Withdrawal

A White House official predicted Monday that the weekend shooting of Afghan civilians by an American soldier will not change President Obama's current plans for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. But the president's spokesman also acknowledged that the U.S. and its allies are discussing the timetable for withdrawal and that it will “certainly be a subject of discussion among heads of state at the NATO meeting in Chicago in May.” White House spokesman Jay Carney deplored the killings, but said he doesn't believe it will change plans for withdrawal from the war zone by the end of 2014.

Question: Our cooperative homeowners association has an election for two of seven board members next month. As members we all received ballots recently, which we are instructed can be voted by mail (appropriate envelopes for secret ballot were enclosed) or handed in at the annual meeting. I mailed my ballot, with a vote for a candidate who then announced that he is withdrawing his candidacy. In light of that, I would like to re-vote. The board says that it is probably illegal and not practical to pull my original ballot and give me a new one. Is this fair or correct?

Panicked Soviets besieged savings banks from the Baltics to Siberia today and tried to sell each other wads of rubles after the government announced it was taking big bills out of circulation. President Mikhail S. Gorbachev said in a decree Tuesday night that 50- and 100-ruble bills--worth $90 and $100 at the official rate--will be taken out of circulation within three days and that savings-account withdrawals will be severely limited.

If the dead could speak, they probably wouldn't have been heard over the burst of virtual shouting and howling Walt Disney Co. drew for attempting to trademark "Dia de los Muertos" -- a bid it has since dropped. The company filed 10 applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for “Dia de los Muertos,” including applications pertaining to toys, cereals and jewelry. The May 1 filings came in anticipation of an untitled movie about the Mexican holiday, known in English as Day of the Dead.

President Obama said Tuesday that the United States must "responsibly" wind down the war in Afghanistan but did not rule out stepping up the pace of the withdrawal as anti-American sentiment in the country flares. Obama vowed justice for the victims of a shooting spree by an American soldier in southern Afghanistan, saying his administration will "spare no effort" in conducting a full investigation and following the facts "wherever they lead us. " As he prepares to host British Prime Minister David Cameron beginning later Tuesday, Obama said the two of them will "consult about the way forward" in Afghanistan.

At least, maybe for a short while we won't have to listen to the conservatives whining about the so-called "Liberal Press." RICHARD J. POWERS Leucadia

The shutters clicked and the cameras whirred as the world's top leaders landed in the Italian countryside and lighted up the earthquake-ravaged town of L'Aquila with the highest-wattage star power the place has ever seen. But the big buzz Wednesday didn't revolve around who showed up for this week's G-8 summit. It was about who hadn't.

The Mexican government's decision to withdraw the sale of its petrochemical industry and its railroad holdings ("Canceled Oil Sale May Deter Investors," Oct. 15) has, according to international authorities, a common nexus: their grossly inflated asking price. In the opinion of potential buyers, to bring these corporations up to international competitive standards would require huge investments. Such investments would be prohibitive in light of the asking price. In order to diminish the impact of this embarrassing decision, the Mexican government has taken a face-saving escape by claiming that this withdrawal was based on "popular demand."

How do Southern California dieters feel about the withdrawal of fenfluramine (Pondimin) and dexfenfluramine (Redux)? What's next for them, in terms of health checkups and weight management? Here, the thoughts of a handful: * "I'm upset," says Larry McCray, 51, of Reseda, a professional driver for the studios. "It was a good thing for me. I've lost 40 pounds and I've only been on the program for six weeks. I have 160 pounds to go. I probably won't get an echo[cardiogram].

Deadlines concentrate the mind. Without a little extra incentive and pressure, sometimes nothing gets done. It is a deadline that lies at the heart of one of the most controversial foreign policy decisions that President Obama has made. His announced timeline for withdrawal from Afghanistan has drawn fire from many quarters. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and others have argued that by making U.S. plans clear, the president is sending the wrong message to the Taliban and complicating efforts to defeat it. Announcing "dates certain" for withdrawal, according to this view, is political, not strategic.

WASHINGTON -- Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's comeback try encountered severe turbulence Wednesday when the National Republican Congressional Committee withdrew its financial support less than three weeks before a special election for his former House seat. The action by the GOP's campaign arm came one day after a damaging allegation by Sanford's ex-wife came to light. It accused him of a pattern of trespassing at her house in violation of their 2010 divorce decree. “ Mark Sanford has proven he knows what it takes to win elections,” said Andrea Bozek, NRCC communications director, in a statement.

CAIRO -- The judge in the murder retrial of Hosni Mubarak abruptly withdrew from the case Saturday, sending the matter to another court and delaying the deposed president's fate over the actions of his police and army during the 2011 Egyptian revolution. Wheeled into the defendant's cage on a stretcher, Mubarak looked more robust than in past court sessions. He smiled and waved to supporters on hand at the trial for complicity in the killing of more than 850 protesters, a case that has become an irritating sideshow to the nation's troubled democratic transition and deepening economic turmoil.

TERRELL, Texas -- A federal prosecutor has withdrawn from a sweeping racketeering case against a white supremacist gang for "security reasons," a defense attorney told the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday. Assistant U.S. Atty. Jay Hileman announced his withdrawal from a racketeering case involving the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas on Tuesday in an email to defense lawyers, Houston attorney Richard O. Ely II told The Times. Investigators have scrutinized the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas in recent days after two Kaufman County prosecutors were killed in attacks that followed their office's assistance in a major federal indictment against 34 alleged leaders and members of the gang in November.

A second major donor to the $1.1-million Christopher Dorner reward has withdrawn its pledge. Directors of the 64,000-member Peace Officers Research Assn. of California voted overwhelmingly to withdraw the association's $50,000 commitment, said Ron Cottingham, the union's president. The move comes on the heels of a similar decision this week by elected officials in Riverside, who opted to take back the city's $100,000 pledge to the Dorner reward. Riverside's action generated criticism.

The city of Riverside became the first entity to publicly rescind its reward offer for fugitive ex-cop Christopher Dorner, saying its $100,000 bounty won't be paid out because there was no arrest and conviction. The Riverside City Council passed a resolution during the 10-day rampage attributed to Dorner offering $100,000 for information leading to his "arrest and conviction," according to Riverside city spokeswoman Cindie Perry. But "because the conditions were not met, there will not be a payment of a reward by the city," Perry wrote in an email Monday night.

BEIRUT -- The United Nations said Monday that it is temporarily withdrawing some of its international staff from Syria because of deteriorating security conditions, especially in the capital, Damascus, where rebel mortar attacks have escalated in recent days. Central Damascus came under heavy mortar fire Sunday and some shells fell on the grounds of the hotel housing U.N. personnel, Martin Nesirky, a spokesman for the world body, told reporters in New York. The shells damaged several cars, including one U.N. vehicle, the spokesman said.

Dear Liz: After working all out for 28 years in a small business, I have put away $2.6 million in stocks, bonds and some cash. (I am a reasonably smart investor.) I'm 58 and want to be done at 60. I'm not tired of my business, just tired of working. How much do you think I could draw out and not get myself into trouble? I'm in great health, so I could last 30 more years. Our house is paid off, and my wife gets about $40,000 a year from a nice pension. Any ideas? Answer: Financial planners typically recommend an initial withdrawal rate of 3% to 4% of your portfolio.

On the outskirts of this former insurgent stronghold, Munir Ibrahim Ismail and his family have taken up residence in an American military latrine. They picked up the trailer full of toilets at a junkyard for about $5,000 — less than it would have cost them to build a real house — and set to work. They tore out the toilet bowls and scrubbed the trailer for days with disinfectant. They ripped off tiles, poured a concrete floor and added a window. They erected a divider to create two rooms and tacked on a concrete kitchen at the back.

WASHINGTON - Former New York state attorney Caitlin Halligan, President Obama's choice for the U.S. Court of Appeals here, withdrew her name Friday, defeated by the Republican minority in the Senate. Halligan's withdrawal is the latest example of how the GOP has employed the filibuster rule not only to block major legislation, but routine presidential appointments as well. The D.C. Circuit decides significant challenges to federal regulations, including those on environmental protection and worker's rights.

New York lawyer Caitlin Halligan, who was first nominated to the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., almost 2 1/2 years ago, has asked President Obama to withdraw her nomination. As The Times noted in an editorial today, Halligan was the victim of a Republican filibuster in which all but one of the GOP senators voting refused to cut off debate on her nomination. Had the nomination proceeded to a floor vote, she almost certainly would have been confirmed. Liberals and Democrats will decry the sandbagging of Halligan, who was accused by Republicans of extremism because she once filed suit against gun manufacturers.