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Thursday, June 4, 2009
AID AGENCIES PREPARE FOR GROWING EMERGENCY AS PAKISTAN CONFLICT WIDENS
NEW DELHI - Aid workers struggling to help hundreds of thousands of war-displaced people in Pakistan are preparing for even greater challenges as the army looks to expand its offensive against Taliban militants to the border with Afghanistan. . . .READ MORE
PRESIDENT CALLS FOR "A NEW
BEGINNING" WITH MUSLIM WORLD
WASHINGTON TIMES: President Barack Obama, speaking at Cairo University, called upon Muslims "to join together" with the United States "on behalf of the world". His speech ranged widely, touching on Holocaust denial, nuclear proliferation, violent extremism, human rights, and the perceived foreign affairs sins of the United States. The crowd offered profuse applause at points and stony silence at others. The President left for Germany shortly afterwards. . . .READ MORE
REUTERS: "Obama seeks to change Muslim perceptions of U.S.". . .READ MORE
TEXT OF THE SPEECH
VIDEO OF THE SPEECH
REACTIONS AND COMMENTARY: WILLIAM JACOBSON, PETER DAOU, DOUG POWERS, ED MORRISSEY, DONALD DOUGLAS, ANDY MCCARTHY, DUANE LESTER, THE ANCHORESS, PUNDETTE, MARK THIESSEN, GREG GUTFIELD, RICH LOWRY, MICHELLE MALKIN, STEPHEN F. HAYES
MORE AT MEMEORANDUM
REUTERS: "Obama seeks to change Muslim perceptions of U.S.". . .READ MORE
TEXT OF THE SPEECH
VIDEO OF THE SPEECH
REACTIONS AND COMMENTARY: WILLIAM JACOBSON, PETER DAOU, DOUG POWERS, ED MORRISSEY, DONALD DOUGLAS, ANDY MCCARTHY, DUANE LESTER, THE ANCHORESS, PUNDETTE, MARK THIESSEN, GREG GUTFIELD, RICH LOWRY, MICHELLE MALKIN, STEPHEN F. HAYES
MORE AT MEMEORANDUM
CUBA REJECTS OAS MEMBERSHIP, OFFICIAL SAYS
A.M. MARKET UPDATE
NEW FINANCIAL SECTOR REGULATION
PROPOSAL PENDING
FOX BUSINESS: House Republicans are putting the final touches on their proposal to overhaul the financial regulatory system. The broad changes would, among other things, remove many oversight responsibilities from the Federal Reserve, direct failing companies toward bankruptcy, and end government conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. . . .READ MORE
EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK BRIGHTENS
CNN/MONEY: According to two separate reports on the labor market, job losses will continue but the rate of decrease will lessen. Joek Prakken, a spokesman for Automated Data processing and chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers, LLC said, "The free fall in the economy is likely over" but he also allowed that, "It's quite likely that employment has another million or million and a quarter to fall." . . .READ MORE
FANNIE MAE AND FREDDIE MAC
STILL STRUGGLE
WASHINGTON TIMES: Though neither Fannie Mae nor Freddie Mac will likely need more than the $400 billion in emergency aid they have received from the Treasury Department, both will struggle for some time. Federal Housing Finance Agency Director James Lockhart said that "The short-term outlook for the enterprises' financial results is poor." Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac own or guarantee approximately 45 percent of the nation's residential mortgage market. . . .
READ MORE
ASIAN MARKETS FALL
BLOOMBERG: Asian markets fell Wednesday on news that the U.S. service sector did not improve as much as predicted and declining job numbers. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.7 percent and the Nikkei Index fell 0.3 percent. Markets in Australia and New Zealand closed lower as well. . . .READ MORE
JAPANESE COMPANIES SLASH
SPENDING, PROFITS FALL
BLOOMBERG: Japanese companies cut capital spending over 25 percent in the first three months of 2009, according to the Ministry of Finance. That is the largest decrease since the Ministry started measuring the statistic in 1955. Profits were down 69 percent over the same three months. . . .READ MORE
GOLD AND SILVER FALL
AGAINST RESURGENT DOLLAR
MARKETWATCH: Gold and silver prices dropped as the dollar halted its slide on news that the E.U. posted a 2.5 percent decrease in GDP. The price of gold for delivery in June dropped 1.9 percent or $18.70 and July silver dropped 4 percent or 64.5 cents. . . .READ MORE
PROPOSAL PENDING
FOX BUSINESS: House Republicans are putting the final touches on their proposal to overhaul the financial regulatory system. The broad changes would, among other things, remove many oversight responsibilities from the Federal Reserve, direct failing companies toward bankruptcy, and end government conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. . . .READ MORE
EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK BRIGHTENS
CNN/MONEY: According to two separate reports on the labor market, job losses will continue but the rate of decrease will lessen. Joek Prakken, a spokesman for Automated Data processing and chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers, LLC said, "The free fall in the economy is likely over" but he also allowed that, "It's quite likely that employment has another million or million and a quarter to fall." . . .READ MORE
FANNIE MAE AND FREDDIE MAC
STILL STRUGGLE
WASHINGTON TIMES: Though neither Fannie Mae nor Freddie Mac will likely need more than the $400 billion in emergency aid they have received from the Treasury Department, both will struggle for some time. Federal Housing Finance Agency Director James Lockhart said that "The short-term outlook for the enterprises' financial results is poor." Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac own or guarantee approximately 45 percent of the nation's residential mortgage market. . . .
READ MORE
ASIAN MARKETS FALL
BLOOMBERG: Asian markets fell Wednesday on news that the U.S. service sector did not improve as much as predicted and declining job numbers. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.7 percent and the Nikkei Index fell 0.3 percent. Markets in Australia and New Zealand closed lower as well. . . .READ MORE
JAPANESE COMPANIES SLASH
SPENDING, PROFITS FALL
BLOOMBERG: Japanese companies cut capital spending over 25 percent in the first three months of 2009, according to the Ministry of Finance. That is the largest decrease since the Ministry started measuring the statistic in 1955. Profits were down 69 percent over the same three months. . . .READ MORE
GOLD AND SILVER FALL
AGAINST RESURGENT DOLLAR
MARKETWATCH: Gold and silver prices dropped as the dollar halted its slide on news that the E.U. posted a 2.5 percent decrease in GDP. The price of gold for delivery in June dropped 1.9 percent or $18.70 and July silver dropped 4 percent or 64.5 cents. . . .READ MORE
CHINA: TIANANMEN SQUARE ANNIVERSARY
REUTERS: The Chinese government has tightened security dramatically on the 20th anniversary of the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in and around Tienanmen Square. A Reuters photographer was told to erase pictures he took of the flag-raising in the square and was stopped from taking more. . . .READ MORE
CNN: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calls on China to provide "a public accounting of those killed, detained or missing, both to learn and to heal" and to "give the rule of law, protection of internationally recognized human rights, and democratic development the same priority as it has given to economic reform.". . .READ MORE
WALL STREET JOURNAL: Claudia Rosett witnessed the protest and resulting government actions. . . .READ MORE
ASIA TIMES: "Tienanmen Legacy Lingers". . . .READ MORE
REUTERS: Andrew Roche was imprisoned by the police during the protest and recounts his time in Tienamnen Square. . . .READ MORE
CNN: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calls on China to provide "a public accounting of those killed, detained or missing, both to learn and to heal" and to "give the rule of law, protection of internationally recognized human rights, and democratic development the same priority as it has given to economic reform.". . .READ MORE
WALL STREET JOURNAL: Claudia Rosett witnessed the protest and resulting government actions. . . .READ MORE
ASIA TIMES: "Tienanmen Legacy Lingers". . . .READ MORE
REUTERS: Andrew Roche was imprisoned by the police during the protest and recounts his time in Tienamnen Square. . . .READ MORE
NEW AIR FRANCE DEBRIS DISCOVERED
REUTERS: Search crews have found new wreckage of a lost Air France flight spread over 55 miles of the Atlantic Ocean, including a fuel streak approximately 12 miles long. According to Brazilian Defense Minister Nelson Jobim, the fuel makes the possibility that the flight was downed by an explosion unlikely. Crews continue to search an area approximately 685 miles from the Brazilian coast for more wreckage and survivors though the hopes of finding the latter are very slim. . . .READ MORE
SOCIAL NETWORKING USE SKYROCKETS
REUTERS: Time spent on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter has increased 83 percent since last year, according to Nielsen Online. Facebook saw the greatest numeric increase, as users spent a total of 13.9 billion minutes on the site in April, a 700 percent increase. Twitter had the greatest percentage increase over last year, 3,712 percent. MySpace saw a dramatic decrease in time over last year but remains the favorite social networking site for video streams. . . .READ MORE
DATA FROM NIELSEN ONLINE
DATA FROM NIELSEN ONLINE
EXCLUSIVE: WILL JOKES OF SENDING
SECRET SIGNALS WITH NECKTIE
BRADLEY PRIZES AWARDED AT KENNEDY CENTER
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- George F. Will joked Wednesday night that when he wears his official Federalist Society tie on television it is "a secret signal to sleeper cells of Madisonians."
He made the joke while introducing former Sen. Spencer Abraham, Professor Steven Calabresi, Leonard Leo, former Rep. David McIntosh, Eugene B. Meyer, and Lee Lieberman Otis, all founders and leaders of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies. The men received one of four $250,000 Bradley Prizes at a ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Will also said he attended oral arguments for the Ricci v DiStefano case before the Supreme Court and noticed that many members of the New Haven, Conn., Fire Department were attending in their uniforms. Will told the audience that he remarked to the firefighters "if the Yale Law School catches fire, take your time."
Meyer, President of the Federalist Society, accepted the award on behalf of his fellow members and spoke of its mission as "the task of preserving a free society." Meyer then quoted James Madison who said "the essence of government is power" and made reference to Lord Acton's famous dictum that power corrupts.
Also receiving an award was William Kristol, publisher of the Weekly Standard, who joked that he believed he must be receiving the award for his "long record of demonstrating empathy." He also joked about the Bradley Foundation's support for his work, saying that "conspiratorial bloggers" will be whispering the next time he is "seen having breakfast" with Michael Grebe, the Foundation's president and chief executive officer.
Other recipients were Sir Martin Gilbert, the official biographer of Winston Churchill, and Arnold Harberger, Professor of Economics at the University of California at Los Angeles.
EARLIER NTC NEWS COVERAGE OF THE 2009 BRADLEY AWARDS
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- George F. Will joked Wednesday night that when he wears his official Federalist Society tie on television it is "a secret signal to sleeper cells of Madisonians."
He made the joke while introducing former Sen. Spencer Abraham, Professor Steven Calabresi, Leonard Leo, former Rep. David McIntosh, Eugene B. Meyer, and Lee Lieberman Otis, all founders and leaders of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies. The men received one of four $250,000 Bradley Prizes at a ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Will also said he attended oral arguments for the Ricci v DiStefano case before the Supreme Court and noticed that many members of the New Haven, Conn., Fire Department were attending in their uniforms. Will told the audience that he remarked to the firefighters "if the Yale Law School catches fire, take your time."
Meyer, President of the Federalist Society, accepted the award on behalf of his fellow members and spoke of its mission as "the task of preserving a free society." Meyer then quoted James Madison who said "the essence of government is power" and made reference to Lord Acton's famous dictum that power corrupts.
Also receiving an award was William Kristol, publisher of the Weekly Standard, who joked that he believed he must be receiving the award for his "long record of demonstrating empathy." He also joked about the Bradley Foundation's support for his work, saying that "conspiratorial bloggers" will be whispering the next time he is "seen having breakfast" with Michael Grebe, the Foundation's president and chief executive officer.
Other recipients were Sir Martin Gilbert, the official biographer of Winston Churchill, and Arnold Harberger, Professor of Economics at the University of California at Los Angeles.
EARLIER NTC NEWS COVERAGE OF THE 2009 BRADLEY AWARDS
STANLEY CUP GAME 4 PREVIEW
USA TODAY: The Detroit Red Wings take a 2-1 series lead into Pittsburgh for Game Four of the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday Night. Pittsburgh won Game Three on Monday night 4-2 on a strong performance from Evgeni Malkin, who has scored 21 points in the past ten games. . . .READ MORE
NEW YORK TIMES: Game Three of the Stanley Cup Finals drew almost 3 million viewers to the VERSUS channel, a record for the network. VERSUS was the most-watched cable television channel in the U.S. Monday night and the audience was the largest for a hockey game broadcast on cable television since 2002. . . .READ MORE
NEW YORK TIMES: Game Three of the Stanley Cup Finals drew almost 3 million viewers to the VERSUS channel, a record for the network. VERSUS was the most-watched cable television channel in the U.S. Monday night and the audience was the largest for a hockey game broadcast on cable television since 2002. . . .READ MORE
JOLIE "MOST POWERFUL CELEBRITY"
TIMES ONLINE (UK): Forbes Magazine had named actress Angelina Jolie as the most powerful celebrity in the world. Jolie eked out Oprah Winfrey for the title, according to the yearly Forbes Celebrity 100 Power List. The list uses a combination of media exposure and yearly earnings to determine its rankings. President Barack Obama debuted on this year's life in the 49th position. . . .READ MORE
300 WORDS OR LESS: 06.04.09
Back Off, Haters
Bill O’Reilly and many Americans consistently denounce child molesters and fight to prevent crimes against children with tough language and legal action. If a random person who agrees with this anti-molestation sentiment kills someone charged with crimes against children, would O’Reilly and all anti-molestation activists be accused of having the molester’s blood on their hands? Would it mean that raving MSNBC anchors and blog readers would blame anti-molestation advocates for murder on the grounds that they called child predators exactly what they are and urged legal action against them in order to defend children from heinous crimes? No, that would be ridiculous.
Or try this: If someone passionately anti-dog abuse attacked Michael Vick, would everyone else adamantly against animal abuse need to feel responsible for the attack? Would anyone who accurately called Vick a dog killer be viciously attacked for those words? And would people instinctively jump to defend violence against dogs, rather than simply condemn a criminal attack on Vick? No, that would be rather sickening too.
That is what happened to the pro-life movement this week, after someone rightfully opposed to killing unborn babies wrongfully murdered Kansas abortionist Dr. George Tiller. Murder at either man’s hand was condemnable, but that isn’t how bitter people opposed to pro-life activism addressed the murder of Tiller. O’Reilly was verbally charged with contributing to the murder for speaking out against Tiller’s 60,000 plus late-term abortions. I was called a murderer on my blog, because I’m pro-life. Pro-choice radicals refer to pro-life activists, Christians and conservatives as terrorists for speaking truth about abortion, something they vehemently hate hearing and crave to silence, even by exploiting the murder of Tiller. This revealing display of bitter hatred this week was reprehensible.
- Becky Brindle
Bill O’Reilly and many Americans consistently denounce child molesters and fight to prevent crimes against children with tough language and legal action. If a random person who agrees with this anti-molestation sentiment kills someone charged with crimes against children, would O’Reilly and all anti-molestation activists be accused of having the molester’s blood on their hands? Would it mean that raving MSNBC anchors and blog readers would blame anti-molestation advocates for murder on the grounds that they called child predators exactly what they are and urged legal action against them in order to defend children from heinous crimes? No, that would be ridiculous.
Or try this: If someone passionately anti-dog abuse attacked Michael Vick, would everyone else adamantly against animal abuse need to feel responsible for the attack? Would anyone who accurately called Vick a dog killer be viciously attacked for those words? And would people instinctively jump to defend violence against dogs, rather than simply condemn a criminal attack on Vick? No, that would be rather sickening too.
That is what happened to the pro-life movement this week, after someone rightfully opposed to killing unborn babies wrongfully murdered Kansas abortionist Dr. George Tiller. Murder at either man’s hand was condemnable, but that isn’t how bitter people opposed to pro-life activism addressed the murder of Tiller. O’Reilly was verbally charged with contributing to the murder for speaking out against Tiller’s 60,000 plus late-term abortions. I was called a murderer on my blog, because I’m pro-life. Pro-choice radicals refer to pro-life activists, Christians and conservatives as terrorists for speaking truth about abortion, something they vehemently hate hearing and crave to silence, even by exploiting the murder of Tiller. This revealing display of bitter hatred this week was reprehensible.
- Becky Brindle
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