Richard's Blog

The GOP, Caught Between President Obama And A Hard Place!

Ricardo — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 21:19:25 EST

That confusion reign at the heart of the GOP is now indisputable. One only has to look at this weekend’s CPAC. The party of Lincoln and Roosevelt and not so long ago the party of government is fast descending into fringe condescension and has as it's standard bearers two narcissistic opportunists. In Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter, the sole rationale for being conservative, it would seem, is to cream whatever financial rewards they can through the authorship of badly written compilations passed off as books or badly mouthed and bigoted pronouncements touted as radio broadcasting; both Rush and Ann are doing very well financially on the backs of a people who do not seem capable of distinguishing fact from fiction. Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter are the clearest manifestation that the lunatics are now in charge of the asylum.

The GOP already beaten once by President Obama during the election, seem to want to commit hara-kiri by taking that fabled and entrenched dogma of “we still know best, we have absolutely no need to change and we lost because we gave up on our extreme right wing ideology”. The message coming from them is so confused that you have their new Chairman Michael Steele, apologized that the American people had every right not to believe anything they said. But in the same breath he touted and echoed their penchant for tax cuts ubber alles in debating a very transformational President whose popularity still appear stratospheric.

One would have thought that, after losing to President Obama despite the play on “Conservatives holding on to religion and guns ....” statement by the then candidate Obama and the much looped Reverend Wright’s “God damn America” controversies, the GOP would have formulated a different strategy of response and tactic of execution. Instead they have resorted to confused, misdirected and rudderless rabble rousing.

Take for instance the new line of attack by that most hypocritical of the so-called conservatives, Newt Gingrich’s attempt to link and lump President Obama in with President Bush for the current economic crises. Unless Mr. Gingrich believes that the American is the most stupid person on God’s Earth, how could he possibly make that association in the expectation that less than two months into his Presidency, the American people would have forgotten who brought onto them the current wrath of a very displeased economic GOD. And herein lies the absolutely impossible task that the GOP has to deal with; talk about the government’s lack of fiscal responsibility when they presided over the biggest deficit in the nations recent history is not convincing; talk of over burdening future generations when they spent their way through the nations treasures without so much as a monument built in commemoration, except for corruption and the numbers of new graves for the Brave young men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice to uphold the honor of their beloved nation on a distant shore sounds hollow and hypocritical; talk of bad economics when they created the conditions for the festering of the depression malaise that a very new and young administration has to grapple with even before it had taken office sounds disingenuous; talk of diminishing America prestige and influence when they have the dubious honor of their great leader being the only American President to have been ‘shoed’ by a foreign journalist when he was the guest of those journalists sounds farcical.

So the GOP is looking forward to when President Obama’s policies fail so that they can blame him and his party for the failure. Now let us look at how serious a challenge that may prove for the GOP to exploit more than for President Obama to explain.
How does ending the war in Iraq render the President to criticism if that country descended into anarchy after the drawdown on US troops when he has already directed with ample notice period that the troops be brought home and only a non combatant compliment is retained and which would leave by a fixed deadline? It will only ‘fail’ if the Iraqis cannot look after themselves. But how does the failure of a democratically elected Iraqi government become the responsibility of a US Administration? Besides, the GOP likes his plan. It is just about the only thing they agree with him on.

Afghanistan as a coalition effort mandated by the UN and NATO is not the direct responsibility of President Obama although he has sought to highlight the dangers of ignoring that campaign for far too long. In fact, any failure there will be a vindication of his long standing complaint that too much focus went unnecessarily onto Iraq. And coalition partners in Afghanistan were not imposed upon to pull their weight.

The case of the US economy presents the worst case scenario for the GOP even more so than the rest of the litmus issues already described. Tax cuts for the middle classes, unemployment benefits and insurance for those who have lost their jobs, a foreclosure stay of execution for those struggling with their mortgages, health insurance for over eleven million children, the biggest reconstruction agenda for a generation, improvements for education, investments in alternative energy, assistance to States struggling as a result of the deep recession... etc.

Now let’s assume that no jobs are created at all (and that is quite some assumption) and the unemployment rate remains as is in 3 years hence. People would still see improvements in bridges and the road infrastructure, they will notice better classrooms and paid teachers, improvements in environmental awareness and steps to address them, a dramatic fall in the numbers of US Soldiers stationed abroad, a reduction in their tours of duty and their involvement in "dumb wars".

The people still struggling for employment will be able to stay in their own homes and thereby have roofs over their heads and will be able to get sick without being bankrupt. Those still in employment, especially the middle classes, will still enjoy a reasonable standard of living and not see hikes in their levels of taxation. Since a lot of the jobs currently being lost are in GOP afflicted areas, a lot of ‘former’ GOP voters will come to appreciate the assistance they will be receiving from this so called and much maligned ‘Socialist’ government and may even decide that that type of ‘Socialism' may not be all that bad. Why? Because they would remember that this current President inherited all the issues from a GOP President. Most importantly, they will also remember that those aspects of policy that helps to ease their pain were passed without a single GOP support in the House and only three GOP Senators were brave enough to cross party lines despite a sterling effort by President Obama to be bi-partisan.

If there is a GOP GOD in existence it must know that 2012 will not be a GOP year. That will be when the real fruits of all this stimuli starts to really kick-in. And witnessing the disarray in which the GOP finds itself, it will take them more than three terms to get another look in; look at what happened to the British Conservative Party after Maggie Thatcher. The GOP’s redemption would be on the basis that it remodeled itself on a successful and winning formula; that of the Democrats and the GOP agenda then will be to portray themselves as the best placed to carry out the legacy of Obama. Now will that not be a turn for the books?

Is the GOP Dead As A Coherent Political Force?

Ricardo — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 09:11:33 EST

The GOP and the Beltway still underestimate President Obama. Some establishment types have great difficulty adapting to the new political order in Washington. These same types misread the writings on the wall during both the primaries and the election where they were out maneuvered by the then candidate Senator Obama, as he not only won the Democratic nomination but also totally defeated Senator John McCain , the GOP nominee.

The last week saw the GOP wade into pious self congratulation for their obstinate opposition to the signed stimulus legislation believing, as did the Beltway, that they had scored a major victory by denying the President his much vaunted bi-partisanship. The fact that the President still got what he sought; a stimulus legislation passed within 30 days of his taking office and that major GOP Governors including that of California seeking governmental assistance stood full-square with the President were totally oblivious to them. To the chagrin of the GOP, Beltway and in particular FOX News, the latest opinion polls seem to suggest that the American people are also full-square behind their President and had not read the script pushed haughtily by the Beltway and cable networks about a GOP victory in the tussle for bi-partisanship. The President’s approval ratings remain stratospheric, the Democratic Congress scores highly; in fact the highest they have scored to date and Representative Pelosi is more popular than the nearest GOP in either Houses of Congress.

Will the GOP grasp the new reality and muster opposition or just whine away in oblivion and irrelevance? That would be a shame because inasmuch as I support the President, I still believe in a strong but pragmatic opposition. That is not just good for American democracy but good for the President and a resurgent Democratic controlled Capitol. It would also signify once and for all that the GOP is now reformed and subscribe to proper and accountable government. That will not only be a testament sought by Americans but the wider World that we would never revert to what we just witnessed these past eight years.

The question though is simply will the GOP survive as a coherent political force in an Obama Presidency?

My Unpublished Comment To Al-Arabiya 27 Jan 09

Ricardo — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 21:40:57 EST

Violence is an industry. All industries employ people with a view to profit. Profit is not just monetary it can also be political. When people invest in violence it is because they hope to reap some benefit. US ordinary people (you and I) are just pawns manipulated by those who wish to use violence as a means of control and subjugation.

The issue of the Palestinians and Arabs/Muslims in general with Israel is something that has now generated its own life and path but I believe that the time has come for US the ordinary man and woman to stand up and proclaim that we ALL have a right to LIFE, LIBERTY & THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS.

Let us also look at how we are being used by peoples and organisation to advance their own interests. That there is brutality in the Middle East and between Arabs and Jews is no secret but is anyone telling me that the violence is just one sided?

The Palestinians have become the subject matter used to express wider disenchantment about a lot of issues in the wider region. The Palestinian is a human being who craves life, peace and the pursuit of happiness and is also incredibly resourceful and hard working. But if I am employing you a Palestinian and your friends, neighbors, colleagues or relations come to my town to kill and maim people and sow terror for whatever reason, do I owe you an obligation to continue to employ you? Or why should I make it easy for you and others to be able to cross over into my town with the potential to pursue such hatred.

I see a lot of indignation about what Israel does and some of that indignation is deserved but I scarcely, if ever, hear Palestinians in the Gaza strip or in the West Bank openly criticise the perpetrators of violence especially Hamas. This tells me that those who live under Hama are NOT all free. They are not allowed the freedom of expression to protest against their 'so called' elected officials. And so long as the people are not free to express themselves I cannot believe that Hamas represents ALL the people.

For both sides of the conflict, it is important to understand that you cannot talk peace while you pursue terror. Any progress will be under the guise and perception that terror pays. I have also heard about how Hamas helps ordinary Palestinians in the provision of health care, housing and basic support. I think the Palestinian people deserve more than that. Can Hamas provide more health care than the rest of the world or more education than the rest of the world?
I will believe Hamas works for the displaced, impoverished and long suffering Palestinian people when I see doctors, engineers, teachers, academics being created as a result of Hamas policies than teaching boys and girls to kill themselves as political instruments. If killing one’s self to achieve autonomy worked why do Hamas officials go into hiding and do not ride the streets in defiance of the enemy and challenge them to be killed? It is because they want your brothers, sisters and parents to die in THEIR cause to pursue POWER! The rhetoric is just that rhetoric!

And when peoples’ lives are so cheapen by their own political representatives why should your enemy value that same life that you do not value? So Hamas will give money to Palestinians whose homes and property have been destroyed to rebuild them. What about those whose lives have been wrecked? Those whose childhoods have been stolen from them? Those whose minds and well being have been damaged beyond repair? And all this because Hamas believes in conflicts of posturing which it knows it can never win. Not in the short term anyway. I do not call this love. What sort of love is it that seeks to repair what is material and almost irrelevant but does not care about what is the most relevant and most important which is the sacred life?

The Palestinian people have a right to life, dignity, LIBERTY and the pursuit of happiness but I doubt very much that they will get it through the use of mindless violence and terror perpetrated in their name by so-called leaders. And for those who sing about how brave Hamas are but very conveniently live outside Hamas control and do not suffer the consequences of their policies, I say shame on you!

There are those who will interpret my comments as being pro Israeli; far from it. My criticism of Israel is even harsher than this. But I fail to see how Hamas can reach the end gold it seeks by sacrificing the Palestinian people or bring undue hardship upon them by seeking to not only fight but pledging to destroy an opponent it cannot conceivably stand toe to toe with.

The time for peace has come. There is change; GENUINE change in Washington. I urge all Arabs, Muslims and true lovers of peace to embrace what this new American President has to say. It is the best HOPE in a generation and let us all pray to our God, our Allah, that we embrace him without the internecine rhetoric and demagoguery so we can ALL sleep peacefully at night and OUR children can grow to be older than we are and pursue their dreams.

The world; our world is the poorer when Muslims, Jews, Christians, Hindus, Buddhist and non believers cannot come together to share in each other's knowledge and understanding so that we may propel the world towards true human peace and endeavor to harness the true potential of the human being and enjoy the abundant fruits of creation.

Please let us look forward and not backwards. Let us extend our hands to each other in true friendship and respect and see the true extent of creations wonders that await us in that sea of tranquility and peace here on Earth.

Salem aleikum.

Has Israel Abandoned Its Ideals?

Ricardo — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 22:12:25 EST

Israel is being condemned by all and sundry for its latest incursion or as some would define it, invasion of Gaza. The shelling of UN compounds sheltering innocent civilians, the bombing of a UN school, the destruction of UN facilities storing much needed and scarce supplies and the use of phosphorous shells proscribed for use in civilian and populated theatres make some of us wonder what happened to Israel, the land we used defend till blue in the face?

I am saddened especially by the latest debacle and I seem to have the most peace when Israel is not in the news, because it would appear that the last decade or so has only brought about negativity for that young state.

A sad testament to what happens when a nation abandon its ideals under the ubiquitous guise of security.

If there ever was a nation on God's Earth, which should be very sensitive to attacks on civilians, women and children that state ought to be Israel. A just cause must carry world opinion. And yes, world opinion does matter, especially to places like Israel!

But then again, when you can get away with impunity time and again it becomes habitual. "The Palestinians started it", I can hear the apologists say. But what makes a nation civilized, is that it maintains its human decency especially in the face of unwarranted provocation.

When we stoop to the same levels of barbarity as those we seem to chastise, we reduce ourselves to a level even lower than that of which we chastise others and with that comes the erosion of our moral authority. Being the most powerful state or nation does not necessarily engender respect. Ask George W Bush.

The World is changing and Israel will do very well to change with it! And if anything Israel ought to listen to its friends and note that as others are already tagging this latest adventure as genocide or extermination demonstrates one thing; This world, our world, would not sit idly by and witness the wiping out of the Palestinians as an entity or as a people, only for a car or an aircraft to be named after them, generations down the line. No mas!

This is a very sad period in Israel's current state that the only way a once beacon of hope, excellence and freedom, in an otherwise pitiful ocean of despotism can maintain political cohesion is in a bogus and fatuous adventurism not borne out of necessity but expedience. Now that is not growing out of childish things and it is very dangerous!

Blacks Vote Barack Because He Is Black?

Ricardo — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 13:10:56 EDT

To All the Nanas, Toots & Grans of This World

I came to support Barack Obama because I grew more and more fed up with the fact that in a world of plenty many children go to bed without a roof over their heads and hungry. I grew more and more disillusioned that the most powerful and the richest nation on God’s Earth could not feed, clothe and provide a large swathe of its citizens with the basic decency of affordable healthcare. Most of all, I was depressed about a senseless war that drained the whole world of the basic freedoms we were supposed to be fighting to protect. I wanted a sensible person in the White House and all the White houses across this globe who would not ban a mother from carrying a baby’s formula milk on to a plane without the humiliation of first having to taste it in full public view, or where a passenger travelling on an airliner could not carry a bottle of water through security but could buy a liter of whiskey in a bottle and carry that onboard.

So even though I am black, I was looking more and more for plain old commonsense. And on reading about Barack and listening to him I was shocked to find a man who bristled with just basic commonsense.

Then I discovered that he is just about the same age as I am. He is going grey like I am, travelled a lot and lived in different states and even territories like I have, nearly as handsome as I am, we both have African fathers who were not around much and he was raised by his grandmother as I was.

Now that last fact of being raised by his grandmother was truly the clincher. Because I know that there is no better love than that given by a grandparent for a grandchild. My grandmother went up to the heavens when she was over 100 years old. She lived in Africa and I had the good fortune of visiting her just over a year before she went up into the clouds to be a kool nebula. When we met for the last time we laughed and cried together, hugged each other. Nana stood up and walked me to the door when I left – she had not walked the previous three months!

Here was a lady of immense class even if poor. Here was a human being of endless compassion even if she was suffering ill health. She was always there for me whether I was genuinely ill or just playing her for a nice meal of calf’s liver which I drummed up when nine years old, that it had been recommended by the doctor because I needed more iron in my blood. And here was the surprise. She knew all along I was telling fibs about the calf’s liver and yet she indulged me. Here was a person whom in all the years I lived with her never once saw her lose her temper or raise her voice. Here was a woman who raised seven surviving children four of whom were college graduates and numerous grandchildren of the same calibre yet did not even have basic education.

Now I have not blossomed into a potential POTUS but I know deep in my heart that I would most certainly be a lesser person but for her love and nurturing; how she spoke to one more with her demeanour and eyes than her lips. She instilled discipline without the crop. She installed the work ethic without enforcement. But most of all she loved abundantly and unconditionally.

When my Nana left this Earth I went to help lay her to rest and I wept. Not of sadness but of the wisdom and incredible love that this world was being denied and the fact that my children, her great grandchildren never got to meet the most special woman who nurtured and shaped my life. Most times I speak to her quietly because I know she would ignore me if I shout or am too loud. She always preferred calm tranquility to bawling and most certainly brain over brawl.

So if you do not understand why Barack suspended his campaign to become POTUS to go see his ailing Toots and running the risk of losing his momentum and lead in a very hard fought and contested race with just two weeks left, it is because without a shadow of doubt, if he were offered the chance or choice to choose between his Toots surviving another year without pain or him winning the presidency, I would bet my bottom dollar that he would choose the former. Because that is how great, Grans are.

And I pray that Toots stays strong beyond the next two weeks to watch her kin show the World not only how the dignified office of the President of The United States ought to be executed but that the most powerful and still most respected nation on Earth does better using its enormous wealth compassionately than in combat. Let’s steal ourselves a moment to reflect for the new global and world order that will be unleashed in the reign of an Obama administration that set the benchmark for generations to come and for replication across the globe. For he is a man with our sensibilities and instincts who recognises that the next two thousand years cannot replicate the distaste and debauchery of the previous two thousand, for times are far too important for business as usual.

So tonight let’s all raise a glass of whatever it is we drink in salute and honor of the Nanas, Toots and Grans of this world without whom our gene pool beside other characteristics would be more the poorer.

Let’s humbly and without fanfare of our own making usher in not just new blood, instincts and ideals but a sense of community, belonging, fairness, respect and yes, responsibility. It is now our turn. Our generation has to make the rules now going forward, and as we judged those generations who failed before us as harshly as we have done, we must work ever so hard to live up to the aspirations and the mantra of our calling that ‘the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice but not by itself. For each one of us has to reach up and lend our weight to help bend it towards justice’. ……Gods speed!

McCain Wins Debate - Apparently!

Ricardo — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 13:34:47 EDT

Senator McCain before he even confirmed his participation in tonight's Presidential debate is already advertising that he won the debate.

Here is a man (an American hero) who cannot distinguish day from night, left from right, right from wrong or fact from fiction.

McCain for President? You must be joking!

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/09/mccain_wins_debate.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/images/26Sep_Friday_WSJ.JPG

AP Poll Finds Racial Undertone In Presidential Election

Ricardo — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 02:44:19 EDT

AP Poll Finds Racial Undertone In Presidential Election

In attempting to determine why a nation in crises after nearly 8 years of Bush the minor’s stewardship of a morally, intellectually and politically bankrupt GOP and its aging nominee John McCain, who changes his views as often as there are storms in the gulf-of Mexico, still running neck-and-neck with the rival Democratic nominee Barack Obama, the poll with the help of Stanford University using very sophisticated analysis came up with a whopper! There is STILL racism in the USA!

Now I must say I am flabbergasted. Racism in the USA? Why, in the land of Lincoln and Roosevelt? The very sophisticated poll combining computer graphics with questions probing latently held views discovered that 40% of all whites and a lot of Democratic voters still held very negative and stereotypical views about blacks. They believed that blacks are their own worst enemies. Were violent, lazy and did not try harder. Only 59% of white Democrats, according to the poll, said they would vote for Barack Obama, and as much as 17% of Hillary Clinton’s supporters are willing to vote against their own interests and pull the clinger for McCain.

Now I am sure that most ordinary people did not require the sophisticated analytical tools of Stanford University to have come to the easy conclusion that there is still racism in the USA. Why else would candidates and parties spend a small fortune in attacking people for their race as the GOP did by attempting to ally Obama and former Fannie Mae Chairman Frank Raines. A more apt reference could have been Jim Johnson who as former Chairman of Fannie Mae was on Obama’s vice presidential selection team until his resignation. So why Raines whom Obama barely knew instead of Johnson? Raines is black and Johnson? You can guess!

More seriously, until recently the MSM had virtually given McCain and his running mate Sarah Palin a pass at being extremely economical with the truth. In fact some might say for telling bare faced lies! But then again a lying old man of their kin is better than any truth telling N…. any day.

But all the analytical tooling cannot hide a huge shock to the American psyche; that of a once mighty nation now in serious decline. America is growing old but doing so rather ungracefully! The mighty US$ is in perpetual decline, the famed US armed services are bogged down in a titanic struggle borne out by the insipient fantasies of men such as John McCain and carried out on the ideological idiosyncratic whim as those of his current running mate Sarah Palin; who is fast being coached to become the standard bearer of the now disgraced neo-conservatives.

The national economy is on life-support with the Federal Reserve (a private bank) urging the nation’s tax payers to bail out a bunch of hoodlums who have grown so greedy but so vast that anything else will lead to the death of the once mighty US economy - the engine room of the global economy! And that dose of urgent chemotherapy? One trillion US Dollars. That is $1,000,000,000,000.

Some Americans may be racist and racism may well be rife in the Democratic Party; after all some very prominent Democrats made their fortunes on the back of slavery and fought abolition tooth and nail. Remember the racist South was once solid Democratic territory. The 1956 Southern Manifesto, a Confederacy throwback some ninety-one years after they had lost the American Civil War, was signed by nineteen United States Senators. Seventy-seven members of the House of Representatives opposed to racial integration in public places also signed it. Of the ninety-six members of Congress who signed the Southern Manifesto, two were Virginia Republican Congressmen [three Southern Republican Congressmen refused to sign]. The rest were all Democrats.

*Senator Richard Russell, Democrat of Georgia, co-authored the 1956 Southern Manifesto strongly defended white supremacy and voted against the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

*Senator Albert Gore Sr., Democrat of Tennessee, voted against 1964 Civil Rights Act

*Senator Sam Ervin, Democrat of North Carolina (the Senator who chaired the Watergate Investigating Committee), signed the 1956 Sothern Manifesto and voted against the 1964 Civil Rights Act

*Senator James O. Eastland, Democrat of Mississippi was a staunch segregationist and avowed racist who signed the 1956 Southern Manifesto and voted against 1964 Civil Rights Act and still served under Jimmy Carter as the Chairmen of the Senate Judiciary Committee and number three to assume the presidency. He served in the Senate till 1978; only some thirty years ago.

But all that notwithstanding however, what I am absolutely convinced about is this; American is not the same and will never be again unless it takes a very serious look at itself. The nation needs to look and reflect upon itself. For the missed opportunities, exploitation and greed under the guise of the free-market. No market is ever free. There is always a price to pay! The previous gravy train that led so many to only care about their self-interests’ and damned the rest, has left the station and never to return. There will be repercussions when Main Street washes away the blinkers and discover, as they will, that they have been had! Lied to! Manipulated!

Only one man is equipped with the candor, freshness, decency, honesty and integrity to deal with this highly explosive domestic tinder-box delicately. Only one man is predisposed to handle the associated international repercussions and pushback that the US will face when other more serenely managed economies suffer, stutter or even fail as a direct consequence of the free wheeler-dealings under the ubiquitous guise of the free market.

For this is a nation in addition to the $1 trillion to rescue high stakes gamblers who may well end-up keeping their ill gotten winnings at the expense of Main Street who may lose even their homes, is indebted to itself and the rest of the world (gross national debt plus debt held by public stock) by an eye-popping $9 trillion. That is $9,000,000,000,000.
Put another way, which is $30,000 per every woman, man & child in America. But you tell that to the lazy, violent blacks not trying hard enough.
The truth of the matter is that America may end up needing Barack Obama more than it knows and certainly more than he needs America. It may not seem a patriotic thing to say but most nations in this World, would welcome him with open arms. There are not that many American leaders in the current crop you can say that about.

Fortunately, there are more Americans across the political spectrum who when the issues demand, it would seem, are prepared to put aside their superficial differences in color. I believe this is what drives Barack Obama in his pursuit of the Presidency. Well, the AP poll found that most whites say that blacks could improve their lot if they tried harder. Well Barack is hard at it trying. Hopefully these same folks will be prepared to help him help America.

So now you know why Barack & Joe have a fight on their hands. Why they together have to fight harder. They know things are far worst than they can talk frankly about without causing fear or panic. Oh, and for now Joe Biden is an honorary black. Barack and Joe will close the deal but they need your help and support. They need you to appeal to the good sense of a common purpose of ordinary folks so that Barack and Joe prevail. We need Barack to be the next POTUS. I am absolutely convinced that he will be. Or do you need a poll to tell you that?

Barack Greying?

Ricardo — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 23:43:26 EDT

I am a year younger than Barack and I have more grey hair and I am not running to solve yr problems, it's enough trying to deal with going grey.
But quite apart from the fact that going grey is the acceptance of growing old gracefully, my wife assures me it makes me look more statesman-like and it's a true sign of virility. I am not going to disagree with that!

And as a wiser former British Prime Minister of a bygone era once put it, 'there is nothing wrong with grey hair. Ask any bald headed man'. Quite!

Sorry To Michelle & The Obama Daughters

Ricardo — Fri, 23 May 2008 21:14:58 EDT

We have witnessed the soul searching by all politicos and lovers of democracy about what some refer to as Hillary's unfortunate comments and her reasons why she remains in the race. After Hillary’s campaign first tried to rubbish and tough out the outrage, Hillary released a statement of undying affection for the Kennedy's and regret that her statement is seen as disparaging or offensive to the Kennedy Clan. She however made no retraction about the interpretation that she was still running in the hope that the candidate of HOPE may be assassinated.

People are recounting a similar message in March where reference was made about JFK's assassination, pointing out that it may be sending sublimal messages to Clinton's own and others wacko supporters to perhaps bring harm to the candidate of HOPE. In a week when a former GOP candidate made comment of a gun pointed at our candidate and a newspaper published a picture of him in the crosshair of a gun, this is an unwelcome distraction with a more sinister undertone.

Here is a message of assurance that I and MILLIONS of supporters of the candidate of HOPE wishes to send EXPLICITLY to the wonderful wife and beautiful daughters of the candidate of HOPE that we the supporters of the candidate, that we the people will NEVER agree to put his heartbeat between Hillary Rodham Clinton and the Presidency of the United States of America.

We also apologise unreservedly for any discomfort and anxiety that recent statements made may have caused.

We continue to pray for the protection and security of all those who aspire to the leadership of America.

Welcome To All Who Hunger & Thirst For A Different Kind Of Politics!

Ricardo — Sat, 17 May 2008 07:21:26 EDT

Robby,

SaSa is not advocating that we do not discuss things here. Please track back to previous comments by SaSa which I thought was very kind considered and thoughtful.

Of course we are all appalled by the Mr. Huckabee's comments. And by the way, so is SaSa. All SaSa is saying is that we debate without recourse to the name calling; disagree without being disagreeable. SaSa is even going to write to the said Pastor and complain. That is bound to have a more meaningful outcome than just blustering and name calling here on this blog.

Please people let us be respectful of our opponents especially when they are not respectful to us. We are drawing a contrast between us and them in policies, character, demeanour and campaign strategy. It is the reason why a lot of the Evangelical Christians are here on our side. We are different and offering a different kind of politics. We cannot admire Barack and his core principles which include the practice of disagreeing without being disagreeable, only to go out name calling. It happens to the best of us but it is a temptation we must resist at all cost.

Huckabee made a boneheaded comment which he realised and apologised for. We may feel that apology was not strong enough, then we write about that or come up with a collective or individual actions like SaSa is planning to do by writing to Mr. Huckabee. But we should also find it in us to forgive a mistake, especially from a Pastor or Reverend.

We do not have to be angry anymore. Stay alert, yes but not angry. We are winning the argument. People from other campaigns are here to find shelter and to belong in our home which is also now their home, and they have as much a right to feel that they belong. And those of us who have been here all along and appreciate how difficult it was without them, owe it to ourselves but more to Barack ad especially to America and the World that the newcomers are welcome and made to feel at home . We cannot welcome people into our fold and resort to calling their previous candidates whom they still admire names. It simply shows a lack of etiquette.

Welcome to former supporters of McCain, Hillary, Edwards, Huckabee, Biden, Richardson, Kucinich, Dodd, Ron Paul and if I have not mentioned your previous candidate then it is not out of disrespect but rather age old forgetfulness.

Enough of the name calling. Let civility reign!! Peace brothers and sisters. United we stand, divided we fall. Lets Go Heal The world!

Lay-Off Hillary; Re-focuse & Re-calibrate

Ricardo — Fri, 09 May 2008 21:28:17 EDT

It's time to drop talking about and attacking Hillary Clinton. Our campaign is not referring to her anymore. Lets re-calibrate and focus on the next even more daunting task ahead - The GOP and McCain.

It may appear that victory is sweet and so we lay in drunken stupor while the rug is pulled from underneath our feet.

We have not formerly won the nomination. And even if we have, its only a battle in a greater war. We win nothing beating Hillary. The prize lies behind McCain and we have to work 10 times as hard as we did beating Hillary then and only then can we have a glass of whatever it is we drink for a short celebration before we set about the REAL task of Changing this country and Healing the World.

Who Is Rev. Wright?

Ricardo — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 21:53:03 EDT

For all those who view Rev Wright as a monster please read this article. You may not necessarilly agree with his comments; I most certainly do not, but it would seem we are condemning a Minister of God without any attempt at finding out who he is.

It is better to have him in the open defending himself now so that he cannot be demonized or resurrected during the General by which time he will be old news.

FACTS:

1) Ex Marine who volunteered to serve his country

2) A former student of the Navy's Corpsman School at the Great Lakes Naval Training Centre.

3) Graduate Valedictorian

4) Then trained as cardiopulmonary technician and graduated number two in his class

5) Holds three White House commendations for his work as part of the team that took care of President Lyndon Johnson and other senior U.S. officials at the National Naval Medical Centre in Bethesda

6) Provided spiritual counsel to the Clintons at the height of their marital problems and was a regular visitor to the White House

Before you believe the politics of destruction do a little reading.

He has served his country and has earned the right to exercise his right to free speech whether Barack agrees with it or not.

http://www.usadaily.com/article.cfm?articleID=328626

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php?id=225

SHAME ON ABC NEWS!

Ricardo — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 02:54:42 EDT

Our sense of frustration about the idiotic performance by ABC News lame anchor men is shared throughout the country.

Comments generally support the FACT that Barack did not get a fair shake! But what was the campiagn thinking accepting a former Clinton crony George StepinsomethingNasty as a moderator anyway? I watched Stephanopolous go on MSNBC 2 weeks ago to defend Hillary against charges that she ebllished her Northern Ireland peace role!

But if this was an exercise in an attempt to derail Barack, then by all indication he passed the test; showed considerable calm under immense and unfriendly fire, remained true to his creed of showing candor and despite their best efforts he STILL by popular opinion appear to have won the debate.

Time for the Super Geebeess ..sorry Delegates to start coming out in droves.

Oh and if you are really pissed-off, don't hesitate to let ABC News big wigs feel the heat!

Call or fax
Robert A. Iger,
President & CEO, The Walt Disney Company (owners of ABC) and let him know what you thought of the ABC Debate -
HQ Phone: 818-560-1000
(Fax: 818-560-1930)

See this incredible analysis by Tom Shales berating ABC News.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/17/AR2008041700013_Comments.html

Oh! And no more self promoting staged and mug debates. Enough already!

Spread The Message, Be Engaged!

Ricardo — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 17:44:55 EDT

"Every four years, politicians come to Pennsylvania promising to protect American jobs. And every four years they go back to Washington and nothing changes — because the special interests and lobbyists keep blocking change," Senator Obama said after the announcement the York Peppermint Patty plant in Reading, Pa., was closing and moving its operations to Mexico.

"I'm running for president because working families can't afford to wait another four years while the same old Washington players play the same old Washington game," he said. "It's time to end business-as-usual in Washington so we can bring about real change for the American people."

Senator Obama said at a rally in Malvern, Pa

This statement and countless others like it have been made by Barack consistently on the trail railing against special interests. I guess we have heard it so often that it has become a non-resonating but sanguine part of what may be reflected as his stomp speech routine. But there really ought to be nothing routine or un-resonating about it.

With the Canadian NAFTA unsolicited biased intervention in Ohio and the Mark Penn Columbian faux pas we now learn of exPresident Clintons long held affinity to a Columbian trade deal. We need to recognize that when Barack talks about not taking money from registered Federal Lobbyists and PACs, and not employing active lobbyist in his campaign or in his White House he refers to a deep seated, ingrained and malaised politics that puts the interests of politicians before that of the ordinary electorate.

Politicians, who will triangulate, deny, obfuscate and be economical with the truth as a means of ‘pulling the wool over the eyes’ of trusting and unsuspecting voters who quite innocently but misguidedly come to believe in the integrity and honesty of politicians to their peril, feed that monster of cynicism. Such instances of ‘mis-speaking’ and embellished accomplishments feed into that cesspit of cynicism that renders politics as second only to indiscriminate whoring in the eyes of the people, thereby rendering a far greater disservice to communities, cities, states and nations.
The signs are to be witnessed in the recent past in Russia, Kenya, Zimbabwe…. And as defenders of freedom we do a disservice to be uncritical of our politicians who stoop to Third World political tactics because it greatly erodes our moral authority to be critical of those who so brazenly abuse the core principles and tenets upon which our freedoms are based – Democracy.

We must stop lamenting the MSM’s lack of candour in reporting these issues of disingenuity on the part of the Washington insiders and elites and use our own viral networking to spread these issues at the core of Barack’s message.

It must not be okay for a politician to want to win at all cost as does Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe or Kibaki of Kenya or Hillary Clinton.
It must be abhorred that a politician deliberately and consistently ‘mis-speak’ as an orchestrated attempt to gain latitude in seeking the most powerful political office on God’s Earth. And because it is such an important office which carries with it grave responsibility and moral authority, only those whom we believe to aspire to our highest held standards of political behaviour and probity should be allowed anywhere near that sacred office. And with a complicit MSM, it is left to you and me to wield the sword of truth and the trusty shield of fair play and spread that message by whatever means at our disposal; for it takes a few good people doing nothing for the worst amongst us to impose their warped will.

Time For The Campaign & Supporters to Rise & Make Some Noise

Ricardo — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 10:08:30 EST

Let the battle be joined.

During the course of the Texas/Ohio nomination campaign, we have seen a member of our Democratic Party manipulate the media in addition to using fear and manufactured stories to attempt to derail the momentum of our candidate senator Barack Obama. This was to be expected but nonetheless shocking in its venomous falsehood and insincerity.

More shocking still was the doubts raised in the minds of some very fair weathered supporters who seemed to be in shock of the idea that it was possible for our candidate to be attacked even if the insinuations were false. Such supporters have the multiplier tendency to drag everyone down when times get tough as it will. For those supporters I refer to Hillary's army of never say die feminists who still stand strong after what until this week were 12 consecutive defeats. I shudder to imagine what our fair weather supporters would do under similar circumstances.

The lessons to be drawn; and we must indeed learn from the Texas/Ohio nomination campaign are varied and numerous.

We cannot and should not expect that because we choose a higher purpose that others will be willing to follow

Our supporters should not shackle the campaign from going on the attack where it is deemed necessary. Hillary just proved to us that attacking sometimes works.

We ought to manage expectations better than we did last term and have a press or MSM strategy. Just because a journalist asks a question does not mean it must be answered

Our supporters should ALWAYS remember that Senator Obama is running to be POTUS (President Of The United States) and not the Pope

Senator Clinton and her team clearly believe that pending and ongoing legal issues are fair game, that integrity and vetting are also open season so let us engage her. Class and chivalry may be construed as weakness and we cannot be seen to shirk from taking on Hillary

The other side also believe that Senator Obama is responsible for statements and mistakes real or perceived by his team of advisors and surrogates so let us apply the same level of probity to her campaign from now on. She should be held accountable

It is heartening to note yesterday that the campaign started asking about the release of the Clintons tax returns for last year and it is about time. David Plouffe ought to take the role of asking those questions that Senator Obama may feel uncomfortable asking. The Genie is now out of the bottle and no one is going to accuse this campaign as being the one to have started with the negative campaigning.

The American voter requires answers on

-Her relationship with Norman Hsu and Bill's financial ties to the emir of Dubai.

-What of campaign finance irregularities concerning pending litigation with Peter Paul?

-When asked about her claimed experienced dealing with foreign crises her advisers could not come up with anything

http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2008/02/pregnant_pause.html

Senator Clinton's efforts on ethanol overlaps her husbands interests http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/28/us/politics/28ethanol.html?_r=2&ref=politics&oref=login&oref=slogin

Tony Rezkos contributions to the DNC (Even the DNC during Bills Presidency thought he was reputable)

http://images.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/fecimg/?20035431471

http://www.margieburns.com/blog/_archives/2008/2/2/3501879.html

The Arab link - Hillary said the Sovereign Wealth Funds ought to be scrutinized with more openness (Las Vegas debate Jan 15) how is she going to do that - Saudi Royals gave $10m to the Clinton library, Clinton is the investment adviser to the Emir of Dubai at $10m a year both countries operate significant sovereign wealth funds buying up strategic American business.

Will Hillary declare her family interest in assisting a Dubai based company which wanted to take over an American company that operated US ports, an attempt blocked on national security grounds?

Will Hillary declare her family Chinese interests in a Chinese company wanting to acquire 3Com an attempt blocked on national security grounds?

Where does she stand on foreign banks operating through sovereign wealth funds taking over American banks? )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvyGZUGZEpY

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/us-cites-concerns-sovereign-wealth/story.aspx?guid=%7BA0C6D031-4CB2-4955-BAE2-6F9E9A1F6B48%7D

Did the Clinton campaign reassure the Canadians then turn around and blame the Obama camp?

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080305.wharpleak0305/BNStory/National/home

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/03/06/clinton-campaign-denies-canadian-report-on-nafta-comments/#comment-682549

Hillary's claim of experience, national security credentials and other embellished claims are without foundation or substance but based purely on name and face recognition. It is time she was taken head on that name recognition does not imply trust and most certainly not experience. Being supported by four Generals does not make you a General!

They say by not placing his hand on his heart for the playing of the national anthem or not wearing an American Flag pin Barack is not a patriot. Well what about Bush the elder?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQKd4Rgdwpo&feature=related

Barack must challenge Hillary with her over inflated sense of self. Bring back that advert "Hillary will say anything and do anything but deliver nothing" it works and sums her up!

We are winning the Texas caucus and we raised $55m in February and have topped 1,000,000 contributors. We still have a lot to shout about!

I am fired up and let us put some heat up Team Hillary!

GO OBAMA 08

Time For The Campaign & Supporters to Rise & Make Some Noise

Ricardo — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 16:42:50 EST

Let the battle be joined.

During the course of the Texas/Ohio nomination campaign, we have seen a member of our Democratic Party manipulate the media in addition to using fear and manufactured stories to attempt to derail the momentum of our candidate senator Barack Obama. This was to be expected but nonetheless shocking in its venomous falsehood and insincerity.

More shocking still was the doubts raised in the minds of some very fair weathered supporters who seemed to be in shock of the idea that it was possible for our candidate to be attacked even if the insinuations were false. Such supporters have the multiplier tendency to drag everyone down when times get tough as it will. For those supporters I refer to Hillary’s army of never say die feminists who still stand strong after what until this week were 12 consecutive defeats. I shudder to imagine what our fair weather supporters would do under similar circumstances.

The lessons to be drawn; and we must indeed learn from the Texas/Ohio nomination campaign are varied and numerous.

We cannot and should not expect that because we choose a higher purpose that others will be willing to follow

Our supporters should not shackle the campaign from going on the attack where it is deemed necessary. Hillary just proved to us that attacking sometimes works.

We ought to manage expectations better than we did last term and have a press or MSM strategy. Just because a journalist asks a question does not mean it must be answered

Our supporters should ALWAYS remember that Senator Obama is running to be POTUS (President Of The United States) and not the Pope

Senator Clinton and her team clearly believe that pending and ongoing legal issues are fair game, that integrity and vetting are also open season so let us engage her. Class and chivalry may be construed as weakness and we cannot be seen to shirk from taking on Hillary

The other side also believe that Senator Obama is responsible for statements and mistakes real or perceived by his team of advisors and surrogates so let us apply the same level of probity to her campaign from now on. She should be held accountable

It is heartening to note yesterday that the campaign started asking about the release of the Clintons tax returns for last year and it is about time. David Plouffe ought to take the role of asking those questions that Senator Obama may feel uncomfortable asking. The Genie is now out of the bottle and no one is going to accuse this campaign as being the one to have started with the negative campaigning.

The American voter requires answers on

-Her relationship with Norman Hsu and Bill’s financial ties to the emir of Dubai.

-What of campaign finance irregularities concerning pending litigation with Peter Paul?

-When asked about her claimed experienced dealing with foreign crises her advisers could not come up with anything

http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2008/02/pregnant_pause.html

Senator Clinton’s efforts on ethanol overlaps her husbands interests http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/28/us/politics/28ethanol.html?_r=2&ref=politics&oref=login&oref=slogin

Tony Rezkos contributions to the DNC (Even the DNC during Bills Presidency thought he was reputable)

http://images.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/fecimg/?20035431471

http://www.margieburns.com/blog/_archives/2008/2/2/3501879.html

The Arab link – Hillary said the Sovereign Wealth Funds ought to be scrutinized with more openness (Las Vegas debate Jan 15) how is she going to do that – Saudi Royals gave $10m to the Clinton library, Clinton is the investment adviser to the Emir of Dubai at $10m a year both countries operate significant sovereign wealth funds buying up strategic American business.

Will Hillary declare her family interest in assisting a Dubai based company which wanted to take over an American company that operated US ports, an attempt blocked on national security grounds?

Will Hillary declare her family Chinese interests in a Chinese company wanting to acquire 3Com an attempt blocked on national security grounds?

Where does she stand on foreign banks operating through sovereign wealth funds taking over American banks? )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvyGZUGZEpY

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/us-cites-concerns-sovereign-wealth/story.aspx?guid=%7BA0C6D031-4CB2-4955-BAE2-6F9E9A1F6B48%7D

Did the Clinton campaign reassure the Canadians then turn around and blame the Obama camp?

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080305.wharpleak0305/BNStory/National/home

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/03/06/clinton-campaign-denies-canadian-report-on-nafta-comments/#comment-682549

Hillary’s claim of experience, national security credentials and other embellished claims are without foundation or substance but based purely on name and face recognition. It is time she was taken head on that name recognition does not imply trust and most certainly not experience. Being supported by four Generals does not make you a General!

They say by not placing his hand on his heart for the playing of the national anthem or not wearing an American Flag pin Barack is not a patriot. Well what about Bush the elder?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQKd4Rgdwpo&feature=related

Barack must challenge Hillary with her over inflated sense of self. Bring back that advert “Hillary will say anything and do anything but deliver nothing” it works and sums her up!

We are winning the Texas caucus and we raised $55m in February and have topped 1,000,000 contributors. We still have a lot to shout about!

I am fired up and let us put some heat up Team Hillary!

GO OBAMA 08

Should the US talk with its enemies?

Ricardo — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 20:29:45 EST

The 3 most totalitarian high powered regimes on God's Earth namely Saudi Arabia, China and Putin's Russia are ALL key allies of the US. Add to that Pakistan and you wonder who is naive?

Take Wahabi Saudi Arabia the home of Bin Laden the mastermind of 9/11 where women cannot vote, public floggings, stoning, amputations, castrations and beheading are common place yet the US sells them some of its most advanced weaponry and see it as a key ally. Lets pray Bin Laden does not succeed there like the Ayatollah did in Iran then we shall see whose policies threaten the security of the State of Israel.

The irony though is this; it was Russia that sought to influence Cuba by attempting to install missiles there that led to the embargo over 40 years ago. Putin of Russia is now Bush's best friend and communist Russia is a NATO partnership for peace (PFP) member but poor Cuba is still being punished. Is it because Cuba is a Latin/black / mix race nation?

What must be understood is that countries around the world feel that USA only talks to tyrants who are armed to the teeth. Russia, China & Pakistan all possess nuclear weapons. No dialogue with North Korea until it developed at breakneck pace nuclear weapons. You now start to understand why Iran and countless others are hell bent on acquiring these devastating weapons. They see them as the ONLY means to receive US respect; to be taken seriously, to be invited to the negotiation table.

Contrary to US perceptions, such arrogance occasioned by an inept display of double standards diminishes the respect for the US around the globe because other nations witness these acts and inconsistencies.

Look at the recent complaint by the Secretary for Defence that NATO allies are not pulling their weight in the war against Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. If the US thought so highly of that fight, how come it has spent in the intervening six years, the equivalent of what it spends in 3 weeks in Iraq? If a phoney war in Iraq is more important to the US than the fight against the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, why should others take it seriously?

When it comes to foreign policy, Barack is streets ahead of the Bush/Hillary/McCain/Neo cons failed strategy going back years. To understand this new argument, you need to be able to see yourself in the eyes of those who are not Americans. Only Barack can see this and it does not surprise me that a lot of Americans cannot fathom what to most non Americans is just simple commonsense!

To Disappointed Hillary Supporters

Ricardo — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 23:36:15 EST

For #24 JM (and all other offended Senator Clinton supporters)

It is time to accept that in a democracy (that includes the Democratic Party)a candidate can lose and except in Russia and China to name but a few, no candidate is inevitable. I can accept that like must Senator Clinton supporters you bought into this inevitability ruse hence the scale of disappointment.

Inasmuch as I commend your recognition that Senator Obama has been very dignified in this campaign, I think your disappointment for your candidate is leading you to make unsubstantiated allegations about young Obama supporters. I have found, in the main, some Hillary supporters like her surrogates to be rude, arrogant and offensive but I will not allude that to ALL of her supporters. I will not sanction any 'young' Obama supporters being insulting or offensive towards their elders or women after all they must have mothers too. No doubt some may misguidedly view this moment as 'pay back' time for the taunting and arrogance of some Clinton supporters but I think those are the minutest minority.

For yourself and others who cannot over come your disappointments and plan on voting against Obama instead of for McCain, it is a free country and a Democracy so your are entitled to vote as you please and live with your conscience thereafter for a hundred years Iraq war!

May I ask you one honest question and hope for an honest answer? On the basis of the campaign run thus far for the nomination; organization, style, management and efficiency could you place your hand on your heart and tell all on this blog that you believe Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has been the most effective, efficient and therefore most electable candidate?

You can blame Obama for trying to and being on the brink of denying your candidate the nomination but you cannot blame him for what is a woefully run and inept campaign by your candidate. And if the Republicans are as deadly as everyone claim, how will Hillary beat them when she cannot run a campaign? It does not matter how good a chef you think you are and how many Michelin stars you possess, if diners do not rate your culinary skills and cuisine or perhaps your attitude, you will receive no custom and you cannot blame the well run local steak joint across the road simply because some of his diners have a penchant to demonstrate their love of his cuisine at times too vociferously.

Visit the Obama site for 10 minutes. Witness the dynamism and enthusiasm. I wager you will find it hard to leave.

http://www.barackobama.com/index.php

Perhaps also look at his issues page for what he stands for.

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/

Campaign Finance - No promise to keep

Ricardo — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 14:09:57 EST

Campaign financing like other esoteric issues are being used by the coalition of Clinton-McCain axis to attack Barack and Obama supporters who unwittingly fall for this ruse will deliver the election straight to that coalition but in the person of McCain.

Public financing? Who is the public? We are the people are the public. Here are 5 reasons why Barack MUST NOT abide by this or fall for the ruse!

1) He is financed overwhelmingly by ordinary people. The same people who will put a tick on their tax returns to indicate acceptance of a few cents extra tax for campaign financing. The only difference here is that the public are taking ownership of the process and giving directly to Barack by-passing the establishment

2) He unlike Hillary and McCain does not accept Federal lobbyist, PACs or corporate lobbyist money for his campaign

3) McCain is being forced by his bankers to accept Public financing as collateral for that loan he took to finance his then bankrupt campaign. He is being compelled to accept Public financing as a requirement of his loan and NOT as a voluntary measure in the spirit of Public financing and is being disingenuous to pretend otherwise.

4) Barack unlike McCain and Hillary has released his tax returns demonstrating he has nothing to fear from being open

5) What the Republicans want is a Democratic candidate who is proven to be able to organize and raise finance beyond their wildest nightmares. If they can tie his hands so that he is restricted in the amount of finance he can raise, they then can rely heavily on their 527 swift boaters to do the extra campaigning for them outside of the election campaign finance rules.

This is not a simple case of Barack keeping a promise. The McCain Hillary axis have a whole different reasons for playing this ruse but it is an argument that as I have demonstrated, Barack can win! Do not be fooled!!!

How Do We Attract The non College Educated Low Income Voter?

Ricardo — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 07:36:38 EST

College and degree educated people like us. The young and smart love us. How do we get the so called 'DUMB'(literally) people to our cause? Sure I know by not calling them 'dumb'. But seriously how do we do this?

I have been on blogs where people STILL talk about
- not placing his hand over his heart during the pledge of allegiance when in reality it was during the singing of the National anthem; for which it is not mandatory to place ones hand over the heart.
- About 15 millions not being covered in our health care plan, when in reality Hillary cannot even say how she will enforce her mandate.Fines? payroll deductions? And what if people do not pay the fines?
- believes anything written by liberal academics in their NYT blogs attacking both our health care and social security plans.We have as yet not fully countered these effectively!
- About Barack being weak on pro choice despite the evidence to the contrary.
- That Barack is a Moslem even though it has been shouted from the mountain top that he is a Christian who attends The United Church of Christ on the South side of Chicago.

I could just go on and on. These so called 'dumb' Hillary supporters without a college degree and who tend to be poor earning less than $55,000 are very dogged, hug web blog comment forums and you can reason till you are blue in the face and still will not sway them! Are we being too intellectual in our arguments even at the blog level and not effectively debunking the deliberate and misleading statements that play on the ignorance of these people?

Lets seriously discuss this even if for a few hours so we can come up with a plan on how to go out there and pierce that armour of the deliberate misinformation and indoctrination of the so called 'dumb' and ignorant.

L

My Experiences On The Road And Why I Support Barack Obama

Ricardo — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 13:55:37 EST

Hi Reggie,

I am not an American but an admirer of the true ideals of that blessed land. I admire Senator Obama even more for his quest to bring some hope, sense and sanctity to the Presidency. I preach love of the USA on my wide travels around the European continent and the wider World and I can confirm from my personal and close observations and conversations that the United States will be ABSOLUTELY MAD to let this man slip through its fingers.

Let there be no illusions about the fact that the World I see, from professional neuro-surgeons through to cab drivers, all races and all sexes are holding their breath for the Senator to triumph. People think it is incredulous how the Clintons are behaving and yes foreigners do not get to vote in US politics, but since you cannot seem to keep out of ours and our daily lives, we feel deserving of making it absolutely clear that there will be a groundswell of international hostility towards a President Clinton. How will she command respect telling others about Democracy when the World in an information World has been privy to and watches her twisting, turning ducking and diving, in the wind of campaigning and her subterfuge? Where will be her moral authority in challenging Putin of Russia about democracy or speaking with or chastising Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe or Kibaki of Kenya about unfair electoral practices?

Not only that what happens in the USA must be seen to matter but so must the perception of how it happens. The sense of nepotism and electoral abuses, lack of candour and the telling of damned lies just to win power at any cost leaves a very bad taste in the mouths of those who thought democracy was democratic, that the voter was respected by the politicians and there was an honourable code of conduct that treated as taboo deliberately misleading or misrepresenting ones opponents views. What benchmark is being set for the rest of the World to aspire to?

And how does anyone trust a politician who blatantly abuses their position of trust with that portion of the electorate; those who are not fortunate to possess the powers or means of analysing the subject detail at hand and therefore cannot see the wood from the trees? One could argue that a politician will do anything to get elected but it was also HOPED that in the event of such blatant abuse the rest of the honourable political class would rise up and chastise such blatant abuses. Perhaps the publics only recourse must be cynicism and apathy because they possess absolutely no power for there is no such creed as honour in politics and the entire electoral process is a very expensive and elaborate sham, hence the streets are on fire in Nairobi soon to be joined by other places.

After 9/11 I felt American in weeping for that senseless loss and this was felt by countless billions around the globe. But then we were very disappointed and betrayed by USA. I hope we are not to be disappointed again. Yes, politics is adversarial, but it must be conducted in fairness and with honour.

USA, Democrats, the World is watching and listening and listening very intently!!!

The media around here are only waking up to the phenomenon that is Barack.

I was having a conversation as passengers do, with a Moroccan taxi driver in Amsterdam in September. He seemed beaten by the system and was down with the perceived lack of US even-handedness in matters affecting the Middle East and the Iraq debacle. I told him the USA was not that bad. He laughed but when I told him about Barack, the first time he had heard his name; he pulled to the side of a busy street in Central Amsterdam looked me straight in the eyes; his welling-up with tears (not the Hillary kind) and said, "if what you say is true my friend, then there is a God in heaven, and there will be peace here on Earth". He went home to tell his family and his friends. He is not American but like me and countless billion others we can feel that message of HOPE Senator Obama speaks about, thousands of miles from your shores. That quintessentially, is the power of Obama!

No I am not an American and can neither contribute to the candidate nor vote but I have extended family in NYC and Ohio all Baracking from my influence. I do spread his message and campaign of HOPE. And as you can see I do blog for him but not been too active lately because I just had an operation and not allowed to sit down. I got out of hospital early so I can still be involved in any other way legally albeit lying flat on my backside!!!

He is a good man and the World needs him!!!!

Re SHAPE , it will be worth the campaigns while to contact the US NMR in Mons Belgium. Let every American who can get to hear about Senator Obama’s message of HOPE hear it! And may whatever you believe in guide you and protect you to make the right choice diligently and with honour the WORLD IS LISTENING AND WATCHING VERY INTENTLY!

OBAMA for the World, Heaven knows we desperately need him!!

My Experiences On The Road And Why I Support Barack Obama

Ricardo — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 08:45:43 EST

Hi Reggie,

USA, Democrats, the World is watching and listening and listening very intently!!!

The media around here are only waking up to the phenomenon that is Barack.

He is a good man and the World needs him!!!!

OBAMA for the World, Heaven knows we desperately need him!!

Judgment And An Organisation Rotten To The Core

Ricardo — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 08:46:43 EST

It’s interesting that people seem to dwell on the Clinton's as the PAST saviours and on the economy I shall give some credit. But here are some facts. It was Bill then and Hillary now. Please try and distinguish between Bill & Hillary

And guess what, Iraq is projected by the IMF to grow by at least 7% in 2008. Why? Well some guys and gals in Washington decided to invade the place against commonsense back in 2002 so there is where your hard earned dollars are being invested and spent to get the GOP and their Democratic war mongering supporters off the hook of a war that should never have been authorized or waged! Who in the Democratic Party voted for this debacle?

Well, it was not the… the so-called rookie.

Who spoke out the strongest against the war and predicted the thousands of lives that would be wasted and the billions in dollars that would be squandered?

Well, it was not the so-called seasoned pros and their ex president husbands. It was the so-called rookie.

So now you have it! Iraq booms and you get to pick-up the tab. Oh, and loose your homes while you do it. Great for having all these very so-called experienced people!

Look at home the campaigns are panning out! It gives you a snapshot as to how the candidates will run their administration. The last time I looked the so-called experienced and seasoned pros have had oh, 3 to 4 resignations and issued as many apologies.

Is it malice, incompetence, lack of judgment or all of the above?

A POTUS and HIS administration must avoid any one of these. To suffer all 3 not once, not twice but 3 or 4 times points to an organization rotten to the core!

Have Faith And Hold Fast!

Ricardo — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 00:38:35 EST

The time will soon dawn when the new age of Aquarius will reign supreme over Pisces. A new order of hope, unity and fraternity shall replace despair, division, and selfishness.

Have faith in the sanctity of the wisdom of the dispossessed and keep building our coalition of hope and reawakening. The rulers of the old age of Pisces will fight till their last breath but do not despair for it is preordained that their age shall come to pass.

Surely you witness the evidence in front of you. For in a field of thorns you follow an orchid. In an age of politicians you are led by a statesman.

Go forth and proclaim the arrival of the man bearing refreshing cool water to quench an agonizing thirst; the thirst for transformational and charismatic leadership, the thirst of serving the many and not just the few, the thirst of inclusion and not exclusion and the thirst of hope rather than despair and fear.

Blogging on NYT - Spreading the message

Ricardo — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 21:34:13 EST

#136 E. O'Neal
The let Obama wait his turn argument does not cut any ice. In agreeing with Bill about "rolling the dice" I assume you also support his assertion of Hillary's experience. please educate us in Hillary's executive experience!

Failing that tell me which of the candidates on both sides has the experience of a Chinese attack on Taiwan or an Iranian attack on Israel?

Failing that which of the candidates on either side has a better executive resume than Rumsfeld and DC?

Why stop there, there could be a nuclear war with Russia. An asteroid may be heading for collision with Earth oh, and Israel may attack Syria.

Nobody in the field has that experience and by the way, nor does Bill Clinton. It is all FEAR MONGERING!! When the REAL argument is lost the last resort of the fact-less defeated is FEAR MONGERING! The thing with fear is that at some point, the people stop being afraid. It is called exasperation. The American people are tired of being afraid! They worry more about the loss of thier FREEDOMS. Remember that word? Wire taps, imprisonment without charge.....while the elite gets away with murder!

To address your fears, true leadership is in preventing China in attacking in the first place. It is in stopping Iran attacking in the first place. That comes from having sufficient relationships around the World so that you are aware of what is really happening on the ground. It comes from not being afraid to speak with people you disagree with. In talking directly with people you may disagree with, you can also leave them in absolutely no doubt of your response in case of an infringement.

It comes from GOOD JUDGMENT not a long resume!

I believe you are a part of that tiny minority who still do not get it!

But let us keep on talking.

Handing Over The Baton - The End Of An Era

Ricardo — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 23:53:38 EST

The negative ad peddlers will not dare to attack Barak now. Not in New Hampshire. Iowa has proven that it hurts to run a negetive and an undisciplined campaign.

To use racially coded attacks will not work because that will be asking for political suicide with SC around the corner. Bill's over-strenuous efforts in Iowa means he has nothing left to say. Besides those 19-25 years olds who overwhelming support Barack do not give two hoots about the Clintons and are more than likely to be disgusted with the Lewinski debacle being revisted in their researches.

The Clinton's are discovering painfully that they are past their sell-by date. When was the last time a Clinton was involved in real competitive politics? Remember that people running away from challenging you because of fabled and over-hyped political machinery is not a test! The inadequacies of that machinery were clear for all to see in Iowa.

The baton is being handed over. It can be done with civility or the hard way through electoral humiliation. The choice is the Clintons.

Obama has demonstrated superior organizational skills, leadership, motivation and candour. He single-handedly, doubled the Democratic Iowa Caucasus turnout and won all the key constituencies proving his electability. What else does Democrats including the Clintons wish for?

Obama will make history. He will be POTUS. But it does not need to take the utter humiliation of the Clinton's to achieve it. That choice is the Clinton's to make. Run a decent campaign, avoid fear and rumour mongering, avoid dirty tactics and allow the voters to decide on merit. Then and only then will there be the chance of defeating John Edwards for second place so Hillary can claim her come back kid status. And lose the process as she will but with some dignity.

A New Beginning, A Paradigm Shift

Ricardo — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 04:40:26 EST

Happy New Year everyone, why are we surprised that Barack leads in Iowa? I have been trying to convince you all along not to believe in all the Hillary and MSM propaganda and Bill’s attempts at subterfuge and his rewriting of history.

Obama will win by double digit figures to lay to rest the ghost of the Clintons once and for all thanks to the Clintons themselves.

There is paradigm shift, people! Wake up and embrace the world's gift to America in the personification that is Barack Obama. He will win all the early primary states too in near double digits. And guess what 99% of all the people commenting here on the site (including trolls) will vote for him as POTUS after they witness the world’s reaction on the morning of 4 January, when the news of his Iowa victory will sweep the globe and stay front page news item longer than even mans landing on the moon.

The world is waiting for America 'to get it' and announce Barack Hussein Obama formally to the entire globe and signify the final transfer of the baton.

This is paradigm shift people, the birth of a new era! The 2000 generation!

The fun part will be watching ALL the so-called experts lose face and credibility big-time! A lot of humble pie is to be eaten and old careers brought to an overdue but abrupt end, including some significant personalities in Washington.

A new beginning all round!!! An America repaired and a world healed that can breathe again.

It Is Judgment - Stupid!

Ricardo — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 23:41:35 EST

We need President Barack Obama in the White House. The world needs Obama NOW!

To pretend to misunderstand Mr. Axelrod’s statement on the assassination of Mrs Bhutto and implying that Hillary has to take responsibility for her vote on the war in Iraq, the MSM are being disingenuous to a fault!

To claim that it is not known who assassinated Mrs Bhutto is clearly symptomatic of a lack of education or of its application by deduction.

Mrs Bhutto on retuning to Pakistan vowed to defeat the extremists. She is a staunch Western - US ally. Al Zawahiri, Al-Qaeda's number 2 issued an edict calling on all followers to GET RID of her because he stated that she was a desperate attempt by the US to hold on to power in Pakistan.

No doubt statements will surface as they always do in these sorts of situations by Bhutto herself predicting her own death, by terrorists from Rwanpindi, Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and accusations about state agency complicity within Pakistan itself.

The only real conclusion is that Pakistan the second largest Moslem country, nuclear armed, bordering Afghanistan and infiltrated by the Taliban and Al Qaeda is in turmoil. The extremists Taleban Al Qaeda axis is in the ascendancy.

The question that intelligent men and women should be asking is why? ANSWER - The war on terror which should have focussed on the Taliban Al Qaeda axis in Afghanistan to ensure a stable nuclear Moslem Pakistan is being waged, misguidedly, in Iraq. Who voted for that war? All the current Democratic contenders including Hillary Clinton supported and voted for the war in Iraq. The sole exception was Barack Hussein Obama, he spoke out publicly against that war.

All those experienced foreign policy advisers could not tell Hillary not to vote for it. Bill Clinton ex President called it wrong too and did not tell Hillary not to vote to it. Hillary and her supporters have every reason to be very very worried. The consequences of her vote are now coming home to roost!

The stakes are indeed very high. But it is not about foreign policy experience. IT IS ABOUT JUDGMENT!!!

The US is now seen as having no plan C. Plan A– Musharraf failing but could be helped by the US committing resources away from Iraq to Afghanistan something Obama has been calling for for over 4 years. Plan B – Bhutto has failed. Is Pakistan now destined to become the next failed state like Afghanistan? Pray that the answer to that question is NO!

Deepest Condolences - Benazir Bhutto

Ricardo — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 13:48:41 EST

Benazir Bhutto was a very courageous leader in the very dangerous business of Pakistani politics. Our condolences to the Bhutto family, friends and the Pakistani people.

It is always inappropriate at times like these to be talking politics but this is Pakistan; an ally, nuclear armed, Islamic nation, next door neighbour to Afghanistan where the real war on terror embodied by the fight against the Taliban Al-Qaeda axis has been abandoned by focusing on the misguided misadventure in Iraq.

Again, modern Western and American foreign policy is found wanting where we cannot turn our backs on Pervez Musharraf who is struggling to maintain order or democracy in Pakistan, the Pakistani military whose intelligence agencies harbour Al-Qaeda sympathizers and are enemies to democracy because we put all our eggs in one basket and let ourselves no room in which to manoeuvre.

We need an Obama administration that will reach out from Iowa to Rwanda to Islamabad. An administration that will view the world’s many conflicts from a different perspective. An administration not hamstrung by past allegiances and failure to make bold decisions from a global viewpoint.

The world demands a new kind of politics; where poverty and the lack of education anywhere is an enemy to people everywhere, because when the wealthy west fails in the promotion and encouragement of western values through education and civil support structures, that void is filled by extremist’s propaganda that preaches hate and intolerance, interracial and inter religious internecine.

There is no man better equipped in this world today, to deal with these complex and competing sets of challenges facing our world today.

Amen To The Reverend Joseph Lowery

Ricardo — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 23:13:57 EST

I have just seen a video of the Reverend Joseph Lowery Posted by Michael Blake Obama HQ:

Video: Reverend Joseph Lowery in Des Moines, Iowa - Dec 3rd, 2007 at 8:55 pm EST, and I hope you can all spare the five or so minutes it takes to watch it and listen to him speak. It has moved me very deeply. And in danger of appearing sentimental, I only wish to add this.

For all those who hunger and thirst for justice, fair play and a piece of the American dream, Reverend Lowery just spoke on your behalf. Please take heart that what he is telling you in that very short but eloquent message, is that Dr King’s dream shall come to pass.

That coming of the glory of the Lord, where a man is not judged by the color of his skin but the content of his character, where by an all inclusive system, America will finally tap into its considerable pool of human talent and present the true face of its capabilities to the World.

That promised land where Blacks, Whites, Jews, Moslems and Gentiles hold hands and sing in that old Negro Spiritual; free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, We will ALL be free of fear, free from divisions, free from broken promises, free from outright lies, free from the conquest of the weak by the strong, free from prosperity for the few and mass suffering for the rest, AT LAST!

I hope and pray that Reverend Lowery gets through to Dr King on his new cellular phone. I know Dr King will be delighted to hear the confirmation of the coming of that prophesized Kingdom! Yes we have come a very long way, but we still have some way yet to get there. But we ALL know we will get there.
Please continue to help us make that Promised Land a reality and to get that news to Dr. King!
Make a Donation: Link

Your Brother and Friend

Ricardo

Not Taking The Fight To The Enemies Of HOPE!

Ricardo — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 21:39:20 EST

It is noteworthy that since the ABC News – Washington Post poll of last week which showed Senator Obama enjoying a lead by a whisker, albeit within the margin error, there is a certain amount of confidence added to the attested panache of the Obama campaign. On the other side of the equation, Senator Clinton now speaks in terms of the under-dog.

In asmuchas this a welcome boost of confidence to the Obama campaign and a belated wake-up call to that of Hillary Clinton, we members and supporters of the Obama camp must exercise extreme caution not to start prematurely portraying ourselves as front-runners. It always pays to be the under-dog!

The hitherto, strident and at time acerbic criticism and manipulation of Senator Obama’s stances seem to have abated a little in the MSM; lending credence to the fact that everyone likes to back a winner. I would however, attribute this slight but discernible change in tack by the MSM to the shock of the realization that this race, the caucus and primaries are not going to be as they have hyped themselves into believing; a coronation but rather one of a hard fought nomination.

I detect a comforting switch in Senator Obama’s oratory, perceptively starting with ‘I as your President...’ which demonstrate a certain degree of belief that is being re-affirmed by polls which demonstrates that Senators Clinton’s inevitability has been a sham and a charade orchestrated by a well heeled campaign apparatus aided by cronies in the MSM.

As a supporter of Senator Obama, I am delighted by the positive turn of events however; my head tells me that we abandon the ‘under-dog’ tag at our peril. A lot of the support that Senator Obama has and continues to enjoy is as a consequence of people’s anathema to having a Clinton coronation shoved down their throats. The fervent and at times fanatical support is driven in part by a person voters perceive as flawed and secretive not opining about what she stood for but assuming and taking for granted their votes. Senator Clinton lately is opening up to discussing her opinion and clarifying her stands. I argue that it is not as yet too late for her to start to engage the voters in this election and we who support Senator Obama ignore this fact to our peril!

Health coverage

There is still a need for clarification on the issue of Senator Obama’s healthcare coverage. Not that he is not right in his proposals. But that there is now an easy sound bite being spread about regarding its lack of universal coverage. A point being hammered incessantly by Senator Clinton that fifteen million Americans will not be covered. There is every case for Senator Obama to go out with a response on both the stumps and also on television.
Senator Obama even with some more benign coverage by the MSM will still be foolish to rely on them to carry that message of his explanation and on his behalf. He stands for everything they are afraid of. It has also been one of their key roles for the Clinton machinery that they push her story and stands. They will do Barack no favors!

Immigration and Driver's License

On this very sensitive issue, and I say this because it was clear to all who watched the South Carolina Democratic debate and witnessed how Hillary shifted and obfuscated that it was a subject she has been warned about. My point is also supported by the fact that the New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer who proposed the issuing of driving license to illegal immigrants dropped it in the face of mounting opposition. We may see these as cowardly acts by people who did not stand by the courage of their convictions. But as people supporting Barack’s running for President for the general and wider good of America and the world, we must be attentive to the fact that we have to pick our fights strategically. There will be many things we can stand on with conviction and consequently we must choose our battles wisely.

Senator Obama’s response during the subsequent CNN Democratic debate in Las Vegas was in my view, one of the best answers he has given on any issue, but it was drowned out by a partisan crowd and compromised by the shenanigans of the moderator who made it out to sound like he was being evasive.
Here too, I believe a clear statement carried in an advertisement is required to banish that wrong accusation and the perception of evasion created by it.

Iraq & Iran

Whether we like it or not, there is beginning to be a perception by the American people that the ‘surge’ in Iraq is working. It is achieving results. We cannot be seen to fail to commend the armed forces of the United States, who have borne the brunt of this costly misadventure, for having managed to stem the tide of growing sectarian violence.
Ordinary people get their information from the MSM. The MSM are feverishly pushing a notion of a working surge.
Paying some homage to the troops will not be accepting that the original decision to invade was not flawed, that the management of the aftermath was not botched, that the strategic planning of an exit strategy was not a shambles. Here we need a switch in tactics. Clearly, the soldiers led by General David H. Petraeus have done a commendable job, which actually shows up the initial and original political ineptitude which led to the debacle in the first place.

Barack should have no problems making this case. He never attacked General Petraeus when he visited Congress to report on his progress. Not attacking the General was right in that you do not shoot a messenger doing a difficult and dangerous task left over by incompetent politicians, and now seems also to have been a very smart tactical move.

It does not, however, stop Barack ramming the point home that we are back to where we were some 2 years ago. And that committing more American military might and its associated cost in lives lost, injuries sustained; physical and psychological and not to mention the cost in treasury, does not make that original inept decision of an invasion right. And it most certainly does not let those who lacked the courage to stand against that invasion off the hook.

There is even more ammunition now to be added to the argument in today’s announcement of an agreement between President Bush and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for continued American military presence in Iraq of some 50,000 troops. That is between two and a half to five divisions. The only purpose for such strength is to engage in combat operations. The fact that the troops will be stationed outside of cities is neither here nor there. In fact that will ensure that it is will be easier to attack those troops without much collateral damage to civilian or civil infrastructure, which never played well even with Osama Bin Laden. The cost of force protection necessarily will also be enormous!
The message in the agreement is very clear indeed. America will still be conducting combat missions in Iraq for a generation. There will continue to be American casualties in Iraq for a generation and the American treasury will continue to borrow vast sums of money from international bankers who make up the Federal Reserve Bank for a generation. Oh, and people will continue to be shot or assassinated from the front since only assassinations from the back of the head are counted as assassinations and therefore sectarian.

Parallels with Pakistan

The fact of an alliance; and this is a particularly tenuous one, between America and a Shia dominated government supported by Tehran that fails to find political accommodation with the other sects of Iraqi society; Sunnis and Kurds will invite further conflict where America is perceived as the protector of an exclusive government. The consequences will be that any failings of that government will be laid at the door of the US occupation forces.
Any notion that only America can guarantee and protect the Iraqi constitution against subversion and subterfuge, in itself will render that constitution unacceptable to factions within that country because the constitution will be seen as having been imposed and only held together by the force of American military might.

Any Iraqi government or regime held in place by fear of retribution from a powerful supporter, the United States, is guaranteed to become unpopular. You only have to look at General Musharraf of Pakistan. The irony is that he only receives American military and economic aid. Just imagine how fractious that situation could be if American soldiers were actually stationed on Pakistani soil.

There is still a lot of explaining and clarifying to be made. Let us not get too comfortable in a front-runner status by allowing Hillary to assume the mantle of the under-dog. The case must continue to be made on health care, immigration and driver’s license and also on Iraq.
There is no better messenger to carry ones message than oneself. Especially on media which demonstrably have been hostile at the least and benign at best, to Barack’s message.

Confidence breeds’ confidence, but over confidence breeds disaster. You only have to look at Hillary’s campaign for evidence of that.
The fight has not even started yet! And we must remain very focused and to continue to make the case that Hillary still is the favorite, is the Washington insider, has all the cards in her favor including most of the leading liberal press and that we continue to plead for peoples support. We are still the underdogs all across the nation.

I am at times surprised by people being surprised that newpapers such as the New York Times and the Washington Post will come out against Barack. These papers are Clinton papers. They represent the status quo and will fight Hillary's dirty wars for her. It is going to get dirtier folks so be prepared.

Just one plea; please do not send Barack in to this battle with his hands cuffed behind his back. He needs to respond when attacked directly or indirectly. And where it is necessary for him to be on the offensive, then an offensive posture it must be. Remember he is running for the POTUS it may sound Catholic, but he is not running to become the next Pope!

He Who Dares, Win!

Very Serious Issues Still To Be Addressed

Ricardo — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 21:34:02 EST

Health coverage

Immigration and Driver's License

Iraq & Iran

Parallels with Pakistan

He Who Dares, Win!

Clinton: Restore U.S. leadership. Rebuild middle class

Ricardo — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 19:46:35 EST

As usual Hillary is penning grandiose and over inflated opinions of herself as in the Des Moines Register this day 20 November. I should spare you the link in case you feel nauseous.

Looking at the comments on the site of the Des Moines Register Iowa, it is clear Hillary's inflated opinion of herself is fooling no one.

If Hillary had remained Hillary Rodman, she most probably will still be practicing law in a junior position in that Rose law firm in Little Rock, Arkansas.

This is a snippet from her bio:

1976-1992: Attorney at Rose Law Firm in Little Rock, Arkansas; named partner in 1979.

1978: Bill Clinton elected governor. Hillary Clinton continued to work at Rose Law Firm, the first first lady of Arkansas to continue to work while her husband is governor.

It is telling that she was not even elected a partner in the Rose Law Firm until Bill was Governor. Hillary has achieved very little on her own or by her own ability. Being a Clinton has been very good indeed to Hillary. Not so much the strong woman, but that of the girl who gained advantage by marriage! And there is nothing wrong with gaining advantage through marriage but that ought not to be used as a statement of qualification for the highest office in the World. Particularly at a time when cool and sober analysis is called for instead of entrenched and narrowed tunnel vision. It is a time that calls for principled politics not focus groups led experimentation.

For a person with the so called ‘experience’ as Hillary claims to have, she makes what is supposed to be a light commentary about learning about Islam from Chelsea. This is not an issue such as learning about The Giants or The Knicks!

It reminds me of an American President who went to war under false pretence, did neither research nor read the history of the land he was invading. And when informed that the Sunnis, Shias and Kurds were at each other’s throat, retorted, “ I thought you said they were Moslems!”

Looking at Barack’s bio, he never married a Clinton, made all his decision without the influence of favoritism or nepotism.

He is not driven by power for its own sake, hence his innate ability to face off critical issues and remain true to his creed; service to the people, openness and candor in his pronouncements.

Take a glance at his background, his upbringing, his constituency and admire where he has arrived in his life. Even Hollywood could not have dreamt of such a story!

But I wager that is not even half the story. Because Barack Obama even today has done more to the principles of service and candor in public life than any candidate in the last 20 years.

Barack the person, the man has already won! He is already a success! The issue is will America be deserving of the talent, qualities and the unique ability of this man?

The World is watching if America is indeed as dumb as it is reported around the globe or that the collective conscience of this ‘once’ great nation is due for a serious correction!

Looking around this campaign site and seeing the dedication and commitment shown by people most of whom hitherto, would have just shrugged their shoulders and accepted the status quo, I am emboldened that the silent majority has been stirred and a quiet revolution is in the offing.

It is great to be alive! It is great to be part of this campaign Keep hope alive!

Go Obama

Hum Like a Butterfly & Sting Like A Sting Ray

Ricardo — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 20:43:32 EST

This Is Not The Time To Be Mr. Nice Guy.

Senator Obama is doing nicely thank you. But there is still a lot more to be done. And we all must gird our loins and put our backs to the test of lifting our candidate to new heights.

I am aware there is now musings about not appearing to criticize Senator Clinton too much. That statement starts on a falsification that Barack attacks Hillary. Hillary was first to draw blood and Barack responded by defending his position through elucidating the differences between them.

Barack cannot be seen to be giving succor to Hillary. Let us be frank. Barack did not start the mudslinging. Hillary did with that infamous 'naive' comment.

Barack must differentiate himself vociferously from Hillary. Reason Hillary is popular in national polls are simply because Democrats see her as a candidate for 'change’, as in change from Bush Republicanism. If Barack stays quiet and does not make enough noise to be recognized as an alternative and not just change of party or administration, but change as a cohesive and well thought out meaningful change to believe in, Hillary would have won by default.

Call for peace amongst the Democratic hierarchy, who by the way, has already nominated Hillary means not making distinctions between ourselves and Hillary; a campaign to whom distinctions and clarification of differences are viewed as mudslinging and an anathema. Note, when the debating started Hillary was saying “there are no differences between us”. In that coded language is also the notion of I do not have to say anything, take any position or show candor adopted by that campaign, and because we had no differences it did not really matter if she never answered a question forthrightly or made obfuscation her central tenet. All this is a ruse to which we must not allow ourselves to fall for. It’s a false peace and a false choice. It is synonymous with heads I win, tails you lose!

The day we accept that Barack plays along demurely, and GOD forbid, is the day Hillary does not only affirm her establishment nominee status but also the peoples.

I am also for peace and niceness, but not acquiescence. These are such dangerous times, we need a candidate who can confront real issues, is not secretive, can admit to mistakes and level with the American people and the wider World. He will need us more than ever. For only our support deep down and entrenched from the grass roots level can sustain and protect him.

Barack’s ideas are now gaining ground even among Republican politicians. In the old adage keep your friends close and your enemies even closer, I received an email from Newt Gingrich entitled “Winning the Future” (sounds like hope in disguise) from which I have lifted the enclosed statement.

A Good Idea From Sen. Obama That Should be Implemented Now

When he visited the headquarters of Internet search engine giant Google, Inc. last week, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) had a good idea that Congress and the President should support.

Sen. Obama said that as President he would encourage more public interaction with government by putting government documents and legislation online for all Americans to see. He also said he would appoint the nation's first technology chief and encourage public participation through Internet forums.

These are good ideas that the President should make his own. He could accomplish some of them by changing government regulations. The rest he should challenge Congress to pass in his State of the Union address next year.

Here's wishing you and your family a safe and happy Thanksgiving

Your friend.

I believe passionately that Barack will win the nomination and become POTUS. But it will not be handed over on a silver platter. And we, the supporters, must be ready to be in the trenches and claim ground, a yard at a time, and policy initiative by policy initiative.

The current campaign strategy is spot on. Do not even contemplate going soft now! Hum like a butterfly but sting like a sting ray.

New Barack site for FACTS!! http://factcheck.barackobama.com/

He Who Dares, Wins!

The Opportunity Cost Of A Dumb War

Ricardo — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 23:00:18 EST

This week the Democratic dominated Congress issued as assessment of the true cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as being some $1.5 trillion. This looks at the realised costs which includes the $804 billion that the White House has requested plus the opportunity costs in loses in productivity, investment, increases in the world price of oil on the commodities exchanges as a direct consequence, costs of lost earnings and services required by injured and affected veterans and other anciliary costs.

For this war to be costing nearly twice as much as what had been estimated is not only worrying in its confirmation of the catastrophe now befalling the United States. Catastrophe in terms of the cost in human life and treasury of a war that should never have been authorised and never should have been waged, is made worst by the fact that it is directly affecting the basis of American strength, the American economy.

This week we have hints of a President prepared to veto bills that supports the departments of Labor and Health and Human Services. We have a President who is supported by 10 House Republicans unwilling not only to support the Labor, Health and Human Services bill but also the proposed $35 billion expansion of the state Children's Health Insurance Program.

And therein lays the tragedy of the war in Iraq. We as a nation have a President prepared to spend $1.5 Trillion on a needless, unnecessary and dumb war but have no sensitivity or shame about denying our children, your children health insurance of $25 billion.

The American middle to lower classes has had to tighten their belts so much during this disastrous Presidency while those at the very top who never needed or required any extra excesses were granted tax breaks.

And what do we have to show for it? Sub-prime lending scandal that is festering and with the potential for a banking crisis which does not appear to have as yet abated.

And what do we have to show for it?, the once mighty Dollar slowly and inextricably descending into melt-down and with it the savings and pensions of lower and middle class Americans.

We have to wake up as a nation to the very serious harm being done to our Economy by this War in Iraq. Is it any coincidence that the US Treasury is borrowing huge sums of money from the very people we ought to be guarding ourselves against? We have spent $1.5 Trillion on this war which is same as the money we have borrowed from China.

What happens when the Chinese like the rest of the world decides to abandon the US $ and dumps the US Treasury bonds they currently hold?

Why did our so called ‘experienced’ leaders sanctioned and went to a dumb war funded by borrowing from our strongest challengers for global influence?

How do we even begin to hold back the global ambitions of China when they are funding our War in Iraq?

And here is the irony of it all for the American people. We went to an unnecessary war supported by the vast majority of people here campaigning to be President because they believed that it would make them look tough and America strong. In actuality, it makes us look not only weak but also the laughing stock of our enemies.

In the single most important decision that this nation has had to take in over a generation, we bankrupt our nation, because we did not have the foresight or the strength of character to pause for reflection, or found the time to have read the minutiae of the text of a resolution before writing the blank cheques. Cheques we continue to write today! And we still insist from the President and his men down to Senators that we are doing the right thing.

Let the voters of this great nation stand up and pass very severe judgment on the sheer incompetence and abrogation of duty by the very people with whom they believed they entrusted Americas well being.

The very people who talked tough on security only managed to erode without historical precedent our liberties.

The very people who talked of defending freedom only managed to attack its basic tenets with wire taps, imprisonment without trial, secret renditions and Guantanamo.

When the chickens come home to roost as they will, and the great American public is asked to make further sacrifices, will the members of Congress who so supinely went along with this war, be the first to forfeit their lofty healthcare benefits and forgo their generous pensions in solidarity?

It is time to turn the page on the waste and corruption in Washington that is literally crippling America. The days of business as usual are over. The days of Washington style text book politics are over.

Our smartest leaders always left America in positions of strength in the midst of crisis, from George Washington to Abraham Lincoln, from President Eisenhower to John Kennedy to Ronald Reagan. Surely, the American people have the right to ask the baby boomers crop of Politicians what legacy we leave to our children, their children and grand children apart from apathy, cynicism and mountains of debt?

Let us join together, you and me, Democrats, Republicans and Independents, Red States and Blue States, Black and White and usher in a new dawn of repairing a broken America and a despairing world.

Barack Who?

Ricardo — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 22:37:05 EST

We have had some quiet moments during this journey. Some of us have despaired when poll after poll indicated what we knew in our hearts to be inaccurate. Some of us ( I am guilty as charged) have felt sheer frustration at the Clinton bloggers surreptitiously attached to the MSM about their slanted and unbalanced views and reporting. We have cringed at the easy passes that at times the Senator from New York appeared to have been given.

But did we really ever lose HOPE? How could we possibly do that? When you have absolute confidence and faith in your candidate you just keep grinding on and on. If you want to see the determination of some of Obama's unsung heroes ( and there many of us) manning their posts at the unfriendly blogs, visit any anti-Obama blog and notice the venom and ferocity with which supports treat unfair, misleading and misrepresentations about our man. How about the hundreds of volunteers who just keep on pushing the message day after day, in Iowa, New Hampshire, …?

Finally let’s give the American voter some credit. “You fool me once, shame on you….!”

The Senator from New York and her people are very worried indeed. Barack is clearly in the ascendency. Because his message is that of sincerity magnified with absolute clarity. What you see is what you get!
Look out for former Hillary supporters who would want to get aboard the train of HOPE and please treat them with affection and make them feel at home because our campaign is their natural home same as for Republicans and Independents.

Oh! And keep that Champaign on ice we still need to stay sober for the next few months.

Well done so far Barack and the Team. But a very special well done to you, the tireless supporter on the stomps, galvanizing support through rain, wind and some sunshine.

Remember and be proud that we supported him when it was not popular to do so. Barack who? They used to ask. Not anymore.

Fired Up and I am Already There Firing Others Up!

God bless

Ricardo

Hillay's Bloggergate?

Ricardo — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 09:14:58 EST

For those regular visitors to my blog who may have spotted my blog "An Open Response Katherine Seelye of 3rd November and may have perhaps felt that I was over the top, I hazard a quaint explanation. I have always tracked the various blogs on those liberal MSM that tends to give short shrift to coverage of Barack Obama. These have tended to be in the main, The New York Times, Washington Post and LA Times to mention but 3 key ones.

My frustration with their slanted blogging is not to do so much with the fact that they hardly have any articles of substance or the fact that Hillary’s news decorates their front screens etc. It is the fact that they try to pretend to be even handed by posting Obama stories that attracts Obama supporters only to discover that the headlines are not backed-up by the substance of the details.

Call me paranoid but I have analyzed three articles written by Katherine Seelye on Barack Obama in the recent past for comparisons as to the depth and slant. The articles were about Greensville S.C - Baracks civil rights speech, Spartanburg S.C - Baracks speech at Converse College and lately Stephen Colbert’s attempt at registration to run for President in S.C. Note that the latter was neither a speech nor was it anything to do with Barack himself or directly linked to any action by him.

The first two speeches by Barack received universal acclaim as being some of the most important speeches he has made since his anointment at the Democratic National Convention of 2004. And credit where it is due, Ms Seelye was complimentary of the Spartanburg speech calling it a "a corker of a speech".

The problem though is simply this, the two articles Glenville S.C. speech and Spartanburg S.C speech which as I said earlier received universal acclaim were 591 word (2675 characters), 618 words (2891 characters) respectively.

The Stephen Colbert article a very negative item about how some Obama supporters in N.C stopped the comedian from Comedy Central an S.C. native from registering to be on the ballot there was 768 word (3675 characters).

The headline for the incongruous story was as you can imagine in the sensationalizing and time honored slanting that Ms Seeyle is renowned for was “Colbert vs. Obama vs. S.C.” As to why Ms Seelye choose that headline is only known to herself and?
But it was a clear message that Barack Obama was attempting to subvert democracy by stopping a son of South Carolina from standing. Worst was to portray him unfavorably in the eyes of younger voters who may have found Mr. Colbert’s candidacy entertaining.

In a tight race this could draw local animosity towards the candidate and cost him precious votes. All this and Obama was neither at the event nor had he issued any instructions to anyone to do that. And here is another interesting factor in this slanted journalism as operated by the New York Times.

“Those lobbying against Mr. Colbert included Don Fowler, the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and the husband of Carol Fowler, the current chairwoman of the state party.
Mr. Fowler distributed a letter to council members saying that Mr. Colbert “seeks to make a travesty of our primary.” In his letter, he raised the specter of the 2000 presidential campaign, saying that if Ralph Nader had not drained votes from Al Gore, Mr. Gore could have been president. Mr. Fowler said in an interview that he had heard some concerns expressed by Obama supporters that Mr. Colbert might siphon young voters away from Mr. Obama, but that was not his motive in urging the council to say no to Mr. Colbert”.

The question is simply this, after reading the insert, will any fair minded person or journalist put that heading for the article “Colbert vs. Obama vs. S.C.”?

So I guess what you are wondering is what has this to do with Hillary Clinton? Read on.

At a convention of left-wing bloggers last summer, Hillary Clinton announced, “We are . . . putting together a network in the blogosphere.” She is alleged to have helped in creating and funding MMA – Media Matters for America. That bloggers affiliated with CIM – Centre for Independent Media who own MMA are surreptitiously funding certain bloggers to favor Hillary’s campaign and by default, tarnish her opponents be they Democrats or Republicans.

Could Ms Seelye and other Hillary cheerleaders be getting generous cash "fellowships" from CIM?
And is it remotely possible that the Democratic front group Media Matters for America could be paying bloggers to destroy the reputation of other legitimate Democratic candidates in this election?

There are those who argue that Democrats must stick together and not attack each other. Hillary even after calling Obama “naïve” before changing her tune to that of Obama’s pretend in public that she is above the fray and will not resort to attacks on her fellow Democrats. Of course she can afford to pretend to take that high ground because she may be operating by stealth behind the scenes. That is what Barack meant when he described her as being “disingenuous”.

This is not a fair fight. It never was!

If an Obama supporter in S.C. arguing for something in her own constituency is a reflection on the candidate and thus a headline item, how come when a Hillary supporter who called for Tim Russert to be shot after the Democratic debate during a Hillary campaign conference call, was not linked to the candidate Hillary as a headline news item in the New York Times blog?

The bloggers always have the last words. Numerous times I have written responses to Katherine Seeyle’s blogs in support of Barack only for it not to be published. Editorial privilege but no journalistic integrity!

For Katherine Seeyle’s slanted article on Colbert vs. Obama vs. S.C. see link:

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/colbert-vs-obama-vs-sc/

For Hillary’s behind the scene manipulation of Bloggers see link:

http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/hillary_blogger/2007/10/18/41954.html?s=al&promo_code=3BA

An Open Response Katharine Q. Seelye NYT

Ricardo — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 19:06:08 EDT

Dear Ms. Seelye,

I have followed your blog mainly for its blatant Clintonesqueness. I cannot believe that these opening lines are yours "SPARTANBURG, S.C. — A quick note to say that Barack Obama just unleashed a corker of a speech that had students here at Converse College on their feet and cheering".

Girl, I know it is a very small step but you are beginning to sound like you may have seen the light! AMEN to that!

For all you Clintonians out there without a single intellectual argument why "SHE" must be President than America is not ready to elect a Black President or that “SHE” is a WOMAN, a truism (sorry, should I explain what that is?). Any attempt to twist voting records presented in such an ambiguous way as to be open to misrepresentation even when CNN tries to camouflage it, and then hark on about a non appearance to vote on a resolution the timing of which shames some leading and prominent Democrats who ensured that as many of their fellow Democrat Senators could not vote on it. Just read the opening lines of Ms Seelye, she is your torch bearer. Or should I say used to be your torch bearer (Ms Seelye?).

The 'former' spin mistress of the Clinton campaign knows a bad week when she sees one. And I also suspect that Ms Seelye, who is in on the inside of the Clinton campaign, is getting to her 'aha! Moment’. With the skewed press, misrepresentations, disjointed blogging dressed up as journalism, Obama is still getting through and is still around. They have swatted, shifted, obfuscated, misrepresented yet the guy like a terrible cold (forgive the analogy Obamists) is still around and keeps clipping Clinton around the ears every time she opens her mouth. This is precisely that. Hillary must be banned by her campaign from opening her mouth because it would appear that each time she does so, she puts a foot right in it! Not opening her mouth will not make any difference to the substance of her campaign anyway. She neither says anything of substance nor gives any answers of candor.

I also suspect that the ‘great’ strategy by the Clinton campaign team was that they will keep Obama quiet by the use of the exasperating ' what happened to the politics of hope?' remark. A remark which I must say they started using so prematurely that when they needed it most, it had lost its novelty. Now they realize that they misread the script. That hope, spoken about so eloquently by Barack Obama was never meant for him to abscond or shirk his responsibility as a man who is very serious and passionate about the issues he talks about affecting America, Americans and the World at large. That responsibility means he could not possibly stand idly by when some pretender to that sacred office so blemished by the last two Presidents waltzes and polka around key and pertinent issues. Barack Obama is in this race not to make a name or score a cheap political obituary or legacy as the first Woman.. sorry first black President. He is in it to CHANGE the world and America with it and nobody or nothing Clinton or Giuliani in that order must be allowed to stand in his way.

I argue that Ms. Seelye has just woken up to that realization. And I welcome you Kat, (may I be so forward?). Perhaps you can also start to spread the Gospel about Barack. You know he is decent, true and genuine. Best of all you believe he is what America and the World need right now. Let the people who follow your Blog know what you now know. Do not wait till the penny drops because you cannot use ‘If I knew then what I know now!’ It has already been taken by .. ehh Hillary!

Peace sister!

Ricardo

An Obama supporter (And proud of it)

Now The Penny Drops! - Hillary's Aha Moment

Ricardo — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 22:25:49 EDT

I have sifted through a lot of articles from the mainstream media and blogs that normally pandered to the Hillary campaign and I notice a seismic shift in opinions and perceptions upon the realization that perhaps the Democrat Senator from New York may not be so invincible after all.

Today is quite remarkable in that there are no less than 2 major u-turns from Hillary and her campaign on very serious issues of substance; on strategy and character and on both these key issues, clarifications have either been made 'illegal immigrants having driving license', or on the question of the designation of the Iranian Republican Guards as a terrorist organization' a letter has been sent to the President in an attempt to dilute a bad decision exposing yet again the bad judgment by Senators including Hillary Clinton in yet another blank check for the President on Iran.

It is also interesting to note that save for the Hillary Campaign's head of strategy and perhaps the man on the other side of the Moon, none of the commentators or bloggers thought Hillary came anywhere near winning the debate.

Barack did well in the debate, but so did John Edwards. Watch out for John Edwards. He is not out of this yet!

Here is a list of the more pertinent offerings. I HOPE you enjoy them, if only for the novelty factor, as much as I did.

For being made to show candor for once, read
Hillary Unhappy with Russert
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/hillary_russert/2007/11/01/45837.html?s=al&promo_code=3C52-1

Still flip-flopping after all these years
A Day Later, Clinton Embraces Spitzer’s License Effort (Could it be because Barack backed it?)
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/31/a-day-later-clinton-embraces-spitzers-license-effort/

Vaunted experience shielded from scrutiny may imply embellishment
Clinton Library Secrets II: Hillary trips over her sealed papers
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2007/10/hill-lib-1.html

Clinton Supporter in campaign conference-call calls for Russert to be SHOT!
Campaign call reveals Clinton debate concern
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/campaign-call-reveals-clinton-debate-concern-2007-11-01.html

….Husband's Political Methods, Minus The Savoir-faire?
Hilliam Clinton
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119387982857278558.html Will “The World Turn Upside Down”

Next year, when real voters actually join the process?
Mood-swing votes
Fed up with politics-as-usual conventional candidates, the public may well be ready to embrace innovative outsiders...
http://thephoenix.com/article_ektid50395.aspx

Why Is Barack "Pussy-Footing" Around Hillary?

Ricardo — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 21:23:30 EDT

I have been trying to figure out why My man and your man Barack seems ultra cautious when it comes to taking Hillary head-on and going at her with gusto. I, like most of you must be sick and tired of being sick and tired of seeing poll figures after poll figures that indicate that Hillary is going to walk this nomination process, even if we do not believe it.

You, I and America know who Hillary is, her negatives, the innuendos et al, so must Barack our man, so why is he treating Senator Clinton with such kid gloves? It is not any hidden desire by Barack to aspiring to be her running mate because I know deep in my heart that Barack will not accept second place in asmuchas a huge proportion of the Democratic Party machinery and some supporters will hope for. He is much better than that and acquiescing sets an unfortunate precedent that people of color are only good enough for second place which unfortunately most people of color, still insists upon. And I speak as a person of color myself.

Frankly, I and most people I know will not accept anyone for second place who did not believe and fought stridently that they were good enough for first place, in the first place!

John Edwards has set his stall naming Hillary by name and pointing out in no uncertain terms about her status within the ‘establishment’, her insider knowledge and dealings within the machinations of Washington and he is telling it as it is! So why is Barack pussy-footing around Hillary?

I suspect that the answer to the question is part of the strategy adopted by the campaign. I also suspect that as able a body of men they are, the campaign is struggling to counter that much vaunted question every time Barack asmuchas sneezes at Hillary, ‘what happened to the politics of hope’? spewed out by her campaign.

I should also mention that when Hillary thought she would score political points she did not shirk in calling Barack ‘naïve’ after that infamous debate. I am certain that picking up a fight with Hillary is very good indeed for Barack. It may not necessarily be good for the Democratic Party machinery. But at this stage I do not frankly give two hoots about that party apparatus. Barack must WIN because the DNC will not do him any favors and most important of all, his candidacy is good for America and the World and that is good enough for me!

Since I am not a paid member of the campaign staff but just an ordinary Joe exasperated about our lack of targeting probably the easiest target ever to get involved in Presidential Politics, I am going to hazard my thoughts about what needs to be done. And I am prepared to shout it from every roof top from here till kingdom come!

How important do we the supporters of this very gifted man want him to win the nomination and the Presidency?

How hard are we prepared to work to get him to start to take the fight to the one person who is the most likely to deny him that nomination not on merit, qualification or experience but by virtue of her privilege (as a once two time first lady) totally unrelated to her OWN abilities or record but on the back of her surname?

Do we believe that the campaign and our candidate sees the same urgency we do that draws us to rallies, meetings and other such gatherings?

And how prepared are we to make our views very powerfully known to both candidate and campaign that it is time the gloves come off?

Too many times I see fellow Democrats who endorse Barack go to great lengths to explain how they admire Hillary and what a wonderful person she is and why their support for Barack does not mean they dislike her…….etc. What bunkum! Do these noble people really understand what this is all about?

Please support Barack and talk about Barack and stop hedging your bets for incase! If you cannot be onboard the campaign 1000% then I am sure I speak for thousands of volunteers in saying please do not bother! When was the last time you heard anyone endorsing Hillary going to that length about their admiration for Barack? Please STOP DILUTING the message!

If I come across as exasperated or even angry to some of you, it is simply because this race, this event is oh so so important not just for America but the entire world. We may well be on the cusp of a war with Iran in the very near future people; a Bush scheme to assure that the next election will happened with a heightened state of alert because either America would already be at WAR or be preparing for one and on multiple fronts! And again the fair lady that is Hillary just as in the Iraq war has already signed that blank check for the President. For Hillary, it is only a game she must play to get elected. For the rest of humanity, it must fill us all with absolute dread!

So I ask the question again. If Barack and the campaign understand this simple analysis which a pea brain as I can, why is Barack pussy-footing around Hillary? How badly does he understand the need for him to be elected President of The United States of America and by default, of the World?

The World is watching this fight. And a fight it is. And a fight it must be! Hillary wanting to become President for the sake of it and to make history as the first female President, and the rest of us hoping someone more sensible like Barack will walk up to the mark and not want to become President as the first Black or African American President, but because the very dangerous times in which we are living DEMANDS it!

Oh! And as to that question ‘whatever happened to the politics of hope’? The answer is very simple. That hope was never meant for Hillary Clinton to become President. That hope is meant for American and the World to be united to fight the very real challenges that face us. Now that is real HOPE!

We are in a very serious fight people. It is not a fight we can even countenance the possibility of defeat. Not in Iowa, not in New Hampshire not ever! Once, when the World was faced with a serious threat of tyranny a very great man, Winston Churchill stood up against the odds and he persuaded the American people and the World of the justness of his cause and he prevailed. We cannot just talk ourselves straight to the American people as noble as that is and leave it at that, in the hope that they understand and make the right choices which if they do not, will lead us to certain defeat.
Start that very passionate education of the people as to what this is REALLY about. Let the people know that Hillary is just a distraction. Start taking the fight to them guys. It is not easy? If it were, I and thousands of others would be standing for President too!

The question is simply this. How badly do you believe the American people and the World need you, Barack? And how badly do you wish to lead us, Sir?

He Who Dares, Wins!

Barack, Hillary Neck and Neck in Iowa

Ricardo — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 22:15:27 EDT

It is now clear why in recent days the Clinton campaign had started to go very negative on Barack.

They obviously know something the rest of America seem oblivious of. All the propaganda about Hillary's coronation seems to be opening up at the seams as Barack starts to get recognition in the early caucus states.

The University of Iowa Hawkeye Poll of likely Democratic caucus-goers released Monday morning showed Hillary Clinton with 29 percent of the votes, with Barack Obama close behind at 27 percent. John Edwards trails with 20 percent.

Let the battle be joined. This sacred tussle, this solemn battle. This Barack Obama!

GO OBAMA

The World In A Barack Obama Presidency

Ricardo — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 21:47:33 EDT

Far Fetched?

Thinking Beyond The Conventional

Richard Boateng

22nd September 2014

A situation where Barack loses the Democratic nomination but his groundswell movement is such that he was capable of running as an independent and still wins the Presidency. The debate then started as to how the Democratic Party machinery so could not adapt its ways to accommodate the man to become the most popular American President internally and across the globe.

But it was not due to a system of biased or racist party apparatiks, simply one of a bad process in the simple act of nominating a candidate through the Electoral College, for nominating a candidate for the presidency. At least that was the story of the machinery of that party. In any event, America had a President who did not belong to either party but was as popular as they could come.

This man Barack Obama had United a much divided united States of America and restored global leadership that even the Russians admired. A reputation once so tarnished that it was safer not to acknowledge oneself as American, and all this in 4 years.

He had promised his family to devote 4 years to the life of transforming America. Now they wanted him back home. America and also the World, demanded otherwise. The most surprising thing about all this guys’ trumpeted success is that he did it by doing well, nothing!

He asked the two houses of Congress to meet in a joint session and said "this is our plan. Go do it!" It got done! Both houses were under the microscope. It has become politically incorrect to be seen as pandering to special interests. Consequently, they formed the committees and organized the groups around the policies and within the first term of his tenure, there was a new health system across America. A new tax structure and system where once disadvantaged Americans begun to get a good bite of the cherry.

American cars, today, are some of the least polluting on the planet! Japanese managers are in the US to learn about advancements in global environmental technology advancement and its integration into the factory floor practices. Oh, and US cars are once again out-selling their Japanese counterparts.

The war in Iraq had stalled. All energies were directed towards bogged down talks between all the interested parties in the region. Sure there has not been a gun fired in anger in the region for nearly 6 years. Al Qaeda wishes to negotiate a truce. They have become a sort of embarrassment to countries where once they were welcome. The UN are discussing with the group. The Secretary General announced that the Shiites through their Iranian cousins are prepared to meet in Riyadh-Saudi Arabia to agree the second phase of the Iraqi working party. Progress was announced on the restitution of returning refugees and UN agencies report brisk work in housing and settling returnees.

Jordan last week presented to the international forum agreement in principle for returning Palestinians to Gaza and the West Bank. The Israeli company responsible for the construction of the facilities for the 'returnees' as they are dubbed, promises delivery of the set of first sixteen condos on time and but slightly above budget due to a spate of official Palestinian intervention in the design of sports centre’s. The Palestinian Authority s refused to comment on the issue. The founders of the projects, the EU are led by France and the UK, as nominated by the Commission with Germany and Japan as contributors.

Wall Street did not respond positively to another reduction of taxes for middle income earners arguing it hurts the pensions of the very people it sort to help.

The chairman of the Fed when questioned about the spat insisted that "you cannot buck the market, but this is the kind of pain the American people can bear due to improvements in efficiency and global growth. The economy fuelled by exports has been growing at over four and a half per cent for over four and a half years. Mexican workers with special dispensation are helping to fuel the boom by providing a ready source of much needed labor and there is now a register of Mexican workers in the US. The hazardous and illegal border crossings of Central and Southern Americans into the US have reduced to a bare trickle.

American expats now spread across the globe in a new attempt to re-'Americanize' the world. US organizations are bucking the trend of out sourcing and sending its people into these places and adding a human feel. It is politically correct (PC) to be seen to be actively encouraging workers to go on tours of subsidiaries and affiliates to form bonds and build local contacts and knowledge. These have helped in a considerable spread of America’s influence. The government has incentives to encourage that.

Other foreign organizations are actively encouraged to have expats in the US. American academies have self imposed minimum floors of students they must have from different parts of the world" the Chairman said.

The White House spokesperson refused to be drawn into a political argument between the Fed and the "boys" on the Wall.

The IMF is asking governments to speed up the talks with organizations now vying for peace so areas in Afghanistan, The Sudan and other areas of conflict may be readied for development. Tourism to the Holy Lands quadrupled the last 2 years, the organization announced.

UNICEF is unhappy with the pace of settling returning refugees around the world and demanding improvements. The Security Council is set to sit in a special session at the request of its sister agency. It also complains that nearly all governments failed to meet their targets for the reduction in refuse and waste production. There is evidence to suggest that certain data provided to the agency may have been fabricated! Governments in tier 2 countries request assistance and time for compliance. The subject was also debated in the council.

In the agency's quarterly 4 page magazine distributed globally to secondary and higher education institutions, it also announced the appointment of its first African Female Editor.

Giving his last state of the world address on UN television and broadcasted simultaneously in 80% of the world’s countries, the UN Secretary General pronounced his organization satisfied with the progress being made but admitted that there can be improvements.

He affirmed what has been widely reported in the Worlds independent media, that there have been no new conflicts in the world for the last 2 years.

The World has never been safer!

Richard Boateng

22nd September 2007

Remarkable Achievements Thus Far - Well Done Barack

Ricardo — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 07:33:20 EDT

And to all those Democrats who bemoan 8 years of George Bush and all the talk of the stolen election, perhaps you would care to learn why Bush got in, in the first place?

Why was Hillary standing for election at the same time when all focus should have been on Al Gore?

Why was Hillary allowed to attend fund raising by Al Gore and allowed to pitch for herself when all focus should have been on Al Gore?

Did the Clintons actually quietly work against Al Gore for the specific reason that Hillary now runs for President?

It may seem insignificant but just think of this for a second. When people talk about the DNC, they talk of the Clintons. Here is a candidate being coronated with the whole of the DNC machinery behind her including the services of no less than Terence Richard "Terry" McAuliffe (b. 1957) an American business and political leader.
He served as Chairman of the Democratic National Committee until only 2 years ago and the most rabid fund raiser in the history of the Democratic party.
And what about her husband and probable first "Ladee" Bill Clinton?
All the main liberal news media wedded and bedded into the DNC do not even give Obama a look-in. They write about him in the negative, and every Obama piece has at least 50% coverage switch to Hillary, so that those who wished to read about Obama, actually end up reading about Hillary and her positives, yet the supposedly main piece on Obama is always in the negative. All this not with standing, Hillary has been out performed in fund raising. numbers of contributors and in rally attendance numbers by Barack Obama.

Obama deserves much credit for even being there to mount a very credible challenge. You do not raise the sort of money he is raising against the strength of the Clinton DNC machinery, which like a tidal wave, flows against him without having hit a raw nerve! That nerve called the need for a viable and verifiable change to the business as usual mentality in Washington and also with the rest of the wolrd. Even the DNC must be wondering if they are backing the right candidate. They can but be full of admiration about the prowess of Obama but woe about their intended coronation.

Take the DNC back and say no to dynasties.
Take America back from the the special interests and systems.
Rejoin the community of wise and sane nations.

Look at the numbers and what Obama has achieved to date. Without state lobbyists money and the help of the DNC machinery. Yes the polls tell a slightly different story. But it has to for now. But imagine if it didn't. Then there will be yet another coronation but of someone we are now learning about. It is all a part of the process.

Why are we having this debate? Because the Clintons DNC coronation is not going according to plan. Barack will prevail.He already has!

If you do not know about why Gore lost that election, and not just lamely blame the GOP then read this. You will see the whole process in a different light and you will see what Obama is up against and still setting the pace and agenda in this race and winning! http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/hillary_gore/2007/10/10/39785.html?s=al&promo_code=3B3F-1

Look At The Issues And Decide Wisely!

Ricardo — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 22:06:51 EDT

The debate must be engaged in earnest and let the personalities, characteristics and the demeanor of the candidates come to the fore.

Assume you woke up the morning after election night and the results are in. Imagine the news headline "..... elected president of the United States". Imagine the worlds reaction if that name is Hillary Clinton - former First Lady and New York Senator

Now imagine if that name is Barack Obama. And it starts "An American with a black Kenyan father and a white Kansas mother....."

I fear a lot of very well intentioned people do not grasp the extent of the issue of America's standing in the world and worst the precariousness of the current situation in the world with regards to issue of reconciliation between nations, across ethnicity and faith.

Nearly 200 of the worlds leading Islamic scholars sent an open letter yesterday to Christian leaders including the Pope, Archbishop of Canterbury (leader of the Anglican Episcopal) and the Leader of the Christian Orthodox Church.
The Islamic scholars speak of the world getting together for serious dilogue across religions to save the us from anarchy! They do not just wish for a talking shop or just platitudes but real change. It may sound far away from Iowa, but the consequences of the lack of talks are more far reaching. Imagine that you cannot carry a drink of water onto a plane and that is not even the worst part.

The question is very simple indeed! Who do we believe will best lead that necessary change? Whose background, education, experiences, understanding and most of all CHARACTER will be best suited to lead this change in that global debate and conversation?
Who is best suited to speak to the American people of the need for change in views and perceptions, ideas and ideologies held for generations?

There are real issues out there people! Issues affecting America but most importantly the entire globe. This is not partisan politics, this is not factional politics! This is a global crises! This is Earth crises! THE WORLD CRIES OUT FOR A NEW DIRECTION and frankly, business as usual and on the fly will just not do!

So choose wisely and please do not ignore the bigger picture. Its not only about changes in Washington, but Washington must sufficiently change to lead the drive and manage the very urgent and necessary changes across the globe!

I may be naive but if you believe all the posturing going on and the indifference or inability by some, to show passion and most importantly CANDOR then you are not being smart. This may be an election and its our only means to make fundamental changes to the way we do 'business', but for once this transcends politics. It is about the future of our world. Not just get Bush/Chenney out. No that will not do any more! Because the world is on fire and guess what? The USA is held responsible for that. Like or lump it. It will take an American of super exceptional capabilities to solve this in 8 years.
I know who that person is. Do you? I guess not. Because you never really understood the issues at stake. Hopefully, it is a bit clearer now.

Latest news about talking to foreign leaders without preconditions. The record has been set straight by Hillary. See it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-DVmkAAZHA

and how others view that change here:

http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/clinton_iran_negotiate/2007/10/11/40243.html

Hillary's Hypocrisy - The reBranding Of Hillary Clinton

Ricardo — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 00:35:09 EDT

It would appear that Hillary now is touting herself as not only the experienced candidate but also the candidate for change, (wait for it)and compromise.

I know that the Obama campaign team (our team) are focusing on the positives of our candidate but I am dying to have someone, anyone, take this flip-flopping candidate to task about her cameleon-like tendencies of ever changing colours.

How do you maintain an experienced and transformation footprint together? Put another way, a lion and an antelope in the same cage? I am convinced that the Hillary team do not comprehend the enormity of the task facing America and the scale of change required to pull the USA by the scruff of the neck back up onto the respected international stage, heal the internal divisions and make America work for the American people and not vested family and business interests.

We are talking the sort of change that, like a tsunami, sweeps everythng in its path and leads to a landmark and historic candidacy, which will be that of Barack Obama.

There are those who proclaim that the time is right to have a female president. Not necessarily one able to bring the American nation together and 'dry clean' its very stained reputation globally. To want a female president just for the heck of it, is to totally mis-understand America's problems domestically and on the world stage.

Besides, why must the first female president be a Clinton? I cannot believe that in a nation of over 300 million souls, two dynasties should hold the monopoly of office aided and abetted by the duopoly of the two mainstream political organisations and very serious vested interests. Will it be Jebb Bush next followed by Chelsea Clinton? God forbid!

Team Hillary must be worried sick that she tops most polls as not only the leading Democratic contender but also as the candidate with the most negetive ratings.

For those gripped by panic that the polls are not reflecting what they feel on the ground, I have this questions. When did those in power aided by their powerful vested propaganda machinery of media friends with very strong interests to protect ever detect the ground-swell of change before it happened? The answer is never.

One team though, does not believe in the polling figures that they so publicly always hawk in arguments for Hillary. That team is Hillary's own. If they believed she was doing so great, she would not flip and flop as much. She would not change her colors as readily and so unconscionably.

And fearing what Barak Obama stands for; the transformation of the USA and indeed the world, is anyone surprised that the otherside will do whatever to win? That the vested interests will not even allow him the light of day or space in their media for his arguments?

And if that require the rebranding of an establishment 'safe pair of hands' to keep business as usual, steady as she goes, then so be it. What the heck, it will be the Ordinary American that suffers and they have been suffering a very long time!

So Hillary has the experience to keep things as they are and the American voter has the experience of suffering and bearing it. Goes together doesn't it?

Hillary the candidate of experience, change and compromise? Do not make me laugh! Was Genghis Khan a Catholic?
Hillary the candidate for change who argues for business as usual?
Hillary the candidate for change who says a president should not be candid with the electorate, the long suffering American people?
Hillary the candidate for change who touts her experience yet there is no major legislation bearing her name?

Hillary the candidate for compromise who refused to change a single word in a healthcare Bill that was so dear to her heart but not near enought than her ego was so that her ability to compromise led to its failure?

A candidate for change whose sole purpose for running for president is not to transform America, but to score political points by ensuring there was a Democrat dynasty to rival that of the GOP and to settle a family bet with Bill? 'I can do what you can' sort of fued.

Somebody please start telling the story of Hillary....And I think someone started doing just that. Have a look for yourself titled
Hillary's hypocrisy by Dick Morris. It makes for compelling reading.
http://thehill.com/dick-morris/hillarys-hypocrisy-2007-09-05.html

Barack Comes Of Age - McCain's Own Goal

Ricardo — Sat, 26 May 2007 12:06:30 EDT

There is clearly no more of the phony war between the Cons and Hillary. The Cons through their ardent 'hit men' McCain and Mitt 'The bit' Romney targeted the true Democratic hopeful Barack today and ended up with eggs all over their faces. After Barack's response to McCain's jibe about waving a 'white flag', McCain hit back about Barack's inexperience and sought to correct his spelling of 'Flack' instead of McCain's 'Flak' jacket.
As it turned out, both spellings are accurate with Barack's choice less offensive and without any connections to Nazi Germany. Look here for spelling: Link

Now I am not here to disparage the record of a fine American pilot (McCain)who has fought for his country,even if he was shot down too many times for my personal liking or the fact that he spent a considerable time in a POW camp.

But surely, a politician and a supposedly soldier of McCain's repute would know that you can spell the ubiquitous flack/flak jacket both ways and that the later was derived from Nazi German terminology.

Does this qualify as political mis-judgment or just plain recklessness? Was it that same recklessness that led to Senator McCain been shot down more times than his peers during that war or just the fact that he is unlucky (unlucky McCain - lost a few attempts at GOP nomination too)? Neither of the options bodes well for Mr. McCain. We are tired of reckless Presidents or politicians and most certainly do not need a luckless one either.

If America wishes to look back on these truly disastrous Bush years with nostalgia, then please elect McCain. He'll make Iraq look like the Boston tea party.

So you ask why do I term this piece 'Barack comes of age?' Our man is taking hits. Finally he is recognized as a serious contender not just by the cons media that tried with the Madrasa jibe but this time a desperate McCain snarling and baying.
Now before you run for cover, hear me out. If the best these guys can throw at Barack is to target his spelling of a military colloquial, then I for one I am chuffed!! More of the same Senator McCain. More!!
Oh..! By the way, Barack's left hook response to the 'white flag' jibe I thought was EPIC! He is showing he is no soft touch or a push over.

Barack Is Our Candidate And Will Be Our President

Ricardo — Sat, 19 May 2007 23:38:43 EDT

Are you ready for the fight ahead?

The comments by Matthew Dowd about Barack; being the last best hope for both America and the World (my reading of it) does not surprise me. Here is a man once a Democrat but who worked to ensure the election of Bush junior because he believed in his message, giving tacit endorsement to Barack's ideals, style and conduct.

The biggest anti Obama camp today is the liberal media pundits who are mostly Democrat and whose loyalties are within a dynastic mindset. It is that branch of the liberal aparatik that feels obligated to continue with a Clinton dynasty by dusting up old surveys as to why a 'black candidates votes may be overstated in surveys' etc. The purpose of a story like that in the nytimes still eludes me.

I suspect there is a nostalgic penchant for the Clinton's, perhaps to replace The Kennedy's or to become the new American royal family. Because it is very clear that Hillary will not fine tune Washington to mend its ways; she is a product of Washington. Hillary will not unite America or win the World over. As good a Senator though she is, she just does not have the vision, conviction or charisma and do not be fooled that charisma does not matter.

I deal with Americans of all persuasions but mostly conservatives and it is very clear to me, that the Democratic candidate the Republicans would prefer to fight is Hillary. They find Barack quite daunting, his ideas and ideals almost revolutionary simply because he speaks a language they cannot fathom - HOPE! But the conservatives are keeping very quiet about him in the hope (with a small 'h') that Hillary gets the nomination.

It is astonishing that the people who use the words 'it is not Obama's time yet' turn to be Democrats. The inference being that certain people have the God given right to rule over 'others' and they must always have priority while 'others' wait their turn. America and the wider World cannot wait. So let us buck the trend of the dynasties and replace fear with HOPE!

Ignore the polls at this stage and keep focusing on the campaign and issues and building the great groundswell that is slowly but steadily awakening America from its slumber. Be prepared for some very tough and challenging times ahead. Barack has to set his stall, pointing the other way from all the other contestants in this campaign. It must be revolutionary, eschew the old type, style and presentation of politics. It has to be refreshing, frank and honest in its outlook and perception.

It will mean taking risks and that undoubtedly, will increase the incidents of mistakes and mishaps because he is human and like the rest of us must make mistakes. I certainly do not want a perfect President because he will not understand my issues and concerns and why I screw up as I do.
But when those mistakes occur and the tough times come, as they will, we must take heart from the fact that what Barack is attempting is something never achieved in the Western developed world let alone America.

The world that you and I aspire to usually comes about through bloody revolution. We aim to keep this one peaceful, without raising hellfire and brimstone. So lets give the man as much room and enough rope to make those very bold decisions you and I want him to make.

And on our part, we must stay and focus on the course by encouraging him, and lifting him up when he stumbles. For he is OUR Presidential candidate and will become OUR President. We must also remember that this race, OUR race, is a marathon and not a sprint and keep believing in HOPE!

Why It's A More Dangerous World

Ricardo — Thu, 17 May 2007 23:03:03 EDT

The issue of the taking as hostage of the British military personnel was just another example of a series of acts by Middle Eastern & Islamic regimes designed to test and stretch the Wests resolve and examine to breakpoint if it still possessed the backbone. This started with a North African country - Libya in the recent past shooting down an American aircraft over Lockerbie in Scotland, through to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and Operation Desert Storm, Then 9/11's unprovoked attack upon American sovereignty and the rest is history. Those of us in the West and most of our politicians (mostly incompetent) and our political commentators mostly blind, missed the bigger picture. And competition between Western nations that practice market economics (will come back to this topic) seem to overrule any studied political strategies and play things out as Anglo Saxons; Britain and the US versus the rest ( Spain, France, Germany.....). Schroeder the former German Chancellor is now a consultant or manager to a Russian natural energy consortium seeking to dominate Western European energy markets. This was the same man who made pronouncements about America which were of course music to Russian ears. We wondered why then, now we all know why.

President Bush once famously stated that he could see into the soul of Putin and that he could do business with the Russian President. Which is odd. He searches for WMD in Iraq and finds nothing but Putin's soul, something no one knew he was looking for.

What is indisputable in all the crises between the West and Islamic & Middle Eastern regimes have been the predominant presence of one core outside player - Russia. Who was there supporting and arming the Libyans when they shot down an American airline over Lockerbie? Who apart from Chirac of France, was Saddam's staunchest supporter and provided most of his military hardware used in the invasion of peaceful Kuwait and there after? Who is arming Iran and providing it with nuclear reactor technology? Who defends them and blocks resolutions at the UN Security Council? Who has the most to gain by causing turmoil in the Middle East? The answer to all these questions is the great duplicitous bear - Russia. I bet President Bush did not make these discoveries about his friend. Involvement in 9/11 excepted.

These are no idle accusations. And I am not for one minute suggesting that we prepare to confront the Russians militarily, but I fear the Russians are confronting the West in general and America in particular. The language coming out of Moscow in the past month has been bellicose to say the least.
The Russian connection to rising issues and tensions in the Middle East is a very disturbing one. And worst they always manage to trip the West up. War in the gulf will have two magical effects on Russia. It will treble their revenues from oil and natural gas through the soaring prices of those commodities. It will also bog down the Wests military, hurt our treasury and take our eyes off what is an exponentially rearming of the Russian military. Forget about looking at Russians economic figures which purport to show that they spend less than a fraction of their GDP on defense. We rely upon Russian governmental figures at our peril. Remember what President Reagan said to the Russians in arms treaty negotiations? 'Trust but verify!'

And who is helping the Russians in this massive buildup of arms and in their regaining their confidence? The West. Through the inept rush to investment decisions thinking we are competing with each other. We have taken our eyes off the ball of our strategic needs and only think of very short term paltry selfish economic interests. And we also blindly reward a man (Putin) whose natural instinct is towards authoritarianism by giving him legitimacy with invitations to prestigious Western meetings and gatherings such as the G5 or 7

Was it any coincidence that the Chinese Prime Minister was in Moscow just before the British naval personnel hostage crises the other week? Could it be that they wanted assurances that their oil supplies will not be disrupted by this unseeming flexing of Iranian muscle from their new allies, the Russians? And who is helping in the Chinese trillion dollar balance of payment surplus, a substantial part of which is channeled into military spending? The West. So we help build a new World Superpower right on the door step of one of our most loyal allies, Japan. And a certain powerful American political family has connections to the Chinese that may well make some of us very uncomfortable.

In a new world order. with Russia to the East, China in the Pacific and Iran (Persia) in the Middle East supported by Syria, Hezbullah and Hamas and Venezuela in Latin America. Who will they choose for Africa? China builds up the Sudan without helping to improve the lot of Darfur, and is currently cozying up uncomfortably to the rest of Africa. The Chinese Prime Minister recently cut a sway through Africa with a charm offensive and offering incentives to African countries such as cheap loans for infrastructure, something Mr. Wolfowitz ought to have been doing on behalf of the West in the World Bank, instead of playing doctors and nurses.

To compound an already bad situation, we hear of stirrings in Turkey, a Nato member, who are now openly discussing shunning EU membership for a tie-up with Russia and Iran if you ignore the internal turmoil of the strife about its elected governments hidden agenda against circularism. The Turks feel the West treats them with less respect so all that Russia has to do is pretend to treat Turkey fairly.

And on the very important front of the war against terror in Pakistan, Musharaf seem to be in trouble battling his own judiciary who are forming alliances with religious fanatics to oppose him. And this is nuclear armed Pakistan!

The very interesting fact about Iraq is the one untold. Which country was in the best position to have convinced the West & the World that Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction? The Russians. The only country with sufficient insight and intelligence into the dealings of the Iraqis were the Russians. But despite Mr Bush's friendship with Putin, the Russians did not try hard enough to convince him. Perhaps he was hell bent upon going in. And I do not seek to blame the Russians for a Western mistake.
Even the UN believed the Iraqi's had WMD. Why didn't the Russians try harder to avert confrontation? They were not going to intercede on the Wests behalf to stop us getting bogged down in an unwinable war that will not only exhaust our military and treasury but more importantly exasperate our civilians and ubiquitous public opinion, and make us the bad guys for a change and in the meantime, world oil and gas prices will escalate. Russia was in a win/win situation.

Did our leaders bungle? Sure they did. They only saw the short term expediency of a quick bloody nose and did not make the case for a sustained well thought out plan for a war of ideology and beliefs on several fronts. They were typically politicians instead of statesmen, and did not see the bigger picture and thought in terms of their own and quick political benefit. Perhaps I am being a little too harsh on them. They were too quick to believe in their own hype as to what was required to tackle the problem. The diagnosis may have been almost accurate based upon the intelligence but the cure or solution was fundamentally flawed. However, only men of substantial conviction could have stood up in the face of that determination to strike at our enemies in revenge when it was very popular to do so and excruciatingly unpopular to oppose. No wonder very few had the judgmental capacity to do just that.

So those British Marines and Sailors having been released after their enforced stay in Iran may be beginning to settle back into their military lifestyle. However, there is no guarantee it will not happen again. And next time we must be prepared for escalation; we must be very prepared that this may lead to war.
But it is not Iran or Iraq we have to fear. It is that invisible hand of a fast rearming puppet master that is Russia. The irony is that the Russians do not go to the UN when they want to crush Islamic enemies in Chechnya. Yet Putin, a dictator extra-ordinnaire, is feted by the West and invited to our glamorous world meetings which he milks to enhance his cult status while stifling debate and crushing democracy internally back home.

With our money through private investments by Western companies such as BP, Shell and their ilk, poured into Russian oilfields, they pump out more oil and gas to amass huge sums of foreign exchange which they could only dream of a decade ago. Russia now sits right behind the most important NATO offices under a partnership for peace (PFP) and all the while they scheme and connive for our down fall. But what did we expect? That they loved us for humiliating them in their defeat in the cold war? What we in the the West fail to understand from the Russians is that when they will, they will to win totally. Remember Germany and the iron curtain? They still believe we blundered massively when we did not go for the jugular when they went down after their defeat in the cold war. Now they are up again, thanks to us and they will be ready to fight again, but a very different battle. An indirect confrontation military or otherwise, and thrown in is a huge dose to winning World public opinion including those of Western friends and allies. This used to be called propaganda except this time they do not have to make up the stories because we provide them with sufficient ammo to gun us down every time through sheer ineptitude. As Lenin once said 'the West (capitalism) will provide the ropes with which Russia (Communism) will hung us'!

War in the gulf is in the strategic interest of Russia. The price of oil will surge upwards. The Wests armies will be tied up in an unwinable war. The oil supplies through the gulf will be disrupted. Western Europe will become more reliant on Russian supplies. And here comes the triple whammy; not just Western companies will be bullied to succumb or have their Russian assets re-nationalized or thrown out of the country which happened in Venezuela and has already happened in Russia with the renegotiation of contract terms, but our governments will be subjugated in the bleak mid-winter when we will need the Russian oil and gas the most. If you do not believe me ask the Georgians and Ukrainians.

This week Estonia a former Russian ally who has broken away from Russia in preference of the West and enjoys the most hi tech economy of any former Soviet Republic accused the Russians of a cyber attack on their internet and infrastructure that has rendered most of their ministries inoperable.
A former Russian spy, turned enemy of Putin, was poisoned in London with Poloniums and died not so long ago.

And our pensions will suffer. Why? The Russian national gas company, Gazprom, the world largest supplier of natural gas who controls or supplies half of Western European natural gas needs is to be quoted in London as a listed company. "We will target market capitalization of around $250bn-$300bn in the next 5 to 7 years. We would like to transform our company from being the world's leading gas company into a world leading energy company," says Mr Medvedev in December 2005. Gazprom is still 51% owned by the Russian state.

Soon Gasprom will jump to the head of the (Financial Times 100) FT100 of index of leading companies in London. More Russian state and semi-autonomous companies will follow suit.With the untold consequences of Russian manipulation of our financial markets. Are you beginning to see the bigger picture? So why did our leaders choose Iraq and now possibly Iran for a military adventure? I should leave that to historians. Russia will drive a wedge between the Western Alliance given the slightest chance. So with a divided West, bogged down in unwinnable battles and feeling the pinch in treasury and public opinion weary of fighting, they (Russia & its allies) can reign supreme and establish their new World order.

There are those who will blame the current conflict as the only reasons for all this. Yes it has a significant part to play in this but is not the only reason. Iraq was just a taster to see how we reacted. We did react. But the politicians were, well, politicians. We required men not of just ideology but those sufficiently selfless in the pursuit of the protection of the interest of the wider world, making the case to their populations and convincing them with a thought out plan and strategy and presenting those endorsements forcefully to the World public opinion. The current strategy, if indeed there is one, is that of the use of blunt force against our enemies followed by the spread of fear at home should the blunt force not succeed. The thing with fear is that at some point you stop being afraid - it's called exasperation and resignation. We seem to be fast approaching this. But we need a statesman of some considerable repute.Someone the World can trust to be fair, even handed and charismatic yet untainted with past associations.We must not engage in another arms race with its futility, waste and dangers. But if that is the only pursuit other than going to war then we must gird our loins and set to work.

In a world of untold dangers and threats, Russia plans portable commercial nuclear plants / reactors that float on water. Why? Because it was proven to be safe after the Kursk; a beleaguered Russian nuclear submarine sunk somewhere in the Baltic a few years back and its crew had to be rescued by British and other Western naval personnel. These and other irresponsible Russian commercial ventures such as the selling of nuclear reactor technology to Tehran must be tackled head on and Russia made sure of the Wests feelings in no uncertain terms.
For this to work Western public opinion must be mobilized. This will require American leadership of some considerable repute. Someone the West and wider World can trust to be fair, even handed and charismatic yet untainted with past associations and who displayed genuine humility and understanding of peoples concerns, fears and also aspirations.

Whether we like it or not Russia is in a more formidable position to form new alliances with formers friends of the West not by doing anything of any substance, but by just sitting back and watching the West make a monumental mess of things. That messing up starts with the ubiquitous Iraqi issue. These new alliances will significantly impact on Western security. We need very strong Western leadership not necessarily in the military sense but in the carrying of the international public opinion, and a new adventurism called diplomacy where we can see ourselves in others eyes.And also where arrogance is never substituted for quiet diplomacy taking on board peoples fears even when we fundamentally disagree with them. The new battles are not ones America or for that matter the West can win alone.

Now more than ever, The United States must stand up and be counted in demonstrating it's panache in winning arguments amongst intelligent and moderate states who still look to it for leadership. The Russian, Chinese, Iran, Syrian, Venezuelan axis must not be underestimated. They also have untold riches in treasury. We have ensured that. But they lack in charisma, conviction and frankly the personal touch and humility that makes one feel comfortable in dealing with them. No experiences by any of the 'old' political order in the 2008 Presidential race is going to prepare them for this new challenge. Indeed their very experiences and the fact that they have been part of the initial problem may act against them.

I was delighted that during the recent Democratic candidates debate, Barack Obama singularly refused to strike first and ask questions later should America be attacked. Commentators portrayed it as a weakness. The American people begged to differ. They suggested he won that debate. The tide against pre-emptive chauvinism may already be turning and it is about time. For the fate of American security and future influence in the wider world does not rest with any of the other candidates of either party. It is an issue they could not understand. And if they did understand, the wider world will not trust them. This truly is the moment for Barack Obama to rise up and be embraced by an exasperated America and a disappointed World. America can start to earn the trust of the World again, by indicating a dispensing with the old elite and the turning of a new page. There is still HOPE!