Friday, December 29, 2006

Run, Obama, Run




Reasons to run.
  1. This is not about you. This is about the country. This is about the world. This is the call of a new generation. Step up.
  2. This is about your children, and the children of the world. You want them to have a great future. And so you run.
  3. This is a new century. Old fights need to be laid to rest. There is a need for a certain freshness. There is need for fresh air.
  4. The economy has to be reimagined.
  5. Restore intelligence to the White House. End the dumb war in Iraq. Forge lasting peace. Spread democracy the progressive way. Nudge the Middle East towards a final map.
  6. Export hope to Africa. The dictators need tough love. They need ouster slips.
  7. It is a fairly good career move for a politician. The perks are fine. They play music when you enter a room, things like that.

In The News

Lalu flags off train to Saharsa in Bihar Hindu
China, India investment banks 2006 revenue hits record highs MarketWatch
MetLife to pay $19 million to end Spitzer investigation San Diego Union Tribune
California mourners say farewell to Ford SI.com
NEPAL: UN monitoring of arms and armies to begin
Reuters AlertNet
First UN arms monitors arrive in Nepal Reuters AlertNet
Spitzer Inaugural Includes Tribute to New York Food
WNYC
Spitzer: We'll build a snowman if the weather is bad Newsday
Spitzer's wife gets own office at Capitol Newsday
Apple Clears Jobs; Questions Remain
BusinessWeek
Cindy Sheehan arrested outside Bush's ranch
San Jose Mercury News
NC offers up to $4.7M to lure Google BusinessWeek
Google does no evil, still can’t win
ZDNet
US Urges Inclusive Dialogue on Somalia's Future Voice of America
Google to expand newspaper ads experiment
Guardian Unlimited
Google newspaper tie-up exceeds expectations Direct Traffic News
Saddam's execution expected Saturday, officials say Los Angeles Times
Millions gather for haj climax Times Online
India’s external debt rises to $136.5 bn in September Financial Express
‘Americans are more comfortable with India’ Financial Express
Protecting polar bears: Your e-mails CNN
Holiday iPod Sales May Have Beaten Expectations Mac Rumors
Bush sheltered during tornado alert
Boston Globe
Will you marry me? And live unhappily ever after in China? San Francisco Chronicle
Mike Tyson released after DUI, drug arrest Actress Archives
Tyson to Cop -- "I'm an Addict" TMZ.com
Edward Norton back injury on set of 'The Painted Veil' Monsters and Critics.com
Obesity battle starts young for urban poor Boston Globe
Housework wards off breast cancer Telegraph.co.uk






















Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Laloo Yadav: Future Prime Minister Of India






What are the possibilities?

There are 545 seats in the Lok Sabha. (Parliament of India - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) The chances of his party the Rashtriya Janata Dal getting half those seats on its own are nil. (Rashtriya Janata Dal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

List of political parties in India - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Political Resources in the Net - India I (Parties and Organizations)
Indian Political Parties,Party Profiles,Political Parties in India ...
Political parties of India
India - Political Parties
List of political parties in India: Information from Answers.com
India Election 2004 - Manifestos of Indian Political Parties

The second best option would be the emergence of a Third Front. All the non-Congress, non-BJP parties would come together and go at it. That coalition would best be formed before an election. Maybe such a Third Front will gain a majority. If it does not, maybe that Third Front will still be larger than the Congress, and will get the Congress to support it by default.

A likely scenario would be where the Third Front is larger than the Congress, and a Third Front-Congress coalition takes over power. That is Laloo's best shot. He sure is qualified. He represents what is the Arkansas of India, Bihar. He represents the oppressed castes and Muslims. That is progressive. He has been an excellent Railway Minister. He has more than proven himself.

What comes to mind is a 1996 scenario when Jyoti Basu had the option to become Prime Minister but his party unwisely refused. Laloo will never refuge. Make him the offer he can not refuse.

Even today the seat distributions are as follows:

Congress 145
BJP 138
Rest 260

Should not 260 lead 145? But that asks for the creation of a Third Front, and within that Third Front, Laloo will have to build a coalition that makes it the largest group within that Third Front.

Indian Imponderables
In The News

Amitabh Bachchan, ‘The biggest film star in the world’ desiFans.com, India In 2002, he was voted as the most popular screen and stage icon of all time on a BBC online survey. ..... Singh, steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal – who is of Indian origin – and Bollywood actors Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai each followed with four percent votes each.
Lalu shares wisdom with Harward, Wharton pupils Hindustan Times
After IIM, Lalu makes an impact on Havard, Wharton Moneycontrol.com
Lalu enthralls Harvard and Wharton students Telugu Portal Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, one of India's most popular politicians, Wednesday held a 'class' for 130 students from Harvard and Wharton, outlining in Hindi how he scripted the success story of the country's loss-making railways. ..... The students and their seven professors were clearly spellbound ...... Lalu Prasad hold forth on a subject that has generated tremendous international interest, igniting requests from one country after another to explain how anyone could make the Indian Railways a profitable venture. ....... since childhood I was greatly inspired by Jawaharlal Nehru's vision of Indian railways who rightly understood that this forms the most important part of the country's infrastructure ...... One of the students told a group of journalists later that he was impressed by the minister's witticisms and charisma. ..... The railway ministry gave the students a royal reception, greeting each of them with a garland of marigold flowers and applying the customary Hindu 'tilak' on their forehead. They enjoyed every bit of it, with some among them who had been passed over demanding that the 'tilak' be applied on them. ...... Lalu Prasad greeted them all with warm handshakes as he strolled into the National Rail Museum, located at the edge of the tree-lined diplomatic enclave. Before the "class" began ....... the students, elated to hear about the "magical transformation" story of Indian Railways as an American student put it, conveyed to journalists what Lalu Prasad said - and how they felt. ........ We have come here to understand how he turned around the Indian Railways," said Kunark Singh, an Indian origin student from Harvard who is a native of Bihar. ....... "Indian students like me are happy to come here to attend this class with Lalu Yadav and understand how we can give back to the society," he added....... The students, some of the brightest in the world, bombarded the minister with questions wondering if the railways' dramatic turnaround can be sustained - besides touching upon a rail network that transports 14 million people daily, linking the length and breadth of India. ....... A Pakistani student asked Lalu Prasad if he wanted to be the prime minister of India. The minister, who was calling the students "bachcha log" (kids), replied: "Everyone wants to move up, I also do. But there's no hurry. Right now I am busy concentrating on my work." ....... An American student was curious how despite having been a villager his entire childhood, he can cast a spell on intellectuals. ...... Yastten, a Japanese student from Wharton, said: "I have heard about Indian Railways and its venerable minister. I am very happy to see him in person and listening to him was a great pleasure." ....... "When the responsibility of railways was given to me, it was in a state of bankruptcy," Lalu Prasad said, discussing the findings of the Rakesh Mohan Committee that had forecast that Indian Railways would go bankrupt soon......... "The railways which a few years back was not in a position to pay dividends to the government now boast of a cash surplus of more than Rs.130 billion ($2.8 billion) in a short span of 30 months. This would take a quantum leap to Rs.200 billion by the end of current fiscal," he said in his baritone, interspersed with his usual witticisms that made many of his interlocutors laugh politely even though many did not understand him. ........ Lalu Prasad informed the students: "Over the last 30 months, freight volumes have grown by 8-10 percent and similarly growth in passenger volumes has also been doubled. ....... "On the supply side, increase in axle load coupled with reduction in turnaround time of wagons from seven to five days has contributed to an incremental loading capacity of 170 million tones resulting in revenues of Rs.100 billion."
India minister cleared of charge BBC News, UK A court in India has acquitted railway minister Laloo Prasad Yadav in a long-running corruption case. ... Mr Yadav was charged with amassing 4.6m rupees (more than $100,000) between 1990 and 1997 when he was the chief minister of Bihar state. ..... His wife, Rabri Devi, a former chief minister of Bihar, was also found not guilty by the court. ..... The charges relate to a case known as the "fodder scam", which first came to light in 1996. ..... Mr Yadav was charged with embezzling state funds intended to be spent on animal fodder while he was chief minister of Bihar. ...... The country's top detective agency, Central Bureau of Investigation, had charged the minister with having assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. ..... Reacting to Monday's verdict by a special court in Bihar's capital, Patna, Mr Yadav said "justice has been done". ...... Laloo Prasad Yadav is one of India's most colourful politicians. He leads an influential regional party in Bihar that is allied with the Congress Party in India's national parliament. ...... He resigned as chief minister of Bihar after the allegations of corruption arose. His wife Rabri Devi was installed in his place. .... Mr Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal party lost power in state elections last year.
Graft charge for Indian minister 17 May 05 | South Asia
The lord of Bihar 30 Apr 04 | South Asia
Profile: Laloo Prasad Yadav 22 Mar 04 | South Asia
Bihar politician back in jail 21 Dec 01 | South Asia
Laloo Prasad sent to jail 26 Nov 01 | South Asia
Laloo Prasad taken into custody 05 Apr 00 | South Asia

UN envoy seeks Security Council action for Somalia CNN International
US Signals Backing for Ethiopian Incursion Into Somalia
New York Times, United States
Islamists in Somalia Retreat From Ethiopia-Backed Forces
New York Times, United States
Somali conflict is quickly deteriorating
Los Angeles Times, CA
Ethiopian forces march to oust Islamist leadership in Somalia
San Jose Mercury News, USA
Ethiopian, Somali Government Troops Score Major Advances Against ...
Voice of America
Islamists flee Ethiopian onslaught in Somalia
Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom
Ethiopia predicts victory against Islamists
New Zealand Herald (Subscription), New Zealand
Israel moves to strengthen Abbas Monsters and Critics.com
Regional riots in Nepal border town despite curfew Reuters AlertNet
Poll shows Clinton and Obama are neck-and-neck
Capital News 9
Giuliani Leads Gore, Rodham Clinton for 2008
Angus Reid Global Monitor
And Now: Ford and Toyota?
BusinessWeek
Ford Chief Seeks Ideas From Toyota New York Times

Recovering From Tragedy Washington Post, United States By Bill Clinton ..... more than 200,000 dead; 2 million people displaced; 370,000 homes destroyed or damaged; some 5,000 miles of coastline devastated; and 2,000 miles of roads ruined. ...... Nearly 150,000 homes have been rebuilt or repaired and 80,000 more are being reconstructed. ...... thus far translating some $13 billion in pledges into roughly $11 billion in firm commitments to critical projects. ....... the resilience of the human spirit ...... First, we must get better at managing risk. Climate change and patterns of human behavior ensure that more devastating natural disasters will occur in the future. ....... Second, we should pursue recovery practices that promote equity and help break patterns of underdevelopment. ...... Third, we must recognize that peace is critical to any recovery process. ..... Finally, we must do more to harness the talents of local entrepreneurs and established businesses, domestic and foreign, in relaunching economies. .... we need to do more to turn philanthropists into investors, and providers of access to new markets.

Olmert to meet Abbas in Jerusalem on Saturday Malaysia Star
UN Security Council sanctions Iran over nuclear program
MarketWatch
Declare Nepal a Hindu state, demand religious leaders
Hindustan Times
Maoists call off year-end strike in Nepal
Times of India
Blogtalk: The Koran Debate
New York Times
'Bomb could flood NY tunnels'
News24
Driven out: Hevesi pleads to felony, resigns Troy Record
Few signs of Turkmenistan change
The Age
US strike kills Afghan Taliban leader
Houston Chronicle
Hillary Clinton embarks on media tour
ABC Online
Toyota poised to become top car firm
Toronto Star
China's cotton output unable to meet domestic demand Hindu
Spitzer Secretary of State Is Company Lobbyist New York Times
Indian of the year: Big B again Times of India
Connecticut lawmakers hope to ban trans fats in restaurants Boston Globe
'Rocky Balboa' actually a pretty good movie San Jose Mercury News
Miss USA Contestant Katie Rees Nude Flashing 'Nothing New'
Post Chronicle
Discovery prepared to land, but location unclear People's Daily Online
Tri-Band Test System supports worldwide WiMAX frequencies.
ThomasNet Industrial News Room (press release)
Son performs last rites of living father
Times of India
Spitzer Adds More People to Administration
WNYC
Goode Has A Lot To Learn About Islam: Ellison
All Headline News
Tunnel dangers in New York?
USA Today
NY/NJ Subway Dangerously Vulnerable To Even A "Small Bomb" All Headline News
Bomb 'could flood New York subway within hours' Guardian Unlimited
Wikipedia founder plans search engine to rival Google
iTWire
Google Passes Yahoo in Tally of Visitors
New York Times
Turkmenistan sets date for presidential elections
Independent
Somali militia ready to fight Ethiopians
Houston Chronicle
Dell wants its batteries back
ZDNet.com.au
Soros sees India shining
Daily News & Analysis
Beware of capital inflows, Soros tells India Zee News
Soros Tells Booming India To Avoid Overheating Forbes
Pakistan, India to survey disputed marshlands in January
Monsters and Critics.com
Four Marines Charged With Murder In Haditha Killings
MTV.com
Nigerian Militants Bomb Gov't Facility
ABC News
U2's Bono receives honorary British knighthood Reuters AlertNet

Bono Awarded Knighthood
Voice of America
Rosie Beats Trump, By Numbers
FOX News
NY Requires Health Insurance Coverage for Mental Health Patients
eMaxHealth.com
South Korea plans kills to contain H5N1 High Plains Journal