Don't Count John Edwards Out Yet
I was not a John Edwards supporter in 2004, and I have not been this election cycle. But I must say I have been very impressed with the many union endorsements he has managed to get. He must have been doing something right to get all that.
John Edwards knows the Iowa dynamic and the magic of doing well in Iowa more than anyone else running. He was there in 2004. He rode the Iowa wave all the way to being Kerry's running mate. Could you have seen that at this stage in 2003? Nope.
John Edwards knows that and he is counting on it. I think that is why he has been going after Hillary Clinton so aggressively. He knows Hillary is only one Iowa defeat away from losing her so-called national lead in the polls. Edwards is the dog chasing the car. He hopes to catch it.
I mean, I like Edwards. It is just that I am with Obama: I like Obama more.
I am so proud of the entire Democratic field. I am too young to remember a more impressive Dem field. And I have read enough history to be able to say the Dems never had it this good. Something wonderful is going on.
John Edwards could pull a surprise and end up doing well enough in Iowa that he could be competing hard all through January. The dynamic will go from state to state. So state number four can not be predicted now or even after state number one. I don't know if Edwards will be the nominee - I hope not, I hope it is Obama - but I do know the guy has as intimate a knowledge as anyone as to how the dynamic will play out during the weeks of January. And so he is keeping his nose to the ground and is chugging along full express.
I think he has done a very good job of exposing Hillary's intimacy with the kind of life forms in Washington usually associated with corrupt, spoilt Republicans. Everybody and Harry Truman's cousins have had good ideas on health care. But this election cycle Edwards put it together in one place months before Hillary did.
And the guy basically lost in 2004 and camped in Iowa right after where he has practically been living since. That is someone who understands the importance of Iowa a little too well for his opponents.
Even if Edwards does not win, he is going to have had a major positive impact on the campaign. The eventual nominee is going to be better for having competed against Edwards. That is not to say I am taking Edwards lightly. He is very much in the race, and he is serious competition. Hillary knows that.
He apologized for his misguided 2002 vote to authorize the invasion of Iraq. Hillary never did. He also exhibited major integrity at one early debate when he said if there are people out there who will not vote for Barack because he is black, and for Hillary because she is a woman, he does not want their vote either. That was my favorite line coming from anybody in that particular debate. I admired him for saying that.
And it does not escape me that Joe Trippi of Dean 2004 fame is with Edwards.
The Neocon Fantassy Of A Five Minute Air Raid Of Iran
That is what they are peddling. They were saying a week or two will be enough to do the job in Iraq. You go in, take Saddam out, you get out. Mission accomplished. We know how that worked out.
Iran is a much larger, more complex country. It will retaliate. It has allies like Russia that are fundamentally opposed to military action, and Putin is likely to act strongly on Iran's behalf.
That is the fundamental chink in the neocon armor. To them war is a video game. If only it were that simple. They don't take into account the human dimension. They don't take into account the regional sentiments, or power dynamic. They don't take into account budgetary constraints. And they certainly are not even looking at the non military options.
They were wrong on Iraq. They are not doing any better on Iran.
Nuclear nonproliferation is a non-negotiable goal, but W does not know how to achieve that goal in a sane way.
On The Other Hand
If a five minute air raid can cure Iran of the ultimate evil it is portrayed to be, how much of an evil can it be in the first place?
In The News
Iranians Dismiss New US Sanctions New York Times as insignificant and said they would have no effect on the country’s nuclear policies ...... The decision raised the temperature in America’s confrontation with Iran over terrorism and nuclear weapons. ...... “Sanctions have been imposed on us for the past 28 years. The new sanctions, like those before, will have no effect on Iran’s policies.” ....... the Guard would respond to any attack “fiercely.”
Yet Another Photo of Site in Syria, Yet More Questions New York Times whether the Bush administration overlooked a nascent atomic threat in Syria while planning and executing a war in Iraq ..... North Korea’s suspected aid to Syria, suggesting that North Korea could have begun its assistance in the late 1990s. ....... the site that the Israelis struck in September. ..... a tall building about 150 feet wide on each side that analysts suspect might have sheltered a half-built nuclear reactor. Also visible is a pumping station on the Euphrates, which may be significant because reactors need water for cooling. .......... it was ironic that Syria might have been trying to build a nuclear program just as the United States was invading Iraq in the fear that Iraq was developing nuclear arms.
Merrill’s Chief Is Said to Consider a Bid to Merge the idea of a merger with a large bank, a foray that angered Merrill’s board and could cost him his job ....... O’Neal broached the possibility of a merger with Wachovia, the bank based in Charlotte, N.C., without first getting the approval of Merrill’s board, a major breach of corporate protocol ........ underscores how much the subprime mortgage crisis has rocked Merrill. ...... Merrill reported a third-quarter loss of $2.3 billion and announced it would take a write-down of $7.9 billion on subprime mortgages and complex debt instruments, far more than the $5 billion it had predicted weeks earlier. ....... Though less prominent, Wachovia has a higher stock market capitalization — about $86 billion, versus $52 billion for Merrill. ...... Merrill, with 15,000 retail brokers, and Wachovia, with 10,137 brokers
Mexicans Miss Money From Relatives Up North From 2000 to 2006, remittances grew to nearly $24 billion a year from $6.6 billion, rising more than 20 percent some years. In 2007, the increase so far has been less than 2 percent. ......... Last year, migrant workers worldwide sent more than $300 billion to developing countries — almost twice the amount of foreign direct investment. ......... the construction slump — along with a year-old crackdown on illegal immigration at the border and in the workplace, and mounting anti-immigrant sentiment in places — has made it even harder for Mexican migrants to reach the United States and land well-paying jobs. ........ New walls, new guards and new equipment at the border have dissuaded many from trying to cross and raised the cost for those who try to as much as $2,800. Workplace raids and stories of summary deportations stoke fears among Mexicans on both sides of the border. ......... “Psychologically, they lead you to save money in case of an emergency. You send less, you save more.” ....... Guanajuato state, remittances have created a peculiar economy in villages ...... few jobs, yet many houses have stereo systems, washing machines and three-piece living room sets. ......... An unskilled factory or construction job pays little more than $50 or $60 a week. With those prospects, the next generation — some of them as young as 15 — seemed to have few doubts about heading to the United States. ....... “Now they lock you up. Before, they grabbed you and sent you back.
Despite Progress, California Fires Still Pose Threat
Clinton Builds Her Firewall Washington Post Quietly but systematically, Hillary Clinton is building a firewall in New Hampshire. She can afford to lose the Iowa caucuses as long as she can win here. She can't afford to lose both states. ......... has built an organization with deep local roots. Although a victory by Barack Obama in Iowa could still propel him to triumph here, Clinton is setting herself up to withstand an Obama surge by using New Hampshire to become, if necessary, the second Comeback Kid. ......... "Barack seems flat ....... "The magic we experienced in December hasn't been sustained." ....... Obama's rock-star quality may actually be getting in his way. ......... The large crowds Obama draws hinder his ability to engage in traditional campaigning. "People here don't just expect you to be on the stage," Chynoweth said. "They expect you to be out in the audience among the people." ........... Obama's charisma causes him other problems. Arnesen said that while Clinton's message "is very much about the voters," Obama's is "very much about himself" and his personal capacity to create change. ......... instead of a campaign organized in opposition to Clinton, the fascination with Obama has, up to now, made her less of a target. ...... Clinton's claim that she can deal with the Republican "attack machine" rings truer to an angry party than Obama's call for an end to partisan polarization ....... The paradox for Obama is that catching up may require him to make Clinton -- and her views and electability -- more of an issue than he is. It may not come naturally, but "No More Mr. Nice Guy" may have to become his campaign anthem.
Obama faces dilemma in chasing Clinton
Cash flows in as Hillary Clinton turns 60 Telegraph.co.uk
Uproar Over Obama's Gospel Tour Continues
Obama's New Politics, Exemplified
Clinton vs. Obama on Iran Washington Post
Iran threatens 'decisive strike' if US attacks Iran has threatened to hit back with an "even more decisive strike" if the US bombs its nuclear installations, as international tensions rise following Washington's imposition of sanctions against Teheran. ....... Putin of Russia comparing the Bush administration to "mad people wielding razor blades" ...... Nicholas Burns, US assistant secretary of state, suggested that Russia and China are propping up President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's regime.
Analysis: Iran and US in political flux At present, the two countries are firmly set on the path towards confrontation. Iran continues to develop a nuclear programme which, it says, is nothing more than a grand scheme to generate electricity for a rapidly growing population, already exceeding 70 million. ....... In parallel with this, Britain and France are now pushing for the European Union to restrict trade and investment in Iran. ....... Deep divisions have emerged inside Iran's regime, with Mr Ahmadinejad installing his hardline allies in key positions. Parliamentary elections will take place next March and opponents of Mr Ahmadinejad have a good chance of winning a majority. ....... Divisions in Teheran are mirrored by those in Washington. Both Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, and Robert Gates, the defence secretary, are opposed to military strikes on Iran. Vice-President Dick Cheney is believed to be in favour. By imposing tough sanctions, Miss Rice and Mr Gates are trying to show there is an effective alternative to war.
10 April 2007: Iran is enriching uranium 'on an industrial scale' Teheran announced that it had started enriching uranium on an "industrial scale". ........ In a carefully orchestrated atmosphere of national celebration, Mr Ahmadinejad said: "I proudly announce that as of today Iran is among the countries which produce nuclear fuel on an industrial scale." ....... If uranium is enriched to three per cent purity, it can be used to fuel nuclear power stations. If it reaches 90 percent purity, then it becomes weapons-grade and can form the basis of a bomb. ........ Iran is believed to be using 3,000 centrifuges to enrich uranium. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) estimates that with this number of centrifuges it is about two years away from having enough weapons-grade uranium for one bomb. ........ It was billed as "good nuclear news" and came as the climax of a day of festivities marking what Iran called its first "National Nuclear Day". ......... Across Iran phones buzzed with text messages announcing that its nuclear programme had "reached a new stage." In Teheran, militia members formed a chain outside its Atomic Energy Agency chanting "death to America - death to Britain". ....... urged world powers to accept the "new reality" of Teheran's nuclear status. ..... today's developments will strengthen the hand of hawks in Washington who see military intervention as the only way to halt Iran's nuclear threat.
A Missed Moment In Iraq Washington Post would undermine the stability of the only part of Iraq where the United States is welcome. ..... could plunge Turkey into an Iraq quagmire of its own. ....... lack of imagination, incompetence and sheer lack of knowledge at the State Department has caused this impasse. ........ PKK, which has waged an insurrection for more than 20 years, has been using northern Iraq as a haven, training ground and headquarters. ........ headquarters is perched high in the Qandil mountains, near the Iranian border and safe from Turkish artillery. ....... Kurds, in search of cultural and political rights, have been in some form of rebellion or political agitation since the inception of the Turkish republic in the 1920s. ........ The civil-military discord has hampered Turkey's Iraq policy. ........ the PKK .... its leader, Abdullah Ocalan, in prison ...... a Kurdish north at peace with Turkey is the best antidote to separation from Iraq. ...... The only other thing to hope for is bad weather. With the onset of winter and dwindling military activities, Washington will perhaps have the diplomatic window of opportunity it almost closed. Three years late, it will be much harder to succeed.
Turks pressure leaders for military action
Fighting Escalates Near Stronghold of Pakistani Cleric New York Times a suicide bomber killed 20 people, most of them border guards, in the same area. ....... The sharp rise in violence in the area, Swat Valley, which is relatively isolated from the lawless tribal areas on the Afghan border, demonstrates the growing strength of Islamists. ....... also known as Maulana Radio for his illegal broadcasts calling for Taliban-like Islamic law, and who is thought to have some 4,500 followers. ....... son-in-law of Sufi Muhammad, the founder of Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi, the Movement for the Implementation of Muhammad’s Law ........ The provincial government deployed 2,500 more border guards to the area on Wednesday. Retaliation was swift: the suicide attack on Thursday. ..... The four men, said to be in their mid-20s, all had their hands tied behind them ..... one of the militants as declaring shortly before the beheadings: “Let this serve as a warning to all those who spy for the government or extend help. The sons of Bush will meet similar fate.”
India-China ties: Tensions remain Times of India rapid modernisation of the 2.5 million People's Liberation Army and military infrastructure build-up in Tibet to the ever-increasing "intrusions" by Chinese troops into Indian territory ..... China and its quest for more and more trans-border military capabilities ...... "differing perceptions" about the still unresolved 4,057-km Line of Actual Control (LAC) between the two countries
Putin Denounces US Missile Shield New York Times Facing international pressure over human rights problems and restrictions on free speech in Russia, Mr. Putin proposed setting up a new joint institute, perhaps based in Brussels, that would examine human rights issues both in Russia and in the European Union. ........... neo-Nazism, ethnic tensions, minority rights and immigration could be put on the institute’s agenda. ...... “Analogous actions by the Soviet Union, when it deployed rockets on Cuba, provoked the Cuban missile crisis,” Mr. Putin said. ........... Putin, who is barred by the Russian constitution from seeking a third term in office, will instead strengthen the powers of the prime minister and then seek that post. But Mr. Putin brushed aside the idea today. ....... Putin had agreed to permit the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to monitor next year’s Russian elections. ....... Russia and the union had reached a stalemate over energy. ...... Europe’s relations with Moscow are in limbo ahead of next year’s presidential elections. ...... Nothing significant will happen before March 2008. ........ “Putin started out prioritizing Europe. But he ends his term arguing instead that Russia, India, China and Brazil’s economic growth should be transferred into political influence.” ......... “The clear message is: ‘We are back. We want to be involved in all international issues.’ ”
Putin: US risks new Cuban missile crisis
Court frees US teen jailed 10 years for oral sex Reuters for having consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old girl when he was 17 ...... a case that sparked a national campaign on his behalf. ...... was convicted in 2005 of aggravated child molestation for having oral sex at a New Year's Eve party in a hotel in Georgia. The act was captured on an amateur video. ....... the sentence constituted "cruel and unusual punishment" banned under the U.S. Constitution. ..... we must acknowledge that Wilson's crime does not rise to the level of culpability of adults who prey on children ...... Georgia's attorney general, Thurbert Baker, who challenged the lower court's ruling in June and thus kept Wilson in jail, said he accepted Friday's decision.
Wilson Spent Two Years in Prison for Consensual Oral Sex
Court ruling is legislating from the bench
Keeping Up the Hard Line on Cuba TIME Few would argue that democracy and human rights are as rare in Cuba as meat and modern appliances. ...... "The socialist paradise is a tropical gulag" ....... Fidel said Bush's speech reflected the U.S.'s desire to "reconquer" Cuba. And the Castro brothers aren't exactly cowed by these traditional verbal assaults. They have thrived on it in the past: heated U.S. rhetoric usually bolsters their image at home as the island's anti-Yanqui defenders. ......... lifting the ban on U.S. travel to Cuba — something even most Cuban-Americans in Miami now favor, and which many Cuba watchers suggest the Castros actually fear ....... "American citizens have always proven the best ambassadors of freedom and democracy." ....... the Miami Cuban exile community — whose anti-Castro hardliners, with their dreams of resurrecting a pre-Castro Cuba, are as disliked by many Cubans on the island as the Castros themselves are. ....... Oswaldo Paya, an engineer who is the most prominent of Cuba's dissidents, says he is uncomfortable whenever the White House tries to co-opt him and his colleagues. He says it simply makes their goals more difficult to achieve.
Iran War Drumbeat Grows Louder The prospect of war with Iran is beginning to look real. The hardening of positions in both Tehran and Washington over the past week has brought relations to their lowest point since the Iran hostage crisis that began in 1979. ...... turning their differences into all-out regional power struggle. ...... Rice criticized Iran's "emboldened foreign policy" and "hegemonic aspirations," while asserting that the U.S. will continue to be engaged on economic, political and security issues in the Middle East. "We are there to stay" ........ Tehran and Washington are now engaged in a game of geopolitical chicken, which favors hard-liners on both sides, making compromise more difficult, escalation more likely and war — by accident, if not by design — a greater possibility than before. ......... "It looks like a slow-motion train wreck" ....... The showdown has elements of a perfect storm. The decline of U.S. fortunes in Iraq has been accompanied by a rise in Iranian assertiveness ........ Ahmadinejad abandoned Khatami's "dialogue of civilizations" for more confrontational rhetoric, calling for Israel to be "wiped off the map" and goading the West by denying the Holocaust. Iran enthusiastically backed Hizballah and Hamas in their confrontations with Israel, and denounced the U.S. occupation of Iraq. ........ Ahmadinejad has repeatedly pooh-poohed the idea that the U.S. might take military action against Iran, to the anger and alarm of others in the Iranian leadership structure, who accuse him of downplaying a real danger. Ahmadinejad says that he considers the U.N.'s case against Iran's nuclear program closed, and dismisses U.N. sanctions as "piles of paper." Bragging that Iran's uranium-enrichment efforts have succeeded in achieving "the capacity for industrial-scale fuel cycle production," he also recently withdrew a compromise Iranian proposal that would base its enrichment activities in an international consortium that would allow Western countries to participate in and monitor Iran's activities. "The proposal was based on the situation last year," Ahmadinejad explained. "New terms must be defined." ............... Last week, Ahmadinejad accepted the resignation of Ali Larijani, the pragmatic conservative chief negotiator who is a bitter political rival to the President. Although all Iranian leaders defend their right to uranium-enrichment technology for purposes of producing nuclear energy, Larijani believes it is in Iran's national interests to reach an understanding with the West. ........ the Administration designated Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps as a proliferator of weapons of mass destruction, and named the Corps' Quds division as a supporter of terrorism. ...... U.S. policy has taken a subtle, yet decisive, turn toward not merely stopping Iran's nuclear program, but seeking the end of the Islamic regime. Cheney's objections to Iran went well beyond its uranium-enrichment activities, to include Iran's policies toward Israel and the U.S., its activities in Iraq, its suppression of domestic opposition and what he called its drive for "hegemonic power" in the region ........ Iranians have a "right to be free from oppression, from economic deprivation and tyranny" ..... "America looks forward to the day when Iranians reclaim their destiny."
Polygamy Survivor Carolyn Jessop
Who Needs Facebook? Forbes Google .... may already have all the pieces it needs to patch together a homegrown social networking site--one that could even trump Facebook. ........ Google's first homespun networking site, Orkut, which debuted in 2004, has gained traction in Brazil and India. ....... Google is planning to revamp the website in November by opening the programming code to developers, who can then design a host of new applications for the network. It's a play straight from Facebook, which now offers users hundreds of different applications--but Google could go a bit further. ...... On Facebook, developers are required to work within the site to participate. Google may open the doors wider, by allowing developers to not only operate applications in the site, but also push data outside, into non-Google applications. ....... By adding new applications, and stitching together iGoogle and its communication programs, Google could have an unusual--and powerful--social networking presence. ....... just about every company is still scrambling to make sense of social networking.
WiMax Gets Two New Friends: Cisco And The United Nations
Amitabh favourite actor of Egyptians Daily Times the Egyptians are also big fans of Bollywood films.
Salman beats Abhishek to Madame Tussauds Rediff
Microsoft Surges After Sales, Profit Beat Estimates (Update5) Bloomberg
Microsoft: 88 Million Copies of Vista Shipped
Acer Passes Lenovo Group and Targets Dell Enews 2.0 After its recently purchasing Gateway, Acer has passed Lenovo Group and has become the third largest personal computer vendor of the world. Still, the company has high hopes and desires, as it targets now at Dell’s spot. ..... in 2008 Acer could take up to a 12 percent share of the personal computers market from all over the world. ......... Acer’s chairman, J. T. Wang, has talked today about all these plans and hopes with the occasion of Acer’s third quarter investors’ conference from
Global warming not a factor in wildfires Los Angeles Times the dangerous mix of drought and wind that has plagued the region for centuries or more. ....... rising temperatures are already increasing fire damage in many parts of the West. ...... nearly seven times more land burned from 1987 to 2003 than in the previous 17 years. ...... mainly attributed this to a 1.5-degree rise in average spring and summer temperatures. With spring arriving earlier and snow melting faster, the forests dried out sooner, extending the average fire season by more than two months. ....... eventually global warming could make Southern California's occasional droughts more persistent, exacerbating the fire danger. ....... Conditions as dry as the Dust Bowl of the 1930s could prevail in the Southwest by the middle of this century ....... climate models showing how warmer temperatures would expand the reach of a powerful atmospheric circulation pattern known as the Hadley cell. Changes to the cell would dry air through the subtropics, including a swath from Colorado to California. ....... rising temperatures, fueled by greenhouse gas emissions, would eventually push peak Santa Ana winds from mid-October to late November. ....... Global warming, he said, could intensify wind flow by increasing the difference between inland and coastal temperatures.
Apple's Leopard arrives in San Francisco CNET News.com prospective customers waited hours in line to buy Leopard, even though they could have preordered a copy from Apple or Amazon.com and have spent that time installing their new OS. ....... The free coffee went quickly, but the first 500 people in line were given T-shirts to mark the occasion. ...... Time Machine and Spaces, a feature that lets you switch between four separate work areas to help organize your thoughts when working with multiple applications.
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