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Morning headlines brought to you by Carolyn Kay MakeThemAccountable.com Top StoryBush refuses to waver on Iraq troop plan
WASHINGTON - President Bush concedes he isn't popular, and that the war in Iraq isn't either. Yes, progress is overdue and patience is all but gone. Yet none of that changes his view that more U.S. troops are needed to win in Iraq. Distressed American
The WorldSaddam half brother, ex-official hanged
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Saddam Hussein's half brother and the former head of Iraq's Revolutionary Court were hanged before dawn Monday, two weeks and two days after the former Iraqi dictator was executed in a chaotic scene that has drawn worldwide criticism.
U.S. and Iraqis Are Wrangling Over War Plans
The presidents new plan faces some of its fiercest resistance from the people it depends on for success: Iraqi government officials.
Rice asks Arab allies to back Bush plan
JERUSALEM - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice asked Arab allies to help support the fragile government in Iraq, on whose success much of President Bush's new plan to turn the war around will depend.
A once mighty nation is reduced to begging. Thanks, neocons. Thanks, George Bush. Thanks, Condi. —Caro
Rebuilding Teams Would Swell Under Bush’s New Iraq Plan
The United States intends to more than double the number of teams carrying out rebuilding and governance projects in Iraq.
Are they the same kind of inexperienced kids who have been sent before, and who let billions of dollars slip through their fingers? —Caro
Iran leader courts Latin America allies
MANAGUA, Nicaragua - Iran's hardline president, touring Latin America in search of an alliance of "revolutionary countries," said the U.S. is trying to hide its failures in Iraq by accusing his nation of funding insurgents there.
Iran Guard says U.S., Britain, Israel "axis of evil"
TEHRAN (Reuters) - The commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Sunday the United States, Britain and Israel were an "axis of evil" trying to drive a wedge between Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims.
Israel seeking builders for West Bank
JERUSALEM - The government on Monday published plans to build 44 homes in Israel's largest West Bank settlement, violating a pledge to the United States as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was in the region on a peace-seeking mission.
2,000 rally to condemn Pakistan gov't
CHAMAN, Pakistan - About 2,000 ethnic Pashtun tribesmen rallied in this Pakistani border town near Afghanistan on Monday to condemn the Pakistani government for new border control measures.
Bangladesh Halts Elections, Arrests 2,500
Bangladeshi police and soldiers arrested more than 2,500 people and raided the homes of several political leaders after a new caretaker government was sworn in to quell deadly unrest ahead of elections.
Asian leaders move on trade, energy
CEBU, Philippines (AFP) - Asian leaders have agreed to push for freer trade and more secure energy supplies across the region, wrapping up a week of high-level diplomacy on everything from terrorism to North Korea.
Australia bans Japanese whalers from its ports
SYDNEY (AFP) - Japanese whaling ships on their annual hunt in the Antarctic are banned from docking in Australia and should use restraint in looming clashes with protesters, Canberra has said.
Mexican leader says he's provided peace
MEXICO CITY - Mexico's president defended his decision to fight crime with the military and insisted that the country has experienced "more peace and certainty" during his first 45 days in office.
Leftist assuming presidency in Ecuador
QUITO, Ecuador - Leftist Rafael Correa is promising to battle Ecuador's widely discredited political establishment after taking office Monday in a ceremony that is drawing some of Washington's fiercest critics.
Guatemalan leader refuses to read speech
GUATEMALA CITY - Guatemala's president declined to read his state-of-the nation speech to Congress, instead sending a written version to lawmakers after violent clashes erupted between protesting teachers and police outside the legislative building.
Bolivia protesters pressure governor
COCHABAMBA, Bolivia - Demonstrators loyal to President Evo Morales continued their weeklong vigil in this central Bolivian city on Sunday, calling for the opposition-aligned state governor to resign for backing a movement to give the country's nine states greater autonomy.
Troops search for weapons in Somalia
MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somali troops and allied Ethiopian soldiers conducted house-to-house searches early Monday, pursuing gunmen who carried out an attack in the northeastern part of the city, residents said. The NationBush: War skeptics 'proposing nothing'
WASHINGTON - President Bush on Saturday challenged lawmakers skeptical of his new Iraq plan to propose their own strategy for stopping the violence in Baghdad. "To oppose everything while proposing nothing is irresponsible," Bush said.
This is a lie. The Democrats HAVE made proposals. Bush still concentrates on the people he can fool all of the time. —Caro
Army's Ex-Vice Chief of Staff Knew When He Stepped Down in '03 That 'We Were in Deep S---'
Gen. Jack Keane, former Army vice chief of staff, was stepping down just as the insurgency in Iraq started in late spring 2003. "I went to Iraq in June, looked at it and I knew we were in deep s---," Keane tells Newsweek. "I was going out the door. I felt frustrated. Frustrated with the situation, frustrated with myself and everything else. And somewhat guilty because I knew how ill prepared the Army was to deal with it." But Keane gave no public warnings.
Proposal would cut back on Medicaid spending
Many rural hospitals and nursing homes would get fewer federal dollars under a proposal to save Medicaid almost $4 billion over the next five years. The change would have "a significant economic impact on a substantial number" of health care providers, the Bush administration acknowledges.
Park Service to seek new money sources
WASHINGTON - The National Park Service's new director says the agency will increasingly look to outside sources for money to help maintain parks.
How about a big ExxonMobil sign on a wall of the Grand Canyon? Will that finally wake us up and make us realize that we have to pay for our monuments and wilderness areas? —Caro
Cheney: Credit checks aren't illegal
Vice President Dick Cheney said Sunday the Pentagon and CIA are not violating people's rights by examining the banking and credit records of hundreds of Americans and others suspected of terrorism or espionage in the United States.
FEMA deputy during Katrina now at NASA
WASHINGTON - The second-in-command for the Federal Emergency Management Agency during its much-criticized response to Hurricane Katrina started a senior job at NASA this week.
Major farm bill divides lawmakers, Bush
WASHINGTON - Lawmakers begin work on a new multibillion-dollar farm bill at odds with President Bush over whether big changes really are needed.
Doolittle to hire outside fundraiser
WASHINGTON - GOP Rep. John Doolittle of California said Friday he will no longer employ his wife as his campaign fundraiser, a practice that gave his household a 15 percent cut of all donations.
Think about that, friends. If fundraisers take 15% of campaign donations, and most of the funds raised are spent on media buys, and the consultants who place media buys get 15% of that money, doesn’t that mean that something approaching 30% of the money raised in traditional ways for political campaigns goes to consultants? No wonder the consultants hate the internet. —Caro
Supreme Court accepts Philip Morris case
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court agreed Friday to consider whether tobacco companies can be protected from state court judgments since cigarettes are regulated by the federal government. Economy & BusinessEconomists upgrade US outlook after surprisingly strong data
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Economists are hastily upgrading their forecasts for the US economy after a series of surprisingly strong reports suggesting the so-called "soft landing" may be over and growth is accelerating.
Retail sales stronger than expected in December
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. retail sales were surprisingly strong last month as consumers snapped up large-screen TVs and other electronic products, a sign of economic resilience that poured cold water on the idea of interest rates dropping any time soon.
Cell phone subsidies enrich telecoms
SAN FRANCISCO - Cellular subscribers are paying hundreds of millions of dollars each year to subsidize landline telephone service, enriching big telecommunications companies while providing little or no benefit to cell phone users.
Enthusiasm for globalization ebbs
At home and abroad, globalization is under increasing stress. From Venezuela, where President Hugo Chavez announced plans last week to nationalize critical industries, to Thailand, which has imposed new controls on foreign capital, countries are embracing long-discredited economic strategies. MediaOn MLK Day: Echoes of Vietnam -- and King's Famous Speech
Since President Bush's "surge" speech last week, links between the Vietnam and Iraq wars have appeared often in the press. Almost 40 years ago, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. found the courage -- against much opposition -- to oppose his president and demand the "madness must cease."
McClatchy Report: Are Americans Getting Truth on Iraq?
President Bush and his aides, explaining their reasons for sending more American troops to Iraq, are offering an incomplete, oversimplified and possibly untrue version of events there that raises new questions about the accuracy of the administration's statements about Iraq.
The Iraq Gamble
We selected the four pundits who were in our judgment the most influentially and disturbingly misguided in their pro-war arguments and the four who were most prescient and forceful in their opposition. (Because conservative pundits generally acted as a well-coordinated bloc, more or less interchangeable, all four of our hawks are moderates or liberals who might have been important opponents of the war—so, sadly, we are not able to revisit Brooks's eloquent and thoroughly meritless prognostications.) Then we did a career check ... and found that something is rotten in the fourth estate.
A Tough Question for the U.S. Press
The curator of the Nieman Foundation notes the "striking contrast" between British reporters' "lively exchanges" with government officials "highlighted by sharp questions," and U.S. TV interviewers' "absence of spirited inquiry."
That will change as bloggers get access to press conferences. —Caro
Two seats at Libby's trial will be reserved for bloggers
The trial of Lewis "Scooter" Libby could "catalyze" the Media Bloggers Association's efforts to win respect and access for bloggers in federal and state courthouses, says president Robert Cox.
Brave New World of Online Politics
The Macaca Moment was just a precursor of what we can expect to see in online coverage of the 2008 presidential election. That campaign is "totally going to be on steroids this time in terms of what a candidate can do," said Joe Trippi
BBC's Shields named managing editor at Huffington Post
Elinor Shields, who worked for Time Europe before joining the BBC three years ago, will be responsible for overseeing Huffington Post's day-to-day editorial operations including original reporting, says a press release.
The Huffington Post is becoming just like a regular newspaper, except that Arianna doesn’t have printing and delivery costs, and she doesn’t pay her contributors. —Caro
Fast Updates Enhance Wikipedia's Credibility
Wikipedia has received ample criticism in the past, especially in journalistic circles. However, Rottman -- a journalist who also teaches research journalism -- explains in his weblog that "at least in terms of languages, updates and free access, Wikipedia is still the best source." Science & TechnologyAT&T to offer $20 'naked' DSL service
Cheaper high-speed Internet service is coming. Within a few months, AT&T is expected to start charging $19.95 a month for "naked" DSL, meaning you don't have to buy any other AT&T service, including phone, to get that rate. It currently charges $45 for a stand-alone broadband subscription.
Want To Buy a $100 Linux Laptop?
The nonprofit group that hopes to bring inexpensive laptops to poor kids around the world is now considering the possibility of allowing the $100 machines to be purchased by the general public.
Imagine the combination of a $100 laptop with $19.95 per month DSL (DSL modem required), which can include $14.95 per year telephone service (some equipment needed). Almost anybody can be wired when that happens. —Caro
Online astronomers seek out new worlds
LOS ANGELES - Amateur astronomer William Bianco doesn't huddle over a backyard telescope to hunt for undiscovered planets. He logs onto his computer.
Use of virtual reality spreading in business world
Long a darling of the military, aviation and video-game industries, virtual reality is being embraced by more businesses as the falling cost of computer power makes it more affordable. Manufacturers of farm equipment, car seats, mufflers and other products have joined automakers and aircraft manufacturers in using the technology to speed up and improve product design, train workers and configure factories and stores.
Homicide Rates Higher in States with More Guns at Home
Guns are used to kill two out of every three homicide victims in the United States, and new research shows that easy-access guns in the home make a difference. Homicide rates are highest in states where more households have guns, the national survey concludes. The finding held even after taking into account socioeconomic status and gender.
Bilingualism delays onset of dementia
OTTAWA (Reuters) - People who are fully bilingual and speak both languages every day for most of their lives can delay the onset of dementia by up to four years compared with those who only know one language, Canadian scientists said on Friday.
Sound Pulses Exceed Speed of Light
A group of high school and college teachers and students has transmitted sound pulses faster than light travels—at least according to one understanding of the speed of light. The results conform to Einstein's theory of relativity, so don't expect this research to lead to sound-propelled spaceships that fly faster than light. Still, the work could help spur research that boosts the speed of electrical and other signals higher than before. |
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