MB Civic

Senate GOP Blocks Vote on Repealing Military Gay Ban – Senate Republicans have blocked a Democratic effort to repeal the military’s ban on openly gay servicemembers known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Democratic Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor of Arkansas sided with Republicans in the 56-to-43 vote

Summers to Resign as Top Economic Adviser – President Obama’s top economic adviser, Lawrence Summers, is stepping down .. According to Bloomberg News, the White House is considering naming a “prominent corporate executive” to replace Summers in order to counter Wall Street criticism that the administration is “anti-business.”


Book: Top US Officials Doubt Afghan War Strategy – In a new book out next week, Bob Woodward reports several top White House officials doubt Obama’s Afghan strategy will succeed .. Obama’s top adviser on Afghanistan, Douglas Lute, and his special envoy to Afghanistan, Richard Hoolbrooke, are quoted in the book saying they don’t think the US strategy is tenable or matches Obama’s views .. Biden is quoted calling Holbrooke “the most egotistical bastard I’ve ever met.” .. Obama is quoted saying he believes he has “two years with the public” to turn around the Afghan war and reportedly asked officials to devise an “exit strategy” if he doesn’t .. And Woodward cites US intelligence reports that claim Karzai has been diagnosed as manic depressive.


Ahmadinejad: Capitalism Coming to End – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: “Now that the discriminatory order of capitalism and hegemonic approaches are facing defeat and are getting close to their end, all-out participation in holding justice and prosperous interrelations is essential.” Ahmadinejad’s speech was disrupted after UN workers stopped providing English translation, blaming a technical glitch

Jimmy Carter Criticizes Ted Kennedy On Health Care Reform – In an interview promoting his new book, a memoir of his presidential term, Carter criticized the late Senator Ted Kennedy for blocking his efforts to push through healthcare reform. Carter said Kennedy effectively thwarted healthcare reform as part of a personal effort to impede Carter’s political career.

Scientists: Record Heat Endangers World’s Coral Reefs – And scientists are warning record-breaking temperatures this year are threatening the world’s coral reefs. According to the New York Times, coral reefs are experiencing widespread bleaching, or losing their color, as a means to survive. It’s only the second time in history the bleaching has occurred. An estimated 16 percent of the world’s shallow-water reefs died in 1998, the hottest year on record. Scientists say the bleaching could herald a new round of widespread die-offs, endangering ecosystems and fisheries that supply food to millions of people.
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