Alien Lore No. 142 - The UFO sightings outside Istanbul, Turkey

Many people in the UFO community, and elsewhere believe this sighting, and video, to be "one of the most significant UFO videos of all time." The footage also shows two extraterrestrials on tape. The sighting/incident took place in a compound in Kumburgaz/Istanbul and was witnessed by nearly a dozen residents and filmed by a night guard (unfortunately I missed it, although I was in the vicinity last summer). The images captured are expected to have a tremendous impact throughout the world and be listed as the most important UFO/extraterrestrial images ever filmed.

As is often the case, thanks to Jeff Clinton for the tip...Jeff is often rumored to be the progeny of President William Jefferson Clinton. He is no blood relation to the soon-to-be Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. . .

---o0o---

BFF: Best Friends Forever? Hillary and Barack start down the road of world affairs

By Pablo Fanque,
All This Is That National Affairs Correspondent

Painting by Jack Brummet


Click the BFFs to enlarge

Global warming definitely exists, at least in the relationship between the two former arch-rivals Ex-Senator Obama and Senator Clinton. They are now unquestionably the most powerful man and woman in the Democratic Party (and soon, arguably, the world).

After all the bitterness on the campaign trail, Hillary's masterful speech at the Dem's convention this summer sealed it. In fact, Obama's top aides jumped out of their seats backstage and gave her a standing ovation as she walked by.

Obama soon called to thank her. Fast forward to when--->>

Late last week future President Obama reassured Clinton she would have direct access to him and that she could select her own staff as secretary of state. And the deal was done.

Some people even think ('though most people doubt) that Obama and Clinton could become close friends. There is a lot of mutual respect and they are both extremely intelligent. As it turns out, Obama is much more a centrist that the rabid Obamanistas could have ever believed, which seems to be a page from the Bill Clinton playbook. Dean Acheson was no friend of President Harry Truman and Henry Kissinger, while in agreement with Dick Nixon intellectually, clearly was no personal friend. Rusk, McNamara, et al. were not JFK pals, and were, in fact, more conservative. It will be fascinating to watch the relationship unfold between Clinton and Obama. . .whether it becomes a train wreck, or whether they become close, or even BFFs, as they work the world.
---o0o---

Sheer profundity from the poet E.A. Housman

This snippet is from a longer poem by the Victorian poet A.E. Housman, written in the 1890's. I've noticed this poem quoted a lot in various places in relation to our current economic woes.

The thoughts of others
Were light and fleeting,
Of lovers' meeting
Or luck or fame.
Mine were of trouble,
And mine were steady,
So I was ready
When trouble came.
---o0o---

The Biggest Lie Ever Told

It has plenty of strong competition, but the biggest lie ever told is:

"There's no such thing as a stupid question."

---o0o---

Painting: The Accident

click to enlarge

---o0o---

Correction/not a retraction: The G20 video was real, but we did a poor job of contextualizing it.

By Jack Brummet and Pablo Fanque

A quick clarification on the story we ran yesterday on President Bush's reception at the G20 Summit, "Is President Bush Suffering From Leprosy?" We were troubled about this story from the get-go. Yes, the video was real. But even as we wrote and posted the story, we knew something wasn't quite right.

Let's face it, these people would shake hands with Papa Doc, Idi Amin, Sirhan Sirhan, Stalin, Carlos the Jackal, Herman Goering, or just about anyone in a position of power if it suited their purposes. Why would they shun W?

Daryle Conners confirmed reading about it later, and I independently realized late Friday night that we were probably seeing a clip of a "photo opportunity." President Bush, Merkel and the other leaders didn't shake hands because they all shalen hands a couple minutes previously. The handshakers were those not at the earlier photo-op. I'm not even going to look it up, because it is absolutely clear this is what happened! We got sucked into the blog/web hysteria on this one like everyone else. We should have known immediately what the context actually was. But it did give the Bush haters a chance to vent one more time (their time is running very short). You should have read the comments section on the HuffPo post on this!

Once in a while a story is just so tantalizing, you run with it (as we did in the summer over the Palin baby rumors that whipped around the internet like a tornado). And why not? After all, we're not some respectable blog with paying customers and advertisers.

When we print something scandalous, we want it to be completely true, or fictional from the ground up. Speaking of which. . .how was The President taken into custody last night when he was supposed to be at G20?
---o0o---

Senator "Crazy" Joe Lieberman lives to see another day

Barack Obama wisely led his party to save Senator "Crazy" Joe Lieberman from complete ignominy earlier this week. As much as I dislike the sawed-off, ferrett-faced turncoat, keeping the independent Senator in the fold once again points out Obama's incredibly wise and pragmatic approach to governing. My inclination, like many, was to punish Lieb for his transgressions. But Obama sent out word and spoke kindly of Joe, and, in the end, he survived. . .and kept his Homeland Security chairmanship.

Lierberman embraced George Bush on Iraq, and supported McCain in many appearances and interviews. Most of us could forgive all that. What is much harder to swallow is his speech at the Republican Convention--a point-blank assault on Obama, and the rest of us. In the end, though, Lieberman is a true Democrat. He split with us on the war issue, but on virtually every other issue, he relentlessly votes the party line.

Majority Leaer Harry Reid said “Joe Lieberman votes with me a lot more than a lot of my senators. He didn’t support us on military stuff, and he didn’t support us on Iraq stuff. But you look at his record, it’s pretty good.” The Majority whip, Richard Durbin, also had nice things to say about Crazy Joe. So we do have him to kick around for a while longer. Like many of Barack Obama's other one-time enemies, I suspect he'll hop on the bandwagon and become a real team player. Who knows? He might even join the Democrats again.

--o0o---

Poem: Narcissus [revision]

Ed note: We can't find out who created this cartoon.
If it was you, let us know! We like.


Narcissus

"They all sound the same," shouts someone in the audience. "It's all one song," replied Neil Young.

It's all about me;
Who do we spoof
When we pretend otherwise?

It's all one story,
It's all one poem,
It's all one song,

It's all one job,
It's all one painting,
It's all one game,

It's all one life,
It's all one wife,
Like it or not.
---o0o---

Barack Obama: "Off to a good start" says Republican leader

By Pablo Fanque, All This Is That National Affairs Editor

On Friday, the head Republican said that Democratic U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is "off to a good start" and admitted he was glad to see President George W. Bush on his way out the door.

"Our members, in one way, are kind of relieved by the departure of an administration that became unpopular and made it very difficult for us to compete," Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell told reporters on Capitol Hill.

In large measure because of Bush's extreme unpopularity, Barack Obama won the White House in the November 4th election, as Democrats increased their majorities in both houses of the U.S. Congress. Two weeks later, their wins continue, as Senator Ted Stevens conceded the Senate seat he has owned for 40-some years.

Two more races remain undecided: the Georgia runoff election for Saxby Chambliss' seat. At this moment in the polls, Saxby has a four point lead over Democrat Jim Martin. And then there is the Minnesota race, where Norm Coleman is hanging on to a razor-thin lead over Al Franken. With 64 percent of the 2.9 million ballots recounted, Coleman is ahead by 120 votes. Anything can happen here. If by chance, both Chambliss and Norman Coleman were to fall, the Democrats would achieve their long-dreamed-for veto-proof supermajority. In a season of surprises, you just never know.

---o0o---

Did President Bush spend the night at the laughing academy?

By Pablo Fanque,
All This Is That National Affairs Editor


President George W. Bush was escorted from the East Lawn of the White House late Friday night and taken away in a Secret Service S.U.V. After seeing video clips on YouTube of his performance at the G20 Summit, and later, seeing a staff member reading Pablo Fanque's Friday article on All This Is That, the President reportedly became agitated.

An hour later, near midnight Washington time, George Bush was heard, and then found, outside the White House with a 12 gauge shotgun in one hand and a bottle of Wild Turkey bourbon in the other. He was alternately mumbling and howling when security guards approached him, disarmed him, and drove him to an undisclosed location (reportedly the rubber room at the laughing academy--possibly St. Elizabeth's).
---o0o---

Is President Bush suffering from leprosy?

By Pablo Fanque,
All This Is That National Affairs Editor

Thanks to Daryle Conners for this tip.

In this amazing YouTube video, soon to be Ex-President Bush is snubbed by fellow world leaders at the G20 Summit. It's not like he is actively being shunned; he appears to be literally invisible, except to the camera. It's just a little sad that this guy, who used to Run The Show, has fallen so slow. It's come to this.

Rick Sanchez says that Bush looks like "the most unpopular kid in high school that nobody liked."

---o0o---

Obama set to name Senator Hillary Clinton head of State Department

By Pablo Fanque,
All This Is That National Affairs Editor
on hiatus in Bucerias, Nayarit, Mexico

Paintings/sign by Jack Brummet

This could get very interesting. It already is. Both Obama and The Clintons each have three negotiators haggling over the Secretary of State cabinet position. How many other top slots in the history of America have ever involved six negotiators? I can tell you authoritatively. None. Ever.

Is this a harbinger of factionalism in the nascent Obama Administration? Bill Clinton has said he would do "whatever it takes" to open the way for Hillary to get the State Department nod. Whatever it takes includes forgoing many lucrative (to the tune of millions a year) speeches, disclosing major donors to the William J. Clinton Foundation, naming and forgoing many consulting clients, and in general, clearing most of his activities with the Administration. That is a heavy load for a guy that has done it his way for the last 16 years or so. It is interesting enough that he is being let out of the doghouse after his angry and often race-baiting performances on Hillary's road to the White House.



click fo enlarge

Future President Barack Obama is on track to nominate The Senator as secretary of state after Thanksgiving an aide to his transition disclosed Thursday.

It is utterly fascinating the way this has played out in the press, with leaks, and positioning on both sides. No Drama Obama is wrapped up in this fascinating minuet under the full glare of the press [1] and bloggers. She is a fascinating choice for SoS.

Once again, Obama has buried whatever malignant feelings he might have ever held toward her. He is an amazing pragmatist and practicioner of the forgive and forget school of politics.



Sure, many people believe he wants her on the inside, because as President Lyndon Johnson often said, "it's better to have them inside the tent pissing out than outside pissing in." While many Democrats and beltway insiders openly question whether Clinton is too independent and ambitious to be the effective Secretary of State we desperately need, it is clear that Obama values her intelligence, diligence, experience, and yes, even chutzpah and moxie.

Large numbers of other Democrats believe in her too. Recent polls indicate that Hillary Clinton would have beaten John McCain by greater margins than Obama. Of course, that doesn't take into account the fact that her political organization collapsed in the face of Obama's clearly superior one. Would they have been able to put aside their infighting long enough to beat McCain? We will never know.

Clinton's nomination appears to be nearly a fait accompli. It will be fascinating to see whether she can live with the high degree of discipline Obama requires from his underlings. And that also applies to the 300 pound gorilla, Bill Clinton, who will need to spend a lot of the next few years sitting on his hands.

[1] Maybe not the full glare, with all the layoffs and downsizing of news organizations, including the latest one today: AP is cutting 10% of its workforce. Nearly every other major news organization has recently announced broad and deep cuts. "I guess this internet thing may actually really take off, after all."
---o0o---