Taliban’s new strategy focuses more on high-profile assaults, less on territory

Taliban’s new strategy focuses more on high-profile assaults, less on territory:
As U.S. and NATO forces have evicted insurgents from a broad swath of southern Afghanistan, senior Taliban commanders have shifted toward a new battlefield strategy, one less focused on reclaiming lost territory and more on winning the next phase of the 11-year-old war.
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FDA working on plan to limit arsenic levels in rice

FDA working on plan to limit arsenic levels in rice:
The Food and Drug Administration plans to announce Wednesday that it is working toward a proposal that would limit the amount of arsenic in rice, a staple of the American diet that has long been identified as a leading dietary source of the toxin.
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Congress.gov | Library of Congress

Congress.gov | Library of Congress

Beta version.

Congress.gov launches; THOMAS legislative database gets a face lift

Congress.gov launches; THOMAS legislative database gets a face lift:
This post has been updated.

If you have ever looked for legislation online, you’ve likely encountered the THOMAS database and, well, groaned.
The database, a vestige of Web 1.0 in many ways, went live in January 1995 with just three weeks between the time the database was requested by the 104th Congress and its launch.
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Post Poll: Tim Kaine opens first lead over George Allen in Virginia Senate race

Post Poll: Tim Kaine opens first lead over George Allen in Virginia Senate race:
Timothy M. Kaine has jumped ahead of George Allen for the first time in their U.S. Senate race, according to a new Washington Post poll in Virginia, changing the complexion of a nationally watched contest that could help determine which party will control the chamber.
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STEMming the decline of foreign-born tech graduates

STEMming the decline of foreign-born tech graduates:
NOT MANY PARTS of the Democratic and Republican party platforms are interchangeable. An exception is the nearly identical passages expressing support for keeping foreign-born students in this country after they earn advanced degrees from U.S. universities in science, technology, engineering and math, the so-called STEM fields. The rationale is obvious. It is folly to educate these prized students in the United States — often with federal subsidies — and then, lacking adequate visas for them, force them into the hands of corporate competitors overseas.
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Iran preparing internal version of Internet

Iran preparing internal version of Internet:
The Iranian government, determined to limit Western influence and defend itself against cyberattacks, appears to have laid the technical foundations for a national online network that would be detached from the Internet and permit tighter control over the flow of information.
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Libya’s central government exercises little authority outside capital

Libya’s central government exercises little authority outside capital:
BENGHAZI, Libya — Hussein Abu Hameida, the head of security in Libya’s second-largest city, was sacked this week over the attack on the U.S. consulate here that killed the ambassador and three other Americans. But he says he’s not going anywhere.
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Voters' Reaction to Romney's "47%" Comments Tilts Negative

Voters' Reaction to Romney's "47%" Comments Tilts Negative: Voters' Reaction to Romney's "47%" Comments Tilts Negative

PRINCETON, NJ -- Americans have a more negative than positive immediate reaction to Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's comments, secretly caught on video, about the 47% of Americans whom he said are Obama supporters and dependent on the government. Thirty-six percent of voters say Romney's comments make them less likely to vote for him, while 20% say the remarks make them more likely to vote for him, and 43% say the comments won't make a difference.

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Democratic Enthusiasm Swells in the Swing States, Nationally

Democratic Enthusiasm Swells in the Swing States, Nationally: Democratic Enthusiasm Swells in the Swing States, Nationally

PRINCETON, NJ -- Voters in the 12 states USA Today and Gallup consider the key swing states that could decide the 2012 presidential election are now significantly more enthusiastic about voting this fall than they were in June. Six in 10 (59%) are either "extremely" or "very" enthusiastic, up from 46%.

Gmail - john.a.macdougall@gmail.com
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MP Questions Staff Arrests

MP Questions Staff Arrests: MP Questions Staff Arrests:
An influential member of Vietnam’s parliament has questioned the arrest of two of his employees accused of stealing state secrets in a case believed to be connected to infighting amongst the country’s leadership.

National Assembly Deputy Dang Thanh Tam, a businessman with strong ties to Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang, said there were “abnormalities that needed clarification” in the charges against the Sept. 7 arrests of Nguyen Duy Hung and Nguyen Thi Bich.

Tam sent a letter to official media outlets and to several members of parliament, seeking help to clarify the charges and “bring greater attention” to the case, according to official news website Vietnam Education Online Wednesday.

Observers say the arrests of his staff could be a prelude to possible action against Tam in what they see as political retribution against President Sang by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

Reports have indicated that Vietnam’s president and prime minister are increasingly at political odds with one another.

Vietnam Education Online said reporters were unable to contact Tam for further details.

Tam is the brother of Dang Thi Hoang Yen, who also served as a deputy in Vietnam’s National Assembly but was removed from office in May after she was allegedly found to have omitted certain information from her declaration of candidacy for the lawmaking body.

Yen is the chairwoman of several organizations including Tan Tao Group, Tan Duc Investment and Industry Joint-Stock Co., and Tan Tao University.

Just days ago, Tam had accompanied President Sang in a delegation to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit talks in Russia.

Tam’s staff Hung is head of Saigon Invest Group’s representative office in the capital Hanoi, and Bich is an employee of Tan Tao Investment Industry Joint-Stock Co. Tam is a chairman of Saigon Invest and oversees both entities.

In what is seen as a reflection of the proxy battle between the two Vietnamese leaders, tycoon Nguyen Duc Kien, believed to be aligned with Dung, was arrested last month for economic crimes at Asian Commercial Bank—one of the country’s biggest banks.

The cofounder of the giant lender is being held for “illegal business activities” in connection with three private companies he chaired.

The Vietnamese stock market has tumbled since Kien was put into custody, as investors fear further arrests in the country’s finance industry.

Carl Thayer, a Vietnam scholar at the University of New South Wales in Australia, suggested that some of Vietnam’s political elite may be concerned that the prime minister has amassed too much power "and needs to be pulled back in a peg."

"The atmosphere for some reason is just right for going after big fish,” he said.

Reported by RFA’s Vietnamese service. Translated by Than Pham. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

Gmail - john.a.macdougall@gmail.com
G+ - https://plus.google.com/114166353305177408369/posts

MP Questions Staff Arrests

MP Questions Staff Arrests:
An influential member of Vietnam’s parliament has questioned the arrest of two of his employees accused of stealing state secrets in a case believed to be connected to infighting amongst the country’s leadership.

National Assembly Deputy Dang Thanh Tam, a businessman with strong ties to Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang, said there were “abnormalities that needed clarification” in the charges against the Sept. 7 arrests of Nguyen Duy Hung and Nguyen Thi Bich.

Tam sent a letter to official media outlets and to several members of parliament, seeking help to clarify the charges and “bring greater attention” to the case, according to official news website Vietnam Education Online Wednesday.

Observers say the arrests of his staff could be a prelude to possible action against Tam in what they see as political retribution against President Sang by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

Reports have indicated that Vietnam’s president and prime minister are increasingly at political odds with one another.

Vietnam Education Online said reporters were unable to contact Tam for further details.

Tam is the brother of Dang Thi Hoang Yen, who also served as a deputy in Vietnam’s National Assembly but was removed from office in May after she was allegedly found to have omitted certain information from her declaration of candidacy for the lawmaking body.

Yen is the chairwoman of several organizations including Tan Tao Group, Tan Duc Investment and Industry Joint-Stock Co., and Tan Tao University.

Just days ago, Tam had accompanied President Sang in a delegation to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit talks in Russia.

Tam’s staff Hung is head of Saigon Invest Group’s representative office in the capital Hanoi, and Bich is an employee of Tan Tao Investment Industry Joint-Stock Co. Tam is a chairman of Saigon Invest and oversees both entities.

In what is seen as a reflection of the proxy battle between the two Vietnamese leaders, tycoon Nguyen Duc Kien, believed to be aligned with Dung, was arrested last month for economic crimes at Asian Commercial Bank—one of the country’s biggest banks.

The cofounder of the giant lender is being held for “illegal business activities” in connection with three private companies he chaired.

The Vietnamese stock market has tumbled since Kien was put into custody, as investors fear further arrests in the country’s finance industry.

Carl Thayer, a Vietnam scholar at the University of New South Wales in Australia, suggested that some of Vietnam’s political elite may be concerned that the prime minister has amassed too much power "and needs to be pulled back in a peg."

"The atmosphere for some reason is just right for going after big fish,” he said.

Reported by RFA’s Vietnamese service. Translated by Than Pham. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

Democratic Enthusiasm Swells in the Swing States, Nationally

Democratic Enthusiasm Swells in the Swing States, Nationally

PRINCETON, NJ -- Voters in the 12 states USA Today and Gallup consider the key swing states that could decide the 2012 presidential election are now significantly more enthusiastic about voting this fall than they were in June. Six in 10 (59%) are either "extremely" or "very" enthusiastic, up from 46%.