For a Gore Prosperous Tomorrow

Thanks. Speaking of Australia in TTL did anything different happen either socially or politically?

Admittingly the focus is more in the USA since I know little of Austraila though I reckon the concensus is a swing to the left as a result of Gore's influence, no Iraq war and Exxon-Mobil scandal leading to growing numbers of people demanding for fossil fuel companies to be held accountable.
 
Admittingly the focus is more in the USA since I know little of Austraila though I reckon the concensus is a swing to the left as a result of Gore's influence, no Iraq war and Exxon-Mobil scandal leading to growing numbers of people demanding for fossil fuel companies to be held accountable.
Thanks. Huge fan of TTL and Gore's Presidency and I'm excited to see John Mccain as the next President. Keep it up!
 
Interesting timeline but I think gore does do a little too much. Israel Palestine is going to be an issue since the Israel lobby does wield a lot of power in the us and sharon would probably try to get around any real deal (the withdrawal in 05 was to derail the other proposed plans.)

Id have negotiations be more gradual but also have Gore specifically ginger Sharon as the obstinate obstructionist. While it wouldn’t fix everything it would help build more sympathy that could force a better solution later
 
Interesting timeline but I think gore does do a little too much. Israel Palestine is going to be an issue since the Israel lobby does wield a lot of power in the us and sharon would probably try to get around any real deal (the withdrawal in 05 was to derail the other proposed plans.)

Id have negotiations be more gradual but also have Gore specifically ginger Sharon as the obstinate obstructionist. While it wouldn’t fix everything it would help build more sympathy that could force a better solution later

True, but the big thing that changed was the USA making peace with Iran. With them no longer funding groups like Hezbollah or Hamas, those organizations suddenly become much more vulnerable and far less menacing. Sure, maybe they might try and do something, but lacking the financial support, they'd be doomed and if they did try for some desperate reason, to retaliate against Iran, it would make Iran more sympathetic and remove any good will those groups have amongst the populace.

So Iran is now cordial and groups like Hezbollah and Hamas have been rendered much less imposing. That removes virtually all of the boogeymen that Israeli hardliners can use to bolster their case.

They'd be the lone holdout in a situation that everyone is wanting resolved as soon as they can and without much reason to do so. If they don't make the effort when everyone else is wanting to move on or expecting them to, people will lose patience, either the nations with them, or with the populace at the party in charge,

The only other threat would be Iraq, but they're Iran's enemy so not much of a thing there... so yeah, they're gonna have to go to the negotiating table. Ultimately, Palestine does become recognized, even if it takes a while to organize all the details and financial straits. Additionally, that still leaves the question of Jerusalem open, but no one wants to touch that. Everyone's more waiting to see if Palestine can stand on their own feet financially.
 
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Gore Administration Retrospective
The Gore Administration in Retrospect

The Gore Administration would be remembered for be a large turning point in American history and politics along with that of the world. Coming from the heels of a close election decided by a court case and from the scandal of Clinton, it seemed unknown what the post-Cold War world would look like. Yet the Gore Adminsitration would have more impact and influence than even the Clinton Administration before it.

The 9/11 Attacks, the subsequent campaign against Al-Queda and the Taliban, the new deal between US and Iran, the recognition of Palestine, the Exxon-Mobil scandal, Katrina and so many other events happened and influenced Gore and the nation along with their responses to those. The rise of religious extremism was a reminder that the world would not be at peace merely with just one superpower and was a bitter reminder of the imperial past of the Western world, something which President Gore acknowledgd. The Exxon-Mobil scandal, the economic scandals that preceded it and the events following it turned peoples' attention back to economics and corporations. After the closure brought about by the capture of Bin Laden and the defeats of Al-Queda and the Taliban, people still felt lost in the brave new world following the attacks. Yes the Twin Towers remained tall, but the fears of what-ifs still spread throughout the populace's subconscious. To that end, that nervous energy born from that anxiety began turning toward whatever. Fortunately, the Exxon-Mobil scandal provided a more than acceptable outlet for that. After all, a conspiracy of a major company suppressing information and spreading propaganda only to be foiled by the US president was something that captured the imagination. Additionally, as the months went by and it all unfurled, the further speculations came out regarding certain Congress members promoting war with Iraq and Iran for the purpose of the oil fields. That connection just further cemented the growing discontent toward fossil fuels.

It helped establish a new foundation on the public perception of "going green." What some saw as basically mild lifestyle changes began cementing as something more serious and with answers that would not come easily. Yet, Gore's own confidence and intelligence provided people with security and in turn, inspired them to do their part on making lifestyle changes, albeit in different ways. Some advocated for living off the grid and created more down-to-earth communities. Others went more into futurtistic venues such as green houses or geoengineering. It was not entirely organized, but it did get the ball rolling for many ideas and additionally, created more critical-thinking. People began confronting more problems they would've otherwise neglected. Issues such as the difficulties of certain biofuels over others (along with the lobbying entailed), the usage of some materials over others (such as plastic) and some even began debaingthe fact that the lifestyles and infrastructure surrounding them were based on consumption and thus, perhaps the true root of this.

Another foundation was on the Internet. Al Gore was a massive advocate and his inclusion of a "digital cabinet" along with inviting some of the new "wiz kids" that would appear with new websites and media to the White House helped accelerate the adoption of the Internet. People began going on it more to develop communities and the internet flourished in strange ways such as with flash animation or sprite comics. Others was through the promotion of products. One of the biggest movers and shakers was Project MAY, where Myspace, ArtistShare and Youtube collaborated to assist the other and beyond helping Youtube fourish and thus the competition began working to keep up. Veoh, under the advisement of Eisner, began collaborating with Facebook and began aiming more toward a younger audience, given the age restrictions put in place on Youtube and in trying to make Veoh a more "kid-friendly" counterpart. Meanwhile, more niche material and animation began growing in the underground when Newgrounds partnered up with Reddit. The idea of the audience directly donating money to content creators without having to rely on advertisements sounded like a dream come true. Youtube remained on top though, especially when influencing early Internet media culture. Fred Rogers was one of the early influences, reminding his children, both young and old, to be civil, mindful and be the person he knoews they can be, allowing to counter the "GIFT phenomena" that was present on some other hostile sites to a degree. Another was Hunter S Thompson, who stoked the fires of the public and influenced a series of young adults to spread the news over on the new platforms as he called out the BS he saw going on.

Despite this, life went on. The film industry began shifting from fantasy to superheroes. There was a desire to try and catch the growing YA market to replicate the success of Harry Potter. Television began shifting to focus on new forms of comedy, white collar crime shows began increasing, animated shows were showing a greater preference toward action shows as adult animation began declining (notably the end of the Simpsons and prior to that, Family Guy). Additionally, adult animation was undergoing a period of recession as the new age of young adults were shunning raunchy comedy and toliet humor for action shows and more serious animation, including the growing popularity of anime, in part because of blocs like Toonami. Video games began spreading more in popularity and capability as Microsoft went all-in with SEGA and produced a strong foothold in Japan along with working on other Sonic products such as the comic books, manga and even animated shows. They grew to the detriment of Sony, who's misfires had been putting the company in need some cash flow. Nothing dire though rumors have been circulating about what can and will be done. The comic book industry has been experiencing a brief revive as DC and Marvel have rebooted their universes to try and keep up with the new modern world and the expectations of steamlined management of the franchises.

At the same time, life has been getting better for people. Medicare for Kids secured universal healthcare for children up until 22 (due to how the program was put in) while the modest increases in minimum wage brought hope to the economy to keep it humming along. Court rulings have led to various decisions that led to the introduction of new gun laws and new legislation has been working to help people. There is a sense of bipartisanism in the air as the neocons' grip on the GOP has been slipping thanks to a mix of conservative Democrats switching to them along with the rise of the "greencons", conservatives with an emphasis on conservation and environmentalism.

Of course, not everything was perfect. Russian-American tensions have increased in part becasue of the former's reliance on exportation, especially fossil fuels and the Georgian-Russian War made matters worse. Iraq has been acting a mix of erratic and quiet in part with Iran allying with the Americans and the miltiary has been noting that Syria and Iraq are ticking timebombs. Saudi Arabian-American relations have been decreasing as more people become aware of Wahhabism, its connection to the House of Saud and its influence on Islam as a whole, making supporting them more difficult. Other groups like the European Union and other nations like China and India, have been forcing mroe to confront this, leading to increaed tension. On top of that, there have been concerns over a recession, namely due to economic cycles, but it cannot be that bad, right? Whatever happens, the people will make it through. The system still works... right?

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Coming soon...

The Years of McCain and Suffering
 
McCain Administration Winter 2009
Winter 2009

"Well, these certainly aren't omnious omens at all..."

"And the corporate chicanery returns. Anyone got a bad feeling about this?"

"We gotta be using these International Courts more..."


While the introduction of President McCain seemed to promise a new opportunity, especially after 16 years of Democrats dominating the political field, the first events of the years led to pundits making cracks on how it was a sign of things to come. The New Year was marked with protests after the BART Police shooting of Oscar Grant, an unarmed man. As such, talks of police brutality and the treatment of colored people and minorities in comparison to whites was brought up to attention and indeed, one of the first issues that President McCain would need to tackle upon his entry into the Oval Office, upon being sworn in on January 20th. However, there was also positive news as days prior, the Miracle of Hudson River occurred in which a pilot was hailed as a hero for his quick thinking saving the lives of everyone on board. McCain's early months over as President of the United States was one based on a "business as usual" sort of mentality. He did follow some of the advice of his predecessor, which included the maintainance of the digital cabinet and even expanded to include more cybersecurity and military personnel. This was done in response to the actions of how Russian hackers and propagandists possessed an influence during and in the aftermath of the Russo-Georgian War. This included a meeting of McCain and various social media websites along with former President Gore himself coming in to discuss potential problems and threats, both domestic and foreign that could be done through cyberspace. This included bots, especially social bots. Perhaps hilariously, in Febuary 10th, a privately owned U.S. satellite and a Russian military satellite collide over Siberia, scattering space debris in orbits 300 to 800 miles (480 to 1,290 km) above Earth, potentially threatening satellites in nearby orbits. Pundits noted that it seemed like a large metaphor over what could happen if things go wrong. On the other hand, McCain also celeberated the successful execution of one of former President Gore's final projects, the launch of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory, a new $280 million NASA satellite designed to precisely measure atmospheric carbon dioxide levels for climate change research after it was delayed for last minute check-ups and fixes.

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Screenshot of Grant pinned down as police try to handcuff him, moments before the shooting (captured from a video that recorded the police incident)

Meanwhile, another issue was on the economy. While it continued to go on, the concerns over potential recessions loomed in the air and a few have questioned McCain's intiatives to further lower rates to try and get more people to buy homes without some potential reforms needed regarding the lending practices. On Febuary 17, Peanut Corp, a peanut butter processor implicated in nine deaths and over a thousand poisonings due to salmonella, files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy just days after its CEO uses the Fifth Amendment to avoid questioning by Congress. However, that was not going to be enough to stop the oncoming onslaught of investigations and the oncoming massive recall. One note was on the surprising number of salmonella cases though it was noted that normally, many salmonella cases go on reported though thanks to Medicare For Kids, children afflicted by it were all handled and the data sent to the government. The surprise sent another jolt of frustration and anger at corporations, especially over the low health standards, which led to calls of greater safety inspections, corruption charges and harsher penalities toward corporate goons in charge of such. Days later, further financial chicanery occurred when James Nicholson, the manager of an unregistered hedge fund, Westgate Capital Management, is arrested and charged in federal court with defrauding hundreds of investors in a Ponzi type scheme. Pundits took note of this clearly and the anti-corporate sentiment that was in the air continued.

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Icon of now defunct Peanut Corporation of America

Across the world, various new developments were going on, especially as the world needed to get used to do the new American President and his potentially new direction. The nations of the Indian Ocean experienced an annular solar eclipse. Austria, Japan, Mexico, Turkey and Uganda assume their seats on the United Nations Security Council. Asunción, Paraguay becomes the American Capital of Culture and Vilnius while Linz, Austria became the European Capitals of Culture and Slovakia adopts the euro as its national currency, replacing the Slovak koruna. Meanwhile,, the first trial at the International Criminal Court opens. Former Union of Congolese Patriots leader Thomas Lubanga Dyilo is accused of training child soldiers to kill, pillage and rape. Speaking of courts, former Serbian president Milan Milutinović is acquitted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia regarding war crimes during the Kosovo War. However, perhaps in a way to try and make a mark, President McCain insisted on the international community to do something in regards to the Bangladesh Rifles revolt, especially as the Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights noted their concerns over the lack of fairness within the trials.

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Partial from Riversdale, South Africa
 
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McCain Administration Spring 2009
Spring 2009

"Anyone else getting really worried with everything going on in Africa?"

"Piracy?!"

"A church bombing... oh my god..."


As President McCain began going into the swing of things, the McCain Administration began going over. It consisted of moderate Republican old-timers, a few "Blue Dog" Democrats and even some of the new "greencon" Republicans in among various others. For the msot part, they would be focusing more on economy while also touting issues on security, especially with Russia. McCain did try and maintain the efforts main by Gore made in certain affairs abroad, like with Iran, if namely for pragmatic reasons. At the same time, they did maintain a more proactive approach, such as discussions for how the US and Iran could deal with Iraq should the issue come up, which both agree was inevitable. In the meanwhile, more matters abroad spiraled out internationally. With issues at home okay for the most part, the people turned to foreign policy with concern. The President of Guinea-Bissau, João Bernardo Vieira, is assassinated during an armed attack on his residence in Bissau. Just days later, the International Criminal Court issues an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. Many have reported that al-Bashir wass the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the ICC since its establishment back in 2002. This led to McCain calling for increased US forces presence in troubled areas to help maintain peace and security and working with international organizations to do so. This became more prevalent with the esclating tensions and problems going on over in Madagascar. Specifically, the President of Madagascar, Marc Ravalomanana, being overthrown in a coup d'état, following a month of unrest in Antananarivo. The growing concerns and instability have been leading for calls of greater communication to peacefully to resolve tensions and deal with problems.

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Protests in Antananarivo, Madagascar

However, not everything was negative over abroad. Albania and Croatia are admitted to NATO, becoming the newest members of the organization. However, this would lead to increased tension between the Western nations and Russia, something that President McCain alluded to in working for a safer and better world, especially from people who seek to unstablize the world for the sake of political points (making jabs over to Russia.) Additionally, the people came togther over for the 6.3 magnitude earthquakethat hit near L'Aquila, Italy, killing 308 and injuring more than 1,500. While people were going over to try and help out, UNESCO launched The World Digital Library a couple weeks later. The WDL caused a chain reaction of more itnrest in similar projects, especially Project Gutenberg as the American public domain grown thanks to the past laws. Lastly, after 25 years, the Sri Lankan Civil War ends with the total military defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Bit by bit, the world was looking to get calmer, despite the numerous setbackss caused. However, the supposed tests by North Korea remain a large sore spot and talks between the United States and China have been going under way in regards. Addtionally, the situation involving Somali pirates was resolved within days with action on part of the crew and because of the McCain Administration after days of a tense stand-off.

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The damaged Santa Maria Church in the town of Paganica

Back home, the news was quite complicated to say the least. Several would-be shooters were apprehended and stopped, which has been attributed to the new gun laws though there have also been noted how some gun shops did not follow through on reporting the issues with some of the people though some employees did do so. Would-be gunmen in Geneva County, Alabama and Carthage, North Carolina were apprehended before they could hurt anyone, which provided more support for firearm regulations, especially in southern states. The later investigations revealing the ammount of ammo and backstory behind the almost shooters did provide in some of the problems these people had, though others were more caustic in the commenting on some. Other positive news came in how more and more people were coming in support for same-sex marriage state by state, especially thanks to the gains done by Democrats over in the Gore years. As such, it was floated hte possibility of a bipartisan movement to try and promote same-sex marriage, something which caused friction in both parties, albeit for different reasons. Within the Democrats, there was a mild concern of doing so over during a Republican presidency alongside with some doubts over its feasability. However, the conflict was greater for the Republicans though, there was greater tensions. The old guard against the new blood; the religious right clawing to try and maintain their hold against the more moderate groups with the precarious balance. However, the partisan tensions ceased momentarily as the concerns over "swine flu" began coming out and tracing to ensure it could not lead to a large scale problem. Despite this, partisanship returned when talks of healthcare involving swine flu came out. However, the full force came out with the assassination of Dr. George Tiller by Scott Roeder. The latter was an anti-government radical with a turbulent history. He became moreso after he was barred from purchasing firearms due to his anti-government history and after threatening his wife. After the court case of Dr. Tiller, he attempted to assassinate him by driving his car, filled with a bomb into the church, attempting martyrdom. Roeder leapt out of the car moments before though was damaged by the bomb. The entire ordeal was a media firestorm of the highest degree. President McCain among otheers condemned the attack and then it spiraled further into controversey when Roeder confessed to the target being Tiller and showing no remorse for the other people who were killed with the attack, viewing them as necessary casualities. The refusal to label Roeder a domestic terrorist, especially after his past, resulted in criticism at certian politicians and the media in regards to it. Some brazen pundits even noted that "religious extremism isn't terrorism if you're white and Christian". Roeder would be given life in prison for the death of the people he killed, including Tiller. Meanwhile, the pro-choice and pro-life movements doubled down on their stances though the comparison of the histories of both camps alongside with what professionals said led to to the latter becoming more discredited as more moderate opponents of abortion would seperate from the hardliners. While mainstream mass media were criticized for the handling, online newscasts began growing more in prominence, especially Hunter S Thompson experiencing a resurgence.

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Mug shot of Scott Roeder, jailed from July 11, 1997, to March 26, 1998, for violating parole on a 1996 conviction for having bomb components in his car trunk.
 
What's the current supreme court lineup?

Several cases may yet go differently in this timeline.

Well, here's who got replaced during the time of Gore. So take the Supreme Court during the Bush era and make the followign replacements:

"Nonetheless, Both O'Connor and Souter would leave in the Summer of 2005. Merrick Garland was chosen to replace Souter and then Sonia Sotomayor would replace O'Connor. "

"Eventually, it would be chosen to be Elena Kagan to replace Rehnquest. "

So, as of 2008: The Supreme Court has:

Elena Kagan
Sonia Sotomayor
Merrick Garland
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Stephen Beyer
Clarance Thomas
John Paul Stevens
Antonin Scalia
Anthony Kennedy
 
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Well, 2000's is not different from OTL

Here's 2002: https://www.alternatehistory.com/fo...osperous-tomorrow.469925/page-2#post-19164491

After that, really didn't focus much on elections stuff given how that sort of numbers game is NOT my forte.
 
McCain Administration Summer 2009
Summer 2009

"RIP Micheal Jackson..."

"What the hell, Honduras?"

"McCain is a military man so unsurprising we would consider this..."


The first summer of the McCain administration was a complicated one, especially with how rough the year started and the regrowing tensions between the political parties over what McCain wanted to. While he moderated his stance even more over the years to where he could be considered a centralist, some of his policies, such as on regarding abortion and tackling teen pregnancy was met with irritation and disagreement, especially as the numbers showed the current program of educating teenagers and so on worked. On the other hand, he did have a mixed voting record on some stuff. Despite this, people were still willing to work together as things like removing the power of gerrymandering and that one of Gore's final acts was ensuring that the FCC Fairness Doctrine was updated and maintained for the next few years, to endure a Republican presidency. Overall, while the veneer of bipartisanship was being maintained, the various sub-groups were causing cracks as the new blood and their supporters were determined to not let anyone undo what President Gore accomplished. Calls for same-sex marriage grow some more with Governor John Lynch signs a bill allowing for same-sex marriage in New Hampshire. A white nationalist was arrested for plans to attack the US Holocaust Museum after trying to steal a gun. McCain announced that Analog television broadcastswould end in the United States by this time in the next year, giving people more time to go and shift to digitial. However, the biggest news was on the death of legendary musician and "King of Pop" Micheal Jackson from overdose. After the scandals from the previous years, he was planning to make a comeback tour known as This is It after briefly returning to prominence with his involvement of environmental awareness raising an impressive amount of money. The world of entertainment mourned the lost of one of its biggest stars, including what could've been with his final show. Micheal Jackson songs flew off the shelves such as his classics, though his environmentalist themed songs were especially noteworthy in part of the influence of the Gore administration prior.

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Jackson's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, surrounded by barriers and covered with flowers

However, while the world continued to mourn the loss of Micheal Jackson and struggle with the aftermath and his legacy, the world got up in arms internationally when the Military of Honduras went and under the Supreme Court, ousted President Manuel Zelaya. The entire ordeal was condemned worldwide as a coup and questions began running rampant. The entire thing started when Zelaya began plans to try and rewrite the constitution and was met with problems from the Supreme Court and Congress on it. It led to the military to be ordered to oust him and replace him. Unsurprisingly, given the politics such as Zelaya's left winged leanings, foul play was considered involved. While President McCain called out the entire ordeal, he hesitated to called it a coup; as the Secretary of State noted, this is because that under U.S. law, officially declaring a coup would oblige the U.S. to cut off most foreign aid to Honduras. Something that would escalate the situation to worse problems. On the other hand, giving money to an unrecognized government brought in by violence would likely result in more violence and some of that blood being on American hands. Many note it would be an important for how the McCain Administration would decide on policy. In the end, the McCain Administration decided to take the more aggressive route and refer to what happened in Honduras a military coup, thus halting most foreign aid over to Honduras. It was mentioned that nongovernmental independent bodies could still donate to the people of Honduras, but the Honduran "government" would not be recieving funds from the US. The reception was across the board. Some called it out for making the problem worse, others noted that giving money to the new government would be recognizing them as legitimate and making the McCain Administration look weak. Surprisingly, McCain's aggressive decision would come to be validated in the upcoming months as the interim government would come to be charged with human rights violation with curfews, media blackouts and other violations along with the development of a constitutional crisis. As such, McCain's strong approach nets them some positive reception though it comes with the hilarious side-effect of McCain ending up on a similar side to Chavez. While Zelaya's practices may have been in violation, the Supreme Court's decision was very much violation. With the problems of captured ambassadors and Honduras' neighbors rejecting more the interim government, tensions were escalating. Other voices had their say, including that of former President Gore. Perhaps a notable line that would become repeated is: "Two wrongs don't make a right and military coups are not democratic in their nature." Plans were discussed such as perhaps different elections while wrestling with Zelaya's fate though some say if new elections are permitted, whether he should run or not. After all, could a military-coup government be trusted to run free and fair elections?

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Deposed president Manuel Zelaya

Moreover though, the McCain Administration would gain an opportunity to go and try and gain further popularity points. In late July, the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram initiates an uprising in Bauchi State, Nigeria and quickly spreads throughout the northern part of the country. The 2009 uprising grabbed by surprise, especially with ho relatively quiet matters have been regarding Islamic terrorism. The groups movement from a nonviolent movement to that of a terrorist group. Additionally, concerns were displayed regarding the Nigerian government and miltiary's capabilities in doing so, with Presidet McCain extending a deal for assistance in ammunitions, supplies and even potentially manpower should the need arise though for the most part, it appeared as things would be all right for the time being. However, not all was bad news abroad. Bolivia, perhaps in a pronounced counteract move, Bolivia becomes the first South American country to declare the right of indigenous people to govern themselves. North Korean leader Kim Jong-il pardons two American journalists, who had been arrested and imprisoned for illegal entry earlier in the year, after former U.S. President Al Gore meets with Kim in North Korea. Iran holds more elections and the Reformists enjoy their lead with Mehdi Karroubi being reelected once more, hoping to continue to improve relations with the new President of the United States, a sentiment shared by President McCain. Said sentiment also followed with President McCain sharing the sorrow in the people who lost their lives in the crash of Caspian Airlines Flight 7908 in Qazvin, Iran, killing all 168 on board.
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Memorial of victims at Tehran's Burastan Cemetery
 
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