How to be a "typical," ordinary small town family

• Firstly, live in a small town. Preferably "mainstream Wasilla."
  
• Buy clothes from the highly expensive, elite big city shops. Small town shops are not small town enough.
  
• Spend a "reasonable" small town budget of $180,000 on personal clothes only in 2 months. Fairly "frugal."
• Get married to someone arrested for drunk driving in '86 before marriage and was briefly jailed.
  
• Marry someone who joined a group that wanted Alaska to secede from the United States.
• Let your teenage daughter have her own doll of a child because you can't meet her demand of getting a puppy. Its ok as long as she's happy even if it's out of wedlock.
• Force the same daughter to marry the playboy she used to get her doll of a child, without son-in-law's consent even if the playboy son-in-law's mom is arrested for drug abuse on 6 counts.
• Shoot down animals from helicopters. Animal rights are not small town enough for you.
  
• Fire your ex-brother-in-law for fun when you become a Governor.
  
• Claim foreign policy experience due to proximity of your state to Russia even if you got your first passport in '06.
  
• Use your Yahoo! email account for state business to avoid court investigations.
  
• Run for beauty pageant, mayor, governor and the vice presidency.
• Ramble something on the bailout and "umbrella of job creation" if you can't answer the question.
• Call the interviewer by his nickname frequently to jinx him when you don't know what "bush-doctrine" means.
• Dub yourself "hockey mom" and "average Joe-six pack."
• Use public office for discussing future plans.
• Discuss banning books with librarian.
  

Britney Spears music is torturous

Some may already find Britney's music painful to listen to. But, her music is being deliberately used to torture prisoners at Gitmo. Who knew? According to this article from MSNBC, even Sesame Street, rock music and Barney the purple dinosaur's music (imagine what kids would think if they knew what other purposes for Barney were) is blasted to unbearably high volumes at Gitmo. "Plenty lost their minds" and many ended up banging their heads on the wall in pain. Many musicians are protesting that their music not be used for toture as that was not the purpose of its creation. This musical type of torture is purely mental. Although to spice it up, they might also sleep deprive you for days and force you to sit in painful positions for overwhelmingly long periods of time. Some interrogators brag that they need only 4 days to break a new prisoner. I wonder if this has been mentioned on the Fox 24 show at all, and if Kiefer has any sympathy for victims of abuse at Gitmo and Abu Ghraib in Iraq.

It is really amazing how much US taxpayer money is spent on researching for new and innovative techniques for torturing people, many of whom are alleged to be terrorists. There are thousands of other techniques used in the CIA's secret camps that are still unknown to the public. Waterboarding is only 1 out of a few known that drowned (pun intended) the world with concerns of Gitmo's human rights' violation. Pathetic. If Obama does not close Gitmo as promised, I will be deeply disappointed.

The Shoe Thrower

Muntadher al-Zaidi, the shoe thrower, is an Iraqi journalist from the TV station Al-Baghdadia. Thousands of Iraqis protested his arrest today and the TV station is demanding his release vigorously. Below is the statement by the TV station.

Any action taken against Muntathar will remind us of the actions and behaviors taken by the reign of the dictator and the violence, the random arrests, the mass graves and confiscations of freedom from the people - Al Baghdadia TV

Meanwhile many in the Middle East are calling him a 'hero' for having the guts to do such a thing. A minority, however, said that this was probably not the best way to send his message. Whether you thought this guy was outrageous or not, he has become the talk everywhere in the Middle East and that is probably what he wanted.

Friends described Zaidi as "emotionally influenced" when he was kidnapped by militants in 2007 for three days and traumatized when he covered US bombing of Sadr City in Iraq as a journalist. The bombing may have caused him to lose it, reportedly. More than 100,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed along with 5,000 US soldiers. If this wasn't enough, in addition, today, a Human Rights group is accusing the Iraqi criminal court for poor treatment of prisoners such as Zaidi. Also Foreign Policy magazine says that: "a new 500-page government report detailing how $50 billion in U.S. taxpayer money was badly misspent during the reconstruction of Iraq may prove more significant to Bush's legacy. "

Zaidi has also garnered his own Wikipedia entry.

Pathetic Security

I can't believe that even after two shoes thrown at Bush, the Secret Service along with others took almost 4 seconds to close in on the President. There was no agent next to the President during the shoe incident. This is really pathetic. The Secret Service needs to re-evaluate itself and its security protocols. Imagine if those shoes hit Bush in the face or imagine if those shoes were a pair of pocket knives that the security check during entrance failed to catch or even a pen that could have hit Bush in the eye. This scares me because Barack will be facing even more threats, so the secret service better be smarter about it.

Perino gets black-eyed

Press Secretary Dana Perino got hit in the eye with a mike during the shoe incident. Kind of symbolic, how the press secretary gets hurt, but not the President. Anyway I don't wish any harm on her. Hope to not see her during the press briefing with a black eye as symbolic as that would sound of the Bush Administration. Most likely, you can expect to see her only when that eye is cleared up. Good thing there isn't a 'B' carved on the cheek too. That would really creep out the Dems, if you know what I mean.

Post-election GOP drama

• Palin's church burnt down.
• McCain refused to say if he would support Palin in a 2012 run. Says: "We've got some great other young governors."
• Joe the Plumber "appalled" by John McCain
• Palin snubbed Oprah (possibly?)
• McCain criticizes GOP for trying to link Obama to Blago scandal.
• Palin accused of using public office to discuss post-election plans.
• Powell: GOP must re-evaluate itself and change image desperately.
  
• Shoes thrown at Bush by Iraqi reporter attempting to bid farewell (yells: "this is a farewell, you dog!) during Bush's farewell visit to Iraq.

Amish Genes

A new Reuters article discusses a study which discovered that Amish people have a rare abnormality in their genes that allows their triglycerides to accumulate slower than other humans. They only have 1 copy of the gene that makes the protein inhibiting triglyceride breakdown. Normally, humans have 2 copies allowing triglyceride levels to rise and as a consequence causing heart disease. This discovery will help scientists develop drugs that target this specific triglyceride breakdown inhibiting gene. That's a double score. Not only they get more exercise than us, they also have genetically desirable traits for the heart. The average life expectancy for Amish people is around 75 without the use of 21st century medical care. This is pretty good. Imagine the life expectancy of Amish people if they wound up using modern medical care. It would effortlessly shoot to 90s.

Future Pool

This pool was opened in Mumbai to create awareness on rising sea levels as a result of global warming. Looks scary, but its an excellent design and a great idea.

The First Washington Outsider

Finally! A true outsider in Obama's cabinet. I was getting sick of seeing Clintonites being picked daily. Dr. Steven Chu will be great. He has absolutely no political experience making him the outsider literally. Some may argue that it will be a liability, but think about it; no political knowledge implies: less likely to commit political corruption, less likely to revert to status-quo and politics as usual. Its like putting an end to the war on science started by Bush. Chu is a Nobel Prize winning physicist from Stanford. Think about how much he will get done as Secretary of Energy than a political guy. Chu will push for scientific innovation in addition to policies. It will be perfect! Though I admit, he may have a tough time passing policies, but this guy is a genius. I'm sure he'll figure it out. Obama gets an A++ from me on this pick. Good Job Mr. President-Elect. This choice assures me that you are not completely obsessed with the Clinton administration.

Tech Savvy Terrorists

According to a new Reuters article, Mumbai security forces acknowledged shortcomings in their defense technologies and the surprising familiarity and ease of use of advanced technology by the gunmen. The sophisticated use of GPS, Google Earth, Skype, satellite phones and Blackberries made it increasingly difficult for Mumbai police and gave the gunmen the edge. The gunmen reportedly planned their operation using Google Earth, a highly detailed world map feature offered by Google for free. Lawyers in Mumbai are now trying to ban Google Earth because the incredible details could be 'security hazards' and are extremely sensitive. Also, the use of satellite phones along with the use of Skype made it difficult to track telephone conversations. E-mail communications before the operation were done through multiple servers making it also difficult for Indian forces to track.

This new tech savvy quality of the enemy is indeed very scary. The best way to fight this is probably not by banning the technology (that's just like saying: "lets go back to the stone age so that there are no more guns!"), but by improving classified technology used by the security team. But there is no one answer and it is incredibly hard to solve this as someone would have by now if it were that easy.

Governor's official website not updated

The Illinois Governor's website to no surprise was not updated to the current news of corruption scandal. The Governor is also coolly ignoring calls for resignation.

Jesse Jackson, Jr.

I think Jesse Jackson, Jr. deserves Obama's seat. Face it, he's witty, sharp, knowledgeable and a prominent voice in International civil rights. He was jailed in South Africa at age 21 for protesting the apartheid. He's a known friend of Nelson Mandela. Plus I think he shares the values of Barack very closely by the speeches he has given and the movements he has participated in. If anyone should replace Barack, it should be someone with Barack's vision and morals for the world.

'Change'

Honestly, this election has added a whole new dimension to the word 'Change.' Whenever I hear that word in my usual day to day life, my mind immediately wanders to the election before drifting back. It almost makes me laugh how brilliantly the Obama campaign's message of 'change' and 'hope' have been articulated. But I'm sure that I am not the only one who thinks of that word differently after the election. I'm sure there are others out there who are beginning to think of 'change,' the word as more than an alteration or conversion of something, but also as a political tool.

Financially Hurting?

Gov. Rod said that he was "financially hurting" which is why needs "to make money." I don't get it. He is a governor and he lives in a fancy Executive Mansion in IL. Why is he hurting? His salary is already over $150k. What more does he want?

UPDATE: WSJ reports that Gov. Rod owed more than $500k to a law firm.

Most Corrupt State in America

Comment on the vandalized Muslim graves in France

Even though this post may be a bit late for it, I still think it is worth addressing.

French Muslims regularly experience discrimination by major institutions and hate crimes in France. However, this recent crime conducted a couple of days ago is one of the most disgusting. In a military cemetery, where the bodies of WWI Muslim soldiers who fought for France lie, 500 graves were desecrated with a swastika symbol drawn on some of them. Isn't this just pure irony? You're attacking someone who fought for your country and is now resting in peace. I was honestly shocked to see that the culprits had no respect for the dead.

I commend Sarkozy for denouncing the act, but frankly, it isn't enough. France needs to step up its act against discrimination. The Public school system bans headscarves, but not crosses and stars of david worn by students. As a result, Muslim students are forced to attend private Catholic schools with a tuition. This is wrong. The headscarf is simply a dress, like it was for many women in America and the Europe in the 19th Century. French politicians defend the ban by saying that headscarves are sexist. However, it is just a different standard of modesty. Women who wear it, wear it because they want to and because they believe it gives them dignity. Obviously this issue is more complicated than it appears and is a hot debate in France.

Also, French politicians must understand that there are global ramifications to organized discrimination in France. For example, terrorists at Al Qaida in Afghanistan will use this example for the purposes of recruiting poor, illiterate, and naive youngsters in Afghanistan by brainwashing. For instance, Al Qaida will say "See? These guys are the devils and we need to stop them. Sign up and we attack the devils." Sadly, this not only destroys the future of these young kids, but also ends up causing things like the Mumbai tragedy. Bottom-line: France, if you want to see world peace, you've got to do your part and stop discriminating and work on uniting.

No Motorcade?

I'm shocked. This guy has just entered the world lime light after being arrested as a governor charged with corruption with media helicopters chasing him and he has no motorcade? Apparently, the security detail inside that SUV is enough. He should have at least one police car behind him in my opinion.

In Retrospect

As usual, we have our "In Retrospect" segment that reminds us of the past and its irony, along with how it is so different yet similar to the present. If you don't find today's videos hilarious, then I don't know what to say.

Cartoon of the week

Size is misleading.

On Pakistan Capturing Mastermind

This should put to rest any claims made by India that the Pakistani government was involved in the attacks. Yesterday, Pakistani security forces attacked a militant group camped somewhere in Kashmir and captured the mastermind, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, who may have also been behind terrorist operations in Chechnya and Bosnia. This proves my previous point that India and Pakistan have to solve the Kashmir dispute and stop the stupid "tensions growing" story because that is only going to start war again. A recent bombing in Peshawar, Pakistan proves that both countries are victim to terrorism. PE Obama is right to propose to help solve the Kashmir dispute because that area is affected deeply by terrorist militant groups and daily skirmishes between the Indian and Pakistani government. Pakistan can't afford to focus on other things besides the militants and its own domestic issues. Already, Pakistani forces are so stretched from Afghanistan to Kashmir to the Southern LOC (line-of-control) that its shocking how they are still able to perform these small operations against the militants. Keep in mind, that both Pakistan and India are nuclear-armed nations too, making war highly dangerous. There have already been 4 devastating major wars between India and Pakistan. The citizens of both countries don't need more and certainly the world doesn't either because these wars fuel terrorism with weopanry and give terrorism the government's support to aid them to perform operations in civilian Indian cities. The United States must assess the Kashmir issue fairly to give satisfaction to both sides such as a compromise so that they can both work towards peace, diplomacy and the end of terrorism. Also, solving the Kashmir issue and reducing violence from terrorism will allow both countries to work on their desperate domestic issues such as famine, high pollution, no health care and lack of education. The military of both countries are spending money for defense that can be used to save millions from dying of preventable diseases. Looking back at the US, the Obama plan includes an innovative non-military aid package to Pakistan which I am hoping will make a huge difference. But at the moment all we can do is wait for this lame duck administration to fly by.

Keep it cool

Shinseki is an excellent pick

Four Star General Shinseki, an Asian American, is a great pick for leading the Veterans Affairs Department. He is highly experienced and is one of the people who made sure that Rumsfeld was treating the troops right. What impresses me the most about this man is that he angered the GOP when he said that it would take more than a hundred thousand troops to achieve peace post-Iraq war, but in 2006, Gen Abizaid confirmed that Shinseki turned out to be right the whole time.

Terrorist Celebrities?

According to this article, sometimes killing people is not the only major goal of terrorists. Their goal is to get worldwide attention just as in the latest Mumbai attacks. They want to become celebrities just before their death. And the media helps them achieve this goal.

Quite apart from the scores murdered and the hundreds injured, what the Mumbai terrorists really wanted was an exaggerated and preferably extreme reaction on the part of governments, the media and public opinion. In these terms, the attackers received as much attention as they could possibly have hoped for, and the Mumbai outrage can only be described as a very significant terrorist success...an obsessive audience will watch your every move and turn you into what you most want to be, just before your death. - ChathamHouse.org

Obama Soda

"I'm back, dudes"

From Politico Barack Obama was rumored to have told one of his donors at fundraising event that his first international trip on Air Force One would be to Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country. Indonesia is where Barack grew up as a kid (but born in US of course) and it is where he got his step sister. According to the aide, he said that he will say "I'm back, dudes" (in Indonesian) as he gets off the plane.

Do you think this will stir something in the GOP? Absolutely. FOX will make this seem like Obama is going to meet his terrorist friends and be briefed by them on how to make the US more vulnerable. This is not hyperbole. The Gop has pretty much always spewed fear and hatred towards Muslims. Expect the FOX propoganda to begin soon.

Obama may give a speech addressed to Muslims

I'm glad that Obama's thinking of giving a speech to Muslims. After a long time, an American President is saying that the west and the east can be friends again after a long, turbulent relationship. And together the 2 can work together to erase terrorism. Many people are speculating that this speech maybe in Egypt of all the Muslim countries or it may even be in the United States in Dearborn, Michigan where there are 30,000 Muslims but the story is currently in its 'rumor phase.' Finally! an American President who understands Muslims as having lived in Indonesia, a Muslim country.

Bush tries to squeeze into line

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Moment of Zen - Troops Make Room for Bush

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

Comment on HRC being Secretary of State

Turns out that I'm not the only one who believes that someone else should have been the Secretary of State. Here is an article on Hillary being Secretary of State by Helene Cooper of the New York Times that you will find very interesting. Cooper suggests that Hillary's experience is too hyped up and that she has never had any negotiations unlike her predecessors such as the revered Colin Powell, Kissinger or Condi Rice before taking the post. I don't think I could agree more with this article. Please check it out.

Landslide in Santa Catarina, Brazil

Empire State Building Stolen in 90 minutes

The Daily News stole the $2 billion Empire State Building in 90 minutes using fake documents and by exploiting loopholes. This article explains the details. We aren't doing a good enough job to prevent fraud apparently. They don't even have anyone to check!

India needs to stop blaming Pakistan

India needs to stop pointing fingers at the Pakistani government for the attacks. I think everyone is now coming to the consensus that the group behind the attacks was Lashkar-e-Taiba which is a terrorist organization based in Pakistan, but not part of Pakistan. It is banned by the Pakistani government. The Pakistani government has demonstrated peace by condemning the attacks and sending an intelligence member of the ISI as a representative to assist in the investigation of the attacks.

I think that the Indian anger is legitimate. But it should be focused towards LeT for committing the heinous crime. They should stop attacking Pakistan because to some that suggests that some Indian politicians are veiling their failure to properly heed the US intelligence warning of a possible attack given in early fall. Instead they should work with Pakistan to uncover more evidence in the investigation.

The National Security Team

Here is what I think of the picks made yesterday by Obama.

Hillary Rodham Clinton for State - Since I'm feeling optimistic after listening to her statement to the press, I'm giving her an A-. I discuss more about her pick in older posts. See below for Pros and Cons.

Susan Rice for US Ambassador to UN - She's highly experienced and a good face of the US for the UN. A+

Fmr. Gen. James Jones for National Security Advisor - Highly Experienced and a National security heavyweight. Was the Supreme Allied Commander. What more could you want? A+

Robert Gates for Sec. of Defense - He is the current Sec. of Defense for Bush. This shows bipartisanship and will probably help with the transition since Gates knows the Bush Administration's Pentagon well enough to change it to the way Obama wants it. Don't worry, he will be in office only for a year under Obama. A+

Janet Napolitano for Sec. of Homeland Security - A+ (I'm feeling optimistic about her too so I changed the grade for her too)

Eric Holder for Attorney General - A+, just as my previous post said.

In Retrospect

The Pros & Cons of Hillary being Secretary of State

I've already discussed a lot about Hillary in this blog. However, I feel I should show what I think would be the advantages, disadvantages and other political implications of her pick yesterday.

Since I want to end on a positive note, I will begin with Cons.

Cons.

-Hillary's own ambitions for a possible re-run for the presidency could impede progress in the direction in which Obama would like to see it. She may influence his policies with her own visions. We don't want her to follow her own political agenda in the State Department.

-Hillary ran a powerful, tough campaign, but there was intense infighting and her big campaign was pretty disorganized. Most of her success in the primaries can be attributed to her star power which compensated for the disorganized campaign. So will the State Department have infighting too?

-Too opinionated and polarizing. Barack said yesterday that he likes highly opinionated figures in his cabinet, but will there be tensions in this "team of rivals."

-Bill Clinton's global interests. Turns out that the very government of China that Hillary has criticized, has donated to the Clinton Foundation via the Clinton Global Initiative.

-Peace in the Middle East and Kashmir. Hillary disagrees with Obama on Palestinian sovereignty and favors Indian policies when it comes to Kashmir. This will not help bring peace as you have to look at both Gaza and Kashmir through an unbiased speculum so that both countries can get something they want and learn to compromise. But peace in the Mid East begins from the Israel-Palestine issue since nearly every Arab country's excuse for being upset with the United States is that we have been excessively biased towards Israel and have not given enough effort to ensuring the needs of the Palestinian people. This is a legitimate excuse. We must be fair and neutral. We can not allow Israel to become vulnerable to the threat imposed by some terrorist organizations, but at the same time we can also not allow Israel to abuse the protection and defense that we've given (military equipment, F-16s, nuclear weapons) and harm innocent Palestinians. Both countries' civilians should be treated equally. For too long, we've pandered to only one side.

-Diplomacy. Hillary is very hawkish when it comes to Iran. She has declared the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization and has repeatedly called Obama 'naive' for being willing to meet Ahmedinejad. Will she let Obama boss her against her personal beliefs on diplomacy? After all, diplomacy is the biggest part of the job of Secretary of State.

-One more Clinton term. Already there are more than 20 Clinton staffers in Obama's team. Does this mean that we may just see another Clinton term, his 3rd term?

Pros.

Now that Obama has officially selected her as Secretary of State, it's no point whining. We can't do anything about her being picked. So lets look at the bright side and maybe the cons will never happen. After listening to the press conference yesterday, I was to be honest much more optimistic about the pick because maybe she will fully submit herself to Obama and probably not run her own agenda or follow her beliefs as she pointed out in her statement to the press. And in the end, the pros and cons are just based on speculation.

-Hillary is heavily experienced.

-Has met foreign leaders and knows them on a first name basis in over 82 countries.

-Capable in every region of politics.

-Has star appeal, will unite the Dems and uplift her diehard fans.

-Has gotten things done in the Senate so she may get stuff done in the State.

-Is respected globally and will send a powerful message to the world that Obama is serious about bipartisanship and unity.

-Will bring Bill into the mix. Bill's expertise as former president could help her and Obama.

-Will ensure that she doesn't backstab Obama if she decides to run for the presidency again. Basically, this lowers her guards and makes her less likely to keep animosity towards Obama. In many ways this is a clever move. She won't be able to say "I told you so" to Obama if his presidency is a failure. And at the same time this will help Obama focus on the economy as she focuses on the world. Her criticism of him being a poor commander-in-chief will thereby no longer apply.

Lets just hope the pros take over and this presidency is successful. Either way, this will be exciting!

He Finally Admits

"I'm sure some people voted for Barack Obama because of me." - Bush

AIDS

World AIDS Day was today. The first day was on Dec. 1st 1988 about 20 years ago. It was formed with the help of WHO, UN. I think the establishment of World Aids Day is a great thing because it gives us a moment to self reflect on the horrifying statistics of this deadly epidemic, and hopefully allows politicians around the globe to revisit the policies in place and to see how they can some how increase funding and effectiveness of AIDS prevention programs.

There are roughly 33 million people with AIDS living in the world today and ~25 million have been killed by it.

Reuters: Top Most Interesting Traditional Foods

Reuters ranks the most interesting traditional foods, foods popular in their cultures. You may not be able to identify people by the food they eat, but you can tell a lot about their health.

But since we are in the 21st century, we don't necessarily eat whats popular in our culture anymore. So the health comparison doesn't work. We eat pretty similar to the rest of the world to some extent in this highly globalized world. Just look at the top grocery stores around the world, and even though people don't eat fast food every day, we know that McDonald's is pretty much everywhere.

Regardless, here is the list if you're interested (I modified it a bit from the original):

9. Manoomin, Minnesota (wild rice)
8. Chuno Blanco, Peru (potato-type)
7. Salt, Mexico (Special salt that can only be collected by hand)
6. Mustard oil pickles, India
5. Guarana, Brazil (rich in caffeine)
4. Ijka Corn, Colombia
3. Mite Cheese, Germany
2. Hachiyagaki persimmons, Japan
1. Siwa Oasis Dates, Egypt (site linked to Alexander the Great)

Canadian Meteorite Found

In an earlier post, you saw the meteor fall. Now CNN reports that the fragments of the meteor have been found. Watch it in the video.

He's a Fish!

Watch CBS Videos Online

Mumbai Locals Involved

According to The Times of India, Locals may have helped the terrorists. Azam Kasab, known to have been involved in the attack and captured by police, gave a list of names and addresses of people who helped him to the police investigation force. An official of the police said the following: "We suspect there could be local assistants but it is subject to verification. It will be very premature to comment on this at this stage as our investigations is going on."

The captured man, Kasab, also revealed that the attack was carried out in part "to avenge atrocities on Palestinians." No surprise why it took place in a Jewish area.

Both Venus and Jupiter will appear on Monday night

See Jupiter and Venus along with the Moon as a "close conjunction between three bright solar system objects" around sunset. The view will be spectacular. According to MSNBC, even those not expecting to see such a thing will look up in amazement. Plus, you could something similar to that of the flags of some countries.

'In addition, there are juxtaposed crescent moon and star symbols that have appeared on the flags of many nations, including Turkey, Pakistan, Malaysia, Algeria, Mauritania, and Tunisia.

Also on Monday evening, you may be able to see the full globe of the moon, its darkened portion glowing with a bluish-gray hue interposed between the sunlit crescent and not much darker sky. This vision is sometimes called "the old moon in the young moon's arms." Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was the first to recognize it as what we now call "earthshine."'

Read the full story here.

Cartoon of the Week

From the Economist

Shopper Stampede Kills

At a sale event at Wal-Mart at 5 am, a stampede of shoppers 'trampled' a worker to death. The stampede broke the doors like 'savages' and injured people just for those cheaply priced electronics. Read the full story here.

This is consumerism in action. It shows just how materialistic society has become. We will do anything for goods.

Listen to the Gunfire

NPR: Best 2008 Political Books

Simon Apter of NPR has released a list of his favorite political and current affairs books this year.

Make sure to check these books out:

The Forever War by Filkins
An Imperfect Offering by Orbinski
Nixonland by Perlstein
The Dark Side by Mayer
The Bin Ladens by Coll

Vikram Pandit on Charlie Rose

Vikram Pandit is the CEO of Citigroup, a company that was included in the federal bailout on November 24th. Watch the interview below.

Tragedy in India

In one of the biggest terrorist attacks on Indian soil, ~190 people have been brutally killed and 900 have been hurt. 9 locations were attacked according to the Times of India.

A train station, a tourist hot spot and 2 popular five star hotels for tourists were included in these 9 locations. 3 high-profile executive security officials were killed in the incident too.

Obviously, this will hurt the economy as India plays a huge role in the major world financial markets. Not only will India's tourist industry will be crippled, but tourism around the world will begin to dwindle as people will realize the global implications of this attack. This will serve as yet another reminder to Americans that National Security is interconnected with the Economy and that we can't overlook either one of these for the other.

The English and Australian Cricket teams have also postponed their scheduled trips to India for a cricket championship game next week. Colleges and schools all over the city of Mumbai have been closed. Trains have been suspended.

Video of the day

White Sox fan in Cubs seat

Just Heartbreaking

This is just painful to see. Remember all that aid that goes to Africa through various organizations like Red Cross, UNICEF and etc.? Once I overheard a group of students at college talk about how we don't need to spend much on Africa because there is "already a ton of money going there." Well they are both right and wrong. See why in this BBC video clip and the article below.

Also, here is the article that goes along with this video by Sorious Samura of the BBC. The article is excellent with great detail. I would recommend anyone to read this.

Homework, Homework, Homework...

Cabinet Update

In an earlier post, I mentioned that Hillary should have been selected as Secretary of Health & Human Services, but the post was too un-prestigious for her I guess. However, Gen. James Jones, Susan Rice, John Kerry or Bill Richardson would've made great Secretary of States, but Hillary does have experience traveling to over 80 countries as First Lady so I think I am over it now.

Here is the rundown of who has been selected and who is being considered for what post (including my GRADES assigned for the pick):

STATE: Hillary Rodham Clinton - She is highly experienced, but I just hope that her influence doesn't get in the way. Grade for pick: C+

TREASURY: Tim Geithner - An excellent choice. Served as economic advisor and deputy treasury under more than one President. Is currently the chairman of the New York Federal Reserve. Everyone goes to him for consultations on the current economic crisis. He is bright and experienced. Can speak Japanese, Chinese and a few other languages. Perfect choice. A+

ATTORNEY GENERAL: Eric Holder - Was deputy under Bill Clinton and very experienced as an attorney general. A+

COMMERCE: Bill Richardson - I wanted him to be either Secretary of State or Labor or UN ambassador, but I guess this pick isn't too bad. Bill is highly experienced as governor, Sec. of Energy, UN ambassador and Chair of Hispanic relations. B+

HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES: Tom Daschle - A close friend of Obama and a strong advocate for health care reform. Has written a book on Health care. A-

HOMELAND SECURITY: Janet Napolitano - One of the best governors of the United States and highly experienced. Though I would've preferred her as the Attorney General or Commerce post, I think she is a great pick. A.

CHIEF OF STAFF: Rahm Emanuel - A-.

SENIOR ADVISORS:David Axelrod, Pete Rouse - Both of these people helped Obama win the election and our very brilliant. Without them Obama would've had a tough time shaping his message of hope and change and other strategic stuff. A+

NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL DIRECTOR: Larry Summers - A dream pick. This guy was Bill Clinton's Treasury Secretary and was the President of Harvard. Even Tim Geithner could use his help to deal with the economic crisis. Almost all economists have heard of this man. I just hope that Warren Buffet is somehow included in Obama's cabinet too. A+

So far these are the key picks. Still to be made: National Security Advisor (hope it is Susan Rice), CIA, Director of National Intelligence, and last, but not least Sec. of Defense.

5 Million Expected on Inauguration Day

5 million people will be present at Obama's inauguration. Expect crowded transits in Washington and fully occupied hotels for that day.





Click on the pictures for a magnified view.

Shocking: Video of the Incumbent Attorney General Collapsing

The Attorney General of the United States is a Cabinet Member of the Bush's Presidential team.

Here is a version showing his speech becoming slurred illustrating the symptoms of a stroke:

Hilarious

I put a larger video than usual so that you may enjoy the critical subtitles.



I know it is fake.

Meteor hits Canada

Hundreds of reports are made. However, the meteor is yet to be found.

Can you believe this?

Rahm ISRAEL Emanuel. That is his actual middle name. I just found that out. I already knew that he was a jew, but this is way too direct. I guess Obama really wanted to send out a blunt, powerful message with his pick.

All I want is Palestine to become an official state and peace in the region. If Obama panders to only one side whether Israel or Palestine just like past US presidents, then peace is impossible.

Who is the best at 'Breaking News?'

Who is the best at reporting shocking news earliest?

Well, it is definitely not CNN. As you know ~25 minutes before this post, the incumbent Attorney General of the United States collapsed while giving a speech. I first saw this on Yahoo! Then I raced to CNN.com to see what they had to say about it and they didn't have that story there yet. I went to couple of other popular news websites that I usually visit and I discovered the conservative Drudge Report post the news second fastest (at least according to my surfing habits). Then I saw MSNBC post the news. I went back to CNN and still nothing on front page or political page . As time passed I saw the Politico website post it too, but they could have been first I just went there late, and usually they post stuff up really fast. Eventually CNN posted it and once CNN posted it, a whole host of other news websites followed suit.

So CNN for a big news agency, is pretty slow at posting. I noticed this during the elections too. It could be due to confirmation perhaps, or something else. But my point is that because CNN has become so established and has a well known name with loyal fans, the monster news agency has either started slacking off or just been taking advantage of us readers. I guess they can afford to do that.

For instance, once I saw a news article on Ahmedinejad, the President of Iran on Yahoo! when he spoke at the UN (FYI: Yahoo is not where I get most of my news from). I compared that article to CNN. I noticed that the Yahoo! article got right to the core of the story and the main points of Ahmedinejad's speech. It discussed implications of Ahmedinejad's call for dialogue and analyzed Iran's continued pursuit of nuclear fuel. However, CNN didn't. Instead CNN put up a big, scary picture of him and touched the least important aspects of the speech. And they didn't even mention the dialogue portion as the Yahoo! article did. The amazing writer of that CNN report was smart enough to make it sound like Iranian President was calling for immediate war on the West. If the author of the Yahoo article and the CNN article were put in the same room, I assure you that they would not agree with each other that is how different their reports on the Iranian leader were.

So why the discrepancy? I'm not saying that the Yahoo article was pro-nuclear armed Iran. I'm just saying that it got right to the matter without swinging from here to there.

Beware! Don't let CNN brainwash you (Lazy, but shrewd).

(Of course when it comes to brainwashing, there is no comparison of CNN to FOX. Sly Fox is the ultimate brainwashing machine)

Gun Regulation - The Simpsons

Obama is reportedly quizzing potential new staff members on guns. This has angered many firearms advocates such as the NRA.

I also thought I should share this Simpsons' video with you (Albeit I'm not a fan of the Simpsons, but I thought this video was great):

Letterman Clearly Enjoying Palin Humiliation

World Leaders Don't Shake Bush's Hand

Nobody wants to shake hands with Bush.

Finnish the Race

Who knew the Finnish were this good at driving?

The Box

The BBC has unleashed an amazing project that you must check out. They have a container that they will follow around the world as it is shipped from one place to the other to study globalization in more details. So far the box has traveled from England to Shanghai via the Suez Canal. The box is now en route to Los Angelos.

Colbert Bribes Obama

Colbert is on the cover of a Spider-man comics book cover. And Barack Obama is a Spider-Man fan as he collects Marvel Spider-Man comics. Watch it here

Hillary as Secretary of State is a Bad Idea

Reports say that Barack is fairly close to making HRC Sec. of State as part of his cabinet. Even HRC has reportedly accepted, but the vetting of Bill Clinton's global interests are what is taking the time. Bill's interests and works abroad may hamper Hillary from joining Obama's cabinet.

However, I think that either way Hillary is better off with her Senate career.

First of all she has a very powerful Senate position so she should not give that away for Secretary of state. The Secretary of state job may be a very influential position in terms of foreign relations, but the Senate position she has is already more prestigious than the Sec. of State position she may go into. The Sec. of State prestige was stolen by the National Security Advisor decades ago. The Sec. State position used to be a very powerful and privileged position until the NSA job appeared. The NSA job deals more closely with some of the top intelligence issues. If HRC was being offered the NSA job, then it would be a completely different story. Condi Rice used to be an NSA, but now is sec. of state leaving her a very influential politician in the President's cabinet.

Secondly, Obama already has more than 20 staff members who worked for the Clinton Administration. Why did we choose Obama over Hillary if he is going to just reuse the Clintons and their staff? And it goes against his 'Change' message. Hillary's policies are status-quo if I remember correctly from Obama's campaign message. I understand that Obama doesn't want 'Yes-men,' but this will let him get nowhere. And Obama should respect all of those people who volunteered, spent, and voted for him during the primaries because they believed in him and not in Hillary's pander-to-the-public policies.

Thirdly, I think that Obama and Hillary share more ground in domestic issues than foreign. If you remember, Hillary is not open to meeting with enemy leaders for compromising or negotiations. But both Hillary and Obama completely agree on the issues of healthcare, a field in which Hillary has contributed the most to. So I believe that Obama should offer the role of Sec. of Health and Human Services to Hillary instead of State. But I'm sure if Obama does that, then Hillary would probably not accept it since her Senate career is much better than the Sec. of Health and Human Services.

Palin to write a book

Sarah Palin may write a book. And that will most likely make her at least 7 million dollars reportedly. She may use this opportunity to discuss her campaign issues, her wardrobe controversy, and maybe even her interview disasters.

Some people think that though this book may be a commercial success and probably the most successful book of the '08 election cycle, the book may hurt her chances to run again in 2012 or 2016. It is possible that when she talks her way out of the mess she is in right now, she could end up revealing a lot more about herself or a lot more about the way she thinks.

I personally think the book should be titled with some of these suggestions:

Maverick
You Betcha!
Darn Right!
Hockey Mom
The Moose Exterminator
Doggone it!

But what continues to puzzle me is that she is still in the spotlight. More in the spotlight than John McCain. People have forgotten McCain after this election and they've pretty much forgotten the gaffe-nator Biden too. Why is there still so much interest in Palin? Well "Doggone it!"

Obama, McCain discuss football to keep reporters guessing- Watch

As you know Obama met with McCain in a spirit of bipartisanship today and as usual the press went wild. The press was only allotted 90 seconds during the entire meeting. During those 90 seconds, a cool Obama diverted from the good stuff to football and other casual remarks in order to not let the press get much info. Turn up the volume to hear better.

Cartoon of the Week

Very Interesting - In Retrospect

I went back to see this video again and I wonder how this preacher would be feeling right now. By the way, Palin used the same sort of prayer in another rally.

She's Still Talking

The campaign is over and she is still talking about Joe the Plumber and Tito the Builder and her Alaskan accent is there too. Doesn't she realize that America doesn't care about a plumber that makes well above $250k? 365 to 164 electoral votes should be clear enough.

O'Reilly meets Stewart

Two complete opposites. Personally I think part 2 is better. Watch.

SHE'S BACK!

Today Hillary Clinton's motorcade was seen in Chicago. She met President-elect Obama to discuss possible role in the administration. At this point it is pretty likely that she could be the next Secretary of State. I would've preferred to have her as the Secretary of Health & Human Services instead of Sec. of State given the amount of work she has done for health care. I preferred someone else for Secretary of State quite frankly. However, what I am most worried about is that if she does decide to run in 2012, she could use her time as Cabinet member to discuss how unorganized or potentially incompetent Obama may be behind-the-scenes to prevent Obama from running again.

But here is the best thing about her being Sec. of State. First of all Sec. of States have to travel abroad consistently to meet foreign leaders. Imagine the powerful message Obama will be sending by showing foreign leaders that he picked his worst, toughest opponent. If you're a foreign leader you would think to yourself as you're smiling and shaking HRC's hand in front of cameras: "Didn't she lose humiliatingly to the new US President? Wow...Obama really is willing to unite."

Olbermann in a minute

Get the latest news satire and funny videos at 236.com.

Palin has 'no regrets' on all of those interviews

This is getting ridiculous.

Sarah Palin just said that she doesn't regret any of those famous interviews which thrashed her reputation. Instead, she says that she wished she'd done more while expressing intent to run again but for President! (CNN) Meanwhile she also said that she is fine with Obama being the new President and would be 'honored' to join him in his cabinet. So basically her political ambitions are higher than her political ideologies or her party. She says 'honored' when she used to call him a communist, socialist, terrorist-friend, anti-American, dishonest and unprepared. Talk about real 'change.'

Is this woman ok? Does she follow the polls? More than 1/2 of Americans think she does not know a thing. And she still thinks those Katie Couric interviews went well?

How can you not regret those interviews? Remember the 'Bush Doctrine' and how she couldn't answer that and instead just called the poor reporter 'Charlie' when his name is 'Charles.' And remember when she didn't know what she read, or what that bailout plan meant to the middle class or what Africa is, or even NAFTA?? I can go on and on with this, but if this doesn't convince the right-wing that she is not ready to lead, then I guess they would prefer a folksy, hunting, and know-nothing to be the President rather than an intellectual, articulate, smart and sincere president.

Online Comments on Legislative Bills

Wired: Obama may allow the public to comment on bills before signing them into action.

This is interesting because imagine it became just like Youtube: Video responses to bills, spam, "Please don't read this..." and other junk. Will the candidate and his staff get time to read all of that?

I really want him to involve the public through the internet because that is a brilliant, innovative idea, but I think if this rumor turns out to be true, Obama will probably modify it from the original Youtube-like setting.

Bloggers are 'Kids in Pajamas'

Seriously, Sarah Palin is getting more coverage than John McCain and Joe Biden combined post-election. Why is this? 

Today there was news that she called bloggers 'kids in pajamas' (Fox) and that she used some of the RNC's $150K for buying her kids' underwears (Yahoo). Underwears? Did they really need money from the RNC for underwears? I can understand that she needed to look good which is why she got the money from the RNC, but new underwears for kids (who aren't in the spotlight) don't make you look good. She has also said she is open to running in 2012 on Fox.

Lately, she has also been doing more interviews (including MSNBC which is to the left) than she did pre-election day. 

My question is this: is she getting ready to campaign for running in 2012 or is she just trying to improve her reputation on the national stage?

Internet Addiction

This is a problem many of us are going through and may consider 'normal.' However according to the Tech Radar, the Beijing Health Ministry has declared 'Internet addiction' a 'disorder' and will now join the ranks of other disorders including alcoholism. Lifehacker reports that this new disorder's diagnosis can be made by determining the time you spend online. If you spend more than 6 hours and get withdrawal symptoms for taking a break, you have the disorder. Wow. I wonder what the withdrawal symptoms could be. 

Google's Friendship with Obama

The Politico reported that Google's CEO Eric Schmidt donated $1 million to Sen. Obama's campaign during the presidential run albeit Google released a statement saying that it is a neutral company and that Eric's decision was a personal one.

This has sent shivers down the spine of Microsoft and other Google competitors. "[Google] terrifies Microsoft." According to one Dem lobbyist who knows Google well from the inside. The Dem also said "there's a reason why people are scared to death by Google."

I think this illustrates the new heights Google will reach in 2009. With the popular Gmail, Google Android, Youtube, and other highly popular services, Google's internet empire will not stop growing anytime soon. Now that Google has reached a new level, the next President, it may become impossible for Microsoft to take the lead once again. For rivals, Google's base may just have become too great and its ambitions too high to compete with. Isn't it amazing how before we know it, Google will take over our lives? Oh, wait it already has!

A Historic Moment

Photo by Eric Draper

No words needed to explain how historic this moment is.

The Next Presidential Car

The Next 'Cadillac One' rumored to replace the current one will come out next year. According to the Boston Globe it will look like a tank.

Obama Insults Rahm throughout the Roast

Due to the increased interest in this on Youtube, I must share this:

Hilarious jokes thrown by Obama throughout an old 2005 roast. If this guy wasn't a politician, he would make an excellent late night talk show host due to his charm and charisma.

Some of the Funny moments are: 1:30 ('only so many ways to say I'm going to rip your head off'), 2:33 (classic), and 5:01 is the BEST part.

Rahm Emanuel is Obama's new White House Chief of Staff. He is of Jewish religion. He has a reputation of swearing loudly in congress and being harsh with enemies. Once he sent a dead fish to the mailbox of a pollster that angered him. Rahm also used to be a ballet dancer (unusual for a politician) which Obama mentions briefly in this speech.

Joe Scarborough Accidentally Swears Live on MSNBC

Sarah Palin and Harry Potter

In an interview conducted by the Anchorage Daily News, Sarah Palin attempted to refute the claim that she wanted to ban the first Harry Potter book in Alaska.

Palin: "It was reported that I tried to ban Harry Potter when it hadn't even been written when I was the mayor."

Taegan Goddard of the Political Wire reports in his blog that the first Harry Potter book was published in 1998 which was during Sarah Palin's term as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska. So she was basically wrong on when Harry Potter was released, but that doesn't mean that she still tried to ban that particular book. It just means that there were other books that she possibly wanted to ban as she has been reportedly known to have discussed banning books with a librarian in Wasilla.

'Take Your Time' Mr. President

The Associated Press reports that President Bush  is "interested in writing about his White House Years." However, with approval ratings down the drain, the publishers don't seem to be too eager to proceed and ask him to "take [his] time."

Not your average Amtrak

Photo by Khalid Tanveer/AP    Multan, Pakistan

World's Youngest Monarch

Barack is not the new youngest leader in the world today. The new king of Bhutan, a small country located in the Himalayas, had a coronation of its fifth king a short while ago.

Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck is only 28 years old.


Photo by Reuters.

69% of Republicans want Palin to Run for Presidency in 2012

Despite some polls showing that Palin hurt John McCain's chances of winning the White House, a new poll by Rasmussen Reports shows that only 20% of GOPs thought she hurt Senator McCain. While 69% GOPs want her to run again, but this time for President. Good luck with Governor. Just make sure you avoid reporters.

Weekly Cartoon

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer, by Jeff Darcy:

His First Blunder as President-elect

He is not even the President and the unfortunate President-elect makes an "offhanded remark" on Nancy Reagan.

When asked by a reporter during Obama's first press conference as President-elect, whether he spoke to any former presidents, Obama replied that he had only spoken with those "alive" and "[he] didn't want to get into a Nancy Reagan thing... doing any seances." A seance is a meeting of spiritualists or astrologists. Nancy Reagan was ridiculed for meeting an astrologist to discuss about her husband.

Obama later apologized to Nancy Reagan.

The Onion : Obama fans' lives become empty

The Onion states that diehard Obama fans woke up to a shocking realization. Their lives are completely empty now that Obama will be the next President. Watch it here.

Colbert : Obama still has one more obstacle to defeat

I have never seen Sarah Palin this upset before. All the TV networks & news agencies doing the autopsy of McCain/Palin campaign seem to suggest that Palin's own presidential ambitions hampered McCain's.

Val Kilmer Rumored to Run for Governor

Val Kilmer, the Top Gun Star may run for the Governor of New Mexico if President-elect Barack Obama chooses to place the incumbent Governor Bill Richardson in his cabinet. Gov. Richardson ran for President, but dropped out during the primaries.

However, at this point, this is nothing but a rumor.

Val Kilmer has starred in popular movies as Batman Forever and Willow. Well, Bruce Wayne did have an executive position only not in the state.

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