State of Georgia set to execute an innocent man

Southern trees still bear bitter fruit, nowhere it seems more so than in the State of Georgia, USA. It is with a very heavy heart and a deep sense of outrage that I let you know that the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles voted to deny clemency to Troy Davis. This means that very little is now standing in the way of the state of Georgia executing a potentially innocent man this Wednesday, September 21 st at 7pm.

The actions of the Board are astounding in the face of so much doubt in the case against Troy Davis. However, we should not be prepared to accept the decision and let anyone with the power to stop the execution off the hook. Join Amnesty in calling on the Board to reconsider its decision, and on the Chatham County (Savannah) District Attorney Larry Chisolm to do the right thing. They have until the final moments before Troy's scheduled execution to put the brakes on this runaway justice system.



“I am writing to urge you to seek a withdrawal of the death warrant against Troy Davis. He has been denied clemency by the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles despite the fact that significant doubts continue to plague his conviction. Executions when there are still substantial doubts about guilt should never be permitted to proceed, and the responsibility rests with you to ensure that does not happen in this case.

It would significantly undermine the credibility of the Georgia system of justice if an execution were carried out under such a persistent cloud of doubts about guilt. It would show a callous disregard for the very real possibility of putting an innocent person to death, and public faith in Georgia’s commitment to a fair justice system would be shattered.



You have it in your power to prevent this affront to justice from happening. I urge you to call for a withdrawal of Troy Davis’ death warrant without delay.”

Send on this link;

http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?c=6oJCLQPAJiJUG&b=6645049&aid=516533&msource=W1109EADP04D&tr=y&auid=9522344

Troy Davis was convicted on the basis of witness testimony – seven of the nine original witnesses have since recanted or changed their testimony. He has survived three previous execution dates, because people like you kept the justice system in check! Let Georgia authorities know you oppose the death penalty for Troy Davis!

NOTE: Due to high volume of supporters, please keep trying to sign this petition if your initial attempt does not succeed.

Or try contacting the Chatham County's District Attorney's office by phone/fax: Telephone: 912-652-7308 Fax: 912-652-7328.



Davis was given the death sentence for the August 1989 murder of Mark MacPhail, a police officer from Savannah who was shot and killed while trying to help a homeless man who was being beaten up in a restaurant car park. Davis was present at the scene, but has always insisted that another man, Sylvester Coles, attacked the homeless man and shot MacPhail when he intervened.

Davis was convicted at a 1991 trial almost exclusively on the basis of nine witnesses – including Coles himself – who all said they had seen him carry out the shooting. The murder weapon was never found, and there was no DNA or other forensic evidence. In the years since the trial, seven of the nine witnesses have come forward and recanted their evidence, saying they were put under pressure to implicate Davis by the investigating police. Other witnesses have come forward to say that they had heard Coles confess to killing the police officer.



The parole board heard from one of the jurors who originally recommended the death penalty for Davis. Brenda Forrest told the panel that she no longer trusted the verdict or sentence: "I feel, emphatically, that Mr Davis cannot be executed under these circumstances," she said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The execution of Troy Davis, a Georgia death row inmate scheduled to die in less than a week, should be halted because of "pervasive, persistent doubts" about his guilt, said William S. Sessions, a former federal district judge in Texas and FBI director under Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, in a sharply-worded editorial on Thursday.

"Serious questions about Mr. Davis' guilt, highlighted by witness recantations, allegations of police coercion, and a lack of relevant physical evidence, continue to plague his conviction," Sessions wrote. He urged a state pardons board to commute the sentence to life in prison.

Bob Barr, a former federal prosecutor and four-term Republican congressman from Georgia, urged the board to grant clemency for Davis in an editorial published in the Savannah Morning News on Wednesday. In 2007, the five-member board pledged that "it will not allow an execution to proceed in this state unless and until its members are convinced there is no doubt as to the guilt of the accused," Barr noted in the editorial.



"I am a longtime supporter of the death penalty. I make no judgment as to whether Davis is guilty or innocent. And surely the citizens of Savannah and the state of Georgia want justice served on behalf of Officer MacPhail," Barr wrote. "But imposing an irreversible sentence of death on the skimpiest of evidence will not serve the interest of justice."

Troy Davis has three major strikes against him. First, he is an African American man. Second, he was charged with killing a white police officer. And third, he is in Georgia.

More than a century ago, the legendary muckraking journalist Ida B Wells risked her life when she began reporting on the epidemic of lynching in the Deep South. She published Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All its Phases in 1892 and followed up with The Red Record in 1895, detailing hundreds of lynchings. She wrote:

"In Brooks County, Georgia, 23 December, while this Christian country was preparing for Christmas celebration, seven Negroes were lynched in 24 hours because they refused, or were unable to tell the whereabouts of a coloured man named Pike, who killed a white man … Georgia heads the list of lynching states."



The planned execution of Davis will not be at the hands of an unruly mob, but in the sterile, fluorescently lit confines of Georgia diagnostic and classification prison in Butts County, near the town of Jackson. The state doesn't intend to hang Troy Davis from a tree with a rope or a chain – to hang, as Billie Holiday sang, like a strange fruit:

>"Southern trees bear a strange fruit
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root
Black body swinging in the Southern breeze
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees."

See also;

Don’t execute Troy Davis

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2010/09/dont-execute-troy-davis.html

The Troy Davis Campaign Website

http://www.troyanthonydavis.org

Save Troy Davis

I stand with Amnesty and their Death Penalty Abolition Campaign to fight for the life of Troy Davis, who within weeks could be executed for a crime he may not have committed. There remain serious doubts of his guilt. His death sentence defies all logic and morality.

The day is now here - the state of Georgia has set Troy Davis' execution date for September 21st, just 10 days from today. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear his final appeal earlier this year. But the story remains the same - Troy Davis could very well be innocent.

Troy Davis and his mother

However, in the state of Georgia, the Board of Pardons & Paroles holds the keys to Troy's fate. In the days before Davis' execution, this Board will hold a final clemency hearing - a final chance to prevent Troy Davis from being executed. Davis was convicted on the basis of witness testimony - seven of the nine original witnesses have since recanted or changed their testimony.


Martina Correia, sister of Troy Anthony Davis, in front of the O'Connell Monument in Dublin, Ireland with supporters. She received The Sean McBride Award for Outstanding Contribution to Human Rights 2010.

One witness said in a CNN news interview "If I knew then, what I know now, Troy Davis would not be on death row." I know it's difficult to believe that a system of justice could be so terribly flawed, but keep in mind that Troy has survived three previous execution dates, because people like you kept the justice system in check!
We've been bracing for this moment and the time for action is now! Here's what you can do to join the fight:

Sign Amnesty’s petition to the Board of Pardons & Paroles urging them to grant clemency! They'll deliver your signatures next week.
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?c=6oJCLQPAJiJUG&b=6645049&aid=12970&msource=W1109EADP01&tr=y&auid=9445274

Organise locally for Troy: Take to the streets with us. Soon we'll be announcing the date for the official Troy Davis Day of Action. Sign up now to rally in the coming days to stop the execution of Troy Davis.

Tell everyone you know! Spread the word about this injustice on Twitter by using the hashtag #TooMuchDoubt. Be sure to tell your Facebook friends Troy's story too!
https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2Fo93bAE



The death penalty is costly, arbitrary, and ineffective. Yet one of the great disappointments for those of us who supported Barack Obama is that the US Justice system is still heavily focused towards revenge not rehabilitation, criminalises a huge proportion of young black men and in a number of states despite the evidence of legal shabbiness, miscarriages and innocents being killed by the state a huge amount of penal resources are devoted to putting people to death. In this the United States is right up with those other Great Democracies, China, Iran, Russia and Saudi Arabia. Who says you can’t judge a country by the friends it keeps?

Whilst the situation is complicated by the separation of powers in the United States between the Federal and State Governments for many the bell weather case of whether Obama’s American is any different is the case of Troy Davis. Troy Anthony Davis, who is African American, was convicted in 1991 of murdering Mark McPhail, a white police officer. Davis' conviction was not based on any physical evidence, and the murder weapon was never found.

The prosecution based its case on the testimony of purported "witnesses," many of whom allege police coercion. Seven of the nine non-police witnesses for the prosecution have recanted their testimony in sworn affidavits. One witness signed a police statement declaring that Davis was the assailant, and then later said, "I did not read it because I cannot read." In another case a witness stated that the police "were telling me that I was an accessory to murder and that I would ... go to jail for a long time and I would be lucky if I ever got out, especially because a police officer got killed ... I was only 16 and was so scared of going to jail."



There are also several witnesses who have implicated another man in the murder. According to one woman, "People on the streets were talking about Sylvester Coles being involved with killing the police officer, so one day I asked him ... Sylvester told me that he did shoot the officer."

Troy's case is so powerful because it has inspired:

A majority of witnesses to admit that they lied 19 years ago

Four witnesses to finally testify against the person whom they suspect to be the real killer of police officer Mark MacPhail

Pope Benedict XVI, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to all call for clemency

A movement of human rights supporters to unite and pass Troy's story along from one person to the next to the next...

Nearly two decades later, Davis remains on death row with an execution date in 10 days time– even though the case against him has completely fallen apart. Don’t let the state of Georgia put finality before Justice.

See also;

Don’t execute Troy Davis

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2010/09/dont-execute-troy-davis.html

The Troy Davis Campaign Website

http://www.troyanthonydavis.org/



Audio recording from Troy Davis, who faces execution despite the fact that there was no physical evidence and 7 out of 9 non-police witnesses have recanted or contradicted their testimony.

Bozza’s Bollo

Boris who?

Well Mayor Boris Johnson got some sound bite headlines as he claimed he was planning to confront President Obama over millions of pounds owed by the US embassy in congestion charges, during his visit to London. But as is so typical with Bozza this turned out to be sound without substance or all “piss and wind” as they say in the parts of the country Bozza is unfamiliar with, like Liverpool.


Boris Hall

Several embassies refuse to pay the charge for driving in central London, claiming they are exempted from local taxes. The total bill stands at £51m. "Maybe when President Obama's hors d'oeuvre plate is whisked away he will find a bill for £5.5m," he said. The US embassy said it considered the charge to be a "direct tax".


Bozza signing a petition against Tube Ticket Office closures

Speaking to Vanessa Feltz the mayor said he may be "shepherded away" from Mr Obama but added: "If I get the chance to I will remind him that the US owes us £5.5m in congestion charge.”I think if they are going to have the representation here in London then they should pay the charge for driving and using our streets.


The Con Charge

So 'No representation without a congestion charge' is the slogan." Several embassies refuse to pay the £10-a-day charge and the £120 fine incurred through not doing so. The charge was £8.00 a day when Boris was elected in 2008 promising not to increase it. But Mr Johnson said: "It is not a tax, it is a charge for services and I think we should test this in the courts. That of course is NOT what Boris said when running for election as on this clip;



The American Embassy says;

"Our position on the direct tax established by Transport for London in 2003, more commonly known as the congestion charge, is based on the 1960 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which prohibits the direct taxation of diplomatic missions."

I once had a Law Lecturer who said the best guide to the Company’s Act was to read it so in the same spirit I actually read Article 23 of the Vienna Convention;

Article 23

1. The sending State and the head of the mission shall be exempt from all national, regional or municipal dues and taxes in respect of the premises of the mission, whether owned or leased, other than such as represent payment for specific services rendered.

2. The exemption from taxation referred to in this article shall not apply to such dues and taxes payable under the law of the receiving State by persons contracting with the sending State or the head of the mission.

Seems plain enough to me but unlike Bozza I’m not an Oxford educated Classics Scholar – maybe our fearless Mayor, that scourge of burglars, Greeks, piccaninnies, Scousers and embassies would understand it better if it was in Latin?


Boris who?

So file this one away along with all the other Bozza Bollo entries like I’m going to get a strike free deal on the Tube, I’ll introduce the Bicycle scheme at zero cost to Council Tax payers (£43 million and rising), I’ll get rid of Bendy Buses ditto and I won’t increase fares above inflation. Yeah, yeah, yeah!

There is none as Irish as Barry Obama?

In Ollie's Pub, Moneygall, Co. Offaly

Well Obama, came, saw and conquered in Ireland last weekend. The first American President to come to Ireland was John Fitzgerald Kennedy in 1963. His reception was rapturous both as the first Irish American President and first Catholic President of the United States. Since then 5 more Presidents have visited Ireland. Four of them have claimed Irish roots, each of them came on whistle-stop tours full of photo-ops for the folks back home, each of them came the year before an election and, while we must give Barack Obama the benefit of the doubt, none of them made a second trip.

Clinton and Regan had fairly obvious Irish roots but it may surprise you to know that Richard Nixon was also of Irish descent from the Quaker Milhous family from Co. Kildare. Indeed 16 of the 43 Presidents of the United States have been of Irish descent but it may also surprise you that the majority were of Ulster –Scots background. They were Andrew Jackson, James Knox Polk, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, Chester A. Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson.



So Barack made the pilgrimage to one of his ancestral homelands and the fact that Kenya is still waiting may reflect the small size of the Kenyan vote in America – over 40 million Americans claim Irish descent. So on Monday 23rd May 2011 the birthplace of the president's great-great-great-grandfather celebrated its brief moment of glory. A hundred flags of Ireland and the United States were raised this afternoon on the only street in Moneygall, Co. Offaly.

Unlike the Kenyan father he hardly knew Barack Obama’s Irish descent is on his remarkable mother, Ann Dunham’s side of the family. He is descended six generations on from Falmouth Kearney who was born about 1830 in Moneygall, Ireland and died 21 March 1878. He immigrated to the U.S. on the ship Marmion on 20 March 1850, along with his sister Margaret Cleary and her husband, William. Moneygall today is a small Sraidbhaile (Street village in Gaelic or one horse town in American) in Co. Offaly and like so many of the impoverished inhabitants of the time they were fleeing the famine or as it is called in Gaelic, An Gorta Mór – The Great Hunger.

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2010/07/gorta-mor-irelands-great-hunger.html

Two years after he settled in the US, Falmouth married Charlotte Holloway. In 1860 they were living in Deerfield, Ohio; the 1870 census has them in Tipton County, Indiana. Charlotte Kearney died in 1877, followed by her husband a little over a year later. They left three sons, and five daughters. One of those girls, Mary Anne, had a grandson called Stanley Armour Dunham. His daughter gave birth in August 1961 to a boy called Barack Hussein Obama.

Canon Stephen Neill from Cloughjordan, who carried out the initial research into President Barack Obama's links with Moneygall, was on hand for the flag raising ceremony and was no doubt gratified at both the visit and how the President introduced himself later when he made a speech in College Green in the centre of Dublin. "My name is Barack Obama, of the Moneygall Obamas and I've come home to find the apostrophe we lost somewhere along the way," he said.


Moneygall, Co. Offaly - centre of the world for 90 minutes

The Stars and Stripes flew beside the Irish flag where the President was met by huge cheers of "Obama, Obama" – on the same spot where President Bill Clinton wooed onlookers in 1995. It was good to see Barry O’Bama deliver his speech in front of the original Irish Parliament Building. It should be the future Irish Parliament building; maybe a bankrupt bank will sell it cheaply?

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/10/irish-parliament-building.html

In the speech Barack Obama last night drew upon the memory of John F Kennedy and Bill Clinton to deliver a powerful message of determination and hope. Capping a momentous day with an address to a crowd of 40,000 in Dublin, he said Ireland's best days are still to come. Speaking of the ties between Ireland and the United States, he said he had "come home".


Barack and Michelle Obama in College Green, Dublin

However, his visit was cut short when he flew on to London the same day to avoid an ash cloud from the latest Icelandic volcano eruption. There was genuine warmth and spontaneity in his speech in Dublin even if the introductory speech by the Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny slightly betrayed the fact that his Irish host was more used to making speeches from the backs of trucks in Co. Mayo, which he represents in the Irish Parliament.


Obama (with a toilet plunger!) in the 2003 Chicago St. Patrick's Day Parade - He joked (?) during his speech in Ireland that they were so marginalised by the organisers that they were last in the parade, just ahead of the roadsweepers cleaning up

There is a strange irony that Barack Obama was coming to Ireland to claim his Irish roots so he would look less foreign in the eyes of America. And whilst his speech was infectious and appreciated by the home crowd it was not aimed at them. It was the first hustings for Barack Obama’s 2012 election campaign and this time Barack won’t need Joe Biden with him to connect with the Irish vote.

Don’t execute Troy Davis.

The death penalty is costly, arbitrary, and ineffective. Yet one of the great disappointments for those of us who supported Barack Obama is that the US Justice system is still heavily focused towards revenge not rehabilitation, criminalises a huge proportion of young black men and in a number of states despite the evidence of legal shabbiness, miscarriages and innocents being killed by the state a huge amount of penal resources are devoted to putting people to death. In this the United States is right up with those other Great Democracies, China, Iran, Russia and Saudi Arabia. Who says you can’t judge a country by the friends it keeps?


Troy Davis

Whilst the situation is complicated by the separation of powers in the United States between the Federal and State Governments for many the bell weather case of whether Obama’s American is any different is the case of Troy Davis. Troy Anthony Davis, who is African American, was convicted in 1991 of murdering Mark McPhail, a white police officer. Davis' conviction was not based on any physical evidence, and the murder weapon was never found.

The prosecution based its case on the testimony of purported "witnesses," many of whom allege police coercion. Seven of the nine non-police witnesses for the prosecution have recanted their testimony in sworn affidavits. One witness signed a police statement declaring that Davis was the assailant, and then later said, "I did not read it because I cannot read." In another case a witness stated that the police "were telling me that I was an accessory to murder and that I would ... go to jail for a long time and I would be lucky if I ever got out, especially because a police officer got killed ... I was only 16 and was so scared of going to jail."
There are also several witnesses who have implicated another man in the murder. According to one woman, "People on the streets were talking about Sylvester Coles being involved with killing the police officer, so one day I asked him ... Sylvester told me that he did shoot the officer."


Troy Davis and his mother

Last week a federal district court in Savannah, Georgia denied Troy Davis' petition - ruling that Troy didn't reach the extraordinarily high legal bar to prove his innocence. Amnesty representatives were in court saw the witnesses and heard the facts first-hand, and as Executive Director Larry Cox put it "nobody walking out of that hearing could view this as an open-and-shut case".



So how is it that Troy has been put back on track for execution? The courts have been far too comfortable leaving room for doubt, error and bias. There is no physical or scientific evidence linking Troy to the crime. In fact, Troy had to rely on witnesses whom the judge didn't find credible, even though these are the same witnesses on which his conviction hangs!

Because the courts have failed to resolve the doubts in this case, Amnesty is taking Troy's story back to the court of public opinion. They want every news outlet talking about the disastrous system that would allow a man to be put to death even when doubts persist about his guilt.

Troy's case is so powerful because it has inspired:

A majority of witnesses to admit that they lied 19 years ago

Four witnesses to finally testify against the person whom they suspect to be the real killer of police officer Mark MacPhail

Pope Benedict XVI, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to all call for clemency

A movement of human rights supporters to unite and pass Troy's story along from one person to the next to the next...


Martina Correia, sister of Troy Anthony Davis, in front of the O'Connell Monument in Dublin, Ireland with supporters. She received The Sean McBride Award for Outstanding Contribution to Human Rights 2010.

There are no second thoughts when it comes to death. As long as there's doubt, there should be no execution. But as long as there's hope, let us continue to fight for Troy Davis.

It seems even in Obama’s America Southern Trees still bear strange fruit.


The way we were. Lawrence Beitler's photograph of the lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith in Marion, Indiana, 1930.

Strange Fruit

Southern trees bear strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black body swinging in the Southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.

Pastoral scene of the gallant South,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolia sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh!

Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.

Abel Meeropol, 1936.


See also;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/10/stay-of-execution-for-troy-davis.html

http://www.troyanthonydavis.org/




Audio recording from Troy Davis, who faces execution despite the fact that there was no physical evidence and 7 out of 9 non-police witnesses have recanted or contradicted their testimony.

Teddy Kennedy

The death of Teddy Kennedy is no doubt a momentous event and the Kennedy Family have always produced mixed feelings in Britain. Kennedy battled a malignant brain tumour first diagnosed in May 2008, which greatly limited his appearances in the Senate; though he survived longer than doctors first expected, he died just before midnight on August 25, 2009 at his home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. Here in the UK there is the legacy of their Patriarch “Ambassador” Joe Kennedy who was seen as anti-British and having written off Britain before World War II. A more considered view may have been surprised that had he not reacted well to the British Imperial proposition that because they were “superior” they were entitled to lift up the “White Man’s Burden” and rule a quarter of the world. Their Catholicism was resented in a Britain which still had a certain sectarian undercurrent, all the more so because they were wealthy and successful, and their support for Irish Nationalism stuck in the Great British craw. Not that anybody, whatever their viewpoint, can argue that the partition of a Small Island which was always united has been anything other than a disaster for Irish People, whatever their persuasion. But just as Doctors tell us we can’t defy nature so we can’t undo history. The drivers behind Partition I’ve explored elsewhere;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/11/towards-somme-personal-journey.html



Ted Kennedy & Barack Obama

However even the Celtic Sage has been taken aback at the amount of invective directed towards Ted Kennedy in what appears to be orchestrated comments in British media which wrongly accuse him of being an IRA supporter and a cheerleader and fundraiser for “ terrorists”. It is perhaps too much with a public figure to expect people to be guided by the good Latin proverb “de mortuis nil nisi bonum” - Never speak ill of the dead, which is based on a declaration by a 6th. Century B.C. Spartan magistrate as the Dead had no ability to defend themselves. Indeed when looking at the bile directed at Ted Kennedy it is not over egging things to recall the words spoken by Anthony in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar; “The good that men do is oft' buried with them, whilst the evil they do outlives them.”

One of the more printable comments sums it up;

“Teddy Kennedy may be seen as a great politician and family father-figure in the US, but in the UK he will be remembered mostly for two things:
1. Mary Jo Kopechne and Chappaquiddick,
2. His support for the IRA.
That´s about it.”

Well I have no useful comment to make about Chappaquiddick but Ted Kennedy was NEVER a supporter of the IRA or terrorism. Rather he was a staunch supporter of Irish Nationalism - at one time calling for British troops to leave Northern Ireland - although he was later involved in the peace process leading to the Good Friday Agreement. The unification of the Island of Ireland and the reconciliation of the People of Ireland is a legitimate political cause dating back to Britain’s first attempts to colonise Ireland and is not a view that requires an apology. Nor indeed is it a cause which we should allow crypto fascists masquerading as “Irish Republicans” to hijack or allow patronising British commentators to devalue by sticking religious and tribal labels on this legitimate political aspiration. Indeed it would have been surprising if a staunch supporter of the Civil Rights movement in the United States did not apply the same views to Ireland and genuine Irish Republicanism, not the obscene campaign of the Provisional IRA, has the same history, ideals and aspirations as French and American Republicanism.

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/03/years-of-french.html

Ted Kennedy’s life and career were acted out within the shadow of his brothers’ unworldly and somewhat undeserved aura of saintliness and flecked with both huge failure and considerable success. He became a Democratic Massachusetts senator in 1962, replacing his brother when he resigned to become president, and was re-elected seven times. Senator Kennedy was a dominant force in US politics for almost 50 years.


Ted Kennedy's election to the Senate 1962

A more considered assessment than those found in the British media is provided by Steve Clemons on Huffington Post.

“Sen. (Edward) Ted Kennedy is dead. He was a friend of Ireland and a foe of gunmen. A hero of the less privileged and a champion of peace. The last tower of Camelot is gone but the change he campaigned for all his life in Ireland and in America is happening today in many ways because of him.
The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dreams shall never die.”

President Barack Obama, of whom he was an active supporter, said he was "heartbroken" to hear of his death. "An important chapter in our history has come to an end," he said. "Our country has lost a great leader, who picked up the torch of his fallen brothers and became the greatest United States senator of our time." Senator Kennedy had championed issues such as education and healthcare, central to Mr Obama's first term.

In 2006, Time magazine named him as one of America's "Ten Best Senators" saying that he had "amassed a titanic record of legislation affecting the lives of virtually every man, woman and child in the country". He one of the most effective and popular legislators in American history skilled at forging alliances across party lines: pushing an education initiative with President George W Bush, and immigration reform with Republican John McCain. But he was a fierce critic of the Bush administration, in particular over Iraq and the prisoner abuse scandal.


The Kennedy Brothers, JFK, Robert and Ted

Edward Kennedy was the only one of four brothers to die a natural death. His brother Joseph was killed in an air crash in World War II, and both President John F Kennedy and presidential hopeful Robert F Kennedy were assassinated in the 1960s. He was widely expected to be the next Kennedy in the White House, but he was never able to fully overcome the scandal caused in 1969, when he drove a car off a bridge at Chappaquiddick near his home, killing his female passenger. The incident helped derail his only presidential bid, more than a decade later.


Kennedy Dynasty

But he remained active in politics right up until his death, famously endorsing Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination during a tight race with Hillary Clinton last year. At his death, he was the third longest serving senator in US history. Last week, he asked the Massachusetts governor to change state law to allow a speedy succession when his Senate seat became vacant. Analysts suggest that Senator Kennedy feared a lengthy gap could deny Democrats a crucial vote on Mr Obama's flagship health reform. His death comes weeks after that of his older sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, on 11 August. With his passing Jean Ann Kennedy Smith, 81, the sister of President Kennedy is the only surviving child of the nine born to Joseph P Kennedy Snr and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. Appointed US ambassador to Ireland in 1993, she now runs a charity which promotes the artistic talents of mentally and physically challenged children.


Kennedy family with Ted in a Boston Hospital

Edward Kennedy sometimes failed to meet the huge expectations placed upon him following the deaths of his older brothers. But his commitment to what he called their "justice, excellence and courage" ensured he guarded their memory fiercely and, despite his flaws, he left a substantial political legacy. He will be missed, especially in Ireland.

“In many ways, he was the last man standing, straddling a mythic family mantle of fame and a vaunted career of political service, all the while wearing the crown of Camelot decades after its heyday...the senator's death brought to a close a storied political era - of assassinations, Jackie O, Palm Beach, Chappaquiddick - and a lifetime of both tragedy and public service. “

Andrea Billup writes in the “The Washington Times” that 'Camelot' fades with Kennedy passing

“He was a Rabelaisian figure in the Senate and in life, instantly recognizable by his shock of white hair, his florid, oversize face, his booming Boston brogue, his powerful but pained stride. He was a celebrity, sometimes a self-parody, a hearty friend, an implacable foe, a man of large faith and large flaws, a melancholy character who persevered, drank deeply and sang loudly. He was a Kennedy. “

“New York Times” journalist John M Broder describes the Kennedy effect.


Teddy Kennedy 1932 - 2009

Barack Obama: We cannot afford to waste money on things we don't need

"This is a moment of challenge for our country. But we've experienced great trials before. And with every test, each generation has found the capacity to not only endure, but to prosper -- to discover great opportunity in the midst of great crisis. That is what we can and must do today. And I am absolutely confident that is what we will do. I'm confident that at this defining moment, we will prove ourselves worthy of the sacrifice of those who came before us, and the promise of those who will come after." - President Barack Obama



From the day I took office, I knew that solving this crisis would not be easy, nor would it happen overnight. And we will continue to face difficult days in the months ahead. But I also believe that we will get through this – that if we act swiftly and boldly and responsibly, the United States of America will emerge stronger and more prosperous than it was before.

Of course, like every family going through hard times, our country must make tough choices. In order to pay for the things we need, we cannot waste money on the things we don't.

My administration inherited a $1.3 trillion budget deficit, the largest in history. And we've inherited a budgeting process as irresponsible as it is unsustainable. For years, as Wall Street used accounting tricks to conceal costs and avoid responsibility, Washington did, too. These kinds of irresponsible budgets – and inexcusable practices – are now in the past. For the first time in many years, my administration has produced a budget that represents an honest reckoning of where we are and where we need to go.

It's also a budget that begins to make the hard choices that we've avoided for far too long – a strategy that cuts where we must and invests where we need. That's why it includes $2trn in deficit reduction while making historic investments in America's future. That's why it reduces discretionary spending for non-defense programs as a share of the economy by more than 10 per cent over the next decade - to the lowest level since they began keeping these records nearly half a century ago. And that's why on Wednesday I signed a presidential memorandum to end unnecessary no-bid contracts and to dramatically reform the way contracts are awarded – reforms that will save the American people up to $40bn each year.
Finally, because we cannot bring our deficit down or grow our economy without tackling the skyrocketing cost of health care, I held a health care summit on Thursday to begin the long-overdue process of reform.

Our ideas and opinions about how to achieve this reform will vary, but our goal must be the same: quality, affordable health care for every American that no longer overwhelms the budgets of families, businesses and of our government.

Taken from the US President Barack Obama's weekly address to the nation
- 7th March 2009

Barack Obama's Inauguration Speech

Barack Obama has been sworn in as the 44th US president. Here is his inauguration speech in full.





My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and co-operation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms.
At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we, the people, have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents. So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights. Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met.



On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labour, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and travelled across oceans in search of a new life. For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and ploughed the hard earth.



For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn. Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. All this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply.



The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - that a nation cannot prosper long when it favours only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on the ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defence, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and we are ready to lead once more.



Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with the sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the spectre of a warming planet. We will not apologise for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defence, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.



To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honour them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the fire-fighter’s courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.



Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths.

What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.



This is the price and the promise of citizenship. This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have travelled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.

Lest we forget!

As we approach the 44th President's Inauguration let us not forget the person who above all others made it possible. Step forward and take a bow, Governor of the Great State of Alaska, (The one next door to Russia), The Honorable Sarah Palin!



PS. Who was the guy she used to run with?

The Inauguration of Barack Obama

Next Tuesday will be a unique day for America and the World as the 44th President takes office!

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/01/obama-nation-change-is-coming-in-7-days.html

General Colin Powell Announces Renew America Together Initiative



'What I Want for You — and Every Child
in America'

By President-elect Barack Obama

Dear Malia and Sasha,



I know that you've both had a lot of fun these last two years on the campaign trail, going to picnics and parades and state fairs, eating all sorts of junk food your mother and I probably shouldn't have let you have. But I also know that it hasn't always been easy for you and Mom, and that as excited as you both are about that new puppy, it doesn't make up for all the time we've been apart. I know how much I've missed these past two years, and today I want to tell you a little more about why I decided to take our family on this journey.

When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me-about how I'd make my way in the world, become successful, and get the things I want. But then the two of you came into my world with all your curiosity and mischief and those smiles that never fail to fill my heart and light up my day. And suddenly, all my big plans for myself didn't seem so important anymore. I soon found that the greatest joy in my life was the joy I saw in yours. And I realized that my own life wouldn't count for much unless I was able to ensure that you had every opportunity for happiness and fulfillment in yours. In the end, girls, that's why I ran for President: because of what I want for you and for every child in this nation.

I want all our children to go to schools worthy of their potential-schools that challenge them, inspire them, and instill in them a sense of wonder about the world around them. I want them to have the chance to go to college-even if their parents aren't rich. And I want them to get good jobs: jobs that pay well and give them benefits like health care, jobs that let them spend time with their own kids and retire with dignity.

I want us to push the boundaries of discovery so that you'll live to see new technologies and inventions that improve our lives and make our planet cleaner and safer. And I want us to push our own human boundaries to reach beyond the divides of race and region, gender and religion that keep us from seeing the best in each other.

Sometimes we have to send our young men and women into war and other dangerous situations to protect our country-but when we do, I want to make sure that it is only for a very good reason, that we try our best to settle our differences with others peacefully, and that we do everything possible to keep our servicemen and women safe. And I want every child to understand that the blessings these brave Americans fight for are not free-that with the great privilege of being a citizen of this nation comes great responsibility.



That was the lesson your grandmother tried to teach me when I was your age, reading me the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence and telling me about the men and women who marched for equality because they believed those words put to paper two centuries ago should mean something.

She helped me understand that America is great not because it is perfect but because it can always be made better-and that the unfinished work of perfecting our union falls to each of us. It's a charge we pass on to our children, coming closer with each new generation to what we know America should be.

I hope both of you will take up that work, righting the wrongs that you see and working to give others the chances you've had. Not just because you have an obligation to give something back to this country that has given our family so much-although you do have that obligation. But because you have an obligation to yourself. Because it is only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you will realize your true potential.

These are the things I want for you-to grow up in a world with no limits on your dreams and no achievements beyond your reach, and to grow into compassionate, committed women who will help build that world. And I want every child to have the same chances to learn and dream and grow and thrive that you girls have. That's why I've taken our family on this great adventure.

I am so proud of both of you. I love you more than you can ever know. And I am grateful every day for your patience, poise, grace, and humor as we prepare to start our new life together in the White House.

Love, Dad