China cancels US military contact

You would have thought that the news media would have had this on the nightly news!

China has cancelled military and diplomatic exchanges with the US in protest at a $6.5bn deal to supply Taiwan with arms, US officials say.

A number of senior level visits and military-to-military exchanges due before November would not go ahead, the US defence department said.

The sales include advanced interceptor missiles, Apache helicopters and submarine-launched missiles.

China regards Taiwan as its territory and opposes US military support.

China will also not participate in an exchange on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

"It's an unfortunate step," said US state department deputy spokesman Robert Wood.

— Full Story

Smuggled case cash 'totalled $5m'

An alleged plot to smuggle election funds from Venezuela to Argentina may have involved as much as $5m, a court in the US city of Miami has heard.

A Florida-based businessman was stopped at Buenos Aires airport last year with $800,000 (£430,000) in a suitcase.

In court the man, now a prosecution witness, said another case with $4.2m may have breached Argentine customs.

The trial centres on a Venezuelan man accused of being an illegal agent of Venezuela's government in the US.

US prosecutors say the cash was sent by Venezuela to fund the presidential election campaign of Argentina's then First Lady, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who was elected last October.

— Full BBC Story

The Issues

Let's get down to the brass tacks of this 2008 Presidential Election.

The following videos explore Obama's views of the main issues that are (and should be) the driving force of our President selection and our future:

Economy


Education


Environment


Foreign Policy


Immigration


Healthcare

Enough is Enough Already!

With our economy in the tank and our infrastructure in tatters, I just wonder where we as U.S. Citizens should draw the line in regards to paying for other nations to rebuild their lives.

Enough already! How the hell are we going to pay for this? We've got to get the Republicans out of office and shore up our shores before we bankrupt this country helping others. It is not fiscally sound to keep spending, spending and spending on other people and letting this country go to seed!

The US has announced $1bn (£564m) of aid to Georgia for reconstruction after the conflict with Russia.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the aid would be used to rebuild houses and infrastructure - but not for military purposes.

Full Story Here