The Virunga National Park runs along the Congo’s eastern border with Rwanda and Uganda. It is Africa’s oldest national park first established in 1925. The park boasts the largest bio-diversity of any park in Africa due to its location on the Equator and its terrain. The Virunga National Park is notable for its chain of active volcanoes and the diversity of its habitats: from steppes, savannas and lava plains, swamps, lowland and Afromontane forests, to the unique Afroalpine vegetation and icefields of the Ruwenzori mountains, which culminate in peaks above 5000m (almost 20,000 feet). It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and considered under threat.

A recent report from Reuters points to the threats the park faces from poachers and from the still continuing war that engulfs central Africa.

Poachers in Congo have killed a fifth of the elephants in Africa’s oldest national park this year as China buys more ivory, the park’s director said on Friday.

Rwandan rebels have killed seven Savannah elephants in the past 10 days alone in the Virunga National Park, along Congo’s eastern border with Rwanda and Uganda, Emmanuel de Merode told Reuters.

“We’ve definitely lost 20 percent of the population this year and probably more,” he said. “We have rangers with them, and we’re trying to reinforce them. But (the rangers) are outnumbered 20 to one.”

The 790,000-hectare (2 million-acre) reserve was home to one of central Africa’s largest Savannah elephant herds in the 1970s numbering around 5,000.

(more…)

There is little doubt that the Obama campaign and the Democratic party was caught “flat footed” with the selection of Governor Sarah Palin as Senator McCain’s running mate. The selection also put them in a quandary over how to respond. Initially, the Obama campaign responded with a line that resembled “you must be joking.” But they quickly realized that no one was laughing as they began to realize the gambit that McCain was making. Some dismissed the selection as a cynical ploy to win over the disaffected Clinton base who many perceive inaccurately as being female and over 60. Others only saw the pick as play to secure the base of the GOP. This group is, at least, half right. No doubt, Palin has energized the Christian right wing of the Republican party but her choice is doing much more than that.

No where is the debate over on how to respond to Sarah Palin more evident than over on the liberal blog Talk Left. There a spirited discussion is being waged intra-blog between Jeralyn Merritt and Armando Llorens who blogs as Big Tent Democrat (BTD). Jeralyn Merritt has taken the tact to focus much of her energy on attacking Sarah Palin on almost angle possible devoting numerous posts on why Palin is a dangerous choice for the Vice Presidency. Some of these posts have focused on issues but others have been supersilious. BTD has objected strenuously to latter and modestly to the former. His point of view is:

Personally, I think the Media and Democratic surrogates have done McCain a great favor by aiming all their fire on Sarah Palin. Time to get back to the McCain/Palin = Bush’s Third Term message. It’s been lost for more than a week.

He’s right. The dynamic in the race has changed and Obama’s arguments are being lost in a sea of Palin coverage, both good, bad and especially bad. Sarah Palin is now a factor in the race. While the “bad” may yet augur well for the Obama campaign, the “good” and the “especially bad” will not. By the “good” I mean the impact that Palin is having in certain demographics that are critical to determining who wins the election. By the “especially bad” I mean all the spurious nonsense that many liberal blogs are engaging in. By devoting time, energy and space to pursing stories such as the sale of the Alaska executive jet or on the pregnancy of Bristol, they are not devoting that time, energy and space to the real issues at hand. In short they are their own worst enemy. (more…)

News from South Asia.

Asif Ali Zardari Elected Pakistani President
Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of Benazir Bhutto, was chosen by Pakistan’s electoral college on Saturday to succeed Pervez Musharraf, who resigned under pressure on August 19th. More from the UK Guardian. In other news from Pakistan, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Sunday vowed to restore the 1973 Constitution in its original form, and said the measure would guarantee an independent judiciary and free media.

“With the election of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari as Pakistan’s president, the democratic process in the country is complete,” the prime minister said while talking to a United States congressional delegation.

More on this story from the Pakistani Daily Times.

India Nuclear Trade Ban Lifted
The Nuclear Suppliers Group agreed Saturday to lift a 34-year ban on selling nuclear technology to India, even though it hasn’t signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty. More from the Christian Science Monitor.

Return to Main

    This will be my first post here at By The Fault.  In this election season there are so many topics and so little time but I think there is no more important issue than the “Implosion”.  Charles has been covering the implosion at Talk Left.  I am in a position to have a bit of first hand knowledge of this one and will likely have things to say about it but I wanted to talk about the wider implosion.  The implosion of the Democratic Party.  

    I have been a Democrat for most of my adult life.  I have marched and stuffed envelopes and donated my time and money to the causes I thought it represented.  Those causes, I once thought, included things like standing up for the “little guy”.  I would never have believed anyone in the Democratic Party would hold against me, or anyone else, the fact that I did not attend an ivy league school.  In my experience little guys rarely have resumes that include ivy league schools.  It was the Republicans, I always thought, who were the party of privilege and elitism.  This year I see this being turned on it’s head.  I see a smart able woman, a woman who clearly has the potential to be one of the most consequential politicians of her time,  being smeared by lies and half truths, dragged through the mud, called a hick and a whore and even having her family denigrated just because she stands in someones way.  And then there is Governor Palin.

    Lets be honest, many of the people attacking Governor Palin have gone completely off the rails.  In Palin we have a candidate with some very troubling views.  Why has she not been challenged for those views instead of being accused of concealing her daughters first pregnancy by saying it was her own? Honestly, who would have believed two weeks ago that we would see formerly respected progressive women, women who have no doubt fought ignorant prejudices and stereotpes in thier own lives, stand up and suggest a woman can not be Vice President because she has children?  I honestly don’t understand why she seems to have this effect on what I had believed were rational people.  Is it because she is, you will pardon the expression, “attractive”?  I am asking because I honestly don’t understand.  For example,  Jeralyn Merritt of Talk Left says she “wants” to talk about issues and in her next post she twitters about the fact that Palin did not REALLY sell the plane on eBay, when btw she never actually said she did, as if she is reporting on D-Day.  And then there are the other things she and others have been “reporting” or more accurately whispering that I won’t even repeat here.

    If becoming the thing I hate is the only way I can win, I will lose thank you.  The funny part is I actually think at least some of these “democrats” think they are smartly adopting republican tactics in order to win.  So much for “do or say anything to win”.  The problem is they suck at it.  Republicans have always been about a decade ahead of Democrats when it comes to things like messaging and framing.  They smartly and surgically use these slimy tactics only as seasoning to all the other things they are doing.  It is not the main course or even the dessert, it is the garnish.  Over the last few weeks the haters on the left have given us a feast of moldy, unwashed parsley.  The only effect this has had so far is to cause a backlash that I believe is only starting to build.

    What bothers many of us most about this is we  have seen it before and not long ago.  You could say we are seeing a pattern of behaviour, not necessarily from Senator  Obama or even his campaign although their hands are far from clean, but from his “supporters”.  On the other hand, with one single bold act, that of choosing Senator Clinton as his VP, Obama could  have healed the breech in the Party and kept Sara Palin in Alaska.  If wishes were horses.  Now we have and angry divided party and a surging opposition.  Obama promised to bring hordes of new people into the party.  He seems to have delivered on that at least and, well, hordes seems to me a pretty good word.  I am saddened and embarrassed by the filth that has come from the left recently.  If this is the Obama Democratic party, I am afraid I want nothing to do with it.  

Speaking only for me.

Return to Main

Here’s a clip of the lost and forgotten Senator Biden today on Meet the Press with Tom Brokaw. In the clip, Senator Biden addresses the polls, the use of both Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton by the Obama campaign, the debates and why he thinks the town halls are not the right “priority” for the Obama campaign and underscores the Obama campaign’s belief that they can remake the electoral map by winning states like Montana, Virginia and Colorado.

Return to Main

The above video is by a group called Iraq War Veterans for McCain. It is a two minute spot and it is Internet only.

Return to Main

This should be fun to watch, the implosion of Talk Left. Poor poor pitiful Jeralyn. BTD, it’s time you move on and leave that nonsense behind.

Come to my threads instead (5.00 / 3) (#14)
by Big Tent Democrat on Sun Sep 07, 2008 at 12:56:44 PM EST

J is insistent on this and will be the last person standing holding out for this ill advised approach.
Talk Left is good in that it can have threads for the holdouts and for the rest of us.

yes please go there (none / 0) (#17)
by Jeralyn on Sun Sep 07, 2008 at 01:00:46 PM EST

but remember the site rules as to expressing supporting for McCain/Palin apply site wide. No shilling at all and such comments are limited to four a day. There’s no limit on disagreeing with policies, strategies, the candidates,etc. — just on comments expressing support for the Republican ticket or opposition to the Democratic ticket. And a zero tolerance policy for those who tell others to vote Republican or for a third party candidate. Your view is one thing, but TL may not be used as an organizing ground.

Well (none / 0) (#23)
by Big Tent Democrat on Sun Sep 07, 2008 at 01:08:47 PM EST

Criticizing folks, you included, for a wrongheaded political approach is not supporting McCain/Palin. Quite the opposite.
You disagree I understand, but at some point, the evidence against you becomes overwhelming.

An 11 point swing in the tracking polls, with the Media parroting the Left blogs on Palin is pretty conclusive evidence in my opinion. Time to shift gears. But I know you won’t.

ah, don’t you have a rule against (none / 0) (#26)
by Jeralyn on Sun Sep 07, 2008 at 01:15:46 PM EST

criticizing your blogging in your posts?

There shall be no commenting on my commenting in my threads. By anyone. Doing so will lead to an immediate and automatic ban from my threads and a deletion of all comments from said commenter.
Disagreement is fine. Please keep them to the subtance of my posts and don’t make them personal or about me. Thank you.

I do not (none / 0) (#35)
by Big Tent Democrat on Sun Sep 07, 2008 at 01:27:50 PM EST

I have a rule against criticizing my COMMENTING, particularly for tone.
People can criticize my posts all they want.

What I do not countenance is lectures on civility and tone in my threads from commenters. For an obvious reason, since I do not get to criticize their tone, it is not fair.

Of course, if you are willing to let me discuss commenters, then I will gladly allow them to criticize my commenting.

The reason I do not allow comments about my commenting and moderation is because I am not allowed to fire back. You want to rethink that, then I will allow it all.

I strongly disagree (none / 0) (#10)
by Jeralyn on Sun Sep 07, 2008 at 12:50:53 PM EST

and will continue to attack Palin on the issues, her record, her lack of record, and McCain’s poor judgment in picking her. Your disagreement has been noted. It’s not the topic of this thread. Sarah Palin’s appeal and lack of it to working women voters is the topic.

Is Jeralyn Merritt auditioning for the role of the Queen of Hearts or what?

Return to Main

The latest Gallup Poll shows McCain in the lead for the first time erasing an eight point deficit and turning it into a three point lead. That’s an eleven point turnaround and points to a Palin-induced bounce.

The latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update shows John McCain moving ahead of Barack Obama, 48% to 45%, when registered voters are asked for whom they would vote if the presidential election were held today.

McCain’s 48% share of the vote ties for his largest since Gallup tracking began in early March. He registered the same level of support in early May. This is also McCain’s largest advantage over Obama since early May, when he led by as much as six percentage points. Obama has led McCain for most of the campaign, and for nearly all of the time since clinching the Democratic nomination in early June.

This is obviously good news for the McCain campaign and I have to believe that movement in the race is amongst the blue collar demographic the so-called Reagan Democratics but really now Clinton Democrats.

Janet Smith, 41, a special education teacher from Flint Township is a registered Democrat who supported Mrs Clinton in the Democratic primary. But she said she was now backing Mr McCain: “I just don’t have a good gut feeling that Obama has what it takes to lead this country. I’m an American first before I’m a party member. McCain is an American first; he’s bringing back patriotism.”

Barbara Fee, 50, another Democrat for McCain who works for a car supplier, said: “I just don’t like Obama. Hope and change are just words. I believe his ideas are socialist. I love Sarah Palin. I like what she’s done and how she’s done it. She’s got spunk.”

It now remains to be seen how Obama answers back. I’ll note that in the Rasmussen Reports poll the race is tied at 45% among registered voters and with leaners included it’s 48% apiece. While I personally think that the race is effectively tied at this moment, the momentum is shifting in McCain’s favour and I largely believe that is due to the selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate. The dynamics in the race have shifted and the Democrats have little to no idea how to respond.

Below the fold an article from the UK Telegraph on Palin’s appeal to blue collar Democrats. (more…)

Prime Minister Stephen Harper as had been widely expected today dissolved the Canadian Parliament and called for snap elections on October 14th. Harper had been signaling in recent weeks that he was leaning toward calling early elections, with many Canadiana analysts noting that Harper’s Conservative Party had a better shot of winning now than if he waited until being forced by the opposition into a vote later, when the Canadian economy might be worse off.

Prime Minister Harper leads a minority government up in Ottawa and it is thus reliant on the opposition to pass legislation. The Conservative Party must win an additional 28 seats in the October 14 election to gain a majority in Parliament. Unlike our own endless election, the Canadian one will be a quick one but this is a critical difference between parliamentary systems and presidential ones. In a parliamentary system elections must be called within a certain period but can be called at any time within that period be it full or even partial term while presidential systems run on cycles. Though Canada passed a fixed date electoral law under Harper, the Prime Minister is exploiting a loophole to hold early elections. (more…)

Well at least one Democrat understands the Palin Factor, former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown. Then again, it shouldn’t be so surprising that Willie Brown, a left-leaning working class Democrat, should be the one to sound the alarm. From his perch first in Sacramento and then in San Francisco, Willie Brown has long been a keen observer of California and US politics. And he is not one to mince words. His opening salvo in his weekly column in the San Francisco Chronicle is that “the Democrats are in trouble.” The title of the op-ed is Palin floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee.

The Democrats are in trouble. Sarah Palin has totally changed the dynamics of this campaign. Period.

Palin’s speech to the GOP National Convention on Wednesday has set it up so that the Republicans are now on offense and Democrats are on defense. And we don’t do well on defense.

Suddenly, Palin and John McCain are the mavericks and Barack Obama and Joe Biden are the status quo, in a year when you don’t want to be seen as defending the status quo.

From taxes to oil drilling, Democrats are now going to have to start explaining their positions.

Whenever you start having to explain things, you’re on defense.

(more…)