NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST - January 05, 2009

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

-Fighting Off Depression
PAUL KRUGMAN
Let's not mince words: This looks an awful lot like the beginning of a second Great Depression. Will we "act swiftly and boldly" enough to stop that from happening? "If we don't act swiftly and boldly," declared President-elect Barack Obama in his latest weekly address, "we could see a much deeper economic downturn that could lead to double-digit unemployment." If you ask me, he was understating the case.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/05/opinion/05krugman.html?ref=opinion

-Why Israel Fights
WILLIAM KRISTOL
An Israeli success in Gaza would be a victory in the war on terror - and in the broader struggle for the future of the Middle East.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/05/opinion/05kristol.html?ref=opinion

-Editorial: A Pitch for Mass Transit
Unlike President Bush, Barack Obama is going to enter office with a clear appreciation of the urgent problems of climate change and America's growing dependency on foreign oil - and a strong commitment to address both.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/05/opinion/05mon2.html?ref=opinion

-Richardson Won't Pursue Cabinet Post
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, President-elect Barack Obama's choice for commerce secretary, withdrew from consideration for that job on Sunday, saying a pending investigation into whether his administration gave lucrative contracts to a political donor would have "forced an untenable delay" in his confirmation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/05/us/politics/05richardson.html?hp

-Kidnappings in Mexico Send Shivers Across Border
By SAM DILLON
FELIPE ANGELES, Mexico - Four hooded men smashed in the door to the adobe home of an 80-year-old farmer here in November, handcuffing his frail wrists and driving him to a makeshift jail. They released him after relatives and friends paid a $9,000 ransom, which included his life savings.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/05/world/americas/05mexico.html?hp

-Pakistan Is Given Evidence on Attacks
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW DELHI (AP) -- India gave Pakistan the most detailed evidence yet that it says ties the militants who attacked Mumbai to ''elements'' in Pakistan -- responding Monday to weeks of demands from Islamabad for proof that the siege was launched from across the border.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/01/05/world/AP-AS-Pakistan-India.html?hp

-For Privacy's Sake, Taking Risks to End Pregnancy
By JENNIFER 8. LEE and CARA BUCKLEY
Amalia Dominguez was 18 and desperate and knew exactly what to ask for at the small, family-run pharmacy in the heart of Washington Heights, the thriving Dominican enclave in northern Manhattan. "I need to bring down my period," she recalled saying in Spanish, using a euphemism that the pharmacist understood instantly.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/05/nyregion/05abortion.html?hp

-Justices' Ruling in Discrimination Case May Draw Quick Action by Obama
By ROBERT PEAR
President-elect Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress are planning swift action to overturn a Supreme Court decision that made it much harder for people to challenge discrimination in employment, education, housing and other fields.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/05/us/politics/05rights.html

-Hezbollah Answers Israel Only With Speeches
By ROBERT F. WORTH
BEIRUT, Lebanon - Over the past week, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, has been delivering furious speeches here almost every day against the Israeli assault on Gaza, and blaming Egypt and other Arab countries for their passivity.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/05/world/middleeast/05hezbollah.html


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

-Kaine Poised To Chair The DNC
By Michael D. Shear
Va. Governor to Hold Position Part Time In Last Year in Office
Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine will become chairman of the Democratic National Committee later this month, serving as the top political messenger for Barack Obama's administration even while finishing his final year in the governor's mansion, several sources said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/04/AR2009010401139.html?hpid=topnews

-MAKING THE DISTRICT HIS HOME
Obama Arrives in Style: Crowds Greet President-Elect at Hotel; Daughters Begin School
With a brief glance out his car window -- barely visible through cordons of Secret Service officers, black SUVs and security barricades -- the soon-to-be leader of the free world bid a brief hello last night to the town he will now call home and to his new neighbors: scores of spectators camped outside his temporary quarters at the Hay-Adams Hotel.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/04/AR2009010401151.html?hpid=topnews

-Obama Photos
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2009/01/04/GA2009010401320.html?hpid=artslot

-Egyptian women break new ground at the mosque
By HADEEL AL-SHALCHI
CAIRO, Egypt -- Amira Khairy is mobbed by housewives kissing her cheeks in greeting as she arrives to give a lesson on reciting the Quran to women at the Al-Sedeeq mosque in a Cairo suburb. Students set up chairs for the class, and soon the hum of chanting female voices fills one of the building's larger chambers.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/04/AR2009010400667.html?hpid=sec-religion


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

-Bush's Last War Crime?
posted by Robert Dreyfuss
The Israeli invasion of Gaza, launched Saturday, might very well be George W. Bush's last and final war crime. For eight years, Bush has coupled unparalled ignorance of the Middle East with supreme arrogance. It is precisely that deadly combination of ignorance and arrogance that is on display now, as a politically motivated Israeli invasion of Gaza unfolds with the full support of the Bush administration.
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/dreyfuss/393521/bush_s_last_war_crime?rel=hp_picks

-Obama and the Inevitable Fight Over Holder
by Steve Kornacki
For an opposition party looking for respect from a new president, the best advice is the same advice that might be given to a freshly arrived prison inmate: Find someone - anyone - and throw a punch. Right away.
http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/obama-and-inevitable-fight-over-holder

-Bush 41 hopes to see son Jeb in White House
Associated Press
Another President Bush? Perhaps so, says former President George H.W. Bush, who has already seen one son, George W., serve in the Oval Office. The nation's 41st president said Sunday that he would like to see a second son, Jeb, be president one day.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/politics/6194157.html


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