| Responding to the Jack Lynch Non-Story
Facts do not equal truth, and if you want to argue the position that they do, you will likely feel as if you won, but truth will have lost. It is a fact that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, and we can make all sorts of observations about this and make claims such as "the sun rotates around the earth" or "we are the center of the universe." More exploration, however, tells us that not only does the earth actually rotate around the sun, but the illusion of the sun's rotation originates with our planet spinning on our own axis. In general, newspaper work doesn't require this much exploration or science, and I would hope the Spokesman-Review would care more about whether they can be as accurate as possible more than they do about whether they can claim dibs on being the first to report on a topic.
Afghanistan's Die-Hard Governor
That guys needs to watch his back," laughs a soldier who is helping provide protection for Khost Gov. Arsala Jamal at a ribbon cutting for a new power grid.
Security is very tight.
Afghan police snipers man the roofs of nearby buildings, nearby roads have been closed off to traffic and American and Afghan soldiers surround the building where the ceremony will take place. They search it thoroughly before anyone is allowed inside.
Last year, a suicide bomber in a lab coat penetrated security at the dedication for a new hospital wing in Khost, a province along eastern Afghanistan's border with Pakistan.
Gov. Jamal arrives at the last minute, rushed in by a convoy of SUVs. His Afghan security personnel prevent anyone from getting close to him as he enters the building.
It will take two sides to scupper the union
With premier Salmond and the nationalists now running the Scottish Government this isn't just another Groundhog Day prediction of the end of the union. Salmond can't be dismissed as the Caledonian equivalent of Punxsutawney Phil, offering his instinct-driven prophesy and then disappearing underground while we wait to see if the forecast is correct. Making 2017 happen requires pro-active nationalist politics and one that ditches the comfort zone for those still wanting to believe the SNP's prime objective is, first, a display of parliamentary competence in Holyrood with the longer-term objective of independence waiting off in the distance. Alexander the Sage's 2017 prophesy points to an independent Scotland being the over-riding objective at the centre of everything the SNP do.
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