Of the foreign fighters who arrived in Iraq in the past year, 41 percent were from Saudi Arabia and 18 percent were from Libya, both supposed allies in the war on terrorism, the New York Times reported based on documents and computers discovered by U.S. forces during a raid in September. But the problem of foreign fighters in Iraq isn’t as big as the Bush administration often suggests, as their number is very small compared with the number of Iraqi insurgents. For example, of the more than 25,000 inmates in American detention centers in Iraq, only about 290 are foreigners, the Times reported.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
More evidence of why the next few years are crucial in jump-starting an energy revolution: A front-page Wall Street Journal article reported that “peak oil†theories that the world is fast approaching a ceiling on oil production are gaining mainstream acceptance from many energy analysts and oil companies. One expert said we already face a “crisis†in production between 2008 and 2012.
Then there’s the latest United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, which warns that the reality of climate change is “unequivocal†and requires immediate action, especially by major nations such as the United States and China.
“If there’s no action before 2012, that’s too late,†said Rajendra Pachauri, a panel scientist and economist. “What we do in the next two to three years will determine our future. This is the defining moment.â€
It’s getting harder and harder to argue for business as usual.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
The Hollywood writers’ strike doesn’t seem to be affecting actor/pol Fred Thompson, who got off a pretty good line about Democrats the other day, saying they “are apparently planning for careers in NASCAR. It’s a turn constantly to the left. They will soon wind up back where they started. And some of them are going faster than the others, but they’re all going in same direction in a not very perfect circle.â€
Posted by Rhonda Holma
Stories of what the No Child Left Behind law is doing to teaching can get ugly. So it was interesting to see the upbeat view of the law’s 2014 goal of full proficiency in reading held by Jeri Powers, the De Soto reading specialist and former third-grade teacher who was named Kansas’ 2008 Teacher of the Year: “If you go into teaching with the mind-set that they can’t become proficient, solid readers, they won’t. I know things about the law need to be tweaked, need to be changed. But I have seen some good things come out of it, too. I have noticed over the years that I have students who have achieved higher levels because I’m held more accountable, and I know more clearly what the goal is.â€
Posted by Rhonda Holman
