How the Congress is losing more than elections

How the Congress is losing more than elections: "The party's understanding of the power of television goes back to the 1982 Asian Games, when the Indira Gandhi [Images] government rolled out an LPT (low power transmitter) a day under the dark gaze of H K L Bhagat, so that Rajivbaba's showpiece event, his organisational arangetram, could reach every corner of the country-- live and in full colour.

The party logged into the silicon yug not too much later."

The Hindu : Opinion / News Analysis : The signals from Karnataka for Sonia Gandhi

The Hindu : Opinion / News Analysis : The signals from Karnataka for Sonia Gandhi: "Preference for status quo, unwillingness to crack the whip, and a fear of the old guard have combined to reduce the Congress to a losing proposition."

Two elements constitute this style: a conservative impulse and a timid approach to men and matters. This gets translated into (1) a failure to spell out definite goals; and, as a consequence, (2) an inability to put in place a lead team, with a recognised leader; and, (3) a dysfunctional, unexciting, unexacting, non-congenial working environment.

For instance, if there was one lesson of the defeat in Gujarat in December 2007 it was the absolute imperative of telling the voters who was the party’s chief ministerial candidate. The BJP had a chief ministerial face; the Janata Dal (S) had a declared chief ministerial mascot; the Congress had at least six claimants.

» Over 1,000 detonators found off Tamil Nadu coast - Thaindian News

» Over 1,000 detonators found off Tamil Nadu coast - Thaindian News: "The police Saturday seized gunny bags containing more than 1,000 detonators in a village near Rameswaram town in Tamil Nadu. The abandoned bags were spotted by locals in Ucchipuli village, about 650 km south of Chennai.

The police said as many as 1,152 detonators were found in the dumped bags and investigations are on."

TamilNet: 23.05.08 Reserved hero: Brigadier Balraj

TamilNet: 23.05.08 Reserved hero: Brigadier Balraj: "In over two decades of service with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Brig. Balraj, who passed away Tuesday after a heart attack, had been a courageous and skilled fighter and commander whose last years were spent institutionalizing the training of a new generation of LTTE field officers. Although he joined the LTTE later than many of the other top commanders, Brig. Balraj had risen rapidly through the ranks on the strength of his shrewdness on the battlefield and courage under fire, fighters who served with him said this week."

TamilNet: 24.05.08 Shifts in world order alters dynamics of Sri Lanka’s conflict - paper

TamilNet: 24.05.08 Shifts in world order alters dynamics of Sri Lanka’s conflict - paper: "Whether Sri Lanka is or isn’t on the UN Human Rights Council is an irrelevancy as far as international dimensions of the island’s conflict are concerned, the Tamil Guardian newspaper argued this week. “Rather than a ‘universal’ principle, the concept of ‘human rights’ has, in actuality, served mainly as a tool for the West-led international community to (re)order the world,” the paper said. Meanwhile, the rise of new poles in the international system is proving a challenge for the West’s post-Cold War efforts to construct a liberal order, the newspaper said in another recent editorial."

Bob Cesca: Worst Person In The World - Politics on The Huffington Post

Bob Cesca: Worst Person In The World - Politics on The Huffington Post

Clinton regrets RFK assassination remark - Yahoo! News

Clinton regrets RFK assassination remark - Yahoo! News: "Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton quickly apologized Friday after citing the June 1968 assassination of Robert F. Kennedy in defending her decision to keep running for the Democratic presidential nomination despite increasingly long odds."

Diplomacy | Speaking to the enemy | Economist.com

Diplomacy | Speaking to the enemy | Economist.com: "Sometimes it makes sense; sometimes it doesn't; sometimes not talking can be appeasement"

Lexington | Indiana McCain rides again | Economist.com

Lexington | Indiana McCain rides again | Economist.com: "The Republican cannot dismiss the question of his age with a few jokes"

South Africa and immigration | Give them a better life | Economist.com

South Africa and immigration | Give them a better life | Economist.com: "Xenophobic violence against black foreigners in Johannesburg's townships has prompted calls for a new government policy on immigration"

Irena Sendler | Economist.com

Irena Sendler | Economist.com: "Irena Sendler, saviour of children in the Warsaw ghetto, died on May 12th, aged 98"

AFP: India's Essar keeps mum on Severstal counter-bid for Esmark

AFP: India's Essar keeps mum on Severstal counter-bid for Esmark: "ndia's Essar Steel kept quiet Wednesday on a counter-bid by Russian steel giant OAO Severstal for US steelmaker Esmark Inc that could set the stage for a bidding war."

Officials say Obama starts search for running mate - Yahoo! News

Officials say Obama starts search for running mate - Yahoo! News: "Democratic officials said Thursday the party's likely nominee has asked former Fannie Mae CEO Jim Johnson to begin vetting potential vice presidential picks. Johnson did the same job for Democratic nominees John Kerry in 2004 and Walter Mondale in 1984.

Obama's campaign refused to talk about who was being considered, but possible options are Clinton; governors like Arizona's Janet Napolitano of Arizona, Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas and Tim Kaine of Virginia; foreign policy experts like former Georgia Sen. Sam Nunn, Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd or Delaware Sen. Joe Biden; or other senators like Missouri's Claire McCaskill and Virginia's Jim Webb.

He could look outside the party to people like war critic Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel or independent New York mayor Mike Bloomberg. Or he could look to one of his early prominent supporters like former Sen. Tom Daschle of South Dakota or try to bring on a Clinton supporter like Indiana's Evan Bayh.

McCain is hosting at least three Republicans mentioned as potential vice presidential running mates at his Sedona, Ariz., home this weekend — Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney."

Obama seeks delegate majority in Ore., Ky. primaries - Yahoo! News

Obama seeks delegate majority in Ore., Ky. primaries - Yahoo! News: "_Obama was 17 delegates short of reaching a majority of the 3,253 pledged delegates available in all state contests.

_Oregon offered 52 delegates; Kentucky had 51.

_Counting aligned superdelegates as well, Obama had a total of 1,915 and Clinton had 1,721, according to the latest Associated Press count. That placed Obama just more than 100 delegates short of the 2,026 needed to clinch the nomination.

Obama sought Monday to exploit McCain's ties to lobbyists, drawing a contrast between the Arizona senator's reputation as a reformer and his relationship to special interests in his campaign.

McCain recently adopted conflict-of-interest guidelines that led to the departures of several campaign aides due to their links to lobbyists.

Although Obama doesn't take money from federal lobbyists and political action committees, he does accept cash from state lobbyists and corporate executives interested in issues before Congress. He has had unpaid advisers with federal lobbying clients, and some of his campaign officials were lobbyists before.

Puerto Rico, with 55 delegates, holds its primary June 1. Montana has 16 delegates and South Dakota, 15. "