NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST - August 28, 2008

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

-Obama Wins Nomination; Biden and Bill Clinton Rally Party
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/28/us/politics/28DEMSDAY.html?hp

-Johnson's Dream, Obama's Speech
Barack Obama's speech - and in a way his whole candidacy - might not havebeen possible had President Lyndon Johnson's address to Congress in 1965 notbeen given.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/28/opinion/28caro.html?ref=opinion

-The Kerry Surprise
The instant reviews of the convention's third night are in. And theconsensus judgment in blogdom is that Joe Biden was good, but that JohnKerry - yes, that John Kerry - was better.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/28/the-kerry-surprise/index.html?ref=opinion

-McCain Has Made His Pick and Is Set to Tell on Friday
Senator John McCain has decided on his running mate, two Republicanstrategists in contact with Mr. McCain's campaign said Wednesday. He isexpected to reveal his choice at 11 a.m. Friday at a rally at a basketballarena in Dayton, Ohio.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/28/us/politics/28repubs.html

-A Bad Idea From the L.P.G.A.
The Ladies Professional Golf Association's new rule that requires athletesto prove that they are conversant in English is self-destructive.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/28/opinion/28thu4.html?ref=opinion

-Editorial: Why Did Darryl Die?
Two years after a child died there, the Justice Department is conducting amuch-needed investigation of New York's Tryon Boys Residential Center, ajuvenile facility in upstate Fulton County. The investigation could take ayear or more to complete. But it has already shined a klieg light ondisastrous juvenile justice policies, not just in New York, but all acrossthe country.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/28/opinion/28thu2.html?ref=opinion

-Russia Adopts Blustery Tone Set by Envoy
MOSCOW - Here is one measure of the aggressive shift in Russian foreignpolicy in recent weeks: Dmitri O. Rogozin, Russia's representative to NATO,a finger-wagging nationalist who hung a poster of Stalin in his newambassadorial office, is not sounding so extreme any more.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/28/world/europe/28moscow.html?hp

-U.S.-Pakistani Brainstorming on Border Violence
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff secretly convened a highly unusualmeeting of senior American and Pakistani commanders on an aircraft carrierin the Indian Ocean on Tuesday to discuss how to combat the escalatingviolence along the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/28/washington/28policy.html?hp

-Attack on Police Bus Kills 6 in Pakistan
A car bomb apparently planted by Taliban insurgents blew up a police bus innorthwest Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least six policemen, securityofficials said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/29/world/asia/29pstan.html?hp

-New Orleans Girds for Another Storm
An unsettling sense of the past repeating itself pervaded this city onWednesday as Tropical Storm Gustav crept this way through the Caribbean, twodays before Hurricane Katrina's third anniversary.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/28/us/28storm.html

-As Arctic Sea Ice Melts, Experts Expect New Low
The National Snow and Ice Data Center has reported that sea ice in theArctic now covers about 2.03 million square miles. The lowest point sincesatellite measurements began in 1979 was 1.65 million square miles, lastSeptember.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/28/science/earth/28seaice.html


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

-Convention Cheat Sheet: Day 3
After two nights of mixed results, the third night of the DemocraticNational Convention delivered just what Democrats were looking for:reconciliation between the Obamas and the Clintons, an historic presidentialnomination, and a startling kiss.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/08/convention_cheat_sheet_day_3.html

-For Veteran Speaker, Challenge of a Lifetime
On anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, Obama willaccept nomination in a highly anticipated address.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/27/AR2008082704005.html?hpid=topnews

-Kerry: I don't recognize my former friend, McCain
Sen. John Kerry, the one-time presidential nominee whose campaign crumbledunder attacks on his military service and consistency, told fellow Democratson Wednesday that he doesn't recognize Republican John McCain, a man he onceconsidered as a runningmate.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/27/AR2008082703642.html?hpid=sec-politics

-Women at Center Stage
Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton have set the tone for the comingcampaign.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/27/AR2008082702997.html

-Tough Decision Coming
Barack Obama is inching away from his party's orthodoxy on Fannie Mae andFreddie Mac.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/27/AR2008082703021.html

-Charlie Wilson's Peace
Russia's invasion of Georgia has led to a more serious foreign policydiscussion in the presidential campaign. As tensions rise in the Caucasusand violence once again erupts in Afghanistan, we should recall the lessonswe learned from our response to earlier Russian adventurism. We mustrecognize now, as we learned years ago, that a strong military alone is notenough to ensure our long-term national security.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/27/AR2008082702999.html

-Russia's Delusion
A flurry of presidential statements on Georgia mix lies with a dangerous newdoctrine. IN TIME WITH Russia's unilateral recognition of the independenceof the two Georgian provinces it invaded this month, President DmitryMedvedev issued a statement, penned an op-ed and granted an unusual flurryof interviews. His intent was to justify Moscow's latest provocation of theWest, which has been united in condemnation -- as was demonstrated yesterdayby a statement by the Group of Seven industrial nations. Instead Mr.Medvedev merely revealed the dangerously arrogant and reckless mood thatseems to have overtaken the Kremlin in recent weeks.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/27/AR2008082702996.html

-The Summer Gap
Poor children should not return to school already behind. A NEW SCHOOL YEARis beginning, and students are returning to classrooms with stories of howthey spent the summer. Many will talk of taking trips to historic places,having fun at summer camps or learning new skills. But an idyllic summer isa myth, not the norm, for most low-income children. For them, the end ofschool is the end of opportunity and a loss of academic skills that leads tothem entering September already behind their better-off peers. Efforts toclose America's achievement gap would be helped if more attention andresources were directed to these crucial summer months.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/27/AR2008082703001.html

-Only a Two-Page 'Note' Governs U.S. Military in Afghanistan
For the past six years, military relations between the United States andAfghanistan have been governed by a two-page "diplomatic note" giving U.S.forces virtual carte blanche to conduct operations as they see fit.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/27/AR2008082703628.html?hpid=sec-nation


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

-If Gustav threatens Gulf Coast, gas prices could start rising again
The brief respite for consumers at the gasoline pump may come to an abruptend if Tropical Storm Gustav slams into the petroleum-rich Gulf Coast andits numerous refineries, just as Americans begin packing up cars for theLabor Day weekend.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/sfl-flzgustavgas0828sbaug28,0,379735.story


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

-BARACK OBAMA: Vision of a better America becoming a reality
By LEONARD PITTS JR.
He spoke of the promise before he spoke of the dream. In the first part ofthe momentous speech he gave at the Lincoln Memorial, the part schoolchildren don't memorize and pundits never quote, Martin Luther King, Jr.reminded a watching world that in writing the Constitution and theDeclaration of Independence, the founders were ``signing a promissory noteto which every American was to fall heir.
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/660124.html

-DIPLOMACY: Helping Burma's nonviolent struggle
Once again, the news from Burma rings with echoes of despair. The latestmission from the international community has ended in embarrassment -- notfor the despotic generals who rule Burma (renamed Myanmar by itsillegitimate regime) -- but for the United Nations and its ineffectualefforts. It seems no one who matters wants to waste any more time meetingwith the U.N. envoy. Now, unconfirmed reports say the iconic leader of thepro-democracy opposition, Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, may have starteda hunger strike. Once again, Burma stands like a conscience-searing mirageon the Asian horizon, reminding us of our failure to help the mostdesperate.
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/661850.html


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Detroit News
http://detnews.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:

-Gays make strides in legislative races by Deb Price
In 2000, after being elected to the Colorado State Board of Education,Internet entrepreneur and philanthropist Jared Polis saw up-close thefailure of public schools to meet the needs of new immigrant and homelessyoung people. Tapping into the inventiveness that made him rich in thee-commerce world, Polis founded two charter schools for immigrant andhomeless youth, and spearheaded the passage of a state constitutionalamendment to prevent cuts to K-12 education.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080825/OPINION03/808250338/1031


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Inside Higher Education
http://www.insidehighered.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:

-'Unprecedented' 2-Year Decline for U.S. Science Funds
The numbers will not surprise anyone who has closely tracked federal budgetdiscussions about science and technology in recent years. But that won'tmake the data released Friday by the National Science Foundation any morepalatable for those concerned about the American research enterprise.
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/08/25/r_d


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

-Dixie Turning Blue
Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner's tepid keynote address to the Democraticconvention Tuesday night was little noted and will not be long remembered.But it was important in signaling new Democratic political hopes in theSouth.
http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3882/

-The GOP smear machine revs up
BARACK OBAMA can deliver a brilliant speech tonight, but its impact couldevaporate within days. John McCain and his allies have opened the 2008 SwiftBoating season. Four years ago, a smear outfit called Swift Boat Veteransfor Truth began trashing John Kerry's Vietnam War record. Kerry was neverthe same.
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/2008/08/28/the_gop_smear_machine_revs_up/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Today%27s+paper+A+to+Z

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