3/1/08

THE BEST DAILY NEWS SUMMARY
in this important election year.
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US: Iraqi women bomber trainer caught
BAGHDAD - The U.S. military announced the capture Saturday of an insurgent leader who was recruiting and training women, including his wife, to wrap themselves in explosives and blow themselves up — the latest sign that al-Qaida in Iraq plans to keep using women to carry out suicide attacks.
His wife, huh? That explains a lot.

Ahmadinejad on historic Iraq trip
BAGHDAD - President Bush's last trip to Iraq was kept secret until he arrived at a U.S. military base. Eight hours later he left, after Iraq's leaders traveled to meet him there.

Israeli strikes kill 50 in Gaza
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Israeli troops, tanks and aircraft targeted Gaza militants bombarding southern Israel with rockets and mortars Saturday, killing 50 Palestinians in the deadliest day of fighting in Gaza since Hamas seized control in June.

U.N. council vote on Iran sanctions delayed again
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - France and Britain have again delayed a U.N. Security Council vote on a third round of sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program in an effort to win over skeptics, diplomats said on Friday.

Syria slams US Lebanon ship deployment
DAMASCUS, Syria - Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said Saturday that a U.S. Navy deployment off the coast of Lebanon threatens security in the region and warned the United States it cannot impose its own solution to the long-running political crisis in Lebanon.

Armenia declares state of emergency
YEREVAN, Armenia - Armenia's president imposed a state of emergency Saturday after police used tear gas and fired shots into the air to disperse demonstrators protesting alleged fraud in last month's presidential election.

Thriving Taliban drugs show Afghan woes
WASHINGTON - The Taliban have built a huge and profitable drug operation in Afghanistan while provincial governors look the other way, the latest grim sign of backsliding in a country the U.S. has spent six years and billions of dollars trying to salvage.

Canada resumes transfer of detainees to Afghans
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada is once again handing over prisoners captured by its troops to Afghan authorities, a practice that was halted last November amid fears of abuse, military officials said on Friday.

Voting starts in Russian presidential election
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russians voted for a new president on Sunday, in an election expected to deliver a big victory to Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin's chosen successor and another blow to Moscow's already tarnished democratic image.

US envoy on NKorea in Beijing: US embassy
BEIJING (AFP) - The chief US negotiator on North Korea's nuclear disarmament arrived in Beijing Saturday, a US official said, as he tried to find a breakthrough in the deadlocked six-nation talks.

Raul takes small steps on human rights
HAVANA - Once known as the "fist" of Cuba's revolution, 76-year-old Raul Castro may be showing a brush of the velvet glove since taking power.

Serbia in bid to block Kosovo independence 'supervisor'
BELGRADE (AFP) - Serbia stepped up its fight Friday against Kosovo's secession, protesting against the creation of a 15-nation group to help "supervise" its independence as Kosovo Serb police deserted their posts.

Amnesty urges access to detained Niger delta leaders
LAGOS (AFP) - Amnesty International on Saturday called on Nigeria to allow two detained suspected separatist leaders to be allowed access to their lawyers and family.

Zimbabwe opposition says talks fail
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - Zimbabwe's main opposition party said Saturday that South African-mediated talks to ease a political and economic crisis have ended in failure.

Key politicians switch support to Mugabe's presidential rival
BULAWAYO (AFP) - Two political heavyweights endorsed former minister Simba Makoni as he launched his bid for the Zimbabwean presidency Saturday, including a serving official with President Robert Mugabe's party.

Kenyans fear turmoil despite political pact (by Shashank Bengali, McClatchy Newspapers )
ELDORET, Kenya — Kenya's political rivals this week struck a deal on a coalition government, pledged to put a disputed election and its bloody aftermath behind them and vowed to move forward together to remake their devastated nation. But a drive Friday through the scenic Rift Valley, the epicenter of the ethnic clashes that shook Kenya for two months, showed that many Kenyans are skeptical that President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga can work together or ensure that hundreds of thousands of people regain their lost homes, jobs and property.

Women gain ground slowly in parliaments, Cabinets
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Women have secured more places in parliaments and governments around the world in the past three years, a new study showed on Friday, but officials said progress is slow and only quota systems will speed it up.

Bush to veto anti-torture bill next week. (Think Progress)
Congress recently passed the Intelligence Authorization Act, which contained a provision creating a single interrogation standard for the U.S. government that bans the use of waterboarding. CQ reports that President Bush will veto the bill next week:.. Although the exact date for the veto is unclear, the president likely will not act until after Tuesday’s primaries, since numerous lawmakers will not be on Capitol Hill then.

Bush to press NATO for more troops for Afghanistan
CRAWFORD, Texas (AFP) - US President George W. Bush said Saturday that he would press NATO members to contribute more forces to the mission in Afghanistan at a summit in Bucharest in April.

Bush: Listen to generals on troop levels
CRAWFORD, Texas - President Bush declined Saturday to repeat promises made by others in his administration that more U.S. troops will return home from Iraq than scheduled before he leaves office.
He wants us to listen to the generals when they agree with him. When they don’t we’re not supposed to listen.

At new U.S. Embassy in Iraq, even kitchens are fire hazards
WASHINGTON — None of the 26 buildings in the new $740 million U.S. Embassy complex in Baghdad is ready to be occupied. Fire alarms intended to safeguard more than 1,000 U.S. government employees aren't working. Kitchens in some of the buildings are fire hazards. A senior State Department official in December certified that embassy construction was "substantially complete," but department inspectors found "major deficiencies" at the unoccupied embassy, according to their inspection report, which Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., released Friday.

Grassley: Cut contract fraud loophole
WASHINGTON - A Republican senator urged the White House on Friday to strip a multibillion-dollar loophole exempting overseas work from government plans to crack down on contract fraud.
Sorry, Senator Grassley, there will be even less oversight. See below.

US reducing investigators in Iraq
WASHINGTON - The U.S. plans to reduce the number of auditors and investigators at its development agency in Baghdad, The Associated Press has learned.

Audits sting hospitals, physicians
WASHINGTON - In coming weeks, private audit companies will begin scouring mountains of medical records. Their mission: Determine if health care providers erred when billing Medicare and require them to return any overpayments to the federal government. The auditors will keep a tidy percentage for their services.

Mukasey refuses probe of Bush aides
Attorney General Michael Mukasey refused Friday to refer the House's contempt citations against two of President Bush's top aides to a federal grand jury. Mukasey said White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and former presidential counsel Harriet Miers committed no crime. As promised, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that she has given the Judiciary Committee authority to file a lawsuit against Bolten and Miers in federal court. "The House shall do so promptly," she said in a statement.

Murmurs of Another Cave? (by dday at Hullabaloo)
I was just about to write a post about how the Democrats were getting some backbone. This week we've had Nancy Pelosi pursuing contempt of Congress citations for Josh Bolten and Harriet Miers strenuously, Democrats in the Senate holding firm on a proposal to reverse bankruptcy laws to protect homeowners subject to foreclosure, and House oversight investigators even forcing John Ashcroft to testify over no-bid contracts awarded to the US Attorney for New Jersey Chris Christie. And in the face of a ridiculous series of attacks by the White House and right-wing groups over FISA, the Democrats appeared to be unafraid. Except: “To break an impasse over legislation overhauling the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, House Democratic leaders are considering the option of taking up a Senate-passed FISA bill in stages, congressional sources said today.”

Despite Claims That America Is ‘Open To Attack,’ GOP Rejects Yet Another PAA Extension (Think Progress)
Two weeks ago, the hastily-passed Protect America Act (PAA) expired after the Bush administration and its supporters refused to approve a 21-day extension of the law. Since then, President Bush and his allies in Congress have engaged in a fear campaign to pressure the House into passing a Senate-approved update of the PAA that includes retroactive immunity for telecoms. President Bush continued the fear-mongering in his press conference [Thursday], bellowing that “no renewal of…the Protect America Act is dangerous for the security of the country, just dangerous.” Challenging Bush and the GOP to hold true to their rhetoric, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) introduced a bill today to extend the PAA for 30 days while negotiations between the House and Senate proceed… Predictably, Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) objected to Reid’s unanimous consent motion, effectively rejecting the extension.
Click through to watch the video.

Feds say water negotiations have failed
WASHINGTON - Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne is acknowledging that White House-brokered water negotiations between Alabama, Florida and Georgia have failed to produce an agreement.

U.S. border "virtual fence" to be delayed: report
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Technical problems have forced the Bush administration to retool a high-tech "virtual fence" along the U.S.-Mexico border and will delay the first phase for at least three years, the Washington Post reported on Thursday.

Clinton focuses on turnout in key states
SAN ANTONIO - With her closing arguments made, Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton turned her attention to the mechanics of delivering voters to the polls in a round of primaries Tuesday that could hold the key to the future of her presidential ambitions.

Judge puts some limits on government's case against Tony Rezko
A judge on Friday ordered prosecutors in the Antoin "Tony" Rezko trial to steer clear of evidence intended to show that the longtime fundraiser for Gov. Rod Blagojevich manipulated the state hiring process… The setbacks for the prosecution, however, do not strike at the heart of its case—that Rezko allegedly exploited his influence with the governor to scheme to illegally siphon millions of dollars from the hospital board and a state pension panel.
The trial starts Monday.

Dow loses 315 on economic worries
NEW YORK - Stocks fell sharply Friday after a series of depressing economic and corporate reports as well as high oil prices stoked concerns about the health of the economy. The major stock indexes fell more than 2.5 percent and the Dow Jones industrials lost 315 points.

Treasurys rally as stocks cave in
NEW YORK - Treasury prices rallied Friday, benefiting from a sharp decline in equity markets as investors reacted to weak economic reports and disappointing corporate earnings. The stock selloff sent the Dow Jones industrial average down more than 300 points.

Credit card market a potential disaster-in-waiting. (Think Progress)
A new report issued recently by the Center for American Progress warned that, “as borrowing in the mortgage market slows, credit card borrowing is accelerating — a dangerous trend because borrowers still face weak income growth. That means the credit card market could eventually run into the same problems that now afflict the sub-prime mortgage market. ” [Friday night], NBC News reported that credit card debt is nearing a record $1 trillion. The piece noted there is a “credit card binge across the nation as people use their plastic to stay financially afloat.”
Click through to watch the video.

The most powerful campaign media bias isn't for a person
It's for a decade -- the 1960s, says William Powers. "If the race turns out to be Obama versus McCain, the obsession will only grow. Where Obama represents the RFK/MLK side of '60s culture, McCain, the former Vietnam POW, will become the embodiment of the anti-communist, warrior strain."
Unless that person’s name is Hillary Clinton. Then there’s media bias just for her.

Clinton undermining election process, Obama camp claims
AUSTIN — Barack Obama’s presidential campaign said Friday that Hillary Clinton, fearing defeat in a state she badly needs to win, is trying to undermine confidence in Texas' delegate-selection process by raising the specter of a chaotic election night. Clinton aides shot back that Obama was “fanning the distortion” of their legitimate concerns about the state’s two-step voting process, which entails both a primary election and a little understood caucus.
See, it doesn’t matter that the Clinton campaign said they never mentioned suing. What most people will end up believing is that Clinton is bad, bad, bad—if they don’t already think that.

Texas Republicans cross over to vote for Obama
A poll released this week by SurveyUSA of Verona, N.J., indicated that registered Republicans would make up 9 percent of Democratic primary voters next week. Michael Baselice, head of Baselice and Associates, a Texas polling firm, said that was in line with what his company was finding. A bloc that large could make a significant difference for Obama, who holds a large lead over Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York among Texas Republicans, especially in a close race. Polls this week were showing a dead heat in Texas as Obama began pulling even with Clinton.

A Number You Probably Haven't Seen (Christopher Beam at Trailhead, Slate)
Obama, despite being ahead among pledged delegates, has fewer total votes among people who identify themselves as Democrats. (He has 7,392,809 votes; Clinton has 8,229,063.) That gives Clinton as lead with 52 percent of Democrats. Lanier also breaks the numbers down by race and points out that Obama has won white Democrats in only two states: New Mexico and Illinois… It helps you understand why the party gives so much power to its 796 superdelegates. If they didn’t, independents and Republicans could essentially hijack their election.
And hijacking is exactly what they are doing. Democrats who support Obama are helping to move the Democratic leadership EVEN FURTHER TO THE RIGHT. That’s not where I want them to go. How about you?

Clinton or Obama safer? Ads go after 'scare' votes
SAN ANTONIO -- Sen. Hillary Clinton sparked a war of words with rival Sen. Barack Obama by launching a striking new TV spot here that says voters' children would be safer with her answering the "red phone" that could ring at 3 a.m. in the White House with news of a national security threat.

Bonus Quote of the Day (Political Wire)
"I would encourage you on March 5 to call Sen. Clinton at 3 a.m. and ask that question." -- Obama adviser Richard Danzig, after a reporter asked whether Clinton should drop out of the presidential race after Ohio and Texas vote on March 4.
Is this what we’re calling unity now, or is unity no longer on the agenda?

Poll: Majority Of Americans Support Mandates Requiring The Purchase Of Health Coverage
A new poll from NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health, however, finds that most Americans reject conservatives’ approach to health care. In fact, the majority of the public supports mandates requiring Americans to purchase health insurance.
Hillary haters hated Hillary more when it came out that her health care plan would require a mandate, to keep the cost low for all of us. Turns out, the American people are with Hillary, not the haters.

Obama Present on Continued Use of Blackwater (by Alegre, posting at No Quarter)
An article in the current issue of The Nation discusses comments from a senior foreign policy advisor to Sen. Obama, in which they make clear BO’s refusal to rule out continued use of private security forces such as Blackwater… Obama’s broader Iraq withdrawal plan provides for some US troops to remain in Iraq - how many his advisors won’t say. But it’s clear that Obama’s “Follow-on force” will include a robust security force to protect US personnel in Iraq… Contrast this with something Hillary’s Senate office put out earlier today… “Senator Clinton Cosponsors Legislation to Ban Use of Private Security Contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
In an update to the story in The Nation, the author says he received this information from the Clinton campaign, but questions its timing. The woman CAN. NOT. catch a break.

Meet Tim Russert (by Jamison Foser, Media Matters)
Russert's performance as a moderator of this week's debate has drawn widespread criticism. Most appalling was his bizarre fixation on Louis Farrakhan. Russert asked Barack Obama about Louis Farrakhan's praise for the Illinois senator. Obama, who had previously denounced Farrakhan, did so again. Then Russert asked about Farrakhan again. So Obama reiterated his denunciation. Then Russert, (who, I can only assume, was not bothering to listen to Obama's responses) asked about Farrakhan again. So Obama again reiterated his denunciation. Russert, plowing ahead, asked yet another question about Farrakhan, prompting Obama to answer yet again. Josh Marshall summed up Russert's behavior nicely: "It was a nationwide, televised, MSM version of one of those noxious Obama smear emails."
The difference between me and some other so-called progressive commentators is that I don’t want this kind of coverage for ANY Democratic candidate.

Where Oh Where Are the McCain Haters? (by Jane Hamsher at Firedoglake)
I have noticed that the passion that fueled the virulent hatred against Hillary Clinton in comments across the blogosphere just does not transfer to John McCain… Case in point. I put up a post about Hillary Clinton accepting a Fox debate over at the Huffington Post. It got 265 irate comments. I put up one about McCain breaking campaign finance law while accusing Obama of doing so, and got -- 10… I genuinely thought that the impulse to vilify Clinton and defend Obama was just because people really, really liked him. I have to say, now I'm not so certain.

John McCain’s Charitable Contributions (by Ken Silverstein at Washington Babylon, Harper’s Magazine)
John McCain … is essentially the sole donor to the John and Cindy McCain Foundation, and his wife is its chairman and president. Between 2001 and 2006, McCain contributed roughly $950,000 to the foundation. That accounted for all of its listed income other than for $100 that came from an anonymous donor. During that same period, the McCain foundation made contributions of roughly $1.6 million. More than $500,000 went to his kids’ private schools, most of which was donated when his children were attending those institutions. So McCain apparently received major tax deductions for supporting elite schools attended by his children.

Legislation Introduced to Remove McCain’s Panama Problem in Seeking Presidency (by Jonathan Turley)
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D., Mo.) has introduced legislation that would declare that any child born abroad to citizens serving in the United States military to be natural born citizens for the purposes of the constitution. It is a admirable bipartisan effort to resolve any questions about McCain’s eligibility under Article II. However, it is not the first time such legislation has been introduced and it is not clear if it would be sufficient.
This kind of challenge is silly. There’s also an email floating around that claims Hillary Clinton can’t be president because the Nineteenth Amendment only gives women the right to vote, not the right to be president.

The Abrams Report: Bush League Justice, But No Justice For Siegelman (by Nicole Belle at Crooks and Liars)
With any luck, the attention that Dan Abrams has committed to bring to the Don Siegelman case will manifest itself into pressure on the Alabama State Attorney General to move towards examining this miscarriage of justice. On last night’s show, Abrams spoke with former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods, who was interviewed for the 60 Minutes piece and is one of the 52 current and former Attorneys General who have signed a letter raising concerns of politicization in this case. Woods again pointed out some of the red flags that have that bipartisan group calling for a special investigation.
Click through to watch the video.

Why British media agreed to a news blackout on Prince Harry
"In the lengthy discussions about the wisdom and ethics of doing this deal many editors voiced their concerns" about keeping Prince Harry's war duties secret, writes Society of Editors executive director Bob Satchwell. "…The consensus was that as army chiefs had decided the prince would go to war it would be wrong to put him and his soldier colleagues at extra risk by publicising his deployment in advance."

More Americans turning to Web for news
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nearly 70 percent of Americans believe traditional journalism is out of touch, and nearly half are turning to the Internet to get their news, according to a new survey. While most people think journalism is important to the quality of life, 64 percent are dissatisfied with the quality of journalism in their communities, a We Media/Zogby Interactive online poll showed.

Civil Rights Groups: FCC Should Allow Network Management
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission should allow broadband providers to manage their networks and slow "bandwidth hogs," despite concerns that such practices arbitrarily target some customers, said a coalition of seven civil rights groups. Net neutrality rules for broadband providers would protect bandwidth hogs at the expense of other customers and civic organizations, said the coalition, which includes the National Black Chamber of Commerce, Latinos in Information Sciences and Technology Association, League of Rural Voters and National Council of Women's Organizations.

NBC Universal, MPAA Weigh In on Network Management
Content producers were weighing in at the Federal Communications Commission Thursday and Friday in the agency's ongoing inquiry into network-management practices. They want to make sure the FCC does not tie networks’ hands when it comes to managing the bandwidth-heavy traffic that includes their increasing online-video efforts.

Judge Backtracks: WikiLeaks Resumes U.S. Operations
SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal judge on Friday allowed whistle-blower site WikiLeaks to resume operation in the United States, a week after ordering its U.S. hosting company and domain registrar to shut down and lock the renegade's site from the internet. The judge conceded the futility of attempts to censor information, in this instance private banking records, after it has been posted to the internet.

U.S. court denies Conrad Black bond during appeal
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A federal appeals court denied on Thursday Conrad Black's request to remain free on bond during the appeal of his convictions for fraud and obstructing justice, though the judges indicated his appeal had at least a chance.

IAC: 100 Layoffs Coming At Ask.com; Search Deal With Google Possible (Paid Content)
A source has confirmed to us a coming shakeup at IAC-owned Ask.com that includes about 100 layoffs in the April time frame. SAI reported this morning that the site may pull the plug on its own search efforts, and instead power itself with Google search, a la AOL. We’ve learned that as part of the ad deal between IAC and Google, which the parties re-upped in November, there’s a clause allowing Google to engage more deeply with Ask’s algorithmic search. A decision to go with Google completely for search hasn’t been decided on definitively, but something along these lines may occur.

Last changed: June 22, 2008