al qaeda

Daily News Roundup: BlackBerries and Barack and Bombs

Wednesday, November 26th, 2008

In technology news, the new BlackBerry Storm smartphone has a New York Times reviewer calling it the “BlackBerry Dud.” Unlike its predecessors, the BlackBerry Pearl and Bold, the Storm model doesn’t appear to live up to the BlackBerry tradition. According to the review, the new touchscreen (designed to compete with the iPhone) doesn’t respond well to touch. And its lauded email capabilities have been compromised on the new Storm. Hey BlackBerry makers, Research in Motion (R.I.M.) maybe you should have listened to the old adage: if it’s not broken don’t fix it….(Note: Blackberries still outsell iPhone).

With the U.S. economic problems looming, President-Elect Barack Obama named Paul Volcker, the former Federal Reserve Chairman to head his Economic Recovery Advisory Committee. Obama chose Volcker for his independent and fresh thinking. “At this defining moment for our nation, the old ways of thinking and acting just won’t do,” Obama said at a news conference in Chicago reported Bloomberg. This economic board will look for new ways to revive the U.S. economy.

In other President-elect cabinet news, sources tell CNN that Defense Secretary Robert Gates will keep his job for at least the first year of Obama’s administration. These sources also report “Obama is interested in some continuity at the Pentagon because he is entering office while dealing with two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the international financial crisis.” Other analysts claim the new president-elect is demonstrating his commitment to bipartisanship.

And if we haven’t noticed, the President-elect is making his cabinet picks fairly quickly. Obama is once again making presidential history with choosing his picks faster than most of the other presidents. Many political insiders are surprised because of the President-elect’s extensive candidate questionnaire and background check. Yet Obama appears committed to acting quickly to ensure a quick transition that will strengthen the economy and preserve jobs, which are on the minds of most Americans.

And if following up on his earlier threat to Obama, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said al Qaeda has sent a “plausible but unsubstantiated” report to Federal authorities that may have mentioned attacking transit systems in or around New York City. The DHS and FBI said Tuesday that the attacks would be waged with suicide bombers or explosives on trains and subways. Although the agencies don’t have details at this moment, they issued the warning because of a potential attack during the holiday season.

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Daily News Roundup: Racial Slurs and Cabinet Rumors

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

In a message that appeared Wednesday on Islamist web sites, al Qaeda’s second-in-command warns President-elect Barack Obama about the “heavy legacy of failure and crimes that await him.” He also urged Muslims to keep up the attacks on the U.S. Perhaps in an attempt to anger and insult America’s next president, the terrorist leader, Al Zawahiri, also called Obama, Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell, the “direct opposite of honorable black Americans” like Malcolm X. Zawahiri even went as far as to call them “house slaves” or the racial slur of “house Negroes.” The buzz is surrounding Obama’s current picks for several key members of his cabinet. Sources tell CNN that Sen. Tom Daschle is being considered for the Secretary of Health and Human Services job. Daschle, the former Senate Majority Leader, is expected to take the position if offered.  And for the Attorney General job, Eric Holder, who was Clinton’s Deputy Attorney General, is the top choice for Obama. Holder, who co-chaired Obama’s vice president selection process, is also expected to accept the position.  History could be made again because “if confirmed, Holder would be the first African-American to lead the Justice Department.” And Bill Clinton is trying to help his wife get the Secretary of State position in Obama’s cabinet. Clinton has offered to allow ethical reviews of his philanthropic and business work to ensure there isn’t a conflict of interest. Unlike Holder and Daschle, Clinton is reportedly unsure whether she will take the position. She will have to choose between remaining in the Senate or accepting the new position. “The question is where she can be of best service,” said a Clinton adviser. More dismal news on the economic front. The U.S. cost of living fell by the most since the records began in 1947. The fewest number of homes (known as housing starts) were constructed last month. And the consumer price index (CPI) has slide backwards, which means deflation. Yes, this recession is the worst once for at least a quarter of a century. And Xbox 360 gamers may be rejoicing worldwide. On Wednesday, Microsoft unveiled a revamped Xbox gaming console. The new internet-connected setup includes an updated dashboard, the ability to purchase movies and games from Xbox.com and streaming HD Netflix movies with membership. The “New Xbox Experience” (NXE) is available to Xbox Live members.

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Daily News Roundup: Marriage, Money and More…

Wednesday, November 12th, 2008

Gay marriage scored a victory Wednesday in Connecticut. A Superior Court judge issued its final ruling to uphold the earlier 4 to 3 Connecticut State Supreme Court ruling that said same-sex couples have the right to wed. This recent news stands in sharp contrast to California’s Prop. 8 referendum that banned same-sex unions in that state.

Where in the world is Osama bin Laden? That is exactly what President-elect Barack Obama wants to know according to his national security advisers. Obama plans to renew the United States’ commitment to finding the al Qaeda leader. During the Oct. 7 presidential debate, Obama said, “We will kill bin Laden. We will crush al Qaeda. That has to be our biggest national security priority.”

And Obama appears to be sticking to his principles and promises… President-elect Barack Obama will not allow lobbyists to help pay for any costs related to his transition to power said his transition team yesterday. As he promised to keep big-time money interests and lobbyists out of his campaign, Obama remains firm that lobbyists will not foot his transition and inauguration bills.

Mo’ money, mo’ money, mo’ money for more finance companies? U.S. Treasury Secretary Paulson is seeking to include non-bank financial institutions, such as credit card, car loan and student loan companies into the government’s $700 billion bailout. Paulson said Wednesday that he wants to help American households and businesses have access to various credit and borrowing options. Apparently, there is still $350 billion that is uncommitted after putting the first half into direct capital investments into banks.

And for troubled homeowners, the verdict is still out on government help. The House Committee on Financial Services is looking at what the banking industry can do to help distressed homeowners. Chairman of the committee, Rep. Barney Frank, told CNN “not all borrowers should necessarily be rescued.” Some banks like Citigroup and IndyMac have taken matters into their own hands and launched homeowner programs. Yet “Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Economy.com, estimates that 1.6 million Americans will lose their homes this year through foreclosure or distressed sale, and that another 1.9 million families will lose their homes in 2009.”

On the tech front…. Hoping for a boost in e-mail users, Google adds video and audio chatting to Gmail with new service called Google Talk. Although video and audio chatting aren’t new technologies, Google’s the first major email provider to add the new technology directly to its email system. Google wants to gain the lead on Yahoo and Microsoft, which still have more users.

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Debate Analysis: Off The Deep End

Wednesday, October 8th, 2008

A few notes about the debate last night:

1) McCain needed a win, and he didn’t get it. Most  post-debate polls pointed to a clear Obama win, and on CNN — still using those absurd blue and red circular scorecards — even the Republican strategists handed it to Obama.

2) McCain still hates earmarks. Tagged at about $18 billion of the nearly $3 trillion total federal budget, they are — to risk understatement — inconsequential. Sure, $18 billion is a lot, but at a time when the government just anted up $700 billion in bailout money to maybe halt the country’s economic meltdown, the federal deficit has doubled to $10 trillion in the last eight years, and the war in Iraq alone is eating up $10 billion a month – earmarks barely even register. That, of course, didn’t stop McCain from attacking Obama twice for voting for a $3 million overhead projector for a Chicago planetarium. Wow.

3) McCain: “I’ll get Osama Bin Laden, my friends. I know how to get him. I know how to do it.” Well, I’m sure that’s news to George Bush. And Bin Laden. One wonders why he hasn’t suspended his campaign to do that yet.

4) My favorite part of the debate: Shortly after criticizing Obama for announcing that he’d be willing to launch unilateral attacks into Pakistan if Pakistan refuses to take out al-Qaeda camps or Bin Laden (advising that America needs to carry a big stick and walk softly), Obama points out that McCain was the one who — among other notable gaffes — sang ‘Bomb Iran’. Watch how quickly McCain’s body language changes — hilaaaarious (c) Dave Chappelle/Nick Cannon.

Afterward, McCain tried to explain himself by pointing out that it was a joke shared with an old veteran buddy of his. Wrong wrong wrong, wrong wrong again (I know…) — check out the video below:

5) Oh, and the New York Times released a remarkably blunt editorial taking the McCain-Palin campaign to ask for descending “into the dark territory of race-baiting and xenophobia.” All in all, not the best time to be a McCain supporter.

This piece was originally posted on Matt’s blog.

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McCain’s middle east of the mind

Thursday, March 20th, 2008

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Meantime, the McCain campaign is not campaigning. The senator from Arizona wants to be clear that, on the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, he’s merely visiting the Middle East to take a lay of the land. It’s a good thing, too, because McCain has repeatedly confused Shia and Sunni Iraqis and Iranian militants with Al Qaeda— which is no small thing given our propensity as a nation to invade countries we have associated, rightly or wrongly, with the Bin Laden band. At a press conference Tuesday in Jordan, it took Sen. Joe Lieberman leaning into McCain’s ear to get him to stop repeating the words “Iran” and “Al Qaeda” in the same breath. McCain finally comes out with an… “um… Iran is training extremists, not Qaeda members,” as if it were a simple oversight or vocabulary choice, the whole incident signaling that to McCain on some level it’s pretty much all the same.

Will this kind of repeated bungling dilute impressions, particularly among the press, that McCain is “The Man” when it comes to matters of national security? It should. McCain has based his entire candidacy around his expertise on our military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. While Obama and Clinton are talking about Pastor Wright, McCain is taking the opportunity to be photographed seriously treading the stubby desert ground of the Middle East, making important-sounding pronouncements— their being confused pronouncements only perhaps making them seem more familiarly presidential— because it’s the setting and the seeming concern you convey that has mattered for these past five years and not the grasp you have of the related realities!

Reporter to McCain in embattled Sderot, Israel, yesterday: “Do you agree with President Bush’s approach to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process?”

McCain: “If I come back here as a candidate, I will articulate my plans… Very frankly, I’m just here assessing the situation.”

Let’s hope Lieberman accompanies McCain on any planned fact-finding missions he might be forced to take to Wall Street. Lieberman can lean into his ear there too and explain what the hell is a Bear Stearns and how a deregulated loan market brought out “extremist groups” in strip-mall offices in every town in the country— attacking our way of life and our American dreams!

Click into the image to watch Keith Olbermann dissect the McCain comments at MSNBC.

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