Republican

The new Republican hot potato: Sarah Palin and the exorcist

Sophie Team Observers — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 18:34:29 +0200

A video of Sarah Palin being blessed by a preacher and exorcist appeared on the Internet yesterday.

The video was posted on YouTube on Thursday, but the blessing actually happened in May 2005, two days before Palin officially put herself forward as a candidate for Alaska governor. Pastor Thomas Muthee, originally from Kenya, is from the Pentecostal movement, evangelical protestants who interpret the Bible literally. Pentecostal followers believe, for example, that the laying on of hands can heal sick people when other medications have failed.

Sarah Palin's campaign team immediately denied that she was a Pentecostal. But in another video, filmed in June 2008 (see below), the possible vice president of America explains how Muthee's prayers helped her to win the Alaska election.

A small lesson in internet security, by Sarah Palin

Sophie Team Observers — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 10:01:02 +0200

The police have arrested the student suspected of hacking into Sarah Palin's inbox on 16 September. Our Observer, an internet security expert, explains why you should be wary of webmail.

The mails that were published online didn't reveal anything particularly sensitive, but the politician has been strongly criticised for having used her personal email for professional subjects, risking the disclosure of state secrets. As a governor, she has a secure ".gov" email address which she can check at any time, for example using a Blackberry. But she preferred to secure her messages her own way, not wanting them to remain on the government servers, according to The New York Times.

On Sunday, the FBI arrested a suspect. And the hacker, student David Kernell, just so happens to be the son of a Democratic deputy in Tennessee. Agents found him bragging, under a penname, on a discussion forum. Not such an IT genius then - how did he manage to hack Sarah Palin's Yahoo account?

Michael Moore’s Gustav is 'proof there is a God' kicks up a storm

Sophie Team Observers — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:02:15 +0200

Academy Award-winning documentary film-maker Michael Moore has never been one to mince his words. Neither has Keith Olbermann, host of MSNBC's "Countdown with Keith Olbermann." Like Moore, Olbermann has made stinging attacks on prominent Republicans and raised eyebrows when he advised US President George Bush to "shut the hell up." So, when the two of them get together, it's not really party time for the American Right. But when Moore, in a "Countdown" interview, said Hurricane Gustav's landfall on the first day of the Republican convention is "proof there is a God in heaven," it kicked up a Category 5 storm.

Democrat's gaffe caught on camera

Sophie Team Observers — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:30:39 +0200

Unknown to him at the time, Democrat Don Fowler was being filmed when he made a joke about Hurricane Gustav, which today reached Louisiana. Republicans have hit out at the politician, who dared to say that if the catastrophe struck when the Republican Convention was due to open on Monday, then God must be on their [the Democrats'] side.

A conservative blogger shot the video, on a plane travelling back from the Denver convention (Colorado) to Charlotte (North Carolina) on Friday. Don Fowler apologised for the gaffe on Sunday. He explained that the joke was made in reference to a speech given by reverend Jerry Falwell, who blamed the September 11th attacks on gay, lesbian and pro-abortion Americans.

Mitt Romney for McCain VP?

Sophie Team Observers — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 09:48:20 +0200

When they were in competition with each other, Mitt Romney and John McCain fought bare-knuckled for the presidential nomination. But now that McCain has secured the place and is on the lookout for a running-mate, speculation that Romney will be chosen is mounting. So what would the conservative Mormon bring to the table as the country's vice president?

Romney campaigned for the primaries with a video that began "McCain is not as conservative as Romney". Describing himself as "a full-spectrum conservative" and a supporter of "limited government", the "preservation of marriage", and "a foreign policy based on the national interest", Romney sparked a fierce battle between the two. Each insisted that he was the one who would work hardest for the economy and for freedom of speech, and fight hardest against abortion rights, gay marriage and terrorism, until the former governor of Massachusetts stepped down in early February. Five months later and the dual long over, everyone wants to know whether the pair would, and could, work together in the White House.