The latest news on Climate Change, Poor are Generous Givers, Credit Card Reform, Guantanamo, Immigration, Antiunion Tactics Increase, Iran, Pakistan, Burma, Afghanistan, Nuclear Weapons, and Sri Lanka.

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Quote of the day. "She was composed, upright, crackling with energy. Very much in charge of her defense team." UK ambassador Mark Canning describing Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi at a trial hearing. (BBC)

Climate change. Cap-and-Trade Debate Drags On in House Energy Committee "After lawmakers consumed all of Monday afternoon with opening statements, debate over a bill that would cap U.S. greenhouse gas emissions finally got underway in a House committee yesterday."

Poor are generous givers. America's poor are its most generous givers "When Jody Richards saw a homeless man begging outside a downtown McDonald's recently, he bought the man a cheeseburger. There's nothing unusual about that, except that Richards is homeless, too, and the 99-cent cheeseburger was an outsized chunk of the $9.50 he'd earned that day from panhandling."

Credit card reform. Senate passes credit card reform bill in a 90-5 vote "In one of this year's few bipartisan success stories on Capitol Hill, the Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed a landmark bill that would impose an unprecedented set of restrictions on the credit card industry's ability to raise interest rates and take other actions that have angered consumers." Dealing Consumers a New Hand in Credit Cards "At first glance, the sweeping credit card legislation that passed the Senate on Tuesday looks like a huge victory for consumers. The bill, after all, contains relief from penalty fees and certain interest rate spikes." What the new credit card law means to consumers "The Senate passed legislation Tuesday to protect credit card holders from sudden interest-rate spikes, but consumer groups and card issuers warned that people are still likely to face obstacles in getting and maintaining credit."

Guantanamo. Senate expected to strip funds to close Guantanamo "Bowing to anxiety among their constituents and pressure from Republicans, Senate Democratic leaders on Tuesday decided to drop plans to give President Obama money to close the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detention facility for terrorism suspects." Senate Democrats postpone funds to shut Guantanamo "Senate Democrats, under pressure from Republicans eager to brand them as ready to release terrorists into America's backyards, prepared Tuesday to strip $80 million for closing the prison facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, out of a war-spending bill."

Immigration. Little New in Obama's Immigration Policy "Although President Obama has spent much of his time in office moving away from the policies of his predecessor, on immigration enforcement, he has embraced several Bush administration initiatives, and the changes he has promised to make are couched in nuance."

Antiunion tactics increase. Study Says Antiunion Tactics Are Becoming More Common "A new study by a Cornell University professor of 1,004 union organizing drives has found that employers threatened to close plants in 57 percent of the campaigns and threatened to cut wages and benefits in 47 percent."

Iran. Ahmadinejad says Iran tests new missile with 1,200-mile range able to reach Israel, Europe "President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran test-fired a new advanced missile Wednesday with a range of about 1,200 miles, far enough to strike Israel, southeastern Europe and U.S. bases in the Middle East." U.S., Israel forming working group on Iran "The United States and Israel are quietly forming a high-level working group to assess the progress of President Obama's outreach to Iran and to share intelligence about the Islamic Republic's nuclear weapons program." Iran nuclear danger downplayed in reports "A pair of reports released Tuesday by prominent think tanks downplay the potential dangers presented by Iran, concluding that Tehran is at least six years away from building a deliverable nuclear weapon and that its ability to wreak havoc in the Middle East through surrogates is exaggerated."

Pakistan. Pakistani clerics back government offensive, denounce Taliban tactics "Pakistani religious leaders and scholars Tuesday issued a strong denunciation of the tactics of Taliban militants, providing what could be major boost to the country's U.S.-backed battle against Islamic extremism." Urban Battle Looms Ahead for Pakistani Forces in Swat "As the Pakistani Army squeezed the main city in Swat on Tuesday, fleeing residents described roads mined by the Taliban, indiscriminate firing by the military, and a small group of besieged government officials hanging on with dwindling food and fuel." Pakistan will get up to $110 million in U.S. aid for displaced, Clinton says "The United States plans to provide as much as $110 million to help Pakistanis who have been displaced by their government's attacks on militants in northwestern tribal areas, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday."

Burma. Suu Kyi 'composed' at Burma trial "Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi appeared 'composed' and 'crackling with energy' at a trial hearing, a diplomat who attended the session says."

Afghanistan. U.S. Rejects Afghan Civilian Death Estimate "The U.S. military rejected a charge that around 140 noncombatants were killed in a recent bombing in Farah province, and put the toll instead at 20 to 30 civilians." Arms From U.S. May Be Falling Into Taliban Hands "Of 30 rifle magazines recently taken from insurgents' corpses, at least 17 contained cartridges, or rounds, identical to ammunition the United States had provided to Afghan government forces, according to an examination of ammunition markings by The New York Times and interviews with American officers and arms dealers."

Nuclear weapons. U.S. and Russia start hard bargaining over slashing nuclear weapons "The United States and Russia began the hard bargaining today over a deal to slash their stockpiles of nuclear weapons." U.S. and Russia Begin Arms Talks With a December Deadline "The negotiators face a tight timeline if they are to replace the old agreement, which runs more than 700 pages, before it expires on Dec. 5."

Sri Lanka. Rebel defeat: diplomatic dilemma "The Tamil Tigers' defeat presents the democratic world with a quandary. Does it punish Sri Lanka for its brutal conduct of the war and risk hampering reconstruction efforts and pushing the island deeper into the embrace of China, Iran and other rival powers? Or should it overlook multiple alleged abuses, and risk setting a precedent for future conflicts, and dashing hopes for reconciliation between the Sinhalese and Tamil communities?"