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OPEC chiefs rule out need to raise oil output

Breitbart.com

OPEC ministers gathering here for an output policy meeting insisted Monday that the cartel was not about to increase oil production, as the price of crude struck a record high of almost 104 dollars. OPEC's president, Algerian Energy Minister Chakib Khelil, said the 13-member cartel which produces 40 percent of world oil would not consider an output hike at its official meeting in the Austrian capital on Wednesday. His views were shared by Kuwait's acting oil minister, Mohammad al-Olaim, while Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Nuaimi, whose kingdom is the world's biggest producer of crude oil and OPEC's most influential member, refused to address the media on arrival in Vienna. Khelil, a traditional price hawk, even mentioned the possibility of an production cut, which hardline producers Venezuela and Iran are backing. "The conference will study whether to maintain or reduce production," Khelil said in Vienna, adding that extra supplies were not needed since demand was not about to increase. The only country capable of pushing through an increase in production to appease consuming countries would be kingpin Saudi Arabia.

McCain Clinches GOP Nomination

My Way News

WASHINGTON (AP) - John McCain clinched the Republican presidential nomination Tuesday, an extraordinary comeback for a candidate whose White House hopes were dashed eight years ago and whose second bid was left for dead eight months ago. "The most important race begins," he said in an Associated Press interview. According to the AP count, the four-term Arizona senator surpassed the requisite 1,191 GOP delegates as voters in Ohio, Vermont, Rhode Island and Texas put him over the threshold. The triumph came one month after his Super Tuesday coast-to-coast victories gave him an insurmountable lead in the delegate hunt and forced his chief rival, Mitt Romney, to drop out of the race. "It's a very humbling thing," McCain said of finally clinching the nomination. McCain was heading to the White House on Wednesday for lunch with President Bush - and an endorsement. The two will make a joint statement afterward.

Clinton scores vital wins in Texas, Ohio

USA Today

CINCINNATI — Hillary Rodham Clinton scored vital wins in the Texas and Ohio primaries Tuesday night, the Associated Press projected, swinging momentum back to her presidential campaign and assuring that her battle with Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination would continue. Clinton also won Rhode Island's primary, while Obama won Vermont. Results from a separate Texas Democratic caucus, where a third of the state's Democratic delegates will be allocated, were being calculated early Wednesday. Her wins broke a 12-election winning streak for Obama, but because of the Democratic Party's method of allocating delegates to the party convention, it appeared early Wednesday she could not make a major dent in Obama's delegate lead. Still, the wins assured that the close battle between Clinton and Obama for the nomination would continue, with the April 22 Pennsylvania primary likely to be the next major battleground. "You know what they say: As Ohio goes, so goes the nation. Well, this nation is coming back, and so is this campaign," Clinton said at a post-election rally in Columbus, Ohio. "We're going on, we're going strong and we're going all the way."

Clinton scores vital wins in Texas, Ohio

USA Today

CINCINNATI — Hillary Rodham Clinton scored vital wins in the Texas and Ohio primaries Tuesday night, the Associated Press projected, swinging momentum back to her presidential campaign and assuring that her battle with Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination would continue. Clinton also won Rhode Island's primary, while Obama won Vermont. Results from a separate Texas Democratic caucus, where a third of the state's Democratic delegates will be allocated, were being calculated early Wednesday. Her wins broke a 12-election winning streak for Obama, but because of the Democratic Party's method of allocating delegates to the party convention, it appeared early Wednesday she could not make a major dent in Obama's delegate lead. Still, the wins assured that the close battle between Clinton and Obama for the nomination would continue, with the April 22 Pennsylvania primary likely to be the next major battleground. "You know what they say: As Ohio goes, so goes the nation. Well, this nation is coming back, and so is this campaign," Clinton said at a post-election rally in Columbus, Ohio. "We're going on, we're going strong and we're going all the way."

Clinton battles Obama's momentum

Los Angeles Times

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS -- Hillary Rodham Clinton, once seen as a lock for the Democratic nomination, battled Saturday into possibly the last weekend of her presidential campaign, struggling to reverse a tide of money and momentum that has turned dramatically toward Barack Obama. The New York senator stormed across Texas, questioning Obama's readiness to lead, particularly on national security issues. "You are, in effect, hiring the next president," Clinton told supporters at a rally at a San Antonio high school. "What you've got to decide is: Who do you want to hire?"

Stumping for Clinton, Steinem Says McCain's P.O.W. Cred Is Overrated

The New York Observer

AUSTIN, Texas—Feminist icon Gloria Steinem took to the stump on Hillary Clinton’s behalf here last night and quickly proved that she has lost none of her taste for provocation. From the stage, the 73-year-old seemed to denigrate the importance of John McCain’s time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. In an interview with the Observer afterward, she suggested that Barack Obama benefits—and Clinton suffers—because Americans view racism more seriously than sexism. Steinem also told the crowd that one reason to back Clinton was because “she actually enjoys conflict.” And she claimed that if Clinton’s experience as First Lady were taken seriously in relation to her White House bid, people might “finally admit that, say, being a secretary is the best way to learn your boss’s job and take it over.” Steinem raised McCain’s Vietnam imprisonment as she sought to highlight an alleged gender-based media bias against Clinton. “Suppose John McCain had been Joan McCain and Joan McCain had got captured, shot down and been a POW for eight years. [The media would ask], ‘What did you do wrong to get captured? What terrible things did you do while you were there as a captive for eight years?’” Steinem said, to laughter from the audience. McCain was, in fact, a prisoner of war for around five-and-a-half years, during which time he was tortured repeatedly. Referring to his time in captivity, Steinem said with bewilderment, “I mean, hello? This is supposed to be a qualification to be president? I don’t think so.” Steinem’s broader argument was that the media and the political world are too admiring of militarism in all its guises.

Gold hits 4th straight record, silver at 27-year high

Reuters

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Gold edged closer to the $1,000 an ounce mark on Monday, setting a record high for the fourth straight day after the dollar tumbled and crude oil held near an all-time high. Silver jumped to $20 an ounce for the first time since November 1980 to track gold. Platinum and palladium held near their recent highs, while a firming yen ignited selling in yen-denominated Japanese precious metals futures. Gold jumped as high as $983.90 an ounce, partly driven by purchases from Japanese speculators who took advantage of the dollar's drop to a three-year low against the yen. Gold was last quoted at $973.30/973.75 in New York on Friday. Gold has gained around 18 percent in 2008 as investors shift some of their money into the precious metal on expectations of more interest rate cuts in the United States, volatile stock markets and fears of rising energy costs.

Dollar hits new low as Fed signals rate cut

Financial Times

The dollar fell to a fresh record low against the euro on Wednesday as Ben Bernanke signalled that the Federal Reserve is likely to cut interest rates again next month. The single European currency breached $1.51 after the Fed chairman made it clear that the US central bank remained firmly focused on the risks to growth, in spite of some increase in inflation risk following a run of bad price reports. The Fed “will act in a timely manner as needed to support growth and to provide adequate insurance against downside risks”, Mr Bernanke told Congress. The Fed has cut rates five times since last summer, taking rates down from 5.25 per cent at the beginning of August to the current level of 3 per cent. However, Mr Bernanke said rate cuts to date had only had limited effect in easing overall financial conditions, in particular in the housing market. “It has been very difficult to lower long-term mortgage rates through Fed action,” he said, adding “what we have done has been mostly just to offset the tightening of credit” that would otherwise have taken place.

'Virtual Fence' Along Border To Be Delayed

Washington Post

The Bush administration has scaled back plans to quickly build a "virtual fence" along the U.S.-Mexico border, delaying completion of the first phase of the project by at least three years and shifting away from a network of tower-mounted sensors and surveillance gear, federal officials said yesterday. Technical problems discovered in a 28-mile pilot project south of Tucson prompted the change in plans, Department of Homeland Security officials and congressional auditors told a House subcommittee. Though the department took over that initial stretch Friday from Boeing, authorities confirmed that Project 28, the initial deployment of the Secure Border Initiative network, did not work as planned or meet the needs of the U.S. Border Patrol. The announcement marked a major setback for what President Bush in May 2006 called "the most technologically advanced border security initiative in American history." The virtual fence was to be a key component of his proposed overhaul of U.S. immigration policies, which died last year in the Senate.

Bush: US Is Not Headed Into Recession

My Way

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush said Thursday the country is not recession-bound and, despite expressing concern about slowing economic growth, rejected for now any additional stimulus efforts. "We acted robustly," he said. "We'll see the effects of this pro-growth package," Bush told reporters at a White House news conference, acknowledging that some lawmakers already are talking about a second stimulus package. "Why don't we let stimulus package 1, which seemed like a good idea at the time, have a chance to kick in?" Bush's view of the economy was decidedly rosier than that of many economists, who say the country is nearing recession territory or may already be there. "I'm concerned about the economy," he said. "I don't think we're headed to recession. But no question, we're in a slowdown."

Virtual Fence Is A Virtual Farce

WeNeedAFence.Com

The “virtual fence” era in America’s long-running immigration debate ended on Friday – less than 24 hours after both Democratic candidates for the Presidency put themselves squarely on the wrong side of it. Last week, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it would abandon plans to extend the Boeing-designed “virtual fence” beyond its initial 28-mile long demonstration phase. In the Thursday night Democratic debate, Senator Clinton said “there is technology that can be used instead of a physical barrier.” A minute or so later, Senator Obama said “this is an area where Senator Clinton and I almost entirely agree,” and then added: “for the most part, having …surveillance, deploying effective technology, that’s going to be the better approach.” Within a few hours, this “better approach” was revealed to have been a failed experiment. There are three elements that are essential to achieving genuine border security: physical infrastructure, adequate manpower and technological backup. Failure to provide any one of them will result in failure to secure the border. A physical fence by itself can be breached, but one that is properly designed, backed up by cameras and high-tech detection devices and adequately staffed with border agents that can get to a point of attempted or successful breach within minutes will in fact secure the border against mass intrusion like nothing else.

Clinton Won't Release Taxes Soon

My Way

CLEVELAND (AP) - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton says she won't release her tax returns until she has the Democratic presidential nomination in hand, and not before tax filing time comes in mid-April. Clinton argued for openness Tuesday night during her latest debate with Democratic rival Barack Obama. "I will release my tax returns," Clinton said during the debate. "I have consistently said I will do that once I become the nominee, or even earlier." Pressed about the timing of releasing her tax returns, campaign aides were more reticent Wednesday, indicating that Clinton would not release the sensitive financial data during a hotly contested primary, but only at tax filing time.

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.

Oil hits a high; some in U.S. see $4 gas by spring

International Herald Tribune

Gasoline prices, which for months lagged the big run-up in the price of oil, are suddenly rising quickly, with some experts fearing they could hit $4 a gallon by spring. Diesel is hitting new records daily and oil closed at an all-time high on Tuesday of $100.88 a barrel. The increases could not come at a worse time for the economy. With growth slowing, high energy prices that were once easily absorbed by consumers are now more likely to act as a drag on household budgets, leaving people with less money to spend elsewhere. These costs could exacerbate the nation's economic woes, piling a fresh energy shock on top of the turmoil in credit and housing. "The effect of high oil prices today could be the difference between having a recession and not having a recession," said Kenneth Rogoff, a Harvard University economist.

A Humbler Bill Clinton

International Herald Tribune

LANCASTER, Ohio: The long campaign has taken some of the fight out of the Big Dog. Bill Clinton is dutifully traveling from state to state and small town to small town on behalf of his wife's presidential candidacy. But the growling and snapping Bill Clinton that the country saw before the New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries has been muzzled and leashed. He is being kept as far from the media as possible to prevent any more of the red-faced, finger-wagging tirades and freelance political commentary that polls say cost Hillary Rodham Clinton a lot of support, particularly among black voters.

Rare criticism in Iran of Ahmadinejad rhetoric on Israel

AFP

TEHRAN (AFP) — A top Iranian cleric made a rare criticism of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's verbal attacks on Israel on Wednesday, saying a foreign policy of "coarse slogans" was not in the national interest. Hassan Rowhani, a former top nuclear negotiator who still holds several influential positions, said that Iran needed to show more flexibility and desire for dialogue in its dealings with the international community. "Does foreign policy mean expressing coarse slogans and grandstanding?" Rowhani asked in a speech to a foreign policy conference in Tehran. "This is not a foreign policy. We need to find an accommodating way to decrease the threats and assure the interests of the country." His comments came a week after the latest verbal attack on Israel by Ahmadinejad, who described the Jewish state as a "dirty microbe" and "savage animal" in a speech to a public rally. The president has already made calls for Israel to be wiped off the map and predicted it is doomed to disappear, provoking international uproar and sharpening tensions in Iran's nuclear standoff with the West. Rowhani warned starkly: "If the international community thinks that a country wants to play troublemaker and eliminate others, it will not let the country do this and will confront it. "We must act in such a way that the world understands that we are ready for more flexibility and more dialogue." Rowhani headed the relatively moderate nuclear negotiating team that served under former president Mohammad Khatami before Ahmadinejad took power in 2005.

Virtual Fence is a Virtual Farce

WeNeedAFence.Com

The “virtual fence” era in America’s long-running immigration debate ended on Friday – less than 24 hours after both Democratic candidates for the Presidency put themselves squarely on the wrong side of it. Last week, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it would abandon plans to extend the Boeing-designed “virtual fence” beyond its initial 28-mile long demonstration phase. In the Thursday night Democratic debate, Senator Clinton said “there is technology that can be used instead of a physical barrier.” A minute or so later, Senator Obama said “this is an area where Senator Clinton and I almost entirely agree,” and then added: “for the most part, having …surveillance, deploying effective technology, that’s going to be the better approach.” Within a few hours, this “better approach” was revealed to have been a failed experiment. There are three elements that are essential to achieving genuine border security: physical infrastructure, adequate manpower and technological backup. Failure to provide any one of them will result in failure to secure the border. A physical fence by itself can be breached, but one that is properly designed, backed up by cameras and high-tech detection devices and adequately staffed with border agents that can get to a point of attempted or successful breach within minutes will in fact secure the border against mass intrusion like nothing else.

Bush aides: Clintons holding up records

Politico

The White House said Wednesday that the Clinton family is holding up the release of schedules from the first lady years of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.). She said in Tuesday’s debate that she wants them out “as quick as possible.” Her campaign says it may take two more weeks for Bruce Lindsey, chief executive officer of the William J. Clinton Foundation, to decide what to put out and then to request release of the papers from the White House. A Clinton aide said Lindsey “is reviewing as expeditiously as possible.” But the aide pointed out that the Clintons have 45 days for review after a Jan. 31 decision by the National Archives approving more than 11,000 pages of documents for release. During the debate in Cleveland, moderator Tim Russert of NBC News noted Clinton’s claim of White House experience and asked her whether she will release the documents “during this primary” to “let the public know what you did, who you met with those eight years.” “Absolutely,” Clinton replied. “I've urged that the process be as quick as possible. … I've urged that, and I hope it will happen.”

Military fears 'unknown quantity'

The Washington Times

Members of Washington's military and defense establishment are expressing trepidation about Sen. Barack Obama, as the Illinois senator comes closer to winning the Democratic presidential nomination and leads in national polls to become commander in chief. But his backers, including a former Air Force chief of staff, say the rookie senator believes in a strong military, and with it, a larger Army and Marine Corps. "Any military person who concludes he's a left-wing, hair-on-fire, Kumbaya child of the '60s has sadly misunderestimated him, to use George Bush's term," said retired Gen. Merrill McPeak. Still, the mostly conservative retired officers, industry executives and current defense officials interviewed by The Washington Times cite Mr. Obama's lack of experience in national security. They also point to his determination to pull American combat units from Iraq at a time when a troop surge has reduced violence, damaged al Qaeda and allowed the Iraqi government to progress toward Sunni-Shia-Kurd reconciliation.

Teens losing touch with common cultural and historical references

USA Today

Big Brother. McCarthyism. The patience of Job. Don't count on your typical teenager to nod knowingly the next time you drop a reference to any of these. A study out today finds that about half of 17-year-olds can't identify the books or historical events associated with them. Twenty-five years after the federal report A Nation at Risk challenged U.S. public schools to raise the quality of education, the study finds high schoolers still lack important historical and cultural underpinnings of "a complete education." And, its authors fear, the nation's current focus on improving basic reading and math skills in elementary school might only make matters worse, giving short shrift to the humanities � even if children can read and do math. "If you think it matters whether or not kids have common historical touchstones and whether, at some level, we feel like members of a common culture, then familiarity with this knowledge matters a lot," says American Enterprise Institute researcher Rick Hess, who wrote the study.

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