The year end news round up review

By 史蒂夫・奥托

The good bad and ugly highlights of the year 2008:

The Good:

A new president:

We have a new president, Barack Obama. No matter what he does, how bad can he be compared to President George Bush?

Victory in Nepal; Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist):

A bright spot this year was the military victory of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and their creation of a multi-party republic. They won a majority in the new parliament they created.

This year saw a surge in activity in India:

The rebels now control about one eighth of the country. There is a coalition of rebels and they seem to be doing something right as they continue to make gains against the stale and failed bourgeois democracy of India.

Peru’s insurgency resumes:

New leaders and new tactics have inspired a new wave of activity from the Communist Party of Peru (Sendero Luminoso). But they have turned on the US Revolutionary Communist Party. Will that matter? They remain a part of the Revolutionary International Movement. What will this mean? We can only wait and see.

Paris trashed McCain:

Finally Paris Hilton did something positive we can all be proud of. She has fought back at John McCain, with ads of here own, debunking McCain’s trashing of Barak Obama as a “Celebrity, such as Paris Hilton or Britney Spears.”

Senator Ted Stevens exposed:

Ted Stevens, the nation's longest-serving Republican senator was indicted on seven felony counts of concealing more than a quarter of a million dollars in house renovations and gifts from a powerful oil contractor that lobbied him for government aid.
That was one more senator exposed for the slime ball he was. Now if we can flush more of these scum bags out, we might have a respectable government again.

Good Riddance Jesse Helms:

One of the last and worst of the Dixie Senators from the last century has finally done us a favour by dying off. We couldn’t seem to vote the scum bag bigot out of office, so death was our only hope.

Maoist begin a people’s war in Bhutan:

Apparently the push by Indian Maoist groups and the recent success of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), has inspired the Communist Party of Bhutan (Marxist Leninist - Maoist) to make a push for people’s war in Bhutan. Of the three countries, Bhutan is the smallest, about half the size of Nepal.

The history of American Counter Culture:

Many people read Can You Pass The Acid Test? As a part of their summer reading. This book is still a good read and it gives a lot of information on the history of the counter-culture history of the US.

The Bad:

Congress bailouts

The banks and car companies got bailed out for billions of dollars. The bad side is that these captains of industry are so complacent and stupid, they didn’t think anyone from congress would actually check to see how the money was and will be spent. They all got caught with mud on their pig noses.

A failed presidency:

We had one more year of President George W. Bush. He may go down in history as one of the worst presidents in US history. He is presently a lame duck. We are thankful that he hasn’t tried to increase the damage he has done to this country in the last two months of his term.

We have a new president:

Barack Obama may be better than bush, but how much better? He already plans to keep our imperialist presents in Afghanistan, so our peace movement has no time to slump of or rest. We have to stop the war in Afghanistan and that will pit us against the new president.

Californian’s Proposition 8:

Californians have dealt gays a stinging blow by voting in Proposition 8. This is clear proof that bigotry is alive and well in these United States. Also, religion is still one of the best tools for such bigotry.

Sarah Palin was chosen to run as a vice President for the Republicans:

Sarah Palin just plain sucked. She was especially hated by Polar Bears and those who want to save them from extinction.

Those wacky Kansans and their pollution:

Members of the Kansas Legislature tried to over ride Governor Kathleen Sebelius's veto of SB 327 and SB 148. The bill was an attempt to open a coal burning plant in Kansas.

George Habash of the PFLP died:

The founder of the radical Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), George Habash, has died.

The Ugly:

(Potential changes ahead)

The Economy slumped to a new low:

Times are getting tough as a recession sets in. However, watching rich people squirm is a pleasant experience. The Chickens have come home to roost. This was one reason the intelligent voters rejected the Republicans who ran our economy into the ground. Will the complacent finally rebel?

Greek riots:

The Greek riots have rocked Europe out of political complicity. When I was in Germany a few years ago, they all told me that the electoral system was a waist of time. No political party could deliver any real change. But the unrest, which has lasted a month, in Greece, is threatening to change that. Will it lead to any lasting change? It’s too early to tell. The French uprising of 1968 seemed promising, but other than remove Charles de Gaulle. Will this go further? Next year will tell us.

Kansas loses Senator Sam Brownback:

Kansas Republican Sam Brownback is bowing out of the Senate. He was a terrible senator, but who will win his seat? At best a Democrat will replace the diehard religious right zealot. At worst, corrupted Representative Todd Tiahrt will win his seat and that will be like giving a candy store over to a five-year-old to watch. Tiahrt is a part of the idiot right, people who only know how to use their office to make money—a lot like Governor Rod Blagojevich, of Illinois, who actually got caught.

Republican Caucus:

In February, Kansas had an actual presidential caucus. Kansas hasn’t had any voter participation in presidential primaries in many years. The Republican Caucus was a bad joke, as such scum bags as Todd Tiahrt were asked to speak.