McCain Selects Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as VP Running Mate

Governor Sarah Palin (R-Alaska), GOP Presumptive VP Nominee

Senator John McCain announced today that he has chosen Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska to be his vice presidential nominee. This will be the first time a woman has been on the GOP ticket and only the second time a woman has been on a major party ticket (Geraldine Ferarro was Walter Mondale’s running mate in 1984. She is the current Governor of Alaska, and a member of the Republican Party. She is the first female governor of Alaska, its youngest (44) and is the first governor born after Alaska achieved statehood. Brought to statewide attention because of her whistleblowing on ethical violations by state Republican Party leaders, she won election in 2006 by first defeating the incumbent governor Governor Murkowski in the Republican primary, then a former Democratic Alaskan governor Tony Knowles in the general election. Palin is strongly pro-life and belongs to Feminists for Life. She opposes same-sex marriage. She had been touted as a possible running mate for McCain by such conservatives as Rush Limbaugh.  Palin is married, with five children, including an infant born with Down’s Syndrome this April. Details of her personal life have cotributed to her political image, she is an avid hunter and sports enthusiast, eats moose burgers, ice fishes, rides snowmobiles, and owns a float plane Palin holds a lifetime membership with the National Rifle Association. She admits that she used marijuana when it was legal in Alaska, but says that she did not like it. McCain’s choice of Palin is historic for the Republican party with its first woman on the ticket, yet Palin also bring solid conservative credentials which should assuage the uneasiness of the right that has dogged McCain throughout the campaign.

It’s Official: Barack Obama is Officially The Democratic Nominee by Acclamation

Barack Obama, Democratic Nominee for President of the United States

In a moment of party unity, during the roll call of states, the State of New Mexico yielded to Illinois who in turn yielded to New York. Introduced by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton appeared on the convention. Following a motion from the floor of the Democratic National Convention in Denver by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, the roll call of states was suspended and the Senator Barack Obama was nominated by acclamation by delegates. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has informed the convention that  Barack Obama has officially accepted the nomination and will give his acceptance speech tomorrow evening.

Enough Politics, Here are some sunsets from Salvador, Brazil

The sunset and me in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil Photo by Lacy Puckett

Okay so the one of me is rather small, but check out these

Sunset in Bahia, Photo by Lacy Puckett

These photos were taken by the lighthouse in Salvador, which is also the nautical museum.  It is a popular place to gather for sunset.  You can see why.

Sunset in Bahia 2, Photo by Lacy Puckett

When the sun went down, the crowd broke into applause

Watching the Sunset from the Lighthouse, Photo by Lacy Puckett

My group really enjoyed it and we savored this beautiful site on our last night in Salvador, Brazil

The CCS Gang at Sunset at the Lighthouse, Photo by Lacy Puckett

Then it was time to climb on to the sea cliffs near the ocean and check out the view from there

Tino and I in the Sea Cliffs, Salvador, Bahia, Photo by Lacy Puckett

Tina and I on the cliffs during sunset, Photo by Lacy PuckettThe lighthouse was a focal point of the beach and looked beautiful during the day, and at nightThe Lighthouse/Nautical Museum at Night, Photo by Lacy Puckett

 and thus another day ends in the magical, beautiful city of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

NBC:Bayh, Kaine out of Obama’s veep race. My Prediction: Biden

My Prediction for Obama's Running Mate: Senator Joe Biden

The text message everyone was waiting for today will go out tomorrow morning, Saturday, just before Barack Obama appears with his running mate at a rally in Springfield, Illinois. The rally is being held at the same site Obama announced his candidacy for the Democratic Nomination. With wild speculation all day that a text message announcing his VP selection would be coming within hours today, NBC reports Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine have been told by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s campaign they will not be his vice presidential choice. The Associated Press also also reported that a Democratic official close to Kaine said the Virginia governor told associates of Obama’s decision on Friday. There is no time set for the text message/email announcement to supporters. Presumably it will be early to generate enough buzz before the main event – the rally which will open the fall campaign and head the united ticket into next weeks Democratic National Convention. If these reports hold true, I think this may mean Joe Biden is the man. In fact, I will go out on a limb and predict it. This is unconfirmed but the Biden buzz has been unavoidable, and unless its an intentional smokescreen by the campaign, seems to make sense. Joe Biden has a good resume, as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and his past tenure on the Senate Judiciary Committee.  While he did not gain any traction during his own presidential campaign this year, he did perform well in the debates, and took Obama and Clinton to task. Obama has gone on record as saying he does not want a yes man as vice president, but someone who could give him a clear perspective and tell him when he was wrong. Biden seems to fit the bill, and also ads some gravitas to the ticket. It is unclear how this will play with key constituencies that Obama needs to attract, particularly Clinton Primary Voters. Only time will tell.

Obama Makes Decision,Announcement on VP Choice Hours Away

 

Who Will It Be?

According to the Associated Press, Barack Obama may be hours away from announcing his Vice Presidential Running mate in a special email/text message to supporters. A little-known Texas congressman Chet Edwards is emerging as a finalist. Democratic officials say that Edwards was one of the few Democrats whose background was checked by Obama’s campaign, and he is a finalist for the job.  Edwards is among a small circle of people mentioned, including Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware and Evan Bayh of Indiana.

Obama is expected to text message his choice to supporters later today or Saturday.

Obama is expected to appear at a rally Saturday with his vice presidential choice in Springfield, Illinois.The presumptive Democratic nominee is at home Friday in Chicago, Illinois, with no public events planned before launching a string of rallies with his running mate ahead of the Democratic National Convention next week in Denver, Colorado. Obama said Thursday that he had made his decision but declined to give any further details.

Obama selects Biden as Vice Presidential Running Mate

Joe Biden, Obama's Choice for VP

Senator Barack Obama has announced he has selected Senator Joseph Biden to be his running mate on the 2008 Democratic Ticket. Obama made his announcement via email and text message and at a rally in Springfield, Illinois, where he announced his campaign for president before the primaries.

Biden is the senior United States Senator from Delaware and is the Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in the. Biden is also the past chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. He was a candidate for the Democratic Party’s nomination in the 2008 presidential election but dropped out after a poor showing in the caucuses in Iowa on January 3, 2008. Biden briefly ran for president in 1988 but was ‘bullied’ out by Michael Dukakis, after an accusation of plagiarism of speeches. Dukakis claimed that Biden plagiarized a speech made by then UK Labour party leader Neil Kinnock. Though Biden had correctly credited the original author in all speeches but one, the one where he failed to make mention of the originator was caught on video. Within days, it was also discovered that, while at Syracuse Law School, Biden had plagiarized a law review article in a class paper he wrote. Biden said the act was inadvertent due to his not knowing the proper rules of citation, and Biden was permitted to retake the course after receiving a grade of F in the course. Biden also released at the same time the record of his grades as an undergraduate which were C’s and D’s with the exception of two A’s in physical education, one B in a course on English writers and an F in ROTC during his first three semesters. His grades improved later in his undergraduate career but were not exceptional.  Further, when questioned by a New Hampshire resident about his grades in law school Biden had claimed falsely to have graduated in the “top half” of his class, (when he actually graduated 76th in a class of 85) that he had attended on a full scholarship, and had received three degrees. In fact he had received a single B.A. in history and political science and had not received a full scholarship.

Faced with these revelations, Biden withdrew from the nomination race on September 23, 1987, saying his  candidacy had been overrun by “the exaggerated shadow” of his mistakes. After Biden withdrew from the race it was learned that the Dukakis campaign had secretly made a video showcasing the Biden/Kinnock comparison and distributed it to news outlets. Dukakis fired John Sasso, his campaign manager and long-time Chief of Staff.

Biden is a long-time member of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, which he chaired from 1987 until 1995 . While chairing this committee, Biden presided over two of the most contentious U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings: Robert Bork in 1987 and Clarence Thomas in 1991

Photos from Fructos De Maes Daycare School, Salvador, Brazil

I miss the place.  I miss the kids I volunteered with. If you want to fall in love, go and work with these children. They are so poor materially yet so rich in purity and joy and love.  Here are some photos of the Children of Fructos De Maes Daycare School in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. I spent a week with them volunteering as a teachers assistant, coloring with them, feeding them lunch, taking them to the bathroom, getting them glasses of water, drying their tears, and getting lots and lots of hugs.

Photo Op Time

The kids were generally patient when waited for their lunch, which they were provided every day

In addition to coloring, singing, and bubbles, building forts out of tent sheets proved to be quite popular

Bedsheet Forts

And of course they loved to climb on you…

Lacy, my teaching partner, with a friend

But then it came time to say goodbye, and that was the hardest part

Me and Raissa, Fructos De Maes School, Salvador Brazil

Lacy and I say goodbye in two languages…

We Say Goodbye in Two Languages

To learn more about Cross Cultural Solutions and volunteering abroad, visit http://www.crossculturalsolutions.org/

It’s the experience of a lifetime

Muito Obrigado, Brasil, Tchau Tchau, Ate Logo

Farewell, Brasil, Te Amo

 

Foi otima a estadia, muito obrigado. Vou recomendar aos meus amigos. Obrigado pela hospitalidade. Loosely translated, that is thank you Brasil, goodbye, see you later, I had a great stay, I´ll recommend you to my friends. I am writing this on my last full day in Brazil, a quiet day with only a quick visit to the nearby Flamboyant Mall close to my hotel in Goiania and a long and leisurely stay at poolside. I have become somewhat reflective and a little heartsick as I end my two week stay in this wonderful country. I got to see alot and do alot and saw a lot of sides of Brazil that one normally does not see on the usual tourist track. There´s alot to this largest country in South America, alot to it´s politics, culture, cuisine, art, architecture, beaches and most of all it´s people.

I began my trip as an international volunteer, spending a week in Salvador, Bahia, a coastal city that served as the first capitol of this nation. My days were spent with the children of the Frutos De Maes Daycare School, assisting the teachers and caregivers in organizing activities including coloring, playtime, and serving the little ones their breakfast and lunch. I never would have thought that I, a 43 year old writer, advertising copywriter, cosmopolitan citizen of New York who spends most of his waking hours working with adults in the corporate business world would be doing something like this. What´s even more surprising is how much I enjoyed it and what a mind blowing experience it was for me. While I was soul-shaken by the poverty and conditions these children lived in, I was impressed by the purity of their joy and happiness and the love and care they receive from the staff. They may be poor in material wealth, but they have an abundance in joy and energy that is contagious. So to Tia Mira and all the staff of Frutos De Maes, I want to say thank you. Thank you for letting me be of service to your children and the gift that has given me. In my heart and sould I dound things that I did not know existed, or were frozen for so long that it took this experience to discover them. The simple act of coloring with a child or playing with them or comforting them when they were crying brought out a side to me that I never knew I had in me. My cynicism fell away and I felt compassion and honor, and I felt that I could perhaps survive the idea of being a father someday. If I can spend a week in a daycare center with 30 2-year old children and survive and thrive on that, I can perhaps open myself up to the idea of parenting. Or at least working with children, who are our future no matter where they are located . A role model is not something I ever considered myself to be, but perhaps I can evolve into one. So thanks to Fructos De Maes and Cross Cultural Solutions for allowing me to be of service and to find a place in my heart that I thought was gone, missing, or non-existent. I had to control my emotions on my last day of my volunteer work when I had to say goodbye to all the precious ones. I could feel the tears well up inside me and my heart ached as I said goodbye. But it won´t be forever. I´ll be back with more crayons, more stickers and lots of love

I also want to thank the people of Brazil for their warm hospitality. From Bahia to Brasilia, Sao Paulo to Goiania, I was greeted with nothing but friendliness and kindness . Your hospitality and warmth are genuine, and that is what makes you great. In 2008, Brazil celebrates the 100 year anniversary of the Japanese immigration to Brazil. I find it refreshing to be in a country that celebrates the immigration of a people to its land, rather than complain or demonize it.

I thank the staff of Cross Cultural Solutions Salvador for making our journey and service easy, and making us feel at home, from the warm hugs and greetings, to the home cooking, to the organized cultural activities, to helping us be better volunteers, you are special people and I thank you and will miss you. To my companions who I served with, I also say thank you. Most of you are in college or are just starting out your lives. You impressed me with your desire to make the world a better place. Your study plans, your life plans are an inspiration to me. Thanks for your friendship and not making too much of the fact that I was the old man of the group. You will do  big things in your lives, teachers, lawyers, doctors, nurses, international relations. This is your time. Embrace it.

To the friendly people of Bahia, from the newstands to the ice cream shops. Thank you. I can see why Bahia is called the land of happiness

To the staff of the Comfort Suites Flamboyant in Goiania, thank you for your hospitality and friendly attitude. You sure never seem to tire of the gringo with many questions. To the guy from the Goiania Museum of Art who called me a taxi because this New Yorker did not understand you just don´t flag them down, thanks. To all the friendly faces in the bookstores, restaurants and shops who bent over backwards to help me find what I was looking for, thank you. To the staffer at the Goiania Legislative Assembly who showed me around and explained what was going on in Brazilian politics, thanks for giving this political junkie his fix when he was far away from Obama and McCain.

So Thank you Brazil, not only for soccer (football everywhere else), the dental floss bikini and samba, but also for your culinary delights. I think the ice cream here is the best I have ever tasted and the Creme De Papaia Com Cassis was the closest thing to heaven I´ll ever taste. The fruit was like it was picked in the Garden of Eden. And thanks for the coffeem which is strong as Hercules, hot as hell and sweet as love. I am addicted. And for Guarana Antartica, which is made from an Amazonian berry and rivals Coca Cola and could give Red Bull a run for it´s money in the US for it´s energy boost, not too mention its taste. To Billy Deeter, I say thank you for showing me the World Heritage City of Brasilia, seen in a vision by Saint John Bosco, but born out of the vision of heroic President Juscelino Kubitschek, architect Oscar Niemeyer, Urban Planner Lucio Costa and landscape architect Burle Marx. It´s a city like no other in the world, an architectural gem and a centerpiece for the modern day utopian city. In Brasilia, Brazil has a gem for a capitol.

To Goiania, another planned city, thank you for your beautiful green spaces. I am impressed by your parks and how deeply you care for your green spaces. So I say goodbye, Ate logo Brasil. For two weeks, it has not just been a place where I went for vacation. It has been my home. May God bless you and your country, and may you continue to grow and prosper. You are the country of the new century and there is much you have to offer the world and much you have to be proud of. For the last two weeks, I have been proud to say “Eu sou brasilero“.

Ate logo, see you later, tchau tchau, saudades

Goiania

City of Goiania

 

Goiânia is the capital and the largest city in the state of Goiás. It is also the largest city in the Central-Western Regionof Brazil. With a population of nearly 1.25 million people, Goiânia is the twelfth largest city in Brazil. It is the anchor of the Goiânia metropolitan area, which has a population of over 2 million people, making it the eleventh largest metropolitan area in the country.

Goiânia is a planned city founded on October 24, 1933 by Pedro Ludovico the governor of the state at the time. It is located on a fertile plain criss-crossed by numerous rivers, the most important being the Meia Ponte River.

The name, Goiânia, came about in 1933 after a contest was put on by a local newspaper. Readers from all over the state contributed, with some of the most voted names being Petrônia, Americana, Petrolândia, Goianópolis, Goiânia, Bartolomeu Bueno, Campanha, Eldorado, Anhanguera, Liberdade, Goianésia, and Pátria Nova, among others. In 1935 Pedro Ludovico used the name Goiânia for the first time signing a decree creating the municipio of Goiânia. The city has one of the largest populations of motorcycles, which was quite evident as I headed downtown today for a little exploration. I started at one of the city´s many famous  green areas, their public parks are to die for, and some of the most beautiful and well planned I have ever seen. I started my morning walking in the Falmboyant Park, not far from my hotel, which is one of the newer parks in the city. In the afternoon, i headed downtown to Buritis Park. Situated in the center of the city this is Goiânia’s oldest green area. It has an area of 120,000 square meters. There is a running track and exercise area, that has pull up bars and situp benches with various inclines. There are three artificial lakes created by Buriti Stream. I also found the Goiânia Art Museum and the Free Center of Arts, which had a nice exhibit of regional artists, and the world monument of peace, which contains soil from countries all over the world.Ialso stumbled upon the Legislative Assembly building, which would be the equivalent of the State Legislature or Assembly and Senate in the United States. I walked right in, and was treated to more beautiful artwork, and also right into the middle of an election campaign. In my very broken portuguese, I managed to talk to several people who worked there and got a little flavor for Brazilian politics. Like all things Brazilian, their political campaigns have a lot of energy and excitement, with sound trucks cruising the city supporting their candidates, accompanied by loud energetic rock and reggae music.  Barack Obama and John McCain are you reading this? Breathe a little life into your campaign and get some soundtrucks and cool music.  The same television ads are not working.  Goiânia is a nice city and the people are very friendly, much as I have found the hospitality to be all over Brazil. When this New Yorker got a tad confused about how to get a taxi back to his hotel, one of the people from the art museum called one for me.  This is still very much a growing city, with new construction going on, and a real respect for its green areas, parks and vegetation. I am glad I have put this one on my itinerary. Sure it´s not Rio or Bahia. But it does have a nice laid back feel and the parks alone are worth the visit. Plus, this was the chill out portion of my Brazilian stay and was the perfect place for me to relax after spending a week with the children of the daycare center in Salvador. I miss them horribly. I think about them every night and hope to God they are ok. Next time I come down, I will do two or three weeks service. One week was not enough and I found out alot about myself. I could not only survive assisting a teacher with 32 two-year old children, I managed to love every minute of it.  Well tonight is a relaxing night and tomorrow is my last full day in Brazil. It has been an incredible stay and I cannot believe how fast it has gone by.

Brasilia – The Capitol City of Brasil

Brasilia from the TV Tower

 Brasília is the capitol of Brazil. It is coterminous with the Distrito Federal (Federal District) and borders the states of Goiás and Minas Gerais, where it is rumored that all the most beautiful women in Brazil are, particularly in Belo Horizonte (wink wink Gabi) The city and the district are located in the Central-West region of the country, along a plateau known as Planalto Central. It has a population of about 2,455,903 as of the 2007 IBGE census, making it the fourth largest city in Brazil. It is listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

As the national capital, Brasília is the seat of all three branches of the Brazilian government.  The city is a world reference for urban planning. The locating of residential buildings around expansive urban areas, of building the city around large avenues and dividing it into sectors, has sparked a debate and reflection on life in big cities in the 20th century. The city’s planned design included specific areas for almost everything, including accommodation – Hotel Sectors North and South. However, new areas are now being developed as locations for hotels, such as the Hotels and Tourism Sector North, located on the shores of Lake Paranoá. Brasília offers modern and comfortable hotels, including hotels managed by international chains; but it also offers cozy and modest inns, B&Bs and hostels.

The city was planned and developed in 1956 with Lúcio Costa as the principal urban planner and Oscar Niemeyer as the principal architect. In 1960, it formally became Brazil’s national capital. When seen from above, the city’s shape resembles an airplane or a butterfly. The city is commonly referred to as Capital Federal, Capital da Esperança (which translates to Capital of Hope), or simply BSB. People from the city of Brasília are known as brasilienses or candangos.

The Brasília International Airport is a major hub for the rest of the country, connecting the capital to all major Brazilian cities and many international destinations. It is the third most important airport of Brazil, considering passengers and airplane traffic. I should know, I spent 4 hours waiting for my flight back to Goiania, and was not bored in the least. It was the first airport I have ever seen with a movie theater inside. Smart idea, especially if you have a long layover.

President Juscelino Kubitschek ordered the construction of Brasília, fulfilling an article of the country’s constitution stating that the capital should be moved from Rio de Janeiro to a place close to the center of the country. Lúcio Costa won a contest and was the main urban planner. Oscar Niemeyer, a close friend of Lúcio, was the chief architect of most public buildings and Roberto Burle Marx was the landscape designer. Brasília was built in 41 months, from 1956 to April 21, 1960 when it was officially inaugurated.

From 1763 to 1960, Rio de Janeiro was the capital of Brazil. At this time, resources tended to be centred in Brazil’s southeast region near Rio de Janeiro. Brasília’s geographical central location made for a more regionally neutral federal capital.

The concept of locating the capital in the center of Brazil was first made in 1891 but was not defined until 1922.

According to a legend, Italian saint Don Bosco in 1883 had a prophetic dream in which he described a futuristic city that roughly fitted Brasília’s location. Today, in Brasília, there are many references to this educator who founded the Salesian order. One of the main churches in the city bears his name. It was ironic that I did not know this, having been educated in High School by the Salesians. The church the bears his name is beautiful and he is considered the patron saint of the city. There are many schools and buildings that bear his name.

Brasília is the result of a modern urban project designed by Lúcio Costa. When seen from above, the city’s pilot plan resembles the shape of an airplane – many prefer to refer to it as a bird with open wings – although the architect’s original urban concept pointed to the shape of a cross, to symbolize possession.

The city also hosts a varied assortment of art works from artists like Bruno Giorgi, Alfredo Ceschiatti, Athos Bulcão, Marianne Peretti, Alfredo Volpi, Di Cavalcanti, Victor Brecheret and Burle Marx, whose works have been integrated into the city’s architecture, making it a unique landscape.

As a venue for political events, music performances and movie festivals, Brasília is a cosmopolitan city, with around 90 embassies, a wide range of restaurants and complete infrastructure ready to host any kind of event. Not surprisingly, the city stands out as an important business tourism destination, which is an important part of the local economy, with dozens of hotels spread around the national capital.

The highlights of my tour included the JK memorial, where President Juscelino Kubitschek is buried and where a collection of his books and exhibits of his life are displayed.  His burial place is breathtaking, with a stained glass ceiling serving as the only illumination for the room and a simple epitaph that says “Founder“ to cement his place in history as the man who made Brasilia a reality and really transformed the country as a whole. President Kubitschek died during the military dictatorship and was never given a state funeral, so when it was decided to build this memorial, he was finally accorded the honors of  state, including lying in repose, with the flag of Brasil draped over his casket. Today, he is highly regarded as a visionary and a major miniseries based on his life, JK, from Globo productions, was quite popular and now available on DVD.

In addition to seeing the TV tower, the Supreme Court, the Presidential Palace, I was given a tour of the Foreign Ministry, the place where Foreign Ambassadors and Presidents, Kings, and Prime Ministers are received and formal state affairs, dinners and functions are held. In contrast to the modern architecture of Brasilia, this building, while modern in construction, contains artwork and furniture and other items that reflect Brazil´s history from it´s colonial days, its time as a monarchy, and important pieces from its rich history. The centerpiece isthe treaty table, where all treaties are signed. This table was originally used when the proclamation outlawing slavery was signed and has been in use ever since.

My tour guide comes highly recommended. Billy Deeter, an American who has spent most of his life in Brasilia, picked me up at the airport, where I flew in from Goiania.  It was a 45 minute plane ride, and I believe if I had taken it by bus it would have been three hours.  But I wanted to get in as most as I could and Billy did a great job both getting me into the most important sites and explaining the architecture, planning and history behind this young city. If you ever come to this region, Billy comes highly recommended and can give tours in several languages. He runs all sorts of tours in the region, so send him an email.  His contact information is (61) 3038-1823 or email personalvan@yahoo.com. The day ended withfour hour layover at the airport before my flight back to Goiania. I am excited that I got to see this great city.  It is unlike any city I have ever been in before, and I think its probably the most unique city in the world. Should your travel plans ever take you to Brazil, try to include this on your itinerary. Especailly if you are a history, political and art and architecture geek like myself.