Pentagon, CIA check U.S. suspects' bank records
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Pentagon and to a lesser extent the CIA have been using a little-known power to look at the banking and credit records of hundreds of Americans and others suspected of terrorism or espionage within the United States, according to a published report....
The so-called national security letters permit the executive branch to seek records about people in terror and spy investigations without a judge's approval or grand jury subpoena. Government lawyers maintain the legal authority for such tactics is years old and was strengthened by the Patriot Act.
Privacy rights do not exist; excessive "search and seizures" are acceptable; the homeland is secure. There is no end to the attack of the fundamental reasons on which this country was founded. Actually, there is NO outrage. The complacency of the people is based on the majority of us not having anything real in jeopardy. Three-thousand dead service men and women is a small number compared to Vietnam, but Vietnam was at 3,000 dead one day and then it became more... and more... and more... and more...
i wonder if the draft was reinstated, as in vietnam, if it would make a difference? would the outrage start to swell? would young people having to go against thier wishes...? you finish the question...
Bush challenges skeptics over Iraq plan
WASHINGTON - President Bush on Saturday challenged lawmakers skeptical of his new Iraq plan to propose their own strategy for stopping the violence in Baghdad.
"To oppose everything while proposing nothing is irresponsible," Bush said.
Did I miss something? Wasn't there a proposal made back in November? get out! i wouldn't call that nothing...
Surge: US troops prepare for George Bush's Last Stand
Until now the focus of US action in Iraq has been the Sunni insurgency. The new strategy is to take on the Shia militias which, often in official uniforms, have operated death squads and carried out sectarian attacks on Sunnis and, at times, Christians. The main target of the Americans is said to be Muqtada al-Sadr, whose heavily armed Mehdi army is blamed for much of the communal strife. Any action against his fighters in Baghdad may lead to retaliation against British troops in the Shia south. There is also anxiety about the reaction of Iran, which backs the Shia militias.
the above from the British press; their view of the Iraqi situation in a nutshell.
Shia, Sunni, Irani, Syrian - the natives are amassing along fanatical sectarian lines.
sec·tar·i·an (sĕk-târ'ē-ən);
def: narrowly confined or limited in interest, purpose, scope, sect etc.
syn: bigoted, clannish, cliquish, dissident, doctrinaire, dogmatic, factional, fanatic, fanatical, heretical, heterodox, hidebound, insular, limited, local, narrow-minded, nonconforming, nonconformist, parochial, partisan, provincial, rigid, schismatic, skeptical, small-town*, splinter, unorthodox.
And to what will all this lead? Custer's Bluster: Custer's defeat shook the nation. "It's 1876, the 100th anniversary of the battle for independence. It's hugely symbolic and a major shock," says Richard White, a professor of history at Stanford University. "It's impossible for Americans to imagine a warrior culture defeating a modern army." Mysteries of History
what about Vietnam? just asking...
France Polishes Its Politesse
Despite a centuries-old obsession with behaving well, the French are constantly relearning how to do it, and the last few years have witnessed both the degradation of civility and manners and a revival of interest in them.
On one level disrespect for authority is on the rise. Cars are burned and garbage is thrown out of windows in the troubled gritty suburbs. Verbal and physical attacks against teachers in schools are more widespread than they were a few years ago. Commuters are hit, seats are slashed, graffiti is written on Paris Métro cars....
The Ministry of Education has made good citizenship part of the national curriculum in high schools. The Ministry of Transportation designates an annual “day of steering wheel courtesy” to encourage polite behavior on the road.
I tell friends who ask me for advice on getting on while visiting Paris that the French are one of the most polite people on the face of the earth. If you show them polity and respect, and try to speak a little French, they will become your best friend. Sadly, the French have been succombing to American ways in every day society. We are generally not a very polite society. Civility is hard to come by with a mock-war and a mock-president in power who loves to bully. Not very good role modelling. So the French could be onto something here. Maybe, besides training our kids in polity, we need a big refresher course, or Politeness 101, for the adults as well. whatta ya think?
thank you for your time and attention. Au revoir...
Sources: cnn.com, news.yahoo.com, Independent Online, thesauras.reference.com, U.S. News Online, New York Times
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