OPEC Plus agrees to a bigger increase in oil supply. But prices keep rising. The Amber Heard Verdict Was a Travesty. Others Will Follow. The confounding part isn’t that the jury sided with him over her; this is the country that elected Donald Trump, where the convicted domestic abuser Chris Brown is still a major pop star, and where a man in Indiana recently won a local Republican primary while in jail awaiting trial on charges of murdering his wife. The explosion of defiant, desperate feminist energy that was #MeToo has now been smothered by an even fiercer reaction. #MeToo was a movement of women telling their stories. Now that Heard has been destroyed for identifying as a survivor, other women will think twice. ........ After the verdict was announced, the official Twitter account of Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee tweeted out a GIF of Depp as the pirate Jack Sparrow, looking dashing and determined. If there’s one thing they hate more than decadent Hollywood elites, it’s mouthy women. ........ Depp’s friend Marilyn Manson is already suing the actress Evan Rachel Wood, one of a number of women who have alleged sadistic abuse at his hands. He won’t be the last. ........ One of the statements in her Washington Post essay that was deemed defamatory was, “I had the rare vantage point of seeing, in real time, how institutions protect men accused of abuse.” The trial that she lost proved her point.
When Elon Musk Dreams, His Employees Have Nightmares with Twitter’s stock falling well below his offer price, Mr. Musk appears to be reneging on a deal that has made even Wall Street grow skeptical. ........ The way that he has managed and marketed his businesses from Tesla’s early days reveals a dysfunction behind the automaker’s veneer of technofuturism and past stock market successes.
Often announcing new features without consultation with his team, he forces his employees to bridge the enormous gap between technological reality and his dreams. This disconnect fosters a negligent and sometimes cruel workplace, to disastrous effect.
......... His ability to repeatedly sell such science fiction fantasies to a credulous public is the foundation for a vast empire and fortune. ......... His presence brought no real manufacturing expertise to bear, just the overbearing pressure of a boss whose public shaming was punctuated by declarations like “I can be on my own private island with naked supermodels, drinking mai tais — but I’m not.” .......... the trauma of working for Mr. Musk. Surviving 10 years of the grind at Tesla is a rare achievement, and it is common for talent to be squeezed dry or pushed out before the end of the company’s four-year stock vesting period. .......... This grim environment is all the more pronounced for women and racial minorities. ......... Black workers were tasked with menial physical labor in parts of the factory nicknamed “the plantation,” where they were subjected to racist slurs and graffiti. Female workers have sued, alleging a pervasive culture of sexual harassment and groping by supervisors. Mr. Musk was indifferent, emailing workers who experienced abuse that “it is important to be thick-skinned.” .......... Mr. Musk’s interest lies in supervising entrepreneurial projects that result in flashy new components. In more prosaic areas of the business like manufacturing, service and sales, he tends to get involved only in order to put out the fires that regularly threaten the company’s immediate future .......... When the success of the company is tied to one man’s whims, you get bizarre phenomena like managers deciding whether or not to take issues to Mr. Musk based on the shade of blond of his wife’s hair that day (with platinum shades being correlated with better moods). ......... After the collapses of Theranos and WeWork — companies with similarly confident founders who insisted that they would achieve their soaring ambitions if given more time and money — Mr. Musk’s reliance on hype is especially jarring. ........ Tesla does make cars, and SpaceX does land rockets. But as a number of old promises like fully self-driving cars appear to be more aspirational and less plausible, the distinction between him and those fallen heroes is starting to lose its meaning. His long list of unfulfilled commitments — a fully solar-powered electric vehicle charging network, a fully automated manufacturing system, an autonomous minibus and even a rocket-powered flying car — wildly exceed his achievements. ......... Ultimately Mr. Musk’s goals for Twitter, as they are for Tesla, are not about making the right decisions for his companies or the people who make them possible. They are about playing to the crowd and burnishing the legend that keeps fresh bodies and minds moving through the businesses that chew them up and spit them out. Now if Twitter falls into his control, Mr. Musk will have seized the means of making the product he has always cared about most: his own myth making........ that he was going to vote Republican since Democrats who were “(mostly) the kindness party” are now the party of “division & hate.” That was preceded by a more paranoid one that posited that “political attacks on me will escalate dramatically in coming months” and another saying that the “dirty tricks attacks will be next-level,” leaving out the pertinent fact that next-level is, in fact, a G.O.P. specialty.
Elon Musk, Chaos Monkey “The reality is great highs, terrible lows and unrelenting stress,” he tweeted. “Don’t think people want to hear about the last two.” ....... His ability to articulate the emotional challenges of high-level innovation is why it’s always been so interesting to interview Musk. ......... Musk, through Tesla, has single-handedly pushed the electric vehicle sector into the mainstream and, with SpaceX, has moved space tech into a new age with reusable rockets. .......... Many top entrepreneurs genuinely respect Musk’s tech chops. ....... Twitter has dropped by about 25 percent since he reached agreement on a deal ....... Tesla shares undergirding the acquisition have hit the skids amid the deal talks, falling to nearly $700 this week from about $1,000 when Twitter accepted Musk's offer.
Yes @cnn may have fixed their graphic after our outcry yesterday but this has been happening for months. We can’t allow a #YangMediaBlackout. Check this out from a few months back...it’s amazing the momentum we’ve built when it took MSM a while to even acknowledge his existence pic.twitter.com/gcjxqNu30x
I was thinking that the media may not want @AndrewYang to be the nominee because he talks policy and acts how we would want a politician to behave. This would not be great ratings for media. Better to have a narrative of division then actual policy. #YangMediaBlackout#YangGang
The fact that the Real Clear Politics average has @AndrewYang in 6th place (& rising) despite the #YangMediaBlackout is a testament to the unique strength of the message & messenger. It motivates all of us in the #YangGang to work even harder - and to make history in 2020.
Older Americans still get a lot of their election coverage from local and cable news. The #YangMediaBlackout is obfuscating Yang's policies from these crucial voters! #YangGang#Election2020
Well there you have it, the man vs woman identity politics battle that MSM wants. How about someone who is in touch with the technological revolution we are in and how to solve it? Not divisive enough? ๐คท๐ป♀️ #YangMediaBlackouthttps://t.co/hvcc7eGXAe
Steve Jobs could not have created the personal computer working inside Hewlett Packard or another similar company. The existing movie studios are like HP. Truly revolutionary cinema would ask not just for acting chops but also an entrepreneurial spirit. The paradigms of racism and sexism that are the firm frameworks of the current corporate arrangements, both in terms of movie production houses and their twin counterpart, the mass media, especially television, would make truly revolutionary work impossible.
A successor franchise to Star Wars, not just in terms of science fiction, technology fiction, but also social science fiction, imagining the woman of tomorrow, is necessarily an anti racism idea. The intelligent life they have been looking for is in Africa and India; the vast cosmos was created so you may feel special, so humanity may feel special. A successor franchise to James Bond, a Cold War relic, is just a nod to geopolitics. The post World War II world order is over. A successor franchise to Jason Bourne, which had a shelf life of a total of three movies anyways, is that Bourne is slightly biologically enhanced; there is massive room for enhancement in the sociological sphere. You would end up with more dramatic results. Would make for great entertainment. It would be a major departure from current ground reality.
The earth is your only home. If God wanted to destroy humanity, He would send one meteor to earth, and another to Mars at the same time, if you might also be on Mars.
I have already started to flesh out the concept. I have no plans to approach any existing movie studio. I am going to create a new company to cocoon the movie franchise. I am going to create a family of companies anyways. What's one more company?
A truly global release would be big money.
Racism is Lucifer's final grip on humanity. That grip is to be broken. That is why I am here. That, and a few other reasons.
Your racist arguments are being supplied to you by Lucifer. He gets insider your head and talks. And you listen.
Sometimes, or maybe often times, the best way to break the glass ceiling is by walking out of the glass house. It's called entrepreneurship. It's called out of the box thinking.
Kapil Sharma has reached unprecedented heights in Indian comedy and most of the time he is respectful and playful. But once in a while he shows flashes of arrogance.
Or maybe the media is thoroughly sinful everywhere, expressing the basest sentiments in all societies, especially since it went 24/7 and there is so much time slot to fill. I have never owned a television, and written articles might be less heavy on the gossip angles.
Watching Priyanka Chopra's media interactions in America and India has been educational for me. The American media comes across as deeply racist. The Indian media comes across as super, off the charts sexist.
Perhaps the Robert De Niro route was better. The movie star who defined an era absolutely refused media interviews and when such became absolutely inescapable he would come across as incoherent, a man of a few words, if not grunts, and even a mute. His point was, my work is in the movies. If you like my work, watch my movies. He felt media appearances took away from his movies by diluting his image and the character building in the movies. He was right, but that distance might not be possible no more in this age of media saturation. Robert De Niro must watch in horror as movie stars these days make a movie and then go on the media circuit to promote the movie. He must feel that robs from the audience the movie experience.
And so Kapil Sharma makes this grand super sexist statement on the only movie star to have reached the heights of the two biggest movie industries in the world..... by organizing a band baaja barat. Hillary Clinton took a lot of heat in 1992 for being a career woman. So I guess being a career woman in India is still a really big deal. It is a new phenomenon.
Kapil Sharma is a genuinely talented person, but the super sexism of the society he springs forth from comes through.
It's like a few weeks back I watched an old interview of Priyanka Chopra and it was 30 minutes of the TV show host completely ignoring PC like she was not even there, because she is a woman.
This is sad because PC is ascendant in Hollywood and poised to reach greater heights. That ought to be a self esteem boost to Indians everywhere in all walks of life, a self esteem boost also to Indian men, especially to Indian men. Because there are many more Indian men trying to do things.
This explains it. Trump is not running for president. He is running to build the audience around which to launch the Trump News Network. And he has it. The people who voted for him in the primary are big enough a number. TNN is a viable business proposition. Losing all 50 states would give him the purest, most loyal audience. 20 million people? That's a lot. It's a sufficient number.
No wonder Germany, Britain and America are all going female! Listening is a good thing.
Although I think she should attempt more poetry in stump speeches. She delivers the penultimate draft. The final draft should be poetry.
And the media is its own beast. Hire a team to deal with it. Use social media more. Videos of her listening can be released on YouTube so others may listen in and skip mainstream media altogether.
Brian Lehrer is a journalist with entrepreneurial tendencies. He just showed his chops to me. You can be working for a big company and get entrepreneurial inside of it. You can be running a NGO and get entrepreneurial.
Carolyn Maloney has decided that the hottest primary race in all of America (Reshma's Is Top Primary Race To Watch In America: BusinessWeek In May) is going to have to suffer a TV blackout. What I want to see is if the TV journalists in this town will let her get away with that.
Brian Lehrer just called Carolyn Maloney's bluff. He figured she is not going to show up if he calls it a debate, so he invited her for an interview instead. And it was not much of a time commitment. All she needed to do was get on the phone for 10 minutes. And Brian Lehrer invited Reshma Saujani for an interview. And he ran the interview one after the other. And it felt like a debate.
This makes Brian Lehrer the top journalist of his kind in this town, print, radio, TV and online included. This guy surely has a trick or two up his sleeves.
I think it is high time TV journalists in this town followed in Brian Lehrer's footsteps.
Barack won more delegates than the Clintons, but white media gave Nevada to the Clintons. Is it because the Clintons are white? Because otherwise the competition was for who got the more delegates. That is how you win the nomination, right?
But white media did not want Barack to get the momentum. They want the Clintons to build on their New Hampshire momentum.
First they called him Osama. And that was not just Fox, that was also CNN. Then they said Hillary was inevitable. Then it looked like he might win Iowa. Then they said if he wins all four of the January states, the race might turn competitive. Unbelievable. Now they have gone ahead and actually snatched away a victory from him. Election results don't count. The people decided Barack won. The white media decided the Clintons won. (If Clinton 08 wins the presidency, and the two Clintons move about separately, which one gets the Air Force One?)
This is so utterly blatant. This is unacceptable behavior.
I think Barack has to do three things to try and seal the nomination on February 5.
He has to give a big speech on race one day before the South Carolina primary. This has to be about taking race relations to the next level, and it should have a MLK tone that uplifts not just blacks but also whites. He has to not only gain big chunks of the black vote in South Carolina, but if that gain is not the right way, he risks a white backlash on February 5. The speech should be to immunize against such a backlash. Besides there is not much point in having a first black president who will not take a serious look at race.
The second thing he has to do is run this Mother ad all across the country. This is my favorite Obama 2008 ad of all. This is not saying to white America, look my mother is white. This is about presenting a full picture of who he is. His father who did not raise him, hardly knew him, can be seen on his face every single moment. Why can't the mother who actually raised him be seen in a TV ad?
Barack's mother died young at 53. She was quite a pioneer woman. She was into microfinance for women in the poor countries decades before Yunus bagged a Nobel for the same. She was a casualty to the health care system mess in the country. And she is the number one reason why Barack is so big on universal health. And that story has to come out. His full story has to come out. In 1992 the Clinton pollsters found out most Americans thought he had a rich father, because they reminded him of JFK, and so Bill Clinton started talking much about the father he never met. Well, today, most Americans don't have the slightest clue about Barack's mother and that has to be corrected.
Obama 2008 has to put more money into this one ad than any other. That will make all the difference on February 5. Personally I find it fascinating that the dude is biracial. You need someone of his quixotic background to try and heal the very real racial wounds in this country. My experience has been most people would rather not talk about race. It is like most people would rather not take Calculus 301. It is hard stuff for anybody. White people are that way, black people, brown people. Nobody wants to talk about race in too open a way. But most everybody realizes it is a big issue and there is an understanding that progress tends to be slow. But people do want to make progress. They do want to move beyond the angst.
You necessarily need someone of Barack's background to help take race relations in America to the next level. And so it is fundamentally important that Obama 2008 makes total effort to get word out that his mother was white, she was beautiful.
If Barack's mother had been black, that would be nothing wrong. But even I would be less likely to think he could do big things to improve race relations in America, everything else being equal. Everything else equal, someone of a biracial background I believe can do more.
Let's blanket these United f____g States with this one ad. It gives a full picture of Obama's background, it highlights his signature issue of health care, and it is reassuring on race. And at 30 seconds it is easy to digest. And it is beautifully made. The aesthetics are sharp. Mother Barack's Mother Makes An Appearance Barack Has To Talk Much About His Mother
The third thing to do is raise big bucks online every day after the South Carolina primary.
Mega Walk For Change
We did a walk for change thing back in Spring. We have to have a weeklong walk for change leading to February 5. The largest grassroots movement in history has to decide it is now or never. We have the largest grassroots army of all others put together. We have to unleash and be done with this nomination thing by February 5. We have to knock on doors like crazy.
Phone banking is key. All the retails tools are key. We have to do it all.
Don't take me beyond February 5. I am ready to take on the Republicans.
Race: How I Deal With It
My number one way is the 2.0 way. My Nepal work and Obama 2008 work have been in 2.0. And it is in the 2.0 space that my very young company is taking shape. 2.0 space makes possible a post-ISMs individual group dynamic. Bruce Lee experienced racism in Hollywood, and he went to Hong Kong to do his work. I have gone into 2.0.
There is another angle to it. Race and gender fascinate me. Group dynamics is a major thing I bring to the table for my work. And there's nothing like race and gender to get your juices flowing on group dynamics. The average person prefers not to talk race and gender. I seek every opportunity to get to talk. It helps me with my work strengths. Delving into gender helps me with the work of inventing a corporation, how about that?
And then there is the personal space. I don't think it is possible for someone like me to get close to the racists and the internalized racists. With the rest, you go with chemistry. If you get along, you get along, if you don't get along, you don't get along. Personal space is private space.
And then there is policy: race as it impacts politics and the policy sphere. Health care is a hugely complex issue. Race is more complex than that. And gender is more complex than race. Globally speaking, gender is a bigger issue than race, in America race is bigger than gender, and hence Hillary for Vice President.
I propose the spectrum to navigate all three as the other policy issues. The spectrum is 1-10. A 5-10 has to be an electoral majority. I think it is possible to create a permanent progressive majority. The beauty of the spectrum concept is it also allows you to be a compassionate progressive. You build a 5-10 coalition, but you also make the 1-4 feel like you really truly have heard them.
Barack opposed the Iraq War in 2002 when it was a very risky thing for him to do. That is the recond.
So why has he voted for all the funding for that war? That is what a responsible Senator does. If the troops are out there, does not matter you disagree with the war, you vote for funding. You seek to end the war politically, by winning a presidential election, the democratic way, the people power way, not by leaving the troops high and dry in a desert.
He said in 2004 right before the convention that he was not sure how he would have voted if he had been Senator in 2002. He said that to boost the Kerry-Edwards ticket that he was endorsing.
Bill Clinton understands all this. But he is going to try and muddy things regardless.
On the other hand, if Clinton 08 wants to erase the Iraq gap with Obama 08, why does not Hillary simply go ahead and apologize for her 2002 vote rather send out her husband to lie?
Viral Emails
A lot of nasty stuff has been going around over email. That has to be countered. How do you do that? You issue rebuttals and you send out your own viral emails. One thing you can't do is you can't ignore these attacks, however ridiculous they might sound.
The Fairytale Metaphor
There are racial overtones to that. If you are not white, you are not to be taken seriously. That is the suggestion.
I have had people say about this blog, oh, it is so funny, it is like The Onion. This blog is a fairytale, it is not to be taken seriously. Does not matter that it has allowed me to go to some pretty high levels of political conversation in this country.
In The News Obama Fights Back Against Bill Clinton Washington Post accused former President Bill Clinton of distorting his words ..... harsh words for Bill Clinton ....... The former president "has taken his advocacy on behalf of his wife to a level that I think is pretty troubling" by making statement that are not supported by facts ...... An e-mail chain has suggested he is hiding his Islamic roots. It says he was sworn into the Senate on the Quran and turns his back on the flag during the pledge. ....... As dozens of Obama supporters shouted "Harlem for Obama," Clinton's supporters tried to drown them out by shouting "Hil-la-ry!" .... chiding the former New York City mayor at a news conference for his 0-6 record in the early primaries and caucuses. Latest South Carolina PollingFOXNews Britain, India push for UN Security Council reform AFP called for India to have a seat at the UN's top table because of its growing economic clout. ..... "I think that there is a broad agreement that international institutions, if they are to be credible, cannot ignore countries like India and China," Singh said, saying both were giving a "major stimulus" to the world economy. "You cannot deal with global problems and global concerns if countries like India are not on the high table." ..... "A country of one billion people, the biggest democracy in the world and one of the world's fastest growing economies... should assume its vital place in the deliberations of the world including membership of the UN Security Council" ...... "the biggest shift in the balance of economic power in the world in two centuries" .... changes to the IMF, World Bank and the G8 that reflect the rise of India and Asia ..... make Britain and India high growth low carbon economies. What's new: Obama says he'll 'confront' Bill ClintonUSA Today Angry Obama criticises Bill ClintonThe Press Association Obama (nicely) accuses President Clinton of lying Baltimore Sun Barack Obama Blasts Bill Clinton for LyingFOXNews We shall overcome, Obama tells King's flockSydney Morning Herald Bill Clinton under fire from Barack Obama Telegraph.co.uk a detailed rebuttal of Mr Clinton's "distorting" of his words. ... Over the past fortnight Mr Clinton has called Obama's opposition to the Iraq war a "fairy tale", criticized his views of Ronald Reagan's achievements and accused his supporters at the Nevada caucuses of strong-arm tactics. ...... the Obama camp has decided to come out fighting ...... The battle lines in the campaign have now been redrawn to a struggle between Mr Obama and both Clintons ..... the attacks by Mr Clinton on his candidate were "shameless, flat-out distortions". ...... South Carolina remains one of the most racially polarised states in the south. A large black minority of 25 per cent votes overwhelmingly Democrat while 80 per cent of whites normally vote Republican. ...... Obama's endeavour to become the first actual African American president has however soared in popularity among black voters since he won the Iowa caucuses on Jan 3 .... "All the brothers adored President Clinton but I feel Obama can be the full black president." .... With blacks expected to make up 60 per cent of voters in the primary, they are forecast to deliver Mr Obama a victory that provide invaluable momentum going into Feb 5, when 22 states hold their votes. Why Clinton and Obama walk a fine line on racial divideGlobe and Mail The race for the Democratic presidential nomination is fissuring along racial lines, which in America is the most dangerous divide. ..... Obama's coalition is driven by young enthusiasts and affluent idealists. ...... By January, CNN was reporting that black support had completely reversed, with 59 per cent opting for Mr. Obama, while only 31 per cent still backed Ms. Clinton. ..... Latino voters favoured Ms. Clinton almost two-to-one. And that could be the statistic that decides this race. ...... The Latino community in the United States is now slightly larger than the black community, and there are strong and growing tensions between the two groups, with many African Americans fearful that Latino immigrants are taking away their jobs, and that an increasingly Latino America will further marginalize their race. ...... Decrying the intolerance and self-pity that mars all communities, including black America ...... We can no longer afford to traffick in lies or fear or hate. ..... Obama is able to hold on to most of the black vote and most of the youth vote, while drawing a substantial minority of whites and Latinos, then he will arrive at Super Tuesday with a formidable coalition. ....... Clinton's larger assembly of women, whites and Latinos. .... He is clearly failing to build the unstoppable momentum that his Iowa win seemed to grant him. ....... If Ms. Clinton wins Florida on Jan. 29, it will give her a boost going into Feb. 5, however much Mr. Obama and North Carolina senator John Edwards dismiss the result as meaningless. ...... it is entirely possible that neither the Obama nor Clinton forces will score a decisive victory on Feb. 5. In that case, the Democrats may have to pick a candidate at their national convention, which is in Denver in the last week of August. Bill Clinton vows to knock on doors for black voteMelbourne Herald Sun the global statesman's attack dog tactics and his volatile temper on the campaign trail. ....... Obama, is expected to now take the gloves off and begin directly confronting Mr Clinton.
Giuliani Loses Ground to Huckabee The Associated Press Illegal immigration now at heart of GOP race Los Angeles Times Maoists invade north Bihar The Statesman In what is being considered a move by Maoists to get a foothold in north Bihar after they established their “domain” in large parts of south, central and western Bihar, armed extremists raided the house of a panchayat head at Sukki village in Vaishali last night, killing three villagers. The extremists set ablaze two luxury vehicles of the panchayat head who escaped death. The mukhia, Indra Mohan Singh alias Gugul Singh, who has more than 12 cases of kidnapping, extortion and loot lodged against him with various police stations, is alleged to have established a reign of terror and had been challenging the extremists' might. According to reports, about 80 Maoists, dressed in Army and police fatigues, swooped down on the village. Police said about 150 rounds of ammunition were fired. All the three who died were the mukhiya’s kin. Some others sustained injuries. Reports said the Maoists bade the villagers to stay indoors. According to reports, many women took part in the operation that lasted for about an hour. Police said the common people were terrorised by the mukhiya. They have, however, launched a combing operation against the Maoists. On Saturday, the extremists blasted an abandoned three-storeyed police outpost at Mahindbara in Sitamarhi. Maoists have gone on the rampage after a Banka court awarded death sentence to five extremists on 6 December, for killing three policemen two years ago. US provides $2.3 mn to protect human rights in Nepal Economic Times Despite Arms Data, New Push for Sanctions on Iran New York Times Al-Qaeda Group Says It Carried Out Algeria Bombings (Update1) Bloomberg Hollywood writers strike takes on bitter tone Reuters Bhutto says free, fair elections needed to thwart extremism International Herald Tribune Obama in Seattle fundraising stop Seattle Post Intelligencer Poll: Bill Clinton Far More Influential Among Voters than Oprah ... FOX News Clinton accuses Obama of being too far left Newsday Using a curious tactic in a Democratic primary season dominated by liberals, Hillary Rodham Clinton Tuesday accused Barack Obama of being too far left to be elected president -- citing a decade-old questionnaire indicating Obama once opposed the death penalty and backed socialized medicine. ...... a surprising new ABC News-Washington Post poll showed her national lead over Obama widening to 30 points ..... "Obama never saw or approved" the document, and the health care, capital punishment and gun control answers weren't consistent with his stances, then or now. ....... Obama leading Clinton 28 percent to 22 percent Obama and Clinton spar over electabilityBaltimore Sun With Reporters Grounded, Obama and Clinton Hold Competing ...Washington Post the two campaigns holding dueling press conferences at precisely the same time. ..... Her endorsement means that Obama now has the backing of both the state's House members. ..... He said that his numbers nationally do not reflect what is happening in early voting states, either in terms of his electability or his popularity overall. "When you ask voters in those early states that are now familiar with my record, her record, other candidates' records, you see a very different result," Obama said. ...... The Clinton call ended a few minutes later. But not before the Clinton campaign issued a statement declaring that he was "forced to defend electability." Obama narrows gap on Clinton, amid Republican sea change AFP Clinton wins backing from 26 percent for her ties to her husband, former president Bill Clinton ..... with 59 percent saying they had not yet made up their minds, the polls could yet change and be influenced by the first votes to be cast early in January. If Clinton Loses Iowa, Her "Plan B" The Associated Press two words: New Hampshire. ..... preparing television ads here criticizing Barack Obama's health care plan and working to build what campaigns call a firewall. ..... Possible TV ads to run against him also have been previewed in the state. ...... Advisers to the New York senator acknowledge there's been uneasiness as Obama has risen in national and several early state polls, including Iowa and New Hampshire. But they insist their master blueprint — emphasizing Clinton's experience, toughness and ability to withstand Republican attacks — remains sound. ......... Clinton advisers believe she can survive a loss there to Edwards ...... Edwards' campaign, meanwhile, hopes for a repeat of the Howard Dean-Dick Gephardt scuffle in Iowa that resulted in John Kerry's nomination four years ago. The former North Carolina senator is hanging back and hoping Clinton and Obama destroy each other. ....... Placing second in Iowa to the well-funded, well-organized Obama, the Clinton people acknowledge, could be a much more severe blow. ........ Hinting at Clinton divisiveness, Obama said of overhauling health care, "The issue really is how are we going to get it done because there are all kinds of 10-point plans out there that are gathering dust on the shelf because no one was able to actually pull the country together to deliver." ...... Clinton strategists reject the notion that such an effort is negative. ...... Indeed, Clinton has toned down her sharp criticism of Obama, just days after raising questions about his character and accusing him of peddling "false hope." Her advisers say she had needed to set the record straight after absorbing months of criticism from her rivals, but they have since concluded her barrage didn't work. Feeling Heat, Clinton Tries Iowa Up Close New York Times Ten months ago, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton went to East High School here on her first trip to Iowa as a presidential candidate ....... Clinton returned to East High School late last week. But the crowd was much smaller and more sedate. ..... she had largely cleared her schedule this week to prepare for the Democratic debate on Thursday ...... The Clinton campaign has doubled its weekly television advertising spending from $400,000 last week to $800,000 this week. ..... the face of the Clinton war room, is planning to drive out here from Washington. (Mr. Wolfson does not like to fly.) Patti Solis Doyle, the national campaign manager, has moved to Des Moines. ....... her aides described former President Bill Clinton as increasingly frustrated that his wife’s campaign has not fought back even more forcefully against efforts by Mr. Obama and former Senator John Edwards to raise questions about Mrs. Clinton’s character. They said that Mr. Clinton had warned for weeks that they were taking a toll on his wife’s candidacy. ........ Mr. Clinton, they said, is still confident that his wife can regain momentum if her campaign presents her message — and particularly criticism of Mr. Obama — more sharply. He took matters into his own hands Monday, campaigning at four events across Iowa to deliver that message: that Mrs. Clinton was a “change agent.” ........ In a sign of internal strains, some of Mrs. Clinton’s associates said they thought Mr. Clinton was struggling to make the adjustment from principal candidate to supportive spouse. ....... Mrs. Clinton’s advisers ... their assessment that Mrs. Clinton was having trouble mastering the political intricacies of this state ......... On her first trip here last January, one adviser said, Mrs. Clinton repeatedly expressed frustration, confiding to one associate that she “had no feel for the place.” .......... Some of her attacks on Mr. Obama, including one in which she questioned his character and another where her staff mocked him for writing a kindergarten essay saying he wanted to be president, were described even by some of her supporters as clumsy. ......... Mrs. Clinton’s advisers said they would continue at least some form of attack on Mr. Obama, even at the risk of allowing Mr. Edwards to gain ground by presenting himself as above the fray. Mrs. Clinton’s aides said they were far more worried about Mr. Obama marching out of Iowa with a victory than they were about Mr. Edwards Presidential candidate checklist: Heavy coat and bootsBoston Globe two states where wind chill competes with politics as December topics for discussion. ...... The storm coated much of Iowa in ice up to an inch thick ...... Huckabee, whose plane managed to land in Omaha, acknowledged that such winter storms were a challenge, especially for a "southern boy" like himself. ...... "When we see weather like this we close everything. We just shut down, go get milk and bread, even if we don't normally have milk and bread, and that's the routine," said Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor. "Then we hole up in our homes for a day and then it melts and we're back to business." ....... Last March, Republican John McCain refused to cancel a weekend bus tour in New Hampshire. Instead, his campaign hired a snow plow to clear the way for the bus. ...... Obama staffers and reporters made the most of the snow last month in New Hampshire, throwing snowballs while the Illinois senator held a private meeting inside a New Hampshire school. Obama, seeing the cameras and their operators, bypassed the skirmish. Last week in Des Moines, a snowman featuring an "O" for Obama was crafted in front of the campaign's headquarters. Frantic candidates jostle for pole position as Iowa caucus loomsGuardian Unlimited The US media had not taken Huckabee, who has the best one-liners but is short on foreign policy detail, seriously. The latest poll has him on 32% to Romney's 20% in Iowa, in spite of Romney having outspent him by 20-to-1. ....... most voters in the early key states have yet to make up their minds and are unlikely to do so until the final week, or even day. ...... Clinton and Obama each have $100m (£49m) to spend, much of it for the caucuses and primaries, with some of it held in reserve for the presidential contest itself. It will be the first billion dollar election. ....... Clinton has faced a surge by Obama since her poor performance in an October 30 debate. He has taken a small lead in Iowa and closed the gap in New Hampshire and South Carolina. ........ The most recent New York Times poll in Iowa had Obama on 30%, Clinton on 26% and Edwards third with 22%. ...... opted for a risky strategy - virtually ignore the small states such as Iowa and New Hampshire and focus on the big states on Super-Duper Tuesday. But he is now worried he could be buried by the media attention the winner of the small states will attract and is putting in time in both Iowa and New Hampshire. ....... John Kerry took Iowa and New Hampshire in 2004 to take the Democratic nomination from favourite Howard Dean. China Says Dalai Lama Wants to Restore `Serfdom Rule' in Tibet Bloomberg China Says Dalai Wants Feudal TibetThe Associated Press Peru’s Ex-President Gets 6 Years for Illicit Search New York Times China dismisses accusation of religious repression in TibetTimes of India Nokia Ready To Engage Google And Apple CRN Mobile wimax Set To Take Off InformationWeek Mobile wimax subscribers to exceed 80 million by 2013, predicts ...Telecommunications Magazine Mobile wimax must grab youtube generationSilicon.com Credit Crisis Prompts Fed to Roll Back Rates Again New York Times Recent Arrival at Citi Now Runs It New York Times Clinton Basks in Buffett Glow Wall Street Journal
Oprah, looks like you will draw 80,000 people to your South Carolina event. I forgive you for breaking our record of 30,000 in Washington Square Park here in New York City. But we will break your record all over again come summer. We will get a million people into Central Park. That is how we will send Barack off to Denver. The idea is to sweep the country in November.
Huckabee and Obama lead pack in Iowa New York Daily News Huckabee tops Romney 39% to 17% in the Hawkeye State, according to the latest Newsweek poll. Among Democrats, Obama leads Clinton, 35% to 29%. John Edwards trails with 18% support among likely caucus-goers. High noon in Iowa: one small state, one global decisionGuardian Unlimited Primary dates in NH, Iowa will clash with breaksBoston Globe Book flattens Nepal king's divine myth Times of India Kernels from Iowa: Oprah stumps with Obama Kansas City Star “He has an ear for eloquence and a tongue dipped in the unvarnished truth” ....... “I’m not here to tell you what to think,” she said. “I’m here to tell you to think. Seriously.” ...... the Winfrey event became the hottest ticket of the Iowa caucus season — and Obama’s most heavily attended campaign event here to date. ...... “There are people here to see Oprah. I’m a byproduct” ...... polls show Obama pulling even to Democratic rival Sen. Hillary Clinton in nationwide surveys. In Iowa, some polls show Obama building on a slight lead over Clinton and John Edwards. ....... “Experience in the hallways of government is not as important to me as experience on the pathways of life” ..... “Backstage, someone asked, ‘Are you nervous?’ and I said, ‘You’re damned right I’m nervous.’ ” TV host Oprah gives buzz to Obama campaignAFP a rousing speech to a sea of screaming fans. ...... One of the biggest crowds so far in the 2008 race for president -- some 18,500 people according to Obama's campaign -- crammed into a hall in the early primary voting state of Iowa to hear Winfrey's first ever speech for a political candidate. ........ some of whom screamed they wanted her as vice president ...... Obama's campaign had to change the venue for Sunday's appearance from an 18,000-seat basketball arena to an 80,000-seat football stadium to accommodate the vast crowds expected. ....... the second-most admired woman in the United States -- just behind former first lady Hillary Clinton ..... One woman in the crowd fainted while Obama was on stage. He asked a paramedic who was in the audience to assist her. "This is what happens when folks get too excited for Oprah," Obama said. Oprah Backs Obama For PresidentSky News The Republicans Find Their Obama New York Times Washington’s shock over Mike Huckabee’s sudden rise in the polls — he “came from nowhere” ....... the Barack Obama polling surge of days earlier, the press pack has proved an unreliable guide to election 2008 ........ Huckabee’s abrupt ascent to first place in some polling nationwide ....... Like Senator Obama, Mr. Huckabee is the youngest in his party’s field. (At 52, he’s also younger than every Democratic contender except Mr. Obama, who is 46.) ........ Both men have a history of speaking across party and racial lines. Both men possess that rarest of commodities in American public life: wit. Most important, both men aspire (not always successfully) to avoid the hyper-partisanship of the Clinton-Bush era. ......... Mr. Huckabee and Mr. Obama may be united in catching the wave of an emerging zeitgeist that is larger than either party’s ideology. An exhausted and disillusioned public may be ready for a replay of the New Frontier pitch of 1960. ......... Huckabee’s polling spike is that it occurred just after the G.O.P. YouTube debate on CNN, where Mr. Romney and Rudy Giuliani vied to spray the most spittle at illegal immigrants. ....... Next to this mean-spiritedness, Mr. Huckabee’s tone leapt off the screen. ....... Huckabee’s record on race in general (and in attracting African-American votes) is dramatically at odds with much of his party ...... portraying the black Democratic Senate candidate in Tennessee, Harold Ford Jr., as a potential despoiler of white women. ........ After effusively praising Mr. Huckabee as unique among the G.O.P. contenders, Dr. West said: “I told him, ‘You are for real.’ Black voters in Arkansas aren’t stupid. They know he’s sincere about fighting racism and poverty.” ......... rivals whose main calling cards of fear, torture and nativism have become more strident with every debate ........ South Carolina’s 2000 Republican primary was a jamboree of race-baiting that included a whispering campaign branding Senator McCain as the father of an illegitimate black child. .......... an overwhelming majority of voters of both parties not only want change but also regard “reducing the partisan fighting in government” as high on their agenda. To his surprise, Mr. Hart found that there’s even a majority (59 percent) seeking a president who would help America in “regaining respect around the world.” ......... Florida, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona ...... The huge spread in the Journal-NBC poll between an unnamed Democrat and Republican in the presidential race — 50 to 35 percent — shrank to a 1 percent lead when Mrs. Clinton was pitted against Mr. Giuliani. ......... The more polarizing and negative a candidate turns in style, the more that candidate risks playing Nixon to Mr. Obama’s Kennedy. Hillary Clinton wobbles as her backers turn to Barack Obama Times Online The presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton, the Democrat frontrunner, is facing a wave of defections by supporters to Barack Obama, as an aura of “inevitability” about her nomination fades. ........ “I think Oprah can change anybody’s mind. I really do. She can draw people in and get them to listen to him,” Quarles said. ........ Former “Friends of Bill”, who served in the White House in 1990s but defected early on to Obama’s campaign, are not surprised by the drift away from Hillary. ......... Betsy Myers, a White House adviser on women’s issues - and sister of Dee-Dee Myers, Bill Clinton’s former press secretary - is now chief operating officer for Obama’s campaign and responsible for much of its organ-isational prowess. ......... Myers worked with Clinton when she was first lady. .... I was really looking for a new generation of leadership skills, away from the old control and command model ..... William Daley, Bill Clinton’s former secretary of commerce, is another prominent Obama backer ............ Among the American people there is a bit of a Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton issue. ....... she would be better suited to the job of Senate majority leader. “It would be perfect for her” ...... Clinton’s campaign staff - normally self-assured - began to wobble last week as the polls narrowed. ......... In South Carolina, the latest poll shows Obama moving into first place over Clinton by 26% to 24%. ........ Judie Reever, a state representative in New Hampshire, believes Clinton is looking vulnerable for the first time. ........ Every time I heard Obama speak, I kept saying, ‘Yes!’, and I suddenly realised he was the person I was going to support Civil Rights Icon Calls Obama Too YoungThe Associated Press "He's probably gone with more black women than Barack," Young said of former President Clinton US polls move against top election contendersTelegraph.co.uk the wide-open, $2 billion battle to elect the most powerful politician in the world ......... her 88-year-old mother, Dorothy Rodham ....... "The only other universally adored person coming to Iowa this December is Santa" ....... a fight dominated by the explosive issues of religion, terror and immigration. ...... the first time in eight decades that no incumbent president or vice-president is attempting to win the nomination; it is the most expensive in history; and it could well put the first woman, black, Italian-American, ordained minister or Mormon into the White House. ...... There's a hurricane of activity out there on the campaign trail right now ....... the first $2 billion campaign in history. ....... Clinton has one of the most formidable political organisations ever assembled. They play with broad shoulders and sharp elbows. They take no prisoners and accept no criticism. ........... "The next two or three weeks are going to be just blistering. If I'm Barack Obama, I'm thinking of what Bette Davis once said: 'Buckle up it's going to be a bumpy ride'." ........ John Zogby said: "She has probably the best name recognition of any candidate in the entire history of presidential elections - but she still only has 25 to 30 per cent support in Iowa." Oprah and Chelsea Clinton Hit Iowa Washington Post "You know I've never done this before and it feels like I'm out of my pew," Winfrey told the crowd, "I'm nervous." ....... Leading up to the speech, the Obama campaign all but ground to a halt as senior advisers in Chicago helped Winfrey prepare. Taking the stage in Des Moines, dressed in a lilac velvet suit and accompanied by the candidate's wife, Michelle, Winfrey initially appeared nervous and clutched a sheaf of papers as she spoke. But she quickly warmed to the crowd, her voice booming through the hall as she declared that "this is not a time for any of us to shrink away from a new, bold path for our country." ......... Winfrey shifted in her seat nervously as Obama piled on praise. "This is a wonderful person. We love her. I am grateful for her being here," he said, before turning towards his guest and adding, "she's embarrassed." ........ "You know, I am so tired. I'm tired of politics as usual. That's why you seldom see politicians on my show -- because I only have an hour." ....... "We need good judgment," she continued. "We need Barack Obama." ....... People began arriving hours before the 3:30 central local time appearance ....... Chelsea Clinton worked the crowd energetically afterwards with a gracious "Hi, thank you for coming," while urging people to support Clinton on Jan. 3 ....... Clinton ignored questions about the Winfrey event, turning away from the microphones to shake hands along the rope line. ........ "My feelings about Oprah and Obama are the same," Randolph said. Chelsea Clinton hits the trailBoston Globe Clinton's Mother, Daughter Hit Trail The Associated Press 88-year-old mother Dorothy Rodham and 27-year-old daughter Chelsea Clinton ....... Chelsea worked a crowd hard ..... the Clinton women went to an elementary school in Williamsburg where Clinton displayed a list prepared by schoolchildren about what the next president should do. .... "What does the next president do to help children," Clinton read from the list. "She — I like that, she — could put Band-Aids on children that are hurt." ......... the state has one of highest populations in the nation over 85. As Obama Draws Winfrey, Clinton Adds Family ValueNew York Times a second audience of about 7,000 in Cedar Rapids. ...... “It is my honor to introduce to you the first lady of television, Oprah Winfrey.” A wave of camera flashes illuminated a downtown convention center here as Ms. Winfrey entered to a thunderous roar. ........ the nation was at a critical moment in its history that required a candidate who could heal divisions and chart a new direction ......... The Obama campaign captured the names and addresses of thousands of those who attended the rallies. Those who agreed to volunteer for at least four hours over the past two weeks received premium tickets. ......... “I think Oprah is John the Baptist, leading the way for Obama to win” Clinton Team Turns Iowa Focus to WomenWashington Post "It's obvious that Obama has made some inroads with women," said one senior Clinton adviser ....... Senior Obama strategist Steve Hildebrand argued that the Clinton logic is wrong, because it is based on "the assumption that women voters are going to support Hillary Clinton because she's a woman. That's not how voters make up their minds." ........ Among women likely to vote in the Jan. 3 Democratic contest, 32 percent supported Obama, 31 supported Clinton and 19 percent supported Edwards. ....... But perhaps Clinton is not the right woman ....... the broad category of unmarried women who constitute nearly half the female electorate, just completed a survey that shows women to be motivated by Clinton's candidacy but more driven by a desire to bring about change -- which would appear to mesh with the Obama message. ........ "I'm actually surprised at myself that I'm not wholeheartedly supporting Hillary," Lux said. "It grieves me as a woman." Hillary Clinton welcome Bill's advice, and that's allBaltimore Sun Clinton says she'll welcome any advice her husband, former President Bill Clinton, would provide her if she wins the White House, but she'll be the one running things.
