Bassett, I see you have posted # 1 and #6. I'm curious to know what list this is, where you got it, and what the other numbers involve.
I'm amused at how hard some people are trying to invoke the 6 degrees of separation rule into politics. Oy.
2. Ambassador Holbrooke: Don’t Let Ahmadinejad SpeakIran is “uniquely dangerous” due to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s threat to destroy Israel — and the Iranian leader should not be allowed to speak in the U.S., says former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Richard Holbrooke. "People haven't focused energy on the core reason that Iran is uniquely dangerous — because of specific threats Iran has issued to another country based on ethnicity," Holbrooke said at the State-Sanctioned Incitement to Genocide Conference in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 23. "I do want to underscore . . . that the full title of the 1948 Genocide Convention is in fact the ‘Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide.’ Genocide is only defined after it occurs. We must focus on prevention.” Ahmadinejad was addressing the U.N. during the week that the conference was held. "Ahmadinejad is at the U.N. — we can't stop him from speaking there" because the U.N. should be a forum for all, said Holbrooke, who is now on the board of directors of the Council on Foreign Relations. "I've never supported a ban against anyone there because we would damage ourselves. But we should never invite him to speak anywhere else. Not because I'm afraid his words will influence anyone who hears them, but because he uses these forums to legitimize himself in Iran. “We need people in Iran to denounce him. There are many vulnerabilities in this man. By singling out Ahmadinejad on this issue we send a signal to the Iranian leadership that their ties to Hezbollah will not sell internationally. "We want to generate debate over Iran. We want them to understand they'll face isolation in the international community.” The conference was sponsored by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Genocide Watch, Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, International Association of Genocide Scholars, and Yale University's Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Anti-Semitism.
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3. Biden Has Given Little to CharityDemocratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden has released his personal income tax records — revealing that the Delaware senator and his wife have been very stingy when it comes to charitable gifts. The Bidens had an adjusted gross income of $319,853 in 2007, including his Senate salary, book royalties, and his wife’s salary as an English teacher. But their charitable gifts totaled $995 — just 0.31 percent of their income, according to the TaxProf Web site. The year before, they earned $248,859 and donated just $380, or 0.15 percent of their adjusted gross income. Over the past decade they reported giving an average of $369 a year to charity, Bloomberg.com reports. According to Independent Sector, the average annual charitable donation among households earning in excess of $200,000 is $20,434. The Bidens’ “lack of charitable giving at that level of income would definitely be outside the range of what we say is normal,” Russell James, a professor at the University of Georgia who conducts research on charitable giving, told Bloomberg. Republican presidential nominee John McCain’s tax returns show he had an adjusted gross income of $386,527 last year and had charitable givings of $105,467, or 27.3 percent of income. His wife Cindy files separately. His Democratic rival Barack Obama had $4.13 million in income in 2007 and gave $240,370, or 5.8 percent.
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4. Palin’s Newsmax Interview Gains Wide PlayNewsmax created a stir in the rest of the media by featuring an exclusive interview with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin
before she became John McCain’s surprise choice for running mate. In the September issue of Newsmax magazine, Palin discussed global warming, the upcoming election, her achievements as governor, and the need for increased oil drilling in Alaska. The issue was already hitting the stands when McCain announced that Palin would be his vice presidential nominee on Aug. 29. That same day, the Newsmax interview was cited by The Washington Post, ABC News, Newsday, Politico, the Los Angeles Times, and The New Republic. Other media outlets chimed in the following day, Aug. 30: the St. Louis Post Dispatch, Talking Points Memo, and Mother Jones. CNN.com publicized the interview on Aug. 31, and Time magazine’s Web site caught up with the story on Sept. 1. In the days that followed, Newsmax’s Palin interview was cited by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Orlando Sentinel, The National Review Online, the Chicago Tribune, the Baltimore Sun, Portfolio.com, Media Life Magazine, The Moderate Voice, and for a second time by the Los Angeles Times.
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5. Hillary Campaign Still Deep in DebtHillary Clinton is still struggling to repay her huge campaign debt despite presidential nominee Barack Obama’s attempts to stir up financial support from his backers. Clinton owed about $22.2 million at the end of August, down from approximately $24 million at the end of July, according to figures filed a week ago with the Federal Election Commission. Clinton spokesman Mo Elleithee said Hillary’s campaign reduced what it owes to vendors from $12 million in June to less than $9 million by Aug. 31. Hillary lent herself $13 million to help fund her campaign, but Elleithee told the New York Daily News: “Hillary’s said repeatedly that her main focus is to pay debts to the small vendors. She’s not really looking to be repaid for the money she lent to the campaign.” An Obama aide told the Daily News that the candidate is planning to help Hillary raise funds this fall, and is urging top backers to make the maximum legal donation to Clinton’s campaign. Meanwhile Clinton has reportedly helped raise more than $5 million for the Obama campaign.
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