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How about a little good news?
Author: BobR    Date: 03/20/2009 12:22:45

It seems that lately I have the uncanny knack for writing about depressing news every Friday. So at least for today, I am going to try to break that habit and point out some of the better news this morning...

First up - Obama is trying to open diplomatic relations with Iran:
President Barack Obama issued an unprecedented videotaped appeal to Iran on Friday offering a "new beginning" of diplomatic engagement to turn the page on decades of U.S. policy toward America's longtime foe.

"My administration is now committed to diplomacy that addresses the full range of issues before us, and to pursuing constructive ties," Obama said in a message released to select Middle East broadcast outlets timed for an Iranian holiday celebration.

Obama went further than he has since taking office on January 20 in extending an olive branch to Tehran, which has been locked in bitter disputes with Washington over Iranian nuclear ambitions and support for militant Islamic groups.

The Obama administration -- in a major shift from former President George W. Bush's isolation policy toward Iran, which he once branded part of an "axis of evil" -- has expressed an openness to face-to-face diplomatic contacts with Tehran.

Diplomacy - remember what that was? Obviously a word NOT in Bush's vocabulary. It's nice to hear it again. Continuing in the Middle East, Iraq power base is emerging which crosses sectarian lines:
Six weeks after provincial elections, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has allied himself with an outspoken Sunni leader in several provinces and broached a coalition with a militant, anti-American cleric, suggesting the emergence of a new axis of power in Iraq centered on a strong central government and nationalism.

Negotiations are still underway in most provinces, distrust remains entrenched among nearly all the players, and agreements could crumble. But the jockeying after the Jan. 31 elections indicates that politicians are assembling coalitions that cross the sectarian divide ahead of parliamentary elections later this year, a vote that will shape the country as the U.S. military withdraws.

This is what happens when we quit trying to force them to get along, and allow them to figure it out on their own. In other Iraq news, thousands of Iraqis held by the U.S. will soon be freed:
CAMP BUCCA, Iraq – Thousands of Iraqis held without charge by the United States on suspicion of links to insurgents or militants are being freed by this summer because there is little or no evidence against them.

Their release comes as the U.S. prepares to turn over its detention system to the fledgling Iraqi government by early 2010. In the six years since the war began, the military ultimately detained some 100,000 suspects, many of whom were picked up in U.S.-led raids during a raging, bloody insurgency that has since died down.

The effort to do justice for those wrongly held to begin with, some for years, also runs the risk of releasing extremists who could be a threat to fragile Iraqi security.

What about those held in Gitmo? We know that Obama plans to close it; now a Bush Administration official (chief of staff to former Secretary of State Colin Powell) is coming forward and acknowledging what we've all believed for some time, that most of those being held are innocent:
There are several dimensions to the debate over the U.S. prison facilities at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba that the media have largely missed and, thus, of which the American people are almost completely unaware. For that matter, few within the government who were not directly involved are aware either.

The first of these is the utter incompetence of the battlefield vetting in Afghanistan during the early stages of the U.S. operations there. Simply stated, no meaningful attempt at discrimination was made in-country by competent officials, civilian or military, as to who we were transporting to Cuba for detention and interrogation.
[...]
The second dimension that is largely unreported is that several in the U.S. leadership became aware of this lack of proper vetting very early on and, thus, of the reality that many of the detainees were innocent of any substantial wrongdoing, had little intelligence value, and should be immediately released.
[...]
Thus, as many people as possible had to be kept in detention for as long as possible to allow this philosophy of intelligence gathering to work. The detainees' innocence was inconsequential. After all, they were ignorant peasants for the most part and mostly Muslim to boot...

While reading this (and the rest of the article, highly recommended) one might become angered and wonder why this might be considered good news. The fact that this formerly behind-the-scenes information is seeing the light of day is good news.

He also had some choice words about Cheney:
As for the fear-mongering: "When we get people who are more interested in reading the rights to an Al Qaeda (sic) terrorist than they are with protecting the United States against people who are absolutely committed to do anything they can to kill Americans, then I worry," Cheney said. Who in the Obama administration has insisted on reading any al-Qa'ida terrorist his rights? More to the point, who in that administration is not interested in protecting the United States--a clear implication of Cheney's remarks.

But far worse is the unmistakable stoking of the 20 million listeners of Rush Limbaugh, half of whom we could label, judiciously, as half-baked nuts. Such remarks as those of the former vice president's are like waving a red flag in front of an incensed bull. And Cheney of course knows that.

Cheney went on to say in his McLean interview that "Protecting the country's security is a tough, mean, dirty, nasty business. These are evil people and we are not going to win this fight by turning the other cheek." I have to agree but the other way around. Cheney and his like are the evil people and we certainly are not going to prevail in the struggle with radical religion if we listen to people such as he.

Wilkerson (the author of the previous quotes) was interviewed on the Rachel Maddow Show last night (missed it), in case you want to find a video on-line. Also mentioned by Ms. Maddow was the fact that eight - count 'em - eight former Bush Administration officials are behind bars:

Get the Flash Player to see this player.


Hopefully, we'll see Cheney, Rumsfeld, and the rest joining them at some point. And finally in non-political news, scientists have eliminated Parkinson's symptoms in lab mice:
A ground-breaking medical device that eliminates the symptoms of Parkinson's disease by electrically stimulating the brain could be tested in humans as early as next year, according to scientists working on the project.

The device has produced dramatic improvements in mice with a Parkinson's-like disease, raising hopes that it could transform the lives of the four million people worldwide who have the devastating condition.

In tests, mice that suffered constant tremors and were barely able to walk because of the disease started moving around, groomed themselves and began eating and drinking normally when the device was switched on.

"If we see the same effect in people as we see in rodents, then Parkinson's patients will be able to walk and move around the way they could before the disease came on. This could lead to a very dramatic improvement in their quality of life," said Miguel Nicolelis, the neuroscientist who led the study at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

Sure, it's not a cure, but it could allow those suffering to live with the disease.

Hopefully, all of this has made your morning coffee taste just a little better... :coffee:


 

65 comments (Latest Comment: 03/20/2009 21:10:04 by Raine)
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Comment by Scoopster on 03/20/2009 12:50:45
Morning all & Happy Fridee! :bounce:



Speaking of good news, there was a website highlighted a few days ago on All Things Considered that's dedicated to ONLY positive-toned news and stories. It's called the Good News Network. Some of today's headlines include..



- Scientists create anti-mosquito laser

- Salvation Army reports record holiday kettle donations

- DNA "patch" developed for dogs to treat muscular dystrophy, human testing to come



And the best feature of all.. the site is optimized for Firefox! Just say no to Internet Explorer, even the new version that is released today.

Comment by Raine on 03/20/2009 13:05:21
:clap: Nice Bloggie today Bobber!



The clip with Rach was eally interesting, I didn't know that 8 people had gone to jail...



But it was the Even Bayh thing that REALLY got me pissed.

Comment by Scoopster on 03/20/2009 13:09:20




Aaaand happy birthday to Livin!

Comment by wickedpam on 03/20/2009 13:12:25
Morning :hug:





Yeah for Liv B-Day!





Comment by wickedpam on 03/20/2009 13:15:40
Sheesh Chris Welcome to what DC-ites deal with all the time when it comes to the motorcade

Comment by BobR on 03/20/2009 13:19:37
I thought his birthday was tomorrow?

Comment by Raine on 03/20/2009 13:21:14
There is a developing story happening about now ... it doesn't seem critical.. per say...



A U.S. Navy submarine and U.S. amphibious ship collided in the Strait of Hormuz early Friday morning. Overall damage to both ships is being evaluated. Submarine's (USS Hartford) propulsion plant was unaffected. USS New Orleans suffered a ruptured fuel tank.





Comment by TriSec on 03/20/2009 13:23:08
Morning, folks!



It's Papa TriSec's birthday today...



http://www.opinion250.com/images/waterbomber_crop02.jpg




oh well....75 candles seemed like a good idea at the time!



[We'll need to go back to base for another load of retardant before hitting Long Island... ]

Comment by Scoopster on 03/20/2009 13:23:49
Dunno. My Facecrack was beeping and flashing and flashing and beeping that it was someone's birthday..

Comment by Random on 03/20/2009 13:26:45
Woot...Random's B-Day is tomorrow, saying that now, cause i'm not on tomorrow

Comment by wickedpam on 03/20/2009 13:29:10
Well Happy B-Day Random :hug:





Comment by Scoopster on 03/20/2009 13:30:22
Comment by Scoopster on 03/20/2009 13:31:57
Happy birthday Random!

Comment by Random on 03/20/2009 13:34:34
*bows* thank you, thank you.

You are so kind, for that, i shall stash away my smote button.



Btw, it is the big two-one

Comment by Raine on 03/20/2009 13:43:50
Quote by Raine:

There is a developing story happening about now ... it doesn't seem critical.. per say...



A U.S. Navy submarine and U.S. amphibious ship collided in the Strait of Hormuz early Friday morning. Overall damage to both ships is being evaluated. Submarine's (USS Hartford) propulsion plant was unaffected. USS New Orleans suffered a ruptured fuel tank.





CNN Link.

Comment by starling310 on 03/20/2009 13:46:01
Hi everyone! HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIV!

And to Random too!



The Special Olympics comment was reeeeeaaaalllly unfortunate.



Comment by Raine on 03/20/2009 13:50:46
Just to put the President's Special olympics comments into perspective:



*ush Vetoed Bill with 8 Million dollars in funding for Special Olympics.



And then there is this gem:



Surgeon General Sees 4-Year Term as Compromised



Published: July 11, 2007

WASHINGTON, July 10 — Former Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona told a Congressional panel Tuesday that top Bush administration officials repeatedly tried to weaken or suppress important public health reports because of political considerations.



The administration, Dr. Carmona said, would not allow him to speak or issue reports about stem cells, emergency contraception, sex education, or prison, mental and global health issues. Top officials delayed for years and tried to “water down” a landmark report on secondhand smoke, he said. Released last year, the report concluded that even brief exposure to cigarette smoke could cause immediate harm.



Dr. Carmona said he was ordered to mention President Bush three times on every page of his speeches. He also said he was asked to make speeches to support Republican political candidates and to attend political briefings.



And administration officials even discouraged him from attending the Special Olympics because, he said, of that charitable organization’s longtime ties to a “prominent family” that he refused to name.



“I was specifically told by a senior person, ‘Why would you want to help those people?’ ” Dr. Carmona said.






So maybe people can put the outrage to rest for a bit. Seriously.



Comment by Raine on 03/20/2009 13:52:14
My point being -- the comment. as said, unfortunate (HI STAR!!!) ...

I am just wondering where the outrage was for the funds that were cut for the special olympics, and the reasons why.

Comment by velveeta jones on 03/20/2009 13:59:03
Morning all.



JD just made a comment that 2 US Navy vessels have collided. I don't see anything on the news though. Maybe I should turn SMS down?



:scratchhead:

Comment by starling310 on 03/20/2009 14:00:37
Quote by Raine:

My point being -- the comment. as said, unfortunate (HI STAR!!!) ...

I am just wondering where the outrage was for the funds that were cut for the special olympics, and the reasons why.




(HI RAINE!)



Excellent point.



Also...it didn't take a week in the news for him to apologize. He probably felt Bad immediately after saying it. Doesn't make it a good comment, but he did his best to fix it.





Comment by Raine on 03/20/2009 14:01:18
Quote by velveeta jones:

Morning all.



JD just made a comment that 2 US Navy vessels have collided. I don't see anything on the news though. Maybe I should turn SMS down?



:scratchhead:
I posted a link below...



Comment by velveeta jones on 03/20/2009 14:01:32
Oh,



Happy Birthday Liv :boobs:



And Papa TriSec. (sorry no flashing to your Dad). :P

Comment by Raine on 03/20/2009 14:01:43
Quote by Raine:

Quote by Raine:

There is a developing story happening about now ... it doesn't seem critical.. per say...



A U.S. Navy submarine and U.S. amphibious ship collided in the Strait of Hormuz early Friday morning. Overall damage to both ships is being evaluated. Submarine's (USS Hartford) propulsion plant was unaffected. USS New Orleans suffered a ruptured fuel tank.





CNN Link.
:bump:



Comment by velveeta jones on 03/20/2009 14:02:32
Quote by Raine:

Quote by velveeta jones:

Morning all.



JD just made a comment that 2 US Navy vessels have collided. I don't see anything on the news though. Maybe I should turn SMS down?



:scratchhead:
I posted a link below...





I should know better! You are SO on top of things.



Comment by velveeta jones on 03/20/2009 14:04:08
Happy Birthday Random! (Sorry, you're too young for flashing).

Comment by Raine on 03/20/2009 14:06:32
Quote by velveeta jones:



I should know better! You are SO on top of things.





The scary part is that one of those vessels was a Nuclear Sub.







Comment by Raine on 03/20/2009 14:07:11
Random is going to be 21... I think he is more than ready for a little



HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Comment by TriSec on 03/20/2009 14:18:16
Two more interviews next week!



Monday: Robert Half (agency, downtown Boston)

Friday: Metlife (personal referral via the regional manager....Waltham!)





Comment by wickedpam on 03/20/2009 14:19:40
That's cool Tri :D

Comment by velveeta jones on 03/20/2009 14:25:20
Quote by TriSec:

Two more interviews next week!



Monday: Robert Half (agency, downtown Boston)

Friday: Metlife (personal referral via the regional manager....Waltham!)







Woot!!



Comment by Random on 03/20/2009 14:26:36
Quote by Raine:

Random is going to be 21... I think he is more than ready for a little



HAPPY BIRTHDAY!


Woot!

Comment by Raine on 03/20/2009 14:27:14
:party: GREAT NEWS TRI!!!

Comment by velveeta jones on 03/20/2009 14:32:13




:rofl: :rofl:

Comment by Raine on 03/20/2009 14:43:48
Took me a while, but I found it... from Yesterdays Town Hall meeting in California... The president had requested earlier that people stand when asking a question... So that expalins the bedinning of this interchange. The rest is about the ADA...





Q I'm unable to stand up. I believe that I'm entitled to an exception of that rule under the ADA.



THE PRESIDENT: Go ahead.



Q I forgive you.



THE PRESIDENT: Go ahead.



Q Okay.



THE PRESIDENT: Introduce yourself.



Q I'm Gary Carr, and Mr. President, thank God for you. (Applause.) Sir, my question regards the true renaissance that's happening with people with disabilities. They are an emerging population -- millions of people with more potential in capacity, more mobile, more educated, more healthy, more empowered technology, but still trapped in very, very old social models that see them in terms of tragedy and charity and need and care. And the modern population of people with disabilities simply does not fit that model.



And as your plan succeeds and you generate these jobs, and as baby boomers retire, we're going to need every single person of capacity to work that we can. And that must include many, many, many thousands, if not millions, of people with disabilities. (Applause.)



So -- I see you nodding your head, so my first question is, do you subscribe to what I'm saying, and next of all, can you talk about how your disability agenda will release this emerging potential that's currently wasted and untapped?



THE PRESIDENT: Well, you are exactly right, that we need everybody. And every program that we have has to be thinking on the front end, how do we make sure that it is inclusive, and building into it our ability to draw on the capacities of persons with disabilities.



That's true on the education front, where our recovery package increases funding for children with disabilities. It is true in terms of how Hilda Solis, our Secretary of Labor, will be thinking about our training programs, to make sure that we are not excluding from training for high-tech jobs, the new jobs of the future, persons with disability.



It means enforcing the ADA and fighting back on some court opinions that have tried to narrow in ways that I think are inappropriate the original intent of that legislation.



So one of the things that I think is important is to make sure, as you pointed out, that we don't see this as an afterthought, a segregated program, but we are infusing every department, every agency, every act that we take with a mindfulness about the importance of persons with disabilities, their skills, their talents, their capacity.



That I think is the approach that my administration is going to take, and we hope that by taking that approach that attitude will infuse state and local governments that are also receiving federal money. Okay? (Applause.) This young lady right here has had her hand up for a while.




Comment by BobR on 03/20/2009 14:48:46
Quote by velveeta jones:





:rofl: :rofl:


everything you want is just a few hundred clicks away... :lol:

Comment by TriSec on 03/20/2009 14:49:48
Hey inaugural buddies (ah, remember the good days?)....



I hope you don't mind, but we're probably going to smoke those cigars tonight with Pops. I spent enough on them; I don't want them to dry out any more and become useless.



When things are better, we'll make up for it. I promise.





Comment by BobR on 03/20/2009 14:50:24
First it was "crippled"

then it was "handicapped"

now it's "special needs"



where does the PC end??

Comment by TriSec on 03/20/2009 14:51:05
Does anyone know, is the White House Bowling Alley Candlepin or Tenpin?



Because 129 in Candlepin is pretty damn good!



Comment by BobR on 03/20/2009 14:53:16
Quote by TriSec:

Hey inaugural buddies (ah, remember the good days?)....



I hope you don't mind, but we're probably going to smoke those cigars tonight with Pops. I spent enough on them; I don't want them to dry out any more and become useless.



When things are better, we'll make up for it. I promise.





I figured they'd last for a while inside the tubes (and then inside my little humidor).



I plan on firing ours up when I get a new job.



I'm still sorry we didn't smoke them there, but considering the circumstances, I think we can forgive ourselves for that. No need to apologize for now doing with them what you want...

Comment by wickedpam on 03/20/2009 14:56:19
Quote by BobR:

First it was "crippled"

then it was "handicapped"

now it's "special needs"



where does the PC end??






everyone on the planet has a special need, I never understood why "handicapped" was a bad word - it is simply descriptive



Comment by Raine on 03/20/2009 14:57:45
Quote by TriSec:

Does anyone know, is the White House Bowling Alley Candlepin or Tenpin?



Because 129 in Candlepin is pretty damn good!



Looks like Ten Pin.

Comment by Raine on 03/20/2009 15:07:53
Comment by Random on 03/20/2009 15:16:06
Quote by BobR:

First it was "crippled"

then it was "handicapped"

now it's "special needs"



where does the PC end??


When the same word is used to describe EVERYTHING!

Comment by Random on 03/20/2009 15:21:10




Random thinks he finally has --- I'm horny. O.o

Comment by Scoopster on 03/20/2009 15:22:29
Tenpin? Candlepin?



I thought it was Kingpin and Duckpin..

Comment by Scoopster on 03/20/2009 15:23:30


Joe The Plumber shall now be known as Squeezy McBoner.

Comment by wickedpam on 03/20/2009 15:35:33
Quote by Random:

Quote by BobR:

First it was "crippled"

then it was "handicapped"

now it's "special needs"



where does the PC end??


When the same word is used to describe EVERYTHING!






Its all Taco Bell.



Comment by livingonli on 03/20/2009 15:45:42
Good morning everyone. :yawn:



It seems like every morning it takes more effort for me to get out of bed and get to my computer.

Comment by livingonli on 03/20/2009 15:47:05
Quote by BobR:

I thought his birthday was tomorrow?


My birthday is tomorrow.