NATIONAL & WORLD NEWS May 19, 2008

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

-McCain to Rely on Party Money Against Obama
Pivoting toward the general election, Senator Barack Obama is turning againto his history-making fund-raising machine, which helped to anoint him as acontender against Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and then became a potentweapon in their battle for the Democratic nomination.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/19/us/politics/19donate.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1211203020-Z/OpyKkuqRgpAXSqcFn3rA

-Gender Issue Lives On as Clinton's Hopes Dim
With each passing day, it seems a little less likely that the next presidentof the United States will wear a skirt - or a cheerful, no-nonsensepantsuit.
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is now in what most agree are the waning daysof her bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. To use her ownphrase, she has been running "to break the highest and hardest glass ceiling" in American life, and now the presidency, or even a nominationthat once seemed to be hers to claim, seems out of reach.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/19/us/politics/19women.html?hp

-Editorial: Democracy and the Web
Users of the Internet take for granted their ability to access all Web siteson an equal basis. That could change, however, if Internet service providersstarted discriminating among content, to make more money or to suppressideas they do not like. A new "net neutrality" bill has been introduced inthe House, which would prohibit this sort of content discrimination.
Congress has delayed on this important issue too long and should pass netneutrality legislation now.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/19/opinion/19mon2.html?ref=opinion

-Op-Ed Columnist: McCain Exceptionalism
Last Tuesday, Republicans lost another Congressional seat in a specialelection - their third such defeat in two months. On Wednesday I received anacerbic e-mail message from a disgusted young G.O.P. loyalist: "I just haveto say that Republicans are a dumb party that chooses stupid candidates.
With the exception of McCain." Who says the young lack wisdom? In fact,Republican hopes of denying Democrats complete control of the federalgovernment for the next couple of years may rest on the promise of "McCainexceptionalism."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/19/opinion/19kristol.html?ref=opinion

-Kennedy Stays in Hospital After Seizure
Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, remained hospitalizedin Boston on Sunday, with doctors still uncertain about the cause of aseizure that gripped him Saturday at his Cape Cod home.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/19/washington/19kennedy.html

-Obama Draws Huge Crowd in Oregon as Clinton Courts Kentucky
Senator Barack Obama drew the largest crowd of his campaign so far onSunday, addressing an estimated 75,000 people who had gathered here on thebanks of the Willamette River.
"Wow! Wow! Wow!" were his first words as he surveyed the multitude, whichincluded people in kayaks and small pleasure craft on the river on anunseasonably hot day in Oregon.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/19/us/politics/19campaign.html

-Despite H.I.V., Fighting to Maintain Health and a Positive Attitude
Patricia Clouden dresses in a whirl of color, from her bright African dressto her shiny green toenail polish. She is a grandmother of eight who getsnoticed in her Harlem neighborhood and is not afraid to speak her mind.
"I'm not a 'Yes, ma'am' no more," she told a group of about a dozen womenseated around a boardroom table one recent afternoon. "I'm a warrior."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/nyregion/18divas.html


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

-Murdoch Diplomacy: Behind O'Reilly's Electric Attacks
Bill O'Reilly, the Fox News star, is mounting an extraordinary televised assault on the chief executive of General Electric, calling him a "pinhead" and a "despicable human being" who bears responsibility for the deaths of American soldiers in Iraq. On the surface, O'Reilly's charges revolve around GE's history of doing business with Iran. But the attacks grow out of an increasingly bitter feud between O'Reilly and the company's high-profile subsidiary, NBC, one that has triggered back-channel discussions involving News Corp. owner Rupert Murdoch, Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes, NBC chief executive Jeff Zucker and General Electric's CEO, Jeffrey Immelt.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/19/AR2008051900651.html

-Two Roads to Gay Marriage
Did California Do the Right Thing in the Wrong Way?
Imagine what it would be like not to be able to marry the person with whomyou want to spend the rest of your life. Then imagine how tens of thousandsof gays and lesbians in California must have felt last week when theCalifornia Supreme Court declared that homosexuals have a right to marriageunder the state's constitution.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/18/AR2008051801908.html

-Putin's Gulag Stability
Vladimir Putin hails stability among his greatest achievements as presidentof Russia. But stability in Russia exists in appearance only, supported byenormous oil revenue and massive propaganda from the government-controlledmass media. Behind the facade lies an unprecedented increase in corruption,a population largely mired in poverty, and a bureaucracy and domesticintelligence apparatus whose power is unchecked.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/18/AR2008051801911.html

-Rice and Baloney
Irrational Policies the World Over Are Making the Food Crisis Worse
We are now several months into the global food crisis, which is a muchbigger deal than the subprime meltdown for most people in the world. Foodprices have almost doubled in three years, threatening to push 100 millionpeople into absolute poverty, undoing much of the development progress ofthe past few years. The new hunger has triggered riots from Haiti to Egyptto Ethiopia, threatening political stability; it has conjured up a raft ofprotectionist policies, threatening globalization. And yet the response tothis crisis from governments the world over has been lackadaisical or worse.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/18/AR2008051801917.html

-Release the Rice
How Japan can ease the global food crisis
AS PRICES rise on global commodity markets, U.S. agriculture policies thatcontribute to higher food costs are coming under fire -- especiallysubsidies for ethanol production. That criticism is warranted. But thiscountry does not have a monopoly on irrational food policy. Consider Japan'srice mountain.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/18/AR2008051801897.html

-A Fifth Top Aide To McCain Resigns
Finance Co-Chairman's Lobbying Ties Are Cited
Tom Loeffler, the national finance co-chairman for Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign, resigned yesterday because of his lobbying ties, a campaign adviser said. He is the fifth person to sever ties with the campaign amid a growing concern over whether lobbyists have too great an influence over the Republican nominee. Last week, campaign manager Rick Davis issued a new policy that requires all campaign personnel to either resign or sever ties with lobbying firms or outside political groups.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/18/AR2008051802212.html?hpid=topnews

-Produced May 18, 2008; based on 2007 data
The Newsweek and Washington Post Challenge Index measures a public highschool's effort to challenge its students. The formula is simple: Divide thenumber of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or Cambridge testsa school gave by the number of seniors who graduated in May or June. Teststaken by all students, not just seniors, are counted. Magnet or charterschools with SAT combined verbal and math averages higher than 1300, or ACTaverage scores above 29, are not included, since they do not have enoughaverage students who need a challenge.
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/challengeindex/2008/


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

-Obama could rack up most votes in prime categories Tuesday
The marathon Democratic primary battle continues Tuesday as Oregon andKentucky head to the polls. Even with most of the pundits writing off Sen.Hillary Rodham Clinton, it stands to be a critical juncture of the campaign.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/national/article513360.ece

-SOCIETY: A Different Time
Why gay marriage won't pack such a punch in Campaign 2008.
As he savored Thursday's historic decision by the California Supreme Courtlegalizing same-sex marriage, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom couldn'tresist gloating. "As California goes, so goes the nation," he said, wagginghis finger in the air as he stood on the same city hall staircase wherethousands of same-sex couples wed four years ago. "It's inevitable," Newsomgrinned. "The door's wide open now. It's going to happen, whether you likeit or not. This is the future, and it's now."
http://www.newsweek.com/id/137302

-Clinton, Obama backers seek unity
Top fund-raisers for Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have begunprivate talks aimed at merging the two candidates' teams, not waiting forthe Democratic nominating process to end before they start preparations fora hard-fought fall campaign.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/05/18/clinton_obama_backers_seek_unity/

-Obama warns senior citizens against privatizing of Social Security
Democrat Barack Obama told seniors yesterday that Republican John McCainwould threaten the Social Security on which they and millions like themdepend, because he supports privatizing the program.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/05/19/obama_warns_senior_citizens_against_privatizing_of_social_security/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Today%27s+paper+A+to+Z

-Barack Obama: the new Great Redeemer
First it was Kennedy... now the US media are prostrating themselves beforethe saviour
Every decade or so the people who control the way we see the world anointsome American politician the Redeemer of a Troubled Planet.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/gerard_baker/article3941450.ece

-How to Enrage a Democrat
If nothing else, we now know what it takes to make a Democrat go nuts. Oneword: "appeasement."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121098055680400135.html?mod=opinion_main_review_and_outlooks


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Technology Revies
Scientists in Israel are testing a noninvasive method to electricallystimulate neurons deep in the brain.
Electrically shocking the brain is often the only recourse for peoplesuffering from severe, untreatable depression. While standardantidepressants have little effect on these patients, electroconvulsivetherapy (ECT) can sometimes jump-start the brain, lifting people out ofdepression, at least for a while. But ECT can also carry some serious sideeffects, including seizures and memory loss. Now researchers are exploring agentler approach to electrically stimulating the brain. The technique,called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), uses an external magneticfield to create electric currents within the brain .
http://www.technologyreview.com/printer_friendly_article.aspx?id=20789&channel=biotech§ion=


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Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Old electronics in your home may be worth more than you think
Here's what recycling used to mean: Trade in old bottles, cans and papersfor pennies. Here's what recycling means today: Trade in old iPods, cellphones, etc. for dollars. I scrounged around our home and found unusedelectronics worth $250 or more. Sure beats searching the couch for coins.
Many of us stockpile old cell phones, TVs and computers that could be sold,recycled or donated. BrandsMart USA offers a $253 store credit in exchangefor the three Motorola mobile phones, three Apple iPods and single SonyPlayStation 2 on my list. The South Florida retailer launched a recyclingprogram last month called "Go Green," joining a growing number of companiesgiving consumers cash and credit for electronic trade-ins. Best Buy's onlinerecycling program offers a gift card worth up to $50 more than BrandsMartfor my gadgets.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/custom/consumer/sfl-519vasquez,0,677759,print.column

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