"Half of the approximately 4,000 people who voted on the six proposals rated four as poor and expressed only mild approval for the other two plans. "

I guess my feelings are the same as everyone else's then...

CNN.com - Public pans WTC plans - July 20, 2002

"One official said he began to take it as a "compliment to be called a 'f------ Canadian' by the Americans" after resisting countless U.S. demands, including special access to Kananaskis for the White House press corps."

Personal differences between leaders can have significant 'trickle down' effects.

Ottawa says Bush 'Texans' tried to bully G8 host

"MILLIONS of Chinese television viewers got a shock this week when Falun Gong propaganda was beamed into their living rooms as members of the banned sect hijacked one of China's main television satellites."

Western press sources are REALLY keeping quiet about this lest their sites end up in the filter list at the great firewall of China. I caught wind of this a few days ago but haven't managed to find an actual story on it until now.

Australian IT - Falun Gong hijacks Chinese TV (Catherine Armitage, JUNE 29, 2002)

All the bad economic news thats fit to print...

Financial Sense Online ~ Storm Watch

"Numerous safeguards in the ICC treaty will prevent frivolous or politically motivated cases. "

There are irreconcilable factual differences between what the US is saying, what Human Rights Watch is saying, and what some of the press are reporting about the amount of control the U.N. Security Council has over the ICC and some other issues. Two of the three must be wrong. HRW has lots of detailed information about the ICC, along with links the ICC pages and counterpoints to the U.S. position. Its a reasonable starting point for research if you are interested in the disagreement.

Personally, I advise caution in deciding to "agree" with anyone in this situation unless you have time to read the actual treaty. The international support for the court leads one to question the credibility of the US position. On the other hand, Human Rights Watch joins many who don't want you to THINK about the issue by making irrational emotional appeals which divert your attention from the real questions:

"The move is the latest manifestation of the view in Washington that international justice is only for others, not for Americans. Yet behind this breathtaking arrogance, the US administration is trying to determine how far it can push its allies."

HRW: ICC: Myths and Facts About the International Criminal Court

Every news outlet is reporting the strong international opposition to the U.S. position on the ICC. Here are the state department's reasons.

"The prosecutor is not responsible to an elected body or to the UN Security Council, and the court lacks fundamental checks and balances. "

State Department on the International Criminal Court

If the state's budget woes cannot be resolved before midnight Sunday, the state government could shut down."

CNN.com - Shutdown threat looms over Tennessee gov't - June 29, 2002

The United States is aware of the consequences of its demand. By making reform and new leadership prerequisites for further American participation in a peace process, the United States has created the framework for its withdrawal from that process."

The Strategy behind the Bush Mid-East Plan

"Public confidence that the United States and its allies are winning has slipped to 33%, the lowest level since Sept. 11. "

Confidence in war on terror wanes

... The director said the FBI's new Trilogy computer system will take several years to install ... He has hired computer experts from Lucent Technologies and elsewhere to upgrade the FBI's relatively primitive computer systems ...

JLM:
Lucent is now running the FBI. Got fear?

Decius:
(Honestly, I get the feeling that this is actually the other way around. Lucent can't be allowed to go out of business. This is fiscal policy at work. Nortel can probably be safely considered Canada's responsibility.)

It's Lucent to the Rescue at the FBI