With all the ballyhoo in Washington and the big media over nominations to the Supreme Court, it dawned on me that, if I were a Senator, I should ask but one question: whether the nominee is philosophically a Bolshevik.This is neither a jest nor an exaggeration. For anyone who pays attention to recent decisions of the Supreme Court realizes that many of the Justices have, wittingly or unwittingly, ingested the fundamental teachings of Marxism-Leninism in their formation in law schools and their careers in the legal profession, and are now regurgitating these pernicious precepts in their opinions -Dr. Edwin Vieira, Jr., Ph.D., J.D./NewsWithViews

The whole world has been surprised by the scope and intensity of angry crowds throughout the Islamic realm that are demonstrating against the offensive cartoons about the prophet Muhammad that were published last year in a small, right-wing Danish newspaper.Clearly, some troublemakers in Europe and the Islamic world stirred up Muslims' anger and provoked some of the destructive protests, especially burning embassies and offices in Damascus and Beirut -Rami G. Khouri/Daily Star LB

It may have been the first and last hearing the US Senate holds on Net neutrality--the principle that Internet users should be able to access any web content or use any applications they choose, without restrictions or limitations imposed by an Internet service provider.The experts largely fell into two camps -The Nation

Afghanistan welcomed on Wednesday a decision by the United States to cancel all debts owed to it by Kabul, saying the move would be a boost as the country strives gets back on its feet after decades of war.The cancellation of Afghanistan's debt to the United States, which amounts to about $108 million, would be done via normal Paris Club procedures, a U.S. State Department spokesman said in Washington on Tuesday

PRESIDENT BUSH and Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales insist that the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping of American citizens is a necessary "terrorist surveillance program." And polls show that most Americans support permitting the government to tap the phone calls and e-mails of those considered "suspicious." When Americans hear Bush say "terrorism surveillance program," they should recognize that the crosshairs may very well be on them -James Bovard/LA Times

A senior Taiwanese military commander has thrown complicated new factor into the latest skirmish in the recurrent war of words between politicians across the Taiwan Straits.General Hu Chen-pu, the head of the General Political Warfare Bureau in the Ministry of defense, has publicly warned his civilian leaders that they cannot take American military assistance for granted, and that Taiwan has to be able to defend itself with its own resources -Martin Walker/UPI

U.S. officials have met figures from some Iraqi Sunni Muslim insurgent groups but have so far not received any commitment for them to lay down their arms, western diplomats in Baghdad and neighbouring Jordan said Wednesday.The meetings, described as being in the initial stage, have not included members of Al Qaeda in Iraq or like-minded religious extremists, the diplomats said on condition of anonymity

The Bush administration has agreed to expand its briefings on the government's terrorist wiretapping program to all members of the U.S. House and Senate intelligence committees, a White House spokeswoman said.House panel members received their first briefing today on the warrantless eavesdropping program, which monitors phone calls and e-mails between people in the U.S. and suspected terrorists overseas. Members of the Senate panel will be briefed tomorrow -Bloomberg

It appears, at least in my humble opinion, that there are several overlapping interests regarding 9/11. If one begins putting all the pieces of the puzzle on the table, a full and very ugly picture begins to emerge.What's the next step?Are there any options left on the table? (internal link to Part 2) -Devvy Kidd/NewsWithViews