It will be a fight indeed, the fight to fix the US’s struggling economy. President elect Obama has begun putting together his economic team who would form his cabinet and advisers as he prepares to take office January 20, 2009 in what would be hailed as the most expensive inaugural event ever dwarfing the budget of previous presidents. His team is working to boost the reach of the bailout proposal which is to be used by them to re-structure and fix the economy. Vice President Biden is also hard at work trying to lobby for the proposed additional money from the Federal government but they are in for a rough ride.
News of misspending of previous bailout funds are starting to surface and congress won’t make it easier this time for the new presidency. They are trying to get the money out of the banks and into the pockets of the ordinary American as fast as they could. Just hope it comes in time to make a difference for people are still losing jobs, homes and just about everything in what has been seen as the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression.
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The three Bali Bombers, one of them called, The Smiling Bomber eventually gained sympathy from the Muslim community and seemed to be regarded as Islamic martyrs due to the governments mishandling of the case. The convicted three had the chance to appear in several TV stations and urged the viewers to retaliate for their pending execution. The images of the convicts praying mainly fueled the sympathy of the masses. The three who were executed confessed to have planned and assisted in the Bali nightclub blasts on October 12, 2002. Others say that due to the government’s delays in the execution of the convicts, it raised expectations and kept militants in the spotlight. Although some critics believe that the sympathy for the three will fade in a short time.
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Money woes also hit the art market. Sales has been slowly grinding to a halt. Prices sagging. It has obviously ended the market’s boom. At that time, paintings and other art works are must have commodities for the rich. Even in Sotheby’s and Christie’s, many of the art works have gone unsold. Many observers foretold the art world’s crash ever since the subprime mortgage crisis in US began to affect economy around the world. Art market is directly with the crisis due to the fact that the art buyers were hedge fund and private equity millionares. But amazingly, prices stayed high mainly because partly, Russian and Middle Eastern buyers were virtually protected from the crisis.
In the past, stars like Barbra Streisand and Jane Fonda actively campaigned for their favored political parties. It’s nothing new, as celebrities often try to use their fame and their considerable clout with the public, to influence voters. But this year’s presidential campaign will probably go down in history as having the most celebrity participation of all time. Stars like Oprah, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson & Ben Affleck, to name a few, have all voiced their support for Democratic candidate Barack Obama. And now comes a music video by will.i.am, singer of The Black Eye Peas, “Yes We Can” and “We are the Ones” that are based on Obama’s speeches.
The songs, that were originally released in YouTube and Dipdive.com, feature cameos by several celebrities who support Barack Obama. “Yes We Can” even won an Emmy for Best New Approaches in Daytime Entertainment, and won a Webby Award for will.i.am as “Artist of the Year”. It is now being promoted as a viral video on Obama’s campaign website. You can check out more about the songs in Wikipedia.
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People’s look upon for the Republican presidential nominee has worsen across-the-board since September, an Associated Press-Yahoo! News poll showed Friday, with McCain losing ground in how favourably he’s seen and in a long list of personal merits voters seek in White House contenders.
Perceptions of Obama have enhanced or remained steady. Beyond views of the two rivals’ character traits, McCain faces another trouble — Obama is more trusted on the economy, the contest’s commanding issue, including a 15-percentage-point edge for better grasping how the raging financial crisis is upsetting people.
Obama’s image has been sturdy even as voters’ views of the overall campaign have tumbled downhill since September. The portion of people saying the contest excites them has sunk to 32 percent while those calling it frustrating have grown to 41 percent — and in both cases, six in 10 of those whose feelings have worsened are McCain backers.
Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has elaborated on the government’s new position on the climate change issue which has gained world wide attention from media. Japan will host G-8 summer this year, which will seek a way to discuss climate change. The proposal is entitled “Cool Earth Promotion Program.” This is definitely worth listening to.
This year is a presidential campaign for the United States. There will also be an upcoming federal election for Dimitry Medvedev, Russia’s first deputy prime minister.This year is also very vital for Europe as their nations will head for integration and ratify the Lisbon Treaty, which is a new strategy for the European Union.
Sen. Barack Obama was strongly criticized by Sen. John McCain because for turning down another senator’s suggestion of a joint trip to Iraq which he has not visited the country for a little more than two years. He is also targeted by McCain for not seizing opportunities to meet with Gen. Petraeus, the leader of the U.S. troops in Iraq. The last time Obama visited Iraq was in January of 2006, and the only time he met with the Gen. Petraeus was in a hearing. Later, McCain invited the Democratic presidential to accompany him on his upcoming trip, saying that it would be an “educational opportunity” for Sen. Obama. Obama’s spokesperson Bill Burton calls this move a “political stunt” after he declines the offer.
Nepal’s change in leadership has also changed their country to a republic from a monarchy, ending the autocratic rule which lasted for almost 240 years. Only 4 of the 564 members of the assembly voted to keep the country’s monarchy. After the approval of this landslide vote, the assembly would send a latter to King Gyanendra and his family, giving them 15 days to leave the royal palace. The meeting of the body was held in a convention center even if the place was recently bombed. The building was damaged by two bombs, but the group agreed to continue working anyway. There were no reported injuries, and work was resumed only 10 minutes after the blasts.
Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, currently under an investigation on corruption, is advised to step down by defense minister Ehud Barak who is also the head of Israel’s Labor Party. According to Barak, Olmert should suspend himself as he is distracted by the investigations, compromising his leadership. Olmert says that his investigation is not a reason for him to resign and that he has enough explanations for all allegations against him, and all testimonies against him are to be refuted. He says that he will only resign if the charges on corruption were to be proven in court. If he does not resign, according to Barak, elections would be pushed by the Labor Party.