THE FLASHLIGHT, Sept. 23-29, 2006

THE FLASHLIGHT, September 23-29, 2006

Iraq

NYTimes 9-24, A portion of the National Intelligence estimate of April, 2006 was leaked to the press, revealing that in the opinion of US intelligence professionals the Iraq War, far from discouraging terrorism, has stimulating and increased it. It has aided the growth of a new generation of Islamic radicals world wide.

CNN 9-24. Gen. Peter Schoomacher, head of the Army, saying that men and equipment are wearing out and that many billions more must be sent to replace them, refused to sign off on the Army budget. Five hundred billion dollars has been spent already, and counting.

[Michael Ware, an Australian, is the chief correspondent for CNN on the ground in Iraq. When he is on camera, watch his eyes. This man is seeing horrible sights every day and he looks continually horrified.] 9-28 He warned that the hope of help from Iraqi security forces is a “mirage.” They are part of the problem, not its solution.

CNN 9-28. Al Qaida in Iraq announced that 4000 jihadis from abroad had died in Iraq so far.

In his new book, State of Denial, Bob Woodward of the Washington Post said that American forces in Iraq are being attacked on average once every fifteen minutes. The situation is worse and will probably get even worse in 2007. He says the Bush Administration is resorting to secrecy by classifying the bad news and denying it in public.

A majority (about two-thirds) of Iraqis want the US to withdraw from Iraqi right away. So does about the same proportion of Americans.

Since the war began, 515 Americans working for private contractors have been killed in Iraq.

CNN 9-29. The Woodward book also says that the White House now is divided and dysfunctional on the issue of the Iraq War. Rumsfeld is so hostile to Condoleeza Rice that the President had to instruct him to answer her calls. There is also a deep division between Rumsfeld and Colin Powell.

US News

Detainee Legislation

This week was spent debating new legislation in the Senate for the interrogation and trial of illegal enemy combatants. The Supreme Court has ruled that the current practices are unconstitutional. Although a group of Senators, led by John McCain, demanded major reforms, the compromise with the Administration was disappointing to Democrats, many Republicans, and the liberal press. Several commentators on CNN and PBS said that the new legislation would also be declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. The issues will have to be reconsidered by Congress. One commentator said that the results of this week of debate marked a low point in American democracy.

NYTimes 9-28. Objections to the new legislation:
1. The President can label even a legal resident of the US as an “enemy combatant,” who can be arrested and detained indefinitely with no appeal.
2. Torture. The President can decide in secret which “abusive interrogation methods” are permissible. “Coerced” evidence is acceptable if a US judge says so.
3. Habeas corpus (first recognized in 1215 in the Magna Carta) is abrogated: detainees have no right to challenge their imprisonment.
4. Protests against secret evidence are restricted.

NYTimes 9-29 Thirty two Democratic Senators, including all Presidential hopefuls, voted against this legislation. Sen. Lieberman voted for it. This was the last act of Congress before adjournng to campaign for reelection in November.

Report on the FDA

The Institute of Medicine of the US Academy of Sciences has completed a sharply critical report on the Federal Drug Administration. It said that consumers should be wary of recently approved drugs.
The report called the culture of the FDA “dysfunctional,” since the organization is rife with internal squabbles and hobbled by under-financing, poor management, and outdated regulations.

It recommended that new drugs during their first two years on the market should display a safety warning and advertisements for them should be restricted.

Senate Races

NYTimes 9-28. Democrats are now somewhat hopeful of taking over the Senate as well as the House. Lieberman is leading Lamont by 10 points in Connecticut but in Pennsylvania Democrat Bob Casey is leading Rick Santorum by 10 points, and Democrats DeWine in Ohio and Cardin in Maryland are leading their opponents. In Virginia the race between Republican George Allen and Democrat Jim Webb is close.

Cnn 9-29. Democratic hopes are rising because of rising support for them in the suburbs. In addition, another House seat has suddenly opened up: Rep. Mark Foley of Florida (R.) has resigned because he sent emails to a sixteen year old former pageboy that were “sick, sick, sick.” The boy forwarded the emails to a “Congressional source.”

California

In California Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger now has a double digit lead over his Democratic opponent, Phil Angelides. This is because he has supported raising the minimum wage to $8.00 an hour, new legislation to curb greenhouse gas emissions, and is friendly to gays. Angelides is trying to tie Schwarzenegger to Bush in public perception.

Florida

In Florida the main issue in the gubernatorial race is the increase in hurricane insurance from $1300 a year to $4700 a year.

[This increase is rational not only for the insurance companies but the public interest, since global warming is going to raise the sea level and produce more intense hurricanes. People should be discouraged from living in high risk areas of Florida. ]

The Flashlight, September 16-22, 2006

THE FLASHLIGHT, Sept. 16-22, 2006

This was a week of negotiating in the Senate and the UN, but few decisions have been announced.

The World

CNN, 9-21. Richard Branson, British entrepreneur, announced that he is giving three billion dollars to fight global warming.

The Middle East

Iraq
PBS 9-19. The Iraq Study Group, headed by former Secretary of State James Baker (R) and 9-11 Commission Co-Chair Lee Hamilton (D)
has been working on an exit plan for US troops from Iraq which they will announce after the November election.
Gen. Abizaid said that there are now 147,000 US troops in Iraq and they will remain there at least until next spring.
According to the UN 6600 Iraqis died in sectarian attacks during July-August. Since January 20,000 have died.
CNN 9-20. The influence of al-Qaida is increasing in Iraq. The organization is trying to establish a mini-state in Anbar Province in western Iraq, where the population is mainly Sunni. Sunnis fear the Shia led Iraqi government and the Shia militant death squads
CNN 9-21. Iraqis are now dying at the rate of about 100 per day.

Israeli-Palestine Conflict
An-Nahar (Beirut). Pres. Bush met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in New York and called for a two-state solution. He also urged the Israelis to pay the Palestinians the $500 million dollars in taxes and customs dues which rightfully belong to them (the Palestinians).

Pakistan
CNN, 9-21. President Musharraf said that after 9-11 the Bush Administration threatened to bomb Pakistan if it did not cooperate with the US in fighting al-Qaida.

Lebanon
In an open air rally of 500,000 people in Beirut, Hassan Nasrallah, head of Hizbollah, said that his organization has more than 20,000 rockets and that it is stronger than it was before the war with Israel on July 12.

US News

Politics. CNN 9-11. In the Senate race in Virginia, George Allen (R) and James Webb (D) are in a close race. It was recently revealed that the mother of Sen. Allen is a Jew who kept it secret from her son. This makes for soap opera, but its political effect is unknown.

Sen. Barack Obama is moving about prominently in Iowa and is mentioned as a possible Democratic Presidential candidate.

L. A. Times 9-21. The State of California is sueing six automobile firms for producing cars with high CO2 emissions that contribute to global warming. The firms are: G.M., Ford, Daimler-Chrysler, Honda, Toyota, and Nissan. The state claims damage to its environment, economy, and the health of its citizens. This kind of suit is unprecedented.

Washington Post 9-22. All 400 people on the Forbes list of the wealthiest individuals are now billionaires.

The Flashlight, September 8-15, 2006

THE FLASHLIGHT, September 8 – 15, 2006

WORLD NEWS

Global Warming. A special issue of The Economist , 9-9, contained an
excellent article on global warming, pp. 23-30. It summarized the dangers of global warming thus: 1) a shutdown of the Gulf Stream, which would chill much of Europe. 2) a rise in the sea level, which would flood coastal cities and densely inhabited lowlands. 3) an increase in the intensity of hurricanes.
Climatologists warn against government subsidy of property insurance in Florida and elsewhere, because it encourages building too near the coast with the risk of loss from hurricanes. Without government subsidy, the cost of insurance to homeowners in threatened areas would rise steeply, discouraging building and repairs in those areas.
Some US evangelical leaders have spoken out about the dangers of global warming, but many of their followers are unresponsive. This is because of the widespread belief among them that hurricanes are deliberate acts of God. Some 33% of evangelicals hold this belief, 13% of non-evangelical Protestants, 15% of Catholics, and 17% of the unreligious.
The Economist article identified two priorities in the limitation of global warming: 1) stop burning coal, which causes 24.5% of the problem and 2) stop deforestation, which causes 18% of the problem.

World Religions. The NYTimes 9-16. On 9-12 in a speech in Regensberg, Germany Pope Benedict XVI offended many Muslims by quoting the following passage from the writing of a Byzantine (Christian) Emperor Manuel II Paleologus in 1391:
“Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”
The Pope did not agree or disagree with the quote but he said that “violence in the name of religion is contrary to God’s nature and reason.”
He suggested reason as the basis of dialog between cultures and religions.

The Middle East

PBS 9-8. Afghanistan.—There has been a upsurge of violence here, with the introduction of suicide bombing. This may be related to the fact that there was a bumper crop of opium this year. Afghanistan produces more than 90% of the world’s opium. [The consequent rise in opium income enables the Taliban to rearm and enlist more followers. ] NAT0 forces in the southeast are calling for reinforcements.

Haaretz 9-9. Iran. On a tour of the US former Iranian President Muhammad Khatami condemned the September 11 attacks on the US as an atrocity. He said suicide bombers did Islam an injustice and that they would not go to Heaven. He said that the killing of civilians was a crime and contrary to Islam. He regretted the taking of American diplomats hostage in Iran. He affirmed the existence of the Holocaust as a historical fact. These views are opposed to those of the current President of Iran.

The Economist 9-9. In Palestine, visitor Gerry Adams, MP said that suicide bombing had no “legitimacy” and that the Palestinians should use non-violence.
The Guardian 9-11. The two leading Palestinian parties (PLO and Hamas) have agreed on a unity government. Hamas has still not recognized the State of Israel, but it may do so de facto without backing down openly.

Washington Post 9-11. Iraq. The chief of Marine intelligence in Anbar Province said that the province could not be secured without reinforcements. The American military cannot extend the perimeters of their bases there.
Post 9-13. The Battle for Baghdad is very bloody, with over a hundred mutilated corpses found in a day. It has top priority both for the US and al-Qaida.
PBS 9-13. The Iraq War is costing US taxpayers one billion dollars a week.
PBS 9-15. David Brooks commented that many Republican politicians are saying in private that the Iraq War is now irreparably lost.


US News

NYTimes 9-9. The report of the Senate Intelligence Committee found that the CIA had found no Iink between Saddam Hussein and the late Musa al-Zarqawi, the al-Qaida leader in Iraq.

US Health. CBS 9-10. Of the first responders to the disasters on 9-11, two-thirds now have lung and cancer damage from the toxic dust.

PBS 9-12. A study of US citizens ages 18-64 found that the principal limitations on life expectancy were chronic diseases caused by unhealthy behavior: smoking, drinking, and obesity. These behaviors also have lethal side effects like drunk driving. Asian females live on average 21 years longer than urban black males.

. US Politics. CBS 9-10. Senator John Rockefeller of West Virginia suggested that Iraq might have been better off if Saddam Hussein had remained in power.

CNN 9-14. Torture and Fair Trials. The Senate Armed Forces Committee considered a bill proposed by the White House that would allow CIA interrogators to use “alternate” methods of interrogation not permitted by the Geneva Convention, Art. 3. Senators McCain, Warner, and Graham – all Republicans, with the support of retired Gen. Colin Powell, proposed an alternative bill that would requires all Americans, including CIA interrogators, to obey Art. 3, which forbids “all outrages to human dignity.” Further, it would require that persons accused of terrorism would have access to all evidence against them. The alternative bill was strongly supported by the Military. It passed the committee 15-9, defeating the White House version. Democrats are expected to support the McCain group.

CNN 9-14. Gays in the Military. More than 60% of Americans now favor the open participation of gays in the military, ending the “don’t ask, don’t tell” rule.

PBS 9-15. Cutbacks at Ford Motor Company. Ford lost 1.44 billion dollars in the first half of 2006, and the new management is cutting back costs. By 2008 sixteen plants will be closed. Early retirement buyouts will be offered to 75,000 employees, and 10,000 salaried employees will be laid off. Michigan, especially in Detroit and the southeast, has the highest unemployment rate in the US. Other automobile jobs are available in the US, but they are non-union and have lower pay.

SCIENCE

The Economist, 9-9. New hope for the overweight: A human hormone, peptide YY, can reduce appetite. It is stimulated by high protein intake, which explains the success of the Atkins Diet. But high protein intake involves risks of heart disease, kidney disease, and diabetes. Now drug companies are working on the production of peptide YY by other means.

PBS 9-15. A new mechanism for preventing vehicle rollovers is now being installed in new cars. It is called electronic stability control. It is hoped that this will do more than airbags to prevent vehicle fatalities, especially of SUVs

Obituary. Ann Richards, humorous former Governor of Texas, died at 73 of esophageal cancer.

The best introductory sentence of the week, from The Economist, 9-9, p. 52, from the article “Lake Baikal – Still Blue.”
“Lake Baikal,” explains the six-fingered shaman, sitting beneath a statue of Lenin in the center of Irkutsk, “contains many gods.”

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THE FLASHLIGHT, September 2-8, 2006

THE FLASHLIGHT, September 2 –8, 2006

The Middle East

The Times of London, 9-4. Israel is now drawing up plans for a full-scale war against Iran. Iran now has the missile capacity to attack Tel Aviv.
` The Guardian (UK), 9-4. Gerry Adams, leader of the Sinn Fein and Member of Parliament from West Belfast, plans to meet Hamas representatives and lend his support to the search for peace with Israel. Both the White House and the Israelis oppose this visit.

Ha’aretz, 9-4. The United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and other countries refuse to allow El Al [Israel Airlines] planes carrying cargo for the Israel Defense Force to land on their territory.

NY Times 9-5. Over the pro forma objections of the U.S., the Olmert government of Israel approved the building of another 690 settlements on the West Bank. This is the largest settlement undertaking of the Israeli government, and a reversal of their previous policy. Europeans and other nations object to such settlements on the ground that they are illegal, since the West Bank was seized by force in 1967. The US opposes them on the ground they make a final agreement with the Palestinians more difficult.

CNN. 9-8. With the arrival of Italian naval ships, Israeli lifted its air and sea blockade of Lebanon.

Iraq

NY Times 9-1. Iraqi casualties are up 51% since spring. Deaths are running at c. 1000 per month.

Afghanistan

CNN 9-7. The Taliban is resurgent in the south. NATO forces have called for reinforcements, saying that they confront a “hornets’ nest.” Pakistan has been tolerant of the Taliban.

Japan

Google News 9-5. Japan’s Princess Kiko, 39, gave birth to a boy. She is married to Akishino, younger son of the present emperor. The wife of the crown prince has given birth to a daughter only, who, under present law, cannot inherit the throne. The baby boy is now in line to inherit it.

US News

NYTimes 9-3. Outside of the White House Rove’s popularity among Republicans has waned. Iraq and immigration are divisive issues. Rove themes: terrorism and turnout.

Washington Post 9-3. More Republican districts are counted as vulnerable. In New York, Hilary Clinton (candidate for the Senate) and Eliot Spitzer (candidate for Governor) are expected to roll up huge majorities so that several Republican House candidates will be caught in the tow. Sour minded Independents will probably decide the balance of power in Congress.

The NYTimes 9-4. Since 2002 the number of terrorism cases brought by the Justice Department has dropped sharply because of lack of evidence. This year the federal prosecutors have turned down 91% of cases.

CNN 9-4. Of those likely to vote, Democrats are ahead by 10 points in the coming Congressional election. Among all voters, Democrats are ahead by 16 points. Issues: Iraq War, gas prices, pay lag. By two to one Democrats are seen as the party of change.

CNN 9-5. 53% say that Iraq is not part of the war on terrorism. 84% of Americans are dissatisfied with the job Congress has done.
76% of voters are angry and want change.

PBS 9-6. The White House calls for a ban on torture among military forces but makes an exception for the CIA. The NY Times 9-7. Bush moves 14 prisoners to Guantanamo for trial. In so doing he admits the existence of illegal CIA prisons abroad where the prisoners had been held.

CNN 9-7. Three Republican Senators – McCain, Warner, and Graham, demand that in the trial of alleged terrorists the defendants should have access to all the evidence against them and that hearsay evidence should be excluded.

Of possible Republican candidates for President in 2008, Rudolf Giuliani is number one, eleven points ahead of John McCain. Hilary Clinton is the number one Democrat, with 37%, followed by Al Gore with 20%.

CNN 9-8. In the event of a Democratic takeover of Congress, a majority of Americans would like to see an investigation of the Bush Administration. Only 30%, however, would like to see Bush impeached.
Science

NYTimes 9-3. The danger of snakes is credited for the development of the keen vision of most primates. They have in-depth (stereoscopic) vision and forward looking eyes, which are useful for distinguishing camouflaged objects from their background. Snakes fit that description. Old World monkeys and apes intensely fear snakes..

PBS 9-7. A new strategy to improve cancer therapy is being pursued by the scientific study of genetic changes that cause cancer. Since the 1990’s cancer death rates overall have been declining, with the exception of lung cancer and melanoma in women. Obesity, which is linked with breast cancer, may elevate its occurrence in the future.

Humor

From Bob Park, What’s New, 9-1. “Governor Mike Rounds of South Dakota, the state hardest hit by the severe drought in the plains, proclaimed the last week of July to be A WEEK TO PRAY FOR RAIN. Not a drop has fallen from the heavens on South Dakota since. The governor used the wrong technology. You pray to get out of Iraq, for rain you dance.”

The Flaslight, August 26-31, 2006

THE FLASHLIGHT, August 26-31, 2006

URL: http://theflashlightnet.blogspot.com

Editorial comment is made within square brackets [ ]

Sources consulted regularly: New York Times, Washington Post, Guardian (UK), Time, Newsweek, The New Yorker, The Economist,
Google News, and Ha’aretz (Israel)

The Middle East

The Mood of Israel

[from Tim McGirk, “The End of Invincibility,” in Time, September 1, 2006]
“The war in Lebanon has induced a new sense of national vulnerability, heightening Israelis’ anxiety about the dangerous neighborhood they live in. In the past, Israelis believed that their military was mighty enough to scare away Arab attackers. No longer. During the war, as many as a million Israelis were forced to flee the north or hide in bomb shelters from Hizbollah’s rockets….

“But Israel’s adversaries believe its leaders still haven’t got the central point. The Lebanon war, says a Palestinian minister who prefers not to be identified, exposes ‘Israel’s incapacity to absorb the fact that Arabs are no longer just donkey riders.’ He adds, “Arabs are changing, but Israelis aren’t,’ meaning that Israel must recognize Arabs as equals and seek political solutions rather than military ones.”

The Use and Abuse of Air Power
[From The Economist, August 26]
There is an enduring illusion: that air power alone can defeat an enemy, and that only a short ground war is necessary after air attacks. In Lebanon once again this illusion has been exposed. Good intelligence is necessary to make bombing effective, and even then many civilians are likely to be killed. In Lebanon Israel failed on almost all counts: it killed many Lebanese civilians and it failed in its objectives to kill key Hizbollah leaders, crush Hizbollah, and to recover its two kidnapped soldiers. At the end more rockets than ever were hitting Israel. Only Hizbollah’s launching sites for long-range missiles were damaged.
p. 37-38. “Israel cannot impose peace by force of arms.”

Nasrallah Apologizes (Guardian, 8-28)

Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hizbollah, apologized for the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers, the incident that provoked the war. He said Hizbollah had no idea that a war would follow.
[This apology was not mentioned in the Internet editions of the New York Times and the Washington Post.]

News about Lebanon. NY Times 8-29

Fuad Siniora, Prime Minister of Lebanon, said that Lebanon has now deployed 8,600 troops along its Syrian border. Germany has offered technical equipment and training to help these troops prevent unauthorized weapons entry.

Guardian 8-31. A meeting in Stockholm of governments and organizations who wish to donate money to Lebanon to reconstruct its infrastructure was very successful. The target sum was $500 million. The amount pledged was $950 million.

Death of Arab Literary Giant (Washington Post, 8-31).

Naguib Mahfouz, the Egyptian author of The Cairo Trilogy and much else, died at 94. . His great work won a Nobel Prize for Literature. He stood for moderation and religious tolerance, and was once stabbed by a religious fanatic.

US News

Politics

Iraq Policy. PBS 8-25. Mark Shields said that the President looks delusional or deceitful on Iraq. 70% of Americans now disapprove of the Iraq War. The Administration has revived the older political terms “fascist” [applied to terrorists] and “appeaser” [applied to politicians arguing for a scheduled withdrawal from Iraq]. The President called for “sacrifices.” [The mail on this subject coming to CNN is mostly abusive of the Administration.]

Leak Case. NY Times 8-30. The CIA Leak Case has fizzled. The original leaker, state department official Richard Armitage, has now admitted it in public. He did not know that Valerie Plame was an undercover agent, and so he is not going to be prosecuted.

Global Warming. NY Times 8-31. Governor Schwarzenegger and the Democratic-controlled California State Legislature, despite resistance from Washington, have decided on the most sweeping plan of controls for carbon dioxide emissions in the nation. The goal is a 25% reduction in emissions from automobiles and industries by 2020.

Polygamy. NY Times 8-30. Warren Jeffs, 50, one of the top 10 most wanted criminals on the FBI list, was arrested by a policeman just north of Las Vegas. He was charged as an accessory to rape for arranging marriages between underage girls and older men. He leads the “Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints,” which may have 10,000 members, centered in the isolated towns of Hilldale, Utah and Colorado City, Arizona. When arrested he was riding with his brother in a red 2007 Cadillac SUV without proper license plates.

Noticing how nervous the two men seemed, the arresting officer searched the trunk and found $50,000 in cash and many wigs, disguises, and dark glasses. He drew the proper conclusion. 94% of people on the FBI top 10 list have been captured.

US Economics.

NY Times 8-28. Wages and salaries now make up the lowest share of the nation’s economy since the US began recording the data in 1947.

NY Times 8-30. Editorial. Most of the increases in household incomes have been in the 23 million households headed by a person over 65, and thus probably derived from investments and Social Security payments, not wages and salaries. For the other 91 million households, there was a drop of $2,000 in income between 2001 and 2005.
Those without health insurance stood at 46.6 million in 2005.
PBS 8-30. The cost of health insurance per family today is $11,000, one fourth of the median household income of $46,000.

Humor

Postcard from a manic-depressive on vacation: “Having wonderful time, Wish I were dead.”

Women in dental chair to the dentist: “ I would rather give birth to a baby than have a tooth extracted.”
Dentist: “All right, but I’ll have to readjust your chair.”

From the Journal of Irreproducible Results:
Genghis Khan, but Immanuel Kant.