17 April 2008
News and Comments - 04/17/08
Posted by Joy Bischoff under: What's News .
10 Comments so far...
Jesse Says:
17 April 2008 at 12:54 am.
As Australia dries, a global shortage of rice
The collapse of Australia’s rice production is one of several factors contributing to a doubling of rice prices in the last three months — increases that have led the world’s largest exporters to restrict exports severely, spurred panicked hoarding in Hong Kong and the Philippines, and set off violent protests in countries including Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Haiti, Indonesia, Italy, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, the Philippines, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Yemen.
Drought affects every agricultural industry based here, not just rice — from sheepherding, the other mainstay in this dusty land, to the cultivation of wine grapes, the fastest-growing crop here, with that expansion often coming at the expense of rice.
The drought’s effect on rice has produced the greatest impact on the rest of the world, so far. It is one factor contributing to skyrocketing prices, and many scientists believe it is among the earliest signs that a warming planet is starting to affect food production.
Cameron Says:
17 April 2008 at 6:16 am.
Clinton changes course on Obama’s electability
By BETH FOUHY, Associated Press Writer 56 minutes ago
PHILADELPHIA - Hillary Rodham Clinton said emphatically Wednesday night that Barack Obama can win the White House this fall, undercutting her efforts to deny him the Democratic presidential nomination by suggesting he would lead the party to defeat.
“Yes, yes, yes,” she said when pressed about Obama’s electability during a campaign debate six days before the Pennsylvania primary.
Asked a similar question about Clinton, Obama said “Absolutely and I’ve said so before” — a not-so-subtle dig at his rival who had previously declined to make a similar statement about him.
In a 90-minute debate, both rivals pledged not to raise taxes on individuals making less than $200,000, and said they would respond forcefully if Iran obtains nuclear weapons and uses them against Israel.
“An attack on Israel would incur massive retaliation by the United States,” said Clinton.
Obama said, “The U.S. would take appropriate action.”
They differed over Social Security when Obama said he favored raising payroll taxes on higher-income individuals. Clinton said she was opposed, her rival quickly cut in and countered that she had said earlier in the campaign she was open to the idea.
Matt Says:
17 April 2008 at 9:24 am.
With time and perspective I still am convinced that I won’t hang my head like a whipped puppy and get in line behind McCain. The RNC will not force a liberal down my throat. If I thought he was a good choice then I would vote for him but I am more sure than ever that If McCain gets in, there will be no one to watch him closely since the democrats will like most of what he does and the republicans will be pressured to support their republican president. I can’t see the weakness in this argument and no one has been able to answer that for me. I don’t trust his new promises. He is too much a maverick and he will end up doing what he wants in the end.
AP-Yahoo poll shows McCain winning back unhappy Republicans
WASHINGTON - Republicans are no longer underdogs in the race for the White House. To pull that off, John McCain has attracted disgruntled GOP voters, independents and even some moderate Democrats who shunned his party last fall.
Partly thanks to an increasingly likable image, the Republican presidential candidate has pulled even with the two Democrats still brawling for their party’s nomination, according to an Associated Press-Yahoo news poll released Thursday. Just five months ago — before either party had winnowed its field — the survey showed people preferred sending an unnamed Democrat over a Republican to the White House by 13 percentage points.
Mac Says:
17 April 2008 at 10:03 am.
I may end up voting for McCain. Now don’t throw tomatoes. I promise I will keep my eyes on him and raise cain if he doesn’t keep his promises. The more I see of Barack and Hillary the more I hate the thought of either of them in office.
SGS Says:
17 April 2008 at 11:37 am.
Matt,
John McCain has attracted disgruntled GOP voters…
I have been following the race closely (well, not as closely as when we had choices, but still close enough.) I have not seen any thing McCain has done to reach out to the conservatives. I have not read any conservative leader (other than Mitt) who are working their rear off for McCain as they would for a good conservative nominee. I agree with you, this article is off in that we are not there with McCain yet. I still am standing by my conviction that McCain will do more for the Democrats than he will for us.
E.E. Says:
17 April 2008 at 12:23 pm.
SGS, I’m with you. I shall not be moved. Not because I’m being stubborn but because I put a lot of thought into it and I am standing by my convictions. This is a man who will take pleasure in sticking it to the conservatives.
Cameron Says:
17 April 2008 at 12:47 pm.
OUCH OUCH
Oil prices headed toward $125/barrel: Pickens
By Chris Baltimore
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Crude oil prices are still headed upward and could top $125 a barrel in the near-term, legendary oil investor T. Boone Pickens said on Thursday.
“It will go up,” said Pickens, who heads the BP Capital hedge fund with over $4 billion under management. “Oil is moving to a substantially higher level — say above $125 a barrel.”
U.S. crude futures hit a record $115.54 on Thursday. Oil prices have more than quintupled since 2002, propelled higher by soaring demand from emerging economies like China alongside slow increases in global production capacity.
T. Fan Says:
17 April 2008 at 2:27 pm.
Ouch is right. I commute to work and this is starting to hurt. I’m thinking of upgrading to a car with better mileage.
E.E. Says:
17 April 2008 at 4:54 pm.
2008 tax rebate program recently enacted by Congress explained:
50,000 people went to a baseball game, but the game was rained out. A refund was then due to the ticket holders.
The team was about to mail refunds when a group of Congressional Democrats stopped them and suggested that they send out the ticket refunds based on the Democrat National Committee’s interpretation of fairness.
Originally the refunds were to be paid based on the price each person had paid for the tickets. Unfortunately that meant most of the refund money would be going to the ticket holders that had purchased the most expensive tickets. This, according to the DNC, is unfair. A decision was then made to pay out the refunds in this manner:
People in the $10 seats will get back $15. After all, they have less money to spend on tickets to begin with. Call it an ‘Earned Income Ticket Credit.’ Persons ‘earn’ it by having few skills, poor work habits, and low ambition, thus keeping them at entry-level wages.
People in the $25 seats will get back $25, because it ’seems fair.’
People in the $50 seats will get back $1, because they already make a lot of money and don’t need a refund. After all, if they can afford a $50 ticket, they must not be paying enough taxes.
People in the $75 luxury box seats will each have to pay an additional $25 because it’s the ‘right thing to do’.
People walking past the stadium that couldn’t afford to buy a ticket for the game each will get a $10 refund, even though they didn’t pay anything for the tickets. They need the most help. They are either lazy or think that society owes them for just being born. Sometimes this is known as Affirmative Action.
Cameron Says:
17 April 2008 at 7:05 pm.
I have to admit that when McCain ran against Mitt, it bugged me that he got all that free media and Mitt worked hard to set up an organization and raise funds for a great campaign. The press helped the RNC give the nod to McCain. Now he is openly planning strategy to do it again and the reminder gives me a bad taste.
McCain readies unorthodox campaign
For reasons of financial necessity, personal preference and plain politics, John McCain is gearing up to run one of the least traditional presidential campaigns in recent history.
The problem is that even prominent strategists within McCain’s own party wonder if his unorthodox strategy will work.
Facing the prospect of competing against a Democrat who is on track to shatter every fundraising record — and confronted by his own inability to rake in large bundles of cash — McCain and his key advisers have largely been forced into devising a three-pronged strategy that they hope can turn their general election weaknesses into strengths.
McCain will lean heavily on the well-funded Republican National Committee. He will merge key functions of his campaign hierarchy with the RNC while also relying on an unconventional structure of 10 regional campaign mangers.
And finally — and perhaps most importantly — McCain will rely on free media to an unprecedented degree to get out his message in a fashion that aims to not only minimize his financial disadvantage but also drive a triangulated contrast among himself, the Democratic nominee and President Bush.
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