The US government has wasted $30bn (£18bn) in contracts in Afghanistan and Iraq over the last decade, according to a bi-partisan spending commission.

The commission on wartime contracting blamed an over-reliance on contractors, poor planning and fraud for the waste. It had evidence of lax accountability and inadequate competition, it said.

Writing in the Washington Post, the report's authors warn that investments in the two countries could be wasted even after US involvement there ends. Among the examples cited was a $40m prison for Iraq that the country did not want and was never completed.

US-funded projects in those two countries also risk going to waste because host governments are unable or unwilling to sustain them.

In one case, $300m was poured into a sophisticated power plant in Kabul which the Afghan government will not be able to run, and a programme worth $11.4bn of facilities for the Afghan national security forces is likely to be unsustainable.

The commission's report is due to be published on Wednesday but its authors, who include former government officials and lawmakers, have already published an opinion piece in the Washington Post, blaming both the government and contractors for the waste.

The article makes the obvious recommendation to be more rigorous when deciding whether a project should be contracted out but it also recommends cancelling or modifying projects that are not sustainable.

Beyond just a disservice to taxpayers, the report says that the waste fosters corruption in host countries and diminishes the standing and influence of the US.

...Bad accounting, bad planning and fraud... That's what you get when you trust private contractors

Vikings: .. If Aliens come to this solar system they would just raid the other 99% of the solar system. Why waste the time to blow up some race when it'll do it itself if it gets too stoooopid

rod03801: That I see the conservatives on HERE playing the race card whenever anybody disagrees with them.

The Col: I thought he was a singer.. ex Sonny and Cher.

rod03801: Really...... That is what you perceive.

Guess I read more as I don't see that happening alot.

Libyan rebels say they are concerned over the fate of thousands of prisoners held in Tripoli by the Gaddafi regime.

Rebel military spokesman Col Ahmed Omar Bani said almost 50,000 people arrested in recent months were unaccounted for.

The rebels believe they may be being held in underground bunkers, which have since been abandoned. Rights groups have seen evidence that dozens of people have been massacred near prisons, but Col Bani did not accuse anyone of killing the prisoners.

"The number of people arrested over the past months is estimated at between 57,000 and 60,000," he said in a news conference in Benghazi. "Between 10,000 and 11,000 prisoners have been freed up until now... so where are the others?"

The colonel appealed for anyone with information to come forward, and said it would be "catastrophic" if they had been killed.

rod03801: No... Just your mind.

That the design of a constitutional democracy calls for continuous negotiations is of no consequence to a movement of puppets driven by their master to serve only one goal. If you listen to the programmers (Beck, O'Reilly, Hannity, etc), you hear a continuous stream accusations toward their perceived enemy, which happens to be anyone who doesn't agree with every aspect of their message. The tactic is to accuse the enemy of doing whatever it is you are doing in order to divert attention away from your own misdeeds. It works. At least it certainly works with the Tea Party followers. They nod their heads in agreement as their favorite commentator presents a totally fictitious scenario and pronounces, "You didn't hear that in the main stream media! They just tell you what they want you to hear!"


When Beck tells the world that there is no such thing as global warming, he accuses the left of lying to you for their own personal gain. He is telling you that because he gets paid millions to tell you that and, without defense against the scientific evidence his only argument has to be that they are lying. With all the right-wing so called modern conservative commentators you get a heavy dose of, "They are coming after me. They don't want me to tell you the truth." For the simple of mind, this reinforces the image that the other side is lying and supposedly garners some sympathy for the commentator who is standing up to the evil of the other side (all for a mere $30 million a year).

From Rush Limbaugh to Glenn Beck and from Sean Hannity to Bill O'Reilly they send the same message over and over, day after day. How do they all arrive at the same conclusions, even the same sound bites with flawless accuracy? They are paid to say what big corporations, big-time religion and the super wealthy want them to say. They speak and the Tea Party echoes. They are the programmers hired by the super wealthy to program the compliant flock of followers who rally around every concept that puts the interests of corporate America ahead and above the rights of everyday taxpaying Americans. Look at Glenn Beck's well publicized $32 million income. Around $3 million of that is earned at his job, the rest can be characterized as the payoff. What do big corporations, big-time religion and the super wealthy get for their share of that $29 or so million? They get programming that produces tens of thousands of obedient followers fighting for corporate welfare while impoverishing the middle class. Of modest incomes mostly, they nonetheless cry for huge tax breaks for the super wealthy and big corporations and they fight against anti pollution laws that hold big corporations accountable for damage done to the public and leaving it to the government to clean up the mess at taxpayer expense. This coddling of the giant powerful corporation by government is not a new idea. It has been the dream of much of the super wealthy class forever. What is new, is the force of the masses of duped average income people shouting in support of this idea at the expense of their own good future. Little do they understand (or want to understand) that, given success by the Tea Party, they will work for pennies, be saddled with all the tax burden and be deprived of the protections of the Constitution and government. That really is shooting oneself in the foot!

Yes, it's a site about conservative politics and conservative political issues. It is also a site about Republican politics, but that's not the same as conservative politics, a point I hope to make clearly. I, like many others, am disgusted with Republican politics and the utter disrespect for the Constitution that goes with those neo-conservatives (or is it neo conservatives? {does it matter?}).

This isn't really a conservative blog. We are not just blogging on conservative issue. We mostly discuss so called Conservative Republican politics while real Conservative politics are hardly ever discussed now days. Mostly we hear about Republican politics that certainly are not conservative. This is certainly is not a Republican blog and it goes without saying, it is not a liberal blog. So, if you want to discuss the so-called conservative issues of today, this may not be the place for you. It's definitely not the place for patting each other on the back and admiring current Republican political issues or Republican politics in general. It really is only a blog about how the Republican Party has fled from conservative ideology and abandoned America as it turned its back on freedom.

... he vast majority of Tea Party supporters I have asked say that the TP movement is self funded. They tell me that it is a body of dedicated people joined together to fight big government and its oppression. They seem totally unaware of the huge corporate big money effort that has sustained the TP while injecting special interest ideals and completely reshaping meaning of conservatism. It's not just the multi-billionaire Koch brothers and their Koch Industries, it's the conglomerate of huge insurance companies, big oil and every other powerful corporate interest that can benefit from reducing the power of average people while gaining greater control over government. Case in point; the main financial opposition to Obamacare quietly comes from those insurance companies who were getting a nearly $140 billion subsidy (theoretically for interfacing between patients and Medicare). They lost that under the Health Care Bill and they want it back. That's a lot of corporate welfare and they are willing to fight for it. Not that Obamacare is all that good, but it isn't bad in the ways that Tea Partiers have been led to believe.

Big time religion comes in second in influence over the TP movement. No, the big churches don't contribute the hundreds of millions of dollars that come from big corporations, but they do pump in people. Not just average people, but zealous soldiers who have no regard for the Constitution, the freedoms due Americans or anything else that is not on the Christian agenda. This segment of the TP movement is working fervently at changing the very meaning of the Constitution by attacking its basic principles and revising the history of its founding. You hear it all the time at TP rallies and meeting, "There is no separation of church and state! We are a Christian nation! The Constitution protects family values! Abortion must be stopped!" On and on they attack safeguards to freedoms well grounded and intended in the Constitution. They teach people that the Constitution isn't what our forefathers and the courts have intended. When convenient, they deny science and most of all, they work hard to force these views on everyone. If you have attended a Tea Party rally lately, you've seen that it is working.

The Col: The drivers were getting tired of having no medical facilities at races and dying. So they grouped together and paid for a mobile hospital to be at each race. When the race track owners and car makers did not get that it was a bad thing that drivers were dying through bad track safety.. They boycotted races and made the industry pay up and make the races safer.

... hang on... that Adam Sandler is a registered Republican makes him conservative...

With so many conservatives (neo cons, right wing nuts and other strange right wing affiliates) saying being Republican does not make you a conservative.

I find that Vikings list is not valid.

btw... alot of actors in your list Vikings, such as Mel Gibson. Who by any accounts is a registered nutter.

The Col: Most of it is just history of the early days of F1. If you like F1 (like me) it's a good vid. They were showing the Bill Hicks story on BBC4............

I can't post a link to that on this board!!

The Col: Depends on the union... as pointed out by the vid I posted.

The GPDA were about safety when the Formula one drivers were dying regularly, they were the ones who fought for safety when the teams and track owners didn't give a damn.

The Col: Well it beats Nick Griffins edited view of history that the Holocaust did not happen. According to him, just a few thousand Jews were shot by the Nazi's.

Reasons for a union...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N9-QrRl1Uk

The Col: Beck is the US version of Nick Griffin. N' no-one outside the BNP takes Nick Griffin seriously... as this clip proves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viDtJM0BRX4

The Col: Glenn Beck... everyone except conservatives laugh at him anyway.

Maybe it's because he keeps playing the 'straight' guy.

Iamon lyme: gone.

Iamon lyme: ... you have a mind and the ability to use it. So use it.

If you are too lazy to use it, that is your problem.

Iamon lyme: use google and find out!!

"....But many suspect that it was outsiders who inspired this bill in the first place. In March, Bahati met several prominent anti-gay US Christian activists who attended a conference in Uganda where they pledged to "wipe out" homosexuality. The conference featured Scott Lively, president of California's anti-gay Abiding Truth Ministries and co-author of The Pink Swastika, a book claiming that leading Nazis were gay. Also there was Don Schmierer, on the board of Exodus International, which promotes the "ex-gay" movement, believing people can change their sexuality and be redeemed. The third extremist evangelical to attend was Caleb Lee Brundidge, who is linked to Richard Cohen who believes that psychotherapy can "cure" homosexuality....."

If it wasn't so crazy and sick.. I'd be

... Thanks to Christians, 37 African countries have now made being gay illegal and a crime.....

........not to mention the modern day African Christians that were converted by Evangelicals... So many innocents being killed, abused and tortured in the name of God.

The Col: Ahhh the Christians... So many South Americans suffered and died by their desire to convert in the name of God....

... and to take the gold.

Client Amount Spent Percentage of Total[30]
1 Finance, Insurance & Real Estate $4,274,060,331 14.53%
2 Health $4,222,427,808 14.53%
3 Misc Business $4,149,842,571 14.11%
4 Communications/Electronics $3,497,881,399 11.89%
5 Energy & Natural Resources $3,104,104,518 10.55%
6 Transportation $2,245,118,222 7.63%
7 Other $2,207,772,363 7.50%
8 Ideological/Single-Issue $1,477,294,241 5.02%
9 Agribusiness $1,280,824,983 4.12%
10 Defense $1,216,469,173 4.13%
11 Construction $480,363,108 1.63%
12 Labor $427,355,408 1.45%
13 Lawyers & Lobbyists $336,170,306 1.14%

"The Republican Party of Angry White Millionaires will Rule America After the November elections along with their Nazi/Tea Party Storm Troopers. The Republicans will Repeal Healthcare Reform. The Republicans will allow Insurance Companies to Decide who Lives and who Dies. The Insurance Companies will decide how much increase Premiums and Profits Every Year. The Republican have a Healthcare Plan for All Americans who are not Rich.The Republican Plan is: Do Not Get Sick. If you get Sick Die Fast or the Health Insurance Companies will Bankrupt you Hard Working Americans and then will let you Die."

....According to a August 1st 2011 poll, 11% of American voters identify themselves as "very conservative", 30% as "conservative", 36% as "moderate", 15% as "liberal", and 6% as "very liberal".[20] These percentages have been fairly constant since 1990.[21]

The meaning of "conservatism" in America has little in common with the way the word is used elsewhere. As Ribuffo (2011) notes, "what Americans now call conservatism much of the world calls liberalism or neoliberalism."[22] Since the 1950s conservatism in the United States has been chiefly associated with the Republican Party. However, during the era of segregation many Southern Democrats were conservatives, and they played a key role in the Conservative Coalition that controlled Congress from 1937 to 1963.....

In defining conservatism, Reagan said: "If you analyze it I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism. I think conservatism is really a misnomer just as liberalism is a misnomer for the liberals—if we were back in the days of the Revolution, so-called conservatives today would be the Liberals and the liberals would be the Tories. The basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more individual freedom and this is a pretty general description also of what libertarianism is."[136] Reagan's views on government were influenced by Thomas Jefferson, especially his hostility to strong central governments.[137] "We're still Jefferson's children," he declared in 1987. "Freedom is not created by Government, nor is it a gift from those in political power. It is, in fact, secured, more than anything else, by limitations placed on those in Government".[138][139] Likewise he greatly admired and often quoted Abraham Lincoln[140]

Iamon lyme: Is it so? Like with your analysis of socialism. So many types of socialism and you feel safe in such a broad statement?

So many outside Beck's fan club think he is a middle class red neck, or has found the pay (Murdoch says jump Beck says 'how high') better being one. And we are not just talking about ''liberals'' .. but seeing as views vary from country to country on what is a liberal and what is a conservative.. with the overuse (like the boy who cried wolf)... the word 'liberal' as you and the likes of Dan use seems pointless and too vague to have any meaning in the real world.

... I'd still like a definition of what is a conservative in America, as most involved in politics say it's a different kettle of fish to conservatism elsewhere in modern society......except maybe on the African continent.

U.S. Jews warn Israel not to get too cozy with Glenn Beck
Rabbi Eric Yoffie, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, says Beck is very extreme and controversial even among right-wing groups in the United States.


NEW YORK – The warm welcome extreme right-wing media personality Glenn Beck has receiving in Israel has led to criticism of the American pundit by Jewish leaders in New York.

Rabbi Eric Yoffie, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, told Haaretz he believed that Beck was very extreme and controversial even among right-wing groups in the United States. Yoffie pointed to the Fox News television network, which had canceled Beck’s show and distanced itself from him.

Yoffie said that Beck had mocked the distress of hundreds of thousands of protesters in Israel, referring to the right-wing pundit’s comments about the tent protests in Israel earlier this month when he compared protesters’ calls for increased social benefits to those of the former Soviet Union.

According to Yoffie, Beck’s comments on the protest in Israel are a slap in the face to hundreds of thousands of protesters, and expressed dismay that such a man is holding events in Israel with the participation of cheering masses. Yoffie, who said he prefered not to speak about Beck and lend him undue prominence, said the pundit had expressed himself hatefully and rudely against President Obama, who is Israel’s important and faithful ally.

Seymour Reich, former chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations and a leading New York attorney, said Tuesday that he believed Beck was taking rude advantage of Israel in order to rehabilitate his television career and reputation.

Reich said he believed Israeli and Jews everywhere should be careful about embracing an extreme right-winger like Beck, who shows sympathy for Israel in order to hide his extreme-right ideology.

Übergeek 바둑이: ok....

"Mr al-Hasidi admitted that he had recruited "around 25" men from the Derna area in eastern Libya to fight against coalition troops in Iraq. Some of them, he said, are "today are on the front lines in Adjabiya". "

Personally, I would expect some al-Qaeda supporters to be involved. There is no strong indication at the moment that al-Qaeda is running the rebellion, just they are taking part.. which considering the region and politics is nothing strange.

Does that mean al-Qaeda will fill the power vacuum? I don't think so.

"Western governments are really naive if they think that Lybia will magically become a democracy."

I don't think they are that naive... And as it was the people doing the ground fighting rather than westerners it's going to be harder for al-Qaeda to 'recruit'. This is a popular revolution/civil war, not an invasion.

Rebels have breached Col Muammar Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli, one of the few areas still under the Libyan leader's control, witnesses say.

Heavily-armed fighters had earlier streamed into the capital in dozens of pick-up trucks to attack the compound.

TV footage showed smoke rising from buildings across the city, and the sound of shelling could be heard.

Col Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam appeared in Tripoli overnight, hours after rebels said he had been captured.

A rebel leader said his appearance was embarrassing, but would not stop their advance.

"Best before" date labels could be scrapped in an attempt to cut the £680 worth of food thrown away by the average UK household each year.

New government guidance to shops aims to put more focus on "use by" dates on items such as prawns and yoghurt which have a definite shelf life.

The initiative follows consultation with manufacturers and retailers. It will also target "sell by" and "display until" labels which it is thought add to consumers' confusion. These labels are generally used by shops for stock control.

The changes will be brought in over the next month and will not involve new legislation.

According to the advisory body Waste and Resources Action Programme, households can end up binning up to a quarter of their weekly food and drink purchases.

A spokesperson for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: "By law, pre-packed food must show a 'best before' date - even though many foods are still safe to eat after that date.

"This is very different from the 'use by' date that shows when food is no longer safe and should be thrown away. Being clear on the difference between the two could help us all to reduce our food waste."

Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman said: "I am dismayed so much food goes to waste and if the date labels are part of the problem, it's one thing we should be able to improve."


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> comment.....>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

147.
spitfirestudent
18th April 2011 - 12:29

Aw does that mean I can't get perfectly good discounted food at 7pm in my local shop anymore? How will a student survive!? I don't like that so much good food gets wasted or that most people don't understand that's what a freezer is for. I see use by dates as a good way to save money. I just bought fresh yoghurt yesterday for 19p! Bargain.

Unfortunately for Freegan's, small independent shops have started to eradicate the food waste that the chains have created. After top chef's have lived and seen the waste that too much packaging has created they are shocked how much perfectly good food is thrown away. One top TV chef commentated how it was stupid to through away a dozen eggs if only one was broken, fruit and veg through one out of 'six' being bruised... so the whole punnet has to be chucked. Meat... that somehow (as the chef's laughed) goes off at midnight... like Cinderella dress turning back... the big shops have brainwashed us into throwing food away and that is a disgrace.

Yet the smaller shops are bringing back the principles of buying loose. No longer packaged, the fruit is loose and not bound by the condition of it's neighbour. That mother nature does not say a cucumber is 25.56mm x 320.149mm.

United States Vice-President Joe Biden, who is visiting China, has said the US would never default on its debt.

In a speech on the last day of his visit, he reiterated that China's large holdings of dollar assets were safe.

His trip comes amid mounting tension between the two over America's debt.

Chinese officials have criticised the political row in the US over raising its borrowing ceiling, and expressed concern over the recent downgrade of the country's credit rating.

"You're safe," Mr Biden told university students in the south-western town of Chengdua, in answer to a question about Washington's ability to repay its debt.

Libyan rebels are battling troops loyal to Col Muammar Gaddafi for control of Tripoli, after they launched an assault on the capital from several directions.

Rebel commanders say they have taken control of about 80% of the capital, including the headquarters of state TV.

But fighting is still raging in parts of the city, and the rebels have not managed to find the Libyan leader.

World leaders have urged Col Gaddafi to step down. US President Obama said his 42-year rule "was coming to an end".

The rebels were met by jubilant crowds in central Green Square, which was previously the scene of nightly pro-Gaddafi demonstrations.


....A former British ambassador to Libya, Sir Richard Dalton, has told the BBC he trusts the rebel council to manage a transition: "I believe that the constitutional principles laid down by the Transitional National Council will be their guide, and that they will make their very, very best endeavours to realise all of them.".......

Artful Dodger: It was not dishonesty.. can't you tell the difference? I was just making a point of low wages.

Artful Dodger: but we all know that is not true.

Artful Dodger: The UK minimum wage this October is $10.02 dollars at current exchange rates.

Artful Dodger: What do you do and who for?

Artful Dodger: So... all the people getting $5 an hour are supposed to pay for more ed.. more training, etc.. two (or 3 jobs) and run a home while on a tight budget especially now while it is an employers market job wise?

"A small number. There are always exceptions. But exceptions are not the rule."

A small number... when did Jesus come back and change everything?

you asked who I work for.... please stop getting personal. I will not post confidential info on this board.

N' no.. as I told Bernice I'm not unemployed. Read back

Artful Dodger: You've not answered the point.. If everyone is paying crap wages then what? Businesses are not going to hike prices re wage increases unless it is all at once. While wages are low everywhere then what. Yes.. change jobs... but then what about the jobs that people do that are essential?

Now.. who I work for is my private life.. I mean.. are you going to advertise who you work for on the board??

"And if you can't get a better job because you sat on your lazy butt and didn't better yourself with proper schooling, it's your own fault. "

That, I find a very limited interpretation of why someone might not have a good ed. I saw a story of lady who was made prisoner by 'daddy' over many years. People who've been undiagnosed with the likes of dyslexia, etc.

Now stop trying to get personal, I can have fun just posting political snips.

I remember years ago a prog about American car companies.. The cars were just not upto the standard that other countries insisted on regarding quality and safety. This caused them to have to spend extra time and money off the domestic market production lines making the cars exportable rather than make them exportable straight away.

Artful Dodger: Support as in making up the wages to a liveable wage because the companies will not pay enough. Which is why low income families need support from the government via food stamps and tax credits. You may object to the word "support" but that is what the government is having to do.

... I've explained this several times, it is not hard to understand. It's why the UK gov introduced a minimum wage to stop companies exploiting workers just to maximise profits and dividends to stock holders. Not just 'blue collar' but as I've experienced, 'white collar' as well. Because of minimum wage law.. the amount of people needing support just so they can afford to live why working has decreased.

"It's not the job of the government to make up the difference."

Then companies need to pay a fair wage that can be lived on then. And not as experienced here do everything they can to not pay a living wage. If not, then you just end up with one of your pet hates... illegal immigrants doing the work.

Now... Dan.. can you stay on these points?