12 February 2004
Aren't these red states?
CSM has this piece on No Child Left Behind, a pill that, for many at the State and Local level, is apparently becoming increasingly-difficult to swallow.
A school-district rebellion stirring Fazed by the rules and reach of 'No Child Left Behind,' more schools opt out of the most substantive reform in a generation. By Amanda Paulson | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor CHICAGO – From Utah to Virginia, a revolt is building in classrooms and legislatures against the biggest education reform in a quarter century. As elements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act take effect, state and local education officials, upset over the stringency of testing requirements and the cost of implementation, are openly criticizing the measure - and even threatening to defy it. The rebellion, in some cases led by GOP lawmakers, could endanger a signature achievement of the Bush administration in an election year. At the least, it highlights the frequent tensions between policies in Washington and their effects in the classroom.
10 February 2004
07 February 2004
06 February 2004
What should Tim ask?
Geraldine Sealey in the war room over at Salon.com has a great compliation of questions various reporters and bloggers think Tim Russert should ask President Bush on Sunday.
04 February 2004
Sad day for snoopers
03 February 2004
Are We Safer?
Bioterror back, but panic is not Bioterror back, but panic is not | csmonitor.com "One reason, in addition to ricin being less lethal and contagious than anthrax, is a better-educated public and now familiar emergency procedures. 'The government tried to educate people about it,' says Juliette Kayyem, an expert on terrorism at Harvard University's Kennedy School. 'The consequences of that [education] could explain the lack of public hysteria.' For one thing, she says, the government explained to Americans how difficult it is to cause large-scale deaths through such attacks - and even illnesses. Moreover, it is likely, as in the anthrax case, that the attack was homegrown and not a result of international terrorism."
Good question Josh
Josh Marshall asks another very good question about the Ricin investigation on Capitol Hill and the subsequent Bill Frist press conference marathons.
The FBI on Thursday offered a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to an arrest of anyone responsible for leaving a package containing the deadly poison ricin at a post office in October. A letter inside the package said the author could make much more ricin and will "start dumping" large quantities of the poison if new federal trucking rules went in effect, according to information released by the FBI and other federal agencies Thursday. The rules, which require more rest hours for truck drivers, took effect Sunday. The letter, signed "Fallen Angel," said the author was "a fleet owner of a tanker company."The full CBS report is here.
02 February 2004
get yer WMDs here...
while every news organization on the planet is running this headline: Nuclear Black Market Is Small, Covert...
VIENNA, Austria (AP) - The nuclear black market that supplied Iran, Libya and North Korea is small, tight-knit and appears to have been badly hurt by the exposure of its reputed head, the father of Pakistan's nuclear program, diplomats and weapons experts told The Associated Press. They describe the network that circumvented international controls to sell blueprints, hardware and know-how to countries running covert nuclear programs as involving people closely dependent on one another. Abdul Qadeer Khan, who founded Pakistan's nuclear program, is emerging as the head of the ring believed to have been the main supplier through middlemen over three continents. A Pakistani government official revealed Monday that Khan has acknowledged in a written statement transferring nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea.Initial tests prove positive for ricin at the Dirksen Senate Office building...
Hazardous Substance Found in U.S. Senate Office, ABC News Says
Feb. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Workers at a U.S. Senate office in Washington, D.C. were evacuated after preliminary tests showed a substance found in a room was hazardous, ABC News reported, citing police in the city. Two tests were made on powder found in a room in the Dirksen Senate Office building, ABC cited an unidentified government official as saying. One identified it as the poison ricin, the second test was negative, the report said. The sample has been sent for further testing. The powder was found at about 3 p.m. Washington time, ABC cited police as saying. Workers in the south side of the building were called to a conference room and told to stay away from the south side of the fourth floor, ABC reported.
01 February 2004
Mydoom cripples US firm's website
BBC NEWS | Technology | Mydoom cripples US firm's website The Mydoom e-mail worm has paralysed the website of US software firm SCO, in a massive denial of service attack. The company - which owns the source code of the Unix operating system - said the virus was "overwhelming the internet with requests to www.sco.com". Both SCO and Microsoft have offered $250,000 rewards each for help to catch the author of the worm - the fastest-spreading virus known so far. A variant of the virus is expected to attack Microsoft's site from [sic] Tuesday.
The Beneficiaries of Saddam's Oil Vouchers
