NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST - July 29, 2008

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

-Report Faults Aides in Hiring at Justice Dept.
Senior aides to former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales broke the law byusing politics to guide their hiring decisions, a Justice Department reportsaid.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/29/washington/29justice.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

-A U.S. Trial by Its Looks, but Only So
At the first trial for a Guantánamo detainee, two trials are unfolding atonce: one for Salim Hamdan and one for the military commission system.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/29/us/29gitmo.html?hp

-The Biggest Issue
DAVID BROOKS
America's stagnation in educational progress threatens the country'slong-term economic and sociological prospects. [...] America rose becauseit got more out of its own people than other nations. That stopped in 1970.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/29/opinion/29brooks.html?ref=opinion

-Editorial: There Was Smoke - and Fire
It was hardly news that President Bush's Justice Department has beenillegally politicized, but it was important that the Justice Departmentfinally owned up to that sorry state of affairs. An internal investigationreleased on Monday found that the department's top staff routinely tookpolitics and ideology into account in filling nonpolitical positions - andlied about it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/29/opinion/29tue1.html?ref=opinion

-Op-Ed Columnist: Can Obama Run the Offense?
Let's see if I've got this straight. Barack Obama is a United Statessenator, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and his party'scandidate for president of the United States - and yet it was somehowpresumptuous of him to meet with foreign leaders last week during his tripto the Middle East and Europe.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/29/opinion/29herbert.html?ref=opinion

-Op-Ed Contributor: Mortgaged to the World
CONGRESS has given the Bush White House yet another chance to operateoutside the Constitution. Unsurprisingly, the administration has taken it.Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson now has the go-ahead for his two-part planto salvage Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored mortgagecompanies - a blueprint that violates fundamental American principles in twoworrisome ways.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/29/opinion/29mayer.html?ref=opinion

-Editorial: Prostitution and Prevention
Child prostitution, a large and growing problem across the United States, isespecially severe in tourist and convention cities. Atlanta, for example,has been identified by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as one of 14American cities with the highest rates of child prostitution. Georgia'slawmakers, religious groups and juvenile justice advocates are taking thisissue very seriously, but they may miss an important opportunity unless theyfocus on programs that have a lasting impact on the lives of Georgia's mostvulnerable children.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/29/opinion/29tue2.html?ref=opinion

-Citizen Foreign Correspondence
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
As a result of the economic crisis facing the news media industry, only fourAmerican newspapers now have foreign desks.
http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/24/citizen-foreign-correspondence/index.html?ref=opinion

-Australia Changes Asylum Policy
SYDNEY - Australia is ending its controversial policy of automatic detentionfor asylum seekers who arrive in the country without visas, the governmentannounced Tuesday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/30/world/asia/30australia.html?hp

-Write-Down Is Planned at Merrill Lynch
Only 10 days after stunning Wall Street with a huge quarterly loss, MerrillLynch unexpectedly disclosed another multibillion-dollar write-down onMonday and sought to bolster its finances once again by selling new stock tothe public and to an investment company controlled by Singapore.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/29/business/29merrill.html?hp

-Syrians See an Economic Side to Peace
DAMASCUS, Syria - Like most Syrians, Samer Zayat has no love for Israel. Hewas a little uneasy when Syria announced in late May that it was holdingindirect talks on a peace settlement with its old nemesis.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/29/world/middleeast/29syria.html

-BP's Profit Rose 28%, Exceeding Expectations
LONDON - BP, the British oil giant, reported a 28 percent rise insecond-quarter profit on Tuesday, exceeding analyst expectations, as crudeoil soared to record levels and natural gas also made big gains.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/30/business/worldbusiness/30oil.html

-Execution by Military Is Approved by President
President Bush on Monday approved the first execution by the military since1961, upholding the death penalty of an Army private convicted of a seriesof rapes and murders more than two decades ago. As commander in chief, thepresident has the final authority to approve capital punishment under theUniform Code of Military Justice, and he did so on Monday morning in thecase of Pvt. Ronald A. Gray, convicted by court-martial for two killings andan attempted murder at Fort Bragg, N.C., the White House said in astatement.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/29/us/29execute.html


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

-Justice Besmirched: How the Bush administration soiled itself
THE LATIN phrase on the seal of the Justice Department loosely means "he whoprosecutes on behalf of justice." During the reign of Monica Goodling and D.Kyle Sampson it also should have read, "Democrats need not apply."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/28/AR2008072802475.html

-McCain promotes drilling for oil off US coast
Republican John McCain said Monday that drilling for oil off the U.S. coastis an essential part of any plan to lower gas prices and reduce dependenceon foreign sources, and he criticized Democrat Barack Obama for opposing it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/28/AR2008072802279.html

-Another Blow To Justice
Another stunning report has documented the bold and illegal influence ofpolitics at the Justice Department over the past eight years. For decades,Republican and Democratic attorneys general had protected from politicalinfluence the hiring of career prosecutors and administrative judges. Therewas an unbroken rule, embodied in law, regulation and department policy,that no political questions would be asked of those who wanted to serve incareer -- as opposed to political -- positions in the department. Wedemanded of our Justice Department, in its core prosecutorial andadjudicative functions, that it be separate from politics. Until the Bushadministration.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/28/AR2008072802467.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

-A Torture Paper Trail
I still find it hard to believe that George W. Bush, to his eternal shameand our nation's great discredit, made torture a matter of hair-splitting,legalistic debate at the highest levels of the U.S. government. But that'sprecisely what he did.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/28/AR2008072802465.html

-Cocaine Finds Africa
West Africa is under attack. The region has become a hub for cocainesmuggling from Latin America to Europe. States that we seldom hear about,such as Guinea-Bissau and neighboring Guinea, are at risk of being capturedby drug cartels in collusion with corrupt forces in government and themilitary.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/28/AR2008072802466.html

-Zimbabwe's Talks
Robert Mugabe's campaign to stay in power continues by other means.
NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN Zimbabwe's government and opposition broke offyesterday four days after they began, which should have surprised no one whohas followed Robert Mugabe's brutal and uncompromising campaign to remain inpower. Since the 84-year-old strongman lost a presidential election March29, his thugs have murdered at least 120 people, including some who weretortured before they died. Villages suspected of supporting the oppositionhave been looted and burned, and humanitarian groups have been prohibitedfrom distributing food. In agreeing to two weeks of talks, opposition leaderMorgan Tsvangirai obtained a commitment that the violence would end and wonthe involvement of international mediators who could help ensure that thepeace was kept. But even that has not stopped the rampage of governmentgoons in the countryside.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/28/AR2008072802474.html

-Mr. Novak Takes Leave
Leaving a hole on our op-ed page
ALONG WITH many readers, we were saddened to learn yesterday that, at leastfor a short while, we won't be receiving any columns from Robert D. Novak topublish on the opposite page. Mr. Novak has been writing a column since1963 -- that's not a typo -- and, to our knowledge, he has never missed adeadline. He revealed yesterday that he has a brain tumor. A lot of testsare yet to be completed, but in a statement, he said that he hopes hisabsence from the op-ed page will be for a "not too lengthy period."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/28/AR2008072802476.html


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

-U.S. Supreme Court rulings made a difference in many lives
Jonah Goldberg complains that the Supreme Court "finds duly elected lawsunconsitutional - six days a week and twice on Sunday." Well, the SupremeCourt has from time to time ruled that blacks were unequal, women could notvote, and on rules that affected Jews, gays, etc.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-br701pnjul29,0,4538163.story

-Private housing index shows home prices dropping by record amountnationwide in May
A closely watched housing index shows home prices fell by the steepest rateever in May, as the housing slump continued to deepen nationwide. TheStandard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city index, released Tuesday, is off 15.8percent for May compared with a year ago, a record decline since itsinception in 2000. The narrower 10-city index has fallen 16.9 percent, itsbiggest decline in its 21-year history.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/ats-ap-home-pricesjul29,0,1764201.story


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

-Bipartisan group's plan on energy to call for OCS drilling
A band of Democrats and Republicans will attempt to break the energystalemate in the House this week with a plan to drill along the OuterContinental Shelf (OCS). The bipartisan group of some 28 legislators -split about evenly between the two parties - has been working behind closeddoors for weeks on a compromise. It is to be circulated among membersTuesday night, then formally rolled out in a news conference Wednesday.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/bipartisan-groups-plan-on-energy-to-call-for-ocs-drilling-2008-07-28.html

-Bush Leaving Next President Record Federal Budget Deficit
The government's budget deficit will surge past a half-trillion dollars nextyear, according to gloomy new estimates, a record flood of red ink thatpromises to force the winner of the presidential race to dramatically alterhis economic agenda.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/28/bush-leaving-next-preside_n_115335.html

-Reid plan splits Dems
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has split the Democratic frontopposed to drilling with a plan that would open new areas for exploration.Reid's proposal was meant to insulate Senate Democratic candidates frompublic anger over gas prices. Instead, it has created a divide with liberalcolleagues and drawn fire from senior House Democrats.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/reid-plan-splits-dems-2008-07-28.html

-Our view on campaign fairness: McCain attack ad cheapens campaign. More tocome?
Blaming Obama for energy crisis is just silly. Focus on solutions. Eversince gasoline prices crossed most people's pain threshold earlier thisyear, the hunt for scapegoats has been in full swing. First it was oilexecutives, who were hauled before congressional committees, just as theyare every time prices go up. Then came speculators, who were supposedlydriving up prices by bidding up the price of oil on commodities markets.
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/07/our-view-on-cam.html

-Oil-spill reminder: A 419,000-gallon lesson for Florida drilling
enthusiasts
If that doesn't bring it home. At 1:30 a.m. on July 23, a 61-foot bargecarrying 419,000 gallons of heavy, stinky, extremely viscous fuel struck a600-foot tanker, split in half, and spilled its cargo on the MississippiRiver in New Orleans, near the city's Uptown neighborhoods. The tankerdidn't leak. The kind of oil spilled on the river, known as No. 6 or"residual" fuel oil, is the heavy gunk that remains after oil has beenrefined for gasoline, diesel, kerosene, jet fuel and lighter home-heatingfuels. No. 6 fuel oil turns to a tarry substance in cool conditions -- likewhen it's in contact with river water. Like crude oil when it spills whereit's not wanted, No. 6 oil is not easily collected and cleaned.
http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/Opinion/Editorials/opnOPN35072908.htm


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

MTV just started accepting political ads. And the first political ad thatmillions of young people will see is a negative attack on BarackObama-saying he's "worse than a flip-flopper" and accusing him of no longerbeing against the war.1 It's outrageous. The Republicans' strategy isclear: kill the hope that's brought millions of new young voters out of thewoodwork. We can't let that happen. And as it turns out, we've got a funny,positive, hopeful way to fight back. The "funniest ad" award winner in ourObama in 30 Seconds contest is a perfect counterpoint to thecynicism-mongering ad on MTV. Plus, it was made by actor (and MoveOn member)Rider Strong. We just found out that we can run this ad on MTV and ComedyCentral (as their first political ad ever) for $150,000. If 6000 of uscontribute $25, we can do it. Can you check out the ad below-and if you likeit, will you chip in to get it on the air?
https://pol.moveon.org/donate/brainonhope.html?id=13345-5533006-st38ZWx&t=4


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Technology Review
http://www.technologyreview.com
Go to the links for the following articles:

Ireland: Tidal Power Comes to Market
The world's first commercial tidal-power system has been connected totheNational Grid in Northern Ireland. Built by the British tidal-energycompanyMarine Current Technologies (MCT), the 1.2-megawatt system consistsof twosubmerged turbines that are harvesting energy from Strangford Lough'stidalcurrents. The company expects that once the system, called SeaGen, is fullyoperational, it will be able to provide electricity to approximatelyonethousand homes. The system is currently being tested and has brieflygenerated 150 kilowattsof power into the grid. But it has also damaged oneof its rotors due to afailure in the control system when the rotor beganturning too fast.Although the problem was a minor setback, the unit is notexpected to startrunning continuously and at full capacity until November,says Peter Fraenkel, the technical director at MCT.
http://www.technologyreview.com/printer_friendly_article.aspx?id=21142&channel=energy§ion

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