Recently in Politics Category

Via Reuters:

North Korea found two U.S. journalists it has held since March guilty of illegal entry and sentenced them to 12 years hard labour, its official KCNA news agency said on Monday. The journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, of U.S. media outlet Current TV, were arrested while working on a story near the border between North Korea and China. Their trial opened on Thursday. [...] Experts say North Korean law dictated a sentence of 10 years or more of hard labour.

Are they kidding or what!? Come on people, this is just plain fucking retarded!

N.Korea sentences US journalists to 12 years [Reuters]
N. Korea Sentences 2 U.S. Journalists to 12 Years of Hard Labor [NYTimes]

The Obama Deception is a hard-hitting film that completely destroys the myth that Barack Obama is working for the best interests of the American people. The Obama phenomenon is a hoax carefully crafted by the captains of the New World Order. He is being pushed as savior in an attempt to con the American people into accepting global slavery.

I mean, please!

Mr. President and his Macintosh.

Barack Obama: The 50 facts you might not know [Telegraph]

Like all who have held this office before me, I have experienced setbacks. There are things I would do differently if given the chance. Yet I have always acted with the best interests of our country in mind. [...] I have followed my conscience and done what I thought was right. You may not agree with some of the tough decisions I have made. But I hope you can agree that I was willing to make the tough decisions.

—U.S. President George W. Bush in his farewell adress to the nation.

A Somber Bush Says Farewell to the Nation [NYTimes]

9/11, two wars, Katrina: 'We had fun', says Bush [Guardian]

There's a great article with rather shocking numbers over at Salon documenting the damage done by George W. Bush and his administration:

To get a sense of what kind of balance is due, Salon spoke to experts in seven different fields. Wherever possible, we have tried to express the damage done in concrete terms -- sometimes in lives lost, but most often just in money spent and dollars owed. What follows is an incomplete inventory of eight years of mis- and malfeasance, but then a fuller accounting would run, um, somewhat longer than three pages.

W. and the damage done [Salon]

The Israelis are a gifted and resourceful people who fully deserve the right to live in peace, but who seem intent on squandering every chance to allow that to happen. It's difficult to avoid the conclusion that this conflict serves the political and economic purposes of Israel so well that they have every interest in maintaining it. While there is fighting they can continue to build illegal settlements. While there is fighting they continue to receive huge quantities of military aid from the United States. And while there is fighting they can avoid looking candidly at themselves and the ruthlessness into which they are descending.

—Legendary British musician, producer and singer Brian Eno weights on the ongoing Israeli/Palestinian conflict in the Gaza Strip.

Stealing Gaza, By BRIAN ENO [CounterPunch]

The great George Orwell, one of the most important writers of the 20th century and author of 1984 and Animal Farm, once said:

"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stomping on a human face — forever."

...and now you have a Nike sneakers thrown into George W. Bush's face on his farewell visit in Iraq. A coincidence?

[Photo credit: NYTimes]

"I think we made the right decision [to go to war in Iraq] in spite of the fact that the original [intelligence estimate] was off in some of its major judgments. Saddam Hussein still had the capability to produce weapons of mass destruction. He had the technology [and] he had the people. ... [He] had every intention of resuming production once the international sanctions were lifted. This was a bad actor."

Why can't this moron simply go away?

Cheney on Iraq: 'We made the right decision' [CNN]

Thomas L. Friedman makes an excellent point in today's NY Times column:

On Feb. 6, 2006, three Pakistanis died in Peshawar and Lahore during violent street protests against Danish cartoons that had satirized the Prophet Muhammad. More such mass protests followed weeks later. When Pakistanis and other Muslims are willing to take to the streets, even suffer death, to protest an insulting cartoon published in Denmark, is it fair to ask: Who in the Muslim world, who in Pakistan, is ready to take to the streets to protest the mass murders of real people, not cartoon characters, right next door in Mumbai?

I guess no one.

Calling All Pakistanis [NYTimes]

Via NME:

Radiohead's Thom Yorke has made a new remix of his solo song 'Harrowdown Hill' available as a free download, in celebration of Barack Obama's win in the US presidential election.

The track is available to download now from Radiohead.com.

Radiohead's Thom Yorke releases Barack Obama celebration song [NME]

Barack Obama has a new website:

Throughout the Presidential Transition Project, this website will be your source for the latest news, events, and announcements so that you can follow the setting up of the Obama Administration. And just as this historic campaign was, from the beginning, about you -- the transition process will offer you opportunities to participate in redefining our government.

CHANGE.gov

Unfortunately I do not know the owner/copyright holder of these pictures. If you do, please leave a comment or contact me and I'll update this post.

Umair Haque of Harvard Business Publishing offers some insight into Obama's sweeping victory and how did it happen:

So how did this unlikeliest of candidates do it? How did Obama utilize radically asymmetrical competition to shatter Washington's toxic, bitter 20th century status quo?

The most critical part of the story is the organization Obama built. Though conservatives are still arguing that Obama has little executive experience, nothing could be further from the truth.

Barack Obama is one of the most radical management innovators in the world today. Obama's team built something truly world-changing: a new kind of political organization for the 21st century. It differs from yesterday's political organizations as much as Google and Threadless differ from yesterday's corporations: all are a tiny handful of truly new, 21st century institutions in the world today.

Obama's Seven Lessons for Radical Innovators [HBP]

Vaclav Havel, the tenth and last President of Czechoslovakia and the first President of the Czech Republic, on Obama's victory:

With all respect to Senator McCain, whom I know and whom I find very sympathetic, I am more glad that Barack Obama won the election. I have an intense impression that a fresh wind will drift into the Washington air upon his arrival, that he will be a President of a new generation — a new type, with a great understanding of the multicultural nature of the contemporary world.

The World's View of Obama's Win [Time]

From Obama's blog, addressing last night's victory:

I'm about to head to Grant Park to talk to everyone gathered there, but I wanted to write to you first.

We just made history.

And I don't want you to forget how we did it.

You made history every single day during this campaign -- every day you knocked on doors, made a donation, or talked to your family, friends, and neighbors about why you believe it's time for change.

I want to thank all of you who gave your time, talent, and passion to this campaign. We have a lot of work to do to get our country back on track, and I'll be in touch soon about what comes next.

But I want to be very clear about one thing...

All of this happened because of you.

Thank you,

Barack

Message from Barack: "How this happened" [BarackObama.com]

Thank you, America! I am confident you made the right choice. I'd be lying if I said I am not getting a bit emotional right now... WOW.

You can watch Obama's victory speech on Election Night in Chicago here.

Oh, and yes, Obama's headline on NY Times hompage is 60px tall. SIXTY PIXELS TALL! When was the last time this happened!?

Obama Wins Election [NYTimes]
Obama Secures Historic Presidential Victory [WashingtonPost]
Barack Obama makes history [BostonGlobe]
Hard-Fought, Historic Contest Ends With Obama Victory [WSJ]
Obama inspires historic victory [CNN]
Barack Obama Wins Big: "Change Has Come to America" [Time]
President-Elect Obama [Newsweek]
Obama elected nation's 44th president [USAToday]
Obama's historic victory [SFChronicle]
Barack Obama elected president [LATimes]
Obama elected 44th president [NBC]
Obama's historic victory [Economist]
Obama captures White House win [Reuters]
Barack Obama to be America's first black president [Guardian]
Obama wins historic US election [BBC]
Obama elected US president [FinancialTimes]
Barack Obama elected next President of the United States after defeating John McCain [Telegraph]

Barack Obama je novym americkym prezidentom [SME.sk]
Obama zvolen prvnim cernym americkym prezidentem! [Blesk.cz]

To all my American peeps: Tomorrow is the big day. Please take a break and go out and vote. The choice is ultimately yours, however, just make sure you make the right one.

I say Barack Obama for President!

New York Times is reporting that the New York City Council on Thursday cleared a path for current NYC Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg to run for re-election, voting to revise a term limits law:

By a 29-22 vote, council members handed Mr. Bloomberg his most personal political triumph yet, and dramatically reshaped the political landscape for 2009. While legal challenges are expected in the days to come, many election law experts believe that the measure will survive. That means Mr. Bloomberg, given his popularity and his intention to spend $80 million to win a third term, would instantly become the favorite in the race.

I'm excited! He's done a great job so far... You go Mike!

Council Backs Bloomberg Bid to Run Again [NYTimes]

Boris Johnson, the current mayor of London, UK, is endorsing Barack Obama for president:

There are all sorts of reasons for hoping that Barack Hussein Obama will be the next president of the United States. He seems highly intelligent. He has an air of courtesy and sincerity. Unlike the current occupant of the White House, he has no difficulty in orally extemporising a series of grammatical English sentences, each containing a main verb. Unlike his opponent, he visibly incarnates change and hope, at a time when America desperately needs both.

[...]

Obama deserves to win because he seems talented, compassionate, and because he offers the hope of rejuvenating the greatest country on earth in the eyes of the rest of us. All those are sufficient reasons for desiring his victory.

Well said. Thank you!

Barack Obama: Why I believe he should be the next President [Telegraph, via friskyGeek]