To the Point
Senate Confirmation: What's the Point?
Judge Sonia Sotomayor appears likely to be confirmed as the first Hispanic on the US Supreme Court. Republican Senators say they won't try to stop her. What did they learn from three days of pointed questions? What did they tell American voters about their own aims and objectives? Also, new bombings target foreigners in Jakarta, and in Iran, a senior cleric fires up political protesters at Friday prayers.
By Warren Olney • • 50m ListenJudge Sonia Sotomayor appears likely to be confirmed as the first Hispanic on the US Supreme Court. Republican Senators say they won't try to stop her. What did they learn from three days of pointed questions? What did they tell American voters about their own aims and objectives? Also, new bombings target foreigners in Jakarta, and a senior religious leader supports political protest as tens of thousands demonstrate on the streets of Tehran.
Banner image: Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor (L) greets Republican Senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina (C) and Jon Kyl of Arizona on the fourth day of confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images
In this episode
3 storiesBombings Target Foreigners in Jakarta
In Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, two suicide bombers attacked the Marriott and Ritz-Carlton Hotels. The attacks were almost simultaneous, killing at least eight people and wounding more than 50. Donald Emmerson is Director of the Southeast Asia Forum at Stanford University and Affiliated Scholar at the Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies.
Read the story8 minSenate Confirmation: What's the Point?
Forget those claims that Judge Sonia Sotomayor is a "racist," a court-room bully or a "liberal judicial activist." Yesterday, Republican Senators called her "cordial," and "reassuring;" one said, "we do admire you and respect what you've accomplished."
Read the story36 minA Critical Rafsanjani Speaks Out in Iran
At Iran's Friday prayer service today, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani delivered the sermon while Basiji militamen fired tear gas and arrested protesters on the streets outside. A former President of Iran and bitter opponent of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in today's sermon Rafsanjani said, "The wise people say they have doubt" about the most recent elections…
Read the story7 min
