There is no public evidence that Sami al-Hajj committed any crime other than journalism for a television network the Bush administration doesn’t like.

But the U.S. has been holding Mr. Hajj, a cameraman for Al Jazeera, for nearly five years without trial, mostly at Guantánamo Bay. With the jailing of Mr. Hajj and of four journalists in Iraq, the U.S. ranked No. 6 in the world in the number of journalists it imprisoned last year, just behind Uzbekistan and tied with Burma, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Sami's Shame, and Ours - New York Times

James Carville, the legendary Clinton campaign adviser who coined the slogan, “It’s the economy, stupid,” knows a gut issue when he sees one. So when Mr. Carville contacted me the other day to tell me about the newest gut issue his polling was turning up for candidates in the 2006 elections, I was all ears.

“Energy independence,” he said. “It’s now the No. 1 national security issue. ... It’s become kind of a joke with us, because no matter how we ask the question, that’s what comes up.”
...
Mr. Carville and Mr. Greenberg are professional campaign advisers. They get paid to get people elected — not to offer feel-good nostrums. So when they tell you that their polling and focus groups around the country show that “reducing dependence on foreign oil” is voters’ top national security priority, you know that this issue has finally arrived. The party that captures it most credibly will be rewarded.

if the numbers are right then this would be seismic

The Energy Mandate - New York Times

Unless China and Russia get their act together and understand that the post-post-cold-war world is a much bigger threat to their prosperity than a post-cold-war world in which U.S. power is pre-eminent. You read me right — the post-cold-war world can be preserved only if Russia and China get over their ambivalence about U.S. power and if the Bush team gets over its ambivalence about Iran and North Korea.

How so? The U.S. is sanctioned out when it comes to Iran and North Korea. We don’t have any more unilateral sanctions with which to pressure either regime to halt its nuclear adventure. The only countries that could have an impact on North Korea and Iran are China and Russia.

If China told North Korea that unless it dismantled its nuclear program and put its facilities under U.N. inspection, Beijing would cut off its energy and food, Kim Jong-il would relent. He is not suicidal. Anything less than such an explicit Chinese threat will mean a nuclear North Korea and eventually a nuclear Asia — which will certainly not be good for China’s growth prospects.

And if China and Russia told Iran that they would join in the toughest possible U.N. economic sanctions on Tehran if it persisted in its nuclear program, the ayatollahs would also back down. Because then the Europeans would have the spine to join in sanctions and Tehran would face a united front.

The Bus Is Waiting - New York Times

The Chinese government is resolutely opposed to the nuclear test by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement Monday.

"The DPRK ignored universal opposition of the international community and flagrantly conducted the nuclear test on Oct. 9. The Chinese government is resolutely opposed to it," the statement said.

It said China strongly demands the DPRK live up to its commitment to non-nuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, stop any activity that may worsen the situation and return to the six-party talks.

It has been the firm, unshakable and consistent stance of the Chinese government to realize non-nuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and oppose proliferation of nuclear weapons, the statement said.

The Chinese government calls for calm response from all parties concerned and urges them to stick to peaceful resolution of the issue through consultations and dialogues, the statement said.

It said that maintaining peace and stability in the Northeast Asia region conforms to the common interests of all parties concerned, and China will continue to make unremitting efforts to this end.

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing talked over telephone with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Monday afternoon, exchanging views on the latest development of the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

The entire North Korean situation is dependent on China. They are the DPRK's last lifeline. If they cut off aid, the regime will begin to collapse. There is little else that can be done.

If all aid from China is cut off, the PLA enforces the northern border, and a US naval blockade put in place, then it's game over for the DPRK regime. This should come with a very strong line, that unless Kim is ousted and the "military-first" doctrine is dropped, the trade/aid blockade will continue.

Of course, that's the point where all the shit would hit the fan. This would be a good time to read the Kaplan article I posted recently. There are no "good" options for how to handle North Korea. There is only a bad problem rapidly growing worse.

Xinhua - China resolutely opposes DPRK's nuclear test

Russia has ordered a crackdown on Georgian-owned businesses and tighter visa measures as part of the nations' escalating diplomatic dispute.

hmm developing situation

As his governing party faced nationwide local elections on Thursday, he insisted that he [ Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili ] would keep Georgia on the pro-Western path he has followed since he came to power following a revolution in 2003.

Correspondents say President Putin is alarmed by Georgia's closer links with the West, and that he is determined to prevent it joining Nato.

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Russia turns screw on Georgians

I don't know what the law says in the US but in my country 16 is the age of consent for either straight or gay sex. The situation with Foley strikes me as a gay witchhunt. Yes I think his behaviour was inappropriate. I wouldn't be happy if a 16 year old son of mine was being pursued by someone twice his age or more but if he choose to flirt or go further with either Mr or Mrs Robinson that would be up to him. I would hope that he would show good judgement and choose a partner much closer to his own age where the power relationship is far more balanced but there comes a time and an age when people must be free to make their own choices.

Yes there is a reek of paedophilia but there is also a reek of homophobia.

Lawmaker's Intentions Appear Clear In Exchanges - washingtonpost.com

If we lived in a serious political culture, we’d be discussing what we’ve learned from Iraq and how to proceed. Instead, all of Washington is involved in a juvenile game of gotcha. Bill Clinton is fighting about what did or didn’t happen 10 years ago. The White House is still exaggerating the positive. Democratic senators purr like happy kittens as retired generals slam Donald Rumsfeld, and then stop up their ears when those same generals call for more troops and a longer war.

Voters now confront a Republican Party that understands the breadth of the threat but has bungled the central campaign, and a Democratic Party that is quick to criticize but lacks an understanding of the jihadists and a strategy for confronting them.
...
The blunt fact is that groups of Islamic extremists will continue to compete and grow until mainstream Islamic moderates can establish a more civilized set of criteria for prestige and greatness. Today’s extremists are not the product of short-term historical circumstances, but of consciousness and culture. They are not the fault of the United States, but have roots stretching back centuries. They will not suddenly ignore their foe — us — when their hatred of us is the core of their identity.

The Grand Delusion - New York Times

A stark assessment of terrorism trends by American intelligence agencies has found that the American invasion and occupation of Iraq has helped spawn a new generation of Islamic radicalism and that the overall terrorist threat has grown since the Sept. 11 attacks.

Islamic radicalism, rather than being in retreat, has metastasized and spread across the globe.

The report says that the Iraq war has made the overall terrorism problem worse.

Spin that.

Spy Agencies Say Iraq War Worsens Terror Threat

i hate agreeing with Charles Krauthammer whom I loathe
*sigh*

Charles Krauthammer - Tolerance: A Two-Way Street - washingtonpost.com

In the push to enact legislation dealing with the interrogation and prosecution of terror suspects, both the White House and dissident Republicans in the Senate intend to strip away the hallowed safeguard of habeas corpus for some noncitizens held in U.S. custody outside the United States.

habeas corpus entry in wikipedia click here
ok Abraham Lincoln suspended it during the Civil War, in only a part of the USA, but it realistic to say that al Qaeda is threat to the Union on the same level
I think not

The Torture of Liberty - New York Times