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Morning headlines brought to you by Carolyn Kay MakeThemAccountable.com Top StoryU.S. Brokered Bhutto's Return to Pakistan
For Benazir Bhutto, the decision to return to Pakistan was sealed during a telephone call from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice just a week before Bhutto flew home in October. The call culminated more than a year of secret diplomacy.
Has this administration done ANYTHING right?—Caro Buck Fush
The WorldPakistan unrest leaves at least 10 dead
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Benazir Bhutto's supporters rampaged through cities Friday to protest her assassination less than two weeks before a crucial election, ransacking banks and setting train stations ablaze, officials said.
World leaders urge Pakistan to stay on democratic path
PARIS (AFP) - World leaders condemned the assassination of Benazir Bhutto but urged Pakistan to keep to the democratic path, as the country prepared for the funeral of the opposition leader.
Pakistan suggests Al-Qaeda behind Bhutto murder
SUKKUR, Pakistan (AFP) - Pakistan pointed a finger Friday at Al-Qaeda for the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, as her body was taken to her ancestral home for burial and anger at her death erupted into deadly unrest.
Blitzer Exclusive: Bhutto Blames Musharraf (The Huffington Post)
Today on "The Situation Room," Wolf Blitzer revealed an exclusive e-mail he received from Benazir Bhutto's US spokesman Mark Siegel in October. "This is a story she wanted me to tell the world on her behalf if she were killed," Blitzer said, before reading the e-mail. In the e-mail, Bhutto wrote that, if anything were to happen to her, "I wld (sic) hold Musharaf (sic) responsible. I have been made to feel insecure by his minions, and there is no way what is happening in terms of stopping me from taking private cars or using tinted windows or giving jammers or four police mobiles to cover all sides cld (sic) happen without him."
Click through to watch the video.—Caro
Car bomb in Baghdad kills 11, wounds dozens
A car bomb detonated in the middle of a busy market in central Baghdad on Friday, killing at least 11 people and wounding 64, police and hospital officials said.
Iran gets 2nd Russian fuel shipment
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran received the second shipment of nuclear fuel from Russia on Friday for a power plant being constructed in the southern Iranian town of Bushehr, the official news agency IRNA reported.
3 die as India police fire amid religious conflict
Police in eastern India killed at least three people when they opened fire on a group of hard-line Hindus who set fire to a police station during continuing clashes between Hindus and Christians, officials said Friday.
Russia denies planning missiles for Iran
MOSCOW - The federal agency overseeing Russia's military exports on Friday denied reports that the country is planning to deliver a powerful new anti-aircraft missile system to Iran.
SKorean MPs vote to extend Iraq troop deployment
SEOUL (AFP) - South Korea's parliament voted Friday to keep troops in Iraq for one more year, a move aimed at cementing the alliance with the United States in the face of North Korea's nuclear ambitions.
Ghana President Says Oil Reserves Discovered in Country's Waters
Ghana's president said Saturday that offshore oil reserves discovered in the West African country's waters total 3 billion barrels. "Ghana has struck oil in commercial quantities," President John Kufuor said, speaking at a ruling party congress in the capital, Accra. "This is only the beginning. The future is very bright indeed." The NationBhutto assassination a blow to U.S. hopes in South Asia
WASHINGTON — The assassination Thursday of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto dealt a fresh blow to the Bush administration's efforts to promote a restoration of democracy in Pakistan and counter growing violence by Islamic extremists allied with al Qaida and the Taliban.
With Bhutto gone, does Bush have a Plan B? (by Juan Cole, writing at Salon)
Bush's failed policies in Pakistan, a nuclear power that al-Qaida still uses to plot against the West, threatens U.S. security more than Iraq ever did.
EPA preserving docs related to blocking California emissions law. (Think Progress)
The Environmental Protection Agency “signaled” (Thursday) that “it is prepared to comply with a congressional request for all documents — including communications with the White House — concerning its decision to block California from imposing limits on greenhouse gases.”
Do "Prosperity Preachers" Prey On Hope?
A Senate probe has brought new scrutiny to the underlying belief that brings in millions of dollars and fills churches nationwide - the "Gospel of Prosperity," or the notion that God wants to bless the faithful with earthly riches.
Korean Supreme Court to Expand to 14 — Is it Time for the U.S. Supreme Court to Expand to 19? (by Jonathan Turley)
This week, the South Koreans decided to expand their Supreme Court to 14 members. The news should get Americans to consider whether it is time for our own undersized Court to expand from 9 to 19.
House members spent $20.3M on mailings
WASHINGTON - U.S. House members spent $20.3 million in tax money last year to send constituents what's often the government equivalent of junk mail — meeting announcements, tips on car care and job interviews, surveys on public policy and just plain bragging.
The AP lists the top offenders. This is one of the reasons why it’s so hard to unseat incumbents.—Caro
Poll: Pocketbook Issues Push Past Iraq
WASHINGTON (AP) - Kitchen table worries pushed ahead of the war in Iraq over the past month, a shift toward pocketbook issues that has gained currency as the election year dawns.
We’ll see if the Bhutto assassination has an effect on these numbers.—Caro
Obama catches Clinton in N.H.; Iowa remains a 3-way contest
WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama has wiped out Hillary Rodham Clinton's once-commanding lead in New Hampshire and the two remain virtually tied with John Edwards in Iowa, as more and more voters get off the fence and decide whom to support, a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg Poll has found.
Huge hikes in water, sewer rates on tap across USA
Huge increases in water and sewer bills are on the way in many places as cities and towns try to repair aging pipes and correct artificially low prices.
Threat in Maine, the Whitest State, Shakes Local N.A.A.C.P.
The N.A.A.C.P. chapter for northern Maine began to hold its meetings at police stations after a man from a nearby town threatened to shoot “any and all black persons” attending the group’s meetings.
Albuquerque Has Renewal of Attacks on Abortion
A rash of attacks on abortion and family planning clinics has struck Albuquerque this month, the first such violence there in nearly a decade.
New law allows Washington needle exchange. (Think Progress)
Yesterday, President Bush signed a budget bill for Washington, D.C. lifting a ban that “for nearly a decade has prevented city officials here from using local tax money for needle exchange programs.” Washington has the highest AIDS infection rate in the country, with one in 20 residents thought to be infected with HIV. MediaPermanent link to MTA daily media news
Joe Scarborough: Bhutto Assassination Helps Rudy And Hillary (by Greg Sargent at TPM Horse’s Mouth)
I don't have any idea who will benefit politically from Bhutto's assassination. But the point is, neither does Scarborough -- yet he goes right ahead and tells us that it's Rudy and Hillary, anyway. This is just punditry on auto-pilot, the reflexive serving up of diagnoses based on the same old flawed assumptions that have under-girded establishment punditry for well over a decade now, unchanged by external events or all evidence to the contrary. And we'll undoubtedly be hearing lots more of this in the days ahead.
Hardball Gang Talks ... And Talks ... And Talks ... About Hillary's Voice (by Greg Sargent at TPM Horse’s Mouth)
Hillary's voice is a pretty inane topic to waste valuable airtime on, considering that we're talking about who to put in control of the most powerful military on the planet at a moment as critical as this one. Maybe (Thursday’s news about the assassination of Benazir Bhutto) will drive this home to some folks.
'NYT' Says Its Blog Post on Ron Paul 'Should Not Have Been Published'
NEW YORK The New York Times on its Web site posted a lengthy Editors' Note (Wednesday) night concerning a blog posting this week by reporter Virginia Heffernan. That post had opened, "Ron Paul, our Internet president, seems to have Nazi troubles, as in they’re saying he’s one of them."
FEMA hires new public affairs director
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has hired a new director of public affairs to replace the official who was in charge during a fake news conference in October.
Broadcast of Golden Globes Is in Doubt
Hollywood’s glamour machine is stuck between a promise that the stars will still show up at next month’s Golden Globes and a threat that 3,000 picketing writers will chase them away.
Middle East censors seek to limit Web access
Governments in the Middle East are stepping up a campaign of censorship and surveillance in an effort to prevent an estimated 33.5 million Internet users from viewing a variety of Web sites whose topics range from human rights to pornography. As a result, millions of Middle Easterners are finding it harder by the day to access popular news and entertainment sites such as Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and Flickr.
Americans more wired, new-media survey finds
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - About 38 percent of U.S. consumers are watching TV shows online, 36 percent use their cell phones as entertainment devices and 45 percent are creating online content like Web sites, music, videos and blogs for others, according to a new-media survey from Deloitte & Touche.
Boston Public Library To Put Historical Documents Online
Several nonprofit library and archival organizations begin to make accessible U.S. historical documents, including President John Adams' entire library.
Warner Offers DRM-Free Music on Amazon
SEATTLE (AP) - Warner Music Group, a major holdout on selling music online without copy protection, caved in to the growing trend Thursday and agreed to sell its tunes on Amazon.com Inc.'s digital music store.
Radiohead readies New Year's Eve Webcast
NEW YORK (Billboard) - English rock band Radiohead will perform its new album, "In Rainbows," in its entirety during a pre-taped, hour-long set that will premiere New Year's Eve on TV and the Internet. The event will air on Current TV and Current.com starting 12 a.m. EST on December 31, and will repeat three times throughout the next day. Technology & ScienceBook argues that Bell stole phone idea
BOSTON - A new book claims to have definitive evidence of a long-suspected technological crime — that Alexander Graham Bell stole ideas for the telephone from a rival, Elisha Gray.
Newly Discovered Properties Of Certain Crystals Could Impact The Miniaturization Of Electronic Devices
ScienceDaily (Dec. 28, 2007) — The dashing start of electrons in a crystal does not remain without consequences for their further fate. Researchers examined the ultrafast movement of electrons in a gallium arsenide crystal exposed for a short time to a very high electrical field. This conceptually new experiment shows for the first time a collective, oscillatory motion of the electrons with ultrahigh frequency, which arises additionally to the well-known drift motion of these particles. This newly discovered effect could play an important role in connection with the miniaturization of electronic devices.
Uninsured Benefit Once They Are Covered by Medicare
Study finds substantial improvement in a number of health conditions.
Most Psychiatrists Open to Discussing Spiritual Concerns
They're more likely to broach the topic with patients than are other doctors, study finds.
Neuroticism hard on the heart: study
Neuroticism -- a proclivity toward worry and emotional ups and downs -- is related to anxiety and depression, which could help explain the relationship with heart trouble, note Beverly A. Shipley of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and colleagues in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.
Chronic Coughs Need a Doctor's Attention
Persistent respiratory distress is the body's way of saying, 'Help!'
Ancient pyramid found in central Mexico City
Archeologists have discovered the ruins of an 800-year-old Aztec pyramid in the heart of Mexico City that could show that the city is at least a century older than previously thought.
Shuttle repair to delay European space lab launch
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Repairing an electrical connection in a U.S. space shuttle's fuel tank will push the already delayed launch of Europe's first permanent space laboratory beyond the current target date of January 10, NASA said on Thursday. EnvironmentSurvey: Environmentally Savy Consumers Changed Holiday Spending
NEW YORK - Planet Earth and global manufacturing issues increasingly figure into consumers' spending decisions, with a vast majority of holiday shoppers expressing a willingness to pay more for eco-friendly gifts and taking note of the country where items were made, says the 2007 Annual National Shopping Behavior Survey by audit, tax and advisory firm KPMG LLP.
Survey: Green Takes Strong Hold with Architects, Designers
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Autodesk, Inc. and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) recently announced the results of the 2007 Autodesk/AIA Green Index, an annual survey that measures how AIA member architects in the United States are practicing sustainable design, as well as their opinions about the green building movement. The index shows that green building has taken a firm hold on the industry and has captured the attention of both architects and their clients.
Hotels: Energy Star Earns Its Keep
Washington - There are currently 247 Energy Star labeled hotels listed on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Energy Star for Hospitality website. Close to 3,000 U.S. hotels have participated in this free government program since it was launched in 2002
Cities Enticing Residents to Go Green
PARKLAND, Fla. (AP) - Free hybrid-car parking. Cash rebates for installing solar panels. Low-interest loans for energy-saving home renovations. Money to tear up desert lawns and replace them with drought-resistant landscaping.
India struggles to go green
India's small, cash-strapped industrial operations pose challenges to curbing emissions, analysts say.
Miss. Toyota Plant Will Explore Green Initiatives
JACKSON, Miss., Dec. 28, 2007 -- Toyota named a Mississippi manufacturing facility as a model of environmentally-friendly practices, such as using renewable energy and planting trees.
Tech could reduce coal facilities' emissions
Coal "gasification" is a technology "that has the ability to take air pollution out of the debate over coal," says John Thompson, director of the Coal Transition Program at the Clean Air Task Force, a Boston-based environmental group.
Did the Oceans End the Last Severe Global Warming Episode?
Once again we go back to the last severe global warming episode (Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum or PETM) 55 million years ago, thanks to an article from Discovery News. Marine scientists from California have determined that the massive accumulations of the mineral barite on the bottom of the ocean indicates that the PETM was accompanied by several thousands of years of ocean plant life kicking into high gear. That massive increase in ocean plant life captured excessive carbon from the atmosphere and deposited it to the ocean floor where it was buried. For more headlines, visit MakeThemAccountable.com.
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