August 17, 2009

Public health option in question:

The administration appears to be backing away from its commitment to a public option as part of its healthcare reforms in the face of growing public opposition.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told CNN a "public option" was "not the essential element" of President Obama's healthcare proposals.

"I think what's important is choice and competition. And I'm convinced at the end of the day, the plan will have both of those," she said.

A government-run health program had been a central plank of administration proposals to provide coverage to the47 million uninsured Americans and provide competition to private insurers. Currently the United States spends 16 percent of GDP on health, about twice the average for Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, speaking on CBS' "Face the Nation," said the administration was ready to look at an alternative proposal of consumer-owned, non-profit co-operatives.

"There are not the votes in the Senate for the public option, there never have been," said Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., on Fox "News on Sunday." Conrad had proposed the non-profit co-operatives in Senate Finance committee negotiations.

Mexican army replaces customs agents:

More than 1,000 Mexican customs agents were fired and told to hand in their guns and badges during the weekend in a massive crackdown on corruption. The agents manned customs posts along the length of the U.S. border and had been implicated in smuggling operations.

The Mexican army took over the customs posts Sunday on a temporary basis. President Felipe Calderon has mobilized 40,000 Mexican soldiers in an all-out war against the country's drug cartels.

The soldiers will be replaced shortly by a new force of 1,400 specially trained customs agents. The Calderon government launched a similar clean up of corrupt police officers, firing thousands.

Mexico's customs authority said that the new force will boost tax collection and seize more drugs and guns smuggled in from the United States. Half of Mexico's value-added tax is collected at customs points.

Webb frees American in Myanmar:

Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., following the pattern of Bill Clinton's trip to North Korea to free two American journalists, visited Myanmar during the weekend and came away with convicted American John Yettaw.

Yettaw had been sentenced to seven years in prison for his uninvited visit to pro-democracy activist and Nobel Peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. His actions resulted in an additional 18 months

house arrest for Suu Kyi.

While in Myanmar Webb met with strongman, Gen. Than Shwe. He was also allowed to meet Suu Kyi and met separately with representatives of 10 opposition parties and several ethnic peace groups.

Webb, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said the United States is reassessing its relations with Myanmar and will be making proposals on his return. He has advocated closer U.S. engagement with Myanmar in the past.

He is currently on a five-country southeast Asian tour, taking him to Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam in addition to Myanmar.

Bolt gold, world record:

When Jamaican Usain Bolt won Olympic gold at Beijing in the 100 meters last year he started celebrating at 90 meters. Despite that he set a world record at 9.69 seconds and left everyone asking how fast he could go if he ran hard the whole race.

He answered the question at the World Track and Field championships yesterday in Berlin, burning a world class field in a scorching new world record time of 9.58 seconds. It was a fitting performance to grace the stadium where African-American track great Jesse Owens captured four gold medals including the 100 meters, delivering a poke in the eye to Adolf Hitler's ideas of Aryan racial superiority.

Bolt finished a good three meters ahead of American Tyson Gay. Gay ran the race of his life setting a personal best and an American record at 9.71 seconds. Media had hyped the clash between the two before the event but the only gold that Gay saw was the back of Bolt's Jamaican yellow singlet.

He will have to be content with being the second-fastest human ever.

Tiger loses PGA:

Age broadens experience it is said and Tiger Woods had a new one Sunday. He lost a major golf championship after leading at the start of the final round.

In a day of firsts, Y.E. Yang of South Korea carried off the PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota, beating Woods by three strokes, although he only led by one coming to the 18th hole. He became the first Asian player to win a major.

In previous majors Woods was 14-for-14 when leading or tied for the lead coming in t the final day.