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Sunday, April 24, 2011
The Morning Scoop - The End of Arab Police States?
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Protests continued in Yemen Sunday, despite President Ali Abdullah Saleh's promise to leave after 32 years in power. Yemen's police have killed scores since demonstrations began earlier this year, and some worry that Saleh's remaining month in power will cause even more clashes and deaths. The Daily Beast's Bruce Riedel reports on how Saleh's eventual departure could mark the beginning of the end of the police state era in the Middle East—and why the U.S. is uneasy to see it go.
It seems Muammar Gaddafi's forces aren't leaving Misrata without a fight. The besieged city saw one of its deadliest days in the almost two months, with doctors saying at least 25 people were killed and 71 others critically injured. Residents reported heavy shelling and explosions as government forces promised to leave the city. Despite the government's claims Friday night that Gaddafi's forces would withdraw and let the tribes deal with the rebels, the rebels remained skeptical. Early reports from some rebels said Misrata was free of Gaddafi's forces, but a rebel spokesman in Benghazi called the government's promise to withdraw a "trick." Meanwhile, contrary to the reports of heavy fighting, Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kailm in Tripoli said military forces had suspended their operations, though they have not left.
The Federal Reserve's experimental attempt to boost the recovery by buying federal debt may have inflated the stock market, cut the cost of American exports, and lowered companies' interest rates—but it's failed to affect the larger economy, economists say. The latest estimates show the pace of the recovery lagging since November, when the Fed started buying $600 billion in Treasury securities. The Fed first decided to buy bonds in November 2008, when it purchased $1.7 trillion in mortgage and Treasury bonds in order to hold down mortgage rates and the cost of borrowing. When the economy lagged again last summer, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke announced another round of purchases. This round is scheduled to end in June, and the Fed has yet to decide what to do next. Despite the criticism, Bernanke and his supporters have argued that the Fed's action prevented possible deflation.
Pope Benedict XVI incorporated Mideast violence into his Easter Sunday sermon, urging an end to fighting and calling for diplomacy in Libya and throughout the region. In his "Urbi et Orbi" message from the central balcony of Rome's St. Peter's Basilica, the pope prayed for warring nations to become societies where "every political choice is inspired by respect for the human person." Benedict weighed in on Europe's conflict over whether to accept or deport refugees from Libya and elsewhere in northern Africa, calling on everyone to "open their hearts to welcome them." Not just focusing on the Middle East, the pope also led prayers for the Ivory Coast and Japan. Benedict will return to the square on May 1 to beatify his predecessor, Pope John Paul II—an event that is expected to attract double the people who turned out for Easter Sunday Mass.
Well, this comes as a bit of a shock: Former Labour Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown did not receive invitations to Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding at Westminster Abbey next week. However, both their conservative predecessors, Sir John Major and Baroness Thatcher, were invited. A spokesman for St. James's Palace said that the Labour prime ministers did not receive invitations because they were not made knights by the queen, while Major and Thatcher were. Blair's relationship with the royal family was strained, as was Brown's, though to a lesser extent. Blair's wife, Cherie, refused to curtsy to any members of the family, and things were particularly tense after 2002, when one of Blair's aides attempted to intervene in making arrangements for the funeral service of the late Queen Mum. All surviving former prime ministers made the guest list for Prince Charles and Lady Diana's wedding in 1981.
He's surrounded by suck-ups, gets his intel secondhand, and wields his immense power erratically. Andy Dehnart on how 'Celebrity Apprentice' has prepared Trump for the presidency.
Jon Krakauer's Hunt for Truth by Nick Summers The famous journalist's revelations about Greg Mortenson are the latest in his relentless quest to find the truth and expose fraud. Nick Summers on what drives the man.
Rabbits in Costumes! by The Daily Beast With all eyes on Easter eggs (and all hands on Peeps) this weekend, view 10 cute photos of bunnies dressed up around the world throughout this year. Plus, the most-fattening Easter candy.
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