| Anti-War Groups Retreat
Tom Andrews of the group Win Without War. "We're spending $8 [billion] to $10 billion a month." During Tuesday night's presidential debate, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) referenced the kind of legislation that the anti-war crowd will be backing when she asked Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) if he would co-sponsor a bill to prevent the president from entering into any long-term agreements with the Iraqi government without consulting Congress. Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt said Obama will "support all common-sense efforts to ensure that President Bush does not tie the hands of future presidents through agreements with the Iraqi government." In December, Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) sent a strongly worded letter to Bush asking for information about what types of agreements the president planned to enter into and urging that he consult with Congress first.
Md. mortgage fee lawsuit reinstated
A ruling yesterday from the state's highest court over prepayment mortgage charges could make it more expensive for some to obtain home equity loans, the banking industry's trade association warned.
The Maryland Court of Appeals found that state-chartered Provident Bank assessed a "prepayment charge" that's not allowed under state law. The bank had waived $680 in closing costs on a $17,000 loan to Andrew Bednar in 2003 but collected the money after the loan was paid off early when he refinanced with another lender two years later.
The ruling overturns a decision by Baltimore Circuit Court to dismiss the lawsuit against Provident.
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Gandhi’s Grandson Quits Peace Center
Gandhi was on a panel of scholars, writers and clergy who discuss a new topic weekly on the Washington Post's "On Faith" page and his comments, posted Jan. 7, drew a torrent of criticism, much of it unfavorable. Gandhi wrote that Jewish identity "has been locked into the holocaust experience _ a German burden that the Jews have not been able to shed. It is a very good example of (how) a community can overplay a historic experience to the point that it begins to repulse friends. "The holocaust was the result of the warped mind of an individual who was able to influence his followers into doing something dreadful. ... The world did feel sorry for the episode but when an individual or a nation refuses to forgive and move on, the regret turns into anger." Describing Israel as "a nation that believes its survival can only be ensured by weapons and bombs," Gandhi asked whether it would "not be better to befriend those who hate you?" "Apparently, in the modern world so determined to live by the bomb, this is an alien concept," he wrote.
Spain sees credit surge brought to a rude halt
Only last September, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, the Spanish prime minister, announced that Spain had joined the "Champions' League" of world economies. Europe's fifth largest economy was growing so robustly, and creating so many jobs, it would soon be richer than Germany in per capita terms, Mr Zapatero predicted. That euphoria was short-lived. December saw a spike in inflation, a rise in unemployment and a slowdown in the economy, as the international credit squeeze gripped Spain. The government recently lowered its estimate for economic growth in 2008 from 3.3 per cent to 3.1 per cent, a figure many economists consider is still too optimistic. Inflation last month of 4.3 per cent was at the highest level in more than a decade. Worse, house prices in many parts of the country have started falling, further undermining confidence in the economy.
Mercy provides interpreter services
You need a social security number to pay into and receive benefits and only a citizen can receive a social security number. I bet I've received that e-mail 50 times in the last ten years. There is no bill before Congress to give them benefits, never has been, never will be. Delete that e-mail and let's clear up cyberspace. " .
A birthday one century in the making
Brown, one of the many officials who took turns sitting next to her in the living room of the senior center. "I can't propose to you, because I'm married," said Brown. "That's OK," she told Brown, who is 48 years old, after a brief pause. "You're too old for me." .
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