| Behind the Edwards Surge: Right Message at the Right Time
Much was made of Illinois Senator Barack Obama's superb speech to a huge crowd of Iowa Democrats at the mid-November Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner in Des Moines. Without a doubt, it helped to propel Obama ahead of New York Senator Hillary Clinton in polls conducted in the weeks after the event. But Obama's speech in November may not turn out to be the definitional statement of the fight for Iowa. What could turn out to be the most critical comment of the campaign came from John Edwards in the last debate between the Democratic contenders — and the former senator from North Carolina may well claim the caucus-night victory that is the reward for delivering the right message at the right time. It wasn't a great rhetorical flourish. It wasn't even a new statement.
Glory beckons for one of these three amazing sportswomen
THE finalists in the Evening Times Scots Sportswoman of the Year are Aileen McGlynn, Julie Fleeting and Gina Beck. The winner - along with those in the other two categories - will be announced at a gala dinner on January 31. The girls tell SHEILA HAMILTON their remarkable stories. .
Dec 28th
Well, it's almost time for me to head off to Australia. Tomorrow, actually, but this might be my last chance to get in a blog before then. I will try to blog while there but won't promise. Christmas is over and it was quite a pleasant one. My son visited from Las Vegas and he said he had a good time. It looks like he is set on going back to college full time to qualify as an accountant. He did one class last semester and got an A, so it looks like he should do OK in that field. He has quite a bit of money coming to him for education from the time he spent in the United States Air Force; at least enough for about two years of college. We spent Christmas Eve morning at my wife's parents then headed to Pensacola Beach, Florida to where my wife's sister and family live. Lots of gifts were handed around and we all ate and drank too much.
Hip-Hop Rumors: Bump J FREE!?! Jim Jones' Reality Show? Mike Jones ...
I was all hyped up to see Jim Jones in the reality show they were filming on VH1, but I don't know what's become of it. It is going around that there was tension between Jim and the producers of the show. There is no such thing as a true reality show, but there is something called “scripted reality." That's what Run and the family do. And that works for some, but Jim Jones is the real deal. I heard he just wasn't with the script and wasn't able to flip it to fit his mode of operation. All the filming is supposedly done, but the editing is very tricky with a reality-based stickler like Jim Jones the Capo. BUMP J IS FREE! I'll never forget bumpin' Chicagorilla, Bump J's mixtape. I was waiting for the official album.
Dec 28th
Well, it's almost time for me to head off to Australia. Tomorrow, actually, but this might be my last chance to get in a blog before then. I will try to blog while there but won't promise. Christmas is over and it was quite a pleasant one. My son visited from Las Vegas and he said he had a good time. It looks like he is set on going back to college full time to qualify as an accountant. He did one class last semester and got an A, so it looks like he should do OK in that field. He has quite a bit of money coming to him for education from the time he spent in the United States Air Force; at least enough for about two years of college. We spent Christmas Eve morning at my wife's parents then headed to Pensacola Beach, Florida to where my wife's sister and family live. Lots of gifts were handed around and we all ate and drank too much.
COMPUTER’S MORE THAN JOEL CAN BEAR
US teams won the women's and senior events and lost in the Bermuda Bowl final. Today's deal caused consternation in the semifinals of every event. Two North-South pairs got to seven hearts, and East had a chance to be a hero by leading the jack of spades. But when East led a trump, South could take the ace and 10 and return to his hand with the king of spades to draw trumps. Three North-Souths reached seven spades, and West led a club: 10, jack, ace. Two declarers then cashed the A-Q of trumps. When East discarded, declarer tried the A-K of hearts, and West ended matters by ruffing. Could you make seven spades? In the Senior Bowl, a Brazilian declarer led a trump to the dummy's king at the second trick (guarding against J-10-7-4 with East) and ran all his trumps.
UWI at 60 - Its role in nation building
The University of the West Indies officially begins its 60th anniversary celebrations today. Those 60 years were directed at producing a new Caribbean from out of the old. The next 60 years will have to be about producing a global Caribbean and happily the UWI has a strategic plan in place to equip it to do so. The UWI was a product of many things happening at once - modernisation, decolonisation, regionalisation, and nation building. One of the sins ofcolonialism was that for 300 years the British never saw it fit to build a university in the region. It was only after a series of riots in the 1930s that a British commission realised the need to promote a middle class in preparation for eventual self-government. Before adult suffrage, there was no university in Jamaica. By the start of the new century, almost 15 per cent of Jamaicans had access to tertiary education.
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