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<TITLE>The Stress Newsletter - March 22, 2008 </TITLE>
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<FONT COLOR="#FF00FF"><FONT SIZE="6"><FONT FACE="Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:24.0px'><B><I>Thought for the day <BR>
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Handle every stressful situation like a dog. <BR>
If you can't eat it or hump it. <BR>
Pee on it and walk away.<BR>
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</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT SIZE="7"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:26.0px'><B>Your Lack of Money<BR>
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<FONT COLOR="#FF0000">Central banks float rescue ideas</FONT><FONT COLOR="#333333"> By Chris Giles and Krishna Guha in London. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008. Published: March 21 2008 22:02 | Last updated: March 21 2008 22:02. Central banks on both sides of the Atlantic are actively engaged in discussions about the feasibility of mass purchases of mortgage-backed securities as a possible solution to the credit crisis. Such a move would involve the use of public funds to shore up the market in a key financial instrument and restore confidence by ending the current vicious circle of forced sales, falling prices and weakening balance sheets The conversations, part of a broader exchange as to possible future steps in battling financial turmoil, are at an early stage. However, the fact that such a move is being discussed at all indicates the depth of concern that exists over the health of the banking system. It shows how far the policy debate has shifted in recent weeks as the crisis has spread to prime mortgage assets in the US and engulfed Bear Stearns, the investment bank.</FONT></SPAN></FONT></B><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:16.0px'><FONT COLOR="#333333"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/central-banks-float-rescue-ideas.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/central-banks-float-rescue-ideas.html</a><BR>
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<FONT COLOR="#FF0000">Treasury bonds, for a new low price of just $100</FONT><FONT COLOR="#333333"> by William Neikirk. Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune. March 22, 2008. Now here’s a twist: A Republican Treasury Department appears to be looking out for the truly small investor. The question is: What took them so long? The answer might be: The government has a bigger debt to cover and wants to expand the list of people who want to buy government securities directly. On Monday, April 7, all marketable Treasury bills, notes, bonds and the Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities will be available for sale in minimum (and multiple) entries of $100. The figure was last changed in the Clinton administration, when the minimum purchase was dropped to $1,000.</FONT></B><FONT COLOR="#333333"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/treasury-bonds-for-new-low-price-of.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/treasury-bonds-for-new-low-price-of.html</a><BR>
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</FONT><FONT COLOR="#FF0000"><B>Visa's record IPO a windfall for banks - Stock surges 28.4% on initial day of trading.</B></FONT><B><FONT COLOR="#333333"> Copyright by Bloomberg News. March 20, 2008. NEW YORK—Visa Inc.'s $17.9 billion initial public offering, the largest ever in the U.S., helped replenish the coffers of its U.S. bank owners, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc., as they brace for more losses tied to mortgages and debt markets. Visa stock surged $12.50, or 28.4 percent, to $56.50, on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday on its first day of trading. The six biggest banks that hold Class B shares in San Francisco-based Visa might have made nearly $3.2 billion from the IPO, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That total could grow depending on how many of the 40.6 million overallotment shares the banks sell to meet additional demand. On Tuesday, underwriters sold 406 million Class A shares for $44 each. That's $2 more than the highest price predicted in Visa's prospectus. Visa overcame turbulent market conditions to shatter the U.S. record IPO of $10.6 billion, set by AT&T Wireless eight years ago.</FONT></B><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"> <a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/visas-record-ipo-windfall-for-banks.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/visas-record-ipo-windfall-for-banks.html</a><BR>
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</FONT><FONT COLOR="#FF0000"><B>CIT Group draws $7.3bn in emergency aid </B></FONT><B><FONT COLOR="#333333">By Stacy-Marie Ishmael in New York. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008. Published: March 20 2008 17:56 | Last updated: March 20 2008 21:23. CIT Group, the largest independent commercial finance company in the US, on Thursday said it drew on $7.3bn in emergency credit lines and will sell assets to meet funding requirements. Shares closed 17.3 per cent down after falling as much as 45 per cent in an otherwise upbeat market. The cost of protecting CIT’s debt against default soared to a record, suggesting investors had lost confidence in the company. CIT, which leases aircraft and trains and provides financing to companies, is the latest company to run afoul of the deepening credit crisis, having lost access to the short-term financing it needs to fund its long-term assets. Jeffrey Peek, chief executive, blamed the “protracted disruption” in the capital markets as well as recent credit ratings downgrades for the decision to tap the credit lines. The funds will be used to pay debt maturing this year, including commercial paper, a form of short-term financing. </FONT></B><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/cit-group-draws-73bn-in-emergency-aid.html.">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/cit-group-draws-73bn-in-emergency-aid.html.</a> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#FF0000"><B>Editorial comment: Are they next?<BR>
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Borders Book Stores May Be Sold </B></FONT><B><FONT COLOR="#333333">By DAVID RUNK . Copyright by The Associated Press . 7:54 AM CDT, March 20, 2008. DETROIT - Borders, the nation's second-largest bookseller, said Thursday it may put itself up for sale and has lined up $42.5 million in financing to help the chain continue operations. Shares tumbled more than 17 percent, or $1.23, to $5.87 at the open of trade. Borders has lost market share both to online companies and to discounters like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Borders Group Inc. said the financing commitment comes from investment funds affiliated with Pershing Square Capital Management LP, a major shareholder, and includes an offer to buy Borders' international businesses. "This takes care of our financial needs through 2008 and into 2009," Borders CEO George Jones told The Associated Press. "So this gives us the ability to be able to evaluate those opportunities and see what the best options might be as far as other things we might do."</FONT></B><FONT COLOR="#333333"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/borders-book-stores-may-be-sold.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/borders-book-stores-may-be-sold.html</a><BR>
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</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT SIZE="7"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:26.0px'><B>Gold and Commodities<BR>
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</B></SPAN></FONT><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000"><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:16.0px'>Oil $101.47<BR>
</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:16.0px'><FONT COLOR="#FE0000">Silver Bullion $17.03<BR>
Gold Bullion $917<BR>
Platinum Bullion $ $1858<BR>
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</FONT><FONT COLOR="#333333">Commodities tumble in broad correction By Chris Flood. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008. Published: March 20 2008 10:48 | Last updated: March 20 2008 17:57. Oil prices sank below the $100 level on Thursday and gold fell as commodity markets continued to correct after a sharp sell-off in the previous session. Traders said funds were de-leveraging their positions, reducing risk exposures and moved into the safety of cash before the Easter break. “The potential for further speculative liquidation across the commodities complex remains high in the near term, (but) the window of opportunity for a substantial pullback in commodity prices will likely close over the next few months,” said David Greely of Goldman Sachs. In energy markets, oil prices fell for a second session but short-covering before the Easter break helped WTI and Brent pare their losses by the end of trading in New York.</FONT></SPAN></FONT></B><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:16.0px'><FONT COLOR="#333333"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/commodities-tumble-in-broad-correction.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/commodities-tumble-in-broad-correction.html</a><BR>
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Housing<BR>
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</B></SPAN></FONT><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000"><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:16.0px'>On Wall Street: Like banks, homeowners need leeway</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:16.0px'><FONT COLOR="#333333"> By Saskia Scholtes. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008. Published: March 21 2008 17:21 | Last updated: March 21 2008 17:21. As millions of American homeowners confront falling house prices and record foreclosures, it’s hard not to be troubled by the Federal Reserve’s extraordinary role in orchestrating the rescue of Bear Stearns this week. To many on main street, it looked like the Fed helped Wall Street avoid paying for its mistakes. After all, Bear Stearns played no small part in fuelling the credit crisis that brought it to the brink of bankruptcy last weekend. It seemed like rough justice to bail out Bear before throwing homeowners a lifeline. But a bail-out it was not. Bear Stearns was instead roundly punished for the risk-taking that brought it to its knees. The fifth-largest US investment bank was sold to JPMorgan for $2 a share on Sunday, a near vertical drop from the $160 share price it enjoyed in February last year.</FONT></SPAN></FONT></B><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:16.0px'><FONT COLOR="#333333"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/on-wall-street-like-banks-homeowners.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/on-wall-street-like-banks-homeowners.html</a><BR>
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<FONT COLOR="#FF0000">Leery Lenders Demand More From Borrowers</FONT><FONT COLOR="#333333"> By ALAN ZIBEL and J.W. ELPHINSTONE. Copyright 2008 Associated Press. 3:25 AM CDT, March 21, 2008. WASHINGTON - Just when consumers and the U.S. economy need banks to lend more freely, the mortgage industry is making it harder to borrow -- even for those with good credit. Mortgage insurers, whose backing is required for borrowers who can't afford the traditional 20 percent down payment on a home, have already flagged nearly a quarter of the nation's ZIP codes where they refuse to insure some home loans. That encompasses a wide variety of neighborhoods: McMansions in Scottsdale, Ariz.; luxury Miami condos; 1960 ranch houses in Flint, Mich.; and early 20th century kit homes in Metuchen, N.J. The entire states of California, Florida, Arizona, Michigan, Ohio and Nevada -- which have seen the highest foreclosure rates and the worst price declines -- are blackballed on some mortgage insurers' lists. Banks that have lost billions because of bad bets during the housing boom are now reverting to strict lending standards not seen in nearly 20 years, according to industry data and interviews with lenders.</FONT></B><FONT COLOR="#333333"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/leery-lenders-demand-more-from.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/leery-lenders-demand-more-from.html</a><BR>
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</FONT><FONT COLOR="#FF0000"><B>$200 billion added to loan pool - Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac limits changed</B></FONT><B><FONT COLOR="#333333"> By Mary Umberger. Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune. March 20, 2008. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac became the latest enlistees in the housing war Wednesday, when new regulations gave them an opening to pump up to $200 billion of liquidity into the beleaguered mortgage market. The two government-sponsored entities agreed to buy more mortgages after their regulator reduced the amount of capital they must hold to insulate themselves from losses. It was a big move welcomed by some but greeted with skepticism by others, because the housing problems and credit crunch run so deep. Wall Street embraced the news, with shares of Fannie rising $2.49, to $30.71, and Freddie up $3.88 to $29.90.</FONT></B><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"> <a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/200-billion-added-to-loan-pool-fannie.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/200-billion-added-to-loan-pool-fannie.html</a><BR>
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</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT SIZE="7"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:26.0px'>International<BR>
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</SPAN></FONT><FONT COLOR="#FF0000"><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:16.0px'>Bin Laden threatens Europe - Warns of 'severe' reaction to prophet cartoons.</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:16.0px'><FONT COLOR="#333333"> Copyright 2008 Associated Press. March 20, 2008. CAIRO, Egypt -- Osama bin Laden, in a new audio message posted Wednesday, condemned the publication of drawings that he said insulted the Prophet Muhammad and warned Europeans of a ''severe'' reaction to come. The message, which appeared on a militant Web site that has carried al-Qaida statements in the past and bore the logo of the extremist group's media wing al-Sahab, showed a still image of bin Laden aiming with an assault rifle. ''The response will be what you see and not what you hear and let our mothers bereave us if we do not make victorious our messenger of God,'' said a voice believed to be bin Laden's, without specifying what action would be taken.</FONT></SPAN></FONT></B><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:16.0px'><FONT COLOR="#333333"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/bin-laden-threatens-europe-warns-of.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/bin-laden-threatens-europe-warns-of.html</a><BR>
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</FONT><FONT COLOR="#FF0000"><B>Delanoe touted for president</B></FONT><B><FONT COLOR="#333333"> By Gary Barlow. Copyright by The Chicago Free Press. Wed, 03/19/2008 - 15:30. Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe’s easy reelection win in France’s March 16 local elections has fueled speculation that he could challenge French President Nicolas Sarkozy in the 2012 presidential election. If that happens and Delanoe wins, he would be the first openly gay person to lead a major country. Sarkozy’s Union for a Popular Movement lost control of dozens of municipalities, including conservative Toulouse, as well as Strasbourg, Blois, Reims, Caen and Amiens. Sarkozy’s popularity has plummeted in the 10 months since he defeated another Socialist leader, Segolene Royal, for the presidency. Sarkozy promised market-oriented reforms of the French economy but has scaled back some of those proposals as the country’s economic indicators remain sluggish.</FONT></B><FONT COLOR="#333333"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/delanoe-touted-for-president.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/delanoe-touted-for-president.html</a><BR>
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<FONT COLOR="#FF0000">Russia holds TNK-BP employee for ‘spying’ </FONT><FONT COLOR="#333333">By Catherine Belton in Moscow. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008. Published: March 20 2008 16:25 | Last updated: March 20 2008 16:25. The diplomatic row between Russia and the UK threatened to spill over into the business sector on Thursday after Russia’s security service said it had detained an employee of TNK-BP, BP’s Russian oil joint venture, for spying. Only one day after police raided BP’s Moscow office and those of TNK-BP, Russia’s Federal Security Service said it had detained two brothers, one of whom worked at TNK-BP, for industrial espionage. The FSB, the successor agency to the Soviet-era KGB, named the two brothers as Alexander and Ilya Zaslavsky, and said they had been detained on March 12 for ”collecting classified commercial information for a series of foreign oil and gas companies in order to gain concrete advantages over their Russian competitors”. </FONT></B><FONT COLOR="#333333"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/russia-holds-tnk-bp-employee-for-spying.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/russia-holds-tnk-bp-employee-for-spying.html</a><BR>
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China<BR>
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</B></SPAN></FONT><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000"><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:16.0px'>Pelosi urges world to condemn Beijing </SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:16.0px'><FONT COLOR="#333333">By Amy Yee in Dharamsala and agencies. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008. Published: March 20 2008 14:20 | Last updated: March 21 2008 10:55. Tibetans in China’s tense southwestern province of Sichuan on Friday said they believed several people had been killed in anti-Chinese protests there after Beijing state media said police shot and wounded four rioters ‘‘in self defense’’. Meanwhile, US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said after meeting the Dalai Lama, the Tibetans’ spiritual leader, that the free world would lose its moral authority to speak about human rights if it did not condemn Chinese oppression in Tibet. ”The situation in Tibet is a challenge to the conscience of the world,” Ms Pelosi told a gathering of about 2000 Tibetans after meeting the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, the seat of his government-in-exile. The same government-in-exile on Thursday accused China of spreading “propaganda” and “lies” alleging Tibetans instigated violent protests. It also urged pro-Tibet demonstrators strictly to adhere to non-violence as China sends more troops into Tibetan-inhabited provinces to quell violent protests that erupted last week.</FONT></SPAN></FONT></B><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:16.0px'><FONT COLOR="#333333"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/pelosi-urges-world-to-condemn-beijing.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/pelosi-urges-world-to-condemn-beijing.html</a><BR>
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<FONT COLOR="#FF0000">Opposition Wins Taiwan Presidential Vote</FONT><FONT COLOR="#333333"> By PETER ENAV. Copyright 2008 Associated Press. 8:33 AM CDT, March 22, 2008. TAIPEI, Taiwan - Taiwan's opposition candidate cruised to victory in the presidential election Saturday, promising to expand economic ties with China while protecting the island from being swallowed up politically by its giant communist neighbor. Fireworks lit up the sky over Ma Ying-jeou's headquarters, and cheering supporters put up victory posters before the former Taipei mayor climbed on stage and declared victory. "People want a clean a government instead of a corrupt one," said Ma, also a former justice minister. "They want a good economy, not a sluggish one. They don't want political feuding. They want peace across the Taiwan Strait. No war." Across town, a crying crowd gathered at the campaign office for ruling party candidate Frank Hsieh, a former premier.</FONT></B><FONT COLOR="#333333"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/opposition-wins-taiwan-presidential.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/opposition-wins-taiwan-presidential.html</a><BR>
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<FONT COLOR="#FF0000">Anti-China protests in Tibet illustrate reach of YouTube, but access to Internet video is far from universal. China shuts down access to video-sharing Web site </FONT><FONT COLOR="#333333">By Wailin Wong and Eric Benderoff . Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune. 11:47 PM CDT, March 21, 2008. In June 1989, a single photograph of a solitary young man staring down a line of tanks became the iconic image of the Tiananmen Square protests. Almost 20 years later, the anti-Chinese protests in Tibet are the subject of thousands of videos captured by professional media outlets, plus the residents and tourists. Anyone with a camera and access to the Internet or a wireless phone network can upload a video from an international hot spot.The proliferation of user-generated content, whether shot with skill or a shaky hand, is transforming how people around the world take note. That now includes places where anti-government news images were scarce or non-existent.</FONT></B><FONT COLOR="#333333"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/anti-china-protests-in-tibet-illustrate.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/anti-china-protests-in-tibet-illustrate.html</a><BR>
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</FONT></SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="7"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:26.0px'><B>Mess-o-potamia<BR>
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<FONT COLOR="#FF0000">There is no such thing as a war for free</FONT><FONT COLOR="#333333"> By J. E. Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes. Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune. March 20, 2008. Five years ago, as the Bush administration was preparing to attack Iraq, it claimed that the war would cost $50 billion to $60 billion. We are now spending for military operations alone that amount every three months—and that sum does not even include future costs, such as disability and health benefits for returning troops. We estimate conservatively that by the time the war is over, it will have cost America in excess of $3 trillion, an amount so vast it is hard to fathom. The only way to grasp such numbers is to translate them into what a day or an hour of fighting costs, what economists refer to as the opportunity costs, what else we might have purchased. Many are worried about China's growing influence in Africa. But what we spend in aid to Africa amounts to but 10 days of upfront costs of fighting in Iraq. President Bush talked about the enormous financial problems facing Social Security, saying that drastic reforms—even privatization—were needed. Well, for one-sixth of the cost of an Iraq war, one could put Social Security on firm financial footing for at least the next 50 to 75 years. War is always expensive, but this war is particularly expensive. It is now the nation's second longest (after Vietnam) and the second costliest (after the all-encompassing World War II). The cost per troop, even adjusted for inflation, is some eight times greater than earlier wars. Many of these costs arise because the administration tried to persuade the American people that they could have a war for free. The government kept upfront costs down, not spending money on, for instance, vehicles that would have protected our troops against improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, which have led to so many deaths and disabilities, even after they were urgently requested. This war is distinctive in the huge number of injuries, some 15 times the number of fatalities—a tribute to modern medicine, but an unfunded liability in excess of $600 billion, costs that we will be paying for decades. (The administration has done all it can to hide these numbers; working through veterans groups, we had to use the Freedom of Information Act to get the full scope of the injuries.)</FONT></SPAN></FONT></B><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:16.0px'><FONT COLOR="#333333"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/there-is-no-such-thing-as-war-for-free.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/there-is-no-such-thing-as-war-for-free.html</a><BR>
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</FONT><FONT COLOR="#FF0000"><B>Financial Times Editorial Comment: Today’s task is to mend broken Iraq. </B></FONT><B><FONT COLOR="#333333"> Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008. Published: March 19 2008 19:32 | Last updated: March 19 2008 19:32. Five years after it was invaded, Iraq has been broken as a country. Already traumatised by tyranny and war, it has now been torn asunder by an occupation that was certain to ignite violent insurgency, and by a savage sectarian struggle for supremacy. Triumphalist claims by President George W. Bush that the year-long US troops “surge” has turned Iraq around merely add another sorry chapter to this saga of serial delusion and epic bungling. By any measure, Iraqi society has all but dissolved. Ethno-sectarian cleansing has cut through the tissue of the nation like acid, not just by region but street by street. Iraq has not just fragmented into three big chunks, a Shia south, Sunni centre and Kurdish north; Iraqis were never that neat. The country has unravelled into a terrifying patchwork under the control of competing militias in a multi-sided civil war. Yes, Saddam Hussein, a vile dictator, has gone. But dozens of little Saddams have taken his place. Probably hundreds of thousands have died. There has been a middle-class exodus, of teachers and doctors, civil servants and entrepreneurs: a haemorrhage of Iraq’s future. About one in six Iraqis has been uprooted by this cataclysm. The 2003 invasion was supposed to enable Mr Bush and his acolyte, Tony Blair, to pursue a radical new freedom agenda (tough on terrorism, tough on the causes of terrorism) and bring democracy to Iraq and the Arabs. Instead it has scattered Iraqis across the Middle East.</FONT></B><FONT COLOR="#333333"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/financial-times-editorial-comment_20.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/financial-times-editorial-comment_20.html</a><BR>
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</FONT><FONT COLOR="#FF0000"><B>Obama mocks McCain, Clinton on Iraq by Mike Dorning.</B></FONT><B><FONT COLOR="#333333"> Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune. March 20, 2008. FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Sen. Barack Obama mocked rivals Sen. John McCain and Sen. Hillary Clinton as he delivered a speech here today highlighting his early opposition to the Iraq war on the fifth anniversary of the conflict’s start. Speaking at a community college near Fort Bragg, home of the 82nd Airborne Division and the Army Special Operations Command, the Illinois Democrat honed in on McCain’s mix-up in the Middle East yesterday in which the Arizona senator said that Iran was providing support to Al Qaeda in Iraq, one of the Sunni insurgent groups there. In fact, U.S. intelligence agencies believe Iran is providing assistance to Shia militias, which are struggling against Sunni insurgent groups including Al Qaeda in Iraq. </FONT><FONT COLOR="#FF0000">“Just yesterday, we heard Senator McCain (R-Ariz.) confuse Sunni and Shia, Iran and al Qaeda,”</FONT><FONT COLOR="#333333"> Obama said. “Maybe that is why he voted to go to war with a country that had no Al Qaeda ties. Maybe that is why he completely fails to understand that the war in Iraq has done more to embolden America’s enemies than any strategic choice that we have made in decades.” </FONT></B><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/bama-mocks-mccain-clinton-on-iraq.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/bama-mocks-mccain-clinton-on-iraq.html</a><BR>
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National<BR>
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</B></SPAN></FONT><B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000"><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:16.0px'>Tips ruling is made to order for baristas - Starbucks must repay $100 million for gratuities shared with supervisors, a San Diego judge rules.</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:16.0px'><FONT COLOR="#333333"> By Roger Vincent and Andrea Chang. Copyright by The Los Angeles Times . March 21, 2008. Starbucks got caught with its hand in the tip jar and was ordered Thursday to pay California baristas more than $100 million In a San Diego County class-action lawsuit, a judge ordered the coffee giant to pay back tips, with interest, that the company had handed over to shift supervisors. Some baristas could receive more than $10,000, according to their attorney. The ruling was met with cheers by California baristas. "I'm stoked," said Leekeisha Smith, who makes coffee drinks in the Starbucks at Sunset Boulevard and La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles. "Wow. I'm just shocked that we'll get that [money] back." Smith, 23, said she found out about the lawsuit from a letter sent to employees.</FONT></SPAN></FONT></B><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:16.0px'><FONT COLOR="#333333"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/tips-ruling-is-made-to-order-for.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/tips-ruling-is-made-to-order-for.html</a><BR>
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Bush Whacking<BR>
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<FONT COLOR="#FF0000">Rice apologises to Obama for breach </FONT><FONT COLOR="#333333">© Reuters Limited. March 21, 2008. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice apologized on Friday to Senator Barack Obama after it emerged that State Department contract workers improperly viewed the Democratic presidential candidate’s passport files. ”I told him that I was sorry and I told him that I myself would be very disturbed if I learned that somebody had looked into my passport file and therefore, I will stay on top of it and get to the bottom of it,” Ms Rice told reporters. The passport files of Senator Hillary Clinton, Mr Obama’s rival for the Democratic nomination, and Senator John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate, were also were improperly accessed by State Department workers, a US official said on Friday The official, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter, declined further comment. </FONT></SPAN></FONT></B><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:16.0px'><FONT COLOR="#333333"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/rice-apologises-to-obama-for-breach.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/rice-apologises-to-obama-for-breach.html</a><BR>
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Indecision 2008<BR>
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<FONT COLOR="#FF0000">Obama breaks the secret code</FONT><FONT COLOR="#333333"> By Christopher Caldwell. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008. Published: March 21 2008 18:22 | Last updated: March 21 2008 18:22. Towards the end of his speech about race on Tuesday, Barack Obama made an observation that was raw enough to knock any attentive American listener out of his chair. Mr Obama was talking about one of his campaign volunteers, a white woman in her 20s, who as a girl had proclaimed that her favourite food was mustard sandwiches, in the hope of making her single mother feel less bad about being poor. This girl had kept her faith in other people, Mr Obama said, even though “perhaps somebody told her along the way that the source of her mother’s problems were blacks who were on welfare and too lazy to work”. All Americans have heard such talk; no recent politician has ever been remotely brave enough to allude to it, even when quoting a hypothetical third party. It is not clear whether Mr Obama’s 37-minute address will help or hinder him on his road to the White House. But it is potentially a great service to his country. For one morning at least, Mr Obama left off trying to inspire and chose instead to explain.</FONT></SPAN></FONT></B><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:16.0px'><FONT COLOR="#333333"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/obama-breaks-secret-code.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/obama-breaks-secret-code.html</a><BR>
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</FONT><FONT COLOR="#FF0000"><B>Obama wins support from Richardson</B></FONT><B><FONT COLOR="#333333"> © Reuters Limited. March 21, 2008. PORTLAND, Oregon. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson endorsed Barack Obama’s bid for the Democratic nomination for U.S. president, Obama’s aides said on Friday, in a boost for the Illinois senator. ”I can confirm that he (Bill Richardson) is endorsing (Obama) and that he will be at the rally in Portland tomorrow,” said an official with the Obama campaign. Richardson’s endorsement has been fiercely sought by both Obama and his rival Sen. Hillary Clinton in part because as a Hispanic he is seen as influential within the Latino community, which could be a key voting bloc in the November presidential election. </FONT></B><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/obama-wins-support-from-richardson.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/obama-wins-support-from-richardson.html</a><BR>
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</FONT><FONT COLOR="#FF0000"><B>International Herald Tribune Editorial: Obama's courageous speech on race and religion.</B></FONT><B><FONT COLOR="#333333"> Copyright by The International Herald Tribune . Published: March 19, 2008. There are moments - increasingly rare in risk-abhorrent modern campaigns - when politicians are called upon to bare their fundamental beliefs. In the best of these moments, the speaker does not just salve the current political wound, but also illuminates larger, troubling issues that America is wrestling with. Inaugural addresses by Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt come to mind, as does John F. Kennedy's 1960 speech on religion, with its enduring vision of the separation between church and state. Senator Barack Obama, who has not faced such tests of character this year, faced one on Tuesday. It is hard to imagine how he could have handled it better. Obama had to address race and religion, the two most toxic subjects in politics. It was not a moment to which Obama came easily. He hesitated uncomfortably long in dealing with the controversial remarks of his spiritual mentor and former pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright Jr., who denounced the United States as endemically racist, murderous and corrupt.</FONT></B><FONT COLOR="#333333"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/international-herald-tribune-editorial_20.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/international-herald-tribune-editorial_20.html</a><BR>
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</FONT><FONT COLOR="#FF0000"><B>Saying a mouthful - Obama makes audacious move in race talk</B></FONT><B><FONT COLOR="#333333"> By Clarence Page. Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune. March 19, 2008. If political campaigns were political movies, Barack Obama's Big Speech deserves a Big Oscar. The Big Speech is a key characteristic of political films and TV shows, from "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" to "West Wing," Slate's David Edelstein once wrote: "The candidate either bravely affirms principles over politics and is transfigured, or cravenly yields to expediency and is damned." Obama's Big Speech about race in Philadelphia went further than that. He bravely fought to save his presidential campaign by affirming principles over expediency as an argument for improving politics. Obama's campaign was in crisis, thanks to the polarizing rhetoric of his spiritual mentor and former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, of Trinity United Church of Christ on the South Side. Sound bites of Wright characterizing the United States as fundamentally racist and the government as corrupt and murderous were being replayed endlessly on talk shows and the Internet. Obama's supporters, as well as reporters and other voters, were demanding answers.</FONT></B><FONT COLOR="#333333"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/saying-mouthful-obama-makes-audacious.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/saying-mouthful-obama-makes-audacious.html</a><BR>
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</FONT><FONT COLOR="#FF0000"><B>Chicago Tribune Editorial: The uncommon candidate.</B></FONT><B><FONT COLOR="#333333"> Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune. March 20, 2008. It's not exactly like answering the phone at 3 a.m. to handle a national security crisis, but Sen. Barack Obama's handling of two incendiary political controversies in the last week has shown he is calm and confident under pressure. On Friday, Obama sat down with the Tribune and Sun-Times and said, in effect, "ask me anything you want about my dealings with Tony Rezko," the politically connected developer who is now on trial on corruption charges. No shortcuts. No unanswered questions. He answered, patiently and in detail. We can't recall a similar discussion with any political figure. Obama took a risk. He's now on the record in minute detail about every aspect of his relationship with Rezko. Every possible inconsistency, every shading, can now be picked apart. But by choosing to be utterly transparent, he established a level of trust.</FONT></B><FONT COLOR="#333333"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/chicago-tribune-editorial-uncommon.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/chicago-tribune-editorial-uncommon.html</a><BR>
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<FONT COLOR="#FF0000">Name on Levine's lips at trial: Blagojevich - Governor said talk to Rezko, witness testifies </FONT><FONT COLOR="#333333">By Jeff Coen and Bob Secter. Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune. 11:20 PM CDT, March 19, 2008. Stuart Levine wanted to thank Gov. Rod Blagojevich for a favor, and he did it in a big way. Just months into Blagojevich's new administration in 2003, the Democrat had decided to keep Levine, a Republican, on a state board that regulated hospital expansion. To express his gratitude, Levine chartered a plane to ferry Blagojevich and others to a series of fundraisers in New York on Oct. 29 of that year. On the flight back, Levine brought up to Blagojevich his reappointment to the hospital board post, Levine testified Wednesday at the federal corruption trial of Blagojevich friend and fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko. Blagojevich snapped, "Never discuss any state board with me," according to Levine. "Discuss them with either Tony Rezko or [Blagojevich fundraiser] Chris Kelly." </FONT></SPAN></FONT></B><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:16.0px'><FONT COLOR="#333333"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/name-on-levines-lips-at-trial.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/name-on-levines-lips-at-trial.html</a><BR>
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Purpose of school `moment of silence' revealed </B></FONT><B><FONT COLOR="#333333">By Eric Zorn. Copyright by The Chicago Tribune. March 20, 2008. All along, proponents of the new state mandate requiring public school students to observe a brief period of silence at the start of every classroom day have piously insisted that, oh, no, the mandate is not intended to encourage students to pray. Now, ladies and gentlemen, I give you chief sponsor of the bill, Sen. Kimberly Lightford (D.-Maywood), speaking during a panel discussion on "Chicago Tonight" Wednesday: We do it in the Illinois General Assembly. Before we convene, any day in the General Assembly, we have to say a prayer with a priest, a rabbi or some sort of clergy to start our day. And I believe it’s a huge contradiction not for it to be a suggestion that our youth do it... Atheist activist Rob Sherman of Buffalo Grove, who is behind a federal class-action suit challenging the mandate and was seated next to Lightford on the panel, made note of her admission shortly thereafter.</FONT></B><FONT COLOR="#333333"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/purpose-of-school-moment-of-silence.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/purpose-of-school-moment-of-silence.html</a><BR>
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</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:16.0px'><FONT COLOR="#FF0000"><B>The risk for iPhone users: They know too much - The device makes it easy to search for data on the run. That can quickly turn a casual conversation into the Pursuit of Truth. </B></FONT><B><FONT COLOR="#333333">By Michelle Quinn. Copyright by The Los Angeles Times. March 22, 2008. ‘SMART’ PHONE: The iPhone helps users track down information and cultivate a reputation as a know-it-all. (Gina Ferazzi When she whipped out her iPhone, Erica Sadum could feel her husband's eyes roll. But she had a point to prove. And in less than a minute, she was able to report to the skeptics around the dinner table that Menno Simons, whose followers are known as Mennonites, was in fact born in 1496. Apple Inc.'s iPhone, which went on sale nine months ago, isn't the only so-called smart phone that provides itinerant access to the Web. But its wide screen and top-quality browser make it easy to use and read, which means it can in seconds change a lighthearted conversation into the Pursuit of Truth.</FONT></B><FONT COLOR="#333333"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/risk-for-iphone-users-they-know-too.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/risk-for-iphone-users-they-know-too.html</a><BR>
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</SPAN></FONT><FONT COLOR="#FF0000"><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:16.0px'>Norway moves toward marriage.</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:16.0px'><FONT COLOR="#333333"> Copyright by The Associated Press. Wed, 03/19/2008 - 15:29. OSLO, Norway—The Norwegian government proposed a marriage law March 14 that would give gay couples the same rights as heterosexuals, including church weddings, adoption and assisted pregnancies. The new legislation would replace a 1993 law that granted gays the right to enter civil unions similar to marriage but did not give them other benefits enjoyed by married couples. “This new marriage law is a step forward along the lines of voting rights for all and equality laws,” said Minister of Children and Equality Anniken Huitfeldt. The measure gives gays the right to a church wedding but does not require any minister or religious organization to perform the ceremony. The proposal also grants the right to assisted pregnancies to lesbians and allows gays to be considered as adoptive parents.</FONT></SPAN></FONT></B><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:16.0px'><FONT COLOR="#333333"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/norway-moves-toward-marriage.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/norway-moves-toward-marriage.html</a><BR>
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</FONT><FONT COLOR="#FF0000"><B>Congress Moves to Repeal HIV-Positive Travel Ban </B></FONT><B><FONT COLOR="#333333">by Bob Roehr. Copyright by The Windy City Times. 2008-03-19. A bipartisan effort to repeal U.S. travel restrictions on persons who are HIV-positive is moving forward in the Senate. The language amendment has been added to legislation reauthorizing PEPFAR, the President's Emergency Program for AIDS Relief. The effort is being led by Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Gordon Smith, R-Ore., who introduced a similar stand alone repeal bill last December. Smith was not able to participate in a March 11 news conference on the measure. The travel restrictions were first imposed in 1987, at the height of AIDS hysteria, by then-Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C. The arch-conservative inserted language into a bill that directed the Secretary of Health and Human Services to add HIV to the list of medical conditions barring immigrants and visitors to the United States. The Department of Health and Human Services sought to loosen the restriction in the early 1990s but Congress took the opposite tack, writing the ban into immigration law. It is the only disease specifically mentioned in that statute. </FONT></B><FONT COLOR="#333333"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/congress-moves-to-repeal-hiv-positive.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/congress-moves-to-repeal-hiv-positive.html</a><BR>
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</FONT><FONT COLOR="#FF0000"><B>HIV notification bill fails in House. </B></FONT><B><FONT COLOR="#333333"> Copyright by The Windy City Times. 2008-03-19. A bill that would have repealed an Illinois law that requires health departments to notify school principals of a student's HIV status was defeated in the House, 62-43. The HIV notification bill was sponsored by State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, D-Chicago, out of concern for student safety. Current law notifies the school principal, who has the power to notify other school officials if necessary, such as the school nurse.</FONT></B><FONT COLOR="#333333"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/hiv-notification-bill-fails-in-house.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/hiv-notification-bill-fails-in-house.html</a><BR>
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</FONT><FONT COLOR="#FF0000"><B>Helping Trans Kids Out of the Shadows</B></FONT><B><FONT COLOR="#333333"> by Jacob Anderson-Minshall. © 2008 Jacob Anderson-Minshall. 2008-03-19. “How does a 14-year-old shoot a 15-year-old in the back of the head because he's wearing high heels?” trans activist Jenn Burleton mused about the recent murder of southern California teen. “More than any other source of childhood abuse, teasing, and bullying—femininity in male children kills.” Dedicated to preventing another causalty, the founder and executiveirector of TransActive Education & Advocacy ( transactiveonline.org ) , a Portland, Ore.-based organization, works with parents and schools to support transgender and gender-variant children. “This work is not just for trans kids,” she insists. “Because all children are victims of gender expression oppression.” A lesbian-identified trans woman who recently celebrated her 25th anniversary with her partner, Burleton previously co-founded Trans Youth Family Allies ( TYFA—formerly Trans Youth Family Advocates ) a national organization providing support for trans kids and their families, where she served as the inaugural executive director and board president. Once a trans teen herself, in the mid-1960s, the then-12-year-old Burleton became one of the first—albeit, unsanctioned—trans youth to begin hormone treatments—after she discovered Dr. Harry Benjamin's The Transsexual Phenomenon and began stealing her mother's Premarin.</FONT></B><FONT COLOR="#333333"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/helping-trans-kids-out-of-shadows.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/helping-trans-kids-out-of-shadows.html</a><BR>
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</FONT><FONT COLOR="#FF0000"><B>Obama pastor backs gay rights - Rev. Wright supported gay ministry, but failed to adopt ‘affirming’ status for church. </B></FONT><B><FONT COLOR="#333333"> By LOU CHIBBARO JR., . Copyright by The Washington Blade. Mar 20, 10:12 AM. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s controversial ex-pastor in Chicago has largely supported gay rights and has welcomed gays into his 8,000-member congregation at Trinity United Church of Christ, according to activists who know him. The Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who recently retired as the Trinity Church pastor, has been hit with a firestorm of criticism after news media outlets began airing video recordings of some of his fiery and racially charged sermons, including one in which he blamed U.S. foreign policy for the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. In a speech in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Obama distanced himself from Wright’s strident political positions but refused to “disown” his pastor of nearly 20 years, reiterating his praise for Wright as his spiritual mentor. With Obama competing with rival presidential contender Hillary Clinton for gay votes in the upcoming Pennsylvania primary, revelations of Wright’s controversial sermons have raised questions among some activists about whether Obama’s longtime pastor was among the preachers who delivered fire-and-brimstone sermons attacking homosexuality.</FONT></B><FONT COLOR="#333333"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/obama-pastor-backs-gay-rights-rev.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/obama-pastor-backs-gay-rights-rev.html</a><BR>
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</FONT><FONT COLOR="#FF0000"><B>U.S. syphilis rates climb for seventh year in a row </B></FONT><B><FONT COLOR="#333333">By Matt Simonette. Copyright by The Chicago Free Press. Wed, 03/19/2008 - 15:27. The U.S. syphilis rate climbed for the seventh consecutive year, according to data released last week at the 2008 National STD Prevention Conference held at the Chicago Hilton and Towers. The number of new cases is relatively low—11,181 in 2007—but the increasing numbers worry public health officials. The 2007 figures represent a 12-percent jump from 2006. About 64 percent of those new cases are gay men. “The resurgence of syphilis among men who have sex with men since 2000 represents a formidable challenge to our STD prevention efforts, but one that can be overcome,’’ said the CDC’s Dr. Kevin Fenton March 12. The syphilis rate among men increased 14 percent in 2007, said Dr. Hillard Weinstock of the CDC.</FONT></B><FONT COLOR="#333333"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/us-syphilis-rates-climb-for-seventh.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/us-syphilis-rates-climb-for-seventh.html</a><BR>
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</FONT><FONT COLOR="#FF0000"><B>Out Chicago author, Dwight Okita, is Amazon finalist.</B></FONT><B><FONT COLOR="#333333"> Copyright by The Windy City Times. 2008-03-19. Out Chicago author Dwight Okita has been chosen as a finalist for an Amazon.com publishing contest. Okita is one of 10 finalists for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. The openly gay local writer has also been active in Chicago as a performance poet and playwright. If Okita wins, he will receive a publishing contract. People can cast their vote through March 31 at www.amazon.com/abna . </FONT></B><FONT COLOR="#333333"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/out-chicago-author-dwight-okita-is.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/out-chicago-author-dwight-okita-is.html</a><BR>
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</SPAN></FONT><FONT COLOR="#FF0000"><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:16.0px'>CVS settles Medicaid overbilling charges By Ameet Sachdev.</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:16.0px'><FONT COLOR="#333333"> Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune. March 19, 2008. CVS Caremark Corp. agreed Tuesday to pay $36.7 million to settle charges it routinely overbilled Medicaid for a popular generic antacid drug, cheating federal and state governments out of millions of dollars over more than six years. Prosecutors say the pharmacy chain illegally substituted a more expensive capsule form of the drug instead of the prescribed tablets to increase its Medicaid reimbursement. Switching the form of the drug did not endanger patients, federal officials said. "Switching medication from tablets to capsules might seem harmless, but when that is done solely to increase profit … pharmacies must know that they are subjecting themselves to the possibility of triple damages, civil penalties and attorney fees," U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald said in a statement. The CVS investigation, which began more than five years ago, is the second that targeted Medicaid fraud at pharmacies brought by the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago. In 2006, Omnicare Inc., a leading supplier of drugs to nursing homes, paid $49.5 million to settle allegations similar to those in the CVS case</FONT></SPAN></FONT></B><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:16.0px'><FONT COLOR="#333333">. </FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/cvs-settles-medicaid-overbilling.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/cvs-settles-medicaid-overbilling.html</a><BR>
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<FONT COLOR="#FF0000">7 charged in 2 rings that sold fraudulent art, prints - Cops say they played key roles in global rings that sold at least $5 million worth of fake pieces to thousands of people </FONT><FONT COLOR="#333333"> By Michael Higgins and Jeff Coen. Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune. March 20, 2008. Two Northbrook art dealers played key roles in international art-fraud rings that reaped more than $5 million selling thousands of fake "limited-edition" prints around the world, federal prosecutors charged Wednesday. In one case with links to Europe, a dealer sold so much fake art that distributors warned her to cut back, prosecutors alleged. She was among those charged in the two indictments unsealed in Chicago's federal court. One of the Northbrook dealers, Michael Zabrin, spoke in code as he discussed the counterfeit prints over the telephone with his European contacts, according to the charges. Zabrin went so far as to provide many customers with certificates that purported to prove the authenticity of the limited-edition prints, but prosecutors said they were fraudulent as well.</FONT></B><FONT COLOR="#333333"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/7-charged-in-2-rings-that-sold.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/7-charged-in-2-rings-that-sold.html</a><BR>
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<FONT COLOR="#FF0000">llinois-shaped corn flake sells for $1,350 on eBay</FONT><FONT COLOR="#333333"> Copyright 2008 Associated Press. 12:17 AM CDT, March 22, 2008. CHICAGO - Two sisters from Virginia sold their Illinois-shaped corn flake on eBay Friday night for $1,350. "We were biting our nails all the way up to the finish, seeing what would happen," said Melissa McIntire, 23. "There's a lot of relief involved." The winner of the auction, which lasted more than a week, is the owner of a trivia Web site who wants to add the corn flake to a traveling museum. "We're starting a collection of pop culture and Americana items," said Monty Kerr of Austin, Texas. "We thought this was a fantastic one." </FONT></B><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/llinois-shaped-corn-flake-sells-for.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/llinois-shaped-corn-flake-sells-for.html</a><BR>
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Humor<BR>
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<FONT COLOR="#333333">Be careful who you vote this year</FONT> </SPAN></FONT></B><FONT SIZE="5"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:16.0px'><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/be-careful-who-you-vote-this-year.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/be-careful-who-you-vote-this-year.html</a><BR>
</FONT><B><BR>
Retired People </B><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/retired-people.html">http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2008/03/retired-people.html</a><BR>
</FONT><B><BR>
The One-Semester-of-Spanish love song</B> <FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=ngRq82c8Baw">http://youtube.com/watch?v=ngRq82c8Baw</a><BR>
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New! Carlos now has an online store. Order your books directly from Carlos and have them signed and dedicated. <a href="http://www.carlostmock.com/catalog/">http://www.carlostmock.com/catalog/</a><BR>
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</FONT><BR>
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</B>In Pride (orgullo),<BR>
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Carlos T. Mock, MD<BR>
<FONT COLOR="#0000FE"><U>Www.carlostmock.com<BR>
</U></FONT>Author: Borrowing Time: A Latino Sexual Odyssey - Floricanto Press 2003.<BR>
Nominated for a Stonewall Award by the American Library Association GLBT<BR>
Round Table.<BR>
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<BR>
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<BR>
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