Fitting In Hillary, Obama, Spitzer

In my mind, these are the three star Democrats in America today. There are many other good ones as well, but they are more Secretary material.

Make no mistake, I am for Obama. I want him as president, and I want him now. But I have always liked Hillary, that has never seen a dip. And Spitzer is a racehorse waiting in the wings. You have to watch his hooves. It is hard to imagine this guy will not have a decided go at the White House at some point. His governorship feels too much like a prelude to something bigger.

I have thought of many combos in my mind. I have thought of Obama-Spitzer. But I think Hillary will carry New York in the primaries, and Barack will carry Illinois, but New Jersey, California and the rest are fair game. There is no telling right now if it will be Hillary-Obama or Obama-Hillary. Both sound great.

One scenario is it is Hillary-Obama in for eight years. Then Obama picks Spitzer who has had two wonderful terms as Governor of New York, and he has been preparing hard. He has legalized gay marriage in New York and is now ready to do that nationally. But while he worked on it and on total campaign finance reform in New York, the Democratic White House had to stay away. Spitzer had to go alone and that was fine by him. But he made both work in New York, and now he was ready for the national scene.

So at that point Obama-Spitzer does not look like a continuation of the same old, same old, it feels like a break from the past, it feels like a departure.

And so it is eight years of Obama-Spitzer. And then Spitzer takes a shot at the top job. He wins. The Democrats have an unprecedented fifth term, but that is an okay counterbalance to a coservative domination of the Supreme Court for a generation.

But then the pendulum swings. Some Republican woman who has totally internalized all the social progressive elements traditionally known to be with the Dems denies Spitzer a second term. She symbolizes the post Obama-Spitzer generation. She is from my generation perhaps.

But 20 years is a long time. It will be unprecedented. Usually a party that long in power runs out of steam, or gets too arrogant, or gets hijacked by its extreme elements, or stops acting financially prudent.

So the best bet would be if Spitzer were to spend two terms in Albany acting like he were in opposition to those in power at the White House. And he can do that by acting gutsy on gay marriage and campaign finance reform in ways that those at the federal level simply can't at this point in time.

New York state under Spitzer could become the laboratory for Democrats. The good stuff happens here before it happens nationally.

These three should preside over the transformation of America into an information economy, with a vibrant clean energy industry, universal health care, universal broadband, robust growth rates, balanced budgets, and finally paying down the debt, and a non-apologetic agenda of a total spread of democracy the progressive way, the war with communications technology way.

There is talk Bloomberg might run against Spitzer in 2010. Spitzer will win hands down. Ross Perot also had a lot of money. But Bloomberg is a good man, he will have tried.

Another scenario is it is Obama-Spitzer for eight years, and then Spitzer in for four or eight. Then Bloomberg will stand a chance of becoming Governor.

Obama-Spitzer Vs. Giuliani-Romney
An Obama Spitzer Ticket
Obama, Hillary, Spitzer
Two Terms As Governor



In The News

Iran vows to press ahead on nukes USA Today
Bihar 'doc' uses sword for surgery CNN-IBN
Giuliani blasts immigration bill Boston Globe
Obama rounds out top SC staff WIS
Clinton rejects plan to pull out of Iowa Chicago Tribune Clinton's campaign has considered -- and rejected -- a plan to stop competing in Iowa ...... The recommendation to pull out of Iowa was in a May 21 memo written by Mike Henry, Clinton's deputy campaign manager. ..... The memo said Clinton would have to spend $15 million and 70 days in the state to be competitive there, and suggested that if she did not pull out she might not have the money she would need for the rapid-fire series of contests that follow. The Iowa caucuses are Jan. 14, with the New Hampshire primary eight days later, Florida a week after that and 22 other states including Illinois on Feb. 5. ...... A copy of it was provided to The New York Times by an intermediary who said it had come from a rival campaign.
Clinton Campaign In Trouble? 365Gay.com
Nepal: Prachanda’s fervent appeal to ADB Telegraphnepal.com
Nepal's 'pro-democracy' climbers abandon sick woman on Everest Indian Muslims
India's Tiger Numbers in Sharp Decline Discovery Channel
Analyst bets on Google-Salesforce.com merger Computing The alliance could help the pair compete better with Microsoft ...... an alliance could help Salesforce’s challenge to enterprise applications giants SAP and Oracle, as well as boosting Google’s ambition to create an alternative to Microsoft in client applications. ....... computing is moving away from reliance on in-house IT infrastructure in favour of a web-based model. ...... his ‘end of software’ message ..... Google merging with Salesforce could give the latter more muscle to compete with its much larger rivals. ..... "I'm betting Google buys Salsesforce. Then the question for the customer becomes, ‘who do I trust more to deliver an on-demand enterprise application, Google or Oracle?’." ..... they’re not in the packaged software business.
Google and Dell confirm tie-up will see millions of new Dell PCs pre-loaded with a co-branded home page and Google’s search toolbar. ..... the search giant and PC manufacturer will share revenue from search-advertising fees.
Iran's nuclear ability growing, report says Baltimore Sun
US navy begins war games on Iran's doorstep Reuters AlertNet
Amitabh Bachchan praises Shah Rukh Khan Hindu ``He is a warm and caring person deserving of all the love and affection that the masses give him,'' Bachchan added.
Tabu smitten by older men after acting with Amitabh Bachchan South Asian Women's Forum
Amitabh Bachchan receives standing ovation for Cheeni Kum at Cannes South Asian Women's Forum
Dell to sell 2 desktop PC models in 3000 Wal-Marts MSN Money
Nike Resumes Soccer Ball Production in Pakistan CSRwire.com (press release)
Ubuntu-powered Dell desktops and notebook arrive Desktop Linux

Google's Latest Investment Is A Family Affair The Age The union of Brin, 33, and Wojcicki is a Silicon Valley love story. She is a daughter of a professor at Stanford University, where Brin and Larry Page were students when they started Google in their dormitory rooms. Her sister, Susan, rented the garage of her house in Menlo Park, California, to Brin and Page to use as offices for their nascent Internet search company when it launched in 1998. Susan Wojcicki went on to be a vice president at Google.

Canada to resettle 5000 Bhutanese refugees in Nepal People's Daily Online
Iran 'makes further nuclear progress' Guardian Unlimited
UN Nuclear Agency Warns of `Deteriorating' Iran Inspections Bloomberg
Linux users say 'Sue me first, Microsoft' Computerworld
Democrats Blink, Angering Antiwar Ranks U.S. News & World Report even House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she "was so disappointed" that she might actually vote against the bill.
Broken wheel uncovers clue to life on Mars Telegraph.co.uk
Google’s Indian Brain Power: Amit Patel Makes Google Trendy INDOlink Krishna Bharat who delivered Google News - a grand experiment in news browsing - using computers and the “Hilltop algorithm” he developed for his Ph.D at Georgia Tech. ...... Anurag Acharya. With a Ph.D from Carnegie Mellon who worked on including scholarly literature by improving Google’s indexing, automatically extracting metadata and ranking for scholarly literature. He then helped weave this information into Google web search - and Google Scholar was born. He predicted that Google Scholar “would be a place that you can go to find all scholarly literature -- across all areas, all languages, all the way back in time.” ........ Amit Patel, one of the worlds top search patent inventors and a six year veteran at Google. ....... Hot Trends, a daily list of the 100 hottest topics on its search engine.
Obama's Wife Quits Post On TreeHouse Foods Board CNBC
Obama's wife quits Wal-Mart supplier Chicago Tribune
Michelle Obama on Her Family and How She and Barack Started Dating ABC News Perhaps the family's biggest adjustment has been in the realm of personal security. After unspecified threats and overwhelming crowd sizes, Obama was the first of the 2008 presidential candidates to be assigned a Secret Service detail. It's a change that the couple's two daughters, 8-year-old Malia and 5-year-old Sasha, have taken in stride. ...... the girls met everybody and they walked up to the guys and asked, 'Do you sleep, do you sit down, do you get to eat?' And then the next morning we woke up and Sasha, our youngest one, came on and said, 'Mommy, are the secret people still here?' I said, 'They're still here.' And she said, 'OK.' She called them 'the secret people.'" ......... "They understand that their dad is running for president … but they really aren't directly interested" ....... "Because I went to Harvard and he went to Harvard, the firm thought, 'Ah, we'll hook these two people up.' ....... Barack, about a month in, asked me out ...... And I thought no way, this is completely tacky. … It took about a month or so for him to talk me into going out on a first date." ........ Barack Obama was a Renaissance man on that first date. ....... "I knew that I liked him a lot. He was cute and he was funny and he was charming, without, you know, being arrogant. Just a good guy." ....... The ease with which he connected with people as both a downtown attorney and a community organizer on Chicago's South Side was what really won her over. Michelle Obama admitted she had preconceived notions about her biracial, Hawaii-bred husband, but she said that once she got to know him, all were proved wrong. ........ "We've both brought our unique experiences to this thing that we call our family. So I bring the stability piece, but he brings that sort of 'Let's try this big thing, and wouldn't this be wonderful, and look at what we could do, and let's not be afraid,'" she said. "And I like that balance."
Clinton Dancing Around Edges On Iraq MSNBC
Survey: Most US muslims moderates San Jose Mercury News
India sees 8.5% growth in 2007-08 Livemint
Iran can withstand any form of aggression - defense minister RIA Novosti
US navy in show of force off Iran Aljazeera.net
Google pays $4.7m for wife's start-up The Age
Google invests in startup of co-founder's wife CNN
Google and the genome start-up: a sweetheart deal? CNet News.com Blog
Sell Spectrum Like Ads, Google Says PC World Google proposes a spectrum policy that allows would-be service providers to bid real time in an auction for the right to use a piece of spectrum for a given period of time in order to deliver services to phones or other devices. The auction system could be similar to AdWords ..... The proposal will "bring innovative new broadband-based applications, services, and devices to all Americans" and bridge the digital divide ....... phones that could constantly be sniffing for available spectrum and the best price to use that spectrum for a given period of time. ....... Google's proposal is specifically regarding the upcoming auction of 700MHz licenses. The spectrum has been used by television broadcasters but with the migration to digital transmission it is becoming available for wireless or other services.
Google proposes real-time auction for US bandwidth Techworld.com

Battle of the Presidents: Carter vs. Bush FOX News "..this administration has been the worst in history." ..... I wasn't comparing this administration with other administrations throughout history but just with President Nixon's ..... I think he is proving to be increasingly irrelevant with these kinds of comments ..... Carter, whose administration was plagued by sky-high inflation and a 444-day American hostage crisis in Iran ...... discuss the Iraq situation with Iran and Syria

Richardson Ready To Make Run Official NBC5.com
Richardson to Highlight Hispanic Ties Wall Street Journal Nevada, Florida and California ..... California also is Richardson's native state, thanks to some careful planning by his father. William Blaine Richardson Jr., an American banker living in Mexico City, sent his Mexican wife to the Los Angeles suburb of Pasadena to give birth to ensure there would be no questions about his child's citizenship. ....... Richardson has raised $6.2 million in the first three months of the year .... his campaign always said he would focus more intensely on fundraising after the first quarter. ..... proposing to all but end the country's reliance on oil and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2040. ...... the nation needs a "man-on-the-moon" effort to develop technologies that will cut energy costs and halt global warming.

Sen. Clinton insists her position on war same as Obama's Raw Story Hillary Clinton responded to anti-war salvos from Barack Obama
Clinton: Universal Pre-K possible Chicago Tribune Universal Pre-K: The next frontier in public education. ..... federally sponsored, voluntary Pre-Kindergarten classes for all children .... Florida, which is one of the pioneers of universal Pre-K .... one of the first states in the lineup of early ’08 party primaries. ..... it will initially cost the federal government $5 billion a year to match state funding for Pre-K for all children and the cost will climb to $10 billion annually ... But the payoff in student achievement, the senator says, could be immeasurable. ......Most four-year-olds are not enrolled in state-provided Pre-K classes today, she notes: 80 percent. ... children who attend Pre-K classes are less likely to repeat a grade
Clinton Proposes Pre-Kindergarten Program For All 4-Year-Olds MyFox WGHP
Rebuilding New Orleans is an 'American obligation:' Clinton China Post told graduates at Dillard University, the historically black school devastated by the storm in August 2005.
Nepal's Government Agrees to Pay Maoist Fighters in Camps Voice of America
Pocket money for Maoist guerrillas in Nepal Economic Times
Nepal Maoists to get monthly pay BBC News
Early primary will give Florida big say in presidential election Boston Globe Gov. Charlie Crist signed a bill Monday moving Florida's 2008 presidential primary to Jan. 29 and shaking up the race by bypassing a dozen other states set for Feb. 5. ...... behind only the Iowa and Nevada caucuses and the New Hampshire primary and on the same day as South Carolina's Democratic primary. ...... Florida has by far the largest population of any of the early voting states set for January and is the most expensive in which to campaign ..... the Feb. 5 primaries scheduled in a dozen other states, including New York and California. ..... the state is seen as a microcosm of the nation with its diverse population ...... the candidates that do well in Florida would get intense media coverage leading into the next week's events in early February ....... Under both Republican and Democratic party rules, states are penalized for moving their primary earlier than Feb. 5. ...... the state would lose 50 percent of its delegates and all its superdelegates -- typically members of Congress. Any candidate who campaigns in Florida for a primary earlier than Feb. 5 will be ineligible for receiving any of the state's delegates ........ The bill Crist signed also requires a verifiable paper trail for all voting machines throughout Florida.
For States, It May be Worth It to Wait New York Times New Hampshire and Iowa have been marginalized. .... California is the new Iowa. ..... Both parties will have nominees by the time polls close on Feb. 5, as voters in a score of 20 states participate in primaries. ...... 22 states are holding their primaries or caucuses on Feb. 5 or are moving toward doing so ...... by that day,... at least five other states — Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina and Florida — will have voted. ...... quite possible that none of them will do well enough to wrap things up on Feb. 5 ..... Aides to Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton said they are putting aside money for this possibility, which suggests how real it is. ...... On March 4, three states with big slates of delegates — Ohio, Pennsylvania and Minnesota — are among the five scheduled to vote. ...... When California voted to shift its primary from June to Feb. 5 ....... simply buying national television time rather than time on local stations. ...... many fairly empty Tuesdays on the primary calendar next spring

Could Modern Medicine Have Saved Lincoln? Washington Post If he had lived, he would at the very least have been partially blind, unsteady on his feet, numb in certain regions of his body and inarticulate. Nevertheless, he might have been able to think and, after much rehabilitation, communicate. ...... Alexander the Great (typhoid fever complicated by Guillain-Barre syndrome) ..... Lincoln survived for nine hours. .... the frontal lobes, the seat of reason and emotional control. ..... He explored the head wound, probing it with a pinkie finger and dislodging a clot -- after which Lincoln's breathing "became more regular." ..... opened Lincoln's mouth, depressed the tongue "and made a free passage for air to enter the lungs." .... At one point Leale "forcibly breathed directly into his mouth and nostrils . . . and improved his respirations." ..... If he survived them, the Everest of rehabilitation would lie ahead.
Health coverage for all Chicago Tribune a false choice in characterizing America's health-reform options as either more spending or less care .... quality care and universal coverage are achievable without additional expense. ..... It is wasteful insurance companies that stand in the way. Single-payer health care -- an established American tradition -- already provides for our seniors, veterans and military servicemen. It is time to make this working model -- Medicare -- available to all. ...... "nightmare bureaucracy" comes from private insurers. One-third of our health spending is squandered on marketing, billing, underwriting, retroactively canceling policies and other useless activities that sustain insurers' profits but divert resources from care. Eliminating this needless expenditure -- not limiting care -- could recover more than $350 billion per year, enough to provide comprehensive coverage for all. ....... Employers have figured out that universal coverage is good business: More cars are now produced in Ontario than in Michigan. .... Public payment would liberate physicians from for-profit HMO dictates over what care they can provide. Patients would have free choice of doctor and hospital. ...... Whereas at least 18,000 Americans die annually due to a lack of health coverage, in a recent survey only 3.5 percent of Canadians reported problems with waits for care. ..... The true problem is that the power of the current system's profiteers -- insurance and pharmaceutical giants -- intimidates lawmakers away from the only proven prescription.
Dell to launch a convertible Tablet PC sometime this year TechWhack
"Sicko" an incisive diagnosis of US health care Reuters Not that "Sicko" avoids Moore's usual oversimplification and cute stunts. But the gist of his arguments is sound ..... audiences in Europe and other markets will want to eavesdrop for the sheer fun of seeing Americans wallow in problems they solved years ago. ...... the travails not only of the 47 million uninsured Americans but also of those who think they have health insurance ..... the health industry spent more than $100 million to defeat President Clinton's universal health care package and currently maintains four D.C. lobbyists for every member of Congress. ....... In a London hospital, Moore milks the no-cost system for all the humor it's worth as he desperately searches the facility for any sign of a billing department. He finds none. ....... In Britain, where the National Health Service was founded in 1948, any attempt to dismantle the system would spark genuine revolution ........ private hospitals in Los Angeles have taken to dumping destitute patients at homeless shelters on skid row

Clinton Falls to Third Place in Iowa Yahoo! News Edwards .. 29 percent. .. Obama ... 23 percent. .. Clinton .. 21 percent .... Bill Richardson .... 10 percent .. the governor is moving up rapidly in Iowa. .... Richardson, who is campaigning in Iowa small towns this weekend, was making the most of his improving position. .... "We have a lot of good candidates running for president," he told friendly crowds. "A lot of them could be in the White House - as my vice president."
Hillary rising in 'meaningless' polls Washington Times national polls this early in the race are nearly meaningless. ..... the numbers that ultimately matter are the poll ratings in the first caucus and primary contests in January. .... in some of the key early caucus and primary states, the race is much tighter and thus more vulnerable to upsets ..... in Iowa ... May 16 showed Mrs. Clinton edging ahead of him by two points, with Mr. Obama close behind. .... South Carolina ... Mr. Obama was leading her for the first time by a four-point margin. .... New Hampshire ... May 14-15 showed she and Mr. Obama in a statistical dead heat .... there has been a rise in many of the polls for Senator Clinton since the debate
Obama's Wife: 'It's His Time' ABC News if he connects with Americans .... Michelle Obama contends that Americans want a new approach to politics that only her husband can offer. ..... I've reduced my work hours at work. I will probably have to take a leave at some point.
It’s Mr and Mrs Obama versus the Clintons Indian Express

Critics launch attacks on immigration reform bill Chicago Tribune 380-page measure .... Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called the proposal the "last, best chance we'll have as a Congress" to enact immigration reform. ..... The bill would establish a merit-based, temporary guest worker visa program for new immigrants, while eliminating the backlog of legal immigrant applications and legalizing the status of undocumented workers currently in the country...... Menendez said he couldn't support the bill because of the stringent restrictions it would put on temporary workers and their families. ...... other lawmakers, including Sens. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.), have said they would not support it unless key changes are made to the guest worker program. ...... legislative emphasis on border security, strict rules on employment and specialized programs for agricultural workers and military personnel ...... It will be very difficult, excruciating, like crawling over broken glass…but it's never been more likely that we could get a bill done than this year.
The Immigration Debate New York Times swing districts and states where immigration has practically become a new third-rail in politics. ..... Among some Democrats, objections already raised were the moves toward a point-based system that shifts a bit from the family-based connection to citizenship, and others, including some labor groups like the AFL-CIO, worried that the plan would drive down wages and create two classes of workers. ......the busy right blogosphere, where this issue is a touchstone ..... Bush-Kennedy immigration plan ..... the illegal status of some of those charged with plotting an attack on Fort Dix
A 'Troubled' Immigration Reform Proposal BusinessWeek
US immigration bill attacked from left and right ABC News
Kennedy Acknowledges Immigration Worries Guardian Unlimited, UK
Kennedy Defends Immigration Compromise CBS News, NY
Bipartisan immigration deal reached Chicago Tribune, IL
Immigration deal earns right's scorn, left's support San Francisco Chronicle, CA
Deal May Legalize Millions Of Immigrants Guardian Unlimited, UK

Bill Richardson

Bill Richardson for President
Bill Richardson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Chairman of the Democratic Governors Association in 2005 and 2006, overseeing the Democrats' re-capturing of a majority of America's governorships. ..... Bill Richardson was raised in Mexico City, but his parents sent him to Massachusetts at age 13 to attend a Boston-area preparatory school. ...... While still in high school, he met his wife, Barbara Flavin. They have been married for 33 years. ..... As a congressman, he kept his interest in foreign relations. ...... Richardson was asked by the White House in 1997 to interview Monica Lewinsky for a job on his staff at the UN. Richardson did so, and offered her a position, which she declined. ...... Richardson created the Director for Native American Affairs position in the Department in 1998, and in January 2000 oversaw the largest return of federal lands (84,000 acres) to an Indian Tribe (the Northern Ute Tribe of Utah) in more than 100 years. Richardson also directed the overhaul of the Department's consultation policy with Native American tribes and established the Tribal Energy Program. ........ He took office in January 2003 as the only Hispanic Governor in the United States. ....... In 2006, Forbes credited Richardson's reforms in naming Albuquerque, New Mexico the best city in the U.S. for business and careers. The Cato Institute, meanwhile, has consistently rated Richardson as one of the most fiscally responsible Democratic governors in the nation. ....... Richardson the most successful governor at the ballot box in New Mexico's history ..... In December 2006, Richardson announced that he would support a ban on cockfighting in New Mexico. ...... Richardson signed a bill into law that made New Mexico the 12th state to legalize marijuana for medical reasons. ....... Richardson has been nominated four times for the Nobel Peace Prize (in 1995, 1997, 2000, and 2001)
Welcome to the New Mexico Office of the Governor, Bill Richardson
America for Bill Richardson | Growing the netroots of Bill ...
Bill Richardson News - The New York Times
Bill Richardson | 2008 Presidential Candidates | washingtonpost.com
Bill Richardson on the Issues
Bill Richardson | TIME seven terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, ambassador to the United Nations, Secretary of Energy under Bill Clinton and, last year, first Hispanic chairman of a national Democratic Convention ..... He also made New Mexico the first state to provide life insurance for National Guardsmen on active duty—a widely copied initiative.
Bill Richardson News - MSNBC.com
bill richardson
The Bill Richardson Blog
Project Vote Smart - Governor Bill Richardson (NM)
Ed Morrissey: Richardson could be ’08’s most dangerous candidate ...
N.M. Governor Joins Presidential Race - washingtonpost.com
GOP.com | Republican National Committee :: Meet Bill Richardson (D-NM)
YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.










In The News

Bill Richardson officially declares bid for Democratic ... International Herald Tribune, France
Gov. Bill Richardson formally announces his candidacy for president Minneapolis Star Tribune (subscription)
Bill Richardson Officially Throws His Hat In The Presidential Race Portable Planet
Bill Richardson Enters 2008 US Presidential Race Voice of America
Bill Richardson Enters '08 Presidential Race My Fox Colorado.com, CO
Bill Richardson To Seek Dem Presidential Nod Post Chronicle
Bill Richardson enters 2008 Democratic presidential race AlaskaReport, AK
Bill Richardson: Governor Bill Richardson Reaches 10% in Iowa and ... All American Patriots (press release), Sweden
Biographical details of Bill Richardson San Jose Mercury News, CA
Bill Richardson: Did You Know That He is Mexican? Wonkette (satire), DC
Richardson and the Hispanic Factor New York Times, NY
Richardson Plays Up His Mexican Roots Washington Post
Richardson joins crowded Democratic W.House field Boston Globe, MA

Al Qaeda Strikes India, Wants Hindu-Muslim Riots

I wrote the title for this blog post even before I read any of the news items on the topic. Just scanning through the headlines told me enough: I saw Al Qaeda fingerprints. They did not attack any ordinary mosque, but a rather historic one, so it would resonate among Muslims across India and beyond. They did not attack a temple. They attacked a mosque. They want the Muslims angry, and on their side.

To be fair, to be Muslim in India is to be African American in America. All the major socio-economic indicators indicate the Muslims in India lag behind. But religious riots and terrorism are a whole different ballgame. India has a Muslim president. The Hindi film industry has many top Muslim artists. Some of the top entrepreneurs in India are Muslim. India is a vibrant democracy. When the Muslims get angry at you, they vote against you to humble you, they don't fantasize about joining some terrorist organization. And they recently did in the largest Indian state of Utter Pradesh. They humbled the incumbent Chief Minister.

It is super important to make sure both the Hindus and the Muslims understand what the motive was behind this particular attack. If the result of this attack is some kind of a Hindu-Muslim riot, small or big, the Al Qaeda has won, and India has lost. The India Muslims are a smart bunch, but they do need to be fed the right information, the accurate information, the full-fledged information.

This incident also tells us how sick of an organization the Al Qaeda is. It kills Muslims. They kill people they claim to fight for. They did that in Iraq. Blasting Shia mosques would anger the Shia. So they did it. Is that their version of Islam? Go destroy mosques? Kill Muslims?

Indian Muslims instead will teach democracy to the Muslims across the world.

Bush Nabbed Saddam, His Mandate Was To Nab Osama (May 17, 2007)
Mumbai Train Blasts (July 11, 2006)

In The News

At least 13 killed in mosque bombing, riots in southern India International Herald Tribune, France killing 13 people — 11 in the blast and two in subsequent clashes between angry Muslim worshippers and ..... wounded 35 .... fears of wider Hindu-Muslim violence in the city, long been plagued by communal tensions — and occasional spasms of inter-religious bloodletting. .... 17th-century Mecca Masjid .... About 10,000 people usually attend Friday prayers at the mosque, and the blast sparked a panic. ...... a huge deafening blast sending bodies into the air .... People were bleeding, running around in a very bad condition ..... Muslims later clashed with security forces in at least three parts of Hyderabad city ..... Police fired live ammunition and tear gas to quell the riots ..... Authorities across India were told to be alert for any signs of Hindu-Muslim fighting, and top officials called for calm. ..... the city's police chief, Balwinder Singh, said the death toll could rise. ..... Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Andhra Pradesh's chief minister, appealed for calm between Hindus and Muslims. .... Prime Minister Manmohan Singh "has condemned the bomb blast in Hyderabad and has urged members of all communities to maintain peace and communal harmony" ..... one bomb went off about 1:30 p.m., and police found and defused two others afterward. ..... The explosion immediately drew comparisons to a Sept. 8 bombing of a mosque during a Muslim festival in Malegaon, a city in western India, that killed 31 people. ..... an estimated 130 million Muslims among India's 1.1 billion people. ..... India's worst religious violence in recent years was in 2002, in western Gujarat state. More than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in Hindu mob revenge attacks after a train fire killed 60 Hindus returning from a religious pilgrimage. Muslims were blamed for the train fire. ....... A series of terrorist attacks have hit India in the past year, including the July bombings of seven Mumbai commuter trains that killed more than 200 people. Most of the bombings have been blamed on Muslim militants based in neighboring Pakistan, India's longtime rival.
11 killed in bombing of historic mosque in India MSNBC
Attack bears stamp of LeT Economic Times, India In what appears to be a frame-by-frame repeat of last year’s Jama Masjid blasts in New Delhi and Malegaon explosions in Maharashtra, jehadi outfits and their local links struck terror by exploding a low-intensity IED during Friday prayers at the historical Mecca mosque in Charminar area of Hyderabad. Though the IEDs were not very powerful, the explosion killed 12 and injured 50 as the congregation was quite large on Friday. ....... intelligence agencies feel the attack bears a stamp of the LeT-Simi network, also suspected behind the Malegaon blasts. This is evident both from the nature of the explosives suspected to have been used — ammonium nitrate with an attached timer device — and the motive of fomenting communal trouble by targeting members of a particular community. ..... the bombs were planted at the site where ablutions are performed before offering prayers. The explosives used were low-intensity just like those used in Malegaon, establishing that the central purpose was not to cause high casualties, but to create a scare as well as drive a communal wedge by pitching one community against the other. ........ The jehadis nearly seem to have succeeded on Friday as the blasts were followed by protests and stone-pelting by Muslims both in Hyderabad as well as in other parts of the country. .... fits into the pattern of jehadi groups like LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammad attacking religious places in collusion with local outfits like Simi. ..... The earlier attacks have targeted key Hindu religious places including Raghunath temple in Jammu, Akshardham in Ahmedabad, Ram Lalla temple at Ayodhya and Sankat Mochan temple in Varanasi. It is when none of these attacks were followed by communal riots that the jehadi outfits turned their attention to mosques.
Mosque Explosion in India Kills 11 Arab News, Saudi Arabia
India mosque bomb kills 13 Sydney Morning Herald, Australia
12 dead after bomb blast in Indian mosque NEWS.com.au, Australia
13 Die in Explosion, Clashes in India San Francisco Chronicle, CA
13 die in explosion, clashes in India San Jose Mercury News, CA
13 Die In Explosion, Clashes In India Guardian Unlimited, UK
High alert in Delhi following Andhra mosque blast Hindustan Times, India
13 die in explosion, clashes in India Houston Chronicle, TX
Mosque bombing kills 13 amid riots Ireland Online, Ireland
Nine killed in Hyderabad mosque blast, 3 die in protests Reuters India, India
Nine killed in India mosque bomb NEWS.com.au, Australia
Five killed, 16 injured in blast at Hyderabad mosque Hindustan Times, India
Explosion at historic mosque in southern India kills 7, wounds dozens San Diego Union Tribune, CA
Seven killed in Hyderabad mosque bomb blast Reuters India, India
Mecca Masjid has witnessed protests before, but never a blast Hindustan Times, India
6 killed, many hurt as bombs go off in Hyderabad mosque Times of India, India
Delhi on high alert after Hyderabad blast Economic Times, India
Five killed in bomb attack at historic Indian mosque Belfast Telegraph, UK

Verizon's Global BlackBerry The new Verizon phone is a breakthrough, the first BlackBerry that works on both of the world's major mobile technologies. ...... international data pricing ....voice calls are still a painful $1.29 or $2.49 a minute ..... You get unlimited e-mails and other data in 60 countries for a $20 surcharge to the $45 monthly BlackBerry Service, on top of a domestic voice plan. ..... if rock-solid e-mail is your top priority, the BlackBerry may be your smartphone of choice.
Craigslist's Ongoing Success Story BusinessWeek among the Internet's most trafficked sites ..... the site has been profitable since late 1999 .... took in $25 million in revenues last year, but it's clear that that the site could be worth more—very much more. ...... our users aren't asking us for text ads so we don't have them ..... the more we can get out of the way and let users do things for themselves ..... The site has been hammered into shape by millions of requests over 12 years. ..... People aren't looking for the interface to be exciting. They're looking to it to be fast, reliable, and easy to use. ...... If enough users flag it, it comes down automatically. Inappropriate ads usually come down within a few minutes. ...... the law that insulates online service providers from being held responsible for content posted by users ...... We're in the top 10 companies in traffic with a staff of 24, whereas the other companies on that list have staffs of more than 10,000. ...... We invested in open source software from the beginning. ..... We don't have sales and marketing. We mainly have engineers. We don't have meetings. ..... We don't have meetings. People can work from wherever they are whenever they want. The tech team is managed on the alpha geek principle. ....... we manage to run a rapidly growing site with page load times that are among the fastest of any company. Open source is a big part of it. ........ We don't even look at what other companies are doing. ..... We're just following up on what our users want us to do.
Microsoft Wants to 'Kill' Open Source Microsoft says the Linux kernel, which controls the software's most basic functions, as well as other elements of Linux and open-source productivity and e-mail software infringe on its patents ....... The GPL prohibits companies that sell or use Linux from paying royalties for technology embedded in its code. ...... Eben Moglen, a Columbia University law professor and former chief counsel for the Free Software Foundation, which controls the GPL ...... "Microsoft has more than 800 lawyers and it looks like they are going to make sure that they remain relevant through legal action." Its actions could affect Google (GOOG) and other companies that make heavy use of Linux ........ Microsoft is bullying other companies by making vague threats ..... Microsoft "wants to kill open source through whisper campaigns ..... "It's hard to get excited about paying Microsoft's poll tax when Microsoft refuses to substantiate its claims."

Michelle Obama Adds New Role to Balancing Act New York Times a woman who has said she dislikes politics is assuming a starring role in her husband’s campaign ....... kneeling next to two little boys and their sister to inquire, “Which one of you is the troublemaker?” ....... “I’m sure this guy is weird,” she said, describing her initial reaction to her husband’s name. ....... She has a propensity for bluntness and a fierce competitive drive. ...... Nancy Reagan (regarded as too adoring of her husband) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (too eager to share his job), to say nothing of spouses of losing candidates, like Judith Steinberg Dean (too absent) and Teresa Heinz Kerry (too outspoken). ...... Mrs. Obama, 43, is trying a fresh approach: running as everywoman, a wife, professional, mother, volunteer. ...... Hawaiian-Indonesian-African-Midwestern sensation ...... her natural frankness ...... Daughter of a Chicago city pump operator who had multiple sclerosis, she graduated from Princeton and Harvard and juggles her job as a hospital executive with motherhood and civic work. ...... dislikes politics, friends and family confirmed, but not as much as she dislikes losing ........ brainy and warm.... also a force to be reckoned with. ...... she threw herself into her husband’s campaign from the start, asking to meet with aides running every aspect of it. Friends says she is decisive and pragmatic, perhaps more so than the candidate. ....... At a black church in Cincinnati last week, the audience mmm-hmmm-ed approval throughout her speech. ...... “I wake up every morning wondering how on the earth I am going to pull off that next minor miracle of getting through the day” ....... dinner-together-every-night childhood ..... 4:30 a.m. treadmill sessions and meals prepared at lightning speed. ....... To help out, Mrs. Obama’s mother will retire this summer from her job as a bank secretary and care for the girls more frequently. ..... now she is ceding her career to his, reducing her time at the hospital to a 20 percent commitment (and her paycheck to $42,436 from $212,180) ...... the hospital, where colleagues say she excels at tackling thorny problems
Obama Disputes Claim of Sharing Clinton’s Stance on War New York Times a fundamental question of judgment was at issue. ...... we had a fundamentally different opinion on the wisdom of this war ..... until yesterday, Mr. Obama had not been so direct in contesting Mr. Clinton’s claims that there was little difference between the two hopefuls. .... she unequivocally supported the plan to end war financing next spring.






Body No.13 - Part 1
Body No. 13 - Part 2

Black Friday Part 2 Banned Movie
Black Friday Banned Movie Part 3
Black Friday Part 4
Black Friday Part 5
Black Friday Part 6
Black Friday Part 7
Black Friday Part 8
black friday part 9
black friday part 10.1
black friday 10.2
black friday part 11.1
black friday part 11.2
black friday part 12
black friday part 13

Bush Nabbed Saddam, His Mandate Was To Nab Osama

Path to 9/11, Part One, Section 01
Path to 9/11, Part One, Section 02
Path to 9/11, Part One, Section 03
Path to 9/11, Part One, Section 04
Path to 9/11, Part One, Section 05
Path to 9/11, Part One, Section 06
Path to 9/11, Part One, Section 07
Path to 9/11, Part One, Section 08
Path to 9/11, Part One, Section 09
Path to 9/11, Part One, Section 10
Path to 9/11, Part One, Section 11
Path to 9/11, Part Two, Section 12
Path to 9/11, Part One, Section 13
Path to 9/11, Part One, Section 14
Path to 9/11, Part One, Section 15
Path to 9/11, Part One, Section 16
Path to 9/11, Part One, Section 17
Path to 9/11, Part One, Section 18
Path to 9/11, Part One, Section 19
Path to 9/11, Part One, Section 20
Path to 9/11, Part One, Section 21
Path to 9/11, Part One, Section 22
Path to 9/11, Part One, Section 23
Path to 9/11, Part One, Section 24

How To Get Osama?

• Use extensive human intelligence. Penetrate his organization. Could 1,000 Arab looking, Arab dressed US infiltrators not go into Pakistan's Northwest territory to do the job? If he is there, why can't you track him down? Let the thousand assimilate into the population. Equip them with the most sophisticated communications technology.
  
• Don't just fight the symptom, fight the disease. Don't just fight the mosquitoes, drain the swamp. Spread democracy Arab country after Arab country after Arab country Nepal's April Revolution way. Organize a Matrix in New York City. The Arabs can do it themselves. Be consistent. All monarchies will have to go. And be fair to the Palestinians. Give them a state asap. Build political parties in all Arab countries.
  
• Seek a political solution in Iraq.
  
• Don't strike with blunt weapons and armies that were trained to fight standing armies. Instead operate like they operate. This is guerrilla warfare. (Guerrilla warfare - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
• Confront racism in the West. Democracy is not a form of government where non-whites are made to feel lesser.
  
• Democracy in Pakistan will be a good thing for the War On Terror. Democracy i-s the cure. The love affair with Musharraf is misplaced, misguided.
• Being able to predict his future attacks. That is very hard to do. It is hard to figure out where he will strike next. The whole world is his stage. But if governments across the world with their intelligence agencies working in cohorts with each other were to keep closely watching the Al Qaeda affiliated groups, preventing future attacks might not be rocket science. The world might be a big place, but the members of Al Qaeda are only so many. That finity is what should offer hope. You tackle the problem from the other end.
  
• Summary: drain the swamp, but also kill mosquitoes.
  

Al Qaeda Strikes Back Foreign Affairs Bruce Riedel By rushing into Iraq instead of finishing off the hunt for Osama bin Laden, Washington has unwittingly helped its enemies: al Qaeda has more bases, more partners, and more followers today than it did on the eve of 9/11. Now the group is working to set up networks in the Middle East and Africa -- and may even try to lure the United States into a war with Iran. Washington must focus on attacking al Qaeda's leaders and ideas and altering the local conditions in which they thrive.

In The News

Australian Bin Laden plotter released early from jail Scotsman, UK
Lawyer: Boca doc's case only al-Qaida innuendo The News-Press, FL
British govt. negotiating with jailed Bin Laden associate to free ... Ha'aretz, Israel
Foiled Terror Plot Update Saudi Arabia United States Relations, DC
Apoorva Lakhia's next film on Osama Times of India, India Lakhia is not the only Bollywood director planning to bring global terrorism to Hindi cinema. Ram Gopal Verma has a mammoth project entitled Ek tackling international cross-border terrorism. Even his Gabbar in Ram Gopal Varma Key Sholay will be seen fraternising with international terrorists.
Osama Bin Laden alive: Hekmatyar Daily Times, Pakistan The Al Qaeda leader’s long silence ..... The most recent video of bin Laden was released in late 2004 and the last audio recording surfaced in mid-2006.
Is Osama bin Laden alive? Times Now.tv, India "According to my information, Osama is still alive. I believe it is good that he does not appear in the media, and that it is wise that no statements or tapes are issued even after a long while,” said Hekmatyar. ....... In January, there were reports that fighters loyal to his group had helped Bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahri escape a massive US-led hunt in eastern Afghanistan in late 2001. ..... he could be spinning a story to mislead the forces.
Osama bin Laden laid low Melbourne Herald Sun, Australia

On The Web

Osama bin Laden - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
frontline: hunting bin laden | PBS
Osama bin Laden: Profile
BBC NEWS | World | South Asia | Who is Osama Bin Laden?
CNN In-Depth: Osama bin Laden
FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive - Usama Bin Laden
Osama bin Laden News - The New York Times

New York Times

THE REACH OF WAR; NEW GENERATION OF QAEDA CHIEFS IS SEEN ON RISE leaders have risen from within organization after death or capture of operatives that built Al Qaeda before Sept 11, 2001 ..... group has complex network of human couriers to evade electronic eavesdropping ...... officials believe Qaeda leadership is more diffuse, with several planning hubs working autonomously and not reliant on contact with bin Laden
Qaeda Rebuilding in Pakistan, Intelligence Chief Tells Panel senior leaders of Al Qaeda were steadily rebuilding the network's bases inside Pakistan and that future attacks against the United States could be planned from Pakistan's remote western mountains
Al Qaeda Resurgent
Taliban Leader Is Said to Promise More Afghan War suicide bombers who have carried out over 100 attacks in Afghanistan in last year acted on religious orders from Taliban ..... statements, if authentic, would be Mullah Omar's first exchange with journalist since he was driven from power in 2001 by American-led invasion of Afghanistan; he is thought to have taken sanctuary in Pakistan

Barack, The Fundamentals: Money, Message, Organization

Technology now makes possible DirectConnect. But the fundamentals do not change. And the fundamentals are money-message-organization. The particulars of each fundamentally change, but the fundamentals do not change.

Money

The first quarter was great. Keep beating the drum. And conserve the money. The month and a quarter to February 5, 2008 will be like one of those countries like India where that one month is where all the action is. You will need the money.

To raise more money than Hillary in the first quarter is a strong message to those who buy into this myth of a Clinton Machine. There is no Clinton Machine. There are voters, and there is you.

How many people donate to you matters. The more the better. Do you manage the money well? That is key. If you can't manage tens of millions, you sure can't manage trillions. That is what this is about. Show you can manage. Raise and conserve for now.

Message

Policy wonkiness can dazzle voters, but that does not always bring them along. And you seem to understand that more than anyone else. But that is no argument against policy wonkiness. Assemble the smartest people on all policy issues. Let them bang heads among each other off camera. You have to have ready access to the very best ideas, the very best arguments. They don't have to come from you, but they do have to come to you.

There's the stump speech. And there it is about connecting with voters, and bringing them along. And there is the speech you go give to a think tank, like this one above in Chicago. There you want to exude sheer substance. You don't have to worry about sounding too wonky. Both matter.

Debates matter. Hillary won two in a row. Poll numbers reflect that. Get on it. Prepare. Deliver.

One National Primary, Monthly National Debates, Videoblogged
Debates Matter: The Election Is On
Barack Lost The South Carolina Debate

Obama Economic Plan
Health Care As A Spectrum
Muscular Gender Agenda

7 Point Agenda For New York City

Obama Gameplan: Stable, Democratic Iraq

Organization

Voulnteers will lead. You just have to provide broad guidelines, and empower them. They will do the work. They have been. The new technology makes it possible for people to self-organize. And they have been doing that. Look at Facebook, look at MySpace. People are thronging to you like to noone else. I mean, I have more MySpace friends than some Republicans running for president.

By the way, you have the best website of any candidate. That speaks volumes.

Long Walk To Freedom
Bad MySpace Move By Barack Obama

In The News

Obama is the poor man among the top tier contenders Chicago Tribune, USA Obama family income of $991,000 ..... Obama reported his family's net worth as between $456,000 and $1.14 million, not including the equity in the Kenwood home he bought two years ago for $1.65 million. ..... Giuliani, a Republican, earned more than $16.8 million last year from an array of firms he owns, including financial, business and security consulting companies, and from speeches. Giuliani received as much as $300,000 for his speaking appearances. ....... Giuliani is worth between $13 million and $45 million ...... Edwards .. reported income of more than $7.1 million, most of it investment returns on a fortune of $29.5 million ....... Bill Clinton earned about $10 million in speaking fees last year and collected nearly $40 million for appearances since leaving office. McCain previously has reported a $15 million family fortune, mostly through his wife, who is the daughter of an Arizona beer magnate. ........ Romney .... will report between $190 million and $250 million in assets. ...... Republican candidate Mike Huckabee earned considerably less from his $74,000-per-year day job as governor of Arkansas last year than from outside activities. He earned $162,000 in speaking fees and book royalties, another $40,000 as an officer of 12 Stops, Inc., a company set up to handle those royalties and fees, and $40,000 for consulting work for the National Association of Music Manufacturers.

Hillary Clinton Widens Her Lead Over Barack Obama PR Newswire (press release), USA In April, he trailed Clinton by only 5 percentage points with 32 percent, compared to her 37 percent. However, a new Harris Poll finds Senator Clinton has since strengthened her position and that Senator Obama has slipped. She now leads Obama by fully 13 points -- 40 percent to 27 percent. ....... Obama leads Clinton among Independents (by 39% to 34%) and among Republicans (by 14% to 7%). ....... 71 percent would consider voting for one of the Democrats and 58 percent would consider voting for one of the Republican leaders

For the first time, nation's minority population tops 100 million Sun-Sentinel.com
Nepal's Appa Sherpa Climbs Mount Everest For 17th Time AHN
Fair is lovely in Bihar's heart of darkness Times of India There are dozens of cases in Bihar of marriage negotiations failing because the girl is dark.
First trains cross Korean Cold War border since 1951 Malaysia Star
Big Google search upgrade San Francisco Chronicle Google Inc. has added videos, book excerpts and local store information on its main results page, eliminating the need for users to visit the company's separate, specialized sites. ...... Google has spent billions of dollars on new infrastructure, and plans to open several data centers in the next few years. ...... Google has proven to be a more-nimble competitor by releasing products at a much faster pace. ..... generates virtually all of its revenue from advertising. ...... Google has expanded into selling banner and video ads, but currently only distributes them to partner Web sites.
Steve Jobs Highest Paid CEO of 2006 Gadgetell, MT He made the $647 million through total compensation thanks to vested restricted stock. ...... Ray Irani of Occidental Petroleum ($322 million), Barry Diller of IAC/Interactive Corp ($295 million), William P. Foley of Fidelity National Financial ($180 million), and Terry Semel of Yahoo! ($174 million).

World Bank Directors Continue to Debate Wolfowitz's Future Voice of America
Dell denies New York Att. Cuomo's fraud charges The Money Times
Dell 'defrauded' PC buyers claim US authorities ComputerworldUK
Hewlett-Packard 2Q Profit Falls 7 Pct. International Business Times
Hewlett-Packard's focus on design gives its PCs an edge International Herald Tribune
Apple is most trusted US brand Macworld UK
AMD Barcelona can potentially smash Intel ZDNet
Cisco to Create Virtual Classrooms at Bapatla Engineering College ... NDTV.com
Cisco Among China’s 25 Most Respected Companies TechWhack
Bride search success for Google co-founder Sydney Morning Herald
Google billionaire ties knotFinance24
Yahoo Names New CFO SDA India Magazine
Yahoo Overhauls Mapping Service SDA India Magazine
The data was lost en route from one IBM location to another DailyTech
Sun Microsystems Announces $3 Billion Share Repurchase Authorization PressZoom (press release)
Sun Microsystems chairman to meet Indian govt for education initiative Forbes
Wal-Mart goes back to "low prices" to boost sales Blogging Stocks
Wal-Mart: Time For Lee Scott To Go Seeking Alpha
Wireless Broadband Utopia: Are We There Yet? Knowledge@Wharton (subscription)
QuickLook: Verizon Wireless Broadband AirCard 595 pocketnow.com