 |
 |
Obama Says US Must Focus on Threats in Afghanistan
By Michael Bowman
Washington
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has repeated a call for more US troops and greater funding for Afghanistan as part of his plan to overhaul America's war on terrorism. VOA's Michael Bowman reports from Washington, Senator Obama spoke after meeting with Afghanistan's president in Kabul. Later, Obama has met the leader of Kuwait Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah on the latest leg of his overseas tour.
Barack Obama concluded a two-day visit to Afghanistan Sunday, the first major stop in a lengthy trip that will also take the senator to Iraq, Israel, Jordan and Europe. Before departing Kabul, he spoke on the CBS television network, which aired the interview on the US domestic program Face the Nation.
Brown sets out plan for UK pull-out from Iraq
Prime Minister declares aim to hand Basra over to local military forces
Nicholas Watt in Basra
Gordon Brown yesterday held out the prospect of a substantial withdrawal of British troops from Iraq, possibly as early as next year, when he outlined a four-point road map paving the way for an end to Britain's involvement.
On a one-day visit to Iraq - with a heavy military presence by his side at all times - Brown declared that Iraqi forces would take over Basra airport, the main British military headquarters.
Report Links Cheney Office, Oil Giant to Global Warming Policy Shift
by: James Gerstenzang, The Los Angeles Times
A congressional investigation has produced new details on the degree to which senior Bush administration officials favored using the Clean Air Act to limit greenhouse gas emissions - until pressure from Vice President Dick Cheney's office, ExxonMobil and others in the oil industry led the Bush administration to change course.
A report by the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, issued today, supports the disclosure by a former Environmental Protection Agency official last week that someone in Cheney's office had a hand in the shift in policy.
Iran Given Two-Week Deadline to End the Nuclear Impasse
by: Julian Borger, The Observer
Geneva - Iran was given a fortnight to agree to freeze its uranium enrichment program yesterday or face further international isolation.
After a day of inconclusive talks in Geneva, a six-nation negotiating team warned the Iranian delegation that it had run out of patience and demanded a 'yes or no' answer to a proposal it put forward five weeks ago.
Rice: Obama's success is great gain for blacks
WASHINGTON (AP) --Condoleezza Rice says it's a remarkable accomplishment that a black politician is on track for his party's presidential nomination.
The secretary of state said Democrat Barack Obama's likely nomination shows the nation's progress in race relations.
"I think it's great, and I think it's great for our country," Rice said of Obama's candidacy.
Yes We Can
by: Bob Herbert, The New York Times
As I was listening to Al Gore on the telephone, I was thinking: "Uh-oh, the naysayers will have a field day with this one."
The former vice president was giving me an advanced briefing on the speech that he delivered on Thursday, calling on the United States to behave like a great nation and actually do something real about its self-destructive and ultimately unsustainable reliance on carbon-based fuel for its 21st-century energy needs.
"I'm going to issue a strategic challenge that the United States of America set a goal of getting 100 percent of our electricity from renewable resources and carbon-constrained fuels within 10 years," he said.
"One hundred percent?" I said.
"One hundred percent."
Analysis: Health care fades in Republican gubernatorial primary
By DAVID A. LIEB/The Associated Press
JEFFERSON CITY -- Health care, once figured to be the predominant issue in the Missouri governor's race, has quietly faded to the background as the primary election approaches.
With the Aug. 5 primary just two weeks away, neither Republican gubernatorial candidate has outlined any specifics about how to make health care more accessible and affordable to Missourians, despite expressing that as a goal.
Nor have they highlighted health care in any of their many TV ads.
Nor do they intend to develop a detailed health care proposal and ad campaign before the primary election.
The estimated 770,000 Missourians lacking health insurance -- whose ranks have risen in recent years -- will have to wait for the general election to hear more.
Housing Prices Haven't Hit Bottom Yet
by: Kevin G. Hall, McClatchy Newspapers
Washington - The Bush administration's pledge to rescue ailing housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac raises anew questions about just when the nation's dismal housing market will hit bottom.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson have suggested over the past year that an end is in sight. But with each prediction, things have grown worse. For many homeowners, the deep housing slump feels like a drop off a skyscraper. Every time another 15 floors have passed, there seems to be more room to fall.
Team McCain struggling in email-land
Dante Chinni
One of the easiest ways to break down the technical aptitudes and attitudes of 21st century Americans is to separate the people who e-mail because they like to from those who e-mail because they have to.
As the 2008 presidential race moves forward, it becomes more clear to Patchwork Nation that Barack Obama’s campaign resides in the first group and John McCain’s is in the second.
To monitor the messages the campaigns are sending and to whom, Patchwork Nation created e-mail accounts for pseudovoters in each of our 11 communities in February and signed up with the McCain and Obama websites.
In previous posts, Patchwork Nation has noted the Obama team’s concerted e-mail efforts. Equally obvious is how far behind the McCain camp is in the e-mail game, at least so far.
Return to Top
Next | Home
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
|
|
|