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Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com

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Reid, Webb Discuss Democrats' Efforts To Change Course In Iraq, Enhance Military Readiness
Washington, DC—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senator Jim Webb today discussed Democrats’ efforts to change course in Iraq and to ensure that our military and National Guard units deploying for combat operations are supported properly. Following the three deadliest months of the war, Democrats are forcing President Bush and Iraqis to finally accept some measure of accountability for this war through the Defense Authorization bill this week.

The Radical Fringe

The World

Despite U.S. military surge, car bombings stay at same levels
BAGHDAD - Despite the high priority set by U.S.-led coalition forces to stem car bombings, the tactic remains one of the main killers of civilians in Iraq, according to figures compiled by McClatchy Newspapers. The tactic took on a horrifying new dimension this past weekend when about 170 Iraqis were killed in five car bombs — as many as 155 of them when a produce truck laden with explosives leveled houses and shredded bodies in Armili, about 100 miles north of the capital.

Hamas: al-Qaida hasn't infiltrated Gaza
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Gaza's Hamas rulers on Tuesday hotly denied letting al-Qaida infiltrate the coastal strip, as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has alleged.

Will Turkey invade northern Iraq?
Reports that Turkey has massed a huge military force on its border with Iraq bolstered fears that an invasion targeting hideouts of Kurdish rebels could be imminent.

Poll: Iranians support nuclear weapons
WASHINGTON - Small majorities of Iranians say their country should develop nuclear weapons and they would feel safer if Tehran possessed such arms, according to a rare public opinion poll of that nation's citizens.

Pakistani troops seize Red Mosque
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistani troops seized Islamambad's Red Mosque on Tuesday and attempted to flush out the remaining militants entrenched inside a women's religious school in fierce fighting that left at least 50 militants and eight soldiers dead, the army said.

China executes ex-food and drug chief
BEIJING - China executed the former head of its food and drug watchdog on Tuesday for approving untested medicine in exchange for cash, the strongest signal yet from Beijing that it is serious about tackling its product safety crisis.
If you put people in danger and some of them die, it’s murder. No matter who you are. We could learn something from the Chinese.—Caro

The Nation

Official: Iraq gov't misses all targets
WASHINGTON - A progress report on Iraq will conclude that the U.S.-backed government in Baghdad has not met any of its targets for political, economic and other reform, speeding up the Bush administration's reckoning on what to do next, a U.S. official said Monday.

Bush stays course, rebuffs demand for change
President Bush dug in Monday against demands for change in his Iraq policy, despite eroding support within his party and growing doubts that his troop increase will make a significant difference. Through his spokesman Bush urged patience at the start of what's likely to be a rough week for his policy.

US Iraq chief warns of long war
The head of US forces in Iraq, Lt Gen David Petraeus, has told the BBC that fighting the insurgency is a "long term endeavour" which could take decades… Gen Petraeus was keen to emphasise that the ongoing unrest in Iraq is not something he expects to be resolved overnight. "Northern Ireland, I think, taught you that very well. My counterparts in your (British) forces really understand this kind of operation... It took a long time, decades," he said.

Bush writes to Kadhafi to push for closer ties
TRIPOLI (AFP) - US President George W. Bush has written to Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi calling for the development of ties between Washington and its one-time foe, the official JANA news agency said on Tuesday.
So much for the Bush policy of toppling brutal dictators.—Caro

Subpoena Battle: What's Next?
(A)lthough the president has "directed" Sara Taylor, Karl Rove's former aide, and Harriet Miers, the former White House counsel, not to testify, the decision is still up to them, (Jonathan Turley of George Washington University Law School and Marty Lederman of Georgetown Law ) said. Although the traditional expectation is that aides will comply with determinations of executive privilege by the president, both could still refuse. It would be a "career ending move" to be sure, Turley added, but there is no legal impediment.

Files show talks on 'vote caging'
TALLAHASSEE - Internal city memos show the issue of Republican "vote caging" efforts in Jacksonville's African-American neighborhoods was discussed in the weeks before the 2004 election, contradicting recent claims by former Duval County Republican leader Mike Hightower - the Bush-Cheney campaign's local chairman at the time… The contradiction comes to light as the U.S. Justice Department continues to consider a June 18 request from two U.S. senators for an investigation into potential illegal voter suppression tactics in Duval County three years ago.

Rove: ‘I Make No Apologies’ For Any Of Administration’s Mistakes Or Lies
This weekend at the Aspen Ideas Festival, President Bush’s political adviser Karl Rove seemed incapable of uttering a single honest statement. Facing a chilly reception from the audience, who “shook their heads and groaned in unison” during the speech, Rove grossly distorted administration’s policies, on everything from Guantanamo to Iraq to the leak case…“Look, I make no apologies,” he said.

Senator's Number on 'Madam' Phone List
Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) apologized last night after his telephone number appeared in the phone records of the woman dubbed the "D.C. Madam," making him the first member of Congress to become ensnared in the high-profile case.
Get ready for a parade of “sorry” Republicans. I just hope no Democrats are involved. If only one is, that will justify thousands of Republicans being involved to the right-wing crazies.—Caro

Media

Permanent link to MTA daily media news

Congress braces for fight over Fairness Doctrine
Sen. Trent Lott complained that "talk radio is running America… He suggested bringing back the Fairness Doctrine, which would force broadcasters to provide more political balance on the nation's airwaves… With their industry suddenly on the defensive, talk show hosts are trying to ward off any intervention from Congress.
Republicans only want unfairness on the radio when the unfairness suits their agenda.—Caro

Limbaugh's faulty memory: "I don't know who's accusing (Hillary Clinton) of murdering anybody"
Limbaugh responded, "… I don't know who's accusing her of murdering anybody." In fact, Limbaugh himself has suggested on several occasions that Sen. Clinton (D-NY) was responsible for the 1993 death of then-White House counsel Vincent Foster.

Are Republicans losing ground on the Internet?
The most e-mailed post at TechPresident today is Patrick Ruffini's warning to Republicans headlined "Note to GOP: Websites Still Matter." Ruffini, a Republican himself, says Democrats are beating the GOP at the web game because they have gotten so good "it's scary" at basics such as e-mail lists and video. Republicans, he says, are quietly losing ground because of the rise of the idea that "the best way to communicate with your base is through third parties like bloggers and social networks."
Or maybe the reason Republicans are losing ground is because Americans are tired of the hate faction that controls the party.—Caro

Savage on immigrant students' hunger strike: "(L)et them fast until they starve to death. ... Go make a bomb where you came from"
Savage went on to play a news report on the hunger strike, which said that engineering students are waiting for the DREAM Act to be passed so that they can enter the workforce. Following the clip, Savage responded: "We don't need you as engineers, go back to where you came from. ... Go be an engineer there. You stole the education from us; now give it back to your home country. Go make a bomb where you came from."

The Oh-Really Factor
Bill O'Reilly's June 21 Fox show ran fuzzy video tape of purported lesbian gang violence while "crime analyst" Rod Wheeler claimed there were "just in the Washington D.C. area...well over 150 of these crews," some of whom even "carry pink pistols...9-millimeter Glocks." O'Reilly's exclamations of "I have never heard of this" and "I never thought of this" are proven more well-founded than his faux-incredulousness intended.

The Washington Post Calls Medicare "Radical"
To be more precise, it called offering a Medicare type government-run health plan to all Americans a "potentially radical idea." It's not clear why extending a 40 year-old program on a voluntary basis should be viewed as a radical proposition. Admittedly, it is possible, if not likely, that it will undermine the current system of private insurance, if the vast majority of workers and employers opted into the public plan, but what is so radical about giving people a choice? Isn't that what conservatives always advocate?

http://www.mediachannel.org/wordpress/2007/07/09/tv-news-attempts-an-online-comeback/">TV News Attempts An Online Comeback
For more than two decades, discussions of TV news have been dominated by a discourse of decline. But for all the talk of dinosaurs and audience erosion, major TV news programs have found new life on computer screens, iPods and cell phones during the past year.

Welcome To Open Left!
(W)e are an experiment, trying to bring progressive activists and professionals from "inside" and "outside" the political establishment into regular, thoughtful, and active connection with one another. There will be a wide variety of progressive people and organizations posting here… We have innovative new posting protocol, epitomized by the "Right To Respond", where … any progressive individual or organization we blog about in a front-page post will have the opportunity to respond with a front page post of their own.
Anyone “we blog about” will have front page privileges? And just who will that be? Unless Open Left surprises me, this blog will only facilitate blogger insiders talking to political insiders. The rest of us will still be left out.—Caro

Technology & Science

"Synchronize" Your Address Books
Enough about Plaxo's checkered past. Lots of people are going to want to use the new version even if they have no interest in telling the world about their new cell phone number. Version 3.0 now lets you synchronize your address book and calendar with your PC or Mac's address book and online calendars and address books from Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and AOL.

Thieves Test Stolen Cards on Charities
Credit card thieves are becoming big-time charity donors, but it's not out of the goodness of their hearts.

Many Men Getting Unnecessary Prostate Cancer Blood Tests
Patients are often either too young or too old to benefit from PSA screening, study finds.
Many animals have an innate sense of direction, finding their way along migration routes that extend thousands of miles. Often, they detect Earth’s magnetic field and use that for orientation.

Engineered Virus Attacks Bacteria
Scientists have engineered viruses to attack and destroy mega-colonies of potentially harmful bacteria called biofilms.

Genetically Altered Cold Sore Virus Fights Cancer
(HealthDay News) -- A modified version of the virus that causes cold sores is showing early promise in targeting colorectal and liver cancer cells, scientists report.

Alzheimer's patch approved
WASHINGTON - The first skin patch to treat the dementia that can plague Alzheimer's patients gained federal approval, a drug company said Monday.

Environment

IEA sees oil supply crunch looming
LONDON (Reuters) - World oil demand will rise faster than expected to 2012 while production lags, leading to a supply crunch, the International Energy Agency said on Monday.
There’s a limited supply of oil on our planet. Right wingers want us to wait until the last drop is pumped before doing anything about it, even though the scarcity of oil could contribute to the wars predicted below.—Caro

Global Warming Could Fuel War
Food and water shortages fueled in the future by global warming could spur conflicts and even wars over these essential resources, the authors of a new study warn.

BLM Gets OK for New North Slope Drilling
The Bureau of Land Management could go ahead with plans to allow drilling in a sensitive area near Teshekpuk Lake on the North Slope, an agency spokeswoman said.

'Green' Light Bulbs Pack Toxic Ingredient
Highly efficient fluorescent light bulbs are widely touted as environmentally friendly, but they have created a recycling headache for the EPA and local governments. More often than not, their toxic ingredients simply end up in landfills, where the chemicals can leach into soil and water and poison fish and other wildlife. The bulbs contain mercury and should not be tossed in the trash like regular light bulbs.

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