Today's News...Today

Well, I was thinking this would be a short post earlier. I guess I was wrong. Just in today’s news there is too much to ignore. So, for today’s news blurbs, we will start in the Middle East.

Sadaam Hussein’s execution could be 4-5 months away, due to mandatory appeals. However, in a step to undo much of the damage caused by American gutting of the bureaucracy, the Iraqi government is taking steps to re-instate a lot of the old Baath party workers back in.

Sunnis and Shiites are locked in a cycle of sectarian warfare. A move to assuage Sunni anger by allowing ranking members of Saddam's Sunni-dominated Baath Party back into public life took a step forward Monday.

Ali Lami, head of the De-Baathification Committee, said a draft proposal to allow all but 1,500 party leaders back into government jobs is ready to be handed to a parliamentary committee.

There has been a lot of fire from both sides because of this move by post invasion civilian intervention by America. But, given the sectarian splits over control in Iraq, this may or may not be a good move. I guess we’ll find out if Sunnies and Shiites can actually govern together at lower levels of government.

Meanwhile, thanks to Savannah Daydreamin’ here is some news on the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard anything on the Kurds in the media. Wouldn’t it be nice if the media let us in on some of this news? But, then we would be reading reports like this one where the Kurdish Prim Minister blasting them for biased reporting.
(…I kind of doubt the MSM will go for that…)

Meanwhile, CNN released this announcement: Corruption rankings of 163 nations.

Berlin-based corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI) ranks 163 countries based on perceived levels of corruption among public officials and politicians in its 2006 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).

. Iraq and Haiti are at the bottom. Finland, Iceland and New Zealand are at the top. Interestingly, the US comes in at number 20.

Speaking of CNN, I really liked this AP report. It really put it in perspective:

Lawmaker says CNN reporters should be punished for sniper video
WASHINGTON (AP) — A leading Republican lawmaker on defense issues has asked the Pentagon to bar CNN reporters from traveling with military units in Iraq because the network showed insurgent snipers shooting at U.S. troops.

"Does CNN want America to win this thing?" Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., asked in an interview Oct. 24 on the network. In past wars, he said, the press was more pro-American.

"You can't be on both sides of the war," Hunter said.

CNN issued a statement saying the decision to air the insurgents' video was "a difficult one, but for a news organization, the right one. Our responsibility is to report the news."

(…admittedly it was said by a Republican…but at least someone said it…and regular media reported it…)

And, back to CNN, with an eye to all the expected voting related challenges and lawsuits, it was reported that
even the governor has to have voter id in South Carolina. The manager of his polling place would not let Gov. Mark Sanford vote without it.

Sanford said he admired the poll manager for being conscientious.

(…and he’s a Republican, too…)

Finally, also from the AP, here’s a fantastic definition of uniformed judgment:

Bill O'Reilly and David Letterman renewed their prickly on-air confrontation from January when the Fox talk show host appeared Oct. 27 on Letterman's "Late Show." They sparred over the Iraq war and at one point Letterman remarked: "I have no idea what I'm talking about. But I don't think you do, either."