Eisenhower, Kennedy, Cuba, Bush, Clinton, Somalia, Bush, Obama, Iran

Dwight Eisenhower did not like it that Kennedy got elected, defeating his Vice President, the Darth Vader Richard Nixon. So before he left office, he left Kennedy a gift. We call it the Cuban Missile Crisis: the world came to the brink of an outright nuclear war. It started with the Bay Of Pigs fiasco, Ike's brainchild.



Bush Senior did not like it that Bill Clinton, a small state Governor ("Where is it on the map?" he once said on the campaign trail) upended him. "I hated it!" he admitted during his speech at the Clinton presidential library inauguration. Bush Senior left Bill Clinton a gift, immortalized in the movie Black Hawk Down. Bin Laden claims that Mogadishu incident is what launched his career of his harm plans against the US.



Now you have a seething W. He expected a video game war in Iraq. You go in, you take the bad guy out, and the locals welcome you with joys of liberation. Lincoln had a civil war, W had a Iraq War. That is how he expected it to play out. But it is not playing out that way. He lost the Congress. He is about to lose the White House big time. A Democratic victory in White House is so certain, most people are more focused on February 5, 2008 than on November 7, 2008. And W is seething deep inside.

So he is busy plotting a Cuba, a Somalia for Obama. Bush-Cheney are at it. They are gearing to give him a huge mess in Iran. The mess will be so big, the Cuban missile crisis, Black Hawk Down, and even Iraq are going to look like picnics.




Barack Obama is going to be elected president on February 5, 2008, not on November 7, 2008. Similarly he does not have the luxury to wait until January 2009 to start acting presidential. He has to start now. If he waits until January 2009, all his political capital, all his energy is going to end up going to Iraq and Iran. He will not be able to do much on health care, for example.

He has to make a frontal attack on the Bush-Cheney-Hillary plans on Iran. Hillary has been ignoring Obama and going straight for Bush. Now is Obama's turn to return fire. Ignore Hillary, go straight for Bush.

I am no isolationist. I am anything but. But there is a right way to intervene and there is a wrong way to intervene.

An America that fails the democracy activists of Burma, that fails the forces of democracy in Pakistan is not an America that can do right in Iraq and Iran.

Why Hillary's Iran Vote Is Dangerous

Attacks From Hillary

Hillary's daily use of the phrase "strength and experience" is a daily attack on Obama.

Hillary timed her release of her third quarter figures so as to steal away a news cycle from a major Obama speech on Iraq in Iowa. That was an attack.

When you get hit, you have to hit back. No, you don't have to engage in the politics of personal destruction, the politics of the lowest common denominator. But you do have to show the voters you saw you got hit, and you hit back.

For example, you counter the "strength and experience" phrase with the judgment and leadership phrase. That is not negative. But that shows you are alert. You can take a punch, you can give a punch.

Obama Must Engage Hillary On Iran: Exchange Part II

The Exchange

The last time Barack engaged Hillary in a direct exchange, his numbers went up. To engage Hillary is not to deviate from the politics of hope and a new kind of politics. It is Barack's job to inform voters of the genuine and stark differences that do exist between Hillary and him.

Hillary has gone ahead and made the same mistake on Iran now that she made on Iraq in 2002.

Coke Gatorade, Not Coke Pepsi

This recent spat on the Iran vote is a godsend. Obama 2008 must snatch it with vigor. The words judgment and leadership must be used repeatedly. The debate has to be vigorous.

Like Faulkner said, the past is not over, it is not even past. Hillary's Iraq vote in 2002 was not a deviation. That is who she is today.

Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan

Because America is a state with a standing army, it keeps wanting to fight another state with a standing army. The Al Qaeda is not a state, it does not have a standing army. And it has been growing its presence in Pakistan whose military dictator is a US ally.

America's intense focus on Iran will be to say because it can not fight the Al Qaeda so it is going to fight an entity it thinks it can fight: Iran. This is dangerous thinking.

Progressive Way To Spread Democracy

My recurring theme is that being anti war is not enough. We progressives have to show we know a better way to spread democracy.

Spread Democracy

DL21C, Drinking Liberally, DFNYC

These past few days I have gone to two DL21C events, a joint Drinking Liberally and Obama NYC event, and I am hoping to go to the DFNYC anti war rally on Saturday co-organized by a whole bunch of unions. It is inspiring to see some of the leading young progressives in the city in action. It feels good to personally know many of them.

I met the Washington state Governor a few days back. "Governor, I have been to your state. It is beautiful." On Sunday, I get to meet a Senator from Louisiana, Bobby Jindal country. DL21C brings along the big wigs into town.

A lot of Indians are like, Bobby Jindal is not even Hindu, he is not even a Democrat. I don't feel that way. The Hindu thing is absolutely ridiculous. I am a Buddhist myself: I grew up Hindu, the rest of my family is still strongly Hindu. As for the Dem thing, all that means is we have policy differences. I take heritage pride in Bobby's electoral victory. The dude could some day run for president.

I love India.

They named a mountain after Schwarzenegger in his native Austria. The guy himself is a mountain. But it might also be a pride issue.

America is a different country from all the other countries.

In The News

Obama opens two more Iowa offices, now 33 total Baltimore Sun

Clinton E-mail Hits Obama on Iran New York Times Her campaign is publicly turning its guns on Barack Obama. ...... some of the strongest language it has used in public against Mr. Obama
Iran sanctions rattle 2008 White House hopefuls AFP Democrats John Edwards and Barack Obama accuse front-runner Hillary Clinton of easing the path to war with Iran, and say she is repeating mistakes which led to the US invasion of Iraq. Republicans meanwhile warn of the threat of a nuclear armed Iran to avoid talking about the US entanglement in Iraq, and to pose as tough commander-in-chief material to please hawkish conservative supporters. ..... "If you give this president an inch, he will take a mile -- and launch a war." ....... Chris Dodd responded to Thursday's announcement on Iran sanctions by saying it "smacks, frankly, of a dangerous step toward armed confrontation with Iran" ........ In a recent Republican presidential debate, Senator John McCain raised eyebrows when he said a strike against Iran, which denies developing nuclear weapons, is "maybe, closer to reality than we are discussing tonight."
More Obama vs. Clinton on Iran MSNBC Having seen what this Administration -- with its expansive view of its executive power -- has done in the past with congressional resolutions, it is naïve to support the Kyl-Lieberman amendment without simultaneously seeking explicit assurances that the president will never cite the amendment as a legal basis for deploying US troops to counter Iranian influence whether in Iraq or Iran. ........... The Kyl-Lieberman amendment contains language that sets forth an entirely new rationale for keeping US troops in Iraq and, if need be, for attacking Iranian forces. The problematic language in the resolution says that it is a "critical national interest of the United States" to counter Iran's influence among the Shia population of Iraq. Without a doubt, President Bush can cite that language as authorizing him to maintain and use US troops in Iraq for the purpose of containing Iran, cirtailing [sic] Iran's influence in Iraq, and, if need be, to expand our troops' activities beyond Iraq's borders to pursue and attack Iranian forces. ........ Cheney in particular has been giving bellicose speeches and threatening Iran. Barack Obama thinks that, at this sensitive moment, Congress should be extremely careful. It should not do or say anything that might be used either to justify a US attack on Iran or to authorize prolonging the US military presence in Iraq. Hillary Clinton voted for an amendment that does just that. ......... Makes President Bush's case that the United States should structure "its military presence in Iraq" to counter the "capability of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to pose a threat to the security of the region" ........ describe a new mission for American troops in Iraq, and they articulate a new rationale for our continued presence in Iraq ......... Was co-sponsored by two of the most hawkish members of the Senate on Iran: John Kyl (R-AZ) and Joseph Lieberman (ID-CT) ...... Trying to Have it Both Ways: After Senator Clinton drew criticism for her vote in support of Kyl-Lieberman on September 26, she decided to support a bill that Senator Webb introduced in March that said that the President had to obtain congressional authorization before going to war in Iran. Webb told Howard Fineman that Clinton was in such a hurry to support his bill, "I found out after she announced it," he said, laughing.'" But Kyl-Lieberman had already passed the Senate; Webb's bill has not. Signing on with Webb does not undo her vote for Kyl-Lieberman.
Don't call me Osama, says Barack Obama Telegraph.co.uk Obama and his team suspect Mr Romney is attempting to subliminally associate him with the terrorist. ...... In July Mr Romney was photographed smiling with a supporter holding a sign saying "No to Obama, No to Osama and Chelsea's Moma" ....... he had a grandmother in a "little African village with no water or electricity" ....... In New Hampshire, the first major primary, only 17 per cent of voters have decided who they will back, and observers note that the state has served up surprises before.
For Obama, Friends Like These Mean Playing Defense Washington Post
Hillary Clinton Makes Time to Celebrate 60th Birthday in New York FOX News
CBS Poll: Majority Of Dems Back Clinton CBS News
Clinton's gender poses challenge in Iowa Christian Science Monitor
Does Facebook Fear Google? Red Herring
WWW spooked by Google algorithm tweak The Age
Google Scares The Search Crowd Forbes
Google Earth used in rocket strikes on Israel Telegraph.co.uk

INTERVIEW WITH PM GIRIJA PRASAD KOIRALA Kantipur No. The Home Minister won't be changed. Special House session will break deadlock: Home Minister the Maoists have threatened to quit the parliament and start peaceful agitation if the other parties do not agree on their demands.
CA elections by mid-April next year : Peace Minister
One shot dead in Sarlahi
NC leader extends olive branch to Terai agitators “However, the Nepali Congress would never accept the fully proportional electoral system,” he reiterated.
OHCHR lauds reservations in police OHCHR has expressed disappointment at the latest government decision to appoint 28 people to the post of secretaries where only three persons were included from the marginalized groups -- indigenous nationalities, Madhesis, Dalits and backward areas. ........ In March 2007, the OHCHR wrote to the APF asking for a breakdown of its personnel belonging to marginalized groups, following violent incidents that starkly highlighted the lack of inclusiveness in police forces, the statement said. "During riots in Nepalgunj in December 2006, the NP was accused of acting partially," said the OHCHR further adding, "The issue resurfaced again in the January and February 2007 Madhesi Andolan in Terai districts." The recent violence in some western tarai districts again underscores the need for such inclusive hiring measures, it added.

Winds Ease in Battle Against Wildfires ABC News
Rudy Giuliani Catches Flack for Rooting For the Red Sox FOX News
Paulson sees India as key to Doha trade deal Reuters if it were willing to open up non-agricultural sectors of its economy. ...... Paulson lauded India's flexible currency exchange rate regime, adding that China and India are "two very different nations." ........ economy relies on internal consumption (and) services. There's a significant need in infrastructure, there's room for more reform in the capital markets area ...... both India and China needed to increase the pace of their reform in order to counter rising protectionist sentiments around the world.
Bill affecting children of illegal immigrants fails Senate test vote Chicago Tribune
Obama Learned From Failed Congress Run The Associated Press a failed congressional effort during which his opponent portrayed him as an "educated fool," more at home on a college campus than a city street. ....... down-to-earth style ..... remembers a candidate who sometimes turned voters off by emphasizing his big ideas and prestigious degrees instead of listening. ...... his campaign never caught fire. ..... Obama was seen as "the white man in blackface." ....... he took a hard look at himself after that campaign and became a much better campaigner, more at ease on the campaign trail ....... black voters were divided, with 40 percent for Obama and 38 percent for Hillary ...... Clinton has a 4-to-1 edge among all people earning $25,000 or less and a 3-to-1 advantage among people with a high school diploma or less. ...... visited Emerson's Barber Shop in tiny Marion, S.C., and spent about 45 minutes talking to customers ...... found Obama relaxed and personable despite his "Harvard preppie image."
Starting Gate: Double Trouble For Clinton? CBS News "Obviously we've had challenges as everybody in the world knows," she said. "But I never doubted that it was a marriage worth investing in even in the midst of those challenges, and I'm really happy that I made that decision." ....... something the founders never anticipated. Not only two presidents, but two presidents married to each other ....... A new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll has Clinton with a 48 percent to 17 percent lead nationally over Obama. Giuliani leads the GOP field with 32 percent with Thompson (15 percent), McCain (13 percent), Romney (11 percent) and Huckabee (7 percent) trailing.
Clinton: Despite challenges, my marriage was worth investing in USA Today Her proudest non-work "moment" is her daughter Chelsea and her favorite TV show is ABC's Grey's Anatomy ....... my deep abiding friendship with my husband. It's been enormously supportive to me through most of my life. ...... He's always bringing me back things from his trips. He brought me a giant wooden giraffe from Africa. Oh, he bought me this watch." It's a Chanel watch with a band made of white cubes. “I had dental surgery, and he said it reminded him of teeth.”
Clinton Talks of Bill's Romantic Gifts The Associated Press While sticking it out might not be for everyone, Mrs. Clinton said women should support each other in the choices they make in their marriages.
China, Russia: No to Myanmar Sanctions The Associated Press The meeting of China, India and Russia is part of the revival of a loose 1950s alliance against U.S. dominance of global affairs. ..... India wants to promote its bid for a permanent veto-wielding seat on the Security Council. The joint statement said China and Russia "support India's aspirations to play a greater role in the United Nations." ....... To counter the bad impression, state media have been filled with stories suggesting that the monks taking part in the recent protests were a tiny minority and not properly religious, and reporting virtually daily on junta members visiting monasteries to make donations.
China promises to support mediation on Myanmar China Daily Gambari's China visit is part of a six-nation Asian consultation tour to find a peaceful solution to the Myanmar situation, which include Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, China and Japan.
China promises to support UN in Burma Bangkok Post
Microsoft beats Google to Facebook stake Reuters.uk $240 million for a 1.6 percent stake in the Web phenomenon. ...... valued Facebook at $15 billion -- on par with the market capitalizations of retailer Gap ..... and hotel chain Marriott International ...... three-year-old company would be able to transform itself into a hub for all sorts of Web activity. ....... if Facebook becomes sort of the users' operating system on the Internet ...... 250,000 new users a day, 60 percent of whom come from outside the United States ....... Microsoft's belief that the site could eventually reach 300 million users, who can be targeted for advertising. It has nearly 50 million today. ........ the $40 billion market for online advertising, which the company expects to double in size within three years. ..... Microsoft was a better strategic fit for Facebook, since it knew how to work with software developers and build computing environments -- such as its Windows operating system. ........ Microsoft developed the network that is the biggest, most vibrant one out there ...... tens of thousands of developers writing Facebook applications ....... funds will go toward doubling the company's staff over the next year and other growth initiatives. ....... Eric Schmidt, Google's CEO, told reporters that its pact with MySpace is performing better than originally expected.
Google Takes No Prisoners InformationWeek between July 2006 and July 2007 Google's Gmail service saw its share of unique visitors in the United States grow by 79% -- compared with 6% and 2% growth posted by Yahoo Mail and Windows Live Hotmail ...... between September 2006 and September 2007, the number of unique Gmail visitors in the U.S. grew by 93%. Yahoo and Windows Live Hotmail, which can boast over four times and two times more unique visitors last month than Gmail, respectively, grew only 7% and 0%.
Cisco Investing In WiMax To Bring Broadband To Developing Areas InformationWeek
Telecom Body Folds WiMax into Next-Gen 3G BusinessWeek
EBay: The Place for Microfinance MicroPlace.com, a Web site that lets small investors provide low-interest "micro" loans, of $50 or more, to would-be small business owners. Her hope is to create sustainable economic growth in the world's most impoverished communities—and do her part to expand the reach of the microfinance industry to more than 1 billion people worldwide, from about 100 million people currently. ......... eBay acquired the company in June, 2006, for a small, undisclosed, sum when it was little more than Turner and her business plan. ...... PayPal, eBay's online payment service, will process the loans free of charge. "There are a billion people in the world who are self-employed, hard-working, and poor, and we are hoping to scale the industry to at least a billion," Turner says. ......... Unitus Equity Fund, an $8.5 million microfinance venture investor that finances projects in Asia and Latin America. ...... Kiva, a microlending site run by former TiVo executive Matt Flannery and former PayPal executive Premal Shah. ........ fosters self-reliance and, eventually, sustainable economic growth in a way that charity does not. ......... The minimum investment for someone to get started on MicroPlace is $100 ..... Interest rates vary between 1% and 4% ....... microlending experts say recipients of microloans have a solid track record on repayment. ...... she met a four-foot-tall woman with arresting eyes who changed her life after receiving a $50 loan. The woman used the money to buy a hand loom and weave fabrics that were then sold in a major market. "In the first year, she made enough profit to repay her loan, with interest, build a house, and pay for her kids to go to school," says Turner. "She brought me through her village as proud as can be." ........... Prosper has already raised more than $7.5 million in venture capital, and has distributed tens of millions in loans at an average of about $5,000 per loan. Kiva has distributed more than $13 million in loans, at an average size of about $500, to entrepreneurs in places such as Cambodia (BusinessWeek.com, 8/15/06), Samoa, and the Gaza Strip. ........ Demand to invest at Kiva has been so strong, in fact, that after a September appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, the site temporarily ran out of people to help. On average, it takes one day for businesses to get funded, and new entreprenuers are listed every day.
Blogs: The Next Takeover Target? a rapidly evolving Web 2.0 world. ....... niche audience ...... blogs are growing at breakneck speed. As of September, 2007, blog tracker Technorati indexed more than 106 million blogs, 12 million more than in the previous month. ....... Boing Boing .. monthly traffic of about 7.5 million page views ....... the total audience of the print version of Wired, a technology magazine, was 1.9 million ....... The Houston Chronicle recruited 50 reader-bloggers whose commentary appears on its site. The Washington Post provides a blog roll to its site which includes a directory of links to blogs that specialize in technology, health, and entertainment, among other things. ........ Newsvine, which attracts about 1 million people, allows visitors to read and comment on news stories from mainstream media outlets. MSNBC Interactive News, with 27.3 million Web visitors as of August, 2007, hopes the acquisition will attract an audience of highly engaged news readers.
Mayawati goes after UP's Big Three Rediff 'My phones have been tapped. My friends have been raided. If Sonia could not do anything to me, who is Mayawati?' demanded Amar Singh. ..... Mayawati is decisive, vindictive and ruthless.
Microsoft Gets Some Face Time Forbes
Microsoft pays $240m to clinch stake in Facebook Independent
Merrill Lynch Reports Loss on $8.4 Billion Writedown (Update7) Bloomberg
Merrill In Peril? Forbes

In fire's path, lessons learned Christian Science Monitor "They saw the fire coming and plotted it out and moved people out just in time." ..... "FEMA is doing everything right this time around," he says, pointing out its evacuation plans, and the early deployment of out-of-state firefighters, military, National Guard, and firefighting technology. ........ the people here have food, water, and even entertainment ....... The miscues and delays that characterized the aftermath of Katrina – exacerbated by confusing or nonexistent communication between mayor, governor, and federal officials – are not happening in this disaster ....... if they had loaded firefighters and engines into US military planes on large scale, they would have been available way earlier." ....... Property damage in San Diego County alone is expected to total at least $1 billion ..... As of press time 16 wildfires have destroyed some 1,500 homes and burned nearly 600 square miles in the seven-county region. One person has been confirmed dead. ..... "This is a very sad and hard time for me, but this is pretty well organized," says Michelle Christian, who fled her home in Ramona on Saturday night, taking her 18-month-old son and her dog to the stadium. ........ clowns and face painters who roamed the stadium grounds, helping to make kids laugh
Facebook’s Minority Report New York Times For Facebook, this would be a great deal. .... But for Google or Microsoft, it is somewhere between irrelevant and insane. ...... Google probably overpaid for Doubleclick by as much as $1 billion. But that got Microsoft to overpay for Aquantive by perhaps $4 billion. ...... it would be in keeping with Google’s style to bluff on the price of the Facebook deal up in order to cost Microsoft more
In Pakistan, Bhutto's return stirring threats and allegations Christian Science Monitor the government has restricted her ability to leave the country ...... after the PPP emerged as the largest single party in the 1988 elections — despite the best efforts of Inter-Services Intelligence to thwart Bhutto's party — the assumption of power entailed a compromise with the military-bureaucratic establishment whereby Ghulam Ishaq Khan retained his presidential post as Zia's automatic successor and Sahibzada Yaqub Khan remained the foreign minister. ....... A similar arrangement is evidently being contemplated for 2008, with the army effectively retaining control not only of the presidency, but also of security and foreign affairs. So much for democracy. ....... "closet supporters of militants and Al Qaeda . . . determined to stop the restoration of democracy because they see it as a threat to the structure of militancy they have put into place." ......... militants operating out of that country are also making the situation in Afghanistan worse. ....... the plots that we have seen in the U.K., their roots come out of these tribal areas. It is the planning and the training ground for radical jihadists in their worldwide threat to the United States. ........ Around 90,000 Pakistani troops are deployed in the lawless tribal zones where they have been waging battle against Al-Qaeda and Taliban-linked extremists.
Rice: Mideast two-state solution in jeopardy USA Today Iran's recent efforts to support Palestinian Hamas militants ...... one woman who rushed toward Rice as she entered the room and waved her hands — painted red to look like blood — in front of the secretary's face. She shouted that Rice was a "war criminal" and should be taken to the Hague ....... Rice was stoic and proceeded with business as the protester was immediately spirited from the room. ...... an emergency State Department review found serious problems with the way private security guards operate in Iraq ....... Last month, the House passed, by a 397-16 vote, legislation aimed at blocking foreign investment in Iran, in particular its lucrative energy sector. The bill, sponsored by Lantos, would specifically bar the president from waiving U.S. sanctions. ..... the policies of Iran constitute perhaps the single greatest challenge for American security interest in the Middle East and possibly around the world, because the combination of Iranian terrorism, Iranian repression at home and the pursuit of nuclear weapons technology. .. is a very dangerous mix
Kerrey decides against Senate run MSNBC
What's behind Asia's moon race? Christian Science Monitor the lingering security concerns all three countries have about one another ...... India is nervous about China's intentions, especialy in the wake of Beijing's test of an antisatellite missile last January. China worries that Japan's missile defense cooperation with the US might threaten its interests, and resents Washington's determination to remain the world's dominant space power. Japan is rattled by North Korea's ballistic-missile capability. ......... largely driven by "technonationalism; they generate pride domestically and they demonstrate prowess internationally." ....... The moon is thought to be rich in Helium-3, for example, which could one day be used for nuclear fusion to create energy. ........ "redouble efforts" toward a treaty guaranteeing the peaceful use of space. US CBO estimates $2.4 trillion long-term war costs Reuters The U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could cost taxpayers a total of $2.4 trillion by 2017 when counting the huge interest costs because combat is being financed with borrowed money ....... interest costs alone from 2001-2017 could total more than $700 billion. ....... In Iraq alone, the United States is spending about $11 billion a month, with costs escalating. ...... 170,000 U.S. troops in Iraq and another 26,000 in Afghanistan. ..... "To put it all on our credit cards with no accountability, with no plan to pay for it, I think is the height of irresponsibility" ..... of the $2.4 trillion long-term price tag for the war, about $1.9 trillion of that would be spent on Iraq.
US First Lady In Breast Cancer Campaign In Middle East Voice of America
Czechs say want no Russian soldiers at radar site Reuters

Tupac Shakur Center Vandalized In Georgia; Plus Barack Obama ... MTV.com on Saturday morning vandals defaced the building and placed a noose around the neck of a Shakur statue in the center's garden. In a subsequent attack on the statue, it was plastered with "handbills of garbled rants that include references to 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, as well as vague threats against various record companies and rappers." ......... Britney Spears reportedly hit another paparazzo with her car on Monday, according to TMZ. The site says the singer accidentally ran into a photographer with her Mercedes-Benz as she was leaving a shopping complex in Beverly Hills, California. Spears is said to have apologized repeatedly for the incident, which the pap insisted was his fault anyway, and a photo on TMZ's site shows the singer apparently on the verge of tears ....... McClurkin is a former homosexual who detailed his "bout" with homosexuality in his book "Eternal Victim/ Eternal Victor." Obama reportedly replied with a statement in which he said gays and lesbians are "our brothers and sisters," and that he strongly disagrees with McClurkin's views.

Republican candidate mixes up Obama with Osama Guardian Unlimited Mr Romney refused to discuss the error, which was made at a campaign speech in South Carolina.

Experts say Obama must up ante Boston Herald Obama must now launch an aggressive charge to catch a surging Hillary Clinton, who is up 20 points in New Hampshire ...... “As soon as the World Series is over, it’s got to be pedal to the metal” ....... “The issue that works best for Obama is the Iraq war,” said Fritz Wenzel, communications director for Zogby International. “He is strongly positioned with primary voters on that point, and he needs to drive it home.” In Iowa, where Obama is only 5 points behind Clinton, his campaign is taking shots at Clinton’s voting record on the war.
Deval Patrick headlines Boston rally for Barack Obama Patrick and Obama share a Chicago connection — Patrick grew up there — and both were also student leaders at Harvard Law School. ....... Patrick has ties to the Clintons, having served in the 1990s as head of the Justice Department’s civil rights division under former President Bill Clinton. ...... "You know me and conventional wisdom. Conventional wisdom said I couldn’t be sitting here," Patrick said. ....... the race for president "transcends friendships and party." ...... "I believe we need unifying, visionary leadership. I believe we need a president who would level with the American people. I believe we need Barack Obama" ...... The endorsement could also be a boon for Obama by supplying him with a force of campaign workers who can travel easily across the border to help his efforts against Clinton in the New Hampshire primary.

Matt Al American Goebbels Romney Al Zawahari

Romney Makes Obama-Osama Gaffe New York Times he twice confused Senator Barack Obama with Osama bin Laden when referring to the latter’s new recorded message. ...... “Actually, just look at what Osam — uh — Barack Obama, said just yesterday. Barack Obama calling on radicals, jihadists of all different types, to come together in Iraq. That is the battlefield. That is the central place, he said. Come join us under one banner.” ........ It turns out, of course, Mr. Romney was talking about the new audiotape from bin Laden calling on insurgents in Iraq to unite. Oops. ....... It’s time to end the divisiveness and fear-mongering that is at the heart of Governor Romney’s campaign.” ...... “I don’t pay too much attention to Mitt Romney,” Mr. Obama said.

Adolf Hitler - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is not a tongue slip on my part, and this is not a tongue slip on Matt Romney's part either.

These guys have to realize this is not funny.

Those who monkey around with Bin Laden's name are people who pretty much lose their security credentials forever. Do they find 9/11 funny? The Al Qaeda is stronger than ever before. If it could explode a dirty bomb in some American city, it would not hesitate for a second. The threat is very real. America has never faced a more grave threat before.

Matt Romney is trying to be racist by saying Osama when he should be saying Obama. There are very few Americans who don't know who Osama is. And most Americans know who Obama is. And most know the difference. That is extra true for someone running for president. Has to be. Otherwise you are too much of a political illiterate to run for anything in this country.

Matt Romney has better options if he is trying to sound racist. There are so many metaphors he could draw from American history itself. Why bother going offshore? Recently some racist drew the noose on some black Columbia University professor's door. As in, black people should be lynched. Romney could try that. He could go ahead and utter the n_______ word. That would be racist. He could go ahead and say Barack is biologically inferior because he is black. Or like James Watson said recently, he could go ahead and say Barack comes from a heritage - African - whose people are less intelligent as a rule. All that would qualify for racist but it would not be making light of 9/11 or America's continued threats. He would only be racist. After all, by calling Barack Osama is an attempt to sound racist. So why not do a better job of sounding racist? Why not leave the American people alone? Why not focus only on Barack and his blackness?

This is so out of line.

Matt Romney should be ashamed of himself.

Pig In The Barn, Ailes At Fox News
Media Smear On Obama's Name
Wolf Hitler, I mean Bitler, Blitler, Whatever
Bill O'Reilly, Bill O'Rama, Whatever The F___ His Name Is

Wildfires In Southern California: Welcome To Global Warming




Arson, Terrorism, Land Mafia Or Global Warming

This is the same thing that happened in Greece earlier this summer. Folks, my bet is this is global warming. Weather is not a very understood phenomenon. Slight changes in temperature can have major impact. Pollution in one part of the world could have dire impacts somewhere very far away.

Just like in Greece, people in California first suspected arson. The Greeks rounded up and jailed tens of known arsonists.

This is not arson. When patches of wildgrass or forests achieve a certain level of dryness, and temperature, they can start their own fires. That is what explains simultaneous fires erupting many different places. A perfect storm is created.

The knowledge of global warming is already here. The solutions are also known. Too bad we need Katrinas and wildfires and receding water lines in the Great Lakes to feel the urgency to bring forth the collective political will to do something.

Too bad we need a 9/11 to realize every Arab country has to be turned into democracies. We can't have the political foresight that will make us act before disaster strikes.

Fire and water retardant will not work in this case in California. The fire is too big. What will work is bombing. Yes, bombing. You strike parts of the fire like it was Iraq. I am not kidding. You can't wait for the wind to subside. Fire creates its own wind.

Added October 25, 11 PM: The line above suggesting bombing as a firefighting measure was not meant as a cynical statement to protest the war in Iraq. It is to be taken at face value. If a forest fire is about to eat up 100,000 houses, and if bombing the fire so as to break its path will help, that option has to be considered. Maybe that is not a good idea. I don't know a whole lot about firefighting. But I threw that in as an idea when little else seemed to be working.


In The News

Jesse Jackson Jr. cuts ad for Barack Obama Baltimore Sun The senior Jackson won the South Carolina Democratic primary during his 1988 campaign for president, a victory the younger Jackson recalled in the ad, which is airing on gospel and R&B stations with a predominantly African-American audience. “Once, South Carolina voted for my father, and sent a strong message to the nation,” the younger Jackson said. “Next year, you can send more than a message. You can launch a President.” ....... The younger Jackson lauded Obama for legislation he passed in the Illinois state senate combating racial profiling and for seeking to counter "the railroading of the poor in the justice system." ....... "A lot of politicians call themselves our friends," Jackson said. ...... "But Obama has a heart that beats for our community.

‘Spousal violence highest in Bihar’ Hindu Violence against women is a serious problem in India with 35 per cent having experienced physical or sexual violence. One-third of women in the age group of 15-49 have experienced physical violence and one in 10 has faced sexual violence ...... Married women were more likely to experience physical or sexual violence from husbands. Nearly two in five or 37 per cent married women have experienced some form of physical or sexual violence by their husband. The prevalence of spousal physical violence is higher among women in the poorest households (49 per cent) than among women in the wealthier households (18 per cent). ....... The prevalence of physical violence ranges from 6 per cent in Himachal Pradesh and 13 per cent in Jammu and Kashmir andMeghalaya to 46 per cent in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and 59 per cent in Bihar. ....... Other states with 40 per cent or higher prevalence of spousal physical or sexual violence are Tripura, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Assam. ..... one in six (16 per cent) married women have experienced emotional violence by their husband, only one per cent married women have ever initiated violence against their husband. ....... More than half of the women (54 per cent) and the men (51 per cent) agree that wife beating was justified under some circumstances ...... Buddhist/neo-Buddhist women reported the highest level of violence (41 per cent), followed by Muslim and Hindu women (34-35 per cent), and Sikh and Christian women (26-28 per cent). Jain women reported the lowest violence (13 per cent). ..... Prevalence of violence is also much higher among women belonging to the SCs and STs
New Bhutto Death Threat Reported New York Times
Pakistan's Bhutto Receives New Threat Guardian Unlimited Sen. Farooq Naik, Bhutto's lawyer, said he had received a two-page handwritten letter in the Urdu language from an unidentified person threatening to kill the former prime minister ``by any means.'' The writer claimed to be a friend of al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden and extremists in Pakistan. ..... Bhutto thinks ruling party chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and a head of a spy agency - both close associates of Musharraf - could be behind the attack. ...... Hussain, in an apparently sarcastic swipe at Bhutto, said Monday that her husband, working with Bhutto and other party leaders, arranged the blasts to stir up public sympathy. The proof: Bhutto went into her armored vehicle minutes before the bombs exploded and was not hurt.
Myanmar: Envoy hints at bigger role for India Hindustan Times India’s response to the Myanmar crisis after it agreed to engage the authorities in speeding up the democratic process there. ...... The Prime Minister in a telephonic conversation with the UN Secretary General reiterated India’s commitment for speedy democratisation of Myanmar.
Put Dumbledore Back in the Closet TIME Dumbledore himself never saw fit to come out of the closet before dying in book six. ...... I'm not defending the closet, a perilous and sad place. ...... one of the most beloved figures in children's literature. ....... Rowling was so p.c. about making her magical creatures of different races and species, incomes, national origins, and developmental abilities ........ Dumbledore/Churchill eventually defeats Grindelwald/Hitler in a 1945 duel ........ an era of pop culture when the only gay characters were those who committed suicide or were murdered
Why Californians Don't Leave Research indicates that if a threat hasn't happened in our own cozy community, the human mind actually softens its threat assessment. Or worse, makes us cast a blind eye. ........ normal life intervenes, goading our brains into assessing risks based on emotional whispers rather than sound logic. ....... The Golden State? That refers to the dead, yellowed chapparal smothering the hillsides, not the sunshine. ..... They should know better. Would you live in gasoline? ...... Studies show that people can in fact train themselves to assess risks more accurately, even on the fly, by forcing themselves to estimate the frequency of events rather than simply picturing the last time they saw such an event.
Alabama Picks a Bible Textbook
Bush Stands by His Plan for Missile Defenses in Europe New York Times Mr. Bush would like to make missile defense a defining legacy of his presidency, though critics say the initial system, with a limited number of missile interceptors in Alaska and California, remains unproven. ...... usually criticize it for soaking up resources that might be better spent on more pressing threats or domestic needs. ....... even Mr. Bush said that intelligence agencies did not believe that Iran could build a ballistic missile capable of striking the United States before 2015 — and then only with foreign assistance.
California Fires Continue Raging Out of Control New York Times
Turkish Premier Renews Warning Over Rebels New York Times
Raging Calif. Wildfires Make 500K Flee ABC News Wildfires consumed hundreds of homes across tinder-dry Southern California on Tuesday, raising the number of people forced to flee the flames into the hundreds of thousands. ...... "If it's this big and blowing with as much wind as it's got, it'll go all the way to the ocean before it stops" ..... Tentacles of unpredictable, shifting flame have burned across nearly 600 square miles, killing one person, destroying more than 1,800 homes and prompting the biggest evacuation in California history, from north of Los Angeles, through San Diego to the Mexican border. ......... flames were threatening 68,000 more homes. ...... very dry areas, very hot weather and then a lot of wind ...... "These winds are so strong, we're not trying to fight this fire" ...... More than a dozen wildfires blowing across Southern California .... evacuation calls to 346,000 homes ...... a federal emergency for seven counties ...... Fire crews were especially concerned about dense eucalyptus groves in Del Mar and Rancho Santa Fe, fearing the highly flammable trees could turn neighborhoods prized for their secluded serenity into potential tinderboxes. ......... fires whipped by gusts that have surpassed 100 mph ......... embers can be swept miles ahead of the fire's front line ........ Any flame longer than 8 feet is considered unstoppable, and even water and fire retardant will evaporate before they reach the ground ........ fingers of flame pulsed across a 10-lane freeway and raced up a hill on the opposite side in just seconds. The fire engulfed white-washed homes at the top of the ridge. ......... Groves of eucalyptus trees exploded in the heat in one ritzy cul-de-sac in Rancho Santa Fe, sending off a scattered popping that sounded like machine gun fire. ....... a blood-red sun set over a sky choked with smoke and falling ash. ...... forest packed with dead or dying trees. ...... one person confirmed dead ..... he ignored warnings to evacuate and authorities left to take care of other evacuations ....... At least twice in the last two days, firefighters have had to unfurl their emergency fire shelters small fire-resistant tents to shield them when they can't escape a fire. .......... temperatures across Southern California about 10 degrees above average.
Turkey's War Drums Grow Louder TIME Sunday's attack may well prove the last straw for Turkey's hawkish military — NATO's second largest army after the U.S. ........ U.S. and Iraqi diplomats are trying frantically to come up with a non-military solution. ....... the border, where Turkey already has some 100,000 troops, backed by tanks, F-16 fighter jets and attack helicopters. ...... public events and celebrations (including a concert by the American pop star Beyonce in Istanbul) were canceled to mourn the army deaths. ....... the PKK .... wants to draw Turkey into north Iraq. Any incursion is potentially treacherous and could lead Turkey into a quagmire much like the U.S. is facing in the rest of Iraq. ......... could lead beyond fighting the PKK, to clashes between Turkish troops and Iraqi Kurdish soldiers, as well as civilian casualties. ......... "From this point on, our barrels are pointed at [Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud] Barzani," wrote Ertugrul Ozkok, chief editor of the top-selling Hurriyet newspaper. ....... it would take a major move, like a U.S. strike on PKK targets, or the capture and handover of several PKK leaders, to stop an imminent incursion. Neither appears likely.
Obama Criticizes Clinton on Iran The Associated Press a measure in the Senate which declared Iran's Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization, which Obama called "conventional" ..... we have to completely rethink foreign policy and diplomacy ...... That includes Iran. That includes Syria ....... a fundamental disagreement between Obama and Clinton. ...... whether you are going to nominate a candidate who is not just tinkering around the edges or can bring about real change.
Romney Slip: Another Osama-Obama Mix-Up The Associated Press "Actually, just look at what Osam — Barack Obama — said just yesterday. Barack Obama, calling on radicals, jihadists of all different types, to come together in Iraq. That is the battlefield. .. ......... Romney apparently was referring to an audiotape aired Monday in which a speaker believed to be terrorist Osama bin Laden called for insurgents in Iraq to unite and avoid divisions. ........ Obama spokesman Bill Burton said, "Apparently, Mitt Romney can switch names just as casually as he switches positions
Clinton Considers Giving Up Some Powers The Associated Press they have this theory of the so-called unitary executive, and then Vice President Cheney has a whole different theory about how he's a fourth branch of government ....... Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Bush and Cheney have taken steps to expand presidential authority and diminish the role of Congress and the federal judiciary. Among other things, they have pushed for warrantless wiretapping of terrorist suspects and the use of "signing statements" to justify ignoring or defying laws enacted by Congress. ....... Clinton said that during the Bush administration "we've seen an orgy of cronyism and no-bid contracts, no accountability. It's just unbelievable."









Governor Christine Gregoire

Christine Gregoire - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia her mother, Sybil O. Jacob, who raised Gregoire alone after leaving an abusive marriage shortly after the future governor's birth. Gregoire grew up on a small farm in Auburn ....... As an assistant attorney general, Gregoire concentrated on child-abuse cases, coordinating with social workers to get children removed from abusive family situations and placed with relatives or foster homes. ....... In 2003, she was diagnosed with breast cancer in an early stage after a routine check-up and a mammogram. She had surgery and recovered to good health. ....... she negotiated a three party agreement in 1989 with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy to clean up waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. ....... now estimated to require a total of $50 to $100 billion. ....... Chris Gregoire was elected to three terms as attorney general and was the first woman to be elected to the position in Washington. During her time in office, she worked on children's issues, reformed the state's juvenile system, led an effort to strengthen identity theft victims' rights, worked to pass a new ethics law for state government and to find alternatives to litigation in resolving legal disputes. ....... Gregoire was also heavily involved in the lawsuit against the tobacco industry in the 1990s and won the state a $4.5 billion share of the settlement, including a $500 million bonus for her lead role. ...... "There isn’t a stronger tobacco control leader anywhere in the Country than Chris Gregoire" ....... Gregoire performed relatively poorly among blacks and liberal whites ..... Washington the first state with a female governor and two female US senators ...... One notable bill that failed in the 2005 session but subsequently passed in the 2006 session was a gay civil rights bill, expanding the scope of protected classes to include sexual orientation and gender identity in cases of discrimination. The bill was signed by Gregoire on January 31, 2006. ....... Governor Gregoire signed a law on April 21, 2007 granting same-sex couples domestic partnership rights.

Why Hillary's Iran Vote Is Dangerous

As someone said, the recent vote on Iran is like calling the US army a terrorist organization because it follows the orders of the President of the United States. So, through this vote, you are essentially calling the Iranian president a terrorist, kind of like you call Bin Laden a terrorist.

The Iranian president is not a nice guy, I don't like him. If he had been elected by the Iranian people, I would have been okay with him, but in that country a council of mullahs decides who may or may not run for president. They too have a caucus there, but it is not a caucus of the ordinary people.

But I would call the Iranian president a semi-elected theocrat rather than a terrorist. Saddam Hussein was a bad guy, but he was a dictator, he was not a terrorist. Bin Laden is a terroist. You necessarily have to draw those distinctions if you want to make any headway in the Middle East.

Right before I came to the US as an international student, I bought a whole bunch of Hindi music tapes. I would play them in my room, different tapes on different days when I had time. Some were classical Indian music, some were gazals, some were songs from Hindi films, many different Hindi films from many different time periods, different decades.

Luke lived next door. He once asked me, "Can I ask you something?"

Be my guest, I said.

"Why do you play the same song again and again?" he said.

The dude could not tell the difference between one song and another, and I must have had more than 100 songs.

Hillary is acting like Luke. If Dick Cheney is Darth Vader like Hillary said recently, I guess Hillary is Lucas, or Luke.

Bin Laden, Saddam and Ahmedinejad are three different songs, rather three different genres. Classical, heavy metal and choir music.

A rule of thumb is you don't talk to terrorists. It is a physical fight to the finish. You don't negotiate, you don't talk.

This Iran vote means President Hillary will not want to talk to Iran. That is not Bush Lite, that is Bush on steroids. In February, Hillary said she was open to talking to Iran. Then a few months later she called Obama "naive and irresponsible" for wanting to talk to Iran. A few weeks back she again said she was open to talking to Iran. Now she has voted in a way that will make it impossible for her to talk to Iran: you don't talk to terrorists. She couldn't talk even if she wanted to.

Will the real Hillary please stand up?



Is Iran innocent? No, it is not innocent. No country that is not a democracy is innocent. Saudi Arabia is not innocent. Egypt is not. Burma, Zimbabwe.



Has Iran meddled in Iraq's civil war? Yes. Has every other country in the region? Saudi Arabia? Syria? Yes. They have all been discreetly taking sides. The non war option would be to hold a regional summit of all those powers, televised, open, transparent. That would be a great way to diffuse the tension. It is called direct diplomacy. Bush and Hillary wouldn't know.

Do I want regime change in Iran? Yes. Saudi Arabia? Yes. Egypt? Yes.

Should the US keep its military options with Iran? Yes. Why only Iran, the US should keep its military options open with every country, with China, with Russia. That is why there is a military.

But.

But, war is always, always the weapon of last resort. That was true in 2002, that is true today.

But when you snuff out possibility of dialogue, you are saying war is going to be your first option. That is a highly dangerous proposition.

When the US invaded Iraq, it took one eye off the Al Qaeda. If the US were to invade Iran, it will have taken both eyes off the Al Qaeda. That organization is stronger today than it was before 9/11, and, according to Hillary's recent article in the Foreign Affairs, the Al Qaeda will not hesitate for a second if it thinks it can strike America. It will strike. How much sense would it make to take the eyes off that organization completely?

The weirdest part is this. The US is so bogged down in Iraq, it does not really have the option to invade Iran. Unless you bring back the draft in a major way. Iran is a much bigger, more complicated country than Iraq was under Saddam. You could not just conduct air raids. Either way, you will start a regional war that involves Israel.

That is World War III.

And for what? Because you don't have the wisdom, knowledge, attitude and skills to exhaust all the non military options first?

Spreading democracy is a science. It can work like clockwork. It can work for Iran. You do it the grassroots way, the progressive way, organizing the diaspora way, a war with communications technology way, the nonviolent way. Now that war, I am for.

I am for a war of communications technology with Iran, with Saudi Arabia, with Egypt, Syria.

Only democratic Arab countries can co-exist with a democratic Israel. Democracy is key. And the only sure way to spread democracy is the grassroots way, the nonviolent way.

So I ask, is the US doing all it can to help the democracy activists in Burma? I don't think so. It is doing maybe 1% of what it could do. How about 10 million dollars in direct funding to the democracy activists there?

Nepal proved in April 2006 when people come out into the streets in the millions for days, weeks, the dictator has to get out of the picture. That is not anomaly, that is science.

Taking Hillary To Task On Foreign Policy
Hillary's Iran Vote, Not That Different From The Iraq Vote
Coke Gatorade, Not Coke Pepsi
Barack: Judgment And Leadership
Hillary For Senate Majority Leader
The Largest Rally In US Presidential Campaign History
Give Me A Huge Rally In This City Before Summer Is Over

In The News

US Prosecution of Muslim Group Ends in Mistrial New York Times prosecutors failed to persuade a jury to convict five leaders of a Muslim charity on any charges, or even to reach a verdict on many of the 197 counts. ....... the government’s largest and most complex legal effort to shut down what it contends is American financing for terrorist organizations in the Middle East. ......... the prosecution said, the foundation supported terrorism by sending more than $12 million to charitable groups, known as zakat committees, which build hospitals and feed the poor. ...... the largest Muslim charity in the United States until the government froze its assets in late 2001. ....... called into question the government’s tactics in freezing the assets of charities using secret evidence that the charities cannot see, much less rebut ........ Two previous cases, in Illinois and in Florida, ended with hung juries ...... Holy Land’s supporters, who packed the courtroom during the trial, and who carried some defendants around on their shoulders outside the courthouse chanting “Praise God” in Arabic. ...... Mr. Elashi’s daughter Noor, who was in the courtroom every day during the trial, said she considered her father a hero. “He was singled out for feeding and clothing and educating the children of Palestine,” she said. “Giving charity to the Palestinian people has become a crime in this country.”
The Elderly Always Sleep Worse, and Other Myths of Aging sleep starts to deteriorate in late middle age and steadily erodes from then on ..... To researchers’ great surprise, it turns out that sleep does not change much from age 60 on. And poor sleep, it turns out, is not because of aging itself, but mostly because of illnesses or the medications used to treat them. ........ “If you look at older adults who are very healthy, they rarely have sleep problems.” ....... Their sleep turned out to be different from sleep in young people: it was lighter, more often disrupted by brief awakenings, and shorter by a half hour to an hour. ........ Most of the changes in sleep patterns occurred when people were between the ages of 20 and 60. Compared with teenagers and young adults, healthy middle-aged and older people slept a half hour to an hour less each night, they woke up a bit more often during the night, and their sleep was lighter. But after age 60, there was little change in sleep, at least in people who were healthy. .......... The 80-year-olds took an average of 10 more minutes to fall asleep. ....... no increase in daytime drowsiness in healthy older people. ....... brief wakeful moments typically lasting about 3 to 10 seconds. ....... sleep apnea, chronic pain, restless leg syndrome or urinary problems ...... Fragmented sleep .. led to severe impairments the next day in pain pathways. The subjects felt pain more easily, were less able to inhibit pain, and even developed spontaneous pain, like mild backaches and headaches. ........ 10 hours a night. The extra sleep ... reduced their sensitivity to pain to the same degree as a tablet of codeine. ...... “It’s not normal to get a clinical sleep disorder when you get old.”
Can Obama Make Iran Clinton’s New Iraq? New York Times “Why is this amendment so dangerous? Because George Bush and Dick Cheney could use this language to justify keeping our troops in Iraq as long as they can point to a threat from Iran. And because they could use this language to justify an attack on Iran as a part of the ongoing war in Iraq.” ...... she implicitly takes at dig at Mr. Obama, saying “I was there, I exercised leadership, and I explained my vote.’’ ...... In 2004, Iowans showed they did not like attack ads, or even those providing strong, policy contrasts if presented in an aggressive fashion. ..... “murder-suicide.” ...... an old political rule that a harsh attack in a multi-candidate field can hurt the attacker and the one being attacked.
Obama going on offensive on Iran Baltimore Sun is sending out a color mailing today ....... Obama's campaign has been working hard to try to make an issue out of the vote, although some have criticized the effort, including the Washington Post's editorial page. ..... Iran, an issue that may be more important for the next president than Iraq. ..... Obama condemned as "dangerous" and "reckless" .... the resolution "opened the door to an extension and escalation of the ongoing war in Iraq to include military action against Iran." ..... the "first and most important avenue to contain Iranian aggression" should be "direct diplomacy"
First thoughts: Direct mail wars MSNBC Obama has issued a statement disagreeing with McClurkin’s views on gays ...... the new darling of the netroots: Dodd. .... the GOP race is now a five-way contest -- not just a two-man race between Rudy and Romney. Thompson, McCain and Huckabee all are viable as well ....... Obama attends a house party in Merrimack, NH and then rallies with Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) in Boston ...... Bill Clinton -- who isn’t attending Shriver’s presidential spouse forum -- headlines a fundraiser for his wife in Minneapolis.
Obama under fire for gospel tour with anti-gay singer USA Today
Hillary Clinton defends Iran vote Telegraph.co.uk The message to Iowa voters, contained in an envelope promising an "important letter from Hillary inside", indicates she feels vulnerable on the Iran issue, particularly because of her 2002 vote to authorise the Iraq invasion. ....... accuse her of over-confidence and of misjudging the anti-war mood not just of Democrats but of the whole country.
Candidate Hillary: the GOP's dream Los Angeles Times the GOP is dying to run against Hillary Clinton ....... Mike Huckabee deadpanned: "Look, I like to be funny. There's nothing funny about Hillary Clinton being president." ........ something deeply advantageous about having her as an opponent ...... how Hillary gives the GOP its best chance at being the party of change. ..... Newt Gingrich, for one, has been pointing this out for months, using the electoral triumph of Nicolas Sarkozy in France last spring as an example. ....... Democrats got a significant victory in 2006, when they took control of both houses of Congress. And now Congress is even less popular than Bush. In other words, the clamor for change in Washington is much bigger than Bush. ....... Any Republican will start with 40% to 45% of the vote in his pocket once he gets the nomination. The question that remains is whether the critical 5% to 10% of swing voters will think Hillary Clinton represents the sort of change they want. ....... What most independents and swing voters want is an end to the acrimony and bitterness in Washington -- and a candidate they like. ..... Party activists are drunk with Clinton nostalgia. ...... Whitewater, travelgate, illegal fundraising, bimbo eruptions and impeachment ...... Howard Dean, the conviction candidate, experienced the political equivalent of spontaneous human combustion ...... synthesized Ted Kennedy's politics with Michael Dukakis' charisma while bragging about his service in a war he built a career denouncing. ....... Is it really so obvious that, say, Rudy Giuliani or Mitt Romney represent "change" less than the ultimate Clinton retread, complete with Bill as "first gentleman?"
Clinton camp relishes Republicans' focus Newsday jeers, snide remarks and hand-wringing warnings ....... her name was mentioned nearly three dozen times in the 90-minute debate ..... "Almost every one of them is within the statistical margin of error," he said. "If those polls are correct, then the president of the United States right now is John Kerry." ........ "I like to be funny ... There's nothing funny about Hillary Clinton being president," predicting higher taxes, government-run health care, a low-morale military and sagging U.S. resolve. ...... Ron Paul insisted he is more anti-war than Clinton. .... "She said that the troops would be there for another five years," he said. And even that attack on her won applause.

California Fires Destroy Scores of Homes New York Times the fires, a Hydra with at least 15 separate burns in seven counties fed by gale-force winds, one of the state’s worse. .... new fires erupting as others receded and reignited with every shift in the wind. ..... Officials feared the fires would burn from inland mountains all the way to the ocean. ...... more than 30,000 acres were burning ...... scores of homes burning in a remote area of Los Angeles. ........ Some of the fires appeared to have started by downed power lines but a few were believed to have been caused by arson. ....... Dozens of men, women and children in Canyon Country north of Los Angeles grabbed shovels and garden hoses and fought flames creeping up a canyon within 50 feet of their homes. About seven children and young teenagers worked in tandem with their parents as the flames approached their back fences.
Qaeda Link Suspected in Pakistan Blasts New York Times
Obama Criticized Over Singer New York Times
Obama's Campaign Seems To Have A Drudge Pipeline, Too Atlantic Online the curious, profitable alliance between Hillary Clinton and Matt Drudge, a connection mediated entirely through intermediaries. ........ the South Florida-based web traffic master.
Clinton Finds Way to Play Along With Drudge New York Times Within minutes, the Drudge site had injected Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s fund-raising success into the day’s political news on the Internet and cable television. .......... the front lines of the campaign — the hourly, intensely fought effort to capture the news cycle or deny ownership of it to the other side — ........ her pragmatic approach to dealing with potential enemies ........ scoops, gossip and innuendo ....... television producers, radio talk show hosts and newspaper reporters view it as a bulletin board for the latest news and gossip. ....... its users clicked onto the site a combined 16 million times in the course of a single day last week ...... its ability to attract well-placed leaks and traffic in the freshest and rawest material — though sometimes including what some have considered smears. .......... for all his renown in politics is a somewhat spectral presence who rarely agrees to meet with political operatives or journalists ........ his syndicated radio program ...... what Republicans have always thought: “No single person is more relevant to shaping the media environment in a political campaign.” ........ in 2004 they considered Mr. Drudge’s site so central in their efforts to undermine Senator John Kerry’s presidential campaign that they systemized their approach to him. ......... quoted as saying on his program: “I need Hillary Clinton. You don’t get it. I need to be part of her world. That’s my bank.”
Hillary Clinton woos man who nearly ruined her husband Guardian Unlimited Drudge is one of Hillary Clinton's best kept secrets. ...... the woman previously viewed by diehard Republicans as the mother of all that is liberal and permissive in America. ....... The story on Ms Clinton's fundraising prowess dominated the news cycle. ....... the site claims 422 million log-ons in the past month - with television and radio producers scouring the site for potential scoops. ...... her relationship with the media has remained frosty. ...... "She is one of the most isolated candidates in modern American history. Everything is stage-managed"
Obama long on ideals, short on details Arizona Republic, AZ
Sen. Obama says he is the candidate of real change The Union Leader, NH
Democrats 2008: Hillary at 46%, Obama 24% Angus Reid Global Monitor, Canada
Edwards Warns of 'Corporate Democrats' The Associated Press
Obama still tries to put best light on perceived gaffe Baltimore Sun, United States
Clinton uses Durbin against his ally Obama Chicago Sun-Times, United States
Watch Out for Lynne Cheney's Elbow American Spectator Second Lady Lynne Cheney, like her husband, really knows how to throw a vicious elbow. Last week she was doing the talk show rounds to promote her memoirs, Blue Skies, No Fences, when she let slip to MSNBC that Vice President Dick Cheney and Illinois senator and Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama are related. "Isn't that an amazing thing?" she teased. ..... he and Dick Cheney are "cousins" -- eighth cousins, to be exact. .... Newspapers and cable channels broke out pictures of a smiling Obama, surrounded by his family, being sworn in as a senator by Vice President Cheney in 2005. ...... Worse, the second lady also attacked Senator Clinton by name. Mrs. Cheney told the AP that Clinton's wavering on Iraq "makes me uncomfortable."...... encourage the nomination of Clinton, a sort-of pro-war Democrat who will have a hard time drawing very sharp distinctions between herself and a Republican in the general election. .... former Crossfire co-host is well-connected, smart, and very good at inflicting pain on political opponents. ..... Lynne Cheney let Kerry have it. Speaking as "a mom, and a pretty indignant mom," she told a Pittsburg crowd, "This is not a good man." ..... Kerry tried to clarify his remarks but it was hard to know what to say that wouldn't make it worse. Lynne Cheney had caught him at just the right angle and he was smarting.

Pakistan, India share terror information Pakistan Dawn
Thanks to Google's Tools, I'm the Most Efficient Time-Waster Ever Wired News She'd describe the small frustrations and victories that punctuate office life. .... It took a couple of weeks before I finally noticed the concern in her eyes. Then she asked: "What else did you do?"
Taiwan To Spend $664 Million On WiMax InformationWeek

Bush’s Request for Wars Increases to $196 Billion New York Times the force in Iraq, now at more than 160,000 troops. ....... The spending request — declared an emergency under spending rules, even though the need for the money was never in question — ........ “The entire war has been paid with borrowed money” ...... the cost of less than 40 days in Iraq would pay for health-care coverage for 10 million children for a year. ....... nearly $800 million to support a United Nations peacekeeping mission and elections in Sudan; $106 million for fuel oil under a deal with North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program; and more than $400 million in assistance to the Palestinians as part of the administration’s efforts to nurture a peace treaty with Israel.
Inch by Inch, Great Lakes Shrink, and Cargo Carriers Face Losses Lake Ontario .. is about seven inches below where it was a year ago. And for every inch of water that the lakes lose, the ships that ferry bulk materials across them must lighten their loads by 270 tons — or 540,000 pounds — or risk running aground ........ 240 million tons of cargo travel across the Great Lakes every year.
Row over N-deal deepens in India Pakistan Dawn reports of Dr Singh’s anger at some of his cabinet colleagues who he is alleged to have accused of betrayal. ........ he felt let down .... the government was ready to convene a special session of parliament to discuss the deal.
Pakistani Official Offers New Details of Bhutto Attack New York Times the deadliest of more than 50 suicide attacks in Pakistan in recent years. ....... More than 500 people were wounded ....... the police had found no traces of a grenade ...... The governments of Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates had warned her that suicide bombers were intending to attack her cavalcade. ....... Security officials meanwhile had tried to persuade her to take the standard precautions that they employ for all official and political visits — such as not revealing the route of her procession, the vehicle she was traveling in or the time of her arrival, and moving as fast as possible from one place to another — but Mr. Ebad said she had not accepted their suggestions. .......... “They had decided to take 18 hours to travel to the mausoleum. .......... Bhutto had made well-publicized statements before her return to Pakistan that would have caused extremists to make her a target. ....... she had hailed the government’s military action against militants in the Red Mosque in Islamabad in July, and she had said she would allow American forces to conduct operations in Pakistan ..........staging huge rallies has always been the traditional way of campaigning for elections in Pakistan, especially among the illiterate and rural communities. ....... the men were “100 percent” Pakistani. ...... The bombers used C4 plastic explosive, the same type used in the bombing of a United States consulate vehicle in Karachi in March 2006 ..... the first bomber was carrying 17 to 22 pounds of explosives and the second 33 pounds
Obama Says US Must Reach Out to ‘Friend and Foe Alike’ to Reclaim Role New York Times
McCain vs. Clinton? New York Times McCain does better than anyone against her in the hypothetical one-on-one match-ups.
Clinton draws huge crowds in Central Valley San Jose Mercury News What's a Democratic candidate for president doing in the state's conservative farm belt 100 days before the California primary? "It had all of us scratching our heads," Jay Hubbell, secretary of the Fresno County Democratic Central Committee, said with a chuckle. Especially considering there was no fundraiser on the schedule. ...... drew about 4,000 residents ...... a candidate who is running away from her rivals in California ..... Some old-timers said Clinton drew the biggest turnout for a presidential candidate's rally since Robert F. Kennedy stumped in Fresno in 1968. ...... Her visit is also a sign of her confidence that she has the primary election wrapped up in California. ........ Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a Clinton supporter, was headed to Nevada to campaign for her among Latinos there. ....... Her campaign has issued a memo "How Hillary Will Win the West." ....... is supported by 44 percent of the state's non-white voters. ....... "We're going to lead the world with our values and our ideals as well as our strength." ....... Obama spokeswoman Debbie Mesloh said Clinton "may have more paid staff, but we have a ton of people organizing in the field," including a new operation in Fresno. 'We're not phone banking; we're going door-to-door asking for votes." ....... United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta, the first black woman elected to the Fresno City Council and the first Hmong elected to a city council in the nation.
Hillary Clinton Seen As Strong Democratic Frontrunner Voice of America many Democrats and political experts are beginning to wonder if anything or anyone can stop Clinton's march to the nomination. ...... Clinton's lead in the polls has grown in recent months, as the pace of the campaign begins to accelerate. ...... "Well, if you are ready for change, I am ready to lead, and this country is desperate for leadership," she said. ....... a very skillful campaign ....... very disciplined and solid on the campaign trail ...... she has almost universal name recognition. And, I think, there is an increasing clamor in the country to see a woman nominated as president." ....... She leads in Iowa and New Hampshire ..... what has been surprising to me is how well the Clinton campaign has weathered the rigors of being the frontrunner ........ he has yet to give the American people a solid rationale as to why they should reject Hillary Clinton ........ a feeling that he may not be quite ready, and that he is a future, rather than a present presidential candidate ...... late August in Denver, Colorado.