So Long to 'Our' Tyrant
Andrew Cockburn -- Los Angeles Times

Today of all days, the administration has no desire to be reminded of the era when the U.S. actively intervened on Iraq's side in the Iran-Iraq war, supplying credit, intelligence, helicopters and, finally, active combat assistance from the U.S. Navy… Apart from the eccentric deviation of the Iran-Contra affair, Washington's support for Iraq against the militant Iranian Shiite regime remained firm during the eight-year Iran-Iraq war, despite Hussein's well-publicized use of poison gas against, as President Bush likes to remind us, his own people.

A Bad Year for Empire
Jim Lobe -- Inter Press Service

For those who believed that the precise and overwhelming demonstration of U.S. military power in Afghanistan and Iraq would "shock and awe" the rest of the world -- and particularly Washington's foes and aspiring rivals -- into accepting its benevolent hegemony, 2006 was not a good year. Not only has Washington become ever more bogged down -- at the current rate of nearly three billion dollars and 20 soldiers' lives a week -- in an increasingly fragmented and violent Iraq whose de facto civil war threatens to draw in its neighbours, but a resurgent Taliban has exposed the fragility of what gains have been made in Afghanistan since the U.S.-led military campaign ousted the group five years ago.

The Holocaust is West’s Last Taboo
Robert Faurisson

This [Iran Holocaust] conference is a big and nice surprise. I had never thought that there could be such a thing. I was really pessimistic. When for the first time I heard that President Ahmadinejad said that the Holocaust was a myth, I was so surprised. I wondered if Iran would exist anymore. I thought that the U.S. or Western countries would try to destroy this country because the belief in the Holocaust is the central pillar of the West and the world. To say that it is a myth is something extremely dangerous. I, as a researcher, might say that it is a myth, but for the head of a state it is extremely dangerous. But he did it.

Irving Criticizes 'Stalinist Law'
BBC News

British historian David Irving has said he is the victim of a "world-wide attempt to silence" him. He is back in the UK after his release on probation from a three-year jail term imposed in Austria for denying the Holocaust in an 1989 speech. Mr Irving said "Stalinist legislation" had put him in prison for expressing the "wrong views" about history. At his trial in February, he said his views on the Holocaust had changed, but did believe it had been exaggerated. The conviction had sparked intense debate, with supporters saying it was fully justified but opponents arguing it undermined the right of freedom of speech. In his speech in Austria 17 years ago, he denied the existence of gas chambers at Auschwitz, though he later said he was "mistaken".

The Great Wealth Transfer
Paul Krugman

Why doesn't Bush get credit for the strong economy?" … The reason most Americans think the economy is fair to poor is simple: For most Americans, it really is fair to poor. Wages have failed to keep up with rising prices. Even in 2005, a year in which the economy grew quite fast, the income of most non-elderly families lagged behind inflation. The number of Americans in poverty has risen even in the face of an official economic recovery, as has the number of Americans without health insurance. Most Americans are little, if any, better off than they were last year and definitely worse off than they were in 2000.

They Met in Tehran
Israel Shamir 

… So why did the Tehran [Holocaust] conference draw so much attention and criticism?… The difference is that all other gatherings were amen-sayers accepting the official version provided by Jewish organisations as the Holy Writ given to Moses on Mt Sinai. The official version of the Holocaust goes even farther than Writ: you may deny Immaculate Conception and Resurrection of Christ, you may besmirch Muhammad, but if you have any doubt that six million of Jews were executed by Germans in gas chambers within the framework of a total annihilation project you may find yourself in a jail in Germany, Austria, France, Switzerland and other ‘free’ countries.

Canadian Professor Slams School for Criticizing Iran Trip
Canadian Press -- The Globe & Mail (Canada)

A Nova Scotia professor who has faced criticism from his university and colleagues for attending an Iranian conference that cast doubt on the Holocaust lashed out against the school yesterday for failing to defend his academic freedom. Shiraz Dossa, a political science professor at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, N.S., raised the ire of the university after presenting a paper at the conference earlier this month. Prof. Dossa, who has insisted he's not a Holocaust denier, used the forum to talk about how the Holocaust plays into the so-called war on terror. In a statement e-mailed to other faculty members yesterday -- his first public comments since returning from Iran -- Prof. Dossa said the conference was relevant to his ongoing work.

Rebellion in Washington: The Iraq Study Group Report
Eric Margolis

The Iraq Study Group report on Iraq turned out to be a bombshell that is shaking official and political Washington… The Iraq Study Group achieved three important goals. First, it told Americans what they have not heard for the past six years: the truth. The war in Iraq is lost. It’s time to retreat from this debacle. Second, the ISG provided protective cover for legislators to oppose powerful special interests advocating continued occupation of Iraq , and war against Iran. Third, it made clear a fair solution must be found to the festering Israel-Palestine dispute which lies at the heart of Mideast tensions and terrorism.

Irving Back in Britain After Release from Austria Prison
BBC News

British historian David Irving who was expelled from Austria following his early release from prison, has returned to the UK. Mr Irving landed at Heathrow airport just before 2100 GMT, several hours after he was expected to arrive. Earlier this week, he was released on probation from a three-year sentence imposed in Austria for a speech in 1989 in which he denied the Holocaust. He served 13 months of the sentence and has now been banned from Austria. Mr Irving's case sparked international debate about the limits of freedom of speech. In his speech in Austria 17 years ago, he denied the existence of gas chambers at Auschwitz, though he later said he was "mistaken".

Silent Night, Holy Night: The 1914 Christmas Truce
Stephen Boice

The Year was 1914 and the Great War was under way. Christmas season was upon the participants of war, and the scene was set for one of the greatest Christmas stories of all time. For two days, the fighting stopped, the guns fell silent, and men who had been enemies days before, came together in the spirit of brotherhood, peace, and goodwill. The soldiers came together to bury their dead, sing hymns, hold worship services, exchange gifts and play soccer. It was the spirit of Christ, the Prince of Peace that moved these soldiers to act in complete opposite of how soldiers should act. They looked beyond the propaganda, and saw in each other humanity and likeness.

Swedish Teacher Suspended For Role in Iran Meeting
DPA (Germany)

A Swedish computer science teacher who attended a controversial Holocaust conference in Iran earlier this week has been suspended, news reports said Thursday. The teacher, identified as Jan Bernhoff, had given a lecture where he alleged that 300,000 Jews died in the Holocaust during World War II as opposed to the number of six million commonly used by academics.

Japan Passes Landmark Patriotism Laws
The Washington Post

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government on Friday successfully pushed through landmark laws requiring Japanese schools to encourage patriotism in the classroom and elevating the Defense Agency to the status of a full ministry for the first time since World War II. Both measures are considered cornerstones of Abe's conservative agenda to bolster Japan’s military status and rebuild national pride in a country that had long associated patriotism with its imperialist past. The legislation cleared the upper house of parliament on Friday after winning approval in the lower house last month and will come into effect early next year.

Nagasaki Bombing a Crime, Says Japan Politician
BBC News

One of Japan's most senior politicians has said the US atomic bombing of Nagasaki in 1945 was impermissible from a humanitarian point of view. Shoichi Nakagawa, the policy chief of the governing party, said that the use of atomic weapons was a crime. Mr Nakagawa has attracted controversy recently, calling for a debate on whether Japan should have nuclear arms. He raised the possibility that North Koreans might try to attack Japan with their own nuclear weapons.

David Irving to be Released from Prison
Associated Press

An Austrian appeals court has ruled that UK historian David Irving - jailed for denying the Holocaust - should be released on probation. Irving is now being held in police detention and will be deported to the UK on Thursday, officials said. Irving was convicted in February in a case that sparked international debate about the limits of freedom of speech.

Suppressed British Document Reveals Lies Behind Iraq War
The Independent (Britain)

The British government's case for going to war in Iraq has been torn apart by the publication of previously suppressed evidence that Tony Blair lied over Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction. A devastating attack on Mr Blair's justification for military action by Carne Ross, Britain's key negotiator at the UN, has been kept under wraps until now because he was threatened with being charged with breaching the Official Secrets Act. In the testimony revealed today Mr Ross, 40, who helped negotiate several UN security resolutions on Iraq, makes it clear that Mr Blair must have known Saddam Hussein possessed no weapons of mass destruction. He said that during his posting to the UN, "at no time did HMG [Her Majesty's Government] assess that Iraq's WMD (or any other capability) posed a threat to the UK or its interests."

French President Orders Probe of Faurisson's Remarks in Iran
European Jewish Press

French President Jacques Chirac has ordered a probe into revisionist comments made by the French scholar Robert Faurisson at an Iranian conference on the Holocaust this week, his office said Friday. Chirac has asked Justice Minister Pascal Clement to open a preliminary investigation into the comments made by Faurisson, a retired literature professor well-known for his revisionist views. In his speech at the Tehran meeting, Faurisson repeated his theories denying the existence of gas chambers and said that in the past 22 years "he had been waiting for someone to show him one of those chambers". The 77-year-old Faurisson was given a three-month suspended jail term for Holocaust denial last October over remarks he made on Iranian television.

The Victories of Revisionism
Robert Faurisson -- Address to the Iran Holocaust Conference

The "Holocaust" remains the lone official religion of the entire West, a murderous religion if ever there was one. And one that continues to fool millions of good souls in the crudest ways: the display of heaps of eyeglasses, hair, shoes or valises presented as 'relics' of the 'gassed', faked or deceptively exploited photographs, texts of innocuous papers altered or purposely misinterpreted, endless proliferation of monuments, ceremonies, shows, the drumming of the Shoah into our heads as early as primary school, organised excursions to the holy sites of alleged Jewish martyrdom and great show trials with their calls for lynch-law.

Why Were Jews at Iran's 'Holocaust Denial' Conference?
BBC News

Why are Jews attending a conference on the Holocaust in Tehran at which star guests include deniers of the genocide? Clue: they also want an end to the Israeli state. A handful of Orthodox Jews have attended Iran's controversial conference questioning the Nazi genocide of the Jews - not because they deny the Holocaust but because they object to using it as justification for the existence of Israel. With their distinctive hats, beards and side locks, these men may, to the untrained eye, look like any other Orthodox believers in Jerusalem or New York. But the Jews who went to Tehran are different. Some of them belong to Neturei Karta (Guardians of the City).

Records Said to Dispute Tuskegee Airman Lore
The Associated Press

It has been part of the lore of America?s first black fighter pilots since the end of World War II: The Tuskegee Airmen never lost a bomber to enemy fire. But now, more than 60 years later, a leader of the group says he has uncovered records proving the claim is not accurate. Air Force records show that at least a few bombers escorted by the red-tailed fighters of the Tuskegee Airman were shot down by enemy planes, William F. Holton, historian of Tuskegee Airmen Inc., said in an interview Monday with The Associated Press. And the group?s losses may have been much greater, he said.

Iranian Leader Says Israel Will Be 'Wiped Out'
Associated Press

Iran’s hard-line president said Tuesday that Israel will one day be “wiped out” as the Soviet Union was, drawing applause from participants in a conference casting doubt on the Holocaust. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s comments were likely to further fuel the outcry prompted by the two-day gathering, which has gathered some of Europe’s and the United States’ best-known Holocaust deniers. Anger over the conference could further isolate Iran as the West considers sanctions in the standoff over Tehran’s nuclear program. But Ahmadinejad appeared to revel in his meeting Tuesday with conference delegates, shaking hands with American participants and sitting near six anti-Israel Jewish participants, dressed in black ultra-Orthodox coats and hats.

Who Makes Foreign Policy?
Rep. Ron Paul 

It is shameful that Congress ceded so much of its proper authority over foreign policy to successive presidents during the 20th century, especially when it failed to declare war in Korea, Vietnam, Kosovo, and Iraq.  It’s puzzling that Congress is so willing to give away one of its most important powers, when most members from both parties work incessantly to expand the role of Congress in domestic matters.  By transferring its role in foreign policy to the President, Congress not only violates the Constitution, but also disenfranchises the American electorate.

The Sunshine Boys Can’t Save Iraq
Frank Rich -- The New York Times

Since these troops don’t exist and there is no public support in either America or Iraq for mobilizing them, the president can’t satisfy the hawks even if he chooses to do so. Since he’s also dead set against a prompt withdrawal, we already know what his policy will be, no matter how many “reviews” he conducts. He will stay the course, with various fake-outs along the way to keep us from thinking we’ve “lost,” until the whole mess is deposited in the lap of the next president.

Israel's 'Apartheid’ Policies Worse Than South Africa's,
Says Carter
Haaretz (Israel)

Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter said in remarks broadcast Monday that Israeli policy in the West Bank represented instances of apartheid worse even that those that once held sway in South Africa… "When Israel does occupy this territory deep within the West Bank, and connects the 200-or-so settlements with each other, with a road, and then prohibits the Palestinians from using that road, or in many cases even crossing the road, this perpetrates even worse instances of apartness, or apartheid, than we witnessed even in South Africa."

Iran Opens Conference That Questions Holocaust
Reuters - NBC

Iran opened a conference Monday to discuss whether Nazis used gas chambers to kill Jews and debate other facts about the Holocaust, drawing condemnation in the West and criticism from Iran’s Jewish community. Jewish rabbis were present at the government-sponsored event “Review of the Holocaust: Global Vision” alongside academics from Europe, where some countries have made it a crime to deny the Nazi killing of 6 million Jews from 1933 to 1945. “The aim of this conference is not to deny or confirm the Holocaust,” Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said in a welcome address. “Its main aim is to create an opportunity for thinkers who cannot express their views freely in Europe about the Holocaust.”

Holocaust Conference Begins in Tehran
The Associated Press

Iran hosted Holocaust deniers from around the world Monday at a conference examining whether the Nazi genocide took place, a meeting Israel's prime minister condemned as a "sick phenomenon." The 67 participants from 30 countries included former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke and Holocaust skeptics who have been prosecuted in Europe for questioning whether 6 million Jews were killed by the Nazis or whether gas chambers were ever used. "The number of victims at the Auschwitz concentration camp could be about 2,007," Australian Frederick Toben told the conference, according to a Farsi translation of his remarks.  

US Allies in Mideast Near State of Panic
Paul Richter -- Los Angeles Times

President Bush and his top advisors fanned out across the troubled Middle East over the last week to showcase their diplomatic initiatives to restore strained relationships with traditional allies and forge new ones with leaders in Iraq. But instead of flaunting stronger ties and steadfast American influence, the president's journey found friends both old and new near a state of panic. Mideast leaders expressed soaring concern over upheavals across the region that the United States helped ignite through its invasion of Iraq and push for democracy — and fear that the Bush administration may make things worse.

The Staying Power of Monarchy
Niall Ferguson

…. After all, monarchy must be quite resilient as an institution… In all, there are currently 45 nations in the world with monarchs as heads of state, which is roughly one in four of the world's countries… The hereditary principle had one advantage over popular election: namely, that monarchs ought to be more mindful of the interests of future generations (if only their own descendants) than elected heads of state, whose time-horizon may be as short as four years… Kings -- and queens -- have their shortcomings. They can seem a little quaint. But maybe there are worse ways of choosing a successor than good old blood lineage.

Gestures Say So Much, Whatever Your Language
NewScientist.com

Language lives as much in our gestures as in our words, a new study shows. Certain languages are richer in gesture, and such unspoken communication is so strong that bilingual individuals often use the fluent gestures from one language, even when speaking the words of another… More surprising was the discovery, with another group, that bilingual people with English as their mother tongue and French or Spanish as their second language also gestured far more frequently in English than English monolinguals did. This suggests that once an enhanced gesture "vocabulary" is learned, it becomes an important aspect of communication, used alongside all languages known by the speaker.

Hitler’s Private World
Video

This fascinating video report brings to life long-hidden facets of Hitler’s private life. Through “automated lip reading” experts have re-voiced his private remarks from home color movies taken by Eva Braun at his retreat in the Bavarian Alps. Also presented are the only recordings of Hitler in private conversation -- during a 1942 meeting with Finnland’s wartime leader Marshal Mannerheim. Runtime: 47 minutes. Shown on American and British television.

Israel’s Image is the World’s Worst
Israel Today

As if Israel's position in the world in not bad enough, a new survey published in the US Wednesday says that Israel is suffering from the worst public image among all countries of the world. The study, called the National Brands Index, conducted by government advisor Simon Anholt and powered by global market intelligence solutions provider GMI (Global Market Insite, Inc.), shows that Israel is at the bottom of the list by a considerable margin in the public's perception of its image.

Zionist ADL Denounces Iran Holocaust Conference
Anti-Defamation League (New York)

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today urged European leaders to condemn an upcoming conference in Iran titled, "Review of the Holocaust: Global Vision," in which the Iranian government will feature dozens of speakers questioning the historical fact of the Holocaust. "We believe this type of Holocaust denial has no place in the family of nations, and that it is essential for European and world leaders to condemn this conference and everything it stands for at its core, which is anti-Semitism," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director and a Holocaust survivor.

Women Talk Three Times as Much as Men, Says Study
Daily Mail (Britain)

Women talk almost three times as much as men, according to the research. It is something one half of the population has long suspected -- and the other half always vocally denied. Women really do talk more than men. In fact, women talk almost three times as much as men, with the average woman chalking up 20,000 words in a day - 13,000 more than the average man. Women also speak more quickly, devote more brainpower to chit-chat -- and actually get a buzz out of hearing their own voices, a new book suggests. The book -- written by a female psychiatrist -- says that inherent differences between the male and female brain explain why women are naturally more talkative than men.

Former Senator Abourezk on Chomsky and the Israel Lobby
James Abourezk

I can tell you from personal experience that, at least in the Congress, the support Israel has in that body is based completely on political fear -- fear of defeat by anyone who does not do what Israel wants done. I can also tell you that very few members of Congress -- at least when I served there -- have any affection for Israel or for its Lobby. What they have is contempt, but it is silenced by fear of being found out exactly how they feel. I've heard too many cloakroom conversations in which members of the Senate will voice their bitter feelings about how they're pushed around by the Lobby to think otherwise. 

Mafia Jews: Inside a Genuine Cabal
Lisa Keys -- Forward (New York)

The Supermob was, according to Russo, a group of mostly Jewish men who made a fortune by collaborating with Chicago ’s underworld. Generally, these men took mob money and funneled it into such respectable outlets as real estate and the burgeoning film industry… These Jewish gangsters would never make the headlines; instead, they’d serve as the behind-the-scenes masterminds of the mob. And according to Russo, this is the role that Jews traditionally played. “Throughout history,” he writes, “the Jews were never the public leaders; they were always the kingmakers and power brokers…”

Expensive Ignorance
Charley Reese

It is not a surprise that a survey of 14,000 college freshmen and seniors reveals an unacceptable level of ignorance about the nation's history, economics and its place in the world… The point of it all is that to do our duty as citizens, we must know the history of our country and the principles on which it was founded. Obviously, modern education is failing many students in that respect. Maybe 100 years ago, ignorance didn't matter so much, but our margin of safety is gone, and we absolutely cannot expect to maintain this country with yahoos who get their education from television and the movies and those college graduates who are close to being the most expensive functional illiterates in the world.

Israel’s Olmert Reaffirms Confidence in Bush
Peter Hirschberg -- Inter Press Service

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was doing his best to persuade a skeptical audience of journalists that a report by a U.S. advisory group, which linked the chaos in Iraq to the unresolved conflict between Israel and its neighbours, would have no impact on U.S. policy in the region. "The Iraqi issue is first and foremost an American issue," he insisted. "I trust President Bush. I trust his judgment, his wisdom and his leadership. One thing is clear to most Americans -- the problems in Iraq are entirely independent of us and the Palestinians." The Israeli leader spent much of his meeting Thursday with senior journalists in Tel Aviv -- an annual meet-the-press-type event -- fielding questions about the recommendations by the Iraq Study Group…

Myth of Britain’s 'Special Relationship' With US
The Telegraph (Britain)

A senior American official has spoken of "the myth of the special relationship" between the United States and Britain, arguing that Tony Blair got "nothing, no payback" for supporting President George W Bush in Iraq… In candid comments that will embarrass Mr Bush and Mr Blair, the veteran official said America "ignored" Britain, and he urged Britain to decouple itself from the US. He asserted that the "special relationship", a term coined by Sir Winston Churchill in 1946, gave Britain little or nothing. "It has been, from the very beginning, very one-sided. There never really has been a special relationship, or at least not one we've noticed."

Jewish Groups Criticize Carter’s Book on Israel 'Apartheid'
The Washington Post

A veteran Middle East scholar affiliated with the Carter Center in Atlanta resigned his position there Monday in an escalating controversy over former president Jimmy Carter's bestselling book on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The book, " Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," traces the ups and downs of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process… Criticism of the book, primarily from Jewish groups and leaders, began even before it was published, and it became an issue in the midterm elections last month… In a statement issued Monday, the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles contended that Carter "abandons all objectivity and unabashedly acts as a virtual spokesman
for the Palestinian cause."

No 'Preconceived Ideas' at Iran Holocaust Conference
Agence France Presse

Iran says that more than 60 researchers from 30 countries will attend a controversial conference on the Holocaust next week to examine the event without any "preconceived ideas". Deputy Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mohammadi said the staging of the conference on December 11-12 was a response to the lack of answers to questions posed over the Holocaust by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Ahmadinejad, who has also called for Israel to be wiped off the map, has repeatedly raised questions about the scale of the Holocaust and even described the mass slaughter of six million Jews in World War II as a "myth".

Israeli Leader Rejects Key Finding of Iraq Study Group
The Associated Press

Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Thursday rejected a U.S. advisory group's conclusion that a concerted effort to resolve Israel's conflict with its neighbors will help stabilize the situation in Iraq, saying there is no connection between the two issues. Olmert also rebuffed the group's recommendation that Israel open negotiations with Syria … The Iraq Study Group report, released Wednesday in Washington, calls for direct talks between Israel and its neighbors, Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinians and says resolving the Israeli-Arab conflict would improve conditions in Iraq. Olmert rejected that finding.  

Pearl Harbor: The Story of the Secret War
George Morgenstern – Book available from Noontide Press

This classic work remains unsurpassed as the best one-volume treatment of the background to the Day of Infamy. Indispensable introduction to the question of who bears the blame for the Pearl Harbor surprise, and, more important, for America's entry, through the "back door," into World War II. In his introduction to this attractive IHR edition, Dr. James Martin writes: "Morgenstern's book is ... still the best about the December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor attack, despite a formidable volume of subsequent writing by many others on the subject."

Jimmy Carter Sharply Criticizes Israel and US Mideast Policy
Los Angeles Times 

As an ex-president, Jimmy Carter has intervened in some of the world's most troubled hot spots… Now he is staging a literary intervention with the publication of " Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," a book that strongly criticizes Israel and the United States for blocking serious peace initiatives and exacerbating terrorism in the Middle East. In his strongest passages, he blasts Israel 's construction of a security wall between itself and Palestinians, saying the controversial structure is a brazen land grab by a minority of Israelis -- an "imprisonment wall" that has encircled thousands of Palestinians on the West Bank and has become a form of economic apartheid. "This is a subject which, in my mind, has rarely if ever been honestly debated or discussed in the United States."

Richest Two Percent Hold Half the World’s Assets
The Financial Times (Britain)

Personal wealth is distributed so unevenly across the world that the richest two per cent of adults own more than 50 percent of the world’s assets. while the poorest half hold only one percent of wealth. A survey released on Tuesday shows that middle-income countries with high growth rates still have a long way to go before they have a hope of catching up with the levels of prosperity of the richest. Almost 90 per cent of the world’s wealth is held in North America, Europe and high-income Asian and Pacific countries, such as Japan and Australia. While North America has six percent of the world’s adult population, it accounts for 34 per cent of household wealth.

Putin’s Russia: Better and Worse
Christian Science Monitor

The debate is rising in Russia, and around the world, over what kind of a state Putin has built… Depending on whom you talk to, the answers often seem to apply to two completely different countries. In the Russia described by one set of observers, democracy has been extinguished and the media straitjacketed; civil society is gasping for breath and a Soviet-style Kremlin dictatorship is utilizing the country's oil wealth to restore its old superpower status. In the other Russia, people have never been freer, more secure, or more prosperous. That second Russia is building democracy according to its own historical traditions and stepping out as a responsible member of the international community.

New Mideast War is Likely, Warns Israel's Military
Haaretz (Israel)

There will be a war next summer. Only the sector has not been chosen yet. The atmosphere in the Israel Defense Forces in the past month has been very pessimistic. The latest rounds in the campaigns on both fronts, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, have left too many issues undecided, too many potential detonators that could cause a new conflagration. The army's conclusion from this is that a war in the new future is a reasonable possibility. As Amir Oren reported in Haaretz several weeks ago, the IDF's operative assumption is that during the coming summer months, a war will break out against Hezbollah and perhaps against Syria as well.

The 100 Most Influential Americans
Atlantic Monthly

Who are the most influential figures in American history? The Atlantic recently asked ten eminent historians. The result was The Atlantic’s Top 100 -- and some insight into the nature of influence and the contingency of history. Was Walt Disney really more influential than Elizabeth Cady Stanton? Benjamin Spock than Richard Nixon? Elvis Presley than Lewis and Clark? John D. Rockefeller than Bill Gates? Babe Ruth than Frank Lloyd Wright? Let the debates begin.

The name "Einstein" evokes images of a good-humoured genius, who revolutionised our concepts of space, time, energy, mass and motion… Many consider Einstein to have been the finest mind in recorded human history. That is the popular image, fostered by textbooks, the media, and hero worshiping physicists and historians. However, when one reads the scientific literature written by Einstein's contemporaries, a quite different picture emerges: one of an irrational plagiarist, who manipulated credit for their work… The fact that Einstein was a plagiarist is common knowledge in the physics community.