Jobless Rate Drops

From the WSJ:

U.S. job losses in November posted the smallest drop since the start of the recession and the unemployment rate unexpectedly declined, a sign the labor market is finally healing as the economy recovers.

U.S. job losses slowed sharply in November and the unemployment rate unexpectedly declined to 10.0%. WSJ's Sudeep Reddy talks with Dennis Berman and Evan Newmark about what this means about the labor market and the larger economy, in the News Hub.

Nonfarm payrolls fell by just 11,000 last month, slowing down from a downwardly revised 111,000 drop seen in October, as the recovery encouraged some companies to retain workers, the Labor Department said Friday.

It was the best showing since December 2007, when the recession began and payrolls had risen by 120,000. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had expected a payroll decrease of 125,000.

The unemployment rate, calculated using a survey of households as opposed to companies, edged lower to 10% in November from 10.2%. Economists had forecast the jobless rate would remain at October's level of 10.2%, when it rose to the highest level since April 1983.

Franken, the GOP, and Rape

In an absolutely stunning display of infantile blame-gaming, the GOP senators that voted against Al Franken's "rape amendment" are furious that they now have to explain their decision to vote for corporate interests over the rights of victims of rape.

For those unfamiliar with the legislation, the amendment would prohibit the federal government from using contractors that deny victims of rape, including their own employees, the right to sue in court.

As if oblivious to the implications of his vote, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) offered this marvel of twisted logic: “I think it would be helpful for Senator Franken to come forward and say, ‘I’m not suggesting that anybody who votes for my amendment is indifferent to crimes against women or anybody else.’”

And not to be outdone, Senator John Thune (R-SD) blames Franken for his own vote: “I think hopefully he’ll settle down and do the kind of the serious work of legislating that’s important to Minnesota.”

I wonder why rape doesn't seem like an important issue to the GOP. I also wonder why they don't realize that this might be the reason that they are seen as a white, male-dominated party that caters to corporate clients over their constituencies.

There you have it, folks. 32 examples of what's wrong with our country.

NATO Responds With More Troops

From the BBC:

More than 20 countries plan to send more troops to Afghanistan following a US decision to deploy an extra 30,000 there, Nato officials have said.

The news comes as the alliance's foreign ministers gather in Brussels for two days of talks.

They are expected to focus on a request by US President Barack Obama for Nato allies to send some 10,000 more troops.

A Nato spokesman said members were set to pledge more than 5,000, but more army and police trainers were needed.

Several European nations have been reluctant to commit more forces to the eight-year-old conflict.

But Italian Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa told the Corriere della Sera newspaper on Thursday that Rome would send about 1,000 extra troops to Afghanistan. It currently has 3,200 soldiers there.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, speaking after a meeting with Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, indicated that Russia would also do its part in Afghanistan.

"We are ready to support these efforts, guarantee the transit [of troops], take part in economic projects and train police and the military," he said.

Meanwhile, the German parliament has voted to extend by a year the mandate allowing the government to send troops to Afghanistan, but did not lift the upper limit of soldiers, currently set at 4,500.

PA House Reviews Medical Marijuana

From Philly.com:

The heart-wrenching stories came from both sides.

A Pittsburgh man testified of wishing he could have used pot to ease his dying mother's "excruciating pain." Parents of drug-addicted children said the last thing the state should do is join the 13 others that allow medical use of marijuana.

Thus did the Pennsylvania legislature dip its toe into the roiling waters of the legalization debate for the first time yesterday.

The setting was a standing-room-only hearing of a House committee considering a bill titled the Compassionate Use of Medical Marijuana Act.

The sponsor, Rep. Mark Cohen (D., Phila.), said he hoped the testimony would "alter the outdated view of what should be another treatment option for many Pennsylvanians living in pain and discomfort."

His bill, modeled on laws in other states, would create a registry of patients who, with doctors' supervision and authorization, could buy limited amounts of the drug for medicinal purposes. State-licensed "compassion centers" would grow and sell the marijuana.

"The time has come," Cohen said, "for Pennsylvania to join 13 states that allow patients suffering from cancer, glaucoma, HIV, or other physically painful diseases to treat their symptoms and alleviate their suffering with this proven health-care option."

Cohen has six cosponsors, a precious few in the 203-member House. In the Senate, the majority Republican caucus has no plans to take up the issue even if the House bill passes, caucus spokesman Eric Arneson said.

Secret Service On Security Breach

From CNN:

The director of the U.S. Secret Service acknowledged to a House committee Thursday that "appropriate procedures were not followed" when an apparently uninvited Virginia couple entered the White House before a state dinner last week.

Mark Sullivan, testifying at a Homeland Security Committee hearing, said a preliminary investigation has been completed, and the guards involved have been placed on administrative leave with pay.

"I regret ... that established protocols and procedure were not followed," he said. He called the breach that occurred at the White House entry checkpoint unacceptable and indefensible.

The couple, Tareq and Michaele Salahi, contend that they did not crash the dinner to honor India's prime minister. The White House has said they were not invited.

The Salahis didn't accept an invitation to testify at the hearing. The panel also invited White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers to appear, but committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Mississippi, said the White House indicated Wednesday that she wouldn't. Rogers' office planned the dinner.

Health Debate Focuses On Women

From the AP:

The Senate cast its first votes on remaking the nation's health care system Thursday, approving an amendment to safeguard coverage of mammograms and preventive screening tests for women under a revamped system.

The 61-39 vote on a provision by Democrat Barbara Mikulski of Maryland and Republican Olympia Snowe of Maine was the first substantive ballot in an acrimonious debate that promises to go on for weeks, the legislative equivalent of trench warfare.

The vote came after three days of angry debate in which Democrats accused Republicans of stalling to try to kill the bill, and Republicans protested that they were only exercising their right to give the complex legislation full scrutiny.

The first vote was held under a special agreement requiring 60 votes to prevail. The outcome underscored the fragility of the coalition Democrats are counting on to move President Barack Obama's signature issue.

Votes on Medicare were scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

After that will come an amendment to restrict abortion funding, except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother. Drafted by an abortion opponent — Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska — it looms as a major challenge for the Democrats.

Though Democrats have 60 votes in the Senate, two Democratic senators voted against the Mikulski amendment — Russ Feingold of Wisconsin and Nelson. The measure was saved by three Republicans voting in favor — Snowe, David Vitter of Louisiana and Susan Collins of Maine.

Reed Leading in Atlanta Race

From the LA Times:

Atlanta will swear in a new mayor Jan. 4, and although it's not exactly clear yet who that will be, it looks as though the likely winner of Tuesday night’s dramatically tight runoff race will be Kasim Reed, 40, a former state senator and African American who had the support of many of the city’s black establishment leaders.

Reed faced a strong challenge from Councilwoman Mary Norwood, who was hoping to become the first white mayor in the majority-black city in 35 years. In preliminary returns posted Tuesday night, Norwood came within 758 votes of victory in Fulton County, which covers the vast majority of the city.

About 600 provisional ballots have yet to be counted, and, of course, it is the nature of provisional ballots that some of them may be thrown out by election officials.

Norwood, 57, has said she will ask for a recount if she is able to. Under state law, she may request a recount if she is losing by less than 1% in the final tally.

TARP Nearing End

From the AP:

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner affirmed Wednesday the administration's intent to soon end the $700 billion financial bailout program.

Geithner did not provide details, but said the government is close to the point at which "we can wind down this program" and end it.

"Nothing would make me happier," he told the Senate Agriculture Committee.

Some lawmakers have been agitating for an exit from the politically unpopular bailout program, approved by Congress at the height of the financial crisis in October 2008 as a way to supply banks with fresh capital.

Geithner also said legislation to bring transparency to the global, unregulated $600 trillion derivatives market was needed soon to restore confidence in the U.S. financial system.

Across the Capitol, meanwhile, a key House panel voted to slap new restraints on big Wall Street banks and to demand greater openness from the Federal Reserve. That cleared a significant hurdle in the drive for a sweeping overhaul of financial regulations, including the new derivatives restraints, and set the stage for a vote by the full House next week.

Number of Displaced Palestinians Growing

From the BBC:

Israel stripped a record number of Palestinians of their right to live in East Jerusalem last year, an Israeli rights group has said.

Some 4,570 people had their residency rights removed, more than a third of the total number since Israel took control of East Jerusalem in 1967.

Palestinians fear an attempt to reduce their presence in Jerusalem, which both they and Israel claim as their capital.

Israel says most of those stripped of their rights were living abroad.

Palestinians living in East Jerusalem were offered Israeli citizenship after Israel occupied the area in 1967 and later annexed it.

Many refused, not wanting to recognise Israeli sovereignty, and were instead given residency.

But, according to the Israeli rights organisation Hamoked, if these Palestinians live abroad for seven years, or gain citizenship or residency elsewhere, they lose their Israeli residency.

Hamoked obtained the figures from the Interior Ministry using the Freedom of Information Act.

Obama: 30,000 More Troops - Video

Bush Administration Ignored bin Laden

From CNN:

A report released by the Democratic staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee blamed the Bush administration for failing to capture or kill Osama bin Laden when the al Qaeda leader was cornered in Afghanistan's Tora Bora mountain region in December 2001. The report, released Sunday, said the situation in Afghanistan presented greater problems today because of the failure to nab bin Laden eight years ago.

Bin Laden had written his will, apparently sensing he was trapped, but the lack of sufficient forces to close in for the kill allowed him to escape to tribal areas in Pakistan, according to the report.

It said former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and top U.S. commander Gen. Tommy Franks held back the necessary forces for a "classic sweep-and-block maneuver" that could have prevented bin Laden's escape.

"It would have been a dangerous fight across treacherous terrain, and the injection of more U.S. troops and the resulting casualties would have contradicted the risk-averse, 'light footprint' model formulated by Rumsfeld and Franks," the report said.

When criticized later for not zeroing in on bin Laden, administration officials, including former Vice President Dick Cheney, responded that the al Qaeda leader's location was uncertain.

"But the review of existing literature, unclassified government records and interviews with central participants underlying this report removes any lingering doubts and makes it clear that Osama bin Laden was within our grasp at Tora Bora," the report said.

Obama's Afghanistan Plan - Preview

From the BBC:

President Barack Obama is to tell the American people that US troops will start to leave Afghanistan within three years, a senior official has said.

He will outline the rough withdrawal plan in a speech to the nation, when he will also announce a rapid six-month deployment of 30,000 extra soldiers.

Mr Obama has also asked Nato allies to send up to 10,000 more combat troops.

But France has refused, while Germany postponed any decision. The UK has agreed to send 500 more soldiers.

In Tuesday evening's much-anticipated speech at West Point military academy, Mr Obama is expected to make an accelerated troop surge the centrepiece of his new strategy for Afghanistan.

A senior administration official told AP news agency President Obama would outline a plan for US troops to start leaving Afghanistan "well before" his first term ends in 2012.

The US currently has 68,000 troops in Afghanistan, with foreign forces overall totalling more than 100,000.

A senior Pentagon official told the BBC the new troops would be made up of 9,000 Marines and 21,000 regular soldiers, including trainers.

Mr Obama has reached his deployment decision after more than three months of deliberations and 10 top-level meetings with advisers.

The BBC's Paul Adams in Washington says the American people will be anxious to hear in this hugely important speech how the president intends to get out of Afghanistan.

'Quick punch'

Rising violence - more than 900 US soldiers have died there - and the chaos of August's discredited elections have fanned mounting domestic opposition to the eight-year-old war.

Earlier this year, the US military commander in Afghanistan, Gen Stanley McChrystal, warned America risked failure unless troop numbers were increased. He requested 40,000 more soldiers.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told MSNBC on Tuesday: "This is not an open-ended commitment, what we are doing is putting forward a comprehensive strategy and an end-game in Afghanistan."

He said the deployment would be accelerated to "deliver a punch quickly".

The US president outlined his new strategy to Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai in an hour-long video conference on Tuesday morning.

The BBC's Martin Patience in Kabul says that while the speech will probably receive a cautious welcome from the Afghan government, many people in the country do not want any more foreign forces.

They say every time America sends more troops the security situation gets worse, and some question why the US is spending billions of dollars on the military - and not on aid and reconstruction.

An unnamed Nato diplomat told AP news agency on Tuesday that President Obama had asked European allies to contribute between 5,000 and 10,000 new troops to Afghanistan.

But President Nicolas Sarkozy's special envoy to Afghanistan told AFP news agency France had ruled out sending more troops, although Paris might send military trainers.

In Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel told a news conference Germany would wait until after a 28 January conference in London on Afghanistan before deciding on any troop increases.

Italy has also said it will increase its force, although without saying by how much.

On Monday, Britain confirmed it was sending 500 more troops, taking the UK's total deployment there to 10,000.

Wall Street Up

From Reuters:

U.S. stocks climbed on Tuesday as a weak dollar boosted natural resource companies' shares and housing data reassured investors about the recovery.

Sentiment also got a lift as concerns receded about the impact of Dubai's debt woes, which some had feared could lead to deepening global financial turmoil.

The S&P materials index .GSPM climbed 2 percent, helped by shares of commodity-oriented companies like U.S. Steel Corp (X.N), up 2.4 percent at $45.72; Alcoa Inc (AA.N), up 3.1 percent at $12.91, and Newmont Mining Corp (NEM.N), up 4.6 percent at $56.08.

Data showed pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose more than expected to their highest level in 3-1/2 years in October. The Dow Jones home construction index .DJUSHB gained 2.1 percent. For details, see [ID:nN01495024]

"To sell the dollar (and) to buy higher-return assets such as stocks, commodities, gold and oil, that's the recovery trade. People will ignore the long-term effects of a declining dollar for the balance of this year," said Jim Awad, managing director at Zephyr Management in New York.

Also, he said, "people are relieved about Dubai."

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was up 143.44 points, or 1.39 percent, at 10,488.28. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was up 15.25 points, or 1.39 percent, at 1,110.88. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was up 36.06 points, or 1.68 percent, at 2,180.66.

EU Constitution Celebrated

From VOA:

The European Union's constitution has come into force, after years in the making. The first EU president also took office along with the bloc's new foreign policy chief.

The European Union welcomed its new constitution with a ceremony in Lisbon, where the text was first signed. Getting all 27 E.U. states to ratify it however, was a long and arduous process that was only completed last month.

The new constitution lays out a series of fundamental changes within the European Union, including creating the bloc's first permanent president. That job has gone to former Belgian prime minister Herman Van Rompuy. Britain's former EU trade commissioner, Catherine Ashton, is the new EU foreign policy chief. Both are relatively little known figures in Europe and overseas.

Mr. Van Rompuy does not officially begin his duties until January. Speaking in Denmark on Monday, he limited his remarks to the press.

"I am in an interim period. I make only a short statement. Questions - ask them starting January 1. And I have 2 1/2 years to answer all your questions. But today, I am rather reluctant and I only limit myself to a brief statement," he said.

But Mr. Van Rompuy called for the world community to reach a strong climate change agreement at a summit in Copenhagen that begins next Monday.

"The European Union has been at the forefront of efforts to fight climate change. It is determined to play a leading, constructive role at the Copenhagen conference and to contribute to reaching a global, ambitious and comprehensive agreement," he added.

The bloc's executive body, the European Commission, will also see new commissioners next year. French diplomat Michel Barnier won the key job of internal markets commissioner, which covers the banking and financial sectors. Germany secured the energy post. Berlin has good relations with Russia, which provides a large share of Europe's natural gas.

Iran Detains British Yachtsmen

From the Telegraph:

David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, has admitted there is a "very high level of concern" about the five British sailors detained by the Iranian authorities.

Speaking outside the Foreign Office in central London, Mr Miliband stressed that the detention of the yachtsmen had nothing to do with politics adding that he hoped it would be resolved in a "speedy and professional manner".

But acknowledging the seriousness of the situation he added: "There's obviously a very high level of concern about the five young yachtsmen and their position. It's a particularly worrying time for the families."

Mr Miliband said the men, who were sailing from Bahrain to Dubai to take part in a race when they strayed into Iranian coastal waters, were being treated well but their location was unknown at the present time.

Iran has threatened to take "serious" measures against the sailors if it finds they had "evil intentions" and the British Foreign Office is awaiting for a further statement on the matter.

Mr Miliband stressed there was no suggestion that the sailors had any "malicious intent" and said he remained hopeful there would be a resolution soon.

He said: "This is a human story of five young yachtsmen. It's got nothing to do with politics. It's got nothing to do with (Iran's) nuclear enrichment programme.

"It's a consular case, which is being treated as a consular case by the UK, and I'm sure will be treated as a consular case by the Iranian authorities.

"It has no relation to any other issue. On that basis, I hope it will be resolved in a speedy and professional manner."

A close aide to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the five would be put through the due legal process.

"Judiciary will decide about the five," Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaie, the president's head of staff, told the Iranian news agency Fars. "Naturally our measures will be hard and serious if we find out they had evil intentions."

The five were arrested by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' naval forces on Wednesday. It is thought that they had strayed less than 500 yards inside Iranian waters after developing propeller problems.

Seattle Cop Killer Shot And Killed

From the Seattle Post Intelligencer:

A Seattle police patrolman working by himself in the hours before dawn ended a massive and frantic manhunt for alleged cop killer Maurice Clemmons on Tuesday,

The officer shot and killed Clemmons, wanted for gunning down four Lakewood cops, as he fled in a Rainier Valley neighborhood.

"Everything indicates that this is the person we've been looking for," Seattle Police Assistant Chief Jim Pugel told a news conference at the scene about 5:20 a.m. Tuesday morning.

Clemmons was the sole suspect in the slayings of four Lakewood police officers as they sat in a coffee shop Sunday morning.

Investigators said they believed Clemmons -- who had a violent criminal history in Arkansas and Washington -- was aided by a network of friends and family before he was killed at about 2:40 a.m. Tuesday.

Pierce County Sheriff's Det. Ed Troyer said his agency had arrested three people for rendering criminal assistance to Clemmons and had taken a getaway driver into custody.

"We expect to have maybe six or seven people in custody by the day's end," Troyer added. "Some are friends, some are acquaintances, some are partners in crime, some are relatives. Now they're all partners in crime."

On Monday, officers detained a sister of Clemmons who they think treated the suspect's gunshot wound.

"We believe she drove him up to Seattle and bandaged him up," Troyer said.

Leading to Tuesday morning's incident, police had checked hundreds of tips in the case. On Monday, Seattle police responded again and again -- in the International District, on Beacon Hill, in the U District -- to reports that Clemmons, wounded, armed and desperate, had been seen.

Troyer said multiple police agencies were given addresses of relatives and friends where Clemmons might be hiding.

Clemmons was finally cornered near one of those addresses, in the 4400 block of South Kenyon Street.

Pugel said the shooting of Clemmons began with a Seattle police patrolman spotting an unoccupied vehicle that had been reported stolen Monday evening.

The officer detected movement behind him and got out of his car, Pugel said. He then recognized a man approaching him as matching the description of Clemmons.

The officer said the man ignored orders to stop and show his hands, then ran from the officer.

"He wouldn't stop," Pugel said. "The officer fired several rounds, took the person into custody."

Seattle Fire Department personnel responded. Clemmons was pronounced dead.

Pugel also said Clemmons had a gun belonging to one of the slain officers. Clemmons did not return fire before he was killed, Pugel said.