NATIONAL & WORLD NEWS May 16, 2008

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

-In the South, a Force to Challenge the G.O.P.
The sharp surge in black turnout that Senator Barack Obama has helped togenerate in recent primaries and Congressional races could signal a threatthis fall to the longtime Republican dominance of the South, according topoliticians and voting experts.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/16/us/politics/16south.html?_r=1&partner=MOREOVERNEWS&oref=slogin

-Panel Backs Amputee Sprinter's Olympic Quest
Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee sprinter who was barred from able-bodiedcompetition in January, will be allowed to pursue his dream of qualifyingfor the Olympic Games after an unexpected decision by the Court ofArbitration for Sport. The Court, an international panel which has final sayover legal matters in sport, overturned the International Association ofAthletics Federations' ban, ruling in effect that Pistorius' carbon fiberprosthetic blades do not give him an unfair advantage.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/17/sports/olympics/17runner.html?hp

-Op-Ed Columnist: Obama Admires Bush
Hezbollah is one of the world's most radical terrorist organizations. Overthe last week or so, it has staged an armed assault on the democraticgovernment of Lebanon.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/16/opinion/16brooks.html?ref=opinion

-Editorial: Blackwater's Impunity
After guards from Blackwater Worldwide protecting a State Department convoykilled at least 17 Iraqis in a hail of bullets last September, we hoped theBush administration would rethink the folly of relying on mercenaries, whohave no accountability to Iraqi or American law.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/16/opinion/16fri2.html?ref=opinion

-Editorial: Teach for America
To maintain its standing as an economic power, the United States mustencourage programs that help students achieve the highest levels in math andscience, especially in poor communities where the teacher corps is typicallyweak.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/16/opinion/16fri4.html?ref=opinion

-Naral Picks Obama, and Uproar Breaks Out
The decision by a major abortion-rights group to endorse Senator BarackObama has created an uproar among some of its affiliates and otherabortion-rights advocates. Many said that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton hadas good a record on reproductive rights as Mr. Obama and that there was noneed to take sides in the Democratic primary.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/16/us/politics/16campaign.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1210950069-e/uqXmE2HvsoVHlnil9sJA


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

-Hypocrisy on Hamas
McCain Was for Talking Before He Was Against It
If the recent exchanges between President Bush, Barack Obama and John McCainon Hamas and terrorism are a preview of the general election, we are in foran ugly six months. Despite his reputation in the media as a charmingmaverick, McCain has shown that he is also happy to use Nixon-style dirtycampaign tactics. By charging recently that Hamas is rooting for an Obamavictory, McCain tried to use guilt by association to suggest that Obama isweak on national security and won't stand up to terrorist organizations, orthat, as Richard Nixon might have put it, Obama is soft on Israel.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/15/AR2008051503306.html

-The GOP's Ideas Deficit
The Reagan era in American politics is about to end, and we have George W.Bush to thank for its demise.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/15/AR2008051503161.html

-Torture's Blowback
An alleged Sept. 11 conspirator can't be tried because the administrationthought harsh tactics were a good idea.
THE GHOSTS of interrogations past have come back to haunt the Bushadministration. This week, the legal officer supervising the military trialsat the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, dismissed capitalcharges against Mohammed al-Qahtani, who allegedly would have been the 20thhijacker during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks had he not beenprevented from entering the country. The decision has been widely reportedas a serious setback for the administration's quest to bring terrorists tojustice. It is much more and much worse than that: It is a palpable reminderof the inhumane acts committed by U.S. personnel and sanctioned by topofficials in the name of protecting Americans from extremists.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/15/AR2008051503705.html


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

-Obama Says Bush Falsely Accuses Him of Appeasement
Democrat Barack Obama accused President Bush on Thursday of launching a"false political attack" with a comment about appeasing dictators.
http://www.newsmax.com/politics/obama_bush/2008/05/15/96281.html

-Gay marriage back as a campaign issue
Yesterday's California Supreme Court decision striking down a voter-approvedban on same-sex marriage reintroduces a hot-button social issue into thepresidential campaign.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/05/16/gay_marriage_back_as_a_campaign_issue/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Today%27s+paper+A+to+Z

-Bush warns of talks with 'radicals'
In Israel, evokes appeasement of Hitler Obama, others call remarksunwarranted political attack
President Bush yesterday used a high-profile speech in Israel to attack theidea of pursuing diplomatic talks with renegade countries such as Iran, akey element of Barack Obama's agenda, likening it to the failed appeasementof Germany prior to World War II.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2008/05/16/bush_warns_of_talks_with_radicals/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Today%27s+paper+A+to+Z

-GI Bill blues
Expanded benefits for deserving veterans are caught in a politicalcross-fire in Congress.
More than five years after the first U.S. soldiers were sent to Afghanistanand Iraq, Congress is finally trying to give them their due by helpingveterans pay for a college education. A well-crafted bill by Sen. Jim Webb(D-Va.) would increase the amount of assistance available to U.S. veteransdeployed since 2001 to reflect tuition increases. The cost is estimated atup to $5.2 billion a year for 10 years -- not cheap, but less than we spendin two weeks in Iraq.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-gibill16-2008may16,0,312729.story?track=rss

-Edwards' backing pays off
Obama snags support from 4 of his delegates, United Steelworkers.
John Edwards' surprise endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama began payingdividends Thursday, when Obama corralled the support of four of Edwards'delegates and the 600,000-member United Steelworkers in his march toward theDemocratic nomination.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080516/POLITICS01/805160355/1374


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