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3/21/08
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Top Story
Court dismisses Florida
primary lawsuit
ATLANTA - A
federal appeals court has dismissed a lawsuit against the Democratic National
Committee over the party's decision to strip
Florida
of its delegates to its national convention.
Florida is
disenfranchised—AGAIN!
A blast from the past:
The World
Iraqi troops clash with Shiite fighters
BAGHDAD - Iraqi
security forces are clashing with Shiite militia fighters southeast of Baghdad
for a second day.
Or were they
Sunnis? John McCain doesn’t know the difference.
After five years of U.S. occupation, Iraq is destroyed as a country
(by Patrick Cockburn, The Independent,
U.K.,
posted at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
Five years of occupation have destroyed Iraq as a country. Baghdad is today a
collection of hostile Sunni and Shiite ghettoes divided by high concrete walls…
The Iraqi government tries to give the impression that normality is returning.
Iraqi journalists are told not to mention the continuing violence. When a bomb
exploded in Karada district near my hotel, killing 70 people, the police beat
and drove away a television cameraman trying to take pictures of the
devastation.
Palestinians extend reconciliation talks
RAMALLAH, West
Bank - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says reconciliation talks in Yemen
between his Fatah Party and the Gaza Strip's Islamic Hamas rulers have been
extended through Saturday.
Bin Laden urges jihad for Palestinians
CAIRO, Egypt -
Osama bin Laden lashed out Thursday at Palestinian peace negotiations with
Israel and called for a holy war to liberate the Palestinian lands.
Annan warns against conflict with Iran
NEW YORK - Former
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned Thursday that military action against
Iran would be "a real disaster" and said the Middle East could explode if the
international community doesn't handle the many conflicts in the region very
carefully.
UN renews mission in Afghanistan
UNITED NATIONS -
The U.N. Security Council on Thursday authorized an expanded political mission
in Afghanistan
to strengthen support for the Afghan government as the country confronts
increasing insurgent violence.
Radical Islamists no longer welcome in Pakistani tribal areas
The tribes no
longer are willing hosts to the foreign fighters, local jihadis and criminal
warlords who hold sway over parts of the Pashtun tribes' mountain homeland…
[The] sentiment was driven home when voters on Feb. 18 replaced Islamists with
secular politicians in all eight National Assembly seats from the Federally
Administered Tribal Area, the Massachusetts-size region bordering Afghanistan.
Military: 30 killed in Sri Lanka clashes
COLOMBO, Sri
Lanka - Sri Lankan troops ambushed ethnic Tamil rebels with a roadside bomb,
overran bunkers and engaged in firefights across the island's restive north,
killing 29 insurgents, the military said Friday.
Tibetans says several died in latest riots
KANGDING, China
(Reuters) - Tibetans in China's tense southwestern province of Sichuan said on
Friday they believed police had killed several people in anti-Chinese riots
there this week, disputing official claims none died.
Chinese troops converge in Tibetan areas
ZHONGDIAN, China
- The government stepped up its manhunt Friday for protesters in last week's
riots in the capital of Tibet, as thousands of troops converged on foot, trucks
and helicopters to Tibetan areas of western China.
Japan's navy chief sacked over accident scandal
TOKYO (AFP) -
Japan's defence minister on Friday dismissed the navy chief and punished nearly
90 officials in the biggest house-cleaning in years after a string of scandals
including a fatal naval accident.
Hmm… Does anybody
remember a similar incident in 2001, with a bunch of Republican donors
joyriding in a U.S. Navy submarine? Nobody was fired for that, as I recall,
which set the pattern for the Bush administration.
Australian PM quizzed on trips donated by China businessman
SYDNEY (AFP) -
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd came under fire Thursday for accepting free
overseas trips while in opposition from a Chinese businessman with links to
Macau casino magnate Stanley Ho.
Plans for Canada anti-terror unit found in garbage
OTTAWA (Reuters)
- Canada will probe how blueprints for the new headquarters of an elite military
counter-terrorism unit ended up in a pile of garbage, Public Safety Minister
Stockwell Day said on Thursday.
Guantanamo inmate wins hearing at top Canada court
Canada's
Supreme Court gave a young Canadian prisoner held at Guantanamo Bay the chance
on Thursday to try to force
Ottawa
to release secret documents that could help show his innocence. Lawyers for Omar
Khadr, who is charged with murdering a
U.S. soldier in Afghanistan
in a firefight when he was 15, will argue before the court next week that his
detention violated international law. Khadr, now 21, was taken prisoner in 2002.
He said in an affidavit that U.S. interrogators repeatedly threatened to rape
him and Canadian government officials told him they were powerless to do
anything. Defense lawyers say interrogations of Khadr in Guantanamo, carried out
by members of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, had violated Canada's
charter of rights.
This kid has some
GREAT lawyers.
US blocks Venezuelan purchase of food
"The war with the
US
has already begun and they are blocking our purchases of food", Venezuelan
Minister Ramón Rodríguez Chacín told viewers on Venezuelan TV on March 12. His
statement came at a time when the
US
is threatening to add Venezuela to its list of "terror-sponsoring" states and
some Senators are calling for a full blockade of the country.
France to cut nuclear warheads to half Cold War number: Sarkozy
CHERBOURG, France
(AFP) - President Nicolas Sarkozy said Friday he planned to take a another step
in France's nuclear disarmament by slashing the number of nuclear warheads.
Cypriot leaders to restart peace talks
NICOSIA, Cyprus -
The Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders agreed Friday to restart peace talks on
reunifying their ethnically split island, and to open a crossing in the heart of
the divided capital.
Zimbabwe opposition castigates Mugabe's new electoral rules
HARARE (AFP) -
Zimbabwe's main opposition on Friday deplored new electoral regulations passed
by President Robert Mugabe allowing police officers into polling stations during
next week's general polls.
Annan urges more UN action on Darfur
NEW YORK - Former
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan questioned whether all countries on the
Security Council have lived up to their responsibility to protect civilians in
Darfur from atrocities.
The Nation
Gates considers US force levels for Iraq
WASHINGTON - Top
U.S. military leaders presented Defense Secretary Robert Gates with their
strategy for future force levels in Iraq Thursday, including expected
recommendations for a pause in troop cuts for as much as six weeks later this
summer.
VP, Saudis to talk about oil security
RIYADH, Saudi
Arabia - High oil prices paining U.S. consumers is a key topic of Vice President
Dick Cheney's talks Friday with Saudi King Abdullah, yet it's unclear whether
Cheney will ask the Saudis to increase production to bring down prices at the
pump.
Obama's passport records improperly accessed
WASHINGTON
(Reuters) - Contract workers for the U.S. State Department improperly viewed
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama's passport records three
times this year in what his campaign called "an outrageous breach" of his
privacy.
Stanley Awarded $570 Million Contract to Continue Support of Passport Program
(thanks to Lori at
Citizens for Legitimate Government)
Stanley, Inc., a leading provider of systems integration and professional
services to the U.S. federal government, today announced that it was awarded a
five-year, $570 million contract to continue support of the U.S. Department of
State, Bureau of Consular Affairs/Passport Services Directorate. Services
include production, operational and business process support training,
procurement, administration and evaluation of critical supplies, and facilities
management support at the four Passport Centers and 14 Passport Agencies
nationwide along with the Headquarters' support offices.
Soldiers Dying From KBR Electrocution
Staff Sgt. Ryan
D. Maseth's parents have filed a wrongful death lawsuit in a Pennsylvania state
court against Kellogg Brown Root, the contractor hired to maintain and repair
the electrical infrastructure at the
Radwaniyah
Palace
complex in Baghdad, where Maseth lived. His mother, Cheryl A. Harris, claims
that KBR had been aware of the problems with the electrical system at the
complex since February 2007, citing reports from the contractor and the Army's
Criminal Investigation Division she was shown during meetings with Army
personnel.
Democrats want contract fraud documents
WASHINGTON
- House Democrats demanded documents Thursday about a multibillion-dollar
overseas contracting loophole to track down how — and why — the Bush
administration slipped it into plans to protect taxpayer money.
Minn. Bridge Similar to I-35W Closed
A bridge over the
Mississippi River northwest of the Twin Cities was shut down Thursday because of
problems found in the same sort of steel plates said to have played a key role
in last summer's deadly bridge collapse in Minneapolis.
Obama Outdoes Clinton in Finance Game
WASHINGTON (AP) -
Hillary Rodham Clinton upped the tempo of her fundraising and her spending last
month, only to be eclipsed by rival Barack Obama. At month's end, with debts of
nearly $9 million, her money was nearly spent and he was sitting atop $30
million in available cash.
Group wants Clinton phone logs released
WASHINGTON
- Hillary Rodham Clinton's early job as health care policymaker gave way during
the remainder of her years as first lady to a more traditional, restricted role,
according to thousands of pages of calendars outlining her activities in the
White House.
OF COURSE they
do. Judicial Watch has cost us taxpayers millions of dollars with their
frivolous document requests and nuisance lawsuits.
Inspector Is Charged With Filing False Report Before Crane Collapse
A buildings
inspector has been arrested and charged with faking a report that he visited a
towering construction crane on the East Side of Manhattan on March 4 in response
to a complaint. The inspector, the authorities said, never visited the crane,
which toppled and killed seven people 11 days later.
Economy & Finance
Wall St surges on hopes of easing credit crunch
NEW YORK
(Reuters) - Stocks jumped on Thursday, capping a tumultuous week, on optimism
that giving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac a bigger role in the mortgage market will
ease a credit crunch that claimed Bear Stearns as its biggest victim.
Reports suggest economy weakening more
NEW YORK
- A rise in jobless claims and a drop in a key forecasting gauge provided the
latest evidence that the
U.S. economy is faltering
and may be slipping into recession.
Investment Firms Tap Fed for Billions
Big Wall Street
investment companies are taking advantage of the Federal Reserve's unprecedented
offer to secure emergency loans, the central bank reported Thursday. Goldman
Sachs, Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley said Wednesday they had begun to test
the new lending mechanism. On Wednesday alone, lending reached $28.8 billion,
according to the Fed report.
Leery lenders demand more from borrowers
WASHINGTON
- Just when consumers and the
U.S. economy need banks to
lend more freely, the mortgage industry is making it harder to borrow — even for
those with good credit.
SEC probing options activity in Bear Stearns: report
NEW YORK
(Reuters) - The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the events
leading up to the collapse of Bear Stearns , specifically a surge in options
contracts betting that the investment bank's share price would fall sharply,
according to the Wall Street Journal.
Giving Better Than Getting
HAPPY GIVERS:
Researchers found people who made gifts to others or to charities reported they
were happier than those who didn't share, according to a report in Friday's
issue of the journal Science. MONEY'S DIFFERENCE: How people spent money was
more important than how much money they had, noted the researchers from
University of British Columbia and Harvard University. SMALL STEPS: "This work
suggests that even making small alterations in how we spend money on a daily
basis can make a difference in happiness," lead researcher Elizabeth W. Dunn
said.
Media
Permanent link to MTA daily media news
I will be a guest on Head-On with Bob Kincaid today at 6:00 PM ET. Listen to Bob from 6:00 to 9:00 PM ET every weekday on the Head-On Radio Network.
Why We're Liberals: The Polls Speak
(Think Again by Eric Alterman, Media Matters)
If Americans overwhelmingly support progressive policies, why are so many of
them afraid to call themselves "liberal"?
Eric Alterman has an answer.
Cheney Ex-Aide 'Scooter' Libby Disbarred
Vice President
Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was disbarred today by
a District of Columbia court that ruled that his convictions last year for
perjury and obstructing justice in a White House leak investigation disqualify
him from practicing law.
Unfortunately,
Libby may be the only person in that hell hole of an administration to pay any
price whatsoever for his malfeasance.
Motive sought for Obama passport breach
WASHINGTON
- The State Department says it is trying to determine whether three contract
workers had a political motive for looking at Democratic presidential candidate
Barack Obama's passport file.
Astute readers
will remember that George H.W. Bush tried the same tactic with Bill Clinton.
But just as that trick didn’t hurt Clinton, security expert Larry Johnson says
there’s
nothing important to be found in Obama’s passport files. What this incident
does do, however, is give the opportunity to bring out, once again, Obama’s
relative lack of foreign travels.
Obama’s Shallow Credentials on National Security Are Dangerous for the Country
(by former ambassador Joseph Wilson, writing at No Quarter)
Senator Clinton has a long and well documented history of involvement in many of
critical foreign policy issues we have confronted and will continue to confront
as a nation. Critics can quibble about the details of the health plan she fought
for in the 1990s, or whether hers was the decisive or merely an important voice
in the Northern Ireland peace efforts, but there can be no denying that she has
been in the arena for a generation fighting for what she believes in, gaining
experience and developing leadership skills. She has traveled the world and met
with international leaders both as the First Lady and as a respected senator on
the Senate Armed Services Committee…
There will, in fact, be 3 a.m. phone calls for the next president. They are not make believe. I have been there for such calls. The next president cannot be afraid or hesitant of handling the enormous national security crises that President Bush will leave behind. One thing is certain — the calls will come. [Barack] Obama has only an abdication of his chief senatorial responsibility as a basis for assessing what his judgment might be if and when the phone rings. Which of his shifting coterie of volatile advisers would he turn to? Will it be the one who repudiated his withdrawal plan, exposing his real intention, prior to being forced to resign? Or will it be those advisers who remained silent until politically convenient — several years and several thousand lives after the shock and awe invasion, conquest and disastrous occupation of Iraq?
Hillary: "Huge Support" for Northern Ireland Peace Process
(video, thanks to jayatl at
MyDD)
Hillary traveled to Northern Ireland five times as First Lady and gave what
Northern Irish leader and Nobel Laureate John Hume recently described as
“decisive support” to the peace process in Northern Ireland. She focused
especially on encouraging the emergence of women in the political process. In
addition, Hillary's work at the grass roots and behind-the-scenes helped
cultivate the conditions necessary for the peace to take hold and last.
Analysis: Papers show highs and lows
NEW YORK
- Newly released schedules from Hillary Rodham Clinton's eight years in the
White House portray an activist first lady who weighed in on policy, traveled
the globe and won a race for the U.S. Senate. But they also serve as an
unsettling reminder of her husband's affair with White
House intern Monica Lewinsky and the
subsequent impeachment proceedings.
They’ve just GOT
to bring up Monica. The AP is not friendly to Democrats.
NOTES FROM THE SANDBOX:
(by Bob Somerby at the Daily Howler)
Yesterday, Hillary Clinton released 11,000 pages of White House schedules. The
“journalistic” result was predictable. On the front page of the Washington Post
(the day’s top story), Monica Lewinsky made paragraph 4—along with Vince Foster,
of course. On page one of the Post’s Style section, Lewinsky made the fifth
paragraph. Next to Libby Copeland’s piece, Style presented a giant graphic about
philandering pols. Why did reporters want to review those records? Of course! So
they could flip to the dates involving Lewinsky and laugh about what Hillary
Clinton was doing! They stroked their thighs and pleasured themselves, praising
“open government” as they did. The New York Times showed more restraint.
Lewinsky doesn’t appear until paragraph 6. On the other hand, the Times’ John
Broder still thinks she was an “intern.” The story is more pleasing that way—and
pleasure is what it’s about. (In the Post, Copeland said “intern” too. Out on
the paper’s front page, Peter Baker didn’t.)
New Papers Expose the Clinton Machine's NAFTA Lie
(by David Sirota)
Finally, the dishonesty is being unmasked. Finally, we see just how much we're
being lied to when it comes to economic policy. Finally, we see it hasn't just
been Hillary Clinton lying about her role in championing NAFTA, but we see it is
the entire Clinton
machine.
Unfortunately for
you, David, it’s your lie that has been exposed. See below.
Fact Check: Organizer of NAFTA Meeting Said Hillary Was A NAFTA Critic
(Hillary Clinton website)
The Obama campaign is claiming that the fact that Hillary attended a meeting on
the subject of NAFTA organized by David Gergen is proof that she was a champion
of NAFTA. Here's what David Gergen said about Hillary's views on NAFTA: "I was
actually there in the Clinton White House during the NAFTA fight and I must tell
you Hillary Clinton was extremely unenthusiastic about NAFTA. And I think that's
putting it mildly. I'm not sure she objected to all the provisions of it but she
just didn't see why her husband and that White House had to go and do that
fight. She was very unhappy about it and wanted to move on to health care. So I
do think there's some justification for her camp saying, you know, she's never
been a great backer for NAFTA." [David Gergen, Anderson Cooper 360, 2/25/08]
MyDD has
the video of Gergen saying this.
EXCLUSIVE poll shows Clinton leads in Pa.
[W]e have the
EXCLUSIVE results of the first in a series of the 6abc Franklin and Marshall
polls. Hillary Clinton has increased her lead over Barack Obama in Pennsylvania.
51-percent of likely voters say they will back
Clinton
according to the poll. Only 35-percent say Obama is their choice… When asked
what issue voters associate more with what candidate, 46-percent of Clinton
supporters say healthcare followed by the economy with 17-percent. For Obama
it's the Iraq war with 26-percent
West Virginia Democratic Presidential Primary
West Virginia:
Clinton
55% Obama 27%
Obama can’t win Massachusetts
(by pollbuster at MyDD)
A new Survey USA
poll has Obama and McCain tied in Massahusetts 47-47. If Obama can’t beat McCain
in Mass, where can he beat him. It’s time for the super delegates to step in,
and stop what is now beginning to look like a democratic defeat of historic
proportions in November. We can’t afford another 8 years of GOP rule. By the way
Hillary leads in Mass, according to Survey
USA,
by 13 points.
Well, I would
have said “ISN’T winning”. Things can always change.
Clinton takes lead over Obama in Gallup poll
WASHINGTON
(Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has moved into a
significant lead over Barack Obama for the first time in weeks in the race for
the party nomination, according to a Gallup poll. The March 14-18 national
survey of 1,209 Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters gave Clinton, a New
York senator, a 49 percent to 42 percent edge over Obama, an
Illinois
senator. The poll has an error margin of 3 percentage points… Gallup said
polling data also showed presumptive Republican nominee John McCain leading
Obama 47 percent to 43 percent in 4,367 registered voters' preferences for the
general election. The general election survey has an error margin of 2
percentage points. The Arizona senator also edged Clinton 48 percent to 45
percent but Gallup said the lead was not statistically significant.
Electoral College - Hillary +63; Obama -50
(by DaveOinSF at MyDD)
So I've updated Survey
USA's Electoral College
prediction based on updated results in 15 states. The results:
Hillary Clinton 294 John McCain 231 Tie 13
John McCain
288 Barack Obama 238 Tie 12
Click through to
see the maps.
New Poll: Americans Skeptical of Obama's Race Speech
(by andrewalker08 at MyDD)
Insider Advantage is out today with a new poll that measures the reaction of
Americans' to Barack Obama's speech on race earlier this week and the numbers
don't look good. Of the 1,051 Americans surveyed, 52% of them said they were
"less likely" to vote for Sen. Obama after his Tuesday speech
Open Mouth, Insert Foot
(by Fleaflicker at No Quarter)
Yesterday former Democratic nominee and Obama supporter John Kerry confirmed
everything that Geraldine Ferraro said. Not only that, he took it a few steps
further, In an interview with the New Bedford Standard Times Senator Kerry
stated that: “the color of Obama’s skin makes him uniquely qualified for
president and even reach out to the moderate Islam world”… But Kerry took it
even further. According to him electing Barack Obama would somehow redeem the
United States… Apparently Senator Kerry seems to think that electing Barack
Obama would not only help us get rid of our awful white guilt about our slavery
past.
JUST as
Shelby Steele said. Oh, and does Kerry now have to leave the campaign for
mentioning skin color? What he’s saying isn’t much different from what
Geraldine Ferraro said. But what both of them have said is vastly different
from what Rev. Wright said.
The Obama-Wright Factor
(The Caucus, The New York Times)
Geraldine Ferraro, a former vice-presidential candidate, blasted the senator for
mentioning her in his speech. It was just last week that she stepped down from
her role on Hillary Rodham Clinton’s fund-raising team after she insisted
publicly that Mr. Obama’s political success was only due to his race. In the
same small newspaper she made that comment, The Daily Breeze in
Southern California,
Ms. Ferraro objected to the point in Mr. Obama’s recent speech when he suggested
her remarks were cut from the same cloth as Mr. Wright’s. “To equate what I
said with what this racist bigot has said from the pulpit is unbelievable,”
Ferraro said. “He gave a very good speech on race relations, but he did not
address the fact that this man is up there spewing hatred.”
Obama blew it
(by Michael Meyers, executive director of the New York Civil Rights Coalition
and a former assistant national director of the NAACP, writing in the Los
Angeles Times)
[In his] "momentous" speech on race… [Barack Obama] should have presented us a
pathway out of our racial boxes and a road map for new thinking about race. He
should have depicted his minister, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., as a symbol
of the dysfunctional angry men who are stuck in the past and who must yield to a
new generation of color-blind, hopeful Americans and to a new global economy in
which we will look on our neighbors' skin color no differently than how we look
on their eye color. In fact, I'd say that considering the nation's undivided
attention to this all-important speech, which gave him an unrivaled opportunity
to lift us out of racial and racist thinking, Obama blew it… The man or woman
who talks plainly about our commonality as a race of human beings, about our
future as one nation indivisible, rather than about our discredited and
disunited past, is, I predict, likely to finish ahead of the pack and do us a
great public service.
Instead of
reconciliation, Obama tries to smear Bill Clinton with the Wright brush. See
below.
Photograph of Bill Clinton and Rev. Wright Surfaces
(The Caucus, The New York Times)
During one of the most difficult periods in the presidency of Bill Clinton, he
addressed a group of clerics at an annual prayer breakfast in September 1998…
Among those in attendance, was the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., who is seen shaking
hands with Mr. Clinton in a photograph provided [Thursday] by the Obama
campaign… In providing the photograph to The New York Times, the Obama campaign
appeared to be trying to divert some attention to the
Clintons after a week in
which Mr. Obama’s relationship with Mr. Wright has left him facing one of the
biggest challenges of his campaign. There is nothing in the picture or the note
that addresses whether Mr. Clinton had met Mr. Wright prior to the White House
meeting or whether he or Mrs. Clinton knew anything about Mr. Wright’s views.
Hey,
I met Bill Clinton, too. And he didn’t know a damn thing about my
politics. This move reeks of desperation. And they try to smear Hillary’s
prayer group. See below.
Hillary’s Nasty Pastorate
(by Barbara Ehrenreich)
There’s a reason why Hillary Clinton has remained relatively silent during the
flap over intemperate remarks by Barack Obama’s former pastor, Jeremiah Wright.
When it comes to unsavory religious affiliations, she’s a lot more vulnerable
than Obama. You can find all about it in a widely under-read article in the
September 2007 issue of Mother Jones, in which Kathryn Joyce and Jeff Sharlet
reported that “through all of her years in Washington, Clinton has been an
active participant in conservative Bible study and prayer circles that are part
of a secretive Capitol Hill group known as the “Fellowship,” aka The Family. But
it won’t be a secret much longer. Jeff Sharlet’s shocking exposé, The Family:
The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power will be published in
May… In 2002, writer Jeff Sharlet joined the Family’s home for young men,
foreswearing sex, drugs, and alcohol, and participating in endless discussions
of Jesus and power.
They help
troubled kids. Shocking.
Clinton won't deny pushing the Wright story. She won't even answer the question.
(by Joe Sudbay at AMERICAblog)
Shameless.
My comment: Is it
your position, Joe, that Democrats shouldn't have found out about Rev. Wright
until the general election? Do you truly believe that we shouldn't have had this
information available before making up our minds who to vote for?
It's Out There
(by digby)
McCain has "suspended" a staffer for circulating a nasty video about Senator
Obama. He says there is no tolerance for such behavior in his campaign and he
will fire anyone who does it. He is so adamant about it that he alerted the
media and told them all about it. And the media dutifully reported McCain's fine
decision, citing his commitment to running a clean campaign and disowning of
this horrible video --- and then they showed the name and URL on the Youtube
site, just in case anyone needed to see the scurrilous video over which the good
man McCain so righteously suspended his campaign staffer. I'm sure that staffer
will be amply rewarded for taking the bullet to get that video "out there." That
was, after all, the point.
Former Rove aide Sara Taylor becomes MSNBC pundit.
(Think Progress)
Today, MSNBC brought on former White House political director Sara Taylor to
talk about how right-wing groups plan to attack Sen. Barak Obama (D-IL) over his
former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Taylor was a top aide to Karl Rove and
intimately involved in both the U.S. Attorney scandal and the politicization of
federal agencies. The White House had originally blocked her from testifying to
Congress, which had issued a subpoena for her appearance.
"Torture Porn" Makers Shrug Off Label
(by Rachel Corbett, Women's eNews, posted at AlterNet)
As "torture porn" movies deepen their imaginative excursions into violence
against women, some of their creators are calling their work feminist.
How Much Bad Debt? The Economists Who Were Right Say $1 Trillion
(by Dean Baker)
The NYT has an article today noting how the bad news in credit markets is having
an impact throughout the economy. The article, which relies exclusively on
economists who were surprised by the recession, tells readers that "the size of
the bad debts remains a mystery, with estimates reaching $400 billion." Actually
Nouriel Roubini and I have both estimated the amount of bad debt in the
financial system will exceed $1 trillion. Unlike the economists cited in this
article, we anticipated the collapse of the housing bubble and the resulting
chaos in financial markets.
Doesn't Everyone Know that It's Not a Subprime Problem?
(by Dean Baker)
Subprime is so yesterday as people up and down the income ladder are defaulting
on their mortgages in record numbers. After all, why pay off a $400k mortgage on
a home that is worth $300K? I thought that everyone understood this point by
now. The problem is the collapse of the housing bubble… [W]ord has not yet
filtered through to the NYT… [I]f the problems were just in the subprime market
we would not be facing a meltdown of the banking system and the worst financial
crisis since the Great Depression. The problems run right through the entire $10
trillion mortgage market. That is why the Fed folks are staying up late and
working weekends. If it were just subprime, they could deal with it in normal
business hours and still have time for lunch.
Media Matters for America headlines
• So that's why NBC and MSNBC wanted Clinton's schedules?
• ABC's Ross falsely claimed that McCain has already released his tax returns
• Today aired YouTube video "hit[]" on Obama's "patriotism," "pastor, and his faith"
• Limbaugh falsely claimed minister who attacked Obama is "pro-Hillary"
Hundreds of Iraqi Journalists Forced Into Exile
NEW YORK Hundreds
of Iraqi journalists have been forced into exile since the war started five
years ago, Reporters without Borders announced in a report released Wednesday.
Most fled to Jordan
or Syria after receiving threats or surviving murder attempts, according to the
Paris-based advocacy group. "These journalists are safe again after escaping the
hell of Iraq, the world’s deadliest country for the media," the press freedom
organization said. "But exile does not mean the end of their problems."
China orders video Web sites to close
HONG KONG - China
will shut down or punish dozens of video-sharing Web sites for carrying content
deemed pornographic, violent or a threat to national security under rules that
tighten Internet controls, a regulator said Friday.
British Papers Blunder in Missing Girl Case
Several tabloids
have apologized to the parents of a missing 4-year-old for their faulty
reporting in the case.
Three New York Moguls in Talks to Buy Newsday
The three bidders
are Rupert Murdoch, chairman of the News Corp; Mortimer B. Zuckerman, who owns
The Daily News; and James L. Dolan, whose family controls Cablevision.
As Deadline Nears,Confusion Clouds Clear Channel Buyout
Confusion
surrounded the buyout of Clear Channel Communications Inc. [Wednesday] amid
escalating tensions between the private-equity companies behind the deal and the
banks that have agreed to finance it.
The digital march of Penguin Books
(video)
Mar 18 - The 73-year-old book company is launching an Alternate Reality Game in
its latest effort to engage readers through new technologies.
NYP Shuts Down PageSix Standalone Site After Less Than Four Months
(Paid Content)
PageSix.com, the entertainment gossip site that gained independence from its
original home as part of the NYP.com in December, has been shuttered, Gawker
reported. A rep for the News Corp.-owned tabloid told Gawker that it decided to
pull the plug on the standalone PageSix.com due to the tanking economy.
Apparently, the site had difficulty getting a toe hold in a market already
saturated with established gossip sites, like TMZ and PerezHilton.
A Company Promises the Deepest Data Mining Yet
Amid debate over
how much data companies like Google and Yahoo should gather about people who
surf the Web, one new company is drawing attention — and controversy — by
boasting that it will collect the most complete information of all. The company,
called Phorm, has created a tool that can track every single online action of a
given consumer, based on data from that person’s Internet service provider. The
trick for Phorm is to gain access to that data, and it is trying to negotiate
deals with telephone and cable companies, like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast, that
provide broadband service to millions.
Wireless Spectrum Winners Are Revealed; Google Bids But Verizon Wins
(Paid Content)
The FCC finally unveiled the winners of the federal spectrum auction that closed
earlier this week and raised a record-breaking $19.6 billion. The FCC said
Verizon Wireless was one of the biggest winners, paying $4.7 billion for the
C-block, which will require Verizon to build a network that will provide open
access to devices and applications. The high-profile auction received a lot of
attention because it provided a way for a newcomer to enter the wireless market.
But most of the winners were incumbents, such as Verizon Wireless and AT&T. The
FCC confirmed that Google, which lobbied hard to get the open-access provisions,
did not win any licenses.
DISH may plan mobile TV with new airwaves: analysts
NEW YORK/LOS
ANGELES (Reuters) - DISH Network Corp's surprise win of wireless airwaves in an
auction may be the first step toward building a mobile television service or a
bet on a scarce commodity by CEO Charlie Ergen, analysts said on Thursday.
Google's wireless-auction loss called possible win
SAN FRANCISCO
(Reuters) - Google Inc's losing bid for coveted wireless airwaves may prove a
victory for the Web search leader as it still stands to get access to mobile
networks without spending tens of billions of dollars to build one, analysts
said on Thursday.
Starbucks listens - at last
(by Jeff Jarvis)
Following Dell’s Ideastorm, Starbucks has no opened a forum — also powered by
Salesforce.com — where customers can make suggestions then discuss and vote on
them… Already, there are clear themes coming out in the Starbucks discussion.
Many customers are suggesting — and many more are agreeing — that our
frequent-sipper cards should have our regular orders embedded in them so we
could swipe the card at the door, make the order, pay for it, and avoid that
damned line (making that damned line shorter for everyone else). Others are also
suggesting they want to do the same with their iPhones. This genius comes not
from MBAs or executives but from customers. If you’ll just listen.
Sounds like a
great idea. I wish Microsoft would listen to its customers.
After 38 years, Israeli solves math code
JERUSALEM - A
mathematical puzzle that baffled the top minds in the esoteric field of symbolic
dynamics for nearly four decades has been cracked — by a 63-year-old immigrant
who once had to work as a security guard.
Gene Linked to Form of Parkinson's Disease
Finding could
lead to better understanding of the incurable neurological disorder
New Rheumatoid Arthritis Drug Works for Adults, Children
But the real test
for tocilizumab lies in head-to-head drug trials, expert says.
Tweaking Insulin Might Help Fight Aging
Studies in worms
are shedding new light on the hormone's role in lifespan
Monkey Brain Gives Clues to Human Interaction
Neurological
responses to sexual, social cues may mimic those of people, scientists say
When did our ancestors first stand up?
A nearly
six-million-year-old thigh bone may provide some of the earliest evidence for
human ancestors walking on two legs.
Early era: Lots of sex, no predators
Sexual
reproduction may be nearly as old as animal life itself, according to
researchers who discovered a new species of organism that lived 540 million
years ago.
Gas-belching volcanoes may have killed dinosaurs
LONDON (Reuters)
- Gas-belching volcanoes may be to blame for a series of mass extinctions over
the last 545 million years, including that of the dinosaurs, new evidence
suggested on Thursday.
Full Moon Heralds Early Easter
Friday, March 21
brings us the first full moon of the new spring season, the vernal equinox
having already occurred on March 20 at 1:49 a.m. EDT (or on March 19 if you live
in the Mountain, Pacific or Alaskan-Hawaii time zones).
NASA: Tile Repair Test a Huge Success
HOUSTON (AP) -
Like handymen caulking a bathtub, two spacewalking astronauts squirted pink
putty into deliberately damaged tile samples to test a new technique for
repairing the space shuttle's fragile heat shield. NASA declared the experiment
a huge success.
Mars Probe Spots Ancient Salt Deposits
PASADENA, Calif.
(AP) - A Mars probe has spied what appear to be ancient salt deposits in the
southern highlands of the planet, giving scientists another place to study
whether the environment could have supported primitive life.
Saturn Moon May Have Ocean of Water
PASADENA, Calif.
(AP) - Scientists say they have found the best evidence yet that an ocean of
liquid water may be hidden below the surface of Saturn's giant moon Titan. If
the results are confirmed, it would be a starting point for further study into
whether the ocean could be capable of supporting life.
Cosmic blast 7.5 billion years old, seen with naked eye
WASHINGTON (AFP)
- NASA has detected the brightest cosmic explosion ever recorded -- a massive
burst of energy 7.5 billion light years away that could be seen with the naked
eye from Earth, the US space agency said Thursday.
Innovative Tower To Feature Atrium Of Wind Turbines
The “Clean
Technology Tower” is a highly efficient building which will be constructed in
Chicago. The tower will have wind turbines positioned at the corners of the
building, to capture wind at its highest velocity as it accelerates around the
tower. At the apex, where wind speeds are at a maximum, a domed double roof
cavity directs the wind towards an array of wind turbines. The negative pressure
created by the turbines will be used to ventilate interior spaces. The dome
itself is shaded by solar cells that capture the southern sun.
Smog's Origins Get Clearer
A key chemical
reaction helps form ozone haze, scientists say
Three Banks Aim to Expand Carbon Principles to Public Utilities
OAKLAND, Calif.,
March 21, 2008 -- Citi, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley have announced a plan
to extend guidelines for investing in greenhouse gas-generating projects to
include the more numerous municipal utilities.
Ecolab Expands Green Options for Carwashes
OAKLAND, Calif.,
March 21, 2008 -- Ecolab will reportedly introduce a new environmental
initiative to certify carwash operators and help them market their services to
green-minded consumers.
Cycling For Food: Engineers Work On Pedal-powered Grain Crusher
Heather Klein
crisscrosses the campus of Rowan University, from the College of Engineering to
the townhouses, the dining hall to the
Rec
Center,
on a blue Huffy 26-inch beach cruiser bicycle. She’s hoping a clone of the bike,
picked up at the K-Mart in Glassboro for about a hundred bucks, may some day
make the difference in the lives of people living half a world away.
'Nanominerals' influence Earth systems from ocean to atmosphere to biosphere
The ubiquity of
tiny particles of minerals--mineral nanoparticles--in oceans and rivers,
atmosphere and soils, and in living cells are providing scientists with new ways
of understanding Earth's workings. Our planet's physical, chemical, and
biological processes are influenced or driven by the properties of these
minerals.
Giant Marine Life Found in Antarctica
WELLINGTON, New
Zealand (AP) - Scientists who conducted the most comprehensive survey to date of
New Zealand's Antarctic waters were surprised by the size of some specimens
found, including jellyfish with 12-foot tentacles and 2-foot-wide starfish.
