Ignorance is alive and well in Iran. Another government official, Gholam Hossein Elham, publicly claimed the Holocaust didn't happen. This is likely an attempt to garner right wing support in the upcoming elections. But it also indicates that Iran's political system favors David Duke-like candidates who run on hatred and anger.

The world should denounce this ugly statement but hopefully we can also retain some political perspective. This man's statements are more an expression of a broken political system than the will of the people.

Statements like this make it harder for Iran to join other nations in building regional stability, but we must be strong enough not to let these crazy men derail what will benefit us all.

Here is a quick poke at the Republican Leadership who is right to criticize the Democrats but don't seem to have any real ideas of their own.

Palestinian teenager describes life in Gaza - no more words needed:

UNICEF

John Bolton and John Yoo are at it back - but this time they are on the side of the constitution. For the last eight years, these two said the Executive Branch could do anything it wanted - but no more. Now, their man is out, the the Senate must exert its power. Of course, they are right that senate should uphold is power - no matter who is President - but these two speak with forked tongues and should not be taken a face value.

Like the wackiest of religious zealots who pick and choose select parts of religious texts, Yoo and Bolton select the parts of constitutional law that fit their momentary needs. They are not concerned with the long term health of the nation or our government but rather the temporal ends of the greedy fools who pay them.

The snake oil can be seen in their argument - the president should not be able to make or join an international treaty without 2/3 of vote in the senate (a president evidently is completely free to break treaties without even consulting the senate) but a simple majority vote would pose a serious challenge to American law and order.

This seems like a strong, clear statements until they admit that this has already been done for our numerous economic treaties. But they don't have a problem with those, only treaties that will have impact on:

Significant national-security commitments, or that purport to delegate lawmaking and enforcement functions to international organizations

Not only does this picking and choosing muddy their clear principles, economic treaties such as NAFTA delegate a great deal of law making and enforcement functions to international agencies. So why aren't Yoo and Bolton upset about them? Perhaps because they don't mind treaties that put more power in the hands of their corporate pay masters?

This makes me suspect that this entire argument is meant to keep the people of the US from expressing our desire to address climate change, poverty and war. Yoo and Bolton want to ensure that no international organization has a say in how much we pollute or who we bomb.

I would have more respect for them if they have the guts to come out in favor the oil and weapons companies that they work for. It is shame that these two people, who have done so much harm to our nation, continue to enjoy such high profile access to our nation's media. They might have changed tactics but not paymasters or perspectives.

Gaza - bombing the poor - blaming the victim - stirring the beehive - stooooopid! Functional repression requires Genghis Khan tactics that even the Israeli right won't support. It is long past time to find another way and the US should stop following and provide a sliver of leadership.

Bolton itches for war with Iran. Yes, Iran is supporting Hamas and we are supporting Israel. This could lead to war but it does not have to. Let's follow the Defense Department's advice and before we go to war - let's know what we want to achieve and how we are going to get out?

Neither Cheney or Bolton have any idea and it doesn't come up when they pound the table for another war.

Also, check out our missed opportunity with MEK.

Financial innovation has added real value to the economy and combined with the explosion of computing power, it is conceivable that the over time the combination would add a few thousands points to the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Almost certainly more than 2,000, perhaps as much as 4,000 0r 5,000 but 9,000? They Say Nothing points out the obvious that the Dow was at 1,000 in 1980 and 10,000 in 2,000. It took 20 of the country's most prosperous years to rise from 200 to 1,000 but that rise was nothing in comparison.

Does anyone know what accounts for this dramatic rise? Is today's 8,500 still too high? What do we base our value system on now? This crisis seems like the best chance we are going to have to step back and examine our system yet we seem to sticking our heads back into the sand as quickly as we can.

They Say Noting! has laid out a simple vision for transforming our relationship with the Middle East. Now is the time for bold visions and actions. Now American President has ever made large changes without a strong social movement behind him.

Americans who wish for a prosperous, peaceful world need to stay active. We need to stay vocal and shout down the forces of status quo who will spend millions to keep us sprinting down the path to ruin.