jimblr.com

Very Clintonian. Very crafty.
She didn’t bow out. She showed her muscle.
She didn’t say anything that would totally rule out a run at the convention. And she didn’t offer Obama her sword.
She may be setting up the biggest rope-a-dope the world has ever seen.
This is truly a remarkable day. Mark it well. This is the beginning of historic change in the U.S. While not yet elected as President, Barack’s emergence from anonymity is as much a reaction to the current Republican administration as it is the mark of significant colossal political change in the United States. It will forever change the civic landscape not only of America but the entire world geoploitically. May it mark the beginning of a renewed relationship of one of the world’s greatest nations with the rest of the world. The greatest days are yet to come as once again the best of American values will be realized in this candidate November hence. As a Canadian and a world citizen, I welcome these changes as encouraging to all peoples throughout our planet who yearn for liberty, prosperity and happiness. Rest assured what has happened tonight is extremely significant and should make Americans proud of their political institutions.
According to information I received some time ago, Obama really isn’t black - 50% white (mother 100%), 44% arab (father 88%), 6% black (father 12%). His father officially listed himself as an arab, Obama’s full name is arabic. I didn’t come up with this info, can someone point me to any contradictory info, or validate the info I have? If the info I have is true, is 6% black “black”?
Who will get Hillary’s supporters?
Obama or McCain?
Of the three speeches toinght… I would say McCain is looking good.
I can’t believe the Democratic Party screwed the pooch… once again.

latimesblogs.latimes.com

Early election results in Los Angeles County showed voters approving utility taxes and school bond measures in five jurisdictions, but parcel taxes in two school districts were trailing badly.
In Covina, a measure to extend an existing utility tax was holding a slight lead after voters rejected a similar proposal in March 2007. Measure C would extend the 6% tax for 10 years.
The current tax, which expires in March 2009, raises about $5 million a year, or roughly 20% of the city’s general budget.
“We’re certainly pleased, but it’s going to be a long night,” said resident Charles M. Kemp, a board member of the Covina-Valley Unified School District, as he watched returns with several dozen supporters at his home.
In Hermosa Beach, Measure E would authorize the Hermosa Beach City School District to levy a tax of $257 per assessor parcel, which would last five years and increase 5% annually.
The measure, which needs two-thirds “yes” votes to pass, was far behind in the early returns.
In South Gate, voters were approving Measure P, which would create a 1% city sales tax to raise up to $7 million annually for new police officers and gang-intervention programs, as well as park maintenance and street improvements, according to supporters.
The other measures are:
* Measure A in the Centinela Valley Union School District, which was trailing. It would create a parcel tax of 4 cents per square foot for nine years to help pay for teachers and upgrade educational programs in the district, which includes Lawndale and part of Hawthorne.
It needs approval from two-thirds of the voters.
* Measure H in the Hawthorne School District, which was leading . It would authorize $20 million in bonds to be issued to improve and build schools.
The measure requires 55% approval to pass.

latimes.com

One Night Stand Opener:
We’re live from the San Diego Sports Arena as Jim Ross announces that the event is sold out. Tonight, every match will have ‘extreme rules’. Lilian announces that Umaga vs. Jeff Hardy will start things out.
Falls Count Anywhere
Jeff Hardy vs. Umaga
The following match is a Falls Count Anywhere match. Jeff Hardy comes out first. He got another loud pop from the live crowd. Umaga comes out to his usual amount of heat. Chad Patton is the referee for this opening contest. The bell rings and we’re officially underway.
Umaga starts with the opening control, throwing Hardy into the turnbuckles and drawing loud heat. Hardy connects on a kick but when he tries going off the top rope, he is caught by Umaga and slammed to the mat for the first near fall of the match. Umaga, somewhat overzealous, goes to attack Hardy on the mat but ends up getting thrown to the outside. Hardy jumps to the outside with a cross-body for a cover on the outside.
It doesn’t seem to affect Umaga as he goes on the offensive on the outside. The fight goes to the crowd with Umaga using chairs and then throwing Jeff into a crowd barrier. Umaga begins to taunt Hardy, but he turns around only to get a traffic control barrel over the head by Hardy. It doesn’t have any affect on Umaga as he beats Hardy down with right hands. Umaga goes for a splash, but he misses.
Hardy picks up a fire extinguisher and hoses Umaga with it. Umaga tries to get away but Hardy follows. Hardy does it again to Umaga in the locker room. Umaga picks up a wood chair in the backstage area, Hardy dodges it. Hardy climbs a set of stairs backstage, he slides down the rail onto Umaga. Hardy gets a two count as Chad Patton is with them.

impactwrestling.com

While few would deny Egypt’s education system is in urgent need of an overhaul the answer is not to turn it into a site for endless experimentation, cancelling the sixth grade one year, reinstating it the next, turning the thanaweya amma (GSC) into a two-year programme rather than one and then as quickly announcing that the new system is itself to be revised.
So is the three-day conference on reforming Egypt’s secondary education system held at the Al-Azhar Conference Centre and which began on 10 May going to end this state of seemingly perpetual flux? Inaugurated by President Hosni Mubarak and attended by Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Hani Helal and Minister of Education Yosri El-Gamal, the conference certainly had a high-powered list of attendees. Mubarak described the National Conference for Developing Secondary Education as "a new phase of national dialogue on all issues of importance and relevance for comprehensive development".
On Sunday the president told his audience that the end product of Egypt’s current education system leaves much to be desired. Curricula, teaching methods and teaching skills must all be improved; educational administration must be decentralised; a culture of scientific research must be supported; services for special needs students should improve and the university system be revamped either by creating new facilities or restructuring the largest ones into smaller, more specialised campuses. Mubarak identified 11 criteria to develop secondary education via the curriculum, teaching methods, examinations and admittance to universities so as to qualify secondary school and university graduates for the job market.
He spoke of the need to increase young people’s competitive ability in a knowledge-based society, enhance their sense of belonging and create a vigorous and interactive environment in which students can pursue their education. He stressed the importance of focussing on providing young people with salable skills in order to bring down unemployment, pointing out that currently 27 per cent of secondary students join the science section while the rest study liberal arts. He also underlined that reforms should be undertaken on the basis of a partnership between the private sector and civil society on the one hand and the government on the other. "The government, education boards, civil society and the private sector must all work together to achieve our shared goal of raising the standard of education," Mubarak said.

weekly.ahram.org.eg

“In a particularly sharp blast,” Pres. Bush told the Israeli Knesset today that Barack Obama and other Dems are in favor of “appeasement” of terrorists in the same way U.S. leaders appeased Nazis (CNN.com, 5/15).
Bush: “Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along. We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: ‘Lord, if I could only have talked to Hitler, all this might have been avoided.’ We have an obligation to call this what it is — the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history” (mult., 5/15).
Obama responded in a statement his campaign released at 9:35 a.m. ET.
Obama: “It is sad that President Bush would use a speech to the Knesset on the 60th anniversary of Israel’s independence to launch a false political attack. It is time to turn the page on eight years of policies that have strengthened Iran and failed to secure America or our ally Israel. Instead of tough talk and no action, we need to do what Kennedy, Nixon and Reagan did and use all elements of American power - including tough, principled, and direct diplomacy - to pressure countries like Iran and Syria. George Bush knows that I have never supported engagement with terrorists, and the President’s extraordinary politicization of foreign policy and the politics of fear do nothing to secure the American people or our stalwart ally Israel” (release, 5/15).
CNN’s Henry: “While the words ‘Barack Obama’ were never used, White House aides privately admit the president was referring not just to Barack Obama, but to other Democrats like Jimmy Carter. … So, the inference in clear. While the president didn’t name names, administration officials are privately acknowleding this was a shot at Barack Obama and other Democrats. … It’s worth noting that this administration itself has, at lower levels, sat down with Iranian officials in recent months” (CNN, 5/15).

nationaljournal.com

WASHINGTON— Race again played a pivotal role in Tuesday’s Democratic presidential clashes, as whites in Indiana and North Carolina leaned solidly toward Hillary Rodham Clinton and blacks voted overwhelmingly for Barack Obama, exit polls showed. Almost half said they were influenced by the focus on Obama’s former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
Obama, the Illinois senator battling to become the first black president, again failed to gain ground with a crucial voting bloc that has consistently eluded him — working-class whites. But he pieced together coalitions that besides blacks included the young, first-time primary voters, the very liberal and college graduates, plus sizable minorities of whites.
According to exit polls of voters, about two-thirds of whites in both states who have not completed college were supporting Clinton. The New York senator could use that to fortify her argument that she would be the stronger Democratic candidate in the November general election. Of 28 states that held primaries in which she and Obama competed before Tuesday, Clinton had prevailed with working-class white voters in 25.
Wright was a looming factor in the voting, with nearly half in each state saying he was important in choosing a candidate. Of that group, seven in 10 in Indiana and six in 10 in North Carolina backed Clinton.
Those saying Wright did not influence them heavily favored Obama. In North Carolina, Obama got more votes from people saying they discounted the Wright episode than Clinton got from those affected by it, while in Indiana the two groups were about equal in size.
Among whites, eight in 10 in both states who said Wright affected their choice went with Clinton. That was well above the six in 10 whites overall who supported her.
In both states, two-thirds of Clinton’s white voters said Wright was important. That compared to eight in 10 white Obama supporters who said Wright was not a factor.

boston.com

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 4/30/08 – Continuing the newest “American Idol” tradition of hoisting the contestants on someone else’s petard, the five survivors were each instructed to perform two Neil Diamond songs on Tuesday’s show. Since the classic crooner’s style didn’t quite suit any of the “Idol” aspirants, the result was similar to that of weeks prior, with the contestants’ well known strengths and weaknesses on display for all to see and no breakout performances.
Jason Castro performed “Forever in Blue Jeans” and “September Morn,” proving once again that he was no less or more than a competent singer. His choice of tunes unfamiliar to the young “Idol” crowd didn’t help his cause.
Syesha Mercado was up to her usual standards of performance with “Hello Again” and “Thank the Lord for the Night Time,” but her penchant for obscure selections mirrored that of Castro, and her efforts may not have been strong enough to ensure a shot at the crown, considering her frequent trips to the show’s bottom ranks in weeks past and the rapidly shrinking contestant pool.
Crowd favorite David Archuleta decided to go with upbeat hit “Sweet Caroline” and patriotic theme “America,” but like Mercado, his attempts were simply good and not breathtaking.
“America” would have been better suited to raspy rocker David Cook, who instead took on “I’m Alive” and “All I Really Need Is You.” He was the best talent of the night by far, showcasing his ability to make others’ work his own, but it’s hard to say if the songs he selected did anything to bolster his chances.
Brooke White, perhaps the most interesting remaining contestant, channeled the dual nature of a Gemini by giving two performances—one dubbed “nightmar[ish]” by judge Simon Cowell and the other actually befitting someone of her skill.

hollywoodtoday.net

Mar 30, 2008 (The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) — – George Rapp founded a pious communal society in hopes of preparing his followers for the second coming of Jesus Christ.
But the influence of the Harmony Society has reached much further than the 2,000 members who followed Rapp’s teachings during a 100-year period.
Towns in Beaver and Butler counties, the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad, oil, lumber and coal companies all owe their existence to Rapp and his self-sufficient religious society that came to be more than 200 years ago.
And while the Harmony Society disbanded a century ago, their lives play out every day in Old Economy Village, a section of Ambridge, Beaver County, preserved by the state.
The site, owned and operated by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, is a National Historic Landmark.
And Mary Ann Landis, director of Old Economy Village, says she hopes people come to realize the role the Harmonists played in society at large.
Outsiders came to study their economic system. They were outspoken opponents of low tariffs on imported goods, to the point that one society member was called to testify about the matter before Congress.
Landis’ hope is that visitors to the village “gain an appreciation for how important the Harmony Society was in the early part of the 19th century for the development of this part of Pennsylvania, as well as politically and economically for America.”
But their purposes were religious, not economic.
The group got its beginnings in 1785, when George Rapp had a revelation and began a religious revolution in his native Germany. He believed the Millennium — Christ’s 1,000 year reign on Earth — was at hand.
Rapp and his followers separated themselves from the Lutheran Church and eventually came to America. Rapp and 800 followers built a community on 4,000 acres in Butler County in 1804.

tradingmarkets.com

Posted to the web 28 March 2008
MANY companies closed shop last week and have adopted a wait-and-see attitude as investors tread cautiously in anticipation of the outcome of tomorrow’s elections.
As companies’ operations remain depressed, government’s domestic debt has increased to $1,6 quadrillion as at March 8 from $60 billion on February 1.
Analysts have attributed the soaring deficit to hyperinflation, which has pushed the initial budget of elections from $208 trillion to an undisclosed figure understood to be hovering around $800 trillion.
The Reserve Bank has continued to print money with money supply at 51 768,8% for November last year and expected to be over 150 000% by February this year.
Stock market prices this week weakened sharply as investors pocketed profits from a rally that has lasted nearly six weeks.
Fixed income investments continue to perform badly due to the continued excess liquidity conditions on the money market emanating from injections from fiscal and quasi-fiscal expenditures to fund, among others things, the farm mechanisation programme.
The post-election monetary policy promised by Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono has complicated investors’ ability to make medium to long-term investments.
It is estimated that about 65% of operating companies and industries could have closed last week although industry sources could not ascertain this figure.
Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries president, Calisto Jokonya however said while some companies have closed shop, the figure of 65% was an exaggeration.
"Some companies did close shop but that (65%) figure is an exaggeration and not coming from CZI, even though we (CZI) do not have exact figures," Jokonya told businessdigest.
"The economic environment has not been normal for almost every business and we do not expect it to be better even after elections. Most companies are however hoping that the election results would enable them to operate viably," said Jokonya.

allafrica.com

After Xavier squandered a double-digit lead in the second half against Ohio State in the N.C.A.A. tournament last season, Lavender wanted to issue a statement that it would not happen again.
Lavender’s message proved prescient in the third-seeded Musketeers’ 73-61 victory against No. 14 Georgia on Thursday in the first round of the N.C.A.A. tournament. On Saturday, they will face No. 6 Purdue, which is seeded sixth in the West Region, after the Boilermakers beat Baylor, 90-79.
Xavier’s comeback from an 11-point deficit in the second half will long leave Georgia fans pointing at the referees more than the Musketeers. Xavier shot 29 free throws in the second half compared with only 5 for Georgia. That disparity and the clock stoppages that go with it allowed the Musketeers to come back and outlast the Bulldogs.
“Clearly,” Georgia Coach Dennis Felton said, “that was the difference in the game.”
Look no further than the line of Xavier’s leading scorer, Josh Duncan, for evidence. He scored 20 points, making 4 of 9 shots from the field and 11 of 14 from the free-throw line. Xavier went 27 of 33 from the line over all; Georgia was 3 of 5.
The Musketeers managed to score 47 second-half points and erase a 9-point halftime deficit despite making only 10 baskets in the second half.
“It’s hard to compete with that,” Georgia guard Billy Humphrey said. “They’re taking wide-open shots at the free-throw line, and they’re doing it five times as much as we are, almost six times as much.”
Georgia became one of the season’s heartwarming stories when it ran through the Southeastern Conference tournament after finishing in last place in the East division. Making its story closer to impossible than unlikely, Georgia had to win three games in two days after a tornado hit the Georgia Dome and forced them to play two games in one day.

nytimes.com