Rediscovering DFNYC

I got an email from Jim Dean who I have had the good fortune to meet (Mixer For Ferrer) - "I googled your name and ended up on the homepage of the actor James Dean" - and the subject line says President Bhagat, and I am like, wait a minute Jim, I am not a citizen.

I am so glad DFA is getting ready to get involved. I would have been flabbergasted if the organization had stayed out. The organization was founded to take over the White House. Actually I am surprised that a Deaniac has emerged so soon to take up the challenge. Barack Obama is that Deaniac. I was thinking Barry Goldwater was there in 1964, and it was another 16 years before Reagan showed up. But then Dean is no Goldwater. He is much bigger. He presides over the entire party, for chrissake. (I think I misspelt that word, I am not a Christian).

I guess if DFA is getting ready to get behind Obama, I am going to have to take a second look at DFNYC. I visited that organization's page yesterday, and it looks like the mid-term elections are not over! There are a cramful of activities. That organization has always been so hyper.

My relationship with DFNYC has been anything but smooth although that is the first organization I really got to know when I landed in NYC in the summer of 2005.

First there was this utter lack of interest in the democracy movement in Nepal. And that's okay. But then it was like pride in that lack of interest. And all that boiled over. Then the April Revolution happened. And I got vibes of more credit than I deserve. Nepalis all over the world worked towards it. (The Virus Of The April Revolution )And there were interpersonal complications.

My Role In The April Revolution: The Butterfly Effect

Those who got so impressed by the April Revolution have not yet seen the second act. But the second act will not have the glamor of street action.

In the mean time I have gone to meetings of many other progressive organizations. And that is a good thing.

I see many events, but not any that interest me. I would like to just focus on the presidential stuff. DFNYC is really into local stuff, which is cool, that is what it was designed for.

First I got myself off the DFNYC mailing list, then when I signed back, someone else knocked me off, I wonder which of the four DFNYC Directors did that, maybe Cohen. But then once in a while there would be a DFA mail from Heather Woodfield, "your local host." I think that is how I got tricked to go to the voting machines hearing on the Upper West Side. (Voting Machines On The Upper West)

But if DFA were to formally get behind Barack Obama, I am going to renew my link to DFNYC, although I think my primary involvement is going to be through this blog, and through The Matrix. I guess I will show up primarily to express appreciation for stuff like phonebanking that DFNYC might do than to get my hands dirty. I am better at strategy and vision. I am not too much into the retail details. I admire those who are.

The thing about the Manhattan political circles is they are charged with race and class tensions. Just because people are packed up in the small physical space of the city does not mean rough edges have evened out. Like earlier today I went to this MYD event, their New Year celebration, and Liz, the about to be Vice President who I have always been decent to had to do her casual racist white woman thing. "I just wanted to make sure my purse was there." When I was standing behind a chair where her purse was. Like Barack Obama said on Charlie Rose, "Only a few years back, I would have people throw their keys at me in the parking lot."

Granted I have given a year and a half of my life to the democracy movement in Nepal, so I have not had the time to get rich yet, but me and my partners lost more money in the late 1990s than your family has not made in a thousand generations. (Money And Manhattan)

If you are a progressive, you are probably for universal health care, and how genuinely are you for that if you like to make classist comments?

I met the DFNYC Charles at the event. The guy was not doing surveys.

Maybe I should forgive all of DFNYC and start all over again with them for my minimal involvement in their numerous offline activities. Ha!

Hello Tracey. Hello Heather. Hello Leila. Hello Abhishek. Hello Lewis. Hello Merle. Hello David. Hello Catherine. Hello Dan. Hello Charles. Hello Bernadette. Hello Miriam. Hello Renna. Hello Dana. Hello Steve. Hello Andrew. Hello Judith. Hello Lisa. Hello Josh. Hello Kentucky.

But all this is conditional upon the DFA getting behind Barack Obama!

Looks like the organization has dropped its Mixer.

• ACT NOW state senate phonebank (18 hours)
• Democrats for New Politics Campaign Car Pool to Craig Johnson Campaign (2 days 10 hours)
• State Senate canvassing trip on LIRR (2 days 19 hours)
• New Voting Machines Hearing (5 days 16 hours)
• ACT NOW state senate phonebank (5 days 19 hours)
• ACT NOW state senate phonebank (6 days 19 hours)
• March on Washington January 27th (9 days 6 hours)
• Democrats for New Politics Campaign Car Pool to Craig Johnson Campaign (9 days 10 hours)
• DFNYC NY State Senate Forum...A Look Back, A Look Forward (14 days 19 hours)
• Democrats for New Politics Campaign Car Pool to Craig Johnson Campaign (16 days 10 hours)

http://www.democracyforamerica.com/presidentialsurvey

Dean, DFNYC, Daily Kos, Justin, Brooklyn, Nepal
DFNYC, Drinking Liberally, DL21C, Cosmopolity
The French Revolution And DFNYC
DFNYC Socializing Is Circle 3 For Me
Thanks David For Bringing Me Back To DFNYC
A Piece On DFNYC
DFNYC, 100,000 Strong, Scalable Organization
DFNYC TV, DFNYC Wiki
DFNYC And This Blog
DFNYC In The News
DFNYC Research And Advocacy Group
Tracey Denton Of DFNYC

Burma: Shame On China, Russia

It is despicable that China and Russia have let the Burmese people down. The family of democratic countries will have to find other ways to be of help. That country has suffered long enough.

Through this act China and Russia have exposed themselves - if that was even necessary - that they are not democracies. Putin is but a Cold War spy gone fancy. China is a one party dictatorship.

Maybe the UN Security Council should try to pass a similar resolution on Burma, China and Russia all put together, if only to make a statement.

But we should not be surprised. Autocrats think alike. They bond. I mean, were we expecting anything different? This act on the part of the regimes ensconed in China and Russia should not be seen as a setback. This was the expected. We should bounce from it.

The cause of democracy will be served, with or without China, with or without Russia. One day democracy shall spread its wings in those countries also. That is only a matter of time.

The Burmese people will rise up. Ultimately that is what will do the trick. But external moral support helps. We should offer moral and logistical support to the fullest extent.

Democracy in Burma is one of the stepping stones to democracy in China. Maybe that is why China is fearful.

The military junta in Burma is but a drug cartel. They specialize in exporting poison.

Aang Sang Su Kyi's political party is going to have to grow more robust. There should be a whole hieararchy of prominent leaders. There needs to be a robust global organization. Alliances have to be formed with other democracy movements.

Bhutan nearby also needs democracy. Zimbabwe far away also does.

The Matrix, Vision, Spread Democracy, Revolution

On The Web

FreeBurma.org: Links to the best info on Burma, democracy movement ...
Free Burma Home: Educational info on Burma, democracy movement ...
VOA News - US Asks UN to Push Burma on Democracy
VOA News - Burma Frees 5 Jailed Pro-Democracy Activists
The Burma Campaign UK Home Page
BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Hopes fade for Burma's democracy
Democracy in Burma: Does Anybody Really Care?
U.S. Support for Democracy in Burma - US Department of State
Free Burma Coalition Mission
Japan Fails the Test on Democracy and Burma

In The News

Russia, China Veto UN Resolution on Burma Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
China & Russia Veto UN Security Council Resolution on Burma ChristianToday
NLD condemns China, Russia for blocking UNSC resolution on Burma Mizzima.com
China, Russia Failed Burma, Says Opposition The Irrawaddy News Magazine
Fury over Burma veto The Universe, UK
Freedom's ring not reaching new ears Christian Science Monitor, MA
China, Russia Veto Security Council Draft Resolution On Burma All Headline News
China, Russia veto UN resolution on Burma Democratic Voice of Burma, Norway
China, Russia veto UN Burma resolution Bangkok Post, Thailand
China, Russia veto UN resolution on Burma ABC Online, Australia
China, Russia veto Myanmar resolution China Post, Taiwan
China, Russia veto US on Myanmar The Daily Star, Bangladesh














More ...

Rush Limbaugh: Idiot

a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

More ...
Advice To Keith Olbermann

Advice To Keith Olbermann

1. Get rid of the glasses. Get contacts. Time to go to battle with O'Reilly. The hairstyle is good. Need to work hard on delivery. The voice has to be smooth, rolling. Practice. Add more graphics, and boxes to the presentation. You have to be seen conversing with people often in real time.
   
2. O'Reilly is not a political leader. He is a talk show host. You need a talk show host to go after a talk show host.
   
3. O'Reilly is losing his number one spot by the time Obama is in the White House in 2009. Who is it going to be? You? You are the only one going head to head with him for now. So why not go all the way to claim the crown?
   
4. Feisty wins. You can not be neutral and be feisty. O'Reilly already got the right of center plank. You occupy the left of center plank.
   
5. Left of center is still officially center. Don't worry.
   
6. Have a few pet issues. For example, are you disgusted by hate speech? Let everyone know. Does Bush' low IQ drive you nuts? Let that be a running theme.
   
7. Once in a while endorse a candidate. Rarely, but do so. Got to flex muscle. Let right wing politicians fear you. Bring some on the show to tear them apart. Have about a half dozen top progressives to show up on a fairly regular basis.
   
8. Never refer to O'Reilly by name. He is not worth the mention. Refer to "some other newscaster," or things similar.
   
9. Primarily focus on the job. It is newscasting. The masala that is feistiness is an addon.
   
10. All the best. See you at the top.
    

Keith Olbermann
Countdown with Keith Olbermann - A Unique Newscast that Counts ...
Keith Olbermann - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia In September 2004, Olbermann was voted sexiest male newscaster in an online poll conducted by Playgirl magazine. He had included a link to the poll on his Web site and encouraged viewers to vote for him, which they did, giving him 24% of the 50,000 total votes. ...... Olbermann and Chris Matthews’ Hardball, also on MSNBC, tied for first place on MSNBC (and 21st place in all of cable news) in February 2006 with 400,000 viewers each for the month, according to Nielsen Media Research. CNN and FOX News Channel’s top programs for the month were Larry King Live with 901,000 viewers and The O'Reilly Factor with over 2.2 million viewers.^[9] Olbermann's ratings are often fourth for cable news in his time slot, behind O'Reilly at Fox News, Paula Zahn at CNN, and Nancy Grace at CNN Headline News, and his is the 12th-most watched nightly cable news program overall. However, the show's ratings have increased by 41% from early 2005 to early 2006. ..... In April 2006, Olbermann's ratings continued to climb, showing a 35% increase in overall viewers from the previous month's ratings, while O'Reilly's had dropped to "his worst month in nearly five years among viewers age 25 to 54." ...... since late August 2006, Olbermann's nightly audience has increased 69%, according to Nielsen Media Research; his show on October 2 had 834,000 viewers, virtually double his season average and more than CNN competitors Zahn and Grace. ...... Olbermann's show on MSNBC occupies the same time slot as Bill O'Reilly's The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News Channel. Olbermann has repeatedly named O'Reilly his “Worst Person in the World", while O'Reilly has petitioned for the ousting of Olbermann from MSNBC and the return of Phil Donahue to Olbermann's time slot, stating that Donahue's ratings far exceeded Olbermann's. ...... The feud blossomed with Olbermann's public celebration of O'Reilly's sexual harassment suit by former Fox News Channel producer Andrea Mackris ..... he jokingly kept track of money his viewers pledged to buy the tapes from Mackris and ran a “Save the Tapes” campaign. Olbermann had continued to feature the suit and its details in his comments on O'Reilly, specifically references to falafels and loofahs, which O'Reilly got confused while allegedly harassing Mackris. ....... a group of individuals from the Web site “Calling All Wingnuts” who had decided to call into the O'Reilly show to voice their disagreement. ..... from criticizing O'Reilly to confronting the Bush administration directly. In a recent “Worst Person in the World” segment, Olbermann said, “I'm sorry, Bill. I can't play with you right now. I have bigger fish to fry.” ..... “Bill O‘Reilly has defended the Nazis from World War II on three separate occasions.”
Olbermann.org: An Unofficial Keith Olbermann Fan Site

Media Smear On Obama's Name
Wolf Hitler, I mean Bitler, Blitler, Whatever
Bill O'Reilly, Bill O'Rama, Whatever The F___ His Name Is
Barack, Fox, MLK, Mandela
Bill O'Reilly: A Right Wing Gadfly

Barack Obama: My Plans For 2008

In The News

Martin returns, says UNSC will endorse secretary-general’s proposal this week NepalNews
US welcomes interim constitution
Over two dozen MPRF activists arrested in the capital The MPRF activists including MP Amresh Kumar Singh and MPRF chairman Upendra Yadav were apprehended after they started burning the copies of interim constitution at Maitighar Mandala, Kathmandu. The protesters said the interim constitution failed to address the demands of Madhesi people.
Terai bandh affects normal life
UN arms monitors completing final logistics preparations
Citizenship distribution begins
MPRF protest interim constitution; calls Madhesh bandh
Nepal's Rebels Say Interim Constitution Means End of Monarchy Bloomberg Nepal's peace settlement will allow the government to cut defense spending and economic growth in 2007 may reach 5 percent, Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat said in July. .... About 42 percent of Nepalese live below the poverty line and 80 percent of them rely on agriculture for a livelihood. More than 13,000 people were killed during the insurgency.

Obama Forms Committee to Weigh 2008 Presidential Bid (Update1) Bloomberg
Obama begins possible run for president Toronto Star, Canada
Obama Takes 1st Step in Presidential Bid San Francisco Chronicle, CA
Obama Takes 1st Step In Presidential Bid Guardian Unlimited, UK
Democrat Obama enters 2008 White House race Reuters India, India
Barack Obama joins White House race MSNBC
Obama takes first step in White House bid Los Angeles Times, CA
Obama takes first step in White House bid Newsday, NY
Obama takes first step in White House bid Los Angeles Times, CA
Democrat Obama enters 2008 White House race Boston Globe, MA
Obama takes first step in presidential bid Baltimore Sun, MD
Toward Presidential Bid Wall Street Journal (subscription), NY
Obama to enter 2008 White House race Melbourne Herald Sun, Australia
Barack Obama joins White House race Financial Times, UK
Obama steps into White House race BBC Bulgaria, Bulgaria
Obama Takes First White House Step TIME - 4 hours ago
Obama takes first step in presidential bid Miami Herald, FL
Obama takes 1st step in presidential bid MLive.com, MI
Senator Barack Obama Takes First Step Towards Presidential Bid FOX News
INSIDE OBAMA'S INNER CIRCLE Chicago Tribune, IL The gravitational pull around Sen. Barack Obama grows stronger day by day, as he and his advisers seek commitments from political operatives and donors ....... encompasses the world of ideas of his Harvard Law School classmates. ...... The political professionals who are Obama's closest formal advisers are careful, deliberate counselors, wary of unnecessary risks and no strangers to campaign street fights. ...... David Axelrod, the strategist at Obama's right hand, perhaps the best-known Democratic consultant working outside of Washington, D.C., equally adept at sensing the right metaphor for high-minded aspirations and at finding the vulnerable spot to savage an opponent. ........ Robert Gibbs, communications director, ... "Northern ruthlessness and Southern charm combined." ....... Valerie Jarrett ..... most influential is his wife, Michelle, a formidable daughter of the South Side who is an alumna of the Ivy League and Chicago's rough-and-tumble City Hall. ...... "He really wants to know all the points of view in the room. He doesn't want to shut people down or force a consensus" ..... Michael Froman, an informal Obama adviser who was a Harvard Law classmate and chief of staff to former Treasury Secretary Bob Rubin. ....... The senator periodically assembles informal advisers and his senior Senate staff for freewheeling evening sessions to set strategy and appraise his performance. In November, it was a four-hour gathering with stacks of takeout pizza boxes on a conference room table to talk over the senator's future. ........ Obama and Axelrod speak almost every day. But Obama also often reaches out directly to friends for advice, by e-mail or telephone. ........ he and his advisers are working so intently to put the pieces in place that operatives are starting to tell Obama's likely rivals they are unable to work for those candidates because they are otherwise engaged. ...... Donors and fundraisers are being asked to make commitments, and the nascent operation is pulling in staffers and consultants from throughout the nation. ........ David Plouffe, an Axelrod partner who worked on Obama's 2004 Senate campaign, is the likely campaign manager. ....... Bill Burton, national press secretary for the House Democrats' midterm campaign, is likely to join up ...... Peter Giangreco, a Chicago-based media consultant and veteran of the Iowa caucuses, is on board to do the direct mail as is his West Coast partner Larry Grisolano. At least one pollster is lined up: Paul Harstad, another Iowa veteran, who also worked on Obama's Senate campaign. Julianna Smoot, finance director for John Edwards' 2004 campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 2006, will fill the same role for Obama. ......... But the group most tightly circled around Obama is a longstanding one, made up of old friends who share an understanding of how he works. ........... the speech that would propel Obama onto the national stage. ..... practice several times. ...... Obama never asked him for a set of "talking points," which might have been the first order of business for others. Instead, he asked for audio and video of previous convention speeches to make his own assessment. ...... Obama then holed up in a hotel in Springfield, where the legislature was in session, and wrote the speech ....... Chief of staff Peter Rouse, who previously headed the office of Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle ....... Rouse's role would be to remain behind to watch Obama's back in the Senate, where rivals and their allies will have plenty of opportunities to lay political traps. ....... the way Obama relies on his advisers is as conversationalists who explore issues in depth. ......... "He rarely accepts anyone's initial position without any push back," Jarrett said. "He consistently probes deeper and deeper to make sure that you and he both have really thoroughly analyzed any given issue." ....... John Rogers, head of Ariel Capital Management, is a friend drawn into the family circle by Michelle Obama's brother Craig Robinson, with whom Rogers played basketball at Princeton University. ........ Obama deals with his friends much the same way he relates to everyone who crosses his path ...... "He has this ability to connect and bring people together," he said. "I've seen him wow people at the Commercial Club of Chicago, and then I go to New York to watch him with the Wall Street Project, a mostly minority crowd, and they're hanging on his every word." ....... Cassandra Butts, who first met Obama at the financial aid office, said the friends sometimes would spend time "just sitting around and talking about how we were going to change the world. ... How do you take this thing we're learning in law school and make a difference on the issues that we care about?" ..... "With Barack it's much more collegial than paternal" ...... Michelle Obama doesn't play a day-to-day role in her husband's work.. Instead.. she is the "true north" on his compass. ....... "She always asks Barack, `What do you think is the right thing to do?'" said Jarrett. "`Forget about what polls say. Do your homework. After you've done all the due diligence, what's the right thing to do?'"
Barack Obama officially enters White House race AlaskaReport, AK
Obama aims to be first black US president BreakingNews.ie, Ireland Obama announced his intentions to file a presidential exploratory committee on his Web site, www.barackobama.com. He said he would announce more about his plans February 10 in his hometown, Chicago, Illinois.... Another potential 2008 presidential candidate, Republican congressman Tom Tancredo, an outspoken opponent of illegal immigration, said he also is forming an exploratory committee for a possible campaign..... After making a weekend trip to Iowa, home to the first nominating caucuses in January 2008, Tancredo said voters told him other presidential candidates do not share their views. ..... “They believe that there is a void in this race that none of the other candidates are willing or able to fill,” Tancredo said.

Obama: 2007 Gameplan: Money, Message, Organization

A Different Kind Of Campaign: A Scientific Campaign
The Matrix, Vision, Spread Democracy, Revolution

Obama has work cut out for him.

The first time George Dumbo Bush shook Obama's hand, he promptly used disinfectives. Obama has to announce one week before the State Of The Union. He is running against George Bush. McCain is a footnote. McCain will parrot the dumb war in Iraq that Bush started.

You got to suck the oxygen out of Bush' room.

Don't get an exploratory committee. Get bodyguards. This is not a black issue. This is a celebrity issue. Madonna has them, Bill Clinton has them. That is a campaign expense.

You need physical bodyguards, you need political bodyguards. The recent media smear of your name is a foreboding. Expect more. Be ready.

You need money, tons of them. Do it both ways, do it online, the Dean 2004 way, but also do many fundraisers. You got friends and admirers.

Message is key. In this day and age of DirectConnect between the candidate and the voter, message is important. Message in all its many layers. There is the stump speech, but then there is also the policy wonk stuff. One thing I liked about Bill Clinton as candidate and president was, good as he is, the guy actually liked to have written speeches. Work on speeches focuses the candidate and his staff like few things do. We are in a unique position to videoblog the policy sessions you might have. 2008 will be a new media election.

It will be a new media election for the junkies, the hard core, the activists, the insiders, the ardent. But for the masses, you are still looking at TV. Half the country today has never heard of Barack Obama. It might not feel that way with all the adulation and attention, but that is the abject ground reality. Be prepared to tell your lifestory all over again, during the primaries, and then at the convention. Assume nothing.

Early start helps in the organization department tremendously. You want both, new grassroots people, and old establishment types. Elected officials stand in a category of their own. They are there for a reason. People elected them.

There will be a lot of travel involved. But I am glad the campaign headquarters will be in Chicago. You need the distance from Washington. You need the proximity to family.

There are four parts to 2007. Pre-Summer. Summer. After-Summer. And the primaries, caucuses. The tempo has to be accordingly.

Pre-Summer focus much on policy wonk stuff. Summer is for shaking a ton of hands in all 50 states. Then you start zeroing in. The primary/caucus season starts at the beginning of September. Between Summer and September, focus on the February states.

I would suggest make one major policy speech each month in a large media market, which are the big cities. Videoblogging will allow you to elevate the national debate. We go beyond one liners. We go beyond platitudes. We videoblog the policymaking process itself. We invite people in. The interested may watch in if they want.

Policy Making The Matrix Way

Media Smear On Obama's Name
Obama: The JFK For This Generation
Obama Would Be A Lousy Vice President, He Is Too Much Of A Leader
Barack, Fox, MLK, Mandela
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Looking For Barack Obama

Run, Obama, Run
Obama! Obama! Obama!
Barack Hussein Obama And The White Boys In The Media
Barack: Personal Concerns
Obama's Weapon On Clinton: Iraq
Obama Will Announce In January
Eliot Spitzer For Running Mate
A Woman For Running Mate, Perhaps A Governor
Barack Obama: Time For A Generation Shift
On November 7: In Harlem: For Obama
Obama 2006
The Audacity Of Gravitas: Restore Intelligence To The White House
Barack Is A Deaniac
Barack Obama: This Is A New Century
Barack Obama: New Approaches To Old Problems
Switching To Obama

Keith Olbermann

More ....

First time I came across this name: Keith Olbermann.

Countdown with Keith Olbermann - A Unique Newscast that Counts ...
Keith Olbermann - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Olbermann.org: An Unofficial Keith Olbermann Fan Site

Media Smear On Obama's Name
Wolf Hitler, I mean Bitler, Blitler, Whatever
Bill O'Reilly, Bill O'Rama, Whatever The F___ His Name Is
Barack, Fox, MLK, Mandela
Bill O'Reilly: A Right Wing Gadfly

In The News

19% See McCain as Next President; 17% See Clinton Hillary Project
Asian Leaders Plan Free-Trade Area From India to NZ (Update5) Bloomberg
Bollywood's Hottest Couple To Wed CBS News
Britney Spears: 3 Days of X-Rated, Sex Driven Parties in Vegas Bodog Beat
Will smoking hurt Barack Obama's presidential run Journal Times Online
Senator Clinton Wraps Up Tour Of Middle East NY1
War in Iraq casts shadow on '08 race for president Buffalo News
Nepal begins tryst with peace amid dissent Indian Muslims
Nepal's new rebels want autonomy for southern plains PeaceJournalism.com
Cairn starts aerial survey for oil exploration in Bihar Zee News
British oil major begins survey in Bihar India eNews.com
Bihar govt is harrassing the masses: Rabri Moneycontrol.com
US arranges three-way Mideast summit Houston Chronicle
Somalia Makes Moves to Crush Insurgency New York Times
Pakistan rules out MFN status for India Times of India
Maoists join Nepal parliament Financial Times
Ecuador's new leader has no kind words for US CBC.ca
China and Russia veto UN Security Council resolution on Burma Asian Tribune
NLD condemns China, Russia for blocking UNSC resolution on Burma Mizzima.com
China, Russia Failed Burma, Says Opposition The Irrawaddy News Magazine
Google exec defects to Bebo C21Media
WiMax and Wi-Fi will be mobile broadband's energy saviour IT PRO
My son proposed & Ash accepted it: Amitabh Bachchan SantaBanta.com
Posh Beckham starts house hunting as celebs snap up tickets Playfuls.com
Soccer in US won't be easy for Beckham Houston Chronicle
Engineered Chickens Make Cancer Drugs ABC News
RIM takes page out of Apple's book with BlackBerry Pearl iTWire
Bollywood's Hottest Couple To Wed CBS News

Nepal gets interim Constitution Indian Express
Bayh & Clinton in Iraq WANE
Hillary Clinton Courts Bill's Friends for Help NewsMax.com Time and again they have reached out to those same activists and others in early voting states, inviting them to White House events, appointing them to administration posts, and generally remembering them on holidays, birthdays and at important moments in their lives. .... maintaining and strengthening those bonds is also smart politics, and both Clintons are superb players. ...... New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairwoman Kathy Sullivan points out that her state has changed considerably since the Clintons first campaigned there. ...... The current top five Democrats in the state - governor, two members of Congress, the state Senate president and House speaker - were not politically active in 1992, Sullivan said.
CNN Hires Clinton Operative as 2008 Presidential Polling Unit Men's News Daily Opinion Research Corporation, however, was recently acquired by InfoUSA a company controlled by one Vinod Gupta, a very active Clinton supporter (of Hillary as well as Bill). .... Gupta is so enamored with the Clintons that back in his native land, India, he has built little monuments to his favorite American politicians in the form of the “Bill Clinton Science and Technology Center” and the “Hillary Rodham Clinton Mass Communication Center” for the Gochar Intermediate College, Rampur Maniharan, India.
Hillary’s White House Plans Unmasked! See Secret Story – Click Here Now!
Al Gore: I'm Not Running for President
Black Leaders Wary of Obama Powerful black activists in the U.S. remain surprisingly cool to a White House run by African-American Senator Barack Obama. .... Jesse Jackson, the first black candidate to run for president, declined to endorse Obama ...... Al Sharpton ... said he was considering another presidential run in 2008 and observed about Obama: "Right now we’re hearing a lot of media razzle-dazzle. I’m not hearing a lot of meat, or a lot of content. I think when the meat hits the fire, we’ll find out if it’s just fat, or if there’s some real meat there.” ..... singer and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte said America needed to be "careful” about Obama .... veteran civil rights leaders "are basically jealous. They’ve been toiling in the trenches for decades, and along comes this son of a Kenyan farmer and suddenly he’s measuring the drapes in the Oval Office.” ..... "The unexpected coolness between the old civil rights guard and the new Democratic hopeful has added an intriguing twist to the budding rivalry between Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton, who hopes to emulate her husband . . . in attracting support from black voters.”
O’Reilly-NBC War Heats Up The war of words between Bill O’Reilly and NBC is getting nastier. ..... Bill O’Reilly has now charged that "NBC News has gone sharply to the left.” ...... The Fox News host recently told his radio audience: "They are an activist network now. They hate Bush across the board.” And O’Reilly told NBC’s Andrea Mitchell during an early January interview: "I’ll admit it. I don’t like you guys.” ....... He added in an interview that O’Reilly "really does toe the party line more than I ever have.” ....... the cantankerous talking heads are also showmen who know that a bench-clearing brawl can be good for ratings ........ He called the O’Reilly-NBC feud "mean-spirited and incredibly entertaining.” ....... O’Reilly’s animosity toward NBC is largely fueled by his dislike of MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann, who faces off with the "O’Reilly Factor” at 8 p.m. and has been gaining in the ratings. ...... Olbermann’s show "Countdown” was up 60 percent in the fourth quarter compared to a year earlier, although with 656,000 viewers, it still lags well behind O’Reilly’s show, with 2.04 million viewers. ....... Olbermann has often bestowed his "Worst Person in the World” award on O’Reilly. ....... O’Reilly’s agent called Jeff Zucker, chief executive of NBC’s television group, urging him to tell his MSNBC commentators to back off ....... O’Reilly for his part refuses to mention Olbermann by name. But he did say that "an NBC commentator” had stated that "President Bush is allowing Americans to be killed in Iraq for money and other insane stuff. Unbelievable.”

The Media's Barack Obama Love Affair National Ledger included him on a list of 20 "Leaders and Revolutionaries." ...... one of Obama's opponents in the primary, Illinois' Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas, called him "The Tiger Woods of the Democratic Party." .... senior Senator from Illinois, Dick Durbin, who started an online petition urging Obama to run for President ....... Together, the Democrats and their media allies have created a kind of hysteria. ...... made an unsuccessful campaign for a U.S. House of Representatives seat in 2000 (losing the Democratic primary to a former Black Panther)
Obama a hit as he honors King Chicago Sun-Times Obama said money sent to rebuild Iraq should be spent to rebuild Harvey, the one-time murder capital of the south suburbs and a town besieged by accusations of police corruption and political cronyism. ....... "Some folks here in city hall think that maybe the office that they possess is because they are so special ..... I know you all have noticed I have kept a low profile
Obama inches closer to announcing Chicago Tribune adding a "very" to the "soon" in his assessment about when an announcement would come. ..... an emotional keynote speech to celebrate Martin Luther King's birth. ....... a widening circle of political advisers and hiring new staff in key primary states, leading political analysts to surmise that he is about to formally launch a presidential bid. ....... "I don't think that whatever my political plans are, (they) are comparable to the heroic struggles that he went through, and I don't want to draw false parallels." ........ weighing issues such as his personal safety and loss of privacy ...... King looked beyond his own personal needs and safety, Obama said, for a larger meaning and a larger purpose. ....... Obama's star power overshadowed Rev. Jesse Jackson, Gov. Rod Blagojevich and an assortment of other political leaders and civil rights activists ....... "A new president… He's in the house," Jackson said to thunderous applause from the crowd of an estimated crowd of 1,600. ....... Jackson introduced Obama as the junior senator from Illinois "who is on the verge of making a decision to further the dream."
Obama: 'The Torch Has Been Passed' NewsMax.com Obama received a standing ovation at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition's annual King scholarship breakfast when the Rev. Jesse Jackson introduced him with an approving reference to the Illinois Democrat's presidential aspirations. ... "It's a long, nonstop line between the march in Selma in 1965 and the inauguration in Washington in 2009," said Jackson ...... "I've gotten a little attention lately, but the fact of the matter is all I do is stand on the shoulders of others." ....... He noted that King was six years younger than he is now when he was assassinated in 1968 at age 39. ....... : "Some folks were surprised I was coming to Harvey. But as I recall, Dr. King wasn't hanging out in Manhattan, Dr. King wasn't hanging out in Beverly Hills. We'd do well to remember that before he was a leader of men, he was a servant of God." ...... he also has hired policy, research and press staff for a campaign to be run from Chicago
Some 'regular black folks' are Obama fans, some not Chicago Sun-Times
Obama ready for top job Rockford Register Star Obama has much more understanding of the world than Bush did in 2000 and even more than Bush does now ..... Bush didn’t even know where Iraq was when “elected” president .... How about an Obama/Clinton ticket?

Arabs look to link Iraq, Mideast deal San Jose Mercury News Moderate Arab governments plan to tell Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice they will help Washington stabilize Iraq if the U.S. takes more active steps to revive a broad peace initiative between Israel and its neighbors ...... widespread Arab feelings that a lasting Middle East peace cannot be achieved as long as Israel doesn't reach a settlement to hand over lands it occupied during the 1967 Mideast war to the Palestinians, Syria and Lebanon. ...... the "Arab Peace Initiative," which was unveiled at an Arab summit in Lebanon in 2002 and calls for Israel to withdraw from all territory occupied in 1967 in return for full recognition by Arab countries. ..... Arab diplomats said Mubarak's views - shared by other key regional leaders - will be presented forcefully to Rice when she meets with Arab foreign ministers in Kuwait. ...... leaders of the region's heavily Sunni Muslim nations aren't eager to help the Iraqi government, which is dominated by Shiite Muslims and deemed too close to the hardline Shiite regime in Iran.
Obama Says He Will Announce 2008 Presidential Intentions `Soon' Bloomberg Obama will set up an exploratory committee this week. ...... Obama's announcement may come within three weeks