US Election 2008

[manc-mag 1]

bless.

 

As Fop says, this thread isn't so lively without him. Probably due to him making more than twice as many posts as anyone else without making a single coherent point.

 

And yet so many seem to need it.

 

 

That's right-'we need it', as borne out by the fact that you've made twice as many posts as anyone else. Good one Mike Mansfield QC

 

'We need it' like an aperture in the cranium tbh.

 

 

Apparently you do need an aperture in the cranium, seeing as you only tend to post in threads like this.

 

Compelling statistics tbf.

[Fop 1]

It's funny how this thread dies if I'm not here to argue with though.

Aye, you've sucked people into a completely useless and unimportant debate.

 

Can you direct me to the useful, important debates on Toontastic please?

 

I like it when someone plays devils advocate. Fop makes a slightly better fist of it than Thompers used to too.

 

[/damning with faint praise]

 

 

I have to agree, it was top quality trolling. The sheer quantity of posts, some short, some long without ever quite making a worthwile point but inspiring page after page of answers. Top notch wummeration

 

You're just rather bitter that your "best" argument against my points was to get mad and cast aspersion at "me", it'll be ok though, I'm sure you'll get over it in the end.

 

You misjudge me, the post above was meant as a compliment.

 

I am also impressed by the little

bitter that your "best" argument against my points

you drop in. You give me too much credit -I couldnt argue against your points -I have no idea what they are. Far from bitter I am amused and impressed how you can keep going

You're still doing it.

 

still doing what?

That.

 

You misjudge me, the post above was meant as a compliment.

 

 

bless.

 

As Fop says, this thread isn't so lively without him. Probably due to him making more than twice as many posts as anyone else without making a single coherent point.

 

And yet so many seem to need it.

 

 

That's right-'we need it', as borne out by the fact that you've made twice as many posts as anyone else. Good one Mike Mansfield QC

 

'We need it' like an aperture in the cranium tbh.

 

 

Apparently you do need an aperture in the cranium, seeing as you only tend to post in threads like this.

 

Compelling statistics tbf.

Aye, it's quite scary really.

[Happy Face 29]

I'd also point out that with the euphoria of the victory people seem to be thinking that all bigotry in the US has magically disappeared overnight. They seem to not have noticed the California gay marriage referendum result (thanks to bigoted black voters) and the fact that it will still be decades before someone non-religious can stand for any public office with any chance of winning.

 

Olbermann a week late....

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/vp/27652443#27652443

 

...but well put.

[NJS 4418]

I'd also point out that with the euphoria of the victory people seem to be thinking that all bigotry in the US has magically disappeared overnight. They seem to not have noticed the California gay marriage referendum result (thanks to bigoted black voters) and the fact that it will still be decades before someone non-religious can stand for any public office with any chance of winning.

 

Olbermann a week late....

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/vp/27652443#27652443

 

...but well put.

 

Indeed.

 

There was a huge campaign by Mormons - the religion of forced child brides and no black members before 78 - maybe they could argue they were forced to give up polygamy but that was just another tenet of their con-man founder - the root reason is the usual Christian bigotry.

[Guest alex]

Speaking of the Mormons, I always find this amusing.

[Rob W 0]

some of my best friends are Latter Day Saints

[manc-mag 1]

some of my best friends are Latter Day Saints

 

As if Mormonism needed any more negative press!

[Park Life 71]

some of my best friends are Latter Day Saints

 

As if Mormonism needed any more negative press!

Edited November 14, 2008 by Park Life

[Fop 1]

Remember, the biggest hurdle at the beginning of his campaign was not that he was black but that he was not black enough.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/worl...ica/7725979.stm

 

[manc-mag 1]

Remember, the biggest hurdle at the beginning of his campaign was not that he was black but that he was not black enough.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/worl...ica/7725979.stm

 

 

 

The very fact ethnicity is discussed at all in connection with Obama's candidacy/Presidency speaks for itself tbh.

 

Sorry if he wasn't picking cotton on a Mississippi plantation up until last year, Fop.

[Park Life 71]

Remember, the biggest hurdle at the beginning of his campaign was not that he was black but that he was not black enough.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/worl...ica/7725979.stm

 

 

 

The very fact ethnicity is discussed at all in connection with Obama's candidacy/Presidency speaks for itself tbh.

 

Sorry if he wasn't picking cotton on a Mississippi plantation up until last year, Fop.

[Fop 1]

Remember, the biggest hurdle at the beginning of his campaign was not that he was black but that he was not black enough.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/worl...ica/7725979.stm

 

 

 

The very fact ethnicity is discussed at all in connection with Obama's candidacy/Presidency speaks for itself tbh.

Indeed as I have said (repeatedly) and it looks like at least one other person agrees with me (well unless I am the BBC ).

 

Sorry if he wasn't picking cotton on a Mississippi plantation up until last year, Fop.

 

 

Why are you sorry about that? That's fairly racist of you, you know.

 

 

 

(although, of course, Obama has had about as much to do with the slave trade as you - which again is a fairly racist assumption to make I guess. )

Edited November 17, 2008 by Fop

[Park Life 71]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/worl...icle5172285.ece

 

 

Barack Obama’s election as America’s first black president has unleashed a wave of hate crimes across the nation, according to police and monitoring organisations.

 

Far from heralding a new age of tolerance, Mr Obama’s victory in the November 4 poll has highlighted the stubborn racism that lingers within some elements of American society as opponents pour their frustration into vandalism, harassment, threats and even physical attacks.

 

Cross burnings, black figures hung from nooses, and schoolchildren chanting “Assassinate Obama” are just some of the incidents that have been documented by police from California to Maine.

[Fop 1]

What I want to know is why Obama is never seen with a cigarette, even though he smokes more than a packet a day. I think he's a BAT front man.

[Park Life 71]

What I want to know is why Obama is never seen with a cigarette, even though he smokes more than a packet a day. I think he's a BAT front man.

 

Told not to smoke in public I guess.

[Fop 1]

What I want to know is why Obama is never seen with a cigarette, even though he smokes more than a packet a day. I think he's a BAT front man.

 

Told not to smoke in public I guess.

 

Aye, I worry about that though. It's like Blair and his secret talks with God (and not even the exact flavour of God he publicly dabbled with). Only after the fact did anyone find out quite how nutty he was.

 

At least with Bush you know that he'll probably let slip that it was the oil/car/cigarette industry that told him to do it.

[Park Life 71]

What I want to know is why Obama is never seen with a cigarette, even though he smokes more than a packet a day. I think he's a BAT front man.

 

Told not to smoke in public I guess.

 

Aye, I worry about that though. It's like Blair and his secret talks with God (and not even the exact flavour of God he publicly dabbled with). Only after the fact did anyone find out quite how nutty he was.

 

At least with Bush you know that he'll probably let slip that it was the oil/car/cigarette industry that told him to do it.

 

...waiting for his revelations about gay sex in skull and bones.

[Guest alex]

Sad how Blair wouldn't convert to Catholicism until after he stood down despite being a Catholic in all but name for years beforehand.

Not that I'm religious [/Fence sitting]

[Jimbo 175]

A purported message from al Qaeda's deputy leader posted on Islamist Web sites on Wednesday told President-elect Barack Obama that "a heavy legacy of failure and crimes awaits you."

Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri threatened President-elect Barack Obama in an Internet message.

 

Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri threatened President-elect Barack Obama in an Internet message.

 

In the video, Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda's No. 2, castigated Obama's foreign policy stances on Afghanistan and Israel and ridiculed the president-elect's worldview. Al-Zawahiri compared Obama unfavorably to the late Malcolm X, an African-American militant who adopted Islam.

 

Al-Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden are believed to be hiding in the tribal areas of Pakistan.

 

Al-Zawahiri can be heard saying, "In you and in Colin Powell, [Condoleezza] Rice and your likes, the words of Malcolm X (may Allah have mercy on him) concerning 'house Negroes' are confirmed."

 

"House Negroes" is the English translation of the Arabic term "house slaves."

 

 

It shows a still image of Malcolm X on a Muslim prayer rug in a mosque; then images of Obama, wearing a Jewish skullcap, at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, and video of al-Zawahiri. It is entitled, "The departure of Bush and the arrival of Obama."

 

The audio message is more than 11 minutes long. CNN has not been able to confirm its authenticity.

 

"You have reached the position of president, and a heavy legacy of failure and crimes awaits you. A failure in Iraq to which you have admitted, and a failure in Afghanistan to which the commanders of your army have admitted," the message said.

 

The speaker also said Obama's stance of pulling troops from Iraq and sending them to Afghanistan "is a policy which was destined for failure before it was born."

 

"If you still want to be stubborn about America's failure in Afghanistan, then remember the fate of Bush and Pervez Musharraf, and the fate of the Soviets and British before them," the message said. "And be aware that the dogs of Afghanistan have found the flesh of your soldiers to be delicious, so send thousands after thousands to them."

 

The message said Obama appears "to be captive to the same criminal American mentality towards the world and towards the Muslims." The speaker cited Muslims' ire toward Obama's support of Israel.

 

The message said Obama represents the "direct opposite of honorable black Americans" like Malcolm X.

 

The message also made reference to Obama's Muslim father and his Christian religion.

 

"You were born to a Muslim father, but you chose to stand in the ranks of the enemies of the Muslims, and pray the prayer of the Jews, although you claim to be Christian, in order to climb the rungs of leadership in America.

 

"And so you promised to back Israel, and you threatened to strike the tribal regions in Pakistan, and to send thousands more troops to Afghanistan, in order for the crimes of the American crusade in it to continue," the message said

[Happy Face 29]

Following Ralph Naders example of calling him "Uncle Tom".

[Park Life 71]

Verizon, one of the biggest telephone companies in the US, early today apologised to President-elect Barack Obama over a security breach involving his phone bill records.

 

Lowell McAdam, president of Verizon, issued a statement saying: "This week we learned that a number of Verizon Wireless employees have, without authorisation, accessed and viewed president-elect Barack Obama's personal cell phone account."

 

All employees who accessed the account, whether authorised or not, have been put on immediate paid leave pending an inquiry.

 

Verizon and Obama's team said that the cell phone had not been active for months.

 

Obama's spokesman, Robert Gibbs, said Verizon had informed the Obama team that his phone records had been improperly accessed.

 

Gibbs said that the records could have shown numbers and the frequency of calls but little else.

 

Verizon has yet to establish why some of their employees allegedly sought access.

 

McAdam said: "Employees with legitimate business needs for access will be returned to their positions, while employees who have accessed the account improperly and without legitimate business justification will face appropriate disciplinary action.

 

"We apologise to President-elect Obama and will work to keep the trust our customers place in us every day."

[Jimbo 175]

Palin in a classic PR gaff

 

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=92I6-M2vAbQ

 

[Happy Face 29]

My first visit to Texas was in 1968, on the fifth anniversary of the assassination of president John F Kennedy in Dallas. I drove south, following the line of telegraph poles to the small town of Midlothian, where I met Penn Jones Jr, editor of the Midlothian Mirror. Except for his drawl and fine boots, everything about Penn was the antithesis of the Texas stereotype. Having exposed the racists of the John Birch Society, his printing press had been repeatedly firebombed. Week after week, he painstakingly assembled evidence that all but demolished the official version of Kennedy’s murder.

 

This was journalism as it had been before corporate journalism was invented, before the first schools of journalism were set up and a mythology of liberal neutrality was spun around those whose “professionalism” and “objectivity” carried an unspoken obligation to ensure that news and opinion were in tune with an establishment consensus, regardless of the truth. Journalists such as Penn Jones, independent of vested power, indefatigable and principled, often reflect ordinary American attitudes, which have seldom conformed to the stereotypes promoted by the corporate media on both sides of the Atlantic. Read American Dreams: Lost and Found by the masterly Studs Terkel, who died the other day, or scan the surveys that unerringly attribute enlightened views to a majority who believe that “government should care for those who cannot care for themselves” and are prepared to pay higher taxes for universal health care, who support nuclear disarmament and want their troops out of other people’s countries.

 

Returning to Texas, I am struck again by those so unlike the redneck stereotype, in spite of the burden of a form of brainwashing placed on most Americans from a tender age: that theirs is the most superior society in the history of the world, and all means are justified, including the spilling of copious blood, in maintaining that superiority.

 

That is the subtext of Barack Obama’s “oratory”. He says he wants to build up US military power; and he threatens to ignite a new war in Pakistan, killing yet more brown-skinned people. That will bring tears, too. Unlike those on election night, these other tears will be unseen in Chicago and London. This is not to doubt the sincerity of much of the response to Obama’s election, which happened not because of the unction that has passed for news reporting from America since 4 November (e.g. "liberal Americans smiled and the world smiled with them") but for the same reasons that millions of angry emails were sent to the White House and Congress when the “bailout” of Wall Street was revealed, and because most Americans are fed up with war.

 

Two years ago, this anti-war vote installed a Democratic majority in Congress, only to watch the Democrats hand over more money to George W Bush to continue his blood fest. For his part, the "anti-war" Obama never said the illegal invasion of Iraq was wrong, merely that it was a “mistake”. Thereafter, he voted in to give Bush what he wanted. Yes, Obama’s election is historic, a symbol of great change to many. But it is equally true that the American elite has grown adept at using the black middle and management class. The courageous Martin Luther King recognised this when he linked the human rights of black Americans with the human rights of the Vietnamese, then being slaughtered by a liberal Democratic administration. And he was shot. In striking contrast, a young black major serving in Vietnam, Colin Powell, was used to “investigate” and whitewash the infamous My Lai massacre. As Bush’s secretary of state, Powell was often described as a “liberal” and was considered ideal to lie to the United Nations about Iraq’s non-existent weapons of mass destruction. Condaleezza Rice, lauded as a successful black woman, has worked assiduously to deny the Palestinians justice.

 

Obama’s first two crucial appointments represent a denial of the wishes of his supporters on the principal issues on which they voted. The vice-president-elect, Joe Biden, is a proud warmaker and Zionist. Rahm Emanuel, who is to be the all-important White House chief of staff, is a fervent "neoliberal" devoted to the doctrine that led to the present economic collapse and impoverishment of millions. He is also an “Israel-first” Zionist who served in the Israeli army and opposes meaningful justice for the Palestinians – an injustice that is at the root of Muslim people’s loathing of the United States and the spawning of jihadism.

 

No serious scrutiny of this is permitted within the histrionics of Obamamania, just as no serious scrutiny of the betrayal of the majority of black South Africans was permitted within the “Mandela moment”. This is especially marked in Britain, where America’s divine right to “lead” is important to elite British interests. The once respected Observer newspaper, which supported Bush’s war in Iraq, echoing his fabricated evidence, now announces, without evidence, that “America has restored the world’s faith in its ideals”. These “ideals”, which Obama will swear to uphold, have overseen, since 1945, the destruction of 50 governments, including democracies, and 30 popular liberation movements, causing the deaths of countless men, women and children.

 

None of this was uttered during the election campaign. Had it been allowed, there might even have been recognition that liberalism as a narrow, supremely arrogant, war-making ideology is destroying liberalism as a reality. Prior to Blair’s criminal warmaking, ideology was denied by him and his media mystics. “Blair can be a beacon to the world,” declared the Guardian in 1997. “[He is] turning leadership into an art form.”

 

Today, merely insert “Obama”. As for historic moments, there is another that has gone unreported but is well under way – liberal democracy’s shift towards a corporate dictatorship, managed by people regardless of ethnicity, with the media as its clichéd façade. “True democracy,” wrote Penn Jones Jr, the Texas truth-teller, “is constant vigilance: not thinking the way you’re meant to think and keeping your eyes wide open at all times.”

 

-John Pilger

 

http://www.johnpilger.com/page.asp?partid=504

[Park Life 71]

The U.S. will take a strategic strike against Iran at some point in the next year or at the very least let the Israeli's do it. We can only hope that Obama is as keen on talking as he let on during the campaign.

[Fop 1]

The U.S. will take a strategic strike against Iran at some point in the next year or at the very least let the Israeli's do it. We can only hope that Obama is as keen on talking as he let on during the campaign.

 

He's already 'd Iran.