http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/may/20/barackobama.uselections2008

Obama warns Republicans: 'lay off my wife'

* Suzanne Goldenberg and Ewen MacAskill in Washington
* The Guardian,
* Tuesday May 20 2008
* Article history

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This article appeared in the Guardian on Tuesday May 20 2008 on p15 of
the International section. It was last updated at 01:19 on May 20
2008.

The likely Democratic presidential candidate, Barack Obama, yesterday
warned Republicans to "lay off" his wife, demonstrating a more
forceful style of politics ahead of today's primaries in Oregon and
Kentucky. In his second heated response to Republican attacks in days,
Obama said he would not tolerate attempts to attack him through his
wife, Michelle, calling such efforts "low class".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/may/14/cyclonenargis.burma2

Second storm threatens Burma cyclone survivors

* Ian MacKinnon, south-east Asia correspondent, and agencies
* guardian.co.uk,
* Wednesday May 14 2008

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This article was first published on guardian.co.uk on Wednesday May 14
2008. It was last updated at 12:58 on May 14 2008.
A man throws a net into water beside a wharf damaged by cylone Nargis
in Burma

A man throws a net into water beside a wharf damaged by cylone Nargis
in Burma. Photograph: Getty Images

A fresh cyclone could be developing off the coast of Burma, the UN
said today, as relief workers struggled to get aid to the 1.9 million
people left homeless by cyclone Nargis.

Weather experts said there was a good chance the tropical depression
in the Bay of Bengal could develop into a "significant" cyclone within
the next 24 hours.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/mar/26/iraq

Iraqi PM orders Basra militants to surrender

This article was first published on guardian.co.uk on Wednesday March
26 2008. It was last updated at 12:02 on March 26 2008.
Iraqi policmen at a checkpoint in Basra, Iraq

Iraqi policmen at a checkpoint in Basra, Iraq. Haider Al-Assadee/EPA

The Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, today gave Shia fighters in
Basra three days to surrender their forces.

Maliki imposed the deadline as clashes between security forces and
Shia militants erupted throughout the country.

He said gunmen who failed to hand over their arms and sign an
anti-violence pledge would be targeted by Iraqi forces.

The ultimatum came on a second day of fierce fighting between
government troops and the Madhi Army, Shia fighters loyal to the
radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

Yesterday, 15,000 soldiers were sent into Basra in an attempt to take
control of the southern Iraqi city, which has fallen into Madhi Army
hands since British troops withdrew in September.

Rush Limbaugh: "We're Trying to Avoid a 50 State Landslide!"

BradBlog, February 21, 2008

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5717

In response to critical comments by former Republican Secretary of
State Lawrence Eagleburger, rightwing talker and self-proclaimed "Dean
of the Limbaugh Institute for Conservative Studies," Rush Limbaugh,
offered a fresh and perhaps telling explanation this morning for his
ongoing attacks on presumptive Republican Presidential nominee John
McCain.

"We're trying to avoid a fifty state landslide!" Limbaugh shouted
angrily in reply to the comments from Eagleburger, who had slammed him
and fellow Republicanist entertainer Sean Hannity of Fox "News" and
ABC Radio.

"I don't know who elected Rush Limbaugh or Hannity as the heads of
this conservative movement," Eagleburger says at the beginning of a
clip from MSNBC last night that was aired on today's radio show. "They
throw that word around as if it was theirs and theirs alone."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/feb/17/northernrock.nationalisation

Northern Rock to be nationalised

This article was first published on guardian.co.uk on Sunday February
17 2008. It was last updated at 16:34 on February 17 2008.

The Treasury today announced that the beleaguered bank Northern Rock
will be nationalised.

In a statement, Chancellor Alistair Darling said "under the current
market conditions" neither of the two private proposals delivered
"sufficient value for money to the taxpayer".

It marks the failure of the government to reach a deal with the
private sector over the future of the bank. Emergency legislation will
now be rushed through Parliament.

Mr Darling said the move met "our objective of protecting taxpayers'
interests".

He said he had been told by the Financial Services Authority that the
bank was solvent and that its mortgage book remained of good quality.

Ron Sandler, the former chief executive at Lloyd's of London, will now
run the business.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/082107E.shtml

War's Chilling Reality
By Bob Herbert
The New York Times

Tuesday 21 August 2007

Bryan Anderson, a 25-year-old Army sergeant who was wounded in
Iraq, was explaining, on camera - to James Gandolfini, of all people -
what happened immediately after a roadside bomb blew up the Humvee
that he was driving.

"I was like, 'Oh, we got hit. We got hit.' And then I had blood on
my face and the flies were landing all over my face. So I wiped my
face to get rid of the flies. And that is when I noticed that my
fingertip was gone. So I was like, 'Oh. O.K.'

"So that is when I started really assessing myself. I was like,
'That's not bad.' And then I turned my hand over, and I noticed that
this chunk of my hand was gone. So I was like, 'O.K., still not bad. I
can live with that.'

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/02/washington/02wage.html?hp&ex=1170392400&en=9176151c38ad45d9&ei...

Senate Passes Wage Bill, but Obstacles Await

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By KATE ZERNIKE
Published: February 2, 2007

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 — The Senate voted overwhelmingly Thursday to
increase the minimum wage and give $8.3 billion in tax cuts to small
businesses.

The increase in the wage, the first in 10 years, was a victory for
Democrats, who had made it a key plank in their successful midterm
election campaign to gain control of Congress.

But despite the huge margin of the Senate vote, 94 to 3, the increase
— to $7.25 from $5.15 — must clear several hurdles before it becomes
law. Democratic leaders in the Senate face their first big conflict
with their counterparts in the House as the two chambers try to
negotiate differences between the Senate bill and the one the House
passed last month.