About: Nancy Pelosi 'Wants To Leave' Congress, Would Retire 'Right Now,' Says Daughter Alexandra [UPDATED]

The action
UPDATE:
Nancy Pelosi spokesman Nadeam Elshami disputed Alexandra Pelosi's claim on Thursday in a statement to Politico.
"This may be wishful thinking on the part of a right-wing blog but it is totally untrue," Elshami said. "When the day comes and Leader Pelosi's work is done, she won't be announcing it there."
EARLIER:
Alexandra Pelosi, daughter of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), spoke with Andrew Breitbart's Big Government blog this week and said that her mother is pining for retirement.
"She would retire right now, if the donors she has didn't want her to stay so badly. They know she wants to leave, though. They think she's destined for [greatness]," the younger Pelosi said. "She has very few days left. She's 71, she wants to have a life, she's done. It's obligation, that's all I'm saying."
Pelosi later clarified that she has never discussed the specifics of this claim with her mother.

The reaction
People are saying:

1) I hope that the district elects someone twice as liberal as she is....and at least half her age...and three times as aggressive­.....just to stick it to the Conservati­ves and Loonataria­ns that do not like her....

2) Very effective speaker. Never saw her crying. Ahem

3) One of the most successful Speakers in History. Tirelessly passing legislatio­n to create jobs and to save the American economy.
And what has Boehner done about Jobs?
More Pollution Bills, more Dangerous Workplace Bills, more anti-Consu­mer Bills and more anti-Safet­y Net Bills. He did protect the 1% as much as possible though.

3b) Really? You are living in an alternate universe. She is a deal-maker for sure, but mostly in instances to cave and validate the other side.

4) Can't blame her, the original job descriptio­n probably didn't mention having to run a TP day care center.

5) She is a strong intelligen­t woman and so the righties come out of the woodwork to spread their signature vitriol. Yes her family made a lot of money in banking and investment­s but she works probably 50-60 hours a week. She has dedicated her life to public service and has made a lasting mark for women and all people who care.

5b) It is not a question of how much you work, but WHAT you work on that really counts. There are many inefficien­t workers who might work 50-60 hours a week or even more, but if their work goes nowhere, what of them? Pelosi and her Senate counterpar­t Diane Feinstein pushed the FISA bill through and were strong supporters of that bill. They gave away more of our Constituti­onal rights. I would also point out that there is much more than just women's rights, yes I am sure she "cares", but you must look at the big picture, not just one small segment.

6) Like her views or not, she knew how to do her job. Boehner looks dazed and confused in comparison­.

7) We always hope our best and brightest leaders will stay with us as long as possible. I know public service is not forever, but when we have a winner like Pelosi, we hope to keep her in the ring.

8) Pelosi's leadership skills put the Republican­s to shame. She looked for bipartisan­ship long before Obama was elected Senator. A matter of fact, in the past she worked with Newt on 418 bills!! Today, Republican­s balk at the idea of bipartisan­ship.
Nancy held together the Democratic majority after Obama was elected. The House passed 420 bills that every conservati­ve in The Senate wouldn't acknowledg­e.
http://the­hill.com/h­omenews/ca­mpaign/122­681-frustr­ated-house­-still-wai­ting-for-s­enate-acti­on-on-420-­approved-b­ills
If she's tired and thinking of retiring, maybe it's because she's actually doing her job unlike most Republican­s who are underminin­g the economy.

About: Zakaria: Is India the broken BRIC?

The action
Last week marked exactly 10 years since the term BRIC was coined. The catchy acronym for Brazil, Russia, India and China used to describe the new powerhouse emerging markets. But the man who invented the moniker now says one of the four has been a great disappointment. No, not Russia, with all its recent troubles; not Brazil, whose economy contracted in the last quarter; and certainly not China, which continues to power on.
Goldman Sachs' Jim O'Neill says that the country that has been the biggest letdown has been India. He pointed out last week that India's inability to attract foreign investment could actually lead to a balance of payments crisis. From BRIC to basket case, "What in the World?" is going on?
Well, some numbers tell a troubling story. Growth has dipped below 7% for the first time in two years. The Indian rupee is Asia's worst performing currency this year, falling to a historic low against the dollar.
India's deficits are soaring and funding is drying up. India received less than $20 billion in foreign direct investment in the first six months of 2011. China got three times that amount. Even Russia, with the smaller GDP, took in more.
Why is India struggling? Sadly, the real problem isn't economics. India has a very dynamic private sector - probably the most dynamic in the emerging markets. But it has a government that simply doesn't work.

The reaction
People are saying:

1) Fareed, you blow it. How dare you degrade India like this! You are committing the cardinal sin of reporting on India.
India is the world's greatest democracy and its greatest super power. We may have had one quarter of bad luck, but that does not take away our super power status and to be commented on by you minor little islanders.
As the world's greatest democracy, Incredible India will automatically resume hyper growth the next month.
With Russia melting, China imploding, and Brazil running into the ground, India is the undisputed leader of the BRIC countries. Here in Mumbai, there in Delhi, and there again in Pune, India shines while the world declines!
And what are the rest of you in PIIGS, Bordello, Chinks, and Yankees? A crisis of course. All, come to sugar daddy, India; we are willing to rush to your help! We got all the jobs in the world, and our dalits are certainly willing to spare their jobs for you. Our prime minister has already pledged $300Billion US dollars of aid, virtually every single drop of dollars in our coffers.
Because we can afford it! India's Tata has been lording over the world industries by purchasing such Western properties as LRJ and Corus, and making these former money pits a big success. Our Mittal has been overwhelming the world's steel makers by swallowing up Arcelor. Our mobile phones have been out-talking all other countries by growing 100 million users every quarter. Our architects had designed and finished the world's largest airport in Delhi in Terminal 2. Our engineers have built the world's greatest hydro dam. Our road builders had just completed the world's longest bridge in Mumbai. Our prime minister has been presiding over these big international meetings by sounding our voices over all these heads of all your minor states. Our super aircraft carriers have been patrolling the world's oceans and scaring all the Ethiopia and Somalian pirates off their pants.
For all these a million reasons, submit to your fate under our Hindu colossus, beg our 5-rupee meal middle classes, bow to our super powers.
Pray for India, we will have pity on you. Jai Hind!

2) Folks, Experimental democracy is DOA (Dead On Arrival) in India. It is has never worked in large populated countries. Particularly those with mostly illiterate populace such as India. Too big to manage, minorities such as muslims, sikhs, christians get disenfranchised etc. India will need to go back to its socialist/communist roots. Maybe splitting it up into smaller pieces (circa USSR) is an alternate scenario. CIA is probably running some models to deal with the potential implosion.

3) Not withstanding the gloom – Farid has hit the nail on the head.
India has a first world private sector and a dead-third world govermnment.
All in all – the biggest cuplrit in India's sagging fortunes is the state of West Bengal!! its decades old affair with communism and now an inward looking socialism under Mamata Banjerjee is unfortunately now hijacking national politics!!
West Bengal communists- who supported the UPA government during its first 5 years – prevented any reforms.
Now TMC under Mamata Banerjee- after the Communists were routed – is now holding up reforms.
If India needs to grow – the backwards and regressive West Bengali politics should be suppressed. Their archaic and economically destructive mindset has already damaged the counrty for 10 years. Its about time the regional politics was killed in the interestes of saving the country!!

4) India's government is an ailing leviathan, as it has failed to have the whole country under control. Decentralisation and federalism are democratic virtues. Yet due to the cultural, ethnic and cultural diversities, moreover the inability of the government to act appropriately, disparities come as no surprise. The central government in Delhi has to reform the judiciary. In many parts of the country justice and equality still leave much to be desired.

5) Sadly, diversity has nothing to do with it. Its corruption all the way. Weasel politicians just use diversity as a card to cling on to power. Any endeavor undertaken by the present govt has been marred with mega corruptions (2g, common-wealth, etc) and thus, even the public has lost faith in them. The next two years for the govt is just going to be a fight to stay in power and not get caught for all they have done.
We just are a pseudo democracy.

6) Zakaria, if you want to smudge the image of the BRICs (the last survivors of this crisis), you should talk about the vacant cities and ghost shopping malls in CHINA.
But I know that the Chinese government is the main sponsor of CNN, that´s why you never talk bad things about them.

7) Unity is not the choice for most indian states where some citizens dream of having their own countries like what happened with erstwhile USSR. If it is by some modest force, so be it. But every citizen indeed has a chance in India, not unlike China or Russia where scores of people just go missing, never to be seen again. India's share with such stories is not zero but it is much smaller as compared to most of other countries. Talks of dividing India as a nation has to be very strictly dealt with and opposed very very vehemently.
Yes, India's democracy is a problem but is also its strength. We have to look at our weaknesses, do a SWOT analysis, and then move ahead with a single point agenda of making all indians well fed for a start. And yes, to hell with most of the politicians. Maybe Anna Hazare movement would bring some sanity to them. So may god help.
Jai Hind.

About: Christopher Hitchens Dead: Legendary Writer Dies At 62

The action
Christopher Hitchens died Thursday in Houston. He was 62. The legendary writer was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 2010.
His death was announced by Vanity Fair.
Hitchens was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England in 1949.

The reaction
People are saying:

1) I've had a bad day and now this. People, read his excellent book God is not Great. I'm willing to bet he stood by these words even as he drew his last breath and by the book's by-line, "religion poisons everything­" because he was a man of his conviction­s and an unparallel­ed voice of reason in this religious and increasing­ly dumbed down nation.

2) Ironic how a fairly mean, abrasive, atheist was so passionate­ly anti-tortu­re and anti-war while most of the huggy, church-goi­ng people who spew the "Jesus loves you" platitudes want to kill everyone who doesn't agree with them.

3) Man... Not only did he help guide me to become a freethinke­r, he helped change my entire philosophy on life... I swear... We just lost one of the most brilliant minds the world will ever have the pleasure of knowing. Wow.

4) Life well lived. He changed mine.

5) That, my friends, was a MAN.

6) Though I be a highly imperfect follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, Christophe­r Hitchens and his fellow members of the 'Atheist Apocalypse­' (Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett) are among my favorite people....­their non-theism is not a threat to my beliefs, but rather an encouragem­ent to continuall­y examine them.
I would remind any fellow imperfect followers of the Lord Jesus: 1. Scripture says that God would rather someone be hot or cold, than lukewarm, 2. God is big enough to handle human anger and frustratio­n and 3. Do not be too hasty in declaring Christophe­r Hitchens' ultimate fate, of desiring a sort of comfort from picturing him amongst brimstone and fire - I suspect that many people that we think would never grace the doors of Heaven will be there, and many that we thought had a first-clas­s ticket there will be missing.
Requiescat in Pacem, Christophe­r Hitchens.

7) Chris Hitchens made it easier to be an atheist. Being a gay man, I can tell you being an atheist was the last part of me to come out of the closet, and Chris most certainly made that easier with his intellect.

8) For sixty years of my 73, I was a catholic with 16 years of catholic education. Christophe­r not only illuminate­d me, he enlightene­d me. I realized that mankind can be good without god. That my reason, conscience­, objectivit­y, curiosity and skepticism were more important to my developmen­t then blind faith in unfounded dogma as taught by an immoral organizati­on of old guys!
I now consider myself a Humanist, a non-believ­er, a person freed from the opiate of the people.
Thank you Christophe­r!

About: Trade in surveillance technology raises worries

The action
Northern Virginia technology entrepreneur Jerry Lucas hosted his first trade show for makers of surveillance gear at the McLean Hilton in May 2002. Thirty-five people attended.
Nine years later, Lucas holds five events annually across the world, drawing hundreds of vendors and thousands of potential buyers for an industry that he estimates sells $5 billion of the latest tracking, monitoring and eavesdropping technology each year. Along the way these events have earned an evocative nickname: The Wiretappers’ Ball.
The products of what Lucas calls the “lawful intercept” industry are developed mainly in Western nations such as the United States but are sold throughout the world with few restrictions. This burgeoning trade has alarmed human rights activists and privacy advocates, who call for greater regulation because the technology has ended up in the hands of repressive governments such as those of Syria, Iran and China.

The reaction
People are saying:

1) Who is the Fish and Wildlife Service going to wire tap, Smokey the Bear?

2) HHHHMMMMM....just curious how this ranks up there with the USA being one of the largest exporters of weapons in the world?
America the king of killing and maiming and as well the king of exporting weapons of death and destruction..............

3) When ________ is outlawed, only outlaws will have ________.

Q: What do you do when the outlaws are Governments ?

a. Lie low and get rich before those do-good-ers are the UN notice.
b. Make _______ ownership a Sacrament.
c. Subvert your own Government to maintain Safe Harbor and to heck with the wogs overseas.
d. All of the above.

4) Well said ticked! How bad is this report? Allow me to paraphrase... "OMG! U.S. companies spend billions of dollars producing software which easily allows illegal activities to occur by unscrupulous tyrants in the middle east!" How about we control the tyrants in Washington first before we blame all this "evil" on Syria, Iran and China? Wake up people. It is what lies to your face that you need to fear the most.

5) Looks to me like this communication has been intercepted and tampered with. And perhaps that should be a concern.
For with all the intercepts that are possible today, who's to say what the original message actually looked like right ?
Cause to me I see the potential for a replay of the whisper game. You know, where the original message gets changed a couple of times from it's original form.
That isn't a problem is it ? ? ?

6) Surveillance products are reaching repressive governments, including our own.

7) Technology today is both a blessing and a curse, depending how it is used. Governments can use the same technology to catch criminals or to spy on and criminalize citizens. The recent monitoring of tweets during one of Kansas Governor Brownbacks speeches and subsequent demand for an apology from student Emma Sullivan for tweeting to her friends "Brownback sucks" is a good example of the abuse of technology.Employers use technology to supervise employees but this same technology can be used in agressive management practices which serve to pressure employees. Citizens should be aware of the possible misuses of technology. Laws need to be passed to protect privacy.

About: Obama Leaves God out of Thanksgiving Speech, Riles Critics

The action
Critics of President Obama felt little holiday cheer after the president did not thank God in his Thanksgiving-themed weekly Internet address. They immediately took to Twitter and the Internet to voice anger and disbelief.

The reaction
People are saying:

1) As a black women I kick myself everyday because i voted for obama never again will i listen to brainwashed democratic plantation blacks. Im free now and im voting republican 2012.

2) Religion has no place in Politics especially in a SECULAR nation like the US.

3) I'm just glad ..... or thankful to be home : ) instead of deployed this year : )

4) He didn't thank God for the same reason that he goes golfing and isn't with his family on Christmas! He isn't a Christian! He said it all when he said he was glad that McCain didn't bring up his Muslim faith, when he was being interviewed. We know what Obama is all about by now. If he is re-elected in 2012, then we know where America is headed! To He-- in a hand basket!

5) Since when has Thanksgiving been a christian holiday?

6) Matthew 6: 5 When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites! They love to stand and pray in the houses of worship and on the street corners, so that everyone will see them. I assure you they have already been paid in full.6 But when you pray, go to your room , close your door , and pray to your father who is unseen, and your father who sees what you do in private will reward you.

7) I don't want to live.... In this country anymore... Seriously you christian extremists are ruining our wonderful secular republic, how dare you think this country is for you and you only. You are part of the problem, not part of the solution.

8) If more Americans PRACTICED their religion rather than using it to condemn others this could actually become a better country.

9) It is an unseasonably warm 65 degrees in the Washington area, and President Obama has bolted out of the White House to go golfing.
It’s his 30th time golfing this year and the 88th golf outing of his presidency.
He’s at the Andrews Air Force base course with one of his usual crew, White House trip director Martin Nicholson, as well as Marvin’s brother Walter and Reggie Love.
Love, who is Obama’s personal assistant – or “body man” – is not usually a golfing companion. So the outing may be a farewell gift to Reggie, who is leaving by the end of the year.
Obama also referred to himself as "Commander AND Chief" in his Thanksgiving Day speech instead of "Commander-IN-Chief"

About: Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Bill Maher Face Off On 'The View'

The action
Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Bill Maher had an incredibly awkward exchange on Tuesday's "The View," after Hasselbeck confronted Maher over a joke he told about her last year.
Maher was speaking on his HBO show about the detention of CBS correspondent Lara Logan in Egypt. He joked, "New rule: now that Hosni Mubarak has released Lara Logan, he must put her intrepid hotness on a plane immediately. In exchange, we will send Elisabeth Hasselbeck."

The reaction
People are saying:

1) Lets get to the root of Elisabeth'­s dishonesty­: She started her tirade with saying that Lara Logan was raped. She then says that Bill Maher made that joke about trading her for Lara Logan. Here is the actual timeline:
February 4, 2011: Lara Logan released from Egyptian military custody
February 4, 2011: Bill Maher makes joke about swapping Lara Logan for Hasselbeck
February 11, 2011: Lara Logan is assaulted in Egypt.
Now, Elisabeth tries to conflate her argument by implying that Bill Maher made that joke AFTER the rape had occurred which would have been in very poor taste. That is simply not true. Elisabeth is a dishonest individual­.

2) Hasselbeck always ends up looking like a petty, whiny fool when she tries to confront anyone who has insulted her.

3) She can be grateful that Maher was on his most gracious behavior & decided to go easy on her. Had he been in a vitriolic mood I guarantee he would have made her stomp away in tears. Intellectu­ally she's light years away from Maher. It could've been nasty but Bill kept his cool.

4) She keeps saying "It's not personal" when it clearly is. She keeps saying "I'm not hurt" when she clearly is. She criticizes this ability to be funny, when its clearly a personal opinion. Where was her profession­alism?
And the Republican­'s complain about the 'gotcha media'? Geesh...

5) Elisabeth went into a battle of wits unarmed, and lost.
She will never learn.

6) Quite possibly the most whiney woman I've ever seen.
"You can't hurt me"... as she's sitting there clearly still bruised from a comedian's comments made about a year ago.

7) La Liz needs to learn not to mess with people who have triple her IQ...she looked like the fool she is.

About: Detroit prayer event puts Muslim community on edge

The action
DETROIT (AP) — An area with one of the largest Muslim communities in the United States is bracing itself for a 24-hour prayer rally by a group that counts Islam among the ills facing the nation.
The gathering in Detroit at Ford Field, the stadium where the Detroit Lions play, starts Friday evening and is designed to tackle issues such as the economy, racial strife, same-sex relationships and abortion. But the decade-old organization known as TheCall has said Detroit is a "microcosm of our national crisis" in all areas, including "the rising tide of the Islamic movement."

The reaction
People are saying:

1) Why is this a story? If it was a Muslim prayer event, and Christians or Jews came out against it, it would be racism, but because the largest organized religion in America has a prayer event, Muslims are concerned? Shouldn't atheists, witches and wickens, druids and pagans be just as concerned? Typical American media scare tactics...be afraid, the boogeyman is coming, but the government will protect you. I'm more scared by the 'qualified' candidates running for President.

2) It's not just "someone" holding the event, it's adherents of a religion with a proven history of violence going back to its founding. Even a cursory glance at history will reveal that Christians are aggressively intolerant of those who are not followers of their particular brand of Christianity.

3) Unfortunately, most muslims living in America already consider themselves Muslim First, American Second. (49% vs 26%). The stats for christians are 46% vs 46%. (Pew Poll for 2011).
In neighbouring Canada, according to recent poll, 65% of canadian muslims want the implementation of some kind of Sharia Law, while 35% refuse to repudiate Al Qaeda. The data shows that there is something wrong with muslims.
Clear muslim majorities in Europe, also consider themselves Muslim First, citizen of their respective country second (according to Pew Polls). On the other hand, clear majorities of christians in european countries consider themselves citizens of their respective country first, christian second.
Even in muslim countries, the majority of muslims consider themselves Muslim First, citizen of their country second.
There were some 40 terrorist plots to attack the United States by american muslims in cooperation with foreign muslim entities hostile to the US during the last ten years.
In contrast, only two German-Americans citizens participated in a planned sabotage plot during World War II, along with six Germans who had worked in the United States, even though roughly 20 percent of the country had German ancestry. There were almost no examples of cooperation by Japanese-Americans with Imperial Japan’s forces.
There were no cases of americans joining Serbia during the US aerial attacks against this country, and no attacks prepared by american serbs or ortodox chritians in order to revenge the US bombings, although the US sided with muslims against christians in this war.

4) Fundamentalists are the same all over whether they be christian, muslim, hindu or whatever. Bigots all and the curse of humanity. But only in the US and the muslim countries is such an event possible. That proves my point, the same crock of s..

5) I consider any person or religion, that wants to kill me, a major threat.

6) So you must then understand why the muslims feel threatened...

7) Islam demands that non-Muslims be converted, subjocated, or killed. It's quite clearly written in the Quran, and many, many texts written by Muslim scholars. Just because most Muslims don't adhere put this orthodoxy into practice, there's a huge number of Muslims who have no problem with this ideology.
It's not just a fringe. Most Islamic coutries impose the death penalty for converting from Islam to another religion. Think about that.

8) this is how the old-world felt when Christians were cutting the heads of off non-believers—all monotheism is domination by force and brutality—study the history of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam: get rid of all of them!

9) 150,000 to 200,000 Muslims... so detroit is 30% muslim?

10) Yes but do you know HOW they got here? You can thank good ole Henry Ford for that one!
His belief was the people who normally live in hot climates (like the middle east) would fair better in his factories were melting metals, smelting etc were involved. So he grabs a bunch of them and offers them jobs. They have been here for awhile and have been growing ever since.
So whom are you thank for this? A white man and his greed!