March 1, 2013

Kerry to admonish Turkish PM Erdogan for "offensive" remark calling Zionism a crime against humanity

Source: CBS News

A senior American official said Friday that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will take Turkey's prime minister to task for "particularly offensive" comments he made this week equating Zionism with a crime against humanity.

According to the official, Kerry felt the Turkish-Israeli relationship was currently "frozen."

CBS News correspondent Margaret Brennan reports that a U.S. official aboard Kerry's plane to Ankara said the comments could have a "corrosive effect" on U.S. relations with Turkey, and that Kerry intended to express his "dismay" to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan over his remark made during a United Nations summit in Vienna.

Erdogan's remarks were of significant concern, said the official, as in the past the Turkish-Israeli relationship had demonstrated that a majority Muslim country can have "very positive" relations with the Jewish state.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57572001/kerry-to-admonish-turkish-pm-erdogan-for-offensive-remark-calling-zionism-a-crime-against-humanity-official-says/

March 1, 2013

Horse meat plant in US near approval

Source: Boston Globe

NEW YORK — With a horse meat controversy raging in Europe, the US Department of Agriculture is likely to approve a horse slaughtering plant in New Mexico in the next two months — making it the first time since 2007 that equine meat suitable for human consumption will be produced in the United States.

The plant, in Roswell, N.M., is owned by Valley Meat Co., which sued the USDA in the fall over the lack of inspection services for horses going to slaughter. Horse meat cannot be processed for human consumption in the United States without inspection by the USDA, so horses destined for that purpose have been shipped to places such as Mexico and Canada for slaughter.

Justin DeJong, a spokesman for the Agriculture Department, said several companies had asked the agency to reestablish inspection of horses for slaughter.

He said the Obama administration was urging Congress to reinstate an effective ban on the production of horse meat for human consumption; that ban lapsed in 2011.

Read more: http://bostonglobe.com/business/2013/03/01/chances-horse-meat-scandal/6SvMEKVgPwwkzLnftjIVwK/story.html

February 21, 2013

Harry Reid on running again in 2016: 'Sure, why not?'

Source: The Hill

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he'll run for a sixth term in the Senate in 2016 — though it doesn't sound like he's given the bid much thought at this point.

"Sure, why not?" he responded when asked by a Nevada reporter if he'll run again.

Reid, who won a hard-fought reelection battle in 2010, will be 76 by 2016.

He refused to speculate on whether Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) would run against him. Sandoval, a popular governor who is Hispanic, would likely be Republicans' best chance at the seat in the Democratic-trending state.


Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/senate-races/284169-harry-reid-on-running-again-in-2016-sure-why-not

February 21, 2013

We're winning. Marco Rubio steals a position straight from the Democratic Party Platform.

Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio calls Jerusalem Israel’s capital

JERUSALEM — An influential Republican senator has called Jerusalem the capital of Israel, taking a stand on an explosive issue between Israel and the Palestinians.

The fate of Jerusalem is one of the most intractable issues in the Mideast conflict with both Israelis and Palestinians claiming rights to the city.

In his first official visit to the country, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio told Israel’s president on Wednesday that Jerusalem is “of course the capital of your country.” He reiterated America’s bipartisan support for Israel.

more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/congress/florida-republican-sen-marco-rubio-calls-jerusalem-israels-capital/2013/02/20/910306c8-7b83-11e2-9c27-fdd594ea6286_story.html

From the Democratic Party's Platform adopted at last year's convention:

Jerusalem is and will remain the capital of Israel.

http://www.democrats.org/democratic-national-platform#stronger-world

February 20, 2013

Jesse Jackson Jr., Sandi Jackson expected to plead guilty

Source: Chicago Tribune

WASHINGTON — Former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., and his wife, former Chicago Ald. Sandi Jackson, are expected to plead guilty to federal charges today, when more details may emerge about an alleged crime spree in which he is accused of spending more than $750,000 in campaign cash to buy luxury items, memorabilia and other goods.

Attorneys familiar with public corruption investigations said the amount of campaign cash allegedly converted to personal use in this case is the largest of any that they can remember.

Jackson Jr., who has been largely out of the public eye for eight months, is to appear in court at 9:30 a.m. Chicago time. His wife is to appear at 1:30 p.m. Chicago time. Both Jacksons will stand before U.S. District Court Judge Robert Wilkins.

Sentencing is not expected for several weeks. Jackson Jr. faces up to five years in prison, while she faces up to three years, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-jesse-jackson-jr-sandi-jackson-plea-hearings-wednesday-20130219,0,1510803.story

February 15, 2013

The police have determined the cause of the fire in the Dorner case:

February 7, 2013

Bruce Braley will run for Harkin’s Senate seat

Source: Des Moines Register

U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley intends to run for the U.S. Senate seat that fellow Democrat Tom Harkin will leave open in 2014, his advisers told The Des Moines Register this morning.

Braley, who top Iowa Democrats have said was the favorite for the Democratic nomination, will send out the news in an email to supporters today saying he’s “ready to go.”

His formal announcement will come later, but today he is setting up a committee to run for the U.S. Senate – a big step forward, his advisers said. Filing the paperwork will mean he can begin to raise money for a Senate campaign.

Harkin, 73, startled even those closest to him when revealed just under two weeks ago, on Jan. 26, that he will retire after four decades in Congress. He said he wants to clear the way for younger Iowans to take the reins, and spend quality time with his wife in his twilight years.

Read more: http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2013/02/07/bruce-braley-will-run-for-harkins-senate-seat/article?sf9340306=1

February 6, 2013

Washington Post: The American public loves drones

The ongoing debate between Congress and the White House over its use of drone strikes — a conversation spurred by the leak of an Administration memo detailing broad leeway for unmanned drone strikes to be used against U.S. citizens — will reach fever pitch in the nation’s capital Thursday when John Brennan’s confirmation hearings to be the next CIA Director begin.

But, when it comes to drones, the fight in Washington has no parallel in the public at large. Put simply: Americans love drones.

A look across the polling landscape on the Obama Administration’s increased reliance on drones suggests that support for the strikes is not only wide but also bipartisan.

A February 2012 Washington Post-ABC poll showed that eight in ten Americans (83 percent) approved of the Obama Administrations use of unmanned drones against suspected terrorists overseas — with a whopping 59 percent strongly approving of the practice. Support for the drone attacks was also remarkably bipartisan. Seventy six percent of Republicans and 58 percent of Republicans approved of the policy.

more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/02/06/the-american-public-loves-drones/