Levi Johnston On CBS: Palins Treated Me Like An Outcast After Election

AOG, London

I think he should thank his lucky stars he did not marry Miss Palin. However, the Palins will be in his family for years to come, so long as his son lives with his mother.


There is no easy way to solve this, and no family is perfect, but it is becoming increasingly clear that America was spared a great mistake by not electing the Republican ticket.


Unfortunately the Palins assure us of this constantly.

Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

US Iran To Have Direct Group Talks Over Nuke Program

AOG, London




I have always thought that the best way to deal with proto-nuclear powers is through engagement. True, Iran is not just that. Having left the Western sphere of influence after the Islamic revolution, it is a country intent on carrying out a very proactive foreign policy. As of late, it has done well playing off the US and Russia against each other.

It is perhaps too early to tell if this has actually helped Iran's cause any, but it is obvious that it has bought the regime time, and it has shown it to be a very independent player in the world stage.

It is also true that in foreign policy matters, Iran is preaching to the converted. Nowhere outside the Islamic world (with the odd exception of Venezuela, and possibly Russia) is Iran seen as a serious player. Too dependent on religion to be taken seriously by most secular powers, nevertheless it is a country intent on undermining, when not outright demanding, the destruction of Israel.

I think the Obama administration is doing well in bringing Iran to the negotiating table. I am not sure that it will stop the Ayatollahs from creating a nuclear power in the region, but it is a start.

About Barack Obama
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Tony Blair tells the Pope: you're wrong on homosexuality

AOG, London

I have just read this article about Tony Blair and the Pope on The Times online. Link here.

It reports that the former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, a recent convert to Catholicism, told Pope Benedict that he was wrong about his anti-homosexual stance. Well done, in my view.

Mr. Blair is quoted as saying:

“We need an attitude of mind where rethinking and the concept of evolving attitudes becomes part of the discipline with which you approach your religious faith.”

German-born, 82 year old Pope Benedict XVI, remains firmly opposed to any relaxation of the Church’s traditional stance on homosexuality, contraception or any other area of human sexuality.

He is not known as "Nazinger" for nothing. Yes, that is a picture from his youth.

The Pope has described homosexuality as a “tendency” towards an “intrinsic moral evil”, according to The Times.

Rather than concentrate on the Pope's homophobia, well documented as it is, I took the liberty of copying and pasting some of the comments left on the Times Online on this article.

Some of them I find scary, but for the most part, I think they reflect the religiously-induced ignorance of many people who seem to think that the Christian message is Jesus loves you...unless you are gay.

Here they are. I have taken the liberty of jotting down on this post (my blog, my rules) my thoughts to some of them.

I thought the portion of humanity who read The Times was a bit more evolved. Faced with this level of hatred and homophobia, I beg to differ...

Do have a look.

Thank you Jesus for Pope Benedict. May he remain strong in the faith despite outside pressures. Surround him with your angels and protect him always.
Elaine, Cumberland, USA

Ed. This is not particularly homophobic, thought the reasons for asking for divine protection of the Pope, probably are.

Blair is a couple years a Catholic and now has all the answers. It seems to me that his life's expertise has been in the worldly realm ruled by the spirit of the power of the air. There is plenty of that (air) to go around. True wisdom comes from being able to see what is not apparent.
John, Hayward, USA

Ed. "the spirit of the power of the air"...I don't even want to ask.


Some truths can't be changed because someone says so. Laws of physics, i.e. gravity, temp water boils at etc. Laws of God, Gen 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. I don't read a man shall cling to a man,do you?
Dan, Marquette,

Ed. Christians always find these universal truths. Do they ever think that what they think is universal, is to others, provincial?

I think we should all have a cup of tea and ignore this irrelevant little man (Blair that is!)
Stewart, London,

The Church has switched its position every time science and society has proven it wrong and when it became impossible to hang on to a falsehood e.g. the earth made in 7 days. Blair is just stating the obvious, but then some do believe the earth was made in 7 days.
Ian, london, uk

Ed. Hear! Hear!

Hard to know what kind of preparation Tony Blair underwent as a convert to Catholicism. He is an earnest fellow, I am sure, but is out of his depth theologically. Only a genius, though, would be able to identify 3,500 years of error
John Thom, Charleston, USA

Ed. I totally disagree. It does not take a genius to know what's right, what's wrong, and what is just plain at odds with modern society. Why do Christians think that what the Bible says about homosexuality is spot on and contemporary, but its tenets on Slavery, women, adultery, etc, are not? Odd.

It surprises me that someone so widely read as Tony Blair could make such a comment. The Pope has no more power over the Church's teaching on sexuality than he does on the Trinity. Whats done cannot be undone even by a Pope. Thats basic Catholic Theology.
Myles Bailey, London, UK

Ed. What has been done? And by whom?

After reading this article about Tony Blair, a recent liberal Roman Catholic convert, I can understand why the Holy Father beieves in a smaller Roman Catholic Church. I say, "let the liberal catholics bow out". I love this Holy Father who upholds the true teachings of Christ.
Angie Beans, Hilton Head Island, SC, United States of America

Ed. If only the Cathooic Church were smaller! Imagine how much happier the rest of the planet would be!

After all the wrongs, this might be the right one for Mr. Blair. Be more "open-minded", don't just follow the book word by word, do you know how many versions of books are there? how do you know if that the authors are right on every details. The world will be better if all people are more liberal.
Sunny, London, UK

Mr T. Blair: do you want to be a new modern pope?
Mirek, Nowy Sącz, Poland

There is nothing metaphorical about the text of Romans, chapter one, Mr. Blair. Read the book. Learn the teachings of the Bible and find a mentor.
John, Austin, Texas

Ed. Sorry, the entire Bible is metaphor. Or are we to believe in all that fable and myth as actual events? The only thing missing is unicorns!

Perhaps the Pope can reciprocate and tell Blair he was wrong about Iraq.
Louise, Brussels, Belgium

Ed. I'm so with her on this one.

I think Mr Blair is on to something, but then again I would classify myself as a liberal Catholic. All religions have evolved to some degree over the centuries, and it is very unlikely that humanity's understanding of God and faith will be the same in 100 years, let alone 2000 years.
Mike, Waterloo, Canada

So forget theological scholarship, we will just set Christian doctrine by public opinion.
Peter, Grantham, Lincs

Ed. Like that has never happened!

No one is forced to become Catholic. If you choose not to follow the Church doctrine, find another Church. Tony Blair needs to back up off the Pope and join a religion he agrees with. Easy as 123.
dara, florida, usa

Ed. I'm amazed people defend the Church's even when they are morally wrong. The same thing happened in the 1960s with the Civil Rights movement in the US. The Bible also said the races should not mix. Yet today this argument would be preposterous, as well as inhuman.

The Pope is so out of touch as to be a waste of space to the modern world.First he criticises gays and then he says that Africans shouldnt use condoms to save themselves from dying of HIV.
john, woking, UK

Ed. Exactly!

I find Mr Blair's utter state of denial on his own self and public image fascinating; the man really appears to think he is a moral shining light, and that his views on religion, no less, are significant. Tony, what about some public contrition for the countless killed in Iraq thanks to you?
Mike, Buenos Aires,

Metaphorical, Mr Blair? So the CoE is right about transubstantiation?

You see the the problem.
Jim Guest, G. Manchester,

Whilst I agree that being Gay does not exclude you from religious faith I have to wonder what an upstart Blair has become. He has only just joined the church and now he wants to run it. If you don't like the club, join another. Oh by the way, find us those weapons will you. Still looking?
Joe, Geelong, VIC Australia

Do we really know who is responsible for writing most of the world's religious texts & how the word of God only came to the fore thousands of years ago? Does God not speak to humanity today - men, women,of all abilities, ages & sexual orientations? Something conceived 2k yrs is not relevant today
Tom F, Leicester, UK

Ed. Obviously the voice of reason. So chatty a few millenia ago, and so silent these days. And we have the internet and everything!

It's no suprise to me. For many years now, Blair thinks that he is the Pope!
Colin Moon, Portsmouth,

And Tony Blair's opinion still matters... why?

He's responsible for what Great Britain has turned into. Arrest him.
A. Kolb, Vienna, Austria

At least Blair is right on this....for a change. No wonder so many view him as a pseudo catholic!
W.Wallace, NY,

Francis Cousins:
You forgot to mention those who were forced to RENOUNCE their faiths by the Catholics around the world, through the centuries.
adam, Oldham, uk

In what sense is Blair a Catholic if he doesn't believe Catholic doctrine? I think these two people deserve each other.
James Edward, London, UK

Ed. Catholic doctrine says it is ok to be homophobic? So by this argument, you can't praise God, Jesus, the Saints and the Virgin Mary or the Holy Spirit unless you hate homosexuals. Yes, this makes perfect sense.

Behold! The Lord has brought you a British Jimmy Carter.
John, Connecticut, USA

Religious bodies have their believes and principles which believers must abide by them. And if Mr Blair does not subscribe to those principles then he is not a practising catholic and should join a liberal church. He thinks he can change views from within. Why not join Islam and change their views
Frank Achaw, London, UK

Ed. Somebody should change Islam's views too.

If you knew any thing about Prophet Mohamed,you would have thought several times before recalling his life in such a dirty argument !!
homosexuality is without doubt a psycho-social disorder
and all relegions stand against it. So, what is new you want to tell us about it ??
Good job pope..
Alfrazdaq, Cairo,

Ed. No. Not all religions stand against it. Only the three main monotheistic ones do. The rest of the planet is not of their opinion.

The pope is dead right and most people in the world think so. It seems one of those issues that all the 'take the moral high ground' liberal luv vies like to bang on about while choosing to ignor the views of the vast majority of religious people. Blair's arrogance is breathtaking!
D Case, Newquay,

Ed. Wow, I have never heard of someone who has met most people in the world! How did he/she manage that? It must have been very tiresome to do so. Especially if when you meet most of the world, you only ask them if they hate gay people.

Tony Blair is as wrong on this issue as he has been on everything else he has been involved in. Homosexual behaviour is not widely accepted at all. It is tolerated, that is a big difference.
Jonny B, stortford, UK

Ed. What, I wonder, is homosexual behavior? And what, pray tell, is tolerance? Is it something we are meant to have for Christians?

Blair is lecturing the Bishop of Rome on faith and morals? Who cares? Why is this a headline?
Marshall, Oakland, U.S.A.

Ed. The bishop of Rome! This made me laugh.

The most dangerous times in history have been when religious leaders and politicians agreed.
Mark, Maidstone, UK

Ed. Those times are over? Where?

Is there no subject about which Blair doesn't know better than everyone else? Why the media continue to pay any attention to him is a mystery to me.
Patrick Williams, Cardiff, Wales

Dear Tony: Look into the mirror and repeat this 100x: "I am not the second coming",.....
Adrian, London, UK

Approximately three quarters of the world's population told Blair he was wrong on Iraq. Did he take any notice?
Neil, Gloucestershire, England

I agree with Adele. And at least Mr Blair is doing something to promote peaceful understanding instead of just sitting back and judging everyone else based on their fears and ideas that have been spoon-fed.
Suzy, Oxted,

Maybe he should go to Iran next and tell them the same thing.
John, London, UK

Ed. Again, somebody should.

outdated, wrong, dangerous and fuelled by misconception, hearsay and text that is 2000 years old. that is todays religion.
Liam, Aberdeen, Scotland

Ed. Exactly.

How fortunate for this man to be granted an audience with such a hallowed revered figure. The Pope is indeed very fortunate.
AndyM, Sheffield,

Catholics don't think homosexuals are lesser beings than heterosexuals. I am Catholic and was taught that people (whether gay or not) are God's children and should be treated with respect. It is a case of condemning the sin (homosexual acts) than condemning the sinner. Tony Blair is utterly wrong.
Becky, Manchester, UK

Ed. If people think being gay is a sin, then we still have a long way to go. Unfortunately.

Bill Vancouver. You couldn't put it better mate!
Eddy, Toledo,

This is beyond belief!! The convert of a day telling the Pope (and one who is one of the most outstanding theologians of his day) to change the Church. Why is Blair - or Cherie for that matter - a Catholic? I have asked myself that question on many occasions. Nemesis follows Hubris.
Josephine, Doncaster, UK

perhaps blair shouldnt have joined the catholic church, perhaps they should have joined him.
brian, newcastle, uk

John, Raleigh, USA: so a physical act for the sake of "regeneration" is the "the most powerful, poetic and beautiful act in the social order". How about loving one another, or is that some lesser consideration? Or even the exercise of reason and fairness?
Adele, Frankfurt,

Ed. Indeed.

One can see why Blair's attempts at interfaith dialogue have been such a spectacular failure. The more confident his ventures into religious discourse, the more quickly he will get out of his depth.
Paul, Sai Kung, Hong Kong

Pure electioneering - nothing more or less.
J Jenkins, York,

WHAT fantastic things does this pope stand for?
dee , london, england

Ed. I wonder that myself.

If you are born into a church you can criticize it. If you convert you must be taken to have accepted it all. You must also accept the Roman Churches stance on the use of condoms, abortion, gay people and the infallibility of the pope. You can't cherry-pick, Mr. Blair. That's why I won't convert
Bill, Vancouver, Canada

Ed. What privililege is this? Is this on the Bible? Privileges of the converts vs. privileges of those born unto the church? Nonsense.

The sexual union between a man and women is the natural method for regeneration of human life and as such is the most powerful, poetic and beautiful act in the social order. Protesting the equation of same-sex acts to this most sublime human activity is not based on fear, but on love for the Truth.
John, Raleigh, USA

Ed. You lost me there.

And just who is this fellow Mr Tony Blair?
Just because a thing is fashionable does not make it right.
Should the church accept binge drinking, celebrity culture worship, dependency on hoping to win the Lotto every Saturday night?
We need steadfast figures who are guided by morality and decency
Rory Wiltshire, Swindon, UK

Ed. Ethics will guide you. No need to pray to transcendental invisible beings. Try ethics. So much healthier.

Thousands of Roman Catholics suffered torture, humiliation and death because they would not RENOUNCE their faith.

Mr Blair would not ANNOUNCE his faith until he left office because he feared it would cause him to suffer at the ballot box.

How can we take him seriously ?
Francis Cousins, Wrington, UK

Ed. Does it matter? Why do Christians always play the martyr? Boring.

About time that one of our other international high profile respected citizens took a stand with this out of touch attitude from the leader of the catholic church. Well done Tony.
Robert, Sydney, Australia

Ed.Yes.

Blair should know. He is, after all, God's personal representative on earth.
Lezl Taubler, Londion, UK

I think there is much more that Mr blair should concern himself with.

Is an illegal war in Iraq with hundreds of thousands dead is more important than the sexual predilections of some of our community.

Don't think so,
willie mac, arden, scotland

Funnily enough, from any angle, and according to the gossip on the ground in Rome, the Pope himself is gay.

And according to this site, the Mossad say so. So it must be true then.

So his homophobia is even more of a surprise.

This is a photograph of the Pope's red Prada shoes. Red Prada shoes.

If you have any views on this, do let me know.

Vermont Legalizes Gay Marriage, Overrides Governor's Veto

AOG, London

I was hoping that gay marriage would become federal law, encompassing the entire country in one go. Instead, it has to be a blow by blow account of a civil liberties battle.

Will there come a day when there will be 49 states that allow it and one that does not.

I wonder which one that will be? Will Congress get there first and institutionalize gay marriage once and for all?

Emphasis on the "for all".

About Gay Marriage
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

G20 Summit, part 1

AOG, London

The night before the G20 Summit in London, I thought of traipsing over to check out the premises and pick up my press pass, but reading the instructions, it would have been useless: it had to be turned in the minute you left the premises. So no.

I was in the City, just outside of Liverpool Street Station, jabbering away when I overheard a man telling a couple that they would be "better off" walking since no buses were getting through due to the protest down the street.

I glanced over but saw nothing, so I continued to talk and make my mind up as to how best to get back home: bus or train?

When I finished talking, I walked back to the station’s entrance, and there, in the distance, I could see and hear the protest.

Some of the people around me were intrigued by it and decided to get a closer look. I too was tempted, but chose against it. But there is definitely something very vertigo-like about a large group of people trying to get to where you are.

I remember reading once that the definition of vertigo at great heights was not the fear they caused, but rather the desire to jump when we see the void in front of us. Something like this is what I felt when I saw that mob. And, of course, I let it be.

I had a long day ahead of me (just how long it turned out to be I had no idea), and for a minute thought if I should go to the West End.

Once again thinking about next day’s events made me go home and do some reading so as to be prepared for the G20 Summit.

I took the escalator down and popped into WHSmith. I bought a copy of Newsweek and The Economist and took the train replacement bus back home. I remember hearing the crowd outside as I left the newsagents.

In the end, I’m glad I did not witness what happened. RBS, just across the street from the station, was attacked by the protesters.

I have never been one to enjoy violent forms of protest. I never see the point. You don’t like bankers? Fine, do something constructive about it.

Rioting seems hardly the best way to put your point across. I am not saying they don’t have a valid point. It is just that the delivery does away with the content.

I read in the press that many protesters, when demonstrating across the city, were shouting “Jump” at the bankers who were leering at them from their glass towers and, as the press said, “taunting” them waving 10 pound notes at crowd. Childish and unnecessary.

So I went home, and the next day had a very early morning. Made my way down to the Excel, in East London as fast as I could, and I can’t say that I had any problems getting there. Except, of course, that the venue is very far from my place.

And the rest of civilization.

Lifelong things

AOG; Madrid

Today, whilst browsing through the internet, I came a cross a couple of newspieces which I found interesting.

The first one concerns the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, a paper I had never heard about until today. The news pice in particular refers to its demise as a printed paper, and its inception as an online publication only.

The article states thus:

The Hearst Corp. announced Monday that it would stop publishing the 146-year old newspaper, Seattle's oldest business, and cease delivery to more than 117,600 weekday readers.

The company said it would maintain seattlepi.com, making it the largest daily newspaper in the US to shift to an entirely digital news product.

Here is how the New York Times covers the story.

They say:

"But The P-I, as it is called, will resemble a local Huffington Post more than a traditional newspaper, with a news staff of about 20 people rather than the 165 it had, and a site with mostly commentary, advice and links to other news sites, along with some original reporting.

Other newspapers have closed and many more are threatened. But the transition to an all-digital product for The P-I will be especially closely watched in an industry that is fast losing revenue and is casting around for a new economic model."

On a related note, the Financial Times ran an article today which spoke of the eventual demise of journalism.

The piece, entitled "When newspapers fold" somehow missed out on today's happenings over in Seattle, though this might be because the paper in question continues.

Their article starts like this:

The death of a modern newspaper is a real-time, multimedia event. When journalists on the Rocky Mountain News were summoned to their Denver newsroom on February 26 to be told they were working on their final edition, they relayed the announcement through live blogs, online videos, slide shows of tearful colleagues and a minute-by-minute stream of updates on Twitter. “It’s odd to cover your own funeral,” read one tweet.

Among the links to the article there are pieces which talk about how in Europe free papers are winning the day. Perhaps, but a month ago, Metro, one of Madrid's pioneer freebies folded.

Because I had never heard of the Seattle paper, I was very curious to "check it out". For some reason, here's a paper which appeals to me in many levels. Quality of reporting aside (I've only read a couple articles), aesthetically I find it very self assured.

It also boasts photographic galleries from times past. I came across this one which sparked my interest.

It is an image of Barbara Beers, first woman Seattle firefighter, the day she was sworn in on May 11, 1978. That is 31 years ago.

I became interested in her life pattern and did a little googling.

Turns out Ms. Beers was a lifelong firefighter who retired last month after 31 years years of service. 31 years a firefighter! I find this dedication amazing.

She is 53. Here is the article which outlines this. She was 22 in the photograph.

I know the being a firefighter is a vocational thing, which is why I was surprised she is retiring at such a young age. I am in no way judging her, but I did wonder to myself if she thought about her future at the age of 22, back in 1978.

Did she know she was going to retire in 2009? Probably not. I think that when you are 22 you don't think about those things. I didn't.

So her job was not for ever. It seems newspapers aren't either.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

I can't decide, but I am not entirely sure it is good.

The Orange and the Crisis

AOG, Madrid


The last time I went to London I noticed the fall in prices. No, not a major fall, but large enough to notice.

I am not sure if it is the cut in VAT (down from 17.5% to 15% I think), or if market forces are just forcing down the price of things. I think probably both.

Here in the beta version of the 1st world which is Spain, the price of nothing has come down.

A week ago I took a cab to get to work. The driver was telling me about his brother in law.

The man in question owns a restaurant with a staff of 14.

“Do you know how many dinners he served last Friday?” he asked.

“Four. How can you make a living like that?”

I suppose he was looking for sympathy, and, of course, he got little.

“Has your brother in law lowered his prices?” I asked.

He almost had a heart attack.

“No, of course not! He can’t do that, the prices can’t come down. Where would the profit be?”

“If you were selling oranges”, I said, “and no one was buying them at one Euro a piece, would it not make sense to sell them at 50 cents? Wouldn’t you sell more at a lower price?”

“But what about the profit? Where is that?”

“If you don’t sell any oranges, you won’t even have a stall!”

“No no no no. Prices can’t come down because salaries would have to come down too.”

I was too tired to discuss anything beyond this point and left my driver and his cab (btw, cab prices have gone up in Madrid and Barcelona to make up for the predicted loss in revenue!) and wondered to myself if more people in Spain thought like this.

It turns out that, by my estimates, most people do.

The feel on the streets is that, somehow, as if by magic, the economy will pull through without having to lower the price of anything.

This is not the first time this country defies world trends to its detriment.

A couple of weeks ago I went to a press conference at the Ministry of Economics. The speaker mentioned how he was surprised that Spain had about 1 million unsold homes for which realtors were having to pay.

“It costs a lot of money to keep and take care of empty properties”.

Eventually, he predicted, the realtors will have to sell these properties at a lower price, whether they want to, or not.

“Sooner would be better than later, they would loose less money”.

Since then, do you think this has happened?

No.

Oh, did I mention that Spain has the highest unemployment rate in the developed world?

Most analysts predict it will reach 4 million by the end of 2009.

The Spanish Government begs to differ. I am not an econmist, but I think this situation is untennable. Something has got to give.

And soon.

Work, fear and the current crisis

AOG, Madrid

There is real fear in the air these days. I see it when I watch the news, both local, as well as when I watch foreign channels. And the thing about fear is that it is contagious. Unfortunately.

The other thing I’ve begun to notice is ignorance.

Perhaps that is the wrong word. Perhaps what I see is that thing we humans do so well, that “its nothing to do with me” attitude which so often infuriates others, and somehow helps us to get through the day.

My co-workers speak of the current crisis as if it had nothing to do with them. Some of them are a bit unhappy about their job.

They speak about getting a different job somewhere else. As though that were so easy. Their attitude scares me. Especially given the latest statistics.

Here, since the crisis began, 3.000 journalists have lost their jobs, and this country has the highest unemployment rate in Europe. At least this month it does.

From reading the British press you’d think the UK will overtake Spain, and every other country soon.

One of my co-workers is pregnant. She is due sometime in March. She comes to work everyday and is already quite balloon-like. She is one of the few people not to complain about getting a different job.

I too don’t complain. Maybe because I’m older? Or perhaps I too am afraid?

And then stuff came up

AOG, Madrid

On my previous post I tried to write something which I think is serious.

The Onion, on the other hand, did not. And this is what they had to say.

In some ways, I have to agree with the satirical take on the election.

Nothing is sacred.

Not even Sarah Palin's true nature as the media is intent on letting us know now.

Why did they not tell us these tidbits before?

OBAMA

AOG, Madrid

Last night I was talking to my mother in London on the phone. We discussed the election in the US and we both hoped Obama would win. We talked about the long road to the White House and all sorts of realpolitik topics, like will the US really vote for a black candidate? And also the fact that Mr. Obama lost his Grandmother the day before voting started. My mother, a true romantic at heart, said nonchalantly that “Well, now she can help him win from Heaven”.

This afternoon I walked into my office to find my colleagues excited about the night’s events. I work for a Financial paper in Madrid. My co-workers are Spanish.

“His speech was like something from a movie!”, said one.

“I loved how McCain spoke about supporting the new President”, said another.

“That would never happen here”, said a third.

I looked at her and said that it was up to us to make sure something like that did happen here.

All three looked bemusedly at me and retorted that that would never happen in Spain.

“We don’t have that kind of politician” was the general summary.

I was saddened that my co-workers, many in their late 20s or early 30s, think that they deserve, or should put up with endlessly, with bad politicians.

But then I was raised in the US, not Spain, and I was instilled with the knowledge that if you want change, you make change. Unfortunately I think most Europeans wait for change to arrive at their doorstep.

No, I don’t think the American way is better, or that the European way is worse. They are merely different and have a plus side and a minus side.

Over the course of the afternoon my sister and I emailed each other after celebrating Mr. Obama's victory on Facebook. We were happy that the Bush era is well and truly over.

I spoke with my mother this morning. She was elated. We both were. Then reality struck our conversation.

“We must hope they don’t shoot him”, she said. I had to acquiesce. This is what the Guardian has to say about it.

They said the exact same thing at work.