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5/13/08
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Top Story
Bush to discuss oil prices with Saudi king
WASHINGTON -
President Bush said Monday that when he meets Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah later
this week, he'll bring up the effect that high oil prices are having on the U.S.
and global economies.
He’s going
begging again. How humiliating is that?
A Blast from the Past by Russ Donegan
The World
Has Lebanon's army struck a deal with Hezbollah?
BEIRUT, Lebanon —
With the beleaguered Lebanese army looking on, opposition and pro-government
militias traded gunfire in northern
Lebanon
Monday in a continuation of the fighting that's killed at least 50 people and
paralyzed most of Beirut.
Israel agrees to ease some W. Bank restriction: Blair
JERUSALEM
(Reuters) - Israel has agreed to ease gradually some travel and trade
restrictions on Palestinians and to cede more security authority in parts of the
occupied West Bank,
Middle East
envoy Tony Blair said on Tuesday.
Report: Police raid trade ministry in Olmert probe
JERUSALEM - Army
Radio says police have raided the Ministry of Industry and Trade and seized
documents as part of the corruption probe of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Iran says to sue U.S. and Britain over mosque blast
Iran's
judiciary said on Monday it would file international lawsuits against the
United States and Britain,
accusing them of providing financial support to those behind a blast in a mosque
that killed 14 people. Iran's intelligence minister last week said
Iran
had arrested five or six members of a terrorist group with links to Britain and
the United States who he said were involved in the explosion that also wounded
200 in the southern city of Shiraz.
Saudi Arabia criticizes Iran's Hezbollah support
RIYADH, Saudi
Arabia - Saudi Arabia's foreign minister says Iran's support for what he called
Hezbollah's coup in Lebanon will affect Iran's relations with Arab and Islamic
countries.
Pakistan's new government unraveling as ministers leave
ISLAMABAD,
Pakistan — A new political crisis engulfed Pakistan Monday after one of the two
main parties in the coalition government pulled its ministers out of the
cabinet.
Myanmar cyclone victims getting low-quality supplies
YANGON, Myanmar -
Many cyclone victims are getting spoiled food from
Myanmar's
junta instead of the high-quality supplies being delivered by foreign
governments and charities, victims and aid workers said Tuesday.
Economic jolt from China's quake seen as limited
SHANGHAI, China -
The earthquake that ripped through central
China's
Sichuan province, killing thousands, crumpling roads and factories and
disrupting power and communication, will be only a transitory jolt for the
booming economy, analysts say.
US says N. Korean nuke documents appear complete
WASHINGTON - The
Associated Press has learned that a preliminary U.S. review of nuclear documents
turned over to the United States by North Korea shows they appear to be a
complete accounting of their plutonium production.
U.S. paid bounty for Khadr: court documents
The U.S. government paid Pakistan authorities a $500,000 bounty to capture
Abdullah Khadr, a
Toronto man facing
terrorism-related charges, according to Federal Court documents made public
Monday. Justice Richard Mosley ordered the release of information on Khadr, who
is fighting his extradition to the U.S., including an October 2004 briefing note
to the RCMP commissioner.
Colombia extradites 14 jailed warlords to US
BOGOTA, Colombia
- Colombia extradited 14 top paramilitary warlords — many of them wanted on
drug-trafficking charges — to the United States on Tuesday, saying they failed
to comply with the peace pact under which they demobilized.
Brazil activists fear death squads back
ABAETETUBA,
Brazil - Bishop Flavio Giovenale was crushed by the acquittal last week of a
rancher accused of ordering the killing of a crusading American nun — and not
just because he admired Dorothy Stang.
Bolivia's Morales sets recall referendum in effort to resolve crisis
RIO DE JANEIRO,
Brazil — Bolivian President Evo Morales, trying to ease a deepening political
crisis, on Monday scheduled for Aug. 10 a sweeping recall referendum that would
allow voters to cut short his term in office, as well as those of his vice
president and the country's eight provincial governors.
Serb parties enter tense coalition negotiations
BELGRADE
(Reuters) - Serbia's outgoing prime minister Vojislav Kostunica, once valued as
a champion of reform by the West, teamed up with ultranationalist Radicals on
Tuesday seeking to form the country's next government, his party said.
Algerian extremists kill nine government troops
ALGIERS (AFP) -
Nine government troops were killed in Algiers on Sunday and Monday in two
separate attacks blamed on Islamic extremists, security sources said.
Sudan posts $246M bounty for Darfur rebel
KHARTOUM, Sudan -
The Sudanese government has doubled its bounty for the country's most wanted
Darfur rebel leader whose troops staged a daring raid on the outskirts of the
capital, state television reported Tuesday.
Africa's urban population to grow by 12-13 million this year: AfDB
MAPUTO (AFP) -
The African Development Bank said Tuesday that 12-13 million Africans would
leave the countryside to live in urban areas in 2008, increasing the challenge
of providing food and other services in cities.
The Nation
Bush: Iran 'single biggest threat'
Speaking to
Israel's Channel 10 on Monday, President George W. Bush claimed the reason
behind the instability in the Mideast lies within the existence of an Iranian
nuclear program and Iranian-backed 'militias' like the Lebanese Hezbollah. "To
me it's the single biggest threat to peace in the Middle East, the Iranian
regime," he said.
Bush has missed targets on Middle East peace
WASHINGTON
- President Bush has a faulty calendar and questionable optimism when it comes
to the Middle East.
By his original reckoning, an elusive peace should have happened three years ago
and a democratic Palestinian state should now be living in harmony with longtime
enemy Israel.
Feds: No credible terror threat to Indy 500
The Indianapolis
500 is an attractive target for terrorists, federal authorities said, but there
has been no credible or specific threat aimed at the Memorial Day weekend race.
In an internal FBI/Homeland Security Department assessment released Monday to
local police, officials said such sporting events, which attract hundreds of
thousands of spectators, are attractive potential targets.
But now that you
mention it…
Pentagon formally charges 5 with Sept. 11 conspiracy
The Pentagon has
formally approved death penalty charges against reputed 9/11 mastermind Khalid
Sheik Mohammed and four other men in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks,
setting the stage for proceedings to begin before a military commission in
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, sometime in June.
Ex-officials: Bush admin. ignored Iraq corruption
The Bush
administration repeatedly ignored corruption at the highest levels within the
Iraqi government and kept secret potentially embarrassing information so as not
to undermine its relationship with Baghdad, according to two former State
Department employees. The State Department's policies "not only contradicted the
anti-corruption mission but indirectly contributed to and has allowed corruption
to fester at the highest levels of the Iraqi government," Arthur Brennan, who
briefly served in Baghdad as head of the department's Office of Accountability
and Transparency last year, told the Senate Democratic Policy Committee.
Fearing raid, immigration-rights activists meet in Waterloo
Several Iowa
immigration-rights activists gathered today at a Waterloo church and the home of
a local social worker to discuss what they consider to be an impending
immigration raid. The discussions were prompted by federal officials' lease last
week of the National Cattle Congress fairgrounds in Waterloo. Local
immigration-rights activists fear the fairgrounds will be used as a detention
center.
Army Corps says Condition of many levees a mystery
Across America,
earthen flood levees protect big cities and small towns, wealthy suburbs and
rich farmland. But the Army Corps of Engineers, the federal agency that oversees
levees, lacks an inventory of thousands of them and has no idea of their
condition, the corps' chief levee expert told The Associated Press.
Congressional Democrats plan three-stage charade to pass Iraq war funds
(by Bill Van Auken at WSWS)
In order to once again approve hundreds of billions of dollars to fund the wars
in Iraq and Afghanistan, while posturing as opponents of "Bush’s war," the
Democratic leadership in Congress has crafted an elaborate legislative charade
that is set to begin unfolding this week.
Lawmakers want to end oil shipments to US reserve
WASHINGTON - Amid
daily bipartisan sniping over high gas prices, Democrats and Republicans appear
to agree on at least one thing: With oil over $120 a barrel, President Bush
ought to stop buying crude for the government emergency reserve.
American Legion Backs Webb GI Bill: This Bill Would ‘Encourage’ Young People To
Join The Military
(Think Progress)
“‘This bill would encourage young men and women to join the military,’ [National
Commander Marty] Conatser said. “As far as retention goes, the CBO estimates
that a simple $8,000 bonus to personnel at their first enlistment point would
increase reenlistments by 2 percentage points. Another way to encourage
mid-level servicemembers to stay in the military is to transfer GI Bill benefits
to family members so the servicemember can remain in the military and still
benefit from the program.’” As Conatser points out, any declines in reenlistment
would be made up for by increases in recruitment.
Rove refuses to testify before Congress about Siegelman case
Former White
House political adviser Karl Rove has declined a request to testify before
Congress about the criminal case against former Gov. Don Siegelman and instead
made a counteroffer to answer questions in writing, Rove's attorney said Monday.
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee had given Rove until Monday to agree
to appear voluntarily, and said they would issue a subpoena if he declined.
Siegelman, a Democrat, has alleged that Rove influenced the federal
investigation that led to his conviction in 2006 on corruption charges.
Court blocked from case: Too many investments
WASHINGTON
- The Supreme Court tossed itself off a big case Monday. The court couldn't take
up an apartheid dispute involving some of the nation's largest companies because
too many of the justices had investments or other ties with those corporate
giants. It appeared to be the first time in at least a quarter-century that the
justices' financial holdings prevented them from taking a case. The result is
that a lawsuit will go forward accusing dozens of corporations of violating
international law by assisting
South Africa's former
apartheid government.
Court will decide case of Va. man on death row
WASHINGTON
- The Supreme Court on Monday granted a temporary reprieve to a death row inmate
in Virginia
to consider whether lower courts correctly weighed his claim that his lawyer did
a poor job of representing him.
Court turns down Chinese man's asylum claim
WASHINGTON
- The Supreme Court rejected an appeal Monday from a Chinese man who sought
asylum in the United
States because his wife was forced to have an abortion under
China's
controversial family planning policy.
Economy & Finance
Bernanke: Financial turmoil in markets easing
WASHINGTON
- Turmoil in financial markets has eased somewhat, but the situation is still
"far from normal," Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday.
Stocks decline after retail sales report, Bernanke speech
NEW YORK
- Wall Street pulled back Tuesday after a report on retail sales and comments
from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke gave investors little incentive to
extend the previous session's big advance.
Retail sales dip for second time in 2 months
WASHINGTON -
Consumers, battling soaring gasoline prices and a slumping economy, cut back
further on their spending in April.
Gas prices jump to record above $3.73 as oil waffles
NEW YORK - Gas
prices shot to a new record over $3.73 a gallon Tuesday, and their advance shows
little sign of slowing with Memorial Day weekend, the traditional start of the
summer driving season, just 10 days away.
Median home prices drop in many cities
WASHINGTON
- Median home prices fell in two-thirds of the cities surveyed during the first
three months of this year, a real estate trade group reported Tuesday.
The Declining American High School Graduation Rate: Evidence, Sources, And
Consequences
The high school graduation rate is a barometer of the health of American society
and the skill level of its future workforce… Therefore, it is surprising and
disturbing that, at a time when the premium for skills has increased and the
return to high school graduation has risen, the high school dropout rate in
America
is increasing. America is becoming a polarized society. Proportionately more
American youth are going to college and graduating than ever before. At the same
time, proportionately more are failing to complete high school.
Expanded Food And Nutrition Program Shows $10 Benefit For Each $1 Spent
ScienceDaily (May
13, 2008) — A program to teach low-income adults about healthy food choices is a
good bargain in terms of the health and economic benefits achieved, reports a
cost-effectiveness study in the May/June issue of Journal of Nutrition Education
and Behavior.
Media & Politics
Permanent link to MTA daily media news
No Rush for Clinton to Go, but it's Still Advantage Obama
Poll Shows 64
Percent of Dems Say
Clinton Should Remain
in the Race
Obama’s Hot Air Balloon (by Pat Racimora at No Quarter)
So far the pins tossed at the Obama Hot Air Balloon have pretty much bounced off. But wait… The Republican attack machine is formidable and already in the sky. The Republican National Committee has a 1,000 page dossier on Obama, and operatives have reportedly been lurking around Chicago looking deeper into Obama’s past actions and his pals who helped push him up the political ladder… Let’s hope the Democrats come up with a better solution as to who their nominee will be while an alternative is still available. Otherwise…well, my cartoon says it better than I can in words.
Curtain Time For Barack Obama - Part I
(by Evelyn Pringle)
Republicans have enough damaging information against Barack Obama to knock him
off the ballot before the November election. Those at the top of the Democratic
Party know this by now and voters need to recognize that if they nominate him
they are throwing the election. Nothing else can explain why they would allow
this disaster to happen.
Click through for
a compendium of the information we know of so far that will be used by
Republicans to scuttle Obama’s candidacy, once he has secured the Democratic
nomination.
The General Election Map
(by Marc Ambinder, The Atlantic)
Here's the first Atlantic Election Map of the cycle based on interviews,
reportage, polling and guesswork...
McCain's base states + his leaners: 245 electoral votes.
Obama's base states + his leaners: 221 electoral votes.
Message to
Ambinder: So you left Clinton out because she's so much more likely to beat
McCain?
Reposted from last Saturday:
Math that matters most…
(by V at No Quarter)
Many
people are asking. “Why isn’t Hillary leaving the race?” Or, “Isn’t the math
prohibitive?” Well, the answer is given quite simply by Karl Rove. Now Karl may
be a lot of things, but he is not stupid and he knows politics and elections.
Unlike Hillary and her surrogates in the Democratic party, he does not have to
say, “either candidate can win the general but Hillary is stronger.” He can tell
the unvarnished version which is that Hillary wins against McCain and Barack
loses. So it’s simple, a vote for Barack in the primary is tantamount to a vote
for McCain in the general.
Click through for
another study that confirms Rove’s analysis.
Electoral-Vote.com, May 10,
2008 (270 needed
to win)
Clinton
280
McCain 258
Tie 0
Obama
254
McCain
273
Tie 11
Click through to
see the maps.
In the Shorts (as it were)
(by ronkseattle at The Confluence)
Clinton a 3-1 favorite versus McCain. Obama a 10-1 underdog.
What If Clinton Forces Second Convention Vote on Obama?
(by Ron Winter at Ronald Winter Books)
A wide range of viewpoints comes into this site or my emails every day, and even
when I disagree with the authors, I heed where they come from and what kind of
demographic they represent. Virtually all of them are angry with Obama. He does
not have the support of the veterans, he does not have the support of the active
military, he doesn't have the support of non-Democrat blue collar workers
especially independents, and what with his latest shot at John McCain's age, you
can bet the senior citizens aren't going to be on his side either. They're
seeing him as just another upstart who wants to discount and discard their years
of sacrifices, contributions and knowledge and shove them off to the side
whenever their votes aren't needed…
I don't believe I am the
only person out here who sees this. I believe Hillary Clinton's camp is well
aware of it, even though her advisers say otherwise, as is Obama's. Neither has
the best interests of the Democratic party in mind, so neither will give up
unless they are down, out and still getting stomped. So it is conceivable that
we can see this fight go right to the convention floor, and regardless of the
delegate count at the moment, it all can change in the super delegate numbers.
That change could occur if the Democratic convention goes beyond the first
ballot.
Well, Ron, Obama
thinks he can make an end run around Clinton by simply declaring himself the
winner.
Obama’s May 20 Bash: A Cynical Replay of Election Night 2000 (with update)
(by GRL at InsightAnalytical)
[L]isten to strategist David Axelrod on
WCCO, the CBS affiliate in Minneapolis, MN the night of the May 8 Indiana
and North Carolina primaries…
He talks about the “inside baseball” of the delegate situation, then pins Clinton with the upcoming “train wreck” which will happen if she stays in the race until the upcoming Rules Committee meeting. Then he gets on his high horse and indignantly proclaims that “the IDEA of Hillary Clinton contesting the validity of Obama’s DECLARATION as the nominee of the Democratic Party is really a near nightmare and for Obama it’s is just a thorn in his side” at a point where he should be focusing McCain. (This after admitting that neither candidate has the delegates to win outright (but he as the “majority” of them, Axelrod rationalizes) and that Obama himself hasn’t sealed the deal because of his own primary loses…
Now, let’s go back to Election Night 2000. This should refresh your memory: “Bush Cousin Calls Presidential Election” …
“By calling the election for his cousin when he did, Ellis proved instrumental in turning Bush’s loss in the popular vote into an apparently righteous struggle to gain the presidency. With a constitutional crisis looming on the horizon, pundits called for Gore, and not Bush, to be a 'patriot' and concede. In a fair count, without shenanigans or election irregularities, the Miami Herald estimated Gore would have won Florida by 23,000 votes. The Bush strategy all along was to prevent a recount and run out the clock — which he succeeded in doing, eventually winning the state and the presidency by a few hundred votes. The strategy only worked because Ellis coronated him the winner.”
If this doesn’t sound like deja vu all over again…. And see how cowardly the Dems were and still are???...
“But by attenuating the
election, the Vice-President is walking a fine line between perseverance and
pigheadedness. The unspoken fear of some congressional Democrats is that if Gore
lingers too long in the land of chad, voters will turn on them in much the same
way they turned on Bill Clinton’s impeachment tormentors in the GOP-controlled
House of Representatives. The backlash could undermine Hill Democrats’ plans for
hog-tying President Bush and gliding to big gains in the 2002 midterm elections.
After all, no one wants to be branded a member of the Sore Loser Party.”
Click through for
a link to video discussing the Obama victory grab.
When Pundits Decide
(by John Amato at Crooks and Liars)
The NY Times caught the same thing that I noticed the night of the Indiana/NC
primary and front paged this story about their absolute hubris. “The moment came
shortly after
midnight Eastern
time, captured in a devastatingly declarative statement from Tim Russert of NBC
News: ‘We now know who the Democratic nominee’s going to be, and no one’s going
to dispute it,’ he said on MSNBC.”
Lest we forget…..
(by garychapelhill at The Confluence)
It’s all about them you see. “Mrs Clinton would be a very good story. Though
truth be told the
Clinton people have
been quite outstandingly good at alienating reporters…” If she had only been a
little bit nicer to the press. Can’t you all see that it is not their duty to
bring us the news, it is Sen. Clinton’s duty to be nice to them?
Obama in Ky. makes it clear he's moved on to November
LOUISVILLE — The
week before Kentucky’s Democratic presidential primary, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama
gave a general election speech that hit at likely GOP nominee John McCain while
also laying out policy goals and emphasizing the campaign’s theme of change.
Obama keeps on repudiating boomers
(by Jonathan Martin at Politico)
But now with a general election twist. Making a token appearance today in
veteran-heavy West Virginia, Obama will say this at a rally: “One of the saddest
episodes in our history was the degree to which returning vets from Vietnam were
shunned, demonized and neglected by some because they served in an unpopular
war. Too many of those who opposed the war in
Vietnam chose to blame not
only the leaders who ordered the mission, but the young men who simply answered
their country’s call. Four decades later, the sting of that injustice is a wound
that has never fully healed, and one that should never be repeated.” Not only is
Obama underlining his generational distance from the boomers, but he's also
reaching out to swing voters with a back of the hand at the cultural left.
So maybe he
thinks he can win over the Ron Winters of the world (see above) by saying things
like this, but how is this going to create any unity? Forty years later the
wounds of Vietnam are still raw, so the candidate of Unity pours salt on them?
Divisiveness, thy name is Obama.
Obama sporting flag pin as he campaigns in W. Virginia
WASHINGTON —
Barack Obama, who labeled discussion of whether he wears a flag pin in his lapel
a false issue in a debate with Hillary Clinton, was wearing one Monday as he
campaigned in West
Virginia ahead of
Tuesday's primary vote there.
Does anyone have
a photo?
Obama & The 48 Laws of Power
(by Mel at No Quarter)
Law 1 Never Outshine the Master
Always claiming to be the underdog!
Law 2 Never put too Much Trust in Friends, Learn how to use Enemies
Obama in his own books always claimed himself to be a loner!
Law 3 Conceal your Intentions
Never talking on specifics, just things like “Hope, Change and Dreams”
Law 4 Always Say Less than Necessary
As exibited in every debate when confronted from Rezko to Wright to Ayers!...
Basic bottom line:
Obama and Axelrod have conned you and the Media by following rules that deceive
you!
Sounds like the
teachings of
Leo Strauss, father of the neocons, who advocated fooling the stupid masses
with myths that make them feel good. Click through to read the rest of the
laws.
How A Candidate-Based "Movement" Can Be Harmful
(by Big Tent Democrat at TalkLeft)
Chris Bowers notices: “The moment when dislike of Hillary Clinton is combined
with calls for Democrats to compromise in the manner of Jim Cooper [Obama’s
health care advisor, a Democrat who scuttled health care reform in the early
90s], and it is all justified by citing David Brooks, is a moment when I really
fear for the internal logic of some Barack Obama support. It is the moment when
I fear we all become practioners of High Broderism: mean, left-wing Democrats,
especially Hillary Clinton, are holding up reasonable compromises on Social
Security, Iraq, FISA, torture, bankruptcy protection, global warming, etc. It is
an argument I heard for years from the national media, long before the primary
campaign began. To now be hearing it in the top recommended dairy at Daily Kos
bothers me quite a bit.”… Now he notices?... It's too late now. The Netroots
gave in to Obama's triangulation long ago. That is what happens when the
candidate is more important than the issues.
Obama to Supers: Give Me the Nomination or Else
(by Michael Begala at MyDD)
Though he's actually trying his level best to stay in step with the media herd
riding Hillary Clinton into the ground, Jonathan Alter unwittingly dropped this
interesting tidbit in the May 19 issue of Newsweek. "For all the talk of
numbers, there's one that will be most important for superdelegates: 1.5
million. That reflects the 1.5 million names of donors that the Obama campaign
has on file. Because no contribution below $200 is publicly reported, the vast
majority of those names are in Obama's exclusive possession, to be shared as he
wishes…” You read it right. This, in effect, is threatening to cripple the
fundraising ability of the Democratic party if Obama is not given the
nomination. He is telling superdelegates, "give me the nomination or risk losing
your office for lack of campaign funds." The unmitigated gall of this man.
Threatening to weaken the party and cost the Democrats offices, all if he
doesn't get the nomination he feels so entitled to.
Strong Majority Of African Americans Want Unity Ticket
(by Big Tent Democrat at TalkLeft)
This is a wonderful finding from an ABC/WaPo poll: “Clinton continues as the
preferred choice as Obama's running mate, with 39 percent of Democrats saying
they'd like him to pick her if he's the nominee. That peaks at 59 percent of
African-Americans, 47 percent of Clinton supporters and 42 percent of women (vs.
34 percent of men). There's also an indication that Clinton on the ticket would
be a slight net plus in the general election…” It turns out that the only people
against a Unity Ticket are Ted Kennedy, Mark Cohen and Creative Class bloggers.
Obama's strong African American base want unity as do Clinton supporters. The
divisive ones are people like Kennedy, Cohen and the Creative Class bloggers. I
must admit I feel vindicated by this finding.
Surely, this can
only mean that a majority of African Americans don’t believe in the racist crap
the Obama campaign has thrown at the Clintons. It’s amazing what the Obamamedia
will fall for.
The Irony (by
Big Tent Democrat at TalkLeft)
John Edwards was just on Larry King and let me tell you I am so impressed with
the way he is handling himself. Here is a Democrat that realizes how important
having a unified Democratic Party is for November. He has been gracious and
complimentary to both candidates. Just what all the Party Elders should be
doing. But Edwards said something that really struck me - Hillary Clinton has
become a terrific candidate, just about the time that her chances for winning
the nomination are dimming. The irony hurts, especially for
Clinton supporters I
imagine. A candidate is responsible for his or her campaign of course and
Hillary Clinton is responsible for hiring Mark Penn, clearly her biggest
mistake. But there can be no doubt that Hillary Clinton is now a terrific
candidate, much better than I ever imagined she could be.
South Dakota for Hillary Announces Endorsement of 41 Former State Legislators
and Constitutional Officers
(Hillary for President)
The Clinton campaign today announced the endorsement of 41 former
South Dakota state
legislators and constitutional officers. These officials, with over 330 years of
combined experience in public service to the state of South Dakota, endorsed
Hillary because of her readiness to serve on day one and her plans to jumpstart
the economy and help consumers struggling with rising gas prices. "After seven
years of an Administration that favored the special interests at every turn,
South Dakotans need a President who will stand with them," said former State
Representative Al Waltman. "Hillary Clinton has real solutions to our economic
problems, to skyrocketing energy prices and to ending the war in Iraq, and she
has the experience and resolve to make those plans a reality. Hillary is the
candidate who can beat John McCain in the fall and start turning this country
around on day one in the White House."
11-year-old gives $440 to Clinton campaign
(thanks to TeresaInPa at
MyDD)
When [11-year-old Dalton] Hatfield presented former President Bill Clinton with
a check for $440 after Friday's rally at the Williamson Fire Station, the man
who was once the leader of the free world seemed to nearly come to tears. "You
sold your bike to get this?"
Clinton asked the McAndrews,
Ky. native. The reply was "yes" and a whole lot more. Hatfield feels so strongly
that Hillary Clinton should be the next president he not only sold his bicycle,
but video games and anything else he could find that "I could make money with"
to donate to the former first lady's bid for the Democratic nomination…
And the reason
he's such a staunch Hillary supporter? "I think she can do just like Bill
Clinton did in the '90s and we can have a good economy," he says. "I think the
majority of people around here are struggling due to the economy. And she can
get us out of the war."
EXCLUSIVE: Military analysts named in Times exposé appeared or were quoted more
than 4,500 times on broadcast nets, cables, NPR
(Media Mattes)
On the heels of an April 20 New York Times investigative report exposing the
hidden relationship between media military analysts and the Pentagon and defense
industries, Media Matters for America today exclusively released an accounting
of the analysts identified in the Times exposé and their more than 4,500
appearances and quotations on ABC, ABC News Now, CBS, CBS Radio Network, NBC,
MSNBC, CNBC, CNN, CNN Headline News, Fox News, and NPR. The release documents
just how far and wide the Pentagon program reached.
Media Matters for America headlines
• Imus corrected Dietl's slur against Arabs: "It's, uh, 'camel humpers' "
• Drudge highlighted Financial Times quote echoing false rumor about Obama's religion
GOP to attach telecom immunity to media shield law?
(Think Progress)
Since February, when House Democrats refused to vote on a Senate Intelligence
bill that included retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies,
conservatives have been seeking to force the vote any way they can. Now,
according right-wing insider Jeb Babbin, House Republicans may try to tie
immunity legislation to a media shield law bill.
Gen Hood's withdrawal leaves red faces at Pentagon
There are quite a
few red faces at the Pentagon this week since it became known that the
controversial Maj Gen Jay W Hood the "commissar" of the Guantanamo detention
colony, which lies beyond the jurisdiction of American courts, was being
withdrawn as the senior military official based in Pakistan. The credit for the
cancellation to Gen Hood’s ill-considered appointment goes to the Pakistani
print and electronic media, which decried the appointment and demanded that it
be cancelled.
Egypt blocks opposition website
CAIRO (AFP) - An
Egyptian government-owned Internet service provider has blocked the website of a
leading opposition movement, a rights group said Monday, in the latest crackdown
on the country's cyber dissidents.
"I've always mistrusted that phrase 'the reader wants'"
"How do we know
exactly what the reader wants?" asks ex-New York Times executive editor Joseph
Lelyveld. "I think you should give the reader a fresh and original paper that's
very well-written and covers all sorts of things -- social trends, fashion, the
works but I think you are at your best when you give the reader something the
reader wants that the reader didn't know he or she wanted it till you gave it to
her."
This is getting personal
(by Jonathan Maitland, The Guardian)
To don a cowboy hat or not to don a cowboy hat? That is the question. Ever since
Jeremy Vine's much talked-about attempt to brighten up the BBC's local election
coverage by "Going Texan" - by adopting not just the headgear but the accent -
we have spoken of little else in the Tonight office. I found the whole thing
fascinating, as it raises - apologies if I sound pretentious - one of the Big
Existential Questions of broadcast reporting: to what extent should reporters
put themselves at the centre of the story?
News outlets should bill those who benefit from "near-news"
Edward Wasserman asks: Where will news media find their next durable source of
subsidy? He suggests papers start start charging for self-serving content --
town-council actions rendered as news reports, and barely rewritten company
press releases, for example -- and label it for what it is. "Let those who
benefit pay, and free up reporters for journalism."
Tribune signs deal to sell Newsday to Cablevision for $650M
The agreement
calls for the creation of a joint venture in which Cablevision owns 97% of
Newsday, with Tribune retaining the remaining 3%. Cablevision will pay Tribune
$612 million in cash and $18 million in rent payments for Newsday properties
that Tribune will continue to own.
'Newsday' Sale Not Enough To Plug Tribune Debt
(Editor & Publisher)
Tribune Co.'s $650 million sale of Newsday Monday gives the Chicago media giant
some breathing room on its $12.8 billion in debt -- but not much more.
Christian Science Monitor mulls weekly publishing schedule
Monitor insiders
say a prototype of a weekly edition is underway and that the long-term goal
could be to eventually phase out the daily paper, reports Don Aucoin. "Under
this scenario," he writes, "daily news operations would move to the Monitor's
website, which is heavily trafficked and considered successful." Aucoin notes
that the notion of the Monitor becoming a weekly paper has been floated for
years.
Thomson Reuters and RIM Launch $150 Million Mobile App Fund
(Paid Content)
In a strange but logical pairing, RIM, the makers of Blackberry, along with
media giant Thomson Reuters, is launching a $150 million venture capital fund
that would invest in mobile applications and services for the BlackBerry
platform and other mobile platforms. Canadian VC firms JLA Ventures and RBC
Venture Partners will co-manage the fund...both RIM and Thomson are Canadian
companies as well. This comes after Apple announced its $100 million iFund
dedicated to applications for the iPhone and iPod touch platforms a few weeks
ago.
Magazine Publishes 100-Percent User-Generated Issue
(by Dylan Steinberg, Folio)
For its June issue, Budget Travel has allowed its readers to generate all of the
text and photography—only the “40 Best Deals” section was written by staffers.
The magazine solicited some 2,800 pitches from readers, according to editor Erik
Torkells. In the end, he says, there were 324 contributors for the issue. A
piece called “50 Reasons You Love New York” elicited 500 submissions alone.
“Let’s be perfectly clear,” Torkells wrote in a blog post for FOLIO:. “Making
this issue was neither cheap nor easy.” The magazine paid “normal fees” to its
contributors, Torkells says, as well as travel expenses for
companions—“something we don’t do for professional writers.”
So Arianna, when
are you going to start paying your contributors?
Clear Channel Sale Appears to Be Close
After a year of trouble and courtroom battles, two private equity firms looking
to buy Clear Channel were close to settling with the banks financing the deal.
Clear Channel Expands Online Activities, May Include Pandora: Report
(Paid Content)
While the effort to take Clear Channel private hangs in the balance, the radio
network has an online expansion wave in the works—possibly including customized
radio. Billboard reports that Clear Channel is negotiating with Pandora to offer
its service across all of the company's properties… Clear Channel launched its
first national player—erockster—at Coachella. It's also added Gracenote's lyric
service. And users will be able to install widgets for streaming a station from
social networking profiles.
Losses at XM and Sirius as They Pursue a Merger
Sirius Satellite
Radio and XM Satellite Radio, the pay radio stations that are seeking to merge,
both reported solid gains in subscribers on Monday although both also posted
quarterly losses.
An NBC Goodbye for Leno After ‘Tonight’?
Ben Silverman,
the co-chairman of NBC Entertainment, acknowledged that the changing late-night
landscape at the network would probably mean that Jay Leno would leave it.
Infinite Mind producer answers Slate's shilling docs charge
The authors of a
Slate piece titled "Stealth Marketers" wondered if doctors were shilling for
drug companies on an episode of The Infinite Mind called "Prozac Nation:
Revisited" on public radio. "We stand by the program and its editorial content,"
says show producer Bill Lichtenstein. "To suggest that distinguished researchers
such [the doctors who appeared on the show] are shills for the drug industry is
bad journalism."
Fox News fires staffer for McCain-will-win remark at party
Fox News production assistant Jennifer Locke told John McCain at last night's
Time 100 party that "I voted for you in the primary, you're going to win."
Locke, whose remark was recorded on videotape, no longer works for the network.
HBO Shows May Sell on iTunes, for $1.99+
The higher
pricing for some HBO shows is a departure for Apple which for years has insisted
on standard pricing for digital downloads, at $1.99.
NBCU Set To Release Health-Related Online Video Net
(Paid Content)
As expected, NBC Universal has finally made its foray into online wellness with
the release of its Digital Health Network, which is mainly focused on the
distribution of original video. The health video channel was planned for several
months—we were expecting an announcement as early as March. The network will be
up and running in June.
Yahoo! And Politico To Host Internet's First-Ever On-Camera Interview With
President George W. Bush
Exclusive Interview with the President to Be Conducted by Veteran Political
Correspondent Mike Allen
Google Wants to Help Web Sites Make New Friends
Google Friend
Connect lets small Web sites offer social networking features by tapping into
the existing systems run by AOL, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and others.
Social Networks And Profitability: Facebook, MySpace Look Beyond Ads
(Paid Content)
Much has been made about Facebook's $15 billion valuation, but when will it
start making some actual profits? Mike Murphy, the social net's VP of media
sales, tells USAT that's the question he gets asked most often. The short
answer: the ad dollars will soon be pouring in from the social net's long list
of marketing partners. But, as Bill Eager, co-founder of marketing solutions
provider bSocial Networks, admonishes, "You can't have a $15 billion market
valuation based on advertising alone." Some suggest that social nets round out
advertising with premium subscriptions - as MySpace is considering - or
licensing agreements.
Microsoft Partners with RIM to Integrate Windows Live on Blackberry
(Mashable)
BlackBerry maker RIM (Research in Motion) and Microsoft … announced [Monday] a
partnership that will bring BlackBerry owners easy access to Windows Live
services - most especially Windows Live Messenger and Windows Live Hotmail.
Microsoft purports that this deal will enable BlackBerry users “an enhanced
level of integration” by employing the benefits of “push” technology as well as
online sync to manage both inbox and outbox activities to bring convenient
near-real-time communications to a potential user pool of some 250 million
existing Live Hotmail users.
Technology & Science
Microsoft's WorldWide Telescope blasts off
SEATTLE -
Microsoft Corp. launched its WorldWide Telescope late Monday, bringing the free
Web-based program for zooming around the universe to a broad audience.
HP has eye on IBM as it discusses EDS acquisition
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Having seized the lead in personal computer sales
worldwide, Hewlett-Packard Co. is stalking the technology services market for
its next conquest. In what could turn into its biggest deal in six years, HP
hopes to buy Electronic Data Systems Corp., which pioneered the concept of
running data centers and providing other high-tech help for large companies and
government agencies.
Remember, EDS was
founded by H. Ross Perot. He became a billionaire by way of government
contracts, and then ran a presidential campaign on how terrible government is.
Genetically modified human embryo stirs criticism
NEW YORK
(AP) - News that scientists have for the first time genetically altered a human
embryo is drawing fire from some watchdog groups that say it's a step toward
creating "designer babies." But an author of the study says the work was focused
on stem cells.
Medical Research Should Include More Women Participants And Examine The Role Of
Gender In Disease, Researchers Urge
ScienceDaily (May
13, 2008) — Are the health needs of women adequately addressed by medical
research as it is currently conducted? In the May issue of Mayo Clinic
Proceedings, a team of Australian researchers and two cardiologists closely
examine this question.
Both Boys And Girls Negatively Affected By Sexual Harassment
ScienceDaily (May
13, 2008) — A new study in Psychology of Women Quarterly explored the outcomes
of sexual harassment on both boys and girls. While girls were harassed more
frequently, boys were indirectly yet negatively affected through a school
climate that tolerates the harassment of girls.
Nagging texts help teens remember to take meds
4gt yr meds? Getting kids to remember their medicine may be a text message away.
Why just for
teens?
Breast-feeding Might Shield Women From Rheumatoid Arthritis
Childbearing had
no such benefit if baby was bottle-fed, researchers noted
Beta Blockers Raise Stroke, Death Risk After Surgery
Experts note
doses of the blood-pressure drugs given in the study were probably too high.
Physical Activity More Likely To Prevent Breast Cancer In Certain Groups
ScienceDaily (May
13, 2008) — Physically active women are 25 per cent less likely to get breast
cancer, but certain groups are more likely to see these benefits than others,
finds a review of research published online ahead of print in the British
Journal of Sports Medicine.
Celebrex, Naproxen Won't Prevent Mental Decline
New findings
suggest daily use of naproxen might even harm cognitive function.
Hot Climate Could Shut Down Plate Tectonics
ScienceDaily (May
13, 2008) — A new study of possible links between climate and geophysics on
Earth and similar planets finds that prolonged heating of the atmosphere can
shut down plate tectonics and cause a planet's crust to become locked in place.
Mars landing May 25 will kick off a year of space missions
WASHINGTON —
Despite a painful budget squeeze, the United States will undertake a jampacked
array of new astronomy missions over the next 12 months.
A Molecular Thermometer For The Distant Universe
ScienceDaily (May
13, 2008) — Astronomers have made use of ESO's Very Large Telescope to detect
for the first time in the ultraviolet the carbon monoxide molecule in a galaxy
located almost 11 billion light-years away, a feat that had remained elusive for
25 years. This detection allows them to obtain the most precise measurement of
the cosmic temperature at such a remote epoch.
Environment
Democratic candidates play up "clean coal"
Both Hillary
Clinton and Barack Obama are talking more about "clean coal" and less about
global warming as they woo voters in West Virginia and Kentucky -- two states
that sit at the heart of the nation's coal economy. In a bid to draw voters
ahead of Democratic primaries in West Virginia on Tuesday and Kentucky on May
20, both candidates are playing up the ascendant role of commercially untested
and so far economically nonviable ways of converting America's plentiful coal
supplies into electricity without spewing massive quantities of heat-trapping
greenhouse gases.
Solving the Energy, Climate & Food Crisis: Why We Should Support the
Revitalization of Small Farms in the Global South
The Via Campesina has long argued that farmers need land to produce food for
their own communities and for their country and for this reason has advocated
for genuine agrarian reforms to access and control land, water, agrobiodiversity,
etc, which are of central importance for communities to be able to meet growing
food demands. The Via Campesina believes that in order to protect livelihoods,
jobs, people's food security and health, as well as the environment, food
production has to remain in the hands of small-scale sustainable farmers and
cannot be left under the control of large agribusiness companies or supermarket
chains.
Put The Trees In The Ground: A Fix For The Global Carbon Dioxide Problem?
ScienceDaily (May
13, 2008) — Of the current global environmental problems, the excessive release
of carbon dioxide from the combustion of fossil fuels and the related global
warming is one of the most pressing. In an essay in the journal ChemSusChem ,
Fritz Scholz and Ulrich Hasse from the University of Greifswald introduce a
possible approach to a solution: deliberately planted forests bind the CO2
through photosynthesis and are then removed from the global CO2 cycle by burial.
"For the first time, humankind will give something back to nature that we have
taken away before," says Scholz.
U.S.: Wind could meet 20% of electricity needs
An Energy
Department report concludes that wind turbines can produce a fifth of the
nation's annual electricity needs within about two decades. That is about the
same share of electricity produced today by nuclear power.
Norway island stores wind power for still days
UTSIRA, Norway (AFP)
- How to keep the lights on when all is still and the local windmill won't
budge? A small Norwegian island testing a way to store wind-generated energy for
calm days may have found the answer. The tiny, windswept island of Utsira,
situated off Norway's southwestern coast, is home to what is said to be the
world's first full-scale system for cleanly transforming surplus wind power into
hydrogen.
After years of confrontation, green groups and companies finding common ground
Corporate America
and major green groups are starting to build ties as companies see the benefit
of getting ahead of a trend toward environmental responsibility. While
partnerships have been emerging case-by-case, environmentalists are starting to
ramp up their efforts to target money mangers and investors in an attempt to
change how corporations do businesses.
UPS to Boost Alt-Fuel Fleet by 30 Percent with New Trucks
ATLANTA, Ga. --
With the purchase of 500 new vehicles, the company will continue to grow its
alt-fuel fleet, already the largest private fleet in the industry.
Can Your Green Company Get Big and Stay Real?
Seth Goldman, the
founder of Honest Tea, says his deal with Coke is not just part of being true to
his mission, but the only way for socially responsible companies to have a real
impact on society.
Database of Green Grants for U.K. Businesses Launched
OAKLAND, Calif.
-- The Green Grants Machine has compiled a database of U.K. environmental grants
for businesses, offering all the grant information for free.
Pandas safe at famous park after China quake: report
BEIJING (AFP) -
More than 80 giant pandas at China's most famous panda park, the Wolong centre,
were safe and well following a huge earthquake that struck the area, state press
said Tuesday.
