I have to admit, as presidential acceptance speeches go, Obama's acceptance speech was impressive. It was emotionally provocative (for Americans and non-Americans alike). It was full of hope, calls to action and the collective responsibility of "we the people". It was all about pumping popular pride in the great United States of America, as the greatest nation on earth. It pushed all the right emotional buttons for Americans and reminded them about everything they have been programmed to believe, since childhood, about the country they live in. It was all about the American dream and the American myth. Obama claimed he has "never been more hopeful about our future, never been more hopeful about America" and proclaimed that "the best is yet to come." In short, it was a bunch of jingoistic nonsense that flew in the face of the reality of life in the USA and what it has done and continues to do to the rest of the world.

The myth of America and 'the American dream', as promoted by politicians and media pundits (among others), has been very effective in buffering the average American against the truth of what America has been and is today. But the grandiose words of politicians alone are never enough to keep the citizens content and obedient. To be truly effective, claims of American exceptionalism and superiority had to be backed up by evidence of it on the ground, and to that effect, America really has been the most prosperous and developed nation in the world for a long time.

The 'quality of life' of the average American over the last 100 years has been above that of other 'developed' nations and far above that of most of the rest of the world. This high level of living standard was provided, primarily, by access to modern technology and easy access to jobs and 'personal wealth'. But how did Americans get access to the technology, and why have jobs and personal wealth been so plentiful in the USA as compared to other nations?

That's where the American myth comes in.

The Syrian army killed more than 42 armed rebels and terrorists in countrywide operations and rescued 20 hostages on Saturday.

In Northern Damascus, the army killed at least 10 terrorists and arrested many others in its attack on the positions of the so-called Free Syrian Army.

In al-Jubeileh district of Deir al-Zour city, the army also killed seven terrorists, including an FSA commander, Ahmad Abdel Karim. It also killed another five terrorists, including Mahnad al-Soveid - a notorious Takfiri terrorist in the most wanted list of the Syrian army - in al-Busaraya street in Deir al-Zour region.

In Deir Balbah district in downtown Homs, a total of 20 terrorists were killed during clashes with the Syrian army. After several hours of clashes, the army purged the city of snipers.

The US has deployed a large number of troops in Al-Anad air base in Yemen's Southern province of Lahj, local media reports revealed on Saturday.

Ansarullah news website quoted Yemeni military sources as revealing that Anad air base has become the US operational headquarters in Yemen.

The report added that in addition to troops, the US army has also deployed its Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in the base.

A similar report by Yemeni Tagheer news website said that a US military cargo plane, carrying special military equipments and food supplies for the US marine forces landed in Sana'a international airports.

The deployment of the US marine forces in Yemen and US air strikes by pilotless drones in the country have sparked massive popular protests in the Muslim country.

Washington claims the attacks are targeted at militants but a majority of victims are civilians casualties, local media said.

Dozens of new allegations of sexual abuse have surfaced in Wales as child protection experts warned that the focus on mistaken allegations involving the Tory peer Lord McAlpine meant there was a danger the victims were being forgotten.

Thirty-six people have contacted the office of the children's commissioner for Wales, Keith Towler, since the north Wales residential homes abuse scandal broke last weekend.

Of these, 22 have spoken of abuse they say they suffered at Bryn Estyn in Wrexham and the network of homes connected to it. Another 14 have told of historic abuse in other settings.

On top of those who have gone to the children's commissioner it is known that a number of others - perhaps dozens more - have contacted politicians and solicitors to report abuse and ask for help.

In an interview with the Guardian, Towler expressed concern that the intense speculation over rumours of McAlpine's involvement, subsequently shown to have been false, meant there was a danger the victims were being forgotten.

The BBC and several dozen Twitter users face the prospect of legal action after McAlpine indicated that he may sue for libel over what he described as "wholly false and seriously defamatory" reports linking him to north Wales child abuse allegations. McAlpine issued a statement on Friday after days of frenzied speculation in the wake of a BBC Newsnight report last Friday.

Newsnight apologises for implicating Conservative peer and suspends all investigations

The BBC said that it was suspending all Newsnight investigations after the programme's accusations that a "leading Conservative" had been involved in child abuse unravelled, with the programme's star witness admitting hours earlier that he had mistaken the peer's identity.

The broadcaster, which is still coping with the fallout from the shelving of a Newsnight investigation into Jimmy Savile, also apologised unreservedly as a senior executive was parachuted in to supervise Friday's edition of the programme, on which the question of its own continuing survival was raised by presenter Eddie Mair.

Steve Hewlett, a Guardian columnist and BBC Radio 4 journalist, also claimed the BBC had investigated Steve Messham, who made the claims about the Tory peer, Lord McAlpine, on at least two separate occasions "and found them wanting".

It was Argentina's largest anti-government demonstration in years.

Up to 700,000 people flooded the capital Buenos Aires and other major cities on Thursday to protest against the policies of President Cristina Kirchner.

Their grievances include violent crime, inflation and alleged corruption - concerns which have seen the president's approval rating plummet, just a year after she easily won her bid for re-election.

But Kirchner and her supporters say the protests are being organised by the wealthy elite minority and encouraged by a vociferous right-wing media.

The phone call lasts just a few seconds. The words "congratulations, you've become a partner", are just about all Lloyd Blankfein, the boss of Goldman Sachs, will have time to say to the 85 or so bank high-flyers he will ring next Wednesday to invite into one of the most prestigious and lucrative cliques on Wall Street.

It is a day of huge expectation for individuals spanning time zones from Sydney to New York who are waiting to hear that they have been given a role for which there is no job advert and no interview.

The whittling down of the candidates is under way this week in Goldman Sachs's head office in New York. Stretching across several days, a team of partners led by London-based Michael "Woody" Sherwood are deciding upon whom to bestow the glittering title of Goldman Sachs partner.

In an exclusive interview with RT, President Bashar Assad said that the conflict in Syria is not a civil war, but proxy terrorism by Syrians and foreign fighters. He also accused the Turkish PM of eyeing Syria with imperial ambitions.

Assad told RT that the West creates scapegoats as enemies - from communism, to Islam, to Saddam Hussein. He accused Western countries of aiming to turn him into their next enemy.

While mainstream media outlets generally report on the crisis as a battle between Assad and Syrian opposition groups, the president claims that his country has been infiltrated by numerous terrorist proxy groups fighting on behalf of other powers.

In the event of a foreign invasion of Syria, Assad warned, the fallout would be too dire for the world to bear.

People voted for two symbols.

They voted for what they thought the candidates stood for.

They voted for what they hoped the candidates stood for.

The candidate, Obama, was perceived as representing what the government can do for the people.

The candidate, Romney, was perceived as representing what people can do for themselves.

Of course, these two candidates are agents of change in exactly the same way. They are laying brick and establishing a highway for more control over the citizenry.

But I want to focus on the public perception of Obama and Romney as symbols.

"Come at the king, you best not miss," the character Omar famously observed on The Wire. Does the law of the streets apply to the politics of food? Writing in the The New York Times Magazine last month, Michael Pollan laid down the gauntlet on Prop. 37, the California ballot initiative that would have required labeling of genetically modified foods. "One of the more interesting things we will learn on Nov. 6 is whether or not there is a 'food movement' in America worthy of the name - that is, an organized force in our politics capable of demanding change in the food system," he wrote.

Pollan ended his essay by suggesting that passage of Prop. 37 would be a sure way to convince President Obama of the importance of food-system reform.

Over the last four years I've had occasion to speak to several people who have personally lobbied the president on various food issues, including G.M. labeling, and from what I can gather, Obama's attitude toward the food movement has always been: What movement? I don't see it. Show me. On Nov. 6, the voters of California will have the opportunity to do just that.