Nation: The Center for Public Integrity has created a database in which you can search 935 false statements the Bush Administration made about Iraq in the two years following Sept. 11. (No mention if a similar accounting of statements about Iran is being done.)
World: Britain’s Daily Mail reports on Russia’s sabre rattling in the skies over its Atlantic Coast.
World: The New Zealand Herald reports that a document drafted by five senior military officers (including U.S. General John Shalikashvili) says the West must be prepared to carry out “pre-emptive nuclear strikes to halt the spread of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction.” The documents says “The first use of nuclear weapons must remain in the quiver of escalation as the ultimate instrument to prevent the use of weapons of mass destruction.”
Science: Here’s an energy source you might have missed — power generated by falling raindrops, Physorg.com reports.
Nation: The number of Army recruits who are high school graduates dropped in 2007, reaching 71 percent instead of the armed service’s goal of 90 percent, the Associated Press (via Stars and Stripes) reports. It’s a trend that has worsened since the Iraq War started, and in the past three years alone, the number of “high-quality” recruits “fell from about 61 percent to nearly 45 percent.”
O P I N I O N
RIP, Heath Ledger. It’s heartbreaking to read of yet another talented young star meeting an untimely demise. Such a shame, such a waste.
♣ Nation/world news tally in my local paper today: 1 1/5 pages
Feed me 5 Under the Radar
