Do you make more than $180,000 per year?

If not, then you might want to think about voting for the Democrats...

Is History Siding With Obama’s Economic Plan?

By ALAN S. BLINDER

Published: August 30, 2008

CLEARLY, there are major differences between the economic policies of Senators Barack Obama and John McCain. Mr. McCain wants more tax cuts for the rich; Mr. Obama wants tax cuts for the poor and middle class. The two men also disagree on health care, energy and many other topics.

Such differences are hardly surprising. Democrats and Republicans have followed different approaches to the economy for as long as there have been Democrats and Republicans. Longer, actually. Remember Hamilton versus Jefferson?

Many Americans know that there are characteristic policy differences between the two parties. But few are aware of two important facts about the post-World War II era, both of which are brilliantly delineated in a new book, “Unequal Democracy,” by Larry M. Bartels, a professor of political science at Princeton. Understanding them might help voters see what could be at stake, economically speaking, in November.

I call the first fact the Great Partisan Growth Divide. Simply put, the United States economy has grown faster, on average, under Democratic presidents than under Republicans.

The stark contrast between the whiz-bang Clinton years and the dreary Bush years is familiar because it is so recent. But while it is extreme, it is not atypical. Data for the whole period from 1948 to 2007, during which Republicans occupied the White House for 34 years and Democrats for 26, show average annual growth of real gross national product of 1.64 percent per capita under Republican presidents versus 2.78 percent under Democrats.

That 1.14-point difference, if maintained for eight years, would yield 9.33 percent more income per person, which is a lot more than almost anyone can expect from a tax cut.

Such a large historical gap in economic performance between the two parties is rather surprising, because presidents have limited leverage over the nation’s economy. Most economists will tell you that Federal Reserve policy and oil prices, to name just two influences, are far more powerful than fiscal policy. Furthermore, as those mutual fund prospectuses constantly warn us, past results are no guarantee of future performance. But statistical regularities, like facts, are stubborn things. You bet against them at your peril.

The second big historical fact, which might be called the Great Partisan Inequality Divide, is the focus of Professor Bartels’s work.

It is well known that income inequality in the United States has been on the rise for about 30 years now — an unsettling development that has finally touched the public consciousness. But Professor Bartels unearths a stunning statistical regularity: Over the entire 60-year period, income inequality trended substantially upward under Republican presidents but slightly downward under Democrats, thus accounting for the widening income gaps over all. And the bad news for America’s poor is that Republicans have won five of the seven elections going back to 1980.

The Great Partisan Inequality Divide is not limited to the poor. To get a more granular look, Professor Bartels studied the postwar history of income gains at five different places in the income distribution.

The 20th percentile is the income level at which 20 percent of all families have less income and 80 percent have more. It is thus a plausible dividing line between the poor and the nonpoor. Similarly, the 40th percentile is the income level at which 40 percent of the families are poorer and 60 percent are richer. And similarly for the 60th, 80th, and 95th percentiles. The 95th percentile is the best dividing line between the rich and the nonrich that the data permitted Professor Bartels to study. (That dividing line, by the way, is well below the $5 million threshold John McCain has jokingly used for defining the rich. It’s closer to $180,000.)

The accompanying table, which is adapted from the book, tells a remarkably consistent story. It shows that when Democrats were in the White House, lower-income families experienced slightly faster income growth than higher-income families — which means that incomes were equalizing. In stark contrast, it also shows much faster income growth for the better-off when Republicans were in the White House — thus widening the gap in income.

The table also shows that families at the 95th percentile fared almost as well under Republican presidents as under Democrats (1.90 percent growth per year, versus 2.12 percent), giving them little stake, economically, in election outcomes. But the stakes were enormous for the less well-to-do. Families at the 20th percentile fared much worse under Republicans than under Democrats (0.43 percent versus 2.64 percent). Eight years of growth at an annual rate of 0.43 percent increases a family’s income by just 3.5 percent, while eight years of growth at 2.64 percent raises it by 23.2 percent.

The sources of such large differences make for a slightly complicated story. In the early part of the period — say, the pre-Reagan years — the Great Partisan Growth Divide accounted for most of the Great Partisan Inequality divide, because the poor do relatively better in a high-growth economy.

Beginning with the Reagan presidency, however, growth differences are smaller and tax and transfer policies have played a larger role. We know, for example, that Republicans have typically favored large tax cuts for upper-income groups while Democrats have opposed them. In addition, Democrats have been more willing to raise the minimum wage, and Republicans have been more hostile toward unions.

The two Great Partisan Divides combine to suggest that, if history is a guide, an Obama victory in November would lead to faster economic growth with less inequality, while a McCain victory would lead to slower economic growth with more inequality. Which part of the Obama menu don’t you like?

Alan S. Blinder is a professor of economics and public affairs at Princeton and former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve. He has advised many Democratic politicians.

From the New York Time: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/31/business/31view.html?_r=1&em&oref=slogin

Apparently Reganomics are pretty much just wrong. An economic plan that cuts taxes for the poor and middle class and shifts more of the burden to the extremely wealthy both reduces overall inequality and spurs the economy. So if you are not rich and vote with your wallet you might want to think a bit more about supporting democrats.

McCain picks female running mate

McCain picks female running mate

US Republican presidential hopeful John McCain has picked Sarah Palin, the female governor of Alaska, as his surprise running mate.

At 44, she is younger than Barack Obama and is credited with reforms during her first term, but she is relatively unknown in US politics.

Mr McCain has gone on stage at a rally in Dayton, Ohio, to celebrate his 72nd birthday and present Ms Palin.

Analysts say the Republican is keen to wrest back headlines from Mr Obama.

The youngest governor of Alaska and the first woman to hold that position, Ms Palin is married with five children.

Ms Palin is perhaps the most daring vice-presidential choice for Mr McCain, the BBC's Kim Ghattas reports from Dayton.

Todd and Hillary

Speaking to a large crowd, who sang Happy Birthday when he appeared, Mr McCain introduced Ms Palin as someone who "understands working people".

SARAH PALIN Elected Alaska’s youngest and first woman governor in 2006 Grew up in Wasilla, near Anchorage, and was voted Miss Wasilla in 1984 Studied journalism and political science at University of Idaho Is mother of five, including a son with Down's syndrome Her husband Todd is an oil production operator Likes hunting and fishing

"She's got the grit, the integrity and commitment to the common good which are exactly what we need in Washington today," he said.

"She's exactly who I need, who this country needs, to help me fight to turn the same old Washington politics on its head."

Thanking Mr McCain, Ms Palin said she would be honoured to serve next to him.

She introduced her family including her husband of 20 years, Todd, saying:

"My husband was a lifelong commercial fisherman... [He is now] a production operator up in the oil fields up on Alaska's north slope, and he's a proud member of the United Steelworkers' Union. And he's a world champion snow machine racer."

Speaking of her time in office in Alaska, she said she had "fought corruption".

She paid tribute to other American women in politics, including Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama's defeated Democratic rival:

"It was rightly noted in Denver last week that Hillary left 18 million cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling in America. But it turns out the women of America aren't finished yet and we can shatter that glass ceiling once and for all."

The Obama campaign suggested Mr McCain's choice was irresponsible, referring to Ms Palin's former role as mayor of the small Alaskan town of Wasilla.

"Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency," said spokesman Bill Burton.

Broad appeal

Ms Palin may reinforce Mr McCain’s "maverick" tag, enjoying a reputation as someone willing to take on the party establishment.

Analysts say she may have been chosen by the McCain campaign as a tactic to win over Democratic women voters, disappointed by the defeat of Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama.

Her relative youth and reforms as governor may also go some way to match Mr Obama's appeal, and boost Mr McCain's chances.

"She will be his partner in reforming Washington," a senior McCain official told Reuters news agency, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Announcing Mr McCain's decision, his election website said Ms Palin had "brought Republicans and Democrats together within her administration [in Alaska] and has a record of delivering on the change and reform that we need in Washington".

At the same time, Ms Palin is a strong conservative, fiscally and socially.

She also opposes abortion and her baby son has Down's Syndrome.

Abortion has been a key issue cited by Republican voters who feel the Arizona senator is not conservative enough, our correspondent says.

Alaskan investigation

Ms Palin lacks foreign policy experience and while being a Washington outsider can be an asset for the McCain ticket, it also means she has not been tested on the national stage, our correspondent says.

Her electoral chances may be harmed by the fact that she was placed under investigation in Alaska by state lawmakers at the end of July.

She sacked a public safety commissioner and the allegation is that she sacked him because he had not fired a state trooper who is Ms Palin’s former brother-in-law, and who is in a custody battle with her sister.

She says she has "nothing to hide" and is "cool" about the investigation.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/7588435.stm

McCain announces his VP

DAYTON, Ohio (CNN) — John McCain appears to be comfortable with the selection of his running mate, whoever that person may be.

Upon arriving in Dayton, Ohio, Thursday evening, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate was asked on the airport tarmac who he has selected for the No. 2 job.
“Wilford Brimley,” McCain deadpanned.






McCain has been very coy in responding to reporters’ questions about his vice presidential selection process, most recently remaining quiet when asked, or simply raising his thumbs in the air. The candidate’s offbeat joke about Brimley, the 73-year-old actor known for his roles in Cocoon, Our House, and diabetic health commercials, likely reflects the state of ease he is currently experiencing as the months-long search for a running mate is over.


That is, if he was joking.


A wise decision. I mean, the guy has had contact with aliens, FFS. That's some serious foreign policy experience. Suckit Biden! "Diabeetus!"

U.S. Navy backs off deployment in tense Georgian port

By Shashank Bengali, McClatchy NewspapersWed Aug 27, 2:42 PM ET

BATUMI, Georgia — The United States scuttled its plan to sail humanitarian aid into Georgia's main seaport Wednesday as Russia denounced the deployment and sent a naval task force into the waters off nearby Abkhazia .

A U.S. Coast Guard cutter steered its humanitarian cargo instead to Batumi, 50 miles to the south, avoiding a potential confrontation with Moscow in the increasingly tense Black Sea.
In what would have been a strong show of support to an embattled ally, the U.S. military had intended to send the cutter Dallas to Poti, Georgia's main commercial port, escorted by the USS McFaul, a destroyer. Poti is under Georgian control, but Russian forces operate two checkpoints just outside the town, which sits on the Black Sea 15 miles south of the breakaway Georgian province of Abkhazia .

Instead, it was Russia that moved to assert its authority by deploying a naval task force armed with anti-ship and antiaircraft missiles in the waters off Abkhazia , which it occupies, the Russian Itar-Tass news agency reported Wednesday. The agency called it a "peace and stability" mission.

Hours before the Russian announcement, U.S. officials decided to reroute the Dallas to Batumi, where the McFaul anchored Sunday with a small cargo of aid.

Even before crews began to offload the Dallas' modest cargo— 38 tons of bottled water, baby food, soap and other supplies— conflicting accounts emerged of who decided to redirect the vessel Tuesday night and why.

A U.S. official in Georgia said that the decision was made "at the highest levels of the Pentagon" but wouldn't elaborate. The official requested anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the subject.
In Washington , however, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said that a U.S. military assessment team in Georgia had made the decision. The team, he said, determined that the infrastructure and transportation capabilities in Batumi were familiar and in better condition than those in Poti.

"Batumi was used because it was the military assessment that it was the best port for the expeditious delivery of the relief supplies," Whitman said.

It was unclear whether U.S. officials knew in advance of Russia's naval deployment. Amid the contradictory accounts, it was impossible to determine whether U.S. officials had blinked in the face of Russia's aggressive posture or opted on their own for a more restrained course.
As late as Tuesday night, a U.S. disaster assistance team in Georgia was preparing to dispatch trucks to Poti to receive the cargo, while the U.S. Embassy was planning to send journalists by helicopter from the capital, Tbilisi , to witness the ship's arrival.

Military officials aboard the Dallas said the Russian presence wasn't a deterrent.

"The question of safety didn't come up. We had all the cards on the table," said Navy Capt. John Moore , the commodore of the task force that includes the Dallas .

Georgian officials, however, acknowledged the sensitivity of sending the ship to Poti. Although the bulk of Russian forces withdrew from Georgia last week after two weeks of conflict, Russia has asserted a broad right to maintain troops far outside the conflict zone, in what may be a violation of a French-brokered cease-fire agreement.

Not including Abkhazia , which Russian and Abkhaz forces control, there are 11 Russian checkpoints in northwestern Georgia , including two on the outskirts of Poti, Western diplomats say. Three more are within 25 miles of Poti, near a main highway leading to Tbilisi .
Western diplomats say that seven of those checkpoints, including those in and around Poti, violate the cease-fire agreement. Russia has defended the checkpoints.

"Of course it is safer in Batumi," said Levan Varshalomidze, the governor of Georgia's Ajara region, which includes Batumi. "There are no Russians here."

Moscow has condemned the deployment of the Dallas and the McFaul— which brought 55 tons of relief supplies— as part of what it describes as a growing presence of NATO warships in the Black Sea. In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp. this week, Medvedev accused the U.S. military of sneaking weapons into Georgia aboard the ships, a charge that an American military spokesman called "ridiculous."

Dmitry Peskov , spokesman for Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin , said Wednesday that delivering humanitarian aid using warships "is something that can hardly be explained."
"Let's hope that we won't see any direct confrontation," Peskov said.

The Dallas has been deployed with the U.S. Navy's 6th Fleet for two and a half months since it left Charleston, S.C. , in late May, said Lt. Robert Wyman , a Coast Guard spokesman in Portsmouth, Va . Coast Guard vessels, he said, routinely are assigned to assist the Navy far from U.S. waters.

The U.S. Embassy's disaster assistance team said that the aid would travel by road to Tbilisi this week and would be dispatched later to the areas around the town of Gori and the separatist province of South Ossetia , where the worst damage of the two-week conflict occurred.
That marked a shift from earlier statements by U.S. officials that the aid coming by ship would remain in western Georgia . Members of the U.S. relief team said that the humanitarian needs in western Georgia weren't as severe as initially estimated.

( Jonathan S. Landay and Dave Montgomery contributed to this article from Washington .)

GAH! Could we be bigger pansies about this whole ordeal? FFS! We either need to start asserting some boundaries, or just tell Russia to do as she damn well pleases, because the West just doesn't have the stones to stop her. We *should* have found away to make the ports at Poti work, if for no other reason than to make a statement. You know, one that doesn't say "Russian boatses! Fetch me my brown pants!"

*sigh*

Robo-skeleton lets paralysed walk

A robotic suit is helping people paralysed from the waist down do what was previously considered impossible - stand, walk and climb stairs.

ReWalk users wear a backpack device and braces on their legs and select the activity they want from a remote control wrist band.

Leaning forwards activates body sensors setting the robotic legs in motion.

Users walk with crutches, controlling the suit through changes in centre of gravity and upper body movements.

The device effectively mimics the exoskeletion of a crab.

Former Israeli paratrooper Radi Kaiof has been paralysed for the last 20 years following an injury during his service in the Israeli military.

He says the device has changed his life.

"I never dreamed I would walk again. After I was wounded, I forgot what it's like. Only when standing up can I feel how tall I really am and speak to people eye to eye, not from below."

Sweet. "Mimics the exoskeleton of a crab."

Get 'em Denny!

Wow. Wow. Where was that during the primaries? Now that's the type of progressive spirit I am talking about. Denny, we love you!

Study: Jokes Target McCain More Than Obama

Morning Edition, August 26, 2008· Late-night talk show hosts are having a field day with the presidential candidates.

http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=93970729&m=93970697

A recent study finds McCain is the butt of more jokes than Obama (but about even with Clinton apparently). The big winner, not surprisingly, is W--by far the most devastatingly comical president in US history.

Israel frees nearly 200 prisoners

Nearly 200 Palestinians leave jails hours before Rice set to arrive in region

The Associated Press

updated 6:28 a.m. ET, Mon., Aug. 25, 2008

BEITUNIYA CHECKPOINT, West Bank - Nearly 200 Palestinian prisoners freed Monday by Israel walked into Palestinian-controlled territory to cheers and applause, just hours before U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was due to arrive on her latest peace mission.

The prisoners arrived at Beitunia, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, after a short drive from Ofer prison outside Jerusalem. The prisoners, some waving black-and-white checkered keffiyeh headdresses as they got out of Israeli buses, kissed the ground before boarding Palestinian vehicles.

Israel said the release is a gesture meant to bolster moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and give a boost to the slow-moving peace talks with the moderate Palestinian leader.

"It's not easy for Israel to release prisoners. Some of the individuals being released today are guilty of direct involvement in the murder of innocent civilians," government spokesman Mark Regev said. "But we understand the importance of the prisoner issue for Palestinian society ... We believe this action can support the negotiation process and create goodwill."

Many connections
The fate of the roughly 9,000 Palestinians in Israeli jails is highly emotional, since many Palestinians either know someone in prison or have served time themselves. Abbas, who is struggling to show his people the fruits of the peace talks, has repeatedly urged Israel to carry out a large-scale release.

The Israeli government approved the release last week. Among the 198 men freed Monday was Said al-Atba, who has served 32 years of a life sentence for carrying out a deadly market bombing three decades ago.

Al-Atba, 57, was the longest serving inmate held by Israel and he is widely seen by the Palestinian public as a symbol of all the prisoners. Balding, with a mustache, he made a victory sign toward cameras as two Palestinian officials escorted him to a car. Others rushed to greet him, kissing him on both cheeks.

His brother Hisham traveled from Saudi Arabia, where he works, to join the hundreds of Palestinians waiting to greet the prisoners at Beituniya.

"I feel great, great joy," he said. "We had lost hope that my brother would be released because he's been in prison for 32 years."

Al-Atba's sister, Raida, said she had prepared her brother's favorite food, stuffed vine leaves and zucchini.

In nearby Ramallah, where the prisoners were scheduled to receive an official welcome from Abbas, hundreds of Palestinians from all over the West Bank waited to greet them, under a giant poster with pictures of Abbas, al-Atba and another veteran prisoner being freed, Mohammed Abu Ali, a lawmaker from Abbas' Fatah party.

Abu Ali was jailed in 1980 for killing an Israeli settler in the West Bank and later convicted of killing a Palestinian in jail he accused of collaborating with Israel.

Easing the criteria for release?
Israel has released prisoners to Abbas in the past, most recently last December. But it has balked at releasing Palestinians serving time for deadly attacks. It appears to be easing its criteria following a prisoner swap last month with the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah. Under that deal, Israel exchanged a Lebanese man convicted in a notorious triple murder for the remains of two Israeli soldiers.

Eager to bolster Abbas in his rivalry with Hamas, Israel says the latest release is meant to show the Palestinians that dialogue, not violence, is the best way to win concessions.

Hamas is demanding the release of hundreds of prisoners in exchange for an Israeli soldier captured by Palestinian militants in a cross-border raid two years ago. The soldier is being held in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

The prisoner release came hours before the arrival of Rice, who has been mediating the negotiations between Israel and Abbas' government. The talks had aimed for an agreement by the end of the year, but both sides have acknowledged that it is unlikely they will reach their target.

© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

A bit of good news.

Immigration Study: 'Second Generation' Has Edge

by Margot Adler

Weekend Edition Sunday, August 24, 2008 · In much of the debate over immigration, there is an underlying question: Are today's immigrants assimilating into the mainstream as easily as past generations?

The answer, at least in New York City, is an unqualified "yes," according to the results of a 10-year study involving more than 3,000 young men and women, most of them in their 20s.

John Mollenkopf, a professor at City University of New York and an author of the study, says that if you look at the children of immigrants, "the kids are doing well compared to their parents and also doing well compared to the native-born comparison groups."

The "second generation" project looked at five groups — Russians, Dominicans, South Americans, Chinese and West Indians — and compared them with U.S.-born whites, Puerto Ricans and African-Americans. Researchers found that most in the second generation were fluent in English and working in the mainstream economy. When they looked at economic and educational achievement, they found that West Indians were doing better, in general, than African-Americans; Dominicans were doing better than Puerto Ricans; and the Chinese and the Russians were doing as well as or better than native-born whites.

Because this is New York City and most study participants are the children of people who came to the United States 20 to 30 years ago, their parents either entered legally or found it relatively easy to obtain legal status even if they came illegally.

Legal immigration is more difficult today, and researchers note that this may well change the rate of assimilation. But for these five groups, "what we really find is a very rapid assimilation and becoming American," says Mary Waters of Harvard University, another author of the study, titled Inheriting the City: The Children of Immigrants Come of Age, and recently published as a book.

Inheriting the City also uncovered cultural differences that may give the children of some immigrant groups certain advantages. Many members of this second generation interviewed for this story said their parents had pushed them to succeed academically. This is a common theme in immigrant families, even a stereotype.

Enia Titova, who came from Russia when she was 12, attended Stuyvesant, an elite New York public high school. "In a lot of Russian families, if you don't have a graduate degree, it is frowned upon," she says. "When you get a 96, parents want to know where the other four points went — that's the question, I think, in a lot of immigrant households."

But the researchers also found something unexpected: Some groups, such as Chinese immigrants, knew how to work the system more effectively than others.

"We interviewed one young woman whose mother worked in a garment factory and had very little education," Waters says. "She said her mother didn't even know what Stuyvesant was, but she knew from the other moms in the garment factory — I need to get my kid into this school."

Ling Wu Kong, who came from China when he was 2 and now attends law school, says Waters is correct. "Every time there is a student who maxes out on the SAT, their picture is prominently placed on the front page in the Chinese newspapers," he says. "They give you a pretty good idea of what to expect, so even for people whose parents don't speak English, they are able to navigate the system."

It's a little different for other groups.

Waters says researchers also met Dominican kids who had gotten into Stuyvesant, but whose parents didn't let them go to the school because they would have to take a subway and go across bad neighborhoods to get there.

Cristina Carpio's parents came from Ecuador. Now a medical student, Carpio says she went to Stuyvesant only after persuading her mother to let her go. "During the orientation week, my sister took me to Stuyvesant to ease my mother's fears," she says, adding that her sister told her mother, "Look, she knows how to take the subway, she knows how to do it on her own, she has to go to that school. There is no other way."

The study, funded by the Russell Sage Foundation, found that the children of immigrants in New York City had another big advantage: Many of them continue to live at home with their parents.

Carpio says that when she becomes an intern next year, "I will be moving back home because I can save money on the rent and pay for my loans." And Ling feels it wouldn't be right if he didn't go home. "There is this ideal in the Chinese community, when everyone lives together. I'm living at home now," he says, laughing.

That cultural difference can have huge economic consequences, says Philip Kasinitz, a professor of sociology at City University who also helped write the study. "Black Americans, white Americans and Puerto Ricans seem to share the idea that you must leave home in your teens or early 20s, and that there is something wrong with you if you are still living with your parents in your mid-20s," he says.

In New York, he notes, given real estate values, this can help the children of immigrants get their careers established and finish their education.

Although Inheriting the City paints an optimistic portrait of this second generation, it has some warnings about the situation facing native-born minorities. The researchers also say the children of undocumented immigrants tend to do worse and have a tougher time assimilating. Because legal immigration is tougher to come by today, researchers say they wonder whether the path for the next "second generation" will be as smooth.

Just an interesting addition to our past immigration debate and the debate overall. There seems to be a perspective that "new" immigrants are not assimilating as successfully as the European immigrants of the last century. But apparently that is not true, the children of recent immigrants are assimilating quite well overall. Now, one important caveat is that the children of undocumented immigrants are not assimilating as well as those of legal immigrants. Why is that? Arguably, they are less likely to engage the broader society--public school and other basic avenues for social interaction, those structures that underlie the assimilation process, are more difficult for undocumented immigrants to access. So their isolation and difficulty becoming "Americans" is partly the result of being excluded from the process of Americanization by their legal standing.

School district to let teachers have guns

Reuters

updated 4:33 p.m. ET, Fri., Aug. 15, 2008

HOUSTON - A Texas school district will let teachers bring guns to class this fall, the district's superintendent said on Friday, in what experts said appeared to be a first in the United States.

The board of the small rural Harrold Independent School District unanimously approved the plan and parents have not objected, said the district's superintendent, David Thweatt.

School experts backed Thweatt's claim that Harrold, a system of about 110 students 150 miles northwest of Fort Worth, may be the first to let teachers bring guns to the classroom.

Thweatt said it is a matter of safety.

"We have a lock-down situation, we have cameras, but the question we had to answer is, 'What if somebody gets in? What are we going to do?" he said. "It's just common sense."

Board members estimate it would take first responders nearly 30 minutes to get to the rural school in an emergency.

Teachers who wish to bring guns will have to be certified to carry a concealed handgun in Texas and get crisis training and permission from school officials, he said.

Recent school shootings in the United States have prompted some calls for school officials to allow students and teachers to carry legally concealed weapons into classrooms.

The U.S. Congress once barred guns at schools nationwide, but the U.S. Supreme Court struck the law down, although state and local communities could adopt their own laws. Texas bars guns at schools without the school's permission.

Copyright 2008 Reuters. Click for restrictions.

URL: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26225072/?GT1=43001

Oh what the good Goddamn is this? Are they serious? I have never believed the BS that the pro-gun lobby sells that more guns mean less crime. The logic they use is that if criminals think everyone is packing they will think twice before pulling a gun themselves. But that logic is dubious for a number of reasons--too many to go into here. Instead I will use an example: El Salvador is a nation with more guns per capita than the US as well as the highest homicide rate in the western hemisphere. When I was there in 2004 a frequent news story was that several people had been killed in an attempted hold up of a minibus. What usually had happened was that a group of bandits (e.g. gang members) had stopped a bus at gun point and demanded money. However, one or more people on the bus had their own guns and dcided to "defend" themselves from the robbers by firing at them. The ensuing exhange of fire often results in several innocent people being caught in the crossfire and then being deador seriously injured. This is the most likely scenario people. Not that miscrants will decide not to initiate violence, but that innocent people die in a crossfire.

Russia´s Back Baby

What better may to show the world you still got some cojones--invade your weak and tiny neighbor under the guise of a peace keeping mission to protect co-ethnics. For some reason I can´t get the name Sudatenland out of my head.

Russian tanks have entered Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia, says Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili.

Georgia has been fighting separatists with ties to Russia in order to regain control of the province, which has had de facto independence since the 1990s.

Russian troops in the South Ossetian capital said their artillery had begun firing at Georgian forces, Russian news agencies reported.

Russia's president earlier promised to defend his citizens in South Ossetia.

Moscow's defence ministry said more than 10 of its peacekeeping troops in South Ossetia had been killed and 30 wounded in the Georgian offensive. At least 15 civilians are also reported dead.

'Clear intrusion'

Amid international calls for restraint, Georgia's president said 150 Russian tanks and other vehicles had entered South Ossetia.

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Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili says he is willing to agree an immediate ceasefire

He told CNN: "Russia is fighting a war with us in our own territory."

Mr Saakashvili, who has called on reservists to sign up for duty, said: "This is a clear intrusion on another country's territory.

"We have Russian tanks on our territory, jets on our territory in broad daylight," Reuters new agency quoted him as saying.

Later, Moscow's foreign ministry told media that Russian tanks had reached the northern outskirts of the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali.

The Georgian interior ministry said Russian jets had killed three Georgian soldiers at an airbase outside the capital, Tbilisi, during a bombing raid on Friday, Reuters news agency reported.

I must protect the life and dignity of Russian citizens wherever they are. We will not allow their deaths to go unpunished Dmitry Medvedev Russian President

Russia denied any of its fighters had entered its neighbour's airspace.

Moscow's defence ministry said reinforcements for Russian peacekeepers had been sent to South Ossetia "to help end bloodshed".

Amid reports of Russian deaths, President Dmitry Medvedev said: "I must protect the life and dignity of Russian citizens wherever they are," Interfax news agency reported.

"We will not allow their deaths to go unpunished. Those responsible will receive a deserved punishment."

'Ethnic cleansing'

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow was receiving reports that villages in South Ossetia were being ethnically cleansed.

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov

Mr Lavrov added in televised remarks: "The number of refugees is growing. A humanitarian crisis is looming."

Russia said it would cut all air links with Georgia from midnight on Friday.

Meanwhile Interfax quoted South Ossetian rebel leader Eduard Kokoity as saying there were "hundreds of dead civilians" in Tskhinvali.

Witnesses said the regional capital was devastated.

Lyudmila Ostayeva, 50, told AP news agency: "I saw bodies lying on the streets, around ruined buildings, in cars. It's impossible to count them now. There is hardly a single building left undamaged."

SOUTH OSSETIA MAP & TIMELINE 1991-92 S Ossetia fights war to break away from newly independent Georgia; Russia enforces truce 2004 Mikhail Saakashvili elected Georgian president, promising to recover lost territories 2006 S Ossetians vote for independence in unofficial referendum April 2008 Russia steps up ties with Abkhazia and South Ossetia July 2008 Russia admits flying jets over S Ossetia; Russia and Georgia accuse each other of military build-up 7 August 2008 After escalating Georgian-Ossetian clashes, sides agree to ceasefire 8 August 2008 Heavy fighting erupts overnight, Georgian forces close on Tskhinvali

US President George W Bush spoke with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin about the crisis while they attended the Beijing Olympics.

Later, the US voiced support for Georgia's territorial integrity and its state department said it would send an envoy to the region.

Nato said it was seriously concerned about the situation, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on all sides to show restraint.

The European security organisation, the OSCE, warned that the fighting risked escalating into a full-scale war.

Georgian Foreign Minister Ekaterine Tkeshelashvili told the BBC it wanted to ensure that any civilians who wanted to leave the conflict zone could do so safely.

International Red Cross spokeswoman Anna Nelson said it had received reports that hospitals in Tskhinvali were having trouble coping with the influx of casualties and ambulances were having trouble reaching the injured.

Georgian Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze said Georgia had simply run out of patience with attacks by separatist militias in recent days and had had to move in to restore peace in South Ossetia.

Truce plea

Georgia accuses Russia of arming the separatists. Moscow denies the claim.

Russia earlier called an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to respond to the crisis, but members failed to agree on a Russian statement calling on both sides to renounce the use of force.

The BBC's James Rodgers in Moscow says Russia has always said it supports the territorial integrity of Georgia but also that it would defend its citizens. Many South Ossetians hold Russian passports.

Hundreds of fighters from Russia and Georgia's other breakaway region of Abkhazia were reportedly heading to aid the separatist troops.

from bbc.co.uk

Seriously, what the fuck? Umm...the whole bloody world has been concerned with Iran´s nuclear progam, calling for sanctions, imposing sanctions, etc., and yet nobody seems particularly concerned over an angry, decaying, though still large and nuclear Russia throwing its weight around. Where is the global indignation? Bush is chatting with Putin (who isn´t even president anymore) and European leaders are politely asking Russia to play nice?

Red Cross probes emblem 'misuse'

The International Committee of the Red Cross has voiced grave concern over what it says is Colombia's apparent "deliberate misuse" of its symbol.

The ICRC said it had seen video footage that suggested the emblem was used deliberately in July's military mission to free 15 hostages from rebel hands.

The government has apologised to the ICRC but also condemned the leak of the military video to Colombian TV.

Intentional misuse of the symbol would be a breach of the Geneva Conventions.

The Geneva-based ICRC says the footage shown on Colombian TV on Monday indicates that the emblem was being used before the operation to free the hostages from Farc guerrillas had even begun, indicating intentional misuse.

"If authenticated, these images would clearly establish an improper use of the Red Cross emblem, which we deplore," said ICRC deputy director of operations Dominik Stillhart.

Mr Stillhart said they were seeking further clarification from the Colombian government.

'Nervous soldier'

Rescuers tricked rebels into releasing French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and the other hostages by posing as international aid workers.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe subsequently acknowledged that a Red Cross symbol was worn by a member of the military taking part in the 2 July rescue mission.

Mr Uribe said he had apologised to the Red Cross for the error, which he said had been made by a nervous soldier acting against orders.

Speaking on Tuesday, after the video was shown on Colombian TV, Defence Minister Juan Manuel Santos apologised again to the ICRC.

"The emblem...was used from the beginning of the operation. We are very sorry that this has happened. But the government, the president and (armed forces chief) General Padilla said the truth that we knew at the time," Mr Santos said.

But Mr Santos also condemned the leak of the video, saying those responsible had been identified and would be punished.

"This video contains material that was leaked by members of the security forces, from our army. This leak was a product of disloyalty, possibly corruption or even treason because it puts at risk the lives of people who are dedicated to defending the fatherland," he said.

Neutrality

The Colombian government has said the rescue was the result of long preparation, eavesdropping on rebel communications and deception of guerrillas on the ground, allowing the hostages to be liberated without loss of life.

Officials also stressed how the mission had been carried out without loss of life.

Falsely portraying military personnel as Red Cross workers is against the Geneva Conventions because it could put humanitarian workers at risk when carrying out missions in war zones.

It also undermines the neutrality of the Red Cross.

At the end of July, Farc guerrillas handed eight people they had kidnapped the week before to ICRC representatives, suggesting the rebels have not lost faith in the humanitarian organisation, correspondents say.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) have been fighting the Colombian state for more than four decades and are believed to still hold several hundred hostages.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/7545519.stm

Flatulence joke is world's oldest

Breaking news about breaking wind: the world's oldest joke is a one-liner about flatulence, researchers say.

Academics have compiled a list of the most ancient gags and the oldest, harking back to 1900BC, is a Sumerian proverb from what is now southern Iraq.

"Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her husband's lap," goes the joke.

Randy pharaohs, thirsty ox-drivers and barbers also feature in the list.

The oldest British joke dates back to the 10th Century, and uses the traditional question and answer format to suggestively poke fun at Anglo-Saxon men.

"What hangs at a man's thigh and wants to poke the hole that it's often poked before? A key."

Pharaohs and emperors

"Jokes have varied over the years, with some taking the question and answer format while others are witty proverbs or riddles," said Dr Paul McDonald, who led the study by academics at the University of Wolverhampton.

"What they all share, however, is a willingness to deal with taboos and a degree of rebellion."

As today, world leaders make good foils for ancient humour, particularly Egyptian pharaohs, as shown by this 1600BC joke:

"How do you entertain a bored pharaoh? Sail a boatload of young women dressed only in fishing nets down the Nile - and urge the pharaoh to go fishing."

One Roman jape dating back to the 1st Century BC details the Emperor Augustus touring his realm and coming across a man who bears a striking resemblance to himself.

Intrigued, he asks the man: "Was your mother at one time in service at the palace?"

The man replies: "No your highness, but my father was."

from, who else, the BBC.co.uk