Theodore's World

Powell: U.S. should talk with Syria, Iran
WASHINGTON, June 10 (UPI) — Former Secretary of State Colin Powell recommends the United States engage in talks with Syria, Iran and other Middle East nations.
Speaking to Tim Russert on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Powell said such talks should no be to solve a particular problem or crisis du jour but to have a dialogue with the people involved in the region in many ways.

“And so I think it is shortsighted not to talk to Syria and Iran and everybody else in the region and not for the purpose of making a demand on them, and I’ll only talk to you if you meet the demand that I want to talk to you about,” he said.

And then there is this as well…………….
Colin Powell: Close Guantánamo Prison Camps
Miami Herald
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday he favors immediately closing the Guantánamo Bay military prison and moving its detainees to U.S. facilities. The prison, which now holds about 385 war-on-terror captives, has tarnished the world’s perception of the United States, Powell said.
”If it was up to me, I would close Guantánamo. Not tomorrow, but this afternoon. I’d close it,” he said.
”And I would not let any of those people go,” he said. “I would simply move them to the United States and put them into our federal legal system. The concern was, well then they’ll have access to lawyers, then they’ll have access to writs of habeas corpus. So what? Let them. Isn’t that what our system is all about?”
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said Congress and the Bush administration should work together to allow imprisonment of some of the more dangerous detainees elsewhere so the military camp at the remote U.S. Navy base in Cuba can be closed.
The Defense Department estimates it would take about three years to conduct 60 to 80 military trials, if the administration authorizes that many.

Wild Thing’s comment……..
First let me say I am not a fan of Powell, never have been. I saw through him before GW Bush was elected President the first time. Powell was making statements to the press he would not mind working for Gore when he was elected President. Then Gore lost and Bush gave Powell a job. What the heck was that, keeping your enemies close maybe? Not my cup of tea thank you ever so. I want a different kind of person in my Foxhole, not someone whose allegience is wishy washie. Powell also counciled against Gulf War I , because we might have 30,000 KIAs going up against that “elite” force known as the Republican Guard.
Sooooooo to Powell……It will never again be “up to you.” So fade away already. You are so 5 minutes ago. You had your chance to make a difference and you botched it.
Powell wants us to talk to the two terrorist states most responsible for the murders of American troops in Iraq????? Good grief, and a BIG ole WTF applies here!!!!
My only idea about communicating with Syria and Iran would be a message delivered by Air Mail, from 30,000 feet up that would certainly be appropriate.
“I would simply move them to the United States and put them into our federal legal system. The concern was, well then they’ll have access to lawyers, then they’ll have access to writs of habeas corpus. So what? Let them. Isn’t that what our system is all about?”
Yeah, there’s a great idea – – turn the WOT into a lawyer-infested circus, complete with a clown car packed with scumbag liberal activist judges.

Rock down to Iraq

Wild Thing’s comment………..
I love to see your guys doing things like this. They work so hard, and sacrifice so much for all of us.
You guys are fantastic, thank you so much for all you do.

NBC to Give Gore 75 Hours of Free Air Time
NBC Universal will devote a whopping 75 hours of air time to showing Al Gore’s “Live Earth: The Concerts for a Climate in Crisis.”
And if Gore decides to run for president in 2008, the event would be “one of the largest ever, if not the largest, in-kind contributions to a presidential campaign,” according to The Media Research Center’s NewsBusters.org, a Web site dedicated to combating liberal media bias.
In addition to devoting all of NBC-TV’s Saturday, July 7 prime time to the concerts, CNBC will carry seven hours of coverage from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. EDT, Bravo will show the concerts around the world for 18 hours beginning at 8 a.m. EDT, and the Sundance channel and the Universal HD channel will air the concerts for 22 hours each beginning at 4 a.m.
Also, NBC Universal’s mun2 will run a two-hour show at 5 p.m. and Telemundo will air a one-hour special at 7 p.m. On top of all that, MSNBC will broadcast special coverage of the concert events throughout the day.

According to a press release from NBC, “this monumental music event will bring together more than 100 of today’s hottest artists and two billion people to focus the world’s attention on this global climate crisis and what can be done to reduce global warming.”

The concerts will take place in New York, London, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hamburg, Istanbul, Johannesburg and Rio de Janeiro. The musical acts participating include Madonna, Sheryl Crow, Kelly Clarkson, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Melissa Etheridge, Bon Jovi, Kanye West, John Mayer, Black Eyed Peas and Duran Duran.
The press release concludes:

“Live Earth marks the beginning of a multi-year campaign led by The Alliance for Climate Protection and its Chair, former Vice President Al Gore, to move individuals, corporations and governments to take action.”

Wild Thing’s comment………..
Wonder if Sheryl Crow will be handing out single squares of toilet paper to the crowds? Never ever will I understand the mindset of following the crowd. Do all these people really believe this bunk???? There are a lot of professionals out there saying this is all a bunch of BS, people that even spent time working with Gore at the beginning and then after researching it found it was a LIE, a complete lie. But the media has some weird sick agenda to push this lie and for what?

Capt. Randy W. Stone, USMC
From Capt. Stone’s statement at the conclusion of his Article 32 on May 15th…

“I have never lied and have worked at all times to assist as best I could to shed light on what I knew and when I knew it. The most frustrating thing is the reality that even looking at this whole matter through 20/20 hindsight, I know I was trying to help.
“My firm belief that there was no law of armed conflict violation was the foundation for what actions I did take as well as action I did not take.”

Officer recommends dropping Haditha charges against Marine (Capt. Randy W. Stone)
(AP)
Charges against a Marine officer accused of failing to investigate the killings of 24 Iraqis in the town of Haditha should be dismissed, the investigating officer in the case has recommended.
Capt. Randy W. Stone, 34, is one of four officers accused of failing to report and investigate the deaths of the men, women and children in a deadly sweep on a chaotic day of battle in the village.
His attorney, Charles Gittins, said Saturday that investigating officer Maj. Thomas McCann concluded in a report to the commanding general overseeing the case that Stone should not face trial and the matter should be handled administratively.
The recommendation is non-binding. A final decision will be made by Lt. Gen. James Mattis, the commanding general overseeing the case.
Stone faces up to 2 1/2 years in prison and dismissal if his case goes to trial and he is convicted.
Camp Pendleton spokesman Lt. Col. Sean Gibson declined to comment until Mattis makes his final decision.
Stone is one of four officers charged with dereliction of duty. Three enlisted Marines are charged with murder. All belonged to the Camp Pendleton-based 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment.

Wild Thing’s comment………

Seems to me that, at a minimum, this says something about everything else. If there was no demand that an investigation was required, then there were no circumstances screaming “demand.” In short, AT THAT TIME everyone and his brother was viewing the events of Haditha Day as “what war really looks like.”
All the witnesses are terrorists, or those that give aid to the terrorists. This whole thing never should have
been investigated at all. This is WAR and dang-it, let our troops alone to fight this war. All this interferrence and catrering to the terrorists to look into this is NOT good for our troops. Not good at all.
God Bless our Marines!

Hershey’s Move To Mexico
OAKDALE, Calif.
On a warm May weekend in this Central Valley town, the irony was thick.
As usual, the annual Chocolate Festival was drawing hordes of fun-seekers. But Hershey Co., Oakdale’s biggest employer and the nation’s biggest candy company, is closing its plant here, eliminating all 575 jobs. The company will open a factory in Monterrey, Mexico, to handle the production.
One man at the festival wore a T-shirt that said on the front: “Where did ‘the great American candy bar’ go?” Asked for the answer, he whirled around to display the back: “Mexico!”
For Hershey workers in Oakdale, globalization is no longer an abstraction.
Like many Americans, they suddenly face questions as immediate as how to make a living and as far-reaching as whether 20th-century manufacturing skills will count for much. Production at the plant here is to be phased out by the end of the year.
When she heard the news, Mabel McNaught, a school custodian, wondered how her family would recover. Her husband, Philip, 50, is a forklift driver at the plant, and she figures that finding another job nearby with similar pay and benefits won’t be easy. “I was devastated,” she said. “I just started crying.”
The 113-year-old company has described the plant shutdown as part of a “global supply-chain transformation.” Overall, about 3,000 of Hershey’s 13,000 workers will lose their jobs, including as many as 900 in the company’s hometown of Hershey, Pa. By 2010, Hershey says, the moves will save shareholders as much as $190 million annually.

“The financials are compelling,” chief executive officer Richard H. Lenny told a meeting of market analysts in February, saying labor costs in Mexico are 10 percent less than in the United States.

Asked about the negative publicity that would come with the plant closures, he said the decisions were “gut-wrenchingly difficult – but in the best interests of the business.”

Hershey has been an Oakdale fixture since 1965. Over the years, the plant on the edge of town has churned out nut-studded chocolate bars and uncounted millions of chocolate Kisses.
At times, the community of 18,000 is infused with the scent of chocolate, although it competes with the aroma of tomato sauce from the ConAgra processing plant down the road.
This month, the company lowered its projected 2007 earnings, citing high dairy prices. And, like other domestic candy companies, Hershey complains about government agricultural supports keeping the price of sugar at least double the level in foreign markets.

“The candy business has been laboring under this burden for a number of years,” said Ray Jones, a director at Dechert-Hampe, a marketing consultant specializing in candy and confections.

In addition, Hershey has old plants that are tough to overhaul – “inefficient legacy infrastructure,” in the words of Lenny, the chief executive. The company sees lucrative markets in places such as China, where it has introduced green-tea-flavored Kisses, and in Mexico, where it plans to feature “locally relevant nut flavors” in its Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

“None of that is good news for Oakdale”, said Jones, the marketing consultant.

Wild Thing’s comment………..
Another American “institution” down the drain. Mexico isnt known as the cleanest place in the world. I dont want a Chocolate bar from there. If they keep on sending jobs to Mexico why do we still get the illegals from Mexico?!?!?
I have been opposed to NAFTA and all the similar crap for years and years;not that ANY of the politicians cared.

DeMint Puts Immigration On The Campaign Trail
It was only a matter of time that immigration would become a major platform issue.
And U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., was the one to strike the pose despite not being up for election for another three years.
His campaign released the results of an online immigration survey this week that showed 97 percent of South Carolina respondents believe the current Senate bill will not solve illegal immigration problems and 95 percent don’t support it.
DeMint hit several of the state’s key cities last week trying to gauge reactions to the proposed Senate bill that calls for increased border security, increase penalties for businesses hiring undocumented workers and the opportunity to gain citizenship over a period of years.
The majority of the people at these events have been outspoken critics of the immigration bill and its supporters. The general feeling is that Congress won’t do any of the previsions of the bill, and it will lead to blanket amnesty.

“This isn’t shocking to me,” DeMint said in a statement. “After traveling the state last week and listening to constituents talk about this bill, I am convinced the vast majority of South Carolinians do not support amnesty for illegal immigrants.”

The survey was placed on DeMint’s campaign site, which previously had not been updated since his 2004 victory over Democrat Inez Tenenbaum.
However, dissatisfaction over immigration in South Carolina has led to several rumblings amongst conservative activists about running candidates against Republican incumbents, so it is not surprising that DeMint’s team is making it a campaign issue for him.
DeMint has been an outspoken critic of the immigration bill. He offered nine amendments to the bill since it was introduced in May, and each one failed to pass. Those bills ranged from eliminating Z visas to requiring full border security before amnesty could be given.

“This proves to me that the Senate isn’t serious about responsible reform,” he said.

This week, his campaign e-mailed an immigration survey to more than 10,976 South Carolina voters. As of Thursday, 2,518 votes were tallied from South Carolina IP addresses.
It showed 98 percent said illegal immigration was a serious problem, 96 percent don’t support amnesty, 98 percent said borders must be secured and 96 percent said businesses need to be held accountable when verifying Social Security numbers.

“I know this online survey isn’t a scientific representation of the electorate, but it is a good indication where a number of grassroots activists in South Carolina stand on this issue,” DeMint said.

Wild Thing’s comment………..

I realize this could not happen, BUT I would LOVE to put this whole thing for a vote from the citizens of the USA. Yes, why not, let US speak how we want this to be handled. NO lobbyist can effect my thoughts and decisions. No LaRazza can tell me how to vote, or Soros either for that matter.
“However, dissatisfaction over immigration in South Carolina has led to several rumblings amongst conservative activists about running candidates against Republican incumbents, so it is not surprising that DeMint’s team is making it a campaign issue for him.”
And that is the ONLY WAY to put the fear of God in the ones that are traitors that are pushing this bill.
It is just up to us to do it. Call your local Republican office and tell them point blank that you will neither send money or support candidates that propose or vote for pro-illegal laws.
Let We The People VOTE on this, and my gut tells me it will be a majority vote for following the law that exist for immigration.
And thing we need is a constitutional amendment that provides for the recall of US Senators. Because right now we might as well all have this stamped on our foreheads……
Illegals: representation without taxation——–Citizens: taxation without representation

McCain speaks during a town hall meeting, Friday, June 8, 2007, in Pella, Iowa. (AP Photo)

Time short for immigration bill
Republican presidential hopeful John McCain (news, bio, voting record) said Saturday that time is running out on overhauling immigration policy.

“We’ve got other things to do in the Senate,” McCain told reporters. “Hopefully we can come to an agreement, but in all candor — a little straight talk — time is not on our side.”

McCain also challenged opponents of the plan to step up.

“The status quo is de facto amnesty — fact,” the Arizona senator said. “So for us to do nothing and celebrate the fact that we stopped this legislation, well then those who have a better idea can give it to us. We can consider it and move forward.”

A comprehensive plan supported by McCain, President Bush and a group of bipartisan senators fell 15 votes short of the 60 needed on Thursday in a critical test to limit debate and allow a vote on the measure itself. As a result, many in Washington have declared major immigration changes are dead for now.
McCain, though, said it was possible to pass a bill.
He spoke after a town hall event in Newton, where immigration dominated discussion and McCain spent much time defending the stalled proposal.
Opponents of the legislation, he said, are not listening to the public.

“People want us to resolve this issue. The majority of Americans support a comprehensive approach to it,” McCain said.

Immigration is a frequent topic at McCain’s campaign events in Iowa, where precinct caucuses are expected to launch the presidential nominating calendar in January.

“This is a burning issue,” he said. “Every town hall meeting I have there is this kind of deep concern. But there’s also a desire to see us do something. They wonder, ‘Why won’t you fix it?’ That’s why they send us to Washington. To fix things.”

Wild Thing’s comment…………

What is so hard about enforcing the laws already on the books? We fine employers who hire illegals. We have excellent information gathering at our disposal. We find illegals, we send them back home. We build a fence, and we monitor that fence to keep them out. This should be the plan. Dry up their sources of income and they will have to go home. Are they that thick-headed?
“This is a burning issue,” he said. “Every town hall meeting I have there is this kind of deep concern. But there’s also a desire to see us do something. They wonder, ‘Why won’t you fix it?’ That’s why they send us to Washington. To fix things.”
We didn’t mean for you to make it worse dumba$$.
“The status quo is de facto amnesty — fact,” the Arizona senator said
Only because people like you, Senator, refuse to uphold the laws…even thought you raised your right hand and swore to do so. Table this treacherous monstrosity and enforce the existing Laws that you have intentionally ignored!!!

CLICK above to WATCH Video

For over 40 years, Army Special Forces trainees have roamed the pine forests of central North Carolina in an elaborate and unusual military exercise known as Robin Sage. This final two-week test in a yearlong journey to receiving the trademark green beret requires the soldiers to recruit and train a guerrilla force.
They are in high demand not only in Iraq and Afghanistan but also for low-visibility missions in festering trouble spots around the world. They specialize in commando raids on terrorists, training foreign troops, and raising guerrilla forces.
Last year, the Pentagon rolled out a plan to add a total of 13,119 military and civilian personnel to the current force of 46,223 by 2013. That’s a very tall order since the great majority of those who try out fail to pass the arduous training. It is a challenging task to quickly expand the country’s most elite units—whose members are carefully chosen and groomed at great expense—without jeopardizing the force’s high mental and physical capabilities.
While the training is physically demanding, the premium is on finding recruits with the right combination of mental and personality traits. Selection chief Maj. Ed Flick said a battery of psychological tests is administered, and the officers go through additional role-playing exercises to test recruits’ reactions in different settings.
On a crisp morning, for instance, trainees awoke from a late-night march and four hours’ sleep to be sent to the log pit, where they worked in teams to balance and maneuver telephone poles on command until they were exhausted. Instructors yelled at the laggards, the only time in the entire month when they receive such hectoring.

“Most often we want to see how they do with no feedback,” Flick said, “because we are looking for people who can operate without constant guidance in uncertain environments.”

Once selected, the soldiers are trained in special operations techniques. A course in survival, evasion, resistance, and escape is now mandatory for all trainees, instead of for just officers. The training includes prisoner and hostage situations.
For complete article you can go here, it is several pages long and really interesting.

Peace Corps Part of Edwards Terror PlanNYSun
Senator Edwards is outlining a new national security strategy that includes the creation of a 10,000-person civilian peace corps to stem the tide of terrorism in weak and unstable countries.
Mr. Edwards’s plan, which he presented in Manhattan yesterday, comes less than a week after he called President Bush’s war on terror a “bumper sticker slogan” and said the current national security strategy has not made America safer.
The plan Mr. Edwards presented yesterday — which he dubbed “A Strategy to Shut Down Terrorists and Stop Terrorism Before It Starts” — calls for a 10,000-person “Marshall Corps” to deal with issues ranging from worldwide poverty and economic development to clean drinking water and micro-lending. He said investing in those areas would shore up weak nations and help ensure that terrorism does not take root there. That, he said, would allow the country to stop potential terrorists before they even join the ranks.
More Here if you can stand it

Wild Thing’s comment………
Good grief! You can’t make up this kind of stuff. Edwards the hippie thinker in a suit. If I’m fighting terrorists, I want to be with the Marine Corps!
He has absolutely no understanding of our enemies at all. Not even a little. He seems to think a person can sit down with a terrorist, break bread with them and maybe by being soooo nice, warm and fuzzy will be able to turn the terrorist into a huggie bear instead of what they are and their agenda to destroy all of us.
Edwards and a lot of the Dems. think we can just talk and talk about things and eventually terrorism will be defeated. Obviously all Edwards thinks that’s necessary to bring the jihadists to their knees is to blast ’em with that damned Disney song…”It’s a small world after all, It’s a small world after all, it’s a small, small, worlllllllld.”
Yeah, that oughta do it

From left are, Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa. (AP Photo)

Bush hopes to revive immigration bill
WASHINGTON
President Bush, trying to recover from a stinging setback on immigration, will personally try in a visit to the Capitol next week to revive the embattled plan for legalizing millions of unlawful immigrants.
Bush’s scheduled lunch on Tuesday with GOP senators is part of a campaign by the White House and allies in both parties to placate or outmaneuver conservative Republicans who blocked the broad immigration measure this week. They said Friday they would try again to reach accord on the number of amendments the dissidents could offer.
Opponents of the bill promised to continue fighting all such efforts.
Several Senate conservatives continue to say they have not been allowed to offer enough changes to the bill. Some of their proposals would make it easier to detect and deport immigrants who have overstayed their visas or committed other violations.

Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., a key opponent, said the bill as written “still unfairly burdens taxpayers, doesn’t ensure secure borders and guarantees amnesty” for illegal immigrants.

The bill’s supporters say DeMint and other critics will oppose the measure no matter how many amendments are accepted. Nonetheless, they agreed Friday that some type of peace accord with the conservatives is essential if the measure is to return to life.

“If we’re able to come up with a list of amendments that could take two or even three days to complete, 10 years from now or 100 years from now who will care that it was an extra three days if we can achieve the result that we’re talking about?” said Sen. Jon Kyl , R-Ariz.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., told reporters he was hopeful because the Senate “is a chemical place. There’s a flow to activity here. The tide comes in and goes out. And once in a while, the stars get lined up correctly, and we move ahead.”

Sen. Dianne Feinstein , D-Calif., complained that critics continue to use the word “amnesty” to refer to proposals to legalize immigrants who agreed to pay fines, learn English and, at some point, briefly return to their home countries before obtaining lawful status in the U.S.

“I’ve listened to talk show hosts drumming up the opposition by using this word ‘amnesty’ over and over and over again,” she said. In her 15 years in the Senate, Feinstein said, “I’ve never received more hate or more racist phone calls and threats.”

Wild Thing’s comment…………
This is not over yet. They won’t give up this easily. Bush wants this because he is a globalist with his eyes tuned into large multinational corporations. Bush is going to put everything on the line to get this bill passed.