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The Global Education Conference held at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. last month was used to teach educators how to bring global issues into the classroom. But, when it came time to practice the logistics of coordinating a debate the political opinions of the teachers could not be suppressed. The organization that put together the conference, Americans for Informed Democracy (AID), claimed to be a non-partisan group established to “educate and engage Americans in global issues….[in order to] create a generation of Americans that will support a U.S. role in the world that is appropriate….” But what is appropriate? AID...

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan, April 19, 2006 – A cooperative group of officials from Afghanistan, Pakistan and coalition forces in Afghanistan held its 16th meeting here today. Delegates to the Tripartite Commission included Gen. Ahsan Saleem Hyat, vice chief of the Army Staff of Pakistan; Gen. Bismullah Khan, chief of staff of the Afghan National Army; and U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Karl W. Eikenberry, commander of Combined Forces Command Afghanistan. This was the third meeting in which the Afghanistan and Pakistan delegations were represented at the four-star-general level, U.S. officials said. Officials from NATO and the International Security Assistance Force again participated...

WASHINGTON, April 9, 2006 – U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Benjamin C. Freakley and Afghani Gen. Bismullah Khan met today and agreed that continued close cooperation between Afghan, coalition, NATO and Pakistani forces is essential to stabilizing Afghanistan and freeing the country of the Taliban and other terrorists. Freakley, commanding general of Combined Joint Task Force-76, and Bismullah , who serves in the Afghan National Army, met in Khan's office at the Afghan Ministry of Defense. Their Afghan National Army arranged the meeting. The Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police have worked cooperatively with each other and with coalition and...

WASHINGTON, April 5, 2006 – Improving cooperation and coordination among government agencies is vital to winning the global war on terrorism and ending circumstances that drive people to terrorism, top Defense Department officials said on Capitol Hill yesterday. "We must bring all elements of our national power to bear in this struggle against global terrorism, and we can only do that through effective interagency coordination at all levels," Thomas W. O'Connell, DoD's assistant secretary for special operations and low-intensity conflict, told members of the House Armed Services Committee. The most recent Quadrennial Defense Review states the Long War is "characterized...

WASHINGTON, March 27, 2006 – Partnerships and cooperation with allies and friendly nations are essential for the U.S. to address threats in the global war on terrorism, the deputy defense secretary said here today. The U.S. faces a wider array of threats and a more uncertain future than ever before, and no single country can stand up to these threats and win alone, Gordon England said at the Defense Security Cooperation Agency Worldwide Conference. To meet the diverse security challenges of the future, DoD must strengthen and adapt long-term alliances, as well as form relationships with new international partners, enabling...

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, March 23, 2006 – The top U.S. general met with Saudi Arabian leaders here yesterday and discussed cooperation between the United States and the kingdom. In his first official visit as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Gen. Peter Pace praised Saudi King Abdullah for his "open and candid" discussions. Pace arrived here from Pakistan yesterday and met with Abdullah for more than an hour. He also met with Crown Prince Sultan, who also is minister of defense and aviation; Prince Khalid, assistant minister; and Chief of the General Staff Gen. Salih Al-Muhayya. "I told...

Clandestine American intelligence operatives have been working in deep cover within the Indian territory to help track down al Qaeda operatives and other terrorist groups. Relying largely on human intelligence, these operatives work with paid agents and also seek to infiltrate militant groups in various parts of India, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir. The United States believes that some at least of these groups may have been co-opted by al Qaeda to launch attacks inside and outside India against both Indian and US interests. Indo-US intelligence cooperation scaled unprecedented heights following the attack on the Indian Parliament, just three months...

Posted 01/10/06 10:05 China Says it Wants to Expand Sino-U.S. Military Relations By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BEIJING China is ready to expand its military relations with the United States, Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan said Jan. 10. Cao, who is also vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission and a state councillor, made the remarks during a meeting with a delegation from the U.S. House of Representatives, the Xinhua news agency reported. Cao said both sides should make efforts to upgrade military ties to bring them on a par with the overall bilateral relationship, which he described as being on a...

Kislyak recap Counterterrorism Working Group meeting Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns praised counterterrorism cooperation between the United States and Russia December 2 following the 14th meeting of the U.S.-Russian Counterterrorism Working Group in Moscow. The working group decided to enhance cooperation against narcotics trafficking, according to Burns and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Kislyak, who briefed the press together after the meeting. The meeting was “excellent,” Burns said. “We're pleased by the cooperation that our federal services have together on the counterterrorism fight around the world. We are pleased by what we will try to do now to enhance...

CIA bought foreign cooperation against terrorism, says report Julian Borger in Washington Saturday November 19, 2005 The Guardian (UK) The CIA set up a network of secret joint operations centres with two dozen foreign intelligence agencies to hunt down suspected terrorists in the years after September 11 2001, it was reported yesterday. According to the report in the Washington Post, the cooperation of foreign agencies was bought with hi-tech gadgetry to help them conduct wiretaps and other surveillance, shared intelligence, and occasional personal favours. In the case of the Indonesian spy chief, Lieutenant General Abdullah Hendropriyono, the CIA arranged for...

SACRAMENTO - Stressing his love of the country to the south, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger emphasized his goal of stronger ties with Mexico in his weekly radio address Saturday. Looking to boost his image with Hispanics at home, Schwarzenegger visited Mexico on Friday, meeting with his Baja California counterpart in talks on security and immigration. "Mexico is our Number One trading partner, and I am proud that we have increased trade with Mexico by 16 percent last year alone," Schwarzenegger said Saturday. "Our trade relationship supports as many as 200,000 California jobs and generates nearly $160 billion for our economy." Schwarzenegger...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 17, 2005 – President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin emerged from a Sept. 16 meeting with a renewed commitment to working together in fighting terrorism and preventing proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the two leaders told reporters at a White House news conference. Bush noted that both countries have felt the scourge of terrorism - the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, and Russia in September 2004, when a school siege in Beslan left 331 people, 186 of them children, dead. "We've got a strong ally in Russia in fighting the war on terror," Bush said....

"The British and the American people loudly declared their support for their leaders decision to attack Iraq. It is the duty of Muslims to confront, fight, and kill them."Osama bin Laden, as quoted in various press accounts, December 26, 1998 "Oh sons of Arabs and the Arab Gulf, rebel against the foreigner . . . Take revenge for your dignity, holy places, security, interests, and exalted values."Saddam Hussein, January 5, 1999 THE "LONG SHORT WAR" with Saddam's Iraq, as author Christopher Hitchens has aptly described it, has had many tense moments. Perhaps never more so than in late 1998. Tensions...

Drafted By: Dr. Michael A. Weinstein Overshadowed in the Western press by the G8 summit of leading industrialized nations and the complications to it caused by the London transit bombings, another summit -- the July 5 meetings in Astana, Kazakhstan of the heads of government of the six members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (S.C.O.) -- promised to have greater geostrategic significance than the more widely reported events. Created with its present membership of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in 2001, the origins of the S.C.O. date back to 1996 when Beijing initiated the Shanghai Five, which included...

N.Korea provides nuclear aid to Iran -intel reports By Louis Charbonneau Wed Jul 6, 9:18 AM ET Recent intelligence reports accuse North Korea of secretly helping Iran develop its nuclear program, raising fresh concerns about Pyongyang's nuclear proliferation and Tehran's atomic intentions. The United States and the European Union fear Iran is using its nuclear energy program as a front to develop nuclear weapons and have called on Iran to cease all sensitive atomic work. Tehran says its program is peaceful and refuses to give up its sovereign right to a full atomic program. "In the late 1990s, cooperation began...

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich says he and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton teamed up at a May 11 press conference with one goal in mind -- to get Congress to pass, and the president to sign, a health information technology bill. Gringrich told Fox News's Bill O'Reilly that the bill's sponsors (Reps. Patrick Kennedy, a R.I. Democrat, and Tim Murphy, a Pennsylvania Republican) said if he and Sen. Clinton appeared together at the press conference, they'd get a lot more publicity for the bill they both support. As for the suggestion that Sen. Clinton is using Gingrich to show that...

For Immediate ReleaseOffice of the Press SecretaryJune 4, 2005 President's Radio Address      Audio THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. America's economy is on the right track. Over the past two years, we've added more than 3.5 million new jobs. More Americans are working today than ever before. Home ownership is at an all time high. Small businesses are flourishing. Factory output is growing. And families are taking home more of what they earn. These are hopeful signs for our economy, and we must work hard to sustain that prosperity. When members of Congress return next week, they need to take action...

PRESIDENT George W Bush is a “jerk”. His administration is a “mafia of assassins”. And, according to Hugo Chavez, the belligerent populist president of Venezuela, Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, lies in bed at night dreaming of him. Chavez, 50, is rapidly becoming a US nightmare in Latin America. He aroused further American anger last week by threatening to form a nuclear alliance with Iran. The prospect of two hostile, oil-rich governments working together against US interests has shocked Washington and plunged relations with Venezuela to a dangerous new low. US officials have begun to suspect that Chavez...

Last Updated: Tuesday, 17 May, 2005, 15:49 GMT 16:49 UK   German far right unites for polls Germany is gearing up for a key election on Sunday in the mainly industrial state of North Rhine-Westphalia. But the BBC's Tristana Moore in Berlin reports that far-right parties have their sights on a bigger goal - they are joining forces for next year's federal elections. Police blocked a neo-Nazi march in Berlin on VE Day The activities of neo-Nazis were very much in the spotlight on 8 May as Europe marked the 60th anniversary of the Allies' victory in World War...

Senate group warns China faces test over N. Korea By Carol Giacomo, Diplomatic Correspondent Fri May 20, 2:58 AM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A North Korean nuclear test can still be averted but China must agree to join the United States and other Asian nations in a quarantine of the isolated communist state, according to an analysis by the Bush administration's U.S. Senate allies. A South Korean man sits in front of a banner against North Korean leader Kim Jong-il at a rally against North Korea's nuclear ambition in Seoul May 20, 2005. A North Korean nuclear test can still...

/begin my translation Bush & Hu Remaking the Global Order? Entering into 5 'consecutive summits,' N. Korean nuclear crisis may take a sudden turn [ 2005-05-03 18:16 ] President Bush and President Hu will have five summits this year. U.S. President George W. Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao are scheduled to have five summits this year to discuss issues to concern both countries.  All attention are focused on whether they can reach an important agreement on N. Korean nuclear crisis at the summits. According to  May 2nd issue of 'Ming-bao,' a Hong Kong daily(note: a pro-Chinese daily,) starting with the May 8th Sino-American summit at the 60th...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush's chief of staff appealed on Sunday for congressional Democrats to work with the administration and Republicans rather than complain and stall action on Capitol Hill. Andrew Card, appearing on three talk shows, also reaffirmed the president's support for House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, the Texas Republican whose ties to lobbyists have raised ethics questions, and John R. Bolton, the embattled nominee to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. "We'd like to see more cooperation from the Democrats," Card said. "We have some serious problems in this country that must be addressed. We'd like to see...

NASA payload may ride India’s moon mission PRANAB DHAL SAMANTA Posted online: Tuesday, April 26, 2005 at 0202 hours IST NEW DELHI, APRIL 25: In a recognition of India’s capabilities in space sciences, the US has evinced keen interest in placing a payload aboard India’s first spacecraft to the moon, the Chandrayan-I. ........................... A joint working group on space cooperation is expected to meet for the first time in mid-May. ........................... This will open a new chapter in Indo-US space ties which did start on a positive note back in the early 1960s when the US help set up the...

U.S. Forest Service District Ranger Pam Brown and Joe Lowe, the state of South Dakota's top fighter of wildfires, were almost giddy Wednesday over what happened last Sunday during the Camp 5 forest fire near Deadwood

http://www.csis.org/pacfor/cc/0501Qnk_sk.html North Korea-South Korea Relations January-March 2005Jan. 2, 2005: Yonhap News reports ROK will help subsidize private company investments in North Korean infrastructure. The Ministry of Unification expects to revise rules for Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund and implement them later this month. Jan. 3, 2005: ROK's Korea Container Terminal Authority says it has plans to develop North Korean Nampo port in a joint venture with Kookyang Shipping Co. and Dongnam Shipping Co. Jan. 3, 2005: Chosun Ilbo reports Chairman Kim Jong-il's favorite bottled water, Mount Myohyang Mineral Water, will be available for consumption in the ROK. The first shipments have arrived...

Drama at the open sea: Israeli, American and French naval forces assisted Wednesday in the rescue of Egyptian and Syrian sailors whose ship sank in international waters off the coast of Nahariya. Shortly before 2:00 p.m. (7:00 a.m. EST), the cargo ship Adora, traveling from Ashdod to Turkey, received a dispatch that another ship, which was apparently transporting cement, was in trouble. The dispatch said the ship, which was carrying at least seven Egyptian and Syrian crew members and flew a North Korean flag, was sinking in international waters as it was making its way from EL Arish Port in...

Will the 21st century be another "American Century" or will it be the first "Asian Century"? A peaceful - for now - struggle has been joined. For the past few weeks Americans have been focused on news from the Vatican. And for the past few years the bulk of "foreign news" has concerned the Middle East. But in the Far East three huge fuses are burning. First, the prime minister of China, Wen Jiabao, traveled to India and declared that the two countries would be the "two pagodas" of economic might in the coming hundred years - the "Asian Century,"...

Report: South Korea calls for increased military cooperation with China South Korea is planning to bolster its military cooperation with China, local media on Tuesday quoted the South Korean defense minister as saying, signaling a key shift in alliances in northeast Asia. Although China is the last major ally of the South's rival, North Korea, President Roh Moo-hyun has in recent weeks stressed that his country should help balance the region _ implying a shift from Seoul's traditional alliance with the United States and Japan toward a neutral position among regional powers, which include China and Russia. "We plan to...

A few years ago, I wrote an article discussing the ways in which libertarians and conservatives have common cause on a number of policy issues -- and how the Blogosphere can work to bring libertarians and conservatives closer together. Along somewhat similar lines, we have seen articles by people like Kenneth Silber who have discussed the fusion between libertarian and conservative ideas, and Stephen Stanton, whose analysis of "South Park Republicans" helps further identify people who are comfortable as libertarian-conservatives -- people like me. My status as a libertarian-conservative is why I took interest in a recent debate concerning whether...

President and German Chancellor Schröder Exchange Toasts Grosser Saal Lobby Electoral Palace Mainz, Germany 11:58 A.M. (Local) CHANCELLOR SCHRÖDER: (As translated.) Dear Mr. President, Mrs. Bush, ladies and gentlemen: Let me begin by sharing with you how very pleased, indeed, my wife, Doris, and I are about this opportunity of welcoming you, Mr. President, and your wife, Laura, not only to Germany, but here to Mainz, as well. Your visit is a strong sign of the true friendship -- and I emphasize friendship -- and trusting cooperation that has developed between Germany and the United States of America. I still...

For Immediate ReleaseOffice of the Press SecretaryFebruary 19, 2005 President's Radio Address      Audio THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Tomorrow I leave on a trip to Europe, where I will reaffirm the importance of our transatlantic relationship with our European friends and allies. Over the last several weeks the world has witnessed momentous events -- Palestinians voting for an end to violence; Ukrainians standing up for their democratic rights; Iraqis going to the polls in free elections. And in Europe, I will talk with leaders at NATO and the European Union about how we can work together to take advantage of...

W. and his associates are out and about this week, merrily gabbing about the White House’s second-term agenda: social security reform at home — plus a little tort reform on the side — and a continuation of freedom-spreading efforts abroad. The talk is warranted. After all, what else is inauguration week for? We defeated Michael Moore, George Moneybags Soros, Sen. Hairspray, and Teresa’s Husband in one fell swoop. We should be celebrating. But I’m still a crusty neocon, wholly in opposition to fun, so I’ll be gloomy and rant about the next four years. It is of the utmost significance...

NOUMEA, Dec 17 (AFP) - Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has declared France a key partner in the South Pacific during a brief visit to New Caledonia Friday. "France is a good partner for Australia in the South Pacific region," Downer said, speaking in French. "We are working together in some countries like for example in Vanuatu where we have aid and defence programmes," Downer told reporters. He spent several hours in the New Caledonian capital Noumea Friday, during a South Pacific tour encompassing Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. Canberra has adopted a more interventionist policy in...

Ford and PSA Peugeot Citroën Announce Plans for Expansion of Diesel Engine Production Ford Motor Company and PSA Peugeot Citroën are planning to expand production capacity for the 1.4, 1.6 and 2.0 litre high technology diesel engines from the ongoing cooperative agreement between the two companies. This cooperative agreement is enabling both companies to be world leaders in diesel engineering and manufacture and to achieve industry-leading economies of scale. At the same time the cooperation provides both partners with a wide breadth of state-of-the art common-rail diesel engines. Between 2002 and 2004, more than four million high technology common rail...

Salam al-Marayati, the executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), represents himself and his organization as stalwart opponents of terrorism who are actively working with the FBI and California law enforcement agencies to combat it. At a joint press conference with representatives of the FBI and the Los Angeles Police Department on October 14 of this year, Marayati waxed expansive and almost poetic in his glowing account of his organization’s cooperation with law enforcement agencies in the war against terrorism. MPAC has announced a “National Anti-Terrorism Campaign,” and is holding its 4th annual conference (see its poster here)...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

...Last week in London, President Jacques Chirac admitted that getting rid of Saddam "may well have been good idea" — then added a big "but" about the wisdom of early elections in Iraq. His argument for delay was based on the claim that he wanted "broader participation" in the elections.... The camp of Saddam nostalgics, including Chirac and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, have... portrayed the hostage-takers and head-choppers who terrorize parts of Iraq as "la resistance" and insisted that they should have a place in shaping the future of the country.... With Bush re-elected, chances of sabotaging Iraq's elections vanished....

Undoubtedly, Shiite rule would thrill them. As a result, within just hours of Mr. Bush’s remarks, Iran had its own somewhat shocking proclamation when the head of their Supreme National Security Council, Hasan Rowhani, stated that Tehran supported our president’s re-election efforts. As if that wasn’t enough, that same day, Grand Ayatollah Kazem al-Haeri, a senior Shiite leader in Iran, made a similarly stunning announcement that he was cutting ties with the upstart Shiite cleric in Iraq, Muqtada al-Sadr. When combined with the other two events, especially given the timing of all three, it quite appears that Tehran was not...

Truthfully, I really wasn't gloating these past few days. Probably they caught me smiling and laughing a bit, though. Yeah, I had to go into the city (90% liberal) and visit with the Democrats. Couldn't resist. I wanted to actually see the sad faces for myself, up close and live. Local Democrats have been a glum lot these past few days. Many are still grumbling. On Capitol Hill, Democrats were whining like Valley Girls at a sorority party that ran out of wine, pointing fingers at their leaders and talking about making war against the Republicans. Liberal Hill-Rats must have...

From Canada Free Press newspaper today, One upmanship factor in "Coalition of Idiots" MP mail response shows the anti-American hatred by Canadian Liberal politicians. Here is the first bit of it: One upmanship seems more important than sincerity when Canadian Liberal Member of Parliament Carolyn Parrish responds to email and letter writers complaining about her anti-American rhetoric. In fact, people writing letters of complaint about her latest anti-American slurs get form letters in reply, Canada Free Presshas learned. Letters to Parrish are computer rated as "positive", "constructively critical" or "crude, vile or threatening" before writers get a response.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is to hold talks Monday with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, amid media reports that in the wake of the Beslan tragedy, Israel is to propose unprecedented anti-terrorism security cooperation with Russia, including sharing of sensitive intelligence data. Israel is also expected to offer to accept a significant number of child victims of the hostage siege for rehabilitation in the Jewish state. Lavrov said Monday that Israel's renewed offer to share its experience of combatting militant groups, in the wake of the Russian school massacre, would give a boost to the fight against global terror. Speaking...

In order to improve their skills and learn firsthand tactics adopted by the IDF in urban and guerilla warfare in the West Bank and Gaza, US Army units are undergoing training in the special anti-terror school located in the Adam base near Modi'in. After completing their training, the units will return to Iraq. The IDF Spokesman said, "The army does not comment on cooperation with foreign armies," but did not deny US forces were currently training in Israel. In November last year, US generals visited Israel to study tactics adopted by the IDF in its ongoing war against terror. A...

ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) - Former President Bill Clinton challenged graduating Cornell University students Saturday to pursue "the eternal mission of American democracy" and find solutions to problems through cooperation not conflict. "If you live in a world where you cannot kill, occupy or imprison all your actual or potential adversaries ... you have to try to build a world with more friends and fewer terrorists," Clinton told more than 21,000 people. "That is the purpose of politics, to bring people together when they cannot control each other and they must work together," Clinton said in a 30-minute speech interrupted by...

IC21: The Intelligence Community in the 21st Century Staff Study Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence House of Representatives One Hundred Fourth Congress XIII. Intelligence and Law Enforcement Executive Summary For years, the intelligence and law enforcement communities have maintained an uneven, and at times an antagonistic relationship. This is due partly to differences in the roles and cultures of the two communities, as both have different responsibilities and objectives, as well as expectations regarding information acquisition and management, and because of differing end uses for that information. There have been other factors that have affected the interaction between law enforcement...

BERLIN - European leaders met soon after the Madrid bombings to call for a "plan against terrorism," but getting real cooperation is difficult: intelligence services jealously guard secrets, security laws differ from one country to the next, and civil liberties concerns and bureaucracy intrude. The deadly bombings in Spain could provide new impetus in refining a European approach to fighting terrorism. But analysts said Wednesday that attention should be directed toward fixing policies and agencies already in place, rather than creating new bureaucracy. "As often happens in these cases, the politicians are reacting in panic," security analyst Claude Moniquet said....

Passion Two weeks before Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ flashed onto movie screens, online ticket merchants reported that up to half their total sales were for advance purchases for The Passion of the Christ. One Dallas multiplex reserved all 20 of its screens for The Passion. That said, I am neither a prophet nor a movie critic. I am merely an Orthodox rabbi using ancient Jewish wisdom to make three predictions about The Passion. First: Mel Gibson and Icon Productions will make a great deal of money. Those distributors who surrendered to pressure from Jewish organizations and passed on...

Source denies report www.spa.gov.sa/html/archive_e.asp?srcfile=616377&NDay=16/02/2004&wcatg=0 Riyadh, Feb. 16, SPA -- A source at the Ministry of Defense and Aviation has denied a report by Reuters that US officials believe China is cooperating with the kingdom of Saudi Arabia on acquisition of Chinese missiles and that the kingdom helped finance Pakistan's nuclear program hoping this will enable it to acquire a nuclear weapon. The source said these news and information are fabricated and totally incorrect stressing that the kingdom has been and is still calling for a Middle East free from weapons of mass destruction.

Incoming Assembly leaders on Monday pledged bipartisan cooperation in the new year, saying they wanted to put the rancor of the past behind them as they tackle the state's budget problems. Assembly Speaker-elect Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, and Republican Leader-elect Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, who take their new leadership posts in January, met briefly Monday and said they are working on procedural changes that could foster better relations between members of the two parties. "I think that you will see a new decorum, not just in terms of how the Assembly is run on the floor, but also as it relates...

Those who still insist there “isn’t one scintilla of evidence” or “no proof” of a Saddam Hussein-Osama bin Laden connection must have missed the authoritative article by the noted author and terrorism expert, Stephen F. Hayes, in the November 24th edition of the magazine “Weekly Standard,” (www.weeklystandard.com) with the title “Case Closed.” Hayes has appeared often in the media, and is generally considered an “expert” on international terror. In his article, “Case Closed,” he critiques an official memorandum from Undersecretary of Defense Douglas J. Feith to the Chairmen of the Senate Intelligence Committee, citing 50 instances of Iraq-al Qaeda collaboration....

(IsraelNN.com) Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. yesterday announced a new partnership between homeland security and emergency preparedness professionals in Maryland and Israel after meeting with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom and other representatives of the government. The Maryland/Israel Partnership in Homeland Security will allow professionals from both communities to explore and share the “best practices” each community employs in responding to terrorism threats. The announcement was made as part of the Governor’s four-day trade mission to Israel, November 4 – 9, 2003. “Maryland and Israel have much to share and learn from each other to counter...