David Paterson

Tuesday, September 18

6:30 pm

Lt. Governor David Paterson
"The Policy and Politics of Stem Cell Research"
6:30pm
Retreat Lounge
37 W 17th Street (b/t 5th and 6th Avenues)
B/D/F/V to 14th Street,
N/R/Q/W to 14th St/Union Square,
1 train to 18th Street
About Lt. Governor Paterson
About New York State's stem cell initiative

David Paterson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Lieutenant Governor of New York. .. the first African American to hold this position. .... was born legally blind in Brooklyn in 1954 .... In 1985 he joined the campaign staff of David Dinkins for Manhattan Borough President. ..... 1986, he won the seat for his first full term representing the 29th District in the New York State Senate ...... the son of former New York Secretary of State Basil Paterson, who was the first African American NYC Deputy Mayor and the first to run for statewide office in New York ...... The elder Paterson also served in the NY state Senate in the same seat his son occupied. In 1993, David Paterson ran citywide for the office of the Public Advocate ..... Paterson was elected Senate Minority Leader in 2002, becoming both the first non-white state legislative leader and the highest-ranking black elected official in the history of New York State. ...... He lives in Harlem with his wife, Michelle Paige Paterson. They have two children
NYS Senator David A. Paterson
New York State Senator | 30th Senate District | Bill Perkins ...
LIEUTENANT DAVID PATERSON SITE

One scenario is Obama becomes the nominee and picks Spitzer as running mate. That is less likely than him picking Hillary, many would argue the numbers right now show the possibility to be the other way round, and among Hillary's choices Warner just took himself out, Mark Warner of Virginia, the dude used to be a hot candidate for president, then he dropped out, and now thinks he is going to run for the US Senate. That would mean Hillary would not have the option to pick Warner for running mate.

In short, Obama and Hillary are pretty much stuck with each other.

But I was playing out the Spitzer scenario, and I am thinking, that means wing man Paterson gets to be Governor. And I noticed in my inbox a DL21C mail about a Paterson event, and I was thinking I am inclined to go. I have seen Paterson at one other event. Spitzer was a candidate for Governor, and everyone took for granted he would win by a wide margin. And this was my second time of seeing Spitzer, the first time it was too early for him to have picked a running mate. (Eliot Spitzer, Aliza Fatima)

It was the outdoors bar at one end of Union Square. Spitzer teased that David Pollak was getting a little too old to keep leading the DL21C. At the time, I did not realize that was code for taking Pollak off to lead the state party. Spitzer also joked, "on day one, everything changes, and Paterson gets to do all the work."

Until then I knew Paterson as the guy who took Leecia Eve's place. (Who Is Leecia Eve?) I guess Eve was favored by the Hillary-Rangel machine. But Spitzer showed an independent mind. Eve was being touted as New York's own "Obama."

So I am thinking, maybe I do want to go to this event. Let me read up on this guy. And it has been quite a revelation reading up on this guy. When you read up on Paterson, it sounds like it was a revolutionary act on the part of Spitzer to have picked Paterson for running mate. The whole black thing. New York state is not that far ahead, it seems.

Paterson was elected Senate Minority Leader in 2002, becoming both the first non-white state legislative leader and the highest-ranking black elected official in the history of New York State.

This is primitive. Something like this only happened in 2002? It is time for New York City to secede from the rest of the state, I would say.

Now I am most definitely going to see Paterson.

I mean, I pride myself in my political instincts. And Spitzer shows on my radar. He showed early. He is cutting edge. He is the next generation Democrat. This dude dug up some obscure law from the 1930s to raise hell on Wall Street in his previous incarnation. If that is not creative use, what is? At that same Union Square event, this young Pakistani girl was there with her father and elder sister. At the first event, she had managed to get Spitzer to pledge to come to her graduation. I was standing nearby and Spitzer approached that family. I thought he might say, "Hey, how you doing?" The dude wants to talk about "classroom size." I almost burst out laughing. I got the same feeling not long back while I was reading a New York Times article online. Spitzer shows up for Nascar. "We should have impounded Peter's car" is a quote from Spitzer at the end. This guy has a very natural instinct for political power. He is highly creative. And he does his homework. That is some combo.

You can imagine Obama delivering universal health care. But you can't imagine him delivering publicly financed elections. You can imagine Spitzer delivering publicly financed elections. That is the Spitzer appeal. And I sensed that before I googled him up and read up on him. When I did google him up and read his campaign speeches, my jaw dropped. This dude is in a league of his own. His proposals are so far reaching.

If Paterson has stuggled with race in New York, I know from personal experience the Jewish thing is an issue in the South. But Romney is doing pretty good. That changes things. Romney, Mormon. Net worth: hundreds of millions.

Obama-Spitzer could end up looking very tempting. Either a Bush or a Clinton or both have run at the national level since 1976. It is like after 200 years of being a republic, America tired and went back to being a monarchy. For Obama to pick Hillary might be a way to not be able to break away from the 1990s. Bill Clinton could come back to overshadow at least his first year.

One thing is for sure, the running mate has to be a New Yorker. When you are running against Rudy and Bloomberg, you are left with no other option, I think. And Spitzer is more of a New Yorker than Hillary. Hillary moved in to run for office. Nothing wrong with that. She has been excellent as Senator.

Also, a Senator, and a Governor look better than two Senators: better balance.

And you end up with New York's first black Governor. Now that is primitive. This should have happened a long time ago. Obviously the constituencies in the state legislature are not divided based on equal population. I don't know. I am guessing. Kind of like Wyoming having two Senators on Capitol Hill. NYC has been shortchanged.

"Race matters powerfully."
- Barack Obama

And interestingly Bill Perkins holds the seat that Paterson used to hold. That is really interesting. I have gotten to know Bill. I had seen him at many events before. But Obama really did it. We are both very much into Obama. We sat next to each other at the Manhattan For Obama Organizational Kickoff Meeting.

Bill Perkins also shows up on my radar. This guy is moving up. That is so obvious. He is Governor material. Easy. No sweat. Down the line somewhere. It was Bill who gave a rousing Obama cheer at the Bash. (DL21C Annual Summer Bash: Barack Won The Straw Poll) Pollak pulled away the microphone in mock horror. The two got playful.

Fitting In Hillary, Obama, Spitzer
Obama-Spitzer Vs. Giuliani-Romney
An Obama Spitzer Ticket
Obama, Hillary, Spitzer
Eliot Spitzer, Governor

Obama: 2007 Gameplan: Money, Message, Organization



In The News

Clinton, Obama and Edwards Join Pledge to Avoid Defiant States New York Times, United States of North Carolina agreed to sign a loyalty pledge put forward by party officials in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, Senator a move that solidified the importance of the opening contests of Iowa and New Hampshire. ...... Hours after Senator Barack Obama of Illinois and former Senator John EdwardsHillary Rodham Clinton of New York followed suit. The decision seemed to dash any hopes of Mrs. Clinton relying on a strong showing in Florida as a springboard to the nomination. ....... in these states ideas count, not just money ..... Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm of Michigan said her state’s manufacturing crisis and other issues were more important than the order of the primary calendar.
Obama leads with corporate crowd Chicago Tribune, United States
Clooney hails Obama 'star' quality The Press Association "You've been in a room once in a while with a rock star. He walks into the world and he takes your breath away. ..... labelled a traitor when he questioned the war .... among the first to own a Tesla, a fully electric sportscar, and he is working with the Swiss watchmaking company Omega Watches on a fuel cell project.
Early wins key to Obama strategy United Press International black voters don't base a candidate’s electability on how they do in polls because they don’t trust white voters to tell pollsters the truth regarding how they feel about black candidates. ... Clinton leading Obama by double digits in New Hampshire and holding a slight lead in Iowa ..... In South Carolina, Clinton leads Obama by 8 percent
Obama campaign to explore faith issues Iowa City Press Citizen, IA
Obama to host faith forum in Iowa City Iowa City Press Citizen
Nugget wins Obama 'caucus' Pahrump Valley Times, NV Obama campaign organizer Adrienne Lever said Nevada was formerly 46th in order of voting on the presidential candidates. .... "Now we're going to be one of the early caucus states," Lever said, "which means the eyes of the nation are upon us." .... Lever described the caucus process as a socially changing experience as well. .... "People who lived here for 14 years, for example, who didn't know the Democrats down the street, are all of a sudden starting to know each other," she said. .... "I met him at a household event in Las Vegas. He took the time, wading through the crowd, to listen to people," said Jack Wood. .... "It's the big, multinational corporations that basically owns our government, including the Congress, including the White House," Wood said. .... "He's changing the system. He's not a cookie-cutter (candidate)." .... Obama emphasizes rehabilitation and early education programs like Head Start. .... An partial supporter, Lever said, "I have seen a passion and enthusiasm in this campaign that I have never seen in politics before." .... Campaigner Allison Schwartz said she has never seen such a good turnout for a candidate from voters who never supported a campaign as she's seen with Obama, with "thousands of people following him around." ... "Nevada is once again going to be a battleground state. To those who worked on Kerry's campaign, it was devastating to lose by 21,000 votes," she said.
Obama Urges More US Involvement in Africa Mshale African Community Newspaper, MN told a convention of black journalists in Las Vegas that the genocide in Darfur has continued for the worse because the United States has failed to intervene .... a crowd of more that 3,000 black journalists, who had gathered there for the 32nd annual convention of the National Association of Black Journalists. .... the unanimous vote to send 26,000 peacekeeping troops to Darfur, cast in July by the 15 members of the United Nations Security Council .... Since 2003, when the conflict in Darfur began, the United Nations estimates that the Janjaweed, an Arab militia backed by the Sudanese government, has killed at least 450,000 black Africans. Members of the militia continue to set homes ablaze and have driven more that 2 million people out of the region. Most black Africans have sought refuge in neighboring Chad. .... to avert future crises in Africa, the United States should be more involved in the continent during times of peace. ..... “We can’t wait until all hell breaks loose,” he said. “We can’t wait until genocide takes place.” ... Obama gave special recognition to ethnic media, which he said covered issues that the mainstream press gave very little attention. He challenged other black journalists to follow suit and tell stories that show how poor black Americans are suffering. .... “Tell the stories that will lift up African Americans,” Obama said. “Show their difficulties and struggles.”
Is John Edwards A Terrible Father? Barack Obama? Huffington Post, NY "You don't get to say I'm a terrible mother because you think you wouldn't make my choices in my situation," she blogged her accuser within hours of the post. "You don't get to judge me because you think you know exactly what you would do if you had my disease. I want to be really clear: you don't know. And if the sun always shines on you -- and I pray it does -- you will never know." ..... it reinforced a stereotype about women. You know, the one of women as small-minded, petty and, yes, jealous. I can't have what you have, so I'm going to make you pay for it. ....... You don't hear men resorting to that kind of backbiting. .... men get to fight about the important, big-picture stuff like heath-care reform and the war in Iraq, not the trivial garbage like subjective notions of parenting and how many minutes a day a "good dad" spends with his children. .... Elizabeth Edwards has incurable breast cancer. Not even her doctors know how much time she has.

No sholay in Ram Gopal Varma’s Aag Hindustan Times, India Aadhe idhar jao, aadhe udhar jao, baki Ram Gopal ki Aag ke saath jao. Call it deja vu minus all the good parts. That’s the risk one takes while updating a legend like Sholay. Ram Gopal Varma took that risk and it’s official now: Aag is a flop with expected losses to the tune of a whopping Rs 40 crore. ..... A total of 101 prints have been distributed across Delhi, the NCR region and UP. But with not one of the single-screen theatres buying the print ...... “To begin with, there was no advance booking. On the first two days of its release, it could only register an occupancy of less than 20 per cent.” ..... “Audiences have declined the film. As a viewer, even I am with them. The verdict is clear and there’s nothing to look forward to.” He added he has learnt a lesson: “Don’t copy a classic. Period.” .... Ab tera kya hoga, Ramu?
And the Worst Film Award goes to.. Hindustan Times, India RGV who has made a mockery of a classic. ...... the Worst Actor as well as the Worst Actor in a Negative Role Awards (so much confusion nowadays) goes out to Amitabh Bachchan for the hammiest, over-the-top, yucky delineation of Babban Gabban Singh ........ If I dug into my nostrils, it’s because I’m a director’s actor. He also told me to flick my tongue around when a rape scene was in progress. He told me to yell, sit as if all my limbs were in a kathak pose and behave like Jack Nicholson meets Johnny Lever. He also made me wear a potato gunny sack.. very hot it was.. prevented me from a haircut for 100 days.. and painted this little worm on my nose. ...... the new Expressionless Wonder in Town Prashant Raj ..... another Special Jury Award to Mr Bachchan for killing hundreds of ants, mosquitoes and bees
I didn't take tips from Big B: Prashant NDTV.com But among all of us, Mr Bachchan was simply amazing. Even after being an actor for so long, his commitment to his character and the intensity that he brings is a lesson for all newcomers.
Amitabh Bachchan misses Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag press conference ! India Target, NY he excused himself from going to Delhi as his mother's health needed his attention and therefore decided to drop out at the last minute.” ..... Bachchan was quite excited about coming to Delhi for the press conference but his mother fell ill and he had to cancel his visit here.
'Remaking Sholay is like playing with fire' Hindustan Times Hema Malini and Jaya Bachchan aren't too happy with the remake. Your comments? .... In the film industry, Sholay holds a special position. When one decides to make a remake of such a huge hit, it's like playing with fire.
RGV Ki Aag Times of India our desi auteur ends up axing the soul out of the cult film. Somehow, the dark tones of the film become symptomatic of the quality of the film: it's Sholay minus the timeless glow...... he tries hard to lend the character a new menace, but all that snaky tongue-twisting, the tubucular cough and the onion breathstorm fail to stand up to the simple majesty of the '70s dacoit. .... he too flops miserably in the 'soocide' sequence — it's the beefy newcomer (Prashant Raj) who does a complete hara-kiri with Amitabh's angry young Jai. No one sheds a tear when Jai dies, this time. ... The filmmaker who seems to have mastered the art of the gangster film — remember Sarkar, Company, Satya — fails to create a new language for this old classic. ..... Babban's occasional brutish hysteria. .... While Sushmita Sen transforms the silent widow into a holier-than-thou mannequin, Nisha Kothari makes kachumber out of sweet ole Basanti.
Sholay should be seen again, not made again: Hema Hindustan Times classics like Mughal-e-Azam and Sholay shouldn't be touched .... However, Hema was confident that Amitabh Bachchan, who was Jai in the original, would do justice to his role as Gabbar Singh in the new version. "Amitabh Bachchan is a great actor and he is capable of doing justice to any role, including Gabbar." ..... the actress who hopes to open a classical dance institute in Bhopal one day. ... She has two dreams - to act with Esha in a film and perform at the Khajuraho Dance festival where daughters Esha and Ahana had danced last year.
Big B fan attempts suicide outside Jalsa Times of India

Craig Resigns From US Senate Over Restroom Incident (Update4) Bloomberg
Pakistan power-sharing talks deadlocked Houston Chronicle In London, Bhutto said the talks were at a "standstill" because members of the ruling party objected to working with her Pakistan People's Party, the country's main opposition party which she has led from exile. ..... The two camps had been negotiating an agreement for Musharraf to resign as army chief, ending military rule of Pakistan since he seized power in a 1999 coup. Bhutto also wanted the president to give up the power to dismiss the government and parliament. However, she has failed to win a public commitment from Musharraf on those two critical points. ..... Bhutto "was asking too many concessions." ..... "She wanted that the president should not have the power to dissolve the parliament. She wanted that we should scrap corruption cases against her, and this is what we didn't accept." ..... "We've taken the decision to announce on Sept. 14 the date of my return ..... According to Pakistani law, Musharraf must stand for re-election by the national and provincial assemblies between Sept. 15 and Oct. 15, and parliamentary elections have to be held by mid-January. An amendment allowing Musharraf to serve simultaneously as president and army chief runs out on Dec. 31. ...... Pakistan's newly independent Supreme Court could declare Musharraf's continued military rule unconstitutional. .... She wanted Pakistan's ban on prime ministers serving a third term lifted, which would allow her, as well as Sharif to run again for prime minister.
Democratic VP List Might Soon Shrink ABC News Warner has been seen by Democratic strategists as a potentially attractive running mate because he left office with an approval rating of 80 percent despite governing in a traditionally Republican state. ...... He has also thought of making another run for governor in 2009 ..... While Warner's executive image of himself is more in tune with the job of governor, the fact that not all of his daughters are done with high school in northern Virginia is one factor adding to the Senate's appeal. ..... Mark Warner likes to joke that the "most memorable" part of his '96 Senate run was the bumper stickers one of his supporters printed up which said: "Mark, not John." ... "Someone in Southside Virginia pulled up next to us one day and said: 'Excuse me, sir, what kind of biblical reference is that?'" ... He promises an announcement on his future plans in "a week or so."
GOP Nomination Remains Up for Grabs The Associated Press The Republican presidential race is extraordinarily volatile ..... Giuliani leads the field in national popularity polls but Mitt Romney, the ex-governor of Massachusetts, has maintained an edge where it counts — in some of the first states to vote. ... Looming large is the Iraq war and a dispirited party faithful smarting over losses in last year's midterm elections. Dividing the field are immigration and abortion. Wreaking havoc is an evolving primary calendar. .... Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada, Florida and Wyoming are to vote in January, and Michigan is ready to complete a similar move. Dates and delegate allotments are in flux. .... Michigan is poised to become a player. The legislature voted to move the state's primary from Feb. 26 to Jan. 15, and Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm is expected to sign the bill. ..... Nevada ... One poll shows him with a double-digit lead over Giuliani and Thompson. Romney could benefit from a residual effect of his good standing in other early states as well as from his faith, given the state has one of the top five largest Mormon populations in the nation. ...... South Carolina .. a state that demands shoe-leather politicking ..... Romney is expected to pay more attention to Florida and devote more resources to it soon, giving chase to Giuliani. .... Whoever makes it to Mega Tuesday will need boatloads of cash to compete on the expensive TV airwaves in the nearly two dozen states holding contests. Well-funded candidates are focusing on states where they believe they have the best chance — and can pick up the most delegates. ..... Giuliani is stockpiling money and keeping a tight rein on spending to be ready for this day. He has centered much of his strategy around it, paying particular attention to California's bounty of 173 delegates. His home state, New York, votes on Mega Tuesday and could bring in 101 delegates as does neighboring New Jersey with 52 delegates and larger Democratic-leaning states such as Illinois. It offers 70 delegates.
Clooney says Barack Obama has rock star aura, but other Dems not ... The Canadian Press
Clinton Builds Lead 4 Months Out The Associated Press
Obama Will Be Rewarded for His Open Talk About Bad US Policy on Cuba AlterNet The news that Fidel Castro is betting on the Clinton-Obama dream ticket should be taken with a large Mohito. It makes you wonder which TV station denied to ordinary Cubans that he is relying on for his news. ...... the inane and inept foreign policy that has got the US nowhere in Cuba and led it up the Tigris elsewhere. ....... There is no way the overwhelming white Cuban supporters of the Cuban American National Foundation would vote for a black candidate ........ one of the secrets of the Castro's success is that Afro-Cubans are very well aware that the exiled would-be rulers in Miami are not exactly equal opportunities types. ...... Their ancestors had maintained slavery until 1886 -- and many aspects of segregation right up to the revolution. They would not be welcomed as liberators. ....... It is highly likely that like many Anglo whites, the more conservative and anti-Castro Cubans support the Republicans for the same racial reasons more than any perceived Democratic softness towards Castro. ....... her foreign policy is identical in most respects to the neocons, as her comments on Iraq, Israel and much of the rest of the globe will testify. ....... Castro does not have a free press, does not allow free unions, and locks up some dissidents. Neither does China. ...... The embargo punishes ordinary people in Cuba .... the restrictions are morally unjustified and are tactically inane .... Uncle Sam's vindictive hostility.

John Edwards Bets the Farm Time the pretty small-town squares fill with voters who say they feel a strong attachment to the former Senator from North Carolina. They relate to his rural Southern style. ..... The Democratic establishment has fallen into line behind Clinton; a great many people are inspired by Obama; the media are preoccupied with the competition between the two. ....... in recent weeks, as his campaign pulled staffers from Nevada and he stayed stuck in third place in New Hampshire, the first of those four states has become a must-win ....... Everything John Edwards says, does and wears, from the frayed cuffs of his faded jeans to the rolled-up sleeves of his basic blue shirt, tells these people he is one of them. ..... "I've made up my mind," she says. "He's my man. He knows exactly what we want." When I ask her what impressed her most, she can't point to anything in particular. She's quiet for a moment, then says, "It's more the whole feeling." ....... taken a week after Edwards' seven-day, 31-stop bus tour, gives him 29% of the vote, 5 points ahead of Clinton and 7 ahead of Obama. ....... only 5% to 10% of voters go to the caucuses ..... Iowa may be the only place where the feeling for him is so powerful. .... Iowa Democrats seem to like Edwards more for who he is than for what he says. ..... "The media goes to this very engaging story about a legitimate woman candidate and a legitimate candidate with an African-American heritage, and that drives up their fund-raising numbers," says Elizabeth, the unfiltered voice of the campaign ..... John Edwards always knew Clinton was going to be formidable, but he didn't bank on Obama. ..... Edwards believes that Obama will fade, as Bradley did, giving him a clean shot at Clinton. So far, Obama isn't cooperating, and Clinton is trying to triangulate her differences with Edwards and Obama by being the candidate of "change and experience," someone who sees the "invisible people" ....... he simply interviewed people and let them tell their stories ..... Another man on the porch, James Figgs, said he was moved by Edwards' visit but he'll probably vote for Obama. ...... He told Lowe's story at every event for the rest of the day, and he hasn't stopped since. ..... his goal of eliminating poverty within 30 years ..... Rallying people to help the have-nots has given way to rallying people to help themselves. ..... "Some of the best information I got was from lobbyists," says Bill Bradley. "What's important isn't shutting them out but breaking the money connection."
A Civil War Over Early Primaries
Campaigning by the Book

Elephant In The Room: Gender

The number one issue in this election right now is not Iraq, it is not health care. It is gender. Hillary leads among women 2-1. Obama is going to have to compete on gender. How do you do that? You take it head on.

Obama took Hillary head on on Iraq and she has faltered. Hillary voted for the war. Now she is saying Bush and his associates told her they were going to use the vote to send in UN inspectors, not to wage war. Now that is what I call a serious lapse of judgment. Hillary must be faulted for believing Bush and his associates. How do you know Bush is lying? His lips are moving.

Obama took Hillary head on on health care and she faltered. She says she needs eight years. Obama says four. Eight is not going to fly. That is too long of a wait. If you can't do it in four, you can't do it in eight. And if you can do it in eight, you can do it in four. It is not about having more time. It is about having the guts to take on the skewed forces at work in the sector.

Obama took Hillary head on on foreign policy and she faltered.

Pakistan Is Getting Interesting And Obama Might Have Shaken Things
Let Me Get This Straight
Engaging Third World Dictators
What Obama Said On Pakistan

Hillary can be taken and had head on also on gender. If she can be engaged in a policy debate on gender, she is going to come across as yet another Indira Gandhi, yet another Benazir Bhutto, strong, smart women who do good work more or less in an executive position, but who don't budge the gender compass much.

Obama 2008's pitch has to be this: if you want symbolic progress on gender, you go with Hillary, if you want substantive progress on gender, you come with me.

And my message is not to the candidate and his professional staff, although that it is. My message is primarily to the grassroots volunteers. This has to be bottom up. This is the only way to bring about positive change on gender as on much everything else.

The Grassroots Power Woman

Gender has to be talked about. Workplace issues and relationship issues have to be talked about. The grassroots power women of Obama 2008 are the ones who will take gender dynamic to a whole new level. It will not be Hillary.

Obama 2008 has to be ready to give everything to women including the vice presidency to Hillary.

In The News

Senator Craig plans to resign on Saturday International Herald Tribune
Virginian Often Opposed Own Party Washington Post
Senator Warner Will Not Seek Re-election New York Times
Iowa Permits Same-Sex Marriage, for 4 Hours, Anyway New York Times
Gonzales' testimony undergoing scrutiny Los Angeles Times
US dog left £6m trust fund The Press Association
Obama wows his supporters Malaysia Star TINA Turner’s Simply The Best was played to the hilt at the New York Marriott ballroom that evening in Brooklyn, New York City. ...... The VIP guest was at least an hour late .... At 6.36pm, the people roared. Cameras flashed. The rock star of politics, Barack Obama, emerged on stage where a banner was hung, proclaiming “Brooklyn for Barack.” ...... that much written about baritone voice of his ..... a speech that got him flashing brightly on the political radar of Americans. ...... the reason I am hopeful is that I have seen what can happen when people get together. ...... “The question is not whether I am ready, but are you ready?” he asked. ..... “He’s fantastic. He’s genuine,” Williams gushed.
Obama campaign descends on London for fundraising drive Guardian Unlimited when his campaign arrives London in October hoping to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars from wealthy Democrats in the capital. ..... Obama will not be there in person, he will be represented by his wife, Michelle. ..... In six months he has raised more than $58m (£29m), compared with Hillary Clinton's $52m. .... She is beginning to develop a presence of her own on the campaign trail that will help to chip away at the advantage Mrs Clinton has in the form of her spouse, the former president. ...... anyone managing to draw together contributions from a group of 10 or more eligible donors totalling at least $23,000 - a process known as bundling - will be invited to a special VIP pre-reception. ..... With wealthy American bankers increasingly spending time in London - the chief executive of Goldman Sachs, for instance, spends six months of the year in the City ..... The Democrats will be holding a primary election in Porchester Hall, west London, on February 5, the same date as a swath of states. Supporters unable to reach London will be able to vote on the internet.
Unions Back Clinton, Edwards, Huckabee Guardian Unlimited
The Edwards-Clinton Mutual Sustainability Pact Atlantic Online
Hillary a disaster for Dems The Flat Hat, VA
Do We Still Need the South? TPMCafe, NY
Edwards has lead in Time's new poll DesMoinesRegister.com, IA 32 percent of the new poll's participants chose Edwards as the one for whom they would caucus, compared with 24 percent for Clinton, 22 percent for Obama and 13 percent for Richardson. .... When asked which of the four "will take on special interests in Washington," 35 percent chose Obama, 25 percent chose Edwards, 19 percent chose Clinton and 7 percent chose Richardson.
Poll: Clinton Leads Democratic Field; GOP Side More Muddied Fox 28, IN

Sen. John Warner Will Not Seek Re-election in '08 MyFox Kansas City
Democratic Donor Turns Himself In New York Times
Nepal's government agrees to peace deal with ethnic rights group ... International Herald Tribune The Madhesi group's leader, Upendra Yadav, celebrated the deal, saying the Madhesi people "who had been oppressed for centuries will go to the November polls and shape our future ourselves."
A Front-Runner or The Wes Clark of 2008? Washington Post the chaotic calendar and geography of the nominating contest. ..... a delegate-bonanza for Giuliani on Feb. 5, when New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are among the states in play. .... Thompson's home state of Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Missouri and Oklahoma. ..... the region that has become the GOP's foundation. .... summertime speculation. ... It was almost exactly four years ago that Democrats were buzzing about the imminent entry of one Wes Clark. Once in, he fizzled instantly. ...... the staff turmoil that has afflicted the organization. .... the arrival of veteran Bill Lacy as campaign manager has helped to settle things. ..... an era of round-the-clock news cycles, metrics, micro-targeting, blogs and other new media. .... the verdict would be clear by the end of September.
RJD, SP slam law & order in UP, Bihar Economic Times
Obama's California man outlines anti-Hillary strategy Sacramento Bee
Obama wants another 'boom' event in Atlanta Atlanta Journal Constitution metro Atlanta over the next two weeks. ..... The largest event looks to belong to Barack Obama. ..... another huge rally in downtown Atlanta ... Sept. 20 ... $25. ..... In April, on the Georgia Tech campus, Obama drew 20,000. This September event is less about show and more about serious network-building. .... most of those donations will be accompanied by an e-mail address and phone number. ..... A standard, $1,000-a-head event follows.
Late Show with Hillary Clinton Washington Post One big laugh line: Bill Clinton had looked into the vice presidency ....... 10. Bring stability and long term security to "The View." 9. Each year on my birthday, every American gets a cupcake. 8. You'll have the option of rolling dice against the IRS for double-or-nothing on your taxes. 7. Having trouble getting a flight and Air Force One is available -- it's yours. 6. My vice president will never shoot anybody in the face. 5. Turn Gitmo into a Dairy Queen as soon as possible. 4. For over a century there have been only two Dakotas -- I plan to double that. 3. We will finally have a president who doesn't mind pulling over and asking for directions. 2. I will appoint a committee to find out what the heck is happening on "Lost." 1. Am I right, ladies?One more pantsuit joke and Letterman disappears. ...... January 2000 .... 10. I lost a bet with Tipper. 9. I did think this was a show where you answer a couple of easy questions and you win a million dollars. 8. If Dan Quayle did it, how hard could it be? 7. I was already in town to interview for the Jets' head coach position. 6. Four words: severe lapse of judgment. 5. I needed an excuse to get out of dinner with Donald Trump. 4. When they threw in a "Late Show" tote bag, I said, "Gas up the Taurus, Bill, we're goin' to Dave's." 3. I have not been in the Ed Sullivan Theater since I was dating Ringo. 2. Um, to tell you the truth, Dave, I thought Johnny hosted this show. 1. If I can make it here, I can make it anywhere.
Edwards' Wife Talks of Clinton 'Hatred' Forbes "I don't know where it comes from. I don't begin to understand it. But you can't pretend it doesn't exist, and it will energize the Republican base. Their nominee won't energize them, Bush won't, but Hillary as the nominee will. It's hard for John to talk about, but it's the reality." ...... She has suggested that Obama and his campaign plagiarized material from Edwards' 2004 presidential campaign and criticized Obama for opposing the Iraq war but voting for the funding, saying that he's been "behaving in a holier-than-thou way." ..... Last year, Mrs. Edwards apologized to Clinton after saying her choices in life have made her happier than the New York senator.
Bihar JD (U) dissidents elect new chief Hindu
First Iowa gay marriage shows 'love and justice' Chicago Tribune
Rove chokes up on final day at White House CNN
Singh Says US Nuclear Accord Is Vital for India (Update3) Bloomberg
Bush: China growth provides "good opportunity" for US China Daily
Google Begins Hosting News on Its Site Forbes material produced by The Associated Press and three other news services ..... It could diminish Internet traffic to newspaper and broadcast companies' Web sites where those stories and photos are also found - a development that could reduce those companies' revenue from online advertising. ..... the AP, a 161-year-old cooperative owned by news organizations. .... Google doesn't have any immediate plans to run ads alongside the news stories or photographs hosted on its site, but company officials aren't ruling out the possibility in the future. .... Internet's most powerful company. .... In the first half of this year, the 9-year-old company earned $1.9 billion on revenue of $7.5 billion. ..... In July, Google News attracted 9.6 million visitors, trailing Yahoo News (33.8 million visitors), MSNBC (24.5 million), AOL News (23.9 million) and CNN (22.5 million) ...... Referrals from Google News accounted for 2.2 percent of the traffic at newspaper Web sites during the week ending Aug. 25 ...... "This may result in certain publishers losing traffic for their news wire stories, but it will allow more room for their original content ..... "AP relies on its commercial agreements to help pay the enormous costs of covering breaking news around the world, ranging from deadly hurricanes and tsunamis to conflicts like the war in Iraq
Premiere of RGV Ki Aag in Mumbai Times of India When Amitabh walked in, the paparazzi and the fans went into an understandable frenzy, to which Mr Bachchan simply said, “Tum log na!”

173 Vs 1,433 Delegates: February 5 Is Key

If Barack wins, Hillary is going to want to be running mate. That is what the Hillary 2008 Campaign Manager has publicly stated. If Hillary wins, Barack must be the running mate.

Bill Clinton Is Still Relevant

May the most qualified candidate win. It is amazing to watch the democratic process unfold. Democracy is a beautiful thing.

Obama's positive message is uplifting.

The big states that moved to February 5 did not do so to say let the small states give us a clue. The February 5 states are going to be quite independent.

My suggestion would be to invest heavily also in the February 5 states. Got to build major organization in California. That is 441 delegates.

Counting on momentum only to carry you all the way is not going to fly.

John Kerry's experience was that the Iowa victory meant everything. You win that one and you win all that follow. I don't think that will necessarily repeat.

Momentum + Betting Big On February 5 States

January 14 Iowa 56 Delegates
January 19 Nevada 33 Delegates
January 22 New Hampshire 30 Delegates
January 29 South Carolina 54 Delegates

Total 173 Delegates

""Tsunami Tuesday," "Super Duper Tuesday," "Giga Tuesday," "Mega-Tuesday," "Powerball Primary," and the "Tuesday of Destiny." A total of 1,433 Delegates will be pledged by the results of the February 5th votes."

Alabama 60, Alaska 18, Arizona 67, Arkansas 47, California 441, Colorado 71, Delaware 23, Georgia 104, Idaho 23, Illinois 185, Missouri 88, New Jersey 127, New Mexico 38, New York 280, North Carolina, North Dakota 21, Oklahoma 47, Tennessee 85 and Utah 29.

Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2008 ...

Hillary is smart, strong, experienced. She is disciplined. She has inherited a political machine from a guy who I call Pele. She is a woman. This is enormous symbolism for women. I mean, I like her myself. I was as fanatically behind her before Obama said he was considering running.

2008 is going to be a great year for the Democrats. That much is clear.

Hillary is a formidable candidate. She would be tough for anyone to beat. She has never lost an election, not since high school. She is methodical, she is thorough. The debates she has performed well in, she dreaded going into them, story has it, but she prepared and prepared and prepared. She role played. She did her homework. She works very hard. So if you want to beat her, you have to work harder.

February 5 Is Key

You don't want to have lost with a ton of money still in the bank. You got to focus like a laser beam on the first four states, true, but you can't afford to ignore the February 5 states. You got to give at least one day a week to the February 5 states while you give the rest of the week to the first four states.

Nevada's Hispanic population and South Carolina's black population mean the first four states are a fair composition. Howard Dean played his cards right.

Debates

They have been key to Hillary's big numbers. It really does boil down to those two seconds. But then Obama is getting better. He won the Iowa debate.

Iowa Debate: Obama Clear Winner

Media Attack On Obama

First it was Osama Obama.

Then it was ignore Obama.

Now they have gone more sophisticated. They have him stuck in the too inexperienced narrative. He has to fight back. He has to turn it into a judgment narrative.

Gender: The Number One Issue

If Barack and Hillary are Coke and Pepsi, women are going to go for Hillary. And I can understand why. Gender has to be addressed.

The Grassroots Power Woman



In The News

Castro: Clinton-Obama “Invincible” New York Times
Rep. Adam Smith to be Washington state chair for Obama's campaign Seattle Post Intelligencer
Clinton, Obama draw blacks, liberals from Edwards The Swamp, IL
Edwards On Track in Iowa TIME after Edwards' seven-day, 31-stop bus tour of the state, gives Edwards 29% of the vote, five points ahead of Hillary Clinton and seven ahead of Barack Obama ....... With the field limited to the top four candidates, Edwards's lead over Clinton widens, to 32% to 24%. Obama was at 22%, with Bill Richardson at 13%. Iowa polls can be unreliable, since only 5% to 10% of voters go to the caucuses; some other recent surveys have Edwards in a dead heat with Clinton and Obama. The race remains wide open, but Edwards's position remains strong. ...... Strongest Leadership: Clinton holds a commanding lead over Edwards and Obama, 36% - 23% - 20%. ..... Handling of Iraq: Clinton (27%) leads Obama (19%), Edwards (18%) and Richardson (16%). ..... Protecting Against Terrorism: Clinton leads the field by a wide margin, picked by 27%, compared to Edwards, at 19%, Obama at 15%, and Richardson at 14%.
Poll: Clinton opens up a 20-point lead over Obama The Union Leader, NH showing her with a 20-point lead over her closest rival, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama. ....... The same poll in July showed the two candidates in a dead heat at 31 percent apiece. ..... On the Republican side, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has opened a lead over former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani -- 27 to 23 percent ..... The poll done this week of the Democrats shows Clinton favored by 37 percent of the likely primary voters, while Obama has 17 percent and former vice presidential candidate John Edwards has 14 percent ...... ARG polls done in Iowa show Clinton with a 28 to 23 percent lead over Obama, with Edwards at 20 percent, and in North Carolina Clinton has 32 percent, with Edwards at 24 percent and Obama at 21 percent.
Romney Leads, Obama Drops in New Hampshire Angus Reid Global Monitor, Canada Hillary Rodham Clinton is first with 37 per cent, followed by Illinois senator Barack Obama with 17 per cent—down 14 points in a month—and former North Carolina senator John Edwards with 14 per cent. ...... Since 1952, 11 Republicans and eight Democrats have won the Granite State contest and later earned their party’s presidential nomination. ...... In 2004, Massachusetts senator John Kerry won the Democratic New Hampshire primary with 38.4 per cent, followed by former Vermont governor Howard Dean with 26.3 per cent, retired general Wesley Clark with 12.4 per cent, and Edwards with 12.1 per cent.
Obama Admits Early Election Wins Crucial For Maintaining Minority ... AHN Obama's (D-IL) campaign acknowledged that in order for African-Americans to view him as a viable candidates, the senator must win either the Iowa caucus or the New Hampshire primary. ...... But two recent polls show Obama trailing Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) in both those predominantly Caucasian states. The switch to a focus on whether Obama can win in predominantly white states comes after months of blacks wondering if Obama, who has a white mother and African father, was "black enough to win." .... "We have to do well in Iowa and New Hampshire, and if we do, we will win South Carolina," Nugen said. "No one in the campaign would disagree with the notion that we have to win a state like New Hampshire to do well with black voters in South Carolina and beyond." ..... A recent Time magazine poll of voters in Iowa found Obama trailing Clinton by two points. While the Iowa numbers are very close, Melissa Harris-Lacewell, professor of political science at Princeton University, explained that blacks don't trust whites to actually vote for a black person when they say will do so. ..... She gave the example of the 1989 Virginia gubernatorial campaign of L. Douglas Wilder, a black candidate who had been leading in the polls by double-digit numbers. However, he barely won, taking victory by fewer than 7,000 votes. ..... All of that means African-American voters will be looking closely at the Iowa and New Hampshire results to gauge if Obama truly is electable.

Two Articles By Barack, Barack

Fine unscrupulous mortgage lenders

By Barack Obama

Published: August 29 2007 03:00

The implosion of the subprime lending industry is more than a temporary blip in our econ-omic progress. It is a cancer that, given today's integrated financial markets, threatens to spread with devastating impact to housing and to our economy as a whole, unless we act to contain it.

It is also a parable about how an excess of lobbying and influence can defeat common sense rules of the road, placing both consumers and our nation's economic well-being at risk.

This all started as a good idea - helping people buy homes who previously could not afford to. But over time, lenders began pushing low-income buyers into homes they could not possibly afford, abusing the system by lowering their lending standards, making loans that required no money down and offering low, teaser interest rates that explode after the initial grace period. Some borrowers were also lying to get mortgages or engaging in irresponsible speculation.

Nearly everyone - from lenders to investors to borrowers - fooled themselves into thinking that what they were doing was low risk when it in fact involved a lot of risk.

But we also know that Washington played a role. At a time when non-bank lenders were offering new kinds of mortgage, the federal government should have made sure it was all being done on the level. Instead, our government failed to provide the regulatory scrutiny that could have prevented this crisis.

There is a reason why this has happened. Over the past several years, while predatory lenders were driving low-income families into financial ruin, 10 of the country's largest mortgage lenders were spending more than $185m (£92m) lobbying Washington to let them get away with it. So if we really want to make sure this never happens again, we need to end the lobbyist-driven politics that made it possible.

Today, as we weigh our options on how best to resolve this crisis, many argue that bailing out the borrowers and investors will just encourage them to engage in more of the same irresponsible practices.

But I think we also have to recognise what will happen if we reward the mortgage industry's lobbying: they will keep using the same kinds of deceptive practices to make a quick buck, no matter what the consequences to home buyers and their communities. Rather than correct what they are doing wrong, these companies will know that if things go badly, they can always lobby Washington to let them off the hook.

The real victims in this crisis are the millions of borrowers who followed the rules, whose only crime was taking out mortgages that lenders told them they could afford. Normally, these borrowers could avoid foreclosure by refinancing their mortgages or selling their homes. The problem today is that they cannot refinance because no one will lend to them, and they cannot sell because the housing market has fallen. With some arguing that the effects of the worst subprime loans will not be felt until 2008 and 2009, this may be just the beginning.

We need to help struggling borrowers to weather this storm. One way to protect innocent homeowners - at least until this crisis passes - is to establish a fund to help people refinance or sell to avoid foreclosure. We can partially pay for this fund by imposing penalties on lenders that acted irresponsibly or committed fraud.

But we have to do more than just deal with the present crisis. If we do not address the root of these problems, it is just a matter of time before we will be dealing with them again.

The rules currently governing mortgages were written in the 20th century to make borrowing easier to understand for borrowers. We need to update these rules for the 21st century and enact the regulatory and disclosure laws that the mortgage industry has been lobbying against.

That is why I have proposed a Home Score system that would create a simplified, standardised metric for home mortgages - rather like the annual percentage rate (APR), the effective interest rate a borrower ends up paying on a loan - allowing prospective homebuyers easily to compare various mortgage products so they can find out whether they can afford to make the payments.

I have also introduced a bill in the US Senate called the Stop Fraud Act that would treat those who commit mortgage fraud as the criminals they are.

Owning a home represents a big part of the American dream and all Americans - no matter what their income level - should have the power to reach for that dream. But that is not going to happen until we stop the unlicensed, unregulated, fly-by-night mortgage brokers who are hoodwinking low-income borrowers into taking on loans they cannot afford.

If we are serious about stopping this crisis and preventing much larger turmoil in US housing markets, Washington needs to stop acting like an industry advocate and start acting like a public advocate.


Hit Iran where it hurts

By BARACK OBAMA

Thursday, August 30th 2007, 4:00 AM

Americans need to come together to confront the challenge posed by Iran. Yet the Bush administration and an anonymous senator are blocking a bill with bipartisan support that would ratchet up the pressure on the Iranian regime. It's time for this obstructionism to stop.

The decision to wage a misguided war in Iraq has substantially strengthened Iran, which now poses the greatest strategic challenge to U.S. interests in the Middle East in a generation. Iran supports violent groups and sectarian politics in Iraq, fuels terror and extremism across the Middle East and continues to make progress on its nuclear program in defiance of the international community. Meanwhile, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has declared that Israel must be "wiped off the map."

In response, the Bush administration's policy has been tough talk with little action and even fewer results. While conventional Washington thinking says we can only talk to people who agree with us, I believe that strong countries and strong Presidents shouldn't be afraid to talk directly to our adversaries to tell them where America stands. The Bush-Cheney diplomacy of not talking to Iran has not worked. As President, I will use all elements of American power to pressure the Iranian regime, including the power of tough, smart and principled diplomacy.

For diplomacy to work, we need to dial up our political and economic pressure - not just our tough talk. Iran's troubling behavior depends in large part on access to billions of dollars in oil and gas revenue. That is why I introduced the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act last May, to build on a movement across the country to divest from companies that do significant business with Iran. This would send a clear message about where America stands, increasing Iran's isolation and hitting the Iranian regime where it hurts.

The bill works in three ways. First, it would educate investors and pressure foreign companies to reconsider doing business with Iran by requiring the U.S. government to publish - every six months - a list of companies that invest more than $20 million in Iran's energy sector. Second, it would give explicit congressional authorization to state and local governments to divest the assets of their pension funds and other funds under their control from any company on the list. Third, it would give private fund managers who divest protection from lawsuits, while urging the government's own 401(k) fund to create "terror-free" and "genocide-free" investment options for government employees.

This common-sense approach enjoys broad support. Sam Brownback, a Republican senator and presidential candidate, joined me in introducing this bill. A companion bill passed the House of Representatives 408 to 6. The only obstacle now is a single senator who placed an anonymous "hold" on the bill, blocking it from coming to a vote.

This is exactly the kind of unaccountable obstruction that needs to change in Washington. Instead of having a debate in the open, a Bush administration ally is blocking the bill through a secret Washington maneuver - a maneuver that would be banned if a sweeping bipartisan ethics reform bill that I led the fight to pass is signed into law.

Talking tough and keeping our troops in the middle of Iraq's civil war has only served to strengthen Iran's position. It's time to turn the page on a failed foreign policy. It's time for strong diplomacy backed by common-sense measures that pressure the Iranian regime.



In The News

Potentially Dangerous Chemical Found Inside UN Building WNBC Potentially dangerous chemicals were found in vials in a United Nations Office building and FBI, NYPD and FDNY hazardous materials responded to remove them Thursday. ...... the vials were found at 866 East 48th Street and possibly included one vial of phosgene, a chemical warfare agent. .... the vials are sealed and the public is not at any risk. Officials said the vials were recovered from a former Iraqi chemical weapons facility by UN weapons inspectors back in 1996. ...... "There is no hazard tot he people of New York from this operation." ... the items were sealed and were in plastic bags and a metal box. .... during a routine archives check. ..... shipped more than 10 years ago and that "There is no indication of questionable activity."
UN Inspectors Find Chemical in UN Office Forbes
Vials of dangerous nerve gas found at UN building 7Online.com
Immigration Raid at Ohio Poultry Plant Forbes About 160 illegal immigrants were arrested in a raid Tuesday at a poultry processing plant ...... most of the illegal immigrants are believed to be from Mexico, other Latin American countries and Africa .... deportation proceedings will begin immediately in most cases. .... Meat-processing plants around the country have been frequent targets of immigration authorities as they have stepped up efforts to track down undocumented workers.
Spitzer Talks of Suing to Expand Health Plan New York Times New York would consider suing federal health officials if the state was not granted a waiver to expand its federally subsidized health insurance program for children. ..... “It is not right. It is not fair,” Mr. Spitzer said of the new federal requirements ...... Bush, who has called New York’s and other states’ plans a step toward socialized medicine ..... Under the new rules, states seeking waivers for a higher income ceiling would have to show that they have already enrolled 95 percent of children whose parents make less than twice the poverty level. Currently, no state in the country meets that standard, which Mr. Spitzer said violated federal laws that give governors broad discretion in setting the income eligibility levels in their states. ....... the change would have effectively made health insurance universal for children in New York. .... the one sought by New York would give the state the highest income ceiling in the country .... the new rules include what Mr. Spitzer called “poison pill” requirements that he said would effectively kill New York’s and others states’ plans. .... “If they come back to us and refuse to budge from the positions they’ve taken, then we will sue,” he said.
For Obama, Nothing is the Matter with Kansas Washington Post In 2004, 78% percent of White Evangelicals voted for George W. Bush. ....... Obama may be able to do is siphon off scads of “Swing Evangelicals” in battleground states ...... It’s mid-October and the senator is addressing a room full of Kansans in a non-college town. ..... Obama opens his talk by reminding them that he too is from Kansas (being from Kansas: Kansans love that!). He then surprises his listeners by pointedly noting his disagreements with certain secular mantras of his party (Indeed, it suddenly dawns upon the lone, closeted village atheist in the room that when it comes to separation of church and state, Barack Obama is no Michael Dukakis). ....... he fires up his audience with Jimmy Carter like gospel-based oratory, except that it’s interesting and fun to listen to. He speaks out-loud about an awesome God and his awesome God does not appear to be a card-carrying member of the ACLU ...... the Kansans head home in advance of their self-imposed, statewide 7:30 pm curfew ...... pleased to learn that Mr. Obama is a Good Christian Man (because Kansans are fair, big-hearted folks ...... Twenty five percent of his listeners, however, will now consider casting their vote for a Democrat (because Kansans are open-minded folks, after all). The next evening the scene repeats itself in Columbus Ohio. ...... if there is any present Democratic candidate who can manipulate faith-based rhetoric to trigger a political conversion among conservative religious voters it is the talented junior senator from Illinois.
Hillary Clinton Expresses Surprise at Big Money Donor's Wanted Status FOX News
Castro backs Hillary Clinton NEWS.com.au
Obama brings his pen on vacation Boston Globe For the second time in two days, Obama has penned an op-ed in a major publication outlining his views on a pressing issue. ..... in The New York Daily News urging Congress to pass a bill that would increase pressure on the Iranian government. ...... "It's time to turn the page on a failed foreign policy," he writes. "It's time for strong diplomacy backed by common-sense measures that pressure the Iranian regime." ..... in The Financial Times on the mortgage lending crisis, calling for sanctions on unscrupulous lenders. "If we are serious about stopping this crisis and preventing much larger turmoil in US housing markets, Washington needs to stop acting like an industry advocate and start acting like a public advocate

Some antics for the web Economist FOR all the tricks that the world wide web can perform, it still resembles a collection of one-trick ponies rather than a concerted cavalry charge. You can book an airline ticket, hire a car at your destination, arrange concert tickets for the evening that you arrive and even get directions from the airport to the concert hall. But you have to do it all yourself, one element at a time. You cannot delegate the process to a website as you might delegate it to your secretary or your long-suffering spouse. ...... The semantic web is so called because it aspires to make the web readable by machines as well as humans, by adding special tags, technically known as metadata, to its pages. .... a trio of new technologies: the Resource Description Framework (RDF), the Web Ontology Language (OWL), and the SPARQL query language. Together, they allow computers to group objects and their features—from prices and measurements to locations and user ratings—into meaningful relationships and hierarchies, by analysing their associated metadata. ........ In the field of travel, attaching metadata to everything makes it possible to link up airline schedules, car rental and hotel bookings. ..... TripIt .... Wesabe refers to as “bank puke”

Virginia Tech Criticized for Actions in Shooting New York Times
Two prominent senators call for Craig to resign Kansas City Star
Senator claims plea was error, denies being gay Concord Monitor
Senator's scandal rocks Republicans ABC Online
Blood-red eclipse stops nation Daily Telegraph the moon was eaten by darkness before emerging a bright red colour. .... If you missed out the next blood moon will be visible about 11.45pm on December 10, 2011.
Obama Dominates GOP Rivals in Illinois Angus Reid Global Monitor, Canada
In US Race, Obama Leads Giuliani and Thompson Angus Reid Global Monitor
Obama Tops Rudy, Thompson New York Press
Obama’s Attack Town Hall, DC
The God Vote Washington Post “Everybody digs Barack Obama.” .... he does possess qualities that make him uniquely attractive to people with advanced degrees in religious studies and other subjects. Obama can sound awfully professorial, as opposed to wonkish, when discussing issues pertaining to faith. The decade he spent as a lecturer in constitutional law at the University of Chicago has clearly left its mark. When reading or listening to him analyze questions of public policy and religion many scholars undoubtedly experience the pleasure of recognition. They may even conclude--somewhat narcissistically-- that “Senator Obama is one of us!” ....... “a narrative of faith.” ..... As a child, he was schooled in both Catholic and Muslim institutions. Too, there is reason to believe that prior to his later-life baptism he was under-churched or non-churched and may even have flirted with a casual sort of non-belief. All of these experiences tincture his thinking on religion with more sophistication and edge than any other candidate in the race. ....... Obama is a very original and cunning operator. .... Obama can lampoon the faith and values game while playing it with extraordinary skill. ... His quip about the “politician who shows up at a black church around election time and claps (off rhythm) to the gospel choir” is a classic zinger. It is a mustard-filled paint-ball aimed at John Kerry that then ricochets directly into one of Hillary Clinton’s preferred photo-ops.