ABC: Obama propaganda machine
Critics are blasting ABC News for its plan to televise blanket coverage of Barack Obama's health
care reform initiative, voicing concern that "the media and government [have] become one" and that the network is "virtually
turning over news programming to the Obama government" for "a glorified infomercial to promote the Democrat agenda."
Pelosi Investigation Demanded on House Floor
Rob Bishop (R-Utah) is offering an independent resolution that would require the House Permanent
Select Committee on Intelligence to create a four-person special "select subcommittee" to investigate House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi's slanders of the CIA.
Obama to AMA: You're the problem
Obama delivered a subtle and unpleasant message to the American Medical Association yesterday, implying
that doctors are the main problem behind rising healthcare costs.
Parental rights increasingly under attack
"Now we're finding that parental rights are being attacked by courts all over the country," he contends.
"And as we look at where this country is going, particularly more association with the United Nations and the U.N. Convention
on the rights of the Child, these treaties would supercede all the laws in 50 states."
Americans drift into political oblivion
Polling shows that despite having elected perhaps the most liberal president and Congress in history,
Americans still have not lurched to the ideological left -- yet they are increasingly dropping their affiliation with the
Republican and Democrat parties.
U.S. mortgage applications plunge to near seven-month low
U.S. mortgage applications fell for a fourth consecutive week, with overall demand plunging to its
lowest level in nearly seven months, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.
Two East Jerusalem journalists jailed for reporting for Iran
The Jerusalem District Court sentenced two journalists from East Jerusalem to two months' imprisonment
for their report to Iranian television about the start of the ground offensive in the Gaza Strip in January. The two were
sentenced as part of a plea bargain to charges that they violated military censorship restrictions by reporting the start
of the Operation Cast Lead incursion two hours before journalists were permitted to do so.
Iranian prosecutor: Protest leaders may get death penalty
While Iran's opposition announced another day of street demonstrations, an Iranian provincial prosecutor,
Mohammadreza Habibi, warned that the "few elements" behind the pro-Mousavi protests could face the death
penalty under Islamic law, Reuters cited an Iranian news agency on Wednesday. Habibi, prosecutor-general...
"We warn the few elements controlled by foreigners who try to disrupt domestic security by inciting individuals to destroy
and to commit arson that the Islamic penal code for such individuals waging war against God is execution," Habibi reportedly
said.
Medvedev calls for new reserve currencies
Russia - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says the world needs new reserve currencies. Medvedev
told a regional summit Tuesday that the creation of new reserve currencies in addition to the dollar is needed to stabilize
global finances. Medvedev has made the proposal before. It reflects both the Kremlin's push for greater international clout
and a concern shared by other countries that soaring U.S. budget deficits could spur inflation and weaken the dollar.
Brazil finds new strain of H1N1 virus
Brazilian scientists have identified a new strain of the H1N1 virus after examining samples from
a patient in Sao Paulo, their institute said Tuesday. The variant has been called A/Sao Paulo/1454/H1N1 by the Adolfo Lutz
Bacteriological Institute, which compared it with samples of the A(H1N1) swine flu from California. The genetic sequence of
the new sub-type of the H1N1 virus was isolated by a virology team lead by one of its researchers, Terezinha Maria de Paiva,
the institute said in a statement.
Pakistan and EU in 'terror' talks
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari is meeting Nato and European Union leaders in Brussels for
talks on boosting security co-operation and trade links. Speaking after a meeting at Nato's headquarters, President Zardari
said: "Defeat is not an option for us." The worsening security situation in Pakistan has made it a key foreign policy priority
for Nato and the EU.
US to reveal banking reform plans
The US government is set to announce a major reform of banking regulation to prevent future financial
crises. President Barack Obama is due to set out plans requiring big banks to put more money aside against future losses and
curb excessive risk taking. The US central bank, the Federal Reserve, will be given the authority to monitor major financial
institutions.
UN 'runs out of aid for Ethiopia'
The UN has warned that it has run out of food to provide for nine million Ethiopians who rely on
its assistance. A UN spokesman told the BBC the port of Djibouti was seriously congested and there was little prospect of
supplies arriving for the next five months. Following a border war, Eritrea denied Ethiopia access to its ports, so the landlocked
country relies on Djibouti.
Gaza crossings 'ready for short-notice surge in traffic'
Israel's border crossings with the Gaza Strip can be adjusted to handle a significant increase of
traffic on short notice, the head of Israel's Crossing Points Authority told The Jerusalem Post on Monday. "If a political
decision is taken, we can process 300 trucks instead of the 100 trucks which cross into Gaza every day, and we can do this
within a week of being notified," authority head Traber Bezalel said.
North Korea warns US of retaliation
North Korea warned Wednesday of a "thousand-fold" military retaliation against the US and its allies
if provoked, the latest threat in a drumbeat of rhetoric in defense of its rogue nuclear program. Japanese and South Korean
news reports said North Korea is preparing an additional site for test-firing a long-range missile capable of striking the
US.
Barak: Mousavi is a fundamentalist too
A Day after US President Barack Obama said that the policies of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Mir Hossein
Mousavi are similar, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that both Iranian presidential candidate are fundamentalists. "Whatever
happens," he said in an interview with Army Radio, "this is an Ayatollah regime. We should not be confused about Mousavi -
these people are fundamentalist Muslims."
Protesters to 'Post': Hamas helping Iran crush dissent
Palestinian Hamas members are helping the Iranian authorities crush street protests in support of
reformist presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, two protesters told The Jerusalem Post On Tuesday. They made their allegations
as rioting on a scale unseen in Iran for nearly a decade continued in the wake of the elections and the allegations that the
results were falsified. The protests have now spread from Teheran to other major cities.
DEBKA--
