Taliban stronghold destroyed by British and Afghan forces after 10 day battle

A major Taliban stronghold has been destroyed by British and Afghan forces following 10 days of bitter fighting in southern Afghanistan.

Obama Signs Legislation Putting 25,000 US Companies At Risk

by Gateway Pundit

More hope, change and madness...

The socialist in the White House passed legislation this week that put 25,000 US construction companies at risk.

Obama signed legislation that discriminates against 84 percent of U.S. construction workers who choose not to join a labor union. The companies they work for will not be allowed to bid on government jobs.

These companies were already having a very difficult time surviving the current economic recession; Obama made it worse. The socialist just made it impossible for these companies to gain government contracts.
Doug Ross reported:

The Association of Building Contractors, which represents 25,000 businesses around the country, condemned an executive order signed by Obama that restricts bidding on federally funded construction projects to union-controlled businesses:

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) today denounced an Executive Order signed by President Obama that repeals Executive Order 13202, that prohibited federal agencies and recipients of federal funding from requiring contractors to sign union-only project labor agreements (PLAs) as a condition of performing work on federal and federally funded construction projects.

"Today's decision to repeal Executive Order 13202 opens the door to waste and discrimination in federal and federally funded construction contracts," said ABC President and CEO Kirk Pickerel. "This action removes the safeguards that prohibited discrimination based upon union affiliation in the awarding of federal contracts.

"Construction contracts subject to union-only PLAs are designed to be awarded exclusively to unionized contractors and their all-union workforces," said Pickerel. "Absent the economic benefits of competitive bidding, union-only PLAs are known to increase construction costs between 10 percent and 20 percent and discriminate against minorities, women and qualified construction workers who have traditionally been excluded from union membership.

"Union-only PLAs drive up costs for American taxpayers while unfairly discriminating against 84 percent of U.S. construction workers who choose not to join a labor union," added Pickerel. "All taxpayers should have the opportunity to compete fairly on any project funded by the federal government."

It is not clear yet how this will affect white male construction workers targeted by the Obama Adminstration.

Mexico voodoo promo gets new partner, Blockbuster

(Compiler's note: Really....?)

By PETER ORSI

MEXICO CITY (AP) - After Radioshack dropped out, a Mexican newspaper has found a new U.S. corporate sponsor to help put a voodoo hex on the U.S. national soccer team - and end Mexico's decade-long losing streak.

Blockbuster stores in Mexico City began trading Record newspaper coupons for voodoo-doll likenesses of U.S. soccer players Friday. The back of the dolls' jersey reads, "Gringos."

They should be used to wish for a Mexico goal during the World Cup qualifier Wednesday in Colombus, Ohio, according to the instructions.

Mexico has not beaten the Americans on U.S. soil in 10 years.

"Hold a needle firmly between your thumb and index finger and prick slowly the part of the doll where you want to affect the opponent," the instructions say.

Electronics retailer RadioShack, of Fort Worth, Texas, dropped out as a distribution partner last week after learning details of the campaign.

But Record merely had to go to Dallas to find another co-sponsor, DVD and video game rental chain Blockbuster Inc. (BBI) A phone message left with the company's public relations office was not returned Friday.

But Record spokesman Daniel Paz said the promotion is lighthearted.

"In soccer, training and practice are what determine the results. The best team will win," he said. "But without any doubt, this little doll can help the good vibes of the Mexican fans to change the history of Mexico and turn things around."

Mexico fan Mauricio Munoz, picking up one of the Blockbuster dolls, said he doesn't believe black magic will have any effect on his team or the winless streak.

"But in any case," he said, "it's a good way to have fun."

Saudi suspects seeking to revive al-Qaida

By DONNA ABU-NASR

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - One of the men on the Saudi Arabia's new most-wanted list is married to Osama bin Laden's daughter while another was involved in a plot to kill the U.S. ambassador in Yemen. A third smuggled militants into Iraq from Syria.

Documents profiling the 85 wanted men - 83 Saudis and two Yemenis - reveal that many of them either took part in planning attacks targeting oil, security and other installations in the kingdom or provided al-Qaida members with weapons, safe haven, false documents and money.

The documents illuminate the extent of Saudi participation in the shadowy extremist networks struggling to rebuild in the Arabian peninsula after a series of harsh crackdowns in past years. All the men on the list are hiding abroad, many in neighboring Yemen.

The men were all ages and came from throughout the kingdom, according to documents provided to The Associated Press on Saturday by a Saudi official who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue.

The youngest, 16-year-old Abdul-Ilah al-Shihri, was only 12 when the Sept. 11 attacks took place. He was smuggled into Yemen to join al-Qaida there by his uncle, according to the documents.

The official said the men are active members of al-Qaida or local offshoots and planned to re-establish the terror network in Saudi Arabia following the kingdom's aggressive campaign, which had netted hundreds of members and sympathizers.

Al-Qaida has not carried out a major attack since February 2006, when suicide bombers tried but failed to attack an oil facility at the Abqaiq oil complex, the world's largest oil processing facility, in eastern Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia issued the list on Monday and sought Interpol's help in arresting the men. They include 11 who have been released from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay and have attended the kingdom's touted extremist rehabilitation program. Among them were two Saudis who have emerged as the new leaders of Yemen's branch of al-Qaida.

Documents were available for six of those men, all of whom left Saudi Arabia in 2000 before eventually making their way to Afghanistan where they were captured and then taken Guantanamo. After being released to the Saudis and going through rehabilitation, the men slipped across the border into Yemen.

Another man on the list, Mohammed Aboul-Kheir, 34, is married to the daughter of al-Qaida leader bin Laden and worked as his bodyguard. He had links to Ramzi Binalshibh, one of five co-defendants facing murder and war crimes charges for alleged roles in the Sept. 11 attacks.

The documents put his whereabouts in either Afghanistan, Pakistan or Iran.

Another wanted Saudi, Saleh al-Qaraawi, has been dubbed by the local media as one of the most dangerous men on the list. The documents say that al-Qaraawi, 27, provided money and recruits for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the head of al-Qaida in Iraq who was killed in June 2006.

"He received intensive training in Iran in the use of electronics in explosions," said the documents.

"He also attempted to establish a new terror cell in the kingdom," the documents added.

They said al-Qaraawi left for the United Arab Emirates in 2007 on a forged passport.

Qassem al-Reemi, 30, meanwhile, one of the few Yemenis on the list, has "links to a plot targeting the U.S. ambassador in San'a," the capital of Yemen.

"He rented the house in which the plot for that operation was hatched," according to the documents. "He also monitored the U.S. Embassy."

No such attack has taken place, but in September gunmen did assault the embassy gates, leaving 19 people dead, including six militants. Al-Qaida claimed responsibility.

The Saudi campaign against al-Qaida began in earnest in 2003, when militants first struck inside the kingdom, which is bin Laden's birthplace and home to 15 of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers. The network's attacks have targeted expatriate residential compounds, oil installations and government buildings.