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An interview of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio conducted by reporters from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University in Phoenix Monday night ended prematurely due to disruptive protests. Arpaio, has faced criticism among the media and charges of racial profiling during his illegal immigration sweeps. Arpaio was chosen by ASU because he is “powerful, popular and controversial” said Cronkite dean Christopher Callahan, who pointed out that interrupting the protests eliminated the effectiveness of the three journalists’ questions. “The scenario is you don’t want public scrutiny of this man,” Callahan told the protestors. “You don’t want reporters...

Prized for their impressive antlers, red deer have been caught in the hunters' sights for generations. But a deer's antlers are much more than decorative. They are lethal weapons that stags crash together when duelling. John Currey, from The University of York, UK, has been intrigued by the mechanical properties of bone for over half a century and has become fascinated by the mechanical properties of antler through a long-standing collaboration with Tomas Landete-Castillejos at the Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha. 'Antlers look as if they are dry,' says Currey, 'but no one knew if they really are dry when used...

WASHINGTON, July 27, 2009 – Though troop morale is high in Afghanistan, the Taliban is a tough organization and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said he doesn’t expect conditions to change soon. “As everyone knows, we’ve lost a large number of people here very recently,” Navy Adm. Mike Mullen said during a Pentagon Channel podcast interview today. “It’s going to be a tough fight in Afghanistan for the foreseeable future, and we’re doing everything we can to certainly eliminate any losses. “But the Taliban are a tough, tough organization, and it’s going to be that way for...

PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - The U.S. government will get tough with governments that don't live up to trade deals, including those with substandard labor practices, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk was set to announce on Thursday. The USTR and U.S. Labor and State departments will identify and investigate labor violations in countries with which it has free trade agreements and insist problems are fixed, instead of waiting for complaints to initiate enforcement, according to prepared remarks. "If they won't fix their labor problems, we will exercise our legal options," Kirk was set to say in a speech at a U.S. Steel...

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton urged President Obama for two days to toughen his language on Iran before he did so, and then was surprised when he condemned Iran's crackdown on demonstrators last week, administration officials say. At his June 23 news conference, Mr. Obama said he was "appalled and outraged" by Iranian behavior and "strongly condemned" the violence against anti-government demonstrators. Up until then, Mr. Obama and other administration officials had taken a softer line, expressing "deep concern" about the situation and calling on Iran to "respect the dignity of its own people." Behind the scenes, the officials,...

Scientists are gradually downgrading their worst-case scenarios for the swine flu outbreak, the Los Angeles Times report. The H1N1 strain initially appeared to have disturbing similarities to the 1918 flu virus, but researchers analyzing genetic data released this week say the strain is less lethal than feared—and may in fact be less harmful than seasonal flu. Health officials say the virus is still spreading and is likely to cause more deaths in the US, but nothing on the scale of the annual flu season, which kills tens of thousands of Americans yearly. Scientists, while beginning to relax about the current...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday the Obama administration is prepared for tough sanctions against Iran if dialogue fails and voiced fears over Taliban advances in Pakistan. In her first testimony to Congress since her confirmation as the US chief diplomat in January, Clinton also defended President Barack Obama's overtures to communist Cuba, which has been under a broad US economic embargo for decades. Clinton sought to reassure Howard Berman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who backed a new dialogue with Iran but asked if Washington could garner enough support to impose "crippling...

Urging members of his own party to be just as fiscally tough as the most conservative Republicans, Obama said the $700 billion economic bailout plan proposed by the Bush administration and congressional leaders is forcing a renewed look at federal spending. `We are here because an ethic of irresponsibility has swept through our government, leaving politicians with the belief they can waste billions and billions of your money on no-bid contracts for friends and contributors, slip pork projects into bills during the dead of night and spend billions on corporate tax breaks we can't afford and old programs we don't...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Even with an additional 17,000 troops in Afghanistan, the top US commander there predicted "a tough year" in 2009 and warned that the situation would not be quickly turned around. General David McKiernan, who commands US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, spoke a day after President Barack Obama approved the deployment in the coming months of two additional combat brigades and support forces, about 17,000 troops in all. "Even with these additional forces, I have to tell you, 2009 is going to be a tough year," McKiernan told reporters at the Pentagon. "There are the baseline problems...

Hillary Clinton talked tough to North Korea about nuclear weapons and missile launches while visiting Japan. This is a refreshing change form the weak position Hillay Clinton and the Obama administration have taken towards Iran. Clinton made these remarks unprompted. You have to wonder if they were planned or not. Hillary Clinton can talk tough all she wants, but President Obama has to support her. So far, he has not shown he has that kind of courage and wisdom. Video here.

President Obama sent a clear message to corporate executives and Republicans opposing his stimulus plan — he's in charge. In sternly worded remarks from the Grand Foyer of the White House Wednesday morning, Obama decried excessive executive bonuses and severance packages as "the height of irresponsibility," and he announced that he is capping compensation for executives who receive "extraordinary help" from the federal government at $500,000. "For top executives to award themselves these kinds of compensation pacakages in the midst of this economic crisis is not only in bad taste, it's a bad strategy, and I will not tolerate it...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan's army chief named a general considered a hawk in the fight against al-Qaida and the Taliban to head the country's powerful spy agency, asserting his control at a time of U.S. concern that rogue operatives are aiding Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan. Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shujaa Pasha oversaw military offensives against militants in the lawless border regions with Afghanistan in his most recent job as director general of military operations. His appointment as head of the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, the country's main spy agency, was part of a broader shake-up of army top brass announced...

Think the liberal mainstream media don't like the thought of Sarah Palin becoming president? Check out the editorials blasting John McCain's choice as vice president on the GOP ticket: The New York Times: "Governor Palin’s lack of experience, especially in national security and foreign affairs, raises immediate questions about how prepared she is to potentially succeed to the presidency. That really is the only criterion for judging a candidate for vice president." The Los Angeles Times: "In Palin, who is just halfway through her first term as governor, McCain has found an ardent opponent of abortion rights who won't provoke...

I just thought he looked and sounded great. Gone is the smiling Jack, affable-fella demeanour. He must have had some nails with his granola today.... Here's a guy that can talk tough on Iran, and knows what he's talking about in specifics... And, I'm a McCain skeptic. Stark contrast to the Obama and his Platitudes -- which sounds like an oldie's band. Anybody else see it?

Howard Weyers tried the "carrot" approach by giving his employees incentives and encouragement to quit smoking. But when that didn't work, he resorted to the stick. A big stick. Weyers, owner of a health care benefits administrator in Lansing, Mich., gave his 200 employees an ultimatum in 2004: Quit smoking in 15 months or lose your job. He refused to hire smokers. Ultimately, he extended his smoking ban to employees' spouses and monitored compliance through mandatory random blood testing. Weyers' method, while effective, wouldn't fly in California because the state has laws that prohibit employers from making hiring or firing...

Study shows life was tough for ancient Egyptians By Alaa Shahine Fri Mar 28, 10:12 AM ETReuters Photo: The Giza pyramids in a file photo. New evidence of a sick, deprived population working... CAIRO (Reuters) - New evidence of a sick, deprived population working under harsh conditions contradicts earlier images of wealth and abundance from the art records of the ancient Egyptian city of Tell el-Amarna, a study has found. Tell el-Amarna was briefly the capital of ancient Egypt during the reign of the pharaoh Akhenaten, who abandoned most of Egypt's old gods in favor of the Aten sun disk...

Tough Breeds Of Livestock Disappearing: Saving Them Before It Is Too LateDr. Phil Sponenberg with a Spanish-style Choctaw horse. (Credit: John McCormick, Virginia Tech) ScienceDaily (Feb. 17, 2008) — Phil Sponenberg, professor of pathology and genetics in the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, has spent more than 30 years working to make sure certain living pieces of history — some dating to the 15th century — don’t become extinct. Sponenberg's brand of living history comes in the form of various rare strains of livestock, which were involved in events like Christopher Columbus’ discovery of the Caribbean Islands and the...

DAVENPORT, Iowa - Rudy Giuliani said Wednesday that if elected president he would end illegal immigration in as few as three years by employing the same police tactics he used to reduce the crime rate as New York mayor. "It can be done. It is not impossible," Giuliani told his audience at a town hall-style meeting. "You can do this, you can stop them at the border." Giuliani said he would boost the number of border security agents to 18,000 from the current 12,000, and build a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border with technological monitoring to reduce illegal immigration. He...

David Cameron talks tough on immigration By Toby Helm, Chief Political Correspondent Last Updated: 2:11am BST 30/08/2007 David Cameron has set out a tough new stance on immigration, promising curbs to limit the number of people coming in as a way of easing pressure on schools, hospitals and housing. Mr Cameron: 'I think the levels of migration we've seen have put too great a burden on public services' Swinging his party back on to more traditional Conservative territory, the Tory leader said the number of people arriving in Britain over a decade of Labour government had been "too high". The...

SACRAMENTO – Creating commissions to address thorny issues has become a hallmark of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's governing style. The problem is they never seem to amount to much. High-profile Schwarzenegger advisory panels on prisons and government efficiency went nowhere. Now the governor has launched commissions on issues lawmakers have struggled with for years: prison sentences, the state water system and public-employee pensions. An in-depth report on schools requested by another Schwarzenegger panel, along with legislative leaders and the state schools chief, is scheduled to be released tomorrow. “Commissions are where intractable issues go to die,” said Thad Kousser, a political...

AUSTIN, TEXAS — The Lone Star State has long welcomed Latino immigrants, no matter how they got across the state's 1,200-mile border with Mexico. Back when California voted to cut public services to illegal immigrants, then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush was preaching that immigrants were equal players in the state's economy. But the atmosphere has changed markedly in Texas, home to about 10% of the nation's illegal immigrants. --snip-- The proposal to deny services to American citizens, which is thought to be the first in the country, is part of a push to challenge the citizenship given automatically to children...

VANCOUVER, Wash., Feb. 22, 2007 – Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, faced some tough questions here yesterday – not from the press, but from a group of fifth-grade students at Marshall Elementary School. Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, makes remarks and addresses questions with fifth-grade students at Marshall Elementary School in Vancouver, Wash., Feb. 21. Photo by Staff Sgt. D. Myles Cullen, USAF  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. What’s wrong with the world and how are you going to fix it? How do you protect the...

WASHINGTON - Rudy Giuliani's star has hardly dimmed in the five years since terrorists attacked his city on Sept. 11, 2001, and he became a national hero _ the face of U.S. resolve at a time of tragedy. The Republican dubbed "America's Mayor" hopes to ride that celebrity and his record at City Hall to the White House by emphasizing his leadership skills and embracing the strong-on-security, limited-government tenets of the GOP. "If he can handle the scrutiny, and if events break his way, sure, he can win," said Fred Siegel, who wrote a Giuliani biography, "The Prince of the...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 10, 2006 -- Iraq’s elected leaders are taking measures to address the sectarian strife that has gripped Baghdad and other parts of that country in recent weeks, a senior U.S. military officer said yesterday. “The most telling sign of progress towards reconciliation is that the leaders from diverse factions with different interests are working together and are communicating with each other,” Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told reporters at a Baghdad news conference. Caldwell, a spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq, cited a meeting chaired by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad on Oct. 8 in which...

WASHINGTON - Six weeks before elections, the Democratic strategy for the war on terror is one part attack President Bush and one part agree with him. The goal is to court voters dissatisfied with the job the administration has done, yet avoid being tagged as soft on Osama bin Laden. "Democrats are united behind the need to work on a bipartisan basis to bring terrorists to justice, and to do it in a manner consistent with our laws, our values and our national security," Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid said a few hours after Bush and rebellious Republicans ended a...

INDIANOLA, Iowa - Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., warned Democratic activists Sunday that the party must take a tougher stance on national security if it wants to succeed in the November elections. "What Democrats have to do is to close the deal," said Obama, the keynote speaker at Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin (news, bio, voting record)'s 29th annual steak fry. "We have got to show we have a serious agenda for change." Obama's appearance in Iowa, where precinct caucuses launch the presidential season, has raised a number of eyebrows about his intentions for a presidential run in 2008. Though only a...

Rebel MPs wreck Australia's tough immigration plans By Nick Squires in Sydney (Filed: 15/08/2006) A revolt by backbench MPs forced the Australian government to abandon a controversial immigration law yesterday. The legislation would have meant that asylum seekers were sent to a detention centre on the remote South Pacific island of Nauru while their applications were processed. Opponents said that asylum seekers, including women and children, would be kept behind razor wire for months or years in a refugee equivalent of Guantanamo Bay. John Howard, the prime minister, had to take the humiliating step of withdrawing the legislation, knowing that...

CLEBURNE, Texas: A rail worker who lost his legs when a train ran over him used a mobile phone to report that he was trapped and had been "cut in two". Truman Duncan, 36, was in a critical condition yesterday after the accident on Sunday at the Gunderson Southwest rail yard in Cleburne. In a tape of the 911 call, Duncan tells the operator: "I need 911 ... I think I'm cut in two." The operator asks: "Someone got run over?" Duncan replies: "It was me. I guess I'm going into shock. Hurry up, ma'am, because I'm about to pass...

BESET by low ratings and an increasingly unpopular war in Iraq, US President George W. Bush concluded today that perhaps all his trash talk in the war on terror was not such a good idea. At a news conference with his British ally Tony Blair, Mr Bush expressed regret for calling for terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden to be brought in "dead or alive" and taunting Iraqi insurgents by saying "bring 'em on". The blunt-speaking Texan said it was "kind of tough talk that sent the wrong signal to people. I learned some lessons about expressing myself maybe a little...

FRIDAY, May 12 (HealthDay News) -- Sports and energy drinks can be wonderful potions that hydrate top-tier athletes and weekend warriors alike. But here's some advice about their use, not from your trainer or your coach, but from a dental school professor: If you choose to use them, chug them. Don't sip or savor them all day. That's what J. Anthony von Fraunhofer, director of biomaterials research at the University of Maryland Dental School in Baltimore suggests. Otherwise, the drinks could be eating away your enamel, setting you up for tooth decay and other dental problems. Energy drinks and citrus-flavored...

WASHINGTON, April 12, 2006 – Americans should take pride in what U.S. forces have accomplished in Iraq, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a radio interview today. "We should also recognize that this has been a tough fight, that it will continue to be a tough fight, but that we are doing the right thing," Marine Gen. Peter Pace told WPTF's Bill LuMaye in North Carolina. Pace said the enemy in the Long War understands the role public opinion - especially American public opinion - will play. He said the enemy in Iraq and elsewhere cannot...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Just 37 percent of California's likely voters are inclined to re-elect Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in November, a huge drop from a year ago, according to a poll released Thursday. But the statewide Field Poll also found the Republican governor running competitively against each of the Democrats vying for their party's nomination in the June primary. State Treasurer Phil Angelides and state Controller Steve Westly are largely unknown around the state, and about two-thirds of voters had no opinion of either one, according to the poll. Still, the numbers signaled a difficult re-election campaign for Schwarzenegger, already disadvantaged...

NEW YORK - Halfpipe star Shaun White showed up for an interview with NBC's Bob Costas as an Olympic champion, the pressure lifted from his shoulders and clearly juiced by his new jewelry. So "The Flying Tomato" decided to test the power of a gold medal by trolling for a date with skater Sasha Cohen. Hey, what's the worst that could happen? Chicks dig a little bling, right? White's interview shortly after his gyrating ride to gold was a memorable television moment precisely because it was everything that NBC's prime-time Olympics coverage mostly wasn't — fun, spontaneous and infused with...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 28, 2005 – The Iraqi people won't have an easy time setting up a new national government, but they are resolved to surmount all difficulties, a senior Defense Department official said here today. "One of the big challenges that's in front of the Iraqi people is seating a government that reflects and respects the views of all the Iraqi people, and doing it in a way in which all Iraqis can feel included in the political process," DoD spokesman Bryan Whitman told Pentagon reporters. Whitman had responded to a reporter's question about alleged discord among some of Iraq's...

Rice will take tough line with Europe on 'prison plane' flights By Philip Sherwell and Kim Willsher in Paris (Filed: 04/12/2005) Condoleezza Rice, the United States Secretary of State, will urge European governments to back off in the continuing row over alleged secret terrorist detention camps in Eastern Europe and clandestine CIA "prison plane" flights. Dr Rice, who begins a four-country European tour tomorrow, is preparing a "robust" defence of American treatment of terror suspects, as Washington belatedly comes out fighting on the controversy, senior European diplomats told the Sunday Telegraph. Condoleezza Rice: No apologies for tactics Although Dr Rice...

Assad talks tough over UN inquiry By Ramsay Short in Beirut (Filed: 11/11/2005) President Bashar al Assad of Syria threw down the gauntlet to the West yesterday, announcing "he would not bow his head to anyone in the world". Bashar al Assad: ‘We will play their game’ In a defiant speech, he promised to cooperate with a UN probe that implicated his officials in the murder of a Lebanese leader but warned that the policy would end if Syria were harmed. "We will play their game," he told an audience in Damascus university. But he also launched a scathing attack...

Day after day, for more than two weeks, the 76-year-old man sat trapped and alone in his attic, sipping from a dwindling supply of water until it ran out. No food. No way out of a house ringed by foul floodwaters. Without ever leaving home, Gerald Martin lived out one of the most remarkable survival stories of Hurricane Katrina. Rescuers who found him Friday, as they searched his neighborhood by boat, were astounded at his good spirits and resiliency after 18 days without food or human contact. "It's an incredible story of survival," said Louie Fernandez, spokesman for the Federal...

South Africa is ready to get tough with Mugabe regime By Bill Corcoran in Pretoria (Filed: 20/08/2005) President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa has privately conceded that his "quiet diplomatic" approach towards Zimbabwe has failed to yield results, opening the way for a more forceful policy towards the regime of Robert Mugabe. The signs from South Africa now suggest that the African leaders - who for decades have refused to criticise abuses among their number - are for the first time seriously considering breaking the taboo and taking Mr Mugabe to task for the destruction of his own country. Mbeki:...

Foreign travelers arriving at IAH complain about delays, treatment Customs officials in Houston are stricter and less culturally sensitive than their counterparts at other major international gateways, to the detriment of the city's image as a medical, convention and education center, a mayoral task force reported Wednesday. Mayor Bill White appointed the panel after complaints about unfair treatment and unnecessary delays for international travelers — especially Muslims — arriving at George Bush Intercontinental Airport each week. "It is now a common perception among foreign visitors, especially business travelers, that (the airport) is not a desirable point of entry into the...

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/politics/01bolton.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5094&en=b62967730e188f31&hp&ex=1115006400&adxnnl=0&partner=homepage&adxnnlx=1114920256-HvJoNqdiZj9VnrzBYWCVtg May 1, 2005 Never Shy, Bolton Brings a Zeal to the TableBy SCOTT SHANE ASHINGTON, April 30 - In the tumultuous days before John R. Bolton graduated from Yale University in 1970, he and his roommates leaned mattresses against the windows to keep out stray tear gas shells. Colin Braley/ReutersJohn R. Bolton, right, examining a ballot with Judge Charles Burton in Florida during the 2000 recount. Dick Cheney later said that Mr. Bolton deserved “anything he wants” in the administration. The trial of a top Black Panther in New Haven had ignited riots and set off a national uproar....

'Rattled' Blair to set tough tests for migrants By Toby Helm, Chief Political Correspondent (Filed: 07/02/2005) Tony Blair will try today to recapture ground lost to the Tories on immigration by announcing plans to turn away people who do not bring economic benefits or professional skills to the country. The Prime Minister and Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, will announce the tough new tests for would-be immigrants from outside the EU as part of a five-year-plan to bring immigration under control. Labour's new policy: ‘firm, fair and workable’ The policy, which Labour says is "firm, fair and workable", will involve...

US President George W.Bush got a huge political shot in the arm from the success of the Iraqi election on Sunday and his State of the Union address demonstrates that renewed confidence. The message on Iraq was clear. The US exit strategy only comes when the mission is accomplished, that is, when an Iraqi government is in power governing with the consent of its people, controlling its own territory and providing for its own security. Bush's presidency will be judged by Iraq and he gave out a strong message yesterday - the US will stay the course. Obviously, this does...

New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) has long been rumored as desperately seeking the democratic nomination for president in 2008. And while many political observers fully expect the power hungry former First Lady to hit the campaign trail within only a few months of being re-elected as a US Senator in 2006, US News & World report claims to have a confirmation of sorts. From USNews.Com's Washington Whispers: Hillary's in… You don't have to take it from us about Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton 's desire to run for president. Her brothers, Hugh and Tony Rodham, say it's true. Friends...

Rice Goes From the Inside to The FrontState Nominee May Face Tough Transition National security adviser Condoleezza Rice flew into Jerusalem on June 28, 2003, and immediately rushed to a meeting on the West Bank with Palestinian officials. During the session at a Jericho hotel, a rapt Rice watched a flashy PowerPoint presentation on a security fence being built by the Israelis that had begun to encroach on Palestinian lands. The report showed a concrete wall dividing the homes of Palestinian farmers from their fields and depicted a proposed route that would leave most of the Palestinians inside the fenced...

THE COMPASSION OF THE LEFT:The biggest human disaster - perhaps since the flood of Noah's day and it seems a bit of clarity needs to be had on how people are responding to the disaster. The United Nations has called the $35,000,000 in aid that the United States has already shipped has been labeled "stingy". Jan Egeland, the U.N. undersecretary general for international aid is the one who made the comments. He also inferred that the reason why the American government has been so stingy is because the tax rates are too low. He even went so far as to say that...

With a massive funding shortfall looming, trustees of the California State Teachers' Retirement System began grappling Thursday with the painful task of either boosting pension contributions or slashing benefits for newly hired teachers. Ultimately, officials predicted, benefits for future retirees will have to be cut by $50 to $500 a month to erase a funding gap expected to be $23.1 billion in three decades. Pension plan executives laid out a series of possible cost-cutting and revenue-generating steps: * The state could sell pension obligation bonds. CalSTRS would then use the proceeds to increase investments, hoping to generate hefty returns to...

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - Europe's complex interplay with Islam appears to stand at a tipping-point, and the slaying of a Dutchman who made a movie critical of Islam could indicate one direction in which it is headed. "The Muslims say they're scared," said mourner Nicolette Toering. "No, we're scared." Dutch authorities were investigating whether the chief suspect, a 26-year-old Dutch-Moroccan man detained shortly after the attack, acted alone out of rage or had links to wider extremist networks. A five-page letter pinned to the body of Theo van Gogh, brutally murdered Tuesday as he was riding his bike down a...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Using blunt, dismissive language, John Edwards (news - web sites)' wife said Wednesday the Bush administration has done little to make the nation safer since the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Quoting a phrase that President Bush (news - web sites) used frequently in the first presidential debate, she said, "'The world has changed since 9/11.'" "Well, duh. The world has changed, and you need to do something about it," she said. Edwards spoke to about 175 people at a Veterans of Foreign Wars post before traveling to Greensboro to meet her husband, the Democratic vice...

Israeli police today detained two of Madonna’s bodyguards after they assaulted photographers waiting for the star outside her Tel Aviv hotel. Two of the photographers and a policeman who tried to break up the brawl were wounded, said Tel Aviv police spokesperson Liat Pearl. “Two security guards were detained for questioning by the Tel Aviv police department,” said Pearl. The pop diva has been in Israel since Wednesday with 2,000 other students of Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism. Madonna’s visit to the country has sparked a media frenzy with the local dailies devoting pages detailing her luxury hotel suite and even...

The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD)[1] has sponsored all general election presidential debates since 1988. We always question the way these debates are set up, but never mind that for the moment; there are more important things to talk about this year. For instance, as usual, there is no "balance" to the debates this year. The first presidential debate is scheduled for Sept. 30 at the University of Miami and is to deal with domestic policy. The third debate is scheduled for Oct. 13 at Arizona State University and the topic is foreign affairs. The second debate is more interesting,...