It really isn't (on my mind) all that much, but the headline, though too obvious to be used, was still too tempting to be ignored.  Still, I think my grandmother was born there; she had no fond memories of the place and, with so many other Jewish families, got out when she could and arrived, thankfully, in Boston, around the turn of the 20th century, very young.

But the thought arises that the Bushies have decided that reviving the Cold War on the way out might be a fun thing to occupy their last few months.  I don't think so, however.

My father sends anti-Obama emails periodically.

This one was a link to a post by that great repository of all things stupid, M. Malkin. The post in entitled:Educating the ignorant Kumbaya candidate.

As if the worse-than-ignorant Malkin could educate her own cat to piss in a litter box, but I digress.

In it she quotes a passage from the New Yorker article from an op-ed that Obama apparently wrote in a local Chicago paper right after 9-11.

No time to do a full diary, but time enough to read things that cheer me to the point that I want to hide under a bed.

Explanations after the jump

There is one candidate who makes a gaffe every couple of weeks showing that he she is unfit to be President of the United States.  The candidate then "clarifies" his her position, by saying the opposite of what he/she said before.  But somehow, this never becomes a -"gate."  It never lasts more than one media cycle.  It does not become a character issue, for John McCain.

AP Report: " Gates: Iran boosts support for militias"

WASHINGTON - Iranian support for militias in Iraq has grown, top U.S. defense leaders said Friday, asserting that recent battles in Basra gave the Iraqis an eye-opening view of Iran's increased negative role there. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the U.S. will be as aggressive as possible to counter that increase, adding that the Iraqis "are in a position themselves to bring some pressures to bear on Iran."

Why Fallon's Resignation is Frightening SEE VIDEO:

Robert Gates is trying ti convince Turkey to pursue diplomacy in dealing with Kurdish Rebels in Northern Iraq.  Isn't that negotiating with terrorists?  I guess our foreign policy doesn't include, "What's good for the goose is good for the gander."

Canada has placed the USA on a list of coutries which may torture prisoners.  We have also classified some of the technigues you use as torture (water boarding)

Link
http://www.canada.com/...

"Under "definition of torture" the document lists U.S. interrogation techniques such as forced nudity, isolation, sleep deprivation and blindfolding prisoners."

In another Canada/US relations issue, Gates your defence Sec has just put his big foot in his bigger Mouth see below

More on Both below

Earlier today U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates criticized NATO allies for their conduct of the war in Afghanistan. It seems America's friends just don't measure up.

In a Los Angeles Times article by Peter Spiegel Gates faults NATO force in southern Afghanistanthe British, Dutch and Canadian forces were criticized by implication.

But coming from an administration castigated for its conduct of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, such U.S. criticism of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is controversial. Many NATO officials blame inadequate U.S. troop numbers earlier in the war in part for a Taliban resurgence.

"It's been very, very difficult to apply the classic counterinsurgency doctrine because you've had to stabilize the situation sufficiently to start even applying it," said one European NATO official, who discussed the issue on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak for the alliance. "Even in the classic counterinsurgency doctrine, you've still got to get the fighting down to a level where you can apply the rest of the doctrine."

Breaking News: America has a new war cheerleader, step up Mr. Gates and take a bow. Today there were no less than two stories/articles attributed to Mr. Gates, one condemning Congress, re: Congressional war funding, to wit: