News (Page 2) -- July 13, 2006

Israel On The Offensive - "The Israeli government, like any other, has the right and indeed the duty to protect its people, but not at the high expense of the Palestinians, whose government's credibility also rests on defending its people. The use of military force to scare and overawe a civilian population for political ends--in this case, to pressure the Palestinian Authority or undermine the Hamas government--is the very definition of state terrorism."

On Iran, Giving Futility Its Chance - "Let's imagine, and this is purely hypothetical, that President Bush has already decided that he will not leave office in January 2009 without a satisfactory resolution of the Iranian nuclear problem. Let's imagine that he has already determined that if he cannot obtain Iran's agreement to dismantle its nuclear weapons program voluntarily and verifiably, then he will order some form of military action to destroy as much of that program as possible before he leaves. Let's imagine that he has resolved not to end his two terms in office the way Bill Clinton ended his, by leaving every major international crisis -- from Iraq to Iran to North Korea to al-Qaeda -- for his successor. Let's say, just for the sake of argument, that Bush had made such a decision. What would he be doing right now? The answer is that he might be doing exactly what he is doing."

Kagan on Iran - "Kagan is essentially saying that the current diplomatic process we're going through with Iran is a necessary precursor to any military action, not necessarily a step backwards from such action, and that it's entirely possible that Bush still intends on military action but realizes he must endure this process to get to that point. Now you can take that in one of two ways. As an Iran war hawk you can tell yourself "Oh well then things aren't so bad. We're just doing this to show the world we tried, before we bomb the hell out of Iran for not cooperating anyway." Or as a opponent to war against Iran you can say "Well, we have to engage in the diplomatic process because it's the right thing to do, and if it fails, well then we'll have established our credibility and we'll have no choice anyway, so okay." So he's cleverly reassuring both sides? I'm not sure. Read for yourself and see what you think." -- These comments refer to the previous story.

Why Don't You Have Another Glass Of Kool-Aid, Mr. Bradbury? - "George Bush is not a great leader. Anyone with half a brain and a yardstick sould tell you he's not even a good leader. He doesn't have to be one because he has something else: good followers."

The US Pro-Atrocity Crowd: Those For Whom Nothing Is Forbidden - "When leaders tolerate torture, kidnapping, and lawlessness, when they desecrate the US Constitution through their arrogance and black-heartedness, it is hardly a surprise when underlings follow their lead."

Black Sea Fleet May Move to Syria - "Russia may be planning to move its Black Sea Fleet to the Syrian port of Tarsus."

Valerie Plame Wilson and Joseph Wilson to sue Cheney, Rove, and Libby - "Valerie Plame Wilson, Ambassador Joseph Wilson and their counsel, Christopher Wolf of Proskauer Rose LLP, will hold a news conference at 10 AM EDT on Friday, July 14 at 10:00 AM at the National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor, Washington, DC 20045, to announce the filing of a civil lawsuit against I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice-President Richard Cheney and Karl Rove."

Imagine a world without Israel - "Muslims, Jews, and Christians could live in peace without fear of mutual destruction. ... Palestinians and Jews could live together and the world could address other issues. What a simpler place this world would be if there was no need for a Jewish majority - where there would otherwise be none. Is it so hard to imagine?"

Voting Is Like Baseball - "If you ever want a lesson in tortured logic, check out this defense of the Electoral College. ... The Electoral College "ensures that the new president is a good American president" rather than one "who primarily represent[s] isolated regions, states, or special-interest groups." Special interest groups? If any group has enough votes to elect a president in a popular election, it's no longer a special interest group — it's a majority. The same goes for any given region or state — which, of course, is silly, but so is Ross' argument."

Voting Rights Are So 1960s - "The Republican Party is played out. They have failed on such a grand scale, if this was any other country, their Party would be done for good. They have proved that they have no new ideas and their old bag of tricks, including trickle down economics, imperial wars, deregulation and the upward redistribution of wealth, have had the same effect they always did, the rich get richer and the poor, working and middle class get screwed. At least Republicans are still predictable."

Chicken lays mystery Allah egg - "A chicken in a Kazakh village has laid an egg with the word "Allah" inscribed on its shell, state media reported Thursday."

San Diego Bans Smoking at Beaches, Parks - "Worried about the health effects of secondhand smoke and sick of cleaning up discarded cigarettes, San Diego has banned smoking at its beaches and parks. The city joins nearly 2,300 other municipalities across the nation that have barred smoking in a variety of public places."