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Quote of the day. “We sent them food, fertilizer, factories, more than we give our own poor people. And all they pay us back with is this nuclear test.” Lee Soon-hwan, a South Korean office worker, on North Korea’s nuclear test. (New York Times)
Judge Sotomayor. Left and Right Begin Battle Over Sotomayor's Supreme Court Nomination “On the day after Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court, both sides in the fight over her confirmation moved quickly to try to define the woman who may become the court's first Hispanic justice.” GOP looks for alternate routes to block Sotomayor's path “Acknowledging that it will be difficult to defeat the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, Republicans in the Senate and beyond Capitol Hill are looking for other strategies to gain political yardage in the debate over President Obama's pick.” Sotomayor 'fight' could fizzle “Top Senate Republican strategists tell POLITICO that, barring unknown facts about Judge Sonia Sotomayor, the GOP plans no scorched-earth opposition to her confirmation as a Supreme Court justice.” Sotomayor Pick a Product of Lessons From Past Battles “In the months leading up to Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s selection this week, the White House methodically labored to apply lessons from years of nomination battles to control the process and avoid the pitfalls of the past, like appearing to respond to pressure from the party’s base or allowing candidates to be chewed up by friendly fire.” Sotomayor's take-no-guff demeanor could alter court dynamics “Judge Sonia Sotomayor can be blunt, aggressive and impatient. So get ready for another public debate, and probably some insinuations, about her judicial temperament.”
Sotomayor & abortion. On Sotomayor, Some Abortion Rights Backers Show Unease “In nearly 11 years as a federal appeals court judge, President Obama’s choice for the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor, has never directly ruled on whether the Constitution protects a woman’s right to an abortion.” Abortion rights groups concerned about Sotomayor's stance “President Obama's nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court has provoked concern from abortion rights advocates, who say they have seen no evidence that she supports upholding Roe vs. Wade.”
FBI & terrorism. FBI planning a bigger role in terrorism fight “The FBI and Justice Department plan to significantly expand their role in global counter-terrorism operations, part of a U.S. policy shift that will replace a CIA-dominated system of clandestine detentions and interrogations with one built around transparent investigations and prosecutions.”
Health care. Warring Sides on Health Care Carry Their Fight to TV and Radio Ads “The battle over the future of health care has taken to the airwaves, with interest groups spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on television and radio advertisements supporting or attacking legislation they expect to emerge from Congress.”
New ambassadors. Twelve nominated for ambassador positions “President Obama last night announced a slew of nominations for high-profile ambassador posts, including those he wants to post to Britain, France, India, and Japan.”
Human rights crisis. Global crisis 'hits human rights' “The global economic crisis is exacerbating human rights abuses, Amnesty International has warned. In its annual report, the group said the downturn had distracted attention from abuses and created new problems.”
Pakistan. Taliban deputy says he carried out Pakistan attack “A senior leader of the Taliban in Pakistan today claimed responsibility for the bomb attack in Lahore that killed at least 24 people and wounded hundreds more, saying it was revenge for the army offensive against militants in Swat valley.” Taliban group claims Pakistan blast “A group claiming to have links with the Taliban in Pakistan has claimed responsibility for a bombing in Lahore that killed at least 30 people and wounded over 200 others.” Iraq redux? Obama seeks funds for Pakistan super-embassy “The Obama administration has asked Congress for $736 million to a build a new U.S. embassy and housing complex in Islamabad. The scale of the project rivals the giant U.S. embassy in Iraq, which cost $740 million. The new building is needed to support a 'surge' of U.S. civilians, officials said.”
India-Pakistan nuclear weapons. Nuclear Aims By Pakistan, India Prompt U.S. Concern “Sometime next year, at a tightly guarded site south of its capital, Pakistan will be ready to start churning out a new stream of plutonium for its nuclear arsenal, which will eventually include warheads for ballistic missiles and cruise missiles capable of being launched from ships, submarines or aircraft.”
Korea. South Korean and U.S. troops placed on high alert “South Korean and U.S. troops boosted their alert level to the highest category since 2006 today, after the North threatened military strikes on allied military forces in escalating tensions over its nuclear test.” U.S.-Seoul alert raised over N Korea “The United States and South Korea have raised the alert level for their security forces a day after North Korea declared it was scrapping the 1953 armistice that brought a halt to the Korean War.” U.S. Hopes China's Criticism of North Korean Arms Tests Leads to U.N. Sanctions “China's leaders have shown their anger over North Korea's nuclear and missile tests this week through unusually critical statements and harsh coverage in China's state media.” S. Koreans Express Fatigue With a Recalcitrant North “Many South Koreans reacted with exasperation and even anger to North Korea’s nuclear test on Monday, uncharacteristically harsh responses in a country that has long been more tolerant of its unruly northern neighbor than have its allies in Washington and Tokyo.”
Israel. Israel rebuffs U.S. settlement call “Israel will continue to allow some construction in West Bank settlements despite U.S. calls for a freeze on its work, a government spokesman says.” U.S. wants no more Jewish settlement growth, Clinton says “Rebuffing Israel on a key Mideast negotiating issue, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday that the Obama administration wants a complete halt in the growth of Jewish settlements in Palestinian territory, with no exceptions.” Backers of Jewish Settlements Step Up Pressure on Netanyahu Over Demolition Plan “Supporters of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank are increasing the pressure on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu as he steers between a government coalition that supports continued building in the area and President Obama's demand that it stop.”
Sudan. Sudan rivals urged to compromise “Qatar has called on both the Sudanese government and Darfur rebels to make concessions to end years of conflict and ensure the flow of humanitarian aid.”
Opinion. Don't fear the truth (Cal Thomas & Bob Beckel, USA Today) “America needs a clear record, and a clean conscience, on how we've fought the war on terror. What to do? Cal and Bob agree on the need for a non-partisan 'truth commission.'” Sonia Sotomayor Is No Leftist Supreme Court Nominee (E.J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post) “Republicans would be foolish to fight the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court because she is the most conservative choice that President Obama could have made. And even though they should support her confirmation, liberals would be foolish to embrace Sotomayor as one of their own because her record is clearly that of a moderate.” The Republicans' Choice on Sonia Sotomayor (David S. Broder, Washington Post) “I have to believe that many Republican senators will seize the opportunity Obama has provided and prove they are not as narrow-minded as their most extreme backers. And then hope that, like some mirror image of Souter, Sotomayor will surprise the world with some of her votes.”
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