December 22, 2013

"the reluctant fundamentalist"

is on showtime at 2:30 mountain time. great movie.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2032557/

December 18, 2013

i can't see how this can be good for america.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/16/white-house-trans-pacific-partnership-remains-a-top-priority-for-obama/

-snip-

The White House sent a strong signal Monday of its desire to create a huge Pacific free trade area, despite the slippage of its year-end deadline for the 12-nation project.

President Barack Obama gathered senior trade advisors in the Oval Office and invited news photographers to document the meeting, in the wake of the latest ministerial talks last week on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in Singapore.

“This remains a top priority of the president because of the positive economic benefits that come from it,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

“Congress and the American public have high expectations for the TPP.

“The administration is determined to get the best deal possible, and we are pleased with the progress made towards achieving an ambitious, comprehensive, high-standard agreement.”

Ministers gave up last week on meeting the year-end goal of concluding the TPP, but US Trade Representative Michael Froman, who was in Singapore, and in Obama’s Oval Office consultations on Monday, said significant progress had been made.

Hopes for a swift conclusion of the TPP were dealt a blow when Obama was forced to delay his latest trip to Asia in October over a political crisis in Washington over a government shutdown.

The White House has already announced that the president will return to Asia in April, a trip that may offer new momentum to TPP talks, a centerpiece of Obama’s “rebalancing” towards Asia strategy.

The TPP is being negotiated by Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.

December 17, 2013

gaza drowning.

According to the United Nations, over 10,000 Palestinians were displaced after a rare winter storm and torrential rains turned large swathes of the region into a "disaster area." At least two people are dead.

"Large swathes of northern Gaza are a disaster area with water as far as the eye can see. Areas around Jabalia have become a massive lake with two meter high waters engulfing homes and stranding thousands," UNRWA spokesperson Chris Gunness said in a statement published by the Ma'an News Agency Saturday.

An Israeli blockade, imposed in an attempt to unseat the Hamas-led government, limits the import of everything from building materials to inexpensive fuel leaving Palestinians in Gaza with widespread food insecurity, a shortage of potable water and the inability to power their homes and businesses—a tenuous situation, that relief workers say was exacerbated by the current crisis.

Before the storm hit, the 1.8 million people living in the Gaza strip have endured daily blackouts of around 12 hours since the territory's lone power plant was switched off last month due to a fuel shortage, Al Jazeera reports.

-snip-

http://www.countercurrents.org/cc161213.htm

this is a humanitarian crisis.

December 16, 2013

anyone watch "homeland"?

December 2, 2013

train derailment in NYC leaves 4 dead, 63 injured -- 11 critical

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/nyc-train-derailment-leaves-4-dead-dozens-injured/2013/12/01/d180a0fe-5aa1-11e3-bf7e-f567ee61ae21_story.html