Brown backs India UN council bid

Europe – Asked about India’s bid to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Mr. Brown said: “India is the biggest democracy in the world, it is one of the world’s fastest growing economies and making a huge contribution to the economic prosperity of the whole world.

“I believe that India should assume its rightful place in the deliberations of the world including membership of the UN Security Council.” [to read more]

by BBC NEWS| Published: 21/01/2008

Stocks Plunge Worldwide on Fears of a U.S. Recession

FRANKFURT — Fears that the United States is in a recession reverberated around the world on Monday, sending stock markets from Bombay to Frankfurt into a tailspin and puncturing the hopes of many investors that Europe and Asia will be able to sidestep an American downturn.

On a day when United States markets were closed in observance of Martin Luther King’s Birthday, the world’s eyes were [to read more]
By Mark Landler and Heather Timmons | www.nytimes.com | Published: 21 January 2008

Next primaries tougher yet

Washington — As the presidential nomination battles head into their next venues – Florida for the Republicans, South Carolina for the Democrats – candidates on both sides have much to prove.

And while neither contest will decide its party’s nomination, both will provide clues.

In the GOP race, Florida’s primary on Jan. 29 will be the first time all the candidates are competing in full. [to read more]
By Linda Feldmann | Staff writer for The Christian Science Monitor | Published: 22 January 2008

Sen. Clinton Win In Nevada

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton laid down a winning hand in Nevada, so did Sen. Barack Obama.

After a brawling presidential contest in the state, Sen. Clinton heads into the next battleground of South Carolina with another popular vote victory, But Sen. Obama whose Jan. 3 Iowa victory recedes with time walked away with more Nevada delegates than Mrs. Clinton.

The split decision shift the fight to the South, Where Mr. Obama is relying on Black voters, who make up more than half of the South Carolina Democratic electorate, give Obama a winning edge.  Most polls have him leading Mrs. Clinton in the state.
Mrs. Clinton has won many influential Black leaders and had led in the state, but that was before Mr. Obama strong Iowa victory.

Mrs. Clinton won 51% of the vote, while Mr. Obama took 45% and former Sen. John Edwards just 4% of the vote

“I guess this is how the west was won,” Mrs. Clinton declared at her victory rally in Las Vegas.

Hillary Clinton won Nevada by winning the women vote, nearly 52% of the women voter back Hillary Clinton and nearly two-third of the Hispanic caucus-goers supported Clinton, this despite Mr. Obama’s backing from a heavily Hispanic casino workers unions.

Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama split men about evenly. More than half of the white voter said they supported Mrs. Clinton; only one in three said they backed Mr. Obama. With the White vote made up two-third of the overall vote.

Black voter heavily favored Mr. Obama with eight out of ten voting for him. But the black voter made up few than one-in five voters.

The Nevada results were a serious setback for former Sen. John Edwards.  Without money for advertising and with not enough union support, he could only mustered 4 percent of the vote.

The Sen. Clinton camp declared the Nevada vote all the more important because Mr. Obama had received the support of the Culinary Worker Union, the state largest union.

The Sen. Obama Campaign however, herald the delegate victory and noted that Obama had closed a 25-point lead that Mrs. Clinton had enjoyed in the polls.

The week leading to the Nevada Caucuses was one of the most argument in the Democrat contest so far. In the final hours, both campaigns claimed dirty politics marred the voting; Mr. Obama, Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Edwards heads to South Carolina with no sign the race will turn polite in he South.

McCain Win In South Carolina

Senator passes crucial test beating Huckabee in South.

The Arizona Sen. beat back a surging Gov. Mike Huckabee to win Saturday’s Republican primary, 33% of the vote.

Sen. McCain’s close victory puts him in a leading position in the Florida contest, where a win could set the stage for him to clinch the nomination on Super Tuesday Feb. 5.

“Thank you South Carolina for bringing us across the finish line.” McCain told supporters gathered at the Citadel Military College.

Historically ever Republican since 1980 who won two of the three contests in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina went on to become the party’s nominee.

McCain said he feel good about his changes but added, “There are some tough days ahead.”  I am aware that for the last 28 years the winner of the South Carolina primary has been the nominee of our party” McCain said in his victory speech.

The South Carolina primary, outcome jeopardizes the candidacies of both former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, and former senator from Tennessee Fred Thompson.  Both pinned their White House hopes on winning in South Carolina with evangelical Christians to whom their messages appealed.

Romney Win The Nevada Caucus

Mitt Romney celebrates an easy win in Nevada’s caucuses, which followed up his victory Tuesday in Michigan’s primary.

“In the last week, that means that two of the battleground states have come out strongly for our campaign;” Mr. Romney said during a news conference.

The former Massachusetts governor said that, if he could hold on those two state in a general-election campaign, “that would be a pretty clean indication we were going to win the White House we’d only have one other state that would be key: The state we happen to be in right now”
Florida holds it primary Jan. 29

HIV/AIDS ravaging city’s Black teen community

Chicago, Ill — The Chicago Department of Public Health reports that African Americans account for 68 percent of all teen HIV cases. And the mostly Black adolescents, who showed up for National Teen Test Day seemed to be aware of that risk . . . “It’s killing us,” said Allen Linton, an 18-year-old University of Chicago freshman who helped plan the event . . . at the Trinity United Church of Christ, and was organized by Metropolitan Area Group for Igniting Civilization [to read more]

by Leila Noelliste | on chicagodefender.com | published: 10 January 2008

Would Thomas Jefferson celebrate Religious Freedom Day

Washington, D.C. – -  The Libertarian Party is calling President Bush’s proclamation establishing Jan. 16, 2008 as “Religious Freedom Day” an ironic twist of reality.  “Apparently there are only certain Constitutional rights President Bush finds worthy of appreciation,” says Libertarian Party Executive Director Shane Cory.

“While the President says that religious freedom should be universally accepted,” states Cory, “he’s denied the right of habeas corpus to people both in America and abroad.  Rather than focusing on religious freedom in the United States, the President should be focusing on the other Amendments in the Constitution he has apparently forgotten.”

From Bush condoning former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ denial of the writ of habeas corpus, to the Bush administration’s illegal wiretaps on American citizens, the Libertarian Party has consistently maintained Bush has violated the First, Fourth and Sixth Amendments during his time as President.

“Instead of celebrating just one part of the Constitution,” says Cory, “we should be focused on restoring all of our Constitutional rights that have been abused during the last seven years.”

“Religious Freedom Day is a large dose of historical irony,” says Libertarian Party National Media Coordinator Andrew Davis. “The President invokes the name of Thomas Jefferson, who called for a ‘wall of separation’ between church and State and said what a person believes is no business of the government.  I’m curious to see how Bush justifies the government’s call for all people to reflect upon religious freedom against Jefferson’s call for government to butt-out altogether.”

The 1786 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, which Jefferson authored in 1779, states, “no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever.”  This statement, along with Jefferson’s belief that religion is a deeply personal relationship between a man and his god, indicates that Bush’s proclamation might not be well received by Jefferson, were Jefferson alive today.

The Libertarian Party believes that religious freedom is a fundamental right of the Constitution, and a part of protecting that right is to keep government out of religion.

Green Party support Native Americans Lawsuit

Green Party support Native Americans Trust lawsuit against Interior Department over billions in broken obligations, mismanaged funds, and appropriated natural resources

WASHINGTON, DC – Green Party leaders and candidates expressed support for an ongoing class-action lawsuit to force the US Interior Department to account for billions of dollars owed to Native Americans since the late 19th century.

“Since the 1880s, the US government has failed to make good on its promise to provide Native Americans payment for mining, oil and gas extraction, timber, and grazing on their homelands. It’s time for the US to reverse hundreds of years of broken treaties and stolen resources, account for the breach of Indian Trust obligations, and restore honesty,” said Rodger Jennings, Green candidate for Congress in Illinois (12th District) .

Filed in 1996, Cobell v. Norton (later renamed Cobell v. Kempthorne) addresses funds belonging to about a half million Native Americans and their heirs. In 1999, Judge Royce Lamberth held Clinton Administration officials (especially Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt and Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin) in contempt of court for stonewalling, destruction of documents, and misrepresentations before the court.

More recently, the US Court of Appeals sided with the federal government and removed Judge Lamberth from the case, rejecting the judge’s findings of evasion and malfeasance and his charges of racism.

The Bush Administration is now taking steps to limit the government’s liability and to ensure that only 1.3% of the trust accounts are reconciled, which means only a tiny fraction of those covered under the trust plan might see some form of restitution.

Greens, calling on the Bush Administration to honor the financial debt of the US government to Native Americans, also expressed frustration with the White House’s recent violations of treaties and agreements.

“Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne is taking action to limit drastically the scope of payments owed to Native Americans. He’s trying to get his department off the hook on its obligation to account for the historical theft of billions of dollars when white-owned firms were allowed to profit from natural resources on Indian land. His actions are consistent with the Bush Administration’s refusal to honor numerous treaties signed by the US, from the Kyoto Accords to the Geneva prohibitions against torture,” said Rebecca Rotzler, an Alaskan Native, a former co-chair of the Green Party of the United States.

Culinary gives Obama Nevada advantage

The presidential campaign moved to Nevada on Wednesday, as Democratic operatives rushed to the state, money flowed to TV stations for advertising, and staff and volunteers fanned out in search of votes for the Jan. 19 caucus… the day offered a bigger lift to the campaign of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, who received the endorsement of the Culinary Workers Local 226, a 60,000-strong union of Strip casino workers [to read more]

By: J. Patrick Coolican | on politico.com | 10 January 2008

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