Parties in California Squabble Over Another Website

The state's Democrats are accusing Republicans of trying to sabotage the state-run exchange by putting up their own health care website. The Republican website initially had only a few links to the state's health care site, though more were added after Democrats complained. Republicans in the Assembly have maintained that the website, which has been active since August but only recently drew the public ire of Democrats, is simply an attempt to answer constituents' questions about the health care law and to help them understand their options. Mr. Gomez suggested that the Republican site violates that law, because its name is similar to the state-run exchange's and because it includes tabs for people with insurance, people without insurance and employers, much like the state website.
Source: NEW YORK TIMES


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Amid the Uproar Over the Health Law, Voices of Quiet Optimism and Relief

Since his chronic leukemia was diagnosed in 2010, Ray Acosta has paid dearly for health insurance: more than $800 a month in premiums, plus steep co-payments for the drug that helps keep him alive. She connected him with an application counselor at a community health center, who found - to Mr. Acosta's astonishment - that he qualified for Medicaid under the new health care law, the Affordable Care Act, which gives states the option of expanding the program to include more low-income adults. For many, particularly people with existing medical conditions like Mr. Acosta, the coverage is proving less expensive than what they had. Many others are getting health insurance for the first time in years, giving them alternatives to seeking care through free clinics or emergency rooms - or putting it off indefinitely. Not all who need health insurance are happy with their new options.
Source: NEW YORK TIMES


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Afraid of Free Speech, on Many Fronts: PEN, Google, China, Goliath

The event in question featured Max Blumenthal, who was being interviewed about his book on Israel, Goliath, by Peter Bergen, the well-known writer on war-and-terrorism topics. I wasn't involved in inviting Max Blumenthal, but having read his book before the session and now having heard him speak, I am glad that New America and its president, Anne-Marie Slaughter, stood by their invitation. As he put it in a recent interview with Salon, the book is "An unvarnished view of Israel at its most extreme." Again, the power of his book is not that Blumenthal disagrees with these groups. In its English version, the Jewish Daily Forward excoriated his book: "Max Blumenthal's Goliath Is Anti-Israel Book That Makes Even Anti-Zionists Blush." Whereas the Yiddish edition of the Forward has a review that is quite respectful of the book and the importance of such criticism.
Source: THE ATLANTIC


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Ditch French and German for Mandarin lessons says David Cameron as his visit to China draws to a close - INDEPENDENT
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Sinosphere Blog China to End Loophole in Child Rape Law Experts Say - NEW YORK TIMES
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In Washington, deadlines crashed and holidays trashed

Well, December 13 is Friday and House and Senate negotiators don't yet have a deal. That's not the only thing Congress has to work on before the House is supposed to leave town, also on Friday, and the Senate at the end of next week. House Republicans want to drop 3.8 million people from those rolls next year - about 8% of recipients - while Senate Democrats aren't keen on those cuts. While the Senate is scheduled to be in town for two weeks, it must hurry since the House is set to leave on Friday.
Source: CNN


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Congress set to extend band on plastic firearms - CBS NEWS
A donothing Congress - CNN
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Congress looks to beat the holiday rush - PBS NEWSHOUR
Congress reauthorizes ban on plastic guns - WASHINGTON POST
Indias ruling Congress party suffers blow in state elections - WASHINGTON POST

Obama heading to South Africa for Mandela memorial

President Barack Obama has taken off for South Africa to attend a national memorial service for anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela. Obama has called Mandela a personal hero, and his own political rise has drawn inevitable comparisons to the former South African leader. "President Obama would believe that the challenges he has faced pale in comparison to those faced by President Mandela," Valerie Jarrett, Obama's senior adviser, said in an interview this summer before the president made a trip to South Africa. Obama did meet with several members of Mandela's family and made an emotional visit to Robben Island, standing with his wife and two daughters in the tiny cell where the South African leader spent 18 of his 27 years in prison.
Source: FOX NEWS


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South Africa prepares for Mandela memorial service - USA TODAY
Recalling Life Under Apartheid in South Africa - ABC
Childhood memories of apartheid in South Africa At times petty and absurd but always hurtful - FOX NEWS
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In South Africa inequality and economic ills persist - LOS ANGELES TIMES

Hagel orders US support in Central African Republic mission

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered the U.S. military to transport Burundian troops to Central African Republic, as part of an international effort to quell sectarian violence in that country. The decision, amid warnings that the historically unstable country could be on the verge of genocide, would assist both French and African Union troops who already have been deployed. Muslim rebel groups tied to an alliance organization called Seleka are clashing with Christian fighters. President Michel Djotodia had demanded that the fighters who brought him to power remain in their barracks Monday so that French forces and African troops from a regional peacekeeping mission could secure the city.
Source: FOX NEWS


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Central African Republic Crisis Hagel Orders Airlift - HUFFINGTON
Recalling Life Under Apartheid in South Africa - ABC
Hagel orders airlift for Central African Republic - CBS NEWS
Hundreds killed in Central African Republic - CBS NEWS
US to send transport planes to Central African Republic - CNBC NEWS
Recalling life under apartheid in South Africa - SAN FRAN CHRONICLE
C African Republic mobs launch sectarian attacks - SAN FRAN CHRONICLE
South Africans mourn loss of Madiba celebrate gift of freedom - PBS NEWSHOUR

Advocates Struggle to Reach Immigrants Eligible for Deferred Action

"It's the only game in town right now for undocumented immigrants, and we need to do everything to maximize participation in the program," said Steven Choi, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition, a leading advocacy group in New York City. By some estimates, about half of the eligible immigrants have not applied, with participation particularly low in some immigrant-rich states like New York and Florida and among some large immigrant groups, including the Chinese, Dominicans and Filipinos. The participation rate has varied wildly depending on the immigrant group: It was at 66 percent among Mexicans, 59 percent among Hondurans and 55 percent among Brazilians, while only 16 percent of Filipinos, 14 percent of Dominicans and fewer than 9 percent of Chinese have signed up, according to a study published in August by the institute. The range in application rates among immigrant groups has been harder to figure out, they said.
Source: NEW YORK TIMES


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