NewsCloud.com Politics News http://www.newscloud.com/section/politics Sat, 05 Jul 2008 18:35:44 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 en-us Former N.C. Senator and conservative firebrand Jesse Helms dies on Independence Day. He was 86. :: W http://www.newscloud.com/read/Former_NC_Senator_and_conservative_firebrand_Jesse_Helms_dies_on_Independence_Day_He_was_86_W Jesse Helms, the firebrand United States senator whose outspoken, conservative views polarized North Carolina and U.S. voters for decades, died at 1:15 a.m. Friday in Raleigh, according to John Dodd, president of the Jesse Helms Center.

"I thought he died years ago".

]]> Racial Profiling: Now as American as Apple Pie http://www.newscloud.com/read/Racial_Profiling_Now_as_American_as_Apple_Pie The AP () reported today that the Justice Department is "considering" (and by "considering" they mean "we're totally gonna do this") allowing the FBI to initiate terrorism investigations of Americans based on their "travel to regions of the world known for terrorist activity, access to weapons or military training" and of course, a person's race or ethnicity. In addition, the FBI will have the authority to ask "open-ended questions of Muslim- or Arab-Americans, or investigate them if their jobs and backgrounds" match "suspect" trends in an effort to "root out terrorists before they strike."

]]> McCain Backer's Firm Pleaded Guilty To Funding Terrorist Group In http://www.newscloud.com/read/McCain_Backer_s_Firm_Pleaded_Guilty_To_Funding_Terrorist_Group_In The co-host of a recent top-dollar fundraiser for Sen. John McCain oversaw the payment of roughly $1.7 million to a Colombian paramilitary group that is today designated a terrorist organization by the United States.

]]> Harper's apology to First Nations puts pressure on Bush http://www.newscloud.com/read/Harper_s_apology_to_First_Nations_puts_pressure_on_Bush Canada's residential-schools apology has opened the possibility that U.S. President George W. Bush may do the same in his final months of office, says Republican Senator Sam Brownback. In an interview with The Globe and Mail, the senior senator from Kansas said Canada's apology has increased the pressure on Washington, and he expressed hope that Prime Minister Stephen Harper will raise the issue directly with the President. Mr. Brownback has already secured the support of his Senate colleagues for a historic, broadly worded apology to native Americans. The three-page apology was added as an amendment in February to legislation dealing with Indian health care. It now must be approved by the U.S. House of Representatives and then ultimately the President.

]]> Fear of a Black President http://www.newscloud.com/read/Fear_of_a_Black_President I like being white. Generally speaking, it's the easiest color in America to be. It's so easy being white that when someone discriminates against me because I'm white, it's called "reverse" racism. My racism has its own special name -- that's how cool it is to be white. I can walk into any store without being followed; hail the cab of my choice; and there's not a country club that wouldn't welcome me, so long as I was clad in the requisite slacks and collared shirt.

]]> Canada: Our foreign policy myth http://www.newscloud.com/read/Canada_Our_foreign_policy_myth As Canada turns 141 years old tomorrow, few beliefs and values are held more strongly in common by Canadians than their thoughts of their country on the international stage. They have been seduced by mythology. The reality of Canada's foreign policy - the country's official face to the world - for the most part is starkly different from the altruistic image of Canada with which its citizens are in love.

]]> Makers of Racist Obama Monkey Would Like to Transcend Racial Bias http://www.newscloud.com/read/Makers_of_Racist_Obama_Monkey_Would_Like_to_Transcend_Racial_Bias Photo: thesockobama.com We were happily cruising around the Internet yesterday when we stumbled upon a link on Andrew Sullivan's blog that gave us one of those moments Dave Chappelle joked about in Killin' Them Softly: "Have you ever had something happen that was so racist that you didn't even get mad? You were just like, 'Goddamn, that was racist." That's how we felt when we saw TheSockObama.com, a Website peddling an "Obama" monkey doll.

]]> Party Crashing: How the Facebook Generation Does Politics http://www.newscloud.com/read/Party_Crashing_How_the_Facebook_Generation_Does_Politics Author Keli Goff on how today's youth -- black youth in particular -- choose their leaders. Hint: It's not by skin color or party affiliation. As John McCain begins to strategize how he might wrangle some of the youth vote from Barack Obama, and Obama -- for his part -- tries to hold on to his solid base of Americans under 30, we thought it would be interesting to talk with author and frequent television commentator Keli Goff.

]]> Will Canada Last? http://www.newscloud.com/read/Will_Canada_Last What will it take persuade Canadians that if they do not act soon to reverse the course of their nation, there will be nothing left to save? I am talking, of course, about so-called "deep integration" and its official expression, the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP).

]]> US-Iran Relations: The Fourth Option http://www.newscloud.com/read/USIran_Relations_The_Fourth_Option Empower the People.Over the past three decades, American policy towards Iran has drifted from ineffectual to misguided while the Islamic Republic has remained an enigma for most western strategists. The regime's rule is defined by oppression at home and aid to terrorists abroad. It routinely threatens Israel and challenges American interests where and when it can. Yet, successive American administrations have failed to develop a coherent, decisive strategy to face-down the fundamentalist regime.

]]> How Lies Live and Grow in the Brain http://www.newscloud.com/read/How_Lies_Live_and_Grow_in_the_Brain An interesting and timely op-ed piece in the Times covers a phenomenon, known as source amnesia, that can lead people to forget whether a statement is true. Even when a lie is presented with a disclaimer, people often later remember it as true. With time, this misremembering only gets worse. A false statement from a noncredible source that is at first not believed can gain credibility during the months it takes to reprocess memories. The article presents the science behind the success of swift boat ads and other campaign lies.


]]> Bloomberg.com: Worldwide http://www.newscloud.com/read/Bloombergcom_Worldwide June 24 (Bloomberg) -- The world's biggest financial firms may lose as many as 175,000 jobs by this time next year as Citigroup Inc. and other banks shed workers amid slowing revenue and billions in writedowns, executive recruiters say.

]]> Beijing Detains Quake Critic http://www.newscloud.com/read/Beijing_Detains_Quake_Critic In China it is known as Article 4, and it forms part of the "State Security Law of the People's Republic of China". This might not mean a lot to most people, but Article 4 is famous, no, make that infamous, amongst China watchers.

]]> George Carlin: Comedian George Carlin Dead http://www.newscloud.com/read/George_Carlin_Comedian_George_Carlin_Dead Stand-up comedian George Carlin, whose routine about forbidden words on the airwaves led to a key Supreme Court decision on government broadcast oversight, died of heart failure near Los Angeles. He was 71.

]]> t r u t h o u t | US General Accuses Bush Administration of War Crimes http://www.newscloud.com/read/t_r_u_t_h_o_u_t_US_General_Accuses_Bush_Administration_of_War_Crimes Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba (now retired) served as the deputy commanding general for support for the Third Army for ten months in Kuwait during the early days of the Iraq occupation. In a statement released today, he bluntly accuses the Bush administration of war crimes and lays down a challenge for prosecution.

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