09/03 Morning Report

What really stinks is that, due to media bias, an announcement had to be made that the British withdrawal is not a defeat. Even stronger language was used at Reuters. Their headline reads ”British Forces Quit Basra”, and is equally off the mark with other media entries. Is the move symbolic? Absolutely. It says much about Iraqi forces becoming ready. Preplanned? Probably. Even the US admits it has plans for troop withdrawals. The end? Not likely. There are still many things that need to come together. The Iraqi government and people have a long road ahead of them.

So do the Lebanese. Despite this weekend’s victory, there is still a lot to do. Militants may have lost the camp, but they are still entrenched, deeply so, in many parts of Lebanon—especially along the Israeli border. Still, you’ve got to love the picture the New York times put with the article.


(…if that doesn’t say what people think of the militants…I mean terrorists…what does?...)

Meanwhile, there’s been a new propaganda ploy by the North Koreans. They claim the US has agreed to take North Korea off the terror list. In fact, most of this article is about what the North Koreans are saying along those lines. Towards the end, it says only two things that matter.

(1) that Pyongyang had agreed to declare and disable all its nuclear facilities by the end of this year.

(2) Mr Hill (chief Washington negotiator) has so far made no mention of Washington considering taking North Korea off its list of countries it believes support terrorism.

I would say those are significantly different from what the Communists are claiming.

In other Washington news, the blame game and one-up-manship continues in the Sen. Larry Craig situation. Democrats (…duh…) are making political hay saying the Republicans are using a double standard. It’s an attempt to compare the Craig and Vittell stories. They even go so far as to say Republicans only act when they know they won’t lose a seat in Congress. The truth is Vittell’s guilt has not been proven, while Craig admitted his. And, while I admit I am taking this remark out of context, it applies becaue it is true. Democratic Senate campaign chief Charles Schumer, speaking on the lack of Republican ethics reform, said:

"What the American people are looking for is not a blame game, but who is trying to clean it up. For six years, there was no ethics reform."

he is, of course, absolutely correct. But, we want it from both parties.
(…and all other politicians for that matter…)

Finally, in an odd news report, a recent study showed psychiatrists are the least religious people in the US. I’m bothered by the fact that someone thought a study needed doing in order to prove that.
(…well, we waste money on far crazier studies than that I guess…)