From Jordan, Naseem Al Tarawnah writes: ‘The BBC Reported: “The interior ministry said he (Syrian President Bashar al-Assad) won the backing of more than 97% of Syria’s 12 million voters in Sunday’s referendum.”
Question: If Bashar Al-Assad was running unopposed, who were the other 3% voting for?’
The U.S. Secret Service “expects to borrow more than 2,000 immigration officers and federal airport screeners next year to help guard an ever-expanding field of presidential candidates, while shifting 250 of its own agents from investigations to security details,” the Washington Post reports.
“Burdened by the White House’s wartime security needs, the persistent threat of terrorism and a field of at least 20 presidential contenders, the Secret Service was showing signs of strain even before the Department of Homeland Security ordered protection for Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) as of May 3, the earliest a candidate has ever been assigned protection in an election season.”
The “supersize, superexpensive, superearly 2008 presidential campaign is fueling a bit of an economic boom” in Iowa, “at least among the niche industries that cater to candidates, their staffs and the crowds they are attracting,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
“Besides offering a measure of the stepped up pace of the current race, the flood of money and attention helps explain why Iowa, New Hampshire and other small states have clung so tightly to their spots at the front of the primary line. It isn’t just the influence they gain in shaping the contests to choose the parties’ candidates that matters; the campaigns’ need to make a good showing in these states translates into lots of spending that contributes to local economies.”
Example: Over the Memorial Day weekend, seven candidates, including all three Democratic front-runners, crisscrossed Iowa holding 36 public events.
“Plenty of skeletons are rattling in the political closets of the Republican and Democratic Presidential candidates this year,” observes the Scripps Howard News Service.
Their recent survey of more than 1,000 Americans finds many “voice concerns about candidates who have used cocaine, been married three times, have uncommon religious beliefs, have little government experience or are just plain too old. The survey finds almost every major candidate has a significant fault or political deficit they must overcome.”
The good news for the candidates: “Few voice concern over a candidate who is very wealthy, which is good news for at least eight candidates who are millionaires, or who have lived the last 20 years in Washington, D.C.”
Belarusian blogger Uładzimer Katkoŭski/br23 passed away in Prague on May 25 at the age of 30. As one of his online friends wrote, “To a large degree thanks to his effort Belarusian-language Internet is now what it is.”
“A quote means whatever the journalist intended by its use.” I left that line hanging at the end of part 1 because…
“When media become political players themselves, they lose their credibility, and they betray the people who rely on them for truthful, accurate information.” Jeremy Taylor weighs in on the controversy surrounding the closure of RCTV in Venezuela.
“Wife (Samonim) of the Seoul Mayor and Wife of the District Chief, Welcome to Jung-gu District Office!” A special-made signboard was mocked by bloggers.[ko]
Rudy Giuliani, “whose positions on abortion and homosexuality mark him as the most socially liberal Republican presidential candidate in more than a generation, is so far winning the contest for the support of social conservatives, according to a new analysis of recent polls,” reports The Politico.
“Widespread perceptions that Giuliani is the most electable Republican in this years field are driving his support among social conservatives.” If Giulianis success continues, “this apparent willingness to support a candidate who fails what were once regarded as litmus-test issues would mark a landmark shift in the political behavior of a constituency that has been a pillar of the modern GOP. Already the shift is spurring sharp debate among prominent Christian conservative leaders, some of whom warn that Giuliani backers are abandoning core principles.”
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