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7/23/07- India and US Still Divided on N-deal |
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The US and India remain divided over a controversial nuclear cooperation agreement despite three days of talks to finally close the deal, a US official said yesterday.
“There’s good will (between the two sides), we’ve made progress and we’re very hopeful that we can hammer out the remaining differences in the coming days and weeks,” State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said.
The two sides have been stalemated for months over the landmark deal that would give India access to US nuclear fuel and reactors for the first time in 30 years. Read the article from Gulf Times here. |
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7/23/07- US Senate Approves $15.4 Billion Student Lender Subsidy Cut |
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WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The U.S. Senate approved early Friday morning legislation cutting federally guaranteed student lender subsidies to save the government an estimated $15.4 billion by 2012.
The measure passed by a 78-18 vote.
More than 3,500 lenders originate, service and finance federally guaranteed student loans, though the market is dominated by a handful of lenders including SLM Corp. (SLM), Nelnet Inc. (NNI), and Student Loan Corp. (STU).
The House passed a similar bill in June, though there are significant differences between the two versions on how to spend savings generated by the subsidy cuts. If those differences are resolved and White House concerns about those spending increases are addressed, the measure could easily become law by Autumn. Click here to read the article from CNN Money. |
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7/9/07- Iraq Outposts Plan May Be Flawed |
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The neighborhood outposts that the U.S. military launched with great fanfare in Baghdad early this year were supposed to put more American patrols on the streets and make residents feel safer. But some soldiers stationed at the posts and Iraqis who live nearby say they are doing the opposite.
The outposts, along with joint U.S.-Iraqi security stations, form a cornerstone of the current Iraq strategy. Following a classic counterinsurgency tenet, military planners are trying to take U.S. forces out of their distant, sprawling military bases and into the day-to-day lives of Iraqis.
Although senior U.S. commanders and mid-level officers say they believe the bases are starting to work, many soldiers stationed at the outposts are doubtful, arguing that the burden of protecting the bases means they spend less time on the streets. Read the LA Times article here. |
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7/9/07- Turkey Massing 140,000 Troops |
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Turkey has massed 140,000 soldiers on its border with northern Iraq, Iraq's foreign minister said Monday, calling the neighboring country's fears of Kurdish rebels based there "legitimate" but better resolved through negotiation. Read the AP article here. |
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7/9/07- Sweden Tightens Rules on Iraqi Asylum Seekers |
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Sweden, which has more Iraqi refugees than any other country in Europe, said on Friday that Iraqis seeking asylum must prove they face personal risk in their homeland to avoid being sent back.
The ruling by the Nordic nation's migration board on three separate asylum requests raised concern among Iraqi refugees in Sweden who fear their compatriots would be in danger if returned to war-torn Iraq. Read the Reuters article here. |
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7/9/07- Fed Court Dismisses Warrantless Spying Suit |
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A federal appeals court ordered the dismissal yesterday of a lawsuit challenging President Bush’s domestic spying program, saying the plaintiffs had no standing to sue.
The 2-1 ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel vacated a 2006 order by a federal judge in Detroit, who found that the post-Sept. 11 warrantless surveillance aimed at uncovering terrorist activity violated constitutional rights to privacy and free speech and the separation of powers. Read the AP article here. |
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7/9/07- Conyers: Prison Reprieve May Be Aimed at Quieting Libby |
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House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers said Sunday that there is suspicion that President George W. Bush erased the prison sentence of I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby because the former White House aide might have fingered others in the administration if he served time.
Conyers, D-Mich., has scheduled a hearing Wednesday on the matter. The White House called Conyers' claim baseless. Click here to read the article from Detroit Free Press. |
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7/9/07- Mass. Bar Sued for Gay Marriage Question |
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A man said he failed the Massachusetts bar exam because he refused to answer a question about gay marriage, and claims in a federal lawsuit the test violated his rights and targeted his religious beliefs.
The suit also challenges the constitutionality of same-sex marriage, which was legalized in Massachusetts in 2003. Click here to read the article from Guardian Unlimited. |
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7/9/07- UN Approves North Korea Mission |
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United Nations nuclear inspectors have been given the go-ahead to return to North Korea to begin the process of shutting down the main nuclear reactor.
The 35-nation board of the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), approved the mission at a meeting in Vienna. Read the article from BBC News here. |
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7/9/07- Law Tougher on Abortion Providers |
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Abortion providers will face new regulations for their clinics and new restrictions on teaching sex education classes under a bill Gov. Matt Blunt signed into law in Jefferson City.
The measure places more abortion clinics under government oversight by classifying them as ambulatory surgical centers. Planned Parenthood has said the law could force it to spend as much as $2 million to remodel one of its clinics and halt medical abortions at another site. Click here to read the article from LA Times. |
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7/9/07-Senate Set to Tackle Iraq Strategy |
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As lawmakers return to Washington today from a weeklong Congressional break, a fresh debate over the Iraq war is set to begin. For the next two weeks, the Senate is scheduled to consider a major military spending bill, the National Defense Authorization Act. But Democrats – and a growing number of Republicans – intend to use the moment as an opportunity to challenge the Bush administration’s Iraq policy. To read the full article from The Caucus click here. |
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7/10/07- Rudd Calls for Debate on Iraq Withdrawal |
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Federal Labor leader Kevin Rudd has called on the Prime Minister to begin a public debate on the staged withdrawal of Australian troops from Iraq.
Mr Rudd says the presence of Australian combat forces in the Middle East is making the country a target for terrorists. Click here to read the article from ABC News. |
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7/10/07- Senate Launches Two-Week Debate on U.S. Role in Iraq |
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Following an especially bloody weekend in Iraq and amid plunging public support for the war, the Senate launched a broad debate Monday about the future of the American presence and role there that is likely to consume lawmakers for at least the next two weeks. Read the article from Chicago Tribune here. |
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7/10/07- Wal-Mart Gets Attitude in Tucson, Arizona |
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Communities across the nation have erected so-called "big box" ordinances geared to keeping stores like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) Supercenters and Target Corp.'s (NYSE: TGT) SuperTargets out of the way. The gamut of reasons is pretty straightforward: Large-format stores cause urban pollution, traffic problems, possible crime increases as well as hurting smaller, hometown retailers because of price decreases brought on by resultant economies of scale. Guess which one above is the real reason most city governments don't want big-box stores around? Read the Blogging Stocks article here. |
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7/10/07- What Our Grandparents Can Teach Us About Saving the World |
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DOES THIS GENERATION OF AMERICANS have the "right stuff" to meet the epic challenges of sustaining life on a rapidly warming planet? Sure, the mainstream media are full of talk about carbon credits, hybrid cars, and smart urbanism--but even so, our environmental footprints are actually growing larger, not smaller. Click here to read the article from Sierra Club. |
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7/10/07- Inquiry Sought in Immigrant Detainee Deaths |
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The American Civil Liberties Union is pushing Congress to investigate whether inadequate medical care caused the deaths of 62 people in immigration detention centers since 2004.
The group also wants Congress to increase its oversight of how the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency treats those who are detained before deportation or being granted asylum. Read the article from Dallas Morning News here. |
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7/10/07- Judge OKs Texas Child Health Care Plan |
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A federal judge approved a sweeping settlement Monday that aims to improve access to medical care for more than 2 million poor children in Texas, likely ending a 14-year-old lawsuit over children's Medicaid.
State lawmakers already have agreed to more than $700 million necessary to satisfy the terms of the settlement, including rate reimbursements to doctors and dentists. Click here to read the AP article. |
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7/10/07- UN: Separation Fence Will Sever Jerusalem from West Bank |
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The United Nations issued a report Monday saying the security fence Israel is building will effectively separate mainly Arab-populated East Jerusalem from the West Bank.
"This will restrict access to workplaces, health, education [services] and to places of worship", the report said.
The Defense Ministry, in charge of the project, made no immediate comment on the report. Read the story from Haaretz here. |
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7/10/07- South African Prisons to 'Allow Gay Marriages' |
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Gay prisoners will not be prevented from getting married in prison, says the department of correctional services.
While there have not been gay marriages in the country's prisons yet, some gay prisoners have already expressed their wish to get married.
A weekend newspaper reported that, nationally, about 600 prisoners had requested permission to tie the knot in prison. Read the article fom IOL here. |
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7/10/07- Report: Wars Cost US $12 Billion a Month |
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The boost in troop levels in Iraq has increased the cost of war there and in Afghanistan to $12 billion a month, and the total for Iraq alone is nearing a half-trillion dollars, congressional analysts say.
All told, Congress has appropriated $610 billion in war-related money since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror assaults, roughly the same as the war in Vietnam. Iraq alone has cost $450 billion. Read the article from Guardian Unlimited here. |
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