Suharto's health state 'critical'

Indonesia's former leader Suharto's health is "critical", doctors treating him in Jakarta tell the country's president. more

Japanese Prime Minister Becomes YouTuber

First, the American presidential candidates, then (reportedly) the outgoing Australian Prime Minister. Then the Queen of British Empire. Now the Japanese Prime Minister. It seems now anyone who is anyone is posting videos to YouTube.

Now, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda posted a New Years greeting both in English and Japanese. In the version I could understand, the Asian PM commemorated the 100th anniversary to the end of the Japanese-Russo war, but pointed to a number of problems facing the Japanese that he intends to face: descending birthrate, economic disparity, the global war on terror, diseases like AIDS and malaria, and global human rights issues.

Blogged with Flock

N Korea defiant on nuclear issue

North Korea pledges to boost its 'war deterrent', days after missing a deadline for declaring its nuclear activities. see more

Blogged with Flock

Turkey to have wide smoking ban

Turkish MPs back a blanket ban on smoking in enclosed public places - but it may prove tough to enforce. see more

Blogged with Flock

Nobody is suffering more than the Palestinian people

Kristof is distressed that the Democratic Party leadership is too supportive of the State of Israel. He says that he prefers the view of U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Barak Obama who recently stated, “Nobody is suffering more than the Palestinian people,” for which he says Obama was “scolded.”
Kristof blames Israel for all the troubles of the Mideast citing the speech of King Abdullah of Jordan as proof. The King stated, “The wellspring of regional division, the source of resentment and frustration far beyond, is the denial of justice and peace in Palestine.”
Kristof denounces President Bush for treating Israel as an ally. He writes that he would prefer the relationship that existed before the Bush administration with the U.S. role as “an honest broker in the Middle East” and having a “tradition of balance.”

Barak Obama and ISALAM

Barak Obama's exposure to Islam is a positive point for this Democratic presidential candidate. His exposure was in Indonesia, a country where there's a more moderate Islam than the Bush and Cheney allies in Saudi Arabia.
A candidate who is intelligent and worldly is appealing! That he must prove he is a Christian is so much less important than understanding others in this world, than respecting others, than knowing how to communicate and work with others in the international sphere.
Obama has proven his willingness to be a public servant in the national sphere, and has attributes that make him valuable in the international sphere.
Why Obama's campaign aides want to downplay his exposure to Islam and emphasize his strong Christian beliefs says something negative about what the people of this country may be looking for.
Certainly what matters most is intellect, caring and an ability to reach out to others of different cultural backgrounds throughout the world, especially with today's globalization and threats of terrorism.

A matter of 'Likeability'

We like to think Presidential campaigns are fought over issues, but in the final analysis the deciding factor is often the personality of the candidate. Voters have a basic need to feel comfortable with their President therefore the likeability factor of the candidates often trumps other considerations.
Ronald Reagan had the highest likeability factor of any recent President, and in some quarters the same can be said for Bill Clinton. Both attracted votes from people who disagreed with their policies -- sometimes strongly -- but who simply felt more at ease with them personally.
As the 2008 campaign gathers steam, however, the shoe may be on the other foot. The biggest complaint among the conservative base of the Republican Party at the moment is the unsuitability of the three leading contenders for the nomination: U.S. Sen. John McCain; former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani; and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
Conservatives can, and do, poke holes in the record of all three front runners and have been consigned to hoping a second tier candidate will break through to the top of the pack, or trying to decide which of the top contenders is the least offensive. There appears to be little of the enthusiasm that animated the GOP ranks during Reagan's campaigns, or even those mounted by the current President Bush.
Republicans, as were the Democrats of 2004, are now united by hatred and fear of the other party's probably nominee, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Clinton is possessed of little of the charm that carried her president husband so far, and is in fact facing an unexpectedly strong challenge from Illinois Sen. Barak Obama. The fear of a possible Hillary Clinton presidency is motivating many otherwise disillusioned conservatives to action.
The worst-case scenario for Republicans is that one of the current three front-runners ends up with the nomination, and either Obama or former North Carolina Senator John Edwards upsets Clinton for the Democrat nomination. Both Obama and Edwards vastly outpace Hillary in likeability and could put Republicans in exactly the same predicament they themselves were in in 2004.