Wednesday, October 27, 2004

Aussie's Top Spy: Iraq War Helped Al Qaeda

Australian Security Intelligence Organisation director-general Dennis Richardson has given a speech where he said the Iraqi war has provided Al Qaeda with propaganda and recruitment opportunities, increased his country's profile as a terrorist target and may have encouraged some to support the terrorist organization.

Unfit To Print

The St. Paul Pioneer Press has suspended two of their reporters for attending a rock concert. The "Vote for Change" concert featured Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen and R.E.M., and is described as a political fundraising concert. Since the event, the paper has reportedly received over 20 leters from readers, but hasn't yet printed any of them. Today's edition of City Pages is running many of the letters and the letter writers don't seem too pleased.

More on Bush Rallies and Dissent

More news on how the Bush campaign treats those who disagree. There's a story in last week's Des Moines Register of an 18 year old being told he'd be shot if he protested at a Bush event. According to high school senior John Sachs, an event staffer told him "If you protest, it won't be me taking you out. It will be a sniper"

Isn't that nice?

Then there's this week's story about Richland Center High School in Wisconsin where students were originally told they'd be expelled if they wore pro-Kerry clothing to a Bush event being held at their school. Later an offer of an "alternative" event, such as a movie, was made in place of kicking the kids out of school.

As it turns out, Rachel Schultz the school's superintendent is married to Dale Schultz, Republican candidate for Congress in the 3rd Congressional District of Wisconsin.

No child left behind indeed.