Bomb Blasts in Karachi, Pakistan

On the last and most important day of a 40-day festival, Shia Muslims were attacked in Karachi, Pakistan. Two bombs killed over 25 people and injured over 50. The first bomb came in the form of a motorbike strapped with explosives. The bike ran into a bus carrying a group of Shia Muslims to a religious ceremony. This blast killed 12 people. Later, at the hospital, another bomb went off, right where the Shia Muslims from the original blast were being taken. This blast killed 13. Both bombs are believed to have been detonated from a remote control, and a third bomb was found in the hospital and defused before anymore damage could be done. These attacks happened despite strong security throughout Pakistan because of the festival, and they were not the only attacks over the past 40 days. Shia Muslims are the minority in Pakistan, as well as across the world, making up only 10% of the Muslim religion. Saturday is to be a day of mourning for Pakistan, a tragic end to a long festival.

By Abbey Smith

American Hikers Detained in Iran Since July

Three American hikers have been detained in Iran since July 31, 2009 when they accidentally were found hiking across an unmarked border of Iran. The three Americans who are being detained are: Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd, and Josh Fattal. Currently, the three are being held by the Iranian government with espionage charges.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently told the press that there are no negotiations taking place between the U.S and Iran on the topic of the three hikers. She said there is no option of exchanging Iranians being held in the U.S for the American hikers. Clinton calls on Iran to release our three citizens based on the fact they are being unjustly held and should release them based upon their humanitarian senses, if they have any. Clinton stresses they are being held on no real grounds that call for detainment.

By: Alyssa Rabulinski

Somali Pirates Hijack North Korean Ship

Pirates in the increasingly lawless Gulf of Aden seized a North Korean-flagged ship today, according to a European Union anti-piracy task force. The 4800 ton, Libyan-owned MV Rim is believed to have been hijacked by Somali pirates, as the ship was seen changing course for the Somali basin. It's currently unknown how many crew members are on board, and owner of the ship has been unable to contact anyone on board This hijacking comes only two days after pirates released a Greek-owned ship taken off the coast of Somalia. This episode only came to a close after that ship's owner paid an unknown ransom, though the crew and ship were returned safely. Somalian pirates are becoming a greater problem by the year for the EU and numerous other countries, and last year alone pirates made an estimated 60 million dollars from hijacking and kidnapping. As of the present, a dozen ships and over 250 seamen are still being held by Somali pirates.

Chris Bilbro

Sudan President can be charged with genocide at ICC

The International Criminal Court in The Hague will try to charge Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir with genocide in Darfur. The decision is good because now it is possible other world leaders can be charged with the same crime- the article states four investigations are on-going right now, all in Africa. Last March al-Bashir was charged with seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, but not genocide. The president has since avoided traveling to countries where he might be arrested and brought to the ICC.

By: Justin Lynch

Uh ohh Obaama!

President Obama is following through on his intention to meet with the Dalia Lama. China has the US "warned" against the meeting, suggesting that it would but a strain on their current relationship with the US. Some US officials, however are under the impression that China has too much invested in their relationship to follow through with any negative sentiments towards the US.
So our president is really attempting to make big strides in the international community. He said that he wanted to take a more diplomatic approach in international affairs and this seems to me moving in that direction. However, I'm not sure how realistic this endeavor is. As much as I would like to see it work out the way Obama has it planned, I'm not sure that that is something either party in China/Tibet is willing to take part in.

by Sarah Richardson

Immortal Cells

If it weren't for Henrietta Lacks we would not be where we are in the world of medicine today. Henrietta Lacks, was diagnosed with cervical cancer, and the doctor at John Hopkins took her cells, without her knowledge, and because of this we have "Hela" cells which was the first set of immortal human cell line known to medicine. The donor remained a mystery for sometime, but due to the leniency in privacy in the 1950s when Henrietta's cells were taken, the mystery donor was revealed. Lacks' cells have contributed to developing the polio vaccine and were used in gene mapping, cloning and in vitro fertilization.

By: Lindsay Weidling

Female Suicide Bomber Kills Dozens in Baghdad

The female bomber detonated her explosive vest amidts tight security, as thousands of Shiite worshipers are making their way to the holy city of Karbala, south of Baghdad, to mark the Arbaeen which is the end of the 40 day mourning period at the close of Ashura. The detonation took place in an area where only females where being searched and targeted mostly Shiite pilgrims. Three volunteer female searchers where amongst the 41 people that died today. Iraqi officials have warned of attacks during the pilgrimage ahead of national elections on March 7.



By Alicia Panczyk

British Hostages Plead for Help

A British couple, the Chandlers, were captured off of their yacht, the Lynn Rival, on October 23, 2009 by Somalian Pirates. The Pirates originally asked for a $7 million dollar ransom, but the British government refused to pay due to ethics. Rachel Chandler said on video, "Please help us, these people are not treating us well. I'm old, I'm 56 and my husband is 60 years old. We need to be together because we have not much time left." Paul Chandler sent a video from a different location pleading for help. He stated, "Please help us, we have nobody to help us, we have no children... We have been in captivity for 98 days and we are not in good condition." Doctors examined the video and determined the couple to be in poor health and in need of help. As of now, the government is keeping in close contact with the Chandler's family and are monitoring the situation very closely.

By: Alyssa Rabulinski

Good Intentions means Jailtime in Haiti

A group of ten from Idaho tried to "help" 33 children--with the oldest being 12-years-old--by taking them from a local pastor and driving them across the border to the more stable Dominican Republic where they would be put in an orphanage. A few problems arose regarding this "saving" mission. The group had no proper documentation from the Haitian government despite the fact that they apparently had paperwork from the Dominican government. Another issue was the fact that there was no orphanage. The church group was going to put the children in a hotel until an orphanage had been established. Oh not to mention that the Haitian government had suspended all adoptions in order to prevent child trafficking. The group is going to go before a judge tomorrow and are currently being retained in jail.

By: Albie Braun

13 dead, 13 injured in Juarez shooting

A group of unidentified gunmen randomly opened fire at a party today in Juarez, Mexico. The attack killed 13 people, and injured at least 13 more. It was said the gunmen arrived at the location of the party, blocked off all the nearby streets and exits, and opened fire on the innocent bystanders. It's being suspected that the attacks were drug related according to initial reports. Juarez is a key location for drug cartels to distribute narcotics into the United States because of its close proximity to the border. In the past few years Mexico has become ridiculed with drug cartels which has led to a huge increase in murder rates within the country. According to the article, with this attack included, there have been over 160 murders in city of Juarez alone since the new year. Unfortunately, so long as drug cartels are going to have territory clashes, we can expect stories like this on a fairly frequent basis coming out of Mexico.

By: Cameron Adams

U.N. Official meets with Taliban

Kai Eide, the United Nations special representative in Afghanistan met with a group of Taliban leaders leading up to this week's international conference in London. President Hamid Karzai invited the Taliban to enter peach talks. Most of the important details of the meeting are unknown but this meeting is a small start to one day coming to some politcal settlement. There is also a plan to offer jobs and security from Afghan officials and Amercian commanders to the Taliban fighters in exchange for giving up insurgency. This week the United Nations Security Council decided to list sanctions on five former officials in the Taliban, one of which was a former foregin minister for the Taliban regime who know lives in Kabul and often acts as a mediator between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

By Alicia Panczyk

It's official, China is controling the media.

As if we didn't already know, a report from the IFJ (International Federation of Journalists) stating that "hundreds of regulations have been introduced since the Beijing Olympics in 2008 to restrict reporters writing on social unrest and scandal." Though it has been widely understood that China has been moderating what is shown on the news, this is the first official report which talks about the extent. This is unnerving not only to the international community, but for the Chinese people. Granted, this report will probably not be released in China, but the thought of all the scandals, controversy, and social uprisings which have gone under the radar because reporters were not allowed to write on them, and the social networking such as twitter and facebook, which would be alternate modes of information transfer are all banned is sickening. One has to wonder what the response would be by the Chinese people if they knew the extent of the intervention by the Government into the news there were being fed.

Megan Smith

Copenhagen Follow-up

A month after the Copenhagen Climate Summit, the leading nations in greenhouse gas emissions have turned in their plans to decrease. At the Summit nations promised to give $30 billion to developing countries affected by climate change and to reduce temperature increases. Scientists and environmentalists have bereaved the lack of substance to the Summit as there was no legally binding agreement, but U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called it an "essential beginning." It is the first time the U.N. has written statements from multiple nations on their intentions of cutting emissions. China's promised to decrease the most, saying they would reduce "carbon intensity"by 40-45% by 2020. The U.S. promised the least decrease, saying they cut emissions by 17% by 2020. The next U.N. negotiations on global warming will be in December of this year in Cancun, Mexico.

By Abbey Smith

British Couple - In Captivity for Three Months

After a British couple was captured by Somali pirates three months ago, the individuals were visited by a doctor and AFP reporter. Both the doctor and reporter claimed Rachel and Paul Chandler were in weakening condition, and needed help. The couple was captured by pirates when they were traveling to Tanzania. The pirates want 4.4 million euros, but the government refuses to pay ransoms to pirates. While the pirates continue to demand money, the captives grow more weak, and plead for the British Government to help. The couple has been separated, and Mrs. Chandler seems to grow more and more disoriented.

By: Meredith Hess

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/kent/8489958.stm

US to sell missiles, ships, helicopters to Taiwan: Pentagon

The United States is going to sell weapons worth more than six billions to Taiwan. What might China be thinking now? Will China respond to it? The Pentagon declared it’s plans on today. The package deal includes “Patriot missiles, Black Hawk helicopters and communications equipment for Taiwan's F-16 fleet.” The decision came despite China’s warning against Washington for not selling weapons to Taiwan. Even though the relation between mainland China and Taiwan has been improving, the Taiwan's President appealed to the U.S for sale of weapons insisting that Taiwan must remain alert when China has been investing heavily on it’s military. Taiwan and mainland China was divided by the civil war in 1949 and China still considers Taiwan as one of it’s territory. As per Taiwan Relations Act, the US is required to provide Taiwan with weapons for as a self defending measures. Read more at this link : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/US-to-sell-missiles-ships-helicopters-to-Taiwan-Pentagon/articleshow/5515191.cms

Submitted By: Namgyel Dorji

Giving the people what they want

This is awesome. Who says McDonald's doesn't care about different countries culture?

By: Justin Lynch

Sri Lanka president wins re-election

Sri Lanka's president won re-election on Tuesday, but not without some problems. For one, the opponent was being held in a hotel surrounded by armed soldiers. Second, the election commissioner seemed to be distraught and pleaded he be allowed to resign with the exact quote "I cannot bear this anymore." Also, the president misused state media by only talking about his party and not even mentioning the competition. Pretty shady...

By: Justin Lynch

U.S. helping Yemen fight terrorism

Stories like these are really cool. U.S. military intelligence and secret military teams have been helping Yemen track and kill suspected terrorists. President Obama authorized the strikes starting six weeks ago. Another interesting part of this article is that Obama has also authorized "a dramatic increase" of CIA drone missiles into Pakistan to kill suspected Al-Qaeda and Taliban members.

By: Justin Lynch

Yemen and the IMF/World Bank

This is an interesting article, it relates to what we were talking in class about today and the role of the IMF and World Bank.
As we discussed in class, the nation of Yemen is facing severe problems; a decline in oil production as well as eventual water shortages. Similar to how AIG and Leahman Brothers primarily relied on investment in pre-packaged mortgages due to the real estate bubble, yemen has primarily relied on its oil as a source of income.
When this income ends, the socio-economic conditions becomes ripe for reactionary beleif systems. The IMF and World Bank are not pledging new funds but rather helping the country best allocate 5 billion dollars from past donations.

Greg Voegtle



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100127/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_yemen

Iraq continues to face security problems

As the U.S. continues to scale back the number of its troops in Iraq, the long term stability of the country remains in question. While violence has notably decreased across the country, and Iraqis have replaced American soldiers at checkpoints and in patrols, insurgents seem to be getting more creative and better coordinated in their tactics. Today a suicide car bomber did significant damage to a crime lab in Baghdad, killing at least 22. This comes only a day after separate suicide bombers attacked three separate hotels known to be frequented by security contractors and American journalists. U.S. military officials are concerned about the increased planning and coordination involved in this simultaneous attacks, which continue to be Sunni-directed at the Shiite government. It appears that insurgents have gotten better at concealing bombs in hidden compartments and inside the actual chassis of cars, which often elude bomb detection.

Chris Bilbro

Senators push for more efficient Haiti adoptions

Of all the children in Haiti before the massive earthquake, 380,000 of them were orphans. Now that number has increased since the quake and the U.S. is looking to help as much as possible. Several children that have since come to the U.S. are here on humanitarian waivers, due to their official paperwork being lost in the quake. No new children will be sent to the U.S., unless they were already in the adoption process. The ones already entered will go first, and this should help alleviate some of the orphans. However, for those children not entered into the system are at risk for being victims of trafficking. This is a serious problem and as the time lingers on the risks go up, so it is respectable to take orphan children out of this situation.

By: Lindsay Weidling

U.S. nonproliferation post unfilled

Since we had been talking about nonproliferation in class, I thought this story would be pertinent: President Obama still hasn't nominated an assistant secretary for international security and negotiations, the post that oversees the State Department's bureau responsible for U.S. nonproliferation policy. Why? First, the Obama Administration is conducting full FBI background and financial checks, probably a good idea after getting burned on some nominees throughout 2009. But also, the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee thinks there are too many positions that need Senate confirmation that should just be appointed staff jobs.

By: Justin Lynch

Even U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan didn't like troop surge

Two months ago, the U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan warned his bosses that dealing with Hamid Karzai was not a good idea and that a "temporary" troop surge would only further our long-term involvement in the troubled area. He also doubted the ability of the Afghani police forces to take over in the future. This is just another argument against President Obama's troop surge, a bad idea for a region that is unused to a central government (Afghanistan is an area more used to tribal rule than central government), and is with one now that is unabashedly corrupt and silences critics through torture. This resignation letter, from a U.S. government civilian representative in Afghanistan, sums up the arguments most succinctly.

By: Justin Lynch

U.S. woefully underprepared for cyberattacks

With the 21st century, America has to be ready for attacks to come in varying forms...what makes it even harder to prepare is the fact that we sometimes don't know who's doing the attacking. The article suggests that interestingly enough, the Obama Administration and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are using language more fitting to nuclear deterrence, in that the United States will levy sanctions and isolate countries that harbor those that launch cyberattacks. The case of China and Google is examined, and while Google traced the attacks as coming from China, the issue of accusing the Chinese government of allowing/spearheading them gets into sensitive diplomatic areas.

By: Justin Lynch

Sri Lanka Election

On Tuesday, voters in Sri Lanka will go to the polls to either re-elect the formerly popular president that ran the government when the decades-long war against rebels was won, or the general that actually served and ended the war. The Sri Lanka electorate is tired of the incumbent giving out government jobs to relatives and friends and are frustrated at the lack of economic recovery.

By: Justin Lynch

U.S. seeks charges against former Guatemalan President

The United States is looking extradite and try former Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo on money laundering charges. Portillo, who served as Guatemalan President from 2000 to 2004 is accused of funneling money into Caribbean and European accounts via United States banks. Portillo is most notably remembered for promising to clean up corruption in the Guatemalan government, however it was later found that his political stint was just as corrupt as previous administrations. As of Sunday night, Guatemalan police had conducted four raids, all of which came up unsuccessful in locating Portillo. As the search continues we should remember this isn't the first time the United States has gone after a foreign leader, and certainly won't be the last.

By: Cameron Adams

South Korea Warns North on a First Nuclear Strike

The news regarding North Korea intending to strike South Korea with nuclear weapon has been off and on for a while. Will it actually happen? If it does, what would the U.N Security do which is still trying to bring North Korea to six party talk in regards to nuclear arms disarmament? Will the U.S protect the South Korea as promised to keep it under its nuclear umbrella? The two Koreas recently exchanged some tough talks where North threatening to blow away the South. The defense minister of South Korea said that if there is clear indication of North’s attack, then the South should strike first. But, it is also obvious that North even without nuclear weapon and just with its military could easily attack south which is located within the reach of North Korean rockets and artillery. There were mixed reactions from the North in recent weeks. At one time the North proposed the development of business and tourism with the south and just days later threatened disregard all the dialogues with Seoul. The two Koreas are still on war since there had been no peace treaty established after the Korean War of early 1950s. For details, follow this link http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/world/asia/21korea.html?ref=asia

Submitted By:
Namgyel Dorji

Bin Laden Tape

Another allegedly Osama Bin Laden tape has warned the U.S. of imminent attacks if the country continues to support Israel. Though the authenticity of the tape has not been confirmed, it was addressed directly to President Obama and declares that as long as there is no peace in Palestine, their will be no peace for the U.S. The tape also claims responsibility for the December 25 bombing attempt and calls the culprit a "hero." The last tape of this kind came in September 2009 when it warned Obama that he could not stop the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Washington-based IntelCenter thought this new tape could be an indicator of attack in the next 12 months.

-Abbey Smith

Oops...

UN chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC), Rajendra Pachauri has admitted to a 'minor' slip up in the Nobel prize winning report on the Himalayan glaciers. The original report read that the Himalayan glaciers would very likely be gone by the year 2035. That's pretty soon, right? Wrong. Apparently there was a mistake, and the real date for the glaciers disappearance is in 2350, only about three hundred and thirty years off. No biggie. Though Pachauri firmly states that the receding glaciers is still an issue, this raises much controversy in the greater international discussion of global warming. How the international community will interpenetrate this slip up will be interesting. There is a good chance that this will even further give support to those who do not support the theory of global warming all together. This one mistake has the potential to set back hundreds of hours of dialogue on the issue.

by megan smith

Poland risks conflict with Russia

Poland announced it will base US Patriot missiles in northern Poland, only 60 miles from the Russian border, closer than orginally planned. Poland and the United States signed an agreement in December to station U.S troops in Poland to service the missiles, which will be part of Poland's national secuirty system. The decision to have the missiles so close to Russia might eventually cause conflict between the two states. So far, Russia's Defense Ministry said it would not increase it's Baltic Fleet weaponry which contradicts an earlier quote from Russian news agency that they would.


By:Alicia Panczyk

Britain raises threat level to severe

This is pretty troubling...this means an attack is "highly likely." Terrorists are again trying to target international flights.

Justin Lynch

Cash for Work Program: Haitian Jobs Created

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and UN envoy Bill Clinton have stated that Haitian jobs need to be created to stimulate the economy and pave the road to recovery. The UN Development Programme (UNDP) has already employed hundreds of Haitians for humanitarian work, and expects another 700 will be hired for the grim task of clearing rubble in Port au Prince. The program is called Cash for Work. Former President Bill Clinton said "[i]t’s really important to give young people something positive to do and a lot of people there want to be a part of rebuilding their country.” Ban Ki-moon echoed Mr. Clinton's sentiments, and has made an international appeal for more than $41 million to support the UNDP program. The world bank has also forgiven Haiti of its $38 million debt.

By: Caleb B. Ray
Source: UN News Centre

Remember how excited you were about communion wine; be a Buddhist, now you can have it all the time!

A group of monks in Japan are now attempting to give Buddhism a "face lift" by integrating hip hop and booze into their message to the youth. Taking a more liberal approach to religion in order to get younger people involved is nothing new, but alcohol? It seems that is one thing that most religions advocate abstinence from. Hip hop on the other hand might actually help. Outside of south central LA, Japan might have the largest concentration of individuals who are still fanatical about old school hip hop, break dancing and such. The monks argue that they are trying to bring the Buddhist mantras to the people in a way that they can understand. Understandable, but at what cost? I'm not familiar with Buddhism, but if they are compromising their values just to get people to the temple, the problem with bringing people into the faith still lies. Just because people are present in body does not mean that they are buying into the faith. I think the plan was clever, and it seems to be working; I just think there is infinite opportunity for a significant backfire.

by Sarah Richardson

Pakistan the "Beating Heart" of al-Qaida

State Department coordinator for counterterrorism Daniel Benjamin told journalists yesterday that while the growing presence of terrorist groups in Yemen is increasingly evident, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (or FATA) of Pakistan still poses the greatest threat to dismantling al-Qaida. According to Benjamin, tribal governments have more interaction with al-Qaida than any other group, and actively support its efforts in this region of the country. Despite the dangerous situation in Pakistan, and the fact that the country remains the strongest area of support for al-Qaida, Benjamin did not dismiss Yemen as an important target for U.S. efforts to uproot terrorist cells. The attempted Christmas Day bombing of a U.S. airliner by an al-Qaida offshoot based in Yemen has brought increased international visibility to the nation, but according to Benjamin the country has been of concern to intelligence officials. This comes on the heels of a report by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday that claims three dozen Americans traveled to Yemen for training with al-Qaida.

Chris Bilbro

Child Abuse by Irish Clergy

The Pope summoned multiple Irish Bishops to the Vatican to discuss covered up child abuse that has taken place over the years in Ireland. The Irish Bishops will meet with the Pope in mid-February concerning the abuse that took place from 1975-2004. The Pope has already met with Jim Moriarty and Donal Murray, two senior Irish Bishops that resigned in December. The Dublin Archdiocese created a committee, the Commission of Investigation, to investigate all of the claims of child abuse by priests. Moriarty apologized to the survivors and families because actions and inaction does not take away the suffering the people involved have endured. Murray was aware of complaints and suspicions of child sexual abuse in the archdiocese. After reading the reports the Commission of Investigation compiled, the Pope said after the meeting he was "deeply disturbed and distressed" by the report's findings.

By: Alyssa Rabulinski

China region cut off from rest of world

After riots between two ethnic groups, China's communist regime cut off internet access, text messages, and phone calls since last July. Of course, foreign investment and travel in the region has fallen dramatically, and people have had to travel hundreds of miles to keep their businesses going and/or communicate with loved ones.

Justin Lynch

Vietnamese Democracy

In the mid-90's, relations between the United States and Vietnam started to improve, as the countries started talking to each other and some sanctions were lifted. This story, however, sounds like it would come from China. Four people suspected of agitating for democracy were arrested and are going to be put on trial for overthrowing the government, almost a joke because basically nobody is acquitted of these charges if they're suspected of being against Communism. What's even worse is the charges are punishable by firing squad. All this comes around a recent crackdown on civil liberties, including the limiting of civilians on Facebook. Oh the joys of totalitarian communism...

Justin Lynch

Defense chief says no US police role in Haiti

Since the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti the United States has sent troops and resources to aid in recovery but no new police roles will take affect. Those troops there now can protect themselves and people in need but there will not be an overall policing role. While violence is rising the situation is manageable as of now. With Haitian police, UN officials, and the United States troops there is security and should be ok as long as looters don't become out of control. With an estimated 200,000 dead there will be a long recovery as only 70,000 bodies have been recovered. Much money has been donated and the recovery process has begun but it will be a long recovery and the United States is a much needed force in Haiti.

By: Lindsay Weidling

Pinera Wins Chilean Election

For the first time in 52 years the country of Chile has democratically elected a right wing President. Sebastian Pinera, a Harvard educated economist assumed the Chilean Presidency after Eduardo Frei, his main opponent, publicly conceded defeat. According to the story, Pinera ran his campaign primarily on "hopes for change", and promised to create a million jobs to help stimulate the economy. It was said Pinera and Frei shared the same stance on virtually all the political topics, except for human rights. With Chile and many other Latin American countries, the human rights issue has been a long endowed struggle for quite some time. It's a quite touchy subject with the citizens of post dictator-led countries that used torture and ruthless interrogation as a means of rule. It would appear the Chilean people are ready for change, and we'll soon find out if Sebastian Pinera can deliver.

By Cameron Adams

Turky and Israel try to repair relations

Turkey and Israel are trying to repair relations after an Israeli minister disrespected a Turkish ambassador on public television. The country of Turkey is split between Europe and the Middle East, much like their political center, but recently Turkey has been trying to reconnect with the Middle East. An apology was made by Israel was followed by a visit to the capital of Ankara and a military contract. Because of dissolving military problems for Turkey and a growing trade with India for Israel, contact broke down in the 1990's. Most believe that the relationship will be repaired if only because Turkey doesn't want anger the Jewish supporters in Congress.

By Albie Braun