Foreign Policy

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Brazil Oil Finds May End Reliance on Middle East, Zeihan Says

Bloonberg

April 24 (Bloomberg) -- Brazil's discoveries of what may be two of the world's three biggest oil finds in the past 30 years could help end the Western Hemisphere's reliance on Middle East crude, Strategic Forecasting Inc. said. Saudi Arabia's influence as the biggest oil exporter would wane if the fields are as big as advertised, and China and India would become dominant buyers of Persian Gulf oil, said Peter Zeihan, vice president of analysis at Strategic Forecasting in Austin, Texas. Zeihan's firm, which consults for companies and governments around the world, was described in a 2001 Barron's article as ``the shadow CIA.''

Bullet 333Barry Asmus, Senior Economist, National Center for Policy Analysis
Bullet 333David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Bullet 333Dan Celia, Host, "Financial Issues Live" Radio Program
Bullet 333Phil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.
Bullet 333Chuck Colson, Prison Fellowship
Bullet 333Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Bullet 333Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of Representatives
Bullet 333William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Bullet 333James Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLC
Bullet 333Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
Bullet 333Frank Gaffney, Founder and President , Center for Security Policy
Bullet 333Paul "Dave" Gaubatz, Owner-Director, Wahhabi CT Publications
Bullet 333James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Bullet 333Lou Giuliano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (r, ITT Corporation
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USA
Bullet 333Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Bullet 333Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security Institute
Bullet 333Phillip Kim, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resour, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
Bullet 333Cliff Kincaid, President, America's Survival, Inc.
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Bullet 333Chuck Stetson, Co-founder and Managing Director, PEI Funds
Bullet 333Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
Bullet 333John Weiser, Board Member, Westminster Theological Seminary , In Medias Res

Rice says Carter was warned against meeting with Hamas

My Way News

KUWAIT CITY (AP) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday the Bush administration explicitly warned former President Jimmy Carter against meeting with members of Hamas, the Palestinian faction that controls the Gaza Strip and which is regarded by the U.S. as a terror group. Rice, attending a regional meeting on Iraq's security and future, contradicted Carter's assertions that he never got a clear signal from the State Department. Rice told reporters that the U.S. thought the visit could confuse the message that the U.S. will not deal with Hamas. "I just don't want there to be any confusion," Rice said. "The United States is not going to deal with Hamas and we had certainly told President Carter that we did not think meeting with Hamas was going to help" further a political settlement between Israel and the Palestinians.

Jimmy Carter Defends Meeting With Hamas

My Way News

WASHINGTON (AP) - Former President Carter said he feels "quite at ease" about meeting Hamas militants over the objections of Washington because the Palestinian group is essential to a future peace with Israel. Carter, interviewed Saturday for ABC News'"This Week," airing Sunday, also said he would oppose a U.S. Olympic boycott and hopes all countries will join in the Beijing games. He spoke from Katmandu, Nepal, where his team of observers from the Carter Center monitored an election that appeared likely to transform rule by royal dynasty into a democracy with former Maoist rebels in a strong position, judging by incomplete returns. Several State Department officials, including the secretary, Condoleezza Rice, criticized Carter's plans to talk in Syria this week with exiled Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal in the first public contact in two years between a prominent American figure and the group. Carter said he had not heard the objections directly, although a State Department spokesman said earlier that a senior official from the department had called the former president.

Olympic torch finally unifies -- but in anger

Ruters

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - On the only day in which runners carried the Olympic torch across an American city in 2008, Chinese-Americans and protesters started with sharp divisions over the so-called "Journey of Harmony." By day's end, city and Olympic officials had achieved a harmony between the divergent groups few had predicted -- everyone seemed angry and disappointed the route was radically changed without notice. "I feel tricked," said onlooker Terry Costales, 61, of San Francisco. "I feel the mayor tricked the city. ... I've been down here for hours. The torch bearers should have their moment in the sun and now they are sneaking around."

Bullet 333David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Bullet 333Rev. Clenard Childress, Jr., Assistant Director, Life Education and Resource Network
Bullet 333Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Bullet 333Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of Representatives
Bullet 333Len Deo, President, New Jersey Family Policy Council
Bullet 333William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Bullet 333Chuck Donovan, Senior Research Fellow-DeVos Center for Religion a, The Heritage Foundation
Bullet 333Jessica Echard, Executive Director, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Tim G. Echols, President/Founder, TeenPact
Bullet 333Steve Elliott, President, Grassfire.org
Bullet 333Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
Bullet 333Todd Friel, Radio Host, Way of the Master
Bullet 333Frank Gaffney, Founder and President , Center for Security Policy
Bullet 333Paul "Dave" Gaubatz, Owner-Director, Wahhabi CT Publications
Bullet 333James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Bullet 333Rick Green, President, Torch of Freedom Foundation
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USA
Bullet 333Dr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers Ministries
Bullet 333Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian Church
Bullet 333Cliff Kincaid, President, America's Survival, Inc.
Bullet 333Peter Lillback, President, Westminster Theological Seminary
Bullet 333Gary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation Network
Bullet 333Ryan Messmore, William E. Simon fellow in Religion and a Free Soc, The Heritage Foundation
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Jeff Myers, Incoming President, Summit Ministries
Bullet 333Jesse Lee Peterson, Founder and President, Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny
Bullet 333Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Don Shenk, Executive Director, The Tide
Bullet 333Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
Bullet 333Lorianne Updike, President & Executive Director, The Constitutional Sources Project
Bullet 333Timothy Watkins, Producer/Director, Renegade Productions

Geldof and Bush: Diary From the Road

Time

I gave the President my book. He raised an eyebrow. "Who wrote this for ya, Geldof?" he said without looking up from the cover. Very dry. "Who will you get to read it for you, Mr. President?" I replied. No response. The Most Powerful Man in the World studied the front cover. Geldof in Africa — " 'The international best seller.' You write that bit yourself?" "That's right. It's called marketing. Something you obviously have no clue about or else I wouldn't have to be here telling people your Africa story." It is some story. And I have always wondered why it was never told properly to the American people, who were paying for it. It was, for example, Bush who initiated the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) with cross-party support led by Senators John Kerry and Bill Frist. In 2003, only 50,000 Africans were on HIV antiretroviral drugs — and they had to pay for their own medicine. Today, 1.3 million are receiving medicines free of charge. The U.S. also contributes one-third of the money for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria — which treats another 1.5 million. It contributes 50% of all food aid (though some critics find the mechanism of contribution controversial). On a seven-day trip through Africa, Bush announced a fantastic new $350 million fund for other neglected tropical diseases that can be easily eradicated; a program to distribute 5.2 million mosquito nets to Tanzanian kids; and contracts worth around $1.2 billion in Tanzania and Ghana from the Millennium Challenge Account, another initiative of the Bush Administration.

Fidel Castro Resigns Cuban Presidency After Half-Century in Power

Fox News

HAVANA — An ailing, 81-year-old Fidel Castro resigned as Cuba's president Tuesday after nearly a half-century in power, saying he will not accept a new term when parliament meets Sunday. The end of Castro's rule — the longest in the world for a head of government — frees his 76-year-old brother Raul to implement reforms he has hinted at since taking over as acting president when Fidel Castro fell ill in July 2006. U.S. President George W. Bush said he hopes the resignation signals the beginning of a democratic transition. "My wishes have always been to discharge my duties to my last breath," Castro wrote in a letter published Tuesday in the online edition of the Communist Party daily Granma. But, he wrote, "it would be a betrayal to my conscience to accept a responsibility requiring more mobility and dedication than I am physically able to offer."

Who killed Benazir Bhutto? The main suspects

Times Online

The main suspects in Benazir Bhutto’s assassination are the Pakistani and foreign Islamist militants who saw her as a heretic and an American stooge and had repeatedly threatened to kill her. But fingers will also be pointed at Inter-Services Intelligence, the agency that has had close ties to the Islamists since the 1970s and has been used by successive Pakistani leaders to suppress political opposition.

Bullet 333Zakariah Anani, Shoebat Foundation
Bullet 333David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Bullet 333Rev. Clenard Childress, Jr., Assistant Director, Life Education and Resource Network
Bullet 333Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Bullet 333Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of Representatives
Bullet 333Len Deo, President, New Jersey Family Policy Council
Bullet 333William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Bullet 333Chuck Donovan, Senior Research Fellow-DeVos Center for Religion a, The Heritage Foundation
Bullet 333Jessica Echard, Executive Director, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Tim G. Echols, President/Founder, TeenPact
Bullet 333Major Eric Egland, Author, The Troops Need You, America: Six Ways to Help...
Bullet 333Steve Elliott, President, Grassfire.org
Bullet 333Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
Bullet 333Todd Friel, Radio Host, Way of the Master
Bullet 333Frank Gaffney, Founder and President , Center for Security Policy
Bullet 333Paul "Dave" Gaubatz, Owner-Director, Wahhabi CT Publications
Bullet 333James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Bullet 333Rick Green, President, Torch of Freedom Foundation
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USA
Bullet 333Dr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers Ministries
Bullet 333Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian Church
Bullet 333Cliff Kincaid, President, America's Survival, Inc.
Bullet 333Peter Lillback, President, Westminster Theological Seminary
Bullet 333Jan Markell, President, Olive Tree Ministries
Bullet 333Gary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation Network
Bullet 333Alex McFarland, President, Southern Evangelical Seminary
Bullet 333Ryan Messmore, William E. Simon fellow in Religion and a Free Soc, The Heritage Foundation
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Jeff Myers, Incoming President, Summit Ministries
Bullet 333Jesse Lee Peterson, Founder and President, Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny
Bullet 333Elizabeth Racine, Founder, Moralert.com
Bullet 333Kamal Saleem, Shoebat Foundation
Bullet 333Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Don Shenk, Executive Director, The Tide
Bullet 333Walid Shoebat, President, Shoebat Foundation
Bullet 333Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
Bullet 333William Sutter, Executive Director, The Friends of Israel
Bullet 333Lorianne Updike, President & Executive Director, The Constitutional Sources Project
Bullet 333Charl Van Wyk, Pastor/Author, “Shooting Back–The Right & Duty of Self-Defence"
Bullet 333Timothy Watkins, Producer/Director, Renegade Productions
Bullet 333David Wheaton, Author, Speaker, Radio Talk Show Host, TheChristianWorldview.com

Dems mull strategy, leadership after setbacks

USA Today

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional Democrats will have plenty to ponder during the Christmas-New Year recess. For instance, why did things go so badly this fall, and how well did their leaders serve them? Partisan players will quarrel for months, but objective analysts say the debate must start here: An embattled president made extraordinary use of his veto power and he was backed by GOP lawmakers who may have put their political fortunes at risk. Also, a new Democratic leadership team overestimated the impact of the Iraq war and the 2006 elections, learning too late they had no tools to force Bush and his allies to compromise on bitterly contested issues.

Chavez, Ahmadinejad to Work Against US

BrietBart.Com

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - The presidents of Venezuela and Iran boasted Monday that they will defeat U.S. imperialism together, saying the fall of the dollar is a prelude to the end of Washington's global dominance. Hugo Chavez's visit to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran followed a failed weekend attempt by the firebrand duo to push the Organization of Petroleum Exporting States away from trading in the slumping greenback. Their proposal at an OPEC summit was overruled by other cartel members led by Saudi Arabia, a strong U.S. ally. But the cartel agreed to have OPEC finance ministers discuss the idea, and the two allies' move showed their potential for stirring up problems for the U.S.

Gays Deserve Torture, Death Penalty, Iranian Minister Says

The Times

Homosexuals deserve to be executed or tortured and possibly both, an Iranian leader told British MPs during a private meeting at a peace conference, The Times has learned. Mohsen Yahyavi is the highest-ranked politician to admit that Iran believes in the death penalty for homosexuality after a spate of reports that gay youths were being hanged. President Ahmadinejad, questioned by students in New York two months ago about the executions, dodged the issue by suggesting that there were no gays in his country. Britain regularly challenges Iran about its gay hangings, stonings and executions of adulterers and perceived moral criminals, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) papers show. The latest row involves a woman hanged this June in the town of Gorgan after becoming pregnant by her brother. He was absolved after expressing his remorse. Britain said that this demonstrated the unequal treatment of men and women in law and breached Iran’s pledge to restrict the death penalty to the most serious crimes. A series of reported executions of gays, including two underage boys whose public hanging was posted on the internet, has alarmed human rights campaigners.

Bullet 333Zakariah Anani, Shoebat Foundation
Bullet 333Joel Anderson, Assemblyman, California State Assembly
Bullet 333David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Bullet 333Alan Chambers, President, Exodus International
Bullet 333Rev. Clenard Childress, Jr., Assistant Director, Life Education and Resource Network
Bullet 333Chuck Colson, Prison Fellowship
Bullet 333Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Bullet 333Scott Davis, Director of Student Ministries, Exodus International
Bullet 333Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of Representatives
Bullet 333Len Deo, President, New Jersey Family Policy Council
Bullet 333William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Bullet 333Chuck Donovan, Senior Research Fellow-DeVos Center for Religion a, The Heritage Foundation
Bullet 333Jessica Echard, Executive Director, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Tim G. Echols, President/Founder, TeenPact
Bullet 333Major Eric Egland, Author, The Troops Need You, America: Six Ways to Help...
Bullet 333Steve Elliott, President, Grassfire.org
Bullet 333Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
Bullet 333Todd Friel, Radio Host, Way of the Master
Bullet 333Frank Gaffney, Founder and President , Center for Security Policy
Bullet 333Paul "Dave" Gaubatz, Owner-Director, Wahhabi CT Publications
Bullet 333James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Bullet 333Rick Green, President, Torch of Freedom Foundation
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USA
Bullet 333Dr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers Ministries
Bullet 333Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian Church
Bullet 333Cliff Kincaid, President, America's Survival, Inc.
Bullet 333Peter Lillback, President, Westminster Theological Seminary
Bullet 333Jan Markell, President, Olive Tree Ministries
Bullet 333Jennifer Marshall, Director of Domestic Policy Studies, The Heritage Foundation
Bullet 333Gary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation Network
Bullet 333Alex McFarland, President, Southern Evangelical Seminary
Bullet 333Ryan Messmore, William E. Simon fellow in Religion and a Free Soc, The Heritage Foundation
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Jeff Myers, Incoming President, Summit Ministries
Bullet 333Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Bullet 333Jesse Lee Peterson, Founder and President, Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny
Bullet 333Elizabeth Racine, Founder, Moralert.com
Bullet 333Kamal Saleem, Shoebat Foundation
Bullet 333Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Don Shenk, Executive Director, The Tide
Bullet 333Walid Shoebat, President, Shoebat Foundation
Bullet 333Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
Bullet 333William Sutter, Executive Director, The Friends of Israel
Bullet 333Randy Thomas, Executive Vice President, Exodus International
Bullet 333Lorianne Updike, President & Executive Director, The Constitutional Sources Project
Bullet 333Charl Van Wyk, Pastor/Author, “Shooting Back–The Right & Duty of Self-Defence"
Bullet 333Timothy Watkins, Producer/Director, Renegade Productions
Bullet 333David Wheaton, Author, Speaker, Radio Talk Show Host, TheChristianWorldview.com

World should ban human cloning, except medical: U.N.

Reuters

OSLO (Reuters) - The world should quickly ban cloning of humans and only allow exceptions for strictly controlled research to help treat diseases such as diabetes or Alzheimer's, a U.N. study said on Sunday. Without a ban, experts at the U.N. University's Institute of Advanced Studies said that governments would have to prepare legal measures to protect clones from "potential abuse, prejudice and discrimination". "A legally-binding global ban on work to create a human clone, coupled with freedom for nations to permit strictly controlled therapeutic research, has the greatest political viability of options available," the study said. "Whichever path the international community chooses it will have to act soon -- either to prevent reproductive cloning or to defend the human rights of cloned individuals," said A.H. Zakri, head of the Institute, which is based in Yokohama,

Bullet 333Michael Barry, Director of Pastoral Care, Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Phila.
Bullet 333Twila Brase, President and Co-founder, Citizens' Council on Healthcare Freedom
Bullet 333Phil Burress, President, Citizens for Community Values
Bullet 333Alan Chambers, President, Exodus International
Bullet 333Rev. Clenard Childress, Jr., Assistant Director, Life Education and Resource Network
Bullet 333Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Bullet 333Steve Curtis, LifeCommercials.com
Bullet 333Marjorie Dannenfelser, President and Chairman of the Board, Susan B. Anthony List
Bullet 333Scott Davis, Director of Student Ministries, Exodus International
Bullet 333Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of Representatives
Bullet 333Len Deo, President, New Jersey Family Policy Council
Bullet 333William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Bullet 333Chuck Donovan, Senior Research Fellow-DeVos Center for Religion a, The Heritage Foundation
Bullet 333Jessica Echard, Executive Director, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Tim G. Echols, President/Founder, TeenPact
Bullet 333Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
Bullet 333Georgette Forney, Co-Founder, Silent No More
Bullet 333Todd Friel, Radio Host, Way of the Master
Bullet 333Frank Gaffney, Founder and President , Center for Security Policy
Bullet 333Paul "Dave" Gaubatz, Owner-Director, Wahhabi CT Publications
Bullet 333Mike Gottfried, Founder, Team Focus
Bullet 333Rick Green, President, Torch of Freedom Foundation
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USA
Bullet 333Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Bullet 333Dr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers Ministries
Bullet 333Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian Church
Bullet 333Cliff Kincaid, President, America's Survival, Inc.
Bullet 333Peter Lillback, President, Westminster Theological Seminary
Bullet 333Jennifer Marshall, Director of Domestic Policy Studies, The Heritage Foundation
Bullet 333Gary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation Network
Bullet 333Alex McFarland, President, Southern Evangelical Seminary
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Jeff Myers, Incoming President, Summit Ministries
Bullet 333Dr. David Prentice, Senior Fellow, Family Research Council
Bullet 333Elizabeth Racine, Founder, Moralert.com
Bullet 333Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Christopher Slattery, Founder and President, EMC Frontline Pregnancy Centers
Bullet 333David Smith, Executive Director, Illinois Family Institute
Bullet 333Randy Thomas, Executive Vice President, Exodus International
Bullet 333David Wheaton, Author, Speaker, Radio Talk Show Host, TheChristianWorldview.com

FBI: Terrorists Moving Toward Greater Use of WMDs, Attacks on Soft Targets

FoxNews.com

WASHINGTON — Radical Islamists who have been stymied in efforts to hit traditional military and diplomatic targets are increasingly eyeing so-called "soft targets," and could be moving toward greater use of chemical and biological weapons, reads a new terrorism threat report released by the FBI on Wednesday "The use of WMD against civilian targets represents the most serious potential international and domestic terrorism threat facing the United States today and provides a glimpse into emerging terrorist scenarios of the 21st century. A variety of intelligence reporting indicates that Al Qaeda has energetically sought to acquire and experiment with biological, chemical, and radiological weapons of mass destruction," the report reads.

Republicans Grow Skeptical On Free Trade

Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON -- By a nearly two-to-one margin, Republican voters believe free trade is bad for the U.S. economy, a shift in opinion that mirrors Democratic views and suggests trade deals could face high hurdles under a new president. The sign of broadening resistance to globalization came in a new Wall Street Journal-NBC News Poll that showed a fraying of Republican Party orthodoxy on the economy. While 60% of respondents said they want the next president and Congress to continue cutting taxes, 32% said it's time for some tax increases on the wealthiest Americans to reduce the budget deficit and pay for health care. Six in 10 Republicans in the poll agreed with a statement that free trade has been bad for the U.S. and said they would agree with a Republican candidate who favored tougher regulations to limit foreign imports. That represents a challenge for Republican candidates who generally echo Mr. Bush's calls for continued trade expansion, and reflects a substantial shift in sentiment from eight years ago.

Spokeswoman dodges question about NAFTA Superhighways

WorldNetDaily

President Bush is comfortable when the United States, Mexico and Canada work together on issues facing the continent, according to spokeswoman Dana Perino, even though Congress is considering a warning that the nation's sovereignty could be threaten by such efforts. She was responding to a question from Les Kinsolving, WND's correspondent at the White House. He asked: "Inspired in part by The New York Times best-selling book, "The Late Great U.S.A.," a resolution in the House of Representatives opposing work on any NAFTA superhighway or moves towards merging the U.S., Mexico and Canada into a North American union now has 27 co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle. Do you support such legislation?" "I've not heard of such legislation, but I think we are very comfortable believing that there can be Mexico, the United States and Canada as three separate countries all working together," was her full response.

World Vision Aid Workers Ambushed in Darfur

CR Daily

Armed men ambushed an aid convoy in Darfur, wounding three humanitarian workers, the U.N. mission to Sudan said Saturday. The convoy from U.S.-based World Vision International, which included eight staff members, was attacked some 25 miles south of Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state, on Thursday, the U.N. said. All three wounded aid workers were Sudanese. Two were shot in the head and one in the arm, World Vision said. Two are in stable condition, and one is serious condition, the group said. It did not provide more information. The attackers have not been identified but the U.N. statement said Arab tribes have been regularly clashing in the area. "This is a horrifying and brutal attack on aid staff who are working to save the lives of Sudanese people," U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes said. Attacks against humanitarian workers have increased by 150 percent from June 2006 to June 2007, the U.N. says.

California Seeks to Ban Investment in Iran

Pensions & Investments - Schwarzenegger gets Iran divestment bill

CalPERS and CalSTRS would be required to divest from companies with ties to the energy and defense sectors in Iran if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signs legislation the California state Senate passed on Thursday, said Chip Englander, chief of staff for Assemblyman Joel Anderson, who wrote the bill. The bill requires the $247.7 billion California Public Employees’ Retirement System and the $169 billion California State Teachers’ Retirement System, both in Sacramento, to divest stocks totaling about $2 billion and $1.4 billion, respectively. Mr. Schwarzenegger has until Oct. 14 to sign the bill. A call to the governor’s office was not returned before press time.

Intelligence Director Says Russia, China Spying on U.S.

FoxNews.com

WASHINGTON — China and Russia are spying on the United States nearly as much as they did during the Cold War, according to the top U.S. intelligence official. Mike McConnell, the director of national intelligence, says in testimony prepared for a Tuesday congressional hearing that a law passed last month expanding the U.S. government's eavesdropping power is needed to protect not just against terrorists but also against more traditional potential adversaries, such as those two Cold War foes. "China and Russia's foreign intelligence services are among the most aggressive in collecting against sensitive and protected U.S. systems, facilities and development projects, and their efforts are approaching Cold War levels," McConnell says in his testimony. "Foreign intelligence information concerning the plans, activities and intentions of foreign powers and their agents is critical to protect the nation and preserve our security." The new law will also enable the intelligence agencies to identify "sleeper cells" of terrorists in the United States, according to McConnell's statement to the House Judiciary Committee. Congress last month hastily adopted the Protect America Act just before it went on summer vacation, propelled by McConnell's warnings of a need to close a dangerous gap in U.S. intelligence law.

Pope, Prodi to Meet Sudan Leader

ABC News

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir said Friday his government is ready to implement a cease-fire with rebel forces at the start of peace talks over the conflict in Darfur, scheduled for next month in Libya. "We have announced we are available (to put in place) a cease-fire with the start of the negotiations to create a positive climate," al-Bashir said at a news conference following talks with Italian Premier Romano Prodi. Al-Bashir's regime has regularly agreed to cease-fires in the past and all have been quickly breached by the parties involved in the conflict. Later Friday, al-Bashir is expected to meet Pope Benedict XVI.

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