[News] The Loyal secrets Newsletter - May 31, 2008
Carlos Mock
ctmock at gmail.com
Sat May 31 18:55:23 CST 2008
³Do not tell secrets to those whose faith and silence you have not already
tested.² - Elizabeth I
How Bush Sold the War By DOUGLAS J. FEITH. May 27, 2008; Page A21. In the
fall of 2003, a few months after Saddam Hussein's overthrow, U.S. officials
began to despair of finding stockpiles of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.
The resulting embarrassment caused a radical shift in administration
rhetoric about the war in Iraq. President Bush no longer stressed Saddam's
record or the threats from the Baathist regime as reasons for going to war.
Rather, from that point forward, he focused almost exclusively on the larger
aim of promoting democracy. This new focus compounded the damage to the
president's credibility that had already been caused by the CIA's errors on
Iraqi WMD. The president was seen as distancing himself from the actual case
he had made for removing the Iraqi regime from power. This change can be
quantified: In the year beginning with his first major speech about Iraq
the Sept. 12, 2002 address to the U.N. General Assembly Mr. Bush delivered
nine major talks about Iraq. There were, on average, approximately 14
paragraphs per speech on Saddam's record as an enemy, aggressor, tyrant and
danger, with only three paragraphs on promoting democracy. In the next year
from September 2003 to September 2004 Mr. Bush delivered 15 major talks
about Iraq. The average number of paragraphs devoted to the record of
threats from Saddam was one, and the number devoted to democracy promotion
was approximately 11.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/how-bush-sold-war.html
Bush's 'Culture of Deception:' McClellan. The book of the former press
secretary accuses the White House of intentionally misleading the public in
pursuit of an elusive goal: Peace in the Middle East.. It even accuses Bush
of misleading himself. by Mark Silva. Copyright © 2008, Cox Newspapers.
Posted May 28, 2008 8:30 AM. Scott McClellan, one of the Texans who came to
Washington with President George W. Bush, spent a long time defending the
administration but now has concluded this his longtime employer misled the
nation into an unneeded war in Iraq. "History appears poised to confirm
what most Americans today have decided -- that the decision to invade Iraq
was a serious strategic blunder," Scott McClellan, the former White House
press secretary, writes in his book, What Happened, which will be released
on Monday. Subtitle: Washington's Culture of Deception. "No one, including
me, can know with absolute certainty how the war will be viewed decades from
now when we can more fully understand its impact,'' he writes in the preface
of the book. "What I do know is that war should only be waged when
necessary, and the Iraq war was not necessary.''
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/bushs-culture-of-decepti
on-mcclellan.html
Disillusioned' McClellan Defends Memoir By Dan Eggen and Debbi Wilgoren.
Copyright by The Washington Post. Thursday, May 29, 2008; 10:36 AM. Former
White House press secretary Scott McClellan today strongly defended his
critical new book on the Bush administration, saying he became
"disillusioned" as he realized he was a pawn in a larger political game.
McClellan, who has been harshly condemned as a turncoat by some of his
closest friends and former colleagues, said in an interview on NBC's "Today"
show that the book was intended to illustrate how a presidential candidate
who vowed to change the culture of Washington failed to do so once he was
elected. Instead, McClellan says, President Bush stayed in a "permanent
campaign culture" and allowed his staff to use misleading and incomplete
information to "sell" the Iraq war to the American people. While the
president focused his public arguments on the possibility that Iraq had
weapons of mass destruction, McClellan said, his true goal in toppling
Saddam Hussein was to boost democracy in the Middle East.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/disillusioned-mcclellan-
defends-memoir.html
Bush team lines up to blitz tell-all book By Mark Silva. Copyright © 2008,
Chicago Tribune. May 29, 2008. WASHINGTON ‹ The Bush White House, long
accused by outside critics of misrepresenting the facts to make the case for
war in Iraq and other matters, has launched a personal counterattack against
harsh accusations of "deception" from a longtime insider who worked closely
with the president. White House aides past and present are strongly
dismissing the words of Scott McClellan, who served as President George W.
Bush's press secretary and now has written a book accusing Bush of
misleading the public about the war and more. With the discipline of a
White House team that is nothing if not on-message during a crisis, Bush
aides have stepped forward to say this isn't the Scott McClellan they
recall. In their full-bore, personal attack on the author, whom Bush once
embraced as a valued friend, they are confronting potentially damaging new
pages in another chapter of the soon-retiring president's legacy. As Bush's
party fights to retain control of the White House, the Bush administration
also faces the challenge of refuting embarrassing new, inside accounts about
an administration that was intent on waging a war that the presumptive
Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain, supports and will have to defend in
the November election.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/bush-team-lines-up-to-bl
itz-tell-all.html
International Herald Tribune Editorial: Bush's mouthpiece and a 'culture of
deception'. Copyright by The International Herald Tribune. Published: May
29, 2008. There are several kinds of Washington memoirs: "I Reveal the
Honest Truth," a kiss-up-and-tell designed to settle scores (nod to honesty
optional). "I Was There at the Start," designed to make the author appear to
be the linchpin of history. And, most tedious: "I Knew It Was a Terrible
Mistake, but I Didn't Mention It Until I Got a Book Contract." Scott
McClellan's memoir is the latest entry in the latter genre. Among his
far-too-late admissions, President George W. Bush's former spokesman reveals
that he knew the war in Iraq was "a serious strategic blunder," but the
White House decided the best course was "to turn away from candor and
honesty."
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/international-herald-tri
bune-editorial_29.html
International Herald Tribune Editorial: Bush and the GI Bill. Copyright by
The International Herald Tribune. Published: May 26, 2008. President
George W. Bush opposes a new GI Bill of Rights. He worries that if the
traditional path to college for service members since World War II is
improved and expanded for the post-Sept. 11 generation, too many people will
take it. He is wrong, but at least he is consistent. Having saddled the
military with a botched, unwinnable war, having squandered soldiers' lives
and failed them in so many ways, the commander in chief now resists giving
the troops a chance at better futures out of uniform. He does this on the
ground that the bill is too generous and may discourage re-enlistment,
further weakening the military he has done so much to break. Thankfully,
the new GI Bill has strong bipartisan support in Congress. The House passed
it by a veto-proof margin this month, and last week the Senate followed
suit.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/international-herald-tri
bune-editorial_26.html
The roar of hollow patriotism By Garrison Keillor. Copyright © 2008,
Chicago Tribune. May 28, 2008. Three hundred thousand bikers spent
Memorial Day weekend roaring around Washington in tribute to our war dead,
and I stood on Constitution Avenue Sunday afternoon watching a river of them
go by, waiting for a gap in the procession so I could cross over to the Mall
and look at pictures. The street had been closed off for them and they
motored on by, some flying the Stars and Stripes and the black MIA-POW flag,
honking, revving their engines, an endless celebration of internal
combustion. A patriotic bike rally is sort of like a patriotic
toilet-papering or patriotic graffiti‹the patriotism somehow gets lost in
the sheer irritation of the thing. Somehow a person associates Memorial Day
with long moments of silence when you summon up mental images of men huddled
together on amphibious assault vehicles and pilots revving up B-24s and
infantrymen crouched behind piles of rubble steeling themselves for the next
push.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/roar-of-hollow-patriotis
m.html
International Herald Tribune Editorial: Fortunately, Israel doesn't listen
to Bush. Copyright by The International Herald Tribune. Published: May 23,
2008. Everybody knew President Bush was aiming at Senator Barack Obama last
week when he likened those who endorse talks with "terrorists and radicals"
to appeasers of the Nazis. But now we know what Bush knew then - that Israel
is in indirect peace talks with Syria, a prominent member of Bush's list of
shunned nations - and it seems as if the president was going for a
two-for-one in his crack about appeasement. If so, it was breathtakingly
cynical to compare the leadership of the Jewish state with those who stood
aside in the face of the Nazi onslaught, and irresponsible to try to
restrain this American ally from pursuing a settlement that it judges as
possibly being in its best interests. But Bush turned his back on
Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts for seven years (before opening the anemic
Annapolis process in November), and he resisted previous moves by Jerusalem
and Damascus to revive serious negotiations, last held in 2000, over the
Golan Heights. Instead, he has sought to isolate Syria.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/international-herald-tri
bune-editorial_24.html
Amnesty calls for Guantánamo to be closed By Jimmy Burns in London and
Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington. Copyright The Financial Times Limited
2008. Published: May 27 2008 23:30 | Last updated: May 27 2008 23:30. The
next US president should move quickly to restore the superpower¹s moral
authority by closing the detention centre at Guantánamo, Amnesty
International says in its annual report published on Wednesday. The US
³sets the standard for government behaviour globally², says the report. But
it had shown ³breathtaking legal obfuscation² by its efforts to weaken
international standards ³absolutely prohibiting² torture. ³We have high
expectations that the new US president will set a new direction, that the US
will engage positively with human rights and will begin by setting its own
house in order,² Irene Khan, Amnesty¹s general secretary, said yesterday.
All three presidential candidates have vowed to close Guantánamo. But there
are challenges in doing so.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/amnesty-calls-for-guantn
amo-to-be.html
-
Your Lack of Money
May consumer confidence falls to near 16-year low By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO.
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. 10:25 AM CDT, May 27, 2008. NEW YORK -
Soaring gas prices and weakening job prospects left shoppers gloomier about
the economy in May, sending a key barometer of consumer sentiment to its
lowest level in almost 16 years. The New York-based Conference Board said
Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index dropped to 57.2, down from a
revised 62.8 in April. Economists surveyed by Thomson Financial/IFR had
expected a reading of 60. The May reading marks the fifth straight month of
decline and is the lowest since the index registered 54.6 in October 1992
when the economy was coming out of a recession. Economists closely watch
sentiment readings since consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds
of the nation's economic activity. "Weakening business and job conditions
coupled with growing pessimism about the short-term future have further
depleted consumers' confidence in the overall state of the economy," Lynn
Franco, director of the Conference Board's Consumer Research Center, said in
a statement.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/may-consumer-confidence-
falls-to-near.html
Uncomfortable truths for a new world of them and us By Philip Stephens.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008. Published: May 29 2008 17:47 |
Last updated: May 29 2008 17:47. Globalisation belonged to us; financial
crises happened to them. The world has been turned on its head. Consumers
in the wealthiest nations are struggling with the consequences of the credit
crunch and with the soaring cost of energy and food. In China, retail sales
have been rising at an annual 15 per cent. I cannot think of a better
description of the emerging global order. The trouble is that the politics
of globalisation lags ever further behind the economics. For all its tacit
recognition that power has been flowing eastwards, the west still wants to
imagine things as they used to be. In this world of them and us, ³they² are
accused by Democratic contenders in the US presidential contest of stealing
³our² jobs. Now, you hear Europeans say, ³they² are driving up international
commodity prices by burning ³our² fuel and eating ³our² food. The other day
I listened to an eminent central banker offer a lucid explanation of the
collapse of confidence that last summer paralysed international credit
markets. I say lucid because he kept it simple, skipping the indecipherable
stuff about algorithms, bundled securities and mark-to-market accounting
rules.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/uncomfortable-truths-for
-new-world-of.html
US manufacturing resists slowdown By Chris Bryant in Washington. Copyright
The Financial Times Limited 2008. Published: May 28 2008 14:50 | Last
updated: May 28 2008 14:50. Orders for big-ticket manufactured goods
excluding transportation rose unexpectedly last month in a sign that
manufacturers are continuing to resist a slowdown in the broader US economy.
Durable goods orders ex-transportation, a less volatile measure of business
expenditure, rose by 2.5 per cent in April, the biggest increase in nine
months, according to a Commerce Department report released on Wednesday.
Overall durable goods orders fell by 0.5 per cent in April, however the
result was still better than a 1.5 per cent drop forecast by economists.
The headline figure was impaired by an 8 per cent decline in transportation
equipment orders, which tend to show big monthly fluctuations. Non-defense
aircraft and parts orders slumped 24.4 per cent last month, in part
reflecting a big slowdown in plane orders at Boeing in April.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/us-manufacturing-resists
-slowdown.html
Recession still likely in US, says Greenspan By Krishna Guha in Washington.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008. Published: May 26 2008 23:37 |
Last updated: May 26 2008 23:37. The US is still more likely than not to
have a recession in spite of the relative stabilisation in the economy in
recent weeks, Alan Greenspan has told the Financial Times. The former
chairman of the Federal Reserve said: ³I still believe there is a greater
than 50 per cent probability of recession.² But, he said, ³that probability
has receded a little and I think the probability of a severe recession has
come down markedly². His comments, in an interview with the FT, come as a
counter to the increasing optimism in some quarters. In the past six weeks,
most economists have scaled back their estimates of the likelihood of a US
recession following a better-than-expected jobs report and stronger business
activity surveys. Many now think the US will narrowly dodge outright
economic contraction.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/recession-still-likely-i
n-us-says.html
1 in 4 at GM taking buyout - 19,000 union workers to exit; cheaper
replacements to be hired By Rick Popely. Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune.
May 30, 2008. About 19,000 union workers at General Motors Corp., 25
percent of its hourly employees, accepted retirement incentives or buyouts
in a program that ended Thursday, clearing the way for biggest U.S.
automaker to boost its bottom line by hiring new workers at lower pay and
benefits. "This attrition program gives us an opportunity to restructure
our U.S. workforce through the entry-level wage and benefit structure for
new hourly employees," Troy Clarke, president of GM North America, said in a
statement. That should allow the company, which has been hit by a major
shift in buying habits, to further restructure its business. GM and Ford
Motor Co. are struggling to gain traction in a market battered by high gas
prices, tight credit, a sick housing industry and economic malaise. GM's
U.S. sales are down 12 percent through April, with large pickups, among its
most profitable vehicles, off 20 percent.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/1-in-4-at-gm-taking-buyo
ut-19000-union.html
Investors increase bets on US rate rise By Krishna Guha in Washington, and
Michael Mackenzie and Daniel Pimlott in New York. Copyright The Financial
Times Limited 2008. Published: May 28 2008 21:50 | Last updated: May 29
2008 03:27. A sell-off in the US bond market pushed the yield on 10-year
Treasuries above 4 per cent on Wednesday for the first time since January,
as investors bet that pressure from record oil prices would force the
Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this year. The futures market
priced in a 60 per cent likelihood of a rate rise in October, up from less
than 50 per cent the day before. As recently as May 8 investors saw
virtually no chance of an October rate rise. The move came as durable goods
orders came in stronger than expected, and Dow Chemicals, the largest US
chemicals producer, said it was raising the price of all its products by up
to 20 per cent to offset the rising cost of energy and raw materials.
Andrew Liveris, Dow¹s chairman and chief executive, said that the rising
cost of fuel was ³putting a strain on the entire value chain². He blamed the
US government¹s failure to address rising energy costs for causing a ³true
energy crisis, one that is causing serious harm to America¹s manufacturing
sector and all consumers of energy².
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/investors-increase-bets-
on-us-rate-rise.html
Commodities
Oil $127.35
Silver Bullion $16.86
Gold Bullion $887
Platinum Bullion $ $2015
Euro $1.5545
Oil burden By Carlos T Mock, MD. May, 30, 2008. Last time the United
States had an oil crises of this magnitude was in 1980. Even when adjusted
for inflation, crude oil at $135 a barrel is more expensive than at the peak
of the oil spike in 1980. That is an alarming statistic. Instead of talking
about Oil Bubbles we should be talking about Oil Burden: Véronique
Riches-Flores of Société Générale measures the ³oil burden² the volume of
oil consumed, multiplied by the average price and divided by nominal gross
domestic product. This gives the proportion of the world economy devoted to
oil and accounts for the way the world has reduced its reliance on oil since
1980. The oil burden so measured has risen about 75 per cent during the
past year, to its highest level in almost 25 years. This must soon have an
economic impact if prices do not quickly reverse. But prices would need to
reach about $190 before the burden regained its peak of 1980. It is not
clear that prices are at a point where demand will fall.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/oil-burden.html
The Short View: Oil burden By John Authers, Invetsment Editor. Copyright
The Financial Times Limited 2008. Published: May 29 2008 18:53 | Last
updated: May 29 2008 18:53. When will the oil price start to cause true
macroeconomic pain? Once it does, it could create stagflation something
that is still not with us, given enduring strength in US manufacturing and
growth in the emerging world. It will also, probably, reduce demand for oil
and hence start to push the price down. Other commodities have gone off the
boil, with the S&P GSCI non-energy commodity index falling 13.5 per cent
since mid-March while the energy index has gained 22.6 per cent. So
attention now focuses on oil. Even when adjusted for inflation, crude oil
at $135 a barrel is more expensive than at the peak of the oil spike in
1980. That is an alarming statistic. But Véronique Riches-Flores of Société
Générale adjusts this by measuring the ³oil burden² the volume of oil
consumed, multiplied by the average price and divided by nominal gross
domestic product. This gives the proportion of the world economy devoted to
oil and accounts for the way the world has reduced its reliance on oil since
1980.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/short-view-oil-burden.ht
ml
Oil has reached a turning point By Daniel Yergin. Copyright The Financial
Times Limited 2008. Published: May 27 2008 18:50 | Last updated: May 27
2008 18:50. Oil prices at this level take us into a new world ³Break
Point² where the question is not only ³how high can the price go?², but
also ³what will be the response?² Is this the point at which oil begins to
lose its almost total domination in transport? Yes, the current high oil
price may be a demand shock triggered by what had been several years of
excellent global economic growth, and thus more benign than supply shocks
caused by 1970s-style disruptions. It is amplified by a dollar shock caused
by the fall in the dollar and by the embrace by financial investors of oil
(and other commodities) as an asset class. What is now unfolding is an oil
shock. The fact that the world could take $80 in its stride in the context
of strong economic growth does not mean that a price that is 60 per cent
higher at a time of a credit crunch will be so easily assimilated. The
economic toll is mounting. Airlines are certainly in shock as they start
charging for checked luggage to find a way to pass on their biggest cost.
Carmakers are reeling. Retailers are tracking the shrinking wallets of their
customers. The rising prices for food reflect, in part, the impact of higher
energy costs.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/oil-has-reached-turning-
point.html
U.S. investigating oil market practices. Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune.
May 30, 2008. Federal regulators have launched a wide-ranging investigation
of U.S. oil markets and are looking to prevent possible price manipulation.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Thursday said it started the
probe in December and took the unusual step of publicizing it "because of
today's unprecedented market conditions." Crude prices, which on Thursday
closed at more than $126 a barrel, have risen more than 42 percent since
early December. Gasoline prices are nearing a national average of $4 a
gallon, up from about $3.20 a year ago. The commission said it is
investigating potential abuses in the way crude oil is purchased, shipped,
stored and traded nationwide, but did not reveal details. It did, however,
announce a handful of other initiatives designed to increase transparency of
U.S. and international energy futures markets.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/us-investigating-oil-mar
ket-practices.html
Housing
Illinois Average Rates
5/31/08 - 10:46 PM
30 Yr Fixed 6.02%
15 Yr Fixed 5.60%
30 Yr Fixed Jumbo 7.21%
US home prices fall at record pace. Copyright The Financial Times Limited
2008. Published: May 27 2008 14:54 | Last updated: May 27 2008 14:54. New
York, May 27 Prices of U.S. single-family homes plunged a record 14.1 per
cent in the first quarter from a year earlier, marking a pace five times
faster than the last housing recession, the Standard & Poor¹s/Case Shiller
national home price index reported on Tuesday. The S&P/Case Shiller
composite index of 20 metropolitan areas fell 2.2 per cent in March from
February and plummeted a record 14.4 per cent from March 2007. Economists
expected prices for the 20-city index to fall 2.0 per cent month on month
and 14.0 per cent from a year earlier, according to the median forecast in a
Reuters survey. ²There are very few silver linings that one can see in the
data,² David Blitzer, chairman of S&P¹s index committee, said in a
statement.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/us-home-prices-fall-at-r
ecord-pace.html
US banks likely to fail as bad loans soar By Joanna Chung and Saskia
Scholtes in New York. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008.
Published: May 29 2008 20:43 | Last updated: May 29 2008 20:43. US banks
set aside a record $37.1bn to cover losses on real estate loans and other
credits during the first quarter in a sign of the growing economic pain
being caused by the global credit crisis, regulators said on Thursday.
Sheila Bair, chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, said
it was likely loan-loss provisions and bank failures would rise in coming
quarters as the fallout from market turmoil hits the real economy. ³While
we may be past the worst of the turmoil in financial markets, we¹re still in
the early stages of the traditional credit crisis you typically see during
an economic downturn,² she said, adding: ³What we really need to focus on is
the uncertainty surrounding the economy . . . and again it is all about
housing.²
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/us-banks-likely-to-fail-
as-bad-loans.html
International
Chicago Tribune Editorial - Terror in Zimbabwe. Copyright © 2008, Chicago
Tribune. May 30, 2008. On the morning of May 14, Tonderai Ndira, a
32-year-old pro-democracy activist, was abducted from his home outside of
Zimbabwe's capital, Harare. More than a week passed before his family
discovered that Ndira, kidnapped by government-sanctioned thugs, had been
maimed and killed. His lips and tongue were cut off, his face shattered and
the back of his head gored with a hammer. "We only knew it was my brother by
his distinctive ring, his bangles, and his unmistakable height," Cosmos
Ndira told the BBC. This is not an isolated tale. This type of violence has
become increasingly common in Zimbabwe since the March 29 presidential
election, which many citizens believe was manipulated by the deeply
unpopular incumbent Robert Mugabe. As the country girds for a run-off on
June 27, hopes that Mugabe will allow the vote to be free and fair are
fading fast. He has authorized his thugs to use violence, including torture
and murder, to intimidate voters and opposition supporters. According to
opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, more than 50 people have been killed.
If Mugabe maintains power by force and ballot-box chicanery, discontent will
only rise. The rush of refugees fleeing the country will accelerate. Hunger
will become epidemic.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/chicago-tribune-editoria
l-terror-in.html
Royal flag is lowered over Nepal's new republic. Copyright by Reuters.
Published: May 29, 2008. KATMANDU, Nepal: Hundreds of Nepali protesters
demanding that the dethroned king, Gyanendra, immediately leave his palace
clashed with the police Thursday, a day after the abolition of the monarchy.
More than 25 people were hurt in the fighting. Hundreds of stone-throwing
demonstrators tried to storm the palace and the police beat them back with
bamboo sticks. "Gyanendra, thief, leave the palace!" protesters shouted.
The clash came hours after the royal standard was lowered from the palace in
Katmandu, as Nepal celebrated its first day as a republic following the
abolition of its 239-year-old Hindu monarchy. A special assembly elected in
April voted to abolish the monarchy and gave Gyanendra two weeks to vacate
the sprawling pink palace, which will be turned into a museum.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/royal-flag-is-lowered-ov
er-nepals-new.html
China
Financial Times Editorial Comment: China embarks on quake diplomacy.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008. Published: May 29 2008 19:41 |
Last updated: May 29 2008 19:41. For Sharon Stone, the Sichuan earthquake
was karmic retribution. For Wen Jiabao, China¹s premier, it was a moment to
show the Communist party¹s human face. For Japan, it has provided a small,
but genuine, opportunity to lay to rest some of the ghosts that still haunt
Sino-Japanese relations. Beijing¹s decision to ask Japan¹s Air Self Defence
Forces to fly relief equipment into Sichuan is rife with symbolism. Not
since 1945, when the Japanese withdrew from China after 14 years of brutal
expansionism, will a Japanese military aircraft have landed on Chinese soil.
China¹s seizure of the moment is laudable. So is Japan¹s enthusiastic
response. Less than two weeks ago the idea had seemed unthinkable. Then,
Tokyo sent rescue workers to pick through the rubble of Sichuan. But they
flew on commercial aircraft, via Beijing, losing time.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/financial-times-editoria
l-comment-china.html
Tibetans losing faith in talks, says Dalai Lama By Lionel Barber, Lifen
Zhang and James Blitz in Nottingham, England. Copyright The Financial Times
Limited 2008. Published: May 25 2008 19:04 | Last updated: May 25 2008
19:04. The Dalai Lama has given a stark warning that he is losing the
support of many of his followers inside Tibet because of the Chinese
government¹s refusal to strike a deal with him over the territory¹s future.
As he continues a tour of European cities to rally support for Tibet¹s
autonomy from Beijing, the 72-year-old Nobel laureate has expressed hope
that China will begin serious negotiations with his representatives over
greater autonomy for the region in a few weeks¹ time. But in an interview
in the UK with the Financial Times, he indicated that more radical Tibetans,
who urge violent confrontation with China, are increasingly losing faith in
his strategy of securing autonomy through peaceful dialogue.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/tibetans-losing-faith-in
-talks-says.html
Mess-o-potamia
Attacks surge in Afghanistan - Officials: Truces in Pakistan free rebels to
hit over the border By Kim Barker. Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune.
11:08 PM CDT, May 23, 2008. KABUL, Afghanistan ‹ The number of attacks on
U.S. troops in eastern Afghanistan has increased significantly in April and
May, causing many here to worry that local peace deals with militants in
neighboring Pakistan are allowing them to regroup and focus on fighting
across the border in Afghanistan. Officials with the NATO-led International
Security Assistance Force, or ISAF, speaking on condition of anonymity
because of the sensitivity of the issue, said that attacks in eastern
Afghanistan in the past three or four weeks have jumped to about 100 a week
from 60 a week in March. This was "a very significant increase" in attacks,
which include everything from minor indirect fire to suicide attacks, one
ISAF official said last week.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/attacks-surge-in-afghani
stan-officials.html
Bombs, attacks kill 24 in Afghanistan By AMIR SHAH. Copyright 2008
Associated Press. 10:33 AM CDT, May 27, 2008. KABUL, Afghanistan -
Roadside bombings and insurgent attacks Tuesday killed 24 people in
Afghanistan, including 13 police officers, while U.S.-led coalition
operations killed several militants, officials said. In southern Kandahar
province, Taliban insurgents killed nine police in a two-pronged attack
before dawn in Shorabak district, said provincial police chief Sayed Agha
Saqib. Insurgents first attacked a police checkpoint, killing five
officers, Saqib said. Two roadside bombs then hit two vehicles carrying
police reinforcements, killing four more officers and wounding three.
Another roadside bomb in Logar province, south of Kabul, killed four police,
said deputy police chief Abdul Majid Latifi. Militants regularly target the
country's fledgling police force, which is seen as weaker than the
better-trained and equipped Afghan army. At least 72 police officers were
killed in insurgent ambushes and bombings in April alone.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/bombs-attacks-kill-24-in
-afghanistan.html
Anti-U.S. Sadr calls for protests - Iraqi cleric opposes long-term presence
By Qassim Abdul-Zahra. Copyright by The Associated Press. May 28, 2008.
BAGHDAD ‹ Militant Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr called Tuesday for followers
to hold weekly protests against a U.S.-Iraqi security deal under negotiation
that could lead to a long-term American troop presence. The outcry by Sadr
could sharply heighten tensions over the proposed pact, which is supposed to
be finished by July to replace the current UN mandate overseeing U.S.-led
troops in Iraq. Sadr, whose powerful Mahdi Army militia has often battled
U.S. and Iraqi forces, is one of the most vocal opponents of the U.S.
presence in Iraq, though many Iraqis have expressed worries over any deal
that involves permanent American bases. Sadr, who is believed to be in
Iran, gave no specifics on the planned demonstrations in a statement issued
by Shiite religious officials. Any major marches, however, could strain the
tenuous truce between the Mahdi Army and the government of Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki after weeks of battles that began in late March.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/anti-us-sadr-calls-for-p
rotests-iraqi.html
Militant group warns of Mosul retaliation By BUSHRA JUHI. Copyright 2008
Associated Press. 7:37 AM CDT, May 27, 2008. BAGHDAD - An al-Qaida in Iraq
front group warned Tuesday that insurgents were waiting for the right moment
to retaliate against a U.S.-Iraqi security crackdown in the northern city of
Mosul. Gunmen killed a policeman near his station in Mosul, when attackers
opened fire with machine guns shortly before noon about 100 yards from the
Hadba police directorate, officials said. Interior Ministry spokesman Maj.
Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf ordered an immediate investigation and expressed
concern that the policeman had been killed in broad daylight Tuesday in an
area that was crowded with Iraqi policemen and pedestrians. Mosul, located
225 miles northwest of Baghdad, has been dubbed by the U.S. military as
al-Qaida's last major urban stronghold in Iraq. The Iraqi government
launched an offensive, dubbed Operation Lion's Roar, there earlier this
month to clear the area. Officials have claimed initial success, saying
more than 1,200 suspects have been detained, and Iraqi security forces have
met little resistance.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/militant-group-warns-of-
mosul.html
Suicide rate in Army hits new high. Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune.
11:27 PM CDT, May 29, 2008. WASHINGTON ‹ U.S. soldiers committed suicide in
2007 at the highest rate on record, and the toll is climbing this year. At
least 115 active-duty soldiers, National Guardsmen and reservists killed
themselves last year, up from 102 the previous year, the Army said Thursday.
The Army counted 935 reported suicide attempts. Nearly a third of the
soldiers died at the battlefront‹32 in Iraq and four in Afghanistan. But 26
percent had never deployed to either conflict. Two other deaths are
suspected suicides but still under investigation. The largest percentage of
suicides occurred during the first three months of a deployment to Iraq or
Afghanistan, the report found. The largest percentage of suicide attempts
came during the second quarter of deployment.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/suicide-rate-in-army-hit
s-new-high.html
Iraq calls for debt cancellation By David Ibison in Stockholm. Copyright
The Financial Times Limited 2008. Published: May 29 2008 09:06 | Last
updated: May 29 2008 11:07. Senior members of Iraq¹s government have
stepped up calls for Arab neighbours to cancel up to $60bn in debts run up
during the rule of Saddam Hussein in order to speed up the economic
development of the country. Speaking at an international conference on Iraq
that is being held in Stockholm, Nuri al-Maliki, prime minister, said. ³The
debts of Iraq ... which we inherited from the dictator hamper the
reconstruction process.² His call was echoed by Barham Salih, deputy prime
minister, who said ³Saddam era debts belong to the past. It is time to
liberate Iraq from this burden.²
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/iraq-calls-for-debt-canc
ellation.html
Financial Times Editorial Comment: It¹s curtains for Olmert. Copyright The
Financial Times Limited 2008. Published: May 29 2008 19:59 | Last updated:
May 29 2008 19:59. It is all but over for Ehud Olmert. Israel¹s prime
minister though he has not been charged with anything cannot survive his
latest corruption probe. This week¹s unchallenged testimony from Morris
Talansky, a US businessman who says he gave his friend Mr Olmert wads of
cash for personal luxuries as well as political campaigns, will see to that.
There are laws of political gravity even he cannot defy. Mr Olmert
haemorrhaged authority and credibility after his incompetent and reckless
conduct of the 2006 war against Hizbollah in Lebanon, which mercilessly
exposed the limits to Israel¹s military might. Now he has lost even the
residual legitimacy of his office. Israel¹s citizens have come to expect
little from their politicians. That is one reason why Mr Olmert could
survive strategic disaster as well as a string of financial misconduct
investigations. But not this one. Now the knives are out.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/financial-times-editoria
l-comment-its.html
National
Violent storms kill 8 in Iowa and Minnesota By HENRY C. JACKSON. Copyright
2008 Associated Press. 10:49 AM CDT, May 26, 2008. DES MOINES, Iowa -
Powerful storms packing large hail, heavy rain and tornadoes made for a
deadly Memorial Day weekend across the nation's midsection, killing at least
seven people in Iowa and a 2-year-old child in Minnesota. Iowa Homeland
Security administrator Dave Miller said seven people were killed Sunday by a
tornado in northeast Iowa -- five from Parkersburg, a town of about 1,000
some 80 miles northeast of Des Moines -- and two from nearby New Hartford.
At least 50 injuries were reported. "It's been a long time since we've had
those kinds of injuries and deaths reported," Miller said. Witnesses
reported parts of Parkersburg -- particularly the town's south side -- were
reduced to rubble, including most of the town's high school. The Des Moines
area had heavy rain and lightning Sunday night with wind gusts of 70 mph.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/violent-storms-kill-8-in
-iowa-and.html
Indecision 2008
Jon Stewart Calls Out McCain for Hypocrisy on Supporting Veterans
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/05/30/jon-stewart-calls-out-mccain-for-hy
pocrisy-on-supporting-veterans/
Chicago Sun-Times Editorial - Our soldiers deserve new GI Bill of Rights.
Copyright by The Chicago Sun-Times. May 28, 2008. We send our soldiers to
war and make them stay for far too long, cruelly extending their tours of
duty two, three or four times. We make them stay because we can't drum up
enough new soldiers to replace them. Our military is stretched to the limit,
largely because of the war in Iraq, and recruiting is in the basement, also
thanks to the war. And how do we reward these fine young men and women, the
ones who dare to go to war while the rest of us just talk? The ones who
actually volunteer? We don't. Not really.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/chicago-sun-times-editor
ial-our.html
Chicago Sun-Times Editorial - Sneering at talk is what's really cheap.
Copyright by The Chicago Sun-Times. May 25, 2008. Should we talk to our
enemies? Sen. John McCain in recent days has said Sen. Barack Obama's
willingness to open dialog with leaders from Iran to Cuba shows his
"inexperience and reckless judgment," but it is McCain who oversimplifies.
Presidents from Nixon to Reagan to George H.W. Bush have all talked to our
enemies -- with the right preconditions -- and Obama has vowed to do nothing
more or less. Talk, in and of itself, is diplomacy. Talk is not by
definition appeasement, whatever President Bush and McCain might like to
pretend. It's what grown-ups do, before all else, to solve problems. Obama
says he would be willing to meet with Iranian leaders, but only with
"sufficient preparations," and he would do "everything" in his powers to
keep Iran from developing nuclear weapons. "Whether [Iranian President]
Ahmadinejad is the right person to meet with right now," he says, "we don't
even know how much power he is going to have a year from now." That, to us,
sounds like grown-up talk.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/chicago-sun-times-editor
ial-sneering-at.html
A bad history lesson By Clarence Page. Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune.
May 28, 2008. History repeats itself, someone once said, because people
don't hear it right the first time. The problem with Sen. Hillary Clinton's
gaffe about Robert F. Kennedy is her failure to recall correctly the history
she has helped make. She was wrong on the facts, wrong in her argument and
wrong in her recollection of the gut-wrenching fear and loathing that the
second assassination of a Kennedy inflicted on Americans‹across party lines.
Grasping at historical straws to explain why she is still campaigning
instead of putting her campaign on hold, at least, the New York senator
unleashed an argument that not only sounded breathtakingly tacky but also
happened to be wrong on its facts. "You know, my husband did not wrap up
the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the
middle of June, right?" she said to the editorial board of South Dakota's
Argus Leader. "We all remember, Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in
California."
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/bad-history-lesson.html
Big decisions ahead - Candidates face tempting moves that could backfire By
Steve Chapman. Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune. May 25, 2008. People
who are under the influence of alcohol often are seized with impulses that
seem brilliant at the time but end up looking like horrible mistakes the
next day. We are now at the stage of the presidential election when
intoxication at the prospect of the fall campaign produces ideas that, if
adopted, will lead only to regret. One came in an article on the
influential op-ed page of The Washington Post, proposing a simple way to
reconcile Hillary Clinton and her supporters to Barack Obama's looming
victory. "It's likely that the next president will face at least one Supreme
Court vacancy," wrote James Andrew Miller, formerly an aide to Senate
Majority Leader Howard Baker. "Obama should promise Hillary Clinton, now,
that if he wins in November, the vacancy will be hers, making her first on a
list of one." In Miller's view, it would guarantee a quick Senate
confirmation, gratify her supporters by assuring her life tenure in a job
more consequential than vice president and add a solid liberal vote to a
conservative-leaning court. No doubt. But it would brand Obama as an
unsavory dealmaker willing to bribe a rival for her blessing, badly
tarnishing the rationale of his candidacy. It would also give Republicans a
matchless opportunity in the fall campaign‹trumpeting the specter of an
Obama presidency and a Clinton court.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/big-decisions-ahead-cand
idates-face.html
Dem lawyers: Fla., Mich. can't be fully restored By NEDRA PICKLER.
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. 8:02 AM CDT, May 28, 2008. WASHINGTON - A
Democratic Party rules committee has the authority to seat some delegates
from Michigan and Florida but not fully restore the two states as Hillary
Rodham Clinton wants, according to party lawyers. Democratic National
Committee rules require that the two states lose at least half of their
convention delegates for holding elections too early, the party's legal
experts wrote in a 38-page memo. The memo was sent late Tuesday to the 30
members of the party's Rules and Bylaws Committee, which plans to meet
Saturday at a Washington hotel. The committee is considering ways to include
the two important general election battlegrounds at the nominating
convention in August, and the staff analysis says seating half the delegates
is "as far as it legally can" go.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/dem-lawyers-fla-mich-can
t-be-fully.html
Doctor: Obama in 'excellent health' By John McCormick. Copyright © 2008,
Chicago Tribune. May 30, 2008. In a one-page letter released Thursday,
Sen. Barack Obama's primary care physician said the Democratic presidential
candidate has been in "excellent health" during the 21 years he has been a
patient. Obama's campaign, however, declined to say whether the
46-year-old's full medical records would eventually be released.
Presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain, 71, released more than
1,000 pages of medical documents last week to make the case that he is
vigorous enough to be president. McCain's doctors detailed his successful
treatment for melanoma and concluded he is physically fit for the job, an
assessment Obama's doctor also made. "Sen. Barack Obama is in overall good
physical and mental health needed to maintain the resiliency required in the
office of president," wrote Dr. David Scheiner, a general internist at the
University of Chicago Hospitals and Rush University Medical Center.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/doctor-obama-in-excellen
t-health.html
Chicagoland
Chicago's tale of corruption has no end By CAROL MARIN cmarin at suntimes.com.
Copyright by The Chicago Sun-Times. May 25, 2008. U.S. Attorney Patrick
Fitzgerald, May 22, 2008. Chicago strains the creative writing abilities of
even the smartest feds. And so on Thursday, neither his Harvard education
nor his near-mythic reputation as a prosecutor's prosecutor could supply
U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald with a sexy new script for the same old
storyline. Like Indiana Jones, this city's corruption saga is an endless
series of sequels. And on this day it was about, well, what else? Corruption
indictments, 15 of them, for city workers, contractors and developers who
allegedly paid or took bribes to rig inspections, get building permits and
make money the old-fashioned way, by cheating the taxpayers. Noting one of
the alleged bribes caught on tape was passed outside Oprah's West Side
studios, even Fitzgerald's invocation of Chicago's global media goddess
couldn't produce much sizzle.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/chicagos-tale-of-corrupt
ion-has-no-end.html
Chicago Tribune Editorial: Scalpel, please. Copyright © 2008, Chicago
Tribune. May 28, 2008. If all goes as planned on Wednesday, there will be
a new panel of overseers in charge of the disastrously mismanaged Cook
County public health system. All eyes will rest on its 11 members, while the
Cook County Board and its president, Todd Stroger, supposedly slink into the
background, foisting all questions and political heat on the newbies. Hey,
the county pols will say, it's all up to the health panel now. You got a
problem with patronage? Talk to them. Insider contracts? Not us. Kickback
schemes? We wouldn't know about that. A health delivery system so
inefficient that it doesn't even attempt to bill some patients? Their
problem, not ours. What should the rest of us think about this alleged
transfer of power to a new health panel? Has the Cook County Board really
taken the steps that will fix the health system to benefit patients who rely
on it and taxpayers who support it? Or have the pols merely hauled in the
fog machine? Are they just trying to avoid being held responsible for their
years of dereliction?
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/chicago-tribune-editoria
l-scalpel.html
Lisa Madigan, your moment has arrived By Eric Zorn. Copyright © 2008,
Chicago Tribune. May 29, 2008. To: Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan. Subject: Your
political future. Status: Urgent. Three words: Hat. Ring. Now. Don't
wait. Announce today that you'll challenge incumbent Rod Blagojevich for
the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 2010. Yes, it seems early. But
as our readers know, The Friends of Blagojevich have kicked into gear,
holding a fundraiser last week at Tavern on Rush and scheduling another one
for June 26 in which big shots will donate $20,000 to be named event
co-chair.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/lisa-madigan-your-moment
-has-arrived.html
Chicago Sun-Times Editorial - Ryan doesn't deserve a get-out-of-jail card.
Copyright by The Chicago Sun-Times. May 29, 2008. It's hard not to feel a
little sorry for George Ryan. As governor, he was well-liked enough and
delivered for Illinois. As a statesman, he did the right -- even noble --
thing by clearing Death Row. And as a human being, he seems like a decent
guy. He has loyal friends and a devoted wife of more than 50 years. Ryan is
74, has diabetes and faces at least five more years in federal prison. Yes,
it's hard not to feel a little bad for the man. But that doesn't make him
any less guilty of public corruption and cheating taxpayers. Like every
other criminal -- most of whom don't have friends in high places and
expensive lawyers -- Ryan earned his trip to prison and must do his time.
The only get-out-of-jail-free card he should ever get is in a Monopoly game
in the prison rec room.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/chicago-sun-times-editor
ial-ryan-doesnt.html
GLBT
Gay rights advocates score wins in NY, Calif. By MICHAEL GORMLEY. Copyright
by The Associated Press. 5:33 AM CDT, May 29, 2008. ALBANY, N.Y. - Gay
rights advocates had reason to celebrate on both coasts Thursday, with New
York set to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere and California
preparing to begin issuing marriage licenses to gay couples on June 17.
Hours after California issued a directive Wednesday authorizing that date,
word came that New York Gov. David Paterson instructed state agencies --
including those governing insurance and health care -- to immediately change
policies and regulations to recognize gay marriages. For years, gay rights
advocates have sought recognition for same-sex marriages so couples could
share family health care plans, receive tax breaks by filing jointly, enjoy
stronger adoption rights and inherit property. Many or all of those rights
would now appear to be available to New Yorkers who legally wed same-sex
partners in other states and countries, according to the memo sent earlier
this month from the governor's counsel. Agencies have until June 30 to
report back to the counsel on how, specifically, the directive will change
existing state benefits and services for gay couples.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/gay-rights-advocates-sco
re-wins-in-ny.html
Poll: Majority of Californians back gay marriage By LISA LEFF. Copyright
2008 Associated Press. 8:47 AM CDT, May 28, 2008. SAN FRANCISCO - More
California voters now support allowing same-sex marriage than oppose it,
according to a new poll released Wednesday. The results mark the first time
in over three decades of polling that more California voters have approved
of extending marriage to gay couples than have disapproved, said Field Poll
director Mark DiCamillo. The survey of 1,052 registered voters was conducted
over the phone. "I would say this is a historic turning point or
milestone," DiCamillo said. "We have speculated in the past there would be
some time in the future when a majority would support same-sex marriage.
Well, the lines have crossed." The poll found that 51 percent of
respondents backed legalizing same-sex marriage and 42 percent opposed it,
DiCamillo said.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/poll-majority-of-califor
nians-back-gay.html
Recognition of gay marriages in NY faces battle By MICHAEL GORMLEY.
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. 1:18 AM CDT, May 30, 2008. ALBANY, N.Y. -
Religious and social conservatives vowed Thursday to fight Gov. David
Paterson's directive requiring state agencies to recognize gay marriages
performed legally elsewhere, saying it flouts traditional values and is a
big step toward legalizing same-sex unions in New York. "The definition of
marriage predates recorded history," said New York State Catholic Conference
Executive Director Richard E. Barnes. "No single politician or court or
legislature should attempt to redefine the very building block of our
society in a way that alters its entire meaning and purpose." Paterson
issued a memo earlier this month saying that gay New Yorkers who marry where
it is legal will have the right to share family health care plans, receive
tax breaks by filing jointly, enjoy stronger adoption rights and inherit
property. He cited a February ruling in a New York Appellate Division court
in which the judges determined that there is no legal impediment in New York
to the recognition of a same-sex marriage. Earlier this month, the
California Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage in the nation's most
populous state is legal. The ruling overturned a voter-approved ban on gay
marriage.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/recognition-of-gay-marri
ages-in-ny.html
Judges order military to prove need for gay ban By Gene Johnson. Copyright
by The Associated Press. May 28, 2008. SEATTLE‹The military cannot
automatically discharge people because they are gay, a federal appeals court
ruled May 21 in the case of a decorated flight nurse who sued the Air Force
over her dismissal. The three judges from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals did not strike down the military¹s ³don¹t ask, don¹t tell² policy.
But they reinstated Maj. Margaret Witt¹s lawsuit, saying the Air Force must
prove that her dismissal furthered the military¹s goals of troop readiness
and unit cohesion. The ³don¹t ask, don¹t tell, don¹t pursue, don¹t harass²
policy prohibits the military from asking about the sexual orientation of
service members but requires discharge of those who acknowledge being gay or
engaging in homosexual activity. Last week¹s ruling led opponents of the
policy to declare its days numbered. It is also the first appeals court
ruling in the country that evaluated the policy through the lens of a 2003
Supreme Court decision that struck down a Texas ban on sodomy as an
unconstitutional intrusion on privacy. When gay service members have sued
over their dismissals, courts historically have accepted the military¹s
argument that having gays in the service is generally bad for morale and can
lead to sexual tension. But the Supreme Court¹s opinion in the Texas case
changed the legal landscape, the judges said, and requires more scrutiny
over whether ³don¹t ask, don¹t tell² is constitutional as applied in
individual cases.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/judges-order-military-to
-prove-need-for.html
Cuba holds large gay rights rally. Copyright by The Associated Press. May
27, 2008. HAVANA, CUBA (AP) - Cuba¹s gay community celebrated unprecedented
openness, and high-ranking political alliances, with a government-backed
campaign against homophobia. The meeting at a convention center in Havana¹s
Vedado district may have been the largest gathering of openly gay activists
ever on the communist-run island. President Raul Castro¹s daughter Mariela,
who has promoted the rights of sexual minorities, presided. Mariela Castro
joined government leaders and hundreds of activists at the one-day
conference for the International Day Against Homophobia that featured shows,
lectures, panel discussions and book presentations. A station also offered
blood-tests for sexually transmitted diseases. Cuban state television
recently gave prime-time play to the U.S. film Brokeback Mountain, which
tells the story of two cowboys who conceal their homosexual affair.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/cuba-holds-large-gay-rig
hts-rally.html
Health Care
A puzzle over fewer boy births By Judith Graham. Copyright © 2008, Chicago
Tribune. May 25, 2008. Once there was a kids hockey team on the
reservation of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation in Canada, just across the
border from Michigan. No longer. There aren't enough boys. This community,
surrounded by dozens of pollution-spewing chemical plants, is an especially
extreme example of a puzzling phenomenon playing out around world, in
countries as diverse as the United States, Sweden and Japan. Though more
boys are being born than girls in most places, their numbers are falling. No
one is sure why. The change is small, but real. In the U.S., the ratio of
baby boys to girls has been declining since 1970, translating into 17 fewer
males for every 10,000 births, or an estimated 135,000 fewer boys born
between 1970 and 2002, according to a study last year in Environmental
Health Perspectives.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/puzzle-over-fewer-boy-bi
rths.html
Immigration
Illegal becomes 'one of the best and brightest' By Teresa Puente. Copyright
by The Chicago Sun-Times. May 26, 2008. Ricardo Estrada's story of
crossing the border is one that continues today. His father, then his
mother, left him and his younger brother and sister in Mexico when they went
north in search of work. His grandparents cared for Estrada and his
siblings. After two years, the grandparents arranged for a coyote, or
smuggler, to take the children across the U.S.-Mexico border. Estrada, then
only 7, and his little brother made it safely across, but his sister, 6, was
kidnapped. She was held by the coyotes for several weeks until their parents
paid more money and the family was reunited. It was 1973. But the part of
this immigration story you haven't heard is what happens to children like
Estrada when they grow up. In this column, I am profiling six immigrants,
one a month, who used to be undocumented. Estrada's story is the second in
the series.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/illegal-becomes-one-of-b
est-and.html
Technology
Phoenix spacecraft lands on Mars By John Johnson Jr. Copyright © 2008, The
Los Angeles Times. May 26, 2008. The first spacecraft designed to taste
the water of an alien planet landed safely on Mars' northern pole Sunday
afternoon, beginning a three-month mission to determine whether the Red
Planet ever did, or still might, support rudimentary forms of life. The
Phoenix spacecraft parachuted to the planet's surface at 4:53 p.m. PDT,
successfully ending a 296-day, 422-million-mile journey. Cheers and
applause echoed through the halls of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La
Cañada Flintridge, which is managing the mission. "Touchdown signal
detected," said Richard Kornfeld, a communications specialist. "Welcome to
the northern plains of Mars."
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/phoenix-spacecraft-lands
-on-mars.html
Other
International Herald Tribune Editorial: It's the genes, stupid. Copyright
by The International Herald Tribune. Published: May 27, 2008. Social
scientists are stumped. Why do we bother to go to the polls when we know our
individual vote has no chance of determining the result of a national
election? Variations in turnout - by age, race, income or whatever - are
hard to fit into a theory of human conduct that assumes that people are
rational. But with time to spare before the November election, molecular
biology is coming to the rescue. In the same way that researchers have
teased out a role for genes in determining sexual orientation or the
propensity to smoke, they are deploying genetics to understand our political
choices. That sounds like a stretch, and it may well be. But there is
tempting evidence of a hereditary component to political choices. There is
a strong correlation between the partisan choices of parents and children.
Studies comparing identical and fraternal twins suggest that genes are at
work alongside the social and psychological influence of parents. Political
scientists at the University of California, San Diego have gone another
step, identifying specific genes associated with voter participation and
partisanship.
http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/05/international-herald-tri
bune-editorial_28.html
New! Carlos now has an online store. Order your books directly from Carlos
and have them signed and dedicated. http://www.carlostmock.com/catalog/
In Pride (orgullo),
Carlos T. Mock, MD
Www.carlostmock.com
Author: Borrowing Time: A Latino Sexual Odyssey - Floricanto Press 2003.
Nominated for a Stonewall Award by the American Library Association GLBT
Round Table.
Author: The Mosaic Virus Floricanto Press 2007. Nominated for a Stonewall
Award by the American Library Association GLBT Round Table, and a Lammie
from The Lambda Literary Foundation
Author: Author: Papi Chulo Floricanto Press 2007. Nominated for a
Stonewall Award by the American Library Association GLBT Round Table, and a
Lammie from The Lambda Literary Foundation
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