Mike Rogers Takes on White House Over Interrogation Tactics

Washington - Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich. promises to take on the White House's soft peddle approach to questioning terrorists.  Rep. Rogers wants Congress to lonch and investigation into how the Obama administration is prosecuting the war on terror. Just because they are not calling it "The War on Terror" anymore does not make it go away.  Since 2008, Rogers has been slamming President Obama for handling this war on terror as a law enforcement issue and not a war.  In January Rogers will be the new chair of the House Intelligence Committee. Rogers said, "We went from an intelligence-based approach to a law enforcement-based approach, and we really never asked the question, 'Are we safer?'" While Rogers says he does not want terror suspects to be tortured, he does believe in robust combatant interrogation. He does not believe that the Army Field Manual goes far enough as it requires interrogators to only use 19 approved techniques.

"Remember, an FBI agent can use certain psychological techniques against a gangster in New York City that the Army Field Manual would not allow a CIA case officer to use on a foreign terrorist sent here to blow up Americans," he scoffs. "There's a contradiction here that we have to get to the bottom of."
Rogers wants do close down the, so called, High-Value Interrogation Group (HIG). This is a special team of sensitivity trained interrogators that White House put together to question, with kit gloves, captured suspected terrorists around the world.
Rogers claims that the HIG is nothing more than a politically created group which has done little to protect American citizens, but cost a tremendous amount of money to maintain and fly around the world.  He says that it is just another layer of bureaucracy that limits the ability of case officers to get to the bottom of what the suspect was up to and limits information obtained about larger groups.
Then there is the Mirandizing of terror suspects. Rogers said, "Those kinds of things can get hindered when a law enforcement agent says, 'Hey, you have the right to remain silent, oh by the way, if you can't afford a lawyer, we'll give you one, courtesy of the U.S. taxpayer.'"
Rogers has also indicated that he may be in favor of eliminating the director of national intelligence position altogether. In the wake of the serious gaff from the current position holder, James Clapper. When he was asked about a major terror arrest in London, he knew nothing about it.
To make matters worse, the administration defended Clapper. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said we should, "be fair" to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. See story at http://www.under5cents.com/search/label/Good%20Old%20Boy.
Roger lamented on the whole department,"more inboxes, more bureaucracy." It is assumed that bureaucracy is a bad thing.

What do you think?
P. V. Street

Window Washer from Webroot Scam

A few years ago I came across this incredible deal.  (There is your first clue.)
What did dad always say? Yeah, I remember, If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Well, A company called Webroot sold me this wonderful product called Window Washer. It really scrubs your computer clean of any thing left over from browsing.  Everytime it is like starting over with a brand new computer.  I have no complaint about that.
Before I purchased the product for under $40 several years ago, I was given a promise that I would never have to pay for an update or for another version or anything ever again for this product, because it comes with lifetime updates.
At the time of the purchase I believe I was using Windows 95. Since then I have upgraded to every new Microsoft platform. I had no trouble at all with my copy of Window Washer.  I have purchased several new computers and was allowed to access the product by my email address and download my new copy at no charge.
Then the other shoe dropped. The company decided to change its policy of honoring their original lifetime guarantee. This time my product is no longer upgradeable.
I sent emails and called. I was told that the deal is off. I was told that I would have to purchase a new copy and that this time it is licensed for only a year.
I understand that the original offering was an incredible deal. I guess they were hurting for sales, at the time, and I helped them out by paying full retail and believing in the companies product enough to take a chance.  Now they have all the sales they need. I feel like I have been cast aside like I was never there for them.
The product works great, but the deal went sour.

Comparison: Nook Color e-Reader Vs. eInk, iPad and Kindle

If you saw the Nook from last year and were disapointed, don't think you will see the same thing with the Nook Color -- it is much better.  The new color touchscreen is seven inches. It is easy to navigate and read. The Nook Color gives the user of a device between a iPad and the Kindle. The price is in the middle too at around$250.
If you want to play game or download apps the Nook Color will leave you wanting because it is a dedicated eReader, books only.
The Nook Color beats similar products in the same class because its screen unlike many others, is made to read. There have been reports that some other color eBook readers give readers headaches. The Nook Color has a similar technology used in the Apple iPad. It gives readers a crisp image that is virtually glare-free. You can read for hours without eye discomfort.

Nook Color Vs. the eInk

The eInk looks like one is reading a paper. The Nook Color washes out in broad daylight, but the eInk does not.  eInk does not show color, scroll or zoom on images, just like a real book, and it can't be read in a low light room. The Nook Color can be read in the dark. The Nook Color wins against the eInk.

Nook Color Vs. the Kindle
The Kindle is $100 cheaper, ways half as much and is therefore a lot easier to carry around, but you can not get books from a public library like you can with the Nook Color.

Nook Color Vs. the iPad
The iPad screen is double the size of the Nook Color. Making the iPad better for reading newspapers and magazines.  The iPad cost twice as much. The brightness on the Nook Color can be turned up way brighter than the iPad. You can actually read in total darkness with the Nook Color, no problem.  The Nook Color is way behind the iPad when it comes to the number of online bookstores and downloads available to the iPad. The Nook Color allows access to the internet. it has apps for a few games and Pandora.

Bottom line: The Nook Color is good for what it does. It is priced right and offers a great deal of functionality for the price.

Obama moving to the Center? Smart Change or Betrayal of Principals?

Washington - As the reality of the mid-term election results settles in Mr. Obama is at another crossroad of "Change." Does he dig his heals in with, "I'd rather be a really good one-term president than a mediocre two-term president," or does he go for a fundamental "Change" in his rhetoric and policies.


While the GOP are congratulating each other for their November 2010 victories over the Obama agenda, talk of what the president has to do in order to get anything done is filling the airways as pundits punt the words "move to the center" around like a broken geiger counter meter.
 Hear to fore, Mr. Obama seemed to think of the term "compromise" as a dirty word with more than four letters in it. The minority party republicans were told to sit at the back of the proverbial bus.
Republican strategist Ron Christie seems to think that the president now seems to think that he must be seen to be at least willing to offer an olive branch, "I think he has slowly but surely recognized that the American people want the president and the Congress to work together."

What happened to the concept of "Change?" I pictured Mr. Obama as a night in shining armor setting atop huge stead of Democrat ideas with his liberal sword truth held high above his head ready to strike down any one who would dare oppose him.  Capitulation to anything the Republicans have to say sullies this panoramic picture.

Does this mean that any hopes of far left policy engulfing America is dashed? Is it all over?
What about my free health care. Is that dream dashed too?
What do you think?
P. V. Street

Obama Plans will Push Through Global Warming Policy

Obama lost the fight to get Climate Change legislation passed through Congress, but he plans on making it happen by going around Congress. The Republicans say they are ready to fight it out.

Next year, carbon emissions limits will be in the hands of the Environmental Protection Agency. They are going to set unilateral regulations for the release of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. Companies who put out these gases will have to purchase new permits to do so.

Republicans say that this is a way of side stepping Congress in order to enact Obama's global warming agenda. It is believed by these critics that it will seriously damage an already beleaguered economy. Also, because companies will have to spend billions of dollars on new gas control devices they will have to cut jobs in an already depressed work force.

Ken Green D. Emv.

Dr. Ken Green, renown Environmental scientist and resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, said of the new regulations, "They are job killers. Regulations, period -- any kind of regulation is a weight on economy. It requires people to comply with the law, which takes work hours and time, which reduces the profitability of firms. Therefore, they grow more slowly and you create less jobs."

Obama believes that the 2007 Supreme Court ruling directing the agency to make a determination on whether carbon dioxide is the cause of global warming gives him the power to to put the regulations in place because it is a hazard to human health.

The Republicans may be able to block some of the policies since they take control of the House in January.
Republican members are vowing to fight the administration if it tries to impose a carbon crackdown. Earlier this year there was bipartisan support to take away power from the EPA to set carbon emissions limits. It is likely for Republican lawmakers to bring it back up.

What do you think?
P. V. Street

Click Here to read more about Global Warming.

Outsourcing Goes Viral

In December 2010 the Hewlett-Packard Company decided to go the way of their competitors International Business Machines Corp., Accenture PLC and Dell Inc.

They will be opening call centers in India. Of course this means closing call centers in the United States and ultimately firing U.S. workers.

So, what do you expect?

There are four mitigating factors:

1.      Taxes on these companies are outrageous.

2.      Customers do not really care as long as they get the lowest price. (They say they do, but they don’t)

3.      Tax friendly policies in India

4.      Cheap labor pool in India

These factors make it difficult for even the most conservative companies to choose to stay in the U.S.

As taxes on the super rich (multi-billion dollar club) climb even more companies will leave. When it becomes cheaper to ship a product from India or China than to make that product in the U.S., the choice becomes very clear although not easy to stomach.

Unfortunately, these folks think of the bottom line first.

There is no legislation that can keep this from happening. The only way to stop it is to make it palatable for these companies to make the choice to stay in the USA.

Tax policy is a big deal. I know a lot of my friends think that we should raise taxes on the super wealthy, and I understand the sentiment completely. The problem is that as we do that more and more companies will outsource. Down the road, it will not be outsourcing, but flat out leaving.

What do you think?

P. V. Street 

Starve the Beast: The Republican Plan to De-Fund the Health Care Law

House Minority Leader John Boehner
looks like he is thinking, "Just you wait..."

Original post by Jim Angle | December 27, 2010 | Fox News

Republicans have made absolutely clear what they intend to do to block the new health care law -- starve it.

 Incoming Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, recently told Fox that "We can dent this, kick it, slow it down to make sure it never happens. And trust me," he emphasized, "I'm going to make sure this health care bill never ever, ever is implemented."

 Brad Blakeman, who worked in the Bush White House agrees, saying, "They are going to be looking at the budget items that affect healthcare. They are going to be dissecting that 2000-page bill and picking apart those parts of the bill that can be defunded now." 

Jim Kessler, the vice president for policy at Third Way, a centrist Democratic think tank, offers this analogy for the Republican strategy: "You have a car -- that's the health care bill. And they're doing enough things to mess up the engine, to make it only drive at 45 miles and hour, not 65 miles an hour. But it's still a car, it's still driving and it's still going to get there."

It'll just take longer, he says, but stopping the funding won't stop the law, only complicate it, according to Kessler. "The law is not contingent on funding. Just how effectively it will be implemented is contingent on funding."

Well, I guess it is going to be Boehner who is up to bat. What a ball game! Just when it looked like the game was over, there is one more inning. The health care deal was a lock, but as it turns out, there is a huge loop hole. Congress has to approve funding. It is more likely that an asteroid smashes Washington DC than for that to happen in the next two years.
It is clear that the American people do not want it. The whole reason that congress was lost to the Republicans is the ire of the folks got stirred up over this deal. The Tea Party movement would never have got up enough steam to be even a little patch of grass, much less a grass roots movement.
Watch as this unfolds. The Republican party will truly become the party of one word... NO!
What do you think?
P. V. Street

Read more about Obamacare

Barclays' Diamond: Banks, Bankers, I Have Made Mistake

Original story Published December 22, 2010 | Dow Jones Newswires

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Bob Diamond, who will become chief executive of Barclays PLC (BCS) on Jan. 1, said that banks, bankers and he himself have "made mistakes" in recent times and must do a better job of explaining how the banking sector contributes to society.

"Banks have made mistakes and bankers have made mistakes, I know I've made mistakes," he told Sky News' Jeff Randall. "And we've changed the way we've done business."
Diamond cited higher levels of capital and lower levels of leverage as changes made in the sector.
"And I think we have to be very, very careful as we move forward to also focus on the other side, which is jobs and economic growth," he said. "We've all learned a lot from the financial crisis and it is more than a banking crisis, it really is," he added.
Diamond, who headed Barclays Capital until being named CEO of the group, said: "I think we all have a responsibility to do a better job of explaining how we contribute to jobs and economic growth and how we contribute to a better society."
Boy, just like in this picture, his back is against the wall.
All banks worldwide are in trouble, while most are teetering on going out of business all together.  You can not have loaned money, like they did in the last decade, to anyone, who can fog up a mirror, and expect to stay in business. Politics aside, that is just stupid. Just like you, I can probably think of, at least, 5 people that I would not loan money to. These same people would have qualified for a huge mortgage 4 years ago.
I say let them go out of business. Don't throw good money after bad.
What do you think?
P. V. Street

Click here to read more about "Banking Trouble'

Somali Insurgents: Obama Must Convert to Islam or Attacks on U.S. Will Come

Published December 27, 2010| Associated Press

MOGADISHU, Somalia -- A leader of Somalia's Islamist insurgency threatened to attack America during a speech broadcast Monday.

"We tell the American President Barack Obama to embrace Islam before we come to his country," said Fuad Mohamed "Shongole" Qalaf.

My question is will Obama come out and say he embraces Islam?

The Associated Press continues, "We have united for the sake of our ideology and we are going to redouble our efforts to remove the government and the African Union from the country," said Aweys on Monday.

The arid Horn of Africa nation has not had a functioning government since a socialist dictatorship collapsed in 1991. Its position on the Horn of Africa means pirates can use its long coastline to capture shipping.

Analysts fear that Al Qaeda-linked insurgents are also gaining ground across the Gulf of Aden in the unstable nation of Yemen. If Yemen fell, that would mean failed states on either side of the shipping route leading into the strategically vital Suez Canal, the route taken by a substantial portion of the world's oil shipments.

Here is the deal plain and simple from a plain and simple thinker…

These folks cannot abide with any thought that is not in lock step to their ideas. If Mr. Obama does his usual capitulation deal with these folks they will want more and more. There is a threat. It is only a threat. Should we take it seriously? Yes! Should we change our way of life or even one little thing? No!

Should we utterly destroy everyone of these folks by hitting them where they live? What are your thoughts?

P. V. Street

My Insurance Nightmare

I purchased car insurance after getting a cheap quote from a low priced auto insurance company. It was a great deal and I got everything I needed that my current auto insurance provided including lower deductibles for less money with the cheap insurance.

Then I called and canceled my insurance agent and canceled my current policy.

Okay, so, it is all done, right.  Well, not so fast there buddy. The next month this so called reputable auto insurance company with a big house hold name took money out of my checking account through their auto deducting payment program.  I called and said the policy was canceled. They said that they never got the call. So, after 30 minutes of faxing back and forth I got them to cancel. 60 days later I got a check in the mail.  Bottom line: When you sign up for a new auto insurance policy make sure the old insurance policy is canceled. Has anything like this happened to you? Tell me your story.

P. V. Street

Asbestos-Related Mesothelioma Settlements - Is it all a Scam?

Many buildings constructed in the United States during middle 20^th century included asbestos as a material for insulation and to limit heat exchange. It was like a space age material because it was easy to work with. Whenever the material was moved it put of a fine asbestos dust. This byproduct of construction was a cancer producing agent.

Contractors long ago discontinued using this carcinogen producing material, but since symptoms of mesothelioma may not appear until 30 to 50 years after exposure nearly 2000 new cases of mesothelioma, proven to be caused by asbestos exposure, are diagnosed in the United States each year.

This is where the lawyers come in. Like the song says, “Send in the clowns.”

No, it is not a scam, but you have to be careful. Look in multiple places for who should represent you or a friend or relative that has contracted any one of these asbestos related diseases. (See the links on this page). These are some of the main asbestos diseases... Sarcomatoid Mesothelioma and other Mesothelioma Lung Cancers, Kidney Cancer, Esophageal Cancer, Pleural thickening, Pleural plaques, and other nasty stuff.

Since so much is at stake, selecting the right mesothelioma lawyer is very important.   This is not like other cases in that there is so much money on the table for the scam lawyer to take. According the Wall Street Journal, lawyers say a typical mesothelioma award in a mesothelioma settlement is $1 million, and many attorneys get 40% of this amount.   If the case actually goes to trial, the average award was $6 million in 2001, which was triple the amount awarded just two years earlier.

So, these mesothelioma attorneys, many have made their whole career based on it, are very eager to find mesothelioma patients.   And it's vital that patients select the mesothelioma attorneys that are best for them.

A Brief Background on Your Legal Rights Regarding Mesothelioma

Companies that manufacture products that contain asbestos have known for over 60 years that asbestos can cause serious diseases.

Unfortunately, because many of these companies wanted to increase their profits, they kept this information quiet, thereby seriously endangering their workers. 

There are now laws that help protect the workers who have been harmed by their exposure to these asbestos-related products. 

However, since representing mesothelioma can be so profitable to attorneys, it is important that people who have mesothelioma be especially careful selecting attorneys who are really qualified to represent them.   Therefore, we have created a list of...

Important Questions to Ask When Selecting a Mesothelioma Attorney

Question #1 to Ask When Selecting a Mesothelioma Attorney:

What is your personal experience in representing mesothelioma patients?   Your goal is to find out how many cases the attorney has actually handled. 

You also want to know: how many of these were settled, and how many of these went to trial?   What were the results of each case?

You should ask the same questions about his or her law firm.   You're goal is to find out about the firm -- is this an area the firm specializes in?

Question #2 to Ask When Selecting a Mesothelioma Attorney:

Next, you want to ask if the lawyer intends to actually handle your case him or herself.   Many attorneys simply refer these cases to another law firm and receive part of the fee in exchange.   This may not be in your best interest.

On a personal note, I am sorry that you are reading this information. You would not be doing so, if this terrible disease had not touched you in some way. I hope the information on this page leads you to some resolution and closure on this issue.

There are advertisements on this page that will lead you to more information. I suggest that you bookmark this site then continue your research by click on those advertisements related to Mesothelioma Cancer resolutions. Then come back here for more.  I wish you well in this fight.

P.V. Street

'Anchor Babies' Congress Grapples Making Illegal Immigrants, Illegal

WASHINGTON – In January 2011, The House will be in Republican hands. In a few weeks, Congress will no longer be trying to help illegal immigrants to be legal. The debate will shift to the meaning of the 14^th amendment to the constitution. Does the constitutional citizenship include children born to parents who are in the country illegally?  

Is automatic U.S. citizenship a right to be granted to people whose sole purpose for having a baby is to fill a legal loop hole that allows them avoid deportation?

Will the republicans really go after this issue and risk losing growing Latino vote?

This is likely to come up very early in the next session.

After they deal with this issue, congress will try and tackle the “E-Verify” system that is supposed to make it easy for employers to know for sure that their employees are legal U.S. workers.

Democrats ended the year failing for a second time to win passage of the Dream Act, which would have given hundreds of thousands of young illegal immigrants a chance at legal status. House Republicans will try to fill the immigration reform vacuum left by Democrats with legislation designed to send illegal immigrants packing and deter others from trying to come to the U.S.

What are the Democrats going to do? They will still have a hold on the Senate, but even with a majority in both houses they were not able for a second time to pass the Dream Act, a bill that would have given hundreds of thousands legal status.  

Will President Barack Obama veto any bill denying citizenship to children of illegal immigrants?

P.V. Street

What do you think?

Click here to learn more about 'Anchor Babies'

Napolitano Gives Pass to Clapper's for not knowing about Britain Terror Arrests

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said we should, "be fair" to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. Just because he was oblivious to the fact  of terror arrests that happened in Britain hours prior.

Can you imagine? This is not a run of the mill bureaucrat. This is the Director of National Intelligence. This is just another string in a long line of incompetence of the Obama administration.
It kind of makes me wonder what would happen if this guy or some other big shot had to make a decision with out all of the details. These people deal in matters of life and death. There is no room for error or an excuse like, "my dog ate my homework."

P.V. Street

What do you think?

Economic Apocalypse?

Fox News reports that Sen. Tom Coburn says the U.S. could face 18 percent unemployment and a massive contraction in its economy that would destroy the middle class if it does not get its fiscal house in order — warning U.S must contract spending to avoid 'apocalyptic pain.'

It is this writers opinion, based on observation, the unemployment rate in the United States is already grossly under reported. If the number being reported, by the current standard, rises to 18 percent, the real number is likely to be some place north of 30 percent.
The middle class has already suffered from the intense barrage of crazy political decisions over the past few years, as the super wealthy, multi-billionaires, have pulled there job producing money out of the U.S. Economy in buckets. India and China have tax friendly policies and unprecedented growth.
How can anyone blame them for pulling out?
P.V. Street
What do you think?

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