SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Barack Obama introduced Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware on Saturday as “a leader ready to step in and be president,” and the newly named running mate quickly converted his debut on the Democratic ticket into a slashing attack on Republican John McCain.

The GOP presidential contender will have to “figure out which of the seven kitchen tables to sit at” when considering his own economic future, said Biden, jabbing at the man he nevertheless called his personal friend.

It was a reference to McCain’s recent inartful admission — in a time of economic uncertainty — that he was not sure how many homes he owns.

Before a vast crowd spilling out from the front of the Old State Capitol, Obama said Biden was “what many others pretend to be — a statesman with sound judgment who doesn’t have to hide behind bluster to keep America strong.”

Democrats coalesced quickly around the 47-year-old Obama’s selection of a seasoned veteran of three decades in the Senate — a choice meant to provide foreign policy heft to the party’s ticket for the fall campaign against McCain and the Republicans.

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by Kevin Pina

Events marking the one-year anniversary of the abduction and disappearance of Haitian human rights activist Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine took place in several major cities last week. Demonstrations and vigils were held in Port au Prince, Haiti where several hundred supporters marched to the Palace of Justice to demand that the government of President Rene Preval and the United Nations release a report on their investigations into his disappearance. Similar actions took place in London, Oakland and Los Angeles.

Protestors in Oakland, California targeted the U.S. Federal Building as part of the effort to force the international community to take action and move Mr. Pierre-Antoine’s case forward on the occasion of the one-year anniversary of his abduction. Pierre Labossiere of the Haiti Action Committee explained, “We are here in front of the Federal Building to bring this despicable situation to the attention of the general public. There has been nothing but, to put it mildly, indifference on the part of the Haitian government and the U.N. in terms of investigating the disappearance of Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine.”

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The entire state of Florida is being turned into a swamp as Haiti recovers from the deadly aftermath of flooding brought on by Tropical storm Fay. It’s not expected that the tropical storm that is sitting off of the northern coast of Florida will strengthen into Hurricane Fay, but if it stays over water much longer the probability of that occurring will increase.

It is likely that the death toll in Haiti will be confirmed to be in excess of 60 people after more than 50 passengers are still missing from the fateful bus incident — overturning in rain-swollen Riviere Glace on its way to Jeremie. The bodies are assumed to have been swept somewhere in the inaccessible ravines of Trou Canari.

The Governor of Florida has already declared a state of Emergency as hundreds of homes are underwater, with snakes and alligators spotted in the newly flooded streets near Melbourne, Florida. Fay is expected to move back across the northern part of the state near Jacksonville on it’s way to the Gulf, impacting the tobacco and peanut crops in Southern Georgia as well.

For the latest alerts on the Web got to the National Weather Service local forecast for Jacksonville, FL region (click on link)
and the latest local video report from the NOAA (click on link)

A slow moving tropical wave now showing strong convection is being monitored by the National Hurricane center in Miami, FL. The system is similar to the development of Tropical Storm Fay and is likely to threaten Haiti next week. the conditions are favorable for this system to develop into the next named tropical cyclone — or Hurricane Gustav.

Source: Unknown

Today marks the one year anniversary of the abduction and disappearance of human rights activist Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine in Haiti. Mr. Pierre-Antoine is the coordinator of the September 30th Foundation that works for victims rights in Haiti. He was abducted August 12, 2007 after meeting with a human rights delegation from the U.S. and Canada and has not been heard from since. Although Lovinsky’s abductors attempted to make it appear as a kidnapping for ransom, it is now widely believed his disappearance was politically motivated.

It has been sometime since the public has heard from Lovinsky’s wife and family. What follows is the complete translated text of a letter originally written in French by Michèle Pierre-Antoine,to mark this day, the one year anniversary of the abduction and disappearance of her husband, Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine.

Source: Unknown

By Max A. Joseph, Jr

It is patently absurd for anyone to think that Haiti, a country with a non-existent industrial base and a primitive political structure, can be assimilated within the global economy without the social dislocations that are tailor-made for revolutions. Truth be told, those who persist in taking this course are either guilty of shortsightedness or blatantly engaging in the willful destruction of the country.

I have read the U.N Charter, and nowhere does it stipulate that a sovereign country has to belong to the organization. As things stand now, it is embarrassing or inappropriate for a powerless little country like Haiti to be in it, since its basic rights as a member were arbitrarily revoked under the Security Council Resolution 1529.

Appropriately, the best course of action for Haiti is to withdraw from the U.N and establish bilateral relations with friendly countries. While such course of action does not guarantee prosperity and stability, it will however spare Haiti the ignominies associated with being a member of the United Nations. Case in point Chapter 1, Article 2(7) states that “Nothing in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are within the domestic jurisdiction of any state or shall require the members to submit such matters to settlement under the present Charter”, yet the Security Council, exercising its absolute power as guarantor of peace and security in the world, mandated the occupation of Haiti on February 29 2004.

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