Word of the Day: clusterfukistan

Heard this one tonight...

Clus-ter-fuck-i-stan /fʌk/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [kluhs-ter-fuhk-uh-stahn]
--noun

The geographical area extending from Pakistan to Israel as per comedian and political satirist Bill Maher, host of the HBO talk show Real Time.

Copyright © 2009, Primetime Oracle
All Rights Reserved

Obama, Pope 'discuss' abortion, stem cells, Mideast

This photo released by the Vatican's press office shows Pope Benedict XVI greeting President Barack Obama prior their meeting at the Vatican Friday July 10. (AFP/VPO-HO)

There's not much to be discussed between the leader of the free world and the head of the guilt ridden that would accomplish anything, if you ask me, but there's always protocol and photo-ops. They have to play the game or millions would complain...they have to strike a pose to keep photographers employed...

U.S. President Obama and Pope Benedict XVI met Friday after the G8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy, and they reportedly talked about abortion, embryonic stem cell research, Middle East peace efforts, helping the poor, and world financial markets.

The election of the 47-year-old African-American Democrat wasn't good news to the Vatican after eight years of common ground on abortion and stem cells with former President George W. Bush. Obama ended Bush's restrictions on government funding for embryonic stem cell research and for family planning groups that perform or facilitate abortions overseas when he took office in January.

For those who don't know, the Vatican is against abortion (even though millions of Catholics get abortions every year...) and embryonic stem cell research (even though whoever chooses to end a pregnancy is going to whether stem cell research exists or not...), and favors Middle East peace and ending the Iraq war.

During the meeting, the 82-year-old leader of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics reportedly expressed the church's opposition to abortion and embryonic stem cell research. Well...duh. The Vatican's stand on these issues is based on religious beliefs and, as a result, not one that is negotiable. End of story.

The 30-minute visit (what controversial topics can be "discussed" in 30 minutes?) was described by both sides as "positive." Well...duh again.

As it's customary, the leaders exchanged gifts after the meeting. The Pope gave Obama a copy of a Vatican document on bioethics that stresses the church's opposition to using embryos for stem cell research, cloning and in-vitro fertilization.

"Yes, this is what we had talked about," Obama said, telling the Pope he would read it on the flight to his next stop, Ghana...or use it as toilet paper there should he find himself moved by a force of nature in a hut without TP.

The pope's secretary, Rev. Georg Ganswein, told reporters the document would "help the president better understand the position of the Catholic church." But here's the thing: Obama et al understand the church's position; they just don't agree with it. If the Catholics are not to be persuaded to accept abortion and stem cell research, what makes them think they can persuade those in favor to switch sides?

Pope Benedict also gave Obama a mosaic depicting St. Peter's Square with one of its fountains in the foreground, and Obama gave Benedict a stole that had covered the remains of S.t John Neuman, a 19th-century missionary who was the first American bishop to be canonised.

After the meeting, Benedict reportedly said that Obama pledged to seek to reduce abortions. And how exactly does Obama plan to do that? Cutting access to abortion services is out of the question as far as pro-choicers (mostly liberal Democrats) are concerned, so other than boosting safe-sex campaign efforts, how else could he shrink the number of abortions in the U.S.?

Ironically, even though he's a protestant, polls show Obama received a majority of Catholic votes. But when he was invited to receive an honorary degree at Notre Dame, the leading Catholic university in the U.S., in the Spring, dozens of bishops blasted the university, and the local bishop declined to attend the ceremony.

Moving on to the economy, earlier this week Benedict issued a major document calling for a new world financial order guided by ethics (whose?) and a search for the common good (is there such a thing?), denouncing a profit-at-all-cost mentality (I have to agree with this) blamed for the global financial meltdown.

About Middle East peace efforts, Benedict appears to agree with Obama's two-state solution and has issued the Vatican's strongest call yet for a Palestinian state. But unless those directly involved agree...

I often wonder why the concept of "you can't please everyone" is so difficult for us human to understand when there's no escaping it. It's simply impossible--regardless of what, who, where, when, why--to make decisions, speak and act in a way that will please every human being on Earth.

Religious groups, above all others, tend to operate on the premise that what they deem right is right, what they deem wrong is wrong. The way I see it, anyone or any group that takes that stand is just plain arrogant. But that's just me...

So what is there for Obama and the Pope to discuss? What is there to negotiate?

Since the dawn of time and until the end of life as we know it, a difference of opinion is the spark that fuels the will of mankind, if you ask me.

Sources: AP, CNN, AFP
Copyright © 2009, Primetime Oracle
All Rights Reserved

11 places with a worse economy than the U.S.'s

A businessman sits on an improvised chair at a Tokyo park. Japanese wholesale prices fell at the fastest pace yet last month, data showed, deepening concern that renewed deflation could hinder a recovery in the world's number two economy. (AFP/Yoshikazu Tsuno)

(Another interesting article about the economy)

By Rick Newman of U.S. News & World Report
Published Fri Jul 10, 11:50 am ET

When times are tough, one thing that tends to raise the spirits is knowing that somebody else has it worse. And as wretched as the U.S. economy seems, it's not as bad as in other regions.

The International Monetary Fund's latest tally of world economic conditions forecasts a 2.6 decline in U.S. economic output for all of 2009, and anemic growth of 0.8 percent in 2010. That's more optimistic than the IMF's prediction from three months ago, but those are still lousy numbers. A weak economy throughout 2010 would mean a bleak employment picture, an agonizingly slow housing recovery, and another year or two likely to feel like a recession, whether it's technically labeled that or not.

We should count ourselves lucky, though. The IMF expects at least 11 major parts of the world to have more severe economic contractions than the United State this year, including most of western Europe, Japan, Russia, and Mexico. Europe will still be stumbling along behind the United States next year, as well. Here are the IMF's projections for economic growth in various parts of the world:

	2009	2010
China	7.5	8.5
India	5.4	6.5
Middle East	2.0	3.7
Africa	1.8	4.7
Brazil	-1.3	2.5
World total	-1.4	2.5
Canada	-2.3	1.6
U.S.	-2.6	0.8
France	-3.0	0.4
Spain	-4.0	-0.8
U.K.	-4.2	0.2
European Union	-4.7	-0.1
Central/Eastern Europe	-5.0	1.0
Italy	-5.1	-0.1
Japan	-6.0	1.7
Germany	-6.2	-0.6
Russia	-6.5	1.5
Mexico	-7.3	3.0

If these projections come true, it means the United States, despite its overspent consumers, wrecked banks, and insolvent automakers, will be leading the world economy out of recession. Somehow. The developing world will help, but those high growth projections in China and India can be deceiving. China in particular has government policies that practically mandate high growth, and 8.5 percent in 2010 would be just about the bare minimum to keep employment at tolerable levels. And neither China nor India is a major buyer of American-made goods and services; for the most part, it's the other way around. With much of the developed world trailing the United States, it will take American consumers to ratchet up demand for the world's products. Scary thought.

The IMF does offer a bit of more heartening news: The global wipeout finally seems to be receding. "The world economy is stabilizing," the IMF reports. Its global economic growth projection of 2.5 percent in 2010 is 0.6 points higher than predicted in April. But the global economy isn't expected to gain its footing in earnest until the second half of 2010. Maybe by then American spenders will have come out of hiding.

Obama's Islamic homage wins praise

Wearing masks to conceal their identities, Palestinian militants from the Popular Resistance Committee watched Obama's televised speech at a training base in Gaza City. (AP Photo/Ashraf Amra)

I resist politics, but it would be irresponsible to go through today without even mentioning Obama's much-awaited speech in Cairo earlier today.

It has been praised and criticized any which way possible, as any other important political speech. But I like the following story because it's optimistic. And after the eight loooong years after W and the consequences we're now facing thanks to his words and actions, I have little patience for negativity.

Here's what one AP story out of Dubai reported about the speech.

The tone of respect was set from the opening lines of President Barack Obama's address to the Muslim world, AP reported Thursday.

"Assalamu Aleikum"--Arabic for "peace be upon you"--he said, triggering applause from the crowd at Cairo University and bringing nods of approval in places like a coffee shop in the West Bank town of Ramallah, where some began calling him "Abu Hussein"--using his Muslim middle name--as a sign of honor, according to the report.

Obama's ambitious speech, which sought to define a new relationship between Washington and the Islamic world, also represented an opportunity to shape his own image in the eyes of Muslims, AP reported. He quoted from the Quran, paid homage to the cultural and intellectual achievements of Muslims, and noted his middle name and his father's ties to the faith.

"As the Holy Quran tells us, 'Be conscious of God and speak always the truth'," he said. "That is what I will try to do today, to speak the truth as best I can."

Whether political stagecraft or sincerity, his gestures resonated strongly among many Muslims who often complain their traditions and culture are devalued in the West and have become overshadowed by Islamic radicals, AP reported.

"He came across as sincere and credible," said Sheik Muhammad al-Nujaimi, a member of a committee in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that tries to moderate the radical views of jailed militants. He said he plans to give a copy of Obama's address to the inmates with a message: "Muslims should offer help to the new American administration and reciprocate its overtures."

Obama also sprinkled his address with Arabic words that are well-known to all Muslims: "hijab" for the Islamic coverings for women, "zakat" for alms giving, which is one of the Five Pillars of Islam.

Even these few references carry powerful significance in the Arab world, where the language is cherished as an important ethnic bond, revered for its connection to the Prophet Muhammad, and filled with elaborate greetings and finely crafted formalities that display respect.

Obama's closing line--"And may God's peace be upon you"--rings with authenticity and cultural sensitivity to Arabic ears. (Photo: President Obama/Reuters)

There were obvious comparisons to Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, whose use of language, such as calling for a "crusade" against terrorists after the Sept. 11 attacks, a term that brought to mind the Christian Crusades against Islam in the Holy Land, helped stir anti-American anger (to put it lightly, if you ask me) in the Muslim world, AP reported.

Obama "was fair on basics, soft on tone," said Labib Kamhawi, a political analyst in Amman, Jordan. "He avoided using provocative terms of the previous administration like 'war on terrorism.'"

Even some extremist Web sites, which have carried statements from al-Qaida and other groups in the past, added some rare hints of praise amid the scorn for Obama.

One posting on a chat room noted admiration for U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton "wearing a head scarf ... and she and Obama taking off their shoes" during a visit to a Cairo mosque. The contributor also praised Obama's quotation of verses from the Quran, "while many of our leaders don't memorize these verses."

In response, another writer said Obama "is manipulating the emotions of the people the same as a lute player does. ... He is undoubtedly a wise enemy compared with George Bush, the enemy known for his stupidity."

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, a 27-year-old computer engineer, Yasmine Bennami, said of the president's address: "It's the first time ever that I see an American president quoting verses from the Quran."

In Saudi Arabia, home of Islam's holiest sites, Rabah al-Mutawa said Obama, by quoting from the Quran, "touched people." "I challenge any Arab leader to go to the U.S. or the West and quote the Bible like Obama quoted the Quran," she said at her home in Riyadh.

When Obama opened with his Arabic greeting, Mahmoud Ramahi smiled.

"This is good," said Ramahi, a lawmaker with the anti-Israel militant group Hamas in the West Bank. "This is the first good signal. We'll start counting."

I'm no political pundit by any conceivable means, but if you ask me Obama rocks. He rocks because he's graceful and wise with words. He rocks because he makes an effort to show respect for other countries and cultures. He rocks because he brings issues down to a level of sensibility from up where reason no longer matters. And though the eight years with W were, in my opinion, the most disastrous in this country's recent history, perhaps had it not been for his monumental mistakes, we wouldn't have Obama today. Extreme change requires extreme measures, if you ask me.

If you ask Rush Limbaugh, the Right's self-proclaimed champion, the speech was "outrageous, absurd, and embarrassing." Now, who could've seen that coming?

Rush has problem: he has a extremely narrow, one-track mind capable of perceiving, processing and conceiving ideas and events from a single point of view--his. And that's exactly the opposite of what Obama does when he makes an effort to understand and address issues from various points of view.

Sources: The Associated Press, CNN, Reuters, Me
Copyright © 2009