NEWEST U.S. CASUALTY REPORTS AND VIOLENCE IN IRAQ: MEMO TO BARACK OBAMA

When Barack Obama and John McCain face off tonight in the second of their three debates, Obama should remind McCain there is STILL a war going on in IRAQ and there are STILL U.S. casualties on a daily basis and the violence continues in IRAQ The following is a list of U.S. casualties events taking place in IRAQ:

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

War News for Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Source: http://warnewstoday.blogspot.com/

LATEST U.S.Casualty Reports from IRAQ:

Mosul:#1: One U.S. soldier and one Iraqi policeman were killed in a shootout overnight on Tuesday in the Hay Domiz neighbourhood of southeastern Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, Iraqi police and the U.S. military said. One gunmen was also reported killed and four others were arrested. Another police officer was also wounded.

Sgt. Joshua Haun, of Paradise, was injured when on a supply mission with the 49th Military Police Brigade in northern Iraq in August 2006. The convoy he was in was hit by a roadside bomb. Haun was severely injured during the incident and continues to recover more than two years later.

Sgt. First Class Diaz, 46, formerly of Brooklyn, is a U.S. Army combat medic stationed in Heidelberg, Germany is back on active duty, has a chronic neck injury as a result of a car bombing earlier this year during his second tour of Iraq.

MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Multi-National Division - North soldier a small-arms fire attack in Mosul on Tuesday, October 7th. One Iraqi Police was also killed in the attack.

The DoD is reporting what appears to be a new death previously unreported by the military. Sgt. William P. Rudd died from small arms fire in Mosul on Sunday, October 5th. He was an Army Ranger.

The DoD is reporting what appears to be another new death previously unreported by the military. Spc. Jason E. von Zerneck died from a vehicle incident in Qara Bagh Karez, Afghanistan, on Thursday, October 2nd. No other details were released.


Security incidents in IRAQ:

Baghdad:#1: Two powerful bombs exploded outside the Iraqi capital's tightly-guarded Green Zone on Tuesday as US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte was ending a visit focused on a controversial military pact. An Iraqi military officer said at least one soldier was wounded in the blasts which went off in quick succession at a time of heavy traffic. The first blast targeted a parked Iraqi armoured vehicle and a car bomb went off minutes later at a nearby parking lot opposite the foreign ministry, on the edge of the Green Zone where Iraq's government and the US embassy are located. Witnesses said a limpet-type magnetic mine had been used in the first attack against the armoured vehicle parked at a security checkpoint leading to the Green Zone. The tyres of the vehicle caught fire and the doors were blown out. Minutes after the attacks, Negroponte began his scheduled press conference with Zebari. The latest attacks in the central Salhiyah neighbourhood of Baghdad came despite a tight security cordon and stepped-up checks on vehicles and followed a spate of bombings in the capital last week.Iraqi police say that two blasts in front of the Foreign Ministry have wounded at least five people.

#2: Five civilians were wounded when two mortar shells landed in central Baghdad on Tuesday, an Iraqi police official said. "One of the two mortars landed on a civilian vehicles parking lot in al-Allawi area, central Baghdad, leaving five civilians wounded," the source told Aswat al-Iraq.

Kut:#1: A civilian man was killed by the fire of unidentified gunmen, two of them were wounded in a feud with the killed man's family in eastern Kut city, a police source in Wassit said. "Unidentified gunmen waged an armed attack during the early hours of Tuesady on a family in Anwar al-Sadr area, eastern Kut, leaving one member killed. Two of the gunmen were injured in the clashes," the source told Aswat al-Iraq.

#2: Policemen found two unidentified bodies of a young man and a young woman in the area of al-Ghabat, eastern Kut city, on Tuesday, a police source in Wassit province said.

Mosul: Gunmen killed a shop owner in central Mosul.

#3: Gunmen killed a governmental employee in al Quds neighborhood in Mosul.

#4: Gunmen killed a butcher and injured his son in their shop in Mosul.Northern Iraq

McCAIN PLANS TO CUT MEDICARE, MEDICAID---WALL ST. JOURNAL

Not only has John McCain been a champion for deregulation that put the country in the financial bind we are seeing today, but McCain also wants to cut Medicare and Medicaid according to the right wing Wall Street Journal.

OCTOBER 6, 2008

McCain Plans Federal Health Cuts
Medicare, Medicaid Spending Would Be Reduced to Offset Proposed Tax Credit

By LAURA MECKLER
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122315505846605217.html#

John McCain would pay for his health plan with major reductions to Medicare and Medicaid, a top aide said, in a move that independent analysts estimate could result in cuts of $1.3 trillion over 10 years to the government programs.

The Republican presidential nominee has said little about the proposed cuts, but they are needed to keep his health-care plan "budget neutral," as he has promised. The McCain campaign hasn't given a specific figure for the cuts, but didn't dispute the analysts' estimate.

In the months since Sen. McCain introduced his health plan, statements made by his campaign have implied that the new tax credits he is proposing to help Americans buy health insurance would be paid for with other tax increases
.
But Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Sen. McCain's senior policy adviser, said Sunday that the campaign has always planned to fund the tax credits, in part, with savings from Medicare and Medicaid. Those government health-care programs serve seniors, poor families and the disabled. Medicare spending for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30 is estimated at $457.5 billion.

Mr. Holtz-Eakin said the Medicare and Medicaid changes would improve the programs and eliminate fraud, but he didn't detail where the cuts would come from. "It's about giving them the benefit package that has been promised to them by law at lower cost," he said.

Both Sen. McCain and his Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama, have recently sought to refocus on health care. The issue once ranked at the top of voters' domestic concerns, but has in recent months been eclipsed by energy and the economy.

Sen. McCain charges that the Obama plan, which would create a government-run marketplace in which people could buy coverage, would lead to government-run health care. Sen. Obama charges that Sen. McCain's plan would leave many people unable to get insurance.

Sen. Obama's campaign turned up the volume in a major push on health care over the weekend with two days of attacks from the stump, four new television advertisements, a series of health-care events across the country and fliers to voters' homes in swing states.

Sen. Obama is focused on Sen. McCain's plan to offer a new tax credit of $2,500 per person and $5,000 per family toward insurance premiums. This would allow people to buy health coverage on the open market, where they may have more choices and might look for a better bargain

In exchange, the government would begin taxing the value of health benefits people get through work. If an employer spends $10,000 to buy a worker health insurance, the worker would pay taxes on that money.

"It's a shell game," Sen. Obama told an outdoor rally of 28,000 people Sunday in Asheville, N.C. "Sen. McCain gives you a tax credit with one hand -- but raises your taxes with the other."

Sen. McCain's plan actually would lower taxes for most people. But that means the plan wouldn't pay for itself, because it cuts certain taxes more than it raises others.

The federal government imposes two taxes on wages, generally: an income tax, which funds the government's general operations, and the payroll tax, paid for by employers and employees, which funds Social Security and Medicare. If Sen. McCain were to apply both of these to the value of health benefits, he could fully pay for his new tax credits.

That is what aides have in the past suggested he would do.

In April, when Sen. McCain gave a major speech about his health plan, Mr. Holtz-Eakin, the senior policy adviser, said the tax provisions alone were budget neutral -- meaning that health benefits would have to be subject to both income and payroll taxes.

Campaign officials have regularly implied since then that the tax plan was a wash. In the vice-presidential debate last week, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin described Sen. McCain's proposed tax credits and said: "That's budget neutral. That doesn't cost the government anything, as opposed to Barack Obama's plan to mandate health-care coverage and have this universal, government-run program."

Mr. Holtz-Eakin said the campaign never intended to apply the payroll tax to health benefits. That means that most people would see a net tax cut, contrary to Sen. Obama's assertions. Only those with very rich benefits packages are likely to see a net increase in taxes. But it also means that Sen. McCain must fill a huge budget hole -- which the campaign says will come from cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.

The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, a Washington think tank, estimates that the McCain plan would cost the government $1.3 trillion over 10 years. The plan would allow as many as five million more people to have insurance, it estimates.

Mr. Holtz-Eakin said the plan is accurately described as budget neutral because it assumes enough savings in Medicare and Medicaid spending to make up the difference.

He said the savings would come from eliminating Medicare fraud and by reforming payment policies to lower the overall cost of care. He said the new tax credits will help some low-income people avoid joining Medicaid. The campaign also proposes increasing Medicare premiums for wealthier seniors.

Sen. Obama also would rely on some Medicare savings to pay for his health-care plan, which would offer subsidies to help consumers pay for premiums. The Tax Policy Center estimates that his plan would cost $1.6 trillion over 10 years and cover 34 million more people.
Write to Laura Meckler at laura.meckler@wsj.com

VIDEO: JOHN McCAIN AND HIS ROLE IN THE " KEATING FIVE SCANDAL"

If John McCain is stupid enough in tonight's debate to bring up Barack Obama's "ties" to Bill Ayers or Rev. Jeremiah Wright, I hope Obama gets a chance to talk about what is in this video and how John McCain played a major role in the savings and loan scandal that cost 23,000 Americans their life savings.

The problems started when deregulation took place under that bonehead Ronald Reagan and then McCain kept voting for more and more deregulation.

The media aren't going to tell the truth, but this VIDEO does about John McCain's role in the "Keating Five" scandal:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDofbll86dY&eurl=http://www.keatingeconomics.com/

IF YOU HAVE DRAFT AGE CHILDREN THIS VIDEO WILL SCARE THE HELL OUT OF YOU

John McCain knows nothing but war, war, war and more war. And if John McCain is elected President you can bet your bottom dollar we will be going to war with IRAN, PAKISTAN and perhaps even NORTH KOREA.

Anyone who has military age children or grandchildren should take a long hard look at this video because electing JOHN McCAIN is a one-way ticket for your loved ones to be drafted and shipped to some foreign country to fight in still another incursion into a sovereign nation.

McCain is already on record saying he would be for reinstating the military draft.

Click on this link: http://corksphere.blogspot.com/2008/09/mccain-said-he-would-consider-draft.html to see and hear McCain say he would consider a military draft.

This video is not an exaggeration. It is the TRUTH.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/PdJUCU1UH2w&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO ACTIVATE VIDEO

POLITICO EXCLUSIVE: OBAMA TO HIT McCAIN ON "KEATING FIVE" SCANDAL

It's about time!

Nice guys finish LAST.

The Obama campaign is going to launch an attack on John McCain and his connections to the "Keating Five" savings and loan scandal that sent hundreds of people to the poor house.

Exclusive: Obama to hit McCain on Keating Five

By: Mike Allen October 5, 2008 11:28 PM EST
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14302.html

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) on Monday will launch a multimedia campaign to draw attention to the involvement of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in the “Keating Five” savings-and-loan scandal of 1989-91, which blemished McCain’s public image and set him on his course as a self-styled reformer.Retaliating for what it calls McCain's “guilt-by-association” tactics, the Obama campaign is e-mailing millions of supporters a link to a website, KeatingEconomics.com, which will have a 13-minute documentary on the scandal beginning at noon Eastern time on Monday.

The overnight e-mails urge recipients to pass the link on to friends.The Obama campaign, including its surrogates appearing on radio and television, will argue that the deregulatory fervor that caused massive, cascading savings-and-loan collapses in the late ‘80s was pursued by McCain throughout his career, and helped cause the current credit crisis.

Obama-Biden communications director Dan Pfeiffer said: “While John McCain may want to turn the page on his erratic response to the current economic crisis, we think voters will find his involvement in a similar crisis to be particularly interesting. His involvement with Keating is a window into McCain’s economic past, present, and future.”

Obama’s offensive comes after McCain’s running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, spent two days telling voters, donors and reporters that Obama showed poor judgment in his relationship with the former radical William Ayers. McCain’s campaign has vowed to make a major issue of Obama’s Chicago relationships in coming days, with a senior McCain official telling Politico that they are “the vehicle that allows us to question Obama’s truthfulness about his past and his plans for the future.”

The McCain campaign also plans to invoke money launderer Tony Rezko. Officials say they will not bring up Obama's former minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, because McCain has forbade his campaign from using that as an attack. But the officials said outside groups supporting McCain might highlight Wright.

Responding to the Keating blast from the past, a Republican official said the Obama team seemed "frantic" at "the mere mention of the word 'Ayers.'"

“The fact that the Obama team is recycling this old garbage 24 hours after Bill Ayers entered the race is a testament to how worried the Obama camp is of an unfettered airing of his associations," the official said. "Obama is a clever enough politician to know that his unexplored relationships with terrorists and felons are a serious liability in a race this close.”

IF THE SHEET FITS....

Analysis: Palin's words may backfire on McCain

Analysis: Sarah Palin, propping up sagging campaign, uses words that could backfire on ticket

DOUGLASS K. DANIELAP News
Oct 05, 2008 19:52 EST
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/222097.php

By claiming that Democrat Barack Obama is "palling around with terrorists" and doesn't see the U.S. like other Americans, vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin targeted key goals for a faltering campaign.

And though she may have scored a political hit each time, her attack was unsubstantiated and carried a racially tinged subtext that John McCain himself may come to regret.

First, Palin's attack shows that her energetic debate with rival Joe Biden may be just the beginning, not the end, of a sharpened role in the battle to win the presidency.

"Our opponent ... is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect, imperfect enough, that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country," Palin told a group of donors in Englewood, Colo. A deliberate attempt to smear Obama, McCain's ticket-mate echoed the line at three separate events Saturday.

"This is not a man who sees America like you and I see America," she said. "We see America as a force of good in this world. We see an America of exceptionalism."

Obama isn't above attacking McCain's character with loaded words, releasing an ad on Sunday that calls the Arizona Republican "erratic" — a hard-to miss suggestion that McCain's age, 72, might be an issue.

"Our financial system in turmoil," an announcer says in Obama's new ad. "And John McCain? Erratic in a crisis. Out of touch on the economy."

A harsh and plainly partisan judgment, certainly, but not on the level of suggesting that a fellow senator is un-American and even a friend of terrorists.

In her character attack, Palin questions Obama's association with William Ayers, a member of the Vietnam-era Weather Underground. Her reference was exaggerated at best if not outright false. No evidence shows they were "pals" or even close when they worked on community boards years ago and Ayers hosted a political event for Obama early in his career.

Obama, who was a child when the Weathermen were planting bombs, has denounced Ayers' radical views and actions.

With her criticism, Palin is taking on the running mate's traditional role of attacker, said Rich Galen, a Republican strategist.

"There appears to be a newfound sense of confidence in Sarah Palin as a candidate, given her performance the other night," Galen said. "I think that they are comfortable enough with her now that she's got the standing with the electorate to take off after Obama."

Second, Palin's incendiary charge draws media and voter attention away from the worsening economy. It also comes after McCain supported a pork-laden Wall Street bailout plan in spite of conservative anger and his own misgivings.

"It's a giant changing of the subject," said Jenny Backus, a Democratic strategist. "The problem is the messenger. If you want to start throwing fire bombs, you don't send out the fluffy bunny to do it. I think people don't take Sarah Palin seriously."

The larger purpose behind Palin's broadside is to reintroduce the question of Obama's associations. Millions of voters, many of them open to being swayed to one side or the other, are starting to pay attention to an election a month away.

For the McCain campaign, that makes Obama's ties to Ayers as well as convicted felon Antoin "Tony" Rezko and the controversial minister Jeremiah Wright ripe for renewed criticism. And Palin brings a fresh voice to the argument.

Effective character attacks have come earlier in campaigns. In June 1988, Republican George H.W. Bush criticized Democrat Michael Dukakis over the furlough granted to Willie Horton, a convicted murderer who then raped a woman and stabbed her companion. Related TV ads followed in September and October.

The Vietnam-era Swift Boat veterans who attacked Democrat John Kerry's war record started in the spring of 2004 and gained traction in late summer.

"The four weeks that are left are an eternity. There's plenty of time in the campaign," said Republican strategist Joe Gaylord. "I think it is a legitimate strategy to talk about Obama and to talk about his background and who he pals around with."

Palin's words avoid repulsing voters with overt racism. But is there another subtext for creating the false image of a black presidential nominee "palling around" with terrorists while assuring a predominantly white audience that he doesn't see their America?

In a post-Sept. 11 America, terrorists are envisioned as dark-skinned radical Muslims, not the homegrown anarchists of Ayers' day 40 years ago. With Obama a relative unknown when he began his campaign, the Internet hummed with false e-mails about ties to radical Islam of a foreign-born candidate.

Whether intended or not by the McCain campaign, portraying Obama as "not like us" is another potential appeal to racism. It suggests that the Hawaiian-born Christian is, at heart, un-American.

The fact is that when racism creeps into the discussion, it serves a purpose for McCain. As the fallout from Wright's sermons showed earlier this year, forcing Obama to abandon issues to talk about race leads to unresolved arguments about America's promise to treat all people equally.
John McCain occasionally says he looks back on decisions with regret. He has apologized for opposing a holiday to honor Martin Luther King Jr. He has apologized for refusing to call for the removal of a Confederate flag from South Carolina's Capitol.

When the 2008 campaign is over will McCain say he regrets appeals such as Palin's? ___

EDITOR'S NOTE — Douglass K. Daniel is a writer and editor with the Washington bureau of The Associated Press.
Source: AP News

U.S. RAID IN IRAQ KILLS 3 WOMEN AND 3 CHILDREN

Remember back when the Iraq war started almost six years ago how Vice President Dick Cheney predicted American troops would be greeted "as liberators and the Iraqi people would be throwing flowers at our troops.?"

That was then and this is today.

If things keep going the way they have been going in Iraq, there won't be any Iraqi left to greet U.S. troops "as liberators and throw flowers at them" because U.S. troops will have KILLED most of them.

11 Iraqis killed in U.S. raid in Mosul

By Corinne Reilly and Yasseem Taha McClatchy Newspapers
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/53490.html

BAGHDAD — Eleven members of an Iraqi family were killed Sunday during a U.S. raid in Mosul, including three women and three children, officials said.

Neighbors told Iraqi police in Mosul that the family was peaceful, but the U.S. military said five of the dead were terrorists who had targeted American soldiers.

A military spokesman said at least some of the Iraqis were killed when a member of the family detonated a suicide bomb inside the house the Americans were raiding. It's unclear whether gunfire from U.S. soldiers is responsible for some deaths, Navy Lt. Cmdr. David Russell said.

"At this point we're still working with the hospital to try to sort that out," he said.
A police spokesman in Mosul, Brig. Gen. Khalid Abdulsatar, said most of the dead appeared to have been killed by shrapnel from a bomb.

No U.S. soldiers were reported killed or injured.

Seven other Iraqis died in two additional incidents of violence in Mosul this weekend.
According to a military statement, American soldiers were in the northern Iraq city Sunday morning looking for a wanted terrorist.

They entered a house where they believe the terrorist lived, the statement said, and people inside began shooting at them. The soldiers returned fire. A suicide bomber then detonated an explosives vest inside the house, the military said.

Five men, three women and three children were killed. Another child was injured and one was left unharmed.

"This is just another tragic example of how al Qaida in Iraq hides behind innocent Iraqis," said Rear Adm. Patrick Driscoll, another military spokesman. "The terrorist exploded his suicide vest in close proximity to women and children, and in a house full of explosives and weapons."

Soldiers found guns and bomb-making materials inside the house after the firefight, the military said.

A police official in Mosul said the raided house is in the city's 17th of July neighborhood and that the Iraqis killed were all related.

Neighbors told police that the dead weren't involved in terrorism and that they were Arab natives of Mosul, the police official said.

He said authorities found evidence of a suicide bomber near the house, including body parts.
Other police officials said the neighborhood where the family died is often the site of U.S. raids.

Though violence has dropped dramatically across Iraq in recent months, Mosul remains dangerous.

Elsewhere in the city on Sunday, gunmen killed four mourners and injured six others during a funeral procession in the al Zinjili area, police said. One of the dead was an Iraqi army officer.

Also on Sunday, police found the dead bodies of three men who were kidnapped Saturday in Mosul's Wahda neighborhood.

VIDEO: SARAH PALIN CHANNELS MISS SOUTH CAROLINA

OMIGOD! The comparison between Sarah Palin and the Miss South Carolina, who stumbled all over herself trying to answer a simple question, are so similar it is frightening.

REMEMBER: Should the McCain/Palin ticket win, Sarah Palin would be a heartbeat away from being President of the United States should something happen to 72-year old JOHN McCAIN who already has had four bouts with cancer.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/w2QbhsT5BF8&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON ARROW TO ACTIVATE VIDEO

HEART-BREAKING VIDEO: VETERANS REMEMERED: FOR ALL MY VETERAN COMRADES

The IRAQ and AFGHANISTAN wars have been shoved out of the news by non-stop political coverage and in the case of FOX NEWS some of the most mundane tabloid news topics ever put on what is supposed to be a news outlet, but this veteran will not forget the brave young Americans who continue to serve our country and those who are shown in this video from the VIETNAM WAR who have given so much for the UNITED STATES of AMERICA.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/LVlkFVstJiE&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON ARROW TO ACTIVATE VIDEO

VIDEO: 200,000 HOMELESS VETERANS ON THE STREETS OF AMERICA

There are now over 200,000 homeless veterans living on the streets of America, and one out of every three soldiers returning from Iraq or Afghanistan suffers from severe mental health problems which the United States government is doing nothing about.

It is estimated one out of every three returning vets from Iraq and Afghanistan will attempt suicide.

The Bush administration and John McCain have done nothing for these veterans and have actually cut funding to help returning veterans deal with their mental health issues.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/FsTmBVav-r0&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON ARROW IN PICTURE TO ACTIVATE VIDEO

GRIPPING VIDEO: A HOMELESS VETERAN TELLS HIS STORY. A MUST WATCH

There are thousands of homeless American veterans and the list is getting longer and longer every single day.

This video captures the story of one Vietnam veteran telling in his OWN words how the VA (Veterans Administration) system let him down.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/cNWIzMqNM18&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON ARROW IN PICTURE TO ACTIVATE VIDEO

HILARIOUS BUT TRUE VIDEO: MCCAIN IN THE MEMBRANE: KEITH OLBERMAN OF MSNBC'S COUNTDOWN

Keith Olberman is rapidly overtaking Bill O'Reilly in the ratings race, and definitely has overtaken O'Reilly with people who have more than a single digit IQ.

McCain in the Membrane is Keith Olberman's latest segment from his MSNBC "Countdown" show and it's terrific.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/qPpJibIyMrs&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON ARROW TO ACTIVATE VIDEO

UNREAL VIDEO: SARAH PALIN SOUNDS LIKE MISS SOUTH CAROLINA

This video is both hilarious and frightening. Miss South Carolina was a beauty pageant contest and Sarah Palin is running for the second highest office in the United States, but when compared to each other they sound the same.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/ZkB1QQ_tK3o&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO ACTIVATE VIDEO

CNN BREAKING NEWS: PALIN ZINGS OBAMA FOR TERRORIST TIES: PROVES SHE CAN'T READ

Republican Vice President candidate Sarah Palin lashed out at Barack Obama Saturday saying he has ties to terrorist Bill Ayers.

Palin cited an article in Saturday's New York Times about Obama's relationship with Ayers, now 63. But that article concluded that "the two men do not appear to have been close. Nor has Mr. Obama ever expressed sympathy for the radical views and actions of Mr. Ayers, whom he has called 'somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago, when I was 8.' "

Palin hits Obama for 'terrorist' connection

Story Highlights
Sarah Palin criticizes Barack Obama's ties to William Ayers
Ayers was a founder of the radical 1970s group Weather Underground
Palin: "This is not a man who sees America as you and I do"
Obama camp: McCain-Palin "would rather spend their time tearing down" Obama

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/04/palin.obama/index.html

(CNN) -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on Saturday slammed Sen. Barack Obama's political relationship with a former anti-war radical, accusing him of associating "with terrorists who targeted their own country."

Palin's attack delivered on the McCain campaign's announcement that it would step up attacks on the Democratic presidential candidate with just a month left before the November general election.

"This is not a man who sees America as you and I do: as the greatest force for good in the world," Palin said at a fundraising event in Colorado, according to a statement released by the McCain-Palin campaign. "This is someone who sees American as imperfect enough to pal around with terrorists who targeted their own country."

Obama's Chicago, Illinois, home is in the same neighborhood as Bill Ayers, a founder of the radical Weather Underground, which was involved in several bombings in the early 1970s, including the Pentagon and the Capitol, and the two have met several times since Obama's 1995 campaign for a state Senate seat.

Palin cited an article in Saturday's New York Times about Obama's relationship with Ayers, now 63. But that article concluded that "the two men do not appear to have been close. Nor has Mr. Obama ever expressed sympathy for the radical views and actions of Mr. Ayers, whom he has called 'somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago, when I was 8.' "

Several other publications, including the Washington Post, Time magazine, the Chicago Sun-Times, The New Yorker and The National Review, have debunked the idea that Obama and Ayers had a close relationship.

Watch CNN's Truth Squad examine Palin claims »

Riot and bomb conspiracy charges against Ayers were dropped in 1974, and he is now a professor of education at the University of Illinois in Chicago
.
Obama campaign spokesman Hari Sevugan called Palin's comments "offensive" and "not surprising given the McCain campaign's statement this morning that they would be launching Swift Boat-like attacks in hopes of deflecting attention from the nation's economic ills."

With Obama rising in polls while the country struggles in the grip of a financial crisis, Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign decided to shift attention away from the troubled economy and onto issues of his opponent's character, judgment and personal associations, the Washington Post reported.

"We're going to get a little tougher," a senior Republican operative said, requesting anonymity because he wasn't authorized to discuss strategy. "We've got to question this guy's associations. Very soon. There's no question that we have to change the subject here."

The Obama camp said the tactic wouldn't work.

"What's clear is that John McCain and Sarah Palin would rather spend their time tearing down Barack Obama than laying out a plan to build up our economy," Sevugan said.

Obama and Ayers met at meeting for a school reform project in 1995 and again later that year.

Then, Ayers hosted an event where then-Illinois state Sen. Alice Palmer, who planned to run for Congress, introduced the young community organizer as her chosen successor, campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said. Both men also served on a charitable board together, he said.

Labolt also said the two have not spoken by phone or exchanged e-mail messages since Obama came to the U.S. Senate in 2005 and last met more than a year ago when they encountered each other on the street in their Hyde Park neighborhood.

Obama and McCain will meet for their second debate Tuesday night and will take questions directly from voters in a town hall-style format.

PART 2 OF VIDEO ON HOW RONALD REAGAN STARTED THE DESTRUCTION OF AMERICA

In this Part Two Real Network News video, award winning journalist Robert Parry brings viewers the inside story on how PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN's ideas of less government was the forerunner of the financial crisis the United States finds itself in today.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://therealnews.com/t/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=2479

RONALD REAGAN'S IDEAS LED TO CURRENT FINANCIAL FIASCO: WATCH VIDEO

You would never know it by watching cable news or even reading your local newspapers, but the whole mess the United States finds itself in now started with Ronald Reagan who wanted to get government out of every one's business.

IN PART ONE OF THIS REAL NEWS NETWORK VIDEO, AWARD WINNING JOURNALIST ROBERT PARRY EXPLAINS THE BEGINNINGS OF THE NEOCON MOVEMENT UNDER RONALD REAGAN THAT LEAD TO THE MESS WE ARE IN TODAY.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/2-55ZguQzoU&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON DIAMOND-SHAPED ARROW TO ACTIVATE VIDEO

WATCH THE BILL O'REILLY VIDEO ATTACKING DEMOCRATIC CONG.BARNEY FRANK THAT ALL RIGHT WING RADIO NUTS LOVE

FOX NEWS' Bill O'Reilly goes totally ballistic in an interview with Democratic Cong. Barney Frank over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

This video is now the odds on favorite of talk radio, better known as "hate" radio, as the audio portion is played over and over again on right wing talk radio in an effort to feed the appetite of the kind of disgruntled people who are stupid enough to listen to right wing "hate" radio.

Watch as Bill O'Reilly screams, yells, points fingers (where is O'Reilly's dumb "body language expert on this one?) and is a hair's breath away from being hauled off in a straight-jacket.

To his credit, Congressman Frank kept his cool and was able to say O'Reilly is either "too dumb" or "too stupid" to understand what went on in Washington with Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

This is a classic and you can watch it here:

http://www.youtube.com/v/yrfPMa3lONU&hl=en&fs=1

Click on arrow in center of picture to activate video.

U.S. MARINES IN REAL COMBAT VIDEO: "OPERATION PHANTOM FURY". GRAPHIC

Watch as U.S. Marines engage the enemy in IRAQ during "Operation Phantom Fury." The VIDEO is actual footage from the battle and the music is sensational.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/enm9Dhp79Vk&hl=en&fs=1

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CLOSE COMBAT IN IRAQ: VIDEO IS GRAPHIC WITH RAW LANGUAGE

This video shows what our young soldiers are going through in IRAQ while the media is fixated on the election.

The video is REAL and the language can be "colorful" to say the least.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/AlFvqCnHRwA&hl=en&fs=1

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REAL VIDEO COMBAT FOOTAGE FROM IRAQ

There is still a war going on in IRAQ and young Americans are still engaged in combat.

This video gives a glimpse of what our troops are going through in IRAQ

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/M2vZal7HZgc&hl=en&fs=1

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WATCH VIDEO OF BILL O'REILLY IN HIS YOUTH

This video is a spoof of FOX NEWS's loudmouth BILL O'REILLY and it is appropriately titled: LIL' O'REILLY.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/-teM03FPUow&hl=en&fs=1

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WHO'S SARAH PALIN? WATCH VIDEO AND FIND OUT

This video cuts through the BS and tells the truth about Sarah Palin.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/AtIBfHvuPgw&hl=en&fs=1

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SARAH PALIN GOES ON FOX NEWS TO BLAST KATIE COURIC: WATCH VIDEO

The day after the Vice President debate Sarah Palin went on her "user fiendly" FOX NEWS to diss Katie Couric.

Watch video here:

http://www.youtube.com/v/1Q0fTHnFGm0&hl=en&fs=1

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WATCH VIDEO OF SARAH PALIN READING GOP TALKING POINTS IN DEBATE

Most everyone agrees Sarah Palin didn't fall on her face during the Vice President debate, but what few people realize is if you watch closely Palin is reading her answers from GOP "talking points."

Here is just one example:

http://www.youtube.com/v/pZ7Fp6QH150&hl=en&fs=1

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BREAKING NEWS FROM CNN: BOMBS KILL 20 IN BAGHDAD

Bombs targeting worshippers kill 20 in Iraq

Story Highlights
Worshippers were leaving early morning prayers to mark the end of Ramadan
The suicide bomb blasts also wounded 35 others
Shiite followers of Ayatolla Ali al-Sistani began their Eid celebrations Thursday

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/10/02/iraq.violence/index.html

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Suicide attacks outside two Shiite mosques killed at least 20 people in Baghdad on Thursday as worshippers left early morning prayers marking the end of Ramadan, the Interior Ministry said.

The suicide bomb blasts also wounded 35 people, a ministry official said.

The bombs went off as worshippers left the mosques to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of a month of fasting.

440 KILLED IN IRAQ IN SEPTEMBER: 25 WERE US SOLDIERS

Iraq violence kills 440 in September: 25 US soldiers killed

Wed Oct 1, 3:02 AM ET

http://tinyurl.com/3p2tyt

BAGHDAD (AFP) - The number of Iraqi civilians and security personnel killed in insurgent and militia violence in September was 440, little changed from August, security officials said on Wednesday.

At least 359 civilians, 26 Iraqi soldiers and 55 policemen were slain in September, according to figures collected by the interior, defence and health ministries, officials who had the access to the data said.

In August, 383 civilians, 18 Iraqi soldiers and 30 policemen, a total of 431 people, were killed.
In September, 66 militants were killed and 920 were arrested, the officials said.

The US military, meanwhile, reported at least 25 soldiers killed in September, according to independent website www.icasualties.org, compared with 23 in August.

At least 4,176 US soldiers have been killed in Iraq since the 2003 invasion, according to an AFP count based on the website.

FUNNY VIDEO: SHOUTING NEWS: PALIN VS PIT BULL

Everyone is getting into the act mocking Sarah Palin. In this video even a Pit Bull is used to mock Palin.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/7ScFpbCN2m8&hl=en&fs=1

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VIDEO SHOWS HOW FOX NEWS EDITED OUT CLIPS FROM JON STEWART SHOW ON JOHN McCAIN

FOX NEWS loves to shout to the world they are "fair and balanced" but in reality FOX NEWS is a branch of the Republican National Committee.

In this VIDEO you will see how FOX NEWS edited a clip from the JON STEWART "Daily Show" to make John McCain look good.

FOX NEWS IS SHAMELESS AND NOT EVEN A NEWS ORGANIZATION.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/0gh6r5ALVMo&hl=en&fs=1

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VIDEO: DAVID LETTERMAN'S TOP TEN THINGS HEARD AT SARAH PALIN DEBATE CAMP

David Letterman put together his "Top 10" of what was overheard at the Sarah Palin debate camp.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/3ugTnp4XCJw&hl=en&fs=1

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VIDEO OF CNN'S JACK CAFFERTY: HOW CAN ANYONE TAKE SARAH PALIN SERIOUSLY?

CNN's Jack Cafferty doesn't spare any words in this video on his true feelings about Sarah Palin.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/j9HIYmT5Rpo&hl=en&fs=1

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