California Republicans 'shock and awe' Berkeley

The more than two-hundred republican college students from across the state marched down Telegraph Avenue, on the sidewalks mind you, hoisting dozens of American flags and pro-America signs in the air. Marching past a few dissenters and many more passersby, standing still in stunned disbelief, they reached the spot in Berkeley considered to be as much a symbol of liberal 1970s activism as Sproul Plaza where they rallied before spontaneously taking to the streets. The parade of Republicans, which included the immediate past chairman of the state party, Shawn Steel, and other dignitaries, shouted the virtues of freedom and democracy on streets that hadn’t seen such a conservative presence since Gov. Ronald Reagan sent in the National Guard to quash the 1969 park riots, which left one killed and a dozen injured.

By Steve Sexton

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Israel Imitates 'The Godfather'

"Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer"--Michael Corleone

"Israel Weighing EU Membership"--headline, United Press International, May 21

Saddam's Son Uday Thinking of Surrendering

Saddam Hussein's son Uday is considering surrendering to U.S. forces, but so far has been reluctant to do so because of a tough negotiating posture by the U.S. government, according to a third party with knowledge of the discussions,
the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.



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Syria bombs itself

The U.N. Security Council voted Thursday to lift sanctions against Iraq after almost 13 years and give the United States and Great Britain authority to control the country until an elected government is in place.
U.N. Security Council Resolution 1483 passed by a 14-0 vote with no abstentions.


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this is a great blog to read

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Following are highlights of the U.S.-drafted U.N. Security Council resolution lifting sanctions on Iraq. It was adopted by a vote of 14-0 on Thursday and co-sponsored by Britain and Spain.
-- The resolution would lift all trade and financial sanctions imposed on Baghdad after Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Only an arms embargo would remain.

-- The resolution refers to the United States and Britain as the "Authority" after Washington and London submitted letters to the Security Council recognizing their obligations as occupying powers.

-- The resolution would establish a "Development Fund for Iraq" for reconstruction to be held by the Central Bank of Iraq. There would be an International Advisory and Monitoring Board, whose duties are not yet defined, composed of the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the Arab Fund for Social and Economic Development and the World Bank.

-- All proceeds from oil sales would go into the Development Fund until an "internationally recognized" Iraqi government is established. The monies would be "disbursed at the direction" of the Authority (United States and Britain), in consultation with the Iraqi interim administration.

-- Five percent of the oil revenues are to be deposited into a compensation fund (compared to the current 25 percent) for claims resulting from Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

-- The resolution phases out the current U.N. oil-for-food program, which has about $13 billion, over six months. It would transfer $1 billion, minus U.N. costs, of unencumbered funds immediately to the Iraqi Development Fund. The United Nations would evaluate which goods currently in the pipeline should still be sent to Iraq.

-- All money from Iraq's oil sales or those in the Development Fund are immune from claims and lawsuits until 2008 unless the Security Council decides otherwise. But buyers of Iraqi oil are not protected from suits stemming from an "ecological accident, including an oil spill."

-- The document asks for a restructuring of Iraq's massive debt through the Paris Club. This informal group of 19 wealthy nations restructures debt for emerging countries.

-- Secretary-General Kofi Annan is to name a special representative who would "work intensively" with the United States and Britain to restore Iraqi institutions and promote reconstruction, human rights, legal and judicial reform. The envoy would have "independent" duties.

-- The resolution remains in effect until a permanent internationally recognized Iraqi government is established, which could take years. But the Security Council would be review the document within 12 months and "consider further steps that might be necessary."

-- The Security Council could "revisit" the mandates of U.N. weapons inspectors as set forth in resolutions since 1991 but does not say what their future duties would be.

-- The document asks all nations to watch out for, return, and prohibit trade in Iraq cultural properties looted from Iraq's National Museum and other institutions.

-- The resolution asks the United Nations to continue seeking the return of missing Kuwaiti property and prisoners.

"The Liberated Iraqi Poets' Society."


"Iraq is filled with poets and poetry," said Aryan al-Sayed Khalan, one of the country's best-loved poets. "The land is poetry. The palms are poetry. So I didn't praise Saddam. I just praised my land and my home and my country."


By SUSAN SACHS

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The Weather's Great, Wish I Were Here


RIO DE JANEIRO – Actually I'm in Brooklyn right now, but I'm counting on my employer to follow the strict fact-checking methods in operation at the New York Times. Under the excellent system of checks and balances at the Times, reporter Jayson Blair kept turning in reports with datelines from places like West Virginia and Maryland – while submitting expense receipts for the same time period from Joe's Bar in Brooklyn. You can't blame him. He couldn't very well turn in articles with the dateline "My Mom's House."
Author

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Chirac to embarrass Bush at G8 conference


He made clear yesterday that, despite the debacle over Iraq, he is clinging to his vision of a global balance of powers, with France as an alternative to America.

By Philip Delves Broughton and Pav Akhtar in Paris

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900 Left Feet

Why "diversity" trips up the Democrats.


A black guy, a gay guy and a paraplegic walk (or wheel) into a bar and apply for a job. Who should be hired? In the government's eyes, all are equally qualified in misery (with race often equated to physical handicap, sexual proclivity and mental illness), and are equally likely to be turned down by the prospective employer. In practice, however, the least likely to get hired is the wheelchair applicant, thanks to the stringent requirements the Americans with Disabilities Act puts on employers' shoulders. Even small-business administrations have been known to quietly advise businesses against hiring the disabled because of the burdens of accommodation (reconstructing the building, essentially), and the near impossibility of ever firing such an employee--putting the disabled at a double disadvantage.



JULIA GORIN


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Cremated Ashes Found in Fast-Food Drive-Through

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - Workers at a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant discovered the cremated ashes of a man who died last December -- in the drive-through takeout lane.
Mon May 19, 2003 11:05 AM ET


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Bomb in Turkish Capital Kills One; Suicide Probed

ANKARA (Reuters) - A bomb exploded at a cafe in the center of Turkey's capital Ankara on Tuesday, killing one person and injuring another, and police were investigating whether it was a suicide attack, Turkish authorities said.



By Ayla Jean Yackley

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Iraq: A Moral Reckoning




as for the people, one of the more unnoticed facts of this war was the absence of refugees -- the Iraqi people's silent homage to their trust in the stated allied purpose of coming to liberate and not destroy.
__________________________________________________________________________________________

As the extent of the horror inflicted by the Baathist regime is documented day by day, opponents of the war are increasingly shamed. With every mass grave discovered, those who marched with such moral assurance just two months ago under the banner of human rights and social justice must make an accounting. In the name of peace, they supported the legitimacy and defended the inviolability of a regime that made relentless war on every value the left pretends to uphold:

• Human rights: Outside of North Korea, Hussein was the greatest violator of human rights in the world. The list of his crimes, the murders and the tortures, will take a generation to catalogue.

• Economic equity and social justice: Hussein was not just a murderer, he was the king of robber barons. Since 1983, Iraq has not even had a national budget. Every penny of its wealth was plundered by Hussein and his fellow Mafiosi and spent on the most grotesque extravagances, while his people were made to starve.

• The environment: Hussein was unquestionably the greatest eco-terrorist in history. During the Gulf War he produced the worst deliberate oil spill ever. He followed that with the worst oil-well fires ever. Then came perhaps the most astonishing ecological crime in history: deliberately draining the marshes of southern Iraq in order to depopulate and starve out the Marsh Arabs, who were hostile to his regime, creating a wasteland that will take years for the world -- meaning Iraq's American rescuers -- to undo.

Torturer, murderer, plunderer, despoiler. "We've gotten rid of him," said presidential candidate Howard Dean, prewar darling of the Democratic left. "I suppose that's a good thing."


Krauthammer


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White House Press Secretary Resigns


"I've decided my time has come to leave the White House," Fleischer said in a telephone interview.


Ari Fleischer

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Supreme Court Seat Shuffle? Judges' retirements would spark first shift in decades



Washington - Well-informed court observers say that there could be two Supreme Court resignations next month, Chief Justice William H. Rehn- quist and Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, bringing the greatest upheaval on the court in 32 years.

Timothy M. Phelps and Tom Brune


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