NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST - July 05, 2008

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

-Despair Drives Suicide Attacks by Iraqi Women
By ALISSA J. RUBIN
In Diyala Province, a trend of bombings by women may be due partly tosuccesses in fighting a terrorist group.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/05/world/middleeast/05diyala.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

-Cause for Alarm
BY BOB HERBERT
Symbols of patriotism have replaced the hard work and sacrifice required tokeep a great nation great.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/05/opinion/05herbert.html?ref=opinion

-As Gas Prices Soar, Elderly Face Cuts in Aid
By JOHN LELAND
Fuel costs have stifled agencies that deliver meals to or providetransportation for senior citizens.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/05/us/05elderly.html?hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1215263562-KgFJrwo0tsRqO01vjIEIyw

-Jesse Helms, Beacon of Conservatism, Dies at 86
Jesse Helms, the former North Carolina senator with the courtly manner andmossy drawl who turned his hard-edged conservatism against civil rights, gayrights, foreign aid and modern art, died early Friday. He was 86. [...]Perhaps his most visible accomplishments in the Senate came two decadesapart. One was a 1996 measure that tightened trade sanctions against theMarxist government of Fidel Castro in Cuba. The other, a 1973 amendment tothe Foreign Assistance Act, prevented American money from going tointernational family planning organizations that, in his words, "provide orpromote" abortion. He also introduced amendments to reduce or eliminatemoney for foreign aid, welfare programs and the arts.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/05/us/politics/05helms.html?hp

-Burial Exposes Racial Rift in Texas
The corpse of a white woman whose 2007 killing barely made headlines is nowat the center of a peculiar racial conflict over the desegregation of thecemeteries in a rural Texas county.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/05/us/05race.html

-Early Hitch for Ambitions of San Francisco's Mayor
Gavin Newsom, the popular and telegenic mayor of San Francisco, declaredthis week that he was forming an exploratory committee to consider a run forgovernor in 2010. His move was not surprising: convincingly re-elected lastfall, Mr. Newsom, a Democrat, is riding a wave of local adoration. Hisembrace of same-sex marriage, and the California Supreme Court's ruling inMay legalizing the marriages, also put him in the national spotlight.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/05/us/05newsom.html

-In Montana, Obama Tries to Rally Support on Iraq
As he finished a weeklong tour of states that have voted Republican inrecent presidential races, Senator Barack Obama said on Friday that thenation had "hit a crossroads and we've got to make a fast turn," urgingvoters at an Independence Day celebration to support his candidacy if theywanted to end the war in Iraq.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/05/us/politics/05obama.html

-Beliefs: Obama Sets Off a Debate on Ties Between Religion and Government
On Tuesday, Senator Barack Obama did his best to reclaim for Democrats theidea of partnerships between government and grass-roots religious groups -and except for six little words he did a very smooth job.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/05/us/05beliefs.html

-White House Memo: Tiptoeing on Bush and Convention
What if your family was planning a big end-of-summer bash (a Grand OldParty, you might call it) but preferred that you not be seen - or heard?That is the question hanging over President Bush, with eight weeks to gountil Republicans gather in St. Paul to nominate Senator John McCain as hissuccessor. Convention planners, the White House and the McCain campaign arewrestling with how to choreograph a proper send-off for Mr. Bush - sure, hispoll numbers are in the tank, but he is still the party leader and presidentof the United States - while hustling him out the door in time for Mr.McCain to look like his own man.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/05/us/politics/05memo.html


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

-Two Speeches, Two Truths About America
Sen. Barack Obama's speech on patriotism this week at the Truman MemorialBuilding in Independence, Mo., stands in sharp relief to FrederickDouglass's Fourth of July oration before the Rochester Ladies' Anti-SlaverySociety in 1852. The two men's remarks, touching on loyalty, race and thecountry's moral foundation, underscore the difference 150 years has made inthe life of our nation.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/04/AR2008070402088.html

-Crackdown in Zimbabwe Conducted From the Top
In aftermath of March 29 election loss, Mugabe decides to rely on themilitary to prosecute a campaign against opposition, new details reveal.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/04/AR2008070402771.html?hpid=topnews


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

-Serena v. Venus
The Williams sisters' first coach talks about his 'discovery' just beforethe two faceoff for the Wimbledon title today.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/tennis/sfl-flspbricker0705sbjul05,0,2148122.column


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

-SUPREME COURT: Guns create more tragedy than safety
The Supreme Court has spoken: Thanks to the court's blockbuster 5 to 4decision Thursday, Washingtonians now have the right to own a gun forself-defense. I leave the law to lawyers, but the public health lesson iscrystal clear: The legal ruling that the residents of Washington, D.C., cankeep loaded handguns in their homes doesn't mean that they should.
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other_views/story/594337.html

-U.S. DOLLAR: It's amazing how far we have fallen
Paris was hardly empty of U.S. visitors last week. But there were far fewerAmerican voices than in past years, and the ones you heard were sayingthings like, ``It's so ex-PEN-sive!'' The U.S. dollar -- which once carriedthe adjective ''mighty'' before it -- is now a shadow of its formerswaggering self. In 2000, one U.S. dollar could buy 1.21 euros, the then-newEuropean currency. Now, one euro equals about $1.56. Another downhill markerwas reached in March, when the combined gross domestic product of the 15countries that use the euro passed that of the United States.
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other_views/story/594351.html

-Obama courts evangelical Christian vote
The Rev. Joel Hunter, pastor of a Florida mega-church and a Republican whovoted twice for George W. Bush, was among 30 religious leaders invited to aprivate meeting with the 2008 presidential nominee. The Democratic nominee, that is.
http://www.miamiherald.com/418/story/594273.html


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

-Black Republican group uses MLK to promote itself
A black Republican group has put up billboards in Florida and South Carolinasaying the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was a Republican, a claim that blackleaders say is ridiculous.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FL_KING_BLACK_REPUBLICANS_FLOL-?SITE=FLPET&SECTION=HOME

-Obama's Odds
Despite poll data that seem to forecast a big Democratic win, most analystsprivately expect another close race. If you believe the Intrade bettingodds, Barack Obama has a 65 percent chance of beating John McCain inNovember. Similarly, in the Iowa Electronic Markets, Obama has a 64 per-centchance of winning. Indeed, a look at much of the polling data might lead oneto conclude that Obama does in fact have a 2-1 chance of becoming the nextpresident. And yet most trial heats show the presumptive Democratic nomineewith an advantage of just 4 to 6 percentage points--a fairly insignificantedge and certainly not one to warrant such favorable odds.
http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/cr_20080705_5728.php

-Obama may accept nomination at Invesco Field
Barack Obama's campaign is considering having him accept the Democraticpresidential nomination at Invesco Field at Mile High instead of the PepsiCenter, the chosen site for the Democratic National Convention, two peoplewith knowledge of convention planning said Thursday. The two spoke oncondition of anonymity because nothing has been confirmed.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/04/post_135_n_110893.html

-What John McCain didn't learn in Vietnam
In spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, the former POW insists wecould have won. No wonder he talks of occupying Iraq for a century. Nobodyhas denigrated the service of John McCain or his suffering in captivity as aprisoner of North Vietnam, as much as his supporters wish to pretend thatsomeone did. Nobody has denied that his valor in captivity offers insightinto his character. But so far almost nobody has asked the most importantquestion about McCain's military experience, which is how his past mightinfluence his future as president.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2008/07/04/mcain_vietnam/

-Bush's Legacy and the Damage Done
With President Bush attending his last G8 summit in Japan, it is a good timeto assess the foreign policy legacy of his Administration-and what a legacy!From the Middle East to Latin America to Europe to South Asia, Bush'spolicies have created multiple disasters.
http://www.progressive.org/mag/wxap070308

-Jesse Helms, John McCain and the Mark of the White Hands
Jesse Helms was a segregationist, and a nasty one at that. Long after hiscontemporaries abandoned old "Jim Crow," Helms kept playing the race cardwhen it served him politically. And when he was not picking onAfrican-Americans, he picked on ethnic minorities, immigrants, tradeunionists and gays and lesbians.
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat/334586

-Why Barack Obama may be lonely in 2009
What Europe wants now: right-wing leaders with left-wing ideas
When Barack Obama lands in Europe for his first big international tour thismonth, the Democratic presidential candidate may be shocked to find himselfstanding in the middle of a vast, blood-soaked plain littered with thebodies of his political allies.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080705.wreckoning0405/BNStory/International/home?cid=al_gam_mostview

-Decider on the High Court
The most dramatic stories in any field of competitive endeavor are thosethat recount events that almost never happened. It's the scoreless ballgamesthat end with a walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth that linger in thepsyches of winners and losers -- not the 9-3 walkovers.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/04/AR2008070402090.html

-Decision 2008: Muslims feel ignored by McCain, Obama
Dr. Abdul Raheman Nakadar, a retired cardiologist and political activist,says he finds a particular aspect of the 2008 campaign for the U.S.presidency curious. Why, Nakadar asks, are the campaigns of Senators BarackObama and John McCain not reaching out to Muslim leaders in Metro Detroit,like campaigns in elections past, to arrange for public meetings andcampaign appearances?
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080705/POLITICS01/807050354&imw=Y

-Environmentalists gird for battle with Bush over rule changes
Environmentalists are bracing for a final battle with the Bushadministration over its efforts to weaken clean water, air and toxic wasteregulations before a new president moves into the White House.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/environment/2008-07-05-bush-environment_N.htm?csp=34

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