NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST - January 19, 2009

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

-Bush's legacy is America's shame
Although Americans would be wary of admitting it to others, we know the wreckage left behind by the outgoing administration
Michael Tomasky
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jan/18/usa-georgebush-obama

-Obama's Daunting Task in Afghanistan
By Aryn Baker / Kabul
Suddenly in Kabul, DJs are in demand. Ball gowns are being brushed off and red, white and blue outfits picked out. American expatriates are debating the relative merits of competing inaugural balls, one hosted by Democrats Abroad, another by the U.S. embassy. Tickets for both are sold out, and for those who are neither Democrats nor American, viewing parties have been planned across the capital. Afghans with access to satellite television are charging car batteries to ensure that not one minute of the inaugural festivities will be lost to the city's chronic power outages. Not even Saturday's suicide car bombing in the capital, which killed four Afghans and one American, has dimmed hopes that Barack Obama's campaign slogan, "Change We Can Believe In," applies just as much in Afghanistan.
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1872563,00.html

-Saudi King to Donate $1B to Rebuild Gaza
By AP/DIANA ELIAS
The Saudi king said Monday his country will donate $1 billion to help rebuild the Gaza Strip after the devastating Israeli offensive and told Israel that an Arab initiative offering peace will not remain on the table forever.
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1872560,00.html

-U.S. gets weak marks on global relations: poll
By Ellen Wulfhorst
The United States is viewed favorably by the majority in only two of 21 other countries with large economies, according to a survey released on Sunday, and it draws the harshest criticism for its foreign policy.
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE50I2OH20090119

-Alcee Hastings expresses irritation with how Pelosi's running the House
U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar, is among the members of Congress who were willing to go on the record for an article in The Hill newspaper that raised concerns about the amount of power being taken by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.In the article, Senior House Democrats have a message for their Speaker: We're mad as hell, and we're only taking it this one last time, the Hill wrote: As congressional Democrats take the lead in responding to the sinking economy, subcommittee and even some full-committee chairmen - who normally wield significant influence in writing legislation - have been forced to wait on the sidelines as monumental bills are written in Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) office. more. . . .
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2009/01/alcee_hastings_expresses_irrit_1.html


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