Gridlock News

A quick word from our Sponsors

After a week of commuting through thickets of traffic and watching, reading and listening to too much news and in general just experiencing too much gridlock, the last thing you want is to go fishing on the weekend to unwind and run into gridlock on the lake.

I'm not talking about boating traffic either.  I am referring to going fishing and not finding any fish!

You are hoping to unwind and have a little fun, but you are not able to find the fishing hot spots.  Fortunately our sponsor Northeast Marine Electronics has just the thing.  Their recent press release offers up a great selection of products for your boat, including Fishfinders.  You can get depth finders, GPS systems, radios and more.  All the things that will help make sure that the weekend comes off without a hitch so that you can de-stress and get ready to hit Monday morning in stride.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan to discuss the desire of President Karzai and President Bush to increase troop strengths in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Many analysts expect the Taliban to make a new attacking push in the Spring once the snows have melted and the flooding in the mountain rivers, streams and wadis has subsided.

President Bush is planning to ask for an additional $10.6 billion for Afghanistan from a Congress that is posturing that it will not fund additional requests for Iraq.  That is likely to be Democratic bluster as the new Congress and the President commence a simple game of chicken.  Its all politics, but when the politicians actually dig in and talk business they know that more money and more troops are needed on both fronts if we are to keep or currently deployed troops safe. 

The White House does not want to see the number of troop deaths increase or even hold at their current rates due to a lack of deployment of the resources so obviously required. Similarly, the Democrats can not put themselves in a position where a lack of funding or the prevention of sending more troops would result in more deaths of existing troops.  Fortunately, for our deployed troops the politicians must act in their best interest and send more help.

The military released a new report that contradicted initial reports about an extremely sophisticated attack that occurred and was reported on January 20.  Men disguised as US troops and speaking English attacked and captured several US soldiers. 

One soldier was killed during the initial attack.  Four others were kidnapped. Three of those soldiers were killed and the fourth was mortally wounded with a gun shot wound to the head.  All were found abandoned in the street several miles away.

The Boston Globe is reporting this update as an indication that the Surge proposed by President Bush and supported by Presidential hopeful John McCain will not likely work.  However, the Boston Globe is wrong.  They have actually missed the point entirely.

Our troops are not safe in Iraq right now.  More troops are needed so that the troops can secure themselves and then the areas around them.  More troops are needed to protect our forces.  The administration has failed since shortly after the invasion to recognize that not enough troops are present in Iraq to win the peace.  Now their are not even enough troops to guarantee the safety of the troops that are there.

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The United States plans to release a report detailing aspects of Iranians operations within Iraq.  The report will also cover the capture and detention of five Iranians in Northern Iraq.  The detention seems to have confirmed at least for the Bush Administration that Iran is providing training and support to insurgents attacking Iraqi's and US peoples in Iraq.

The release of the report will potentially allow the rest of the world to review the additional material.

The head of the Iranian Parliament's Foreign Policy and National Security committee was quoted as stating that "We are right now installing 3,000 centrifuges," this week.

Iran would need to install large nmbers of centrifuges to enrich uranium to run either a nuclear reactor or to make nuclear weapons grade uranium.

Iranian officials have previously stated that such work would begin soon and the UN recently stated that they expect Iran to begin the process within a month in an underground facillity.

Iran's goal is to grow their enrichment production capacity to 54,000 Centrifuges to allow for faster cycl time.  Currently all Iranian centrifuges are located above ground.

The move underground seems like a practical move to protect the facillity from potential air strikes or satellite cameras.

A brief word for our Sponsors

We may be gearing up for a surge in Iraq and preparing to receive a counter attack in Afghanistan, but I think we all would prefer to be out of these wars, have our troops home safe and sound, and spending some time in Aruba. 

Our sponsor Vacations.net offers an excellent website, tools and information that can help you find package deals to an aruba all inclusive resort.  Sign up for the package and then don't worry about any miscelaneous expenses like food, drink or entertainment.  These things add up.  I just got back from Las Vegas and the trip cost several hundred dollars for plain and hotel, but the other expenses were actually higher!

What happens in vegas is that you part from your money, which stays in vegas.  Skip that money trip and go have some real fun without coming up with empty pockets.  Go to Aruba!

Winters are brutal in Afghanistan and the fighting and attacks are in a lull period, at least as much as is possible.  However, sources indicate that the Taliban is preparing for an offensive to be launched this spring against NATO troops.

NATO is not standing idly by they are sending in 6,000 more experience soldiers including 3,200 troops from the 10th mountain division.  Unlike Iraq where a surge is planned to get the country under control this boost of troops is considered necessary just to hold the ring.  This could insinuate that things are getting much worse in Afghanistan and that troop levels may be dangerously low currently.  Possibly at points where we do not have the strength to hold the ring.

I suspect it could be likely that if the surge in Iraq does work, we might see a surge in Afghanistan that will follow.  If a clean up move works in Iraq it may be sustainable in Afghanistan where many people feel we failed to finish the clean up right the first time.  The last time we heard that type of complaint was back in the first Persian gulf war.

Could it be possible that California might leap back into the social vanguard if Arnold Schwarzeneger signs the Same Sex Bill into law in California?

Its being reported that Arnold indicated to Tom Arnold that he did want to support and sign the bill into law, if not in part to his lame duck status.  Arnold has done his time as governor, and unless the constitution changes can't make a bid for the Presidency so maybe that leaves him the moral wiggle room to pass the law his way as opposed to following an interest group perspective.

It came to light today that last fall, President Bush authorized the killing or capture of Iranian agents operating in Iraq.  The goal of this authorization seems to have had to motives.

1. Gain more information about the Iranian Nuclear Enrichment Programs
2. Reduce the amount of Iranian influence and support in Iraq

There was also the insinuation of a third motive.

Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the NSA, said, "If our troops get actionable intelligence that agents are going to cause our troops or Iraqi citizens harm, they’re going to take whatever force protections that are necessary.”

The story originally broke out of the Washington Post and triggered the President and several politicians to come forward and speak on the matter.  A few weeks ago Condoleeza Rice had indicated that Iran was providing components for roadside bombs and training for Shiite militia fighters.  That training is thought to be taking place mostly in Iran.

The entire episode today brings to light the fact that our troops are really fighting Iran in Iraq.  They are just battling Iran's proxies in the form of Shiite militia.

The North Carolina Medical Board emerged as a defacto political body capable of vetoing the judiciary, executive and legislative branches powers.  The Medical Board decided that it would no longer allow physicians to attend the execution of convicts sentenced to the death penalty as this would contradict the ethics of the board and its doctors.

The board would allow a nurse to monitor the inmate and notify a doctor if any circumstance came up that would delay or prevent the execution when the inmate required medical attention, beyond death from the proceedings that is.

The ruling has had direct and immediate impact on death row inmates.  A Judge has delayed the execution of three inmates that would have been put to death this week and during the next two.  The Judge has cited 1909 laws that indicate the legislative branch and the governor will have to either re-approve or redraft the legislation for death penalties.  Furthermore, such a reworking of law almost 100 years old is sure to bring many constitutional challenges for the future new versions that will be untested in the worlds of the courts.

If similar state boards around the country were to make the same decision, death penalty exercises throughout the US could come to a stand still.  Furthermore, it might be unlikely for politicians to stand behind legislation that runs contrary to the stated ethics of doctors across the country.  In which case the death penalty could be halted indefinitely, bringing physicians into a defacto position of authority in this matter.

A Quick Word from our Sponsors

Boston is famous for all kinds of gridlock from the traffic to the Big Dig, but there is a great way to avoid both types.  Move into a condo in the city and avoid the commuter traffic and ignore the big dig. 

Our new sponsor the CondoCompany.com is one of the number one condominium search sites on the internet.  They even recently announced the launch of a new program to provide Building Specialists.  Their Building Specialists are real estate agents that specialize in particular condo buildings, usually the luxury high rise variety. 

CondoCompany.com provides a CondoList targeted towards Boston Condos that can help anyone looking to buy, sell or rent a condominium in Boston.

Veteran admissions employees of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill had a rough week this week, but not as rough as some of their email recipients.  The admissions department accidentally sent emails to applicants telling them essentially congratulations again on your acceptance.

The problem was that the students had not been accepted and that the acceptance process was not complete.  So the students might or might not get in.

The email was sent out to 2300 recipients but not to the full list of close to 9,000 applicants on this particular mailing directory.  Sometimes Gridlock is caused by human error and that was the case here.  The mistake had administrators and admissions employees working late to explain to students and parents the truth.

Gridlock news is back!  We have worked out some new arrangements with Sponsors that are helping us dedicate the time and resources necessary to bring this blog off without a hitch.

We will continue to focus on covering the news of the day that highlights examples of governmental and other forms of gridlock in the US and around the world.  If you see gridlocking events, please feel to drop us a comment and leave us a message pointing it out to us and we'll cover it.

Layout and Sponsored Articles

Going forward you will also see some of our sponsors featured in special articles dispersed throughout this blog.  Just like a magazine or newspaper we accept paid placements.  If your company or website is interested in having us feature your product, service or site in a sponsored contextual article you can contact us through Softduit Partners.

We look forward to covering the events of 2007 and thank you for your readership and support.  Our sponsors pay the bills, but you our readers make it all worth while.