China has refused to stop arms shipments to Zimbabwe and Robert Mugabe. It is just another sign of the Chinese Gov't propping up Dictators in Africa. We should have boycotted these Olympics. Full stop. So Robert Mugabe will still be able to buy his armaments and kill off oppenents. We should stand behind the AU on this issue. We should do all we can to support any negotiated or armed settlement that removes Mr. Mugabe from power.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200806290008.html

"I promise you I will listen to what has been said here, even though I wasn't here." -at the President's Economic Forum in Waco, Texas, Aug. 13, 2002

She hit every note and sang the song as well as it can be sung. She brought tears to these eyes as she spoke the truth from her heart. I can't say how impressive she is as a person, wife, mother, politician. A role model for us all. I am still hours since, in shock to how touching it all was. She would have made a great President. I am truely proud to say I supported her. Thank You Hillary Clinton.

Just in case you've not seen it. The UN needs to step in now and not wait. This is a bad situation that is going to get horribly worse without some leadership. It is obvious Bush is not going to do anything......Can I ask we all email our Representatives about this.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7439016.stm

I want to take my hat off to David Axelrod. Truely has become a political genius. Not sure what you do with him after the campaign but the guy has "IT"

Yes, I thought I should make one as well. Barack has won the Nomination or.....will once you know what happens. All that is left is for Hillary to take a deep breath and start anew. I'd just ask everyone to give her a little time. She is a fighter and hardheaded. She isn't very good at this. Actually, she never has had to do "this" so I am sure she is trying to find her way.

Will she concede? Surely. Will she push behind Barack? Assuredly. Will her supporters do the same? Yes.  Will it always be nice and quiet and fun? No.  Will we still complain and ask questions and try to have our way? Yes. Will your argue back? I hope so.....

But this isn't about her it is about me. I wanted to just say it was a great fight and I appreciate everyone on this site. You may not believe it but it is true. If I hurt anyone or said anything that caused anyone harm I do apologize. It was not my intention. As I have said elsewhere I am a terrible loser. I don't do it well. And, when I am equally for something I am either ALL in or not at all.

I, for one will work hard to try and make sure Barack becomes the next President because I do know what is at stake. We cannot allow another Republican to occupy the White House. We must increase majorities in both Houses of Congress. We have to be forceful in our leadership of this country as Democrats. We've let it go to fallow far too long now. We have a History. A great History of Progress and Triumph. We need to reclaim that history once again and rescue this country from the hands that it is in now. We need to do this not just for us but for the World. There are many many things that need to be done. And, President Obama is going to need all the help he can muster. There is plenty for everyone to do. Each of us has a unique role as well. It is really up to us as to how this goes. I hope that everyone will call their local precincts and make sure they become involved in the process. I urge everyone to do what they can.

As well, if you can't be giddy with excitement over what this party has accomplished this year...well you never will be. History....right here..right now.........boggles the mind. Again, you each have every right to be proud of yourselves.
Lastly, I've said it elsewhere but bears repeating. I changed my avatar to Muhammed Ali for a purpose. I hope that we can all reflect on his courage, intelligence, strength, and character in the coming months. He is, to me, the greatest American in my lifetime...maybe forever. He was unselfish in his committments to his beliefs and to his Country. He gave love and expected little in return. He won. He lost. Through it all he was the same Shining person he always was. Even in ill health he is a beacon. Lets remember, fight, fight hard, fight to win, but never give away what we truely hold as our own..Our own beliefs.  Again, thanks for allowing me the chance to be a part of this discussion. Now, lets go get BUSH/CHENEY and.....McCain and send them packing!!!!

One can only hope that Obama supporters here clear their heads and take a look at what Bobby Kennedy's first born had to say about this Non -Issue/gaffe/slur/instigation or what ever you would want to call it.

http://news.bostonherald.com/news/national/politics/2008/view/2008_05_24_Kennedy_Jr_:_Don_t_take_offense/srvc=home&position=0

If you can make an issue of what isn't an issue and then have the nerve to call Sen. Clinton the "worst" person on earth. Then , yes, every Clinton supporter will have a long think.

http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/05/23/hillary_reminds_usbut_rfk_was/index.php

Most Obese Man Loses 500 Pounds
 

A Mexican man who at 1,200 pounds was proclaimed the world's most obese man now has his sights set on a different record - the person who has lost the most weight. Manuel Uribe has has lost 518 pounds since March 2006 on a diet of grapefruits, egg-white only omelets, fish, chicken, vegetables and peanuts. He hopes to get out of the house next month for only the third time in six years to celebrate his 43rd birthday.

A Supposed Progressive Blog pumping out and supporting complete BS from a speech writer from Ronnie Reagan. A person who tore into Democrats on a daily basis then and now. Someone that helped craft those "Willie Horton" ideas within the Republican Party. And, now, here she is supported on this "progressive democratic" blog doing what? Tearing down another Democrat and Democrats. See, whether anyone wants to look at the math or not Mrs. Clinton has gotten I believe somewhere around 49% of the total votes cast in the Democratic Primaries.  The Democratic party cannot win any election at the top or bottom of any ticket without these. If Obama and his cohorts(one can only assume that Mrs.Noonan is one now?) thinks differently they will be saddened in the fall. So, I would just caution Josh and clan to maybe check things out before they stick them up there. I would hope it would insult any Democrat to have Peggy freakin Noonan of all people posted here. Who's next Rush Limbaugh?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121027865275678423.html?mod=opinion_columns_featured_lsc

Two more Primaries and the same questions about Mr. Obama exist. He had a real chance to seal the deal on this Nomination last night in Indiana but instead dropped the race to Hillary Clinton. How can we go into the fall with a Candidate that certainly can't stop the competition? He started with a lead in Indiana and admittedly declared the Indiana was the "tie-breaker". He had a lead in a state that borders his own Illinois. A state that should have been in his back pocket given the vast amount of resources available to him. The questions about his electability will not go away. No amount of spinning at TPM or Huffington or in the MSM will change this fact.

Obviously, this tie breaker falls for Sen. Clinton. I am sure with the result in NC that there will be calls for her to quit. However, the real question should be to the Party Fathers. How can we go into an election with this weak of a Candidate?

As we head into the summer months in the North we almost certainly will start pushing open the spigots and watering our lawns and using water in a carefree manner. Can I ask that we just reflect on this activity and many others that we do in the coming months? Attached is a quick article outlining some of the hazard areas around the world that are currently facing drought situations. These situations will only grow and not recede given the lack of consisent water conservation efforts around the globe. There is more extensive drilling for water than ever before. Rates of water desalinasation is growing rapidly. It can't be sustained at current rates.

If you view the article the problem areas are not just located in certain regions such as sub-sarharan africa. Instead its a widespread issue. This issue, of course, dovetails into Jonathan's recent articles on food shortages and food riots. This is an issue that will not go away. It links us all around the globe and we cannot make decisions for ourselves without talking and thinking of other peoples.

Its obvious then to that we have effective leadership in the White House/State Departmetn/Interior/Commerce to work and lead the world on these issues. We MUST elect Democrats to any and all offices throughout the land. At the end it doesn't really matter if its Hillary or Barack. Either person is far better than the alternative. Once we stop beating each other up(yes someday I will stop) the job is to back the Nominee and get them elected as well as other Representatives and Senators.

http://www.harvesth2o.com/waterconservation.shtml

Messed this up the first time I tried it. Hope it didn't get to where it was supposed to go.

Anyway, attached is a dirty guide to plastic water bottles that is handy. There have been questions in recent days about leeching of chemicals from bottles into water. Nalgene bottles seem to be taking a hit.

One caveat, there haven't been a lot of leeching studies done to indicate the conditions and length it would take for chemicals to leech from the bottle to the water. Whether it is significant or not it probably is a good thing to keep your eye on what plastics are used to make the bottles you drink from.

Just an aside, I think water/water quality/water use are going to be big issues in the coming years. How and where we access the water that goes into our evian these days is becoming big issues across the country in large and small towns. Suffice to say that bottling millions of gallons of spring water each day and moving it across the country to you and me doesn't really make much ecological or economic sense. All  I can ask is that we have a think about what we are picking up the next time we go for that bottle of water at the store. Peace!

http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/101/plastic

There was a cute little interview with Jeff Imelt , CEO of GE, in the current issue of Business Week. Besides explaining why he didn't make the quarterly numbers that he had promised Wall Street he made of a few comments about NBC and the Olympics.

His general take on it was pretty much a white wash. He inferred that it wasn't up to NBC/GE to interject into this situation. That discussing Tibet and the problems there wasn't something that they should be doing. That contacting and talking to NGO's involved would be about as far as GE should go. All the while NBC will be garnering huges margins later in the Summer with the advertising revenue gotten from these Olympics. The coup-de-grace for me was a final statement about GE not being a Political Institution.

That is the largest bucket of crap I have heard in years. Major International Corps are Political. Always have been, always will be. They have had a hand in US Gov't policy from time immortal. I remember when the slogan "whats good for GM is good for America" was generally thought of as a good thing. GE has plenty of lobbyists on Capital Hill extolling the virtues of allowing them to move jobs from one country to the next without the slightest worry about the community they are upsetting or destroying. They use their extensive power to shape our country and towns. Making sure along the way that they aren't held responsible for the inevitable messes that they make.

Its this lack of leadership that we see coming out of Boardrooms all across the land that has helped get our economy and country in the shape that it is. We need to do our best to force CEO's to realize that they not only need to worry about profits but about the world that they do business in as well.  I would like to ask if there are spare moments a note into NBC/GE requesting that they help get answers on how and when China is going to set things right with their policy in Tibet.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_17/b4081000399973.htm?chan=magazine+channel_the+business+week

This has been eating at me for some time but I thought I would go ahead and ask. Why can't Barack seal the deal on this thing? He's been running with a margin since the first of the year and here we set middle of April and he hasn't really done much with the lead. I know most of you will say he has already won it but in reality we all know that he hasn't. He still needs help to get to the Nomination in the form of Supers. Why isn't the Front runner for the Nomination not able to win or at least lead polls in obvious Democratic strongholds like PA? Is it too much to expect that he would have despatched of Hillary by now or at least made it look silly for her  stay in?

Just a few questions.