PUBLIC MARKS from jenbrea

While issues like human rights and freedom of speech capture much of the public's attention, one of the most pressing (although admittedly less glamorous) issues in U.S.-China relations is the continued trade imbalance.

In a New Yorker article that is bound to make waves for weeks to come, Seymour Hersh writes that although publicly, the United States has been practicing diplomacy and restraint when it comes to dealing with a potential nuclear threat from Iran, the Bush administration has also, "increased clandestine activities inside Iran and intensified planning for a possible major air attack." In this eventual air attack, Hersh writes, the United States may be considering using nuclear weapons.

French youth have been up in arms protesting the CPE, a new youth employment law that would make it easier for workers under the age of 26 to be fired by their employers.

Why do I list the names of the dead before the usual talk about the geopolitical implications, the responses of shock and outrage from heads of state, the defiant statements by Hamas and Islamic Jihad? Because there are three things about the violence in Israel, or more to the point, media coverage of it, that have been bothering me of late, but especially since I've been reading more and more blogs from the people whose lives are most affected by it...