The Flashlight March 23-30, 2007
THE FLASHLIGHT, March 24-30, 2007
Iraq
PBS, 3-23. By a vote of 218 to 212 the US House of Representatives attached a resolution to the Iraq War funding bill that would demand the withdrawal of US troops by Sept 1, 2008.
CNN 3-29. By a vote of 50-48 the Senate passed and Iraq War funding bill that would demand US withdrawal by April 1, 2008.
The President has threatened to veto the bill, and the majorities in the House and Senate are not large enough to override a veto. However, the funding for US armed forces in Iraq will run out next month so the President must negotiate with Congress.
CNN 3-27. In response to the claim of Sen. John McCain that the situation in Baghdad was now improving, Michael Ware, the Australian reporter who has been in Iraq since 2003, said that there was no improvement in the situation in Baghdad. No foreigner can go out on any street in Baghdad without security guards.
US Politics
W Post 3-27. Sen. Chuck Hagel (R. Neb.) a veteran of the Viet Nam War, said on ABC television that we are destroying our National Guard, our Army, and our Marine Corps and that we cannot sustain this.
PBS 3-25. Sen. Hagel said that the impeachment of Pres. Bush should be considered as a serious possibility because he is defying both Congress and public opinion.
NY Times 3-25. Former vice-president Al Gore was warmly received by committees in both houses of Congress. It was reported that an increasing number of business leaders and politicians outside Washington support him in his campaign against global warming.
NYTimes 3-26. A Pew Research Center study comparing the political situation of 2002 with that today reported that Democrats nationally have a 15% lead over Republicans. Government is now seen by a majority of 46 – 20 as the solution instead of the problem. 69% want the federal government to guarantee health insurance for all.
Iran
PBS 3-26. The UN Security Council unanimously banned arms exports to Iran and froze assets involved in uranium enrichment. Unexpectedly both Russia and China voted for this increase in sanctions.
Arab League Meeting
3-29. NY Times, Guardian, Reuters. A very successful Arab League meeting was held in Riyadh, led by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. In his opening speech the king described the US role in Iraq as illegal. He called for an end to the international boycott of the new Palestinian unity government. He invited Pres. Ahmedinejad of Iran to Riyadh (Saudi Arabia is Sunni and Iran is Shia, and they are traditional rivals).
Most important, the King urged the adoption of the 2002 Plan to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This would require that the Israelis withdraw from all territories occupied in the 1967 War: Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem and dismantle all Israeli settlements in those territories. It would require an end to the Israeli freeze of tax revenues due to the Palestinians. A Palestinian independent state would be created.
This plan is viewed favorably throughout the Middle East and Europe. Only Israel, backed by the US, has been refused to implement it. But Israeli prime minister Olmert said last week that he saw a “revolutionary change in the Arab world.” Unfortunately, Olmert’s favorable rating at home is even lower than that of Pres, Bush.
[Saudi Arabia may have the largest oil reserves in the world and has long been a close ally of the US and a friend of the Bush family. It has a population of only 24 million as compared to Iran, with a population of 69 million and Egypt, with 72 million. Although well supplied with US arms, it does not have military superiority over Israel.
The Arab League meeting last week marks an important turning point in the US-Saudi relations. King Abdullah’s condemnation of US activity in Iraq is not necessarily anti-American, but it is an open criticism of the Bush Administration.]
Iraq
PBS, 3-23. By a vote of 218 to 212 the US House of Representatives attached a resolution to the Iraq War funding bill that would demand the withdrawal of US troops by Sept 1, 2008.
CNN 3-29. By a vote of 50-48 the Senate passed and Iraq War funding bill that would demand US withdrawal by April 1, 2008.
The President has threatened to veto the bill, and the majorities in the House and Senate are not large enough to override a veto. However, the funding for US armed forces in Iraq will run out next month so the President must negotiate with Congress.
CNN 3-27. In response to the claim of Sen. John McCain that the situation in Baghdad was now improving, Michael Ware, the Australian reporter who has been in Iraq since 2003, said that there was no improvement in the situation in Baghdad. No foreigner can go out on any street in Baghdad without security guards.
US Politics
W Post 3-27. Sen. Chuck Hagel (R. Neb.) a veteran of the Viet Nam War, said on ABC television that we are destroying our National Guard, our Army, and our Marine Corps and that we cannot sustain this.
PBS 3-25. Sen. Hagel said that the impeachment of Pres. Bush should be considered as a serious possibility because he is defying both Congress and public opinion.
NY Times 3-25. Former vice-president Al Gore was warmly received by committees in both houses of Congress. It was reported that an increasing number of business leaders and politicians outside Washington support him in his campaign against global warming.
NYTimes 3-26. A Pew Research Center study comparing the political situation of 2002 with that today reported that Democrats nationally have a 15% lead over Republicans. Government is now seen by a majority of 46 – 20 as the solution instead of the problem. 69% want the federal government to guarantee health insurance for all.
Iran
PBS 3-26. The UN Security Council unanimously banned arms exports to Iran and froze assets involved in uranium enrichment. Unexpectedly both Russia and China voted for this increase in sanctions.
Arab League Meeting
3-29. NY Times, Guardian, Reuters. A very successful Arab League meeting was held in Riyadh, led by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. In his opening speech the king described the US role in Iraq as illegal. He called for an end to the international boycott of the new Palestinian unity government. He invited Pres. Ahmedinejad of Iran to Riyadh (Saudi Arabia is Sunni and Iran is Shia, and they are traditional rivals).
Most important, the King urged the adoption of the 2002 Plan to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This would require that the Israelis withdraw from all territories occupied in the 1967 War: Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem and dismantle all Israeli settlements in those territories. It would require an end to the Israeli freeze of tax revenues due to the Palestinians. A Palestinian independent state would be created.
This plan is viewed favorably throughout the Middle East and Europe. Only Israel, backed by the US, has been refused to implement it. But Israeli prime minister Olmert said last week that he saw a “revolutionary change in the Arab world.” Unfortunately, Olmert’s favorable rating at home is even lower than that of Pres, Bush.
[Saudi Arabia may have the largest oil reserves in the world and has long been a close ally of the US and a friend of the Bush family. It has a population of only 24 million as compared to Iran, with a population of 69 million and Egypt, with 72 million. Although well supplied with US arms, it does not have military superiority over Israel.
The Arab League meeting last week marks an important turning point in the US-Saudi relations. King Abdullah’s condemnation of US activity in Iraq is not necessarily anti-American, but it is an open criticism of the Bush Administration.]
posted by THE FLASHLIGHT at 9:22 AM
1 Comments:
As yet we know of the dream only that it expresses a wish-fulfillment of the unconscious; cuirassa and apparently the dominating foreconscious permits this only after it has subjected the wish to some distortions...
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