Amazing!

This leaves me wondering why I keep kicking myself! Damn! This guy is cool!

The amazing past!

How many singers can you spot? If you spot more than 10, consider yourself a genius!!

I can only spot four: Orlando, Juliana, Jimmy Katumba, and Sweet Kid! Beat that!

Is your partner the one for you?

Amanda May

“So, what do you do?” and “Where are you from?” aren’t exactly the most scintillating questions to ask on a date—nor do they actually give you any juicy information about the person sitting across from you. If you really want to know whether you’ve got good chemistry and long-term potential here, you need to probe harder than that. But what kind of questions do you ask? Here, we asked three dating experts to help us dig through all the small talk to come up with five no-nonsense queries that reveal a lot more than they let on. Don’t worry, there are no right or wrong answers. “You’re not looking for your clone,” says Laurie Seale, author of The Questions to Ask Before You Jump into Bed. “You’re judging whether someone shares your values and goals to see whether they’d be a good long-term partner.” And if not—if his or her answers are so wacky and opposite of what you believe that you don’t think you’ll last through the next 50 minutes, never mind the next 50 years—then at least you’ve had an evening of interesting conversation!

Questions that reveal if you're a match:

Question 1: “If your company gave one-year paid sabbaticals, what would you do for that year?”

Maybe they’d run off to a remote island in the Pacific, start their own business, or spend their days working in a soup kitchen. Whatever your date answers, “This is a very revealing question, and a perfect one to ask on a first-date,” says Seale. “It reveals your date’s true passions and priorities, showing you whether they’re selfless, selfish, or overly ambitious.” You’ll also learn what this person cares about but isn’t making time for right now. “Your follow-up question should be, ‘Are you doing anything like that right now?’” says Seale. “Obviously they can’t spend every day in the soup kitchen, but do they volunteer on weekends?” And who knows—maybe you’ll wind up bonding over your secret desire to track down rare African birds or start your own Klezmer band.

Question 2: “Will you share an embarrassing moment with me?”

Is she secure enough to laugh at the time she gave a huge work presentation with ketchup on her shirt? Can he share the embarrassment of falling on Rollerblades while trying to impress an ex? It’s not the actual activity that matters—you want to know whether he / she can be vulnerable around you early on. “If he / she admit to, say, trying out for Pop Idol and bombing big-time, at least you know they don’t take themselves too seriously,” admits Diane Mapes, author of How to Date in a Post-Dating World. And remember: If someone’s willing to share their private failures, you need to be ready to share some of your most embarrassing moments as well. In fact, it’s probably best if you spill the beans first, and one easy way to do that is to say “First dates make me kind of nervous, but I always remind myself it pales in comparison to the time I took a crack at being a footie goalie—and caught two balls in the face!”

Question 3: “If your house were on fire, what’s the one thing you’d make sure to save?”

Want to learn whether your date is sentimental or practical? Find out whether he’d rescue his grandfather’s pocket watch or his laptop, says Sharyn Wolf, author of So You Want to Get Married: Guerilla Tactics for Turning a Date into a Mate. “This question gives you a sense of what’s valuable to someone, and whether your values coincide,” she explains. Make sure to ask why they’d grab that particular item—you may found she’d grab her college diaries because those were amazing years when she learned (and recorded) so much about life, or that he’d grab his vinyl record collection since he adores being a DJ at parties. And if you’re wondering how you bring up such an odd topic, consider an opener like, “I have a lot of interests and hobbies, but what’s truly close to my heart is fishing. In fact, my tackle box is the first thing I’d grab if my house were burning down. That, and my first edition of Jack London’s Call Of The Wild. How about you?”

Question 4: “What’s the biggest misperception people have about you?”

Maybe your date will say that everyone thinks he’s snobby and stuck-up, when he’s really just shy. It’s a good thing to know—especially if you’ve been sitting across from him thinking just that. “You’ll get a sense of how the person views him or herself,” explains Wolf. “And it gives you the chance to take a step back and rethink your opinion of them.” This is a great first-date question, particularly if you make the disclosure first, says Wolfe. Say, for example, “Sometimes people think I talk too much, but I just tend to babble when nervous. Is there anything you do that you think gives people an off-base first impression of you?” This gives you the opportunity to clear up any misperceptions your date might have about you, while also helping you know your “real” date without having to pry.

Question 5: “What’s the one life experience you want a do-over on?” Here’s your chance to learn a juicy tidbit about your date’s past: Does he secretly wish he went to culinary school instead of law school? Does she rue the day she gave up her pet cat to clinch that great “no pets” pad? Everyone’s got some regrets, and they speak tons about someone’s character. Not sure how to segue into this heavy question? You’re best off warming them up first with your own confession, whether that’s how you wished you’d taken a year off after college just to travel or had quit a bad job before it became a really, really bad job. Just say, “I’ve pretty happy with how things are going right now, but the one thing I always wished I’d done differently is _______. How about you?”

Writer Amanda May has written for Redbook and other publications.

Let's Talk Sex!

By Robert Chu, Ph.D., L.Ac

Sex feels good. And the proper amount of sex can help maintain you physical and emotional health. But balance is the key. Both having too little or too much sex can lead to unhealthy conditions.

As a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine, maintaining balance in all life's activities is what I strive for... in myself and in my patients. Let us look at the effects of too much sex, too little sex, and what the proper amounts should be, based on your age and condition.

How Much Sex is Too Much?

The theories of Chinese medicine warn of the dangers of having too much sex. A person could become what is called, in Chinese medicine, kidney jing deficient. Jing refers to the main essence fluids of the body, distilled from what we eat and drink. Jing is stored in the kidneys – the batteries of the body. It gives us energy and healthy internal systems. In fact, we are born with enough essence to ensure a lifespan of 120 years. Problem is, we exhaust it through our poor eating, poor rest, lack of exercise, unstable emotions, stress, disease and by having an unhealthy amount of sex!

Signs and symptoms of kidney jing deficiency include a weakening of the bones, loss of hair, a graying of the face, loosening or loss of teeth, low back soreness, weakness of the legs (particularly behind the knees), poor memory, loss of libido, impotence and a general lack of sexual desire. If you are suffering from any of these signs and symptoms, perhaps you should consider if too much sex is killing you, or at least weakening you.

With too much ejaculation, jing is depleted from the body. As a man ages past his middle years, the excessive loss of jing (semen) can have the disastrous effects described above. The young can engage in frequent copulation, but the middle aged and elderly should only release semen infrequently.

There is a classic text on Chinese medicine called Su Nu Jing. It was published almost 2,000 years ago and suggests that to maintain health, a man should have a certain amount of ejaculations according to his age and health. At the age of 20, if a person is in good health, it is suggested that two ejaculations a day is reasonable. Moreover, having one ejaculation every four days is the minimum necessary to maintain health.

The chart below suggests the guidelines from that classic text:

Age	Good health	Average Health	Minimum
20	2x Day	1X Day	Every 4 days
30	1x Day	Every other day	Every 8 days
40	Every 3 days	Every 4 days	Every 16 days
50	Every 5 days	Every 10 days	Every 21 days
60	Every 10 days	Every 20 days	Every 30 days

Of course, these are rough guidelines and should not be strictly adhered to. At least it gives you an idea of the frequency a man should have sex in order to maintain good health and balanced emotions. Of course, the converse is true, that no sex at all can cause resentment, depression and anxiety... which could possibly lead to long term disease.

Now, the average 20-year-old male who is engaging in masturbation three times a day in college is probably overdoing it. This could possibly affect his grades (poor memory) or affect his collegiate tennis match (with weak knees and sore low back).

The 40 year old executive thinking of having that affair with the nice 24 year old intern might want to consider if he is in good enough health to survive an extramarital affair. He could wind up suffering from hair loss, aging of the face, low back soreness, weak legs, poor memory, loss of libido, impotence, and lack of sexual desire that could cost him his career and his health... not to mention his marriage!

How Much Sex is Too Little?

Sex is important for relationships, not just emotionally, but for the organ systems as well. Ladies, when men tell you they feel like they are dying from lack of sex, it's only partially true. In reality, the choked up emotions and lack of connection can cause him to suffer the Chinese Medicine syndrome known as liver qi stagnation.

According to Chinese medicine theory, the liver functions to move the qi (life energy) freely in the body. Liver qi stagnation, then, is when there is a pathogenic flow of the correct qi manifesting in some of the following signs and symptoms: feeling of distension in the chest and hypochondrium, sighing, hiccup, melancholy, depression, moodiness, unhappiness and feeling of a lump in the throat. Often the etiology of this syndrome includes emotional problems, a state of anger, frustration or resentment.

If this condition persists, it can grow into what is called liver fire. The signs and symptoms associated live fire include irritability, anger, shouting, ringing in the ears, temporal headache, bitter taste in the mouth, dream disturbed sleep, a red face and red eyes. This is the result of long-standing emotional states of anger, resentment or frustration. This can cause problems like high blood pressure, tinnitis, insomnia, migraine headache and the like.

Good sexual relations are a part of good health. Overdoing it can be detrimental to health, and we have found that too little sex can also have an negative effect on health. My advice: Be happy and be wise in the ways of lovemaking.

Hat tip: Josh Nkuru

Mozart's Symphony No. 40

WOW - genius!!



Hat tip: Andrew Sullivan

Everybody hates Bush! LOL

Pirates' luxury lifestyles on lawless coast

And who said that crime doesn't pay?!

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- Somalia's increasingly brazen pirates are building sprawling stone houses, cruising in luxury cars, marrying beautiful women -- even hiring caterers to prepare Western-style food for their hostages.

And in an impoverished country where every public institution has crumbled, they have become heroes in the steamy coastal dens they operate from because they are the only real business in town.

"The pirates depend on us, and we benefit from them," said Sahra Sheik Dahir, a shop owner in Haradhere, the nearest village to where a hijacked Saudi Arabian supertanker carrying $100 million in crude was anchored Wednesday.

"The oldest man on the ship always takes the responsibility of collecting the money, because we see it as very risky, and he gets some extra payment for his service later,"

These boomtowns are all the more shocking in light of Somalia's violence and poverty: Radical Islamists control most of the country's south, meting out lashings and stonings for accused criminals. There has been no effective central government in nearly 20 years, plunging this arid African country into chaos.

Life expectancy is just 46 years; a quarter of children die before they reach 5.

But in northern coastal towns like Haradhere, Eyl and Bossaso, the pirate economy is thriving thanks to the money pouring in from pirate ransoms that have reached $30 million this year alone.

In Haradhere, residents came out in droves to celebrate as the looming oil ship came into focus this week off the country's lawless coast. Businessmen started gathering cigarettes, food and cold glass bottles of orange soda, setting up small kiosks for the pirates who come to shore to re-supply almost daily.

Dahir said she is so confident in the pirates, she instituted a layaway plan just for them.

"They always take things without paying and we put them into the book of debts," she told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "Later, when they get the ransom money, they pay us a lot."

For Somalis, the simple fact that pirates offer jobs is enough to gain their esteem, even as hostages languish on ships for months. The population makes sure the pirates are well-stocked in qat, a popular narcotic leaf, and offer support from the ground even as the international community tries to quash them.

"Regardless of how the money is coming in, legally or illegally, I can say it has started a life in our town," said Shamso Moalim, a 36-year-old mother of five in Haradhere.

"Our children are not worrying about food now, and they go to Islamic schools in the morning and play soccer in the afternoon. They are happy."

Despite a beefed-up international presence, the pirates continue to seize ships, moving further out to sea and demanding ever-larger ransoms. The pirates operate mostly from the semiautonomous Puntland region, where local lawmakers have been accused of helping the pirates and taking a cut of the ransoms.

For the most part, however, the regional officials say they have no power to stop piracy.

Meanwhile, towns that once were eroded by years of poverty and chaos are now bustling with restaurants, Land Cruisers and Internet cafes. Residents also use their gains to buy generators -- allowing full days of electricity, once an unimaginable luxury in Somalia.

There are no reliable estimates of the number of pirates operating in Somalia, but they must number in the thousands. And though the bandits do sometimes get nabbed, piracy is generally considered a sure bet to a better life.

NATO and the U.S. Navy say they can't be everywhere, and American officials are urging ships to hire private security. Warships patrolling off Somalia have succeeded in stopping some pirate attacks. But military assaults to wrest back a ship are highly risky and, up to now, uncommon.

The attackers generally treat their hostages well in anticipation of a big payday, hiring caterers on shore to cook spaghetti, grilled fish and roasted meat that will appeal to a Western palate. They also keep a steady supply of cigarettes and drinks from the shops on shore.

And when the payday comes, the money sometimes literally falls from the sky.

Pirates say the ransom arrives in burlap sacks, sometimes dropped from buzzing helicopters, or in waterproof suitcases loaded onto tiny skiffs in the roiling, shark-infested sea.

"The oldest man on the ship always takes the responsibility of collecting the money, because we see it as very risky, and he gets some extra payment for his service later," Aden Yusuf, a pirate in Eyl, told AP over VHF radio.

The pirates use money-counting machines -- the same technology seen at foreign exchange bureaus worldwide -- to ensure the cash is real. All payments are done in cash because Somalia, a failed state, has no functioning banking system.

"Getting this equipment is easy for us, we have business connections with people in Dubai, Nairobi, Djibouti and other areas," Yusuf said. "So we send them money and they send us what we want."

Widow killed by husband's coffin!

A widow has been killed by her late husband's coffin in a freak accident on the way to his funeral.

Brazilian Marciana Silva Barcelos, 67, was on her way to the cemetery when the hearse she was travelling in was hit by another car.

The coffin was thrown forward by the impact and slammed into her head, killing her instantly.

Her husband Josi Silveira Coimbra, 76, had died the night before from a heart attack at a dance.

The driver of the hearse and Barcelos' son suffered minor injuries.

The accident occured in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil's Southernmost state.

£5000 left in charity shoes returned!

I didn't know that such goodness and honesty still existed!

A charity shop in the US has returned £5,000 to a man who mistakenly donated the money with a pair of old shoes.

The cash was discovered by a Bulgarian immigrant on her first day at the Goodwill store in Illinois.

Teodora Petrova turned over the money to management after finding it in a shoebox.

The $7,500 (just over £5,000) was bundled in large denominations.

The Glen Carbon store then prepared for the difficult steps of tracking down the shoes' donor.

Fortunately, scraps of paper left in the box gave enough hints to help Goodwill to locate the family.

The donor apparently also called the donation store's office, guessing he was the source of the cash.

The shoes belonged to the man's recently deceased parents.

The Goodwill store said he didn't want to be identified.

The family has offered Ms Petrova a gift for her honesty in turning over the money.

Who laughs last.......!

Man 'tried to sell' albino wife!

Police in southwestern Tanzania say they have arrested a man accused of attempting to sell his albino wife.

The man was allegedly planning to sell his wife to two Congolese businessmen for around $3,000.

Albinos have been living in fear in Tanzania after a series of killings due to a belief their body parts can make magic potions more effective.

At least 27 people with albinism have been killed since March, including a seven-month old baby.

President Jakaya Kikwete ordered a police crackdown on those involved in the killings, and 170 witchdoctors have since been arrested.

But BBC investigations suggest that some police are being "bought off" in order to look away when such crimes are committed.

Angry parents

Rukwa regional police commander Isunto Damian Mantage said the fisherman was arrested following a tip-off from an informer, according to the Daily News newspaper.

His wife was not aware that he was planning to sell her off, police say.

Mr Mantage says the wife's angry parents have decided to take back their daughter.

The businessmen managed to escape arrest, and are suspected to have fled back to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The police have asked Interpol to help track them down, the newspaper reported.

The recent attacks on albinos have been linked to witchdoctors who are peddling the belief that potions made from an albino's legs, hair, hands, and blood can make a person rich.

Albinism affects one in 20,000 people worldwide, but in Tanzania the prevalence appears to be much higher.

The Albino Association of Tanzania says that although just 4,000 albinos are officially registered in the country, they believe the actual number could be as high as 173,000.

A census is now underway to verify the figures.

Obama's Inner Circle Shares Inside Story

A must read!

(CBS) When Barack Obama began thinking of running for president two years ago, he turned to a small inner circle of political advisors from his 2004 Senate campaign. Like Obama, they were talented, laid back and idealistic with limited exposure on the national stage.

But with the candidate's help, they orchestrated what some consider one of the most improbable and effective campaigns in American political history. They took a little-known senator with a foreign sounding name and almost no national experience and got him elected as the 44th president of the United States. They did it by recruiting and vesting millions of volunteers in the outcome, by raising more money than any campaign in history, and by largely ignoring that their candidate happed to be a black man.

---

When President-elect Obama gave his victory speech Tuesday night in Chicago's Grant Park, he was quick to give credit. "To the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics,” the president-Elect said, “You made this happen.”

Who was Obama talking about and how did they do it? Ninety minutes after the speech ended, 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft sat down with them in a Chicago hotel suite. It was 1.a.m. Wednesday and the reality of it all was just beginning to sink in.

"We just left Grant Park. What are you feeling'?" Kroft asked.

"Little numb. A little tired. A little overwhelmed," David Axelrod, Obama's chief strategist and political alter ego, replied.

The group also included David Plouffe, the camera shy campaign manager and field general who made it all happen. "Yeah. I mean, it's been a 22-month road, and a lotta twists and turns. But you know, I think he filled the stage tonight," Plouffe told Kroft.

There was senior aide Robert Gibbs, who was always at Obama's side, his former and future press secretary. "And it was fun to watch all the people come out who've been part of the campaign. And…," Gibbs rasped, clearing his throat.

He told Kroft he lost his voice "within the last few hours."

And finally Anita Dunn, a relative newcomer who handled communications, research and policy.

The only person missing from the brain trust was the candidate himself.

How big a role did he play in this campaign?

"Well, no one had a bigger role, you know. The great thing about our campaign was we didn't have a lotta discussion about what our message was or what he wanted to do," Plouffe said. "From the beginning, he knew exactly what he wanted to say. And it's one of the reasons we were successful. A lotta campaigns will spend hours every day wondering about how to change their message. And he was pretty clear about what he wanted to say, where he wanted to take the country, and either people would accept it or they wouldn't."

It began 22 months ago on a frigid day in Springfield, Ill., almost it seemed on an impulse. There was no money and no real organization - only a vast untapped reservoir of disaffected voters and potential volunteers.

"This campaign can't only be about me. It must be about us. It must be about what we can do together," Sen. Obama said in the February 2007 Springfield speech.

Axelrod recalled, "When we started the campaign, we met around a table like this. And there was just a handful of us. You know, we started with nothing. And Barack said to us, 'I want this to be a grassroots campaign. I wanna reinvigorate our democracy. First of all I think that’s the only way we can win and secondly I want to rekindle some idealism that together we can get things done in this country,"

Asked if they seriously thought Obama had a shot, Plouffe told Kroft, "We thought he had a shot. I actually think we knew what big underdogs we were. And he got into this in a very unusual way. Most people plan this from years. They spend a lotta time in Iowa and New Hampshire planning for it. We got into this very unconventionally."

"We planned for days days…," Axelrod joked.

"For days," Plouffe replied, laughing. "And in many respects, that made it challenging. But I think we were better for it. Because we were more agile. We were not afraid to take risks. And we didn't have the stifling pressure of expectations."

"My fundamental concern for him wasn't whether he had the capacity, 'cause I think he's the smartest guy that I've ever worked with or known," Axelrod said.

"But it was whether he had that pathological drive to be president. You know, so often, what defines presidential candidates is this need to be president, to define themselves. He didn't have that. And, you know, we told him, 'You're gonna have to find some other way to motivate yourself.' And he did, which was what he could do as president."

Continue reading story here>

Calzaghe wallops Roy Jones Jnr!

It's been a bad week for the old guys - first John McCain, and now Roy Jones Jr. In both cases, you didn't have to be Nostradamus to predict the result.

What did the fight at Madison Square Garden in the early hours of Sunday morning prove? That Joe Calzaghe is one of the greatest fighters Britain has ever produced and that Jones' best days are long behind him. But then most of us knew that already.

What it did reveal is that the pride of Newbridge, still blowing like a whirlwind at the age of 36, has got plenty left in the tank. What price a swansong at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium next summer? I'll lay you 2-1.

Calzaghe said in his autobiography that he thought Jones was "washed up" three years ago after shocking knockout defeats to Antonio Tarver (twice) and Glen Johnson. He revised his opinion in the build-up to this fight. But he was right first time.

For the first four rounds some journalists ringside thought they might be witnessing a Garden classic, to rank alongside Robinson-LaMotta and Ali-Frazier. But from the sixth round on Jones was just another Garden ghost. As Jones said later, "Joe's pitter-pats were harder than I thought".

However gratifying it was to see Calzaghe put in a virtuoso performance at the "mecca of boxing", you'd be a hard-hearted fight fan not to feel sad at seeing the once untouchable Jones lumbering forward with hands held high, bloodied, just waiting for the final bell to toll.

Continue reading this story here>

A legend is dead! RIP Mama Africa!

South African singing legend Miriam Makeba has died aged 76, after being taken ill in Italy.

She had just taken part in a concert near the southern town of Caserta, the Ansa news agency reported.

The concert was on behalf of Roberto Saviano, the author of an expose of the Camorra mafia whose life has subsequently been threatened.

Ms Makeba appeared on Paul Simon's Graceland tour in 1987 and in 1992 had a leading role in the film Sarafina!

Ansa said she died of a heart attack.

'Mama Africa'

Ms Makeba was born in Johannesburg on 4 March 1932 and was a leading symbol in the struggle against apartheid.

Her singing career started in the 1950s as she mixed jazz with traditional South African songs.

She came to international attention in 1959 during a tour of the United States with the South African group the Manhattan Brothers.

She was forced into exile soon after when her passport was revoked after starring in an anti-apartheid documentary and did not return to her native country until Nelson Mandela was released from prison.

Makeba was the first black African woman to win a Grammy Award, which she shared with Harry Belafonte in 1965.

She was African music's first world star, says the BBC's Richard Hamilton, blending different styles long before the phrase "world music" was coined.

After her divorce from fellow South African musician Hugh Masekela she married American civil rights activist Stokely Carmichael.

It was while living in exile in the US that she released her most famous songs, Pata Pata and the Click Song.

"You sing about those things that surround you," she said. "Our surrounding has always been that of suffering from apartheid and the racism that exists in our country. So our music has to be affected by all that."

It was because of this dedication to her home continent that Miriam Makeba became known as Mama Africa.

Hat tip: BBC News

Living with the dead

An elderly woman has been living with two skeletons and a badly decomposed body of her siblings in a suburb of Chicago, one of whom may have died at least 20 years ago, authorities said on Saturday.

The remains were found covered by sheets in various parts of the house in Evanston on Friday but no foul play was suspected.

Authorities said one of the siblings was last seen alive in the 1980s, the second in 2003 and the third in May.

The woman living in the house, described as "upwards of 90 years of age," was cooperating in the investigation and was taken to a facility for care.

Authorities, who did not release the names of the deceased, said a care worker had alerted them to the situation. Autopsies were due to be performed on Saturday.

As reported on Yahoo News

Obama toasting Rahm

These two will make a formidable team!

His origins - be inspired!

No 44

Hat tip: Andrew Sullivan

Black church burnt after Obama win!

By Milton J. Valencia for Boston.com

Fire began hours after vote, prompting fears it was arson

A predominantly black church under construction in Springfield was destroyed by fire early yesterday, just hours after Barack Obama's landmark victory, triggering concerns that the building was purposely set ablaze in a possible hate crime.

The blaze started at Macedonia Church of God in Christ at 3:10 and caused an estimated $2 million in damage.

Church officials pledged to rebuild, but the concerns that their building was targeted dampened a mood that had been so uplifted in the night of Obama's historic win to become the nation's first black president-elect.

"This was a special time in our nation's history, but I also know not everybody was happy and celebrating," said Bishop Bryant J. Robinson Jr., head of the church. "After 71 years of being an African-American, you know these things happen."

Located on King Street, the church was moving to the site at 215 Tinkham Road, where the fire occurred.

Fire officials were quick to emphasize that the blaze remains under investigation, but the unknown nature of the fire triggered an inquiry that will involve local and state investigators and federal agents with the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is standard procedure for the ATF and local and state officials to investigate after a place of worship burns, and the FBI agreed to assist because of the unknown cause of the blaze.

"I want to caution people not to jump to conclusions and to allow the investigation to take its time and allow the investigation to follow the evidence trail," said state Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan.

He acknowledged that the congregation could be wary considering the fire's timing, but said investigators have not fully examined what happened. Coan said investigators will inspect the building today using accelerant-sniffing dogs, and detectives will also interview people in the neighborhood. He said the investigation could be a lengthy process.

"Clearly, a fire that occurs in a house of worship, with the close proximity to national events yesterday, is something in the mind of investigators, but it's most important we not reach any conclusions based on the circumstances of those events, but rather allow the evidence to lead us to the conclusion," Coan said.

Responding firefighters found the steel and wood-framed structure fully engulfed.

Firefighters worked to prevent the blaze from spreading to houses, said Dennis G. Leger, a Fire Department spokesman. He said two garden sheds had minor heat damage.

Three firefighters suffered minor injuries, Leger said.

The church, with a construction price tag of $2.5 million, had been more than 75 percent complete, Robinson said. But nothing inside could have sparked a fire on its own, he believes. The electrical system had not been installed.

No one had done anything inside that could have started the fire, he said. Instead, he fears the building was targeted, with the timing of the fire too coincidental to make it random.

"Somebody came in there with an agenda of their own, I believe," Robinson said, recalling days of black churches being torched in the South.

"I've seen segregation. I've seen Jim Crowism," he said. "We've come quite a ways, but we're not that perfect union yet. There's obviously a remnant of that kind of behavior still being practiced, for whatever reason."

The congregation had seen some resistance from the suburban neighborhood when construction was proposed, but the opposition was centered on having such a building in a residential area, and was not related to its 250 members, neighbors said.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said the fire, regardless of the cause, is heart-rending for the community. He said he met early yesterday with Robinson, an old friend of his family, and promised that the city would assist with the rebuilding while a task force conducts an extensive investigation.

"Obviously, it's a tragic event," said Sarno, who attended the groundbreaking for the church a year ago.

"It's a sensitive situation. Any house of worship would be a sensitive situation, and that's why it's imperative the experts do their investigation."

Yes we did!

Reactions around the World

Slideshow here

Reality check!

Nothing in my life has actually changed in the 30 minutes since it was announced Obama will be our next president. I have the same bills, the same amount of money in the bank, my dishwasher is still broken, and my 5 month old beagle won't stop peeing on my carpet. Everything in my life is exactly the same as it was 30 minutes ago; and yet I feel as though everything is different.

I feel so much hope. I feel so much pride. I feel like my one vote was a single drop of water in a great Tsunami of change. I feel like I was one of a million voices screaming in the night, " I love my country and I'm taking it back!" I'm so proud of the country that I love and have so much hope in my heart that we can together heal the wounds that have been such a source of pain and anger to us all.

I know Obama isn't going to fix the economy overnight, I know he won't be able to provide healthcare to all Americans by February '09. I know Obama isn't a Messiah who four years from now will have turned this country into a fabled utopia. But I also know Obama will make moral decisions. I know Obama will try to unite where others try to divide. I know Obama will help to make America the beacon of hope it once was to others. I know that at 27 years of age, I witnessed one of the most important and hopefully glorious chapters in American history.

I know hope.

Hat tip: Andrew Sullivan

President Obamas speech

Tuesday, November 4th, 2008

Chicago, Illinois

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It’s the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled – Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It’s the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he’s fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation’s promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation’s next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that’s coming with us to the White House. And while she’s no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics – you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you’ve sacrificed to get it done.

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to – it belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn’t start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington – it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.

It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation’s apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.

» Continue reading Remarks of President-elect Barack Obama

I know you didn’t do this just to win an election and I know you didn’t do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime – two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they’ll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor’s bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America – I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you – we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won’t agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can’t solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it’s been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years – block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek – it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it’s that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers – in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House – a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, “We are not enemies, but friends…though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection.” And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn – I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world – our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down – we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security – we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America’s beacon still burns as bright – tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.

For that is the true genius of America – that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that’s on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She’s a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing – Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn’t vote for two reasons – because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she’s seen throughout her century in America – the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can’t, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when women’s voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that “We Shall Overcome.” Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves – if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time – to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth – that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

Hat tip: Ben Smith

Obama Wins: How He Did It

Huffington Post:

Barack Obama is headed toward a decisive victory Tuesday with the potential of crushing John McCain in almost every battleground state. On January 20, he will become the nation's first black chief executive.

Exit poll data show Obama beating McCain by an overwhelming 57-41 margin among women, and carrying men by four points, 51-47. Obama is positioned to become the first Democrat since Jimmy Carter in 1976 to win break 50 percent of the popular vote, something Bill Clinton failed to do in both 1992 and 1996.

Among the key battleground states called by the networks by 10 pm, Pennsylvania went for Obama 55-45; New Hampshire 55-43; and Ohio 53-46:

While not among the early network calls, exit polls in Virginia -- which has not voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1964 -- showed Obama ahead 54-45; Indiana, once considered a Republican bastion, appeared to be solidly in Obama's camp, with women backing him 55-44 and men split 49-49.

Nationwide, according to network exit polls, Obama did far better among whites that his recent Democratic predecessors. Kerry lost white men to George W. Bush 62-37, a 25 point spread; Obama lost white men by 14 points, 42-56. Similarly, Kerry lost white women by 9 points, Obama by 5.

While all white voters over the age of 30 cast majorities for McCain, those under 30 backed Obama by a decisive 57-41 margin.

Obama, like other Democrats, continued to have difficulty winning the support of less affluent whites. Among whites with incomes of $50,000 or less, Obama lost by a slight margin, 48-50. Among whites without college degrees, Obama lost decisively to McCain, 41-58. Whites with college degrees were split, 49-50.

Continue reading this story>

We Can Now Truly Tell Our Children 'You Can Be Anything You Want'

Sam Stein

Rep. James Clyburn, one of the most prominent African Americans in Congress, spoke briefly about the broad historical significance of Barack Obama's election as president.

Saying he was moved but not too emotional, the South Carolina Democrat discussed how the most momentous change would be the ability to tell young students with conviction and certainty that they can grow up to be anything they desired.

"The big symbolic thing with this is down with the fourth and fifth graders who can now believe some of the things that are said to them," he said. "These people can begin to believe some of the hyperbole that we have used over the years in dealing with them."

Clyburn said the real emotion came during the primary, when -- after securing the needed number of super delegates -- the idea that America had elected a black man as a presidential nominee truly sunk in. Today, the business of the country weighed down too heavily for him to get overwhelmed by the history or his sentiments.

"That night when the polls closed, it was a very, very emotional night to me and when they announced when Barack Obama would be speaking I slipped out and watched it alone. It was very emotional and it was for a couple of days. I probably got over that and I spent the last few days trying to help my caucus get ready to try and get this economy back on track. So I am not emotional about it as I was back then. I suspect that has to do with the dire straights we are in."

In a separate interview on ABC, Congressman John Lewis, who famously fought some of the harsh civil rights battles that defined American in the 60s, was much more affected by the Obama win.

"Well, I tell you, I cried a little today when I cast my vote, and I've been crying for the past few days," he said. "I don't know if I have any tears left.... I think I'm going to shed some more tears before the night is over."

Dreams of my father - a voters perspective

I entered my Brooklyn voting booth this morning uncertain who would get my vote.

Let me explain. My father was a Navy pilot who attended the Naval Academy not long after John McCain. I grew up in Navy towns where you did not see your dad for six months at a time, you went to sleep wondering if he was safe, and you comforted your buddies when their fathers did not come back at all. When I was 13, my father did not come back; he was killed in a plane crash off the USS Kitty Hawk.

There are few things I know with certainty that my father would have done if he had lived. One would have been to vote for John McCain. As his only son, that seemed the least I could do for him.

But it wasn't that simple. I spent almost a decade living in Chicago, working in politics. I labored for black candidates in lost causes, not far from Barack Obama's district. I shed tears when they lost. I then worked on Capitol Hill for a Democratic predecessor of Obama's in the Senate, and, inexplicably, helped draft the first Senate prayer given by a Muslim, Wallace Mohammed.

I have friends who work on Obama's staff and swear by him. But I was never a fan of a 2008 Obama candidacy; the Navy brat in me not able to see pass him as a line-jumper, vaulting from lieutenant to admiral. I was supposed to profile Obama in 2004 for another magazine, but it fell through. I always regretted it--some out of egotism, but also out of a wonder if I'd met him maybe I would see what others see.

For months, I watched the campaign develop with a sense of dread. McCain seemed like a lost, tragic hero more than a plausible president. Watching him give his St. Paul acceptance speech, I was struck with a sadness that his moment had been 2000 and that seemed long ago. I watched the rest of the GOP circus with the visceral feeling that "these are not my people" and fully aware how badly Bush has fucked up this country.

Still, John McCain was my kin, in a sort of way. I mentioned to a few friends that I was considering voting for him, and it was met with stony silence or the kind of condescending New York chuckle that greeted the revelation that I really liked the film Love, Actually.

I bit my lip all fall. I watched the markets fall and McCain's botched response remove the last doubt that he was going to lose, perhaps badly. I avoided political conversations for the most part, but found myself at a friend's house on the Upper West Side watching the last debate with a group of Ivy Leaguers and policy wonks. The derision of McCain began early. After the 17th joke about his strange facial expressions, I left, telling my host that I didn't have a problem with folks not supporting him, but the vilification of a man who spent longer in a prison camp than Obama spent in the Senate wasn't how I wanted to spend my evening.

After that, I became more open about my McCain empathy. I argued how he had a proven record of working across the aisle and despises Bush and why his administration would be nothing like Bush's, particularly with heavy Democratic majorities in both houses. But I knew it was window dressing. I would not be voting for McCain if he were not a Navy pilot, if he had not suffered, as my mom put it, like my family suffered.

I just went to vote. The line snaked so long that I was able to concentrate on the excitement on the faces of African-Americans as they entered the voting booths with their children. I was more than a little envious of their joy. I wondered if the past was really past. Finally, I entered the booth, closed the curtain, and stared at the names. I stared so long that I could hear folks behind me begin to grumble. I delayed by individually pulling the Democratic levers for all the local offices. My finger went to McCain/Palin, but I didn't pull. I moved my hand over and grasped the Obama/Biden lever. I pulled it hard and departed. There were tears in my eyes

Stephen Rodrick, a former New Republic reporter-researcher, is a contributing editor at New York magazine

Obama Obama

The real electoral map!

http://www.techpresident.com/ecmap

It hurts!

Madelyn Payne Dunham - RIP

Andrew Sullivan:

Obama was so right to make sure he spent time with her before she passed on. But what an emotional blow on election eve for the candidate from Illinois. He has survived this campaign with remarkable emotional maturity and self-control. I just wish this didn't have to add to it. None of his parents will witness tomorrow. But somewhere my faith teaches me: they know already. Maybe Toot couldn't wait for the actual results. Maybe she's now a few steps ahead even of Chuck Todd. May she rest in peace. She did good.

Indeed, she did good, and we will owe her - one day!

Money on Obama - a Ugandans perspectve!

Why I am putting my money on Obama victory - Charles Onyango Obbo

Barack Obama will be elected America’s president today. I say this not because of the many opinion polls that suggest he has the US presidential election in the bag, or because his ancestors’ village in Kenya is across from mine in Uganda (in a manner of speaking), and so objectivity has deserted me.

And I don’t fear that come November 4, the over-flogged “Bradley effect”, call it the white racist vote, will break out and see his rival the curmudgeonly John McCain wipe the floor with the Illinois senator.

About three years ago, I was in the US visiting with my brother and his lovely wife. One day we were driving from Washington to Maryland where they live, when he took a detour to show me the neighbourhoods where some of Washington’s moneyed and well-heeled class live.

As we drove through, I noticed quite a number of black people walking their dogs and cats, and pushing prams.
“The brothers and sisters,” I said, “seem to have made good. The first time I came to the US, I don’t remember seeing so many black people living in rich neighbourhoods as I do these days”.

Richard, who had just returned from New York on assignment for the company he was working for then, said he thought “black America is disappearing”.
He said he had just been on Wall Street, and that what struck him most was that far more black people were working in the big financial companies there than most people would imagine.

Then he said something that I kept thinking about long after. He said that he was intrigued that “there is no difference between a black and white Wall Street operator. They are all cut-throat,” he said, “and I think some of the brothers are hungrier and nastier than the white guys”.

What really existed, he argued, despite all the talk about racism was “rich black, Asian, Hispanic and white Americans on the one hand, and poor black, Asia, Hispanic, and white folks on the other”.

Two years later, when white musician Eminem became the biggest rapper in the US, a music that was born out of protest and the anger of poor black neighbourhoods in American cities, I thought Richard was right after all.

Black vote
When Obama threw his hat into the ring, I watched to see if he could make a naked run for the black vote. When he didn’t, I knew he had taken a big step towards winning the White House.

Reason? There are simply not enough black votes on their own to help anyone win a presidential election in America even if they got 100 per cent of it. It is not rocket science to figure that, but it takes a lot of courage to act on it as Obama did.

The Rev Jesse Jackson, a politician with far more street credibility than Obama, didn’t when he contested the Democratic Party nominations in 1984 and 1988.

Secondly, too many non-white people fear to be thought of as “being white”. If they are black, they tend to turn their backs on what, erroneously, are considered “white traits”. Thus, instead of meticulous organisation, they choose spontaneity.

Instead of the cool unemotional British upper lip (people like Presidents Kibaki and Paul Kagamme of Rwanda almost have it), they go for passion and exuberance.

They are not content with the crowds they are talking to nodding in agreement or crying in muted emotional outbreaks. They want wild cheers.

Flawless campaign
Obama didn’t walk that road. So when it became apparent that he had set up an awesome flawless campaign operation, and a lethal fundraising machine, I put my money on him.

When he slipped behind in opinion polls after McCain got a big bounce from the Republican party convention, Obama didn’t lose his cool.

Other politicians, like former President Bill Clinton, would go off to a club, wear dark glasses and blow the saxophone with a band. If Obama had done that, he would have fitted the stereotype of a go-happy black man.

He didn’t become excited and stayed the course. McCain, however, hasn’t. When he fell behind in opinion polls, he became a nasty table banger who frightens the children.

Can Obama lose? Mathematically, yes. But I would still ask: “Where the hell did that come from?”

Obama's grandma dead! RIP!

Reuters:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's grandmother died of cancer, he said in a statement on Monday, a little more than a week after Obama interrupted the White House race to say goodbye to her in Hawaii.

"It is with great sadness that we announce that our grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, has died peacefully after a battle with cancer," Obama said in a joint statement with his sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng. "She was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength, and humility."

Dunham helped raise Obama from the age of 10 while his mother was working in Indonesia, and Obama took an emotional 22-hour trip to Hawaii to visit her on October 23 and 24.

Getting to know Barack!

A must read!

Have I become so addicted to polls, pundits, and projections that I will actually miss them after the polls close on November 4?

What will we talk about?

There will always be the results to dissect, who won, who lost, where and why? And the down ticket races will move into the conversation: Senate, House, and Governor's races.

But the suspense will be gone. Right now, about two days before the results will be known, I say to myself, "Thank God." I can't bear to wait much longer.

Many complain that the campaign has been too long, too expensive, and too vituperative. And they are right. American elections, unlike elections in Parliamentary systems, wear out both the candidates and the voters. In a Parliamentary system, the Prime Minister, who is also the head of the party, can "call" an election between four and six weeks before the vote. That's it. Campaigns -from start to finish--take place in a matter of weeks, not years. There are no primary campaigns in these countries.

It is our process, intensified by the hunger of the media to report on the next election years before it occurs, which results in an almost endless campaign season.

On the plus side, as I look back on a year ago, when we were just warming up for the primaries, I conclude that there is a strong chance that Barack Obama would not have won the Democratic nomination if the process had been more shorter and more efficient. Neither would Hillary Clinton have come in second place.

These were two non-traditional candidates, compared to the usual cast of white men who had won Presidential primaries throughout our history. We had to take our time to get to know them.

I remember my impressions during the early debates when I was a Hillary Clinton supporter. Some bias crept into my reaction to Barack Obama, but I felt he was not ready. He did not seem Presidential, compared to the others in the Democratic Primary line-up.

In a year's time, we have had the opportunity to watch him grow, in stature, in competence, and in confidence--both his and ours. This long election season has given the voters an opportunity to get used to the different portrait of an American President.

The qualities that once jumped out to us--that he was African American and that he was young--have disappeared for many voters. Not only has he changed; we also have changed. We feel, over this period of time, that we have gotten to know him, and he, in turn, has gotten to know the American voter, in all his and her permutations.

Yes, there is a silly side and a nasty side to campaigns which we would like to forget. The process is not always fair, the press is sometimes lazy or biased or both. The endless commercials grate on our nerves and insult our intelligence.

But in 2008 that is the price we had to pay to nominate and quite possibly elect, a non-traditional candidate.

As a woman who has been elected to public office nine times, I know I learned my most valuable lessons on the campaign trail. The people I met in their homes, factories, farms, and in the streets, educated me. Their stories did not just become sound bites in the manner of Joe the so-called Plumber. They gave me insights into why I was running and what I hoped to accomplish.

On a different scale, that is what this long campaign has done for Barack Obama. All those crowds, all those handshakes, all those living rooms, helped to educate him, to combine soaring rhetoric with specific substance. And the long primary battle with Hillary Clinton, as he himself has said, made him a stronger candidate and will, if he is elected, make him a better President.

We, the voters have traveled on a steep learning curve as well. This man is no stranger to us any more. The 30-minute paid political commercial enabled us to cultivate a longer attention span. The fact that 33 million Americans watched it is testimony to both the candidate for giving us depth and breadth instead of a few sentences, and to the voters for giving him their full and serious attention.

Barack Obama could not be where he is today, on the brink of a projected victory, without the blessing and the burden of this long campaign. So I will be patient for a day longer, believing that it will have been worth the wait.

Amen!

Vote on the 5th?

Huffington post:

A registered Democrat in Pennsylvania writes the Huffington Post to report that she has received an anonymous phone call telling her she should go to the polls on Wednesday.

"I received a phone call from an unidentified caller yesterday telling me that because of the expected high voter turnout, Democrats will need to vote on Wednesday, November 5th," she writes.

The calls are obviously misleading, as voting ends on Tuesday. And apparently they have been going on for quite some time. This past Friday the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported "robocalls making the rounds in Pittsburgh region" disseminating the misleading information. The reader who contacted Huffington Post was from the Philadelphia suburbs, at the opposite end of the state.

Contacted by the Huffington Post, a spokesman for the Obama campaign's Pennsylvania operations said he was aware of the misleading calls but "not worried about" their impact.

You can't make this up!

VOTE

Lewis wins 2008 F1 championship!

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton became the youngest world champion in Formula One history by the skin of his teeth after a nail-biting Brazilian Grand Prix.

The 23-year-old Englishman's title rival Felipe Massa won the race in his Ferrari but Hamilton grabbed the fifth place he needed at the last corner.

A late-race rain shower looked to have cost Hamilton the title when he dropped to sixth after a stop for wet tyres.

But he passed Toyota's Timo Glock as they entered the pit straight.

Renault's Fernando Alonso, the previous youngest champion, was second ahead of Massa's team-mate Kimi Raikkonen and Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel.

Hamilton's success buries the ghosts of last year, when after a remarkable debut season he let slip a massive lead in the final two races and Raikkonen sneaked in to win the title.

Continue reading story here >

Generation WE!

Inspiring!

Chemical Ali Vs Chemical McPain - comical

Republican John McCain has said his campaign to become US president is "doing fine" despite polls showing him trailing his Democratic rival.

Speaking on NBC's Meet the Press nine days before the election, Mr McCain said he had closed the gap with Barack Obama in the past week.

Later at a rally he emphasised that he was ready to fight to win the vote!

Does this remind you of Chemical Ali in Iraq?

Read on!

'The Obama we know'

The Guardian has this wonderful piece about Obama's chidhood through the eyes of his 'old' friends.

A snap shot:

When the teacher introduced 'Barry Soetoro' [Obama went by his stepfather's name at the time] to the class, he was very exotic. He was the only non-Indonesian; he was taller than all of us and chubby. He was accompanied by his white mum and his Indonesian stepfather, who was wearing a military outfit, and I remember thinking, that's strange, he looks half black, half white - maybe this is what a boy from Hawaii looks like. He wore Bermuda pants that extended below the knee, whereas our short pants were halfway down our thigh, and he wore T-shirts with stripes whereas ours were plain. He was the only left-handed student in class - it's not considered polite in Indonesia to be left-handed - so it was always amazing to see him writing with his left hand.

A must read.

Continue reading the article here >

A fair vote?

Depending on how you look at it, we are f****d!

A defining moment!

Wazuuuuup?

Remember them? Now watch this! Incredibly clever and spot on!

SNL!

Obama - McCain dance off!

http://view.break.com/592648 - Watch more free videos

I thought of you

I thought of you today,
as I heard the whisper of the wind
in the rustling of autumn leaves,
swirling, dancing and painting
the earth in carpets of red and gold.

I thought of you today,
as I saw the slow, moving V of geese
noisily announcing their journey south,
dragging winter behind them.

I thought of you today,
as I felt the tears of gray skies,
and the cold wind steal
the last trace of Indian-summer breath.

I thought of you today;
the promise of spring to come,
and I smiled.

Man follows SAT NAV directions into Lake!

You cant make this up!

A Polish driver who was too sure of his GPS road navigation device ended up neck-deep in a lake after ignoring road signs warning of a dead-end ahead, Polish police said Friday.

"The man took a road that was closed a year ago when the area was flooded to make an artificial lake serving as a water reservoir -- he ignored three road signs warning of a dead-end," Piotr Smolen, police spokesman in Glubczyce, southern Poland, told AFP Friday.

"It was still night time and he didn't notice the road led into the lake. His GPS told him to drive straight ahead and he did," Smolen said, adding the driver had not been under the influence of alcohol.

The road ran straight downhill into the lake. The Mercedes mini-van was nearly entirely submerged and was unable to back out on its own after being inundated with water.

The driver and two passengers escaped unharmed from the submerged vehicle and waited on its roof for police and fire rescue crews.

The driver placed the first call to emergency services while still inside the sinking van.

Brilliant!

Time for campaigning!

Waiting for Nov 4th!

My experiences - exactly!

Larry David:

I can't take much more of this. Two weeks to go, and I'm at the end of my rope. I can't work. I can eat, but mostly standing up. I'm anxious all the time and taking it out on my ex-wife, which, ironically, I'm finding enjoyable. This is like waiting for the results of a biopsy. Actually, it's worse. Biopsies only take a few days, maybe a week at the most, and if the biopsy comes back positive, there's still a potential cure. With this, there's no cure. The result is final. Like death.

Five times a day I'll still say to someone, "I don't know what I'm going to do if McCain wins." Of course, the reality is I'm probably not going to do anything. What can I do? I'm not going to kill myself. If I didn't kill myself when I became impotent for two months in 1979, I'm certainly not going to do it if McCain and Palin are elected, even if it's by nefarious means. If Obama loses, it would be easier to live with it if it's due to racism rather than if it's stolen. If it's racism, I can say, "Okay, we lost, but at least it's a democracy. Sure, it's a democracy inhabited by a majority of disgusting, reprehensible turds, but at least it's a democracy." If he loses because it's stolen, that will be much worse. Call me crazy, but I'd rather live in a democratic racist country than a non-democratic non-racist one. (It's not exactly a Hobson's choice, but it's close, and I think Hobson would compliment me on how close I've actually come to giving him no choice. He'd love that!)

The one concession I've made to maintain some form of sanity is that I've taken to censoring my news, just like the old Soviet Union. The citizenry (me) only gets to read and listen to what I deem appropriate for its health and well-being. Sure, there are times when the system breaks down. Michele Bachmann got through my radar this week, right before bedtime. That's not supposed to happen. That was a lapse in security, and I've had to make some adjustments. The debates were particularly challenging for me to monitor. First I tried running in and out of the room so I would only hear my guy. This worked until I knocked over a tray of hors d'oeuvres. "Sit down or get out!" my host demanded. "Okay," I said, and took a seat, but I was more fidgety than a ten-year-old at temple. I just couldn't watch without saying anything, and my running commentary, which mostly consisted of "Shut up, you prick!" or "You're a fucking liar!!!" or "Go to hell, you cocksucker!" was way too distracting for the attendees, and finally I was asked to leave.

Assuming November 4th ever comes, my big decision won't be where I'll be watching the returns, but if I'll be watching. I believe I have big jinx potential and may have actually cost the Dems the last two elections. I know I've jinxed sporting events. When my teams are losing and I want them to make a comeback, all I have to do is leave the room. Works every time. So if I do watch, I'll do it alone. I can't subject other people to me in my current condition. I just don't like what I've turned into -- and frankly I wasn't that crazy about me even before the turn. This election is having the same effect on me as marijuana. All of my worst qualities have been exacerbated. I'm paranoid, obsessive, nervous, and totally mental. It's one long, intense, bad trip. I need to come down. Soon.

I now know that I am not insane, nor am I alone!