Making politicians and media accountable to ordinary citizens since 2000.
Home | Unconservative Listening | Links | Contribute | About
Join the Mailing List | Contact Caro
4/11/08
|
T-Shirts, Tiles
and
Now Affliiated With
Buy the items
|
Top Story
Bush says U.S. strategy in Iraq needs more time
WASHINGTON —
President Bush said Thursday that Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in
Iraq, will "have all the time he needs" to decide how and when to reduce
American forces after the additional troops that were sent to Iraq last year are
withdrawn by the end of July.
We can’t leave
Iraq until we’ve gotten all the oil!
Project for the Old American Century
The World
Gunmen kill Sadrist official in Iraq
BAGHDAD - Iraqi
officials say gunmen have killed a senior aide to anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada
al-Sadr in the Shiite holy city of
Najaf.
Iran to end testing new centrifuges in 2 months
Atomic Energy
Organization of Iran Deputy Director Mohammad Saeedi on Tuesday said the testing
of the new version of centrifuges that works five times faster than the current
machines will be completed within two months.
Bomb attack on NATO convoy kills 8 Afghans: police
A suicide car
bomber in Afghanistan
attacked a Canadian military convoy on Thursday killing eight civilians and
wounding 22 people, among them three Canadian soldiers, authorities said.
Pakistan weighs ending house arrest of nuclear weapons peddler A.Q. Khan
ISLAMABAD,
Pakistan — Pakistan's new civilian government in Pakistan is reviewing whether
to release A.Q. Khan, the renegade scientist who has been under house arrest
since confessing to running an international black market in nuclear technology.
Nepal celebrates peaceful vote as results trickle in
KATHMANDU (AFP) -
Results trickled in Friday as Nepal celebrated surprisingly peaceful elections
contested by Maoists and mainstream parties which are set to turn the Himalayan
kingdom into a republic.
China outraged by US-Tibet resolution
BEIJING - An
indignant China said Friday the U.S. "seriously hurt the feelings of the Chinese
people" when Congress passed a resolution calling on Beijing to stop cracking
down on Tibetan dissent and talk to the Dalai Lama.
UN chief may not attend Olympic ceremony
UNITED NATIONS -
The U.N. secretary-general has told China's government that he may not attend
the August's opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, a spokeswoman said
Thursday.
Ex-Shanghai Party boss jailed for 18 years
BEIJING (Reuters)
- A Chinese court on Friday sentenced
Shanghai's
disgraced Communist Party boss Chen Liangyu to 18 years in prison on corruption
charges, his lawyer and media said, the most senior official jailed for graft in
a decade.
Leftists lawmakers storm Mexico Congress
MEXICO CITY
- Leftist lawmakers took over both chambers of
Mexico's Congress to protest
President Felipe Calderon's energy reform bill, which would make it easier for
the state oil company to seek outside help to develop oil fields.
Ecuador: 'CIA Infiltration' Charges Prompt Shake-Up in Armed Forces
President Rafael
Correa’s allegations that intelligence services in Ecuador had been infiltrated
by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) have led to a shake-up in the
armed forces of unforeseeable consequences. Resignations and dismissals are the
order of the day.
Protesters retreat in Haiti - for now
PORT-AU-PRINCE,
Haiti - Peacekeepers cleared roadblocks and businesses reopened in Haiti's
debris-littered capital Thursday, but protesters warned that chaos will return
quickly if the government fails to rein in soaring food prices.
France signals further boost to Afghan force
DUSHANBE
(Reuters) - France will boost its contribution to NATO forces fighting al Qaeda
and the Taliban in Afghanistan to some 3,000 troops, around double the present
level, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said on Friday.
German lawmakers ease limits on stem cell research
BERLIN
(Reuters) - German lawmakers voted on Friday to ease restrictions on stem cell
research although the approved changes did not go as far as many scientists had
hoped.
U.N. Official Calls for Study of Neocons' Role in 9/11
A new U.N. Human
Rights Council official assigned to monitor Israel is calling for an official
commission to study the role neoconservatives may have played in the September
11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The Nation
Gates: US troops won't drop to 100,000
Defense Secretary
Robert Gates said Thursday he sees no chance that the number of U.S. troops in
Iraq will drop to 100,000 by the end of the year, guaranteeing a heavy American
military presence as the war grinds into its sixth year to the end of the Bush
presidency.
Troop levels reach record high in Afghanistan
The 101st
Airborne Division took command of American forces in eastern Afghanistan on
Thursday, helping to boost U.S. troop levels in the country to their highest
number since the 2001 invasion… The top American commander in Afghanistan has
requested three more brigades -- about 7,500 more troops -- and the Pentagon has
promised that more troops will be sent next year.
Exclusive: Pentagon delays report on FBI role in detainee abuse
WASHINGTON
— The release of a report on the FBI's role in the interrogations of prisoners
in Afghanistan,
Guantanamo Bay and Iraq has been delayed for months because the Pentagon is
reviewing how much of it should remain classified, according to the Justice
Department's watchdog.
Detainee evokes bin Laden at Guantanamo tribunal
A suspect at a US
military hearing at the Guantanamo Bay prison Thursday lauded Osama bin Laden
saying the terror mastermind had exposed American "hypocrisy."… "The whole world
had a headache from your hypocrisy that you are the land of justice," Qosi said.
"Real justice and equality are great principles. Even children understand that."
Stolen and sensitive US military equipment for sale online
Stolen and
sensitive US military equipment, including fighter jet parts wanted by Iran and
nuclear biological protective gear, has been available to the highest bidder on
popular internet sales sites, according to congressional investigators.
Drug companies to reveal grant practices
WASHINGTON
- For years, the nation's largest drug and medical device manufacturers have
courted doctors with consulting fees, free trips to exotic locales and by
sponsoring the educational conferences that physicians attend.
Dairy farms stand to lose in downer ban
WASHINGTON -
Dairy farmers stand to lose income if the government honors congressional
demands for a total ban on downer cattle after a California slaughterhouse
failed to keep them out of the food supply.
Dangerous animal virus on US mainland?
WASHINGTON
- The Bush administration is likely to move its research on one of the most
contagious animal diseases from an isolated island laboratory to the
U.S.
mainland near herds of livestock, raising concerns about a catastrophic
outbreak.
EPA advisers slam new smog rule
WASHINGTON - An
advisory panel of scientists told the Environmental Protection Agency that its
new air quality standard for smog fails to protect public health as required by
law and should be strengthened.
House Democrats defeat Colombia free-trade deal
WASHINGTON
— House Democrats handed the White House a stinging defeat Thursday over a
free-trade agreement with
Colombia, rejecting
President Bush's bid to force a vote on the deal before the end of the year.
Calif. congresswoman sworn in, booed
A new
congresswoman from
California began her
career Thursday by demanding the immediate withdrawal of
U.S.
troops from Iraq, drawing boos from some colleagues. Jackie Speier, a Democrat
and former state legislator, was sworn in after winning a special election to
replace Rep. Tom Lantos, who died Feb. 11 of cancer.
McCain erases Obama lead
Republican Sen.
Insane McCain has erased Sen. Barack Obama's 10-point advantage in a
head-to-head matchup, leaving him essentially tied with both Democratic
candidates in an Associated Press-Ipsos national poll released Thursday.
Economy & Finance
Stocks poised to slide after GE results
NEW YORK
- Wall Street was poised to open lower Friday after General Electric Co.
reported first-quarter results that fell below projections and pinned the miss
on disruptions caused by the credit crisis.
Consumer confidence falls to new low
WASHINGTON
- Americans' confidence in the economy fell to a new low, dragged down by
worries about mounting job losses, record-high home foreclosures and zooming
energy prices.
Bleak hopes about retirement savings
(Think Progress)
A new study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute finds that the
“percentage of workers who said they were very confident about having enough
money for retirement decreased from 27 percent last year to 18 percent this
year, the sharpest one-year drop” since the group began the survey 18 years ago.
Just 34 percent of all workers now “expect to have access to employer-paid
health insurance in retirement, down 8 percentage points from last year (42
percent in 2007).”
Exxon Mobil CEO gets $21.7 million pay package after record year
Exxon Mobil gave
chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson an 18% raise to $21.7 million. That's according
to an analysis of a proxy statement filed today with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Irving-based Exxon Mobil's $40 billion profit last year again broke
the record for a U.S. company.
New York weddings weather economic woe
NEW YORK
(Reuters) - Investment bank bailouts, home foreclosures and job losses have
spread economic gloom through
America but in New York, at
least, there's one industry still weathering the storm -- high-end weddings.
Investment firms tap Fed for billions
WASHINGTON
- Big Wall Street investment companies are pulling back slightly on their
borrowing from the Federal Reserve's emergency lending program.
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.
Randi Rhodes Exits Air America
(Media Week)
"Air America Media was informed last night by Ms. Rhodes that she has chosen to
terminate her employment with the company,"
AAR said in a statement
released Thursday.
Talk radio's Randi Rhodes quits Air America, joins Phoenix-based Nova M
(Phoenix Business Journal)
Left-wing radio commentator Randi Rhodes has departed Air America Media for
Phoenix-based Nova M Radio Network.
Rhodes
quit Air America
terminating her contract and national radio show. Nova M said Thursday Rhodes
was joining its lineup of left-of-center talkers. Nova M syndicates talk shows
and operates KPHX 1480 AM in Phoenix. Rhodes will start with Nova M April 14.
Confirmed by a
Nova M
press release. It means she’s working for Shelly and Anita Drobny, the
original Air America Radio founders. Randi’s long-time producer, John Manzo,
joined Nova M as CEO in mid-2007.
Let Obama-Clinton contest play itself out
(by Gene Lyons)
[T]he Clinton-Obama race is bringing voters into the party at a record clip.
According to USA Today, 172, 000 new Democrats have registered in Pennsylvania
during the past three weeks alone. Come November, the party’s nominee will need
every one to defeat Sen. John McCain in the general election. People who imagine
otherwise don’t seem to understand how presidential elections are decided, i.
e., by the Electoral College. Not, that is, by a poll of “Meet the Press”
panelists, star-struck Obamaphiles, happy wanderers on Mc-Cain’s “Straight Talk
Express” campaign bus or the first 500 names in D. C. hostess Sally Quinn’s
Rolodex. Yeah, there’s a certain amount of redundancy in that list.
McCain not yet golden in California
(by Roger Simon at Politico)
Here are four things you need to know about John McCain and
California: 1. If McCain
wins California in November, he almost certainly will become the next president
of the United States… 2. Winning California is going to be very tough for
McCain… 3. Candidates who oppose abortion rights do not win California… 4. Obama
favors giving driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. McCain opposes it, and
this could give McCain the state.
John raises $2.5 million for Clinton
NEW YORK -
Experience is central to Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential bid, and
Wednesday night she tapped one of pop music's most venerable rockers to help
fill her campaign coffers with $2.5 million. Elton John, who has sold records
and filled arenas for four decades, played a benefit concert for Clinton at
Radio City Music Hall.
Hillary Rodham Clinton: Smart, tough and committed.
(by Donna Gentile O'Donnell, Philadelphia Inquirer)
If a woman is ever to be president in my lifetime, it's Hillary. Why? Because
she is smart and tough and committed. She lives and tolerates complexity. She
still believes that ideas matter. She is intellectually brainy and emotionally
brawny. She has the kind of remarkable endurance that makes it possible for her
to press on, despite the klieg lights of controversy and criticism almost always
trained in her direction. These are critical attributes for a world leader, and
a U.S.
president… Her analysis of issues, foreign and domestic, is as deep as it is
wide. In response to a question on renewable energy, her recitation on ethanol
alone was doctoral-quality research synthesis. Her grasp of the foreign-policy
implications of oil makes it clear that in Hillary's administration, the moon we
will be shooting for is energy independence. Her position on health care is
clear: We must spend our national resources - time, talent and treasury - on
insuring all Americans. We can and must and will do better, if she is president.
Health Care Horror Stories
(by Paul Krugman)
Stories like those of Trina Bachtel and Monique White are common in America, but
don’t happen in any other rich country — because every other advanced nation has
some form of universal health insurance. We should, too. All of which makes the
media circus of a few days ago truly shameful… Mrs. Clinton was making a valid
point about the state of health care in this country… It was particularly sad to
see a number of Obama supporters (though not the Obama campaign itself) join
enthusiastically in the catcalls against Mrs. Clinton’s good-faith effort to put
a human face on the cruelty and injustice of the American health care system… [P]olitics
is supposed to be about more than cheering your team and jeering the other side.
It’s
supposed to be about changing the country for the better.
Maddy Albright on the Road for Hillary
(by bluemoon at MyDD)
Madeleine Albright was here in Kutztown, PA to speak at Kutztown University on
behalf of Hillary this morning… She talked a lot about how she traveled
personally with Hillary to over 80 different countries & registered her dismay
at how these experiences have been brushed aside by the press as "just women
talking." She stressed that working with women's groups was a deliberate
strategy on the part of Clinton I because they knew without a doubt that
societies that treat women as equals have better health care, are more stable,
have stronger rule of law & when women are lifted up, so are we all. She spoke
extensively about how she saw firsthand Hillary deliver some tough messages in
very hostile rooms, whether it be
China or Czechoslovakia.
Albright also spoke about the nature of making connections between foreign &
domestic policy, seeing how they fit together in that butterfly flaps its wing
kind of way, about seeing things in their totality.
It's
about understanding connections.
Bill Clinton Honored for Irish Peace Process; Says Hillary Helped Too
(Political Radar, ABC News)
Bill Clinton was honored at an event commemorating the 10th Anniversary of the
Good Friday Accord this evening at Gallagher's Steakhouse in midtown Manhattan.
Clinton thanked the crowd for the honor, but added "I got a lot more out of this
than I gave. It was a joy. Every single minute."… During the introductions much
praise was given to Clinton for the role he played in the peace process in
Northern Ireland.
An ample amount of thanks and praise was also give to his wife Hillary,
stressing that while some recent accounts may diminish her role, the people at
the event tonight knew differently.
Clinton urges $4 billion to fight crime; focuses on cities
(McClatchy)
WASHINGTON — Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is expected to
unveil a $4 billion anti-crime package Friday in which she vows to reduce city
murder rates by 50 percent within five years, put an additional 100,000 cops on
the streets and shrink prison populations.
Endorsements Demonstrate Momentum for Hillary in the Keystone State
(thanks to alegre at MyDD)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - Pennsylvania for Hillary today announced over 270 local
elected officials from across the Keystone State endorsed Hillary for President.
These local level endorsements include leaders such as members of congress, city
council members, county commissioners, state representatives, and state
committee members, and demonstrate Hillary's momentum and support in the
Keystone State.
Did you see this
all over the media? No? I wonder why.
Obama speaks to spirited crowd at Washington High School
(WSBT TV)
SOUTH BEND — An excited crowd of more than 3,500 greeted presidential candidate
Sen. Barack Obama at Washington High School Wednesday night… [T]here were
spirited introductions from former South Bend Congressman Tim Roemer and South
Bend Mayor Steve Luecke, who endorsed the senator. Both called him the right
candidate to bring change to Washington and the American people. "We need to
change Indiana
to a blue state," the mayor said. "I am here tonight to endorse Barack Obama."
Meanwhile,
Hillary Clinton was
not allowed to speak at that high school. I guess that’s what Obama
supporters call unity and transcendence.
George W. Bush - The Most Competent President In Modern Times
(by eriposte at the Left Coaster)
Here's the latest, um, Obama talking-points memo from The Politico: “Hillary
Rodham Clinton wants voters to decide the nomination based on who can coolly and
competently run the country. She had better hope they don’t study her recent
campaign too closely for the answer.”… [T]he last time someone ran a campaign
very "well", thanks to the corporate media outlets promoting and propagandizing
his candidacy, he won the Presidency in 2004. Four years before that, he ran a
campaign "well" enough to be appointed President. That person's name is George
W. Bush. He is by far the most incompetent President in the modern history of
the United States. His Presidency, which the same corporate media enjoyed and
promoted forever - often in hagiographic form - has been the most destructive to
this country since at least the reign of Herbert Hoover.
My last word (for now) on sexism
(by Joan Walsh, Salon)
I never intended to spend so much time on this blog arguing that Hillary Clinton
has faced sexism in her historic presidential run because it's so self-evident.
It
doesn't mean that without it, she'd be defeating Barack Obama; it doesn't mean
she is without flaws; it doesn't mean Obama doesn't face racism; it doesn't mean
she deserves to be either the Democratic nominee or the president.
It
just means sexism is one of the unfair disadvantages
Clinton has had to deal
with. It's just a fact. The idea that so many people are so incapable of
admitting that blows my mind. I'm going to try to take a break from this
depressing debate, but a friend just sent me [a] video… I'd urge people who are
minimizing the sexism Clinton faces, or who are trying to argue that racism
against Obama has been just as public and disabling, to make a YouTube video
that's comparable to this, and that features media stars -- not Clinton
surrogates, not Obama critics, but guys paid by major news networks -- using
comparable slurs against Obama. Maybe it's possible. I doubt it, but maybe. If
anyone succeeds, I promise I'll post it here!
Click through to
watch the video showing the Clinton hate in the media.
Grand Unified Theory of The Race (GUTTeR)
(by eriposte at the Left Coaster)
[In answer to those who charge that Hillary Clinton is only winning in the large
states because of racism:] If Sen. Obama was unable to win the large states that
Sen. Clinton won (most of which are a must-win in November for Democrats) due to
white racism amongst a significant portion of Democratic voters, how in the
world is he going to win those states in November when the proportion of white
voters in those states will only increase dramatically due to the massive influx
of even more conservative white voters who are Independents and Republicans?
Further, if Republicans use racially "coded messages and tactics" that work - in
the general election (anyone want to bet they won’t?) - isn’t that a
prescription for a rout of Sen. Obama in those very states - many of which have
long been reliably Democratic?
I don't get it.
(by myiq2xu at Corrente)
Can someone explain this to me? According to Tweety & the Gang, it’s no big deal
for David Bellavia to compare Barack Obama to Tiger Woods, because Tiger is a
great golfer. But when Bill Clinton compared Barack Obama’s win in South
Carolina to the earlier victories in South Carolina by Jesse Jackson, it was
vile racism.
Clinton Rules,
myiq2xu, it’s the Clinton Rules.
Announcing the I'm Mad as Hell and I'm Not Going to Take it Anymore Hillary
Clinton Grassroots Fundraising Drive
(by EmmyCA at TaylorMarsh.com)
Hello fellow Hillary supporters:
I am a Hillary Clinton grassroots supporter. And I want to ask you an important
question. Are you as upset with this Presidential campaign as I am?
--Are you SICK of the fawning media over-promoting Sen. Obama, while being
hyper-critical of Sen. Clinton?
--Are you TIRED of watching many in the media give Sen. Obama days of free
television, radio and print coverage for his endorsements, activities and
speeches and putting on more pro-Obama surrogates/anchors than they do for Sen.
Clinton while regularly ignoring Sen. Clinton's endorsements, activities and/or
speeches?
--Are you SICK of supposed liberal organizations, liberal media networks and
liberal blogs that used to back Democrats against Republicans viciously
attacking Sen. Clinton while giving Sen. Obama millions of dollars of free media
promotion?
If you are as SICK and TIRED of these and other things as I am, I urge you to
join me in taking the I'M MAD AS HELL AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE
GRASSROOTS FUNDRAISING PLEDGE.
Obama: Repeal of "don't ask" possible
WASHINGTON -
Barack Obama says if elected president he won't require that his appointees to
the Joint Chiefs of Staff support allowing gays to serve openly in the military.
Please read the
headline, and then read the lede. This is typical Obama wishy-washyness. Not
what I want in a president.
Gay editors wonder why Obama won't sit down with them
Barack Obama has
communicated with the gay press on his own terms, placing ads in local gay
papers and writing op-eds. Bay Windows editor Laura Kiritsy believes Obama isn't
talking directly to gay editors "because he is the frontrunner and he is kind of
the most unfamiliar [so] he has the most to lose. That always makes candidates
or their handlers a little more wary and reticent on LGBT issues so they don't
come out looking like the crazy, moonbat liberal who will perpetuate the gay
agenda."
Oh, yeah, anyone
who wants equal rights for all citizens is obviously a crazy, moonbat liberal.
Obama Says Bush Should Boycott Olympics If....
(Political Radar, ABC News)
ABC News' Sunlen Miller Reports: In his strongest language to date about the
Olympics, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., said that President Bush should boycott the
opening ceremonies of if the Chinese do not take steps to stop the genocide in
Darfur and respect the human rights of Tibetan people… The Democratic
presidential frontrunner had seemed to want to avoid talking about the Olympics
and Sen. Hillary Clinton's call for a boycott of the Olympics opening ceremonies
on August 8, 2008.
The junior Senator from Illinois has a particularly tricky balancing act when it
comes to the subject of the Olympics: Chicago is vying to host the 2016 games
and one of Obama's top campaign advisors and close friends, Valerie Jarrett, is
the vice chair of Chicago's bid committee.
Obama Delegate Purge -- Slash and Burn in California
(by Marcy Winograd, President of Progressive Democrats of Los Angeles, a chapter
of Progressive Democrats of America, writing at the Huffington Post)
By dusk on Wednesday, the California Obama campaign had purged almost all
progressive activists from its delegate candidate lists. Names of candidates,
people who had filed to run to represent Obama at the August Democratic Party
National Convention, disappeared, not one by one, but hundreds at a time, from
the Party web site listing the eligibles. The list of Obama delegate hopefuls in
one northern
California
congressional district went from a robust 100 to an anemic 23, while in southern
California, the list in Congressman Waxman's district almost slipped out of
sight, plunging from a high of 91 candidates to 17. Who was left standing, still
in the running for the Sunday delegate caucuses? The bundlers, the men and women
who skirt campaign finance laws by bundling cash, a bundle of $2,000 here and a
bundle of $2,000 there -- and some, though certainly not all, of the
elbow-grease: grassroots Obama volunteers, loyalists from day one.
Big Donors Among Obama's Grass Roots
(Washington Post)
Sen. Barack Obama credits his presidential campaign with creating a "parallel
public financing system" built on a wave of modest donations from homemakers and
high school teachers. Small givers, he said at a fundraiser this week, "will
have as much access and influence over the course and direction of our campaign
that has traditionally been reserved for the wealthy and the powerful." But
those with wealth and power also have played a critical role in creating Obama's
record-breaking fundraising machine, and their generosity has earned them a
prominent voice in shaping his campaign. Seventy-nine "bundlers," five of them
billionaires, have tapped their personal networks to raise at least $200,000
each. They have helped the campaign recruit more than 27,000 donors to write
checks for $2,300, the maximum allowed. Donors who have given more than $200
account for about half of Obama's total haul, which stands at nearly $240
million.
Somebody Call Abe Foxman
(by Jake Tapper at Political Punch, ABC News)
In Levittown, Penn., [Wednesday], Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, was asked about
his church's magazine giving an award to Rev. Louis Farrakhan… "This was done by
a magazine that was connected to the church," Obama explained. "I would have
never done it. It was primary focused on the rehabilitation work that they do
for ex-offenders in Chicago. That doesn’t excuse it, that just explains it."
Obama reminded the crowd that he'd denounced his church’s praise of Farrakhan,
saying, "I’ve been very clear about saying that was wrong. And nobody has spoken
out more fiercely on the issue of anti- Semitism than I have." Really? No one?
Elie Wiesel? Simon Wiesenthal? Alan Dershowitz? No one?
Obama's Pro-Israel, Pro-Palestinian Positions
(by Jeralyn at TalkLeft)
Where's Obama on
Israel and the
Palestinians? On both sides. Since running for President, he's become an
outspoken supporter of Israel. While in the Illinois legislature, he was a
friend, supporter and beneficiary of Palestinians whose organizations trashed
Israel.
Allies of Palestinians see a friend in Barack Obama
(Los Angeles Times)
CHICAGO -- It
was a celebration of Palestinian culture -- a night of music, dancing and a dash
of politics. Local Arab Americans were bidding farewell to Rashid Khalidi, an
internationally known scholar, critic of
Israel and advocate for
Palestinian rights, who was leaving town for a job in New York. A special
tribute came from Khalidi's friend and frequent dinner companion, the young
state Sen. Barack Obama. Speaking to the crowd, Obama reminisced about meals
prepared by Khalidi's wife, Mona, and conversations that had challenged his
thinking… Today, five years later, Obama is a U.S. senator from Illinois who
expresses a firmly pro-Israel view of Middle East politics, pleasing many of the
Jewish leaders and advocates for Israel whom he is courting in his presidential
campaign.
Reverend Wright Tarnished Obama's Image as America's Anointed Savior
(by Steven Stark at Real Clear Politics)
The press has begun to bury the Reverend Jeremiah Wright story, convinced by the
polls that the issue -- for the most part -- has gone away. But the issue of
Barack Obama's association with his pastor is unlikely to disappear completely
because it so undercuts what made the Illinois senator's political appeal
unique… [W]hat Obama will never be able to explain away is why, of all the
people in the world who could inspire him on a weekly basis, he chose the one
who was known to exclaim, "God damn America," and preached a gospel not
particularly distinguished by an appeal to everyone's better nature. Alas, we
are judged by the company we keep -- as well we should be, when the company is a
chief spiritual advisor.
Law School Senior Lecturer Barack Obama wins U.S. Senate seat
(University of Chicago news office,
Nov. 3, 2004)
Barack Obama, Senior Lecturer in the Law School, has won Illinois' U.S. Senate
seat with 70% of the vote in the 2004 election.
So much for their
recent revisionist history, pretending that he was a professor, just because he
said he was.
The Xanax Candidate.
(by John: south of
Melrose at Liberal Rapture)
[O]ne night not long ago that I posted this on a large liberal blog: Can anyone
tell me why they think Obama would be a better Democratic President than
Clinton? The comment conversation was flying that night but I got no bites - so
I wrote it again. Soon the roof fell in. I used my last name (Smart) so the
obvious insults were first. Then the long knives came out on Hillary.
It
was no longer dislike or even hate - it had solidified into mindless fury.
"Bitch" "Liar" "Murderer" and the cute, yet smug as shit, "Billary". Bitch and
Billary are insults based squarely in sexism. Sexism exists in
America. Everyone with a
brain knows this. What was startling is the glee and unconsciousness these
liberals - men and women - indulged in rampant gender hatred… The cognitive
dissonance between the "message of hope" these Obama supporters said they
adhered to and the crap being thrown on the walls of liberal blogs was obvious
to anyone who could reason.
David Brock, Dems plan $40M hit on McCain
(Politico)
Wealthy Democrats are preparing a four-month, $40 million media campaign
centered on attacks on Sen. John McCain. And it will be led by David Brock, the
former investigative reporter who first gained fame in the 1990s as a
right-wing, anti-Clinton journalist. The planned campaign is the product of a
shakeup in the top ranks of the struggling independent Democratic groups. Brock,
now best known as the ex-conservative founder of the liberal group Media
Matters, last month quietly assumed the chairmanship of what's expected to be
the main vehicle for independent Democratic attacks on McCain, now called
Progressive Media USA…
Brock suggested that the group could do the work of a press corps that, he says,
has "fallen down on the job" when it comes to McCain.
As Petraeus Testifies: How Press Helped Bring Him the 'Surge'
In the five years
since the war started, the single greatest mistake made by the media was hardly
raising a single voice of protest against the 2007 escalation in Iraq -- until
it was much too late.
The Housing Philosophers Are Back
(by Dean Baker)
That's what the NYT says. The NYT tells us that the Bush administration is
warming to the idea of a housing bailout but "big differences remain between Mr.
Frank’s proposal and the administration’s plan, reflecting a wider philosophical
divide over how best to address problems in the housing market."… Why can't the
NYT leave such speculation to readers and just tell readers what happened.
Shortage Drives Down Pilots' Wages
(by Dean Baker)
Let's see, if there's too much supply, then prices fall. And, if there's a
shortage, then prices fall. Or at least that's what the NYT tells us about
pilot's wages. To be exact, it tells readers that "poor pay and fewer
big-airline jobs to move up to have led to fewer applicants, creating a pilot
shortage." It
looks like the basic story is that one of the places the airlines are looking to
cut back is on pilots' pay. At lower wages, few people want the job. That's not
quite a shortage in the normal sense of the term.
Wolfson: Obama Must Win Pennsylvania
(Real Clear Politics)
Outspending Hillary Clinton 3-to-1 in
Pennsylvania, Barack Obama
must win there on April 22 to demonstrate his ability to win big states, said
top Clinton aide Howard Wolfson today during a conference call with reporters.
"[Obama is] doing everything he can to win in Pennsylvania, and if he can't,
it'll be a serious defeat," said Wolfson. "We all know the road to 1600
Pennsylvania Avenue runs through Pennsylvania."
That’s the
ticket, Howard, turn the tables on them.
THEY’LL NEVER STOP SAYING MARIA:
(by Bob Somerby at the Daily Howler)
You’d think they’d program their cyborgs better. On page one of [Thursday’s]
Post, Anne Kornblut is finally allowed to do her profile of Chelsea Clinton. Is
Kornblut poorly programmed—or just broken-souled? Her first paragraph gives us
the “tell:” “…She voluntarily brought up the Monica Lewinsky scandal… Speaking
to a packed crowd of college students and recounting her mother's history of
working with Republicans, the youngest Clinton talked for a minute about Sen.
Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), who as a House member during the impeachment
hearings against President Bill Clinton was ‘one of the people who prosecuted my
father in the 1990s,’ she said.”… You see? Clinton hadn’t mentioned Lewinsky at
all! But Kornblut wanted to mention Monica—wanted to say her name very much. And
so, like that a slick decision! Lindsey Graham was close enough! Kornblut said
Clinton had mentioned the “Lewinsky scandal,” not Miss Lewinsky herself.
Media Matters for America headlines
• Gibson told African-American caller: "You're sticking with Obama, because he's ... a brother"
• Politico's Simon claimed McCain is in "same mold" as Schwarzenegger, ignoring key differences
• Boortz's commentary on his inability to use a floor buffer: "I would make a lousy Mexican"
• NY Times' Gail Collins: Obama "can be disturbingly Ivy League"
Indonesia ends ban on YouTube over film
JAKARTA,
Indonesia - Indonesian Internet providers have stopped blocking YouTube and
other file-sharing Web sites showing an anti-Islam film made by a Dutch
politician after complaints from Web users.
EU Parliament Warns Against ISP Monitoring In Music Piracy Fight
(by Robert Andrews at Paid Content)
This could put the cat amongst the pigeons. European Parliament members have
voted in favour of outlawing the kind of ISP disconnection policy the French
government introduced to fight illegal music downloads. French socialist Guy
Bono's proposed bill on safeguarding cultural products, drafted in September,
had made clear: "Criminalising consumers so as to combat digital piracy is not
the right solution" - but the music industry had lobbied to introduce an amend
calling for ISP-level filtering.
Israeli Army Puts Limits on Facebook
JERUSALEM (AP) -
Israeli defense officials say they have identified an unlikely new threat to
national security - Facebook. A new list of rules announced Thursday aims to
prevent soldiers and Defense Ministry employees from revealing classified
information on social networking sites.
Teenagers In YouTube Attack to be Charged as Adults
(by Jonathan Turley)
The seven Florida
teens who filmed a brutal attack on Victoria Lindsay, 16, for [a YouTube video]
will be charged as adults and could see some serious jail time… [They] face
charges of felonious battery and false imprisonment. Now, an innocent couple
(thought to be the parents of Zachary Ashley) have been hounded when their
telephone number was posted on YouTube… The video clearly shows not just the
unprovoked attacks but by the barring of Lindsay’s attempts to leave. Kidnapping
is harder to square, but is hardly needed… There also appear to be charged of
witness tampering in the criminal case.
LA Daily Journal eliminates copy desk, writers to suggest heds
Martin Berg,
editor of the legal paper, tells Kevin Roderick: "I've had some tough days in
the newspaper business and this is the toughest. The realities are that we are
in difficult times and face hard choices."
The End of the Network News?
(Think Again by Eric
Alterman, Center for American Progress)
Network news may still be valuable, but it's also aging with its audience in the
era of the 24-hour cable network.
Parts of Rather’s Suit Against CBS Dismissed
The judge,
setting aside Dan Rather individual claims, said, however, that Dan Rather could
continue to pursue his claim that CBS, as an entity, had breached its contract.
Blogger says she's sought therapy to cope with vitriolic posts
Dooce.com founder
Heather Armstrong, who is considered one of the top parent bloggers, says "the
hate mail will invariably happen, and when it does your entire world will
crumble around your ears." A person she thought was a friend posted a comment
saying she "wanted to punch me in the face because she hated me so much."
Armstrong now understands why "famous people turn to drugs or commit suicide."
Sorry, I think
it’s pretty stupid to care what the haters say.
Simple Tools Would Enhance Experience Of Bloggers, Blog Readers
A better
understanding of the reader-blogger connection could lead to new, advanced
features that would enable richer interactions between the two groups. For
readers, an installed add-on could enrich their experience by tracking blog
habits of which they might not be aware. For bloggers, a logging tool could help
them easily distinguish between different types of readers and allow them to
better connect with audiences.
Yahoo-Microsoft Battle Bolsters Google
SAN FRANCISCO
(AP) - Microsoft Corp.'s attempt to take over Yahoo Inc. has become so tortured
it may help Internet search and advertising leader Google Inc. grow stronger,
undermining Microsoft's main reason for pursing the deal in the first place.
Ethnic Social Network CommunityConnect Bought By RadioOne Networks For $38
Million (Paid
Content)
CommunityConnect, one of the oldest social networks around (since 1996) which
has focused on different ethnic groups, has been sold to a non-obvious buyer:
Radio One, the radio network focused on African-American and urban listeners,
has bought it for about $38 million. CC owns BlackPlanet.com, MiGente.com, and
AsianAve.com, and says has over 20 million members. Ben Sun, CCI's president and
founder, will continue to run the company. RadioOne has about 53 radio stations
located in 16 urban markets in the U.S. Additionally, Radio One owns Magazine
One, which owns Giant Magazine, interests in TV One, a cable/satellite network
programming primarily to African-Americans and others.
The segregated web
(by Jeff Jarvis)
I’m not sure what I think about the Barry Diller/IAC announcement of a
black-oriented search engine and content site, Rushmore Drive. I get the content
part, of course. I also understand specialized search engines based on need or
interest — jobs v. homes v. medicine, and so on. But isn’t there a danger in
creating a search engine segregated along racial lines? Does it create more
separation? Does it create a new sort of echo chamber? Does it limit the world
reached by the search? I would never want to use a search engine aimed at
middle-aged, suburban white guys like me; I want the world. And how do they know
what is black-oriented content?
Creative Spots, Courtesy of a Stalled Economy
Since the fall,
many marketers have been appealing to worried consumers by acknowledging that
times are tough.
More cities offer WiFi on buses
More cities
across the USA
now offer wireless Internet connections on buses, according to the American
Public Transportation Association.
State parks blaze trails for wireless Internet service
Outdoor
enthusiasts may dislike the idea of a laptop in every tent, but the number of
state parks with wireless Internet service is growing rapidly. State officials
say park users want Wi-Fi, so parks are installing it in campgrounds, lodges and
visitors centers.
Technology & Science
Operation Beijing storm: rockets target rain
BEIJING (Reuters)
- China is preparing an arsenal of rockets and aircraft to protect the Olympics
opening ceremony from rain, hoping to disperse clouds before they can drench
dignitaries at the roofless "bird's nest" stadium.
Few Countries on Track to Curb Maternal, Child Mortality Rates
Global initiative
stymied by shortage of money, human resources, analysis concludes.
Kids With Cell Phones Not as Safe Crossing Streets
Study found those
who were distracted by conversation had higher risk of being hit.
Why Beautiful Women Marry Less Attractive Men
Women seeking a
lifelong mate might do well to choose the guy a notch below them in the looks
category. New research reveals couples in which the wife is better looking than
her husband are more positive and supportive than other match-ups.
Irradiation Almost Erases Risk of Food Poisoning
Salmonella, E.
coli bacteria dramatically reduced with this method, researchers find
Special Treadmill Helps Stroke Patients Regain Normal Gait
Harness offers
partial support as patients re-learn to walk
How Neural Sludge Accumulates In Alzheimer's Disease
ScienceDaily
(Apr. 11, 2008) — Researchers have identified a key mechanism by which the
protein sludge that kills brain cells accumulates in Alzheimer's disease (AD).
Their findings in mice offer clues to treating AD and also could explain why
memory centers of the brain are most affected in the disease.
Stonehenge dig turns up new clues
Archaeologists
conducting the first dig at
Stonehenge
in decades say they have broken through to areas that could reveal the ancient
English monument's original purpose.
Shock: First Animal on Earth Was Surprisingly Complex
Earth's first
animal was the ocean-drifting comb jelly, not the simple sponge, according to a
new find that has shocked scientists who didn't imagine the earliest critter
could be so complex.
Seawater holds clues to ancient asteroid impacts
Asteroids that
strike Earth have cosmic origins, but clues to the size of ancient impactors now
have come from a decidedly Earth-bound source: the chemistry of ancient
seawater.
New NASA Spacecraft to Probe Moon Dust
NASA is drawing
up plans to probe the secrets of moon dust using a small orbiter that will ride
piggyback on another spacecraft's rocket.
Soyuz capsule docks safely with space station
A Russian Soyuz
spacecraft carrying South Korea's first astronaut docked successfully at the
international space station on Thursday.
Physicists Gear Up For Huge Data Flow
University of
Nebraska-Lincoln particle physicists Ken Bloom and Aaron Dominguez have teamed
up with computer scientist David Swanson to build a computing center for the
benefit of scientists at their university and across the country. The center’s
goal is to manage the flood of information that will pour from the world’s
next-generation particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), an
underground ring 27 kilometers around located at the European Centre for Nuclear
Research (CERN) in
Geneva,
Switzerland,
starting in mid-2008. Detectors stationed around the LHC ring will produce 15
trillion gigabytes of data every year, data that will be farmed out to computing
centers worldwide.
Environment
Melting Causes Lake in Chile to Empty
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP)
- Melting ice in southern Chile caused a glacial lake to swell and then empty
suddenly, sending a "tsunami" rolling through a river, a scientist said
Thursday. No one was injured in the remote region.
Cuckoos arrive too late to smuggle their eggs into host nests
Berlin - The
European cuckoo could be sticking to its migration schedule in defiance of
global warming at its own peril, according to German bird experts.
Logging boreal forest could detonate massive 'carbon bomb' - report
Canada's
boreal forest is a ticking "carbon bomb" and its continued logging could trigger
a massive release of greenhouse gases, says a new report. A Greenpeace study
released Thursday says cutting down trees in the boreal forest is exacerbating
climate change by releasing stores of greenhouse gases trapped in soil and
vegetation.
Californians to pay $600 mln for green think tank
LOS ANGELES
(Reuters) -
California
electricity and natural gas customers will be charged $600 million over the next
10 years to fund a green think tank, the California Public Utilities Commission
unanimously voted on Thursday. A surcharge to monthly power and gas bills will
fund the California Institute for Climate Solutions, linked to the University of
California. The surcharge will be tacked on customer bills of investor-owned
utilities and not of municipal utilities in Los Angeles and Sacramento.
10 Japanese cities to be made ecological model cities
Tokyo - Japan's
government has invited communities to put forward ideas for cutting greenhouse
gases and apply to be environmentally friendly model cities.
U.K. McDonald's Turn Trash Into Energy
SHEFFIELD, United
Kingdom, April 11, 2008 -- A pilot program sending trash from McDonald's
restaurants to an incinerator has reduced carbon emissions related to waste
disposal by more than 50 percent.
The future of solar-powered houses is clear
Transparent glass
containing solar cells could capture enough energy to power a home Professor
John Bell said QUT had worked with a Canberra-based company Dyesol, which is
developing transparent solar cells that act as both windows and energy
generators in houses or commercial buildings.
P&G and Domtar Step Up Sustainable Foresty Committments
WASHINGTON, D.C.,
April 11, 2008 -- Procter & Gamble and Domtar Corp. joined the North America
Forest & Trade Network (NAFTN) in a bid to make their wood-based products more
sustainably sourced.
NY won't approve LI Sound LNG terminal
GARDEN CITY, N.Y.
- The governors of two states have come out against a plan to build a behemoth
liquefied natural gas terminal in Long Island Sound. Environmentalists are
declaring it dead.
Mideast can avert impending water crisis: World Bank
RABAT (Reuters) -
The Middle East is overusing limited water resources and the amount of water
available per head will halve by 2050, leading to social strains as more people
quit the countryside, the World Bank said on Thursday. But a crisis can still be
averted if governments seize the opportunity to repair water networks, build new
infrastructure including desalination plants and educate people not to waste
limited resources, according to a report by the bank.
