CIA operative says US, Pakistan agree on Bhutto killer, PPP skeptical, accused denies; UK property fund halts withdrawals amid panic...

18 January :: LA Times quotes unnamed CIA operative as saying US concurs with Pakistan on Bhutto killer; the official is quoted as saying "There are strong indications that Baitullah Mahsud was behind the Bhutto assassination", adding "There is certainly no reason to doubt that Mahsud was behind this", though Mahsud has publicly denied involvement, and political goals of Pakistani Islamists are not clear with regard to opposition groups seeking to depose Musharraf, as was Bhutto's case; Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party has expressed skepticism about the allegation, citing lack of investigation to date, according to LA Times "Party officials say that most, if not all, of the evidence in the case was destroyed by police and firefighters who hosed down the site within hours of the shooting and suicide attack, making it virtually impossible to gather evidence to help determine who else might have been involved"... One of the UK's wealthiest property investment funds was forced to shut its doors yesterday, as panic selloffs and withdrawals threatened its solvency; the Guardian reports "Scottish Equitable said yesterday that 129,000 small investors in its £2bn property fund will not be able to access their money for up to a year, although payments relating to regular income already being paid, retirements and death claims will not be affected"... Allegations emerge in Nevada of voter-intimidation efforts by Culinary Workers Union; no investigation as yet into allegations, which came from Clinton campaign, just hours after a judge ruled the Nevada Democratic party can host caucuses inside casinos and other such venues, where many workers are members of the CWU...

Benazir Bhutto's son calls for UN investigation; New Jersey legislature officially apologizes for slavery, which it abolished in 1846...

8 January :: Son of Benazir Bhutto calls for UN-led investigative commission to determine responsibility for his mother's assassination, saying Pakistan gov't lacks "transparency" required to conduct an effective and credible investigation... New Jersey's state legislature has officially apologized for practicing slavery, the first state north of the Mason-Dixon line to do so, though it was the last of the northern states to emancipate slaves held there, in 1846; the resolution [pdf] states "the fundamental values of Africans were shattered; they were brutalized, humiliated and dehumanized", the resolution following official apologies by Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia, in 2007... Clinton, McCain declared winners in NH, in what is called "comeback" for both candidates; Obama congratulates Clinton, gives "Yes we can" speech, Romney finishes 2nd in state bordering Massachusetts, where he was governor... Organizers of yesterday's Oklahoma "bipartisanship forum" have said Obama campaign could mean Bloomberg run superfluous; Bloomberg himself suggested what the group of 17 is demanding may have already begun, saying "I hope that all the candidates say to themselves that the public is tired of the partisanship and the special interests, and if I’m going to get elected, I’ve got to stand up and say what I believe, face the big issues, hold myself accountable, and maybe you are seeing that"...

Kibaki offers opposition potential power-sharing role in gov't to ease tensions; Scotland Yard team arrives in Pakistan...

5 January :: WSJ reporting "After a week of political stalemate and bloodshed, Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki said Saturday that he was prepared to form a government of national unity with the opposition, easing tensions between the two side and potentially setting the stage for negotiations to end violence that has so far killed at least 300 people and displaced as many as 250,000"... A team of investigators from Britain's Scotland Yard police headquarters arrived yesterday in Pakistan to assist in the probe into the assassination of fmr PM Benazir Bhutto; Pakistan's pres. Pervez Musharraf said the team would assist in forensics but warned against "a wild goose chase" and said their role would not be permitted to interfere with Pakistan's internal politics... According to BBC report, China will see migration of 320 million people —more than the entire current population of the US— from rural areas to its urban centers in coming decades; the mass migration is said to be having environmental impact on "every atom in the Chinese soil", the general diet, the food supply, and potentially agricultural and commodities markets across the world... Le Monde reports indications gathering that US headed for recession in 2008, citing Pres. Bush's caution, pledges to work with Democrats in Congress to shore up economic weak spots, also noting that while only 18,000 jobs were created across the nation in December, unemployment is up to its highest in at least 2 years... French philosopher, writer and feminist Simone de Beauvoir was born 100 years ago, spurring a new round of publications and re-editions of her work, to celebrate her achievement and the significance of her ideas in 20th century society and culture...

Crude oil hits $100/barrel; Justice launches criminal investigation of CIA destruction of videotapes; Pakistan asks UK to head Bhutto investigation...

2 January :: Crude oil prices hit record $100, before falling to $99, amid claims of high demand, violence in oil producing countries, driving prices higher; the rapidly weakening dollar is also considered to be a factor in the rising prices... US Justice Dept. launches criminal probe of CIA destruction of hundreds of hours of videotape, allegedly showing use of harsh or banned interrogation techniques; tapes had been concealed during previous inquiries, Congress also investigating... Pakistan pres. Pervez Musharraf has requested UK's Scotland Yard head investigation into assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto; gov't has also said it will consider exhuming body to perform autopsy, after it was alleged gov't agents threatened doctors attempting to perform autopsy... Pakistan's parliamentary elections, slated for next week, will be postponed till 2nd half of February, with gov't saying security situation has made it impossible to hold free and fair polls... US intelligence officials have said they are not convinced that Pakistan's official explanation of Benazir Bhutto's killing is definitive, call for broader investigation with international assistance... Gray wolves in western US to lose endangered species protected status, meaning ranchers in Wyoming, or surrounding states may feel emboldened to 'cull' at will to prevent further spread of reintroduced species... On eve of Iowa caucuses, WSJ hosting "predictive" market community where users can "trade" on probability of candidates' winning; WSJ reports "On New Year's Eve, markets ranked each of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards at least a 30% chance of winning", while "they have upgraded Mr. Obama's chances of winning (he's now a better than 50-50 bet), while Ms. Clinton is a clear second-favorite, with a just-under one-in-three chance of winning"; there is no clear track-record for this sort of predictive matrix in electoral politics...

Kenyan report shows mysterious 1.3 million vote swing in count; Pakistan officials accused of threatening doctors to stop Bhutto autopsy...

1 January 2008 :: Le Monde has acquired a document that outlines irregularities recorded by observers of the Kenyan presidential poll, appearing to demonstrate fraud amounting to the altering of millions of votes: according to Le Monde, the report shows that opposition leader Raila Odinga led by as much as one million votes, a lead which disappeared in mysterious circumstances in late counting; the document was reportedly presented to the government in advance of the announcement that incumbent president Mwai Kibaki was the official winner... Fighting across the country is reported to be intensifying, with nearly 300 people killed in clashes with police; in one western city, where Odinga's support is particularly strong, reports suggest police fired "indiscriminately" into crowds of civilian demonstrators, killing 40, including women and children; fighting has revealed ethnic rifts in Kenyan society and Maina Kiai, chairman of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights has lamented “We are going back to the days of dictatorship”... Reports from Pakistan show gov't has reversed its position on cause of Bhutto death, now offering reward for two suspects seen in video of shooting; CNN is also reporting that a lawyer for Rawalpindi General Hospital, where Bhutto was treated, says gov't officials threatened doctors who intended to perform an autopsy of Bhutto's body to determine cause of death; in his open letter, he wrote "There is a state within the state, and that state within the state does not want itself to be held accountable", an apparent reference to an alleged cadre of corrupt security officials accused of not wanting a return to democratic rule... An American diplomat was shot and killed in the center of Khartoum, Sudan; US officials are not speaking about the details of the killing, saying the shooting is still under investigation; IHT reports "On Monday, President George W. Bush, who has called the conflict in Darfur a genocide, signed a bill that makes it easier for mutual funds and other investment managers to sell stakes in companies that do business in Sudan"...

Opposition to Musharraf swells in wake of Bhutto killing; Kenya vote spurs violence in opposition to alleged vote-rigging...

31 December :: Reports suggest Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party now seeks to mount firm opposition to Musharraf rule, creating concerns of unrest, political instability as troubled nation seeks return to democratic government; WSJ reports new PPP co-chair Asif Ali Zardari "yesterday repeatedly referred to the Pakistan Muslim League (Q), a party affiliated with Mr. Musharraf that controlled the outgoing government, as the "murderers' league." He also demanded a United Nations commission of inquiry into his wife's death"... Wash. Post reports "The death toll from violent protests rose dramatically Monday in this East African country as police clamped down on ethnically charged riots fueled by allegations of vote-rigging in the presidential election"; leading up to the vote, the incumbent pres. Mwai Kibaki had been heavily criticized for directing an unfair election process, and the results have been in dispute since the votes were cast... GOP worries Dems' voters have more energy for primaries, general election, express concern about ability to organize, raise money effectively throughout 2008...