Bush, Clinton, Bush ... Clinton?

WASHINGTON - Forty percent of Americans have never lived when there wasn't a Bush or a Clinton in the White House. Anyone got a problem with that?

With Hillary Rodham Clinton hoping to tack another four or eight "Clinton" years on to the Bush-Clinton-Bush presidential pattern that already has held sway for two decades, talk of Bush-Clinton fatigue is increasingly cropping up in the national political debate.

The dominance of the two families in U.S. presidential politics is unprecedented. (The closest comparisons are the father-son presidencies of John Adams and John Quincy Adams, whose single terms were separated by eight years, and the presidencies of fifth cousins Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt, whose collective 20 years as president were separated by a quarter-century.)

"We now have a younger generation and middle-age generation who are going to think about national politics through the Bush-Clinton prism," said Princeton University political historian Julian Zelizer, 37, whose first chance to vote for president was 1988, the year the first President Bush was elected. And as for the question of fatigue, Zelizer added: "It's not just that we've heard their names a lot, but we've had a lot of problems with their names."

And now, if Hillary Clinton were to be elected and re-elected, the nation could go 28 years in a row with the same two families governing the country. Add the elder Bush's terms as vice president, and that would be 36 years straight with a Bush or Clinton in the White House.
Already, for 116 million Americans, there has never been a time when there wasn't a Bush or Clinton in the White House, either as president or vice president.

Does a nation of 303 million people really have only two families qualified to run the show?

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Hizbullah: If Israel attacks Syria, we'll respond

Senior members of Lebanese, Palestinian organizations vow to stand by Damascus if Jewish state launches war. 'Doors will be open which have not been open before. Israel will pay a heavy price,' they warn

"If Israel dares to make an adventurous move against Syria, it will pay a heavy price," a member of Hizbulla's political council warned Thursday.
In an interview with the Nazareth-based Kul al-Arab newspaper scheduled to be published on Friday, Dr Ahmad Malli warned Israel against considering an attack on Syria, saying that the Lebanese organization would respond to such an offensive with full force.

Tension
IAF sends fighter jets to Israeli-Syrian border / Hagai Einav
Syrian aircraft detected flying over Syrian part of border. After determining planes were not engaged in hostile activity, Israeli jets return to their base
Full story
"I believe that things have changed," Malli explained. "The times when everyone was afraid of the Israeli threats are over. The Zionist entity knows more than anyone that the price of such adventurousness would be heavy, and the Israelis know the price more than anyone.
"Since 2006 we have begun a new stage in the Arab-Israeli conflict and have demonstrated this during the Israeli aggression in July (the Second Lebanon War). If anyone wants to make an adventurous move, it will baer responsibility for this aggression."
Asked whether he was referring to aggression both against Lebanon and against Syria, Malli replied, "We are all in one Middle East."

Banner Sounds Off On Hip-Hop Lyric Controversy

Excerpt

September 27, 2007, 12:25 PM ET
Mariel Concepcion, N.Y.
On Sept. 26, David Banner joined fellow MC Master P, music industry executives and scholars to discuss offensive language in hip-hop music before the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Reading from a statement, the 33-year-old Mississippi rapper/producer tenaciously defended hip-hop from its detractors.During his testimony, Banner said, "If you fix our communities, we'll fix our lyrics." Asked how that would affect change, he tells Billboard, "In the Katrina hearing, one congressman asked, 'Haven't we done enough for Katrina?' They live in a world that we don't live in, and it's hard to speak for a majority when you don't live under the same conditions. People don't sing happy songs if they're broke.""Rap music does for us the same thing gospel did for the slaves," he adds. "We communicate our anger through our music."

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Pregnant Halle Berry receives death threats

Actress Halle Berry has been forced to hire security guards after being bombarded with death threats. The actress, who is three months pregnant with her first child, is reported to have received sickening letters from an anonymous person who has threatened to maim her and her baby. The letters are believed to be part of a race hate campaign aimed at Halle, 41, whose father is African-American, because she is having a child with Canadian model Gabriel Aubry.
Advertisement A source tells the Daily Record that one threat said the child would be 'cut into hundreds of pieces'.

The threats, which were sent directly to Berry's home in LA, are being investigated by police and the star has decided to pay for her own protection. "Halle does not normally use security," the source says, "but she has taken on a couple of guys to make sure nothing happens."

Police Find Swastika Cut Into Acres Of N.J. Cornfield

Back behind the towering corn is a message that can only be seen from the air.
It is one of the most infamous symbols of hate -- a swastika -- cut into acres of cornfields in Washington Township, Mercer County.

9/11 an Inside Job, by H. Titan, Ph.D

In the wake of revelations of murderous deception in the Iraq War, carried out by the Bush Administration, more and more Americans are asking questions regarding the basis for the US "War on Terror".

Half of New Yorkers believe US leaders had foreknowledge of impending 9-11 attacks and consciously failed to act; 66% call for new probe of unanswered questions by congress or New York's Attorney General, see Zogby, and thousands of Americans have signed a petition for a new probe.

A poll shows 89% of CNN Internet users feel this way and over 63% of Canadians feel similarly. On the 3 year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks 80% Al-Arabia satellite TV viewers thought others, besides Bin Ladin, were behind 9/11.

According to a July 2006 poll conducted by Scripps News Service, one-third of Americans think the government either carried out the 9/11 attacks or intentionally allowed them to happen in order to provide a pretext for war in the Middle East.

Numerous Washington insiders have also expressed their lack of belief in the Bush administration story. People worldwide began their own investigations. I especially like Prof. Steven E. Jones, Randy Louis, Mike Ruppert, Prof. David Griffin, Eric Blumrich, Roedy Green and of course this article. Very little if any of the information in these articles was disclosed by major media outside of Manhattan, although most of the information contained herein has been fact-checked by multiple newspapers and researchers.

On September 12, 2005 (4 years after 9/11) the Bush Administration released a less redacted version of the Zelikow Monograph. This report provides some details on the Official Theory but does not contradict or address the observations brought up in this article or other 9/11 articles mentioned above.

ANALYSIS: The clear loser from Ahmadinejad's visit is Israel

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to Columbia University in New York on Monday resulted in one clear loser: Israel. In his speech, Ahmadinejad took aim at Israel. If he managed to convince one person of his views on Israel and Zionism, then he has already gained. If he managed to persuade 50, then he has gained even more.For months, Israel worked fervently to prevent what happened on the podium Monday. For the duration of his speech, Ahmadinejad produced a televised illusion: It is not Iran versus the world, but Iran versus Israel. If he manages to convince enough people of this, the mirage could become reality and Israel would be isolated, and that is exactly what Ahmadinejad is trying to accomplish.The visiting Iranian even berated his listeners for condemning him before they had given him a chance to speak. He patiently explained that their behavior was impolite. He went on to offer a thorough explanation of his Holocaust denial. All he wanted was to promote research in the field, he said. How could an enlightened university that supports freedom of expression oppose that?The protesters outside only served to reinforce his claims, as many were Jews wearing skullcaps who carried signs protesting his Holocaust denial and calls to wipe Israel off the map. To many, this serves as further proof that Iran is only a problem for Israel, or at most for the Jews.Ahmadinejad aimed precisely for that. "It's the Israelis, stupid" was his primary message. Forget about the "Palestinian problem," Ahmadinejad was telling his listeners. "Instead, we need to solve the Israeli problem - and finally bring peace to the Middle East." While he did not explicitly reiterate his calls for Israel's destruction, in practice, the message could not have been clearer.The pro-Israel camp consoled itself with the knowledge that those who are familiar with the regional complexities, and with Tehran's antics, will surely realize the absurdity of Ahmadinejad's proposal.But the average American is not familiar with the regional complexities. He is tired of the region's fighting. To him, Ahmadinejad's idea may sound tempting.

Gangsta Rap, Dying in the Street

If I were a gangsta rapper, I'd be changing my tune. Not because congressional hearings on misogynous rap lyrics are slated for next week. And certainly not because a group of church folk held a protest last week at the home of a Black Entertainment Television executive who lives in the District.

No, what would concern me is the money. The hustle and flow are getting too slow. Rap album sales have fallen far faster than those for the music industry as a whole, plummeting 43.6 percent since 2000, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It's getting hard out here for a pimp.
Here's my rap on why: Gangsta rap is contemptible, the lyrics indefensible. The rapper isn't credible, just plain old irresponsible. And the public stopped being gullible.

Check out the results of a recent national survey of black, white and Hispanic youths by the University of Chicago. Among the findings:

72 percent of black youths agree that rap videos contain too many sexual references.

41 percent of black youths say rap music videos should be more political.

Majorities of all young people agree that rap music videos portray both black women and black men "in bad and offensive ways."

About 58 percent of black youths (ages 15 to 25) say they listen to rap music daily and watch rap music videos several times a week, compared with 45 percent of Hispanic youths and 23 percent of white youths. That's still a lot of youths. But interest in the genre is clearly waning. In 2006, rap sales were down 21 percent from 2005 and 27 percent from 2004.

This steady decline in demand has been all but obscured by anti-rap protests and misguided calls for censorship.

"We want media and music companies to develop universal creative standards for the music and videos they produce, market and distribute," says the Rev. Delman L. Coates, pastor of Mount Ennon Baptist Church in Clinton and leader of an anti-rap group called Enough Is Enough.

On Saturday, Coates and about 500 others, mostly church members, staged a protest in front of the home of Debra Lee, chief executive of Black Entertainment Television. They want BET to ban any show that "objectifies, degrades or promotes violence against women" and "portrays black and Latino men as gangsters, pimps, thugs and players."

And they plan on returning to Lee's home every weekend until BET meets their demands.
Nice try, Reverend. But we call that kind of censorship "Taliban-ing." And it doesn't sit well with the spirit of the First Amendment, either.

"I want the rest of you to come out and let the world know we are not pimps, gangsters and thugs and that our women are not sexual objects, not female dogs," Coates told the group. "We have to stand up and say we aren't taking it anymore."

But will anyone stand up against such movies as "American Gangster," which makes its premiere the first weekend in November? Will anyone be marching to protest Hollywood? Or will they all be inside the theaters watching Denzel Washington star as the gangster?
I'm betting on Denzel.

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Kanye West outduels 50 Cent

By Steve Jones, USA TODAY

Kanye West won in a landslide in his face-off with fellow rapper 50 Cent. West's Graduation outsold his rival's Curtis 957,000 to 691,000 in the first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan figures.

The two discs topped Billboard's albums chart, followed by country star Kenny Chesney's Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates, which sold 387,000 copies.

Graduation's sales are the largest since 50 Cent's The Massacre opened with 1.1 million copies in March 2005 and the first album to surpass 800,000 since West's Late Registration sold 860,000 copies in August 2005. Graduation also set a first-week record with 133,000 digital downloads.

"It's a great day for hip-hop and for artistry because people in hip-hop emulate success," says Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, president and CEO of West's label, Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam. "It signals that with the right amount of attention and a credible album, there is still an interest in buying physical CDs."

Jay-Z says West got a boost in street credibility with defiant single Can't Tell Me Nothing. His Daft Punk-fueled Stronger did well on rhythmic and pop radio stations. Most reviewers favored Graduation over Curtis.

Despite all the attention leading up to the Sept. 11 releases, it was the quality of music, not the hype, that drove sales, says Island Def Jam chairman Antonio "L.A." Reid.

He says the date was chosen to take advantage of West's participation in MTV's Video Music Awards two nights earlier.

And while the rivalry got people talking, such pairings are unlikely to become routine.
Competition is "invigorating to the participants and to the spectators," Reid says. "But if people think this is a new way of releasing records, they are going to be sadly mistaken."

The public was fascinated in this case thanks to the outsized personalities of the controversial rappers. For weeks, the debate raged on radio, TV, magazines and blogs.

Early on, 50 Cent, who previously had outsold West by a wide margin, declared he would quit making solo records if he finished second. He has since backed off, saying he has another album in the works (Before I Self-Destruct) and blaming his label, Interscope Records, for not promoting Curtis well.

A new version of 50's hit I Get Money (Billion Dollar Remix), featuring Jay-Z and Diddy, was released Monday. "We're still competing, but we're not enemies," says Jay-Z.

This week's numbers were good news for the ailing record industry. West, 50 Cent and Chesney sold 2.04 million albums combined to surpass total sales for the previous week's top 200 albums (2 million). Still, overall sales are down 9% compared with the same week last year.

Barack is the new 'bling'

Inspired by Barack Obama, or 'B-Rock,' rap artists are shifting focus back onto real-life issues and politics

By Sara Libby

Los Angeles - Rap stars have long been in the business of name-dropping. Louis Vuitton. Escalades. Dom Perignon. Even Holiday Inn gets its share of attention.
But more and more, hip-hop artists are doling out shout-outs of a different kind: presidential endorsements.

It all hearkens back to rap's roots – and suggests that an epic change could be in the making.
Hip-hop music was born out of racial and social unrest, and its earliest pioneers took seriously their roles as the pundits of the streets, addressing real-life issues such as racial profiling, political corruption, and poverty. Rap groups such as Public Enemy and NWA showcased the gritty, rebellious perspectives of an oppressed community.

Yet as the genre gained mainstream attention and began raking in Grammys and record sales, some of its biggest stars reduced themselves to touting bling, belittling women, and not much else. This year has been especially rough for rap music, thanks to Don Imus. The radio commentator's remarks had conservatives blaming rappers for creating an environment in which racist and sexist remarks are casually tossed around.

With all the finger-wagging that the genre has endured, it's made it easy to overlook the fact that rap has taken the lead in acknowledging what is promising to become a monumental presidential race.

Many of today's more socially conscious rappers are putting the spotlight back on political issues and candidates – and their go-to guy has become Democratic contender Barack Obama, or "B-Rock" as he was recently dubbed by Vibe magazine. Rap artist Common, whose latest CD debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts earlier this month, brags that he'll "ignite the people like Obama." Talib Kweli echoes that on his latest release when he says, "speak to the people like Barack Obama."

This brand of socially conscious rap has become unique in that it still has incredible appeal with young audiences yet doesn't necessarily resort to a dumbed-down agenda. Aside from the blind flag-waving kind of patriotism that has become a hallmark of country music, most of today's popular musicians tend to sidestep politics altogether. And top-selling pop outfits certainly never mention specific politicians.

It's easy to see why the hip-hop community is so excited by Mr. Obama's ascent. In him they see not only someone who is young, black, and, for many rappers, a native son (from Chicago) – but someone who acknowledges the badly broken political process that still marginalizes minorities and the poor. Indeed, Obama seems to address a need to fix the very conditions that necessitated the genre's formation.

Instead of rappers urging people to fight the power, their shout-outs to Obama signify a collective sense that they could actually "seize" the power. Instead of fighting the man, a black man could "be" the man. With Obama having a legitimate shot at becoming the Democratic presidential nominee, there exists a hope that has at least temporarily replaced sentiments of constantly being given the short end of the stick.

As Obama tries to appeal to a wide swath of voters, he has been wary of embracing hip-hop too openly. Yes, he's met with rap stars like Ludacris, but he also had some harsh words for hip-hop after the Imus debacle, saying that rap music lyrics include the same offensive language that got the radio host in trouble.

Still, rappers' frequent references to Obama show what an extraordinary cultural-historic moment the politician's rise to prominence has created for the hip-hop generation.

Meanwhile, the growing popularity of politically conscious MCs has changed what it means to be a star rapper. In outselling artists like 50 Cent, they've proven that their audience is ready to embrace a return to social awareness and focus on community.

McNabb tells HBO that race is an issue at QB position

Donovan McNabb says African-American quarterbacks are perceived differently than white quarterbacks in a wide-ranging interview that will air tonight on HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel."

In the conversation, which will be shown at 10 o'clock, McNabb also talks about the pressure of being the quarterback in this city and what it takes to tick him off. The interview was taped Aug. 31, an HBO spokesman said.

At one point, interviewer James Brown asks McNabb about how people perceive him as a quarterback, alluding to the lack of African-Americans at the position because some people thought "they weren't smart enough."

"There's not that many African-American quarterbacks, so we have to do a little bit extra," McNabb says.

When pressed by Brown, McNabb continues, "Because the percentage of us playing this position, which people didn't want us to play this position, is low, so we do a little extra."

Brown later pushes on with the race issue after McNabb talks about people's reactions to his play.

"I pass for 300 yards, our team wins by seven, [mimicking] 'Ah, he couldn've made this throw, they would have scored if he did this,' " McNabb explains.

Brown then asks, "Doesn't every quarterback go through that?" McNabb says flatly, "Not everybody."

Brown ponders if the media is as tough on Carson Palmer or Peyton Manning, or if they are more harsh on McNabb because he's an African-American.

"Let me start by saying I love those guys," McNabb says with a smile. "But they don't get criticized as much as we do. They don't."

The interview begins with McNabb speaking about his time here in Philly.
"Every year I'm part of some criticism," McNabb says with a chuckle. "But every day that we go through life, you're faced with a lot of adversity. Now the answer is how do you handle the adversity. How do you respond?

"I try to handle myself with class. I try to handle myself with dignity. I think sometimes people look to players to act out, speak loudly, pretty much be an idiot. But that's not me."

The piece dives into McNabb as a child growing up first in Chicago, then in the mostly white suburb of Dolton, Ill. McNabb's parents, Sam and Wilma, talk of how they raised their sons to always try to do the right thing and to be leaders, not followers. McNabb talks of his struggles with bullies in the neighborhood, admitting to getting into a few fights. Brown then asked what pushes McNabb's buttons now.

"If you put your hands on me, I've got something for you," McNabb seriously proclaims. "You can talk all you want to. If you continue to try me, then we've got a problem."

Source

Neo-cons have Syria in their sights

Excerpt


WASHINGTON - Nearly two weeks have passed since Israeli warplanes reportedly conducted a mysterious raid against an as yet unidentified target in northeastern Syria. There are no official details of the incident, as both countries have remained tight-lipped. In the absence of a clear picture of what happened in the early hours of September 6, speculation in the US mainstream media has grown as to what exactly the Israelis targeted, and why Syria

- assuming it was the target of an unprovoked attack - has been so muted in its response. Was Israel's attack aimed at testing Syria's radar defenses? Did the air strike seek to disrupt arms shipments to Lebanon's Hezbollah? Was it a dress rehearsal for a possible future strike on Iranian nuclear facilities?

Feeding the speculation, a familiar clutch of hawks in the administration of US President George W Bush appear to be suggesting that Israel's apparent air strike targeted a joint North Korea-Syria nuclear venture.

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Israel think they can keep starting shit with their neighbors and we americans are suppose to support thier aggressive behavior. I wish the world snap out of this guilt trip and realize the Zionest state of Israel is the biggest obstacle to peace in the mideast.

Bolton: U.S. backs Israeli pre-emption

A former U.S. diplomat said America would back Israeli strikes against neighboring nuclear aspirants. The United States would stand behind any pre-emptive attack by Israel on neighboring countries believed to have nuclear weapons programs, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton said in an interview published Tuesday in the Israeli daily Yediot Achronot. Bolton's remarks following Israel's alleged air raid Sept. 6 in Syria is consistent with longstanding U.S. suspicions that Damascus had received nuclear material from North Korea.

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This Warmongering asshole don't speak for me, as far as I'm concerned if Israel start something with their neighbors their on their own and prey they get their ass handed to them.

Bush and Cheney's Final solution

Bush and Cheney and their minions should be frog marched from the white house in handcuffs.

Outkast live Atl

Rare Live Video of OutKast live enjoy