Obama in Orbit The New York Times Michael Ignatieff, the deputy leader of Canada's opposition Liberal Party, said: "Outsiders know it's your choice. Still, they are following this election with passionate interest. And it's clear Barack Obama would be the first globalized American leader, the first leader in whom internationalism would not be a credo, it would be in his veins." ..... Jorge Castañeda, a former foreign minister. .... "My sense is the symbolism in Mexico of a dark-skinned American president would be enormous. We've got female leaders now in Latin America - in Chile, in Argentina. But the idea of a U.S. leader who looks the way the world looks as seen from Mexico is revolutionary." ..... Among Republicans, only John McCain - admired in Europe - seems to offer real bridge-building capacity. ....... Obama, while saying he might attack "high value terrorist targets" in Pakistan, has been most forthright in sketching a globalized community - "the security of the American people is inextricably linked to the security of all people" - and pushing hope over fear. ....... I see nobody else who would represent such a Kennedy-like restorative charge at a time when America often seems out of sync with the world. ..... the United States remained the most important nation, but ....... a Pakistani Muslim seeing on television a man "who attended a majority-Muslim school" and is "now the alleged enemy." ..... "If you wanted the crudest but most effective weapon against the demonization of America that fuels Islamist ideology, Obama's face gets close." ..... The world isn't voting. America is. But the candidate who most mirrors the 21st-century world seems clear enough.
Clinton Takes Aggressive Tack Against Her Leading Rivals New York Times Clinton swings back at rivals in Democratic debateBoston Globe The New York senator's pointed criticisms of her opponents -- unusual for a front-runner seeking to remain above the fray -- came after two shaky weeks for her campaign. She had been forced to defend herself against charges that she has changed positions on key issues, that she had played the gender card and that her staff planted friendly questions at campaign events. .... 10th Democratic debate since April .... But Obama and Edwards both were booed when they criticized her personally, and after some sharp personal exchanges in the early minutes, the debate shifted back into discussions of key issues. ....... ``I don't think that the problem with the American people is that they are not being forced to get health care. The problem is they can't afford it,'' Obama said. ........ Obama hit back hard, however, when Clinton accused him of backing a $1 trillion tax hike to buttress Social Security. ....... only six percent of wage-earners earn more than $97,500 a year ...... Obama insisted the choice between human rights abroad and security at home was a false one. ...... he said ``yes' when asked if undocumented immigrants should get licenses. ..... ``Undocumented workers are not coming here to drive,'' but to get jobs, Obama said. Iowa Union Endorsement For Obama Washington Post Obama On The RiseCBS News After the first Democratic debate, at the end of April, when Hillary Clinton made her main rivals seems small and insignificant, I expected that Barack Obama would fade from contention even before the Iowa Caucus...... Based purely on opinion polls - and some scattered interviewing - I still see Clinton as the favorite for the nomination, but I can now envision a scenario in which Obama could surpass her. ..... on September 26, she voted for the Kyl-Lieberman amendment on Iran, which designated Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization. It also committed the United States to structuring its forces in Iraq "with regard to the capability of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to pose a threat to the security of the region, the prospects for democracy for the people of the region, and the health of the global economy." The Kyl-Lieberman amendment was merely a "sense of the Senate" resolution. It did not bind the Bush administration to doing anything. But the resolution seemed to affirm the administration's bellicose posture toward Iran and could, perhaps, be used as a justification for a military attack. ..... she was shifting from "primary mode, when she needs to guard against critics from the left, to general election mode, when she must guard against critics from the right." Clinton, the article said, was also "solidifying crucial support from the pro-Israel lobby." ...... during the October 30 Democratic debate, when she equivocated on New York Governor Eliot Spitzer's plan to give driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. ..... ppearing to block access to her papers from the Clinton administration. ..... Edwards' attacks may not help his own standing with voters, but they are likely to wound Clinton, just as Dick Gephardt's attacks wounded front-runner Howard Dean before the 2004 Iowa Caucus. ..... The prime beneficiary of Edwards' ads, and potentially of Edwards' flagging support, is Obama, who has pulled statistically even with Clinton in the latest Iowa poll. In the past Clinton was able to argue that there was no significant political difference between herself and Obama, and that due to her superior experience, she was more likely to accomplish what they both advocated. But Clinton's equivocation and transparent calculation raised questions about whether she was sufficiently committed to carry out their common objectives. ..... Obama's speech at the Jefferson-Jackson dinner advanced the argument for his own candidacy. None of the other Democratic or Republican candidates can match his sheer rhetorical brilliance: his ability to be at once cool and passionate, cerebral and emotional. ..... The speech Obama gave that evening was the best I've seen during this campaign. ....... Americans don't want "the same old Washington textbook campaigns." They don't want "triangulating and poll-driven positions." They want to be led "not by polls, but by principle; not by calculation, but by conviction." They don't want Democrats who think "the only way to look tough on national security is by talking, and acting, and voting like George Bush Republicans." They "don't want to spend the next year or the next four years re-fighting the same fights that we had in the 1990s." ...... a 21st century version of Abraham Lincoln ...... Lincoln needed a civil war to unify the nation. Obama promises to do so through political inspiration. ..... Still, there now seems to be a path by which Obama could gain the nomination. Aided by Edwards' votes and, perhaps, by further Clinton missteps, he could win Iowa and New Hampshire. He would then have established sufficient credibility with South Carolina's black voters to win that state's primary. On Super Tuesday, February 5, he would have to win California, a few Southern states, and one or two Midwestern states in addition to Illinois to be competitive for the long haul. Obama would still not be home free, but he would certainly be in position to challenge Clinton well into the spring. After Rough Few Weeks, Hillary Clinton Gives Strong Debate PerformanceABC News a new aggressive game plan and appeared to successfully get her campaign ship back on course. ..... "this pantsuit, it's asbestos tonight" ....... Early on in the evening, she delivered what was clearly a planned hit on Sen. Obama's healthcare plan ...... His plan would leave 15 million Americans out. That's about the population of Nevada, Iowa, South Carolina and New Hampshire ....... Edwards, whose presence didn't seem to dominate this debate as it did the last one ...... Clinton responded with a sly and knowing, "Campbell. . . " She then went on to say, "Well, it is clear, I think, from women's experiences that from time to time, there may be some impediments." ...... This 16 day period of Sen. Clinton playing defense and struggling to get a handle on all the attacks coming from her opponents has come to a close. Sen. Obama and Sen. Edwards will now have to look for another opportunity to grab a foothold to drive the narrative as cleanly as they were able to do over the last couple of weeks. After two weeks, can Clinton stop the slide? Los Angeles Times she holds a 51% to 23% to 11% edge over Obama and Edwards in Nevada. ...... So it's been a tough two weeks off-message for the senator. And it's shown in the polls, with Clinton's once mammoth lead dwindling like a Slim-Fast diet, despite her fat bank account and bounteous endorsements. ...... the last seven weeks before the Iowa caucuses. Hillary's consistent non-answers (updated)MSNBC At debate, Clinton seeks rebound Reuters Ahead of the debate, the Clinton campaign belittled her challengers for "shifting to a negative attack strategy" ..... fevered speculation that the seemingly invincible Clinton might not be the inevitable Democratic nominee as her campaign would like Americans to believe. ...... "Tonight you are going to see Senator Edwards continue to answer questions openly and honestly. You are also going to see Senator Clinton look confused when she gets a global warming question from (CNN anchor) Wolf Blitzer instead of a college student," said Edwards spokeswoman Colleen Murray. .......... Before the debate, New York's Democratic governor, Eliot Spitzer, gave Clinton what amounted to a gift, taking off the table the issue of whether illegal immigrants should be allowed to have driver's licenses. Hold off on the Clinton coronationBoston Globe This may be the last time New Hampshire enjoys special status. Too many other states, with more delegates, more diversity, and more contributors are demanding to go earlier. Already, Nevada's caucuses sit between Iowa and New Hampshire. Both political parties have lost control of their primary calendars. And the tsunami of primaries on Feb. 5 foreshadows big changes in the calendar next time. ....... Hillary's lead is shrinking. Because Bill is the Clinton who Democrats love, her campaign sent him out to spank her primary opponents. He went overboard, warning that they were making Democrats "vulnerable to a Swift-boat kind of ad." If the shrinkage continues, Bill might get medieval on her critics. He does, after all, owe her. ....... he's finally criticizing Hillary Clinton by name. ...... "His oratory was moving and he successfully contrasted himself with the others, especially Clinton, without being snide or nasty about it." ......... The man who brags about his executive experience may be the worst judge of character in the presidential field. Rudy ......Then there's the accused child molester, Monsignor Alan Placa, who admitted that he was implicated in a 2003 grand jury child abuse report but denied molesting children. The statute of limitations had expired. Placa was removed from his parish by the church. He now works at Giuliani Partners in New York. Placa was best man at Giuliani's first wedding, helped Rudy get that marriage annulled, then married Rudy and his second wife - the one Rudy dumped at a press conference. The accused pedophile priest baptized both of Giuliani's children......... At least six neocons are advising Rudy, one of whom urged the president to launch a preemptive strike on Iran. The bombing begins in five minutes. ..... If Hillary has another bad night, what happens in Vegas won't stay in Vegas. Obama wins UAW endorsement that includes IowaBaltimore Sun Obama pitches youth, technology at Google, SF events San Francisco Chronicle Obama, at Google, calls for national CTOComputerworld
I think it would be historic for America to get a woman president. But it would be more historic for America to get a black president. A white woman has to be 90 to remember a time when she not vote. A black person - man or woman - only has to be 50.
If this election is about making history, let's nominate and elect Barack.
But Barack is more than Black, he is a package deal. He is also Asian, and Third World. He is African, of course. The dude actually has a grandmother who lives in a hut with no electricity or running water. He has another grandmother who lives in the same apartment where she raised him.
When the white woman could not vote in America, Kenya was a British colony. Much of Asia was colonized. So, yes, let's make history. Let's nominate and elect someone who is linked to former colonies by blood. Let's make history.
Curiously Barack is also white. He is Dick Cheney's cousin. How much whiter than that can you get? That is Wyoming white. They only have white people in that state. I think.
Barack is not a woman, but you can't use that against him. He was raised by a woman. He is outnumbered by women in his family, three to one. But the whole ying yang philosophy is that there is a woman inside every man, and a man inside every woman. When Hillary laughs, that is the man part. When Barack blushes, that is the woman part.
Hillary went to an all white high school. How boring is that? Barack attended school on a few different continents.
America was always meant to be multiracial, the idea it was founded on was not white-specific. It was not meant to be white-specific, although the country even today struggles to live that dream.
It is that multi-racial DNA of America that tells me it will continue to be the leading country also in this century. Japan and China are too one ethnicity. Europe is not open enough to immigrants.
But America always has had only white guy presidents. That leads me to the claim that Barack Obama is going to be America's first president. In a way. I think that would be a great way for America to start this century. By electing Barack.
I think Hillary's name recognition and the poll numbers that name recognition has given her has prevented her from doing the hard work of substance on gender. She is hung up on the symbolism.
All the big South Asian countries have had women heads of states. But South Asia is so very sexist. The sexism did not budge much, if at all. A woman head of state is not enough for women's liberation. The only way to gender equality is the grassroots way.
I think it is such a waste that a talented, smart, hard working woman like Hillary who is the first serious woman candidate for president is not talking up the substance of gender. What a waste!
John Edwards Is Going To Have To Endorse Barack
Edwards and Barack are so alike in terms of where they stand on the message of change, on ethics reform, on getting money out of politics. Hillary, on the other hand, shamelessly flaunts her ties to lobbyists.
Barack and Edwards might look good together.
After Edwards drops out of the race, I think he will have no option but to endorse Barack. They are carbon copies of each other on the key issues. Edwards is Barack minus the money, the support and the charisma. But the man is right on the issues. And he sure has the fighting spirit.
And what I like particularly is he portrays the new face of the South. He is a white guy who lived segregation in his native South, was repulsed by it, and is, as a result, very progressive on race.
Denis
I think he did well in the Nevada debate. He really got his message across. He did best among the minor candidates.
Put race and gender aside. Put aside the fact that Barack and Hillary are both very smart people. Put aside the fact that both have been raising a lot of money and have real support all across the country.
If you look at their policy positions, there are some very real differences.
Iraq, Iran, Social Security, Ethics Reform. Hillary might change her position on driving licenses for undocumented immigrants, but she does not have the option to change her position on these big issues. She is stuck with where she stands on these big issues.
Hillary's cavalier attitude towards immigration I find personally offensive.
Rudy
This would be the Obama staffer who runs Obama 2008's downtown Manhattan office. Towards the end of the debate he mentioned Barack's sister Maya will be in the office from three to four in the afternoon.
That news was so emotional to me. I mean, heck. I can't even vote. I am not a citizen. My support for Barack is deeply, deeply personal. It is almost not political, although that it is.
The way I put it is, I lost something in 1989. I stand to regain that through Barack's elevation to the White House. That personal.
It was Maya who gave voice to why I like Barack so much. And I am quite a wordy person myself. But it was Maya who finally gave me these four words. I was not able to get to them myself on my own. I am going to meet her and I am going to thank her for those four words.
I pride myself in my political instincts. My support for Barack is deeply personal. But my political instincts tell me Barack has the potential to become the greatest president America ever had. Now that is not personal. That is me being as objective as I can be. That is me staking my political reputation on the statement.
Barack sure is ready for America. Is America ready for Barack?
Americans stand to do themselves a huge favor by putting this dude into the White House.
Barack will bring together the best qualities of three presidents, Lincoln, FDR and JFK. He will liberate America from racism like Lincoln liberated America from slavery. He will bring universal health care and give a new life to Social Security. That is FDR. And he will bring JFK's charisma, youthfulness and "viguh" to the office as well as his ability to reach all corners of the earth.
Hillary has been pro-war. She voted for the disastrous invasion of Iraq. Now she says she did not really mean that. But as late as 2006, her position was that Rumsfeld has to be fired, as in the decision to go to war was right, but its implementation, the execution of the plan got screwed up by the Defense Secretary. That was not an anti-war position.
If it were a minor issue, that would be one thing. But this just so happens to be the single biggest foreign policy mistake America has made in a generation.
Sometimes you let bygones be bygones. If both Barack and Hillary are going to end the war, what the heck, you might think. But before the ink has even dried on Hillary's new position, she has already made very clear that for her to end the war means something very different than what it might mean to the rest of us. She might bring back half the troops over a few years and leave the rest behind, and in her book that will still be an end to the war. Now that is stretching it in my book.
Then you can say, or maybe Iraq has been Bush' mistake, why blame Hillary! Just when that thought might be gelling, she had an Oops, I Did It Again moment on Iran.
She passed a resolution that says the president of Iran is a terrorist. That is the first step in the direction of war. That can not be explained any other way. That was not a vote for diplomacy. That was botched diplomacy.
Barack is no pacifist. He fully understands that being Commander In Chief will perhaps be his number one responsibility as President of the United States in these perilous times. And that is why US security is more important to him than empty, brave-sounding talk that gets bogged down into dumb wars and botched diplomacy. He wants results. He wants security. He wants peace.
War is always a possibility: he gets that. But what he gets and Hillary does not seem to is that war always, always has to be the weapon of the very last resort. That is how you make victory in war possible. By using it as the weapon of the very last resort.
America under Bush has been a country that keeps wanting to fight another state with a standing army. That is to be in denial. The Al Qaeda is not a state, it does not have a standing army, and it is stronger today than it was before 9/11. To invade Iraq was to take one eye off the Al Qaeda. Military action against Iran would be to take both eyes off the Al Qaeda.
Immigration
There is nothing illegal about immigration. There is managed immigration, and there is mismanaged immigration. That is all. This is a country of immigrants, always has been. If Australia was founded by convicts, America was founded by immigrants.
If sounding like Bush Republicans on war and immigration will give Hillary the nomination and the presidency, will that have been a victory at all? What mandate will she have to do things differently than Bush has been doing? We might as well instead give Bush a third term.
The boys who ran Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign are the same boys running Hillary 2008. This is no girlie campaign. Hillary is just a masthead. Make no mistake, as the race tightens, those boys are going to want to play hardball. Mark Penn 1992, Mark Penn 2008. I wonder when James Carville himself will surface.
The Dems on the Hill took one stand on immigration during the last national attempt on immigration reform. It was a stand to get the 12 million illegal immigrants on a path to earned citizenship. That was a valid stand. Too bad it went down in defeat. Hillary supported that. Now is she backtracking on that stand? Is that what it is?
Due to a scheduling conflict with Drinking Liberally we have changed the details of the debate watching party tomorrow night. Instead we will be joining staff from the NY Obama HQ downtown at John St Bar and Grill.
I just wanted to send a quick email about the debate watching party with Drinking Liberally this Thursday night:
Debate Watching Party with Drinking Liberally!
You are invited to the Democratic Debate Watching Party hosted by Drinking Liberally. As the primaries near, the debates become more critical and exciting. There is only one more debate after this one.
Join us for a fun evening of debate watching and stimulating discussion with our Drinking Liberally friends.
Where: The Irish Rogue (13 plasma tv's!!) 356 West 44th St.
Due to a scheduling conflict with Drinking Liberally we have changed the details of the debate watching party tomorrow night. Instead we will be joining staff from the NY Obama HQ downtown at John St Bar and Grill.
NY governor drops immigrant driver's license plan ABC News Do a Putin in India Times of India I remember Vajpayee smilingly saying - 'he edits the paper I edited once'. Putin signed and returned the smile politely. .... Vladimir Putin has emerged as the hero of the Russian people, walking in the shadow of legendary ruler, Peter the great. He is young - just 55 - has definitive ideas for making Russia regain its strength and an independent say in global affairs, rejuvenated the economy and ruthlessly eliminated the terror groups, mostly of the Islamic jihadi variety. ..... He had inherited from his predecessor Boris Yeltsin, the first democratically-elected President of the Russian Federation post-Communist era, a tottering economy, when bagful of roubles (check the spelling please) fetched dollars less than what fingers could count and a virtual parallel rule of the ex-KGB mafia goons from airport to downtown areas. ..... single-mindedly campaigning against terrorism and his catch words were -'eliminate terrorism without talking to rebels'. ...... Putin refused to hold negotiations with Chechen rebel leaders, saying that "negotiations are out of the question because they are senseless''. ..... Today Russia claims hard currency reserves of $303 billion (234 billion euros), the third largest in the world and the government's Stabilization Fund -- used to soak up extra oil revenues and keep a tight leash on inflation -- is close to $100 billion (77 billion euros). Oil production is expected to reach 540 million metric tonnes per year by 2015, up from 482 million at present. ... A black belt in karate ..... Russians, ask in return, is that Bush administration speaking who has unleashed a global military campaign to 'democratise Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and has Iran next on its list? ..... India purchases 70 per cent of its military hardware from Russia ..... a renewed emphasis on creating an India-Russia-China block ..... Putin has been openly critical of a uni-polar world ..... Putin had plans to build four more Russian nuclear reactors in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. .... the nuclear trade with India is still banned till it moves ahead finally with the Indo-US nuke deal. .... No nation on earth is so complacent on security issues and eliminating terror as we are. .... There are daily news reports regarding killings of innocent citizens by Stalinist Maoists and jihadis ... Putin providing military hardware is fine, but our leaders should also take a few grams of courage and a ruthless decisiveness for restoring peace and national pride from him. Pakistan opposition tries to unite against Musharraf Reuters Canada Police detained cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan after he emerged from hiding to lead a student protest against Musharraf ...... After police stifled a protest by Bhutto on Tuesday and put her under house arrest, she announced her talks with Musharraf were over, and for the first time called on him to step down as president as well as army chief. ..... She also contacted old rivals including Islamist alliance leader Qazi Hussain Ahmed and Sharif's party to try to unite on a "minimum agenda"; the ouster of Musharraf and formation of a neutral government to organisorganizee fair elections ........ Analysts say Bhutto's refusal to deal with Musharraf had isolated the president, though he retained the crucial backing of the army and the support of a disparate group of politicians expected to do badly in the polls. .... Pakistani shares ended 2.24 percent down on political worries while the rupee edged to a three-year low. ELECTION NOTEBOOK Huckabee hugs Romney in Iowa pollMarketWatch Edwards campaign struggles but gains speed KCRG Clinton: No Illegal Immigrant Licenses The Associated Press Memo to Obama: No Rush to "Fix" Social Security AlterNet Will absence from South Carolina hurt Clinton?CNN The Iowa caucuses will be held January 3, to be followed by New Hampshire, and then Nevada. ...... former President Clinton, who remains enormously popular with African-Americans and has made four appearances during the last two weeks, suggesting the Clinton campaign will use his presence more and more in South Carolina as his wife works to break out of a tight three-way race in Iowa. ....... "I think her image is being reinforced by the constant coverage by the media," Graham said. "She may not be physically here, but in terms of image and voice she is here." ....... "They continue to say she's the most unelectable because she's so polarizing," Clinton told the crowd. "Well, they have dumped on her for 16 years. They'd all be polarizing too if the right wing of the Republican Party, which controls their politics, had been dumping on them for 16 years. I'd like to see how those boys would stand up to it. I think the girl's done pretty well." ...... Ford said that Hillary Clinton's December and January schedule is "loaded with South Carolina stuff." Poll: Clinton has large lead in Nevada prior to debate Sen. Clinton top pick of 51 percent of likely Nevada caucus-goers ..... Front-runner leads Sen. Barack Obama by 28 points in Nevada .... perception that she is the most electable candidate and the strongest leader in the field ...... Only 42 percent said Clinton had the clearest positions on the issues, and just 41 percent said she was the most likely to say what she believes. ...... "It's the view that she's tough. She's experienced, and she's a winner." Spitzer drops illegal immigrant license plan Rivals criticize Clinton for changing stance ..... Clinton says she will not support licenses for illegal immigrants .... Spitzer says federal government "has lost control of its borders" ....... "New York state cannot successfully address this problem on its own." ....... about 1 million undocumented workers in New York state, "many of whom are driving without licenses ........ Spitzer put forward his proposal in September, saying it would bring New York's estimated 1 million illegal immigrants "out of the shadows." ........ Rangel .... noting that undocumented workers "are part of the economy, they are part of what America's supposed to be." ........ "When it takes two weeks and six different positions to answer one question on immigration, it's easier to understand why the Clinton campaign would rather plant their questions than answer them," Burton said. ..... Seventy-six percent of Americans oppose giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants ..... Members of the New York State Sheriffs' Association voted in October to oppose Spitzer's proposal. Martin: A few states shouldn't decide presidencyIf a candidate doesn't do well in Iowa and New Hampshire, the media attention turns away from them, and then the political dollars dry up, and the packing begins. ....... the hard part is coming up with a plan to which everyone will agree. ...... Iowa and New Hampshire residents want to keep saying it's about tradition. I think it's about money. The TV stations, newspapers, hotels, restaurants, sign companies and other businesses make a ton of dough off these candidates, and they don't want that cash cow to feed others. Matt Damon is People's 'sexiest' Matt Damon has been named the "sexiest man alive" by People magazine, an honor that has been bestowed twice on his pals George Clooney and Brad Pitt. ...... Luciana Bozan ..... "You gave an aging suburban dad the ego boost of a lifetime," he says in a letter published in the magazine. "My 9-year-old stepdaughter now thinks I'm cool -- well, cooler." ....... "all the campaigning" by Clooney and Pitt had finally paid off. Simpson to stand trial charges that could send him to prison for life ....... has pleaded not guilty to 12 criminal counts in connection with what prosecutors contend was an armed robbery. ...... conspiracy, kidnapping, robbery, burglary, coercion and assault with a deadly weapon. ..... Simpson said he was merely taking back items that belonged to him ...... Alexander and McClinton testified Simpson requested they carry guns and "look menacing" during the incident. ...... Fromong and Beardsley were offering more than 600 Simpson-related items for sale Brace Yourself: mccain's Manager Calls CNN 'The Clinton News Network' National Review Online 7 years on, India will be top energy guzzler Hindustan Times Dire climate warning linked to China and IndiaInternational Herald Tribune Sun Buddies Up With Dell Forbes Michael Dell: Going Green Is Key To Industry's Future CRN Michael Dell promises ‘Greenprint’ reference architecture ZDNet Yahoo to pay Chinese families Los Angeles Times Yahoo settles with jailed Chinese journalistsSan Francisco Chronicle War costs could top $1.6 trillion, panel saysMarketWatch UPDATE 2-US Democrats forecast $3.5 trillion in war costsReuters The Iraq and Afghanistan wars could cost the United States $3.5 trillion through 2017 if "hidden costs" like higher oil prices, care for wounded soldiers and interest on borrowed money are counted ....... new report assumed the United States would withdraw about half of its present combat troops from Iraq by 2013 and maintain 75,000 soldiers there from 2013-2017. ........ 3,860 U.S. troops have been killed and 38,164 wounded in Iraq. ..... the Democratic report estimated the total economic cost so far was about double that amount, at $1.6 trillion. ..... the war in Iraq had further hurt the U.S. economy by helping drive up world oil prices World Bank mulls NRS 1600 crore aid for Nepal Hindu Anti-abortion group: Thompson best candidate to beat Giuliani CNN Courting India Tehran Times India is receiving much attention as Asia is replacing the West as the center of economic and military power. .... the country is becoming a second China and even a rival to its giant neighbor in terms of economic importance. ...... the United States and Russia are breaching international regulations by agreeing to build nuclear power plants in India and transfer nuclear technology to the country ..... the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) ..... India’s bid to secure a seat at the UN Security Council has also won backing from some permanent council members including Britain. ..... India is likely to soon initiate formal negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) with giant neighbor China, the third largest destination for Indian goods and the country’s biggest source of imports .... talks are also underway for an India-ASEAN free trade pact, and South Korean steelmaker POSCO plans to start work on a 12-million-ton-capacity steel plant in eastern India by April 2008. The $12-billion plant will be India’s single largest foreign investment project. ...... Iran, an energy-rich country that has close linguistic and cultural ties with India, is also eying India’s power-hungry economy and making serious efforts to finalize the deal for the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline Bhutto Calls for President to Resign New York Times her political party, which usually commands about one-third of the popular vote, will probably boycott the parliamentary elections planned for January ....... her party will pursue an alliance with other opposition groups, including its main rival, the Pakistan Muslim League ....... Riot policemen sealed off the neighborhood using barbed wire and dump trucks loaded with sand. ....... the party had broken off all talks with the government ...... “I prefer to live in Pakistan in jail,” she said, “than to leave.” ....... Pakistan would be suspended from the organization unless the decree was repealed and General Musharraf stepped down as army chief by Nov. 22 Is Obama making his move? Boston Globe Obama Campaign Ratchets Up Offensive CBS News there has been an “important shift in the campaign.” The email claims that Obama is gaining ground on Clinton. “Voters in Iowa and New Hampshire are beginning to focus on the race more intently and are increasingly making decisions. As they do Senator Obama is profiting at Senator Clinton’s expense.” ...... “Senator Clinton has been ducking and dodging tough questions at rapid pace lately” and that Edwards has become an apologist. “John Edwards has apologized for most of his record while in the Senate” Obama Challenges Clinton on Trade DealsThe Associated Press Clinton's doubts about big foreign trade deals came only in the heat of the presidential campaign ...... Obama told the labor activists that there have been few occasions when he's had to switch positions, because he's been on the side of workers since he got into politics 20 years ago. ....... He drew a standing ovation when he vowed to fight any deal that doesn't protect workers and the environment. ....... "Politics didn't lead me to working people," Obama said. "Working people led me into politics. I was standing with American workers on the streets of Chicago 20 years ago. Obama did not want his poems, short stories seen Baltimore Sun the Tribune ....... was preparing an eight-part biographical series on his life. The newspaper had asked to see a couple of the short stories he had written after college during his time as a community organizer in Chicago, a period he has described as one of the most formative of his career. Obama Says Parents Need More Help The Associated Press Obama trades stories of familyConcord Monitor Obama said his mother was just 18 when she had him ........ There were a couple of times when she had to go on food stamps. . . . She was constantly trying to patch things together - scholarships, loans, grants. It took her a long time to complete her education ........ guaranteeing seven paid sick days a year for all employees, doubling the amount of money available for after-school programs and setting up a $1.5 billion fund to help states experiment with ways to provide paid leave. ..... expand the Family Medical Leave Act to apply to companies with more than 25 employees, instead of those with more than 50 ...... expand the act to cover elder care, school activities and the fallout from domestic violence. ...... create a program to help businesses give their employees more flexible working schedules. ....... "When you create flex time, employers are happier, employees are happier, you have greater productivity," Obama said. ....... a tax plan that would give middle-class workers a $500 tax credit to offset payroll taxes ...... support for early childhood education ....... his plan for universal health care, which he says would cut health insurance costs by $2,500 a year for middle-class families by emphasizing preventive care and management of chronic diseases, investing in information technology and streamlining administrative costs. ......... "My mother's experience is duplicated all across the country each and every day." ...... Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women, said Obama's plan was surprisingly similar to Clinton's. ........ Clinton talks more about encouraging telecommuting and goes more in depth on ensuring better access to high-quality child care. ........ While seeming to ignore the roughly 25 reporters with TV cameras and recorders, Obama listened intently to each participant, asking follow-up questions and responding with both policy and anecdotes. ....... "Up until a couple of years ago, we used to go through heck," he said. ...... At the time, Michelle Obama was working full time as a hospital vice president, while Barack Obama was a state legislator who also taught and practiced law. Michelle Obama's mother had not worked professionally, giving Michelle Obama a certain idea of what a good mother did, Barack Obama said. "She's the best mom I know, but she felt that, somehow, if she wasn't there for everything, that somehow she wasn't doing a good job. Then she'd get mad at me," he said. ....... Then, we'd think about, what if we were making less money? ........ I discovered I'd committed an enormous faux pas by actually reproducing while also trying to teach ..... She said she did not have time to both nurse her child and eat her meals, she said, since she needed to eat in the student dining hall, where nursing was not allowed. ........ Obama said a similar issue had come up at his senate office, when an aide returned after maternity leave and told him the building had no convenient place to nurse. ....... "He knows what it is to just barely have enough." As Clinton looks to use attacks to raise money, Obama takes ... USA Today John Edwards thinks "compromise is a dirty word." Which Clinton is really running here?Los Angeles Times They both seem to be popping up everywhere. ...... lest the natural campaigner overshadow the hardworking one in the forced smile and pantsuit ..... Have they made a calculated in-house decision that the narrowing Democratic polls mean she isn't the inevitable winner after all? And she needs to call up the big gun already? ....... he's something of a loose cannon. Twice, in recent weeks he has totally detracted from Hillary's campaign messages by making distracting news himself ....... a ubiquitous Bill Clinton on the campaign trail raises the whole dynasty specter ...... Anecdotes in recent books suggest the couple was often not on the same page. ..... who in their right mind of any substance would agree to be Hillary Clinton's vice presidential partner when she's married to an assistant president already? Hillary Clinton gets snared by a planted question. Slate Student describes how she became a Clinton plantCNN Student says Clinton staffer showed her a binder with about eight questions ....... Student said she was not the only one told what to ask ..... she wasn't the only one who was planted. ..... In an exclusive on-camera interview with CNN, Muriel Gallo-Chasanoff, a 19-year-old sophomore at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, said giving anyone specific questions to ask is "dishonest," and the whole incident has given her a negative outlook on politics. ......... "The top one was planned specifically for a college student," she added. "It said 'college student' in brackets and then the question." ...... "I don't know whether Hillary knew what my question was going to be, but it seemed like she knew to call on me because there were so many people, and ... I was the only college student in that area" ...... "I heard another man ... talking about the question he asked, and he said that the campaign had asked him to ask that question." ....... a Clinton intern spoke to her to say the campaign requested she not talk about the story to any more media outlets and that if she did she should inform a staffer. ....... Geoffrey Mitchell of Hamilton, Illinois, on the Iowa border, said the Clinton campaign wanted him to ask a certain question at an Iowa event in April. ..... Mitchell said he had never met the staffer before the event. ..... "The problem here is it feeds a damaging perception of Hillary Clinton that she can't quite be trusted." New details on Clinton's planted questionBoston Globe Hillary Clinton said in Iowa Sunday that the fact that questions had been planted was "news to me." Her campaign says it will not happen again. The Clinton-Edwards two step ABC News An Impossible Promise From John EdwardsWashington Post
Giuliani Goes Big, Not Early Washington Post Google Co-Founder Page to Wed The Associated Press After Brin's wedding, Mountain View-based Google invested $3.9 million in Wojcicki's biotechnology startup, 23andMe Inc. ..... Southworth was a biomedical informatics doctoral student at Stanford University, where both Page and Brin were studying as graduate students before leaving to start Google in 1998. Page has been dating Southworth for more than a year. ...... Al Gore ... said he still hopes to make an appearance through video conferencing. Now the other Google founder is planning a secret weddingSan Francisco Chronicle attendees were asked to bring a passport. ...... Southworth and Page are poised to become players on the international social scene by virtue of his wealth and connections. They've been seen at parties around the Bay Area, including a dinner for Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter and his wife, Anna, hosted by jet-setter Denise Hale at the Ritz-Carlton in October 2006, and in Hollywood at the Vanity Fair post-Oscar party in February this year. ..... "She's stunning and bright, and he's very attractive and bright." From Danger's realm come Android's makers CNET News.com Android is based on the work of Andy Rubin and several other founders of Danger. Google acquired their newer venture, Android, in 2005. ...... a mobile mashup platform. That is a new concept for cell phones. So the developer can now stand on the system platform and take advantage of other developers' work for the first time. So, that just creates more flexibility for the developers, less work, faster turnaround, rapid prototyping ...... One of the advantages of Linux is, it's a pretty prevalent operating system. The portion of Linux that we use for Android is just the kernel portion, and the benefit of kernel, of course, is that it's been already ported to all the varieties of semiconductors that run in cell phones. ....... The platform is completely open in a variety of ways. Of course it has open APIs, but it's also open source, and it being open source means it's (open to inspection). So expect to have the entire industry crawling all over the source base, trying to make sure that there aren't security issues, and there aren't inefficiencies in how the platform is designed. ........ semiconductor companies, OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), carriers, software companies, and commercialization partners ..... Google's mission is organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and relevant. ....... it's 250 kilobytes, not 3.4 megabytes. ...... minimal requirements are 32 megabytes of RAM, 32 megabytes of flash, and a 200-megahertz online processor ...... MID, or Mobile Internet Device, which is somewhere between a cell phone and a PC. It's a large-display device meant to be primarily an Internet access device. ....... In 2009, there will be single-chip cell phones, so you can go to Qualcomm and get basically a cell phone and a chip ........ ("The cloud" refers to data residing on a server on the Internet that anyone with a computer and an Internet connection can access.) Remember, the cloud didn't exist when the Internet didn't exist--when cell phones first were introduced. So that's part of the game that changed. ........ There are close to 3 billion cell phones out there today. They are pervasive. They're intimate. ..... By having a free and open platform, we're reducing the cost of software, which, in turn, reduces the cost of the cell phone. ....... It's probably the best version 1.0 piece of consumer electronics that I've ever used. ....... Apple has a great business in building really, really high-quality consumer products
