Sunday 8 PM, Holiday Party 4

Iowa Is America Wishing It Were A Small Country

A small enough country where you personally get to meet the leader. That does not happen in big states, or in big countries. And so Iowa is a uniquely American invention.

First Primary

It will be the fundraising figures for the fourth quarter. I think Obama 2008 should issue a whip, a million dollars a day, seven million dollars in seven days to the New Year. Online. Since he already had his final fundraiser for the year. This is the time to cash on the fact that we have more online donors than all others running for president put together.

Sexist Bill

The beginning of the end of Hillary 2008 was when Bill Clinton went to Iowa and said he had opposed the Iraq War from the very beginning. He forgot who the candidate was. That is sexist behavior.

Four Holiday Parties

I went to three great parties this past week. On Tuesday was what looked like the official state Democratic Party party. Thursday I went to Drinking Liberally. "Got to wear your button," says Krebs. It sounded like he were saying, got to eat your vegetables. Same evening later was Pollak's birthday party. This guy might be a closet Indian. He has modified the idea of a birthday party and made it communal. Okay, so December babies, let's go. I have never celebrated my birthday. First, my official birthday is not my real birthday, it is the birthday of my favorite movie star. Second, I grew up in a culture that does not celebrate birthdays, we celebrate a ton of festivals. Before I got told Pollak is a Party guy, my total impression of Pollak was that he is a party guy. So that's three. And there is another party tomorrow, Sunday, in my borough of Brooklyn. Brooklyn is classy. I might be biased but I think it is different from all the other boroughs. There is something about Brooklyn. Pollak's Brooklyn party.

Sunday, 8 PM
Brooklyn Moon Cafe
745 Fulton St
Brooklyn, NY 11217
A, C at Lafayette Ave.; G at Fulton St.
..... and to dance the night away at Frank's Lounge.

In The News

Obama Moves to Defend Foreign Policy Experience New York Times his service on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and his judgment ...... he had more foreign policy experts from the Clinton administration supporting him than Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton ....... “Even by the standards of Washington,” Mr. Obama said, “I have dealt more with foreign policy than, let’s say, Bill Clinton had, when he became president, or Ronald Reagan — he was governor at the time.” ........ my vision of foreign policy is better suited for the 21st century ...... “Just like Ronald Reagan was able to get some Reagan Democrats,” he said, “I want to get some Obama Republicans.” ...... the $1.35 trillion tax cuts. Critics of the cuts said they benefited mainly the wealthy and added to the federal deficit.
As Earth Warms Up, Tropical Virus Moves to Italy
Obama Criticizes Edwards' Record The Associated Press there's a group buying three-quarters of a million dollars worth of television and the individual running the group used to be John Edwards' campaign manager ..... a list of television ad buys in six markets covering Iowa totaling $796,610 that were purchased by the Alliance for a New America, which they described a pro-Edwards group. ..... independent groups that are only now beginning to make their presence known in the early contest states of Iowa and New Hampshire. These groups can be more targeted, more negative and can coordinate their activities in ways that candidate campaigns cannot. ....... "During six years in the Senate he wasn't passing laws to reduce the power of lobbyists," said Obama. He contrasted that with his own role in crafting new ethics legislation.
Clinton, Obama seek to lock in key votes before Christmas AFP
Clinton Returns the Fire New York Times “It’s important to pick the person who can make the best decisions, who is tested and who is a leader. I’m holding myself out – I’m not holding myself out by leaning on advisers.”
Clinton Makes Closing Argument to Women The Associated Press You. Go. Girl. ..... "We give a lot of lip service to family values, but we've never really valued families in a way that we can." ...... She leads overall in that poll, 38 percent to 26 percent. ....... New Hampshire poll ...... Clinton and Obama tied at 32 percent each ....... As her campaign released a list of 3,500 female supporters, she said there are too many challenges facing working mothers. ....... "When I was a young lawyer and also a mom, I learned how difficult it was for a lot of the other women who worked in the law firm — the secretaries, the paralegals. At 3 o'clock every day, they'd all be on the phone, whispering to make sure their children were there safely. ... It was just such a time of tension and concern to make sure they got home." ........ "It sounds incredibly old fashioned, but having a meal together really makes a difference. It stabilizes your children during the day. It gives them a chance to interact with the family. It is something that has become harder and harder because of work hours and expectations," Clinton said, noting she and her husband made an effort to have at least one meal with Chelsea when she was younger.

Amitabh's mother Teji passes away Times of India Ninety-three-year-old Teji Bachchan, mother of superstar Amitabh Bachchan, passed away at the Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai after a long illness. ..... Teji Bachchan who was born into an affluent Sikh family of barristers in Lahore, married poet Harivanshrai Bachchan in 1941. ..... The couple's Allahabad home was a popular meeting place for writers, poets and intellectuals of the era.

Obama strives to overtake Clinton in Democratic race Canada.com
Clinton Strives to Wrest `Change' Mantle From Obama in Iowa Bloomberg
Calculating' Clinton gets friendly Guardian Unlimited
Obama contrasts his experience with Bill Clinton Baltimore Sun
Obama shows no modesty on foreign policy record Baltimore Sun
Dems Duel Over Foreign Policy Advisers ABC News
Poll: Huckabee leads; Clinton, Obama tie in Ga. Atlanta Journal Constitution
Zogby: Obama is only Dem leading all 5 Republicans USA Today
Dems Duel Over Foreign Policy Advisers The Associated Press

Congress At Crossroads NepalNews Had the CA polls act been formulated immediately after the reinstatement of the parliament, CA polls would have been held in October, 2006 and the present crisis would have been averted. ...... While two billion rupees were given to the Maoists to look after their cadres, the displaced persons got nothing. Government ignored the Maoist victims. It even stopped the scholarship given to the martyrs' (people killed by Maoists) children. ....... Maoists have not changed their actions as they have shown that their ultimate aim is to grab state power. By forcing the postponement of the elections for CA, Maoists showed that they don't have any faith and commitment in the election. Despite joining the political mainstream, Maoists continue to engage in terror, abduction and extortion. ...... In the last one and a half year, the law and order situation has deteriorated. There is a virtual anarchy in the country ....... Home ministry failed to contain the activities of Maoist-affiliated Young Communist League (YCL). The public felt that law is in the hand of Maoists and their cadres are above the law. ....... neither our party could penetrate into communist vote bank nor could we retain our traditional support base. Our party has lost its political base. ........ our party is making another major mistake by agreeing to integrate Maoist cadres into national army. ....... When we have been busy all the time tackling the Maoists, we have undermined many other problems. Madhesi issue is one of the major ones. Of course, there are some genuine grievances of Madhesis, which Nepali Congress needs to address. Maoist leader Prachanda's statement in Janakpur and senior cabinet minister Ram Chandra Poudel's provocative statement in Nepalgunj are just two recent examples how they tried to ignore Madhesis. People from Madhes feel that the government and Nepali Congress have become pro-Maoists as the government oppressed Madhesi uprising in Lahan, Kapilvastu, and Nepalgunj. Even as the government is preoccupied with the Maoist agenda, we must realize that until and unless we solve the problems of Madhes, CA is impossible in coming April also. ..... Failure of home ministry is that it decided to address it through security actions, which are inevitable to boomerang.
Gaur bandh called off MJF's Rautahat district chairman Ganesh Yadav said the bandh was withdrawn for some days in view of the Muslim festival Eid-ul-Adha. ...... Security forces had been kept alert on many occassions during the bandh amidst fears of violent clashes between the bandh organisers and the Maoist cadres.
ICG urges parties to address issues that delayed polls The two armed forces have started to exert greater influence on the positions of the sides, Maoist parallel structures still hold sway in much of the country, and new ethnic and regional fronts have added to the situation's complexity
Murarka’s whereabouts still unknown
Seven-party meeting cancelled as Maoist leaders fail to turn up the Maoists have said they will still push for all-out proportional representation-based election model.
Madhesi Tigers attack police post The Madhesi Mukti Morcha (MMT) cadres attacked the police post in Madhar of Siraha district mid-night Monday. There are no confirmed reports of injuries though police claim some MMT cadres were injured. The clash occurred after the MMT cadres attacked the police post ahead of the bandh called in the district. The clash occurred for half-an-hour. The attackers exploded three home-made bombs and made several rounds of gun-fire towards the police before escaping across the border into India . They fled after the reinforcement of the armed police force and Nepal police from district headquarters arrived. The police post, which lies some seven kilometres south of the district headquarters, has 16 personnel.