Happiest of Birthdays B’Man!!!

bman-bd

audio above [maybe...lol]

Well– you are a man of quiet announcements when you want to be! lol… Have a happy!

Catagory 5 by U.S. Landfall

more about “BBC NEWS | Americas | Mayor orders Gu…“, posted with vodpod

New Orleanians told to flee storm

Mayor Ray Nagin used emotive language to announce the evacuation
The mayor of New Orleans has issued a mandatory evacuation order for the entire city, as Hurricane Gustav bears down on the US Gulf Coast.
Ray Nagin said residents of the city’s West Bank should begin moving out at 0800 (1300 GMT) on Sunday, with the East Bank leaving at midday (1700 GMT).
He called it “the storm of the century” and added: “You need to be scared”.
Gustav, which is forecast to strengthen to a Category 5 storm over the Gulf, powered through western Cuba overnight.

Anyone who’s thinking of staying – rethink it, get out of town
Ray Nagin
New Orleans mayor

Gustav ploughed through Cuba’s Isla de la Juventud, or Isle of Youth, overnight on Saturday before hitting the mainland in Pinar del Rio province, home to Cuba’s lucrative tobacco plantations.
The storm, which has now moved into the Gulf of Mexico, currently has maximum sustained winds of nearly 240km/h (150mph), with even stronger gusts.
At least 300,000 people have been evacuated in Cuba, says the BBC’s correspondent there, Michael Voss. There has been extensive flooding and reports of severe damage where the storm has hit, but no reports of fatalities.  Officials on Isla de la Juventud said that nearly all the island’s roads were washed out and many areas were underwater.
No help !! That’s the message to those that stay, Hours before Mr Nagin spoke, a hurricane watch was put in place along America’s North Gulf coast, from Texas along to the Alabama-Florida border.
The BBC’s Kevin Connolly, in New Orleans, says Mr Nagin spoke in “passionate and desperate” terms, telling a televised news conference the storm was “so powerful” and growing more powerful every day.
“I’m not sure we’ve seen anything like it,” he told reporters at City Hall.
Mr Nagin said Gustav – expected to make landfall on Monday or Tuesday – was more powerful than Hurricane Katrina.
That storm, which hit New Orleans in 2005, killed some 1,800 people and caused hundreds of billions of dollars worth of damage.
Addressing anyone considering riding out Gustav, Mr Nagin said: “I have news for you – that would be one of the biggest mistakes of your life”.
The mayor said he was aiming for a 100% evacuation, which extends to members of the emergency services – fewer than 50 city workers will remain in the city.
Mr Nagin described the threat facing New Orleans in stark terms, calling Gustav “the mother of all storms” and urging people to follow the evacuation order.
Mr Nagin said that there would be no emergency services to help anyone who chose to remain in the city.
“If you are stubborn enough, if you are not taking this as seriously as we need you to take it, and if you decide to stay; you are on your own.”
The mayor, who was in office when New Orleans was hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, said those who stayed would almost certainly be stranded in a flooded city.
“Anyone who decides to stay, I’ll say it like I said it before Katrina: make sure you have an axe, because you will be carving your way, or busting your way out of your attic to get on your roof with waters that you will be surrounded with in this event,” he said.
“So anyone who’s thinking of staying, rethink it, get out of town.”
Our correspondent says that thousands of people were already beginning to leave the city before the evacuation order was announced, joining a continuous stream of vehicles heading north.
State governor of Louisiana Bobby Jindal was in New Orleans to observe the evacuation taking place.
“We’re pleased to see so many people taking the evacuation order seriously, you’re literally seeing tens of thousands of people being evacuated from this Union passenger station right here.
“You’re seeing people go by bus, by train, they are being taken by bus to the airport to be flown out of harms way as well. We can fly 700 people per hour out.”
Meanwhile, Republican party presidential candidate John McCain and his running mate Sarah Palin announced they would travel to Mississippi on Sunday to observe storm preparations there.
Republican officials are considering what to do about the party’s National Convention (due to open on Monday) depending on when and where the storm hits.
Mr McCain hinted there might be changes to the tone of the gathering, rather than a cancellation of the event.
He told Fox News: “You know it just wouldn’t be appropriate to have a festive occasion while a near tragedy or a terrible challenge is presented in the form of a natural disaster, so we’re monitoring it from day to day and I’m saying a few prayers, too.”
The hurricane has already claimed the lives of more than 80 people in the Caribbean.
It has swept through Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica over the past week, causing widespread damage.
It has strengthened rapidly from a tropical storm to a Category 4 hurricane, and is expected to grow to a Category 5 storm – the maximum on the scale – as it crosses the Gulf of Mexico.

Trickle-Down Madness! The World is INSANE!

Beheaded Man Identified
Gabrielle Giroday and Ian Hitchen ,  Winnipeg Free Press and Brandon Sun
Published: Thursday, July 31, 2008
BRANDON, Man. – Screaming passengers fled in terror from a Greyhound bus as an unidentified fellow passenger suddenly stabbed a man sleeping next to him, decapitated him and waved the severed head at horrified witnesses standing outside.
The apparently unprovoked assault left 36 men, women and children stranded Wednesday night on the shoulder of the darkening Trans-Canada Highway near Portage la Prairie, Man., about 85 kilometres west of Winnipeg, watching while the bus driver and a driver of a nearby truck shut the crazed attacker inside the bus with the mangled victim.
A number of tribute groups on the social networking website Facebook identified the victim as 22-year-old Tim McLean.

At a news conference Thursday afternoon, RCMP confirmed they have a suspect – who is not believed to be from Manitoba – in custody, but offered few new details about this baffling homicide. The suspect is expected to be formally charged Friday.
“By the time the police arrived, the driver and the remaining passengers had all safely exited the bus,” said Sgt. Steve Colwell.
He said officers could see the man walking around inside the bus, but said he refused to exit. The standoff lasted for hours.
“At 1:28 a.m., the suspect . . . attempted to jump out of the bus after breaking a window. He was immediately subdued and arrested without incident and is currently in RCMP custody,” Colwell said.
The suspect’s name has not been released.
“He didn’t do anything to provoke the guy. The guy just took a knife out and stabbed him, started stabbing him like crazy and cut his head off,” said Garnet Caton, 26, a passenger on the Edmonton-to-Winnipeg bus.
“Some people were puking, some people were crying, other people were in shock. . . . Everybody was running, screaming off the bus.”
Caton said the attacker was only on the bus for a brief time, after boarding in western Manitoba.
Passenger Cody Olmstead said he had been watching a movie on the bus just before the attack began.
“We were watching Zorro; next thing I know, I hear someone screaming.”
Olmstead, 21, told reporters he had smoked a cigarette earlier in the trip with the victim, who got on the bus in Edmonton.
He said the victim said he was going to Winnipeg.
After the bus pulled over and the terrified passengers fled, Olmstead said the attacker was taunting those outside with the victim’s severed head.
“He came back, standing in the doorway with the head, looked at him, dropped the head and went back and started cutting buddy back up.”
He said when police showed up, the taunting continued.
“He come up and picks the head up and he’s waving it in the window. I just smoked a cigarette with this man earlier – like, the head. He’s shaking it back and forth in the window.”
Caton said he and other passengers prevented the attacker from getting off the blood-soaked bus by threatening him with makeshift weapons – a hammer and a crowbar.
“We were telling him, ‘Stay put, stay put, stay there, don’t try to come out.’ He tried to get the bus working and the bus driver disabled the bus somehow in the back. I’m not sure how he did it, and at that point, I think the police showed up,” he said, adding officers rushed them away.
Caton and other passengers said the attacker and his victim, who was listening to music on headphones, were sitting together at the rear of the bus, and the attack appeared to be unprovoked; no words were exchanged.
He told a TV station the attacker had actually changed seats to sit next to his victim just before the killing.
Caton described the man who attacked the passenger as bald and wearing sunglasses. He seemed oblivious to others when the stabbing occurred, said Caton, adding he was struck by how calm the man was.
“There was no rage or anything. He was like a robot, stabbing the guy,” he said.
Caton said the victim boarded in Edmonton, was wearing hip-hop clothing and appeared to be around 20 years of age.
After the killing, the other passengers were later taken to Brandon, Man., to be interviewed by police and to stay overnight at a hotel there.
Crisis counsellors were also at the hotel to provide support to the passengers, and counsellors could be seen chatting with them outside the hotel as groups went out to local stores for snacks or to smoke cigarettes.
One small boy, who was with an adult man and woman, was given a plush teddy bear by a crisis health worker.
“The first thing I heard was something like a terrible type (of) yowl, and that was from the guy who got stabbed,” said an elderly woman on the bus, from Winnipeg.
The woman and her adult daughter said they were three or four rows in front of the man when the attack began.
“(My daughter said) ‘Oh my God,’ and everybody else started screaming,” she said. “They had terror in their eyes.”
Two other passengers on the bus, a 22-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman from France, said they were heading to Winnipeg after visiting the woman’s father in Whitehorse. The 22-year-old man said in French that he saw a man holding a long knife repeatedly stab another passenger. He and his girlfriend said they were shocked by the attack, and the isolation in the middle of the prairie when it occurred.
“There was nowhere to go,” she said.
Speaking in Quebec City, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said the issue of safety on buses may need to be examined more closely once the legal process of this case is over.
“We’re never closed to looking at how Canadians can be more safe and more secure,” Day told reporters in Quebec on Thursday. “This particular incident, as horrific as it is, is obviously extremely rare.”
Greyhound spokesman Eric Wesley, speaking from Texas, said drivers are trained to get help as soon as they can when incidents occur.
“This is very rare, unique occurrence. Bus transportation is one of the safest modes of transportation. This is highly unique that something like this happened,” he said. “Our drivers are trained to provide the safest travel for all our passengers, and every time an incident occurs, they know to pull the bus over and call 911.”
Wesley said counselling will be provided and monetary compensation will be determined on an individual basis.
“We are going to do whatever we need to provide the passengers with counselling or any other measures to make sure they’re taken care of.”

Follow up to Bristol Palin Pregnancy Rumor

B’Man: My friend the Blog Queen at Sagacious Rambling is a nurse and she has noticed something about Gov Palin that I did not put together immediately. I know she is somewhat hot, but at 44 and her 5th child, something seems amiss about Trig. The Blog Queen points out what I overlooked and added this pic (and has an excellent video of an 8 month pregnant Governor that shows no buns in ovens):

Rumors are circulating online like wildfire about whether Governor Sarah Palin is young Trig’s, supposedly her 5th child, mother at all.

According to comments from classmates and other members of the community Bristol Palin, the governor’s 16 year old daughter was out of school during what would have been the last trimester of the governor’s pregnany due to a bad case of mono. A case so severe, according to the Palin family, Bristol missed nearly 5 months of school. Her own staff had their doubts back in March.

The story is that Sarah Palin’s water broke while she was attending a conference in Texas. She then proceeded to give a 30-minute speech before taking an 11-12 hour flight home to Alaska to give birth.

Now here’s where my nursing experience and judgment come in. This was alleged to have been Gov. Palin’s 5th pregnancy. It has been my experience that the more pregnancies a woman has….the quicker the labor progresses. And in the event that there is a spontaneous rupture of membrane (water breaking), there isn’t a very long window of time before the eagerly anticipated bundle of joy makes his debut to the world. More importantly, once a pregnant woman’s water breaks she needs to seek medical attention immediately as not doing so can predispose mother and child to sepsis – a serious systemic infection. In other words, this doesn’t add up.

It is difficult for me to believe Governor Palin was able to complete a speech, board a plane for a 12 hour flight and then get to the hospital in time to deliver Trig. Although it’s a bit far-fetched…but let’s just consider her story is true. Governor Palin knew Trig was going to have problems. Why didn’t she alert her staff immediately and seek treatment at the nearest hospital? What if there’d been complications?

So, what is really happening here? Is this a mother who was simply trying to protect the image of her family or was this a deceptive politician using this falsehood to bolster her career and win admiration for claiming the child as her own and choosing not to terminate the pregnancy knowing the child would have Down’s Syndrome? Does this type of behavior mean she won’t be a great asset to our country’s government?

True or false…don’t know that the real story will ever be revealed. But it’s certainly strange that all photos on the Alaska State Department’s official website that show Sarah Palin and her family have been taken down.

Obama, Carter, Israel

August 30, 2008 www.votenader.org www.officialnaderstore.com

Obama is such a man of principle. Take Israel/Palestine as an example. Tradition has it that former presidents get a speaking slot at the national conventions. Not at Obama’s convention. Not in Denver. President Jimmy Carter was scheduled to speak at the DNC in Denver. And then, at the last minute, his speech was cancelled. Why? Because Carter has spoken out about the plight of the Palestinian people? Because Carter has written a book with the descriptive title: Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid? Because Obama didn’t want to offend the militarist American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)? Apparently yes, according to this article from the Jewish Daily Forward. Denying Carter a speaking slot at the DNC “shows the party gets it and Barack Obama’s campaign gets it,” according to one Democratic party activist. Well, we get it too. While Obama and McCain take the hardline AIPAC militarist line. Nader/Gonzalez will stand with the millions of Americans, Israelis and Palestinians who want peace, with justice for all. Stand with us now. Stand with a candidacy that will be on 45 ballots, that is bumping up against ten percent in key swing state polls, and that will push hard over the next two months to make it a viable three way race. Help us reach our goal of $100,000 by September 4th. We’re about a third of the way home. But we need to push hard this Labor Day weekend to make it. Give whatever you can — $10, $20, $50, $100 — for the peace candidacy. And remember, if you give $100 or more now, we’ll send you three DVDs — the Denver rally, the Minneapolis rally, and a special debate DVD. (Three DVD offer ends September 4 at 11:59 p.m.) Onward to November The Nader Team

A Mississippian Goes To The DNC… Guess What Happened?

B’Man: I have to admit that I am a fan of young Jeff Walter’s writing (down at CottonMouth), even though we come to a different conclusion who to support as president. Such is the way with the two party brainwashing that happened to America many years ago, but that is besides the point of this post.

I have been following the Police State in America and wanted to show you how a Mississippi boy experiences the DNC (and he is a delegate). Jeff writes it off as a loss for him, but what he doesn’t realize is that the entire bullshit show he has gone to see is pretty much represented by his first day’s activities. It may not get much better than his first day (even tho I do hope he improves his situation).

But what Jeff doesn’t really grasp is that he just witnessed the Police State in action. There are videos galore of cops attacking protesters (and I put a video up this morning where they arrested an ABC guy for what is apparently bullshit reasons).

Jeff (and everyone at CottonMouth): please understand what you are supporting by supporting that party. You are continuing the same old stuff… the same old military and corporate expansion of the American Empire and at the same time, supporting the Police State activities that Jeff witnessed first hand, but didn’t have the understanding to call it what it was.

I know there are some accolades and press from your venture, but in my opinion, you have ended up on the wrong side of what America needs. But in the case I am discussing there are more than 2 sides. I wish you could fully grasp this.

DNC Day 1 Report: Denver 1 – Jeff Walters 0

It was tough day for the home team here at Cotton Mouth. The day started for me at 6:00AM with the realization that I had lost my debit card the night before. My ride was to pick me up at 6:30 to take me to the airport for my 9:00 flight. I frantically had to make sure my room which was booked on the lost card would not be cancelled by my subsequent cancellation of the lost card.

For money, I had to write an enormous check to a friend of mine who went the extra mile that only a true friend would do, and spent a good hour of his work day attempting to, and finally succeeding to wire me some cash. I had to handle all of this from the Jackson and Houston airport terminals while still trying to make my flights on time with my stuff intact.

My stress level was pretty high to say the least. Finally I received word from the Hotel in Denver that as long as I paid cash up front, I would not have to put down a credit card. This was my first of a couple of victories today, stacked against a ton of losses.

I arrived in Denver around 1:30 local time. It took another 45 minutes for my shuttle to show up to take to the hotel. I had to stop at a Safeway to pick up my Western Union. The only problem was, was that they did not have enough cash to fill my transfer. I then had to call the shuttle again this time to take me to a Wal Mart who presumable had the money. The bank inside of the Wal Mart was able to do it for at 3:58 local time. The bank closed at 4:00. That was the second and last of my victories today.

Finally with cash in hand I was able to check in. The computers at my hotel were down when I arrived, and it took the nice lady at least 30 minutes to check me in. I quickly cleaned up and prepared to headed downstairs to find my way downtown. There was a free shuttle that would take you to the convention as long were credentialed. The only problem there was my credentials were downtown. This was a classic case of chicken or the egg. Without my credentials the was no shuttle for me, so I caught a ride with the hotel to the bus stop.

The bus I needed to be on to get downtown pulled away from the gate as we turned in. I had to wait another 30 minutes for the next bus. By this time it was 6:00 local time. It was supposed to be a 30 minute bus ride to downtown. Due to traffic, I did not arrive until 7:00 local time. Now I had to get my credentials. I was told repeatedly that I needed to go the Sheraton on Court street a few blocks down to pick up my credentials.

I made my way slowly through the crowd to the Sheraton. I was getting agitated because nobody could give me a straight answer on where to pick up my credentials. Finally I arrive, out of breath to the front door of the Sheraton. As I reached for the door, they slammed it in my face and locked it. Shouting through the glass a concierge yelled “We are under lock down, no one can come in or leave.”

Bewildered, I turned around and came to the realization I probably was not going to get in the convention tonight. About that time a group of 30 or 40 riot gear clad police trotted right by me. One of the police officers on the scene not dressed in riot gear told me that if he were me he would be moving along. I took his advice to heart and quickly started backtracking. I did not make it to the end of the Sheraton when another group of 30-40 riot gear clad police jogged right by me again.

Now I was really curious as to what was going on. I joined a group of 25 or so onlookers at the corner of the Sheraton and watched the riot police form a secure perimeter around the back side of the building. Before long they had their pepper spray dispensers pointed right at us and told us to get down the road or get sprayed. I don’t think I heard the end of this sentence.

Feeling defeated I found a little dive to get something to eat. Figuring my best bet was to call it day and recharge for a full day Tuesday, I headed back to the hotel. There I found other bloggers who informed me on where and when to pick up my credentials. As I lat down on the bed I chuckled to myself, Denver 1 Jeff Walters 0.

All Is Well At Last

Bruce Gagnon did it again at Organizing Notes.

I explained to a friend this morning that what happened last night was basically Obama showing the world that he is a fan of America’s Empire and has no purpose set to minimize the over-spending or any real means of bring respect back to America. he is missing the biggest issue facing us today and I don’t believe for a second that it is over-sight.

If you believe that our Military needs more, that we need to add anything, whatsoever, in funding or personnel, you haven’t a clue what is really driving the problems of this country.

Bruce lays it out perfectly for me. Read and understand:

I watched the Obama speech last night with three other people. Our consensus was that it was a corporate funded display of nationalism and militarism. One housemate remarked that Obama never once talked about our place in the world in a real and holistic way.

The first thing I noticed when Obama approached the podium was that he was wearing the controversial flag pin. Everyone in our small group kept asking, “What is that stage set supposed to be?” Throughout the speech this question kept emerging. I kept responding that it was designed by Hollywood with some purpose in mind, but I could not “pin” it down.

Obama started with the domestic issues. He mentioned in passing that he supported nuclear power and that everyone who does not have health care today (that would be me) would be getting “the same health care that Congress has.” I can see the long lines now at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington as those of us without health coverage stand at the locked doors saying, “Mr. Obama sent me.”

Obama went on to his foreign policy track and mentioned the obligatory opposition to the war in Iraq and then of course said that he had “Argued for more resources and troops to finish the fight” in Afghanistan. Finish the fight or expand the fight into Pakistan? Small detail – no need to worry.

Obama also said he would “Rebuild our military to meet future conflicts.” Just how much will that task cost us at a time when our nation is busted?

He took a rightward turn down the street called nationalism by declaring, “I got news for you John McCain, we all put America first. Our universities and culture are the envy of the world….We must always march ahead…..and never turn back.” Wild cheers, just what are those convention delegates and guests thinking?

I have a confession. Watching the cheering crowd, waving their flags, some crying as they listen to Obama, my mind flashes to Hitler’s famous speeches before flag waving and cheering hoards. There Hitler told the masses that they were god’s chosen people. They were destined to liberate the world to bring them peace and prosperity – or as it is explained these days – freedom. When you are an American it is hard to see this similarity but if you can allow yourself to emotionally detach then you see that despite a few cultural differences, the end result is the same misplaced nationalistic frenzy. How else can you explain that self described “liberals” would cheer the declaration that we are going to send more troops and more military hardware to Afghanistan knowing that just this past week the U.S. military had killed 90 civilians, 50 of them children? “Yes, give me more,” they seem to cry to Obama! No reflection allowed, this is a corporate coronation, and you my dear citizen, are a willing victim.

As Obama concluded, a country western song rang out over the stadium sound system with a chorus that went, “Only in America.” Yes, I thought, only in America would we find such a corporate funded extravaganza of lights, fireworks, paper streamers, music, flags, color, totally scripted and choreographed. Even the ties of Biden and Obama were planned – Obama with red tie and Biden with blue. Bridging the red state-blue state divide I am sure. Nothing left to chance.

At the end the families of the two conquering candidates came onto the stage for hugs, kisses, and waves and then they moved toward the back of the stage and entered the subtly lit doorway that had a vague familiarity. Then it dawned on me.

The stage set was designed to remind one of the White House – the huge stone pillars of power on each end and in the center what appeared to be the Rose Garden where the president often holds news conferences. And after each news conference is over the president, and his guests, always move behind them to enter the French doors back into the halls of power.

The set was designed to emotionally connect us with the notion that Obama-Biden do indeed fit in the White House, and in our hearts and minds, are already there. They have attained the crest of the mountain. Peace and prosperity are restored in the land.

We can now return to life as normal. All is well at last.

Take A Crap… Lose Your Seat… The Hard Way

The Police State never ends, does it? I truly believe that down here (the deep south) that the police are much more attuned to hiring brawn over brains. Hire some big country asshole for hardly any money, who barely can spell his name and give him a gun and tell him how important and powerful he is… a recipe for disaster.

But it ain’t just the redneck rent-a-cops that act as if they have the brain the size of a hummingbird. Apparently, this is the recipe the entire country is cooking.

Jonathon Turley has another example of the Police State gone awry:

Potty Patriotism: Atheist Thrown Out of Yankee Stadium for Trying to Go to Bathroom During the Singing of God Bless America

A rather fluid first amendment controversy is brewing over police conduct at the Yankee stadium. Fan Brad Campeau-Laurion says that when he tried to go to the bathroom during the singing of “God Bless America,” he was roughed up a bit and then thrown out of the stadium. It appears that this has been a long complaint by fans over a sing-or-get-out policy by George Steinbrenner.

Campeau-Laurion recounts an encounter during the seventh inning stretch in the Yankees-Red Sox game. “God Bless America” was playing when nature called. An officer allegedly told him, however, that he could not leave even on such an urgent matter because he had to sing or at least listen to the song. When Campeau-Laurion said that he didn’t care about “God Bless America” right now, the officer allegedly twisted his arm behind him and eventually with the help of another officer tossed him out.

Here is his account:

As I attempted to walk down the aisle and exit my section into the tunnel, I was stopped by a police officer. He informed me that I had to wait until the song was over. I responded that I had to use the restroom and that I did not care about God Bless America.
“As soon as the latter came out of my mouth, my right arm was twisted violently behind my back and I was informed that I was being escorted out of the stadium. A second officer then joined in and twisted my left arm, also in an excessively forceful manner, behind my back. I informed them they were violating my First Amendment rights and that I had done nothing wrong, with no response from them.

“I was sitting in the Tier Level, and of course this is the highest level of the stadium and I was escorted in this painful manner down the entire length of the stadium. About halfway down, I informed them that they were hurting me, repeated that I had done nothing wrong, and that I was not resisting nor talking back to them. One of them said something to the effect that if I continued to speak, he would find a way to hurt me more.

“When we reached the exit of the stadium, they confiscated my ticket and the first officer shoved me through the turnstiles, saying ‘Get the hell out of my country if you don’t like it.’”

This would appear facially ridiculous except for the fact that others have apparently objected to the same policy and treatment. The subject is an atheist who, for obvious reasons, is not a fan of the song.

The New York Times wrote about the policy which Steinbrenner said was the result of citizens complaining that people were moving about during the singing of “God Bless America, here. The security guards are off-duty police officers.

Of course for an atheist at the limit of his bladder, singing about “To the oceans, white with foam” can be excruciating. It does present in interesting legal issue. While these are police officer, they are off-duty. This is, therefore, a private action and not governmental action under the first amendment. Without state action, the constitutional question is difficult to raise. There remains tort and statutory options, however.

For more on the story, click here.

Cindy McCain’s Half Sister: I’m Voting for Barack Obama

My friend, Blog Queen, at Sagacious Rambling has an interesting post up this morning explaining that US Magazine has an article with some very interesting news about Cindy McCain’s half sister voting for Obama:

Cindy McCain‘s half sister is planning on voting for Barack Obama, she tells Usmagazine.com.

“I’m not voting for McCain,” Kathleen Hensley Portalski tells Us. “I have a different political standpoint.

“I’m voting for Obama,” the Phoenix resident says. “I think his proposals to improve the country are more positive and I’m not a big war believer.”

Read more at UsMagazine.com….

That’s Not Change… It’s More Of The Same

Joe Biden kept saying this over and over last night and all I could think of was, “Man, that’s the pot calling the kettle black.”

When it comes to ‘change’ in American politics, neither McCain or Biden will ever allow “change” to happen to their power grab and the American Empire’s continued take over of the world. When Obama chose Biden, that was the most evidence of his lack of “change”.

I have thought about it this morning several times and then I saw this from Bruce Gagnon at Organizing Notes (you should check out his blog) and he basically spoke for me here:

If you click on the Will Park artwork above you will see Sen. Joe Biden’s name near the bottom of the “boys in the band.” Will created this one in 2002. Talk about calling it right. You should remember that Biden, Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, supported Bush’s illegal and immoral attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq.

Last night I watched the Joe Biden speech at the Denver Democratic party convention. Throughout his speech Biden would use one line when referring to John McCain, “That’s not change, it’s more of the same.”

Biden’s offer of change included the statement that Bush had “failed to face the biggest force facing the 21st century, the emergence of Russia, China, and India as great powers.”

Again contrasting Obama from McCain, he boasted that the Obama-Biden team would make Afghanistan a priority – “We need to send two more combat battalions to Afghanistan.” The crowd cheered.

Biden accused the Bush team of neglecting Georgia after their attack on the break-a-way provinces South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Biden warned that “We will end that neglect. We will hold Russia accountable for its actions and we will help the people of Georgia rebuild [their military].”

After hearing the Biden speech I can only come to the conclusion that what he offered last night was not real change but more of the same hardball U.S. militarism and empire building. Confronting Russia and China over the world’s declining resources is exactly the wrong “strategy”.

Biden said nothing about cutting our trillion dollar military budget or converting the military industrial complex so we can deal with the looming effects of global climate change.

That would be real change – just the kind of change we need.

Challenging New Iraq War Video Game Will Take 14 Years To Play

Iraq War Video Game

h/t The Onion

WTF Thursday: More things that make you say…. O.M.G.

Nader Polling at 8% in New Mexico

August 27, 2008 www.votenader.org www.officialnaderstore.com

Drop $8 on Nader/Gonzalez now. Why? We’re celebrating again. Because Ralph just polled 8 percent in New Mexico. It is just remarkable. Approaching zero media publicity. And Nader is still polling at six, seven and eight percent in the polls. Check out this one just in from Time/CNN. In three battleground states, Ralph is a factor. In New Mexico, Nader polls 8 percent. In Pennsylvania, Nader is at 7 percent. In Colorado, Nader is at 7 percent. And in Nevada, Ralph is polling 6 percent. And the poll shows that Ralph is pulling votes from across the board. Like we said at the beginning. Build it and they will come. We’re scheduled to be on 45 state ballots by September 12. And we’re ready to rumble. We’re flying under the radar. But not for long. So, help us continue to build the big mo. We need to hit our goal of $100,000 by September 4. So, give whatever you can. And — breaking news — this just in. Ralph Nader will be on Democracy Now! with Amy Goodman. Tomorrow — Thursday August 28, 2008 at 9 a.m. EST. You can listen and watch live on the Internet at democracynow.org. Spread the word. Together, we are making a difference. Onward to November. The Nader Team

Aiding where needed–

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I had seen the original airing of this mans condition awhile back. Timing is everything, isn’t it. I don’t recall the cause during the original airing. BUT– now it’s stated as something that congress is pandering due to medical pharmaceutical pressure. hummmmm. I am very glad he is being treated, but I fear that the now stated cause will start a new push for the vaccine that has been found faulty; as well been made mandatory in Texas and Maryland.  Doctors removed 95 percent of gnarled growths

 

 

 

 

 

JAKARTA – In 9 operations, an Indonesian man dubbed the “tree man” because of gnarled growths on his body has returned home from the hospital after 13 pounds of warts were surgically removed from his body, a doctor said on Tuesday. Dede, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, first noticed the warts on his body after cutting his knee as a teenager. Over time, he was sacked from his job, deserted by his wife and shunned by neighbors as the horn-like extensions covered most of his body. One of Dede’s doctors, Rachmad Dinata, said the hospital had allowed the 37-year-old man to enjoy the Islamic fasting month with his family now that 95 percent of the warts had been removed after nine operations. The fasting month begins on September 1. “He cannot be 100 percent cured, but his life quality has improved. If once he depended on others to do his activities, now he can eat by himself, use his hand to write, use the cell phone,” Dinata said. The doctor said the warts on Dede’s body, which an American doctor said were a result of severe Human Papilloma Virus infection, might re-grow. But the disease is not life-threatening anymore. Dede was operated on at the Hasan Sadikin provincial hospital in Bandung in West Java where he was admitted nine months ago with a lung infection as a result of the warts. Dede must still go through more surgery to trim more warts from his palms and the back of his hands after the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday in October.  ”We sent him home so he can gather with his family again, especially ahead of the fasting month. It will mentally help the healing process,” Dinata said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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