NATIONAL & WORLD NEWS May 4, 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:

-Denomination Wrestles With Pastor's Statements
Just as Senator Barack Obama has spent this week trying to stem the damageto his campaign from statements by his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A.Wright Jr., the small, theologically liberal Protestant denomination bothmen belong to, the United Church of Christ, has been grappling with theimpact of the controversy upon its members.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/03/us/politics/03church.html?scp=14&sq=gay&st=nyt

-Editorial: Missing Records
Senator John McCain is 71 years old, a survivor of an aggressive form ofskin cancer. If elected, he would be the oldest man to become president.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/opinion/04sun1.html?ref=opinion

-Op-Ed Columnist: A Prison of Shame, and It's Ours
My Times colleague Barry Bearak was imprisoned by the brutal regime inZimbabwe last month. Barry was not beaten, but he was infected with scabieswhile in a bug-infested jail. He was finally brought before a court afterfour nights in jail and then released.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/opinion/04kristof.html?ref=opinion

-Editorial: The Wrong Friends
It is remarkable how many people are willing to help illegal gun sellers.
Congress all too often takes the side of the gun lobby over victims of gunviolence. Last week, in a particularly wrongheaded ruling, a federal appealscourt threw out New York City's longstanding lawsuit intended to rein inillegal gun sellers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/opinion/04sun3.html?ref=opinion

-Turkish Schools Offer Pakistan a Gentler Islam
Praying in Pakistan has not been easy for Mesut Kacmaz, a Muslim teacherfrom Turkey.
He tried the mosque near his house, but it had Israeli and Danish flagspainted on the floor for people to step on. The mosque near where he workswarned him never to return wearing a tie. Pakistanis everywhere assume he isnot Muslim because he has no beard.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/world/asia/04islam.html?hp

-Indiana, a Cultural and Economic Stew, Poses a Puzzle in the Primary Race
It is hard to run for office across this state, mostly because there is nosingle Indiana.
Politically, culturally, economically, linguistically, there are at leastthree Indianas, and maybe four or five or more. Even the state's veteranpolitical minds do not always agree on where the many regions - anddemands - begin and end.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/us/politics/04indiana.html


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

-Taking Back The Frontier
The most dangerous place on Earth -- the Pashtun tribal belt straddlingPakistan's border with Afghanistan -- is about to get more dangerous. As thesummer offensive by al-Qaeda and the Taliban against U.S. and NATO troopsgets underway in Afghanistan and the militant groups threaten to resumetheir attacks on Pakistan's army, the newly elected government in Islamabadneeds the support and patience of the Bush administration rather thanWashington's single-minded desire for military solutions.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/02/AR2008050203323.html

-An Enemy on the Run
In Afghanistan, the Challenge Beyond al-Qaeda
The most interesting discovery during a visit to this city where Osama binLaden planted his flag in 1996 is that al-Qaeda seems to have all butdisappeared. The group is on the run, too, in Iraq, and that raises someinteresting questions about how to pursue this terrorist enemy.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/02/AR2008050203444.html

-Bush's Rescuers
Democratic leaders in Congress are riding to the rescue of an unlikelybeneficiary: the reputation of George W. Bush. They seem determined toexacerbate problems that he has created or long ignored.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/02/AR2008050203434.html

-Clinton's Tough Path
On the day last week when Hillary Clinton suffered the first of two costlydefections by Indiana superdelegates, I went to see an old friend working inher national campaign. I knew he was loyal to her, but I also calculatedthat if he were guaranteed anonymity, he would give me an honest answer tothe vexing question: Does the Clinton camp still see any realistic way shecan deny Barack Obama the Democratic nomination without blowing up theparty?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/02/AR2008050203320.html

-Democracy, Burma-Style
It's a brave soul who votes no.
IT WOULD be unfair to the generals who control Burma to suggest that theyhave given their population no choice when it comes to a referendum nextSaturday that would ensconce military rule behind a facade of democracy.
People do have a choice: They can support the referendum, or they can go tojail. We know this, because brave people in Burma have worn "Vote No"T-shirts, and they have been carted off to prison. And we know that it isunacceptable to vote no, since hundreds of expatriate Burmese seeking to doso have been turned away from their embassy in Singapore.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/03/AR2008050301755.html

-Democrat Wins La. Special Election
State Rep. Don Cazayoux won the special election in Louisiana's 6th districtyesterday, a victory that marks the second time this year that Democratshave won a seat previously held by a Republican.
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/05/democrats_win_la_special_elect.html?hpid=sec-politics


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

-IN MY OPINION | LEONARD PITTS JR.
The messenger who killed the message
My cousin thinks Jeremiah Wright walks on water.
He is a minister, my cousin, and for years, whenever I've visited him inChicago, he has asked the same question: Have I ever attended one of Rev.Wright's services? When I said no, he would lecture me on the wonderfulnessof Wright, the innovative ministries he has started, the liberation theologyhe preaches. I owed it to myself, my cousin would say, to hear him speak.
http://www.miamiherald.com/851/story/518864.html


=
PRICES OF GAS AROUND THE WORLD
Prices are quoted in US dollars per gallon for regular unleaded. March 1,2008
Oslo, Norway $6.82
Hong Kong $6.25
Brussels, Belgium $6.16
London, UK $5.96
Rome, Italy $5.80
Tokyo, Japan $5.25
Sao Paulo, Brazil $4.42
New Delhi, India $3.71
Sidney , Australia $3.42
Johannesburg, South Africa $3.39
Mexico City $2.22
Buenos Aires , Argentina $2.09
... YOU'RE GONNA LOVE THIS ...
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia $0.09
Kuwait $0.08
Caracas , Venezuela $0.12


=

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