Entries

Will Libya Crisis Save Sarko?

Jonathan Freedland writes at The Guardian : It would surely be poor taste to accuse Nicolas Sarkozy of leading France into combat for purely selfish political reasons – but that won't stop some in the president's inner circle wondering if Operation Odyssey Dawn might just save the skin of a …

Written by FrumForum News on Monday March 21, 2011

GOP's 2012 Budget: Dead on Arrival?

Anti-deficit stalwart, Rep. Paul Ryan, has pledged to start the markup of the FY2012 budget in early April. The plan should pass the House, but will Senate Dems back it? Apparently old-fashioned snail mail has made a comeback in the United States Senate. Two sets of letters roiled the fiscal …

Written by Steve Bell on Monday March 21, 2011

Pawlenty Forms Exploratory Committee

Politico reports : Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty will file paperwork today to organize his bid for the White House into an exploratory committee, he told supporters on a conference call today. "We're filing the paperwork today to form an exploratory committee to run for …

Written by FrumForum News on Monday March 21, 2011

Army Officers Defect in Yemen

BBC reports: Key Yemeni General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, who is close to President Ali Abdullah Saleh, says he is backing the protest movement against the regime. Two other army commanders are also reported to have resigned. The announcement comes a day after the president dismissed his …

Written by FrumForum News on Monday March 21, 2011

America Takes the Backseat

For one of the few times since WWII, the U.S. isn't taking the lead in a necessary military action. But having the U.S. play a supporting role may be good for the West. The essential significance of the 22-nation attack on Libya is not that it’ll get rid of Muammar Qaddafi, but that it marks a …

Written by Peter Worthington on Monday March 21, 2011

EU Pols Busted in Bribes for Bills Scandal

The EU's efforts towards more transparent government took another blow last week as two MEPs resigned after being caught accepting a bribe. The EU’s relationship with transparency has never been its forte in the past. Its track-record recently taking another beating as two EU MEPs (Slovenian …

Written by Robin Tim Weis on Monday March 21, 2011

Workers Pulled from Nuke Plant

The AP reports: Operators evacuated workers from Japan's tsunami-damaged nuclear plant Monday after gray smoke rose from one of its reactor units, the latest of persistent troubles in stabilizing the radiation-leaking complex. The evacuation brought to a standstill some of the work on …

Written by FrumForum News on Monday March 21, 2011

Pentagon Denies 'Targeting' Qaddafi

Politico reports: U.S. airstrikes in Libya are not targeting Col. Muammar Qadhafi, the Pentagon said Sunday. Vice Adm. Bill Gortney, director of the Joint Staff, said that U.S. forces are not targeting Qadhafi’s residence, but he could not rule out that he might be the victim of …

Written by FrumForum News on Monday March 21, 2011

Palin Visits Western Wall

Ynet News reports: The 2008 Republican vice-presidential nominee and former governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, landed in Ben-Gurion airport on Sunday afternoon for her first ever visit to Israel. "As the world confronts sweeping changes and new realities, I look forward to meeting with Prime …

Written by FrumForum News on Monday March 21, 2011

Dem Wants Deficit Drop Before Debt Limit Rise

The Hill reports: Freshman Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) will not vote to raise the debt ceiling this spring unless it's tied to a long-term deficit reduction plan, he'll say Monday in a speech. Manchin, a first-term centrist Democrat who's expected to face a tough reelection challenge in …

Written by FrumForum News on Monday March 21, 2011

Missile Destroys Qaddafi Compound

The Washington Post reports: TRIPOLI, Libya — A missile struck a building on Sunday night in the compound where Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi lives, fueling the rage that has erupted among his supporters since U.N.-mandated airstrikes began Saturday. Government officials took reporters …

Written by FrumForum News on Monday March 21, 2011

Japan Dead And Missing At 21,000

The Washington Post reports: TOKYO — The combined toll of those dead and missing after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami surpassed 21, 000 Sunday, and new food-contamination reports surfaced as workers continued to try to tame the radiation-spewing Fukushima Daiichi power plant. …

Written by FrumForum News on Monday March 21, 2011

Arab League Protests Bombing

The Washington Post reports: CAIRO — The Arab League secretary general, Amr Moussa, deplored the broad scope of the U.S.-European bombing campaign in Libya and said Sunday that he would call a league meeting to reconsider Arab approval of the Western military intervention. Moussa said …

Written by FrumForum News on Monday March 21, 2011

Google To China: Don't Block Gmail

The New York Times reports: SHANGHAI — Google has accused the Chinese government of disrupting Gmail in the country, making it difficult in the last few weeks for users here to gain access to the company’s popular e-mail service. Google said that it was not having any technical …

Written by FrumForum News on Monday March 21, 2011

Qaddafi Force In Tatters After Airstrike

The Washington Post reports: TIKAH, Libya — Twenty miles outside Benghazi, the wreckage of Moammar Gaddafi’s army dots the land. There are crushed tanks, their turrets pulled apart. A few feet away, amid the smoldering debris of war, nine bodies lay on a field of flowers, the faces …

Written by FrumForum News on Monday March 21, 2011

Bahrain and Iran Expel Diplomats

BBC News reports: Iran has expelled a Bahraini diplomat in a retaliatory move, amid an ongoing dispute linked to anti-government protests in Bahrain. Earlier, Bahrain had expelled the Iranian charge d'affaires. Tehran has criticised Bahrain's Sunni rulers for using troops from other Gulf …

Written by FrumForum News on Monday March 21, 2011

Oil Price Jumps On Libya Bombing

The New York Times reports: HONG KONG — Oil prices jumped more than $2 a barrel on Monday as the Western military action in Libya and continuing unrest in a host of other countries in the oil-rich Middle East region raised fears of possible disruptions to crude supplies. The price for …

Written by FrumForum News on Monday March 21, 2011

AT&T To Buy T-Mobile

The New York Times reports: AT&T announced on Sunday that it had agreed to buy T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom for $39 billion, in a deal that would create the largest carrier in the nation and promised to reshape the industry. The transaction — one of the largest since the onset …

Written by FrumForum News on Monday March 21, 2011

The Next Fake Hollywood Scare: Child Hunger

A new documentary Hungry in America hopes to launch a crusade to end child hunger. But if they don't their facts right, they may discredit a worthy cause. The current wave of partisan cinéma non-vérité has become every bit as formulaic and tiresome as Michael Moore's scruffy Common Man routine. …

Written by Tim Hodgson on Sunday March 20, 2011

Rubin: Obama Can't Make Friends with Islamists

Barry Rubin, director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center, writes: When Muhamad ElBaradei tried to vote March 19 in the referendum on Egypt's constitutional changes, he was attacked by hundreds of Islamists with stones, at least one of which hit him, and shoes. "W…

Written by FrumForum News on Sunday March 20, 2011