The once libertine oil port of Basra, 350 miles south of the capital and far from the insurgency raging in much of Iraq, is steadily being transformed into a mini-theocracy under Shiite rule. There is perhaps no better indication of the possible flash points in a Shiite-dominated Iraq, because the political parties that hold sway here also wield significant influence in the central government in Baghdad and are backed by the country's top clerics.
Efforts to impose strict Shiite religious rule across Iraq would almost certainly spur resistance from Sunni Arabs and the more secular Kurds. But here in Basra, the changes have accelerated since the January elections, which enabled religious parties to put more radical politicians into office.
Small parties with names like God's Vengeance and Master of Martyrs have emerged. They work under the umbrella of more established Shiite groups, but many Iraqis suspect them of being agents of the Iranian government. One of the leading parties was formed in Iran by an Iraqi cleric living in exile during the reign of Saddam Hussein.
The growing ties with Iran are evident. Posters of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the 1979 Iranian revolution, are plastered along streets and even at the provincial government center.
Rupert Murdoch's Fox News channel was under fire yesterday for comments by some of its leading journalists in response to the London bombs.Sure sounds to me like some TV network is encouraging the very terrorists who are killing are troops. Maybe the Department of Homeland Security needs to pay a visit to FOX News. Read More......
Speaking about the reaction of the financial markets, Brit Hume, the channel's Washington managing editor, said: "Just on a personal basis ... I saw the futures this morning, which were really in the tank, I thought 'hmm, time to buy'."
The host of a Fox News programme, Brian Kilmeade, said the attacks had the effect of putting terrorism back on the top of the G8's agenda, in place of global warming and African aid. "I think that works to our advantage, in the western world's advantage, for people to experience something like this together, just 500 miles from where the attacks have happened."
Another Fox News host, John Gibson, said before the blasts that the International Olympic Committee "missed a golden opportunity" by not awarding the 2012 games to France. "If they had picked France instead of London to hold the Olympics, it would have been the one time we could look forward to where we didn't worry about terrorism. They'd blow up Paris, and who cares?" He added: "This is why I thought the Brits should let the French have the Olympics - let somebody else be worried about guys with backpack bombs for a while."
At the end of this message, you are asked a question. Answer it immediately. Don't stop and think about it. Just say the first thing that pops into your mind. This is a fun "test"... AND kind of spooky at the same time! Give it a try, then e-mail it around (including back to me) and you'll see how many people you know fall into the same percentage as you. Be sure to put in the subject line if you are among the 98% or the 2%. You'll understand what that means after you finish taking the "test".Read More......
Now... just follow the instructions as quickly as possible. Do not go to the next calculation before you have finished the previous one
You do not need to write or remember the answers, just do it using your mind.
You'll be surprised.
Start: How much is:
15 + 6
3 + 56
89 + 2
12 + 53
75 + 26
25 + 52
63 + 32
I know! Calculations are hard work, but it's nearly over. Come on, one more...
123 + 5
QUICK! THINK ABOUT A COLOR AND A TOOL!
Scroll further to the bottom...
A bit more...
You just thought about a red hammer, didn't you?
If this is not your answer, you are among 2% of people who have a different, if not abnormal, mind. 98% of the folks would answer a red hammer while doing this exercise.
Bush was scheduled to visit the FBI training academy at Quantico, Virginia, on Monday to deliver a speech discussing the London attacks, said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.Then he added:
"I expect he will talk about the strategy for winning the war on terrorism," McClellan said. "He'll talk about (how) in the short term, it's taking the fight to the enemy abroad and in the long term it's spreading freedom and democracy to defeat the extremist ideology of hatred and oppression."
Bush said the London attacks were a reminder of the "evil" of the Sept. 11 attacks and underscored that the United States and its allies were fighting a "global war on terror."Or, perhaps, they're a reminder of what happens when you launch an illegal war based on a lie and without a plan for victory. The other guy hits back. Read More......
"We will stay on the offense, fighting the terrorists abroad so we do not have to face them at home," Bush said.
Young Republicans have one thing to say to U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton about a possible 2008 presidential bid: Bring it on.Um, kids, there's a real war going on. And you guys are the ones who want it. Put your energies in to that battle. Read More......
Members attending the group’s biennial convention said it’s not too early to talk about how to keep a Republican in the White House, and they believe Clinton could help them win again if she were on the Democratic ticket.
“I think it’s very likely the senator from New York will run,” said Rick Veenstra, 27, chairman of the Illinois Young Republicans. “She’ll bring a lot of people to the polls. The name Clinton before a number of Republicans is akin to waving a red flag.”
Cardinal Schönborn, who is on the Vatican's Congregation for Catholic Education, said the office had no plans to issue new guidance to teachers in Catholic schools on evolution. But he said he believed students in Catholic schools, and all schools, should be taught that evolution is just one of many theories. Many Catholic schools teach Darwinian evolution, in which accidental mutation and natural selection of the fittest organisms drive the history of life, as part of their science curriculum.Read More......
Darwinian evolution is the foundation of modern biology. While researchers may debate details of how the mechanism of evolution plays out, there is no credible scientific challenge to the underlying theory.
The LA Times follows the trail, concluding with this saucy kicker:
Asked for comment this week about what connection Rove may have to the case, the White House stopped short of its previous denials of wrongdoing.
"The president's instructions from the very beginning were to fully cooperate with the investigation, and as part of that cooperating, we are not going to comment on any matters that come up during that process," spokeswoman Erin Healy said.
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