This is already mirabilis but moreso is the archival footage of whose existence I learned while discovering the Red Army Choir. You can watch celebrations on Red Square and feel nostalgic, as I do (nostalgia is longing for what you never had). The victory celebration after the Great Patriotic War leads inevitably to footage of the Battle of Stalingrad.

From Stalingrad you are led back in time to Verdun. I was amazed to find so much footage of the Great War, so I decided to try the earlier Boer War. There is footage of that, too, including staged footage by Thomas Edison. He also filmed the Spanish American war, including Cuban prisoners waiting for transport, but I could not discern how much of his footage was staged and how much was not.

Axé.

Today, Saturday, September 6, both Obama and McCain will address the annual "convention" of AARP.  I am not sure what world AARP lives in as their membership begins at 50, and I don't know a whole lot of people who retire at 50, but these speeches are going to be big on distinguishing one candidate from the other on a "third rail" issue - Social Security.  Now, I realize I am not 50, though this coming Thursday will put my one year closer to the big 5-0.  I do, though, due to parents who are in their mid-60's and early 70's, find Social Security to be one of the big issues for me and probably for a majority of my generation.

While definitely a special interest group, AARP had Barack Obama speak to 20,000 of their members early this morning.  I took over four pages of notes on the brief session.  Obama did make remarks after introductory remarks by AARP's president.  After his remarks, he answered 3 questions - of the 20,000 plus submitted by AARP members - before needing to go.  I encourage you to listen to Obama's remarks yourself at http://assets.aarp.org/www.aarp.org_/TopicAreas/Events/life-at-50/webstream/obama.html as I found that I have tons of notes.

The highlights of Obama's remarks are that privitization of Social Security is a bad idea.  Obama will not raise the retirement age or cut COLA (cost of living adjustments) for Social Security.  The majority of Obama's idea for saving Social Security revolve around raising the cap on Social Security taxes.  Currently, Americans pay Social Security tax on the first $102,000 dollars of income regardless of actual total income.  Obama proposes, though without ever indicating what will happen to the income betwen $102,000 and $250,000, to raise the payroll tax on incomes over $250,000.  Yes, that is a specific number but not a specific plan.  There is no discussion of what will go in the "gap" area as I stated above.  There is also no discussion of whether the tax on income over $250,000 will be the same as the tax on the first $102,000.  Further in the event, during the answer to a specific question, Obama admits that this ALONE will not fill the gap there is in Social Security with the known problem of fewer workers per retiree.

There was a considerable amount of time spent on health care and changing the culture of Washington business as usual during Obama's talk also.

If you find you can't keep up, I recommend the Huffington Post where the stuff is perpetually hitting the fan, and facts are not a problem.

If you want intellect, the GOP is swiftly becoming the party of intellect -- largely thanks to adbication on the other side.  All ideas are welcome here (just keep your language clean).  I believe in the contest of ideas.  I am anxious to support the political people who search for new ideas.  I actually believe that genuine ideas are bi-partisan.  The ideas that are grounded in reality are a blessing to everyone, and I'm eager to have both sides seek them out.

If you want innunendo, read somewhere else.  If you want serious, principled debate, bring your comments on!

We had a Republican, George Bush, for President for the past 8 years.  We had a Republican dominated Congress and Senate for 6 of the years.  We have a candidate in McCain that has voted with the President over 90% of the time.

By default, even if you think Obama is off his rocker, he owns the title that he's the candidate for change this election.  McCain really shouldn't be running commercials saying he's not, because it's inherent in such a switch from a Government dominated by conservatives for 8 years to, as McCain's campaign puts it, the most liberal Senator in the United States that change will be coming if Obama wins.

(Note:  Wasn't John Kerry the most liberal Senator in the United States 4 years ago?  If Hillary won, how much you want to bet me SHE would be the most liberal Senator in the United States according to the McCain campaign??)

For a party that as currently comprised seems to want the Ten Commandments tattoed on the back of every American child they sure have no problem bearing false witness.......(or coveting thy neighbors [husband]).

If you want to see any of the ads I believe Youtube.com has most of them posted already.

Well, it turns out that Sarah is just like nearly every other Republican government official out there. Sarah Palin lied to America. And so did John McCain. The sad part to the story is Palin could still have come across as a reformer without lying. But she and McCain decided instead to lie to us in their desperate attempt to look like Washington outsiders. So let's do look at the truth of the story:

Palin's predecessor, Frank Murkowski, bought the jet for $2.7 million in 2005. The following year, Palin unseated Murkowski in the state's Republican primary and became governor: Upon taking office, she wanted to unload what former aide Meg Stapleton called "a symbol of corruption." When putting it on eBay failed, aircraft broker Rob Heckmann was called in to sell the jet. Businessman Larry Reynolds bought the five-passenger jet for sold for $2.1 million. And Reynolds is now seeking another $50,000 from the state for unexpected maintenance issues with the aircraft.

The jet wasn't sold on eBay. The jet wasn't sold for profit. Sarah and John lied to Americans. And they didn't have to. But now that she has been caught in a long string of lies that were very obvious, it raises the question of what else is she lying about. See, this is where trust in government comes into play as an issue. It's yet another issue that the McCain/Palin ticket has no interest in discussing with the American people. If you can't trust McCain or Palin on the campaign trail, what makes you think you can trust them once they're elected? You can't. Believe these desperate snakes when they show you who they are. They will govern in exactly this same fashion, thus giving lie to another part of their campaign: reformers.

Yes, let's take a look at all of the incredible things that community organizers have done in the past and are doing in the present. As I read this post, I felt confirmed in what I'm doing during this year and what I plan to do with the rest of my life. Thank you Bonnie Schlitz for reminding me that the people in the stands at the Republican National Convention are not the only people in the world and that we can win in November. 

Thank you for reminding me of what I've believed throughout Obama's whole campaign--that Obama is not the answer, but that the work that has come out of his campaign and the communities that have come together and the groups that have been built are. The people that have come together will stay actively engaged past this election and that, that is what will change America.

how come women hold just 11 per cent of FTSE 100 directorships and only 19.3 per cent of the positions in Parliament.

and this year, there are fewer women holding top posts in 12 of the 25 categories for which figures are available.

whilst in another five categories, the number of women remains unchanged since 2007’s index. EHRC

how come it's still going to take us 27 years to achieve equality in the Civil Service and 200 years to achieve equality in parliament?

and how come the Republicans already have a woman Vice-Presidential candidate?

and Sarkozy has an unmarried north african single parent as his minister of justice?

and we have hazel blears?

1. Palin opposes polar bear endangerment listing.
2. Palin supports violators of Indigenous Rights.
3. Palin is anti-gay in opposing same sex marriage and benefits.
4. Palin supports gross de facto military violation of the “right to life” of BORN foreign infants.
5. Palin supports Bush and ignores Bush policies killing BORN American infants
6. Palin ignores horrendous child sexual abuse in America
7. Palin ignores horrendous over 50 million infant excess deaths down to the US
8. Palin supports the death penalty for Americans.
9. Palin is a climate sceptic denying man-made climate change
10. Palin supports oil industry endangerment of Alaska wilderness
11. Palin is pro-War and pro-Zionist i.e. supports violent occupation and colonization of foreign lands
12. Palin supports teaching creationism and “intelligent design” in schools
13. Palin ignores horrendous avoidable death of 1 million Americans annually under Bush
14. Palin supports shooting wolves from the air
15. Palin opposes a woman’s right to choose what to do with her own body, opposing the right to an abortion even for rape victims.
16. Palin is in the midst of a growing ethics scandal, involving the alleged abuse of her gubernatorial power to punish a State Trooper who is her sister’s ex-husband, firing a State Commissioner who refused to go along.
17. Palin called Hillary Clinton a “whiner”, even as she cynically tries to woo Clinton voters to the McCain ticket.
18. Palin has very little experience for the Vice Presidential job, serving less than two years so far of her first term as Governor of a state with fewer residents than Fort Worth, Texas. (Previously, she was Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, pop. 8,500.)
19. Palin is virtually untested, unvetted and unknown to Americans, a fact which throws into relief the hypocrisy of the many unfair criticisms leveled at Barack Obama during this campaign.
20. Palin has no foreign policy experience at all, so little in fact that her supporters are reduced to citing Alaska’s proximity to Russia.
21. She wears glasses. Instead of sending 1000 troops back she'll say oh I thought it said 100.
    
22. Her hair colour isn't natural. She's a fake already.
    
23. If she can't keep her daughters legs closed, how can she run the country?