 |
|
Bush accepts nomination, defends Iraq war
Laura, the leading light of Bush campaign
CIA responsible for Abu Ghraib scandal
Clinton to undergo heart surgery |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Chinese publication shows Sikkim as separate country Indians dominate
Commonwealth photo awards
|
|
Bush accepts nomination, defends Iraq war WITH a pledge to stay “on the offensive” against terrorists worldwide, and build a safer America, President George W. Bush on Thursday night accepted the Republican Party’s nomination to run for a second term in office. “We are staying on the offensive, striking terrorists abroad, so we do not have to face them here at home,” Mr Bush told ecstatic supporters at the Republican National Convention at the New York City’s Madison Square Garden. “We will build a safer world and a more hopeful America, and nothing will hold us back.” “This moment in the life of our country will be remembered,” he said. “Generations will know if we kept our faith and kept our word. Generations will know if we seized this moment and used it to build a future of safety and peace. The freedom of many, and the future security of our nation, now depend on us.” The president defended his record, notably the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and expressed his vision for the next four years. He said after the attacks of September 11, 2001, his administration had “fought the terrorists across the earth.” He said the decision to go to war in Iraq was the toughest he had faced. “Faced with that choice, I will defend America every time,” Mr Bush told delegates. He said 50 million people had been liberated as a result of the interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan. The President said his administration’s strategy was clear. “We have tripled funding for homeland security and trained half a million first responders, because we are determined to protect our homeland. We are transforming our military and reforming and strengthening our intelligence services,” he said. He said this strategy was working. “Today, the government of free Afghanistan is fighting terror, Pakistan is capturing terrorist leaders, Saudi Arabia is making raids and arrests, Libya is dismantling its weapons programmes, the army of free Iraq is fighting for freedom, and more than three-quarters of Al-Qaida’s key members and associates have been detained or killed.” Meanwhile, in remarks prepared for a speech in Springfield, Ohio, the Democratic Presidential nominee Senator John Kerry, said for three days in New York, “instead of talking about jobs and the economy, we heard anger and insults from the Republicans.” The Massachusetts senator said the reason the Republicans couldn’t talk about the real issues facing Americans was, “They can’t talk about their record because it is a record of failure.” “We all saw the anger and distortion of the Republican Convention. For the past week, they attacked my patriotism and my fitness to serve as commander in chief. I’m not going to have my commitment to defend this country questioned by those who refused to serve when they could have and by those who have misled the nation into Iraq,” Mr Kerry said. Acknowledging his detractors, including many conservatives in his Republican Party, Mr Bush made no apologies for his actions. “Even when we don’t agree, at least you know what I believe and where I stand,” he told delegates. Often caught up in embarrassing verbal faux pas of his own creation, Mr Bush said; “People sometimes have to correct my English. I knew I had a problem when Arnold
Schwarzenegger started doing it. Some folks look at me and see a certain swagger, which in Texas is called ‘walking’.” “Now and then I come across as a little too blunt, and for that we can all thank the white-haired lady sitting right up there,” the president said pointing to his mother, former first lady Barbara Bush, who is equally well known for her sharp tongue. Mr Bush said; “The thing I have learned about the Presidency is that whatever shortcomings you have, people are going to notice them, and whatever strengths you have, you’re going to need them.” |
|
Laura, the leading light of Bush campaign She has an approval rating her husband would kill for. She radiates good sense. She projects a mixture of genteelness and gentility that makes her almost impossible to dislike, something that cannot be said of her spouse. Small surprise therefore that last night Laura Bush was given one of the most prized speaking slots, part of the bare three hours of the Republican national convention which the networks will broadcast live. No one knows her value better than the 43rd President. Now that Laura has made her peace with the family business of politics, George W. Bush takes her with him on the campaign trail whenever possible. Even when she is not there, he talks about her. "Re-elect me, and make sure Laura Bush has a second term as First Lady," is one of his favourite lines. She could hardly be more different from the First Lady who preceded her, and the one who, if John Kerry wins, would replace her. Unlike the polarising Hillary Clinton, she does not take on the controversial issues, confining her remarks to gentler themes like education, the rights of women and of the oppressed around the world. Fittingly, the night she spoke was themed "People of Compassion." Unlike the proud and carelessly outspoken Teresa Heinz Kerry, she will spend entire speeches by her husband gazing at him with dutiful admiration, even when she knows every word by heart. And not surprisingly, Laura Bush is more popular than either of them. One recent poll put her approval rating at 70 per cent, a level her husband has not touched since the capture of Saddam Hussein almost nine months ago, and one matched only by her mother-in-law, Barbara, in the latter's grandmotherly twinset-and-pearls days, among former First Ladies. Laura Bush always had mixed feelings about politics, secretly dreading her husband's Presidential campaign of 2000. But now she is an integral part of his re-election effort. She is a fixture in the "feel-good" ads that Bush favours, as his surrogates take the low road, lambasting Kerry for his wobbliness and inconstancies and belittling the Massachusetts Senator's record in Vietnam. She is the only First Lady to have delivered the traditional Presidential weekly radio addresses. Yesterday, she was even smoothing down the flap created by Bush's admission to NBC that the war on terror might never be won. This struggle would never be ended by a formal treaty and it would last a long time, "that's what I think the President meant."
— By arrangement with The Independent, London |
|
CIA responsible for Abu Ghraib scandal
Washington, September 3 The report cites the presence of unregistered “ghost detainees” who did not fall under the military’s usual system of registration, interrogation and medical care. But the CIA is rejecting much of the criticism. Spokesman Mark Mansfield said recently that the report, released last week, “Makes broad allegations about the CIA that are not supported by the text.” The report by senior army generals describes some of the CIA’s detention procedures, shining a rare light on those practices. Yet, it does little to describe the spy agency’s actual interrogation methods at Abu Ghraib, beyond saying they contributed to the discipline problems. “The CIA’s detention and interrogation practices contributed to a loss of accountability and abuse at Abu Ghraib,” says the investigation report. Of 44 incidents of possible abuse cited in the army’s intelligence investigation, the CIA was involved in only one, the only one to involve the death of a detainee. In that case, a newly arrived CIA prisoner did not receive the initial medical screening typical for incoming detainees, and then died. That death remains under investigation. To date, none of the abuses depicted in the infamous photographs from Abu Ghraib have been found to involve CIA personnel, Mansfield said.
— AP |
|
|
Clinton to undergo heart surgery New York, September 3 ABC and CBS televisions reported that Mr Clinton, 58, had checked into New York Presbyterian Hospital for quadruple heart bypass surgery. A Democratic Party official said Mr Clinton had checked into the hospital with “chest pains.” The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, could not confirm that Mr Clinton would undergo bypass surgery.
— Reuters |
|
|
Chinese publication shows Sikkim as separate country Beijing, September 3 “The border of China extends more than 22,000 km. It abuts 15 other countries: the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in the east; Russia and Mongolia in the northeast and north; Kazakhstan, Kirghizstan, Tadzhikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan in the west; and India, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam in the southwest and south,” the official publication, ‘China in Diagrams’ said. The publication, distributed at the 3rd International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP), also had two separate maps in which Sikkim was shown as a separate country. While Congress party leader and MP Saif-ud Din Soz thought it as a “mistake,” CPM politburo member Sitaram Yechuri stressed that Sikkim was a part of India.
— PTI |
|
Indians dominate
Commonwealth photo awards London, September 3 Ashima Narain of Mumbai was chosen for his photograph of young wrestlers at the National Akhara Kushti tournament, held in Mumbai in 2003. It represents the resilience of youth, and its ability to confront the world on its own terms. Announcing the awards last night, Lindsay Ross, Executive Director of the Commonwealth Press Union said Abigail Hadeed, a Trinidadian, bagged the first prize and a cash award of £ 2000. Photographs of Bijoy Choudhury, Santosh Kumar Jana and Joydip Mitra, all from India, were chosen in the highly recommended category (from South Asia) while Subir Haldar, Swapan Mahapatra, Srikanth, K. Sridhar, all from India, were chosen as runners-up in the same category. Gudiya Pathan (13) of India was selected for young snappers prize for the picture featuring her little cousin ‘learning to balance herself on the kitchen platform’. The theme of the 2004 awards is ‘youth’ and the photographs were judged on both interpretation of the theme and technical quality.
— PTI |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
In
video (
Mira Nair approached for Potter film
