I want to change USA

La sfida per la Casa Bianca è diventata accesa e imponente, anche se negli ultimi giorni ha lasciato più spazio al gossip che ai temi proposti dai due candidati. McCain a sorpresa ha scelto una vice donna, una certa Sarah "barracuda" Palin, stupendo molti ma generando anche un caso di gossip sulla figlia della candidata, colpevole di essere incinta a soli 17 anni e suscitando quindi perplessità tra i sostenitori cristiani. Giovane, bella, aggressiva, con la volontà di fare piazza pulita dei vecchi repubblicani, di combattere contro i poteri forti e la corruzione a Washington, e insieme di riportare in primo piano i sacri valori della tradizione: patria, famiglia, religione e poche tasse. Insomma, Jhon ha sfoderato il jolly. Ma basterà? I sondaggi negli States sembrano dare una netta vittoria ai Democratici, anche perchè il partito repubblicano è in crisi da anni, troppo distante da quello che era negli anni '80, propositivo e pieno di idee. Circondato da una folla enorme, completamente impazzita per il suo canditato alla presidenza, Barack Obama ha chiuso la Convention democratica con una forte dichiarazione volta a cambiare il  Paese da ciò che la politica di Bush l'ha trasformato: «America, siamo migliori di come siamo stati in questi ultimi otto anni. Siamo un Paese migliore di così». Obama ha anche fatto una serie di attacchi all'avversario, smontando pezzo per pezzo le sue proposte, accusandolo di essere un clone della presidenza "fallita" di Bush: «che cosa pensate di qualcuno convinto che Bush ha ragione in oltre il 90 per cento dei casi? Non so quale sia la vostra impressione, ma io non sono disposto ad avere solo un 10 per cento di cambiamenti. McCain è tutto tranne che indipendente. Dice che la nostra economia ha fatto "grossi progressi" con George Bush. Dice che i fondamentali dell'economia sono solidi. E quando uno dei suoi consiglieri ha parlato delle preoccupazioni degli americani l'ha fatto chiamandoli "una nazione di frignoni" e ha detto che il vero problema è "la recessione mentale" di chi la abita e non la crisi che gli Stati Uniti stanno attraversando. Una nazione di frignoni? Andatelo a dire ai lavoratori dello stabilimento del Michigan che, pur avendo scoperto che la fabbrica avrebbe chiuso, hanno continuato ad andare al lavoro perché sapevano di essere le persone su cui la gente contava. Andatelo a dire alle famiglie dei nostri soldati, che si sono fatti tre turni in Iraq. Non sono frignoni, sono l'America che conosco». Ma Obama non si è limitato ad attaccare i Repubblicani, per altro già in evidente crisi, ha anche rilanciato le sue proposte per il "cambiamento": «Fatemi spiegare esattamente cosa significherà cambiamento se divento presidente: indipendenza dal petrolio mediorientale in dieci anni, lavorando ad eliminare gli sprechi ed investendo sulle energie verdi; tagli fiscali alla classe media e non ai più ricchi e alle multinazionali che portano il lavoro fuori dall'America; un'istruzione di livello per tutti i bambini e un sostegno economico agli studenti per pagare l'università; impedire che le assicurazioni sanitarie possano discriminare chi è malato; ritirare le truppe dall'Iraq e concentrarsi nella battaglia contro i terroristi in Afghanistan, con l'obiettivo di catturare Bin Laden. McCain dice che andrà a prenderlo inseguendolo fino alle porte dell'inferno, peccato non siano andati a cercarlo nelle caverne in cui si nasconde. Sarò un presidente che guarda al futuro e non al passato. Ma ricordatevi, queste elezioni non sono su di me ma riguardano voi tutti». Probabilmente un politico così farebbe il sedere a stelle e strisce anche alla parlantina di Berlusconi, ma di parole se ne dicono tante. sono i fatti che contano. Riuscirà questo futuro leader, come moltissimi anche fra gli europei vorrebbero, a cambiare un america paralizzata su se stessa, su lobby di potere che spingono alla guerra e sul petrolio?

Harmit Athwal, Institute of Race Relations
4 September 2008

In August, two asylum seekers apparently took their own lives: one was found hanged in a Manchester park and another shot himself two days after being deported to Kurdistan.

According to Indymedia, on 5 August, an Iranian asylum seeker, Nadir Zarabee, was found hanged in a park in Longsight, Manchester after being asked to leave his Trafford home which had been provided by M&Q Properties Ltd, a private company contracted by National Asylum Support Service (NASS) to provide housing to asylum seekers in the area.

On 9 August 2008, anti-racists, refugees and supporters held a demonstration in Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester city centre in response to the death.

On 10 August 2008, 35-year-old Hussein Ali shot himself in the cellar of his home in Sulaimania, Kurdistan two days after being deported from the UK. Hussein had been in the UK since 2002. He was detained for fifty days at Oakington removal centre in Cambridgeshire after being arrested in London after being caught working without permission. He was deported to Erbil via Jordan on 7 August 2008.

His family are desperate to know how he was treated in detention. 'His treatment in the UK and the process of asylum penalised him for not having enough evidence, led to his death,' they stated.

The International Federation of Iraqi Refugees added, 'Hussein Ali is a victim of the UK home office's continuing inhuman policy of forcibly deporting Iraqi Kurds'. The group will be holding a demonstration outside the Home Office on 11 September.

The Institute of Race Relations is precluded from expressing a corporate view: any opinions expressed are therefore those of the authors.

source

Nye tal viser, at volden i det hårdt prøvede land er faldet med over 80 procent. Socialdemokraterne vurderer, at flere flygtninge kan vende hjem.

Oprørsbevægelserne i det krigshærgede Irak er kommet så meget under kontrol, at volden nu rammer langt færre. Antallet af dræbte civile er de seneste 18 måneder styrtdykket, og den forsigtige optimisme har bredt sig så meget, at f.eks. Dansk Flygtningehjælp gør klar til at vende tilbage til hovedstaden Bagdad, der i årevis har været for farlig til organisationen.

Det stærkt faldende antal voldstilfælde er en konsekvens af, at sikkerheden ifølge bl.a. FN er blevet væsentlig bedre i Irak, hvor USA senest har overdraget ansvaret for den tidligere så voldshærgede Anbarprovins til irakerne.

»I dag er Irak et meget anderledes sted, end for to år siden. Den generelle vold er faldet med mindst 80 procent, siden ’bølgen’ (USA’s massive troppeforstærkning, red.) begyndte, mens den etnisk-sekteriske vold – den type, der i 2006 lod til at ville suge Irak ned i en altomfattende borgerkrig – er gået ned med over 90 procent«, skriver tre amerikanske forskere i udenrigsmagasinet Foreign Affairs.

700 civile dræbt om måneden
To af forskerne arbejder til daglig for tænketanken Brookings Institution, der løbende har målt udviklingen på blandt andet dødstal, voldelige overfald, kidnapninger og selvmordsangreb.

De første fire år strittede statistikkerne i den helt forkerte retning, men de seneste måneder er udviklingen vendt , uden at Irak på nogen måde er et »paradis ved floden Eufrat«, som forskerne udtrykker det.

Omkring 700 civile irakere bliver dræbt om måneden, men det er dog det laveste tal, siden krigen brød ud i 2003.

»Overrraskende gode« meldinger
Lars Erslev Andersen, terror- og konfliktforsker ved Dansk Institut for Internationale Studier, betegner også det seneste års meldinger som »overraskende gode«.

»Amerikanerne ser ud til at have lært af deres fejltagelser og holder sig mere i baggrunden, mens de irakiske sikkerhedsstyrker klarer en større del af opgaven selv. Det er forklaringen på, at det ekstremt blodige Anbar er kommet under større kontrol og har kunnet overdrages til irakerne«, siger Lars Erslev Andersen.

Den tidligere danske ambassadør i Bagdad Bo Eric Weber er netop vendt hjem med et meget positivt syn på udviklingen:

»Jeg vil gå så langt som til at sige, at der er sket en dramatisk forbedring af sikkerhedssituationen, særlig det seneste halve år«, siger Bo Eric Weber.

En afgørende fejl at bombe den gyldne moske
Ifølge de amerikanske forskere er det lykkedes at »underminere de sunnimuslimske oprørere, svække de shiitiske militser og i særlig høj grad al-Qaeda i Irak«.

Det er deres vurdering, at terrorbevægelsen begik en afgørende fejl ved at bombe shiitternes gyldne moske i Samarra i 2006.

Først så angrebet ud til at ville kaste Irak ud i borgerkrig, men i stedet indså det sunnimuslimske mindretal, at et katastrofalt nederlag truede, »hvis ikke de fandt en ny allieret – og de vendte sig mod amerikanerne, mens de endnu kunne«.

Volden er også faldet, fordi de shiitiske militser nu forholder sig i nogenlunde ro, og fordi Iraks sikkerhedsstyrker på snart 560.000 mand er blevet stærkere og bedre uddannede.

Tilbagevendende flygtninge kan give problemer
Ifølge forskerne bag undersøgelsen er det store spørgsmål, om de borgerkrigslignende tilstande mellem sunni- og shiamuslimer vender tilbage, og om det lykkes at skabe politisk stabilitet i Irak.

Et andet afgørende spørgsmål drejer sig om de godt fire millioner flygtninge, der enten er internt fordrevne eller har søgt beskyttelse i udlandet, herunder i Danmark. Deres tilbagevenden ventes også at kunne kaste Irak ud i nye problemer, når de gør krav på deres forladte hjem.

Ifølge den nyeste rapport fra FN har kombinationen af »politiske og militære tiltag bidraget til en stadig forbedring af sikkerheden i hele Irak gennem de seneste tre måneder«.

FN står parat til at hjælpe flygtninge
FN’s Flygtningeorganisation, UNHCR, tilskynder dog endnu ikke irakiske flygtninge til at vende hjem i større stil, men står parat til at hjælpe de cirka 10.000 mennesker, som hver måned gør forsøget på egen hånd.

Også herhjemme kan den forbedrede sikkerhedssituation få betydning:

»Jeg tror bestemt, at flere flygtninge kan vende tilbage. Det er ikke så nemt, men der er helt sikkert større mulighed«, siger Socialdemokraternes udenrigsordfører, Mogens Lykketoft.

The Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON -- The Iraqi government is seeking to buy 36 advanced F-16 fighters from the U.S., say American military officials familiar with the request, a move that could help reduce its reliance on U.S. air power and potentially allow more American forces to withdraw from the country than had been proposed.

Getty Images

An F-16C Fighting Falcon flies by during a U.S. Air Force demonstration in Nevada last year.

If it clears hurdles in Washington, the multibillion-dollar deal would give the Iraqi government a powerful new weapon to use against the country's Shiite and Sunni insurgents. But the rapid rebuilding of Iraq's military forces with U.S. equipment such as F-16s could also be viewed with concern by other countries in the region, because of the placement of advanced weaponry in the hands of a nascent government of a country still struggling for stability.

The Air Force says it has 300 planes and helicopters in Iraq and Afghanistan, mostly in Iraq, but declined to provide a further breakdown, making it difficult to assess the impact of the proposed sale on overall air power there. Senior American officials have long argued that Iraq would need the U.S. to keep fighters and attack helicopters deployed throughout the country indefinitely, even as American ground troops start to withdraw.

Iraq now appears determined to significantly expand the air power of its military, which has become more competent and confident in recent months but depends heavily on the U.S. for air support. Iraq quickly has become one of the biggest weapons buyers in the world as it seeks to strengthen and professionalize its fighting force.

The F-16, made by Lockheed Martin Corp., is the most sophisticated weapons system Iraq has attempted to purchase so far. The Pentagon recently notified Congress that it had approved the sale of 24 American attack helicopters to Iraq, valued at as much as $2.4 billion. Including the helicopters, Iraq has announced plans this year to purchase at least $10 billion in U.S. tanks and armored vehicles, transport planes and other battlefield equipment and services, benefiting companies such as General Dynamics Corp., Boeing Co. and Raytheon Co.

Read the rest:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122056503871
901333.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news

Here it is in Farsi, Arabic or in a Google Translate version of the Arabic.

Of course, what paranoid report about Jews would be complete without the Mossad (the language is probably the fault of Google Translate and not the author):

If it is not surprising compared with the Jewish influx since the fall of Baghdad in April - in April 2003 manual entry of tens of elements of the Israeli intelligence service "Mossad", under multiple names as Mesopotamia, and other companies with illusory.

What's the motivation for this kind of talk? Welcome to paragraph 7:

She adds that Party sources said the Israeli intensified its efforts since the beginning of this year to buy land and homes and farms in Kirkuk and its environs, as well as continuing to carry out assassinations of political figures long Turkoman and Arab, Kurdish and bombed party headquarters of the Turkmen and Kurds in Kirkuk, with the aim of igniting ethnic discord.

Ethnic discord ripping our country apart? Kurds and Sunnis can't get along? Clearly we're all victims of secret Jewish agencies working hard to "ignite ethnic discord."

It appears the military will be keeping fifteen brigades of troops in Iraq for the duration of this year. Afghanistan is fast becoming a much more dangerous place and I do hope the violence can be contained there until we resolve the Iraq situation and additional support can reach those currently fighting to bring peace and stability to that region of the world. It is sad that the Canadian death toll in Afghanistan is approaching one hundred soldiers.  Canada had been a solid ally and of great assistance, as always, in contributing to the establishment of a  safer and more stable Afghanistan.  Our thanks and condolences to the families of the three most recent fatalities in the region.

Back here in little Erie,PA~ Brandy ,the abandoned pup, gets spayed thanks to the generous vets at Erie Animal Hospital and her sponsors.  If a home is not found for her by this weekend, she is scheduled to be accepted to the A.N.N.A shelter here in Erie as soon as they have an opening.  We will all miss her in our neighborhood.  Speaking of the neighborhood, we're going to have a get-together to explore forming a watch group and just to familiarize everyone with each other. Papa Joe's Pepperoni Cafe has graciously offered to serve as the host for the meeting in a couple of weeks and hopefully some city officials will be in attendance to offer guidance and insight into what's involved in neighborhood watch and other available programs for the area.  The meeting invitation is being extended to all residents, property owners and managers of rental properties, and anyone interested in attending who lives around the four and five hundred blocks of West 8th and West 7th Sts.  The tentative date is September 17th at 6:30 pm.  Just having people show an interest in meeting one another and looking out for each other is encouraging.  If we do not end up establishing a formal group that will be all right too.  Whatever will be, will be.

Gridley Park's litter problem has returned,  but not as bad, with the start of the school year. I suppose that's to be expected. And the graffitti is still in all the same places as well.  The more things change, the more they remain the same.

Just had to post a photo of my puppy, Cricket as she just walked in the room carrying a light fixure complete with light bulb!!! I haven't a clue where she got it-well, actually I think she ventured in to one of the "Off Limit Restricted Areas" of the basement aka the Fix-It Room and did a bit of exploring on her own! So now, after checking to make sure the fix-it room is secured and she cannot retrieve anything more of a similar ilk, I'm back to the matters at hand. She has been an absolute joy in my life.  She increases my bliss each and every day.  She's an imp and full of playfulness and reminds me that Life is Joy. As the late great Charles Schulz said, "Happiness is a Warm Puppy."

Now, I'm having a senior moment and cannot think of any of the other things I wanted to blog about so I shall call this one Fini!

As far as allegiances go, do you think that we should ally ourselves with the more civil, educated Islamists (Iran, Turkey) to fight against secular humanism and socialism? Should we simply nuke the Islamists, but deal with the Democrats on our own? Should we ally ourselves with the Greens, the Libertarians, and the Constitution Parties to wipe the Democrat party off the ballots, while leaving Islamism to fester uninhibited temporarily? Should we work to increase Israeli control over the Middle East, or should we take it for ourselves? Should we allow our corporations to deal with the Islamists, by forcing them to have economic ties with us? (Personally, assuming the last option can be intertwined with other options, I think that we have a lot to learn from Iran. For starters, I would advise you read up on Dinesh D' Souza and his articles about the culture war. One particular topic that I feel like we need to go into is abortion on demand, which makes us look foolish when there are other countries (not necessarily Iran, but Chile, for example) that are 100%, no exceptions, pro-life. We're going to have to go above and beyond many of their morals to make ourselves appealing to the rest of the world.)

I encourage discussion, but keep the whiny liberalism down, and don't be surprised if I don't respond to you immediately. Also, if you are a liberal, you had better be very careful with your slander. My wife is already trying to sue one of you (who will remain nameless) for slander against the Ixion household, and our family is currently very nervous about having to help Juan start to live on his own. Don't try her.

By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent

ST. PAUL (Reuters) - Republicans John McCain and Sarah Palin kicked off a two-month battle for the White House on Friday with a promise that "change is coming," a theme co-opted from their Democratic rivals.

McCain touted his credentials as a reformer and portrayed himself as the real agent of change in the race against Barack Obama as he accepted his party's presidential nomination in an arena filled with supporters waving blue "Country First" signs.

"I don't work for a party. I don't work for a special interest. I don't work for myself. I work for you," McCain said in a speech that included only passing criticisms of Obama after a four-day convention marked by scathing attacks on the Democrat.

"I've fought corruption, and it didn't matter if the culprits were Democrats or Republicans," McCain said as Palin, his new running mate, watched from the stands.

The reception for McCain's remarks was more muted than for Palin's fiery acceptance speech on Wednesday, which directed repeated barbs at Obama and drew roars from the crowd, energizing the party's conservative base.

McCain trails Obama slightly in most national opinion polls as they head into the November 4 presidential election, but he promised the Republican faithful he would win.

"And after we've won, we're going to reach out our hand to any willing patriot, make this government start working for you again, and get this country back on the road to prosperity and peace," McCain said.

McCain and Palin joined their families on stage after the speech as balloons and confetti drifted over the arena.

Read the rest:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080905/
pl_nm/usa_politics_friday_dc_1

Sarah Palin is green and I don't mean in a good way. She was the mayor of a small town before assuming the role of governor, the part she has only played for two years now.
If McCain, who is older than sin, does not finish his first term, then we are looking at President Palin to get us out of Iraq, keep us out of Iran, rejuvenate our economy and bring morale back to America.

I write this piece for those of you who are independents, undecided voters, or for those who are still waiting to hear the speeches to make up your minds. At this point in our history and in our country it comes down to this--who gets it. As Obama said it last night "Now, I don't believe that Senator McCain doesn't care what's going on in the lives of Americans; I just think he doesn't know." I can't agree more. And Sarah Palin doesn't get it either.

"[A]s for that V.P. talk all the time, I'll tell you, I still can't answer that question until somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the V.P. does every day?"

These are serious times and we need serious people. I suppose in a way this is about transitions. Transitioning back to the promise that is America

Susan Sarandon said she would leave America if McCain became the next president. This made me sad. Not just because I love her sappy acting but also because it made me think of also those who fight to come to America. I am thinking of refugees from countries like Somalia and Sudan. I am thinking of those who jump the border from Mexico, almost dying and risking never seeing their families. And I am also thinking of those young men and women in countries like India and China who study 16-20 hours a day so they can pass state exams, which will guarantee them a seat in a good college and eventually bring them to the U.S.

Are their struggles in vain, when someone like Susan Sarandon can so carelessly say she will just move to Canada or Italy. Poof and she is gone. I have been reading the papers and the blogs and people seem upset that she and other stars have said things like this before and never kept their promise. To me what is more upsetting is that amidst this manufactured war between Republicans and Democrats in the name of elections and politics, we have given the American people an exit strategy but not the war in Iraq.

First, intentions vs. capabilities.  I think Gause is right about what Maliki is trying to do.  Whether he is able to do so is an entirely different question.   Maliki's aggressiveness conceals his precarious political position. State institutions remain rickety, corrupt, and inefficient.  His ruling coalition is shaky, despite the return of the IAF to his government, and even the core alliance with the Kurds has come under pressure over Kirkuk (i.e. Barzani's denunciation of the authoritarianism in Baghdad).   His aggressive moves generally seem designed more for show than for substance - telegraphing the military campaigns well in advance to give potential combatants time to leave;  calling on refugees to come home and even offering them free rides but making no efforts to actually resettle or integrate them back into a changed Iraq;  and so on.  Now, perceptions matter quite a lot, an argument I made all the way back at the end of the Basra campaign.  But they are not everything, and Maliki likely understands that he risks running off the tracks at the point when a powerful actor refuses to blink (as with the Kurds and the provincial elections law).

By LOLITA C. BALDOR and ROBERT BURNS, Associated Press Writers 

WASHINGTON - President Bush's top defense advisers have recommended he maintain 15 combat brigades in Iraq until the end of the year contrary to expectations that the improved security in Iraq would allow for quicker cuts, The Associated Press has learned.

Military leaders told the AP that the closely held plan would send a small Marine contingent to Afghanistan in November to replace one of two Marine units expected to head home then.

 
A U.S. Army soldier stands guard, during a joint Iraqi police and U.S. military operation searching for wanted suspects from the Mahdi Army militia, in the Fudailya area next to Sadr City, in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Aug. 29, 2008.(AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

If Bush follows the recommendations, he would delay any additional buildup in Afghanistan until early next year, when another brigade would be deployed there instead of to Iraq.

That move would cut the number of brigades in Iraq to 14 in February.

The plan is aimed at taking advantage of security gains in Iraq to bolster the military effort in Afghanistan, where violence is on the rise. Several senior military and defense officials described the recommendations on condition of anonymity because the plan has not been made public.

They also acknowledged the plan is a compromise since Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, argued to maintain the current force levels in Iraq — about 146,000 troops, including 15 combat brigades and thousands of support forces — through June.

Bush is weighing the recommendations; in the past, he has largely accepted the military's advice. If he adopts them, it would be left to the next president to execute further troop reductions in Iraq and a greater buildup in Afghanistan. Bush's term ends in January.

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has advocated pulling all U.S. combat forces out of Iraqi within 16 months of taking office. GOP nominee John McCain has said he would rely on the advice of U.S. military commanders to determine the timing and pace of troop reductions. Both candidates have said more troops are needed in Afghanistan.

Read the rest:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080905/ap_
on_go_ca_st_pe/us_iraq;_ylt=ApLPr2nD
TVInMO8KmJbxIQys0NUE

By DAVID ESPO and ROBERT FURLOW, Associated Press Writers

ST. PAUL, Minn. - John McCain, a POW turned political rebel, vowed Thursday night to vanquish the "constant partisan rancor" that grips Washington as he launched his fall campaign for the White House. "Change is coming," he promised the roaring Republican National Convention and a prime-time television audience.

"Fight with me. Fight with me. Fight with me. Fight for what's right for our country," he urged in a convention crescendo.

Video of McCain Speech:
http://www.strmz.com/Channel2855?link=
http://youtube.com/?v=jqqj2UN_leI

To repeated cheers from his delegates, McCain made only passing reference to an unpopular George W. Bush and criticized fellow Republicans as well as Democratic rival Barack Obama in reaching out to independents and swing voters who will pick the next president.

"We were elected to change Washington, and we let Washington change us," he said of the Republicans who controlled Congress for a dozen years before they were voted out of office in 2006.

As for Obama, he said, "I will keep taxes low and cut them where I can. My opponent will raise them. I will cut government spending. He will increase it."

 

McCain's wife, Cindy, and ticketmate Sarah Palin and her husband joined him on stage as tens of thousands red, white and blue balloons cascaded from high above the convention floor.

Unlike Obama's speech a week ago, McCain offered no soaring oratory until his speech-ending summons to fight for the country's future. And he seemed to receive a milder audience response than Palin had a night earlier, as well.

But his own measured style left the hall in cheers, and as is his habit in campaign stops around the country, he stepped off the stage to plunge into the crowd after his speech. Palin joined him, embraced by the jubilant throng.

McCain touched only briefly on the Iraq war — a conflict that Obama has vowed to end. "I fought for the right strategy and more troops in Iraq, when it wasn't a popular thing to do," the Republican said, adding that in the months since, the long-suffering nation had been spared from defeat. McCain's appearance was the climax of the final night of the party convention, coming after delegates made Palin the first female vice presidential nominee in Republican history.

"She stands up for what's right and she doesn't let anyone tell her to sit down," McCain said of the woman who has faced intense scrutiny in the week since she was picked.

 
Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain accepts the 2008 Republican presidential nomination as he speaks to the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota September 4, 2008.(Brian Snyder/Reuters)

"And let me offer an advance warning to the old, big-spending, do-nothing, me-first, country-second Washington crowd: Change is coming," McCain declared.

McCain and Palin were departing their convention city immediately after the Arizona senator's acceptance speech, bound for Wisconsin and an early start on the final weeks of the White House campaign.

McCain, at 72 bidding to become the oldest first-term president, drew a roar from the convention crowd when he walked out onto the stage lighted by a single spotlight. He was introduced by a video that dwelt heavily on his time spent as a prisoner of war in Vietnam and as a member of Congress, hailed for a "faithful unyielding love for America, country first."

"USA, USA, USA," chanted the crowd in the hall.
 

McCain faced a delicate assignment as he formally accepted his party's presidential nomination: presenting his credentials as a reformer willing to take on his own party and stressing his independence from an unpopular President Bush — all without breaking faith with his Republican base.

He set about it methodically.

"After we've won, we're going to reach out our hand to any willing patriot, make this government start working for you again," he said, and he pledged to invite Democrats and independents to serve in his administration.

He mentioned Bush only in passing, as the leader who led the country through the days after the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

And there was plenty for conservative Republicans to cheer — from his pledge to free the country from the grip of its dependence on foreign oil, to a vow to have schools answer to parents and students rather than "unions and entrenched bureaucrats."

A man who has clashed repeatedly with Republicans in Congress, he said proudly, "I've been called a maverick. Sometimes it's meant as a compliment and sometimes it's not. What it really means is I understand who I work for.

"I don't work for a party. I don't work for a special interest. I don't work for myself. I work for you."

Thousands of red, white and blue balloons nestled in netting above the convention floor, to be released on cue for the traditional celebratory convention finale.

Given McCain's political mission, it was left to other Republicans to deliver much of the criticism aimed at Obama.

In the race for the White House, "It's not about building a record, it's about having one," said former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge. "It's not about talking pretty, it's about talking straight."

McCain invoked the five years he spent in a North Vietnamese prison. "I fell in love with my country when I was a prisoner in someone else's," he said. "I was never the same again. I wasn't my own man anymore. I was my country's."

The last night of the McCain-Palin convention also marked the end of an intensive stretch of politics with the potential to reshape the race for the White House. Democrats held their own convention last week in Denver, nominating Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden as running mate for Obama, whose own acceptance speech drew an estimated 84,000 partisans to an outdoor football stadium.

The polls indicate a close race between McCain and Obama, at 47 a generation younger than his Republican opponent, with the outcome likely to be decided in scattered swing states in the industrial Midwest and the Southwest.

Ahead lie the traditional major checkpoints — presidential and vice presidential debates, millions of dollars in ads — but also the unscripted, spontaneous moments that can take on outsized importance in the race to pick a president.

Before he spoke Thursday night, Cindy McCain recommended her husband to the crowd — and the nation. "If Americans want straight talk and the plain truth they should take a good close look at John McCain, a man tested and true who's never wavered in his devotion to our country," she said. She called him "a man who's served in Washington without ever becoming a Washington insider."

 
NASCAR team owner and former head coach of the NFL Washington Redskins Joe Gibbs speaks at the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, September 4, 2008.(Mike Segar/Reuters)

Read the rest:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/2008
0905/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_convention
_rdp;_ylt=AhJh2vn.zJj7S2iuoIRJCUqs0NUE

Why is the prime minister doing this? Is "the puppet breaking his strings", as one Arab newspaper put it? Or is the more appropriate metaphor "dropping the mask"? Those who knew Maliki in exile in Syria during Saddam Hussein's time now recall that he opposed the US-led invasion. His Daawa party did not attend the eve-of-invasion conference of US- and UK-supported exiles in London, and he opposed the party's decision six months later to join the hand-picked "governing council" set up by the first occupation overlord, Paul Bremer.

Maliki's new line has discomforted the Americans. Some officials put on a brave face, saying it is a sign of Iraqi confidence in their own sovereignty, a development that, of course, they support as proof that the Bush administration's strategy of rebuilding a proud country is succeeding. Others say it reflects overconfidence, even hubris, as Iraq is a long way from being able to survive without US military protection.

Either way, playing the nationalist card has huge potential consequences in Iraq. With provincial and parliamentary elections expected next year, it will sharpen the struggle for dominance in the Shia community. It is designed to undercut the appeal of the radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, a consistent opponent of the occupation who is re-profiling his movement on the lines of Lebanon's Hizbullah. Its Mahdi army militia will be slimmed into a group of experienced resistance fighters, kept in reserve for action against US troops rather than to fight Iraqi Sunnis, while the rest of the movement goes into communal politics.

The Bush administration has conducted an extensive spying operation on Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, his staff and others in the Iraqi government, according to a new book by Washington Post associate editor Bob Woodward.

"We know everything he says," according to one of multiple sources Woodward cites about the practice in "The War Within: A Secret White House History, 2006-2008," scheduled for release Monday.

The book also says that the U.S. troop "surge" of 2007, in which President Bush sent nearly 30,000 additional U.S. combat forces and support troops to Iraq, was not the primary factor behind the steep drop in violence there during the past 16 months.

Rather, Woodward reports, "groundbreaking" new covert techniques, beginning in 2007, enabled U.S. military and intelligence officials to locate, target and kill insurgent leaders and key individuals in extremist groups such as al-Qaeda in Iraq.

John McCain is a lot smarter than we thought.  He has answered the call and made the wise choice in picking Alaska's Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate.  It is obvious from watching the Palin's acceptance speech, she is the kind of real change we need in Washington.  She understands the plight of all of us in Middle America, but, more importantly, she understands that our very way of life is threatened by radical Islam. 

Warning

.

This video may contain images depicting the reality and horror of war/violence and should only be viewed by a mature audience.

linktv

Headlines coming soon!

[vodpod id=Groupvideo.1533945&w=425&h=350&fv=%26rel%3D0%26border%3D0%26]

This quote comes from the article linked above. I agree with this statement regarding Church and State.
"Rob Boston, a spokesman for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, lamented Palin's comments.

'I miss the days when pastors delivered sermons and politicians delivered political speeches," he said. "The United States is increasingly diverse religiously. The job of a president is to unify all those different people and bring them together around policy goals, not to act as a kind of national pastor and bring people to God.'"

Oh, not the old dude kowtowing to the base of his party while calling that being a "Maverick." That speech was a snoozefest. The old coot can't give a speech to save his life. Move over John, and let Sarah take over. She rocks! No, the American hero I'm talking about is Barack Obama. Tonight he crash-landed behind enemy lines: FOX's The O'Reilly Factor. It was quite the display of heroism and love of country.  O'Reilly may have busted his balls, but he couldn't break his will. It is clearly the most substantive interrogation of this election. Nicely done, Mr. O'Reilly. If Obama can face down you, he can easily handle Iran.

Seriously, though, was that Benny Hinn introducing him around a little over halfway through?  Hmmm.  Not sure the Hinn-Hagee connection bodes well.  And the whole new "Country First" slogan is a little too reminiscent of Deutschland Über Alles for my comfort.

Brokaw admits McCain can't touch Obama from last week, or Palin from last night.  I agree, and this was the consensus at work, among a pool of pretty rabid Republicans [sic].

Finally, the Crypt Keeper comes out.  A rock star he's not.  Maybe he should've been partying with Keith Richards instead of ...whatever it was he has been doing the last several decades.

Palin again with the Israeli flag lapel pin... what gives?

Okay, is it just me, or was the delivery of the "I just can't wait to introduce her [Palin] to Washington" line just a little creepy, in a Chester the Molester kind of way?

Johnny Windsock is going on about knowing who he works for; does that include Charles Keating, and his modern moral equivalents?  And the cost of living crap:  how can someone who is not even aware of how many houses he owns credibly claim to "know what it feels like" to have food costs skyrocketing?  (And leave aside the fact that he self-admittedly has no idea how the economy works)

He's going on about the "Contract on America" and the Reagan Revolution, and how the Republicans [sic] have lost their way in DC.  He conveniently leaves out the part about his complicity in every misstep along the way.  The guy that opposed each iteration of the Bush tax cuts is going on about lowering taxes... how, exactly, does that work?

What is this? Kindergarten?

McCain: blah, blah, blah Obama

Crowd: Boo!

McCain: Yadda, yadda, yadda Obama

Crowd: Boo!

McCain: Easily disprovable lie about how he -- and the government -- are the answer to all our country's problems

Crowd: (ecstatic applause)

Here's an idea:  stop new government programs, end existing governmental meddling, and strongly encourage self-reliance?

Ugh. Vouchers.  (Wild applause)

Ouch!  Slam on unions, and Mr Palin is in the audience.  How's that gonna work?

Privatizing (rather than abolishing) Social Security has to be coming soon...

Wha???  Ron Paul's platform worked its way into Windbag's agenda?  End $700 billion in foreign aid?  I must've heard that wrong.  Of course, he's talking about just the "bad" guys, not all foreign aid.

Lies upon lies about how many and what quality of jobs he'll create, and how few and how bad Obama's jobs would be.  As if the market has no power to do anything without direct government oversight.  Sheesh!

Georgia.  Georgia, Georgia, Georgia.  He pretends to have a balanced view of foreign policy, and doesn't disclose his deep attachments to other global players.  Feh.  Politicians.

Expounding his international relations experience.  What this really is, is veiled threats of untold wars.  And he tries to cover by claiming "the good of the country" and "I hate war."  It's a wonder the earth doesn't swallow him up for telling such whoppers.

"I'll change things in Washington."  Why would someone who's been a DC insider for three decades and has a vested interest in the status quo want to change anything?  And why do these shills believe him?

Again, with the POW.  Does his record only have one track?

"I'm a uniter, not a divider."  Where have I heard this before?

Wow... did you know Ol' Windsock was a POW?

Okay, I understand it was nightmarishly difficult.  I understand being in a VC prison camp and being tortured was a horror to live through.  But to take that experience and use it as a gimmick to spend a lifetime in service of himself and the unitary power of the state, it just defies reason...  the state is not the people, and the government is not the nation!

I was never the same again.  I was not my own man anymore, I was my country's.

Is this a tacit confession that he is bought and paid for?  Or I again reading something Machiavellian into this?

And the close... I;m better than Obama... I know you can;t tell if you look... nationalism, fascism, corporatism... and a sprinkling of hard-to-buy populism.  Cue balloons.  I said, cue balloons.  Cue balloons NOW! CUE THE FU-- okay, that's better.

And I am finally, totally, completely and perhaps irrevocably offended now.  Playing Heart over the end of McSame's convention speech?  Barracuda, even?  Okay, so now they've gone and completely ruined the '80s for me.

Jerks.

    And they Still haven't spoken about the Economy. Or the Mortgage crisis.  Not yet anyway.  I am currently watching a video that they have playing.  Let's see what Captain McCain says....

      What would he be without his status of P.O.W.?  What would he have said without it?  It was, so it seemed half of his speech.  He did touch On economy and the mortgage crisis, but only in passing.  He mentioned George Bush, which surprised me, and he mentioned it like he was a friend.  He was really strong at the end of his speech, exhorting the crowd to "Fight With Me"  Fight for what's right!

    All in all, not a bad speech, as far as feel goes, which is what I was expecting, and I am fairly sure everyone else was too.  This speech was woefully short on specifics.  He was less than great speaking, but again that is nothing  we weren't expecting.  He pounded his talking points hard. 

     He attacked Obama on several occasions, but nothing that had much weight or heft to it.  Nothing that hasn't already been completely disproven in several places. 

     He spoke about bipartisanship. He spoke about reaching across the aisle to help fix Washington.  He spoke about love of Country and a cause larger than himself.  He blamed Republicans in part for the wrongs in Washington, said that Republicans had fallen in love with Big government and gotten away from what the party was about.  This AFTER he spoke about George Bush like he was his friend.  Talk about Mixed messages.

   I have to tell you, It was a pretty speech, filled with all the right words.  The only problem for me is that all the right words, and the prettiest speech on earth won't wash away the taste of the mismanagement of the Bush Administration and the Republicans at it's head, which included John McCain. 

     He spoke at length about the Iraq war, and about how the Surge was the right thing to do, while neatly ignoring that the war itself was wrong, fought on false pretenses. 

    I did not hear anything from John McCain that would lead me to believe that he will be all that different than George W. Bush.  Nothing.  We heard promises from Dubya as well.  How well did that turn out?

    Not well at all. 

     A video of a Protester from Vote Pink, at the Republican National Convention during McCain's Speech. 

       That's it for me.  Later.

Today's Nuggets, By Thomas Paine, Via Wikiquote:  An avidity to punish is always dangerous to liberty. It leads men to stretch, to misinterpret, and to misapply even the best of laws. He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.

It is impossible to calculate the moral mischief, if I may so express it, that mental lying has produced in society. When a man has so far corrupted and prostituted the chastity of his mind, as to subscribe his professional belief to things he does not believe, he has prepared himself for the commission of every other crime.

I don't try to be actively political on this blog because frankly that's not why it's here, but I read this and while I've been trying to ignore it, it keeps coming back up, not unlike experiences I've had with undercooked fish.

I love the hypocrisy here. With all the talk surrounding Islamic extremists and their 'holy war', yet we have a potential Vice President saying that our war in Iraq is, almost literally, the exact same thing?

And how's this for hypocrisy: McCain has been blasting Obama for months as being a candidate with with weapons-grade charisma but very little substance -- and Palin is his VP choice? I'll be the first to admit she's charismatic and engaging, but.  .  . really? All their talk about substance and experience and they pull Palin out like some kind of trump card because she's a good speaker, young and easy and the eyes, etc. ?

The RNC delegates, post-Palin speech, said she was the 'quintessential American'. The audacity of this kind of political masturbation almost has me getting off by proxy.  If this is true, can someone remind me how much it costs for a passport?

Keep pushing that 'maverick' image, McCain, maybe eventually people will start forgetting that you voted with Bush's policy more than 90 (N I N E T Y) percent of the time.

Back to the headline: You. Can't. Say. Shit. Like. This. You can't. If you're a preacher and you want to say that feeding the poor with a soup kitchen next Wednesday night is 'a task from God', you can, because you're not exactly stepping on anyone's toes with it. All the power to you. I don't care if you're going to feed them because you have some make-believe parent figure wagging his finger at you from 2000 years ago -- you're doing good work. I'd rather you do it because it's, you know, the right thing to do, but that's a whole other blog post.

The point is, when it comes to spending absolutely stunning amounts of money that could be used on OUR infrastructure, advances in alternative fuels, health care, education...when it comes to killing thousands of troops that to some extent represent the most intelligent and ambitious youth America has to offer, when it comes to destroying our global image (which does matter, because we weren't always and won't always be the biggest kid on the block, and eventually we're going to push our luck and someone will remind us), then you better have something better than 'We're on a task from God.'

No. We're in a clusterfuck from Bush, and that old dude that just pulled you from the frozen tundra of obscurity voted with that moron more than 90% of the time.