News -- November 22, 2006

Trapped in Lies and Delusions - "Hanging over the Iraq debacle, however, is that one overriding moral issue that unfortunately all too many Americans have yet to confront: neither the Iraqi people nor their government ever attacked the United States or even threatened to do so. That means that in this conflict, which has killed more than 600,000 Iraqis, the United States is the aggressor nation and Iraq is the defending nation. Why is that issue so important? Because it involves morality, not pragmatics. Do U.S. troops have the moral right to be killing people, when they are part of a military force that has aggressed against another country? Do they have the moral right to kill people who have done nothing worse than defend their nation from attack or attempt to oust an occupier from their midst? Does simply calling an action “war” excuse an aggressor nation from the moral consequences of killing people in that war? In other words, does the United States have the moral right to violate the principles against aggressive war, for which it prosecuted Germany at Nuremberg and condemned the Soviet Union in Afghanistan?"

Pentagon cites alternative to Baker report - "The Pentagon is drafting its own new options for winning in Iraq, in part, to give President Bush counterproposals to fall back on in case the Iraq Study Group comes up with ideas he does not like, defense officials say."

U.N.: October bloodiest month yet for Iraqi civilians - "The United Nations said Wednesday that 3,709 Iraqi civilians were killed in October, the highest monthly toll since the March 2003 U.S. invasion and another sign of the severity of Iraq's sectarian bloodbath." -- How has life been improved for the Iraqi people?

U.S. Considers Raising Troop Levels in Iraq - "The idea, dubbed the “surge option” by some officials, would involve increasing American forces by 20,000 troops or more for several months in the hope of improving security, especially in Baghdad. That would mark a sharp rise over the current baseline of 144,000 troops."

The Draft: No Solution to Social Inequality - "Progressives are drawn to Charlie Rangel's call for a draft, but a draft only inducts people. Class determines what job they will be assigned once they are in the military and, often, how happy they will be."

Missing presumed tortured - "More than 7,000 prisoners have been captured in America's war on terror. Just 700 ended up in Guantanamo Bay. Between extraordinary rendition to foreign jails and disappearance into the CIA's "black sites", what happened to the rest?"

'War on terror' could last 30 years or more - "The fight against terrorism could last 30 years or more, according to a report published by a British think tank that specialises in international security." -- As long as one group of people oppresses another group of people, then there will be terrorism.

Bush's Only Real Victory - "George Orwell warned us, but what American would have expected that in the opening years of the 21st century the United States would become a country in which lies and deception by the president and vice president were the basis for a foreign policy of war and aggression, and in which indefinite detention without charges, torture, and spying on citizens without warrants have displaced the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution? If anyone had predicted that the election of George W. Bush to the presidency would result in an American police state and illegal wars of aggression, he would have been dismissed as a lunatic. ... Once we cut down civil liberty so that police may better pursue criminals and terrorists, where do we stand when government turns on us? This is the famous question asked by Sir Thomas More in the play A Man for All Seasons. The answer is that we stand naked, unprotected by law. It is an act of the utmost ignorance and stupidity to assume that only criminals and terrorists will stand unprotected."

What about Cheney? - "In the days since President George W. Bush fired Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, one figure is eerily missing from public view and public accounts of what occurred: Vice President Dick Cheney. As usual, America's de facto prime minister is either literally or metaphorically in an undisclosed location."

10 lessons from the toilet presidency of George W. Bush - "3. Once upon a time, we had political representatives who spoke for our values and truths, but there's more spine in the back of a book than in the DLC (Democratic Leadership Council). In short, WE ARE ON OUR OWN. Practically speaking, this is the most important lesson of all, because so long as we assume we have political advocates, we won't take responsibility for saving our children and country."

UK Admits Israel Has Nuclear Weapons - "Former British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has become the first member of the British cabinet to go on public record and formally admit that the Zionist regime has an arsenal of nuclear weapons."

The Gewalt agenda - "On his way home from Los Angeles, the prime minister "calmed" the reporters - and perhaps even himself - by saying there is no danger of U.S. President George W. Bush accepting the expected recommendations of the Baker-Hamilton panel, and attempting to move Syria out of the axis of evil and into a coalition to extricate America from Iraq. The prime minister hopes the Jewish lobby can rally a Democratic majority in the new Congress to counter any diversion from the status quo on the Palestinians."

Military Data Reveal Tips on Antiwar Activities - "An antiterrorist database used by the Defense Department in an effort to prevent attacks against military installations included intelligence tips about antiwar planning meetings held at churches, libraries, college campuses and other locations, newly disclosed documents show."

Report Finds DHS Lax on Contracting Procedures - "Report finds officials neglected records as they spent billions after Sept. 11 attacks, often on security systems that did not work as planned."

Tancredo: McCain, Giuliani would be disastrous for GOP - ""Both of those individuals, of course, would be disastrous for us for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is their position on immigration, which is to open the border," Tancredo told WND in an exclusive interview. "I will do everything I can – whether I'm a candidate for president or just as a member of Congress – I will do everything I can to make sure those two names are not the only options that people have.""

U.S. to Require Passports for Nearly All - "Nearly all air travelers entering the U.S. will be required to show passports beginning Jan. 23, including returning Americans and people from Canada and other nations in the Western Hemisphere. The date was disclosed Tuesday by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff in an interview with The Associated Press. The Homeland Security Department plans to announce the change on Wednesday."



Stubbornly pursuing a course that is destroying the planet - "Because of this fundamental shift, almost everything is different now than it was 50 years ago. But our institutions, our language, and our mental tools have not changed. As a result, we are stubbornly pursuing a course that is wrecking the future.Let's review some features of our new world:"

U. S. Technology Czar Says More IT Workers Needed - ""The IT work force is not skilled enough and almost never can be skilled enough," said Robert Cresanti, undersecretary of commerce for technology, in an exclusive interview with eWEEK editors. "There are not enough engineers with the appropriate skill sets." Cresanti said U.S. colleges and universities are not enrolling enough engineering students, resulting in a dearth of information technology professionals. In addition to boosting engineering enrollment, he urged opening the gates to more foreign workers, including H-1B holders. "Without H-1B visas, we would have economic dislocation," Cresanti said."

How To: Foil Wiretaps at Home - "Think the Feds might be jacked into your home line? Well, there’s no need to skulk down to the corner pay phone to conduct your business. All you need is a C note. University of Pennsylvania computer science professor Matt Blaze ­dissected the wiretap equipment commonly used by law enforcement and found a few, um, bugs. Spies, it turns out, don’t like to record dead air, so they turn the system off by playing a special C-pitched tone when the target phone is hung up. As a result, anyone with an MP3 player and a recorded C can prevent eavesdroppers from snooping on their private chatter. It doesn’t work with all listening devices, though, so there’s no guarantee the NSA won’t come calling."

37 Percent of U.S. Births Out of Wedlock - "Out-of-wedlock births in the United States have climbed to an all-time high, accounting for nearly four in 10 babies born last year, government health officials said Tuesday. While out-of-wedlock births have long been associated with teen mothers, the teen birth rate actually dropped last year to the lowest level on record. Instead, births among unwed mothers rose most dramatically among women in their 20s. The overall rise reflects the burgeoning number of people who are putting off marriage or living together without getting married."

No Grades, No Tests At 'Free School' - ""Free schools," which had their heyday decades ago, operate on the belief that children are naturally curious and learn best when they want to, not when forced to. Today, the approach is getting another look from some parents and students tired of standardized testing, excessive homework, and overly rigid curriculums in regular schools."

Higher grades challenge college application process - "Some call the phenomenon that Zalasky's fighting "grade inflation" -- implying the boost is undeserved. Others say students are truly earning their better marks. Regardless, it's a trend that's been building for years and may only be accelerating: Many students are getting very good grades. So many, in fact, it is getting harder and harder for colleges to use grades as a measuring stick for applicants. Extra credit for AP courses, parental lobbying and genuine hard work by the most competitive students have combined to shatter any semblance of a Bell curve, one in which 'A's are reserved only for the very best. For example, of the 47,317 applications the University of California, Los Angeles, received for this fall's freshman class, nearly 21,000 had GPAs of 4.0 or above."




Quote of the Day
"On September 11th, I sat in numb horror as the images of carnage unfolded before me on the television. On that day, I was the victim of terrorism, along with every other American. Today, I sit in numbed horror as more carnage unfolds. Hundreds of massive missiles have rained down on a city far away, killing indiscriminately among the young, the infirm, the old and the innocent. My government did this. My nation did this. My leaders did this. Today, I am the terrorist. So are you."
~ William River Pitt