|
Today’s headlines brought to you by Carolyn Kay MakeThemAccountable.com Top StoryCould US, Iran Stumble Into War?
Just how close might a military confrontation between Iran and the United States be? Though a war of words eased a bit recently, President Bush's strong Iran warnings during his just completed Mideast trip, coupled with a ship standoff, are raising fears that a small incident could someday spiral -- even by accident -- into a real fight.
Accident. Right. Stumble. Uh huh.—Caro Dees Illustration
The WorldSuicide Bombing Kills 11 in Iraq
A suicide bomber attacked a mosque in violent Diyala province northeast of Baghdad on Thursday, killing 11 people and wounding 15 as worshippers were beating their chests in observance of Shiite Islam's holiest holiday.
Opium fields spread across Iraq as farmers try to make ends meet
The cultivation of opium poppies whose product is turned into heroin is spreading rapidly across Iraq as farmers find they can no longer make a living through growing traditional crops. Afghan(s) with experience in planting poppies have been helping farmers switch to producing opium in fertile parts of Diyala province, once famous for its oranges and pomegranates, north- east of Baghdad.
Israel locks down Gaza
Israel locked down the Gaza Strip on Thursday, the same day its air strikes killed seven Palestinians there in a bid to halt near daily rocket fire and as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed to keep up raids on gunmen in the impoverished Hamas-run territory.
Israel successfully tests new rocket system
Israel's security establishment held a successful rocket systems test at the Palmachim Air Force Base Thursday, adding a propulsion system to a test-missile in order to review its operation. "The IDF has conducted a rocket propulsion test at Palmachim as part of its missile development program," the defense establishment said.
Israel: All 'on table' to halt Iran nukes
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Monday that "all options" were open to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, suggesting that Israel was prepared to use military force if it deemed it necessary against Tehran's nuclear program.
Iran receives nuke fuel
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran received a third shipment of nuclear fuel from Russia on Friday for a power plant being constructed in the southern port of Bushehr, state radio reported.
China and India Try to Make Up
Analysis: A meeting between the two Asian superpowers tries to forge a new spirit of goodwill. But can their economic interests overcome decades of geopolitical hostility?
No improvement in N.Korea human rights: UN official
TOKYO (Reuters) - North Korea continues to violate human rights systematically by torturing, publicly prosecuting and oppressing its citizens, a United Nations envoy for human rights in the communist state said on Friday. "There are many grave negative situations," Vitit Muntarbhorn, a U.N. special rapporteur, told reporters in Tokyo.
East Timor at risk of renewed violence
DILI, East Timor - East Timor risks lapsing into civil conflict if divisions between police and army forces are not resolved, a security watchdog cautioned Friday, calling on the government and United Nations to act quickly.
Kenya opposition vows strikes, boycotts
NAIROBI, Kenya - Their protests weakened by a harsh police crackdown, Kenya's opposition said Friday it would turn to economic boycotts and strikes to keep up pressure against President Mwai Kibaki over his disputed re-election. The NationUS sees slow, steady Iraq troop decline
WASHINGTON - As security conditions improve in Iraq, the U.S. should be able to reduce forces at a slow but consistent pace beyond this summer, but air support and ground troops likely will be needed for five to 10 years, a top military commander said Thursday.
U.S. to Transfer 4,200 Humvees to Iraqis (Department of Defense)
TAJI, Iraq, Jan. 17, 2008 – A ceremony here today marked the beginning of a program to refurbish and transfer more than 4,200 up-armored Humvees over the next 13 months. Some 627 vehicles now are staged in the holding yard ready to undergo a maintenance overhaul of brakes, belts and fluids before the appropriate paint scheme is applied. Once this process is completed, including quality assurance checks, the vehicles will be transferred to the government of Iraq for further distribution to the Iraqi security forces, U.S. officials said.
Bush releases billions more for vets
WASHINGTON - President Bush on Thursday released $3.7 billion in emergency money that Congress requested to care for veterans, including those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Chertoff: Tougher ID rules for borders
New border-crossing rules that take effect in two weeks will mean longer lines and stiffer demands for ID, including for returning Americans, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Thursday. A driver's license won't be good enough to get Americans past a checkpoint at the Canadian or Mexican border, Chertoff said.
Lawmakers criticize immigration backup
WASHINGTON - A deluge of immigration applications in the months preceding a filing fee increase last year should have been foreseen, lawmakers on Thursday told Bush administration officials.
Top Rumsfeld Aide Wins Contracts From Spy Office He Set Up (CorpWatch)
A Pentagon office that claims to monitor terrorist threats to U.S. military bases in North America -- and was once reprimanded by the U.S. Congress for spying on antiwar activists -- has just awarded a multi-million dollar contract to a company that employs one of Donald Rumsfeld’s former aides. That aide, Stephen Cambone, helped create the very office that issued the contract.
DHS to Replace 'Duplicative' Anti-Terrorism Data Network
The Homeland Security Department spent more than $90 million to create a network for sharing sensitive anti-terrorism information with state and local governments that it has decided to replace, according to an internal department document. The decision was made late last year but was not announced.
The waste is just enormous. And we’re paying the tab.—Caro
White House Study Found 473 Days of E-Mail Gone
The White House possesses no archived e-mail messages for many of its component offices, including the Executive Office of the President and the Office of the Vice President, for hundreds of days between 2003 and 2005, according to the summary of an internal White House study that was disclosed (Wednesday) by … House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.).
Lawyer: Goss Never Objected on CIA Tapes
Former CIA Director Porter Goss never criticized plans to destroy interrogation videotapes, a lawyer said Thursday as the investigation began. Jose Rodriguez, the CIA official who gave the order to destroy the tapes, is at the center of Justice Department and congressional investigations into who approved the plan and whether it was illegal. His attorney, Robert Bennett, said Goss and Rodriquez met several times to discuss the tapes and Goss was never critical of Rodriquez' decision.
Judge chides CIA about tape
U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein chided the (CIA) over its handling of the (al-Qaeda suspect interrogation) tapes, which were destroyed in 2005, and said he would consider exploring ways of re-creating their content — including requiring CIA officials who viewed the recordings to reveal what they contained… Speaking from the bench Thursday, Hellerstein said he was disinclined to find the CIA in contempt, saying, "I'm not about to punish the government."
So, uh, judge, how do you feel about punishing wrongdoers who AREN’T in the government? How would you feel about punishing the government if it were in Democratic hands? Just asking.—Caro
Luxury Retail Feels Credit Pain
Formerly free-spending shoppers who were "trading up" to high-end goods are now less likely to treat themselves to that Gucci bag
Wealthy may be next in line in home crisis
Real estate agents warn that some high-income borrowers have already been forced to sell or leave their homes and more will follow. Especially those who used their homes as ATMs, withdrawing cash via home equity loans. "For those who utilized home equity loans for five to ten years to finance their lifestyle, the chickens are coming home to roost," said Chicago-based real estate agent Marki Lemons.
These jerks helped put our whole economy at risk. When are we going to stop admiring wealth and the wealthy, no matter the consequences of their actions?—Caro MediaPermanent 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.
Stampeding the democratic process (by Brian Cathcart at New Statesman, U.K.)
Like it or not, the news media are part of this election and not mere observers. The whole presidential campaign, on which so much depends, is as much a dialogue between candidates and reporters as it is a conversation between candidates and voters, and for reporters the responsibilities that go with that are heavy ones. Groupthink, pack journalism and stampeding won't do.
Rebel against the stampeding herd by donating to the John Edwards campaign today. His candidacy has been crippled by his lack of media coverage.—Caro
Randi Rhodes Puts Robert Wexler Over 200,000 (by David Swanson at After Downing Street)
The Randi Rhodes Show worked its magic (Thursday) just as it used to do for www.afterdowningstreet.org almost three years ago. Congressman Robert Wexler came on and discussed the need for Cheney impeachment hearings. His petition at http://wexlerwantshearings.com passed the 200,000 mark before the show was over.
How The Pentagon Planted A False Story
Senior Pentagon officials used an off-the-record Pentagon briefing to turn the January 6 US-Iranian incident in the Strait of Hormuz into a sensational story.
Merchants Of Trivia (by Matt Taibbi, Rolling Stone)
Why do the media insist on reducing one of the most exciting presidential primary seasons in American history to a simple horse race?
no gop front runner yet, as long as you don't actually count the delegates (skippy the bush kangaroo)
the cw nowadays (or, as it changes so fast, perhaps nowaminutes), is that there is no front runner in the gop race as of yet… the funny thing about this insistance that "nobody's ahead," is that the actual delegate count begs to differ. cnn's election center 2008 has romney with a comfortable 30 pledged delegates to huckabee's 17. john mccain't trails with a lackluster 7… oh sure, there are the national polls in which mccain't is leading. to which we say, hey, aren't those the same national polls that used to tout rudy "can't beat ron paul" guiliani as the front runner?
Media's NH fiasco more than just another embarrassment
"It was a plea of nolo contendere," writes Rem Rieder. "In the starkest of terms, the premature Obama coronation and Clinton obituary showed all too clearly that the current political coverage model is utterly broken." It's not just horse-race coverage, he says; it's picking the winning horse well before the starting gun is fired.
The Conservative Agenda: Serving African Americans?
The conservative agenda has not served African Americans well, according to key economic indicators.
And it’s not just African Americans who aren’t served well by the conservative agenda. Just look at the sample below of Conservative Truths:
The Number Of Food Insecure Households Is Higher During Conservative Presidencies
There Are More Families Living Below The Poverty Level During Conservative Presidencies
The Number Of Murders Committed Is Higher During Conservative Presidencies
The Median Income Of Households Is Lower During Conservative Presidencies
The Percentage Of Families Holding Any Debt Is Higher During Conservative Presidencies
The Rate Of Suicides Is Higher During Conservative Presidencies (this same phenomenon is also true in Britain and Australia)—Caro
Bernanke Hits the Panic Button, Media Don't Notice (by Dean Baker)
The reality is that the economy is in serious trouble and the honchos like Bernanke don't really know what's going on. These folks completely missed the housing bubble as it grew to ever more dangerous levels. As the bubble has started to deflate, they now recognize that we have a problem, but they have no idea how bad it is or how to deal with it. It is time for economic reporters to level with the public on this fact and stop doing PR work for Bernanke and the rest assuring people that everything is okay. Technology & Science'Mac people' more open, liberal than PC users
San Francisco - People who prefer Apple's Macintosh computers over PCs have long been considered to be on the artsy, hip end of the personality spectrum -- and now a study proves that "Mac people" indeed are more liberal and open-minded than average folks.
Web yields deadly tricks for crime writers
LONDON (Reuters) - Thinking about killing someone and can't figure out how to finish the job and make crime pay? It's the kind of stuff that keeps crime fiction writers awake at night.
But bear in mind that an over-active Big Brother could misinterpret this kind of research.—Caro
Virtual Schools Could Get Logged Off
Some parents consider virtual schools to be a godsend for parents who prefer their children learn from home. But critics say the cyber charter schools amount to little more than home schooling at taxpayers' expense.
Do Today's Young People Really Think They Are So Extraordinary?
Researchers found no evidence that today’s young people have inflated impressions of themselves compared to the youth of previous generations.
Company claims cloned humans and made stem cells
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A California company said on Thursday it used cloning technology to make five human embryos, with the eventual hope of making matched stem cells for patients.
Evolution Of Human Genome's 'Guardian' Gives People Unique Protections From DNA Damage
ScienceDaily (Jan. 18, 2008) — Human evolution has created enhancements in key genes connected to the p53 regulatory network -- the so-called guardian of the genome -- by creating additional safeguards in human genes to boost the network's ability to guard against DNA damage that could cause cancer or a variety of genetic diseases.
How The Brain Regulates Blood Flow To Neurons: Powerful Enzyme Could Play Key Role In Alzheimer's Disease
ScienceDaily (Jan. 18, 2008) — The human brain contains its own store of a powerful enzyme (and stroke drug) called tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), which appears to be a key regulator of blood flow to brain cells, a team at the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City reports… Besides elucidating the role of naturally produced tPA in neuronal blood flow, the new findings could have implications for the study of stroke and Alzheimer's disease.
Discovery Of 'Creator' Gene For Cerebral Cortex Points To Potential Stem Cell Treatments
ScienceDaily (Jan. 18, 2008) — University of California, Irvine researchers have identified a gene that is specifically responsible for generating the cerebral cortex, a finding that could lead to stem cell therapies to treat brain injuries and diseases such as stroke and Alzheimer's.
Pacific Islanders’ Ancestry Emerges in Genetic Study
An international team of scientists found evidence that Polynesians and Micronesians were more closely related to East Asians, and had few links to western Pacific islanders.
Method Developed To Identify Sparticles In Big Bang Conditions
ScienceDaily (Jan. 18, 2008) — Three Northeastern University researchers have proposed a new approach for the highly anticipated discovery of supersymmetric particles, often called sparticles. The methodology is based on identifying the hierarchical mass patterns of sparticles, which are assumed to exist in a new class of particle physics theories beyond the Standard Model. EnvironmentSpring comes early for Max the stork
GENEVA (AFP) - Max the stork, currently the oldest animal being tracked by satellite, is flying north after a remarkably short winter sojourn in southern Spain, a natural history museum in Switzerland said Wednesday.
Amazon deforestation seen surging
Deforestation of the Amazon has surged in recent months and is likely to rise in 2008 for the first time in four years, a senior Brazilian government scientist said on Wednesday. The rise raises questions over Brazil's assertion that its environmental policies are effectively protecting the world's biggest rain forest, whose destruction is a major source of carbon emissions that drive global warming.
Norway's lawmakers agree deal to slash greenhouse gas emissions
Oslo - Norway's red-green government and three opposition parties Thursday agreed on a long-term climate strategy aimed at slashing greenhouse gas emissions.
Hybrid school buses hit the road
You’ve got to be careful with the accelerator because hybrid school buses like to go. Dan Taghon, the director of transportation for the Sigourney Community School District in southeast Iowa, said his district’s new hybrid bus has been running routes since Jan. 3. And Taghon, who drives the bus on one of the district’s six routes, said he likes the 65-passenger machine powered by an electric motor and a V-8 diesel engine.
Google's Philanthropy Funds Renewable Energy, Electric Cars
MOUTAIN VIEW, Calif., Jan. 18, 2008 -- Google's philanthropic arm has announced more than $25 million in new grants and investments, about half of which will go to climate change efforts.
Wal-Mart to Open Energy-Efficient Supercenter
BENTONVILLE, Ark., Jan. 17, 2008 -- The world's largest retailer plans to open a store in Illinois next week that will use 25 percent less energy than a conventional Supercenter. For more headlines, visit MakeThemAccountable.com.
|
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
