Rajendra Mahto In Town

Rajendra Mahto Live: Registering Dissent On Interim Constitution, January 15
Email To All Madhesis From Rajendra Mahto
Rajendra Mahto: नागरिकता विधेयक खोतल्दा
Nepal's Terai People In Deplorable Conditions: Mahto
To: Koirala, Nepal, KC, Pokharel, Tripathy, Mahto And The Rest
Phone Interview With Rajendra Mahato

Photos

• Rajendra Mahto 5
• Rajendra Mahto 4
• Rajendra Mahto 3
• Rajendra Mahto 2
• Rajendra Mahto 1
• Upendra Yadav

Not long after he landed a few days ago on Thursday and was at Madhuji's place on the Upper East Side, Rajendraji called me up. We have been on the phone fairly regularly after the king's coup, we have had long conversations at many crisis points, but this was different. He was at the other end of the phone, and he was in town. He was only a train ride away. I was excited. He was eager to meet me. I said he just landed. There is the jet lag thing. Was he sure he did not want to rest for the rest of the day? Raat ko so lenge na, he said. I will sleep at night. He was mistaken. He, his wife and Ram Chandra Jha, the senior UML leader who is from Janakpur, my hometown, had come. All three went through the jet lag stuff for days. I told Mrs. Mahto a few days later, I think today, just when she was starting to feel normal that she should expect to have to go through this all over again once she is back in Kathmandu.

I got there at noon. We talked as we waited for Ram Chandra Jha to show up. He was staying at the Deputy Ambassador's place, also named Madhu. Jha was at the Mission's office. I was primarily wanting to know about the internal politics of the Sadbhavana. The Pahadi media in Kathmandu does not cover that, if it covers the party at all.

I wanted to buy daily passes for the three of them, and take them sightseeing. He called up the Mission and asked for a gaadi. For the next few days I witnessed all local Nepali bureaucrats organize their lives around Rajendraji. This was the first time I was witnessing such a thing. I am not used to seeing a Madhesi minister. I told him it was a sukhad ascharya for me, a pleasant surprise. Ek mantri hai to ye haal, panch rahenge to kya hoga? What if we end up with five ministers instead? Jaldi se jaldi rashtrapati ban ke aiye, tab aap ke saath White House chalenge, I said. Hurry up and become president and come, then I go to the White House with you.

The Misssion's driver Dhan Bahadur drove the four of us plus Ram Babu, a fellow Janakpuriya and a Mission bureaucrat, down to the Staten Island Ferry. By then I had the impression Rajendra Mahto has seen more of NYC than I have. This was his third trip. By the time we got off the Staten Island Ferry, Mrs. Mahto's body clock was giving up on her. So we cut short the rest of the places on my mental list and headed back to the Upper East Side. There was a dinner event on Roosevelt Island. She missed that. The rest of us went. I told him he might have seen all of NYC, but Mrs. Mahto has not. To aap usiko ghumaiye, he said. Take her around.

I have been to the Mahto home in Kathmandu I think in 1994. I have had a cup of tea from her. While I was there, some Sadbhavana guy showed up. The Janata Dal and them were not supposed to get along. I was surprised Mahto received this guy. I was like, what are you doing? Those are the bad guys. Mahto offered him a cup of tea, and then patiently listened to all he had to say. Then he politely disagreed and bid the guy farewell. I learned an important lesson in democratic exercise that day. Take the US Senate. Those 100 individuals are stuck with working with each other, they like it or not. And so it is important to keep open the possibility of maybe working down the line with even those Senators you might utterly disagree with and even despise.

Mahto has had a warm personality. He makes you feel included. He is for the most part polite. But he can talk tough as need be. He is a major asset in the Madhesi struggle for equality inside Nepal. He is a first class mind, intellectually curious, informed, engaged, with amazing people skills.

Friday we played phone tag twice, and finally when we talked we agreed to meet Sunday morning right before I took him over to the Alliance picnic that I was so looking forward to. My number one Nepali comrade in NYC, Anil Shahi, was now its president. (Alliance Sets The Tone For Diaspora Organizations) I was glad Rajendraji seemed to have plans to take his wife around town Saturday.

Saturday morning Binod Shah called me up. He wanted to organize a Madhesi gathering in the evening, could Rajendraji make it? I called up Rajendraji. He was eager.

After that Madhesi event, I went to Binod Shah's place in Yonkers - I said Kapileshwar, Jha said Mahuwa - that was totally unplanned. Just like with Upendra Yadav, Jha, me and Pawan Shah got the living room, Binod Shah and Bikram Shah, the two brothers, took the two rooms. (Upendra Yadav Was In Town) Jha got the mattress, Pawan and I got the large sheet. With Upendra Yadav, I had the mattress, Pawan had the sofa. Upendraji relayed stories of having to go out of the village and deep into the fields with a sheet and a mosquito net because he did not feel safe sleeping at home.

Jha, Binod Shah and I had a long conversation before going to sleep. Mostly we listened, Jha talked. After we had got off the Staten Island Ferry I had told him I sat for the SLC exams in 2046, and "I have been hearing of you since."

Before I came to the US in 1996, I was with the Nepal Samajwadi Janata Dal. I was a Vice General Secretary. Rajendraji was a Central Committee member. He casually mentioned that at the Madhesi dinner Saturday evening at Chicken Chilli. The Dal had two MPs, the Sadbhavana had two MPs.

Sunday morning, Binod Shah urged that I make a homepage for Jha, and so I did. With Upendra Yadav, he had urged me to make one for the MPRF, and I had. Now Shah wants one for himself as well.

When he drove me over to the train station, the last stop north on the 4 line, Binodji and I discussed ANTA. He wanted to hand over the NYC chapter leadership to someone else, one of the younger guys who showed up for the dinner event the evening before. Rajesh Sah, Satendra Shah, and one other guy were mentioned.

Back at Madhu Raman Acharya's place, Rajendraji and I had a long conversation in terms of the Madhesi struggle and the impending constituent assembly elections. We talked of the possibilities of a Madhesi Morcha. We discussed the Sadbhavana's internal politics. This private conversation was the crown jewel of the few days spent with him for me.

While we talked, Damien Mallen called. I called him back after we were done talking. Damien was my running mate and subsequently vice president when I was student body president at Berea College. Today he came in as an investor into my tech startup.

Then Rajendraji went to the closing ceremony of the Hindi convention he had come to attend, the reason for his visit. He was a major feature at the convention. He was the one who gave out prizes.

I went to the Alliance picnic. Rajendraji was running late. He got there right after some white guy state Senator had left. Rajendraji gave a great speech. Then it was Jha's turn to speak. Hum to bhool hi gaye, Bhanu ke bare mein aap hi bol dijiye, Rajendraji urged Jha. Jha was in his element. They spoke great.

I have three hours of video from Rajendraji's visit. They will be downloaded from my camera and uploaded online over the next few days. I promised Rajendraji I will send him CDs of the video, I will mail them to him.

The three of them hurried to the train station. The train left at six. They will be back Tuesday evening, and fly back Wednesday morning. I will not get to meet them. I have a major Obama event Tuesday evening. Hum to dekhiye Nepal mein bhi Madhesi, America mein bhi Madhesi, yahan bhi sangharsh chal raha hai, Obama rashtrapati banega, I told Rajendraji a few different times.

Manhattan4Obama Kick-Off Organizational Meeting

When?

Tuesday, Jul 17, 2007, 7:15 PM

Where?

St. Vincent's Hospital Cafeteria

12th Street at 7th Ave

New York, NY 10011

Videos

Anil Jha, Nepal Sadbhavana Party 1
Anil Jha, Nepal Sadbhavana Party 2
Anil Jha, Nepal Sadbhavana Party 3
Madhesi Gathering In Prospect Park 1
Madhesi Gathering In Prospect Park 2
Ridgewood Dashain Party
Ratneshwar Goit, CPN (UML)
Aftab Alam, Nepali Congress 1
Aftab Alam, Nepali Congress 2
Aftab Alam, Nepali Congress 3
Bimalendra Nidhi And Friends 1
Bimalendra Nidhi And Friends 2
Bimalendra Nidhi And Friends 3
Bimalendra Nidhi And Friends 4
Upendra Yadav 1
Upendra Yadav 2
Upendra Yadav 3
Upendra Yadav 4
Upendra Yadav 5


Constituent Assembly: Best Madhesi Option


Impeach Bush-Cheney, Nancy Pelosi Gets To Become First Female President
Hillary Messed Up On Iraq, And Al Qaeda Is Strong, America Insecure
Jeff Kurzon's Living Room, Union Sqaure, Times Square, King Arthur
I Agree With Neocons, The War On Terror Is Same Magnitude As Cold War
Iowa Humanizes The Candidate
Yes, There Is A Hierarchy: Homework Is Online, Action Is Offline
Formula For Greatness
PBS Debate: Hillary Was Strong, Barack Was Warm, Edwards Was Composed
Some Recent Videos
Old Media Is The Reason Obama Is Lagging In The Polls
Michelle Obama Is Just Fabulous
1 Debate, 1 Major Policy Speech, 1 Rally, 1 Big Fundraiser A Month
I Touched Obama: Babel, Barack
Blair For Palestine, Blair For Europe
Hillary-Obama Vs. Rudy-Romney Vs. Bloomberg-Arnold
There Is An Albert Einstein On The Obama Campaign Staff
John Kennedy

FYI

http://www.usip.org/events/2007/0717_violence_nepal.html

Events/Multimedia Violence in the Terai and the Madhesi Movement: Prospects for Peace in Nepal Public Event Date and Time Tuesday, July 17, 2007 Please note new time: 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM Location U.S. Institute of Peace 2nd Floor Conference Room 1200 17th St, NW Washington, DC 20036 Directions RSVP Today Despite a peace agreement that ended a ten-year Maoist insurgency, the past six months have seen a spark of violence in the Terai (lowlands) region of Nepal fueled by a growing Madhesi movement. Concerns are being raised that such violence will threaten the peacebuilding process and fair constituent assembly elections scheduled in November. The Madhesi are culturally and ethnically close to the northern groups of India and are raising grievances including economic discrimination, disproportionate electoral representation and under-representation in the government, army, police and civil society organizations. A number of armed groups, claiming to support Madhesi grievances, have clashed with each other, police, and the Maoists. They have also engaged in kidnapping for ransom, extortion and killing of political party actors. A counter-Madhesi political group is forming and concerns are that it may turn to violence. Communal and ethnic tensions and fears are rising. How can the Madhesi movement and the grievances raised by the Madhesi be resolved peacefully? How can moderate forces be given space to resolve the tensions peacefully? How can armed groups who use violence to promote their aims be brought into a more peaceful process of change? How can the government of Nepal constructively engage with the Madhesi movement and the growing number of armed groups? What could the role of the United Nations be in helping the government of Nepal with the Madhesi issues and to address the underlying grievances? Minister Rajendra Mahato will share his views on these and other issues related to peacebulding in Nepal. Speakers Minister Rajendra Mahato Nepal's Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, prominent Madhesi leader and vice president of the Nepal Sadbhawana Party-Anandidevi (NSP-A) Colette Rausch, Moderator U.S. Institute of Peace Media Inquiries Please contact Ian Larsen (+1.202.429.3870) or Lauren Sucher (+1.202.429.3822) in the Office of Public Affairs and Communications. RSVP To RSVP, please send your name, affiliation, daytime phone number, and name of the event to rsvp@usip.org.

Moriarty Worried So People Like Me Did Not Have To

I feel the need to pay my tribute to Ambassador Moriarty who has finished his three year term. This is a man who is in obvious love with Nepal. He happens to be the top authority in the US foreign policy establishment on ultra left groups. He is on a first name basis with Rice.

When I zeroed in on Nepal after the king's coup in February 2005, I discovered I cared about Nepal more than I had ever known before. When I started "engaging" the Maoists who were in touch with the democrats in exile in Delhi who I was in touch with, and I was aware from firsthand experience the Maoists were the most web savvy of all political parties in Nepal, and so my blog was bound to be read by them at the highest levels, I was aware I was dealing with the top ultra left group on the planet that had waged its "People's War" with the express goal of establishing a one party communist dictatorship in which not even the UML would have any space. The worst case scenario was Cambodia, the best case scenario was Cuba, which is not a democracy and so I don't like it as it is. Multiparty democracy is a must, as far as I am concerned. I feel about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the way Americans feel about their Declaration of Independence.

Since then I have gone through many ups and downs in my thoughts and feelings with the Maoists. And throughout that period, I have seen Moriarty less as a superpower ambassador, although it was reassuring that that he was, and more as a mind who more than other in the picture saw the Maoists for who and what they were. He has never been in denial. He has not been in fantassyland. He has been concrete. He talked with the authority of a doctor who knew his disease. And I listened.

I disagreed with him most in his disagreement with the 12 point agreement. It was that agreement that made the magical April Revolution possible. And I have praised him to the skies on the Bhutani refugee question. What he has proposed and done is cutting edge for global politics. Inform me if you find a parallel anywhere on the planet. There isn't. It was so out of the box, I must admit I was thrown out of balance. I regained my composure faster than the Bahuns in power in Kathmandu, but that is another topic altogether.

Moriarty painted the worst case scenario for Nepal - Pol Pot's Cambodia - and did everything in his considerable powers to prove himself wrong. You can not use it against him he painted the worst case scenario. That was the direction the Maoists were headed. And he never wanted to be proven right. And I am not sure he has been proven completely wrong. Look at the YCL's excesses, look at the breakaway Maoist groups in the Terai. Right now as is, we are somewhere between Cuba and Cambodia in terms of arbitrary physical suffering for the people. We have not crossed the river yet. And you should be glad that although Moriarty will be gone, but his policies will stay.

Moriarty's presence allowed me to do the political work I did. It allowed me to experiment with the idea of a political alliance with the Maoists. I could not have been as experimental in my thoughts as I was if Moriarty was not worrying like he was.

Moriarty is a reasonable man. He really did want to shake Prachanda's hand. That he could not means the Maoists have not become a political party yet. The transformation is still underway.

At This Blog

Bravo Moriarty
Moriarty Should Take His Offer Directly To The Bhutani Refugees
Parallel Governments Of Maoists And Moriarty
Baburam Moriarty Debate
Moriarty Deserves Your Ears
Moriarty Was Wrong On The 12 Point Agreement
Moriarty In The Soup
Moriarty's Irresponsible Mainstream
Maoist, Moriarty, Madhav, Manmohan: Get Behind The 3 Point Program
Moriarty Going The Bloomfield Route

On The Web

Outgoing American Ambassador to Nepal, James Francis Moriarty addressing his...
Moriarty, James F.
Speech by U.S. Ambassador James F. Moriarty To Friends and ...
Remarks by Ambassador James F. Moriarty on the 5th Anniversary of ...
American Chronicle: James F Moriarty: Weapons And Nepali Maoists
Ambassador to Nepal James F. Moriarty's Statement to Media in New ...
EMM News Explorer: James F. Moriarty
Blogdai: Comrade James
Nepal Maoists eye total power, may derail peace: US
Nepalnews.com Mercantile Communications Pvt. Ltd.
Nepalnews.com Mercantile Communications Pvt. Ltd.

EC proposes polls schedule

The Election Commission (EC) has proposed the schedule for the upcoming constituent assembly elections scheduled for November 22.

As per the EC schedule, the commission will publish the election programme on September 22. Parties and individuals will have to file their candidature by September 24 for direct election and by September 26 for election based on proportional representation. The commission will issue the election symbols to candidates and parties by October 10. The commission has set aside 41 days for public campaign for the candidates contesting the election.

The voting will be held on November 22 in one phase from 7 am to 5 pm, the EC has proposed.

The EC held discussion on its proposed schedule with the representatives of political parties, on Friday, at the EC office.

"We have also urged the parties to form joint 8-party mechanism up to the booth level. This will greatly facilitate the mobilisation of our employees," said Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Bhojraj Pokharel.

The proposed schedule will be finalised after discussion with the political parties in the interim parliament. nepalnews.com sd/ia July 13 07

In The News

al-Qaida Ops Show Leadership in Control Forbes, NY "They have studio facilities, they have access to all sorts of communications and news and all the rest of it, so they are not hiding out in some cave," he said. "They are very well settled somewhere." ..... the men are likely to be hiding on the remote Pakistani side of the border with Afghanistan ...... While the border is barren and lawless, some of the mud-brick compounds of wealthy tribal elders have the latest in modern amenities and technology. Pakistani forces hold little sway in the region, making the area an ideal refuge. ..... Regardless of where al-Zawahri and bin Laden are holed up, Venzke said the volume of video and audio messages belies the notion — perpetuated by the Bush administration — that al-Qaida's leaders are so busy trying not to get caught that their ability to direct operatives has been substantially degraded. ...... "The operational risks of releasing a video from a covert point to a public point are much greater than communicating from one covert point to another covert point," said Venzke. "If they have the ability to publicly release videos, then they certainly have retained the ability to communicate with their cells and affiliates around the world."
Senate doubles bin Laden bounty to 50 million dollars
Senate votes to double U.S. bounty on bin Laden
Risk of terror strike grows a resurgent Al Qaeda had stepped up training and worldwide operations from safe havens in Pakistan, a development they worry could lead to ambitious new attacks. ....... their planning-to-execution cycle might suggest summer is the window of choice ..... Al Qaeda has rebuilt its headquarters in Pakistan and is more dangerous than at any time since the Sept. 11 attacks .... Bin Laden is being protected by powerful local tribal leaders along the Afghan-Pakistani border and that the safe haven has enabled his network to regroup and rebuild its ability to strike the United States. ...... the premise that the home run hit is the United States ...... U.S. intelligence officials lay most of the blame for Al Qaeda's resurgence on a peace agreement between the Pakistani government and tribal leaders last fall ....... the agreement has given the terrorist network virtually free rein to plan attacks worldwide ..... a more comprehensive and formal National Intelligence Estimate that is scheduled to be released this summer after two years of preparation ...... Al Qaeda seemed "to be fairly well settled into the safe haven in the ungoverned spaces of Pakistan," adding that "we see more training. We see more money, and we see more communications." ....... a wide array of threats, including Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program, alleged economic espionage by China and Russia and the destabilization of large swaths of Africa. ....... the network's operations in tribal areas that border Afghanistan .... after much public speculation that he was either in failing health or dead. ...... he "goes into extended periods in which he does not communicate, does not interact with anyone directly." ........ those tribal leaders are the very people who are protecting him ..... "We've had rewards out for Bin Laden for a long period of time, and economic motivation is not a principal driver of how they behave," he added. ....... Nobody knows where he is .... Al Qaeda's command and control in Pakistan has been extremely successful recently both in planning operations and in franchising the Al Qaeda name to affiliates and sympathizers around the world. They cited the case of "Al Qaeda in the Maghreb," a group of Algerian militant organizations that has pledged allegiance to Bin Laden and has become more active in North Africa. ...... active connections and relationships that radiate outward from their leaders hiding in Pakistan to affiliates throughout the Middle East, North and East Africa, and Europe
How did Al Qaeda emerge in North Africa? eight months ago, Algerian militants declared an alliance with Al Qaeda and have violently announced their resurgence with a wave of spectacular attacks ........ officially joined Al Qaeda with the Sept. 11, 2006, announcement ....... new moniker and broader, global aims ..... In 1993, a top member of Al Qaeda met with Islamist fighters starting to organize in Algeria and Mr. bin Laden gave factions of the GIA $40,000 ....... Adopting the name Al Qaeda brought the GSPC the instant support of tens of thousands of online jihadists ...... the group is "seeking headlines. .... "Al Qaeda remains the most important brand name among the jihadists" ..... Algerian security forces claimed last year to have killed or imprisoned 750 to 800 militants .... the "strength of the group has not diminished." ..... Because they have staying power the battle waged against these groups must be a very long [war] ...... The GSPC has been active in Europe, particularly against its old colonial ruler, France. In September 2005, French police uncovered a group of militants linked to the GSPC that were planning to attack various sites in Paris.
Cheney Sticks to His Delusions Bush made several unsupported assertions about the war in Iraq ......"President Bush always said he would wait to talk about the CIA leak case until after the investigation into his administration's role. On Thursday, he skipped over that step and pronounced the matter old news hardly worth discussing. .......... perhaps somebody in the administration did disclose the name of that person ..... the two senior White House aides who leaked Plame's identity to reporters -- senior political adviser Karl Rove and former vice presidential chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby ...... the inquisitive chief executive asserts he didn't ask a single question of those involved ..... "The White House press corps should not accept [Bush's] puerile and facetious answer. ...... the judge who sentenced former White House aide I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby to 30 months in jail, only to see the sentence commuted by President Bush, said he was 'perplexed' by the act of clemency. ........ telling lawmakers they had no business trying to manage the war, portraying the conflict as a showdown with Al Qaeda and warning that moving toward withdrawal now would risk 'mass killings on a horrific scale.'" .......... 'There is a war fatigue in America. It's affecting our psychology.' ..... he no longer commands the affection of his nation ...... if you ever come down and visit the old, tired me down there in Crawford, I will be able to say, "I looked in the mirror and made decisions based upon principle, not based upon politics," ' he said. "And that's important to me."'" ....... He is trying to buy time for a surge that is living on borrowed time ...... he is just stalling for time, trying to get every extra moment on the clock he can for the current strategy, in hopes that the Iraqi government will somehow come together ........ "Leading Republicans said they remained skeptical that the buildup of 30,000 troops would work ....... "unless there are significant improvements in Iraq in the next two months, lawmakers say, the president will almost certainly face a mutiny within his party's ranks. . . . ...... "A sense of near-panic has set in among congressional Republicans, who lost their majority in Congress last year in large part because of opposition to the war. They fear further losses next year." ...... "Facing rock-bottom poll numbers and the judgment of history, President Bush has little to lose politically in using the last 18 months of his presidency to try to prove critics of his war policy wrong ..... "The rest of his Republican Party, however, is looking at something entirely different: elections for the House, Senate and the presidency that, absent a miraculous turnaround in Iraq or a suicidal stumble by Democrats, are headed for a debacle. ...... rising outrage and astonishment at what they call Bush's refusal to face reality ..... "'The president has his head in the sand,' said Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. 'The Iraqis have not met a single of the 18 benchmarks we laid out, and yet this president has the audacity to ask for more patience while our troops are getting killed every day policing a civil war.'" ...... not long after Bush's press conference, "the House responded by approving legislation requiring U.S. combat forces to start leaving Iraq within 120 days ...... where real political compromise was demanded, results were more disappointing ...... "While the Joint Security Stations have been established there is little to [indicate] that they are having a substantial impact on security and in some cases are actually making Iraqis feel less safe." .... "[h]ad the 18 benchmarks mandated by Congress included more such economic indicators, this week's report card would have been even bleaker" ....... little hope for a reduction in sectarian tensions ........ his references to Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, and his assertions that it is the same group that attacked the United States in 2001, have greatly oversimplified the nature of the insurgency in Iraq and its relationship with the Qaeda leadership ...... Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia did not exist before the Sept. 11 attacks. ...... The American military and American intelligence agencies characterize Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia as a ruthless, mostly foreign-led group .... in reality.. "the militant group is in many respects an Iraqi phenomenon. . . . [The] membership of the group is overwhelmingly Iraqi. Its financing is derived largely indigenously from kidnappings and other criminal activities........ What George W. Bush said to the nation yesterday was a lie, and an easily provable one. ..... "George W. Bush has demonstrated only an intermittent relationship with reality about Iraq ..... in his desperation, starting with his speech at the Naval War College on June 28, he has been telling an outright lie, and he repeated it now, awkwardly ....... The group doing the most spectacular bombings in Iraq was named al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia ...... a sliver group, representing no more than 5% of the Sunni insurgency. It shares a philosophy, but not much else, with the real al-Qaeda, which operates out of Pakistan. ...... Saddam's Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11, as Bush himself has previously admitted, and Al Qaeda in Iraq didn't even exist before the Iraq invasion, which followed 9/11 by a year and a half. ........THE PRESIDENT: .. obviously, the guys on the airplane are dead ....... America's wartime leadership still believes that candor is the enemy of success -- that message discipline and the will to win can defeat the facts ......... the deadlock between warring Sunni and Shiite factions makes major political progress unlikely ..... Across the country, particularly if you include the figures of U.S. or Iraqi security forces, the deaths remain much the same as they have been. .......... Neighborhoods themselves are much more homogeneous than they were. They have essentially been ethnically cleansed. So, now the neighborhoods are Sunni and are Shia. ...... "Mr. Bush still refuses to talk about what almost everyone else now understands is essential: the need to develop an orderly plan to extricate American troops from a lost cause and reposition them in ways that can genuinely protect our national interests." ...... He persists in portraying the fight largely as freedom lovers on one side and al-Qaeda terrorists on the other. While that is a piece of the struggle, the U.S. troops also find themselves trying to suppress an extraordinarily violent, multi-sided sectarian conflict. ....... "If we're serious about resolving the Iraq crisis, we need to get away from the rhetoric of sacrifice, cost and responsibility and instead ask clear-eyed questions about our capacities and interests. ....... "The press declared war on the war yesterday. ........ 26% .... The rating was the lowest of his presidency and on par with approval ratings President Richard Nixon received in Harris polls taken during the height of the Watergate scandal. ....... a moderate Senate Democrat broke with his party to restore funding for Vice President Dick Cheney's office. ..... 'You have said that you don't base your decisions on politics, then explain why your Political Director, Karl Rove, is involved in all decisions made by your administration.'
Bush and Al QaedaRECENT DESCRIPTIONS by intelligence officials of Al Qaeda's renewed control of terrorist networks and training camps in the tribal areas of Pakistan contrast with previous administration depictions of isolated leaders reduced to acting as little more than a source of ideological inspiration. The new picture seems to belie the triumphalist tone of President Bush, who said a few days before last November's congressional elections: "Absolutely, we're winning. Al Qaeda is on the run." .... Bush has played politics with the Al Qaeda threat. .... his administration's failure to send enough US forces to capture the fugitive Saudi in the caves of Tora Bora five years ago. ..... Al Qaeda has little chance of toppling any government in the Muslim world. It presents instead a threat of episodic terrorism, and it has provoked the security services of many countries to cooperate against that threat.
Tamil Rebels Demonstrate Military Might Forbes, NY the government's announcement Thursday that it had won full control of eastern Sri Lanka for the first time in 13 years. .... The Tigers said they have simply switched from conventional warfare to guerrilla tactics in the east, noting they hold a swath of territory in the north that they run as a virtual state. ...... The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have been fighting for an independent homeland since 1983. The 3 million mainly Hindu Tamils have long faced discrimination from the predominantly Buddhist Sinhalese majority in the nation of 19 million people. ...... A 2002 truce has all but collapsed because of fighting over the past 20 months that has left 5,000 people dead. ..... The rebel force, a cult-like army whose fighters carry cyanide capsules to swallow in case of capture, is thought to number about 10,000. ...... The Sri Lankan army also sends small units into rebel territory to lay mines and carry out guerrilla attacks ...... said the guerrilla force learned about warfare by studying Napoleon, Clausewitz, Machiavelli, the two world wars and the more recent fighting in Bosnia and East Timor as well as from its fighters' firsthand experiences. ....... Commanders also show their fighters films like "Saving Private Ryan," "Black Hawk Down," and "Finding Nemo," ...... Of the 300 people he first trained with, he knows of only 10 to 15 who are still alive
How the US can recover after losing the war in Iraq - Part II China Post, Taiwan Vietnam, "U.S. credibility was enhanced by ending a war that it could not win -- a war that was costing the country vital resources ..... . U.S.-occupied Iraq is now a wellspring of images that seem to show U.S. weakness and cruelty. The insurgency alone produces more than 900 widely distributed communiques every month, which steadily erode our image in the Muslim world. Even King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, a conservative U.S. ally, has condemned the American occupation and said that he refuses to be President Bush's Arab Tony Blair. ....... the keys to preserving U.S. power and position in a post-Iraq Middle East are the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Progress on those fronts would make it far easier for the United States to leave Iraq and remind Arab rulers and publics that Washington can be engaged, effectual and constructive. ...... the Iraq war has removed Tehran's historical regional counterweight and discredited U.S. power. ...... Through negotiations, trade and compromise, the United States has long sought to tame Chinese and Russian power, with some success. ..... We cannot restore U.S. stature and credibility without easing Israeli-Palestinian tensions. ...... the appealing but naive belief that promoting democracy is a panacea for the Middle East's ills. Washington faces a bleak choice: It can push its values or realize its interests. It cannot do both.

Obama finds his stride at NAACP debate Chicago Sun-Times After looking surprisingly unpolished in a nationally televised forum targeting black audiences nearly two weeks ago, Obama held his own against his closest rival, Sen. Hillary Clinton, at the 98th NAACP National Convention at Cobo Hall in Detroit on Thursday morning. .... got off more than a few crisp one-liners while crafting a message that at times elicited thunderous applause that drowned out some of his words, but obviously bolstered his confidence in the debate arena. ..... "If you are poor in this country, it is hazardous to your health. If you are black and poor, that's downright deadly" ....... "We will not close the gap until we create a system of universal health care. The way to do that is to ignore the insurance companies and drug companies. In negotiations, it's OK for them to have a seat at the table, but they can't buy every single chair." ...... has had a difficult time firing off in past debates. On Thursday, Obama seemed to have found his stride. ... "We have to recognize the twin scourges of race and poverty in this country," Obama said during his three-minute remarks. ....... the crowd roared when Obama, No. 6 in line, appeared on stage. ....... Michael Gravel -- who took more than one jab at the other candidates -- and Rep. Dennis Kucinich drew their share of applause for their "Perot-like" let's-just-throw-the-bums-out approach to politics. ....... 34 violent deaths of African-American young people in the Chicago area this past school year. ...... "The massacre that happened at Virginia Tech was a terrible tragedy, and we were grief-stricken and shocked," Obama said. "But in this year alone in Chicago, we have had 34 Chicago Public School students gunned down, and for the most part there has been silence. We have to make sure that we change our politics so that we care just as much about those 34 kids in Chicago as we do about those kids at Virginia Tech." ........ Obama's spirited responses ..... Obama still trails Clinton by nearly 20 points in a head-to-head race, according to a Newsweek poll released July 7. .... On Thursday, Obama was in-your-face.
Obama, Clinton in a tight battle for black vote Boston Globe who's inspiring African-American voters with his strong candidacy. ..... Obama and Clinton are locked in a fierce battle for black support, which could prove more pivotal than ever given next year's front-loaded primary calendar. ..... Black voters say they like Clinton for her work on issues important to minorities, such as universal healthcare, and out of a sense of loyalty to President Clinton. But they say they are also moved by Obama's uplifting message, his life experience, and the prospect of seeing the first African-American president in the White House. ......... In a Gallup survey last month, 43 percent of black Democrats said they preferred Clinton, while 42 percent said they liked Obama. ..... Obama delivered a more forceful performance yesterday, each of his answers bringing crescendoing cheers from the crowd of more than 3,000. He walked on stage to deafening applause, which resumed after he used his opening statement to paint himself as a proud product of the civil rights struggles and the work done by the NAACP. .......... we won't just win the election, we're going to transform the country ...... the "long march" toward true racial equality ..... appealing to black voters without alienating white ones, and appealing to white voters without alienating black ones ..... with South Carolina, Florida, and Michigan -- states boasting sizable African-American populations -- likely to hold some of the earliest primaries, black voters could shape the outcome in 2008 more than ever.
Obama draws loudest cheers at NAACP convention Houston Chronicle Obama drew the loudest cheers of the eight Democratic candidates .... "I know what you know, which is that despite all the progress that has been made we still have more work to do" ..... the first time Obama has managed to outshine Clinton in a candidates forum. .... A vociferous foe of illegal immigration, Tancredo said the wages of black workers suffer because of illegal workers.
Obama's Extra Hurdle? Wall Street Journal More than 40% of the nation's population lives in metropolitan areas that have had a black mayor in the core central city, or lived in states that have had a black governor. ...... In the typical contest when a black candidate challenged to be the first black mayor of a big city, turnout of all voters averaged almost 80%, an unheard-of figure for local elections, and all but 21% of the white vote went to the white candidate. ...... Well over 10,000 African-Americans have been elected to various offices around the country. ..... In almost every case when a black candidate won, there was little or no white flight, little to no movement of blacks into white neighborhoods and certainly no wholesale redistribution of resources from the white to the black community. ...... The world under black leadership was strikingly similar to the world under white leadership. ...... Today, campaigns cannot and do not play on the same racial fears that they did in the '60s and early '70s. ...... in the 1990s more than half of all the African-Americans elected in big cities won in places where the electorate was a majority white. ...... Black Democratic candidates -- and Mr. Obama is increasingly seen as a black candidate by African-American voters -- seeking to become a historic first at any level have typically won close to 90% of the black vote. That black vote, coupled with some Latino support and the growing willingness of white Americans to support black leadership, could certainly be enough to give him the election. ..... most voters are no longer frightened.
Obama on the War, Race and America's Future NPR “[Being 'black enough'] is not something I have to battle when I go into my barbershop or when I’m on the basketball court or when I’m walking down the street and people are honking and waving.” ...... the ongoing war could undermine efforts to combat domestic terrorism, as new threat assessments show al-Qaida restoring its strength to pre-Sept. 11 levels. ...... we've got al-Qaida, as strong as it has been since 9/11, regrouping in Afghanistan and along the Pakistan border. ...... I'm a firm believer in affirmative action. ..... there is a strong and ongoing intersection between race and class in this country — that racism is still an issue that has to battled ...... the black Diaspora. .... black people didn't end up in the Caribbean by taking a yacht there. They came on slave ships. Back in Africa, my grandfather was a cook for the British army and suffered under the colonialism there. ....... it's something that I've had to battle mainly in the press and among talking heads. It's not something I have to battle when I go into my barbershop or when I'm on the basketball court or when I'm walking down the street and people are honking and waving. ..... we are still confused about issues of race in this country. That's true for blacks and whites and Hispanics and Asians and the fact that I'm running for president is obviously going to bring up some of this confusion to the surface. .......... you spent much of your 20s in Chicago as an advocate for the poor in largely black communities ........ as president, you try to fight against being overly cautious or overly scripted ..... we had what she calls the secret people following us ... and she said, "Daddy, did you always want to be president?" And I said, "No, not really, but I think it's important for me to try this now." And she said, "Yeah, I'm not sure I'd want to be president because if I say something wrong in school, you know, I might get in trouble with the teacher. If you say something wrong, the whole world could get shaken up." ........ your words get magnified and count ...... there are other people who are better at saying the conventional political thing than I am. ...... — being away from the kids, not having as much privacy as we once had — .... we've got an opportunity to reshape the political landscape right now in a way that we haven't had maybe since Ronald Reagan did it for conservatives back in 1980. ........ the whole private financing of student loans that has become a big racket. ..... building schools that work, putting people back to work, making sure that we've got a criminal justice system that is just
'Time' Poll: Romney, Obama of Strongest Faith A new Time magazine poll finds that registered voters view Republican Mitt Romney and Democrat Barack Obama as the presidential candidates with the strongest religious faith.
Obama, Clinton decry urban violence Chicago Tribune the occasional second chance after a run-in with the criminal justice system. .... throughout a two-hour forum before the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the full field of Democratic presidential candidates spoke about issues of poverty, justice and equality in the clearest terms of the campaign to date. ....... express more moral outrage over social injustice. .... when Scooter Libby gets no prison time and a 21-year-old honor student, who hadn't even committed a felony, gets 10 years in prison ....... Genarlow Wilson, who is serving time in Georgia for having consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old girl when he was 17 years old. ..... society isn't angry enough about urban violence..... "I have a beef to pick with you," Richardson told the group, smiling. "You just invited Tom Tancredo, who I think said he wants to send me back to Mexico."
Obama, Clinton on Iraq report MSNBC the Iraq Initial Benchmark Assessment Report released this morning ..... "This administration fudged the numbers and has formed intelligence to get us into the war and now it appears they are using phony evaluations to keep us in the war" ...... Obama said we need to start focusing on the Al Qaeda gathering strength along the Afghan-Pakistan border. "We've got real enemies out there that we've got to fight. And the problem is that this has been an enormous distraction from a war that needs to be waged." .... Edwards .... "The president's remarks today defending his Iraq policy without regard to actual facts border on the delusional. The president claimed that the same people attacking U.S. troops today are the ones who perpetrated 9/11. It must be nice to live in a world where your actions have no consequences."
AP: Clinton & Edwards overheard talking about excluding some ... USA Today Fox News microphones picked up (Sen. Hillary Rodham) Clinton and (former senator John) Edwards discussing their desire to limit future joint appearances to exclude some rivals lower in the crowded field. "We should try to have a more serious and a smaller group," Edwards said. ..... Clinton agreed. "We've got to cut the number. ... They're not serious," she said, then thanked (Sen. Barack) Obama and Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich as they walked by. Turning back to Edwards, she added that she thought their campaigns had already tried to limit the debates and "we've gotta get back to it."

GOP senators seek middle ground on Iraq Los Angeles Times "They are trapped," veteran GOP strategist Frank Luntz said. .... the Iraqi government continues to make little progress in meeting goals Congress outlined two months ago. .... Reid (D-Nev.), a leading congressional war critic, said the Iraq Study Group proposal has "the teeth of a toothless tiger."
Microsoft movie downloads will harm DVD sales Monsters and Critics.com

Nepal government to stop King's annual allowance Times of India
Battle at Mosque in Pakistan Continues New York Times the Red Mosque, the fiery epicenter of Pakistan’s religious right ...... up to 60 hard-core militants inside, who had surrounded themselves with civilian shields, women and children among them. ...... The clashes also left 10 security forces dead and 33 injured. At least 50 of those inside had been killed, including the leader of the organization ..... Islamic extremists, including Al Qaeda and the Taliban, have widened their influence in the country ...... A network of buildings that took up two city blocks ..... Having set up a sharia court in the compound, the mosque issued a fatwa against a government minister, after she was shown in newspaper photographs embracing a parachuting instructor in France. Students ranged around the capital as vigilante vice squads, warning vendors against selling music and movies, in a crude impersonation of the Taliban. Then, in late June, in what apparently became an embarrassing diplomatic row, seminary students kidnapped six Chinese women and a Chinese man, from an acupuncture clinic, which they claimed was a brothel. ................ what the military called the last bastion of die-hard fighters. ..... “There’s been no attempt to close down jihadi madrassas, no attempt to disband the network of banned jihadi organizations, no attempt made to adopt a comprehensive approach to eradicating militancy”
Bush Is Firm as Criticism Over Iraq Mounts New York Times that he never wanted to be “a war president.” ..... his determination not to allow America to be caught unaware again ..... “The terrorists are in this war to win it,” Mr. McCain said. “The question is, are we?” ..... McCain .. spoke on the Senate floor for more than 30 minutes today, delivering impassioned remarks as he stood before a large map of Iraq. ........ nine Republican senators who have walked away from him
Obama tiptoes through nation's racial minefield Chicago Tribune some people do lie to pollsters, especially about race. We don't want to sound too narrow-minded, even to a pollster .... white voters and others for whom race as an issue falls way behind Iraq, terrorism, jobs, schools, immigration or countless others that I could name....... Hillary Clinton, whose husband was The Great Connector with black folks. ..... he can't risk turning off other voters by sounding too much like the two reverends, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton ..... Obama seemed to be containing himself as an orator during the recent Democratic candidates' forum at historically black Howard University. He seemed deliberately avoiding the soaring oratory, rhythmic cadence or targeted appeals to black grievance that would spark applause from the mostly black audience. ........ "The narrative of black politics is still shaped by the '60s and black power."
Clinton's second book due for sale in September Xinhua almost everyone -- regardless of income, available time, age and skills -- can do something useful for others and, in the process, strengthen the fabric of our shared humanity .... a first print run of 750,000 copies .... Clinton's first book, "My Life," which was published in 2004, has sold more than 2 million copies in the United States.
Obama Echoes Clinton on Iraq War, to a Different End Washington Post
Obama: No more nice on Clinton's war vote Concord Monitor in May - after former president Bill Clinton said that his wife and Obama have essentially the same positions on the war - Obama began taking a more critical tack
India's Infosys eyes other low-cost centres to tackle rising wages CNNMoney.com Infosys is planning to hire 26,000 employees in fiscal 2008.
US, Iran do Persian Gulf squeeze Los Angeles Times
China's foreign reserves hit $1.33 trillion Washington Post
Half a million people moved from path of China's swollen Huaihe River Xinhua
'Untested' WiMAX gets the job The Age
Nielsen Alters Web Ratings, Favoring AOL Over Google Washington Post would measure popularity by how long users linger on sites, not by how many pages they view .... Use of programs such as instant messaging and e-mail propelled AOL, Yahoo and MSN/Windows Live to the top three rankings. .... AOL moved to the No. 1 U.S. site, logging 25 billion minutes .. ranked by Web page views, AOL would be No. 6 ...... Google ... 7 billion minutes. ..... a system called Ajax automatically refreshes Web page content without the user clicking to reload the page ...... "You might spend a minute and a half doing a Google search and spend five to 10 minutes on a friend's MySpace page. It'll be interesting to see the shift in advertising dollars." ...... not everyone leaps to the conclusion that the time spent metric is the replacement to page view metric
Google Puts Squeeze on Security-Software Makers TheStreet.com the search giant's $625 million decision to acquire Postini, a privately held company that offers email filtering and compliance services ..... to bolster confidence of businesses in Google Apps, which brings Gmail, calendar, docs and spreadsheets, and a Web page creator into a single suite. ..... Two months earlier, it acquired GreenBorder, whose software helps create secure Web browsing. .... Stopbadware.org, an organization that indexes Web sites as those containing potential infections. ... a frontal attack on Microsoft's stranglehold on the personal computer.
The Google Office Macworld never having to buy, install, or upgrade office software again ...... your $399 copy of Microsoft Office
Google unites mapping mashups BusinessWeek turn its online maps into collages of local information .... tools that will stitch together applications from a hodgepodge of Web sites. .... get a glimpse at where homes are being sold in a specific neighborhood while also analyzing the area's recent crime patterns. .... combining chocolate and peanut butter .... users with Google log-ins will be able to pick from more than 100 mapplets to customize and save their own maps
Bear Stearns' Collateral Damage The implosion of a hedge fund often sheds some unwanted attention on the wealthy investors who chose to sink money into the venture. ..... Epstein—once labeled New York's most eligible bachelor by the New York Post—have been good fodder for the New York tabloids and gossipy Wall Street Web sites such as Dealbreaker.com ...... the hedge fund, which raised $642 million from investors last summer ..... ability to borrow billions of dollars from banks such as Barclays (BCS), Goldman Sachs (GS), Deutsche Bank (DB), Citigroup (C), and Bank of America (BAC). ..... Epstein, who splits his time between Manhattan, Palm Beach, and St. Thomas ...... Epstein, once described by New York magazine as an "international money man of mystery," reportedly won't take on any clients who aren't billionaires. ...... Over the years, he has befriended powerful politicians, celebrities, and academics, including former President Bill Clinton ...... Wood River Partners, a onetime $127 million hedge fund that went bust in October, 2005, amid allegations of fraudulent trading ....... pleaded guilty in federal court in Manhattan to charges of carrying out a scheme to defraud investors in the fund. ...... The hedge fund that Epstein and BNP invested in is barely holding on after using billions in borrowed money to buy risky bonds backed by ailing subprime mortgages. ........... both hedge funds used billions in borrowed money to buy sophisticated securities called collateralized debt obligations. Popularly known as CDOs, these bond-like securities are hard-to-value investments that rarely trade. ..... a management shakeup at Bear Stearns' asset management division
"See Mutually Assured Mayhem" other investors were quietly trying to sell their stakes in hedge funds full of subprime securities. ..... The hedge fund blowup has suddenly thrown the world's biggest financial institutions into a game of brinkmanship that will end in one of three ways: a quick, brutal crash of the subprime mortgage market and possibly the broader corporate bond market; a slow, painful meltdown of one or both lasting many months; or a short-term blip that, over time, will be forgotten as conditions return to normal....... One twitchy move by any of them could lead to mutually assured destruction. ..... Ordinarily, rivals wouldn't shed tears if Bear Stearns were suffering—they'd pounce on the weakness. But much of Wall Street is elbow-deep in the same troubled securities, all created during the height of the mortgage boom, that are now coming back to bite Bear. ..... Last year, Wall Street churned out some $550 billion in so-called collateralized debt obligations (CDOs): complex bonds often backed by subprime loans that pay high yields in good times but are dangerous when the market gets rocky, as it is now. ..... "There's a search for contagion going on," says Douglas J. Lucas, a UBS analyst on the call. "I've talked to people from as far away as Australia." Everyone is watching to see who might blink.
" Bear's Big Loss Attracts SEC Attention"
"Bear Stearns to the Rescue—Sort Of"
Google's Latest App: Postini Google's third-largest purchase after YouTube and DoubleClick, Postini is the market leader in its field, with more than 36,000 companies using its products. .... Google Apps Premier Edition, which includes Gmail, Calendar, GoogleTalk, Docs & Spreadsheets, and Personal Start Page. ... adding new users at a rate of 1,000 companies a day ..... Small businesses might appreciate a tool safeguarding them from security breaches and an incessant barrage of spam. ..... In April, Google acquired Tonic System, which offers online presentation software and is being incorporated into Docs & Spreadsheets, to compete mano a mano with PowerPoint. .... on July 2, Google acquired GrandCentral, a company that lets users view and manage phone calls and messages over the Web .... "Now they have all the pieces" ..... a $12 billion market for office applications ..... Google is aiming to offer easier-to-use versions of office tools. "Microsoft offers products that are very feature-rich, and 80% of the people only use 20% of the functionality" of those applications
"Google Steps Into Microsoft's Office"
Asia's Most Admired Companies Toyota, Lenovo, and Infosys .... the companies that have won recognition this year are those that have been pushing to build their businesses globally. ..... committed to building cars where we sell them ... Like Toyota, Nintendo boasts legions of American devotées. ..... now has a bigger market capitalization than Sony (SNE), even though Nintendo's sales are less than 12% those of Sony's. .... Lenovo Group purchased the PC division of IBM (IBM) in 2005 ..... NHN. It's the top portal and search engine in South Korea, far ahead of Google .... Baidu.com (BIDU), the Beijing company that is the top search engine in China ..... Baidu also is crushing Google, with the American search giant a distant No. 2 in the Chinese market ....... Tiger Air, a new, lower-cost carrier. ..... SingTel has a 30.8% stake in Bharti Airtel, one of the world's fastest-growing cellular carriers. .... on June 28 the Singaporean company reached a deal to pay $758 million for a 30% stake in Warid Telecom International, one of Pakistan's top operators. ..... Infosys and Wipro (WIT) in India have well-established reputations as being top innovators in providing IT services for customers.
'Soccer boy' Beckham has got the US covered Daily Mail
Amitabh unsure of Ridley Scott's offer Times of India "The email for this offer came from Mira Nair's office. Someone from Ridley Scott's unit has to come to me and tell me the story. Just an offer on the email from a third party isn't enough," Amitabh said. "Besides they want to shoot in September. It seems impossible for me to leave behind my commitments here to do this film," added the Big B who is currently busy shooting a sequel to Ram Gopal Varma's Sarkar. "I've asked for the script. Right now I don't have any idea about my role or the theme. Where's the question of saying yes without getting the details?" Scott's film, which is titled Body Of Lies, is a thriller based on a novel by David Ignatius.
Soccer-LA Galaxy's Latino fans ready to fete Beckham Reuters.uk
New Dell PCs for small businesses San Jose Mercury News Vostro PCs will come with a suite of subscription-based services and a dedicated tech-support staff .... Dell's existing product lines, which include Inspiron for consumers, the Latitude and Optiplex for large companies, and the XPS for gamers. ..... The systems include three notebooks with screens ranging from 14 to 17 inches diagonally and starting prices from $449 to $799. A desktop version will be available starting at $319.
Founder of Dell talks of changes Seattle Post Intelligencer more emphasis on product design ... Vostro that includes PCs and printers designed for small businesses with fewer than 25 employees and no dedicated technical staff. ... When asked if he wants to win back the title of No. 1 PC maker, a position the company held for three years until last year, Dell said, "We first want to be No. 1 in service and support for our customers. And after that, we want to be No. 1 in profitability and I think if you do those two things correctly, you become No. 1 in market share."
Michael Dell: Linux Coming to SMBs, Europe Soon eWeek its factory-installed Linux PCs .... the company embracing Linux for its PCs, services for its enterprise customers and how the company plans to reinvent itself to compete against rivals such as Hewlett-Packard. ..... SSD (solid state drive) options ..... build factories in Europe and Asia. ..... offer more services to its enterprise customers. .... Dell Data Center Solutions Division, which was created to help companies plan and build data centers, while addressing issues ranging from power and cooling to the center's overall design. ..... creating data centers for Internet and Web 2.0 companies that need to add dozens of new servers each month to keep up with the demands of customers. ..... blades are considered the hottest part of the server market
Apple hits all-time high on 'cheap iPhone' prediction Times Online Apple would convert its iPod Nano into a phone because it was "probably the only way for Apple to launch a lower end phone without severely cannibalising iPod Nano". ..... Apple shares rose to an all-time high, eclipsing an earlier peak of $133.24 set the previous Friday. ..... the next model of the iPhone was instead likely to be a "high-priced, non-subsidized model" with 3G capabilities .... "We express our view through research documents, and the way the market reacts to them is a function of the market." ..... the voracious appetite of the online community for news about Apple ..... a $300 iPhone - the current models cost $499 and $599 — was based on an unnamed source in the supply chain, as well as a patent application filed by Apple this month for a "multi-functional handheld device" with a circular control, similar to the Nano's scroll wheel.
Microsoft sees strong growth in Xbox online MSNBC Microsoft expects growth of more than 40 per cent for its Xbox Live online gaming service over the next year to 10m members, boosted by a "perfect storm" of game releases in the coming months. ..... Halo 3, Microsoft's biggest franchise