Headlines For 7-14-08

The Bush Administration asks Congress to back Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, while the Federal Reserve said the two companies can borrow directly from it. What does it mean? “The government [is] effectively the only lender for millions of Americans engaged in the largest transactions of their lives.” New York Times

From Russia (and China) with Love. The two countries veto Zimbabwe sanctions proposed by the U.N. Security Council. The West isn’t happy, especially since Russia agreed to impose sanctions at the G8 Summit. Telegraph Do sanctions actually work? BBC

This could be a bit of scare-mongering, but here’s a worst-case analysis of last week’s Iranian missile test. Economist And a profile of Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: (London) Times.

There were problems during the first weekend of the “Second Coming” of the iPhone. Fortune

This Bud’s for you! Anheuser-Busch, the U.S. beer leader, agrees to be bought by the Belgian-Brazilian company InBev. Wall Street Journal

"Informationized Armed Forces"

The next big war could be fought on the Internet.

The Guardian published an article last week which says China has claimed “’informationized armed forces’ are part of its military strategy.” The article also says that “120 countries could be developing the capacity for [cyber-warfare].” It makes sense that they would be arming themselves on the cyber-side considering many countries and institutions were surprised by the cyber-attack on Estonia back in May.

Behold the future of warfare: Before a country takes a hill by pulling triggers and dropping bombs, it’ll crash servers by clicking mice and emailing viruses.

Elections In Turkey

“Democracy has passed a very important test.” Secular Turkey votes to have its current governing party - with Islamist roots - remain in power. BBC

Check out these two lead paragraphs about Bush’s Executive Order on how the C.I.A. can handle detainees suspected of terrorism. They sound like they’re about different stories. BBC New York Times The U.S. must reveal information about prisoners at Gitmo. New York Times It’s the foreign policy, stupid. Washington Post

China has its own “war on terror.” It’s brutal. (London) Times Al-Qaeda’s brutality in Iraq has one unintended consequence: It’s own members are becoming informants for U.S. forces. (London) Times

Maybe someone’s devoutly religious. Maybe they picked up some duty-free whiskey at the terminal before your flight. Whatever the case, Homeland Security will know about it - and keep the information for 15 years - when passengers fly to the U.S. Guardian

Identity thieves are looking at your Facebook and MySpace pages. BBC

Background on the NBA referee scandal.. And the referee himself. Sports Illustrated

Do you live in Richistan? Probably not. Guardian If you do, you could probably afford the world’s most expensive prosti- um, escort - pictured here: Esquire

This preacher really knocks ‘em out. Check out the big guy who said, “Hit me two times!!”

Two More Arrests

A total of seven have now been arrested in the attempted bombings in London and Glasgow. Telegraph

Ten years after Hong Kong’s handover to China. Economist Last year, the U.S. imported 40% of its consumer goods from China. They’re cheap, but numerous recalls linked to China are questioning the safety of the country’s products. Time

Every day, it seems like someone compares the U.S. to the Roman Empire. It’s been going on since America’s founding. New York Times

These days, you can’t fall asleep at the game without somebody taping you.. And the rest of the stadium knowing about it.

Left The Party

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is no longer a Republican. New York Times The election is 17 months(!) away and he’s not even running yet, but everyone is asking if Bloomberg could win the White House. Time

Now that Hamas and everyone else living in Gaza is isolated, what is life like for Palestinians there? MSNBC (video)

“Toys made in China make up 70 to 80 percent of the toys sold,” in the United States. This is troubling since Chinese products are “responsible for about 60 percent of all product recalls” in the U.S. New York Times China has become the world’s #1 CO2 emitter. Guardian

Looking for terrorists and protecting oil interests in Africa. Economist

Iwo Jima has a new name -The name it was called before World War II. Guardian

Smoking bans in bars are definitely a good thing, but it caused a problem in Finland. (Melbourne) Age

Alvin and the Chipmunks were never this dramatic.

Two-State Dilemma

With Hamas in control of Gaza and Fatah in control of the West Bank, are there two Palestinian states for the West to deal with? New York Times The U.S. plans to restore aid to Palestinians once Fatah has a new government without Hamas. BBC Why should we care about what happens in Gaza? Newsweek

Finally, some progress in Darfur. BBC

Go out on that limb. Five issues on which the candidates for president need to be courageous. Time On what issues should the candidates be courageous?

Want to play video games all day and get paid for it? They’re doing it in China. (Yes, it’s too good to be true.) New York Times (video)

Morgan Freeman, who just turned 70, began hitting the links later in life. Here’s what it taught him: Newsweek

Will Kobe stay or will he go? AP/MSNBC Here’s the post from his blog. What do you think?

This fight was on Mother’s Day. Did they even try to take a picture for Father’s Day?

Can We Talk?

After resistance talking to Syria and Iran - a recommendation of the Iraq Study Group - the U.S. will talk to the two countries about Iraq. Washington Post This change of course, along with the change in policy over North Korea, isn’t a change that happened overnight. New York Times And now there are doubts about North Korea’s uranium enrichment program. Washington Post

Worldwide markets collectively freaked out on Tuesday when China’s stocks took a dip on Tuesday. Did the rest of the world overreact? Time Amidst its financial ascendance, China proclaimed socialism for another 100 years. Telegraph U.S. stocks to open today lower as Asian stocks have another tough day, but reports and deals could help keep U.S. number up. CNNMoney

McCain tells Letterman he’s officially in the race for president. Presumably, McCain didn’t announce on a news show because he’s already been running for months now. Late Show (video)

Do you have to practice what you preach? Especially if you’ve won an Oscar for your preachin’? Al Gore’s Tennessee home bill averages about $1200 a month. AP/Yahoo

One in four U.S. women age 14 - 59 have HPV, an STD that could lead to cervical cancer. Reuters

Japanese cars top the list of reliable rides according to a Consumer Reports survey. MSNBC Here are the picks: Consumer Reports

What Do You Think? Check this out: A man is suing his ex-fiancé because she won’t return the $48,000 engagement ring he bought her two years ago. No word about who broke it off, but does he have a right to ask for it back? Is an engagement ring given on the condition the couple walks down the aisle? Or once the rock is given, it’s hers even if they go splitsville. Let us know at Joe.


Feeling a little dirty? Being a little sinful? Look out for The Bible Thumpers! This God Squad is out to kick ass and save souls.



The Morning Joe will be taking a break on Monday, March 5. We’ll be posting again on Thursday, March 8. Have a good week!

Do We Believe Them? (Part 2)

Do We Believe Them? (Part 2) Bush says it’s “preposterous” that the Administration would make up the story that Iran is giving weapons to Iraqi insurgents. He added he’s not looking for a pretext for war. Then why does it feel like it’s 2003 and we’re talking about Saddam? Washington Post

A “first step” was reached to dismantle the North Korean nuclear program. BBC Why a deal now with a member of the Axis of Evil? Newsweek What does this mean for the nuke standoff with Iran? Los Angeles Times

Russia, China, Indian chat about making a more “democratic ‘multipolar world.’” (London) Times

New Yorkers and Californians are most likely to be the victims of identity theft. Reuters

DaimlerChrysler cuts 13,000 Chrysler jobs, and could be cutting the entire Chrysler unit. CNBC

Iverson joins Kidd, Nash and others who are out injured for this weekend’s All-Star game because of an injury. Here’s the line-up.. As long as no one else has an injury. ESPN

Beyonce in swimsuits.

Models in Swimsuits.

It’s all in the

2007 Sports Illustrated

Swimsuit Issue.

180

After Senate Republicans stopped a floor debate on Iraq, a group of them turned around and support the debate. Washington Post Why are so many helicopters going down in Iraq? Time

Rudy is the GOP favorite. Time ..but does he need an attitude adjustment? Newsweek

One of the world’s top four greenhouse gas emitters, China says wealthier nations need to step up and do something about global warming before it does. New York Times Talk is cheap, and this writer says talking is all that will be done about the environment. Newsweek

In another 180, Apple’s Steve Jobs said he wants to remove copy protection from music sold on i-Tunes. Remember, it was Apple who made a ton of money because the i-Pod only plays music downloaded from i-Tunes. CNET Will the major labels risk removing copy-protection from their music? Guardian

Renters will end up paying more this year, even though paychecks won’t increase by the same amount. USA Today

Tour de France champion Floyd Landis will not defend his title. BBC

A-Rod can opt-out of his contract at the end of the 2007 season. He hasn’t said if he’ll do it, but let’s take a look at a few scenarios. ESPN

Think you might have beer-goggles? Researchers have looked into it and come up with a formula you can use to figure it out.. if you’re still sober enough. BBC

Being tied up with a sexy stranger might seem like a good idea, but you could lose an arm or two.