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Wednesday, 7 August 2013

Excerpts: Obama agrees to meet with Muslim Brotherhood

Excerpts: Obama agrees to meet with Muslim Brotherhood representatives. War
returns to Iraq August 06, 2013

+++SOURCE: Egypt Independent via Egypt Daily News 6 Aug.?13:?Exclusive:
Obama agrees to meeting with Brotherhood, sources say?,Reuters
SUBJECT: Obama agrees to meet with Muslim Brotherhood representatives
U.S. President Barack Obama has agreed to meet with Muslim Brotherhood
representatives at the White House, sources told Egypt Independent.

Obama would reportedly meet with Brotherhood officials to "hear their
opinion" on developments in Egypt, in the presence of Turkish diplomats.

[IMRA: Function of Turkish diplomats; millionaire Malek has strong Turkish
business connections.]

Egypt Independent heard from sources inside the Muslim Brotherhood that
Islamist-linked billionaire Hassen Malek requested a meeting through Obama's
office manager.

The meeting with Turkish officials is expected to take place this month.

Turkish diplomats are expected to push for Mohamed Morsy's reinstatement as
Egyptian president, sources said, if not that the Muslim Brotherhood would
be assured of political survival following a month-long violent stand-off
with the armed forces in the wake of Morsy's overthrow.

Over 300 people have been reported killed since army chief and Defense
Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced Morsy's ouster on 3 July.

The U.S. has repeatedly supported the Muslim Brotherhood's ascendancy in
Egypt, researcher Mohamed Hasanein Heikahl said.

While a number of Brotherhood leaders have publicly criticized the U.S.
stance, accusing the Obama administration of "playing a role in Morsy's
overthrow," they are said to be hoping for a shift as tentative talks
continue with Egypt's interim administration

+++SOURCE: Jordan Times 6 Aug.,?13:Cafes shut, sports fields empty as war
returns to Iraq?, Reuters
SUBJECT: ?War returns to Iraq?
QUOTE:?fears of return to full-blown sectarian conflict in a country where
ruling Shiites and minority Sunni Muslims and Kurds have yet to find a
stable way of sharing power?
EXCERPTS:BAGHDAD ?. . . .Iraqis have endured extreme violence for years,
but since the start of 2013 the intensity of attacks on civilians has
dramatically increased, reversing a trend that had seen the country grow
more peaceful.

Attacks have spread to some of the few places left for public entertainment,
turning Baghdad into a giant fortified prison of concrete blast walls, where
once again few now dare to socialise in public.

The attacks have raised fears of a return to full-blown sectarian conflict
in a country where ruling Shiites and minority Sunni Muslims and Kurds have
yet to find a stable way of sharing power.

More than 1,000 Iraqis were killed in July, the highest monthly death toll
since 2008, the United Nations said last week.

The past four months have all had higher death tolls than any in the five
years before April, leading the interior ministry to declare last week that
Iraq was now once again in ?open war?, 18 months after US troops pulled out.

Most of the violence has been perpetrated by the Iraqi wing of Al Qaeda, the
strict Sunni Muslim jihadi group which was defeated by US forces and their
allies in 2006-2007 but has been reborn this year to battle the Shiite-led
government.

. . . Sectarian tensions have also escalated as a result of the civil war
in neighbouring Syria, where Iraq?s Al Qaeda branch has merged with a
powerful Sunni Islamist rebel force fighting to overthrow a leader backed by
Shiite Iran.

?Insurgents now are changing rules of the game,? said Ali Al Bahadli, a
former Iraqi army general and military analyst who works as an adviser to
the ministry of defence.

?With the recent attacks of cafes and football pitches, the message is
directed at civilians is that security forces are unable to protect you.?

Cafes close doors

Security analysts say the Sunni insurgents are targeting cafes and football
pitches as a way to undermine the Shiite-led government of Prime Minister
Nouri Maliki, wrecking its claims to have restored normal life after a
decade of war.

Recent bombings have targeted men playing in local soccer fixtures and
watching matches, after spates of attacks on Sunni and Shiite mosques,
markets and the security forces. According to figures from the interior
ministry, around 37 caf?s across Iraq have been attacked since April.

People have begun to avoid public places like cafes and busy markets,
fearing from bombs and suicide attacks. After an easing of violence in the
past few years led places to reopen, many cafes have now closed again after
losing customers.

. . .

?With more security measures cutting Baghdad into pieces, attacks on cafes,
mosques and sport areas, we feel we?re living deadlocked inside homes,? said
ceramics artist Mahir Samarrai, who used to haunt the cafes in eastern
Baghdad, where men sip strong coffee, puff on water pipes and discuss the
day.

Amateur football players are also targets, with dozens killed in recent
months.

. . ..

The interior ministry has stepped up security near football pitches, cafes
and mosques to try to prevent more attacks.

The cafes are not only targeted by the bombs of the Sunni insurgency, but
are also under pressure from smaller hardline Shiite militias, who try to
close them by force.

The Shiite militias, who warn of practices they see as going against their
strict interpretation of Islam, were also behind a campaign targeting
alcohol sellers in Baghdad which killed 12 people in May.

The militias have been emboldened by the success of Shiite religious parties
which have risen in power since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.

?. Prime Minister Maliki . . .?The government will not tolerate militias
and gangs that violate freedom of people in order to impose their corrupted
opinions under various pretexts,? he said on his website.
=========
Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA

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Guns and ammo: President Obama visits Minneapolis

President Barack Obama waves as he boards Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Monday, Feb. 4, 2013, prior to traveling to Minnesota to talk about gun control. (Cliff Owen/ASSOCIATED PRESS)by Matt Sepic, Minnesota Public Radio,
Hart Van Denburg, Minnesota Public Radio
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Today on the MPR News Update: President Obama visits north Minneapolis to talk about guns. Twin Cities homebuyers are finding surprisingly few homes for sale as the housing market recovers. And Minnesotans have a chance to comment this week on whether moose and other animals should be considered endangered species.

NO ONE'S USING THE WORLD 'BOYCOT' ... YET: Obama is in Minneapolis to push for tougher gun laws and highlight some of the things the city has done to try and reduce gun violence as Mayor R.T. Rybak and some of his counterparts across the country try to put direct pressure on firearms makers.

STATE GUN LAWS: Firearms will also be the main topic this week at the Capitol when state lawmakers begin discussing several bills designed to prevent gun violence. A state House committee has planned three days of public hearings on gun proposals.

THE SON RISES: Sami Rahamim has committed statistics about gun deaths to memory, folding them into sentences that make his case. He talks like a lawyer, not a high school senior -- no pauses or filler, no public trace of his pain. On Sept. 27, Sami's father, Reuven Rahamim, was shot and killed along with five others at Accent Signage Systems in Minneapolis, the company he founded, by an employee who had just been fired. In the months since, Sami has become a 17-year-old lobbyist for reducing gun violence.

STATE OF THE STATE: Gov. Mark Dayton is set to highlight his vision for Minnesota on Wednesday, when he delivers his third State of the State address. Reporter Tim Pugmire spoke with Morning Edition's Phil Picardi this morning about the coming week at the state capitol.

HOMES FOR SALE WANTED: The glut of homes the housing crisis dumped into the real estate market has largely dried up. By the end of last year the number of homes for sale in the Twin Cities hit its lowest level in 10 years. Reluctant sellers are partly responsible for those low inventories. Many home owners still feel uneasy about putting their homes up for sale.

LIST THE MOOSE? Minnesotans have a chance to comment this week on a list of plants and animals the state Department of Natural Resources plans to consider endangered, threatened or of special concern. Public hearings are scheduled for Tuesday through Thursday in Bemidji, Duluth and Plymouth. The DNR proposes to make moose, the Canada Lynx and the big brown bat species of special concern.

THIN ICE: Two deaths over the weekend have Hennepin County officials renewing calls for people to stay off lake ice. Sheriff Rich Stanek says that when people drive on unstable ice and fall in, they also put emergency responders at risk. And he says he's frustrated that despite repeated warnings there have been 14 incidents of vehicles and snowmobiles going through ice on Lake Minnetonka since the beginning of the year.

KERRY REPORTS: New Secretary of State John Kerry reported for duty Monday, acknowledging that as Hillary Rodham Clinton's successor he has "big heels to fill" and promising to protect U.S. foreign service workers from terrorist attacks overseas.

BATUQUE: Contempo Physical Dance hit the Cowles Center stage in Minneapolis over the weekend with the world premiere of "Batuque." The company blends contemporary movements with Afro-Brazilian dance and capoeira martial arts, and photographer Nikki Tundel gained some extraordinary access to the dancers as they rehearsed.

SCENES FROM YOUR JANUARY, IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Minnesota Public Radio is inviting you to share your images on Flickr. If you do, we may pick your work to appear on MPR's Minnesota Today, and in a monthly gallery right here. We're looking for general interest photos of all kinds: wildlife, landscapes, festivals, events, rural scenes, urban life, outdoor recreation, sports, lutefisk - pretty much anything that you think reflects life in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Here's a big gallery of our picks for January (and one or two from December that were too good to pass up).

REALITY ICE: Whether a TV reality show about ice fishing launches Isle into the national spotlight, and whether the characters paint a picture of the sport that sits well with everyone on the southeastern edge of Mille Lacs Lake, remains to be seen. But the film crew has found its hook -- a plot hook, not the fishing hook with which one boisterous bar patron had his nipple pierced during a post-tournament celebration during the filming.

THE $6 MILLION UPGRADE: A mill in Two Harbors, Minn., that makes wood siding for homes has closed for four weeks as it undergoes a $6 million upgrade. The Louisiana Pacific facility, which opened in the mid-1980s, employs 129 full-time workers.

FOOD TO CAFETERIA: A series of workshops across the state will encourage more locally grown food in Minnesota schools and cafeterias. The eight workshops, which begin Monday and run through April, will be a chance for both farmers and food service directors to learn more about Farm to Cafeteria programs.

FUNDS TO MAYO: Several top DFL lawmakers are raising serious questions about the Mayo Clinic's request for a $500 million public subsidy for the city of Rochester and surrounding communities. The health care provider announced this week its proposal for a $5 billion expansion over the next two decades, a plan that relies on about $500 million in taxpayer money -- an unprecedented financing plan for Minnesota.

VIKINGS' CARTER IN HALL OF FAME: Prolific Minnesota Vikings receiver Chris Carter was one of seven men named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday. Carter took six years to get in despite putting up some of the best receiving numbers in NFL history. He broke down in tears upon hearing the news, calling it "the happiest day of my life."

PETERSON TAKES NFL MVP: Adrian Peterson's sensational season following major knee surgery has earned him The Associated Press 2012 NFL Most Valuable Player Award. Earlier Saturday, Peterson won Offensive Player of the Year. The Minnesota Vikings running back finished with 2,019 yards, a mere 9 yards short of breaking Eric Dickerson's rushing record. Peterson beat out Peyton Manning, who in his first season as Denver's quarterback contended for a fifth MVP trophy.

Matt Sepic is a newscaster and general assignment reporter for MPR News.

Hart is the morning online editor at MPR News.

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Tuesday, 6 August 2013

Horses and bayonets: The state of the world with Obama and Romney

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama walk past each other on stage at the end of the last debate at Lynn University, Monday, Oct. 22, 2012, in Boca Raton, Fla. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)by Phil Picardi, Minnesota Public Radio,
Hart Van Denburg, Minnesota Public Radio
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On the MPR News Update today, we pull together the post-mortem on the final presidential debate. The owners of Accent Signage say they're back in business after last month's shooting rampage. Outside groups are spending a lot on Minnesota's elections. And the Minnesota Orchestra isn't tapping its endowment during a contract dispute. First, let's get through the debate fallout:

ROLE REVERSALS: President Barack Obama came to the third and final presidential debate ready for a fighting finish, deriding Mitt Romney as reckless and overmatched in world affairs. What he found instead was a subdued Republican challenger who seemed determined to show he was not a warmonger.

MONKEYWRENCHING: No moment was more telling than when Romney had a clear opening to respond to Obama's lecture that he was wrong and irresponsible on foreign affairs. He responded by giving his five-point plan for fixing the economy, leading to a bizarre exchange that took the debate wildly off topic.

DEBUNKING THE BUNK: Contrary to Romney's assertions, the president never embarked on an "apology tour," and Syria can't be Iran's only route to the sea because Iran already has its own coastline in the Gulf. And those education scholarships that Obama said started after Romney left the governor's office in Massachusetts? Wrong. They happened on Romney's watch.

WHAT DID THEY LEAVE OUT? The president, his challenger -- and moderator Bob Schieffer-- covered a lot of ground in 90 minutes. Some of it even stuck to the topic at hand: world affairs. Still, a lot was left unsaid. What did you think should have been covered, but wasn't?

THE BIG WINNER? 'HORSES AND BAYONETS': Romney challenged the president on military strength by saying the Navy is too small and has fewer ships than it did in 1916. Obama's response: "Well, governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets. ... We have these things called aircraft carriers, where planes land on them. We have these ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines. And so, the question is not a game of Battleship, where we're counting ships." The Internet promptly issued a collective guffaw.

DIDN'T GET ENOUGH LAST NIGHT? For anyone feeling the need experience the horses and bayonets show one more time, visit the archived live blog here. And don't miss all our special coverage of Campaign 2012.

WHAT YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE KNOWN ABOUT GEORGE MCGOVERN: In all of the eulogies for former U.S. Sen. George McGovern, who died Sunday, many spoke of his 1972 campaign for president and opposition to the Vietnam War. But as Julie Siple reports, McGovern left another legacy -- his work as a tireless advocate for the hungry, work that can be traced to his early days on the prairies of South Dakota.

SITE OF SHOOTING BACK IN BUSINESS: Accent Signage Systems, the Minneapolis sign factory where six people were fatally shot last month, is trying to move on, family members said Monday. Shereen Rahamim, wife of company owner Reuven Rahamim, spoke publicly on Monday for the first time since the shooting and his death. Tim Nelson reports she said the company is trying to move on.

BIG MONEY, NEW RULES: The candidates for the Minnesota Legislature and special interest groups that support them are using a variety of tactics to try to win in November. Every seat in the Legislature is on the ballot this year. Some of the outside groups appear to be spending a lot of money on some races, but as Tom Scheck reports, state law doesn't require them to say exactly how much they're spending.

ENDOWMENT DEBATE: Both major Twin Cites orchestras have now locked out their musicians in tandem contract disputes. Martin Moylan reports that one of the central issues in the Minnesota Orchestra dispute is the use of $140 million in endowment funds to pay for ongoing operations. Management says the endowments cannot sustain the multi-million dollar withdrawals of recent years.

MORE GRIST FOR THE ST. PAUL CRIME LAB STORY: Madeleine Baran says the work of the troubled St. Paul police crime lab has come under question in yet another drug case. The St. Paul lab suspended drug testing in July amid allegations of shoddy science.

THE MOTHER'S HEROIN: A 37-year-old Maple Grove woman is facing felony child endangerment charges after authorities determined she'd been smoking heroin and marijuana with her 12 year-old-daughter. Tim Nelson reports that Rebecca Hill is being held at the Hennepin County jail.

Phil Picardi is a newscaster for MPR News, and occasionally fills in as Morning Edition host when Cathy Wurzer is away.