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[Caro]

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Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com

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Bill to cut off almost all war spending
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will co-sponsor legislation that would cut off almost all Iraq war spending within a year, the bill's other sponsor announced today, potentially ratcheting up Democratic pressure on President Bush to withdraw American troops from Iraq. Reid of Nevada and Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., said this morning in a news release that they will introduce the legislation. It comes on the heels of Senate passage last week of an emergency war spending bill that would require President Bush to begin withdrawing American troops from Iraq within 120 days of the bill's enactment. Bush has threatened to veto that bill and a similar House measure.
Good for you, Dems! This is exactly how you fight bullies. The more they resist the will of the people, the more you up the ante. Bob Geiger has more. —Caro

Dubya’s World

The World

'Flour' Bomber Kills 15 in Kirkuk
BAGHDAD (AP) - A suicide truck bomber, his deadly payload hidden under bags of flour, crashed into a police station in a Kurdish neighborhood in the disputed city of Kirkuk on Monday. At least 15 people were killed, including a newborn girl and a U.S. soldier, and nearly 200 were wounded.

Snipers back at Baghdad market after McCain visit
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The crack of shots fired by unseen snipers echoed on Monday through Baghdad's wholesale Shorja market, a day after U.S. Senator John McCain held up his visit there as one sign of improving security in Baghdad.

Iran, Britain back away from tough words
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's chief international negotiator said his country wanted to resolve the standoff over 15 detained British sailors through diplomacy and he saw no need to put the crew on trial.

The botched US raid that led to the hostage crisis
A failed American attempt to abduct two senior Iranian security officers on an official visit to northern Iraq was the starting pistol for a crisis that 10 weeks later led to Iranians seizing 15 British sailors and Marines… Better understanding of the seriousness of the US action in Arbil - and the angry Iranian response to it - should have led Downing Street and the Ministry of Defence to realise that Iran was likely to retaliate against American or British forces such as highly vulnerable Navy search parties in the Gulf.

Ban urges patience in peace process
UNITED NATIONS - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for patience Monday to give rival Fatah and Hamas factions in the new Palestinian unity government time to coordinate their positions and hopefully recognize Israel and renounce violence.

Saudi reformists call for Islamic constitutional monarchy
DUBAI (AFP) - Saudi reformists have sent a petition to King Abdullah calling for the establishment of an Islam-based constitutional monarchy in the oil-rich kingdom, one of the 99 signatories said on Monday.

The Nation

Bush, Democrats escalate Iraq war debate
WASHINGTON - President Bush and Congress are wrestling for the upper hand in the Iraq war debate, with neither side willing to back down and a top Democrat saying for the first time he wants to yank money for combat.

GIs go back to Iraq without a break
For just the second time since the war began, the Army is sending large units back to Iraq without giving them at least a year at home, defense officials said Monday. The move signaled how stretched the U.S. fighting force has become.

How Bogus Letter Became a Case for War
It was 3 a.m. in Italy on Jan. 29, 2003, when President Bush in Washington began reading his State of the Union address that included the now famous -- later retracted -- 16 words: "The British Government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." Dozens of interviews with current and former intelligence officials and policymakers in the United States, Britain, France and Italy show that the Bush administration disregarded key information available at the time showing that the Iraq-Niger claim was highly questionable.

BYU campus protests Dick Cheney speech
Some students and faculty on one of the nation's most conservative campuses want Brigham Young University to withdraw an invitation for Vice President Dick Cheney to speak at commencement later this month… The private university, which is owned by the Mormon church, has "a heavy emphasis on personal honesty and integrity in all we do," said Warner Woodworth, a professor at BYU's business school. "Cheney just doesn't measure up," he said.

Bush Balks At First Pitch
President Bush is an ardent baseball fan, but he'll be absent from opening day festivities for the Washington Nationals for the second straight year… With the president's approval ratings stuck below 40 percent, was Mr. Bush concerned that he might get booed? "No," the spokeswoman said. "Certainly not."

Pelosi shrugs off White House criticism
BEIRUT, Lebanon - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday shrugged off White House criticism of her impending visit to Damascus, saying she had "great hope" for reviving U.S. relations with Syria and changing its behavior.

Media

News business needs some fearless, young voices right now
"We need new blood, new writers and reporters who are fearless and want to make a change," says Tampa Tribune investigative reporter John W. Allman. "We need journalists who can uphold the example set by Edward R. Murrow, Molly Ivins, Daniel Pearl, Hunter S. Thompson -- journalists who didn't care what people said about them, who refused to accept 'no comment,' who would not allow those in authority to skirt accountability."
If I may say so, you don’t have to be young to be bold. Those of us who have lived through government lies for many years can provide a perspective impossible for someone younger. —Caro

Media reported White House criticism of Pelosi Syria trip, but not its silence on GOP-led trip
In reporting that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is planning a visit to Syria accompanied by a bipartisan congressional delegation this week, several media outlets highlighted White House criticism of Pelosi's trip but did not note that a Republican-led delegation met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on April 1 -- nor did they note the White House's inconsistency in criticizing Pelosi for her trip but remaining silent on the GOP-led visit.

Washington Post: Democratic Victories Bad For Dems, Good For "Gleeful" Republicans
(Monday)'s Washington Post has a long front-page piece reporting that Republicans are "gleeful" because Dem victories of late have emboldened the party to challenge Bush on a host of national security issues… Incredibly, the Washington Post's most recent poll clearly demonstrates the absurdity of its current thesis. Needless to say, the paper's own numbers -- even though they're directly relevant to the topic at hand -- weren't included in its story.

Mitchell: Petraeus Held Closed-Door Strategy Meeting With Republican Caucus
(Sunday) morning on the Chris Matthews Show, NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell revealed that Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, met “very recently” with the Senate Republican caucus to discuss their strategy on Iraq legislation. “Petraeus went to the Republican caucus and told them, I will have real progress to you by August,” Mitchell said. The Republicans claim they told him that after August, they will end their support for the war. “They have told him at a caucus meeting as very, very recently, that if there isn’t progress by August — and real progress means not a day of violence and a day of sanity — that they will pull the plug.”

Technology & Science

Mexico City to be one, giant Wi-Fi hotspot by 2008: mayor
MEXICO CITY (AFP) - All of Mexico City will be one free, wireless Internet hotspot by 2008, Mayor Marcelo Ebrard announced Monday.

Music games won't be solo gigs anymore
Guitar Hero was just the opening act. MTV and the developers of that video game have a headliner in the works called Rock Band, which lets four music lovers gig together in person or online.

Feds to toss 3 stem cell patents
SAN FRANCISCO - Federal regulators said they are preparing to toss out three key patents related to human embryonic stem cells, a move that could ease concerns over commercial control of the nascent work.

Worlds with double sunsets common
Astronomers might not have to search a galaxy far, far away after all to find a world with double sunsets like Luke Skywalker's home planet Tatooine. A new study suggests the universe is filled with them. The majority of stars like our Sun have at least one stellar companion.

Environment

Project aims to 'seed' oceans to heal them
In a bid to restore plankton populations, an eco-restoration firm named Planktos launched the ship Weatherbird II early in March from Washington, D.C., on a two-year project to "seed" the oceans with iron ore dust. Plankton feeds most of the world's marine life and also removes half of the world's carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Houses of the Future Could Be Made from Trash
Last year’s trash could become next year’s model home, thanks to the invention of a new type of construction material made entirely from waste products. “Bitublocks,” created by engineer John Forth of the University of Leeds in England, are composed of recycled glass, sewage sludge, incinerator ash, the by-products of metal purification and pulverized fuel ash from power stations.

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