dan flies

Read an find out for yourself. Then ask the question: Are we safer now?

washingtonpost.com: Media Notes Extra

Mr. Rumsfeld told troops to deal with the lack of armor and stop loss. I’m not sure how most troops would respond to his comment, but we can see the there is a growing voice of soldiers that are disagreeing with the current conditions in Iraq.

The New York Times > AP > International > Disgruntled Troops Complain to Rumsfeld: “Disgruntled U.S. soldiers complained to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Wednesday about the lack of armor for their vehicles and long deployments, drawing a blunt retort from the Pentagon chief.

“You go to war with the Army you have,” he said in a rare public airing of rank-and-file concerns among the troops.”

Read this Washington Post article with interviews with some current and former CIA officals discussing the new intelligence bill. Did we do the right thing in making this bill such a priority?

Director’s Control Is a Concern : “The compromise legislation approved by the House yesterday in response to the Sept. 11 commission’s findings represents a historic reordering of the $40 billion intelligence community.

But some experts say it is not at all evident how, or even if, the changes would help America’s spies obtain secrets and aid analysts in determining the intentions of terrorists bent on striking again or worrisome nations developing weapons of mass destruction.”

Where does your school really rank? Does your school really want you to know how well it teaches students?

Read this interesting article and find out if your school is letting you know how it really does its job.

washingtonpost.com: Finding the Best, Not the Best-Known, Colleges: “Two years ago, as I was finishing a book debunking the myth of Ivy League academic superiority, it occurred to me that I wasn’t offering any useful alternatives. I presented the research showing that ancient universities with big names don’t add anything to their students lives that they cannot get elsewhere. It is the students’ characters, forged before they ever got to college, that make them successful, not high ranks for their alma maters on the U.S. News & World Report list.”

There is a very good story profiling Kofi Annan. It puts more of a perspective on what is going on inside the UN. I know that Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) is making a name for himself in the media and the Republican party for leading the attack on the UN Secretary General, but i don’t think we should be buying into their portrait of Mr. Annan. Read the article and start to form your opinion.

United Nations: The Campaign against Kofi: “The secretary general of the United Nations fights a war on many fronts in his crusade to bring human rights and peace to the world. But Kofi Annan’s latest front isn’t Sudan or Iraq, it’s Washington, where right-wingers and spin doctors are plotting to overthrow him.”

International news doesn’t make it on to my radar very often, but I think this does deserve a note. Discussions over the holiday weekend brought to my attention the historical role that Russia has played in Ukrainian and eastern European independance. When Russia has taken over Ukraine, Czech, Slovinia, Poland historically have not stood a chance.

While it is seems unlikely that Russia would be has bold as it has historically, I would like to point out that Russian President Putin has taken over the Russian democratic government in the past year. After his comments today can point to a worry Europeans and eventually America.

Putin Meets Ukraine Leader and Scoffs at Calls for New Runoff: “President Vladimir V. Putin waded deeper into Ukraine’s electoral crisis today, dismissing as useless one candidate’s demand for a repeat of the final round of the disputed presidential election and criticizing European efforts to mediate.”

Alan Grant of ESPN.com predicts a decline in ND admissions standards. I hope not, but only time will tell.

ESPN.com: Page 2 – Why won’t ND just admit it?: “As for Notre Dame’s pesky recruiting ‘standards’ … well, you can bet they’ll be relaxed, starting this winter. Oh, no one will make an official statement or anything. But young players with suspect character will begin to find their way to South Bend. And Notre Dame will begin to win again.”

A panel created by a New York court is recommending that NYC needs $5.6B more to run its schools every YEAR. An it also suggests that the school system needs nearly $10B for one time repairs, new classrooms and other facility needs.

All of this comes from a the NY state courts for two reasons 1) the New York state constitution gaurentees students the right to an education 2) a lawsuit filed 10 years ago requiring the state to live up to its constitutional mandate.

The panel was created because the state legislature has failed to act by the courts ruling. This is getting to be so serious that the recomendation of the panel is to give the legislature 90 days to find $5.6B or the state court system will take over the funding NYC public school system.

If you follow politics in general, this could be a very intersting battle. The ball is in Justice Leland DeGrasse, whos jobs is to decide how much of the panel’s recomendation will be turned into a legal order.

full NY Times story

Not suprising George Bush’s “mandate” isn’t as strong as most believe. There are still some major misgivings about his ability to preside over the country.

Americans Show Clear Concerns on Bush Agenda

The Best Leadership Guru: You – CIO Magazine: “There are books on leadership lessons from Napoleon, Lewis and Clark, and Ernest Shackleton. Books on the leadership secrets of Jack Welch, Santa Claus and Attila the Hun. Books on the 108 skills of natural born leaders, the 21 irrefutable laws of leadership and 10 new leadership instincts”