If Obama doesn't show in Copenhagen in Dec., his environmental cred will slide down there with his right-leaning record on economics, health care, and defense.

Chicago, Rio? OH My! OH No!
Two big O - (non Chicago natives mind you) made it into my wandering lens this week as I had not choice but to follow the 2016 Olympic selection hype on "da news". My president, the big "O" who I am totally thankful for, (because he can read, write, and comprehend) and Oprah both came out big time in support of their adopted home town - Chicago.
These two O's are great public personas - both have reached the top of their professions - in part because of a white majority's willingness to embrace these two almost totally nonwhite exceptions to the rule of what has become of the majority of non white urban Americans since the end of legal Segregation in the US in the 1960s.
Chicago and Rio have much in common that has been overlooked by most Americans - if our president and leading corporate shill both are aware of the darker side of the racial/political impact of the Brazilian style of managing urban populations that has established itself in the majority of American cities since the end of legal segregation - they certainly are not talking about it-Are they?
How do you maintain elite white rule in a population that is non white and poor? This was a question that many sought answers to during the last century. Academics were sent in droves to observe and report on what turned out to be a well promoted myth of racial harmony. In fact urban Brazil was and remains a deeply segregated society. What Americans learned from Brazil was how to do this without legal segregation. We now know how this is done - simply > Internal State Sponsored Terrorism.
You might call it ”The War on Drugs" or "The War on the Poor" but since 91101, when we were all obligated to learn about terrorism - text book terrorism - some of us discovered that what we were learning was not new to us. Back then, since the early 1980's actually, I had written that Drug War was racist adding this to my 1970s argument that Drug Laws were economically and morally wrong.
During the surge of post 911 terrorism academic interest I came to discover that textbook Internal State Sponsored Terrorism had three observable stages - Intimidation, Forced conversion, and Genocide. My class was surprised when I argued that Drug War fit easily into that box
But where did "we" learn it? A further study of race in Latin America I undertook a few years later led me to discover some great Academic papers on the subject. It was then that I discovered that the final bit of my three decade hunt for the source of the stupidity behind Drug War. It was Brazil. What do Rio and Chicago have in common? Internal State Sponsored Terrorism - and White "mob" rule.
In this context seeing Rio and Chicago as final candidates for the 2016 host of the NEW WORLD ORDER Olympic Games makes sense to me. Drug war 20 trillion dollars, hosting O games, 30 billion. Keeping urban populations in a total state of chaos...priceless.

I'd a lot rather have told the President to stay home from Copenhagen, to mind the store at home with his much-fractured administration that seems to be unable to take any consistent and coordinated position on any policy issue, from Afghanistan to health care. And besides that, his going for this purpose is not really in the best interests of the people of Chicago, as Chicagoans themselves are trying to say when, overhelmingly, they are saying they wouldn't pay any of the costs of the event, as inevitably they will pay through their collective nose, along with the gentrification moves that will further destroy their traditional neighborhoods.

In fact I suggest that Obama will be taking that return trip to Copenhagen that Klein demands. True, a presidential trip, like the one today, is merely symbolic and true decisions about Olympic venue applications or global warming treaties should be decided at home. But Obama has never shown any proclivity to actually live in the White House, whenever there is a crowd of cheering people and a lapdog press to trumpet his every appearance, and I don't see him passing up this "opportunity." So keep your bags packed, if indeed you ever unpacked them, Mr. Ramblin' President.

And so it goes-from bad to worse--and so early to fall so far. Every day, a new assault. Worse than Watergate? It seems to be sliding down to worse than Bush...Then again, he will just go over there and lecture everyone or spout some hollow hopeful rhetoric that fewer and fewer are buying.

Now that the U.S. has officially "lost" its bid for the 2016 Olympics, isn't it time for the President to come back to the United States to undertake the task for which he was elected: not to give speeches for this or against that, but to take care to promote the best attainable domestic and foreign policies for the people of this country? To do this, he cannot revert to the same style that got him elected to office: stirring slogans, a blazing smile, dazzling wife and a sexy physique that earned him votes for the office but seem to do nothing to earn votes for the policies which he tries to promote. To do the latter, he would need the moral clarity of a Franklin Roosevelt and the organizing skill of a Lyndon Johnson, but he has not shown the qualities of either an FDR or an LBJ. It would do both the country AND Obama a world of good if he avoided that "catnip" that he said the press has in attraction to a controversy: his own attraction to cheering crowds as he continues to make campaign "stump" speeches when he needs to show his face inside, for example, a meeting of his fractious cabinet.

OBAMA is satisfied.

he just wants to stay in the OVAL office and SAVOR his "election" victory..the SAVORING of the "glow" of his candidacy is what he is trying to relive every day..

his presidency is like the Picture of Dorian Gray.

he thinks the world will just continue to be CHARMED and IMPRESSED by his Oratory. he LIVES for oration..and nothing else. he REALLY is an actor , after all.

but obama wants to continue to keep LOOKING at and ADMIRING the "beauty" of himself in the picture -- even as the REAL Dorian Gray (obama and the USA) -- rots and rots and rots.

Obama is now living in a fantasyworld.

whether he can get himself out of that...that is the question.

He took Oprah with him, a sure sign he's losing it if ever had it. The guy is a president and he should not have the time to waste on this kind of fluff!

Naomi, now that Chicago lost its bid BO has no reason to go back. The President is just a sychophantic, quilsling for the slave master. He will only go back to Copenhagen if he is told to.

I certainly hopes that the 'O'man and his entourage all flew coach. This ain't goin' t' play well at all with folk in this country that are sufferin' financial bad...

SMASH THE DICTATORSHIP OF THE MILITARY INDUSTRIAL WELFARE BULLIES!!

NPR reported this AM that UN Pres. Ban Ki Moon will not forward the "Goldstone Report" to the Security Council for action. The Goldstone report is a UN-sponsored report on atrocities committed in the Middle East in the last year or so, with particular emphasis on Gaza and on IDF and Hamas actions. The report is extensively documented and its contents have already been made public at least to some extent. Goldstone is a former prosecutor for the ICC, whose credentials are considered impeccable. The report contains damning evidence vs. Israel and Hamas.

As far as I know, neither Hamas nor any Palestinian supporters nor middle eastern governments have raised any objection to the report or to moving it to the Security Council.

Israel, however, has been denouncing the report since before it was issued. We can safely assume these denunciations were heard in Rahm Emmanuel's office. It would not be paranoid to assume that Emmanuel himself was doing the denouncing.

In any case, under intense pressure from the Obama Regime, the Goldstone Report will not be forwarded to the Security Council. Regime spokespersons have stated that allowing the report to go forward would "threaten the peace process".

If the above paragraph does not make your cognitive "gears" grind savagely then you are deeply asleep.

What can we expect from the US in Copenhagen when the Obama Regime does this kind of thing on Israel/Palestine?

We are on our own, folks. These people are not on our team; they're not looking out for us; they're not solving our problems. They are the problem. But only with our consent, tacit or otherwise. Let's hope the pixie dust wears off soon, because the bill is coming due and the bill collectors are not going to send polite reminders.

I was going to say something profound about Chicago losing its bid with the Obama's and Oprah shilling for it, but all you guys covered everything quite nicely. Especially Jerry, Teddy and Vern, Thanks.

White House senior adviser David Axelrod said that although the results were "disappointing," Obama did the best he could.
Don't Miss

* Rio de Janeiro to host 2016 Olympics
* CNNMoney: Chicago loses Olympics bid

"The president made, I think, a very strong appeal, and it didn't work out. But it was well worth the effort. Any time this president has a chance to go and promote the interests of this country and promote the interests of a city or a state within this country on something of this magnitude, he's going to take that opportunity," he said.

=============

the irony is:

GOPers and rightwingers celebrate the Failure of the USA to take the bid because it happens to be by obama and the GOP lost the election.

in the meanwhile they are cheering the WRONG failure. even if symbolic of the FAILURES they should be worried about:

that the USA/Obama's failure for the olympic bid is reflective of the WORLD's OPINION of the USA.

the rightwingers are cheering the Failure of OBAMA thinking they are SO DIFFERENT FROM obama, or their party is SO different..and they are right...from an AMERICAN domestic standpoint.

but to the WORLD

THEY, OBAMA, DEMOCRATS, REPUBLICANS are ALL RIGHT WING DEMAGOGUES and members of a ROGUE NATION...which is seen as FAR TO THE RIGHT of the world..that has gone somewhat LEFT...

case in point:

Olympic bid - RIGHTWING for all practical purposes USA lost in the FIRST ROUND.

winner - RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL and its LEFTIE-moving society...oops..

what does THAT say about "loss of influence and respect?"

it says:

LOOK AT THE FAILED FOREIGN POLICIES...of WAR and INVASIONS and HUBRIS and HECTORING and LECTURING and POSTURING by the USA towards the rest of the world while demanding that

the world IGNORE the USA's ROGUE NATION actions...economically, militarily , legally, socially, politically and culturaly.

that's what the Failed Olympic bid REALLY shouted about.

on a side note:

it is quite amazing how - behind the dramatic matters such as war , economy, etc - how fluidly some OTHER crucial transfer of power can happen once a nation begins to lose its RESPECTABILITY ...:

=================

Oct 3, 2009

Domain chains fall away
By Martin J Young

HUA HIN - Internet governance could be in for a shake-up after the US-based Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) this week lost its grip on the World Wide Web. The non-profit organization allotted by the US government to oversee Internet addresses opened up to a global audience as the agreement between it and the US Department of Commerce expired on Wednesday.

A new agreement allowing for greater global participation in the assignment of Internet addresses was signed. Companies and international officials seeking greater independence from US control praised the move; the Internet after all is now a global public resource. ICANN will no longer be subject to US reviews alone and can now be reviewed by a broader based group of stakeholders from around the world.

The fear is that the organization will open up the domain name doors to include any variation of top level domains, which are traditionally dot com, net and org (see Domain doors open to dot chaos, Asia Times Online, June 28, 2009). New names such as ".golf" or ".sports" could flood the Internet and companies may need to rebrand themselves at great expense by registering the likes of ".intel" or ".apple".

There is also the notion that non-Latin names will be made available so we could start seeing domains in Chinese or Arabic. Both of these will cause problems to legitimate websites and companies as a domain-buying rush by cyber squatters and deceitful domain registrars would be inevitable. Cyber squatters, along with spammers, have become the scourge of the Internet. Their operation method is to buy and sit on domain names often associated with legitimate businesses, and they often set up deceptive websites using those domain names.

Freedom from US control over the Internet is a good thing but the dot chaos that could follow in its wake may not be so welcome.

Security
Microsoft has entered the foray of computer security with the official launch this week of its Security Essentials (MSE) anti-virus and malware software suite. The package for Windows XP, Vista and 7, which can be downloaded at http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials, will compete with the likes of AVG and Avast, which have been offering free virus protection for years. It also takes aim at Symantec, Kaspersky and McAfee, which provide total Internet security solutions, Microsoft claims that MSE uses less memory and disk space than these often bloated machine-hogging products.

The system comes armed with a dynamic signature service, which checks programs against an up to date database of virus definitions, it has a small memory foot print and runs unobtrusively in the background offering just the essentials as its name suggests. Upon installation it requires a Genuine Windows Validation check, which not only punishes the pirates but leaves thousands of unlicensed Windows computers with no protection. Understandably Microsoft does not want to support illegitimate copies of its operating system but it kind of misses the point by leaving them all open to attack, which in turn threatens everyone else.

Telecoms
A Chinese company is touting the world's first mobile phone to run a full version of Windows XP. The xpPhone, made by In Technology Group, includes a 4.8 inch LCD touch screen, AMD processor, up to a gigabyte of memory, USB and VGA ports, GPS, and full qwerty keyboard. The company claims that you can install any software that would run on a normal XP laptop as the phone is fully compatible with all Windows standards. It has seven hours battery life - poor for a phone but far better than most laptops. No prices were quoted on the company website but it does offer a form to pre-order your xpPhone.

Science
Scientists at the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have released findings this week that indicate cosmic rays are at their highest levels for 50 years. Galactic cosmic rays are sub-atomic particles, primarily protons, which are accelerated to near light speed by distant supernova explosions. They cause "air showers" of secondary particles when they hit the Earth's atmosphere and can pose a threat to astronauts and orbiting satellites but not to people at ground level.
The cause of the cosmic spike is the current solar minimum, a decrease in solar activity which began in 2007 and continues today. Under normal conditions the sun's magnetic field, or helosphere, and its solar wind protects the Earth by deflecting or scattering cosmic rays. During deep lulls in solar activity, there is less wind and the protective bubble is flattened, allowing more cosmic rays through.

There is no need to panic and dig a big hole to hide in yet as the Earth’s natural atmosphere provides a strong enough shield to protect life on the surface ... for the time being.

Martin J Young is an Asia Times Online correspondent based in Thailand.

(Copyright 2009 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and

Naomi:

Thank you for your candor in speaking of Obama.
So few on the left will critically assess him.

"One thing is certain: if Obama skips Copenhagen in December, after making time to go there to promote the Olympics in October, he will be saying something chilling about his administration's commitment to battling global warming".

Obama's entire presidency so far has been "chilling".

It is blaringly obvious that he is a tool of the elitists in power and always was (ie. his votes in Congress).

The only way to real change is to take that power back.

People:

Let's take it back by supporting Dennis Kucinich now.
I really do not see any other way and certainly we can count on Dennis. He needs to be able to count on us -- our voices and our money. Can't run a campaign without both.

The targets currently proposed by Washington are unbearably weak - far behind what the IPCC says would give us a 50:50 chance of avoiding disaster.

Tell President Obama and your senators to support a 40% emissions reduction by 2020 to avert crisis:

http://bit.ly/40by20

Well chitcago has been eliminated from the choices for the olympics so what has o to lose now, all he needs to do is keep reading his script from his handlers.

But it does seem to me that chitcago was eliminated in the first round for some obvious reasons all of having to do with the rest of the world being fed up with the ununited states of america.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33144810/ns/politics-white_house/

And I do know I will write in Senator Bernie Sanders for President in 2012.

I guess the IOC didn't want to see the Teabag Olympics.

Actually, South America has NEVER had an Olympic Games....the USA and Japan have both had many, and Spain has held them previously. That is more the reason for the USA not getting it.

Also, the apperance of the IOC just handing over the gamesto the USA becuase the POTUS shows up and asks for it...would not look too good to the rest of the planet.

"The only means of strengthening one's intellect is to make up one's mind about nothing, to let the mind be a thoroughfare for all thoughts." - John Keats

I would have been appalled at the IOC giving the us, the US, the Olympics -- and these are the main reasons: Now two unjust wars, the way the US treats it's people (health care), while dictating to other countries on human rights, and the way it is handling Wall Street. The US has done so much damage on the national stage, there is no reason why we should host another Olympic Games until we clean our act up.

Boss Limbaugh talked about Obama's outsized ego -- well, I guess it takes one to know one.

I'm happy for Rio. I heard the report on NPR tonight and there is no doubt the IOC made the right decision. The Brazilian President was literally in tears of joy over this. I hope that the Olympics will not prove to be a boondoggle down there but be something that will help that country and lift up its people.

We deserved to lose.

By all means, let's ask 0 to go back and do something positive.

But let's remember who this is.

If 0 goes to Copenhagen, he'll go with pretty words and a nasty dagger. Helpful response to climate change or energy conservation is antithetical to the main current of American strategy and 0bama's practice.

If you intend to extend empire by violently grabbing all hydrocarbon resources, it makes little sense to promote anything that makes competitors less dependent on hydrocarbons.

Forget the myth of 0 being indecisive. This is not Hamlet, but Macbeth.

I really wonder what are the odds that there will even be a 2016 olympics? My guess that in this age of uncertainty and super attenuated change (mostly for the worse) that there is between a 20-25% chance that there will be no 2016 games.

If there is, it would be nice to see a competing, no not competing, as there is to much competition in this ever more finite world; but an ALTERNATIVE games the would promote, peace, cooperation, in an sustainable eco friendly environment.

An alternative possibility would be that certain athletes or performers could opt out of representing their singular nations and join the "Universal Now Team" which represent the hopes, ideals and actions of the "world soul".

From Dubya to Barak, nothing's changed.

A well deserved defeat for President Obaminable and the murder capital of the midwest, Chicago. Why would the IOC award the man behind so many crimes against humanity in the Middle East right now, by giving Chicago, where kids are killed by gangs on a daily basis, the 2016 Olympics?

The only award President 0 deserves is a court docket number and a trial date on The Hague.

And yes, President Obysmal, Brazil does have universal health care.

Obama has one huge enchilada of a problem, and it has nothing to do with the environment or its feckless constituency. The Middle East could go up in nukes any single day now, or, it could just explode in a series of regional conflagrations that will render war obsolete. Unless he can solve the Israel problem, he's facing another three years of stuttering, but, if he can solve Israel, the seas will part and he will walk across the melting glaciers and free humanity from its ugly fate.