Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Living Abroad Counts


"Voters will judge whether living in a foreign country at the age of 10 prepares one to face the big, complex international challenges the next president will face."
- Hillary Clinton

"I can't think in front of a computer."
- Hillary Clinton

Living Abroad Counts

Just look at me. I was in my early 20s before I ever stepped foot on American land, and my rise in American politics has been faster than that of Barack Obama himself. I just started this year, and within months it was like Barack and I were in telepathic sync.
I have a tech startup that is doing really, really well this early in the game. I am in round 1. Larry Ellision was past 30 when he started Oracle, Sam Walton was past 40 when he started Walmart. I think my having lived abroad is a big plus that my company has. That gives the company its edge.

And you have definite advantages on foreign policy if you have lived abroad. You empathize with the average people out there in the poor countries. The village I call my homevillage is your typical Third World village. No electricity, no post office, mud roads while I was growing up. So when I read up on charity efforts by people like Bono and Bill Gates and Bill Clinton, I am always on the other side. That really gives perspective.

I feel for the innocent lives that have been lost - 150,000 - to the invasion of Iraq and the millions that have been displaced - 4,000,000. That comes from having lived abroad.

Unlike Hillary and W, I can actually tell the difference between Saddam and Ahmedinejad and Bin Laden. Saddam was a dictator. Ahmedijejad is a semi-elected theocrat. Bin Laden is a terrorist. That comes from having lived abroad.

If you don't drain the swamp, you will be killing mosquitoes forever and you will never win. There are a few thousand Al Qaeda. There are hundreds of millions of poor Muslims suffering from unelected leaders.

If you have lived abroad, it is easier for you to see through right wing schizophrenia.

You also appreciate more what works in America. And what doesn't. You have a sharper eye for things like racism. You have a fresher perspective.

And the number one item I have to deliver is what I said to Governor Dean right after Nepal's magical April Revolution 2006. Governor, Nepal is 27 million people and Iraq is 27 million people. We have to spread democracy like in Nepal not like in Iraq.

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

That comes from having lived abroad.

Living abroad makes you more capable of out of the box thinking.

Iowa: Factor Football In

Obama 2008 might as well organize football watch parties for after the caucus is over. You tape the game. And you have pizza parties to watch it after the caucus is over. That after party has to be a class act. It has to be the party to celebrate the Obama victory and to watch the game.



In The News

Rice Defends Mideast Peace Talks New York Times “If the two concerned parties are going to the meeting without a statement they agree on, why are we and 40 other countries going?” ..... Palestinians wanted to call it a “document”; Israelis wanted to call it a “statement.” ...... Some Arabs expressed concern that the United States would push Arab governments to improve relations with Israel without requiring Israel to make any meaningful concessions in exchange. ...... Israelis “are trying to exploit this U.S. conference to wrest Arab recognition of the state of Israel as a state for the Jewish people to the exclusion of all others” ..... the conference could lead Arab governments to permanently accept the millions of Palestinian refugees displaced throughout the region. ..... the Palestinians are too fractured and weak to approach Israelis on an equal footing.
Nepal's peace process in danger: Amnesty AFP Nepal's peace process is in danger of collapse .... "The 'peace' which Nepal has so far achieved is temporary, incomplete and extremely precarious" ..... without delivering on the promises of justice, security and inclusion... there is a real danger of Nepal's recent tragic history repeating itself
New Hampshire sets primary date BBC News
Musharraf May Quit Army by Saturday ABC News
Expert Who Helped Start War on Stem Cells Now May End It New York Times
An E-Book Reader That Just May Catch On
New York Times
Barack Obama: I just want to go home
Times Online Obama sought to save himself in the gentler light of an American family Thanksgiving. ..... at Thanksgiving dinners he is “the clean-up guy” ..... “Michelle has all these wonderful uncles and storytellers ..... “I wish her a wonderful Thanksgiving.” ..... he would not allow his presidential campaign to be “Swift Boated” by insinuation and smears ...... this week has been one of the nastiest yet in the 2008 presidential race.”It’s getting close to the end now,” he said, “and people start getting nervous about where they are.”
They fear her sex
how he avoided any eye contact with the woman herself who was standing just a couple of feet to his right. ....... Edwards had the advantage of being a litte further away from her frost. ...... visibly wincing when Clinton accused him of throwing mud around ..... encountered her ice-queen stare close-up, Edwards has appeared almost like a cartoon character with his feet trying to walk backwards as his body remained rooted to the lectern. ..... male candidates are struggling to find the right way to attack a woman. ..... Margaret Thatcher could generate a sometimes sexually-charged aura of fear and respect around her. I can remember seeing some more excitable Conservative MPs almost squealing with a creepy purple-faced sado-masochist delight as she delivered a "handbagging". ....... They are okay at slagging her off behind her back. They just can't do it to her face.
Romney Jabs at Obama, Edwards The Associated Press
Clinton attacks rivals in new campaign tack
Los Angeles Times for months seemed on a turbulence-free course at the front of the presidential pack, has kicked into a new phase of aggressive campaigning designed to address emerging weaknesses and to engage her Democratic rivals more directly. ....... a new phase of the campaign in which the debate among candidates is not happening only on TV debates but has moved to the daily campaign dialogue. ........ a creature of a discredited Washington establishment. ..... has accused her of defending a corrupt political system. ..... All campaigns tend to get more intense and negative as the voting day approaches. ...... counting on a victory in Iowa to give their campaigns money, momentum and publicity to help win subsequent primaries. For Clinton, Iowa could be the last obstacle to her securing the nomination. ....... her lead in New Hampshire is narrowing. ..... changing or obfuscating her positions on trade and the Iraq war. ...... Gordon Fischer, a former Iowa Democratic Party chairman who is supporting Obama, said Clinton's criticism of Obama undercut her pledge at the Jefferson-Jackson dinner not to attack her rivals. ..... "The problem with Sen. Clinton is she's on both sides of every issue," Fischer said. "Unfortunately, negative campaigning is no exception."
Hillary vs. Clinton MSNBC With about a thousand hours to go until the start of the Iowa caucuses, it seems this race is as much about Hillary vs. Clinton – with "Hillary" representing change and "Clinton" representing status quo – as it is about Clinton vs. Obama. ....... Whenever the former president is on the scene, the immediate question for any political reporter or analyst is: Is he or isn't he an asset? ....... His words aren’t merely reported, they are analyzed. ..... how will voters react if they know Bill Clinton will be in Cabinet meetings? Or be traveling the country to sell Hillary’s policy proposals? Or head to the Hill to twist arms in Congress? ...... this idea of two presidents who pillow talk? ..... Obama in both looks and via his name screams "change." ...... Change usually trumps experience
Clinton, Edwards may boycott debate MSNBC When asked on a conference call if he planned to do the same, he said, “I do.”

Iowa Caucus: The Orange Bowl Effect ... (Jan. 3 -Vote, Broke or Football) the same day that one of the top Bowl Championship Series college football games airs on national TV. ...... "Given the choice, do you plan to go out in the freezing cold to the local community center and choose between candidates, or would you rather stay inside your warm house and watch the Orange Bowl on TV?" ...... see their state's two caucuses as more of "a winnowing out" of weaker candidates than a crowning of a sure-thing nominee. ..... until the years of the Bush-Clinton dynasties, Iowa often proved to be a poor predictor. .... Iowa rejected Ronald Reagan in 1980, and instead chose George H.W. Bush. In 1988, the state GOP chose Bob Dole over the very same Bush who went on the win the presidency. And in 1996, eventual nominee Bob Dole came close to being knocked off in Iowa by Pat Buchanan. ..... Bill Clinton got just 3 percent of the vote in the 1992 Iowa caucus
Iowa Caucus: The Orange Bowl Effect Creators.com Four years before that, the Democrat's eventual nominee, Mike Dukakis, came in third place in Iowa. ...... Who in their right mind will be around in the middle of the week after New Year's, and be willing to brave the elements, plus skip watching on TV one of the nation's top sporting events, all in order to vote in a caucus? ..... there's no exact precedent to this year's situation. ..... Bill Richardson's supporters are more likely to go to Hillary Clinton, while Joe Biden's base leans more toward Barack Obama. To complicate things further, former Sen. John Edwards' support comes in great part from union members, a heavily male — and football-loving — crowd. ....... the closest thing America has to a national presidential primary, Feb. 5's "Tsunami Tuesday."

The Early Word: It’s All About Iowa
New York Times the psyche of the fickle – or maybe just disenchanted – Iowa voter ...... the Orange Bowl will be held the same night as the Jan. 3 vote. ...... trade skeptics, and the issue is splitting traditionally free-trade Republicans. .... the state is on the whole a big winner from global trade ...... Huckabee has tripled his support in Iowa since late July .... Giuliani has fought back vigorously, portraying the issue as yet another in a long list, along with abortion, gay rights and gun control, in which Mr. Romney has shifted his position ..... yesterday’s announcement that scientists have created stem cells without having to make or destroy embryos. ...... Most unusual on Tuesday was the intervention of Bush and his wife in the Democratic contest. Calling Clinton a “very formidable candidate,” the president told ABC News: “There is no question that Senator Clinton understands pressure better than any of the candidates, you know, in the race.” ....... and openly chatted about what he was like when he was their age ...... I was kind of a goof-off in high school ...... “There was a whole stretch of time that I didn’t really apply myself a lot. It wasn’t until I got out of high school and went to college that I started realizing, ‘Man, I wasted a lot of time.’” ....... Obama campaign .. is in the midst of a relaunch ...... “But when they’re spread out, students can have a lot more impact.” ..... He’s tough on crime. He’s big on God. ...... Kerry loyalists, meanwhile, seethe as they watch his new aggressiveness. ....... issue ads that mention a political candidate will be permissible in the weeks before an election as long as they focus on public policy and do not mention an election, a political party or an opposing candidate.
Clinton Mocks, Draws Rebukes Washington Post Clinton's comments drew a rebuke not only from Obama, but also from former senator John Edwards's campaign. ..... I've met with countless world leaders and know many of them personally. ..... "I mentioned that one of the reasons that I got it right when it came to Iraq was because I lived overseas when I was a child" ...... "Now we know what Senator Clinton meant when she talked about 'throwing mud' in the last debate. Like so many other things, when it comes to mud, Hillary Clinton says one thing and throws another." ....... She understands the klieg lights. ..... "I would tell you what . . . these candidates don't really understand is how complex the environment is inside the Oval Office," Bush said. "And how important it is to have a set of principles from which you will not deviate, and so that you can make good sound decisions. . . . I think it's impossible for anybody to fully comprehend, you know, how much incoming there is."
Republican Faithful Await A Savior In Iowa
Christian men gather every Wednesday at noon to be fortified by fellowship and prayer ...... "I like Huckabee," he says. "Romney -- I wouldn't hold it against him because he's a Mormon, although I have to wonder. . . . But that doesn't trouble me as much as his change of positions. You have to wonder whether he or Giuliani would put people on the bench that reflect my Christian values." ....... an ordained Baptist minister ...... "There's a football game that night -- it's going to be really tough." ...... GOP leaders fret that there's not enough passion in the fractured party to propel voters to the caucuses. ...... . There's been a lot of waiting -- waiting for Gingrich ..... or hold my nose and vote for someone I don't agree with ...... Sixty-eight percent of Huckabee's support comes from self-identified evangelical Protestants. ...... urging his fellow Christians not to put their faith and trust in any one man ... The Wells family -- owners of the $1 billion dairy business ...... "Part of the disheartening feeling I have is not just the lack of the ideal candidate, but the optimistic views of the other side ........ "I say we have to go vote because if we don't vote, then all the women will vote and we'll have a woman in the White House and then we got problems" ..... "God," he notes, "did not plan for a woman to run everything." ....... John McCain, he says, strikes him as "very negative, very angry," and Romney's Mormon religion "bothers more people than they care to admit." ...... "The Bible says that if a man can't lead his own family, how can he manage the house of God?" ........ a sense of disappointment on specific issues such as the deficit and immigration reform. "For a number of Iowans -- who are conservative before they are Republican -- they're discouraged by the reckless spending of last few years .......... Cargin weeps as he talks of bringing his disabled son to a nearby care facility, and everyone gathers tightly around him for one last prayer. ..... Putting our faith in man -- it isn't going to work.
Is Obama's Iowa Surge for Real? Time "electability plus." ..... a "party that doesn't just focus on how to win but why we should." ...... "the fierce urgency of now" ..... a rationale for why Obama is running now, why he didn't wait four or eight years .... Obama's message seems to be catching on among the notoriously pragmatic Iowans. ..... he has eliminated her advantage among women voters and older voters. He is also dead even with her when voters are asked whom they trust more to handle the economy, Social Security and the war in Iraq. ...... 21% of Republican respondents would like to see Obama as the Democratic nominee ..... 34% of Iowa voters said he was their second choice, compared with only 15% for Clinton ....... Before a crowd of 4,000, he can be magnetic and compelling. But before a crowd of several hundred, he can sometimes fall flat. ....... the best speech of his campaign ..... "He hits the wall in late afternoon before really firing back up .... Bush erred by focusing on Iraq instead of Afghanistan ...... But let me tell you something: if the minimum wage in Canada was $100 an hour ...... And the crowd, which cheers so loudly that he doesn't need to finish the sentence, is won over.
The Dalai Lama's Succession Rethink the tradition of searching for a reincarnation of the Dalai Lama among Tibetan boys whose birth coincides with the previous incumbent's death. ...... either some kind of democratic election among senior Buddhist monks or a personal selection by the current Dalai Lama himself ....... In 1995, the Dalai Lama chose a six-year-old Tibetan boy, Gendun Choekyi Nyima, to take the title of Panchen Lama, effectively the second highest ranking monk in the complex Tibetan hierarchy. The boy and his family disappeared almost immediately — spirited away, many suspect, by Chinese authorities — and haven't been heard from since. Beijing later appointed its own candidate for the position — a boy, now 17 years old, who was prominently on display as a guest during last month's 17th National Congress of the ruling Chinese Communist Party in Beijing. .......... he has always said that he admired Mao Zedong ...... Beijing has become more sophisticated in dealing with Tibetan religion, allowing some interaction among less exalted lamas on both sides of the political divide. ........ Tibet will lose much of its unique cultural identity within a generation ...... China's Muslim-majority province of Xinjiang, where Beijing has spent billions encouraging tourism — notably by building a train line through the region's vast desert to the remote city of Kashgar, connecting it with the rest of China — and improving the infrastructure to extract its considerable oil reserves. Along with the strict repression of even the slightest signs of dissent, the policy has been highly successful in neutralizing opposition to Chinese rule. ........ A $5 billion train line connecting Beijing and Lhasa ....... A forced relocation program that will resettle tens of thousands of nomadic herders, along with increasing urban migration among young Tibetans .... "It's never a pretty sight when indigenous peoples run into the power of the state"
Iran's Nukes: Still Room for Diplomacy For Iran's leaders there was confirmation of their cooperation with nuclear inspectors and of the fact that they have not diverted nuclear material for bomb-making purposes. And for advocates of continued diplomacy there was sufficient evidence of Iranian cooperation, and insufficient evidence of any immediate peril, to justify further negotiations. ........ During a visit to Saudi Arabia for an OPEC summit, the usually provocative Iranian president told an interviewer Iran would consider an Arab proposal for off-shoring its industrial uranium-enrichment in a neutral country such as Switzerland. ....... "It's actually not economical for Iran to enrich its own reactor fuel — it would be far cheaper to buy it from the Russians or others." ....... The hawks are warning that diplomacy is fruitless, and that the President will be forced before the end of his term to choose between military action and accepting a nuclear-armed Iran. ..... openly complaining that Bush is betraying his own best instincts under the malign influence of "pragmatists" such as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. ..... much of what President Nicolas Sarkozy is hearing from his own intelligence services dilutes the sense of urgency — suggesting that Iran is unlikely to cross the threshold to nuclear-weapons capability before 2010 or 2011. ..... the immediate consequences of air strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities would be far more dangerous than Iran's program. .... that the next U.S. President will be more willing than Bush to hold direct, unconditional talks with Iran in search of a diplomatic solution, as the Europeans have long urged
Sex Scandal Hits Atlanta Megachurch He slept with his brother's wife and fathered a child by her. ...... a recent court-ordered paternity test. ..... 34-year-old D.E. Paulk, who for years was known publicly as Earl Paulk's nephew. ...... former church employee Mona Brewer, who says Earl Paulk manipulated her into an affair from 1989 to 2003 by telling her it was her only path to salvation ....... after more than a decade of sex scandals and lawsuits involving the Paulks ...... church had become too personality-driven and prone to pastor worship ....... For years the church was at the forefront of many social movements — admitting black members in the 1960s, ordaining women and opening its doors to gays. ..... At its peak in the early 1990s, it claimed about 10,000 members and 24 pastors and was a media powerhouse. By soliciting tithes of 10 percent from each member's income, the church was able to build a Bible college, two schools, a worldwide TV ministry and a $12 million sanctuary the size of a fortress. ....... In 1992, a church member claimed she was pressured into a sexual relationship with Don Paulk. Other women also claimed they had been coerced into sex with Earl Paulk and other members of the church's administration. ...... "My uncle is 100 percent guilty, but his accusers are guilty as well," D.E. Paulk said, declining to talk further about the lawsuits.
The Tone-Deaf Democrats George W. Bush, whose naive support for democracy in countries that aren't ready for it has destabilized the Middle East
After the Oil Crisis, a Food Crisis? India, Mexico and Yemen have seen food riots this year. Argentines boycotted tomatoes during the country's recent presidential elections when the vegetable became more expensive than meat; and in Italy, shoppers organized a one-day boycott of pasta to protest rising prices. In late October, the Russian government, hoping to ease tensions ahead of parliamentary elections early next year, announced a price freeze for milk, bread and other foods through the end of January. What's the cause for these shortages and price hikes? Expensive oil, for the most part. ..... worldwide food reserves are at their lowest in 35 years .... In developing countries, costs will go up by a quarter to nearly $233 billion. ...... An estimated 854 million people, or one in six in the world, already don't have enough to eat ...... Retail prices are up 18% in China, 17% in Sri Lanka and 10% or more throughout Latin America and Russia. Zimbabwe tops the chart with a more than a 25% increase. That inflation has been driven by double-digit price hikes for almost every basic foodstuff over the past 12 months. ........ Biofuels, made from food crops such as corn, sugar cane, and palm oil, are seen as easing the world's dependence on gasoline or diesel. ...... one-quarter of the U.S. corn harvest in 2007 diverted towards biofuel production, the attendant rise in cereal prices ....... the gold rush toward biofuels is taking away food from the hungry ..... climate change could be behind recent extreme weather patterns, including catastrophic floods, heat waves and drought. All can diminish food harvests and stockpiles. But so can market forces.
Arabs show skepticism ahead of Mideast peace gathering International Herald Tribune Saudi Arabia is apparently holding out for promises that the Annapolis talks will launch negotiations on the thorniest Israeli-Palestinian issues such as the borders of a Palestinian state, the status of east Jerusalem and the future of millions of Palestinian refugees. ....... seeks high-level delegates from key Arab countries ..... worry that Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is being lured into a PR show that will hold little substance, boosting Israel without committing it on the Arabs' central demand — a withdrawal from land it seized in a 1967 war. ......... So far, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates have said they are attending, and Jordan is a sure bet. .... Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert attempted to allay Arab concerns. After meeting Mubarak, he promised that negotiations to be launched by the conference would address all the key issues of the peace process, would take the Arab peace plan into account and could even lead to a final peace agreement in 2008. ...... the Palestinians, who have indicated their willingness to go to Annapolis regardless of the Arab League's position. ..... would attend the conference only if discussions included the return of the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed.
Musharraf could quit as Pakistan army chief by Saturday, official says
Supreme Court to rule on right to keep handguns at home Los Angeles Times
Let's Hope Kindle Is Only Chapter One
Forbes
Mozilla Readies Firefox Patch
PC World
Democrats and Bush Spar on Military Spending Bill
New York Times
Clinton vs. Obama on foreign experience: Who scored?
USA Today "I was wondering which world leader told her that we needed to invade Iraq." ...... "This campaign is getting kind of heated now. It's getting a little more exciting and intense."
Bush, Giuliani weigh in on Clinton, Obama Los Angeles Times exchanges that saw Hillary Rodham Clinton belittle Barack Obama, John Edwards tweak Clinton ....... At least on Tuesday, the Democratic race for president looked more like a shoving match than a civil airing of policy differences. ..... Facing a dip in her Iowa and New Hampshire poll ratings, Clinton responded with an ad saying the "old Republican attack machine" was back and attacking her because of her strength and experience. ....... the fragility of her status as the national front-runner ..... Amid the tightening race, Clinton on Tuesday took a more aggressive posture toward Obama. She ridiculed the Illinois senator ...... "A long resume doesn't guarantee good judgment," he added. "And it says nothing about your character. And this next election is going to be about character. And it's going to be about judgment." ..... "I can't tell if he's endorsing her, hoping she's the nominee, or thanking her for her votes on Iraq and Iran." ... "It's an interesting admission from Sen. Clinton -- that if she's elected we're headed for four more years of the partisan warfare, Washington dysfunction, bitter divisiveness and gridlock that have marked the last 15 years, at a time when all Americans are desperate for real solutions to real problems" ...... Rudolph W. Giuliani, took a swipe at Clinton in Chicago on Tuesday. "Sen. Clinton has had so many different positions on Iraq, I would not want to be the one to state her most current position, because I'd probably get it wrong," he said, adding that Obama, by contrast, had stood "clearly against the war." .......... "I think that one of the things that we need from people running for office is not this pretense of perfection."
GOP Strategists Worry About Clinton Strength CBS News the battle for the Democratic nomination is toughening up the Clinton campaign, improving its rapid-response operation, and making clear that it can take nothing for granted ...... As for Bush, he remarks to friends that he sees strategic parallels between his 2000 race and Clinton's today. Notably, Bush says the 2000 primary process helped strengthen his campaign and ready him for the general election, especially after he lost the New Hampshire primary to John McCain and was forced to make a comeback.
Amnesty says Nepal needs its "truth" commission Reuters India
Over 80 killed in S Nepal in 6 months Xinhua
Southeast Asian nations split over treatment of Burma
Christian Science Monitor At least one country, the Philippines, suggested it would not ratify the charter unless Burma explicitly embraced democracy and freed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. ...... ASEAN's newer members, poor and ruled by autocratic governments — Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam — empathize with Myanmar's ruling junta and oppose efforts to press it to tolerate political dissent. Analysts said these countries feared that any stronger action by ASEAN on Myanmar might set an unwelcome precedent. ....... Burmese dissidents staged protests around the region. ....... only one of ASEAN's members - Indonesia - is a functioning democracy ....... nearly 10 years of sanctions against Burma have been undermined by Asia's – and particularly China's –quest for energy. ...... the "ASEAN way" that prioritizes consensus over confrontation ....... the extraordinary diversity of the region's 577 million people - Muslim-majority Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei; Buddhist-majority Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos; Christian-majority Philippines ........ "The road to reconciliation between the West and the Muslim world runs through Southeast Asia," argues Surin, noting that more than half the region's population will soon be Muslim. "We have to try to keep them moderate, accommodating, progressive and constructively engaged with the outside world."
ASEAN, India Closer To Inking Free Trade Accord Forbes
Goldman Sachs sees China stocks peaking mid-2008
Reuters
China to hold Asia climate change meeting in 2008
Reuters
Huckabee catching Romney in Iowa Boston Globe
Will Preserving $2 Fare Help the MTA’s Image? New York Times
A Google climb to $900 would face headwinds ITworld.com
Google stock recovers as new high $900 target set Reuters.uk
Google launches custom search platform in 40 languages Digital Media Asia
Germany's T-Mobile to offer iphone without contract MarketWatch



Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Iowa, South Carolina, And One Other


Iowa, South Carolina

Right now it looks to me like Barack will carry both Iowa and South Carolina. That is not me saying he will not do well in Nevada and New Hampshire. All I am saying is I have not had the chance to closely study those other two states.

If Barack could win Iowa and South Carolina and one other January state, he will wrap this thing up on February 5, no sweat. He will be a serious contender in the state of New York itself. I mean, he could carry it.

The beauty of the possibility of three victories is he could carry all four.

And people will realize Iowa has become more not less important, despite the circus around the new primary calendar.

If Hillary Loses Both Iowa And New Hampshire

Then it is pretty much over for her. Her huge national lead for much of the year mixed with two defeats in a row will compound her problems. Minus the national lead, the hurt would have been less.

The Phrase That Is Backfiring

Hillary might have overused the phrase strength and experience. I feel now there is already a backlash to it without much direct confrontation by the Obama camp to that particular choice of words on her part.

Hillary should stop milking this strength and experience cow. There is no milk up that rudder.

Barack's Really Got Something Going On

I am very much a student of Barack's new kind of politics, the politics of hope. At first I rejected the idea, as in where's the juice, where is the fight! Then I thought there is something to it. But I learn more of the implications every time I see Barack in action. He really does offer a very different style to those who have watched the politics of the past two decades a little too closely.

Barack: New Direction, New Ideas

Barack means new century. 21st century. Those four words not put forward by Obama 2008 but by pollsters really capture the essence of Barack's appeal. I am so glad for it. I have been looking for those four words for a few months now. My previous attempts to find words to counter the strength and experience phrase have been poor attempts by comparison.

Barack, "He Walks Between Worlds"
Barack: Judgment And Leadership
Barack: Strength And Judgment

Hillary Sounding Desperate

Her dig at Barack's four years of childhood in Indonesia come across as desperate.

Living in a foreign country as a child does not mean Barack could have skipped Columbia and Harvard, but it does mean he has a perspective that Senator Clinton does not. Proof is Iraq. Hillary was so wrong. Barack got it right. The proof is in the pudding.

Hillary's Money

Hillary could lose all of the four January states, and she will still be sitting atop tens of millions. She will still bet big on February 5. So Barack has to be very much prepared to fight hard on February 5 even if he has a wonderful month in January.

Pleasant

The recent spat has been good for Barack. He comes across as the more pleasant.

W Endorses Clinton, Sort Of

That is strange. But it is real.

You should read in Barack's second book of when he met W for the first time. This Texan is scared s___tless a black guy might end up in the White House.

In The News

President praises Clinton's political experience Newsday President George W. Bush is endorsing Hillary Clinton's claim that she's the most experienced candidate in the 2008 field -- a plaudit that might cost her with rank-and-file Democrats. ...... "There is no question that Sen. Clinton understands pressure better than any of the candidates, you know, in the race," the president told ABC News Tuesday. It wasn't clear whether the president thought Clinton was more experienced than all of the Republicans running for the White House or just Democrats. Later, he said that any of the GOP candidates could "beat" Clinton. Laura Bush chimed in during the Camp David interview, adding that Clinton's eight years as first lady might be "helpful" in her pursuit of the presidency. The president even took Clinton's side over Obama on the question of whether a president should meet foreign dictators with no preconditions during his or her first year in office. Clinton opposes such a policy; Obama supports direct talks. "I thought that was an odd foreign policy" choice, Bush said of the Illinois senator's stance. The Obama camp was delighted Bush, the Democrats' arch-enemy, would praise Clinton. "I can't tell if he's endorsing her, hoping she's the nominee or thanking her for her votes on Iraq and Iran," said Obama spokesman Bill Burton. ..... Clinton, who was in Iowa, spent much of yesterday blasting away at Obama's lack of foreign policy experience, unintentionally striking the same theme Bush did.
Clinton and Obama trade blows before Iowa The Age
Obama Navigates Merit Pay Issue
ABC News
Obama: Clinton and Edwards left the money behind Baltimore Sun
Republicans Like Obama or Edwards as Democratic Pick U.S. News & World Report

Poll: Clinton's lead shrinks in New Hampshire CNN Clinton had 23-point lead in New Hampshire in September, now 14 points ..... Poll respondents place Clinton behind Obama and Edwards on trust issue ..... 36 percent of likely Democratic primary voters backed Clinton, 22 percent supported Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois and 13 percent favored former Sen. John Edwards .... September ... Clinton was at 43 percent, with Obama at 20 percent ..... "One is that Barack Obama is doing a better job at making his case and he's got a chance to do it in two states where politics are up close and personal. Secondly, Hillary Clinton went through a period that focused on the thing that voters worry the most about in terms of her, which is does she play it straight? ...... "So, we've had a period that has really accentuated Sen. Obama's strengths and put some focus on Sen. Clinton's one big area of vulnerability." ....... "One issue that appears to hurt Clinton in Iowa is Iraq," said CNN polling director Keating Holland. "Caucus-goers think Obama can handle that issue better than Clinton. The reverse is true in New Hampshire -- although not by much. ..... The primary is expected to take place January 8, although the date is not set. .... the tighter race in New Hampshire is a recent development. ... "New Hampshire has always been Clinton's insurance policy. Many observers believe she can survive a loss in Iowa -- but only if she can finish first in the Granite State
Saudi: Why we punished rape victim a married woman. The 19-year-old and an unrelated man were abducted, and she was raped by a group of seven men more than a year ago ...... The woman was originally sentenced in October 2006 to 90 lashes. But that sentence was more than doubled to 200 lashes and six months in prison by the Qatif General Court, because she spoke to the media about the case ....... the permanent committee of the Supreme Judicial Council recommended an increased sentence for the woman after further evidence against her came to light when she appealed her original sentence. ...... "This is not just about the Qatif girl, it's about every woman in Saudi Arabia," said Fawzeyah al-Oyouni, founding member of the newly formed Saudi Association for the Defense of Women's Rights. ...... "We're fearing for our lives and the lives of our sisters and our daughters and every Saudi woman out there. We're afraid of going out in the streets. ...... The man and woman were attacked after they met in Qatif on the kingdom's Persian Gulf coast, so she could retrieve an old photograph of herself from him ..... the man was trying to blackmail his client. He noted the photo she was trying to retrieve was harmless and did not show his client in any compromising position. ........ the man tried to blame his client for insisting on meeting him that day. It is illegal for a woman to meet with an unrelated male under Saudi's Islamic law. ....... women are subject to numerous restrictions, including a strict dress code, a prohibition against driving and a requirement that they get a man's permission to travel or have surgery. Women are also not allowed to testify in court unless it is about a private matter that was not observed by a man, and they are not allowed to vote.
Clinton, Obama spar over remark Trying to establish herself in the minds of voters as the more experienced candidate and facing a shrinking lead in New Hampshire, Sen. Hillary Clinton took a sharp dig Tuesday at her closest Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama. ..... "Now voters will judge whether living in a foreign country at the age of 10 prepares one to face the big, complex international challenges the next president will face," Clinton said in a speech to an audience in Iowa.
Clinton sharpens her attacks on Obama's experience Reuters Clinton sharpened her attacks on rival Barack Obama's experience on Tuesday, a day after a poll showed her falling slightly behind him in Iowa. ...... Campaigning in New Hampshire, he said experience was no substitute for judgment and criticized Clinton's votes to authorize military action in Iraq in 2003. Remarking that Clinton has said she has met with world leaders, Obama said: "Which world leader told her that we needed to invade Iraq?" .... the second consecutive day that Obama and Clinton have exchanged barbs on the question of experience ..... Clinton leads national polls in the Democratic race, but a loss in Iowa could slow her momentum and puncture the air of inevitability her campaign has tried to promote. ...... "When it comes to mud, Hillary Clinton says one thing and throws another." ..... Knowing the ropes in Washington meant appeasing special interests that block key issues such as health care reform and new energy policies, Obama said.

Obama edges past Clinton in new Iowa poll Guardian Unlimited
Obama eclipses Clinton in Iowa The Age
Obama Tops Clinton in `Critical' Iowa Race, Poll Says (Update1) Bloomberg
A Statistical Tie in Iowa
New York Times, United States
Latest Iowa Poll Shows Obama Breakout in Iowa
FOX News one candidate is riding a new wave of support. ...... Clinton would be the last pick on either party's bowling team. ..... these factors do not appear to be translating in Iowa, where campaigning has been most intense.
Obama edges Clinton in key state NEWS.com.au, Australia

Supreme Court to consider DC handgun banUSA Today
3-way Democratic dead heat in Iowa
MarketWatch
THE NOTE: Hillary: Inevitable No More ABC News Ladies and gentleman, we have ourselves a race. Toss out the 30-point lead in the national polls, the fundraising edge, the long list of endorsements, the bold predictions of Terry McAuliffe, Mark Penn, even Bill Clinton himself. .... a state that's notoriously difficult to call in advance. ..... "Iowa Democrats are tilting toward change, and Obama appears to be benefiting from it" ....... "In another positive shift for Obama, 55 percent now see him as their first or second choice, an important trend in a state where a person's second choice can matter and voters often switch their support at the last minute." ...... "There is something of anti-Hillary vote among [supporters of] all the other candidates," ABC's George Stephanopoulos reported on "Good Morning America." "This could really work for Barack Obama on Jan. 3." ...... she's spent less time in elected office than Obama himself. But what happened to running on your own merits? ....... Clinton referring to her husband's presidency at least 16 times in just over half an hour on Monday. The back-to-the-'90s theme is just a cheesy VH1 special if voters don't want to go there with her. ........ Clinton's "first negative ad . . . hitting back at leading Republican hopefuls who in recent weeks have launched assaults at her over the airwaves" ....... the bizarre Novak item ..... prompted Obama to deny having done what he doesn't know he's being accused of doing, and the Clinton camp to accuse Obama of being naive to think he'd really been accused of doing anything at all ....... the Clinton library's secret donor list hasn't been all that secret -- for the right price. ...... forget the White House papers -- there's still no public access to Clinton's files from her time as first lady of Arkansas. ......... Romney and Giuliani are sparring about -- what else? -- immigration. Giuliani on Monday repeated his link between illegal immigration and "reducing illegality" -- as in the crime rate in New York. ...... As for Thompson, R-Tenn., he's fading away like a second-rate actor in a forgettable miniseries. ....... (Good thing the crowd had nowhere else to be, just like they'll have nothing better to do with their evening come caucus night.) ...... Biden, D-Del., unveils his energy plan Tuesday, complete with a requirement that all cars sold in the US be capable of running on flex fuel by 2017. ...... Obama turns to education on Tuesday, with a plan "that calls for affordable preschool for every child, higher pay for better teachers and the option of more class time for students" ....... The Obama campaign has its own fact-checking organ up, to counter Clinton's. ........ "I call on Mike Huckabee to give the speech that others have urged from Romney," Cohen writes. "Tell us how your religious beliefs, your rejection of accepted scientific knowledge, will not impinge on your presidency. We know your faith matters to you. We want to know whether it will matter to us."
Asian Leaders Drop India, Australia From Regional `Community' Bloomberg China, Japan and South Korea agreed to work with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations to open up regional trade, dropping a plan to include India, Australia and New Zealand. ....... China's demand that only Asean Plus Three countries should be included in the community. ...... a Japanese proposal for a 16-nation free-trade area, which would harness 3 billion people and economic output of $9 trillion. Japan's plan rivaled a separate review chaired by a Chinese academic for an economic bloc consisting of only Asean, China, Japan and South Korea. ........ "India is very much a participant, there is an Asean plus three and Asean plus six and India is part of Asean plus six.'' .... "a free flow of goods and services and easier movement of capital and labor'' ...... to adopt changes to their markets that will allow the region to be a European Union- modeled economic community by 2015 ....... Asean is made up of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia. ....... China, whose economy accounts for one tenth of global growth, has yet to resolve disputes with Asean members and Japan over gas and oil exploration rights. ....... 200 billion cubic meters of natural gas reserves in the East China Sea.
France's Incredible Vanishing President TIME second week of minimal public transportation, many of them ask why the previously omnipresent Sarkozy has gone missing in this critical moment of his presidency ........ a conflict that depends on his action. ..... plans to slash nearly 23,000 public sector jobs next year ...... He's made the non-negotiable essentials of this reform clear to everyone
Pakistan's Taliban at the Gates nine of the twelve districts in the picturesque Swat Valley, 100 miles from Pakistan's capital, have been taken over by militants, who have torched music shops, barred girls from going to school, forced women to wear burqas and decreed that men must grow beards ........ the new overlords have even attempted to blow up centuries-old Buddhist monuments. ...... The Swat valley is Pakistan's premier tourist destination, home to its only ski slope and a haven for trout fishing. ...... the charismatic radio preacher Maulana Fazlullah, known as the FM mullah ...... "It's not that the military is unwilling," says a Western military official based in Islamabad, "but is it capable?" ...... taking heavy losses that sap the morale in its ranks. ......... sending in 15,000 troops, helicopters, tanks and armored vehicles to battle a ragtag army of some 500 militants. ........ last month 250 soldiers surrendered to a few dozen militants ....... entire villages have been taken over by bands of militants made up, in some cases, of only nine fighters ..... He puts himself in the soldiers' boots: "I'm making $20 a month, I've got five bullets in my gun, and a couple of guys with AKs come up. I mean the question is, do I want to die? Oh, and by the way — they know all my family." ........ a classic guerrilla insurgency ....... "There has got to be a strong information campaign to go along with the kinetics [military force]. Fazlullah has a FM station? Jam the damn thing. They sure as hell can jam stations here [in Islamabad], so why can't they do that up there?" ......... Fazlullah, a local student who once earned a living ferrying passengers and goods across the Swat river
OPEC to Abandon Dollar? Ahmadinejad said Sunday that OPEC's members have expressed interest in converting their cash reserves into a currency other than the depreciating U.S. dollar, which he called a "worthless piece of paper." ......... the growing challenge that Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, faces from Iran and its ally Venezuela within the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. ....... "They get our oil and give us a worthless piece of paper," Ahmadinejad told reporters after the close of the summit in the Saudi capital of Riyadh. ......... Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah .. continuously faced challenges from Ahmadinejad and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. ...... the third full OPEC summit since the organization was created in 1960.
Skip the Botox. Try Facial Yoga facial muscles, like any other muscle, need exercise to stay toned ...... regular practice of making kissy faces or wagging one's tongue can reduce worry lines and wrinkles ....... primal grunts, theatrical expressions and lots of laughter ...... the Smiling Fish (purse your lips and smile slightly), the Marilyn (blow kisses while keeping your forehead smooth) and the Satchmo (puff out your face and transfer air from cheek to cheek). ....... "You can see the difference around the eyes and forehead." ...... keeping the head lower than the heart increases youth-giving blood flow to the face. ...... "Stress shows on our face, probably more than any other place on our body."
How Bangladesh Survived a Cyclone some 27 million people were affected by Cyclone Sidr, the category 4 storm that swept through Bangladesh last week ....... the toll could eventually reach 10,000 ..... 1991's Cyclone Gorky, which killed at least 138,000 people, and 1970's Bhola, which left as many as 500,000 people dead and is considered the deadliest cyclone, and one of the worst natural disasters, in human history. ......... Officials evacuated some 3.2 million people who lived along the coastline in the days before Sidr hit, and stockpiled relief supplies and rescue equipment. ......... global warming will make cyclones in the region bigger and more frequent. .... Most of Bangladesh sits on the giant alluvial delta created by the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers, whose courses are constantly shifting ...... simple house designs — two-foot-high concrete plinths topped with inexpensive and easily replaced jute panel walls ...... just under half the population of the U.S. crammed into an area the size of the state of Iowa. ........ we might have to introduce a system that says if you produce 10,000 tons of carbon you have to take a Bangladeshi family
Obama calls for $18-billion boost in education spending Los Angeles Times
Clinton Ad Takes on Republican Attacks
The Associated Press
Clinton's Latest NH Ad Is Rashomonic Atlantic Online
Romney latches on to Clinton ad MSNBC
Republicans Like Obama or Edwards as Democratic Pick U.S. News & World Report