Civilian casualties soar in Afghanistan

According to this United Nations Report, 2009 was the worst year since the U.S. invasion and occupation in terms of number of civilian deaths in Afghanistan.

I know what let's do. Let's spend an extra US$33 Billion to send an extra 30,000 guns and FSM-knows-how-much extra ammuntion into the country. That'll fix it for sure. And there will be the added bonus of lots of extra income for this guy, the CEO of ATK

ATK, the world's largest maker of ammunitions for "small" arms, says in its 2009 annual report to stockholders:

Fiscal year 2009 was another strong year for ATK. Sales were up 10 percent to $4.6 billion—our 6th consecutive year of double-digit sales growth. Absent a non-cash, non-deductible charge, earnings per share (EPS) increased 23 percent to $7.75—the third straight year of EPS growth in excess of 15 percent. And importantly, we generated strong cash flow to invest back into our business, drive our growth, and strengthen the value of our company for our shareholders. By all accounts, these are outstanding results. For 2010, we are again forecasting higher revenue and EPS.