Intro: "Buried bombs killed 30 Afghan civilians in a 48-hour span in the latest grim illustration of the dangers faced by noncombatants as the season's fighting heats up. Insurgents routinely seed roads and pathways with IEDs, or improvised explosive devices - their favored weapon against Western troops. But most often, those killed and injured by the hidden bombs are civilians."
US medical personnel treat a boy wounded by a bomb blast. (photo: Reuters)
Afghan Civilians Dying in Record Numbers
02 July 11
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Buried bombs take increasingly deadly toll on Afghan civilians. Thirty are killed within 48 hours as the fighting season escalates. The United Nations says May was the deadliest month in five years for noncombatants.
uried bombs killed 30 Afghans in a 48-hour span, in the latest grim illustration of the dangers faced by civilians as the season's fighting heats up.
Insurgents routinely seed roads and pathways with IEDs, or improvised explosive devices - their favored weapon against Western troops. But most often, those killed and injured by the hidden bombs are civilians.
The latest casualties came Saturday in Zabul province, in southern Afghanistan, when a van filled with travelers struck a roadside bomb. Thirteen people were killed, including four children and four women, said a spokesman for the provincial government.
On Friday evening, two bombs planted close together killed four people in the rural Maruf district of volatile Kandahar province. One was apparently triggered by a donkey, and two people riding or leading the animal died in the explosion. Then two more people who rushed to the rescue were killed by the second bomb, police said.
The Taliban and other insurgents often plant bombs close together, in hopes of killing troops and those who try to help victims.
The bombings in Zabul and Kandahar followed another deadly episode Thursday night in nearby Nimroz province, a roadside bomb that killed 13 people and injured about three dozen others.
Civilians have been dying in record numbers as violence intensifies across Afghanistan. The United Nations said that May was the deadliest month for noncombatants since it began keeping track five years ago, with 368 civilians killed in war-related violence. That month coincided with the start of the Taliban spring offensive.
Military fatalities, too, have been edging higher. Western troop deaths reached their highest levels of the year last month. Sixty-five were killed in June, according to the independent website icasualties.org, which tracks combat fatalities in Afghanistan and Iraq. Forty-six of those were Americans.
NATO's International Security Assistance Force announced the deaths of two more service members, one Saturday in western Afghanistan and another a day earlier in the south. The NATO force did not disclose the nationalities involved, but Italian media reports said the soldier killed Saturday was Italian.
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Re. hope and change, OhBombAh's kicked us more than twice, so shame on him.
If he does veto it, my guess is that he is pretty sure his veto will be voted down and it will go on the books as Law -- to threaten us all until God himself takes this horrid Congress down. Where IS conscience in everything he has done in the past three years? And if he is indeed threatened, or in fear for his family -- not at all surprising -- then why does he not just say so and step down? Must he take America with him?
IMO, there's not a sincere bone in his body. Either he says he won't sign it but will, or will oppose it for the wrong reasons, (to make it worse) or to make himself look good (to the hopelessly naive) for awhile, so they can go back to sleep.
Don't buy any of this. Its a psy-opps, a distraction. The state wants these powers and its going to get it unless we give them something else to think about, (and no, not elections... sigh).
Thank you all for willingness to care to see through the garbage. With people like you amongst us, there's still hope.
NEVER VOTE REPUBLICAN !!
NEVER VOTE REPUBLICAN !!
This is a craven ploy, plain and simple.
Read Glenn Greenwald at salon.com.
According to Greenwald, Obama's objections have nothing to do with Constitutional issues over the rights of U.S. citizens.
Obama's argument is, essentially, that: it is not the role of Congress to legislate the President's authority to designate non-U.S.-citize ns AND/OR U.S. Citizens as terrorists or enemy combatants, to be detained indefinitely and without due-process by the military apparatus, because the President, without Congressional legislation, already has that authority.
His issue against this legislation, just as it would be for GW Bush/Cheney, is because of the idea that the President's existing executive power precludes -- or renders superfluous -- statutory authority, so he is making this threat as negotiating leverage for that concession.
Obama takes his blind, ignorant, apologist, fool supporters for granted.
He (and rightfully so) gives them no credit for intellectual capacity to realize the irrelevance of their opinions by standing by him and/or supporting (or not supporting) his decisions.
They are all mindless numskulls with nothing to say, nor do they stand for anything.
CTPatriot also uses a word that I have been meaning to use, but I keep forgetting -- to describe the Obama apologist's reaction to anything that triggers their Republican-fear ing (and I would say, lack of) sensibilities; the word is reflexive.
So even a Republican can occasionally do something correctly.
Or do you just so reflexively support him that you could care less about the actual meaning or outcome of his actions? If Obama does it, it must be good, right? How are you different from what we once called "Loyal Bushies"?
Not only do the GOP/TP want President Obama out of the W.H. BECAUSE he's a Democrat -- but there is no doubt in my mind that the GOP has racism in their agenda. Newt came right out and said he wanted to put the children in "those" districts (the working poor) to work as janitors helpers bc they have no role model! Other examples are clear.
When the African Americans fought for equal rights - they did not come in under "equal right protection" - but under something called "equal social right protection" - and you're smart enough to figure out the difference!
The war on drugs is designed to punish the black/Hispanic districts because I know white districts where the users/dealers are not told to empty pockets and even the drugs targeted by police are different (White = cocain) (Black=crack cocain)
Although we know the minorities have suffered more than other groups (e.g. jobs & houses especially) - they will not be the only groups to lose under GOP leadership - all of the 99erswill lose. That is 100% for sure because the GOP candidates have told us so. You just have to listen to them.
The GOP priority is not jobs
2012 - register early + mail-in ballots VOTE DEM VOTE OBAMA (BarbaraK)
Neither one of these corrupt parties is going to change that dynamic. The day you recognize that is the day you will stop spouting bullshit about "the art of the possible".
"It would require that terrorism suspects be held by the military, and either be tried by US military commissions or in some cases be held indefinitely.
The White House sees the provisions as a constraint on the administration' s ability to transfer prisoners from Guantanamo Bay to the United States, try them in civilian court, or even transfer them to foreign countries."
So they're blowing smoke, really. No veto for detention, just veto "if you don't play ball ABOUT HOW to detain" my way.
This passive-aggress ive stuff is what we have been used to getting from Obama. I saw the movie "Blow" last night for the first time, and it reminded me about how people in power play both ends against the middle, gerrymander their propaganda to look like they're gonna do something FOR the people, but...NAH...not happening.
Article a day or so again on RSN said it all: Obama' just not into us...for real.
N.
But the herd will buy anything if the $multibillion-p rofit news media says its so.
However this all represents hills and valleys of degree in the advance of the Police State -or Corporate ditto- it's all the same.
Ob's real test if he survives to be president with a decent majority, will be how he conducts his second term (Gawd forbid any of the current crop of chowder-heads on the right even comes close to being elected -but never underestimate the "Idiotocracy" quotient of the American once-every-four -years electorate!
Those who end their comments with 'Never Vote Republican' do not address the real problem. The real problem is and has been the uselessness and cowardice of the Democrats in Congress who are apparently just as corrupt as their G.O.P. counterparts. Only THREE Democratic Senators voted against the final bill here. The rest, including my own state's Boxer and Feinstein, voted with those who would throw away my constitutional rights.
I'm not voting for any Republican I can see at this point, but I am also never again voting for Democrats who betray our trust, and there are a lot of them.
"Sophistry" which Socrates used in his famous dialogues(writt en by Plato) to demonstrate the antithesis of Greek Ethics which is based on Universal Truth.
He's doing the daddy act. He's telling the country he can either make your life h*ll or he can give you paradise-and you'd BETTER choose the right side or he will punish you.
Obama is a slave that thinks he's the slavemaster.
Twenty dollars says there will suddenly be (Israel placed) an "uprising" here in America that makes obama reconsider.
Then he will drag this act back out, tell us we were naughty, and punish us.
Roosevelt,Kansa s City Star, May 7,1918
Remember who elected you and why.
We don't care if you're sincere or agree with us. We just want you to do the job you were hired to do. The repug party didn't hire you. We did. Do you want us to show up at the polls next year?
Stand OUR ground. This is bigger than you.
Nay IA Harkin, Thomas [D]
Nay UT Lee, Mike [R]
Nay OR Merkley, Jeff [D]
Nay KY Paul, Rand [R]
Nay VT Sanders, Bernard
Nay OR Wyden, Ron [D]
www.govtrack.us/congress/vote.xpd?vote=s2011-218&sort=vote
When there is a clause, as was in this defense bill, that Americans can be held without charge or trial threatened one of our basic fundamental rights promised in our Constitution.
But should read: It would require that terrorism suspects be held by the military, and either be tried by US military commissions or in most cases be held indefinitely if desired by the captors, all without the (supposedly) Contstitutional guarantees of Due Process of Law.
Never Vote Republican.
Mr. President Veto this Bill.
If you don't want a complete police state then get over your anger at Obama.
Him staying in office and voting out the republicans in house and senate is our only hope.
Give the guy some credit for trying. He is our only hope.
You don't think one of those bozo candidates would be better do you?