The Democratic primaries in South Dakota and Montana on Tuesday bring to an end a process that began precisely five months ago in Iowa. Expect the night to be late, potentially chaotic and not necessarily conclusive.
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Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton working the crowd on Monday at a restaurant in Rapid City, S.D. She plans to deliver a speech on Tuesday in New York. More Photos »
Senator Barack Obama, the Illinois Democrat, is using this last day to try to close down his nominating battle with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York. He is looking to win in both states and to pick up the 25 or so superdelegates he needs so that, combined with the delegates he will gain in Montana and South Dakota, he can claim to have the 2,118 delegates needed to be the Democratic nominee. (Or more precisely, to step back and let the media proclaim him the winner; watch for the race of political and newspaper Web sites to be first to send out the “Obama Nominated” news bulletin).
Mr. Obama’s effort with the superdelegates began early Tuesday — at 6:58 a.m. Eastern time, Mr. Obama’s campaign announced that Joyce Lalonde, a Democratic superdelegate from Michigan, had joined the Obama campaign. If all goes as planned, it will continue through the day with a steady stream of endorsements. The moment the polls close in South Dakota, marking the official end of the nominating season — at 10 p.m. Eastern — a delegation of at least eight members of Congress who had been holding out until after the primaries will announce their support of Mr. Obama, according to Mr. Obama’s aides.
Mr. Obama would, if all goes according to plan, take the microphone as his party’s presumptive Democratic nominee, and begin — without distraction — his general election campaign against Senator John McCain of Arizona Wednesday morning.
What could go wrong?
Well, a few things. For one, although Mr. Obama seems in a clear position to win in Montana, the situation is not as clear in South Dakota, a state where there is no real history of Democratic primaries and where polling — at least as suggested by the divergent polls coming out of there — appears dicey. Mrs. Clinton and Bill Clinton have campaigned heavily in that state in the final hours, reflecting the sense in the Clinton campaign — and at least some worry in the Obama campaign — of the uncertainty of the outcome there.
A loss by Mr. Obama in South Dakota would probably not derail his hopes for the nomination; it does appear that the train has left the station, and there are not enough delegates at stake there to put Mrs. Clinton back in the delegate hunt. Still, it would mean that Mr. Obama would be ending the contest on a sour note, and one that would serve to reinforce many of the concerns Democrats have voiced about him as he has staggered through the second half of the primary season — in particular, that he is having trouble competing with Mrs. Clinton among white blue-collar workers.
The fact that voting results won’t start coming in until late in the evening could also complicate things for Mr. Obama. He would no doubt prefer to make his speech after the two states have been called, but if South Dakota is close, that could prove complicated.
The other factor that might distract from Mr. Obama’s attempt to move on Tuesday night is Mrs. Clinton. There have been some media reports over the past 24 hours suggesting that she may suspend her campaign with her speech in New York Tuesday, which would permit Mr. Obama to pivot cleanly to the general election. Her associates say, though, that this outcome is highly unlikely, and suggest looking for something more like a farewell address for now, an ambivalent coda to the evening. If she does suspend her campaign — and that does seem a likely outcome — it will be sometime over the next few days.
And finally, consider this: If Mrs. Clinton pulls out a victory in South Dakota, it could very well give her the impetus — and the ammunition — to make the case to superdelegates that Mr. Obama is an anemic general-election candidate and that the party should turn to her. That result could make her delay an exit even longer
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
Inflation at 8.1% for week ended May 17
The government's administrative and fiscal measures failed to have the desired effect on soaring prices as inflation for the week ended May 17 moved up sharply to 8.1 per cent. ( Watch)
Announcing the figure on Friday, Finance Minister P Chidambaram expressed confidence that the government would be able to soon rein the inflation in.
"It is worrisome, but we are confident of gaining mastery over inflation," he said.
The finance minister added that authorities may take more steps to control inflation if needed.
Inflation was pegged at 7.82 per cent for the week ended May 10, compared with 7.83 per cent and 7.61 per cent for the week ended May 3 and April 26, respectively.
Announcing the figure on Friday, Finance Minister P Chidambaram expressed confidence that the government would be able to soon rein the inflation in.
"It is worrisome, but we are confident of gaining mastery over inflation," he said.
The finance minister added that authorities may take more steps to control inflation if needed.
Inflation was pegged at 7.82 per cent for the week ended May 10, compared with 7.83 per cent and 7.61 per cent for the week ended May 3 and April 26, respectively.
Appeal: Join protest against UP cops for leaking Aarushi's mails
Dear reader,
The Uttar Pradesh police is on its worst behaviour yet. Today it has leaked to the media, transcripts of Arushi's chat and email with three of her intimate friends. The transcripts, supposedly, are part of the case papers it has produced before the court.
This is invasion of an individual's privacy; it amounts to character assassination of a minor girl who is dead. The behaviour is unacceptable, and it must be condemned.
Two murders have taken place in a house. Instead of putting forward scientific evidence such as fingerprints and DNA test results to nail the accused, the police is calling press ops, leaking intimate papers and loosely discussing private lives, including those of children – and trying to reclaim its case by suggesting the father is loose, the child is loose, the child's friends are loose!
The police may have its reasons to break into the private internet account of a person to find evidence. It is an acceptable part of a murder probe. But the police has also a duty to guard such information, since it puts at stake the reputations of people who may yet be innocent – and sadly, in this case, it happens to be the reputation of a 14-year-old no longer around to defend it.
The police is nobody's messenger. Its job is to investigate crime scientifically and without prejudice, and bring culprits to justice. Its job is not to leak papers or to spur a trial-by-public and press.
The chat and email transcripts are part of a private conversation. Decency and propriety would demand that its privacy is guarded.
A few days ago, Minister Renuka Choudhury had reminded many about the rights of minors in the light of the police besmirching Aarushi's character at a media conference. Tomorrow, the Minister might want to take it up again with the UP government and its police, and far more strongly.
At the same time, the media too must turn the mirror on itself. The transcripts are being lapped up and freely quoted, in total disregard for Press laws on rights of minors.
At timesofindia.com , we have taken the position not to publish the transcript in part or in full. We have also decided to condemn the UP police for the leak, and to deplore and protest against the use of such material in the public domain.
This is not just in keeping with the Press laws, but also in deference to the service we do as journalists, and to what we regard as our uncompromising stand on social decency and propriety.
The Uttar Pradesh police is on its worst behaviour yet. Today it has leaked to the media, transcripts of Arushi's chat and email with three of her intimate friends. The transcripts, supposedly, are part of the case papers it has produced before the court.
This is invasion of an individual's privacy; it amounts to character assassination of a minor girl who is dead. The behaviour is unacceptable, and it must be condemned.
Two murders have taken place in a house. Instead of putting forward scientific evidence such as fingerprints and DNA test results to nail the accused, the police is calling press ops, leaking intimate papers and loosely discussing private lives, including those of children – and trying to reclaim its case by suggesting the father is loose, the child is loose, the child's friends are loose!
The police may have its reasons to break into the private internet account of a person to find evidence. It is an acceptable part of a murder probe. But the police has also a duty to guard such information, since it puts at stake the reputations of people who may yet be innocent – and sadly, in this case, it happens to be the reputation of a 14-year-old no longer around to defend it.
The police is nobody's messenger. Its job is to investigate crime scientifically and without prejudice, and bring culprits to justice. Its job is not to leak papers or to spur a trial-by-public and press.
The chat and email transcripts are part of a private conversation. Decency and propriety would demand that its privacy is guarded.
A few days ago, Minister Renuka Choudhury had reminded many about the rights of minors in the light of the police besmirching Aarushi's character at a media conference. Tomorrow, the Minister might want to take it up again with the UP government and its police, and far more strongly.
At the same time, the media too must turn the mirror on itself. The transcripts are being lapped up and freely quoted, in total disregard for Press laws on rights of minors.
At timesofindia.com , we have taken the position not to publish the transcript in part or in full. We have also decided to condemn the UP police for the leak, and to deplore and protest against the use of such material in the public domain.
This is not just in keeping with the Press laws, but also in deference to the service we do as journalists, and to what we regard as our uncompromising stand on social decency and propriety.
Aarushi case: Cops question Haridwar priest
Noida police on Friday took dentist Rajesh Talwar to Haridwar to look for leads into the sensational Aarushi murder case, a private news channel reported on Friday.
Dr Rajesh Talwar, Aarushi's father, is accused of killing his teenaged daughter Aarushi and his domestic help Hemraj.
Police interrogated the priest who helped the Talwars perform the puja in Haridwar after 14-year-old Aarushi's death. The priest was questioned in the presence of Dr Talwar for around 15 minutes.
Dr Talwar was sent on three-day police remand on May 27. He will be produced before a Ghaziabad court as his remand ends on Friday.
Earlier, Dr. Talwar's lawyer had filed contempt petition against police alleging that they had taken Talwar to an undisclosed location without informing his lawyers which was in violation of the court's order.
The contempt petition was filed at the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate AK Singh, claiming that police had not adhered to a direction that a lawyer should be present during the interrogation of Dr. Talwar.
The judge had asked for a lawyer's presence during the interrogation of Dr. Talwar after defence lawyers expressed apprehension that the dentist could be tortured in custody.
Dr Rajesh Talwar, Aarushi's father, is accused of killing his teenaged daughter Aarushi and his domestic help Hemraj.
Police interrogated the priest who helped the Talwars perform the puja in Haridwar after 14-year-old Aarushi's death. The priest was questioned in the presence of Dr Talwar for around 15 minutes.
Dr Talwar was sent on three-day police remand on May 27. He will be produced before a Ghaziabad court as his remand ends on Friday.
Earlier, Dr. Talwar's lawyer had filed contempt petition against police alleging that they had taken Talwar to an undisclosed location without informing his lawyers which was in violation of the court's order.
The contempt petition was filed at the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate AK Singh, claiming that police had not adhered to a direction that a lawyer should be present during the interrogation of Dr. Talwar.
The judge had asked for a lawyer's presence during the interrogation of Dr. Talwar after defence lawyers expressed apprehension that the dentist could be tortured in custody.
Bharti flies in, says brothers innocent
Nitish Katara murder accused Vikas Yadav's sister and key witness Bharti Yadav has said that her brothers are innocent. This is the first time in all these years that Bharti, who flew into the country on Wednesday night from London, has come out in the open with a comment on the case.
In an exclusive conversation with TOI from an undisclosed destination over phone, Bharti categorically said that her father D P Yadav's political rivals had hatched this conspiracy to finish his political career. "I am devastated with what is happening to my brothers. I want to make it clear to anybody, who is interested in the fact that they are innocent. I came because I wanted to be with my family during this crisis," said Bharti with a lump in her throat.
Queries about her father's allegations that certain UP politicians had colluded with Neelam Katara left her fuming. "It's obvious that she has the backing of powerful people. The way certain aspects of the case were ignored, you can make out what is happening even if you have a little bit of common sense. They don't just want to grind my father to the dust, but also eliminate the entire family. That's why my name was dragged into the case," said Bharti, adding that she was proud of her father and that he was paying a price for being a politician.
On her relations with victim Nitish Katara, Bharti said that she stood by her statement in the court last year that he was just a friend and that she had no plans to marry him. "I don't want to say the same thing again and again. At the moment I am focused only on what will happen to my brothers, who are innocent. I am praying that nothing happens to my brothers, whom I love from the core of my heart," she stated. She, however, did not say whether or not she would be present in court on Friday.
Bharti, who sounded tired and depressed, said that she would return to London in 3-4 days. "I have to go back because I am studying there. I can't describe in words how miserable I feel. My life is in tatters. I have only tried to maintain a dignified silence all this while. I always knew that my brothers were innocent," said Bharti, who has been living in London for the past 5 years. On suggestions that she might eventually join politics, she merely said that she wanted to focus only on how to help her brothers as of now.
Bharti was accompanied by her mother Urmilesh Yadav, an MLA from Bisauli in Bulandhahar, when she spoke to TOI . Urmilesh too spoke for the first time on Thursday and blamed the media for what happened to her son. "It was of course a conspiracy, involving powerful people. What has really hurt me though is the bias shown by the media. Whatever they say is taken as gospel truth and when we say something it is ignored. I am now in danger of losing my kids who are innocent," she lamented.
Vikas and his cousin Vishal Yadav were convicted in the case on Wednesday. Her father D P Yadav had told Times City on Wednesday that he got a call from his daughter, soon after the conviction, saying that her brother was innocent. As it now transpires, she took a flight to India immediately after news about the conviction broke out.
In an exclusive conversation with TOI from an undisclosed destination over phone, Bharti categorically said that her father D P Yadav's political rivals had hatched this conspiracy to finish his political career. "I am devastated with what is happening to my brothers. I want to make it clear to anybody, who is interested in the fact that they are innocent. I came because I wanted to be with my family during this crisis," said Bharti with a lump in her throat.
Queries about her father's allegations that certain UP politicians had colluded with Neelam Katara left her fuming. "It's obvious that she has the backing of powerful people. The way certain aspects of the case were ignored, you can make out what is happening even if you have a little bit of common sense. They don't just want to grind my father to the dust, but also eliminate the entire family. That's why my name was dragged into the case," said Bharti, adding that she was proud of her father and that he was paying a price for being a politician.
On her relations with victim Nitish Katara, Bharti said that she stood by her statement in the court last year that he was just a friend and that she had no plans to marry him. "I don't want to say the same thing again and again. At the moment I am focused only on what will happen to my brothers, who are innocent. I am praying that nothing happens to my brothers, whom I love from the core of my heart," she stated. She, however, did not say whether or not she would be present in court on Friday.
Bharti, who sounded tired and depressed, said that she would return to London in 3-4 days. "I have to go back because I am studying there. I can't describe in words how miserable I feel. My life is in tatters. I have only tried to maintain a dignified silence all this while. I always knew that my brothers were innocent," said Bharti, who has been living in London for the past 5 years. On suggestions that she might eventually join politics, she merely said that she wanted to focus only on how to help her brothers as of now.
Bharti was accompanied by her mother Urmilesh Yadav, an MLA from Bisauli in Bulandhahar, when she spoke to TOI . Urmilesh too spoke for the first time on Thursday and blamed the media for what happened to her son. "It was of course a conspiracy, involving powerful people. What has really hurt me though is the bias shown by the media. Whatever they say is taken as gospel truth and when we say something it is ignored. I am now in danger of losing my kids who are innocent," she lamented.
Vikas and his cousin Vishal Yadav were convicted in the case on Wednesday. Her father D P Yadav had told Times City on Wednesday that he got a call from his daughter, soon after the conviction, saying that her brother was innocent. As it now transpires, she took a flight to India immediately after news about the conviction broke out.
Katara murder case: Vikas, Vishal Yadav get lifer
A Delhi court has awarded life sentence to Vikas and Vishal Yadav, key accused in the sensational Nitish Katara murder case. ( Watch )
"I have awarded life sentence to both the convicts. This case does not deserve death penalty," Additional Sessions Judge Ravinder Kaur said.
The Judge rejected the prosecution plea for awarding death penalty to the convicts saying "This case does not fall in the rarest of rare category."
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1.6 lakh each on both the convicts under various sections of the Indian Penal Code.
Nitish was kidnapped and murdered after he attended a wedding in Ghaziabad in 2002. His body was found in a village in Bulandshahar in Uttar Pradesh.
Earlier in the day, Special Public Prosecutor B S Joon sought death penalty on the ground that their offence fell under the rarest of rare category as they killed a defenceless person in the most diabolical manner.
"They deserved death penalty for not only the offence but for utter disregard for the human body as they while disposing of the body, chopped off the private parts of Nitish Katara," he said.
Citing various Supreme Court judgements including that of infamous Tandoor case, the prosecutor said, the pre and post-crime conduct of the convicts and the commission of this dastardly act merited the consideration of the case under the rarest of rare category, warranting award of gallows for them.
Senior defence lawyer K N Balagopal sought lenient punishment for the convicts, saying the case was based on circumstantial evidence and life imprisonment be awarded to the convicts as neither the offence was diabolical, nor the convicts were menace to the society.
"It is a regular murder committed under the emotional disturbances. Though every such offences are heinous but they all do not fall under the rarest of rare category," he said.
On Wednesday, Additional Sessions Judge Ravinder Kaur held Vikas, son of Uttar Pradesh politician D P Yadav, and his cousin Vishal guilty of murder, abduction and destruction of evidence in the case.
Judge Ravinder Kaur in her judgement that ran into 1,100 pages observed: "The relationship between the two (Nitish and Bharti) was not mere friendship, it had ballooned into a love affair and showed that they wanted to marry."
In the verdict, the judge concluded: "I hold Vikas Yadav and Vishal Yadav guilty under Section 302, 364, 201 and 34 of the IPC."
Discuss this story with other readers. Click on 'Discuss' link at the top and bottom of the story. To know more about this feature click 'here'.
"I have awarded life sentence to both the convicts. This case does not deserve death penalty," Additional Sessions Judge Ravinder Kaur said.
The Judge rejected the prosecution plea for awarding death penalty to the convicts saying "This case does not fall in the rarest of rare category."
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1.6 lakh each on both the convicts under various sections of the Indian Penal Code.
Nitish was kidnapped and murdered after he attended a wedding in Ghaziabad in 2002. His body was found in a village in Bulandshahar in Uttar Pradesh.
Earlier in the day, Special Public Prosecutor B S Joon sought death penalty on the ground that their offence fell under the rarest of rare category as they killed a defenceless person in the most diabolical manner.
"They deserved death penalty for not only the offence but for utter disregard for the human body as they while disposing of the body, chopped off the private parts of Nitish Katara," he said.
Citing various Supreme Court judgements including that of infamous Tandoor case, the prosecutor said, the pre and post-crime conduct of the convicts and the commission of this dastardly act merited the consideration of the case under the rarest of rare category, warranting award of gallows for them.
Senior defence lawyer K N Balagopal sought lenient punishment for the convicts, saying the case was based on circumstantial evidence and life imprisonment be awarded to the convicts as neither the offence was diabolical, nor the convicts were menace to the society.
"It is a regular murder committed under the emotional disturbances. Though every such offences are heinous but they all do not fall under the rarest of rare category," he said.
On Wednesday, Additional Sessions Judge Ravinder Kaur held Vikas, son of Uttar Pradesh politician D P Yadav, and his cousin Vishal guilty of murder, abduction and destruction of evidence in the case.
Judge Ravinder Kaur in her judgement that ran into 1,100 pages observed: "The relationship between the two (Nitish and Bharti) was not mere friendship, it had ballooned into a love affair and showed that they wanted to marry."
In the verdict, the judge concluded: "I hold Vikas Yadav and Vishal Yadav guilty under Section 302, 364, 201 and 34 of the IPC."
Discuss this story with other readers. Click on 'Discuss' link at the top and bottom of the story. To know more about this feature click 'here'.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Aetna chief downplays Google Health's potential
A top medical insurance executive on Wednesday downplayed the potential impact of services from Microsoft and Google that are aimed at helping users store and share their health records with providers.
Google Health went into beta on Monday. It follows the launch of similar efforts, such as Microsoft's Health Vault.
"I think anything we can do to kill the paper is good, and having health data stored in central places is helpful as long as we have good security and standards," said Ronald Williams, CEO of Aetna, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's CIO Symposium.
But software companies don't have an "interest in improving the system or looking for gaps in care," he said. "When the data goes there, it is really static and stored."
Williams argued that those efforts cannot compare to Aetna's in-house customer records portal, the CareEngine System, which launched in 2006.
He called the system Aetna's "secret sauce." It compiles member data from sources such as medical, pharmacy and lab claims, then compares it against a database of medical literature and research in an attempt to spot potential problems and need for additional care. The system generates alerts to patients and physicians regarding such findings.
Privacy concerns have been raised about Google Health because the company plans to link it with some of its other services. Google will keep individual health records private but may release "anonymous, aggregated" data, according to a spokeswoman.
Aetna conducts broad analysis of its customer data, such as tracking the way various conditions are being treated in geographic conditions, but "is not looking to use it in a commercial way," Williams said.
The Hartford, Conn. company had revenue of $27 billion in 2007 and serves more than 17 million medical plan members, according to its Web site.
A Google spokesperson responded to Williams' contention in a statement.
"We've always been strong supporters of competition, and we believe that any effort to help make health information more organized, accessible and useful is a good thing -- regardless of who's doing it," the statement said, in part. "This is the first version of Google Health, and it's only the beginning."
The service also includes APIs (application programming interfaces) with which developers can create additional online services, such as personalized news feeds, and plug them into Google Health, the statement said.
Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Google Health went into beta on Monday. It follows the launch of similar efforts, such as Microsoft's Health Vault.
"I think anything we can do to kill the paper is good, and having health data stored in central places is helpful as long as we have good security and standards," said Ronald Williams, CEO of Aetna, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's CIO Symposium.
But software companies don't have an "interest in improving the system or looking for gaps in care," he said. "When the data goes there, it is really static and stored."
Williams argued that those efforts cannot compare to Aetna's in-house customer records portal, the CareEngine System, which launched in 2006.
He called the system Aetna's "secret sauce." It compiles member data from sources such as medical, pharmacy and lab claims, then compares it against a database of medical literature and research in an attempt to spot potential problems and need for additional care. The system generates alerts to patients and physicians regarding such findings.
Privacy concerns have been raised about Google Health because the company plans to link it with some of its other services. Google will keep individual health records private but may release "anonymous, aggregated" data, according to a spokeswoman.
Aetna conducts broad analysis of its customer data, such as tracking the way various conditions are being treated in geographic conditions, but "is not looking to use it in a commercial way," Williams said.
The Hartford, Conn. company had revenue of $27 billion in 2007 and serves more than 17 million medical plan members, according to its Web site.
A Google spokesperson responded to Williams' contention in a statement.
"We've always been strong supporters of competition, and we believe that any effort to help make health information more organized, accessible and useful is a good thing -- regardless of who's doing it," the statement said, in part. "This is the first version of Google Health, and it's only the beginning."
The service also includes APIs (application programming interfaces) with which developers can create additional online services, such as personalized news feeds, and plug them into Google Health, the statement said.
Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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