The Daily Brief — Friday, August 8, 2008

By Patrick Henry 

 

In today’s Daily Brief… there’s good news from Iraq, Democrats are worried, green is blue, and Bill Clinton is urging monogamy.

THE GOOD…

Iraqis: Deal close on plan for US troops to leave
Associated Press · Qassim Abdul-Zahra
Iraq and the U.S. are near an agreement on all American combat troops leaving Iraq by October 2010, with the last soldiers out three years after that, two Iraqi officials told The Associated Press on Thursday. U.S. officials, however, insisted no dates had been agreed. The proposed agreement calls for Americans to hand over parts of Baghdad’s Green Zone - where the U.S. Embassy is located - to the Iraqis by the end of 2008. It would also remove U.S. forces from Iraqi cities by June 30, 2009, according to the two senior officials, both close to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and familiar with the negotiations… more»

Democratic jitters as Obama heads home
The Financial Times · Edward Luce
Few people are more likely to need a holiday than Barack Obama. Yet as he heads off on Friday for his first week-long break since he launched his presidential bid 19 months ago, Mr Obama is dogged by rising angst about his campaign’s direction. Although he has run what is widely acclaimed to be one of the most impressive campaigns in years, Democrats live in fear of Mr Obama falling prey to the kinds of accident that derailed predecessors in earlier cycles. With polls showing him neck-and-neck with John McCain at a stage at which many Democrats expected he would be in the clear lead, they worry about the kind of stray image that helped to defeat John Kerry in 2004… more»

Suddenly being green is not cool any more
TimesOnline · Alice Thomson
Julie Burchill can’t stand them. According to her new book, Not in my Name: A Compendium of Modern Hypocrisy, she thinks all environmentalists are po-faced, unsexy, public school alumni who drivel on about the end of the world because they don’t want the working classes to have any fun, go on foreign holidays or buy cheap clothes. Michael O’Leary, the chief executive of Ryanair, agrees. In an interview with Rachel Sylvester and me, he told us that the “nutbag ecologists” are the overindulged rich who have nothing better to do with their lives than talk about hot air and beans… more»

THE BAD…

Clinton’s advice to beat Aids: stay faithful
The Independent
Bill Clinton made a plea yesterday for a new emphasis on monogamy as a key element in the battle against Aids. The former US president, not noted for his ability to keep his own marriage vows, said it was very important to change people’s attitudes to sex… more»

Random House pulls novel on Islam, fears violence
Reuters · Edith Honan
Publisher Random House has pulled a novel about the Prophet Mohammed’s child bride, fearing it could “incite acts of violence”… more»

Who Can You Sue? Click Here
Time · Siobhan Morrissey
As if there weren’t enough people out there suing each other, now a Florida attorney has come up with a way to make the process even easier. Beginning next month, anyone with access to the Internet should be able to log onto WhoCanISue.com. The new website plans to help consumers determine whether they actually have a case and help them find an attorney from a list of lawyers who advertise their expertise on the website… more»

…AND THE UGLY!

The Photos Everyone’s Been Waiting For!
The National Enquirer
The National Enquirer is releasing the photograph that the world has been waiting for – the first-ever picture of John Edwards and his love child! The stunning “spy photo” shows the former presidential contender holding his infant daughter Frances Quinn Hunter at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles – where the Enquirer caught him visiting the baby’s mother, his mistress Rielle Hunter… more»

Tabloid’s claims threaten Edwards’ role at party’s convention
Charlotte Observer · Mark Johnson
Former Sen. John Edwards has a deadline to save his spot on the national stage. With two weeks to go before their national convention, a number of Democrats are saying that Edwards needs to publicly address National Enquirer stories that have alleged he had an affair with a campaign worker and fathered her baby… more»

With DNC in mind, city bans carrying urine, feces
Rocky Mountain News · Daniel J. Chacon
Poo and pee dominated a public hearing Monday on a new law that prohibits people from carrying certain items if they intend to use them for nefarious purposes. The law, crafted in advance of the Democratic National Convention, was adopted unanimously by the City Council… more»