Month: March 2009

Afghanistan Taliban leader was at Gitmo

Afghanistan Taliban leader was at Gitmo

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Another story in the continuing discussion regarding former prisoners at Guantanamo that returned to cause harm to Americans and our allies.  This further questions that very political decision to close Gitmo as a secure prison for terrorists.  We obviously cannot release them back to their home countries since it seems that so many were true criminals and should be put in jail for decades.

Here is a part of the story from AP but there are some other interesting thoughts at the blog Clinging to G & G

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Taliban’s new top operations officer in southern Afghanistan had been a prisoner at the Guantanamo Bay detention center, the latest example of a freed detainee who took a militant leadership role and a potential complication for the Obama administration’s efforts to close the prison. U.S. authorities handed over the detainee to the Afghan government, which in turn released him, according to Pentagon and CIA officials.

Abdullah Ghulam Rasoul, formerly Guantanamo prisoner No. 008, was among 13 Afghan prisoners released to the Afghan government in December 2007. Rasoul is now known as Mullah Abdullah Zakir, a nom de guerre that Pentagon and intelligence officials say is used by a Taliban leader who is in charge of operations against U.S. and Afghan forces in southern Afghanistan.

The officials, who spoke anonymously because they are not authorized to release the information, said Rasoul has joined a growing faction of former Guantanamo prisoners who have rejoined militant groups and taken action against U.S. interests. Pentagon officials have said that as many as 60 former detainees have resurfaced on foreign battlefields.

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Using the iPhone as a newsreader

Using the iPhone as a newsreader

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I read a lot of RSS feeds for work, blogging, and general interest. I used to use Google Reader for most of this before I had my iPhone. When the iPhone came out though I found that the iPhone reader was very difficult for me to read without my reading glasses (I have reached that point in life when I need to keep reading glasses like the ones found at https://felixgray.com/pages/readers-glasses, close when I am going to do serious reading). Of course, many adults reach that age earlier than they expect. Presbyopia is a condition that makes it a lot more difficult for people to see objects that are close to them. This happens to almost every adult over 45 years old (normally). Most people will need reading glasses for this, but others might decide to look for more info on presbyopia surgery. That could improve vision and prevent people from needing their reading glasses.

When I read feeds on my laptop, I don’t mind using my glasses but if I am away from the computer and just trying to catch a quick update, reading glasses are a pain to deal with.

Since the Reader on the iPhone wouldn’t let me change fonts, I went with another service, Newsgator, for my needs. This required me to use their desktop app (or web app) as well. I still prefered Google’s Reader but the entire package put me ahead.

Of course, the value of capitalism has stepped in. Where there is a gap between need and fulfillment, someone is surely going to create a product to fill that gap. I am happy to report that there are at least 3 options for reading news feeds via Google on the iPhone that don’t require the Google site. Those options are Gazette, Byline and Doppler. The good folks over at The Blog Herald are reviewing the various apps so if this subject interests you, jump over and read their reviews.

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Obama has set the standard as the Great Communicator

Obama has set the standard as the Great Communicator

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For the past decade or two, Ronald Wilson Reagan set the standard as “The Great Communicator” while he was President of the United States.  There is no question that he excelled over the many bumblings of George Walker Bush as David Letterman has so aptly recorded for us!

However, it is already clear that President Barack Hussein Obama is going to take the mantle of the Great Communicator if he hasn’t already done so.

Here are some of his accomplishments so far:

Congratulations to BHO and his staff on all of this.  I am sure that it has been quite difficult! Our government has never been the center of excellence for the use of technology. Clinton’s team was extremely frustrated at the lack of technology when they moved into the building.

Let us hope that all of this will result in a better run government, although the various missteps on getting nominees approved has been a bit disconcerting.  And like all Presidents, he needs to stop exaggerating the truth.

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