NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST - July 25, 2008

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

-U.S. Expands Visa Program for Iraqi Allies
By ALISSA J. RUBIN
The 10-fold expansion of a system to help threatened Iraqi employees obtainU.S. visas and ultimately citizenship comes after criticism over delays.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/25/world/middleeast/25visa.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

-Obama, Vague on Issues, Pleases Crowd in Europe
By STEVEN ERLANGER
Many Europeans see Barack Obama's candidacy as a sign of hope for a moreflexible, less ideological America. Governments and politicians are not sosure.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/25/us/politics/25assess.html?hp

-Iraqi Athletes 'Unlikely' to Be at Olympics
The International Olympic Committee said Thursday that it was "very unlikely" that Iraqi athletes would compete at the Beijing Games becausethe Iraqi government refused to reinstate the country's official Olympiccommittee in time to officially submit most of their names.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/25/sports/olympics/25athletes.html?hp

-Op-Ed Columnist: Playing Innocent Abroad
DAVID BROOKS
Radical optimism is America's contribution to the world. The early settlersthought America's founding would bring God's kingdom to earth. John Adamsthought America would emancipate "the slavish part of mankind all over theearth." Woodrow Wilson and George W. Bush preached their own gospels ofworld democracy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/25/opinion/25brooks.html?ref=opinion

-Oil Spill on Nearly 100 Miles of Mississippi River
A sheen of oil coated the Mississippi River for nearly 100 miles from thecenter of this city to the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday following the worstoil spill here in nearly a decade. The fuel-laden barge that collided with aheavy tanker on Wednesday was still leaking.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/25/us/25spill.html?hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1216988466-1UAc33R2PHkNC3VJqjFQAA


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

-Pittsburgh Cancer Center Warns of Cell Phone Risks
The head of a prominent cancer research institute issued an unprecedentedwarning to his faculty and staff Wednesday: Limit cell phone use because ofthe possible risk of cancer. The warning from Dr. Ronald B. Herberman,director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, is contrary tonumerous studies that don't find a link between cancer and cell phone use,and a public lack of worry by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/23/AR2008072302881.html?hpid=sec-health

-South African Named U.N. Commissioner for Human Rights
UNITED NATIONS, July 24 -- South African judge Navanethem Pillay was namedThursday as the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, culminating aremarkable ascent for a lawyer who was once barred from entering a judge'schamber during South Africa's apartheid era because of the color of herskin.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/24/AR2008072403505.html?hpid=sec-world

-No Drilling, No Vote
Speaker Pelosi won't let the House debate the merits of offshore drilling.
WHY NOT have a vote on offshore drilling? There's a serious debate to be hadover whether Congress should lift the ban on drilling in the OuterContinental Shelf that has been in place since 1981. Unfortunately, youwon't be hearing it in the House of Representatives -- certainly, you won'tfind lawmakers voting on it -- anytime soon.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/24/AR2008072403506.html


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

-Investigators say State Department needs to overhaul the passportapplication process
The State Department urgently needs to overhaul the way it handles passportapplications to avoid a repeat of the massive backlogs last summer thatfrustrated countless travelers, congressional investigators concluded. Theysaid the department must develop a "comprehensive, long-term strategy" tomeet rising demand for the identity documents. The Associated Press obtaineda draft copy Thursday of the report by the Government Accountability Office,the investigative arm of Congress, ahead of its expected release Friday.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/ats-ap-passport-messjul25,0,1059391.story

-Romania proposes law allowing under-15s to have abortion at 24 weeks
BUCHAREST, Romania - Romania's health ministry says it has proposed a lawallowing under-15s to have an abortion at up to 24 weeks. Currentlegislation does not allow for abortions beyond 14 weeks, except to save awoman's life and in the case of extraordinary circumstances. Thecircumstances are not specified in the law.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/health/sfl-0725romanianlaw,0,1006368.story

-Afghanistan a land impossible to conquer
Gather 'round the fire and hear, the sad tale of Najibullah. Let this be awarning to invaders, and those who kill believing Muslims. OK, back toWestern-speak: In 1979, when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, MuhammadNajibullah was 32. The KGB put him in charge of the KHAD, the local secretpolice. Najibullah exceeded his masters' expectations, torturing and killingtens of thousands. As a reward, the Soviets named him their puppetpresident, then withdrew, leaving him alone to fight the U.S.-backedMujahaddin - including one Osama bin Laden. Eventually, Najibullah's forceswere pushed from the countryside to Kabul, after which the rebels, known asthe Taliban, captured the city. They beat and castrated Najibullah, hanginghis blood-soaked body from a lamppost.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-rpcol25sbjul25,0,7479360.column

-Barack Obama has a 10 to 1 advantage over John McCain in expatriate
donations from Europe
Barack Obama's campaign has received roughly 10 times more
money from declared U.S. donors living in Germany, France and Britain thanhis Republican rival, reflecting his popularity in Europe as he makes hisfirst tour of the continent as the presumed Democratic nominee. FederalElection Commission reports show Obama has raised at least $1 million fromdonors who identify themselves as Americans living in Great Britain, Germanyand France, while John McCain has taken in at least $150,000.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/ats-ap-britain-obama-moneyjul25,0,1090433.story

-Boys aren't better than girls at math, study says
The notion that boys are better than girls at math simply doesn't add up,according to a study published today in the journal Science.An analysis of standardized test scores from more than 7.2 million studentsin grades 2 through 11 found no difference in math scores for girls andboys, contradicting the pervasive belief that most women aren't hard-wiredfor careers in science and technology. The study also undermined theassumption - infamously espoused by former Harvard University PresidentLawrence Summers in 2005 - that boys are more likely than girls to be mathgeniuses. Girls scored in the top 5 percent almost as often as boys, thedata showed. "Both parents and teachers continue to hold the stereotypethat boys are better than girls," said psychologist Janet Hyde of theUniversity of Wisconsin at Madison, who led the study. "That's just notaccurate.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/health/sfl-flamath0725sbjul25,0,576321.story


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

-FUJIMORI TRIAL: Peru setting standards for justice
Little noticed by the international press, the historic trial of formerPeruvian President Alberto Fujimori for gross violations of human rights isnow under way before a special chamber of the Supreme Court in Lima. How thetrial turns out -- and how it is conducted -- will send important messagesabout the apacity of national courts in Latin America and elsewhere tobring repressive eaders to justice.
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/617194.html


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MoveOn.Org
http://www.moveon.org/
Go to the links for the following articles:

Big news! Your petition signature telling FOX to stop their racist smearsagainst the Obamas had a really exciting day on Wednesday. Here's whathappened:
1:00 p.m. Your signature was printed off at a New York City Kinko's alongwith 620,126 others-filling 19 big boxes.
2:00 p.m. The signatures were piled in front of FOX's national headquartersat 6th Avenue and 48th Street.
3:15 p.m. Hip hop star Nas (whose new album had just risen to #1 on theBillboard charts hours earlier) joined over 100 activists and delivered thepetitions to FOX on behalf of ColorOfChange, MoveOn, and Brave New Films.
3:30 p.m. FOX refused to accept the petitions. (Sometimes, the truth hurts.)
4:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. News of FOX's racism and the star-studded petitiondelivery made its way around the world-with stories in Rolling Stone,Billboard, USA Today, Associated Press, Reuters, India Express, HuffingtonPost, MTV, OpenLeft, and over 200 other places.
11:30 p.m. Stephen Colbert welcomed Nas as his guest on the Colbert Reportand dedicated over half of his show to FOX's racism. The boxes containingour signatures were stacked prominently on Colbert's set in place of hisnormal interview table and chairs-and he conducted the entire interviewsurrounded by petitions! Then, Nas performed his new song "Sly Fox," whichis all about FOX's racism.
12:00 a.m. Several MoveOn staffers, jaws dropped open, get on the phone andengage in several rounds of, "Wow!" :) Since then, the news has keptspreading around the world. You sent a message to FOX, and that message wasvery much received! And the fight's not over. We'll continue to push backtogether against FOX's racism and their smears against Obama. But for now,enjoy the video of Wednesday's petition delivery-led by our friends atColorOfChange-and the video of Colbert. Both videos are at this link:
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3980&id=13325-5533006-GhbjPWx&t=4


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Pew Research center
http://pewresearch.org/
Go to this link for the following articles:

-The Hispanic Vote
Latinos Overwhelmingly Support Obama and Democrats in 2008
A new Pew Hispanic Center survey finds the presumptive Democratic nomineenow has a strong lead among Hispanics, a sharp reversal from the primarieswhen Obama lost the Latino vote to Hillary Clinton by a nearly two-to-oneratio. In addition, the 39-percentage-point Democratic Party identificationedge is larger than it has been at any time this decade, up from 21 pointsin 2006. Read more

-Media Matters
Partisan Split on New Yorker Cover
Fully four-in-ten Americans heard a lot about a satirical cartoon on thecover of the New Yorker magazine. A majority of those who saw it found itoffensive (54%) while few found it funny (27%). Troubles at Fannie Mac andFreddie Mac topped news interest, and the public was also highly attuned tosuch business stories as bank runs at the IndyMac, the buyout ofAnheuser-Busch and GM cutbacks. Read more

-War Takes Center Stage as Obama (and Media) Move Overseas
In a week that began with speeches on foreign policy by both candidates andended with Barack Obama traveling to the Middle East, the wars in Iraq andAfghanistan, in various dimensions, retook center stage in the campaign forthe presidency. Read more

-All Politics is Local: Social Issues Crowd State Ballots
More proposals that would appeal to conservative voters than to liberals areshowing up in 2008, but there is no consensus on whether ballot measurestend to drive enough voters to the polls to give an advantage to apresidential candidate, finds a special report to the Pew Research Centerfrom Stateline.org. Read more

-Daily Number: 87% - Blacks Are The Most Religious Americans
Of all the major racial and ethnic groups in America, blacks are the mostlikely to report a formal religious affiliation, and even among black adultswho are unaffiliated (12%), more than two-thirds (70%) say that religion issomewhat or very important in their lives. Check back every weekday foranother number in the news. Read more


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Inside Higher Education
http://www.insidehighered.com/

-Defining Political Correctness and Its Non-Impact
A major new study of the political correctness of faculty members maychallenge assumptions all around. For those who deny that there is anidentifiable group of PC professors, the study says that there is in fact agroup with consistently common perspectives, largely based on their views ofdiscrimination (that it exists and matters).
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/07/25


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

-Mich. GOP wants McCain-Romney ticket
If he's the running mate, it could help win the state in November, officialssay. The growing relationship between once-bitter adversaries John McCainand Mitt Romney is generating a buzz nationally, and here in Romney's nativestate, about a McCain-Romney presidential ticket this fall.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080725/POLITICS01/807250389

-Secret Service wants more money for candidates
The Secret Service has asked for an extra $9.5 million to cover unexpectedcosts of protecting the presidential candidates during what has turned intoan historic year for the agency's campaign security job.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-07-24-secret-service_N.htm?csp=34

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