Good night and good luck

Highly recommended. In my opinion the best of the Oscar nominees. I have seen 4 out of the 5 movies nominated - Munich, Capote, Crash and Good night. I havent seen Brokeback Mountain mainly because Im squeamish about seeing a gay cowboy love story (there I said it...I used to love HBOs six feet under but then the gay scenes were fairly minimal and I would just go get a snack during them :)

David Straithairn as Edward R. Murrow is spectacular. He has captured the essence of the man. Dour, forthright and measured he is a formidable check against the mercuric and acerbic Senator Joe McCarthy (who stars as himself since Clooney splices footage liberally from the various Senate show trials of the 50s)

The most important message of the movie is what Clooney is not saying. Replace Joe McCarthy for Vice President Cheney or Communism with terrorism and you have a fantastic parallel being presented between what went on during one of Americas blackest periods of the 20th century and what is going on today with the current administration.

Clinton for UN Secretary General

Parag Khanna makes an excellent pitch for Bubba to succeed Kofi Annan in January's Harpers Magazine. Read "United they Fall, Why only Bill Clinton can save the UN"

India - the giant is Awakening

I am in India visiting my family. My brother has been diagnosed with cancer and is making a courageous fight against the disease. Its been hard on everyone involved. I am totally blown away by the energy that I feel in India since I got here. There seems to be a buzz about the place. It seems India is finally awakening. The cellphone is ubiquituous. Even vegetable sellers have cell phones. Dhirubhai Ambani's statement of "Duniya haath main" (the world in your hand) seems to have come to pass in a very significant way.

Chennai is the next software capital of India. As Banglaore reaches saturation many companies are shifting here. I cant help but notice the irony....the city I live in in the US and the city of my birth are both car towns.....Chennai has production facilities for GM, Hyundai and Mercedes. BMW is slated to open here too....can you believe Indian made Bimmas for Indians.