Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Updated: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Has Died
Chavez was born in the Venezuelan city of Sabanet** to a working class family. He became a career military officer, a paratrooper, and frequent government critic. Chavez’s first foray into the political theater came when he led a failed coup in 1992, for which he spent two years in prison.
After that failure, Chavez came back to the forefront of Venezuelan politics to win his first of several presidential elections in 1998.
Chavez introduced a new constitution and land reform, nationalized key industries, and provided services to the poor. He said his was not a communist revolution, but instead named his revolution “Bolivarian” after Venezuelan patriot Simon Bolivar.
Chavez’s revolution came during times of bitter division in Venezuela. The country saw one of the highest crime and inflation rates in Latin America.
According to CBS4 news partner the Miami Herald columnist Andres Oppenheimer, Chavez used Venezuelan oil money to promote his social programs and entrench himself in office.
“He’s spending $1.6 billion of oil money and all of that adds up to votes,” Oppenheimer said.
Chavez developed a strong friendship with retired Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and made many trips to the communist nation. Chavez also sent oil to Cuba in exchange for Cuban doctors, advisors, and athletes.
In 2002, Chavez survived a military coup. An interim president was installed, but key sectors of the military and even Chavez’s opponents refused to back the interim leaders. Pro-Chavez forces would retake the presidential palace without firing a shot and re-install Chavez as president.
Two years later, his opponents tried to remove him again, this time using a recall election that brought out millions of voters. But, the recall effort failed and Chavez strengthened his hold on the reins of leadership in Venezuela.
But, in 2011, Chavez announced that he was suffering from cancer, soon after publicly questioning the possibility that the United States was somehow responsible for a wave of cancer affecting Latin American officials. He kept details of his illness a secret but traveled to Cuba for treatment; all while vowing to seek another term as Venezuela’s president, which he would win.
On December 8, 2012, Chavez said he would undergo more cancer surgery and named a successor if he didn’t make it through. Chavez’s selection for next president would be Vice-President Nicolas Maduro.
At the time, Chavez’s supporters gathered in public places throughout Venezuela to express shock and sadness that their president was facing another health crisis. Chavez would leave Venezuela for Cuba two days later. He was greeted in Havana by Cuban President Raul Castro.
On February 15, 2013, for the first time in nearly two years, the Venezuelan government showed the first photos of Chavez. Issued statements said Chavez was breathing through a tracheal tube. But just three days later, Chavez returned to Venezuela and tweeted, “We will live and we will triumph.”
While Chavez’s social programs remained popular with the poor, until the end he was a divisive figure in both Venezuelan and world politics. His virulent anti-American message made him popular with some of the world’s most notorious dictators.
However, Chavez’s popularity with some couldn't insulate him from the criticism that his Bolivarian Revolution failed to deliver on its promises.
Watch Live Coverage from Al Jazerra English of the unfolding events in Venezuela.http://www.aljazeera.com/watch_now/
Harrison Ford Joins Anchorman: The Legend Continues
A sequel to 2004's Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Anchorman: The Legend Continues is about to begin production in Atlanta, Georgia. It is expected to hit theaters December 20th of this year.
Ford's role is said to be that of an esteemed new anchor, a part somewhat similar to the role he played in 2010's Morning Glory (as pictured). Ford's 2013 slate is shaping up to be a busy one. He can also be seen this year in the Jackie Robinson biopic 42, the Robert Luketic thriller Paranoia and the Orson Scott Card adaptation Ender's Game.
He's also expected to reprise his iconic Han Solo role for J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: Episode VII.
You can check out the previously-released announcement teaser for Anchorman: The Legend Continues below!
Read more at http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=101057#7R8DDm2zaoVI00hz.99
The Morning Report -- Tuesday March 5, 2013
Vote Counting Begins In Kenya -- Queen Elizabeth Leaves Hospital -- Cardinals Meet Today, Conclave Due -- U.S. Cardinals Express Concerns -- Venezuela's Chavez Health Worsens -- CA GOP Looks To Rebuild -- House Republicans Propose Shutdown Fix -- Vegas Strip Shooting Fights Extradition -- Menendez Accuser Backs Off Claims -- US Ambassador Asks UN Colleagues To Remain Sober - White House Favors Unlocking Cellphones - Comet Aims For Mars
KENYA ELECTION: VOTE COUNTING BEGINS IN CRUCIAL ELECTION
Polls were due to close at 17:00 (14:00 GMT) but officials said those in queues at that time would be allowed to vote.
With more than 10% of votes counted, the two presidential front-runners were well ahead of the other candidates.
The partial preliminary results, from areas where polling ended on time, gave Uhuru Kenyatta a lead over Prime Minister Raila Odinga, although analysts cautioned that these results came from Kenyatta strongholds.
QUEEN ELIZABETH II LEAVES HOSPITAL AFTER STOMACH FLU
Queen Elizabeth II left the London hospital where she'd been treated for the symptoms of a stomach infection Monday, following a brief and rare hospitalization for the 86-year-old head of state.
A smiling Elizabeth walked unassisted out of King Edward VII Hospital Monday afternoon before saying goodbye to staff. She was then driven away in a motorcade.
CARDINALS MEET TODAY, COULD SET CONCLAVE DATE
Cardinals will meet again in secret today at the Vatican, where they may target a date for the formal conclave to select a new pope and hash out the agenda they’d like to see the next pontiff address, including the clergy sex scandals and Vatican management that continue to dominate pre-conclave headlines.
The process is playing out behind closed doors and under an oath of secrecy, though some of the princes of the Church are still making themselves available to the media hordes on hand.
US CARDINALS SEEK ANSWERS ON ABUSE, CORRUPTION ALLEGATIONS BEFORE CONCLAVE
VATICAN CITY — Cardinals said Monday they want to talk to Vatican managers about allegations of corruption and cronyism within the top levels of the Catholic Church before they elect the next pope, evidence that a scandal over leaked papal documents is casting a shadow over the conclave and setting up one of the most unpredictable papal elections in recent times.
The Vatican said 107 of the 115 voting-age cardinals attended the first day of pre-conclave meetings, at which cardinals organize the election, discuss the problems of the church and get to know one another before voting.
CHAVEZ'S BREATHING PROBLEMS WORSEN, HAS SEVERE NEW INFECTION
(Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's breathing problems have worsened and he is suffering from a "severe" new respiratory infection as he struggles to recover from cancer surgery, the government said in a somber medical update on Monday.
The 58-year-old socialist leader has not been seen in public nor heard from in almost three months since undergoing the operation in Cuba. It was his fourth surgery since the disease was detected in mid-2011.
CALIFORNIA GOP TO REBUILD STEP-BY-STEP
Borrowing a theme from Democrat Jerry Brown's first term as governor, California Republicans are embracing a "small is beautiful" philosophy as they seek to rebuild their party from its nadir.
The California GOP has entered an era of diminished expectations.
As the emaciated party wrapped up its three-day statewide convention Sunday, there is little buzz about a 2014 challenge to unseat Brown. There's little hope of picking up more than a seat or two in the Legislature. There's no rush behind a ballot measure.
HOUSE REPUBLICANS PROPOSE MEASURE TO AVERT SHUTDOWN
WASHINGTON -- House Republicans on Monday introduced a bill that would avoid a government shutdown at the end of March, but that also could mitigate some of the most striking effects of the across-the-board federal spending cuts enacted last week.
Although the proposed shifts would make the sequester slightly less indiscriminate -- particularly for the military -- the measure would leave in place the $85 billion spending reduction, locking in the cuts through Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year.
SUSPECT IN VEGAS STRIP SHOOTING FIGHTS EXTRADITION FROM CALIFORNIA
(Reuters) - A man accused of fatally shooting an aspiring rapper as he drove a Maserati along the Las Vegas Strip, touching off a fiery car crash that killed two other people, challenged his extradition back to Nevada from California on Monday.
The man insisted through his defense lawyer that police or other authorities from Nevada be summoned to Los Angeles to identify him in court as the fugitive they seek in the February 21 shooting, 26-year-old Ammar Harris.
ESCORT SAYS MENENDEZ PROSTITUTION CLAIMS WERE MADE UP
A woman who said on tape that Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) paid her for sex is now backing off those claims, telling police in the Dominican Republican that she was paid to make them, according to documents and two people familiar with the case.
The woman, one of two women who claimed Menendez hired them as prostitutes, now says she has never met the senator.
US AMBASSADOR POLITELY ASKS UN COLLEAGUES TO STOP SHOWING UP DRUNK TO MEETINGS
The United Nations is a pretty fun place. The headquarters hosts all kinds of cultural events. Everyone's open-minded about the dress code. Delegates can even show up hammered to budget negotiations. Or at least they used to be able to.
At a General Assembly budget committee meeting on Monday, the United States ambassador for management and reform at the UN stood up to scold his colleagues for always showing up drunk to negotiations. "There has always been a good and responsible tradition of a bit of alcohol improving a negotiation, but we're not talking about a delegate having a nip at the bar," said Joseph "The Fun Police" Torsella. "We make the modest proposal that the negotiating rooms should in future be an inebriation-free zone."
WHITE HOUSE: IT'S TIME TO LEGALIZE CELL PHONE UNLOCKING
The White House on Monday came out in support of the rights of consumers to unlock their cellphones once they have fulfilled the terms of the contract.
Responding to a petition on WhiteHouse.gov, the executive branch stated, “The White House agrees with the 114,000+ of you who believe that consumers should be able to unlock their cell phones without risking criminal or other penalties.”
They went further, saying that the same right should also extend to other mobile devices, namely tablets.
COMET SETS AIM FOR MARS
A PAIR of middle-aged tourists (see previous post) are not the only thing headed for Mars. Comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) is also on its way. Discovered on January 3rd, some calculations of its orbit, according to Phil Plait, the rather good “Bad Astronomer”, have it passing 37,000km above the surface of the planet in October 2014—roughly the height at which communication satellites orbit Earth, and a remarkably close shave by cosmic standards. An official NASA website puts the most likely “close-approach” distance between the comet and Mars at something more like 100,000km.
But the minimum close-approach distance is zero. Comets do not move smoothly on their tracks like ball bearings or planets. The gases that blow off their surfaces as the sun warms them up push them hither and yon, changing their trajectories. So, though the odds are strongly against it (how strongly no one can yet say) the comet has a real if small chance of actually hitting the planet.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
The Morning Report -- Monday March 4 2013
N. Korea To Obama: Call Me Maybe? -- Queen Elizabeth II Hospitalized -- Iran Open To Direct Talks -- Netanyahu Warns Iran Stalling -- Cuts to Achieve Deficit Goals -- Romney Explains Loss -- Republicans Signal Spending Cuts Are Permanent -- Officials Say Sequester Deal Likely -- Child With HIV Cured -- Senator, Congresswoman Propose Pay-Cut During Standoff
Rodman Says North Korea's Kim Wants Obama To Call Him
WASHINGTON — Flamboyant ex-NBA star Dennis Rodman Sunday defended his trip to North Korea, saying leader Kim Jong-Un does not seek war but does want one thing -- a call from US President Barack Obama.
Rodman, a colorful Hall of Famer who won NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls and at one time dated Madonna, is now the most high-profile American to have met Kim, with whom he watched a basketball game last week in Pyongyang.
Queen Elizabeth II Hospitalized
LONDON — Queen Elizabeth II, who is 86, was admitted to a London hospital on Sunday after experiencing symptoms of gastroenteritis, according to a statement issued by Buckingham Palace.
The statement said that all the queen’s engagements for the next week would be postponed or canceled, including a two-day visit to Italy that was scheduled to begin Wednesday. She had already skipped one event, a military parade in the Welsh city of Swansea on Friday, because of the illness.
Iran Open To Direct Talks With U.S.
Iran would be willing to sit down for direct talks with the United States, the country's ambassador to the United Nations said in an interview broadcast on CNN.
"I can confirm it here with you, and also for your distinguished audience, that Iran will come negotiation and direct talks with the United States provided that we make sure that U.S. is serious and do not act differently," Ambassador Mohammad Khazaee told CNN's Fareed Zakaria in an interview that aired on Fareed Zakaria GPS.
Netanyahu Says Iran Stalling For Bomb
(Reuters) - Renewed international efforts to negotiate curbs on Iran's disputed nuclear program have backfired by giving it more time to work on building a bomb, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.
His remarks on the inconclusive February 26-27 meeting between Iran and six world powers signaled impatience by Israel, which has threatened to launch preemptive war on its arch-foe, possibly in the coming months, if it deems diplomacy a dead end.
Cuts To Achieve Goal For Deficit But Toll Is High
WASHINGTON — The latest budget impasse ushered in a new round of austerity on Saturday, with the nation facing reduced federal services, canceled contracts, job furloughs and layoffs.
But lost in the talk of Washington’s dysfunction is this fact: on paper at least, President Obama and Congress have reduced projected deficits by nearly $4 trillion over a decade — the widely embraced goal for stabilizing the national debt.
Romney Offers Explanation For Loss
Republican Mitt Romney, in his first television interview since he lost November's presidential election, said a failure to connect with minority voters doomed his bid for the White House.
"We weren't effective in taking my message primarily to minority voters—to Hispanic-Americans, to African-Americans, other minorities," Mr. Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, told Fox News in an interview that aired Sunday. "That was a real weakness."
Republicans Call Spending Cuts Modest, Indicate Here To Stay
WASHINGTON — The spending cuts are here to stay if you believe the public posturing Sunday.
The Senate’s Republican leader Mitch McConnell called them modest. House Speaker John Boehner isn’t sure the cuts will hurt the economy. The White House’s top economic adviser, Gene Sperling, said the pain isn’t that bad right now.
Officials Say Deal To Avert Government Shutdown Likely
Congress returns to work this week with no plan to reverse across-the-board spending cuts that took effect Friday, but with hope on both sides of the aisle of averting an end-of-the-month showdown that could result in a government shutdown.
The House plans to vote Thursday on a spending measure that would keep the government running after its current funding mechanism elapses March 27.
Doctors Cure Child Born With HIV
Doctors in the US have made medical history by effectively curing a child born with HIV, the first time such a case has been documented.
The infant, who is now two and a half, needs no medication for HIV, has a normal life expectancy and is highly unlikely to be infectious to others, doctors believe.
Though medical staff and scientists are unclear why the treatment was effective, the surprise success has raised hopes that the therapy might ultimately help doctors eradicate the virus among newborns.
McCaskill Introducses Bill To Cut Pay During Sequestration
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Claire McCaskill and Bill Nelson will introduce legislation that would cut pay for members of Congress if federal employees are furloughed due to the sequester. The legislation calls for a reduction in Congressional salaries once federal furloughs begin.
"The federal workforce is looking at furloughs that would result in a sizeable pay cut-and there's absolutely no reason members of Congress should exempt themselves," McCaskill said. "We can and should reach a balanced compromise to replace these damaging across-the-board cuts, but until we do, this is an obvious step to hold Congress accountable for the job we need to get done."
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