Docudharma Times Wednesday Jan 2

This is an Open Thread: Please Relax

There’s More To Come

USA

Caucuses Bring Power Only to Some in Iowa

DES MOINES – Jason Huffman has lived in Iowa his whole life. Lately he has been watching presidential debates on the Internet, discussing what he sees with friends and relatives. But when fellow Iowans choose among presidential candidates on Thursday night, he will not be able to vote, because he is serving with the National Guard in western Afghanistan.

For Republicans, Contest’s Hallmark Is Immigration

By Jonathan Weisman

Wednesday, January 2, 2008; Page A01

The imagery of the mailings is designed to pack a wallop: a Mexican flag fluttering above the Stars and Stripes, the Statue of Liberty presiding over a “Welcome Illegal Aliens” doormat, a Social Security card emblazoned with the name “Juan Doe,” a U.S. passport proclaiming, “Only one candidate has a plan to “STAMP out illegal immigration.”

GOP base scatters to rival camps

DES MOINES — The long-standing coalition of social, economic and national security conservatives that elevated the Republican Party to political dominance has become so splintered by the presidential primary campaign that some party leaders fear a protracted nomination fight that could hobble the eventual nominee.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney aspires to build a conservative coalition in the mold of Ronald Reagan, but his past support of abortion rights gives many social conservatives pause. Mike Huckabee, a Southern Baptist minister, is a purist on social issues but has angered economic conservatives because he raised taxes while he was governor of Arkansas.

Asia

Pakistan election delayed until Feb. 18

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Pakistani elections will be delayed until Feb. 18 because of violence following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, authorities said Wednesday, ignoring threatened street protests by opposition parties.

The polls – seen as a key step in Pakistan’s transition to democracy after years of military rule – had been scheduled for Jan. 8.

The opposition alleged authorities are postponing the polls to help the ruling party, which is allied to President Pervez Musharraf. Many believe Bhutto’s party will get a sympathy boost if the vote takes place on time. Bhutto had accused elements in the ruling party of plotting to kill her, a charge it vehemently denies.

Middle East

Israeli forces kill 6 militants in Gaza

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Israeli forces killed six Palestinian militants in a pre-dawn clash Wednesday, pressing forward with their war against armed groups in the Gaza Strip days before President Bush arrives in the region to promote Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Bush has no plans to visit Gaza, which is controlled by the Islamic militant group Hamas. But persistent violence in the area could overshadow his visit, his first to the region as president.

The visit is part of Bush’s intense efforts to get Israel and the Palestinians to sign a peace agreement by the time he leaves office in January 2009.

Europe

Vatican, Muslims plan ‘historic’ meeting

VATICAN CITY – A meeting between Catholics and Muslims is planned in Rome this spring to start a dialogue between the faiths after relations were soured by Pope Benedict XVI’s 2006 comments about Islam and holy war, Vatican officials said.

Benedict proposed the encounter as his official response to an open letter addressed to him and other Christian leaders in October by 138 Muslim scholars from around the world. The letter urged Christians and Muslims to develop their common ground of belief in one God.

Latin America

Chavez-led alliance fails to get hostages

BOGOTA, Colombia – It was one of the boldest initiatives yet for Latin America’s emerging leftist alliance and it didn’t even get off the ground.

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Answering a call by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, political heavyweights from five governments attempted to break through a deadlock in the region’s most entrenched conflict: Colombia’s half-century guerrilla war.

But for all their devotion to Latin American unity, observers from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Cuba and Ecuador couldn’t persuade the secretive Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, to abandon its deep mistrust of Colombia’s government and fulfill a weeks-old promise to free three hostages, including a 3-year-old boy.

Africa

Pressure mounts with 275 killed in Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya – International pressure mounted Wednesday on Kenya’s leaders to bring an end to postelection violence that has shaken the country and killed more than 275 people, including dozens burned alive as they sought refuge in a church.

The killing of up to 50 ethnic Kikuyus Tuesday as they sheltered in a church in the Rift Valley city of Eldoret fueled fears that ethnic conflicts were deepening in what has been one of Africa’s most stable democracies.

The U.N. cited Kenyan police as saying 70,000 people had been displaced in five days of violence. Around 5,400 people also have fled to neighboring Uganda, said Musa Ecweru, that country’s disaster preparedness minister. Several hundred people also have fled to Tanzania, officials there said.