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[Caro]

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Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com

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Troops Authorized to Kill Iran's Operatives in Iraq
The Bush administration has authorized the U.S. military to kill or capture Iranian operatives inside Iraq as part of an aggressive new strategy to weaken Tehran's influence across the Middle East and compel it to give up its nuclear program, according to government and counterterrorism officials with direct knowledge of the effort.

Humor Ink

The World

US says its has proof Iran is interfering in Iraq
The United States said it had proof of Iran's interference in Iraq, promising soon to publish details of Iranian networks in its strife-torn neighboring country.. "There is solid evidence that Iranian agents are involved in these networks and that they are working with individuals and groups in Iraq and that they are being sent there by the Iranian government," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.

Scant evidence found of Iran-Iraq arms link
Evidence of Iranian involvement in Iraq's troubles is limited. U.S. troops have found mortars and antitank mines with Iranian markings dated 2006, said U.S. Army Col. David W. Sutherland, who oversees the province. But there has been little sign of more advanced weaponry crossing the border, and no Iranian agents have been found.

Iran ready to launch satellite, raising arms alarm: report
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Iran is poised to launch a satellite into space, a step that could herald a new dimension in Tehran's strategic capabilities, Aviation Week and Space Technology has said. on its website.
Interesting that this report should surface at this time, isn’t it? —Caro

IAEA chief says attack on Iran would be catastrophe
An attack on Iran would be catastrophic and encourage it to develop a nuclear bomb, Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said on Thursday. "It would be absolutely counterproductive, and it would be catastrophic," ElBaradei said at a discussion on nuclear proliferation at the World Economic Forum.

Suicide car bombing kills 26 in Baghdad
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's prime minister insisted Thursday there will be "no safe place in Iraq for terrorists," hours before a suicide car bombing killed at least 26 people in the Shiite neighborhood of Karradah and two rockets slammed into the heavy fortified Green Zone not far from the U.S. Embassy.

Report: Clashes in Lebanon kill four
Government and opposition supporters clashed at a Beirut university campus Thursday, battering each other with sticks, stones and even pieces of furniture in new violence spilling over from Lebanon s political crisis. Four people were killed, security sources told Reuters.

NATO attacks Taliban post in Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan - A NATO airstrike destroyed a Taliban command post in southern Afghanistan, killing a suspected senior militant leader, the alliance said Friday, while 10 rebel fighters died in a clash with police in the east.

Bangladesh security forces accused of killings, arrests
DHAKA (AFP) - Human Rights Watch accused Bangladesh security forces of a series of unlawful killings and arbitrary arrests under a state of emergency and called on authorities to halt the abuses.

Australian of the Year lashes government on climate change
SYDNEY (AFP) - The Australian government came under attack for its environmental policies from Tim Flannery, the scientist it named as citizen of the year just a day earlier.

Mexico proposes transsexual rights
MEXICO CITY - A Mexican congressman said Thursday he will submit a bill in March that would amend the country's constitution to guarantee the rights of transsexuals and change civil laws to ensure they can legally change their name and gender.

Venezuela may ask U.S. envoy to leave
CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez warned Thursday that the U.S. ambassador could be asked to leave the country if he continues "meddling in Venezuela's affairs."

Gunmen kill 5 in restive Somali capital
MOGADISHU, Somalia - A spate of gunfire and mortar attacks in the Somali capital killed five people overnight and injured at least four others, witnesses said Friday.

The Nation

No compromise seen on Iraq resolutions
WASHINGTON - The leader of a bipartisan effort to rebuke President Bush's Iraq strategy said Thursday he would not strike a compromise with a harsher Democratic resolution the Senate will debate next week.

Dismissal of Lawsuit Against Warrantless Wiretaps Sought
A lawsuit challenging the legality of the National Security Agency's warrantless surveillance program should be thrown out because the government is now conducting the wiretaps under the authority of a secret intelligence court, according to court papers filed by the Justice Department yesterday.
Correction: The administration SAYS it’s now conducting wiretaps under FISA. We have no proof that this statement is true. —Caro

A Spying Policy Still Without Warrant
At first it was hailed as a victory for civil liberties. But last week’s announcement that warrantless domestic surveillance by the National Security Agency has come to an end means less than it first appears.

White House seeks $10.6B for Afghanistan
BRUSSELS, Belgium - The Bush administration plans to ask Congress for $10.6 billion for Afghanistan, a major increase aimed at rebuilding the country and strengthening government security forces still fighting the Taliban five years after the U.S.-led invasion.

Dems wary of Iraq reconstruction cost
WASHINGTON - Members of a Senate committee that voted against President Bush's Iraq plan said Thursday they also are wary of pouring more money into rebuilding while the security situation is so dire.

Senators kill minimum wage amendment
WASHINGTON - An effort to increase the minimum wage in all states, even those that already have wage floors higher than the federal base, failed Thursday after Democrats labeled it a "poison pill."

Contractors may suffer bans for illegals
WASHINGTON - Federal contractors caught hiring illegal immigrants would be banned from government work for up to a decade under sanctions the Senate added unanimously to a minimum wage bill.
You bet. Now, let’s hold the administration’s feet to the fire to make them enforce it. —Caro

Obama debunks claim about Islamic school
WASHINGTON - Sen. Barack Obama fought back Wednesday against an allegation that he was educated at a radical Islamic school as a child in Indonesia, determined to avoid being tripped up by unsubstantiated charges like those that undermined John Kerry in 2004.
I don’t intend to get involved in the horse race aspect of the 2008 presidential election (I’m not even posting all the announcements), but I’ll post links to articles about Democratic candidates doing what I think are the right things. If Democrats don’t learn how to successfully fight the right-wing smear machine, then the most extreme elements of our society are the ones deciding who our candidates and elected officials can be. I don’t call that democracy. —Caro

Hillary's Primary Challenge: Shattering The Prism Of The Right
To win The White House, Senator Clinton will face many challenges and hurdles. But the first may end up being perhaps the most significant. For Senator Clinton and her advisers must find a strategy that makes every voter look at her clearly. Senator Clinton and her advisors must shatter the public's habit of viewing her and her record through the prism of right wing distortions and smears.

Obama calls for universal health care
WASHINGTON - Every American should have health care coverage within six years, Democratic Sen. Barack Obama said Thursday as he set an ambitious goal soon after jumping into the 2008 presidential race.
I’ll be posting candidates’ stances on real issues. —Caro

Cheney Spokeswoman Disputes Libby Story at Trial
Vice President Dick Cheney's spokeswoman testified Thursday that she told Cheney and his chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter'' Libby, that a prominent war critic's wife, Valerie Wilson, worked for the CIA days before Libby said he learned it from a reporter. Cathie Martin's testimony came during the third day of Libby's perjury trial in Washignton, D.C.

Maine revolts against digital U.S. ID card
BOSTON (Reuters) - Maine lawmakers on Thursday became the first in the nation to demand repeal of a federal law tightening identification requirements for drivers' licenses, a post-September 11 security measure that states say will cost them billions of dollars to administer.

Economy & Business

Dow ends down 119 on lower home sales
NEW YORK - Stocks suffered their biggest pullback in two months Thursday, with the Dow Jones industrials logging a triple-digit decline as a lackluster home sales report and a disappointing bond auction halted the market's two-day rally.

Home sales drop in 2006 biggest in 17 years
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sales of previously owned U.S. homes slipped 0.8 percent in December and took their biggest tumble in 17 years for all of 2006, leaving in doubt whether the worst of a housing slump has passed.

Admin. launches review of market regs
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration will review the regulations governing the operation of America's financial markets to make sure that they don't harm this country's ability to compete in the global economy, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Monday.
Our financial markets aren’t making it easy enough for companies to reduce wages and outsource work? —Caro

Media

Planned media job cuts up 88 pct in 2006
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The number of planned job cuts in the U.S. media sector surged 88 percent last year and that trend will likely continue as readers shift from print to online services, a study on Thursday showed.

In Ex-Aide's Testimony, A Spin Through VP's PR
Memo to Tim Russert: Dick Cheney thinks he controls you. This delicious morsel about the "Meet the Press" host and the vice president was part of the extensive dish Cathie Martin served up yesterday when the former Cheney communications director took the stand in the perjury trial of former Cheney chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby.

Sandy "Burglar" still the big legal case on FOX Big Story. Scooter who?
In a "report" today 1/25/07 on The Big Story Douglas Kennedy breathlessly rehashed recent accusations that the Bush Justice Department overlooked criminal activity by former Clinton official Sandy Berger, who is repeatedly referred to both verbally and in print as "Sandy Burglar." Unfortunately for the desperadoes at FOX who are contorting themselves to keep from reporting on the ongoing Scooter Libby trial, the "new details" in the Berger case are innuendo and speculation.

Cowardly Wolf or Cowardly Cheney?
Wolf Blitzer surely succeeded in "making news" with his interview of the V.P. on last night's Situation Room -- though, perhaps, not in the way the CNN anchor intended. Today, the story is as much about Blitzer as it is about the V.P.

The State of the Union According to the Folks
The Fox host's "Talking Points" leads with his description of results from a new Gallup Poll: "Here's something very interesting. Forty-seven percent of Americans, nearly half, want more restrictions on abortion. Only 41 percent like the abortion laws the way they are. So the country is moving in a Pro-Life direction. " That would be interesting--if it were what Gallup reported, but it's not. (Commentary by FAIR.)

Media Matters asks Wash. Post ombudsman to address falsehoods in Solomon article
We were pleased to learn that you plan in your column this weekend to address John Solomon and Lois Romano's January 19 article about John Edwards' recent sale of his Georgetown home. It appears that the article and subsequent statements by Solomon and Post editor Bill Hamilton are based on fundamentally false premises, which it would do your readers and your newspaper a great service to address.

Miami El Nuevo Herald Erases U.S.-Noriega History
A Florida newspaper report on Manuel Noriega's imminent release from jail that "fails entirely to mention the strong backing (former Panama dictator) Noriega enjoyed from the U.S. throughout most of his reign and during many of his worst crimes" has Dominick metaphorically "staggering bewildered as to how anyone can completely ignore such a well-documented, deep-seated history of complicity in drug trafficking and human-rights abuses."

Spiked Study Leads to New FCC Query Into Media Cross-Ownership
WASHINGTON When the government decided to take a hard look at how well broadcasters were serving their communities, two economists at the Federal Communications Commission got a research idea: They would look at whether locally owned TV stations produced more local news than stations owned by companies based outside the area. They found that local ownership resulted in more local news coverage.

20th Century Fox hits Google with subpoena for '24' uploads
LONDON - News Corporation's film division 20th Century Fox has issued a subpoena to YouTube, demanding that a user who uploaded a number of episodes from the new series of '24' be identified.

Google Video to Remain on Web
Google has made a clear statement that Google Video, which some had speculated would eventually cease to exist following the company’s acquisition of YouTube last year, is going to be around for the foreseeable future. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company announced on Thursday that Google Video will begin featuring YouTube clips within its search index for the first time.

Yahoo Offers Sundance Video Content
Yahoo has begun offering content from the independent film-heavy network Sundance Channel within its video section, including footage from the ongoing Sundance Film Festival, which concludes on Jan. 29.

Firms Large and Small Labor to Refine Video Search
The popularity of sites like YouTube and the widespread rollout of high-speed Internet connections have accelerated video's presence on the Web. Yet the sophistication of a search engine's ability to find video is reminiscent of the Web's early days, when text search was clunky and largely incomplete.

Slap on the Wrist Won't Stop Payola
Despite "tens of thousands" of media activist letters in 2006 requesting the FCC crack down on record industry bribes to place songs on commercial radio playlists, recent media reports indicate that radio conglomerates Clear Channel, Citadel, Entercom and CBS Radio...would not be required to admit any wrongdoing in their deal with the FCC. Instead, the commission would merely require them to agree to a code of conduct, an education program and a specific allotment of airtime for independent music.

The Web Celeb 25
The Forbes.com Web Celeb 25 is a list of the biggest, brightest and most influential people on the Internet. From bloggers to podcasters to YouTube stars, these are the people who are creating the digital world from the bottom up.
I’ve never even heard of most of them. I guess I’m just not net savvy. —Caro

Science & Technology

Juicing Up Home Networks
The wiring behind your walls could connect the video in all your rooms. The idea of carrying data over electrical wires has been around for a long time, but early versions were slow and prone to interference, especially the electrical noise generated when appliance or air-conditioning motors start up. A new generation of powerline networking not only overcomes these difficulties but offers speeds at least as fast as the newest Wi-Fi. And the latest products are not subject to the seemingly random fluctuations in performance that afflict wireless.

Video: Wireless Access Without Wi-Fi
On the road with a notebook, but with no Wi-Fi handy? How about using your cell phone as a wireless modem?

Military Shows Off New Ray Gun
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. (AP) — The military calls its new weapon an “active denial system,'' but that's an understatement. It's a ray gun that shoots a beam that makes people feel as if they are about to catch fire. Apart from causing that terrifying sensation, the technology is supposed to be harmless — a non-lethal way to get enemies to drop their weapons.

Study Reveals Who Gets Spanked
Children in homes full of books and educational games are less likely to get spanked, new research shows. Recent studies have found that corporal punishment can cause significant antisocial behavioral, such as lying, cheating, and hitting, in children as they grow older. So Andrew Grogan-Kaylor of the University of Michigan and his colleague Melanie D. Otis of the University of Kentucky wanted to find out what factors, independent of others, predict whether or not a parent is likely to “spare the rod.”

Fish Capable of Human-like Logic
Fish have the reasoning capacity of a 4- or 5-year-old child when it comes to figuring out who among their peers is "top dog," new research shows.