Wilson Shouts Protest at Obama Health Care Speech

Joe Wilson's "You Lie!" Spurs Support, Criticism CBS News — Democratic leaders in the House are planning to vote next week on whether to admonish Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) if he does not apologize -- on the House floor -- for interrupting President Obama's Wednesday night speech to Congress, the Associated Press reports. After President Obama on Wednesday said his proposed health care reforms would not apply to illegal immigrants, Wilson (R-S.C.) shouted out, "You lie!" The congressman quickly apologized for his behavior, and the president accepted his apology. click to read complete article

Obama accepts Wilson's apology for outburst USA Today — President Obama accepted Rep. Joe Wilson's apology Thursday, but the furor over the South Carolina Republican's outburst during the president's health care address to Congress persisted. Democratic leaders will vote early next week on whether to admonish Republican Rep. Joe Wilson if he does not apologize on the House floor for yelling "You lie!" during Obama's health care address. click to read complete article

Wilson raises more than $200,000 after outburst CNN — Less than a day after Rep. Joe Wilson formally apologized to President Obama over his "you lie" outburst, a campaign aide confirms that the South Carolina Republican has raised "more than $200,000" after the now-infamous moment. News of that cash haul comes after Wilson directly asked in a Web video for campaign cash to fend off attacks from political opponents and said he's standing by his opposition to Democratic efforts at health care reform. click to read complete article

Russia Economy

Medvedev lauds gov't's efforts to handle economic crisis China View (Xinhua) — Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday praised the government's efforts to cope with the current economic crisis and said it was too early to curtail anti-crisis measures. Medvedev, at a government meeting on economic issues, said the Economic Development Ministry had noticed signs of recovery. click to read complete article

Russia not yet in sustainable recovery: Medvedev Agence France Presse — President Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday it was too early for Russia to scrap stimulus measures, even if signs of recovery from the country's worst economic crisis in a decade were beginning to appear. "These so far are just general signs of improvement, we can't speak of sustainable positive dynamics, all the more so because these signs are not as significant in scale as we'd like them to be," Medvedev said. click to read complete article

Russia state and state-aided banks drive lending Reuters — Russia's state banks and those who received subordinated credits from the government were responsible for 50 percent of the corporate loans made in the country in the first half, data showed on Wednesday. The government has been counting on banks to help Russia out of recession, calling on them to step up lending and to pass on official interest rate cuts to end-borrowers. Of the 9.2 trillion roubles ($295 billion) lent to Russian companies in the first six months of the year, 2.7 trillion roubles came from state-controlled banks and 1.9 trillion roubles was lent by privately-owned recipients of government funds through subordinated loans. click to read complete article

West Bank Settlement Expansion

Israel gives go ahead for new construction in West Bank RIA Novosti Russia — Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak sanctioned on Monday the construction of 455 new homes in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, the ministry's press service said. This is the first new government-approved construction project in the West Bank since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanhyahu took office in March and is in defiance of U.S. pressure to halt all building work. click to read complete article

Israel defies US over settlements Aljazeera — Israel has officially approved the construction of 455 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, defying demands by the US and others for a freeze on settlement building. Israel's defence ministry announced the decision to continue with settlement building on Monday. click to read complete article

Poll shows surge of support for Israel in US Jerusalem Post — In stark contrast to the cable leaked last month by Israel's consul-general in Boston saying support for Israel in the US has declined, a recent poll for The Israel Project shows support has bounced back significantly after slipping in the aftermath of US President Barack Obama's Cairo speech. The poll, conducted by Neil Newhouse of Public Opinion Strategies and Stan Greenberg of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research (GQRR), asked some 800 likely US voters the following question: "Thinking about the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians in the Middle East, please tell me whether, in general, you consider yourself to be an Israel supporter, Palestinian supporter, or neither/undecided." click to read complete article

Obama Speech to Students

Many conservatives enraged over Obama school speech CNN — The White House found itself on the defensive Friday over what would ordinarily be considered the most uncontroversial of events: a back-to-school speech to the nation's children. The White House said the address, set for Tuesday, and accompanying suggested lesson plans are simply meant to encourage students to study hard and stay in school. click to read complete article

Obama's back-to-school message is responsibility Associated Press — Classrooms are filling up as kids head back to school, and Education Secretary Arne Duncan's two children are among them. In an interview with The Associated Press, Duncan said students should take more responsibility for doing well in school, and he called on their parents to step up, too. click to read complete article

Florida schools to leave children behind on Obama speech Los Angeles Examiner — In keeping with George W. Bush’s tradition of leaving every child behind, Florida school superintendents have now decided to teach their students a lesson in treason. President Barack Obama, in his effort to connect with children in a 15-minute televised education speech next week, will, in the opinion of certain superintendents, be armed with too much liberal propaganda for students to bear. click to read complete article

Obama's War in Afghanistan

Obama's War? Fox News — Violence has been on the rise across much of Afghanistan since President Obama ordered 21,000 U.S. troops to the country, shifting the focus of the U.S.-led war on Islamic extremism from Iraq. Now some are calling Afghanistan "Obama's war." Do you agree? click to read complete article

Afghanistan Is Not 'Obama's War' Wall Street Journal — In his column for the Washington Post on Tuesday, the influential conservative George Will provided intellectual fodder for the campaign among some Republicans to hang the Afghanistan war around the Obama administration’s neck. Washington, he wrote, should “keep faith” with our fighting men and women by “rapidly reversing the trajectory of America’s involvement in Afghanistan.” “Obama’s war,” a locution one is now beginning to hear from other conservatives, is an expression of discontent that has been smoldering beneath the surface for several months. click to read complete article

Gates Says Afghan War ‘Not Slipping,’ U.S. Has ‘Right Approach’ Bloomberg — Defense Secretary Robert Gates said an assessment of the military situation in Afghanistan has been forwarded to President Barack Obama and that any request for additional U.S. forces or money will be to “effectively implement” current strategy, not to “launch a new one.” click to read complete article

Afghan Elections

US wants fair Afghan vote, no problem with run-off Reuters India — U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke said on Wednesday it did not matter to the United States if there was a run-off vote in the Afghan election but a fair ballot procedure was vital. "The post-election phase, the phase of determining who won, is going to be critical in determining the future of Afghanistan," said Holbrooke, speaking before a meeting in Paris of international experts on Afghanistan. click to read complete article

Afghan Meeting In Paris Overshadowed By Vote Fraud Claims Radio Free Europe — U.S. President Barack Obama's special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, is meeting representatives from 26 nations in Paris to compare notes on the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan. Discussions are being overshadowed, however, by growing allegations of fraud in the country's recent presidential and regional elections. click to read complete article

Karzai leads Afghan vote with nearly half ballots counted RIA Novosti Russia — With 43.81% of ballots counted in last week's presidential elections Afghanistan's incumbent president, Hamid Karzai, is ahead with 1,317,121 votes, the country's Central Election Commission said on Monday. Daud Najafi, chief electoral officer, said Karzai's nearest rival, former foreign minster Abdullah Abdullah, has 965,256 votes. click to read complete article

40 Year Celebration of Gadaffi and Libya

Lockerbie bomber on show at Gaddafi’s 40th anniversary celebrations Times UK — Libya is set to flaunt the Lockerbie bomber’s release at the climax of today’s celebrations marking Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's 40 years in power. The Times gained access last night to the dress rehearsal of a spectacular two-hour show which extols Colonel Gaddafi for reviving his country and restoring Arab pride. As the finale approaches, the screen at the back of the giant stage in Tripoli’s Green Square shows Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi stepping off the plane which brought him home from his Scottish prison two weeks ago. His arms are raised aloft by Colonel Gaddafi’s son, Saif, as he acknowledges the joyful reception from the crowd below. click to read complete article

Gaddafi's turbulent US relations Aljazeera — A weedy, overgrown backyard in Englewood, New Jersey seemed likely for a time last week to become the scene of the latest flashpoint in Libyan-US relations. Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, is planning his first visit to the US since he seized power in a military coup 40 years ago. He is set to address the yearly UN General Assembly in September. click to read complete article

Gadhafi Blames Israel for Africa's Problems Voice of America — Libya is hosting a special session of the African Union Assembly in an effort to resolve conflicts on the continent. AU chairman and Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi told the heads of states gathered for the meeting one of the greatest dangers facing the war-torn region is the presence of Israel. Colonel Gadhafi opened the session by saying conflicts such as that in Sudan's Darfur region are internal matters, and that much of the history of African countries involve infighting over power. The Libyan leader said the African Union could help parties negotiate a solution, but that the wars pose no real danger. click to read complete article