ISLAMABAD: In a rare interview on the eve of her father becoming the next president of Pakistan, the politically active 18-year-old Bakhtawar has revealed the existence of a political plan her mother had written a few days before her assassination.

She revealed to me in Islamabad that before her death, Benazir Bhutto had written a political plan, in her own handwriting, which Bakhtawar accidentally found in her purse after her mother’s death. “Removal of Musharraf was the first point in the plan. There are many more,” she said.

Bakhtawar says her father is determined to implement all the points written by Benazir in her political plan. The excited daughter of Benazir is planning to raise the slogan of ‘Jeay Bhutto’ in the presidency when her father Zardari takes oath as the strongest man in the country.

Part 66 – SEPTEMBER 6, 1988
‘’I wish to propose for the reader’s favorable consideration, a doctrine which may, I fear, appear wildly paradoxical and subversive. The doctrine in question is this: that it is undesirable to believe a proposition when there is no ground whatever for supposing it true.’’ - Bertrand Russell

Over the last week of July, Washington and Tehran have exchanged a few messages through a third party, not known but most likely to be Swiss officials. The message from the US administration is said to congratulate Iran for accepting the cease fire and to seek the help of Iranian officials to secure the safe release of the US citizens held hostage in Lebanon.

Gweru-Zimbabwe-It is a hot mid-morning Sunday in Zimbabwe’s third largest city, Gweru.  Hordes of people fill the narrow tarred road leading to Mkoba stadium. One would mistakenly think that people are attending a big church service. But a further probe in the sports arena will find a birthday bash for a nine-year-old baby. That “little one” is the Movement for Democratic Change party celebrating nine years of existence today, in a bid to dislodge a revolutionary party, Zanu PF, led by 84-year-old Robert Mugabe.

MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai said to the gathering at the rally that the delay in the signing of the talks between his party and Zanu PF is because Mugabe does not want to cede “sufficient” powers to him.

For the past several months, liberals have sought to sell American voters on the ridiculous idea that an inexperienced “community organizer,” without any notable achievement to his name, would be a perfect fit for CEO position in the Oval Office.

Regardless of which political party you support, in order to gauge where exactly the country would be headed under a particular candidate’s leadership, most people would listen to the speeches, read the party platform, or in the case of Candidate Obama, simply take him at his word. Conventional wisdom holds that comparing a candidate’s voting record to their rhetoric exposes any weaknesses in their commitment to actually do what they promise. But if one desires a truly unvarnished look into the political future under either party, one need look no further than the 2008 National Conventions in Denver and St. Paul.

With the unexpected surge of McCain through his veep selection of Sarah Palin, Barack Obama turned to Hillary Clinton so he doesn’t have to hit the girl. Remember what they say about a woman scorned?

All of a sudden, the national Democratic Party has found religion.

I was out doing some stumping yesterday and a Gen Y person laughed and couldn’t understand why I was a Republican. Armed with the usual liberal talking points, he KNEW he was right about everything. He constantly interrupted and talked over every opinion I attempted to respond to. He was obnoxious.

By Israel Insider staff September 7, 2008

In one of the most astonishing gaffes in American political history, in a national televised interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulus, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Hussein Obama referred to “my muslim faith,” confirming what researchers and political opponents have been claiming.

While Stephanopoulus several seconds later tried to correct him, saying “Christian faith,” it was too late. The damage was done. Obama clearly did not mean his Christian faith, since he was admitting that “John McCain has not talked about my Muslim faith.” The term “Christian faith” would not make sense in that context. 

Zoning is one thing; social engineering is quite another.  Zoning in cities and metropolitan areas, while not really necessary, can be justified if the zoning decisions are made by locally elected officials who can be held accountable by the local community.  Historically, zoning has not been a concern in rural areas where neighbors are not stumbling over each other.

In spite of all of our individual and collective faults, there is a “great good” that exists in a very large number of us.  That good is personified in a wide range of human traits and behavior, including private and public achievements, sacrifice, industry, creativity, empathy, generosity, spontaneous volunteerism and our can-do spirit.

Da plane! Da plane! Those were the words that were spoken by Tattoo in every episode of the hit 1970s television series, Fantasy Island. But don’t expect to hear those words spoken by federal Liberal leader Stéphane Dion any time soon although when he does, at least he’ll be pronouncing them the same way Tattoo did. 

The tom-toms of the election call sound more like drumbeats of division than clarion calls to purpose. Prime Minister Harper was right in legislating a fixed election date for this country. He should stick to it.

By Preston Manning, President and CEO, Manning Centre for Building Democracy

The North American circus market once looked much like the political marketplace in Canada today. It featured two dominant players, Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey (they later merged), plus some smaller regional circuses, all engaged in cutthroat competition. Each offered declining numbers of customers variations on traditional circus features – slapstick humour (clowns), danger and thrills (animals and acrobats), a few star performers, and “circus” food – all offered in the traditional venue of three rings in a tent at a low price relative to other entertainment options.

Lost amidst the many speeches delivered at the Democrat Convention was one by Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada. He is the Senate Majority Leader and, as such, controls the legislative agenda in that upper house of Congress. Harry Reid hates oil, but then, so does the Democrat Party. 

They get little credit for their efforts, but most resource extraction, manufacturing and power generation companies strive to be “socially responsible” – by emphasizing energy efficiency, resource conservation, pollution control and worker safety in producing the raw materials, consumer products and electricity that improve, safeguard and enrich our lives. 

[H/T: to Tom Nelson ]

NASA’s James Hansen: Coal plant vandals actions ‘justified’ because of ‘emergency situation’
- Nature.com - September 5, 2008
Excerpt: Q So do you think that these activists were justified in doing what they did?
Hansen: The activists drawing attention to the issue seems to me as justified. You should try to do things through the democratic process, but we really are getting to an emergency situation. We can’t continue to build more coal-fired power plants that do not capture CO2 if we hope to solve the problem.

From tomnelson.blogspot.com
One reason why your boat may not be able to pass through an allegedly ice-free area…