Twitter This Commentary In The News: Things are deteriorating in Pakistan where their supreme court ruled that an immunity law protecting their president is unconstitutional. President Zadari will most likely be removed from power entirely and who might replace him is currently an unknown. He has already had much of his powers stripped including control of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. France and Britain are moving to tax the bonuses their countries financial executives granted themselves. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Copenhagen for the climate conference and she says the US will pony up the money for amelioration of the poor countries monetary damages due to the (most likely rigged in favor of the industrialized nation's) climate agreement, IF an agreement occurs. From the Christian Science Monitor:

At the global warming summit in Copenhagen, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the US is willing to contribute to a $100 billion a year fund to help poorer countries mitigate the effect of climate change. But a strong agreement still looks unlikely. [In Full]

Technological voyeurism... Over the last year computer hackers with video capabilities have been hacking into the video feeds of our military drones. They can't control them, but it just goes to show the extent of the 'leakage' in our 'cyberwar' capability. Here's how... Courtesy of Global Guerrillas. The senate Republican have blocked the Barney Franks public option amendment and have demanded a reading of ALL amendments to the Health Care Reform bill... It will take days to read it even with a Lieberman and Co. (Blue Dog Democrats) gutting of the bill. Perhaps all they need to do is stall, and Americans will just 'go stupid':

"...a new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds the public generally fearful that a revamped system would bring higher costs while worsening the quality of their care." [In Full]

The M4 rifle used by the US Marines and other specialized US troops is beginning to show some of the problems exhibited by Vietnam vintage M-16s... Field unreliability. Speaking of "The Wars"... Out of soldiers, or just trying to staunch a rout until 30,000 more American soldiers show up? You be the judge. Juan Cole (Informed Comment): Contractor Surge in Afghanistan. Walter Pincus of the Washington Post quotes the numbers:

Washington Post December 16, 2009 Up to 56,000 more contractors likely for Afghanistan, congressional agency says By Walter Pincus "Contractors made up 69 percent of the Pentagon's personnel in Afghanistan last December, a proportion that "apparently represented the highest recorded percentage of contractors used by the Defense Department in any conflict in the history of the United States." The surge of 30,000 U.S. troops into Afghanistan could be accompanied by a surge of up to 56,000 contractors, vastly expanding the presence of personnel from the U.S. private sector in a war zone, according to a study by the Congressional Research Service." [In Full]

Also notable: This time they'll most likely break both 'superpowers' economies: "NATO chief asks for Russian help in Afghanistan". It MUST BE DESPERATION (on both nation's parts as Russia ESPECIALLY depends on the pipelines in the region and planned for the region.), and desperation breeds disaster. According to reports, the Russians HAVE agreed to allow NATO and the US access to their territory as part of the logistics chain, including ground transport, but are remaining noncommittal on troops in theatre. [After the commentary... It can only be Bob Rivers... On a sleigh ride. Courtesy of the respective artists and KPIG radio Freedom California, Earth] -30-
Creative Commons Copyright Courtesy of Cabale News Service, KPIG Radio, and KVMR Radio. Listen to KPIG, Listen to KVMR Recorded & transcribed by The Buffalo Amongst Wolves @ Razed By Wolves

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