Deadliest Month Ever For Troops In Afghan War Oct 27, 200911:56 PDT

Tuesday, October 27, 2009.

October 2009 has earned the dubious distinction of being the most deadly for US forces fighting in Afghanistan ever. Washington is pushing for strict regulation of behemoth banks, and Microsoft runs scared from Family Guy. This is your Daily Surf Report, using the best videos on the web to keep you abreast of the day’s top stories.

October Deadliest Month For Troops In Afghan War

As President Obama continues to meet with advisers to make a decision on the future of the war in Afghanistan, eight more U.S. troops were killed in roadside bombing attacks that have officially elevated this months casualties to the highest ever since the start of the Afghanistan war eight years ago.

The President is weighing a decision on whether to scale back troops in the area, as he promised during his campaign, or to accent to the request of the person in charge of operations in Afghanistan, Gen. Stan McChrystal, who released a report stating up to 40,000 more troops were needed.

This CNN report has details of the latest troop casualties, as well as analysis of the current situation in Washington and in Afghanistan:

“Death Panel” For Financial Institutions?

The U.S. financial system is more vulnerable to catastrophe now than at the height of the economic crisis, say financial experts. If large banks and institutions were “too big to fail” in 2008, they are even more so as banks consolidate and are acquired into larger behemoths with an even bigger slice of the economic pie. And with what amounts to a “get out of jail free” card in the form of Government support, the thinking continues, those giant institutions have little incentive not to continue risky, high profit behaviors that put the world’s economic stability at risk.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and other top economic officials are seeking to pass legislation that will counteract this effect by drastically increasing regulation of financial companies in order to reign in high risk practices and make banks more personally liable for bad decisions. Opponents to this plan have likened the proposed rules to the fabled “death panels” of health care reform, with Government agencies holding the power to decide which banks “live” and which banks “die”, but analysts warn that steps must be taken to prevent an even bigger collapse than the one from which we are just now beginning to recover.

While many agree that the problem exists, some wonder if regulations would be sufficient to protect the economy from impending disaster. In this CNN video, economists debate the proposed regulations and propose alternate plans to safeguard the world’s money from those responsible for protecting it:

Microsoft Pulls Sponsorship From Family Guy Special

Less than two weeks after announcing an exclusive sponsorship of Fox’s upcoming “Family Guy Presents: Seth & Alex’s Almost Live Comedy Show,” Microsoft Corp. has decided that the racy humor is too risque for their image and has backed out.

The special, which will feature Family Guy-style routines by creator/star Seth Macfarlane (Peter Griffin, Stewie Griffin, others) and co-star and writer Alex Borstein (Lois Griffin) will continue on with a new, as yet unannounced sponsor. Microsoft has said there are “no hard feelings” and it will continue to work with Macfarlane and Family Guy in other endeavors.

In this video, Macfarlane and Borstein (with the rest of the cast and writers) discuss censorship and what they can and can’t get away with on the show:

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