It is regrettable that back in the Fall during the heat of the Presidential campaign, no one but no one paid much attention to Joe Biden because of the four main contenders running for national office, he was, by far, the most candid. Sometimes that got him in trouble leading to accusations of having “rhetorical flourishes” but honesty in politics is something we should all appreciate especially when it is done with style, wit and intelligence. So it was back on October 20th at a Seattle fundraiser that ol’ smokin’ Joe told it as it truly is:
“Gird your loins. We’re gonna win with your help, God willing, we’re gonna win, but this is not gonna be an easy ride. This president, the next president, is gonna be left with the most significant task. It’s like cleaning the Augean stables, man. This is more than just, this is more than – think about it, literally, think about it – this is more than just a capital crisis, this is more than just markets. This is a systemic problem we have with this economy.”
Cleaning the Augean stables, the fifth of Hercules’ labours. The Obama Administration tonight stands on the precipice of completing one of its Herculean tasks, passing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and we can debate whether it is sufficient from here to eternity but the truth is that we have a “systemic” crisis that requires our full attention.
Dennis Patten describes his son Alfie as “a typical 13-year-old boy”. Certainly by the looks of him, Alfie is a typical 13-year-old boy. But Mr. Patten is not just a dad but a granddad courtesy of Alfie, that typical 13-year-old boy who when he was a not so typical 12-year-old boy impregnated his “girlfriend” Chantelle Steadman, then 14 but now 15.
The legal age for sex in most of the UK is 16 (it’s higher in Northern Ireland). And yet in 2006, 7,000 girls under the age of 16 gave birth. Overall, Britain has one of the highest rates of teen-age pregnancy in Europe. In 2006, 39,000 girls under the age of 18 gave birth.
“Darwin is best known for the theory of evolution, arguing that men are not only, quote, are, are only, not, not created, but they are not equal, as more, as some are more evolved. Whereas Darwin’s theory was used by atheists to explain away the belief in God….” — Jeff Frederick, GOP Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
How is it that thinking conservatives don’t cringe when they hear this? This man is, after all, the chairman of the GOP in Virginia. But I must suppose that the term thinking conservative is an oxymoron. As for Delegate Frederick, well, he is just a moron.
This is the GOP. If Jeff Frederick is the best and the brightest that the GOP has to offer, I’d hate to see the worst.
Zimbabwe’s opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has been sworn in as prime minister in a unity government with President Robert Mugabe. Inside Story asks: will the power-sharing deal work?
The economic crisis has led to a sharp fall in oil prices – something that has hit Venezuela hard. Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan president, has tried to capitalise on one of his country’s other natural resources – gold.
Late last year, a Russian company took over half of the Isidora gold mine and this joint venture is creating jobs and putting money back into the Venezuelan community. Al Jazeera’s Gabriel Elizondo travelled to El Callao in Venezuela to explore the mine and meet the workers.
