2 killed in Afghan anti-Quran-burning protest--------------- From AP

2 killed in Afghan anti-Quran-burning protest


By DUSAN STOJANOVIC (AP) – 1 hour ago



KABUL, Afghanistan — Two protesters died and four were injured as Afghans protested for a third day Sunday against a plan by an American pastor to burn copies of the Islamic holy book, despite his decision to call off the action.



Mohammad Rahim Amin, chief of the Baraki Barak district in eastern Logar province, said the deaths and injuries occurred when Afghan soldiers opened fire on hundreds of protesters who were trying to storm the local government headquarters.



During recent protests against the Quran burning, Afghans have regularly targeted the pro-Western government.



Terry Jones, pastor of a small Florida church, said Saturday that "we feel that God is telling us to stop" the Quran burning, which was to coincide with the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.



The plan to burn the Quran stirred outrage among millions of Muslims and others worldwide.



The protesters in Logar chanted "Death to America" and burned tires, attacked several shops and set election campaign posters on fire, Amin said.



"I can say for sure that this was the work of the enemies of peace and stability in Afghanistan who are trying to use any opportunity to disrupt the security situation" in the country, Amin said.



In a country where most people have limited access to newspapers, television and the Internet, many Afghans seemed unaware of Jones' decision to call off the Quran burning.



Meanwhile, a Taliban commander who planned rocket attacks on polling stations during elections next week and four other insurgents were killed in eastern Afghanistan, NATO said Sunday.



The military alliance said NATO and Afghan forces killed the five insurgents Saturday night in a village compound in the eastern Nangarhar province. The insurgents were killed after they "displayed hostile intent" as the forces moved in on the compound, it said in a statement.



It said intelligence reports indicated the Taliban commander was planning to conduct rocket attacks on voting centers during the Sept. 18 parliamentary elections. The Taliban has vowed to target polling stations and warned Afghans not to participate in what it called a sham vote.



The government and its Western allies hope the elections for the lower house of parliament will help consolidate the country's fragile democracy, leading to the withdrawal of the roughly 140,000 NATO-led foreign troops in the country. But many Afghans and foreign observers fear the vote could turn bloody if the Taliban carries out its threats.



"The Afghan people deserve to cast their votes without fear of attacks from the insurgent groups," U.S. Army Col. Rafael Torres said in the NATO statement. "We are tracking them and taking action before they're able to carry out their plans."



NATO said the killed Taliban commander had participated in "intimidation campaigns and assassinations" and was directly linked to a February suicide bomb attack that killed Haji Zaman, a well-known tribal elder and warlord in eastern Afghanistan.



Associated Press Writer Rahim Faiez contributed to this report.



Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Link to the article:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hvWEqwq3CrRvaQCmt21MfoYhjZJQD9I6D2NO0

Ah yes, Elisabeth Warren, is a spash of fresh spring water to a parched American psyche

Every morning as I wake up I wonder, did he do it?  Did Obama appoint her yet?  And then I wake up.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/19/elizabeth-warren-could-he_n_651759.html

Today is a day for reflection and contemplation of who, what, and where we are 9/11/2010

Today is a memorial day for all Americans. It is a time to reflect on what we think, and feel, about others.

Do we harbor hatred in our hearts, or forgiveness? Do we harbor bigotry, or tolerance for diversity? Are we engaged to make a difference, or just idle spectators? Is today just another day or is it the day we finally reach out to someone we don't know to let them know we are trying to understand who they are?

It is time to take stock of ourselves individually and as a nation. Our children should be taught about the destructive power of irrational hatred toward humanity of which we are all a part.

If you have hatred in your heart---------let it go today. If you feel bigotry toward any person begin to recognize and resolve that negativity today. Make every a day to become, in even the smallest way, engaged in some activity furthering understanding. You will find an unexpected treasure waiting in the next person you meet, something meaningful, you will remember for the rest of your life.

Do NOT use the term Pastor for Florida religious fanatic

Technically, the word Pastor means teacher. The idiot, bigot, racist, religious fanatic deserves neither ,the title Pastor, or Christian. He is not even a "fringe element Christian." The man is a hate monger intent on destruction and self-aggrandizement--------- and he represents no kind of Christian that I know.

The media is responsible for the ratcheting up of the excitement, and giving undue publicity, to a complete lunatic who is intent on bringing about the end of days. Tonight, CNN coverage has revealed a call from Sec. Gates, a statement from President Obama, a proposed meeting with Imam Rauf in New York Saturday, 9/11 to move the site of the Mosque to be built two blocks from Ground Zero. Such a move, or for that matter, a meeting has not been confirmed.

Lord, give me strength to live in a world with this man. I will not even dignify him, or his motives, by using his name. He has shown us all that one single fanatic can hold hostage an entire nation, and maybe even the world, with his extreme hatred.

With our children, and Muslim children, all over the world fighting for a better world, the actions of this man are disgraceful, disrespectful and evil. Right behind this lunatic is the media , hanging onto every word, hoping to get the latest scoop.

What a travesty of morals.

The Jamie Foxx show the Foxxhole with Zo Williams

I was invited to be on the Jamie Foxx show with Zo Williams on The Voice of Reason ,and had a blast. What a great group of people--------I am still floating today.



I learned so much from Zo and his other guests who had also written books. One title by Firpo Carr, Wicked Words: Poisoned Minds--Racism in the Dictionary.(1997). It's a relevent today as it was then. This is the link--------he is powerful--his words are powerful. http://www.firpocarr.com/

The second book entitled "The N Word " by Jabari Asim , another of the guests on the show, gave insight into racial slurs and their origins and the harm done. Below is the link to his book and his thoughts.



http://books.google.com/books?id=7d4wVLIOK8EC&dq=Book---The+N+Word+by+Jabari&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=dAB4TLuPF4H6lwetkbHtCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false

Racism incident at the University of Virginia--Shouldn't we be beyond this by now?

Excerpt from the student newspaper, The Cavalier Daily

Although this is an isolated incident, one comment can shake up a whole demographic of people at the University,” Boswell said, “not just African-Americans, but anyone who identifies with a minority or multiculturalism.”

Link to the entire article


http://www.cavalierdaily.com/2010/04/22/students-fall-victim-to-racial-slurs/

Big Pharma rears it's ugly head---Again

After big pharma committed to help control costs and won concessions in the health care reform process, they went back on their word. They lied to Americans. They have continued to raise prices on brand name drugs, some of which, people cannot do without.

They are doing the same things the banks are doing, raising everything they can, moral or not, legal or not, in anticipation of changed regulations . 2010 will be the year from hell for the following reasons:

1. Back-breaking national debt causing inevitable tax increases
2. Unemployment up and sustained above 10%
3. Commercial real estate foreclosures and defaults
4. More people becoming seriously ill due to lack of insurance-rate hikes for those with
5. Health care and hospitals leaving small communities decreasing rural availability
6. Increased food prices due to farm foreclosures, weather and banks not lending
7. Increased personal bankruptcies
8. Decreased consumer spending
9. Higher gas prices
10.Increased local taxes with decreased services in Police, Fire, Schools
11. More wars in the destabilized Middle East
12. Crushing debt owed to China
13. Further destabilized currency-the dollar

These are just the obvious, there are many more. There are NO fixes, no checks on corporate abuse of consumers and the whole house of cards is going to collapse worse than we have seen yet.

Have a nice day and call me Pollyanna.