Countering The Neocons: Progressives Will Have To Get Proactive

There are things I agree with when it comes to the neocons. The day 9/11 happened, I said this is the beginning of something of the same magnitude as the Cold War. This is not an incident, this is an era.

But I have vehemently opposed the prescription. These right wingers are racist people who don't mind killing tens of thousands of innocent Iraqi people.

The progressives have also disappointed. Their anti-war position oftentimes sounds like they were saying Saddam should still have been in power. They want to end the war and withdraw.

Having an anti-war stance is not enough. We have to offer an alternative. We have to be able to say, you spent $500 billion in Iraq to topple Saddam, we are going to spend 1% of that money, and topple Mugabe, and we will do it in less than a year from now. Or maybe 0.1% of the money. $500 million will be enough. Or maybe 0.01% for $50 million.

Give me a million strong Matrix in New York City, and I see a total spread of democracy by 2020. I have not managed to sell this idea to the progressive groups in Manhattan, or elsewhere in the city.

There is only one way to win the so called War On Terror: you spread democracy in Arab country after Arab country after Arab country, one after the other after the other. You could do the neocon way that bleeds the country's finances and bleeds Arab bodies to death. Or we progressives could offer a viable alternative.

Spending money can help. I hate to have to repeat this again and again but, yes, Nepal is the answer. Nepal's April Revolution 2006 is the role model. Only we have to perfect the method each time, make it better and better and better.

Spread Democracy
The Matrix
Revolution

This will work like clockwork, country after country after country.

But the progressives in America are going to have to get behind this idea. The progressives in New York City are going to have to get behind this idea.

Oftentimes progressives in America can talk like there were a hieararchy, and the Republicans have the money, and they are at the top, and the middle income progressives are in the middle, and the Third World people are at the bottom of the heap, they don't matter, they don't factor in. The Republicans look down upon Democrats, the Democrats have the Third World people to look down upon.

This used to be a humanitarian issue, this used to be an idealism issue. Now this is a security issue. If we are not going to offer a strong progressive version of spreading democracy, Giuliani will have an ax to grind in 2008, because the Al Qaeda threat is very real. Retreating from the Arab world is not an option. But we do have to engage differently. We have to engage the progressive way.

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The First Major Revolution Of The 21st Century Happened In Nepal

I just read some good news on Russia. Putin is trying to turn Russia into a democracy of state funded parties. How many votes you get is how much money you get, in proportion. Also proportional elections with party lists. The dude is learning that formula from Nepal.

The French Revolution And DFNYC




In The News

Analysis: Dems Keep It Cordial in Debate Forbes It was less of a debate and more like a polite first date ...... the Democrats vying for the White House were downright complimentary, calling each other by their first names more like friends than rivals. ..... "Nobody made any significant mistake, but nobody distinguished themselves." ..... They all were to attend the state party's biggest fundraiser Friday evening, then party together at a fish fry thrown by Rep. Jim Clyburn in a downtown Columbia parking garage. ....... Clinton said the fact that most of the public doesn't like her is actually a form of flattery because it shows she stands up for what she believes in. Obama, questioned about whether he's light on substance, laid out a three-point health care plan. ........ Obama responded that it would be a mistake to initiate war with Iran, but the country's nuclear programs pose a major threat to the United States. ..... Obama smiled to cool the heated exchange. "I'm not planning to nuke anybody right now, Mike, I promise," he said to laughter from the crowd.
Gravel to Obama: 'Who Do You Want to Nuke NewsMax.com
Obama wins Round One on points - just barely New York Daily News
Pity Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama Huffington Post Expect pundits to proclaim Barack Obama the winner of this first debate.
Govt calls NFIN for talks on May 5 Nepalnews.com
With the return of democracy, Nepal struggles with big questions International Herald Tribune
Giuliani shaping up to be the best option The Brandeis Hoot
Bihar ahead of Bengal in development : Thakur NewKerala.com
The Democratic Debate: Winners and Losers Washington Post Clinton entered the debate with high expectations and managed to meet them -- not an easy task. She was informed, concise and under control at all times. She showed her tough side when asked what she would do in the event of simultaneous terrorist attacks against two American cities
AOL Launches AOL.in Portal In India WebWire (press release)
Saudis say they've busted massive terror plot CNN "They had the personnel, the money, the arms. Almost all the elements for terror attacks were complete except for setting the zero hour for the attacks." ...... the operation confiscated 20 million Saudi riyals ($5.3 million) ...... Al-Arabiya and Al-Jazeera reported that the militants wanted to use airplanes to attack refineries. ..... A principal goal of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has been to bring down the Saudi monarchy
'Mutual destruction' danger in US anti-missile plan: Putin New Straits Times
Putin retaliates for American antimissile plan Los Angeles Times In his wide-ranging address to parliament, Putin also reaffirmed his intention to step down next year as required by the Russian Constitution ...... Putin said changes in electoral law to provide for members of parliament being chosen purely on a proportional voting basis from party lists, rather than having some members elected from individual districts as in the past, would make December elections more democratic. The president, however, indicated that his concept of democracy did not allow for empty promises designed to appeal to the public — something many voters in the United States and other countries might think of as being a basic characteristic of democratic systems. ......... "In accordance with election results, parties get the right to state financing," Putin said. "And Russian taxpayers have the right to expect that their money will not be spent for empty populist promises or undermining the foundations of the state structure."
Google Desktop 5 Speaks 29 Languages PC World available in 29 languages, including Hindi ..... Microsoft Corp.'s introduction of new desktop search functionality in Vista
Army testing Mobile WiMax ZDNet.com blogs
Our neighbour betrayed us: Amitabh Bachchan SantaBanta.com Says the Big B angrily, "That's because some of the people who came to the wedding surreptitiously took photographs with their mobile cameras and disgracefully put them on the net. In fact I've caught out the person who has taken the photographs. He's my neighbour. I've had a very serious talk with him. He has apologized profusely. He says he wasn't giving it to the press. While he was sending the pictures to his sister in the US they got intercepted on the net." ....... "I don't think sections of the media has the right to dictate to me about how to conduct my life and how to deal with my family and social obligations. ..... My family's privacy is very important to me. And I'll protect it with my dying breath. No one can dictate to me about how I should conduct my life, or my son's wedding. ....... We made the shamianas air-conditioned and sound proof for the comfort of the guests and so that people outside wouldn't get disturbed. We had no fireworks to avoid sound pollution. ........ you can't block my car when I'm taking my new daughter-in-law home after the wedding. Why spoil the most important moment in my son and his wife's life?" ...... One was the wedding card and the other is the information card which will go to all our friends. ...... It informs about the wedding with a shagun and mithai and asks everyone to bless the couple. .... We've sent this card to everyone, in the film industry, the political circles because of Amar Singhji and Jaya, and whoever has been a part of our lives. Even after all this if some people choose to be hurt what can we say?"
Vista, Office 2007 Drive Microsoft Profits Up PC World
Scientists Identify 7 New Diabetes Genes New York Times the biology of a disease that affects 170 million people worldwide. ..... the pursuit of the genes that underlie common diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and schizophrenia. ...... diabetes research has been what his professor warned would be “a geneticist’s nightmare.
One small step for man, a giant leap for Hawking Sydney Morning Herald
Not the type of guy to be kept down Los Angeles Times
'One Laptop Per Child' price jumps from $100 to $175 TG Daily mass production is expected to begin in October, and the 75% price increase will not affect the prospect of reaching three million orders for the green-and-white laptops. ...... So far, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Pakistan, Thailand, Nigeria, and Libya have all placed orders. Peru and Russia are also in talks to buy large quantities of the inexpensive machines ..... Quanta, the contracted manufacturer for the computers, will make about $78 profit per laptop with the new price. They will come pre-installed with a proprietary version of Windows, but can also run its own homegrown operating system
Sony announces video chat add-on for PS3 ZDNet
Pentagon: Top al Qaeda leader taken to Guantanamo CNN al-Hadi was believed to have been captured in 2002 ..... There are now about 385 detainees at Guantanamo Bay.