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“Avoid Entanglements in the World”
26 Mar 10
NKorea threatens 'nuclear strikes' on SKorea, US
North Korea's military threatened South Korea and the United States on Friday with "unprecedented nuclear strikes" as it expressed anger over a report the two countries plan to prepare for possible instability in the totalitarian country, a scenario it dismissed as a "pipe dream." The North routinely issues such warnings. Diplomats in South Korea and the U.S. have repeatedly called on Pyongyang to return to international negotiations aimed at ending its nuclear programs. "Those who seek to bring down the system in the (North), whether they play a main role or a passive role, will fall victim to the unprecedented nuclear strikes of the invincible army," North Korea's military said in comments carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
South Korean Navy Ship 'Hit By Torpedo'
A South Korean naval vessel with more than 100 aboard was sinking in waters near North Korea after a suspected torpedo attack. Officials in Seoul are investigating whether it was hit in a torpedo attack by the North, according to South Korean media. A rescue operation is under way to save crew members on board. Broadcaster SBS said many South Korean sailors on the stricken vessel were feared dead.
Outbreak of rare disease in the Netherlands
Q-fever. It’s a bacterial infection, transmitted by livestock. Jos van de Sande is an infectious disease expert at the public health department here in the Dutch province of Brabant. He says, usually, only people who work with farm animals are at risk. But something has changed. Now, many people here who have no connection to farms are coming down with Q-fever, and the number of patients is growing. Three years ago, the Netherlands had fewer than 200 cases. Last year, it had more than 2000. At least nine people have died. It’s not clear why the disease is spreading. Jos van de Sande says the bacteria may have mutated."
The Democrats' Hypocrisy Is Staggering
everyone else in the United States -- from the top corporate executives to the grocery store checkout clerk -- will be forced to buy their insurance through heavily regulated state-run exchanges, the health care bill excludes one group: the leadership and committee staff. Yes, that’s right. The very people who wrote up this bill are refusing to be included themselves.
GOP can strangle 'Obamacare'
put a stranglehold on "Obamacare," President Obama's nationalization of health care, simply by cutting off the dollars, according to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Catholics cancel Stupak speech over healthcare vote
The event's president, Michael Sullivan, says he and other Illinois Catholics felt betrayed when the Michigan Democrat set aside abortion concerns to vote for Barack Obama's healthcare bill.
Executive order just 'cover' for pro-life Dems
when he signed the executive order Wednesday, "it was very private because of its lack of popularity," notes Marjorie Dannenfelser of the Susan B. Anthony List. Who was in attendance? A small group of Democratic lawmakers who traded their healthcare vote for Obama's promise of the executive order -- and no media.
Healthcare repeal a 'rallying point' for voters
The day after the U.S. House passed the health care reform legislation, Representative Jerry Moran introduced a bill to repeal the massive measure. Moran says his bill is not 2,000 pages long, like the one that passed -- in fact, it consists of two sentences.
Pope faces new claims of child sex abuse cover-up
Fresh pedophilia cover-up claims hit Pope Benedict XVI as church files suggested he had failed to take action against a US priest accused of molesting up to 200 deaf boys.
Iran says Muslims must act over Jerusalem
Iran attacked Israel's settlement plans in occupied East Jerusalem on Friday, saying Muslims around the world needed to take action.
Gov. Bob McDonnell signs Virginia Health Care Freedom Act
Governor Bob McDonnell (R) signed Virginia’s opposition to the Democratically led federal health care reform bill Wednesday afternoon. The governor put his signature on the Virginia Health Care Freedom Act at a ceremony in Richmond. State Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, State Senators Steve Martin, Fred Quayle, Jill Vogel, Delegate Bob Marshall, and Virginia Secretary of Health and Human Resources Dr. Bill Hazel all took part in the event.
Gov't to Unveil Plan to Shrink Some Home Loans
The Obama administration will announce Friday a plan to reduce the amount some troubled borrowers owe on their home loans, after months of criticism that it hasn't done enough to prevent foreclosures. The effort will let people who owe more on their mortgages than their properties are worth get new loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, people briefed on the plan said. It would be funded by $14 billion from the administration's existing $75 billion foreclosure-prevention program.
Iran says Muslims must act over Jerusalem
Iran attacked Israel's construction plans in east Jerusalem on Friday, saying Muslims around the world needed to take action. ..."This has raised the alarm for all people around the world and doubled the need for Muslim and other countries to act seriously," he said, adding that the 22-nation Arab League should take a strong stance at its meeting in Libya this weekend.
Europe in crisis as debts grow and Germany pursues its own interests, say diplomats
Europe is suffering its worst crisis in a generation because of chronic debts and poor growth combined with a resurgence of national self-interest from Germany, senior figures warned on the eve of the quarterly EU summit today.
Binyamin Netanyahu humiliated after Barack Obama 'dumped him for dinner'
For a head of government to visit the White House and not pose for photographers is rare. For a key ally to be left to his own devices while the President withdraws to have dinner in private was, until this week, unheard of. Yet that is how Binyamin Netanyahu was treated by President Obama on Tuesday night, according to Israeli reports on a trip viewed in Jerusalem as a humiliation.
Half of U.S. Home Loan Modifications Default Again
More than half of U.S. borrowers who received loan modifications on delinquent mortgages defaulted again after nine months, according to a federal report. The re-default rate of loans modified in the first quarter of 2009 was 51.5 percent by the end of the year, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision said in a joint report today.
Social Security to See Payout Exceed Pay-In This Year
The bursting of the real estate bubble and the ensuing recession have hurt jobs, home prices and now Social Security. This year, the system will pay out more in benefits than it receives in payroll taxes, an important threshold it was not expected to cross until at least 2016, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Cuban leader applauds US health-care reform bill
It perhaps was not the endorsement President Barack Obama and the Democrats in Congress were looking for. Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro on Thursday declared passage of American health care reform "a miracle" and a major victory for Obama's presidency, but couldn't help chide the United States for taking so long to enact what communist Cuba achieved decades ago.
Cantor Says Campaign Office Was Shot At, Accuses Dems of Exploiting Threats
Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor said Thursday that his Richmond campaign office has been shot at and that he's received "threatening e-mails" -- but at the same time the House minority whip accused top Democrats of trying to exploit the threats they've been receiving for "political gain." Cantor said "a bullet was shot through the window" of his campaign office.
'Osama Bin Laden threatens retaliation over 9/11 trial'
A message said to be from Osama Bin Laden threatens to kill Americans if the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks is executed by the US. Al-Jazeera news channel broadcast an audiotape reportedly from the al-Qaeda leader talking about Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other suspects. The tape said that if the US made the decision to execute, al-Qaeda would also "execute" anyone it captured.
Vatican attacks media on 'Pope role' in sex abuse cases
The Vatican has attacked the media over charges that the Pope failed to act against a US priest accused of abusing up to 200 deaf boys two decades ago. A Vatican newspaper editorial said the claims were an "ignoble" attack on the Pope and that there was no "cover-up". Archbishops had complained about Fr Lawrence Murphy in 1996 to a Vatican office led by the future pope, but apparently received no response.
Mexican drug gangs 'spread to every region of US'
Mexican drug gangs have expanded their activities in the US with heroin production doubling in 2008, the US justice department says in a report. Despite huge US funding for the war on drugs, trade in marijuana, ecstasy and methamphetamine also grew, according to the National Drug Threat Assessment. The report found that Mexican groups were active in every region of the US.
Final vote approves US healthcare bill amendments
A package of amendments to the landmark US healthcare reform law, which extends coverage to 32 million more Americans, has passed its final Congress vote. The US House of Representatives backed amendments by 220 votes to 207. The vote was needed after a number of Republican objections. The Senate earlier voted for the package by 56-43. Two points, which Democrats say are minor, were deleted.
Greek crisis is 'tip of the iceberg,' Chinese official says
A senior Chinese official entered the debate on the heath of Europe's economy on Thursday (25 March) saying the current crisis surrounding Greece should not be seen as an isolated problem. "Greece is only one case, but it's only a tip of the iceberg," People's Bank of China Deputy Governor Zhu Min told an investment forum in Hong Kong.
All eurozone states to contribute to Greek bail-out
All eurozone states have signaled their willingness to contribute to a potential Greek bail-out, with the region's leaders hammering out an agreement late on Thursday night (25 March). The exact details of how Athens would successfully trigger the new mechanism remain to be ironed out however, with any application for funds from the joint eurozone-IMF pot requiring unanimous euro member approval "based on an assessment by the European Commission and the European Central Bank."
Commission pressed to protect work-free Sundays
A third of euro-deputies have signed an appeal urging the European Commission to include work-free Sundays into an upcoming review of EU rules on working time, with the responsible commissioner pledging to "take into account" these views in his proposals due this autumn. "Currently, it is up to member states to define Sunday as their weekly resting day, and in doing so, by taking into consideration cultural, ethnic and religious diversity," EU employment commissioner Laszlo Andor told MEPs during a conference organised by the parliament's centre-right group in support of work-free Sundays.
'Dispute won't harm $3b. aid to Israel'
The congresswoman who oversees US aid to Israel told The Jerusalem Post Thursday that the ongoing dispute between the countries would in no way harm assistance to the Jewish state. "There is no question in my mind that the 10-year memorandum of understanding is solid," Nita Lowey, chairwoman of the US House appropriations subcommittee on foreign operations, said of the decade-long US aid plan under which $3 billion will be going toIsrael this year. "There is strong bipartisan support for Israel in the Congress that will not falter."
