In God We Trust

Chuck C Says:

24 February 2008 at 8:26 am.

These are the issues the news people want us to be concerned about this morning. Maybe these items are important, but for some reason, this news cycle seems a little shallow to me. It just adds to my cynicism:

MSNBC reports:

Obama may face grilling on patriotism
No flag pin, no hand over his heart: Is he exposed?

WASHINGTON - Sen. Barack Obama’s refusal to wear an American flag lapel pin along with a photo of him not putting his hand over his heart during the National Anthem led conservatives on Internet and in the media to question his patriotism…

‘Blame America first crowd’
“The reason it hasn’t been an issue so far is that we’re still in the microcosm of the Democratic primary,” said Republican consultant Roger Stone. “Many Americans will find the three things offensive. Barack Obama is out of the McGovern wing of the party, and he is part of the blame America first crowd.”…

ALSO

McCain’s age part of choice of running mate?
Presumptive GOP nominee may go younger, but could choose experience

LAS VEGAS - When it comes to senators hoping to make history with their presidential bids, Hillary Rodham Clinton (who would be the first woman to be president) and Barack Obama (who would be the first black president) are not the only ones. John McCain, 71, is hoping to become the oldest candidate ever elected to a first term in the White House.

The quest to win the presidency at an age when he would be too old to be a commercial airline pilot or even a judge in some states has already led Mr. McCain to adopt a more grueling campaign schedule, and a more vigorous style, than several of his younger rivals. Now that Mr. McCain is the presumptive Republican nominee, political analysts say, his age will most likely factor into his selection of a running mate….

Cameron Says:

24 February 2008 at 11:59 am.

There isn’t much news politically today, at least not anything with substance. I did think this article about the Turks and Kurds was interesting. I can’t figure out where the difference is between the Kosovo situation and the Kurds. Why do we support one but not the other. They seem the same except for the terrorist government in Kosovo deals in drug and human trafficking.

Turkish helicopter down in Iraq

Earlier Sunday, Turkish F-16 jets flew into northern Iraq. Armored personnel carriers transported troops, and four long-range guns were positioned at the edge of a helicopter base in the hilltop border town of Cukurca. At least four helicopter gunships were stationed at the base, one of the main support centers for the Turkish operation.

The Turkish military said it attacked rebel hide-outs on Saturday with fighter jets, helicopter gunships and artillery. The hide-outs had ammunition and explosives inside, a military statement said.

Turkey’s military released photographs Sunday of its troops in positions behind hilltop snow embankments and walking up snow-covered hills with white ponchos worn over combat gear.

The incursion is the first confirmed Turkish military ground operation in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.

The rebels are fighting for autonomy in predominantly Kurdish southeastern Turkey and have carried out attacks on Turkish targets from bases in the semiautonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. The conflict started in 1984 and has claimed as many as 40,000 lives.

Turkey has assured the U.S.-backed Iraqi government that the operation would be limited to attacks on rebels. The United States and European Union consider the PKK a terrorist group.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday while visiting Australia that it will take a broader approach to erode support for the PKK in northern Iraq.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080224/ap_on_re_mi_ea/turkey_iraq

E.E. Says:

24 February 2008 at 6:51 pm.

I wish things would cool down with Russia. Here is part of an article that illustrates growing tensions:

In last week’s space spectacular, a U.S. missile did more than turn a dead satellite into bits of space scrap. It also blew another hole in hopes that the world’s nations could forge a treaty making outer space a weapons-free realm, analysts say.

Wednesday’s orbiter shootdown by a U.S. Navy missile came just eight days after Russia and China, at the U.N. Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, submitted a draft treaty to ban weapons from space.

The U.S. action, ostensibly to eliminate a threat from a falling spy satellite, showed the world that the hundreds of communications, weather, reconnaissance and other satellites circling far overhead are vulnerable — as did a similar Chinese shootdown a year earlier.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080224/ap_on_hi_te/weapons_in_space