Newser Story Index from November, 2008
Welcome to the Newser Story Index. Here you find stories written by Newser writers and editors, assembled with supporting photos and videos from the files of the news story.
Job-Hunting Execs Find It Tight at the Top
Time
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Nov 29, 2008 12:39 PM CST
(Newser) -
Laid-off execs scrambling to find new six-figure salaries are facing fierce competition, Time reports. Thousands of high-end white-collar jobs have vanished recently, and many more are expected to go. Some top-level vacancies are still appearing, as execs retire or change jobs, but companies looking to fill their most powerful positions are finding...
Web Users Still Can't Get Enough Palin
Politico
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Nov 29, 2008 12:05 PM CST
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We just can't seem to let Sarah Palin go. Nearly a month after the election, she continues to dominate user lookups on search engines, cable news sites, and YouTube, reports Politico. Alaska's governor ranks near the top of virtually every major search tool, including Yahoo, AOL, and Lycos, where she dominated the incoming president until just last...
'Jocks Only' Tutoring Centers Irk Others on Campus
Chicago Tribune
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Nov 29, 2008 11:41 AM CST
(Newser) -
Resentment is building as college athletic tutoring centers nationwide get bigger and flashier, the Chicago Tribune reports. Critics say that the multi-million-dollar, athletes-only centers should be open to all. Some suggest that, since the centers are generally funded and run by the athletic department, they create a conflict of interest; a number...
Bush Contemplates His Legacy
Houston Chronicle
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Nov 29, 2008 11:17 AM CST
(Newser) -
President Bush wants to be remembered foremost as someone who "did not sell his soul in order to accommodate the political process." In an intimate interview conducted by his sister Doro for an oral history project of the Library of Congress, Bush lists liberating Iraqis, fighting AIDS in Africa, reforming Medicare, and No Child Left...
Spam Filters Silently Censoring Your Email
Washington Post
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Nov 29, 2008 10:54 AM CST
(Newser) -
With spam running rampant across the net, in-boxes have become heavily armed fortresses against the unsolicited hordes. Unfortunately, we’ve overdone it, writes James McGrath Morris in the Washington Post . Morris recently discovered that spam filters would gobble up the latest issue of his newsletter, the Biographer’s Craft, because of...
Big Names Await News on Pardons
Associated Press
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Nov 29, 2008 10:30 AM CST
(Newser) -
President Bush continues to be stingy with pardons, but some big names will be hoping for clemency in December, the AP reports. Among the 2,000 applicants are junk-bond king Michael Milken and American-born Taliban soldier John Walker Lindh. Bush also could excuse potential future convicts such as pitcher Roger Clemens and former Attorney General...
Ex-Obama Aide Now Helping 'Monster' Hillary
Politico
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Nov 29, 2008 10:10 AM CST
(Newser) -
Samantha Power will have plenty of time to tell Hillary Clinton how she really feels. The former Obama foreign policy adviser, who was forced to resign during the campaign after calling Clinton “a monster,” is now working on the State Department’s transition team, Politico reports. With Clinton expected to be named secretary of state...
Stocks Even Worse Overseas
Wall Street Journal
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Nov 29, 2008 9:30 AM CST
(Newser) -
The US stock market has seen its worst year in decades—but things have been even worse in Europe and Asia, the Wall Street Journal reports. While the Dow is down 33% for the year, Germany’s DAX index has fallen 42% and China’s Shanghai Composite has plummeted 64%. The Dow Jones World Index, excluding the US, is down 49%, a sign...
FDA Sets Safe Levels for Melamine in Baby Formula
Associated Press
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Nov 29, 2008 9:09 AM CST
(AP) -
Less than two months after federal food regulators said they couldn’t set a safety threshold for melamine in baby formula, they announced a standard that allows for higher levels than those found in US-made batches of the product. FDA officials yesterday set a threshold of one part per million of melamine in formula, provided a related chemical...
Whitney Denies She's Back With Bobby
E! Online
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Nov 29, 2008 8:39 AM CST
(Newser) -
Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown are not, in fact, on again, E! Online reports. A rep for Whitney called a report that the two were spotted over a romantic dinner “a complete fabrication.” The pair was married 14 years amid drug arrests and talk of abuse and cheating; they have one daughter. Word has lately swirled that Houston, who has...
Bush's Pardons Favor Gun Lovers
Wall Street Journal
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Nov 29, 2008 8:22 AM CST
(Newser) -
Second Amendment enthusiasts seem to have a better-than-average chance of winning a presidential pardon as the Bush presidency nears its end, the Wall Street Journal reports. Of the 14 felons pardoned in the last week, seven are fans of hunting or shooting and five say they specifically mentioned their desire to have their right to bear arms restored...
How Comedy Turned Serious
Wall Street Journal
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Nov 29, 2008 7:53 AM CST
(Newser) -
Politics and comedy are trading places, Lee Siegel writes in the Wall Street Journal , as the antics of politicians get more outlandish and comics are increasingly the people speaking truth to power. Fake newsmen like Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert, with their stern commentary, lean more towards the "dark, piercing and wise" humor...
US Suspects Pakistani Group Behind Mumbai Terror
New York Times
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Nov 29, 2008 7:41 AM CST
(Newser) -
American intelligence experts are focusing on a Pakistani group as they help India probe the Mumbai attacks, the New York Times reports. Counterterrorism authorities won't say what makes them suspect Kashmir-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, but it’s believed that at least one member has been captured for interrogation. The militant group is thought to...
Tension Builds in Bangkok Standoff
Associated Press
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Nov 29, 2008 7:22 AM CST
(Newser) -
Police built a huge cordon around Thailand’s main airport today, fueling fears of a confrontation between the government and protesters who have occupied it since Tuesday, the AP reports. Some 2,000 police surrounded demonstrators at Suvarnabhumi airport, where all flights have been grounded, leaving 100,000 tourists stranded. After a series...
South Short on Sympathy for Detroit's Woes
Los Angeles Times
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Nov 29, 2008 6:37 AM CST
(Newser) -
West Point, Georgia, looks a lot like Main Street USA but its people aren't overflowing with pity for the struggling American auto industry, the Los Angeles Times reports. Kia Motors is building a plant in the town and residents are looking forward to new jobs and learning to love Korean barbecue. Detroit, they say, had its chance and blew it. ...
Terrorists Planned to Blow Up Hotel
Times of India (India)
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Nov 29, 2008 6:11 AM CST
(Newser) -
A captured terrorist has confessed that his group intended to blow up Mumbai's Taj Mahal hotel, and had enough explosives to reduce it to rubble in an "Indian 9/11," the Times of India reports. The 21-year-old Pakistani, apprehended after a gunfight in which he killed a police inspector, said he had come with the other attackers by boat...
Mumbai Crisis: 60 Hours, 195 Killed, 295 Wounded
AFP
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Nov 29, 2008 5:47 AM CST
(Newser) -
The attacks by terrorists on Mumbai spread over 60 hours and left at least 195 dead and 295 wounded, AFP reports. As the focus turns now to figuring out who and why, authorities were piecing together the logistics of the assaults. Attackers arrived by water Wednesday night on a pair of dinghies from a ship, meeting others already in position on land...
DNA Led Cops to Pressly Murder Suspect
KATV (Arkansas)
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Nov 29, 2008 5:40 AM CST
(Newser) -
Police in Little Rock say forensic evidence led them to a suspect in the murder of news anchor Anne Pressly, reports KATV. A DNA sample from Pressly's home matched DNA found at the scene of an unsolved rape in Marianna, 90 miles away. Marianna police pointed investigators to rape suspect Curtis Vance, whose DNA sample matched that from both crime scenes.
Secrets of A Christmas Story
Cleveland Plain Dealer
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Nov 29, 2008 5:13 AM CST
(Newser) -
A Christmas Story is beloved by all, as evidenced by the enduring Christmas Eve marathons on TBS. But there are probably some things you don’t know about the timeless flick. The Cleveland Plain-Dealer runs down 25 of them. The Cleveland house used for exterior shots is now a museum dedicated to the film. Before its film career,...
Left-Handed Men Earn More: Study
Daily Mail (UK)
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Nov 29, 2008 4:27 AM CST
(Newser) -
Left-handed men earn an average of 5% more than right-handed men, two British and Irish studies have discovered. The studies found that southpaw males tended to do worse in school—possibly because of trouble adapting to a right-handed world—but were more successful as adults. Female lefties, however, did worse in school and later earned...
Zoo Makes Gifts from Reindeer Poo
Pantagraph (Bloomington-Normal, Ill.)
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Nov 29, 2008 3:40 AM CST
(Newser) -
Reindeer have found yet another way to give of themselves for our holiday benefit. An Illinois zoo is selling Christmas tree ornaments fashioned from the creatures' droppings, the Bloomington-Normal Pantagraph reports. The small droppings are dried, painted, and incorporated into whimsical designs. The $5 gifts have been dubbed “magical reindeer...
EU Trims Tuna Catch, Experts Warn: 'Not Enough'
Economist
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Nov 29, 2008 2:05 AM CST
(Newser) -
The European Commission completed a deal this week cutting back on the fishing of bluefin tuna, the Economist reports, but not sharply enough to save the species, scientists argue. The deal gradually reduces the legal catch from 28,500 tons this year to 19,950 tons in 2010—but conservationists believe a limit of 15,000 tons next year is necessary....
Taj Terrorists Dead; Threat Over
CNN
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Nov 28, 2008 7:31 PM CST
(Newser) -
Commandos have gunned down the last two or three terrorists in the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai, ending the crisis that paralyzed the city for 3 days and took at least 160 lives, CNN reports. Other luxury hotels were cleared out earlier today, but security forces continued to fight terrorists in the Taj throughout the day, rocking the building with...
Icahn Stock Grab May Signal New Yahoo CEO
All Things Digital
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Nov 28, 2008 6:54 PM CST
(Newser) -
Corporate raider Carl Icahn bought about $65 million in Yahoo shares this week, sparking AllThingsD blogger Kara Swisher to speculate that an "Icahn-friendly" CEO is on the way. Icahn's purchase, likely an attempt to recoup the $900 million he lost on his Yahoo stake this year, points to two former executives Icahn brought to the Yahoo board...
Boar Crashes Church Breakfast
Der Spiegel
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Nov 28, 2008 6:11 PM CST
(Newser) -
Mothers and their children were eating breakfast in a Frankfurt church yesterday when a wild boar came crashing in through a glass door, Der Spiegel reports. The sow ran feverishly around the room and exited the same way it came in, leaving moms and kids standing on chairs and tables for cover. They were rattled, but unhurt; the evangelical church...
Matthews Rounds Up Staff for Senate Run
FiveThirtyEight
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Nov 28, 2008 5:42 PM CST
(Newser) -
Chris Matthews is lining up a top-notch staff to manage his campaign for the Pennsylvania Senate seat held by Arlen Specter, FiveThirtyEight reports. Multiple sources say the MSNBC host has made deals with seasoned Obama aides to run the 2010 campaign. Polls already show that Matthews, running as a Democrat, would face an uphill battle if Specter runs...
Skip Doctor-Rating Websites
Slate
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Nov 28, 2008 5:15 PM CST
(Newser) -
The Internet allows people to rate just about anything, so you’d think that rate-your-doctor websites would be a useful, possibly even live-saving resource, right? Not so, writes Kent Sepkowitz for Slate. A physician himself, Sepkowitz set out to find out what he could learn about himself and various colleagues. What did he find? "Zilch....
Pakistan Backpedals, Won't Send Intel Chief to India
Hindustan Times
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Nov 28, 2008 4:49 PM CST
(Newser) -
Pakistan made an abrupt about-face today and announced it would send an intelligence representative, not its intelligence chief, to India to aid in the investigation of the Mumbai terror attacks, the Hindustan Times reports. India had demanded that the ISI chief visit, and Pakistan agreed, but backtracked after a late-night meeting between the...
Court Sticks It to Sarko Over Voodoo Dolls
International Herald Tribune
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Nov 28, 2008 4:25 PM CST
(Newser) -
An appeals court in France essentially told the nation's president to lighten up today. The court rejected a bid by Nicolas Sarkozy to ban voodoo dolls made in his likeness, the International Herald Tribune reports. It ruled that the dolls can continue to be sold, only now they must have a red label declaring that poking the mini-Sarko constitutes...
Obama's 'Macho' Stimulus Plan Forgets Women
Boston Globe
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Nov 28, 2008 4:10 PM CST
(Newser) -
Barack Obama’s stimulus package calls for new jobs to fix roads and bridges, build solar panels and wind-power turbines, and create green cars. Sounds great, except for one thing: These are all fields that employ mostly men. "This might as well be called the macho stimulus package," writes Randy Albelda in the Boston Globe . What...
Big Shots Drool Over Giant Truffle
ANSA (Italy)
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Nov 28, 2008 3:42 PM CST
(Newser) -
If you want white truffle shavings sprinkled over your Thanksgiving leftovers, the biggest specimen found in Italy this year is up for auction tomorrow. You'll need some big bucks—and perhaps the moxie to outbid David and Victoria Beckham. The delectable fungus weighs about 2½ pounds and is expected to spark a bidding war, ANSA reports.
Private Student Loan Providers Draw Fire
Washington Post
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Nov 28, 2008 3:20 PM CST
(Newser) -
Private student lenders deserve no part of the Treasury’s $200 billion consumer lending program, student advocacy groups say. They charge that the largely unregulated industry preys on young borrowers with risky variable-interest loans, the Washington Post reports. “A bailout for the providers of usurious private student loans will not...
Unrelated Obamas Relish Connection
Washington Post
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Nov 28, 2008 2:59 PM CST
(Newser) -
Ordinary citizens who share the last name Obama with the president-elect are seeing goodwill and unexpected perks lately, the Washington Post reports. They might not be able to score Inauguration tickets, but entrance to a swanky nightclub? No problem. Speeding ticket? Fixed. And it’s an exclusive club: The country may have fewer than 20 Obama...
Rabbi, Wife Slain in Mumbai Jewish Center
New York Daily News
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Nov 28, 2008 2:32 PM CST
(Newser) -
The massacre in Mumbai has left at least four Americans dead: A Brooklyn-raised rabbi and his wife, and a Virginia man and his teenage daughter. Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, 29, and Rivka Holtzberg, 28, were slain at a Jewish center they helped run. Family and friends in Brooklyn have one speck of good news: The couple's nanny managed to escape with their...
Endeavour Heads Home
Florida Today
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Nov 28, 2008 2:30 PM CST
(Newser) -
The space shuttle Endeavour separated from the International Space Station today and headed back to earth. Having completed a 12-day mission that upgraded the station’s living quarters, Endeavour’s seven-person crew began the 2-day trip back to the Kennedy Space Center, Florida Today reports. "Thanks for the incredible makeover,...
GOP Donors Pour Millions Into Ga. Race
USA Today
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Nov 28, 2008 2:22 PM CST
(Newser) -
With Democrats just two seats away from mounting a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, GOP donors are injecting millions into Georgia’s runoff election, USA Today reports. Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss raised $1.6 million in large contributions in about a week, compared to $462,000 for Democrat Jim Martin. Chambliss also has pulled...
Obama Takes Office Early
Baltimore Sun
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Nov 28, 2008 2:05 PM CST
(Newser) -
Barack Obama has often decorously emphasized that America has only one president at a time, but that’s just a “ritualistic statement,” writes Paul West in the Baltimore Sun . In truth, Obama has already created a “virtual parallel presidency.” Spurred by what he calls “extraordinary circumstances,” Obama has...
Architects Compete for Massive Mecca Makeover
Independent (UK)
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Nov 28, 2008 1:45 PM CST
(Newser) -
Norman Foster and Zaha Hadid are among the 18 architects reportedly in the running for the daunting job of remaking Mecca: designing a mosque complex to accommodate the 3 million pilgrims making the yearly Hajj. The "new architectural vision" would more than triple the complex's capacity and make it the highest-occupancy building in...
Jill Biden Goes Her Own Way
Politico
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Nov 28, 2008 1:34 PM CST
(Newser) -
Jill Biden is not your typical vice presidential spouse. She has four degrees, three kids, and a teaching career that’s unlikely to take a back seat to her Washington duties, Politico reports. “She’ll still teach in the spring, but hopefully near Washington,” said a colleague at the Delaware community college where she works...
Developers Use Auctions to Move Condos
New York Times
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Nov 28, 2008 1:22 PM CST
(Newser) -
With buyers scarce and prices in Florida's condo market plunging, sellers are increasingly turning to auctions to move units in new developments. No longer just a means of unloading foreclosed homes, the auctions also keep agents from having to guess what the public is willing to shell out, the New York Times reports. “In this market, it’s...
Noonan: Be Thankful We Don't See This
Wall Street Journal
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Nov 28, 2008 1:10 PM CST
(Newser) -
This Thanksgiving, Peggy Noonan is thankful for what she’s not seeing. Despite the relentless glut of negative economic news, “everything looks the same,” she writes in the Wall Street Journal . There is no one selling pencils in the street, no children lining up in bread lines. “It’s as if the news is full of floods,...
Low Staffing Strains Feds' Rescue Plan
Wall Street Journal
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Nov 28, 2008 12:55 PM CST
(Newser) -
The government’s economic rescue plan continues to be hampered by an understaffed Treasury Department, the Wall Street Journal reports. With 40 employees, the Office of Financial Stability—which manages TARP—says it has about half the staff it needs, and banking regulators say there’s a big backlog of relief applications....
Dow Ends Down Month Up 102
MarketWatch
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Nov 28, 2008 12:42 PM CST
(Newser) -
Stocks gained today despite retailers' dour holiday prospects, because the market has already priced in much of the bad news, MarketWatch reports. Amid very light trading, the Dow gained 102.43 points to close at 8,829.04, extending its positive streak into a fifth day. "There's a bit of confidence returning," said an economist. "This...
Somali Pirates Capture Another Prize
Associated Press
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Nov 28, 2008 12:39 PM CST
(AP) -
Somali pirates hijacked a Liberian chemical tanker with 27 crew members today in the Gulf of Aden. A rescue helicopter arrived too late to prevent the hijacking but did pick up three security guards who had jumped into the sea. Greek authorities, meanwhile, said a Greek-owned cargo ship seized by Somali pirates more than two months ago was released...
After 10 Years, Chavez Faltering
Financial Times (UK)
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Nov 28, 2008 12:34 PM CST
(Newser) -
After 10 years in power, Hugo Chavez is as blustery as ever. He’s predicted the end of “the evil capitalist mode,” told the IMF to “commit suicide,” and this week invited Dmitry Medvedev and a flotilla of Russian warships down for joint exercises. But beneath the bravado, Chavez is in trouble, the Financial Times reports,...
Soaps Slip on Auto Ad Woes; Even Lucci Takes Pay Cut
Advertising Age
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Nov 28, 2008 12:20 PM CST
(Newser) -
Trouble in the auto industry is causing drama for daytime TV as soaps lose big advertising dollars, Advertising Age reports. Local dealerships are key backers of the shows, which have been in a ratings decline for years. The upshot: trimmed budgets, fewer sets, and dropped actors, including a pair of Days of Our Lives mainstays. Even All My Children...
Family Deadlock Looms for News Corp.
Financial Times (UK)
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Nov 28, 2008 12:10 PM CST
(Newser) -
News Corp. could be headed for a deadlock when 77-year-old Rupert Murdoch's heirs take over, the Financial Times writes, based on a reading of Newser founder Michael Wolff's upcoming book, The Man Who Owns the News . An agreement giving equal shares in the Murdoch family’s stake to all 6 of his children, but voting control to the eldest 4,...
Romer Will Be Summers Ally, but With a Deft Touch
Politico
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Nov 28, 2008 11:59 AM CST
(Newser) -
Relative unknown Christina Romer was a smart pick to lead Barack Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, Lisa Lerer writes for Politico. The Berkeley professor is a Depression expert, and "right now, you want a business cycle stabilization chair," one colleague said. She describes herself as having “liberal Obama-heavy political views,"but...
Wind Fuels Land Rush in Wyoming
New York Times
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Nov 28, 2008 11:43 AM CST
(Newser) -
Wyoming is in the midst of a land grab, but this time it's wind farm developers, not oilmen, who are eager to make a deal, the New York Times reports. To deal with the onslaught of offers from out-of-state developers, ranchers are abandoning a culture of self-reliance and pooling their land in wind energy associations to increase their bargaining...
India Must Crack Down on Muslims, Hindus Alike
Washington Post
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Nov 28, 2008 11:39 AM CST
(Newser) -
The terrorist attacks in Mumbai are tied to growing disillusionment among Indians with a government that manipulates religious divisions for political gain, writes Dileep Padgaonkar in the Washington Post . Each party accuses the other of pandering to a religious constituency, be it Muslim or Hindu—and such posturing has filtered down to the...
