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the real story of obama and ayers

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 01:21:20 GMT

clipped by: prin1
clipper's remarks: the entire article is very interesting

Stormy Weather, Underground

Bill Ayers' notoriety dates from the radical, anti-Vietnam War group he helped to start in 1969, splintering off from the activist Students for a Democratic Society. The members of the new group, the Weather Underground, favored shows of violence to further their cause. On March 6, 1970, though, three of them blew themselves up in a Greenwich Village townhouse during a bomb-making session gone badly awry. Ayers and his fellow Weathermen, as they were called, soon dropped out of sight

Barack Obama, who was born Aug. 4, 1961, was 8 years old at the time.

The Weather Underground continued setting off bombs, including one in a men's lavatory in the Capitol building in 1971 and another in a women's restroom in the Pentagon in 1972

. Nobody was killed, due to evacuation warnings the Weathermen sent out in advance.

bullies bully because they can

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 23:36:44 GMT

clipped by: Ardroxi
clipper's remarks: this explains to me the relationship between my line manager and her coordinator and why the issues are never resolved

Clip Source: bullyinginstitute.org

Bullies bully because they CAN!

The rest of us get out of their way, cowering in fear. The bully's bosses have fallen for her or his ingratiation (butt kissing) tactics over the years and support the bully when exposed. And they will continue until we slap them down and say "enough is enough!" This will have to be done by a compassionate, unified and courageous groups of co-workers, enlightened employers who finally realize just how expensive is the care and feeding of bullies, or society that passes laws to declare its unacceptability.

Bullies bully because they CAN!

Change the Story

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 22:11:11 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.changethestory.net

Huge numbers of Americans profess to having little knowledge of Islam despite the fact that there may be as many as five million Muslims living in the U.S. ChangeTheStory.net is an on-line resource aimed at transforming harmful stereotypes about Muslims that persist in society.

The site offers an interactive experience where users—Muslim and non-Muslim alike—can meet their neighbors, learn about Islam and apply techniques of interfaith dialogue and action to local communities. Here you will find tools and helpful information for educators, religious leaders and individuals concerned about building bridges of understanding across lines of faith and culture.

Tags: islam, muslims, united states

Obama's ACORN involvement

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:26:00 GMT

clipped by: adjective
clipper's remarks: More lies and deceit

Clip Source: www.clevelandleader.com

Barack Obama's Involvement with ACORN Unearthed, Missing Article Recovered

Submitted by Julie on October 9, 2008 - 9:08pm.

ANGRY MOB AT McCAIN/PALIN RALLY

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:43:48 GMT

clipped by: klippety
clipper's remarks: Whipping up the emotions with rhetoric and derogatory slander. Will they be able to control those mobs for long?

Clip Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Former McCain Strategist Warns Against "Angry Mob"

John Weaver, John McCain's former top strategist, says the Republican candidate is making both a moral and a a tactical mistake by letting abusive hecklers have free rein at rallies:

"People need to understand, for moral reasons and the protection of our civil society, the differences with Senator Obama are ideological, based on clear differences on policy and a lack of experience compared to Senator McCain," Weaver said. "And from a purely practical political vantage point, please find me a swing voter, an undecided independent, or a torn female voter that finds an angry mob mentality attractive."

Yesterday, McCain encouraged a questioner who ranted about "socialists taking over our country" and referred to Barack Obama and other Democrats as "hooligans." Watch:

[Video]

When you have an Obama, Pelosi, and the rest of the hooligans up there gonna run this country, we gotta have our head examined.

Stress and Suicide in Hard Times: How People Really React

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:10:09 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

By Benjamin Radford, LiveScience's Bad Science Columnist

Loren Coleman, an expert on suicides and author of "The Copycat Effect," notes that suicides actually decrease during times of social and economic stress: "Historical studies conducted by sociologist Steven Stack and others have discovered a noticeable dip in suicides and related violent events when there is society-wide anguish, for example, in times of massive immediate grieving in periods of wars and economic depressions."

Though hard times may not drive you to suicide, the stress they create can be dangerous.

The role of stress in health problems, from high blood pressure and heart disease, is well established. Then there are the secondary effects of stress that trigger unhealthy behaviors such as smoking.

In times of stress, people tend to seek comfort — and comfort foods. People who are worried about their retirement and paying the bills are even more likely to want hamburgers and a night of relaxing on the couch

Turbulence and Trends

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:40:54 GMT

clipped by: deb2012
clipper's remarks: observations of a central banker

Clip Source: londonbanker.blogspot.com

I was reminded yesterday that the vast bulk of “wealth” created during the Greenspan/Bernanke bubble years accrued to the very top percentiles of population – with many in the OECD middle class and lower class either stagnating or getting poorer as they mired themselves in unsustainable debt. While opportunity and employment grew strongly in emerging countries, there too the elites gained disproportionately as income inequalities surged. The crash of global financial markets therefore will have disproportionate effect on the elites, impoverishing them to a far greater extent, although it will be felt throughout society as employment, pensions, investments and public services contract.

Once we hit bottom of this downturn, some years hence in all probability, we may experience a democratisation of wealth and opportunity like none seen since the end of World War II when education reforms and unionisation laid the groundwork for the rise of the American and OECD middle classes

Tags: economy

NORTHWEST PASTEL SOCIETY

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:29:21 GMT

clipped by: artistbilljames
clipper's remarks: BEST IN SHOW AWARD

Clip Source: www.nwps.org

NPS Best of Show

"Luckett's Barn" 28x17" $3500

Bill James

McCain talking points boost support for radicals

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:16:20 GMT

clipped by: lifecyce1898

Clip Source: thinkprogress.org

Homeland Security Report Sharply Rebukes McCain’s ‘Islamic Extremism’ Rhetoric»

Earlier this week, The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) launched a campaign to persuade Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) to drop the adjective “Islamic” when describing terrorists and extremists. Indeed, one of McCain’s favorite talking points is railing against “Islamic” extremists and terrorists. But the McCain campaign has refused to budge, saying that he will continue to refer to Islam when talking about terrorism

Such words may actually boost support for radicals among Arab and Muslim audiences by giving them a veneer of religious credibility or by causing offense to moderates. […]

“We should not concede the terrorists’ claim that they are legitimate adherents of Islam,”

Muslim leaders in the U.S. have long argued that such language “offends the vast majority of moderate Muslims,” but the McCain campaign thinks it knows better.

Tags: right wing, facists, hate monger, xenophobe, war monger, elitists, fat cats

Obama's Staff Slips Up With Muslim Outreach

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:33:13 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Mr. LaBolt said campaign workers' efforts are aimed at acquaint Muslim voters with Sen. Obama's positions and to work on voter turnout. "We have a whole faith outreach effort that includes interacting with mosque leaders," he said.

Nihad Awad, executive director of CAIR, also attended the session, as did the group's legislative director. The government named CAIR an unindicted coconspirator in the Justice Department's racketeering prosecution last year of alleged Hamas fund-raisers. CAIR said the designation was unjustified; the case ended in a mistrial, but is being brought again by the government.

Mr. Awad declined to comment. Mr. Bray didn't respond to a request for comment. The Obama campaign said it couldn't comment on Mr. Asbahi's attendance at the session.

Clip Source: wsj.com

The Obama campaign said it was a mistake for an outreach coordinator to join a meeting last month attended by leaders of two controversial Muslim groups as it seeks votes from large Muslim populations in swing states.

Minha Husaini, newly named as head of the campaign's outreach coordinator to Muslims, attended a discussion session Sept. 15 with about 30 Muslim leaders and community members in suburban Washington, the Obama campaign confirmed. Participants included leaders of the Council of American-Islamic Relations and the Muslim American Society, which have been cited by the government in the past for ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.

Mr. Asbahi, who also attended the meeting now entangling Ms. Husaini, resigned after questions arose about his brief tenure on the board of an Islamic investment fund along with a controversial Illinois imam. At the time, campaign officials said he was stepping down because he didn't want to become a distraction for the campaign.

Tags: obama campaign, outreach coordinator, muslim groups, council of american-islamic relations, muslim american society, ties muslim brotherhood/hamas

Obama's character

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 10:12:42 GMT

clipped by: keith0718

Clip Source: article.nationalreview.com

and even more disturbing than the cynicism, is the window these associations give on Obama’s core beliefs. He doesn’t share Rev. Wright’s poisonous views of race nor Ayers’ views, past and present, about the evil that is American society. But Obama clearly did not consider these views beyond the pale. For many years he swam easily and without protest in that fetid pond.

Until now. Today, on the threshold of the presidency, Obama concedes the odiousness of these associations, which is why he has severed them. But for the years in which he sat in Wright’s pews and shared common purpose on boards with Ayers, Obama considered them a legitimate, indeed unremarkable, part of social discourse.

Do you? Obama is a man of first-class intellect and first-class temperament. But his character remains highly suspect. There is a difference between temperament and character. Equanimity is a virtue. Tolerance of the obscene is not.

Jihad-as commonly understood-not truly Islam

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 05:04:53 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: This Islam expert insists it never means war in the Koran, and the word itself is infrequent compared to words for mercy and compassion. Good!

Clip Source: www.atimes.com

Making a mockery of jihad

Recent terror attacks in India and abroad have created an impression that jihad is central to Koranic teaching

jihad does not mean war in the Koran as there are other words for it like qital and harb. Jihad has been used in the Koran in its root meaning: to strive for betterment of society, to spread goodness

and contain evil

But supposing jihad means war, as some Muslims believe, even then it still isn't central to Koranic teachings. The word "jihad" occurs in the Koran 41 times though not a single verse uses it in

the sense of war.

The four most fundamental values in the Koran are justice

benevolence

compassion

and wisdom

One who fails to practice these values can hardly claim to be a true Muslim

It can be said that compassion is most central to Koranic teachings. The words "compassion" and "mercy" in their various forms occur in the Koran 335 times

To seek revenge is human weakness, not strength

jihad can be declared only by the state

Tags: islam, koran, jihad

In The Cultural War Trenches

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 02:51:18 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

They call it the culture war. It has generated more hot air than most real wars in history.

Not military power, but the kind that comes from shaping the norms, beliefs and values by which people live, and the meanings attached to words like liberalism, patriotism or, indeed, culture.

Does this sort of thing matter? Over the last decade, it has mattered a lot

And let's be clear: This war will not finish with a victory of blue over red, or vice versa. It will finish with the accepted, peaceful coexistence in one society of different faiths, value systems and lifestyles -- along the lines laid down centuries ago by the classical liberalism of John Locke and others, which so much influenced the founding fathers

It won't be "liberals" (in the perverted sense in which that word is now used) trouncing conservatives, but classical liberalism remade for the 21st century. It won't be blue obliterating red, but red, white and blue.

I'M GOING TO SWOMMFEST

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 22:44:08 GMT

clipped by: cobrandit

Clip Source: www.creatingcustomerevangelists.com

SWOMfest is a conference and party for the members and friends of the Society for Word of Mouth, the social network dedicated to helping companies and brands build word of mouth into the DNA of their organizations.

9/15/08: In this video, Ben and Jackie explain the rationale for SWOMfest, what it's about and why it'll be fun-fun-fun.

[Video]

People learn more when they're having fun, which is why SWOMfest will be unlike any other business conference.

Tags: cobrandit churchofthecustomer swommfest

Why Have You Not Built Your Own Home Wind Generators?

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:22:00 GMT

clipped by: WindGenerators

Clip Source: ezinearticles.com

The title is really the question of the century. Home wind generators should be being built by all home owners. Maybe 15 years ago we wouldn't have even to bother thinking about home wind generators but in today's dreary society they are actually a breath of fresh air in so many ways. With technology the way it is, it is now possible to build your own home wind generator for less than 200$ that will save you at least 80% on your power bill.

Tags: home wind generators, home wind generator