Good Morning! - Morning Headlines

Morning headlines (sorry to be so late today) brought to you by

Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com

Top Story

Bush vetoes health and education bill
President Bush, escalating his budget battle with Congress, on Tuesday vetoed a spending measure for health and education programs prized by congressional Democrats. He also signed a big increase in the Pentagon's non-war budget although the White House complained it contained "some unnecessary spending."
It’s just a matter of priorities.

The juxtaposition is priceless.
Yahoo News

The World

Turkish helicopters strike inside Iraq
Turkish helicopter gunships attacked abandoned villages inside Iraq on Tuesday, Iraqi officials said, in the first such strike since border tensions have escalated in recent months.

U.S. finds a way to pacify Iraqi town — by using cash
JURF AL SAKHR, Iraq — In this desolate tiny town in what was once called the Triangle of Death, signs of the violent past mix oddly with evidence of today's more tranquil life… The town is run by deals among its anointed leaders, nearly all of them former Sunni Muslim insurgents. None was elected. No one pays any mind to what might be happening in Iraq’s Shiite-dominated parliament in Baghdad. In fact, … the insurgents-turned-leaders depend on an influx of money from the U.S. or from the provincial government.

U.S. accused of ignoring crisis for 4.5 million displaced Iraqis
The U.S. government is "unforgivably slow" in resettling Iraqi refugees and has failed to coordinate with its Arab allies to address the suffering of an estimated 4.5 million displaced Iraqis, according to a report released Tuesday by a leading Washington-based refugee advocacy group.

Economic woes behind new unrest in Gaza
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - The backdrop to the latest explosion of violence in the Gaza Strip: skeletons of unfinished apartment towers, shuttered factories, empty store shelves and skyrocketing prices for bread and cigarettes.

Iran hands IAEA nuclear blueprints
VIENNA, Austria - Iran has met a key demand of the U.N. nuclear agency, handing over long-sought blueprints showing how to mold uranium metal into the shape of warheads, diplomats said Tuesday.

Troops urged to stop handing prisoners to Afghans
British troops were urged (Tuesday) to stop handing over prisoners to the Afghan authorities amid claims of torture and ill-treatment by the country's intelligence service. 'Coalition' forces were warned they could be in breach of their legal obligations as Amnesty International published a dossier of alleged human rights abuses by the National Directorate of Security (NDS).

Bhutto to remain under detention
LAHORE, Pakistan - A senior official said Wednesday that Benazir Bhutto will remain under house arrest for at least another day, while the Bush administration was sending its No. 2 diplomat to Pakistan to urge President Gen. Pervez Musharraf to rescind emergency rule.

North, South Korean leaders begin talks
SEOUL, South Korea - The prime ministers of North and South Korea met Wednesday for the first time in 15 years, hoping to extend the detente fostered by the second-ever summit of their leaders last month with new South Korean investment in the impoverished North.

Australian opposition launches pitch for office
SYDNEY (AFP) - The man tipped to become Australia's next prime minister officially launched his pitch for office Wednesday with pledges to withdraw combat troops from Iraq and usher in an "education revolution".

Harper promises probe into Mulroney allegations
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who won power in early 2006 by promising to clean up politics, announced a public inquiry on Tuesday into corruption allegations involving one of his mentors.

The Nation

Majority believe Bush has committed impeachable offenses.
A new American Research Group poll finds that 55 percent of voters believe President Bush has “abused his powers” in a manner that rises “to the level of impeachable offenses under the Constitution,” yet just 34 percent believe he should actually be impeached. Fifty-two percent say that Vice President Cheney has similarly abused his powers, with 43 percent supporting impeachment.

Reid threatens funds for Iraq war
WASHINGTON - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday that Democrats won't approve more money for the Iraq war this year unless President Bush agrees to begin bringing troops home.
You’ve folded too many times on this issue, Democrats. We ain’t believin’ until we’re seein’.—Caro

F.B.I. Says Guards Killed 14 Iraqis Without Cause
WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 — Federal agents investigating the Sept. 16 episode in which Blackwater security personnel shot and killed 17 Iraqi civilians have found that at least 14 of the shootings were unjustified and violated deadly-force rules in effect for security contractors in Iraq, according to civilian and military officials briefed on the case.

Next Test for Blackwater
(Blackwater) is one of five military contractors competing for as much as $15 billion over five years to help fight a narcotics trade that the government says finances terrorist groups.

Later Army test finds more mental health issues
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. soldiers are significantly more likely to report mental health problems six months after returning home from combat than on initial assessments, Army researchers said on Tuesday.

U.S. Army reiterates waterboarding ban
With Congress' approval of a new attorney general who refused to describe waterboarding as torture, the U.S. Army has sent out a message to its leaders repeating that the interrogation technique is prohibited in the military. The service issued the Nov. 6 message "to eliminate any confusion that may have arisen as a result of recent public discourse on the subject."

CIA admits to recording interrogations of top al Qaida captives
The CIA has three video and audio recordings of interrogations of senior al Qaida captives but misled federal judges about the evidence during the case against terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui, federal prosecutors revealed in a Nov. 9 court filing that was made public Tuesday. The disclosure that the government taped some interrogations of high-value prisoners could invite fresh scrutiny of the CIA's treatment of so-called "enemy combatants" who were held at secret prisons or U.S. bases overseas.

Homophobic Surgeon General Nominee Reveals Bush Plans To Recess Appoint Him (Think Progress)
President Bush’s controversial Surgeon General nominee, Dr. James Holsinger, has resigned from the board of trustees of the Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, KY… A source in Wilmore tells Bible Belt Blogger that Holsinger is resigning because he expects to be recess appointed as Surgeon General.

A Justice Department inquiry into secret eavesdropping is on again
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has reopened an inquiry into the Bush administration's domestic eavesdropping program after its investigators received security clearances that President Bush once blocked. Tuesday's acknowledgement of the probe by the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility came days after retired federal judge Michael Mukasey was sworn in as attorney general.
Well, this is very good news. But if this investigation was part of some deal between Mukasey and Democrats, why on earth didn’t they tell us that, instead of looking so stupid in confirming him?—Caro

Abramoff Tied GOPer Turns to Former Abramoff Associate for Fundraising (by Paul Kiel, TPM Muckraker)
Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL) is under investigation for his ties to Jack Abramoff, who's still causing plenty of trouble for Republicans, Feeney and Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) most of all. A Scottish golf junket with Abramoff in 2003 is the source of Feeney's problems. But even as Feeney tries to put Abramoff far behind him ("There's no relationship") with the help of a legal defense fund, he can't help himself.
Feeney is the jerk who was going to get the Florida state legislature involved in handing the Florida Electoral College electors to Bush in 2000, if the U.S. Supreme Court hadn’t done it for him. Help his opponent, Clint Curtis, if you can.—Caro

Edwards repeats challenge to Congress on health care in new ad
Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards' latest TV ad -- going on the air today in Iowa -- shows him making a pledge he's talked about a lot lately. If he's president and Congress hasn't passed "universal health care" by July 2009, Edwards says, he would use his "power as president" to take away heath care coverage from members of Congress and his Cabinet.
I love it! Stop all this stupid dilly-dallying and shilly-shallying, and get some things done for the American people.—Caro

Romney, Thompson propose big hikes in defense spending
Republican presidential candidates Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney want to boost defense spending sharply, tying increases to the size of the nation's economy, but analysts argued Tuesday that such a link makes little sense.

Media

Permanent link to MTA daily media news

Daily Kos Founder to Join Newsweek (by Mark 'Rizzn' Hopkins at Mashable)
Markos Moulitas (will) cover the presidential campaign trail for Newsweek as a contributor this season. Moulitas won’t be leaving his post at DailyKos, much to the chagrin of conservative bloggers everywhere, but will be contributing to Newsweek in its presidential coverage, to be balanced by an as of yet to be named conservative pundit as well.
Markos confirms. Interesting that I haven’t seen anything about it in the blogosphere.—Caro

Bob Herbert smacks Brooks too! (by John Amato at Crooks and Liars)
Bob Herbert of the NY Times jumps into the Reagan argument between (Paul) Krugman and (David) Brooks: “Reagan was the first presidential candidate ever to appear at the fair, and he knew exactly what he was doing when he told that crowd, ‘I believe in states’ rights.’ Reagan apologists have every right to be ashamed of that appearance by their hero, but they have no right to change the meaning of it, which was unmistakable.

For The Record (by digby)
I wrote a post the other day discussing Tim Russert's question at the last debate, calling out Clinton for Bill allegedly refusing to release documents from the National Archives… Turns out Russert --- shocking, I know --- was wrong, after all. Here's FactCheck.org: “…Russert was wrong, and so were we. Bill Clinton, in Redmond, called Russert’s question ‘breathtakingly misleading,’ and we now agree. Russert did not respond to requests for comment.”

And They Call Fred Thompson Lazy? (by Liz Cox Barrett at CJR)
(Tuesday), The New York Times’ Patrick Healy brings us a story about Something Bill Clinton Said and how it, like virtually all things Bill Clinton Says, is a Really Big and Meaningful Deal (at least to reporters and certain presidential campaigns). The headline: “That Clinton Boy Defends His Wife and Raises Eyebrows.”… Turns out, Healy had his eyebrows raised for him by the Republican National Committee (realizing it could keep the “Hillary campaign plays gender card - no fair!” concept afloat for another day by flagging this Bill Clinton quote for reporters). And Healy confesses as much right in the middle of his article.

NBC News anchor schmoozes Giuliani, badgers Democrats (by Eric Boehlert, Media Matters for America)
Searching for more proof that celebrity Beltway journalists enjoy warm, friendly relations with Republican presidential hopefuls? Look no further than last week's cozy sit-down between NBC News anchor Brian Williams and GOP front-runner Rudy Giuliani… Williams never asked Giuliani a single uncomfortable question. The treatment stood in stark contrast to the relentless and often factually challenged grilling Williams and his NBC News colleague Tim Russert unleashed on the Democratic front-runner at the Philadelphia debate two weeks ago.

Some Amusing Mendacity From Some Self-Described Conservative Media Watchdogs (by Greg Sargent)
Brent Bozell and Tim Graham … hold up as proof of the media's liberal conspiracy to promote Hillary is (a quote from Margaret Carlson, in which) Carlson was actually mocking Hillary supporters for presenting her in such glowing terms. But Bozell and Graham cheerfully told National Review's readers that Carlson herself had presented her in these terms.

Right Wing Attacks ThinkProgress For Criticizing Global Warming Denial Of ‘TV Weatherman’
On Friday, Newsbusters attacked ThinkProgress for criticizing (Weather Channel founder and global warming denier John) Coleman, claiming we had taken “climate alarmism to absurd degrees.” ThinkProgress, Newsbusters said, should treat Coleman as a “high profile member of the weather reporting community” with legitimate views on climate change… Coleman, a meteorologist, has been rebuked by his parent association, the American Meteorological Association, as well as his “baby,” The Weather Channel.

The War on Christeastgivingdayoween (by Jill at Feministe)
While conservatives are declaring war on the Muslim world, liberals are apparently launching an assault on the holidays.* This time it’s Thanksgiving. Michelle Malkin is in a tizzy because the Seattle School District sent out a letter to its staff letting them know that Thanksgiving may be a difficult time of year for Native students, who for some crazy reason don’t just associate Thanksgiving with turkey and pumpkin pie… Respecting and honoring diversity? Recognizing that people come from diverse backgrounds? Sounds like Communism to me.

Conservative Catholic Group Runs Ads Targeting Anti-SCHIP Lawmakers As ‘Not Pro-Life’
In October, Catholics United … launched an ad campaign targeting “pro-life Christian” politicians who voted against expanding the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)… One of the targets of the ads, Rep. Thaddeus G. McCotter (R-MI), the Chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, responded to the ads by accusing Catholics United of being the “devil” and acting in “sin”.
Good for you, Catholics United! If you believe life begins at conception, you can’t believe it ends at birth.—Caro

Celebrating Wal-Mart (by Dean Baker)
The NYT ran a big-time fluff piece for Wal-Mart (Tuesday), telling readers that it now provides insurance for 100,000 more workers than it did three years ago. To see why the celebration may be premature look at the accompanying charts. . Wal-Mart's efforts to extend and improve coverage are a good development for people who want to see more workers with access to good health care, but perhaps not as big a deal as this article suggests.

FCC chief: End big-market ownership ban
The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission wants to eliminate a ban on radio and television broadcasters owning newspapers, but only in the nation's largest media markets.

Making online news sell
Very soon, here's how it will work: You'll open up a story from a news site and it will come with advertising. The ads aren't random. They're selected for you based on your interest in that story, on prior Internet activity -- maybe another site you visited, something you bought or even a comment you e-mailed to a friend -- and on other, offline information that the ad network associated with the news site has gathered about you. You're ''served'' with customized advertising that has an uncanny relation to your interests.

Technology & Science

Microsoft patches a 'critical' hole
SEATTLE - Microsoft Corp. issued two security fixes in a regular monthly update Tuesday, including one that removes a dangerous bug in all versions of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.

Middle Earth calling: Lord of the Rings on mobile
LONDON (Reuters) - The Lord of the Rings went 21st century on Tuesday -- theatregoers can now purchase tickets for the London musical by mobile phone.

Scientists claim to clone monkey embryos
NEW YORK - Scientists in Oregon say they've reached the long-sought goal of cloning monkey embryos and extracting stem cells from them, a potentially major step toward doing the same thing in people.

Unknown health impact of nanotech worries some
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Nanotechnology has been hailed as the science of the future, with micro-particles already powering innovations that remove lines from faces, strengthen beer bottles and clean clothing without water.

FDA Mulls Direct Pharmacist-to-Patient Drug Sales
'Behind-the-counter' dispensing means doctor's prescriptions wouldn't be needed for certain meds
I’ve long thought that we under-utilize the training of pharmacists. This would be another step in removing doctors’ stranglehold on medical care.—Caro

Meat vs. Potatoes: What Our Ancestors Liked
Chimpanzees prefer to dig for tubers and roots even when aboveground snacks are plentiful, a finding that bears on questions about humans' preferences for meat versus potatoes.

Why Some Animals Eat Their Offspring
(Researchers) found that several factors contributed to parents developing a taste for their own offspring. In some cases, cannibalizing their own young puts the same evolutionary pressure on the eggs that a predator would: the faster the eggs develop, the greater their chances of survival. Cannibalism was also found to increase the parent's reproductive rate… Some energy benefit to eating the eggs was also observed, but no one benefit alone accounted for the spread of filial cannibalism through the population.

Wow! Moon Probe Captures 'Earth-rise' in High Definition
A Japanese moon probe has replicated the famous Apollo-era "Earth-rise" photograph with modern high-definition imaging… The new Earth-rise image shows our blue world floating in the blackness of space. Released today, it is a still shot taken from video made by the craft's high-definition television (HDTV) for space.

Environment

Island nations plan for rising seas, mass migration
Countries usually evacuate their citizens because of war or a sudden and catastrophic natural disaster. For the Pacific island state of Kiribati, the climate change disaster facing the nation is no less dramatic but on a slower time scale and means preparing its 100,000 inhabitants for lives in nations less vulnerable to wild weather and rising seas.

China pandas forced to migrate for food
BEIJING - Giant pandas are being forced to move from a remote mountainous area in southwestern China due to food shortages as their staple bamboo withers, an animal expert said Monday.

Report: N. America oversaturated in CO2
North America's ability to absorb global-warming gases created by the USA, Canada and Mexico is smaller than some experts thought and likely to shrink further, a federal climate study said Tuesday.

Analysis: Poll finds energy tax support
Not only does the world's population feel increasingly concerned about climate change, but a recent survey finds a majority of individuals, both in and out of developed countries, say they are willing to lighten their wallets to stop the warming trend.

Hydrogen fuel comes a step closer
The dream of using hydrogen, the most plentiful element in the universe, as a green fuel to cut climate change moves a step closer (Monday) with the announcement that it can be made with the help of bacteria… (S)cientists have developed a method (of extraction) that relies on bacteria in a specially designed reactor that can efficiently produce hydrogen fuel from any type of biodegradable organic matter, so that a glorified compost heap could protentially provide an abundant source of the clean-burning energy.

Honda: Solar Production Begins
Though Honda has been mass producing solar cells since October, and has begun sales of them, the opening of Honda Soltec’s production facility in Kumamoto, Japan makes it official: Honda’s in the solar business.

For more headlines, visit MakeThemAccountable.com.

:)

:kick: for evening readers on your side of the pond!

Thanks! Now I have to go read some stories...

:applause:

:kick:

Caro