U.S. intelligence also intercepted communications between bin Laden supporters discussing the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon, according to Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
(see www.foxnews.com)
Congress watches its power ebb
Overhaul without oversight
Military waste under fire
Disunited Nations
Democratic presidential candidates and Republican congressional staffers are making claims about the greater fairness of government health insurance and the greater efficiency of private health insurance, respectively. Some tout the virtues of managed care, others believe the solution lies in tort reform. But the real problem is far deeper. We have come to expect, in this country, very high-tech health care, delivered without reference to price and thorough to the point of parody. Our doctors meet our expectations. No disease is too rare to test for, no technology is too expensive to use, and fear of litigation is not the only explanation.
Last month, as Congress was departing for a two-week recess, the Defense Department submitted a 200-page draft "transformation" bill that requests extensive new authorities. It is not an understatement to say that this bill, taken as a whole, is the most sweeping defense reform legislation proposed since the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986, which changed both the structure and the policies governing our military. The only thing that is obvious and consistent throughout the 50 provisions included in this bill is the aggregation of power sought for the Department of Defense, removing the legal restrictions and congressional oversight that should safeguard against any abuses, however unintentional. This approach is a rush to judgment that will affect vast numbers of people and, in many cases, will enshrine bad policy in law.
In an unusual protest, about 600 Beit Hanoun residents blocked a main thoroughfare with trash cans, rocks and burning tires to show their anger at the militants and Palestinian Authority officials
The two-hour finale of ABC's reality romance hit "The Bachelor" was the big winner Sunday in the ratings race for young adult viewers, while the first half of a CBS miniseries about Hitler finished third, according to preliminary figures from Nielsen Media Research.
The two-hour special broadcast of 60 Minutes delivered a 9.1/16, 12.86 million. The first part of Hitler: Rise of Evil, focusing on the Nazi dictator's youth, earned a 9.0/14, 13.52 million. CBS placed first on Sunday in viewers and households with a 9.0/15 and an average of 13.22 million viewers. The other networks were NBC (7.9/13, 11.57 million); ABC (6.7/11, 10.62 million) and Fox (5.6/10, 9.66 million).
Final Blair thought ... There are no doubt a number of institutional and management issues that in some way or another helped Blair snooker the Times and readers. Here's one to add to the pile: The NYT makes it unnecessarily difficult for readers to contact staffers. The LAT, WP, and WSJ all use a standard e-mail naming scheme. So, if you know the name of a reporter or editor, you can e-mail them. The LAT helps that along by publishing an editorial staff directory, while the WP has an easily contactable ombudsman. The NYT has none of that. Nor does it seem to have an e-mail address exclusively devoted to corrections
