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Morning headlines brought to you by Carolyn Kay MakeThemAccountable.com Top StoryKarl who? White House downplays Rove's role
As one of the most powerful and controversial presidential advisors in modern history heads out the door, the White House is engaged in an unusual game of double spin: While President Bush bear-hugged Rove and showered him with praise in a South Lawn ceremony, officials like (White House Counselor Ed) Gillespie quietly began to whittle down Rove's image as the man who played a key role in almost every major decision of the Bush era. If all that sounds contradictory, it's just politics: The Illustrated Daily Scribble
The WorldU.S. commanders weigh partial pullback of troops
Intent on demonstrating progress in Iraq, Gen. Petraeus is expected to call for a withdrawal from several areas.
4 suicide bombings kill 200 in Iraq
BAGHDAD - Four suicide bombers struck nearly simultaneously at communities of a small Kurdish sect in northwestern Iraq late Tuesday, killing at least 200 people and wounding 300 more, Iraqi military and local officials said.
Netanyahu wins Likud race, eyes PM role
JERUSALEM - Benjamin Netanyahu, fresh off a commanding election win as leader of Israel's hardline Likud Party, vowed Wednesday to shift his efforts toward reclaiming his old job as prime minister.
Hezbollah warns Israel against attack
BEIRUT, Lebanon - The leader of the militant Hezbollah group warned Israel on Tuesday it would face a "big surprise" that could shake the entire Mideast if it invades Lebanon again.
Taliban blast kills three Germans in Kabul
KABUL (AFP) - A bomb blast in the Afghan capital killed two German police officers and a foreign ministry staffer, officials in Kabul and Berlin said.
Group: 31 killed in Mogadishu in a day
MOGADISHU, Somalia - Grenade attacks, bombs and gunbattles killed 31 civilians in Mogadishu in the most violent 24 hours the Somali capital had seen in two months, a local human rights group said Tuesday. The NationGen. Casey: ‘Iraq Will Be A Remarkable Country In A Decade’ If We Stick With Occupation
At an event this afternoon at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Gen. George Casey — the former top commander in Iraq and now the Army chief of staff — declared that Iraq will be a remarkable country “in a decade or so” if we maintain the U.S. occupation.
IF WE STAY THERE. Got that? They’re preparing the way for Petraeus’ September report. It will say we have to stay in Iraq, maybe even add troops. My crazy right wingers are all writing to me telling me what a success the surge is. My response to them is, “Great, then let’s bring the troops home!” But they want to send MORE troops, because things are going so well.—Caro
Bad guys make even worse allies
THE UNITED STATES seems to be missing some guns in Iraq. Somehow, the U.S. military has lost track of 110,000 AK-47 assault rifles and 80,000 pistols that were supposedly delivered from our caches to Iraqi security forces. It was classic bureaucratic bungling, the Government Accountability Office concluded… But there may have been another factor -- the government's dangerous and bumbling use of bad guys.
Bought friends don’t stay bought. Osama bin Laden was once an “asset” of the U.S.—Caro
New airport agents check for danger in fliers' facial expressions
WASHINGTON — Next time you go to the airport, there may be more eyes on you than you notice. Specially trained security personnel are watching body language and facial cues of passengers for signs of bad intentions. The watcher could be the attendant who hands you the tray for your laptop or the one standing behind the ticket-checker. Or the one next to the curbside baggage attendant. They're called Behavior Detection Officers.
Passport rules snag child support cash
WASHINGTON - The price of a passport: $311,491 in back child support payments for a U.S. businessman now living in China; $46,000 for a musician seeking to perform overseas, and $45,849 for a man planning a Dominican Republic vacation.
Senators question execution speedup
WASHINGTON - Two senators have asked the Justice Department to delay new rules that would give Attorney General Alberto Gonzales authority to limit the time death row inmates spend on appeals before being executed.
ABA targets CIA methods, secrets law
SAN FRANCISCO -- The American Bar Assn. voted Monday to urge Congress to override a Bush administration order authorizing the CIA to use interrogation techniques such as waterboarding, and sensory and sleep deprivation. The nation's largest lawyers' organization also called on Congress to give federal judges more oversight of government efforts to use the "state secrets" doctrine to throw out legal challenges to anti-terrorism programs.
Beyond Padilla terror case, huge legal issues
If prosecutors brought the dirty-bomb plot or other alleged illegal actions by (Jose) Padilla into the Miami case, it would open the door for courtroom scrutiny of the government's use of coercive interrogation techniques against Al Qaeda suspects, including Padilla… This is a part of the war on terror the Bush administration would rather keep quiet. But details are emerging.
Dem committees have nearly doubled fundraising; GOP's are down more than 20%
"During the first six months of 2007, Democratic party committees ... raised $111.5 million and spent $67.7 million," the Federal Election Commission reports this morning. It says that "when compared to the same period in 2003, the last presidential cycle, the Democrats showed a 98% increase in federal receipts." Meanwhile, the FEC says, "Republican party committees raised $108.8 million and spent $87.1 million. This represents ... a 22% decline when compared the same period in 2003." MediaPermanent link to MTA daily media news
I will be a guest today on the Tony Trupiano Show, at 1:00 PM ET. Listen to Tony’s show every day between noon and 3:00 PM ET on listener supported RadioPower.org.
Steve Bradenton
Meme of the Day
Karl Rove, martyr to Democratic partisanship.
The Reviews Are In: Major Papers Cast Rove’s Record As Failure
In the wake of Karl Rove’s resignation (Monday), television talking heads were quick to heap praise on the political strategist, lauding him as a “superstar,” “the mastermind,” and “Boy Genius.” But (Tuesday) morning, major print outlets exhibited a more careful analysis of Rove’s record of false predictions, scandal, and his failed attempts to engineer a “permanent Republican majority.” In both analysis and editorial pieces today, major papers slammed Rove’s legacy.
Spy Agency OKs Bloggers as Journalists
The CIA recently updated its policies on Freedom of Information Act requests to allow bloggers to qualify for special treatment once reserved for old-school reporters. And last August, the NSA issued a directive to its employees to report leaks of classified information to the media -- "including blogs," the order said.
'The Simpsons'? Scientific?
Good news: All the hours kids spend watching The Simpsons, they also may be learning something about science. Paul Halpern, a physics and mathematics professor at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia and a fan of the show, uses episodes in his classes… Halpern says that while not everything in the show is scientifically correct, it can spark an interest in science.
Half Hour News Hour Shelved
In a memo to senior producers this afternoon, FNC's SVP of programming, Bill Shine announced the network "will not continue the Half Hour News Hour beyond its current 15 episode run." Shine did leave the door open, however: "we are considering ways to retool the show for future scheduling needs."
Right wingers are as funny as a heart attack.—Caro
Shifting Internet landscape: Content is now king
Internet users spend almost half their time online reading and watching content, dwarfing the time spent searching for information, communicating with others and buying products, according to a four-year analysis of Internet activity released Monday. The new study from the Online Publishers Association (OPA) found that the time Internet users spend viewing online content is up 37% from four years ago.
The $200 Billion Rip-Off
This is part three of my explanation of how America went from having the fastest and cheapest Internet service in the world to what we have today -- not very fast, not very cheap Internet service that is hurting our ability to compete economically with the rest of the world.
http://www.mediachannel.org/wordpress/2007/08/14/google-wins-first-battle-for-open-wireless-spectrum/">Google Wins First Battle For Open Wireless Spectrum
Google looks likely to enter the US wireless market after the FCC bowed to pressure to change the way it plans to sell off part of the airwaves
http://www.mediachannel.org/wordpress/2007/08/14/kids-in-europe-justify-piracy-papa-pirates-so-i-do-too/">Kids In Europe Justify Piracy: "Papa Pirates, So I Do, Too"
"Everybody's doing it!" That's one excuse provided by European kids as to why they pirate media or software from the Internet Technology & ScienceMajor League Umps Call More Strikes for Pitchers of Same Race
Major League Baseball umpires are more likely to call strikes for pitchers of the same race or ethnicity, a new study finds… Just as discrimination in the labor market can affect disparities in wages, promotion and performance evaluation, the researchers said, possible discrimination by umpires could affect the outcome of games and careers.
Decline in U.S. Breast Cancers Tied to Drop in Hormone Use
Mammogram trends played no role in recent lower numbers, study finds
Total Cholesterol, HDL Good Predictors of Heart Disease Risk
There's no added benefit to measuring other lipids, researchers say
Guiding Kids to Better Diets Boosts Health
Learning about saturated fat improved children's cholesterol, study found
Short Bouts of Exercise Pay Off
3 half-hour walks per week shed pounds, lowered blood pressure, study found
Healthy Diet Guards Against Return of Colon Cancer
Patients who ate high-fat foods were three times more likely to see recurrence of disease, study finds.
Humane farming eases pangs for some vegetarians
TORONTO (Reuters) - Vegetarianism is a popular choice for those whose personal politics extend to their diets. But "compassionate carnivores" see an option that allows them to eat meat without abandoning their principles, focusing on small farms with sustainable and humane practices.
Pimp My Blimp: New Luxury Airship Planned
It's a blimp. It's a plane. No, it's an airship with 5,000 square feet of living and/or cargo space, according to plans announced by a company that makes surveillance and advertising dirigibles… It can be finished as a personal yacht, a business commuter craft or cargo carrier… (I)t’s basically a low-maintenance, non-buoyant airship that could operate from any airport, carrying anywhere from two to maybe 20 people. EnvironmentGREEN LIVING TOOLBOX: 80+ Green Sites
Yahoo is currently holding a contest to find a green logo, while just last week a green living social network was acquired. In short: green is the new black. We’ve rounded up 80+ tools, social sites and resources to help you help the planet
Mexico's glaciers disappearing
Aug. 15 - Climate change in Mexico is causing the demise of the glaciers, and scientists are blaming global warming.
Making Global Warming Cuts Expensive but Feasible for Power Industry, Study Says
Making big cuts in emissions linked to global warming could trim U.S. economic growth by $400 billion to $1.8 trillion over the next four decades, a new study says.
Australia discovers world ocean "missing link"
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian scientists have identified one of the last missing links which shows how the world ocean system is interconnected in governing global climate. For more headlines, visit MakeThemAccountable.com. |
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