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[Caro]

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Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com

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U.S. Agency Finds New Waste and Fraud in Iraqi Rebuilding Projects
A federal oversight agency reported that despite nearly $108 billion that had been budgeted for reconstruction, Iraqs electrical output and oil production were still below prewar levels.

Dubya’s World

The World

Mortar attack strikes Sunni neighborhood in Baghdad; killing at least 3, wounding 10
Mortar rounds slammed into a Sunni neighborhood in Baghdad for the third day in a row on Thursday, killing at least three people and wounding 10, hospital officials said.

Report: Iran 2-3 Years From Nuclear Weapon
Iran is two to three years away from having the capacity to build a nuclear weapon, a leading security think tank said. But the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies said domestic opposition to outspoken President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad could still help put the brakes on its nuclear development efforts.
<[b>I’m going to hold off before panicking over this study, because other reports say that Iran doesn’t have enough enriched uranium to build a bomb. —Caro

Israel has no plans against Iran
JERUSALEM - Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres says that Israel does not intend to use military force against Iran, which Israel suspects is building nuclear bombs.

Palestinian cease-fire enters third day
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - A truce between warring Palestinian factions entered its third day Thursday, marred by sporadic shootings.

Paper: NKorea Demands U.S. Lift Sanctions
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea repeated its demand during talks with the United States this week that Washington lift financial restrictions on the communist regime, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper reported Thursday.

75,000 protest tortilla prices in Mexico
MEXICO CITY - About 75,000 trade unionists, farmers and leftists marched through downtown Mexico City on Wednesday to protest price increases for basic foods like tortillas — the staple of Mexico's poor — and to demand a change in economic policy.

Chavez gains free rein in Venezuela
CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez was granted free rein Wednesday to accelerate changes in broad areas of society by presidential decree, a move critics said propels Venezuela toward dictatorship.
Venezuelans, you will be sorry you gave this much power to one person. —Caro

Chirac Unfazed by Nuclear Iran, Then Backtracks
Frances president said that if Iran had one or two nuclear weapons, it would not pose a big danger. A day later, he retracted many of his remarks.

France Tells U.S. to Sign Climate Pacts or Face Tax
President Jacques Chirac of France said Europe could impose a carbon tax on imports from nations that do not participate in the Kyoto climate protocol.

Most top U.N. officials defy resignation request
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Most top U.N. officials have defied a request to submit their resignations to make way for new appointees, the world body said on Wednesday, hinting at the obstacles to reform faced by new U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon.

More peacekeepers heading to Somalia
MOGADISHU, Somalia - Three battalions of peacekeepers from Uganda and Nigeria will be airlifted as soon as possible into Somalia amid rising violence that threatens the government's grip on power, an African Union official said Wednesday.

Chad rebels attack town bordering Sudan's Darfur
N'DJAMENA (Reuters) - Chadian rebels fighting to overthrow President Idriss Deby on Thursday attacked the eastern border town of Adre on the main road route into Sudan's Darfur region, the government and rebel spokesmen said.

The Nation

Kissinger, Albright weigh in on Iraq
WASHINGTON - Former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and Madeleine Albright urged President Bush on Wednesday to go beyond a planned buildup of U.S. forces in Iraq to develop a comprehensive strategy for the area.

General who led Iraq war faces scrutiny
WASHINGTON - Gen. George Casey, who led the Iraq war for more than two tumultuous years, is coming under intense scrutiny for a new Pentagon job as two influential senators try to gain GOP support for a compromise resolution against President Bush's troop buildup.

Judge shelves Gitmo detainee cases
WASHINGTON - Sixteen lawsuits by Guantanamo Bay detainees were put on hold Wednesday by a federal judge who said he may no longer have jurisdiction to hear their cases.


Bush: Link exec salaries to performance
NEW YORK - President Bush challenged corporate America on Wednesday on the lavish salaries and bonuses paid to chief executives, saying their pay should be tied to how much they help their companies' shareholders.
I think we should link the president’s salary to his poll numbers. —Caro

Bush seeks to cut farm program funds
WASHINGTON - Thousands of the richest farmers would lose their government subsidies under a Bush administration plan to curb spending.

Senators face off on greenhouse gas emissions
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Dozens of senators -- including leading 2008 presidential contenders from both major parties -- met on Tuesday to swap proposals that could spur the country's first-ever mandatory caps on greenhouse gases.

House Leaders Eye Outside Ethics Panel
WASHINGTON (AP) - House leaders on Wednesday announced a task force to examine whether an outside panel should investigate ethics problems involving House members.

Reporter: Libby Confirmed Wilson CIA Link
Matt Cooper, a former Time Magazine correspondent, testified that in a 2003 phone conversation, Scooter Libby confirmed what Cooper had heard from Karl Rove: that Ambassador Joe Wilson's wife worked for the CIA.

Jurors may hear Libby's grand jury testimony Thursday
Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald appears to be saving NBC newsman Tim Russert as his last witness in the perjury trial of former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby.

More fallout from Cunningham scandal
Federal prosecutors are preparing to seek indictments against a former top CIA official and a San Diego defense contractor at the center of the bribery scandal that sent former U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham to prison.

Blagojevich, Schwarzenegger to announce energy pact
(Crain’s) — Governors Rod Blagojevich of Illinois and Arnold Schwarzenegger of California are scheduled to announce Thursday what’s being billed as an “energy research partnership” involving universities in both states and a major petroleum company.
Who needs George Bush? —Caro

New Orleans plan sees 10-year, $14 bln rebuilding
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - New Orleans' latest plan to recover from Hurricane Katrina calls for a 10-year rebuilding program costing $14 billion that will leave some neighborhoods still sparsely populated.

Economy & Business

Dow ends up 98 on Fed economic comments
NEW YORK - Stocks shot higher Wednesday after the Federal Reserve answered two of Wall Street's major concerns, indicating that the economy remains healthy and that inflation pressures are easing. The Dow Jones industrials climbed nearly 100 points to set another trading high, while the Russell 2000 index had its first close above 800.

Economy grows at 3.5 percent pace in 4Q
WASHINGTON - The economy snapped out of a sluggish spell and grew at a faster-than-expected 3.5 percent pace in the final quarter of last year as consumers ratcheted up spending despite a painful housing slump.

ALL BUSINESS: Boards clueless on CEO pay
NEW YORK - Shareholders worried about runaway executive pay are likely to be stunned by the findings of a new study that shows many board directors still have no idea how much their CEOs would collect if they retire, are fired or bought out.

U.S. lags on family-oriented job rules
NEW YORK - The United States lags far behind virtually all wealthy countries with regard to family-oriented workplace policies such as maternity leave, paid sick days and support for breast-feeding, a new study by Harvard and McGill University researchers says.

Media

Texas liberal political wit Ivins dies of cancer
HOUSTON (Reuters) - Molly Ivins, the best-selling author and columnist who aimed her razor-sharp barbs at politicians and dubbed President George W. Bush "Shrub," died on Wednesday. She was 62.
You will be greatly missed, Miss Molly. —Caro

Comedian Al Franken to run for Senate
WASHINGTON - Comedian Al Franken has decided to run for the U.S. Senate from Minnesota in 2008, a senior Democratic official from Minnesota said Wednesday.

http://www.thedemocraticstrategist.org/strategist/2007/01/political_internet_use_doubles.php">Political Internet Use Doubles Since '02
The number of Americans who got most of their information about the 2006 campaign on the internet doubled from the most recent mid-term election in 2002 and rivaled the number from the 2004 presidential election...15% of all American adults say the internet was their primary source for campaign news during the election, up from 7% in the mid-term election of 2002 and close to the 18% of Americans who said they relied on the internet during the presidential campaign cycle in 2004.

Group: 81 reporters killed in 2006
PARIS - Eighty-one journalists and media staffers were killed worldwide in 2006, making it the deadliest year for reporters in more than a decade, Reporters Without Borders said Thursday.

At AlwaysOn, talking 'bout the IM generation
Traditional media, from TV stations to advertisers to the print industry, really isn't in touch with the "IM generation" of tech-savvy teenagers and college students. But beyond that, there was some disagreement on whether youth marketing should aim for uber-specific niche targeting or generalist business models that can be interpreted and implemented differently.

NY Times Posts 4Q Loss On Boston Asset Charge
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- New York Times Co. (NYT) swung to a loss in the fourth quarter, stung by a whopping charge to reflect the declining value of its Boston Globe newspaper and other New England assets.

Google income almost triples; investors aloof
SAN FRANCISCO - Google said Wednesday that its quarterly profit rose, beating Wall Street estiamtes, as its ability to capitalize on Web advertising gained momentum against rivals such as Yahoo and Microsoft.

Yahoo Had 50% Gain in Ad Revenue on News Site in 2006
Jan. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Yahoo! Inc.'s online news site generated 50 percent more revenue from advertising last year than in 2005, spurred by new video content that drew visitors. Ad sales on the site may rise by a similar percentage again this year, Scott Moore, Yahoo's head of news and information, said yesterday at a press event. Yahoo users now watch about 60 million news videos a month, up from 3 million in October 2005. ``The advertiser response to this has been phenomenal,'' Moore said.

Yahoo sets its sites on 100 top brands
Using its vast knowledge of how people use the Internet, Yahoo Inc. knows what's hot. Now the online giant is trying to capitalize on that knowledge by building websites dedicated to the 100 hottest entertainment brands. The effort aims to leverage the popularity of franchises such as Nintendo Co.'s Wii video game console or NBC's sitcom "The Office" to draw fans to Yahoo's stable of sites. The company hopes advertisers will follow the fans. Most of the brands selected by Yahoo already have their own websites. But what sets this project apart is that Yahoo is using other companies' products to promote its own — with or without the cooperation of those companies.

NFL to offer video downloads on iTunes
For the first time ever, football fans will be able to download video highlights of the Super Bowl, and they will be offered exclusively through Apple Inc.'s online iTunes Store. The National Football League said Tuesday it will make highlights from Sunday's game available for purchase online the following day. The download, in English or Spanish, will cost $1.99 and will be viewable on computers or iPods.

$2 Million Airtime, $13 Ad
For the first time, viewers of the biggest football game of the year, Sunday's Super Bowl XLI on CBS between the Indianapolis Colts and the Chicago Bears, will see at least four ads that were created by amateurs, rather than by high-end ad agencies. For advertisers, consumer-created content is a cost-savings bonanza. Advertisers are paying more than $2.6 million for the most expensive 30-second spot in this year's Super Bowl. A commercial produced by an amateur, by comparison, can be had for the price of a plane ticket and a trip to the game for the winner and some post-production cleanup for the ad itself.

Technology & Science

Super Bowl spurs run on fancy hi-def TVs
CHICAGO - Mark Smithe admits to a moment of doubt before shelling out $10,000 for a 65-inch high-definition, flat-panel, plasma TV and related gear last week.

Clocks to spring forward early
Technicians are scrambling to fix automated systems after Congress extended daylight savings time by four weeks.

Flying car could come to your rescue
Rafi Yoeli has an unconventional solution to saving people from burning high-rises or rescuing soldiers trapped behind enemy lines: a flying car.

A Notebooks Two Hard Drives Work Separately or as a Team
The Toshiba Satellite A135-S4499 is one of the first entry-level notebooks with two hard drives for extra storage or automatic backup.

Census Bureau to go high-tech
In the upcoming 2010 census, the Census Bureau for the first time will equip its temporary workforce of 500,000 people with handheld computers made by Harris Corp., to help them make a more precise count of more than 300 million people living in the 50 states and Puerto Rico.

Maine weighs lobbyist text message rules
AUGUSTA, Maine - Wary of lobbyists calling signals from the sidelines, Maine is taking steps to ban text messages and e-mails to lawmakers in session as it becomes the latest state to address the ever-expanding use of electronic communications in statehouses.

Many scientists think germs communicate
Do germs communicate? Many scientists think so and are betting the chatter may hold the key to developing the next generation of drugs to fight killer superbugs.

Scientists build nanomachine envisioned 150 yrs ago
LONDON (Reuters) - Nearly 150 years ago it was no more than a concept by a visionary scientist, but researchers have now created a minuscule motor that could lead to the creation of microscopic nanomachines.