Headlines

Politics 

• It Is Possible: Bush’s Ratings Hit New Low
• Bush Defiant Over War, But Acknowledges Misjudgments
• McCain Visits Rocketed Israeli Town
• Michigan Re-Vote Gets Voted Down

US 

• ABC: Hillary Was In White House During Lewinsky Escapade
• Record Flooding Kills 13 In Midwest / Plains
• Boyfriend Of Woman Stuck On Toilet For Two Years Charged

International 

• New Purported Bin Laden Tape Focuses On Cartoons
• British Papers Apologize To Parents Of Missing Madeline
• China’s Apartheid In Tibet
• Olympic Flame Will Still Scale Everest & Cross Tibet
• Chinese Candy - Rat Heads
• Neighbors Recognize Kosovo - Blow To Serbia & Russia
• Somalia’s Islamic Courts Happy To Be On US Terror List

Business & Economics 

• Commodities Plunge, Stock Markets Give Back Gains
• Government To Free Up $200 Billion In Freddie / Fannie Mortgage Financing
• Apple In Music Label Talks To Give Unlimited iTunes Access
• Flour - $16 Four Weeks Ago, $40 Next Week

Facts of the Day

Five years into the Iraq war:

• Daily cost to US taxpayers = $275 Million
• Cost to date = ~$600 Billion
• Total projected cost = $3 Trillion
• US troops killed = 4,000
• US troops wounded = 30,000
• Bush approval rating = 31%
• US troops in Iraq = 150,000+

Video of the Day

As if dealing with his own pastor wasn’t enough, now Obama has this nut making waves on YouTube and in the media. And no, it’s not a joke or spoof.  

 

Politics 

 It Is Possible: Bush’s Ratings Hit New Low

Bush’s approval rating has hit an all-time low as measured by CNN. Only 31% of Americans approve of his performance in office, while 67% disapprove. When the Iraq war began five years ago, his approval rating was at 71%.

Bush Defiant Over War, But Acknowledges Misjudgments

In a speech commemorating the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war, President Bush remained steadfast in his defense of the way, arguing that removing Saddam from power was the right thing to do, while acknowledging to a degree rarely seen that mistakes had been made and the war was taking longer and costing more than what he’d promised. The success of the “surge” was reflected in the relatively subdued, limited nature of the protests seen yesterday, with the New York Times pointing out that the improvement in Iraq has taken the war down from the top of the agenda in the Presidential race. Over the past five years the US has spent over half a trillion dollars (with hundreds of billions more projected) and lost just under 4,000 troops’ lives, with over 150,000 troops still stationed in the country.

McCain Visits Rocketed Israeli Town

In the Middle East as part of a global tour intended to tout his foreign policy experience and credentials, John McCain visited yesterday the Israeli town that has been subject to daily rocket attacks from Hamas terrorists based in Gaza, vowing to remain committed to a two-state peace settlement between Israel and Palestine should he be elected President. 

Michigan Re-Vote Gets Voted Down

A new primary vote in Michigan has officially been ruled out, as it was in Florida, which means that as of today, the Democrat party officially has no viable plan for how to handle the two states’ disqualified slates of delegates. The states were stripped of their delegates for breaking DNC rules and holding their primaries too early, and now neither Obama nor Clinton can win the Democrat nomination without the states’ delegates in play - otherwise the nomination will come down to the un-elected superdelegates.

US 

ABC: Hillary Was In White House During Lewinsky Escapade 

A day after Clinton finally released her schedules from her time First Lady after months of pressure from opponents and advocacy groups, ABC News concluded that Hillary was in the White House at the time of Bill’s infamous encounter with Monica Lewinsky.

Record Flooding Kills 13 In Midwest / Plains

Record floods caused widespread devastation across the plains states and midwest, with at least 13 deaths attributed to the flooding. 

Boyfriend Of Woman Stuck On Toilet For Two Years Charged

The boyfriend of a woman who sat on her toilet for so long that her skin literally grew itself into the seat has been charged with “mistreatment”. The woman was allegedly abused as a child, disorders from which eventually led her to holing up in the bathroom and never coming out, with her boyfriend bringing her food and water. After the boyfriend called the police, they had to use a crowbar to remove the seat and get her to the hospital where it was removed. It’s estimated she had to spend at least two years on the toilet in order for her skin to become attached to it.

International

Middle East 

New Purported Bin Laden Tape Focuses On Cartoons

An audio tape purported to be a new message from Osama Bin Laden was released on a terrorist website yesterday and focused the Danish political cartoons that depicted Muhammad as a terrorist and promised retribution against Europe. He accused the Pope of helping orchestrate a “crusade” against Muslims, of which the cartoons are part. The cartoons were originally published in 2006 and literally caused riots in the Muslim world that killed over 50 people - Danish newspapers recently reprinted the cartoons in a sign of defiance and commitment to free speech. The tape did not make any references to indicate that it was recently recorded, curious given the tape was released on the five-year anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq. In perhaps an indication of his increasing irrelevance, worldwide media coverage of the statement was decidedly mundane and casual compared to statements from years past.

Europe 

British Papers Apologize To Parents Of Missing Madeline

Two British newspapers offered a very rare, public apology to Kate and Gerry McCann, the parents of the four-year-old Madeline who made global headlines after being abducted during a vacation to Portugal. The newspapers had bashed the couple since their daughter’s disappearance, implying they’d killed her and covered up the crime. British newspapers are famous for their tabloid nature and “rarely” make apologies - when they do, they are not publicized. 

Neighbors Recognize Kosovo - Blow To Serbia & Russia

“Croatia, Hungary and Bulgaria announced Wednesday that they would recognize Kosovo, a blow to Serbia’s efforts to overturn Kosovo’s month-old declaration of independence.” After declaring independence last month, the West (which provides protection for the country under NATO) immediately recognized Kosovo as an independent nation, while Serbia was furious and was backed in opposing the separation by Russia and Spain, both of whom have separatist populations seeking independence. Kosovo is one of the Balkan countries that used to be part of Yugoslavia. 

Asia 

China’s Apartheid In Tibet

This New York Times piece highlights the degree to which the Chinese have oppressed and subjugated Tibetans to a degree that rivals the worst of past European imperialism. The Chinese government has spent billions of dollars relocating ethnic Chinese to Tibet in an attempt to consolidate control over the country that China has occupied since invading it in 1950, setting up a caste system that echos South Africa’s apartheid. 

Olympic Flame Will Still Scale Everest & Cross Tibet

“Despite violent protests in Tibet, China [will still] take the Olympic torch to Tibet and Mount Everest. The torch will be lighted in Athens on Monday and, after a global tour of 135 cities, is to reach the top of Mount Everest sometime in May, [and then] taken through Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, the site of deadly riots last week and a continuing Chinese crackdown.”

Chinese Candy - Rat Heads

“South Korea’s food authorities will investigate a factory in China after a bag of a popular snack food it produced contained what appeared to be a rat’s head.“ 

Africa 

Somalia’s Islamic Courts Happy To Be On US Terror List

After the State Department added Somalia’s “Islamic Courts” to its list of global terror organizations, a spokesman for the group said, “We are happy that the U.S. put us on its list of terrorists, a name given to pure Muslims who are strong and clear in their religious position. We would have been happy to be the first, but now we are unhappy that we are the last.”

The US has attacked terrorist elements within Somalia at least three times over the past year, shelling targets from Navy ships and bombing with US warplanes. Somalia has had no government for almost two decades and after briefly taking power in 2006, the Islamic Courts were defeated by Ethiopian troops with the backing of the US.

Business & Economics 

Commodities Plunge, Stock Markets Give Back Gains

The markets gave up yesterday most of the gains from Tuesday’s post-Fed-interest-rate-cut rally, with both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq down about 2.5% and the Dow down nearly 300 points, or 2.3%, indications that investors are still jittery. Commodities took huge plunges as investors backed out of the bets they made that the Fed’s cut would be 1%, not the actual 0.75% (a bigger cut / lower rate means higher inflation, so higher commodity prices) - oil was down 5%, gold 6%, and silver and wheat both down 8%.

Government To Free Up $200 Billion In Freddie / Fannie Mortgage Financing

In another move by the government to help ease the credit crunch and the mortgage markets in particular, the Bush Administration has given the go-ahead for regulators to reduce the amount of required on-hand capital for the country’s two largest and government-backed mortgage financing companies, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. The changes will free up $200 billion for the companies to invest in mortgages - investments that almost nobody is currently buying, which is leading to the massive write-downs hitting major investors, such as the recently-imploded investment bank, Bear Stearns.

Apple In Music Label Talks To Give Unlimited iTunes Access

Apple is in talks with music labels to offer customers buying Apple hardware the option of paying a premium in order to have free access to the entire iTunes library of music for the lifetime of the hardware device. The plan is modeled after similar deals that bundle music with hardware, while another option being considered is to give consumers unlimited access for a monthly subscription fee.

Flour - $16 Four Weeks Ago, $40 Next Week

A CNN story about a Manhattan pizzeria highlights the acute inflation that is possibly in store after the Fed’s dramatic and unprecedented series of interest rate cuts designed to bail out Wall Street and stimulate economic growth. A bag of flour cost the pizzeria $16 four weeks ago - today the same bag costs $37, and the supplier is raising prices to $40 next week. The price hikes are being driven by inflation, oil prices, and increased ethanol consumption, which is fermented from corn as a gasoline alternative.