Code Pink Supports Afghanistan War?
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Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:
Get Out!
The staunch women's anti-war group Code Pink has advocated complete withdrawal of troops from both Iraq and Afghanistan. The group has organized countless protests and even one Code Pinker with blood-colored hands called then-Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice a war criminal during a congressional hearing in 2007.
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But one report says the group is now rethinking its position on the Afghanistan war. The Christian Science Monitor reports that during a recent trip to Kabul, local Afghan women told Code Pinkers the situation is a lot more complicated than they think. Afghan member of Parliament and women’s activist Shinkai Karokhail told the group's founders: "In the current situation of terrorism, we cannot say troops should be withdrawn."
Those concerns convinced the founders that setting a deadline is not in Afghanistan's best interest. Medea Benjamin, Code Pink co-founder, said: "We would leave with the same parameters of an exit strategy but we might perhaps be more flexible about a timeline... So many people are saying that, 'If the U.S. troops left — the country would collapse. We'd go into a civil war.' A palpable sense of fear, that is making us start to reconsider that."
Windy City Woes
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Some Chicago community leaders and parents are upset with the Obama administration for being excluded from a high profile meeting in their city to discuss escalating youth violence.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Attorney General Eric Holder met with city officials Wednesday. But Phillip Jackson, founder of a Chicago-based wducation reform organization, wants to know why he and his fellow community leaders were not invited: "They are meeting about us — without us."
Jackson also chided the president for his recent travel decisions to NBC Chicago: "President Obama fueled up Air Force One to fly to Copenhagen to try to win the Olympics. Why can't he fuel up a Greyhound bus and come here?"
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Keg Stand
Australian authorities are putting their foot down. In an effort to curb alcohol-related crime at one of the country's most popular racing events which began Thursday, spectators will now be limited to a measly 24 cans of beer per day. But if you're willing to switch to light beer, then you can legally consume 36 beers per day.
And for those who enjoy a nice glass of wine, they will have to make do with just over a gallon each day. Authorities are also warning attendees to drive safely.
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They're so strict down under.
— FOX News Channel's Lanna Britt contributed to this report.