NUFF Said

FROM HUFF POST This afternoon on MSNBC, Republican strategist Kellyanne Conway and Democratic strategist Keith Boykin were discussing Barack Obama and Jeremiah Wright, when Conway made a startling declaration, calling Hillary Clinton "the chief white woman in this country." Her full statement:
"The person who has criticized them is Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton has been criticizing Barack Obama and Jeremiah Wright. and I think that's the real issue, I think that's why Barack Obama had to push back. She is the chief white woman in this country, calling into question Jeremiah Wright's bonafides and she has made that issue on the campaign trail. Republicans aren't saying much about it at all, including John McCain. He had one thing to say about it early on."

The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan

Obama warned of the impending mortgage crisis a year ago. Here's the relevant letter on March 22, 2007. On this and on Iraq nd on Pakistan, his actual judgment simply put him on a level far beyond Clinton and McCain, let alone the current president. Judge for yourself:

Dear Chairman Bernanke and Secretary Paulson,

There is grave concern in low-income communities about a potential coming wave of foreclosures. Because regulators are partly responsible for creating the environment that is leading to rising rates of home foreclosure in the subprime mortgage market, I urge you immediately to convene a homeownership preservation summit with leading mortgage lenders, investors, loan servicing organizations, consumer advocates, federal regulators and housing-related agencies to assess options for private sector responses to the challenge.

We cannot sit on the sidelines while increasing numbers of American families face the risk of losing their homes.

And while neither the government nor the private sector acting alone is capable of quickly balancing the important interests in widespread access to credit and responsible lending, both must act and act quickly.

Working together, the relevant private sector entities and regulators may be best positioned for quick and targeted responses to mitigate the danger. Rampant foreclosures are in nobody's interest, and I believe this is a case where all responsible industry players can share the objective of eliminating deceptive or abusive practices, preserving homeownership, and stabilizing housing markets.

The summit should consider best practice loan marketing, underwriting, and origination practices consistent with the recent (and overdue) regulators' Proposed Statement on Subprime Mortgage Lending. The summit participants should also evaluate options for independent loan counseling, voluntary loan restructuring, limited forbearance, and other possible workout strategies. I would also urge you to facilitate a serious conversation about the following:

* What standards investors should require of lenders, particularly with regard to verification of income and assets and the underwriting of borrowers based on fully indexed and fully amortized rates.

* How to facilitate and encourage appropriate intervention by loan servicing companies at the earliest signs of borrower difficulty.

* How to support independent community-based-organizations to provide counseling and work-out services to prevent foreclosure and preserve homeownership where practical.

* How to provide more effective information disclosure and financial education to ensure that borrowers are treated fairly and that deception is never a source of competitive advantage.

* How to adopt principles of fair competition that promote affordability, transparency, non-discrimination, genuine consumer value, and competitive returns.

* How to ensure adequate liquidity across all mortgage markets without exacerbating consumer and housing market vulnerability.

Of course, the adoption of voluntary industry reforms will not preempt government action to crack down on predatory lending practices, or to style new restrictions on subprime lending or short- term post-purchase interventions in certain cases. My colleagues on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs have held important hearings on mortgage market turmoil and I expect the Committee will develop legislation.

Nevertheless, a consortium of industry-related service providers and public interest advocates may be able to bring quick and efficient relief to millions of at-risk homeowners and neighborhoods, even before Congress has had an opportunity to act. There is an opportunity here to bring different interests together in the best interests of American homeowners and the American economy. Please don't let this opportunity pass us by.

HorsesAss.Org » Blog Archive » Open thread

Jeremiah Wright has now give two public answers to the racist misuse of his speeches and the low ball misuse of that Faux maneuver by Clinton.

The bottom line is that Wright is obviously; an extraordinarily bright, thoughtful, patriot. His pride in the USA is s strong that it is infectious. The press should be ashamed of itself for taing words out of context .. but after listening to the Rev, I realize he is a lot brighter than most blow haired talking heads.

The speech at the 99th annivwersary of the NAACP was awe4some.

It is obvious that this guy is now lightwieght. he is proud of his heritage and dispays an ethnocentrism worthy of my immigrant Galitzianer Grand mother or my Irsih and Italian neghbors in Boston as I grw up. Jeremiah is a one proud dude but one who pobviously revels in toehr pride in their own ethnicity.

He may well be the anchovy in the American Caesar salad.

Finally, his discourse in ebonics was and african vs Euro rhythms was wonderful! Excursions through lieder and spirituals were awesome.

I have pasted some of this at SJ and will post the talk from tonoght as soon as I can find it on the Inet.

Is anyone else watching Jerimiah Wright address the NAACP on CNN? - Yahoo! Answers

Is anyone else watching Jerimiah Wright address the NAACP on CNN? - Yahoo! Answers
from Yahoo..

Is anyone else watching Jerimiah Wright address the NAACP on CNN?

If so, is anyone else as disgusted as I am that so many people are backing up this virulently anti-American pastor and making him out to be an angel?

I don't even think this is about Barack Obama anymore - it is about the black community giving a free pass to someone who said deplorable things about the country that gave him the opportunity to become a success story in our nation! 92% of these same folks voted for the black candidate just because he is black. The same people who are backing up the criminals called the Jena Six and believe that whenever a black person is rightfully getting his a.s.s kicked for doing something wrong, that it is somehow a miscarriage of justice.

Am I the only one who sees that Barack Obama's speech fell on deaf ears and that the Black community doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt if they continue this type of nonsense?

Disgusted? Yes with you. With Your Anti-American bigotry.

Who is Jeremiah Wright? He is a veteran of the second great war of the 20th century .. the one we all won against racims in our own country.
BTW, he served in the marines during 'Nam and tended to Lyndon Johnson's wounds after the effort to assassinate the President. He went on to get a dgree in theology at the prestigious Univ. of Chicago but, moved by his studies of history, decided to be a preacher in a failing, poor Black church. He built that church into a large, successful community. Seems to me that this is a record that deserves some respect!

If you choose the god damned, out of context excerpts from Fox, then YOU are as guilty as they are of maligning the Reverand.YOU are guilty of the unpatriotic behavior you and they ascribe to Rev. Wright.

This kind of character assassination names in our society ..No-nothing, Jingoism, McCarthyism. McCarthy and his followers misused patriotism. They were traitors to our ideals.

If Jeremiah had been an evil person, I would join you in disgust. But, twhen I actually listened to what the man SAID, I relaized that the evil ones are the media shmucks who willingly ran a few quotes out of context, over and over again.

I am a 67 yo Jew, a veteraa of Vietnam and a patriot VERY grateful to this country for saving my family form Hitler. If you are a patriot, you owe it to your country to listen to this man's full and remarkable words.

Youl might go to my blog if you want links to this ex marine's own words!

www.seattlejew.blogspot.com

Atheists: Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Pharyngula: "When Specialist Jeremy Hall held a meeting last July for atheists and freethinkers at Camp Speicher in Iraq, he was excited, he said, to see an officer attending.

But minutes into the talk, the officer, Maj. Freddy J. Welborn, began to berate Specialist Hall and another soldier about atheism, Specialist Hall wrote in a sworn statement. 'People like you are not holding up the Constitution and are going against what the founding fathers, who were Christians, wanted for America!' Major Welborn said, according to the statement.

Major Welborn told the soldiers he might bar them from re-enlistment and bring charges against them, according to the statement."

Cab the Lady Rat Swin When her Ship Sinks?

Their backup justification is that they are performing a service to the Party and to Obama by toughening him up and giving him practice in parrying the Republican thrusts he would face as the nominee. And they are surely right that those thrusts would be nastier than the ones he has faced from the Clintons. The reasoning is that while Clinton is (to quote myself from this week’s Comment) “a seasoned survivor of the worst that the Republican attack machine can dish out,” Obama isn’t.

Or is she? Clinton has thrown her kitchen sink at him, but—for hardheaded as well as high-minded reasons—he has not thrown his at her. (I know—turning the other cheek got Jesus crucified. But it also got Montgomery’s buses integrated. And India liberated.)

Consider this.

In the Philadelphia debate, Clinton amplified ABC’s odious question about Bill Ayers by saying piously that Obama’s “relationship” with Ayers

continued after 9/11 and after his reported comments, which were deeply hurtful to people in New York, and I would hope to every American, because they were published on 9/11 and he said that he was just sorry they [the Weather Underground] hadn’t done more [bombing].

........................

Hillary has her own vulnerability in this general area, and it is larger than the fact, mentioned by Obama in his riposte to her, that her husband, on his last day in office, commuted the sentences of a couple of old Weather Underground jailbirds. (After a decade and a half in stir, they had been denied parole, apparently unfairly. Good for Bill.) What Obama did not mention was Hillary’s internship, back in the groovy summer of 1971, at the Oakland law firm of Treuhaft, Walker and Burnstein. Treuhaft (Robert Treuhaft, husband of Jessica Mitford) had left the Communist Party thirteen years earlier, but Walker (Doris Walker) was still a member, and the firm was a pillar of the Bay Area Old Left. I assume that Obama didn’t mention this because doing so would have rightly pissed off a lot of Democrats, because he is running as a non-kneecapping uniter, and because there is no evidence that Clinton has or has ever had the slightest sympathy with Communism. (Of course, there is no such evidence with respect to Obama and Weather Underground-ism, either, but that didn’t stop Hillary from twisting that particular knife.)

My point is that Hillary Clinton has not, in fact, survived the worst that the Republican attack machine (and its pilotless drones online and on talk radio) can dish out. We will learn what the worst really means if she is nominated. The Commie law firm will be only the beginning. Many tempting targets—from Bill’s little-examined fund-raising and business activities during the past seven years to the prospect of his hanging around the White House in some as yet undefined role for another four or eight years to whatever leftovers from the Clinton “scandals” of the nineteen-nineties can be retrieved from the dumpster and reheated—remain to be machine-gunned. The whole Clinton marital soap opera, obviously off limits within the Democratic fold, will offer ample material for what Obama calls “distractions.” To take the most obvious example, the former President’s social life since leaving the White House will become, if not “fair game,” big game—and some of these right-wing dirtbags are already hiring bearers and trying on pith helmets for the safari. Is this a “there” where the Democratic Party really wants to go?

The REAL Reverand Wright.

I had a great experience last hight watching Jeremiah Wright.

The excerpts from his ssermons are so far from what the sermons themselves say or from the man himself that even I, a long time complainer abut Rovism, am shocked.

Here is the interview on Bill MOyers'.

A word to Hillary's supporters. With all due respect for her hard efforts and determination to win. SHE would do a lot of good for her own campaign by denouncing the misrepresentation of this great man.

Obama in 30 Seconds

James Clyburn Calls Clinton a Racist

Tales from the Trail » Blog Archive » Top House Democrat denounces Clinton campaign tactics | Blogs | Reuters.com: "Top House Democrat denounces Clinton campaign tactics
Post a comment (189)
Posted by: Richard Cowan
Tags: Tales from the Trail: 2008

WASHINGTON - “Scurrilous” and “disingenuous” were among the words a top Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives used on Thursday to describe Hillary Clinton’s campaign tactics in her bid to defeat Barack Obama for their party’s presidential nomination.

House Democratic Whip James Clyburn, of South Carolina and the highest ranking black in Congress, also said he has heard speculation that Clinton is staying in the race only to try to derail Obama and pave the way for her to make another White House run in 2012.

rtr1w3w5.jpg“I heard something, the first time yesterday (in South Carolina), and I heard it on the (House) floor today, which is telling me there are African Americans who have reached the decision that the Clintons know that she can’t win this. But they’re hell-bound to make it impossible for Obama to win” in November, Clyburn told Reuters in an interview.

Obama holds a sizable lead in delegates won in"

Here is the beginning of my post. And here is the rest of it.

Study says near extinction threatened people

Study says near extinction threatened people: "WASHINGTON (AP) - Human beings may have had a brush with extinction 70,000 years ago, an extensive genetic study suggests. The human population at that time was reduced to small isolated groups in Africa, apparently because of drought, according to an analysis released Thursday.

The report notes that a separate study by researchers at Stanford University estimated the number of early humans may have shrunk as low as 2,000 before numbers began to expand again in the early Stone Age.

'This study illustrates the extraordinary power of genetics to reveal insights into some of the key events in our species' history,' Spencer Wells, National Geographic Society explorer in residence, said in a statement. 'Tiny bands of early humans, forced apart by harsh environmental conditions, coming back from the brink to reunite and populate the world. Truly an epic drama, written in our DNA.'

Wells is director of the Genographic Project, launched in 2005 to study anthropology using genetics. The report was published in the American Journal of Human Genetics.

Previous studies using mitochondrial DNA—which is passed down through mothers—have traced modern humans to a single 'mitochondrial Eve,' who lived in Africa about 200,000 years ago.

The migrations of humans out of Africa to populate the rest of the world appear to"

Here is the beginning of my post. And here is the rest of it.

Carville Off the Deep Edge

Last night on Larry King, James Carville appeared with Bill Richardson.

Richardson was calm in the face of Cajun rage. Carville's affect was so flat and his words so vituperous, I began to wonder if he might not be paranoid.

It has been over thirty years since I was trainbed to diagnose paranoid schizophrenia and Carvill did not quite meet what I was taught, but he came close. His bizar behavior, total flat affect, impenetrable anger are worrisome symptoms. I wonder whether he and possible his boss are not on the edge of something truly terrible.

One last point ...

if Carville does represent what is going on in Hillary's mind, she is simply not fit to govern the USA.

There is no excuse for this sort of behavior.








and there is more:

He then pushed the issue further by adding, "And we have big problems in this country. You can't go hide under the New York Times editorialists' skirt every time something happens and expect them to come out and do your fighting for you," he said, referring, presumably, to the Times' Wednesday editorial blaming Clinton for running a "mean, vacuous, desperate" campaign. Did Carville's "skirt" comment have some inappropriate undertones? Watch the clip and let us know what you think.


CNN

Iran agrees to address nuclear arms allegations: IAEA | Reuters

Iran agrees to address nuclear arms allegations: IAEA | Reuters: "By Mark Heinrich

VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran has agreed to clarify intelligence alleging that it studied how to design nuclear bombs, a gesture the U.N. nuclear watchdog chief on Wednesday called a 'milestone'.

Tehran has previously denied the reports but declined to address them in detail.

'(This) is a certain milestone and hopefully by the end of May we'll be in position to get the explanation and clarification from Iran as to these alleged studies,' said International Atomic Energy Agency Director Mohamed ElBaradei."

Limbaugh's Minions Carry the Day for Clinton

Limbaugh's Big Win ...

If the numbers I read at SP are correct then the big winner last night may have been Rush Limbaugh.


The conservative site says that 13% of the vote last night was new registrants and that about 60% of that went to BHO.

BUT, what they do not say is what proportion of the 40% were Limbaugh ditto-heads following his operation choas plan.*. In this plan, RL urged his following to vote for Hillary by falsifying their party affiliation.

Assuming he was successful, that could mean as much a 5% of Hillary's lead was due to Rush Limbaugh. Of course some of those Hillary votes would also be newly registered Hillaryites but .. given the closeness of this race and the fact that Obamicans (registered Repubs wanting to vote Obama) were not allowed to vote, it seeks likely that about 50% of her vote was faux.

Huffington

Tom Edsall>>Another White Guy Election

APRIL 22: Not to be outdone, Insider Advantage has also released a final poll showing Hillary maintaining the lead in the PA primary:

Hillary Clinton: 49%

Barack Obama: 42%
Undecided: 9%

APRIL 22: Today is the primary, and Zogby has released a final Pennsylvania poll showing Hillary opening up her lead slightly:

Hillary Clinton: 51%

Barack Obama: 41%
Undecided: 6%

APRIL 21: With the Pennsylvania primary a day away, a slew of polls have come out predicting tomorrow's returns. Here is the collection, with a few observations below:

Zogby Poll

Hillary Clinton: 48%

Barack Obama: 42%

Suffolk Poll

Hillary Clinton: 52%

Barack Obama: 42%

Quinnipac Poll

Hillary Clinton: 51%

Barack Obama: 44%

SurveyUSA Poll

Hillary Clinton: 50%

Barack Obama: 44%

PPP Poll (pdf)

Hillary Clinton: 46%

Barack Obama: 49%

Rasmussen Poll

Hillary Clinton: 49%

Barack Obama: 44%

First to note is that the race has tightened significantly over the past few weeks, but that most polls are reflecting a healthy, single-point margin for Clinton. SurveyUSA shows a six-point lead for Clinton, which is line with other polls, but is their closest result in weeks (SurveyUSA has, generally, had one of the best overall track records during the election season). Also worth noting is that Zogby's day tracking polls show a wider margin than this weekend, suggesting that late-deciding voters may be breaking for Clinton (another trend we have seen for most of the cycle).

The Clintons Fall

Like many Americans I never gave a damn about Bill's salacious episodes. This really did seem like a Reprican trick. Then, as afr as HRC was concerned, I have always assumed that these were two adults in love and that she was uttlert above the issue.

I no longer believe that. Her underhanded campaign is bad enough. BUT add to that this sort of self serving deception and I am frightened about her in the WH.

The number one thing we all are going to need in a new President is truthfulness. We need to trust what he or she says. Unfortunately, thanks in large part to the Clintons, the three survivors in thsi TV reality show have all pandered to the point where one must read between the lines to know where they stand on critical issues. So, all have been damaged but none as much as the dynamic duo.

I ask myself, if the President appears on TV to tell me we need to invade Iran, who will I believe? If she tells me we need a massive tax increase and fiscal cutback, where do I go with that? When Obama reneges on NAFTA, as he will, do I believe him? When McCain reneges. or finally deiofnes, "victory" in Iraq .. will I believe him?

Hillary and Bill are literally the pair who called wolf too often.



First Read - msnbc.com: "Bill: 'I'm not going to play your games'
Posted: Tuesday, April 22, 2008 11:48 AM by Mark Murray
Filed Under: 2008, Clinton

From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli and NBC's Mark Murray
At the Jewish Community Center in Pittsburgh this morning, Bill Clinton took questions from local press after shaking a lot of hands. NBC/NJ asked him about the WHYY radio interview in which he said the Obama camp was playing the race card. Below is full transcript of the back-and-forth:

NBC/NJ: “Sir, what did you mean yesterday when you said that the Obama campaign was playing the race card on you?”

CLINTON: “When did I say that, and to whom did I say that?”

NBC/NJ: “On WHYY radio yesterday”

CLINTON: “No, no, no. That’s not what I said. You always follow me around and play these little games, and I’m not going to play your games today. This is a day about election day. Go back and see what the question was, and what my answer was. You have mischaracterized it to get another cheap story to divert the American people from the real urgent issues before us, and I choose not to play your game today. Have a nice day.”

NBC/NJ: “Respectfully sir, though, you did say …”

CLINTON: “Have a nice day.” [continues shaking hands with"

Here is the beginning of my post. And here is the rest of it.

Happy Pesach

Animal Farm By Andrew Sullivan

The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan: "Saturday, April 19, 2008
Karl Clinton

19 Apr 2008 09:22 pm

The fusion of the Clinton campaign with the politics of Karl Rove and Republican neo-McCarthyism intensifies. You just can't help remembering the following sentence:

'The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.'

She has become what she once opposed. And if she wins, it will be a victory for Rove and all he represents."

Here is the beginning of my post. And here is the rest of it.

Move On anti ABC Ad and petition.

Enough Distractions

Editor & Publisher called this week's ABC presidential debate "perhaps the most embarrassing performance by the media in a major presidential debate in years."

Moderators George Stephanopolous and Charlie Gibson spent the first 50 minutes obsessed with distractions that only political insiders care about--gaffes, polling numbers, the stale Rev. Wright story, and the old-news Bosnia story. And, channelling Karl Rove, they directed a video question to Barack Obama asking if he loves the American flag or not. Seriously.
Enough is enough. The public needs the media to stop hurting the national dialogue in this important election year. Can you sign the petition to ABC and other media outlets and pass it on to friends who are also fed up?

A compiled petition with your individual comment will be presented to ABC and other media.

INVITATION:

Subject: Enough is enough

Hi,

If you missed the Democratic presidential debate on ABC Wednesday night, Editor & Publisher called it "perhaps the most embarrassing performance by the media in a major presidential debate in years."

Moderators George Stephanopoulos and Charlie Gibson spent the first 50 minutes obsessed with distractions that only political insiders care about--gaffes, polling numbers, the stale Rev. Wright story, and the old-news Bosnia story. And, channeling Karl Rove, they directed a video question to Barack Obama asking if he loves the American flag or not. Seriously!

I just signed a petition to ABC and other media that says: "Debate moderators abuse the public trust every time they ask trivial questions about gaffes and 'gotchas' that only political insiders care about. Enough with the distractions--ABC and other networks must focus on issues that affect people's daily lives."

Want to sign it too? We need a bunch of signers for ABC to take this concern seriously.
Click here to sign:

http://pol.moveon.org/enoughdistractions/?r_by=-472299-RxF.55&rc=paste

Thanks!

My Comment

Trash TV degrades democracy.

Worse yet, the agenda seems to have been set not by journalists but in reaction to the candidates and the right wing's media campaign.

SURELY, if ABC was trying to achieve balance it would have ALSO raised the issues of the Clinton library, the Clinton Cayman Island Bank Account, and the decisions of Ms. Clinton's church to divest from Israel. Oh yeh, there is the fact that she has her name on only two bills in eight years of the Senate, the same as BHO has after two. Can she explain that? These are all also trash issues but surely more relevant than Obama's choice to wear a flag pin or not, his membership in a Black church , or his acquaintance with a radical from the sixties.

If ABC really wanted to sink to that level .. well geee>>>

Mrs. Clinton, you once worked for a law firm devoted to the Communist Part of America, cna you tell us more about that?

Mrs. Clinton, your husband intentionally avoided the draft., do you think that was ethical?
Mrs. Clinton, essential;ly all of your charitable contributions are to your own foundation. Do you personally .....
Mrs. Clinton, your hairstyles have changed dramatically over the years, can you tell us the effects of fashion on women candidates?

Obama post Clinton

Here is the beginning of my post. And here is the rest of it.

Over a year ago I outlined the strategy for BHO. He has followed it closely so maybe I am correct?

I think his next target is the religious right. There is, I believe, a lot more liability in this group of Rs then most folks understand.

If I am right, BHO will:

a. choose a running mate who is acceptable to the believers. This rules out Hillary but maybe not Pellosi.
b. Give a speech , perhaps THE nomination speech, on the relationship of religion to the state. He will shock some libs by committing to funding FBOs and proposing ways religious private schools can work with the public schools.
He will also rail against religious suppression in Muslim and communist countries. BUT he may also have a muslim speak at the convention … a “save my faith” talk?
c. He will make a showy visit, /c ministers, to Black and White chiurches across the country. NOT including the radical religious.
d. he will identify the protestant work ethhic, Jewish commitment to education, Catholic commitment to Mary’s compassion etc (/o openly stereotyping anyone) to national service.
e. He will propose a Mormon like period of national service for all Americans, linking his idea to the Mormons.

04/18/2008 at 9:35 am

Taiwan Strait tension cools off - - Breaking News, Political News & National Security News - The Washington Times

Taiwan Strait tension cools off - - Breaking News, Political News & National Security News - The Washington Times: "Taiwan Strait tension cools off

By Bill Gertz
April 17, 2008

The United States sent three aircraft carrier strike groups to waters around Taiwan after China told U.S. officials last year there was high risk of a military incident after Taiwan's March 22 presidential election, according to Pentagon and military officials.

One strike group has been redeployed to the Persian Gulf since the failure of an election-day referendum strongly opposed by Beijing, but two groups remain near the island, the officials said. The Chinese warning, described in a March 31 Pentagon report to Congress, said the danger period would continue until the inauguration of the new Taiwan government next month.

Chinese Embassy Press Counselor Wang Baodong said last night that his government thinks the situation in the Taiwan Strait is 'a bit more relaxed' since the defeat of the referendum, which Beijing saw as a step toward independence. 'But we still think that the situation is very sensitive and complicated,' he said."

Here is the beginning of my post. And here is the rest of it.

Church having trouble marketing poverty and celibacy to men - 236 - News

Church having trouble marketing poverty and celibacy to men

Guys, it's like cowboys and Indians, but in robes, with sepulchres.

St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, NY is having trouble in the admissions department.

Fifty years ago, several hundred men at a time studied for the priesthood. Today, only 22 are enrolled. In an effort to attract suitable men to the priesthood, the seminary is trying new marketing techinques. St. Joseph's launched a website called nypriest.com and the archdiocese is hoping the Pope's visit provides a shot in the arm. Asks Reverend Luke Sweeney, "How do we get the 'cool' factor back into the priesthood?"

How indeed? The marketing dept at Team 23/6 has a few suggestions:

ABC Turns Debates into a Reality Show

Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post: "Greg Mitchell

BIO
Greg Mitchell: The ABC Debate: A Shameful Night for the U.S. Media

In perhaps the most embarrassing performance by the media in a major presidential debate in years, ABC News hosts Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos focused mainly on trivial issues as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama faced off in Philadelphia. They, and their network, should hang their collective heads in shame."

Here is the beginning of my post. And here is the rest of it.

Making MY WIFE Feel Beautiful

DRUDGE REPORT 2008®: "UPDATE: Bardot on trial for 'inciting anti-Muslim hatred'..."

As men age we become transformed into older versions, as women age they change into utterly different beings?

Would anyone recognize this woman as Bardot?

Sexism aside. Barbara .. you are more beautiful every day. I hope someone sees Bardot that way too.

Unmasking a troll ....

The real identity of PussyBud at HA is ...

Danny John-Jules, the actor from Red Dwarf!

Could be Worse, He could have used American.

French hand Tellier 'nul points' for Eurovision song in English

Paul MacInnes
Thursday April 17, 2008
guardian.co.uk

It's a clash between tradition and innovation. A fight between the insular and the globalised. A tussle over the very character of modern France and, if it isn't resolved soon, the country's chances of winning Eurovision could take a bit of a beating.

Sebastien Tellier, the electro-pop star who has been chosen to represent France at this year's kitsch sing-a-long, has incurred the wrath of the French establishment after it became clear that the song he is set to perform, Divine, contains some lyrics in English.

More Ugly Chinamen

BBC - Homepage: "Torch reaches locked-down Delhi

The Olympic flame arrives under very tight security in India, home to a large exiled Tibetan population."

Here is the beginning of my post. And here is the rest of it.

Norway's Mesdsage to Israel

A MESSAGE TO THE JEWISH PEOPLE FROM NORWAY

We want you to know, that in this time of biased media coverage of the conflict in the Middle East, of general adversity to the Jewish state and increase of the antisemitisme in all Europe, that there is a large multitude of declared supporters of Israel in Norway.

On their behalf we want to assure you of our dissociation from the policy of the Norwegian Government in the Middel East. Greetings from Psalm 122: 6-7.

From the movement The Scripture and Israel in Norway (Ordet og Israel). www.ordetogisrael.no

Hillary Clinton On Southern Working Class Whites In 1995: "Screw 'Em" - Politics on The Huffington Post

Hillary Clinton On Southern Working Class Whites In 1995: "Screw 'Em" - Politics on The Huffington Post: "During the past week, Sen. Hillary Clinton has presented herself as a working class populist, the politician in touch with small town sentiments, compared to the elitism of her opponent, Sen. Barack Obama.

But a telling anecdote from her husband's administration shows Hillary Clinton's attitudes about the 'lunch-bucket Democrats' are not exactly pristine.

In January 1995, as the Clintons were licking their wounds from the 1994 congressional elections, a debate emerged at a retreat at Camp David. Should the administration make overtures to working class white southerners who had all but forsaken the Democratic Party? The then-first lady took a less than inclusive approach.

'Screw 'em,' she told her husband. 'You don't owe them a thing, Bill. They're doing nothing for you; you don't have to do anything for them.'"

Here is the beginning of my post. And here is the rest of it.

Poll Shows Erosion Of Trust in Clinton - washingtonpost.com

PHILADELPHIA, April 15 -- Lost in the Hillary Rodham Clinton campaign's aggressive attacks on Barack Obama in recent days is a deep and enduring problem that threatens to undercut any inroads Clinton has made in her struggle to overtake him in the Democratic presidential race: She has lost trust among voters, a majority of whom now view her as dishonest.

Her advisers' efforts to deal with the problem -- by having her acknowledge her mistakes and crack self-deprecating jokes -- do not seem to have succeeded. Privately, the aides admit that the recent controversy over her claim to have ducked sniper fire on a trip to Bosnia probably made things worse.

Clinton is viewed as "honest and trustworthy" by just 39 percent of Americans, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, compared with 52 percent in May 2006. Nearly six in 10 said in the new poll that she is not honest and trustworthy. And now, compared with Obama, Clinton has a deep trust deficit among Democrats, trailing him by 23 points as the more honest, an area on which she once led both Obama and John Edwards.

Among Democrats, 63 percent called her honest, down 18 points from 2006; among independents, her trust level has dropped 13 points, to 37 percent. Republicans held Clinton in low regard on this in the past (23 percent called her honest two years ago), but it is even lower now, at 16 percent. Majorities of men and women now say the phrase does not apply to Clinton; two years ago, narrow majorities of both did.

Advisers argue that her positive ratings have dipped as she has been defined by her opponents -- a normal campaign occurrence -- and that her honesty problem reflects the pounding she took from Republicans in the 1990s. But the Bosnia incident and the way the campaign handled it have left advisers divided over what a candidate can do after such a steep drop in trust.

Some of her aides believe that after Clinton told the Bosnia story -- of having run from her military aircraft into a hangar to avoid sniper fire -- when television images of the event showed otherwise, the campaign had no choice but to say she "misspoke." Communications director Howard Wolfson first did so on a conference call with reporters, and Clinton repeated the explanation over the course of several days.

Other Clinton advisers thought that response did not come quickly enough -- and that when it did, without further explanation or talking points for surrogates to use, it only worsened the perception that she had lied. Making the situation more difficult was a split within the campaign over whether Clinton had exaggerated, or simply confused the landing with another trip. One Clinton insider announced in a strategy meeting it was ridiculous to have imagined the first lady ever having been in danger, or for Clinton to have thought she was -- a slap at the senator from New York that other advisers described as disrespectful.

At the same time, die-hard Clinton loyalists thought her communications operation did not defend her heartily enough, which press aides said they thought was impossible. "Continuing to say it did happen when it didn't happen is not a strategy," one adviser said.

The problem was exacerbated when Bill Clinton, in defending her confused memory of the Bosnia event, got key details of the incident wrong, before later saying his wife had told him to stay out of it.

Two staffers from the Clinton White House years, Lissa Muscatine and Melanne Verveer, wrote a New York Times op-ed article recalling the perils of the trip, trying to justify why Clinton had gotten the story wrong. "As has been reported, Mrs. Clinton's trip to Bosnia included a U.S.O. component with the comedian Sinbad and the singer Sheryl Crow. The helicopters that carried them to performances at American base camps zigzagged just above the trees to avoid potential ground fire, according to Carey Cavanaugh, who was then a State Department official traveling with Sinbad, and helicopters flew alongside to deal with the threat of anti-aircraft fire or snipers. These facts explain why many of us, including the first lady, believed that the conditions on the ground were precarious. We were worried about sniper fire and were prepared to rush off the tarmac when we landed," they wrote.

Senior Clinton advisers argued that the Bosnia story would not have developed the way it did if it were not for a story line about Clinton that goes back to the 1990s, when scandals involving the first lady, including the firings in the White House travel office and her financial dealings, resulted in widespread doubts about her trustworthiness. That framework, they argue, made it easier for Clinton to be perceived as dishonest, a problem that first arose in her presidential campaign in a debate last fall when she gave conflicting answers on whether she supports allowing illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses.

The new poll suggests that much of her problem is with men. Nearly two-thirds of men said Clinton is not honest and trustworthy (an increase of 19 points), compared with 53 percent of women (up 12 points). Democratic men, in particular, have shifted: About four in 10 now do not believe Clinton to be honest and trustworthy, nearly triple the percentage saying so in 2006.

The percentage calling Clinton honest has dropped steeply among whites with higher incomes and levels of education. And while majorities of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents across demographic lines said she is honest and trustworthy, the class divisions remain: The percentage of white Democrats without college degrees calling Clinton honest hardly budged in two years, while those with college degrees have dropped off significantly on the question (from 82 percent to 53 percent).

Among whites, the percentage saying Clinton is honest and trustworthy has declined 10 points, compared with 26 points among nonwhites. That number has declined more sharply among liberals (down 30 points) than among moderates (down 13) or conservatives (down 4 points). Head to head with Obama on honesty among Democrats, Clinton faces a 23-point deficit overall, 17 points among whites and nearly 50 points among African Americans.

Cohen reported from Washington. Polling analyst Jennifer Agiesta in Washington contributed to this report.

The Catholic Supremes

What is wrong with this picture?

5 Supreme Court justices on White House guest list: "WASHINGTON (AP) - All five Roman Catholic justices on the Supreme Court were invited to Wednesday night's splashy White House dinner in honor of Pope Benedict XVI.

Republican presidential contender John McCain will be there, too. But Democratic rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, who had a nationally broadcast debate scheduled Wednesday night, were not invited.

About 250 guests were to attend the dinner. Benedict will not be there because he will be attending an evening prayer service with U.S. bishops.

The guests include former Los Angeles Dodgers baseball manager Tommy Lasorda, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader John Boehner, Carl Anderson, supreme knight and chief executive officer, Knights of Columbus, Ken Hackett, president, Catholic Relief Services, George Weigel, author of a biography of Pope John Paul II, and more than 20 members of the clergy from around the country.

From the Supreme Court, the guests are Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas.

The menu: morel-encrusted diver scallops, spatzle, angel hair asparagus bisque, veal, white truffle-potato dumplings, carrots and mushrooms, lettuces and candied pumpkin seeds, squash carpaccio, pumpkin oil vinaigrette, raspberry crisp and mint coulis."

Clinton losing traction over Obama in Pennsylvania, Indiana - Los Angeles Times

Her formerly double-digit lead is now just a five-point margin in Pennsylvania, survey finds. The reduced margin makes a win for her there less significant. She trails Obama among Hoosiers.

By Janet Hook, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
2:00 PM PDT, April 15, 2008

WASHINGTON -- With three crucial Democratic primaries looming, Hillary Rodham Clinton may not be headed toward the blockbuster victories she needs to jump-start her presidential bid -- even in Pennsylvania, the state that was supposed to be her ace in the hole, a new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll has found.

The survey found the New York senator leading Barack Obama by just 5 percentage points in Pennsylvania, which votes next Tuesday. Such a margin would not give her much of a boost in the battle for the party's nomination.

What is more, the poll found Clinton trails Obama by 5 points in Indiana, another Rust Belt state that should play to her strengths among blue-collar voters.

In North Carolina, an Obama stronghold, he is running 13 points ahead.

The race remains volatile, however, because many likely voters in the Democratic primaries are still undecided -- 12% in Pennsylvania, 19% in Indiana and 17% in North Carolina.

"I could be one who goes into the voting box and makes up my mind at the polls," Gwen Hodavance, a receptionist in Paoli, Pa., said in an interview after participating in the poll. "Obama is the best candidate, the best articulator of the mood for change, but I don't know how he would be for president."

Gallup Daily: Obama 51%, Clinton 40%

PRINCETON, NJ -- Barack Obama is maintaining his lead over Hillary Clinton among Democrats nationally in the latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking, with a 51% to 40% margin in the April 12-14 average.

The current 11 percentage point lead is the largest for Obama this year, and marks the ninth consecutive day in which Obama has led Clinton by a statistically significant margin. The current Gallup Poll Daily tracking average is based on interviewing conducted Saturday, Sunday and Monday -- after the initial reports of Obama's controversial remarks about "bitter" small-town residents began to be reported in the news media.

The Ugly Chinaman

McClatchy Washington Bureau | 04/15/2008 | An angry China is lashing out at its foreign critics: "BEIJING — Bristling at criticism in the run-up to the Summer Olympics, China is lashing back at its foreign critics — by name.

Earlier this week, the state Xinhua news agency called House Speaker Nancy Pelosi 'disgusting.' And on Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu lambasted a CNN commentator, Jack Cafferty, for his 'vicious' commentary on China.

'We solemnly request that CNN, and Cafferty himself, take back the malicious remarks and apologize to the Chinese people,' Jiang said at a news briefing.

Protests plaguing the global Olympic torch relay, along with mounting criticism of China's handling of domestic unrest by Tibetans, have embittered many Chinese. As foreign leaders discuss whether to boycott the Olympics' opening ceremonies on Aug. 8, Chinese Internet sites are replete with their own mounting calls for boycotts of foreign goods, souring the mood as the nation prepares to host its biggest international event ever.

A mood of angry nationalism has spurred government officials to lash out at foreign critics, trying to stay ahead of public resentment — even fury — that foreigners may spoil the Summer Olympics party with what some see as unwarranted criticism.

Several foreign journalists, including correspondents for USA Today and"

Here is the beginning of my post. And here is the rest of it.

Ammunition for Reichert and Rossi, Courtesy of McCain

I just heard a speech by John McCain on economics. The speech was very impressive, perhaps a better example of what the Dems can expect than the Hillary touted Reaganesque campaign of fear and race.

The speach was long and emphasized tax and budget reforms that made ma lot of sense but let me focus on one item: PORK. McCain focused on ending the set asides. He claimed that he has never sought a set aside for his state.

This is p0powerful stuff in an economy year. Reichert has already taken the same stand. If Rossi were to join in .. using the Tanker issue as a wedge, I suspect the appeal to voters would be very high.

Darcy Burner is the likeliest victim of such a focus. Her campaign is being hurt, IMHO, by an over focus on Iraq. When the dust settles, the public is going t learn that McCain and Obama are really not all that far apart. The economy, however will be a bigger issue and McCain is offering some teeth that would challenge Burner since many of our Demo delegation have done a good job of raising pork.

Gadgets : Miscellaneous

Rage Against the Machines: Gallery of Gadget Revenge

By Wired.com Photo Department

04.14.08 | 12:00 AM

When the bot uprising is complete, this gallery will be used to output a "flesh-flaying" verdict against Wired.com from our assigned judging unit. Until then, these photos are badges of honor for human freedom fighters around the globe. We asked our readers to terminate their most offensive technology and submit the best photos of the destruction. After weeks of voting, these are the 10 top revenge photos from those who won't kowtow to our future overlords.

Check out the many excellent entries that didn't make it into the top 10 at the Gadget Abuse submission page.

Left:

Dead Gateway Laptop
Submitted by Anonymous

Photographer's comment:

"Killed with 9mm, .380 ACP and possibly a few .223 rounds."

As Pesach Approaches

Poles discover their Jewish roots

By Adam Easton BBC News, Warsaw

The majority of Polish Jews who survived the Holocaust emigrated

Under Nazi and communist persecution, the few Jews who remained in Poland sometimes hid their identity, leaving a surprise in store for their descendants.

Pawel works in the kitchen of a kosher restaurant in the heart of Warsaw's growing Jewish community, near the 19th Century Nozyk synagogue, a Jewish theatre and cultural centre.

When he was younger, he used to be a skinhead.

"I am from a Catholic family. I was baptised. My parents are still Catholics," he told me.

"When I was a skinhead, I used to go around saying: oh, those Jews, look at what they've done.

"It was madness because we didn't know anything about Jews or Jewish culture. It was just slogans - like Jews Rule the World, Jews are Bad.

When I looked into the mirror I asked myself: why should I be a Jew? Pawel

"When there was a black person in the street, we used to chase him. If we caught him, we did what we did.

"A young person always needs to find an enemy and we found this enemy in Jews, blacks and Gypsies."

Six years ago, Pawel made a discovery that turned his life upside down - he found out that he was Jewish. His parents had turned their back on Jewish life and they had never told him about his background.

"When I looked into the mirror I asked myself: why should I be a Jew? It was the biggest shock of my life. It was really a huge blow. For most of my life I hated them. It was too much to take in at once."

New path

Pawel decided he wanted to know more about Judaism and he started attending the synagogue.

Now 30 years old, he is trying to lead an Orthodox lifestyle, but it is not always easy when he wears his skullcap on the streets.

"I put on a hat but it doesn't help much because I still stand out with my beard. People stare and turn around. Sometimes they say: look there's a Jew. But, I don't find it offensive. I used to behave like that."

Pawel has not been able to meet some of his old friends because he is afraid of how they would react. He did not want to be photographed.

But his parents are proud that he and his wife, who is also Jewish, are raising a Jewish family, even if his mother and father do not want to return to the faith.

"I told my Dad it would be good for him to go back to Judaism but he said he is so used to the Church it would be difficult for him. This is their choice, there's no point in forcing it - I just want them to be happy."

Revival

Warsaw was once home to the largest Jewish community in the world after New York.

But 90% of Poland's Jews were murdered by the Nazis during World War II. The majority of those who survived decided to emigrate after suffering repression under the new communist authorities.

Michael Schudrich is Poland's chief rabbi

But since the collapse of communism in 1989 people have felt free to talk about Jewish life and the country's Jewish community is undergoing a revival.

Many Poles were brought up as Catholics and only later discovered they were really Jewish or had Jewish ancestors.

At the Nozyk synagogue, which stands almost hidden beside grey communist-era tower blocks and modern glass skyscrapers in the centre of Warsaw, Poland's chief rabbi, Michael Schudrich, leads the daily prayers.

Officially there are just a few thousand registered Jews in the country. Some estimates suggest there could be up to 30,000 people with Jewish roots.

We hope that they will remain Jewish and they will keep their Jewish education Rabbi Pavlac

"It's far more common than people realise. It's probably in the thousands at least," he says.

"We have had support groups and certainly people have been shocked. Those who come and begin to learn about what it means to be Jewish - in some way, at some level, end up at peace with it - or at a liveable level of peace with it.

It is not simple, it takes a lot of patience and I really stand in awe of these people because I don't know if I could do what they have done."

First steps

In Warsaw's Jewish school, a class of four-year-olds take their first steps as young members of the Jewish community.

Here they will get a good general education but they will also learn about Jewish life, culture and Hebrew.

"We hope that they will remain Jewish and that they will keep the Jewish education they received here in our school and, in the future, they will get more interested in any kind of Jewish life," the school's director, Rabbi Mati Pawlak, explains.

"Whether they choose to be religious or non-religious - they will stay with us as a community," he adds.

Like many others here, 29-year-old Rabbi Pavlac only discovered he was Jewish when he was a teenager. He has just become the country's first Polish rabbi in 40 years.

Many people believe the Holocaust killed off Jewish life in Poland but people like Pawel, Rabbi Pawlak and the 240 pupils at this school are proof that it is slowly coming back to life again.

Hypocrisy

Hypocrisy

Of course the real story here is that there is no story. The press is allowing HRC to spin a rational comment in an irrational way.

Oh, noes! Would it crush anyone's beautiful velveteen pony to learn that Hillary Clinton hasn't always been a duck-hunting, beer-drankin', Senator-Saint who walked among the commoners and lived as they do? It's true, it's true, and apparently, there are witnesses!

Harvard University political scientist Theda Skocpol - also an elite, I guess! - provided Talking Points Memo with a following statement, which, in part, reads:

I have been in meetings with the Clintons and their advisors where very clinical things were said in a very-detached tone about unwillingness of working class voters to trust government -- and Bill Clinton -- and about their unfortunate (from a Clinton perspective) proclivity to vote on life-style rather than economic issues. To see Hillary going absolutely over the top to smash Obama for making clearly more humanly sympathetic observations in this vein, is just amazing. Even more so to see her pretending to be a gun-toting non-elite. Give us a break!...

This has to be one of the few times in U.S. political history when a multi-millionaire has accused a much less wealthy fellow public servant, a person of the same party and views who made much less lucrative career choices, of "elitism"! (I won't say the only time, because U.S. political history is full of absurdities of this sort.) In a way, it is funny -- and it may not be long before the jokes start.

Perhaps, however, it can be said that Pennsylvanians are not "bitter," at least, relative to their candidates.

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- Sen. Barack Obama, trying for an upset in Pennsylvania's pivotal April 22 primary, is hoping the Teamsters Union can help him reel in the state's huge blue-collar vote.

Sen. Barack Obama speaks at a rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in March.

1 of 2

Teamsters president Jim Hoffa, leading a convoy across Pennsylvania, told CNN that he believes the Illinois senator "can change this country."

Obama, who hasn't been doing well with blue-collar workers, took his own tour across Pennsylvania.

"I met folks in factories and on farms, in bars and bowling alleys," Obama recently said.

Hoffa said voters desperately want change.

"There's a despair out there that we can't change things, we've been beaten down," Hoffa said.

On Wednesday, the Teamsters convoy made its way to Reading, Pennsylvania, where the York Peppermint Patty factory is shutting down, moving more than 250 jobs to Mexico.

The target of the workers' anger, according to Hoffa, is NAFTA.

"People remember Clinton and NAFTA, and I think when we talk about changing NAFTA, I think that Barack Obama has more credibility," he said.

Obama is running as a Washington outsider, and he subtly reminds voters that he's not part of that system.

Don't Miss

• Teamsters endorse Obama
• Election Center 2008

"For over two decades, what we heard from the Bush administration is ... you're on your own," Obama has said.

But the two decades he refers to would include the Clinton years in The White House.

Obama is counting on his outsider appeal, more than his lifestyle, to break Clinton's lock on blue-collar voters in Pennsylvania.

He reminds workers that when it comes to enjoying the gains of economic growth, they're outsiders, too. E-mail to a friend

Was Leonardo Confused About Sex? Did His Helicopter Really Work?

Here is the beginning of my post. And here is the rest of it.

Even Leonardo could get it wrong. In this drawing of copulation, the genius has the penis straight (it is curved), interlocked with the vagina (wasn't he gay like Michelangelo?), and with a separate urethra and sperm channel (sic).

The last part seems weird since he did dissections. Is this a frontier he never crossed?

The Rolling Stone Gathers Moss

The following stories, from CNN and the Scotsman, suggest that the endgame may be coming for HRC. I hate this, BUT she has made this bed and now must lie in it as the cabin goes over the cliff.

Hillary could have followed Obama's lead and insisted on a high road in the campaign. She has enough good ideas and track record that such a straight arrow strategy, aside from simply being ethical, would distinguish her from her husband and his Republican tormentors, Instead, apparently gleefully, she "threw the kitchen sink at Obama."

That said the Bill Clinton issue IS a very real one. The Presidential spouse cannot conduct a separate foreign policy. Bill has stated that of she is elected he will NOT step down from his Foundation. That should be unacceptable.

The problem is not merely one of disagreement. Bill is paid to be a LOBBYIST. Inevitably this creates a conflict of interest that is massive. He can not even escape it if he stops accepting speaking fees because his Foundation solicits funds for its projects under his guidance. For example a friend of Bill's gave the Foundation several million dollars following a meeting of Bill with the Dictator who lobbied for Bill's support in a UN matter.

Read on ....

It's Obama, stupid: Carter and Gore to end Clinton bid

On the slide: Hillary Clinton at a committee hearing on Capitol Hill. Political oblivion beckons if she fails to win big in Pennsylvania. Photograph: Getty

By Chris Stephen

in New York

DEMOCRAT grandees Jimmy Carter and Al Gore are being lined-up to deliver the coup de grâce to Hillary Clinton and end her campaign to become president.

Falling poll numbers and a string of high-profile blunders have convinced party elders that she must now bow out of the primary race.

Former president Carter and former vice-president Gore have already held high-level discussions about delivering the message that she must stand down for the good of the Democrats.

"They're in discussions," a source close to Carter told Scotland on Sunday. "Carter has been talking to Gore. They will act, possibly together, or in sequence."

April 11, 2008

Clinton laughs off Colombia questions

Posted: 10:00 AM ET

Watch Clinton laugh off a question on Colombia.

PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (CNN) – Hillary Clinton used her trademark laugh Thursday to deflect a question about the $800,000 her husband earned in 2005 giving speeches for a Bogota-based group that supports the Colombia free trade agreement — the same trade deal she currently opposes.

Asked by CNN if those earnings represented a conflict of interest given that she has dipped into her family's pocketbook to pay campaign bills, Clinton threw up her hands and laughed loudly for several seconds.

"How many angels dance on the head of the pin?," she responded, continuing to giggle. "I have really, uh, nothing to … I mean, how do you answer that?"

The New York senator explained there are different sides to the argument over trade, and re-emphasized her own opposition to the trade deal, assailing the Colombian government's "outrageous" record of "targeting labor leaders."

"I am against the Colombia free trade deal," she said. "It doesn't matter who talks to me. It doesn't matter any circumstances. I have been against it. I am against it. I will be against it absent the kind of changes in behavior that I have been calling for from the Colombian government."

Earlier in the press conference, describing her husband's advocacy for the trade deal, Clinton said: "Everyone is free to express their opinion."

From: CNN Political Producer Peter Hamby
Filed under: Hillary Clinton • Pennsylvania

Three Cheers fo Japan!!!

Can anyone imagine world reaction to a platoon of US special forces running with the torch when WE host the games!

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan will not allow the squad of Chinese flame guards to intervene with the Beijing Olympic torch's progress when it arrives in a Japanese city this month, the national police head was quoted as saying on Friday.

"We should not violate the principle that the Japanese police will firmly maintain security," Kyodo news agency quoted Shinya Izumi, head of the National Public Safety Commission, as saying.

"We do not know what position the people who escorted the relay are in," Izumi was quoted as saying. "If they are for the consideration of security, it is our role."

The torch is set to arrive in Nagano, central Japan, where the Winter Games were hosted in 1998, on April 26, after passing through Buenos Aires, Mumbai, and Canberra, among other cities.