President Obama: 'Nobody's Boy'?

The President was recently referred to as "your boy" by MSNBC's Pat Buchanan, and his debt ceiling policy was called a "tar baby" by Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.). Also in the week's news: July gained 117,000 jobs and MTV hit 30 years on the air. Weighing in are the Barbershop guys: author Jimi Izrael, attorney Arsalan Iftikhar, Republican strategist Ron Christie, and professor Mark Lamont Hill.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/08/05/139021915/president-obama-nobodys-boy?ft=1&f=1057

hillary clinton george w bush nancy pelosi harry reid john mccain

Dinosaur Hall Roars To Life In Los Angeles

At the new Dinosaur Hall at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, visitors are greeted with the simulated sound of a dinosaur's roar. Some 300 dinosaur specimens are on display. It's also a hands-on show, with interactive games where kids can become paleontologists. The centerpiece of the revamped exhibit are three Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons, including the youngest known T. rex fossil in the world.

The three T. rexes are different sizes to demonstrate growth, says curator and paleontologist Luis Chiappe, who directs the museum's Dinosaur Institute. He says the baby is estimated to have died at 2 years old and is about 10 feet long. The juvenile, 14, is about 20 feet long, and the 17-year-old T. rex is about 30 feet long. The dinosaurs are arranged around the carcass of a duck-billed dinosaur, which Chiappe says is something T. rexes would eat.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/08/07/139059685/dinosaur-hall-roars-to-life-in-los-angeles?ft=1&f=1007

hamid karzai barak obama hillary clinton george w bush nancy pelosi

After Downgrade, Blame Gets Passed Around

Fingers were pointing in every direction Saturday, a day after Standard & Poor's downgraded the U.S. credit rating. Republicans blame the Obama administration, the administration blames S&P's bad math, and S&P blames both parties' intransigence. Guest host David Greene talks with NPR's Ari Shapiro about the political ramifications of the downgrade and with Tamara Keith about what it means for the economy in the U.S. and around the world.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/08/06/139053131/after-downgrade-blame-gets-passed-around?ft=1&f=1003

nancy pelosi harry reid john mccain al gore bill clinton

China Blasts U.S. Over Credit Rating Downgrade

China, the largest foreign holder of U.S. debt, demanded Saturday that America tighten its belt and confront its "addiction to debts" in the wake of Standard & Poor's decision to downgrade the U.S. credit rating.

China currently owns $1.2 trillion of U.S. Treasury debt, the largest stake of any central bank. The commentary carried by the state-run Xinhua News Agency was Beijing's first official response to the S&P decision.

"The U.S. government has to come to terms with the painful fact that the good old days when it could just borrow its way out of messes of its own making are finally gone," Xinhua said.

It said the rating cut would be followed by more "devastating credit rating cuts" and global financial turbulence if the U.S. fails to learn to "live within its means."

"China, the largest creditor of the world's sole superpower, has every right now to demand the United States to address its structural debt problems and ensure the safety of China's dollar assets," it said.

Xinhua said the U.S. must slash its "gigantic military expenditure and bloated social welfare costs" and accept international supervision over U.S. dollar issues.

Last month, China's top general, Chen Bingde, also linked America's financial woes to its military budget and asked whether paring back on defense spending wouldn't be the best thing for U.S. taxpayers.

Such comments reflect Beijing's desire that Washington reduce its military presence in Asia. The U.S., rattled by China's military buildup, also routinely chides Beijing for its fast-growing defense spending.

Xinhua also suggested a new global reserve currency might be necessary to replace the dollar, a position China has frequently advocated.

"Mounting debts and ridiculous political wrestling in Washington have damaged America's image abroad," Xinhua said. "To cure its addiction to debts, the United States has to re-establish the common sense principle that one should live within its means."

Jitters over the U.S. handling of its debt problems were also being felt elsewhere in Asia, said Kishore Mahbubani, Singapore's former ambassador to the United Nations.

The dean of Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew School for Public Policy said the last-minute agreement by the U.S. Congress to lift the debt limit and avoid default has policymakers in Asia questioning the stability of U.S. global leadership.

"It's definitely undermined U.S. credibility," Mahbubani said late Friday. "Everyone is wondering if you have such a dysfunctional political process, how can you provide global leadership. It's very dangerous for the world."

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Associated Press writer Alex Kennedy in Singapore contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/08/06/139047006/china-blasts-u-s-over-credit-rating-downgrade?ft=1&f=1004

hamid karzai barak obama hillary clinton george w bush nancy pelosi

Salmonella Strain In Turkey Recall Resists Antibiotics

Food giant Cargill is recalling 36 million pounds of ground turkey due to suspected contamination with a strain of salmonella that's resistant to antibiotics. With dozens of people reported ill — and one death — this certainly isn't the biggest foodborne illness outbreak. But it's forcing debate on the common yet controversial practice of dosing farm animals with daily antibiotics.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/08/05/139014983/salmonella-strain-in-turkey-recall-resists-antibiotics?ft=1&f=1007

george w bush nancy pelosi harry reid john mccain al gore