Register 100,000 New Voters In NYC For Barack

DL21C Annual Summer Bash: Barack Won The Straw Poll






http://my.barackobama.com

New York City is five boroughs: Brooklyn, where Barack is strongest, Manhattan, Queens, Bronx, and Staten Island. There are neighborhoods in each borough. There should be an Obama organization in each neighborhood, many already do. And there should be a borough level organization where maybe one rep from each neighborhood group shows up once a month, once every two months, maybe once a quater. Or once a quarter now, once every two months, and then once a month as we move closer to the date. Every weekend has to be action for every neighborhood group. The action is to register new voters. But the process should be very well organized. Progress has to be measured. Maybe we should reward the neighborhoods that register the most voters. The rewards do not have to be fancy. It could be like, the icecream is on me.

We intend to deliver New York City to Barack on February 5. Yes, Staten Island is fair game.

We have to figure out a way to do as much of our coordination work online as possible. People are busy. Meeting time has to be high value. If you waste people's time, they stop coming. They start making excuses. Homework is online, action is offline. The number one action is voter registration. Every neighborhood group has to do it every weekend for a few hours. Create your event and put it at MyBO. If you build it, they will come.

This was King Arthur's primary emphasis at the meeting that launched the group Manhattan For Obama. Register voters.

The power rests with the individual volunteer. The rest of the organization is support to the individual volunteer. What can you do?

Go to Vistaprint and design your own Barack Obama business card. Make sure it has the Barack website as its most prominent element: http://www.barackobama.com Order 250 of them for free, you can order a few thousand for very little money. And you change the subway culture. Talk to people. Hi, have you heard of Barack Obama? Do you like him? Why? Why not? Have you been to any of your local Obama events? Why? Why not? The goal is to send as many people as possible to the site. Go knock doors in your neighborhood. Follow the same simple script. Get to know people. Once you have someone signed up at the site, they are in. We have to grow like amoeba, from 2 to 4 to 8 to 16, if you get the idea.

Do events. You don't need marching orders from anyone, not from your neighborhood group, not from Ray Riviera, not from Chicago. If you and two other Obama people are going out for coffee, that is an event, put it out at MyBO: http://my.barackobama.com

If you build it, they will come.

We have to build the infrastructure now, the intensity will go up as we head towards Christmas and beyond. The latecomers will come in throngs. We have to be ready for them.

We have to register at least 100,000 new voters for Barack. That is the least we can do. We should try and do more than that. But 100,000 is the absolute minimum.

Do events, blog events. Be your own media. Photoblog, videoblog. This is your chance to be part of a reality show: your own. Especially when it is so cheap, so free to do. Video hosting is free. I have more than 600 hours of video at Google Video. Go there and do a search on my name. You will get impressed. Dekhte hi rah jaoge.



On The Web

Neighborhoods of Manhattan, New York City
City of Neighborhoods - New York City Department of City Planning New York is a city with 5 boroughs, 59 community districts and hundreds of neighborhoods ..... Full Map
Category:New York City neighborhoods - Wikipedia, the free ...


At MyBO: Events

Yard Sale for Obama (Fundraising)

Sunday, August 19 at 10:00 AM

Kensington, Brooklyn private home (Brooklyn, NY)

Join the Brooklyn Kensington-Ditmas group on Sunday, August 19th, at a yard sale for Obama! This will be a great opportunity to clean out...

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Voter Registration Weekend (Organizing)

Saturday, August 25 at 12:00 PM

Coffey Park (Brooklyn, NY) - 2.81 miles away

Join us in Coffey Park for Red Hook for Obama's Voter Registration Drive. Supplies will be provided but please wear your Obama gear!!!

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Bay Ridge Weekend Outreach #5 (Organizing)

Sunday, August 12 at 12:00 PM

86th Street at 4th Avenue in Bay Ridge (Brooklyn, NY) - 3.1 miles away

This will be the fifth installment of our weekend outreach in Bay Ridge. This time we will have a table set up on 86th Street...

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Fort Greene/Clinton Hill for Barack: VOTER REGISTRATION/VOLUNTEER DRIVE (Organizing)

Saturday, August 11 at 10:00 AM

Choice Market (Brooklyn, NY) - 3.6 miles away

Hi everyone- Let's take it to the streets again! This time we're going meet and set up on the corner of Lafayette and Grand. We'll have a table...

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Burg-Point for Obama Meeting 16! (Meeting)

Wednesday, August 29 at 9:00 PM

Fix Coffee Shop (Brooklyn, NY) - 4.8 miles away

Hi Everyone! We'll be meeting at Fix Coffee Shop again in August to discuss how canvassing in Williamsburg has been going, what future events we can...

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obama for president (Fundraising)

Wednesday, August 29 at 8:00 PM

The Anchor (New York, NY) - 5.5 miles away

fundraiser for the presidential nominee in New York City .

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Register for Change - Union Square (Organizing)

Saturday, August 11 at 3:00 PM

Union Square South (New York, NY) - 6.1 miles away

Meet at the Gazebo above the subway station in Union Square South to canvass and register voters. The organizer will have all the supplies. Please include...

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Organizing for Change (Organizing)

Thursday, August 9 at 6:30 PM

The Bat Cave (New York, NY) - 6.1 miles away

Learn about East Village for Barack Obama. Volunteer to man Obama tables in East Village on Saturday and Sunday, August 11 and 12, from...

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East Village for Obama Meeting (Meeting)

Thursday, August 9 at 7:00 PM

RSVP for exact location (New York, NY) - 6.1 miles away

East Village for Obama is holding a meeting this Thursday, August 9 from 7pm to 8pm, to discuss upcoming canvassing and voter registration and report...

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Manhattan Organizational Meeting (Meeting)

Wednesday, August 15 at 7:00 PM

St Vincents Hospital (New York, NY) - 6.4 miles away

2nd Meeting of Manhattan Coordination Group. Attendees should include representatives of existing community and issues groups in Manhattan, as well as individuals looking to...

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LGBT Debate Party @ Riviera Cafe (Debate Watching Party)

Thursday, August 9 at 8:45 PM

Riviera Cafe (New York, NY) - 6.4 miles away

Come celebrate history as our presidential candidates debate the issues that matter to GLBT voters and other progressive folks! We're gathering to support Barack Obama...

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West Village Debate Watch (Human Rights Campaign Forum House Party)

Thursday, August 9 at 8:45 PM

Riviera Cafe (New York, NY) - 6.4 miles away

Come celebrate history as our presidential candidates debate the issues that matter to GLBT voters and other progressive folks! We're gathering to support Barack Obama...

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Obama LOGO/HRC Presidential Debate Party (Human Rights Campaign Forum House Party)

Thursday, August 9 at 8:00 PM

Riviera Café and Sports Bar (New York, NY) - 6.4 miles away

Come celebrate history as our presidential candidates debate the issues that matter to GLBT voters! We're gathering to support Barack Obama and cheer him on,...

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NYC LGBT Obama ‘08 Organizing Meeting (Organizing)

Tuesday, September 11 at 6:30 PM

The Duplex (New York, NY) - 6.4 miles away

Beginning in September, all NYC-based LGBT volunteers and organizers for Obama ’08 are invited to attend a city-wide planning meeting. This meeting will incorporate...

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LGBT ORGANIZERS FOR OBAMA (Organizing)

Tuesday, September 11 at 6:30 PM

The Duplex - WEST VILLAGE (New York, NY) - 6.4 miles away

Beginning in September, all NYC-based LGBT volunteers and organizers for Obama ’08 are invited to attend a city-wide planning meeting. This meeting will incorporate...

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OBAMAPALOOZA (Fundraising)

Sunday, September 30 at 2:00 PM

Madison Square Park (New York, NY) - 6.6 miles away

Grab your friends, stretch your voting fingers, the best candidate running for President is here. This outdoor concert and student rally in Madison Square Park will...

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Word for Word Author Series: David Mendell author of Obama: From Promise to Power (Meeting)

Wednesday, August 15 at 12:30 PM

Bryant Park Reading Room (New York, NY) - 6.8 miles away

Word for Word Author Series: David Mendell Wednesday, Aug 15th. 12:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. David Mendell, Obama: From Promise to Power Talk & Booksigning David Mendell...

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Chelsea Street Fair Voter Outreach (Organizing)

Saturday, August 11 at 11:00 AM

Chelsea -- 23rd bet. 8th and 9th (New York, NY) - 6.9 miles away

Join us as we register voters and distribute materials about Barack Obama at the 23rd St. Festival. Event runs from 11 am to 6 pm...

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Rock The Box for Barack (Fundraising)

Monday, December 3 at 7:00 PM

The Box (Manhattan, NY) - 7.5 miles away

A Merry cocktail party with open bar, hors d´oeuvres and live entertainment at the uber-cool new supper club, The Box. A surprise guest will make...

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New York Dominican Parade! (The Big One) (Organizing)

Sunday, August 12 at 2:00 PM

6th Ave and 36th St (Manhattan) (New York, NY) - 7.8 miles away

This Sunday is the biggest Dominican parade in the country, and we're going to bring Barack in spirit. Join us, Sunday, August 12 for the...

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$500 Dinner/$250 Cocktail Reception (Fundraising)

Tuesday, August 14 at 6:00 PM

Azza (New York, NY) - 8.0 miles away

Join us at luxurious Restaurant Lounge, AZZA for fundraising dinner event for the Barack Obama for President campaign. The venue features a restaurant and lounge....

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Register for Change - Upper East Side (Community Service)

Saturday, August 11 at 1:00 PM

Carl Schurz Park (New York, NY) - 9.3 miles away

We will be registering voters for the February 5th Democratic Primary at the Upper East Side's Carl Schurz Park. The more people that we...

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Indoor & Outdoor Rooftop Party Sat. 8/11 8-11pm (Fundraising)

Saturday, August 11 at 8:00 PM

1735 York Ave. @ 90th St. (New York, NY) - 9.7 miles away

Please join hosts Jeff Kurzon, Molly Lombardi & Terrence Yang (host list in formation) for a private rooftop party for all Obama supporters. * Indoor &...

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West Side Voter Registration at Fairway's (Organizing)

Sunday, August 12 at 3:00 PM

Fariway's - West Side (New York, NY) - 9.9 miles away

Upper West Side for Obama will conduct two tabled events on the weekend of Aug 11th - 12th to register voters and get the word...

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Upper West Side Obama Outreach with Voter Registration(Organizing)

Saturday, August 11 at 2:00 PM

Upper West Side (New York, NY) - 10.1 miles away

Upper West Side for Obama will conduct two tabled events on the weekend of Aug 11th - 12th to register voters and get the word...

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Introduce Barack Obama to the community (Community Service)

Sunday, September 16 at 11:00 AM

Independence Park (Newark, NJ) - 10.3 miles away

Speaking about Barack Obama on a stage during a cultural feast in the community.

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Harlem for Obama Democratic Presidential Debate Series (Debate Watching Party)

Sunday, August 19 at 6:30 PM

Tribal Spears Cafe (New York, NY) - 11.1 miles away

Please join Alima and the Harlem for Obama Committee in watching the ABC Democratic Presidential Debate at the wonderful Tribal Spears Cafe (www.tribalspears.com ). You...

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Voter Reg Weekend (Community Service)

Sunday, August 12 at 1:00 PM

Pathmark on the corner of 125th and Lex (New York, NY) - 11.2 miles away

The weekend of August 11th-13th Obama supporters all over Manhattan and NYC are holding voter registration drives to encourage political involvement and to raise Obama's...

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African American Day Parade (Community Service)

Sunday, September 16 at 10:30 AM

West 110th and Adam Clayton Powell (New York, NY) - 11.7 miles away

The 37th Annual African American Day Parade attracts over 900,000 people from all over the country and is the largest African American Parade in the...

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Voter Registration Drive (Community Service)

Saturday, August 11 at 12:00 PM

Starbucks (New York, NY) - 11.7 miles away

Voter turnout in Harlem will be crucial to an Obama victory in New York City. On Saturday, August 11, volunteer to register voters and...

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Wine Tasting Fundraiser Planning Meeting (Meeting)

Wednesday, August 15 at 8:00 PM

Kafe (Elizabeth, NJ) - 13.2 miles away

One of the keys to a successful political campaign is fundraising and Senator Barack Obama has done a magnificent job in fundraising over the past...

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Dominican Festival in Washington Heights (Organizing)

Saturday, August 11 at 12:00 PM

Washington Heights (New York, NY) - 14.3 miles away

First event in Washington Heights to build support, momentum and visibility for Barack uptown. This event is the day before the National Dominican Parade...

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Fordham Road Voter Registration (Community Service)

Sunday, August 12 at 1:00 PM

East Fordham Road (Bronx, NY) - 15.8 miles away

Come out on a weekend afternoon to register voters on very crowded Fordham Road, right in front of Fordham University in the Bronx. Take the B...

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NJ Federation of Democratic Women 3rd Annual Convention(Meeting)

Saturday, September 29 at 7:00 PM

Hilton Hasbrouck Heights (Hasbrouck Heights, NJ) - 15.9 miles away

The NJ Federation of Democratic Women (NJFDW) will hold their 3rd annual convention at the Hilton Hasbrouck Heights in New Jersey on Saturday, September 29,...

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MONTHL;Y MEETING - ESSEX FOR BARACK OBAMA (Meeting)

Tuesday, August 14 at 7:00 PM

THE GOAT CAFE (South Orange, NJ) - 16.6 miles away

If you are interested in getting involved in the grassroots effort for Barack Obama this is the place to be. Here's an opportunity to do...

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August Obama Fest (Meeting)

Sunday, August 26 at 2:30 PM

Votee Park (Teaneck, NJ) - 17.2 miles away

Come join some Obama supporters for a pot-luck picnic at Votee Park in Teaneck! We will be getting together to network, talk about our...

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Save the Date - September 15-Union County Music Fest (Organizing)

Saturday, September 15 at 11:00 AM

Union County-Nomahegan Park (Cranford, NJ) - 17.2 miles away

Moore details will be forthcoming, for now SAVE the DATE. We will look into getting a table, permits and if not how we can leverage...

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Education and the No Child Left Behind Act (Community Service)

Thursday, October 11 at 6:00 PM

Montclair, New Jerseu (Montclair, NJ) - 17.3 miles away

The purpose of the event would be for Senator Obama to give us his position on the status of education in the United States. ...

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Long Island Organization Meeting - Aug 10th- Westbury (Organizing)

Friday, August 10 at 7:00 PM

Westbury Community Center (Westbury, NY) - 22 miles away

The purpose of the meeting is to connect with other supporters of Barack Obama and share information about the Barack Obama volunteer effort on Long...

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Year of the Hero (Community Service)

Friday, April 24 at 12:00 PM

Clinton School (NJ, NJ) - 25 miles away

In the school I teach in (Clinton Elementary School), we want to encourage our students to take more interest in the world they live in...

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Morris County for Obama Kick-Off Meeting (Meeting)

Tuesday, August 14 at 7:00 PM

Calaloo Cafe (Morristown, NJ) - 29 miles away

Please join Morris County for Obama for our first Happy Hour/MeetUp at The Calaloo Cafe in Morristown (on South Street at the intersection of James...

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Diversity Day Festival Dover NJ (Organizing)

Saturday, August 11 at 11:00 AM

JFK Park - Dover, NJ (Dover, NJ) - 35 miles away

Volunteers are Needed to represent NJ for Obama/Morris County for Obama at this Music Festival and Community Event - help with foot canvassing, passing out...

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obamaque (Meeting)

Thursday, August 23 at 7:00 PM

Bonnet Home (Sparta, NJ) - 44 miles away

Backyard barbeque for barack. 10 dollars contribution. Burgers, dogs, beverages. An evening to discuss and get to know Barack as a candidate. We will share...

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just stop losing (Organizing)

Saturday, August 18 at 6:00 PM

Geoff Keenan (Milford, CT) - 64 miles away

if hillary wins, fine. if obama wins, won't we kick our feet...

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House party for LGBT forum (Human Rights Campaign Forum House Party)

Thursday, August 9 at 9:00 PM

Madaline Muir (Plymouth Meeting, PA) - 77 miles away

I am hosting a house party for Barak Obama at my apartment on Aug. 9 from 8 to 10 to watch him on LOGO.

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Letter Writing and Commentary Campaign (Community Service)

Tuesday, November 6 at 8:00 PM

Your Own Home (West Hartford, CT) - 99 miles away

Everyone is invited to join the letter writing and commentary Campaign! Here's how this event works: For the next 153 days, when your write a...

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Engaging Third World Dictators

President Obama should engage all world leaders, and especially all of the Third World dictators, as well the Second World dictators like Putin, only Putin will be gone by then, but he will likely be succeeded by a clone.

The engagement should be at all levels possible. He should encourage people to people exchanges with all nondemocratic countries, he should flood the airwaves with broadcasts in local languages, he should engage all countries in as much trade as possible. And he should meet in person as many world leaders and as often as possible, if only to stare some of them down on their dismal human rights records. It should be the Third World dictators who should look like they are trying their best to not have to bump into President Obama in the corridors of the UN building.

The goal has to be maximum possible engagement with all Third World dictators, especially dictators in Africa. With every engagement the wave of democracy in each such country should rise higher. President Obama will not spread democracy, America will not spread democracy. But there are democracy activists and pro-democracy leaders in every authoritarian country and they need to be provided all possible moral and logistical support, and President Obama's interaction with their thug heads of state to make very explicit as to exactly where it is that President Obama stands on democracy and human rights will be a more powerful symbolism than any that anyone else could offer to those pro-democracy leaders. President Obama has to make it very public that he is aware of their existence, and he is with them in spirit always. President Obama also has to redesign his State Department to add muscle to his personal stare down. President Obama also has to be the inspiration for private sector funds and organizations that will work globally to provide all possible moral and logistical support to the democracy movements around the world.

Democracy comes from inside the human heart. Freedom rings in every human heart. Democracy does not come from America. It comes from inside, from within. But an American president can help like noone else can. American Senators can help just by giving precise voice like Senator Leahy did for Nepal.

Leahy Amendment Says No Arms To Nepal
Leahy, Lion
Senator Patrick Leahy
Senator Patrick Leahy, Democrat, Vermont
Senator Leahy To US Congress On Nepal

President Obama must talk to North Korea, to Iran, to Cuba, to Venezuela. Cuba and Venezuela are slightly different from North Korea and Iran, sure. But to hope for democracy in a country like North Korea is to engage North Korea like China gets engaged. The goal has to be maximum engagement.

In The News

Obama, Romney outpace rivals in WA money race Seattle Post Intelligencer Sen. Barack Obama is leading all other presidential candidates in Washington state fundraising and has nearly twice as much money as his closest Democratic rival.

Analysis: Clinton and Obama fend off Edwards and other rivals in ... International Herald Tribune the candidates left the forum in exactly the same condition they came in ..... Clinton mostly ignored her rivals, instead touting her ability to challenge Republicans. .... "For 15 years, I have stood up against the right-wing machine. And I've come out stronger," Clinton said to applause from the crowd. "If you want a winner who knows how to take them on, I'm your girl." ..... Clinton did a great impression of playing Muhammad Ali during the debate, dodging and weaving as her rivals threw punches. ...... In the 2004 elections, organized labor gave $53.6 million to Democratic candidates and party committees, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. That amount increased to $66 million for the 2006 elections ..... The AFL-CIO — which has 55 member unions and represents 10 million workers — said in 2006 that it knocked on 8.25 million doors for union candidates, made 30 million telephone calls, distributed 14 million fliers and sent out 20 million pieces of mail in its successful efforts to help Democrats take the House and Senate.

Obama softens talk on striking al-Qaeda in Pakistan Hindu, India Obama has stressed the need for the US and Pakistan to be "constructive" allies in fighting al-Qaeda ..... expressed sympathy for Pakistani President Gen Pervez Musharraf, who faces a growing militant backlash in his Muslim nation. .... In Islamabad, a spokesman said Musharraf's government is not ruling out imposing a state of emergency because of "external and internal threats" to Pakistan and deteriorating law and order in the volatile northwest near the Afghan border.

South Carolina GOP Plans to Move Up Primary New York Times States jockeying for influence are continuing to move their presidential nominating contests earlier and earlier in an accelerating electoral domino effect. ..... Jan. 19 .... Iowa caucus goers could well end up casting the first votes of the 2008 presidential election in December of 2007. ..... New Hampshire typically holds its primary on a Tuesday. If South Carolina moves its primary to Jan. 19, the first Tuesday more than seven days earlier would be Jan. 8. But Iowa has a law requiring it to hold its caucuses at least eight days before any other state — which could push the caucuses back to December. ..... whether the Iowa law is binding, since the political parties put on the caucuses, not the state ...... the stampede by bigger states to hold their contests by mid-February. At least 20 states — including delegate-rich states like California and New York. ....... "An ounce of history is worth a pound of logic."
South Carolina Prepares to Move Presidential Primary Washington Post
South Carolina Poised to Push Up Primary Forbes
Georgia: Russian Jet Fired Missile Forbes
Russian missile hits Georgian village, Tbilisi says Messenger.ge
Making a Move Against Shi’ite Militias TIME U.S. forces are ramping up operations against what they see as a more serious long-term threat: Shi'ite militias supported by Iran ..... Al-Qaeda in Iraq remains a formidable threat; a senior U.S. military official in Baghdad called it the organization most likely to push Iraq's vicious sectarian conflict into a full-blown civil war. ...... Mahdi Army cells with Iranian backing were responsible for 75% of U.S. and Coalition deaths last month ...... the Mahdi Army, which sprang up in 2003 as a nationalist militia opposed to both the U.S. occupation and Iranian interference ........ an Iraq in which the "the government is not in control of the state." ..... the presence of a Hizballah-style armed group, more powerful in some areas than the national government and receiving weapons, training and guidance from Iran
Inside Iran‘s Secret War for Iraq The U.S. Military's new nemesis in Iraq is named Abu Mustafa al-Sheibani, and he is not a Baathist or a member of al-Qaeda. He is working for Iran. ..... al-Sheibani's team consists of 280 members, divided into 17 bombmaking teams and death squads ..... the aim of fostering a Shi'ite-run state friendly to Iran ..... "We have to think anything we tell or share with the Iraqi government ends up in Tehran," says a Western diplomat. ...... Iraq closer to all-out civil war ...... the U.S. believes that Iran has brokered a partnership between Iraqi Shi'ite militants and Hizballah ...... an Iranian plan for gaining influence in Iraq that began before the U.S. invaded ..... the Badr Corps, formed in the 1980s as the armed wing of the Iraqi Shi'ite group known by its acronym SCIRI, now the most powerful party in Iraq. Divided into northern, central and southern axes, Badr's mission was to pour into Iraq in the chaos of the invasion to seize towns and government offices, filling the vacuum left by the collapse of Saddam's regime. As many as 12,000 armed men, along with Iranian intelligence officers, swarmed into Iraq. ......... "These guys with beards and Kalashnikovs showed up saying they'd come to protect the campus," says a student leader at a Basra university. "The problem is, they never left." ...... The Iranian program is as impressive as it is comprehensive ...... Businesses, front companies, religious groups, NGOs and aid for schools and universities are all part of the mix. ..... Tehran still funds various political parties in Iraq ..... Iran was paying the salaries of at least 11,740 members of the Badr Corps ....... using "nonattributable attacks" by proxy forces to maximize deniability .... money and matériel flowing in from Iraq's Arab neighbors to Sunni insurgents. ...... those groups maintain a "shared world view" with Tehran, much as Brits and Americans share each other's
China's Olympics: One Year to Go the world's largest authoritarian state .....the government is ill-prepared for the growing attention of the world's media ...... "A temporary measure — which perhaps no government in the world except for China could do — is to shut down cars" ...... During a summit with African leaders last fall a half million official vehicles were taken off the road for nearly a week. ...... use the Olympics to pressure China on everything from Darfur to Tibet to greater religious freedom. ..... Paris-based NGO Reporters Without Borders held a press conference outside the offices of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games to demand the release of some 100 journalists and online activists imprisoned in China ....... dissidents within China say they welcome the attention the Games will bring. "I like to have people from outside come," says Hu Jia, an AIDS and human rights activist. "We want the world to know the pressure we are under."
Stop Obsessing About Iran The thrust of Bush's strategy now appears less to build democracy in Iraq than to prevent it from becoming a client state of Tehran. ...... Iraq poses big problems, but becoming Iran's flunky probably isn't one of them. There are three main reasons: Iraq's Sunnis, Shi'ites and Kurds. ..... a Sunni insurgency stocked with Saddam's former officers and bankrolled by oil money from the gulf. .... Tehran probably fears an Iraqi civil war more than it relishes calling the shots in Baghdad ..... Kurds .. make up 7% of Iran's population ....... As non-Persians (and Sunnis to boot), Iran's Kurds get nothing but abuse from their Shi'ite masters in Tehran. In July 2005, Iranian police killed a Kurdish opposition figure, strapped his body to a jeep and dragged it through the streets of a Kurdish town, sparking riots that lasted six weeks. Many Iranian Kurds would love a country of their own ......... the Shi'ite leader America fears most is also the one feared most in Tehran ..... Tehran's mullahs fund al-Sadr to cover their bets, but distrust and dislike him ...... al-Sadr has made common cause with anyone fighting the occupation. (In 2004, when U.S. troops were battling Sunni insurgents in Fallujah, al-Sadr sent them aid ...... Americans worried during the Vietnam War that if we left, Hanoi would become a puppet of its wartime patron, Beijing. Instead, four years after the U.S. evacuated Saigon, Vietnam and China were at war.
Behind the Sunni-Shi‘ite Divide
The Case For Dividing Iraq
Even Churchill Couldn‘t Figure Out Iraq The Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, gave a ridiculously upbeat speech to a joint session of the U.S. Congress last week, but his government has been unable or unwilling to cut the grand political deal that is necessary for stability. ..... the Saudis and Jordanians, who are predominantly Sunni, have quietly moved to support the insurgency with money and intelligence .. ..... if the city were divided along the Tigris River--a popular rumor in the Iraqi blogosphere--approximately 1 million Sunnis would be stranded on the Shi'ite side and vice versa. "The human catastrophe would be extraordinary," said an Army colonel. If partition happens, an Iraqi official told Reuters, "Iraq as a political project is finished," and chaos ensues. Colonel Hammes identified a more basic, undeniable problem: "Talking about a new strategy is useless until we get a new team--in the Pentagon, in the Administration. These guys have screwed up everything.
Talking to Iran — or Talking War? Iran was three to eight years away from having the capability to produce a nuclear weapon ..... Vice President Cheney is actively promoting military action against Iran, despite such a course of action being unanimously opposed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff at a meeting with President Bush last December ..... Bush has given the CIA a green light to conduct non-lethal covert operations against Iran using propaganda, disinformation and the squeezing of Iran's international banking transactions.
Being Careful of Your Friends in Iraq a halt in combat, followed by a treaty .... Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, the No. 2 military commander in Iraq, believes that up to 80% of insurgents would be open to such a deal ...... they want to engage and become a part of the government of Iraq ..... many Sunnis are tiring of al-Qaeda's brutal tactics that target Iraqi civilians and all who oppose them
Billy Graham: Hillary's Solace "I told him," Graham said of President Clinton, "when he left the presidency, he should become an evangelist, because he had all the gifts." .... during the Monica Lewinsky scandal ..... he was very strong in saying, 'I really understand what you're doing and I support you.' ...... He said, 'You know, forgiveness is the hardest thing that we're called upon to do. And we all face it at some point in our lives and I'm just really proud of you for taking it on." ...... Clinton had seen Graham on television growing up in Chicago .... she did not hear him preach in person until 1971, when she attended the Northern California crusade at the invitation of her then boyfriend, Bill Clinton, who had first heard Graham preach in Little Rock in 1959. "I wanted her to see Billy," he said. ........ She is different from the Hillary you see in the media. There is a warm side to her
An Army Mutiny in Israeli Settlements? Using cellphones, the soldiers immediately called their rabbis for moral guidance.
The Myth About Boys The voyage to manhood had come to seem as perilous and flummoxing as the future of Iraq. ...... "I don't think anyone will deny that girls are academically superior as a group. Girls are more academically powerful. They make the grades, they run the student activities, they are the valedictorians." ..... Even sperm counts are falling. .... "The biggest issue is not a gender gap. It is these gaps for minority and disadvantaged boys .... our left-right political noise machine ...... the sinking trajectory of undereducated males as blue-collar jobs move to low-wage countries ..... "We've started posting photographs of each day's activity on our website, and still I'll get complaints if we don't have a picture of every camper every day."
Is Iran a Terror Threat in the U.S.? In another week or so no one is going to remember the "JFK plot." ..... Iranian hard-liners believe a war with the United States is inevitable. .... Trying to blow up JFK Airport is the least we could expect from them if Cheney does get his war. ... What worries him instead is an accidental confrontation, like a hothead in the IRGC firing a missile at one of our carriers in the Gulf. If that were to happen, a war could follow, and we'd find out soon enough if the Iranians really do have sleeper cells in the U.S.
Hizballah‘s Long Reach Into Iraq
Hunt for the Bomb Factories
Pakistan's Next Red Mosque Problem? They are young angry boys. ..... "These militants are inviting America to attack our region," the old man tells me. "It seems like a conspiracy against the people."
Interview: 'We are Ready to Talk'
Why Not Talk? George W. Bush likes his briefings short and concise
Violence in Niger Delta expands into gang war
Insurgents vs. al-Qaeda
Fatah Islam No. 2 Killed in Lebanon Washington Post
Obama raps rivals over Pakistan Gulf Daily News
Obama Expresses Sympathy for Musharraf ABC News
Obama Softens Stance on Musharraf Washington Post Obama's statement about Pakistan last week, which were defended by many foreign policy experts

Pakistan's Musharraf pulls out of US-backed summit Los Angeles Times not only as a snub to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, but also as a rebuke to the Bush administration ..... Pakistan has been angry over official and unofficial suggestions by U.S. politicians that American forces should stage unilateral strikes at Al Qaeda figures believed to be taking shelter in Pakistan's tribal lands if Musharraf's government failed to do so...... Pakistan, which is in the midst of a major military offensive against militants in the semiautonomous border region, said any such U.S. action would be a violation of its sovereignty. ...... About one-third of Pakistan's originally designated delegation has declined to attend, including Pashtun tribal leaders from the Waziristan region, which has been the focal point of both the fighting and the search for Al Qaeda figures. .... Pakistan was indignant over Karzai's renewed assertions during a visit this week to Washington, which included two days of talks with Bush, that the main problem with fugitive militants lay on the Pakistani side of the frontier. ...... he is battling the most serious political woes of his eight-year tenure. ... Pro-democracy activists are demanding that he allow free and fair elections and renounce his position as military chief, and Islamic militants embarked on a campaign of suicide bombings and other attacks after the storming of a radical mosque in the capital by government forces a month ago. ..... More than 100 people died in the raid on the Red Mosque, and at least 250 others have been killed in fighting and suicide attacks since then.
Musharraf to begin 'emergency rule' Aljazeera.net on the point of announcing a state of emergency for one month. .... the emergency could be extended to three months.
War on Terror Takes Focus at Democrats’ Debate New York Times
Powerful quake rocks Jakarta The Age
7.5-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes JakartaAHN
Obama, an Opportunistic Hawk? Yahoo! News
States Swing For Clinton in Poll Washington Post A new poll out today gives New York Senator Hillary Clinton a decisive lead in Florida ..... gives Clinton a wide 30-point advantage over Illinois Senator Barack Obama in the Sunshine State. ...... The New York senator's big lead in Florida's primary, set for Jan. 29, 2008, is matched in a simultaneous poll of registered Democrats in Ohio. In that state, she has a 25-point lead over Obama. ...... In Pennsylvania, the third state Quinnipiac surveyed by telephone from July 30 to August 6, Clinton has a 16-point edge over Obama.
Clinton has big lead, but rivals say just wait Reuters A poll in August 2003, for example, showed the ultimate 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry in fifth place behind other challengers. .... Obama is doing well in the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, and Edwards is holding his own as well, especially in Iowa. Many believe the candidate who does well in those states will gain momentum for the contests ahead. ..... The Edwards camp attributed Clinton's boost in the polls largely to her name recognition.

What Obama Said On Pakistan

If Bin Laden's precise location can be found, then Obama would get in touch with Musharraf to take Bin Laden out. If Musharraf takes more than three minutes, President Obama would take Bin Laden out unilaterally. That is what he said.

Those are three big steps you are talking about.

One, can Bin Laden's precise location be found? So far that has not happened, and the US has been looking for him for close to a decade, I think. He was being sought way before 9/11. But say the US intelligence agencies do a good job and manage to find the precise location of Bin Laden's whereabouts, then what? Bin Laden is likely in some cave and not in some village or town surrounded by a whole bunch of civilians. So there would be no civilian casualties to an attack from the sky.

Musharraf is no friend of Bin Laden any more than Saddam was. Bin Laden wants Musharraf dead. Musharraf wants Bin Laden dead. That is the kind of relationship they have. Bin Laden has already made three or four attempts on Musharrafs' life, all of which were close calls. The next attempt might be a success, and Musharraf knows that. And Bin Laden knows that.

What that means is Bin Laden is trying his very best to make sure Musharraf can't find out where he is. But if the US were to be able to find out, and if the US would share that information with Musharraf, Musharraf would act, not because he owes something to the US, but because he is a soldier, a fighter with survival instincts. He will readily cooperate with the US to take Bin Laden out. That is what will happen. The US is not going to have to act unilaterally.

That is why Barack Obama said if.

Obama knows Musharraf will cooperate. But if he does not, which presidential candidate in her or his right mind would want the US to stand idly by respecting Pakistan's sovereignty? There will be a missile strike and that particular cave will be turned into rubble.

It is dishonest for Chirs Dodd to suggest Obama suggested invading Pakistan. Obama never said that. In propagating that lie, Dodd is compromising US security by not allowing an honest debate on the number one threat America faces today.

If you understand how autocratic organizations like the Al Qaeda work - they don't hold internal elections - you will understand how fundamentally important it is to take the top guy out. Look at what happened to the Shining Path in Peru after its top guy Gonzalo was captured: it withered away like magic.

The US intelligence agencies have been making a grave mistake in outsourcing the hunt for Bin Laden to Pakistan. Pakistan's intelligence agency, the ISI, described as a state inside a state, is supremely infiltrated by Islamist radicals. That is why when Bill Clinton struck Bin Laden when he was in Afghanistan, Bin Laden had already shifted. Because Bill Clinton made the mistake of first telling Pakistan that he was going to hit Bin Laden because Bin Laden had been located. That information got passed onto Bin Laden. Some top dude in the ISI passed that info to Bin Laden.

Why would you want to repeat that mistake?

That is short term. But in the long term we are looking at a scenario of saying Musharraf has to go, the Saudi king has to go, Mubarak has to go, Gaddafi has to go. Hello democracy.

Bin Laden tries to recruit disenchanted Muslim youth living in the west. Why don't progressive organizations in a place like New York City try to recruit Arabs immigrants locally to try and ignite democracy movements in the Arab countries? Beats me. You might not do it if it is a democracy issue, but will you do it if it is a security issue? Because it is.

Hillary seems to think no Musharraf means the nuclear Pakistan goes down the Islamist radical route. That is wrong thinking. Musharraf has to be pushed out and the democrats in Pakistan have to take over.

Progressives in NYC need to approach the 40,000 Nepalis in the city and say, we want you to have voting rights in this city's elections because you do pay your utility bills. And now teach us and teach the Arab immigrants from those many Arab countries how to ignite nonviolent, grassroots democracy movements in their countries.

In The News

Rivals swipe at Clinton during debate Los Angeles Times The event was broadcast on MSNBC and a video replay is available here. A review of the debate by Times television critic Paul Brownfield is available here. ..... "We've got to stop companies going into bankruptcy in order to get rid of their pension responsibilities." ...... Obama seemed annoyed by questions about his foreign policy speech last week, in which he raised the specter of launching attacks in Pakistan. ..... Obama answered: "You obviously didn't read my speech."
Clinton, Obama targets in lively Dem debate Seattle Times Obama rebuked as irresponsible on foreign policy and Clinton accused of being too cozy with corporate America and Washington, D.C., lobbyists. ..... those attacking him had helped authorize the Iraq war, which he called "the biggest foreign-policy disaster in our generation." ...... The debate was the most animated of the year for the Democrats and reflected that the battle for the party's nomination may be entering a more contentious phase. .... she hopes to stay above the fray as long as she can. .... Edwards .. saying he has walked picket lines and rallied with workers 200 times in the past few years. ....... "I find it amusing that those who helped to authorize and engineer the biggest foreign-policy disaster in our generation are now criticizing me for making sure that we are on the right battlefield and not the wrong battlefield in the war against terrorism." ..... Clinton jumped in to say that while Obama's policy may be sound, "you should not always say everything you think if you're running for president, because it has consequences across the world."
Rivals Aim at Clinton Wall Street Journal
'Inequality worsening in China, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka' Hindu
Rudy Giuliani's daughter comes out for Obama Guardian Unlimited
Wal-Mart sees surge in India sourcing Reuters
Musharraf: Don't talk about attacking Pakistan Los Angeles Times At the CNN/YouTube debate a few weeks ago, Obama said he'd meet with purported enemies like Hugo Chavez or Fidel Castro. And yet Tuesday night he would not commit to meeting with Barry Bonds. ..... a competition to see which candidate could whip the crowd into the loudest frenzy. ..... it is kind of the revenge of the little guy on TV, from the ongoing fascination with "American Idol" to this presidential season. If TV is guilty of covering the campaign money race like it’s the weekly box office report out of Hollywood, the medium also seems, in these pre-pre-pre-primary forums, to be positioning itself as a bridge between the candidates and the public’s widespread disaffection with the process. ........ “…I don’t know about you," Obama said to Dodd, "but for us to authorize [war in] the place where the people who attacked 3,000 Americans were not present, which you authorized, and then to suggest that somehow we should not focus on the folks that did … is a problem.” ...... If you’re scoring at home, he was cheered, she was jeered.
President cancels visit to Kabul PakTribune.com
US surprised by Musharraf's snub of Afghan meeting with Karzai International Herald Tribune
Obama turns to his favorite weapons Chicago Sun-Times two central campaign themes to inoculate himself against criticism: blaming Washington insiders and stressing his early objection to the Iraq war. ...... Clinton hit Obama in the belly over Obama getting trapped recently in answering a hypothetical question about a nuclear attack on Pakistan and announcing that he would, if there were actionable intelligence, send a U.S. strike force into Pakistan to root out terrorists. ..... Without naming Obama, she said it was a "very big mistake" to "telegraph" his Pakistan move and ...... "destabilize the Musharraf regime which is fighting for its life."Clinton earned boos for saying what was on her mind about Obama. "You can think big, but remember you shouldn't always say everything you think if you're running for president, because it has consequences across the world.'' ...... he misspoke when he called the leader of Canada a "president." Canada's leader is a prime minister.
Analysis: Clinton, Obama Fend Off Rivals Washington Post
Obama and Hillary clash over US military strikes in Pak Hindu
Clinton-Obama battle flares up over foreign policy Newsday
Barack Obama hits back in Pakistan row Times of India Obama defended his statement last week that he would be prepared to order strikes against Al-Qaida in lawless tribal areas in Pakistan, if President Pervez Musharraf did not act first. ..... "I find it amusing that those who helped to authorise and engineer the biggest foreign policy disaster in our generation are now criticising me," Obama said ..... "I don't believe people running for president should engage in hypotheticals," she said, while admitting an attack might be merited on the basis of actionable intelligence. .... "I think it is a very big mistake to telegraph that, and to destabilise the Musharraf regime which is fighting for its life against the Islamist extremists who are in bed with Al-Qaida and (the) Taliban."
Rudy Giuliani's daughter comes out for Obama Guardian Unlimited
Guiliani given headache as daughter supports Obama's Presidential bid Independent
Giuliani's daughter backs Obama Times of India
Clinton In Democrats' Sights At Debate U.S. News & World Report
Giuliani Says He Can Beat Clinton/Obama Ticket Newsroom America
Hillary Clinton: It's the mortgage lending industry, stupid Salon
Clinton on rising home foreclosures MSNBC
Clinton urges tougher rules for lenders MSNBC

Rivals swipe at Clinton during debate Los Angeles Times Hoping to cut into her widening lead, top-tier Democratic presidential candidates used a testy debate here Tuesday to cast New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as beholden to powerful Washington lobbyists and too compromised to revamp healthcare and make changes the party wants to see once George W. Bush leaves office. ........ in an eight-person field, she is drawing support from nearly a majority of voters. ..... Clinton professed bemusement and said it was poor tactics for Democrats to fight among themselves. Yet at another point, she chided Obama for a speech last week in which he said that as president he might take military action inside Pakistan, a U.S. ally, to root out terrorists. ....... "for 15 years, I have stood up against the right-wing machine and I've come out stronger. So if you want a winner who knows how to take them on, I'm your girl." ..... attended by about 17,000 union members ....... The event was broadcast on MSNBC and a video replay is available here. ...... A review of the debate by Times television critic Paul Brownfield is available here. ... Edwards seemed especially intent on rattling the front-runner.
Musharraf Pulls Out of Peace Council Forbes
Musharraf: Don't talk about attacking Pakistan Los Angeles Times
'Inequality worsening in China, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka' Hindu
Rudy Giuliani's daughter comes out for Obama Guardian Unlimited
Obama turns to his favorite weapons Chicago Sun-Times
Clinton, Obama targets in lively Dem debate Seattle Times
Analysis: Clinton and Obama fend off Edwards and other rivals in ... International Herald Tribune
Guiliani given headache as daughter supports Obama's Presidential bid Independent
Clinton In Democrats' Sights At Debate U.S. News & World Report
Giuliani Says He Can Beat Clinton/Obama Ticket Newsroom America
Clinton-Obama battle flares up over foreign policy Newsday
Barack Obama hits back in Pakistan row Times of India
Obama attacked over remarks on Pakistan during US Democratic People's Daily Online
Hillary Clinton: It's the mortgage lending industry, stupid Salon
Clinton on rising home foreclosures MSNBC
Clinton urges tougher rules for lenders MSNBC

Explaining Early State And National Polls

Obama now leads in Iowa and New Hampshire and South Carolina. Hillary has widened her national lead. How do you explain that?

In the early states Obama leads because the voters in the early states have already gone through their puppy love phase with the Clinton name that sends good vibes from the 1990s. Now they are looking more closely, learning more about the candidates, and in Obama they like what they see.

Nationally a lot of voters are barely starting to pay attention to the race. They are like, did you say the election is on? I did not know. This early? And they hear the Clinton name, and they are like, I like Clinton, sure. I will bet you quite a few of them think Bill Clinton is running again. He has already done his time in detention and how he is back.

This might be hard for the hard core to believe, but that is what is going on. Give them some time. When they learn more about Obama, they are going to fall for him just fine.

It is going to be a Barack Obama-Hillary Clinton ticket.

I expect Barack Obama to take the national lead perhaps in December, even late in December. Barack will have a Christmas gift to take home: a lead in the national polls. Until then it helps to not be in the lead. Then your volunteers and workers and staff are working harder, are more on the edge, are more focused. To go from being number two to number one is also momentum. And momentum is the name of the game.

Barack will sweep. He will win Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina. And he will also sweep all the way to February 5. Midnight of February 5, the Democratic primary will be over.

I hope we wake up on February 6 to the news of a Barack-Hillary ticket.

And in the general election that ticket will sweep the country like Ronald Reagan in 1984.

Good times are here.

In The News

Obama whips up crowd before debate Chicago Sun-Times Obama whipped up a crowd of several hundred this afternoon at a rally in a parking lot outside the field that's hosting Tuesday night's forum. The Illinois senator said he has ''home field advantage.''

Labor Sets the Stage for a Democratic Forum New York Times 12,000 members .... bills in Congress that would make it easier to unionize and give all firefighters and police officers the right to bargain collectively. ...... the second forum the Democrats will attend within a week; a third sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign will be held on Thursday ..... Dick Gephardt had the endorsements of 23 unions during the 2004 presidential primary season ...... A.F.L.-C.I.O., a federation of 55 unions representing nearly 10 million workers ..... 205,000 union members did volunteer work in the 2006 campaign and that the federation’s political program contacted more than 13 million members of unions and union households ..... Labor leaders said the Republican presidential candidates were invited to take part in the Chicago debate, but none of them filled out a labor questionnaire sent them — a precondition for participating in the debate.
Presidential candidates to debate in Chicago ABC7Chicago.com
Giuliani Questioned About Catholicism Forbes "My religious affiliation, my religious practices and the degree to which I am a good or not so good Catholic, I prefer to leave to the priests," Giuliani said. ..... Giuliani has been married three times, with one annulment and one divorce. ..... Giuliani said he's the only Republican who can compete throughout the country without writing off traditionally Democratic states. .... "I can make this campaign a nationwide campaign," Giuliani said. "We have only run in certain states." ..... "I suspect it will be a Hillary Clinton-Barack Obama ticket," he said. "Their views are pretty much the same."
Giuliani's daughter backs Obama Times of India
Obama slams Clinton's 'special ties' Times of India
Clinton opens up lead over Obama in new poll CNN Clinton at 48 percent, Obama at 26 percent ..... Clinton's support is up 8 percentage points from a similar poll conducted three weeks ago, while Obama, at 26 percent, is down 2 percentage points. .... Clinton later called Obama's answer "naive" -- a critique that may have struck a cord with her party's base. Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independents now significantly favor Clinton to handle terrorism, the Iraq war and relations with "nations that are unfriendly to the United States." ....... A Newsweek poll suggests Clinton holds a 23-point lead, while the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll put the lead at 21 points. ..... In early primary and caucus states like New Hampshire and Iowa, however, some polls show Clinton, Obama and former Sen. John Edwards virtually tied. And other state polls show Clinton with a lead, but one far smaller than national surveys like the latest USA Today/Gallup, Newsweek and NBC News/Wall Street Journal polls.

Middle America, Meet The Hackers Forbes DefCon, the largest gathering of hackers, crackers and security professionals in the world ..... DefCon's true spirit: smart people getting together to mess around with technology. ...... organized cybergangs in Eastern Europe and Asia .... six federal employees revealed themselves in press conferences and panel discussions. More bizarrely, two federal agents were married during the conference's closing ceremony. ...... the "Titan Rain" attacks that penetrated the U.S. Department of Commerce and Department of State computers in past years. ....... "We simply don't take the law as a moral compass," he says. ...... Internet culture has always bent, and sometimes broken, the legal rules. ..... have now grown up and, like himself, launched legitimate careers in security with big-name tech companies ..... a passion for technology. It's thinking about what technology can do, rather than what it was originally intended to do
Who Paid for Sarkozy's Vacation? Forbes The estate can be rented for $30,000 a week ..... "In every situation, and even on vacation, he represents France" ..... "I'm in Wolfeboro because I have friends who have been coming here for years, who told me that it was rural America, the America we love, with forests, lakes and tranquility," Sarkozy said. "They have been coming for years, they rented a house, they invited us, period." ...... Sarkozy lost his temper with two American news photographers covering his vacation, jumping onto their boat and scolding them loudly in French.
Obama Can't Wait To Meet Rudy's Daughter CBS News
Giuliani child draws attention as Obama supporter Washington Post
Giuliani’s Daughter Shows Support for Obama, for a Time New York Times
Poll: Democrats favor Clinton over Obama Xinhua
Clinton proposes crackdown in mortgage market Reuters
Clinton proposes crackdown on predatory lenders WCAX
Edwards, Obama Press Lobby Issue Washington Post Edwards says lobbyists "rig the system." ..... "If you don't think lobbyists have too much influence in Washington, then I believe you've probably been in Washington too long."
Sen. Clinton slammed for taking $400K from lobbyists CNN
Giuliani calls for tougher laws to combat sexual abuse of children San Diego Union Tribune tougher laws against the sexual abuse of children and greater enforcement of regulations .... two of the biggest problems facing youngsters: sex abuse and drug use. ..... control an increasing international business of child pornography.

Sarkozy snaps at photographers while on US holiday Independent
10 things you should know about VoIP over wireless TechRepublic your VoIP service, which is usually far less than the cost of cell phone service and may offer free unlimited international calling, something you don’t get with most cellular plans. Lenovo or No, Linux Not There Yet Red Herring analysts say it’ll be years before desktop Linux can seriously threaten proprietary systems like Windows. .... “In terms of elegance and aesthetics, Microsoft and Apple are many years ahead of Linux.”
Lenovo to offer Linux on laptops BBC News Dell asked customers for suggestions for new products on the company's website: Linux PCs were the most-requested item. .... Linux can be freely distributed, modified and used by anyone who wants it. .... approximately 6% of computers users run Linux, similar to the numbers choosing Apple Macs.
Foods Tastes Better With McDonald's Logo, Kids Say Forbes

Large numbers of US weapons delivered to Iraq gone missing: report People's Daily Online
190000 US guns supplied to Iraqi forces missingIrish Examiner
GAO Report: 30 Percent Of US Weapons Missing In Iraq [] RTT News
Bush Differs With Karzai on Iran’s Role in Afghanistan New York Times Karzai characterized Iran as “a helper” .... Bush pointedly disagreed, saying, “I would be very cautious about whether the Iranian influence in Afghanistan is a positive force.” .... the Qaeda network had reconstituted itself in the mountainous territory along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
S Asia flood victims desperate for food, clean water Daily Times
Giuliani backs Obama San Diego Union Tribune
Pure Horserace: Romney Feels The Heat CBS News
Wal-Mart reaches deal with local company to enter India International Herald Tribune Wal-Mart Stores and India's Bharti Enterprises have reached a deal to jointly build wholesale outlets and manage a supply chain for retail stores across the country ...... India's booming, but much protected, retail business, which is currently dominated by an estimated 12 million mom and pop shops
Career women in Japan find a blocked path Since the Equal Employment Opportunity Law was passed in 1985, women have become a common sight on factory floors, at construction sites and behind the wheels of taxis. But they have had much less success reaching positions of authority, which remain the preserve of gray-suited salarymen. ..... women held 42.5 percent of managerial jobs in the United States in 2005 ...... the nation's notoriously demanding corporate culture, particularly its expectation of morning-to-midnight work hours. .... Even with cases of blatant discrimination, lawsuits remain rare because of a cultural aversion to litigation. Another big problem has been that the equal opportunity law is essentially toothless. ...... ingrained social attitudes about gender roles. ...... she is the only woman in a group of some 160 heads of Nissan suppliers. The first time she attended the group's twice-annual meetings, she says she was asked to wait in a room with secretaries. ...... she earns 10 percent to 20 percent less than men her age. Younger male colleagues ask her and other women to push elevator buttons for them and serve tea.
Darfur political process resumes after long deadlock Xinhua
Poll: Clinton widens lead on Obama USA Today
Latest USAT/Gallup Poll gives Clinton 22-point lead over Obama USA Today
The Obama Republican Iowa Debate The Gate - National Journal