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3/20/08
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Bush defiantly defends war in Iraq
WASHINGTON -
President Bush defiantly defended the Iraq war Wednesday as U.S. troops began a
sixth year of combat in the long and costly conflict that has dominated his
presidency. Bush conceded the war has been harder and more expensive than
anticipated but insisted it has all been necessary to keep Americans safe.
Bush says
war is romantic. It’s proof positive that he’s never been in one.
The World
Ex-chief weapons inspector slams Iraq war as 'tragedy'
LONDON (AFP) -
Hans Blix, the former chief UN weapons inspector, slammed the Iraq war as a
"tragedy" and blamed it on leaders ignoring the facts, in a comment piece
published Thursday.
Violence is down, but Iraq still faces a long, hard road
BAGHDAD — Five
years after the U.S.-led invasion,
Iraq
remains a divided country with an unstable government and endemic violence.
Iraq to pay $2.5 billion to Exxon Mobil, BP, other top oil firms
The Iraqi
government is expected to pay up to $2.5 billion to five top oil companies to
increase the country's oil output by nearly a quarter, a government adviser told
Reuters on Wednesday. In what would be the biggest foreign involvement for
decades, Baghdad
is close to signing technical support contracts with BP, Royal Dutch Shell,
Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Total.
US Company Given $85M to Help Expand Iraqi Refinery
Iraq's Oil
Ministry has signed a contract with the Colorado Industrial Construction
Services Co. to help expand a refinery in Najaf, south of Baghdad, an official
said Wednesday. The $85 million contract is designed to increase the refinery's
current capacity of 20,000 barrels of oil per day by roughly 10,000 barrels per
day, a senior ministry official said.
Report: Turkey bombs Kurd rebels in Iraq
DIYARBAKIR,
Turkey - Turkish warplanes bombed Kurdish rebel hideouts in northern Iraq
Thursday, private news channel NTV reported.
Egypt to supply power to Gaza
JERUSALEM -
Israeli defense officials say they've worked out a tentative deal for Egypt to
become the main electricity supplier to the Gaza Strip.
China says Tibet protests have spread
BEIJING - China
acknowledged Thursday that anti-government riots have spread to other provinces
since sweeping through Tibet last week, as communist authorities announced the
first group of arrests for the violence.
Indonesia accuses U.S. of abusing bird flu virus
Indonesian Health
Minister Siti Fadhilah Supari has accused the United States of abusing
Indonesian bird flu virus for commercial purposes, Antara news agency reported
on Thursday. "We sent the virus (to them) for the sake of humanity but they have
turned it into vaccines sold everywhere on the pretext of keeping watch for
pandemic," Antara news agency Thursday quoted the minister as saying in
Surabaya.
Australia to train Aboriginal doctors
CANBERRA,
Australia - Australia committed $17 million on Thursday to train Aboriginal
nurses and doctors, as part of efforts to close a 17-year gap in the life
expectancies of indigenous and other Australians.
'Canadians called me a liar': Khadr
Canadian
officials refused to help a sobbing Omar Khadr when they visited him in
Guantanamo Bay, despite allegations of torture at the hands of Americans who had
captured him after a firefight in Afghanistan, according to Khadr. "I showed
them my injuries," recalled Khadr in an affidavit filed with a U.S. military war
crimes court. "I said that I told the Americans whatever they wanted me to say
because they would torture me. The Canadians called me a liar and I began to
sob. They screamed at me and told me that they could not do anything for me,"
said Khadr, recalling one of six visits in 2003 and 2004 by Canadians to the
U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Cuba, Venezuela rap US in terrorism case
UNITED NATIONS -
Cuba and Venezuela criticized the United States on Wednesday for failing to hand
over or prosecute an alleged terrorist accused of masterminding the bombing of a
Cuban jetliner in 1976. The United States insisted it is acting legally.
British Govt. to Delay Withdrawal of Military Troops From Iraq
The British
government revealed on Wednesday that it's delaying earlier plans to withdraw
thousands of military troops from Iraq. The decision came following the non-stop
attacks on the military camp in Basra airport, where British troops are based.
Gordon Brown accused of breaking Iraq promise
Gordon Brown has
been accused of breaking his promises on Iraq as troops were told a force of
4,000 would need to stay in the country until the end of the year. The
disclosure came on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the invasion.
Zimbabwe opposition says voters' register filled with ghost names
HARARE (AFP) -
Zimbabwe's main opposition leader and presidential candidate in March 29 general
elections said Thursday that the voters' register was filled with tens of
thousands of ghost voters.
UN: No amnesty for Kenyan vote violence
GENEVA - Those
who committed the worst crimes during the chaos following Kenya's disputed
election should "under no circumstances" be granted amnesty, the U.N. has said.
Attacks on Darfur villages were deliberate military strategy: UN
GENEVA (AFP) -
Attacks on four villages in West Darfur in January and February by the Sudanese
armed forces amounted to a "deliberate" military strategy, the United Nations
said in a report on Thursday.
Nigerian officers in Somalia ahead of troop deployment
MOGADISHU (AFP) -
Ten Nigerian army officers arrived here Thursday to assess conditions ahead of a
troop deployment to bolster an undermanned African Union peacekeeping force, an
official said.
African Union troops arrive on Comoros island in invasion build-up
FOMBONI, Comoros
(AFP) - The first batch of African Union (AU) troops arrived on the Comoros
island of Moheli Thursday, joining Comoran forces massed for a military
offensive to retake the rebel island of Anjouan.
The Nation
Bush rejects Iraq troop pullout
Five years after
launching the invasion of Iraq, President George Bush has strongly signalled
that he will not order US troop withdrawals beyond those already planned. Bush
said he refuses to "jeopardise the hard-fought gains" of the past year.
Cheney again links Iraq invasion to 9/11 attacks
Amid tears and
wails, mourners in the southern city of Najaf on Tuesday began burying victims
from a suicide bombing that killed nearly 50 worshipers and injured dozens of
others just before evening prayers Monday in nearby Karbala... But Vice
President Dick Cheney gave an upbeat view of conditions in Iraq. Cheney also
defended the toppling of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein as part of the struggle
against terrorism following the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the
Pentagon.
Anti-war protesters demonstrate across the country
Demonstrators
have targeted federal buildings, defense contractors, oil industry groups and
military bases across the country today to mark the fifth anniversary of the
start of the Iraq
war. The protests are being held in large cities, from
Miami
to San Francisco, and
small towns from New England to the Midwest.
Thirty-two arrested in Washington antiwar protest
Thirty-two people
were arrested on Wednesday when they tried to block entrances to the Internal
Revenue Service in protests marking the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion
of Iraq, police said.
Cheney: Iran May Have Resumed Weapon Program
Retaining his
tough stance against Iran, Vice President Dick Cheney said Wednesday that Tehran
may have restarted the nuclear weaponization program that a U.S. intelligence
report said was halted in 2003.
Reforms Failed to Curb FBI Spying
One of the
nation's most respected counterterrorism experts is predicting that Congress
will take action to rein in the 'unchecked power' of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation to spy on U.S. citizens without court approval -- and then forbid
them from publicly protesting the violation of their civil liberties.
White House E-Mail Battle Heats Up
The White House
has three days to explain why it shouldn't be required to copy its computer hard
drives to ensure no further e-mails are lost, a federal judge ordered Tuesday.
Already, e-mails between March and October 2003 appear to have been lost, Judge
John M. Facciola noted, because they were improperly archived and no backup
copies exist. That period includes the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
EPA wants documents from lawmakers
The Environmental
Protection Agency, peppered with requests from lawmakers for documents, is
returning fire with an unusual request for confidential papers. In the tug of
war between Congress and the executive branch, that's tantamount to man biting
dog.
Exxon Mobil spent $16.9M lobbying federal government
Exxon Mobil
Corp., the largest
U.S. oil company,
spent more than $16.9 million to lobby the federal government in 2007, according
to a disclosure form. Besides Congress, Exxon Mobil lobbied the White House,
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, U.S. Trade Representative's office, the
departments of Energy, Defense, Interior, State, Commerce, Homeland Security and
more.
HHS Secretary: OB/GYNs With Objections To Abortion Should Not Have To Refer
Patients To Other Doctors
(Think Progress)
In November, the
American
College
of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) issued new ethics guidelines. Members
who have a moral objection to performing abortions are now required to refer
their patients to another provider:… The Bush administration has now stepped in
to block these guidelines. In a little-noticed letter on Friday, Health and
Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt wrote a letter to the American Board of
Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG), stating that providers with moral objections
to abortion should have no obligation to refer patients
Bush Picks New Homeland Security Adviser
President Bush on
Wednesday named a veteran prosecutor, Ken Wainstein, as his homeland security
adviser. Wainstein now heads the Justice Department's anti-terrorism efforts. He
was the chief federal prosecutor for the District of Columbia and the top lawyer
at the FBI.
Um, I know it’s
kind of crazy to ask, this being the Bush administration and all, but what does
a career lawyer know about homeland security?
Judiciary Chair 'Struggling' With Decision to Impeach Bush
At a gathering of
liberal activists in Washington on Tuesday, Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) was
asked if he would commit to holding the Bush administration accountable once a
Democrat is in the White House and illegal acts have been pinned on President
Bush. "Yes, you have my word on that," Conyers replied.
Senate may call Fallon to testify.
(Think Progress)
U.S. News reports that Senate Democrats are considering calling former Adm.
William Fallon to testify. “Under consideration by Democrats is having Fallon
join Gen. David Petraeus, head of the war effort in Iraq, to testify this
spring.” Fallon disagreed with Bush’s surge strategy. Just last week, Center for
American Progress analysts Lawrence Korb and Sean Duggan urged Congress not to
let Petraeus testify alone.
More regulation of investment banks eyed
WASHINGTON
- The chairman of the House Financial Services Committee said Wednesday he will
push for stricter federal regulation of investment banks, including making them
hold reserves similar to those required of commercial banks.
Court questions California on unions
WASHINGTON -
Supreme Court justices questioned Wednesday whether a state should be able to
prohibit employers from using state money to influence employees' views on
unions in their workplace.
Murder conviction overturned
WASHINGTON
- The Supreme Court threw out a death sentence and murder conviction Wednesday
because a Louisiana
prosecutor kept blacks off the jury in a trial he called his "O.J. Simpson
case."
U.S. Democratic presidential candidates lambaste Iraq war
The U.S.
Democratic presidential candidates turned their campaign rallies into an
anti-war forum as the country marked the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war on
Wednesday.
Democrats jump on McCain's Iran-Qaeda gaffe
Republican
presidential candidate John McCain touts his foreign policy expertise at every
turn, but he has given Democrats ammunition against his experience by wrongly
saying Iran
trains Al-Qaeda members.
McCain promotes Mideast peace talks but avoids sit-down with Palestinians
SDEROT, Israel —
With the Republican presidential nomination virtually assured at home, Sen. John
McCain sought to demonstrate his diplomatic acumen in the
Middle East
on Wednesday by promoting Israeli talks with moderate Palestinian leaders as the
best route to peace.
Democratic registration brisk in PA
WAYNE, Pa. -
Pennsylvanians are rushing in record numbers to sign up as Democrats so they can
vote in the April 22 presidential primary between Barack Obama and Hillary
Rodham Clinton.
Hagel: US may need new political party
OMAHA, Neb. -
U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel writes in a new book that the United States needs
independent leadership and possibly another political party, while suggesting
the Iraq war might be remembered as one of the five biggest blunders in history.
Plan for voting machine probe dropped after lawsuit threat
(NJ) Union County
has backed off a plan to let a Princeton University computer scientist [Edward
Felten] examine voting machines where errors occurred in the presidential
primary tallies, after the manufacturer of the machines threatened to sue,
officials said today.
Economy & Finance
Wall Street rises after Philly Fed reading
NEW YORK
(Reuters) - Stocks jumped on Thursday, pushing the Dow briefly up more than 1
percent, as a reading on factory activity in the mid-Atlantic region fell by
less than analysts' had forecast, improving views on the U.S. economic outlook.
Feds take new steps to ease home-loan crisis
WASHINGTON
— A federal housing regulator on Wednesday made it easier for mortgage giants
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to absorb problem loans that are dragging down many
U.S. homeowners, the
latest of several measures designed to stabilize falling home prices.
"The Fed is not, was never on top of the situation"
(by Chris in Paris at AMERICAblog)
Deutsche Bank chief economist Norbert Walter is correct with the above comment.
Bernanke has become part of the problem. The emergency actions by the Fed have
only contributed to the widespread panic. If that is what Bernanke is trying to
do, Mission Accomplished in a Bush kind of way. Bernanke and the Federal Reserve
are failing miserably in their job of leading. Worse still is that much of the
US market media seems to think Bernanke is doing OK. From the outside looking
in, there is still so much arrogance and self assuredness, facts be damned.
Fed juggles inflation, sour economy
WASHINGTON
- Ben Bernanke's juggling act has gotten harder. The Federal Reserve chairman
has been taking extraordinary steps to prevent credit, financial and housing
problems from driving the country into a deep recession. At the same time, he
faces the danger that the very tonic to brace the sickly economy could bring
about another dangerous ailment - inflation.
US Nobel economist calls financial crisis worst since Depression
The current
financial crisis is the worst the world has seen since the Great Depression of
the 1930s and the US Federal Reserve move to cut interest rates will not make
much difference, the Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz said on
Wednesday.
As Bear Stearns Implodes, Spector Keeps $382 Million
Warren Spector,
forced out as president of Bear Stearns Cos. last August, may have outdone his
former mentor James "Jimmy" Cayne as the 85-year-old brokerage firm imploded.
Biotech Executive Indicted for Off-Label Claims
A grand jury has
indicted Scott Harkonen, former CEO of the Brisbane, Calif.-based biotech firm
InterMune Inc., Tuesday for fraudulently marketing the company's drug Actimmune.
The decision marks a rare instance in which the Justice Department has gone
criminal against an individual executive for off-label marketing abuses, rather
than just reaching a deferred-prosecution agreement with the drug company.
Media
Permanent link to MTA daily media news
Poll: 71% of Americans think Iraq spending hurts economy
(by Chris in Paris at AMERICAblog)
The taxpayer blank check for Iraq is coming to an end. Selling more war
(Republican policy) and more war costs (Republican policy also) to the public
has become much tougher thanks to the Republican economic policy.
FAIR Action Alert:
Why Are Winter Soldiers Not News?
Dozens of
veterans of the Iraq
and Afghanistan wars gathered in Silver Spring, Maryland last weekend for the
Winter Soldier: Iraq
and Afghanistan hearings (3/13/08-3/16/08), where they offered harrowing
testimony about atrocities they had witnessed or participated in directly… Yet
there has been an almost complete media blackout on this historic news event in
the U.S. corporate media.
34 Flag Officers and the Out Of Iraq Caucus Support Hillary Clinton
(by SusanUnPC at No Quarter)
It is highly significant that both elected anti-war activists and 34 top
flag officers support Hillary Clinton to be our next Commander in Chief.. From
the caucus: “We support Hillary Clinton because she is the candidate with the
stature, strength, and experience needed to end this war as quickly and
responsibly as possible.” [Emphasis added.]
Click through to
read the names and the full letter.
Survey USA Poll: Big Obama Losses In OH, KY, & MO
(by andrewalker08 AT MyDD)
SurveyUSA is out with three polls today that shows the first signs of an Obama
electoral defeat in November if he should become the Democratic nominee for the
office of President of the United States.
PPP Poll: Clinton Catches Obama in North Carolina
(Political Wire )
The latest Public Policy Polling survey in North Carolina shows Sen. Barack
Obama barely edging Sen. Hillary Clinton, 44% to 43%. Clinton actually leads
among Democrats in the poll, 44% to 43%. But Obama has the overall lead based on
a very strong performance with unaffiliated voters, with whom he has a 53% to
35% advantage. Key observation: "The rules for voting in the North Carolina
primary probably work to Clinton's advantage. Obama has done very well in states
with open primaries because of his strong support from Republican and
independent voters."
Why do we want
independents and Republicans, who will only push the Democratic leadership EVEN
FURTHER TO THE RIGHT?
Democratic Party Says Revote in Michigan Meets Rules
March 19
(Bloomberg) -- The Democratic National Committee said a proposal for a privately
financed Democratic presidential primary in Michigan would meet party rules even
as the plan for a revote faced numerous hurdles. Holding a new primary in early
June -- the latest date feasible -- would require approval from the Michigan
Legislature before the end of the week, when state lawmakers begin a two-week
recess. In addition, Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary
Clinton are split over the proposal, with Obama resisting a revote and Clinton
endorsing the idea.
CNN Jumps the Shark
(by mnicholson0220 at MyDD)
[Wednesday] on "The Situation Room" CNN moved out of the realm of simple bias
and into the realm of Rush Limbaugh… The topic was the MI revote and the fact
that Hillary supports it, has claimed that not doing it would be an affront to
the rights of MI voters, and has called on Obama to "do the right thing." So ...
what was the content of the ensuing discussion by CNN commentators? Hillary
will do anything to win. Hillary is disingenuous (parroting a talking point
Obama had given in his interview with Anderson Cooper earlier today). Hillary is
engaging in "unseemly whining".
Boy, that would
never happen in the progressive blogosphere! Oops, see below.
Hillary's Secret Plan
(by John Aravosis at AMERICAblog)
1. Destroy Obama so that the Superdelegates overthrow him and give her the
nomination.
2. Destroy Obama so that, even if he wins the nomination, he will be so severely damaged that he loses the election, and the day after the election the Clinton people say "see, we told you that you should have picked us," and four years later, Hillary will be able to run again and get the nomination, if because of nothing else, because the party will feel sorry for "cheating" her out of of it this time.
If we lose the election in
the fall, it will be all Hillary's fault. It's time for Howard Dean and the
party leaders to step in and stop Hillary before she starts a civil war (and one
is coming) and destroys our party.
Oh, sure. Every
bad thing in the universe is Hillary’s fault. (It used to always be Bill’s
fault—how quickly we forget.) I have no idea whether the Clinton campaign
played a part in the Rev. Wright controversy. The information has been
available for some time. But can it seriously be your position, John, that it
would have been better to wait until the general election for Americans to find
out about Obama’s associations? And by the way, your use of the term “civil
war” is absolutely inexcusable. It is one of the most inflammatory terms in
this country, even almost 150 years after that conflict, and is little different
from yelling fire in a crowded theater.
A Great Reckoning
(by dcmediagirl at No Quarter)
[I]t was only a matter of time before Obama and his followers were forced to
face the fact that all the hysteria, fainting and fairy dust in the world
couldn’t conceal the fact that an untested, unvetted candidate would at some
point have to face The Great Reckoning, an unpleasant inevitability that all
serious political contenders have to endure. And when that Great Reckoning
comes, it’s best to be prepared, not forced out of the magical bubble to face
the cruel world unarmed and unfocused… [I]t’s inevitable that now Obama is in
trouble precisely because he and his supporters started to believe their own
press releases and hype.
Obama: Wright controversy has 'shaken me up' (CNN Political Ticker)
(CNN) — Barack Obama told CNN Wednesday the recent uproar over his former
pastor's sermons has reminded him of the odds he faces in winning the White
House. "In some ways this, this controversy has actually shaken me up a little
bit and gotten me back into remembering that the odds of me getting elected
have always been lower than … some of the other conventional candidates,"
the Illinois senator told CNN's Anderson Cooper in an exclusive one-on-one
interview. [Emphasis added.]
A Speech That Fell Short
(by Michael Gerson, Council on Foreign Relations, writing at the Washington
Post)
Barack Obama has run a campaign based on a simple premise: that words of unity
and hope matter to
America. Now he has been forced by his charismatic, angry pastor to argue that
words of hatred and division don't really matter as much as we thought… The
problem with Obama's argument is that Wright is … a political extremist, holding
views that are shocking to many Americans… In
Philadelphia,
Obama attempted to explain Wright's anger as typical of the civil rights
generation, with its "memories of humiliation and doubt and fear." But Wright
has the opposite problem: He ignored the message of Martin Luther King Jr. and
introduced a new generation to the politics of hatred… Barack Obama is not a man
who hates -- but he chose to walk with a man who does.
Buried in Eloquence, Obama Contradictions About Pastor
(The Blotter, ABC News)
Buried in his eloquent, highly praised speech on America's racial divide, Sen.
Barack Obama contradicted more than a year of denials and spin from him and his
staff about his knowledge of Rev. Jeremiah Wright's controversial sermons.
Was Obama's speech enough?
(by Joan Walsh,
Salon)
In his speech Obama tried to distance himself from Wright's more outrageous
remarks, while honoring and preserving the personal -- and frankly political --
strength he's derived from his affiliation with the church and his spiritual
mentor. It was a perilous move for Obama, and it's not clear he succeeded.
Describing Wright as "family," Obama compared his incendiary views to the
occasional racial insensitivity of his elderly white grandmother… It was an
intriguing leap, but I didn't buy it. I don't think Obama's elderly grandmother,
who still lives in
Hawaii and is reportedly too frail to travel, who was a product of her time and
place and yet did her best to raise her half-black grandson, deserved to be
compared to Wright, a public figure who's built his career around a particularly
divisive analysis of American racial politics. It is easily the most tin-eared
thing I've ever heard Obama say.
Obama throws his own 85-year-old grandmother under the wheels of the BS Express
(Steve Sailer's iSteve Blog)
[L]et's look at how Obama smeared his own elderly but very much alive
grandmother, calling her: "a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who
passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered
racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe." Well, no, according to
Obama's 1995 book, it is not at all true that she "once confessed her fear of
black men who passed by her on the street." Instead, she once confessed her fear
of one aggressive black beggar who didn't pass by her but instead confronted
her, demanded money, and then gave her -- an intelligent, level-headed woman who
had worked her way up to a mid-level corporate management position -- good
reason to believe he would have violently mugged her if her bus hadn't pulled
up.
The Obama Bargain
(by Shelby Steele, research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution
and the author of "A Bound Man: Why We Are Excited About Obama and Why He Can't
Win")
[W]hatever her motives, [Geraldine Ferraro] was right: "If Obama was a white
man, he would not be in this position."… Though he likes to claim that his race
was a liability to be overcome, [Barack Obama] also surely knew that his race
could give him just the edge he needed -- an edge that would never be available
to a white, not even a white woman. How to turn one's blackness to advantage?
The answer is that one "bargains." Bargaining is a mask that blacks can wear in
the American mainstream, one that enables them to put whites at their ease. This
mask diffuses the anxiety that goes along with being white in a multiracial
society… This is how Mr. Obama has turned his blackness into his great political
advantage.
Bill Moyers
interviewed Shelby Steele in January. And just so you’ll know, Steele is
also half black and half white. He repeats what Geraldine Ferraro was condemned
for saying, which was only what Obama himself has said—from a Chicago Tribune
article that is
posted on Obama’s website: “Obama acknowledges, with no small irony, that he
benefits from his race. If he were white, he once bluntly noted, he would simply
be one of nine freshmen senators, almost certainly without a multimillion-dollar
book deal and a shred of celebrity. Or would he have been elected at all?”
Obama's Multiracial Coalition and the Politics of Racial Reconciliation
(by Bruce Dixon
at the Black Agenda Report)
As the presidential campaign heats up, the precarious nature of Obama's
"multiracial coalition" along with the nature of the "racial reconciliation" his
candidacy brings becomes more. Under the Obama
version of "racial reconciliation" the opinions commonly held by most of Black
America are deemed "divisive" relics of the past. Black opinion, wherever it
differs from that of white corporate media is
off the table. A shrewd and savvy politician, Obama is entitled to make these
choices for himself, and for his own reasons. But should the voices of Black
America be silenced and banished from the
national discourse because they do not serve the career plans or short term
interests of the Obama campaign? Just what shots does Black America call in this
reconciliation, and what benefits do
African Americans receive in this "multiracial coalition"?
For a Smart Man, Obama Sure Doesn't Know a Lot of Things
(by BDBlue at Corrente Wire, thanks to
No Quarter)
Despite being the editor of the Harvard Law Review and a former law professor,
he doesn’t know what “decriminalization” means… He didn’t know his nuclear
energy bill didn’t pass. He didn’t know that the chair of his New Hampshire
campaign was a lobbyist. Despite knowing Tony Rezko for almost 20 years, he had
no idea he was a slum lord and influence peddler. And he can’t say for sure how
much money Rezko raised for him. Despite going to Pastor Wright’s church for 20
years, he had no idea before last year that he had said so many inflammatory
things. He didn’t always know that pushing the green button was a yes and not a
no vote. He didn’t know he had once advocated for single payer healthcare. He
didn’t know that his economic advisor had met with the Canadians and discussed
NAFTA. He didn’t know he voted for Dick Cheney’s 2005 Energy Bill. He didn’t
know what answers his campaign manager provided to questions on issues such as
guns used to secure an important endorsement during his 1996 run. That’s a lot
of things for such a smart man not to know. If I didn’t know any better, I might
think he’d say anything to win.
Click through for
links.
Levine weaves tawdry tale
(Chicago Tribune)
The government's star witness in the corruption trial of Antoin "Tony" Rezko
took the stand Tuesday and in just 48 minutes laid out a stunning personal tale
of bribery, treachery, rampant drug abuse and a precipitous fall from grace. In
a brief but vivid prologue to what is expected to be days of testimony, one-time
political insider Stuart Levine said he had illegally greased contracts to sell
tires to the city's Streets and Sanitation Department and supply school buses to
the Chicago Board of Education and even health insurance to members of a postal
workers union… Prosecutors say Levine and Rezko worked hand in hand to corrupt
two state boards in a scheme to extort kickbacks from firms seeking government
business or regulatory approval. Levine, a member of both panels, allegedly took
direction from Rezko, a friend and fundraiser of Gov. Rod Blagojevich [and of
Barack Obama].
Sharpton Keeping Support of Obama Quiet
(Political Wire)
Al Sharpton is backing Sen. Barack Obama, "but he's made the strategic decision
to keep his support quiet," according to the New York Daily News. Sharpton
"boasted of talking to Obama 'two or three times a week' -- and insisted the
Democratic front-runner knows the rev is in his camp."
He’s keeping it
SO QUIET that he only told the Daily News.
Liberal groups set $400M spending target
(Politico)
MoveOn.org aims to spend $30 million trying to elect a Democratic president and
60 Democratic senators, without — and, here’s the tricky part — sparking a
backlash that hurts its intended beneficiaries. The controversial anti-war group
is known for its hard-hitting ads. But its political action committee will “try
and avoid [running] ads that put ammunition in the hands of our adversaries, so
that they cannot twist those intentionally provocative questions into something
that is a distraction from the debate,” MoveOn Political Director Ilyse Hogue
told reporters Tuesday. “That is our commitment this election cycle.”
Here's evidence that CNN's Crowley may be working too hard
"I was so sleep
deprived once that I found myself brushing my teeth with moisturizer," Candy
Crowley told a Flagler College audience. "It's never-ending. But I can only last
a while doing that. Eventually I hit a wall." She also said that with so many
avenues to "put our journalism -- radio, TV, podcasts and blogs -- what suffers
is reporting. You almost don't have time to figure [a story] out before you're
on the air with it. What we're actually missing is substance or context."
Sleep deprived.
So THAT’s the problem. We've all been wondering.
Media Matters for America headlines
• Politico's Harris and VandeHei misrepresented Harris' own interview with Obama
• UPI ignores McCain's "gaffe" on Al Qaeda
Bin Laden warns EU over Prophet cartoons
DUBAI (Reuters) -
Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden threatened the European Union with grave
punishment on Wednesday over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad.
The Whole World is Watching: China's Media War
Faced with
vigorous Tibetan protests, followed by equally vigorous global criticism of
their repressive response, China's top officials countered in a most modern and
predictable fashion with an all-out, full-tilt media offensive aimed at
controlling both domestic and international perceptions of the ongoing conflict.
Reuters Acquires Minority Stake in Chinese Financial Information Portal
(Paid Content)
Reuters has acquired a minority stake in ChinaWeb, the parent company of Chinese
financial information portal Hexun. Founded in 1996, Hexun is now one of
China’s
largest financial information portals with 50 million monthly unique visitors
and 670 million page views per month… This is the first investment announced by
the combined Reuters-Thomson company after the deal got regulatory approval.
Orlando Sentinel digital edition to replace paper in newsroom
On March 31, the Orlando Sentinel launches a digital edition and "as a result,
the paper will no longer be available in physical form at the Sentinel offices,"
says a memo. "The decision to begin offering a digital edition was made in an
effort to cut costs while expanding our digital product selection to our
customers. In addition, there are significant financial benefits to the
Sentinel, including increased ABC-audited circulation, lowered printing and
distribution costs, and reduced future archival costs."
comScore Media Metrix Releases Top 50 Web Rankings for February
comScore, Inc., a
leader in measuring the digital world, today released its monthly analysis of
U.S. consumer activity at top online properties for February 2008 based on data
from the comScore Media Metrix service. February, a month that generally
exhibits lower visitation totals as a result of having fewer days, saw increased
visitation to tax, greetings, politics and news sites.
A Push to Limit the Tracking of Web Surfers’ Clicks
The use of target advertising on the Internet is being challenged by members of
the New York State Assembly.
EMI aims to join Nokia's music offering
HELSINKI
(Reuters) - EMI said on Wednesday it was in talks with mobile handset maker
Nokia to offer its songs as part of Nokia's new "Comes with Music" offering.
Apple said to weigh unlimited music deal
SAN FRANCISCO
- Apple Inc. is mulling a plan to upend its iTunes business by giving people
unlimited free access to the music library if they're willing to pay more for
the iPod and iPhone devices they use for playing and storing the digital media,
according to a report published Wednesday.
Songkick website guides music lovers to real-world concerts
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP)
- British Internet startup Songkick launched Wednesday with a vow to inspire
digital-age music lovers to reclaim the joy of hearing bands play live in
real-world venues.
U.S.-Swedish carrier spat 'breaks' Net
Since March 13, customers of two large Internet providers, Cogent Communications
Group Inc. and
TeliaSonera AB are unable to contact each other through the Internet, unless
they have backup connections from other companies.
Adobe To Develop Flash for the iPhone
(Mashable)
Steve Jobs wasn’t all that enthusiastic about Adobe’s Flash on the iPhone, and
what does that mean? It apparently means Adobe will just have to try harder, and
that’s exactly what they’re doing. According to WSJ, Adobe will develop Flash
for the iPhone. Yup, they’re not going to use the existing Flash Lite; they’re
going to develop a new version (or tweak the existing one) especially for the
iPhone.
DirecTV satellite launched from Pacific
LONG BEACH,
Calif. - A new satellite that will help give DirecTV hundreds of high-definition
channels was launched Wednesday from an oceangoing platform in the equatorial
Pacific, Sea Launch Co. said.
Cowardly robot steals show in Amsterdam
AMSTERDAM,
Netherlands - A robot with a cowardly streak took top honors at a conference on
human-robot interaction in Amsterdam with antic displays intended to mimic human
phobia.
Industry Giants Try to Break Computing’s Dead End
Intel and
Microsoft said that they planned to finance two groups of university researchers
to start over and design a new generation of computing systems.
F.C.C. Bans Exclusive Phone Deals for Apartments
The F.C.C. unanimously approved a rule banning exclusive telephone service
agreements in apartment buildings, giving tenants their pick of providers.
Can disposable digits prevent credit card fraud?
Security experts
nowadays are trying to help address credit card fraud by developing disposable
numbers.
Bridge From Conventional To Molecular Electronics Possible
ScienceDaily
(Mar. 20, 2008) — Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) have set the stage for building the "evolutionary link"
between the microelectronics of today built from semiconductor compounds and
future generations of devices made largely from complex organic molecules.
Tiny buckyballs squeeze hydrogen like giant Jupiter
HOUSTON, March
20, 2008 -- Hydrogen could be a clean, abundant energy source, but it's
difficult to store in bulk. In new research, materials scientists at Rice
University have made the surprising discovery that tiny carbon capsules called
buckyballs are so strong they can hold volumes of hydrogen nearly as dense as
those at the center of Jupiter.
Harvard study: Nice guys actually finish first
Screaming sports
coaches and cutthroat tycoons have it wrong: Nice guys do finish first, a new
study suggests.
Winners Do Not Punish: Punishment Does Not Earn Rewards Or Cooperation, Study
Finds
[Researchers]
examined cooperation among subjects playing a modified version of the Prisoner's
Dilemma. This game captures the fundamental tension between the interests of the
individual and the group, and is the classic paradigm for cooperation. The study
found that the use of punitive behavior correlates strongly with reduced
individual payoff, and bestows no benefit on the group as a whole.
Comprehensive Sex Education Might Reduce Teen Pregnancies, Study Suggests
ScienceDaily
(Mar. 20, 2008) — New research suggests that comprehensive sex education might
lead to less teen pregnancy, and there are no indications that it boosts the
levels of sexual intercourse or sexually transmitted diseases.
Gene Variants Can Predict Threat of Heart Disease
Cholesterol-associated variants increase risk and may be early indication, study
shows
Environmental Toxins, Radiation May Be Tied to Breast Cancer
Exposure to
plasticizers and other chemicals in childhood may hike adult cancer risks,
report says
Lyme Disease Can Be Prevented With New Shot, Study Suggests
ScienceDaily
(Mar. 20, 2008) — Lyme disease is the blight of countryside users but it may be
prevented with a single injection, according to research published in the
Journal of Medical Microbiology.
Grape Skin Compound Fights The Complications Of Diabetes
ScienceDaily
(Mar. 20, 2008) — Research carried out by scientists at the Peninsula Medical
School in the South West of England has found that resveratrol, a compound
present naturally in grape skin, can protect against the cellular damage to
blood vessels caused by high production of glucose in diabetes, according to a
recently published paper.
Resveratrol is
available as a dietary supplement.
Are Humans Meant to be Monogamous?
News of
politicians' extramarital affairs seems to be in no short supply lately, but if
humans were cut from exactly the same cloth as other mammals, a faithful spouse
would be an unusual phenomenon.
Good marriage may be good for blood pressure
A happy marriage
is good for your blood pressure, but a stressed one can be worse than being
single, a preliminary study suggests.
Clueless Guys Can't Read Women
More often than
not, guys interpret even friendly cues, such as a subtle smile from a gal, as a
sexual come-on, and a new study discovers why: Guys are clueless. More
precisely, they are somewhat oblivious to the emotional subtleties of non-verbal
cues, according to a new study of college students.
Why do birds sing? It's in the brain
Birds start
singing in the spring because of a biological response to longer days and a hunt
for a mate, researchers said on Wednesday.
Ancient artifacts seized from house
Police seized
some 1,000 ancient artifacts from a wealthy Italian man's country house outside
Rome that were stolen from one of Emperor Trajan's villas, prosecutors said
Wednesday.
Gravity Waves Spin Up Tornadoes
Atmospheric waves
that ripple through clouds could spin up tornadoes when a thunderstorm gets in
the way, new research shows.
Scientific reasons for Earth’s seasons
It’s time for a
change of seasons — but what determines when winter ends and spring begins? Get
the scientific reasons.
Astronauts ready for 4th spacewalk
HOUSTON (Reuters)
- Astronauts aboard the International Space Station prepared for a spacewalk on
Thursday to test a heat shield repair technique and replace a failed circuit
breaker.
Mars, Earth And Moon From 'Unique Planetary Nursery'
ScienceDaily
(Mar. 20, 2008) — A study of meteorites suggests that Mars, the Earth and the
Moon share a common composition from ‘growing up’ in a unique planetary nursery
in the inner solar system.
Methane Detected on Distant Planet
BALTIMORE (AP) -
The Hubble Space Telescope has found methane in the atmosphere of a distant
planet - the same planet where water was found last year. Such discoveries could
aid efforts to find life on planets outside our solar system, scientists said
Wednesday.
Global warming hastens spring’s arrival
The capital's
famous cherry trees are primed to burst out in a perfect pink peak about the end
of this month. Thirty years ago, the trees usually waited to bloom till around
April 5.
Arctic Ice Returns, Thin and Tentative
Arctic ice has
reformed rapidly this winter after a record summer low, but it still covers less
of the Arctic Ocean than it did in previous decades, NASA scientists announced
today in an update of the states of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice.
Reducing Carbon Emissions Could Help -- Not Harm -- US Economy
ScienceDaily
(Mar. 20, 2008) — A national policy to cut carbon emissions by as much as 40
percent over the next 20 years could still result in increased economic growth,
according to an interactive website that reviews 25 of the leading economic
models used to predict the economic impacts of reducing emissions.
States’ Battles Over Energy Grow Fiercer With U.S. in a Policy Gridlock
In the absence of
clear federal emissions mandates, states that have been proving grounds for new
environmental approaches to energy are becoming battlegrounds as well.
$10 million bounty for super-efficient cars
A $10 million
contest to develop super-efficient — and salable — automobiles gets its official
kickoff at the New York Auto Show, with Progressive Insurance providing the
purse.
An Export in Solid Supply
A reorganization
of the global coal trade is making the United States a major exporter for the
first time in years, and driving up prices of the one fossil fuel the nation has
in abundance.
Furniture Builder Makes Wind Farm Possible.
Renewable Energy
Credits (RECs), at their core, create an opportunity for anyone to purchase, or
make a contribution to, electricity generated from renewable sources whether or
not the electricity is generated in their service area or the power grid their
home or business is connected to. RECs are also intended to be a source of
funding for the construction of renewable energy projects.
Tandberg Aims to Cut Air Travel and Energy Use by 10 Percent
NEW YORK and
ORLANDO, Fla., March 20, 2008 -- Videoconferencing technology company Tandberg
has pledged to cuts its air travel and energy use worldwide. Rival Cisco boasts
it has cut its air travel costs by 10 percent through increased
videoconferencing.
HSBC Bank Pledges £100 Million for Renewable Energy Projects
United Kingdom,
March 20, 2008 -- The company is investing in Partnerships for Renewables to
help fund public sector renewable energy projects.
Dynegy Agrees to Report on Climate Change Challenges
OAKLAND, Calif.,
March 20, 2008 -- Under pressure from its shareholders, Texas utility Dynegy
agreed to disclose the feasibility of adopting greenhouse gas reduction targets.
Renewable impact on power costs must be clear: S&P
NEW YORK
(Reuters) - U.S.
utilities and states must do a better job of explaining the potential costs of
complying with renewable portfolio standards or risk consumer backlash if those
costs show up in power bills, officials at Standard & Poor's said in a
conference on Tuesday. Twenty-nine states and the
District of Columbia
have some type of RPS. Other states and the federal government, which has not
yet been successful, are considering the standards.
Clicking, at Last, on ‘Don’t Print’
Green is to this
decade’s workplace what flexible hours were to the last, but changing the
behavior of individual workers may be a challenge.
Green Spaces in Green Places: Is Building Green Going From Niche to Mainstream?
There hasn’t been
a lot of good news in the general economy lately; … it might appear that this is
no time for green builders to forecast increased orders through 2008. But that’s
exactly what Rob Moody is doing. Owner of The EcoBuilders based in Asheville,
North Carolina, Moody started the business in 2003 and states in a recent
Newsweek article that he expects orders to double this year, after doing the
same last year.
A thirsty planet looks for solutions to water shortage
PARIS (AFP) - A
world without fresh water would be a world bereft of humans, and yet one in five
people lacks regular access to this most basic of life-sustaining substances.
Coyotes Thrive in Eastern U.S.
Coyotes are one
of nature’s most adaptive species, able to thrive in different settings and
survive on many diets. In the past 15 years, coyote populations have exploded in
the northeastern United States as a result of humans eliminating native wolves
from the region.
Congo arrests ranger over gorilla killings
KINSHASA
(Reuters) - Congolese authorities have arrested a senior national park ranger on
suspicion of arranging the killing of rare gorillas and burning protected trees
for charcoal, conservationists and local media said on Wednesday.
French driftnetters will not fish in 2008
Madrid
-- The European Court of Justice refuses to grant this fleet a temporary
exemption to permit the use of driftnets. Oceana has reported the French fleet
on numerous occasions for using this illegal fishing gear in the
Mediterranean, which
operated with support from the French government. Driftnets, a fishing gear that
can reach dozens of kilometres in length, were prohibited in the European Union
in 2002 because they constitute a threat to the conservation of cetaceans, sea
turtles and sharks.
Whaling protest captain receives 'Crocodile Hunter' honour
SYDNEY (AFP) -
The captain of a militant protest ship involved in a series of high-seas clashes
with Japanese whalers received an award Thursday from the widow of "Crocodile
Hunter" Steve Irwin.
Tropical forest changes 'explained by multiple factors'
Changes in the
growth and species composition of tropical forests cannot be fully explained by
global environmental changes, say researchers. Recent studies in the Amazon
rainforest have suggested that changes such as the increase in atmospheric
carbon dioxide (see Carbon emissions 'may alter forest growth patterns') and
other factors such as nutrient deposition, temperature, drought frequency and
irradiance are increasing the productivity and biomass of forests.
