|
Edited on Fri Aug-03-07 09:13 AM by Caro
Morning headlines brought to you by Carolyn Kay MakeThemAccountable.com Top StoryRove Fails to Appear Before Senate Panel on Firings
Aug. 2 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush's top political adviser, Karl Rove, failed to appear today before a Senate panel investigating the firings of nine U.S. attorneys, and another presidential aide refused to answer questions about the dismissals. Steve Bradenton
The World4 American soldiers killed in Baghdad
BAGHDAD - Four American soldiers were killed during combat in Baghdad, including three in a single roadside bombing, the U.S. military said Friday.
Water taps run dry in Baghdad
BAGHDAD - Much of the Iraqi capital was without running water Thursday and had been for at least 24 hours, compounding the urban misery in a war zone and the blistering heat at the height of the Baghdad summer.
20 civilians said hurt in US air strike
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) - At least 20 civilians were wounded and many others feared killed in an air strike by US-led forces on a Taliban-controlled district in southern Afghanistan, local police said.
Aboriginal wins Australia lawsuit
ADELAIDE, Australia - Aboriginal activists renewed demands for an official government apology to Australia's "stolen generation" on Thursday, the day after a court handed down a massive award to an Aboriginal man taken from his family as a baby.
MacKay mocks Russia's "15th century" Arctic claim
CHARLOTTETOWN, Prince Edward Island (Reuters) - Canada on Thursday dismissed Russia's claim to a large chunk of the resource-rich Arctic, saying the tactic was more suited to the 15th century than the real world.
Populism For a Price
In the past two years, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Argentina and Ecuador have used Venezuelan aid to pay off their debts to the IMF or allow credit agreements to lapse, while adopting unorthodox development strategies that would have been barred so long as they depended on the fund for credit… The new course, with its emphasis on health clinics and classrooms for poor communities, draws cheers in many parts of this country of 9 million, where about two-thirds of the population is poor. But economists and political opponents say they doubt it will lift large numbers from poverty.
Well, the old ways didn’t work. Time to try some new ones.—Caro
UK expects expanded UN mandate in Iraq
UNITED NATIONS - Britain said Thursday that it expects quick approval of a resolution that would expand the U.N. mandate in Iraq to promote political reconciliation, settle disputed internal boundaries, and plan for a national census.
Official: Libya to get French missiles
TRIPOLI, Libya - A Libyan official said Thursday that Moammar Gadhafi's long-isolated country has signed contracts worth $405 million with French companies for missiles and communications equipment. The NationMinn. bridge problems uncovered in 1990
MINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota officials were warned as early as 1990 that the bridge that plummeted into the Mississippi River was "structurally deficient," yet they relied on a strategy of patchwork fixes and stepped-up inspections.
Subprime blues sound familiar
The rapid unravelling of the US subprime mortgage market reminds us of the adage that history repeats itself: many of the sad excesses of today’s subprime market are but an echo of the costly savings and loan crisis of the early 1980s… At the heart of today’s subprime crisis is the unfortunate interaction of financial innovation gone awry, inept market regulation and a failure of the rating agencies to exercise their fiduciary responsibility to protect the average investor.
Drug-Tainted Asian Fish Slip Into U.S., States Find
Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana … have found banned drugs in imported seafood, according to statements by regulators in those states. The tests, conducted after the products cleared U.S. ports and were sent on for sale in grocery stores or restaurants, show the FDA isn't adequately protecting consumers from tainted fish, food safety advocates said.
America's history of tainted consumer goods
A century ago, US consumers feared domestic products. They distrusted everything from candy to meat to medicine… During the Civil War, Union soldiers' shoddy uniforms fell to pieces and their shoes disintegrated. They paraded barefoot, and recruits sometimes had to use flour sacks to hide their bare backsides… The conditions that promote adulteration are clear: a rapidly expanding economy and lax government controls, combined with bargain-hungry consumers driving a market for cheap goods. It can happen anywhere.
FEMA suspends use of disaster trailers
WASHINGTON - The Federal Emergency Management Agency has stopped donating and selling disaster trailers while it studies reports that people living in them after hurricanes Katrina and Rita got sick from formaldehyde exposure.
House backs guaranteed breaks for GIs
Brushing aside a veto threat, the Democratic-controlled House voted Thursday to give U.S. troops guaranteed time at home between deployments to Iraq.
House OKs prescription drug imports
WASHINGTON - The House passed legislation Thursday effectively permitting the importation of lower-cost prescription drugs from places such as Canada, Australia and Europe.
Senate OKs wider kids' health program
WASHINGTON - The Senate passed legislation Thursday to add 3 million lower-income children to a popular health insurance program in bipartisan defiance of President Bush's threatened veto.
Fight over oil tax threatens energy bill
WASHINGTON - A rebellion by oil-state Democrats over $16 billion in new taxes on oil companies is threatening to upend House Democratic leaders' plans to swiftly pass energy legislation.
Senate clears new anti-corruption restrictions for Congress
WASHINGTON — Acknowledging the public's outrage over corruption scandals, the Senate gave final congressional approval Thursday to sweeping new limits and disclosure requirements on lobbying and pet-project spending. The 83-14 vote came over the objections of Republicans who said the travel restrictions would be problematic and that proposed "earmark" spending revisions had been watered down to the point of being a sham.
Lotta Muck Under This Rock
(L)et's look at Sen. Stevens and staffer Barbara Flanders. Roll Call has a story on this in today's paper. The reporter doesn't say so explicitly. But the article suggests that not only does Flanders do Stevens' bookkeeping but that she may also not have any actual senate duties. In addition, her job title at the Commerce Committee, 'financial clerk', doesn't exist anywhere else in the senate. And what else probably won't surprise you, she makes a pretty decent salary -- about a $150,000 per annum.
2nd Probe Looking at Senator's Role in Alaska Wildlife Ctr.
Justice Department officials investigating Sen. Ted Stevens are examining whether federal funds he steered to an Alaska wildlife research center may have enriched a former aide, say officials familiar with the probe.
57 percent view Supreme Court favorably
WASHINGTON - Views of the Supreme Court dropped sharply in a six-month period that included decisions that upheld abortion restrictions, struck down school integration plans and chided inaction on global warming, according to a poll Thursday.
Presidential Tracking Poll
Clinton is now viewed favorably by 82% of Democrats, Obama by 66%... Just 16% of Democrats have an unfavorable view of Clinton while 30% hold such a view of Obama. Among all voters, Clinton is viewed favorably by 49% and unfavorably by 48%. Those figures are in the middle of the range she’s occupied all year. Obama is viewed favorably by 48% of all voters, unfavorably by 45%.
I don’t normally post the horse race stuff, but I thought you might be interested in Obama’s unfavorables. I’m surprised.—Caro MediaPermanent link to MTA daily media news
I will be a guest on Tony Seton’s America Back on Track today at 3:30 PM ET. Listen to Tony from 3:00 to 4:00 PM ET every weekday on the Quality News Network.
Headline of the day: “Memo to White House: Bridge Failure Determined to Strike in U.S.”
Meddling in media
John Edwards wants the government to stop Murdoch’s purchase of Dow Jones and not just because of the devil consolidation but also because of ideology… It is not government’s role to punish speakers for their speech. That is the very essence of the First Amendment. It is constitutionally offensive and politically cynical for him to oppose this merger because he disagrees with the buyer.
I’ve said for years that the way to fight right-wing media is to build a media infrastructure of our own. Someday, someone’s going to listen. Hopefully, the movement will include folks who actually know how to run media outlets, however.—Caro
"The Air Americans" to be Grounded in September
A big shake-up is in the works at Air America Radio. Mark Riley, one of the three original AAR hosts still on the air (Randi Rhodes and Rachel Maddow are the other ones) will be gone and so will Riley’s nightly ensemble show The Air Americans to be replaced by a pair of two-hour talk shows. AAR weekend host, Richard Greene will move his show to weeknights – 8-10pm and Bree Walker, who has been hosting a weekend show on KTLK-AM in Los Angeles, will yak from 10pm-midnight.
http://www.mediachannel.org/wordpress/2007/08/02/20-million-to-citizen-journalism-in-one-week/">$20 Million To Citizen Journalism In One Week
(C)itizen journalism is red hot with Associated Content landing $10 million in financing today from Canaan Partners, and NowPublic pulling in $10.6 million in financing from Rho Ventures on Monday (this time last year, OhMyNews landed $11 million from SoftBank).
Fox, CNN Employ Minneapolis Citizen Journalists
Fox and CNN both relied on citizen journalist reports--Fox calls them uReports, CNN I-Reports--to help tell the story of the Minneapolis bridge collapse Wednesday. CNN said it approved 96 such reports, including three videos, from the accident scene. Fox reported a "significant increase in uReports," and used several photos on air.
O’Hanlon begins backpedaling from op-ed.
Just a few days after writing about the progress he saw in Iraq, Brookings analyst Michael O’Hanlon claims that if the situation remains as it is currently, he could not “write another Op-Ed” declaring success.
Coked Up
Demolishing Cokie Roberts' most recent pro-GOP historical distortion on ABC's This Week when predicting that "Democrats' move to end the Iraq War will prove a debilitating political liability for them, 'just like it was in Vietnam.'" Perlstein writes that Roberts' recitation of this hackneyed line, like "most of what comes out of conservatives' mouths about what happened in Vietnam and after is simply made up. Not history. Mythology. No, worse: propaganda."
On Medicare, The Ump is AWOL
The NYT again missed an opportunity to inform readers on the debate over reforming the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act… A NYT article on the topic comments that "many Democrats say these plans, which serve nearly one-fifth of the 43 million Medicare beneficiaries, are overpaid." This is true, but the non-partisan Medicare Payment Advisory Commission and the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office also report that private plans cost Medicare 12 percent more per person, on average, than the traditional Medicare program.
Bill O'Reilly & Joe Klein agree: Dem contenders are 'intimidated' by left
Mark the day down. This may not happen again. That archenemy of liberals, Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly, and Time magazine's friend-to-the-left Joe Klein agree on something: They both think the Democratic presidential candidates have been "intimidated" by the left-wing -- especially the very vocal left-wing blogosphere.
Which only proves that Joe Klein is no friend to the left, or even the center, which is where most of us described as “the left” really are.—Caro
Weimar Watch
"Has there ever before been a time in America where a major political party would virtually pray for our defeat in a war so that they could demonize the leader of the opposition and turn that defeat into victory for them at the polls? Well, you're seeing just that right now," - Neal Boortz, fresh from a meeting with the Decider.
Does BMW think that we should "never trust a Muslim"?
(A commenter on) BillOReilly.com says that American Muslims are "freakin idiots," and that you should "never trust a Muslim!!!!!" Does BMW agree with the hate that BMW is sponsoring? Ask them. Then ask them why Lowes and Home Depot have dumped this hate, but BMW hasn't.
Click through for the email address to write to.—Caro
It's not over for Coulter
When it comes to GOP twig Ann Coulter and her Palm Beach voting snafu, the fat lady has yet to sing. While most expected the conservative pundit to be off the hook for good when the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office punted a voting fraud probe in April, the Florida Elections Commission now is investigating. Technology & ScienceS. Korean stem cells derived from eggs alone: study
CHICAGO (Reuters) - An analysis of a now-discredited South Korean stem cell line suggests the scientists may have inadvertently created the first human embryonic stem cells derived from human eggs alone, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.
Early Interferon Treatment Delays MS
New finding might settle debate on when to start the therapy.
Antidepressant Effectiveness May Depend on Genes
Key DNA influences Celexa's level of benefit, study finds.
Subliminal Messages Fuel Anxiety
Split-second facial expressions made by others—and the feelings they betray—might go unnoticed by your conscious mind, but apparently they do register subliminally. Reading these subtle clues in faces can guide the brain, resulting in unconscious warnings, a new study suggests. Although these hints might normally help warn a person of hidden threats, when kicked into overdrive they might exacerbate anxiety disorders, the scientists said.
Researchers Watch Music Play in the Brain
As symphony movements changed, so did listeners' neurological activity
Saturn's Mysterious G-ring Explained
A loosely knit band of roving ice boulders in orbit around Saturn could be providing the raw material for one of the planet's rings, scientists say. The finding, detailed in the Aug. 3 issue of the journal Science, could solve the puzzle of what sustains Saturn's "G-ring" and might be evidence that a Saturnian moonlet was destroyed during an ancient collision.
Newfound Planet Has Earth-Like Orbit
A planet outside our solar system with a year roughly equal to Earth's has been discovered around a dying, red giant star.
Impossible molecules found in space
The chemistry of outer space continues to amaze astronomers. Recent discoveries with a new observing technique show they have barely glimpsed what's really going on. EnvironmentScientists use satellites to track endangered macaws
GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Scarlet macaws threatened by illegal poachers and land invaders who slash and burn their jungle habitat in Guatemala now have scientists watching out for them from space.
In Surprise, Major Earthquake Fault Slips Backward
A vast chunk of Earth sliding under Mexico has surprisingly reversed direction, puzzling geologists and leaving them wondering whether the ground might be poised to pummel Mexico City with a devastating earthquake.
White House Threatens Veto of $20 Billion Water Projects Bill, Says It's Too Costly
President Bush will veto a $20 billion water projects bill unless lawmakers remove the billions added for new plants and new costs shifted onto the federal government, the White House said Wednesday.
Western North American group works on carbon goals
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Western U.S. states and Canadian provinces eyeing a joint carbon trading market are hoping to resolve differences over issues such as how emissions are calculated. For more headlines, visit MakeThemAccountable.com. |
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
