Land Stewardship project. All farmers and eaters welcome and encouraged to come!
If you have a tractor and would like to join in the tractorcade please contact John Peck at Family Farm Defenders - (608) 260-0900; familyfarmdefenders@yahoo.com

Just a few of the comments on the front page when I visited:

This awesome! I feel like decorating my lawn tractor and driving from Pa to Wisconsin to support those folks! I will be there in spirit and cheering everyone on!! YOU GO WISCONSIN! WISCONSIN ROCKS!!!

Thank you farmers of the great state of Wisconsin! You rock. My teacher husband and our family will be there to see this amazing show of support and solid-dairy! In my plea for sanity in Wisconsin; I have referred to the work ethics, fiscal responsiblility and community mindedness of my grandfather who was a farmer. This is so awesome. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

Just a quick thought for Family Farm Defenders - make sure there is time for the tractors to be parked so people who have never been on a farm can come up and talk to the farmers about their lives and how they will be affected.

Well, if the ol' Gov. Walker thinks the union workers, police, fire and teachers are hanging tough, wait till he meets the farmers. Wonder if he's ever seen a real one before?

Ya see there little noisy teabaggers, this is called 'GrassRoots' not corporate financed, not a 24/7 channel of free advertising, and not corporate media parrots!!

You Go Wisconson, Rolling Thunder of Farm Tractors, Farmers and All the Supporters who can be there with Ya!!

How Many Iraqi's Were Killed?

We will never have any type of full accountability of the deaths of the civilians in Iraq as to the invasion and long occupation, still ongoing, what we do know is the possibility of tens of thousands killed, tens of thousands maimed, unknown numbers of physiological damaged Iraqi's living in the death and destruction of almost daily 9/11's especially in the cities destroyed, millions made into refugee's both inside the country and to neighboring countries and beyond, a country totally destroyed and changed forever! Done In Our Names!

WikiLeaks analysis suggests hundreds of thousands of unrecorded Iraqi deaths

Les Roberts, 05 March 2011 - Imagine that the New York Times revealed that five Senators were known to be taking bribes from a particular corporation. Some days later the Washington Post runs a story saying they had independent sources suggesting that four Senators were taking bribes from that same corporation but goes on to state that this was nothing new as the story was already covered, neglecting to mention that three of the four names were different than those previously reported by the Times. This is hard to imagine because eight named Senators in a scandal is not the same as five named Senators, and because healthy competition between papers would tend to point out the information missed by a rival. Yet, this is, at least numerically, what happened following the October 22nd, 2010 release of the Iraq War Logs by WikiLeaks.

The release which supposedly included over 391,000 classified DoD reports described violent events after 2003 including 109,000 deaths, the majority (66,000) being Iraqi civilians. At the time of the release, the most commonly cited figure for civilian casualties came from Iraqbodycount.org (IBC), a group based in England that compiles press and other descriptions of killings in Iraq. In late October, IBC estimated the civilian war death tally to be about 104,000. Virtually all authorities, including IBC themselves, acknowledge that this count must be incomplete, although the fraction missed is debated. The press coverage of the Iraq War Logs release tended to focus on the crude consistency between the number recorded by WikiLeaks, 66,000 since the start of 2004, and the roughly 104,000 recorded deaths from Iraqbodycount since March of 2003. The Washington Post even ran an editorial entitled, “WikiLeaks’s leaks mostly confirm earlier Iraq reporting” concluding that the Iraq War Log reports revealed nothing new. {continued}


Intel Comparison: Unrecorded Iraq War Deaths

GRITtv with guest Michael Moore

Michael Moore: People Still Have the Power
March 1 2011 - "This is a movement that is not going to stop," says filmmaker Michael Moore of the uprising in Madison, Wisconsin (and across the country--all 50 states held solidarity rallies this weekend). "I knew sooner or later people would say they've had enough."

Michael joins Laura in studio for part one of a two-part conversation about the war on working people in America. He notes that it started in 1981 with Reagan's attack on the air traffic controllers, and it's mostly targeted the poor, as with Clinton's welfare reform. But the attacks on middle class families have finally reached a point where people aren't going to take it anymore.

Part Two: Michael Moore: Acknowledging Working People
March 2nd, 2011

"You essentially entered into a contract with the corporate clsss--if you work hard, you will be rewarded. Now it's you work hard, the company prospers, and you lose your job," says Michael Moore. It's time to return to a place where working people are treated with respect and honor in this country, Michael argues, from the Academy Awards to the schools our children attend.

In part two of our special interview with the Oscar-winning filmmaker, Laura chats with him about the solutions to the vast wealth inequality, the good and bad at this year's Oscar ceremony, and why it's important for the Left to remember their sense of humor.

Fox News says teachers overpaid, but not Wall Street

The Daily Show - Crisis in Dairyland - For Richer and Poorer - Teachers and Wall Street
Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Students Grow Ideas To Green Their Schools

Want reality and answers, always go to the intelligent among us, the kids!! Especially in these last decades as the mentality of the adult population has dropped so far and continues, sadly, for far to many!!

National Geographic Challenges Schools To 'Find Your Footprint' And Go Green

03/ 3/11 - In a clear role role reversal, kids across the country are schooling their teachers and communities about reducing waste.

These students have come up with plans to cut down their schools' footprints, with ideas ranging from a waste-free day in the cafeteria to a more eco-friendly cleanup routine in art class.

The schools are competing by earning online votes in order to win five interactive whiteboards, among other prizes, sponsored by National Geographic and Proctor & Gamble.

At The Park School in Massachusetts, a fourth-grade class came up with the Catalog Canceling Challenge, creating a video with instructions on how to cancel unwanted sales catalog in an effort to save trees.

It's become a national effort including kids in 21 states who have canceled 53,000 catalogs, Wicked Local reports. Teacher Ted Wells even shaved his head as a reward. {continued}

Climate Change: The Great Barrier Reef

Testing the Waters

Where has all the color gone? Parts of the Great Barrier Reef have undergone an aesthetic decline, reflecting the dangers from global warming that the vast, fragile ecosystem faces. Photograph by Stephen Dupont for TIME

Mar. 05, 2011 - Shark humor has its time and place, but not when I'm snorkeling somewhere called Shark Bay. At the Heron Island Research Station, a laboratory on the teardrop-shaped atoll 45 miles (72 km) off Australia's east coast, the suntanned, chirpy station manager gives a parting wave to the three students who are taking me out for my first look at the legendary corals of the Great Barrier Reef. "Just don't get eaten, will you?" she says. Ha-ha. Happily, there are no sharks in Shark Bay that morning; in fact, there's not a whole lot of anything. As I follow the students' snorkels, we pass over circular beds of brown, monochromatic coral and empty expanses of rippled sand. A handful of small, glimmering fish hover in the water column, but they're the only life we see during an hour-long swim. Where are the schools of coral trout? The famed Maori wrasse? Wading back to shore, one of the students shrugs: "Sorry there wasn't more."

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the world's natural wonders, covering an area larger than Italy and drawing nearly 2 million tourists every year to boat, swim, snorkel and dive amid its elaborate flora and fauna. It generates some $6 billion in revenue for Australia annually and provides employment to more than 50,000 people. It's also one of the planet's most fragile ecosystems, home to more than 11,000 species that live, if not necessarily in harmony, in a carefully orchestrated symbiotic balance. At the foundation of this giant ecological and commercial enterprise is one tiny marine organism: the coral. (See pictures of the otherworldy flora and fauna of the coral triangle.) {cointinued}

War News Radio: Under Pressure

This week on War News Radio, "Under Pressure." We speak with a blogger and a filmmaker about recent protests in the Iraqi province of Sulaimaniyah. Then, we hear about the February 25th "Day of Rage" in Iraq. Finally, we explore media coverage of the controversy surrounding the arrest of a CIA contractor in Pakistan. But first, a round up of this week's news.

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'Guantanamo North':

Inside Secretive U.S. Prisons

This photo of inmates from the Communications Management Unit in Terre Haute was taken in 2007. Among those pictured are (left to right, bottom row) Ibrahim al-Hamdi, Avon Twitty, Enaam Arnaout.

March 3, 2011 - Part 1 of a two-part series

Reports about what life is like inside the military prison for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay are not uncommon. But very little is reported about two secretive units for convicted terrorists and other inmates who get 24-hour surveillance, right here in the U.S.

M. Spencer Green/AP: The federal prison facility in Terre Haute, Ind., is home to one of the communications management units.

For the first time, an NPR investigation has identified 86 of the more than 100 men who have lived in the special units that some people are calling "Guantanamo North." The Communications Management Units in Terre Haute, Ind., and Marion, Ill., are mostly filled with Muslims. About two-thirds of the inmates identified by NPR are U.S. citizens.

Civil rights groups have filed lawsuits that accuse the U.S. facilities of some of the same due process complaints raised by people at the island prison. {continued}

Part Two on Morning Edition

Don't Beat Me Around the Bush

Episode 41: We first met Clarence Bekker in Europe 5 years ago while we where filming and recording "Stand By Me." We became instant family and have been making music together ever since. This song is one of his original compositions, and we are excited to share it with the world!

"We can't make it here"

Another Front: Djibouti and US Rendition And Torture

A New Front For Accountability Opens Djibouti

March 03, 2011 - The mainstream media in the US may not care about the significance of the Spanish National Court’s recent decision to allow an investigation into torture at Guantánamo to proceed (the story was ignored by both the New York Times and the Washington Post, even though the Center for Constitutional Rights called it “the first real investigation of the US torture program”), but the Washington Post has at least partly made up for this omission by reporting that a new front in the quest for accountability for those who conceived, justified and ordered America’s program of “extraordinary rendition”and torture in the Bush administration’s “War on Terror” has opened up in Djibouti, in the Horn of Africa, where the US maintains a significant military presence at Camp Lemonnier.

On Monday, the Post reported that the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, based at New York University’s School of Law, and Interights, a British human rights law organization, had filed legal documents (PDF) with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, based in the Gambia. Described by the Post as “a quasi-judicial body that has jurisdiction over nations that have ratified the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which includes Djibouti,” the case involves Mohammed al-Asad, a Yemeni who was seized on December 26, 2003 at his home in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, where he had lived since 1985, and was then blindfolded and flown to a secret CIA prison in Djibouti. {continued}

Djibouti and US Rendition And Torture:

Stop Loss Special Pay Applications Extended

Deadline for Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay Applications Extended

March 03, 2011 - The deadline for eligible service members, veterans and their beneficiaries to apply for Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay (RSLSP) has been extended to March 18, 2011, allowing personnel more time to apply for the benefits they’ve earned under the program guidelines.

The deadline extension is included in the continuing resolution signed by President Obama yesterday, providing funding for federal government operations through March 18, 2011.

The RSLSP was established to compensate for the hardships military members encountered when their service was involuntarily extended under Stop Loss Authority between Sept. 11, 2001, and Sept. 30, 2009. Eligible members or their beneficiaries may submit a claim to their respective military service in order to receive the benefit of $500 for each full or partial month served in a Stop Loss status.

When RSLSP began on Oct. 21, 2009, the services estimated 145,000 service members, veterans and beneficiaries were eligible for this benefit. Because the majority of those eligible had separated from the military, the services have engaged in extensive and persistent outreach efforts over the past 14 months. Outreach efforts including direct mail, engaging military and veteran service organizations, social networks and media outlets, will continue through March 18, 2011.

To apply for more information, or to gather more information on RSLSP, including submission requirements and service-specific links, go to Defense.gov Stoploss.

Torture Investigation To Continue

Spanish Court Allows Guantanamo Torture Investigation To Continue

Mar 2nd, 2011 - On Friday, the Spanish National Court (Audiencia Nacional) gave hope to those seeking to hold accountable the Bush administration officials and lawyers who authorized torture by agreeing to continue investigating allegations made by a Moroccan-born Spanish resident, Lahcen Ikassrien, that he was tortured at Guantánamo, where he was held from 2002 to 2005.

Spanish courts are empowered to hear certain types of international cases, but following a limitation placed on the country’s universal jurisdiction laws in November 2009 (very possibly with pressure from the US), the cases in question must have a “relevant connection” to Spain. The National Court concluded that it was competent to take the case because Ikassrien had been a Spanish resident for 13 years prior to his capture, and it will be overseen by Judge Pablo Ruz, who, in June 2010, replaced the colorful and controversial Judge Baltasar Garzón, who initiated the proceedings, after Garzón fell foul of political opponents in Spain. {continued}

War Crimes Investigation of Libya, with a Big Exemption

U.S. Support for War Crimes Investigation of Libya Hinged on Exemption for Americans

March 2, 2011 - In an effort to hold Libya accountable [1] for its violent crackdown on protesters, the U.S. and other members of the United Nations Security Council voted in favor of a resolution [2] asking the International Criminal Court to investigate whether the Libyan government has committed crimes against humanity. The ICC announced today [3]that an investigation was found to be warranted and would proceed.

As the Associated Press has noted, it’s the first time that the U.S. has voted in favor of the war crimes court but in keeping with its longtime fear of being prosecuted by the ICC, the U.S also included in the resolution a carve-out [4] for itself. The AP reports that the provision was a "deal breaker" for the U.S.:

The United States insisted on including a provision in the resolution to protect Americans from investigation or prosecution by the International Criminal Court, known as the ICC. It requires that any citizen of a country that hasn't joined the ICC be investigated or prosecuted in his home country - not by the ICC - for any alleged actions stemming from operations in Libya authorized by the Security Council. {continued}

The 'Oxy Express': {rush's favorite dittoheads}

Florida's Drug Abuse Epidemic

Joe Raedle/Getty Images: A pharmacy manager counts out the correct number of pills to fill a prescription in Miami.

March 2, 2011 - Florida is the epicenter of a prescription drug abuse epidemic. Each day in communities from Jacksonville to Fort Lauderdale, thousands of doses of powerful narcotics like oxycodone are dispensed in pain clinics — storefront operations also called "pill mills."

When he started at the Broward County Sheriff's department 30 years ago, Al Lamberti says, the department was raiding crack houses and busting junkies.

"Nowadays, the drug dealers are working out of strip malls," he says. {continued w/audio report}

Mental Health and Military Family Members

Mental health treatment for military family members has grown 15 percent annually since 2001

This is the fifth story in an ongoing series

03/01/2011 - Visits by family members of active-duty military personnel to mental health professionals have increased at a compound annual growth rate of 15 percent since 2001, the Military Health System disclosed in a report to members of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Feb. 1.

The report, sent to the committee by Jonathan Woodson, assistant secretary of Defense for health affairs, said demand for behavioral health services has increased due to the eligible number of beneficiaries and "the stresses of repeated deployments."

The mental heath impact on families of multiple deployments mirrors the effects those deployments have on the troops. The Army reported in a July 2009 survey that troops deployed to Iraq on their third or fourth tour had lower morale and more mental health problems. {continued w/link to earlier series reports}

Buying and Selling U.S. Guns to Cartels

The ease of U.S. Weapons being bought here and sent to the Drug Lords in Mexico just so the drug induced society here has it's much needed highs!!

Not at all surprised that the gun lovers, especially the NRA types and All those dues etc. monies going into lobbying efforts, are extremely mum on all this as this isn't new news, like everything they really should be doing they just ignored what these gun shops, gun shows etc. are really doing, after all they're in that clan!

Indictment: Son, mom sold guns to cartels

Pair are among 21 who face conspiracy charges.

March 1, 2011 - The guns Jose Lira wanted, that he would give to his mother to sell in Mexico, were "exclusively assault style 'AR 15' and 'AK 47' style firearms" the weapons preferred by the Mexican drug cartels, according to a federal affidavit.

Lira, 34, is a convicted felon and may not legally buy guns himself, so he paid family members, their friends and others to make the purchases from gun shows and gun shops across Central Texas in recent months, the affidavit said.

On Tuesday, a federal grand jury in Austin handed down an indictment charging 21 people — including Lira, his mother and some of the "straw purchasers" — with conspiracy to violate federal firearms laws and other crimes.

snip

The indictment lists more than three dozen gun purchases that straw purchasers are accused of making for Lira at Central Texas stores in recent months. The stores include the Gun Store in Cedar Park, Heritage Firearms in Austin and Tactical Advantage Firearms in Round Rock. {continued}

Thank You gwb and cronies!!

The U.S. Owes China $1.2 Trillion

March 1, 2011 - China holds about $1.2 trillion in U.S. government debt, according to the Treasury Department's latest figures. That's about 30 percent higher than the previous estimate.

This is part of those global imbalances we keep talking about. China exports more than it imports; the U.S. imports more than it exports. So U.S. dollars keep piling up in China.

China ends up lending a lot of those dollars back to the U.S. This keeps China's currency and exports cheap, and helps the U.S. finance its budget deficit.

These persistent imbalances can contribute to big, Giant Pool of Money-type trouble for the global economy. {continued}

Have a spot of tea everyone, for not only the tepublican congressional critters rubber stamped the off the books credit card shopping spree, billions for their wars of choice alone, the flock now screamin for over two years of their rage{?} said nary a word of protest, in fact they to did more then support it all!

How Very True!!

A unionized public employee, an ill-informed citizen, and a CEO are sitting at a table. In the middle of the table is a plate with a dozen cookies on it. The CEO reaches across and takes 11 cookies, looks at the ill-informed citizen and says, "Watch out for that union guy. He wants a piece of your cookie."

EVERY CASUALTY.ORG:

NEW ORG WEBSITE LAUNCHED ON CASUALTY RECORDING

At a time when the issue of civilian casualties in Libya has been dominating the international agenda, our Recording Casualties of Armed Conflict programme has launched Every Casualty.org, a website aiming to raise the profile of casualty recording worldwide and the organisations that undertake it. The site is a one-stop shop for information on casualties of conflict worldwide. It engages 22 of the organisations that record them in the International Practitioner Network convened by ORG.

The site has two sections: The public section provides access to information on the 22 members, including members’ publications and a newsfeed, and exclusive items related to casualty recording. A private section contains a forum where members of the Network can engage with one another on issues they face in the field. For more information, please contact Jacob Beswick at
Jacob Beswick Oxford Research Group.

The Health Care Proposal

Want to watch a tepublican stumble all over his spin talking points and keep repeating his {oh I care} patriotism points while once again offering Nothing, the second part of this has Orrin Hatch doing just that, first part Kathleen Sebelius gives a pretty good breakdown of the proposal.

ANALYSIS AIR DATE: Feb. 28, 2011
President Obama Shifts on Health Care Reform Law for States

SUMMARY
President Obama announced he supports a change allowing states to opt-out of certain provisions of the health care reform law at an earlier date. Judy Woodruff talks with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, about the president's compromise with opponents of the law. Transcript