Today’s Headlines

[Caro]

Today’s headlines brought to you by

Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com

Top Story

Bush, lawmakers set to meet on economy
WASHINGTON - President Bush and top congressional leaders will be looking for quick agreement on how to pump as much as $150 billion in tax cuts and government spending into the ailing economy to head off a recession.

Pablo on Politics

The World

Pre-emptive nuclear strike a key option, Nato told
The west must be ready to resort to a pre-emptive nuclear attack to try to halt the "imminent" spread of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, according to a radical manifesto for a new Nato by five of the west's most senior military officers and strategists.
It’s called “giving George Bush the war he wants”.—Caro

Israel may have to take military action against Iran: Bolton
HERZLIYA, Israel (AFP) - Former US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton said on Monday that Israel may have to take military action to prevent its archfoe Iran from acquiring an atomic bomb.

France Says New Iran Resolution Imminent
The U.N. Security Council's five permanent members and Germany are expected to agree Tuesday on a new resolution to pressure Iran over its nuclear program, a French diplomat said.

Suicide bomber hits Iraq school; 22 hurt
BAGHDAD - A suicide bomber blew himself up in front of a high school north of Baghdad on Tuesday, wounding 22 people including teachers and students arriving for the beginning of the school day.

Seven unidentified bodies found in Baghdad
Iraqi police patrols on Monday found seven unknown bodies dumped in different parts of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, a police source said. "Most of the bodies found bore signs of gunshot wounds to different parts of the body, mainly to the head," the source told the independent news agency, Voices of Iraq (VOI).

Iraqi lawmakers vote to change flag
BAGHDAD - Iraq's parliament on Tuesday passed a law to change the Saddam Hussein-era flag, meeting the demands of Iraq's Kurdish minority who threatened not to fly the banner during a pan-Arab meeting in the Kurdish-run north next month.
These guys know what’s IMPORTANT!—Caro

Israel ships fuel to Gaza, eases closure
NAHAL OZ CROSSING, Gaza Strip - Israel delivered fuel for Gaza's power plant on Tuesday, partially lifting a blockade it had imposed last week in response to a sharp increase in rocket attacks by Palestinian militants.

Abbas: peace talks must continue
RAMALLAH, West Bank - Moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday that peace talks with Israel must continue despite the escalating confrontation between Israel and the Hamas government in Gaza.

Explosion kills NATO soldier, wounds 5 others in Afghanistan
A soldier of the NATO-led International security Assistance Force (ISAF) was killed and five others sustained injures when a roadside bomb struck their vehicle in south Afghanistan, a statement of the alliance released here Monday said.

U.S. commander in Pakistan as Taliban attack fort
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A top U.S. commander met with Pakistan's army chief General Ashfaq Kayani on Tuesday, as Pakistani forces repulsed an attack by Taliban fighters close to a fort in a restive tribal region.

Australian state compensates 'stolen' Aborigines: official
HOBART, Australia, (AFP) - An Australian state Tuesday approved millions of dollars in compensation for members of the "stolen generation" of Aborigines just weeks after the federal government rejected similar demands.

Italy's Prodi battles against government collapse
ROME (AFP) - Embattled Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi on Tuesday put his political survival on the line, calling for a vote of confidence in his 20-month-old centre-left government.

The Nation

Bush Determined To Strike In Iran (by Nicole Belle at Crooks and Liars)
The Wall Street Journal ran an article last week … that Bush was using an investigation into a 1994 terrorist attack on a Jewish Community Center in Argentina as a way to continue to strain and maintain pressure on Iran. The only problem? There’s no real evidence that Iran was involved in the bombing… We don’t need no stinkin’ evidence. Nobody could anticipate the president initiating a pre-emptive war against a sovereign nation on trumped up evidence, could they? Oh…wait…

Brain injuries from war worse than thought
Scientists trying to understand traumatic brain injury from bomb blasts are finding the wound more insidious than they once thought. They find that even when there are no outward signs of injury from the blast, cells deep within the brain can be altered, their metabolism changed, causing them to die, says Geoff Ling, an advance-research scientist with the Pentagon. The new findings are the result of blast experiments in recent years on animals, followed by microscopic examination of brain tissue.
My God! They’ve been blasting the brains of animals?—Caro

Army gets fewer high school grads in '07
WASHINGTON - The percent of Army recruits with a high school diploma dropped last year, continuing a trend that has worsened since the start of the Iraq war, according to a report released Tuesday.

No explosives in World Bank buildings
WASHINGTON - FBI agents swept five World Bank buildings over a six-hour period late Thursday and early Friday and found no explosives, bureau spokeswoman Debra Weierman said.

White House missing CIA, Iraq e-mails
WASHINGTON - Apparent gaps in White House e-mail archives coincide with dates in late 2003 and early 2004 when the administration was struggling to deal with the CIA leak investigation and the possibility of a congressional probe into Iraq intelligence failures.

More lawmakers give up earmarks
WASHINGTON - A growing number of lawmakers in Congress are voluntarily giving up one of the biggest perks of office — at the risk of alienating their constituents.

'Roe vs Wade' legalized abortion in US 35 years ago
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Thirty-five years ago on Tuesday the US Supreme Court handed down a decision in the Roe versus Wade case, legalizing abortion and introducing some of the world's least restrictive abortion laws.

Democrat rivals lash Bush as global stocks tumble
MYRTLE BEACH, South Carolina (AFP) - Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama roasted President George W. Bush on the economy Monday, as world stock markets plummeted for a second day on fears of a US recession.
John Edwards debated as well, but you’d never know it from this article.—Caro

McCain tops GOP field in new N.Y. poll
Even before he won Saturday's primary in South Carolina, Sen. John McCain was leading former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani in a WNBC/Marist Poll of "likely" Republican primary voters in New York State, Marist's researchers report today.

Edwards: Dems Need Him to Face McCain
Presidential candidate John Edwards said Sunday that he's the only Democrat who can successfully take on Republican John McCain. McCain 'won' Saturday's South Carolina GOP primary and Edwards, a former North Carolina senator looking to make the Democratic contest here a three-way race, told reporters that a campaign finance advocate like himself is needed to counter McCain on that issue.

Not many changes in first wave of recounted N.H. primary votes
Rumors of problems with the vote count in the Jan. 8 New Hampshire primary -- problems, that is, that supposedly led to differences in support for the leading candidates between districts where votes were hand-counted and districts that relied on machine counts -- prompted Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, to ask for a state-wide recount (his presidential campaign is reimbursing the state for the cost of doing that). So far, according to this chart posted online by the New Hampshire Secretary of State's office, the recounts have not turned up big differences. In populous Hillsborough County, which includes Manchester and Nashua, the recounts at this time.

Global stock markets hit by second day of turmoil
LONDON (AFP) - Stock market turmoil swept around the world again Tuesday, with Asian shares pummeled by fears of a US recession before hopes of international action helped Europe put up resistance.

Media

Permanent link to MTA daily media news

Bush to cut state anti-terror funds (by John Aravosis at AMERICAblog)
“The Bush administration will cut counterterrorism money for police, firefighters and rescue departments next year...” So where is the coordinated Democratic campaign to destroy the Republicans over this incredible mistake? To forever brand them as a party weak on terror? (Crickets) I don't want to hear anymore about how (Democrats) don't have a big enough majority in the House or Senate. You just got handed a gift from God. What you plan to do with it will speak volumes about whether you deserve to remain in office.

South Carolina Democratic Debate (by Steve Clemons, The Washington Note)
(T)o me, regardless of who one supported tonight, it's clear that each scored points but that Hillary Clinton performed with an authority, presence in that huge hall, and mastery of detail that was just second to none. She hammered Bush on the semi-secret deal he's trying to rig with the Iraqi government to commit American troops and bases indefinitely -- something the others did not mention. She had numbers and details flowing forth as if they were as natural as could be.
Is Hillary the new Al?—Caro

Concluding Thoughts (Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo)
One observation stands out to me from this debate. Hillary can be relentless and like a sledgehammer delivering tendentious but probably effective attacks. But whatever you think of those attacks, Obama isn't very good at defending himself. And that's hard for me to ignore when thinking of him as a general election candidate. In most of these cases -- such as the Reagan issue -- I think Obama's remarks have been unobjectionable but ambiguous and certainly susceptible to both misunderstanding and intentional misrepresentation. And if you're going to talk like that -- nuance, as we used to say -- be able to defend it when people play with your words. And I don't see it. Let's hope Mitt wins Florida.
But would McCain actually take votes from Obama, rather than from Clinton? See below.—Caro

McCain has yet to win a simple majority of Republican votes (by John Aravosis at AMERICAblog)
An interesting observation in today's Washington Post: “McCain has yet to clearly win the Republican vote in any contest this year. In South Carolina, he and Huckabee evenly divided GOP voters. The senator's margin came from independents…” And this is why McCain worries me. Yes, he doesn't thrill a majority (or plurality) of Republicans, but he does win over independents, who push him into a majority. The past several years, independents have hated the Republicans and sided with us. McCain threatens that dynamic.

Knives at a Gunfight (by Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo)
TPM Reader CN checks in ... “The general election will be a bitch-slapping muckfest no matter who gets the nomination. I've been a longtime Obama guy, mainly out of the belief that he has the best chance in the general, but Hillary is starting to seem pretty good. Every time she (or Bill, or another of her surrogates) gets in a shot at Obama, part of me is disgusted . . . but another part of me counts it as a point in her favor. Hillary is who she is; she can't change her spots just for the primary race. A lot of people who now condemn her for being a cunning operator will despair when Obama, if he wins the nomination, responds to bitch slaps from the right with ‘hope and unity’ language. But you can't have it both ways.
Personally, I think that most of the shots the Clintons have taken at Obama are justified. This is a primary, after all, and people don’t know much about Obama’s record here in Illinois. See what happened to Giuliani when Americans began to learn more about his New York history. Also, please remember that the main reason Hillary Clinton is perceived as divisive is because of the 15 plus years of relentless negative campaigning against her by right-wing hatemongers. Neither Obama nor Edwards has been really tested in that crucible, and certainly not for that long. If Democrats decide that Hillary shouldn’t be their candidate because of that perceived divisiveness, then we are allowing the most vicious elements of the right wing to choose our candidate for us. And believe me when I tell you that the right-wing attacks against Obama and Edwards have been mild compared to what they will be if one of them wins the nomination. They, too, will suddenly become murderers.—Caro

Sharpening Their Shivs (by digby)
I'm sure a lot of people enjoyed this when they read it: “Prominent Democrats are upset with the aggressive role that Bill Clinton is playing in the 2008 campaign…” I know, it's great fun to think about Rahm and Teddy telling Bill to STFU. But everybody ought to take a deep breath and remind themselves that this is also exactly the kind of thing Democrats do to their sitting presidents… They don't have the guts to do it when the Republicans are institutionalizing torture or lying the nation into an illegal invasion of another country, because well, Republicans are mean. But they'll find plenty of things about which to get righteously indignant with the executive when its a Democrat… The villagers love to get out the pitchforks ---- against Democrats. They aren't scared of them. It's good fun.
To those who say that Poppy and Jeb didn’t get involved in the 2000 campaign, I say your naivete is charming.—Caro

THE FED-UP FEMALE.... (by Kevin Drum at Political Animal, the Washington Monthly)
Reader Mary S. emails to echo something that I've heard from more than a few women: “… In the Boomer generation, which is now coming into its fullest power as the voters of the WWII and Silent generations increasingly depart the scene, the greatest energy and desire for political change and for recognition of their (mostly overlooked and neglected) accomplishments and needs, comes from women. And that is true across all classes and races… (I)f Hillary Clinton turns out to be the first politician to benefit from this development, it will probably be because, as a woman of that generation, she is just in a better position to hear, see and speak to it, and is less invested in the old (traditionally male) political narratives (in which such a development is close to unimaginable, except, for some (Chris Matthews?), perhaps as nightmare or catastrophe), than the men. As the angry white men shuffle off the stage, another revolution may be in the works — this one fed by the energy of the ‘fed up female.’”

Obama and the gays, again (by John Aravosis at AMERICAblog)
Obama's relations with the gay community were off to a great start yesterday morning. Obama had just addressed the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, MLK's own church…, and Obama went out of his way in the speech to call the black community to task for having "scorned our gay brothers and sisters instead of embracing them." Not bad, considering candidates don't usually admonish their own in order to get votes. Then, word started getting around (i.e., I started getting lots of emails) that Obama was embracing yet another homophobic friend-of-Bush… This time around, it's Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell, a black minister who says he's been asked by the Obama campaign to travel around the country on their behalf. The controversy? The minister's church runs a ministry that tries to cure gays.

THE KRUGMAN-OBAMA CAGE MATCH CONTINUES.... (by Kevin Drum at Political Animal, the Washington Monthly)
(Matt Yglesias:) “(T)he easiest way to deflect claims that Obama is the more conservative choice would be for Obama to say so himself in a clear and direct way…” Is Obama kidding or not? Does he really believe that he can enact a progressive agenda by reaching out to Republicans and bridging the red-blue divide, or is he just saying this as a way of shaping public opinion and winning an election? And if he does believe it, is he right?

What the Grown-Ups Say (by Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo)
Seriously, why should John Edwards drop out of the race?... (A)s others have noted, his campaign has had an effect on this race out of proportion to his poll support in as much as he's forced the two other leading candidates to grapple with issues they would not have otherwise. And in this race specifically, there is at least a chance we could come into the convention with neither candidate having a majority of the delegates, in which case he might play the kingmaker. Not likely, but not impossible… I don't see where insider know-it-alls get off saying he's under some sort of obligation to 'do the right thing' and pack it in.
It’s like déjà 2000 all over again. The news media decided that Bush had won the election and that Gore should stop fighting for a recount in Florida. THEY didn’t like the uncertainty, and claimed that we the people didn’t like the uncertainty, even though poll after poll showed that we were willing to let the process take its course.—Caro

Ronnie JiuJitsu (by digby)
(Ronald Reagan) used FDR to advance his own philosophy. It's a great trick and I would hope that all the Democratic candidates have someone combing Republican presidents' speeches for examples of their own. (I'm partial to Perlstein's suggestion that they use Reagan's withdrawal from Lebanon as the basis for saying they have a "Reagan foreign policy," if only to see neocon heads explode all over Washington.)

Clinton, Obama camps spar over TV ad in Florida
WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton's campaign accused Barack Obama on Monday of violating the pledge that has kept the Democratic candidates from competing in Florida and suggested that it might now do the same. The campaign charged that a 60-second biographical spot about the Illinois senator that began airing Monday on CNN and MSNBC violates an agreement not to campaign in unauthorized primary states because the ad can be viewed in Florida.

Technology & Science

Wal-Mart Gets Tough On RFID
Sam's Club suppliers required to use tags or face $2 fee.

Scientists genetically disarm Ebola virus for 1st time
A team of researchers including University of Tokyo scientists have succeeded in genetically disarming the Ebola virus for the first time ever, they said in the Tuesday issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

Industrial air scrubbers may spread disease
An industrial pollution-control air scrubber in Sarpsborg, Norway has been identified as the source of an outbreak of Legionnaires disease that occurred in May 2005, according to health officials who investigated the outbreak.

Gene therapy shows promise for treating chronic pain: study
CHICAGO (AFP) - An experimental gene therapy treatment for chronic pain enabled rats with this condition to go symptom-free for three months, a study released Monday said.

Eating Out Doesn't Guarantee Weight Gain
But fast food is no friend of the waistline, new study finds

Exercise Program Eases Arthritis
Even 6 months later, improvements in pain and fatigue still evident, study finds

Is Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation A New Treatment Of Bulimia Nervosa?
ScienceDaily (Jan. 22, 2008) — A group of investigators of the Innsbruck University (Austria) reports on a new modality of treatment for bulimia nervosa, transcranial magnetic stimulation. Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a non-invasive, neurophysiological method, which affects cortical neurons with a short magnetic pulse.

Rapid Effects Of Intensive Therapy Seen In Brains Of Patients With Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
ScienceDaily (Jan. 22, 2008) — In a study that may significantly advance the understanding of how cognitive-behavioral therapy affects the brain, researchers have shown that significant changes in activity in certain regions of the brain can be produced with as little as four weeks of daily therapy in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

'Tree Of Life' Has Lost A Branch, According To Largest Genetic Comparison Of Higher Life Forms Ever
All life on Earth can be divided into two essentially different life forms—eukaryotes and prokaryotes. The eukaryotes gather their genetic material in a nucleus, while the prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea) have their genetic material floating freely in the cell. Eukaryotic organisms—such as humans—can, as a result of the new findings, be divided into the following four categories: • Plants (green and red algae, and plants) • Opisthokonts (amoebas, fungi, and all animals—including humans) • Excavates (free-living organisms and parasites) • SAR (the new main group, an abbreviation of Stramenophiles, Alveolates, and Rhizaria, the names of some of its members)

Sun’s Magnetic Secret Revealed
Powerful magnetic waves have been confirmed for the first time as major players in the process that makes the sun's atmosphere strangely hundreds of times hotter than its already superhot surface.

Environment

Climate change 'greatest threat' to humanity today says Red Cross
Geneva - The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, IFRC, warned Monday that climate change was the greatest threat to humanity today.

German study confirms faster temperature gain in Baltic
Geesthacht, Germany - A German study of a century of temperature readings has confirmed that the Baltic Sea climate is getting warmer than other parts of the world heated up by the current climate change.

FTSE Launches Global Eco Index
OAKLAND, Calif., Jan. 22, 2008 -- The FTSE ET50 Index is made up of 50 of the largest green tech companies around the world, the latest in a growing wave of environmentally-focused investment products.

EU carbon plans seen hurting coal plants
LONDON (Reuters) - European Commission proposals to be published on Wednesday will force power generators to pay for carbon-emissions permits and could chop profits at companies which burn coal to produce electricity, analysts said on Monday.

EU looks to protect heavy industry in climate-change storm
Brussels - The European Union is set to give its heaviest users of energy special treatment in a forthcoming package of laws on climate change, officials in Brussels indicated Monday.

US warns EU against using environment for protectionism
US Trade Representative Susan Schwab warned Europe on Monday against using environmental issues as an excuse for protectionism amid disputes ranging from biotechnology to greenhouse gas emissions.

U.S. says world must improve energy efficiency
The world's largest energy consumer the United States on Monday called for a global push for increased energy efficiency to help meet rising demand and alleviate the impact of high prices on economic growth. The U.S. consumes about 21 million barrels per day of oil, around a quarter of the world's supply. Record oil prices have cooled U.S. appetite for gas guzzling cars and, along with increasing environmental concerns, leant weight to calls for more sparing use of energy.

U.S. sees nuclear energy as global alternative
Gulf Arab oil exporters and countries around the world should look into nuclear power as an alternative to hydrocarbons, U.S. Energy Secretary Sam Bodman said on Monday. "Nuclear power should be an alternative for Gulf countries and other countries around the world," Bodman said in the United Arab Emirates during a visit.

Swedish study methane from burping cows
A Swedish university has received 3.8 million kronor ($590,000) in research funds to measure the greenhouse gases released when cows belch.

Release of methane protested
A Western Slope coal mine set to belch massive volumes of methane gas will become a major new source of global warming emissions, and government regulators are doing too little to prevent it, environmentalists say. Several green groups say the gas - perhaps enough to heat 35,000 homes a year for 12 years - should be captured and used instead of vented into the air.

Northwest looks to develop energy from volcanoes
WASHINGTON — Deep beneath the Cascades Mountains in the Northwest, where molten magma heats the Earth's crust and occasionally bursts through cracks and fractures in violent volcanic eruptions, lurks an energy source that scientists think could be tamed to help power the region.

Israel Is Set to Promote the Use of Electric Cars
Israel, tiny and bereft of oil, has decided to embrace the electric car. On Monday, the Israeli government will announce its support for a broad effort to promote the use of electric cars, embracing a joint venture between an American-Israeli entrepreneur and Renault and its partner, Nissan Motor Company.

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