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Forever Grateful: Reflections

July 25th 2010 15:41

I wanted to take a point of personal privilege and simply say thank you. As I wrote in KP's sister site, Outsider Views, I wanted to thank the Orble Team for giving me the platform to start building this. I am grateful for all the support and the daily visitors. A thank you is all that I can offer. My challenge is to continue to hopefully strive to make a difference.

I will be taking this week to work on pressing month-end business committments. As I am listening to the "Last Lecture" and shared it with the community and the world in "Outsider Views", I wanted to share this wonderful talk by Steve Jobs about life and about death. The need to live now, remember, come together and appreciate what is at hand is so powerful. I sometimes view this to be forgotten in the heat and passion of the moment. Whether one has been through a divorce, financial setbacks or an illness, one must always remember the "why" and never forget what is key:

As I wind down the month and think through and do a continued reassessment of my work, I continue to wonder about our World and will work to build upon the foundation I have built. I pray that the Lord will grant me the strength and the vision to continue on.

"See" you all in August.

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Posted By: Mike Pouraryan - Category: politics, news, law, war

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KP Newsflash (7/20/2010): The Kabul Conference

July 20th 2010 06:50

The Kabul Conference has started. Karzai has spoken of his insistence about Foreign Troops withdrawing and the need for locals to take over. The Afghan President is chairing this meeting.

Some 70 Foreign Ministers are attending. As this conference was beginning to get on its' way, there were a number of bombings in Kabul. One of the attendees is Iran's Foreign Minister who is slated to speak shortly. The reporter for Iran's State Broadcaster is noting the extreme security measures being taken--including the closure of schools and Government Offices.

I envision all speaking and thereafter committ to more money. Everyone will then go back home feeling good. But, the only question Karzai has to contemplate is this: If the troops leave, then what?

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Posted By: Mike Pouraryan - Category: politics, news, law, war

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Can't Help It About Mrs. Palin....

July 20th 2010 04:49

Sarah Palin has made a lot of money since she decided to cash in on her popularity as Governor of Alaska. I have to hand it off to her and her handlers: They have executed a brilliant marketing campaign. But, her most recent tweet on the mosque on Ground Zero just took it too far.

In her tweet, she asked for muslims to back off. What she basically said was that the Muslims have no rights and should not build a house of worship. What she also failed to understand is the extent of the support that the Mosque on Ground Zero has gathered within the City of New York. Although I saw reports that an Aide to Mayor Bloomberg basically told Ms. Palin to take a hike and then deleted it later, at least New Yorkers are not backing down.

I continue to track her endorsements, her fund raising and her pronoucements. She appeals to the so-called "common sense" people who want to go back to "common sense" values. I really like to know what that means. From what I saw of her outburst, this means putting Muslims under constant watch, deny them the opportunity to worship and continue to instill a sense of fear and double standard that is contrary to what America stands for. What I also find funny is how she considers herself to be an outsider. She is as insider as it comes. If she was so concerned about the "common folks", I wonder why she won't dedicate a portion of her substantial speaking fees and her book royalties to funding centers to help the unemployed get back on their feet.

What I find very troubling about Mrs. Palin is that what she espouses about America is not the America that I know. The America I know is the land of the free and the home of the brave. It is represented by those brave souls like the organizers of the Cordoba Initaitive who have begun a concerted effort to bridge this divide that has been perpetuated by fools like Mrs. Palin:

Mrs. Palin needs to be educated on the simple fact that the animals who attacked the United States were not Muslims. Everyone condenmned it. She should take the time to really understand Islam and embrace leading thinkers of the day like Tariq Ramadan who will provide what true Islam as it stands today should be. Simply perpetuating fear will not suffice. As a leader, Mrs. Palin needs to understand it. If not, her handlers and ghost writers on Twitter and Facebook need to at least remind her of it. They're being paid good money to promote her.

What I find fascinating is how her brand is so powerful. But, she needs to be educated and indeed challenged when she is wrong. She needs to truly understand the World and not merely realize that watching Russia from her house will not just cut it anymore.

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Posted By: Mike Pouraryan - Category: politics, news, law, war

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KP Week-End (7/18/2010):

July 18th 2010 18:40

I have been spending the week-end making the rounds of the U.S. Sunday Morning Talk Shows. As I listened to the debate on NBC's Meet the Press, my thought went to all those on Main Street who seem to be somewhat lost in the shuffle. I wonder if those in Power truly thought about these numbers that the Roosevelt Institute just put out. What about the people?

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Posted By: Mike Pouraryan - Category: politics, news, war

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KP Media Watch (7/13/2010): "South of the Border"

July 13th 2010 04:30

"South of the Border" is a film that Oliver Stone produced and directed last year to have a critical look at the Southern half of the New World: Latin America. It was prompted by the rise of Hugo Chavez and the on-going changes in Latin America. It is a fascinating story indeed.

The U.S. Media has had a concerted campaign against Hugo Chavez. I have, in my periodic write-ups on Venezuela, have expressed a profound sense of disappointment as to the increased despotic tendencies of Hugo Chavez. It was underscored by the Chavez campaign against the head of the only independent TV station in the country who then turned up in the United States with his son. What the U.S. cannot get away from is the fact that it has intervened in Latin America a staggering 55 times to foster coups and prop up facist military dictatorships all in the name of fighting communism

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Posted By: Mike Pouraryan - Category: politics, news, law, war

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KP Media Watch (7/9/2010): Tariq Ali On Afghanistan

July 9th 2010 06:28

Tariq Ali spoke at the 30th anniversary of the London Review of Books. I have released the link here for reference.

The talk he gave is in four parts. What he has said is something I have written throughout "Outsiders" about how useless Karzai has been, how America has continued to waste treasure and the fact that there was not a true struggle. So, the fiction pushed by Ann Coulter about America having "won" was such a lie. It also underscored the role of Pakistan about this disaster America has gotten itself into

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Posted By: Mike Pouraryan - Category: politics, news, law, war

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The Obama-Netanyahu Love-In

July 8th 2010 06:23

Well, the U.S and Israel have kissed and made up. There was a great effort to underscore the fact that the relationship was unbreakable no matter what.
But, the reality of life for Palestinians bodes ill for what the future holds. This is where the Obama Adminstration's rhetoric does not match the actual committment on the ground. It reflects a realization of the political realities at hand and it is quite unfortunate.

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Posted By: Mike Pouraryan - Category: politics, news, law, war

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Israel & Palestine: The Gaza Blockade & Other Comments

July 5th 2010 20:41

I have been reviewing the developments in the so-called easing of the blockade on Gaza. Earlier, Salam Fayed and Ehud Barack met for the Israeli Defense Minister to hand off the new "prohibited" list. This has been supposedly welcomed by the leading powers. But, as always, there is supposedly more to it yet again.

I view anything that helps to alleviate the suffering of the People of Gaza as welcome. I understand the reservations by Gazans. But, still, this shows that at least there is a realization of the fallacy of Israeli Policy. This is also as the mandate of the Commision formed to investigate the Gaza Flotilla blockade fiasco expands. There does seem to be baby steps that may continue onward. The timing, though, is curious as the Israeli Prime Ministers gets ready for his meetings in Washington

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Posted By: Mike Pouraryan - Category: politics, news, law, war

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KP Week-End (7/4/2010): Refuse 2 Be Discouraged

July 4th 2010 08:15

This is Independence Day Week-End in America. I released a retrospective in KP's sister site, Outsider Views. Despite all that I write about and am concerned about, I re-read this prayer that helps me to stay focused despite all my challenges. It is worth remembering as our World continues to be ever more faced with challenges day in and day out:

Refuse to be discouraged
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Posted By: Mike Pouraryan - Category: politics, news, law, war

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KP Media Watch (7/3/2010): Always Interesting

July 3rd 2010 06:00

It has been a very busy few days on the Media Front. I'll begin the latest edition of KP's Media watch with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow. I found this clip to be just hillarious, yet sad:

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Posted By: Mike Pouraryan - Category: politics, news, law, war

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KP Media Watch (7/2/2010): An Alternative View

July 2nd 2010 05:02

With the advent of the new month and the new quarter, I am hereby launching a new feature called "Media Watch". The intention is to feature alternative media which provide an alternative insight on what is facing our World today. This is a weekly feature that will provide insights on the so-called left, right and center. The first one is "Democracy Now" for Thursday 7/1/2010:

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Posted By: Mike Pouraryan - Category: politics, news, law, war

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The Kagan Hearing (An Update)

July 2nd 2010 04:32

I have been periodically watching the Kagan Hearings. Although Ann Coulter views the hearings as boring as the World Cup, I have seen a wonderful discourse of US Constitutional Law, the Separation of Powers and the role of the Judiciary.

The Republicans, to their credit, tried very hard to get Kagan off script. Jeff Sessions tirade on her decision to bar Military Recruiters was just one example. There was Chuck Grassley noting that she was a "political lawyer". She called them on it deftly. Towards the end, most everyone were noting that she would be a "soon to-be justice". Of all the comments, the one I welcomed especially was how she noted that although judges had to follow precedence, judges were also not robots and had to be in a position to "judge

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Posted By: Mike Pouraryan - Category: politics, news, law, war

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The Afghan Soap Opera: The Past 24 Hours

July 1st 2010 06:42

General Petraus has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate on a 99-0 vote to assume command of the Afghan War. He sure has his work cut out for him. He has been credited with "saving" Iraq. He himself noted that Iraq was turned around and "knock on wood", it will continue to be so. Yet, as of now, Iraq is yet to have a fully functioning Government. I wouldn't call that success.

As for the political soap opera in Washington, well it goes on. What I find pathetic is how the Congress has finally somehow figured out that things are not going well in Afghanistan. As I have continued to note in my daily write-ups here and in KP's sister site, Outsider Views, the insurgency is raging and is spreading througout the country. General Petraus is only one man, not a miracle worker. Now, there has been a vote to strip 4 Billion Dollars off the Afghan Aid Budget to object to corruption going on. Where have they been all these years

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Posted By: Mike Pouraryan - Category: politics, news, war, sex

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KP Newsflash (6/30/2010): Another Afghan Attack

June 30th 2010 08:56

The Taliban have pulled off another attack. This attack was on the NATO base in Jalalabad. From what I understand, it is the second largest base after Khandahar.

I regard this attack as quite significant. This is as General Petraus went through a swift hearing before the US Senate Armed Services Committee. What apparently is not truly understood is that Afghanistan is not Iraq. General Petraus is not a magician. He is a political General and did hedge his bets. The warnings about escalating violence are ever more holding true

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Posted By: Mike Pouraryan - Category: politics, news, law, war

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