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Power and Trust (or lack thereof)

I haven’t really read the news for the last few days, party because I’ve been travelling and partly because I’m just really annoyed at the way the administration is doing things. I know, I know . . . that’s not news. However, the issue for me has progressed beyond general annoyance and crystallized around two central issues – power and trust. We live in the free world and President Bush seems to have made freedom his mantra, but his behavior seems to more closely resemble an “elected” dictatorship. I know this is naive, but aren’t there any mainstream politicians who…

Casualty Stats

Via today’s Mother Jones: Number of U.S. service members killed in Iraq since Operation Iraqi Freedom began on March 19, 2003: 671 Number killed since George W. Bush declared an end to “major combat” on May 1, 2003: 533 Number killed this month: 83 Source: U.S. Department of Defense

All news outlets issue a correction

All news outlets today in the US issued an apology for calling Muqtada as-Sadr a cleric. The lack of clerics in the Islamic tradition clearly makes such a title incorrect. In addition, as-Sadr has no official standing in the hierarchy of Ithna’ashari religious scholars, making any title inappropriate and granting him an unwarranted level of legitimacy. If only the press would bother learning to read. Rhetorical question: Can one write without knowing how to read?