Iraq Did Not Have The Bomb, Iran Does Not Either

Dick Cheney, Nelson Mandela, Howard Dean

Invading Iran is out of question. That would be a scary mini World War III scenario. There will be many undetermined consequences which are better not contemplated.

The "strong on defense" conservative mantra is money driven. There are people and companies who make gobbles of money through the war machine. They need long, messy wars to stay in business.

This Cheney guy is a draft dodger. He was scared shi_less during Vietnam. He feared they might send him there and he might die. He is a woos. That guy is not strong on defense. That little stooge is an armchair General. He thinks war is a video game. He likes the idea of blood surging through his veins. War is exciting. His pals in the defense industry get happy. They give money. They send warm vibes.

Can you invade Iran? Is it technically possible? I don't think that option exists. America does not have an army to invade any additional country right now. Thanks to the dumb misadventure in Iraq.

But if the option were available, should America have? What would be the rationale? There is no rationale.

What about surgical bombing? What would you bomb and why? What kind of casualties are you looking at? Military casualties? Civilian casualties? Both count.

What would you want to destroy? Nuclear facilities? There is general consensus Iran does not have the bomb. It is years away from getting one even if it tried.

Even if the idea is to destroy nuclear facilities, do you know where they are? Do you know where all of them are? Maybe few yes, but all?

Would Iran strike back? How would it strike back? Would Iran send missiles into Israeli cities in mindless retaliation? Will Israel sit idly by? That is already three major military powers involved in a major all out war in the most volatile part of earth. Iran is not Hezbollah. Iran is a state with a major army. You are looking at a scenario of a large number of civilian casualties in Iran and Israel. Perhaps as many as if someone exploded a nuclear bomb.

So you are so scared of the bomb, the possibility of a bomb, that you are going to try and bring about a nuclear bomb explosion like casualty figure so as to make your point? Can you get any dumber?

Bushey talk of strikes on Iran is a guy refusing to admit the war on Iraq was a mistake right when it got launched. A future mistake in Iran is not going to cover up the mistake already made in Iraq. It will only make matters worse.

Nonproliferation is a serious, legitimate goal. But then so was preventing another 9/11, W's official rationale for going into Iraq.

There are many political, diplomatic, economic, nonprofit, cyber, and INGO options all of which have to be thoroughly exhausted before any strike on Iran can be contemplated. War - even surgical strikes; those are wars too, they necessarily kill innocent civilians - has to be the weapon of the very last resort.

And yes, holding a regional summit that involved Iran and Syria is an option. Holding direct talks with the president of Iran is an option.

Striking Iran is not an option. It is a very bad option. It would be an unwise option.

The best option is to look at the progressive tools to bring about real democracy into Iran where some council of mullahs does not get to decide who may or may not run for president.

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In The News

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Oh-eight (D): Bill vs. Obama MSNBC the lack of influence labor is having on the Dem field. ..... Kerry said, “President Bush is leaving a tarnished economic legacy that will haunt the middle class and their children ....... Clinton "flew into a sudden burst of media wind shear. After months of mostly rosy portrayals of her campaign’s political skill, discipline and inevitability, the storyline shifted abruptly to evasive answers, shady connections and a laugh that sounded like it was programmed by computer." .......... Is she so eager to be all things to all people, so reluctant to offend anyone, that we never will learn what she really thinks or how she will really act as president? ........ he re-defended his support for NAFTA. ...... Bill's speculation that he may help "sell domestic programs." Really? Does this mean Bill will stump the country after Hillary State of the Unions? ....... the nervousness Rocky Mountain Democrats have if Clinton is leading the '08 ticket. .... "It's a disaster for Western Democrats," he said. "It keeps me up at night." ....... Look for Schweitzer and Salazar and other westerners to dominate the VP short list should she be the nominee. ...... Clinton topped her rivals in speaking time at the Dartmouth debate. "She logged 17 minutes and 37 seconds of air time -- roughly four minutes more than the second-place finisher, Barack Obama. ....... that's a reversal from the figures for some of the earlier debates, when Obama led and she ran second ...... Clinton's baby bonds idea ..... The bonds would cost about $20 billion a year, based on the 4 million American babies born annually, according to Time magazine, which last month proposed a similar plan." ....... "The choice was pretty easy for me, obviously. Not like Giuliani's daughter." ........ "You have to talk like my dad talks” to have a chance to win in the South. "We can't concede the South." ......... Obama said that he would begin a process of removing combat troops from Iraq at the rate of one to two brigades per month, but he would leave forces behind to help with humanitarian issues, guard the U.S. embassy, and to be a counterterrorism force either in Kuwait or elsewhere in the region. ........ "Part of life is having to take tests, and I have to do it right now running for president and a bunch of them seem very silly to me but you have to take them ......... the quick rise and fall of Howard Dean ...... Clinton has 13 Congressional Black Caucus endorsements to Obama’s 12. ..... Obama “would relax drug-sentencing laws and address vast racial inequities in the justice system as part of his crime policy.” ....... the Brookland Baptist Church in West Columbia and First Baptist Church in downtown Columbia ......... "Just 2.7 miles, or eight minutes by motorcade on a traffic-free Sunday morning, separate the two churches. Rarely does anyone traverse the short distance -- or wider cultural gap between the two Baptist congregations -- to catch both services."
Were Clinton’s comment on Obama racist? Blogger News Network
What If Bill Clinton Had Run for President in 1988? Yahoo! News When Clinton did run for president, in 1992, he was the same age as Obama is today. The claim by a white male that at age 42 he had as much experience as a 46-year-old black man probably will bring unintended consequences by firing up a larger Obama vote among African-Americans. ....... The hubris of that statement invokes, all too neatly, the gripes by other white males in affirmative-action friendly workplaces across America; it's a way of speaking in code that most white Americans don't notice, but that black Americans understand painfully well. ........... America may be ready for a black president, but probably not for a younger black man pummeling an elder white woman, even with mere words ....... Bill Clinton's attempted put-down offered Obama a clean shot at the rival camp through its surrogate: Everybody loves to see the younger athlete score on the aging former champ. And that's exactly what Obama did. ......... Robert Reich (one of the few cabinet-level veterans of the Clinton White House that is still widely beloved and trusted among Democrats) who jumped up from the sidelines and kicked in an extra point for Obama. Reich said: "While I can understand Bill Clinton's eagerness to undermine his wife's most significant primary opponent, he is not, I believe, completely ingenuous. I happened to talk with him in 1988 before he decided not to run, and also in 1991 before he decided to run the following year. His calculation at both times was decidedly rational and entirely political, based on whether he could win." .......... Would Clinton have appointed William Bennett as "drug czar" in 1989 and begun the demonization of pot smokers and cancer patients, and wholesale imprisonment of young black males, that the escalation of the war-on-drugs wrought on America? .......... Come to think of it, Bill Clinton probably should have run for president in 1988 when he was younger and less jaded.
Bill Clinton: No clear GOP front-runner Newsday
Clinton's cackle may give opponents the last laugh Independent They call it the Clinton cackle. It comes out of the blue, lasts a few seconds and leaves those who witnessed it wondering if they have missed a joke. Hillary Clinton's deployment of the full belly laugh is the latest weapon used by the leading Democratic presidential candidate when she is being pummelled by reporters or rivals. ....... a sign of nervousness over Iowa, where she is now running second to Barak Obama ...... Conservative radio hosts routinely play Hillary Clinton's "cackle" on their radio shows and her enemy Dick Morris says it is "loud, inappropriate, and mirthless... a scary sound that was somewhere between a cackle and a screech." ......... The questions about her judgement are coming thick and heavy. .... Even Bill Clinton seems nervous about Mr Obama ........ Obama's ability to persuade the country that he has both good judgement and experience could now be key. His deliberately non-confrontational style of campaigning is showing signs of working ......... Mr Obama is also raising more money than Mrs Clinton – more than $75m (£37.5m) over the past nine months – as ordinary people rather than wealthy donors eagerly contribute $10 and $20 a person through his campaign website. Mr Obama's advisers express confidence that he will do well in both Iowa and New Hampshire and surge to victory a few weeks later when many states vote in what is being called Super Duper Tuesday. His quiet-spoken style of electioneering has led many in the media to write off his campaign. And while he has sharpened his criticisms of Hillary Clinton he still refuses to engage in an all-out assault. ......... "I know there's a tremendous blood lust out there in the political community who want us to be in a steel-cage match with her," said his chief strategist David Axelrod. "Barack Obama didn't get in this race to tear Hillary Clinton down or to tear anybody else down. He got into the race to lift the country up. No doubt we have differences, and he will draw on those differences. But he is going to resist the thirst for gratuitous combat, because that's part of his critique of the political process." ...... As he takes his unorthodox campaigns to the schoolrooms and community halls of Iowa this week, Mr Obama is falling back on the oldest and most reliable trick in the book – pitting himself as very much an outsider against the Washington elites who have brought the country to its current impasse.
Obama's backers insist polls belie a buzz they see on trail Boston Globe southwest New Hampshire .... about 1,000 in all. .... The gathering is massive for Peterborough, population 6,000 ..... the infectious excitement his candidacy has generated. ..... His powerful and growing grass-roots network - reaffirmed by thousands of new donors in the third quarter of this year - has reached historic proportions. ........ "I don't understand why he's 20 points behind Hillary," said Timothy Steele, an Obama enthusiast from Hancock, N.H., who runs a medical-device company. "It's really at a point when it should start being urgent." ......... only 17 percent of respondents in the UNH survey said they had definitely made up their minds. ......... Donna Brazile, who ran Al Gore's 2000 campaign and is neutral this cycle. "Barack is going into the final 13 weeks of the campaign in great shape." ....... Obama's advisers say they are confident they have the organization, the buzz, the money, and the candidate with a message the country is hungry for. And they say that, despite the intense media scrutiny and onslaught of state and national polls, most people have yet to really focus on the race. ........ the political landscapes in Iowa and New Hampshire are fluid. ....... Obama has intensified his campaigning in Iowa, airing two new TV ads, bringing on a well-connected Democratic activist, and launching a four-day "Judgment and Experience Tour" across the state this week to highlight his long-running opposition to the Iraq war. ........... In New Hampshire, Obama's campaign hopes its first TV ad, which started airing last week, will produce a bump in the polls over the next month. ........ he is viewed as the most likable candidate and that many voters have not yet paid close attention, let alone made a firm decision. ...... polls showed Howard Dean leading by 20 percent in New Hampshire in late December 2003, only to lose by about 14 points a few weeks later. ......... Terry Kepner, a 55-year-old Radio Shack employee from Bennington, N.H., said he liked both Clinton and Obama but would not decide until the last minute. "I make my decision when I walk in" ......... the large percentage of undecided African-American women voters ...... Indications are that 18- to 30-year-olds will vote heavily in 2008 - even more than in the last two national elections, when their participation jumped markedly ......... Obama's support is underrepresented in primary-state polls, because many 20-somethings have only cellphones and their numbers do not show up on pollsters' calling lists. ........ "This is my first campaign, and I think I'm turning into an addict," Amanda Kelley, an Obama fan from St. Charles, Mo., wrote in an e-mail. "I check Barackobama.com every hour, I volunteer for everything I can, and the people I've met I am now seeing every week. There is a rejuvenated sense of personal empowerment that Obama generates which helps drive people to continue to move forward despite the polls, and the media."
Obama Leads in Worthless Poll Yahoo! News People are buzzing about Barack Obama supposedly surging among Iowa Democrats. A Newsweek poll has Obama besting Clinton by four points and Edwards by six, but like most early polls, this is pretty worthless. ..... Large pluralities continue to say they're undecided ........ the small, unpredictable "universe" of caucus attendees. ........ It takes over an hour to attend the caucus -- smack in the middle of Iowa winter -- so schedules and weather make turnout much more unpredictable than regular voting. ........ victory can depend on the second-place preferences of Iowans backing "second-tier" candidates. Field operatives get this dynamic ...... veteran strategists like Michael Whouley are tracking Iowans' second-place preferences. (Whouley is famous in Democratic circles for his field work for Bill Clinton, Al Gore and John Kerry ....... This time last cycle, Wesley Clark led national polls ...... Hillary has Dean's frontrunner spot, Obama is the old Edwards, and the new Edwards is doing the Gephardt thing. The top three of 2004 had one thing in common: high poll numbers and losing campaigns.
Obama climbs in Iowa poll Baltimore Sun
Newt Gingrich Defends White House Pass as Legal Necessity ABC News he is chosing his "American Solutions" project over a presidential run. ..... Gingrich rejected the notion that it was for lack of resources or potential. ....... "The McCain-Feingold Act criminalizes politics ... We were informed yesterday morning that if I had any communication with American Solutions after I became a candidate, it was a criminal offense." ....... Gingrich, who was poised to launch a $30 million fundraising Web site, asserted that he could have been a serious contender. ........ "I think it would have been a real campaign. I think we would have had a chance to win," he said. ......... if we nominate somebody who is a continuation of where we are right now, we're going to lose ...... if Huckabee can find money, he will be dramatically competitive almost overnight. ......... "I believe she is very professional. I think the Clinton machine is the most powerful political machine in modern America. I think her husband is the smartest politician in our generation"
India's Low-Key Response to Burma Protests Driven By Security Concerns Voice of America
Myanmar junta stalls UN envoy a second time International Herald Tribune
Bush eyes 'surgical' strikes vs. Iran, sez mag New York Daily News planning "surgical" strikes in Iran to cripple agents the United States says support Iraqi insurgents fighting American soldiers ......... a change in the administration's rhetoric against Iran - redefining the source of tension from nuclear weapon development to Tehran's support of America's enemies ....... 'surgical' strikes on Revolutionary Guard Corps facilities and elsewhere ........ "What had been presented primarily as a counterproliferation mission has been reconceived as counterterrorism." ........ The Joint Chiefs of Staff have been working on plans to hit Iran with "a broad bombing attack" on suspected nuclear and military facilities ....... the revised bombing plan is gaining support from the military leadership and the British government. ..... the idea is being resisted by the Israelis, who would rather see Iran's nuclear facilities targeted directly ...... a lack of public support for a major bombing campaign, and the belief in intelligence circles that Iran is at least five years away from developing a nuclear weapon. ...... "But instead of saying to the American people ... it's going to be about nuclear weapons, it's now going to be about getting the guys that are killing our boys." .... the changing tone toward Iran is similar to the leadup to the invasion of Iraq in 2003, with the agency "moving everybody to the Iran desk."
China Writer Faces Subversion Charge The Associated Press
China: Product Safety Still Needs Work The Associated Press
Storing Files on the Internet, Microsoft Style New York Times more software technology over the Internet as a service ...... a careful balancing act, adding Internet services without offering online versions of its most lucrative desktop products like Word, Excel and PowerPoint. ...... a free service, called Office Live Workspace, that will allow people to store, access and share documents online. ........ But a Word or Excel document in the online workspace can be edited only if the user has bought Microsoft’s Word or Excel software. “The ideal case is where a person has Office,” said Rajesh Jha, a vice president for Microsoft Office Live products. ........ In an offering for larger companies, Microsoft will host the data center software for e-mail, workgroup collaboration and instant messaging and provide those as online services ......... “software plus services.” ........ Google Gears ...... household calendar ..... the desire of companies to add Web-based collaboration tools quickly and without the expense and headaches of having to buy more server computers.
Will A Google Phone Change The Game? BusinessWeek Watch or read the custom ads, and your phone minutes are free. ...... For big cell carriers, that's the real nightmare. And it may be coming in the form of a Google phone. ..... Google is expected to tap a company on the Pacific Rim that specializes in mobile design and manufacturing to build a handset to its specs. ..... don't expect one before the second half of 2008. ..... It is experimenting with wireless broadband networks in a couple of U.S. cities. ...... In August, CEO Eric Schmidt announced his intention to participate in a federal auction early next year of the sort of radio spectrum that would help pull off a phone service. ..... Networks and handsets are only now getting sophisticated enough to deliver colorful, location-specific ads. ..... combine Google's financial heft with its ultra-sophisticated ability to target ads to specific customers ..... nirvana scenarios--mobile ads tied to your individual behavior, what you are doing, and where you are ..... more than 2 1/2 billion phones in use worldwide exceed the number of PCs and TVs combined. ..... Google's AdSense for Mobile delivers ads relevant to the advertiser's mobile audience. .... mobile the next channel for information ..... Dilip Venkatachari, director of product management for Google's mobile team. ..... fit like spandex tights with user interests. ...... Employing technologies that figure out where callers are and where they're headed boosts advertising prices by 50% ..... Via Google search, for example, an advertiser learns a user is at the corner bakery in downtown Chicago. And it learns the person has a taste for sweets. Wireless carriers have customer information as well, but "they are not a data warehouse, the way Google is" ..... perhaps buy a wireless carrier, such as beleaguered Sprint Nextel .... Then it could launch the first ad- supported, and free, nationwide phone service. "Google is the first gambler sitting down with as big a bankroll as the carriers have
Dubai: Wall Street In The Desert?
Salman says 'no' to Madame Tussauds Rediff
University of Memphis football player killed on campus CNN
Skype CEO Niklas Zennstrom Leaves Post Forbes
Opinion: Women's Soccer Doesn't Trail Men's in Excitement Deutsche Welle women's soccer is no longer worthy of ridicule and, in fact, is played at high technical and tactical levels ...... Women's soccer today is fairer than men's, offensive and well-played at a pace that has clearly sped up. Of course, the men are still faster, but that's the case in track and field, too. Are those races any more boring because of it? ....... the women on the German team who won the 1989 European Championships were rewarded with a coffee set, each member of the 2007 team will receive 50,000 euros ($71,165) for winning the title. ........ the 1999 Cup was broadcast in 67 countries, this time around it was 220 ...... World Cup in China ......limited funding and the lack of a league structure.
Microsoft puts Office on the Web, Adobe Follows PC World Adobe Systems announced Monday that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Virtual Ubiquity in Waltham, Massachusetts and its online word processor, Buzzword. ...... Buzzword was built with Adobe Flex software and runs in the Adobe Flash Player. ..... Monday Exchange Labs, a research and development program for testing next-generation messaging and unified communications capabilities in high-scale environments. The Exchange Labs program will initially include select universities and school districts.
Office Live Workspace: What it can and can't do Seattle Post Intelligencer the company isn't ruling out the possibility of providing Web-based document authoring. He noted that there's plenty of opportunity to make money with advertising-supported software and services. ......... I wondered if Office Live Workspace was what's known in the industry as vaporware -- a product announced to combat a competitor, without ever really materializing.
Pamela Anderson Weds Paris Hilton's Sex Tape Lover Sofia News Agency
Americans Win the War on Terror! TIME Back at the ballfield death scene, an ambulance drives off, carrying the wounded. KA-BLAM! A suicide bomber was inside. From the roof of a building a mile or so away, the masterminds of these atrocities record it all on video, for bragging rights later. ....... Instead of being trapped in a four-year (and counting) quagmire, they come into town, clean things up and get out. What many thought would be the 2003 reality of a U.S. fighting force in Iraq has become a film fantasy in 2007. ......... The enemy is not a country but an ideology, not uniformed but civilian guerrillas. ......... our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan are less fighting machines than sitting ducks ........ multi-ethnic squads ...... guaranteed to piss off the religiously and socially conservative Saudis ...... the black guy, there's the older man (Chris Cooper) who swears a lot; the woman doctor (Jennifer Garner) who insists on wearing tight T shirts; oh, and the Jew (Jason Bateman). ...... quizzing a retired terrorist (the effortlessly intimidiating Uri Gavriel). The old man holds up a hand with two missing fingertips and says, "Every bombmaker gets bitten by his own works." ........ The movie's guiding force is producer Michael Mann ..... The Mann style is everywhere evident: in the prowling camera and elliptical editing, the pile-driving music (a surprisingly formulaic score by Denny Elfman), the gigantic, pore-probing closeups of the actors' faces, the vigorous ersatz-realism. Everything moves so much and so fast that the movie seems both gutsy and brainy. But the main strategy is to keep viewers' pulses racing so they concentrate on the action, not the message. ...... if America is going to do any good against Islamic extremism in the Middle East, it needs to link up with moderate Arabs like Faris. ...... this war won't end until both sides can somehow be convinced it's over. .... cornering of the evil genius. ...... a retro-fantasy of American grit and smarts, culminating in politico-military triumph. Who needs a stalled, baffled, exhausted Army when our four globetrotting, gun-toting crime-solvers can be sent to the scene to sleuth out and wipe out the bad guys? ..... I feel a sequel coming on. Next stop for this A Team: the caves of Pakistan!
Madonna, Beasties, Mellencamp Up for Rock-God Status E! Online Born Madonna Louise Ciccone in Detroit, the Material Girl emerged from New York's underground club scene and shot to fame on the success of her self-titled 1982 debut album, which spawned the singles "Holiday," "Borderline" and "Lucky Star." ....... Her penchant for boundary-pushing behavior, both onstage and off, and constant reinvention has kept her on the charts and in the headlines. .... selling more than 200 million albums worldwide. ..... Like Madonna, the Beasties sprung from the New York music scene in 1982, but instead of party-hearty rap, the Boys were a hard-core punk band.

Obama: Clinton No Break From the Usual The Associated Press
Obama campaign passes 350000 donors Baltimore Sun
Obama climbs in Iowa poll Baltimore Sun
Time running out for the making of a black President Guardian Unlimited For Barack Obama it was a daring move: hold a rally last week in the heart of New York, the fortress home of his rival, Senator Hillary Clinton. It seemed to pay off. As he bounded onto the stage in Manhattan's Washington Square in front of a packed crowd of 25,000, he beamed his broad smile and shouted: 'Look at this crowd!' Obama's gamble seemed to have worked. It generated a swath of newsprint in the Democratic stronghold of the city and was designed to send a message to Clinton that she could not even count on the support of her home turf. ....... 'It's extremely unlikely that Hillary will be denied her party's nomination,' said the influential New York Post columnist John Podhoretz. .... a long, steady march of the Clinton machine, keeping other candidates at arm's length and building an ever larger lead in the polls. ..... A Gallup survey had her on a whopping 47 per cent, against Obama's 25 per cent ....... Clinton is also ahead by about 20 points in New Hampshire and has recently moved ahead of Edwards in the key first voting state of Iowa, where Edwards has been virtually camped out for the past two years. ....... many experts warn that it is far too early to write Obama off, pointing out that there are three months to go before actual voting takes place. Obama's campaign still has many positives. He has raised more money faster than any other Democratic candidate in history, including 75,000 new campaign donors since June alone. He also has a huge and committed campaign organisation, including twice as many offices in Iowa as any other candidate. His public rallies are always attended by thousands of supporters, who show an enthusiasm for their candidate which beats that enjoyed by any of his rivals. ...... a good showing in Iowa will change the nature of the race ..... Seeking to express sympathy with poor farmers in Adel, Iowa, Obama asked his audience: 'Anybody gone into Whole Foods lately and seen what they charge for arugula?' The remark was a disaster and it is not hard to see why. Whole Foods is an upscale, organic-only supermarket that does not have a single branch in the entire state, let alone in the tiny town of Adel. Many Iowans - famed for their Midwestern distaste for 'big city' ways - would take pride in not knowing what arugula is or what one should do with it. But a few in Adel may now have some interesting suggestions. ....... Though often uninspiring, Clinton's public appearances and debate performances have been the epitome of slick, smooth professionalism. She has also run a hyper-controlled media operation that has won a reputation for ruthless control of her campaign's message ........ Bill Clinton used his influence to kill a GQ magazine story that painted an unflattering portrait of infighting in the Clinton campaign. ....... 'He's the best thing she's got going for her on some levels. He's her Karl Rove ....... At this time in 2003's Democratic race, Vermont governor Howard Dean looked set to be the candidate. He was flush with cash, riding high in the polls and John Kerry's campaign was almost bankrupt. Yet three months later Dean's campaign collapsed almost overnight and Kerry romped home in a matter of weeks. Put simply: a lot can happen in the next three months, and all the campaigns remain officially optimistic. ....... Iowa is shaping up not just to be Obama's first stand against Clinton. It could also be his last.
Google Buys Mobile Social Network Zingku PC World Zingku aims to make it easier for people to share photos, send invitations or conduct polls among friends via mobile phone. It also provides a way for businesses to send "mobile flyers" to customers advertising products and services. ...... Zingku's service is free for end users and aimed at teenagers and people in their 20s. It uses standard text and picture messaging features on mobile phones, and a browser on the Web, so no special software has to be installed. ...... Users can share content with an "inner circle" of trusted friends, and with friends-of-friends when they want to. ..... easily move (zing) things back and forth between the web and your mobile as well as powerfully connect with friends and optionally their friends. ........ mobile phones, which are emerging as a new medium for advertising. ...... In 2005 it bought Dodgeball.com, another mobile service that shares information about a user's location and helps them find friends in their local area. Google did little to promote the service, however, and Dodgeball's founders left Google earlier this year complaining that it wasn't investing enough resources in the service. ..... whacky, Web 2.0 culture

Giuliani Argues He Can Beat Hillary The Associated Press he's clearly taking a nontraditional — and untested — route to the nomination by making a stand in delegate-rich Florida on Jan. 29. It's a gateway to the big-prize Feb. 5 primaries in California, New York and other states that Giuliani backers contend will be more amenable to a candidate of his ilk. ...... Giuliani claims to be the only Republican able to put in play Democratic-leaning states with lots of electoral votes, such as New York, California, New Jersey and Illinois. ...... the ultimate trifecta of liberal bogeymen — the left-leaning interest group MoveOn.org, The New York Times and Clinton. He blasted MoveOn for buying an ad in the Times that assailed the top U.S. commander in Iraq, challenged Clinton to denounce it, and criticized the newspaper for slashing the price of it.
Democrats Build Plan to Override Health Bill Veto New York Times Bush’s expected veto of a bipartisan bill providing health insurance for 10 million children, most of them in low-income families. ..... the cost of Iraq, $333 million a day; the cost of Schip, $19 million a day ..... “Screaming ‘socialized medicine’ is like shouting ‘fire’ in a crowded theater. It is intended to cause hysteria that diverts people from reading the bill, looking at the facts.” ..... Ms. Pelosi called Mr. Bush on Friday and said she was praying he would sign the bill.
Clinton, Bono, Shakira Talk Youth Activism E! Online
Bill Clinton: Hillary 'Will Be ... the Decider' ABC News
You, Bill Clinton and a bowl of chips Baltimore Sun
Is Hillary Clinton the New Old Al Gore? New York Times
'Security situation in Nepal poor ahead of polls' Hindu A top parliamentary panel tasked to review the security situation in Nepal ahead of the November 22 polls today expressed concern at the prevailing law and order situation, terming it "poor" and inadequate for the successful conduct of the landmark democratic exercise. ...... the politicians were afraid to conduct their political activities outside the district headquarters due to the frail security situation in the country. ...... cross-border criminal activities in the districts in the Terai plains bordering India.
Police atrocity continues in Bihar NDTV.com
Torrential rains disrupts normal life in Bihar Times of India
Obama stuck in 2nd place; hasn't risen in polls New York Daily News leading all of his rivals in the race for money, and boasting the largest grass-roots organization in modern political history ..... supporters are impressed with Obama's signs of strength - his fund-raising prowess, the huge crowds at rallies, the Internet following ...... Preeta Bansal, a New York supporter, said she's not concerned. "It's going to be a long fall. The race is just beginning and he's on fire," said Bansal, referring to recent stump speeches where she said he's been "superb." ....... there's tremendous excitement for Obama, and real optimism that he can knock out Clinton. .... "On the ground, the people, the groundswell is growing," Sanders said. ..... "I know there's a rooting interest, a kind of blood lust in the political community to see a kind of steel-cage match between Obama and Hillary," Axelrod said. "I don't think that's either politically smart or consistent with who he is." ...... The campaign has pinned much of its strategy on winning Iowa. .... The campaign also has begun to deploy staff and build up ground operations in the states holding primaries on Feb. 5. And in the coming months, star supporter Oprah Winfrey "will do some things for us
Poll: Iowans Buck the 2008 CW Newsweek
India's 'Tiger from Madras' crowned world chess champion AFP
India's Anand seizes chess title USA Today
China Bans Bra, Underwear Ads The Associated Press
Bush struggles to stay relevant in climate debate Reuters his resistance to the kind of mandatory emissions limits sought by many allies in Europe and Japan may further weaken his influence as negotiations intensify over a successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol. That treaty, which Bush rejected, expires in 2012. .... "a lot of countries are already looking past this administration." ..... In the years since Bush rejected the 1997 Kyoto treaty, the debate within the United States has shifted toward growing concern about global warming.
On Warming, Bush Vows US 'Will Do Its Part' Washington Post
Climate Change: Filling the Bush Gap TIME
At The Supreme Court It’s Kennedy’s World CBS News
Google Buys Mobile Social Network Zingku PC World
Bringing smart phones to the masses CNET News.com teen-agers and even soccer moms, who want e-mail access and Web surfing on the go ...... 213 million cell phones operating in the United States today, only about 4 percent of them are smart phones ..... 9 million smart phone users in the U.S. That figure has almost tripled in the past two years.

Video

New York City For Barack Obama 5
New York City For Barack Obama 6

Burma: Time For All Out Sanctions By All Powers

Witness: Monks held in Burma









Total Sanctions

The street protests inside Burma have been dramatic. The echo action by the powers of the world must also be dramatic. And what would be dramatic would be all out sanctions, total sanctions by all powers of the world. The good news is those sanctions can be readily lifted, not only those but all actions can be lifted in a matter of weeks after Suu Kyi's interim government is sworn into power. The pain that companies will feel will be highly temporary. The rewards they will reap will be much grander than before.

Total sanctions make democracy sense. But they also make money sense for the foreign powers and the foreign companies.

Those powers that delay or act miserly on the sanctions part will have blood on their hands. Major blood.

Smuggle In Thousands Of Video Cameras

And spread word that all brutality is being extensively recorded. If you smuggle in a thousand cameras, spread word that 10,000 cameras have been smuggled in. The army has guns. The democracy activists must have cameras.

Smuggle out footage if possible. If not, it is okay to simply record and keep for later online distribution.

The idea is to penetrate the army with a major whisper campaign. All soldiers have family and relatives who are civilians. Spread word to them. Ask them to pass it on. Word will spread fast.

Make up stories. Spread word that the CIA is itself involved. Everything is being recorded.

Democracy activists in the rich countries should help pay for these cameras.

Millions Out Into The Streets

That is the only way. If the people stop coming out into the streets, no external power can do much for the democracy cause.

No Democracy, No Olympics

That is one thing the Chinese will listen to. They will do anything to make sure the 2008 Olympic Games do not get hampered. They will even prevent a major military crackdown. They will even negotiate Suu Kyi's release.

Burma: Momentum Is Key To Victory
Shame On The Top Politicians Of The World: Burma Asks For More
In Solidarity With The Burmese People

Burma, Bhutan, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Sudan

People power.

In The News

Burma's fight for freedom: Troops reclaim the streets as monks ... Independent, UK
Activists denounce violence in Burma at Harvard march Boston Herald
Burma junta blocks UN meeting Times Online, UK
Burma needs action from the West, not cheap platitudes Sunday Herald how easy it is to "disappear" for even hinting at political criticism of a regime that keeps dissent in check through torture and murder. ...... the junta, which relies on the income stream generated from Western-based companies to ensure their supply of arms and financial clout. ...... the number of UK firms trading with Burma include tour operators, oil and gas companies, shipping companies, furniture firms, timber importers and transport companies. ....... dissidents claim hundreds of peaceful protesters, including monks, have been killed. ...... The EU was not, however, at this time considering an expansion of sanctions against the junta .... Burma's neighbours - most of which, like Thailand, have managed to emerge from dictatorship to prosperous democracy in the past decade - are as bad, if not worse. ..... Thailand and Singapore are two of its biggest trading partners. India now sells arms to the generals.
Protesters in Burma scared off by troops Scotsman
The business of oppression Sunday Herald a simple message for the British businessmen and women trading with Burma's military dictatorship: "Stop it. You are helping to kill my people." ...... Phan, a member of the ethnic Karen group which has been mercilessly persecuted by the ruling military junta, was just 14 when her village was attacked by Burmese soldiers. She fled to the jungle and lived in hiding before escaping over the border to Thailand, ending up in a refugee camp. Phan eventually made her way to Britain, studied at university and now works full-time as a campaigner for democracy in Burma. ....... rape being used as a weapon of war against girls as young as five years old. ..... The Burmese military regime owns every single one of the teak plantations in Burma and teak sales earn the dictators millions of pounds a year. ...... the UK has more companies than any other nation on Earth trading with the regime. ........ 128 firms globally are trading with Burma - of those 44% are British. ..... "The Burmese regime spends half its budget on the military, and just 19p per person on health and education. It relies on foreign trade to supply this income. So, companies which trade with Burma are helping support a military dictatorship which uses foreign money to buy weapons to suppress its own people." ...... it is up to the government to impose sanctions. It should send a clear message to industry that trade is not acceptable. When the regime came to power in 1988 it was bankrupt. It was foreign trade which gave it its legs. It has not used that trade to help ordinary people but to double the size of the army and increase repression."
Oil companies look to exploit Burma Sydney Morning Herald, Australia
Burma, Darfur and Democracy -- The Bush Betrayal BuzzFlash
The business world beats a quiet path to a pariah’s door Asia Sentinel
Firms Seek Access to Myanmar Oil Fields The Associated Press
An Eye in the Sky on Burma TIME
Satellite images show Burma's plight Boston Globe
Satellites show Karen villages burnt in Burma ABC Online
Satellite images show burned Burma villages Telegraph.co.uk
UN Envoy in Burma to Try to Mediate Protests Voice of America
More arrests as envoy heads to Burma ABC Online
UN Envoy Heading for Burma to Try to Mediate Protests Voice of America
UN envoy heads to Burma for emergency talks Telegraph.co.uk
Japan Protests Death of Journalist in Burma Voice of America
Japanese Minister heading to Burma ABC Online
Video Allegedly Shows Japanese Journalist Shot at Close Range in Burma Voice of America
Japan protests over death in danger zone The Age
Protesters urge Olympic boycott over Chinese support for Burma San Francisco Chronicle, USA Without China's military and financial help for the government in Rangoon, and without China's power to veto United Nations resolutions that would punish Burma, Burmese military leaders could not keep arresting and assaulting monks and others who are demanding changes there ........ Demonstrators urged people to boycott the 2008 Beijing Olympics ...... Nyunt Than, who fled Burma in 1992 and is now president of the Bay Area-based Burmese American Democratic Alliance. .... "The oceans are collections of single raindrops. (Protests) are not only happening here but all over the world."
Burma forces storm cities The Australian, Australia the third day of a crackdown .... About 10,000 people surged onto the streets of the main city of Yangon, playing a deadly game of cat-and-mouse as they repeatedly confronted police and soldiers before scattering and regrouping once more. ....... In the central city of Mandalay, thousands of young people on motorbikes rode down a major thoroughfare towards a blockade set up by security forces who unleashed a volley that witnesses believed could have been rubber bullets. ........ With dozens of monks arrested, beaten or confined to their monasteries, the mantle has now been taken up by student groups and youths who dominated Friday's rallies. ....... Myanmar's main Internet link was down Friday because of what a telecom official said was a damaged undersea cable. ..... Security forces have also smashed cameras and cellphones, and beaten people who were carrying them. Several newspapers in the country, which was formerly known as Burma, are no longer operating....... being shoved down by Myanmar troops and then shot at close range. ..... The 47-member UN Human Rights Council decided to hold a special session on October 2 to examine the unrest in Myanmar ..... the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) issued an unusually critical statement on its fellow member Myanmar, expressing "revulsion" over the use of force against demonstrators.
Burmese monks become spiritual warriors Toronto Star
Toronto rally supports Burma protests Toronto Star
What Makes a Monk Mad New York Times they held the bowls upside down ... That gesture is a key to understanding the power of the rebellion that shook Myanmar last week. ...... even the highest generals have felt a need to honor the clerical establishment. They claim to rule in its name. ....... the country’s two largest and most established institutions were confronting each other, the monkhood and the military, both about 400,000 strong, both made up of young men, mostly from the poorer classes, who could well be brothers ......... Their militant resistance to the British produced the most prominent political martyr of Burmese Buddhism, U Wisara, who died in prison in 1929 after a 166-day hunger strike. ...... the spire of the Shwedagon Pagoda, which now glitters with 53 tons of gold and 4,341 diamonds on the crowning orb. ...... the huge street demonstrations were an act of courage and catharsis. ...... “This was not an accidental uprising,” said Zin Linn, a former editor and political prisoner who is now information minister for the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, an exile opposition group based in Washington. The transition in leadership in the protests — from militant former students to activist monks — was well planned, he said, through secret meetings among young men sharing similar grievances and aspirations for their country. ....... their gesture of rejection of the junta, and the junta’s violent response, had changed the dynamics of Burmese society in ways that had only begun to play out.
Sporadic rallies in Myanmar Hindu
Myanmar Breaks Up Rallies, Cuts Internet Guardian Unlimited
Rambo-Stallone claims Burma death threats Bangkok Post, Thailand Burma, where he insists a "full-scale genocide" is currently going on. .... The 61-year-old, who witnessed refugees fleeing from Burma to Thailand, and the crew received a "lot of threats" and were warned they'd be shot. ..... "It's the most brutal regime in the world and the most secretive. It has an oppressive regime that (keeps all riches) for themselves. Everyone is forced into drugs or prostitution or slavery. ..... "People are escaping all the time (from Burma), coming over with gaping, maggot-infested wounds, their ears being cut off. You saw a lot of suffering, a lot of malnutrition. ...... "We were on the Salween River and we were told to get out because we were going to be shot."
Stallone received death threats at Myanmar border NewKerala.com
Burma:The British companies that help to prop up a murderous regime Sunday Herald, UK
Foreign Office Minister meets with Burma Pro-democracy lobby eGov monitor
Large turnout at Burmese and Chinese embassies in London Indymedia UK
India Is Mum on Burma, But Speaking Volumes TIME The race for resources has helped make Burma the frontline in a larger struggle for influence in Southeast Asia. The threat of unfettered Chinese influence in Burma is one of Delhi's main ripostes when western allies question India's ties with Rangoon.
Explaining India’s silence over Burma Daily Times
India Reluctant to Pressure Burma Voice of America
When world condemns junta, India monitors Burma Narinjara News
UK fears Burma toll 'far higher' BBC News, UK
Brown condemns violence in Burma BBC News
Thailand tightens Burma border security Bangkok Post, Thailand
Burma on boil Asian Tribune George W. Bush says he would call the country by its old name just to spite the junta. ..... New Delhi is under greater pressure than the other neighbours—China and Thailand among them—to move at once against the Burmese regime. Comments in the Western media even suggest that it is India, a democracy that is playing the principal spoilsport by its ‘lukewarm’ response to the atrocities in Myanmar. The impression could be wrong but it provides an occasion to remind the Western champions of freedom in Burma now shooting arrows at New Delhi how lackadaisical, uncoordinated, irrational and inconsistent their own approach has been to that hapless country. ...... The Burma-Thailand bilateral trade has been going up and is about $4 billion today. More than half of it in the form of export of natural gas to Thailand. ....... In the first eight months of this year, trade between China and Burma increased by 50 percent, to cross the $one billion mark. The actual volume of the bilateral trade is believed to be much bigger because of free flow of timber, gems and other goods from Burma into the southern parts of China.
George Bush urges China to pressure Burma Telegraph.co.uk

Red China is playing games over Burma Sunday Herald
US Urges China to Help Curb Violence in Burma, Prepare for Transition Washington Post use their leverage with Burmese authorities to limit the violence and help manage a transition to a new government in Burma ...... the Chinese have been "shocked" by the world's reaction to the confrontation between the government and protesters. ...... China, which has extensive commercial interests in Burma, has received a blunt message from the United States: "You wanted to become a big power -- part of being a big power is you will be held responsible for your client states" ....... urged China to consider some form of refuge for Burmese leaders, to help speed a transition to a new government ..... China is nervous about prospects that the 2008 Olympics in Beijing could be tarnished if the situation in Burma is not stabilized peacefully. ...... House and Senate leaders drafted resolutions yesterday condemning the military government, with little of the normal partisan bickering that often accompanies foreign policy debates on Capitol Hill. ........ The U.S. government is also doubling the amount of Burmese-language broadcasts beamed into a country ....... Both Bushes have been heavily influenced by private meetings with Burmese dissidents and other activists ........ "a regime under severe stress." ...... division-level military commanders in Burma are refusing orders to participate in the crackdown. ...... there is "overwhelming dislike" of the government among civilians. ....... a condemnation this week from neighboring members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Burma's true leaders Guardian Unlimited In the years since the uprising of 1988, the opposition movement in Burma has been decapitated. Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League for Democracy, and Tin Oo, the party chairman and former commander in chief of the armed forces, remain under house arrest. Min Ko Naing - whose nom de guerre translates as "Conqueror of Kings" - was hastily thrown back into prison last month with many of his "88 Generation Students" group as they came back to the street to test the water. ...... the regime's response was vicious. Words such as national reconciliation and compromise simply do not exist in the generals' vocabulary. ...... the Burmese leaders still believe that they can count on China, India and Russia to prop up their regime ...... the Burmese regime continues to kill and imprison innocent citizens, monks and students; to drive talented people into exile
Burma junta's bunker mentality BBC News, UK "The top echelons are made up of graduates from the defence services academy, which is Burma's equivalent of Sandhurst or West Point" ..... a secretive cabal of 12 generals called the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). They may disagree behind closed doors but always present a unified position in public. .... The junta is run by three top generals. .... Number three is Soe Win, a ruthless military commander who is widely believed to have organised government militia to kill opposition members in the past. He is now believed to be terminally ill in a Singapore hospital. ..... Number two is Maung Aye, a hardliner who is opposed to any talks with Burma's pro-democratic opposition. ..... And at the top is Senior General Than Shwe, a high school drop-out and former postal clerk who rose through the ranks of the army in jungle campaigns and as an expert in psychological warfare. .... the 74-year-old Than Shwe and the way he governs. .... "[At a] Cabinet meeting he rarely speaks... but he listens very attentively to people... and then he will come out with a decision," he said. .... the upper echelons of Burma's closed, xenophobic and vehemently anti-Western regime. ...... Its fierce nationalism is reinforced by the sense that Burma is threatened by imperialism from abroad and ethnic rebels from within. .... "I think what's in their mind is that they're the saviours of the country... the country would fall apart without the military in power," he said. .... The top generals have dug themselves deeper into isolation over the past few years, following an internal power struggle between military intelligence and the hard men of the army. .... In 2003, the head of military intelligence, the regime's number three and prime minister, Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, was purged and jailed for corruption. ..... The generals are not just brutal and insular but increasingly rich. While most people survive on as little as $1 a day, Burma's top leaders control or at least receive a cut from all major business in the country. .... the regime is extraordinarily inept... businesspeople will enter into an agreement with various forces in Burma only to find that decision reversed sometime later ...... The profits from Burma's vast natural resources finance a lavish lifestyle for the generals at the top. ..... Last year, ordinary Burmese were outraged by a video posted on the internet showing the wedding of Than Shwe's daughter. She was seen dripping with diamonds and accepting gifts said to be worth up to $51m. ...... "China wants strategic minerals, oil and gas, raw materials," said journalist Isabel Hilton. "That, of course, upsets India, so what you've seen in the last several years is India trying to counter that influence... and the junta playing them off against each other with relative skill." ..... Burma's military regime are very unresponsive to quiet words, even by their closest trading partners .... "This is a regime that very often doesn't understand its own interests, or the country's own interests, and so they do tend to be quite tone-deaf to any talk of economic reform or political reform." ...... There have been rumours of a potential mutiny among some commanders - the regime's worst nightmare. .... They rule the country with fear but they also live in fear
Reclusive junta chief firmly in control Financial Times Last year, Burma’s impoverished citizens were both mesmerised and enraged by a widely circulated underground video of the lavish wedding of the daughter of their country’s repressive ruler, Senior General Than Shwe. ....... While the public is fascinated with him, Gen Than Shwe, a 74-year-old psychological warfare expert, has shown little concern with the reality of his people’s lives .... the grandiose, isolated new capital, the reclusive and famously obstinate Gen Than Shwe ...... preoccupied mainly with his own survival and self-enrichment, reportedly relying heavily on astrologers to make big decisions. ...... Gen Than Shwe and his number two, Gen Maung Aye, are the last original members of the State Law and Order Restoration Council, which grabbed power in September 1988. ....... Many cabinet ministers are said to be fearful of the senior general, who makes virtually all important decisions himself – a structure that has led to policy paralysis as well as miscalculations such as the recent fuel price rise that provided the spark for the current protests. ....... none of them dare to inform Than Shwe how bad the situation is.” ..... international humanitarian agencies, of which Gen Than Shwe is said to be highly suspicious. ..... how little anyone knows of the reclusive generals’ thinking ..... “When you look at the mid-level and senior military leaders, they don’t really trust each other,” said Kyaw Yin Hlaing, a City University of Hong Kong professor. “After witnessing what happened to Khin Nyunt, they don’t talk about anything that might suggest they are not happy with the situation, or the top guys.”
Inside the Ring Washington Times The ongoing monks' revolution against the military regime in Burma is shaping up as a major setback for China, which regards Burma as its main client state and resource center in Southeast Asia ....... ethnic Chinese Khin Nyunt .... Gen. Maung Aye was once viewed as pro-India and anti-China but was co-opted by Chinese military leaders after a meeting in 2006. ...... China's stability-obsessed rulers also fear that the collapse of the junta will send the million Chinese now working in Burma back across the border into China, further destabilizing that country. ...... China also regards Burma's junta as part of its strategy of countering growing U.S. influence in neighboring Vietnam and Cambodia. ...... the top three threats to the United States as Islamist terrorists and their supporters, state sponsors of terror and communist China, which she calls "the thousand-pound dragon in the room." .... the dominant notion in U.S. policy and intelligence circles that China's fascistlike system will be transformed through global trade as "naive as the liberal hope that al Qaeda would leave us alone if we cut off all foreign aid to Israel."
Junta head's family said to have fled from capital Electric New Paper the family of Myanmar's military Senior General Than Shwe has fled to neighbouring Laos. ..... included the general's wife, Daw Kyaing Kyaing. ..... not all in the junta are happy with the crackdown on protesting monks and citizens in Yangon. ..... Gen Than and ViceSenior-Gen Maung Aye, his second in command and the commander-in-chief of the army, have disagreed over the way the unarmed monks were attacked. ..... 'Maung Aye and his loyalists are opposed to shooting into the crowd ...... The gifts handed to the general's daughter and her husband reportedly were worth more than US$50 million ($74m). ........ General Than cannot even say her name ..... Gen Maung is due to meet Ms Suu Kyi. .... All the main roads into central Yangon have been blocked. .... international handphone signals have been interrupted and soldiers are searching people for cameras and handphones. ...... the government was sending bus-loads of vigilantes into the main city to attack the demonstrators. .... The atmosphere is said to be extremely tense. There is a palpable sense of fear on the streets. ..... Dissident groups have put the number as high as 200 ...... (Asean foreign ministers) were appalled to receive reports of automatic weapons being used and demanded that the Myanmar government immediately desist from the use of violence against demonstrators.
Libs makes money from Burma: Nettle The Age, Australia
Australia to boost efforts on Burma Sydney Morning Herald will introduce financial sanctions targeted at key figures in the junta and plans to ask Beijing, New Delhi and other South-East Asian governments to use their influence with Burma to counsel restraint and push for genuine reform. ...... Despite the deaths of up to five people on Wednesday as security forces tried to suppress the protests, crowds of up to 10,000 gathered in the centre of Burma's biggest city, Rangoon on Thursday. ..... Australia's ambassador to Burma, Bob Davis, believes more violence is inevitable. ..... Foreign Minister Alexander Downer isn't hopeful UN intervention will do very much.
A Burma Revolution The Conservative Voice
Rally calls for end to violence in Burma The Age
Food aid starts flowing again in north Burma ABC Online, Australia
UN: Burma Unrest Could Affect Food Delivery Efforts Voice of America
Burma crackdown hampers aid efforts Melbourne Herald Sun
Myanmar food relief hit by protest crackdown Reuters

Gingrich Won’t Run in 2008 New York Times
Giuliani in YouTube's Crosshairs ... Again Washington Post Thursday night, while several of his GOP rivals were debating in front of a black audience at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Giuliani was in Santa Barbara at a $2,300-a-plate fundraiser attended by Bo Derek and Dennis Miller.
Bloody Riots Erupt in Islamabad Over Musharraf Decision TIME government forces laid siege to the Supreme Court grounds, where several hundred lawyers had taken refuge after a vicious attack on a peaceful protest in the capital, Islamabad. ..... More than 10,000 riot police and plainclothes officers ...... Yasser Raja, a 33-year-old lawyer from nearby Rawalpindi was beaten repeatedly on the head; when he attempted to protect himself the police continued to attack, causing extensive damage to his upraised arm. His lawyer's uniform of white shirt and black suit was soaked in blood, but he continued to shout anti-Musharraf slogans. ........ saw police passing around bags of rocks ..... Security forces fired tear gas shells directly into the crowd, causing a panicked stampede. ..... Ahsan was hit by a brick in the kidneys at point blank range, then beaten on the head with batons, which shattered his glasses. ...... beaten so badly that the force of blows broke his arm. ..... "This is a massive violation of not just human rights, but of the Supreme Court ruling," said Anila Ateeq, a high court lawyer, as she dabbed her face with a water-soaked headscarf to ease the sting of the tear gas. "Our cause is the restoration of democracy, that is why we are protesting. The government has no cause, it has no mandate, it only has force." ....... "We are looking at an obscene and unnecessary show of excessive force," said Ali Dayan Hasan, South Asia Researcher for Human Rights Watch, who had come to observe the protests. "This has been wanton brutality against a professional group that is struggling to uphold the rule of law." ....... The only people General Musharraf has been able to fool and beguile are the governments of the United States and Great Britain." ...... "It's just a shade short of Burma," said one bedraggled lawyer, echoing an earlier statement by Ahsan. "Yeah," said his companion. "But here they are attacking lawyers in suits instead of monks in saffron."
Myanmar refugees want India to step in Times of India Asked how the soldiers shot their own people, Aung said, "Most of them are uneducated and jobless. They are caught young and brainwashed to see an enemy in anyone who talks of democracy. ..... The activists are in touch with members of the government-in-exile, spread out in Australia, US, Thailand and India. "Our New York office is trying hard to bring about a new resolution from the United Nations on the issue.
Ahmadinejad walks away with a win Los Angeles Times the arrogance of the American academy and most of the U.S. news media's studied indifference ..... the totalitarian impulse knows no accommodation with reason. You cannot change the totalitarian mind through dialogue or conversation, because totalitarianism -- however ingenious the superstructure of faux ideas with which it surrounds itself -- is a creature of the will and not the mind. ...... totalitarian demagogues -- who are as image-conscious as Hollywood stars ...... Ahmadinejad, who was a brilliant university student ..... "The wave of the Islamic revolution" would soon "reach the entire world," he has promised. ..... the American press always has had a hard time coming to grips with the fact that Islamists like the Iranian president mean what they say and that they really do believe what they say they believe.
An Eye in the Sky on Burma TIME sealing thousands of monks inside their monasteries ..... scientists were able to use orbital satellites to confirm on-the-ground reports of burned villages and forced relocations of civilians by the military. The technique has already been used to document human rights abuses in Zimbabwe and Darfur ..... Burma's eastern Karen State, where a rebellion against the government has been simmering for over 50 years ...... The satellites can see objects as small as 60 cm across ....... the AAAS had ordered up new images from Burma's major cities, Rangoon and Mandalay, over the past few days ...... with a military cordon drawing around Burma, every scrap of data will help.
Jerry Seinfeld Goes Back to Work Seinfeld is getting ready for a different sort of ancient ritual: stand-up comedy. "It's kind of that feeling before an ocean swim," he says of facing an audience armed with nothing but jokes. "You know it's gonna be cold at first, but once I get in, it's really fun. And you never know what the waves are going to be like." ....... "I used to see couples pushing strollers and think, Why would you do that? Why would you want someone in your house that just craps in their pants while they're looking you right in the eye?" ...... "Is it just all that sand and no beach that just drives everyone in the Middle East out of their freaking mind?" ....... This is what he has been doing on most weekends since Seinfeld went off the air: traveling to stand-up gigs across the country. No press, no entourage, just a tour manager, a garment bag and an opening act (usually one of Seinfeld's old friends—Mario Joyner, Tom Papa or Mark Schiff). "Doing my act and working on that—that's my job," says Seinfeld. "To actually do your creative thing right in front of an audience and have them judge it right there—that's exciting." ....... Steven Spielberg .... a neighbor of Seinfeld's in New York's tony Hamptons .... "As a single person, I was always exploring the world," says Seinfeld ..... "Now I've lost some interest in the world. I'm more interested in my wife and kids." ..... came to the conclusion that the applause of a few hundred people is worth more than the adulation of millions ....... Home for Seinfeld (who made a reported $225 million for Seinfeld's syndication alone and appears almost annually on Forbes' list of richest celebrities) is an apartment overlooking Central Park. ....... He hits the gym regularly, and every day when he's in the city he walks 25 blocks through Central Park to his midtown office—a spacious aerie with sweeping views of the skyline—where he works on his stand-up act. The office is equipped with a high-tech videoconferencing system called Halo so he can communicate with the directors and animators of Bee Movie. ...... "There is a thing about comedians," he says. "They are cranky—all of them. If you're not cranky, you're not funny." ...... "To be honest," he says, "I was kinda lost after the show. I really didn't want to get married, I didn't like being single anymore, and I didn't know what I wanted to do." ...... "'That's not the water Mr. Seinfeld prefers, you idiot'—I just wanted to get away from that. I missed people yelling at me and treating me like a regular guy." ....... "whenever I have the opportunity to go to an old bar in New York that has that smell—that beer-soaked wood, that cheap-wine smell—I just swoon." ....... One night he invited a woman he had met at the gym, Jessica Sklar, to his show. ...... "I was dating for 25 years. Do you know how exhausting that was? Do you know how much acting fascinated I did?" But Jessica, whom he calls a "neighborhood girl," actually did fascinate him. Like Seinfeld, she had grown up on Long Island, and available to him, he says, "she was the nicest." There was one catch:of all the nice Jewish girls two months earlier, she had married Eric Nederlander, the son of a prominent New York family in the theater business. Her marriage ended, she and Seinfeld began dating, and the tabloids loved it. "I couldn't believe anybody thought it was anything," says Seinfeld of the media storm. "And I had trouble understanding how painful it was for her. I was used to it. I think I made some mistakes in that period as far as helping her through it." ..... "I had left a relationship where I was sort of supposed to be someone I wasn't. That relationship was never going to work, and I met someone who was heaven and earth to me." ....... married in a small ceremony ..... daughter, whom he called "the sweetest candy of all." .... "The great thing about kids is there's nothing I find too embarrassing to do in front of them," he says. "To hear them laugh is worth anything. It's the best sound in the world." ....... Seinfeld considers The Sopranos "a really good sitcom. .... describing himself as "obsessive, yes; perfectionist, no." ..... "What was that instrument that has a little pathos to it? A clarinet? That's a very emotional instrument, a very Jewish instrument. I'm not sure this is that kind of scene. It feels a little like Yentl." ....... he's perfectly happy right where he is—on the road, going to or from one stand-up gig or another. "I had a really good time tonight," he says as the car pulls into the airport. "I'm a comedian again."
Time Video: Barack Star Rally, NYC
Barack Obama's not ready to lead, says Clinton Telegraph.co.uk
Obama Quotes Clinton on Clinton’s Experience New York Times example of Mr. Clinton in 1992 arguing against Mr. Clinton in 2007 .... No response yet from the Bill Clinton campaign – make that the Hillary Clinton campaign.
Obama leads pack among Iowa likely voters, though Clinton ... Raw Story in Iowa, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) is gaining steam. ..... among likely caucus-goers, Obama enjoys a slim lead, polling 28 percent to best Clinton (24 percent) and Edwards (22 percent). ....... Neither Clinton’s gender nor Obama’s race seem to be a sticking point for Iowa Democrats
Political Stardom Profitable for Obama The Associated Press Earlier this year he reported assets of up to $1.14 million in addition to his Chicago home. ..... Obama's own success allowed him to buy a $1.65 million mansion near the University of Chicago in 2005. ..... When he entered the U.S. Senate in 2005, Obama's salary jumped to more than $154,000 — nearly triple what he had been making as an Illinois legislator. ...... His sudden political stardom also brought him a three-book deal worth $1.9 million from Random House Inc. ..... His contract gives Obama 15 percent of the sale of each hardcover book, 8 percent or more from paperbacks and 10 percent from audiobooks. .... After Obama was elected to the Senate, his wife's income tripled thanks to a promotion she received at the University of Chicago Hospitals. When Michelle Obama rose from executive director to vice president, her salary increased from $121,910 to $316,962. ...... a relatively uncomplicated financial picture. ...... Their assets — which are between $457,000 and $1.14 million — are mostly in mutual funds and pensions. ....... Mitt Romney is the wealthiest candidate in the race, reporting assets of between $190 million and $250 million. ..... "He worked the street. He knocked on doors," Powell said. "He speaks from personal experience."
Edwards focusing on Clinton in White House bid Reuters The sustained focus on Clinton seemed to irritate Edwards in an interview with Reuters, and his voice hardened as he faced questions about her rather than his own positions. ...... the latest Reuters/Zogby poll which showed Clinton with 35 percent and Sen. Barack Obama with 25 percent ...... The brief interview with Reuters, conducted late on Thursday in a moving campaign van as Edwards mostly gazed out the window, ended the way several have with reporters lately -- the van pulled over on a busy highway and the interviewer got out and ran to a waiting car as traffic whizzed by.
Obama Seeks Support Quoting Bill Clinton The Associated Press "The same old experience is not relevant. ... And you can have the right kind of experience and the wrong kind of experience," Clinton said at the time.
Giuliani's Strategy: Not Hillary Clinton The Associated Press
Nepal minister arrested after resignation Hindustan Times Nepal's Commerce minister Rajendra Mahato was arrested on Saturday for staging a demonstration in front of the Election Commission along with his supporters. They were protesting against the Election Commission decision to recognise the Anandi Devi Singh-led faction of the party. It is for the first time that a minister has been arrested in Nepal after restoration of democracy in the Himalayan nation. Earlier in the day, Mahato quit the interim Koirala government. However, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has not accepted his resignation as yet. In addition to the minister, over three dozen leaders of the party, including Laxman Lal Karna, Sarita Giri and Anil Kumar Jha, were arrested along with Mahto.
NSP-A Mahato-led faction demonstrates against EC verdict, 22 arrested Kantipur Online
Mahato Resigns, Arrested; Calls for Terai Bandh from Oct 4 Himalayan Times
Google Buys Mobile Social Network Zingku PC World

Obama in NYC: Changing the Past? Washington Post his three years in the city in the early 1980s ..... in the book -- Obama spends less time describing his studies at the college than he does describing his first night in the city, when he had to sleep in a Harlem alley ..... "I stopped getting high. I ran three miles a day and fasted on Sundays," Obama writes. "For the first time in years, I applied myself to my studies and started keeping a journal of daily reflections and very bad poetry. Whenever Sadik tried to talk me into hitting a bar, I'd beg off with some tepid excuse, too much work or not enough cash. One day, before leaving the apartment in search of better company, he turned to me and offered his most scathing indictment. 'You're becoming a bore.'" ...... "Uncertain of my ability to steer a course of moderation, fearful of falling into old habits, I took on the temperament if not the convictions of a street corner preacher, prepared to see temptation everywhere, ready to overrun a fragile will."

Clinton Edges Obama in Black Caucus The Associated Press the greater number of members from Clinton's New York state as opposed to members from Obama's Illinois.
Clinton: Give every baby in America $5000 Newsday "I like the idea of giving every baby born in America a $5,000 account that will grow over time, so that when that young person turns 18 if they have finished high school they will be able to access it to go to college or maybe they will be able to make that down payment on their first home," she said. ....... 4.1 million babies born in America each year. ..... said crime dropped in the 1990s because Bill Clinton's White House funded more police and backed tougher laws on illegal guns. ..... Clinton denounced what she said was "incident after incident" of minority voter suppression, and vowed to "end systematic disenfranchisement." ..... "We need to make voting easier," she said.

Bill Clinton: Obama’s Not Ready to Run New York Times Bill Clinton showed his singular ability to diminish his wife’s presidential rivals ..... said that Senator Barack Obama had about as much experience as Mr. Clinton did in 1988 — the year Mr. Clinton decided not to run for the presidency. ...... 1988 when I came within a day of announcing .... “Senator Obama has over two decades of the experience America needs right now,” Mr. Burton said in a statement. “When it comes to restoring America’s image in the world, America needs a president who made the most important foreign policy decision of a generation based on what was right for America, not the politics of the moment.” ........ Mr. Hunt read him a line from Mrs. Clinton’s autobiography, in which she recalled that some people initially dismissed Mr. Clinton in 1992 as “too young and inexperienced.” Mr. Hunt then noted that some view Mr. Obama the same way today. ....... whether former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts would maintain his lead in opinion polls in Iowa and New Hampshire through New Year’s Day. .... Several of Mrs. Clinton’s advisers have said in interviews with The Times that they believe at this point that Mr. Romney will be the Republican nominee.

Is Obama Really Trailing Clinton? Washington Post How do you reconcile the apparent wide gap between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama (according to recent polls) and the significant reaction (both in donors and total dollars) that puts Obama at the top tier, above Clinton? Is it possible that despite those polls, this grassroot movement for Obama is something the media is missing that will show its strength at the voting/caucus settings, and that is why Obama continues to avoid any strident criticisms of Clinton? ...... Biden ... put to a vote in the Senate this week, his plan for the confederation (not a partition, he was quick to note during the debate) won a majority.

Bill Clinton Says He Had More Experience Than Obama at Same Age Bloomberg ``I was the senior governor in America. I had been head of any number of national organizations that were related to the major issue of the day, which is how to restore America's economic strength.'' ..... Clinton was 46 in 1992 when he beat Republican President George H.W. Bush to win the highest U.S. office, the same age that Obama is now. When Clinton, then the Arkansas governor, was first running, ``he was initially dismissed as an obscure if colorful outsider, handsome and articulate but, at age 46, too young and inexperienced for the job,'' his wife Hillary wrote in her autobiography, ``Living History.'' ...... her husband's comments were the Clinton camp's most pointed and direct to date on Obama's level of experience. ...... former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, in August dismissed the experience comparison, saying, ``Being a former first lady doesn't prepare you to be president.'' ..... Bill Clinton, 61, said Obama's experience today is closer to his own in 1988, when he decided not to pursue a White House run. ``I came within a day of announcing, because most of the governors were for me and I had been a governor for six years,'' Clinton said in the interview taped in New York. ``And I really didn't think I knew enough and had served enough and done enough to run.'' ....... Obama has the added difficulty that the international situation is more complicated today, with the threat of terrorism and the war in Iraq, than it was in 1992, Clinton said.