Former Mideast Envoy George Mitchell: Obama's Israel Statements Not New (Littlegreenfootballs.com)

George Mitchell, who recently resigned as President Obama's envoy to the Middle East, said today that Obama's statements on the "1967 lines" were not a major shift in policy. The question is, why have the mainstream media been working so hard to hype this as a huge departure from previous policies, when it's very clearly nothing of the sort? > Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, who resigned this month as President Obama's envoy to the Middle East after serving two years, said that while President Obama's comments on the 1967 borders were "a significant statement," they do not signal a major shift in policy, especially when land swaps are taken into consideration. > > "The president didn't say that Israel has to go back to the '67 lines. He said with agreed swaps," Mitchell told Amanpour. "Swaps means an exchange of land intended to accommodate major Israeli population centers to be incorporated into Israel and Israel's security needs. Agreed means through negotiations. Both parties must agree." > > "That's not going to be a border unless Israel agrees to it and we know they won't agree unless their security needs are satisfied, as it should be," Mitchell added of ...Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/92443692?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Jogging Through Time: 3 Heart-Pumping Memoirs

Running, that most punishing and solitary of sports ? seems to have one of the most devoted followings. Author Liz Colville recommends three new books that are joining the canon of long-distance running tomes, each with a unique perspective on what all those miles can do to for an athlete.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/05/19/136363720/running-memoirs-evoke-blisters-bliss?ft=1&f=1057

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Obama's visit marks a new special relationship of the super-realists | Jacob Weisberg (Guardian)

With a shared pragmatism on foreign policy, the president and Mr Cameron may have a good deal in common Few presidents arrive in office with large plans around foreign affairs. Yet most live to see their reputations defined by it. For Barack Obama, whose time in office coincides with a series of tectonic shifts in global structure ? the Arab revolutions, the relative decline of American power, the rise of China ? that pattern shows every sign of holding. But what kind of foreign policy leader is he? How Obama thinks about America's role in the world turns out to be one of the thornier questions about his presidency. A briefing for David Cameron in advance of this week's state visit to Great Britain, the first by an American president for eight years, might begin with the following thumbnail profile: Obama's views fit neatly into none of the conventional categories like "realist" or "idealist," "interventionist" or "isolationist." At the time he began his presidential campaign, less than four years ago, Obama had no discernible approach to foreign affairs. He had been an Illinois state legislator, a professor of constitutional law and briefly a US senator who ...Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/92195677?client_source=feed&format=rss

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French Skeptical Of Ex-IMF Head's Assault Charges

Dominique Strauss-Kahn is under house arrest in a New York apartment this weekend. On Thursday, the former head of the International Monetary Fund was indicted on seven criminal charges stemming from an alleged sexual assault on a maid in his New York hotel room last Saturday. Host Scott Simon talks to New York Times Paris Correspondent Elaine Sciolino about reaction in France to the sexual assault scandal surrounding Strauss-Kahn.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/05/21/136525463/french-skeptical-of-ex-imf-heads-sex-assault-charges?ft=1&f=1004

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Forget Unlucky 13. In Afghanistan, Beware 39

Afghans have plenty of serious issues to contend with, but a surprising number of them are concerned with ... a number: 39.

Many cultures consider certain numbers to signify luck or disaster. In Afghanistan, 39 is taboo.

It's hard to find a credible story to explain what exactly it means, but everyone knows it's bad. Many Afghans say that the number 39 translates into morda-gow, which literally means "dead cow" but is also a well-known slang term for a procurer of prostitutes — a pimp.

In Afghanistan, being called a pimp is offensive, and calling someone a pimp could carry deadly consequences. Similarly, being associated with the number 39 — whether it's on a vehicle license plate, an apartment number or a post office box — is considered a great shame. And some people will go to great lengths to avoid it.

"I recently bought a new Toyota car. Every time I drive to my new home in Kabul, kids call me '39,' " says Arif Zahir, 30-year-old Kabul resident. "It is because of my license plate, which has the number 39."

Zahir says that his car cost him $16,000, but the 39 plate has reduced its value by half.

Origins In Herat?

Some people say a famous ne'er-do-well in the western Afghan province of Herat had 39 on his car, and now anyone with that number faces everything from snickering to outright disdain.

Others say it's been a taboo for years, and the arrival of mobile phones and increasing access to the Internet has spread it to other cities in Afghanistan.

"In Herat, the number 39 has been a taboo for years. People have changed their phone numbers, addresses and now it has hit car owners," says resident Mohammad Tamim Abdullah. "In Herat, when the vehicle registration number reached 39,000, people kept waiting for months for it to pass this number before they would apply for new license plates."

An Issue For The Authorities

Traffic authorities in Kabul blame car dealerships for starting the craze.

"Car dealerships and those who work for the mafia started the rumors about 39 so they could buy cars with 39 plates cheaper and sell them back for higher prices after changing the plates," says Abdul Qader Samoonwal, an official at Kabul's Traffic and License Registration department.

Abdul Matin, who owns a car dealership in Kabul, rejects such allegations. "We don't know how the taboo about the number 39 started, but it's not the car dealerships," he says.

The head of Kabul's motor and traffic department recently organized roundtable discussions to dispel any taboo with the number 39. He went on Afghanistan's TV channels with prominent imams and a controversial but well-known Afghan mathematician, Sediq Afghan.

"We warned people that any word, offensive or otherwise, could come up if we use numerology," Afghan said.

The imams also warned that the Quran, the Muslim holy book, contains verses that are numbered at 39. Associating the number with pimps "is a sin because 57 Suras from our Quran contain the number 39," Afghan said.

Yet it does not seem to have allayed the fears of many Afghans. In fact, some Kabul residents say that a warlord running for Parliament in last year's election attacked two people after he was called 39. Some say he had 39 in his ballot number.

Coping With 39

Some drivers have come up with creative ways to hide 39 in their license plates. They punch holes in the middle of the number "3" to make it look like "8." Others cover their license plates with a blue or gray sheet of plastic. Some have even painted over the number in white.

Waseh, an Afghan driver with an international nongovernmental organization in Kabul, says he was recently shocked to discover that one of the cars assigned to him has a license plate number that begins with 39.

"I have no choice but to drive this car since I earn my living working here," Waseh says. "But I have to cover the 39 plate with a blue sheet. I do this to protect the dignity of this organization and also of myself."

Waseh is also facing another problem: He is 39 years old. When asked how he copes, he says he tells people that he is yak kam chehl — one year till 40.

As Afghanistan welcomed the New Year and a new decade on March 21, some were not sure what to make of the year's numerical composition: It's 1390 in Afghanistan, and that means Afghans have to either cope with it or forget the fact that they will be stuck with a 39 in their calendar for a whole decade.

Ahmad Shafi works with NPR in Kabul. Najib Sharifi is a former NPR producer in Kabul.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/05/21/136496527/forget-unlucky-13-in-afghanistan-beware-39?ft=1&f=1004

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Texas law requires sonograms, explanations before abortions

(CNN) -- Women seeking an abortion in Texas will have to view a picture of the embryo or fetus and hear a description of its development before having the procedure, under a law that takes effect September 1.

The bill stirred some controversy in Texas, but it easily passed through the state House and Senate, both of which are controlled by Republicans. It was signed into law Thursday by Republican Gov. Rick Perry.

The law says that at least 24 hours before an abortion is performed, women must undergo a sonogram, a procedure that uses ultrasound to create an image.

The doctor, then, is required to give, "in a manner understandable to a layperson, a verbal explanation of the results of the sonogram images, including a medical description of the dimensions of the embryo or fetus, the presence of cardiac activity, and the presence of external members and internal organs," the law states.

There are some exceptions, including pregnancies that resulted from sexual assault, incest or other violations of law.

Women seeking abortions also are exempt if the fetus has been found to have an irreversible medical condition that will cause a disability.

"Governor Perry was pleased to sign this important legislation, which bolsters our efforts to protect life by ensuring Texans are fully informed when considering such an important decision," said his deputy press secretary, Lucy Nashed.

Critics say the new law is unnecessary.

"What no one is focusing on is that this is a mandate to humiliate women who want an abortion," said Yvonne Gutierrez, vice president for public affairs at the Planned Parenthood Trust of South Texas.

Texas already requires a 24-hour consent period, and the new law will simply add emotional and financial costs to those seeking abortions, she said.

"It's going to make it more difficult for women to get an abortion," Gutierrez said, calling it the most stringent sonogram law in the country.

In addition, Gutierrez said, there is the fear that the added requirements on doctors could make them averse to providing the procedure for fear of legal action that could lead to revocation of their licenses.

But Elizabeth Graham, director of Texas Right to Life, said, "As long as they are following the law, they have nothing to worry about."

The law, she says, "will strengthen informed consent and bring abortion closer to standards that are set for other surgical procedures."

If anything, requiring a sonogram is simply like requiring an X-ray before a surgical procedure, Graham said.

"The sonogram law is an enormous step forward toward protecting women's health in Texas," she said.

Source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_allpolitics/~3/EGfCGoJWjFc/index.html

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