| Kandahar governor denies torture claim
There will be little difference rotating out in two years and rotating out now. 1,000 additional troops won't be sufficient to win the day and there is no reason to continue in the Khandahar province without a greater commitment from NATO overall. Our current approach (with 1,000 extra troops) is a recipe for a stalemate at best and failure at worst. Sometimes it takes more courage to know when to quit than it does to continue. Without a much greater commitment by NATO, this is one of those times. Posted 02/02/08 at 1:07 AM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment .
Pentagon Aide's Invitations Contradicted U.S. Policy
At the urging of a subordinate, Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England scheduled at least two meetings with foreign emissaries in direct contradiction of U.S. policy at the time. The meetings date back to 2005. They involved a Lebanese ambassador considered a proxy for the Syrian government and a leading member of Syria's Muslim Brotherhood. U.S. policy at the time was not to engage in talks with either man, because they represent groups with whom the United States was not to communicate. The meetings were organized by England's special assistant for international affairs, Hesham Islam. An invitation to Muslim Brotherhood official Husam al-Dairi was canceled in late 2005 after a senior State Department official heard about it and insisted it not take place.
Obama and Clinton vie for blue-collar voters in Ohio
Funny, the emphasis on this photo is on Hillary and Obama, but I wouldn't be surprised if the source was really some dirty tricksters of right-wing nutcases in the Republican parts trying to divide the Democrats, and if so it sounds like they've been successful. Too many dirty tricks - I am weary of it, like many of us in the public who are just looking for good leadership and resolution of the problems that we face. That is why Senator Obama's message resonates so much with us. As I've followed the campaigns, I see him behaving the most honorably and graciously of all. He is a Christian who quotes the most Christian of all principles, which is to be your brothers/sister's keeper (essentially to care for each other) and his message of hope is so important in our world today. I'm also glad he has some Muslim roots because I think that will give him an edge in majority Islamic countries where he will be listened to and respected more because of that.
SaaS Spawns Entrepreneurs
I'm attending SaaS Summit this week in San Francisco, sponsored by SaaS aggregator OpSource. Companies ranging from Microsoft to my company Absolute Performance attended. To demonstrate the diversity of companies involved in SaaS, even the smallest of companies exhibited. Next to our booth is TimeclockOnline.com, a three person startup company offering online time clocking software for time tracking. Remember those old punch clocks you used to punch in and out for the day at the factory, service or other type of hourly job? TimeclockOnline.com is the digital equivalent, delivered as an online web site, serving over 300 companies. Joel Slatis, president, spun the company off from his web site design firm, and SaaS Summit is the first trade show he's ever exhibited.
Getty Images Agrees to $2.1B Buyout
And Getty's editorial offerings _ news, sports and celebrity photos for the media _ grew, as did its video footage business. "Public markets didn't seem willing to consider (Getty's businesses) separately," Mastin said in an interview, adding that he didn't know exactly why Getty put itself up for sale. Jonathan Klein, Getty's chief executive officer, said in a statement that "Hellman & Friedman brings specific industry expertise and support for the vision of the company's management team." The private equity group has invested in other rapidly changing digital businesses, including online advertising company Digitas, acquired by Publicis Groupe, and DoubleClick, whose buyout by Google Inc. is pending regulatory approval in Europe. San Francisco-based Hellman & Friedman offered $34 per share in cash for all of Getty's shares, a 39 percent premium over Friday's close.
Al’s and Vic’s and veggie falafels
I think the menu is best described as exotic fast food. The first time I had lobster and lamb sliders, the second raw oysters on the half shell and an ostrich burger. It's nice the two bars are connected by a door inside. You can have a classy dinner in one, go get your drink on at Al's & Vic's, and never have to worry about the weather outside. .
Billable-hours choice eases rate pressure
It ended up paying a price in recruiting, Cosgrove said.
Before the most recent raise went into effect on Sept. 1, the firm polled associates and partners on some new approaches.
When it offered a choice of hours to third-years, the class of 2005, three of the nine associates chose to work 2,000 hours, Cosgrove said. Realistically, these lawyers likely will bill more than 2,100 hours, making the difference between the lower tier and higher tier significant, he added.
First-year associates still do not have a billable-hour requirement. Second-years are expected to bill at least 1,850 hours, which means about 37 hours a week, assuming a 50-week work year. To bill 37 hours a week, lawyers generally have to work about 47 to 50 hours.
BRIEFLY: James Henry, a former Cook County Circuit Court judge, joins Meckler Bulger & Tilson as "of counsel." Henry, 56, who retired from the bench in October, will focus on pretrial remedies such as mediation and arbitration.
Smooth primary being predicted for Super Tuesday
Kucinich (withdrawn), Bill Richardson (withdrawn), Hillary Clinton, John Edwards (withdrawn) and Barack Obama. On the Republican Party ballot, candidates will be in the following order: Mitt Romney, John McCain, Rudy Giuliani (withdrawn), Mike Huckabee, Fred Thompson (withdrawn) and Ron Paul. The Green Party ballot will have the following candidates, in order: Cynthia McKinney, Kat Swift, Jared A. Ball and Kent Mesplay. The voting locations in St. Francis County will be as follows: Forrest City Ward 1 Christ Church. Forrest City Wards 2, 3 and 4 Forrest City Civic Center. Hughes City/Country/Rawlison Hughes Community Center. Heth-Blackfish Shell Lake Baptist Church. Widener/Round Pond-Mosley Widener Community Center.
Apple Files Five Major Touch Screen Patents
On February 21, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a powerful series of Touch screen related patent applications from Apple Inc. respectfully titled Touch Sensing Architecture, '>Typing with a Touch Sensor, Writing using a Touch Sensor, Touch Sensing through Hand Dissection and '>Contact Tracking and Identification Module for Touch Sensing. Although all five applications share a common patent abstract and summary, the patents do in fact present their unique distinctive presentations in the second half of each of these patents. All five applications share a common set of 55 patent figures with one that clearly illustrates a full computer touch screen based keyboard in the works. Apple's Abstract Apparatus and methods are disclosed for simultaneously tracking multiple finger and palm contacts as hands approach, touch, and slide across a proximity-sensing, multi-touch surface.
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