Richard Holbrook has Died

Richard Holbrook, United States Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan has died.

Holbrook, 69, is known for the 1995 brokering of the Dayton peace accords was hospitalized in Washington, DC on Friday where a tear to his aorta was repaired during a 20 hour surgery. He was listed in critical condition following the surgery.

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The State Department issued a statement Saturday saying:

"This morning, doctors completed surgery to repair a tear in his aorta He is in critical condition and has been joined by his family"

The accord brokered by Holbrook ended the Balkans War

Known as the Bulldozer, Holbrook is known for bringing warring leaders together for negotiations. He was named by President Obama as special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan in January 2009. As the Presidents special representative, Holbrook is vital in working to define strategy for administration on one of its priorities on foreign policy.

Richard Holbrook has Died

Richard Holbrook, United States Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan has died.

Holbrook, 69, is known for the 1995 brokering of the Dayton peace accords was hospitalized in Washington, DC on Friday where a tear to his aorta was repaired during a 20 hour surgery. He was listed in critical condition following the surgery.

The State Department issued a statement Saturday saying:

"This morning, doctors completed surgery to repair a tear in his aorta He is in critical condition and has been joined by his family"

The accord brokered by Holbrook ended the Balkans War

Known as the Bulldozer, Holbrook is known for bringing warring leaders together for negotiations. He was named by President Obama as special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan in January 2009. As the Presidents special representative, Holbrook is vital in working to define strategy for administration on one of its priorities on foreign policy.

Federal Judge Rules Part of Health Care Law Unconstitutional

U.S. Judge Henry Hudson ruled that part of the health reform law is in violation of the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution and that it over reaches the Commerce Clause.

“The unchecked expansion of congressional power to the limits suggested by the Minimum Essential Coverage Provision would invite unbridled exercise of federal police powers. At its core, this dispute is not simply about regulating the business of insurance -- or crafting a scheme of universal health insurance coverage -- it's about an individual's right to choose to participate.”

For people wondering how this ruling touches their lives, it doesn’t. Not yet, anyway. The provision of the health reform law was not scheduled to go into effect until 2014.

The ruling only affects the part of the health reform that requires people to either buy coverage or face a fine. Provision already in effect or scheduled to take affect in the near future are in no way changed by the ruling by the Federal Judge.

People with pre-existing conditions can still get coverage. Other parts of the law, such as the age young adult children that can be covered by their parent’s policy have not changed.

H1N1 Deaths Reported in Britain

Britain's Health Protection Agency  has confirmed 10 deaths attributed to N1N1 flu.

The deaths occurred within the past six weeks.

A statement from the head of the HPA, Professor John Watson, said:

"Over the last few weeks, we have seen a rise in the number of cases of seasonal flu both H1N1 (2009) and flu B in the community.


We have also received reports of patients with serious illness requiring hospitalization and outbreaks of flu in schools across the country."

Flu vaccines given out this year include H1N1 protection. The CDC is offering the following guidelines according to their website:

• All persons aged 6 months and older should be vaccinated annually.
• Protection of persons at higher risk for influenza-related complications should continue to be a focus of vaccination efforts as providers and programs transition to routine vaccination of all persons aged 6 months and older.
• When vaccine supply is limited, vaccination efforts should focus on delivering vaccination to persons who:
• are aged 6 months--4 years (59 months);
• are aged 50 years and older;
• have chronic pulmonary (including asthma), cardiovascular (except hypertension), renal, hepatic, neurologic, hematologic, or metabolic disorders (including diabetes mellitus);
• are immunosuppressed (including immunosuppression caused by medications or by human immunodeficiency virus);
• are or will be pregnant during the influenza season;
• are aged 6 months--18 years and receiving long-term aspirin therapy and who therefore might be at risk for experiencing Reye syndrome after influenza virus infection;
• are residents of nursing homes and other chronic-care facilities;
• are American Indians/Alaska Natives;
• are morbidly obese (body-mass index is 40 or greater);
• are health-care personnel;
• are household contacts and caregivers of children aged younger than 5 years and adults aged 50 years and older, with particular emphasis on vaccinating contacts of children aged younger than 6 months; and
• are household contacts and caregivers of persons with medical conditions that put them at higher risk for severe complications from influenza.

Pastor Terry Jones Wants his US Constitutional Rights…..in the UK

Pastor Behind Koran Burning Plan Hits UK Travel Snag

Pastor Terry Jones earlier this year drew attention to himself and his followers when he announced plans for a Koran burning on September 11. Now he plans a trip to the UK to speak about radical Islam.

Not so fast, Pastor.

Home Secretary Theresa May is considering banning Pastor Jones from entering her country. She has the power to do that if she thinks that a person is not conducive to the good of the public good or if they threaten national security. 

In his defense, the pastor has used his constitutional rights card. Yes, United States of America Constitution rights. In the United Kingdom.

According to the BBC:

“Following her comments, Mr Jones told the BBC he planned to speak against "radical Islam", not "all Islam", when he visits in February.

He also said any ban on him coming to the UK would be "incorrect and unfair", and "unconstitutional" in the US.”

Mr. Jones is the  pastor of the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida. His plans to commemorate September 11 by burning copies of the Koran brought attention to himself and his 50 followers. Debate about his plan made for days of public discussion, with some pretty important people voicing their opinion. Before he gave up on his plan, he even tried to include the madness of the issue about plans to build an  Islamic Center in the vicinity of Ground Zero into the argument. He finally cancelled his plans.

Pastor Jones, in my humble opinion, you have the same understanding of sovereignty and diplomacy as you do of Christianity.

UPDATED: Suspected Suicide Bomber Killed in Stockholm Explosion

UPDATED:   Two explosions on Drottninggatan Street in downtown Stockholm has left one person dead and another injured.

According to the Swedish news agency TT  they received an email that warned of a threat to both Sweden and its people just before the blasts. The news agency also said the email threat  linked to the presence of Sweden presence in Afghanistan. Sweden has approximately 500 soldiers in Afghanistan, most of them in the northern part of the country.

It’s too early to speculate if these two separate explosions, the first one at the intersection of Drottinggaten and Olof Palmes Gata and the second, occurring approximately 5 minutes later at Drottninggatan and Bryggargatan streets were accidental or intentional, according to Swedish police spokesman Petra Sjolander.

But it's being reported on several news sites that the victim is suspected to be a suicide bomber.

Two people were injured in the incident as a car exploded several times near a crowded shopping district. According to Sjolander, it’s possible that some type of gas tubes were responsible for the multiple explosions.

Sjolander also stated that the police have no knowledge of what caused the second explosion where one person was found dead.

"There is no risk of any further explosions as we see it and the car will now be examined," said Sjolander.

One Dead, Two Injured in Stockholm Explosions

Two explosions on Drottninggatan Street in downtown Stockholm has left one person dead and another injured.

It’s too early to speculate if these two separate explosions, the first one at the intersection of Drottinggaten and Olof Palmes Gata and the second, occurring approximately 5 minutes later at Drottninggatan and Bryggargatan streets were accidental or intentional, according to Swedish police spokesman Petra Sjolander.

Two people were injured in the incident as a car exploded several times near a crowded shopping district. According to Sjolander, it’s possible that some type of gas tubes were responsible for the multiple explosions.

Sjolander also stated that the police have no knowledge of what caused the second explosion where one person was found dead.

"There is no risk of any further explosions as we see it and the car will now be examined," said Sjolander.

FAA loses One-Third of US Planes

Does the FAA know who owns it or not?

If you fly you know that there is a possibility that TSA security knows the size of the bra in your luggage, has seen you on screen naked or will soon ‘touch your junk’. It’s embarrassing and inconvenient, but it’s their best option right now to make flying safe from terrorism. That’s what we’re being told, anyway.

Maybe a better way to keep the world safe would be to know who owns the planes that take to the sky.

The Federal Aviation Administration doesn’t know who owns approximately 119,000 airplanes in the United States. That’s both commercial and private planes.

The aircraft could all be legitimate, or they could be owned by drug cartels, terrorists, human traffickers, smugglers or just someone’s grandmother.

Since planes were used to attack the United States on September 11, 2001, you’d think that an attempt would have been made by now to get the ownership of planes documented. How hard is it to enter the information into a database and do a sort to find out what records weren’t updated correctly? How many years does it take for someone to realize that if there are supposed to be 357,000 private and commercial planes in the US, and 119,000 are missing important registration information, or have suddenly disappeared, there may be a problem.

The FAA is finally taking action to find out if these planes are still flying or have been junked. All owners of aircraft will have to reregister their aircraft next year as the FAA plans to cancel their registration certificates.
Let’s hope that it won’t take years to figure out what’s happened to about a third of the planes.

Maybe they could hire a few of the unemployed workers in the US who know data entry.

Richard Holbrook in Critical Condition

Richard Holbrook, the man known for the 1995 brokering of the Dayton peace accords was hospitalized in Washington, DC where a tear to his aorta was repaired. He was listed in critical condition following the surgery.

The State Department issued a statement saying:

"This morning, doctors completed surgery to repair a tear in his aorta He is in critical condition and has been joined by his family"

The accord brokered by Holbrook ended the Balkans War

Known as the Bulldozer, Holbrook is known for bringing warring leaders together for negotiations. He was named by President Obama as special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan in January 2009. As the Presidents special representative, Holbrook is vital in working to define strategy for administration on one of its priorities on foreign policy.