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Capital Hill Review (March 8, 2010)

E-NewsBriefing Posted Below

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

To view the complete news and policy information of the day, visit the

E-NewsBriefing and Israeli-"Palestinian" Arab Conflict Section.

Abortion battle on health bill may end  (Prospects are good for resolving a dispute over abortion that has led some House Democrats to threaten to withhold support of President Obama's health-care ... )

Guv signs revised abortion bill (Utah)

Gender selection: In India, abortion of girls on the rise

Black anti-abortion activists decry 'womb lynching'

Extremely distracting political charge makes sense for Quinn  (He opposes abortion even in cases of rape and incest, a position favored by only 18 percent of Illinois voters in a poll taken last year by the Paul Simon ...)

3^rd  District opponents: Rice going too far on abortion (South Carolina)

Abortion is a health care issue too  (Last Tuesday, the Oklahoma House of Representatives passed a bill that would require women to get an ultrasound before getting an abortion. ... )

Man opens defense in abortion protester killing  (A psychiatrist says a Michigan man who shot an anti-abortion protester and another man lacks remorse for the killings and has mental-health problems ...)

Hundreds Protest Md. Abortion Policies

Abortion Fight Remains Fierce in Health Care Debate

Researcher reverses, now finds abortion-breast cancer link

Doctors Advocate Pro-Choice on Abortion  ("It's the exclusive right of women to decide whether to have a baby or to have an abortion," the Korea Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said ... )

Kyra Phillips Conducts Softball Interview of Woman Who Tweeted Abortion  (On Monday's Newsroom, CNN's Kyra Phillips sympathetically interviewed a woman who unapologetically Tweeted her chemically-induced abortion as it happened. ...)

Iranian president to visit Afghanistan

Zabul province seeks U.S. troops, but is caught in Afghan numbers game (Officials in Zabul province say Taliban fighters emerged as US troops left.)

Gates arrives as military prepares Kandahar push (US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates; Preparations have begun for a crucial campaign to assert Afghan government control over Kandahar, the so-called "spiritual" home of the Taliban, the top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan said Monday.)

Taleban seizes Afghan villages after fierce turf war with rival militia

Marjah, the city that never was (Deemed by the United States military as a logistical hub of the Taliban in Helmand province, Marjah - "a city of 80,000 people" - was chosen to be the scene of a "large and loud victory". But it turns out Marjah isn't even a town, but rather one of the clearest and most dramatic examples of a war of perception as outlined in the US's counter-insurgency doctrine.)

Massacres Shake Uneasy Nigeria  (Nigerian officials counted 378 bodies from the slaughter of mostly Christian villagers in an apparent reprisal for an attack on Muslims.)

Nigeria: rioters who massacred 500 must be caught

Nigeria urged to investigate religious violence

Winnie Mandela: Nelson let down South Africa's blacks

Ethiopian PM denies aid was diverted  (Stung by BBC allegations that Live Aid money was spent on weapons, Meles Zenawi tells Paul Vallely that the report is based on lies.)

Shower of Aid Brings Flood of Progress (Bombarding a Kenyan town with health care, education and job training seems to be lifting people out of poverty, but can the results be magnified? )

Riot police, hundreds of opposition protesters clash in Togo

Colorado: Bags Flew Without Screening (Denver airport officials say thousands of bags were loaded onto airplanes in late December without being run through security scanners.)

ACLU Assaults Obama on KSM Trial (Liberal pressure group hurls worst insult in its arsenal.)

Burmese refugees in Bangladesh suffer a shortage of food, care

Shares rise for eighth straight day

Troops 'not trained properly'  (Concerns about the readiness of Australian troops involved in a bungled raid in which six people died were expressed before the troops were deployed to Afghanistan. )

Fourth Aussie passport linked to hit  (A fourth Australian appears to have had his identity stolen by the team alleged to have carried out the assassination in Dubai of a Hamas commander.)

Thai leader expected to call off trip to Australia  (Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is expected to abandon a visit to Australia scheduled for this weekend. )

Australia gives Tonga $7m for healthcare  (The Australian government has injected $7 million into improving the health of people in Tonga.)

Dollar jumps after BHP deal

Analysis finds uneasy mix in auto industry and regulation (Dozens of former federal officials are playing leading roles in helping carmakers handle federal investigations of auto defects, including those for Toyota's runaway-acceleration problems.)

Calif. police help runaway Toyota Prius come to a safe stop

Toyota demo counters claim of electronic acceleration glitch

Are unemployment benefits no longer temporary?

Calling It 'Stimulus' Doesn't Make It So  (Abraham Lincoln once asked an audience how many legs a dog has, if you called the tail a leg? When the audience said "five," Lincoln corrected them, saying that the answer was four. "The fact that you call a tail a leg does not make it a leg." That same principle applies today. The fact that ...)

Seal meat back on Canadian MPs' menu  (Meat banned by the EU will be served in Ottawa to show backing for country's annual hunt .)

Leaders vow to address China's home prices

China training first female astronauts

The goat woman: Chinese grandmother, 101, grows mystery horn on forehead

US ponders China's Southeast Asian rise (China's recent growth has entwined its economy more closely with those of neighbors in Southeast Asia, a trend strengthened by a free-trade agreement that came into effect this year. That is encouraging a re-evaluation in the United States of what this means for its own role in the region.)

China: US assets should not be 'politicized'

 China to Use N. Korea's Rajin Port for 10 Years

The Emotion of Reform (The Democrats' passion for expanding health coverage has swamped their less visceral commitment to reducing debt. The result is a bill that is fundamentally imbalanced.)

Repeal: Obamacare as the New Prohibition (If the health bill passes the push is on to repeal -- yes, it can be done.)

Of Rules And Rulers  (Health Care: The Democrats have two problems with their reform plan: One, they have sell it to the public, and two, they have to convince the public that the plan is so good, it's OK ... )

California: Man Charged in Student Visa Fraud (A California man was charged Monday with operating a ring of illegal test-takers who helped dozens of Middle Eastern citizens obtain United States student visas.)

Somalia terror suspect Mohamed Ibrahim Ahmed to be tried in New York (Somalia terror suspect Mohamed Ibrahim Ahmed learned how to make bombs in Somalia from the Islamist militant group Al Shabab, say US prosecutors. He has been brought to New York to face charges. )

Man holding fake gun fatally shot near NYC school

 Parents of dead SoCal teen urge new predator laws

Ohio: Death Row Inmate Takes Overdose (Governor Ted Strickland on Monday postponed until March 16, 2010,  the execution of a killer who took an overdose of pills in his cell and was found unconscious just hours before he was to be driven to his execution.)

Why Democrats Don't Care about $9.7 Trillion Debt (Don't mistake the Left's very different vision of America. ...)

Voters: Obama and Democrats Losing Ground on Keeping America Safe

Green jobs mirage (The Department of Energy has spent just 7 percent of the $37 billion it received from the stimulus for clean-energy subsidies, and already the Obama administration is pushing for another billion-dollar bailout for "green" industries. Last week in Georgia, the president unveiled a $6 billion "cash for caulkers" program, which would defray the cost of energy-efficiency retrofits in homes and businesses. He said the program is a good idea because these "green jobs" can't be outsourced. To illustrate his point, President Obama claimed, "It's very hard to ship windows from Communist China.")

Nearly 300 illegal immigrants arrested in San Diego, Calexico

E-Verify: 'E' is for error (Too many illegal immigrants are slipping through the government background check.)

Selective McCarthyism (Americans have the right to full disclosure about former al-Qaeda lawyers.)

Colorado: Halt Sought on Medical Marijuana Raids (Four state lawmakers trying to regulate marijuana dispensaries sent a request to Attorney General Eric H Holder Jr on Monday to stop raids on medical marijuana operations. )

A silly smear on the Justice Department (Attacks on Justice Department lawyers are a silly 'scandal' and part of an attempt to portray the Obama administration as soft on terrorism.)

Fulfilling Gideon's promise (The Justice Department's push for better legal representation for poor defendants.)

'Al-Qaeda 7' smear campaign is an assault on American values (Liz Cheney's al-Qaeda 7 smear campaign is an assault on American values.)

World markets mixed after lackluster US finish

Asian Markets Mixed; Nikkei Down 0.1%  (Asian stock markets traded mixed Tuesday after a lackluster performance from Wall Street. The Nikkei 225 slipped 0.1 percent.)

World stocks off 6-week high; oil tumbles

World equities up 73 percent a year after crisis low

Exploring The Obama Jobs Deficit (Employment: A new study finds that the problem with the latest recession wasn't job losses. It was a lack of job creation. And why aren't businesses adding to payrolls? There's nothing incentivizing them to risk it.)

Gold eases as traders exit positions

Venture-Capital Firms Caught in Shakeout  (The technology bubble popped a decade ago, but the venture-capital industry that helped finance the boom stayed largely intact. Now venture-capital firms are going through their own brutal culling.)

The Slow and Beige Rise of the US Economy

Stock futures signal dip; Texas Instruments eyed

Oil drops to near $81 after monthlong run-up

State should remove obstacles for towns to provide electricity (Massachusetts)

10,000 jobs to go at Romanian railways

European stocks fall as markets mark dark anniversary

EU navies to go on offensive against pirates  (European naval forces plan to disrupt pirate operations off the coast of Somalia by hunting down and sinking the pirates' supply ships, rather than simply trying to defend cargo ships as they transit through the area.)

France and Spain shiver amid 'exceptional' unseasonable snow

Europe plans its own IMF  (The executive arm of the EU is drawing up details of a future European Monetary Fund that will deal with sovereign debt crises. )

Accelerator jammed  (The retirement of US Federal Reserve vice chairman Donald Kohn means the Fed will now be loaded with extreme soft-money advocates, ensuring the money throttle will be jammed open, with only modest interest-rate increases, until 2013. Chairman Ben Bernanke and his new cohorts are about to give Americans a painful object lesson in the wilder forms of soft monetary policy.)

The great game -asset-trader style  (The United States financial industry, with a US$10 billion advertising budget, is turning its friendly-faced focus on women, increasingly the family decision-makers. Yet the love and desire to help the American public evident in the commercials is often in short supply within the industry's practitioners. The game is, after all, about making money. Lots of it.)

France captures 35 ‘pirates' off Somali coast

Somali pirates: Does France have the most effective navy against the buccaneers?

Frenchman 'chopped his virgin wife's head off because she refused to have children'

Germany's tug-of-war with Greece (Why you can't blame the Germans for being unwilling to bail out the Greeks.)

'I never knew anything' says Pope's brother caught up in sex abuse row  (Germany's  justice minister has accused the Vatican of covering up severe sexual abuse after reports of cases at three Catholic schools in the Pope's native Bavaria.)

Berlin's Airport: Shining Beacon or Waste of Money (To get Berliners arguing, bring up the $3.4 billion mega-airport rising just beyond the limits of Germany's hip but economically strapped capital.)

Methane Madness (The environmentalist assault on economic growth resembles the old shell game practiced by con artists for centuries. )

The New Paganism  (How climate science became a cult in a religious dress....)

Global warming doubts could hamper climate legislation

Mitch Daniels on the State of the Nation (The GOP's newest rising star is a little-known, motorcycle-riding governor from Indiana. ...)

Roy Ashburn: Where do gay Republicans fit among conservatives?  (Roy Ashburn, a Republican state senator in California, said Monday that he is homosexual. The disclosure raises new questions about homosexual Republicans' place within the conservative movement. )

From Greece, an economic cautionary tale for the U.S.

Qatar may invest in Greek LNG terminal (Qatar, the world's biggest producer of liquefied natural gas, may invest in a new LNG terminal in Greece, Athens News Agency reported, citing a Greek government announcement. The investment may also cover the construction of a gas-powered electricity production unit, ANA said.)

Greece seeks U.S. help regulating speculators

Haitians worried over US withdrawal  (US troops are withdrawing from the shattered capital, leaving many Haitians anxious that the most visible portion of international presence is ending. )

Who'll Care for Us When Doctors Go Under? (If you plan on attempting to ram through a health care bill, at least have the decency to tell us what the real costs will be.)

Health Care A Right? More Like A Wish (Most politicians, and probably most Americans, see health care as a right. Thus, whether a person has the means to pay for medical services or not, he is nonetheless entitled to them. Let's ask ourselves a few questions about this vision. Say a person, let's call him Harry, suffers from diabetes ...)

Defeat vs. Repeal (Nobody with an ounce of compassion could wish Obamacare on the American people. )

State Insurance Experts See Flaw in Obama's Plan to Curb Health Premiums (Experts said state officials might be left to worry about the solvency of insurers, the ultimate consumer protection.)

There's a cracking idea! Eggs are a superfood... and eating one a day could help you lose weight

Former congressman Massa says Democrats set him up over health care (US Representative of New York Eric Massa (D)

Massa blasts Democrats, Emanuel; talks about New Year's Eve incident (US Representative of New York Eric Massa (D)

Black Magic vs. The Public (Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-California)  has for a moment trained her powerful wand toward her home state, California.)

Undecided committee chairmen add to pressure on health vote  (A handful of House committee chairmen are either undecided about or plan to reject the healthcare reform bill.…)

Bullied Out Of Office?  (Politics: The strange case US Representative of New York Eric Massa (D)  keeps getting stranger.  Representative Massa resigned last week under a cloud of ethics charges, but he now claims he was pushed out ...)

Rep. Levin known as trade critic, but his record on the issue is more complicated  (The interim chairman of the Ways and Means Committee has been a leader in the Democratic Caucus on trade for years.… )

Martyr to the Public Option  (US Representative of New York Eric Massa (D) suspects the real reason he is being forced from office is that he wouldn't play ball with the House leadership on health care.)

Dem lawmaker pushes for Congress's first pay cut since Depression  (US Representative of Arizona Ann Kirkpatrick's (D) bill would cut congressional pay by $8,700 next year on top of denying members their automatic cost-of-living…)

House liberals force vote on pullout from Afghanistan

Flake to offer measure on earmark guidelines  (US Representative of Arizona Jeff Flake (R) is trying to refocus public scrutiny on earmarks after a rash of scandals has plagued Democrats.…)

Dems Choose Nominee for Murtha Seat (Mark Critz, a one-time aide to the late  US Representative of Pennsylvania  John P Murtha (D) will be the party's nominee for May's special election.)

Rajya Sabha votes on Women's Reservation Bill

Another Osmania student commits suicide for Telangana

Politicians in bed with India's 'pimp gurus'

Pak sponsored 26/11 attack: Prosecution (Alleging that Pak government sponsored the Mumbai terror attacks, the prosecution on Tuesday opened its final arguments in the case saying the neighboring country's Army was also involved in the 26/11 attack. )

Bali bomber mastermind 'killed in shoot-out'

IMF suggests how to raise climate change funds

 For Iran, Enriching Uranium Only Gets Easier (Making the leap from reactor-grade nuclear fuel to bomb-grade is like the rich getting richer: really fast.)

Obama's Iran Policy Collapses to the Accompaniment Of Mockery Around The Globe (US President Barack Obama's Iran policy is collapsing to the accompaniment of open mockery around the globe. )

US needs to let go in Iraq

Iraq's Remarkable Election

After Iraq election, fragile democracy faces the real test

Al-Maliki coalition seen leading vote (Early estimates from a range of Iraqi parties on Monday predicted a coalition led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki would take the lead in the parliamentary election, though official results were not expected for a ... )

Obama should thank George Bush (US President Obama praised the Iraqi people on Sunday on the occasion of their parliamentary elections. "The future of Iraq belongs to the people of Iraq," Mr. Obama said. That progress is no thanks to him.)

Region Unimpressed by Balloting in Iraq

Iraqi officials put voter turnout at 62 percent

For Iraqi Voters, a Dizzying Democracy

Atrocities may fill Iraqi power vacuum

From proximity to peace? (What to expect from the Israeli-“Palestinian” talks brokered by the Obama administration.)

US eyes chance for Mid-East peace  (US Vice-President Joseph Biden says there is a "moment of real opportunity" for peace between Israel and the “Palestinians.” )

Biden: U.S. will always stand by those who take risks for peace  (US Vice-President Joseph R Biden Jr)

Biden assures Israel of security support  (US Vice-President Joseph R Biden Jr)

Israel must talk to Hamas before it's too late

Report: Israel pardons 77 Fatah men

Peres calls for 'total' world isolation of Ahmadinejad   (Israeli President Shimon Peres/Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad)

Barak on Iran: We must keep finger on trigger  (Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak)

Israel cannot abandon military option on Iran

Biden to Peres: Iran isolated more than ever before  (US Vice-President Joseph R Biden Jr /Israeli President Shimon Peres)

Israel envoy offers return to campus where students yelled 'murderer'

Meretz MK: Pared down civil marriage bill 'political bluff'

Young Israeli Arab leader: Like Ajami director, I don't represent Israel

Shalom to Ban: Bring sign of life from Shalit (Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom asked UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Monday to bring a sign of life from Kidnapped Israeli Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit.)

Israel launches monthly pollen forecasts to help allay allergies

Will Biden bridge gaps between Israel, Palestinians? (US Vice-President Joseph R Biden Jr)

The American Jewish woman who brought feminism to Israel  

'Israel won't initiate attack in North' (Lebanon)

Israel using strong arm tactics against young Palestinian stone-throwers

Ban, Ashton to be let into Gaza  (UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and EU foreign relations chief Catherine Ashton will be allowed to visit Gaza from Israel during upcoming visits here, the Foreign Ministry announced Monday – an exception to the government's undeclared but de facto policy of not enabling such visits.)

Israel to resume issue of visas for foreign NGO workers in West Bank (Judea and Samaria)

The True Face of J Street  (Is it really "pro-Israel" to call out for talks with Hamas?...)

The wind-energy cover-up (President Barack Obama promised many things on his way into office. Key among these was transparency and a vow to banish lobbyists from insider roles in the policy process.)

Mexico's Oil Politics Keeps Riches Just Out of Reach (The country, which kicked out oil firms in 1938, now needs assistance to get its oil out of the ground.)

State-of-the-art kidney centre opens in Qatar

Egypt's President Mubarak recovering well

Obama Talks, Syria Mocks  (US President Barack Obama; The wages of appeasement.)

Qatar Airways in pact to hire Indian pilots

Saleh: no to Yemen south separatists, but yes to talks  (Yemen president warns south against independence but offers talks over other demands. )

Israel, Syria announce nuclear energy ambitions

Troops may have been exposed to hazardous materials in Haiti (US personnel in the Haitian capital have been working in the middle of an environmental nightmare since the January13, 2010, earthquake. Corpses still lie in the streets and rivers are overflowing with trash. The US military is testing samples of soil, water and air from hundreds of sites in Haiti to determine if troops could have been exposed to hazardous substances.)

U.S. Muslim leaders forbid aid to troops (Islamic jurists decree giving soldiers food 'not permissible.')

Gates sees momentum in Afghanistan but plays down prospects for reconciliation (US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates)

Pacific areas look to tweak systems for tsunami alerts  (US military and local Japanese officials are looking to fine-tune their emergency response systems after reviewing lessons learned from the February 28, 2010, tsunami tidal swells that threatened coastal areas on the mainland and Okinawa.)

Northrop halts pursuit of tanker contract (Decision expected to pave way for Boeing deal.  Defense giant Northrop Grumman said Monday that it is pulling out of the $40 billion competition to build aerial refueling tankers for the Air Force, a move that defense analysts and procurement specialists say leaves its rival Boeing as the likely winner.)

Nuke hack attack puts military on high alert (Communist Chinese, North Koreans suspects in security breach.)

Contractor will now coordinate off-base health care overseas  (The military is setting new standards for the foreign hospitals and doctors who treat troops and their families living abroad.)

Army tech seminar shows warfare's future (Electromagnetic pulse guns, genetically designed killer diseases and swarms of miniature self-guided missiles — if these sound like the products of a mad scientist, they ...)

Pentagon resists Army's desire to stop development of MEADS missile system

EU warns US against protectionism in Pentagon deal

Junta Says Election Law Is Complete in Myanmar

Former NASA official Sarsfield pleads guilty in contract scheme (A former high-ranking NASA official has pleaded guilty in Mississippi to designing contracts that netted him more than $270,000 in illegal profits.)

NASA monkey radiation experiment facing animal-cruelty accusations  (NASA's Brookhaven National Laboratory is under scrutiny following complaints that its forthcoming $1.75 million experiment on monkeys violates laws protecting animals…)

Pakistan's economy stabilising, says Gilani  (Important economic targets have been achieved and the economy is now stabilising, Prime Minister Gilani said.)

Taliban reintegration to be key agenda of Pak-Afghan talks (Sources said that Afghan President Hamid Karzai is also likely to ask Islamabad for the extradition of Mullah Baradar for trial in Afghanistan.)

Five killed in NWA drone attack

Terrorists strike at ‘safe house' in heart of Lahore

Why No Stamp for Barry? (The centennial of the birth of five-term US Senator of Arizona Barry Goldwater slipped by most of us more than a year ago, on January 1, 2009...)

Obama eyeing your retirement account ('Automatic IRAs' to grab dollars for funding federal deficits?)

Finland pledges to help ease visa regime between Russia and EU

Rebel Ideologist Killed After Filming Last Sermon (A Muslim convert accused of organizing the deadly Nevsky Express train bombing in November and a series of other attacks was killed by special forces in Ingushetia shortly after he recorded a farewell online sermon, officials said.)

Regional governors enjoy more freedom with Medvedev (Russia's Kremlin-appointed regional governors have enjoyed more freedom since President Dmitry Medvedev took office in 2008, though they could flex even more muscle if they were better organized, one of the governors said last week. )

UN Security Council has no draft resolution on Iran - Lavrov (Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday the UN Security Council so far has no draft resolution on Iran.)

Orthodox Church Creates Department to Oversee Prisons

Washington weddings begin for same-sex couples

Don't Let Obama's Anti-Gun Silence Breed Complacency (Inaction on gun control doesn't make President Obama a Second Amendment loyalist.)

 Top Ten Healthcare Amendments (The ten amendments we'd most like to see if the Senate takes up reconciliation.)

Dem plan to pair health reform, student lending complicates vote  (Senate Democratic leaders have decided to pair an overhaul of federal student lending with healthcare reform, according to an official.… )

NRSC cools its support of Gov. Crist  (Florida Senate race; National Republicans are hedging their bets in Florida as they watch Governor of Florida Charlie Crist fall further and further behind in… )

Letter on radical Muslim roils U.S. Senate campaign (A website posts text contradicting Tom Campbell's claim of writing on behalf of donor Sami Al-Arian before 9/11. Campbell is seeking the GOP nomination in California.)

Sen. Kerry lobbies for climate change compromise; actual bill yet to come  (The three senators writing compromise climate legislation are lobbying business groups in hopes of winning their support for the effort.…)

Creating jobs on Main Street (By US Senator of Louisiana Mary L Landrieu)

Specter: Democrats getting 'angry,' will pass healthcare bill  (Democrats in Congress are getting "angry" enough to push through healthcare reform,  US Senator of Pennsylvania  Arlen Specter (D) said today.… )

McCain wants Hayworth to reveal donors for legal bills (US Senator of Arizona John McCain (R)/Former US Representative of Arizona JD Hayworth)

Army contractor's use of a cover name for Blackwater angers Sen. McCaskill

Fiorina Files for Senate; Gets Slammed (The Republican primary race for US Senator of California Barbara Boxer's (D) seat heats up. )

Senate Panel to Investigate Deaths at Long-Term Care Facilities (The investigation will focus on Select Medical, which runs more long-term care facilities than any other company.)

Harry Reid Makes It Official: He's Running (Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada)  says he is committed to putting unemployed Americans back to work. That means, of course, he needs to keep his own job.)

Scott Brown's Reinforcements (US Senator of Massachusetts Scott Brown;

Could another Massachusetts Republican be headed to Washington? )

Unemployment insurance extension faces key vote in Senate

In Colombia, democracy is stirred but not shaken (Colombia's decision to limit it's presidency to two terms is a triumph of democracy.)

In Capital of Chile, Damage Is Inside and Often Invisible

U.S. cotton subsidies spur trade sanctions in Brazil

Korea Becoming World-Class in Forensic Science

South Korea back on track (The South Korean economy, whose recovery from the global financial crisis faltered in January, is back on course, helped by China's strong demand for Korean products. But remaining uncertainties mean the private sector is not yet capable of growing on its own, according to Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun.)

New Satellites to Improve Daily Life

Seoul May Issue Travel Warning for Russia

BOK Chief's Final Call: Hike or Freeze?

Solar Industry Learns Lessons in Spanish Sun (A national commitment to solar power transformed one community but big subsidies led to unsustainable growth.)

Public Pension Funds Are Adding Risk to Raise Returns (Even as big companies are moving their pension funds out of stocks, state governments are chasing higher returns for their plans by making riskier investments. )

Major rock slide closes interstate in western Colorado

Who Should Pay The Piper? (And folks wonder why California is bankrupt...)

State orders handrail review (Massachusetts Transportation Department has launched an internal review of possible design flaws in Big Dig handrails that have been linked to the deaths of seven motorists.)

Paterson Finds Friends at a Forum on the Budget (At a town hall meeting on the state budget, Governor of New York David A Paterson had a brief respite from questions about his political problems.)

Supreme Court to rule on anti-gay protests at military funerals

In a Polarized Court, Getting the Last Word (The practice of Supreme Court justices reading a dissent from the bench to note their unhappiness is on the rise.)

Bankruptcy law doesn't restrict free speech, Supreme Court says

China's fighter jets are better than Taiwan's: MND

Exports, imports surge to second-highest on record

Taiwan headed for disastrous time

Experts Urge Keeping Two Options for Terror Trials (Former national security officials say eliminating civilian trials for foreign terrorism suspects would tie the government's hands.)

Thailand to jail migrants at political rallies

Despite fears, big powers resist trade wars (It's the trade war that wasn't. Fears that the deep global recession would fuel protectionist measures have not been borne out, a major survey found. )

Obama picks retired general for TSA post

Obama's TSA pick has conflict of interest? (Serves on board of company focused on federal contracts.)

U.S. to ease sanctions on software (The Obama administration said Monday it will ease some sanctions on Iran, Sudan and Communist Cuba to allow US exports of social-media software to help those countries' citizens "circumvent" government censorship. )

Over 50 dead in Elazığ earthquake as mud-brick buildings collapse

Living proof of the Armenian genocide (Evidence for Turkey's slaughter of 1.5 million Armenians is in an orphanage near Beirut.)

Baku support for US 'genocide' measure questioned (Although solidarity with Azerbaijan has led Turkey to tie the approval of the Armenian protocols to progress on Karabakh, there are questions as to whether Baku sufficiently opposed a recent Armenian “genocide” resolution in the US Congress.)

Quake exposes poor construction in Turkey

Working women suffer from gender gap, WEF report says

Report: Turkey to again mediate Syria-Israel talks

Armenian resolution likely to fail, says head of US-Turkish group (The Armenian Genocide Resolution that was narrowly endorsed by a US House panel last week is very unlikely to reach a House floor vote, a Turkish-US business organization head says.)

Unions to Rally to Build Towers at Ground Zero (Building is stalled as the Port Authority and the developer, Larry A. Silverstein, debated how much government should invest in private development.)

Labour and Tories neck and neck in marginals  (Results of a poll for The Times raise doubts over Tory Leader David Cameron's ability to win an overall majority in the election .)

Drunken teenage yob shouted 'Timber' after he killed sports coach with single punch

True scale of violent crime rise revealed  (Violent attacks estimated to be 44 percent higher than 1998 after research allowed comparisons for the first time. )

Navy sex scandal fears as women are set to be allowed to serve in submarines

Pound takes new beating on growing trade gap

Newborn left fighting for life after overdose of TB vaccine

Unfair and aggressive: MPs' verdict on banks  (Banks in Scotland have been condemned for using "unfair and aggressive tactics" against some of their most vulnerable customers.)

50% rate will make London the tax capital of the world

Tories rebuked again by statistics chief on crime (UK Statistics Authority chief warns figures claiming jump in violent crime under Labor 'could prove misleading.')

Science league may drop UK

Suicide refugee claimed Russia secret service link (Serge Serykh was suffering severe mental health problems when he jumped with wife and stepson from Glasgow block.)

Fears after sex offender Facebook murder  (Killing prompts police to issue further warnings to youngsters highlighting the dangers of using social networking sites to meet people.)

Hospital patients routinely treated in storerooms, survey shows

Inquest to rule on Afghanistan Land Rover deaths (Conclusion of hearing on deaths of four soldiers who died in Snatch Land Rover will focus on suitability of vehicles.)

Tories could axe BBC 3 and 4

Guantanamo secret evidence 'unconstitutional'  (Three of the country's top judges were told they had no powers to allow ministers to use confidential material in a civil case.)

'Insurance for all' plan for dogs  (All dog owners in England and Wales would need insurance against their animals attacking people, under Labor proposals.)

Fifth Rifles Regiment soldier dies in a week  (Deadly week for British forces in southern Afghanistan as Taliban step up sniper activity around town of Sangin.)

Bush plea to Cameron over Ulster  (Former US President George W Bush has directly intervened in the Northern Ireland issue by pleading with Tory leader David Cameron to urge Ulster Unionists to vote for a crucial policing deal, according to a report.)

Microchips to combat dangerous dogs  (Small print of agreement to end Royal Mail's dispute with union removes delivery restrictions on junk mail.)

Labour non-dom donor 'will pay all UK taxes' new  (Labor donor Lord Paul indicated today that he is prepared to give up his controversial non-dom status.)

Afghan friend or foe? Look for a sash  (US gives bright yellow reflective belts to covert anti-Taliban militia to distinguish them from real thing .)

Superweed predator to be released  (A plant-eating predator that preys on aggressive super weed Japanese knotweed is to be given a trial release in England. )

Brown imposed cash squeeze on MoD, Chilcot inquiry told  (A spending squeeze imposed on the military by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown forced ministers to impose cuts on the Ministry of Defense (MoD) while troops were deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, the department's top official has said.)

Mentally ill killer who slit man's throat on the loose in London after escape from hospital

Abusive Congolese colonel got aid (The United Nations peacekeeping mission in eastern Congo provided food, fuel and logistical support to a Congolese colonel overseeing soldiers accused of gang rapes, massacres and other abuses, months after UN human rights investigators included him on a list of the army's most...)

Ungovernable Savages? (Saying that Washington is broken is so yesterday. Those on the cutting edge have moved on for now. It's not Washington that's broken -- it's the American people!)

Why Americans are so angry

Poll: U.S. has lost global standing under Obama  (A majority of Americans say the United States is less respected in the world than two years ago and believe President Obama and other Democrats fall short of Republicans on the issue of national security, ... )

Venezuela linked to terror groups

The Obama Way: Bluster, Bully, Bribe  (A judgeship-for-Obamacare-vote deal?...)

Meet McCain 'birthers': ABC, CBS, NBC, FactCheck, N.Y. Times, more (Eligibility issue was huge in 2008 when Obama opponent was focus of attention.)

Obama launches attack on health insurance companies

The Source of Obama's Trouble (Democrats, who seem to be on a relentless quest to pass a health care bill, don't seem to grasp the issue truly important to Americans: jobs.)

Democratic Party unrest plays out in Emanuel controversy  (White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel has become a reluctant central figure in the battle between liberals and centrists…)

Gone, Solid Gone (At heart, President Barack Obama is not an Atlanticist but a member of the post-Western world. Europe needs to get over America and discover itself.)

JFK condolence letters published (Among the 1.5 million condolence letters sent to President John F Kennedy's widow after his assassination in 1963 were more than two dozen from Jane Dryden, a dogged and dramatic 11-year-old who churned out a ... )

When 'reconciliation' equals leadership (If President Obama wants to lead, he should use reconciliation for health reform.)

To advance healthcare reform, Obama comes down on insurers

Blacks politically motivated beyond Obama

Obama Is Late to the Party (The One We Have Been Waiting For must be disappointed to have arrived at the spending party so late. It's just about over. )

Activists tell Obama to protect illegals (Immigrant rights groups on Monday demanded that President Obama impose a full moratorium on deportations of illegal immigrants, arguing that his policies have been worse for their cause than those of his Republican predecessor. )

Women's Day at the White House (The President and First Lady Michelle Obama recognize International Women's Day during a reception at the White House.)

White House still wants U.S. trial for some Gitmo detainees

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