THE FLASHLIGHT, March 28 -April 4, 2008
THE FLASHLIGHT
March 28-April 4, 2008
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts
Iraq
PBS-NYT 3-28, A war between Shiite factions broke out, in which the Shiite dominated government of Nuri al-Maliki attacked Moqtada as-Sadr’s Mahdi army in Basra. The Maliki government tried to take over the city, but failed, producing a stalemate. The US tried to help Maliki with air strikes, but the militias In Baghdad retaliated with mortar attacks on the Green Zone, killing three Americans. CBS 3-30. Over 400 persons were killed during the fighting.
PBS 4-1. Iran brokered the settlement, setting up a federated government in South Iraq which is closer to Iran.
Turkey
CNN 3-31. The Supreme Court of Turkey, controlled by the Kemalist (secularist) elements, ruled that the democratically elected AK Party had committed breaches of the official Kemalist (secularist) ideology of Turkey and was trying to impose Muslim Sharia Law.
US 2008 Presidential Primaries
NYT 3-28, Three more Democratic leaders announced their support for Obama: Howard Dean, DNC chairman, Senator Dodd. and Senator Leahy, who asked Hilary Clinton to withdraw. In Pennsylvania, Senator Bob Casey campaigned for Obama among white working class males, with some success.
CNN 3-30, national Gallup Poll showed Obama leading Clinton by 10 points.
CNN 4-2. In Pennsylvania Clinton’s lead has shrunk from double digits to 9 points.
CNN 4-3. Obama is outspending Clinton by four to one in Pennsylvania. In March, he raised over $40 million to Clinton’s $20 million. 72% of Americans said people would vote for a black candidate for President and 71% said people would vote for a woman. [although not necessarily those currently running]
US Economy
` CNN 4-4. In March 80,000 jobs were lost. Unemployment is up 5.1%. Many commentators say that a recession has arrived.
FAA / Airline Scandal
CNN 4-2. Congress is investigating the FAA, listening to the testimony of two whistle-blowing inspectors that the agency was neglecting its role to secure the safety of air travel. In the last four years it has been permitting planes with defects to fly. The FAA admits that four airlines have been breaking safety rules: Southwest, American, Delta, and United. The FAA has been allowing them to ”police themselves.”
National Health Insurance
Annals of Internal Medicine, 4-3, as reported by CA State Senator Sheila Kuehl. A new study shows that 59% of physicians now support National Health Insurance, as compared with 49% of physicians in 2002. Doctors in all specialties are becoming disillusioned with private health insurance and want a system of health care that is publicly financed and privately delivered.
Global Warming
CBS – 60 Minutes 3-30. Al Gore announced a new campaign to raise public consciousness about the threat of global warming. Gore was an early investor in Google, and now possesses a considerable private fortune. He will issue a blitz of TV public service messages costing $300 million dollars. He is duplicating and distributing his slide show while recruiting 10 million speakers to spread his messages all over the world. Pat Robertson and other senior evangelical leaders are helping him.
Science: Climatology. The Dimming Sun
PBS 4-1. Dirty air, full of particulate matter like ash, is hazardous for health. But it also serves to offset global warming from greenhouse gas emissions from burning coal, oil, and natural gases. Those emissions do not include particles of matter. Dirty air turns raindrops in the clouds into mirrors that reflect heat away from the earth. Multiple jet trails enhance this effect. The sun seems to be dimming.
But there is nothing wrong with the sun, which is behaving consistently. The trouble is in earth’s atmosphere.
When human societies clean up their air, the resulting reduction in particles increases global warming. The worst situation would be to have the air cleared of particles, leaving a cover of greenhouse gases.
Climatologists warn that drastic changes must be introduced within the next decade or it will be too late to prevent unbearable heat and rising oceans. In Asia hundreds of millions of people might die, not to mention other species.
Science: Brain “Fingerprinting”
PBS 4-1, Using MRI machines, which show varying circulation activity in different parts of the human brain, it may be possible to detect “guilty knowledge” in a criminal suspect. This knowledge of a criminal action is obtained by studying the reactions of the brain of a criminal suspect. The suspect is not questioned, so he is not offered a chance to lie. Criminologists using the new technique think that they can detect innocence and guilt by watching the subject’s brain react to certain information about the crime that only a guilty person could know.
Science: Willpower
NYT 4-2. An op-ed article by Aamodt and Wang. “Tighten your belt, strengthen your mind.” Human willpower is limited but it can be strengthened with training. Willpower gets depleted when people have been stressed and are short of sleep. Their blood sugar level being reduced, so is their willpower. But like a muscle, willpower increases with use. One method is to concentrate attention on one goal at a time, avoiding multi-tasking and distractions.
Summary of Economist article on Israel
[There is no editorial comment in the following summary.]
Lead article: “Israel at 60. The Dysfunctional Jewish State” p. 17. The main problem of Israeli government is the excessive number of small political parties that must form coalitions in order to rule. These coalitions are very unstable.
The writer says, “ Israeli settlers on the West Bank have woven such tight alliances with various parties that they have made themselves effectively untouchable, even though they are only a small proportion of Israeli society.” Politicians are not answerable to voters but to other politicians. The government does nothing to remove settlements on the West Bank that are on illegally appropriated Palestinian land, not state land as was originally claimed.
Introduction to the main article: “The Next Generation” A special report on Israel, pp. 3-16. Author: Gideon Lichfield. “Israel at 60 is as prosperous and secure as it has ever been, but its future looks increasingly uncertain.”
Jews have a four-fifths majority in the population of Israel, but that proportion in shrinking. Pressure is rising within Israel and abroad for Israel to become a fully democratic non-Zionist state which gives some autonomy to Arab Israelis.
The best and bright Israeli Jews may emigrate from Israel, leaving a waning economy. Economic growth now is widening gaps in wealth instead of easing poverty. Arab Israelis are increasingly resentful of their status as second class citizens and of job discrimination against them.
Political and Military Threats. These include Iran’s developing nuclear energy program, the armed Hezbollah movement in southern Lebanon, and political Islamism represented by Hamas in Gaza and its parent, The Muslim Brotherhood, in Egypt.
Policing the Palestinians “has eroded the soul of Israel’s people’s army.” Young people are increasingly claiming medical, psychological, and religious exemptions from military service. The ethos of self-sacrifice has declined. The Army is growing more sympathetic to West Bank settlers.
But the greatest threat to Israel is not military, but economic. especially the threatened loss of the best and brightest, who seek societies that are full of cultural and scientific ferment. In science education there is a wide gap between the best and the worst. The K-12 teachers are inferior.
There is low labor force participation in Israel among the yeshiva trained religious Jews, who lack practical skills, and the Arabs in Israel. These groups are growing faster than secular, intellectual Jews in Israel. They are an economic burden.
The article concludes, p. 15, “But if a moderate Israeli leader could take on the settlers without fear of the government collapsing, perhaps he could start a process of gradual disconnection from the West Bank to convince Palestinians that most Israelis really do want to let them build a state of their own.”
p. 16. The author describes Israel as a “blocked” society.
“It is this blockage, and not Palestinian missiles or an Iranian nuclear bomb, that is the main threat to Israel’s well being….To take the right decisions [Israel] needs a system that reduces the power of special interest groups without riding roughshod over minorities and allows long-term goals to override short-term politics. “
March 28-April 4, 2008
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts
Iraq
PBS-NYT 3-28, A war between Shiite factions broke out, in which the Shiite dominated government of Nuri al-Maliki attacked Moqtada as-Sadr’s Mahdi army in Basra. The Maliki government tried to take over the city, but failed, producing a stalemate. The US tried to help Maliki with air strikes, but the militias In Baghdad retaliated with mortar attacks on the Green Zone, killing three Americans. CBS 3-30. Over 400 persons were killed during the fighting.
PBS 4-1. Iran brokered the settlement, setting up a federated government in South Iraq which is closer to Iran.
Turkey
CNN 3-31. The Supreme Court of Turkey, controlled by the Kemalist (secularist) elements, ruled that the democratically elected AK Party had committed breaches of the official Kemalist (secularist) ideology of Turkey and was trying to impose Muslim Sharia Law.
US 2008 Presidential Primaries
NYT 3-28, Three more Democratic leaders announced their support for Obama: Howard Dean, DNC chairman, Senator Dodd. and Senator Leahy, who asked Hilary Clinton to withdraw. In Pennsylvania, Senator Bob Casey campaigned for Obama among white working class males, with some success.
CNN 3-30, national Gallup Poll showed Obama leading Clinton by 10 points.
CNN 4-2. In Pennsylvania Clinton’s lead has shrunk from double digits to 9 points.
CNN 4-3. Obama is outspending Clinton by four to one in Pennsylvania. In March, he raised over $40 million to Clinton’s $20 million. 72% of Americans said people would vote for a black candidate for President and 71% said people would vote for a woman. [although not necessarily those currently running]
US Economy
` CNN 4-4. In March 80,000 jobs were lost. Unemployment is up 5.1%. Many commentators say that a recession has arrived.
FAA / Airline Scandal
CNN 4-2. Congress is investigating the FAA, listening to the testimony of two whistle-blowing inspectors that the agency was neglecting its role to secure the safety of air travel. In the last four years it has been permitting planes with defects to fly. The FAA admits that four airlines have been breaking safety rules: Southwest, American, Delta, and United. The FAA has been allowing them to ”police themselves.”
National Health Insurance
Annals of Internal Medicine, 4-3, as reported by CA State Senator Sheila Kuehl. A new study shows that 59% of physicians now support National Health Insurance, as compared with 49% of physicians in 2002. Doctors in all specialties are becoming disillusioned with private health insurance and want a system of health care that is publicly financed and privately delivered.
Global Warming
CBS – 60 Minutes 3-30. Al Gore announced a new campaign to raise public consciousness about the threat of global warming. Gore was an early investor in Google, and now possesses a considerable private fortune. He will issue a blitz of TV public service messages costing $300 million dollars. He is duplicating and distributing his slide show while recruiting 10 million speakers to spread his messages all over the world. Pat Robertson and other senior evangelical leaders are helping him.
Science: Climatology. The Dimming Sun
PBS 4-1. Dirty air, full of particulate matter like ash, is hazardous for health. But it also serves to offset global warming from greenhouse gas emissions from burning coal, oil, and natural gases. Those emissions do not include particles of matter. Dirty air turns raindrops in the clouds into mirrors that reflect heat away from the earth. Multiple jet trails enhance this effect. The sun seems to be dimming.
But there is nothing wrong with the sun, which is behaving consistently. The trouble is in earth’s atmosphere.
When human societies clean up their air, the resulting reduction in particles increases global warming. The worst situation would be to have the air cleared of particles, leaving a cover of greenhouse gases.
Climatologists warn that drastic changes must be introduced within the next decade or it will be too late to prevent unbearable heat and rising oceans. In Asia hundreds of millions of people might die, not to mention other species.
Science: Brain “Fingerprinting”
PBS 4-1, Using MRI machines, which show varying circulation activity in different parts of the human brain, it may be possible to detect “guilty knowledge” in a criminal suspect. This knowledge of a criminal action is obtained by studying the reactions of the brain of a criminal suspect. The suspect is not questioned, so he is not offered a chance to lie. Criminologists using the new technique think that they can detect innocence and guilt by watching the subject’s brain react to certain information about the crime that only a guilty person could know.
Science: Willpower
NYT 4-2. An op-ed article by Aamodt and Wang. “Tighten your belt, strengthen your mind.” Human willpower is limited but it can be strengthened with training. Willpower gets depleted when people have been stressed and are short of sleep. Their blood sugar level being reduced, so is their willpower. But like a muscle, willpower increases with use. One method is to concentrate attention on one goal at a time, avoiding multi-tasking and distractions.
Summary of Economist article on Israel
[There is no editorial comment in the following summary.]
Lead article: “Israel at 60. The Dysfunctional Jewish State” p. 17. The main problem of Israeli government is the excessive number of small political parties that must form coalitions in order to rule. These coalitions are very unstable.
The writer says, “ Israeli settlers on the West Bank have woven such tight alliances with various parties that they have made themselves effectively untouchable, even though they are only a small proportion of Israeli society.” Politicians are not answerable to voters but to other politicians. The government does nothing to remove settlements on the West Bank that are on illegally appropriated Palestinian land, not state land as was originally claimed.
Introduction to the main article: “The Next Generation” A special report on Israel, pp. 3-16. Author: Gideon Lichfield. “Israel at 60 is as prosperous and secure as it has ever been, but its future looks increasingly uncertain.”
Jews have a four-fifths majority in the population of Israel, but that proportion in shrinking. Pressure is rising within Israel and abroad for Israel to become a fully democratic non-Zionist state which gives some autonomy to Arab Israelis.
The best and bright Israeli Jews may emigrate from Israel, leaving a waning economy. Economic growth now is widening gaps in wealth instead of easing poverty. Arab Israelis are increasingly resentful of their status as second class citizens and of job discrimination against them.
Political and Military Threats. These include Iran’s developing nuclear energy program, the armed Hezbollah movement in southern Lebanon, and political Islamism represented by Hamas in Gaza and its parent, The Muslim Brotherhood, in Egypt.
Policing the Palestinians “has eroded the soul of Israel’s people’s army.” Young people are increasingly claiming medical, psychological, and religious exemptions from military service. The ethos of self-sacrifice has declined. The Army is growing more sympathetic to West Bank settlers.
But the greatest threat to Israel is not military, but economic. especially the threatened loss of the best and brightest, who seek societies that are full of cultural and scientific ferment. In science education there is a wide gap between the best and the worst. The K-12 teachers are inferior.
There is low labor force participation in Israel among the yeshiva trained religious Jews, who lack practical skills, and the Arabs in Israel. These groups are growing faster than secular, intellectual Jews in Israel. They are an economic burden.
The article concludes, p. 15, “But if a moderate Israeli leader could take on the settlers without fear of the government collapsing, perhaps he could start a process of gradual disconnection from the West Bank to convince Palestinians that most Israelis really do want to let them build a state of their own.”
p. 16. The author describes Israel as a “blocked” society.
“It is this blockage, and not Palestinian missiles or an Iranian nuclear bomb, that is the main threat to Israel’s well being….To take the right decisions [Israel] needs a system that reduces the power of special interest groups without riding roughshod over minorities and allows long-term goals to override short-term politics. “
posted by THE FLASHLIGHT at 3:28 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home