U.S. Court Stands by Controversial Pledge Ruling
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The U.S. appeals court that infuriated Americans by declaring the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional refused to reconsider on Friday, setting the stage for a Supreme Court showdown over whether two words — “under God” — breach the wall separating church and state.
The decision by the […]

U.S. Diplomat’s Letter of Resignation
(The following is a paragraph from the resignation letter of John Brady Kiesling sent too Secretary of State Powell - it makes for very interesting reading and shows not only how divided the world has become as a result of the current U.S. Administration but gives some insight into divisions within […]

Dioceses Resist Releasing Names of Accused Priests
(The New York Times) — CLEVELAND, Feb. 26: When a grand jury looking into sexual abuse by members of the Catholic clergy finished its work in December, it reported that it had uncovered accusations against 145 priests.

An interesting and difficult discussion, on the one hand the community has […]

U.S. Freedom Of The Press?
‘What I saw was a bunch of filled-in trenches with people’s arms and legs sticking out of them. For all I know, we could have killed thousands’ (Patrick J Sloyan on how the mass slaughter of a group of Iraqis went unreported )
(Guardian Unlimited) — According to White House officials, no […]

U.S. Diplomat Resigns Over Iraq Policy
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior U.S. diplomat based in Athens has resigned in protest at the Bush administration’s policy on Iraq, State Department officials said on Thursday.
Brady Kiesling, 45, political counselor at the embassy and a foreign service officer for about 20 years, sent his resignation decision to Secretary of […]

Poll: More People Want U.N. War Approval
(The New York Times) — Nearly two-thirds in a new poll, 64 percent, say they want the United States to wait for U.N. approval before launching a military strike against Iraq.
Three in 10, 31 percent, said they thought this country should act now against Iraq, according to the CBS […]

Blair Suffers Major Party Revolt Over Iraq
(The New York Times) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair suffered by far the largest revolt he has faced from his war-wary Labor Party but still won a parliamentary vote Wednesday over tackling Iraq.
The government put forward a motion asking parliament to back United Nations efforts to disarm Iraq. […]

Everybody is getting in on the terror act
The following showed up in my inbox this morning, terror must be profitable these days - even the SPAMmers are getting in on the act.

From: prepare4terro@hotmail.com
Subject: Protect your Family From Terror attacts!
To: my-email-address-was-here
Reply-To: prepare4terro@hotmail.com
Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 22:54:11 -0800
X-Library: Indy 9.0.3-B
X-Mailer: Foxmail
Wouldent you like the piece […]

State Department Warns Americans Not To Act Like Americans
(BBSpot International News) — Washington, D.C. - In what is believed to be its strongest travel advisory ever, the U.S. State Department today warned Americans abroad not to act like Americans.
The advisory was issued simultaneously in Washington by State Department spokesman Richard Boucher, and in The Hague […]

Powell on French TV Defends Use of Force Against Iraq
From our good buddies at the U.S. Department of State the following quote contained in the report of an interview given on French T.V.
When the United States has used force it has been done “in a responsible way and we have always, when we used force, […]

Will more reasonable heads prevail?
The Capital Hill Blue is reporting that “Some strategists within the Bush Administration are urging the President to look for an “exit strategy” on Iraq, warning the tough stance on war with the Arab country has left the country in a “no win” situation. “At this point, the United States and […]

U.S. Terrorism Convictions Called Inflated
(Washington Post) — The Justice Department reported inflated numbers of terrorism convictions as a result of misinformation from U.S. attorney’s offices around the country, the General Accounting Office has found.
46% of cases examined that were classified as “terrorism related” were not. No wonder the American people seem to be under the […]

Inspectors Call U.S. Tips ‘Garbage‘
(CBC News) — While diplomatic maneuvering continues over Turkish bases and a new United Nations resolution, inside Iraq, U.N. arms inspectors are privately complaining about the quality of U.S. intelligence and accusing the United States of sending them on wild-goose chases.
U.N. sources have told CBS News that American tips have […]

Holocaust denier wants refugee status
(Globe & Mail) — Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel was forcibly returned to Canada Wednesday from the United States.
The thing is - we don’t want him either. He has an outstanding warrent for his arrest in Germany so ship him on home.

Kurdish leaders enraged by ‘undemocratic’ American plan to occupy Iraq
(Independent) — The US is abandoning plans to introduce democracy in Iraq after a war to overthrow Saddam Hussein, according to Kurdish leaders who recently met American officials.
So much for promoting democratic reforms as a justification for the attack, one set of unelected military overlords […]