Videos By The Barack Campaign

Bad MySpace Move By Barack Obama

The Barack Obama MySpace page did look like it might be something run by the official campaign itself. And so the concern was legitimate.

Barack had 150,000 MySpace friends, and now that is down to 30,000. That is a huge loss. But that is momentary. Looks like the squatter guy took away all his "friends" and the Obama campaign is having to start afresh. I used to be a "friend" of Obama. And I realized I had been delisted. I promptly went back up. I am sure many others will as well. I expect the number to exceed 100,000 very fast, in a matter of weeks.

MySpace is the leading social networking site right now. It was but natural that Obama wanted to own his own name there. But the way his campaign handled it was not cool. The self-propelled volunteer guy should have been shown more respect. He should have been compensated perhaps. Heck, he should have been hired, I think. Google bought YouTube. The guy did something the Obama campaign did not for a long time. Like Rupert Murdoch said when he bought MySpace: "Noone on my team thought of it."

Obama has a robust presence also on Facebook.

Barack Obama (One Million Strong for Barack)

Size: 323,985 members

Barack Obama for President in 2008

Size: 67,623 members

The Obama campaign needs to stay away from these groups. Don't mess with it. These things are supposed to be bottom up. Not even that. These things are grassroots energy, synergy.

The problem is not that Obama has lost his MySpace friends, he has not, he will rebound. The problem is the way his campaign handled it. It did not show enough respect to a volunteer. That is not okay. I hope that mistake is not repeated too often.

I don't fault MySpace though. It did the right thing.

In The News

Obama: 'This is MySpace' Capitol Hill Blue, VA
Barack Obama Could Lose Some 'Friends' In MySpace Debacle Post Chronicle
Obama Takes MySpace Page From Backer MyFox Chicago
Obama Requests Creative Commons for Presidential Debates Slashdot
Obama's MySpace love >> Total Content + Media, UK
Sweet blog special: Obama and MySpace saga. Chicago Sun-Times, IL Obama is making extensive use of social networking tools in his campaign, which has a "new media" department based at the Chicago headquarters. The Obama campaign is also encouraging netroot activists to rally support for Obama and organize on their own. ..... I dug into the story behind yesterday's collapse in Obama's MySpace numbers; it's a kind of cautionary tale for the Connected Age, and also suggests the Obama campaign is more traditional top-down control-oriented than the press they've been getting for all their online social networking. ....... MySpace has said Joe Anthony can post his site, complete with all his friends, on whatever non-official URL he chooses. I think that's fair. ....... MySpaceGate! ...... What a foolish decision on Obama’s part! Paying this man for his work is not only the right thing to do, it’s also the smart thing to do.
Unnecessary candidate Daily Vidette
Obama's MySpace Mayhem National Journal, DC The user who once voluntarily managed his MySpace page for more than two years has accused the campaign and MySpace of taking over the Web site and deleting the former profile. ....... a 29-year-old from the L.A. area ...... The campaign, with the help of Myspace, have seized control of the profile without my consent, and are using it to refer traffic to a new profile they created. I have been blocked from having access to the profile. ........ our campaign staff wanted make sure users had direct access to the campaign. We support the MySpace communty, and look forward to building our relationship. ....... Joe Anthony gets to keep his 160,000 list under a different myspace site name. Myspace has told him to pick another name for his site and continue running it if he wants. Obama gets to use his official myspace url address which belongs to Barack Obama per Myspace rules. This is more than fair to me. ....... it seems like his "washington outsider" rhetoric doesn't apply to regular people. this is very disappointing - i'm now voting for edwards. ..... How many millions will Obama spend for a few seconds appearance in tv. He has taken for granted that 160,000 fans that this rebel page has gathered will stay with him anyway and he will spend a dime for them. ...... Regardless of the legality, I believe that this whole situation was handled very poorely by the Obama campaign, and this is just the sort of bad press that can potentially snowball, and have a real affect on younger voters. Myspace is a real community of a demographic that is very hard to reach in the traditional sense, and I think that the Obama campaign needs to be very careful about how all of this is handled.
Obama endorses effort to make debate video free USA Today Saying that the Democratic Party should "do everything we can" to encourage "citizen-generated" coverage of the presidential campaign, Sen. Barack Obama today sent a letter to DNC Chairman Howard Dean asking that the party put video of its presidential debates in the public domain. ....... I am a strong believer in the importance of copyright, especially in a digital age. But there is no reason that this particular class of content needs the protection. ...... Your presidential campaign used the Internet to break new ground in citizen political participation. I would urge you to take the lead again by continuing to support this important medium of political speech.

Yahoo shares soar on bid rumours BBC News
Google tops global brand league ahead of General Electric and Microsoft ..... The total value of the Top 100 brands has increased by 10.6% in the past year to $1.6 trillion. .... The biggest riser was Marks & Spencer, which tripled its brand value to take the number 68 spot globally and fourth place in the UK. ..... combines balance sheet values with consumer sentiment ..... the past year has seen companies such as BP and Toyota boost their brand value with the promise of more environmentally friendly policies and products. ....

1 Google

2 General Electric

3 Microsoft

4 Coca-Cola

5 China Mobile

6 Marlboro

7 Wal-Mart

8 Citi

9 IBM

10 Toyota

Stock futures rise on Yahoo-Microsoft report USA Today
White House threatens to veto hate-crimes bill CNN
Barack Obama Could Lose Some 'Friends' In MySpace Debacle Post Chronicle
Obama: 'This is MySpace' Capitol Hill Blue
Lowry: The great Clinton/Obama feminist pander Salt Lake Tribune
Falling Hillary, Rising Obama, by Kang In-sun Chosun Ilbo
Clinton Takes A New Stand On Iraq NY1 is introducing legislation that would repeal the 2002 congressional resolution authorizing force in Iraq. ...... bill would require President George W. Bush to get approval from Congress before he can extend the military tour past October. Clinton says she wants all combat troops out of Iraq by March 2008. ..... The White House says it is another attempt to put a surrender date on the calendar.
Hillary's presidential formula relies on women and blacks Florida Times-Union California and New York, plus many others, on a February "Super Tuesday" .... Lately, she's been making noise about making good, practical political use of "The First Gentleman" if she's elected. ..... From Edwards to Richardson and in between, male Democratic presidential hopefuls all win just enough support among Democratic voters to prevent any one of them from accumulating enough to seriously challenge Clinton. ....... Thompson - maybe even Thompson alone - could serve as the true threat to an otherwise likely Democratic victory in November 2008.
Polls Show Clinton, Giuliani Lead US Presidential Race Voice of America
Poll: Giuliani Beats Clinton, Obama, Gore NewsMax.com
Clinton, Giuliani Slip, But Stay On Top Guardian Unlimited

Obama gets Secret Service detail Seattle Post Intelligencer The Secret Service said Thursday that Democratic Sen. Barack Obama was being placed under its protection, the earliest ever for a presidential candidate. ....... Federal law allows candidates to seek protection if they meet a series of standards, including public prominence as measured by polls and fundraising. ...... The Rev. Jesse Jackson drew early Secret Service protection because of violent threats during his campaigns for president in the 1980s.
GM Profit Down 90% From 2006 New York Times losses at its finance arm overshadowed the gains from restructuring its automotive operations. ...... described the company, which reported losses of $10.4 billion in 2005 and $2 billion last year, as “operating at or close to break even.” ....... G.M. had been the world’s largest automaker since 1931, save for brief periods in the 1970s and 1990s when strikes among G.M. workers allowed Ford to claim the top spot.
Seattle Suffers a New Major League Soccer Threat Seattlest
Major League Soccer in Seattle? Washington Business Journal
Ubuntu 7.04 Arriving On Dell Computers Portal IT
Firefox users urge Dell to preinstall the browser PC World Canada
Tobias drawn further into sex scandal Indianapolis Star Reporter Brian Ross said Tobias told him he "had gals come over to his condo to give him a massage." Ross said Tobias didn't remember who any of the women were and that it was "like ordering pizza."
Tensions worsen between Russia and Estonia International Herald Tribune, France Last week, Russia's upper house of Parliament called on Putin to sever relations, while the lower house demanded the imposition of sanctions. The Moscow mayor, Yuri Luzhkov, used a May Day festival to call for a boycott of Estonian goods. .... Russia's furious reaction recalls a public campaign of harassment against Georgians living here following a dispute over the arrest of Russian intelligence officers in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, in October. Russia deported hundreds of Georgians living and working in Russia and cut rail, air and sea links with its southern neighbor, which, like Estonia, is a former Soviet republic.
Bush: “I’m the Commander Guy” New York Times
Royal scores in heated presidential debate with Sarkozy (Roundup) Monsters and Critics.com
Britney's Stripperific Onstage Lap Dance TMZ.com
The President's Thanks, and Other Forms of Kissing Up Washington Post
Barack Obama's Achilles Heel Rears Its Ugly Head. Again. Huffington Post
Obama takes MySpace page from backer Sacramento Bee
Obama camp takes control of MySpace page Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

Will Turkey become an Islamist state? Jerusalem Post
A Feel of Resurging Bihar Patna Daily
Obama Ranks at Head of Dem Field for First Time: Poll Mother Jones
Hillary, Fearing Obama, Changes Strategy NewsMax.com Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign is growing increasingly concerned about her main challenger. ....... a worried Hillary Clinton is dramatically retooling her strategy on several fronts, including fund-raising ..... Obama is beating Hillary, and her own aides acknowledge that the Illinois Senator is simply working the phones more than their candidate. ........ Terry McAuliffe acknowledged that Obama "works the phone like dog. He probably did three to four times the number of events she did” in the first quarter of this year. "No matter who I call, he has already called them three or four times” ........ Hillary is seeking to counter what Obama’s aides call "an enthusiasm gap.” ....... "So Clinton is lavishing more attention on groups like women, whom she considers her natural constituencies” ........ During most of her tenure in the Senate Hillary has avoided using her husband for back-up. But that has changed too. Hillary also plans to have husband Bill hit the campaign and fund-raising trails more often. ....... Both Clintons are using the fear factor to ward off growing support for Obama. Time says the power couple are telling potential contributors that the U.S. could very likely experience a 9/11-scale terrorist attack during the next administration, and Hillary – because of her experience as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee – is the candidate best suited to handle such a crisis.

Terry Alligator McAuliffe, May 9

Wednesday, May 9

7:00 pm

DL21C's Political Author Series continues with Terry McAuliffe
Former Chairman, Democratic National Committee
Discussing the 2008 Presidential race and his new book, What a Party! - http://www.whataparty.us/
at
Retreat
37 West 17th St. b/w 5th and 6th Ave.
1/2/3/B/D/F/V/N/R/Q/W to 14th Street http://www.retreat-nyc.com/

Long Walk To Freedom: Just A Third World Guy Dazzled By The City
DL21C Events: High Class Acts

Public message to Ms. Elizabeth Caputo, the DL21C mover shaker. Indiana, Harvard, Morgan Stanley, DL21C: that's four strikes in a row, you are supposed to be out at three. My saying I just might join DL21C was me paying compliments to what is obviously the leading political group in the city. I have no intention to join. If I join, I hurt my young company. Group dynamics is the primary thing I bring to the table for the company. I have to stay unencumbered. On the other hand, I do look forward to getting to meet a ton of political celebrities ("alligators, wild animals") through DL21C. And Pollak and Spitzer are so obviously going places together. Chairman Pollak. Chairman Mao.

I would have been flattered enough if Pollak just knew me, as in your name is Paramendra, and I have a face to your name. But this guy actually likes me. More important, he values the political observations I have to make. That second part does not surprise me though. I know what I know. I would go head to head with anyone in American politics today, Bill Clinton included, in terms of tactics and strategy. I already am. The Obama-Clinton tussle lets me play shadow boxing with the guy. And Bill Clinton is the biggest thing that has happened in the one person one vote framework in human history. To me he is Pele.

First time Pollak and I ever bonded was over our mutual excitement about Hillary 2008. To his shock, I now see that as B.O. Before Obama. I mean, I don't like Hillary any less now.

It was a Tom Daschle event aftermath. "Senator, I am from Nepal. I came here to thank you for the trip you made to Nepal. You spread hope when there was very little of that going around. Now we all know things are much better." His eyes went wet. "That country is very special to me."

Pollak, Caputo, Krebs, these are all the Harvard crowd. I have some appreciation for where Harvard stands in the American imagination. When Nepalis in America find out I went to Budhanilkantha, they are suddenly all ears. That is amusing to me because I have disowned that institution. I was number one in class there and Nuru was number two until the Bahuns and the British ganged up on me and stabbed a dagger into my thighs it felt like. Nuru went to Harvard.

Pollak, Caputo, Krebs are like the Panch Pandavs of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. I am their brother Karna, from a different father, hush hush. All of them instinctively liked me so much right away that I figured maybe I am some kind of a good looking guy. But they had to wait for my online autobiography to realize I am Karna.

Together we are going to do much good to the progressive cause going into the future.

Karna - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pandava - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I am at a point in life where one third of me is this entrepreneur on the ground floor, waiting, working to take off. The second third is someone who thinks, strongly feels race is the number one issue in his life. I so want to get over it. Group dynamics is fascinating but racial politics is boring. Work on the online autobiography has helped. It has been a poor man's therapy. You talk about the past so as to liberate yourself from it. The final third of me is someone who came to NYC to work on his business idea but got sucked into working full time for the democracy movement in Nepal for almost two years, eating into my savings, swiping credit cards and now selling very, very small chunks of my company to investors: the YouTube guys had also maxed out their credit cards right before they got bought by Google. I did not have a choice. My house was on fire. Only in retrospect I realize this is the best work I have done so far in life. And it is going to get me the Nobel Prize if the Nobel Committee gets a grip of the mathematical theory called the butterfly effect. I am going to break the MLK record. If I win the Nobel, I want a seat on the Google Board and an honorary US citizenship, and I want round 1, round 2, round 3 investors into my company, on my terms pretty much, and I want my parents to come live in NYC. My constituency of choice is the Global South. And my company is the best thing I can do for them. The profit motive and the service motive do not clash. Otherwise my material needs are those of a monk pretty much. I do want a private jet though, speed is my idea of meditation.

I want the first third to become all of me. Further work on the autobiography will liberate me from the second third and the third third.

I am the father of the concept of a continuous movement in the Nepali context. The April Revolution was like the physical universe. There was no center. All parties and leaders who claim credit for the 19-day April Revolution were fundamentally opposed to the 21-day Madhesi Movement. I was the one constant between the two. The Madhesi Movement was April Revolution II. Ever since the king's coup in February 2005, there is a close correlation between what I have wanted happen in Nepal and what has ended up happening. My work is transparent. What I did, when, is well documented, and online for the world to see.

Obama-Spitzer Vs. Giuliani-Romney
An Obama Spitzer Ticket
Obama, Hillary, Spitzer
7 Point Agenda For New York City
Two Terms As Governor

What I like about DL21C is noone is trying to get you into retail politics. The Matrix is the only retail politics I am interested in: I wrote to the leaders of all progressive groups in Manhattan recently saying, give me a million strong Matrix in NYC, and you are looking at a total spread of democracy by 2020. I have been prescribing the same to the Nepalis in the city, so far with little success. Every f_____g Nepali organization in the city thinks it is The Umbrella Organization. It has been quite an effort to launch a formal umbrella organization for all the 30 or more groups in the city. The idea is to earn voting rights for them in the city elections. Can you help? :-)

I have been rehearsing a few lines for my DL21C socializing.

"What do you do? Where do you live?"

"I am a Third World guy. Why are you asking me money questions?"

Alternate answer: "I am going to make more money than everyone in this room. Put together."

Long Walk To Freedom: Just A Third World Guy Dazzled By The City

Terry McAuliffe is a high energy packet. Hillary says he can light up a city, he has so much energy. I'd think the crowd is going to be huge. What should I tell him?

I missed Bill Richardson. I did not mean to. I don't remember why I missed it. Was there another event somewhere else?

Mike Gravel. Charlie Rangel. Wesley Clark. Chriss Dodd.

I was watching the South Carolina debate on YouTube (South Carolina Debate) and I was thinking, I met Gravel and Dodd at DL21C events and they are on stage. I have also met Hillary, but those have been Hillary fundraisers, a few of them.

My rehearsed line for her was, "Senator, I just want you to know I am a very happy New Yorker," but then she stared into my face and I forgot the line.

"Mr. Chairman. Terry. You light up this city as well."

"Mr. Chairman. Terry. You gave us some big victories in the roaring 90s. Thanks."

"Chairman Terry. I got the money, if you got the alligator! And I am so Indian too."

There is always the banal, "It is such an honor to meet you," which is what I ended up saying to Hillary. That was an anticlimax. But I was okay the next time. I teased her. "First Nancy Pelosi, then Hillary." That was B.O.

I might be the only person to show up for these high profile DL21C events who actually does homework, like reading up on the guy.

Opal

On The Web

What a Party! Book. Terry McAuliffe's must-read memoir is the ...
Terry McAuliffe - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia served as Chairman of the Democratic National Committee from February 2001 to February 2005. ...... McAuliffe then served as Finance Director of the DNC and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, National Finance Chairman of the Gephardt for President Committee, National Finance Chairman and then National Co-Chairman of the Clinton-Gore re-election committee. ........ Chairman of the 53rd Presidential Inaugural Committee and as Chairman of the White House Millennium Celebration..... In 2000, McAuliffe chaired the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles -- the convention that helped give the Democratic ticket a 20-point bounce in the polls ....... Under Chairman McAuliffe’s tenure, for the first time in Party history, the DNC was debt-free and outraised the RNC. The DNC shattered all fundraising records by raising over $535 million. ...... McAuliffe built a new headquarters, and created a computer database of more than 2.7 million grassroots donors; increased email addresses from 70,000 to over 4 million; built a database of more than 175 million individuals. McAuliffe presently serves as Chairman of the Clinton for President Campaign Committee. ........ started his first business, McAuliffe Driveway Maintenance, when he was 14 years old. ....... He has successfully started over two-dozen companies in the fields of banking, insurance, marketing, and real estate. McAuliffe served as Chairman of the Federal City National Bank by the age of 30. ........ On January 23, 2007, his book, "What A Party! My Life Among Democrats: Presidents, Candidates, Donors, Activists, Alligators, and Other Wild Animals" was released and debuted at #5 on the New York Times Bestseller list and #1 on the Washington Post's list.
Terry McAuliffe - Leading Authorities Speakers Bureau
McAuliffe Is Dems' Comeback Kid (washingtonpost.com) an unheard-of $70 million in the bank -- and on the cutting edge of high-tech politics. ....... "Serving as chairman of the party when you don't have the White House, and you don't have the House, and you don't have the Senate, is the toughest job in the country" ....... Zack Exley, an Internet aficionado who worked at MoveOn.org, set up a Web site in 2002 that declared: "Don't blame the American people! Blame the Democratic Party leadership. Terry McAuliffe is an idiot." ....... We went through a very tough time in 2002 after the midterm election ...... the DNC now has a voter list with information on more than 170 million people, which allows the party to develop its own direct-mail donor list. ...... The new headquarters ... is wired to run an operation increasingly dependent on the Internet ........ McAuliffe first gained attention in the presidential election of 1980, wrestling an alligator on a fundraising prospect's dare. ........ McAuliffe has become the champion of the direct-mail and Internet small giver. .... McAuliffe expects that when his term ends in early 2005, "I am going to walk off the stage and everything we said will have been accomplished. . . . The new chairman, whoever it might be, will take over a party financed by millions of dollars that will automatically come in at the touch of a button, new facilities, no debt and voter files. This party is now secure for 25 years."
Byron York on Terry McAuliffe & Business Past on National Review ...
Jeffrey St. Clair: The Political Business of Terry McAuliffe
Terry McAuliffe News - The New York Times
Interview: Terry McAuliffe
USATODAY.com - Democrats, once again, are the party of 'the plain ...
Terry McAuliffe
Terry Mcauliffe - Wonkette
On Point : Terry McAuliffe on the Democrats - Terry McAuliffe on ...
TERRY MCAULIFFE
McAuliffe: Hillary May Drop Out
dump terry mcauliffe
Daily Kos :: Diaries
Q&A with Terry McAuliffe - Campus News
Terry McAuliffe, DNC Chairman, Makes $18000000 Profit On $100000 ...
Talking with Terry McAuliffe - KJZZ 91.5 FM - Your NPR News Station
Hotline On Call: What A Party: Terry McAuliffe's Years And Yarns
The Daily Show: Terry McAuliffe - TV.com
Rhode Island’s Future » Terry McAuliffe Lecture
Daily Kos: Terry out. Get Howard in.
Flirting with Obama risks Clinton's wrath / The message to donors ...
Tammy Bruce: Gay Arafat Makes a Play For Terry McAuliffe
Terry McAuliffe: The Manchurian Chairman? Hugh Hewitt says Dem ...
dotCommonweal :: General :: Terry McAuliffe on Immigration
Power Line: A message from Terry McAuliffe
Rising Hegemon: Terry Mcauliffe
The Terry McAuliffe Syndrome - WSJ.com
McAuliffe denies involvement in memos flap - Nation/Politics - The ...
Comedy Central: Daily Show: Terry McAuliffe Pt. 2
What a Party! Book. Terry McAuliffe's must-read memoir is the ...
Barnes & Noble.com - Book Search: Terry McAuliffe
The Texas Blue | Interview with Terry McAuliffe
VOA News - Fundraiser Extraordinaire McAuliffe Lives Life with Gusto Terry McAuliffe is 50, looks 40, and has the zest of a 20-year-old. ...... McAuliffe made his first fortune -- a few hundred dollars -- resurfacing driveways at age 14. He would later make millions of dollars in various businesses and financial investments. ....... McAuliffe did so well financially, in fact, that most of the accomplishments for which he is famous have come as an unpaid volunteer for the national Democratic Party ......... I don't believe the glass is half full. I believe it's overflowing. I'm fired up, charged up. ...... The minute you just went through, you'll never get back again. So you might as well make the most of it. ....... 1980. McAuliffe's famous Roladex -- a rotating card file of political contacts -- expanded so fast that he was soon leading the fundraising for the entire Democratic membership of the U.S. House of Representatives, at the request of his friend who one day would be the best man at his wedding: California Congressman Tony Coelho. ......... "He can get in most doors," Coelho says of his friend. "And once he gets in and he meets somebody, they become friends. He has that magnetic personality that, once he meets you, you like him. And then he gets you enthused about doing things, and he's very, very effective." ........ "I happen to enjoy asking for money," McAuliffe avers. "I love to ask for money. The worst they can say to me is no. I've never been shot. I've never been thrown out of a building, out of an airplane. .......... The alligator gets a mention because McAuliffe once wrestled one in return for a $15,000 campaign contribution. ..... the key to life is that when you get knocked down, get up, dust yourself off, and get right back at it again ........ McAuliffe says that if Hillary Clinton wins the presidency in 2008, he'd like to be both secretary of Commerce -- drumming up business for American companies -- and a presidential ambassador without portfolio once again. ....... acknowledges very few regrets in his life. Spending too much time apart from his kids is one. ....... it breaks my heart to call from the road and ask my son how he did in the wrestling match that day, or my daughter in her basketball game. You can never get those times back. ....... Beneath his Irish charm, Terry McAuliffe is a fierce political in-fighter. He admits that his own party, made up of diverse ethnic constituencies and occasionally at odds with itself, can sometimes look like what he calls the "Democratic Circular Firing Squad." ........ "If there's one thing I can do," Terry McAuliffe says in an understatement, "it's sell."
McAuliffe Dismisses Republican Victory; 'Not Much Has Changed ...





In The News

I pay more taxes than Hrithik: Amitabh India PRwire (Press Release) Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan claims he is the 'top' tax payer in the country with Rs.15.59 crore (Rs.155.9 million), and with Aishwarya Rai joining the family, the Bachchan family's total tax would be around Rs.25.3 crore (Rs.253 million). ..... 'If you look at the figures for the year 2006-2007, you'll see Amitabh, that's yours truly, has paid Rs.14.15 crore and from our company AB Corp Ltd. where all the earnings are mine, we've paid Rs.1.44 crore. ...... 'And yet they've put Hrithik as the top most taxpayer! Even if you take my tax figures individually I still top.'
Obama Says America Must Heal Like LA After Riots CBS 2
Clinton and Obama both blast Bush's war San Jose Mercury News
Gere says "end the circus" over India public kiss Sabah
Deadly Pakistan attack likely work of Islamists The Standard
Maoists launch campaign for declaring Nepal a republic DailyIndia.com
Clinton, Obama differences become clearer OCRegister
'I was a little nervous' at debate: Obama Chicago Sun-Times
Bush pushes immigration overhaul Seattle Post Intelligencer
Bush takes another run at the border Los Angeles Times
Crisis point: Not enough diplomats in India Times of India
Chinese WiMAX Revolution to Begin in 2009 Teleclick.ca
Criminals Target Google’s AdWords IDM.net.au
Pro soccer returns to Toronto Toronto Sun
Michael Dell is now thinking about changing the way his company ... International Herald Tribune built his business by selling directly to his customers, is now thinking about changing the way the company markets its computers ....... "The direct model has been a revolution, but it is not a religion," Dell wrote in a memorandum sent last week to 80,000 Dell employees. ...... The Dell memo signals that the company is preparing to shift toward more full-fledged retail operations. Dell disclosed that the company is putting in place new manufacturing and distribution models in the United States and overseas. ...... The direct sales model had been the crucial to Dell's success. Taught in business schools and imitated by other companies, the model enabled Dell to dominate the industry.
Dell reconsiders strategy as PC shipments slump Taipei Times
Direct sales ‘not a religion’: Michael Dell Economic Times Dell, 42 ...... analysts have said it must consider a retail strategy to better compete with Hewlett-Packard Co, which last year overtook Dell to become the largest PC maker, thanks partly to sales in stores. ....... Michael Dell has set out to reduce bureaucracy in the company, reducing his management team to 12 members from more than 20 under Rollins. ....... “We need to streamline our management structure to speed decisions and remove bureaucracy,” Dell said in the memo. “We’re making improvements in pricing, product development and fulfillment, and customer experience.” Cannon’s group is “working to take our supply chain and manufacturing to the next level of efficiency and quality,” the memo said. ....... Those efforts “won’t be merely exercises in cost-cutting,” Dell added. “We will reinvest those resources in the customer solutions that will build Dell for the future.” Garriques’ team is re-evaluating how the company addresses consumers in large emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia, India and China, the memo said.
Now it's one laptop per 1.75 children Times Online
Barack Obama needs a second act Monterey County Herald, CA As the excitement of his entry into the race fades, it's not enough just to be the anti-Hillary, anti-Bush, anti-Washington candidate. We need to know more about him — how he sees events, how he thinks, what he would do. Like a character in a drama, we need to see him grow and develop new dimensions. ...... He said we run our "foreign policy as if the children in Darfur are somehow less than the children here, and so we tolerate violence there." ...... "Whether it's global terrorism or pandemic disease, dramatic climate change or the proliferation of weapons of mass annihilation, the threats we face at the dawn of the 21st century can no longer be contained by borders and boundaries."
Mrs. Obama lays it on a bit thick ChronicleHerald.ca, Canada I wince a bit when Michelle Obama chides her husband as a mere mortal — a comic routine that rests on the presumption that we see him as a god. ......... "And then there’s the Barack Obama that lives with me in my house, and that guy’s a little less impressive. For some reason this guy still can’t manage to put the butter up when he makes toast, secure the bread so that it doesn’t get stale, and his five-year-old is still better at making the bed than he is." ......... She said that the TV version of Barack Obama sounded really interesting and that she’d like to meet him some time. ...... At a March fundraiser in New York, she tweaked her husband for not "putting his socks actually in the dirty clothes." ...... this princess of South Chicago, a formidable Princeton and Harvard Law School grad ..... Michelle dryly told a reporter at her husband’s Senate swearing-in that perhaps someday, he would do something to earn all the attention he was getting. ........ is good at turning down the heat himself. He manages to tamp down crowds dying to be electrified. He resists surfing his own wave of excitement.