Clipmarks | abailart's clips

What is the American Presidential Election About?

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:54:48 GMT

clipped by: abailart
clipper's remarks: Is this BBC analysis on the right lines? Do climate change and 'the war on terrorism' figure? Will the election be decided on policy differences?

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

The state of the economy was the central issue in the US election campaign even before crisis hit Wall Street.

According to a Washington Post/ABC News poll on 19-22 September, 50% of registered voters now say the state of the economy is the single most important issue in determining how they will vote.

Meanwhile, the war in Iraq has faded away as a vote-determining factor. Just 9% now rate it the key issue,

The other key domestic issue for most voters is healthcare

Two issues have dropped way down the agenda:

• Immigration has not been the subject of a major debate, as both presidential contenders have moderate views on the subject.

• Abortion and other social issues.

Tags: american presidential election

Fuk-u-yama: American Needs a Rebrand

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 09:42:19 GMT

clipped by: abailart
clipper's remarks: Worth reading. Yet a bit odd coming from him? Or a bit late.

Clip Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Two fundamentally American ideas have dominated global thinking since the early 1980s, when Ronald Reagan was President. The first was a vision of capitalism which argued that low taxes, light regulation and a pared-back government would be the engine for economic growth. The second was America as a promoter of liberal democracy around the world.

t was easy to ignore those who denounced the US economic model as “cowboy capitalism”

financial deregulation - was pushed by an unholy alliance of true believers and Wall Street. It produced the flood of innovative new products such as collateralised debt obligations at the core of the present crisis.

the Reagan era should have ended some time ago. It didn't partly because the Democratic Party failed to be convincing but also because, in America, less-educated, working-class citizens can swing either left or right. This group of voters will decide next month's election

Tags: economics

Leprechauns

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:11:23 GMT

clipped by: abailart

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

...A wrinkled, wizen'd, and bearded Elf,

Spectacles stuck on his pointed nose,

Silver buckles to his hose,

Leather apron - shoe in his lap... ^[14]

Clip Source: www.sodahead.com

Clip Source: www.ccminiclub.co.uk

Clip Source: ilovemonsterbash.blogspot.com

Clip Source: commons.wikimedia.org

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

In Irish mythology, a leprechaun (Irish: leipreachán) is a type of male faerie said to inhabit the island of Ireland. They are a class of "faerie folk" associated in Irish mythology and folklore, as with all faeries, with the Tuatha Dé Danann and other quasi-historical peoples said to have inhabited Ireland before the arrival of the Celts.

Clip Source: www.thesun.co.uk

Clip Source: www.compukol.com

Tags: robbie keane

City of Love

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 08:36:57 GMT

clipped by: abailart
clipper's remarks: A great place for a honeymoon next May

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Rome is a city for lovers. Nor do I mean only beautiful young lovers, phuttering around on Vespas. Entering a lift at our hotel, I saw the middle-aged couple who were its only occupants quickly draw apart, the man – 20 stone at least – breathing heavily, his blonde companion blushing under her tan.

Clip Source: www.stadiumguide.com

Clip Source: www.thekeytoitaly.com

The 2009 UEFA Champions League Final will be played at the 82,000 capacity Stadio Olimpico in Rome on May 27th, 2009.

Tags: champions league

Cambodian Couple Saw House in Half

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 08:43:55 GMT

clipped by: abailart

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

An estranged couple in Cambodia have sawn their house in half to avoid the country's convoluted divorce process.

Tags: sarah palin pragmatism

New BBC Series on America

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 20:29:01 GMT

clipped by: abailart
clipper's remarks: The first episode of The American Future: A History will be broadcast on Friday 10 October on BBC Two at 9pm BST. There are three further episodes on subsequent Fridays, at the same time, covering war, faith, and immigration.

Video at source. Series will perhaps we available at BBC site.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Barack Obama's emergence as a presidential candidate in the US represents a profound change in the American psyche, distinguished historian Simon Schama argues in his new series for the BBC, The American Future.

He says that although Americans have a belief in their country as a "city on a hill" - a shining example to others - they are not complacent about the economic and foreign policy issues facing the US.

Americans are by no means as militaristic as the rest of the world seems to believe, he says, with the debate about how big the military should be going right back to the Founding Fathers, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton.

But Professor Schama believes that one of America's great strengths is its ability to re-invent itself at the time of crisis.

And at the moment America's self-image is being remade.

Tags: simon schama, american politics, history

A "Christian" Cure for Homosexuality

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 08:20:00 GMT

clipped by: abailart
clipper's remarks: Bastards.

Clip Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

"How many of you are in need of some hope here tonight?” A murmur passes through the dark auditorium, pleasing the man with the microphone. Heads nod. “How many of you are at the end of your rope?” he continues. “How many are ready for an encounter with the Lord?” The man on stage, dressed in chinos and a crisp white shirt, is Alan Chambers. The clean-cut, married father of two is the leader of Exodus International, an organisation that believes it can help people to “find freedom from homosexuality through the love of Jesus Christ”.

“Am I in denial?” he asks. “Absolutely. I live a life of denial and I love it. I didn't choose my same-sex feelings but I do choose how I'm going to steward them. Freedom is possible.” At Exodus people are not gay; they “struggle with same-sex attraction” (SSA).

“The opposite of homosexuality is not heterosexuality,” says Chambers, sagely. “It's holiness.”

Tags: heathens

Jews Protect Palestinians in Harvest of Hate

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 08:15:19 GMT

clipped by: abailart
clipper's remarks: It is always good to find examples of Godliness and humanity beneath the global hurricane of violent hatred, vicious condemnation, shrill hysteria and poisonous anger.

Clip Source: www.independent.co.uk

In the shade of the trees where they have been picking olives all morning, in this wadi, south-east of Nablus, a Palestinian farmer, Jamal Otman Koarik, and two of his daughters share a lunch of home-baked bread, zatar, oil, courgettes and salad with three visitors. It's a bucolic scene that could have happened any time in the past century. But what makes it notable in 2008 is that the guests who have been helping Mr Koarik pick the olives are Israeli Jews: a rabbi, an anthropologist and a youth worker, Hellela Siew.

Asked why he and his volunteers make this often risky mission each year, the US-born rabbi says "if we really believe" the Biblical text that all human beings are made in God's image, "we have got to put our money where our mouth is and be here in an active way to defend human rights". And he also cites the "dialogue of the olive groves" in which Israelis and Palestinians who "have to live and die here together" have "no choice but to communicate"

Tags: palestine-israel

World Mental Health Day

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 08:09:35 GMT

clipped by: abailart
clipper's remarks: Although mental health problems occur on a massive scale across the world, discrimination, stigma and silence about the facts are routine. With stress, depression, anxiety increasing across the world it is bizarre that there is so little media coverage,

Clip Source: www.wfmh.com

ENGLISH PDF

Clip Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Clip Source: www.mind.org.uk

World Mental Health Day has been celebrated annually on 10 October since
1992. Every year a different theme is set by the World Federation for World
Mental Health Day. The theme for 2007 is 'Mental health in a changing world: the impact of culture and diversity'.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

The fallout from the economic downturn could be a significant threat to mental health, according to a survey.

House repossession was rated as the event most likely to cause mental health problems, ahead of redundancy, or finding out about infertility.

Clip Source: www.who.int

Mental health is defined as a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community.

Tags: mental health day

US Debt Clock Runs Out of Digits

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 08:16:39 GMT

clipped by: abailart

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

The US government's debts have ballooned so badly the National Debt Clock in New York has run out of digits to record the spiralling figure.

The digital counter marks the national debt level, but when that passed the $10 trillion point last month, the sign could not display the full amount.

The board was erected to highlight the $2.7 trillion level of debt in 1989.

The clock's owners say two more zeros will be added, allowing the clock to record a quadrillion dollars of debt.

Some economists believe the $700bn bail-out plan for ailing US financial institutions could send the national debt level to $11 trillion

Tags: economics

Forgiveness

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 09:07:38 GMT

clipped by: abailart

Clip Source: www.peaceinspiration.com

Forgiveness is an exercise in spiritual growth: the more we forgive, the more we grow. Conversely, bitterness makes spiritual growth impossible: when our hearts are filled with resentment and anger, there’s no room left for love.

Clip Source: www.peaceinspiration.com

In the long run, it’s not a question of whether they deserve to be forgiven. You’re not forgiving them for their sake. You’re doing it for yourself. For your own health and well-being, forgiveness is simply the most energy-efficient option. It frees you from the incredibly toxic, debilitating drain of holding a grudge. Don’t let these people live rent free in your head. If they hurt you before, why let them keep doing it year after year in your mind? It’s not worth it but it takes heart effort to stop it. You can muster that heart power to forgive them as a way of looking out for yourself. It’s one thing you can be totally selfish about.

Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it. ~Mark Twain

Tags: forgiveness

The Promise

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 09:01:35 GMT

clipped by: abailart

Clip Source: www.peaceinspiration.com

Promises are the uniquely human way of ordering the future, making it predictable and reliable to the extent that this is humanly possible.

One must have a good memory to be able to keep the promises that one makes. ~Friedrich Nietzsche

Promise is most given when the least is said. ~George Chapman

When a man takes an oath… he’s holding his own self in his own hands. Like water. And if he opens his fingers then - he needn’t hope to find himself again.

Losers make promises they often break. Winners make commitments they always keep. ~Denis Waitley

Tags: nietzsche, arendt, promise

Icesave Frozen

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 08:04:23 GMT

clipped by: abailart
clipper's remarks: Thousands are in fear of their life savings in UK and elsewhere.

Clip Source: www.icesave.co.uk

We are not currently processing any deposits or any withdrawal requests through our Icesave internet accounts. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause our customers. We hope to provide you with more information shortly.

Tags: icesave

Avarice

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:09:17 GMT

clipped by: abailart

Clip Source: commons.wikimedia.org

Clip Source: www.davidsongalleries.com

Clip Source: normandie.blog.lemonde.fr

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Clip Source: honors.rit.edu

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Clip Source: lateforlife.com

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Clip Source: www.devilspayroll.com

Clip Source: blogs.reuters.com

Clip Source: www.independent.co.uk

Clip Source: i207.photobucket.com

Clip Source: www.erasmuspc.com

Clip Source: www.systemfehler.de

Clip Source: www.dl.ket.org

Clip Source: www.ccel.org

Avarice.

Money, thou bane of blisse, & sourse of wo,
     Whence com’st thou, that thou art so fresh and fine?
     I know thy parentage is base and low:
Man found thee poore and dirtie in a mine.

Surely thou didst so little contribute
     To this great kingdome, which thou now hast got,
     That he was fain, when thou wert destitute,
To digge thee out of thy dark cave and grot:

Then forcing thee by fire he made thee bright:
     Nay, thou hast got the face of man; for we
     Have with our stamp and seel transferr’d our right:
Thou art the man, and man but drosse to thee.

     Man calleth thee his wealth, who made thee rich;
     And while he diggs out thee, falls in the ditch.

George Herbert

Tags: avarice, george herbert

The Surge has Worked

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 10:37:18 GMT

clipped by: abailart

Clip Source: edstrong.blog-city.com

Clip Source: www.informationclearinghouse.info

It seems to be the only thing that supporters of the war have to point to, and so they point, and they point, and they point. Allow me to point out that while there has been a reduction in violence in Iraq -- now down to a level that virtually any other society in the world would find horrible and intolerable, including Iraqi society before the US invasion and occupation -- we must keep in mind that thanks to this lovely little war more than half the population of Iraq is either dead, crippled, traumatized, confined in overflowing American and Iraqi prisons, internally displaced, or in foreign exile.

The people of that unhappy land have lost everything -- their homes, their schools, their neighborhoods, their mosques, their jobs, their careers, their professionals, their health care, their legal system, their women's rights, their religious tolerance, their security, their past, their present, their future, their lives. But they do have their surge.

Tags: iraq