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MOSCOW, Idaho – A man who shot himself this weekend at the end of a shooting spree that left his wife and two others dead talked to a mental health professional in February about killing himself in a way that would take many others with him. That prophecy came true over the weekend, when Jason Hamilton, a 36-year-old janitor, shattered the quiet of this bucolic college town with some 200 gunshots before killing himself in a church. Hamilton had a history of domestic violence and mental health concerns, but left no note or other indication of what motivated the rampage,...

On July 6, 2006, Stonebridge International, a global strategy firm, announced that it had added a new member to its high-profile, five-member advisory board—former Democratic Congressman Lee Hamilton. True to form, the major media ignored the Hamilton appointment. They should not have. Hamilton, who had served as Vice-Chairman of the 9/11 Commission, had just joined a firm headed by the man who had criminally undermined that very Commission, Stonebridge chairman and founder, Samuel "Sandy" Berger.

The United States Senate has started its process of deciding the future course of the United States in Iraq. This process will last for at least two or three weeks and will undoubtedly include extensive testimony, give and take behind closed doors, floor votes and amendments, and finally votes on funding. The report below shows some of the complexity of the committees and personalities that shaped up during the first day…. It is become clearer by the day now that there are clearly two or perhaps three “camps” or “sides” forming within the United States Senate. One side, made up...

Rockets center Dikembe Mutombo, seated next to first lady Laura Bush and proudly flashing his familiar broad smile, was honored by President George Bush Tuesday at the State of the Union Address in Washington. Mutombo, working almost daily, raised $29 million (donating $15 million himself) for the construction of the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital and Research Center in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mutombo plans to open the hospital — Kinshasa's first new one in 40 years — this summer. It is named for his mother, who died nine years ago when civil unrest and...

Before the Long-Term Capital Management collapse nearly paralyzed the world's capital markets, and before the stock market crashes of 1987 and 1929, there was America's first widespread financial crisis: the Panic of 1792. Today it's a little-known footnote to American financial history. But if it weren't for the quick thinking of a New Yorker named Alexander Hamilton, and his actions as America's first central banker, the events surrounding Wall Street's first bona fide crash could have meant doom for the struggling, cash-strapped republic. Descendants of Hamilton, as well as an ambassador, historians, and grateful Wall Street executives, will gather around...

The Iraq Study Group Report is the last thing one would have hoped to see in the New World Order. Sadly, it seems that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Gone were the days, we thought, when the fate of a nation was decided by outsiders consulting with everyone and every nation except the one most affected by, and concerned with, the decision. Yet, that is precisely what happened with this commission. The President of Kurdistan received a telephone call from Baker a couple of days before the release of the report assuring him of taking...

. . . . From its paltry discussion of America's counterinsurgency in Iraq, to its recommendations about troop levels, to its scathing condemnation of American diplomacy under Condoleezza Rice and Iraqi politics under Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, to its embrace of "engagement" with Syria and Iran, and to its unstated but clear call for American pressure on Israel to concede more "land-for-peace" to the Palestinians, the ISG report is strong on assertions but weak on arguments. . . . . . And what does the Baker-Hamilton Commission recommend? More of the same, except faster. We are going to embed more...

Since its release, much has been said and written about this report that took about six months and millions of tax payer dollars to be prepared. The report in general is stating the obvious and has not come up with any new and creative blueprint, except for the recommendations that are seen by a wide range of concerned parties and observers as nothing, if implemented by Bush administration, but a perfect resume for disaster and chaos. So far, the report has been sharply criticized by Kurds and Shiites who compromised more than 80% of Iraqi people as well as many...

How is it journalism is supposed to go: "Who, What, Where, When"? Isn't that the purported standard for "reporting" on a story? So, should that be true, the just-the-facts-ma'am style of reporting, informing the reader so that he may decide, is obviously as rare as a white Unicorn appearing every 13th month on a blue moon in the newsroom of the Washington Post -- or the Washington comPost as it is lovingly referred to by so many. Today's ridiculously biased and overly emotive "report" took two people to pen, apparently. Robin Wright and Peter Baker held each other's hands and...

All the backslapping over the Baker panel’s report ignores the fact that the Iraq Study Group didn’t say much. In Washington, sometimes it’s preferable to be wrong in a group than to be right alone. Nothing demonstrates the triumph of this truism better than the release Wednesday of the final Iraq Study Group report. The commission’s chairman, James A. Baker III, could not have been more obvious if he had used hand puppets to illustrate what he thought was most important about this supposedly momentous occasion: the fact that all the report’s authors actually agree with its contents. Their product,...

The report lacks the fundamental understanding of the Iraqi and Middle Eastern issues; hence it is the total distortion of facts. It does not approach the Iraqi or the Middle Eastern issue from the contemporary human and ethnic rights issues; rather it would build Iraq and the Middle East upon fear of the strongest, killers and abusers, and those who have no respect for human rights. It satisfies the greed of the killers by giving them more catches; it feeds more blood to the Dracula by providing them more lives; it keeps the oppressor happy by persecution of the defenceless....

Who can disagree with the report of the Iraq Study Group? It says, “Iran should stem the flood of arms and training to Iraq,” and “Syria should control its border with Iraq to stem the flood of funding, insurgents and terrorist in and out of Iraq”. It would be wonderful if Iran and Syria did those things, but unless some reasonable means of making them do so is advanced, saying that they “should” is airy wishfulness rather than strategy. Welcome to the non-reality-based world of bipartisan commissions. Even commissions flying under the banner of realism, such as the James Baker/Lee...

Today, President Bush met with Costa Rican President Oscar Arias Sanchez at the White House. And Vice President Dick Cheney met with Republican leaders on Capitol Hill. That’s about it. Enjoy your visit to-- Oh wait. Almost forgot … A group of self-centered, short-sighted fools led by James Baker and Lee Hamilton released their report on how we can surrender to our enemies. Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island

Isn’t the main problem with the Iraq Study Group that it’s just majorly lame? Almost anybody could crank out this kind of generalized boilerplate (“We were told by a general/a translator/my taxi driver/my Ukrainian hooker…”), and most of us could do it without a budget of gazillions of dollars and an Annie Leibovitz photo session. Of course, Syria “should” do this and Iran “should” do that and, if they were Sandra Day O’Connor, I’m sure they would. But they’re not. And the only specific strategic proposal is a linkage between Iraq and a “renewed and sustained commitment” to a “comprehensive...

For Immediate ReleaseOffice of the Press SecretaryDecember 2, 2006 President's Radio Address       Audio      In Focus: Renewal in Iraq      THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. I returned home this week from a visit to the Middle East. On my trip, I met with Prime Minister Maliki of Iraq to discuss how we can improve the situation on the ground in his country and help the Iraqis build a lasting democracy. My meeting with Prime Minister Maliki was our third since he took office six months ago. With each meeting, I'm coming to know him better, and I'm becoming more impressed by...

Why Quantum Mechanics Is Not So Weird after All Richard Feynman's "least-action" approach to quantum physics in effect shows that it is just classical physics constrained by a simple mechanism. When the complicated mathematics is left aside, valuable insights are gained. PAUL QUINCEY The birth of quantum mechanics can be dated to 1925, when physicists such as Werner Heisenberg and Erwin Schrödinger invented mathematical procedures that accurately replicated many of the observed properties of atoms. The change from earlier types of physics was dramatic, and pre-quantum physics was soon called classical physics in a kind of nostalgia for the...

In recent years, Hamilton College has done little that would have pleased its namesake. It's hard to imagine that any of the founding generation's leaders—perhaps excepting Paine—could find much to their liking in the college's fawning treatment of radical icons or its fervent multiculturalism. It was Hamilton that sought to bring former weather underground member and convicted terrorist, Susan Rosenberg, to campus as an instructor and "artist-in-residence", as it was Hamilton that launched Ward Churchill into world class notoriety by inviting him to speak. But it's good to discover that Hamilton is capable of learning something from its repeated embarrassments....

Accused Terrorist Wrote Public School Guidelines with ACLU [over 23 references linked below] Abdurahman Alamoudi, President of the American Muslim Council, supporter of Hamas, Hezbollah and accused of ties with Osama bin Laden, helped develop "Religious Expression in Public School" with the ACLU which holds the copyright. Launched by Clinton in 1995, these "Presidential Guidelines" greatly impact public schools today. Nadine Strossen, President of the ACLU, refers to these guidelines as the authority to support the ACLU’s lawsuits restricting Christmas celebrations and removing Nativity scenes from public schools. School districts are pressured to utilize Clinton’s guidelines which he sold to...

Weekend Talk Show Preview - Analysis for August 12th and 13th, 2006On the shows this weekend I'm most interested by Vali Nasr, on CNN, and Ken Mehlman, on Meet The Press.  I think we'll learn more about the events in the Middle East from Nasr and more about the coming campaign from Mehlman than all of the other guests, combined.  Nasr is an expert, from Iran, on the issues of conflict between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.  I actually view this as our best hope of winning the coming world war.  Just as Communists and Nazis joined forces to start World...