] Who really poses the greatest danger to world peace in 2003?
] Iraq, North Korea, or the US?

I think the answer to this question is quite obvious regardless of where you stand in the political spectrum. I think Al'Q might beat us out though... Of course, Time's online polls are notoriously insecure. George P. Burdell won last years poll for Man of the Year. :)

TIMEeurope.com: Poll -- The Biggest Threat To Peace

] "North Korea's startling revival of its nuclear program,
] coupled with the unrelenting threat of international
] terrorism, presents compelling reasons for President Bush
] to step back from his fixation on attacking Iraq and to
] reassess his administration's priorities."

Iraq Belongs on the Back Burner

] "Al-Jazeera, the Arab satellite television channel known
] to broadcast statements from Osama bin Laden (news - web
] sites), will reach out to the West starting in February
] with an English-language Web site. "

Yes!

I've been craving the opportunity to read the Al-Jazeera news stories directly, and not just be limited to excerpted bits from BBC and CNN. I have yet to find a good online translator that would convert Arabic websites into something English-readable. So it'll be great to get Arabic news from the source (or at least closer to the source).

Al-Jazeera to provide English-language Web site

] "I believe that if those calling for war knew that their
] children were likely to be required to serve and to be placed
] in harm's way — there would be more caution and a greater
] willingness to work with the international community in
] dealing with Iraq. A renewed draft will help bring a
] greater appreciation of the consequences of decisions to go
] to war."

On the one hand, I agree with this sentiment despite stories of cushy positions in the military given to the children of the elite who happen to be drafted. The reason is that Americans are quite used to being arm chair ass kickers. War is a very different matter when your ass is on the line. I think that the draft would cause a significant shift in America's view on this war. For that reason I don't think it will be enacted.

As a pratical matter, you really don't need a bunch of cannon fodder drafties to sit in an airconditioned room and operate smart bombs/robots.

On the other hand, I don't think dealing with Iraq is neccesary, and so I don't think I'd be interested in dieing for it.

Bring Back the Draft

] "The Saturday, the Hangyore newspaper in Seoul Korea
] carried a front-page article entitled, "Youth Politics of
] the IT Generation Won," on the role of network
] connectivity in the recent election. Young supporters of
] No Mu-hyon flooded the internet with e-mails and
] saturated text messaging services with calls to get out
] the vote for No Mu-hyon. The article noted claims by
] information technology columnist Sin Tong-nyo'k': that
] information and power in the mass media and
] representative democracy were in the past vested in a
] minority, but have been conferred on the majority by the
] internet."

Wow... Now South Korea is considerably more wired then the United States, so this is a window into the future.

Smart Mobs turn election in South Korea

] "But nowadays, if you consult the writings of the
] conservative and neoconservative penseurs, you will see
] that they are beginning to relish that very word.
] "Empire? Sure! Why not?""

Now, I've heard this twice. That the "conservatives" are actually using the word "Empire." This seems to be a meme. Both times I've heard it from people on the left. What do they mean by "conservatives." Exactly who are they talking about and how significant are they? I want a reference for this. I imagine that these references are always vauge so as to make this seem more significant then it is. Its the sort of thing you repeat without thinking about.

"Did YOU hear that CONSERVATIVES are now using the word EMPIRE in reference to the U.S.??"

"Gosh!"

Imperialism - Superpower dominance, malignant and benign. By Christopher Hitchens

flynn23 wrote:

] ] This is just stupid. If you were a terrorist would YOU show
] up
] ] for the INS roundup?
]
] that's exactly the point. It makes it much easier to catch the
] bad guys when everyone else is at the party across town.

Nice try, but if this was the case then they wouldn't have arrested so many people. You are over estimating the intelligence of your government beaurocrats.

1. I don't have a problem with the round up, only with the arrests.

2. They arrested people for simple paperwork problems (failed to file a change of address form) and "other crimes" which presumably includes traffic warrants, something the INS usually doesn't care about. They arrested as many people as they possibly could.

3. They arrested enough people to cause a scare, so if they run a similar program in another state there will be a large number of people who would otherwise have shown up who will not show up because they are afraid (maybe they have a traffic warrant out). The result is that if the intent is to observe who doesn't show, than these efforts will be LESS EFFECTIVE in the future because of the arrests. If the government is crafty enough to run this as a decoy, then they are crafty enough to make sure they don't ruin its usefulness for this purpose in the future.

4. All they had to do with the people who had paper work problems is give them an opportunity to fix things. This would serve the purpose of stirring up the community enough to notice the odd man out, it would get the INS paperwork in order, and INS ends up looking like someone you can trust.

5. Not showing up is a pre-tense for deportation of registered aliens. People are afraid to show cause they'll get poped for a traffic warrant, and now the feds have a reason to deport them.

6. Basically, the simplest explanation is that this is a fishing expedition. They can't haul the whole community in for questioning directly, but they've found a loophole that lets them net at least a quarter of the community.

7. The use of force beyond necessity is the definition of tyranny. (See 4.)

RE: Yahoo! News - Hundreds of Muslim Immigrants Rounded Up in Calif.

] "Hundreds of Iranian and other Middle East citizens were
] in southern California jails on Wednesday after coming
] forward to comply with a new rule to register with
] immigration authorities only to wind up handcuffed and
] behind bars."

This is just stupid. If you were a terrorist would YOU show up for the INS roundup?

Yahoo! News - Hundreds of Muslim Immigrants Rounded Up in Calif.

] North Korea's ruling party newspaper has fired a barb at
] Washington, saying the country is ready to deliver "bitter
] defeat and death" to a threatening United States.
]
] "The DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea]
] remains unfazed as it has made full preparations to cope
] with the confrontation and clash with the Yankees," a
] commentary in the ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun
] said.
]
] "The army and people of the DPRK with burning
] hatred for the Yankees are in full readiness to fight a
] death-defying battle."

N. Korea: 'Burning hatred' for U.S.

] Kissinger, 79, said he was confident that he could have
] resolved potential conflicts of interest with his
] consulting firm, Kissinger Associates, but was concerned
] that "the controversy would quickly move to the
] consulting firm I have built and own."

Hrm.... This is probably good news but that Bush doesn't seem to get what the real problem with this was in the first place. I won't call it good news until I see who'll pop up to replace him.

Yahoo! News - Kissinger Resigns as Head of Sept. 11 Commission