Caroline Kennedy, Pakistan, India, Global Green & World Hunger! Dec 29, 2008
Wednesday, December 26, 2012 at 06:44PM
NEW YORK With the wind of her family's legacy at her back, Caroline Kennedy says her quest for a Senate seat has been a long time in the making.
In her first sit-down interview since she emerged as a Senate hopeful, the 51-year-old daughter of President John F. Kennedy told The Associated Press that she has always pondered jumping into politics, but waited for the right moment. I am an unconventional choice. I understand that. I haven't pursued the traditional path. But I think that in our public life today, we're starting to see there are many ways into public life and public service," she said. A wife, a mother of three, a lawyer, a best-selling author and an education activist, Kennedy said she can envision herself as a senator a decade from now after making her children her top priority for the last two decades. This is going to be a multiyear effort to fix this economic crisis. So in order to be effective, I would plan to stay at it,"
Kennedy said in a wide-ranging interview at the Gee Whiz diner a few blocks north of the of the World Trade Center site Between bites of a grilled cheese and bacon sandwich, Kennedy said the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and her work for Barack Obama's presidential campaign inspired her to act on her public service impulses. Gov. David Paterson 11 days ago to consider her for the position Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton will give up if she is confirmed as secretary of state. He encouraged me. He said he has a lot of qualified candidates," Kennedy said. More than a half-dozen elected officials are vying for the seat, including New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and several members of Congress Since word of her interest leaked out in early December, Kennedy has faced sometimes sharp criticism that she cut in line ahead of politicians with more experience and has acted as if she were entitled to it because of her political lineage.
"Anybody who knows me knows I haven't really lived that way. And I think that in my family, I come into this thinking I have to work twice as hard as anybody else. Nobody's entitled to anything, certainly not me," she said.
Yet, she noted that she has good relationships with key people in Washington, including the president-elect.
"And I would love to put that to work," she said. Another of her links is her uncle, Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy.
She said she feels the pull to public service inspired by her father.
"Many people remember that spirit that President Kennedy summoned forth," she said. "Many people look to me as somebody who embodies that sense of possibility. I'm not saying that I am anything like him, I'm just saying there's a spirit that I think I've grown up with that is something that means a tremendous amount to me."
She also credited her mother, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, with giving her the courage to run.
"I think my mother ... made it clear that you have to live life by your own terms and you have to not worry about what other people think and you have to have the courage to do the unexpected," she said.
"Going into politics is something people have asked me about forever," Kennedy said.
Since Kennedy's name first surfaced as a possible replacement for Clinton, her advisers have shielded her from the media, with the exception of a few brief interviews on a swing through upstate New York and a visit to Harlem with the Rev. Al Sharpton.
Kennedy said Paterson told her he did not want people to appear to be campaigning for the position.
She agreed to sit down for interviews Friday with The Associated Press and NY1 television.
"I was trying to respect the process. It is not a campaign," she said. "It was misinterpreted. If I were to be selected, I understand public servants have to be accessible."
Kennedy said she wished her brother, John F. Kennedy Jr., could see the drama that has developed over her quest for the Senate.
"He would be laughing his head off at seeing what's going on right now," she said.
Kennedy offered no excuses for why she failed to vote in a number of elections since registering in New York City in 1988, including in 1994 when Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan was up for re-election for the seat she hopes to take over.
"I was really surprised and dismayed by my voting record," she said. "I'm glad it's been brought to my attention."
Former New York Rep. Geraldine Ferraro, who urged Paterson last weekend to consider experienced members of Congress for the job, said she was glad to hear Kennedy was willing to "work twice as hard as others."
"I think it's great she understands she will have a tougher time," Ferraro said. "I don't know if she can work twice as hard because having been a member of Congress I know they work 24-7. They already work hard."
Associated Press reporter Michael Gormley contributed to this report from Albany.
In her first sit-down interview since expressing interest in a U.S. Senate seat, Caroline Kennedy says she will have to work twice as hard if appointed to the seat representing New York, despite her famous name. (Dec. 26)
People paid homage to victims of last month's terror attacks in Mumbai while troops in Pakistan began moving thousands of troops to the Indian border Friday, sharply raising tensions triggered by the Mumbai terror attacks.
Pakistan army: We must 'avoid conflict' with India
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Pakistan's army chief stressed Monday the need to avoid conflict with India, days after he ordered troops toward the rivals' shared border amid tensions following last month's terror attacks on Mumbai.
Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani made the remarks to a top Chinese diplomat who was visiting Islamabad to try and ease the situation between nuclear-armed Pakistan and India.
Kayani's remarks were believed to be his first about the tensions with Pakistan's traditional rival and could help reassure a jittery region that the country does not intend to escalate the crisis further.
On Friday, Pakistani intelligence officials said thousands of troops were being shifted toward the Indian border, though there has been no signyet of a major build up at the frontier.
Without referring specifically to the situation, Kayani told Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei of the "need to de-escalate and avoid conflict in the interest of peace and security," a brief army statement said.
India blames Pakistani militants for the slaughter of 164 people in its commercial capital and has not ruled out the use of force in its response. Pakistan's civilian leaders have said they do not want war,but will retaliate if attacked.
Pakistani Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani (right) at a meeting withChinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei in Rawalpindi on Monday.
China is an important Pakistani ally and neighbors it and India.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Christmas Day and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday, according to State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid.
Asked about Pakistan's troop movements, Duguid said Monday: "The United States has called for both sides not take any actions that would increase tension. We are looking for both sides to find cooperative actions to fight terrorism."
Yafei met with Pakistan's president and prime minister as well as Kayani. Dawn TV station reported he intended to fly on to India, but that could not be immediately confirmed.
Yafei said he hoped Pakistan and India would resolve the conflict through dialogue, according to Pakistan's foreign ministry.
"Conflict is not the solution of the problem as it will only strengthen the hands of terrorists and extremists," he was quoted as saying.
Pakistan and India have fought three wars in the past six decades — two over Kashmir, a majority Muslim region in the Himalayas claimed by both countries.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081229/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan_india;_ylt=ArC2gdkfcisimBr.hREvLdqs0NUE
I couldn't post this video for some reason below so here it is now. Thank You Tom for sending it to me.
World Hunger Epidemic - An Oxfam video like you've
never seen!!
The Global Hunger Epidemic
Oxfam America | Myspace Video
Hi everyone,
We thought you'd be interested to check out our new video on the global hunger epidemic. It's quite different than the videos we've done in the past and we think you'll like it. Check it out and be sure to tell us what you think.
Thanks,
Tim Fullerton
Oxfam America
Few people have actually witnessed, first-hand, the effects of climate change on Antarctica. But Sebastian Copeland,an award-winning photographer, environmental activist and Global Greenboard member, has made it a personal mission to document this fragileand quickly changing part of the world. ABC News is currently featuringhis amazing photos on their website. Go Here
Okay, here's an update regarding GG investing in New Orleans.
Global Green to invest $17M in New Orleans
Global Green USA,a group that has promoted the construction of eco-friendly homes in the 9th Ward in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, says it will invest $17million in New Orleans.
"Green is not a trend for Global Green. It is a stalwart commitment to bring environmental consciousness to the center of local and national policy development," said Matt Petersen, president and CEO of Global Green USA. "We will be bringing in an estimated $17 million in investment to New Orleans leveraging tens of millions of dollars of investment beyond that through our impact on other projects including the Holy Cross Project, Build it Back Green, Green Seed Schools, green policy advocacy efforts and forums for professional builders and the public."
In 2009, among other things, the organization's Green Seed Schools program will retrofit and upgrade two more schools to make them more energy efficient and environmentally friendly.
Also in 2009, the organization will continue its monthly educational panel discussions and add a do-it-yourself monthly panel that will be held in a different neighborhood each month.
"This year will be a boom year for rebuilding in New Orleans.We fully expect it to be a boom year for green building as well and, by example, for the rest of the globe," Petersen said.
Global Green Dot Org
