Daily Quote(s)

Today, General Stanley A. McChrystal was fired from his post as the commander of American forces in Afghanistan after a meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House. Obama called McChrystal in for the meeting after he made comments criticizing administration officials and the War in Afghanistan policies in a highly-publicized Rolling Stone article.

While I tried to find one quote that exemplified McChrystal's detraction from the administration, there was just too much gold to choose from. So here is a series McChrystal quotes taken directly from the Rolling Stone article that best exemplify the former commander of American forces in Afghanistan:

"How'd I get screwed into going to this dinner? I'd rather have my ass kicked by a roomful of people than go out to this dinner. Unfortunately, no one in this room could do it."

- Referring to a dinner in Paris where he is to deliver a speech.The article goes on to describe McChrystal as a man who hates anything too "Gucci."

"All these men, I'd die for them. And they'd die for me."

- At an Irish pub in Paris called Kitty O'Shea's, referring to his inner circle of military advisors, who at the time of this comment, the writer of the article describes as "completely shitfaced."

"We've shot an amazing number of people."

- Referring to the civilian death toll in Afghanistan as a result of the war.

"I ask you what's going on in your world, and I think it's important for you all to understand the big picture as well. How's the company doing? You guys feeling sorry for yourselves? Anybody? Anybody feel like you're losing? Strength is leading when you just don't want to lead. You're leading by example. That's what we do. Particularly when it's really, really hard, and it hurts inside."

- During a discussion with two-dozen soldiers in a tent on an army base in Afghanistan.

"The Russians killed 1 million Afghans, and that didn't work."

- Referring to the idea that American forces can not kill their way out of Afghanistan.

"Even Afghans are confused by Afghanistan."

- Referring to the wild, tumultuous history of Afghanistan

Read the full Rolling Stone article by Michael Hastings here.

Daily Quote

Photo by Luke Sharett/The New York Times

“I’m not stonewalling. I simply wasn’t involved in the decision-making. I had no prior knowledge of the drilling of this well, none whatsoever. With respect, sir, we drill hundreds of wells a year around the world."

- Tony Hayward, Chief Executive Officer of BP
Today, testifying in front of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations about his involvement in the construction and drilling operations of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that exploded and caused the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Here's to you, Barack Obama!

The other night at dinner, I was discussing the BP oil spill with my family and the arguably passive stance the US Government had taken towards seeing the spill cleaned up in a timely fashion. My father argued that, thanks to Reaganomics and lax regulatory standards in the US, it was very difficult to hold a corporation accountable for its actions in modern America.

I disagreed. I argued that the President of the United States, the most powerful man in the world, should be able to call in the Chairman of a company like BP, a company that is responsible for the largest oil spill in US history, and say "you're going to fix this, and you're going to pay for it all, and you're going to do it now!" and the CEO should have to do it. The President should be able to get things done. The man has the nuclear codes! He should surely be able to hasten the recovery of a natural disaster with little more than a few stern words.

Well, today, President Barack Obama did exactly that. He marched the Chairman of BP, Carl-Henric Svanberg, into the White House at 10AM, not through the private underground entrance, but through the public, front row West Wing entrance (where all the cameras are) and sat him and other BP executives down for a little talk. When they emerged four hours later, the President announced, in place of BP's $10 BILLION shareholder dividend payout, the establishment of a new $20 BILLION fund for victims of the oil spill (to be managed by a third party) to help recover economic losses sustained as a result. He also ordered BP to "mobilize additional technology and equipment" to clean up the spill.

Svanberg even went so far as to offer what many had been waiting for, an apology. He said "I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to the America people. Through our actions and commitments, we hope that over the long term we will regain the trust that you have in us. We made it clear to the president that words are not enough. We understand that we will, and we should, be judged by our actions."

So here's to you, President Obama, for showing some teeth, for getting results, and for putting that flashy title of yours to use.

Review: The New American Century

This is an incredible, eye-opening documentary that should be seen by all. It tells the story of the history of the Project for the New American Century through heavy reliance on archival footage starting from Spanish-American War of 1898 right up to the present. This film exposes how every major war in US history was based on fraudulent information, misleading claims, and black propaganda.

Incredibly well-made and insightful, The New American Century brings to light the often inexplicable motives of the United States of America and puts into perspective the often misguided actions of the world's most powerful nation.

Daily Quote

“When it comes to ‘national security’ matters the judicial system has willingly abandoned its sacred role of ensuring that no one is above the law.”

- Maher Arar
Today, after a US Supreme Court decision not to review his rendition and torture case effectively ended his fight to be exonerated in the US, as he has been in Canada. Read the full store here.

Global Peace Index

The 2010 Global Peace Index, published by the Institute for Economics and Peace based in Australia, has been released. Canada has been ranked 14th on the list, with New Zealand taking the top spot, the US at 85th, and Iraq being rated dead-last at 149th. The Institute says the world is a less peaceful place this year compared to last year, fueled primarily by a rise in crime and civil unrest related to the global financial crisis.

View the complete GPI interactive world map here.