CHANNEL: Politics

Adil Najam, professor of international relations at Boston University, and M. Saud Anwar, founder and past president of the Pakistani American Association of Connecticut, spoke about the future of Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party and her two terms as prime minister with relatively unremarkable accomplishments.

Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, says it is "inappropriate and even unsettling" for presidential candidates to use shared religiosity to appeal to voters.

Why aren't any Jews running for U.S. president? A Jew would be unlikely to win broad national support, says the Jewish Advocate.

Former Boston city councilor Felix Arroyo opens up to NEWz on city politics and his electoral defeat (anti-immigrant factor), his experience as a new American (little discrimination), his Boston activist roots (1970s busing) and Latino political power (wake up!).

Danbury police participation with ICE would do great harm, says Celia Bacelar, publisher of a Portuguese- and English-language newspaper in Conn. And can police really tell by looking if you're from Ireland, Brazil or the Bronx? (In Portuguese and English)

Ve Y Vota (It's Time, Go Vote), a new nationwide campaign, seeks to mobilize immigrants to vote. Juan Vega, of Centro Latino de Chelsea, talks about the campaign and the progress and challenges of Latino enfranchisement.

Politicians, policy makers and the public in general have misformed perceptions about immigrants, says Vega, a former city councilor in Chesea, Mass.

One way to change mispercpetions is by getting people to vote, as Ve Y Vota intends to do.

Rabbi and Worcester native Dennis Shulman, blind since the age of 13, is running for U.S. Representative, for New Jersey's 5th district, says the Jewish Advocate.

The Asian American Commission of Mass. unveiled a plan for a first-time-ever statewide needs assessment. The plan calls for town meetings; focus groups to explore healthcare, economic development, education and other sectors; and a statewide survey, says New England Korean Alliance Press.

Navjeet Bal, an attorney, has become the first minority to be appointed to head the Mass. Department of Revenue. Bal was born in Kenya to Punjabi parents. She immigrated to the U.S. 30 years ago, reports India New England.

An e-mail and other falsehoods circulating on the Internet are preying on Jewish fears to pit voters against Barack Obama. The Grand Rabbi Y.A. Korf, publisher of the Jewish Advocate, urges Jews to "carefully examine the legitimate record of Senator Obama."