the-flashlightnet

THE FLASHLIGHT, December 13-19, 2008

2008-12-19T09:38:00.000-08:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
December 13-19, 2008
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts
Mary K. Matossian, Editor , 9-M

US Politics

Pres. Elect Obama’s nominations for the highest posts in his administration were almost completed this week.
NYT 12-13, Sec. of Housing and Urban Development: Shaun Donovan, now NYCity Housing Commissioner.
WPost 12-15. Sec. of Education: Arne Duncan, 44, chief of the Chicago school system. He is a Harvard grad.
Sec. of Agriculture: Tom Wilsack, former governor of Iowa.
NYTimes 12-17. Sec. of the Interior: Ken Salazar. This is a department riddled with incompetence and corruption. It is responsible for national parks, open spaces, and animal species.
NYTimes 12-18. Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission: Mary Schapiro, veteran regulator of the Clinton Administration.
Sec. of Transportation: Rep. Ray Lahood, (R. Ill.), a moderate Republican.
NYTimes 12-19. Trade Representative: Ron Kirk, former mayor of Dallas.
Director of National Intelligence: expected to nominate Dennis Blair, a retired admiral.
Science Advisor: John Holdren, Harvard physics professor, a strong proponent for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
Director of the NOAA [National Oceanic, and Atmospheric Administration], which supervises climate research: Jane Lubchenoo, marine biologists, Oregan State University.

AP 12-19. For the first time, Al Franken had a lead in the unfinished recount of the Minnesota Senate Race.

US Economy

NYTimes 12-13. Financier Bernard Madoff was arrested in connection with a $50 billion loss to his investors resulting from a hidden Ponzi scheme. [Earlier investors are paid off by later investors]. Jewish families in New York and Florida were the principal victims. Despite credible warnings, the Securities and Exchange Commission did nothing.

NYTimes 12-19. Pres. Bush offered a $17.4 bridge loan to General Motors and Chrysler, returnable if the companies fail to show viability by March 31, 2009.

Israel / Palestine

AP 12-14. Israel released 224 Palestinian prisoners as a gesture of support for Pres. Abbas of the West Bank.

THE FLASHLIGHT, December 6-12, 2008

2008-12-12T07:05:00.000-08:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts
December 6-12, 2008
Mary K. Matossian, Editor, 9-M

US Economy

NYTimes 12-6. The US lost 533,000 jobs in November, the worst monthly loss since December, 1974.
Some 300,000 people applied for the 3,300 jobs in the incoming Obama Administration.
NY 12-7. Obama promised the largest public works program since the superhighway program a half century ago. He promised to reduce energy use and the gas emissions causing global warming. CBS 60 Minutes. He also promised to elevate science in his administration and to schedule scientific lectures for the nation. He hopes to create 2.5 million jobs by 2011.

NYTimes 12-12. A $14 billion bill to bait out the auto industry failed to come up for consideration when a Republican minority voted against it (52 to 35). The Republicans wanted to make steep cuts in the pay and benefits, bringing them down to the levels now in effect among non-union workers in the US, paid by Toyota, Honda, and Nissan. [Many of the US plants of these Japanese manufacturers are located in Republican controlled states in the South. A bankruptcy judge could reduce wages in American car companies and eliminate their legacy costs.]
Bloomberg 12-12. Global stocks and the dollar fell sharply.

US Politics

NYTimes 12-7. Obama picked Gen. Eric Shinseki, a Japanese American, as Secretary for Veterans Affairs. This appointment served to correct the wrong done to the General by the Bush Administration when he argued for more troops to be used in the invasion of Iraq.

PBS 12-9. After a five-year investigation of corruption in Illinois politics, the FBI accused Governor Governor Rod Blagojevich of trying to sell the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama, in addition to many other political payoffs. The Illinois legislature met to consider legislation to hold a special election to select the Senate replacement.

NYTimes 12-11. As Secretary of Energy, Obama picked Dr. Stephen Chu, a Nobel winning physicist, currently Director of the Lawrence National Laboratory in Berkeley. He js expected to make drastic reductions in global warming gas emissions, and to build a more efficient national energy system.

Pakistan / India

` NYTimes 12-8. Pakistan has established that there have been tiies between its Inter-Services Intelligence organization and the terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba [Army of the Pure].

Bloomberg 12-10. The Zardari Government arrested two operations leaders of Lashkar. They are expected to be tried in Pakistan.

Greece

PBS 12-9. Young men rioted in Greece for three days against the Conservative government of Kostas Karamanlis. They demanded an immediate election. Unemployment in Greece is high. 12-11. The protesters attacked police stations.

World Health

PBS 12-9. An increase in smoking in China, Japan, and Russia has caused an increase in cancer. It will be the number one killer by 2010.

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THE FLASHLIGHT, November 28 - December 5, 2008

2008-12-05T11:07:00.000-08:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
November 29 – December 5, 2008
No Peace without Justice, No Justice without the Facts

US Economy

CNN 12-1. When the government announced that the present recession began in December 2007, the Dow Jones declined by 680 points.
NYTimes 12-3. The three Detroit automakers asked for $34 billion in loans, and promised to cut jobs, factories, brands, and executive pay. They seek to restructure their operations outside bankruptcy. Sales are at their lowest level in 25 to 30 years.

NYTimes 12-3. Between 1982 and 2007, tuition and fees in college increased 439%, while median family income increased only 147%.

NY Review of Books, 12-18. Paul Krugman, “What To Do,” pp. 8-10.
The most urgent issue in the global economy is to thaw out credit, which is frozen. Then the US must stimulate the economy by an injection of 4% of GDP, as compared with 1% planned now.

US Politics

NYT 12-1. Obama announced the nomination of Hilary Clinton as Secretary of State; Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense; and Susan Rice, UN Ambassador.
CNN 12-2. Saxby Chandliss was reelected as Senator from Georgia.

India

CNN 11-28. It appears that the terrorists in Mumbai have combat experience, because they don’t run under fire. They killed an ultra-orthodox Jewish rabbi and his family, suggesting that they are Muslim
``````` militants. They attacked at least nine sites. PBS 12-1. The organization that trained the militants, according to one who was taken alive, was Laskar e Taiba, in Pakistan. Over 180 people died.
The terrorist came to India by sea. Muslims indigenous to India were not involved. P)BS 12-3. After the attacks, there were demonstrations in India against the political leadership of India and against Pakistan. Since the militants targeted American, British and Israeli citizens, an international investigation has begun.

````` Israel

BBC 12-4. The Israel police soldiers expelled illegal Jewish settlers from a house in Hebron, a Palestinian town on the West Bank. The settlers resisted vigorously. The violence continued Thursday evening.
Israel also opened crossings into Gaza so that food relief could be delivered.
NYTimes 12-5 and Haaretz 12-5. Israel’s Supreme Court ruled 3 to 0 against the Hebron right-wing Jewish settlers.
Young settlers rampaged through Palestinian fields and neighborhoods, attacking Palestinians and setting their homes, fields and olive trees on fire.
The settlers and their backers oppose the construction of a Palestinian state. The Israel Army is on the alert throughout the West Bank. The US State Department has told diplomats and citizens not to visit Jerusalem.

Lebanon

BBC 12-3. The economy of Lebanon is now booming because Lebanese banks did not make the same errors as those of larger states. They did not buy bundled assets carrying subprime mortgage money. They withdrew from international activity. They kept large stores of cash and limited debts. These conservative policies have paid off,.

Health

ABC News, Reuters 11-30. According to experiments on mice and rats, a newly discovered hormone found in the human body, called NAPE for short, blocks hunger and stops weight gain, according to Cell 10-26. It has no harmful side effects. This was the work of Gerald Shulman of Yale University.

PBS 11-30. Program “Brain, Sight, and Sound”. To maintain a bodily function one must use it. Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to improve its structure and functioning. Seeing and hearing are not just functions of the eyes and ears but of the brain as well.
The scientists in this presentation urged seniors to take on challenging learning tasks. Decline in mind, sight, and hearing should not be accepted as inevitable in most cases.

Baltimore Sun 12-2. Nearly half of college age adults (18-25) are struggling with mental health disorders: including alcohol dependency, depression, and anxiety, but only 25% seek treatment. The rates of dysfunction are the same for college students and
non-college students.
PBS 12-2. We can renew or skeletal frame with correct exercise combined with timely rest. Exercise is a strong medicine; it turns on the genes. People who are overweight are at a disadvantage, and loss of surplus weight helps the knees.

Science

NYTimes 12-3. a new book by Seth Shulman, Undermining Science; Suppression and Distortion in the Bush Administration. University of California Press, 2008, shows how the government has repeatedly and systematically tried to suit scientific report to its ideological preferences of how the world should be, not how it is.
The author explains that the scientific facts and equation taught in schools are mere consequences of scientific inquiry. Science is above all an attitude, or a stance, of measuring, evaluating, and describing the world. It is based on skepticism, investigation, and evidence. Scientists often argue over data, but that is different from suppressing, changing, and ignoring the facts.

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THE FLASHLIGNT, November 22-28, 2008

2008-11-28T08:55:00.000-08:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
November 22-28, 2008
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts
Mary K. Matossian, Editor
mary@matossian.net, Apt. 9-M

US Politics

NyTimes 11-21, 11-26. Obama appointed a number of highly talented individuals to top posts: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner; Bill Richardson, Commerce Secretary; retired Marine general Jim Jones as National Security Advisor, former Harvard president Larry Summers as Senior Presidential economic advisor; Robert Gates to continue as Defense Secretary, Paul Volcker as head of the Economic Advisory Committee.

Associated Press 11-21. The Obamas decide to send their two daughters, aged seven and ten, to Sidwell Friends School [Quaker] (which Chelsea Clinton also attended). The elementary school campus is in Bethesda, Maryland; the secondary school is in Northwest Washington.

US Economy

CNN 11-21. Congress demanded that the auto industry submit a detailed business plan by 12-2 before responding to its pleas for a bridge loan.
` There is no area of the economy that is safe now from layoffs.
The market may go down even lower. Gold is up 5-6%. Oil is down to $50 a barrel, one third of its July high, and Suzy Orman says it is a good buy at this price.

NYT, PBS 11-24. The US Treasury approved investment of $20 billion to Citigroup Bank. It was said to be too big to fail, with branches in 109 countries. The government could make money on the deal.

PBS 11-25. House prices are falling and will fall further. It was reported that Obama will cut subsidies to affluent farmers.
China and the oil rich states are no longer able to buy the US debt. We are facing a potential three trillion dollar deficit next year. The rich are going be required to pay higher taxes.

War Resistors League, 2008. In a fact sheet distributed by the Society of Friends [Quakers] “Where Your Income Tax Money Really Goes” it was shown that contrary to US government claims, 51% tax money is going to current and past [veterans] military expenditures. The government has been claiming that only 21% is military. But this has been based on deception.
According to this deception, (1) spending to pay for past wars is treated as non-military and money from trust funds [e.g. Social Security] is added to income tax dollars. If spending to pay for past wars is added to current military spending, and trust fund money is subtracted from current revenue from income taxes, then total military spending = 51% of the budget.
[So far no prominent American politician has suggested that military spending be cut,]

India

NYT 11-27 and 28. In Mumbai [formerly Bombay], India’s financial center, terrorists of unknown origin attacked luxury hotels, a theater, a hospital et al. with rifles and hand grenades At least 127 persons were killed, 327 wounded. Americans, English, other Europeans, and Israelis were singled out for murder. The terrorist killed the head of counter-terrorism in Mumbai and his two chief assistants. An international investigation began.

Iraq

NYT 11-28. The Iraqi Parliament, by a vote of 149 to 35, approved a security agreement that provided that all US troops leave the country by the end of 2011.

THE FLASHLIGHT, November 15-21, 2008

2008-11-21T06:28:00.000-08:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
November 15-21, 2008
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts
Mary K. Matossian, Editor
mary@matossian.net, Apt. 9-M

US Economy

PBS 11-14. The US Treasury is no longer buying the bad assets of banks.

NYTimes 11-15. The computer industry is beginning to feel the bite of the economic downturn. Intel, Nokia, and Cisco warned of slowing sales. In the second week of November Google stock fell belong 300. Some companies which still had large cash reserves were Cisco ($27 billion), Apple ($24 billion) and Google ($14 billion). These three companies may use their reserves to acquire struggling competitors.

NYTimes 11-17. Citigroup’s stock is down 75%. It has discharged c. 52.000 employees.
NY Times 11-19. US auto manufacturing chiefs failed to convince Congress that it should provide a bridge loan for their companies of $25 billion.
PBS 11-20. The Dow Jones fell to 7552, lower than the predicted market bottom of 7789. The viability of Citibank is in doubt.

US Politics

The Economist. 11-15, [a British based conservative journal] Editorial. The U.S. Republican Party has lost its intellectual respectability and become a party of “white trash pride.” For several decades Republican leaders have believed that ideas have consequences. But idiocy also has consequences.

The New York Times 11-15. Sarah Palin promotes “the sad, threadbare hoax of sexual abstinence as the answer to the sizzling loins of the young.”

MSNBC 11-14 and Amazon.com. New book, The Limits of Power; The End of American Exceptionalism. By Col. Andrew Basevich. “War is not the answer to the challenges we face…and to persist in following that path is to invite inevitable overextension, bankruptcy, and ruin.” He says that the proper response to terrorism is police action on a global scale, not military action.

CNN 11-18. Eric Holder, an African-American lawyer close to Obama, will be nominated the next Attorney General. PBS 11-19. Tom Daschle, former Democratic Senate leader, will be Secretary of Health and Human Services. Greg Craig will be the President’s Counsel [lawyer]. Jane Napolitano, Governor of Arizona, skilled in handling immigration issues, will be Secretary of Homeland Security. Sen. Hilary Clinton is being considered for Secretary of State.

Israel

New York Review of Books, 12-4. On Sept. 21 Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said to the Knesset: “We must seek an agreement with the Palestinians, meaning withdrawal from nearly all, if not all, of the occupied territories, including Jerusalem.”

Haaretz 11-20. In Hebron, West Bank, there are 650 Jewish settlers guarded by Israel troops living in the heart of a town of 180,000 Palestinians. Recently there have been clashes between Jewish settler activists and the Israel security forces. On Sunday the High Court of Israel ordered the settlers to evacuate a house after it was determined that they had forged ownership documents. The settlers refused. They threw stones at their Palestinian neighbors and spread graffiti on a mosque and Palestinian homes

THE FLASHLIGHT, November 8-14, 2008

2008-11-14T06:24:00.000-08:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts
November 8-14, 2008
Mary K. Matossian, Editor
mary@matossian.net, Apt. 9-M

US Politics

CNN 11-7. Obama received 53% of the popular vote.
Senator Byrd, 90, will give up his chairmanship of the Appropriations Committee.

CBS 11-9. 60 Minutes. The Obama Campaign. From the beginning Obama was clear as to what he wanted to say and do. He wanted a grassroots, idealistic approach. The organization was designed to be agile and to take risks. A record $600 million dollars was raised. There was no infighting, no turnover, and there were almost no leaks. The atmosphere was like that of a loving family. David Axelrod will go to the White House as Senior Advisor to Obama. Robert Gibbs will go as Press Secretary.

NY Times 11-11. The 2008 Election ended the centrality of the South in US national politics. The suburban south, in Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida, went for Obama. It has had an influx of better educated and more prosperous voters. The core of “red” voters, who are poor, uneducated, and white, is in the Appalachian and Ozark Mountains. The men are focused on hunting and military life.

Reuters 11-13. Sen. Ted Stevens now trails his democratic opponent, Mayor Mark Begich of Anchorage, Alaska.

US Economy

PBS 11-12. The federal government is turning to help the US auto industry, student loan sources, and credit card companies.

NY Times 11-13. Quotation of the Day. “People are grieving. There was death. Their money died.” Semi-retired psychotherapist Debray Beach, Florida

THE FLASHLIGHT, November 1-7, 2008

2008-11-07T08:31:00.000-08:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts
November 1-7, 2008
Mary K. Matossian, Editor
mary@matossian.net, Apt. 9-M

US Politics: The Election

PBS 11-1. Mark Shields: Every political campaign organization is a mirror of the personality of the candidate.
CNN 11-3. Madeline Dunham, 86, maternal grandmother of Barack Obama, died of cancer. She played a large role in raising him.
CNN 11-4. Shortly after 8:00 p.m. PST, when Ohio was declared for Obama, CNN declared him the national winner. A crowd of about 200,000 gathered in Grant Park, Chicago to hear his victory speech, He said to those who did not vote for him, “I will be your President too.” He said that his daughters would now get their promised puppy. His speech was intended to quiet, not excite people. Nevertheless the crowd cheered wildly.
11-6.With votes in Missouri close and not fully tallied, he won by 364 to 162 electoral votes. He won the suburban vote, the youth vote, the Latino vote, and (by 97%) the African-American vote. He won 43% of whites. He won 78% of Jewish voters. McCain carried only evangelical Christians and those over 65 years. Citizens of all but three countries abroad favored him.
11-5, 11-6. According to Wolf Blitzer, “The Republicans have a severe case of the blues.
The Democrats had 57 Senators including Bernie Sanders (Socialist) in Vermont and Joe Lieberman (Independent) in Connecticut. As a result of close races, the Senate seats in Minnesota and Georgia were undecided. If Sen. Ted Stevens (R) of Alaska is elected, he is likely to be removed by the Senate. Then the Republican governor of Alaska would appoint a Republican in his place. The only hope of a filibuster-proof majority of 60 would be if Stevens were defeated by a Democrat. The Democrats increased their membership in the House by 17 seats, with some contests still undecided.

NYTimes 11-5. In an analysis of Obama’s campaign organization, the Times praised its discipline and cohesiveness. It said that the campaign made only a few stumbles. David Axelrod, the chief strategist, and David Plouffe, a meticulous campaign manager, excelled. There was no drama or staff shakeup. Obama was a good debater with an eloquent message. He raised nearly a half a billion dollars. In the long primary contest with Hilary Clinton, Obama came through looking presidential in spite of his relative lack of experience.
As for the race factor, Stuart Stevens (R) of Miss. said, “If the house is on fire, the owner does not care what color the fireman is.”
Obama has appointed Rahm Emanuel as his chief of staff. Emanuel has White House experience and is a keen-minded strategist.
People of color world wide were overjoyed. At Obama’s victory speech, the Rev.. Jesse Jackson cried, as did thousands of others. Gen. Colin Powell said that he and his whole family cried. Oprah Winfrey was exuberant. There was a national holiday in Kenya, and Barack Obama’s paternal grandmother, 86, danced.

US Economy

CNN 10-31. The stock market went down 15% in October.
11-3. Compared to October, 2007, General Motors sales declined 45%, Ford, 30%. PBS 11-7. October retail sales were the worst in 40 years. NYT 11-7. The unemployment rate in October = 6.5%

Israel

The Economist, 11-1. An editorial urged Israel to fulfill its promise to evacuate most of its settlements in the West Bank and to stop all illegal settlement building. P. 18: “The [new U.S.] President will take office before Israelis go to the polls. . It is not his job to tell Israelis who to vote for, but Israelis like their prime ministers to be persona grata in Washington.. So the new president should make an early statement of tough intent that includes a demand for Israel to fulfill its promises to stop expanding settlements and dismantle the outposts deep within the West Bank.”

THE FLASHLIGHT, October 25-31, 2008

2008-10-31T09:53:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts
October 25-31, 2008
Mary Matossian, Editor
mary@matossian.net, Apt. 9-M

US Economy

CNN 10-24-31. The stock market remained very volatile. The Federal Government started to buy shares in insurance companies. Spending stalled and layoffs increased. Interest rates increased. Banks hoarded cash. PBS 10-28. In September consumer confidence was the lowest in 41 years. NYTimes 10-28. Credit card companies were tightening requirements for giving credit. BBC 10-27. Foreclosure rates in the third quarter as compared to the third quarter of last year were up 71%. Home prices continued to decline. It was expected that from peak to trough home prices will fall on average 30%.
CBS 60 Minutes 10-26. Two experts explained the financial crisis. In 2000 it became legal to make side bets that homeowners would not default on their mortgages. The stock market became a casino. It was assumed that house prices would continually rise. The financial instruments used were derivatives and credit default swaps. The risks were only vaguely understood by managers, boards, and buyers. Hedge fund managers made billions.

NYTimes 10-28. David Brooks, “The Behavioral Revolution.” He said that the quantitative models that financial experts used to predict stock market trends were bogus. They did not take into account misperceptions about risk that prevailed in various social networks. The leading misperceptions were:
1. The tendency to overvalue recent events when anticipating future possibilities.
2. The tendency to see data that confirms our prejudices more vividly than data that contradicts them.
3. The tendency to spin concurring facts into a simple causal narrative.
4. The tendency to applaud our supposed skill in circumstances when we have actually benefited from dumb luck.
He concluded that people are often not good guardians of their self-interest.

US Politics

PBS 10-24. Obama led in many red states. McCain failed to change the Republican brand and create a program of progressive Republicanism. Obama has big money donors as well as small, and his spending advantage over McCain political ads was 3 to 1 or 4 to 1.
CNN 10-27. Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, 84, was found guilty on all seven counts of fraud: failing to report a quarter million in gifts he received on Senate forms. He refused to withdraw from the current electoral race, however. [If he is re-elected, the Senate will have to decide whether or not to expel him.]

Reuters 10-27. In the Jackson area of Tennessee government agents arrested two Neo-Nazi men plotting to kill Obama and as many black children as possible in a local school.

Associated Press 10-29. A national poll showed Obama 50% and McCain 41%. Men were evenly split, women favored Obama by 19 points. Independents favored Obama by 7 points. In a poll of polls Obama lead in Florida by 5 points. CNN 10-29. Bill Clinton campaigned for Obama in Florida. Obama aired a 30 minute infomercial in the battleground states.
NYTimes 10-31. The number who believe Palin is not prepared for the job has rising from 50 to 59% in the last month. Obama now leads 51 to 40% nationally.

Israel

Haaretz 10-25. Sheldon Adelman, gambling king who claims to be the world’s richest Jews, lost $10 billion in October when the value of his shares in the Las Vegas Sands Corporation declined 80%. He reportedly also suffered losses in his Macao gambling concession.
Mr. Adelman is a strong supporter of the right wing Likud Party led by Benyamin Netanyahu. This party opposes closing the illegal settlements in the West Bank.

NYTimes 10-26. Tsipi Livni, leader of the Kadima Party, failed to form a government. An election is expected next February. The Kadima Party favors the evacuation of illegal Jewish settlements on the West Bank.
Haaretz 10-27. Polls showed Livni beginning to edge out Netanyahu, who had been leading in the polls.

Syria

CNN 10-27. US special forces on a secret mission crossed the border from Iraq into Syria and killed 8 Syrian men. The US claimed that the victims had been smuggling weapons and Islamic militant foreign warriors into Iraq. The Syrians vigorously protested.

Afghanistan

CNN 10-29. The Pentagon and the Afghan Government were seeking talks with unspecified members of the Taliban. Afghan women appealed to President Karzai to maintain their constitutional rights. PBS 10-29. The US needs more troops and a better strategy in Afghanistan. In many villages, there is support for the US and NATO presence for security reasons. Economic conditions are poor because of years of drought and lack of sufficient US investment.

Baluchistan

CNN 10-29. A 6.4 earthquake made 15,000 homeless.
[Baluchistan is east of Iran, west of India, and south of Pakistan.}

THE FLASHLIGHT, October 18-24, 2008

2008-10-24T08:03:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
No Peace without Justice, No Justice without the Facts
October 18-24, 2008
Mary K. Matossian, Editor
mary@matossian.net, Apt. 9-M

US Politics

NBC 10-19. General Colin Powell, former Secretary of State, announced his support for Barack Obama as President. He said he did not believe that Sarah Palin was ready to be President, and that nominating her was an act of bad judgment by John McCain. He praised Obama both for the substance of his positions, and his steady style of leadership. Powell blamed the McCain campaign for tying the McCain to the deck of the Titanic.

NYTiimes 10-20. Obama raised $66 million in August and a record $150 million in September. He has raised a total of $600 million from private sources.
CNN 10-21. Obama now leads by 9 points in national polls. Also 75% of American are angry about the situation today. The “527” groups have run into legal issues and are not raising much money for McCain. 10-22, Obama leads in Virginia 54 to 44 points. Palin is now a drag on McCain except among the Republican base. Independents and seniors nationally are switching to Obama. They are concerned about protecting Social Security and their retirement accounts. There is public resentment that the Republicans spent $150,000 on a chic wardrobe and hardos for Palin.
When McCain says Obama is too inexperienced, Obama says McCain is out of date. He says that McCain is not fighting for Joe the Plumber but Joe the hedge fund manager.

US Economy

PBS 10-20. Economists are predicting a recession until summer, 2009.
` CNN 10-22. Stocks were down 40% in 2008.
PBS 10-22. Corporate earning in the third quarter were poor. Commodity prices were down. There are mass sell-offs on a global scale.
CNN 10-23. Alan Greenspan, former Federal Reserve Chairman, testified in Congress that we are experiencing a once in a century credit tsunami. He was shocked, shocked that banks would so neglect the borrowers’ welfare. Greenspan was under the “collective delusion” that house prices would keep going up.
Oil prices are down to $66.75 a barrel.

US Health

NYTimes op ed. 10-24 (by Billy Beane, Newt Gingrich, and John Kerry). “How to Take American Healthcare from the Worst to the First” Doctors should make medical decisions from statistics in clinical studies of the effectiveness of various medical procedures and technologies. As of now, decisions are too much made on the basis of informed opinion, personal observations, and tradition. As a result the US is spending more than twice as much per capita on health care as almost every other country in the world and getting a worse health quality than most industrialized nations.

Turkey

NYTimes 10-21. A trial began of 86 individuals accused of an ultra-nationalist coup against the elected government. They were charged with planning assassinations and bombings in order to overthrow the government. They were also accused of the murder of three staff members of Christian publishing houses and of plotting the murder of Nobelist writer Orhan Pamuk. They were charged with planning to kill Greek and Armenian religious leaders and a Jewish businessman.

THE FLASHLIGHT, October 11-17, 2008

2008-10-17T06:46:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts
October 11-17, 2008

US Economy

BBC 10-10. Japanese stocks are down 53%. Iran so far is relatively unaffected.
NYTimes 10-10. Paul Krugman. It is urgent for the US government to take over major banks, guaranteeing not only deposits, but bank debts, and obtaining equity (partial ownership) in those banks. The British rescue plan for three major banks (Royal Bank of Scotland, Halifax Bank of Scotland, and Lloyds) is a model for the US.
NYTimes 10-13. Paul Krugman won the Nobel Prize for Economics ($1.4 million).
The federal government announced a plan to buy equity in “healthy” banks. CNN 10-13. There was a coordinated response of international support for such an approach.
NYTimes 10-14. Sec. Paulson told nine leading banks that they would have to accept government investment for the sake of the financial system. Of the $700 billion voted by Congress, $250 billion will be used for this purpose. Half of the latter amount will go to Citigroup, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sacks, and Morgan Stanley. The rest will go to smaller banks and thrifts.

CNN 10-15. The market fell by the second greatest amount in its history: -733, D.J. 8577, that is, by 7.9%. The Nasdaq was down by 8.5%. In September, consumer spending fell, as many did not buy new cars or clothes.
CNN 10-16 and Time 10-20. Oil prices fell below $70 a barrel, the lowest point in five years. The fall in oil prices was mainly because China and India were consuming less. Chinese stocks were down 60% this year. Russian stocks were down 67% (Russia is an oil exporter). The US Standard and Poor Index was down 33%. German banks were said to need a massive government bailout. Swiss banks (Credit Suisse and UBS) were receiving government help.
PBS 10-16. Next year’s Social Security cost of living raise will be 5.8%.

Newsweek 10-20. Farid Zakaria: Since the 1930’s Americans have consumed more than they produced, and made up the difference by borrowing. Now they have received a wake-up call from Hell. It may be a blessing in disguise. This bad habit must be changed.

US Politics

CNN 10-10. With gasoline prices up, and house prices down, the suburban voters were swinging to Obama.
Obama was getting higher scores than Bill Clinton did.
PBS 10-10. Neither candidate was being honest with voters about how bad the economy was.
Obama was outspending McCain in 15 battleground states. He was attracting new groups of supporters: ethnic minorities, college graduates in the suburbs and exurbs, and youths 18-29.

NYTimes 10-12. An Alaskan legislative investigation concluded that Gov. Sarah Palin had abused her power in trying to get her former brother-in-law fired. This was a violation of the ethics code for Alaskan governors. A second investigation started.

PBS 10-13. According to an ABC-Washington Post poll Obama lead McCain by 10 points. MSNBC. Gov. Crist of Florida avoided a McCain affair and went to Disneyland instead. Conservative leader William Kristol said McCain should fire all his campaign staff.
Washington Post 10-14. A new Gallup poll found Obama leading nationally by 10 points.
CNN 10-14. Obama lead in Virginia by 10 points. This state had voted Republican for the past 40 years. Here Obama outspent McCain 4 to 1.
CBS-NYTimes poll. Obama had an 18 point lead among Independents. The latter did not like McCain’s negative ads. Now Obama had an estimated 277 electoral votes, enough to win the election.

CBS, CNN 10-16. McCain put in his best performance of the three debates, But Obama kept his cool and was considered the winner by a 27 point margin.
MSNBC 10-16. McCain withdrew his team from Wisconsin. A Democratic landslide is possible.

North Korea
NYTimes 10-12, The US removed North Korea from its list of terrorist countries.

Israel
BBC 10-13. The moderate Kadima Party signed a coalition agreement with the Labor Party.

India
BBC 10-15. In Orissa State since late August Hindus have persecuted Christians, forcing them to flee or to convert to Hinduism, destroying their homes and churches, and burning Bibles and prayer books. This was a reaction to a previous Christian persecution of Hindus.

Health
Chicago Sun Times 10-14. According to the Farmington long term heart study, even mild use of alcohol, 1 to 7 drinks a week, serves to speed the shrinkage of the brain, which is a feature of aging.

Science

The Economist, 10-11. Nobel prizes in medicine went to the scientists who discovered the identity of the virus causing HIV and that causing cervical cancer.
In physics the prize went to three Japanese scientists who explored spontaneous symmetry breaking, which is necessary to create and sustain the universe.
In chemistry the prize went to three scientists who discovered a fluorescent green protein. Other proteins in different fluorescent colors were subsequently discovered. This makes possible the coloring and identification of specific neural circuits in the brain.

THE FLASHLIGHT, October 4-10, 2008

2008-10-10T09:23:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts
October 4-10, 2008
Editor Mary K. Matossian, 9-M
mary@matossian.net
US Economy

CNN 10-3. The US House of Representatives passed the bailout bill 263-171.
A survey taken before the credit crisis showed that 159,000 jobs had been lost in September.

PBS 10-3. Wells Fargo Bank bought Wachovia Bank.

NY Times 10-6. In spite of the bailout bill, European and Russian stocks fell sharply. The price of oil fell below $90 a barrel
CNN 10-6. Stocks fell by 800 points, then partially recovered, leaving the Dow Jones index under 10,000.
Gold went up 4%, oil down to $87.80 a barrel
Worldwide, stocks declined: China by 5%, Germany 7%, Britain 8%, France 9%. In Russia and Brazil, trading was stopped.

CNN 10-7. Bank of America shares declined 26%. The US market is down 1000 since the House acted on the bailout last Friday. The Federal Reserve may become the bank of last resort for all large corporations, not just investment banks.

PBS 10-8. The British nationalized their leading banks. Major European markets were down another 5%, emerging markets, 8-10%.
CNN 10-9. A commentator predicted that even after the markets come back, house prices will continue to decline, and unemployment will continue to rise.
The Nasdaq index is down 16%.

NY Times 10-10. Krugman. The Federal Reserve should buy into all banks, giving taxpayers equity in them (as the British have already done). The should be done this weekend in cooperation with European and Japanese banks. Otherwise the situation will become much worse.

US Politics

NYTimes 10-4. Obama is trying to appeal to older voters by talking about federal health insurance.
CNN 10-6. 61% of likely voters think Obama will win.
Obama promised (again) tax breaks for 95% of households, with incomes under $250,000, and unemployment relief.
53% still oppose the bailout bill.
Bush favorability is down to 20%, the same as Nixon at the end of his presidency. Obama is trying to link McCain to Bush. In particular, McCain is trying to make permanent the Bush tax cuts for the very rich.
Poll shows that Biden is considered qualified to be President, 79 to 19. But only 43% think Palin is qualified, vs. 56% who think she is not qualified.
McCain is losing because he is failing to appeal to moderates and the undecided.
BBC 10-6. Obama leads in projected electoral votes 250 to 189. To win, 270 are needed. In Florida, new voters favor Democrats 2 to 1, and in Colorado, 4 to 1.
W Post AP 10-8. After the second debate, Obama was judged the better debater 54 to 30%. Obama received 64% favorability ratings, up from 60% before the debate. McCain remained at 51%. In likeability Obama received 65% to 28% for McCain.
CNN 10-8. A commentator said that the economy will trump race as an issue. “Success “ in Iraq is receding as an issue.
PBS 10-8. There is a great increase in voter interest. Democratic Party registration is way up.
Kansas City Star. Gallup poll shows Obama leading 52 to 41%
NY Times 10-9. David Brooks. The Republicans have alienated professional people; the latter favor Democrats:
lawyers, 4 to 1; doctors, 2 to 1; technology executives 5 to 1; investment bankers, 2 to 1. Liberals now dominate the elite universities and the mainstream media.
Reuters 10-10. Citizens 65 and older are backing McCain 4 to 1. This reflects the die off of those remembering the New Deal; the new old are more conservative. On the other hand, citizens 18 to 29 back Obama 4 to 1.
SF Examine, US News. In a summary of state polls, it was found that in Florida In one poll Obama led 52-44, and in another poll, 50-47. In Minnesota, Obama led 52-45 in one poll, 50-47 in another.
Obama had substantial leads in Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Virginia, and West Virginia. McCain led narrowly in Missouri, 49-46, Obama led narrowly in North Carolina and Ohio.

Health

NYTimes 10-8. The bailout package carries provisions for more mental health insurance coverage. Now these diseases carry the same co-pays and deductibles as other diseases. There will no more time limits on treating mental conditions. This change is based on the understanding that many mental health problems are real diseases of the brain and gene mutations. All conditions in the American Psychiatric Association diagnostic manual are now covered.

Climate

NYTimes 10-7. The government of California has a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1) curbing urban sprawl and 2) cutting the time that people have to spend in automobiles.
New zoning laws will be passed so that developers can build housing closer to work sites. New mass transit facilities will be built.

Transcaucasia/Russia

BBC 10-8. Russian troops are withdrawing from Georgia, Ossetia, and Abkhazia, as promised.

THE FLASHLIGHT, September 27 - October 3, 2008

2008-10-02T14:47:00.001-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts
September 27 – October 3, 2008
Mary K. Matossian, Editor
mary@matossian.net, Apt. 9-M

US Economy

NYTimes 9-27. The Congressional Republicans have strong objections to the bailout package for financial firms proposed by Sec. Henry Paulson. 9-28. The bailout bill ran to 110 pages. The president, the congressional leaders and the two presidential candidates supported it.
CNN, NYTimes. 9-29. However, the mail received by House representatives was overwhelmingly against it. There were critics on both left and right. The bill failed, 228 against, 205 for. Democrats were for it, 140 to 72; Republicans were against, 133 to 65.
9-30. The stock market went down 777 points, the largest single loss in the history of the market. That meant it was down by 7%. $1.2 trillion was lost. Treasury bills were selling at 0.4% interest. A widespread perception in the population was that “Nobody is helping us, and we are expected to help Wall Street.”
CNN 10-1. The Senate bailout called a “rescue plan,” is providing new tax breaks and incentives, and a higher cap on savings deposits, which were now insured at $250,000 instead of $100,000. Rep. Jesse Jackson said that the amended bill was “for the country, not the country clubs.”
CNN 10-2. Stocks down -350: dwindling factory orders, rising unemployment. Widespread losses from retirement accounts.

BBC 10-1. Senate passed the revised “rescue plan” 74-25. CNN 10-2. Senate bill carries huge load of earmarks. McCain voted for it anyway.

Robert Reich’s Explanation for the Economic Crisis
Digest of a speech given 9/24/08, posted on the Internet. Reich is currently a professor at the School for Public Policy, University of California at Berkeley. He was Secretary of Labor under Clinton.

The loss of confidence in sub-prime mortgages was only the trigger for the economic meltdown. The underlying cause was that the population as a whole does not have enough aggregate demand. Rich people have a lot of money, but they already own more than enough for their needs. Others are finding it increasing difficult to provide for their needs, especially to make payments on their mortgages, pay for medical care, and pay for college tuition.
Since the 1970’s, the pay for male workers, corrected for inflation, has declined. First, married women went to work because the pay of their husbands was buying less. Then, all workers worked longer hours. Finally, households began to pile up debts. As a result, spending has started to decline. Inequality has increased to the level of 1928, just before the Crash of 1929. The more the inequality, the less the aggregated demand.

Meanwhile, the federal government, under Republicans and during the last Clinton years, has deregulated the securities markets. It eliminated the distinction between commercial and investment banks. It lowered interest rates, making it possible for banks to lend freely, to take huge risks, and to devise complicated investment vehicles, e.g. derivatives. There has been plenty of cupidity and stupidity.

In order to rebuild family income, it is necessary to reorganize the economy. New and better regulation of markets is needed to prevent fraud. People in danger of losing their homes must be given an opportunity to renegotiate their mortgages. Rebuilding infrastructure is a good way to create more jobs. We should not bail out automobile companies because they have refused to increase their fuel economy standards, making them uncompetitive with foreign manufacturers.

US Politics

The First Presidential Debate. CNN and PBS, 9-26. McCain stressed the importance of eliminating congressional earmarks on bills (pork barrel spending). Obama pointed out that earmarks account for only $18 billion in the national budget, compared to $300 billion for tax cuts for the rich. Obama wants to eliminate loopholes in corporate tax laws. McCain suggested a freeze on spending except for the military, veterans, and entitlement bills. Obama suggested spending could be drastically cut by eliminating the war on Iraq. It is costing 10 billion a month. McCain spoke for alternative energy, but Obama said that McCain has voted 23 alternative energy bills so far.
As for foreign policy, McCain stressed the importance of the “success of the surge,” Obama said the war was a mistake from the beginning: the lesson is to avoid such involvements.
David Gergen judged the debate a tie, but he said that a tie was not good enough for McCain to win the election, because foreign policy, in which he is more experienced, is less important to the voters now than the economy, in which Obama is stronger.

NYTimes 9-28. McCain, who is a lifelong gambler, has many ties to the gambling industry. He has twice been chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee.

CNN 9-29. Sarah Palin often does not understand the question she is asked. Thus, she cannot answer appropriately.
Comedy Central, Steven Colbert. The president of the National Organization for Women endorsed Obama for president.

NYTimes 9-30. During the last ten days Obama gained momentum. Polls show him 9 points ahead in Virginia, 11 points in Minnesota, and 1 point in Missouri. He is competing hard in the key states of Missouri, Florida, and Ohio. In particular, he has improved his standing with voters over 50, who stand to lose most from the current economic crisis.
WPost/ABC poll 10-2. 60% see Paliin as lacking the necessary experience to be President, and 30% are less likely to vote for McCain in the light of this. Of the half of voter concerned about McCain’s age, 85% are skeptical of her. Of Independents, two-thirds are skeptical of her.
CBS/NYTimes poll 10-2. Obama leads by 9 points, 49-40. AP 10-2. Obama leads by 7 points, 48-40.
MSNBC 10-1. Palin’s favorability among women has fallen from 43 to 30 points.
CNN 10-2. McCain pulls out staff from Michigan, conceding the state. CNN poll: Obama leads nationally by +6. He has more money and field people, and is now ahead in states worth 260 electoral votes, ten votes shy of victory.

Israel

NYTimes 9-30. Olmert said that Israel must pull completely out of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. He also said that many Israelis had lost their sense of proportion in relating to Iran.

Russia

CNN 10-1. Tomorrow four Russian warships will pass through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles on the their way across the Mediterranean and the Atlantic to Venezuela.

Humor

Comedy Central, Steven Colbert 9-30. On account of the economic situation in the US, the number of illegal immigrants has declined. Now there are new jobs for Wall Street workers: those who have been picking stocks can now pick strawberries; those who managed hedge funds can now trim hedges.

THE FLASHLIGHT, September 20-26, 2008

2008-09-26T07:18:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts
September 20-26, 2008
Mary K. Matossian, Editor
mary@matossian.net, Apt. 9-M

The US Economy

PBS 9-19. Fear on Wall Street is the worst in 50 years because a series of financial institutions have collapsed. The meltdown is global in scope.
CNN 9-19. The bailout proposal for Wall Street financial firms proposed by Henry Paulson, Secretary of the Treasury, is for $700 billion, and may reach one trillion, making it “the mother of all bailouts.” As first proposed it would give Paulson immunity from any review in using the money. It is intended to prevent a credit freeze on Wall Street. The original proposal of three pages had expanded to 91 pages on Thursday afternoon.
NYTimes 9-20. The meltdown is global. The stock market of Russia is down by 50%.
Washington Post 9-22. Resentful of the bailout proposal is widespread, and cuts across class lines. People who have been financially prudent are angry at the prospect of assuming hundreds of billions in liability. CNN 9-22. People are saying, “Hell no! Let the failing institutions die!” They ask, “Where’s the bailout for the average American and small business owners? ”
NY Times 9-23. People are saying that the bailout proposal is only in the private interest, not in the public interest. They have little confidence that taxpayers will be paid back later. They want punitive measures taken against the executives responsible for the mess. They demand that there be legislative and judicial review of the actions of Secretary Paulson. They want citizens to have equity in the seized financial institutions. They want caps on the pay of executives in these institutions.
Retirees have been hit especially hard by the crisis. Compared with previous retirees, they have less money in savings, greater exposure to market risk, and longer life expectancies.
CNN 9-23. Senator Dodd warned, that since the US is already deeply in debt and has limited resources, “There will be no second act, no Plan B, if this bailout does not work.” The next President will have few resources to expand education and health services, to fix our failing infrastructures, and to cut taxes for anyone.

CNN 9-23. House Democrats agreed to allow the ban on oil drilling offshore in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to expire.

Wall Street Journal 9-24. The FBI is investigating fraud in four firms at the heart of the mess: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman, and AIG.

NYTimes 9-26. Late Thursday, 9-25, the federal government made the federal government seized Washington Mutual. It was the largest bank takeover in history. The government sold parts of Washington Mutual to JP Morgan Chase.

NYTimes 9-26. The tentative agreement on a plan for federal action to restore liquidity on Wall Street was destroyed by House Republicans, who seek federal insurance of some kind rather than a buy-out.

US Politics

Wall Street Journal. 9-19. The Journal, now owned by conservative Rupert Murdoch, blasted McCain as incompetent and impulsive on American economic issues.
CNN 9-22. Obama is gaining among seniors and men. On the economy, Obama leads McCain 53 to 42%. On international crises, McCain leads 54 to 44%.
PBS 9-22. On McCain decision making: He relies on his instincts and makes fast judgments – useful when he was a fighter pilot. But he tends to be impulsive rather than analytical. He is hot-tempered and passionate.
PBS 9-23. On Obama decision making: He is deliberate, reflective, and cool. He listens to his advisors. He is moved both by principles and pragmatism. He never acts off the cuff, and avoids digging himself into a hole or backing himself into a corner. He excels at bringing people with different views together.
Washington Post 9-24. According to a recent W Post/ABC poll, Obama now leads McCain 52 to 43. Only 9% still consider Iraq the most important issue of the campaign. There is much movement of college educated whites toward Obama. Whites without college degrees support McCain by a 17 point majority. Unfavorable ratings of Palin increased from 28 to 38%. Among college grads her favorability rating within two week dropped from 60 to 43%. Independents support Obama 53% to 39% for McCain.

NYTimes 9-26. The fate of the presidential debate tonight is uncertain.

Pakistan

CNN 9-20. A big truck bombing in Islamabad destroyed the Marriott Hotel. The explosion was felt three miles away. At least 60 died and 175 were wounded.

Israel

NYTimes 9-26. The settler movement in Israel appears to be turning more violent, as a pipe bomb explodes outside the house of a liberal Israeli professor, Zeev Sternhall. Flyers distributed nearby offered $300,000 for the killing of any member of Peace Now, a pacifist organization which advocates the termination of Jewish settlements on the West Bank. [Under international law these settlements violate the ban on colonizing land which has been seized by unauthorized force.] The settlers claim that the settlements are authorized by God.
There are now over 100 such settlements on the West Bank with about 250,000 settlers among 2.4 million Palestinians. [Most commentators think that unless the settlements are removed a Palestinian state is impossible.]

American Foreign Policy

` The Nation October 6, 2008, Excerpts from “Ten National Security Myths Debunked.”
Myth 1. “It’s a dangerous world. We face an array of serious national security threats…”
“Seven years after the 9/11 attack it is evident that Al-Qaeda lacks the capacity to pose a systemic threat to America. Since 9/11 there have been no major attacks against US targets outside the war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan.”
“Iran is too weak economically and militarily to pose a threat to the United States or US allies in the Middle East and is years away from obtaining nuclear weapons.”

Myth 2. “The surge has worked. To draw from Iraq now would snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and embolden Islamic extremists.”

“The drop off in violence reflects the fact that ethnic cleansing led to the internal partition of Iraqi cities and regions, reducing the opportunity for sectarian killing… The [Sunni] Awakening Councils…deserve much of the credit for the decline in violence. So does the decision by Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr to order his militia to stand down…The Shiite-led government seems no more willing to compromise on key issues than it was before the surge…Thus the surge has emboldened the government to consolidate its sectarian gains and buck the wishes of its American supporters, even to the point of demanding a timetable for the end of the occupation”….

Myth 7. “Because the American military is stretched thin by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, we must increase the size of our conventional armed forces.”

“The problem is not that we spend too little or have too few forces. After all, the military budget, now almost $600 billion, is almost as large as the combined military budgets of the rest of the world….The lessons we should draw from our experience in Iraq and Afghanistan is not that we need more conventional forces, but that the missions of regime change and counterinsurgency are – in addition to being illegal, in the case of the former, and unethical – are not essential to US interests and cannot be achieved at acceptable cost.”

THE FLASHLIGHT, September 13-19, 2008

2008-09-19T06:56:00.001-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
September 13-19, 2008
No Peace without Justice, No Justice without the Facts
Mary K. Matossian, Editor
mary@matossian.net, 9-M

US Politics

PBS 9-12. McCain’s claim to be an agent of economic change is mainly based on his fight against earmarks on Congressional bills. But earmarks account for only 1% of the US deficit.

NYTimes 9-15. Obama raised $66 million in one month.

CNN 9-16. Palin has more favorable ratings among men than among women.

CNN 9-18. Obama now leads McCain by five points. Palin’s ratings have started to fall; Biden’s ratings have started to rise.

The US Economy, and its Influence on Politics

NYTimes 2-15. Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy.
Merrill Lynch agreed to sell itself to Bank of America on account of bad mortgage loans.

PBS 9-15. Experts predicted the financial crisis will not start to improve until mid-2009 and there will be no recovery until the middle of 2010. A thousand small and medium sized banks may go bankrupt. The Dow Jones fell 509 points, or 4.4%. The value of Goldman Sachs and Washington Mutual dropped suddenly. The AIG Company, a multifunction insurance group, received $85 billion in US federal loans to prevent an international meltdown
The economy became the #1 issue in the election. Obama said that this is the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression.
PBS 9-17. The Dow Jones fell 450 points. Home construction was down 6.2%. Both Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs were at risk. Citigroup and Wachovia may buy Washington Mutual. The AIG bailout did not restore investor confidence. Gold went up 9% in one day. Money market mutual funds were stable, but not covered by FDIC. The federal government was under pressure to make sweeping policy changes regarding financial markets instead of its current ad-hoc decisions under pressure.
CNN 9-18, The stock market rose over 400 points. Three out of five great investment banks have now failed or been taken over.

In a speech Obama criticized the Republican economic policy of giving more and more to those with the most, and hoping that wealth would trickle down. McCain is now sounding more like a populist, demanding government regulation of the market.
Obama’s proposals:
1. Provide capital to families, liquidity to businesses to help restructure mortgages and keep families in their homes.
2. Provide jobs and meet national needs by providing $50 billion to build new infrastructure and schools.
3. Change bankruptcy and tax laws to help more who are in need, not just the most affluent.
4. Rate potential home buyers on a system that measures their fitness to borrow.
The consensus among experts now is that this is the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Israel

BBC 9-17. Tsipi Livni won over two generals, by a narrow margin, the election for head of the Kadima Party. She must now build a coalition. [She is for a negotiated settlement with the Palestinians and the evacuation of illegal settlements from the West Bank. Her right wing opponents favor military power only to maintain Israel’s security. ]

THE FLASHLIGHT, September 6-12, 2008

2008-09-12T08:56:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
September 6 – 12, 2008
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts
Mary K. Matossian, Editor
mary@matossian.net, Apt. 9-M

US Politics

CNN 9-5. Obama cited economic problems, saying that 600,000 jobs have been lost so far this year. He said that in McCain’s 26 years in Washington he has always voted against tax credits for the developers of wind, and solar energy. The US has only 3-4% of the world’s oil reserves, but it consumes 25% of the world’s oil, so more drilling will not solve its problem. A record number of homes are in foreclosure. Obama promised to cut taxes for 95% of working families and for small businesses and startups.
PBS 9-8, Obama and McCain were in a dead heat. Sarah Palin stirred up the Republican base, but not by attracting women. As to reputation as a national unifier Obama is far ahead of McCain. [This is a major issue for independent voters].
CNN 9-10. Distribution of electoral votes for those states which are safe or leaning to presidential candidates: Obama, 243, McCain 189. Tossups: 106.
WPost 9-12. Obama’s campaign manager, David Plouffe, sought to reassure Democrats that while the McCain campaign is issuing a blizzard of lies, smears, and distractions, they will be answered soon in two new TV adds. He said that McCain is out of touch with reality because he has not been able to address the real issues. There have been no significant changes in McCain’s positions over the present administration’s policies on the economy, energy, health care, education or Iraq. Plouffe also said that corporate lobbyists are running the McCain campaign, and that they do not intend to put themselves out of business.

US Economy

NYTimes, PBS 9-7. The Federal Government took over Fannie May and Freddie Mac, which together held half of US mortgages. They had $12 billion in losses. The top officers of these companies were replaced by federal regulators. Commentators blamed the present government for failing to regulate these companies earlier.

Israel/Palestine

Haaretz (Tel Aviv) 9-7. Prime Minister Olmert said that Israel must now prepare for the evacuation of West Bank settlers. He suggested offering cash incentives for the settlers to move voluntarily.
A Fatah leader Hassan Khader, recently released from an Israeli prisoner as part of the prisoner exchange, said that Israel, after two years of negotiations, had made no significant concessions. He warned that the next Palestinian uprising would involve missiles and chemical weapons

Iraq

Michael Schwartz, War without End, as reported in Tom@Dispatch.com.
US military “success” in establishing better security has freed the Maliki government to take stronger nationalist positions on oil and trade. The Maliki government and its allies are now demanding that all US troops be out of Iraq by 2011. Maliki wants to exclude the US from contracts to develop Iraq’s major oil field. The “surge” strategy may be the nail in the coffin of US hopes for dominance in the Middle East. Iranian exports now dominate the Iraqi markets.

THE FLASHLIGHT, August 30-September 5, 2008

2008-09-05T09:16:00.001-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
August 30 to September 5, 2008
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts
Mary K. Matossian, Editor
mary@matossian.net, Apt. 9-M

The Republicans’ Big Week

CNN and PBS 8-29, NYTimes 8-30, Wikipedia, CNN 9-3, NYTimes 9-4. John McCain picked Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska, as a running mate. She studied journalism and graduated from the University of Idaho.
She married a sportsman, fisherman, and member of the United Steelworkers Union. They have five children. She prided herself in being a “hockey mom,” [which meant that she actually played ice hockey.]
. She started her political career on the town council and as mayor of a town 45 miles north of Anchorage: Wasilia, population 7,000.
From an early age she has been an evangelical Christian fundamentalist, opposed to abortion, stem cell research, same sex marriage, and any sex education that covers alternatives to abstinence. She believes that creationism should be taught in the schools alongside evolution. She believes that global warming is not at all man-made. She threatened to fire the town librarian for refusing to ban certain books on account of their “inappropriate” language. In a speech last June in her former church in Wasilia, she said the war in Iraq was “a task that is from God.”
Sarah Palin was elected Governor of Alaska in December 2006, 20 months ago. She was lucky in her opponents, who were notorious crooks. Alaskan politics is famous for its corruption. But she was also lucky in that Alaska had plenty of money, running a $5 billion dollar surplus last year, while other states faced serious shortfalls. This has been because of the sharp rise in oil prices, and Alaska has abundant oil. She favors drilling for more in the Arctic National Wild Life Refuge. Alaska also receives a great deal of federal money for various projects.
She won election to Governor 20 months ago, in December, 2006. She condemned corruption and supported ethics legislation. She also distributed some of the budget surplus from oil revenues among the people. She fostered the development of a natural gas pipeline. She initially favored the $200 million dollar “bridge to nowhere”, but later changed her mind and used the money for other projects. Her current favorability rating is 76%.
In her speech to the Republican National Convention, 9-3, Sarah Palin aroused the gathering with her aggressive, sarcastic attacks on Obama, while maintaining her “femininity.” She said that compared with Obama as a community organizer, she had real responsibility as a small town mayor. She acknowledged that her Downs Syndrome baby was a child with “special needs.”
She acknowledged that she is an outsider to the “Washington elite” and unbeloved by the national media. She claimed that she was a champion of “small town America,” challenging the “status quo” [of dominance by urban Americans and Ivy League graduates like Obama]. She claimed to be an opponent of the “good old boys”, the oil companies, and wasteful spending. She said that she wanted to put government “back on the side of the people.”
She accused Barack Obama of never having authored any important legislation or reform. She said that he never spoke of “victory” abroad, only in connection with his own campaign. She accused him of planning to raise all major taxes. She mocked him for his “journey of personal discovery.”

Commentary on Palin Speech

CNN 9-3, NYTimes 9-4. Wolf Blitzer: “A star has been born.” Donna Brazile said it was “a red meat speech.” Harry Reid’s office called her “shrill.” Other commentators noted that she smiled when she put in the knife; that she was energizing the Republican base (small town folks, evangelicals); that she was starting up again the cultural war between urban, coastal culture, and small town, rural culture, while other leaders were trying to transcend it; that after this speech the Democrats would take off their gloves. Indeed, the Obama campaign promptly announced that everything she had said about Obama was false.
NYTimes 9-4. The Times writers observed that Palin made no mention of the economy and the hardships being experienced by so many Americans. They said that it will be difficult for the Republicans to talk about change when they have been in charge of the government in Washington for the last eight years. A handful of giant corporations still dominates Alaska in spite of Sarah Palin.
NYTimes 9-5. John McCain, instead of appealing to the party base, turned to the wider electorate. He vowed an end to partisan rancor. He distanced himself from the unpopular White House.
[The editor was unable to listen to this speech, hence the brief coverage.]
The Economist 8-30. McCain does resemble Pres. Bush, however, in his hawkish foreign policy positions, his advocacy of irresponsible tax cuts for the very rich, and in his positions on religion and abortion.

US Politics, General

CNN 9-3. Poll: Obama leads in Iowa +15; in Minnesota, +12, but in Ohio, only +2.

US Economy

NYTimes 8-30. Compressed natural gas can now be used as fuel in specially designed cars, i.e. the special Honda Civic. It is available in Utah for 87 cents a gallon. The drawbacks are that the number of fueling stations is limited, and that a full tank of compressed natural gas can only go half as far as a full tank of gasoline in a typical car.
The government of California is providing incentives for the development of this technology.

CNN 9-4. The Dow Jones, in a broad based sell-off, lost 344 points, ending at 11,188. Oil went down to $108 a barrel.
NYTimes 9-5. The unemployment rate rose to 6.1%, the highest since December, 2003.

The Middle East

Georgia
NYTimes 9-4. The US gave Georgia only $63 million dollars in 2007, one-third of which was for military purposes. Now the US is going to give it $1.8 billion over the next 17 years. This does not include military funds. The announcement angered the Russians.

Turkey/Armenia

Turkish Daily News 9-3. Pres. Abdullah Gul of Turkey has gone to Erevan [capital of Armenia] and hopes for a breakthrough in talks with the Armenian government.

Iraq
The Economist, 8-30. “Iraq is still a bloody mess.” Hundreds of Iraqis are being killed every month, and four million are still displaced from their homes. In the north, a vicious insurgency continues, especially around Mosul. There has been no decision on the management and distribution of profits from Iraqi oil.

Israel/Palestine

Haaretz 9-5. In an effort to strengthen Pres. Abbas, Israel ordered that 1,000 rifles be sent to the Palestine Authority.

THE FLASHLIGHT, August 23-29, 2008

2008-08-29T06:44:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
August 23 – 29, 2008
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts
Mary K. Matossian, Editor
mary@matossian.net, Apt. 9-M

US Politics: The Democrats’ Big Week

CNN 8-22. Obama chose Sen. Joe Biden as running mate. He has a working class origin and much foreign policy experience.

NYTimes 8-23 Most of McCain’s money is in his wife’s name. They own seven houses. He is one of the richest men in the Senate.

PBS 8-26. The Democratic keynote speaker, Mark Warner, was a former businessman, founder of Nextel mobile phones. He did not attack McCain or Republicans in general, for he is running for a Virginia Senate seat and must appeal to moderates of both parties.

CNN 8-26-28, Hilary Clinton in a fighting speech supported Obama, raised the issues of equal pay for women for equal work. Bill Clinton also gave a rousing speech. Sen. John Kerry rejoiced that Democrats now have enough money to fight back hard against slurs against their candidates. Sen. Biden also gave a rousing speech.
Obama’ spoke to an audience of c. 70,000 saying, “This election is not about me: it is about you.”
NYTimes 8-29. Commentator Patrick Healy said that the goals of Obama’s speech were to connect the promise of “change” to specific proposals, and to show that he could fight his opponent.

US Economy

NY Times 8-25. It was reported that new technology is making it possible to extract natural gas from shale beds scattered over North America. Of fossil fuels, the one that produces the least amount of emissions that cause global warming is natural gas.

The Middle East

Haaretz, Tel Aviv. 8-24. Israel promised to release 199 Palestinian prisoners to President Abbas in the West Bank.
Haaretz 8-26. Peace Now, an Israeli human rights organization, reported that during this year so far, 2,600 units have been built on the West Bank, nearly half of which are east of the line of separation. Sec. of State Condelezza Rice called for an end to West Bank construction.

IPS (International Press Service, in Google News). According to Peace Now, this year Israel has published tenders for the construction 1,761 illegal housing units for Israeli settlers in occupied east Jerusalem. This is contrary to Israel’s promise not to do so at the Annapolis peace conference in 2007. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Mun has stressed repeatedly that West Bank settlement construction is contrary to international law.

Iran

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenai said that scientific advancement is essential for the health, wealth, and strength of the nation.

Humor
Contributed by Sylvia Kuran.

War does not determine who is right.
War determines who is left.

Contributed by Parker Robinson

Bill Gates:
'If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has,we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon.' In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating: If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all bedriving cars with the following characteristics:: 1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash........Twice a day. 2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car. 3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason.You would have to pull to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this. 4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn wouldcause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.
5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would run ononly five percent of the roads. 6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single 'This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation' warning light. 7. The airbag system would ask 'Are you sure?' before deploying. 8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna. 9. Every time a new car was introduced car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operatein the same manner as the old car. 10. You'd have to press the 'Start' button to turn the engine off.____________________________________________________________

THE FLASHLIGHT, August 16-22, 2008

2008-08-22T06:19:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
August 16-22, 2008
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts
Mary K. Matossian, Editor
mary@matossian.net, 9-M

Transcaucasia
CNN 8-15. Georgia signed truce with Russia. Widespread destruction in Tskhinvali, capital of South Ossetia. NYTimes 8-16. Russian signed truce with Georgia.

Iran

Tehran Times 8-18. Iran successfully launched its first communication satellite.

Turkey/Armenia

An-Nahar 8-17. In response to an invitation from the President of Armenia, Serzh Sarkisyan, to come for a visit, Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul said Turkey is “no enemy” to Armenia and that he is considering the invitation.
[Armenia proclaimed its independence from the defunct Soviet Union in 1991. In 1993, after Armenia seized some land in Azerbaijan that was heavily populated by Armenians, Turkey closed its border with Armenia.]

Syria/Lebanon

` An-Nahar 8-22. Lebanon decided to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria.

Israel/Palestine

Haaretz 8-17. In exchange for the bodies of two Israeli soldiers, Israel released 200 Palestinian prisoners to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.

Israel/Lebanon

An-Nahar 8-20. In the event of a Hizbollah seizure of power in Lebanon, Israel threatened to hit all of Lebanon, including civilian targets everywhere.
An-Nahar 8-22. Hizbollah to Israel: Expect big surprises soon.

Pakistan

PBS 8-19. Musharraf resigned as President of Pakistan.

Health

Google News, Robert Johnson Foundation, 8-20. Since 1992, US adult obesity rates increased in all 50 states. In 28 states 25% of the adult population was obese. The highest rates for adults, over 30% obese, were in Mississippi, Alabama, and West Virginia. The adult obesity rate in California was 23.1%.

THE FLASHLIGHT, August 9-15

2008-08-15T07:16:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
August 9 – 15, 2008
No Peace without Justice, No Justice without the Facts
Mary K. Matossian, Editor
The Sequoias 9-M
mary@matossian.net

Transcaucasia [Lands just south of the Caucasus Range]
Events
NYTimes 8-8 – 8-9. Georgian troops, attempting to re-assert Georgian authority over a break-way region, South Ossetia, attacked the local capital, Tshinvali, killing and wounding some and causing c. 30,000, mostly women and children, to flee north into Russian held territory. Russian armored troops responded promptly by moving into South Ossetia, while Russian bombers flew over the Georgian Republic. There appeared to be a threat of full-scale war, as Russian troops moved also into another breakaway region, Abkhazia, which is located on the eastern shore of the Black Sea and is also claimed by Georgia.
8-11. After the Georgian government offered a cease-fire, Russian armored troop assaulted central Georgia, attacking Gori and bombing Tbilisi, the Georgian capital. The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, told US Secretary of State, Condolezza Rice that the US backed, democratically elected, President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, “must go.” US Ambassador to the UN Khalilzad said that the Russian demand was “completely unacceptable.” About 170 Americans were evacuated from Tbilisi to the Armenian Republic to the south.
8-12. The Russians ordered a halt to military operations in Georgia. The Georgians report continued Russian maneuvers and attacks, however.
Agence France Presse 8-12. The British Petroleum Company (BP) shut one of its pipelines, that which runs from Baku through Georgia to the Black Sea. BP also closed the second longest pipeline in the region from Baku via Tbilisi to Ceyhan, Turkey. Instead BP sent supplies by railroad from Baku to the Georgian port of Batumi on the Black Sea.
The Russians agreed to a truce. But on 8-13 CNN reported that alien irregulars were looting and killing Georgian villagers.
NYTimes, Guardian 8-14. The Russians occupied Gori, sent troops in Poti (Georian port). US sent troops to oversee humanitarian air cargo mission, said Russians sabotaged Georgian airfields and other military infrastructures.
NYTimes 8-15. Human Rights watch confirmed 44 deaths, 293 wounded in Ossetia. Confirms Ossetians attacked Georgian villages.
Russia enraged by US-Polish deal, signed after 18 months delay on 8-14, to set up anti-missile defense system in Poland. White House claimed it is oriented to “rogue” nations like Iran.

The Transcaucasian Background

Wikipedia et al. The Georgian Republic, like the other independent states to the west and south of Russia, was once a subject territory of the Tsars and then the Soviet Union. Its population is fiercely nationalistic and unusually well educated. Blessed with a mild climate, it has long been a center producing high quality wine, fruits, vegetables and flowers. The Georgians belong to an independent national Christian Church founded in the early fourth century A.D. Their independent language, Kartvelian, is not a member of the Indo-European or Semitic families.
In the early nineteenth century the Georgians welcomed annexation by tsarist Russia, another Christian state, which drove out the Muslim Persians.
After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Georgians began to receive military, political, and economic aid from the United States. Georgia became a democracy and embraced a free market policy. President Saakashvili took office in January 2004.
But when the Soviet Union collapsed and Georgia obtained its independence (1991-1992) two of its ethnic minority groups, the Ossetians and the Abhazians, resentful of Georgian dominance, proclaimed their own independence.
South Ossetia is a small region in the south Caucasus, just south of the border between Russia and Georgia. Another small region, North Ossetia, is located immediately to the north inside Russian territory. In South Ossetia, two-thirds of the population are Ossetians, (c. 70,000 persons) and most of rest, Georgians.
The Ossetians speak an Indo-European language which is part of the Iranian (Persian) language group. Their homeland is the Ukrainian steppe, south of the Don River. They became Christians in the early middle ages and belong to the Eastern Orthodox Church. But in the 13th century they were pushed south by the Mongols. Russia has long been friendly toward them.
The Abkhazians (c. 95,000) occupy territory on the eastern shore of the Black Sea and through which an oil pipeline passes to Abkhazian held Sukhumi. Their language belongs to the North Caucasian language group, which is neither Indo-European nor Semitic. Some are Christians, some, Muslims. They are also allies of the Russians.

Geopolitical Context

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the Tsarist Russian Empire expanded to the west, south, and east. The most powerful states in Europe, especially Austria and after 1871, Germany, sought to build a dam of buffer states against further Russian expansion The European powers regarded these lands as a “cordon sanitaire” – a quarantine line of neutral buffer states.
In the period between World War I and II the east European nationalities gained independence, but Communist Russia retained control of the Caucasus Mountains and Transcaucasia. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan asserted their independence. The discovery of large oil deposits around the Caspian Sea made Georgia geopolitically significant as a transit territory for oil pipelines to the Black Sea.
The US has invested heavily in the Georgian Republic. As long as Georgia remained neutral or friendly toward Russia this caused no trouble. But Georgia’s recent attack of South Ossetia was an anti-Russian move. The US can do little to stop the Russians from crushing border states like Georgia if they attack lands inside the Russian sphere of influence. Moreover, the US has an interest in working with Russia to deal with Iran’s nuclear energy program et al.

Israel

An-Nahar 8-13. Ehud Barak, Israeli Defense Minister, says that the US is opposed to any Israeli attack on Iran. The US has said such an attack would be against US interests. Barak said Israel would still keep all its options open. [“barak” means “blessed”]

Iraq

Az-Zaman 8-13. Tensions are rising in oil-rich Kirkuk province as the Kurds, Sunnis et al. prepare for a long struggle.

Pakistan
NYTimes 8-14. Musharraf expected to resign in a few days.

US Politics
NY Times 8-8. John Edwards, former candidate for President, admitted an affair with a campaign worker in 2006.
NY Times 8-13. The GAO (Government Accounting Office), the investigative arm of Congress, reported that between 1998 and 2005 two out of three corporations paid no federal income tax. The basic corporate tax rate is 35%, but corporations can and do subtract deductions, write-offs, operating losses, and tax credits. Thus, their actual tax payments are much lower.

Washington Post 8-13. Mark D. Warner, former Governor of Virginia, will give the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

US Economy

NY Times 8-10. The US cannot solve its energy crisis by digging for more oil. It uses one fourth of the world’s oil, but has less than 3% of the world’s oil resources.

PBS 8-12. The price of oil fell to $113 a barrel, a 23% decline since the July high.

PBS 8-8, When Google, the leading search engine on the Internet, went public with its stock in 2004, its shareholders became multi-millionaires and its two founders, multi-billionaires. It is now the most popular employer in the US economy. Its current new projects include giving the public free access to all library books and journals; enabling children to teach themselves how to use a computer; and mapping the whole world from above and from street level.

THE FLASHLIGHT, August 2-8, 2008

2008-08-08T06:44:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
No Peace without Justice, No Politics without the Facts
August 2-8, 2008
Mary K. Matossian, Editor
mary@matossian.net

US Economy

BBC 8-1. Unemployment is up to 5.7%. General Motors reported a $15.5 billion loss for the second quarter, mainly on account of the collapse in the market for SUVs and trucks.

PBS 8-4. Oil prices are below $120 a barrel because US drivers are reducing their consumption. 8-5. The Dow Jones index went up 331 points in a day. But the housing slump is expected to continue into 2009, and the credit crunch is expected to linger for 6-8 months.

US Politics

CNN 8-6. The Obama campaign claims McCain is ignorant of computers and the Internet, hence out of touch.
CNN 8-5. Ron Suskind, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, has published a new book, The Way of the World, in which he claims that the White House ordered the CIA to plant false evidence in order to provoke the Iraq War. He also claims that before the war Bush knew that there were no WMD’s in Iraq.
Vice President Cheney is being urged not to attend the Republican Convention.
Obama wants to levy an excess profits tax on Big Oil; McCain wants to give Big Oil 4 billion in tax breaks.
Tom Daschel says that McCain voted with President Bush 90% of the time.

US Crime

BBC 8-1. Army scientist Dr. Bruce Ivins, a prime suspect in the anthrax case seven years ago, feeling severely depressed, killed himself by an overdose of painkillers. CNN 8-6. He was afraid that the Army was about to discontinue the search for an anthrax vaccine, a project on which he was working. According to the FBI report Ivins had a history of paranoia and alcoholism. He was solely responsible for the crime. Crucial evidence came from analysis of the DNA of the anthrax strain to which Ivins had exclusive access.

NYT 8-8. A military panel sentenced Bin Laden’s driver to a short term (5 years, 6 months), of which only 5 months remain, instead of the 30 years sought by the prosecution.

Turkey

Turkish Daily News 8-4. The Turkish Government claims that the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) was responsible for the bombing in Istanbul 7-27, which killed 17 and wounded 154 persons.

China

BBC 8-4. China is the worst polluter on earth. In particular, particulate matter from industries in South China is blown north over Beijing, which has a population of 17.4 million. Many people suffer from bronchial spasms, nausea, and vomiting.

Iraq

Az-Zaman 8-5. US casualties in Iraq were the lowest last July since the 2003 invasion. But neither the US nor the Iraq government are reporting Iraqi casualties. Az-Zaman has no statistics for such casualties, but it claims that they have risen sharply.

Pakistan
BBC 8-7. Leaders of the two main opposition parties, Arif Ali Zarda and Nawaz Sharif, threaten Musharraf with impeachment. It would take a two-thirds majority of Parliament. They wish to restore to their seats the judges which Musharraf fired during his period of emergency rule.

Obituary
BBC 8-3. Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Nobel Prize winning writer, died at 89. He described conditions in the Soviet prison camps.

THE FLASHLIGHT, July 26 - August 1, 2008

2008-08-01T08:18:00.001-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
July 26 – August 1, 2008
No Peace without Justice, No Justice without the Facts
Mary K. Matossian, Editor
Email: mary@matossian.net
The Sequoias, Apt. 9-M
Turkey

Turkish Daily News. 7-29. Two explosions on 7-27 in a working class neighborhood on the European side of Istanbul caused 17 deaths, of which five were children, and many wounded. This was the deadliest attack in Turkey since 2003.

New York Times 7-31. A Turkish court by a one-vote margin ruled that the AKP (Justice and Development Party) had acted constitutionally, but the court cut its public financing in half.

Israel

NYTimes 7-31. Prime Minister Olmert resigned as of the coming September election. Haaretz 7-31. While still in office he will continue to seek a peace deal with the Palestinians. Reuters 7-31. Tzipi Livni, Foreign Minister, expressed hope for a peace deal and called on all parties who seek peace to unite under the leadership of the Kadima Party. Livni is a strong candidate to be the next Prime Minister. Bloomberg 8-1. On the other hand, a new poll shows that Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the right wing LIkud Party, would lead Livini in parliament seats by 33 to 20 if the election was held today.

Iraq

CBS and BBC 7-28. In Baghdad, three women concealing bombs under their robes entered a crowd of religious pilgrims and detonated themselves. There were over 50 dead and about 300 wounded. In Kirkuk another bomber attacked Kurdish demonstrators.

United States: Politics

Washington Post 1-29. Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine has had “very serious” talks with Obama about joining the Democratic ticket. Senators Evan Bayh and Joe Biden are other possibilities. The final announcement is expected in mid-August.

CNN 7-29. Sen. Ted Stevens, 84, of Alaska has been indicted by a grand jury for failing to declare gifts worth a quarter of a million dollars, supposedly in exchange for favors.
WashPost 7-30. Stevens is up for reelection and faces stiff opposition from four other Republicans in the primary and possibly the Democratic mayor of Anchorage in the final.

Washington Post 7-30. Neither Obama’s trip abroad, nor McCain’s attacks on him at home, made any significant difference in the polls overall.

NYTimes 7-31. John D. Bates, a Federal District Judge, has rejected the claim for absolute immunity for executive branch employees from appearing before Congressional committees. Harriet MIers and Josh Bolton are both already in contempt of Congress.
The ruling is being appealed, and even if the accused appear before Congress, they can claim executive privilege for refusing to testify.

US Economy

BBC 7-28. The US national deficit is a record $482 billion plus $80 billion in military expenditures.

US Education

United Press International 7-26. A US study has found that
girls have closed the gender gap in math performance.

Humor
Contribution from a Sequoia resident, Anita Van der Tak:
Statistics are like a bikini: what they reveal is fascinating; what they conceal is vital.

THE FLASHLIGHT, Jully 19-25, 2008

2008-07-25T07:52:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
July 19-25, 2008
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts
Mary K. Matossian

World Population

The Economist 7-12. The job of population control is unfinished, especially in Africa and other areas of poverty. According to the UN, means of contraception may be available in theory, but the bureaucracies which are supposed to supply them to the population may be inefficient, understaffed, and/or incapable of working in rural areas. The presence of the political will to control births, and female empowerment are keys to success.

World Resources

CNN 7-24. Several nations are exploring the Arctic anew since the spread of thawing there. It is believed that oil and gas resources there can be extracted with existing technology

Iraq

NYTimes 7-19. President Bush, in a shift, has accepted a timeline [of some kind] for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. This is attributed to progress in stabilization and opposition to an open-ended military presence by both Americans and Iraqis.
NYTimes 7-20. The Sunnis have ended their boycott of the central government.

Iran

NYTimes 7-20. American talks with Iran ended in deadlock. Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, Said Jalili, and the European Union foreign folicy chief Javier Solana agreed to resume negotiations in two weeks.
Inter Press Service 7-22. US representatives will attend the talks between Jalili and Solana.
Teheran Times 7-24. The Interior Ministry of Iran reports that 12.5% of the Afghan population are living in Iran as refugees.

Lebanon

An-Nahar (Beirut) 7-10. According to Debka, an Israeli intelligence website, Hizballah has recently set up on Mt. Sannine radar guided missile positions to shoot down Israeli jet plans that penetrate Lebanese territory. It has also placed anti-missile sites along the Lebanese coast.

Serbia

BBC 7-21, NYTimes 7-22. Radovan Karadjic has been arrested for war crimes, notably the systematic murder 7,500 Muslim men and boys at Serebrenitza. For 13 years Karadjic, wearing a white beard, and serving as a psychologist, has been living in plain sight in Belgrade. The government of Serbia is currently a candidate for membership in the European Union. The American diplomat, Richard Holbrooke, said that the Serbian president, Boris Tardic, acted bravely in ordering this arrest because his predecessor, who ordered the arrest of the Serbian criminal Milosevic, had been murdered.

Zimbabwe

BBC 7-21. Pres. Mugabe and Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai began talks for the formation of a unity government. Pres. Mbeki of South Africa was said to be mediator. Violence in Zimbabwe has slowed, but not ceased.

Australia

BBC 7-15. The Pope, speaking to a gathering of Australian bishops in Sydney, referred to the “the shame we have all felt” about sexual abuse by priests. He called for these priests to be brought to justice.

Ireland

7-15. Guardian. The Pope urged Catholic bishops and clergy to apologize publicly to victims of clerical sexual abuse.

US Politics
The Presidential Campaign

The Economist 7-19. Latino voters are turning toward Obama. This is especially important in the states with the largest Latino populations: New Mexico 37.1%; Texas 24.6%, California 22.8%, Arizona 17.0%, and Florida 13.6%. CNN 7-24. Latinos now favor Obama 3 to 1.
BBC and PBS 7-24. In Berlin Obama addressed a crowd of 200,000 who were respectful, impressed, receptive.

The Guantanamo Prisoners

NYTimes 7-20. Bob Herbert. In a Seton Hall Law School study of the prisoners at Guantanamo, It was found that only 8% were associated with Al-Qaeda, 54% were not alleged to have committed any acts hostile to the US and the remainder were charged with dubious wrongdoing such as “fleeing a US bomb.”
Of the total, 95% had been captured by non-US players, including bounty hunters.

Education in District of Columbia

The Economist 1-12. School Superintendent Michele Rhee has offered the Teachers Union the following deal: a salary raise from $40,000 to $78,000 with a possible $130,000 for the top performers. This is in exchange for the abolition of tenure and introduction of the merit principle in pay, measured in part by student results.
All new hires would have to be in this new system. Old hires could choose between old and new. The new system would be paid for by eliminating waste: by firing half of the educational bureaucrats, and by saving the cost of heating and air-conditioning schools that are only one-fourth utilized or less.

Health
BBC 7-22. A new drug, abiraterone, for lethal prostate cancer,is currently in clinical trials. The drug prevents the testicles from producing testosterone, the chemical that drives the growth of the cancer. The pill will be generally available in two-three years.

The Economist 7-19. “Food for Thought.” This article discusses foods that have been shown to help the brain to work better. It discusses foods providing:
1. folic acid, found in orange juice and spinach,
2. anti-oxidants, found in nuts, berries, green leaves, vegetables oils, red wine, and the turmeric in curry powder.
3. omega-3 fatty acid in oil fish, such as salmon, walnuts, and kiwi fruit.

The Israel-Palestinian Conflict

Israel: Peace Now and B-Tselem

The Economist, 7-12. Anti-settlement activists have started to score some victories.
Peace Now, led by Dror Etkes, It is trying to stir up the silent majority of politically inactive Israeli Jews by leading them on one-day tours of the West Bank. They are shown illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land, check points, separation barriers, and segregated roads.
Peace Now is using satellite photos to track the growth of illegal settlements. It is planning to pepper Israeli courts with cases of illegal building in the hope of creating a constant shaming of the perpetrators.
B T’selem, the Israel human rights group, has given cameras to several West Bank Palestinians, who suffer from frequent attacks by Israeli settlers. Israeli soldiers frequently take the settlers’ side.

J-Street Group Poll of American Jews

Inter Press Service 7-22. The J Street Group, a Jewish advocacy group founded to give voice to the more dovish American Jews and directed by Jeremy Ben Ami, polled 800 American Jews and found that these Jews are more dovish than generally acknowledged regarding Middle East issues.. A majority favored using diplomacy in dealing with Iran (69%), a two-state solution in Israel-Palestine (75%), and US withdrawal from Iraq (64%). A large majority (83%) disapprove of Bush Middle East policies. A total of 50% wanted to secure Israel by peace agreements as well as military superiority, but 34% believed that military superiority was the only useful means. 62% favored Obama for President, 32%, McCain.

Illegal Settlement Building
Haaretz and Guardian 7-24. Once again Israel has reneged on its pledge to the US to stop building an illegal settlement on the West Bank: Mastiot in the Jordan Valley .

THE FLASHLIGHT, July 5 - 18, 2008

2008-07-18T06:48:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
July 5 – 18, 2008
No Peace without Justice, No Justice without the Facts
Mary K. Matossian, Editor

The Searchlight is a non-commercial world news summary published on Fridays since March, 2006 by an independent editor. Mary Matossian has a B.A. in History from Stanford (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa), an M.A. in Near Eastern History from the American University of Beirut, and a Ph.D in History (with Distinction) from Stanford. She is the author of four scholarly books and a member of Palo Alto Friends Meeting (Quakers).
This news summary is not complete because it does not cover the Israel-Palestine conflict. For a complete news summary, see the companion Flashlight. It is available by email from the editor by writing to her email address, mary@matossian.net. It is also available as a non-commercial blog with the URL address http://theflashlightnet.blogspot.com. For those who have no computer, please contact the editor at Ext. 336.

The sources used are The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian Unlimited (London), Haaretz (Tel Aviv), An-Nahar (Beirut), Az-Zaman (Baghdad), The Teheran Times, The Economist, The New York Review of Books, Time, Newsweek, The New Yorker, PBS, CNN, BBC, Google News et al. The summary contains some book reviews and humor.

THE SEARCHLIGHT
July 5 – 18, 2008
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts
Mary K. Matossian, Editor

US Economy

PBS 7-4. Midyear business report. In the first half of the year the economy was volatile and there was a liquidity crisis. June was the worst month for stocks since the Great Depression, with prices down 20% from their high in 2007. The prices of most commodities, including oil, rose. It was predicted that in the second half of the year the earnings recession would end, but if oil prices kept rising inflation would increase. House prices may bottom out. It was also predicted that Obama and the Congressional Democrats would raise taxes.

CNN financial report, 7-15 Inflation has increased faster than at any time in the last 25 years. 90 US banks are on the government’s watch list. Confidence in the economy and house prices has declined.

NYTimes 7-17. Al Gore said that Americans must abandon electric power generated by fossil fuels with ten years and rely on the sun, wind, and other environment-friendly sources of power.

US Politics

CNN 7-7. McCain promises to balance the budget by eliminating “wasteful spending.” This includes reducing Medicare spending. He claims that “victory” in Iraq will save money.
PBS 7-7. The Democrats are planning a drive in the Rocky Mountains states, especially Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and Montana. They will hold their convention in Denver in a stadium that seats 75,000.
NY Times 7-9 Paul Krugman. The Senate Democrats have won a huge victory by restoring the Medicare payments to doctors which the Republicans tried to cut. Ted Kennedy, who is suffering from a brain tumor, came to cast the decisive vote. NYTimes 7-16. Both Houses overrode the President’s veto of the bill.
NYTimes 7-16. Obama faces a racial divide: more than 80% of black voters have a favorable opinion of him, while only 30% of white voters do.

CNN 7-17. Obama is expected to get a warm reception during his coming trip to Europe and the Middle East. NYTimes 7-18. To advise him on foreign policy, Obama has 300 advisers, organized like the State Department, to provide him with a daily summary of events and expected questions with suggested answers to them.

CNN 7-17. Last month Obama raised $52 million and the Democratic National Committee, $20 million: total $72 million.
In the same period McCain raised only $27 million, but the Republican National Committee raised $68 million: total, $95 million. For the Democrats, this was an improvement over previous presidential campaigns.

Iran

PBS 7-7. Iranian leaders send conciliatory messages with regard to their nuclear energy research.
Guardian 7-17. The US is planning to station diplomats in Teheran for the first time since 1979, when Iranians stormed the US Embassy and took its diplomats prisoner. The US announcement will be made next month.
Meanwhile the US will send a representative, William Burns, to Switzerland on Saturday to hear Iran’s response to the European offer aimed at resolving the nuclear standoff.
7-17. Teheran Times. Gazprom (Russian energy organization) signed a major deal with the National Iranian Oil Company for the development of Iran’s oil and gas fields.

Iraq

Az-Zaman (Baghdad) 7-1. According to tallies of the Ministry of Human Rights of the Iraqi government, during 2005-2007 lawless gunmen killed 340 academics and 2,334 women. They are currently on a campaign to kill secular judges. [The gunmen are reported to be Islamic extremists.]

PBS 7-4. Obama promised again to remove US combat troops
from Iraq within 16 months after his election. He will give them a new mission: to end the war [not “victory”].

CNN 7-6. US Oil companies are pressuring Prime Minister Maliki to sign production sharing agreements
BBC, PBS 7-7. Maliki for the first time demands a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. He cannot get through his Parliament many US demands on the status of forces, notably a grant of immunity from Iraqi law for US contractors [such as Blackwater].

Az-Zaman (Baghdad) 7-15. After months of relative quiet, violence has returned to Anbar Province. The tribes who cooperated with the US and the Maliki government are disappointed in seeing little of the promised improvement in their living conditions and security. Anti-US sentiment is also increasing among the Shiites. The Sadrist Shiites are organizing demonstrations demanding the withdrawal of US troops.

Pakistan and Afghanistan: Rural Education

NY Times 7-13 Nicholas Kristoff reviews the achievement of Greg Mortenson who has built 20 schools in remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan entirely with private funds which he raised. He has worked closely with Muslim clerics and has emphasized the education of girls. Mortensen’s account of his adventures, Three Cups of Tea, has been a paperback best seller.

Sudan

The International Criminal Court has accused Omar Hassan al-
Bashir, President of Sudan, of genocide and crimes against humanity. It is doubtful he will be brought to trial.

Syria

NYT 7-15. Syria is emerging from diplomatic isolation, as its President, Bashar al-Assad, was guest of honor in the Bastile Day parade in Paris, 7-14. He has made an agreement with the new President of Lebanon, Michel Suleiman, to open embassies in their respective capitals.

Australia
BBC 7-17. Pope Benedict arrived in Australia and is expected to deal with the clerical sexual abuse scandal in the Australian Roman Catholic Church.

Health

The Economist, 7-5. Joseph Kanner at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem has found how red wine prevents heart disease and cancer. It contains polyphenols which are anti-oxidants. Red wine works best when it is drunk along with red meat. While in the stomach the polyphenols mix with toxic materials released from the fats in red meat. This prevents the toxic materials from entering the blood stream.
Eating fruit containing anti-oxidants at the end of the meal has the same effect on toxins in the stomach.

Cell Metabolism, 7-3. Evidence from the study of laboratory mice has shown that reservatrol in red wine, nuts, and blueberries prevents many age-related problems: heart disease, reduced bone density, cataracts, and impaired motor coordination.

BBC 7-7. Male fertility begins to decline after 35, and declines markedly after 40.

PBS 7-7. The American Academy of Pediatrics has been testing for bad cholesterol in children in families with a history of heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes. When a child’s cholesterol level is abnormally high, physicians recommend life style changes for at least six weeks. If these changes are ineffective, doctors may prescribe statin drugs to lower the cholesterol level. The Academy hopes that earlier treatment will be more effective in preventing serious problems later.

Newsday.com 7-18. A new Center for Disease Control report said that the US obesity rate continues to grow. Nationwide it is now 25.6%, which is 1.7% more than two years earlier. In 22 states it runs from 25-29%. Colorado has the lowest rate: 18.7%

Humor

The Economist 7-5. In a review of a book on anti-Soviet humor, Hammer and Tickle (2008), three classic jokes were identified:
1. Question: How do you deal with mice in the Kremlin?”
Answer: Put up a sign saying, “collective farm.” Then half the mice will starve and the rest will run away.
2. Who built the White Sea Canal [Stalin’s most murderous slave labor project]?
The left bank was built by those who told the jokes.
The right bank was built by those who listened. [left and right are references to political leanings]
3. A flock of sheep approached the Finnish border in a panic, pleading to be allowed to enter. They said, “Beria [the Soviet secret police chief] has ordered the arrest of all elephants.”
“But you are not elephants,” said the Finnish guards.
“Yes,” said the sheep. “But try explaining that to Beria.”
A similar joke was told in twelfth century Persia (Iran).

THE FLASHLIGHT, June 28 - July 4, 2008

2008-07-04T07:39:00.001-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
June 28 – July 4, 2008
No Peace without Justice, No Justice without the Facts
Mary K. Matossian, Editor

Iraq

CNN 6-27. In the first half of 2008, 700 Iraq civilians were killed, which was higher than in the first half of 2007.
It was announced that four international oil companies: British Petroleum, Shell, Exxon Mobil and Total, had signed no-bid oil contracts with the central government of Iraq.
PBS 6-30. These are technical support contracts. 6 oil and 2 natural gas fields were opened in the hope of raising production by 60% by the use of better technology. The foreign oil companies will not have any equity ownership in the oil fields, making this a typical contract for the Middle East. The contracts have not yet been approved by the Iraqi Parliament.
However the Kurds, contrary to wishes of the Central Government, offered foreign companies some equity ownership.

CNN. 7-2. 64% of Americans want US troops to leave Iraq. Obama will visit Iraq before the November election.

NYTimes 7-3. Rep. Henry Waxman, Chairman of the House Committee of Oversight and Government Reform, revealed that in September, 2007 Bush Administration officials knew that Hunt Oil, a Texas company with close ties to President Bush, signed an oil deal with the regional Kurdish government that would give stockholders of Hunt equity ownership in Kurdish oil. The US State Department did nothing to discourage the deal. The deal was counter to US policy, and undercut the central government of Iraq. Iraq’s Oil Minister, Hussein al-Shahristani, condemned the deal as illegal. Iraqi officials were infuriated

Iran

Inter Press Service, ips.net. 7-2. On 6-30 Gareth Porter, an investigative journalist, contrasted the claims of the government of Israel that Iran is strong and dangerous, with the claims pro-Israel analysts in the US that Iran is weak and his little power to retaliate if attacked. Both the Israeli government and the pro-Israeli hawks are arguing in favor of a pre-emptive strike against Iran.
BBC and Chicago Tribune 7-2. According to Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, an Israeli attack on Iran was high risk and might destabilize the region. He also said that if the US participated in such an attack it would be “extremely stressful” for the American armed forces, who have their hands full in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Thomas Powers, “Iran: Threat,” New York Review of Books, 7-17, pp. 9-11.`The Pentagon is resisting the efforts of Bush and Cheney to organize an attack on Iran before the end of their term in office. The Pentagon leaders believe such an attack would be practically difficult and strategically unnecessary.
Robert Gates, Sec. of Defense, and Admiral Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, argue that the US does not have the military resources, the political support at home, or the agreement of allies abroad to carry out an attack on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, much less to invade and occupy Iran. But Bush has a history of ignoring such realities when obsessed by a dream.

Seymour Hersh, “Preparing the Battlefield.” The New Yorker, July 7 and 14, 2008, pp. 61-67.
Through Special Operations of the military, which do not have to be reported to Congress, the Bush Administration is intensifying operations within Iran to collect intelligence, kidnap an Iranian nuclear scientist, murder key figures in Iran’s elite commandos, and contact armed groups among Iran’s minorities, notably the Baluchi in the south and east. The Baluchi are Sunni fundamentalists with ties to Al-Qaeda. But no matter, they are hostile to the Shia government in Teheran. A former senior intelligence official says that there is fierce resistance within the intelligence community to waging a covert war inside Iran.
In addition, Prime Minister Maliki of Iraq has said that Iraq is not willing to be a staging area for covert operations inside Iran.

US Politics

CNN 6-30. In the House of Representative this fall, the Democrats have 12 seats open, while the Republicans have 36.
CNN 7-1. Obama tells evangelical Christians that he favors faith-based initiatives to help the poor and protect the environment.
BBC 7-2. The Senate is investigating the finances of televangelists. One owns a $20 million dollar private jet. When challenged by reporters he said, “It’s mine and you can’t have it!”
CNN 7-2. The McCain campaign is going through a shakeup on account of its lack of message discipline, faulty personnel vetting,
et al. McCain has just hired some Bush campaign veterans as his campaign advisers. He is handicapped by the fact that the sitting Republican President has a 71% disapproval rate among women, and a 75% disapproval rate among Independents.

US Economy

CBS 6-27. The Dow-Jones Index went down 20% in the month of June.
PBS 7-2. The Dow-Jones is firmly in bear territory. This is a recession.
PBS 7-3. The four-day work week is spreading. It saves energy for both employers and workers. However, air-conditioning systems have to run 7 days to prevent mold formation, and police and fire services also work 7 days.

Guns

NYTimes 7-2. The Supreme Court voted that it is constitutional for an individual to keep a loaded gun in his home to defend against intruders. However, that right is conditional: criminals and psychotics do not have it. Moreover, on account of the growing efficiency and safety of stun guns and other non-lethal weapons, states are passing laws prohibiting the use of lethal weapons when non-lethal ones are available.

THE FLASHLIGHT, June 21-27, 2008

2008-06-27T06:20:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
No Peace without Justice, No Justice without the Facts
June 21-27, 2008
Mary K. Matossian, Editor

World Communication

[This story was broken by a new non-profit world news organization, propublica.org. It was picked up by CBS 60 Minutes on 6-22 and the Washington Post and PBS on 6-23]. The US government supports a television channel called Al-Hurra (The Free One, in Arabic), headquartered in Springfield, Virginia, for broadcasting in Arabic to the Middle East. Supposedly Al-Hurra is an independent news source; but actually it is intended to defend US Mideast policy and improve US approval ratings there. There has been no English translation of its broadcasts available for circulation. Its Jewish critics have complained that al-Hurra published the full text of a speech by Hezbollah leader Nasrollah, as well as giving publicity to a Holocaust denial conference in Teheran. The channel once showed a speaker who called Israel a “racist state.”
After an expenditure of half a billion US taxpayer dollars on Al Hurra, hostility to US policy remains high in the Middle East: 80% oppose it. According to Prof. Shelby Telhami of the Univ. of Maryland, Al-Jazeera continues to dominate the air. Only 2% of Mideast TV viewers put Al-Hurra at the head of their list of 10 most favored news channels.

World Business

The New Yorker, 6-30, Connie Black, “The Brass Ring.” Pp. 43-57. This is a portrait of a little known American of great wealth, Sheldon Adelman. According to Forbes, Adelman, with 26 billion dollars, is the third richest American, after Warren Buffet and Bill Gates. Adelman claims to be “the richest Jew in the world.”
Adelman’s father was an immigrant from Lithuania who was a cab driver in Boston. Adelman completed three and half years of high school, and then studied shorthand in trade school to become a court reporter. He has been married twice, and has two sons by his second wife, Miriam.
The source of Adelman’s great wealth is his hugely profitable gambling concession in Macao, China (the “brass ring”). Having reached this position he “relentlessly” pursues global political influence. He also supports philanthropic foundations, notably in medical research. Since 2000 he has suffered from peripheral neuropathy, which makes it hard for him to walk.
Adelman is a major supporter of Israel and the Israel Lobby in the US. He is an extreme right wing Zionist, opposing a two-state solution involving the creation of a Palestinian State. He supports Bibi Netanyahu of the Likud Party. In the US, where he has major gambling holdings in Las Vegas, he finances Freedom Watch, which supported the surge in Iraq last summer, and attacks Democratic political candidates. It has tried to raise doubts about the firmness of Obama’s support of Israel. Adelman supports McCain for President.

US Politics

CNN 6-19. In the past, the Republicans attracted more votes from men than from women. But they tend to lose ground among men when the US economy is doing poorly.
CNN 6-20. Obama announced that contrary to his previous position, he will not limit his funding to public funds. Although he has raised so far three times as much money as McCain, the Democratic Party has far less money than the Republican Party. Obama also faces the threat of “swift boating” dirty tricks from 527 organizations.
PBS 6-24. According to the Bloomberg and Newsweek polls, Obama now leads McCain by 15 percentage points.
CNN 6-25. Republican chances of retaining the Presidency are hurt by the 28% approval rating of Pres. Bush. Historically, a low approval rating of the incumbent president, and an economic downturn, are unfavorable for such retention.

US Justice

CNN 6-19. The FBI has arrested three executives of Bear Stearn and over 400 real estate agents nationally for mortgage fraud. It is also investing a number of corporations. More people will be charged.
PBS 6-24. The Supreme Court voted 5-4 against extending the death penalty to child rapists. Only murder is an allowable ground for death.
PBS 6-26. The Supreme Court voted 5-4 that it is constitutional for an individual to own a gun under certain conditions. New legislation is expected to clarify the conditions.

US Economy

CNN 6-20. The farm losses in the Mississippi Valley are over three billion dollars. So far in 2008 food prices are up 6%.
CNN, PBS and Bloomberg 6-26 – 6-27. On Thursday oil prices rose to $141 a barrel and the Dow Jones fell 358 points to 11,453, the lowest in over 50 years. A commentator called it a day of capitulation and panic. Goldman Sachs downgraded General Motors and Citigroup to “sell.”
An OPEC official predicted that the price of oil would rise to $170 and that gasoline would rise to $5.00 a gallon by the end of the summer. An American commentator predicted that the economy would not recover in the second half of 2008. Obama promised to spend $150 billion in alternate energy research.

US Education

NYTimes 6-24. New York State and City show important gains in reading and math scores in grades three to eight in the past school year. In the state, the gain for achieving at least standard grade level in math increased from 73 to 81%; in reading, from 63 to 69%. In the city, math scores increased from 57 to 74.3%, reading (in the last two years) from 50.2 to 57.6%.

Zimbabwe

PBS 6-25. After a week of reports that Pres. Mugabe’s thugs were raping, beating, and killing members of the opposition to discourage them from voting in Friday’s election, the British government announced that it was stripping Mugabe of the knighthood which it had previously granted. They also barred Zimbabwe’s team from participating in the international cricket competition. Nelson Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu charged Mugabe with a “failure of leadership.”

North Korea
PBS 6-26. In response to North Korea’s revelation of its nuclear secrets, the US agreed to take it off the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

THE FLASHLIGHT, June 14-20, 2008

2008-06-19T05:32:00.001-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
June 14-20, 2008
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts
Mary K. Matossian, Editor

World Economy
CNN 6-13. The Saudis, fearing that today’s high oil prices may reduce economic growth, may decide to increase oil production. In the US and other developing countries, high oil prices are reducing demand for oil, which may make alternatives fuels more viable.
In the US, oil prices in 2008 alone have risen 40%. The world oil price could reach $200 a barrel.

Iraq
The Economist 6-14. While the US was focused on the Democratic primaries, the Iraqi government of Nuri al-Maliki grew rich on rising oil profits. Moqtada as-Sadr decided not to resist the government’s occupation of Basra and Sadr City in Baghdad.
Sectarian violence has abated somewhat, simply because ethnic cleansing has been completed in many areas. But political leaders are still fractious and corrupt. There is a lack of jobs, clean water, and electricity. Compared with May of last year, both US military casualties and Iraqi civilian casualties are down. Al-Qaeda is weaker, but still strong in Mosul and Diyala.
NY Times 6-14. The US is negotiating with the Maliki government on the reauthorization for its troops to operate there. The US wants to maintain over 50 permanent military bases, immunity from Iraqi law for its private contractors (such as Blackwater). The Shia government calls these demands an infringement of Iraqi sovereignty.

Israel/Palestine

NYTimes. Ethan Bronner. 6-15. After a year in power, Hamas is firmly in control of the 1.4 million Palestinians in Gaza. There is no cursing, kissing, or drinking in public. More women are covered, more men have beards. Non-Hamas public meetings are barred. The Internet is filtered. Taxes and fees are collected. Streets and hospitals are cleaner. Using tunnels under the Gulf of Aqaba, the Gazans import computers, cigarettes, gasoline, and clothing from Egypt.
The Hamas leaders are now saying that if Isael returns to its 1967 borders, grants a Palestinian state, and deals with the rights of refugees, then Hamas will declare a long-term truce.
NYTimes 6-18. Israel and Hamas, mediated by Egypt, agree to a cease fire. 6-19 BBC. The cease-fire begins.

US Politics
CNN 6-16. Al Gore endorses Obama.
Obama will go both to Iraq and Afghanistan before the election.
He says if elected he will invest billions in energy production and send more students to college.
There is a morale gap between Democrats and Republicans. 87% of Democrats are fired up for the campaign, and only 34% of Republicans are.
NYTimes 6-16. In a large black church, Obama calls for black fathers to take more responsibility for their children. More than half of all black children are raised in a single parent home.
PBS 6-16. Congress prepares to curb international oil speculators.

Science
CBS 6-15. Scientists are exploring the many important functions of sleep. Sleep enhances memory: it’s best to get a good night’s sleep before an examination instead of cramming late.
Sleep-deprived people are more likely to suffer from mood swings and intense emotional responses, uncontrollable by reason.
They are also more prone to feelings of hunger, and hence get obese.

Humor
NYTimes 6-16. Do you remember the children’s book, “Goodnight Moon”? There is now a parody of it. Instead of a bedroom, the scene is the situation room. In bed, instead of a bunny is George W. Bush in a Mission Accomplished flight suit. The three little bears sitting on chairs are three war profiteers giving three cheers. The little old lady whispering “Hush” is Dick Cheney, sitting in a rocking chair promoting war in a rush, with a shotgun on his lap and bunny slippers on his feet.

THE FLASHLIGHT, June 7-13, 2008

2008-06-13T07:53:00.000-07:00

THE SEARCHLIGHT
June 7-13, 2008
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts
Mary K. Matossian, Editor

US Economy

CNN 6-6. The world oil price peaked at $139 a barrel. Monthly unemployment report jumped from 5 to 5.5%. Dow Jones down by 394 points, = 3%.
CNN 6-8. The number of jobs lost so far in 2008 is 324,000.

US Military Affairs

Time, 6-16. The mental health of the army has declined as more soldiers suffer from lack of sleep and home leave. By the third deployment, 27% have mental health problems. Instead of reducing stress the Pentagon has authorized the widespread distribution of anti-depressant pills.

The Nation 6-23. Of the US intelligence budget, 70% is going to private companies such as Blackwater [the mercenary company].
Such companies are not accountable for their acts.
Many of their employees are former CIA operatives. According to Melvin Goodman, former CIA division chief, “The entire industry is essentially out of control.”

US Presidential Election

CNN 6-10. Hillary Clinton’s campaign debt has reached an unprecedented $20 million, of which 11.4 million is her own money.
CNN 6-11. In a poll of polls, Obama leads McCain, 48-43.

Supreme Court
CNN 6-12. The Court ruled 5-4 to extend the right of habeas corpus to suspected foreign terrorists at Guantanamo Bay prison. They now have the right to challenge their detention in US civilian courts, Obama has promised to close Gitmo prison.

THE FLASHLIGHT, May 31 - June 6, 2008

2008-06-06T07:33:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
May 31 – June 6, 2008
No Peace without Justice, No Justice without the Facts
Mary K. Matossian, Editor

US Politics

NY Times and CNN 6-3. Obama secured 2118 delegates to win the Democratic nomination for President. Hilary Clinton won over 17 million votes, and although not asked, said she through surrogates she was “willing” to join the ticket as vice presidential candidate. She did not make a concession speech, remaining technically a candidate.
PBS 6-4. Brooks and Shield commentary. They said Obama should not accept Clinton on the ticket because she was pressuring him, and he must project an image of strength. CNN 6-4. Clinton
said she will make a concession speech on Saturday. Former President Jimmy Carter urged Obama not to accept Clinton as vice-presidential candidate. Gov. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania said that “You do not bargain with the presidential candidate of the party.” Other commentators said, “Some people don’t play well with others unless they can be ‘it’. “ “Bill Clinton takes all the oxygen out of the air.” [The consensus: Hillary will get a good slot, but not VP.]
CNN 6-5. Obama said he supports an “undivided” Jerusalem, [meaning the Jews would continue to possess the whole of it.] He said Israel’s present settlement policy must change. He said that he is committed to setting a timetable for redeployment of US troops in Iraq. In the evening he visits Hillary Clinton at home in Washington. In accordance with Obama campaign policy, the Democratic National Committee announced that it will no longer accept money from lobbyists and special interest groups.

Polygamist Sect

WPost 6-3. After court rulings favorable to them, the fundamentalist polygamous sect in West Texas secured the return of their children. However, they had to consent to take parenting classes and not to abscond with the children. Group leaders agreed not to sanction the marriage of girls under the legal age of the State.

China Earthquake

Xinhua. The official quake toll reached 69,016.
NYTimes 6-5. For decades Chinese scientists gave the government clear warnings of a possible devastating earthquake in Sichuan Province. But the government did not curb urban growth in the area or even conduct basic safety drills. Building construction safety standards for Sichuan were less strict than those in Beijing and wealthy eastern provinces. The inadequate standards in Sichuan were not even enforced. The government wanted to save money in construction.
There is a Chinese proverb, “You learn the fence needs mending after the sheep have run away.” In this case, it is after the sheep have died.

Burma

NYTimes 5-31. Buddhist monks are succeeding in bringing relief where the government has failed. The estimates of dead and missing have reached 134,000 and the needy survivors, 2.4 million.

Health

NYTimes 6-4. On the basis of experiments with mice, there is new evidence that red wine increases longevity. It switches the body’s resources from promoting fertility to tissue maintenance. This research aims to reduce the incidence of cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

Science

SF Chronicle. NASA’s Mars probe appears to have landed atop ice, which is only inches below a layer of soil. The next question: is the ice, when melted, too salty to sustain life?

THE FLASHLIGHT, May 24-30, 2008

2008-05-30T08:51:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
May 24-30, 2008
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts
Mary K. Matossian, Editor

World Terrorism in Decline

Newsweek 6-2. If civilian deaths in Iraq are not counted among the victims of “terrorism,” then the trend in terrorism deaths has declined in the Muslim world for five years. The more Muslims are exposed to the Jihadist world view and tactics, the less they support them. In the world in general the decline has been since 2004.

China
Pollution
PBS 5-27. China has become the world’s biggest polluter of air and water. For the Beijing Olympics this summer, the government may temporarily shut down factories and close roads to cars.
Earthquake casualties
Hindustan Times 5-27. Earthquake deaths in China now exceed 68,000 with over 20,000 missing. PBS 5-27. 20 million are homeless.

Burma
Arca Times 5-27. The official death count from Hurricane Nargis is 77, 738 plus almost 56,000 missing. PBS. International aid workers have reached the Irrawaddy Delta, which was blocked for three weeks after the storm.

US Politics

NYTimes 5-28. Mark Mellman op ed. White working class voters are more favorable to Obama than they were to either John Kerry or Al Gore. In a recent poll, Hillary Clinton won them by a single point over McCain.

Science
NYTimes 5-30. Stonehenge was used as a cemetery from its beginning c. 3000 BC, probably for the dead of a ruling family. It may also have been a center of healing. See National Geographic for June.

Science: The Brain

Book Review: David J. Linden, The Accidental Mind. 2007. Harvard University Press, Cambridge. The author is a neuroscientist at Johns Hopkins Univ.

The author argues that the brain, far from been a wonder of Intelligent Design, is a kluge, a cobbled together contraption, grown by agglomeration. He compares brain anatomy to a two-scoop ice cream cone, the cone being equivalent to the reptile brain; the first scoop, to the mouse (mammalian) brain, and the only the top scoop being the human addition.
He says that all human beings are predisposed to believe things they cannot prove. This is a first step to making sense of the world. The place where this occurs is in the left cortex, which constantly creates coherent narratives to explain experience. Both scientific and religious ideas originate here.
But religious ideas are non-naturalistic: they violate everyday perceptions and cognitive structures. They differ from scientific hypotheses in that they are not testable and not falsifiable.

Brain Plasticity: a PBS special, rerun. 5-27.
How We Can Improve our Lives by Changing our Brain

W can change our brain by conscious effort. In this way we can change our body chemistry. We do not improve by repeatedly doing what we know how to do. We can change our brain for the better by learning new things that interest us and are important to us. What we need are challenges and stimulation.

We learn successfully only when the brain is in the mood to do so: attentive and engaged. We memorize by relating new material to what we already know, and by making predictions. Motivation is a key factor in learning and re-learning.
People who are dedicated to learning important new facts, ideals and skills are filled with joy, confidence, and vitality, even in old age.

Israel and Palestine

Haaretz (Tel Aviv) 5-26. Prime Minister Olmert, under fire on account of corruption charges, said, “Only delusional people think we’ll keep our post-1967 borders. “ Israel has offered the Palestinians 91.6% of the West Bank. He made reference to Syria’s newly acquired long-range rockets and missiles.

Haaretz 5-28. Palestinian software engineers are working on a program to make a desktop computer accessible from anywhere. The engineers are graduates of West Bank Universities: Bir Zeit and An-Najah. Bisan, a firm based in Ramallah, exports $15 million worth of software a year. The Israeli IT is much larger.

THE FLASHLIGHT, May 17-23, 2008

2008-05-23T09:59:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
May 17-23, 2008
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts
Mary K. Matossian

The World Balance of Power

NYT 5-21. Tom Friedman sees many shifts in the balance of power this year, none of them in favor of the US. (1) The Bush Administration failed, after the 9/11 Attack, to adopt an effective energy policy. Such a policy would have been to establish a 55 mph national speed limit; to require more fuel efficient cars to be produced; and to institute a gas tax or carbon tax. As a result of this failure we see the rise of petrol-authoritarian states: Russia, Iran, Venezuela. These, and China, India, and Brazil, are establishing major news channels and spreading their own narratives.
(2) The US has a low savings rate, no national health care system, and no strategic plan to improve its competitiveness.
(3) The system of addressing global issues by nation states and the UN remains ineffective. So a new multinational superrich class of individuals and networks has arisen from the world of business and finance. It may become more influential.

World Food and Health

The New Yorker, 5-19. Bee Wilson, “The Last Bite: Is the World’s Food System Collapsing?” pp. 76-81. In 2006 there were 800 million people who were hungry. There were one billion people who were overweight or obese. The market system of pricing does not allow the raising of food prices for the rich, without squeezing the underfed poor. (note: Sardines provide Omega 3 fat, are cheaper than salmon, and a lot healthier than farm grown salmon).

Los Angeles Times 5-18. In an article in Lancet Phil Edwards and Ian Roberts argued that obesity contributes to global warming. The obese consume 18% more food than people of normal weight. This raises food prices and increases demand for fuel to transport food.

Disasters (1) Recent

China’s 7.9 earthquake.
PBS 5-16. Over 50,000 dead. Hundreds of thousand homeless. Aftershocks cause mass exodus from the quake area. PBS 5-19. 14.8 million homeless. $10 billion business loss.

Burma’s hurricane (typhoon)
The Nation 6-2. According to the UN, there are 102,000 dead, 220,000 missing, and 2.5 million in dire need.
The Guardian 5-23. Three weeks after cyclone Nargis, the Burmese military junta, after conferring with Ban Ki-moon, Sec. Gen. of the UN, agreed to open Burma to aid workers of all nationalities.

Disasters (2) Historic

PBS 5-21. Documentary on eruption of Krakatoa, Indonesia, in 1883, the first great eruption to be observed by scientists with instruments and studied for its global effects. Explosivity Index 6 (next to the maximum of 7), production of ash and lava 10 (11 maximum). (Volcanoes of the World, ed. 2, Simkin and Siebert)
Peak period August 26-27. Three linked craters erupted together. Ash, steam, and gas, acrid and sulfurous. It became pitch dark in the vicinity. Hot and sticky ash falls, pumice rains, humid air. Sea agitated by pyroclastic flows. Tsunamis, seven shocks waves sent round the earth. Maximum wave reached 40 meters (c. 120 feet). A ship threatened by it was saved by the captain, who ordered the bow pointed at the oncoming wave at a 90 degree angle. The wave lifted the ship and passed it backward. On land, seeing the eruption, a Dutch observer on the coast knew a tsunami was coming in 20 minutes, and hiked with his family and neighbors to the top of a 400 foot hill in time to escape. However, 34,000 people died. The sulfur dioxide gas thrust into the upper atmosphere blocked the sun’s rays for months, lowering the temperatures around the earth, and ash up high turned the sky blood red. Krakatoa destroyed itself, but is re-emerging as a new island nearby with a peak 2,600 feet high so far.

Other super-eruptions: Thera (Santorini) in the Aegean, c.1600 BC. Explosivity 7, lava and ash, 10. Destroyed Minoan Civilization.
Vesuvius, 79 AD, near Naples, Italy. Explosivity 6, lava and ash 11. Tambora, Indonesia, 1815, explosivity 7, lava and ash 11. Caused global cooling: 1816 was the “year without a summer” in the US and much of Europe.
Lebanon

NYT 5-18. The Sunnis of Lebanon, led by Saab Hariri, were humiliated by Hezbollah, who showed their militia to be weak, pushed their TV programs off the air, and burned two of their buildings. Lebanese Christians remained neutral. Fighting followed in which c. 60 died. The Lebanese Army did nothing.
W Post 5-21. The various Lebanese sectarian factions met in Doha, Qatar, and reached an agreement. After 18 months of sit-ins in Beirut, Hezbollah got what it wanted: ll out of 60 seats in the cabinet, giving it veto power. Gen. Michael Suleiman, a Maronite Christian, was accepted as President by all factions.

Israel/Syria
BBC 5-21. Israel and Syria are now in direct peace talks, mediated by Premier Erdogan of Turkey.

The US; Presidential Primaries

NYTimes 5-21. Obama wins Oregon 58-42. Clinton wins Kentucky 2 to 1. Obama now has a majority of delegates to the Democratic Convention.
Since 1972, when exit polls began, no Democratic candidate has won a majority of white voters. Last April Obama had raised $31.3 million, Clinton, 22 million, and McCain 18.5 million.
L.A. Times 5-21. The Clinton campaign debt is now $31 million.

Ted Kennedy Illness
CNN 5-20. Senator Ted Kennedy, 76, has brain cancer, probably inoperable. He probably has no more than a year to live.

The Israel/Palestine Conflict

AP 5-17 [appeared in Haaretz, Tel Aviv and International Herald Tribune]
The Egyptian state-owned press blasted Pres. Bush for his speech to the Knesset on 60th anniversary of Israel. Said Mursi Atallah, publisher of Al-Ahram, “Bush aims to do nothing but appease Israel.
Meanwhile, on May 16 about a thousand Palestinians and Americans of Palestinian descent rallied near the UN, at Dag Hammerskjold Place, to mark the 60th anniversary of the Nakba (Catastrophe) of 1948. They blamed the current impasse on extremists in both sides.

NYTimes Editorial 5-20. It said that the next US President will need more skilled and creative advisers and be a more honest broker. The Israelis must halt all settlement building. The President must press both sides to compromise. [There is no suggestion that the next President put pressure on Israel to stop settlement building.]

CNN 5-22. 61% of Jews support Obama, but he will need more of their support to win the swing state of Florida. Polls show McCain ahead of Obama there. Obama makes a speech in a Boca Raton Synagogue, trying to win over Jews with promise not to negotiate with Hamas or Hezbollah and that he will not take military options off the table. But he says that diplomacy must come before military force, and that the Iraq War was a strategic blunder.

The Nation 5-26: two article on the 60th anniversary. 1) By Avi Shlaim, Professor of International Relations at Oxford University.
Speaking of Israel, he said, “Nations, like individuals, are capable of acting rationally – after they have exhausted all the alternatives.”
2) Rashid Khalidi, Professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University.
He condemned both the leaders of Hamas and Fatah as “clueless” and pointed out that only 18% of Palestinians support Hamas, and 32% support Fatah.
The population of Israel today is 7.2 million, of which 1.4 are Palestinians. There are at least 8 million Palestinians in the world.

THE FLASHLIGHT, May 10-16, 2008

2008-05-16T08:56:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
May 10-16, 2008
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts
Mary K. Matossian, Editor

China
NYT 5-12 A 7.9 earthquake caused huge destruction in Sichuan Province in mountainous Western China. It was the worst quake in 58 years. About 80% of buildings collapsed into piles of brick and concrete. 5-14. There was widespread anger vs. the government for failing to apply and enforce adequate building codes.
5-15. Hundreds of thousands were homeless and over 40,000 were still trapped under the rubble. The known dead reached 19,500. CNN 5-15 The ultimate death toll could reach 50,000.

Burma

NYT 5-13. There are now 32,000 known dead from the hurricane that hit Burma last week. UN estimates that more than 100,000 are dead. The military dictatorship still refuses to allow in most Western relief managers. It allowed in some relief supplies without foreign personnel, and then put them in storage. Help is reaching only one-third of those in need. The worst danger is the contamination of water by the corpses of people and animals. 5-15. PBS estimates that there may be 250,000 dead. Buddhist monks are organizing relief.

Lebanon

BBC 5-9. Hezbollah Shiites, fighting street by street, took over much of West Beirut, inhabited mainly by Sunnis. CNN 5-15. 60 have died in fighting across Lebanon. NYT and BBC 5-16. Hezbollah has shown its military superiority over the Sunni-Christian-Druse coalition. The latter has conceded the Presidency to Gen. Suleiman, commander of the Lebanese Army, which is weaker than Hezbollah. It appears that Hezbollah will obtain its desire: veto power over government decision making. This is a win for Iran and Syria, as opposed to Saudia, Egypt, and the US.

Iraq `NY Review of Books, 5-29. Article by Thomas Powers, “Iraq: Will We Ever Get Out?”
p. 14. “ The Surge has not so much ended the sectarian strife as it has set the stage for a renewal of civil war at a higher level of violence.” P. 16. “ Invading the Middle East is the kind of imperial overreach that breaks the spine of Great Powers.”

US Presidential Primaries

PBS 5-9. The race for the Democratic nomination is over, and Obama has won. The Clinton camp is $25 million in the red. The Democrats have six times the money as the Republicans to fight in the fall election. PBS and CNN 5-14. Former presidential candidate John Edwards announced his support for Obama. This put Hillary Clinton’s 2 to 1 win in W. Va. in the shadow. Three long-time Republican house seats have been taken back by Democrats in by-elections. CNN 5-15. The Steelworkers Union backed Obama.

CNN 5-15. Speaking to the Knesset on the 60th anniversary of the founding of Israel, Pres. Bush accused the Democratic opposition of “appeasing terrorists” because Obama has said he would have direct talks with Iran. Obama retorted that Bush is engaging in “the same old head-in-the-sand cowboy diplomacy.” He rejected the idea that not talking to other countries punishes them. Sen. John Kerry said that Bush has presided over the strengthening of Hamas and Hezbollah in the Middle East. Schneider commented that Jews tend to vote Democratic, and that Bush’s appeal was directed more at pro-Israeli Christian evangelicals, who often vote Republican.

US: Gay Marriage Issue
` CNN 5-15. The California Supreme Court has voted 4-3 that the law banning same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. The opponents of gay marriage have introduced an initiative on the November ballot to amend the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriage.

Archaeology:
The End of Minoan Crete
PBS 5-14 and Wikipedia. Archaeologists are now confident that Minoan Civilization in Crete was mainly destroyed in about 1600 BC by a huge tsunami, with a height between 115 feet and 492 feet. It was generated by the most severe volcanic eruption in human history, Category 7, on the island of Thera (Santorini). The tidal wide swamped Minoan coastal settlements, where most Minoans lived, killing about 80% of the population. Some Peloponnesian Greeks survived because the Gulf of Corinth, running from east to west, was sheltered from the tidal wave. A century a half later they attacked Crete and probably destroyed most of the survivors and their buildings. Then they repopulated Crete.

Caral Civilization, A “mother civililization” in Peru.

PBS 5-14. Archaeologists, testing the theory that warfare was the main cause for the beginning of civilizations, found a “mother civilization” buried near the coast of Peru. It went back to 2600 BC, and was as old as Egyptian civilization. Both peoples built great pyramids. In its first thousand years Caral Civilization possessed no weapons and no defensive walls. It also lacked ceramics and metal. Its focus was on pleasure. Archaeologists have found many bone flutes and an amphitheater.
In addition, the inhabitants used two psychoactive drugs: from the achiote plant, an aphrodisiac, and from the coca plant, the stimulant cocaine. To enhance the effects of cocaine they added to it lime (calcium carbonate, an alkaline substance obtained from ground-up seashells), which counteracted stomach acids, and increased absorption of the cocaine. The Caral people obtained these substances from trade with their neighbors in Equador and the rain forests. In return they offered their neighbors cotton, which they grew in their fertile fields.

[The puzzling absence of ceramics among the Caral people was probably because cocaine could be obtained simply by chewing the leaves of the coca plant. Wine and opium, drugs which were available in Europe and the Middle East in Neolithic times, before civilization, were consumed in liquid form (they didn’t learn how to smoke opium until the Bronze Age (after c. 3000 BC). Western Neolithic people needed large containers to store these liquids as well as cups for drinking. Drugs may have played a major role in the Neolithic Agricultural Revolution and prehistoric religion. ]

THE FLASHLIGHT, May 3-9, 2008

2008-05-09T10:18:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
May 3-9, 2008
No Peace without Justice, nor Justice without the Facts
Mary K. Matossian, Editor

US Presidential Primaries

5-7. NYT, Obama won by 14% (200,000) votes in North Carolina. Clinton won by 23,000 votes, (51-49) in Indiana.
5-9 NYT. Obama has the edge in superdelegate votes, 267-266. He is focusing now on John McCain.

US Economy
5-9, NYT. Oil price hits $126 a barrel.

Burma (Myanmar) Cyclone Disaster

5-8 CNN and PBS. The 120 mph cyclone death toll may exceed 100,000. It is highest in the Irrawaddy River Delta, where 6 million people lived. Power is still out and there is a shortage of clean drinking water. Consequently the deadly threat of diarrhea and cholera is looming.
5-9 NYT. The oppressive military dictatorship, which has ruled since 1962, refuses to admit foreign relief specialists in. It confiscated the UN relief supplies that had arrived, so the UN announced the suspension of its relief operations.

Lebanon

BBC and PBS 5-8. After 17 months of political stalemate between Shiite Hezbollah and the US-backed Siniora government, the situation in Beirut is critical. In two days of violence, 8 persons were killed. The Shiite militia has taken over west Beirut and other neighborhoods. The roads have been cut from Beirut to its airport, to Damascus and to the south.

Health: Alzheimer’s Disease
BBC 5-6. The painkiller Ibuprofen appears to reduce protein deposits in the brain, thus preventing dementia.

THE FLASHLIGHT, April 26 - May 2, 2008

2008-05-02T10:14:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
April 26 – May 2, 2008
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts
Mary K. Matossian, Editor

US Presidential Primaries

NYTimes 4-29. In a commentary, “Demography is King”, David Brooks said that the old US WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) hierarchy has been replaced by an education hierarchy. The different strata have marked differences in towns of residence, divorce rates, and parenting practices. Obama has been winning 70% of the most educated counties, and Hilary Clinton has been winning 90% of the least educated. Social identity has been more influential in voter choice than money spent on persuading them. CNN 4-28. Obama is seen by blue collar white workers has having “elitist” values, and therefore not being “one of them.” Hilary leads Obama by 30 points within this group. Obama does better among Independents and young people.

CNN 4-29. After his former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright criticized him and America at the National Press Club et al. Barack Obama described Wright’s speech as a “rant” and said that he was outraged, appalled, and deeply saddened by it.

CNN 5-1. Clinton’s lead among super delegates has been cut to 19. Her threat to “obliterate” Iran if it attacked Israel or obtained nuclear weapons is being criticized as excessive.

CNN 6-1. Young people, 18-30, are preferring Democrats to Republicans by 25 percentage points.

PBS 5-1. Polls show that McCain and Obama have a more positive than negative image overall, but Clinton has a more negative than positive image overall. Obama is collecting super delegates faster than Clinton.

` CNN 4-28. The Supreme Court rules, 6-3, that the Indiana law requiring voters to show a picture ID is constitutional. The ID must be government issued. The ruling does not cover absentee and residential voters. This will hurt the poor, blacks and the elderly, all of whom tend to vote Democratic.

US Polygamist Scandal

` AP 4-28. Of 53 girls, 14-17, taken from Yearning or Zion Ranch in West Texas, 31 had already borne a child or were pregnant.
NYTimes 5-1. 41 children (out of 464) have had bones broken. Some boys may have been sexually abused.

US Education
NYTimes 5-2. The one billion dollar Bush Administration program to improve the reading scores of poor children has failed. Sen. Ted Kennedy blamed it on cronyism.

Economy

NYTimes 5-2. In an op-ed piece, David Brooks said that globalization explains little of US job losses. Rather, technological advance is responsible. Even China has recently lost 25 million manufacturing jobs because it too has advancing technology.
Brooks says that we are in the midst of a “cognitive revolution,” in which workers need a higher level of skills. An important skill is to absorb, process, and combine information.

Tibet/China

NYTimes 4-26. China says it is ready to meet with envoys of the Dalai Lama.

The Israel/Palestine Conflict

CNN 4-29. In an interview with Wolf Blitzer, former President Jimmy Carter said that Pres. Bush is “completely mistaken” about Hamas and Sec. Rice is “misinformed.” Bush does not know that that Hamas is willing to recognize the existence of Israel [under certain conditions] and that the top leaders in Damascus have authorized him (Carter) to say so publicly.
Carter said that no one in the Bush Administration, including Rice, counseled him not to go to Syria or not to meet with Hamas leaders. He was advised not to go to Gaza because of dangerous conditions there, and so he met in Cairo with the Hamas leaders from Gaza.
Carter said that the Bush Administration practice of referring to Hamas as a “terrorist” organization is inappropriate. The Bush Administration branded Hamas as “terrorist” only in 2006, after the latter had won a free and fair democratic election among the Palestinians. Al-Qaeda has never won such an election.

[This CNN interview was not mentioned anywhere else in the mainstream media. I checked Google News. It was not even posted on cnn.com.]

Book Review: Pens and Swords; The American Mainstream Media Report the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. By Marda Dunsky. New York, Columbia University Press, 2007.

The American mainstream media [such as the New York Times and the Washington Post] report the day to day events of the Israeil-Palestinian conflict fairly accurately, but they fail to provide an adequate context for those events. Consequently the reporting is incoherent and unclear. Reporters fail to explain why the conflict is so intractable.
In particular, reporters portray the US as an “honest broker” trying to stop the conflict. This is not true. The policy of the US is overwhelmingly pro-Israeli. It is expressed in diplomatic support, military aid, and financial support to the tune of $2.6 billion dollars a year.
The roots of the conflict are
1) the ethnic cleansing of Palestine in 1948 et seq. which created the Palestinian refugee problem. This was illegal according to international law and an international consensus of opinion.
2) Since 1967, the ongoing colonization of Palestinian land in the West Bank by Israeli settlers. This too is condemned by international law and international consensus. The US indirectly aids this colonization by its annual gift to Israel of $2.6 billion. But the mainstream press does not show that the US is a party to the israeli-Palestinian conflict.

US policy in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has long been a source of tension and antagonism toward the US in Arab and Muslim countries. It is a major obstacle to peace in the Middle East. It tends to increase Al-Qaeda recruiting and financial support.

Remedies
I. The first step is for the mainstream media to include the above information in their interpretation of daily events.

II. The mainstream media should broaden the sources of their discourse to include:
A. Letters to the editor concerning this issue
B. The opinions of non-partisan experts in the academic world (seldom consulted).
C. Critical reports of events in the liberal Israeli media, such as Haaretz.
D. Instead of trying to appear balanced by using “He said…He said” quotations, reporters should seek out underlying causes and explanations.

III. The mainstream media should reconsider audience reactions.

According to study by the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations in 2004, 74% of the American public, and 77% of American leaders favored an even-handed policy toward Israelis and Palestinians. Only 17% of the public and 15% of leaders favored taking Israel’s side. However, American leaders were far off in their estimates of American public opinion on this issue.

IV. Mainstream Media should rethink what is meant by journalistic “objectivity.” Guided by conscience, journalists should dig deeper to find the truth.

THE FLASHLIGHT, April 19-25, 2008

2008-04-25T07:28:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
April 19-25, 2008
No Peace without Justice, no Justice, without the Facts
Mary K. Matossian, Editor

World Hunger

ABC, CBS 4-20. According to the UN, 850 million people in the second and third worlds are hungry as result of the “unparalleled” jump in food prices. This is especially true of Africa, where many people spend 80% of their income on food.
PBS 4-23 Food prices rose 83% in the last three years. 33 nations are endangered by food riots, including Egypt and Haiti.

US Economy

CNN 4-22. Oil price hit $120 a barrel. Bay Area gasoline price hit $4.00 a gallon.

US Presidential Primary
CNN 4-23. Hilary Clinton won in Pennsylvania by 9 points. Obama was able to cut her former double digit lead, but, according commentators, demographics and the support of local politicians for Clinton enabled her victory. 4-24. Obama still leads nationally: Clinton gained only 10 delegates. Her lead among committed super delegates is down to 23.
NYTimes 4-25. Paul Krugman criticized the Obama campaign for failing to appeal to white working class voters with lagging wages, insecure jobs, and fear of loss of their health insurance. These voters find unattractive appeals for national unity by transcending differences.

US Polygamy Case
AP 4-19. The children of a fundamentalist cult in West Texas have been tested for DNA to determine their parents. They have been transferred to foster care. According to psychiatrist Bruce Perry, the girls were taught that disobedience would lead to their damnation. He called the cult’s belief system “abusive.” Sect members have acknowledged that girls were married at below legal age.

US Pentagon Propaganda Machine

PBS 4-24. The NY Times has published an expose of an illegal Pentagon propaganda machine established by Sec. Rumsfeld just before the Iraq War began. Rumsfeld recruited 75 retired colonels and generals, in the guise of objective military analysis, to deliver the talking points of the Bush Administration over the TV networks. Their purpose was to sell the war and manage public opinion. The connections of the retired officers to the Pentagon were kept secret. In addition many of these officers had secret business ties to defense contractors. The Times called for a Congressional investigation.

US Educational Failures

NYTimes 4-25. In an op-ed by Edward B. Fiske, US public education (K-12) is in turmoil because
l) A disproportionate share of its students (one-third) perform at such a low level that they are unfit to serve as citizens and workers in a global competitive economy. As baby boomers retire, the US will be more dependent on this group.
2) The US is fifth among 27 industrialized countries in producing students able to profit from college level work, and sixteenth out of 27 such countries in the number of students who complete a college education.

THE SEARCHLIGHT, April 12-18, 2008

2008-04-18T08:19:00.001-07:00

THE SEARCHLIGHT
April 12-18, 2008
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts
Mary K. Matossian, Editor

The Iraq War

Reuters 4-17. According to a study by the RAND Corporation, 320,000 American soldiers deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, 18.7% of the total, suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. Of these, half receive no medical care; of those receiving care, half receive only minimal care. Mental illness reduces productivity and increases risk of suicide.

US Presidential Primaries

USA Today 4-15: According to a national Gallup Poll of Democrats, Obama now leads Clinton 51% to 40%.

US Economy

NYTimes 4-15. The price of oil hits $114 a barrel.
BBC 4-15. Delta and Northwest Airlines merge, This was precipitated by a steep rise in oil prices.
PBS and Market Watch, 4-17. Google reported 31% increase in its profits during the first quarter. In late trading Google stock rose to $527 a share.
PBS 4-17. Many businesses are going green in anticipation that there will be wealth shifts to companies that control their carbon dioxide emissions. Some businesses are also trying to save the energy being used by their computers, e.g. by turning them off automatically at night.

California Quake Forecast

Mercury News 4-15. According to the US Geological Survey in Menlo Park, there is a 99.7% risk of a calamitous earthquake in California within 30 years. In the Bay Area the greatest threat is from the Hayward Fault in the East Bay. A quake there would affect the area from San Jose to Santa Rosa.
Health: Alzheimer’s Disease Risk Factors

BBC 4-17. According to papers published by the American Academy of Neurology, life style factors play a role in the risk of getting dementia, and how early the onset of dementia is. Smoking and heavy drinking, defined as more than two drinks a day, are risk factors. People with a high cholesterol level in their early forties are one and a half times more likely to develop the disease.
Exercise and a diet rich in anti-oxidants and vitamins are factors favoring prevention of the disease.
There are also genetic factors.

THE FLASHLIGHT, April 5-11, 2008

2008-04-11T06:26:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
April 5 – 11, 2008
Mary K. Matossian, Editor

The Global Economy

NYTimes 4-8. Rising global prices, especially of food and energy, are notable in China and India. Now that the US dollar buys less, American prices are rising here too. CNN 4-10. There are food riots in Haiti. In India, food prices are rising because the growing middle class can afford to eat two meals a day. However, one-third of the population is below the poverty line and can eat only one meal a day, if that.

PBS 4--9-10. A public television commentator said that there is no international oil scarcity, and that high oil prices are the result of “resource nationalism” and the concentration of oil ownership in a few states: the Persian Gulf states, Russia, and Venezuela in particular. Oil wealth tends to strengthen the power of autocrats in these states and the people benefit little if at all. Despite rising oil prices, in Iran and Venezuela the standard of living has fallen in the last five years.

Iraq

CNN 4-10. Pres. Bush announced that there would probably be no more troop withdrawals this year. The remainder of his speech was to announce “improvements” which weren’t real, being unavoidable changes. Bush claimed there has been a decline in sectarian violence, but ignored the fighting between Shia parties. He minimized the dollar cost of the war. Michael Ware, chief CNN reporter in Iraq, said that the US does not have enough troops in Iraq to “win” and cannot acquire them without a draft law. No US politician dares to suggest such a thing.
Gen. Petraeus admitted to CNN correspondent Michael Ware that Iran agents of influence have infiltrated the Maliki government to the highest level.
The Nation 4-21. Moqtada as-Sadr and his Mahdi army now control half of Baghdad and three-fourths of Basra. The Iraqi armed forces are waiting out the Surge. Round Two of civil war would produce high casualties because Syria and Jordan have closed their borders to refugees, and eleven out of the eighteen provinces in Iraq have closed their borders to internally displaced Iraqis.

US Presidential Primaries
CNN 4-5. In the month of March Obama raised $58 million dollars, while Hilary Clinton raised $33 million.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution 4-8. According to recent poll, Clinton’s lead in Pennsylvania as narrowed to 6 points. Obama is outspending her 3 to 1. The vote will be on April 22.

Texas Polygamy Case

CBS 4-5, Houston Chronicle 4-7. Texas authorities raided the compound-ranch of a polygamist sect, calling itself LDS (Mormon)
Fundamentalists, in West Texas. There were over 700 people inside. According to captured records, one man had 20 wives. The police removed 416 children from the premises, taking them into state custody, and 133 women voluntarily accompanied them. These people had no access to TV, magazines, or newspapers. They think the outside world belongs to the Devil. Warren Jeffs (now in prison), founded the sect. About 65-70 people, most men and older women, remain in the compound.
Girls in their early teens have been “spiritually married” by force to older men (c. in their fifties). A sixteen year old girl called Sarah called Texas authorities and said she had been forced at the age of 15 to have sex with a senior male, that she had a baby and was pregnant again. He had beaten her and she had been hospitalized for broken ribs. However, so far the authorities have not located her or identified her among the people in their custody.
It is difficult to prosecute polygamists because their “spiritual marriages” are not legal. It is necessary to prove multiple legal marriages to prove bigamy. It is difficult to prove marriages of underage girls because the polygamists keep no records of date of birth for girls. The usual grounds used to prosecute them are the complaints of female victims to outsiders. Most female victims are brainwashed and terrified of punishments for “disobedience.”

THE FLASHLIGHT, March 28 -April 4, 2008

2008-04-07T15:28:00.000-07:00

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. “

THE FLASHLIGHT, March 22-28, 2008

2008-03-28T08:01:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
March 22-28, 2008
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts

Tibet

Time, 3-31. Pico Ayer, “A Monk’s Struggle”, discusses the reforms of the Dalai Lama, 72, at his headquarters in Dharamsala, India. Science is part of the monastic curriculum. Women are allowed to study for doctorates and become Buddhist abbots. After the age of ten, children receive lessons only in English.
In Lhasa, Chinese immigrants make up two-thirds of the population of about 300,000. There are many tourists. On the main streets alone the journalist counted 238 discos and karaoke places and 658 brothels. The Potala Palace, former residence of the Dalai Lama, is surrounded by an amusement park.

NYT 3-24. Witnesses say that on March 14 Tibetans looted and burned the Chinese shops in the Old Quarter. They burned down the Bank of China and overturned cars and fire trucks. Since then China has brought in more troops and cracked down on the insurgents.

Iraq

NYT 3-24. The death toll of Americans in Iraq now exceeds 4,000.
CNN 3-25. The Shiite dominated Maliki Government is now fighting the Mahdi Army in both Baghdad and Basra and other Shiite militias in Basra.
CNN 3-26. Michael Ware. The battle for Baghdad is over, and the Shiite have won: they represent 75-80% of the population. Most Baghdad Sunnis are now refugees in Syria, Jordan, et al. The Iranians are helping in varying degrees all the Shiite forces in Iraq who are now fighting each other. Thus, Iranian influence is being consolidated. Bush pretends that American backed forces are winning.
3-27. The Green Zone in under frequent attack and two Americans have been killed there by mortar fire. There is a new upsurge in violence all over southern Iraq.

Israel/Palestine

Osama bin Laden, judging from a recent video, seems to be seeking more influence in the Palestinian territories. He said, “Palestine cannot be retaken by negotiations and dialogue, but with fire and iron.” [Osama may have been exposed to Bismarck’s famous quotation that Germany could be reunited only with “blood and iron.’]

US Presidential Campaign

CNN 3-22. After making his speech on race, Obama appears to have righted his ship, recovering his lead over Hilary Clinton in the national polls. She still leads in Pennsylvania, where white working class males hold the balance.

CNN 3-24. In the month of February Obama raised $51 million, Clinton, $35 million, and McCain, $11 million. 3-25. In Pennsylvania Hilary has important advantages: many people over 65, strong labor unions, and the support of the governor of the state. If she loses there, says a commentator, she is finished.

CNN 3-37. The Democratic candidates are now focusing attention on the economy. They say that the federal government should not help only the banks, but those facing foreclosed mortgages. Since the Rev. Wright affair, Hilary’s popularity has declined.

US Entitlements

W Post 3-26. Social Security and Medicare entitlements are now being paid from declining funds. Medicare will be bankrupt in 2019; Social Security in 2041.

THE FLASHLIGHT, March 15-21, 2008

2008-03-21T08:04:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
March 15-21, 2008
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts

US Economy

NYTimes 3-14. The credit crunch grows worse and the economy is weak as a result of deficit spending. Food and gasoline prices are rising.
BBC 3-17. With the help of the Federal Government, Morgan Chase Bank bought Bear Stearns Bank for $2 a share, a fraction of its former value. Overseas, stock prices are falling. US commentators say they still do not see where the bottom will be.
CNN 3-18. The long-term mortgage interest rate is rising. The Federal Reserve reduced an interest rate by 0.75%. Inflation is the biggest worry.

US Politics

NY Times 3-14. Democratic super-delegates are beginning to break for Obama.
CNN 3-18. The new Governor of New York, David Paterson, revealed that he had had several extra-marital affairs, and that his wife had also had one.
CNN 3-19. It is now unlikely that there will be a Presidential primary re-vote in either Michigan or Florida.
NYT 3-21. Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico has endorsed Obama for President.

Tibet

CNN 3-19. After fifty years of Chinese oppression and colonization, Tibetans rose in revolt in both Tibet and in western parts of China where they are numerous The Chinese Government sent in troops and barred journalists. In Northern India and Nepal as well Tibetans demonstrated. “Dozens” were killed in Chinese controlled territory.
BBC 3-18. The Dalai Lama condemned the violence by both sides.

Iraq

NYT 3-16. The insurgency in Iraq is running on the profits from a lake of oil underground. Sunnis are in control of the Baiji Refinery. US military officials say that at least one-third of the oil produced is sold on the black market. Tankers are hijacked; drivers, bribed; meters, manipulated; papers, forged. Insurgents still kill about a hundred Iraqis a week.
The vast majority of insurgents are not jihadists. Half of the money going to the insurgents is from Saudi Arabia.

Israel/Palestine

Haaretz (Tel Aviv), 3-17. Pres. Olmert says that there is no chance that Israel will stop building settlements in Har Homa, East Jerusalem, an area claimed by the Palestinians.

Science

Comedy Central 3-18. Prof. Brian Fagan, anthropologist, in a new book on the history of climate, The Great Warming, predicted that a large part of the US, especially California, Arizona and Nevada, are facing drought, extreme for 18% of the population, and severe for 30%.

NYT 3-21. In Science magazine anthropologists reported that very early in the human lineage, six million years ago, individuals were walking upright. Their bones were discovered in Kenya.

THE FLASHLIGHT, March 8-14, 2008

2008-03-14T10:14:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
March 8 – 14, 2008
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts

World Food Crisis

Time 3-11. There is a growing world food crisis because of drought and global warming and because of the use of land to grow crops for fuel.

Iraq

NYT 3-17. Pres. Ahmedinejad of Iran said, “It is not funny that those with 160,000 troops in Iraq accuse us of interference.”

PBS 3-11. Violence has spiked in Iraq in the last three days. People in Baghdad now live in gated communities patrolled by militias or warlords. But there is no reconciliation between Sunnis and Shias. A commentator said there will no full US withdrawal from Iraq in the near future.
On account of the rise in world oil prices Iraq is now able to fund its own reconstruction.

PBS 3-11. Admiral Fallon, the head of US military forces in the Middle East, resigned after only a year in office. He is said to have opposed the use military force against Iran.

CNN 3-13. The Chaldean Catholic Archbishop in Iraq, who had been kidnapped, was found dead near Mosul. Al-Qaeda was blamed.

Israel/Palestine

The Economist, March 8-14. 87% of Arab support more rocket attacks on Israel.
Guardian 3-9. Defying Pres. Olmert, Israeli settlers vow to build eight new settlements on Palestinian land, one for each of the students killed in the latest suicide bombing of the Jerusalem Yeshiva.
NYT 3-10. The government of Israel approved the construction of hundreds of homes in a West Bank settlement and in East Jerusalem. The move occurred a few days before the arrival of US envoy Lt. Gen. William M. Fraser to hold talks with israelis and Palestinians over progress on the 2003 Peace Plan, which called for the cessation of all settlement construction and all Arab violence.
Haaretz 3-10. Vice-President Cheney plans to visit this months Israel and the West Bank in a tour that also includes Oman, Saudia, and Turkey.
BBC 3-10. There has been a sudden decrease in the number of Palestinian rockets sent over Israel. The Israelis have stopped all military operations in Gaza. The State Department condemned illegal settlement building.

US Politics

CNN 3-10. Eliot Spitzer, Governor of New York, was revealed to have been a customer of a call girl of the Emperor’s Club agency. He was caught accidentally in an FBI investigation of money laundering. He paid out over $80,000 over several months. The girl was identified as Ashley Dupres, a 22 year old high school dropout. She became a call girl when her boyfriend moved out of their Manhattan apartment and she needed money to pay her rent. Her fee is $1000 an hour. For the last engagement Spitzer paid for two hours plus her fare from New York to Washington, the room rent at the Mayflower Hotel, and a down payment on their next date, totaling $4,300..
On 3-13, Spitzer resigned, his wife at his side. David Boies, top US lawyer, doubted that he would be prosecuted, saying that Spitzer needs treatment, not prosecution. He is replaced by the Lt. Gov., David Paterson. Paterson is the first Afro-American and the first blind man to become Governor of New York.
Ashley identifies her occupation as a singer. A commentator said, “There will be a book.”

US Economy

PBS 3-7. The Dow Jones slipped below 12,000 to 11,893.
NYT 3-8. A dismal employment report indicated that a recession is inevitable. A half-million people have lost their jobs. The number of part-time workers and people who have given up looking for work is believed to be high.
CNN 3-13. The world oil price is now $111. a barrel. An
Important contributing cause is the fall in the value of the dollar, in which oil prices are measured.

Presidential Primaries

PBS 3-8. Obama wins Wyoming by a decisive margin.
CNN 3-11. Obama wins Mississippi by a decisive margin.
Polls show Hilary Clinton ahead in Pennsylvania.

Humor
National Public Radio, Prairie Home Companion. Annual jokes program:
If God had wanted us to use the metric system, there would have been ten apostles.
Definition of a transister: a priest dressed like a nun.
What does the show Sixty Minutes have in common with an Irish mother? Both say tik-tik-tik.
Call to a hot-line center in Pakistan: Center: What is wrong?
Caller: I feel suicidal. Center: Can you drive a truck?
Why do scientists disconnect their door bells? So they can get the Nobel Prize.

THE FLASHLIGHT, March 1-7, 2008

2008-03-07T08:19:00.000-08:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
March 2-7, 2008
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts
Mary Matossian, Editor

The United States
Economy

NYT 3-7 Krugman. Economic anxiety is eclipsing the Iraq War as the greatest concern of US voters. A shift of white working class voters who voted for Bush in 2004 may be the key to Democratic victory. Economic confidence is collapsing.
CNN 3-6. There are now 900,000 homes in foreclosure. There has been a drop in homeowners’ equity and a continued fall in home prices. On Thursday the oil price peaked at $106. a barrel. Bloomberg 3-7. The US lost 63,000 jobs in February.

NYT 3-6. OPEC refused the US request to increase its oil production. It said there is enough oil available; the high price is the result of US mismanagement of its economy and financial policy. [Most members of OPEC are Arab states.]

Presidential Primaries

CNN, NY Times 3-4. John McCain won the Republican nomination for President. Mike Huckabee withdrew.
Hilary Clinton won the Texas, Ohio, and Rhode Island primaries. Her win in Ohio, which has a distressed economy, was decisive. Her win in Texas was very narrow, and Obama may end up with more delegates there than Clinton. Obama won Vermont. Overall, he still leads in delegates.
When Clinton went negative, Obama was said to have failed to hit back hard enough.

Iraq

NYT 3-1. After eight days in Iraqi northern territory, Turkey withdrew its troops.
NYT 3-7. Two bombs in Baghdad killed 54 dead and 123 wounded. Al-Qaida was blamed.
AIPAC Trial

NYTimes 3-3. A trial of two American Jewish officials will be in late April in Alexandria, Virginia in federal court. The case is concerned with how the supporters of Israel try to influence the US government. It is also concerned with the dual loyalty of US Jews (to the US and Israel).
AIPAC, the America-Israel Public Affairs Committee, maintains close contact with US senior policy makers, lawmakers, diplomats, and journalists. Two former senior AIPAC analysts, Steven J. Rose and Keith Weissman, are charged with espionage. They are charged with giving their AIPAC colleagues, journalists and Israeli Embassy officials information about Iran and Iraq which they learned from talking to high level US policy makers.
A number of high level Bush administration officials are required to testify: Condoleeza Rice, Stephen Hadley, Richard Armitage, Paul Wolfowitz, et al.
The trial is occurring less than a year after the publication of a
heavily documented book, The Israel Lobby, by Prof. John J. Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Prof. Stephen M. Walt of Harvard. The authors argue that Israel suppresses legitimate criticism of Israel in the US.

Israel/Palestine Conflict

Haaretz (Israel) 3-2. The European Union, United Nations, and Pope Benedict condemned the “disproportionate use” of force by the Israeli Defense Forces in Gaza, who killed at least 60 Palestinians in one day. They also condemned Palestinian rocket attacks on southern Israel.
WPost 3-2. In the last five days the Israelis killed 117 Palestinians. The Palestinians killed four Israeli soldiers.
BBC 3-6. Humanitarian aid officials in Gaza say that the situation there is the worst it has been in 40 years on account of the lack of food, medicine, and jobs. Israel is still blockading all entry points on account of continuing Palestinian rocket attacks from Gaza.
[The rocket attacks are in response to continuing Israeli building of illegal settlements on the West Bank et al.]
NYT 3-7. On 3-6 an Israeli Army jeep patrolling the border with Gaza was blown up by an IED.

CNN, NYT 3--6-7. An East Jerusalem Arab driver, dressed is a Jewish religious student, entered the library of a West Jerusalem Yeshiva carrying a hidden Kalashnikov rifle. He killed eight persons, wounding nine others of which three were seriously wounded. The gunman was able to change ammunition clips at least once.
This Yeshiva, like others in Israel, had championed the illegal settlement movement, claiming that redemption could be had by “reclaiming” land [occupied by Palestinians].
BBC 3-6. Thousands of Palestinians in Gaza celebrated the event by demonstrating in public, calling the above attack a “heroic act.” The BBC reported that 410 Palestinians had been killed in the latest fighting.
President Abbas and President Bush condemned the Yeshiva attack. Abbas broke off peace talks with Israel indefinitely, but under pressure from Sec. of State Condoleeza Rice, said he would resume talks – without setting any date.

THE FLASHLIGHT, February 23-29, 2008

2008-02-29T05:50:00.001-08:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
February 23-29, 2008
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts

Statement of Purpose

The Searchlight is the individual and independent publication of Mary K. Matossian, editor, and does not necessarily represent the viewpoint or opinions of PAFM or any of its committees.
The author and source are given for all opinions cited. Those opinions are chosen for their newsworthiness and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the editor.
The Searchlight contains only information about national and world news in the public domain. It is provided as a service to the PAFM community.

US Presidential Primaries

PBS 2-22. Senators Clinton and Obama competed fiercely in the primary contests of March 4 in Texas, Ohio, Vermont and Rhode Island. Senator Clinton expected to be victorious after the February 5 primaries, and had no Plan B for what to do afterward. In contrast, Obama had well-financed organizations in all the remaining states. In the eleven contests between Feb. 5 and March 4 Obama won by a margin of at least 18 points.
The New York Times reported that Sen. John McCain, the Republican front runner, had a lobbyist as a campaign manager, that he had many lobbyists working on his campaign, and that he had received much lobbyist money
PBS 2-26. Obama has been getting better press than Clinton. There is a growing belief that Obama is more electable.

US Economy

CNN 2-28. The price of oil spiked at $102 a barrel. The US economy is still declining and is not expected to recover until 2010.
This spring gasoline prices are expected to rise to $4.00 a gallon for regular grade.
PBS 2-27. It is estimated that there will be two million foreclosures in house mortgages in 2008.

US Crime

W Post 2-28. The number of people in prison in the US has reached 1.6 million. There is a record high ratio of prisoners to the total population: over one per hundred. About half of prisoners are non-violent. Among black men aged 20-34, the ratio is one prisoner per nine in the population. Incarceration is costing the states $50 billion a year and the federal government, $5 billion.

US Religion

PBS 2-26. According to the Pew Foundation, 44% of Americans leave their childhood faith for other faiths or none at all. Those who are unaffiliated, whether religious or unreligious, equal 16% of the total. Among native-born Americans, two to one are Protestants.

Iraq

NYTimes 2-23. Basra has a mainly Shia population and is free from foreign government, but life there is chaotic. Two dozen political parties and their militias are competing for control of oil, seaport traffic, and smuggling over the border into Iran. Drive-by killings by militia men in police cars are common. Doctors, teachers, and other professionals frequently disappear. Over a hundred women have been murdered for “impious” behavior. Kidnapping and torture are common.
CNN 2-26. Michael Ware reported that what political progress occurs in Iraq is because over 100,000 American troops are engaged in keeping the different sects physically apart. The Turkish Army is operating against the Kurds in northern Iraq in defiance of US policy.

Afghanistan

BBC 2-27. The Taliban now has control of about 10% of Afghanistan.

Kenya
NYTimes 2-28. The fighting factions have made peace. President Kibaki will remain President, and the opposition leader, Odinga, will be Prime Minister. Cabinet posts have been divided between the two groups.

Israel and its Neighbors

Haaretz 2-23. In Lebanon, Hezbollah chief Nasrallah declared “We’re preparing for war with Israel in the next few months.”
BBC News 2-29. In the last two days, Israeli air attacks have killed 30 Gazan Palestinians, including six children. Israel has warned Gazans of a coming “holocaust” if they don’t stop their rocket attacks on cities in southern Israel. Israelis rarely use the word “holocaust” except in reference to the past Nazi persecution of Jews.
[Israelis continue illegal settlement building in three location on Palestinian land, and keep up their blockade of essential supplies to Gaza. What if Hezbollah in the north of Israel, and Hamas in the south of Israel coordinate their attacks?]

Science: the Plasticity of the Brain

PBS 2-26. In a long program based on neuroscience, PBS showed that the human brain can change itself and that it can stay young and vital even in old age. For good brain changes to be permanent, it is necessary that the individual be emotionally engaged in the process. Motivation, such as the hatred of being dependent on others, is a key factor. Physical activity helps the brain to keep developing new cells and functioning well. Learning new skills is better for the brain than doing only the things that one already knows how to do.

The Flashlight, Feb. 16-22, 2008

2008-02-22T09:13:00.000-08:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
February 16 – 22, 2008
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts
Mary K. Matossian, Editor

US Presidential Primaries

Economist 2-15, Time 2-16, CNN 2-19 and 2-21, NYT 2-20. Going into the Wisconsin and Hawaii primaries, Obama was reported to be taking in one million dollars in contributions daily, while Hilary Clinton was taking in about half as much. According to Time, Obama was running a smarter, more rigorous campaign and had developed superior fundraising and ground operations.
Obama won the Wisconsin primary by 17 points, 58 to 41. He won the primary in his native Hawaii 76 to 24. He ate into some demographic groups supporting Hilary Clinton: blue collar workers, women, and Latinos.
Campaigning in Texas, his speeches contained more specific proposals, i. e. cutting excessive CEO pay, eliminating tax breaks for companies that export jobs, raising fuel efficiency standards on vehicles, and installing standards of excellence in schools. He said that he would end the US military effort in Iraq in his first year in office, close Guantanamo Bay Prison, end torture, and restore habeas corpus. He promises to end homelessness among veterans.
John McCain also won in Wisconsin and Hawaii, but Huckabee still had significant support among conservative religious people. Secularists were gaining ground against the religious.
CNN 2-22, at the debate with Hilary Clinton in Texas, Obama announced that all major Texas newspapers were supporting him.

US Economy: Causes of Educational Lag and Poverty

NYTimes 2-18. Paul Krugman, consulting the findings of Neuroscience, pointed out that stress in childhood causes an unhealthy rise in stress hormones in the body, hampering language development and memory. The stress of poverty poisons the brain of growing children, making them exiles in their own country. This serves to explain their poor performance in school from an early age. For further information see the report of the AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) in the Financial Times.

University Scholarships

NYT 2-21. Stanford University announced it was going to start giving free tuition to students whose parents earned $100,000 or less. Tuition is currently $36,000 a year. In addition, students from families earning $60,000 or less will get free room and board, worth $11,182 yearly. Scholarship students will be expected to do summer work worth $4,500 on the Stanford campus.

Cuba

CNN 2-19. Fidel Castro resigned as President of Cuba, He has been replaced by his brother Raul.

Pakistan

NYT 2-19. The opposition parties won 85% of the parliamentary vote, leaving only 15% to the party of Musharraf. Opposition leaders began pressuring Musharraf to resign as President (he has a five-year term).

Iraq

BBC 2-22. After two months of air attacks, the Turkish Army has started a ground assault on northern Iraq against the Kurdish PKK.
BBC 2-22. Moqtada as-Sadr ordered that the cease-fire of his army be renewed for another six months, until next August.

Israel

Haaretz 2-20. Construction continues on three Jewish settlements on West Bank land privately owned by Palestinians.

Science: Chimpanzee vs Human Learning Ability

PBS 2-19 and National Geographic March 2008. Chimpanzees and bonobos can learn as many as 3,000 English spoken words and can imitate the behavior of others by watching. They can follow novel instructions. However, they are held back in their development, as compared to humans, by their greater impulsiveness, greed, and (in chimps) violence.

Human children vary, but on average they are more able to control their impulses, interpret body language (like pointing), and are able to commit themselves to learning and teaching. They have longer attention spans than other primates.
The human use of symbols is helpful in developing emotional control. [This may explain in part the power of religion, with its visual symbols, rituals, and myths]. At an early age they can read the intentions of others and respond to gestures like pointing. Teachers and pupils can develop a shared commitment to learning. In particular, the encouragement of the teacher (good job!) is helpful to students. Human can “stand on the shoulders of giants,” locking in progressive discoveries from one generation to the next.

The Flashlight, Feb. 9-15, 2008

2008-02-15T09:10:00.000-08:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
February 9-15, 2008
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts
Mary K. Matossian

US Presidential Primaries

CNN, PBS, 9-14. Obama surged ahead of Hilary Clinton this week, winning decisively in Maine, Louisiana, Washington State, Nebraska, Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. At the end of the week he was ahead by 50 delegates. Further, he was cutting into constituencies that had previously favored Clinton: Latinos, older voters, women, and blue collar workers.

John McCain became the Republican front-runner, almost assured of nomination. Romney announced his support. Huckabee still campaigned, demonstrating his popularity in states with substantial numbers of religious conservatives, like Kansas and Louisiana. But commentators gave him no chance to get the nomination.

Hilary Clinton focused her attention on three big states, Texas, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, where she has been leading in the polls. Obama was campaigning actively in Texas and is expected to do the same in all the big states.

US Economy: the Big Picture

NYTimes op ed. 2-13. Robert Reich, Professor of Economics, said that the US was sliding into a recession or worse. The value of houses has been falling faster than interest rates can be lowered. He attributed this to the problem that for three decades many US consumers have been spending beyond their means. There has been little improvement in wages for 35 years. In order to acquire more goods and services 1) wives have gone to work outside their homes 2) many paid workers are working overtime and 3) many are borrowing, using and losing home equity . This permitted higher spending only while home prices were rising. Now home prices have started to fall.

Little can be done to raise the world price of labor of a given quality. A measure that can fundamentally improve the US situation is to improve American schools (K-12) so that students can improve the quality of their labor. This can be done by establishing more and better pre-schools, paying teachers more so that more able people are drawn to teaching, and by improving teacher/student ratios.

The Internationalization of Universities

NYTimes 2-10. The pool of college age students in the US is starting to shrink. American universities are rushing to set up outposts abroad, especially in the oil-rich parts of the Middle East, such as the small Persian Gulf States. Students from China, India, and Singapore are moving to these outposts of American universities. Foreign students in American universities abroad avoid the expense, culture shock, and visa problems that they might have if they tried to study inside the US.

The greatest demand abroad is for courses in business, engineering, computer science, and various other sciences. Foreign students want to learn cutting edge technology to qualify for high paying jobs. In all cases English is the language of instruction, so American professors need not learn a foreign language. Many foreign government pay subsidies to lure American branch institutions to their realms.

Famous Assassin Is Assassinated

Haaretz 2-14, PBS 2-14, and BBC 2-15. Amad Mughniyeh, Lebanese-born master of terrorism, died instantly Feb. 13 by a car bomb explosion in an upscale district of Damascus, Syria. The explosive-laden car was parked next to Mughniyeh’s vehicle and was detonated by remote control.
Mughniyeh is best known to Americans for the car bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983. This was the most famous early case of car bombing, since it killed more than 200 marines inside. He also was responsible for highjackings, kidnappings, destroying the American Embassy in Beirut and the Jewish Embassy and Community Center in Buenos Aires. He was chief of the military operations of Hezbollah.
Around 1994, at the age of about 30, Mughniyeh retired, but led an elusive existence, never leaving a building by the same door he entered it, and changing his appearance, name, and address often.

The US and Israel denied responsibility for the assassination, but expressed satisfaction that it occurred. Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah, appeared by recording at the burial of Mughniyeh, blaming Israel and vowing revenge. Nasrallah is famous for fulfilling such threats.
Iran and Syria blamed Israel for the assassination. Damascus promised to name the killer soon. Israel put its embassies around the world on high alert and increasedAC troop levels in northern Israel.

The Flashlight, Feb. 2-8, 2008

2008-02-08T08:58:00.000-08:00

THE SEARCHLIGHT
February 2 -8, 2008
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts
Mary Matossian Ph.D, Editor

US: The February 5 Primary

CNN, cnn.com, PBS. 2/5 -2/7. Sen. John McCain was the clear winner in the Republican primary. With some help from the McCain campaign Mike Huckabee did well in the middle south. Mitt Romney “suspended” his campaign on 2/7, after spending $71 million, including 35 million of his own money. This enables the Republicans to unite and get ready early for the November election

There were huge turnouts for the Democratic Party, with Hilary Clinton leading by narrow margins, and Barack Obama gaining momentum. Clinton did best among women voters over 60, Latinos, and non-college graduates. Obama did best among young voters, 18-29, men, blacks, and better off and better educated voters. The personal qualities of the candidates rather than issues apparently dominated the decisions. Clinton’s theme was her experience and readiness to serve struggling workers. Obama’s theme was “Our time has come!” directed toward younger people, blacks, and college grads.

Aftermath of the Primary

CNN, cnn.com. PBS. The super-delegates to the Democratic Convention (elected officials, political bosses et al.) amount to 40% of the total, and they may play a decisive role at the Party Convention next summer. They include John Edwards, who dropped out of the campaign before the voting, and former Vice President Albert Gore, neither of whom has endorsed a candidate.
In the two days after the primary, Obama raised $7 million dollars more on the Internet, mostly from small donors, who can be asked for more. Clinton loaned $5 million of her own money to her campaign. Many of her donors are tapped out.
The voting in the next 2-3 weeks will be in states where Obama has the better chance to win: Louisiana, Md., D.C., (large black vote), Later contests will include states with a large working class (Wisconsin, Ohio, Texas, and Pennsylvania) where Clinton may do better.

The World Council of Churches and Israel

Haaretz 2-3. The World Council of Churches, the main global body representing non-Roman Catholic Christians (Protestant and Orthodox), encouraged its members to sell off investments in companies profiting from Israel’s control of the West Bank and Gaza.

Frontpagemag.com 2-7. The WCC faulted Israel for the crisis in Gaza. The General Secretary, Rev. Samuel Kobia, said,
“On and a half million people are imprisoned and lack proper food and medicine; 800,000 are without an electrical supply; this is illegal collective punishment, an immoral act in violation of International Law. This cannot be tolerated any further. The siege over Gaza should end now.”

Haaretz 2-3. The United Methodist Church, with 11 million members, the largest mainstream Protestant church in the US, renewed its drive for divestment from companies doing major business in Israel. A church sponsored report declared that the creation of the State of Israel was an “original sin.”

Background: worldnetdaily.com. On July 17, 2004, the Presbyterian Church USA divested its holdings in companies doing major business with Israel.
Counterpoint.com Feb. 9, 2006. The Anglican Church divested its holdings in companies profiting from Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territory.

The Arab World
Education
BBC 2-5. According to a World Bank study, the Arab world has not seen the same rise in literacy rates and attendance at secondary schools and universities that have been seen in Asia and Latin America. In the Arab world, 60% of the population is under 30 years. Of 300 million people, 30% are illiterate.

Egypt and the Palestinians

Reuters 2-7. The Foreign Minister of Egypt, A. A. Gheit, warned the Palestinians not to try to breach the Gaza-Egyptian border again, saying “whoever breaks the border will have his legs broken.”

The Flashlight, Jan. 26- February 1, 2008

2008-02-01T10:40:00.000-08:00

THE FLASHLIGHT
January 26 – February 1, 2008
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts

The World: Trends in Welfare

The Economist, 1-26, pp. 27-29.
Prosperity: Outside of the Middle East, the world has been growing more prosperous and peaceful. Between 1999 and 2004, 135 million people escaped poverty: more people, more quickly than at any time in history.
Literacy: Of people aged 15 to 25, three-fourths were illiterate in 1970. Today, nine-tenths are literate.
Fertility (number of children born in the lifetime of a woman) in Asia and the Pacific: 2.1 children now. In the world as a whole, the decline was from 4.8 in 1970 to 2.6 in 1995. The main exception, with high fertility, is sub-Saharan Africa.
Violence: International wars peaked in 1970, and have declined since. After 1990, the number of civil wars rapidly dropped. But since 2001 the Middle East has suffered more violence and fatalities than all the rest of the world put together.

Science and the Islamic World

Free Inquiry. Published by the Council for Secular Humanism, February-March, 2008. By Dr. Pervez A. Hoodbhoy, a Pakistani professor of physics, pp. 33-40.
Of all the countries in the world engaged in scientific research, during the period 1997 to early 2007, Muslim countries had 8.5 scientists, engineers, and technicians per 1000 population compared with a world average of 40.7 and for the OECD (most of the industrialized West), an average of 139.3 per thousand.
The author reports that for seven centuries no major invention or discovery has emerged from the Muslim world. “Most universities in Islamic countries have a starkly inferior quality of teaching and learning, a tenuous connection of curriculum to job skills, and research that is low in both quality and quantity.”
Only four states have many foreign scientists in residence – Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates – and these are far ahead of other Arab states.
The author adds, “With well over a billion Muslims and extensive mineral resources, why is the Islamic world disengaged from science and the process of creating new knowledge?”
The most important cause of this situation, says the author, is the restriction of academic and cultural freedom on campuses in most Muslim countries. There is widespread failure to cultivate scientific habits of mind, namely, the demand that facts and hypotheses be checked and rechecked, unmindful of authority. Scientific method is alien to unreformed religious thought. Absolute authority comes from above in these societies. The exceptional individual asks questions only with difficulty. The penalties for disbelief of religious ideas are severe, the intellect is denigrated, and religious leaders hold that all answers are already known and must only be discovered.
[The journal Free Inquiry may be difficult to find. For a hard copy of the full text of this article, you may consult Mary Matossian at mary@matossian.net.]

Iraq

CBS 1-27, 60 Minutes. Interview with George Piro, FBI interrogator for Saddam Hussein in an American prison in Iraq. In accordance with FBI policy, Saddam was not tortured or subjected to “harsh interrogation methods.” He and his interrogator spent many hours a day together in his cell for over five months. The interrogator was of Lebanese descent and a fluent Arabic speaker. He learned that:Saddam Hussein did not expect George W. Bush to stage a land invasion of Iraq. But he planned undercover resistance in advance. He refused to admit that he had destroyed all his WMDs because he feared what Iran might do. He admitted that he ordered poison gas to be used against the Kurds, saying it was “necessary.”

NYTimes. 2-1. Kurdish power is waning in Iraq as Arab anger rises. Kurds have close ties to the US and the technical competence to run government agencies. Both Sunni and Shia Arabs resent the Kurdish effort to seize control of oil-rich Kirkuk and gain more in the division of oil revenues of the whole country.

Israel/ Palestine

Amos Elon, “Olmert and Israel: The Change,” The New York Review of Books, February 14, 2008, pp. 23-26.

The demographic trends in Israel pose a threat to the existence of the Jewish state. About 25% of the population is Arab. The Arabs in Israel have a higher fertility rate than the Israeli Jews. The effort to persuade more Jews around the world to immigrate to Israel is no longer producing satisfactory results. Hence, a two-state solution is necessary [so that Arabs within Israel have a place to go].
The author reports at length on the settlement movement, funded not only privately, but surreptitiously by the Jewish state. He says, “There is no public record showing that Palestinians whose land has been requisitioned have received compensation by the Israeli government. There are now 250,000 Jews in illegal settlements on the West Bank.
IN 1948, the Jews seized 78% of the land of Israel. Since then they have been steadily encroaching on the remaining 22% left to the Palestinians.

The United States

Economy

CNN 1-28. The US national debt is three trillion dollars.
CNN 1-20. The Federal Reserve lowered the interest rate by .50%. [Correction on previous issue of The Searchlight: the Fed reduced the interest rate by .75%]
CBS 1-27. House prices are down 20%.
NYT 2-1. In the month of January there was a net loss of 17,000 non-farm jobs. This was the deepest decline since August, 2003.

The South Carolina Democratic Primary

CNN 1-26. Obama won the South Carolina primary by a landslide: 55% of the votes to 27% for Clinton. His support was heterogeneous as to education and social class. It included many young people. Obama claimed the advantage of being for big changes and resisting the influence of Washington lobbyists. He affirmed that in politics the ends do not justify the means: the means count. He said that he did not want to tell people what they want to hear, but what they need to know.
The turnout for the primary was half a million voters, which is huge for a primary here.
Obama’s victory speech is S.C. is available on You Tube. In the video one can see the age and racial diversity of his audience. In the first part of the speech the audience chanted “USA! USA!” and in the second part, “Yes We Can!, Yes We Can!”.
Half the voters in South Carolina were black. 80% of them
voted for Obama. About 25% of the white voters did so.
After the landslide vote was reported. Caroline Kennedy, daughter of Pres. John Kennedy, endorsed Obama. NYT 1-28. Senator Ted Kennedy and his son, Rep. Patrick Kennedy, also endorsed Obama. So did Senators John Kerry and Patrick Leahy.
Three of the children of Robert Kennedy, Robert Jr., Kathleen, and Kerry, endorsed Hilary Clinton.

The Florida Republican Primary

CNN 1-29, Sen. John McCain won by 36%. Romney was second with 30%. After a weak finish in third place, Giuliani withdrew from the race and endorsed McCain. McCain won because of his “authenticity” and not his positions on issues.
CNN 1-30. Edwards is quitting the presidential race.

The Los Angeles Democratic Debate

CNN 1-31. Hilary is ahead in the polls, but Obama is rising and has momentum. Since Edwards dropped out, Obama in the polls now has risen to 6-7% less than Clinton.
During the debate both Clinton and Obama opposed the continuation of the Iraq War and the long term presence of American troops and bases. Obama claimed priority from opposing the Iraq
from the beginning; he said that on Day One he would not just be ready, but right. Hilary said that after the first Bush president, it took a Clinton to clean up; and after the second Bush president, it would take another Clinton to clean up.
W Post 2-1. After the debate it was reported that since the South Carolina primary, Obama had raised $32 million dollars. He will be able to place TV ads in 24 of the 27 Super Tuesday states; Clinton is only placing ads in 12 of these states.

The Flashlight, January 19-25, 2008

2008-01-25T20:17:00.000-08:00

THE FLASHLIGHT, January 19 – 25, 2008
No Pacific without Justice, no Justice without the Facts

The United States
Economy

NYTimes 1-21. While the Americans were observing the anniversary of the birth of Martin Luther King, a huge sell-off of stocks in Asia and Europe alerted brokers and traders to the imminence of a similar crash in New York.
1-22. The crash hit the US. Only gold was up; oil and bonds declined along with industrial stocks. Even banks were hit, especially Bank of America and Citibank.

Just before the market opened the Federal Reserve announced a .75% interest rate, the largest one-day increase on record. This prompted stocks to recover.
1-23. Stocks again dropped sharply, and then recovered. Technical stocks were in worse trouble: the Nasdaq has dropped
12% since January 1. Commentators on CNBC (Ch. 58) said that stocks have not yet hit bottom.
Asian and European markets were no less disturbed than those of the US.
PBS 1-25. The Dow Jones closed at 12,207. Asian markets rallied; European markets did not.

Presidential Primaries

1-20. Romney wins Republican race in Nevada. McCain ahead in South Carolina. Among Democrats, Hilary Clinton won the most votes in Nevada, but on account of complex rules, Obama won the most delegates to the Democratic Convention, 13-12.

1-21 CNN. Surging black support for Obama put him significantly ahead of Hilary Clinton in South Carolina. Bill Clinton went on the attack for his wife. McCain and Guiliani battled in Florida.
1-25. The New York Times announced its support for Hilary Clinton by Democrats and John McCain by Republicans.

Minnesota Bridge Collapse

1-18. Star Tribune. Minneapolis and St. Paul. The case of the collapse of the bridge on Interstate 35W in Minneapolis last August 1 is still debated. Many have called the National Traffic Safety Board report, which said that the failure of the gusset plates could not have been detected in a “routine inspection,” a cover-up. Inspections of the bridge were very thorough, and they reported that the gusset plates were corroded and thinning and needed repair, as well as other faults. Instead of repairing them the authorities ordered that the surface of the bridge be repaved – a cosmetic response. Repaving with heavy equipment and materials was going on at the time of collapse, at rush hour. People are asking why the bridge wasn’t fixed.
Minnesota has a Republican state government, headed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty. He is said to be under consideration as candidate for Vice-President. The Republican National Convention is scheduled to be held in Minneapolis next summer.

Health Care

1-19 NYTimes Editorial. Emergency Room delays are now affecting even people with good health insurance. Even heart attack patients may have to wait 50 minutes or more.

Stanford is the Third Richest US University

SF Chronicle 1-24. The endowment of Stanford has reached $17.1 billion, following Harvard with $34.6 billion and Yale with 22.5 billion. The ten campuses of the Univ. of California have an endowment of only $8 billion. Stanford’s endowment quadrupled in the last ten years with an average annualized return of 13.9%.

World: Biofuels vs. Food

NYTimes 1-19. As world production of biofuels increased, food production declined. Food prices rose. In November, in Chongqung, China, a Carrefour store made a limited time promotion for cooking oil. This caused a stampede in which three died and 31 were injured.
Israel/Palestine

Haaretz 1-19. In response to 130 rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip in the last three days, Israel closed its borders with Gaza, cutting off UN humanitarian supplies of food, fuel, and medicines. The European Union criticized Israel.
`London Times 1-21. Running out of fuel, the only Gaza power plant shut down. It served to pump water, dispose of rubbish, and treat sewage.
President Abbas said that Israel has not fulfilled its promise to end settlement expansion and loosen restriction on West Bank economy.
There were only 3 rocket attacks on Israel this week.

Guardian 1-23. Masked gunmen carrying explosives destroyed most of the seven-mile wall on the Gaza-Egyptian border. Haaretz estimated that 200,000 Palestinians from Gaza crossed over into Egyptian to buy food, fuel, cigarettes, cokes, medicines et al. The Egyptian border guards, on orders from Cairo, stood by passively. 1-24. The Palestinians poured backed into Egypt again, despite some resistance by border guards.
Reuters 1-23. This has been a public relations debacle for Israel.

Israel/Turkey

Haaretz 1-24. Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan claimed that there was no evidence of any Israeli deaths from Qassem rockets in southern Israel, whereas Israeli attacks on Gaza had caused the deaths of dozens of Palestinians.
The Turks are angry because the Anti-Defamation League in the US has recognized the Armenian Genocide of 1915 -23 at the hands of the Turks.

The Flashlight, January 12-18, 2008

2008-01-18T10:10:00.000-08:00

THE FLASHLIGHT, January 12-18, 2008

No Peace without Justice, no Justice, without the Facts

US News: The Economy

NYTimes 1-18. Stocks fell on Thursday by 3.7% for the day and 9.2% since the beginning of the year. The housing debacle is worse now and pulling down the whole economy. President Bush promised a stimulus package of one-time tax rebates of about $800 for low and middle income families who are likely to spend them rather than save them.
Paul Krugman said that the must fundamental cause of the crisis was the failure of the government to update banking regulations. He blamed Greenspan, former Federal Reserve Chairman. He predicted that the next year or two might be very unpleasant.

NY Times 1-14. Worries about the economy are now at the top of American voter concerns.

2008 Primaries

PBS, W Post 1-15. Mitt Romney won the Michigan primary with a plurality of 39%. McCain was second with 31%.

Minneapolis Bridge Disaster

Washington Post 1-18. A design flaw caused the collapse of the forty-year-old bridge in Minneapolis last summer, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. The gusset plates, which hold together the diagonal beams of the bridge frame, were not thick enough. There was no redundant element in the structure to replace the failed gusset plates. The critical moment probably came when heavy reconstruction vehicles and materials were joined by rush hour traffic pressing on the structure. The structural fault could not have been detected by routine inspections.

Iraq

NYT 1-13. After months of American pressure, the Iraq Government announced that former Baathist officials might apply for government jobs.

Az-Zaman, Baghdad. 1-10. This Iraqi journal disputed the claim that security is still improving in Baghdad. Three Christian churches, in Baghdad, Mosul and Kirkuk, were bombed almost simultaneously. Also attacked have been US supported Arab Sunni militias, government targets, and the US Marines. The journal denounced the lower casualty figures of the Iraqi Government as lies.

NYT 1-17 Editorial. The Iraqi Government announced that it will not extend the UN mandate for US presence in Iraq beyond the end of 2008. The Bush Administration is now negotiating with the Government to extend the American presence possibly up to 2018. The Times called for Congress to intervene so that the hands of the next president will not be tied.

Israel/Palestine

CNN 1-10. President Bush stated that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory in the 1967 War must cease by the end of this year. He also said that the Palestinian Authority must put an end to “terrorist infrastructures.”

Newsweek 1-21. Bush said that a Palestinian state is “long over-due.”

Haaretz (Israel) 1-18. The UK Zionist Federation is campaigning to improve negative British public opinion and the British media with regard to Israel. The Israeli Ambassador to the UK, Ron Prosor, made a speech on Wednesday at the School for Oriental and African Studies in London, a “bastion of anti-Israel criticism.” He was greeted by kaffiyeh-wearing protestors. Attenders had to pass a meticulous security check before entering the auditorium. No limit was placed on the harshness of the questions directed to the Ambassador. The Ambassador argued that Israel is like David fighting Goliath.

Science

W Post 1-17. A California company announced that it had cloned human stem cells and converted them to human embryos. This was a big step forward to replacing tissues in critical organs, thereby treating spinal injuries, Alzheimer’s disease, et al.

Book Review

David W. Anthony. The Horse, the Wheel, and Language. Princeton University Press, 2007. As a result of meticulous research of archaeological findings, linguistics, horses’ teeth, et al. The author has concluded that the original home of the Indo-Europeans, ancestors of peoples from India to the western edges of Europe, and from the Arctic to the southern edges of Europe and Iran, was the Pontic-Caspian steppe in the southeastern part of the Ukraine. He says that Proto-Indo-European, a reconstructed dead language, was spoken here from c. 4500 to 2500 BC (BCE, or before the common era).

In this original homeland the Indo-Europeans tamed horses enough to ride and drive them, making possible the herding of large numbers of cattle, sheep, and other horses. It also made possible the raiding of agricultural settlements and the abodes of rival tribes. The Indo-Europeans used wagons pulled by cattle to transport their tents, food, and water, and thus penetrate deeply into the grasslands of the steppe. They also invented the chariot toward the end of the third millennium BCE. (They borrowed the wheel from the Sumerians of southern Mesopotamia, who invented it.) Armies on horseback did not appear until the time of the Assyrians, about the eighth or seventh centuries BCE.

The importance of this book is that it serves to refute that long established theory of Colin Renfrew, who argued that Anatolia (now Turkey) was the original home of the Indo-Europeans. The new findings of David W. Anthony tend to support the long held counter-theory of J. Mallory and Marija Gimbutas.
Indo-European culture was patriarchal and patrilocal. Its religion was mainly focused on male sky gods. The peoples of Europe preceding the Indo-Europeans mainly worshipped goddesses. The Indo-Europeans conquered them, using their horse-based forces. To this day, all the upper classes of Europe and the Near East have ridden on horseback.

The Flashlight, Jan. 1-11, 2008

2008-01-11T08:28:00.000-08:00

THE FLASHLIGHT, January 1-11, 2008
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts

US News: Presidential Primaries

NYTimes 1-1. David Brooks: Romney has made himself unelectable in the fall because:
1. He has made himself unpopular with young voters by presenting himself as an old-fashioned orthodox Reagan
Republican.
2. He is unpopular with people earning less than $75,000 a year.
3. He is unpopular with independents, Hispanics, and the media.
However he may get the Republican nomination because many conservative Republicans would rather remain in charge of a party that loses, than lose control of a party that wins.

The Iowa Caucuses

NYT 1-4. Barack Obama won the Iowa Caucuses of Democrats, drawing 57% of his vote from young people. He ran strong among Independents and attracted many women. Edwards came in second, Clinton, third. Huckabee won the Republican vote, Romney was second. Obama’s victory speech on You Tube impressed many.
Comments by time columnists:
Maureen Dowd: Obama is “cool, smart, elegant, reasonable, literary, witty, and decent.”
Obama: “I am not telling you what you want to hear; I am telling you what you need to know.”

Frank Rich: Obama offers hope and fresh start. The Iraq fiasco is not forgotten, which will prevent the election of Clinton and McCain.
1-6. Mark Mellman and Michael Bloomfield: word of mouth has become more important in shaping opinion, and expensive TV advertising is less important.

New Hampshire Primary
CNN 1-7. Hilary fights back tears. Obama draws large crowds.
1-8. Polls were wrong: Clinton wins by two percentage points over Obama.
McCain beats Romney.
CNN, PBS, NYT. 1-9. Registered Democrats (as opposed to Independents) and women preferred Clinton.
The better educated and better off favored Obama, the less educated and poor favored Clinton.
Suggested explanations for Clinton win: Independent voters were drained from Obama to McCain. Big sympathy vote of women for Clinton. College turnout disappointed Obama.

NYT 1-10. Kerry endorsed Obama.

The CIA Tapes

NYTimes 1-2. The co-chairs of the 9-11 Commission, Thomas Keane and Lee Hamilton, claim that government officials refused to inform the Commission of the destruction of the CIA tapes of “ harsh interrogation,” and that this was an obstruction of justice.
NYTimes 1-3. Both the Justice Department and Congress have started investigations of the case. 1-4 The FBI will be in charge of the Justice Dept. investigation.

Health
PBS 1-4. Exercise tends to increase production of new neurons in the brain. The learning process tends to create new synapses between neurons.

Sex Education
NYT 1-6. Teen pregnancy, after a long decline, has started to rise. Fifteen states rejected federal funds for abstinence only sex education.

Environment
NYT 1-3. The state of California sues the EPA for blocking new rules limiting carbon emissions in new cars and trucks driven in the state. Other states are expected to join the suit.

The Flashlight, December 22-31, 2007

2007-12-31T11:55:00.000-08:00

THE FLASHLIGHT, December 22-31, 2007
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts

The World

Pakistan
CNN 12-27. Benazir Bhutto was assassinated by one or more assailants as she rode through a crowd in the town of Rawalpindi. She had been speaking at a rally of her Pakistani People’s Party (PPP). Western reporters said that security for her was poor to absent. Rioting immediately broke out in many cities of the country. President Musharraf is now at high risk for assassination himself.
The practicality of a free election being held as scheduled on January 8 is doubtful. One senior commenter on PBS said that any election would be unfair as long as Musharraf is in office, and the crisis will continue until he leaves.

NYTimes 12-24. US officials say that over five billion dollars have been sent to Pakistan and instead of being used to fight Al-Qaida; much of the money has been spent on weapon systems to counteract India.

12-30, Forbes. Benazir Bhutto’s son, Bilwal, 19, currently a student at Oxford University, will succeed her. At present he is co-leader of the PPP with his father, Asif Zardan, 51.

Iraq

Washington Post 12-23. Teheran has reined in the Shia militias it supports in Iraq, thus reducing the number of roadside attacks.

Guardian 12-31. The year 2007 was the deadliest for US military service personnel: in Iraq: a total of 899 were lost.
Data is incomplete on the losses of Iraqi civilians. It is believe that they amounted to at least 2,165 persons last May alone, but that they declined to 710 in the month of December.

Israel

NY Times 12-31. The Israeli Army is in danger of becoming a right wing organization, with a majority of its officers recruited from the illegal Israeli settlements on the West Bank. An increasing number of Israeli men eligible for the draft are finding excuses not to serve: a total of 25% of eligible males. About 54% of eighteen year olds are inducted, which is not enough. Of volunteers for combat units, 30-40% are from the illegal settlements.

United Kingdom

Guardian 12-22. Tony Blair, former prime minister of the UK, has converted to Roman Catholicism. His wife and children were Roman Catholics already. Blair is now a Middle East peace envoy.

United States

The 2008 Election

Washington Post 12-22. The Clintons are stirring up memories of Bill’s Presidency in the 1990’s, claiming that it was a co-presidency, thus backing Hilary claim that she is more experienced than her rivals.
PBS 12-28. In the Iowa caucuses record sums of money are being spent on TV commercials and hired organizers.

Guardian 12-31. Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York is still considering whether to run as an Independent for President. He is expected to announce his decision in February.

NY Times 12-31. Paul Krugman said that Democrats and Republicans are living in two separate moral and intellectual universes. They lack common ground, so bipartisan collaboration is prevented. Republican candidates support the unpopular policies of President Bush, at home and abroad. This is because conservatives still control the Republican organizations and money.

American Jews

The Nation, 1-14 2008. Eric Alterman, “Bad for the Jews.” The author, who is Jewish, says that right-wing Jews still control the largest Jewish organizations and treasuries. This is so even though the majority of American Jews are liberals and accept a two-state solution in Palestine. Leading right-wing Jews include: William Kristol, Norman Podhoretz, Richard Cohen, Martin Zuckerman, Alan Dershowitz, and David Brooks. The author of this article says that this situation is bad for America and bad for the Jews.

The Flashlight, Dec.8-14, 2007

2007-12-14T07:41:00.000-08:00

THE FLASHLIGHT, December 8-14, 2007
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts

Russia

The Guardian 12-11. Russia presidential nominee Dimitry Medvedov, Gazprom chairman, said he backed his mentor, Vladimir Putin, for the position of Prime Minister.

Algeria

BBC and PBA 12-11. Over 72 people died in Al-Qaida car bomb attacks in Algiers. There was extensive destruction of the UN office building and the Supreme Court building.

United States
Destruction of CIA tapes of interrogations
Guardian 12-7. It was revealed that in 2005 the CIA ordered the destruction of hundreds of hours of video tapes showing the interrogation of Al-Qaida prisoners with harsh methods, including waterboarding, in 2002. The CIA lied to the 9-11 Commission about this. NY Times 12-11. Congress was not informed. The Senate Intelligence Committee, headed by John Rockefeller, has started an investigation, as has the Justice Department.
`NY Times 12-8. Porter Goss, Director of the CIA, authorized the destruction of the tapes. The White House refuses to comment.

The 2008 Presidential Campaign
NY Times, CNN 12-11. David Brooks commented in the New York Times that a shift in the American mood was changing the presidential campaign. There is less interest in foreign affairs. The next president will probably not face a showdown with Iran. There is an increase in stability in Iraq. Pakistan is quieting. So the atmosphere of fear and distrust has abated.
This presents an opportunity to domestically focused Obama and Huckabee. We hear of mortgages, Mormonism, and Oprah.
Romney has lost his led to Huckabee in Iowa. Edwards and Obama are pulling more votes from Hilary Clinton.
But all the top Democrats could beat any Republican candidate by 10 to 25 points.

The Flashlight, December 1-7, 2007

2007-12-07T07:43:00.000-08:00

THE FLASHLIGHT, December 1-7, 2007

Iran and Nuclear Research

CNN and PBS 12-3. According to the 2007 National Intelligence Estimate, a consensus of the representatives of all 16 US intelligence agencies revealed that Iran stopped trying to produce nuclear weapons in 2003, and hasn’t resumed such research since. The NIE said that Iran could not produce a nuclear bomb, even if it tried, before 2010 – 2015. This new intelligence suggests that the Iranian leadership is not crazy, and responds rationally to political and economic pressure.
Guardian 12-4. The Israelis. Germans, and French challenged the new intelligence, while Iran heartily welcomed it. Most American commentators think there is no significant justification now for an attack on Iran.

Iraq
Corruption
NY Times 12-2. Non-stop theft and bribery are staggering Iraq, even as security improves. Nearly everything the government buys and sells can be found in the black market. An independent source rated Iraq as the third most corrupt country in the world, after Myanmar and Somalia.

Security
NY Times 12-5. It is relatively calm in Baghdad, but extra American troops can take only part of the credit. An increasing number of Sunnis have turned their guns on the jihadists, and away from the Americans. Also three months ago Moqtada as-Sadr ordered his militia to halt military action. These three conditions can be reversed suddenly at any time. The political roots of the conflict have not been addressed.

Venezuela

NY Times 12-3. The Venezuelans handed a narrow defeat, 51 to 49, to Pres. Hugo Chavez, who was trying to become President for Life. Term limits and checks and balance in the Constitution were retained. This was remarkable because Chavez held almost all the levers of power.

United States
Economy

PBS 12-6. Two million homeowners face foreclosure. The Bush Administration is taking some measures to help, such as freezing mortgage rates on some loans , but that is not expected to have much effect. The ripples from this meltdown are expected to flow out into the economy at large.

Presidential Politics
Guardian 12-2. In Iowa, Huckabee pulled ahead of Mitt Romney in the Republican race, and Obama pulled ahead of Hilary, according to one poll. Huckabee is short of money and organization, but people think him more likeable than the other Republican candidates.

CIA’s Destruction of Evidence Revealed

New York Times 12-7. In 2002 the CIA made two videos of its “harsh interrogations” with the use of waterboarding. In 2005, rather than handing the videos over to the 9/11 Commission, the CIA destroyed them, thereby obstructing the Commission’s work.

Book Review: Autobiography of a Palestinian Aristocrat

Sari Nusseibeh, Once Upon a Country; A Palestinian Life. Farrar Strauss, NY 2007. 543 pp.
The subject of this autobiography is almost unknown in the US, and to most American ears the label “Palestinian aristocrat” may sound like an oxymoron. Sari Nusseibeh, 58, is the President of Al-Quds University in Jerusalem, which has about 6000 students. He is an advocate of non-violence, and only non-violence, as a means of resisting the Israeli occupation. He has studied Hebrew, lived on a kibbutz, and is a friend of Israeli intellectuals such as Amoz Oz, the novelist, and Avishai Margalit, the philosopher. His wife, Lucy, is the daughter of an English philosopher. Sari studied at Oxford and earned a Ph.D at Harvard, planning an academic career. But his family background and circumstances pulled him into politics as well. Today he is one of the most important Palestinian political leaders.

The Nusseibeh family traces its ancestry back to the time of Muhammed in the early seventh century. A woman warrior called Nusseibeh was the head of a Medina tribe that joined Muhammed’s movement early. The family arrived with the conquering Muslim army into Palestine in 637 and soon thereafter was named keeper of the keys to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
The Palestinians hold this family in awe not just because of its pedigree, but because of the character of its leaders. Sari, like his father Anwar, is dignified, honest, loyal, gracious, generous, moderate, shrewd, and brave.
During the first Palestinian rebellion, or Intifadha, of 1988-90, Sari was an important undercover leader of non-violent activities. When the Israeli secret police, by torturing his associates, found out about him, they treated him with surprising lenience: a mere three month detention. More recently he has cooperated with the Arab-Israeli organization Peace Now and the anti-war group, Women in Black. Israeli right wingers have labeled Sari Nusseibeh, “the most dangerous Palestinian alive.”
This book provides an excellent history of the struggle between Israelis and Palestinians since 1947 as seen from a moderate point of view.

The Flashlight, November 24-30, 2007

2007-11-30T08:00:00.000-08:00

THE FLASHLIGHT, November 24-30, 2007

The Middle East Conference

``` NYTimes, 11-24-26; W Post 11-28; Haaretz 11-29. Forty nations, including 16 Arab Nations began a conference in Annapolis on 11-27 to renew negotiations on the Israel/ Palestine conflict. Only Iran and Hamas were not invited. Libya and Kuwait were invited but declined to attend. The new negotiations will begin December 12, and the expressed hope of the leaders is that they would be completed successfully by the end of 2008. The Arab Nations represent a united bloc.
The Economist 11-24. There is a widespread understanding of what a just solution would be. If President Bush affirms it, he will help moderates on both sides.
Haaretz 11-29. Pres. Olmert of Israel told the leading Israeli liberal newspaper that if there is no two-state solution, Israel is “finished.” In a single state there would be terrible conflict, as in South Africa, over voting rights.
PBS 11-27. Major problems are 1) The 270,000 Israelis currently in West Bank settlements judged to be illegal under international law and 2) the Palestinians remaining in Jerusalem and constituting one-third of the population.

Iraq

NYTimes 11-25. Civilian deaths are down 75% in Baghdad since last June. The surge is over; the current troop level is 162,000. It is expected to fall by the end of December by 5,000, and by next July by 20,000.

Pakistan

NYTimes 11-28. Musharraf resigned as general in the army and was sworn in as President as a civilian. [after a rigged election]. 11-29. Musharraf promised to end the emergency rule and restore the Constitution as of December 16. General Kiani, the Army intelligence chief, will take over leadership of the Army. The former Supreme Court remains under house arrest. Musharraf welcomed opposition leaders Benazir Bhotto and Nawaz Sharif.

France

NY Times 11-28. In the suburbs of Paris undereducated and unemployed youths of Arab and African descent rioted, as they had done in 2005. But this time they were armed with hunting rifles and they wounded, in some cases severely, over a hundred policemen. The government has been planning programs to improve the lot of the immigrants, but little has been accomplished so far.

Lebanon

Guardian 11-30. The Lebanese Government has nominated army chief Michel Suleiman as President. With the aid of the international community, Suleiman was able to deploy Lebanese army troops in Hezbollah-controlled southern Lebanon for the first time in 30 years.

United States
Social Mobility: The Blacks

The Economist 11-24. In a study of the period 1968-2006, social scientists have found that American blacks in the middle fifth income group in the population suffered from declining real incomes and downward mobility. At all income levels, blacks are less likely to exceed the income of their parents than are whites. The probable causes of this are:
1. The failure of black males to complete a college education, which has become necessary to get a good job.
2. The disintegration of the black family. Most black families have only one wage earner, a female.
3. Whites in the middle fifth of income have five times the wealth as blacks. Their extra cash cushions them against job loss and illness. They can more easily get credit and help from relatives.

Science and Morality

Time, 12-3, pp. 54-60. Written by Tiffany Sharples and Alexandra Silver. Scientists have been finding that all people have some moral aptitude. When people “turn bad,” it is usually when they become involved with others outside their own family, community, tribe, or nation. In wartime, it is necessary for them to dehumanize the outsiders in order to slaughter them. In most cases of genocide there is a “moral entrepreneur” who exploits tribalism for evil purposes.

Religion: The Publication of the New Testament

Free Inquiry 11-28. It has long been thought that the publication of the New Testament was the result of a process over many centuries. David Trobish, Professor of New Testament Language and Literature at Bangor Theological Seminary in Maine, argues that the process lasted only a little over one century. He is author of The First Edition of the New Testament, Oxford, 2000. He attributed the publication to Bishop Polycarp of Smyrna (Izmir) in what is now Turkey, and sets the date as between 156 and 168 c.e. [common era, formerly A.D.] His careful scholarly arguments are interesting.

Book Review: Working for Peace in Israel and Palestine, by David Shulman

The review is by Avishai Margalit, “A Moral Witness to the ‘Intricate Machine,’” and it appears in The New York Review of Books, December 6, 2007, 34-37. David Shulman, winner of a MacArthur genius grant and expert on the cultures of India, spent four years in Israel as a “moral witness” to Israeli treatment of the Palestinians. He was a member of Ta’ayush, an Israeli-Palestinian peace organization. This is a diary of his observations. In particular the group struggled against younger Israelis in West Bank settlements:

“Israel, like any society, has violent sociopathic elements. What is unusual about the last four decades in Israel is that many destructive individuals have found a haven, complete with ideological legitimation, within the settlement enterprise.. Here, in places like Chavat Maon, Itamar, Tapuach, and Hebron, they have, in effect, unfettered freedom to terrorize the local Palestinian population, to attack, shoot, injure, and sometimes kill – all in the name of the alleged sanctity of the land and of the Jews’ exclusive right to it. “

The Flashlight, November 17-23, 2007

2007-11-23T07:45:00.000-08:00

THE FLASHLIGHT, November 17-23, 2007
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts

Science

Stem Cell Breakthrough

BBC 11-20, NY Times 11-21. Scientists in laboratories in Japan and Wisconsin, led by Shinya Yamanaka and James A. Thomson, have succeeded in making embryonic human stem cells from human skin cells. This eliminates the need to destroy any human embryos. It opens the way to making neurons, heart cells, lung cells et al. to replace those destroyed by disease and accidents. There is much more hope now for people with Parkinson’s Disease, paralytic spinal injuries, heart disease, lung disease and many other conditions, even Alzheimer’s Disease. This discovery will greatly help the study of birth and developmental defects. The fundamentalists so far have no objection to this kind of research. See the journals Cell and Science.

Stress and Gender

The Economist. 11-17, p. 96. A Danish researcher, Carston Obelin, has found that the more stress on a woman at time of conception, the more likely she will conceive a girl. Stress may be individual and/or social: death in the near family of the woman, economic depression, natural and political catastrophes. Women in rich countries are more likely to conceive a boy than those in poor countries. This relationship is explained in evolutionary terms by the fact that a female is more likely to reproduce than a male. See the journal Human Development.

The World
Pakistan

CNN 11-18, NY Times 11-19. Musharraf set the next election for January 8, 2008, but did not lift emergency rule. Benazir Bhutto, leader of a major opposition party, says that all parties want Musharraf to leave office and that the Constitution be restored. John Negroponte, head of US intelligence visiting Pakistan, agreed.
Bangladesh Cyclone

CNN 11-18. After a Category 4 cyclone hit Bangladesh, the storm surge in the Ganges delta destroyed many thousands of people and homes. Over 3000 bodies have been counted, and the total is expected to reach 10,000. The people there are very poor.

US
Polygamist sentenced

NYTimes 11-21. Warren Jeffs, polygamist leader, received ten years to life in prison for forcing a fourteen year old girl to marry her nineteen year old cousin and submit to sexual relations against her will. Successful prosecution was possible because the victim, now 21, was willing to testify against the accused.

Wireless book Reader

NYTimes 11-20 and Newsweek, 11-26, pp. 57-64. . Amazon.com President Jeff Bezos announced the availability of a new device, Kindle, which can wirelessly download an electronic book reader without a computer. Kindle can download a book in less than a minute and can store up to 200 books at once. It weighs 10.3 ounces and costs $400. A book from Amazon costs $10. Electronic books can be searched.

Humor
Axioms from the Journal of Irreproducible Results, the science humor magazine, V. 50, No. 4, 2007. By John F. Moffitt, Las Cruces.

The supply of truth always greatly exceeds the demand.
The distinction between genius and stupidity is that the former has its limits.
Modern art presents hope that, perhaps, things may not be quite as bad as they are now painted.
Half the people are below average.
When everything is coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane.
A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
99% of lawyers give the rest a bad name.
Experience is something you don’t get until just after you need it.
Optimists proclaim that we live in the best of all possible worlds; pessimists know this to be a fact.
It is always darkest just before it gets to be pitch black.
True pessimism doubts even the sincerity of its own pessimism.

November 10-16, 2007

2007-11-16T06:50:00.000-08:00

THE FLASHLIGHT, Nov. 10-16, 2007
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the facts
[I now consult regularly Google News and The Nation. MM]

Iraq

W Post 11-15. Several US military commanders complained that the intransigence of the Shia Government of Iraq with regard to the Sunni insurgents is the key problem facing the US effort in Iraq, rather than al-Qaida, the Sunni insurgents or the Iran-backed militias. While attacks on US troops and Iraqi civilians have now declined, there is still no progress toward Shia-Sunni reconciliation. [or an oil law]

CNN 11-13. The cost of the six years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq is now $1,6 trillion, double the White House estimate. The President recently signed a $471 billion defense spending bill.

NY Times 11-15. The FBI reported that on Sept. 17, 2007 in Baghdad Blackwater security guards shot 14 Iraqis without cause. The Iraqi government has cancelled the license of Blackwater to operate in Iraq.

Israel/Palestine

Helene Cobban in The Nation, 11-19-07. “Helene Cobban, author and publisher of a blog, JustWorldNews.org, is a Friend in Washington for the Friends Committee on National Legislation.” (boldface mine)
“Facing Hamas and Hezbollah; Refusing to negotiate is an unrealistic policy,” she writes.
The Bush Administration has excluded Hamas from talks this month. This is said to be because the two organizations have not disarmed, physically and ideologically. No such demand has been placed on Israel. No such demand was placed on the Irish Republican Army before negotiations began.
Hamas and Hezbollah have sharply dissociated themselves with the 9-11 attacks. Both have won significant support in free and fair elections in their homelands. Both are willing to enter into cease-fire agreements with Israel. Both have the political strength to compel their followers to comply with such agreements.

United States

CNN 11-12. One out of four of the homeless are veterans.
Recruitment into the military is now below replacement levels.

ABC and AP 11-14 and Wikipedia. The son of Sandra Day O’Connor and John O’Connor announced that his father, who lives in Phoenix in a facility that cares for Alzheimer’s disease patients, has forgotten his wife and marriage, which began in 1952. He now has a sweetheart in the facility. “He is acting like a teenager in love,” said his son. A physician there said that such situations are not uncommon among Alzheimer’s patients.
Sandra Day O’Connor was physically and mentally fit when she resigned from the Supreme Court in early 2006. She said at the time that her husband was ill and she needed to take action for his sake. She is still physically and mentally fit.

Happiness in the US. NYTimes 11-12. Eduardo Porter op ed.
Happiness is clearly real and related to objective measures of well-being. Happier people have lower blood pressure and fewer colds. “People who live with teenagers are the unhappiest of all.”
“Most disconcerting, there seems to be little relationship to economic achievement, which we have historically understood as a driver of wellbeing.” While money boosts happiness, the effect does not last, as we adapt and raise our economic expectations higher. Happiness from non-monetary rewards can be more lasting – such as free time and agreeable social relationships.

Science
ABC News 11-14 and PBS 11-15. Scientists at the Oregon Primate Research Center have now cloned five day old monkey embryos and harvested an abundance of stem cells. From these embryos they can create neurons, heart, lung etc. cells identical to those of the donor. Successful cloning is close for human embryos to obtain stem cells that will not be rejected by the donor. In addition, this opens new opportunities to study genetic diseases.

Humor: USA Weekend, 11--9-11--07 by Bryan Tucker “Bad rap? Hire a publicist! If some of history’s most controversial figures had had the services of a publicist, they might be viewed differently today.”

From the publicist of Cleopatra, Press release, January, 41 B.C. :
“Recently several rumors have surfaced about our supreme leader of Egypt and a Roman triumvir named Mark Anthony after the two were spotted together at the Senate’s annual White Party. It should be stated for the record that Cleopatra and Mr. Anthony are just good friends. They enjoy each other’s platonic company, and they have several common interests, including travel, cooking, and bloodthirsty gladiator sports. Mr. Anthony remains happily married to his Roman wife, Fulvia, who supports his frequent business trips to Egypt. Today Mr. Anthony is proud to announce that his business in Egypt will be expanding as he has formed a joint partnership with Cleopatra to further study the relationship between these two great civilizations. This wonderful partnership will allow for Mr. Anthony to stay in Cleopatra’s royal suite for an extended period of time so that he may get a firsthand look at Egyptian society. No further details are available at this time. Thank you.”

From the publicist of Genghis Khan, Press release, July 1220
“Emperor Genghis Khan, all-powerful leader of the Mongols, would like to answer some unfair questions recently posed by the Mongolian media. Although Mr. Khan is known for pillaging, plundering, and total destruction of all who dare challenge his might, he fears he has been labeled a difficult person. Nothing could be further from the truth. Mr. Khan is a husband, father, and giver who relishes contributing to the community. That’s why Mr. Khan is proud to announce “Mongol Appreciation Day!” Hordes and their families are invited to a festival of food, games, and family fun. Activities will include axe throwing, goat jousting, and a hands-on torture demonstration. Mr. Khan hopes this will, once and for all, put to rest any assertions that he is anything but a charitable man. From now on those who make these assertions will be executed.”

The Flashlight, Nov. 3-9, 2007

2007-11-09T05:22:00.000-08:00

THE FLASHLIGHT, November 3-9, 2007
No Peace without Justice, no Justice without the Facts

United States
The Economic Crisis

NY Times 11-7 and 11-8. Sharp market drops (3%, 2.7%) were associated with warnings of a US economic slowdown ahead. The dollar sank to a record low in exchange for the euro. Certain Chinese officials warned that China intends to exchange some of its dollar holdings into other currencies. The mortgage-based credit crunch and ever rising oil prices predict that consumer confidence will decline. This is because with lower equity holding in houses consumers will have less money to borrow for buying goods and services. CNN 11-8. Tech stocks were hardest hit. The national debt has reached nine trillion dollars for the first time. NYTimes 11-9. Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke said the economy would get worse before it gets better, but did not forecast a recession.

Attorney General Appointed
NYTimes 11-9. The Senate confirmed Michael Mukasy as Attorney General by a vote of 53-40.

Presidency 08

11-6 CNN. Ron Paul (R.), a libertarian Republican candidate for President, raised $4.38 million dollars on the Internet within 24 hours. He aims at $12 million by the end of the year. He is the only Republican candidate to advocate ending the Iraq War now, He wants to cut the deficit, lower taxes, reduce government functions, and defend American civil rights. He thinks the Armenian genocide bill is a nuisance.

CNN 11-8. Paul’s success is related to the fact that 68% of Americans want to end the Iraq War now. 63% oppose an air attack on Iran. Voters are angry with Congressional Democrats for failing to
stop the war. PBS 11-6. October 2007 was the worst month since the beginning of the war, since 852 US servicemen died in Iraq.
CNN 11-7. Pat Robertson, Christian fundamentalist, announced his support for Rudolf Giuliani, despite the latter being pro-choice and pro-gay rights. Giuliani is polling close to Hilary Clinton.

The AIPAC Espionage Case

Guardian and Associated Press 11-3. As a result of an FBI sting operation in 2004, two officials of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the most important element in the Israel Lobby, are charged with espionage. The two officials are Stephen Rosen, former foreign policy chief, and Keith Weissman, senior Iran analyst. They are charged with illegally passing Pentagon secrets to the Israeli government. They claim that the US government uses AIPAC as a back channel to talk to Israel.
A federal judge has ruled that 15 members of the Bush Administration be subpoenaed to testify at the trial of the two men next year. They include Condolezza Rice, Stephen Hadley, Paul Wolfowitz, and Elliot Abrams.

Homeless Veterans

NYTimes 11-8. The number of veterans of the Iraq and Afghan Wars has surged to 400 and is growing. The many cases of post-traumatic stress disorder and brain injuries often lead to substance abuse and unstable behavior.

Pakistan

NY Times, CNN 11-3 – 11-9, W Post 11-9. President Musharraf has decreed a State of Emergency, He has expelled the chief justice from the supreme court, and holds him in house arrest. His police are beating up and arresting protesting lawyers and political activists. He has shut down all but government controlled TV stations and cell phones. The Bush Administration has expressed strong disapproval of these developments. Musharraf has promised to hold elections for parliament by Feb. 15, a month later than scheduled, and to take off his military uniform. Benazir Bhutto condemns his actions. She is under house arrest; hundreds of her followers have been arrested.

Israel
Washington Post 11-8. Jackson Diehl, deputy editorial page editor. In a TV broadcast Sunday evening, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert reversed the guiding principles of the Israeli government in the last seven years, and promised to fulfill Israel’s obligations (such as dismantling the West Bank settlements) to the letter. But right-wing opposition appeared immediately. While Olmert was speaking in Jerusalem, in Haifa at a soccer game, the announcer called for moment of silence for Yitzak Rabin, the Israeli Prime Minister murdered on November 4, 1995, by a right-wing extremist opposed to Rabin’s concessions for the sake of peace. Instead of silence, hundreds of people in the soccer crowd booed in protest against the announcer’s request for silence.
Mr. Diehl wrote that the probable results of failure of the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians this month in Annapolis would be far worse than the dismal present situation. There would be another eruption of bloodshed. Hamas would consolidate its position in the West Bank and become the preeminent Palestinian power. Iran would become the arbiter of whether Israel would be accepted by its neighbors as the Jewish homeland.

Women in the Third World

The Economist, 11-3, p. 75. In poor countries the educational gap between men and women is narrowing. In 2004 in almost half the countries of the world girls outnumbered boys in secondary school 171 to 84. At the university level girls outnumber boys in 83 out of 141 countries. The education of girls is opening the paid workforce to them and lowering their fertility to the replacement level.

The Flashlight, Oct. 27 to Nov. 2, 2007

2007-11-02T07:16:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT, October 27--November 2, 2007

The Middle East Peace Conference
NY Review of Books, 11-8, p. 13. Zbigniew Brzezinski, Brent Scowcroft and four other foreign policy experts: Letter to Pres. Bush and Sec. Rice. The conference on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is scheduled for late November in Annapolis. The letter said that a freeze on the expansion of Israeli settlements should occur by the beginning of the conference. The experts supported the following provisions for a peace settlement:
1. There should be two states, divided by the line of June 4, 1967 (with minor adjustments).
2. Jerusalem should be divided into two parts, containing two capitals, Israeli and Palestinian.
3. The Palestinian refugees should be given financial compensation, reparations and assistance in resettlement.
4. Security provisions should be made for both Palestinians and Israelis.

Argentina

PBS 10-29. Argentina has its own Hilary: the wife of the former president, Nestor Kirchner, a Peronist, has won election to the presidency. Her name is Christina Fernandez de Kirchner. She is a lawyer and a Senator.

US Policy toward Iran: a debate

PBS 10-29. Norman Podhoretz, neocon leader and editor of Commentary, debated with Farid Zakaria, an editor of TIME magazine. Podhoretz wants the US to bomb Iran before they produce a nuclear weapon. Zakaria argued that deterrence worked in the cases of the USSR, China, and No. Korea, who have been deterred from using their nuclear weapons. He argued that deterrence works also for Iran. Podhoretz said that the religious fanaticism of the Iranians may prevent deterrence from working. Zakaria said that the Iranians act in their national interest and that they are deterred by Israel’s 200 nuclear weapons plus second strike submarines.

US Politics
The Mukasy Appointment as Attorney General
NYTimes 10-27, 10-31, and 11-1, CNN 11-1. Judge Michael B. Mukasy (ret.) is being considered for confirmation as AG by the Senate Judiciary Committee. At first it appeared he would easily be confirmed. But two issues have arisen: one is his view on the powers of the executive branch and the other, his hedging on whether or not waterboarding and other harsh measure of interrogation are illegal. He says they are repugnant to him, but he won’t say that under the constitution they are illegal. Senator Spector (R.) says this appointment is now “at risk” of being denied.
In an op-ed piece, NYT 11-1, Jennifer Daskal, senior counsel at Human Rights Watch, said that Mukasy is hedging on the torture issue because he is protecting current and former administration officials from possible prosecution in the US and abroad (Donald Rumsfeld has been accused of authorizing torture in French courts). If President Bush specifically authorized waterboarding even he could be legally liable.

War Protest

San Francisco Chronicle 10-28. About 30,000 protestors against the Iraq War, lay down on the ground in Market St. for three minutes. It was called a “die in,” in honor of the one million Iraqis killed since the spring of 2003. Similar protests occurred in other US cities.

Earthquake

San Francisco Chronicle 10-30. A point nine miles from the center of San Jose in the Calaveras Fault was the epicenter of a 5.6 Richter scale earthquake. This made a quake in the Hayward Fault more likely.

Science: Predictors of Cancer

The Guardian 10-31. The World Cancer Research Fund, in a survey of forty years of cancer research around the world, has announced the strongest predictors of the most common cancers. Smoking remained at the top of the list. But more surprising, obesity was second. It was linked to six types of cancer including breast, bowel, and pancreas. The report advised people to keep their weight as low as possible without being underweight. A third predictor of cancer was alcohol intake. It was linked to mouth, esophagous and breast cancer. Even one drink a day is significant in predicting breast cancer. (However for women one drink can help prevent a heart attack.) A fourth predictor of cancer was the consumption of certain meats. Processed meats, including ham, bacon, franks, etc. are most strongly linked to cancer, with red meat in general next in importance.

Science: Psychology and Superstition

Newsweek 10-5. “The Ghosts We Think We See” by Sharon Begley, from the work of Prof. of Psychology Bruce Hood of the University of Bristol, UK.
Only 7% of Americans are free of superstition. The rest believe in telepathy, déjà vu, ghosts, past lives or other supernatural phenomena. (Supernatural means anything that cannot be explained by the laws of physics and biology). Supernatural beliefs are the result of the normal working of the mind.
1, Neurons have a habit of filling in the blanks. They see patterns where there is mere coincidence, like a stain that reminds people of the Virgin Mary, or the wind in a cave that sounds like a voice.
2. The mind tends to impute consciousness to inanimate objects. It attributes purpose to the motions of these objects.
3. Belief in Mind-Body dualism: the belief that minds are not bound to bodies shows up by the time a child is two years old.

A factor in the explanation for these phenomena is the operation of the neurotransmitter dopamine. When skeptics were given L-dopa, a drug that increases the level of dopamine in the brain, their skeptical threshold fell, and they were more inclined to see patterns even in random noise.

The Flashlight, Oct. 20-26, 2007

2007-10-25T17:18:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT, October 20-26, 2007

International

Iraqi Oil

Truthout.org editorial. 10-25, Jack Miles, “Endgame for Iraqi Oil?” (The author is professor of English and Religious Studies at UCal Irvine). Iraq’s oil reserves are worth about $30 trillion in today’s prices. Alan Greenspan recently acknowledged that “everybody knows that the Iraq War is largely about oil.” Gen. John Abizaid (retired) said of the War “of course it’s about oil, we can’t rely deny that.”
Maliki’s government is likely to follow the example of its neighbors and outlaw foreign control over the nation’s oil development. Only short-terms contracts for specific tasks by foreigners are likely to win Iraqi acceptance.
A bill, approved by the US Congress that would give control of Iraqi oil development to the US and British oil companies, is now pending in Iraq’s Parliament, But it is unlikely to pass because of the opposition of both politicians and the Iraqi oil workers union. One signal of its coming rejection is the vigorous protest of the Maliki government against the operations of foreign mercenaries in Iraq (Blackwater and Dynacorp). Another signal is a bill passed on October 17 by the Maliki government giving $1.1 billion in contracts to Iran and China to build power plants in Sadr City, Najaf, and Karbala.
The editorial concludes: “The eerie silence of the Bush Administration about oil grows all the more deafening as the price of crude climbs toward $100 a barrel. Blood for oil may never have been a good deal, but so much blood for no oil at all may seem a far worse one.”

World Oil Production

Guardian 10-22. The German-based Energy Watch Group reports that the peak in world oil production was reached in 2006, much earlier than expected. Production of gas, coal and uranium has also peaked and is expected to fall from now on.

Education Excellence: Multinational Study

The Economist 10-20, p. 80. In a comparison between nations in producing educational excellence, it was found that the US lagged behind its peers. There were three main reasons: 1) The US recruits its K-12 teachers mostly from the bottom third of college graduates. In peer industrialized nations, teachers are recruited in intense competition from the best college graduates. 2) The US does not get the best out of its teachers because it does not systematically reward excellent and creative performances. 3) When pupils lag behind, the US does not intervene early enough with tutoring et al.
All these faults can be corrected without excessive cost.

US News

Health and Stress
Medical News Today 10-25. A national study of the American Psychological Association found that one third of all adult Americans felt extremely stressed. One half of all American felt that stress damaged their health, their personal relationships, and their productivity at work. This upward trend has occurred over the last five years and is expected to worsen on account of the housing finance crisis.

Homelessness
The Economist 10-20, p. 46. It is no longer true that most of the homeless are single men troubled by mental illness or drug addiction. About half of the homeless are families with young children who cannot afford housing: about 1.35 million children and 600,000 families . The prospect of home foreclosures ahead should increase the numbers of homeless families. Each homeless person uses about $40,000 a year in public services, mainly hospital care and jail time. Punitive measures are useless. When shelter and counseling are provided they are no more expensive than the less useful services currently offered.

Wildfires in Southern California
CBS 10-21, Fires are worse now: they are hotter, bigger, and more destructive. This is because in recent decades the weather has been the hottest in a thousand years. On account of climate change the fire season has been extended two months each year. Southern California has received only three inches of rain so far this year. The air is drier and the winds are stronger.
CNN 10-22. The fires in Southern California within seven counties are out of control. This is worse than anyone predicted. The fires extend from Santa Barbara to the Mexican border. The dry Santa Ana winds are blowing westward from the desert. The National Guard has been asked to send 800 men from guarding the border to help firefighters. Thick smoke is hazardous to asthmatics and others and prevents airplanes from dumping water and fire retardants on the blazes. In Orange County some fires were started by arsonists. In San Diego emergency services are operating efficiently providing housing, food, and medicine to residents forced
to flee their homes.
CNN and PBS 10-23. 1300 homes have been destroyed. 600,000 acres are burnt over or burning. Strong winds and high temperatures are expected to last until Wednesday evening (10-24).
Guardian and CNN 10-24. There is over one billion dollars of damage from these fires. Nearly one million people have been evacuated from their homes. The Federal Government has classified this as a major disaster, thus releasing more funds. The FBI has been called in to investigate.
NYTimes 10-25. San Diego County is the largest county in California without a county-wide fire department (local departments only). The taxes are low in relation to the growth of population.

Lousiana Election
The new governor of Lousiana is a Republican, Bobby Jindal, whose parents, both scientists, are Hindus from India. Bobby graduated from Brown University Phi Beta Kappa and is a Rhodes Scholar. A convert to Roman Catholicism, he is a proponent of the theory of “Intelligent Design.” He want to solve the health insurance problem by free market measures.

The Flashlight, Oct. 13-19, 2007

2007-10-19T08:51:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT, October 13-19, 2007

The Woman and the Python

ABC News, 10-18. On Monday just before dawn a Brooklyn woman, Nadege Brunacci, 38, was washing her hands in her bathroom when she saw the head of a snake peering out of her toilet. She slammed down the lid of the toilet and called for help. The snake turned out to be a seven foot long python. Plumbers had to tear apart the downstairs neighbor’s pipes to capture it.

Pakistan

CNN 10-18, NYTimes 10-19. In Karachi a huge crowd gathered to welcome home, after an eight-year absence, Benazir Bhutto, a woman politician trained in the US and UK (Harvard and Oxford) and an ally of the US. Her favorable rating is 63%, double that of President Pervez Musharraf. They have formed an alliance, giving her the post of Prime Minister while he retains the Presidency. Unfortunately, jihadists launched multiple attacks in the crowd in the form of two explosions, killing 136 and wounding hundreds more. Ms. Bhutto, unhurt, reached the safety of her fortified home in the city.

France

NYTimes 10-19. French President Nicholas Sarkozy announced the end of his eleven-year second marriage. On the same day public sector employees declared a national strike. Power was cut off even in the presidential residence in Versailles.

Religion International

Vatican Sex Scandal
Guardian 10-15. A young man carrying hidden audio and visual equipment recorded a Vatican official, Msgr. Thomas Stenico, 60, inviting him to engage in sado-masochistic sex. The official expressed disappointment that the youth “did not fancy him.”

Dalai Lama Award

PBS 10-17. The US Congress awarded a gold medal to the Dalai Lama, 72, in Washington. The government of China expressed outrage because it regarded the Dalai Lama as a “divider” seeking to separate Tibet from China.

The United States

Attitudes toward Iran
NY Times 10-18. Pres. Bush warned that if Iran obtains nuclear arms it could lead to World War III.
The day before, Gen. John Abizaid, retired, said “There are ways to live with a nuclear Iran.”
This week Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Iran and said “there is no evidence” that Iran is trying to acquire nuclear weapons.

Cancer
PBS 10-15. Most rates of death from cancer have declined: this is true of prostate, lung, breast and colorectal caner. Only liver cancer death rates are up. Earlier detection and treatment are responsible for the improvements. However, the aging of the population is expected to push up cancer death rates again.

Politics
CNN 10-18. According to a new Reuters-Zogby Poll, the favorability rating of Pres. Bush is 24%. That of Congress is “lower.”

PBS, CNN 10-18. Sec. of Defense Gates says approval of the Armenian Genocide bill might involve reparations [to the Armenians from Turkey] and even border changes [between Armenia and Turkey]. He opposed its passage

NYTimes 10-19. David Brooks recommended Gov. Mike Huckabee, R, for President. He is likeable, a former Baptist minister but not at war with mainstream US culture, in tune with the white working class, and a successful governor who worked well with a 90% Democratic legislature.

The Arctic

NYTimes 10-19. The US Coast Guard is planning its first operating base in the Arctic at Barrow, Alaska. It will deal with ships plying the increasingly ice-free waters of the long desired Northwest Passage. This passages cuts 5,000 miles off the trip between Western Europe and East Asia, which now requires going through the Suez Canal or the Panama Canal. Initially the base would have a helicopter and some small boats.

The Flashlight, Oct. 6-12, 2007

2007-10-12T06:20:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT, October 6 - 12, 2007

China and Religion

NY Times 10-11. China no longer tries to crush all religions in its territory because religion can be a force for stability. Instead the government is trying to “manage” religion. For example, Order #5 of the State Administration of Religious Affairs:
“The Management Measures for the Reincarnation of Living Buddhism in Tibetan Buddhism” says that monks are prohibited from returning from the dead without government permission. No one outside of China can influence the reincarnation process; only monasteries in China can apply for permission.

US News
The Armenian Genocide Recognition Bill and it Enemies.

NY Times, Guardian 10-11. The US House of Representatives is considering a non-binding bill, which affirms as a genocide the attempt of Turkish government leaders in 1915 to exterminate the Armenian minority in what is now Turkey. 1.5 million Armenians were killed. This resolution was approved by the House Foreign Relations Committee by a vote of 27 to 21. A bipartisan majority in the House supports the resolution. The Senate is considering a similar resolution.
Armenian advocacy in the US is especially strong in California, Michigan, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts, where large Armenian populations reside. The Armenian Assembly of America, one of three Washington based advocacy groups, has a budget this year of $13.6 million for all purposes. The Turkish government has hired three lobbying firms in Washington and has spent about a million dollars this year alone, just on trying to fight this bill.
The current government of Turkey says that if the resolution is approved by the whole House, Turkey would reconsider its support of the war in Iraq. The official Turkish government response: “It is unacceptable that the Turkish nation has been accused of something that never happened in history.” 10-11 CNN. Turkey has withdrawn its ambassador to the US in protest.
The White House vigorously opposes the resolution, calling the 1915 events “mass killing” instead of “genocide.” Sec. of Defense Gates said that 70% of air cargo for Iraq passes through or comes from Turkey,
The International Association of Genocide Scholars, 53 non-Armenian ethnic groups and a number of Jewish organizations support the resolution. Rep. Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor in Congress, also supports it. He said that Turkey needs the US more than the US needs Turkey.
However, Rahm Emanuel, fourth ranking Democratic House leader, opposes the resolution. So does the Anti-Defamation League, a powerful Jewish lobbying organization led by Abraham Foxman. In Aug. 21 the ADL admitted that the massive number of Armenian deaths was tantamount to genocide, but that the Turkish government did not “intend” to exterminate the Armenians. Furthermore, he called the resolution pending in Congress “a counterproductive diversion.”
In order to understand the prolonged denial of the Armenian Genocide by the government of Israel and some American Jewish leaders, it is necessary to know that Turkey is one of the few Muslim countries which recognizes the state of Israel.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said today that the resolution will be brought before the whole House before Congress adjourns this year.

The most recent and very well received book on the subject of the Armenian Genocide is written by a Turkish scholar, now living in the US, Taner Acsam. The book is called A Shameful Act; The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish Responsibility. 2007. Paperback, $11.56 from Amazon.com.
Yair Auron, an Israeli professor, has examined Israel’s position in The Banality of Denial; Israel and the Armenian Genocide.
2004, paper, available from Amazon.com.

The Israel Lobby: a Debate
On 10/10 PBS News held a brief debate between John Mearsheimer, co-author of The Israel Lobby, and Abraham Foxham, Director of the Anti-Defamation League. Foxham has just published a book called The Deadliest of Lies an attempted refutation the work of Mearsheimer and Walt.
Foxham said that Mearsheimer exaggerated the power of the Israel Lobby in the US, and the such exaggeration is typical of anti-Semites. Mearsheimer answered that the best evidence of the power of the Israel Lobby is that although all American presidents have condemned the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory since 1967, and the planting of illegal Jewish settlements in that territory, not one president has had sufficient power to bring about the evacuation of those Palestinian lands.
Foxman said that Mearsheimer was wrong in blaming the Israel Lobby for starting the current Iraq war. He said, and Mearsheimer admitted, that the great majority of American Jews opposed the war. But Mearsheimer insisted that AIPAC (the American-Israel Political Action Committee) and the neoconservatives (mainly pro-Israel Jews) pushed hard for the war because they thought it was in the interests of Israel. He admitted that oil corporations played some role, but asserted that the Israel Lobby (as distinct from American Jews in general) was the most important cause of the war. He said the same groups were now pushing for an attack on Iran.

Note on the bios of Mearsheimer and Foxman.

Abraham Foxman, born in 1940, survived the Holocaust as a baby cared for by nuns. His parents also survived, but he lost many relatives. He graduated from CCNY with a B.A. and from New York University with a law degree. For details, see his Wiki biography on the Internet.

John Mearsheimer graduated from West Point in 1970, and then switched to political science. He earned his Ph.D from Cornell in 1981, and is a distinguished service professor of government at the University of Chicago.

US Policy on Torture

PBS 10-5. The White House refuses to release two memoranda of May, 2005, which authorized “harsh interrogation techniques” that are actually torture.
NY Times 10-7 Editorial. It said that the Bush Administration has led a systematic campaign to mislead Congress and the American people with regard to torture and abuse at secret prisons. The methods used have been considered torture for decades by civilized nations: simulated drowning, extreme heat and cold, prolonged stress positions, and isolation. The Bush Administration has used legal sophistries to justify these methods.
Comedy Central, Jon Stewart 10-10: We have made the “ultimate sacrifice” of our definitions of “torture” and “cruel,” words that are called up now to serve at the pleasure of the President.

Other US News

Gail Collins on Fred Thompson, new Republican candidate for President:
NY Times 10-11. “Thompson is now a Gucci wearing, Lincoln driving, Perrier drinking, and Grey Poupon spreading millionaire and Washington special interest lobbyist and actor…. He not only isn’t charismatic , he doesn’t even seem pleasant. If Fred is a man of the people, I am Jennifer Lopez.”

PBS 10-8. California is not only the biggest center of stem cell research in the US, and Stanford University is the biggest center in California.

CNN 10-12. Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their work on global warming.
Doris Lessing has received the Nobel Prize for literature.

testing

2007-10-10T07:04:00.001-07:00

testing

The Flashlight Sept. 29 - Oct. 5, 2007

2007-10-05T11:13:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT, Sept. 29 – Oct. 5, 2007

Iraq: Blackwater USA in Trouble

CNN 10-1. The incident of September 16 in Nisour Square, Baghdad in which Blackwater gunmen killed helpless civilians, continued to make news. The Iraqi government accused the Blackwater men of opening fire first. An FBI team has been sent to Iraq to investigate.
NYTimes 10-2. Since 2005 Blackwater men have engaged in 195 shooting incidents in Iraq. Their total employees there = 861. The State Department, with whom they have a contract to protect diplomats in Baghdad and vicinity, has failed to oversee them.
PBS 10-2 In Iraq 25 Blackwater employees have been killed. Rep. Henry Waxman stated that private security contractors are too expensive, and that they anger the US military and the Iraqis. In 80% of shooting incidents in which they have been involved, the Blackwater gunman shot first. Waxman concluded that the actions of Blackwater undermined the US mission in Iraq.
NY Times 10-3. The latest report on the Nisour Square incident found that 17 Iraqi civilians died and 24 were injured. Blackwater helicopters overhead fired at cars in the square. A second Blackwater convoy at the opposite end of the square also fired.
CNN 10-4. The House voted to bring private contractors in Iraq under the jurisdiction of US criminal law. The Senate is considering similar legislation.
WPost 10-5. The US military report on the Nisour Square incident found that the Blackwater men opened fire without provocation and used excessive force against civilians. This corroborated the Iraqi government report.

Russia

PBS 10-1. Pres. Putin is planning to run for a seat in Parliament. He cannot serve another term as president, but he evidently plans to become prime minister.

US Politics
NY Times 10-1. James Dobson and other Christian evangelicals are threatening to third party candidate because the Republican frontrunner, Giuliani, believes in abortion rights for women.

W Post 10-3. Hilary Clinton has strengthened her lead over other Democrats: she has 53% of their votes compared to 20% for her nearest rival, Barack Obama. She also leads Giuliani in national polls.
CNN 10-3. Democratic candidates for 2008 have raised a total of $200 million dollars, which is double that raised by Republican candidates.
Among Republican candidates for President Rep. Ron Paul surprised observers by raising $5.1 million in the third quarter, almost equal to that raised by John McCain. Much of Paul’s money was raised on the Internet. He is firmly against continuing the Iraq War and Bush’s militaristic foreign policy. He is also concerned about threats to the civil and privacy rights of Americans.
CNN 10-4. Paul by profession is an obstetrician. He has been married to the same woman for fifty years.

CNN 10-3. The bipartisan bill in Congress to extend health insurance coverage to children whose parents cannot afford private health insurance was vetoed by Pres. Bush. There were enough votes in the Senate to override his veto, but not in the House. The Democrats have allowed themselves two weeks to solicit additional House votes to override. The $7 billion cost of the bill per year would be paid for by taxes on tobacco. The President claims this is unfair because it is actually a tax on the poor, who are most likely to smoke. While spending $10 billion a month for the war in Iraq, he said he is trying to save money.

CNN 10-4. Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho has decided not to resign his office after all. He wants to finish his term and then retire. Republican leaders appear to be upset about this.

CNN 10-4. Sen. Pete Dominici of New Mexico has decided to retire on account of “neurological disease.” He is 75. Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico is under discussion as a candidate to replace him.

US Torture

NYTimes 10-4, 10-5. The Times revealed that the Justice Department holds two secret memoranda justifying torture issued in 2005. These memos gave the CIA approval for harsh interrogation techniques such as head slapping, exposure to cold, and simulated drowning. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, requested Acting Attorney General Peter Heisler to turn over the texts of all documents relating to interrogation since 2004.

US Education

PBS 10-1 and 10-2. In a special report on the worst urban schools in America, PBS focused on new superintendents with strong political backing to bring about change.
In the District of Columbia, a woman of Korean descent, Michele Rhee, is the new superintendent. She is negotiating a new contract with the teachers’ union that will enable her to get rid of incompetent staff more easily, She is focused on results, not process. The schools opened on time, were clean, and the textbooks were ready.

In New Orleans, where the state has taken over the schools, the new superintendent is Paul Vallas. The state is providing free laptops for all students. On the first day there was some confusion over scheduling, and many no-shows.

The Flashlight, Sept. 21-28, 2007

2007-09-28T16:40:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT, September 22-28, 2007

Iraq
PBS 9-21. The State Department has begun a full investigation of security contractors in Iraq. 9-27. NY Times. Accusations of irresponsible violence are twice as frequent against
Blackwater USA as against other contractors in Iraq.
Comedy Central TV 9-21. Steven Colbert suggested that Blackwater change its name to Drinking Water in order to make itself more acceptable to the Iraqis. He “praised” Market Forces in Iraq which have given the Iraqis al-Qaeda, the Mahdi army, the Sunni insurgents, and now Blackwater. “Never have the Iraqis had so much choice of ways to get killed.”
PBS 9-26. Defense Secretary Gates said there are 7300 security contractor personnel in Iraq.

Iran
CNN 9-24, a.m. Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican leader, condemned Columbia University for allowing President Ahmedinejad of Iran to speak there. President Ahmedinejad was also invited to New York to speak to the UN General Assembly. The Senator called him a “megalomaniac with a megaphone.”

NYTimes 9-25. Helene Cooper reporting. [She was born in Monrovia Liberia, is a naturalized US citizen, and has many years of experience reporting on the Middle East. FCNL in Washington refers Friends to her column, “Just World News”. She was hired by the New York Times in 2006.]
The President of Columbia, Lee Bollinger, introduced Pres. Ahmedinejad with a ten minute speech in which he called his guest a “petty and cruel dictator.” He deplored the latter’s denial of the Holocaust. He said that Iran was a sponsor of state terrorism and is fighting a proxy war against the US in Iraq. He said that Iran failed to adhere to international standards for disclosure for its nuclear program.
For this Pres. Bollinger received much applause. The reporter estimated that 70% of the audience was hostile to Ahmedinejad, and 30% friendly.
Ahmedinejad began by saying that “In Iran tradition requires that when you invite a person to be a speaker, we actually respect our students enough to allow them to make their own judgment and don’t think it’s necessary, before the speech is even given, to come in with a series of complaints to provide vaccination to the students and faculty.”
On nuclear weapons he said, “If you have created the fifth generation of atomic bombs and are testing them already, who are you to question those who just want nuclear power?”
He said that Iran could not recognize Israel “because it is based on ethnic discrimination, occupation, and usurpation and it consistently threatens its neighbors.”
He called 9/11 a “tragic event.”
He said that even if the Holocaust did occur, the Palestinians should not pay the price for it.
When Dean John Coatsworth told Ahmedinejad to stop rambling and dodging, and to answer questions yes or no, the latter said, “Is the Palestine issue not a question of importance? Yes or no?” For that he got a round of student applause.
NY Times 9-25 Editorial. “We are dismayed by the behavior of some of New York’s democratically elected representatives who denounced and threatened Columbia University for inviting the Iranian leader to speak there yesterday.” The Timees said that he New York Sun reported that Sheldon Silver, Speaker of the New York State Assembly, had warned that legislators “might now take a different view of the capital support it provides to Columbia.”

Myanmar (Burma)
ABC 9-24. Buddhist monks are leading a revolution against the military junta that seized power nineteen years ago. The c. 100,000 demonstrators are unarmed. PBS 9-26. Armed repression has begun, with killings and arrests.
CNN and PBS 9-27. The military junta has arrested hundreds of monks et al., and today other dissidents and students demonstrated in their place. Tear gas and gunfire have been used to clear the streets. There are calls for the release of Aung Sang Suu Kyi, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1991, under house arrest for twelve years. No tally of casualties is available. No journalists are allowed into Burma. An anonymous European diplomat said that army violence is escalating. So far international pressure against the junta is ineffective.

United States CNN 9-21. Dr. Sanjay Gupta campaigned against the US “Killer Diet”, which is heavy on fats and carbohydrates. He blamed the federal government for subsidizing corn and soy bean growers instead of producers of fruits and vegetables. Corn is used to make corn syrup, a widely used sweetener, and soy beans are used to produce trans-fats, which are bad for the circulatory system.

9-21 CNN. Senators Feinstein and Lugar proposed a new diplomatic effort to broker peace in Israel/Palestine [The Holy Land]. [FCNL supports their resolution, SR 321].

NYTimes 9-22. At Stanford University a coalition of professors, staff, students, and alumni – 2100 so far – protested the appointment of Donald Rumsfeld as a distinguished fellow of the Hoover Institution. They said that the appointment is incompatible with the ethical values of truthfulness, tolerance, disinterested inquiry, and concern for the opinions, property, and lives of others.
[In the picture that accompanied this story we see our own Professor Eric Roberts!]

NY Times 9-25. The Bush Administration invited Syria to the Middle East peace meeting in November.

PBS 9-21. Ken Burns introduced his new fifteen-part series on World War II. He said that this supposed “good” war was actually horrible, the worst ever.

CNN 9-25. Warren Jepps, polygamist leader in Arizona/Utah, was found guilty of being an accessory to rape. He forced a fourteen year old girl to marry her nineteen year old cousin against her wishes. Jepps may get a life sentence.

NYTimes 9-26. The Episcopal Bishops of the US rejected the demands by leaders of the Anglican Communion with regard to the status of homosexuals. [There is an openly gay US Episcopal bishop, Gene Robinson, who is unacceptable to African Anglicans.]

The Flashlight, September 15-21, 2007

2007-09-21T06:20:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT, Sept. 15-21, 2007

Iraq: Blackwater at Bay

PBS 9-17, CNN 9-18, NYTimes 9-19, 9-21. After a shooting in An-Nisour Square in downtown Baghdad in which the security company Blackwater USA killed between 8 and 20 Iraqi civilians, the Maliki government has demanded the termination of all operations of the company in Iraq. This company is responsible for providing bodyguards for the 600 US diplomats residing in the Green Zone. As a result, the US suspended diplomatic movement outside the Zone. Maliki has demanded that all foreign security companies in Iraq should leave, to be replaced by Iraqi security companies. Most of the private security contractors in Iraq now are Iraqis.
The present scandal began when a convoy of cars guarded by Blackwater arrived at the square and found their way blocked by a car with a young couple and baby inside. The driver had not obeyed the police order to empty the square, and was apparently confused. The policeman on duty told the American convoy to stop, but instead they shot at the car, and set it on fire, killing all three within. Then more shots were fired. Blackwater claimed the convoy had been ambushed.
Since the US occupation of Iraq began in 2003, American security companies have operated there with immunity to prosecution under Iraqi law. Blackwater is notorious for shooting first, thinking later. This latest incident, in front of the headquarters of the Iraqi Ministry of Interior, has outraged the Iraqis.

US News

CNN 9-18. Rep. John Murtha, D., predicted that in January or February, after the primary elections, more Republicans will join the Democrats in their attempts to stop the Iraq War. As it is, the Democrats are getting nowhere in the Senate because not enough Republicans will vote with them to reach a majority of 60 (for debate) or 67 (to override a veto).

NYTimes 9-17. Pres. Bush nominated Michael Mukasy, a retired federal judge, as Attorney General. He is expected to be confirmed.

The Flashlight, Sept. 8-14, 2007

2007-09-14T06:09:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT, September 8-14, 2007

Iraq

NBC 9-9. Senator Biden said that security gains in Iraq had no impact on sectarian violence or political reconciliation. Iraq should be divided into three parts: a unity government is impossible. But he said that cutting off further funding for the Iraq War would not stop it, because it has already been fully funded until the end of Bush’s term. To end the war would require 67 votes in the Senate.

CNN 9-9. David Gergen criticized Ambassador Ryan Crocker for failing to acknowledge the failure of the Maliki government to meet the benchmarks set by Congress.

PBS 9-10. Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D. Calif.) said that you cannot win an occupation. There is still no political solution in Iraq.

CNN 9-10. Michael Ware on the ground in Iraq said that Iran is now the focus of US efforts, rather than al-Qaida.

CNN 9-13. Sen. Jack Reed, Democratic spokesman responding to the latest speech of Pres. Bush, said that 1) the mission in Iraq must scaled down 2) Since no political solution has been found, the troops must be brought home. The President’s speech was relentlessly optimistic.

NYTimes 9-14. Editorial. Bush refuses to admit failure, envisions unlimited commitment of US forces in Iraq.
Paul Krugman. Smart money knows that Iraq is going to split up and will not survive as a nation. A friend of Bush, Ray Hunt, oilman from Dallas, has signed a contract with the Kurds. Krugman thinks that Bush realizes that the surge has failed and the war is lost, yet he is trying to cover it up, minimizing failures, exaggerating minor successes. moving goalposts, He seems to be planning to turn the war over to the Democrats in 2009, forcing them to end it and take the blame for the failure. Republicans will then say that the Democrats stabbed the nation in the back.

US News

CNN 9-7. The epidemic which is wiping out a high proportion of US honeybees is now thought to be caused by a virus contracted from Australian honeybees.

NYTimes 9-8. The mortgage crisis has begun to infect the whole US economy. Rep. Charles Rangel, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, promised to propose “the mother of all tax reforms.”

CNN. 9-8. Chuck Hagel (R) announced he will not run again for the Senate or run for President in 2008. He is the third Republican to resign in the last three weeks.

CNN 9-12. Mark Warner, former governor of Virginia, announced he will run for the Senate seat to be vacated by John Warner (R) in 2008.

The Flashlight, Sept. 1-8, 2007

2007-09-07T05:32:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT, September 1-7, 2007

Iraq

CNN 8-31. According to the independent General Accounting Office report, the Maliki government has achieved only 3 of the 18 benchmarks specified by Congress. The Sunnis have pulled out of Parliament and there is war among the tribes.

NBC 9-2. 72% of Americans are against continuing the war in Iraq even if reports in September are positive. Chris Matthews described military operations as occurring in a whack-a-mole situation: you suppress violence in one area and it pops out in another. However, the panel of reports on his program doubted that the Republicans would desert Bush on end the war if there were any positive military developments.

CNN 9-3. Michael Ware, star reporter, commented on the sudden appearance of Bush in Anbar province, highlighting the new alliance of American soldiers with Sunni tribes vs. al-Qaeda. Ware said that the surge has fallen short and political developments are very bad. He said the Sunni tribes will work with the US but not the Maliki government, which is based on Shia militias.

CNN 9-3. The leading Democratic candidates for president are saying that if elected, on the first day in office, if there are still troops in Iraq, they will order them out.

CNN 9-4. The Iraqi government has failed on all the most important measures of success: disarming mlitias, preparing Iraqi security forces, ending sectarian violence. Therefore, the surge has failed.

Newsweek, 9-10.The Shia now dominate Baghdad, and there is little chance of reversal

PBS 9-6. An independent group commissioned by Congress to assess Iraqi military and police capabilities, reported that the national police should be disbanded because they are 85% Shia and have a strong sectarian bias.
The group said that the Iraqi Army is improving, but won’t be able to control the national situation for 12 to 18 months.

NYTimes 9-7 Paul Krugman said that no independent assessment has concluded that violence in Iraq is down. Measured accurately, the number of civilian deaths is double the rate of last year. There is no decline in the average number of daily attacks.

Germany

German security forces have exposed a plot to attack US bases in Germany and the German International Airport. The conspirators were two German converts to Islam and a Turk. They were trained in Pakistan. `

US Politics

CNN 8-31. Senator John Warner announced that this is his last term in the Senate. He is 80 years old. Mark Warner, Democrat ex-governor of Virginia, would be a strong candidate to replace him.

CNN 9-1. Senator Larry Craig, Republican, of Idaho, resigned his seat in the Senate after pleading guilty to a charge of soliciting sex with an undercover cop in the Minneapolis airport bathroom. Sen. Craig is well known for his attacks on gay rights. The Republican National Committee asked him to resign.

CNN 9-6 Fred Thompson entered the presidential race as a conservative Republican. He is six feet six inches tall and an accomplished actor. He supports a continued stay of US forces in Iraq, no elimination of tax cuts for the wealthy, and some privatization of social security. He is criticized by his rivals Giuliani and Romney for his lack of executive experience.

The Flashlight, August 25-31, 2007

2007-08-31T07:48:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT, August 25-31, 2007

World
Mother Theresa

CBS 8-26. The diaries of Mother Theresa have disclosed that for fifty years, up to her death, she no longer believed in God and was depressed about it. She wrote that if God did not exist, Jesus was dead, and she had no soul.

A New Rock Star

Guardian 8-28. The world’s biggest diamond has been discovered in a secret location in South Africa. After it is cut it will be worth millions.

Greece

CNN 8-25. Over half of Greece has been swept by wild fires. Attempts to fight them are meager. Arsonists are suspected. 46 people have burned to death.

Afghanistan

CBS 8-26. A bumper crop of opium, 90% of the world’s supply, is being harvested here this year. The struggle against it has failed.

Iraq

Guardian 8-27. Prime Minister Maliki and Vice Presidents Talabani and al-Hashemi have agree to ease restricts on former Baathists entering the government. They also agree to release all persons detained without charge.

Turkey

Guardian 8-28. Abdullah Gul has been elected President of Turkey. He has promised to maintain the current separation between mosque and state.

United States

NYTimes 8-27. Albert Gonzales resigned as US Attorney General, yielding to widespread pressure.

` CNN 8-29. 326,000 citizens of the New Orleans are suing the US Corps of Engineers for faulty construction of the levees.

NY Times 8-29. Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho (R) has been removed from all committee assignments and is under pressure to resign on account of a homosexual incident in a Minneapolis airport bathroom. The other party was an undercover cop. This was not the first incident of its kind for Craig. He proclaims himself a “family values” man in a state with a big Mormon population.

Book Review

John Mearsheimer and Steven Walt, The Israel Lobby. New York, Farrar Straus, 2007. To be published September 4.

The first review of this long expected book appeared in the New Yorker this week. David Remnick was the reviewer. The thesis of the book is that the unconditional support that the US has given Israel in the last sixty years has not been in the national interest. The reviewer tries to be balanced, but feels that the book is a “phenomenon of the moment,” since people in the US are generally frustrated with the situation in the Middle East.
There will little doubt be many more reviews and much discussion of the work.

The Fllashlight, August 18-24, 2007

2007-08-24T06:32:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT, August 18-24, 2007

Iraq: US Policy

8-22 CNN. Senator John Warner calls for the beginning of US withdrawal from Iraq next month.
NYTimes 8-24. The new US National Intelligence Estimate, drawn up by all sixteen US intelligence agencies, said that despite security gains, the Iraqi government is paralyzed. It has little hope of healing the sectarian rift by next spring.
Last month Admiral Michael G. Mullen, incoming chair of the US Chiefs of Staff, told congress that without political progress in Iraq, “No amount of troops in no amount of time will make a difference.”

Lebanon

Guardian 8-19. With political negotiations stalemated, Lebanon expects a war. The fight of the Lebanese Army with Muslim extremists in the Nahr al-Barid refugee camp has lasted three months and cost 200 lives, and still goes on. There is widespread fear that the Israelis and Hezbollah will go to war again in the near future, with possible involvement by Syria and Iran.

[Review of CNN series, “God’s Warriors,” with Christine Amanpour, Aug. 21, 22, 23. Rebroadcasts are likely. This review includes some expressions of editorial opinion, marked with brackets. ]

1. Jewish Warriors. [This was a ground-breaking effort, asserting facts presented in the mass media rarely, if ever, before.]
a. Jewish settlements on the West Bank violate international law and have been condemned (in toothless statements) by every sitting US President. Yet nothing has been done to prevent US Zionists from sending over $63 million dollars to Israeli to support such settlements, and taking these contribution as charitable deductions from their US income taxes.
b. Israeli receives three billion dollars a year in military and other aid from the US, and the Israel Lobby is so effective that no Congressman dares to vote against it. Senator Charles Percy, who once refused to cooperate, was defeated in a re-election bid by an opponent heavily financed by the Israel Lobby.
c. 59% of US evangelicals think Israel is a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy and support it with money and lobbying.
d. Israel shelters its own terrorists who assassinated Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin after he signed a peace agreement with the Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat. Other Israelis planned a revenge attack against Palestinians by plotting to destroy a Palestinian girls school in East Jerusalem with a truck bomb. The Israeli police got suspicious and foiled the attack. In both cases the Israeli terrorists are in prison now. But many others are not: Christine Amanpour interviewed them.
e. Ariel Sharon, the “godfather” of illegal Israeli settlements, provoked the second Palestinian intifada (rebellion) by entering the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, contrary to custom.
f. There is a group in Israel called Peace Now which is trying to dismantle the illegal settlements on the West Bank.
Christine Amanpour said that God’s Warriors refuse to compromise because they see compromise as the equivalent to capitulation.
This television program starts in the year 1967, when the victorious Israeli Army occupied Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank. [By omitting any account of events in 1948, which the Palestinians call The Catastrophe, CNN leaves it unclear why Palestinians are resisting so fiercely. ]

According to recent work with by Israeli historians using Hebrew official documents, Israeli armed men, the Stern Gang and the Irgun Zvi Leumi, forcibly expelled c. 725,000 Palestinians from their homes and lands during Mar-Sep. 1948. Then they bulldozed the abandoned villages and planted parks over them. No compensation has been paid. Today the descendents of these refugees amount to four million people. The story can be found in Ilan Pappe, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine (2006), and Cypel, Walled: Israel Society at an Impasse (2007).

2. Muslim Warriors

This program contains mostly familiar material to those who habitually watch CNN and PBS.
The most famous Muslim extremists, an Egyptian, Sayed Qutb and Osama bin Laden, visited the US, and were appalled by excesses of sexuality, materialism, and alcoholism.
In Iran, militant Muslim revolutionaries were appalled by the corruption in the government of the secular Shah, who profited hugely from Iran’s oil . He was put into power by the CIA, who also trained SAVAK, his secret police. The US generously funded the Iraqi attack, led by Saddam Hussein on Iran. This war last eight years and cost over a million Iraqi lives. The pious Muslims of Iran expect a savior Imam to return and solve all problems.

In Egypt the US generously funds the de facto dictatorship of Husni Mubarak. His only strong political opposition is the Muslim Brotherhood, with a history of terrorism which it not renounces.
On the West Bank, Christine Amanpour shows a Palestinian family from which a son has died as a suicide bomber. They refuse to condemn him. His behavior is explained only as the result of horror at the death of a Palestinian girl during a violent incident involving the Israeli authorities.
[The CNN program spends considerable time on head scarves and “modest” dress for Muslim women, but this has little to do with extremism and violence. ] Devout Muslims are not supposed to date, drink alcohol, or have premarital sex. [Such were American Christian middle class mores before the 1920’s. ]

3. Christian Warriors

In this program we see a large audience of evangelical Christians chanting very fast “Christ is King” clap-clap-CLAP! Their leader says they are trying to hold back “barbarous secularists” who hold to “illegal alien” values. Christian fundamentalists showed their power first in 1994, when Ralph Reid and his Christian Coalition elected a Republic Congress and helped to kept it in power until 2006.

The viewer also sees Rev. Greg Boyd of Minnesota, who opposes the glorification of war and wants to keep religion and politics separate. Also shown is the Rev. Richard Sizak, who became alarmed about global warming in 2002 and says that saving the Earth is God’s agenda.
But other Christian fundamentalists fight the teaching of evolution in the public schools, abortion, and gay marriage. They want the Ten Commandents displayed in public places and the requirement of prayer in the schools. [Their opposition to stem cell research and the morning after pill is not discussed.]

Also shown is the rally of 22,000 teenagers organized by Ron Luce in his Battle Cry movement against premarital sex, drugs and the corruptions available on the Internet and TV. His rules are similar to those of the Taliban except that his dress code falls short of the burqa for women. This movement is based in Texas.

[CNN shows Christian “warriors” as generally non-violent, since the US laws allows them to operate freely in politics and conduct their war against sex and drugs.]

Christine Amanpour concludes with an appeal for the understanding of God’s Warriors. She said she had worked for eight months preparing the program.

The Flashlight, August 11-17, 2007

2007-08-17T07:59:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT, August 11-17, 2007

Iraq

NY Times 8-12. The leading Democratic candidates for President (Clinton, Obama, and Edwards) are now saying that leaving Iraq may take years. They express fears of wider war, genocide, and an Al-Qaida takeover in case of complete withdrawal. But Bill Richardson is saying, “Just get out.” [and so is Dennis Kucinich].
NYTimes Editorial 8-13. Any plan to stay in Iraq in reduced numbers outside of the cities in order to train Iraqi security forces just won’t work. No Iraqi government will be able to control the cities any time soon. As the US draws down its forces, attacks on them will increase, judging from the current British experience.

CNN 8-13. Michael Ware: the US is cutting deals with Sunni Baathists to fight Al-Qaida in northern Iraq, and Al-Qaida attacks have been cut 50%. But that is a move toward a wider war, in which the US sides with Sunnis instead of Shias. [The Shias have been getting military help from Iran.] Baghdad is now ethnically segregated, or “cleansed,” but there are still about twenty torture deaths discovered every morning.

Guardian 8-14. A terrible attack on three villages 75 miles west of Mosul with fuel trucks called at least 250 and wounded over 300 persons. The victims were ethnic Kurds but members of a religious minority, the Yezidis. Moslems and Yezidis are endogamous: they are forbidden to marry only outside their own religious group. The Yezidi religion is pre-Islamic in origin, and contains elements of Zoroastrianism and Mithraism. One of their religious symbols is the peacock. They have tended to support the American occupation of Iraq.
According to the Iraqi police, the massacre was incited by a love affair between a seventeen year old Yezidi girl and a Muslim man; the girl converted to Islam. In revenge, the Yezidis stoned her to death. [The Muslims would have done the same if the roles had been reversed: this is an expression of the honor/shame concept that is cross-cultural around the Mediterranean Basin.]

US News
NY Times. Spending lavishly, Mitt Romney won the Iowa Republican straw poll with 32% of the votes. Huckabee, who spent
little, won 18%. The latter is an effective public speaker.

Guardian 8-13. The US rate for life expectancy has fallen from eleventh place in the world 20 years ago, to forty second place today.
Some attribute this to the lack of health insurance of 45 million Americans and that one-third of American adults are obese.

NY Times 8-13. Karl Rove resigned as deputy chief of staff and senior Advisor to President Bush as of August 31. He “needed to spend more time with his family.”

The Flashlight, August 4-10, 2007

2007-08-10T05:15:00.001-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT, August 4-10, 2007

Israel/Palestine

NYTimes and Guardian, 8-8. Israeli riot police, by court, forcibly removed 17 Jewish settlers from the houses they had been occupying illegally in the center of Hebron, on the West Bank. The settlers threw rocks and chunks of metal at them. Twelve Israeli soldiers who refused to participate in settler removal were immediately court-martialed and imprisoned. The NY Times said, “All Israel settlements beyond the 1967 boundaries are considered illegal by much of the world.” [and under international law]. “Israel disputes that. But there are more than 20 settlement outposts created since March 2001, illegal under Israeli law, that the government has promised Washington to dismantle but has not.”
More than 400,000 Jewish settlers live in the West Bank plus East Jerusalem.

According to Haaretz, a liberal Israeli newspaper, Shimon Peres, President of Israel, has proposed a new peace plan giving the Palestinians 100% of occupied territory. Israel would keep settlements on 5% of the West Bank in exchange for an equal amount of land. Haaretz said, in an editorial, that the most important interest of the Zionist movement was to end the occupation of the territories. The editorial said that a stable majority of Israeli prefer a two-state solution to a binational state or an apartheid regime.
The Guardian said that Israelis fear that Islamic fanatics [Hamas et al] will take over the West Bank. They also fear Iran’s program to make nuclear weapons.
Ehud Barak, the Israeli Defense Minister, said that before Israeli withdraws from the West Bank, the technology for a missile defense system must be developed. He estimated this would take 3 to 5 years.

Iraq

Washington Post, 8-6. The General Accounting Office reported that 30% of the arms giving to the Iraqi Army are not accounted for. 190,000 assault rifles and pistols were given during 2004-2005. At that time General Petraeus was in charge of the training of Iraqi security forces. The GAO said an incorrect procedure was used.

Az-Zaman 8-7. The Ministry of Electricity of Iraqi said it is unable to provide energy for half the Iraqis in the country. The temperature is now ranging between 45-50 degrees Celsius [113-122 Fahrenheit]. Unnamed sources warned of the spread of epidemics as a result of the lack of means of water desalination and the rise in temperatures.

United States

CNN 8-9. Stocks declined 387 points, the worst decline since February. There is a “liquidity famine.” 8-10. NY Times. Paul Krugman said that this was ominous and that there is little that the government can do, especially in the light of its lack of credibility.

Book Review

Tim Weiner. Legacy of Ashes. The History of the CIA. NY 2007.
This is a definitive history of the CIA based on documents, oral histories, and interviews. The author is a NY Times reporter. He concludes that three generations of CIA officers have failed in their most important mission: to enable the President and the public to understand the world.
He says, “Stalin never had a master plan for world domination, nor the means to pursue it.” According to Khrushchev, Stalin was afraid of war.
The CIA was adept at using money to buy foreign politicians. Its money talked so loudly, that it saw no need to learn foreign languages or study the culture and history of other countries.
The focus of the organization was on clandestine paramilitary activities, which were expensive and unmonitored. The focus was not on intelligence gathering. Consequently, it was unable to warn the US of major crises. The 9-11 attack was the Pearl Harbor that the CIA was created to prevent.

When Bush appointed Porter Goss as Director of the CIA, the latter tried to purge the organization of officers he considered disloyal to the President. The most competent officers left or were fired.

The Flashlight, July 28 - August 3, 2007

2007-08-03T08:05:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT, July 28 – August 3, 2007

Iraq

NYTimes 7-29. editorial. Saudi Arabia is pouring money into Sunni opposition groups in Iraq. It is allowing 30-40 people a month to cross its border into Iraq to join the Sunni insurgents. The Saudis are afraid of growing Iranian influence, especially in southern Iraq.

Frank Rich: Since March the number of Iraqi Army battalions fit to fight independently has dropped from 10 to 6.
In The Occupation of Iraq by Ali Allawi published last April at Yale Press, unknown embezzlers stole $1.2 billion of the Iraq Army’s procurement budget “under the nose of General Petraeus.”

NPR (National Public Radio) 7-30. In an official US government report on Iraqi reconstruction, the Bechtel Corporation, which received $1.5 billion for various projects, has only succeeded to making half of them operational. The rest are dysfunctional, and the Iraqi Government refuses to take them over. The report said that corruption is a “second insurgency” in Iraq. Unemployment in Iraq is now 50%.

CNN 8-1. $602 billion has already been spent in Iraq and Afghanistan according to the official estimate. The expected total is one trillion dollars.

Guardian 8-3. The Iraqi Parliament went into recess after failing to pass the oil bill much desired by the Bush Administration. It would have allowed foreign companies to operate in Iraq under “exploration risk contracts” that could last 30 years with no chance for revision. The location of most of Iraq’s oil reserves is well known; there is no risk involved in drilling there. As a country under occupation, Iraq is in a poor bargaining position in dealing with foreign companies.
The Guardian reports that Iraqi civil society, trade unions, and professional oil experts are opposed to this bill. The Sunnis, Sadrists, and Virtue Parties in Parliament oppose the bill. Cheney and the oil lobby in Washington are reportedly enraged at the Iraqi Parliament for refusing to pass it. They have stopped talking about benchmarks and the September deadline, and now are advocating “patience.”
[On account of the waning supply of American men and equipment available to fight in Iraq, and the growing public opposition to the war, a major political struggle is probable this fall.]

Israel/Palestine

NYTimes 7-29. A new coalition of 34 American evangelical Christian leaders called for a greater US effort to find a just solution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. They called for the creation of a Palestinian state which would include the “vast majority” of the West Bank. [Currently there are 250,000 Israeli settlers there.] This new Christian coalition is opposed to another evangelical group, Christians United for Israel.

US News

7-31 CNN. Senator Ted Stevens (R), age 83, of Alaska is under FBI / IRS investigation for corruption. Investigators entered his house and took pictures. It was reported that he “allowed” Veco, an oil services corporation with tens of millions in federal government contracts in Alaska, to pay for the renovation and expansion of his home. Rep., Don Young, the only representative from Alaska in Congress, is also under investigation.

CNN 7-30. John Roberts, Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, suffered a seizure and was rushed to a hospital. He was allowed to go home two days later. It was reported that he had a seizure in 1993, although this was not mentioned in his Senate confirmation hearings. There was no tumor or blood clot in his brain. According to a medical commentator, Roberts is now considered an epileptic. There is a 50% chance that he will have another seizure.

CNN 8-1. A major bridge over the Mississippi in downtown Minneapolis collapsed at the height of evening rush-hour traffic. 50 automobiles landed in the river. 7 people are known dead so far, and 20-30 are missing.
This was an interstate bridge, thus a federal government responsibility. It was built in 1967; since then traffic over it has greatly increased. There is no indication of terrorism as a cause of the collapse. Both federal and state agencies are investigating it.
CNN (8-2) and the New York Times (8-3) issued commentaries on the deterioration of the American infrastructure, including bridges, roads, tunnels, waterways, dams, railroads, water systems, and waste-water systems. A bill sponsored by Senators Chuck Hagel (R) and Chris Dodd (D) for infrastructure maintenance work is currently pending in the Senate.

NYT 8-3. The Senate passed an expanded Children’s Health Insurance Bill by a veto-proof margin of 68 to 31. A similar bill passed the House by a smaller margin. The cost of the bill would be paid for by increased taxes on tobacco and reduced subsidies to private insurance companies.

The Flashlight, July 21-27, 2007

2007-07-27T06:17:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT, July 21-27, 2007

Iraq

Az-Zaman 7-24. Shia militias now control both Baghdad and Basra. In Baghdad, Palestinians are being murdered, kidnapped, and expelled from iraq. In the three southern provinces, the Shia parties and their militias have drawn up a list of 3,000 former Sunni Baathists suspected of participating in the massacre of Shia rebels in March 1991. It is believed that many will be executed without trial, and the liquidation has begun. Panic prevails.

NYTimes Editorial 7-25. The recently revealed Bush Administration two year plan of further US military operations in Iraq was condemned because the US military cannot execute it without grievous losses in quality, readiness, and morale. The plan assumes that Iraqi politicians, which have not acted responsibly in the last four years, will do so during the next two years.
Maureen Dodd called Bush’s regime as the Reign of Error.

` NYTimes 7-26. A House resolution passed by a vote of 399 to 24 rejected permanent US bases in Iraq and US economic control over the oil resources of Iraq. Next week Rep. John Murtha will add a new withdrawal plan to the military spending bill. It will come to a vote in September after the coming Congressional recess.

Press TV. 7-27. Internet. Iraqi Draft Oil law. Interview by Mehran Derakhshandeh with Raed Jarrar, Iraqi consultant to the American Friends Service Committee.
The oil law now being considered by the Iraqi Parliament has nothing to do with revenue sharing, as the US press mistakenly suggests. The actual revenue sharing law is currently being considered by the Iraqi Council of Ministers, and the Bush Administration is not pressing for its passage. Rather, it is pressing for the draft oil law now in Parliament that provides for operation of international oil companies in Iraq under Production Sharing Agreements that would give large percentages of oil revenues to these companies. There is no need for such agreements because there is no risk in producing Iraqi oil: its locations are well known. Moreover, it is very cheap to produce. So the Iraqis are resisting the law providing for these agreements with foreign companies.. .

Afghanistan

7-26. NYTimes Editorial. It urged the US not to send any more conventional troops to Afghanistan, saying it would do more harm than good. The terrorist training camps have moved to Pakistani tribal territory. The best way to fight insurgents is through better intelligence, special forces, pragmatic politics, and economic development. In the last five years the national wealth of Afghanistan has doubled, and the population of Kabul as increased four times to four million.

Lebanon/Israel

An-Nahar, 7-23. Hizbollah has reorganized and claims its rockets can now strike any place in Israel, including Tel Aviv

United Kingdom

7-24-25. The UK is suffering from the worst flooding in sixty years. Large numbers of people are without clean drinking water. Oxford has had to be evacuated. The costs will be high.

US News

NYTimes 7-26. The Dow Jones Index dropped 286 points to 13,473, on account of poor new home sales in June and the threat of a credit crunch. European stock markets also fell sharply.

NY Times 7-26. The White House is resisting the threat of subpoenas for its staff by claiming executive privilege, and if this goes to court it could play out until the end of Bush’s term. The situation of Attorney Gonzales is more dangerous, since FBI Director Robert Mueller has contradicted his testimony to Congress concerning his visit to the bedside of John Ashcroft to promote an NSA program in violation of privacy rights of US citizens. .

Book Report

[Christopher Hitchens. God is Not Great; How Religion Poisons Everything.
The author’s sophisticated criticism is against fundamentalism of all kinds, not Quakerism. His best chapters are 2) Religion Kills 4) A Note on Health, in Which Religion can be Hazardous and 13) Does Religion Make People Behave Better? His expose of Mormonism is timely. ]

The Flashlight, July 14-20, 2007

2007-07-20T09:58:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT, July 14-20, 2007

Iraq
`
PBS 7-13. Since 2008, a total of 118 journalists have been killed in Iraq, mostly Iraqis.

CBS 7-15. 74% of Americans think the Iraq War is going badly.

US News

Roman Catholic Class Action Lawsuits

NY Times 7-15. Lawyers for 508 class action plaintiffs about sex abuse by the Roman Catholic Church in the Los Angeles Arch- diocese have won a settlement of $660 million dollars, the highest since the controversy began in 2002. As a result the Archdiocese will have to sell property and go into debt. According to CBS, the total that the Church has had to pay out in the US on account of such lawsuits is $2 billion dollars.

Economic Inequality

NY Times 7-15. 15,000 families, constituting 1/100th of a percent of US families, each with an annual income of $9.5 million dollars or more, now receive 5% of the national income.
7-19. The Dow Jones Index rose to 14,000.

Security

CNN. 7-17. According to the new National Intelligence Estimate, the threat of Al-Qaida to the US has increased

Japan

NY Times 7-17. An earthquake measured in Japan at 6.8 on the Richter Scale, killed 9 and injured 900. Hundreds of buildings were flattened and thousands of people were homeless.

North Korea

NY Times 7-16. It has been confirmed that North Korea has shut down its nuclear reaction, a response to the arrival of a shipment of fuel oil from North Korea.

Health

CNN. 7-19. 15% of US teenagers are now rated as obese. In order to help those over 250 pounds who have little hope of reducing by diet and exercise, a new form of surgery is being undertaken. Surgeons insert an adjustable elastic band around the entry to the stomach. This is less risky than a gastric bypass just above the entrance to the intestines. The band is tightened by injecting air into it. In the first year the patient, with counseling, can lose 30% of excess weight, with the prospect of eventually losing 50% of excess weight by gradual tightening of the band. This operation costs $15,000 - $20,000.

Cartoon in the New Yorker, 7-21:
“Seven Deadly Virtues”

1. Morning perkiness
2. Un-called for thrift
3. Total honesty
4. Over-seriousness
5. Gossip prudery
6. Guilt mongering
7. Fitness obsession

The Flashlight, July 7-14, 2007

2007-07-13T10:01:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT, July 7-14, 2007

[Editorial Note. Az-Zaman, founded in 1997, is owned and edited by a wealthy Iraqi, Saad al-Bazzaz, who is based in London. He employs a team of outstanding writers. This is the best-known Baghdad daily paper.]

Iraq

NYTimes 7-13, Lead editorial. The Bush Administration, refusing to acknowledge failure, is twisting the facts about the situation in Iraq. Eight months ago CIA Director Michael Hayden said the situation was hopeless, and it still is.
As in the case of the Viet Nam War, the US has no effective government partner there that it can back. Nor is there an Iraqi military that can act independently of US troops.
New intelligence shows that al-Qaida has rebuilt itself and is fortified in a safe haven in Pakistan.
George Bush is dangerously delusional and delaying any change in policy.

` Az-Zaman, 7-10. Since 2003, five hundred Iraqi scientists have been killed. They came from all ethnic groups. A total of 17,000 scientists, doctors, and other professionals have left Iraq.

CNN, 7-8. Madeline Albright says the political bottom is falling out in Iraq, and it has become a failed state. A three-way division of the country is likely between Sunni, Shia, and the Kurds. Iran has been greatly strengthened by this US disaster.
CNN 7-9. It is reported that Iraqi politicians are telling civilians to arm themselves. The Maliki government is on the brink of collapse.
CNN 7-10. Michael Ware in Baghdad said that no reduction in the militias is possible, since they constitute the basis of political power, such as it is. PBS. 7out of 10 Americans want the troops out Iraq by April, 2008. The Democrats in Congress propose bills to do just that. But not enough Republicans have joined them yet to pass the bills.

US News

Origins of the Iraq War

New York Review of Books. 7-19. Thomas Powers, “What Tenet Knew.” Tenet claims that the false report issued by the CIA on the presence of WMD in Iraq was not an “honest error” as he claims. The report disguised shaky sources, minimized doubts, excluded alternative explanations, and exaggerated the significance of trivia.
As a result, Colin Powell’s famous speech to the UN asking for support for the Iraq War was based on a pile of falsehoods. There were no aluminum tubes for nuclear weapons, no yellowcake uranium from Niger, and no connections between al-Qaida and Saddam. There were no weapons of mass destruction at all in Iraq.

Michael Moore’s Sicko
This effective documentary has received mostly good reviews. [I have seen it and recommend it. It compares well with Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth. ]

Retired Bush Surgeon General Speaks Out

PBS 7-10. Dr. Richard Carmona said that the Bush administration marginalized him. They refused to listen to his scientific advice on birth control and stem-cell research, saying that the policy had already been decided upon. They tried to make Dr. Carmon a propagandist for positions in which he did not believe.

Egypt

The Economist, 7-7. Female genital mutilation (surgical removal of the clitoris), usually performed on twelve-year olds to “purify” them and make them more eligible for marriage, has now been banned by the government with the support of Muslim and Christian clergy.

The Arctic

Guardian 7-11. Now that global warming has opened a slender Northwest Passage across the far north of North America briefly in the summer, there is growing competition for positions and resources there. Canada, the US, Russia, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland are active competitors. The area may be rich in oil, gas, diamonds, silver, copper, zinc, and fish stocks.

International Progress

CNN 7-11. Japan Airlines (JAL) has installed combination toilets/bidets on its liners, in order “refresh the parts that other airlines cannot reach.” [A sneaky trick to crush the competition.]

The Flashlight, June 29 - July 6, 2007

2007-07-06T09:03:00.006-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT, June 29 – July 6, 2007

Iraq

Az-Zaman 6-29. There are now only three major Iraqi power groups: the Mahdi Army, Shia, led by Moqtada as-Sadr; the Supreme Islamic Council, Shia together with its Badr Brigade; and al-Qaida, Sunni. [but there are also hundreds of kin-based, ethnic based, and religion-based small groups].

Az-Zaman. 7-3. An Iraqi general said that in Baghdad attacks against US and its allied forces had increased, while attacks on civilians had declined. The fifteen Sadrist deputies returned to Parliament.

Az-Zaman, 7-4. Major General John Batiste, in testimony to the Foreign Relations Committee of the US House of Representatives, said that the Iraqi Army is still weak, unreliable, and ill-equipped. He said:
“Historically the army in the Middle East is permanently ineffective because of social factors rooted in Arab culture: the secrecy, megalomania, showing off, the gap between social classes, the inability to coordinate, and the lack of individual freedom and security….Our experience in the last four years is that most Iraqi units will not show up to fight and will not stand up to face a rebellion – for thousands of reasons.”

CNN 7-5. CNN predicts that in September the American military commanders will ask for more time to operate in Iraq.

United Kingdom

7-2 and 7-3 CNN. Three botched car bombings in Britain led to the arrest of seven male physicians and a woman lab technician married to one of them. They had Islamic sounding names. They were in their mid to late twenties. This was the first terrorist case involving physicians. Previously they had been considered above suspicion.

US Politics
Mic
NYTimes 7-4. The second quarter presidential fund raising results are in and overall the Republicans raised a lot less than the Democrats. Obama led with $32.5 million, Clinton with $27 million; Romney dropped from $20.5 million in the first quarter to $14 million in the second. McCain raised only $11 million and had to lay of most of his staff; Giuliani declined from 17 in the first quarter to 15 in the second. Fred Thompson is about to announce his candidacy as a Republican. Michael Bloomberg hovers.

CNN 7-5. Senator Pete Dominici, R., broke with Bush on Iraq policy, joining Republican Senators Lugar and Voinovich.

The

2007-07-06T09:03:00.005-07:00

The

2007-07-06T09:03:00.003-07:00

The

2007-07-06T09:03:00.001-07:00

The

2007-07-06T09:02:00.000-07:00

The Flashlight, June 22-29, 2007

2007-06-29T06:27:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT, June 22-29, 2007

US Politics

6-24 NY Times. Frank Rich said that the new US strategy of arming Sunni tribes in Anbar Province is a sign that it considers the Maliki government as irrelevant.

6-24. NBC Face the Nation. Proponents of immigration said that economic growth is producing 400,000 new unskilled jobs a year. But opponents of the immigration bill say that illegal immigration lowers the wages of American workers, and increases the tax burden of educating their children and other services.
6-25 CNN, 70-80% of the Republican base opposed the immigration bill. They feared that the generous provisions of the bill would lead to a mass invasion of illegal immigrants into the US.
6-28 CNN. The immigration bill was roundly defeated.

Senator Richard Lugar, a conservative Republican and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that the surge policy in Iraq is a failure and that the US should redeploy its troops elsewhere in the Middle East. He said no one expected the Maliki government to meet US benchmarks. He said it would be a mistake to wait until September to change US policy because of rising public opposition to the war. Commentators said that the Republicans now fear that if the US does not evacuate Iraq, the voters will force them to evacuate the Senate.

CNN 6-26. A new Gallup poll indicates that 71% of Americans oppose continuing the Iraq War. Over 90% of Democrats oppose it.
Senator George Voinovich, R., Ohio, agreed with Senator Lugar.

Congress Challenges Cheney

The Washington Post published a four-day series on Vice President Cheney this week. Among other things they discovered that Cheney has a man-sized safe in his office. He has access to all the secrets of the executive branch. He has more power than any vice-president in American history ever had.

PBS 6-27. Henry Waxman, chair of the House committee for oversight of the executive branch, sent Cheney a subpoena to turn over information about which documents he had classified as secret. Cheney refused, saying the law does not apply to him because he is not entirely a member of the Executive Branch, being the presiding officer of the Senate. This outraged many in Congress.
Chicago Tribune 6-28. Rep. Rahm Emmanuel said that the House is considering a proposal to stop funding the Vice President’s official home [the Naval Observatory] and his White House office, while retaining funding of his office in the Capitol. That would amount to a reduction of $4.8 million in Cheney’s funding.

PBS 6-27. Waxman warned that there had been no Congressional oversight of the executive branch for twelve years, and that this was dangerous. It created a serious risk of executive mistakes and of leaked information.

PBS 6-28. The Senate Judiciary Committee, headed by Patrick Leahy D. also subpoenaed Cheney’s office in its investigation of the NSA policy of wiretapping without warrants. A federal judge has called this unconstitutional. Leahy accused Cheney of “stonewalling of the worst kind.”

Washington Post 6-29. The White House rejected the subpoenas from Congress on grounds of executive privilege.

Iraq

Az-Zaman. 6-23. Americans are building a big base in Kurdistan, which the Kurds welcome. They say they want the Americans to maintain a presence in Iraq.

NYTimes 6-26 and Az-Zaman 6-25. A suicide bomber in the Mansour Hotel in Baghdad killed 12 (Az-Zaman said 41), including four Sunni sheikhs from Anbar who were cooperating with the Americans, and two other sheikhs from Diwaniya. The sheikhs from Anbar blamed the Maliki government, which was responsible for security in the luxury hotel.

Az-Zaman 6-26. A group of Shiite militiamen are in control of Basra and pay no more homage to the politicians supposedly in charge. The Maliki government is rated as having little chance of regaining control of Basra. Iran is supplying the militias with money, arms and training. The militias control the income from oil production and from the use of the docks for foreign trade.

The Israel-Palestine Conflict

The Economist, 6-23. Lead editorial. “The Arab world has long been criss-crossed by feuds and rivalries. But if there is one point on which Arabs have agreed for more than half a century: it is the justice of the Palestinian cause…
“The Palestinians’ principal grievance is not economic. What they chiefly want is an end to Israel’s occupation of the West Bank as well as Gaza so that they can enjoy an independent national existence in both places. And in this respect the West Bank is a tougher problem than Gaza, because it remains speckled by Israeli settlements and throttled by checkpoints.
.
“What America must now prove is that its moderate Arab allies, far from being traitors, can actually deliver desirable results. In the case of Palestine, Mr. Abbas and his new prime minister have to show not only that they can govern cleanly but also that they can get Israel to start dismantling outposts and leaving the West Bank”

Science

Guardian 9-27. Zahi Hawass, leading Egyptian archaeologist, identified the mummy of Hatshepsut, Egypt’s great woman pharaoh who ruled 1473-1458 b.c.e. After she died her son, who became pharaoh, tried to remove all traces of her, including the identification of her sarcophagus. But the archaeologist found a tooth from the mummy in a little box with her hieroglyphic ID.

The Flashlight, June 14-22, 2007

2007-06-22T06:53:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT, June 14-22, 2007

Palestine/Israel

CNN 6-14, Hamas had taken over all of Gaza by force. There has been widespread killing and looting of Fatah property. Hamas has declared an Islamic government. Fatah, led by Mahmoud Abbas, has dissolved its coalition government with Hamas and replaced it with an all-Fatah emergency cabinet. Hamas leader Haniye has been dismissed as prime minister. 6-16. Fatah moved to strengthen its control of the West Bank, killing and looting.

NYTimes 6-18. Fatah outlawed Hamas in West Bank.
Guardian 6-18. US lifted its economic and political embargo on the Palestinian government, since Hamas was no longer part of it. The borders of Gaza with Egypt and Israel are closed. 6-19. US promised $40 million in direct aid to the new Palestinian government. Israel released millions in taxes belonging to the Palestinians which it had withheld in protest against the Hamas control over the government. Olmert and Bush push for a two-state solution.
Sen. George Mitchell pointed out that the Bush Administration had given the Palestinian government inadequate support and had insisted on elections when it had been warned that Hamas would probably win.

NYTimes 6-21. The Bush Administration, alarmed by the Hamas takeover in Gaza, but “limited” in its options [by the Israeli Lobby], has invited Tony Blair to strengthen the Fatah government and also work to resolve the “final issues” of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: the status of Jerusalem, borders, and the return of Palestinian refugees. Blair would work with the UN, the EU (European Unon) and the US. He is undecided about accepting the position.

The Israeli Economic Boom
Naomi Klein, The Nation, 2-7-07. The Israeli economy is booming because it is producing highly successful “defense” products. The Israelis exported $1.2 billion worth of these products in 2006, making them the fourth largest arms dealer in the world. The products include high tech fences, biometric ID systems, air passenger profiling systems, prisoner interrogation systems, and drones. Many were tested on the restive Palestinian population in Israeli-occupied territory. Naomi Klein concluded, “Fear is the ultimate renewable resource.”

Iraq

6-14. People’s Weekly World. A strike of Iraqi oil workers has succeeded in getting them better wages and working conditions and also the right to participated in talks on the new oil law.

6-16. Washington Post. Private security companies [read mercenaries], funded by billions in Defense and State Department contracts, are increasing the scale of their operations in Iraq. It is estimated that there are 20,000 to 30,000 men there now. They operate outside Iraqi law. Their casualties are concealed. [In the summer of 2006 an Air Force employee stationed in Kuwait told me that “most” of the coffins coming out of Iraq contained the remains of private contractors. MM]

The New Yorker, 6-25. In an interview with Seymour Hersh, Maj. Gen. Antonio Taquba, who made the revealing official report on the Abu Ghraib scandal and then was forced to retire, said that illegal prisoner abuse was systemic and that Sec. Rumsfeld knew about it five months before the scandal broke. Once it broke Rumsfeld expressed shock and surprise.

6-18, Gen. Petraeus said that it may take ten years to end the conflict in Iraq.

Lebanon

Max Rodenbeck, “Lebanon’s Agony,” New York Review of Books June 28, 2007. The leader of Fatah-al-Islam, the al-Qaeda oriented terrorist group in northern Lebanon, arrived in that country last year after being released from a Syrian prison. He was well supplied with cash. His fighters in Lebanon originated in Saudia, Algeria, Syria et al. and have experience fighting as insurgents in Iraq.The author concludes, “Lebanon remains hostage to the regional ur-conflict over Palestine.” [the word “ur” means “original” and refers to the city of Ur in ancient Mesopotamia where the Sumerians started the first civilization. MM]

Guardian 6-22. The Lebanese defense minister has claimed victory of the extremist sect Fatah al-Islam which emerged in a Palestinian refugee camp.

US Politics

CNN 6-14. Fred Thompson, although not an announced Republican candidate for President, is running second in the polls of Republicans. Giuliani and McCain are declining.

NYTimes 6-19. Major Michael Bloomberg of New York City dropped his Republican registration, enabling him to run for President as an Independent. 6-20 His issues are global warming, immigration, and crackdown on illegal guns. He is pro-choice and pro-gay rights. Thus he is more likely to take votes from the Democrats than from the Republicans.

Missing email. NYTimes 6-20. There are 88 White House staffers who email accounts at the Republican National Committee, but only 51 have email archives. [The remaining 37 did not save their emails. But they may be retrieved nevertheless.] The email archive of Karl Rove, containing 140,000 items, has been retrieved.

Science

The RNA Revolution
The Economist 6-16, pp. 87-89. Geneticists have discovered that RNA does not simply translated DNA instructions into proteins.
There are many and various RNA molecules giving orders to the body. The RNA operating system may be able to modify genes. Thus, Lamarck’s theory of the inheritance of acquired characteristics, which Darwin never discarded entirely, may have unexpected validity.

The Etruscans: Their Origin Determined

The Etruscans, who dominated central Italy [Tuscany and Umbria] before the Romans, originated in what is now called Turkey (previously, Anatolia). The evidence is genetic, based on studies of living inhabitants of central Italy and people in the vicinity of Izmir (formerly Smyrna) et al. This confirms the theory of Herodotus (Greek historian, sixth century b.c.e.) who said the Etruscans came from “Lydia.” The first trace of the Etruscans in Italy is 1200 b.c.e. They introduced the first alphabetic writing there. They also invented the fasces as a symbol of authority; it contained an ax surrounded by whipping rods tied by a red cord into a bundle. Mussolini and his Fascists adopted it as their emblem.

Literature – and Politics

Guardian 6-19. The British have knighted Salman Rushdie, novelist, who satirized Islam. Various Muslims in Pakistan et al. expressed outrage and Rushdie began to get death threats again.

Correction to the preceding issue:

A friend has informed me that Robert Mueller, Director of the FBI, is scrupulously honest in all his dealings and only uses the FBI airplane for official business. This includes making speeches about the FBI around the country.

The Flashlight May 25 - June 7, 2007

2007-06-15T05:57:00.000-07:00

THE FLASHLIGHT, May 25 – June 15, 2007

The World: Global Peace Index

The Economist 6-2. The Economist decided to give peace a rating using both internal and external measures. The internal measures included crime rates, prison population, and trust between citizens. The external measures included relations with neighbors, arms sales, and foreign troop deployments. The number of nations covered: 121. The top five most peaceful were: (1) Norway (2) New Zealand (3) Denmark (4) Ireland (5) Japan.
The worst five were: Nigeria (117) Russia (118) Israel (119) Sudan (120) and Iraq (121).
The United States ranked 96th, just above Iran, 97th.

The Middle East
Iraq

CNN 5-25. Moqtada as-Sadr has returned from Iran. Iran is now training “special operations” units in the Mahdi Army for kidnapping and killing.

Truthout.com 5-28. The first benchmark on the new US funding for Iraq is the passage of the Iraqi oil bill. It provides that only 17 of Iraq’s 80 known oil fields should be controlled by the Iraqi government, contrary to the policies of all the other oil possessing nations in the Middle East. The bill would open up bidding for the exploitation of Iraqi oil fields by foreign oil companies on 20-30 year contracts. These companies claim that Iraqi is in desperate need for foreign capital and expertise to update its oil industry. This is misleading. Iraqi oil is easy to extract and does not need heavy new investment on a long-term basis to “modernize.” Iraq could easily obtain foreign capital and technology on short-term contracts, like those of other Middle Eastern countries.
The Iraqi Parliament has not taken action so far on the oil bill or any other benchmark in the US military funding bill. Parliament has passed a bill opposing the continued presence of US forces in Iraq.

UPI 6-7. The female leader of the Iraqi electrical workers union has been on a 12-city 36-day tour of the US, representing Iraqi labor unions, and she met with John Sweeney, President of the AFL-CIO. The unions oppose the U.S. designed oil bill and want all US troops and private contractors to withdraw from Iraq.

Washington Post 6-10. US officials foresee a “post-occupation” US presence in Iraq “for years”. By late 2008 or early 2009 about two-thirds of the present US force will be withdrawn. The US will leave behind “special operations” units to fight Al-Qaeda in Iraq. A command and logistics center will remain, manned by 10,000 US troops plus “some civilian contractors.” [read mercenaries].
It seems that the effort to organize new Iraqi security forces has failed.
The American Embassy in the Green Zone is the largest foreign embassy on the planet, a home for thousands, supplying its own food, water, electricity, and entertainment. It has cost over $592 million to build and fortify. There are five or six other big US bases.

Az.Zaman, Baghdad 6-10. Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, commander of American forces in the “Triangle of Death” south of Baghdad, said that the Iraqi police are corrupt and that the Maliki government continues to make sectarian biased (pro-Shia) decisions.
The Kurds complained that a Turkish army of 30,000 men backed by tanks and helicopters has been making incursions in the territory of northern Iraq. Moqtada as-Sadr condemned the incursions but Condalizza Rice said the US can’t do anything about them.

Algeria: Women

Today Algerian women have emerged as a power to be reckoned with. They constitute 70%of lawyers, 60% of judges, and are dominant in medicine. They are starting to take over the government bureaucracy. They constitute 60% of university students. Females marry on average at the age of 29.
The men try to earn money in trade, leave the country in search of employment, or loaf. There is little religious and political extremism now in Algeria.

Lebanon

EuroNews 6-13. In Beirut another member of the anti-Syrian pro-government faction of Siniora-Hariri has been assassinated, along with his son and two bodyguards.

Israel

FCNL, Jim Fine. 6-7, Senators Feinstein, Lugar, Dodd, and Hagel have introduced a resolution calling for a two-state solution and intensified diplomatic efforts in solving the Israeli-Palestine conflict.

Guardian 6-10. In Britain, unions, academics, and journalists are in furious debate over the use of sanctions against Israeli goods and disinvestment in Israel.

In the year 2006, the Palestinians killed 27 Israelis. The Israelis killed 650 Palestinians, of which 120 were children.

6-13, Veteran Labor Party leader Shimon Peres was elected President of Israel.

Washington Post 6-15. Hamas is in control of Gaza after a struggle with Fatah. The policies of the Bush Administration in this area have completely failed.

United States
Politics
5-25. NY Times poll. 69% of all Americans now oppose the Iraq War.

CNN 6-11, Hilary Clinton has increased her lead among Democratic presidential candidates to 48%, Women strongly support her. She is admired as strong and experienced, but not so likeable. Gov. Richardson of New Mexico has increased his support to double digits. He is of Latino descent.

CNN 6-11. A federal appeals court ruled 2-1 that the federal government cannot indefinitely hold a terrorist suspect present in the US legally. He must be charged and tried, or released. The court did not recognize the category “enemy combatant.”
CNN 6-12. After the Republican presidential candidates debate in New Hampshire, Gov. Mitt Romney came out ahead by a narrow margin. He did well with conservatives and was seen as likeable.

Robert Mueller, Director of the F.B.I. was criticized for using a plane belonging to the Bureau for personal use. Congress gave the plane to the Bureau to fight terrorism.

65% of Americans disapprove of the current Democratic- controlled Congress, 36% approve. This is as bad as the rating of the late Republican controlled congress.

CNN 6-13, The Senate Judiciary Committee subpoenaed two former White House aids, Sara Taylor and Harriet Miers, to testify on the politicization of the Department of Justice.

Science: Stem Cell Research Discovery

NYTimes 6-7. Japanese biologist Shinya Yamanaha of Kyoto University and his team were able to make skin cells of mice work like stem cells. In this way they can create heart, kidney, and liver cells when needed. All that is necessary is to insert four particular genes into the skin cell. This work was published in Nature and Cell-Stem-Cell. However, procedures that work in mice often do not transfer to human use.

Important New Books on American Politics and Society

Albert Gore. The Assault on Reason. New York, 2007.

This is a comprehensive well-organized critique of the Bush Administration. Gore says that a number of important moral issues are called [merely] “political.” They are global warming, the funding of FEMA, and ending of the Iraq War. He charges that Bush has outsourced the truth on public policy to special interest groups.

Robert Frank. Richistan. A Journey Through the Wealth Boom and the Lives of the New Rich. New York, 2007.

In 1985 there were 13 billionaires. Now there are more than one thousand. They have there own health care system, a travel network of private jets, and destination clubs. Most obtain their billionaire status not by inheritance, but by buying out a company. Anyone owning $10 million or less they regard as merely “affluent,” meaning not really rich. After interviewing the new rich the author thought they were dreadful and not very happy.

Chalmers Johnson. Nemesis. The Last Days of the American Republican Republic. NY 2007.

The author claims that the United States is now an empire, comparable to the British and Roman Empires of the past. Most Americans find this incredible, since they think the US has no colonies. “But it does!” says the author. There are officially 737 US military bases in foreign countries, including 132 of the 190 member states of the United Nations. Actually, there are probably over 1000 military bases. The US Embassy in Baghdad is a big base containing 104 acres, the largest embassy on the planet.