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Quote of the day. “I’ve always been about seeking social justice and combating discrimination and racism. I always wanted to stand up and fight for the underdog.” Hilda Solis, Secretary of Labor. (New York Times)
Nuclear weapons. U.S. and Russia agree nuclear cuts “U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev have reached an outline agreement to cut back their nations' stockpiles of nuclear weapons.” U.S. and Russia offer nuclear warheads cut “The U.S. and Russia have agreed to work towards cutting deployed nuclear warheads to as few as 1,500 each under an agreement signed by Barack Obama on his first trip to Russia as president.” Obama, Medvedev Aim to Advance Arms Control Talks, 'Reset' Bilateral Ties “President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will try to break a deadlock in talks to replace a vital nuclear-arms-control treaty when they meet here Monday, with U.S. missile defense plans and Russian demands for sharper cuts in launchers presenting the key obstacles.” Obama’s Youthful Ideals Shaped the Long Arc of His Nuclear-Free Vision “In the depths of the cold war, in 1983, a senior at Columbia University wrote in a campus newsmagazine, Sundial, about the vision of 'a nuclear free world.' He railed against discussions of 'first- versus second-strike capabilities' that 'suit the military-industrial interests' with their 'billion-dollar erector sets,' and agitated for the elimination of global arsenals holding tens of thousands of deadly warheads. The student was Barack Obama.”
Fraying safety net. Safety Net Is Fraying for the Very Poor “Government 'safety net' programs like Social Security and food stamps have pulled growing numbers of Americans out of poverty since the mid-1990s. But even before the current recession, these programs were providing less help to the most desperately poor, mainly nonworking families with children, according to a new study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.”
Homeless female veterans. More female veterans are winding up homeless “The number of female service members who have become homeless after leaving the military has jumped dramatically in recent years, according to new government estimates, presenting the Veterans Administration with a challenge as it struggles to accommodate the hundreds of thousands of returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Health care. Compromise Is Key to Health-Care Legislation “For the next five weeks, Congress will attempt the daunting feat of turning a mishmash of half-written proposals into health-care reform legislation that can pass the House and the Senate before the August recess.” Paying for healthcare overhaul may fall unevenly on states “Some of the 'bluest' states that propelled Obama into the White House are among those most likely to pay more in taxes to fund expanded health insurance coverage and make other changes to the system, analysts say.”
Climate bill. Climate battle moves to the Senate “President Obama's landmark energy and global warming bill squeaked through the House only after the White House made dozens of concessions to coal, manufacturing and other interests. Now, as the battle moves to the Senate, Obama faces demands for even more concessions -- including pressure to open the nation's coastlines to offshore oil and gas drilling.” Q and A on the Climate Bill “Here are answers to some key questions about the bill.”
Labor secretary. As Labor Secretary, Finding Influence in Her Past “Hilda L. Solis, the first Hispanic woman cabinet member, has promised to champion workers’ health and safety, values she said came from personal experience and her parents’ example.”
Honduras. Zelaya's Plane Not Allowed to Land in Honduras “In a high-stakes standoff that played out in the skies over Honduras, the airplane carrying ousted president Manuel Zelaya was forced to circle the nation's main airport twice before flying away Sunday evening after coup leaders who deposed Zelaya blocked his landing.” Honduran army blocks runway to keep Zelaya out “Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, ousted a week ago in a military coup, failed Sunday in his attempt to return home to reclaim power, his flight forced to detour after the nation's de facto rulers said it could not land here and placed army trucks on the runway.”
Gaza activists. Nobel peace laureate jailed in Israel for Gaza activism “A Nobel Peace Prize winner and a former U.S. congresswoman are among eight people to be released today and expelled after having sailed on a protest ship heading to Gaza from Cyprus, the Israeli Interior Ministry says.” Israel to deport Gaza activists “Israel says it will expel eight pro-Palestinian activists detained at sea last week as they tried to ferry aid to Gaza in defiance of Israel's blockade.”
Iran. Iran clerics declare election invalid “Iran’s biggest group of clerics has declared President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s re-election to be illegitimate and condemned the subsequent crackdown.” Israel seeks 'Plan B' if U.S.-Iran talks fail “Israel is urging the United States and other countries to start preparing now for the possibility that Washington's proposed dialogue with Iran will fail, by readying a 'Plan B' that includes 'paralyzing sanctions' and other measures against Tehran.” Despite Crisis, Policy on Iran Is Engagement “President Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., in separate interviews this weekend, said that the accelerating crackdown on opposition leaders in Iran in recent days would not deter them from seeking to engage the country’s top leadership in direct negotiations.”
Afghanistan. Afghan attacks target U.S. troops “At least six U.S. soldiers were among 10 people killed in a series of attacks apparently targeting foreign troops in Afghanistan, as U.S. marines continued their offensive in southern Afghanistan.” Karzai's Challengers Skirt Thorny Issues, Face Huge Odds in Afghan Campaign “As U.S. Marines launched a major offensive against Taliban insurgents in southern Helmand province, the presidential campaign unfolding in more peaceful parts of northern and eastern Afghanistan last week seemed to be taking place on another planet.”
Burma. With No Clear Path Out of a Diplomatic Thicket, a Push to Redraw the Map “Rather than tying negotiations, not to mention sanctions, to the treatment of just one figure, say policy analysts, humanitarian workers and exiles, the world should engage the junta on a broad range of economic, humanitarian and ethnic issues that will return electoral politics to its rightful place as one concern among many.”
Sudan. A.U. criticized over Bashir decision “The African Union's decision not to co-operate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) after it ordered the arrest of Omar al-Bashir, Sudan's president, has been heavily criticized by human rights groups.”
Passing. Ex-Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara Dies at 93 “Robert S. McNamara, perhaps the most influential defense secretary of the 20th century, who helped lead the nation into the maelstrom of Vietnam and spent the rest of his life wrestling with the war’s moral consequences, died early Monday at his home in Washington.”
Opinion. My message to G8 leaders (Ban Ki-moon, The Guardian) “All politics are local, goes the old aphorism. Yet today, we can say that all problems are global. As world leaders meet at the G8 summit in Italy, they will have to update their politics to grapple with problems that none of them can solve alone.” HELP Is on the Way (Paul Krugman, New York Times) “… last week the budget office scored the full proposed legislation from the Senate committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP). And the news — which got far less play in the media than the downbeat earlier analysis — was very, very good. Yes, we can reform health care.”
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