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3/12/08
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Fears of strike on Iran rise as admiral quits
The head of the
US forces in the Middle East abruptly resigned last night after a magazine
claimed he was at odds with the Bush regime over its hardline policy on
Iran.
In a move likely to sharpen concern that
America
may be planning military action against
Tehran,
Admiral William Fallon, head of central command, quit with immediate effect.
I'm telling you, Georgie wants
him another war.
The World
At least 46 killed in Iraq violence
At least 46
people were killed in a surge in violence across Iraq on Tuesday, including a
roadside bomb attack on a bus carrying mourners and day-long clashes between
gunmen and U.S. and Iraqi security forces.
Iraq violence sees spike
BAGHDAD -
Violence appeared to be on the rise in Iraq after a day that saw at least 42
people die — numbers that cast doubt on the easing of sectarian violence
following a surge of U.S. forces to the country last year.
Hamas sets terms for Israel cease-fire
GAZA
CITY, Gaza Strip -
Gaza's Hamas prime minister publicly set his conditions Wednesday for a
cease-fire with Israel to end the fighting that has killed dozens in recent
weeks.
Khatami: Hard-liners undermine democracy
TEHRAN, Iran -
Former President Mohammad Khatami has sharply criticized Iran's hard-liners for
barring many reformists from running in parliament elections, saying they were
misusing Islam.
Bangladesh retreats on women's rights after clerics protest
DHAKA (AFP) -
Bangladesh's military-backed government has backed down from a policy to ensure
equal property rights to women amid angry protests by Muslim clerics that the
move would override Islamic law.
Wounded ETimor president speaks publicly for first time
SYDNEY (AFP) -
East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta has spoken publicly for the first time
since he was shot in a rebel attack last month, thanking everyone involved in
his recovery.
China rejects human rights criticism ahead of Olympics
BEIJING (AFP) -
China's foreign minister on Wednesday hit out at critics of the country's human
rights record, accusing them of double standards while vowing their complaints
would not tarnish the Olympic Games.
China's leadership 'election' begins: report
BEIJING (AFP) -
The nominees for
China's president and
prime minister were unveiled to the national parliament Wednesday, state media
said, kicking off the nation's communist-style election process.
Liberals will support government in budget vote
OTTAWA (Reuters)
- The Liberal Party will not bring down the minority Conservative government on
a vote that will scrap an education tax break and is likely to take place for
this week, a legislator said on Tuesday.
Bolivia funds push for legal coca market
LA PAZ, Bolivia -
President Evo Morales plans to spend $300,000 to develop legal markets for coca,
defying a U.N.-affiliated drug watchdog's call to abolish traditional uses of
the leaf long revered in the Andes.
UK Top Cop Who Led CIA Probe Found Dead
A city police
chief who led an investigation into charges that Britain cooperated with secret
CIA flights to transport terrorism suspects without formal proceedings has been
found dead, his deputy said Tuesday. Manchester Chief Constable Michael Todd was
found dead in Snowdonia, about 240 miles northwest of London, Deputy Chief
Constable Dave Whatton said.
Judge rejects damages claim from compulsive gambler
LONDON (AFP) - A
gambling addict who lost over two million pounds failed Wednesday to win
compensation from a betting chain, which he took to court for encouraging his
habit.
Internet for pornography, not voting: Ex Polish PM
WARSAW (Reuters)
- Poles should not be allowed to vote online because the Internet attracts
people who watch "pornography while sipping a bottle of beer," a former prime
minister told his party's Web site.
Nigerian militant's arms cache could 'arm an army'
PARIS (AFP) - A
stash of weapons seized from a fugitive militant leader in Nigeria's oil-rich
Niger Delta would have been enough to raise an army, shocked senators said.
Zimbabwe's Mugabe pledges state wage hikes
HARARE (Reuters)
- Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, campaigning for re-election this month,
has promised salary increases to restive government workers, state media
reported on Wednesday.
The Nation
US: Syria backs foreign fighters in Iraq
Despite increased
counterterrorism efforts by Damascus, as much as 90 percent of the foreign
fighters in Iraq cross the border from Syria, according to a Pentagon report
that says Iran's support for Shiite militants also is hurting efforts to
'improve' Iraq security.
Iraq piling up oil revenue, but U.S. still pays the bills
Iraq
isn't spending much of its own money, despite soaring oil revenues that are
pushing the country toward a massive budget surplus, auditors told Congress
today. The expected surplus comes as the
U.S.
continues to invest billions of dollars in 'rebuilding'
Iraq
and faces a financial squeeze domestically because of record oil prices.
Cheney says US needs missile defense
WASHINGTON
- Borrowing a theme from the presidential contest, Vice President Dick Cheney
said Tuesday that the possibility of a
3 a.m. emergency call to the
White House is all the more reason for the next commander in chief to follow
through on President Bush's plans for a national missile defense.
Federal employee opens letter containing powder, threat to Bush
There was no
anthrax or any other dangerous substance in an envelope that was opened Monday
in an office at the federal building in downtown Fort Worth, officials said. The
letter did, however, contain a threat to the president of the United States, and
it also warned that anthrax was enclosed, officials said. Some powder fell out
of the letter, but a subsequent field test indicated it was harmless.
HUD E-Mails Refer to Retaliation
After
Philadelphia's housing director refused a demand by President Bush's housing
secretary to transfer a piece of city property to a business friend, two top
political appointees at the department exchanged e-mails discussing the pain
they could cause the Philadelphia director. "Would you like me to make his life
less happy? If so, how?" Orlando J. Cabrera, then-assistant secretary at the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, wrote about Philadelphia
housing director Carl R. Greene. "Take away all of his Federal dollars?"
responded Kim Kendrick, an assistant secretary who oversaw accessible housing.
She typed symbols for a smiley-face, ":-D," at the end of her January 2007 note.
Cabrera wrote back a few minutes later: "Let me look into that possibility."
Welcome to
Republican administration tactics.
Air Force changed tanker contract to aid rival, Boeing says in filing protest
WASHINGTON — The
Air Force made last-minute changes in the competition for a $35 billion
aerial-refueling tanker contract to ensure that a team using a European-built
plane would compete, top Boeing Co. officials said Tuesday as the company
challenged the deal. Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne, facing tough questioning
on Capitol Hill, defended the contract awarded to Northrop Grumman and European
Aerospace Defense and Space Co., saying the competition was fair, open and
complied with all federal procurement regulations. EADS is the parent company of
Airbus, Boeing's chief rival in the commercial airline industry.
McCain advisers lobbied against Boeing in tanker deal he refereed
WASHINGTON
-- Top current advisers to Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign last year
lobbied for a European plane maker that beat Boeing to a $35 billion Air Force
tanker contract, taking sides in a bidding fight that McCain has tried to
referee for more than five years.
Ashcroft defends no-bid contract with Justice Department
WASHINGTON —
Former Attorney General John Ashcroft on Tuesday denied receiving "a backroom,
sweetheart deal" after getting a multimillion-dollar contract aided by the
Justice Department… Christopher Christie, the U.S. attorney in New Jersey and a
former employee of Ashcroft when he ran the department, recommended Ashcroft for
the contract.
KBR forces its towels on U.S. troops.
(Think Progress)
In a hearing [Tuesday] on waste, fraud, and abuse in Iraq, Sen. Byron Dorgan
(D-ND) said the defense contractor KBR, formerly of Halliburton, has been
stamping its logo on towels given to U.S. troops. Dorgan said a contractor told
him that he ordered plain white towels for troops, but the “superviser” said the
towels must have the KBR logo on them — despite the cost to taxpayers.
Click through to
watch the video.
Hospitals file lawsuit over Medicaid
WASHINGTON -
Groups representing most of the nation's hospitals announced Tuesday they were
suing federal health officials to block the enactment of regulations that some
hospitals claim threaten their survival.
Afghan detainee to appear in Gitmo court
GUANTANAMO BAY
NAVAL BASE, Cuba
- Former Army Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Martin says an Afghan who allegedly
wounded him, another soldier and an interpreter in a grenade attack in Kabul
should never be let out of U.S. military custody.
I know it’s old
fashioned, but wouldn’t it be a good idea to find out if the Afghan is guilty
before we jail him for life?
Gitmo detainees allowed phone calls
GUANTANAMO BAY
NAVAL BASE, Cuba -- The U.S. military said Tuesday that it will allow detainees
to make regular phone calls to their families from Guantanamo Bay prison, where
many have been confined in extreme isolation for as long as six years. The new
policy by the Defense Department, which previously said security concerns
prevented such calls, is part of a strategy to ease conditions for frustrated
prisoners at the U.S. Navy base in southeast Cuba.
Spitzer tripped up on laws he enforced
Eliot Spitzer
knew how to catch bad guys by following the money. As attorney general, he once
broke up a call-girl ring and locked up 18 people on corruption,
money-laundering and prostitution charges.
Officials: Spitzer's sex cost $80,000
ALBANY, N.Y. —
With pressure mounting on Gov. Eliot Spitzer to resign over a call-girl scandal,
investigators said yesterday he was clearly a repeat customer who spent tens of
thousands of dollars — perhaps as much as $80,000 — with the high-priced
prostitution service over an extended period of time.
Spitzer’s not
rich. His whole career has been in public service. Where did he get that kind
of money for hookers?
NY Republicans threaten to impeach Gov. Spitzer
New York state
Republicans threatened on Tuesday to impeach Gov. Eliot Spitzer if he does not
quit over a sex scandal that has raised questions over whether he could face
criminal charges.
Lori, at Citizens
for Legitimate Government,
says: “Democrats are impeached (or threatened with impeachment) for illegal
sex; Republicans are re-installed for their illegal sex, illegal wars, illegal
wiretapping, torture, torching of the Constitution, destroying the environment,
eradicating endangered species and tanking the economy.”
AG Mukasey Aware of Spitzer Investigation
Gov. Eliot
Spitzer's role in a prostitution scandal grew out of a public corruption inquiry
triggered by his movement of large amounts of cash from several bank accounts to
one that operated by a call-girl ring, a law enforcement official said Tuesday.
Spitzer was the initial target of the investigation and was tracked using
court-ordered wiretaps that appear to have recorded him arranging for a
prostitute to meet him at a Washington hotel in mid-February, the official said.
Republicans uphold Bush veto of anti-torture bill
President George
W. Bush's fellow Republicans in Congress on Tuesday upheld his veto of a bill to
ban the CIA from subjecting enemy prisoners to interrogation methods denounced
by critics as torture. A largely party-line vote of 225-188 in the
Democratic-led House of Representatives fell short of the needed two-thirds
majority to override the president.
International outrage as 'shameful' Bush refuses to ban CIA torture
George Bush
caused international outrage last night after refusing to ban torture by the
CIA. The President [sic] announced on Saturday that he had blocked a bill which
would have outlawed simulated drowning and other torture methods. Snubbing
advice from 43 retired military chiefs and admirals and 18 national security
advisers, Mr Bush refused to tie the hands of interrogators, claiming the
tactics helped foil terror plots.
Bush officials won’t testify on signing statement.
(Think Progress)
CongressDaily reports that “senior administration officials” refused
“invitations to testify today during a House Armed Services Oversight and
Investigations Subcommittee hearing examining President Bush’s signing statement
on the FY08 defense authorization bill.” Bush’s signing statement waived
provisions that would ban permanent bases in Iraq and create a wartime
contracting oversight commission.
House Steers its own Path on Wiretaps
In continued
defiance of the White House, House Democratic leaders are readying a proposal
that would reject giving legal protection to the phone companies that helped in
the National Security Agency’s program of wiretapping without warrants after the
Sept. 11 attacks, Congressional officials said Monday.
AP water probe prompts Senate hearings
Two veteran U.S.
senators said they plan to hold hearings in response to an Associated Press
investigation into the presence of 'trace' amounts of pharmaceuticals in the
drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans.
House Steers Its Own Path on Wiretaps
WASHINGTON
— In continued defiance of the White House, House Democratic leaders are
readying a proposal that would reject giving legal protection to the phone
companies that helped in the National Security Agency’s program of wiretapping
without warrants after the Sept. 11 attacks, Congressional officials said
Monday. Instead of blanket immunity, the tentative proposal would give the
federal courts special authorization to hear classified evidence and decide
whether the phone companies should be held liable. House Democrats have been
working out the details of their proposal in the last few days, officials said,
and expect to take it to the House floor for a vote on Thursday. The Democrats’
proposal would fall far short of what the White House has been seeking.
Yes, well, the
Democrats would have to choose the judges. There are so many judges now,
especially in DC, who are so throroughly politicized that they will give the
(Republican) administration whatever it wants.
CREW CALLS INDEPENDENT ETHICS OFFICE SIMPLY A PAPER TIGER
11 Mar 2008 //
Washington, DC - In response to the ethics bill passed late tonight by the House
of Representatives, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)
executive director Melanie Sloan released the following statement: "We are
skeptical of the latest so-called ethics reform measure. Given the pathetic
performance of the Ethics Committee over the past decade we have advocated for
the creation of a new, independent ethics office. Nevertheless, without subpoena
power or the ability to consider complaints filed by anyone other than members
of Congress, this new office, like the Ethics Committee itself, promises to be
nothing more than a paper tiger. Rather than providing for the vigorous
enforcement of ethics rules, the House merely has created a new layer of
bureaucracy to insulate members from the consequences of their unethical
activities. When the American public realizes there are no teeth behind this
latest reform effort, confidence in Congress will be further eroded, the cynics
will claim victory and we will be no closer to the goal of a cleaner Congress
than we were at the beginning of the 'cleanest Congress in history.' "
Rulings on judge complaints to be public
WASHINGTON -
Federal judges agreed Tuesday to grant the public more access to cases in which
judges are disciplined by their colleagues.
Bush says 2008 politics no factor in war
NASHVILLE, Tenn.
- President Bush on Tuesday sought to firmly plant
Iraq
back in the American consciousness and reassert his role as the one who will
shape the war ahead.
Obama says Ferraro dividing Democrats
WASHINGTON -
Barack Obama assailed as "slice and dice" politics Geraldine Ferraro's assertion
that he wouldn't be where he is in the presidential race if he weren't black.
Clinton disagrees with Ferraro on Obama
HARRISBURG, Pa. -
Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday she disagrees with Geraldine Ferraro, one of
her fundraisers and the 1984 Democratic vice presidential candidate, for saying
that Barack Obama "would not be in this position" if he were white instead of
black.
Well, I DO agree
with Ferraro. There’s no way a woman or a white male would have been allowed to
get so far on so thin a resume.
Geraldine Ferraro defends remarks about Obama
WASHINGTON
(Reuters) - Former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro on Wednesday
stood by her comment that Democrat Barack Obama is only where he is because he
is black and said the reaction by his campaign was dividing the party.
Obama wins Mississippi Democratic race
WASHINGTON
- With a six-week breather before the next primary, Hillary Rodham Clinton
turned her attention to
Pennsylvania and beyond to
counter the latest in a string of victories by Barack Obama in Southern states
with large black voting blocs.
Call me crazy for
asking, but exactly how many Electoral College votes will Democrats be getting
from Mississippi in November? And how many from Wyoming?
Obama gets scant white support in MS
Whites largely
shunned Barack Obama in
Mississippi's
Democratic presidential primary on Tuesday as the
Deep South
showed once again its reluctance to embrace him across racial lines.
Fla. Dems settle on new plan for vote-by-mail primary
WASHINGTON —
Facing tight deadlines for a do-over election, Florida Democrats are rushing to
deliver to the national party as soon as Thursday a plan to vote again in the
presidential primary — this time, by mail. If approved, ballots could start
going out to voters in April. Though the election-by-mail plan has its
detractors, state Democrats say they're under a time crunch to complete voting
by June 10 — the Democratic National Committee's deadline for allocating
delegates. Submitting the plan now will start a 30-day public-comment clock that
would end in time for ballots to be sent out mid April.
Economy & Finance
Fed intervenes and market soars
WASHINGTON
— The Federal Reserve announced Tuesday that it will provide up to $200 billion
in short-term loans, accepting a wide range of mortgage bonds as collateral in a
bid to boost credit markets, keep housing finance alive and avoid a recession…
Stocks, which had slumped over the past three sessions, soared throughout the
day on news of the Fed's action. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up
416.66 points. The S&P 500 was up 47.28 and Nasdaq jumped 86.42 points.
Stocks open higher after rally
NEW YORK
- Stocks built on a sharp rally with moderate gains Wednesday as investors
remained upbeat about plans by the Federal Reserve and other central banks to
pump more liquidity into distressed financial markets.
401(k)s tapped to save homes
Struggling to
save their homes from foreclosure, more Americans are raiding their 401(k)
retirement accounts to pay their bills — and getting slammed with taxes and
penalties in the process, according to retirement plan administrators. Rather
than borrow money from their 401(k) accounts, which would have to be paid back,
a growing number of beleaguered families have been cashing out, plan
administrators say.
Aging Americans unsure they can afford to retire -survey
NEW YORK
(Reuters) - A third of Americans 50 and over are not confident they will have
enough money to retire, and more than two-thirds expect to keep working well
into old age, according to a survey published Wednesday.
Berkshire's Jain: risk of insuring muni bonds rising
NEW
YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Troubles at
Jefferson County,
Ala. and Vallejo, Calif. could be the "tip of the iceberg," as economic woes
raise the risk of insuring municipal bonds, a Berkshire Hathaway official said
on Wednesday.
Migrants still sending vast sums back to Latin America
WASHINGTON —
Latin American and Caribbean migrants sent relatives back home a record $66
billion last year, but the remittances grew by the lowest rate ever, with Mexico
and Brazil showing significant slowdowns, a study released Tuesday shows.
Remittances, which now are considered a crucial part of many Latin American and
Caribbean
economies, rose 7 percent in 2007, the first year that the growth rate has been
in single digits.
Media
Permanent link to MTA daily media news
C&L Wins the 2008 Bloggie - Best Political Blog Award
(by bluegal at Crooks and Liars)
The C&L staff knows we’ve got some of the best, most politically aware readers
of any blog out there, and we feel deeply honored every single day to be a part
of this. Really. This year we’re also deeply gratified to have received the 2008
Bloggie Award for Best Political Blog. The Bloggies are the oldest blog awards,
started in 2001. As the boss man John Amato says, “very kewl.” Thanks much to
the nice folks who voted for us, much appreciated.
Congratulations,
C&L, John Amato, and all the staff. You deserve the honor. Yours is the only
massively-trafficked progressive blog that consistently links to the smaller
blogs, and we appreciate you.
SALACIOUS SEX RAISES TV RATINGS: Are We Being HOOKERed?
(by Danny Schechter the News Dissector)
What a web we weave. Eliot Spitzer, once the sourge of Wall Street has been
undone by the wages of
Sin Street.
Should we gloat, laugh, sneer? I am sure some of the Repugs are as they watch
another big Man and a Dem go down. The cable nets are buzzing. This is the kind
of story they live for. Their pundits tsk tsk. Oh, no, not Alan Dershowitz
again, with yet another Solomonic observation. It’s a big deal. It’s a small
deal. Ok, lets watch a rerun of all the sex scandals of the past. Bill is waging
that finger again: “I did not have sex with THAT woman” seems to be on a loop.
We condemn as we exploit. What a formula! What a circle jerk.
I’m Not The Only One
Asking Dept.:
The Spitzer Sex Sting: A Few More Questions
(by Scott Horton at No Comment, Harper's Magazine, thanks to
No Quarter)
Note that [the Eliot Spitzer] prosecution was managed with staffers from the
Public Integrity Section at the Department of Justice. This section is now at
the center of a major scandal concerning politically directed prosecutions.
During the Bush Administration, his Justice Department has opened 5.6 cases
against Democrats for every one involving a Republican. Beyond this, a number of
the cases seem to have been tied closely to election cycles. Indeed, a study of
the cases out of
Alabama shows clearly
that even cases opened against Republicans are in fact only part of a broader
pattern of going after Democrats. So here are the rather amazing facts that
surface in the Spitzer case:
(1) The prosecutors handling the case came from the Public Integrity Section.
(2) The prosecution is opened under the White-Slave Traffic Act of 1910. You read that correctly. The statute itself is highly disreputable, and most of the high-profile cases brought under it were politically motivated and grossly abusive…
(3) The resources dedicated to the case in terms of prosecutors and investigators are extraordinary.
(4) … The Justice Department has yet to give a full account of why they were looking into Spitzer’s payments, and indeed the suggestion in the ABC account is that it didn’t have anything to do with a prostitution ring. The suggestion that this was driven by an IRS inquiry and involved a bank might heighten, rather than allay, concerns of a politically motivated prosecution.
All of these facts are consistent with a process which is not the investigation of a crime, but rather an attempt to target and build a case against an individual.
Dr. Laura blames Spitzer’s wife for scandal.
(Think Progress)
Today, right-wing radio host Dr. Laura Schlessinger appeared on NBC’s Today Show
in a segment called “Why do men cheat?” Schlessinger argued that Gov. Eliot
Spitzer (D) cheated because his wife failed “make him feel like a man”.
Please don’t
forget that Dr. Laura is such a great family person that
she had extramarital affairs herself, one with a man who took
nude photos [warning: x-rated material] of her, and didn’t know her mother
had died, the body lying
decomposing for months before it was discovered.
Searching For Media Hypocrisy, Doocy Falsely Claims Vitter Prostitute Scandal
Led To ‘06 Losses
(Think Progress)
On Fox and Friends this morning, host Steve Doocy pre-emptively claimed media
bias in the coverage of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer’s (D) tie to a
prostitution ring. “When David Vitter, the senator from down south, was caught
up in the DC Madam scandal, of course the mainstream media said, ‘look this is
just part of the culture of corruption with the Republican party,” complained
Doocy. “Will the mainstream media talk about this being a big scandal in the
Democrat party?” asked Doocy. To illustrate his point, Doocy claimed that
coverage of Vitter’s scandal led to “steep losses in the 2006 congressional
elections” for Republicans.
Click through to
watch the video.
Craziness (by
Paul Krugman)
One measure of how crazy people on at least one side of the Democratic
nomination struggle have become: I’ve gotten a number of complaints that the end
of my last — entirely non-political — column, “hope is not a plan,” was a swipe
at Obama. Um, guys, it’s a phrase military types use; I started using it a lot
when Iraq
went pear-shaped. In fact, if you Google it, the first entry that comes up is a
book about the Iraq war. I’m sorry to say that a large part of the progressive
movement seems to have lost its sanity.
And on Wall
Street, they say, “Hope is for dopes.” Deal with it, Obama fans.
THE HILLARY FEEDING FRENZY....
(by Kevin Drum at Political Animal, The Washington Monthly)
The online feeding frenzy against Hillary Clinton is driving me crazy. And
that's despite the fact that I support Obama and, all things considered, think
Hillary should probably withdraw from the race… [T]he current attempts to tar
Hillary as a racist have gone way, way over the top.
THIS IS YOUR PROFESSOR ON YOUTUBE:
(by Bob Somerby at The Daily Howler)
Harvard professor Orlando Patterson had suffered a troubling experience…
“PATTERSON: I have spent my life studying the pictures and symbols of racism and
slavery, and when I saw the Clinton [3 a.m.] ad's central image—innocent
sleeping children and a mother in the middle of the night at risk of mortal
danger—it brought to my mind scenes from the past. I couldn't help but think of
D. W. Griffith's ''Birth of a Nation,'' the racist movie epic that helped revive
the Ku Klux Klan, with its portrayal of black men lurking in the bushes around
white society. The danger implicit in the phone ad—as I see it—is that the
person answering the phone might be a black man, someone who could not be
trusted to protect us from this threat.”
Playing the race ace
(by Jeff Jarvis)
The New York Times op-ed page has now crossed the line I was hoping would not be
crossed in a piece by Orlando Patterson that makes criticizing Barack Obama or
questioning his qualifications — both the essence of campaign debate —
tantamount to racism. We have crossed into a land where political discussion is
politically incorrect… [A]s I read this sorry piece again and again and saw its
clear intention of painting Hillary Clinton as a racist, I could not help but
think that it is a sad day when a Harvard professor and the New York Times sink
to playing the race card in this election, turning political debate into
victimization. In this, the age of offense, let me say, I’m offended.
Hillary Clinton, 60 Minutes, and the Muslim question
(by Eric Boehlert at Media Matters)
Less than one second. That's how long it took Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to
answer, "Of course not," to Steve Kroft's question on 60 Minutes about whether
she thought Sen. Barack Obama was a Muslim. You can time it yourself by watching
the clip at YouTube. Still, that didn't stop MSNBC's Chris Matthews from
complaining on-air last week that it took
Clinton "the longest time"
to answer Kroft's question. Lots of eager, tsk-tsking pundits and reporters
agreed.
Kos is a Klown (Or: Why did "Obama Girl" darken Obama?) UPDATE: Proof that
Kossacks are morons
(by Joseph Cannon at Cannonfire, thanks to
No Quarter)
Kos started it. Now
the meme has spread throughout blogland like a
California
brushfire.
The claim: In one of her recent television ads, evil racist Hillary
intentionally darkened the face of Barack Obama. Moreover, she supposedly
widened his face in order to give him a "blacker" nose. Kos himself has devoted
two front-page columns to this nonsense. We should note that Markos Moulitsas
(unlike yours truly) has no background in image manipulation, video production
or advertising. Moreover, he seems to have lost his ability to fire up Google in
order to do basic research… But if eeevil Hillary manipulated the image with
racist intent, the same accusation can be levied against the pneumatic Obama
Girl.
Click through for
the fascinating details.
It's coming down to brains vs. brawn
(by: Roger Simon at Politico)
Is Barack Obama a wimp?... [H]e seems like the guy who brings a Nerf bat to a
knife fight… [H]is attacks always seem based on reason, while [Hillary
Clinton’s] seem more like a swift punch to the gut… I [wonder] whether Obama had
an instinct for the jugular. The Democratic nominee is going to need one. The
battle now is not really for the pledged delegates, those won in caucuses and
primaries. Both sides agree Obama will enter the Democratic convention with more
pledged delegates. The real battle is to persuade the 795 party insiders, the
superdelegates, to go with the candidate who can win in November. In other
words, who is tough enough to beat John McCain? And the one thing to keep in
mind about McCain is not that he has a temper but that he is a warrior. He is a
tough bird, and he knows how to fight. Does Obama?
Obama adapts war room tactics to hit Clinton back
(The Hill)
Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) campaign has signaled in recent days it will hit
back harder and more quickly to criticism from Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s (D-N.Y.)
campaign, mirroring the rapid response efforts of President Bill Clinton’s 1992
war room. Senior Obama officials have said they intend to respond to Clinton’s
professed strategy of throwing the “kitchen sink” at the
Illinois
senator. And even though Obama supporters say they are still running a positive
campaign, the responses have been more intense.
So transformation
politics doesn’t work when you’re facing a tough opponent? WOT a surprise!
Besides, the campaign has only been pretending it didn’t already have a war room
operation going on. How did Bill Clinton go from being the first Black
president
to a racist in just a week?
Obama in Senate: Star Power, Minor Role
(The New York Times)
Senator Barack Obama stood before
Washington’s elite at the
spring dinner of the storied Gridiron Club. In self-parody, he ticked off his
accomplishments, little more than a year after arriving in town. “I’ve been very
blessed,” Mr. Obama told the crowd assembled in March 2006. “Keynote speaker at
the Democratic convention. The cover of Newsweek. My book made the best-seller
list. I just won a Grammy for reading it on tape. “Really, what else is there to
do?” he said, his smile now broad. “Well, I guess I could pass a law or
something.”
But he never
did. And that’s exactly the problem I have had with him. He’s done nothing for
the people of Illinois and nothing for African Americans. He’s only furthered
his own career. That won’t change if he manages to edge his way into the white
House.
One-degree of separation: Obama and the "bad guys". It's a question of judgement
(Rezkowatch)
There is a constant fascination expressed by RezkoWatchers about Sen. Barack
Obama (D-Ill.)'s proximation to known and suspected terrorists and assorted "bad
guys". RezkoWatch has been helping to connect the dots for nearly two months now
in the series of articles called One-degree of separation. Some recently
discovered video clips and articles—as well as some from RW's archive—follow for
your perusal. Enjoy.
Tuesday Rezko Update: A Whisper Was All It Took
(WBBM Chicago)
CHICAGO (AP) – The Jury was told a millionaire attorney and admitted fixer
publicly whispered in the ear of a state planning board member who then changed
a vote and approved an $81 million hospital construction project, as political
fund-raiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko’s fraud trial continued Tuesday. The April 2004
vote clearing the way for construction of
Mercy Hospital at Crystal
Lake in McHenry County was a key to a plan by Rezko and attorney Stuart Levine
to split a $1 million payoff, according to federal prosecutors at Rezko's trial.
Think Progress’ McCain watch
• Cheney ‘looks forward to helping’ McCain.
• Prior To Iraq War, McCain Political Adviser Charlie Black Helped Chalabi Push WMD Claims
• O’Hanlon Fawns Over McCain: ‘He Has Been Vindicated In His Support Of The Surge’
• McCain gets defense firm cash after helpful comments.
• McCain Defends Hagee: ‘He Said That His Words Were Taken Out Of Context’
Franken's main opponent drops Senate bid
MINNEAPOLIS - Al
Franken's main competition for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate dropped
out Monday, giving the comedian-turned-candidate a major boost.
Beck: ThinkProgress = ‘liberal hacks.’
(Think Progress)
On his radio show last week, right-wing pundit Glenn Beck mocked ThinkProgress
for noting that he recently asked controversial pastor John Hagee if Sen. Barack
Obama (D-IL) “might be the Antichrist.” On his CNN Headline News show yesterday,
Beck again attacked “liberal hacks who are disguised as journalists” and brought
on Noel Sheppard of Newsbusters to go after ThinkProgress.
Click through to
watch the video.
CEI: Fixing Climate Change Will Cause ‘Death On A Massive Scale’ In The
Developing World
(Think Progress)
[Tuesday], the right-wing think tank Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI)
launched its new round of ads attacking Al Gore for his leadership on climate
change. According to CEI, the ads “contrast Gore’s energy-consuming lifestyle
with the life-and-death need for energy in developing countries.” The ads are
set to run for two weeks on CNN, CNBC, and Fox News. Announcing the $30,000 ad
buy at a press conference today, CEI General Counsel Sam Kazman said that
climate change legislation of the kind Gore supported would herald “death on a
massive scale” and “absolute disaster, suffering, and starvation on a massive
scale” in the developing world.
Click through to
watch the ad.
Media Overlook Fed Bailout in Plain View
(by Dean Baker)
Can’t the media find any economists who don’t think that handing hundreds of
billions of taxpayer dollars to the big banks and the incredibly rich people who
own and manage them is a good idea? Apparently not, given the coverage so far to
the Fed’s proposal to lend $200 billion to the banks using mortgage backed
securities as collateral… [T]he Fed [Tuesday] announced that it would lend $200
billion to banks and other financial firms, accepting mortgage backed securities
as collateral. This is effectively the same as saying that the Fed is going to
lend money to banks and accept … counterfeit currency as collateral, treating it
just as though it were real money.
"Get the bastards," says the philanthropist behind ProPublica
Herb Sandler, who
is spending $10 million a year on the ProPublica investigative journalism
project, "doesn't like crooks, liars, predatory lenders and lots of other people
that you and I wouldn't like," journalist Lowell Bergman tells Joe Nocera. The
Times writer says to listen to Sandler and wife Marion "is to be in the presence
of the kind of proud, righteous liberals who went out of fashion a long time
ago. Dispassion and irony, the twin shields of the modern age, are not part of
their makeup."
Mythbuster:
The Truth About Aging Boomers' Effect on Our Economy
(by John B. Shoven, Foreign Policy., posted at AlterNet)
It's true that as boomers retire, they will consume more and produce less. But
gloomy projections about them bankrupting us are deeply flawed.
Media Matters for America headlines
• The View's Hasselbeck: "[C]an white people go to [Obama's] church?"
• Jonah Goldberg falsely claimed Obama "dodg[es] the word and concept of patriotism"
• Beck mischaracterized Media Matters item quoting his interview with controversial evangelist Hagee
• New Yorker's Lizza "gall[ed]" by Clinton's 60 Minutes response, but reported only small part of it
• Fox hosts Rove without disclosing reported role with McCain campaign
• Matthews: Spitzer allegations raise questions about "the judiciousness of these superdelegates" [but only because Spitzer is a Clinton supporter]
Journalist to be executed
Iranian
journalist and civil rights campaigner Yaghub Mehrnehad faces imminent execution
after an unfair trial
Appeals court blocks fines for reporter
WASHINGTON — A
federal appeals court Tuesday temporarily blocked a lower court's order
requiring a former USA TODAY reporter to pay thousands of dollars in fines. Toni
Locy would not identify sources who named former Army scientist Steven Hatfill
as a possible suspect in the 2001 anthrax attacks. Lawyers for Locy, now a West
Virginia University journalism professor, had requested that the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit block the fines while they appealed
a contempt order by U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton.
Judge quashes libel ruling against restaurant critic
LONDON (AFP) - In
an important victory for press freedom, a Belfast court has ruled that
restaurant critics should be able to review an eatery without fear of being sued
for libel.
Exclusive: Charting 4-Year Circ Plunge at Major Papers
The Los Angles
Times lost 20% of daily circulation over the past four years, for example, while
up the coast the San Francisco Chronicle's daily circulation dropped almost 30%.
The Boston Globe plunged about 20% and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution almost
17%.
Ft. Worth 'Star-Telegram' To Outsource Ads
NEW YORK The Fort
Worth Star-Telegram in
Texas
is outsourcing part of its ad production department to Express KCS resulting in
a loss of about 26 jobs. "As we are being challenged in a difficult business
environment, this is a good cost-saving move that will not affect quality,"
Star-Telegram Publisher Gary Wortel told his paper. Several other
McClatchy-owned newspapers, like the Fresno Bee and The State in Columbia, S.C.,
have announced the outsourcing of some of its ad production work.
Murdoch tells WSJ DC bureau he's not pushing an agenda
Rupert Murdoch
told Wall Street Journal
DC bureau staffers
that he plans to put more resources into
Washington
coverage and take on the New York Times. He also reassured them that he's not a
"conservative" pushing an agenda in the news pages. "Murdoch's visit came as a
complete surprise to most staffers," reports Michael Calderone.
Analyst doubts publishers will invest in local business news
"For the most
part, I think we'll see the level of actual local business news reporting
diminish," writes Ken Doctor." Sure national reporters will parachute in to
follow bigger stories and businesses themselves are rapidly becoming
'publishers' filling the void with 'news' they generate about themselves and
then merrily distribute on the web. Yes, Pfizer, Ford and Chevron are all now
publishers. But knowledgeable local business news coverage -- barely out of
adolescence -- seems unlikely to develop into a robust middle age."
Short Kindle supply is keeping e-book fans waiting
Julie Ann
Shapiro's debut novel Jen-Zen and the One Shoe Diaries is among more than
100,000 digital titles for sale on Amazon's Kindle e-book reader. But the author
is one of many readers who cannot get hold of a Kindle.
Google wraps up $3.1B DoubleClick deal
SAN FRANCISCO
- Google Inc.'s long-anticipated acquisition of online ad service DoubleClick
Inc. is expected to turn the Internet search leader into an even more powerful
marketing vehicle that's fueled by better insights about consumers.
What Will Media Buying Look Like in 10 Years?
Hundreds of
Consumer Segments, Marketers Making Media and No More Upfront
17 Tips For Getting Bloggers To Write About You
One of the best
ways to get publicity and generate buzz is to get bloggers to write about what
you're doing. Boing Boing co-author Cory Doctorow provides some tips on making
it easy for bloggers to point to you.
When a Corporate Donation Raises Protests
Abercrombie &
Fitch, known for sexy ads, made a $10 million donation for an emergency
department at a hospital in Ohio. Children’s advocates contend that an Ohio
hospital went too far by naming a department after Abercrombie & Fitch in
exchange for a $10 million donation.
Nortel set to launch faster network technology
TORONTO (Reuters)
- Nortel Networks Corp is about to roll out new technology that lets telecom
companies immediately quadruple the capacity of their networks to help them cope
with a boom in Internet video, high-definition programming and the use of mobile
video phones.
Technology & Science
Housing slump suppresses appetite for electronics
SAN FRANCISCO
- Nearly every area with a decline in electronics sales also had falling home
prices, says NPD analyst Stephen Baker.
Prostitution Advances In A Wired World
Text messaging to
clock the client in. Electronic fund transfers. Full-color Web sites with
come-hither photos of women. It may be the world's oldest profession, but
prostitution is using some 21st-century tricks.
Why Power and Prostitution Go Together
New York Gov.
Eliot Spitzer's alleged involvement in a prostitution ring has sent some heads
spinning. The possible acts of impropriety run counter to the politician's
hard-line career commitment to fighting corruption. The obvious question on many
minds: What was he thinking? The short answer, researchers say: Power and
corruption go together. While no outsider can read the man's mind, psychologists
suggest several reasons for Spitzer's seeming hypocrisy, including a feeling of
invincibility and "no one can touch me" attitude. Plus, people in high positions
have more opportunities to step out of line.
One in 4 Teen Girls Has a Sexually Transmitted Disease
Greatest burden
falls on African-American adolescents, CDC researchers find.
Dental Erosion on Rise in U.S.
Tooth enamel
losses, found in 30% of middle schoolers studied, blamed on acids in sweet
drinks.
Scientists Spot Biochemical Sign of Depression
Could lead to
quick blood test that would show whether an antidepressant is working
Personal Contact Helps Maintain Weight Loss
Interactive Web
sites may also help, at least for a while, study finds
Herb Anise Contains Unique Healthful Phenylpropanoids, Study Suggests
ScienceDaily
(Mar. 12, 2008) — People use anise to add a hint of licorice to everything from
holiday springerle cookies to robust bottles of ouzo and raki. Now Agricultural
Research Service (ARS) postdoctoral scientist Nurhayat Tabanca and plant
pathologist David Wedge have found that anise (Pimpinella sp.) is more than just
another jar in the spice rack.
Late Use of Aromatase Inhibitor Still Effective Against Breast Cancer
Letrozole cut
women's risk of recurrent or new tumors by more than half, study found
Skeleton may show ancient brain surgery
Greek
archaeologists said Tuesday they have unearthed rare evidence of what they
believe was brain surgery performed nearly 1,800 years ago on a young woman —
who died during or shortly after the operation.
Some Crabs Crabbier Than Others
Crabs apparently
can have different personalities from one another, the first discovery of
personality in crustaceans.
Bird brains suggest how vocal learning evolved
DURHAM, N.C. —
Though they perch far apart on the avian family tree, birds with the ability to
learn songs use similar brain structures to sing their tunes. Neurobiologists at
Duke University Medical Center now have an explanation for this puzzling
likeness. In all three groups of birds with vocal learning abilities —
songbirds, parrots and hummingbirds — the brain structures for singing and
learning to sing are embedded in areas controlling movement, the researchers
discovered. The team also found that areas in charge of movement share many
functional similarities with the brain areas for singing.
Cheating and Corruption Rampant Among ... Ants
Although ants are
noted for their communal cooperation, the ranks of ant royalty are actually
riddled with cheating and corruption, a new study finds.
Streamlined meteorite hit Peru fast and hard: study
WASHINGTON
(Reuters) - A meteorite that struck Peru in September, digging out a deep hole
and startling nearby residents, traveled faster and hit harder than would have
been expected, researchers reported on Tuesday.
Kissing the Earth Goodbye in About 7.59 Billion Years
What exactly will
happen to our planet when an aging Sun expands and brightens?
NASA puzzles over mysterious debris that struck shuttle
WASHINGTON (AFP)
- Endeavour astronauts inspected the space shuttle's heat shield Wednesday,
while NASA puzzled over a mysterious piece of debris that may have struck the
shuttle's nose just after launch.
Shuttle in good shape as it heads to space station
HOUSTON (Reuters)
- A freshly inspected space shuttle Endeavour looked to be in good shape on
Wednesday as it headed toward a rendezvous with the International Space Station
to deliver a Japanese laboratory.
Columbus Camera Captures First Views Of Earth
ScienceDaily
(Mar. 12, 2008) — One of the experiments housed on the European Columbus
laboratory’s external platform is an automated eye in the sky known as the Earth
Viewing Camera (EVC). Now, after several weeks of troubleshooting by the EVC
team in the
Netherlands, the
first pictures from the orbiting camera have arrived safely back on Earth.
BLOG: International Lunar Network: Science Nodes on the Moon
NASA is inviting
nations to put in place an International Lunar Network (ILN) of science nodes on
the Moon. Alan Stern, Associate Administrator of NASA’s Science Mission
Directorate, presented details … at the 39th Lunar and Planetary Science
Conference (LPSC) being held this week in League City, Texas. The plan is to
bring nations together “to build something much greater than any of us can
afford to build on our own,” Stern told an LPSC audience [Tuesday].
How to Get to Alpha Centauri
Sending a person
to Alpha Centauri within a human lifetime wouldn't be easy. Alpha Centauri is
4.37 light-years away — more than 25.6 trillion miles, or more than 276,000
times the distance from the Earth to the sun… Conventional rockets are nowhere
near efficient enough… But antimatter engines might work. These drives rely on
the extraordinary amount of energy released when antimatter and matter
annihilate each other. The problem, however, is creating enough and storing any
antimatter for the trip.
Environment
Clean Energy Market to Hit $254 Billion by 2017, Says Study
OAKLAND, Calif.,
March 11, 2008 -- Global clean-energy markets are expanding rapidly, according
to a new study. Just four sectors are projected to more than triple over the
next decade, growing to $254.5 billion by 2017.
Pretty soon,
you’re talking real money.
Rush for biofuels threatens starvation on a global scale
The rush towards
biofuels is threatening world food production and the lives of billions of
people, the Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser said, putting himself at odds
with ministers committing Britain to large increases in the use of biofuels
Fuel Cells: Japanese harness the power of hydrogen for electricity and hot water
2200 Japanese
home owners draw their power and heat their hot water from hydrogen fuel cells.
The technology, which extracts energy from the chemical reaction when hydrogen
combines with oxygen to form water, is more commonly found as an application for
automobiles rather than homes. Developers claim that fuel cells cause one-third
less of the pollution that causes global warming than conventional electricity
generation does.
Army to turn trash into power in Iraq
WEST LAFAYETTE,
Ind. - The water bottles, plastic foam plates and other trash discarded by
American troops in Iraq's mess halls may soon be serving double-duty — as an
unlikely power source to illuminate barracks and power up laptops.
Virgin Abandons Plane-Towing Plan
OAKLAND, Calif.,
March 12, 2008 -- The plan, which called for towing planes to starting girds
from which they'd take off, was touted as having the potential of avoiding tons
of emissions per flight. But the practice wears down landing gear. Environmental
groups cry greenwash.
Guide Urges Businesses to Address Ecosystem Changes
MONTREUX,
Switzerland, March 12, 2008 -- "The Corporate Ecosystem Services Review" makes
the case for business to be aware of how ecosystem changes can help or hurt
them.
Dolphin appears to guide whales to sea
WELLINGTON, New
Zealand - Most days, Moko the bottlenosed dolphin swims playfully with humans at
a New Zealand beach. But this week, it seems, Moko found his mojo. Witnesses
described Wednesday how they saw the dolphin swim up to two stranded whales and
guide them to safety.
Mediterranean tuna at risk from 'bloated' fishing fleet: WWF
GENEVA (AFP) -
The Mediterranean tuna fishing fleet is so large that its capacity is nearly
twice the current quotas, and some 200 ships should be scrapped to conserve
stocks, environmental group WWF said Wednesday.
Russian stars protest against baby seal hunt
MOSCOW (AFP) -
Russian stars and environment defenders rallied Tuesday on the White Sea's shore
against hunting baby seals, which is still practiced in Russia in March and
April, Russian media reported.
World tiger population shrinking fast, WWF warns
STOCKHOLM (AFP) -
The number of tigers in the world has diminished at an alarming speed in recent
years, global conservation group WWF cautioned on Wednesday, blaming poaching
for much of the decline.
Groups vow to protest wolverine decision
BILLINGS, Mont. -
Federal officials said Monday that wolverines do not warrant endangered species
protections in the contiguous
United States,
despite lingering concern among government scientists that the rarely seen
animal remains imperiled.
