“…Barack Obama can deliver a brilliant speech tonight, but its impact could evaporate within days. John McCain and his allies have opened the 2008 Swift Boating season. Four years ago, a smear outfit called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth began trashing John Kerry’s Vietnam War record. Kerry was never the same….”…BS

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/08/28/the_gop_smear_machine_revs_up?mode=PF

“…The leading women of the Democratic Party have done their part. Michelle Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, slated as the featured speakers on the first two nights of the national convention, delivered a pair of speeches that came as close to fulfilling the hopes of the nominees and the party leaders as anyone could have imagined….”…BS

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/27/AR2008082702997_pf.html

“…A hundred years ago, Dems questioned whether to take a stand against lynching. Today, Obama’s nomination completes a long process of transformation….”…BS

http://www.alternet.org/election08/96728/

A Biblical Seven Years, by Thomas L. Friedman

“China rebuilt itself for the Olympics. America should take note.”

—

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/opinion/27rosen.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

The Myth of Biden v. Bork, by Jeffrey Rosen

“Don’t blame the senator for a highly partisan era.”

—

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/opinion/27dowd.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

High Anxiety in the Mile High City, by Maureen Dowd

“Bill moves his tent, but he’s still sulking.”

—

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/opinion/27mishra.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

A Jihad Grows in Kashmir, by Pankaj Mishra

“Why India’s hard-line policies will backfire.”

Russia Declares Its Recognition of Two Enclaves

—

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/world/africa/27zimbabwe.html?sq=zimbabwe&st=cse&scp=2&pagewanted=print

Zimbabwe Parliament Opens With Jeers and Arrests

—

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/world/asia/27thai.html?sq=thailand&st=cse&scp=2&pagewanted=print

Protestors in Thailand Storm Grounds of Premier’s Office and Shut TV Station

—

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/washington/27worldbank.html?sq=world%20bank&st=cse&scp=2&pagewanted=print

World Bank Finds That Adjustment Places More in Steep Poverty

Wind Energy Bumps Into Power Grid’s Limits

—

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/us/27drill.html?sq=drilling&st=cse&scp=1&pagewanted=print

California County’s Resolve Against Drilling Fades

“…Imagine that you’re the wife or husband of a leading politician.

And that, though not a combatant yourself, you’ve nevertheless been under attack.

And further, that you have to introduce yourself to the American people in a speech that millions will watch - with your critics waiting to pounce on any mistake or miscue….”…BS

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/08/27/michelle_obamas_winning_ways?mode=PF

“…Obama has been given a unique historical moment. He will fill it with significance or eventually be filled with regret….”…BS

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/26/AR2008082603075_pf.html

“…In a speech to a roaring crowd at the DNC, Hillary Clinton gave full support to Barack Obama, promising to fight for health care and the environment….”…BS

http://www.alternet.org/election08/96560/

NEW YORK, Aug. 25 — Eight American
activists jailed by the Chinese for
protesting during the Olympics said
Monday after being sent home from
Beijing that they were interrogated for
hours, deprived of sleep and accused of
having ties to the U.S. government.

The activists were sent home late Sunday
during the closing ceremony. Some were
activists and artists who demonstrated
against China’s occupation of Tibet; others
were bloggers who photographed the
protests.

Speaking outside City Hall in New York, the
detainees said they were kept in cells and
were allowed to leave only for
interrogations, which sometimes lasted for
hours. Some said they emerged more
dedicated than ever to their cause.

“Our conditions were uncomfortable, but
because we’re Westerners, we suffered
absolutely nothing compared to what the
Tibetan people suffer,” said John
Watterberg, a 30-year-old musician who
lives in New York.

The U.S. government expressed
disappointment Sunday that the Olympics
did not bring more “openness and
tolerance” in China.

China’s Foreign Ministry said in a
statement Monday that “the protesters
participated in ‘Tibet independence’
activities and that is against China’s law.”

The statement said China hoped “the
relevant countries will teach their citizens
to abide and respect China’s laws.”

Watterberg and another New Yorker,
Jeremy Wells, said they were tackled and
detained the evening of Aug. 20 while
staging a demonstration with two other
activists outside the National Stadium, one
of the main Olympics venues.

During an initial interrogation, they were
told they had broken Chinese law and
would be held for 10 days. They were then
moved to a detention center, where they
were locked in a cell and allowed to leave
for interrogations that lasted between four
and 16 hours.

With lights shining on them, prisoners
were locked into high-backed metal chairs
with bars across their laps.

Interrogators, sometimes speaking
through interpreters, would not let them
sleep and accused them at times of
working for state-funded groups and
organizations that had ties to the U.S.
government, the activists said.

“They asked about our actions, our roles,
about our lives — everything from where I
went to high school to everything I ate in
China,” Wells said.

Detainees said they wore dirty uniforms of
red T-shirts and black shorts. Drinking
water was turned on for only 15 minutes a
day, so prisoners would scramble to fill old
soda bottles or other containers.

“It was the scariest — it was beyond
anything I could imagine in a movie,” said
Jeff Rae, a 28-year-old photojournalist
from New York. Rae said he was
videotaping a demonstration when he was
detained Aug. 18.

Some of the detainees said they asked
daily to speak with the U.S. Embassy but
were not allowed to do so until a day or
two after they were imprisoned.

They said they were given no warning
about their release and were not told why
they were being let go. Once the prisoners
were rounded up and put into vans,
possessions that had been seized days
earlier were returned to them. The
luggage the detainees had left at their
hotel rooms was also rounded up and
given back.

Many detainees said the Chinese officials
kept some of their electronics, like
cameras, laptops and media cards.

The 21st-Century Man, by David Brooks

“Searching for message discipline in Denver.”

—

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/26/opinion/26herbert.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

The Dog That Isn’t Barking, by Bob Herbert

“Risks in the shadows for the Obama campaign.”

—

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/26/opinion/26faludi.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

Second-Place Citizens, by Susan Faludi

“How to celebrate 88 years of suffrage? Keep waiting your turn.”

No One Should Have to Stand in Line for 10 Hours to Vote

—

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/26/opinion/26tue2.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

Alaska Gets To Choose

E.P.A. Sued by 12 States to Regulate Oil Refineries

—

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/26/nyregion/26wind.html?sq=storage&st=cse&scp=2&pagewanted=print

Air Storage Is Explored for Energy

—

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/26/nyregion/26entergy.html?sq=entergy&st=cse&scp=2&pagewanted=print

Entergy’s Indian Point Plan Could Tax Taxpayers

—

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/26/us/26whales.html?sq=whales&st=cse&scp=2&pagewanted=print

Proposal on Ship Speeds in Whale Areas

—

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/26/us/26advice.html?sq=eco%20life&st=cse&scp=1&pagewanted=print

Talking Directly, and Kindly, to Believers in the Eco Life