Armaments: In Oslo this morning, a hundred countries - including Switzerland - affixed their signature to a Convention that prohibits cluster munitions. A major landmark for humanitarian law.

    This was the result of an extraordinary mobilization of state and non-state actors. In Oslo's City Hall this morning, at 10 o'clock on the dot, over 100 countries signed the Cluster Munitions Convention. Notably absent were producers, such as the United States, Russia, China, Pakistan and even Israel.

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    Naomi Klein and the new new left.

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    Washington - On the eve of congressional hearings, union leaders agreed to concessions on Wednesday, removing a roadblock to a proposed rescue of the U.S. auto industry as Congress weighs whether to give carmakers $34 billion in emergency aid or allow them to face bankruptcy.

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    President-elect Barack Obama named Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico as his choice for secretary of commerce on Wednesday, pointedly denying that the job was a "consolation prize" for the two-time cabinet officer who had been considered a candidate for secretary of state.

    "Commerce secretary is a pretty good job," Mr. Obama said, after being asked by a Hispanic reporter about the appointment of Mr. Richardson to a post not considered among the cabinet's more prestigious or influential.

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    New Delhi - The leader of India's main opposition party urged the government to "avenge the repeated terror attacks" and hit back at arch-rival Pakistan, the Press Trust of India said on Thursday.

    Speaking a week after coordinated [attacks by] Islamic militants in Mumbai -- which India has blamed on a Pakistan-based group -- Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Rajnath Singh said patience had run out.

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Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates (center) shakes hands with a reporter outside Saddam Hussein's Al Faw palace during an Iraqi visit in September of 2008. (Photo: Jerry Morrison / AP)

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    Fort Riley, Kansas - Sgt. Ryan Nyhus spent 14 months patrolling the deadly streets of Baghdad, where five members of his platoon were shot and one died. As bad as that was, he would rather go back there than take his chances in this brutal job market.

    Nyhus re-enlisted last Wednesday, and in so doing joined the growing ranks of those choosing to stay in the U.S. military because of the bleak economy.

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    Our preoccupation with the immediate crisis of financial capital is causing us to overlook the bigger crisis in America's human capital. While we commit hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars to Wall Street, we're slashing our outlays for public education.

    Education is largely funded by state and local governments whose revenues are plummeting. As consumers cut back, state sales and income taxes are shrinking; three quarters of the states are already facing budget crises.

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    Government unions yesterday criticized a White House executive order that bars certain workers at five federal departments from joining a union because they are engaged in intelligence gathering, investigations and other national security work.

    Offices covered by the order employ about 8,600 people within the Energy, Homeland Security, Justice, Transportation and Treasury departments.

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    As members of Congress who are active in education policy, we write to strongly urge the Treasury and Federal Reserve to include consumer protections in their plan to use taxpayer dollars to buy student loan securities. We strongly support ensuring that students have the money they need to attend institutions of higher education. However, we must make certain that any such plan aids students and doesn't simply line the pockets of for-profit lenders.

    Most students and families use federal loans to pay for college.

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