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Morning headlines brought to you by Carolyn Kay MakeThemAccountable.com Top StoryIraq: 300 insurgents killed in battle
BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S.-backed Iraqi troops on Sunday attacked insurgents allegedly plotting to kill pilgrims at a major Shiite Muslim religious festival, and an Iraqi official estimated some 300 militants died in the daylong battle near Najaf. A U.S. helicopter crashed during the fight, killing two American soldiers.
The problem with having a government that lies to you is that you don’t know whether to believe these kinds of reports. —Caro Pablo on Politics
The WorldParked car bomb targets bus carrying Shiites to a holy shrine, killing 4
A parked car bomb struck a bus carrying Shiites to a holy shrine in northern Baghdad on Monday, killing at least four people, police said.
Iranian Reveals Plan to Expand Role in Iraq
Irans ambassador to Baghdad outlined a plan to expand its economic and military ties with Iraq that will almost certainly bring more conflict with the U.S.
Nuclear plans in chaos as Iran leader flounders
Boasts of a nuclear programme are just propaganda, say insiders, but the PR could be enough to provoke Israel into war
Saudi king urges Palestinians to talk
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Saudi Arabia's king urged Palestinian rival factions Sunday to hold talks in the holy city of Mecca as fighting between the Hamas and Fatah movements persisted in Gaza with no clear winner emerging.
Mixed emotions greet Taliban recruiters
SHABQADAR, Pakistan - Near Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, pride mixes with grief and anger over dozens of young men lost to a stepped-up recruiting drive for the Taliban.
India to set up aerospace defence command
NEW DELHI (AFP) - India will set up an aerospace defence command to shield itself against possible attacks from outer space, officials said.
See what Bush started? First China, now India join the space battles. And don’t think for one minute that Russia doesn’t have its own research going.—Caro
Donors warn against escalation of Sri Lanka conflict
GALLE, Sri Lanka (AFP) - International donors warned Sri Lanka against escalating its bitter ethnic conflict and demanded a power-sharing deal with Tamil rebels to end ethnic bloodshed and salvage the economy.
Drinking recycled sewage way ahead for parched Australia: Howard
SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia's prime minister has hailed a move to force the citizens of a drought-parched region to drink recycled sewage as the way forward for the rest of the world's driest inhabited continent.
Canada aims to set emissions targets in early 2007
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada aims to propose new greenhouse gas emissions targets for key industries, including oil and gas, by this spring for implementation in 2010-2015, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Friday.
Chavez denies plans to seize property
CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez denied Sunday that his left-leaning government would seize private property — such as second homes or expensive cars — from the wealthy and called on Venezuelans not to fear his accelerated push toward socialism.
In a 1st, Sinn Fein Votes to Back Police
DUBLIN, Ireland (AP) - Sinn Fein members overwhelmingly voted Sunday to begin cooperating with the Northern Ireland police, a long-unthinkable commitment that could spur the return of a Catholic-Protestant administration for the British territory. The result - confirmed by a sea of raised hands but no formally recorded vote - meant Sinn Fein, once a hard-left party committed to a socialist revolution, has abandoned its decades-old hostility to law and order.
Please do not ever forget that this victory was brought about by negotiation, not by bullying. It took years, and a lot of patience, but look at the results. I remember when there were frequent bombings in London and Belfast attributable to Sinn Fein.—Caro
Algerian group adopts al-Qaida name
Algeria s main Islamist militant group has changed its name to al-Qaida after getting the approval of Osama bin Laden, according to a statement posted on the Internet on Friday.
Sudan pressing to lead African Union
KHARTOUM, Sudan - Sudan said Sunday it would push for President Omar al-Bashir to become chair of the African Union this week, a move observers and rebels warned would jeopardize the body's efforts to pacify conflict-torn Darfur.
Rise in xenophobia tarnishing South Africa's image
JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - Xenophobia is on the rise in South Africa where foreigners are increasingly being blamed for spiralling crime and growing unemployment, thereby damaging the country's credentials overseas. The NationBush chides Dems on reflexive response
WASHINGTON - There's hardly a topic these days on which President Bush isn't asking the Democratic-controlled Congress to avoid "a reflexive partisan response."
Well, Mr. Bush, if you didn’t reflexively make every single one of your recommendations benefit the rich to the detriment of the rest of us, the Democrats might not reflexively be against every single one of your recommendations.—Caro
Pelosi, Karzai discuss troop increases
KABUL, Afghanistan - The Afghan president told House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that his security forces need to be stronger as the two discussed possible U.S. troop increases on Sunday, days after the Pentagon extended the tour of 3,200 soldiers, an Afghan official said.
Sen. Biden: Most senators oppose U.S. troop buildup
The head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Sunday defended a resolution that opposes sending more U.S. troops to Iraq and said the majority of his colleagues do not support President Bush on Iraq.
Cheney responds to Hagel's criticism
WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney shot back at Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, who has accused the Bush administration of playing "a pingpong game with American lives" by sending more U.S. troops into Iraq.
Clinton: Iraq War Bush's Responsibility
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) - Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday that President Bush has made a mess of Iraq and it is his responsibility to "extricate" the United States from the situation before he leaves office. It would be "the height of irresponsibility" to pass the war along to the next commander in chief, she said.
Pelosi, two other Democrats failed to disclose roles in family charities
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and two other prominent Democrats have failed to disclose they are officers of family charities, in violation of a law requiring members of Congress to report non-profit leadership roles.
Democrats, you can’t criticize Republicans if you’re dirty yourselves. Follow ALL the rules, damn it!—Caro
Israel may have broken US arms export laws
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The White House will inform Congress that Israel may have violated US arms export agreements by using US-supplied cluster bombs in south Lebanon last year, a newspaper reported.
Military aims to cut back on 'stop loss'
WASHINGTON - In an action branded a backdoor draft by some critics, the military over the past several years has held tens of thousands of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines on the job and in war zones beyond their retirement dates or enlistment length.
Army probes war contractor fraud
WASHINGTON - From high-dollar fraud to conspiracy to bribery and bid rigging, Army investigators have opened up to 50 criminal probes involving battlefield contractors in the war in Iraq and the U.S. fight against terrorism, The Associated Press has learned.
Trying to pre-empt Congress, are we, Mr. Gates? Don’t fall for it, Democrats. Do your own investigations. For the next two years I want to see a steady drip, drip, drip of revelations about the malfeasance of this administration. —Caro Economy & BusinessDow and S&P dip on rate worry
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Dow and the S&P 500 ended slightly lower on Friday on concerns that strong economic reports will hurt chances for an interest-rate cut. But those worries were tempered by a report that Bank of America Corp. and Countrywide Financial Corp. may be in early deal talks.
Durable goods orders surprise with strength
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New orders for U.S.-made durable goods rose a larger-than-expected 3.1 percent in December as demand for Boeing jetliners soared and most other sectors showed surprising strength, a government report showed on Friday.
Home sales fall; show faint life-signs
WASHINGTON - New home sales fell in 2006 by the largest amount in 16 years, but they were up for a second straight month in December, raising hopes that the worst of the housing downturn is coming to an end.
Surprising US economic strength to keep Fed on hold
WASHINGTON (AFP) - After a surprising show of strength in the US economy, the Federal Reserve is likely to keep interest rates steady at its upcoming monetary policy meeting to see if the trend continues, analysts say. MediaYouTube to Share Revenue with Users
Chad Hurley, co-founder of YouTube, said Saturday that the wildly successful site will start sharing revenue with its millions of users. Hurley, who along with the site's co-founders sold YouTube to Google for $1.65 billion in November, said one of the major innovations the site is working on is a way to allow users to be paid for content.
Yes, it’s time for website owners to stop keeping all the money they make from what has been free content. I hope this decision will have a major impact on what we internet activists are doing.—Caro
Gates: Internet to Revolutionize TV in 5 Years
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - The Internet is set to revolutionize television within five years, due to an explosion of online video content and the merging of PCs and TV sets, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said on Saturday. "I'm stunned how people aren't seeing that with TV, in five years from now, people will laugh at what we've had," he told business leaders and politicians at the World Economic Forum.
Just what I’ve been saying, only I include wireless phones in the mix.—Caro
Muslim-American Groups Protest GMA's Hiring Of Glenn Beck
ABC no doubt would like to see its morning show catch up with NBC's Today show, the ratings leader, whose formula is built on feel-good stories, celebrities, useful information about grooming needs, and regular folk overcoming fill-in-the-blank barriers before finding fill-in-the-blank success. So it is curious that ABC thinks the way to woo Today's audience is to race bait.
THE PROBLEM WITH NOVELS
Yesterday, former Cheney aide Cathie Martin testified in the Libby trial. In the Post, Dana Milbank uses his incomparable skills with body language to tell us how she “seemed.” What is gained when brilliant analysts tell us how a person “seemed?” In campaign coverage, reporters frequently let us know the candidates “seem” and “appear,” especially at our less disciplined major papers. We’d be much better off if they’d STFU—if they’d simply report what the candidates said. Novels can be purchased at Borders. We don’t need reporters to type them.
Dick Cheney: The New 'Baghdad Bob'?
Is the former Iraqi propaganda minister inhabiting the soul of our vice president? It sure seemed this way during Cheney's highly delusional interview with Wolf Blitzer this week.
'Wash Post' Ombud Hits John Edwards Story
NEW YORK More criticism arose within The Washington Post on Sunday concerning the paper's recent front-page story about the sale of former Sen. John Edwards' local house. The Post ombudsman, Deborah Howell, wrote a column finding fault with two Post pieces, charging that even accurate stories "can be misleading."
AP Finally Allows Criticism of U.S. Hypocrisy on Space Race
Taking on the wire service's blatant bias when sourcing an observation of the hypocrisy of the Bush administration critiizing China for testing new weaponry that can shoot down satellites, "given that the U.S. has long enjoyed the capacity." Even such rare contention "has to come from a source the likes of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and it has to come only after a barrage of purely one-sided stories."
911 Calls in North Dakota Town Reveal Dangers of Media Consolidation
The first broadcasting of emergency calls recorded after the 2002 train crash that spilled chemicals, killing one North Dakota resident and hospitalizing hundreds, and provided a famous illustration of the real-life consequences of rampant corporate consolidation in the radio industry.
A Rough Year for Magazines
If Time, Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report were hoping that 2006 would offset poor advertising numbers in 2005, they will be disappointed. The year-end figures are now in and they show that the number of ad pages at the three big newsmagazines barely inched up. Overall, the whole magazine industry suffered what might be described as a malaise.
Networks Demand DVR Viewing Credit
In what is rapidly developing into a carbon copy of last year's pre-upfront posturing, the media agencies again say they will not budge from using live-only program ratings as the basis for negotiating ad prices in the May upfront, while the broadcast networks say they will not do business unless DVR viewing is factored in by using live-plus-same-day or live-plus-two-day ratings.
Newspapers lose ground in Web-savvy schools: study
NEW YORK (Reuters) - More U.S. teachers are using national and international online news sites in the classroom, leaving behind newspapers that fail to grasp the Internet's importance in trying to reach students, a study found.
Tribune Said to Have New Deal in Works
Tribune Co.'s top management team is talking with private-equity companies about crafting a new deal to restructure the company. According to a source familiar with the board's thinking, the committee overseeing Tribune's auction process has concluded that offers for the company tendered by California's Chandler family and Los Angeles billionaires Eli Broad and Ron Burkle don't value Tribune's assets highly enough. That has opened the door for a management-led solution. Technology & ScienceCell phones vital in developing world
HANOI, Vietnam - Nguyen Huu Truc's trusty cell phone has revolutionized his small embroidery business — and his life.
The Phone wears Prada
LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - Still ooh-ing and ahh-ing over Apple's iPhone that Steve Jobs pimped out at MacWorld earlier this month? LG Electronics has teamed up with fashion brand Prada to unveil a similar touch-screen multimedia phone as well.
China launches 4G before 3G off the ground - media
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China, still working on its long-delayed homegrown third-generation wireless standard, has leapfrogged itself by launching the world's first fourth-generation standard, state media said on Monday.
Intel, IBM reveal transistor overhaul
SAN JOSE, Calif. - In dueling announcements, Intel Corp. and International Business Machines Corp. separately say they have solved a puzzle perplexing the semiconductor industry about how to reduce energy loss in microchip transistors as the technology shrinks to the atomic scale.
Clean energy seen 50 pct of supply by 2050: report
|OSLO (Reuters) - Clean energies could surge to supply half of world demand by 2050 if governments crack down on use of fossil fuels, said a study by the renewable energy industry and an environmental group on Thursday.
Norway may ease ban on stem cell study
OSLO, Norway - Norway's government on Friday proposed lifting a national ban on using human embryonic stem cells for research, saying the change might help find cures to a broad range of diseases.
Thinking on Spinal Cord Function Turned on its Head
A new study reveals that the spinal cord seethes with a tug of war between electrical signals, overturning thinking on how it works. Intriguingly, these conflicting signals could help animals respond more rapidly. And the findings could shed light on how our brains evolved, researchers said.
Potential new way to help with insomnia
Researchers studying a disease that causes people to suddenly drop off to sleep are trying to turn what they have learned into a new way to help insomniacs get some shut-eye.
Complexity of Teardrops Revealed
Tears can signal everything from sorrow to joy to bitter frustration, but until recently little was known about the composition of the tear itself. So little in fact that scientists discovered an entirely new class of lipids—a type of fat—while researching the tear’s design. |
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