17: Pakistan Media

Heard, Depp

OPEC Plus agrees to a bigger increase in oil supply. But prices keep rising.
The Amber Heard Verdict Was a Travesty. Others Will Follow. The confounding part isn’t that the jury sided with him over her; this is the country that elected Donald Trump, where the convicted domestic abuser Chris Brown is still a major pop star, and where a man in Indiana recently won a local Republican primary while in jail awaiting trial on charges of murdering his wife. The explosion of defiant, desperate feminist energy that was #MeToo has now been smothered by an even fiercer reaction. #MeToo was a movement of women telling their stories. Now that Heard has been destroyed for identifying as a survivor, other women will think twice. ........ After the verdict was announced, the official Twitter account of Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee tweeted out a GIF of Depp as the pirate Jack Sparrow, looking dashing and determined. If there’s one thing they hate more than decadent Hollywood elites, it’s mouthy women. ........ Depp’s friend Marilyn Manson is already suing the actress Evan Rachel Wood, one of a number of women who have alleged sadistic abuse at his hands. He won’t be the last. ........ One of the statements in her Washington Post essay that was deemed defamatory was, “I had the rare vantage point of seeing, in real time, how institutions protect men accused of abuse.” The trial that she lost proved her point.

When Elon Musk Dreams, His Employees Have Nightmares with Twitter’s stock falling well below his offer price, Mr. Musk appears to be reneging on a deal that has made even Wall Street grow skeptical. ........ The way that he has managed and marketed his businesses from Tesla’s early days reveals a dysfunction behind the automaker’s veneer of technofuturism and past stock market successes.

Often announcing new features without consultation with his team, he forces his employees to bridge the enormous gap between technological reality and his dreams. This disconnect fosters a negligent and sometimes cruel workplace, to disastrous effect.

......... His ability to repeatedly sell such science fiction fantasies to a credulous public is the foundation for a vast empire and fortune. ......... His presence brought no real manufacturing expertise to bear, just the overbearing pressure of a boss whose public shaming was punctuated by declarations like “I can be on my own private island with naked supermodels, drinking mai tais — but I’m not.” .......... the trauma of working for Mr. Musk. Surviving 10 years of the grind at Tesla is a rare achievement, and it is common for talent to be squeezed dry or pushed out before the end of the company’s four-year stock vesting period. .......... This grim environment is all the more pronounced for women and racial minorities. ......... Black workers were tasked with menial physical labor in parts of the factory nicknamed “the plantation,” where they were subjected to racist slurs and graffiti. Female workers have sued, alleging a pervasive culture of sexual harassment and groping by supervisors. Mr. Musk was indifferent, emailing workers who experienced abuse that “it is important to be thick-skinned.” .......... Mr. Musk’s interest lies in supervising entrepreneurial projects that result in flashy new components. In more prosaic areas of the business like manufacturing, service and sales, he tends to get involved only in order to put out the fires that regularly threaten the company’s immediate future .......... When the success of the company is tied to one man’s whims, you get bizarre phenomena like managers deciding whether or not to take issues to Mr. Musk based on the shade of blond of his wife’s hair that day (with platinum shades being correlated with better moods). ......... After the collapses of Theranos and WeWork — companies with similarly confident founders who insisted that they would achieve their soaring ambitions if given more time and money — Mr. Musk’s reliance on hype is especially jarring. ........ Tesla does make cars, and SpaceX does land rockets. But as a number of old promises like fully self-driving cars appear to be more aspirational and less plausible, the distinction between him and those fallen heroes is starting to lose its meaning. His long list of unfulfilled commitments — a fully solar-powered electric vehicle charging network, a fully automated manufacturing system, an autonomous minibus and even a rocket-powered flying car — wildly exceed his achievements. ......... Ultimately Mr. Musk’s goals for Twitter, as they are for Tesla, are not about making the right decisions for his companies or the people who make them possible. They are about playing to the crowd and burnishing the legend that keeps fresh bodies and minds moving through the businesses that chew them up and spit them out. Now if Twitter falls into his control, Mr. Musk will have seized the means of making the product he has always cared about most: his own myth making........ that he was going to vote Republican since Democrats who were “(mostly) the kindness party” are now the party of “division & hate.” That was preceded by a more paranoid one that posited that “political attacks on me will escalate dramatically in coming months” and another saying that the “dirty tricks attacks will be next-level,” leaving out the pertinent fact that next-level is, in fact, a G.O.P. specialty.

Elon Musk, Chaos Monkey “The reality is great highs, terrible lows and unrelenting stress,” he tweeted. “Don’t think people want to hear about the last two.” ....... His ability to articulate the emotional challenges of high-level innovation is why it’s always been so interesting to interview Musk. ......... Musk, through Tesla, has single-handedly pushed the electric vehicle sector into the mainstream and, with SpaceX, has moved space tech into a new age with reusable rockets. .......... Many top entrepreneurs genuinely respect Musk’s tech chops. ....... Twitter has dropped by about 25 percent since he reached agreement on a deal ....... Tesla shares undergirding the acquisition have hit the skids amid the deal talks, falling to nearly $700 this week from about $1,000 when Twitter accepted Musk's offer.

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African Union Head Has Plea for Putin: Release Ukraine’s Grain.
Gov. Greg Abbott Has a Lot of Nerve
Billionaire Candidates and Their Wild Promises
The Actual Malice of the Johnny Depp Trial In this post-#MeToo moment, misogyny and celebrity go hand in hand.
Is It Better to Cook With Coconut Oil or Olive Oil?
The Ascension of Cauliflower Food companies are capitalizing on the low-carb, gluten-free trend by using vegetables like cauliflower to replace flour, rice and other simple carbs.
The Good News in Georgia That’s Bad News for Trump
How Jack Welch Revolutionized the American Economy David Gelles’s “The Man Who Broke Capitalism” examines the impact of one of the country’s most powerful chief executives.
Biden to Travel to Saudi Arabia, Ending Its ‘Pariah’ Status As a candidate, President Biden vowed to punish the kingdom for the brutal assassination of Jamal Khashoggi. But now he wants to rebuild relations as he seeks to lower gas prices and isolate Russia.

#YangMediaBlackout

#YangGang we have dealt with @AndrewYang being left out from MSM too long. @CNN fixed their graphic from yesterday, but what about next time? We shouldn't have to have to raise an outcry for people to #YoutubeAndrewYang or #GoogleAndrewYang. Its time to end the #YangMediaBlackout

— YangGangHub (@yangganghub) August 29, 2019

On this day that we expose the #YangMediaBlackout to the world, while @CNN and @MSNBC and other MSM, please remember to give what you can to the Twitter ActBlue for the campaign so that they can see the power of the Twitter #YangGang#youtubeandrewyang https://t.co/1TyCRGigeh pic.twitter.com/LzlUKYiEuZ

— YangGangHub (@yangganghub) August 29, 2019

The #YangMediaBlackout is unacceptable and should bother anyone that cares about having a fair democracy whether he’s your favorite candidate or not pic.twitter.com/MjfgezuPdR

— Yang is how we beat Trump (@gang4610) August 29, 2019

Yes @cnn may have fixed their graphic after our outcry yesterday but this has been happening for months. We can’t allow a #YangMediaBlackout. Check this out from a few months back...it’s amazing the momentum we’ve built when it took MSM a while to even acknowledge his existence pic.twitter.com/gcjxqNu30x

— Yang is how we beat Trump (@gang4610) August 29, 2019

The media blackout of Yang is dangerous to our democracy. They're actively picking favorites and the #YangGang isn't going to stand for it. #YangMediaBlackout pic.twitter.com/8niO28lKz4

— TeensforYang (@TeensforYang) August 29, 2019

I was thinking that the media may not want @AndrewYang to be the nominee because he talks policy and acts how we would want a politician to behave. This would not be great ratings for media. Better to have a narrative of division then actual policy. #YangMediaBlackout #YangGang

— Maya (@seenmaya) August 29, 2019

The fact that the Real Clear Politics average has @AndrewYang in 6th place (& rising) despite the #YangMediaBlackout is a testament to the unique strength of the message & messenger. It motivates all of us in the #YangGang to work even harder - and to make history in 2020.

— Steve Marchand (@marchandsteve) August 29, 2019

Older Americans still get a lot of their election coverage from local and cable news. The #YangMediaBlackout is obfuscating Yang's policies from these crucial voters! #YangGang #Election2020

— Mayank Gupta (@M_Gupta_) August 29, 2019

Well there you have it, the man vs woman identity politics battle that MSM wants. How about someone who is in touch with the technological revolution we are in and how to solve it? Not divisive enough? 🤷🏻‍♀️ #YangMediaBlackout https://t.co/hvcc7eGXAe

— Tyrene Pamstein (@TyrenePamstein) August 29, 2019

I think this says it all.

#YangMediaBlackout pic.twitter.com/vNTjaoudUB

— Dmit0820 (@dmit0820) August 29, 2019

#YangMediaBlackout Blatant Racial Bias Against Andrew Yang In The Mainstream Media https://t.co/FKr2HkhY3Q @BlacksForYang @eugenegu @larkmorrigan @CarolLandrith @TJCarpenterShow @EricRWeinstein @JoeyGDNBoss @VertDuFerk @grazantuono @YangPolicies @youngthinker024 @TeensforYang

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) August 29, 2019

Blatant Racial Bias Against Andrew Yang In The Mainstream Media https://t.co/FKr2HkhY3Q #YangMediaBlackout @poisson_w @YangGangNation @scottsantens @andrewyang @TasksYang @YangJews @yangganghub @LatinosForYang @scottsanchez @SoCalYangGang @fshakir @briebriejoy @ninaturner

— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) August 29, 2019

A Movie Production House Big Enough For PC

#SpoilerAlert! Or maybe not... because you never really know with #Quantico... @QuanticoTV #QuanticoMondays pic.twitter.com/CS4uRj6FVl

— PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) January 30, 2017

Steve Jobs could not have created the personal computer working inside Hewlett Packard or another similar company. The existing movie studios are like HP. Truly revolutionary cinema would ask not just for acting chops but also an entrepreneurial spirit. The paradigms of racism and sexism that are the firm frameworks of the current corporate arrangements, both in terms of movie production houses and their twin counterpart, the mass media, especially television, would make truly revolutionary work impossible.



Source

A successor franchise to Star Wars, not just in terms of science fiction, technology fiction, but also social science fiction, imagining the woman of tomorrow, is necessarily an anti racism idea. The intelligent life they have been looking for is in Africa and India; the vast cosmos was created so you may feel special, so humanity may feel special. A successor franchise to James Bond, a Cold War relic, is just a nod to geopolitics. The post World War II world order is over. A successor franchise to Jason Bourne, which had a shelf life of a total of three movies anyways, is that Bourne is slightly biologically enhanced; there is massive room for enhancement in the sociological sphere. You would end up with more dramatic results. Would make for great entertainment. It would be a major departure from current ground reality.

The earth is your only home. If God wanted to destroy humanity, He would send one meteor to earth, and another to Mars at the same time, if you might also be on Mars.



I have already started to flesh out the concept. I have no plans to approach any existing movie studio. I am going to create a new company to cocoon the movie franchise. I am going to create a family of companies anyways. What's one more company?

A truly global release would be big money.

Racism is Lucifer's final grip on humanity. That grip is to be broken. That is why I am here. That, and a few other reasons.

Your racist arguments are being supplied to you by Lucifer. He gets insider your head and talks. And you listen.

Sometimes, or maybe often times, the best way to break the glass ceiling is by walking out of the glass house. It's called entrepreneurship. It's called out of the box thinking.

Everywhere to go, everywhere to be.

A Movie Production House Big Enough For PC @QuanticoTV @QuanticoWriters @anthologist @ABCQuantico @QuanticoTV https://t.co/3dID4DRUar

— Paramendra Bhagat (@paramendra) January 31, 2017

A Movie Production House Big Enough For PC https://t.co/3dID4DRUar @BlairUnderwood @jazmasri @JohannaEBraddy @GrahamRogers_ @aunjanuejlt

— Paramendra Bhagat (@paramendra) January 31, 2017

A Movie Production House Big Enough For PC https://t.co/3dID4DRUar@MrJoshHopkins @tate_ellington @PearlThusi

— Paramendra Bhagat (@paramendra) January 31, 2017

A Movie Production House Big Enough For PC https://t.co/3dID4DRUar @ZacEfron @therock @AADaddario @kelly_rohrbach @IlfeneshHadera

— Paramendra Bhagat (@paramendra) January 31, 2017

A Movie Production House Big Enough For PC https://t.co/3dID4DRUar @priyankachopra

— Paramendra Bhagat (@paramendra) January 31, 2017

https://t.co/5zifoV6GFu Probably the best interview of @priyankachopra is by @ndtv @BarkhaDuutt

— Paramendra Bhagat (@paramendra) January 31, 2017

https://t.co/t1tUB4ON75

— Paramendra Bhagat (@paramendra) January 31, 2017

Seeing Priyanka Chopra On The Kapil Sharma Show

Kapil Sharma has reached unprecedented heights in Indian comedy and most of the time he is respectful and playful. But once in a while he shows flashes of arrogance.

Or maybe the media is thoroughly sinful everywhere, expressing the basest sentiments in all societies, especially since it went 24/7 and there is so much time slot to fill. I have never owned a television, and written articles might be less heavy on the gossip angles.

Watching Priyanka Chopra's media interactions in America and India has been educational for me. The American media comes across as deeply racist. The Indian media comes across as super, off the charts sexist.

Perhaps the Robert De Niro route was better. The movie star who defined an era absolutely refused media interviews and when such became absolutely inescapable he would come across as incoherent, a man of a few words, if not grunts, and even a mute. His point was, my work is in the movies. If you like my work, watch my movies. He felt media appearances took away from his movies by diluting his image and the character building in the movies. He was right, but that distance might not be possible no more in this age of media saturation. Robert De Niro must watch in horror as movie stars these days make a movie and then go on the media circuit to promote the movie. He must feel that robs from the audience the movie experience.

And so Kapil Sharma makes this grand super sexist statement on the only movie star to have reached the heights of the two biggest movie industries in the world..... by organizing a band baaja barat. Hillary Clinton took a lot of heat in 1992 for being a career woman. So I guess being a career woman in India is still a really big deal. It is a new phenomenon.

Kapil Sharma is a genuinely talented person, but the super sexism of the society he springs forth from comes through.

It's like a few weeks back I watched an old interview of Priyanka Chopra and it was 30 minutes of the TV show host completely ignoring PC like she was not even there, because she is a woman.

This is sad because PC is ascendant in Hollywood and poised to reach greater heights. That ought to be a self esteem boost to Indians everywhere in all walks of life, a self esteem boost also to Indian men, especially to Indian men. Because there are many more Indian men trying to do things.

https://t.co/wxBQ7wya43 @priyankachopra on @KapilSharmaK9 show

— Paramendra Bhagat (@paramendra) January 2, 2017

Priyanka Chopra to sign Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s next with Shah Rukh Khan?
Priyanka Chopra says she can't say no to Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Will her next Bollywood project be Bhansali's film with Shah Rukh Khan?
Amitabh Bachchan Gets Emotional After Daughter Shweta Hosts A Surprise Dinner
The Bachchans met in the New Year for the first time and Shweta Nanda took over get-together arrangements which touched Big B deeply

Seeing Priyanka Chopra On The Kapil Sharma Show https://t.co/K8WPC9tliz @priyankachopra @KapilSharmaK9 @iamsrk @SrBachchan

— Paramendra Bhagat (@paramendra) January 3, 2017

Trump And The Media

 the ability of the Bush administration to use its power to compel the press to adopt its alternate reality led to the greatest foreign-policy blunder since Vietnam, and the deaths of thousands of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, as well as the rise of ISIS. The consequences are, arguably, immeasurable, and the stats I have mentioned simply cannot do them justice

Trump Is Running To Be Rush Limbaugh

Trump Is Running To Be Rush Limbaugh

This explains it. Trump is not running for president. He is running to build the audience around which to launch the Trump News Network. And he has it. The people who voted for him in the primary are big enough a number. TNN is a viable business proposition. Losing all 50 states would give him the purest, most loyal audience. 20 million people? That's a lot. It's a sufficient number.

Hillary Listens!

Hillary Clinton Listens!

No wonder Germany, Britain and America are all going female! Listening is a good thing.

Although I think she should attempt more poetry in stump speeches. She delivers the penultimate draft. The final draft should be poetry.

And the media is its own beast. Hire a team to deal with it. Use social media more. Videos of her listening can be released on YouTube so others may listen in and skip mainstream media altogether.

In this day and age, you become your own media.

Brian Lehrer's Message To TV Journalists In Town

The Brian Lehrer Show: Reshma Saujani, Carolyn Maloney

Brian Lehrer is a journalist with entrepreneurial tendencies. He just showed his chops to me. You can be working for a big company and get entrepreneurial inside of it. You can be running a NGO and get entrepreneurial.

Carolyn Maloney has decided that the hottest primary race in all of America (Reshma's Is Top Primary Race To Watch In America: BusinessWeek In May) is going to have to suffer a TV blackout. What I want to see is if the TV journalists in this town will let her get away with that.

Brian Lehrer just called Carolyn Maloney's bluff. He figured she is not going to show up if he calls it a debate, so he invited her for an interview instead. And it was not much of a time commitment. All she needed to do was get on the phone for 10 minutes. And Brian Lehrer invited Reshma Saujani for an interview. And he ran the interview one after the other. And it felt like a debate.

This makes Brian Lehrer the top journalist of his kind in this town, print, radio, TV and online included. This guy surely has a trick or two up his sleeves.

I think it is high time TV journalists in this town followed in Brian Lehrer's footsteps.

Charlie Rangel: Monkeyface
Carolyn Maloney: Radioface
Extrapolations
Power Shoe
Hillary's Support For Reshma Can Not Be Spinned Away
Hillary Clinton Just Endorsed Reshma Saujani
Credit For Credit Card Bill Goes To Barack Obama
Maloney, You Are Not Reshma's Role Model
Reshma Is Bigger Than Hillary
Carolyn Maloney Is The Problem
Baruch Plus Radio Plus NY1 Could Work
Carolyn Maloney: Feeling Ugly?
Barack Obama Just Endorsed Reshma Saujani
Carolyn Maloney's Newest Lie

White Media Says The Clintons Won Nevada

White Media's Nevada Call

Barack won more delegates than the Clintons, but white media gave Nevada to the Clintons. Is it because the Clintons are white? Because otherwise the competition was for who got the more delegates. That is how you win the nomination, right?

But white media did not want Barack to get the momentum. They want the Clintons to build on their New Hampshire momentum.

First they called him Osama. And that was not just Fox, that was also CNN. Then they said Hillary was inevitable. Then it looked like he might win Iowa. Then they said if he wins all four of the January states, the race might turn competitive. Unbelievable. Now they have gone ahead and actually snatched away a victory from him. Election results don't count. The people decided Barack won. The white media decided the Clintons won. (If Clinton 08 wins the presidency, and the two Clintons move about separately, which one gets the Air Force One?)

This is so utterly blatant. This is unacceptable behavior.

Tim Russert Measures Up
Tim Russert: Bill O'Reilly's Lower Case Cousin
Old Media Is The Reason Obama Is Lagging In The Polls
Jupiter And Obama
Pig In The Barn, Ailes At Fox News
Race, Gender
JFK, Obama Parallels: Catholic, Black
Fox, Barack, Islam
Rush Limbaugh: Idiot
Advice To Keith Olbermann
Keith Olbermann
Media Smear On Obama's Name
Wolf Hitler, I mean Bitler, Blitler, Whatever
Bill O'Reilly, Bill O'Rama, Whatever The F___ His Name Is
Barack, Fox, MLK, Mandela
Bill O'Reilly: A Right Wing Gadfly

Big Speech, Mother Ad

I think Barack has to do three things to try and seal the nomination on February 5.

He has to give a big speech on race one day before the South Carolina primary. This has to be about taking race relations to the next level, and it should have a MLK tone that uplifts not just blacks but also whites. He has to not only gain big chunks of the black vote in South Carolina, but if that gain is not the right way, he risks a white backlash on February 5. The speech should be to immunize against such a backlash. Besides there is not much point in having a first black president who will not take a serious look at race.

The speech I have written is at the bottom of this page: JFK, Obama Parallels: Catholic, Black.

The second thing he has to do is run this Mother ad all across the country. This is my favorite Obama 2008 ad of all. This is not saying to white America, look my mother is white. This is about presenting a full picture of who he is. His father who did not raise him, hardly knew him, can be seen on his face every single moment. Why can't the mother who actually raised him be seen in a TV ad?

Barack's mother died young at 53. She was quite a pioneer woman. She was into microfinance for women in the poor countries decades before Yunus bagged a Nobel for the same. She was a casualty to the health care system mess in the country. And she is the number one reason why Barack is so big on universal health. And that story has to come out. His full story has to come out. In 1992 the Clinton pollsters found out most Americans thought he had a rich father, because they reminded him of JFK, and so Bill Clinton started talking much about the father he never met. Well, today, most Americans don't have the slightest clue about Barack's mother and that has to be corrected.

Obama 2008 has to put more money into this one ad than any other. That will make all the difference on February 5. Personally I find it fascinating that the dude is biracial. You need someone of his quixotic background to try and heal the very real racial wounds in this country. My experience has been most people would rather not talk about race. It is like most people would rather not take Calculus 301. It is hard stuff for anybody. White people are that way, black people, brown people. Nobody wants to talk about race in too open a way. But most everybody realizes it is a big issue and there is an understanding that progress tends to be slow. But people do want to make progress. They do want to move beyond the angst.

You necessarily need someone of Barack's background to help take race relations in America to the next level. And so it is fundamentally important that Obama 2008 makes total effort to get word out that his mother was white, she was beautiful.

If Barack's mother had been black, that would be nothing wrong. But even I would be less likely to think he could do big things to improve race relations in America, everything else being equal. Everything else equal, someone of a biracial background I believe can do more.

Let's blanket these United f____g States with this one ad. It gives a full picture of Obama's background, it highlights his signature issue of health care, and it is reassuring on race. And at 30 seconds it is easy to digest. And it is beautifully made. The aesthetics are sharp.

Mother
Barack's Mother Makes An Appearance
Barack Has To Talk Much About His Mother




The third thing to do is raise big bucks online every day after the South Carolina primary.

Mega Walk For Change

We did a walk for change thing back in Spring. We have to have a weeklong walk for change leading to February 5. The largest grassroots movement in history has to decide it is now or never. We have the largest grassroots army of all others put together. We have to unleash and be done with this nomination thing by February 5. We have to knock on doors like crazy.

Phone banking is key. All the retails tools are key. We have to do it all.

Don't take me beyond February 5. I am ready to take on the Republicans.

Race: How I Deal With It

My number one way is the 2.0 way. My Nepal work and Obama 2008 work have been in 2.0. And it is in the 2.0 space that my very young company is taking shape. 2.0 space makes possible a post-ISMs individual group dynamic. Bruce Lee experienced racism in Hollywood, and he went to Hong Kong to do his work. I have gone into 2.0.

There is another angle to it. Race and gender fascinate me. Group dynamics is a major thing I bring to the table for my work. And there's nothing like race and gender to get your juices flowing on group dynamics. The average person prefers not to talk race and gender. I seek every opportunity to get to talk. It helps me with my work strengths. Delving into gender helps me with the work of inventing a corporation, how about that?

2.0 Penetrates DL21C
2.0 Screen Time, 5.0 Face Time, Of Racialism, Progressive Group Dynamics

And then there is the personal space. I don't think it is possible for someone like me to get close to the racists and the internalized racists. With the rest, you go with chemistry. If you get along, you get along, if you don't get along, you don't get along. Personal space is private space.

And then there is policy: race as it impacts politics and the policy sphere. Health care is a hugely complex issue. Race is more complex than that. And gender is more complex than race. Globally speaking, gender is a bigger issue than race, in America race is bigger than gender, and hence Hillary for Vice President.

I propose the spectrum to navigate all three as the other policy issues. The spectrum is 1-10. A 5-10 has to be an electoral majority. I think it is possible to create a permanent progressive majority. The beauty of the spectrum concept is it also allows you to be a compassionate progressive. You build a 5-10 coalition, but you also make the 1-4 feel like you really truly have heard them.

Barackface: How To Play The Race Card In South Carolina
Barackface: Race, A Few Different Angles
Barackface: Race, NYC, Future, Globalization, Internet, Glass ...
Barackface: Race, Gender, Progressive, Conservative Divides
Barackface: The Spectrum/Dialogue Concept Is Key To Power
Barackface: Landscape Talk
Barackface: The Spectrum Concept: Wide Applications

Bill Clinton Lied

Is that news?

Barack And Iraq

Barack opposed the Iraq War in 2002 when it was a very risky thing for him to do. That is the recond.

So why has he voted for all the funding for that war? That is what a responsible Senator does. If the troops are out there, does not matter you disagree with the war, you vote for funding. You seek to end the war politically, by winning a presidential election, the democratic way, the people power way, not by leaving the troops high and dry in a desert.

He said in 2004 right before the convention that he was not sure how he would have voted if he had been Senator in 2002. He said that to boost the Kerry-Edwards ticket that he was endorsing.

Bill Clinton understands all this. But he is going to try and muddy things regardless.

On the other hand, if Clinton 08 wants to erase the Iraq gap with Obama 08, why does not Hillary simply go ahead and apologize for her 2002 vote rather send out her husband to lie?

Viral Emails

A lot of nasty stuff has been going around over email. That has to be countered. How do you do that? You issue rebuttals and you send out your own viral emails. One thing you can't do is you can't ignore these attacks, however ridiculous they might sound.

The Fairytale Metaphor

There are racial overtones to that. If you are not white, you are not to be taken seriously. That is the suggestion.

I have had people say about this blog, oh, it is so funny, it is like The Onion. This blog is a fairytale, it is not to be taken seriously. Does not matter that it has allowed me to go to some pretty high levels of political conversation in this country.



In The News

Obama Fights Back Against Bill Clinton Washington Post accused former President Bill Clinton of distorting his words ..... harsh words for Bill Clinton ....... The former president "has taken his advocacy on behalf of his wife to a level that I think is pretty troubling" by making statement that are not supported by facts ...... An e-mail chain has suggested he is hiding his Islamic roots. It says he was sworn into the Senate on the Quran and turns his back on the flag during the pledge. ....... As dozens of Obama supporters shouted "Harlem for Obama," Clinton's supporters tried to drown them out by shouting "Hil-la-ry!" .... chiding the former New York City mayor at a news conference for his 0-6 record in the early primaries and caucuses.
Latest South Carolina Polling FOXNews
Britain, India push for UN Security Council reform AFP called for India to have a seat at the UN's top table because of its growing economic clout. ..... "I think that there is a broad agreement that international institutions, if they are to be credible, cannot ignore countries like India and China," Singh said, saying both were giving a "major stimulus" to the world economy. "You cannot deal with global problems and global concerns if countries like India are not on the high table." ..... "A country of one billion people, the biggest democracy in the world and one of the world's fastest growing economies... should assume its vital place in the deliberations of the world including membership of the UN Security Council" ...... "the biggest shift in the balance of economic power in the world in two centuries" .... changes to the IMF, World Bank and the G8 that reflect the rise of India and Asia ..... make Britain and India high growth low carbon economies.
What's new: Obama says he'll 'confront' Bill ClintonUSA Today
Angry Obama criticises Bill Clinton The Press Association
Obama (nicely) accuses President Clinton of lying Baltimore Sun
Barack Obama Blasts Bill Clinton for Lying FOXNews
We shall overcome, Obama tells King's flock Sydney Morning Herald
Bill Clinton under fire from Barack Obama Telegraph.co.uk a detailed rebuttal of Mr Clinton's "distorting" of his words. ... Over the past fortnight Mr Clinton has called Obama's opposition to the Iraq war a "fairy tale", criticized his views of Ronald Reagan's achievements and accused his supporters at the Nevada caucuses of strong-arm tactics. ...... the Obama camp has decided to come out fighting ...... The battle lines in the campaign have now been redrawn to a struggle between Mr Obama and both Clintons ..... the attacks by Mr Clinton on his candidate were "shameless, flat-out distortions". ...... South Carolina remains one of the most racially polarised states in the south. A large black minority of 25 per cent votes overwhelmingly Democrat while 80 per cent of whites normally vote Republican. ...... Obama's endeavour to become the first actual African American president has however soared in popularity among black voters since he won the Iowa caucuses on Jan 3 .... "All the brothers adored President Clinton but I feel Obama can be the full black president." .... With blacks expected to make up 60 per cent of voters in the primary, they are forecast to deliver Mr Obama a victory that provide invaluable momentum going into Feb 5, when 22 states hold their votes.
Why Clinton and Obama walk a fine line on racial divide Globe and Mail The race for the Democratic presidential nomination is fissuring along racial lines, which in America is the most dangerous divide. ..... Obama's coalition is driven by young enthusiasts and affluent idealists. ...... By January, CNN was reporting that black support had completely reversed, with 59 per cent opting for Mr. Obama, while only 31 per cent still backed Ms. Clinton. ..... Latino voters favoured Ms. Clinton almost two-to-one. And that could be the statistic that decides this race. ...... The Latino community in the United States is now slightly larger than the black community, and there are strong and growing tensions between the two groups, with many African Americans fearful that Latino immigrants are taking away their jobs, and that an increasingly Latino America will further marginalize their race. ...... Decrying the intolerance and self-pity that mars all communities, including black America ...... We can no longer afford to traffick in lies or fear or hate. ..... Obama is able to hold on to most of the black vote and most of the youth vote, while drawing a substantial minority of whites and Latinos, then he will arrive at Super Tuesday with a formidable coalition. ....... Clinton's larger assembly of women, whites and Latinos. .... He is clearly failing to build the unstoppable momentum that his Iowa win seemed to grant him. ....... If Ms. Clinton wins Florida on Jan. 29, it will give her a boost going into Feb. 5, however much Mr. Obama and North Carolina senator John Edwards dismiss the result as meaningless. ...... it is entirely possible that neither the Obama nor Clinton forces will score a decisive victory on Feb. 5. In that case, the Democrats may have to pick a candidate at their national convention, which is in Denver in the last week of August.
Bill Clinton vows to knock on doors for black vote Melbourne Herald Sun the global statesman's attack dog tactics and his volatile temper on the campaign trail. ....... Obama, is expected to now take the gloves off and begin directly confronting Mr Clinton.

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In The News

Giuliani Loses Ground to Huckabee The Associated Press
Illegal immigration now at heart of GOP race Los Angeles Times
Maoists invade north Bihar The Statesman In what is being considered a move by Maoists to get a foothold in north Bihar after they established their “domain” in large parts of south, central and western Bihar, armed extremists raided the house of a panchayat head at Sukki village in Vaishali last night, killing three villagers. The extremists set ablaze two luxury vehicles of the panchayat head who escaped death. The mukhia, Indra Mohan Singh alias Gugul Singh, who has more than 12 cases of kidnapping, extortion and loot lodged against him with various police stations, is alleged to have established a reign of terror and had been challenging the extremists' might. According to reports, about 80 Maoists, dressed in Army and police fatigues, swooped down on the village. Police said about 150 rounds of ammunition were fired. All the three who died were the mukhiya’s kin. Some others sustained injuries. Reports said the Maoists bade the villagers to stay indoors. According to reports, many women took part in the operation that lasted for about an hour. Police said the common people were terrorised by the mukhiya. They have, however, launched a combing operation against the Maoists. On Saturday, the extremists blasted an abandoned three-storeyed police outpost at Mahindbara in Sitamarhi. Maoists have gone on the rampage after a Banka court awarded death sentence to five extremists on 6 December, for killing three policemen two years ago.
US provides $2.3 mn to protect human rights in Nepal Economic Times
Despite Arms Data, New Push for Sanctions on Iran New York Times
Al-Qaeda Group Says It Carried Out Algeria Bombings (Update1) Bloomberg
Hollywood writers strike takes on bitter tone Reuters
Bhutto says free, fair elections needed to thwart extremism International Herald Tribune
Obama in Seattle fundraising stop Seattle Post Intelligencer
Poll: Bill Clinton Far More Influential Among Voters than Oprah ... FOX News
Clinton accuses Obama of being too far left Newsday Using a curious tactic in a Democratic primary season dominated by liberals, Hillary Rodham Clinton Tuesday accused Barack Obama of being too far left to be elected president -- citing a decade-old questionnaire indicating Obama once opposed the death penalty and backed socialized medicine. ...... a surprising new ABC News-Washington Post poll showed her national lead over Obama widening to 30 points ..... "Obama never saw or approved" the document, and the health care, capital punishment and gun control answers weren't consistent with his stances, then or now. ....... Obama leading Clinton 28 percent to 22 percent
Obama and Clinton spar over electability Baltimore Sun
With Reporters Grounded, Obama and Clinton Hold Competing ... Washington Post the two campaigns holding dueling press conferences at precisely the same time. ..... Her endorsement means that Obama now has the backing of both the state's House members. ..... He said that his numbers nationally do not reflect what is happening in early voting states, either in terms of his electability or his popularity overall. "When you ask voters in those early states that are now familiar with my record, her record, other candidates' records, you see a very different result," Obama said. ...... The Clinton call ended a few minutes later. But not before the Clinton campaign issued a statement declaring that he was "forced to defend electability."
Obama narrows gap on Clinton, amid Republican sea change AFP Clinton wins backing from 26 percent for her ties to her husband, former president Bill Clinton ..... with 59 percent saying they had not yet made up their minds, the polls could yet change and be influenced by the first votes to be cast early in January.
If Clinton Loses Iowa, Her "Plan B" The Associated Press two words: New Hampshire. ..... preparing television ads here criticizing Barack Obama's health care plan and working to build what campaigns call a firewall. ..... Possible TV ads to run against him also have been previewed in the state. ...... Advisers to the New York senator acknowledge there's been uneasiness as Obama has risen in national and several early state polls, including Iowa and New Hampshire. But they insist their master blueprint — emphasizing Clinton's experience, toughness and ability to withstand Republican attacks — remains sound. ......... Clinton advisers believe she can survive a loss there to Edwards ...... Edwards' campaign, meanwhile, hopes for a repeat of the Howard Dean-Dick Gephardt scuffle in Iowa that resulted in John Kerry's nomination four years ago. The former North Carolina senator is hanging back and hoping Clinton and Obama destroy each other. ....... Placing second in Iowa to the well-funded, well-organized Obama, the Clinton people acknowledge, could be a much more severe blow. ........ Hinting at Clinton divisiveness, Obama said of overhauling health care, "The issue really is how are we going to get it done because there are all kinds of 10-point plans out there that are gathering dust on the shelf because no one was able to actually pull the country together to deliver." ...... Clinton strategists reject the notion that such an effort is negative. ...... Indeed, Clinton has toned down her sharp criticism of Obama, just days after raising questions about his character and accusing him of peddling "false hope." Her advisers say she had needed to set the record straight after absorbing months of criticism from her rivals, but they have since concluded her barrage didn't work.
Feeling Heat, Clinton Tries Iowa Up Close New York Times Ten months ago, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton went to East High School here on her first trip to Iowa as a presidential candidate ....... Clinton returned to East High School late last week. But the crowd was much smaller and more sedate. ..... she had largely cleared her schedule this week to prepare for the Democratic debate on Thursday ...... The Clinton campaign has doubled its weekly television advertising spending from $400,000 last week to $800,000 this week. ..... the face of the Clinton war room, is planning to drive out here from Washington. (Mr. Wolfson does not like to fly.) Patti Solis Doyle, the national campaign manager, has moved to Des Moines. ....... her aides described former President Bill Clinton as increasingly frustrated that his wife’s campaign has not fought back even more forcefully against efforts by Mr. Obama and former Senator John Edwards to raise questions about Mrs. Clinton’s character. They said that Mr. Clinton had warned for weeks that they were taking a toll on his wife’s candidacy. ........ Mr. Clinton, they said, is still confident that his wife can regain momentum if her campaign presents her message — and particularly criticism of Mr. Obama — more sharply. He took matters into his own hands Monday, campaigning at four events across Iowa to deliver that message: that Mrs. Clinton was a “change agent.” ........ In a sign of internal strains, some of Mrs. Clinton’s associates said they thought Mr. Clinton was struggling to make the adjustment from principal candidate to supportive spouse. ....... Mrs. Clinton’s advisers ... their assessment that Mrs. Clinton was having trouble mastering the political intricacies of this state ......... On her first trip here last January, one adviser said, Mrs. Clinton repeatedly expressed frustration, confiding to one associate that she “had no feel for the place.” .......... Some of her attacks on Mr. Obama, including one in which she questioned his character and another where her staff mocked him for writing a kindergarten essay saying he wanted to be president, were described even by some of her supporters as clumsy. ......... Mrs. Clinton’s advisers said they would continue at least some form of attack on Mr. Obama, even at the risk of allowing Mr. Edwards to gain ground by presenting himself as above the fray. Mrs. Clinton’s aides said they were far more worried about Mr. Obama marching out of Iowa with a victory than they were about Mr. Edwards
Presidential candidate checklist: Heavy coat and boots Boston Globe two states where wind chill competes with politics as December topics for discussion. ...... The storm coated much of Iowa in ice up to an inch thick ...... Huckabee, whose plane managed to land in Omaha, acknowledged that such winter storms were a challenge, especially for a "southern boy" like himself. ...... "When we see weather like this we close everything. We just shut down, go get milk and bread, even if we don't normally have milk and bread, and that's the routine," said Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor. "Then we hole up in our homes for a day and then it melts and we're back to business." ....... Last March, Republican John McCain refused to cancel a weekend bus tour in New Hampshire. Instead, his campaign hired a snow plow to clear the way for the bus. ...... Obama staffers and reporters made the most of the snow last month in New Hampshire, throwing snowballs while the Illinois senator held a private meeting inside a New Hampshire school. Obama, seeing the cameras and their operators, bypassed the skirmish. Last week in Des Moines, a snowman featuring an "O" for Obama was crafted in front of the campaign's headquarters.
Frantic candidates jostle for pole position as Iowa caucus looms Guardian Unlimited The US media had not taken Huckabee, who has the best one-liners but is short on foreign policy detail, seriously. The latest poll has him on 32% to Romney's 20% in Iowa, in spite of Romney having outspent him by 20-to-1. ....... most voters in the early key states have yet to make up their minds and are unlikely to do so until the final week, or even day. ...... Clinton and Obama each have $100m (£49m) to spend, much of it for the caucuses and primaries, with some of it held in reserve for the presidential contest itself. It will be the first billion dollar election. ....... Clinton has faced a surge by Obama since her poor performance in an October 30 debate. He has taken a small lead in Iowa and closed the gap in New Hampshire and South Carolina. ........ The most recent New York Times poll in Iowa had Obama on 30%, Clinton on 26% and Edwards third with 22%. ...... opted for a risky strategy - virtually ignore the small states such as Iowa and New Hampshire and focus on the big states on Super-Duper Tuesday. But he is now worried he could be buried by the media attention the winner of the small states will attract and is putting in time in both Iowa and New Hampshire. ....... John Kerry took Iowa and New Hampshire in 2004 to take the Democratic nomination from favourite Howard Dean.
China Says Dalai Lama Wants to Restore `Serfdom Rule' in Tibet Bloomberg
China Says Dalai Wants Feudal Tibet The Associated Press
Peru’s Ex-President Gets 6 Years for Illicit Search New York Times
China dismisses accusation of religious repression in Tibet Times of India
Nokia Ready To Engage Google And Apple CRN
Mobile wimax Set To Take Off InformationWeek
Mobile wimax subscribers to exceed 80 million by 2013, predicts ... Telecommunications Magazine
Mobile wimax must grab youtube generation Silicon.com
Credit Crisis Prompts Fed to Roll Back Rates Again New York Times
Recent Arrival at Citi Now Runs It New York Times
Clinton Basks in Buffett Glow Wall Street Journal