October, 20 2008, 12:24pm EDT
Humorous TV Ad Featuring Animated Talking Moose to Greet Palin on the Stump
New Washington Post-ABC Poll Shows Palin Drags McCain Ticket Down
WASHINGTON
With new polls suggesting that Sarah Palin hinders John
McCain's chances of being elected, MoveOn.org Political Action released a new
30-second television ad featuring an animated talking Alaskan moose to highlight
the doubts most voters feel about McCain's judgment in picking her as his
running mate. A Washington Post-ABC poll released today shows that 52 per
cent of voters feel less confident about McCain because of his choice of Palin.
Among undecided and persuadable voters, only 35 percent have better views of
McCain's decision making because of his VP pick, far lower than the 57 percent
who feel good about Barack Obama's pick of Joe Biden.
The
Moose ad will follow Sarah Palin for the next two weeks and will air on
television in many of the towns and cities she is visiting. The ad uses humor
and an animated moose head to highlight Palin's utter lack of national security
credentials. The moose questions John McCain's judgment in choosing Sarah Palin
to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.
"Sarah Palin
has shown the country exactly who she is in the last seven weeks, and it's a
picture of someone ill-equipped to lead," said Eli Pariser, Executive Director
of MoveOn. "Her lack of experience and knowledge about critical issues our
country is facing makes her a liability to the McCain-Palin ticket and the more
attention she gets, the more it increases voter's doubts." MoveOn will
air the ad in markets the day before and the day of Palin's scheduled
appearance. The ad run will begin Monday in Las Vegas,
NV in advance on Palin's scheduled
Tuesday stop in the area.
In addition to Palin's much covered comments
about her foreign policy experience deriving from her state's proximity to
Russia, she has also mistakenly
linked 9-11 to Iraq and failed to show
an understanding of President Bush's pre-emptive war
strategy.
A test of "Trigger Happy" with a random sample
of voters in battleground states by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research showed it
to be one of the top ads of the electoral season in reducing voters' likelihood
of voting for John McCain.
"Most viewers seemed to
appreciate the lighthearted approach of this ad, but found the message deadly
serious," said Anna Greenberg of GQRR. "As hard as it is to move voters this
late in the election cycle, this ad created a significant movement against
McCain."
The
ad was produced by Jonathan Cranin, former Chief Creative Officer Worldwide of
McCann Worldgroup, who was one of the people behind the very successful E*Trade
"Baby" and MasterCard "Priceless" commercials.
View Ad At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Z48QhMZ85k
MoveOn is where millions mobilize for a better society--one where everyone can thrive. Whether it's supporting a candidate, passing legislation, or changing our culture, MoveOn members are committed to an inclusive and progressive future. We envision a world marked by equality, sustainability, justice, and love. And we mobilize together to achieve it.
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Amnesty Urges War Crimes Probe of 'Indiscriminate' Israeli Attacks on Lebanon
"The latest evidence of unlawful airstrikes during Israel's most recent offensive in Lebanon underscores the urgent need for all states, especially the United States, to suspend arms transfers," said one campaigner.
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Amnesty International on Thursday called for a war crimes investigation into recent Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon that killed dozens of civilians, as well as a suspension of arms transfers to Israel as it attacks Gaza, the West Bank, and Syria.
In a briefing paper titled The Sky Rained Missiles, Amnesty "documented four illustrative cases in which unlawful Israeli strikes killed at least 49 civilians" in Lebanon in September and October amid an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) campaign of invasion and bombardment that Lebanese officials say has killed or wounded more than 20,000 people.
"Amnesty International found that Israeli forces unlawfully struck residential buildings in the village of al-Ain in northern Bekaa on September 29, the village of Aitou in northern Lebanon on October 14, and in Baalbeck city on October 21," the rights group said. "Israeli forces also unlawfully attacked the municipal headquarters in Nabatieh in southern Lebanon on October 16."
Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty's senior director for research, advocacy, policy, and campaigns, said in a statement that "these four attacks are emblematic of Israel's shocking disregard for civilian lives in Lebanon and their willingness to flout international law."
The September 29 attack "destroyed the house of the Syrian al-Shaar family, killing all nine members of the family who were sleeping inside," the report states.
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On October 16, Israel bombed the Nabatieh municipal complex, killing Mayor Ahmad Khalil and 10 other people.
"The airstrike took place without warning, just as the municipality's crisis unit was meeting to coordinate deliveries of aid, including food, water, and medicine, to residents and internally displaced people who had fled bombardment in other parts of southern Lebanon," Amnesty said, adding that there was no apparent military target in the immediate area.
In the deadliest single strike detailed in the Amnesty report, IDF bombardment believed to be targeting a suspected Hezbollah member killed 23 civilians forcibly displaced from southern Lebanon in Aitou on October 14.
"The youngest casualty was Aline, a 5-month-old baby who was flung from the house into a pickup truck nearby and was found by rescue workers the day after the strike," Amnesty said.
Survivor Jinane Hijazi told Amnesty: "I've lost everything; my entire family, my parents, my siblings, my daughter. I wish I had died that day too."
As the report notes:
A fragment of the munition found at the site of the attack was analyzed by an Amnesty International weapons expert and based upon its size, shape, and the scalloped edges of the heavy metal casing, identified as most likely a MK-80 series aerial bomb, which would mean it was at least a 500-pound bomb. The United States is the primary supplier of these types of munitions to Israel.
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The October 21 strike destroyed a building housing 13 members of the Othman family, killing two women and four children and wounding seven others.
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Guevara Rosas said: "These attacks must be investigated as war crimes. The Lebanese government must urgently call for a special session at the U.N. Human Rights Council to establish an independent investigative mechanism into the alleged violations and crimes committed by all parties in this conflict. It must also grant the International Criminal Court jurisdiction over Rome Statute crimes committed on Lebanese territory."
"Israel has an appalling track record of carrying out unlawful airstrikes in Gaza and past wars in Lebanon taking a devastating toll on civilians."
Last month, the court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with Israel's 433-day Gaza onslaught, which has left more than 162,000 Palestinians dead, maimed, or missing in the embattled enclave.
The tribunal also issued a warrant for the arrest of Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri for alleged crimes committed during and after the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, in which more than 1,100 people were killed and over 240 others were kidnapped.
Meanwhile, the International Court of Justice is weighing a genocide case brought by South Africa against Israel. Last week, Amnesty published a report accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza.
The United States—which provides Israel with tens of billions of dollars in military aid and diplomatic cover—has also been accused of complicity in Israeli war crimes in Palestine and Lebanon.
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Citing recent research by the American Immigration Council and the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the JEC report warns that depending on how many immigrants are forced out of the country, Trump's deportations could:
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"The CFPB is cracking down on these excessive junk fees and requiring big banks to come clean about the interest rate they're charging on overdraft loans."
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