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Sarah Palin Goes 'Birther'

Obama Birth Certificate, Obama Citizenship, Sarah Palin declared on Thursday that the legitimacy of President Obama's birth certificate is "rightfully" an issue with the American public, and that it is "fair game" for politicians to question Obama's citizenship.

The comments came during an interview with conservative radio host Rusty Humphries, who asked Palin whether she planned to "make the birth certificate an issue" if she runs for president in 2012.

"I think the public rightfully is still making it an issue," Palin said. "I don't have a problem with that. I don't know if I would have to bother to make it an issue, because I think that members of the electorate still want answers."

Humphries -- who began the interview with a rendition of the song "Sarah, Queen Of The Wild Frontier" -- followed up: "Do you think it's a fair question to be looking at?"

"I think it's a fair question just like I think past associations and past voting records. All of that is fair game," Palin responded, adding that "the McCain-Palin campaign didn't do a good enough job in that area. We didn't call out Obama and some of his associates on their records and what their beliefs were, and perhaps what their future plans were, and I don't think that was fair to voters to not have done our job as candidates and a campaign to bring to light a lot of things that now we're seeing manifest in the administration."

Palin later referenced "that weird conspiracy theory freaky thing that people talk about that Trig isn't my real son, and a lot of people that went 'Well, you need to produce his birth certificate, you need to prove that he's your kid,' which we have done, but yeah, so maybe we can reverse that, and use the same [inaudible] thinking on the other one."

See NFL Network, We Can Do It Too

The NFL has decided to grace us with a game that only 40% of the country can watch. This should be great. I’m doing a full fantasy column on Saturday as well but if you have anyone going in this game I’ll tell you who to start and sit. So here we go:

Start:

Alex Smith (QB, 49ers): So the Bears have given up a shitload of points over the last two games. I think Alex Smith will rebound after the shitshow from last week

Vernon Davis (TE, 49ers): He has 477 yards and 7TDs after starting really slow. He also has decided to shit on the entire Bears defensive line. He needs to play to back up that comment

Michael Crabtree (WR, 49ers): I have a feeling the Crabtree will get his first NFL TD in this game. Isaac Bruce is out and if you can name another receiver on that team then you know more than I ever will. Crabtree is the Niners best option down the field

Devin Hester (WR, Bears): The Niners D is missing people too, namely CB Nate Clements. If the Niners D can stop the run, then look for Cutler to go deep to Hester

Sit:

Chicago Bears Defense: If I told you to start the Niners “Big Three” then you better sit these clowns. They’ve given up a shitload of points and Lovie Smith, a supposed defensive guy, can’t coach his way out of a paper bag. Not a good look for Da Bears

San Francisco 49ers Defense: This game’s gonna be a shootout. With no Nate Clements, the Niners are weak in the secondary so somebody will blow up for the Bears. It’ll be fun to watch if you like lots of TDs

Jay Cutler (QB, Bears): He’s been turning the ball over a lot and I know he found Greg Olsen for three TDs last week (I benched him for Ben Watson, FUCK ME) but he hasn’t been doing anything else. I wouldn’t chance it

So that’ll do it. I’ll give you the full report on Saturday. See you then!
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U.S. Turning Attention to Iraq from Afghanistan the 'Gravest Error of All'

For the second night, CBS devoted time in its “Afghanistan: The Road Ahead” series -- which consumed the entirety of Tuesday's CBS Evening News -- to stressing how the decision to go into Iraq undermined success in Afghanistan. Lara Logan, CBS's chief foreign correspondent, rued “the U.S. allowed Osama bin Laden to escape from the Tora Bora mountains” and then, in endorsing the view she credited to “many,” she contended:

What many here see as the gravest error of all: Afghans were wary as the U.S. turned its attention to invading Iraq. And they were right. Everything from reconstruction and aid to the fight itself suffered as the U.S. shifted its resources and its focus away from Afghanistan and the commitment it had made to the Afghan people. Not surprisingly, Afghan support for the war began to fade.read more

US economic power 'is declining'

US economic power is declining as a result of the financial crisis, the head of the World Bank has said.

"One of the legacies of this crisis may be a recognition of changed economic power relations," said World Bank president Robert Zoellick.

The US, the world's biggest economy, has been in recession for almost two years, while emerging economies like China and Brazil have grown.

This may help bring about a long-term rebalancing of the world economy.

'Changed relations'

"A multi-polar economy less reliant on the US consumer will be a more stable world economy," Mr Zoellick said.

He was speaking in Istanbul before meetings of the the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), where there is some discussion about how to reorganise the leadership of the bodies so that they better reflect the diversified world.

For example, China recently got a permanent chair on the IMF's 24-seat policy-making committee. read more

Heavy US losses in Afghan battle

Eight American soldiers and two Afghan troops have been killed in the deadliest attack on coalition troops for more than a year, officials say.

The battle happened in Nuristan province in the remote east of the country when military outposts were attacked, a Nato statement said.

The Taliban said it carried out the attack. Reports say local officials including a police chief were captured.

Violence has escalated in the east as insurgents relocate from the south.

In a statement, Nato's International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) said that tribal militia launched attacks on foreign and Afghan military outposts from a mosque and a nearby village. read more

Fire in Southern California's San Bernardino National Forest

LYTLE CREEK, CALIF. — A fire driven by winds of 40 mph destroyed three homes and threatened dozens of others in a rugged warren of mountains and canyons northeast of San Bernardino on Saturday.

As a huge wall of flames chewed through thick timber and brush in the Lytle Creek area 15 miles northeast of San Bernardino, residents of some 50 homes in its path fled, taking horses and pets with them. No injuries were reported.

"We do have structures lost, three homes in Swarthout Canyon," said Norma Bailey, a fire information officer with the U.S. Forest Service. The area is not far from Interstate 15, a major route connecting Las Vegas with Southern California.

About 50 homes are located in the canyon, and Bailey said evacuation centers had been opened for people, large animals like horses and smaller animals like dogs and cats. People were being housed at Eisenhower High School in nearby Rialto, while horses were being boarded at the Glen Helen Regional Park rodeo grounds in Devore and smaller animals were being taken to a local animal shelter. The area is about 60 miles east of Los Angeles.

The blaze, named the sheep Fire, broke out about 2 p.m. in the northwest corner of Lytle Creek, a small community surrounded by the San Bernardino National Forest. Fueled by thick timber and brush, and pushed over hills and canyons by the wind, it quickly burned across 1,500 acres.

It was only 5 percent contained Saturday night, and its cause was under investigation.

In addition to the homes, campgrounds and an RV park in the area were also evacuated.

The interstate, from which huge plumes of smoke and walls of flames were visible, remained open.read more

First Lady and President Obama Celebrate 17th Anniversary

The First Lady and President Obama celebrated their first anniversary in the White House this evening. The First Couple dined at the Blue Duck Tavern in the West End of Washington, between Dupont Circle and Georgetown, according to the The Swamp.

“At 7:40 pm EDT, the presidential motorcade stopped in front of Blue Duck Tavern in the West End of Washington, between Dupont Circle and Georgetown…

The restaurant…specializes in classic American fare, with a wood-burning oven. We have no idea what the first couple ordered, but the seared striped bass goes for $24, the braised wreckfish $26.

He wore a dark suit. She wore a black dress.

At 9:15 pm, with a few passersby, including a handful of Washington firefighters, straining for a view and showing digital cameras, the first couple left the restaurant.read more

Obama's Hometown Won't Host The Olympics

The International Olympic Committee rejected the US bid to bring the 2016 Olympics to Chicago moments ago. The decision is a humiliating blow to President Barack Obama, who flew to Copenhagen to plead Chicago's case to the committee.

Obama is the only sitting U.S. president to attend an IOC meeting. Many thought that this unprecedented attention from the president, who brought along first lady Michelle Obama, would give Chicago an edge in the competition to host the Olympics.

Instead, it resulted in disaster. Chicago was the first city rejected, receiving the lowest vote total of all four finalists. Tokyo was rejected a few minutes later, leaving only Rio de Janeiro and Madrid in the running.

Losing in the first round of voting has to raise questions about whether the White House bungled this affair. They must have believed that Chicago had a very good chance to win before deciding that the President would push the bid himself. Perhaps they over-estimated Obama's influence internationally. Certainly, this is blow to Obama's prestige.

The White House staked, and lost, some prestige on that one.

Thousands of people gathered in downtown Chicago were thrown for a loop. The vote in Copenhagen was being displayedon huge television screens in the Daley Center. As the news was announced, the crowd fell into a stunned silence.
Thanks to:www.businessinsider.com

Different' Afghan strategy urged

Coalition forces in Afghanistan are going to have to adopt a "dramatically different" strategy to ensure success, the top US general there says.

In his first speech since submitting a report calling for more troops, Gen Stanley McChrystal also said the operation had been "under-resourced".

The success of the military operation could not be taken for granted in the face of a growing insurgency, he said.

Meanwhile, a Nato strike in Helmand has killed at least six civilians. read more

US urges 'cyber hygiene' effort

The US government has urged all internet users to play their part in protecting the network from attack.

The call comes at the start of National Cyber Security Awareness month.

The Homeland Security Department said "all computer users, not just industry and government, have a responsibility to practice good 'cyber hygiene'".

Security experts agree and have said users need to think before they click as part of an effort to highlight how vulnerable e-mail is to cyber scams.

A recent report claimed e-mail spam is on the rise and accounted for 87% of all e-mail sent in August. read more

PM considers Afghan troops boost

Downing Street says the prime minister is "open-minded" about whether more UK troops are needed in Afghanistan.

A spokesman said any increase depended on the right strategy being in place and the necessary equipment being available for personnel.

And Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth told the BBC that equipment did not "come from Marks and Spencer" and took time to procure.

Gordon Brown said troops were facing "guerrilla warfare" in Afghanistan.

The UK currently has about 9,000 military personnel in Afghanistan, the second largest deployment of any nation.
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Afghanistan's people have advice for U.S

Though some welcome the presence of American and NATO troops, they say the war can not be won without a change in strategy. Among their suggestions: Negotiate with the Taliban.Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan - Take advice from locals instead of trying to impose your own ideas on a tribal society. Invite the Taliban to the negotiating table. Use traditional governing structures rather than reinventing the wheel. And spend a lot more money on plowshares than on swords.

Afghan shopkeepers, women wearing head scarves, day laborers, analysts and former mujahedin fighters are exhausted by three decades of war. Now they worry that conditions are deteriorating again. Violence has increased and fraud allegations shadow the August presidential election. Huge sums of foreign money are being spent with few tangible results.
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Pressure increases on Obama over Afghanistan

President Obama is under increasing pressure to decide whether the United States will commit more troops and resources to the conflict in Afghanistan.
President Obama holds a strategy review on Afghanistan in the White House on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the head of NATO met with the president and endorsed Obama's plan to fine-tune the strategy for Afghanistan before deciding on whether to deploy more troops.

"I agree with President Obama in his approach: strategy first, then resources," NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said after meeting with Obama at the White House.read more

JK Rowling denied top US honou

Harry Potter author JK Rowling missed out on a top honour because some US politicia

ns believed she "encouraged witchcraft", it has been claimed.

Matt Latimer, former speech writer for President George W Bush, said that some members of his administration believed her books promoted sorcery.

As a result, she was never presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The claims appear in Latimer's new book called Speechless: Tales of a White House Survivor.

He wrote that "narrow thinking" led White House officials to object to giving Rowling the civilian honour. read more

UK Supreme Court to be sworn in

Judges who will form the highest court in the United Kingdom are set to be sworn in on Thursday in a major milestone in British legal history.

The Justices of the Supreme Court are replacing the Law Lords as the final court of appeal for almost all cases in the United Kingdom.

The court is independent of Parliament and will hear the most important cases.

Lord Phillips, President of the Supreme Court, said the change in their form was important for judicial openness.

The £59m Supreme Court, which sits opposite Parliament in London, opens after it was first announced six years ago. Its first 11 members were until last month the Law Lords who would have otherwise heard the same cases in the House of Lords. read more

Obama Afghan review to last weeks

The White House says that President Barack Obama will take several more weeks to review United States strategy in Afghanistan.

Only then will he make a decision on whether to send more US troops.

The White House issued a statement after the president met his most senior advisors to discuss the way forward.

General Stanley McChrystal, the top US military commander ins Afghanistan - has already warned that the mission could fail without more resources.

President Obama held the second of what the White House says will be five intensive sessions on Afghanistan and Pakistan with his National Security team.

These discussions will influence the decision on whether the US deepens its military commitment in Afghanistan.

The meeting included Vice President Joe Biden, Defence Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as well as senior military staff. read more

Bank of America's boss to retire

Bank of America's beleaguered chief executive Kenneth Lewis is to retire at the end of the year.

The announcement comes after Mr Lewis has faced continuing criticism over his running of the firm, particularly last year's decision to buy Merrill Lynch.

This $50bn (£31bn) deal depleted Bank of America's cash reserves, and it subsequently needed a government bail-out as the financial crisis worsened. read more

IMF warns of further recession risks

Banks round the world have still to reveal about half of their likely losses resulting from the financial and economic crisis, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday, warning that there was still a "significant" risk of another downward lurch in the global recession.

Protestors face policemen during an anti-International Monetary Fund demonstration in Istanbul.

The IMF described credit risks as remaining "elevated" even though financial conditions have improved significantly since spring.

It said these risks, alongside weakened banks, were likely to depress the availability of new credit and damp the global economic recovery unless significant additional capital was raised to improve the health and lending capability of banking systems.read more

Senior U.S. official holds talks in Cuba

A senior American diplomat had high-level talks with the Cuban government in Havana, the State Department said Tuesday.
Cuba's Deputy Foreign Minister Dagoberto Rodriguez during a wreath-laying ceremony on Monday.

Bisa Williams, acting deputy assistant secretary, met this week with Deputy Foreign Minister Dagoberto Rodriguez during a six-day trip to Cuba, Assistant Secretary P.J. Crowley said.

Williams was in Havana to meet with Cuban officials about restoring direct mail service between Cuba and the United States. Crowley said she extended her stay to meet with Cuban officials and members of Cuban civil service about various issues, including ongoing migration talks. read more

Thursday meeting with Iran to test Obama 'engagement' policy

Thursday's meeting between the United States and Iran may be the highest-level talks in t

hree decades between the two countries, but the United States is cautious about predicting what might come next.

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana will determine details of Thursday's meeting.

The meeting is central to the Obama administration policy of international "engagement" and its attempt to persuade Iran to halt its nuclear program. Iran says its nuclear enrichment and other activities are for civilian power-generating uses only, while the United States is concerned that Iran is determined to build nuclear weapons.
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