US Republican presidential hopeful John McCain has picked Sarah Palin, the female governor of Alaska, as his running-mate, US media report.
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 is due to present her on stage at a rally in Dayton, Ohio, to celebrate his 72nd birthday.
Spam messages announcing World War 3 has commenced lure curious web users
The Israel Project released a poll this afternoon finding that 55 percent of Americans would approve of the “United States and its allies making targeted conventional military strikes against Iran’s nuclear weapons facilities” — a surprisingly high number considering the opposition generated by the war in Iraq.
At a press conference announcing the findings — which technically were 33 percent strongly approving and an additional 22 percent somewhat approving — pollster Frank Luntz suggested that the reason was simply that “Iran scares people.”
“He is the most frightening world leader,” said Luntz of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and Americans are disturbed by his threats.
An Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities is less popular among Americans, with only 43 percent approving and 48 percent disapproving. But if economic and diplomatic sanctions fail and Iran acquires nuclear capability, the approval number rises to 63 percent.
Still, there was a great deal of support for diplomacy, with 62 saying an “opportunity for a diplomatic solution still exists.”
Luntz also presented research on the language of the presidential candidates on Iran and Israel. Using a technique he is frequently seen utilizing on cable television news channels, focus groups turn a dial in a positive or negative direction to signal their opinion on the words being said by the candidate.
He showed the groups of voters, half leaning Republican and half leaning Democrat, portions of the candidates’ speeches at this year’s AIPAC policy conference. He noted that voters partcularly like when candidates present specific details on the Iranian threat, as Barack Obama did in his speech. He said that Hillary Clinton’s strong statement of “no nuclear weapons for Iran” received over 90 percent approval from both sides of the aisle — something he had never seen before. And he said John McCain gets significantly lower numbers from Democrats than Republicans when he talks about Iran because “he reminds them of George W. Bush.”
The survey of 800 likely voters was conducted by telephone in late July by Neil Newhouse of Public Opinion Strategies and Stan Greenberg of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.5 percent.
LaRouche Responds To Russia's Mikhail Leontyev: Through British-Saudi Ops, With George Soros, We're Sliding To Nuclear World War III
August 23, 2008 (LPAC)--Economist and Democratic leader Lyndon LaRouche has repeatedly expressed his disgust at the Bush Administration's rolling-over for a British-Saudi scheme directed against the U.S., by its acquiescing to the ouster of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf.
On Tuesday, Aug. 19, well-known Russian television anchorman Mikhail Leontyev broached the same issue in the following exchange on Russian Channel One television, as translated by BBC. After discussing a recent statement by Condoleezza Rice, Leontyev concluded: "There is a term (in English) crazy empire, a psychic empire. The latest illustration of this madness is what is now happening in Pakistan."
A second announcer continued: "Pervez Musharraf had for nine years been head of Pakistan, America's strategic ally in the region and the only nuclear power in the Islamic world. After 11 September, Musharraf supported the USA's fight against Al-Qa'idah and Taleban in the
neighboring Afghanistan, despite the prevailing sentiments in the country. He harshly suppressed radical Islamist rallies in the country. He has had to resign as a result of democratization imposed by the United States, which has already led to destabilization and a most serious crisis in Pakistan."
Leontyev responded: "Musharraf was the only leader who could maintain stability in an extremely complex country like Pakistan, restrain radical Islamists and guarantee that the nuclear potential would remain under control. The so-called opposition's corrupt leaders,
let out of an American-English jar, hate each other and are incapable of ensuring either. In the view of responsible American analysts, the Pakistani bomb is much more dangerous than the non-existent Iranian one. Who gets it and what happens to this not quite low-priority, and
not the least populated region? This is what the United States' European partners should be thinking about, not about the moaning of a whipped Georgian paranoid man."
"That sounds like a pretty accurate description of the whole situation," Lyndon LaRouche responded today. "Obviously, it sounds like he's an intelligence specialist in that area.
"The whole thing was obvious to me," LaRouche went on. "It was obvious in the discussions I had with people, that while Pakistan was already a mess, by this concession of dumping Musharraf, you actually unleash all the instabilities in the area. And, Pakistan IS a nuclear
power in a sense, but the more significant thing is that the whole thing was done by the Saudis. That's what has to be said! And this thing is an Anglo-American, Saudi operation.
"The Saudi, Bandar, Al-Yamameh operation, is what's key here," he specified. "And the whole region is in trouble, because the Saudis are the center of the whole destabilization of the region. It's a Saudi-British operation in which Prince Bandar is crucial. The Bush family is deeply indebted, in a sense, to these Saudi types. The corruption goes right inside the United States government. The Bandar Saudi operation and the Bush connections to that, are absolutely
crucial.
"Then, on the other side, you have all the other crazy British operations, as in Georgia," LaRouche continued. "It's amazing how they put Obama-backer Soros in the middle of everything. He's the universal front-man, like the universal vacuum-cleaner, who shows up in every part of the world. And, he actually is British Intelligence. He's one of the most exposed agents,-- and right out of the Foreign Ministry; it's absolutely shameless. He's an open Foreign Ministry agent.
"And frankly: we are looking at World War III, nuclear World War III," LaRouche said. "That's what we're looking at as the clear potential. The whole world can slide into a nuclear conflagration, largely by miscalculation; by a combination of Schrecklichkeit (deliberate terror) and miscalculation. These guys are worse than Hitler. At least that bastard knew what he was doing; these guys don't.
"Leontyev is right; he's absolutely correct," LaRouche concluded. "It's just that he's left out this one part: that this is a case in which the London-Saudi operation, the BAE-connected operation, is the key monster in this thing, which is a controlling factor in U.S. behavior. You don't need to have a President Barack Obama, because the real Presidency is the Saudi Monarchy. The White House is a dependency of the Saudi Monarchy."
August
21, 2008 (LPAC)--Lyndon LaRouche today warned, in no uncertain terms, that the world is closer to World War III than it is to the November Presidential elections in the United States. "November is a far distance away,'' LaRouche noted.
He elaborated: "The world situation, and recent events, show that we are at the point of breakdown of the world system, and the threat of a thermonuclear World War III is immediate. The provocations against Russia, via George Soros and British intelligence's Saakashvili government in Georgia, is but one leading edge. Despite the focus of attention on the Caucasus in the past week,'' LaRouche continued, "the Iranian issue is very much on the table. Do not put it past Vice President Dick Cheney and his British controllers to orchestrate a major provocation, while the Democrats are gathered in Denver next week. "This is an all-purpose go situation,'' LaRouche warned.
"This is the British empire against the United States, and one of the most dangerous features of the present crisis is that the United States--the Bush Administration--is acting like damned fools.''
LaRouche repeated his recent warnings that the situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan is totally out of control. "I hold President Bush and the White House responsible for this mess. They could have, and should have intervened to keep President Musharraf in power. Instead, they played into a filthy Saudi and British game. Now, just days after President Musharraf's resignation, the Pakistan government is coming apart, and things are going to hell. I say to George Bush: 'You can't do anything right. In your entire, nearly eight years in office, you have not gotten one thing right. Are you the reincarnation of My Pet Goat?' ''
At least seven holidaymakers have been killed after a plane skidded off a runway at Madrid's busiest airport.
Emergency services said seven people had been killed. The Spanish government has confirmed that some of the 160 passengers on board the Spanair flight 5022 were killed in the accident, but could not say how many.
Spanish newspaper El Mundo has also claimed that up to seven are dead, while radio station La Ser was reporting no fatalities.
The number of injured passengers was also unclear, with reports varying between 20 and 40 injured.
Pictures of the crash - "Spain plane skid"
Thick columns of smoke billow from the burning plane
A large column of smoke is seen rising from the crash site
Large columns of smoke were billowing from a fire on the plane. Witnesses said the fire appeared to be coming from the left engine. Helicopters were seen flying over the crash scene.One report suggested the fire began in the left engine shortly after take-off, forcing the plane to attempt an emergency landing.
The flight was believed to be taking off near Terminal 4 at the Barajas airport for Gran Canaria just before 2.30pm today.
Eleven fire engines were at the scene.
Barajas airport sees over 40 million passengers a year and is one of Europe's top five busiest airports. Spanair is Spain's second biggest airline.
The view is nearly obscured by smoke from the fire onboard
At least seven holidaymakers have been killed after a plane skidded off a runway at Madrid's busiest airport.
The move will also include Spain's Iberia, which is merging with BA.
With aviation fuel prices near record levels and spending on air travel slowing, airlines are looking at ways to cut costs.
But the carriers will have to persuade the US that the deal does not break US rules on foreign ownership of airlines.
Challenges
Under the business agreement, the three airlines will co-operate on
flights between the US, Mexico and Canada and the EU, Switzerland and
Norway.
"We believe our proposed co-operation is an important step towards
ensuring that we can compete effectively with rival alliances and
manage through the challenges of record fuel prices and growing
economic concerns," said Gerard Arpey, chairman and chief executive of
AMR Corp, the parent company of American Airlines.
However, BA's rival Virgin Atlantic, owned by Sir Richard
Branson, said the plan would reduce competition in the airline
industry.
"What they're proposing is to create the world's biggest airline with American Airlines," said Virgin's Paul Charles.
"But we know what dominant players do - they snuff out competition, they raise prices and they become even more dominant."
Competition
Peter Morris, an aviation analyst from Ascend, told BBC News that it was unlikely that the deal would be anti-competitive.
"I think BA would argue that it will reduce its cost structure, which it can then pass on, to a degree, to passengers.
"BA is far less dominant than any of Air France, KLM or Lufthansa are out of their hubs."
Mark Pritchard MP, a member of the House of Commons Transport Select
Committee, also saw the decision as "good news" for both UK and US
consumers.
"With tougher trading conditions for most airlines - coupled
with the need to support the spirit of the Open Skies Agreement,
Congress has no real excuse to delay the deal unnecessarily," he said.
The airlines said they planned to apply to the US Department of
Transportation for immunity from US anti-competition rules and they
would also notify European regulators.
They have previously failed to win an exemption from these laws
because of their dominance at Heathrow, where BA and AA control nearly
half of all the landing and take-off slots to the US from the airport.
'Good news'
However, BA chief executive Willie Walsh said the relationship
would strengthen competition by providing consumers with easier
journeys to more destinations.
"This may not be good news for Richard Branson but it is good news for consumers," Mr Walsh told the BBC.
Progress has been swift. The TSA only asked bag manufacturers to come up with
relevant designs in March, and was not expecting to change its rules until the
autumn. But 40 companies quickly submitted prototypes, and the New York
Times has named Aerovation as
the winner of the race to produce the first publicly available
checkpoint-friendly bag (pictured).
This development scores highly in
three areas: convenience (it's one less task for passengers to perform), speed
(passengers with these bags can be processed more quickly) and security (a
laptop that stays in a bag is less likely to be damaged or stolen off the
conveyor belt). At airports in the European Union (EU), laptops must still be
removed from their bags. Gulliver hopes to see those rules changed to match
America’s as soon as possible.
After careful planning, he got past security,
stole the paintings, and made it safely to his van.
However, he was captured only two blocks away
when his van ran out of gas.
When asked how he could mastermind such a crime
and then make such an obvious error, he replied,
'Monsieur, that is the reason I stole the paintings.'
I had no Monet
See if you have De Gaulle to send
this on to someone else.
I sent it to you because I figured
I had nothing Toulouse.
Rex Johnson, the president and chief executive officer of the Hawai'i Tourism Authority, is being urged by the authority's board of directors to resign after adult-oriented material was found in his government e-mail account.
The board discussed the matter Tuesday in executive session and two board members later approached Johnson about his possible resignation. The board's administrative standing committee has scheduled an executive session regarding Johnson on Wednesday afternoon.
"It was a huge mistake," Johnson said in an interview yesterday. "I have apologized for my actions to the board."
Johnson acknowledged receiving adult-oriented e-mails on his government account and forwarding the e-mails to friends, whom he described as "fishing and baseball buddies" who often exchange jokes to keep in touch. He said the e-mails were not sent to business contacts.
Johnson said he understands his actions were an unauthorized use of state computers and contrary to state personnel guidelines against accessing or downloading sexually explicit material. But he said he does not believe it should cost him his job.
"I don't believe so," Johnson said. "But others may feel that it should."
Kelvin Bloom, the chairman of the authority's board of directors, said he has been instructed by legal counsel not to discuss the matter because it involves personnel.
"The board has the full range of options from dismissal to 'get back to work,' " Johnson said.Several state lawmakers, including state House Speaker Calvin Say, D-20th (St. Louis Heights, Palolo Valley, Wilhelmina Rise), state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, D-21st (Nanakuli, Makaha), and state Senate Vice President Donna Mercado Kim, D-14th (Halawa, Moanalua, Kamehameha Heights), have given their support to Johnson even though they disapprove of his actions.
Board meeting urged
Mercado Kim said through a spokesman that she personally contacted five board members, including Bloom, and asked them to hold a meeting of the full board where Johnson could explain himself. At least two other senators either personally or had their staff contact board members on Johnson's behalf.
While embarrassing, lawmakers said, they question whether Johnson's actions warrant his resignation or firing given his experience and the challenges facing the tourism industry during the economic downturn.
"I believe that he is definitely entitled to due process," Hanabusa said. "I believe that he should have this discussion with his full board.
"Yes, it showed bad judgment, but the question becomes whether this is something that whoever it is that's pressuring him to resign — whether it's the whole board or bits of the board or whatever it may come out to be — whether this is something that warrants that decision."
Tourism advocate
Say said Johnson has been an effective advocate for tourism at the Legislature. The speaker said the board should consider allowing Johnson to continue, given the slump in tourism. "At this point, step back, breathe in a little," he said.State Rep. Ryan Yamane, D-37th (Waipahu, Mililani), the chairman of the House Tourism and Culture Committee, said he questions whether changing leadership now is the right move but, like Say and others, said he is not trying to unduly influence the board.
"As chair, I would like to know how they plan to respond to or deal with the loss of somebody like Mr. Johnson as the head of HTA. You cannot, during this time in our industry, you can't just remove somebody and think that putting somebody else in their place is going to start them off where they left off.
"There's a learning curve."
Ongoing probe
Johnson's e-mails were discovered by the state auditor as part of an ongoing investigation of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism and an audit of the HTA's major contractors. The tourism authority is under the DBEDT umbrella, but is governed by an appointed board with 12 voting members and four nonvoting members; Gov. Linda Lingle's tourism liaison and the directors of the state Department of Transportation, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources and the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts. The e-mails, which contain X-rated movie clips, slideshows and photographs of adult nudity, fall outside the scope of the auditor's investigations but she reported it in late June to the Lingle administration and House and Senate leaders.Johnson, who earns $240,000 a year, is evaluated annually by the board.
Johnson is known as a risk-taker and for his candor and he has sometimes clashed with those who prefer rosy optimism about the state's dominant private industry.Lingle's appointment of Marsha Wienert as tourism liaison was widely seen in political and tourism circles as a way for the governor to have a larger voice on tourism, since Johnson reports to the board, not the governor.
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