American 2008 Electionshttp://thoughtleadership.squarespace.com/american-2008-elections/en-AU2009-12-09T15:38:25ZSquarespace Site Server v5.8.4 (http://www.squarespace.com/)President Obama's Inaugural Speechhttp://thoughtleadership.squarespace.com/american-2008-elections/2009/1/21/president-obamas-inaugural-speech.htmlAfroz Ali2009-01-21T02:10:25ZCLICK HERE to watch the video of the Inaugural speech.

]]>Obama Picks pro-Israel Hardliner for Top Posthttp://thoughtleadership.squarespace.com/american-2008-elections/2008/11/7/obama-picks-pro-israel-hardliner-for-top-post.htmlAfroz Ali2008-11-07T01:40:08ZDuring the United States election campaign, racists and pro-Israel hardliners tried to make an issue out of President-elect Barack Obama's middle name, Hussein. Such people might take comfort in another middle name, that of Obama's pick for White House Chief of Staff: Rahm Israel Emanuel.

Emanuel is Obama's first high-level appointment and it's one likely to disappointment those who hoped the president-elect would break with the George W. Bush Administration's pro-Israel policies. White House Chief of Staff is often considered the most powerful office in the executive branch, next to the president. Obama has offered Emanuel the position according to Democratic party sources cited by media including Reuters and The New York Times. While Emanuel is expected to accept the post, that had not been confirmed by Wednesday evening the day after the election.


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]]>Naomi Klein: The Bush Gang's Parting Gift: A Final, Frantic Looting of Public Wealthhttp://thoughtleadership.squarespace.com/american-2008-elections/2008/11/5/naomi-klein-the-bush-gangs-parting-gift-a-final-frantic-loot.htmlAfroz Ali2008-11-05T23:52:18ZIn the final days of the election many Republicans seem to have given up the fight for power. But don't be fooled: that doesn't mean they are relaxing. If you want to see real Republican elbow grease, check out the energy going into chucking great chunks of the $700bn bail-out out the door. At a recent Senate banking committee hearing, the Republican Bob Corker was fixated on this task, and with a clear deadline in mind: inauguration. "How much of it do you think may be actually spent by January 20 or so?" Corker asked Neel Kashkari, the 35-year-old former banker in charge of the bail-out.

When European colonialists realised that they had no choice but to hand over power to the indigenous citizens, they would often turn their attention to stripping the local treasury of its gold and grabbing valuable livestock. If they were really nasty, like the Portuguese in Mozambique in the mid-1970s, they poured concrete down the elevator shafts.

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]]>Yes We Can!- Article by the esteemed Imam Zaid Shakirhttp://thoughtleadership.squarespace.com/american-2008-elections/2008/11/5/yes-we-can-article-by-the-esteemed-imam-zaid-shakir.htmlAfroz Ali2008-11-05T23:45:52ZThe American people have spoken in a resounding voice, “YES WE CAN!” and with that refrain echoing into the night history was made as Senator Barack Hussein Obama was elected to serve as the next president of the United States. Senator Obama’s election as the first African American president illustrates that the politics of hope can trump the politics of fear, that every vote can and does count, that the youth of this nation are not a group of apathetic hedonists, and that the promise of peace is stronger than the prospect of war.

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]]>President-Elect Obama's Acceptance Speechhttp://thoughtleadership.squarespace.com/american-2008-elections/2008/11/5/president-elect-obamas-acceptance-speech.htmlAfroz Ali2008-11-05T13:21:36Z]]>Obama Winshttp://thoughtleadership.squarespace.com/american-2008-elections/2008/11/5/obama-wins.htmlAfroz Ali2008-11-05T04:37:51ZWASHINGTON, November 4th 2008 – Barack Obama was elected the nation's first black president Tuesday night in a historic triumph that overcame racial barriers as old as America itself.

The son of a black father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas, the Democratic senator from Illinois sealed his victory by defeating Republican Sen. John McCain in a string of wins in hard-fought battleground states — Ohio, Florida, Virginia and Iowa.

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]]>Who's Obsession Is It?http://thoughtleadership.squarespace.com/american-2008-elections/2008/10/29/whos-obsession-is-it.htmlAfroz Ali2008-10-29T00:25:46ZA Jewish-Israeli organisation has distributed around 20 million DVDs, spreading propoganda of fear against Islam. The DVD is aimed at, as repeated by many US political commentators, mongering fear amongst American voters against Islam and Muslims in order to implicitly encourage US citizens to vote for John McCain. A few crucial issues come out of this hate-driven propoganda:

  • The US organisation behind it, Clarion Fund, is a virtual organisation, and the funds for this DVD and connection of this organisation is directly related to a Jerusalem-based Jewish education group called Aish Ha Torah (Fire of Torah), according to many commentators (including Human Rights Council);
  • A foreign organisation is trying to influence American elections, and which is nothing new, particularly from the pro-Israeli (and quite explicitly anti-Palestine) lobby groups;
  • The distribution is at least  by a non-profit organisation who are prohibited in USA to distribute political propoganda;
  • This says a lot about what appeals to McCain's kind of policies, whether he had anything to do with this DVD or not;
  • There are powers to be who are milking USA and its citizens dry only to keep Israel propped up for its continued obsessive state violence upon Palestinians;
  • Americans must be pretty ignorant, given they have fallen for this kind of obsessive hate-mongering over and over again!

I will post some videos in which commentators discuss this obsession.

]]>Obama and the Muslim Mythhttp://thoughtleadership.squarespace.com/american-2008-elections/2008/10/27/obama-and-the-muslim-myth.htmlAfroz Ali2008-10-27T01:53:13Z]]>Al-Smith Foundation Dinner in Classic Stylehttp://thoughtleadership.squarespace.com/american-2008-elections/2008/10/27/al-smith-foundation-dinner-in-classic-style.htmlAfroz Ali2008-10-27T01:48:03Z This is in a few parts- look for it on Youtube!]]>Paling Around with Muslim Americanshttp://thoughtleadership.squarespace.com/american-2008-elections/2008/10/27/paling-around-with-muslim-americans.htmlAfroz Ali2008-10-27T01:45:44Z]]>