This is the third in a series profiling the individuals bankrolling Obama’s Presidential bid.

The co-founder of the anti-war group Code Pink has “bundled” more than $50,000 for Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Jodie Evans, one of three of Code Pink’s leaders, gathered at least $50,000 from friends and associates and donated it to Obama’s presidential campaign, according to information compiled by the nonpartisan watchdog group, Public Citizen. Evans and her son, a student who lives at her Southern California address, each also gave the maximum individual allowable donation of $2,300 to Obama’s campaign.

Jodie Evans is a radical activist and Democratic fundraiser best known as the co-founder (along with Diane Wilson, a Wiccan calling herself Starhawk, and Global Exchange’s Medea Benjamin) of Code Pink for Peace. Evans also works closely with Leslie Cagan, the pro-Castro leader of United For Peace and Justice.

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Here is President Clinton campaigning in Baker City, Oregon on May 11th taking education and low interest loans for students. This is an issue near and dear to my heart and it is not a new one. Both President Clinton and Senator Clinton have made it a priority to tackle the student loans companies by having the government directly involved in making student loans. When I was in graduate school, I received a 4.25% loan. Rates today are more than twice that and the costs of college education have soared five fold since I was in college.

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has had some tough words for the college student loan industry, saying banks and other lenders had “ripped off” students with high interest rates and repayment plans that were onerous on recent graduates and their families.

“I want to get rid of the student loan companies,” Mrs. Clinton said at an event in Sioux City, as she laid out her college affordability plan in response to a parent’s concern about high tuition prices. “I kept working and I got a little scholarship, and I borrowed money from the government at 2% interest.”

“I’m asking myself, why are we making it so expensive and costly for families today?” she continued. “I also want to eliminate the complicated form that families have to fill out. I don’t know how many of you have had to fill out those forms, it takes dozens and dozens of pages.”

Mrs. Clinton’s husband, former President Bill Clinton, battled the student loan industry in the 1990s as he championed the Federal Direct Loan Program, which eliminated for-profit lenders as the middlemen for students in that program. And an ally of Mrs. Clinton’s, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, has been waging legal fights against several lenders, accusing them of unscrupulous tactics to bilk students.

Mrs. Clinton also supports the direct loan program, and she has also called for a “student borrower’s bill of rights.” According to her campaign website, this proposal would “make it easier for students to repay loans and give them a basic set of enforceable rights.

“It would give student borrowers the right to fair monthly payments that do not exceed a percentage of their incomes, as well as access to fair interest rates and fees. The bill would also give students the right to shop in a free marketplace for their lender and to borrow without exploitation. Finally, the bill will give students access to better information about their loans to provide students with better options during repayment.”

Do you hear Obama talk about issues like this? And college kids are voting for him in record numbers? Youth is wasted on the young.

Oregon for Hillary announced today that its Oregon LGBT Steering Committee will be hosting a Ballot Drop Party in Portland on Tuesday, May 13th. Guests will be encouraged to drop off their ballots in secure drop sites and then stay to enjoy performances by Grammy nominated singer Sophie B. Hawkins and “Little Shop of Horrors” actress Ellen Greene and an appearance by producer-director Bruce Cohen. To RSVP to the event, please visit Portland Ballot Drop Party.

I must admit that in terms of managing this campaign, the Clinton camp has been abysmal. Mark Penn was an unmitigated disaster with the campaign only really coming together after Maggie Williams took charge.

Today the Washington Post reports Clinton campaign acknowledges that it is $20 million in debt. Unfortunately this will detract from the fact that on the issues, the Clinton campaign has fired on all cylinders. It is Clinton that has provided detailed proposals over a wide range of issues.

Both Clinton Communications Director, Howard Wolfensen and Chief Obama campaign strategist, David Alexrod, were on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace.

Steve Kroft did a 60 Minutes news segment on how Colombian paramilitaries landed Chiquita Brands in trouble with both Colombian and US judicial authorities. Chiquita Brands International, based in Cincinnati, for years operated in the Urabá region of Colombia’s Atlantic coast. In the late 1980s, the Urabá region increasingly became Colombia’s most troubled region as the Colombia terrorist group FARC sought to dominate the area. With the Colombian government’s failure to protect the area, paramilitaries under the umbrella of the AUC filled the vacuum of state power.

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Bogotá, Colombia began the concept of ciclovías in the 1980s. A ciclovía consists of the temporary or permanent closure of a major street (or streets) to motorized vehicles so that people are free to use the roadway without concern for their safety. They are held every Sunday and on holidays from 7 AM to 3 PM allowing residents to enjoy the public space in a healthy and safe manner with the closing of over 110 kilometers of roads for biking and pedestrian activities. Every weekend over 2 million Santa Fereños (citizens of Bogotá) participate in the ciclovía enjoying outdoor activities. Complimenting the ciclovía is the recreovía, free exercise classes that citizens can participate in.

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I’d like to see a Obama supporter come up with a comprehensive list as this one that didn’t include the words “hope” or “change.”

I have pulled a few out to hightlight some of my favourite reasons:

Reason #2: In 2006, she led the fight to kill the anti-gay Republican constitutional amendment that for the first time would have added laws to the Constitution that would INCREASE discrimination.

Reason #3: After being pummeled by the public for trying to pass Universal Health care while she was First Lady, she dusted herself off and in 1997, led a federal effort that provided insurance support for children whose parents were unable to provide them with health coverage.

Reason #25: [A.K.A "Whoopi Goldberg's reason to support Hillary"] Voted YES on repealing tax subsidy for companies which move US jobs offshore. (Mar 2005)

Reason #52: Rated 0% by the Christian Coalition.

Reason #96 Calls to Increase spending for libraries.

The full list written by a woman in Texas.

Here is the Monday, May 12th, 2008 edition of interesting reads from around the world.

Love, Saudi Style
It is hard to have much respect for a society where some one can say with confidence that

“One of the most important Arab traditions is honor,” Enad said. “If my sister goes in the street and someone assaults her, she won’t be able to protect herself. The nature of men is that men are more rational. Women are not rational. With one or two or three words, a man can get what he wants from a woman. If I call someone and a girl answers, I have to apologize. It’s a huge deal. It is a violation of the house.”

As an atheist, I am not fond of any religion but I find Islam a particularly barbaric and heinous way of life. It destroys the humanity of individuals. Under Islamic Law, I would be stoned to death for my sexuality. Pity the people who suffer it. More from the New York Times. What kind of society teaches its boys to believe that women are not rational? An irrational one.

Serbia Votes with Conflicted Results
This election was fought on whether Serbs should swallow their anger and pride over European Union’s mixed support for the independence of Kosovo, the Serb province which seceded in February, or turn their backs on the bid for EU membership. While the pro-Western parties seemed to have won, the results seem a bit conflicted. Reuters and Agence France-Presse pick up the story.

Japanese Firm Invests in Canadian Tar Sands
Yahoo Finance reports that Japan Canada Oil Sands Ltd, a unit of Japan Petroleum Exploration Co said on Thursday it plans to expand its Canadian oil sands operation in Alberta. Tar sands is a common term for what are more accurately called bituminous sands, but also commonly referred to as oil sands or (in Venezuela) extra heavy oil. The material is a naturally occurring mixture of sand or clay, water, and extra heavy crude oil or bitumen which is found in significant amounts in various countries throughout the world, but occurs in vast quantities in Canada and Venezuela. They have only recently been considered to be part of the world’s oil reserves, as higher oil prices and new technology enable them to be profitably extracted and upgraded to usable products. Oil sand is often referred to as non-conventional oil or crude bitumen, in order to distinguish the bitumen and synthetic oil extracted from tar sands from the free-flowing hydrocarbon mixtures known as crude oil traditionally produced from oil wells. Mining tar sands is extremely destructive as it is done by strip mining.

The Road Less Traveled: LA Highways
The Los Angeles Times reports that a sampling of residents, traffic reporters and technical data indicates that as gas prices climbed and the economy faltered, there were notable traffic decreases on some freeways.

The Hapless Mr. Brown
George W. Bush has it good compared to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown whose popularity is sinking fast with only one in five Britons believe he is doing a fine job. Here is a survey of his troubles: Downing Street Feuds, A Rift over Scottish Independence, Crewe & Nantwich By-Election, and when all else fails use the Queen’s Speech to restore confidence.

The Hapless Greenback
With rare exception, wherever I have gone in this world, people (especially merchants) seem always happy to see Benjamin Franklin on a greenback. Crooked Timber explores life after the dollar. Meanwhile the New York Times looks at the dollar’s troubles.

Cubans in Venezuela
President Hugo Chávez provides Cuba with its oil at a subsidized rate. In return, Cuba has provided thousands of medical professionals. Health care is, of course, one of the few achievements of the Cuban Revolution and Cuba has generously provided help when needed abroad. Cuba, for example, provided more medical aid than any other country after both Indian Ocean tsunami and the Kashmiri earthquake. In Venezuela, however, these medical professionals are there years not months. The Miami Herald looks at how these Cubans are adjusting to life in Venezuela.

Brazil Wants to Join OPEC
Brazilian President Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva wants to get his country into OPEC — a move that could lower the price of oil worldwide. With a booming biofuel business alongside new oil reserves, Brazil is poised to become a global energy leader. Germany’s Der Spiegel reports from Brasilia.