Tuesday, April 22, 2008

NATIONAL & WORLD NEWS April 22, 2008

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

-Universities' Intellectual Property Stance Criticized
Getting medicines to people who need them in developing countries is a topgoal of public health experts worldwide, many of whom note that people aredying all the time of diseases for which treatments exist. Universities,whose scientists' research is crucial to many of those drugs and which enjoya share of royalties on some of those drugs, are finding themselves drawninto a debate that has as much to do with the economics of thepharmaceutical industry as anything that takes place in a laboratory. Atissue are negotiations being encouraged by the World Health Organization ona new treaty on international patent rights. While there is no finaldocument to accept or reject, among the ideas being proposed are severalthat would seek to loosen patent protection on drugs used to treat somediseases, and provisions that would embrace the idea of internationalcontests - with large cash prizes - taking the place of internationalintellectual property rights to encourage drug companies to work on suchresearch.
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/04/22/ip


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

-A contaminated blood thinner from China has been found in drug supplies in11 countries, and federal officials said Monday they had discovered a clearlink between the contaminant and severe reactions now associated with 81deaths in the United States.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/22/health/policy/22fda.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

-A Developer, His Deals and His Ties to McCain
Donald R. Diamond, a wealthy Arizona real estate developer, was racing tosnap up a stretch of virgin California coast freed by the closing of an Armybase a decade ago when he turned to an old friend, Senator John McCain.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/22/us/politics/22diamond.html?hp

-Clueless in America
We don't hear a great deal about education in the presidential campaign.
It's much too serious a topic to compete with such fun stuff as Hillary tossingback a shot of whiskey, or Barack rolling a gutter ball.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/22/opinion/22herbert.html?ref=opinion

-Op-Ed Columnist: The Great Escape
Over the past 15 months, I've been writing pretty regularly about thepresidential campaign, which has meant thinking a lot about attack ads,tracking polls and which campaign is renouncing which over-the-line commentfrom a surrogate that particular day.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/22/opinion/22brooks.html?ref=opinion

-In Clinton vs. Obama, Age Is a Great Predictor
Jay Leno recently made fun of a commercial for Senator Hillary RodhamClinton, in which she referred to playing pinochle as a child at hergrandfather's lake house in Pennsylvania.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/22/us/politics/22age.html?hp

-Political Memo
Dream Ticket Sounds Good to Many Democrats (Except the Candidates)
Imagine President Barack Obama is preparing his first State of the Unionmessage. Would he want Vice President Hillary Rodham Clinton tut-tuttingwith edits or suggesting how she could write it better? Would he want tohear Second Spouse Bill Clinton wax on and on about favorite lines from hisown speeches.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/22/us/politics/22ticket.html

-U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice criticized former U.S. President
Jimmy Carter on Tuesday for holding talks with Hamas and said she hadadvised him against it. "We counseled President Carter against going to theregion and particularly against having contact with Hamas," said Rice,adding that only Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas could be party tonegotiations with Israel. "(Abbas) is the Palestinian leadership that iscommitted to peace."
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-palestinians-israel-rice.html

-Libya Seeks Exemption for Its Debt to Victims
WASHINGTON - One by one, top executives of American oil companies metprivately over the last year with Libya's leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi,often in his signature Bedouin tent, as they lined up contracts allowingthem to tap into the country's oil reserves.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/22/washington/22libya.html

-DNA Is Taken From Sect's Children
DENVER - Laboratory workers began taking DNA samples on Monday from the 416children seized in a raid earlier this month on a polygamist religious groupin West Texas, as preparations were under way to send the children intoindefinite protective state custody.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/22/us/22raid.html

-The (Yes) Low Cost of Higher Ed
ON Oct. 2, 2003, board members at the University of Virginia filed into theUpper East Oval Room of the Rotunda, the centerpiece of Thomas Jefferson'scampus design, for one of their regular meetings. As usual, they were joinedby the university's top administrators. Just before the meeting began, amember of U.Va.'s public affairs staff walked over to John T. Casteen III,the university president, to hand him a clipping from that morning'snewspaper.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/education/edlife/essay.html


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

-Life Expectancy Drops for Some U.S. Women
Historic Reversal, Found in 1,000 Counties, May Be Result of Smoking and Obesity
For the first time since the Spanish influenza of 1918, life expectancy isfalling for a significant number of American women.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/21/AR2008042102406.html?hpid=topnews

-Military Waivers for Ex-Convicts Increase
The Army admitted about one-fourth more recruits last year with a record oflegal problems ranging from felony convictions and serious misdemeanors todrug crimes and traffic offenses, as pressure to increase the size of U.S.ground forces led the military to grant more waivers for criminal conduct,according to new data released yesterday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/21/AR2008042103295.html?hpid=moreheadlines&hpid=topnews

-Ethanol's Failed Promise
The willingness to try, fail and try again is the essence of scientificprogress. The same sometimes holds true for public policy. It is in thisspirit that today, Earth Day, we call upon Congress to revisit recentlyenacted federal mandates requiring the diversion of foodstuffs forproduction of biofuels. These "food-to-fuel" mandates were meant to moveAmerica toward energy independence and mitigate global climate change. Butthe evidence irrefutably demonstrates that this policy is not delivering oneither goal. In fact, it is causing environmental harm and contributing to agrowing global food crisis.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/21/AR2008042102555.html

-Not Quite Like Ike
How on earth is the Republican Party going to sell John McCain? Once the
Democrats stop doing the job, I mean.
Image consultants could try to portray McCain as a latter-day DwightEisenhower. I've actually heard Republicans try to make the comparison, butit won't work without rounding up and destroying all the history books.
McCain served his country courageously, getting shot down over Vietnam andspending years as a prisoner of war. All that Ike did was, um, save theworld. I'm seeing a slight imbalance here.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/21/AR2008042102552.html

-Clinton in the Wilderness
It was nice of Hillary Clinton to issue, as all the candidates did, astatement about Passover, the Jewish holiday of the season. Clinton said shewas "deeply moved" by its message of freedom and human dignity, but sheshould have plowed on past Exodus and into Numbers and Deuteronomy. It isthere that she can find a lesson for herself -- how Moses, after all he haddone, was not allowed to step foot in "the good land that is beyond theJordan." For Moses, that was Israel. For Clinton, it's the White House.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/21/AR2008042102553.html

-Radio To Stay Tuned To
"Radio Free Europe? Does that still exist?"
That was the question; the speaker was an Important Public Broadcaster,visiting Europe for a few days last week. It wasn't a surprising query, asthese things go, or an ignorant one. Not many other Americans know thatRadio Free Europe still exists, so why should he?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/21/AR2008042102551.html

-Aggression in Georgia
Vladimir Putin steps up his campaign against Russia's democratic neighbor --and bets that NATO won't respond.
LAST MONTH, NATO sent a muddled message to Ukraine and Georgia, fragileEuropean democracies that are seeking membership in the Western alliance.
Pressed by President Bush, a NATO summit meeting issued a statementdeclaring that the two countries "will become members of NATO" someday. Butthe alliance also deferred the requests of their governments for "membershipaction plans," the bureaucratic vehicle for joining, at the insistence ofFrance and Germany -- which made it clear they were deferring to Russianobjections.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/21/AR2008042102566.html

-No Seats for Sale
The Supreme Court should uphold the 'Millionaires' Amendment' governingcongressional races.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/21/AR2008042102565.html

-8 Questions About The Pennsylvania Primary
What will it take to be declared the winner in Pennsylvania today?
1. Conventional wisdom has taken such a beating in this campaign thatsetting expectations for today's primary continues to confound the experts.
The only thing everyone can agree on is that, given the makeup ofPennsylvania -- an older population with a significant blue-collarconstituency and a sizable proportion of Roman Catholics -- Sen. HillaryRodham Clinton should win the popular vote. But as Democrat Matt Bennett putit, the candidates are like publicly -traded companies that need to hit anearnings target to lift their stock price.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/21/AR2008042102805.html?hpid=topnews

-US seeks to block Zimbabwe-bound Chinese arms
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is intervening with governments insouthern Africa to prevent a Chinese ship carrying weapons for Zimbabwe'ssecurity forces from unloading its cargo, The Associated Press has learned.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/22/AR2008042200497.html?hpid=moreheadlines

-AP-Yahoo poll: Economy top worry, but barely affecting votes
WASHINGTON -- The economy has soared past Iraq as the top problem on theminds of voters. But do the growing economic worries give a particular edge to any presidential candidate? Not so far, according to an Associated Press-Yahoo News poll released Monday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/21/AR2008042100537.html


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

-Obama on tonight's 'Daily Show'
PITTSBURGH - Debate moderators are now a punch line for Sen. Barack Obama.
During a taping for this evening's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," theIllinois Democrat had some fun amid a busy final day of campaigning beforeTuesday's Pennsylvania primary.
http://weblogs.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/blog/2008/04/obama_on_tonights_daily_show.html

-Clinton missed her chance to change course of race
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - In last Wednesday's Democratic debate, ABC News anchorCharlie Gibson gave Hillary Clinton a chance to transform the presidentialrace - and she didn't take it.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/04/22/clinton_missed_her_chance_to_change_course_of_race/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Today%27s+paper+A+to+Z

-Flag question should be put to Clinton too
The Old Glory question directed at Barack Obama during last week'spresidential primary debate was fair enough.
"I want to know if you believe in the American flag," began Pennsylvaniavoter Nash McCabe in a video snippet. McCabe went on to wonder why Obamadoesn't "wear the flag," a reference to his usual unwillingness to sport atiny lapel pin that some believe bespeaks authentic patriotism.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-zorn-22-apr22,1,234691.column

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