NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST April 5, 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.


=
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Unemployment Rising
With rising unemployment, Congress needs to quit dithering and take boldaction to prevent the worsening of all of the expected problems of adownturn.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/05/opinion/05sat1.html?ref=opinion

-White Guys Are Back
It was probably inevitable. The historic contest between a woman and anAfrican-American for the presidential nomination is now all about white men.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/05/opinion/05collins.html?ref=opinion

-Beware the New New Thing
RECENTLY, the House Judiciary Committee's antitrust task force invited me tobe the lead witness for its hearing on "net neutrality." I've collaboratedwith the Future of Music Coalition, and my band, OK Go, has been among thefirst to find real success on the Internet - our songs and videos have beenstreamed and downloaded hundreds of millions of times (orders of magnitudeabove our CD sales) - so the committee thought I'd make a decent spokesmanfor up-and-coming musicians in this new era of digital pandemonium.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/05/opinion/05kulash.html?ref=opinion


=
Washington Post
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Court Ruling Boosts Breakaway Churches
Va. Episcopal Diocese in Property Fight
A Fairfax County judge has given an initial victory to conservatives from 11Virginia churches in their battle to keep tens of millions of dollars inbuildings and land after breaking away from the Episcopal Church.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/04/AR2008040401925.html

-SETTING THE BEAT
The Dems, Now Dancing to His Tune
As the Democratic presidential race turns into the political equivalent ofthe Battle of the Somme, lots of Democrats are glaring at the party'snominal leader, Howard Dean. The Democratic National Committee chairman (and2004 White House hopeful) has not been able to force the race to a close orto fix a mess he helped create by tossing out the results of primaries inMichigan and Florida after their state parties violated DNC rules by jumpingtoward the front of the line in the campaign season. In 2004, Dean famouslyscreamed at Democrats; in 2008, plenty of Democrats are screaming rightback.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/04/AR2008040403227.html

-Civil Rights Groups Seeing Gradual End of Their Era
Forty years after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated inMemphis, the storied organizations that propelled the modern-day civilrights movement alongside him are either struggling to stay relevant orstruggling to stay alive.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/04/AR2008040403589.html?nav=rss_email/components

-The Real China and the Olympics
This week, a Beijing court sentenced human rights activist Hu Jia to 3 1/2years in prison for subverting state authority and to one additional year'sloss of his "political rights." He was arrested in part for co-authoring,with Teng Biao, an open letter on human rights. Below, The Post printsHumanRights Watch's translation of the Sept. 10, 2007, letter.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/04/AR2008040402982.html

-Games Over Truth
A human rights activist's prison sentence has Beijing's propagandists
working overtime.
PITY THE POOR Chinese propagandist. The more frantically he works to justifyhis government's behavior, the more unjustifiable the behavior becomes. Thisweek, the sentencing of a peaceful human rights activist, Hu Jia, to 3 1/2years in prison made the task that much more difficult.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/04/AR2008040403367.html

-UN Chief Urges Action on Darfur
UNITED NATIONS -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon deplored "alarming levels"of violence in Darfur Friday, saying that the suffering of millions in theSudanese region may have gotten worse in recent years.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/04/AR2008040403164.html?hpid=sec-world


=
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-The Democratic veep prospects: A guide
Four years ago today, The New York Times reported that an advisor to JohnKerry had completed interviews with four contenders for the vicepresidential nomination.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0408/9394.html

-When MLK died, one man reached across the divide
When one great man was killed, another tried to calm the nation.
Martin Luther King stood on a motel balcony facing a row of rundownbuildings near downtown Memphis. The door to Room 306 was open behind him.
Inside, his best friend, Ralph Abernathy, was putting on cologne, gettingready to go out. In the parking lot below, his aides, Andrew Young, JesseJackson and James Orange among them, waited for him. Musician Ben Branch wasthere, too. ''Ben,'' he said, ''make sure you play Precious Lord,Take MyHand at the meeting tonight. Sing it real pretty.'' Branch promised hewould.
http://www.miamiherald.com/418/story/482311.html


=
Pew Research center
http://pewresearch.org/
Go to this link for the following articles:

-Unique Among the World's Catholics
U.S. Catholics occupy something of a middle ground between their morereligious fellow Catholics in the developing world, and the less devout ofEurope. Read more

-Benedict Unknown to Many
A new poll finds 30% of Americans know little about the pontiff. The pope'sefforts to reach out to other faiths receive mixed reviews overall butstrong support among observant Catholics. Read more

-Robo-Calls Top Campaign Outreach
About two-in-five voters now say they have received a pre-recorded callabout the campaign. Meanwhile, Democrats are far more engaged in campaignactivities than are Republicans -- including donating money to a candidate.Read more

-Clinton Covered, but Obama Watched
While her Bosnia flap made Clinton the newsmaker of the week, she continuesto lag behind Obama in terms of public visibility. Both candidates, despiterecent negative news, have seen little change in their favorability. Readmore

-Clinton's Turn for Bad News
In recent campaign media narratives, bad news is big news. Hillary Clinton'soft-repeated story about encountering sniper fire in Bosnia made her lastweek's top newsmaker. Read more

-Talk Show Hosts Applaud Form
The usually fractious fraternity of talking heads agreed on one thing --Obama's ability to put words together. They were less unanimous about thecontent. Read moreState Order

-States Slow Down on Immigration Controls
Under pressure from business groups and budget stringency, states are nolonger rushing to pass restrictions on illegal immigration. Read more

-Who Will Be the Next David Paterson?
Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's downfall that catapulted David Patersonto the governor's mansion spotlights the quirky arrangements that determinewho is next in line after a governor in many states. Read more

-62% - A Widening Hardship Gap
The gap between the wealthiest and poorest people in affording basic itemsis much wider now than it was during the 1992 economic downturn; more thansix-in-ten (62%) self-described "working class" people now say their incomesare falling behind the cost of living. Check back every weekday for anothernumber in the news. Read more


=
Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-`The campaign has been too negative'
My recent endorsement of Barack Obama for president has been the subject ofmuch discussion and consternation -- particularly among supporters ofHillary Clinton.
http://www.miamiherald.com/851/story/483933.html

-Bill and Hillary Clinton disclose wealth
WASHINGTON -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's family has amassed enormouswealth this decade, pulling in more than $109 million through books,speaking fees and investments, according to tax returns released Friday bythe Clinton campaign.
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-taxes5apr05,0,3598802.story


=
Inside Higher Education
http://www.insidehighered.com
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Getting Them In, Getting Them Back
A quick word association: "underrepresented students."
What comes to mind? The smart money's on "racial minority students fromurban areas," or some form of that answer. Often forgotten, but most oftenincluded in such definitions, is the subgroup rural students.
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/04/02/rural

-If You Text in Class, This Prof Will Leave
Some professors threaten to confiscate students' cell phones if they go offduring class. Laurence Thomas has his own approach to classroomdistractions. If the philosopher at Syracuse University catches a studentsending text messages or reading a newspaper in class, he'll end the classon the spot and walk out. It doesn't matter if there is but one texter in alarge lecture of hundreds of students. If you text, he will leave.
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/04/02/texting

-Bill and Hillary Clinton disclose wealth
They've earned more than $109 million and paid 31% of it in federal taxesthis decade, their tax records show.
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-taxes5apr05,0,3598802.story


=
Forwarded from Susan Frishkorn
frishkorn@bellsouth.net
Go to this link for the following article:

- The Pentagon made public a now-defunct legal memo that approved the use ofharsh interrogation techniques against terror suspects, saying thatPresident Bush's wartime authority trumps any international ban on torture.
The Justice Department memo, dated March 14, 2003, outlines legaljustification for military interrogators to use harsh tactics againstal-Qaida and Taliban detainees overseas - so long as they did notspecifically intend to torture their captives. Even so, the memo noted, thepresident's wartime power as commander in chief would not be limited by theU.N. treaties against torture. "Our previous opinions make clear thatcustomary international law is not federal law and that the president isfree to override it at his discretion," said the memo written by John Yoo,who was then deputy assistant attorney general for the Office of LegalCounsel.


=


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