We need more muppets on tv

Palin fans can't say why they support Palin

Sesame street at the center of FOX News controversy

Fox news is apparently at war not only with the White House, but also Sesame street:

Sick of using keys to open doors? Try something new...

Chinese contributions!!

Micronutrients for the Malnourished

Africa, one of the continents with the most resources in the world, but still the poorest of people. But also the continent raped most by colonialism. Coincidence? No.

Does Iran Really Need the Bomb?

I just came across a great article at Salon.com: Click Here!

Take a look.

Ahmedinejad vs Couric

Though I strongly disagree with Ahmedinejad's analysis of the Holocaust, I found much of what he said legitimate. He's no doubt a sharp and thoughtful interviewee, but Couric maintained her reputation as a tough interviewer as well in my opinion even though every one's talking about how she got "pwned."

I strongly believe that Israel backed by US is a thousands times more of a threat to Iran than Iran to Israel. And don't forget that Iran is surrounded by US troops in the east (AfPak) and the west (Iraq). And based on the logic that Iran can't have nuclear weapons because of "inflammatory rhetoric," then why can Israel have an uninspected # of warheads by the US for PROVEN inflammatory violence against innocent people in both Lebanon and Palestine? The truth is that Israel has an untold number of weapons pointed at Iran and Iran is the one feeling threatened not Israel. Israel is using this "Iran threat" as a way to score political points within their own country and as a complete distraction from the issue at hand: the Palestinian deaths. Don't believe me? Go to the United Nations aka legit international authority and see what they think of Israel and its actions.

Here are the videos:

Part 1

Part 2

Dealing with AfPak

Pakistan, a large third world country has a literacy rate of 49.9%. Compare that to countries like Finland and the USA respectively: 100% and 99% Only about half of the Pakistan's school age kids go to schools. The fact that those "schools" are poorly funded and planned is another story. In my opinion, British Colonization has also played a big part of this, but that is also another story for another day.

This is the very reason why the youth are turning to terrorism in Pakistan. Here's why: Before being recruited by terrorist organizations like LeT (responsible for the Mumbai attacks) most of them are severely poor and have been brutally wronged by the current corrupt system. Their lives are already headed in a downward spiral. Then they are approached by a recruiter who brainwashes them with stuff like: "they could change their life around and become a hero" by fighting "evil America" with its vicious torturing techniques, etc, they could become a martyr and go to heaven, etc..you know where I'm going with this. Essentially the recruiters bank on these poor, hopeless youth's hopelessness and desperation to be acknowledged. How do we stop this? Education and opportunities. If these youth were educated, they could be analytical and understand that Al Qaeda isn't really a religious group, but rather a political group hijacking religion to recruit more support. Al Qaeda understands this very well too. Which is another reason why they are against schools. They prefer not to have their large recruitment base destroyed when hope is introduced into the minds of their youth.

These youth could also help the struggling country about to go bankrupt by going into public service, education, health care and further contribute and expand those sectors that are in need of desperate attention currently. Good schools which provide good education could change the current plight of these people by introducing opportunities and HOPE to these people and make them realize that they are being blackmailed and brainwashed into a wrong, hateful cause that does nothing but destroy. President Obama's inauguration speech mentioned how 'we will be judged on what we create rather than what we destroy."

Recently, I came by Jon Stewart's latest interview with the ambassador of Pakistan to the US, Mr. Husain Haqqani. I highly recommend that you watch it (http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=227340&title=husain-haqqani). It's an excellent thought-provoking discussion of how to face the perils of Taliban and Al Qaeda militancy within Pakistan. (Yes, I know Jon Stewart is "just a comedian," but note that he's a well informed one)

Stewart also briefly mentions how our support of Al Qaeda during the Cold War era helped it grow and now its backfiring. This is similar to how the Pakistanis supported terrorist groups such as LeT to prepare for war against India but now it is backfiring on the entire country.

In my opinion, we (the USA) need to invest in non-military operations within Pakistan to fight recruitment into terrorism rather than investing in military. You can expect any military investment to go straight down the drain as it is used purely for skirmishes with India. Those of you who have visited my column often will have noticed that my previous header was pretty relevant to this issue: "books not bombs defeat terrorism" and the introductory rant of this article.

An interesting point made by the ambassador was on our President Obama understanding the situation there well and addressing it appropriately by considering to provide aid to their non-military sector. The ambassador brought attention to the fact that President Obama had visited Pakistan before during his college years.

For those of you who did decide to watch the video, here is a supplementary link to enjoy with it:http://www.husainhaqqani.com/articlesonhh/New%20envoy%20urges%20US.html

However, I must say that I disagree with many of the points the above link brings up. For instance, unless the quick "infusion of US cash" is on non-military sector of Pakistan then I am completely against it as you probably understand by now. Plus, the article brings up Musharraf's "dictatorial moves" as the reason to why he became unpopular. Sorry, but I personally believe that Musharraf was the best President Pakistan had for decades. Not "best" in the sense that he changed the wrong direction the country was going in, but "best" in the sense, he made it go in that direction slower than anyone else preceding or following. This is because he was no where as corrupt as the Bhutto dynasty which destroyed the entire nation's resources. Mrs. Bhutto rightly accused and exiled on corruption charges was obviously wrongly assassinated last year, but her husband, the current President of Pakistan has been charged with both corruption and murder. That reason alone is enough for me to dislike him. Yes, Musharraf was a dictator and no one likes dictators. But sometimes when the democratic system of a country is so broken due to intense corruption and worthless elections, dictatorship is necessary to serve as a temporary corrective measure as Musharraf himself stated. Words are obviously not enough. So he backed it up by showing boosts in the GDP of the country under his leadership, GDP boosts that are non-existent in other administrations before and after him. So by simple logic, he must have been doing something right. Of course events play a huge part in the GDP. And we can't attribute the GDP success solely to the Leader, but looking at the situation right now, Pakistan is back to corruption as it was before Musharraf's time and the GDP is down. Some may question the credibility of the corruption accusations. One of the biggest evidence we have of corruption is "before-and-after." Only after a while in office, did the Bhuttos and Sharif create Swiss accounts with billions of dollars of money.

To bring this rambling back to the point, let me add that POTUS is indeed attempting to triple non-military aid to Pakistan in order to "raise standards of living" there. And there is also some talk of the controversial drone and their highly classified technology being possibly shared with the Pakistani military. A technology that the CIA hasn't shared even with the closest of our allies. More info in this can be found on http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/world/asia/14drone.html?ref=asia

Follow Iran on Twitter

Who knew that Iranians were so tech savvy? A huge % of youth in Iran use Twitter. And after the Iranian election and the resulting protests, the twitter activity in Iran has surged. As you may know the landslide with which Ahmedinejad won is thought to be a scam by many Iranians since the belief that the vote was counted by a partisan Interior Ministry thus leading to the Mass protests.The Twitterers in Iran are collectively sharing links to "Page Reboots" of Iranian gov't website so that it is shutdown. Also Twitterers who get their info from an Iranian in Iran can't reveal the name of the source for fear of his/her safety. Instead the source is credited with a simple, standard "RT Iran" on Twitter for proof of info straight from a Tehran street. You may follow this historic event minute by minute best on Twitter by using the following hashtags: #iranelection #iranians #iran9 #tehran of the popular ones. Now that Ahmedinejad has left Iran, it will be interesting to see how this plays out tomorrow. As far as POTUS response, I agreed with them that it was not the United States' job to dictate Iran's internal politics rather however expressing concern is licit. The Iranians living and residing within the United States gave him a solid thumbs up for that response.

Pics of torture vs torture

Alan S Keller writes in the Letters to the NYT Editor:

There are other crucial voices missing from the torture debate, particularly those civilians who were arbitrarily arrested, imprisoned, tortured and then released months or years later without being charged. This happened in Afghanistan, Iraq (remember Abu Ghraib) as well as in Guantánamo and at C.I.A. black sites.

In the Physicians for Human Rights 2008 report "Broken Law, Broken Lives," my colleagues and I documented the profound physical and psychological suffering resulting from the torture and abuse of 12 people, all of whom were ultimately released without charges, but not before being subjected to beatings, sexual humiliation, sleep deprivation, death threats and extremes of heat and cold. In other words, they were tortured.

In several instances, health professionals were complicit. Then there are the voices of torture survivors, like my patients at the Bellevue-N.Y.U. Program for Survivors of Torture, subjected to brutalities in their home countries eerily similar to what we did. Their voices must be heard along with those of innocent civilians living under despot regimes who now face greater risk of torture because of our misguided policies.

There needs to be an independent and complete investigation.

Why is it that the GOP doesn't understand that there were innocent people swooped up in the process and were tortured mercilessly? This is the main reason why we shouldn't be torturing.

And those pictures that Obama has decided not to release because somehow they will "endanger our troops." How in the world will they endanger our troops? Thats the most pathetic argument I've ever heard. It's not like our opponent isn't already "motivated" enough and its not as if there isn't already any "advertisment for Anti-Americanism" in the first place. It's not the pictures, it's the torture itself that is the issue and the advertisement.

The whole argument seems pathetic and fishy to me. Plus Nancy Pelosi is a total tool. And it's pretty obvious she was lying about CIA lying. She'll only oppose torture when it's convenient. There is no doubt in that.

What she said

US Military proselytizing?

Amnesty for Illegals

FOX has officially lost it:



I'm not going to discuss every issue that Glenn Beck touches in his act, just immigration.

After it became clear that Obama may decide to legalize the 12 million illegals in America, the GOP just lost it. They were like: "Why would someone do such a thing? The illegals are responsible for all the crime here! They should be deported and should come through the front door like everyone else, not the back door."

First of all, why do you think illegals come here? They come here for a chance of feeding there kids back in Mexico or any other South American country. They are more desperate than legals. I'm not saying that illegal immigration is ok. Obviously it creates problems for the country, but do you really think it will be easy to round up all 12 million of them and get them deported? Why not have the illegal ones legalized so that they won't be forced to rob? They rob because they aren't allowed a job. As long as they are in this country they will continue criminal activities. Giving them citizenship will give them a second life and basically food stamps and other services that they can use to help their kids that they couldn't in their developing home countries because of extreme poverty present there. I know we should work on securing our borders before legalizing them, but maybe these were the fundamentals Obama and Bush had in mind when they want to legalize illegals. It may seem counter intuitive at first, but legal immigration is actually tougher than illegal immigration. To legally immigrate, you have to be healthy (ie: no AIDS, diseases for instance for licit reasons) and have some connections in the US or some work/education skills that the US could use before you can be eligible. You can't pick up a poor guy from the streets and have him legally migrate. Their only hope is via the illegal option if they want a new life. Again, I am not saying it is right, but that these illegals have no other option and are forced by their extreme circumstances. Now that these illegals have somehow made it into this country, they should be legalized and forgotten about and then we should work on securing our borders to prevent more from coming in. Reform is what we need and I think Obama has that in mind. I know this rant is very disorganized, but the above video is how extreme FOX is taking this.

To sum it up in a bit more organized fashion than the rough rant above:

1. Forget about the illegals here - hardest part
   
2. Naturalize them to potentially reduce domestic crime and give the kids a future
   
3. Then, focus on securing borders instead of worrying about the illegals
   
4. Act quickly if you don't want more illegals
5. Take power away from drug lords in South America to reduce poverty there.
   

Obviously, some things are easier said than done. So these steps are probably oversimplifying the issue.

The GOP argues that legalizing these illegals makes it harder for Americans to get jobs in these tough times. That is a perfectly legitimate argument, but what should we do with these illegals here? Once again, instead of rounding them up one by one and wasting our resources, why don't we focus our resources on securing the border and give the illegals citizenship so that their kids who were born in this country and shouldn't have to deal with the pain of deportation, can lead a normal American life with normal services available to all Americans. Illegals are currently living in disgusting conditions which force them to contribute to crime and I hate that these kids of the illegal families who had nothing to do with all of this, who were just born in the wrong household will not be able to enjoy and pursue the American dream like everyone else even though they were born in this country, but to the "wrong" type of parents. Naturalization for their parents will open up a lot of opportunities for them.

So let me know what you think. Most probably will find this disorganized rant flawed. So don't be afraid to say it in the comments.

Sign of the times?

I typed in "what is a..." and in the Google suggestion drop down list, I got:

• a good credit score
• a ponzi scheme
• a hedge fund
• a short sale
• a torrent
• a recession

All of these except 'torrent' are related to the current financial crisis. Google says that the suggestion list is basically generated based on "the spirit of times." Here is what they say on their website:

Google Suggest uses data about the overall popularity of various searches to help rank the refinements it offers.

Marijuana will be the top issue in online POTUS town hall today

A huge number of the questions submitted by the public via this highly sophisticated, tech savvy website were on marijuana in the 2 days we had to submit our questions for the online town hall starting in 2 hours. Around 40, 000 questions of the total 104,000 questions submitted were on the drug that many liberal Dems want legalized. Pretty much all of these 40,000 were in support of legalizing it based on my own personal estimate.

We know very well that President Obama is opposed to legalizing to marijuana as he said during his campaign trail, but I think this online town hall will be very interesting to watch Potus respond to the overwhelming support. Since it is the top issue, he can not avoid this question. So I guarantee you that he will answer this question unless he is fine with turning down ~35% of the participants.

UPDATE: POTUS blew off marijuana advocates by laughing the question away and suggesting it may have something to do with the online community. While I'm not quite a marijuana advocate, I thought it was unfair of President Obama to not respond with a rational opposition to legalizing the drug.

Topless Coffee shop waitresses

So I'm sure many of you read about the topless coffee shop and the interview with some of the waitresses and the 150 applicant pool for 10 positions. Here is what I think about it.

Firstly, I hate it when women state the common argument "no, I love it...I find it very empowering, not degrading" because it's so stupid and illogical as that waitress said. I was so shocked to hear that. Why could not she just be honest and say "I need the money" instead of lying?

So to those of you who are advocates of such coffee shops, please cut the nonsense, how is it NOT degrading?? You're being viewed as an object, not as someone who's opinion matters. If those men got their way, they could get rougher not more respectful. Respect comes with power. And those women are not in a position of power; they are serving coffee to those in power. How's that "empowering?"

If that is not degrading then I wonder what is.

Here is the original article.

Crushing Piracy

Via FP Passport: Piracy in Lebanon is being crushed quite literally. And I really like this picture because it demonstrates that so powerfully. All those illegal CDs, DVDs and hours of great movies being crushed. It reminds of drag racing cars being crushed in the US as it is illegal here.

Wisconsin: Dad shoots son in the buttocks

Associated Press: A 9 year old son wrote a school essay in which he mentioned his Dad shooting him in the derriere with a BB gun once. The school teacher showed the essay to the authorities which ended up having the Dad arrested.

First of all, if I was the teacher, I would have not believed it knowing how wild imaginations can get from 9 year olds. So good work teacher! Good work in knowing when a child is telling the truth and when not.

Secondly, why would the Dad shoot the son? There was no description of that by the Dad who may now spend six years in prison. Kind of silly how the kid wrote this in an essay. This probably means think before you write if you want to hide something. Of course the Dad does deserve some punishment, but I won't be the judge to how much. A very weird story indeed.

Indonesian women protest Hillary visit

Indonesian women are protesting HRC's upcoming visit. According to Reuters, they are saying "you are not welcome here Hillary!" The reason for the protest is due to HRC's ties with Israeli lobbyists. The women are saying that HRC has no interest in diplomacy with the Muslim world except for defending Israel.

This was expected. Hillary will have a tough time carrying out Obama's agenda as she has ties to the complete opposite of what Obama would like to do. She basically disagreed with Obama's positions on Israel and Iran during the campaign. What makes anyone think that she'll happily give up those previously held notions for the POTUS? No one is that subservient. This is why I still don't understand Obama's picks. Why is he not picking someone who can actually pass his agenda rather than someone who can destroy it? He is focusing too much on bipartisanship. And we've already seen the results of that after the stimulus package was tried to be passed. Hats off to Judd Gregg for stepping aside quickly instead of staying and ruining Obama's agenda. In this case Gregg was much more of an honest man than any of the other Obama's other tax fleeing nominees. 4 nominees have already left due to tax issues. Why should anymore of his nominees be trusted? So my thanks to Gregg for not having tax issues and for recognizing that he had fundamental differences in philosophy with Obama which may hinder his and Potus' success in Commerce department. Thank you Gregg, for not waiting until someone pointed you out. Thank you for realizing that the friction of bipartisanship can sometimes be not so useful.

Maybe Obama picked Hillary to garner the support of the half the Democratic congress and to flatter the general American public. It was part of that secret deal that they had after she lost the campaign. Obama probably promised her SOS position while she promised to campaign for him. But who knows, as shrewd as she is, she could have asked so much more besides the SOS position, such as being able to pass her own policy and being completely independent from the President.

Jimmy Carter's Plan

Please check out this great link. Former POTUS discusses how Israeli attack was completely unnecessary and could have been avoided in this latest interview. Also, in the interview he discusses how we can achieve peace there in his new book: "We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land." It's just one reason why he is my favorite US President. His previous book got him controversy ('controversy' only in the US and Israel, but got him Nobel Prize and praise from around the world) for his position against some of Israeli positions and even led to Barack Obama avoiding him which is disappointing. But I am sure that Barack has something up his sleeve and was just trying to take a neutral position on this. So far Barack is juggling and struggling with cabinet nominees and waiting for Iranian elections to take place. So it will be a while before we see any major achievements in the Middle East. Soon, I will be assessing in more detail Barack Obama's Presidency in the coming days!

Sorry Israel: Shahar visa rejection not a big deal

Calm down everybody.

CNN and FOX relax. Tennis player Shahar Peer's Visa rejection by UAE is nothing huge. It's just like rejecting Iranian athletes or Soviet Union for Olympics. Dubai is known in the world for one of the most globalized and networked cities and this may sound backward to some. However, UAE has nothing against Ms. Peer personally. It's just the fact that UAE along with the United Nations, and Ban ki Moon does not recognize the recent butchering of innocent civilians in Gaza.

I'm sorry to all Israelis, but Israel broke the ceasefire first this time if you remember clearly. Know that I respect Israel's right to exist, but as in the video below, Palestinian civilians are dying like flies. There are millions living without electricity there and hospitals are no better than slums.

Ehud Barak, what is your 'objective' if not peace? Meanwhile US intelligence is predicting an Israel-Iran war by the end of this year. Why is US putting up with this? Let's take a step back and go back to the basics. Israel is being supported militarily and being provided nuclear weapons for killing innocent civilians! Let me go back to the old argument: just because you were the victims 60 years ago does not mean you can do what you like! You are no more the victim. In fact, this is another holocaust. And the United States must not let the Israeli lobby to bend US policy towards Israeli interests instead of US interests. It not only hurts Americans, but it is hurting the world.

Here are some videos from early 2009 worth watching. Especially watch how the UN describes this as disproportional killing and death of Human Rights workers. And the last 2 videos also discusses how 'talking' with Hamas can pause rocket fires. Stop discouraging POTUS from talking. Bill O' Reilly and Ann Coulter need to realize that as in the last video unless the occupation and strangulation of Gaza ends, there will be no peace and Hamas will continue fire. And don't say "Hamas will not negotiate" because they WILL and they have in the past. Yes, they have objectionable tactics, but would you rather kill hundreds of Palestinian civilians, then talk? If yes, then thats the most pathetic strategy ever. Former POTUS Jimmy Carter won a Nobel Prize for exactly this and was criticized by only 2 groups for receiving it. Can you guess who they were? Yes, only Israel and US. Finally, know that Gaza blockade will only feed terror. Make sure to watch this video which was in my earlier posts too. Also make sure you watch the Rabbi video below too. We need more people like those in the world.





Also, a Jewish Rabbi gives his take on the Israel-Palestine issue:



Part 1



Part 2



Thank you for those who read the whole thing.

What does it feel like to have a high IQ?

Clowns of the year 2009 showing up faster than expected

So we've already heard about Christian Bale and Michael Phelps. Bale as we already know has acted in 'angry' movies (Batman films and the American Psycho) which show that he may make a great angry actor for any future searching director. Either he is a pathetic actor who is actually the angry, frustrated guy he plays in films in real life too, or after playing a character it's hard for him to go back to the real Christian Bale mode.

Apparently some new members have also joined the gang (that was fast!); 19 year old singer Chris Brown and singer Rihanna, 20. Basically, the story goes something like this: Brown and Fenty were in an argument and got physical. Physical as in beating each other up. Both Brown and Fenty had injuries, though Fenty (I prefer to use people's last names) showed more. Chris Brown till now had a completely clean image and a promising career, but now is facing a career setback as major radio stations have taken his songs off the radio and some sponsors had dumped him and he got arrested. After all, singing love songs about a woman on TV when you've actually beaten up one and been arrested for aggravated assault doesn't fit nicely.

Also, you might be interested to hear this latest rumor. Possibly Brown got angry because as pathetic as the timing was, Rihanna decided to inform him that she gave him herpes and threw Brown into an uncontrollable anger. Sounds ridiculous and is definitely not too funny.

Haven't heard of this rumor? See it here for yourself. It's gone crazy on Youtube.

Hockey Mom turns 45

Meanwhile somewhere in Alaska, a small town, folksy, media sensation, mom turns 45. Thanks for bringing entertainment into politics Sarah! Happy Birthday!

Got Fresh Air?

As the threats of global warming loom, we discover that there are three types of plants that can help with climate change. This is a talk given at Ted on how we may 'grow our own fresh air.' Worth checking out the talking points here.

3 Timelines

Three ways of getting out of Iraq.

Mother 'cooks' her daughter; this is why a big stimulus package is NOT 'just spending'

Honestly, this is outrageous. A 40 year old mother is now in custody for beating her kids with a crowbar and heating up a nail and using it to burn the lower eyelid of the daughter. The kids are safe now with Social Services, but if one of the daughters had not managed to get the neighbor to call the police it would not have been pretty. According to this article, this happened regularly when the dad was not at home. My question is why? Why would the mom want to hurt her own kids in such a brutal manner. Even the punishment in jail is not so severe as the punishment given by this 40 year old mother. Either she has mental issues or those kids give her a real, tough life. And I doubt it that those kids gave the mom such pain to deserve such a punishment. Seriously, child abuse is now reaching depressingly new heights. And the family planning and law enforcement funding provision cut from the stimulus package by the stubborn GOP does NOT help one bit.

In Prison

Funny cartoon from the New Yorker.

Bin Laden's Twitter Page

OBL using Twitter in a cave? Check it out here. Really hilarious.

Nailed 'Em

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Nailed 'Em - Amtrak Photographer

Colbert Report Full Episodes
Paul McCartney Appearance

Funny Political Videos
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The man Bale unleashed on

This is the Director of Photography or "DP" as Bale referred to him, Shane Hurlbut.



"Seriously, man we're _ done professionally." - Christian C. P. Bale

Though this will seriously hurt Bale in the media, without doubt, this flap only brings increased interest and attention to the movie. Commercially, Bale did a great thing for his movie. Way to promote your film, Bale! If this was just a stunt to grab attention to the Arnold-less movie, then I must say Bale is not bad at acting.

What forced him out

Pretty much every press agency discussed and criticized President Obama for keeping Daschle as HHS Sec. despite the new facts that have burst into the scene. It's true that Daschle is highly experienced and very knowledgeable on passing bills in Congress, but it does not make sense to appoint a cabinet member who violates the ethics you created especially when you've promised ethics reform and established new ethics rules for a more "transparent" White House. Yesterday, of course, the Obama administration's response to this controversy was pretty dry and not meaningful. So what changed his mind to stay?

Two main things forced him to withdraw:

1. Another member, the Chief Performance Officer withdrew her nomination also because of tax issues before Daschle did which perhaps pushed Daschle over the edge to make the decision to withdraw.
2. This morning the New York Times editorial asking for Daschle's withdrawal was read by Daschle himself. The editorial spoke on behalf of the New York Times as a whole. The editorial's update then says that he "did the right thing."

Harry Potter is "deeply embarrassed"

I don't know why, but he reminds me of Harry Potter. Anyone else also see him that way? Any way he seems really "deeply disappointed" with his actions and it's pretty much guaranteed that he'll be HHS chief. But I don't care about that now. See the most important thing is fixing the health care system. That's the top priority. If he can accomplish that, then it's okay whoever he is or whatever lobbyist funding he's received.

Obama, the supermodel?

What?

Mr. President, Ditch Daschle Now!

This is not cool, Mr. President. In fact it's sickening. Your Secretary of Health & Human services has not paid taxes and received lobbyist funding for being chauffeured in a limo during bad times for Americans. Don't you think someone about to take control of the health care sector should abide by your newly created ethics rules? I can understand why Geithner's situation isn't that bad because at least he didn't request and waste US taxpayer money on chauffeured limos! I'm also aware that Daschle kept this fact from you until now which is not your fault, but now that you're fully aware of his bad actions, dump him please, for the sake of your new White House ethics rules and to send a bold message to future staff tax evaders.

What a pathetic fool!

Seems like Israel prefers hostile relations with Iran and does not want Iran-America talks no matter what good it may bring. And they don't want the media around either!

News Agency Messes Up

Michael Phelps is ruining America's image

Michael Phelps was caught smoking cannabis. Yes, marijuana. Not surprisingly, this report was done by a UK news agency rather than an American. This diminishes his hero status and also makes him lesser of a role model and more of a "bad influence" like Lindsay Lohan. Here is a picture of him smoking the illegal drug with a "bong." The news agency also states: "Phelps’ aides went into a panic over our story and offered us a raft of extraordinary incentives not to run the bong picture." And also: "If he continues to party like that I’d be amazed if he ever won any more medals again." The article goes on to remind us of how Phelps had previously gotten into trouble with DUIs and possibly had smoked cannabis before.

Make no mistake, I've always been an admirer of the six-four legend for his record-breaking swimming performances and long list of highly prestigious awards. Believe me, it's hard to bash a national hero. But his hard partying record makes him something parents would discourage young swimmers or other athletes or future Olympians from looking up to.

This also ruins America's image as this guy is not only the best swimmer, but the best Olympian! Hence, he should represent the best of America ethically too as he is sort of like the face of American athletes to the world.

The news agency that filed the report approached the US Olympian Committee, which recently awarded Phelps the Sportsman of the Century award, but obviously they got no comment. And they were equally unsuccessful with Phelps' coach. But the picture sure does look a lot like him.

Borrowing Money

Perfect timing for this video:

Tax and Lobbying issues

So not only Geithner, but also Daschle has not been keeping up with taxes. Not only that lobbyists (remember Raytheon?) are being considered for posts violating the ethics rules just set. What is going on, Mr. President?

Hopefully, incoming Commerce Secretary Gregg is up to date with taxes.

RNC has a New Face

In a desperate attempt to rid themselves of the "old, small town white guy" image, GOP-ers thrust Michael Steele, an African American for the first time in the RNC's history to the chairmanship of the RNC.

Keep one thing in mind: An African American heading the RNC will not necessarily change the attitudes of the GOP to crucial issues facing the African American community in places like New Orleans and the rest of the nation or attitudes towards issues relating immigration, health care, stem cell research and war. It's just a new face.

Excellent Video on the History of the Internet

Al Arabiya TV is NOT representative of Middle East

The first televised interview as President by Barack Obama was given to Al-Arabiya TV, an Arab news channel in the Middle East and is known as "friendly" to US image. The interview definitely showed a new brand of politics in the White House and was generally well received in the Middle East and by American Dems. However, to be clear, unlike what many websites are saying right now, Al Arabiya is not the mainstream news channel of the Muslim world. It's Al-Jazeera. In fact, Al Jazeera has around as much TV viewership as BBC world. BBC and Al-Jazeera have this agreement now on being able to share each others footage among other things. But Al-Jazeera is largely regarded as "confrontational" by the US which was probably why Obama dodged granting them an interview instead. That is understandable especially if you're trying to bolster US image. But just know that Al-Arabiya is not mainstream and it is the 'FOX' of the Middle East to some. But I'm not complaining. You can't be that fussy about these things. Small baby steps must be taken first before we actually speak to Al-Jazeera.

Tourism

Contrary to what I thought, westerners still visit Iran. Given the current tensions, this may be a shocking video to some. As you know President Obama recently said "the Iranian people are a great people and the Persian civilization is a great civilization." Obviously that was not well received by Fox news and the GOP, but the Middle East largely praised him for being kind.

Matt Damon: Bond is "repulsive"

Award winning American actor, Matt Damon, had some not so polite words for James Bond, the fictional character of the famous/infamous Bond serious:

''They could never make a James Bond movie like any of the Bourne films ... Because Bond is an imperialist, misogynist sociopath who goes around bedding women and swilling martinis and killing people. He's repulsive."

This article goes on to describe the Harvard-educated Damon as "very smart" and a political thinker calling Republican Bill Kristol who appears regularly on Fox as an "idiot."

Shocking: Girl marries dog amidst superstition

Reuters: "In India's eastern Jharkhand, villagers 'married' off a young girl to a stray dog to ward off an evil spirit. The locals at Munda Dhanda village performed the ceremony as they believe it will overcome any curse that might fall on the family. Interestingly, the girl is free to get married later in life to a man without even seeking a divorce. Superstitions are widespread in India, especially in rural areas where literacy is scarce."

The Poll on the right should be gone, but...

Sorry guys, blogger is not letting me remove the now useless poll on the right. So if you're wondering why it's still there, I haven't forgotten about it and I will just have to wait for the number of days it indicates it is open for.

Image of US already changing

Iran was staunchly anti-America during the days of the election and many Iranians had serious doubts that America would elect a black man. However, today that has changed slightly. President Ahmedinejad of Iran said he is ready for a new relationship and talks with America. But many Iranians are still skeptical that a US-Iran relationship would bring any good. Iranian students were seen demonstrating against the US' extensive support of Israel on the day Obama came into office.

Susan Rice, the new UN ambassador said we would engage in "direct diplomacy" with Iran. Hopefully, that means Iran won't be left completely isolated by this administration. That leaves poverty rate high in Iran and at the same time gives Iran a reason to pursue nuclear technology. But believe it or not, diplomacy with Iran could help lower gas prices. But, first you would need to lift those sanctions.

Hey, it worked with North Korea. They are now officially not a terrorist nation.

Oprah for Senate?

Blago considered Oprah for senate. Goddard of Political Wire writes:

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) told ABC News "that when he was deciding who would take President Obama's Senate seat he considered appointing talk show queen Oprah Winfrey."

Said Blagojevich: "She seemed to be someone who had helped Barack Obama in a significant way to become president," adding that "she had a much broader bully pulpit than a lot of senators."

Update: Oprah responds: "If I had been watching from the treadmill I probably would have fallen off the treadmill."

It's all yours captain!

Now watch this drive...

Top 15 National Losers of 2008

1. George Bush
   
2. The Middle Class
   
3. Rod Blagojevich
4. Sarah Palin
5. Dick Cheney
6. Eliot Spitzer
   
7. Tony Rezko
   
8. Hank Paulson
   
9. Hillary Clinton
10. Soulja Boy
    
11. Mitt Romney
    
12. The American Investor
13. Sam Zell (Owner of Tribune Company)
14. John McCain
15. Sean Hannity & Friends
    

US: Bin Laden not a threat anymore

Apparently, the US government and Obama have dismissed a newly released Osama audio tape discussing Israel-Gaza and the inauguration as a gentle reminder of a long lost enemy. According to Reuters, the tape does not in anyway disprove that Osama is too weak to be in a position to attack or cause any disturbances during the inauguration. Even PE Obama is now sort of shifting his position of capturing Osama. Commenting on this tape, Obama just said that if Bin Laden is having a tough time commanding or communicating from his secret location somewhere, then America is secure and suggested that capturing him wasn't the biggest of the biggest priority. This makes sense, Osama is now just a mere symbol (and symbols transcend a single individual) and the heavy bombing in Afghanistan should have bought America at least this far if nothing else. Right now, the top most priority is defeating Al Qaeda, not by military might, but by winning the hearts and minds of Al Qaeda's biggest supporters, the desperate hunger stricken poor, through compromise, aid, promise of a better life and smart psychologial warfare against Al Qaeda.

Here is the first psychological step we can take to derail Al Qaeda: Reprimand Israel as its ally for wrongly killing innocents and force a ceasefire. Too many are dead and Osama is taking advantage of this by seeking to tie Israel and the US to incite anger in the Muslim world. So do the right thing and throw Al Qaeda completely off and spoil its goal of sparking more hate-filled terrorism.

Best Movie of the Past Year

For those of you who have yet to see the film Slumdog Millionaire, the winner of four Golden Globes including Best Motion Picture, this is a good one.

In my humble opinion, this has been one of the best films of the year. Directed superbly by Danny Boyle, the film mainly portrays the harsh lifestyle of street kids in third world countries and the class-consciousness that exists in such societies. We just aren't doing enough.

And I'm pretty sure, it will not leave the February Oscars empty-handed either (though I didn't quite like the ending).

See it!

Silence speaks louder than words

President-Elect Obama's commitment to closing Gitmo is highly commendable, but with the murderous campaign raging in Gaza, his silence is too loud. The UN has stopped sending aid workers to Gaza due to deaths from Isreali airstrikes, Human Rights Organizations condemn Israel and more than a 1,000 have been killed. And yet he is silent. Why? He says "there is only one President at a time" but we MUST know what our future President will do. If he's going to do the same thing as the 'Washington Insiders' than there was no point in electing him. What frustrates much of the world is that we are in the dark as to where he stands on Gaza. Will he jump on the Bush bandwagon and support Israel until Hamas 'stops?' Or will he be in his right mind and be unbiased and neutral when dealing with both sides?

For those of you who say "Israel has a right to defend itself" from Hamas that refuses Israel the right to exist, then know that Israel also refuses the Palestinian people the right to live as an independent nation free from wrongful and tyrannical occupation. If Israel didn't blockade Gaza, the Palestinian people would've probably never have elected the Hamas in the first place. The blockade has garnered criticism from Human Rights groups.

Anyway, whatever Israel does from now until the 20th will happen unchallenged, but after that lets hope the PE gets something done.