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Saturday, March 26, 2011

The Morning Scoop - Obama's Trap in Syria

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The Daily Beast - The Morning Scoop - March 26, 2011
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CHEAT SHEET
MUST READS FROM ALL OVER

POLICY
1. Obama's Trap in Syria

The Syrian government's violent crackdown on protesters on Thursday has
drawn an international rebuke. A White House spokesman said, "We
strongly condemn the Syrian government's attempts to repress and
intimidate demonstrators," while U.N. Chief Ban Ki-moon called Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad to urge "maximum restraint." Government forces
had fired on protesters in several cities, including Deraa, where
witnesses say up to 20 people were killed. In Damascus, activists
reported 4,000 continued to protest overnight and said that around
midnight security forces stormed their sit-in, beat them with clubs, and
arrested 200 people. At dawn on Saturday, the authorities released 70
political prisoners in an effort to appease protesters. But any U.S.
response may be hamstrung by President Obama's insistence on
multilateralism in Libya. Getting the Arab League and U.N. Security
Council's approval on military action against al-Assad will be a no-go,
says The Daily Beast's Joshua Muravchik.

Read it at The Daily Beast:
http://e.thedailybeast.com/a/tBNje0TB7SwhTB8Z3$qNsjV9oTc/dail1
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AT WAR
2. Libyan Rebels Recapture Key Town

Maybe airstrikes will be enough to turn the tide after all. Libyan
rebels have retaken the key town of Ajdabiya after seven days of
coalition bombardment. Allied warplanes took out tanks around the city
and provided cover for the rebels as they advanced. A BBC reporter
counted about 20 destroyed Libyan tanks and armored vehicles, which
people were dancing on and chanting, "Thank you, Obama," and "Thank you,
Cameron." Col. Muammar Gaddafi, meanwhile, has given everyone in the
army and police force a promotion.

Read it at BBC News:
http://e.thedailybeast.com/a/tBNje0TB7SwhTB8Z3$qNsjV9oTc/dail2
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JAPAN
3. Radiation Spikes in Japan's Seawater Near Nuke Plant

It's two steps forward, one step back at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear
complex, where a spokesman for Japan's nuclear safety agency said
radiation levels in seawater around the plant have spiked to 1,250 times
the legal limit. The radiation doesn't pose a threat to human health,
the spokesman said, "Because nobody is engaged in fishery in the
evacuation area within a radius of 20 kilometers." But the leak raises
concerns that there's a new, unidentified leak in the plant. Officials
aren't sure where the radiation is coming from. The spike in radiation
comes a day after highly radioactive water inside the No. 3 reactor
raises concerns of a core breach. There's some good news, though: all
the units are hooked up to the electric grid, temperatures in the spent
fuel pools have fallen, and workers have begun to drain pools of
radioactive water from one of the reactors. The U.S. military is also
bringing in fresh water to douse the reactors, a change from seawater
which encrusts the rods in salt and makes them harder to cool.

Read it at The Wall Street Journal:
http://e.thedailybeast.com/a/tBNje0TB7SwhTB8Z3$qNsjV9oTc/dail3
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UH OH
4. Congress Budget Talks Stall Again

Stop us if you've heard this one before: Congressional budget
negotiations are stuck in neutral again, officials say, increasing the
odds of a government shutdown in early April. The nation's current
spending bill expires April 8. Sources say Senate Democrats want to put
entitlements like Medicare on the table, but Republicans, under heavy
pressure from the Tea Party, have balked, opting instead for cuts in
discretionary spending programs. "A deal is still possible, but it would
take a real breakthrough," said one senior official. Apparently the two
sides can't even agree on where to start—using the current stopgap
spending bill as a template or the package that the GOP-led House has
already passed, which would cut $61 billion.

Read it at The New York Times:
http://e.thedailybeast.com/a/tBNje0TB7SwhTB8Z3$qNsjV9oTc/dail4
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UNNERVING
5. Cellphones Track Your Every Move

Big Brother may not be watching you, but your cellphone carrier is. Mark
Spitz, a German Green Party politician and privacy advocate, was curious
about exactly what his cellphone company, Deutsche Telekom, knew about
his whereabouts, so he took them to court. The results were eye-opening:
During a six-month period, from August 31, 2009, to February 28, 2010,
the company had recorded and saved his longitude and latitude
coordinates a whopping 35,000 times, tracing his every move. Experts say
Spitz has provided an unprecedented look into how cellphone companies
track their users. About every seven seconds, your cellphone company
will determine the nearest cell tower to efficiently route calls, and
then, for billing purposes, track your location and how long the call
lasted. In the U.S., telecommunications companies don't have to report
the material they collect, and both the FBI and DEA often use cellphone
records to pinpoint suspects. "I want to show the political message that
this kind of data retention is really, really big and you can really
look into the life of people for six months and see what they are doing
where they are," said Spitz.

Read it at The New York Times:
http://e.thedailybeast.com/a/tBNje0TB7SwhTB8Z3$qNsjV9oTc/dail5
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Click here for more of the Cheat Sheet at The Daily Beast:
http://e.thedailybeast.com/a/tBNje0TB7SwhTB8Z3$qNsjV9oTc/cs

TALK TO THE NATION
Obama to Give Libya Speech Monday
Will "update" Americans on intervention.
http://e.thedailybeast.com/a/tBNje0TB7SwhTB8Z3$qNsjV9oTc/cht6

MEDICINE
FDA Approves Skin Cancer Drug Yervoy
Uses immune system to fight tumors.
http://e.thedailybeast.com/a/tBNje0TB7SwhTB8Z3$qNsjV9oTc/cht7

SNAKES ON A PLANE
Attempt to Smuggle 40 Pythons Foiled
Two men going to Dubai from Jakarta.
http://e.thedailybeast.com/a/tBNje0TB7SwhTB8Z3$qNsjV9oTc/cht8

SURPRISE
Britney Spears Holds 'Secret' Vegas Show
Previews tracks off upcoming album 'Femme Fatale'.
http://e.thedailybeast.com/a/tBNje0TB7SwhTB8Z3$qNsjV9oTc/cht9

BLAME GAME
Bret Michaels Suing Tony Awards
Claims brain hemorrhage from being hit on head at show.
http://e.thedailybeast.com/a/tBNje0TB7SwhTB8Z3$qNsjV9oTc/cht10
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BLOGS & STORIES
FROM OUR CONTRIBUTORS

Minnesota's Bachmannization
by John Avlon

As Michele Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty flirt with 2012 presidential runs,
their home state's GOP is increasingly radicalized. John Avlon on how
the swing state became wingnut territory.

http://e.thedailybeast.com/a/tBNje0TB7SwhTB8Z3$qNsjV9oTc/fea1
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Gay Immigrants' Same-Sex Marriage Lifeline
by Mike Giglio

With Obama no longer supporting the Defense of Marriage Act, deportation
cases involving same-sex unions may have been put on hold. Mike Giglio
reports exclusively on gay and lesbian immigrants' new cause for hope.

http://e.thedailybeast.com/a/tBNje0TB7SwhTB8Z3$qNsjV9oTc/fea2
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March 26: The Week in Viral Videos
by The Daily Beast Video

From Paul Newman's tribute to Elizabeth Taylor, to Rebecca Black's late
night debut, to Chris Brown's GMA explosion, watch the buzziest viral
videos of the week.

http://e.thedailybeast.com/a/tBNje0TB7SwhTB8Z3$qNsjV9oTc/fea3
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