From MEDIA MATTERS:

Joseph Curl and Matthew Mosk at the Washington Times came up with a heck of a non-story story today for the reportedly troubled newspaper, titled, “Top Republican lawmakers not invited to State Dinner [for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh].”

…snip…

The print article ran on the Times‘ front page with the headline, “Obama’s big tent leaves out GOP bigwigs; Dinner to honor India’s leader.” Slightly different, but it gets the same point across. From the headlines, one would think that Curl and Mosk had exposed President Obama as a biting partisan, who ran Republicans’ invitations to the White House’s first state dinner through the shredder while they eagerly awaited them at home. But one would have to read on.

As it turns out, Obama did invite “top Republican lawmakers.” They just aren’t attending.

Original DVD cover

The print article ran on the Times‘ front page with the headline, “Obama’s big tent leaves out GOP bigwigs; Dinner to honor India’s leader.” Slightly different, but it gets the same point across. From the headlines, one would think that Curl and Mosk had exposed President Obama as a biting partisan, who ran Republicans’ invitations to the White House’s first state dinner through the shredder while they eagerly awaited them at home. But one would have to read on.

As it turns out, Obama did invite “top Republican lawmakers.” They just aren’t attending. Let’s run through the list of Republicans the Times names in its story, despite its headline:

House Minority Leader John Boehner: He certainly counts as a “top Republican lawmaker.” Curl and Mosk write that “Boehner won’t be there; he’s on Thanksgiving break and home in Ohio.” Left out of their story? That Boehner was reportedly invited.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell: Also a “top Republican” who “received an invitation” but “decided to skip the dinner.”

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal: He was invited, according to the Times, because he is a “prominent Indian-American.” You could make a pretty solid argument that Jindal rose quickly in the GOP’s ranks after they chose him to give a rebuttal to Obama’s first address to Congress. At the time, the Times even decided that Jindal sounded pretty presidential.

Sen. John McCain: Not invited. The Times writes that this is despite the fact that “Obama the candidate pledged a post-partisan presidency.”

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor: Not invited.

So let’s recap: Mosk and Curl named five Republicans in their story who are “not on the A-list” for the White House’s state dinner, two of which were apparently not invited. But they frame their story as “Top Republican lawmakers not invited to State Dinner.”

(Video at MEDIA MATTERS link)

The non-story, of course, was picked up by Fox News and the Drudge Report. They didn’t mention this (from From TALKING POINTS MEMO):

Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) will be attending, and he’s not the only Republican.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell is attending, as is Sen. Dick Lugar (R-IN).

The full guest list is at the TPM link.

From rediffNEWS:

The current and former co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans in the House of Representatives like Democratic Representatives Gary Ackerman of New York, Jim McDermott of Washington state, Republican Ed Royce and their spouses were also in attendance, although erstwhile Caucus GOP co-chair Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina who screamed “You lie,” at President Obama as he was delivering an address to a Joint Session of Congress on Health Care some months ago, was not among those invited.

On the Senate side, besides Kerry, Senator Richard Lugar, ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee came with his wide, as did US Senate India Caucus co-chair Senator Christopher Dodd.

As I was about to call it a day, I saw a video link from a Facebook Page I joined called “Definitely Filipino” about the CNN Hero of the Year. It say’s: Acceptance speech of OUR 2009 CNN HERO and the thumbnail picture of Efren Penaflorida was attached to it.

Prior to being feted as such, Efren is relatively unknown. At such a young age of 28, he has accomplished something that not many people his age or even older had accomplished or will ever accomplish in their entire life..that is, changing the lives of others–for the better.

He created the group called “Dynamic Teen Company” which aims to teach basic reading and writing to children living on the streets in the hope that it will be a diversion to hooking up into gang activities like vandalizing, bullying others or even raping young girls.

Their classroom is a ubiquitous push cart wherein volunteers teach children with age ranging from 2-14 years old. Since 1997, approximately 10,000 members had taught over 1,500 “children of the slums”. To sustain this activity, they make and sell crafts or collecting items to recycle.

Moreover, those children that they taught upon getting the inspiration to learn more and strive to have a better life has also become volunteers for future students.

CNN selected 10 nominees for this year’s Hero of the Year which is now on it’s 3rd year. These Heroes as what the tagline says “Ordinary People, Extraordinary Impact” was selected by a distinguished panel comprising of leaders and humanitarians such as Gen. Colin Powell, Whoopi Goldberg, Sir Elton John, Phil Jackson, Shakira among others.

The Gala Tribute attended by an audience of 3,000 was held in Kodak Theatre, Hollywood last Saturday, November 21 and will have its premiere on Thanksgiving, November 26.

Apart from the prestigious recognition, Efren received USD 100,000 to continue his advocacy. More than 2.75 million votes were received online in CNN.com in a span of 7 weeks. Proof of the impact CNN Heroes of the year has brought us in 3 years time.

Presenters include Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson, Neil Patrick Harris, Pierce Brosnan, Dwayne Johnson, Eva Mendes, Randy Jackson, Greg Kinnear, George Lopez and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Here is Efren’s acceptance speech. While delivering it, he was visibly shaken and emotional maybe upon realizing he won such a great recognition and soon will be watched by millions of people worldwide.

“Our planet is filled with heroes, young and old, rich and poor, man, woman of different colors, shapes and sizes. We are one great tapestry,” Peñaflorida said upon accepting the honor. “Each person has a hidden hero within, you just have to look inside you and search it in your heart, and be the hero to the next one in need.”

“So to each and every person inside in this theater and for those who are watching at home, the hero in you is waiting to be unleashed. Serve, serve well, serve others above yourself and be happy to serve. As I always tell to my co-volunteers … you are the change that you dream as I am the change that I dream and collectively we are the change that this world needs to be.”

His speech is short but so meaningful and inspirational. May this recognition give him and his team more energy and passion to continue helping needy children have the education they deserve. It is such a pride and honor to the Filipino people to be given such award. Hope this would also open the eyes of many of us to help someone in need whenever we can. All the small efforts we exerted can be a life-changing experience for others.

For the full story of the CNN Hero of the Year gala night, please click the link below.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/11/16/cnnheroes.tribute.show/index.html

Update: According to ABS-CBN news report, Efren said 90% of the prize money will go to his organization and the remaining 10% to the Church and none for him..really a selfless act. May your tribe increase.

Mabuhay ka Efren! Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! Mabuhay ang lahing  Pilipino!

Get mad, then get over it. ~ Colin Powell

It’s a Thanksgiving miracle!

Not really.

Even as her friends and contemporaries die around her, Too Good for Dirt Liz can’t seem to take the subtle hint.

Thus I am putting together an online petition and will be gathering signatures urging Ms. Taylor to do the right thing and die of natural causes immediately.

When I have gathered 3 or 4 signatures I will present the petition to her in the guise of some shitty award because thats all that actors and actresses care about.

Jennifer Aniston wouldn’t piss on her mother if she was on fire but she’d use babies for shoes and run down to the food court at the mall to collect the Best Actress….(Oh Sorry We Meant The Dog)…In A Dog Movie award.

Anyway, I’m sick of posting Liz Taylor pics so here’s this.

Amy Sedaris’s homemade cheese balls can be purchased at The Gourmet Garage in Greenwich Village.

I tried a Lil’ Smokey a few years back and it was yummy…..exactly the kind of yummy that Liz Taylor could choke to death on while her assistants silently look on while forming an unspoken pact.

I might suggest leaving a few along the baseboards of Liz’s mansion.

If Barack Obama, his commie wife, our commie politicians, the liberals, the muslim apologists, etc. REALLY loved America, they wouldn’t run around the word telling everyone how terrible they “think” we are.  They would be telling everyone how great we really are.

These are good

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JFK’S Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, was in France in the early 60’s when DeGaule decided to pull out of NATO.  DeGaule said he wanted all US military out of France as soon as possible.

Rusk responded “does that include those who are buried here?

DeGuale did not respond.

You could have heard a pin drop.

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When in England , at a fairly large conference; Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of empire building by George Bush.

He answered by saying, ‘Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders.  The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return.’

You could have heard a pin drop.

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There was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American.  During a break, one of the French engineers came back into the room saying ‘Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims.  What does he intended to do, bomb them?’

A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: ‘Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear p powered and can supply emergency  electrical power to shore facilities; they have three  cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck.  We have eleven such ships; how many does France have?’

You could have heard a pin drop.

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A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the U.S. , English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of Officers that included personnel from most of those countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but a French admiral suddenly complained that, whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English.  He then asked, ‘Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?’

Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied, ‘Maybe it’s because the Brit’s, Canadians, Aussie’s and Americans arranged it so you wouldn’t have to speak German.’

You could have heard a pin drop.

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AND THIS STORY FITS RIGHT IN WITH THE ABOVE….

Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane.  At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry on.

“You have been to France before, monsieur?” the customs officer asked sarcastically.

Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously.

“Then you should know enough to have your passport ready.”

The American said, ‘The last time I was here, I didn’t have to show it.”

“Impossible. Americans always have to show your passports on arrival in France !”

The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look.  Then he quietly explained, ”Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 to help liberate this country, I couldn’t find a single Frenchmen to show a passport to.”

You could have heard a pin drop…

The November 16th issue of  Time magazine has Secretary Of State Hilary Clinton on its cover. The blurbs advertising the article inside speak of the Secretary as a  “global celebrity”  with a teaser link to Joe  Klein’s article asking if she can make peace. Wow, now she is a global celebrity. When did that happen and won’t  Bill be jealous? Besides, I thought  that John Kerry was the new grand poo-bah of Obama’s foreign policy.

I guess that makes her the first celebrity Secretary of State since Henry Kissinger. No one saw fit to use  that  title with Condolezza Rice, although they could have . Surely, not Madeline Albright, ok maybe Colin Powell, not positive. But as I scrolled backwards through the recent occupants of the office, courtesy of my handy World Almanac and  Book  of  Facts , I really did not see  anyone else I might consider  a  global celebrity. Not Lawrence Eagleburger or  Warren Christopher or Edmund Muskie. You get the idea.

Now, perusing the names above and excluding them from celeb status  doesn’t necessarily mean they were not good or very good secretaries. Perhaps some of them just chose not to go the celeb route. So, back to that peace maker thing. Wasn’t Ms Clinton just in Israel recently where she spoke very highly of their progress on the West Bank settlements and  then had to back track later at a gathering of Arab leaders? Yep, that was it.

I am not so sure that Obama is more the architect of his foreign policy in this peace making arena. Nobel Prize, anyone? Madame Secretary went to the Berlin Wall anniversary soiree instead of the President. Not  agood move , him not going and her pinch-hitting. Seems that the heavy lifting on making peace is a  White House prerogative, anyway. And, chew on this. Just this week, a couple of Obama’s old pals, Bill Ayers and  his wife, Bernardine Dohrn roundly trashed Hilary’s 2008 campaign as having racist overtones. Remember these  folks are big time Obama  pals and  it doesn’t look so good for them to trash his Secretary of State. Stay tuned, there will doubtless be more. But, I would not be surprised if she were not the first high profile member of the Cabinet to depart.

I guess many people got Obamaized after the election. One organization after another, one blogger after another, one reporter (mainstream and independent) after another are going through a period of disbelief at what has taken place in Honduras over the last two weeks.  In my November 11 Honduran National Resistance update, I take on this collective disbelief by explaining the early warning signals that should have tipped everyone off that this has been a US-driven coup all along in which the US never intended to restore President Zelaya  and did intend to push for the November 29 election to be held.

I won’t repeat what I wrote in yesterday’s update, but a few more things are worth mentioning.  The biggest reason to believe that the US was behind the coup is that there is no way that the Honduran military, with the millions it receives from the US annually, is going to embark on a coup involving massive deployment of troops and the kidnapping of a head of state without explicit approval of the US.  Pure and simple, if the US did not want President Zelaya out, he would be at the presidential palace today and not a guest of the Brazilian embassy. 

I guess there is an assumption that there is a difference between Democratic and Republican administrations and there may be in areas such as  social and economic programs.  But, when it comes to foreign affairs and Defense Department spending there is someone else in the driver’s seat and the car is definitely not parked at  1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Through my work on Cuba issues, I watched as many allowed their hopes to be raised that an Obama presidency would bring substantial change in the US-Cuba relationship.  But in one disappointing decision after another regarding Cuba, Obama might as well have had Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen sitting on one shoulder and the Diaz-Balarts on the other.

But, even if I was unfamiliar with the situation in Honduras, I would know immediately that it was a US-backed coup  because of one thing:  the coup in Haiti. 

Six weeks after the February 29, 2004 coup d’etat  in which the democratically-elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, was kidnapped, I was in Port-au-Prince as part of a delegation to determine the US’ role in the coup and kidnapping of Aristide.  It is in Haiti that the US perfected the template for the  coup in Honduras with certain variations here and there.  I remember talking with people here in the States after I returned from Haiti  and it was only when I told them certain things did they begin to comprehend that the US was the force behind it all.  They were shocked at first because they could not believe that the US would be capable of such things.

Here are some of the things I told them: 

-Eighteen months before the coup, the US armed and financed 200 Haitian “rebels,” who they housed in the Dominican Republic courtesy of its military, to commit cross border attacks to de-stabilize Haiti as a prelude to the coup.  Many supporters of Aristide were murdered in the process.

-It was the  US’ Deputy Ambassador in Haiti, Luis Moreno, who kidnapped President Aristide.  He arrived at Aristide’s home in the wee hours of the morning on February 29 with the muscle of approximately 30 Special Forces personnel.  Moreno told Aristide that he was going to take him to give a press conference to settle the population down.  Aristide’s suspicions were confirmed when the entourage  took a turn toward the airport.  The Aristides were put on the plane accompanied by the Special Forces personnel who promptly changed into civilian clothes.  Moreno would not tell the Aristides where they were being taken and they did not find out until their feet hit the tarmac in the Central African Republic.  Shortly after the plane (painted totally white with NO national insignia) carrying the Aristides took off , Moreno was on his way to tell the press that the president had fled the country and signed a resignation letter before doing so.  Of course this was not true — sound familiar?

-General Colin Powell contacted former congressman Ron Dellums a day before Aristide was kidnapped and asked if he would call Aristide and tell him the following:  “Guy Philippe (leader of the “rebels”) is right outside of Port-au-Prince, he is coming to kill you, and the US will not be able to protect you.”  The reality was that Philippe was not near the capital, but the US was trying to use this false threat to scare Aristide into leaving.

-During our delegation’s visit, we were able to get an interview with the leader of the “rebels,” Guy Philippe, a long-time CIA asset  trained in Ecuador.  Generally, Philippe was guarded during the interview but there was one amazing thing he let slip out.  In the wee hours of the morning of February 29, US Deputy Ambassador, Luis Moreno, called Guy Philippe and told him not to advance any further toward Port-au-Prince, because “we (the US) have got it covered from here.”  So the US’ Deputy Ambassador had not only Philippe’s personal cell phone number, but you could make a case that Moreno was in “command “of the “rebels’  —  for a few minutes at least.

Thereafter, Haiti’s murderous coup regime was immediately recognized and legitimized by 4,000 UN “Peacekeepers” whose mandate was to support the  “Government of Haiti.”  The people of Haiti started marching four days after the coup and haven’t stopped since in their effort to secure the return of President Aristide.  And in the past five years, the UN Peacekeepers and Haitian National Police have committed numerous massacres in the poorest neighborhoods where Aristide enjoys his greatest support.

This is all to say that if you think up the lousiest, underhanded, illegal, heinous acts imaginable, you can bet that the US government has done all of them and will do them again.  Both Republicans and Democrats are equally capable of unleashing  the monster –  imperialism.

If interested in more information on Haiti, please click here.

Today is not just Constitution Day in Azerbaijan.  It will not merely be remembered as the day that Voyager I flew by Saturn.  Hopefully it will not only be remembered as the day Charles Manson was born!  It’s a monumental day for so many reasons.  Follow me down this brief November 12th timeline:

0607: Boniface III ends his reign as Catholic Pope (Thank God!)

1859: Jules Leotard performs 1st Flying Trapeze circus act (Paris) He also designed garment that bears his name

1897: Karl Marx was born

1927: Josef Stalin became the undisputed ruler of the Soviet Union as Leon Trotsky was expelled from the Communist Party.

1936: Oakland Bay Bridge opens

1954: Ellis Island closed after processing more than 20 million immigrants since opening in New York Harbor in 1892

1955: Date Martin Seamus McFly returned to in “Back to the Future” and “Back to the Future II”

1983: A beautiful, wide-eyed baby boy (destined for greatness) was born to Tina L. Gonzales and Kyle B. Owens

1997: Ramzi Yousef was found guilty of masterminding the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.

2004: Resignation of Colin Powell as Secretary of State

2006: Gerald R. Ford surpassed Ronald Reagan as the longest-lived U.S. president at 93 years and 121 days (And then promptly died the following month.)

2008: Same-sex marriages began in Connecticut, a month after the state Supreme Court ruled that gays had the right to wed.

Happy Birthday: Maximilian von Weichs (1881), Karl Marx (1897), Charles Manson (1934), Al Michaels (1944), Sammy Sosa (1968), Tonya Harding (1970), Anne Hathaway (1982), Omarion (1984)

Rumsfeld, Defence Industries, 911, & Corporate Government in Retrospect

On September 10, 2001 Rummy said this in a speech at the Pentagon

“Today’s announcements are only the first of many. We will launch others ourselves, and we will ask Congress for legislative help as well. We have, for example, asked Congress for permission to begin the process of closing excess bases and consolidating the B-1 bomber force.”

One month later…

Rumsfeld Visits B-2 Bomber Base as Afghan Campaign Heats Up

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo., Oct. 19, 2001 – Amid news reports that U.S. ground troops are aiding anti-Taliban forces in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld flew to this Missouri air base today to meet B-2 Spirit bomber pilots and support crews.

Speaking to reporters en route here, Rumsfeld praised the air base’s service members and declared that the B-2’s more than 40-hour missions to Afghanistan are “amazing.”

The secretary declined to give specifics on reported U.S. ground operations in Afghanistan. He noted that providing operations information about U.S. air attacks or the involvement of U.S. troops could imperil lives, missions and damage national security.

Jeremy Scahill mentioned the speech that Donald Rumsfeld made at the Pentagon on the day before September 11, 2001 in his book Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army. In this address Rummy outlined the streamlining of the DOD and changes in CIA policy, where radical changes would be implemented in the military, especially in the organization of the National Guard and the three branches of the armed sevices.

This speech can be found on the DOD web site and should be required reading for those who are interested in the history of what is now being called The Long War.

MORE on Home Nature Report

He's back. Sort of...

Bill O’Reilly has boasted how ”The Factor” is doing so well that its ratings surpass those of NBC’s “Jay Leno Show.” It is an apt comparison, since O’Reilly seems intent on co-opting one of Leno’s trademark skits, “Jaywalk,” in which ignorant individuals are asked about topical issues and give ludicrous answers.

How else can O’Reilly explain his decision to bring back the hip hop associate professor Mark Lamont Hill to opine on Iran?

Although fired by Fox News just a few weeks ago, Hill re-appeared last night on “The Factor” in place of Fox News political contributor Juan Williams.  In his own “Hillwalk” version of the Jay Leno bit, O’Reilly let Hill make a complete fool of himself, zig-zagging wildly between taking a super-hawkish stance against Iran to impress the Fox audience and the ‘lets continue to talk’ approach of Barack Obama.  But unlike “Jaywalk,” in which the individuals whom Leno interviews seem to know their limitations and are willing to embarrass themselves on national TV to get their 15 minutes of fame, Hill is so impressed with his doctorate that he thinks his opinions should actually be taken seriously.

To try and give Hill his due, I went to his website to see what issues are of real concern to him.  Hill describes himself there as

one of the leading hip-hop generation intellectuals in the country

On Hill’s homepage, right under a picture of his appearance on Fox News, there are a series of links to something called Sex with Timaree. On his “About” page, Hill elaborated somewhat on his areas of interest beyond Sex with Timaree.   They included:

various sites of possibility for identity work, resistance, and knowledge production outside of formal schooling contexts. Particular sites of inquiry include hip-hop culture, urban fiction, and African American bookstores.

And talking about bookstores, Dr. Hill’s suggested reading list included such academic tomes as:

• Beats, Rhymes, and Classroom Life: Hip-Hop Pedagogy and the Politics of Identity by Marc Lamont Hill;
• Barbershops, Bibles, and BET: Everyday Talk and Black Political Thought by Melissa Harris-Lacewell;
• The Yankee Years by Joe Torre;
• Watch This!: The Ethics and Aesthetics of Black Televangelism (Religion, Race, and Ethnicity) by Jonathan L. Walton;
• Racial Paranoia: The Unintended Consequences of Political Correctness by John L. Jackson;
• Gender and Literacy on Stage in Early Modern England (Cambridge Studies in Renaissance Literature and Culture) by Eve Rachelle Sanders; and
• Invitations to Love: Literacy, Love Letters, and Social Change in Nepal by Laura Ahearn.

If O’Reilly were not trying to entertain his audience with his version of “Jaywalk” by putting this totally unqualified sophist on the air to present his views on Iran, then perhaps he put Hill back on in order to demonstrate his commitment to diversity.   If so, then why not turn to someone who has the credentials to be taken seriously on a life-and-death policy issue like Iran?

Assuming that Colin Powell was not available, why not bring on a liberal black academic with some gravitas such as Dr. Clarence Lusane,  an Associate Professor of Political Science in the School of International Service at American University who has actually written and lectured on foreign policy issues?  Or why not bring on either Professor Cornell West or Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., who while not foreign policy experts are at least noted scholars with sharp intellects who can articulate the far left’s perspective?  Or why not go outside of academia and choose a black journalist such as Pulitzer Prize winner and syndicated columnist Clarence Page?

There are certainly more than enough African-American liberals with the knowledge and expertise to speak intelligently about serious issues such as Iran.  It was insulting to his audience for O’Reilly to choose the hip hop expert and devotee of Sex with Timaree instead.

I think the reason is that O’Reilly is not interested in an intellectual challenge.  It’s much easier to use Hill as a foil in order to show off how smart, fair and balanced O’Reilly is compared to the likes of Hannity or Beck. What O’Reilly delivered was a segment deserving no more than an “F.”  If he keeps this up, Beck may be taking his place sooner rather than later.

In acest moment, Romania pare mai izolata in plan international decat in perioada in care nu era membra a UE, iar agenda se face in functie de negocierile cu Fondul Monetar International, a declarat, joi, fostul premier Adrian Nastase, cu prilejul reuniunii “Clubului de la Bucuresti”, cu tema “Dupa 20 de ani”.

“Relatia cu FMI devine obsesiva. Ne facem agenda in functie de aceste intalniri, ceea ce este oarecum trist dupa 20 de ani. (…) In acest moment, Romania pare mai izolata in plan international decat in perioada in care nu era stat membru al UE, ceea ce este extrem de suparator. Este nevoie de coerenta, de solidaritate si de predictibilitate. De asemenea, as sublinia ca suntem intr-o perioada in care trebuie sa dovedim din nou ca suntem credibili. Din pacate, nevoia de credibilitate va trece printr-un proces extrem de dureros din punct de vedere economic. In opinia mea, probabil ca lucrurile cele mai importante cu care trebuie sa incepem sunt revenirea la normalitate si realizarea unei stabilitati politice astfel incat sa redemaram procesele necesare pentru sanatatea economiei si cresterea economica”, a spus presedintele Consiliului National al PSD, relateaza Agerpres.

Potrivit acestuia, in ultimii 20 de ani au existat si plusuri si minusuri, fiind totodata ratate unele sanse, deoarece nu au fost fructificate la timp.

“In perioadele in care am avut niste proiecte foarte clar definite ne-a fost mult mai simplu. In perioada in care am fost premier, poate ca a fost mai simplu din acest punct de vedere. Aveam un proiect foarte important – cel al intrarii in NATO pentru a dobandi o umbrela de securitate”, a spus fostul premier.

In ceea ce priveste finalizarea in perioada mandatului sau a negocierilor de aderare la Uniunea Europeana, Nastase crede ca “Romania a prins ultimul tren”, pentru ca, daca nu s-ar fi reusit atunci, mai tarziu ar fi fost mult mai greu

ZIUA

(CNN) — On the first anniversary of the historic 2008 election, retired Gen. Colin Powell, the first African-American secretary of state, talks one-on-one with CNN’s Don Lemon for Essence Magazine about the most pressing issues facing black men in the age of President Obama.

Don Lemon: President Barack Obama issued a national call to service. Do you think African-Americans have answered that call?

Colin Powell: I really don’t know that I know the answer to that question. I do know that in the work that I do and my wife does as the chair of America’s Promise, we are seeing more and more people step forward to try to deal with the problems that we have, to include African-Americans and Hispanics stepping forward.

But it’s not just a one-time thing. You can’t just have, let’s have a day of service on Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday or a day of service. We’ve got to get deeply involved in working with our kids on a continuing basis and not just one day a year.

We need more African-American men, for example, to step forward and serve as mentors to young kids who don’t have a responsible, caring adult male in their lives. If I could snap my finger and do one thing, I would make sure that every young American boy or girl, but especially African-American [children], have a responsible, caring adult in their lives.

Hopefully, it’s their parents, even if it’s a single parent. … But without that kind of family support, then we need Boys and Girls Clubs. We need Big Brothers and Big Sisters. We need mentors. Otherwise, these kids will find bad adults to copy from, and we’re going to lose them.

Lemon: I recently reported on youth violence and gangs in Chicago, Illinois. Most of the young men didn’t have role models at home. Would it help if more African-American men had picked up the torch to help those young men?

Powell: Of course it would. President Obama has spoken out rather clearly about this: Fathers have got to start doing their jobs.

Every child has a father, and some of those fathers don’t want to live up to the responsibility of being a father. Whether it’s a father in a marriage or a father in a good home, that father is a father and owes that child financial support, owes that child companionship, owes that child an example in life.

Those of us who have been blessed with some success … you can look back and see family members who kept you in play. If it hadn’t been for my relatives and my parents and my cousins and my priest and all the other people in my neighborhood, I wouldn’t have made it. But they had a level of expectation for me.

Lemon: How do you convince African-American men, especially, that service is a worthwhile effort?

Powell: You tell them that without that effort, all of our achievements over the last 50 or 60 years are being put at risk. The statistics are frightening. Fifty percent of our African-American youngsters are not graduating from high school. And of that 50 percent, a higher percentage of boys are not graduating than girls.

And when they get out of high school, if we can get them into the college, you will find six girls in college for every three or four boys who are in college. And those six girls will graduate at a higher rate than the three or four boys.

This is a moral disaster for the African-American community. This is not why Rosa Parks rode in the back of the bus or why Martin Luther King Jr. and all of his colleagues marched. We didn’t do it so that these kids could fail because they don’t have adults in their life, teaching them how to succeed.

We’ve got to teach them that you’ve got to behave. You’ve got to learn what it means to “mind” somebody. You’ve got to read to your kids. You’ve got to act like responsible fathers.

Lemon: How did you become involved in President Obama’s Renew America Together initiative, and what is your role?

Powell: The president-elect was aware of the work that Alma and I had done together on America’s Promise. As part of the transition effort, he intended to make this an important part of his administration, and he wanted to get started earlier.

The White House asked if I would work with transition officials to launch his first initiative, which was called Renew America Together.

I launched that for him on the 9th of January, 11 days before the inauguration. We also announced the Web site where people could sign up to get involved in service to their community. It’s called usaservice.org.

I’m so pleased that he has made this a major part of his administration and his agenda, because it fits right into what my wife and I have been doing for many years.

LEMON: Did you have any African-American role models? What did they teach you?

POWELL: They were, first and foremost, my family. When I was a young kid, born in Harlem, raised in the Bronx, it was my family that taught me how to behave, taught me what they expected of me, gave me a sense of shame and told me to “mind.” It’s a word that’s not used enough anymore.

I tried to observe people who were successful in life. In the black community, we didn’t have that many in those days. You had Joe Louis, Jackie Robinson, Ralph Bunche, Willie Mays, a lot of athletes. … You had Gen. Benjamin O. Davis Sr., the first black general in World War II. But it was still a country where people of color could not reach the heights.

I was nevertheless inspired by these folks who did the best they could in the time in which they lived and showed that if you do your very, very best, you will be recognized and rewarded for it.

I entered the Army five years after the last segregated unit was closed down. I entered in 1958, and at that time, the Army was fully integrated, the most integrated institution in American society.

And what my commander said to me: “We don’t want to hear any sad stories about you were born in Harlem and raised in the Bronx. Don’t tell us anything about your immigrant family. We know you didn’t go to West Point.

“We don’t care where you went, and we don’t care if you’re black, white, blue. … The only color we care about now is green. You’re in the Army.”

The only thing that counts is performance. You can’t perform if you don’t get your education. You can’t perform if you don’t speak the English language well. You can’t perform if you’re not respectful. You can’t perform and you won’t get the opportunity to perform if you walk around with your pants dragging around your ankles and you’re not behaving in a proper manner.

Lemon: Amen, General. Thank you.

Read Don Lemon’s editorial on Essence.com about what Obama represents for all of us.

Did you know that G.I. Joe has put out several real people as Joes?

Wikipedia has a complete list, but I like the idea of a Buzz Aldrin, Robert Crippen or Bob Hope with life like kung fu grip.

I was a little surprised that they mix the list with people who fake their heroism though – people like movie alien puncher Rowdy Roddy Piper, ’80s wrestler Sergeant Slaughter, and dramatic actor Colin Powell.

I wonder if Powell was considered because of his Emmy award winning presentation at the U.N. or his sleeper hit, the My Lai 4 cover up.

We need more African-American men to step forward and serve as mentors to young kids,” Colin Powell says.

CNN) — On the first anniversary of the historic 2008 election, retired Gen. Colin Powell, the first African-American secretary of state, talks one-on-one with CNN’s Don Lemon about on the most pressing issues facing black men in the age of President Obama.

Don Lemon: President Barack Obama issued a national call to service. Do you think African-Americans have answered that call?

Colin Powell: I really don’t know that I know the answer to that question. I do know that in the work that I do and my wife does as the chair of America’s Promise, we are seeing more and more people step forward to try to deal with the problems that we have, to include African-Americans and Hispanics stepping forward.

But it’s not just a one-time thing. You can’t just have, let’s have a day of service on Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday or a day of service. We’ve got to get deeply involved in working with our kids on a continuing basis and not just one day a year.

We need more African-American men, for example, to step forward and serve as mentors to young kids who don’t have a responsible, caring adult male in their lives. If I could snap my finger and do one thing, I would make sure that every young American boy or girl, but especially African-American [children], have a responsible, caring adult in their lives.

Hopefully, it’s their parents, even if it’s a single parent. … But without that kind of family support, then we need Boys and Girls Clubs. We need Big Brothers and Big Sisters. We need mentors. Otherwise, these kids will find bad adults to copy from, and we’re going to lose them.

Lemon: I recently reported on youth violence and gangs in Chicago, Illinois. Most of the young men didn’t have role models at home. Would it help if more African-American men had picked up the torch to help those young men?

Powell: Of course it would. President Obama has spoken out rather clearly about this: Fathers have got to start doing their jobs.

Every child has a father, and some of those fathers don’t want to live up to the responsibility of being a father. Whether it’s a father in a marriage or a father in a good home, that father is a father and owes that child financial support, owes that child companionship, owes that child an example in life.

Those of us who have been blessed with some success … you can look back and see family members who kept you in play. If it hadn’t been for my relatives and my parents and my cousins and my priest and all the other people in my neighborhood, I wouldn’t have made it. But they had a level of expectation for me.

Lemon: How do you convince African-American men, especially, that service is a worthwhile effort?

Powell: You tell them that without that effort, all of our achievements over the last 50 or 60 years are being put at risk. The statistics are frightening. Fifty percent of our African-American youngsters are not graduating from high school. And of that 50 percent, a higher percentage of boys are not graduating than girls.

And when they get out of high school, if we can get them into the college, you will find six girls in college for every three or four boys who are in college. And those six girls will graduate at a higher rate than the three or four boys.

This is a moral disaster for the African-American community. This is not why Rosa Parks rode in the back of the bus or why Martin Luther King Jr. and all of his colleagues marched. We didn’t do it so that these kids could fail because they don’t have adults in their life, teaching them how to succeed.

We’ve got to teach them that you’ve got to behave. You’ve got to learn what it means to “mind” somebody. You’ve got to read to your kids. You’ve got to act like responsible fathers.

Lemon: How did you become involved in President Obama’s Renew America Together initiative, and what is your role?

Powell: The president-elect was aware of the work that Alma and I had done together on America’s Promise. As part of the transition effort, he intended to make this an important part of his administration, and he wanted to get started earlier.

The White House asked if I would work with transition officials to launch his first initiative, which was called Renew America Together.

I launched that for him on the 9th of January, 11 days before the inauguration. We also announced the Web site where people could sign up to get involved in service to their community. It’s called usaservice.org.

I’m so pleased that he has made this a major part of his administration and his agenda, because it fits right into what my wife and I have been doing for many years.

LEMON: Did you have any African-American role models? What did they teach you?

POWELL: They were, first and foremost, my family. When I was a young kid, born in Harlem, raised in the Bronx, it was my family that taught me how to behave, taught me what they expected of me, gave me a sense of shame and told me to “mind.” It’s a word that’s not used enough anymore.

I tried to observe people who were successful in life. In the black community, we didn’t have that many in those days. You had Joe Louis, Jackie Robinson, Ralph Bunche, Willie Mays, a lot of athletes. … You had Gen. Benjamin O. Davis Sr., the first black general in World War II. But it was still a country where people of color could not reach the heights.

I was nevertheless inspired by these folks who did the best they could in the time in which they lived and showed that if you do your very, very best, you will be recognized and rewarded for it.

I entered the Army five years after the last segregated unit was closed down. I entered in 1958, and at that time, the Army was fully integrated, the most integrated institution in American society.

And what my commander said to me: “We don’t want to hear any sad stories about you were born in Harlem and raised in the Bronx. Don’t tell us anything about your immigrant family. We know you didn’t go to West Point.

“We don’t care where you went, and we don’t care if you’re black, white, blue. … The only color we care about now is green. You’re in the Army.”

The only thing that counts is performance. You can’t perform if you don’t get your education. You can’t perform if you don’t speak the English language well. You can’t perform if you’re not respectful. You can’t perform and you won’t get the opportunity to perform if you walk around with your pants dragging around your ankles and you’re not behaving in a proper manner.

Lemon: Amen, General. Thank you.

On the first anniversary of the historic 2008 election, retired Gen. Colin Powell, the first African-American secretary of state, talks one-on-one with CNN’s Don Lemon about on the most pressing issues facing black men in the age of President Obama. Read the interview by clicking the link below:

http://www.letstalkhonestly.com/blacknewsblackviews.html

Jamil GS is a Danish-American photographer and filmmaker who produces some very dope work!  Perfect example is the photo above of JFK, Jr. and Colin Powell.  When you take a look at his photos, I’m sure you’ll recognize a lot of his work.  After looking at his shots, I’m inspired to get my camera game up!

You can check a few of my favorite shots after the jump.  Be sure to visit his blog Jamil GS or the site 12oz Prophet for more of his work.

via Jamil GS and 12oz Prophet

While it’s certainly good to look back and reflect on what’s in the past (see previous post), the UD Alumni Relations Blog is of the belief that, “Praises for our past triumphs are as feathers to a dead bird.”  Now we’re not sure what that means exactly, but it sounds cool so we’re going with it.

That said, it’s time to look to leave the past behind and see what’s on deck for UD alumni.  The list in the previous post worked well (i.e. it was easier for us) so we’ll go with that yet again.

1.) Homecoming is this weekend. Homecoming + Halloween = fun.  While that may seem a trifle obvious, the UD Alumni Relations Blog wanted to prove it so we contacted over 30 professors across campus to help us with the research.  None responded.  Find all the Homecoming events at www.UDconnection.com/Homecoming.

2.) Colin Powell to speak at UD Speaks. Former Secretary of the State coming to campus on Nov. 3.  Prior to the Powell speech, alumni will gather for a dinner/reception in the Carpenter Club of the Bob Carpenter Center.  Registration for the reception is only $30 and it includes a ticket to the speech.  If you already have a ticket, the buffet dinner is only  $15.

3.) Happy Hours for alumni clubs. The Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York City and Kent & Sussex Counties alumni clubs will host happy hours in November and all alumni are invited.  See below for the links.

• Philly Alumni Club Happy Hour at Public House
• Kent & Sussex Alumni Club Happy Hour at Frazier’s in Dover
• NYC Alumni Club Happy Hour at Southern Hospitality
• Baltimore Alumni Club Happy Hour at Claddaghs