The latest news on Health Care, Economy, Employee Free Choice Act, Boston Globe, North Korea, U.K.-Brown Leadership, Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Al Qaeda, and Iran. | Sojourners

The latest news on Health Care, Economy, Employee Free Choice Act, Boston Globe, North Korea, U.K.-Brown Leadership, Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Al Qaeda, and Iran.

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Quote of the day. “Globe workers and the New England community understand that the quality of The Boston Globe, an institution so vital to the life and culture of the region, depends on the fair treatment of the men and women who work so hard to produce it." Daniel Totten, president of the Boston Globe Newspaper Guild, commenting on the union voting down proposed pay and benefit cuts. (Boston Globe)

Health care. Democrats in Congress begin to craft health-care legislation “Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives will begin preliminary consultation Tuesday with rank-and-file members over the ultimate shape of the bill that could expand coverage to the 46 million uninsured Americans and possibly create a government health insurance entity.” Decision Makers Differ on How to Reshape Nation's Medical Services Into Better System “Nowhere else in the world is so much money spent with such poor results. On that point there is rare unanimity among Washington decision makers: The U.S. health system needs a major overhaul.” Health Care Spending Disparities Stir a Fight “As part of the larger effort to overhaul health care, lawmakers are trying to address the problem that intrigues Mr. Obama so much — the huge geographic variations in Medicare spending per beneficiary.”

Economy. White House Cites Progress on Economy Under Plan "Mr. Obama began a new effort on Monday to show that his stimulus plan was yielding concrete benefits, saying that his administration expects to save or create 600,000 more jobs this summer, as the federal government spends billions to expand care at health centers, spruce up national parks, hire teachers and improve military facilities.” Obama's summer jobs plan: work for 600,000 people “President Obama today promised to deliver more than 600,000 new jobs this summer with accelerated spending of some of the $787-billion economic stimulus that Congress approved at his urging earlier this year.”

Employee Free Choice Act. Business vs. labor: Round 2 for card check “Having successfully checked 'card-check,' business groups are mounting a second offensive on Capitol Hill against major changes to the nation's labor laws, seizing on another controversial aspect of the bill in hopes of thwarting an unpalatable compromise by moderate Democrats.”

Boston Globe. Globe union votes no “The Boston Globe's largest union last night narrowly rejected $10 million in wage and benefit cuts, and about an hour later the paper's owner declared an impasse in negotiations and imposed a 23 percent pay cut on the union's members, effective next week.”

North Korea. U.S. Protests N. Korea’s Treatment of Journalists “President Obama and his top national security aides on Monday urged North Korea to release 'on humanitarian grounds' two American journalists sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for entering North Korean territory.” North Korean labor camps a ghastly prospect for U.S. journalists “If no deal is reached, the two women face a grim future in a brutal prison system notorious for its lack of adequate food and medical supplies and its high death rate.” 'Clemency' urged for U.S. journalists “The families of two U.S. journalists jailed in North Korea have appealed to the government in Pyongyang for leniency saying they are 'shocked and devastated'' by the sentence.”

U.K.-Brown leadership. Hit Hard Again, Brown Stays in the Ring “Staggered by European parliamentary election returns that gave the governing Labor Party its worst-ever results in a nationwide election, Prime Minister Gordon Brown plowed ahead on Monday, heedless of warnings that he might be dooming the party by clinging to office.” Gordon Brown's great escape “A chastened Gordon Brown yesterday promised his backbench critics that he would learn from his mistakes, as he survived Labor’s worst national election results since 1918 and some of the most personal attacks ever mounted on his governing style.”

Middle East. Mitchell pushes Mid-East agenda “U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell has urged a swift return to peace talks on his first day of meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.” U.S. pushes urgent Middle East talks "The U.S. has said it wants Israel and the Palestinians to hold 'immediate talks' towards 'a comprehensive peace and normalization of relations.'" Netanyahu convinced Obama seeks clash with Israel to appease Arabs “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu believes that U.S. President Barack Obama wants a confrontation with Israel, based on Obama's speech in Cairo last week, Netanyahu's confidants say.”

Afghanistan. Yet another review ordered of Afghan policy — fifth this year “Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has given the new U.S. commander in Afghanistan 60 days to conduct another review of the American strategy there, the fifth since President Barack Obama took office less than five months ago.”

Pakistan. Pakistan 'to target Waziristan' “A curfew has been imposed in an area bordering the Taliban stronghold of Waziristan ahead of a military operation there, officials say.”

Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda plays key role on both sides of Pakistan-Afghan border “Interviews with U.S. military commanders over the past three months, U.S. radio intercepts of Arab and Chechen fighters, and confirmed captures or kills of foreign fighters inside Afghanistan indicate that Osama bin Laden's terror network — working through Afghan and Pakistani partners — is present in almost every Afghan and Pakistani province along the two countries' border.”

Iran. Mass rallies before Iran election “Hundreds of thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets of Tehran in a mass show of support for their candidates in the upcoming presidential election.” Rival rallies bring Tehran to halt “Iran's election contest intensified today as Mir Hossein Mousavi, the moderate candidate challenging the hardline Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for the presidency, mounted a massive show of strength in Tehran, raising the stakes in advance of Friday's landmark poll.”

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