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!

Change we need!

This is brilliant!

Click here to watch!

Tragic flaw!

A good read - highly recommended!

Kathleen Parker:

One does not have to be a psychoanalyst to reckon that McCain was smitten. By no means am I suggesting anything untoward between McCain and his running mate. Palin is a governor, after all. She does have an executive resume, if a thin one. And she's a natural politician who connects with people.

But there can be no denying that McCain's selection of her over others far more qualified — and his mind-boggling lack of attention to details that matter — suggests other factors at work. His judgment may have been clouded by ... what?

Science provides clues. A study in Canada, published in New Scientist in 2003, found that pretty women foil men's ability to assess the future. ‘Discounting the future,’ as the condition is called, means preferring immediate, lesser rewards to greater rewards in the future.

Drug dealers, car salesmen and politicians rely on this affliction and pray feverishly for its persistence.

The Canadian psychologists showed pictures of attractive and not-so attractive men and women to students of the opposite sex. The students were offered a prize — either a small check for the next day or a larger check at some later date.

The men made perfectly rational decisions, opting for the delayed larger amount after viewing the average-looking women. You know where this is going. (Women, by the way, were rational no matter what.)

Read the full article here>

Masterpiece!

Hat tip: Andrew Sullivan

Obama purchases Ad space on McCains bus!

The thought! The cheek! Hilarious, nevertheless!

YES WE CAN!

The making (and remaking) of McCain

This is a must read!

Robert Draper of the NYT has an interesting article detailing some eye opening issues that have made (or remade) the McCain campaign what it is so far!

Insider interviews and researched opinions make this a must read!

Full article here>

Vote for CHANGE

End game?

Two weeks is a long time in politics! However, I wonder what it would take to offset the Obama lead in the polls - other than the 'New Hampshire' effect!

Charlie Cook has this take:

Maybe some cataclysmic event occurs in the next two weeks that changes the trajectory of this election, but to override these factors, it would have to be very, very big

I agree!

Read Charlie Cook's article here>

Al - Qaeda endorses McCain

Pamela Hess:

The message, posted Monday on the password-protected al-Hesbah Web site, said if al-Qaida wants to exhaust the United States militarily and economically, "impetuous" Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain is the better choice because he is more likely to continue the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"This requires presence of an impetuous American leader such as McCain, who pledged to continue the war till the last American soldier," the message said. "Then, al-Qaida will have to support McCain in the coming elections so that he continues the failing march of his predecessor, Bush."

Now, this is scary!

I wish I could vote for 'THAT ONE'!

Obama's Grand parents

An observation:

I've never seen that picture of Obama's grandparents before. The picture of his grandfather amazed me -- I find the resemblance striking. (The ears, the long chin, the tilt of his head.) Frankly, I notice more family resemblance there than in the few pictures of his father I've seen. This feels significant to me, and I'm trying to articulate why ... something to do with how stupidly mistaken so many people are about his otherness.

Another observation:

I was looking at this picture of Obama's grandparents and thinking how much he looks like his grandfather. And suddenly, for whatever reason, I was struck by the fact that they had made the decision to love their daughter, no matter what, and love their grandson, no matter what. I'd bet money that they never even thought of themselves as courageous, that they didn't give much thought to the broader struggles in the the world at the time. They were just doing what right, honorable people do. But the fact is that, in the 60s, you could be disowned for falling in love with a black woman or black man. There is a reason why we have a long history of publicly biracial black people, but not so much of publicly biracial white people.

Hat tip: Andrew Sullivan

And finally! I love her!

One more!

Yolanda Brown

This young lady won a MOBO award for 'Best Jazz' - I agree!



Do you get a feel of Bob Marley's 'I've been waiting in vain for your love'? Genius!

McFunny

Comedian - and it ain't funny!





He looks like a zombie! Ouch!

Palin fun!

Go!

The genius called Obama!

Alex Massie:

"...... jaw dropping. They had taken over an old mega-church. The first floor was a warren of staffers running around all very young and all very busy. The basement was probably the size of a supermarket, lined with table after table. Each table was staffed by four youngsters, all responsible for a different city, county, task etc. It looked like the command center for a massive army. No windows, no natural light, but filled with kids who probably had no idea it was 8am all hovering over computers, maps, data sheets. There were 600 staffers there, all dedicated to Ohio, at 8am. I'm amazed."

Amazing!

Slam dunk!

This says it all! McAngry!

Is this politically correct?

See more Hayden Panettiere videos at Funny or Die

I do not think so, but I love it!

New polls put Obama 14 points ahead!

Ed Pilkington:

Barack Obama has widened his lead over his Republican presidential rival John McCain to 14 points, according to a new opinion poll from the New York Times and CBS News.

The 53% to 39% gulf in the two main candidates' poll ratings suggests that Obama is continuing to capitalise from public anxieties prompted by the financial crisis. Detailed questions contained in the poll also indicate that McCain's strategy of launching increasingly personal attacks against his opponent have had an adverse effect, turning voters off McCain rather than sowing seeds of doubt in their minds about the Democratic nominee.

Hooray!

Continue reading "New polls put Obama 14 points ahead!" here >

Church minister issues part 2!

Steve Bird:

A Methodist minister sent herself a dead hedgehog and faeces after she fell out with her church's leadership, a court heard yesterday.

The Rev Janet Magee, 62, was said to have falsely told police that she had been the victim of a hate campaign that included threatening telephone calls and abusive letters. A letter sent to church members said: “Your minister is a f***ing whore.”

Another letter, received by the chairman of the Lincoln and Grimsby Methodist Circuit, the Rev David Perry, stated: “If you let Magee in Brigg, you invite Satan. The woman is scum from Hell. I will kill her.”

After Mrs Magee complained to police, a Methodist circuit steward, Roger Chessell, was wrongly arrested. He denied any responsibility and was released without charge.

Mrs Magee was eventually arrested after police secretly installed a closed-circuit television camera at her home, which proved that the hedghehog could not have been delivered

Continue reading "Church minister issues part 2" here >

Recession!

Jill Sherman:

Nearly 10,000 jobs are to be lost and up to 100 courts could close as budget cuts hit the public sector.

The Times has learnt that more than £900 million must be saved at the Ministry of Justice in the next two years, threatening initiatives that include Gordon Brown’s programme to tackle knife crime. The news comes as figures revealed that inflation hit a 16-year high of 5.2 per cent last month, driven by rocketing gas and electricity bills.

Analysts predict that the spike will also blow a £3 billion hole in Britain’s welfare budget because the annual increase in pensions and benefits is pegged to the September figures. With most experts forecasting that unemployment will exceed government estimates, the bill for welfare payments is almost certain to rise further.

And Brown is gaining from this?

Continue reading "Recession" here >

McCain put country at risk - Dowd

Country first? My foot...

Dowd proclaimed that, in his heart of hearts, McCain knew he put the country at risk with his VP choice and that he would "have to live" with that fact for the rest of his career.

"They didn't let John McCain pick the person he wanted to pick as VP," Dowd declared during the Time Warner Summit panel. "When Sarah Palin got picked instead of Joe Lieberman, which I fundamentally believed would have given John McCain the best opportunity in this race... as soon as he picked Palin, that whole ready versus not ready argument was not credible."

Saying that Palin was a "net negative" on the ticket, he went on: "[McCain] knows, in his gut, that he put somebody unqualified on the ballot. He knows that in his gut, and when this race is over that is something he will have to live with... He put somebody unqualified on that ballot and he put the country at risk, he knows that."

And this is someone who should know! He was chief strategist for George W. Bush!

Continue reading "McCain put country at risk - Dowd" here >

Obama on Xbox - official!

Way to go!

“I can confirm that the Obama campaign has paid for in-game advertising in Burnout,” Holly Rockwood, director of corporate communications at Electronic Arts, the game’s publisher, told me via email, noting that EA regularly allows ad placements in their online games. “Like most television, radio and print outlets, we accept advertising from credible political candidates,” she continued. “Like political spots on the television networks, these ads do not reflect the political policies of EA or the opinions of its development teams.”

Community organising at its best!

Read story here >

A time to laugh!

John Cleese on Sarah Palin!

God forbid!

Opiyo Olaya's argument makes sense but is so scary to envisage!

To those responsible for protecting Obama from harm, the threat is real that some crazy fellows will take a shot at the candidate, wounding him or killing him altogether. Such an event, God forbid, would be an unimaginable tragedy of global proportion. Sadly enough, should this unthinkable tragedy occur, it will be just another addition to the dark side of America’s political life. Americans, after all, are no strangers to political violence and assassinations which date back more than a century.

Continue reading 'God forbid' here >

McCain supports Obama!

Dana Milbank:

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 13 The Hillary voter has come home.

It wasn't primarily the work of Hillary Clinton, though by her count she has made more than 50 public appearances for Barack Obama. Nor was it the work of Obama, who has kept Clinton and her advisers at arm's length. No, the one who put the Hillary Clinton voters in Obama's column was John McCain -- with his choice of a running mate.

"Palin -- God forbid! Where did they find her?" Evelyn Fruman exclaimed Monday before a Clinton speech at a Jewish community center here.

"God forbid!" Gail Silverberg chimed in. "Hockey moms and lipstick on a pig and six-packs? I don't want that stuff."

Thank you John!

Continue reading McCain supports Obama here >

Shida za'dunia!

This guy does it for me!

More racist trash!

An offensive billboard in Missouri

Click here to read article

Should Obama Have Picked Hillary As His Running Mate?

Peggy Drexler:

First, there is -- let's just call it the Clinton factor.

True, disrespecting a woman who had made political history stirred up a swarm of Hillary supporters who swore they would vote McCain before supporting this interloper, who not only stole Hillary's moment, but wanted to award her second place.

But it quieted an equally passionate nation of Hillary-haters, who would give time and treasure to make sure the only way she got back to the West Wing is with a visitor's pass.

And then there is Bill. This is not a man who plays second fiddle easily. So playing second fiddle to the second fiddle sets up some dangerously untested dynamics. Obama must have watched his performance in Hillary's campaign and thought; "with friends like these ...". Also, of course, another national scandal and a crippling media frenzy could never be discounted.

The Clintons' combined lackluster performance on behalf of Obama so far in the general election offers a view of the kind of team members they would be in an administration. Hillary was visibly invisible until the numbers were already tilting toward Obama. Bill still seems to find it physically painful to offer anything but the faintest of praise.

But baggage aside, the rightness in Obama's call is also clear in the relative strengths of the two tickets.

The elections are not yet won! This is not the time for such questions, lest Hillary Clintons supporters are offended! However, on the whole, I agree!

Continue reading 'Should Obama Have Picked Hillary As His Running Mate?' here >

Its over!

I wish that I was this optimistic:

Perpetually fretting Democrats will not want to accept it. The campaigns themselves can't afford to believe it. Many journalists know it but can't say it. And there will certainly be some twists and turns along the way. But take it to a well capitalized bank: Bill Ayers isn't going to save John McCain. The race is over.

Continue reading this article here >

Van for sale!

This guy is selling his Van here you need to enlarge the picture (by clicking on it) to get the joke!

This is how he describes it!

VGC smart good runner, reliable, always starts first time, CD/Radio, AC, PAS, EW/M, Brand new set of alloys & tyres(not in picture). Great present for that special nigerian aunt or romanian billionaire cousin, All our motors are proper so naturally we welcome any AA/RAC tests, we also sell to overseas buyers at very good rates. Western union approved, we also accept cheques of all kinds.

Pathetic! You will agree when you see the pictures here!

Asylum seekers to continue accessing free GP services

Gaby Hinsliff:

The government is ready to scrap controversial plans to clamp down on so-called 'health tourism' among asylum seekers, following a revolt by doctors.

Ministers had threatened to withdraw the right to free GP treatment from asylum seekers whose claims were rejected, forcing them to pay for care privately or go without in all cases except emergencies. However, doctors have argued the move would be unethical and potentially illegal, with some saying they would treat patients regardless of any new rules.

The Home Office and Department of Health - which was due to publish its decision later this month - are understood to be reconsidering their position after conceding that there was no proof that free primary care was encouraging refugees to come to Britain.

'Healthcare should not be a magnet, but there isn't any evidence that primary care is a draw for people choosing the UK as a destination,' said a senior Whitehall source. 'People in that category are often the most vulnerable, they may have communicable diseases, and therefore the view of ministers is that they shouldn't be denied primary care.'

Continue reading article here >

You have to believe....

Scary stuff!

The Uganda Cranes are out!

Uganda is out of the World Cup qualifiers!

Joseph Opio:

Uganda 2 Benin 1
Angola 3 Niger 1

CALAMITY stalks Ugandan football like an unrelenting shadow. And again yesterday, it crept up on the Cranes and crushed a nation’s 2010 World Cup dream.

Fate can be cruel in its cheek — a fact re-affirmed last evening as it first raised Uganda’s hopes before bringing them down with a loud thud within a 45-minute spell.

Uganda would have progressed to the next round of the qualifiers had it won against Benin and victory eluded Angola against Niger in Luanda.

Uganda accomplished its brief. But Angola, which had nothing to play for, ensured the Cranes 2-1 win at Namboole would serve nothing more than mere academic interest.

The most incurable among local optimists had prayed Geoffrey Massa’s brace at Namboole would be followed by a Nigerien miracle in Angola.

It was a hope-laden idea that Fate toyed with for 45 minutes — before relegating it to the waste-basket.

See, Niger went into half-time leading Angola 1-0, courtesy of a shock strike from Malam Moussa in the 20th minute.

Ugandans dared to dream, especially with Angola so toothless in the entire first-half.

But sunny Ugandan faces were to reflect despair when Angola restored parity eight minutes into the second half. The equaliser, painfully enough, didn’t come from an Angolan boot, instead arriving as an own goal by Nigerien goalkeeper, Daouda Kassaly.

A draw would still have still proven sufficient for Uganda. But Angolan winger, Gilberto, dictated that whoever held out for such a result perished the thought when he catapulted Angola ahead with a strike 15 minutes later.

Another midfielder, Ze Kalanga then stretched Angola’s lead in the 73rd minute to effectively wreck any hopes of a Nigerien fight-back.

Angola wouldn’t have qualified had they triumphed with an 100-goal margin. Regardless, their 3-1 win proved malicious enough to squander Uganda’s arithmetical chances.

Amnesiac pundits will contend that Uganda’s 2010 World Cup bid was ended in the five-minute spell Angola scored its second and third goals.

But those with more elastic memories will realise that it was the costly defeat away to Niger last month that proved fatal in the end.

The Cranes led for large chunks of that game before succumbing to a 3-1 loss after three minutes of absolute ineptitude.

If only Uganda had clung on for a draw in Niamey...if only Niger had held onto their half-time lead in Angola...if only FIFA had, like CAF, used head-to-head instead of goal difference…..if only “if only” wasn’t such an eternal catch-phrase in Ugandan football.

But as it stands, “if only” remains the most apt two-word combination to define Uganda’s heart-breaking soccer fortunes.

I am heartbroken!

War-weary Saddam victims miss his iron rule

Mohammed Abbas:

Saddam Hussein was hanged for killing 148 Shi'ite men and boys in Dujail in 1982. But today, some people in this town on the Tigris say they miss life under the Iraqi dictator because they felt more secure.

Even some of those from Dujail whose family members were murdered and imprisoned during Saddam's iron-fisted rule seemed seduced by the idea of a strong leader after years of chaos, bloodshed and deprivation since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

"If someone like Saddam came back, I'd not only support him, I'd invite him to dinner. My uncle was killed in 1982 in the Dujail incident. Still, life then was a million times better than now," said Saad Mukhlif, a Shi'ite.

Nostalgia for Saddam and his Sunni-led government in this largely Shi'ite town mirrors a country-wide sense of frustration despite a drop in attacks and killings.

U.S. military officials say violence in Iraq is at four-year lows but militant groups stepped up attacks for the holy month of Ramadan, and the country still suffers chronic shortages of water, power and other basic services.

"(Prime Minister) Nuri al-Maliki is sitting in (Baghdad's fortified) Green Zone, what's he doing to protect us? What's the point of this government?" said Mohammed Mehdi, a Shi'ite, whose cousin was jailed in 1982 and whose brother was killed in a car bomb in Dujail last month.

"Saddam Hussein is the only noble leader we've had," he added, before shouting "God bless Saddam 1,000 times," within earshot of U.S. troops accompanying reporters visiting the town, 50 km (30 miles) north of Baghdad.

Mehdi and Mukhlif's views were echoed elsewhere as Reuters spoke to around 15 passers-by and shopkeepers in Dujail's high street.

A crowd of men and boys gathered to sing Saddam's praises, and boys on their way home from school chanted: "After Saddam, came the destroyers" and complained of a lack of electricity, clean water and money for school books.

"Saddam didn't kill anyone without a reason," said 14-year-old Ahmed Ali Ahmed. "Now these bombs just attack everybody. Everyone says it, Sunni or Shi'ite. Life was better under Saddam."

Some residents said such comments did not necessarily indicate admiration for Saddam, who ruthlessly repressed Shi'ites, Kurds and anyone even vaguely related to those who opposed him, as well as conducting a ruinous war with Iran in the 1980s which cost around 1 million lives.

This reminds me of the Monitors Kalyegira's rhetorics in reference to Amin's rein in Uganda! Emotion, not object, reason or fact!

Fancy some inspiration? Read on...

Statement of the President of the African National Congress, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela as President of the Democratic Republic of South Africa at Union Buildings, Pretoria on May 10, 1994

Today, all of us do, by our presence here, and by our celebrations in other parts of our country and the world, confer glory and hope to newborn liberty. Out of the experience of an extraordinary human disaster that lasted too long, must be born a society of which all humanity will be proud.

Our daily deeds as ordinary South Africans must produce an actual South African reality that will reinforce humanity�s belief in justice, strengthen its confidence in the nobility of the human soul and sustain all our hopes for a glorious life for all.

All this we owe both to ourselves and to the peoples of the world who are so well-represented here today. To my compatriots, I have no hesitation in saying that each one of us is as intimately attached to the soil of this beautiful country as are the famous jacaranda trees of Pretoria and the mimosa trees of the bushveld.

Each time one of us touches the soil of this land, we feel a sense of personal renewal. The national mood changes as the seasons change. We are moved by a sense of joy and exhilaration when the grass turns green and the flowers bloom.

That spiritual and physical oneness we all share with this common homeland explains the depth of the pain we all carried in our hearts as we saw our country tear itself apart in a terrible conflict, and as we saw it spurned, outlawed and isolated by the peoples of the world, precisely because it has become the universal base of the pernicious ideology and practice of racism and racial oppression.

We, the people of South Africa, feel fulfilled that humanity has taken us back into its bosom, that we, who were outlaws not so long ago, have today been given the rare privilege to be host to the nations of the world on our own soil.

We thank all our distinguished international guests for having come to take possession with the people of our country of what is, after all, a common victory for justice, for peace, for human dignity. We trust that you will continue to stand by us as we tackle the challenges of building peace, prosperity, non-sexism, non-racialism and democracy.

We deeply appreciate the role that the masses of our people and their political mass democratic, religious, women, youth, business, traditional and other leaders have played to bring about this conclusion. Not least among them is my Second Deputy President, the Honourable F.W. de Klerk.

We would also like to pay tribute to our security forces, in all their ranks, for the distinguished role they have played in securing our first democratic elections and the transition to democracy, from blood-thirsty forces which still refuse to see the light.

The time for the healing of the wounds has come. The moment to bridge the chasms that divide us has come. The time to build is upon us. We have, at last, achieved our political emancipation. We pledge ourselves to liberate all our people from the continuing bondage of poverty, deprivation, suffering, gender and other discrimination.

We succeeded to take our last steps to freedom in conditions of relative peace. We commit ourselves to the construction of a complete, just and lasting peace.

We have triumphed in the effort to implant hope in the breasts of the millions of our people. We enter into a covenant that we shall build the society in which all South Africans, both black and white, will be able to walk tall, without any fear in their hearts, assured of their inalienable right to human dignity � a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world.

As a token of its commitment to the renewal of our country, the new Interim Government of National Unity will, as a matter of urgency, address the issue of amnesty for various categories of our people who are currently serving terms of imprisonment.

We dedicate this day to all the heroes and heroines in this country and the rest of the world who sacrificed in many ways and surrendered their lives so that we could be free. Their dreams have become reality. Freedom is their reward.

We are both humbled and elevated by the honour and privilege that you, the people of South Africa, have bestowed on us, as the first President of a united, democratic, non-racial and non-sexist government.

We understand it still that there is no easy road to freedom. We know it well that none of us acting alone can achieve success. We must therefore act together as a united people, for national reconciliation, for nation building, for the birth of a new world.

Let there be justice for all.

Let there be peace for all.

Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all.

Let each know that for each the body, the mind and the soul have been freed to fulfill themselves. Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another and suffer the indignity of being the skunk of the world. Let freedom reign. The sun shall never set on so glorious a human achievement!

God bless Africa! Thank you.

Nelson Rolihlahla Madiba Mandela

Osama for president?

Bob Gardinier:

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's last name is spelled "Osama" on some 300 absentee ballots mailed out this week to voters in Rensselaer County hilltowns.

Is it a Freudian slip, intentional gaffe or a mistake? Voters are sure to have opinions, and one politician pointed out that the letters "s" and "b" are not exactly keyboard neighbors.

"Of all the letters to hit by mistake," County Democratic Chairman Tom Wade said. "Unfortunately it is a mistake which negatively impacts our Democratic candidate for president."

The typo was first reported Friday on timesunion.com, and quickly grabbed national attention.

"It was crazy, everybody across the country called," said Edward McDonough, the county's Democratic elections commissioner. He said calls came in from The New York Times, the New York Post, Daily News, Wall Street Journal and Court TV.

McDonough said he was one of the people who received a misspelled absentee ballot at home, and he didn't even notice it.

Elections officials on both sides of the aisle insist a simple typographical error caused the national embarrassment. "It was a mistake innocently done," McDonough said. "We catch almost everything."

Republican officials were apologetic. "We have three different staff members who proof these things and somehow the typo got by us," said Republican Commissioner Larry Bugbee. "We really apologize."

Incredible!

The real McC.......

Michael Tomasky - Guardian:

It built up over the course of the week, as supporters at the rallies of John McCain and Sarah Palin started randomly screaming "terrorist!" and "off with his head!" and "treason!" and even "kill him!" at the mention of Barack Obama's name.

Then there was the man at a Florida rally who shouted at an African-American CNN cameraman: "Sit down, boy." You don't need to know your history of the American south to know that "boy", directed at a black man, is overtly and undeniably racist.

But things got worse on Thursday in Wisconsin, when a man stood up to "ask" a "question" and, veins popping in his neck, delivered himself of the following: "I'm mad. I'm really mad. And what's gonna surprise ya is not the economy. It's the socialists takin' over our country.

[Lengthy applause] Sit down. I'm not done. Let me finish, please [laughter] ...
when you have Obama, [Nancy] Pelosi and the rest of the hooligans up there gonna
run this country, we gotta have our head examined. It's time that you two are
representing us, and we are mad! So go get 'em!" [Extended chanting: "USA! USA!
USA!"]

Meanwhile, videos are circulating of McCain supporters expressing their views of Obama as they enter rallies. Is Obama a terrorist, they are asked? He's "a one-man terror cell". "He's got the bloodlines. Just think about it, look at the name." "Socialist swine."

We are seeing, from (happily, at least for the time being) the majority of the country, much of what is good and decent about America in this election. But we are also seeing in smaller proportion what is chilling. The people in those videos have no proof to back up their beliefs, because of course no such proof exists. They just feel it, and
that's enough. But that isn't what's most disturbing. There will always be such
people in all societies. What's most disturbing is that McCain and Palin are
egging them on.

Not once in any of the above situations did McCain, a man who has subjected the rest of us to lectures about how important his integrity is, step in to say: "Now wait a second, folks." To the Wisconsin man quoted above, McCain said: "Well, I think I got the message. And could I just say, the gentleman is right."

McCain and Palin are doing even worst than that. The emotional core of their campaign now is Obama's alleged close relationship with Bill Ayers, the former terrorist who, long before Obama came on the Chicago scene, was welcomed back into Chicago society and became an education professor. They are demanding that Obama confess the real nature of this relationship.

Now usually, when a candidate calls on his opponent to own up about something, there is a specific allegation on the table. A newspaper has
published an investigation, say, and the opponent hasn't yet confronted the
charges therein, and the candidate demands that the opponent do so. Even if the
candidate himself leaked all the material to the newspaper as a set-up so that
the candidate could then, once the charges were "impartially" published, go out
and demand the opponent come clean, well, that's how the game is sometimes
played.
But in this case, there are no serious specific allegations. Only
dark intimations of intense ideological kinship. "[Obama] has dismissed it by
saying he was just a guy in the neighbourhood," McCain said in an interview.
"You know it's much more than that. Let's reveal all the details of that
relationship and then the American people can make a judgment."
McCain knows
nothing specific here. He's fishing, wishing and hinting. Obama and Ayers served
on a board and a commission together. Average people may not know how boards and
commissions work, but McCain knows very well that they typically meet a few
times a year and that co-board membership implies nothing about deeper
friendship. More broadly, McCain also has to know that the entire issue is
pathetic. Obama is now one of the most examined men in the world.
No one has
turned up actual evidence of radical beliefs. He's pretty much a standard
liberal with, if anything, a cautious bent that seeks to placate adversaries, a
picture we have on the authority of his former conservative colleagues at the
Harvard Law Review, who found him an accommodating consensus-builder.
This is
standard guilt-by-association gruel that we expect to find on
borderline-psychotic websites. But an alleged man of integrity ought to know
better. And he does, I'm certain, understand the nature of the difference
between asking a man to answer specific allegations and demanding that he
disprove vague accusations ("it's much more than that"), and he knows how doing
the latter will reflect on him.
But he's a desperate man, watching his
decades-long dream slip away, no doubt infuriated that this neophyte who hasn't
suffered as he has is running circles around him. That's a shame for him, but
McCain's mental state is not the thing to be worried about here. The thing to be
worried about is the impact that his campaign - "a national disgrace," wrote Joe
Klein of Time magazine - is having on the nation.
He and Palin - "his Sancho Panza", as George Will mockingly wrote in the Washington Post - are deliberately stoking rage that is based on lies that they know to be lies (well, that at least McCain knows to be lies). The normally reserved commentator David Gergen said: "There is this free floating sort of whipping around anger that could really lead to some violence. I think we're not far from that."
We are seeing the dark, Gothic heart of resentment conservatism. It's going to be a disgusting
three weeks.

'My fellow prisoners!'

Huffington Post:

After referring to the various proposals that comprise his domestic policy agenda, John McCain offered an absolute head-scratcher of a line during a campaign speech on Wednesday.

"Across this country this is the agenda I have set before my fellow prisoners," he declared. In the prepared remarks he was supposed to say "fellow citizens."

His selling point 'POW' is sticking on his mind!

The Race Isn't Necessarily Over for Barack Obama and John McCain

Michael Barone of the US News makes a good election projection.

It will be nice to re-read this after November 4th!

Full story here >

Palin!

Jon Meacham of Newsweek:

We have had terrific presidents and vice presidents from humble backgrounds, and we have had terrible presidents and vice presidents from privileged ones. The unease with Palin is not class-based. It is empirically based. She is a rising political star, a young woman—she is only 44—who has done extraordinary things. It takes guts to offer oneself for election, and to serve. It is far easier to throw spitballs from the stands than it is to seek and hold office. She is a governor, and she has the courage to go into the arena. For that she should be honored and respected. If she were seeking a Senate seat, or being nominated for a cabinet post—secretary of energy, say, or interior—the conversation about her would be totally different.

But she is not seeking a Senate seat, nor is she being nominated for a cabinet post, and so it is only prudent to ask whether she is in fact someone who should be president of the United States in the event of disaster. She may be ready in a year or two, but disaster does not coordinate its calendar with ours. Would we muddle through if Palin were to become president? Yes, we would, but it is worth asking whether we should have to.

Spot on...
Continue reading 'Palin!'>

Obama Vs Clinton

NYT:

But Senator Barack Obama is a very different kind of candidate, judging by his performance at his own town-hall-style debate on Tuesday night and on the campaign trail. There are no volcanic explosions with Mr. Obama, rarely any finger-waving or lip-biting, and far less of the undisciplined campaigning that Mr. Clinton perfected.

Mr. Obama goes to the gym like clockwork most mornings, works out for 45 minutes, and then is on his way, as he was in Nashville on Wednesday after the debate the night before. He did not skip the gym because he was too busy reading the coverage of the debate, or because he was too tired from staying up late replaying the debate in his head, advisor's say. On Wednesday evening, he got home early to spend time with his two young daughters and take one of them to a book-store in their neighbourhood.

Continue reading story here >

Tattoo gay people....

Beth Hale of the Daily Mail:

'Let us make it obligatory for homosexuals to have their backsides tattooed with the slogan SODOMY CAN SERIOUSLY DAMAGE YOUR HEALTH.

'In addition, the obscene 'gay pride' parades and carnivals should be banned for they give rise to passive corruption, comparable to passive smoking. Young people forced to witness these excrescences are corrupted by them.'

Mr Mullen, who is rector of St Michael's Cornhill and St Sepulchre without Newgate in the City of London and writes a regular column for a regional newspaper, said sex education films should be shown in schools, highlighting sodomy as a 'filthy practice'.

The films should end, he said, with the admonition: 'We do after all, know the importance of washing our hands after going to the lavatory.'

What happened to the good old biblical teachings of tolerance? I find this annoying, disturbing and extremely offensive - especially, coming from a leader such as a Church priest!

Wrong decision

John McCain decision to nominate Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate has been widely critised and rightly so.

'One man terror cell!'

This is absolute madness!





Bitter and stupid!

Wrangling couple split up home - literally!

CNN:

A Cambodian couple who separated after 40 years of marriage may have taken things too literally when it came to splitting their assets.

The husband cut the house in two.

"It is the strangest thing I've ever seen," said May Titthara, who wrote about the case for The Phnom Penh Post, an English-language newspaper in the Cambodian capital. "People there never saw this happen in a divorce. It is very interesting for them."

The husband and wife had been living together in the house in a village in the Prey Veng province of southern Cambodia, roughly 50 miles (80 km) from the capital.

The couple would not talk to the newspaper, but the village chief told May Titthara that the husband was angry because his wife wouldn't tend to him when he was ill.

Last week, the husband and his friends moved his belongings to one side of the house -- and sawed and chiseled it off, said the reporter, who interviewed the village chief and neighbors.

The couple also divided their property into four sections: for themselves and their two children.

Because the couple side-stepped the provincial courts when they parted ways, their unusual resolution could pose a problem later, said Prak Phin, a lawyer for Legal Support for Child and Women in the province.

"This was a not a legal divorce. It never went to the court," he said. "If they have disagreements in the future, they will not have a legal (recourse)."

The man moved his part of the house to his parent's property, May Titthara said. He lives with his parents, while the wife continues to reside in her precariously perched, upright half!

Genius - I say!

Empango - Toro Kingdom annual royal celebrations

The Independent - a Uganda weekly has this interesting cultural piece

Ben Smith:

Mix your own Sarah Palin speech here >

'No to the Arabs'!

Andrew Sullivan:

Sit down, take a deep breath and get a better idea of why the people introducing Palin and McCain keep referring to Barack Hussein Obama:

'That one!'

Uganda on terror alert!

This is a headline that one expects to read about a European country or the USA. But Uganda?

'Choose your friends wisely' is a notion that comes in mind. And I am not suggesting that the Uganda government made a wrong choice, but the level of involvement and participation that she has assumed puts her on cross roads with the wrong elements - as opposed to any of our contemporaries in similar circumstances!

Unfortunately, Kenya and Tanzania have been targeted before, and Uganda survived - this was attributed to good intelligence and hopefully the same will hold this time round.

Continue reading story here >

Did your parents discipline you?

My Mum - a single parent, was tough on me! I don't blame her!

Have Your Say:

Do you think Africa is the place for discipline? Would you send your child away to be disciplined? Do traditional forms of correction still work in modern Africa? How did your parents discipline you - were they strict or liberal?

Continue reading for personal stories >

Thief leaves vital clue!

You can't make this up - II

The BBC has this story:

A car thief who had his name and date of birth tattooed on his neck was caught after CCTV images of him were used to track him down.

Aarron Evans, 21, pleaded guilty at Bristol Magistrates' Court to breaking into a covert capture car in the city.

The car had been left by Avon and Somerset Police officers with a covert camera concealed inside, which took pictures of Evans.

Evans, an illiterate man of no fixed address, was sentenced to seven months.

Aarron, Aarron, why? Why? This is way too dumb!

Man shot for wearing Obama T-shirt!

You can't make this up!

According to ITN a black man was shot 3 times and needed hospitalisation for wearing an Obama T-shirt!

Mr Egwuatu was attacked as he tried to buy a mobile phone card at an off-licence in Upper Norwood, south London, on Sunday afternoon while wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with an image of the black US presidential candidate.

A man confronted Mr Egwuatu inside the shop and launched a volley of racist abuse before chasing him with a Staffordshire bull terrier.

The victim ran to his car and tried to drive off but the attacker, described as 6ft and with short hair, attempted to climb in through the passenger window before pulling out the gun and shooting Mr Egwuatu in the face and shoulder at point-blank range.

Mr Egwuatu said: "It was like a scene from a movie, I just couldn't believe what was happening, I'd only gone out to buy some groceries."

He added: "When he pulled the gun out on me I could feel my life flashing in front of my eyes.

"He repeatedly racially abused me in the shop and kept saying that he had something for me. I didn't realise that something would be the gun.

"What really shocked me was the venom in this man's eyes as he was racially abusing me for absolutely no reason, the veins on his neck were popping out, there was so much anger."

The Met police said no one has been arrested in connection with the attack.

Call me naive, but I am genuinely surprised that this could happen in London - which seems more cosmopolitan and racial tolerant!

If this is happening in London, I wonder what is happening in heartland America... or what will happen when/if Senator Obama wins the elections! I guess we only have to wait for November 4th to know!

Want to find out whether he is cheating?

Oprah has a quiz here

Why men cheat....

CNN:

"We all have this picture of cheaters as the bad guys. They're horrible, rotten, not nice. No, they can be nice people who get lost, who do the wrong thing -- and they can be your husband."

UPDF Generals face US arrest....

The Monitor, a Uganda daily:

Senior UPDF officers could be arrested and tried in the United States for recruiting child soldiers under a new law passed by the Bush administration.

The Child Soldiers’ Accountability Act of 2008, which was signed into law by President Bush on Friday, covers all countries whose armies are known to have used child soldiers in hostilities between 2004 and 2007. According to reports by the UN and Human Rights Watch, the countries include Uganda, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Somalia and Sudan.

Also affected by the new law are senior commanders of the Lords Resistance Army, an outfit already blacklisted by the US government as a terrorist group, and whose senior commanders have been indicted by the International Criminal Court for a host of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Continue reading....

Bruce Springsteen......

Everyone hates Palin!

Does crime pay?

You gotta love this guy!

A run down of his lavish lifestyle included:

• A Grade II listed Meaford Hall valued at £3M situated on 22 acres of land
• Bentleys and Ferraris
• Helicopters
• 75 virgins - OK! I am kidding! And in any case, they wouldn't be virgins on their way out - when he is done with them!

Anyway, Mr Craig Johnson has been sentenced to 12 years in jail for VAT fraud!

The BBC has the full story here

OJ Simpson guilty!

Remember him?

He of the famous 'If the glove doesn't fit acquit?' trial?

He has been standing trial in a US court on robbery charges and has been found guilty!!

Karma?

Follow story here

Brown exonerates third world country leaders!

The BBC reports that PM Gordon Brown has reappointed Peter Mandelson in Government. This is the third time Mr Mandelson has been a minister of the Labour Government - twice under Mr Blair!

Twice, Mr Mandelson was forced out of Government because of misdemeanour's and is viewed as a risk choice, third time round!

Within the Labour camp, left wing MP Jim McDonnell said; "This is s an extraordinary step backwards into the worst elements of the Blair era, to reinstate possibly the most divisive figure in Labour's recent history"

MP William Hague of the Conservatives said; ""stunning failure of judgement" - by Mr Brown, - "In bringing back Peter Mandelson - the man who created Labour spin - he has broken his promise to govern in an honest and open way."

Talk of the nine lives of a cat!

Sadly, this cronisim was at one time limited and excluisive to third world nations where accountability is rarely respected leave alone upheld!

McCain: The untold story

Tim Dickinson of the Rolling Stone has written a scathing article about Senator John McCain - read it here. All ten pages of it!

Compelling writing aside, this is an unflattering piece that seems to be well researched and therefore comes across as credible and leaves McCain exposed.

Vietnam, Rio and his divorce, as well as some three damaged planes will leave you wondering whether this is positive journalism or an Obama campaign orchestrated effort. However, abhor McCain or worship him, this piece will leave you with a stale palate.

The Rolling Stone endorsed Senator Obama, and for this reason, people who would have otherwise been swayed by this article will remain sceptical, therefore limiting the impact of an otherwise potential poll changing piece. After saying this, I can still see a number of independents firming their affiliation with the Obama campaign. That is how strong I believe it is.

This is my take: Captivating from page one and not lacking in satire and knife twisting! Highly effective to convince the borderline independent who needs something to sway his already made up mind about supporting Senator Obama!

Enjoy!

I couldn't resist!

Typical Arsenal.......

Arsenal misses:

1. The Championship - again
2. The Premiership - again
3. The ball......



The story continues....

Foreclosures - the mortgage crisis!

This is painful to watch!

'Foreclosure Alley'

Some might argue that this is more or less a self-inflicted catastrophe, suggesting, rightly so that the cause is a result of the recklessness of lending banks and that of borrowers. I grudgingly agree, but nevertheless, the effects are more personal and far-reaching!

I am trying to imagine the implications to the affected families. Stuff such as homelessness, separation, marriage breakdown, and suicides spring to my mind!

We have not seen a lot of this in the UK so far, but trust me you, the credit crunch is yet to bite!

The worst is yet to come.

Experience!

Frances Robles of the Miami Herald has an interesting piece that has McCain's Senior Foreign Policy advisor citing McCain youth days (50 years ago) love escapades with a Brazillian babe as an indication to his interest in Latin America!

''Talking a little about his personal experience, he was famously born in Panama and has traveled all over the hemisphere for many years.'' Fontaine said. ``In fact, I saw, I guess it was last week, that his old girlfriend in Brazil has been found from his early days when he was in the Navy and was interviewed. She's a somewhat older woman now than she was then, but it sorta speaks to the long experience he has had in the region -- in the most positive terms.''

Fontaine was referring to former model Maria Gracinda Teixeira de Jesus, who recently gave an interview to O Globo saying the former sailor was quite the kisser. According to McCain's memoirs, `Faith of My Fathers,` they met in 1957, when his ship, the USS Hunt docked in Brazil.

''I called him John but also my darling and my sweet coconut,'' she said. ``He was a great kisser. I liked it so much that I bought a book to learn how to kiss myself.''

Now, if such prolific incidents qualify your interest and by implication, your expertise on countries or regions, then I am an expert on Rwanda, South Africa (the region), Poland, Russia, GB, Switzerland, Cyprus and East Africa!

Shooting from the hip....

Aden Nak is one man who does not mince his words!

So, I’ve been quiet thus far, but I figure it’s about time I went moose hunting. So let me start off nice and big for ya, in case there’s any doubt as to where I stand. Sarah Palin is a stupid, self important, ignorant bitch who I wouldn’t put in charge of wiping her own ass. And it’s not just that she’s dumb - which she is - it’s that she’s willfully ignorant of the facts and yet absolutely dead-bang certain that she’s right about her opinions. It’s more of this “governing from the gut” bullshit that we’ve been Chimping along with for the past eight years. I don’t know why it’s a taboo to say someone is too dumb to be President. Hell, most people don’t have the kind of mental sharpness necessary. That’s why it’s so important to pick the right person out of an entire country of potential leaders. But Sarah Palin? She’s not even worth considering. She’s fucking dumb, okay?

This chart did it for me!