Docudharma Times Tuesday September 2

Another one bites the dust

Another one bites the dust

And another one gone, and another one gone

Another one bites the dust

Japanese PM Yasuo Fukuda resigns

ncreasingly unpopular 72-year-old steps down after less than year in office amid deadlock in coalition government

Justin McCurry in Tokyo

guardian.co.uk,

Monday September 01 2008 14:26 BST  

Japan’s beleaguered prime minister, Yasuo Fukuda, resigned today less than a year after taking office in a shock move that threatens to plunge the world’s second-biggest economy into a new round of political turmoil.

Faced with poor poll ratings, policy deadlock and mounting economic problems, a grim-faced Fukuda said he had decided several days ago to step down to avoid creating a “political vacuum”.

Fukuda’s resignation leaves the door open for Taro Aso, an outspoken rightwinger whom Fukuda made secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic party (LDP) in last month’s cabinet reshuffle.

Disclosures on Palin Raise Questions on Vetting Process

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By ELISABETH BUMILLER

Published: September 1, 2008

ST. PAUL – A series of disclosures about Gov. Sarah Palin, Senator John McCain’s choice as running mate, called into question on Monday how thoroughly Mr. McCain had examined her background before putting her on the Republican presidential ticket.

On Monday morning, Ms. Palin and her husband, Todd, issued a statement saying that their 17-year-old unmarried daughter, Bristol, was five months pregnant and that she intended to marry the father.

Among other less attention-grabbing news of the day: it was learned that Ms. Palin now has a private lawyer in a legislative ethics investigation in Alaska into whether she abused her power in dismissing the state’s public safety commissioner; that she was a member for two years in the 1990s of the Alaska Independence Party, which has at times sought a vote on whether the state should secede; and that Mr. Palin was arrested 22 years ago on a drunken-driving charge.

USA

New Orleans Levees Tested As Gustav Lashes Gulf Coast



By Jacqueline L. Salmon and Spencer S. Hsu

Washington Post Staff Writers

Tuesday, September 2, 2008; Page A01  

NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 1 — Hurricane Gustav smashed into Louisiana’s Gulf Coast on Monday, unleashing torrential rains and 110-mph winds that sent waves of water splashing over this city’s levees. But early indications were that the weakened storm caused far less damage than feared, and New Orleans appeared to have avoided a disaster on the scale of Hurricane Katrina three years ago.

As the storm made its way inland, federal, state and local officials expressed confidence that the levees protecting New Orleans would hold, sparing the city from catastrophic flooding. U.S. Coast Guard helicopter overflights late Monday afternoon confirmed that there were no levee breaches so far, according to Marty Bahamonde, spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

‘These people want to go home’

Gustav evacuees wait to hear when they can leave overcrowded shelters?

associated Press  

TYLER, Texas – Hurricane Gustav didn’t barrel ashore as the devastating terror everyone feared, leaving some of the 2 million people who evacuated second-guessing their decision to flee.

Better safe than sorry? Definitely, evacuees said. But better home than stranded elsewhere, too.

Impatience at overcrowded shelters around the Gulf Coast figured to rise Tuesday as evacuees from New Orleans to Southeast Texas waited to learn when buses that whisked them to safety during mandatory evacuations would return to take them home.

Asia

Al Qaida has free movement in Pakistan, top official concedes

 

By Saeed Shah | McClatchy Newspapers

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s top security official Monday admitted that al Qaida’s leadership moved freely in and out of the country and vowed that “no mercy” would be shown to extremists based in its tribal territory that borders Afghanistan.

In the past, Pakistan has been heavily criticized for rejecting evidence that al Qaida was largely based in the country and for denying that the tribal territory was used as a safe haven for Afghan insurgents.

State of emergency declared in Thailand after protest turns violent



Ian MacKinnon in Bangkok

guardian.co.uk,

Tuesday September 02 2008 07:52 BST

Thailand declared a state of emergency early today after one person was killed in political clashes between protesters demanding the resignation of the prime minister, Samak Sundaravej, and his supporters.

Samak empowered the army to restore order on the streets of Bangkok following the fighting, the worst violence seen since the anti-government campaign began in May.

The dramatic turn came after 400 troops in riot gear were deployed to separate the mobs brandishing clubs and sticks as they fought a brief pitched battle on the broad avenue that runs outside the regional headquarters of the United Nations.

Europe

Europe issues cautious warning to Russia



 By John Lichfield in Brussels

Tuesday, 2 September 2008  

European Union leaders warned last night that Russia faced “isolation” unless Moscow made a “fundamental choice” to back down from its confrontational position in the Caucasus.

After an emergency summit in Brussels, EU leaders said relations with Russia had come to a “crossroads”. Future economic and political ties “may” depend on Moscow’s willingness to remove troops from undisputed Georgian soil and implement an EU-brokered six-point peace plan.

Although no direct sanctions against Moscow were discussed, Britain persuaded its EU partners to postpone talks with Russia later this month on a new economic partnership agreement.

Wagner hits a note of peace over Bayreuth



From The Times

September 2, 2008

Roger Boyes in Berlin  

The annual Bayreuth festival, site of an annual pilgrimage for thousands of Wagnerians, will be run by the composer’s 30-year-old great-grand-daughter who has promised to open up the long, heavy operas to a broader public.The longest-running family feud in the world of classic music has thus been officially declared well and truly over; the spears have been buried, the demons tamed.

The move is sure to shock and anger traditionalists. Katharina Wagner, who has expressed a wish to be on the jury of the German equivalent of Pop Idol, has promised to make childrens’ versions of Richard Wagner’s works, to set up extensive public viewing areas and to kick off a nationwide debate on the relationship between the Nazis and her venerated ancestor.

Middle East

Iran, U.S. step cautiously toward dialogue

Signals from both Tehran and Washington are often misinterpreted and the subject of attack on the domestic stages in both countries.

By Scott Peterson  | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

from the September 2, 2008 edition

Tehran, Iran –  The language from both Tehran and Washington seems as bellicose as ever. This week, an Iranian general said aggression against his country will start a “world war” and Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama vowed that if elected he would not allow Iran to box Israel “into a corner.”

But a look behind much of the public rhetoric coming from the United States and Iran reveals that both countries, while still bitterly at odds over many issues, are taking increasingly bold steps to foster dialogue.

“America has no choice but to look to Iran for dialogue” to help solve crises in Iraq, Lebanon, the Middle East peace process, and Iran’s own nuclear issue, says Sadegh Kharazi, Iran’s former ambassador to Paris.

Students flock to Jordan to study in tamer Mideast >



By DALE GAVLAK, Associated Press Writer  

AMMAN, Jordan – Young Americans studying Arabic like to joke that Jordan is “Middle East Lite” – a safe way into a tumultuous region without Lebanon’s violence, Syria’s tense relationship with the U.S. or the Gulf’s conservative culture.

Drawn by that reputation, an increasing number of Americans interested in Arabic have been flocking to Jordan.

The capital, Amman, lacks much of the history and color that attract Americans to Cairo, the most popular destination for foreign students who want to learn Arabic. But Amman comes without the air pollution and crowds that plague Egypt’s capital. It also feels more Western with its clean streets and numerous American shops and fast-food restaurants.

Africa

Americans adopt HIV-positive kids from Ethiopia

Parents say they are driven by a desire for social change and confidence that the disease is more manageable than ever before.

By Anita Powell  | Associated Press

from the September 2, 2008 edition

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – When Solomon Henderson was a year old, his birth parents left him at an Ethiopian orphanage with three things: a picture of Jesus, a plastic crucifix, and HIV.

As one of 14,000 Ethiopian newborns diagnosed with the virus every year, Solomon’s prospects for survival – much less adoption – were grim. But Erin Henderson’s heart stirred when she saw him, and she decided on the spot to adopt him. “They told me that they weren’t sure he would live through the weekend,” Henderson said by e-mail from her home in rural Wyoming. Solomon, now an active 2-year-old, is part of a small but growing movement: Americans adopting children from abroad diagnosed as HIV-positive.

Figures from US-based Adoption Advocates International, the agency that arranges the majority of HIV-positive adoptions in Ethiopia, show a clear and steady rise, from two such adoptions in 2005, four in 2006, 13 in 2007, and 38 either completed or pending this year.  

Zimbabwe ‘retains aid controls’

Aid agencies in Zimbabwe have complained that they remain subject to tight government controls despite the lifting of a ban on food aid.

By  

Hopes that the government meant well by lifting the ban “were dashed”, Fambai Ngirande, a spokesman for Zimbabwean aid groups, told the BBC.

He said they have to submit information on their staffing, equipment and operations or risk being barred.

The government imposed the ban, saying aid was being used politically.

It was introduced ahead of a presidential election in June and lifted last week.

Latin America

Can Mexico’s Calderón stop the killings?

 Tens of thousands protested drug violence this weekend. Many blame the president.

By Sara Miller Llana  | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

from the September 2, 2008 edition

Mexico City – In August alone, the teenage son of a Mexican businessman was found dead in the trunk of a car, after being kidnapped at a fake police checkpoint; a dozen decapitated bodies were discovered in the southern state of Yucatán; and in northern Chihuahua state, gunmen fired on a dance hall, killing 13 people, including a baby.

Mexicans have long been fed up with the escalating violence. But 20 months after conservative President Felipe Calderón launched a massive military effort against drug violence, the bloodshed has only gotten worse.

Mr. Calderón has scrambled to assuage public outrage, signing a national pact this month with the country’s leaders to improve anticorruption measures for cops and form new antikidnapping squads. But the pressure is on.