NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST February 9, 2008

**IF YOU CAN'T ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE, CONTACT US AT rays.list@comcast.net and we'll be happy to send the full article.

=

Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com
Go to the links for the following articles:
--
Doctors using Wii games for therapy after strokes, surgery, war wounds
Some call it ``Wiihabilitation.'' Nintendo's Wii video game system, whosepopularity already extends beyond the teen gaming set, is fast becoming acraze in rehab therapy for patients recovering from strokes, broken bones,surgery and even combat injuries. The usual stretching and lifting exercisesthat help the sick or injured regain strength can be painful, repetitive anddownright boring. In fact, many patients say PT _ physical therapy'snickname _ really stands for ``pain and torture,'' said James Osborn, whooversees rehabilitation services at Herrin Hospital in southern Illinois.Using the game console's unique, motion-sensitive controller,
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/health/sfl-28wiitherapy,0,1903372,print.story


=
Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
--
This might be a call for 'super delegates'
The Democratic nomination appears poised to come down to the 796 partyinsiders, who are free to vote for whomever they choose. The delegates'importance depends on Florida and Michigan. In a year that has seenDemocratic voters flock to the polls but produce two evenly matchedcandidates, some party leaders are becoming alarmed that the process fordeciding an eventual winner is in disarray, and that the decision may comedown not to ordinary voters but to the group of 796 insiders known as "superdelegates."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/la-na-superdel9feb09,0,4207348.story
--
Democrats in a tangled web of delegates
Complicated nominating process adds to uncertainty of close contest. Turnon MSNBC, and you will learn that Sen. Barack Obama has more delegates (861)than Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (855) in the Democratic presidentialcontest. Visit Politico.com, the politics Web site, and you are toldClinton is ahead, with 1,000 delegates to Obama's 902. The New York Times,meanwhile, reports that Clinton has 912 and Obama 741. And the campaignsoffer up still more versions of the tally.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/politics/5527198.html
--
Why isn't Huckabee throwing in the towel?
Some say he's trying to build clout to become No. 2 on the Republicanticket. But doesn't sit well with some conservatives.
A day after John McCain appeared to have nailed down the Republicanpresidential nomination, Mike Huckabee clung Friday to the faint hope thathe could snatch it away. He gamely pleaded for support at "Huckabee forPresident" rallies in Wichita, Topeka and Kansas City, Kan. But for manywho have watched Huckabee rise to the top tier of candidates only to seeMcCain emerge as the presumptive nominee, the question has become: Why keepgoing?
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-huckabee9feb09,1,2761896.story?ctrack=3&cset=true
--
Va. Race a Litmus Test for McCain
To Win in Nov., GOP Front-Runner Must Woo Conservatives He Has AlienatedWhen U.S. Sen. John McCain came to Virginia eight years ago for theRepublican presidential primary, he called two of Virginia's most prominentreligious leaders, Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, "agents of intolerance."Now, McCain is back. But unhealed wounds remain among conservative voters inVirginia and across the nation, challenging the Arizona Republican to makepeace with a voting bloc he will need if he is to win the general electionin November.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/08/AR2008020803900.html?hpid=topnews
--
Not hard to tell the parties apart in this election year
One thing we're learning from this election: These really are differentparties. First, look at the Democrats. Listen to the discussion about theirstrategies. Hillary needs to win more blacks and men. Obama must capturemore Hispanics and peel away more white women. Both need to fight for "theyouth." Now look at the Republicans and how we talk about them. Can JohnMcCain win over conservatives? Should he apologize for his support ofamnesty or his opposition to tax cuts? Will Mike Huckabee ever make inroadswith economic conservatives? Could Mitt Romney have convinced pro-lifers?Were Rudy Giuliani's positions on gays, guns and abortion too liberal?
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/5526749.html
--
MSNBC's Chelsea comment angers Clinton
SEATTLE -- A distasteful comment about Chelsea Clinton by an MSNBC anchorcould imperil Hillary Rodham Clinton's participation in future presidentialdebates on the network, a Clinton spokesman said. In a conference call withreporters, Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson on Fridayexcoriated MSNBC's David Shuster for suggesting the Clinton campaign had"pimped out" 27-year old Chelsea by having her place phone calls tocelebrities and Democratic Party "superdelegates" on her mother's behalf.Wolfson called Shuster's comment "beneath contempt" and disgusting.
http://www.miamiherald.com/692/story/411987.html


=
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
--
6 Guantánamo Detainees Are Said to Face Trial Over 9/11
A sweeping case against suspects in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, wouldbring new scrutiny to the system of military commissions.
--
The Revenge of Seamus
Mitt Romney always seemed surprised, and a little hurt, by the very clearcontempt the other Republican candidates had for him.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/09/opinion/09collins.html?ref=opinion
--
Toward Drug Case Justice
Attorney General Michael Mukasey's alarm at a plan that attempts to addressthe gross disparity in penalties for possession of crack is unwarranted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/09/opinion/09sat3.html?ref=opinion
--
Wary U.S. Olympians Will Bring Food to China
The U.S. Olympic Committee has tried to figure out how to avoid the dangerof tainted food at the Summer Games.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/09/sports/othersports/09olympics.html?hp
--
Conservative Rabbis to Vote on Resolution Criticizing Pope's Revision ofPrayer
The revision of a contentious Good Friday prayer approved this week by PopeBenedict XVI could set back Jewish-Catholic relations, Conservative Judaism'sinternational assembly of rabbis says in a resolution to be voted on nextweek. The prayer calls for God to enlighten the hearts of Jews "so thatthey may acknowledge Jesus Christ, the savior of all men." The draftresolution states the prayer would "cast a harsh shadow over the spirit ofmutual respect and collaboration that has marked these past four decades,making it more difficult for Jews to engage constructively in dialogue withCatholics."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/09/us/09prayer.html
--
6 Guantánamo Detainees Are Said to Face Trial Over 9/11
A sweeping case against suspects in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, wouldbring new scrutiny to the system of military commissions.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/09/us/09gitmo.html?hp
--
Friends Say Drugs Played Only Bit Part for Obama
Barack Obama has admitted to using illegal drugs as a teenager, but othersremember him as a model of moderation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/09/us/politics/09obama.html?hp
--
Growing Pains of Universal Coverage
Until Washington takes on the responsibility of bringing coverage tomillions of uninsured Americans, the states are right to press ahead withtheir own programs.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/09/opinion/09sat1.html?ref=opinion
--
Where's the Big Idea?
What's missing in this presidential campaign is a bold vision of where theU.S. should be heading in these important early years of the 21st century.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/09/opinion/09herbert.html?ref=opinion


=
Washington Post
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
--
Sanctioned States Put Democrats in Quandary
The clever people in Michigan who decided to get into a game of chicken withNew Hampshire last fall over the timing of their Democratic primary shouldbe having second thoughts this weekend. Had Michigan Democrats not engagedin gamesmanship over the shape of the nomination calendar, they would beholding the premier contest on today's slate, by far the biggest and mostinfluential of the events between Super Tuesday and next week's Potomacprimaries, rather than the nonbinding event that was held Jan. 15.Michigan Democrats long argued that the party needed a major industrialstate playing an early and influential role in the nominating process.Instead, Michigan Democrats -- and those in Florida -- have left their partywith a monumental problem: what to do about their delegations to thenational convention in Denver in August.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/08/AR2008020803801.html?hpid=topnews
--
The Running-Mate Roundup
We still have a ways to go before the Democratic and Republican presidentialnominations are officially decided. But it's not too soon to start thinkingabout the selection of running mates. 'Tis fair to say the vice presidencyhasn't gained many fans in its more than 200 years of existence. Dan Coen,in his delightful and informative book "Second String: Trivia, Facts andLists about the Vice Presidency and Its Vice Presidents" spelled out thereasons succinctly: "It has been held by men whose greatness was diminishedby the restrictions of office, by those who were able to rise to greatnessdespite the office, and by men who the office has turned into curiosities ofhistory."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/08/AR2008020802980.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
--
A Plan of Words, but Not Actions Bush proposes troop-benefit program inState of Union address, but leaves it out of budget request.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/08/AR2008020804136.html?hpid=topnews
--
Cheney Opposes D.C. Gun Ban Unlike rest of White House, he joins lawmakersin urging high court to hold law unconstitutional.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/08/AR2008020803802.html?hpid=topnews
--
31 Shiites Detained South of Baghdad
BAGHDAD -- Iraqi police arrested 31 Shiite activists Saturday in earlymorning raids south of Baghdad, and five American soldiers were killed intwo roadside bombings, officials said. The U.S. troops were killed Friday_ four in Baghdad and one in the northern Tamim province, the military said.At least 3,958 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning ofthe Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/09/AR2008020900719.html?hpid=moreheadlines
--
Turkish Lawmakers Vote on Head Scarves
ANKARA, Turkey -- Parliament voted Saturday to amend the constitution tolift a decades-old ban on Islamic head scarves at Turkey's universities,despite fierce opposition from the secular establishment. Tens of thousandsof Turks demonstrated in the capital, Ankara, against the amendments andcalled for the government's resignation. "Turkey is secular and will remainsecular," they chanted, many waving flags. Head scarves have long beenprohibited at universities in predominantly Muslim but fiercely secularTurkey, a country seeking to join the European Union.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/09/AR2008020900832.html?hpid=moreheadlines
--
Putin, in Speech, Accuses U.S. of Setting Off 'New Arms Race'
MOSCOW, Feb. 8 -- President Vladimir Putin said Friday that "a new arms racehas been unleashed in the world" as the United States moves forward with amissile defense system in Eastern Europe. Russia will field new weapons inresponse, he said, dismissing American assurances that the missile system isnot directed against Russia as merely "diplomatic cover."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/08/AR2008020801245.html?hpid=sec-world
--
Justice Dept. 'Cannot' Probe Waterboarding, Mukasey Says
The attorney general yesterday rejected growing congressional calls for acriminal investigation of the CIA's use of simulated drownings to extractinformation from its detainees, as Vice President Cheney called it a "goodthing" that the CIA was able to learn what it did from those subjected tothe practice. The remarks reflected a renewed effort by the Bushadministration to defend its past approval of the interrogation tactic knownas waterboarding, which some lawmakers, human rights experts andinternational lawyers have described as illegal torture.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/07/AR2008020701542.html?hpid=sec-politics
--
Study: Acupuncture May Boost Pregnancy
It sounds far-fetched _ sticking needles in women to help them becomepregnant _ but a scientific review suggests that acupuncture might improvethe odds of conceiving if done right before or after embryos are placed inthe womb. The surprising finding is far from proven, and there are onlytheories for how and why acupuncture might work. However, some fertilityspecialists say they are hopeful that this relatively inexpensive and simpletreatment might ultimately prove to be a useful add-on to traditionalmethods. "It is being taken more seriously across our specialty," and moredoctors are training in it, said Dr. William Gibbons, who runs a fertilityclinic in Baton Rouge, La., and is past president of the Society forAssisted Reproductive Technology. "I have not seen proof ... but we wouldn'tmind at all" if it turned out to work, he said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/08/AR2008020803249.html?hpid=sec-health
--


=


[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####