Untold Number of U.S. Troops to Remain in Afghanistan Beyond 2014

by AWR Hawkins 23 Feb 2013, 12:00 PM PDT post a comment

The force of 32,000 gives Afghan officials time to hold their presidential elections. "Once those elections are completed," Panetta said "we will then begin the final drawdown."

Panetta spoke highly of the Afghan military and police forces: "There is a strong consensus that our mission is succeeding... on the ground because of the growing role and capabilities all of us have seen in the Afghan national security forces."

The Obama admin is currently talking with U.S. allies in Europe to decide how many troops will stay in Afghanistan beyond 2014. Pentagon press secretary George Little said a force of "8,000 to 12,000 has been discussed," but no decision has been made.?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BigPeace/~3/MJkJs-8o42A/An-Untold-Number-of-U-S-Troops-To-Remain-In-Afghanistan-Beyond-2014

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Governors: Looming cuts threaten economic gains

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Governors are becoming prominent voices in the fight to cut the federal deficit, warning that Capitol Hill's latest budget stalemate is causing fresh uncertainty that threatens economic progress.

State leaders attending the annual meeting of the National Governors Association joined ranks Friday to condemn the massive automatic spending cuts that are set to begin March 1.

The Obama administration said failure to avert the cuts could lead to widespread flight delays, shuttered airports, off-limit seashores and the furloughing of hundreds of thousands employees.

"It is not helpful when Congress and the president and the administration have such partisan gridlock," said Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, a Republican and former member of Congress. "Because their gridlock has real repercussions on the families ... it has real repercussions on our states and our economies."

Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin, chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, said the nation "cannot afford to put at risk jobs and the recovery."

"The only thing that's standing in the way of prosperity right now is the games being played by the Republicans in Congress," he said following a meeting between Democratic governors and President Barack Obama.

At their weekend meetings, governors planned to focus on jobs and the economy, gun control and the new health care law.

Some Republican governors have blocked the use of Medicaid to expand health insurance coverage for millions of the uninsured. Others have joined Democrats in a wholesale expansion as the law allows. For many governors, there's a pervasive sense of frustration with Washington.

"My feeling is I can't help what's going on in Washington," Gov. Terry Branstad, R-Iowa, said in an interview Saturday. "I can't help the fact that there's no leadership here and it's all politics as usual and gridlock. But I can do something about the way we do things in the state of Iowa."

No issue carries the same level of urgency as the budget impasse.

Congressional leaders have indicated a willingness to let the cuts take effect and stay in place for weeks, if not much longer.

The cuts would trim $85 billion in domestic and defense spending, leading to furloughs for hundreds of thousands of workers at the Transportation Department, Defense Department and elsewhere.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said the cuts would harm the readiness of U.S. fighting forces.

Obama has stepped up efforts to tell the public about the negative impact, and tried to pressure Republicans who oppose his approach of targeted savings and tax increases to tackle deficits.

Republicans responded sharply to the president's fresh demand to include higher taxes as part of a compromise.

"Spending is the problem, spending must be the focus," said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.

Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said "there won't be any easy off-ramps on this one. The days of 11th hour negotiations are over."

But governors aren't yet resigned to the worst-case scenario.

"I think there should be limited government, but I don't like random changes. If you look at my budget, I didn't do across the board cuts," said Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican. "I think you should be more strategic."

The looming cuts were never supposed to happen. They were intended to be a fallback in case a special deficit reduction committee failed to come up with $1 trillion or more in savings from benefit programs.

While Washington Republicans blame the White House for creating the plan, they joined Democrats in voting it into law.

There was little Obama-bashing from Republican governors on Friday. But there was plenty of frustration.

___

Online:

National Governors Association: http://www.nga.org

___

Follow Steve Peoples at: http://twitter.com/sppeoples and Ken Thomas at: http://twitter.com/AP_Ken_Thomas

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/governors-looming-cuts-threaten-economic-gains-133434444--politics.html

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Miranda Kerr Bikini Photo: Good Morning, Indeed

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/02/miranda-kerr-bikini-photo-good-morning-indeed/

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NFL Free Agency 2013: Should Saints Target Brent Grimes?

Recruiting talent across enemy lines is nothing new for the Saints-Falcons rivalry. Notably, Bobby Hebert, Morten Anderson, and Joe Horn have all played for Atlanta after years of service in New Orleans, and most recently Curtis Lofton left Atlanta to join the black & gold.

Most franchises know the top players of their division rivals almost as well as they know their own. A known commodity switching allegiances serves dual purposes, it strengthens your team and weakens your rival. All the more reason to take a good look at signing a player like Brent Grimes, especially considering how high the stakes have been between the Saints and Falcons in the NFC South recently.

Philadelphia native Brent Grimes has played exclusively for Atlanta since 2007. Grimes, who turns 30 this July, is coming off of a season-ending achilles tear suffered in Week 1 of the 2012 NFL Season.

Over his career against the Saints, Grimes has been, at worst, a nuisance and at best, a player Drew Brees has looked to the other side of the field against. In six career games against the Saints between 2009-2011, Grimes compiled 30 solo tackles and 2 interceptions.

Here is what our friend Dave Choate over at The Falcoholic had to say of Grimes:

Two years ago, there would not have been any question of signing Grimes to an extension. A year ago, there were grumblings, but most wanted him back. This year, it's an open-ended question of whether the Falcons will bring back the one-time Pro Bowler and annually underrated cover man.

If injury were not a factor, it would be nearly a lock. Grimes has been excellent in coverage throughout his run in Atlanta. He's a solid tackler and a guy with a knack for the interception, and Pro Football Focus has a crush on him. But we don't live in a world where you can discount an Achilles injury that costs you 15 games.

Injury or not, Grimes finds himself getting crowded out of the Falcons secondary with Asante Samuel and Dunta Robinson starting at corner and contractually locked up through 2015 and 2016 respectively. The one and only "positive" regarding his season-ending achilles injury is that Grimes may have to take less for a season and play it out as a contract year which will absolutely maximize his value to a potential suitor.

This is how ESPN's Adam Schefter views Grimes' situation in 2013:

If Grimes didn't blow out his Achilles' tendon back in September, he'd be clearing out space in his house so the Brinks truck can pull in. Instead, he's going to have to prove he still has the speed and effectiveness following the devastating injury. Turning 30 in July, it's more than fair to be skeptical.

The Falcons would like to bring back Grimes, but he's coming off a significant injury that will prevent Atlanta and others from rewarding him with the type of contract he could have gotten if he was healthy. Grimes might look to sign a one-year deal worth a decent amount of money, which allows him the chance to get back to playing and proving he is worth the big money he could have gotten.

Without question, the recovery of the achilles injury is the biggest concern here. Will the speed still be there? Can he make the cuts and pivots necessary to play at the level he is accustomed to? That is the million dollar question. But, the positive for the Saints is that it will not be a multi-million dollar question.

Brent Grimes may just be worth the gamble at the right price. Great instincts, speed, and athleticism at a discounted price on a one year contract doesn't come around all too often. The Saints situation at cornerback after Jabari Greer is decidedly grim, and upgrades will have to be made by the front office.

Mickey Loomis has shown he's not afraid to take risks on "damaged goods" in the past. Drew Brees made him look good, and I'm sure Drew would love to not have to see Grimes lined up against his weapons twice a season.

NFL Free Agency 2013: Should Saints Target Brent Grimes? - Canal Street Chronicles

Source: http://blackandgold.com/saints/55705-nfl-free-agency-2013-should-saints-target-brent-grimes.html

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NCAA's crimes leave victims, too

Updated?Feb 22, 2013 1:17 PM ET

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We act like no one gets hurt while the NCAA and its volunteer media enforcement staff unethically uphold rules of amateurism that have long outlived their effectiveness, integrity and morality.

It?s OK for the University of Miami to get screwed. The Canes deserve it. For years "The U" got away with winning football games and championships by providing opportunities to arrogant, preening athletes from the wrong Florida zip codes, with the wrong SAT scores and (allegedly) holding the wrong what-is-in-it-for-me attitude.

Yeah, screw U. That?s our mindset.

The fact the NCAA collaborated with an incarcerated, convicted ponzi schemer (Nevin Shapiro) ? a congenital liar looking for infamy so he could make a behind-bars movie/book $core ? and funneled him and his lawyer money to make its case against Miami is completely irrelevant.

No one feels sorry for Miami. It must hang for what we believe it got away with that others did not. It must hang to protect an institution (amateurism) that we know is outdated and immoral. The U must hang even though we know the institution (NCAA) building the gallows, tying the noose and rendering the verdict is every bit as criminal as The U.

This mindset says something frightening about all of us, the witnesses, and our society at large. Among other things, it says we don?t recognize the human consequence. The U is not a human. It?s an institution, like hundreds of others, voluntarily participating in the NCAA?s shamateurism scam.

However, within these institutions there are human beings suffering.

The unscrupulous tactics used to hang The U are not new or an aberration. It?s standard operating procedure. Awash in television money and in bed with the mainstream media for half a century, the NCAA has been crushing its subjects without fear for decades. This is the worst kind of dictatorship, one that is supported by the media not out of fear, but out of an irrational and biased belief the NCAA is right and just.

Trust me, it?s not. It?s like any other institution drunk on power and wealth.

How else do you explain the NCAA?s treatment of Todd McNair?

He is not an institution. He?s not a millionaire head coach such as Jim Calhoun, Kelvin Sampson or Bruce Pearl. McNair was the USC running backs coach during the Reggie Bush era. McNair earned a good living at USC, raking in around $200K to $250K per year as one of the best recruiters in college football.

A former NFL running back, McNair connected with Bush. They were close. McNair, along with then-head coach Pete Carroll, was part of the process of helping Bush choose an agent when the All-American left USC.

As you know, members of the NCAA?s volunteer media enforcement staff unearthed evidence that two wannabe marketing agents financially supported Bush?s parents in San Diego while Reggie starred in Los Angeles. This financial support cost Bush his Heisman Trophy and justified the NCAA severely sanctioning USC.

You may also know it eventually cost McNair his job. Based on the word of Lloyd Lake, a convicted drug dealer and repeat felon, the NCAA concluded McNair knew of Bush?s dealings with Lake and another associate, the two wannabe marketing agents. McNair was hit with a one-year show-cause, meaning a school that wanted to employ McNair would have to convince the NCAA it had a damn good reason for hiring McNair. Show-cause is basically a death penalty for a coach.

McNair hasn?t coached in three years. He has a rather impressive resume. He played in the NFL. He coached for the Cleveland Browns before coaching at USC. He was regarded as one of the top recruiters in college football.

McNair made a good living in the NFL and as a coach. But he was never an NFL star. He is not financially set. Like most other grown men, he has family that depend on him. He?s 47. His career stopped on a dime. He?ll likely never be a head coach.

Based on the flimsy ?testimony? of Lloyd Lake. Really?

Please go to this web site ncaainjustice.com and examine the evidence used to convict McNair. Its lack of credibility is absolutely breathtaking. It?s so hard to believe that a judge in Los Angeles said the NCAA demonstrated ?ill will? and ?hatred? toward McNair. Judge Frederick Shaller, a USC grad, said the NCAA had a ?reckless disregard for the truth.?

At some point, it is likely that Judge Shaller or some other judge will make available to the public and media the emails exchanged between NCAA members involved in the demolition of McNair?s coaching career. The emails are believed to be highly embarrassing for the NCAA. The NCAA is fighting frantically to keep the emails sealed. The NCAA doesn?t want you to fully grasp its lack of ethics.

McNair is suing the NCAA for libel and defamation. In a few years, he?ll probably reach a settlement with the NCAA. He?d rather earn a living and take care of his family coaching football. His life has been destroyed so that the NCAA can pretend there?s some value in amateurism.

Do we have to pretend? People are getting hurt. This scam needs to end. The NCAA enforcement staff leaks ?information? about excessive phone calls/text messages and illicit relationships with street agents to its most trusted members of the volunteer media enforcement staff (this doesn't include CBSSports.com's Dennis Dodd, who's done a good job of writing about McNair's situation). The volunteers cobble together a story and sit back and wait for the NCAA to use its unethical tactics to rubber stamp the salacious stories printed in the media.

It?s all done to protect the honor of amateurism! Meanwhile, everyone involved in the scam asks for (and likely receives) a pay raise.

But The U and the kids with the wrong zip codes, SAT scores and attitude are the low-character bad guys. OK.

Source: http://www.pheedcontent.com/click.phdo?i=7d77c4b1ee2c968b9ed2b5b55e7abc4a

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Lead detective axed from 'Blade Runner' case

Stephane De Sakutin / AFP - Getty Images

Investigating officer Hilton Botha was removed from the case on Thursday. He allegedly opened fire on a minibus in 2011.

By Rohit Kachroo and Alastair Jamieson, NBC News

PRETORIA, South Africa -- Oscar Pistorius' bail hearing descended into chaos Thursday as the lead detective investigating the killing of the Olympian's girlfriend was removed from the case amid attempted murder charges of his own.

Warrant Officer Hilton Botha?is due to appear in court in May?accused of opening fire on a minibus taxi in 2011. Charges against him were originally withdrawn but reinstated on Wednesday at the behest of the state prosecutor, police spokesman Brigadier Neville Malila told Reuters.

The revelation, combined with Botha?s struggle to answer key questions under cross-examination on Wednesday, boosted the confidence of Pistorius? defense lawyers and his family.

"We're going to win," one relative said as the family entered the courtroom at the start of the third day of a hearing examining whether the double-amputee should get bail.?The sprinter is accused of the premeditated murder of model Reeva Steenkamp, 29.

"We're going in the right direction," one of?Pistorius' uncles?added.

As Oscar Pistorius waits to find out whether he will be able to leave jail on bail, his family is continuing to stand by him and the chief investigator of the case may have to step down due to charges of his own, in another case from a few years back. NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports.

There was further drama when an unidentified woman addressed the court, saying she wanted Pistorius' mental health to be examined. Her intervention was dismissed.

Later, there was a brief adjournment because of an unspecified "threat" to the court building.?

The chaotic scenes in court meant that a bail decision, which had been due on Thursday, was postponed until Friday.

Dubbed the "Blade Runner," Pistorius maintains he fired into his locked bathroom in a panic over a possible prowler. However, prosecutors say the 26-year-old put on his artificial legs and stalked Steenkamp to the bathroom to kill her.

Magistrate Desmond Nair said police had showed a lack of urgency in obtaining phone records, and asked Botha why he had given evidence in English rather than his first language, Afrikaans.

After discussion of the Botha revelations, lawyers from both sides began making their final arguments.

Pistorius? defense lawyer referred to the "poor quality" of evidence gathered by police and said there was no evidence that the sprinter had committed premeditated murder.

He said Steenkamp spending the night at Pistorius' home was "consistent with a loving relationship.?

A prosecution lawyer called Pistorius' account of Steenkamp's death "improbable," saying: "The only reason you'd fire four shots is to kill."

'Stay strong'
The lawyer said the discovery of bullet cartridges in Pistorius' bathroom suggested a deliberate killing at close range.

At one stage, Pistorius began sobbing and his brother, Carl, placed a hand on his back to comfort him. He also?whispered: "Stay strong."

Alexander Joe / AFP - Getty Images

South African Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius appears in court on Thursday.

The prosecution produced a magazine article in which Pistorius talked about having a house in Italy, saying it was evidence that the athlete could easily skip bail and leave South Africa.

Prosecutors also raised the prospect that Pistorius might interfere with witnesses if released on bail. The court heard that Pistorius allegedly tried to manipulate evidence after a previous incident in which his gun was accidentally fired at a restaurant.

Magistrate Nair asked of there would be shock if Pistorius was released on bail. A defense lawyer said there were be shock if the athlete was not released, referring to apparent weaknesses in the prosecution case.

Botha, an experienced detective, testified on Wednesday that a witness heard shouting for an hour coming from the house shortly before the shooting.

Another witness heard gunshots, saw lights on in the house, heard a woman screaming two or three times, then heard another few shots, Botha said.

But under cross-examination, Botha admitted one of the witnesses was 1,000 feet away from the house at the time.

TODAY's Professionals ? Star Jones, Donny Deutsch, and Dr. Nancy Snyderman ? discuss the topics making headlines today, including whether Oscar Pistorius' claims that his girlfriend's shooting was accidental make sense given the evidence.

Botha told the court that needles and testosterone were found in the athlete's bedroom.

Defense lawyer Barry Roux disputed that claim, saying the substance was in fact a herbal remedy and that police had misread the label. State prosecutor Gerrie Nel also had to correct Botha when he initially called the substance "steroids."

On the first day of the hearing, prosecutors and the defense presented clashing accounts of how and why Pistorius shot Steenkamp.

A court statement from Pistorius denied "in the strongest terms" that he had deliberately killed the law graduate, adding that the athlete was "deeply in love'' with her, according to Reuters.

"I had no intention to kill my girlfriend," the statement said.

Meanwhile, Nike on Thursday said it had suspended its sponsorship of Pistorius.

?We believe Oscar Pistorius should be afforded due process and we will continue to monitor the situation closely,'? the sportswear company said in a statement.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Related:

Lead detective in Pistorius case faces attempted murder charges

Pistorius' uncle: Olympian is in shock, 'will bounce back'

Pistorius: I felt 'sense of terror' on night I mistakenly shot girlfriend

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This story was originally published on Thu Feb 21, 2013 4:12 AM EST

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/21/17040286-pistorius-bail-hearing-in-chaos-as-lead-detective-removed-from-case?lite

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The Best Platform For Online Discussion Doesn?t Exist Yet

Blog commenting systems are bizarre, broken and dated. TechCrunch recently switched from Facebook Comments to Livefyre - a change that, for the record, I had no say in. I'm not sure I see value. I don't agree with some of?the sentiment expressed here, which almost makes it sound like this site, and all its authors, missed the trolling days of TechCrunch Past. We don't.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/qTn3hiWMVfE/

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