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COMBAT OUTPOST HANSON, Afghanistan (AP) ? A turkey trot it was not.
The U.S. Marines' top general, James Amos, sprinted up and down the Helmand River Valley in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, visiting frontline Marines at nine remote outposts to share Thanksgiving and applaud their gains against the Taliban in a region where al-Qaida hatched the 9/11 plot a decade ago.
Traveling mostly in an MV-22 Osprey, the hybrid that flies like an airplane and takes off and lands like a helicopter, Amos began shortly after daylight and finished 14 hours later ? and, improbably, managed to confront just one turkey dinner.
At one point the 65-year-old Amos referred to his unusual daytrip as the "Bataan death march," a reference to the gruesome forced march of American POWs in the Philippines during World War II.
Amos shook hands with hundreds of Marines, all veterans of tough fighting in Helmand Province, which has been a focal point of the U.S.-led strategy to counter the Taliban and other insurgent groups. The Marines have vastly improved security in Helmand over the past year, but with President Barack Obama having ordered 33,000 U.S. troops to withdraw from Afghanistan by next September, the prospects for sustaining those gains are uncertain, and the subject of debate at home.
At each stop Amos struck similar themes in pep talks to his Marines: they are coming close to winning, and when the Marine Corps leaves Afghanistan it will shift its focus to the Pacific, where he said "a whole lot of opportunities" will await a Corps no longer bogged down by land wars in the greater Middle East. He also said Thanksgiving is a time for Marines to reflect on "the unique fraternal bond" among men and women at war.
Marine Sgt. Maj. Michael Barrett, the top enlisted Marine, who accompanied Amos, said that for most troops Thanksgiving was just another day at war ? until they finished their work.
"Then they'll have a meal of a lifetime," he said.
The feast was finally set for Amos when he arrived after dark at Camp Dwyer, the southern-most stop on his trip. He helped heap plates with roast turkey, baked ham and prime rib ? with all the traditional fixings ? and then sat amongst the troops to finish it off.
Amos said "Happy Thanksgiving" at each Marine outpost, but the troops did not seem in a festive mood ? at least in the presence of their commandant. The business of war does not take a holiday. When he asked the Marines what was on their minds, they asked about the future of the Corps, the latest of Washington's stalled budget debate, the possibility of seeing some of their retirement benefits go away, and internal Marine issues.
Some conveyed a sense of confidence that Afghanistan would soon be behind them.
At Combat Outpost Hanson, one member of the 3rd battalion, 6th Marine Regiment asked, "Who do you want us to fight next, sir?" Amos said he did not know, but he reassured the Marine that there would be no shortage of security crises in the years ahead.
At Combat Outpost Alcatraz, in Sangin district where fierce fights against the Taliban have waned only recently, the top overall commander of the war, Marine Gen. John Allen, joined Amos for a pep talk to several dozen Marines.
Allen said Marines will "go home under the victory pennant," but he stressed that the struggle to degrade Taliban influence and build up Afghan security forces ? in Helmand and throughout Afghanistan ? is far from over.
"As big as this is, and as hard as it has been, we are going to be successful here," Allen said. "We're going to win this. We're going to liberate these people, we're going to set this country up to be a free country in one of the toughest regions in the world."
There are now about 97,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. All are scheduled to leave by the end of 2014.
Amos clearly relished the chance to see so many combat Marines, but his trip was no joy ride. His itinerary was a closely-held secret, and the aircraft on which he flew was heavily armed.
As a CH-53 helicopter lifted off from a barren field across a dirt highway in the northern Helmand village of Puzeh, with Amos and part of his entourage aboard, a bearded special operations Marine quipped, "Cross your fingers." And then, as the chopper rose above a billowing wall of powdery dust, the Marine added, only half jokingly, "Whew! Getting the commandant shot down at your (outpost) would not be a good thing."
___
Robert Burns can be reached on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/robertburnsAP
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By Helen A.S. Popkin
Is it just me, or do William Shatner?s words of support to the recently Facebook-unfriended ring a little hollow in the above public service announcement sponsored by Jimmy Kimmel? ?
Hey, I?m a "Star Trek" > "Star Wars" gal all the way, but It?s hard for me to actually believe Capt. Kirk is genuine when he claims to understand that, "being unfriended by someone you kinda know can hurt."??Maybe that?s because I still remember that one time way back in Twitter?s early days when @WilliamShatner unfollowed the Bloggess ? aka "The Most Interesting Person on the Internet."
If that epic Twitter epic tw-ama isn?t in your data base, you totally need to bone up on your Internet lore you big n00b. It?s one of the then-nascent ?microblogging network?s earliest Twitter spats, and almost three years later, remains one of the best. ?
"Bloggess" Jenny Lawson ? who also co-authors the?Houston Chronicle?s?Good Mom/Bad Mom ? chronicled her three-part hero?s journey to get marriage advice from William Shatner via Twitter, which tragically resulted in a failed bid just to get Shatner to re-follow her.
Here?s a small-but-telling excerpt of Lawson?s??hilarious heartbreaking one-sided exchange:
Dear @WilliamShatner: I need you to come to my house to save my marriage. No sex involved.
Unless you *want* to have sex. Which is totally fine.
But not with me though because I'm married. Please bring your own hooker.
Oh my God, what am I saying? I am the worst hostess ever. I will totally provide the hooker if you just come to dinner.
I need to know your preferences though or else I'll just default to hot Asian cheerleader.
Dear @WilliamShatner. Please ignore my last several tweets. I'm a little drunk. And dangerously close to paying too much for travel.
Please come to my house and save me from myself.
Please give me a sign
Victor: GET OFF TWITTER. I'VE BEEN STABBED.?
So you tell me. Does Shatner?s non-response to the wrenching pleas of the Bloggess read like a man who knows what it?s like to become a social network untouchable?
One imagines Capt. Picard would be a whole lot cooler.
More on the annoying way we live now:
Helen A.S. Popkin?goes blah blah blah about the Internet. Tell her to get a real job on Twitter and/or Facebook.?Also, Google+.
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(Reuters) ? Netflix Inc said late on Monday that it agreed to sell $200 million of convertible debt to long-time backer Technology Crossover Ventures as the struggling online video rental company tries to raise new capital.
The zero-coupon notes, due in 2018, convert to Netflix common stock at a price of about $85.80 per share.
The deal requires Netflix to raise at least $200 million selling common stock to other, unaffiliated investors, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Shares of Netflix fell 2.5 percent to $70.61 in extended trade as investors prepared to be diluted by new stock that may hit the market.
Netflix, which had $159.2 million in cash and cash equivalents at the end of September, has lost about two-thirds of its market value since the company's shares touched a high of almost $300 in July.
The company has struggled to renegotiate video content deals. It has also lost subscribers and warned of a first-quarter loss.
TCV, a leading venture capital firm, has been an investor in Netflix for many years. TCV co-founder Jay Hoag is on Netflix's board.
TCV also has investments in Groupon, Facebook and Electronic Arts.
(Reporting by Himank Sharma in Bangalore and Alistair Barr in San Francisco; Editing by Maju Samuel)
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FILE - In this Nov. 20, 2011 file photo, Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, of Minnesota, poses at the 114th Anniversary Justice Louis Brandeis award Dinner given by the Zionist Organization of America in New York. Jimmy Fallon's house band the Roots didn't have a warm welcome for Republican presidential contender Michele Bachmann when she appeared on the NBC show early Tuesday, Nov. 22. As Bachmann strode on to the stage at Fallon's "Late Night," the show's band played a snippet of a 1985 Fishbone song. (AP Photo/David Karp, file)
FILE - In this Nov. 20, 2011 file photo, Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, of Minnesota, poses at the 114th Anniversary Justice Louis Brandeis award Dinner given by the Zionist Organization of America in New York. Jimmy Fallon's house band the Roots didn't have a warm welcome for Republican presidential contender Michele Bachmann when she appeared on the NBC show early Tuesday, Nov. 22. As Bachmann strode on to the stage at Fallon's "Late Night," the show's band played a snippet of a 1985 Fishbone song. (AP Photo/David Karp, file)
NEW YORK (AP) ? Jimmy Fallon's house band the Roots didn't have a warm welcome for Republican presidential contender Michele Bachmann when she appeared on the NBC show early Tuesday.
As Bachmann strode on to the stage at Fallon's "Late Night," the show's band played a snippet of a 1985 Fishbone song called "Lyin' Ass B----."
The song begins with a distinctive "la la la la la la la la la" refrain ? the only words audible before Bachmann, smiling and waving to the audience, sat down.
The song itself, about a relationship gone wrong, isn't political. Among its cleanest lyrics: "She always says she needs you, but you know she really don't care."
Roots' bandleader Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson said later Tuesday that the song was a "tongue-in-cheek and spur of the moment decision.
"The show was not aware of it and I feel bad if her feelings were hurt," Thompson said. "That was not my intention."
Bachmann's campaign had no immediate comment.
Fallon joked on Twitter that Thompson was grounded. The show itself didn't have any comment.
The Roots frequently make sly, often obscure, song choices as Fallon's guests are introduced.
When Fox Business Network's Lou Dobbs came out, they played part of Genesis' "Illegal Alien," a reference to Dobbs' frequent commentaries on the topic. Current TV host Keith Olbermann, formerly of MSNBC, heard part of Klymaxx's "I Miss You." Kathie Lee Gifford was saluted with UB40's "Red Red Wine," a reference to the drink she often shares on-air with "Today" co-host Hoda Kotb.
___
AP Music Writer Nekesa Mumbi Moody contributed to this report.
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CAIRO ? Egypt's military leader promised to speed the transition to civilian rule, saying Tuesday that presidential elections will be held by the end of June 2012. But the major concession was immediately rejected by tens of thousands of protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square, who responded with chants of "Leave, leave!" now.
Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi vowed that landmark parliamentary elections will start on schedule on Monday, the first vote since longtime authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak was ousted in an uprising nine months ago. And he said the military was prepared to hold a referendum on immediately transferring power to a civilian authority if people demand it.
Tantawi said he has accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Essam Sharaf's civilian government and politicians who attended a 5-hour crisis meeting with the ruling generals said the military intended to replace Sharaf's cabinet with a "national salvation" government. It was not clear who might head the new Cabinet, but names of a couple presidential hopefuls were mentioned.
"Our demands are clear," said Khaled El-Sayed, a protester from the Youth Revolution Coalition and a candidate in the upcoming parliamentary election. "We want the military council to step down and hand over authority to a national salvation government with full authority." He also demanded that the commander of the military police and the Interior Minister, who is in charge of the police, be tried for the "horrific crimes" of the past few days, when 29 people were killed in clashes, most of them in Cairo.
The standoff culminated four days of clashes and demonstrations around the country that have constituted the most sustained challenge so far to nine months of military rule. It plunges the country deeper into a crisis that may only hamper the democratic transition the protesters are fighting for.
In Tahrir Square, the atmosphere was reminiscent of the 18-day uprising that toppled Mubarak, with jubilation over the large turnout mixed with the seething anger directed at the military. On Tuesday, the protesters had called for a million people to turn out and drew a massive crowd of tens of thousands.
The crowds carried an open wooden coffin with a body of a slain protester wrapped in white and held a funeral in the middle of the square.
A stuffed military uniform was hung from a central light pole with a cardboard sign on its neck saying "Execute the field marshal," a reference to Tantawi, Mubarak's defense minister of 20 years. People cheered when the effigy was hung and state television showed some hitting it with sticks or shoes.
Men in the square opened a corridor in the middle of the crowds and formed a human chain to keep it open, giving easy access to motorcycles and ambulances ferrying the wounded to several field hospitals in the square.
Sweet smells of popcorn and cotton candy mingled with tear gas and burning garbage.
As night fell on the square, thousands streamed in over a bridge across the Nile river. Men and women carrying blankets and boxes of supplies chanted: "Down with the field marshal."
The latest round of unrest began Saturday when security forces violently evicted a few hundred protesters who camped out in Tahrir. The perceived use of excessive force angered activists, who began to flock to the square. A joint army and police attempt to clear the square on Sunday evening failed, leaving protesters more determined to dig in there.
The clashes played out amid charges that the military was trying to cling on to power after an elected parliament is seated and a new president elected. The military recently proposed that a "guardianship" role for itself be enshrined in the next constitution and that it would enjoy immunity from any civilian oversight.
Further confusing the political situation, the military-backed civilian government on Monday submitted a mass resignation in response to the turmoil.
In a televised address to the nation, Tantawi did not mention a specific date for the transfer of power, although the presidential election has long been considered the final step in the process. The military has previously floated the end of next year or early 2013 as the date for the presidential vote.
"The armed forces, represented by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, has no desire to rule and puts the country's interests above all. It is ready to hand over responsibility immediately and return to its original duty of defending the country if the people want that and through a public referendum if it is necessary," he said.
In his brief address, Tantawi sought to cast the military as the nation's foremost patriots and angrily denounced what he called attempts to taint its reputation. He didn't utter a single word about the four days of protests in Tahrir Square.
But he hinted at conspiratorial plots behind the protests, much like Mubarak did in his final days.
He spoke of forces "who are working in the dark to incite sedition and drive a wedge between the people and the Armed Forces or between different segments of the Egyptian people."
The crowds in Tahrir immediately rejected Tantawi's proposals with chants of "erhal," or leave.
"We are not leaving, he leaves," chanted the protesters. "The people want to bring down the field marshal," they shouted.
A youth group that played a key role in the anti-Mubarak uprising said it decided to remain in the square until the military handed over power to a civilian presidential council to run the country's affairs. Beside a representative of the military, the council should include pro-reform leader and Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, said the April 6 group.
"The military council has failed to manage the transitional period, and the generals' hands are tainted by the blood of the nation's youth and have been collaborating with the counterrevolution," the group said in a statement.
Others in the square said the referendum was just a ploy to divide people.
Another protester said the army is making the same mistake as Mubarak did.
"They hear the demands but respond when it's too late," said Mustafa Abdel-Hamid, a supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood who came to Tahrir even though his movement has not endorsed the protests over the past four days.
The Brotherhood and its Islamist allies are expected to dominate the next parliament, while the liberal groups behind Mubarak's ouster appear poised to lag behind, lacking unity and a cohesive vision. The Brotherhood is staying out of the latest protests, arguing that it did not want the nation to be dragged into a "bloody confrontation." But secular activists say the Muslim fundamentalist group is more keen on grabbing power than ensure the future of the nation.
Aboul-Ela Madi, Mohammed Selim el-Awa, two politicians who attended a five-hour crisis meeting with the military rulers earlier on Tuesday, said the generals wanted to hand over power to a civilian government by July 1, a date that was not mentioned by Tantawi.
They said the military intended to replace Sharaf's cabinet with a "national salvation" government.
ElBaradei's name has been mentioned by protesters as a suitable replacement for Prime Minister Sharaf, who has come under intense criticism for the perceived inefficiency of his civilian government and for being beholden to the ruling generals.
Madi and Al-Awa were among 12 political party representatives and presidential hopefuls who attended the meeting with the military council. Not all parties were represented ? none of the youthful, liberal groups behind the uprising attended.
ElBaradei also was absent. His office said he did not attend the crisis meeting but was in touch with the military. ElBaradei prefers to continue to act as the link between the military council and the protesters until the crisis is resolved, his office said
But the military has been backed into a difficult corner. Protesters are demanding it surrender the reins of power ? or at least set a firm date in the very near future for doing so soon. Without that, few civilian political leaders are likely to join a new government for fear of being tainted as facades for the generals, as many consider the current Cabinet.
Madi and el-Awa also said the military agreed to release all protesters detained since Saturday and to put on trial police and army officers responsible for protesters' deaths.
The military's concession came less than a week before the first parliamentary election since Mubarak's ouster. The elections start on Nov. 28 and are staggered through to March next year.
The political uncertainty and prospect of continued violence dealt a punishing blow to an already battered economy. Egypt's benchmark index plunged more than 5 percent, the third straight day of declines. Banks closed early and many workplaces sent employees home ahead of schedule for fear of a deterioration in security.
The military and police stayed out of Tahrir on Tuesday to try to lower the temperature. But the nearby Interior Ministry was the focus of most violence near Tahrir on Tuesday. The ministry, which is in charge of the police, said protesters were continuing attempts to storm the ministry.
It said some protesters climbed over buildings near the ministry and lobbed firebombs into the compound. Others, it said, set fire on cars outside the ministry and opened fire on policemen, wounding five. The police fired tear gas and rubber bullets and the protesters responded with rocks and firebombs.
The army set up barricades on streets leading to Interior Ministry and soldiers stood behind them. Riot police were in front in lines, and youth approached and throw stones. They fired back with tear gas.
The ministry denied charges that police were using live ammunition or pellets against the protesters.
But Human Rights Watch said autopsies conducted on 22 of the bodies of protesters at the Zeinhom morgue in Cairo confirmed that they had been shot with live bullets and three others died from asphyxiation from tear gas, according to morgue officials.
Clashes and protests also raged in the northern Mediterranean port city of Alexandria and the southern city of Assiut.
___
Associated Press writers Aya Batrawy, Ben Hubbard and Sarah El Deeb contributed to this report from Cairo.
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When the freedom of speech goes to the highest bidder, moneyed interests have a disproportionate say.
You?ve been seeing this across the country ? Americans assaulted, clubbed, dragged, pepper-sprayed ? Why? For exercising their right to free speech and assembly ? protesting the increasing concentration of income, wealth, and political power at the top.
Skip to next paragraph Robert ReichRobert is chancellor's professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley. He has served in three national administrations, most recently as secretary of labor under President Clinton. He has written 13 books, including 'The Work of Nations,' 'Locked in the Cabinet,' and his most recent book, 'Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future.' His 'Marketplace' commentaries can be found on publicradio.com and iTunes.
And what?s Washington?s response? Nothing. In fact, Congress?s so-called ?supercommittee? just disbanded because Republicans refuse to raise a penny of taxes on the rich.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court says money is speech and corporations are people. The Supreme Court?s Citizens United decision last year ended all limits on political spending. Millions of dollars are being funneled to politicians without a trace.
And a revolving door has developed between official Washington and Wall Street ? with bank executives becoming public officials who make rules that benefit the banks before heading back to the Street to make money off the rules they created. ?
Other top officials, including an increasing proportion of former members of congress, are cashing in by joining lobbying power houses and pressuring their former colleagues to do whatever their clients want.
Millionaires and billionaires on Wall Street and in executive suites aren?t contributing all this money out of sheer love of country. Their political spending is analogous to their other investments. Mostly they want low tax rates and friendly regulations.
Why else do you suppose tax rates on the super rich are now lower than they?ve been in three decades, and why ? even though the long-term budget deficit is horrendous ? those rates aren?t rising? Why else do the 400 richest Americans (whose wealth is larger than the combined wealth of the bottom 150 million Americans) now pay an average tax rate of only 17 percent?
Why do you think Wall Street got bailed without a single string attached ? not even being required to help homeowners to whom they sold mortgages, who are now so far under water they?re drowning? And why does the financial reform legislation have loopholes big enough for bankers to drive their Ferrari?s through?
And why else are oil companies, big agribusinesses, military contractors, and the pharmaceutical industry reaping billions of dollars of government subsidies and special tax breaks?
Experts say the 2012 presidential race is likely to be the priciest ever, costing an estimated $6 billion. ?It is far worse than it has ever been,? says Republican Senator John McCain.
If there?s a single core message to the Occupier movement it?s that the increasing concentration of income and wealth at the top endangers our democracy. With money comes political power.
Yet when real people without money assemble to express their dissatisfaction with all this, they?re told the First Amendment doesn?t apply. Instead, they?re treated as public nuisances ? clubbed, pepper-sprayed, thrown out of public parks and evicted from public spaces.
Across America, public officials are saying Occupiers have to go. Even in universities ? where free speech is supposed to be sacrosanct ? peaceful assembly is being met with clubs and pepper spray. ?
The First Amendment is being stood on its head. Money speaks, and an unlimited amount of it can now be spent bribing and cajoling politicians. Yet peaceful assembly is viewed as a public nuisance and removed by force.
This is especially worrisome now that so many Americans are in economic trouble. The jobs recession grinds on, seemingly without end. Homes are being foreclosed upon. Qualified students cannot afford college. Or they?re forced to take on huge debt loads they can?t repay in a jobless economy. Schools are firing teachers. Vital social services are being axed.
How are Americans to be heard about what should be done about any of this if they are not allowed to mobilize and organize? ?When the freedom of speech goes to the highest bidder, moneyed interests have a disproportionate say.
Now more than ever, the First Amendment needs to be put right side up. Nothing less than the future of our democracy is at stake.
The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of the best economy-related bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger, click here. This post originally ran on www.robertreich.org.
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