Remember when McCain was the “cool” republican? Maybe he was never that cool. He certainly gave that impression alongside the conservative crazies though. We’ll he’s certainly changed his opinion on a number of things and physically he appears like a flaky fuddy duddy old man.

Now he’s picked a young woman to turn his “out of touch” rep around for the better. Sarah Palin is a good pick for him in that respect, but holy crap.

-         she’s all for exploiting AWAR for oil drilling

-         she used to own a commercial fishing industry

-         lifetime membership to the NRA

-         her husband is an oil production operator in Alaska

Yikes!

Don’t get me wrong; even after Obama’s emotionally charged speech last night, I have not jumped on the Obama wagon. The Dems are just as controlled by the corporations as the Republicans. Hell, the major DNC sponsor was AT&T (let the wiretapping begin!). But a McCain presidency is not an option. The US has a very tarnished reputation that needs mending. Another war-mongering old white guy is not the face our country needs. If it is true that McCain has agreed with Bush 90% of the time and only 32% of the American people approve of Bush’s policies, I’m not sure how he logically stands a chance.

The truth is elections aren’t won logically. There will be a bunch of emotionally charged issues on the ballot this year: gay marriage, abortion…etc. What goes on in our personal lives is of nobody’s business but our own. I live in the American West where the attitude (especially for conservatives) is “government: stay out of my business.” These are useless topics for a presidential election especially during a time when our influence extends to every corner of the planet. There are bigger, historically more important issues that need our attention. If our influence and power extend all over the planet, then I think it’s only fair that the whole world should be allowed to vote in our elections. Sounds like a crack-pot idea, I know, but it’s only fair.

Live Science just came out with a list from the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List identifying “Ten Species You Can Kiss Goodbye.” The following species have been labeled as “critically endangered,” which means that each is expected to go extinct in the next ten years.

10. California Condor

9. Sumatran Orangutan

8. Ganges Shark

7. Mountain Gorilla

6. Philippine Crocodile

5. Black-footed Ferret (In Arizona)

4. Siberian Tiger

3. Red Wolf

2. Western Gray Whale

1. Sumatran Rhinoceros

If you go to the site, there are pictures and descriptions of each of these animals. Loss of species is, of course, nothing new.

Scientists estimate that the current rate at which species are becoming extinct is between 100 and 1,000 times greater than the normal “background” extinction rate – and say this is all due to human activity.

Check out this site too.

Following last summer’s record minimum ice cover in the Arctic, current observations from ESA’s Envisat satellite suggest that the extent of polar sea-ice may again shrink to a level very close to that of last year.

Envisat observations from mid-August depict that a new record of low sea-ice coverage could be reached in a matter of weeks….

Current ice coverage in the Arctic has already reached the second absolute minimum since observations from space began 30 years ago.

I just kinda thought this was funny, though perhaps a bit sad too.

HAVANA (AP) — Cuba has ordered jailed punk rocker Gorki Aguila, an outspoken critic of Fidel Castro and the communist government, to stand trail on Friday for “social dangerousness,” a charge that could carry up to four years in prison.

Authorities arrested the 39-year-old lead singer of the band Porno para Ricardo at his Havana home on Monday as he was working on a new album. Cuban law defines “social dangerousness” as behavior contrary to “communist morality,” and authorities use the charge to detain offenders before they have a chance to commit a crime.

All this week, Amy Goodman is reporting live from Denver. Instead of the usual hour broadcast, daily coverage is two hours long all week. I have to say, Democracy Now! is presenting the most well-rounded coverage of the convention, both inside the building and the protests outside. She has a lot of dedicated journalists on the ground interviewing politicians, delegates, corporate sponsors, writers, analysts, and activists and protesters of all varieties. A lot of necessary critiques of Obama color many of the interviews.