Headlines
National:
+ House Judiciary Democrats issue report alleging gross misconduct by Bush over Iraq
RAW STORY has reproduced the executive summary of the report.
+ Workers in New Orleans Denied Pay, Proper Housing and Threatened with Deportation
Tina Susman, a reporter for Newsday, followed the case of a group of homeless men from Atlanta who went to New Orleans to work and never got paid.
+ Vet's Own Sign Saying: "Remember the Fallen Heroes" Bugs Military Recruiters
NYT: "As those thinking of becoming soldiers arrive on the slushy doorstep of the Army recruiting station here [Duluth, MN], they cannot miss the message posted in bold black letters on the storefront right next door...."
Editor and Publisher: Fallen soldiers should be on page One of newspapers.
Entertainment:
+ "The Book Of Daniel"
New NBC TV Show About Christians with real-life problems is not 'wholesome' or 'serious' enough for the AFA.
Travel
+ In Alabama, a Poor County Is Rich in Modern Architecture
"Newbern Mercantile may sell bullets, peach Nehi and souse (pickled pig snout), but the firehouse is the height of urban sophistication, with walls of polycarbonate that shimmer every time a car goes by."
International:
+ Mossad Chief Says Iran Two Years From Nuclear Bomb
Haaretz: Mossad chief Meir Dagan stresses the importance of a diplomatic effort aimed at preventing or at least delaying Iran's ability to develop nuclear weapons, along with the importance of the United Nations Security Council implementing economic sanctions against Iran.
+ Russian Parliament Approves Curb on NGOs
AP (at Burlington Free Press):
Critics say this threatens the future of human rights groups and others that the Kremlin considers to be possible opponents.
Opinion Excerpts:
+ Jeffrey Sachs
There was a lot of talk this year about ending extreme poverty...But these words have yet to make a discernible difference for the hungry, destitute and dying. Action needs to proceed at every level, from the local to the national and the international. Every big player in this drama needs to be held accountable for their actions. At the end of next year, each must be asked a single question: what did you do this year to end extreme poverty?
- "It is time for words to give way to meaningful action" (Financial Times - subsc req)
+ EJ Dionne Jr:
The recent budget bill, which squeaked through the House and Senate just before Christmas, is a road map of insider dealing. It shows that when choices have to be made, the interests of the poor and the middle class fall before the wishes of interest groups with powerful lobbies and awesome piles of campaign money to distribute.
- WaPo
+ Jim Hoagland:
Bush is unintentionally driving together a centrist group of responsible Republican and Democratic critics in Congress to pressure him -- to check and balance him, if you will -- on war policy, civil liberties, torture and other contentious issues
- Wapo
+ Andrew Erdmann:
So far, many Americans who opposed the war have not extended a helping hand to the Iraqi people in its aftermath. Others sit on the fence. With elections under a new Constitution, the time has come to focus on Iraq's future and put aside the politics of the past.
-"After Withdrawal, Engagement" (Times Select subscription required)
+ Russia's anti-West offensive
Nobody denies a government's right to regulate nongovernmental organizations. But this law was written largely to weaken Western support for democratic movements in Ukraine and other former Soviet republics.
- IHT editorial
+ Al-Ahram Weekly (Cairo):
The dream of freeing the Middle East, in its entirety, of all weapons of mass destruction should not lose its holistic character. Attempts or proposals forwarded by Western and regional powers -- or regional parties on behalf of international players -- to divide the issue up into separate parts are certain to harm the collective interest of the region in attaining comprehensive security and stability.
- "Denuclearise the entire Middle East"