North Korea abductions

NKorea slams Japan over kidnap issue Agence France Presse — North Korea accused Japan Tuesday of raising an outcry over the abduction of its civilians in an attempt to find a pretext for recolonising the peninsula. The North said its military would launch a "merciless" strike on Japan if the former colonial power "dare pre-empt an attack" on the communist country. click to read complete article

Abductee's son hopes to learn about mom's habits from ex-North Korean spy Mainichi Japan — The son of North Korea abductee Yaeko Taguchi says he wants "to hear about her manners, her habits, and catch a glimpse of my mother." Koichiro Iizuka and his adoptive father Shigeo will on Wednesday in Busan, South Korea, meet with Kim Hyun-hee, 47, one of the North Korean agents responsible for the bombing of Korean Air Flight 858 and who was taught Japanese by Taguchi. Iizuka first started campaigning for his mother's return in February 2004 and subsequently sent a letter to Kim asking for information about her. click to read complete article

Abductee's family to meet ex-North Korean spy Mainichi Japan — The family of North Korea abductee Yaeko Taguchi will meet with former North Korean agent Kim Hyun-Hee, who studied Japanese under Taguchi during her training, Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone announced on Monday. The meeting will be held in Busan on Wednesday. Taguchi's older brother Shigeo Iizuka, 70, and her son Koichiro, 32, had been requesting a meeting with the former death row inmate. click to read complete article

Stem Cells

Stem cell research seen boosting New York's economy Newsday — Unfettered embryonic stem cell research may take years to cure diseases, but it could quickly boost New York's economy, with millions in federal funds for local research centers, elected officials and scientists said yesterday. "It's not only a matter of what's right in terms of research and cures for cancers and diabetes. It's also a matter of what's smart in strengthening the economy with new jobs in science and research and medicine," said Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington). click to read complete article

Animal-human clones don't work: study Ottowa Citzen — Researchers who tried to use mouse, cow and rabbit eggs to make human clones said on Monday the effort failed to produce workable embryos but added that they showed human cloning should work in principle. Mixing human and animal cells does not appear to program the egg properly, said Dr. Robert Lanza of Massachusetts-based Advanced Cell Technology. click to read complete article

Republicans Rally Against Obama On Stem Cells CBS News — Before signing an Executive Order this morning that lifted the ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, President Obama said that a majority of Americans “have come to a consensus that we should pursue this research; that the potential it offers is great, and with proper guidelines and strict oversight the perils can be avoided.” However, not included in that “consensus,” are conservatives and Republican lawmakers and organizations that have started an opposition rally cry. click to read complete article

Negotiating with the Taliban

Talking to the Taliban has failed before The Guardian UK — President Barack Obama's latest statements on strategy for Afghanistan are full of good sense. "We are not winning," he has admitted, something that has been patently obvious to anyone who has spent any time in the country in recent years. He could have added too that the US and its allies are not losing either. Instead there is just a vicious stalemate, a trial of patience as much as a trial of force, in which those Afghans caught in the crossfire – figuratively, or increasingly literally – are the losers. click to read complete article

Taliban: no peace talks unless withdrawal of all foreign troops Chinaview — Zabihullah Mujahed, the purported Taliban spokesman, in response with U.S. President Barack Obama's call to reach out to moderate Taliban, reiterated on Monday that Taliban's framework is consolidated and there would be no talks unless all the international troops withdraw from Afghanistan. Mujahed told Xinhua via phone from an unknown hideout that it is ridiculous to sort Taliban as so called "moderate" or "fundamental". click to read complete article

Commentary: Deals with Taliban could be dangerous CNN — It is a longstanding cliché that there is no military solution in Afghanistan, only a political one. Linked to this is the newer, related notion, rapidly becoming a cliché, that the United States should start making deals with elements of the "reconcilable" Taliban. click to read complete article

Gay Marriage and Prop 8

Existing gay marriages now on a great divide LA Times — Jeanne Rizzo, 62, who married her partner of 20 years in September, was "somewhat heartened" Friday that her marriage is poised to survive Proposition 8 -- but she was not celebrating. "We don't want to be on a marriage island," said the Marin County resident, who runs a health advocacy group. click to read complete article

Ruling could mean civil unions for all in Calif. Associated Press — The California Supreme Court could decide that there are two kinds of same-sex couples: those who can't get married, and those who already did. A ruling that upholds both voters' November decision to ban gay marriage and the 18,000 same-sex marriages conducted earlier in California could come off as a safe compromise. But it also promises to keep alive an issue that has split the state as few others have. click to read complete article

Gay marriage vs. democracy Chicago Tribune — You can catch a lot more flies with honey than vinegar, the adage goes. But advocates of same-sex marriage have a deal for the citizens of California: all the vinegar they can drink. Those citizens don't believe gays should be allowed to unite under the name of marriage. In 2000, more than 61 percent of voters supported a ballot measure barring such unions. That didn't mean the voters get their way. Last summer, the state Supreme Court struck the law down on the ground that it violated the California Constitution by discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation. click to read complete article

Madoff

Madoff plea may lead to incrimination of others Newsday — Wall Street pariah Bernard Madoff is set to leave his midtown penthouse twice this week, get into a vehicle accompanied by security guards and be driven downtown to federal court. Madoff, 70, who has been under house arrest since December, should enjoy those chauffeured tours while he can. For Madoff, time as a free man, relatively speaking, is running out. click to read complete article

Madoff's wife withdrew $15.5M before his arrest CNN — The wife of accused swindler Bernard Madoff pulled $15.5 million out of a Madoff-related brokerage firm in Massachusetts in the weeks before his arrest, authorities there disclosed Wednesday. The withdrawals by Ruth Madoff took place in November and December, according to a complaint filed by state regulators against Cohmad Securities, a firm they said was "intertwined" with Madoff's New York-based company. click to read complete article

Bernard Madoff to Face New Charges, May Be Nearing Plea Deal Bloomberg — Bernard Madoff, the alleged mastermind of a $50 billion Ponzi scheme, may be nearing a guilty plea after federal prosecutors filed a notice that they intend to bring new criminal charges against the New York money manager. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Litt yesterday filed a one-page document in Manhattan federal court indicating the government will file an “information,” or charging document, after Madoff agrees to waive a grand jury indictment. Defendants who agree to plead guilty to an information often first waive indictment. click to read complete article

Mortgage Plan

Obama mortgage plan may help keep Seattleites afloat Seattle Post Intelliegencer — The Obama administration's new mortgage plan should help many troubled homeowners in the Seattle area, although it could do more, according to local experts. "I see a lot to be gained from it," said Glenn Crellin, director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at Washington State University. click to read complete article

U.S. Sets Big Incentives to Head Off Foreclosures New York Times — The Obama administration on Wednesday began the most ambitious effort since the 1930s to help troubled homeowners, offering lenders and borrowers big incentives and subsidies to try to stem the wave of foreclosures. People with mortgages as high as $729,750 could qualify for help, and there is no ceiling on how high their income can be as long as they are in danger of losing their homes. Interest rates on loans could go as low as 2 percent for some. Many homeowners could see their mortgage payments drop by several hundred dollars a month, and some could save more than $1,000 a month. click to read complete article

No Bailout For You Forbes — The Obama administration released more details Wednesday on its $275 billion foreclosure prevention plan. The administration hopes 9 million homeowners will have the opportunity to refinance or modify their mortgages, helping to dam the flood of foreclosures currently drowning real estate markets (see Loan Modification Plan Gets Sweeter). But there are 112 million households in the U.S. What about the other 103 million? click to read complete article

Guinea-Bissau

Mayhem In Guinea-Bissau Voice of America News — The assassinations of Guinea-Bissau President Joao Bernardo Vieira and the nation's military chief of staff threaten further instability in the troubled West African nation. The United States joins with Portugal, the African and European Unions in condemning the killings and calling for constitutional order to be respected. President Vieira was killed early Monday, reportedly by mutinous soldiers loyal to General Batista Tagme Na Wai, who himself was killed in a bomb attack the previous day. The tit-for-tat murders culminated rising tensions between the late President and some factions of Guinea-Bissau's armed forces. click to read complete article

Guinea-Bissau collapse deepens after leader killed Associated Press — The blood-soaked dining room where Guinea-Bissau's president was brutally murdered is littered with broken glass, bullet casings and a rusted machete. No crime scene tape cordons off the area, no police stand guard outside. No one has been arrested, and hardly anyone in this sleepy tropical capital seems to care. The apathy surrounding the slaying of President Joao Bernardo "Nino" Vieira in his own home — as well as the bombing attack that killed his main rival hours earlier — symbolizes just how far this drug-wracked state has fallen. click to read complete article

Guinea-Bissau’s twin tragedy is a wake-up call for AU Business Daily Africa — Either the ballot box has lost credibility or the rule of the gun is back is Guinea-Bissau. Two assassinations took place this week. That of the country’s President Joao Bernardo “Nino” Vieira and his long-standing rival General Batista Tagme Na Wai. General Wai was the first to die and the president was killed by Wai’s supporters. These tit-for-tat killings have sent the fragile country to a tipping point and it could easily slide into anarchy. click to read complete article