Thanks to Wikicommons.

It is hard to find good news in Afghanistan these days.

It is the longest war in US history… allies are leaving… and there are reports that the Taliban is stronger than ever.

Yikes.

But there is at least one  remarkable success story coming out of Afghanistan.It’s the daring tale of a Non-Governmental Organization that risks life and limb to help citizens of Afghanistan:

Nearly every other civilian foreigner has fled Kandahar. Some have taken refuge inside nearby NATO bases, others have retreated to comparably calmer Kabul. But not Team Canada, despite the rash of bombs and targeted killings that torment this crucial southern city. They are working under the radar to rapidly turn tens of millions of international aid dollars into jobs for thousands of Afghan men.

Even with organizations such as this and US Government programs to improve the Afghan economy it will take more to stabilize this country.

One direction that the US may be heading is to find peace through negotiations with the Taliban, as noted by Faheem Haider at Foreign Policies Afghanistan blog, who questions this solutions merit as if

we talk about negotiating with the Taliban we are in effect talking about something like partitioning Afghanistan into two enclaves. We are ceding to them real estate they are likely to win in any case.

He continues noting that

What good is settled peace when the people concerned with peace are at war?

A similar conclusion is reached by a military contractors blog, Kandahar diary, who concluded after an interview with a local Afghan that

there will be no end to this war.  When the west is gone and the people of Afghanistan are left to themselves, men like him and their sons and their sons’ sons and their nephews, brothers and uncles will fight on, avenging age-old injustices and tribal and family honour.

Does this mean that there is no positive future for the country or can organizations such as “Team Canada” pull the Afghanistan back from the brink.  Frankly we have no idea.  Maybe you, our readers, can help enlighten us.

Wiki Commons

Part two of one of the USDemocrazy’s bloggers summer travel adventures.

Crossing South Dakota is a straight shot through the prairie. If you don’t enjoy the view, don’t worry, there is ample reading material…

I-90 is peppered with billboards advertising everything from the hottest tourist destinations to homemade donuts, free ice watter, and 5cent coffee (As a traveler on a budget the 5 cent coffee was much appreciated).

Of all the scores of advertisers, one stood out for its shameless and blatant hucksterism:  Wall Drug, South Dakota.

After eyeballing several thousand signs coaxing me to stop by, I capitulated, “fine I’ll come, just stop it with the billboards.”

Upon arriving to the celebrated town of Wall Drug, it became clear clear things were not exactly as advertised. Instead of experiencing a quaint authentic view of the old wild west, I was met by a modern strip mall with brown paint.

True, there were some elements of western “culture” to be experienced. Inside the shopping plaza there was everything a visiting wannabee cowboy could need: chaps, revolvers, and home made pie. They even have the legendary stuffed jackalope for sale.

Of course, it is not unusual to find blatant commercialism in America, even in the remotest parts of the old west. At the same time Wall Drug’s chintzyness was at such a high level that it was kind of impressive. Where else can you go to buy a belt buckles and see an 80 foot mechanical dinosaur?

How exactly does a massive dinosaur have anything to do with the wild west, any one know? Of course know one ever will, but that is part of Wall Drug’s ostentatious charm.

blogger on wheels

Editor: The USDemocrazy bloggers have been hitting the road this summer (Finally). As they gallivant to different parts of the globe I have asked them to share their observations from their travels. Here’s one from Chickpea.

It was 7 on a cold morning when I set out on the first leg of my cross-country journey: Ithaca, New York, to Ashtabula, Ohio.

I pulled out of the driveway, throttled up the engine, and stalled. Great.

The bike was a new acquisition and  I was just starting to get used to the clutch. It was an awkward start to our new partnership… we were soon on our way.

The scarred surface of Route 86 cuts straight through New York State’s Southern tier. The clutter of belching tractor-trailers is a stark contrast to the hills and moraines that surround the road-scape. These ancient formations, formed during the ice age, are now blanketed in a thick canopy of trees. For the marathon road warrier these views provide a pleasing rural distraction.

Until you reach the concrete and suburbs of Route 90. Welcome to Ohio.

There is no doubt something special about riding motorcycles. Driving in a car can sometimes seem surreal. You sit with the AC on, the radio on and the rest is tuned out.

On a bike, everything feels so much more real. You’re in the open with nothing more than skill and luck separating the driver from the ground. No AC, instead the wind is in your face. At risk of sounding cliché, the word for the experience is simply: freedom.

This cross-country adventure will stretch from Ithaca, New York, to Missoula, Montana. I will be sharing my observations, thoughts, and experiences along the way.

Rwanda has elections coming up next month, and several opposition leaders have been attacked and murdered. Despite this, the current president, Paul Kagame, insists that Rwandans have the freedom to vote as they choose. Human rights groups question Kagame’s statement, seeing as how one of his opponents was buried during his speech.

Asia

Just as the U.S. gets good news about the oil spill in the Gulf, China has its own oil spill. The environmental organization, Greenpeace, captured the picture above of a firefighter being rescued after he tries to fix the underwater pump. Not surprisingly, Greenpeace was asked to leave soon afterward.

Europe

This month is the 15th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre, which took place during the Bosnian war. The New York Times has an interesting blog post about Bosnia’s present day political situation, shown through photographs.

North America

Three words: Man. Girdle. Monkeys.

South America

The president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, exhumes the body of Simon Bolivar, a Venezuelan independence leader, claiming that he was murdered. Chavez, a huge admirer of Bolivar, tweeted, “”Bolivar lives… We are his flame!” The Venezuelan president’s opponents responded by calling the exhumation ridiculous.

Brother, can you spare some unemployment benefits? (Courtesy of NYPL.)

You’re not trying to be a journalist when you grow up, are you? This article from the NYT might change your mind…:

Such is the state of the media business these days: frantic and fatigued. Young journalists who once dreamed of trotting the globe in pursuit of a story are instead shackled to their computers, where they try to eke out a fresh thought or be first to report even the smallest nugget of news.

The new GOP campaign slogan: “Ahhh, remember those sunny days when G.W. Bush was in the Oval Office?”

Courtesy of Minnesota Public Radio.

Extending unemployment benefits: Making people lazy or helping out down-and-out folks? You’ll never guess what President Obama thinks.

]]> http://www.usdemocrazy.net/2010/07/20/whatzup-today-180/feed/ 0 http://www.usdemocrazy.net/2010/07/20/the-d-c-elites-dont-think-like-you-do/ http://www.usdemocrazy.net/2010/07/20/the-d-c-elites-dont-think-like-you-do/#comments Tue, 20 Jul 2010 05:43:35 +0000 ForeverPlaid http://www.usdemocrazy.net/?p=8157 …And we’re pretty sure those D.C. elites don’t think like we do, either. At least we kind of hope not.

What means all of this? Well to start, the Politico just released a report on a six-month poll they conducted with their polling pals, Penn Schoen Berland. The report explains that the “D.C. elite” see things in politics a lotta bit differently than the rest of the country.

Who are the D.C. elites, and why do we care about them? The latter half is up to you to decide, but the former is explained by the author, Andy Barr:

To qualify as a Washington elite for the poll, respondents must live within the D.C. metro area, earn more than $75,000 per year, have at least a college degree and be involved in the political process or work on key political issues or policy decisions.

So what makes these wonks so different from the rest of us, other than their wonkiness?

For starters, they’re a lot more optimistic about the direction in which the country is headed, and they don’t really care that much about taxes.

The regular folk and country bumpkins such as us reported that we don’t really think the country is going in the right direction, at a figure of 61% of those polled, while only 45% of the D.C. folk agree that everything’s headed to you-know-where.

And, while optimistic, the D.C. elites might also be heathens or something, because only 23% (versus 62% of the general public) believes that “family values” are important, issue-wise. Additionally, the two groups viewed taxes differently, with a majority of Regular Americans (53%) believing taxes to be a “very important” issues, but Non-Regular D.C. inhabitants said the same thing at a reduced rate of 37%.

“The poll highlights in dramatic terms the stark contrasts between D.C. elites and the American people, as D.C. elites are far more isolated from the economic crisis and yet far more plugged into other issues,” said Mark Penn, CEO of Penn Schoen Berland and a veteran Democratic pollster.

And it’s not an important opinion poll if Sarah Palin doesn’t get a shout-out. Of America at-large, 39% see former Alaska governor Palin positively, compared with just 16% inside the Beltway.

What’s to take away from all of this? Well, if you’re Sarah Palin, it’s that you shouldn’t bother spending too much time campaigning there.

You might also guess that D.C. is a city that trends Democratically, and that its 600,000+ people live in the nucleus of the political world, which gives them a different perspective on American public affairs. The poll doesn’t see one way and right or wrong, but it’s obvious that those guys have different things on their priority lists than many of the rest of us.

Thanks to Wikicommons.

Storm in the Tea Cup? Organization kicked out of Tea Party due to racist remarks.

Half a Billion! Facebook connects 500 million people.

Hip to run shine? Illegal distilleries reappearing in the US.

Thanks to Wikicommons.

Have you ever tried to re-cork a champagne bottle?  (We at US Democrazy did when the Webby award results came in). British Petroleum has been trying to do the same thing at the bottom of the ocean and it seems they have finally succeeded.

No oil has leaked from the Deepwater Horizon spill since last Thursday.

How did BP manage to fix the leak when so many attempts have failed in the past?  Rather than tell you, we’ll let the BBC show you (follow the link for more diagrams of the process).

Thanks to the BBC

President Obama (besides breathing a sigh of relief) has greeted this news cautiously stating:

Either we will be able to use it to stop the flow or we will be able to use it to capture almost all of the oil until the relief well is done. But we’re not going to know for certain which approach makes sense until additional data is in.

So you may be asking the well is capped isn’t the worst over?  Maybe not, the Daily Beast explains, for there are a few potential problems:

1. The oil pressure could build up to a point where the cap no longer can hold back the flow.
2. A hurricane could force containment ships to stop draining oil creating a pressure spike damaging the cap.
3. Oil could be leaking from another part of the well.

Those involved hope to know soon if any of these potential problems exist.  As explained by petrol themed blog The Oil Drum:

BP is using a number of types of tests to make sure that no hydrocarbons are escaping from the well bore. The types of tests being used include

• Seismic
• Sonar
• Monitoring by NOAA Pisces
• ROV’s looking for visual and sonar evidence
• Monitoring temperature at the BOP

If everything goes as planned the worst is definitely over.  But that does not mean it is back to business as usual.  There will be long term affects to the Gulf’s ecology.  The New York Times does provide some cheerful news that:

Because oil constantly seeps into the gulf from natural fissures, the water is teeming with microbes adapted to break oil down and use it as food. The breakdown happens faster there than in colder bodies of water, and the warm water helps some species recover faster, too.

Now we will have to wait and see.  Only time and science will tell true results of the spill.

RIP, Brad Pitt's beard...

BIG NEWS TODAY:

At the top of the news cycle is the story about Brad Pitt… He shaved!

Think twice before enjoying that cool, refreshing, yummy guac or salsa. (A sad story for any tortilla chip dip lover.)

New hopes for a cleaner Gulf of Mexico. “We’ll believe it when we see it” is about right for this story.

All images are property of the author, ForeverPlaid.

Ahhh, Switzerland. Home to cheese, alps, and chocolate. Life must be good there, right? USDemocrazy dispatched a foreign correspondent to find out for sure. Read on for part one of two on Swiss life…

As a part of my schooling at UMBC, I spent some time in different parts of Switzerland this summer to understand what makes Switzerland a healthy country, culturally and physically. You know what? Those dang Swiss walk A LOT. Why? Let me explain…

The Swiss have blessed themselves with a fantastic system of public transportation, between buses in every city, town, and village, and trains that connect villages of only a few hundred people to cities of hundreds of thousands. Imagine all the exercise the Swiss get just by walking to and from the bus stop or train station rather than cursing at one another while jockeying for the closest parking spot to the Wal-Mart entrance…

You might have heard of a little mountain range called “the Alps.” Ring a bell? The Swiss are able to learn from a young age the value of being outside through awesome mountain activities in all seasons, most particularly hiking, Nordic walking, and skiing. Because the trains help them get around the country so easily, a day trip from the city for an alpine hike is just not a big deal (aside from dealing with the big mountains, of course).

My hiking group of spry young folk was passed on our walk by a group of hikers who were exclusively over 60 years old, who told us that they started hiking as small children and continue to go on a hike at least once a week. It’s all in preparation for a week-long excursion they take to the Alps every year. There’s nothing like being beat by some senior citizens up a mountain to help you pick up the pace.

That’ll be all for part one of my exploration of Swiss life… Part two is soon to follow, and it has something to do with these cows!

How do you think you’d like the physical activity aspect of this culture? Walking to the train station, hiking up some mountains, walking to pick up some groceries at the corner store, for instance? Leave a comment and let us know if you like the way we do it in the US, or if you don’t!