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March 13, 2012 -- (San Diego’s East County) – ECM World Watch helps you be an informed citizen about important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflecting all voices and views, we include links to a wide variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:
U.S.
- State joblessness rate dips to lowest level since ’09 (SF Chronicle)
- U.S. extends its run of strong job growth another month (NY Times)
- Drones over America: What can they see? (NPR)
- Voters blame Obama for gas prices, but experts say not so fast (Washington Post)
WORLD
- Rampage in Afghanistan puts long-term US Presence in peril (Christian Science Monitor)
- Afghans urge US exit after killings; US says timetable unchanged (Reuters)
- Syrian opposition calls for international intervention (CNN)
- ‘Arab revolts led to Islamization, instability’ (Jerusalem Post)
- Israel and Gaza factions ‘agree on truce’(Al Jazeera)
SCIENCE & HEALTH
- Loss of Greenland ice could become irreversible, scientists say (Los Angeles Times)
- Study: Red meat raises risk of dying; risk higher with processed meats (CBS)
Scroll down for excerpts and links to full stories.
U.S.
State joblessness rate dips to lowest level since ’09 (SF Chronicle)
March 10, 2012 -- California's unemployment rate fell below 11 percent in January for the first time in nearly three years, signaling a continued gradual improvement in the state's economy, officials said Friday.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department reported that the United States added 227,000 jobs in February, capping the strongest three months of pure job growth since the great recession.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/03/09/BU4Q1NIGQ7.DTL
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/03/09/BU4Q1NIGQ7.DTL
U.S. extends its run of strong job growth another month (NY Times)
March 9, 2012 -- After a stretch of economic expansion so weak that Main Street struggled to detect any improvement, three consecutive months of solid employment growth have begun to lift the mood of consumers and the unemployed.
The economy added 227,000 jobs in February, the Labor Department reported Friday, and though the unemployment rate held steady at 8.3 percent, that was largely because nearly half a million people had joined, or resumed, the search for work in hopes their prospects had improved.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/10/business/economy/us-added-227000-jobs-last-month-rate-at-8-3.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/10/business/economy/us-added-227000-jobs-last-month-rate-at-8-3.html
Drones over America: What can they see? (NPR)
March 12, 2012 -- Unmanned aircraft systems, or drones, have long played a role in military operations. But imagine thousands of drones flying over U.S. skies — something we may see in just a few years. In February, President Obama signed an aviation bill requiring the Federal Aviation Administration to make plans to integrate drones into American airspace.
On Monday's Fresh Air, John Villasenor, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a professor of electrical engineering at UCLA, explains what these drones will be able to see and how they work. He also talks about the privacy and national security concerns raised by using drones for surveillance purposes.
http://www.npr.org/2012/03/12/148293470/drones-over-america-what-can-they-see?ft=1&f=1003
http://www.npr.org/2012/03/12/148293470/drones-over-america-what-can-they-see?ft=1&f=1003
Voters blame Obama for gas prices, but experts say not so fast (Washington Post)
March 12, 2012 -- Today’s oil prices are the product of years and decades of exploration, automobile design and ingrained consumer habits combined with political events in places such as Sudan and Libya, anxiety about possible conflict with Iran, and the energy aftershocks of last year’s earthquake in Japan.
“This notion that a politician can wave a magic wand and impact the 90-million-barrel-a-day global oil market is preposterous,” said Paul Bledsoe, strategic adviser to the Bipartisan Policy Center and a former Clinton administration official.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/voters-blame-president-for-gas-prices-experts-say-not-so-fast/2012/03/12/gIQA8fsO8R_story.html?hpid=z1
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/voters-blame-president-for-gas-prices-experts-say-not-so-fast/2012/03/12/gIQA8fsO8R_story.html?hpid=z1
WORLD
Rampage in Afghanistan puts long-term US Presence in peril (Christian Science Monitor)
March 12, 2012 -- In the wake of a shooting reportedly carried out by a rogue American sergeant, calls are growing louder among Afghans for international military members to be held accountable in Afghan courts when they stand accused of committing a crime. If the demand continues to gain traction, it has the potential to seriously strain or even undo a long-term strategic agreement between Afghanistanand the US.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2012/0312/Rampage-in-Afghanistan-puts-long-term-US-presence-in-peril-video?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+feeds%2Fworld+%28Christian+Science+Monitor+|+World%29
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2012/0312/Rampage-in-Afghanistan-puts-long-term-US-presence-in-peril-video?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+feeds%2Fworld+%28Christian+Science+Monitor+|+World%29
Afghans urge US exit after killings; US says timetable unchanged (Reuters)
March 12, 2012 -- The massacre of 16 villagers by a U.S. soldier triggered angry calls from Afghans for an immediate American exit even as the Obama administration vowed on Monday that the killings would not alter U.S. plans for the war.
Just days before Sunday's attack, Kabul and Washington had made significant progress in negotiations on a strategic partnership agreement that would allow American advisers and special forces to stay in Afghanistan after most foreign combat troops leave at the end of 2014.
But securing a full deal may be far more difficult now after a U.S. Army staff sergeant walked off his base in the southern province of Kandahar in the middle of night and gunned down at least 16 villagers, mostly women and children.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/12/us-afghanistan-civilians-idUSBRE82A02V20120312
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/12/us-afghanistan-civilians-idUSBRE82A02V20120312
Syrian opposition calls for international intervention (CNN)
March 12, 2012 -- The opposition Syrian National Council called Monday for urgent military intervention on the part of the international community to help halt the grinding violence and protect civilians.
The SNC, an umbrella group that represents the opposition abroad, also demanded a no-fly zone across Syria and a "speedy operation" to arm the Free Syrian Army, a group of fighters made up primarily of defectors from forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.
‘Arab revolts led to Islamization, instability’ (Jerusalem Post)
March 12, 2012 -- Sunni Islamists are the greatest beneficiaries of the Arab upheavals, and many Arab countries risk turning into failed states, according to an Israeli-authored report released last week to mark one year since the start of the region’s revolts.
The nearly 80-page report titled, “One Year of the Arab Spring: Global and Regional Implications,” includes contributions from 15 leading researchers at Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies.
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=261557&R=R3
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=261557&R=R3
Israel and Gaza factions ‘agree on truce’(Al Jazeera)
March 12, 2012 -- The opposition Syrian National Council called Monday for urgent military intervention on the part of the international community to help halt the grinding violence and protect civilians.
The SNC, an umbrella group that represents the opposition abroad, also demanded a no-fly zone across Syria and a "speedy operation" to arm the Free Syrian Army, a group of fighters made up primarily of defectors from forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.
SCIENCE & HEALTH
Loss of Greenland ice could become irreversible, scientists say (Los Angeles Times)
March 12, 2012 -- The Greenland ice sheet has a lower melting point than previously thought, with scientists saying not only that it could melt completely at a lower temperature than once believed, but also that the melting process could soon become irreversible.
"Once the process of melting the ice begins, it is very hard for it to change course even if we can lower temperatures in the future," Alex Robinson, lead author of a new study, said in an interview by email with The Times on Monday.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2012/03/greenland-ice-sheet-global-warming.html
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2012/03/greenland-ice-sheet-global-warming.html
Study: Red meat raises risk of dying; risk higher with processed meats (CBS)
March 12, 2012 -- Eating a diet heavy in red meat has been tied to added risk for cancer, diabetes and heart disease. It shouldn't be surprising then that a new study found eating red meat every day appears to increase a person's chances of dying from a chronic disease by 12 percent.
For the study, published online in the March 12 issue ofArchives of Internal Medicine, Harvard researchers analyzed data from two dietary studies that tracked nearly 37,700 men and 83,600 women for 28 years.
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