Stories from August, 2008
The Atheist Vote
As the presidential candidates come together to discuss faith and issues of morality, there's a large contingent feeling excluded. Although they have votes, American atheists and agnostics often feel left out as politicians pander to each religion, but skip past those who eschew faith.
Who can ignore Bill Clinton?
It’s difficult to keep Bill Clinton out of the spotlight. Whether it was helping his wife, Hillary, campaign for the Democratic nomination for the Presidency of the United States or, most recently, his decision to get back to work on the Clinton Foundation, which works around the world to diminish greenhouse gasses, pushing low-cost drugs for those suffering from HIV/AIDS and battling childhood obesity. He most recently made news for a recent six-day trip to Africa took him to Ethiopia, Rwanda, Liberia and Senegal.
MENA: Visas of Fulbright scholars revoked
Earlier this week three Palestinians, recipients of prestigious Fulbright scholarships to study in the United States, had their visas revoked by the US, preventing them from taking up the scholarships. A fourth, a high-school student on a separate programme, was also stopped. Yet two and a half months ago, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had personally intervened to make sure that the grant winners would be able to go. Why the last-minute change of heart? Bloggers from around the Middle East have a number of theories.
Focus On the Family Pull moronic “Prayer for rain†Video
This story annoyed me so much I had to crawl from under my rock to reconcile albeit briefly with my blog. Anyway, apparently some Director over at Focus on the family recorded a video asking xtians to pray for rain on 28th August 2008. Which is the day Obama is...
Korea: Why did Bush come to Korea?
Bush’s visit to Korea for one night and two days on the fifth of August made a lot of people busy: A big group who welcomed his visit in one street of Seoul, another big group who were opposed to his visit in the other street of Seoul, the police who were busy suppressing the [...]
Georgia, Russia and the U.S. Presidential Election
With the massive deployment of Russian forces in Georgia, the small South Caucasus country's conflict with Moscow over the breakaway region of South Ossetia has obvious political ramifications thousands of miles away in the United States where presidential elections will be held on 4 November. With some alleging that the crisis reflects a struggle between the West and Russia, where the U.S. Presidential candidates stand on the matter is fast becoming a significant campaign issue.
Morocco: Is John McCain Batman?
Which super heroes do presidential hopefuls John McCain and Barack Obama see themselves as? Jillian York finds out.
Barack Obama's Muslim Outreach Coordinator Resigns
Mazen Asbahi, the attorney who had volunteered as Barack Obama's outreach coordinator to Muslim and Arab-Americans, has resigned after accusations of ties to Jamal Said, an imam at a fundamentalist mosque in Illinois. Asbahi briefly sat on the board of Allied Assets Advisors Fund with Said in 2000. Bloggers from the Middle East react in this post from Jillian York.
Australia: US Politics As Usual
It has been a mixed bag from Australian bloggers lately. Paris Hilton has brought some to life but after our drawn-out Federal election last year, I suspect many are tired of the minutiae of campaigning, reports Kevin Rennie from Australia.
Armenia: Oil, Genocide and Obama
Writing for Voices Without Votes in June, Jillian York introduced readers to Facebook's Armenians for Obama and some of what was being said on the social networking site. Since then, however, other Facebook Groups have sprung up which seem to identify a strong backing from Armenians, both inside and outside the republic, for the Democratic candidate in the November 4 U.S. Presidential Election.
