And Now for a Baby Sumatran Orangutan
Images | Thu, Jul 2, 2009 at 11:29:41 pm PDT
This Sumatran Orangutan inflicts its ineffable cuteness upon you, courtesy of ZooBorns.
6 New Personality Disorders Caused by the Internet
Humor | Thu, Jul 2, 2009 at 6:02:41 pm PDT
Major Military Campaign in Afghanistan
World | Thu, Jul 2, 2009 at 3:21:20 pm PDT
A massive military offensive is under way in Afghanistan against the Taliban.
NAWA, Afghanistan (AP) — U.S. Marines suffered their first casualties of a massive new military campaign Thursday as they engaged in sporadic gunbattles along 55 miles of Taliban-controlled heartland in southern Afghanistan.
One Marine was killed and several others were injured or wounded on the first full day of the assault, the largest military operation in Afghanistan since the fall of Taliban government in 2001.
The offensive will test the Obama administration’s new strategy of holding territory and letting the Afghan government sink roots in Helmand province. The insurgency has proven particularly resilient in this area, where foreign troops have never before operated in such large numbers.
President Barack Obama told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday that he has a “very narrow definition of success when it comes to our national security interests” in the region. “And that is that al-Qaida and its affiliates cannot set up safe havens from which to attack Americans.”
And Long War Journal has some disturbing news from eastern Afghanistan: Haqqani Network captures US soldier in Afghanistan.
The Haqqani Network has captured a US soldier who was based in the eastern Afghan province of Paktika. The soldier, who has not been identified, had reportedly been captured after walking off of his small outpost.
The US military has confirmed a solider has been missing since June 30 and believes he has been captured by the Taliban.
The Washington Post 'Salon'
Media | Thu, Jul 2, 2009 at 11:48:33 am PDT
Oh brother. The Washington Post was apparently planning to sell access to top Obama officials and other VIPs, at a price of $25,000 to $250,000 a pop, in a “salon program” at the private home of CEO Katharine Weymouth.
The Washington Post has long prided itself on its access to the capital’s elite. Now, it appears, the paper is willing to sell that access.
In a flier circulated to Beltway lobbyists, the Post touted a “salon” program which gives “exclusive access” to “Obama administration officials, Congress members, business leaders, advocacy leaders and other select minds” for between $25,000 and $250,000. (View an image of the flier.)
White House officials said privately Thursday that the administration had no idea that the Post was peddling access to its officials.
The first event, entitled “Health-Care Reform: Better or Worse for Americans” is scheduled for July 21, at the home of Post Publisher Katharine Weymouth.
“Spirited? Yes. Confrontational? No,” the flier states. “The relaxed setting in the home of Katharine Weymouth assures it.”
The flier, first reported by former Post editor Mike Allen on the Politico web site, offers the chance to “hear and be heard as an equal with key policy-makers and other stakeholders,” including Weymouth, Post executive editor Marcus Brauchli and health-care “reporting and editorial staff members” at the Post.
Post company spokeswoman Kris Coratti issued a statement Thursday morning claiming that the flier was a “draft” that hadn’t been “properly vetted” before being dispatched.
Arab Fists Still Clenched
Middle East | Thu, Jul 2, 2009 at 10:17:12 am PDT
Imagine my surprise; Barack Obama’s bold new initiative for Arab countries to normalize relations with Israel is getting nowhere.
The U.S. administration has not been successful in securing commitments from Arab countries to take steps toward normalizing relations with Israel, a senior source in Jerusalem said Wednesday.
The source said U.S. President Barack Obama’s recent meeting with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia did not produce a commitment to encourage the other Arab states to begin normalization.
“In such a situation, the Americans can’t continue demanding gestures only from Israel, such as the demand that Israel freeze settlement construction,” the source said.
So naturally, since the Arab countries remain committed (as they always have been) to the destruction of Israel, Obama will continue asking them to unclench.
In response, a senior White House source said talks with the Arab states are continuing with the aim of obtaining a commitment to make gestures toward Israel, and there is still hope for progress.
North Korea Launches Four Missiles
World | Thu, Jul 2, 2009 at 10:12:02 am PDT
As North Korea continues preparations for a long-range ballistic missile test, possibly this weekend, today they test-fired four short-range missiles that apparently landed in the China Sea.
Reports say these were ground-to-ship missiles; this bit of saber-rattling is probably intended as a threat to South Korea.
Sanford: Dog About Town
Politics | Thu, Jul 2, 2009 at 6:16:18 am PDT
More of the Mark Sanford story’s leaking out, and it’s just not looking any better for the philandering creationist governor: Sanford, like a man in love, gushes about his ‘soul mate,’ confesses to other encounters.
Crying at times and clearly wearing his emotions on his sleeve, the two-term governor also acknowledged that he had casual encounters with other women but insisted that he never crossed the line by having sex with them.
“If you’re a married guy, at the end of the day, you shouldn’t be dancing with somebody else,” he said. “There were a handful of instances wherein I crossed the lines I shouldn’t have crossed as a married man but never crossed the ultimate line.”
