Good Morning! - Morning Headlines

[Caro]

Morning headlines brought to you by

Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com

Top Stories

British navy crew leaves Iran
TEHRAN, Iran - Fifteen British sailors and marines held captive for nearly two weeks left Iran early Thursday with sweets and souvenirs, a day after the announcement of their release defused a growing confrontation between the two countries.

Syrian officials say Damascus played key role in getting British sailors released by Iran
DAMASCUS, Syria: Syria's information minister and foreign minister said Wednesday that Damascus had played a key role in resolving the standoff over the 15 British sailors held by Iran… Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem told reporters that "Syria exercised a sort of quiet diplomacy to solve this problem and encourage dialogue between the two parties," referring to Britain and Iran. Al-Moallem did not elaborate on details of the Syrian mediation. He spoke at the Damascus international airport before the departure of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for Saudi Arabia. (Emphasis added.)
Diplomacy works. Bullying doesn’t. Thanks to Phoenix Woman. —Caro

Humor Ink

The World

Official: U.S. copter goes down in Iraq
BAGHDAD - A U.S. helicopter went down after coming under fire Thursday in a Sunni militant stronghold south of Baghdad but there was no immediate word on casualties, an Iraqi army official said. The U.S. military said it was looking into the report.

French aid workers in Afghanistan likely kidnapped by Taliban: officials
KABUL (AFP) - Two French aid workers missing in Afghanistan for two days have likely been kidnapped by Taliban militants, officials said Thursday after the rebels claimed they had abducted the pair.

Seven killed in Sri Lanka violence
COLOMBO (AFP) - Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels shot dead four civilians in eastern Sri Lanka on Thursday, the defence ministry said, as the military reported killing three guerrillas.

Grenade at Thai mosque wounds 16
BANGKOK, Thailand - Attackers fired a grenade into a mosque in Thailand's restive south Thursday, wounding 16 Muslim worshippers in an act of defiance after authorities imposed a strict curfew to contain escalating violence, officials said.

Gaddafi says Africa should have continental army
DAKAR (Reuters) - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi urged Africa on Wednesday to form a unified continental army to defend its interests, and he said former colonial powers should pay compensation for the raw materials they had extracted.

Feds Working In Secret African Prisons
CIA and FBI agents hunting for al Qaeda militants have been interrogating terrorism suspects from 19 countries held at secret prisons in Ethiopia, which is notorious for torture and abuse, according to an investigation by The Associated Press.

The Nation

Bush bypasses Senate to name ambassador
President Bush named Republican fundraiser Sam Fox as U.S. ambassador to Belgium on Wednesday, using a maneuver that allowed him to bypass Congress, where Democrats had derailed Fox's nomination. The appointment, made while lawmakers were out of town on spring break, prompted angry rebukes from Democrats, who said Bush's action may even be illegal. Democrats had denounced Fox for his donation to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth during the 2004 presidential campaign. The group's TV ads, which claimed that Sen. John Kerry exaggerated his military record in Vietnam, were viewed as a major factor in the Massachusetts Democrat's election loss.
AND THOSE CLAIMS WERE LIES, Associated Press. We can’t have people who pay for blatant lies that sway elections rewarded with ambassadorships. —Caro

Justice aide won't talk to House panel
WASHINGTON - A senior Justice Department aide refused Wednesday to submit to a private interview with a House committee investigating the firings of eight U.S. attorneys. Her lawyers accused Democrats of behaving like the notorious Sen. Joseph McCarthy to intimidate her.



Docked for Duty?
The Justice Department called David Iglesias, the U.S. attorney in New Mexico, an 'absentee landlord'—a key reason listed for his firing last December. Just one problem: Iglesias, a captain in the Navy Reserve, was off teaching classes as part of the war on terror. Now Iglesias is striking back, arguing he was improperly dismissed.

Waxman requests e-mail from RNC servers
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) Wednesday requested e-mails from Republican National Committee servers that could help the panel in its investigation into whether administration officials used federal resources for political purposes. Prior to recess, the committee held a hearing on a presentation White House Deputy Director of Political Affairs J. Scott Jennings gave to the General Services Administration (GSA). Following the event, GSA Administrator Lurita Doan asked her staff how the agency could help “our candidates,” Waxman said.

Two big victories boost Ohio's election protection movement
In a victory for election protection activists, Ohio's powerful GOP Chair Bob Bennett will be forced to face a public hearing on his removal as Chair of the Cuyahoga (Cleveland) Board of Elections. And in a second triumph, Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has agreed, as part of a legal settlement, to take possession of the ballots and other key documents from the disputed 2004 election that gave George W. Bush a second term in the White House.

Fla. governor seeks rights for ex-felons
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Gov. Charlie Crist is set to square off with other state officials over his proposal to end the practice of stripping ex-convicts of their civil rights, including the right to vote. Following up on a campaign promise that puts him at odds with many in his Republican Party, Crist must win the backing of at least two colleagues on the four-member Florida Board of Executive Clemency, which is to hold a special session Thursday to address the issue.

Media

The 2008 candidates are running 'e-lection' campaigns
Scrambling for cash and votes, presidential and gubernatorial candidates are running 2008 election campaigns more like tech start-ups in search of investors and customers. An explosion of new and inexpensive technologies since the 2004 elections is transforming campaigns into tech-driven ventures.
But I have yet to see one that makes EFFECTIVE use of technology. I don’t see any of them trying to use tools for upward communication or for building communities. —Caro

Software's benefits on tests in doubt
Educational software, a $2 billion-a-year industry that has become the darling of school systems across the country, has no significant impact on student performance, according to a study by the U.S. Department of Education.
Good for the Washington Post for reporting this. The WaPo owns educational software through its Kaplan, Inc. subsidiary. Oh, and George Bush’s brother Neil owns some through his company, Ignite! You may remember that Barbara Bush made a contribution to Katrina victims that was designated to be spent on her son Neil’s software. She got a tax deduction on the contribution, instead of having to pay gift taxes. —Caro

Conservative media ridicule, smear captured British sailors
On March 23, the Iranian government captured 15 British sailors and marines in the Persian Gulf, alleging that they had entered Iranian territorial waters. During their captivity, the detained sailors apparently participated in the production of various propaganda materials, leading several conservatives -- including New York Post columnist Ralph Peters, National Review Online contributor John Derbyshire, CNN Headline News host Glenn Beck, and syndicated radio host Michael Savage -- to mock and smear the captives.

CNN's Suzanne Malveaux: Is Pelosi Becoming "Most Controversial House Speaker Yet"?
Here's a real sign of the times: The leading cable news network thinks that Nancy Pelosi -- by virtue of the fact that she paid a visit to Syria -- may be on her way to becoming the "most controversial speaker yet." Yes, more controversial than Newt Gingrich, who tried to shut down the government, tried to impeach the President for lying about sex, allegedly let his budget policy be driven by the fantasy that Bill Clinton had "snubbed" him on the way to a funeral, and had a fusillade of ethics charges filed against him by Dems in Congress. I'm really not kidding about this.

In Politics, New Tribune Boss May Be 'Right' Man for the Job
Samuel Zell, who has agreed to purchase the Tribune Company, says he will not try to influence his papers' editorial pages. Still, it is interesting to note that in an interview his choices for favorite columnist leaned right, and so have his many generous political donations. His wife, however, leans left.

HBO promises ‘fair’ recount movie made by Dem donors
HBO is planning to make an unbiased film, titled “Recount” and scheduled to premiere early next year, about the 2000 presidential election.

Technology & Science

Expert: Risky teen behavior is all in the brain
A new review of adolescent brain research suggests that society is wasting billions of dollars on education and intervention programs to dissuade teens from dangerous activities, because their immature brains are not yet capable of avoiding risky behaviors.
I don’t think the money is wasted. I believe that most human behavior can be changed. —Caro

Solar bursts may threaten GPS
WASHINGTON - The Global Positioning System, relied on for everything from navigating cars and airplanes to transferring money between banks, may be threatened by powerful solar flares, a panel of scientists warned Wednesday.

Environment

Seas Could Rise Dramatically in Rapid Ice Melt
Something is missing from the estimates of future sea level rise in the recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: the potentially catastrophic impact of a rapid melt of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. The IPCC asserts that melting by dynamic processes is too poorly understood to be included in scientific simulations, but many scientists disagree and believe that the report underestimates the threat that global warming will pose to coastal cities over the next century.

Greener pursuits
Silicon Valley's "best brains" working on tech to cut global warming.

For more headlines, visit MakeThemAccountable.com.