Huckabee: Fertilized Egg Is Person
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/Huckabee:_Fertilized_Egg_/2008/02/26/75667.html
Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee has endorsed an amendment to Colorado’s constitution declaring that a fertilized egg is a person.
“This proposed constitutional amendment will define a person as a human being from the moment life begins at conception,” Huckabee said in a statement backing the Colorado Human Life Amendment.
“With this amendment, Colorado has an opportunity to send a clear message that every human life has value.
“Passing this amendment will mean the people of Colorado will protect the sanctity of life from conception until natural death occurs.”
The amendment’s supporters need to collect an estimated 76,000 petition signatures to get the measure on the November ballot, according to the Denver Post.
If approved, the amendment would bestow constitutional rights to life, liberty, equality of justice, and due process of law to every fertilized egg, the paper reported.
The amendment is opposed by pro-choice groups, who fear it could set the stage for outlawing abortions in Colorado.
US following Europe’s path to ‘believing without belonging’
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/us.following.europes.path.to.believing.without.belonging/17083.htm
A religious study showing that a large number of Americans are religiously unaffiliated has caused pollsters to question whether the US is heading down the same religious path as that of Europe – where people who consider themselves religious do not necessarily belong to any institution.
The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life study, based on more than 35,000 interviews, found that 16.1 per cent of the US population described themselves as unaffiliated – the group with the greatest net gain in members.
The unaffiliated category includes atheists and agnostics, but is mostly made up of respondents who said they were “nothing in particular” (12.1 per cent).
More than a third of those unaffiliated said that although they have no particular religion, they at least find religion to be “somewhat” important to “very” important in their personal life.
“Let me underscore again one of the significant findings of the unaffiliated,” said Greg Smith, research fellow of the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. “A high percentage of them said religion is still important to them, about six per cent of the American public as a whole.”
In future studies, Smith said the group will see if the US is experiencing the religious “phenomenon” that is already quite common in Europe – “believing without belonging”.
“[For] many people in Europe, religion has become deinstitutionalised even though they still have certain religious beliefs,” Smith said. “So one key question is whether the rank of those who believe but do not belong to religious institutions is a trend that is expanding as we go forward.”
While the unaffiliated group is growing as a whole, within the group, the number of those who consider themselves religious but who are not affiliated with any religion is also growing, according to Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, who noted the “double pattern”.
“I think both of those things are really quite interesting,” Lugo commented.
The US Religious Landscape Survey estimates the US is still 78 per cent Christian, but is tethering on its reputation as a Protestant nation, at 51 per cent and falling.
America’s Young
Among the unaffiliated, young people make up a significant portion, which is not a surprise since it has been a common trend “for quite some time”, according to John Green, senior fellow at the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.
But what is new is the indication from this and other surveys that the number of young unaffiliated Americans is larger than in past generations.
One in four adults under the age of 30 years old claims no affiliation with a religious institution, according to the poll.
“Given the large size of young people among the unaffiliated, this could have a profound effect upon the character of American religion,” Green predicted.
He said that his team will keep an eye out to see if this young unaffiliated group later returns to organised religious institutions.
Green gave two hypotheses of why young Americans are increasingly moving towards being religiously unaffiliated. He said young adults, when they leave home, are “busy figuring out” their career, family situation, where they want to live, and their religion among other issues.
“In that situation, even people who are quite religious in the level of belief stray away from organised religion,” Green offered.
He added that young people go through a life cycle with periods of transitions that includes a transition in religion.
Other reasons given for the higher number of unaffiliated young Americans include highly-publicised problems within major denominations and the greater number of religious options available to young people in American society.
The Pew study released Monday is the first of three reports to be released based on data collected from interviews with more than 35,000 Americans. The phone interviews, which included 40 questions, were conducted from May 8 to August 13, 2007.
McCain Slams Bill Cunningham
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/McCain_Disavows_Comments_/2008/02/26/75709.html
Republican John McCain quickly denounced the comments of a radio talk show host who while warming up a campaign crowd referred repeatedly to Barack Hussein Obama and called the Democrat a "hack, Chicago-style" politician.
Hussein is Obama's middle name, but talk show host Bill Cunningham used it three times as he addressed the crowd before the likely Republican nominee's appearance.
"Now we have a hack, Chicago-style Daley politician who is picturing himself as change. When he gets done with you, all you're going to have in your pocket is change," Cunningham said as the audience roared.
The time will come, Cunningham added, when the media will "peel the bark off Barack Hussein Obama" and tell the truth about his relationship with indicted fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko and how Obama got "sweetheart deals" in Chicago.
McCain wasn't on stage nor in the building when Cunningham made the comments, but he quickly distanced himself from them and the talk show host after finishing his speech. McCain spoke to a couple hundred people at Memorial Hall in downtown Cincinnati.
"I apologize for it," McCain told reporters, addressing the issue before they had a chance to ask the Arizona senator about Cunningham's comments.
"I did not know about these remarks but I take responsibility for them. I repudiate them," he said. "My entire campaign I have treated Senator Obama and Senator (Hillary Rodham) Clinton with respect. I will continue to do that throughout this campaign.
McCain called both Democrats "honorable Americans" and said "I want to dissociate myself with any disparaging remarks that may have been said about them."
Asked whether the use of Obama's middle name - the same as former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein - is proper, McCain said: "No, it is not. Any comment that is disparaging of either Senator Clinton or Senator Obama is totally inappropriate."
McCain said he didn't know who decided to allow Cunningham to speak but said he was sure it was in coordination with his campaign. He said he didn't hear the comments and has never met Cunningham, but "I will certainly make sure that nothing like that happens again.
IRS Investigates Obama's Denomination
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/obama_church_irs/2008/02/26/75833.html
The IRS is investigating the United Church of Christ over a speech Barack Obama gave to its national meeting last year after he became a candidate for president.
Obama is a member of the church.
A spokesman for the denomination says it received notice of the inquiry on Monday.
The IRS says there is reason to believe the speech violated restrictions on political activity for nonprofit groups. The denomination denies any wrongdoing.
Church officials say they had consulted with lawyers before the Democrat's June 2007 speech and made clear before Obama's address that he was speaking as a church member, not a political candidate.
Obama's Farrakhan answer gives Clinton an opening
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/02/louis-farrakhan.html
When you've debated as often as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have, it's hard to find fresh material to spar over. But -- who knew? -- Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan provided such fodder Tuesday night. And the result may have been some crucial points scored by Clinton in their face-off in Ohio.
At the least, Obama appeared to dance around how far he should distance himself from the unsolicited backing he received over the weekend from Farrakhan until Clinton cornered him. At that point, he both denounced AND rejected that support.
Obama had been asked a straightforward question by moderator Tim Russert: Did he accept Farrakhan's support.
The following exchange occurred:
Obama: "You know, I have been very clear in my denunciation of Minister Farrakhan's anti-Semitic comments. I think they are unacceptable and reprehensible. I did not solicit this support. He expressed pride in an African American who seems to be bringing the country together. I obviously can't censor him, but it is not support that I sought. And we're not doing anything, I assure you, formally or informally with Minister Farrakhan.
Russert: "Do you reject his support?"
Obama: "Well, Tim, I can't say to somebody that he can't say that he thinks I'm a good guy."
True enough, but probably ...
not the answer most Jewish Americans wanted to hear. As a result, Obama risked creating the perception for some that he might be somewhat reluctant to completely throw overboard a controversial leader who is not without some stroke within the black community (witness the 1995 Million Man March).
Clinton clearly saw it that way, and sought to put Obama on the spot. She interjected that, during her initial Senate run in 2000, she was endorsed by a splinter party in New York that "was under the control of people who were anti-Semitic, anti-Israel. And I made it very clear that I did not want their support. I rejected it. ... And there's a difference between denouncing and rejecting."
Obama responded: "I have to say I don't see a difference between denouncing and rejecting."
He needs to check a dictionary on that.
Then he decided to yield the point: "But if the word 'reject' Sen. Clinton feels is stronger than the word 'denounce,' then I'm happy to concede the point, and I would reject and denounce."
He could have saved himself some potential grief if he had been less circular arriving at that point.
Veterans Become Pro-War Candidates
http://www.newsmax.com/politics/wartime_candidates/2008/02/26/75756.html
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Scott Radcliffe believes two tours of duty in Iraq gave him the stuff to serve in Congress. As a platoon commander, he helped spearhead economic development, built citizen coalitions and made many tough decisions, often amid enemy fire.
"I would be putting all I learned in that pressure-filled environment into practice. So it really cuts through metal," said Radcliffe, 28, who seeks to unseat a newly elected Republican in northwest Ohio.
He's among the dozen young Republicans from across the country helping each other campaign under the banner of Iraq Vets for Congress, cross-promoting each other and directing donors to a shared Web site. It's a response to the anti-war veterans whose campaigns drew attention in 2006, when Patrick Murphy of Philadelphia was the only Iraq vet to win election while openly supporting the war.
The platform of Iraq Vets for Congress grew out of the attitudes of the previous election: They believe in victory in Iraq, staying on the offense in the war on terror and taking care of all veterans, said founder Kieran Lalor, who's running for a seat in New York.
Lalor's pro-war band of brothers includes California's Eric Egland, a military intelligence officer who gained national attention for his book "The Troops Need You, America" and a charity of the same name. Other members of the group hail from Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida, Indiana and Maine.
"Most people say we (Republicans) lost the Congress last time because of the war," said Lalor, 32, of Wappingers Falls, N.Y. "I put my life on the line there, I lost friends there, and if I didn't believe American national security was at stake, I would be the first to say so.
"We as messengers are as important as the message."
The warrior returned from battle to serve in public life is as ancient as the Roman hero Cincinnatus and as familiar as five-star general-turned-President Dwight Eisenhower. Political scientist Costas Panagopoulos, director of Fordham University's graduate program in Elections and Campaign Management, said combat experience resonates with voters, especially during wartime.
"It doesn't surprise me that we're seeing this development in the current election cycle," Panagopoulos said. "We're a country facing major national security and international issues and ... that experience will grab attention on the campaign trail."
Both parties have recruited veterans in some of the nation's most competitive congressional districts. Democratic state Sen. John Boccieri, an Air Force reservist who's served in Iraq, is seeking the northeastern Ohio district being vacated by 18-term Republican Rep. Ralph Regula.
And in Maine's 1st District, where six-term Democratic Rep. Tom Allen is running for Senate, Republican Charlie Summers is seeking Allen's seat while serving in Iraq as a Navy reservist.
Despite the war's unpopularity, Americans still support their troops, and facing a veteran on the campaign trail can be difficult, said Michael Dejak, campaign manager for Summers' challenger in the Republican primary, Dean Scontras.
"It gives a candidate an unfair disadvantage because you're just kind of campaigning in a vacuum, but your opponent is draped in this ...," Dejak said, without finishing his sentence. "He's untouchable, almost."
Many veterans cite the military as essentially their only qualification for office.
"After you've been in combat and you survived it, you've got this real energized sense that, 'I can accomplish anything,' and you view your country differently," said Ohio Democrat Paul Hackett, among the notable anti-war candidates in 2006.
Hackett dropped out of a U.S. Senate race that year when Congressman Sherrod Brown, a star among Ohio Democrats, decided to run. But he gained attention a year earlier for nearly beating Cincinnati-area Congresswoman Jean Schmidt with an outspoken anti-war campaign in a heavily Republican district.
J. Ashwin Madia, a former Marine running in Minnesota's 3rd Congressional District, is among anti-war veterans whom Hackett has endorsed this year. He's also part of VoteVets.org, a counterpart to Iraq Vets for Congress that has created Internet ads for anti-war veterans seeking office.
Madia, 29, who opposed the U.S. entry into Iraq and now favors orderly withdrawal, said the war remains a focus of his campaign.
"Certainly there are other issues weighing on people's minds _ the economy, health care, education _ but the war is central to the campaign because people realize it's all related," he said.
___
On the Net:
Iraq Vets for Congress:
VoteVets.org
CNN Staff Memo Re Castro Is Glowing
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/CNN_Staff_Memo_Re_Castro_/2008/02/26/75692.html
An internal memo circulated at CNN regarding the resignation of Fidel Castro as Cuba’s president reads in part as if it were written by the Cuban propaganda ministry.
The memo obtained by Newsmax was sent out to staffers on Feb. 19, the day Cuba announced Castro’s retirement.
It states: “Please say in our reporting that Castro stepped down in a letter he wrote to Granma (the communist party daily), as opposed to in a letter attributed to Fidel Castro. We have no reason to doubt he wrote his resignation letter. He has penned numerous articles over the past year and a half.”
The statement is evidently meant to counter widely held suspicions that Castro, 81 years old and ailing, is not actually writing his own material for Granma.
The memo also tells staffers: “Please note Fidel did bring social reforms to Cuba — namely free education and universal health care, and racial integration, in addition to being criticized for oppressing human rights and freedom of speech.”
Assertions praising Cuba’s health care system have been widely challenged. And the Cuban government has been accused of numerous human rights abuses, including torture, arbitrary imprisonment, unfair trials, and extra-judicial executions. Groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have issued reports on Cuban prisoners of conscience, and opponents claim the Cuban government represses free expression by limiting access to the Internet.
The CNN memo points out that Castro is “seen as a revolutionary hero, especially with leftist (sic) in Latin America, for standing up to the United States.”
The memo does, however, note that while the Cuban government blames many of Cuba’s economic woes on the U.S. trade embargo, “the bulk of Cuba’s economic problems are due to Cuba’s failed policies.”
Abbas holds gun to Bush's head
http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2351
PLO/PA chief Mahmoud Abbas, whose cause successfully attracted international support through decades of terrorism and Jew-killing, tried Monday to increase the pressure on Israel via Washington:
If the Bush administration does not immediately intervene and get Israel to reach a deal with the "Palestinians" before the end of 2008, he warned, the world can kiss Middle East peace goodbye.
[Difficult to say goodbye to something that never arrived to begin with-Ed.]
Abbas chided the US leadership immediately following a closed-door meeting with Jordan's King Hussein.
If Washington fell down on its commitment to "make 2008 the year to broker peace ... there will never be any future chances to achieve this goal," he said, according to the Associated Press.
US President George W. Bush "must understand it is to play an active role, not just as a supervisor, by intervening directly to help make peace."
As for Israel, which is weathering daily and increasingly bloody rocket attacks from "Palestinians" in the Gaza Strip, Abbas said it had better "stop escalating the situation in the Palestinian territories [sic] and stop all attacks in the Gaza Strip, including firing missiles there."
Abbas' ultimatum comes hard on the heels of a similar threat from the Arab League, which last week warned it would withdraw its so-called peace initiative if Israel did not accelerate progress towards the creation of Palestine on the Jews' ancient homeland.
Jerusalem called that bluff and also hardly appears phased by this one.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert responded Tuesday by freely airing his doubts about the chance of arriving at a deal before year's end.
Olmert: Giant step, but no deal likely in 2008
http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2352
This year might see Israel taking a giant step towards a peace deal with the Palestinian Arabs, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Tuesday.
It was less likely to actually reach that goal though, even though the Bush administration has pledged to do its utmost to help bring this about.
Speaking to reporters in Japan, where he is on a state visit, Olmert said his government is "making exceptional efforts to conclude all differences with our neighbors and to resolve outstanding disputes" with the "Palestinians."
"We have a desire to reach an agreement within the year 2008 [but] I am not sure we will make it," he confessed.
However, Israel was "determined to make a giant step forward to end this dispute once and for all.
"There will be no better opportunity, and we want to make every possible effort to seize" it.
Analysts, reading between the lines, heard the Israeli leader leaving his government an out, but hastening to reassure Washington Israel would do its best.
Syrian envoy: US officials working against Bush vision
http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2353
US President George W. Bush might be giving his "personal" best effort to seeing a peace deal reached between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs this year, but he might as well save himself the trouble.
As if cautious Israeli and intransigent "Palestinian" officials aren’t giving him enough headaches, individuals in his own administration are not really all that keen to see this deal come about.
At least, this was the belief expressed by Syrian ambassador to the United States Imad Moustapha Monday, according to the Associated Press.
Moustapha, who derided as nothing more than a public relations exercise the US-convened peace conference in Annapolis last November, said powerful elements in the Bush administration see chaos as constructive in the Middle East.
He apparently failed to elaborate on, or substantiate, his remarks.
Israel air strikes kill six Gaza militants
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/israel.air.strikes.kill.six.gaza.militants/17078.htm
Israeli air strikes killed at least six Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, Palestinian medical staff and militant groups said.
Hamas said five of its militants were killed in an air strike that targeted a van travelling near the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said she was checking the report.
The Islamic Jihad militant group said one of its gunmen was killed in an early morning air strike east of the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.
The Israeli army said it was not familiar with the attack.
Israel carries out raids and air strikes in the Gaza Strip to try and stop rocket attacks on the Jewish state by Palestinian militants.
Last June the Islamist Hamas movement seized control of the coastal territory, home to 1.5 million Palestinians, by routing forces loyal to more secular Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Gates to Turks: End Iraq incursion soon
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080227/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/gates;_ylt=Al_bz5Kwsyvgo794dQlm4xWs0NUE
Defense Secretary Robert Gates headed for Ankara late Wednesday with a message for Turkish leaders: Get your troops out of northern Iraq in the next few days.
"It's very important that the Turks make this operation as short as possible and then leave," Gates said before departing India. "They have to be mindful of Iraqi sovereignty. I measure quick in terms of days, a week or two, something like that, not months."
Gates said he also will ask Turkish leaders in a series of meetings Thursday to address some of the complaints of the Kurds, and move from combat to economic and political initiatives to solve differences with them.
It was the first time that Gates put any time limit on the Turkish incursion launched into Iraq last Thursday against separatist rebels from the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK. The rebels are fighting for autonomy in the largely Kurdish region of southeastern Turkey, and have carried out attacks from northern Iraq.
The Iraqi government demanded for the first time that Turkey immediately withdraw from northern Iraq, warning Tuesday it feared an ongoing incursion could lead to clashes with the official forces of the semiautonomous Kurdish region.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the operation would only end "once its goal has been reached."
In other comments just before leading New Delhi, Gates said the U.S. is in the "early stages" of discussions with India on a missile defense system and is taking about doing a joint analysis to determine what India's needs will be and how the two countries can cooperate.
Gates also said the Indian government needs to move quickly to approve a landmark nuclear cooperation pact between India and the United States. "The clock is ticking in terms of how much time is available to get all the different aspects of this agreement implemented," he told reporters.
Gates said he has not heard from the Turks on how long they intend to continue the attacks in Iraq, and does not know whether the U.S. would consider halting its intelligence assistance to the Turks if it goes on too long.
He also said it is critically important for the Turks to communicate closely with the Iraqi government as well as the semiautonomous Kurdish leaders in northern Iraq. And he repeated contentions he made earlier this week, that military action alone will not solve the problems there.
"There certainly is a place for security operations, but these also need to be accompanied with economic and political initiatives that begin to deal with some of the issues that provide a favorable local environment where the PKK can operate," Gates said. "They need to address some of the issues and complaints that some of the Kurds have and move this in a nonmilitary direction in order to get a long term solution."
Gates said that since the U.S. provides intelligence and surveillance help to the Turks, other help might also be possible for economic and other efforts.
"If we can play a constructive role in some of these other areas and the Turks would like our help, we certainly ought to give that consideration," he said.
Gates, who is on an eight-day, around-the-world trip to four countries, spoke at length about the improving relations between India and the U.S. But while noting the U.S. must be respectful of local Indian politics, he said New Delhi must act soon on the nuclear pact to give the U.S. Senate time to ratify it.
Talks between the two countries have stalled on the nuclear deal, which would allow the U.S. to send nuclear fuel and technology to India. The agreement would reverse decades of U.S. anti-proliferation policy with a country that has tested nuclear weapons and refused to sign nonproliferation treaties.
Russians Delaying U.N. Iran Sanctions
http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/Iran_sanctions_UN/2008/02/26/75740.html
It is more than five months beyond the U.N.'s deadline for Iran to cease its controversial uranium enrichment program or it would face punitive action, yet Tehran continues to ignore Security Council demands.
Explaining the frustration felt at the U.S. mission to the U.N., spokesman Ric Grenell tells Newsmax, "We want a vote ASAP, but the Russians are not ready" to impose a third round of sanctions against Iran.
Iran has not only continued its uranium enrichment, but recently introduced more advanced equipment that could more easily be diverted for military use, asserted the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N.'s atomic watchdog.
Last Friday, IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei reported to the agency's board of governors that Iran continues to ignore the U.N. demands. ElBaradei admitted that some central questions regarding Iran's nuclear program have been satisfactorily resolved, but others remain unanswered.
Upon the release of the IAEA report, Iranian officials immediately declared the nuclear issue closed and demanded that the U.S. and U.N. apologize for seeking additional punitive measures.
Tehran has repeatedly insisted its nuclear activities are peaceful and civilian oriented. The White House has responded that much of Iran's "peaceful" nuke activities could easily be diverted for military use.
The United States, the United Kingdom, and France, three of the Council's members pushing for new sanctions, rejected the Iranian demands and reacted by moving the issue officially onto the Council's agenda.
The proposal before the 15-member body would impose travel restrictions on Iranian personnel connected with its nuclear program. It would also impose new import-export restrictions on items that could have a nuclear-military application, as well as on banks that could finance such purposes.
According to diplomats, the Council has three main holdouts: Russia (a veto-wielding permanent member), Libya, and South Africa. While a Russian veto is unlikely, Washington would like unanimity among the Council's "Permanent 5" if not among all 15 members.
Only nine yes votes, along with zero vetoes, are needed for new sanctions to be imposed, but most diplomats believe that the U.S. does have the minimum amount of votes needed for the draft resolution to be adopted.
Russia, it is believed, would like "incentives" for Iran to halt its enrichment activities. Washington says no.
Behind the scenes is the issue of Russia providing the vast amount of nuclear assistance to Tehran. To date, Moscow has been paid more than $2 billion by Iran to construct its first nuclear power station in Bushehr on the Persian Gulf coast. The Bushehr project is more than three years behind schedule and its first nuclear reactor is now due to come on line by year's end. A second reactor is also under construction and due on line by 2010.
The construction of the Iranian power station has been the main source of export income for the Russian nuclear establishment for over a decade, and has a potential net worth of close to $6 billion to Moscow.
Satellite photos made available to Newsmax show that elements of the Chinese navy have been on site to assist Iran in the coastal defense of the controversial nuclear power station.
Russian ship held in North Korea heads home
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/russian.ship.held.in.north.korea.heads.home/17079.htm
A Russian cargo ship held by North Korean authorities at the weekend for illegally entering the peninsular republic's territorial waters during a storm was released on Wednesday, Russian rescue services said.
The cargo ship Lidia Demesh was carrying 150 used Japanese automobiles to Vladivostok when stormy weather in the Sea of Japan on Saturday forced it into North Korea's waters, where coastguards boarded the vessel and steered it into port.
Vladivostok's naval rescue coordination centre said all issues with North Korea's authorities were resolved and the Lidia Demesh should arrive at the Russian port on Thursday morning.
Rice Moves to End N.K.'s Balking over Nukes
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/329086.aspx
TOKYO - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice ordered her top Asia diplomat to stay in China on Wednesday to look at fresh ways of unblocking the stalled effort to get North Korea to abandon nuclear weapons.
Rice instructed Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill to remain in Beijing to study with Chinese officials new ideas of moving the process ahead, instead of accompanying her to Japan.
"He's continuing the discussions that we had with the Chinese. on how to make progress in the six-party talks, how to get to a place where everyone is executing the obligations that they have undertaken," she told reporters in Tokyo.
"We were having good discussions and it seemed like a good idea for Chris to stay behind and continue those discussions," Rice said, replying with a flat and firm "no" when asked if she would elaborate.
Hill had planned to travel with Rice on all three legs of her Asian tour that has been dominated by the North Korea issue. She has visited South Korea in addition to China and Japan.
Rice also expressed hope that the recent arrest of a U.S. Marine on suspicion of raping a 14-year-old girl on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa would not damage Washington's relations with Tokyo.
The arrest and a series of other damaging criminal accusations against some of the 50,000 American troops based in Japan have stirred anger at the U.S. military presence, which critics blame for crime, noise and pollution.
"We certainly hope that there will not be lasting effects, it's a long-standing and strong alliance," she said. "Our concern right now is to see that justice is done, to get to the bottom if it and our concern is for the girl and her family."
Japanese officials have demanded further step by U.S. forces to control their troops. The Americans last week restricted thousands of military personnel and their family indefinitely to bases, homes and work places, and pledged to review anti-sexual assault guidelines and training programs.
The North Korea issue has dominated Rice's trip. U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters that Hill was working on proposals put forward Tuesday by Rice and Chinese President Hu Jintao to jump-start the denuclearization talks.
He refused to say what those ideas were. The six-party talks, are hosted by China, and include the United States, Japan, Russia and the two Koreas.
"We'll see if it leads somewhere," McCormack said.
Rice said Tuesday that China and the U.S. were looking at ways to "synchronize" the actions the North must take to meet its obligations, and the benefits it is to receive for those measures.
Hill does not plan to meet directly with North Korean officials during his extended stay in Beijing, where he will remain for at least another day, McCormack said.
On Tuesday, Rice won assurances from China that it would use its influence on North Korea to help with the denuclearization process.
While in China, Rice reiterated Washington's demand that Pyongyang provide a "complete and full declaration" of its nuclear programs. North Korea says it has already provided such a list.
Although North Korea shut down its main nuclear reactor last year, American researchers who visited the complex earlier this month reported that officials there said they had slowed the removal of fuel rods. They said that was because the United States and other nations have fallen behind in supplying aid promised under the disarmament deal.
While Pyongyang maintains a large diplomatic mission in Beijing, Rice ruled out talks with North Korean officials during her stay in China, saying such a meeting was neither warranted nor could be of any use in the current circumstances.
Amnesty: Freedoms Curtailed in Russia
http://www.newsmax.com/international/russia_election_rights/2008/02/26/75804.html
MOSCOW -- The Kremlin has clamped down on freedoms in the run-up to Russia's presidential election, an international rights group said Tuesday.
Amnesty International released a report ahead of Sunday's vote in which it said Russia had curtailed the rights of freedom of expression, association and assembly in recent years.
"Human rights defenders, independent civil society organizations, political opponents and ordinary citizens have all been victims of this rollback on civil and political rights," the report said.
The London-based group said the decline has been seen in authorities' breaking up of opposition demonstrations, harassment of rights activists and journalists, and restrictions imposed on civil society groups.
"The space for dissenting views, independent media and independent organizations to operate is shrinking in the Russian Federation," it said.
Russia's Foreign Ministry had no immediate comment on the report.
First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is expected to easily win Sunday's election against three token opponents.
President Vladimir Putin has been widely criticized by opponents at home and abroad for rolling back post-Soviet freedoms during his eight-year tenure. He has angrily dismissed the criticism and accused the West of trying to weaken Russia.
The Amnesty International report also mentions the Kremlin's control over Russian media, saying it leaves fewer opportunities for independent reporting. U.S.-based Human Rights Watch released a report making similar criticisms earlier this month.
All nationwide television stations in Russia are controlled by the state, and they have given lavish daily positive coverage Medvedev, the first deputy prime minister who is expected to easily win Sunday's election.
Pollution turns Chinese river system red
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080227/ap_on_sc/china_polluted_river;_ylt=Asvyiz93skCD3LvIV0tCIGCs0NUE
Pollution has turned part of a major river system in central China red and bubbly, forcing authorities to cut water supplies to 200,000 people and close schools, a government news agency reported Wednesday.
Some communities along tributaries of the Hanjiang River — a branch of the Yangtze — in Hubei province were using emergency water sources, while at least 60,000 people were relying on bottled water and limited underground sources, Xinhua News Agency said.
Five schools were closed in Xingou township, while others could not provide food to students, the report said without elaborating.
Gao Qijin, head of the water company in Xingou township, said officials discovered the Dongjing River — one of the tributaries — was red and bubbly Sunday. The company immediately stopped drawing water from the river, Xinhua cited Gao as saying.
Tests showed the polluted waters contained elevated levels of ammonia, nitrogen, and permanganate, a chemical used in metal cleaning, tanning and bleaching, Xinhua said. The source of the pollution had not been determined, and an investigation was ongoing.
Local officials closed a gate linking the Hanjiang River to the tributaries, and were using water from the nearby Changhu Lake to flush out the pollutants, the report said.
A paper mill dumped waste water directly into the Hanjiang last September, forcing authorities to cut water supplies for a week in some areas, Xinhua said. It did not say how many people were affected.
Bush Says U.S. Saving Lives in Africa
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/328915.aspx
Just back from a tour of Africa, President Bush said American generosity was saving lives in the region.
Tuesday, the president said Congress must ignore partisan quarrels and approve funding for programs that combat poverty and disease, and promote democracy and trade in africa.
"Having given our word, we must not turn back now," Bush said. "Congress needs to make America's commitment clear by fully and promptly funding our development programs, and presidential candidates of both parties should make clear that engagement with Africa will be an enduring priority of the United States."
The president urged Congress to double funding for his global AIDS plan to $30 billion over the next five years.
New report exposes abuse of Burmese refugees in Malaysia
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/new.report.exposes.abuse.of.burmese.refugees.in.malaysia/17068.htm
Burmese refugees in Malaysia live in “severe and desperate poverty and deprivation” and face exploitation, abuse and other mistreatment, stated a new report by a Christian human rights group Monday.
The report by Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) documents the group’s fact-finding mission to Malaysia and the Thailand-Burma border from 4 to 17 February. CSW representatives heard first-hand testimonies of forced labour, rape, torture, land confiscation and religious persecution from Burmese refugees in Malaysia.
“This report documents yet more evidence of the crimes against humanity perpetrated by the military regime in Burma against its own people,” CSW Advocacy Officer for South Asia Benedict Rogers said in a statement.
“It also draws much-needed attention to the long-forgotten desperate plight of Burmese refugees who have fled to Malaysia in search of sanctuary and freedom, and have found yet more abuse, poverty and misery.”
In addition to testimonies from refugees, CSW also interviewed civil society groups and Burmese Buddhist monks.
Tens of thousands of Burmese have fled their homeland to take refuge in refugee camps in neighbouring Thailand and, to a lesser degree, in Malaysia.
The notorious Burma junta has led a campaign of persecution against ethnic minorities, wiping out entire villages. Armed military often attack villages of the Karen, Karenni, and Chin people – who are mostly Christians – and systematically rape the women.
The US State Department has labelled Burma a “country of particular concern” – the worst religious freedom violation label.
“The situation in Burma remains deplorable. The regime has rejected calls from its own people and the international community to begin a genuine dialogue with the opposition and ethnic minority groups,” said US President George W Bush, in a statement Monday.
“Severe human rights abuses by the Burmese Army, including burning down homes and killing civilians, continue in ethnic minority areas in eastern Burma,” he acknowledged.
The CSW report, meanwhile, calls on the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to visit Burma “as a matter of urgency”, and echoed calls made by nine Nobel Peace Prize Recipients last week for a universal arms embargo on Burma.
Specifically addressing the situation in Malaysia, the human rights group called on the Malaysian Government to improve the situation for Burmese refugees within their borders by stopping authorities from detaining and deporting Burmese asylum-seekers and refugees, and disbanding RELA – the officially-sponsored vigilante force often used to raid refugees’ camps, homes and workplaces.
It also urged the United Nations High Commission for Refugees to register all Burmese asylum-seekers in Malaysia, in order to provide better protection for them, and further called on more countries to offer opportunities for resettlement for Burmese refugees in Malaysia.
“The international community cannot continue to allow the terrible suffering of Burmese people to go on,” Rogers said. “How many more cries for help do we need before the world unites in meaningful action to end the reign of terror in Burma?”
Dollar Falls to Record Low of $1.50 per Euro on Rate Outlook
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ayvv2bpptzZw&refer=home#
The dollar fell to a record low beyond $1.50 per euro on speculation Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke will indicate the U.S. central bank is prepared to cut interest rates already at a three-year low.
The dollar weakened against 15 of the 16 most-active currencies before Bernanke testifies to Congress today. It reached a 23-year low against the New Zealand dollar and fell the most against South Africa's rand as investors bought higher- yielding currencies.
``We're going into a new leg of dollar weakness,'' Tony Morriss, a currency strategist in Sydney at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., Australia's third-biggest bank, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. ``The Federal Reserve is sending a pretty clear signal they need to support growth.''
The dollar touched $1.5057 per euro, the lowest since the European single currency was introduced in 1999, before trading at $1.5043 as of 7:39 a.m. in London from $1.4974 in late New York yesterday. It also fell to 106.96 yen from 107.28 yen. The euro was at 160.79 yen from 160.67, after reaching 161.39. The dollar may drop to $1.53 per euro in the next three months, Morriss said.
The currency fell to a three-week low against the rand, dropping 0.4 percent to 7.5255, before Bernanke delivers his semi-annual testimony to the House Financial Services Committee at 10 a.m. in Washington. It slid 0.8 percent to NT$30.952 versus Taiwan's currency, breaching NT$31.0 for the first time in almost three years.
Yield Advantage
The currency fell to a 23-year low of 81.85 cents against the New Zealand dollar on speculation the interest rate differential will widen in favor of assets outside of the U.S.. It later pared losses to trade at 81.69 cents. It was at 93.67 cents per Australian dollar from 93.38. Benchmark rates are 8.25 percent in New Zealand and 7 percent in Australia.
The slump in the dollar pushed oil prices to a record yesterday and increased the cost of buying wheat, sugar, copper, cotton and cocoa. Nine of the 10 most-active currencies in Asia outside Japan gained against the dollar today. Indonesia's rupiah rose 0.2 percent to 9,060 per dollar and the Singapore dollar touched an 11-year high of S$1.3995. The Chinese yuan advanced 0.2 percent to 7.1470.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao yesterday told visiting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice a stable dollar is good for the U.S. and the rest of the world, Xinhua news agency reported.
Thailand's baht advanced to the highest since August 1997 as the central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged. The currency rose 0.3 percent to 32.18 per dollar. Bank of Thailand maintained its one-day bond repurchase rate at 3.25 percent today for a fifth straight meeting.
Dollar Index
The dollar will tumble to a record low against the currencies of major trading partners ``within weeks'' as the Fed lowers rates to prevent a recession, Bank of America N.A. analysts said in a research note dated today.
The currency will continue to trade below $1.50 for the next few weeks, Robert Sinche, head of global currency strategy at the New York-based bank, wrote in the report. An index traded on ICE Futures in New York, which tracks the currency against its six major counterparts, fell 0.2 percent to 74.611. It reached 74.484 on Nov. 23, the lowest since the gauge started trading in 1973.
``It's crunch time for the dollar,'' said Yuji Saito, head of foreign-exchange sales in Tokyo at Societe Generale SA, a unit of France's second-largest bank by market value. ``Bernanke may know that monetary policy alone cannot support the slowing U.S. economy.''
The U.S. currency may fall to $1.51 today, Saito forecast.
Dollar Forecasts
New home sales dropped 0.7 percent to an annual pace of 600,000 last month, according to the Bloomberg survey median estimate before today's Commerce Department report.
The dollar will rebound to $1.48 per euro by the end of March, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 41 analysts. Merrill Lynch & Co., the third-biggest U.S. securities firm, is the most bearish, predicting it will fall to $1.57 per euro by March-end.
Options show the dollar is unlikely to fall rapidly against the euro after its decline to a record low, said Takeharu Miki, currency options manager at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd.
The premium on one-month dollar call options over put options, known as the risk reversal rate, was unchanged from yesterday, showing traders aren't increasing bets on a decline in the currency, said Tokyo-based Miki. Calls grant the right to buy and puts grant the right to sell.
Business Confidence
Futures on the Chicago Board of Trade show traders see a 96 percent chance the U.S. central bank will reduce the 3 percent target rate for overnight lending between banks by 50 basis points at their March 18 meeting, and a 4 percent likelihood of a quarter-point cut.
The euro gained as the Munich-based Ifo institute yesterday said its business climate index rose to 104.1 in February, from 103.4 in January. After the report, traders pared bets the European Central Bank will lower its target from the current 4 percent level.
``Germany's business sentiment was unexpectedly strong,'' said Ryohei Muramatsu, manager of Group Treasury Asia in Tokyo at Commerzbank AG, Germany's second-largest bank. ``The ECB is likely to keep borrowing costs unchanged.''
The euro may rise to 161.40 yen today, Muramatsu forecast.
The odds of the ECB lowering borrowing costs fell yesterday, with the implied yield on the Euribor futures contract for June rising 4 basis points to 4.15 percent. The yield averaged 0.18 percentage point more than the ECB's benchmark from 1999 until August. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.
Oil passes $101 on weaker dollar
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080227/ap_on_bi_ge/oil_prices;_ylt=AoKcC8qP6kLUsFwdXDXZ6sGs0NUE
Oil prices rose above $101 a barrel Wednesday as a slide in the U.S. dollar prompted investors to pump more money into energy futures as a hedge against inflation.
The greenback sank to a record low against the euro after the release of three disheartening U.S. economic reports Tuesday that show that the economy is slowing even as prices are rising. The dollar's decline prompted investors to seek a safe haven from turmoil in the financial markets and the threat of inflation.
"Crude has cracked through the $100 level again and that's driven by financial investors moving money into commodities markets," said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.
"The U.S. dollar weakened against the euro and the economic data also indicated that inflation in the U.S. rose in January, and commodities are generally considered a hedge against inflation," Shum said. "We are therefore seeing these strong prices that have really little to do with oil market fundamentals."
Light, sweet crude for April delivery gained 24 cents to $101.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, midday in Singapore.
The contract on Tuesday jumped $1.65 to settle at $100.88 a barrel. In after-hours electronic trading, prices surged as high as $101.43, a new intraday high.
The U.S. Labor Department said wholesale inflation rose by 1 percent in January on soaring oil and food costs. And Standard & Poor's also reported that U.S. home prices fell 8.9 percent in the last three months of 2007 from a year earlier. It is the sharpest drop in the S&P/Case-Shiller quarterly index's history.
A report by the Conference Board, a business-backed research group, that its Consumer Confidence Index fell to the lowest since February 2003, far below what analysts had been expecting, indicated that consumers might continue to curb their spending in the coming months.
But traders in both the energy market and the U.S. stock market, which also advanced sharply, seemed largely unfazed. Oil has risen in recent days amid an increase in speculative buying, with some traders believing that global demand will be high enough to support higher crude prices even if the American economy is slowing.
In currency trading, the euro rose above $1.50 for the first time, reaching a peak of $1.5047 before falling back to $1.4992.
Last week, March oil rallied to a new settlement record of $100.74 and a new trading record of $101.32 before the contract expired.
In London, Brent crude added 15 cents to $99.62 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
Analysts expect the U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration to report later Wednesday that the nation's crude oil stocks rose last week by 2.4 million barrels, which would be the seventh straight week of gains.
Gasoline inventories are expected to rise by 400,000 barrels while supplies of distillates, which include heating oil and diesel, fell by 1.8 million barrels last week, according to a Dow Jones Newswires poll of analysts.
Also supporting prices were concerns about supply disruptions from unrest in Iraq, a major oil exporter. Turkish ground forces pushed their offensive against Kurdish rebels deeper into the north of Iraq, seizing seven guerrilla camps, officials said Tuesday.
In other Nymex trading Wednesday, heating oil futures rose 0.5 cent to $2.82 a gallon while gasoline prices dropped 0.1 cent to $2.5495 a gallon.
Natural gas futures lost 2.8 cents to $9.178 per 1,000 cubic feet.
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