Morning News - Shake Up Edition

by Kevin Ganster

Vowing to shake up Washington and to fight to make life better for all Americans, John McCain accepted the Republican party’s nomination for president last night. McCain made an extended argument that he’s the right one to bring change to politics as usual, saying he’s taken on the special interests, put country above his own political career, and even bucked with his party from time to time.

While the Republicans were riding high in St. Paul, investors were down in the dumps on Wall Street. The Dow plunged 344 points, or nearly 3%, yesterday. Although oil was lower, investors were discouraged by an unexpectedly large jump in jobless claims, mixed retail sales, and worries about a global economic slowdown.

Speaking of oil, OPEC appears poised to reject calls by Iran and Venezuela to reduce production quotas in light of falling prices.

The other big story this morning is Hurricane Alley in the Atlantic – Tropical Storm Hanna is scheduled to make landfall at the Carolinas tomorrow, although it’s not likely to re-achieve hurricane status. Southeastern state governors are taking no chances, however, calling for some voluntary evacuations, mobilizing their National Guard troops, and declaring states of emergency. The real threat – which is still a big question mark – is Hurricane Ike, currently a Category 3. It could hit South Florida on Tuesday. And, Tropical Storm Josephine is gathering force further out in the Atlantic.

President Bush is expected to punish Moscow for its invasion of Georgia by canceling a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement. Withdrawing the agreement is a highly symbolic gesture as the deal probably wouldn’t take effect during his presidency anyway.

All the political news overshadowed what could be a significant development in Pakistan -- U.S. commandos attacked an al Qaeda target inside Pakistani territory this week. U.S. and NATO officials have long wanted to conduct operation inside Pakistan’s border to eliminate so-called safe havens for terrorists, but feared repercussions from the Pakistan government. On a related note, it appears that Benazir Bhutto’s husband, Asif Ali Zardari, will secure the presidency in Pakistani elections Saturday.

The Chinese government made a rare admission yesterday, saying that the rush to build schools might have led to shoddy construction that resulted in the deaths of thousands of students during the big earthquake in Sichaun Province in May.

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[A. D. Jackson]

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Tune in Monday - September 8, 2008 at 11:00 a.m. (CDT) to the internet radio show "Change Of Venue" as host Zena Crenshaw talks with Florida attorney and activist Mark Adams on whether the media is an effective monitor of the courts or more like a sleeping watchdog. The Media As Judicial Monitor: A Sleeping Watchdog?
Attorney Adams points out that "even obvious conflicts of interest for financial reasons draw little media attention, and something like exclusion of relevant evidence, personal bias, and ignoring the law and the facts in violation of fundamental due process draws even less". Don't miss this important interview! CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

I was surprised to learn Mc Cain is a reformer although Skyhawk John had a few interesting things to say about the judiciary. "Change of Venue" internet radio show features guests who have a good deal to say about judicial reform, a very important topic. If the above link doesn't work, please try the webpage www.njcdlp.org/Change_of_Venue.html