Archive for the ‘North and South America’ Category
Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 |
Steven W. Mosher, renowned China expert and president of the Population Research Institute (PRI), has criticized President Bush for agreeing to attend the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. As the only Western eyewitness to the brutality of China’s one-child policy in 1979, Mosher insists that Bush’s presence represents a moral victory for a corrupt and brutal government.
“President Bush’s presence at the Beijing Olympics is a propaganda coup for the Communist regime,” says Mosher. “His smiling face will be all over the state-run press, used to convince the Chinese people that the U.S. cares more about ping pong matches and gymnastic competitions than about
religious freedom or human rights.”
(more…)
Posted in North and South America | No Comments »
Friday, June 27th, 2008 |
Congress is sending legislation to President Bush that will finally erase a government-imposed stigma against association with the African National Congress of South Africa. Last night the House and
Senate came to agreement on legislation by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard L. Berman (D-CA) that will remove from U.S. databases any notation characterizing the ANC and its leaders — including Nobel Laureate and former South African President Nelson Mandela — as terrorists.
“Congress finally stands ready to rid U.S. immigration law of this anachronistic blight,” Berman noted. “The Senate and House have now both affirmed that America’s place is on the side of those who fought against Apartheid, and there should be no discrimination in our legal code based on their ANC association alone.”
(more…)
Posted in Africa, North and South America, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Friday, June 27th, 2008 |
In a letter to Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, the Chairman Howard L. Berman (D-CA), four key members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee wrote “convey our deep concern about new information that has surfaced regarding the nuclear proliferation activities of the A.Q. Khan network. Recent reports indicate that the Khan network may have transferred designs for smaller, more sophisticated nuclear warheads than were previously known publicly. These designs could allow states like Iran to more easily produce smaller nuclear warheads for its ballistic missiles, significantly increasing the potential nuclear threat from Iran to Israel and our European allies.”
Ever since his network was publicly revealed in 2003, Congress has been very concerned about the lack of access that the Government of Pakistan has given the United States to interview A.Q. Khan about the extent of his activities. A full investigation on the actions and activities of Dr. Khan has therefore not been possible.
(more…)
Posted in North and South America | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 |
U.S. Government Accountability office (GAO) reported that as of May 2008, Defense paid over $2 billion in Pakistani reimbursement claims for military activities covering January 2004 through June 2007 without obtaining sufficient information that would enable a third party to recalculate these costs. Furthermore, Defense may have reimbursed costs that were not incremental, were not based on actual activity, or were potentially duplicative.
GAO also found that additional oversight controls were needed. For example, there is no guidance for Defense to verify currency conversion rates used by Pakistan, which if performed would enhance Defense’s ability to monitor for potential overbillings.
(more…)
Posted in North and South America | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 |
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard L. Berman (D-CA), together with Ranking Member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), today introduced a joint resolution of disapproval to fulfill a statutory requirement for consideration of the proposed U.S.-Russia civilian nuclear cooperation agreement that the Administration has submitted to Congress.
The Atomic Energy Act of 1954 requires the introduction of a resolution of approval or disapproval at the start of the 60-day congressional review period for such an agreement, which begins today.
(more…)
Posted in North and South America | No Comments »
Friday, June 20th, 2008 |
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today sent a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice asking that an Indian official accused of complicity in the massacre of Muslim civilians in that nation again be denied a visa to travel to the U.S. Recent news reports indicate that supporters of Narendra Modi, chief minister of India’s state of Gujarat, hope to have him attend the upcoming second World Gujarati Conference in Edison, N.J., on August 29-31, 2008.
In 2005, CAIR partnered with the Indian Muslim Council-USA and the Coalition Against Genocide (CAG) to oppose Modi’s visa request to travel to the U.S. to speak at a convention in Florida. His request for a visa was denied.
(more…)
Posted in North and South America | No Comments »
Thursday, June 19th, 2008 |
Researchers describe the first successful use of a human patient’s cloned infection-fighting T cells as
the sole therapy to put an advanced solid-tumor cancer into long-term remission. A team led by Cassian Yee, M.D., an associate member of the Clinical Research Division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, reports these findings in the June 19 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Yee and colleagues removed CD4+ T cells, a type of white blood cell, from a 52-year-old man whose Stage 4 melanoma had spread to a groin lymph node and to a lung. T cells specific to targeting the melanoma were then expanded vastly in the laboratory using modifications to existing methods. The lab-grown cells were then infused into the patient with no additional pre- or post-conditioning therapies, such as growth-factor or cytokine treatment. Two months later, PET and CT scans revealed no tumors. The patient remained disease free two years later, when he was last checked.
(more…)
Posted in North and South America | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008 |
Just months before China is set to take the world’s center stage during the 2008 Summer Olympics to showcase its many economic advances, it still ranks below the United States as a multifaceted power in the opinion of its Asian neighbors, according to a new report released today by The Chicago Council on Global Affairs and the East Asia Institute (EAI).
The report, which is based on public opinion surveys in five East and Southeast Asian countries and the United States, reveals that perceptions of China’s “soft power” - the ability to wield influence by indirect, non-military means - generally trail those of the United States and Japan. These perceptions persist despite China’s strong economic relationships in Asia and around the world, and concerted efforts by Beijing to leverage the Olympic Games to bolster its public image. But, at the same time, sizeable majorities in all the countries surveyed agreed that hosting the games will ultimately increase China’s prestige.
(more…)
Posted in Asia, North and South America | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008 |
A series of solutions to America’s energy crisis to end American dependence on foreign oil has been launched in New Media Journal. “A Real Energy Strategy for America” challenges Washington to stop trading shallow rhetoric and solve America’s energy crisis.
In the first installment, author Jon Moseley reveals that the United States has as much as 8 times as much oil in the form of “shale oil” as all of Saudi Arabia’s oil. America could end all imports of foreign oil if these shale oil resources were developed.
(more…)
Posted in North and South America | No Comments »
Monday, June 16th, 2008 |
The Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), the oldest Sikh American civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, in collaboration with Matthew Sarelson of Sarelson, P.A., has filed a class action religious discrimination lawsuit against Walt Disney World Company on behalf of Mr. Sukhbir Channa and the Sikh American community.
Mr. Channa, a practitioner of the Sikh religion, applied for a job with Disney in the Fall of 2006 but was not hired and was allegedly told that he did not have “the Disney look” — a negative reference to his religiously-mandated dastaar (Sikh turban). Witnesses have filed affidavits in his support. The lawsuit seeks financial damages and a court order barring Disney from ever discriminating against prospective Sikh employees.
(more…)
Posted in North and South America, Religion and Faith | No Comments »
Saturday, June 14th, 2008 |
It may be what’s on the inside that counts, but it’s what’s outside that attracts. So dating coach DeAnna Lorraine gives insight on what women really think of the cars men drive. Ms. Lorraine says a man’s vehicle sends messages about his character that women immediately pick up on. “A man’s car reveals a lot about his personality and values, and may determine a woman’s attraction toward him,”
states Ms. Lorraine. “Women pay attention to more than just a man’s personal looks.”
So what’s your car saying about you? Ms. Lorraine then created a profile that represents the vehicle’s personality traits.
(more…)
Posted in North and South America | No Comments »
