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Morning headlines brought to you by Carolyn Kay MakeThemAccountable.com Top StoryFallon says U.S. miscalculated Iraq
WASHINGTON - Adm. William Fallon, who is poised to become the top American commander in the Middle East, says the United States miscalculated the ability of Iraqi forces to take control and underestimated the enemy's persistence. Back in business!
The Illustrated Daily Scribble
The WorldBomb kills 13 in Iraq during Ashoura
BAGHDAD, Iraq - At least 13 people were killed Tuesday after a bomb left in a garbage can struck Shiites during ceremonies marking Ashoura in a town near the Iranian border, police said. At least 39 were wounded.
Top leaders in Iraqi national police replaced
The Iraqi government has replaced several leaders of the national police force who had "turned a blind eye" to Shiite militias, a U.S. general said Monday. The move comes ahead of a major security crackdown in the capital.
3 helicopters lost in Iraq since Jan. 20
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Three helicopters have been lost in Iraq in the past 10 days, including one over the weekend. While insurgents and militias have plenty of weapons capable of shooting down helicopters, the U.S. has developed tactics to minimize the risk, and many experts doubt the threat to the military's workhorse has significantly increased.
Hamas, Fatah Declare New Cease-Fire
A bomber in the resort town of Eilat has killed three people in the first suicide attack in Israel in nine months, as warring Hamas and Fatah factions later declared a cease fire.
Israel's first Muslim minister sworn into office
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's first Muslim cabinet minister was sworn in by parliament on Monday after a weeks-long battle over his nomination that drew fire from far-right parties as well as Arab lawmakers.
China: NKorea Nuke Talks Resuming Feb. 8
BEIJING (AP) - International talks on dismantling North Korea's nuclear programs will resume Feb. 8, China said Tuesday, as Washington and Pyongyang began a new round of meetings over the North's alleged illicit financial dealings.
China leader leaves for tour of Africa
BEIJING - President Hu Jintao set out Tuesday on an eight-nation tour of Africa, a visit that underscores China's growing influence on the continent and its voracious appetite for energy to fuel its booming economy.
Millions to go hungry, waterless: climate report
CANBERRA (Reuters) - Rising temperatures will leave millions more people hungry by 2080 and cause critical water shortages in China and Australia, as well as parts of Europe and the United States, according to a new global climate report.
Canada pays torture victim in U.S. case
Canada's prime minister apologized to Maher Arar on Friday and announced the government would compensate him $8.9 million for its role in his deportation by U.S. authorities to Syria, where he was tortured while held in prison for nearly a year.
S. America name women as defense ministers
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - South America's leaders are increasingly naming women as their defense ministers, putting them in charge of keeping the peace in nations still grappling with legacies of military dictatorships.
Blair, Ahern mull N.Ireland power-sharing
LONDON (AFP) - The British and Irish premiers will discuss power-sharing between rival communities in Northern Ireland after the main Catholic party historically backed the province's police force.
Religious leaders urge Blair to tackle 'injustice' of debt
LONDON (AFP) - Religious and cultural leaders have jointly urged Prime Minister Tony Blair to take further action on the "injustice" of debt in the developing world.
Germany to shut down coal mines in 2018
BERLIN (AFP) - Germany is to shut down its coal mines, which helped fuel the country's post-war economic miracle, by 2018, the ruling coalition of left and right parties agreed overnight.
Italy coalition faces challenge over gay rights
ROME (Reuters) - Italy's fragile governing coalition looked set on Monday for a showdown over its plan to recognize the rights of homosexual and unmarried heterosexual couples.
But they’re trying. In oh-so-Catholic Italy. Think about what a milestone that is. —Caro
Africa summit tries to raise troops for Somalia
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - An African summit on Tuesday discussed raising thousands more troops for a peacekeeping force in Somalia after defusing a potentially damaging row over Sudan.
U.N. adopts Holocaust denial resolution
UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution Friday condemning the denial of the Holocaust, with only Iran rejecting it as an attempt by the United States and Israel to exploit the atrocity for their political interests. The NationCongress to test bounds of its war power
WASHINGTON - President Bush may be the decision maker, but the Democratic-controlled Congress holds the purse strings.
U.S.: Israel may have misused bombs
WASHINGTON - Israel probably misused American-made cluster bombs in civilian areas of Lebanon during the war against Hezbollah last summer, the State Department said Monday.
Senator targets surplus sales to Iran
WASHINGTON - A Democratic senator wants to cut off all Pentagon sales of surplus F-14 parts, saying the military's marketing of the spares "defies common sense" in light of their importance to Iran.
NRC: Military Should Protect Nuke Plants
Operators of nuclear power plants should not have to worry about trying to stop terrorists from crashing a plane into a reactor. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says that's the responsibility of the military and other federal agencies.
More money for Pell grants and AIDS initiatives, less for base closings in House bill
Democrats unveiled a $463.5 billion catchall spending bill late Monday to boost funding for community health centers, lower-income college students and efforts to combat AIDS overseas while sticking within the confines of President Bush's tight constraints for the ongoing budget year.
Congress begins tackling climate issues
WASHINGTON - Two private advocacy groups say they have found evidence of political pressure on government climate scientists at seven federal agencies in efforts to downplay the threat of global warming.
Lobbyists' dollars can fund political conventions
A Senate bill passed this month would bar members from attending lobbyist-sponsored parties thrown in their honor but would leave intact the ability of special interests to pay for the quadrennial events. The host committee in Denver, where Democrats will gather next year, already has collected more than $16 million, some from companies lobbying Congress and federal agencies. Organizers in Minneapolis-St. Paul, site of the Republican event, also raise money from companies with business in Washington.
Bush clarifies 'Democrat majority' gaffe
WASHINGTON - This one has gotten a little ic-ky for the White House. President Bush said Monday he wasn't trying to disparage the party now running Congress by referring to it as the "Democrat majority," as opposed to the "Democratic majority," in his State of the Union speech.
Didn’t mean it, Uh huh. Didn’t mean to sound just like his vicious little internet footsoldiers. —Caro
Fleischer Recalls Discussion About Plame
WASHINGTON (AP) - Former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer testified Monday he first heard that a prominent war critic's wife worked at the CIA from vice presidential aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. He said he thought the information might help deflect critical questions from reporters. Fleischer said Libby told him about Valerie Plame's job at the CIA over a lunch in the White House mess on July 7, 2003. But Libby has told investigators he thought he first learned about Plame on July 10 from NBC reporter Tim Russert. Four other government witnesses also have said they discussed Plame with Libby before July 10.
N.O. Mayor: Feds Lack Will To Rebuild
"I think it's more class than anything, but there's racial issues associated with it also," said New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin, criticizing the pace of help for his hurricane-ravaged city, while testifying before a Senate committee. Economy & BusinessDow and Nasdaq inch up with techs
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Dow average and the Nasdaq edged higher on Monday, helped by gains in shares of Intel Corp. and IBM on optimism about new microchip technology.
Interest Rates on 3-Month Bills Climb
WASHINGTON - Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills rose in Monday's auction, with the three-month bill climbing to the highest level in six years.
House bill would ban Wal-Mart, retailers' banks
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced a bipartisan bill on Monday that would ban Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Home Depot Inc. from owning a type of bank known as an industrial loan company (ILC).
U.S. businesses at odds over minimum wage
WASHINGTON - America's businesses are at odds over minimum wage legislation, but the rift has little to do with a $2.10 hourly raise. A Senate bill that could win final passage this week has divided the private sector, pitting small businesses and retailers that would benefit from tax breaks in the bill against the larger corporations and manufacturers that would have to pay for them. MediaAir America Finds Buyer in SLG Radio
Air America Radio, the left-leaning radio network which filed for bankruptcy protection in October, has found a buyer. The network announced Monday that it has signed a letter of intent to sell its business to SLG Radio, an entity controlled by Stephen Green, founder and chairman of SL Green Realty Corp. His brother, Mark Green, has been a frequent guest and host on the network.
Congratulations to Thom and Louise Hartmann! Thom will replace Al Franken. —Caro
Politics, War, and a Crucial Speech Top the News Index: Jan. 21 - 26, 2007
The increasingly crowded 2008 presidential field and the intensifying political battle over Iraq competed with President Bush’s State of the Union Address for media attention last week. But the PEJ index of the news also reveals that a series of smoldering global hotspots are now attracting more coverage.
Attack ads go online and underground
'Viral' Web video spreads fast and far, biting candidates hard -- sometimes with their own words.
In (yester)day’s Post, Dan Balz helps spread a canard about Hillary Clinton
Where do Dem voters, including Iowa “party activists,” get the idea that Clinton can’t be elected? In part, from endless TV propaganda, and from reports like Balz’s. People who watched the Matthews Show heard a pundit aggressively say that Clinton’s polling has been “dead straight-line;” no one in the panel managed to say that she’s has been ahead of McCain for months. This is how a nation of voters gets the press corps’ preferred ideas in their heads. This is how our “party activists” end up reciting the RNC’s points.
Insightmag, A Must-Read
A lesson in how easy it is -- even for publications with no history of credibility -- to start a scandal.
Democrats unveil massive spending bill
WASHINGTON - Democrats have unveiled a massive spending bill combining the budgets of 13 Cabinet agencies with increases in aid for lower-income college students, while cutting President Bush's funding requests for foreign aid and closing military bases.
Please note the difference between the AP’s headline on the budget bill, above, and USA Today’s (More money for Pell grants and AIDS initiatives, less for base closings in House bill). The AP reinforces for its readers the myth of tax and spend Democrats, even though this is a bill that should have been passed last year, when Republicans were still in charge of Congress. —Caro
Pelosi reaches out to blogging community
WASHINGTON - Shortly after her swearing-in as the first female House speaker, Rep. Nancy Pelosi took time to field questions from a few dozen Internet bloggers on a conference call that was off limits to mainstream media.
Microsoft to take on rival search giants with Vista launch
LONDON - Microsoft has signalled its intent to take on advertising-funded business models such as Google's, as new figures show its share of internet search continues to fall.
Bill’s Big Idea
Microsoft Corp. is developing on an online payment system that will be cheaper than credit card transactions, making it possible for companies to charge small fees for Web-based content and services they now offer for free. Microsoft’s move into internet payments could threaten credit card companies’ online profits. Mr. Gates described a system that would undercut credit card fees, making it profitable for an online newspaper to charge small fees for an individual article.
Nintendo To Launch Wii News Channel
The console will take a news feed from The Associated Press, where it can be accessed by activating the Wii remote.
Smithsonian Networks Lists Its Starting Six TV Programs
Smithsonian Networks, a controversial joint enterprise of the Smithsonian Institution and Showtime Networks, has "Ed" on its side. Tom Cavanagh, known for his starring role on the old NBC series, will be featured in one of a preliminary slate of television programs that will be announced today. A signature series will be "Stories From the Vault," a 30-minute program hosted by Cavanagh. It will explore the artifacts and people that have made the Smithsonian one of the most recognized museums in the world; on one episode, a curator will examine a Stradivarius using a CT scan.
TiVo Jumps Into Syndicated Ratings Game
TiVo, that onetime harbinger of doom for advertisers and the creative types who craft their ads, is now taking a leap into the syndicated ratings business. The company is set to announce today that it will market a system that details the live and time-shifted TV viewing‹to both programs and commercials of its 4.5 million universe of DVR subscribers. Publicis Group's Starcom has signed on as the first subscriber to the new service, which TiVo has named Stop||Watch.
'Daily Show'-Style Radio Program in Works
NEW YORK, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Public radio can give U.S. listeners what they want -- fuller stories in a fun, hip format, Public Radio International CEO Alisa Miller said. PRI, with similar stakes as other media in attracting a younger audience, launched "Fair Game," which Miller describes as something akin to "The Daily Show." "Fair Game." Hosted by Faith Salie, takes an irreverent hour-long look at the day's events, with guests and live music.
Maucker of 'Sun-Sentinel' Named E&P's 'Editor of the Year'
Earl Maucker, editor and senior vice president of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, is E&P's 'Editor of the Year,' the magazine announced Monday. In its profile by Mark Fitzgerald in the February issue, E&P reveals that Maucker was selected for his leadership role in growing readership and integrating marketing efforts -- while nurturing aggressive watchdog journalism that was recognized by winning three finalists spots in the 2006 Pulitzer Prizes.
Even Bitches Have Feelings
Judith Regan is a walking cartoon, an equal-opportunity bigot—and hardly the only villain in the sordid O.J. publishing scandal. Technology & ScienceMySpace needs a new dimension to avoid virtual defeat
MySpace is doing far less well than its owner would like us to believe. About 50% of customers who sign up for a MySpace account never return; the increase in new traffic to MySpace is beginning to slow. Most worrying of all, the most significant shift has occurred among 12 to 17-year-olds. Once considered the site’s most lucrative audience, they accounted for 24.7% in August 2005, they now represent just 11.9%. The trouble is that MySpace’s look is largely un-changed in recent years while sites with better features have emerged.
Nickelodeon Begins a Web Site Focusing on Interactive Play
The popular childrens cable network is pushing hard into the online world with a new Web site that will let its young users enter their own world of Internet activities.
EU court rules France Telecom broke antitrust rules
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - France Telecom kept competitors out of the high-speed Internet market illegally by charging artificially low prices, Europe's second highest court ruled on Tuesday, upholding a 2003 European Commission decision.
EU may challenge U.S. online gambling law: McCreevy
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - U.S. restrictions on online gambling may be challenged by the European Union, the bloc's top financial regulator said on Tuesday.
Canon ordered to pay researcher for invention
TOKYO (AFP) - A Tokyo court has ordered technology giant Canon Inc. to pay a former researcher for his invention in the latest victory by engineers who say Japanese firms do not award individual achievements.
Hubble telescope's main camera crippled
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Hubble Space Telescope's main and most powerful camera has been crippled by an electrical short-circuit, losing two-thirds of its capacity, NASA officials said.
Scientists bridging the spirituality gap
A new research center is using brain imaging technology to examine deep questions about faith, and to investigate how spiritual and secular beliefs affect our health and behavior.
Woman's fertility cycle affects brain, scans show
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A woman's hormones affect specific parts of the brain called the reward pathway, researchers said on Monday in a finding that could offer insight into treating drug abuse and mood disorders.
US wolves taken off endangered list, clearing way for hunting
SALMON, United States (AFP) - US wildlife authorities said they will remove wolves from the endangered species list in three states and want to de-list the animals in three more regions, paving the way for hunting the creatures for the first time in decades. |
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