On 16 August 2008, Saddleback founder and senior pastor Rick Warren interviewed John McCain and Barack Obama at his “non-denominational, Evangelical Christian megachurch” located in Lake Forest, California. A coin toss determined Obama go first as McCain waited in soundproof seclusion (revealed since he was actually in his motorcade) to be asked the same sets of questions one hour later. The overly rehearsed candidates polished stump positions, spun old anecdotes and shovelled rhetoric knee deep yet the audience continued to show warmth and enthusiasm for each man even when the substance of their acts wore thin.

Rather than change the face of American politics this mixing of government and religion in the public square merely grew Warren’s notoriety and may have stiffened McCain’s shaky standing amongst evangelicals as his gum-baring snarling was uncharacteristically in sync with words that mostly weren’t sputtered – he appeared flushed as if on stimulants – euphoric his cheat sheet was on the money.

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Slavoj Zizek, The New Statesman, 14 August 2008

A new account of Haiti’s recent history shows how the genuinely radical politics of Lavalas and its leader, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, proved too threatening to the country’s wealthy elite and their foreign backers.

Noam Chomsky once noted that “it is only when the threat of popular participation is overcome that democratic forms can be safely contemplated”. He thereby pointed at the “passivising” core of parliamentary democracy, which makes it incompatible with the direct political self- organisation and self-empowerment of the people. Direct colonial aggression or military assault are not the only ways of pacifying a “hostile” population: so long as they are backed up by sufficient levels of coercive force, international “stabilisation” missions can overcome the threat of popular participation through the apparently less abrasive tactics of “democracy promotion”, “humanitarian intervention” and the “protection of human rights”.

[Read the review]

Two years ago, about a dozen human rights activists devised a plan to sail a boat to Gaza in order to break the siege. We rejected a plan to rent a boat as impractical because a similar venture in 1988 failed and three organizers were killed. Thus no boat owner would willingly risk his craft. We ultimately decided to purchase two small boats that could carry 44 passengers, crew and media. (Some of the photos of the boats are on the IMAGE GALLERY page on our website.)

Each of us contributed what we could, and we also received thousands of dollars from individual supporters, most of whom used the Paypal link on our website. We also held fund-raising events, received a few thousand dollars from small grants, and several “angels” helped us along the way. Each passenger has paid his/her own way to get here, and many have raised additional money through their groups, worked extra jobs, and asked family and friends to donate. The passengers also paid an additional 600 Euros each for lodging in Cyprus and to cover the cost of supplies and food on land and sea.

Through these efforts we have raised $300,000, which we thought covered our costs. But the eroding dollar/Euro exchange rate seriously drained our funds. All of our planning did not anticipate this contingency.

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MCCAIN: ‘WE ARE ALL GEORGIANS’

Using the Georgian president’s nickname — although mispronouncing his last name — McCain said he spoke with President “Misha” Saakashvili today and reassured him that “the thoughts and the prayers and support of the American people are with that brave little nation as they struggle for their freedom and independence.”

“And he wanted me to say thank you to you, to give you his heartfelt thanks for the support of the American people for this tiny little democracy far away from the United States of America,” McCain said of his conversation with Saakashvili. “And I told him that I know I speak for every American when I say to him, ‘Today we are all Georgians.'”

McCain is dumber than Bush and delusional like Saakashvili.

Obama should relieve this relic of any advisory post he serves.

Pat Bagley, Salt Lake City Tribune, 31 July 2008

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