Headlines

Politics

• Dean Under Fire For “Lack Of Leadership”
• “Typical” Republican-Supporting Businesses Giving To Clinton & Obama, Not McCain
• Clinton: “I’m Like Rocky”
• Fifteen House Members Join Pelosi In Calling For Bush To Boycott Olympics
• Murdoch’s Daughter Holding Obama Fund-Raiser In London
• McCain, Letterman Exchange Jabs

US

• Attitudes Towards US Improving For First Time In Years
• Trucker Strike Makes Minimal Impact
• Hundreds Of Chicago Students Protest Soaring Gun Violence
• Third Graders Caught Plotting To Attack Teacher
• Suspicious-Acting Man Apprehended At Orlando’s Airport Caught With Bomb Components

International

• Chinese Propaganda: Tibet Planning Suicide Attacks On Olympics
• South Korea Tells North Korea To Shut Up
• Mugabe’s State Newspaper Declares A Run-Off Likely
• UAE Found To Be Diverting US Technologies To Iran, Syria, Pakistan
• UK’s Brown Announces Iraq Troop Withdrawal Reversal
• Bush Supports Ukraine’s NATO Bid, Despite Russian Opposition

Business & Economics

• IMF: Worst US Crisis Since Depression Could Cause World Recession
• Wall Street Attempts Rally On Bad News
• Congress Grills Oil Executives
• Automakers Take Big US Sales Hit - 12% YoY

Video of the Day

Senator Clinton compares herself to Rocky and Obama attacks McCain over “pickle”.

Politics

Dean Under Fire For “Lack Of Leadership”

Since taking the helm of the Democrat party, Howard Dean has been consistently criticized by different factions in the party for his laid-back approach and to some, lack of leadership. He is increasingly coming under pressure from Democrat officials to take a more proactive role in settling the ongoing battle between Clinton and Obama that threatens to damage the party’s chances in the general election. Dean has so far taken a very neutral stance, saying he will not take an active role in settling the race or resolving the Florida and Michigan delegate debacle in which both states’ delegates were disqualified after the state primaries were held earlier than party rules allowed.

“Typical” Republican-Supporting Businesses Giving To Clinton & Obama, Not McCain

The Wall Street Journal reports McCain is “getting his clock cleaned” by Clinton and Obama when it comes to raising money from the business interests that typically support Republican candidates.

Clinton: “I’m Like Rocky”

Speaking in Rocky’s home town of Philadelphia and responding to calls from prominent Democrats to cede the race to Obama, Clinton said: “When it comes to finishing a fight, Rocky and I have a lot in common. I never quit.” Afterwards, the GOP pointed out that Rocky lost to Apollo Creed, possibly unaware of the next logical insinuation that Obama is Apollo.

Fifteen House Members Join Pelosi In Calling For Bush To Boycott Olympics

Following up on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s calls for Bush to reconsider boycotting the Olympics in protest of China’s abysmal human rights record and bloody crackdown in Tibet protests, fifteen House members jointly called on Bush to stay away from Beijing.

Murdoch’s Daughter Holding Obama Fund-Raiser In London

The daughter of Rupert Murdoch - the Australian-born American media magnate whose News Corporation owns the Fox network, Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post - is holding a fund-raiser for Obama in London, which is being co-hosted with Gweneth Paltrow. While the event is being held in the UK, only American citizens can contribute to the campaign.

McCain, Letterman Exchange Jabs

John McCain and David Letterman sparred on CBS’s Late Show last night, with Letterman ribbing McCain as looking like “the guy who makes the keys at the hardware store” and McCain ribbing Letterman, saying he “looks like the guy whose laptop would be seized by the authorities”.

US

Attitudes Towards US Improving For First Time In Years

After years of declining results, a BBC poll finds world attitudes toward the US are improving, though the US still rates behind countries such as Russia and China, with more people still perceiving the US poorly. Across the globe, only 35% of people view the US favorably, while 47% view it negatively. This is compared to 47-32 for China and 37-34 for Russia.

Trucker Strike Makes Minimal Impact

Despite reports that independent US truckers were organizing a widespread strike starting yesterday and lasting through Thursday, the number of truckers actually participating turned out to be disappointing, with the collective impact being minimal. The most noticeable disruptions occurred in isolated cases, such as three trucks slowing traffic on a New Jersey highway to 20 mph around noon, before being cited by state police. The greatest threat, however, isn’t from protests, it’s from the impending fact that independent truckers can no longer profitably operate with their wages and today’s gas prices.

Hundreds Of Chicago Students Protest Soaring Gun Violence

Hundreds of Chicago public school students protested in front of a state government building on Monday, demanding more security from the city and state after a total of 20 students have been fatally shot this year, compared to 24 in all of last year.

Third Graders Caught Plotting To Attack Teacher

Nine third-graders in a Georgia school were suspended for planning to attack their teacher. The plot was interrupted when the children were apprehended bringing to school materials ranging from knives, handcuffs, duct tape, to gloves. No criminal charges will be filed against the students, but the district attorney will be filing juvenile charges.

Suspicious-Acting Man Apprehended At Orlando’s Airport Caught With Bomb Components

A man was apprehended at Orlando’s airport after being identified by behaviorist specialists as acting suspciously, and was found to be carrying bomb-making components. The man was waiting to board a flight to Jamaica, with passengers saying he “looked like a wacko”.

International

Asia

Chinese Propaganda: Tibet Planning Suicide Attacks On Olympics

After several weeks of devastating international publicity over their brutal occupation and subjugation of Tibet, Chinese authorities are terrified of the public relations debacle that may ensue of protests are allowed to consume media coverage of this summer’s Olympics. Playing to the nationalist fires the government regularly stokes for domestic political ends, the government is saying organized Tibetan groups are planning suicide attacks during the Games. The exiled Tibetan government declared they are 100% committed to non-violence, after the government’s leader, the Dalai Lama, has offered to meet face-to-face with Beijing officials and publicly called for an end to the violence.

South Korea Tells North Korea To Shut Up

In response to North Korea’s recent hostile rhetoric - which has included a promise to “reduce the South to ashes” - and provocations that have included test-firing missiles, South Korea’s defense ministry sent a radio message to the North, demanding it stop it’s verbal attacks. The North has been responding to the South’s election of a new president who has been taking a harder line than previous administrations. Analysts speculate the North may be trying to influence South Korea’s parliamentary elections next week.

Africa

Mugabe’s State Newspaper Declares A Run-Off Likely

In perhaps a sign of how President Mugabe’s dictatorial government is fixing Zimbabwe’s election results from Saturday’s vote, the country’s state-run newspaper declared neither Mugabe nor his opponent appeared to have secured more than the 50% of the vote required to win, which would send the election into a runoff. This despite the opposition claiming early results showing a landslide victory. The lack of results four days after the election has served as evidence to some that the government is busy trying to rig the results. Mugabe’s dictatorial regime has destroyed Zimbabwe’s economy, giving it the dubious honor of boasting the world’s highest rate of inflation, at 100,000%.

Middle East

UAE Found To Be Diverting US Technologies To Iran, Syria, Pakistan

After US computer circuits exported to the United Arab Emirates started showing up in Iranian-made IEDs in Iraq, the US confronted the UAE - supposed to be a US ally - over their export practices that were potentially supplying sensitive US goods and technologies to potential enemies in Iran, Syria, and Pakistan. US inspectors following-up on exports have found widescale diversion of sensitives US technologies that could be used for military and intelligence purposes, despite the UAE’s breathless assurances that they were cracking down on the activity. The UAE has close ties to geographically-nearby Iran, and is home to nearly half a million Iranians.

Europe

UK’s Brown Announces Iraq Troop Withdrawal Reversal

After promising only months ago to accelerate the withdrawal of British troops, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced a reversal after British troops played a critical role in supporting - and saving - the Iraqi troops battling Shia militias loyal to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in the southern oil port of Basra. His decision follows a similar one by US commanders to temporarily pause the planned draw-down of “surge” forces that have helped stabilize the country.

Bush Supports Ukraine’s NATO Bid, Despite Russian Opposition

President Bush announced his support for Ukraine joining NATO, despite the fact doing so will antagonize Russia, with whom he is currently in delicate negotiations over US plans to locate missile defense installations in Eastern Europe to protect against attacks from rogue nations such as Iran. Viewing the missile defense system as a partial neutralization of their nuclear arsenal, Russia has threatened participating countries with the prospect of nuclear missiles aimed at them. France and Germany both oppose Ukraine’s bid because they don’t want to provoke Russia, who has regularly used its role as energy-supplier to bully European nations.

Business & Economics

IMF: Worst US Crisis Since Depression Could Cause World Recession

“The International Monetary Fund cut its forecast for global growth this year and said there’s a 25 percent chance of a world recession, citing the worst financial crisis in the U.S. since the Great Depression.”

Wall Street Attempts Rally On Bad News

Wall Street kicked off the beginning of the second quarter with a rally that reflected what is perhaps wishful thinking that the worst of the financial crisis has passed. A second round of multi-billion dollar mortgage-related write-offs at UBS and Deutsche Bank and a major flotation of equity from both Lehman Brothers and UBS served as the justification for the rally, hoping the events served as an indication that the Federal Reserve’s radical, precedent-setting interventions into the investment world have served their purpose and restored confidence to the markets. These wishes ignore the fact that the housing market has not yet hit bottom, nor have the credit markets fully absorbed the impact of years of reckless lending.

Congress Grills Oil Executives

Congress tore into oil executives yesterday over soaring gas prices and record oil company profits, accusing the executives of enriching themselves at the expense of the average American. The executives responded that while their profits might look large in absolute terms, the cyclical nature of the industry and competition from hugely wealthy oil-state-owned firms put their hundreds of billions in profits in perspective.

Automakers Take Big US Sales Hit - 12% YoY

Overall US auto sales fell in March by 12% over the previous year, continuing a painful slide that is killing US auto manufacturers who have been suffering massive losses for years over unfunded union medical and pension commitments. Soaring oil prices and a souring economy have contributed to what were already unfavorable conditions.