The Election Commission (EC) in an unprecedented move yesterday agreed to allow the armed forces to arrest anyone from any place without a warrant during their engagement in election duties.
Human Rights Watch: *crickets*
The Armed Forces Division (AFD) in a proposal earlier sought the power for the army, navy and the air force for seven days including the polling day to ensure a peaceful atmosphere and security of voters in light of the existing law and order situation.
Democratic National Committee: *crickets*
Responding to the proposal, the EC finally asked the home ministry yesterday to issue a notification to allow the armed forces to have the authority as they had desired in addition to the power they already have to arrest any person within a radius of four hundred yards of a polling station on the polling day.
Ramsey Clark: *crickets*
The EC in its letter to the home ministry however did not specify the time limit for allowing the armed forces to exercise the new power.
UN Secretary General Ban: *crickets*
The home ministry will decide for how many days the armed forces will be allowed to exercise the power. But sources in the EC said the armed forces will enjoy the power for 20 days from January 10, the day of their deployment across the country on election duties. President and Chief Adviser Iajuddin Ahmed yesterday directed the armed forces to carry out their assigned duties for holding the January 22 parliamentary election in a fair manner. The president gave the instruction when Army Chief Lt Gen Moeen U Ahmed called on him in Bangabhaban in the afternoon.
"Yes, yes. The general and I are in complete agreement. What's good for the Party is good for Bangladesh!"
Being legally empowered, the army, navy and the air force will be able to take actions against any person if the person is guilty of unduly influencing or compelling any other person to vote or to refrain from voting, directly or indirectly, by himself or herself or by any other person on his or her behalf.
MoveOn.org, Rob Reiner, Michael Moore, Barbra Streisand: all washing their hair that week. Together.
"The Election Commission has agreed with the proposal considering the prevailing situation centring the parliamentary election," EC Secretary Abdur Rashid Sarkar told The Daily Star yesterday, terming the security of voters as crucial following Awami League-led grand alliance's announcement of boycotting and resisting the election.
Europe: Had to take to its bed with acute BDS. Good luck, Bangla electorate. You're gonna need it.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/09/2007 00:00 ||
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Oooh...awkward.
HAVANA: Wives and mothers of Cuban political prisoners urged U.S. peace activist Cindy Sheehan on Monday to visit the island's state-run jails during her weeklong trip to Cuba to call for the closure of the U.S.-operated Guantanamo prison. Ummmmmmmm...ummmmmmmmmm...ummmmmmmmm...Medea! These women are bothering me!
The Ladies in White, a group of women demanding the release of their loved ones, described what they called "inhumane" conditions at Cuba's prisons in a letter for Sheehan that was sent to international reporters. The group said it was trying to get a copy to Sheehan as well. Yeah. Good luck with that...
"At the same time you and your noble followers fight for the closure of the U.S. prison at the Guantanamo naval base ... just a few miles away at the provincial Guantanamo prison in Cuban territory, peaceful and defenseless political prisoners suffer inhumane conditions, (living) without potable water and with poor nutrition, deficient medical assistance, insects and rodents, limited visits and precarious communication," the letter said. "We exhort you to visit the prisons of Cuba, chosen randomly, and not those prepared" by authorities, it added. Ummmmmmmm...ummmmmmmmmm...ummmmmmmmmm...Medea said there are no prisons in Cuba. Everybody loves El Jefe and El Jefe loves them back.
Sheehan arrived in Havana on Saturday with a dozen other peace activists and plans to attend a human rights conference in the eastern Cuban city of Guantanamo on Wednesday. I'm in Cuba in January. Thanks, Casey!
On Thursday, the group is to hold a protest outside the U.S. Navy's Guantanamo base, where nearly 400 men are being held on suspicion of links to al-Qaida or the Taliban. Take the free minefield tour. I hear it's really...interesting.
In the letter, the Ladies in White said they are a peaceful group that faces constant harassment from Cuban officials. They also asked Sheehan to meet with them so she "could know this other reality of Cuban society." I'd love to, but I'll be too busy shopping around for that perfect Che T-shirt...
Their jailed husbands and sons are among 75 activists rounded up in the spring of 2003 and sentenced to prison terms ranging from six to 28 years. Sixteen of those prisoners have since been released for health reasons, but more than 300 human rights activists, independent journalists and members of outlawed political parties remain behind bars, according to rights groups. Hey! Human rights activists! Just like you! Probably not as well paid though. And I really doubt they travel first class. Thanks, Casey!
Thursday's protest outside the U.S. military base will coincide with demonstrations around the world to mark the fifth anniversary of the first prisoners' arrival and demand that Washington close the prison. No. See ya next year...
#1
Cindys Statement: But everybody loves El Jeffe and his gives every Cuban a small puppy or kitten because he is just like them. What is all this talk of people being hauled off to prison after some kangaroo court? This aint the U.S.! Cubans have great health care, everyone works, and every child gets a solid (socialists) education. I hope the El Jeffe has these harlots picked up and taken somewhere safe until my visit is complete and I continue to embarrass my son country.
her ugly Trashness says"I hope the El Jeffe has these harlots picked up and taken somewhere safe until my visit is complete and I continue to embarrass my son country.
President George W. Bush congratulated by telephone once bitter U.S. foe Daniel Ortega on his election as Nicaraguan president, the White House said on Monday. Ortega won the November ballot despite American support for his opponent. He led the 1979 Marxist revolution there and his Sandinistas spent years fighting a civil war against U.S.-backed Contra rebels.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/09/2007 00:00 ||
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President Hugo Chavez announced plans Monday to nationalize Venezuela's electrical and telecommunications companies and amend the constitution, transforming his country into a socialist state. "All of that which was privatized, let it be nationalized," Chavez said in a televised speech, referring to "all of those sectors in an area so important and strategic for all of us as is electricity." "The nation should recover its ownership of strategic sectors," he added after swearing in a new Cabinet. Chavez also said he wanted a constitutional amendment to eliminate the autonomy of the Central Bank. "We're moving toward a socialist republic of Venezuela, and that requires a deep sixing reform of our national constitution," Chavez said.
#5
He doesn't, anymore than ZimBobWe does. It's just easier to get the assets into the Swiss Bank Accounts once all legal barriers to control are overridden.
Posted by: Ernest Brown ||
01/09/2007 5:07 Comments ||
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#6
Maybe. Dictators of socialist countries tend to die of more natural causes than other bad forms of government, so why not. Of course, it doesn't matter how much wealth you hoard if you can't spend it. He won't be able to leave the country without being on the whole world's $hit list for whatever reason, except for perhaps Iran.
#7
We need names of Swiss Numbered account reps... names of their next of kin and a few Mafia types to liberate some ill gained loot for funding the Burg... (^8
#9
Ah, come on boys, its the new Venezuelan National Tourism Ministry Office theme for 2007 to get all the Hollyweird types to come on down and spend some of their studio subsidized millions. Hugo, the man with a pulse, is cutting into Fidels racket. Given that most Hollyweird types have to wait at least two more years before they can spend a night in the Lincoln bedroom again, its the next best thing. Che t-shirts optional.
#12
Try to see the positive side : think of all those apparatchiks who will eventually become milionaires in dollars, when the nationalized sector will be re-privatized after this socialist experiment fails once again.
#14
Hey! Don't drag us into this mess! We likey the South GA red clay!
Posted by: GA Peanuts ||
01/09/2007 13:41 Comments ||
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#15
On a different article on Fox News, Chavez declares he wants to be kind of an Evangelical Pope. For some reason I can't post it as a separate article to Rantburg, so here goes:
Try to imagine Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, dressed up as a bishop the head bishop of his own state-sponsored church.
According to media reports coming out of Latin America, President Chavez is considering a proposal that would establish him as the high priest of his own form of evangelical Christianity, convert his cabinet members into bishops of a lower rank, and submit church activities to the civil and military power of his government.
It is still unclear who is behind the proposal. Publicly, it has taken the form of a petition by leaders of Centro Cristiano de Salvación (Christian Center of Salvation). The association claims to represent 17,000 evangelical churches and 5,000,000 Venezuelans. Their request is simple: make their denomination the countrys official religion, teach it in all public schools and pay the pastors from government coffers. In turn, they will make Chavez their head bishop and promise to submit absolutely to his authority...
CRONULLA, AUSTRALIA It's a sweltering day, and the beach is packed with suntanned bodies. Girls in swimsuits lounge on the sand while their boyfriends cradle surfboards. Mecca Laalaa is the lone exception. Instead of a barely there bikini, she's in a burqini - a top-to-toe two-piece lycra suit complete with hijab, or Islamic head covering.
Loose enough to preserve Muslim modesty, but light enough to enable swimming, the burqini, taking its name from the burqa, is at the forefront of a dramatic shift within Australia's iconic surf lifesaving clubs.
No longer wanting to be associated only with bronzed, blue-eyed action men, Surf Life Saving Australia is attempting to better reflect the country's multicultural mix.
Ms. Laalaa is one of 24 young people of Arab descent who signed up for a 10-week surf lifesaving-training course. "Normally, I'd wear cotton trousers and a top but they get very heavy in the water. This meets our cultural requirements," she says, preparing to go out on a beach patrol. The burqini that she wears was specially designed to allow Muslim women like her to join one of the surf lifesavers clubs.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/09/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Just when you think you've heard and seen it all. This is so incredibly laughable, it's beyond words. Besides, there's no need for muzzie lifeguards. If a muzzies gets in trouble, the regulars will handle it fine.
"Look Jack, you see that one waving out there ?"
"Nope, I don't see nothin'. Check that string bikini over there to the left."
#2
Those one piecers may become desireable during jellyfish season down south -- I'm told even so much as nylon stockings over bare skin can prevent being stung.
#3
Note that this is supposed to be a VOLUNTEER organization, but that they get money to RECRUIT Muslims. Not necessarily support operations, but to RECRUIT Muslims.
At the same time, you'd have thunk that a MUSLIM country would have thought about using this sort of material for this sort of application LONG BEFORE the Aussies had to address this issue. The demand that one wear the Burqa even while swimming has been around for years, and it is common knowledge that Arab men wear as little at the beach as the Euro men do, while women trying to enjoy one of God's gifts of nature have to risk their lives swimming while in a bag.
The fact that NO THOUGHT was ever given to this issue by Arab Muslims is reflective of the core contradictory attitude toward women: valuable enough to suppress and cover up, but not valuable enough to provide SAFE beach wear.
Rack up ANOTHER example of the West coming to the rescue of women caught in Muslim insanity.
#4
"One, two, three four, tell the Ummah
what she wore in Cronulla today.
It was a baggy, saggy, soggy, clingy
yellow crescent moon burquini
keeping the Bondi cigars away."
I think this is a good thing. The burqini part is laughable -- try wearing that in the 95 degree sun (35˚C for you metric fans) and I'll just bet that in a couple days that sleek aussie lifeguard outfit will start looking pretty good.
But what you have here are a group of Muslim immigrants who are, best as I can tell, trying to integrate into something that's a tradition in the country. Now if they're doing that with the best of intentions (yeah, yeah, I know, I know) that's great, and Australia needs more of it. Immigrants have to assimilate. That's their #1 job. If these kids are lifeguarding so as to do that, good.
And if not, we'll figure it out.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/09/2007 8:58 Comments ||
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#6
"It's about counteracting the negative stereotyping of Muslims, which has been very bad over the last five years. Our greatest enemy is ignorance."
No, I think your greatest enemy is your midevil religion of death and fire. This is typical muslim bullshit. The problem in Cronulla was a bunch of arab freaks drooling on the girls and raping them on their way home at night, not us white folks.
#8
No longer wanting to be associated only with bronzed, blue-eyed action men, Surf Life Saving Australia is attempting to better reflect the country's multicultural mix seventh-century.
#9
If these kids are lifeguarding so as to do that, good.
I'm waiting for the first time a devout Muslim saves a member of the opposite sex (or vice versa) and needs to do mouth-to-mouth. I bet we'll see the limits of this assimilation then.
#11
xbalanke nails it. Will that mean the save Muslims only? Or, how will they react to a drowning member of the opposite sex? What if I start choking on some BBQ pork ribs on the beach?
Inquiring minds and all....
Posted by: BA ||
01/09/2007 13:54 Comments ||
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#12
Don't kid yourself. After some improvements they'll wind up selling a million of them.
#2
I'm sure this could be cleared up by Lukashenko going to Moscow for a nice state dinner.
Posted by: ed ||
01/09/2007 17:23 Comments ||
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#3
In spite of their experiments with wild-west capitalism after the collapse of the fUSSR, the commies still have not got the hang of this whole capitalism thing - that you can make more money by actually *selling* stuff to your customers rather than using your products as a club to beat them into submission.
NEW YAWK - Civil rights activist Al Sharpton said Monday he is seriously considering a run for president. "I don't hear any reason not to," Sharpton, 52, said in an interview during an urban affairs conference sponsored by another civil rights leader, the Rev. Jesse Jackson. Yeah, it's a...urban affairs conference. Yeah! That's it!
"If we're talking about the urban agenda, can you tell me anybody else in the field who's representing that right now?" Sharpton asked. "We clearly have a reason to run, and whether we do it or not we'll see over the next couple of months." "Reverend" Al and "matching funds". A match made in heaven.
Sharpton mounted a long-shot bid for the White House in 2004, in which his wit and fiery denunciation of President Bush often enlivened Democratic primary debates. He dropped out of the race after losing several state primaries and endorsed the eventual nominee, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry. Hey, Jawn. Maybe you can blame him...
Despite widespread interest in the likely candidacy of another influential black Democrat, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, Sharpton said he's heard little substantive discussion of issues that might influence his decision about running. Oh, go ahead, Al. Call him an Uncle Tom. Ya know you want to.
"Right now we're hearing a lot of media razzle dazzle," Sharpton said. "I'm not hearing a lot of meat, or a lot of content. I think when the meat hits the fire, we'll find out if it's just fat or if there's some real meat there." And Al knows meat. And fat.
Sharpton said the candidate who impressed him most so far was former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, who has made poverty the central issue of his campaign. John Edwards: A Jimmy Carter for the 21st Century.
Sharpton ran for the Senate from New York in 1988, 1992 and 1994, and ran for New York City mayor in 1997. He ever pay off that Tawana Brawley settlement?
#3
Whahahhahahaaa.... I think this is what our founding father's might have been referring to when they talked about "the separation of church and state."
#7
Not the sharpest knife, if'n you know what I mean.
Posted by: Mike ||
01/09/2007 10:30 Comments ||
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#8
He must have made some pretty good money on the last go round. He is just climbing onto the gravy train again. Scammers repeat their scams that worked.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
01/09/2007 10:43 Comments ||
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#9
Why don't you get elected dogcatcher first, Al.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
01/09/2007 12:54 Comments ||
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#10
Sharpten has minimal name recognition beyond the NY area and in that area his name is not all that good. This is a move to get (a) matching funds (b) bought off by other Democrats to go away. That could mean money or a post in the administration if said briber wins. (c) He's intending to shoot down Obama without dirtying the name of some unnamed Democratic benefactor.
He doesn't expect to win, place, or even show up for the actual election and if we see him in the primaries it's because the plan hasn't gone as smoothly as expected.
Democrats are not ruling out raising taxes for the wealthiest people to help pay for tax cuts for middle-income families, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. She spoke of pursuing an estimated $300 billion that people owe in back taxes, eliminating deficit spending and reducing wasteful federal spending. "As we review what we get from ... collecting our taxes and reducing waste, fraud and abuse, investing in education and in initiatives which will bring money into the Treasury, it may be that (repealing) tax cuts for those making over a certain amount of money, $500,000 a year, might be more important to the American people than ignoring the educational and health needs of America's children," Pelosi, D-California, said in an interview aired Sunday. (Interactive: What House Democrats pledge to pass in the first 100 legislative hours)
A budget rule, known as the pay-as-you-go rule, that was approved by the Democratic-run House on Friday requires that tax cuts have corresponding cuts in government spending or tax increases elsewhere to pay for them.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/09/2007 00:00 ||
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This is basically saying "we're going to raise taxes". Anybody middle class or lower basically doesn't pay their share of taxes. A very socialist idea, if you ask me.
Hint for those who are "Reality Challenged": You can thank W for that.
#7
Besides, is it just me or does this usually end up lighting on the middle class? The trully rich in this country are a slippery bunch that are really hard to pin down to any taxes. For every tax law they pass their lawers will find 5 loopholes and actually save them money. The middle class with our crappy H&R Block lackies will be the ones footing the bill.
#8
The trully rich in this country are a slippery bunch that are really hard to pin down to any taxes. For every tax law they pass their lawers will find 5 loopholes and actually save them money.
#9
Built for class warfare affect: Soak those rich bastards! Thats fine and dandy until they keep lowering the standard of who is rich and what can be taxed. I dont make a lot but I will bet my next 10 paychecks that Pelosi tax returns look likes a Seven degrees of Kevin Bacon game. The bottom line (or joke on us) is that she aint paying anywhere near what a normal person would expect. It will start with people making $500k and soon people making $50k will be defined as rich. At that point we all will be invited to pay the higher tax rates. Is it just me or does it seem the Democrats only want to accomplish two things: Raise taxes and Surrender in Iraq? How come nobody saw this?
#11
USMC6743, Thats called "Dimishing Returns" I think or the laupher curve? Anyway there is a point where taxes affect employment and whether people want to claim wages. There are all kinds of ways to hide money and income, just asks the Kennedy's and Kerry's. If you have a high tax rate of say 25% then people are more likely to claim income then they would at 35% or 50%. Also if employer make less money (by paying taxes) then they have to cut money somewhere and employees are the most costly part of a business.
#12
Yep, and on the flip side their minimum wage increase will only hurt small businesses and other employers like auto-makers w/their unions band waggoning on for a slice. Thus, those companies will raise the price of the goods they sell in order to maintain their profit margin and/or cut their work force to do the same or a combo of both. Plus, in my acidly sarcastic mind, if your the bread winner of a family and the best you can do is a mini-wage job at the burger shack then you've really been pissing away your life instead of attaining job skills and education in order to earn more. Essentially if you're not retarded or elderly and the best you can do at age 35 is the BK for $6.95 an hour, your hopeless in my book.
"Today we are going to talk about jobs," says the English language teacher to his class in Tehran.
And it's better jobs they're all after. They're preparing for what's known as the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) exam - a requirement for emigration to many countries like Canada and Australia.
Everyone in the class wants to go abroad.
This is especially true for Iranian medical students.
"The main point for going out of Iran is we have no job security here and there is economic tension," says 32-year-old travel agent, Nazaneen.
The number of educated young Iranians trying to leave the country appears to have increased in the last year since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took office judging by the numbers sitting the IELTS exam. The figures have increased two-and-a-half times this year over the same period last year, according to the Australian administrators of the test.
Hundreds of volunteers from across the country have flocked to Nashville this fall and winter and more are here today as part of a grass-roots training effort to spread the word on global warming.
They are taking part in Al Gore's The Climate Project, which mushroomed from his documentary, An Inconvenient Truth.
The goal had been to train 1,000 "presenters" to show slides of melting glaciers and charts of climbing temperatures, but many more have wanted in.
Those selected to gather at the Hilton Nashville Downtown last week included teachers, doctors, a meteorologist, ministers, Wal-Mart employees, actress Cameron Diaz, architects, retirees, veterans and financiers.
#1
Must mean the picture that was accused of being a pscripted/shopped "globe in a studio" fake intended to make Americans believe Americans made it into space + Moon. AMERICAN NEVER WENT INTO SPACE NOR LANDED ON THE MOON, AND THE EARTH IS FLAT, D ***ng it. ERGO THE "PHOTO FAKE" GIVES GLOBAL WARMING ITS UNDENIABLE CREDIBILITY.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
01/09/2007 9:07 Comments ||
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#8
As an aside...much ado has been made of the ice shelf that cracked off northern Ellesmere Island. What Gore and his Penguins fail disclose is that in the midst of the "global warming", winters at Ellesmere Island are about 15°C colder and summers 11C warmer than the Early Pliocene winters/summers. There are fossilized remains (flora and fauna) that lived in the region that indicate the climate was about like Labrador.
#16
What's this global warming thing again? Anchorage, AK was -11F today, with Alaska interior temperatures ranging from -30F to -56F. You guys are getting all the warming, leave some for us.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/09/2007 22:12 Comments ||
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#17
"part of a grass-roots training effort to spread the word lies on global warming bullsh*t"
There - fixed that one for ya' too.
No need to thank me - glad to help out. :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/09/2007 22:26 Comments ||
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Posted by: Fred ||
01/09/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Proponents of local ownership hope a proprietor with regional ties - particularly one with a bulging bank account and no stockholders to coddle - might be less likely to cut staff simply to hit profit targets. In fact, as a prominent member of the community, he might even feel pressure not to.
#2
Small market local dailies, usually have 3 reporters, 2 of whom also sell ads. And they don't ruffle feathers, because they need every reader they can get. Still one can really learn the business by starting at that level.
#3
In Chicago we have the liberal newspaper and the other liberal newspaper. As long as newspapers present one sided liberal 'group think' circulation is going to decline. Readers are looking for a Fox News approach, give us the facts...we are smart enough to decide. Until this is corrected, it does not matter who owns the paper.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
The Election Commission (EC) in an unprecedented move yesterday agreed to allow the armed forces to arrest anyone from any place without a warrant during their engagement in election duties. 
President Hugo Chavez announced plans Monday to nationalize Venezuela's electrical and telecommunications companies and amend the constitution, transforming his country into a socialist state. "All of that which was privatized, let it be nationalized," Chavez said in a televised speech, referring to "all of those sectors in an area so important and strategic for all of us as is electricity." "The nation should recover its ownership of strategic sectors," he added after swearing in a new Cabinet. Chavez also said he wanted a constitutional amendment to eliminate the autonomy of the Central Bank. "We're moving toward a socialist republic of Venezuela, and that requires a deep 
CRONULLA, AUSTRALIA It's a sweltering day, and the beach is packed with suntanned bodies. Girls in swimsuits lounge on the sand while their boyfriends cradle surfboards. Mecca Laalaa is the lone exception. Instead of a barely there bikini, she's in a burqini - a top-to-toe two-piece lycra suit complete with hijab, or Islamic head covering.
Democrats are not ruling out raising taxes for the wealthiest people to help pay for tax cuts for middle-income families, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. She spoke of pursuing an estimated $300 billion that people owe in back taxes, eliminating deficit spending and reducing wasteful federal spending. "As we review what we get from ... collecting our taxes and reducing waste, fraud and abuse, investing in education and in initiatives which will bring money into the Treasury, it may be that (repealing) tax cuts for those making over a certain amount of money, $500,000 a year, might be more important to the American people than ignoring the educational and health needs of America's children," Pelosi, D-California, said in an interview aired Sunday. (Interactive: What House Democrats pledge to pass in the first 100 legislative hours)
"Today we are going to talk about jobs," says the English language teacher to his class in Tehran.
