JJ

In The News

Meet The Press

Obama slams corporate agriculture Baltimore Sun, United States the Washington insiders who matter to me live in Washington County, Iowa, not Washington, D.C. ....... $1.3 billion in federal farm subsidies is going to people "who aren't even farmers." ...... "You've got farm money going to Fortune 500 companies. Meanwhile, for an expensive steak, a small farmer gets less than a dollar. For a loaf of bread, it's a dime. That's what's happens when rural policy gets made in the backrooms by lobbyists in Washington," Obama said.
Barack Obama apologizes for attack on Clinton Los Angeles Times
Obama says he won't take 'potshots' at Clinton Sioux City Journal, IA "I'm not interested in taking potshots just for the sake of taking potshots," Obama said. "If I had a serious difference with Sen. Clinton, I've made that difference absolutely clear, and I will continue to do so." ...... During his tenure in the state senate, Obama said he had one staff member ..... "I don't have the Barack Obama State Senate Library available to me. So we had a bunch of file cabinets. I do not have a whole bunch of records from those years."
Will Obama Survive the Fox News Attack Machine? Blogcritics.org, OH So what do you do if the negative attacks happen even before the race begins? Worse yet, what if the attacker is a multi-billion dollar media conglomerate who can coordinate their message through television, radio and Internet outlets? ..... She said, "I don't think America is ready for a Muslim President." This marketing bomb had hit its target. ....... Since the beginning of 2007, Fox has taken it upon themselves to make weekly personal attacks on Barack's character, religion, family, personal history and legislative record. At the last count they produced over 37 negative stories, almost one per week, since before he announced his candidacy. As a United States Senator, Obama might seem like fair game until you actually read the articles. He's accused of being a cocaine addict, a muslim, a socialist, a terrorist sympathizer, a black radical and of being related to Osama Bin Laden himself. ....... some television viewers and radio listeners can't tell fact from fiction

Bhutto’s Persona Raises Distrust, as Well as Hope New York Times
Gov't commits to make Nepal Sambat as national calendar Xinhua
So's Your MotherMcCain v. Giuliani gets personal Slate The era of good feeling was bound to disappear, since McCain's aides will tell you that much of his support drifted over to Rudy once the mayor got into the race. And now it's getting very personal very fast. ..... Giuliani's support for Kerik, his one-time driver whom he later made the city's police commissioner and then backed for Ridge's former job, meant he lacked judgment.
At Iowa dinner, candidates peck at Clinton Chicago Tribune Barack Obama of Illinois received the loudest ovation from about 9,000 people who filled the downtown Veterans Memorial Auditorium to watch the candidates launch their sprint to the Iowa finish. Obama, who gave the evening's final speech nearly 4ƒ1/2ƒ hours after the event began, challenged the front-runner, though not directly by name. "The same old Washington textbook campaigns just won't do it in this election," Obama said. "That's why not answering questions because we are afraid our answers won't be popular just won't do it." Candidate of contrast Obama said that he would present a clear contrast in the general election. "When I'm your nominee, my opponent won't be able to say that I voted for the war in Iraq, or that I gave George Bush the benefit of the doubt on Iran, or that I support Bush-Cheney policies of not talking to leaders we don't like," Obama said. "And he will not be able to say that I wavered on something as fundamental as whether it's OK for America to torture, because it's never OK."
Can't get enough of Barack Obama? Los Angeles Times Tim Russert devoting the whole hour to Barack Obama .... The only one to get a dedicated show, though, is Obama
Obama: Clinton has too much baggage Chicago Sun-Times “If you start off with half the country not wanting to vote for you, you don’t have a lot of margin for error” ...... he has no history of “generating anger among Republicans.” ...... only 2 percent of the Iowa population is African American. ..... New polls to be released soon will show front-runner Clinton dropping some in New Hampshire. And Democrats meet for another debate in Las Vegas on Thursday.
Fear of a dynasty denies Hillary Clinton votes Times Online concerns that two dynasties – the Bush and Clinton families – could dominate American politics for 28 years. ...... “I feel like an old racehorse who is semi-retired,” he said with self-deprecating charm. “Every now and then they drag me out of the barn and see if I can make it round the track one last time.” ........ Barack-Stars, 17-year-old school pupils who are entitled to vote in the Iowa caucus if they turn 18 by November 4, 2008, election day. ........ Obama’s innovative organisation has paid more attention to mobilising the teenage vote than any other campaign. ....... there’s something about Hillary’s nature . . . As a kid, I don’t feel she gets me. She seems too uptight.” ...... Dynasticism brings with it a sense of deterioration. It is dispiriting
Clinton looks to widen her lead National Post Mr. Obama, meanwhile, has spent the past week on a tour of Iowa, sharpening his attacks on the front-runner while also taking on her husband and campaigner-in-chief, Bill Clinton.
Clinton campaign just missing spontaneity Toronto Star
Hillary Clinton defends Bill for defending her Reuters
Hillary Clinton's planted question gaffe Telegraph.co.uk Hillary Clinton has been caught answering a planted question on global warming from a member of the audience during a supposedly spontaneous session with voters in the key first caucus state of Iowa. ...... Muriel Gallo-Chasanoff asked how she planned to combat climate change. ..... The former First Lady replied: "You know, I find as I travel around Iowa that it's usually young people that ask me about global warming." ...... The student later said that one of Sen Clinton's staff asked her to put the question to Sen Clinton and then signalled to the candidate to choose her.
Not the first time Clinton camp prompted question Baltimore Sun
Clinton Campaign Acused for the Second Time of Planting a Question ... FOX News

Pakistan a "pressure cooker", journalists expelled Reuters transmissions of BBC and CNN have been blocked ...... "He is the chief justice, he is the real chief justice," Bhutto blared over a megaphone, after police trucks blocked her way to Chaudhry's residence. ...... Bhutto plans to lead a "long march", actually a mass motor procession, from Lahore on Tuesday to put more pressure on Musharraf to revoke emergency rule, restore the constitution and the sacked judges, quit as army chief, hold elections in January, and release thousands of detainees. ...... She will go to Lahore, the city where the pulse of Pakistani politics beats strongest ........ Musharraf briefed army commanders telling them the emergency had been a very difficult decision but necessary to ensure effective governance, maintain efforts against terrorism and provide for a stable political transition .... "dictatorship causes fanaticism"...... "The choice must not be between the military or the militants. The choice must be for the will of the people for democracy" ...... The uncertainties have unnerved foreign investors and domestic markets.
Benazir Bhutto Is Permitted to Leave Home New York Times Ms. Bhutto, a former prime minister, visited a group of journalists protesting a government shutdown of independent television stations and attended a reception for foreign diplomats given by her party at the Parliament building. ....... Bhutto’s party, the Pakistan People’s Party, would carry out a protest march planned for Tuesday from the eastern city of Lahore to Islamabad ..... Over the past year, suicide attacks by militants based in remote tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan have soared. The government has lost control of growing amounts of territory as bands of insurgents seize control and declare Islamic law. In some cases, police officers and soldiers have surrendered to militants instead of fighting them. ........ a close adviser to Ms. Bhutto confirmed that the back-channel talks continued. ..... She called for the reinstatement of the Supreme Court and then quickly drove away.
Pakistan: The Making of a Crisis TIME a mercurial mix of history, religion and politics — with explosive results ..... 165 million people ..... Pakistan's government backed the puritanical Taliban government in Kabul until Sept. 11, 2001. ....... General Musharraf is a former commando and fought in Pakistan's wars with its bigger South Asian neighbor — and constant rival — India in 1965 and 1971. He was Chief of Army Staff during a smaller conflict between the two countries in 1999 ....... Oxford-educated and the first woman to lead a post-colonial Muslim state, Bhutto is the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was Pakistan's Prime Minister between 1973 and 1977. ........ Pakistan, which has gladly accepted $10 billion in aid from Washington since the 2001 attacks ....... The area, often described as lawless, has long been controlled by fiercely conservative tribes that run their own semi-autonomous administration. ...... U.S. intelligence agencies believe al-Qaeda has now rebuilt to the point where it could launch fresh attacks against America. ....... a military-and-security apparatus that many fear harbors extremist elements ....... those same military and intelligence bodies still include officials sympathetic to the militants Islamabad is supposed to be fighting
When the Patient Is a Googler Susan had chosen me because she had researched my education, read a paper I had written, determined my university affiliation and knew where I lived. ...... They talk a lot. I often wonder, while waiting for them to pause, if there are patients like this in poor, war-torn countries where the need for doctors is more dire. ....... engineers, as a class, are possibly the best patients. They're logical ........ There's so much information (as well as misinformation) in medicine — and, yes, a lot of it can be Googled — that one major responsibility of an expert is to know what to ignore. ....... A seasoned doc gets good at sizing up what kind of patient he's got and how to adjust his communicative style accordingly.
What Hillary Stands For her roughest night as a candidate — the Oct. 30 ..... Walter Mondale, a ghost of Democratic disasters past .... he ran the worst sort of cautious front-runner campaign for the nomination in 1984, was nearly upended by the younger, more dynamic Gary Hart in the primaries and was utterly trounced by Ronald Reagan in the general ..... Clinton has been accused of running a cautious front-runner campaign. ...... Americans are problem solvers. We are not ideologues. Most people are just looking for sensible, commonsense solutions ......... "Getting stuff done," as Bill Clinton used to say. That means being flagrantly political, working the system, making the compromises necessary to get the best deal possible to enact their priorities. ....... drives partisans crazy on both sides of the political divide ....... Clinton inspired an even greater frenzy because she was a gender revolutionary, transforming the cotton-candy role of First Lady into a power position. She wasn't nearly as charming as her husband either. And she seemed ... tougher. ........... Iowa, where the traditionally undependable polls ....... The debate seemed a signpost: the beginning of the real campaign after more than a year of fund-raising and inside baseball. And her performance seemed a crystallization of the problems that have always plagued Clinton, the notion that she is perpetually calculating, triangulating and cold, without core convictions. ......... her lawyerly answers ...... "authenticity" — that foolish journalistic cliché meant to denote the appearance of informality and spontaneity ........ her plans on the big domestic-policy issues — health care and energy — have been courageous and detailed, more sophisticated than her opponents' — and very, very smart politically ........ She is rhapsodic about the possibilities of diplomacy, and she has earned the trust of the military because of her hard work on the Senate Armed Services Committee. ........ the Clinton machine: a campaign awash in the dark arts of polling, market-testing and fund-raising (although Obama's groundbreakingly cool campaign is just as stage-managed) ......... his history as a hedge-fund rainmaker and his closeness to the trial lawyers' lobby. ....... the sheer effort she's made — to know the issues, to become a more effective speaker on the stump, to be more personable, to loosen up a little ........ a personal confidence that Bill — who always seemed desperate for approval — never had ........ Do they want the Clinton circus back in town? Do they want to keep trading the presidency between these two weird families? ...... 40% were undecided going into the last week of the caucus. It'll be the same this time.
LAPD Criticized Over Muslim 'Map' The LAPD's counterterrorism bureau plans to identify Muslim enclaves in order to determine which might be likely to become isolated and susceptible to "violent, ideologically based extremism," said Deputy Chief Michael P. Downing on Thursday. "We want to know where the Pakistanis, Iranians and Chechens are so we can reach out to those communities," said Downing, who heads the counterterrorism bureau. ...... There are an estimated 500,000 Muslims in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties.

New York State Democrats Celebrate Strategic Victories in Republican State Senate Districts Across New York Democrats maintained their majority in Nassau, expanded it in Suffolk, picked up seats in Monroe and Onondaga and won a new majority in Dutchess County ...... Democrats won major victories in the backyards of vulnerable Republican State Senators including Kemp Hannon, Joe Robach, Tom Morahan, John DeFrancisco and Caesar Trunzo .

US Strategy for Pakistan Looks Increasingly Fragile New York Times they still believe that a power-sharing agreement between Ms. Bhutto and the general can survive. “We hope we’re seeing a little bit of political theater here,” a senior State Department official said. ........ the subsequent speech by Ms. Bhutto to the nation that was broadcast on official Pakistani television. .... administration officials said they were worried that if Ms. Bhutto had gone ahead with her planned rally, she might have been killed. ....... staging political campaign rallies in stadiums and arenas, and not out in the streets, in order to address safety concerns. ....... The United States is underestimating popular discontent with military rule, they say, and the ability of open elections to stabilize the country.
Violence In Nepal Voice of America Mr. Sah had written stories about alleged smuggling by Maoists and about Maoist violence against political opponents. ........ Maoist insurgents committed numerous human rights abuses throughout 2006 including murder, kidnapping, and extortion. Abuses by Nepali security forces decreased substantially while Maoist abuses continued relatively unabated.
San Francisco Bay oil spill spreads Los Angeles Times the checkered history of the vessel's pilot. ..... The ship leaked 58,000 gallons of bunker fuel, a thick and oily substance that is difficult to clean up, after it rammed the base of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in dense fog about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday. ........ skimmer boat that vacuums oil residue off the water ....... 11 skimmer boats had been dispatched by a private contractor hired for the cleanup. ....... Although the oil slick remains largely inside the bay, tidal action and winds have spread the spill outside the Golden Gate and up the Marin County coastline, as far as Muir Beach. ..... Capt. John Cota, 59, has been a master mariner for more than a quarter century. But since the early 1990s he has been investigated for four separate incidents, and last year was reprimanded for running a ship aground
A Planetary System That Looks Familiar New York Times 41 light-years from here ..... detecting rocky planets like Earth is probably beyond the current technology
It's On: Obama, Edwards And Clinton (No, The Other One) Invade Iowa MTV.com
Obama's GOP anger management Chicago Sun-Times
Obama: Race won't hurt me in Iowa Chicago Tribune
How women view Clinton in Iowa. Slate Women overwhelmingly favor Clinton in polls in the state. They're also the ones who give her the edge over her rivals when polls measure voters who say they've picked their candidate and won't change their mind. ........ The first thing I noticed talking to women who both support Hillary and those who are undecided is that a general conversation about the presidential race pretty quickly gets to gender. ....... "It was the woman in her that won. Men have some abilities. Women have others, and she could just rise above them all." ........ a win for her would bring America in line "with other progressive nations that have had women leaders." ....... They would think about their own experiences of being a woman in a man's world. ...... she found herself yelling at the television when she saw a recap of the Philadelphia debate. "They were so mean and nasty to Hillary," she said outside of the Oelwein middle school. "It made me like her even more." ......... Of the more than a dozen women I talked to, only one had actually seen the debate—a Clinton campaign county chairwoman who declared it obvious that the men found it easier to attack a woman than a man. The other women, whether they were supporting Clinton or not, seemed to take it as an article of faith that the men had ganged up on her, as Seltzer suggested. Of the men and women who dislike Clinton, no one mentioned that she'd inappropriately used her gender. The nearly universal complaint was that she was too calculating and dishonest, which was actually the argument put forward by those men at the Philadelphia debate. ......... She is quick to say at every event that she's not running merely as a woman, which of course serves to put the issue front and center.

Helicopter + Walmart + Iowa

Iowa has three million people. Of those 100,000 will vote in the Democratic caucus. You could try and identify who those 100,000 are, and focus on them directly, which is not a bad idea. Or you could think those 100,000 don't live in a vacuum. They do breathe the air in their towns. They are in tune with their county grapevine. I think getting free local media attention is absolutely fundamental, the local newspaper, the local radio.

There has got to be some software somewhere that will give you the itinerary for what I am proposing. Try and make as many Walmart stops as possible using a helicopter. Metrics used: how many Walmarts did you visit, how many hands did you shake? How many local reporters did you invite to each event? If you do this for one week, can you make 100 Walmart stops? That is what I am asking. Greet people at the door.

I am a fan of Walmart. Most people don't realize Sam Walton is a bigger deal than Bill Gates. Walton's numbers are stronger. In most of those small towns out there, Walmart makes it possible for people in the middle and lower income brackets to buy stuff that one generation earlier were only in fantassyland. Bedsheets from China? C'mon.

I guess Walmart could do a better job of taking care of their workers. But they are not breaking no law. Health care is primarily a public sector undertaking. You can't blame public failure on a private enterprise.

The Walmart in those small towns is like the subway in NYC. That is the only place where the locals get to see each other in large numbers. I personally have visited more Walmarts all over this country than Hillary ever would, and she once sat on the Walmart Board. And I am not even running for anything.

At each stop you should get your local volunteers to show up. After all, it is those volunteers who do all the work after you and your staffers are long gone.

Iowa is proof America is not a country of 300 million where it is not humanly possible to go meet every possible voter one on one.

I Stand With Michelle: Iowa Must And Can Be Won
Iowa Debate
Iowa Debate: Obama Clear Winner
Iowa Humanizes The Candidate
BarackTV: Iowa To New Hampshire

Barack Must Win Iowa

Hillary tops 50% now nationally. Edwards Kennedy was the same way in 1980. Kennedy and Clinton are famous last names. They are dynastic. It is like 1976 is when America tired of being a republic. You have had either a Bush or a Clinton run at the national level ever since.

I am not worried. We just have to keep plugging in.

Barack must win Iowa. That is where the game begins.

This game is physical.

In The News

Clinton Now Ahead of Obama in Money Race ABC News Clinton holds nearly three months before the voting starts, to Obama's $35 million$32 million. ...... an aggressive third quarter of fundraising. ..... had a total of $50.5 million in the bank .... nearly $16 million of that cannot be used for the primaries. ..... They each reported debts Clinton owed $2.3 million and Obama owed $1.4 million. ...... McCain, enjoying something of a resurgence in the polls ...... Clinton used the third quarter to secure her place as a national front-runner. She has recently hit 50-percent support among Democrats in national polls ....... $4 million for salaries followed by $2.2 million for travel ....... Clinton also refunded $1.2 million to donors ....... Obama had a $3.8 million payroll for the quarter and spent $2.3 million on travel. ....... Giuliani leads all candidates in radio advertising with more than 640 spots in several states ....... radio is cheaper and can be targeted to specific audiences. ....... Romney had placed 10,600 television ads from Jan. 1 to Oct. 10. Richardson, the Democrat, was second with 5,800 television spots. ....... Obama ramped up his advertising toward the end of third quarter, spending nearly $3.3 million on media. He has placed more than 4,200 spots on television, practically all of them in Iowa
India-US nuclear deal stalls indefinitely Guardian Unlimited Described by the Bush administration as the "single most important initiative in the 60 years of our relationship"' the landmark agreement would have allowed India to become the first nation allowed to keep its atomic weapons and to trade in nuclear technology despite not having signed international treaties on non-proliferation. ....... The communists' argument is that India's foreign policy is becoming subservient to the US, and that Washington is steadily moulding the country's economy. The nuclear deal, they say, tightens America's hold on India. ...... an "ideological battle in India between isolationists and globalisers". ....... 80% of the US Congress voted for the deal." ...... was seen as a way of bringing India, which has an advanced military and civilian nuclear programme, in from the cold. ..... would help to supply India's growing energy needs and mitigate against greenhouse gas emissions. ....... "It would have seen India become reliant on imports of enriched uranium rather than relying on our own supplies."
Olmert hints at Jerusalem split Guardian Unlimited the move would remove a significant obstacle
Clinton backed by 50% among Dems USA Today she commands the most enthusiastic backing of any contender in either party. ..... a landscape for 2008 that seems to be moving toward Clinton in particular and Democrats in general. ...... he cautions on Clinton's positive results: "These perceptions can turn around in a great big hurry if you lose an early primary." ........ 50%-21%, her biggest edge since spring ...... two-thirds of Clinton's supporters say they are "certain to support" her. ..... Only once has a presidential candidate received as much as 50% support in a Gallup Poll and then gone on to lose his party's nomination. That was Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy in 1980. ......... she has continued to be out there saying where she wants to take the country ...... 53% of Republicans say they "might change their mind" about which candidate to support. ..... 64% of Democrats say they would "enthusiastically" vote for Clinton as the nominee; 49% say that of Obama. ...... When his name is included in the horse race, the former vice president finishes third, behind Clinton and Obama.
Benazir Bhutto returning to Pakistan defiant but compromised International Herald Tribune her Pakistan People's Party hopes to draw a million people onto the streets of the country's biggest city to give her a spectacular welcome and launch its campaign for parliamentary polls in January. ....... has vowed to quit the powerful post of army chief if he secures another five-year presidential term. ...... the chaotic 13-year period of civilian rule that preceded Musharraf's takeover. ...... allegations of massive corruption and misrule that left Pakistan nearly bankrupt. ...... Bhutto, now 54, claims charges against her including amassing properties and bank accounts overseas while in power were politically motivated. .... Swiss authorities convicted her of money laundering in 2003 and ordered her to pay US$11 million to the Pakistani government. The conviction was automatically thrown out when she contested it, but the case remains under investigation. ........ corrupt politicians they likened to parasites and piranhas. ...... Bhutto's premierships between 1988 and 1996 saw her clash with the country's army-led establishment, which held great sway over foreign policy during a period when Pakistan pushed on with its nuclear weapons program and backed the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. .......... she would let U.N. investigators question Abdul Qadeer Khan, the nuclear expert blamed for leaking Pakistani weapons technology to Iran and North Korea. Khan was pardoned by Musharraf, who has refused foreign authorities access to the man considered to be the father of Pakistan's atomic program. ........ A day before he was hanged, Benazir visited him in prison. .... "I told him on my oath in his death cell, I would carry on his work," she recalled later. ...... became the first woman to lead a modern Muslim nation. ...... September 1996, when her younger brother Murtaza Bhutto was shot to death in a gunbattle with police outside his home in Karachi. Bhutto's mother threatened to file murder charges against her and Zardari. Her youngest brother, Shahnawaz, had died under mysterious circumstances in France a decade earlier. ........ Benazir accused President Farooq Leghari of involvement in Murtaza's death and Leghari dismissed her second government amid fresh allegations of misrule. ....... a country often associated with Islamic extremism and oppressive social customs. ....... I am a symbol of what the so-called 'Jihadists,' Taliban and al-Qaida, most fear ..... "I am a female political leader fighting to bring modernity, communication, education and technology to Pakistan."
China "furious" at Dalai Lama's US award Reuters U.S. Congressional Gold Medal .... after being hosted at the White House by President George W. Bush. ...... "We are furious," Tibet's Communist Party boss, Zhang Qingli, told reporters. "If the Dalai Lama can receive such an award, there must be no justice or good people in the world." ..... The Dalai Lama has said he supports a "middle way" policy that advocates autonomy for Tibet within China, but Qiangba Puncog said China believed he still supported independence and warmed that separatist activities in the region were increasing. ....... Earlier this year, an ethnic Tibetan in the western province of Sichuan addressed a crowd on the need for greater religious freedom and for the Dalai Lama to be allowed to return. The man, Runggye Adak, has been charged with subversion ........ graffiti calling for the Dalai Lama's return was found scribbled on walls, a sign of his residual influence throughout ethnic Tibetan regions of China.
Clinton edges Obama in latest cash on hand Chicago Tribune $10 million transferred from her Senate re-election fund. ...... as they built out field organizations ...... Boosted by early and aggressive television advertising campaigns in the early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire, Romney is leading in the polls in both states.
Clinton, Obama Enter Next Stage of Primary Race Flush With Cash Bloomberg next 100 days ....... Most states will hold their contests by mid-February ...... Clinton paid $15,000 for office rent to the William J. Clinton Foundation run by her husband ....... pent $6 million on payroll, $1.7 million on media and almost $1 million on polling. ...... Among Obama's expenses was a $9.30 charge for printing at the Clinton Library in Arkansas. He spent $5.6 million on payroll, $2.1 million on telemarketing and $3.7 million on media. ....... Obama is spending as much per week on Iowa TV as Kerry did less than a month before the 2004 caucus ....... the Clinton campaign burning through $22.6 million, compared with $21.5 million for the Obama campaign. ...... Obama reported more new donors in the third quarter than he estimated at the beginning of the month. His total of 108,000 new contributors may have topped Clinton's estimate of more than 100,000. ....... Clinton's biggest sources of money were New York-based Morgan Stanley, whose employees gave $209,970, and New York- based Goldman Sachs Group Inc., whose employees contributed $186,540. ....... ``When you look at the scale and scope of the operations that both of these campaigns have, it's staggering.''
Clinton: A week of courting yet more women Baltimore Sun
Clinton plays the front-runner’s game MSNBC she’s tempted to follow the dismissive rule laid down in 2000 by George W. Bush: the sooner you can retreat into a bubble, the better. Why should male candidates be the only ones allowed to be imperious? ....... In 2000, Bush was careful to be point of stark fear about his media and crowd surroundings; he positively hated unplanned, spontaneous contact with voters he didn’t know, or hadn’t vetted. ............. “But Hillary’s people are acting just like the men. It is all very closed-off and top-down.” ........ Politics, said the late Lee Atwater, is a “base game.” He meant that a candidate had no chance unless he (or she) had a loyal, unshakable core of supporters who would “stick” no matter what. For Hillary, it’s the Reddy Women. They comprise much of her operational core and the demographic bull’s eye of the voter cohort she wanted to win. ........... The message: Clinton’s campaign would be the history-making capstone of a generational gender crusade for power. ........ Her Woman to See in Iowa is Christie Vilsack ....... In New Hampshire, Hillary’s local hub is in the Shaheen family. ..... Every successful presidential campaign has a cadre of trusted aides drawn from some deep aspect of the candidate’s roots. In JFK’s case, it was the Navy: the PT-109 tie clasps his friends cherished were much more than trinkets, they were talismans. .......... Hillary’s is a remarkable network of women that has been deepening in experience, yet still hungry for power on their own. ......... Mandy Grunwald, the veteran media expert; Patty Solis Doyle, the campaign manager ....... Tamara Luzzatto, the tough-as-nails Senate chief of staff; and Teresa Vilmain, a legendary organizer who was lured back into the game for one last go-round in Iowa. ......... talented and tough .... fiercely loyal to Hillary .... running a shrewd, tough campaign ..... Concord Monitor columnist Katy Burns. She asked last weekend whether New Hampshire voters should elect someone (like Bush) seemingly “obsessed with control and secrecy.” The question isn’t whether she can win, Burns, wrote. “A better question is, should she win?”
Clinton banks on female vote MSNBC
400000 usd grant for Nepal to combat corruption - ADB Forbes help the Himalayan Kingdom combat corruption by strengthening the capacity of concerned government institutions in fulfilling their respective mandates......... good governance and strong institutions are central requirements for poverty reduction and economic growth, adding effective anti-corruption measures are at the core of good governance.
Nepal Maoists start anti-Dalai Lama campaign Hindustan Times last month Christian groups from nearly 20 countries had held a nine-day conference at a resort in the valley. ...... though the conference was ostensibly called to discuss religious issues, it meant to add momentum to the movement to free Tibet from China. Buddhist monks from India, Nepal, Japan, the US, Britain, Germany, Uganda, France, Israel, Argentina, Chile, Iraq and Tibet took part in the meet ........ Prachanda has ruled out allowing the office of the Dalai Lama's representative in Kathmandu to re-open, saying his party would not condone any action that could displease China. ...... India's diplomatic policy towards Nepal has been floundering since it helped a multi-party government end King Gyanendra's regime and come to power. China, on the other hand, enjoys the best possible relations with Kathmandu though it supported the royal regime and sold it arms and ammunition to hunt down the Maoists.
Dacoity in moving train in Bihar Times of India
Nigeria: Country Signs Military Pact With India AllAfrica.com
India, Nigeria reaffirm stance on UN Security Council, boost ties AFP
Nigeria: Indian PM Wants New World Money Order AllAfrica.com Nigeria and India must work together to reverse the imbalance in international financial and trading systems and make them more development friendly ........ "The crushing burden of debt on the poorest of the poor, and barriers to trade in the form of restricted market access and distortion in subsidies need to be removed." ........ the United Nations. ...... the structure and functioning of the organization has to reflect contemporary global realities. It has to become a truly representative world body." ....... The information revolution and higher level of literacy have raised expectations. Disparities are leading to social tensions. Economic growth has to be accompanied by better distribution of its benefits ........ We wish to see many more African companies doing business in India. We will facilitate this process. ........ "Annually, over 15,000 African students study in India. Many Indian engineers, doctors, accountants live and work in Africa." ....... India seeks much greater convergence with Africa ...... While India is the largest democracy in the world, Nigeria is the largest democracy in Africa.
India's Singh Tells Bush of Nuclear `Difficulties' (Update4) Bloomberg
Hope not dead for India on US nuclear deal Reuters India
HK papers: Hu's report charts clearer roadmap for China Xinhua
Front-runners for China leadership take centre stage AFP his pet theme of "scientific development" -- a call for more sustainable growth that mitigates many of the problems caused by China's economic boom. ....... Hu is widely suspected to be battling behind the scenes during the Congress against a faction dominated by former president Jiang Zemin over appointments to top decision-making bodies and his successor.
Dell Defends Layoff Decision KXAN-TV
Led Zeppelin to sell music online Reuters such hits as "Stairway to Heaven" and "Communication Breakdown," which has sold an estimated 300 million albums worldwide
Two codefendants to testify against OJ Simpson Los Angeles Times the alleged theft of about $80,000 in sports memorabilia from two collectors at the Palace Station Hotel & Casino. ....... "O.J. is the big fish," said Laurie Levenson, a Loyola Law School professor and a former federal prosecutor, "and I think prosecutors are trying to line up everybody to point the finger at him." ....... Simpson asked Cashmore to help him move some things, and the men drove to Palace Station, where Simpson had been told that some memorabilia belonging to him was being offered for sale
Britney turns herself in Tampa Bay's 10 Wearing large sunglasses, the pop star went into a police station to be booked on charges of hit and run and driving without a valid license. She was there about 45 minutes, being photographed and fingerprinted. ..... The charges stem from an August wreck where Spears struck another car while trying to park her own vehicle. She was seen on a videotape walking away after checking the damage.