Bush touts Social Security reform
RALEIGH, N.C., Feb. 10 (UPI) -- President Bush continued efforts to spur public pressure for Social Security reform Thursday, warning the demographic impetus for reform could not be ignored.
In 2042, the year the pay-as-you-go retirement system is tipped for insolvency, there will be only two workers paying for the benefits of one retiree, down from 16-1 in 1950, he said. Meanwhile, the number of people receiving retirement benefits will increase to 71 million from the 37 million today.
"You're looking at major tax increases, major cuts in benefits, major cuts in other government programs or massive debt" if reform is not taken on now, he said at a town hall-type meeting in Raleigh, N.C. "Now is the time to move, and that's what I'm saying to Congress."
Bush, also in Pennsylvania, repeated his mantra he was open to ideas from both sides of the aisle to fashion legislation to save the system and its benefits for future recipients. But, he added, any plan needed to be built around his three pillars: no tax increase, no cut in benefits to those now retired or aged above 50 and establishment of personal retirement accounts as part of the reform package
Rivals join hands to promote democracy
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Two former prime ministers of Pakistan, once bitter rivals, are joining hands to promote democracy in the South Asian Muslim nation.
Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, both living in exile, signed a three-point agreement in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah, where Sharif is currently residing. It was their first ever meeting as opposition leaders, the BBC reported.
Bhutto has been in self-imposed exile - shuttling between Dubai and London - since being ousted by the military in 1996.
Their pact called for the restoration of democracy in Pakistan, an independent election commission and respect for popular mandate. The two have been campaigning against President Gen. Pervez Musharraf.
Ahsan Iqbal, former federal minister and leader of Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League, said the agreement was reached after a three-hour meeting.
Iqbal said the two leaders also agreed to set up working groups within their respective parties to draw up a wide-ranging charter for democracy.
Observers in Pakistan were attaching significant importance to the meeting, the BBC said. Bhutto and Sharif and their parties have been opposing the government of Musharraf under the umbrella of the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy..
Gonzales praises N.Y. terror verdicts
WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales praised Thursday's conviction of a lawyer in New York for smuggling notes from an imprisoned terrorist.
The conviction of civil rights attorney Lynne Stewart and two other men on terrorism charges "is an important step in the Justice Department's war on terrorism," Gonzales said. "The convictions handed down by a federal jury in New York today send a clear, unmistakable message that this department will pursue both those who carry out acts of terrorism and those who assist them with their murderous goals."
Stewart was convicted of smuggling notes from her client, blind Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, to his fellow terrorists. Abdel-Rahman, who was in solitary confineman at the time, was convicted in 1996 of conspiring to kill Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and conspiring to blow up New York buildings and facilities.
A U.S. postal worker, Ahmed Abdel Sattar, and a third suspect, Mohamed Yousry, also were convicted on terrorism charges.
Groups protest airline fee increase
WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Fifteen airline, business and labor groups urged the U.S. Congress Thursday not to approve President Bush's proposed airline fee hike.
The increase, which would raise the fee on one-way airfares to $5.50 from $2.50, and raise the maximum fee for multi-segment trips from $10 to $16, is intended to generate $1.5 billion for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The groups assert the security tax will kill jobs, economic growth and jeopardize local air service to small- and medium-size communities. Group leaders also argue the federal government is breaking its 9/11 promise to pay for aviation security as a matter of national defense.
U.S. airlines and travelers already will contribute $15.8 billion through 14 different federal taxes and user fees in 2005, the groups said.
Groups opposing the new security tax include the AFL-CIO's Transportation Trades Department, Air Line Pilots Association, Air Transport Association, Air Travelers Association, Americans for Tax Reform, Cargo Airline Association, Competitive Enterprise Institute, Gerchick-Murphy Associates, Interactive Travel Services Association, J. Dunham and Associates, National Business Travel Association, National Taxpayers Union, Regional Airline Association, Travel Business Roundtable, and Travel Industry Association of America.
