“The real problem is not that we are different, nor that we disagree and have conflict. It's that most of us automatically view conflict as something negative rather than as a tool God can use to help us better understand ourselves and one another.

--Robert Ricciardelli”

Thursday, December 21, 2006

12/21 Morning Report

After more than a year of questions, AWB was suspended from Iraq contracts over oil-for-food contract corruption. But, it wasn’t the UN that disciplined AWB. It was the US.
(…another shining example of the UN’s…oh…never mind…)

The Hamas-Fatah truce is holding.

And, as expected, refusal to give in on banking issues broke negotiations with North Korea.

"North Korea's position on the financial issue is rigid and we don't see any flexibility. This is the biggest cause of difficulty," Sasae (Japan’s chief envoy) told reporters. "There is no change in the basic structure of conflict."
(…WOW!...North Korea refuses to held accountable for what it has done wrong?...What a surprise!...)

Chavez says “Drug smuggling is not up in my country”. But, at the same time, Chavez blames US drug consumption for the problem.
(…and someone else’s problem makes it ok to ignore your part in it?...)

And, who would have thought…Coca leaf salads! So says Peru’s President, Alan Garcia.
Peru is the world's second largest producer of cocaine behind Colombia.
(...could he just be looking for a way to increase the legal GDP of Peru?...)

Reading about the medics condemned in Libya? Here is the whole warped history of the injustice. It appears to be nothing more than another dictator trying to blackmail other nations to get ahead.
(…what do you want to bet someone gives in and pays a ransom…)

Time Magazine actually supporteded privately run public schools? Well, yes and no. The Business and Media Institute worked through the things they did and did not say.
(…Here is the link to the original report…)

Even as soldiers call for more troops in iraq, there was an interesting read on the changing face of war. It seems we are moving on to the 5th generation of warfare!