Samantha Power, the Harvard professor who was forced to resign from Barack Obama's presidential campaign last spring after calling Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton "a monster," is now advising the president-elect on transition matters relating to the State Department -- which Clinton is slated to head. Power is listed on Obama's transition Web site as part of the team reviewing national security agencies. Her duties, according to the site, will be to "ensure that senior appointees have the information necessary to complete the confirmation process, lead their departments, and begin implementing signature policy initiatives immediately after they are sworn in." In short, she is part of a team that is likely to work directly with Clinton, a potentially awkward situation for the two women. Obama is expected to officially announce Clinton as his choice for secretary of state after the Thanksgiving holiday. Transition officials declined to comment. A spokesman for Clinton did not respond to an e-mail sent yesterday evening. Power has been on the list of review team officials since mid-November; the Associated Press first called attention to her presence on the list yesterday. But people close to the transition suggested too much was made of Power's comment at the time, and said that she has made moves to bury the hatchet with Clinton and that the senator accepted those efforts.
Samantha Power, the Harvard professor who was forced to resign from Barack Obama's presidential campaign last spring after calling Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton "a monster," is now advising the president-elect on transition matters relating to the State Department -- which Clinton is slated to head.
Power is listed on Obama's transition Web site as part of the team reviewing national security agencies. Her duties, according to the site, will be to "ensure that senior appointees have the information necessary to complete the confirmation process, lead their departments, and begin implementing signature policy initiatives immediately after they are sworn in."
In short, she is part of a team that is likely to work directly with Clinton, a potentially awkward situation for the two women. Obama is expected to officially announce Clinton as his choice for secretary of state after the Thanksgiving holiday.
Transition officials declined to comment. A spokesman for Clinton did not respond to an e-mail sent yesterday evening. Power has been on the list of review team officials since mid-November; the Associated Press first called attention to her presence on the list yesterday.
But people close to the transition suggested too much was made of Power's comment at the time, and said that she has made moves to bury the hatchet with Clinton and that the senator accepted those efforts.
Indian troops have been searching a landmark Mumbai hotel, hours after killing the last gunmen holding out. Commandos said they had killed three militants inside the Taj Mahal Palace in an assault on the huge building. Wednesday's attacks on hotels, a rail station, a Jewish centre and other sites left at least 195 people dead. India has blamed "elements with links to Pakistan". Pakistan has pledged to act against any group found to have links to the militants. Funerals have been held for some of the dead including Indian anti-terrorist squad chief Hemant Karkare.
Indian troops have been searching a landmark Mumbai hotel, hours after killing the last gunmen holding out.
Commandos said they had killed three militants inside the Taj Mahal Palace in an assault on the huge building.
Wednesday's attacks on hotels, a rail station, a Jewish centre and other sites left at least 195 people dead.
India has blamed "elements with links to Pakistan". Pakistan has pledged to act against any group found to have links to the militants.
Funerals have been held for some of the dead including Indian anti-terrorist squad chief Hemant Karkare.
Pakistan's reversal of a decision to send the head of its intelligence service to India is a political own goal, following the offer made by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. Mr Gilani, whose democratic government is the first in Pakistan for almost a decade, made the offer to show full co-operation with the Indian investigation. But now a lower official from the Inter Services Agency (ISI) will come instead. The decision damages Pakistan's case that all of the military organisations of the state are now under democratic control - a case put strongly in a BBC interview when their foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told me there was now "consensus" among all of the institutions of the state to act against terrorist groups. By coincidence it was on Wednesday, hours before the Mumbai incident began, that the Pakistani government scrapped the political wing of the ISI.
Pakistan's reversal of a decision to send the head of its intelligence service to India is a political own goal, following the offer made by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.
Mr Gilani, whose democratic government is the first in Pakistan for almost a decade, made the offer to show full co-operation with the Indian investigation.
But now a lower official from the Inter Services Agency (ISI) will come instead.
The decision damages Pakistan's case that all of the military organisations of the state are now under democratic control - a case put strongly in a BBC interview when their foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told me there was now "consensus" among all of the institutions of the state to act against terrorist groups.
By coincidence it was on Wednesday, hours before the Mumbai incident began, that the Pakistani government scrapped the political wing of the ISI.
... "These sources have said NATO and the US command have been told that Pakistan would not be able to concentrate on the war on terror and against militants around the Afghanistan border as defending its borders with India was far more important," Geo News quoted senior Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir as saying. He also said the sources had briefed the media that the decision not to send the ISI chief Lt Gen Shuja Pasha to India was taken after Indian foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee used a very aggressive tone with Pakistani officials on telephone after the Mumbai attacks. ...
... I do think that it's very possible that al-Qaeda is deeply involved and possibly using one or two of the Pakistani/Kashmiri groups as a surrogate to have trained these Indian militants. Now I think the strategic reason for that is because al-Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban are very hard-pressed in the tribal areas that border Afghanistan. They're facing the Pakistani army onslaught from the Pakistani side, and they're facing a rain of U.S. missiles from U.S. forces in Afghanistan falling in the tribal areas killing twelve people. And I think that the strategic option for them here was to create a diversion. And no better diversion could be created in this region than an Indo-Pak escalation and a near-war situation between India and Pakistan. And I think that's what they've tried to create. And I fear very much that the leaders of both these countries -- you know, if they continue these accusations against each other -- are going to be falling into the trap that al-Qaeda is setting for them. ...
Now I think the strategic reason for that is because al-Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban are very hard-pressed in the tribal areas that border Afghanistan. They're facing the Pakistani army onslaught from the Pakistani side, and they're facing a rain of U.S. missiles from U.S. forces in Afghanistan falling in the tribal areas killing twelve people.
And I think that the strategic option for them here was to create a diversion. And no better diversion could be created in this region than an Indo-Pak escalation and a near-war situation between India and Pakistan. And I think that's what they've tried to create. And I fear very much that the leaders of both these countries -- you know, if they continue these accusations against each other -- are going to be falling into the trap that al-Qaeda is setting for them. ...
Hundreds of people are reported to have been killed in central Nigeria after Christians and Muslims clashed over the result of a local election. A Muslim charity in the town of Jos says it collected more than 300 bodies, and fatalities are also expected from other ethnic groups, mainly Christians. There is no official confirmation yet, and figures are notoriously unreliable in Nigeria, says the BBC's Alex Last. Police have imposed a 24-hour curfew and the army is patrolling the streets. They have been given orders to shoot on sight in an effort to quell the bloodshed, some of the most serious in Nigeria in recent years. The Nigerian Red Cross says at least 10,000 people have fled their homes.
Hundreds of people are reported to have been killed in central Nigeria after Christians and Muslims clashed over the result of a local election.
A Muslim charity in the town of Jos says it collected more than 300 bodies, and fatalities are also expected from other ethnic groups, mainly Christians.
There is no official confirmation yet, and figures are notoriously unreliable in Nigeria, says the BBC's Alex Last.
Police have imposed a 24-hour curfew and the army is patrolling the streets.
They have been given orders to shoot on sight in an effort to quell the bloodshed, some of the most serious in Nigeria in recent years.
The Nigerian Red Cross says at least 10,000 people have fled their homes.
Bangladesh's garment industry is growing rapidly despite the global economic turmoil as China loses orders due to high prices and worldwide demand for cheap clothing soars. Nearly 5,000 apparel makers here initially sought government help when some top US and European buyers postponed and cut orders in the wake of the worst financial crisis since the 1930s Great Depression. But clothing makers say that a massive diversion of orders from China, the world's largest producer of apparel, has more than compensated. In the first quarter to September, garment shipments grew by a record 45 percent to 3.4 billion dollars, government data this week showed, with more than 90 percent of the exports going to the US and Europe. "It's a huge change in fortune for us," said Golam Faruq, owner of the country's largest sweater manufacturer and a key supplier to British upmarket retailer Marks and Spencer.
Nearly 5,000 apparel makers here initially sought government help when some top US and European buyers postponed and cut orders in the wake of the worst financial crisis since the 1930s Great Depression.
But clothing makers say that a massive diversion of orders from China, the world's largest producer of apparel, has more than compensated.
In the first quarter to September, garment shipments grew by a record 45 percent to 3.4 billion dollars, government data this week showed, with more than 90 percent of the exports going to the US and Europe.
"It's a huge change in fortune for us," said Golam Faruq, owner of the country's largest sweater manufacturer and a key supplier to British upmarket retailer Marks and Spencer.
Heard the same thing about electronics sub-contracting, BTW: Taiwanese ODM moving manufacturing from the coastal provinces of Mainland China to "cheaper" destinations; the current favorite: Vietnam. Europeans think a hundred miles is a long way. Americans think a hundred years is a long time.
"The prices will not begin to rise before the second half of 2009," said OPEC Secretary General Abdalla Salem El-Badri. Oil prices have slumped by two-thirds since striking record highs above 147 dollars per barrel in July, as the market has been rattled by a looming global recession and weak demand.
Oil prices have slumped by two-thirds since striking record highs above 147 dollars per barrel in July, as the market has been rattled by a looming global recession and weak demand.
Theatre and concert ticket scalpers can elevate prices where there is a widespread perception of a sell-out performance in the future. But if there are a few empty seats on the day, and tickets are still available from the box office, the scalpers will have to dump their prices. You can't be me, I'm taken
Some say the ritual of trimming a Christmas tree has pagan roots. Others trace it from 16th century European churches, through Norman Rockwell homes and Charlie Brown cartoons. The image of a Christmas tree is something people hold on to. Like a wedding photo. The memory of an Easter egg hunt. A childhood dreidel. (Not surprisingly: "Sales of dreidels are up this year," says Mandana Nowroocian of the Dreidels and More store in Chicago.)The Christmas tree "signifies home and family and tradition and all the comfort values that people still want," says Martin J. Irvine, professor of communication, culture and technology at Georgetown University and a card-carrying semiotician. He adds that a tree is "typically not a high price-point item, but it has high symbolic value."Bryan Ostlund, executive director of the Pacific Northwest Christmas Tree Association in Salem, Ore., agrees. "We're seeing an upward trend in orders, even though there is cautiousness all around us."Ostlund says he has seen this phenomenon before -- during slow economic moments in the early 1990s and in 2001. When the economy tanks, Christmas tree sales soar."Orders remain strong," Ostlund says, despite the gloomy state revenue forecast and rising unemployment.
Some say the ritual of trimming a Christmas tree has pagan roots. Others trace it from 16th century European churches, through Norman Rockwell homes and Charlie Brown cartoons.
The image of a Christmas tree is something people hold on to. Like a wedding photo. The memory of an Easter egg hunt. A childhood dreidel. (Not surprisingly: "Sales of dreidels are up this year," says Mandana Nowroocian of the Dreidels and More store in Chicago.)
The Christmas tree "signifies home and family and tradition and all the comfort values that people still want," says Martin J. Irvine, professor of communication, culture and technology at Georgetown University and a card-carrying semiotician.
He adds that a tree is "typically not a high price-point item, but it has high symbolic value."
Bryan Ostlund, executive director of the Pacific Northwest Christmas Tree Association in Salem, Ore., agrees. "We're seeing an upward trend in orders, even though there is cautiousness all around us."
Ostlund says he has seen this phenomenon before -- during slow economic moments in the early 1990s and in 2001. When the economy tanks, Christmas tree sales soar.
"Orders remain strong," Ostlund says, despite the gloomy state revenue forecast and rising unemployment.
What have Madagascar and South Korea got in common? On the face of it, nothing. The former is a country in development, the second is an economic power. One is in Africa, the other in Asia. The Malagasy have uncontaminated land. The Koreans lack cultivatable land. Madagascar has 28 inhabitants per square kilometre. South Korea has 493 inhabitants per square kilometre. Two countries that are different from each other but that today have Daewoo in common as well as neocolonialism without capital. ... South Korea needs corn, palm oil and agricultural goods. Madagascar has land. Daewoo signed an agreement with the Malagasy government. The handing over of 1.3 million hectares of cultivatable land for 99 years. More than half the cultivatable land in the country (2.5 million hectares). It's all for FREE. In exchange, Daewoo is committed to taking on the Malagasy as peasants. The 1.3 million hectares are mostly forests. They will be destroyed with severe effects on the climate. The Malagasy peasant has his land taken away from him, the food is sent abroad, his environment is destroyed. In exchange he can work for Daewoo. What luck! Those who have resources have no money. Those who have money, buy resources. But what is money? Where does it come from? Guess. From the resources of those without money. Africa has the greatest amount of uncultivated fertile land in the world and the greatest number of starving people. There must be a reason.
South Korea needs corn, palm oil and agricultural goods. Madagascar has land. Daewoo signed an agreement with the Malagasy government. The handing over of 1.3 million hectares of cultivatable land for 99 years. More than half the cultivatable land in the country (2.5 million hectares). It's all for FREE. In exchange, Daewoo is committed to taking on the Malagasy as peasants.
The 1.3 million hectares are mostly forests. They will be destroyed with severe effects on the climate. The Malagasy peasant has his land taken away from him, the food is sent abroad, his environment is destroyed. In exchange he can work for Daewoo. What luck! Those who have resources have no money. Those who have money, buy resources. But what is money? Where does it come from? Guess. From the resources of those without money. Africa has the greatest amount of uncultivated fertile land in the world and the greatest number of starving people. There must be a reason.
nice... ~"When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as fate." Karl Jung~
Everybody knows how President-elect Barack Obama's amazing campaign money machine was dominated by several million regular folks sending in hard-earned amounts under $200, a real sign of his broadbased grassroots support. Except, it turns out, that's not really true. In fact, Obama's base of small donors was almost exactly the same percent as George W. Bush's in 2004 -- Obama had 26% and the great Republican satan 25%. Obviously, this is unacceptable to current popular thinking. But the nonpartisan Campaign Finance Institute just issued a detailed study of Obama's donor base and its giving. And that's what the Institute found, to its own surprise. "The myth is that money from small donors dominated Barack Obama's finances," said CFI's executive director Michael Malbin, admitting that his organization also was fooled. "The reality of Obama's fundraising was impressive, but the reality does not match the myth."
Everybody knows how President-elect Barack Obama's amazing campaign money machine was dominated by several million regular folks sending in hard-earned amounts under $200, a real sign of his broadbased grassroots support.
Except, it turns out, that's not really true.
In fact, Obama's base of small donors was almost exactly the same percent as George W. Bush's in 2004 -- Obama had 26% and the great Republican satan 25%. Obviously, this is unacceptable to current popular thinking.
But the nonpartisan Campaign Finance Institute just issued a detailed study of Obama's donor base and its giving. And that's what the Institute found, to its own surprise.
"The myth is that money from small donors dominated Barack Obama's finances," said CFI's executive director Michael Malbin, admitting that his organization also was fooled. "The reality of Obama's fundraising was impressive, but the reality does not match the myth."
In fact what happened is that many 'small' donors gave a lot more than $200, taking them out of the official small bracket. But they were still individual donations, and not part of the usual corporate cash milking round.
"We're not getting what we pay for," says Denis Cortese, president and chief executive of the Mayo Clinic. "It's just that simple." "Our health-care system is fraught with waste," says Gary Kaplan, chairman of Seattle's cutting-edge Virginia Mason Medical Center. As much as half of the $2.3 trillion spent today does nothing to improve health, he says.
"Our health-care system is fraught with waste," says Gary Kaplan, chairman of Seattle's cutting-edge Virginia Mason Medical Center. As much as half of the $2.3 trillion spent today does nothing to improve health, he says.
