President Barack Obama is dealing with the expanding war in Afghanistan, violence in neighboring Pakistan and militants on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistan border.
The man overseeing U.S. policy in that part of the world, veteran diplomat Richard Holbrooke, arrived on Monday in Pakistan, the first stop in an extended trip to the region. In a sign of what may lie ahead, Holbrooke said on Sunday that the Afghan war will be tougher than Iraq — much tougher.
Dan Rather, former CBS News anchor and current anchor of Dan Rather Reports on HDNet, joins Martin Savidge to discuss his trip to Afghanistan, the effect of the forthcoming American troop surge on casualties, foreign cooperation in Afghanistan and Holbrookes short-term mission.
In his four years as an NFL quarterback — three with the Washington Redskins, one with the New Orleans Saints — North Carolina Congressman Heath Shuler threw 32 INTs while tallying only 15 TDs. He has just thrown two more. First, he was one of eleven Democrats in the House who voted no on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. But not content with that, Congressman Shuler today in Raleigh criticized Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid for failing to pursue a bipartisan compromise to a costly economic stimulus package, arguing that a lack of Republican support is eroding the program’s credibility. Perhaps Congressman Shuler would like to be traded.
“In order for us to get the confidence of America, it has to be done in a bipartisan way,” Shuler said in Raleigh following an economic forum, according to the AP.
“We have to have everyone — Democrats and Republicans standing on the stage with the administration — saying, ‘We got something done that was efficient, stimulative and timely.’”
Here’s the kicker: “I truly feel that’s where maybe House leadership and Senate leadership have really failed.”
Apparently, the notion that the GOP’s policies amount to tax cuts and more tax cuts that do nothing more than enrich the rich is lost on the Congressman from North Carolina. It seems he took one too many blows to the head during his NFL career.
The CEO and founder Shai Agassi of Palo Alto based Better Place wants to change the automotive industry by switching gas stations with battery replacement and charging stations for the next generation of electric cars.
Although current plans include smaller areas like Hawaii, Israel, Denmark, and San Francisco, Better Place aims at nothing short of an industry-transforming revolution. Will it be possible?
In this extended interview, Shai Agassi discusses his company’s plans and challenges. Bruce Upbin, a managing editor at Forbes Magazine, comments on Better Place’s challenges and why the network may not work in the U.S.
After decades of royal rule millions of Iranians took to the streets in a popular movement against a regime that was seen as brutal, corrupt and illegitimate. Revolutionary forces, under the leadership of Grand Ayatollah Khomeini, forced the Shah of Iran into exile. His government was overthrown and replaced by a new Islamic order. The Islamic revolution put Iran on a new path – one that brought it to war with its neighbour and ongoing conflict with the West.
Thirty years of the founding of the Islamic Republic, the ideals that inspired the uprising continue to inform every day life in modern Iran.
Al Jazeera looks at how the revolution has managed to sustain itself through war, international isolation, economic sanctions, and regional turbulence.
As soon as Israel concluded its military campaign in Gaza, the country launched itself into a different campaign for elections. Inevitably, the war has featured highly in that political campaign, with many parties competing for the security vote. Israel as a nation has shifted to the right. People are disillusioned with a peace process that appears to be going nowhere.
On CBS’ Face The Nation this week, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) used the rhetoric of conservative columnist Michelle Malkin, claiming that President Obama’s economic recovery package is really “generational theft” because of its price tag. Odd for a member of a party under whose stewardship is responsible 9 trillion dollars worth of debt.
The developer of a Rio Vista, California neighborhood built everything except the houses. There are streets, sidewalks and even stop signs, but none of the 855 planned homes.
As a Goldman Sachs alumnus, I remain proud of the firm and the values and principles for which the firm stands. Unfortunately, the values espoused by Goldman, nor its caution, are not shared by most of the world’s financial elite. Today the Financial Times published an op-ed by Goldman’s CEO Lloyd Blankfein on the nature of financial risk and on the importance of marking to market. Had Lehman Brothers marked to market, it would have never found itself in the position that it did. Running an investment bank is not rocket science, it is, however, laborious and tedious not to mention lucrative. Mr. Blankfein also criticizes the complexity, if not the absurdity, of many financial instruments. It is time to rein in the process of securitization.
Since the spring, and most acutely this autumn, a global contagion of fear and panic has choked off the arteries of finance, compounding a broader deterioration in the global economy.
Much of the past year has been deeply humbling for our industry. People are understandably angry and our industry has to account for its role in what has transpired.
Financial institutions have an obligation to the broader financial system. We depend on a healthy, well-functioning system but we failed to raise enough questions about whether some of the trends and practices that had become commonplace really served the public’s long-term interests.
As policymakers and regulators begin to consider the regulatory actions to be taken to address the failings, I believe it is useful to reflect on some of the lessons from this crisis.