| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"maff" |
| Date: |
30 Aug 2007 08:13:16 PM |
| Object: |
OT: A Rigged Report on U.S. Voting? |
A Rigged Report on U.S. Voting?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/29/AR2007082901928.html
By Tova Andrea Wang
Thursday, August 30, 2007; Page A21
After the 2000 Florida election debacle, Congress established a body
called the Election Assistance Commission to improve voting and
democracy in this country. Two years ago, the commission approached me
about doing a project that would take a preliminary look at voter
fraud and intimidation and make recommendations for further research
on the issues.
Because my approach to election issues tends to be more closely
aligned with Democrats, I was paired with a Republican co-author. To
further remove any taint of partisanship, my co-author and I convened
a bipartisan working group to help us. We spent a year doing research
and consulting with leaders in the field to produce a draft report.
What happened next seems inexplicable. After submitting the draft in
July 2006, we were barred by the commission's staff from having
anything more to do with it.
The Washington Clock Runs Down
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/29/AR2007082901926.html
By Kyle Teamey
Thursday, August 30, 2007; Page A21
In early 2005, Americans still seemed interested in the war in Iraq.
If I mentioned that I had been a soldier there, they wanted to learn
more about the country and how our troops were faring. By the end of
2005, as the violence continued to rise, they began to seem less
interested, and by mid-2006 nobody wanted to talk about the war.
Regardless of their feelings about the troops or the case for going to
war, Americans I spoke with last year either wanted to ignore Iraq or
believed it was already lost. That seems to be the prevailing
sentiment today, and it's something the Democratic Party has used to
great effect: We've lost the war, so let's get out.
A Deregulator in Paris
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/29/AR2007082901929.html
By George F. Will
Thursday, August 30, 2007; Page A21
PARIS -- "We," the finance minister says, "have a terrible past." She
also says: "In a way, we've had it too easy." Christine Lagarde is
correct on both counts.
Her first "we" refers to Europe, the second to France. Both Europe's
cataclysms and France's comforts condition the context for reforms.
Bush's Lost Iraqi Election
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/29/AR2007082901930.html
By David Ignatius
Thursday, August 30, 2007; Page A21
Ayad Allawi, the former interim prime minister of Iraq, hinted in a
television interview last weekend at one of the war's least understood
turning points: America's decision not to challenge Iranian
intervention in Iraq's January 2005 elections.
"Our adversaries in Iraq are heavily supported financially by other
quarters. We are not," Allawi told CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "We fought the
elections with virtually no support whatsoever, except for Iraqis and
the Iraqis who support us."
Small Shoes at Justice
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/29/AR2007082901927.html
By Robert D. Novak
Thursday, August 30, 2007; Page A21
On Saturday, one day after Alberto Gonzales submitted his resignation
as attorney general and two days before it was made public, White
House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten was on the phone feeling out who
might be available as a replacement. That Bolten had a short list in
hand indicates that even if George W. Bush was ready to ride out his
presidency with his dear friend at the Justice Department, senior
aides were eager to stanch the political bleeding.
It is not surprising that nobody on Bolten's short list resembles
Gonzales (though it would be hard to find anyone else so inappropriate
for the job). But the high caliber of possible selections means
President Bush is not content with a placeholder sure to get Senate
confirmation. It also suggests a seriousness of purpose not evident
when Bush transplanted Texas aides to Washington.
Courage in Burma
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/29/AR2007082902119.html
Pro-democracy protesters dare to take to the streets. Will the world
respond as bravely?
Thursday, August 30, 2007; Page A20
THE MOST STRIKING feature of the remarkable protests taking place
across Burma for the past 10 days is that they are taking place at
all. That Southeast Asian nation is ruled by one of the world's most
repressive and brutal regimes, led by dictator Than Shwe. Those who
dare speak out risk imprisonment and torture not only for themselves
but for their relatives. Yet since Aug. 19, hundreds of men and women,
students and Buddhist monks, have peaceably taken to the streets
across Burma to protest economic mismanagement and political
oppression. Scores have been swept into prison; many more have been
beaten by government-sponsored thugs. Min Ko Naing, released in
November 2004 after 15 years in prison for leading pro-democracy
protests in 1988, took to the streets again -- and is once again in
prison, facing a possible 20-year sentence for a nonviolent
demonstration.
Mr. Craig's Secret
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/29/AR2007082902042.html
The senator's handling of his arrest has only compounded the damage to
his career.
Thursday, August 30, 2007; Page A20
"IAM NOT GAY. I have never been gay," said conservative Idaho
Republican Sen. Larry Craig on Tuesday as he tried to explain the
stunning revelation of his June arrest on charges of soliciting sex
from an undercover police officer in a men's room at Minneapolis-St.
Paul International Airport. But, as he is quickly realizing, Mr. Craig
finds himself in a world of trouble not because he may or may not be
gay. His 27-year congressional career hangs in the balance because he
was arrested, pleaded guilty, paid a fine, agreed to a year of
probation and didn't tell anyone -- not his family, lawyer, Senate
colleagues or his constituents.
A Liberal Dose of History
By Lynn Hunt,
author of "Inventing Human Rights"
Thursday, August 30, 2007; Page C03
FREEDOM'S POWER
The True Force of Liberalism
By Paul Starr
Basic. 276 pp. $26
Only in the United States is "liberal" a label for someone soft on
communism, national defense and crime. The Liberal Democrats in the
United Kingdom occupy the center between Labour on the left and the
Conservatives on the right, and liberals in France favor free markets
over the maintenance of the welfare state, much like our Republicans.
Riding to the rescue of those still traumatized by 20 years or more of
successful demonization by the Republicans, Paul Starr, a professor of
sociology and public affairs at Princeton University and co-founder of
the American Prospect, offers a lucid and well-informed explanation of
the origins, history and current prospects of liberalism.
Starr's achievement is not minor, for liberalism is devilishly
difficult to pin down. It has two main sources that have flowed into
very different channels over time: economic liberalism, which
emphasizes the way free markets and property rights strengthen civil
society and provide a counterweight to governmental tyranny; and
political liberalism, which draws more attention to the right to vote,
constitutional protections of citizens' rights and, ultimately,
democracy. Economic liberals eventually became Republicans, political
liberals Democrats.
Report Finds Little Progress On Iraq Goals
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/29/AR2007082902434.html
GAO Draft at Odds With White House
By Karen DeYoung and Thomas E. Ricks
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, August 30, 2007; Page A01
Iraq has failed to meet all but three of 18 congressionally mandated
benchmarks for political and military progress, according to a draft
of a Government Accountability Office report. The document questions
whether some aspects of a more positive assessment by the White House
last month adequately reflected the range of views the GAO found
within the administration.
The strikingly negative GAO draft, which will be delivered to Congress
in final form on Tuesday, comes as the White House prepares to deliver
its own new benchmark report in the second week of September, along
with congressional testimony from Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top
U.S. commander in Iraq, and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker. They are
expected to describe significant security improvements and offer at
least some promise for political reconciliation in Iraq.
Bush Says Gulf Coast Isn't Forgotten
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/29/AR2007082900300.html
But Cynicism Abounds On Katrina Anniversary
By Michael Abramowitz and Michael A. Fletcher
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, August 30, 2007; Page A01
NEW ORLEANS, Aug. 29 -- President Bush marked the second anniversary
of Hurricane Katrina by trying to reassure the people of the Gulf
Coast that they are not forgotten, declaring that "the town is coming
back" at an appearance Wednesday in the devastated Lower Ninth Ward.
But the president appeared on the defensive as he was forced to
contend with cynicism in the region about his administration and with
a barrage of criticism from Democrats that the administration had not
done enough to help speed the area's recovery from the storm's
destruction.
GOP Leaders Strip Craig Of Committee Assignments
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/29/AR2007082901628.html
By Karl Vick and Paul Kane
Washington Post Staff Writer and washingtonpost.com Staff Writer
Thursday, August 30, 2007; Page A01
BOISE, Idaho, Aug. 29 -- Sen. Larry Craig went on vacation with his
wife Wednesday, according to aides, as calls for his resignation
intensified, Republican leaders stripped him of his committee
assignments, and support in his home state appeared to be eroding.
On the day after Craig dismissed having pleaded guilty to a charge of
disorderly conduct in an airport restroom as an overreaction to a
mistaken arrest, and insisted that he is not gay, even longtime
supporters expressed disappointment.
Terrorism Policies Split Democrats
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/29/AR2007082902355.html
Anger Mounts Within Party Over Inaction on Bush Tactics
By Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 30, 2007; Page A01
A growing clamor among rank-and-file Democrats to halt President
Bush's most controversial tactics in the fight against terrorism has
exposed deep divisions within the party, with many Democrats angry
that they cannot defeat even a weakened president on issues that they
believe should be front and center.
The Democrats' failure to rein in wiretapping without warrants, close
the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay or restore basic legal rights
such as habeas corpus for terrorism suspects has opened the party's
leaders to fierce criticism from some of their staunchest allies -- on
Capitol Hill, among liberal bloggers and at interest groups.
The Reigning Mayor's Running Denial
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/29/AR2007082902084.html
By Dana Milbank
Thursday, August 30, 2007; Page A02
Those anticipating a Michael Bloomberg run for the presidency are
missing the point. Given his constant use of the royal "we," he seems
to be campaigning for the monarchy.
"We are making a difference, and I think that will be one of the
legacies of our administration, and my hope is we have enough
visibility and enough success before we leave office . . . that our
successes will have to go and continue," the New York mayor declared
at the National Press Club this week in a high-profile visit to the
capital.
Reprimand Is Sentence For Officer at Abu Ghraib
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/29/AR2007082900391.html
By Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 30, 2007; Page A03
Army Lt. Col. Steven L. Jordan, the only officer to face trial over
the Abu Ghraib detainee-abuse scandal, was issued a reprimand
yesterday by a military jury, a punishment that spares him all prison
time after he was convicted this week on one count of disobeying an
order.
The jury could have sentenced Jordan to as much as five years in
prison and ordered his dismissal from the Army. Instead, he received
one of the lightest punishments available. Jordan was convicted for
contacting other soldiers about the military's 2004 investigation into
the Abu Ghraib abuse after he was ordered not to discuss it with
anyone.
Planned Crackdown on Immigrants Denounced
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/29/AR2007082902267.html
By Spencer S. Hsu
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 30, 2007; Page A04
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO this week separately
assailed a new White House-backed crackdown on illegal immigration,
warning of massive disruptions to the economy and headaches for U.S.
citizens if the proposal goes ahead as planned in the coming days.
The Bush administration intends to begin writing to 140,000 employers
on Tuesday regarding suspect Social Security numbers used by an
estimated 8.7 million workers, as a way of pressuring them to fire
illegal immigrants. President Bush disclosed the plan three weeks ago
as part of a repackaged, 26-point enforcement program after Congress
failed to overhaul U.S. immigration laws this summer.
Trial of Reputed Mobsters Draws the Curious in Chicago
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/29/AR2007082901914.html
By Kari Lydersen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 30, 2007; Page A08
CHICAGO, Aug. 29 -- "There he is, there's Calabrese and there's the
Indian and there's Joey the Clown," said Lee Anne Roggensack,
excitedly pointing out three of the elderly defendants in the Family
Secrets mob conspiracy trial, where closing arguments conclude
Thursday.
Roggensack, 48, skipped a planned vacation so she could attend,
sitting in the courtroom for at least 18 days.
Sadr Orders 'Freeze' on Militia Actions
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/29/AR2007082900586.html
Iraqi Cleric's Edict Comes After Killings At Shiite Festival
By Joshua Partlow and Saad Sarhan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, August 30, 2007; Page A12
BAGHDAD, Aug. 29 -- The powerful Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr
publicly ordered his huge militia Wednesday to "freeze" operations for
up to six months, but U.S. and Iraqi officials expressed skepticism of
the cleric's intentions and his ability to control the fractured
network of fighters who kill in his name.
Sadr issued his order following a day of Shiite-against-Shiite gunfire
that killed 49 people during a religious ceremony in the holy city of
Karbala. In a statement, he said the freeze would apply to his Mahdi
Army militia "without exception in order to have it restructured in a
way that would retain for this ideological body its prestige."
Musharraf Agrees to Resign as Army Chief
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/29/AR2007082900495.html
Step by Pakistani President Is Part of Deal With Political Rival
Benazir Bhutto
By Griff Witte
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, August 30, 2007; Page A12
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Aug. 29 -- Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf
has agreed to step down as army chief as part of a broad and once-
unthinkable agreement being finalized with his chief political rival,
Benazir Bhutto, officials on both sides said Wednesday.
The agreement, if completed, would probably permit Musharraf to
continue as president and allow Bhutto to return to Pakistan after
eight years of exile to try to win back her old job as prime minister,
officials said. More broadly, the deal would fundamentally alter the
political landscape in Pakistan, a top U.S. ally on counterterrorism
but also a haven for al-Qaeda and other extremist groups.
Plan for Terror Screening of Aid Groups Cut Drastically
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/29/AR2007082901913.html
By Walter Pincus
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 30, 2007; Page A13
The Bush administration has decided to sharply scale back its plan to
screen U.S. foreign aid contractors around the globe for potential
terrorism connections, deciding instead to begin with a pilot program
involving aid recipients in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip before
expanding it worldwide.
The decision, announced Tuesday at a meeting of U.S. officials and
representatives of nonprofit groups, was made after lawmakers and
several large aid organizations said that the global screening
requirements were onerous and unwarranted. An official of the U.S.
Agency for International Development had earlier promised to defer the
program, which initially was to have taken effect Monday.
Report Accuses Hezbollah of Indiscriminate Attacks on Civilians in '06
War
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/29/AR2007082902129.html
By Alia Ibrahim
Special to The Washington Post
Thursday, August 30, 2007; Page A15
BEIRUT, Aug. 29 -- An international human rights group has concluded
that Lebanon's Hezbollah movement indiscriminately attacked civilians
during its conflict with Israel last summer, a finding that prompted
denunciations from both the Lebanese government and Hezbollah.
In that climate, New York-based Human Rights Watch canceled a news
conference it had planned to hold Thursday in Beirut to release the
report, and its officials said they were being unfairly silenced.
Taliban Begins to Free South Korean Hostages
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/29/AR2007082900552.html
By Griff Witte
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, August 30, 2007; Page A16
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Aug. 29 -- The Taliban on Wednesday began making
good on a promise to release 19 South Koreans who have been held
captive for a month and a half, freeing 12 and promising to turn over
the rest in coming days.
The Koreans, church volunteers who had been traveling on a bus down a
notoriously dangerous highway in Afghanistan when they were abducted
July 19, were handed over in small groups throughout the day to
representatives from the International Committee of the Red Cross. The
Red Cross reported that the freed hostages -- 10 women and two men --
"appeared to be in good physical health."
Irish EPA Cites Climate Change in Rapid Rise of Average Temperature
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/29/AR2007082902404.html
By Shawn Pogatchnik
Associated Press
Thursday, August 30, 2007; Page A17
DUBLIN, Aug. 29 -- Ireland's average temperature has been rising at
twice the global rate since the early 1980s and parts of the country
are becoming wetter and more prone to flooding due to climate change,
a government-funded report said Wednesday.
The report found that Ireland's average temperature has been rising at
the rate of 0.76 degrees Fahrenheit per decade since 1980. It said six
of Ireland's 10 hottest years on record have occurred since 1990, and
forecast that heat waves would increase in severity, frequency and
length.
Israeli Airstrike Against Rocket Sites in Gaza Strip Kills 3
Palestinian Children
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/29/AR2007082902148.html
By Scott Wilson
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, August 30, 2007; Page A17
JERUSALEM, Aug. 29 -- Three Palestinian children were killed Wednesday
in an Israeli airstrike against rocket launch sites in the northern
Gaza Strip.
Palestinian health officials identified the dead as cousins Yahiya and
Mahmoud Abu Ghazallah, 10 and 12 years old respectively, and another
cousin, Sara, 12, who died of her injuries hours after the late
afternoon attack.
Victories Come Slowly in Cleanup Of Soviet Bloc Nuclear Materials
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/29/AR2007082902382.html
By David E. Hoffman
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, August 30, 2007; Page A18
PODOLSK, Russia, Aug. 29 -- Heavily guarded trucks rolled up to the
Luch nuclear institute here on Tuesday night and unloaded five green
reinforced containers holding a total of 21 pounds of uranium, about a
third of it highly enriched, which had been quietly removed from a
research reactor in Otwock, Poland.
The uranium shipment was the latest, small step in an ambitious but
incomplete effort to clean up nuclear materials left strewn across the
former Soviet bloc and beyond in the aftermath of the Cold War.
The $64,000 Entreaty for a Portrait of the Chairman
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/29/AR2007082902136.html
By Mary Ann Akers
Thursday, August 30, 2007; Page A19
He's been chairman for only eight months, but already Rep. Charles
Rangel (D-N.Y.) is more than daydreaming about what his official Ways
and Means Committee portrait will look like. He knows one thing: It'll
be top of the line.
In perhaps the most thorough and earnest letter ever written on the
subject of a member of Congress's portrait, Rangel's campaign attorney
sent a letter to the Federal Election Commission asking permission to
use either campaign or leadership political action committee money to
pay for the chairman's grand portrait.
Barack Obama's Response to "Labor's Role?"
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/8/30/83047/0859
by David Nichols
Thu Aug 30, 2007 at 05:50:51 AM PDT
The first campaign to respond to the open letter I have sent called
"Labor's Role?"....(and in a few cases am still in the process of
sending,)was Barack Obama's.
Like everyone else I was terribly impressed with Barack Obama's speech
at the Democratic Convention, but due to my perception that it would
please Corporate America less to have John Edwards as President, I had
been leaning strongly that way. I think the words in Mr. Obama's
reply have the contest pretty well equal again.
OBAMA: And He Overturned The Tables Of The Money Changers
http://blogometer.nationaljournal.com/archives/2007/08/obama_and_he_ov.html
Barack Obama's Financial Times article promising to help homeowner's
avoid foreclosure by fining subprime lenders that "acted irresponsibly
or committed fraud" received strong netroots support. MyDD's Max
Fletcher blogs: ""Perhaps most prominently, Obama calls for fines to
be levied against predatory subprime lenders in order to rescue
homeowners facing foreclosure after receiving loans they could not
afford. ... The second part of Obama's plan involves tighter
regulation of the lending industry. Here, Obama returns to an old
theme, arguing that it will take a reining in of the lobbying industry
in order to achieve a reining in of the lending industry."
Daily Kos' Jerome a Paris comments on Obama's call for more
regulation: "In fact, this is something that is required on a grand
scale for the two industries that intersect in the mortgage industry:
the financial sector in general and all industries providing consumer
goods and services. ... This is one of the core functions of
government - to protect weak and isolated individuals against the
abuses of large commercial players."
Fletcher also compares Hillary Clinton's mortgage plan with Obama's:
"Clinton's plan, introduced earlier this month, lacks the teeth of the
Obama plan in that it doesn't propose fines on predatory behavior. ...
Obama's mortgage plan is a strong progressive policy that holds
predatory lenders accountable while saving thousands of families from
financial ruin."
Obama and Reinhold Niebuhr
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/8/30/141014/562
by GB1437a
Thu Aug 30, 2007 at 11:13:47 AM PDT
In response to some interest in canidates faith and question on the
meaning of Niebuhrian Pragmatism - I've taken a look at how Barack
Obama's theological opinions come out in his worldview. Take a look,
and hopefully this spurs a good discussion. I posted this on Mydd
some time ago, and for some reason it skipped my mind to come over to
DailyKos, even though I wrote it in response to some question on Kos.
OBAMA'S RHETORIC:
http://www.tnr.com/blog/the_plank?pid=139091
On his New Yorker blog, George Packer has an interesting take on
Obama's constantly harped-upon similarity to JFK:
One difference between Kennedy and Obama is the historical moment of
their bid for center stage. Kennedy ran against the stagnation of the
Eisenhower years, promising to close the (nonexistent) missile gap
with the Soviet Union and restore American leadership in the
world. ... It's hard to imagine President Obama, in his inaugural
address, vowing to "pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship,
support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival
and the success of liberty." That would sound way too much like his
reckless predecessor. Instead, Obama would try to assure the world
that a wiser, humbler, more cooperative America was back: ennobling
words and restrained actions.
To my eyes, it's always looked like Obama has a messianic or prophetic
streak to him--take the soaring language of the convention speech or
the speech in Selma--as well as the more quiet, pragmatic,
professorial demeanor he's taken on the road this summer. Maybe Obama
is at his most powerful channeling the former side of himself, but
it's not too frequently let loose because the moment seems to require
a straightforward, wonkish, even humble figure to counteract what we
had for the last eight years. For a born rhetorician, this is a tough
dilemma.
Abu Ghraib Swept Under the Carpet
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/opinion/30thu1.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
The need to be honest about Abu Ghraib and correct the abuses at
military and C.I.A. prisons is not only about upholding the law and
American values.
No Time for Threats
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/opinion/30thu2.html
The United States and its allies need to be stepping up their efforts
to resolve the serious dangers posed by Iran through comprehensive
negotiations.
Locked, Loaded and Looney
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/opinion/30thu3.html
Except for Senator Tom Coburn, practically everyone in Congress wants
to deal with the emerging crisis of depressed veterans tempted to take
their own lives.
Jeepers! Peepers in New York
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/opinion/30thu4.html
For better or sometimes worse, New York is a city of exhibitionists.
One of the many reasons people come to New York is to show off.
Terror's Purse Strings
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/opinion/30thomas.html
By DANA THOMAS
Most people think that buying a fake luxury bag is harmless. But the
counterfeiting rackets are run by crime syndicates that also deal in
narcotics and weapons.
For Iran's Shiites, a Celebration of Faith and Waiting
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/world/middleeast/30imam.html?ref=middleeast
By MICHAEL SLACKMAN
The celebration of the birthday of Imam Mahdi, the savior of the
Shiite faith, is receiving plenty of attention from the government of
Iran.
U.S. Weapons, Given to Iraqis, Move to Turkey
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/washington/30contract.html?ref=middleeast
By DAVID S. CLOUD and ERIC SCHMITT
Serial numbers on pistols and other weapons in Turkey match those
originally given to Iraqi security forces.
Marines' Trials in Iraq Killings Are Withering
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/world/middleeast/30haditha.html?ref=middleeast&pagewanted=all
By PAUL von ZIELBAUER
If prosecutors' past legal problems are repeated, none of the marines
charged with killing civilians in Haditha, Iraq, in 2005 will be
convicted.
Sadr Suspends His Militia's Military Operations
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/world/middleeast/30sadr.html?ref=middleeast
By STEPHEN FARRELL
The surprise declaration was widely taken as a tacit acknowledgment of
the damage done to the Mahdi Army's reputation by two days of Shiite
in-fighting.
White House Is Gaining Confidence It Can Win Fight in Congress Over
Iraq Policy
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/washington/30policy.html?ref=middleeast
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
Current and former administration officials say the president's hand
is stronger now than it was in early July, when a string of Republican
defections had many worried.
Long Dead, a Revered Small-Town Priest Is Disgraced
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/us/30jasper.html?ref=us
By MICHAEL RUBINO
In Jasper, Ind., the bishop wants churches to rescind honors that were
given to a late priest because he is suspected of having molested
scores of young boys.
Doctors Offering No-Interest Loans to Patients
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/business/30medloan.html?ref=us&pagewanted=all
By MILT FREUDENHEIM
Zero-interest financing for medical procedures has become one of the
fastest-growing segments of consumer credit.
Commemorations for a City 2 Years After Storm
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/us/nationalspecial/30katrina.html?ref=us
By ADAM NOSSITER
New Orleans hardly needs an anniversary to help it recall a disaster
that upended the life of almost every resident.
Idaho Senator's Colleagues Say He Should Resign
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/washington/30craig.html?ref=us
By DAVID STOUT
Party leaders ousted Senator Larry E. Craig from his committee
leadership posts amid the fallout over his arrest in a men's room and
his guilty plea in the case.
Airport Scrutiny of Headgear Raises Bias Claims From Sikhs
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/us/nationalspecial3/30sikh.html?ref=us
By NEIL MacFARQUHAR
A new federal policy subjects travelers who wear any type of head
covering to possible additional screening at airport checkpoints.
Michigan's Primary: Now Even Earlier
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/michigans-primary-now-even-earlier/
The Michigan legislature approved a Jan. 15 primary today, and the
state's governor Jennifer M. Granholm has pledged to sign the bill.
More Unions Announce Endorsements
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/more-unions-announce-endorsements/
Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton and John
Edwards as well as Republican hopeful Mike Huckabee picked up major
labor union endorsements today.
Idaho Guv: The Bell Has Rung on Craig
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/idaho-guv-the-bell-has-rung-on-craig/
Top Republican officials assert pressure on the disgraced senator to
resign, or at least, signal that he should do so.
Thompson Finally Sets a Date
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/thompson-finally-sets-a-date/
For all those G.O.P. supporters-in-waiting, the announcement is just a
week away.
Iowa + Gay Marriage = Candidate Statement
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/iowa-gay-marriage-candidate-statement/
Mitt Romney just sent out a statement about an Iowa court's decision
striking down the state law banning gay marriage.
Clinton Donor Under a Cloud in Fraud Case
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/us/politics/30bundler.html?ref=politics
By MIKE McINTIRE and LESLIE WAYNE
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign said it would give away
thousands of dollars that it received from a Democratic donor who is
considered a fugitive in California.
Group Fined by F.E.C. for Campaign Violations
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/washington/30donate.html?ref=politics
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
A Democratic-leaning group agreed to pay a $775,000 penalty for
violating rules during the 2004 election.
2008: Return to Sender
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/2008-return-to-sender/
After new details emerged about the criminal record of one of Senator
Hillary Rodham Clinton's top donors - who has also given generously to
many other Democrats over the years -- her campaign announced that it
would give the $23,000 contribution from New York businessman Norman
Hsu to charity. The question remains whether other donations that he
bundled will be returned.
Castro: Clinton-Obama 'Invincible'
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/29/castro-clinton-obama-invincible/
Charlie Cook. Stu Rothenberg. Fidel Castro.
A Polarizing Bush Despite a New Cast
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/washington/30congress.html?ref=washington
By ROBIN TONER
President Bush, by temperament, governing style and political design,
is a polarizing president like no other, pollsters say.
2 Sides Push Smooth Process on Naming Attorney General
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/washington/30justice.html?ref=washington
By PHILIP SHENON and STEVEN LEE MYERS
In hopes of smoothing the search for a successor to Attorney General
Alberto R. Gonzales, senior White House officials have contacted
Congressional leaders to sound them out about candidates.
Yahoo's New President Oversees a Shake-Up
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/technology/30yahoo.html?ref=business
By MIGUEL HELFT
Susan L. Decker, Yahoo's new president, is reorganizing the company's
management ranks with a new division responsible for generating the
bulk of the company's revenue.
Judge Orders a Web Site Selling Tax-Evasion Advice to Close
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/business/30tax.html?ref=business
By DAVID CAY JOHNSTON
A federal judged ruled that the Web site was not protected by the
First Amendment because it incited criminal conduct.
An Investor Activism Uncommon in Japan
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/business/worldbusiness/30investor.html?ref=worldbusiness&pagewanted=all
By MARTIN FACKLER
After 31 years as a civil servant, Tomomi Yano began to take on
Japan's corporate culture, and has become an unlikely and remarkably
successful advocate for shareholder rights.
Stocks Rally as Investors Chase Deals
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/business/30stox.html?ref=worldbusiness
By JEREMY W. PETERS
Ben S. Bernanke said the Federal Reserve was "prepared to act as
needed" to prevent market woes from spreading, while the Dow closed up
nearly 250 points as investors went bargain-hunting.
Obama vs. Iran, its corporate enablers and DC insiders
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/8/30/17536/7185
by Alinghi2010
Thu Aug 30, 2007 at 03:42:26 PM PDT
While Bush plots a hot war with Iran that the Pentagon won't let him
wage as unsustainable (forget the legality, morality or US national
security angles as they don't compute with Bush and Cheney), Obama has
come out with legislation that deals with the problem right now.
It's also legal, ethical and focuses on US national security vs.
Bush's plan to sacrifice US soldiers for an election year diversion to
benefit the "wide stance" Republican Party.
Open Letter to Senator Barrack Obama
http://www.mydd.com/story/2007/8/30/185834/258
by msnz911, Thu Aug 30, 2007 at 06:58:34 PM EST
Barrack Obama is terrific candidate for the presidency. He has all the
credentials, the charm and the tools needed to win this election. But
my gut tells me, he will not win the nomination unless he starts being
rough, and stop pretending that we, the people are smart and ready to
make a clean and good judgment.
Barack Obama: On Iraq
http://nyenevada.blogspot.com/2007/08/barack-obama-on-iraq.html
Barack Obama has a plan to end the war in Iraq. [Barack Obama 08]
Before the war in Iraq ever started, Senator Obama said that it was
wrong in its conception. In 2002, then Illinois State Senator Obama
said Saddam Hussein posed no imminent threat to the United States and
that invasion would lead to an occupation of undetermined length, at
undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. Since then, Senator
Obama has laid out a plan on the way forward in Iraq that has largely
been affirmed by the bipartisan Iraq Study Group led by James Baker
and Lee Hamilton.
Fox graphics falsely asserted Castro "wants" Clinton-Obama as "dream
team"
http://mediamatters.org/items/200708290012
Summary: During a Fox & Friends segment discussing an August 28 column
by Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, on-screen text falsely asserted,
"CASTRO'S DREAM TEAM: WANTS CLINTON AND OBAMA IN '08," referring to
Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
Also during the segment, an on-screen graphic depicted Castro,
Clinton, and Obama enclosed in a red heart. In fact, at no point in
his column did Castro endorse Clinton or Obama. Indeed, he attributed
to Clinton and Obama a pro-democratic view that he called an "error,"
and he said of Clinton and Obama, "They are not making politics: they
are playing a game of cards on a Sunday afternoon."
The Trouble With Hillary's Electability
http://rachel-nicole.blogspot.com/2007/08/trouble-with-hillarys-electability.html
by Paul Hogarth, Aug. 29, 2007
With Hillary Clinton leading among Democratic primary voters, pundits
are asking the same question they asked about Howard Dean four years
ago - can she win the general election? In response, some have pointed
to the matchup polls both nationwide and in swing states, proving that
even Hillary can defeat the Republican nominee. But that's because
Republicans are in such disarray that whoever gets the Democratic
nomination - Clinton, John Edwards or Barack Obama - is favored to
win. Hillary could still get elected President, but it would be a much
closer race than if Edwards or Obama were the party's nominee.
Moreover, Hillary will hurt down-ballot Democrats in red states (and
even swing states) and give Republicans a shot in the arm - making it
difficult for 2008 to be a year of progressive realignment. For
activists who say they're in it for the long haul, a President Hillary
Clinton will not help in 2010, 2012 and beyond.
.
|
|
| User: "" |
|
| Title: Re: OT: A Rigged Report on U.S. Voting? |
31 Aug 2007 07:45:47 AM |
|
|
On 31 Aug, 02:13, maff <maf...@yahoo.com> wrote:
A Rigged Report on U.S. Voting?http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/29/AR200...
By Tova Andrea Wang
Thursday, August 30, 2007; Page A21
After the 2000 Florida election debacle, Congress established a body
called the Election Assistance Commission to improve voting and
democracy in this country.
So the EAC actually exists?
Roy
.
|
|
|
|
| User: "" |
|
| Title: Re: OT: A Rigged Report on U.S. Voting? |
30 Aug 2007 08:59:38 PM |
|
|
On Aug 30, 9:13 pm, maff <maf...@yahoo.com> wrote:
snip
Hey, maff! I forgot to tell you. Thanks for going back to the single
post format. I think a lot of the stuff you find is really
interesting, but missed a lot when you were using the multi-thread
format. Yeah, some of us read it....<g>
-Panama Floyd, Atlanta.
aa#2015/KoBAAWA!
.
|
|
|
|
|
Related Articles |
|
|
