Monday edition - August 25, 2008

Thanks to Rick for the Graphic!

“Today, the moderators were announced for the upcoming presidential debates. … Apparently, Barack Obama insisted on someone who asks even-handed, probing questions, while John McCain insisted on someone who will talk into his good ear.” - Conan O'Brien
 

The-World-Is-A-Safer-Place-Without Saddam

• US military deaths in Iraq war at 4146 The Associated Press

• Iraq banquet bombing toll rises to 30 AFP

• Iraqi girl aborts suicide bombing Reuters

• US Probes Afghan Assertions That Raid Killed 70 Civilians Washington Post

• Iraq PM demanding changes to US military deal: ally AFP

• Raid on governor's office in Iraq's Diyala province sparks outrage Los Angeles Times

• Pakistan bans Taliban after suicide bombings AP

• Russian general criticizes US Black Sea presence AP

Iraqi Trash Talking

It was the largest sports crowd in Iraq since the start of the war in 2003.

Tens of thousands of fans filled a Baghdad stadium yesterday to cheer their team in the final game of Iraq's top soccer league...There was some trash-talking. Irbil is capital of the self-governing Kurdish region, known for its dairy products. And the Baghdad supporters chanted at their rivals: "You know how to make yogurt, but you don't know anything about football."

Kristol-izing Feminism (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Bill Kristol is outraged that Hill
Ain’t the Democrats’ Veep pick. Dear Bill,
Your concern about gender
Would strike me as tender
If phonies did not make me ill.

Disturbing News

• 1 million cut off by monsoon floods in India The Associated Press

• Scores killed in Kyrgyz plane crash AFP

• 'Apocalyptic' avalanche kills eight climbers at Europe's highest peak AFP

Is This Really Obama's Half Brother? Obama Won't Say

Obama's half-brother calls a shack home and lives on less than $1 a month...George Obama says he again saw his famous half-brother two years ago, when Obama traveled to Africa with his wife and daughters.

"It was a short meeting," George Obama recalled. "We spoke to each other. It was odd -- like meeting a stranger."...George Obama says he leads a hard life in a community rife with violence. He talks of people being hacked to death with machetes. He says the police don't bother to arrest people -- they just shoot them instead.

Barack Obama's campaign had no comment...
 

Republican-Shenanigans News

• Party time: Bush plans rare state dinner, No. 6 AP

• Groups: Bush rushing to rewrite species rules AP

• Rice in longshot bid for Mideast peace progress AP

• Ralph Reed on the Republican identity crisis Atlanta Journal Constitution

• Pentagon's intelligence arm steps up lie detecting AP

Madonna Trashes McCain

As Madonna kicked off her "Sticky and Sweet" tour on Saturday, she took a none-too-subtle swipe at John McCain.

Amid a four-act show, a video interlude carried images of destruction, global warming, Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, Zimbabwe's authoritarian President Robert Mugabe - and the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. Another sequence, shown later, pictured slain Beatle John Lennon, climate activist Al Gore, Mahatma Gandhi and finally Barack Obama.
 

John McCain has "homephobia": an irrational fear of knowing how many houses one owns. - Grant Gerver, writer

African Opinion On Obama's VP Choice

Kabiru Mato chairs the political science department at the University of Abuja. He told VOA Africa hopes the selection of Senator Biden would increase the Democrats' chances of winning in November.

"To be very sincere, I think a lot of Nigerians and people all over Africa imagined that he (Obama) was going to nominate Hilary Clinton. This basically as a result of many factors one of which is the tradition in American politics where you have very serious competition in party primaries, the winner normally carries along the loser so that they can forge a common front, reassure the unity of the party and party members with a view to facing the opponent in genera election," ...

Rock-The-Voter News

• Obama aims to heal party rift Reuters

• Obama camp downplays Clinton backers at convention AP

• Obama's mass VP text message fails to deliver San Francisco Chronicle

• Clinton wasn't vetted for VP, her aides say Newsday

• Germans Overwhelmingly Favor Obama Over McCain, Poll Shows Bloomberg

• Republican gets speaking slot at Dem convention The Associated Press

• Praise of McCain could haunt Biden Politico

• Biden's Son Employed in Profession Obama Disdains: Lobbying Bloomberg 

Barack Obama first revealed his running mate choice by text-messaging the name to his supporters. John McCain absolutely refuses to announce his running mate by text message. He knows that when you send people telegrams they think somebody's died. - Argus Hamilton

Biz-Tech News

• Oil steady as dollar offsets Russia tension The Associated Press

• Halliburton Opens Laboratory in Norway Neftegaz.RU, Russia

• US grain exports snagged by infrastructure delays AP

• AgFeed buys 4 hog farms in South China Forbes

• Freddie, Fannie Decline Diminishes Prospects of New Investors Bloomberg

• FCC finalizes Comcast penalties in BitTorrent filtering case CNET News

 LOL

Barack Obama came clean Sunday on his true motivation behind running for president -- to keep his daughters safe from undesirable suitors.

"The real reason is Secret Service protection for my two girls as they enter into their teenaged years," the Democrat said, joking with voters at a barbecue here in a woodland setting beside a lake.

"Whatever young guy comes by for a date, we're going to have one of these mean-looking guys who don't crack a smile. They're armed. They're dangerous," he said, pointing to the dark-suited agents monitoring the good-natured crowd.

Bush-Prison-Torture News

• Algerian prisoner at Guantanamo Bay says he was waterboarded The Canadian Press

India Says No Conditions On Nukes

India expects unconditional exemption from the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group to buy fuel and technology for its energy plan, Anil Kakodkar, chairman of the country's Atomic Energy Commission, said today.

``The NSG exemption should be clean and there should be no additional condition,'' Kakodkar told reporters in Mumbai. ``They may want to push, but India can't be pushed.
 

Go-F**k-Yourself News

• Cheney heading to Georgia war zone The Associated Press 

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Odd News

• Olympics close with pizzazz, a little Led Zep San Francisco Chronicle

• Nasa Destroys Errant Rocket New York Times

• Scotland declares war on urban seagulls Reuters

• Abandoned baby found safe with dog Reuters

• Fame finds 4-eared feline thanks to Internet photo AP

• Kansas university fires mooning debate coach AP

• Italian priest organizes beauty contest for nuns AP

A statue of late Jamaican reggae icon Bob Marley is seen in the village of Banatski Sokolac in Serbia on August 21. Musicians from the former Yugoslavia have unveiled the statue of Bob Marley as a symbol of peace.
Photo/Andrej Isakovic

Peace.