Well, cut them some slack. Nobody likes his hard earned money to be stolen (That's how they describe it and fear spreads fast and somehow works wonders in the US). I think it is a cultural thing and should be instilled from childhood so that small doses of communism (read socialism) work out as it does in Scandinavian countries. With Americans I honestly can never see it happen. It is a good thing though. Not all the world should be safe netted. Some should go out and dare.

First of all Thanks to Just Lou for that flicker link.

Look at this one, it must be during McCain's concession speech:



Even his kids are watching and listening. I'm truly speechless. I mean some call it humility on his part and how he is human, but this is beyond human reaction. He knows the challenges ahead and he isn't in it for power. He listens to everyone.

It is funny how I'm so excited about this guy. I know things between our countries are really really bad. Misunderstandings could continue even with Obama in the office, with or without Ahmadnutjob. This guy could be the one bombing my home to the pieces. But I can't help loving him. For the very first time, what a politician says and does makes sense to me.

Last report Obama's smoking was in June, and he said he had slipped a few times and sneaked a butt. There are no reports of continued smoking.



That was in his first book, Dreams of my Father. Such admission probably is why it never got used much as a bad thing on the campaign trail (ala "didn't inhale" Clinton).



He said "brothers should pull up their pants"





The Chrysler 300 is a sedan, not an SUV.

Damn British papers never get their facts straight it seems. Yogi, how you live with them I'll never know.



But isn't Ahmadnutjob probably going to lose your upcoming elections? I think getting him out of office would be a good first step for better relations between both governments.

He most likely will if the election is not rigged. The guy he appointed as the minister of the state got axed from the House of Represntatives for a fake degree. We'll see who he appoints to that office and how things will turn out. But there's not a strong buzz about a solid candidate from the reformers yet, and if he could get passed the initial barriers...

But let's hope for the sake of humanity that this bastard gets fired from the office next summer. I just can't take four more years of this.

Well considering your democratic system, he only needs confidence of your Supreme Ayatollah to stay in power, regardless of the vote.

Not really, he needs the vote and should win the election if he wants to stay. The fact that the Ayatollah is the comander in chief and the president has a very limited maneuver though is a whole other issue.

It was only a year or so ago when everyone in the media was saying: "Hillary was a shoe-in"; "Obama will never win over the Clinton voters" "Obama will never win over the white, or the working class or the Jewish community, or white collar, or the blue collar or whatever".......NOBODY thought he'd win (at least in he media). And look what happened????

I have no doubt that even as much as only a year ago, if you were able to get inside Hillary's mind, she never in her wildest dreams would have thought she'd lose this election. The Clintons must still be reeling seeing the Obama's prepare to move to the White House. Can you imagine? You just never know do you?


TIS

I hope it gives them both loose stools for the next four years.

Nah, just kidding. Make it eight years.

It was all worth it.

It was the Clinton's arrogance that was their undoing. Not only are the Clinton's reeeling, you can imagine every redneck having uncontrolled gagging with the thought of the black skin of Michelle Obama sleeping in the WHITE HOUSE. The Secret Service are going to be busy beavers protecting this President.

Unfortunately, you're right, MC. It's stomach-churning to think that people still hate that much, but they do.

Unfortunately this is very true.

I was in a bar just last night watching the Giants game. The drunken, obnoxious white guys at the bar seemed to have even more vitriol for Michelle than for her husband. Geez, they were even wishing things on the daughters, so I just got up and left.

For the record, it wasn't even a neighborhood-Bronx-Italian-Irish type of "gin mill," where you might come to expect this. It was a relatively upscale place on Second Avenue in Yorkville, which is the upper east side of Manhattan. Very, very hateful stuff.

Ditto for McCain. It is not only the racial aspect but the fact that they view him as a young smart-ass upstart who didn't "pay his dues." What is amazing is that the baby boomer generation that was supposed to have so much promise will only produce two presidents, Clinton, who will probably go down in history as a good, but not great president, and will always have the impeachment used, and Bush who will go down as one of the worst presidents if not the worst of all time.

I agree; I never really bought into the theory that the last "boomers" were born in '64.

When I think of the "boomer" generation, I think of people born after WW2, right up until the end of the '50s.

More than that, the Obama election signifies this.

If it was Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee, Hillary/McCain would have continued that same generational battle...over Vietnam.

Yeah it ended in 1975, but notice all those campaigns since then that involved Vietnam, whatever it was war hero right-wingers blasting the lefties for quitting the war, or war hero lefties shitting on draft-dodging pro-war conservatives....Hillary (former Peacenik) and McCain (POW) would have been a continuation of that same debate.

Now with Obama, our first post-Baby Boomer President, we all can move on...and let my generation destroy this country, one day at a time.

Obama planning U.S. trials for Gitmo detainees

WASHINGTON - President-elect Obama's advisers are quietly crafting a proposal to ship dozens, if not hundreds, of imprisoned terrorism suspects to the United States to face criminal trials, a plan that would make good on his promise to close the Guantanamo Bay prison but could require creation of a controversial new system of justice.

During his campaign, Obama described Guantanamo as a "sad chapter in American history" and has said generally that the U.S. legal system is equipped to handle the detainees. But he has offered few details on what he planned to do once the facility is closed.

Under plans being put together in Obama's camp, some detainees would be released and many others would be prosecuted in U.S. criminal courts.

A third group of detainees — the ones whose cases are most entangled in highly classified information — might have to go before a new court designed especially to handle sensitive national security cases, according to advisers and Democrats involved in the talks. Advisers participating directly in the planning spoke on condition of anonymity because the plans aren't final.

Sharp deviation from Bush administration
The move would be a sharp deviation from the Bush administration, which established military tribunals to prosecute detainees at the Navy base in Cuba and strongly opposes bringing prisoners to the United States. Obama's Republican challenger, John McCain, had also pledged to close Guantanamo. But McCain opposed criminal trials, saying the Bush administration's tribunals should continue on U.S. soil.

The plan being developed by Obama's team has been championed by legal scholars from both political parties. But it is almost certain to face opposition from Republicans who oppose bringing terrorism suspects to the U.S. and from Democrats who oppose creating a new court system with fewer rights for detainees.

Laurence Tribe, a Harvard law professor and Obama legal adviser, said discussions about plans for Guantanamo had been "theoretical" before the election but would quickly become very focused because closing the prison is a top priority. Bringing the detainees to the United States will be controversial, he said, but could be accomplished.

"I think the answer is going to be, they can be as securely guarded on U.S. soil as anywhere else," Tribe said. "We can't put people in a dungeon forever without processing whether they deserve to be there."

The tougher challenge will be allaying fears by Democrats who believe the Bush administration's military commissions were a farce and dislike the idea of giving detainees anything less than the full constitutional rights normally enjoyed by everyone on U.S. soil.

"There would be concern about establishing a completely new system," said Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., a member of the House Judiciary Committee and former federal prosecutor who is aware of the discussions in the Obama camp. "And in the sense that establishing a regimen of detention that includes American citizens and foreign nationals that takes place on U.S. soil and departs from the criminal justice system — trying to establish that would be very difficult."

Hybrid court
Obama has said the civilian and military court-martial systems provide "a framework for dealing with the terrorists," and Tribe said the administration would look to those venues before creating a new legal system. But discussions of what a new system would look like have already started.

"It would have to be some sort of hybrid that involves military commissions that actually administer justice rather than just serve as kangaroo courts," Tribe said. "It will have to both be and appear to be fundamentally fair in light of the circumstances. I think people are going to give an Obama administration the benefit of the doubt in that regard."

Though a hybrid court may be unpopular, other advisers and Democrats involved in the Guantanamo Bay discussions say Obama has few other options.

Prosecuting all detainees in federal courts raises a host of problems. Evidence gathered through military interrogation or from intelligence sources might be thrown out. Defendants would have the right to confront witnesses, meaning undercover CIA officers or terrorist turncoats might have to take the stand, jeopardizing their cover and revealing classified intelligence tactics.

In theory, Obama could try to transplant the Bush administration's military commission system from Guantanamo Bay to a U.S. prison. But Tribe said, and other advisers agreed, that was "a nonstarter." With lax evidence rules and intense secrecy, the military commissions have been criticized by human rights groups, defense attorneys and even some military prosecutors who quit the process in protest.

"I don't think we need to completely reinvent the wheel, but we need a better tribunal process that is more transparent," Schiff said.

That means something different would need to be done if detainees couldn't be released or prosecuted in traditional courts. Exactly what that something would look like remains unclear.

According to three advisers participating in the process, Obama is expected to propose a new court system, appointing a committee to decide how such a court would operate. Some detainees likely would be returned to the countries where they were first captured for further detention or rehabilitation. The rest could probably be prosecuted in U.S. criminal courts, one adviser said. All spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing talks, which have been private.

Whatever form it takes, Tribe said he expects Obama to move quickly.

"In reality and symbolically, the idea that we have people in legal black holes is an extremely serious black mark," Tribe said. "It has to be dealt with."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27640617/

No offense, Ronnie. But if Obama was born in '61 and you were born in '85, isn't he old enough to be your father?

How is he "your" generation when he's closer in age to both the Clintons and Dubya than he is to you?

Because he's younger than them, that's why.

Actually, baby boomers were born through '64.

Obama Wants Lieberman To Remain In Democratic Caucus

President-elect Barack Obama has informed party officials that he wants Joe Lieberman to continue caucusing with the Democrats in the 111th Congress, Senate aides tell the Huffington Post.

Obama's decision could tie the hands of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who has been negotiating to remove Lieberman as chair of the Homeland Security and Government Reform committee while keeping him within the caucus. Lieberman has insisted that he will split from the Democrats if his homeland security position is stripped.

Aides to the president-elect did not return requests for comment. Senate officials were unclear whether Obama would be comfortable with Lieberman maintaining his current committee post.

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has said that he would welcome Lieberman into the GOP, though he has little to offer in terms of committee assignments.

If Lieberman were to continue caucusing with the Democrats without being punished for his campaign conduct -- Democrats say he broke a promise not to campaign negatively against Obama -- the progressive community will undoubtedly be up in arms. For Obama, however, the move may be a shrewd gesture towards reconciliation, in the process taking a potentially taxing political fight off the table.

Fellow Connecticut Senate Chris Dodd, who has spoken out in favor of Lieberman remaining in the party, explained as much to reporters on Friday:

"What does Barack Obama want?... He's talked about reconciliation, healing, bringing people together. I don't think he'd necessarily want to spend the first month of this president-elect period, this transition period, talking about a Senate seat, particularly if someone is willing to come forward and is willing to be a member of your family in the caucus in that sense."

A Democrat close to Lieberman, meanwhile, said he thought that keeping Lieberman in the fold "would be a good move for Obama as a way to make real his promise of new politics, a less partisan Washington and more unity. He would do so at some risk. Obviously there is a liberal wing of the party that wants Joe punished... "

There is, perhaps, one measure by which Democratic leadership can still reconcile the competing realities of Lieberman's future in the caucus. One Democratic aide said that the party was considering letting the Connecticut Senator keep his post at homeland security but forcing him to relinquish one or both of his spots on two more high-profile committees: Armed Services and Environment & Public Works.

Lieberman is in line for leadership roles in both of those committees should the current chairs leave their posts. On Armed Services, the two senators ahead of him are Ted Kennedy and Robert Byrd. On Environment and Public Works, current chair Barbara Boxer may face a tough reelection campaign in 2010 and second in line, Sen. Max Baucus, already heads another committee.

If Democratic leadership were to keep Lieberman on homeland security but impede any chance of ascending to these other posts, that may be enough to placate progressive activists demanding punishment while keeping the Connecticut Senator in the caucus.

UPDATE: Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo writes that Bill Clinton has also been "making calls on Sen. Lieberman's behalf," something that the Huffington Post later heard from another Hill source.

But Matt McKenna, a spokesman for the former president, vehemently denies the report.

"It's completely false," he says.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/10/obama-wants-lieberman-to_n_142731.html

----------------------------------------------

I have to say, if that report is true, I like that decision. The liberals/partisan Democrats will be pissed, but Obama may have side-stepped a shit-pie that could have snared him pointlessly for the next few weeks.

To quote a reader at Andrew Sullivan's blog:

"Keeping him in the the Dems caucus indeed would signal the new politics. So, as has happened so often, Obama's temperament and judgement trumps the knee-jerk reaction."

I don't know if this was posted or not, and really haven't been able to catch up on all the details, but what's this about a White House website that Obama plans to start (White House 2.0 or something). This is to keep the people informed (what a change that would be), along with suggestions available from the public???? Anyone know the details?

On another note, I see that there were about 1,000 cheering people outside the White House today when Obama pulled up. Like the hostess said, what a switch, having people outside the WH cheering instead of protesting.


TIS

Sounds interesting. There are also rumors that Obama, as you put it yourself TIS possibly might become the first "Internet President," may in fact give his weekly Presidential address NOT on radio, but on YouTube or similar video technology.

Ok, here's the story on the website:

TIS




Obama Launches Website


CNN) -- Barack Obama had a formidable online presence during his quest for the White House, and he is once again turning to the Internet to communicate with the American public as president-elect.

President-elect Barack Obama has launched a Web site to chronicle his transition.

Within 24 hours of last week's historic vote, his transition team rolled out change.gov, a Web site that promises to be "your source for the latest news, events and announcements so that you can follow the setting up of the Obama administration."

The site is still a little thin on content, but there's a blog, a newsroom and a countdown to the January 20 inauguration.

Visitors can fill out a form to share their stories about what the election meant to them, or they can give their vision of an Obama presidency. They can even apply for a job. Watch how the site may help Obama »

The Web site is an extension of Obama's online strategy during the campaign.

As a candidate, he had four times as many friends as his Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, on MySpace.com. Obama had almost 3 million supporters on Facebook and put together a massive database of e-mail addresses -- some 10 million.

Obama even announced Sen. Joe Biden as his choice for vice president in a text message to supporters.

Don't Miss
Commentary: GOP needs Obama's Web savvy
iReport.com: What's your message for Obama?
iReport.com: Who should be in Obama's Cabinet?
People who follow Obama online have become a community that the president-elect can tap into, said Andrew Raseij, founder of TechPresident.com, a Web site that tracked the online operations of the 2008 presidential campaigns.

"He now has his own special interest. He has a group of people he can go to and ask them to participate in helping him pass his legislative agenda," Raseij said.

He also predicted that Obama will use online video and interactivity to revolutionize the way the commander in chief communicates.

"I think the days of just a Saturday morning radio address and an occasional press conference as the way the president speaks to the American public are over," Raseij said.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Barack Obama starts doing a weekly YouTube video and also fireside chats for the 21st century by allowing people to filter up questions to him that he might answer."
iReport.com: Take a guided tour of the Web site with a fellow reader

The president-elect already has said he'll have a five-day online comment period before signing any nonemergency legislation, so Americans can be part of the process.

He's also planning to appoint a chief technology officer and has pledged to get true broadband to every community in the country.

Obama's embrace of the Internet during his presidential campaign came as Americans increasingly turned to online sources to get election news. iReport.com: Message to Obama praises use of technology


A recent poll by the Pew Research Center found 33 percent got most of their 2008 campaign news from the Internet, compared with 10 percent in 2004.

The same survey found almost half of Americans ages 18 to 29 turned to the Internet as their major source of election news in 2008. Seventeen percent of people in this age group turned to newspapers.



http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/11/10/obama.wired/index.html?iref=newssearch

Not everyone in Europe is an Obama supporter...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnew...lised-rule.html

Austria?? I'm shocked. Because in the 1930s and '40s, they were the European seat of racial tolerance.

The sad thing is, its nothing new with Austria and that whole Alps region in general.

America, the good and the bad of it, is still more advanced in some areas than even the most elitist snotty Europeans will ever admit.

Gov. Schwarzenegger to be Obama's Energy Czar?

Daily Mail (i.e. tabloid) report, so use some salt.

Arnold Schwarzenegger has been tipped to become Barack Obama's new energy secretary.
The former movie star is coming to the end of his stint as California governor and could be asked to cross over from the Republican party to serve in Obama's new administration, according to several sources.

Schwarzenegger endorsed his fellow Republican John McCain in the presidential vote and even derided Obama's 'skinny legs' and scrawny arms' at a campaign rally in October.

But the Terminator star's views on the environment are closer to those of the president-elect than those his defeated rival.

California has already moved faster and farther than Washington to start a cap-and-trade scheme to curb greenhouse-gas emissions.

The state aims to reduce emissions 80 per cent by 2050 - the same target as Senator Obama.

Schwarznegger argues that climate-change legislation will help economic growth by boosting energy efficiency.

U.S. environmental groups see Barack Obama's presidential victory as a chance to undo the Bush legacy on global warming.
A White House 'climate czar' could be part of that, environmental groups say.

Mr Obama has articulated that the economy, energy and climate change are inter-related problems, meaning any energy czar could also take on climate issues.

Members of the environmental community in and around Washington say such a post could oversee various government agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Interior Department, to focus on tackling global warming and fostering clean energy to jump-start the flagging economy.

'For the first time, candidates and voters are really connecting the dots between energy, the environment and the economy,' said Cathy Duvall, Sierra Club's political director. She said at a news briefing that Obama had made it clear that investing in cleaner energy would be a top priority in his plan for economic recovery.

One way to coordinate these interrelated issues would be to have one person in charge, based at the White House, according to sources in the environmental community familiar with the idea.

They said this could be part of a White House special council on energy and environment, analogous to the National Security Council. This kind of organization could be more effective than the Environmental Protection Agency has been under President George Bush, one source said.
Mr Obama made clear in his acceptance speech on Tuesday that he sees climate change as a critical problem, along with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the wilting economy.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worl...ergy-czar.html

I'll take your word on Austria RR.I really don't know much of it's politics. I guess there are racists and haters everywhere.

Anyway, I was listening to NPR last week while driving home from work. They were talking to people from other countries. The only person I can say I heard of was an Archbishop Tutu from Africa. I don't remember who the others were.

Anyway, I won't go into detail, but EVERYONE of them had nothing but praise from Obama. Some things they were saying actually brought a lump to my throat, when they spoke of their hope of change. One said, "we always looked up to America as the leader....now we can again."

They took calls as well, one that stands out and a lady who called from Ireland who said, "can we borrow him for just a day? If for no other reason than his inspiration.


TIS

Had a Canadian friend who was remarking to me how his countrymen were more excited about the Obama election than they were of their own elections they held several weeks back.

Hell, its been a week since the Election, and its just damn weird how since that night, people not just at my Campus but in the locality itself seem much happier, not as grouchy as usual in the cold winds of November. Maybe its because of most of the folks who I hang around with, or that the 20+month election season was finally over, or something...

But TIS, remember that Reagan 1984 campaign ad "It's Morning in America Again"?



After Vietnam and Watergate and Jimmy Carter, President Reagan's campaign successfully put out the idea that the sun is up again for America. Well, after the last 8 years, maybe the sun is back up for the good ole US of A once again.

You know I'm not as much of a global appeaser like most liberals are, but unlike my fellow Conservatives, I do think that external opinions and thoughts do influence us Americans on the world stage in the grand scheme of things this side of the Systems Theory.

With Dubya so hated, fairly or not, because of Iraq and what not, along with the fact that Obama will probably be our most liberal President in some 40 years........a factor considering most European Conservatives are more liberal than our own conservatives.....

Or hell, probably because he'll be the first "Celebrity" President since JFK, that is this side of a movie or music star, brings genuine apeshit excitement from people surrounding him....and arguably might bring "pimp cool" back to the White House.

Plus, he's new. Bill Clinton was new too in 1992, but that vibe died off as quickly as his botched First 100 Days, and Europe will realize in 2009 that Obama isn't as Liberal as they think he is.

Or maybe not, I don't know.

I just think it was nice back in the summer with Obama's Berlin speech, when you had 200,000+ Germans waving American flags....which I must say, I can't remember the last time that many Europeans in an European city carried that many USA flags at one time without burning them.