1. Democrats Promise Free Condoms!

2. Biden Guarantees Dems Lurch to the Right

3. Britain Pokes the Russian Bear

4. Baton-Bashed In Denver! [Video]

5. Obama Will Lose

6. The Clinton Convention

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Sexually Promiscuous Democrats

Welcome to the Mile High Club

The biggest difference between the Democratic

and Republican conventions may be the abundance of free condoms

There are many metrics by which one might differentiate the Republican from the Democratic national convention, but if there is one that has struck me immediately since my arrival in Denver, it's the fact that it seems, no matter where I go, somebody wants to hand me a condom.

And it's not simply at the events, such as the star-studded celebrity gala Monday night hosted by Rolling Stone and Trojan Condoms.

The event showcased a stand up performance by comedian Bill Maher and featured luminaries on the red carpet such as Spike Lee, Susan Sarandon and Alan Cumming - and of course, plenty of condoms.

Young, lightly clad women passing them out at the door, carnival-style condom trivia games, a condom bus. Additionally, there are several evening mixers hosted by Planned Parenthood with plenty more available.

But people are also handing them out on street corners and in doorways, and the overall effect is to put sexual health and pregnancy-prevention consciousness front and centre - which is clearly a good thing (and, I suspect, a good message for many of the convention-goers on this particular trip).

Nevertheless, despite the quality and importance of the messaging, there's no getting around the fact that being handed a condom by a complete stranger every hour or two is inherently amusing.

And it's happened enough that it becomes possible to glean patterns in the distribution. The first condom I was given was a standard lubricated Trojan, quite unremarkable. The second, however, was a larger-sized "magnum" version.

I laughed and thanked the young man handing them out for his vote of confidence, and the next day my first condom was also a magnum. Perhaps I was impressing people more than I believed?

But then I noticed the pattern: the women distributing the merchandise had exclusively handed me standard-issue Trojans, while the men - to a person - offered the jumbo editions.

Now, I am not one to speak to the social-psychological implications behind which condom I'm handed.

Perhaps, if I were a man passing them out, passing out a large-sized condom to a fellow male of the species would feel like a friendly pat on the back, and I would save the standard sized for the women.

It doesn't seem too likely that the choice of condom had sexual innuendo attached, but if it did ... well, the mind boggles.


I won't be attending the Republican convention. As a partisan progressive Democrat, I'd have no interest beyond the anthropological, and that would get old fast.

Something tells me, though, that in contrast to the plentiful prophylactics and accompanying messaging here in Denver, the RNC will be more of a, shall we say, abstinence-only affair.

Biden Guarantees Democrats Will Lurch to the Right

It is a historic event to have the first black presidential candidate, a tribute to decades of struggle initiated in the 1950s and 1960s with the civil rights movement.

Yet the Democrats focus on Obama's capacity to "blend" with the "mainstream" America with the appointment of Delaware senator Joe Biden as his vice-presidential running mate is an indication of the rightward direction of Obama's election campaign.

For those who have watched the course of Democratic Party politics in the US over previous elections this may be no surprise.

But to recent enthusiasts who have entered mass politics for the first time – those who took seriously Obama's promise for real change – the DNC will generate false hopes, confusion and disappointment.

Biden is the not-Obama of the Democratic Party. He is seen as the guy who fills the gaps in Obama's resumé. Biden is chair of the Senate foreign relations committee, and, though he's since changed his tune, was an early supporter of the war on Iraq.

He is apparently the kind of racist that is OK with Obama – the kind that the Democrats see as "normal" and might just get more votes.

The compelling promise of "Yes we can" that has marked the meteoric rise of Barack Obama, is likely to lead to a sense of "Maybe he could have."

The challenge for those who want to see real change in the US will be to maintain a movement against war and racism from below, independent of the Democratic Party machine, and of Obama and Biden.

Britain Pokes the Russian Bear

In lecturing the Russians about Ukrainian sovereignty, the British foreign secretary appears not to know what he's talking about.

It will be a cold winter in parts of the Caucasus and Eastern Europe, and that prediction has nothing to do with the weather forecast. The ripples of Russia's war with Georgia are spreading far and wide, and neither Russia nor the west is showing any moderation in their desire to limit the damage.

The latest to engage in dangerous and irresponsible grandstanding is David Miliband. Is he a student of even recent Ukrainian history? I very much doubt it, but there he stood in Kiev today lecturing the Russians about the need to respect Ukrainian sovereignty.

Which bit of sovereign Ukraine was he talking about, the pro-Russian enclave of Crimea or the majority of the east and central Ukraine that, when asked, is against joining Nato?

Does Miliband not realise that Ukraine as a nation has historically been torn between east and west, and what does he think would happen to old wounds if he, among others, starts to tug a little bit harder?

The history of the relationship between Russia and Ukraine is at least as tangled and interwoven, culturally, politically and religiously, as that between England and Scotland.

Baton-Bashed In Denver! This What Democracy Looks Like [Video]

There are characteristics essential to being a member of the peace and social justice organization, CODEPINK. Chief among them is compassion.

One can hardly dedicate one's life to improving the lives of others if there isn't an abiding drive to help those in need.

Thus, it was no surprise to those who know her when 24 year old CODEPINK member, Alicia Forrest, in search of the truth, used her camera to document the arrest of a young man swarmed and overpowered by Denver sheriffs during a demonstration in Denver.

The sheriffs were NOT appreciative of Alicia's attempt to photograph the incident. Thus, in an over-the-top (some might even say unprofessional response), to Alicia's citizen journalism, the Denver sheriff (shown in the video), apparently bashed the diminutive young woman with his baton, knocked her to the ground, and left her sprawled across the pavement in pain.

After being helped to her feet by witnesses who were shocked at the officer's seemingly unprovoked aggression, Alicia was approached by on-site media who asked what precipitated the altercation (also shown on the video).

When Alicia began to tell the media what happened, the sheriff, in still another questionable act, grabbed her, collared her gruffly, whisked her off the premises, and arrested her.

Obama Will Lose

Speaking at a luncheon hosted by the Denver Press Club at the Denver Athletic Club today, former California state legislator and '60s political activist Tom Hayden predicted that Barack Obama will lose the 2008 Election.

"An African-American candidate talking about economics and a white war hero -- it's clear to me who is going to win," Hayden said.

When one of the attendees at the small luncheon, attended mostly by Denverites, asked him to be more specific about why he thinks Obama will lose the race, Hayden replied, "You don't think McCain's gonna have a convention about his being an American."

Hayden seemed to be referring to the fact that Barack Obama continues to introduce himself to the American electorate. Hayden elaborated.

"I've known kookie Cokie, kookie Cokie Roberts for years, but when Obama vacationed in Hawaii, she said, "He shoulda gone to Myrtle Beach." Hayden turned out his hands, as if to say what're you gonna do?

Hayden went further. "[Obama's] problem is that he's lived in the world of beating the Democratic establishment for so long, it's hard to transition to being the Democratic establishment."

Hayden is part of the group Progressives for Obama, but he has his issues with the candidate. "There's the pursuit of the last white man standing in Pennsylvania," he said, rather than a fierce pursuit of the Latino vote, which is what Hayden would like to see.

The Clinton Convention

The first day, Monday, was dominated by daylong dealmaking between the Clinton and Obama camps over ground rules for the nominating roll call.

The second day's highlight was Clinton's address. Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, designated the official convention keynote speaker, was just a footnote in television and newspaper reports.

By contrast, among the most replayed shots of the night was of a still-fuming Bill Clinton, tightlipped and teary, watching his wife from a Pepsi Center skybox.

Then came Wednesday, day three of four, when the former president himself spoke. He garnered as much or more attention than what was supposed to be the evening's marquee event, the speech from vice presidential nominee Joe Biden.

As the evening's final speaker, Biden held the so-called prime-time slot. Yet, in Eastern and Central time zones, Biden wound up on TV after many folk's bedtimes and it was Bill Clinton people saw, being cheered so roundly that he had to plead "Please stop ... Please sit" to be heard.

"I love this," the former president said as delegates cheered and cheered for him through a speech that, characteristically, went on longer than it was meant to.

Another surprisingly Clinton-focused event was Wednesday's roll call vote. It climaxed with Obama's acclamation as the Democratic candidate for president — but only after Clinton amassed hundreds of still-diehard delegates and requested the process be shut down to make the night officially Obama's.