An attempt by a group of Democratic senators to pressure the State Department to intervene in the Iraqi government’s awarding of oil contracts appeared stalled at the starting gate Tuesday.

Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., John Kerry, D-Mass., and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., want the administration to step in and object to contracts soon to be awarded by the Iraqi government to foreign oil companies, because Iraq has failed to complete action on an oil-sharing revenue law.

These Democrats also argue that giving more money to the Iraqi government would feed its corruption and inflame sectarian violence.

With almost 300,000 employees, the DC area surpasses Silicon Valley in number of high-tech jobs, according to a report released by the American Electronics Association.  Adding over 6,000 jobs in 2006, the DC area also had the second-largest growth in the US after The Big Apple.  Other leading metro areas by high-tech employment were the New York City region (#1), Boston (#4) and Dallas-Fort Worth (#5).   
 
The study’s definition of “high tech jobs” encompassed a variety of fields.  While New York City’s is a hub of internet services, Silicon Valley remains the national leader in semiconductor manufacturing.  Washington DC’s tech cluster is based around computer system design.        
 
The first city-level report created since the burst of the dot com bubble, the study also warned that stringent visa requirements barring skilled foreigners to work in the United States and lack of qualified American graduates would hinder high-tech competitiveness in the long-term. 
 
Further Reading
American Electronics Report releases Cybercities 2008 
Cybercities 2008 on the Business Innovation Technology Society blog

As the State Department works to build a coalition in East Asia to disarm a nuclear North Korea, two senators are indefinitely stalling the appointment of team member Kathleen Stephens to become the next ambassador to South Korea.

Republicans Sam Brownback of Kansas and George V. Voinovich of Ohio have placed holds on the Stephens nomination, which was reported favorably out of the committee April 22. Neither hold has anything to do with Stephens’ personal or professional record.

While Pakistani counterterrorism strategists wrestle with Al-Qaeda and its affiliates in the northwest tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, Al-Qaeda successfully applies strategic chaos to achieve its goals. Promoting religio-political and economic instability in Pakistan, Afghanistan and beyond, Al-Qaeda -- in sharp contrast to the appeal, capabilities and goals of past terrorist groups -- does not believe in eternal peace after a long, hard, bloody war. Instead, Al-Qaeda envisions a world held hostage to constant conflict where chaos delivers "perpetual chaos" until the Day of Judgment. Strategic chaos defines and supports Al Qaeda's goals, modus operandi and longevity. Victory against Al-Qaeda and affiliates rests upon understanding, exploiting and finally discrediting their doctrine of strategic chaos.

Why are the Neo-cons so interested in Turkey?

It's no secret that at least some neo-conservatives (neo-cons) in Washington have been obsessed with attacking Iran for a long time. Even though the U.S. failure in the Iraq war has significantly delayed the spread of the conflict into Syria and Iran, the neo-cons are determined more than ever to accomplish this mission before President Bush gets out of office in 2008. Three arguments are being used to persuade the Bush administration, the most important one being Israel's security. First, according to neo-cons, Iran constitutes the biggest threat to Israel and should be eliminated before it can develop nuclear technology. Second, pacifying Iran would curb their support of insurgents in Iraq and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Third, a conflict with Iran right before the elections is likely to have a positive impact on the Republican votes. Additionally, the Bush administration doesn't have much to lose if attacking Iran brings limited or no success. A recent poll conducted by the Gallup Organization, from April 18- 20, showed that President Bush's disapproval rating set a new record of 69 percent, the highest disapproval rating of any president in Gallup's 70-year history.

Democrats are close to unveiling their complex strategy for the supplemental spending bill, but their plan to speed its passage faces a number of obstacles.

With the hope of streamlining the process and finishing work on the measure by the Memorial Day recess, Democrats have signaled that their strategy for the supplemental could bypass both Appropriations committee markups and even a House-Senate conference on the bill.

But Republicans and even some Democrats are opposed to such a strategy, saying that if too many lawmakers are left out of the process, the result could be even longer delays in the bill’s enactment.

With global grain stocks at record lows and soaring prices for agricultural products, new attention is being paid to which farming methods are best poised to meet global food needs.

The United States and Europe have long utilised large-scale industrial farming -- which has generated enormous increases in output -- but this method is coming under increasing scrutiny over concerns about monopolistic behaviour and sustainability. In order to increase output in a sustainable way, agricultural experts are increasingly looking to alternative models, or at least significant alterations to the existing industrial one.

As the value of the dollar continues to decline relative to other currencies, some of those most affected don't even live in the United States. Instead, they are citizens of developing countries who receive remitted dollars from family and friends working abroad. For them, the weakening dollar is particularly crippling because it either converts into less local currency or, for those in countries with pegged currencies, can't keep up with local inflation.

It's a situation roughly similar to American travelers in Europe discovering that it now costs $4.77 for a Big Mac, whereas a year and a half ago the cost was only $3.77. The dollar is no longer going as far as it once did, and the decline is pinching the incomes of remittance recipients -- often the poorest -- and prompting shifts in international migration patterns. Policymakers in developing countries need to act soon to reduce the costs and unpredictability of remittances and ensure that social safety nets cover those who are harmed.

The House Democratic leadership is close to finalizing a decision to combine all outstanding Bush administration requests for war funding — totaling at least $170 billion — into one huge bill, according to lawmakers and aides.

Such a move would clear war funding from the congressional agenda until well into the next administration.

On top of the war funding, Democrats also want to attach billions of dollars in domestic spending initiatives to the measure, which could be the only appropriations bill enacted this year.

John P. Murtha , D-Pa., chairman of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, estimated the bill would outline about $102 billion in war spending for the remainder of the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, plus an additional $70 billion or so in fiscal 2009 war spending.

Some leading lawmakers want to shift billions of defense dollars away from Iraq in the next supplemental spending bill and devote them to other military priorities.

The debate over the bill, set for later this month, is also shaping up amid a flurry of proposals from lawmakers who see the emergency appropriations measure as a vehicle for a host of non-military spending needs and war policy provisions.

Although total military spending in the bill, which is still in draft form, will be near the $102.5 billion the Pentagon says it needs for the remainder of fiscal 2008, defense appropriators would move between $8 billion and $9 billion of that total toward their own priorities, which focus on force modernization and facilities at home.