In an interview on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama says the US must work with the civilian Government in Pakistan and one of the ways to help them focus on countering terrorism is by resolving the issue of Kashmir between India and Pakistan. Here’s a long video, the relevant bite comes at around 5.30.:
This report from a Minnesota television station requires little explanation:
UPDATE: In a press release, Minnesota State Senator Satveer Chaudhry had this to say:
State Senator Satveer Chaudhary (DFL-Fridley) today called on moderate voters in the Third Congressional District of Minnesota to reject a new attack ad against Democratic candidate Ashwin Madia that the Republican National Committee began airing this week. The race is targeted nationally by both parties and recent polls show Madia ahead or in a statistical tie, even outpolling Barack Obama.
Citing Elizabeth Dole’s ads calling her opponent “Godless,” and Michelle Bachmann calling Obama un-American, Chaudhary lamented the new low of character assassination, “Is there a recurring theme here? When a darkened effect is put on an ethnic minority’s face, the outcome is far different than any other negative ad, and they know it. These ads portray Madia as a dark, sinister intruder at best, and at worst a terrorist. It’s the race card.” Chaudhary stated.
Right. And with Wall Street cratering, Barack Obama’s campaign has soared. And just like the majority of American voters, Indian-Americans are heavily trending towards the Illinois Senator because of thier worries over the economic future of the United States.
Slumdog Millionaire is the new film from director Danny Boyle. It’s based on the book Q&A by Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup. The studio releasing this film in the United States, Fox Searchlight, is pushig hard for an Oscar nomination (or two) for this highly entertaining movie. And critics, like those at The New York Times, appear to have taken notice.
Here’s our report on the film and interview with it’s 18-year-old hero, Dev Patel, who came to prominence in England, appearing in the hit TV series, Skins.
Democrat Ashwin Madia has a strong chance of winning a traditionally Republican seat in the House of Representatives in Minnesota. Madia has a slim lead in some polls and that has led to attacks with a racial subtext. We had discussed this issue here earlier.
Here’s a report on the issue.
That’s the race for the White House, four years later.
As things stand, it’s likely that Barack Obama will win the 2008 election…so that will ensure that the Republicans have a competitive primary season that year. And many of those from the 2008 race will probably return - Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney. As always, that will begin in Iowa, with the caucuses there. And one person who has gained strong backing from the conservative ideologues and over his management of the hurricane threat to New Orleans in September, is Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. And Jindal already seems to be looking to 2012 as he makes his initial foray into Iowa right after the Presidential elections are over.
The markets are down, and so are spirits. Especially for merchants in New York’s Jackson Heights, the Queens’ locality, which is the hub of Diwali shopping for Indians in the Tri-State area. Here’s what store-owners there are saying:
According to a new survey, Indian-Americans appear fairly energised to vote in the November 4 Presidential election. The National Asian American Survey says 45 per cent of the community will vote in the election. Anecdotal evidence suggests that number has been closer to 20 per cent in prior elections, so this will be a HUGE turnout.
Nearly 52 per cent of them support Barack Obama; that’s nearly four times the support for John McCain. Interstingly, the rest are undecided.
This information was reported by the leading Indian-American magazine, Little India, which has already endorsed Obama.
West Coast-based MC Yogi is unleashing his Global Bhakti Posse on the 2008 Presidential election.
Here’s his Obama video:
Apparently, one of the more recent viral smear emails against Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama is that he has bene reading a book by a “fellow Muslim” about the end of America. Ummm…well…
The book referred to is The Post-American World by Newsweek International Editor Fareed Zakaria, who also has his own show on CNN. That’s a book we have reported on earlier.The smear campaign is discussed in New York Times’ columnist Maureen Dowd’s piece about the firestorm over Colin Powell’s endorsement of Obama. Dowd writes about one of the experiences Powell had before he settled on the Illinois Senator as his choice:
He got a mass e-mail from a man wanting to spread the word that Obama was reading a book about the end of America written by a fellow Muslim.
“Holy cow!” Powell thought. Upon checking Amazon.com, he saw that it was a reference to Fareed Zakaria, a Muslim who writes a Newsweek column and hosts a CNN foreign affairs show. His latest book is “The Post-American World.”
Perhaps Zakaria, who has been known to be hawkish in the past, has earned the ire of the Right with his recent declaration that he will be voting for Obama. Here’s what he says in his endorsement on his programme, Fareed Zakaria GPS:
John McCain represents the best of America’s past, and Barack Obama the hope of the future — the hope of a country that can make big changes and live out one of its greatest promises, of equal opportunities for all Americans, of every caste, creed and color. And America has always been a country that looks forward. So, I will be voting for Barack Obama on election day this year.
