U.S. Fears Iraq Won't Keep Up Rebuilt Projects

Nov 21, 2009 - BAGHDAD — In its largest reconstruction effort since the Marshall Plan, the United States government has spent $53 billion for relief and reconstruction in Iraq since the 2003 invasion, building tens of thousands of hospitals, water treatment plants, electricity substations, schools and bridges. But there are growing concerns among American officials that Iraq will not be able to adequately maintain the facilities once the Americans have left, potentially wasting hundreds of millions of dollars and jeopardizing Iraq’s ability to provide basic services to its people. The projects run the gamut — from a cutting-edge, $270 million water treatment plant in Nasiriya that works at a fraction of its intended capacity because it is too sophisticated for Iraqi workers to operate, to a farmers’ market that farmers cannot decide how to share, to a large American hospital closed immediately after it was handed over to Iraq because the government was unable to supply it with equipment, a medical staff or electricity. - 11 Comments

FACT CHECK: Palin Goes Rogue on Some Details

Nov 13, 2009 - WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sarah Palin's new book reprises familiar claims from the 2008 presidential campaign that haven't become any truer over time. Ignoring substantial parts of her record if not the facts, she depicts herself as a frugal traveler on the taxpayer's dime, a reformer without ties to powerful interests and a politician roguishly indifferent to high ambition. Palin goes adrift, at times, on more contemporary issues, too. - 5 Comments

Iran charges three detained Americans with espionage

Nov 09, 2009 - TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iran has charged three detained U.S. citizens with espionage, the official IRNA news agency quoted a prosecutor as saying on Monday, but Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said there was no evidence to back the charges. The three, Shane Bauer, 27, Sarah Shourd, 31, and Josh Fattal, 27, were held after they crossed into Iran from northern Iraq at the end of July. - 5 Comments

Obama Green jobs, our stimulus money at work.

Oct 31, 2009 - Huge Texas Wind Farm's Turbines Will Be Made in China A Chinese wind-turbine company strikes a deal to become the exclusive supplier for one of the largest U.S. wind farms Clean tech has seen a boost as the U.S. pours government funding into renewable energy, and China looks set to reap much of the benefits. - 2 Comments

Who Killed California?

Oct 15, 2009 - by Troy Senik http://nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/who-killed-california My apologies for having nothing originally in this post.  The text was here but didn't show up. Apparently this article is too long to be printed here, at about 11 pages.  It is nevertheless worth reading, unless, as someone has already done, you have made your  mind up what to believe before reading. - 29 Comments

Hydrogen Cars Are Still Headed for the Highway

Oct 06, 2009 - By Jack Ewing No self-respecting automaker would have dared appear without a zippy-looking plug-in prototype at the annual Frankfurt Auto Show in September. Amid all the hype about electric cars, it was a surprise to hear Daimler Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche declare that hydrogen fuel cells, not batteries, are the ultimate way to move beyond oil. "The chances further down the road seem to me better on the fuel-cell side than on the battery-electric side," Zetsche told reporters at the show on Sept. - 3 Comments

Newspaper Decline Traced To Widespread Illiteracy

Oct 13, 2009 - Written by Sherwood Ross Posted: 13 October 2009 10:06 Tne reason for the decline of newspaper circulation is that 42 million Americans are illiterate and roughly 50 million more are semi-literate, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Christopher Hedges says. What’s more, he adds, 80 percent of U.S. households last year did not buy a book. - 29 Comments

I wish every elected official could be challenged in a primary

Sep 09, 2009 - The Murtha Method Computer Analysis Shows 12 of 16 House Defense Subcommittee Members in Controversial Circles of Lobbyists, Earmarks, and Campaign Cash By The Center for Public Integrity | September 08, 2009 For months, a cloud has swirled around Congressman John Murtha (D-Pa.), chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, and the relationship that Murtha and other subcommittee members had with the PMA Group, a lobbying firm filled with former subcommittee aides. Index Follow the links to see reporting on individual committee members. ■Reps. - 4 Comments