Archive for July, 2008
Jay Cost over at RealClearPolitics makes a case for Mitt Romney as John McCain’s best choice for VP. While conceding that the VP choice doesn’t make a huge difference overall, he does like one Mitt Romney quality – his ability to land a punch – the kind that so far has eluded Obama opponents. By allowing Mitt Romney to go on the attack, McCain can then go back to the Straight Talk Express.
Our take: Mitt Romney does have a good “pit bull” quality so helpful in Vice Presidential candidates. There’s also been plenty of unsolicited advice that McCain needs to stop being so grumpy and go back to being the “happy warrior”. Having an attack dog like Mitt Romney frees him up to do just that.
Yet, chemistry between the two is considered weak – he seems much more comfortable with Mike Hucklebee or Rudy Guiliani. We also can’t discount the “Mormon Issue”. Mitt Romney’s strong speech on his religion failed to resonate with evangelicals. It’s a tough call, but with 98 days to go before the election and no real punches landing on Obama, selecting Mitt Romney might yield the most effective results, at least in the short term.
photo: ABC News
Jay Cost over at RealClearPolitics makes a case for Mitt Romney as John McCain’s best choice for VP. While conceding that the VP choice doesn’t make a huge difference overall, he does like one Mitt Romney quality – his ability to land a punch – the kind that so far has eluded Obama opponents. By allowing Mitt Romney to go on the attack, McCain can then go back to the Straight Talk Express.
Our take: Mitt Romney does have a good “pit bull” quality so helpful in Vice Presidential candidates. There’s also been plenty of unsolicited advice that McCain needs to stop being so grumpy and go back to being the “happy warrior”. Having an attack dog like Mitt Romney frees him up to do just that.
Yet, chemistry between the two is considered weak – he seems much more comfortable with Mike Hucklebee or Rudy Guiliani. We also can’t discount the “Mormon Issue”. Mitt Romney’s strong speech on his religion failed to resonate with evangelicals. It’s a tough call, but with 98 days to go before the election and no real punches landing on Obama, selecting Mitt Romney might yield the most effective results, at least in the short term.
photo: ABC News
Describing himself as one of Obama’s favorite rappers, Ludacris has a new song out, and Barack Obama is already calling it “outrageously offensive” to all the people it references. In the song, appropriately titled “Politics“, Ludacris calls Hillary Clinton an irrelevant “b*tch” and President Bush is labeled “mentally handicapped”. As for John McCain, Ludacris suggests that the Republican hopeful doesn’t belong in any chair unless he’s “paralyzed”. This follows Nas’ pro Obama rant that attacked Jesse Jackson for criticizing Obama. Obama’s team put out a very strong statement against the Ludacris song, saying in part:
“This song is not only outrageously offensive to Sen. Clinton, Rev. Jackson, Sen. McCain and President Bush, it is offensive to all of us who are trying to raise our children with the values we hold dear. While Ludacris is a talented individual he should be ashamed of these lyrics.”
Obama met with Ludacris privately in 2006 and discussed issues affecting “young people” before announcing his candidacy. Obama also recently revealed admiration for Ludacris in a Rolling Stone interview, calling him “a great talent”, and “a great businessman”. The latter may be most prescient. The song might not help Obama much, but it does provide much-needed hype for Ludacris’ fading music career.
Lyrics:
I’m back on it like I just signed my record deal
yeah the best is here, the Bentley Coup paint is dripping wet, it got sex appeal
never should have hated
you never should’ve doubted him
with a slot in the president’s iPod Obama shattered ‘em
Said I handled his biz and I’m one of his favorite rappers
Well give Luda a special pardon if I’m ever in the slammer
Better yet put him in office, make me your vice president
Hillary hated on you, so that b^$&%* is irrelevant
Jesse talking slick and apologizing for what?
if you said it then you meant it how you want it have a gut!
and all you other politicians trying to hate on my man,
watch us win a majority vote in every state on my man
you can’t stop what’s bout to happen, we bout to make history
the first black president is destined and it’s meant to be
the threats ain’t fazing us, the nooses or the jokes
so get off your ass, black people, it’s time to get out and vote!
paint the White House black and I’m sure that’s got ‘em terrified
McCain don’t belong in ANY chair unless he’s paralyzed
Yeah I said it cause Bush is mentally handicapped
Ball up all of his speeches and I throw em like candy wrap
cause what you talking I hear nothing even relevant
and you the worst of all 43 presidents
get out and vote or the end will be near
the world is ready for change because Obama is here!
cause Obama is here
The world is ready for change because Obama is here!
Describing himself as one of Obama’s favorite rappers, Ludacris has a new song out, and Barack Obama is already calling it “outrageously offensive” to all the people it references. In the song, appropriately titled “Politics“, Ludacris calls Hillary Clinton an irrelevant “b*tch” and President Bush is labeled “mentally handicapped”. As for John McCain, Ludacris suggests that the Republican hopeful doesn’t belong in any chair unless he’s “paralyzed”. This follows Nas’ pro Obama rant that attacked Jesse Jackson for criticizing Obama. Obama’s team put out a very strong statement against the Ludacris song, saying in part:
“This song is not only outrageously offensive to Sen. Clinton, Rev. Jackson, Sen. McCain and President Bush, it is offensive to all of us who are trying to raise our children with the values we hold dear. While Ludacris is a talented individual he should be ashamed of these lyrics.”
Obama met with Ludacris privately in 2006 and discussed issues affecting “young people” before announcing his candidacy. Obama also recently revealed admiration for Ludacris in a Rolling Stone interview, calling him “a great talent”, and “a great businessman”. The latter may be most prescient. The song might not help Obama much, but it does provide much-needed hype for Ludacris’ fading music career.
Lyrics:
I’m back on it like I just signed my record deal
yeah the best is here, the Bentley Coup paint is dripping wet, it got sex appeal
never should have hated
you never should’ve doubted him
with a slot in the president’s iPod Obama shattered ‘em
Said I handled his biz and I’m one of his favorite rappers
Well give Luda a special pardon if I’m ever in the slammer
Better yet put him in office, make me your vice president
Hillary hated on you, so that b^$&%* is irrelevant
Jesse talking slick and apologizing for what?
if you said it then you meant it how you want it have a gut!
and all you other politicians trying to hate on my man,
watch us win a majority vote in every state on my man
you can’t stop what’s bout to happen, we bout to make history
the first black president is destined and it’s meant to be
the threats ain’t fazing us, the nooses or the jokes
so get off your ass, black people, it’s time to get out and vote!
paint the White House black and I’m sure that’s got ‘em terrified
McCain don’t belong in ANY chair unless he’s paralyzed
Yeah I said it cause Bush is mentally handicapped
Ball up all of his speeches and I throw em like candy wrap
cause what you talking I hear nothing even relevant
and you the worst of all 43 presidents
get out and vote or the end will be near
the world is ready for change because Obama is here!
cause Obama is here
The world is ready for change because Obama is here!
The recent Critical Mass assault by Police Officer Patrick Pogan should be treated as an unprovoked crime.
Thanks to Youtube, Rookie officer Patrick Pogan can clearly be seen tackling bicyclist Christopher Long, who was riding thru Times Square as part of a Critical Mass event Friday July 25th. Its already been widely reported that Officer Patrick Pogan and another officer then arrested Christopher Long and charged him with assault. Once video footage of the incident (below) got on Youtube however, the DA’s office decided to put officer Patrick Pogan on “modified desk duty”. Christopher Long’s case meanwhile is still pending a hearing.
We’re confident that Christopher Long, with the help of his attorney, will have no problem getting his case dismissed. He may even be tempted to sue to the city for thousands – as other Critical Mass bicyclists have done in the past. What we’re not so confident of however, is that justice will be done for officer Patrick Pogan. The video clearly shows Officer Pogan stepping forward and violently tackling the fast moving bicyclist into the sidewalk. Witnesses have come forward to say that Christopher Long appeared to swerve to get out of the officer’s way seconds before the tackle. This contrasts with Officer Pogan’s statement that Christopher Long purposely swerved his bicycle to block traffic and even attempted to run down officer Patrick Pogan. The video however, clearly contradicts that statement.
Every day, New Yorkers are pulled over and ticketed or arrested for crimes great and small – rookie Officer Patrick Pogan clearly assaulted Christopher Long without provocation. The fact that he is a new police officer that also happens to be the son of a respected detective, should not prevent him from being arrested and charged with assault. New Yorkers should not wonder if their police officers are above the law. Let’s hope this egregious attack by Officer Patrick Pogan is seen by the DA’s office for the crime it is.
Barack Obama’s impressive world tour included a big stop in the Middle East. While he spent an hour with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas, the rest of the time was spent in Israel. There was Barack Obama at the Wailing Wall, commemorating the Holocaust (pictured), and checking out a collection of spent rockets fired from the West Bank.
After a day meeting with top Israeli leaders including Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, opposition Likud chief Benjamin Netanyahu, and President Shimon Peres he assured them, “I bring here an unshakeable commitment to Israel’s security”.
Ehud Olmert hosted the Illinois Senator for dinner, and commented “I know how friendly you are, and I know how much you care for us” Olmert said.
While we commend him for taking the time to even meet with Mahmud Abbas in Ramallah, the show of support overall was rather one-sided. Yes, Israel and the United States enjoy a special relationship, and certainly its understandable that Barack Obama is doing all he can to show Jewish Americans back home that he is a trustworthy ally. Yet his comment that Jerusalem is the undivided capital of Israel (no US government has recognized Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem, claimed by Palestinians) and his lack of comment on the continued illegal expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, speaks volumes.
Obama tried to backtrack on the Jerusalem comment by parsing his sentence (a terrible habit of his) to mean that Jerusalem shouldn’t be physically divided with barbed wire – (huh?) and that he really meant that the status of Jerusalem should be left to final negotiations.
Besides the issue of Jerusalem, Jewish settlers are expanding rapidly into the West Bank and the Israeli government is not only looking the other way, but actually encouraging it. A few days before Obama arrived, it was announced that the Israeli Defense Ministry approved the construction of 25 factories in the heart of the West Bank. The settlement lies south of the Palestinian city of Nablus and is one of the biggest in the occupied West Bank.
The 2003 Peace Roadmap calls on Israel to halt all settlement activities as well as Palestinians to halt all attacks. While attacks have continued (and Obama toured affected towns on the Israeli side), so have the settlements.
The Palestinians have repeatedly said that their main grievance with Israel is the expansion of settlements into the West Bank. So why then, was this issue not raised publicly at all by Barack Obama? Expansion of West Bank settlements, including through violence and intimidation (see video below) is the catalyst and rationale for violent outbursts by Hamas and other extremists and leads to the weakening of moderates such as Abbas.
His choice of silence on this issue makes us wonder what difference, if any, a Barack Obama administration will make in resolving the Middle East crisis.
photo: Obama commemorates Holocaust (AP)
video: Jewish settlers beat Palestinian shepherds (:57)
After watching this trailer, our first reaction was “terrible”. Considering that Oliver Stone is a bonified auteur, we decided to give it another look. Yep, still terrible. The White House casting looks less credible than an episode of “24″, and the choice of framing George W. Bush’s life in terms of his youthful indiscretions seems rather blasé compared to the more controversial (not to mention relevant) account of how he got us into Iraq. Josh Brolin, who plays “W.”, is a fine actor, but according to Oliver Stone, not only is he a dumb jock, but he also can barely speak.
It would be seismic if this actually turned out good.
After watching this trailer, our first reaction was “terrible”. Considering that Oliver Stone is a bonified auteur, we decided to give it another look. Yep, still terrible. The White House casting looks less credible than an episode of “24″, and the choice of framing George W. Bush’s life in terms of his youthful indiscretions seems rather blasé compared to the more controversial (not to mention relevant) account of how he got us into Iraq. Josh Brolin, who plays “W.”, is a fine actor, but according to Oliver Stone, not only is he a dumb jock, but he also can barely speak.
It would be seismic if this actually turned out good.
The Honda OSM (Open Study Model) concept bowed today at the British International Motor Show. Besides great looks, the Honda OSM is a “low emission” concept, sharing the same space as the FCX Clarity and CR-Z sports car. “We’re trying to show that low emission cars can be attractive,” says Andreas Sittel, Project Leader for OSM. “There is no reason why a car that’s more environmentally friendly can’t look great too – and be sporty and fun to drive.”
We couldn’t agree more – now if they’d just build a Smart Crossblade clone for $4,000..
PHNOM PENH – High level Cambodian officials unleashed a flurry of diplomacy today aimed at focusing a harsh light at Thailand’s recent incursion into Preah Vihear. (see ‘Tempest Over a Temple‘). The Cambodian Foreign Minister wrote a letter to the UN apprising them of the facts and asking for an emergency meeting of the Security Council to find a solution “based on international law.”
“In the face of this imminent state of war, this very serious threat to our independence and territorial integrity, we have an obligation to resort to the United Nations Security Council,”
He wrote. This after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen wrote an appeal to UNESCO, the organizational body of the World Heritage Sites which recently granted Preah Vihear World Heritage status, as well as reaffirming Cambodian sovereignty over the 900 year old religious landmark.
Cambodia and Thai officials met Monday for eight hours in Thailand to resolve the dispute, but were unable to do so. Meanwhile, troops on both sides of the Temple are brushing against one another, rocket launchers and machine guns crossing paths even as no shots have yet been fired.
Cambodia also appealed to the Association of South East Asian Nations, but Thai officials made it clear that the regional association should stay out of the controversy. According to the Bangkok Post:
“Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations met on Tuesday to discuss a request by Cambodia to mediate the temple border row – then backed off after Thai officials specifically demanded Asean keep its hands off.”
Conversely, ASEAN has asked Cambodia to stay at the table, fearing that moving the discussion from regional to the UN Security Council, would undermine the association’s credibility. Joseph Mussomeli, U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia echoed ASEAN’s call to stay regional.
“We have suggested that the troops should not stay close to each other. I’m not aware of what the solution will be, but it should be done in the ASEAN context,” he said.
The Voice of America in Cambodia reported that U.S. Ambassador Mussomeli also said:
“What is clear is that both sides need to resolve this in a peaceful and legal manner, and so far they are doing so,” US Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli told reporters after the diplomatic meeting with Hor Namhong.” Calling the build up “worrisome”, he suggested the troops proximity to one another was risky.
“We have suggested to both sides that the troops should not be augmented, that more troops are always a dangerous thing, that when you have that many young men with that many weapons in that close a proximity, there’s always a danger of violence, and so it would be better for the troops to not be so close to each other,” he said. “That just makes common sense.”
Thailand acknowledges Cambodia’s right to appeal to the world body, but as they noted with ASEAN, the Sumak government wishes to address the issue bilateraly, that is between Cambodia and Thailand only.
photo: monks walk past soldiers on their way to Preah Vihear (Reuters)
