"Georgia Goes Full Throttle With Privatization:

Former Soviet Republic Hopes Sales Will Raise More Than $1 Billion"

Selina Williams, Wall Street Journal

As Georgia celebrates the first anniversary of its bloodless revolution, its leaders are telling foreign investors that nearly everything is for sale.

Airports, seaports and the country's entire telecommunications network are among 1,800 state-owned assets that will go on the block in the former Soviet republic over the next two years.

"Press Routinely Undercounts U.S. Casualties in Iraq"

Editor and Publisher

As the toll of Americans killed and wounded in Iraq in November approaches record levels for one month in this war, is the press only telling part of the story?

The Pentagon's latest official count, provided on Wednesday, listed 1230 American military killed in Iraq and another 9300 U.S. troops wounded in action. How seriously? More than 5000 of them were too badly injured to return to duty. More than 850 troops were reported to have been wounded in action in Falluja so far.

But this only scratches the surface of the total toll.

"A Very Haitian Story"

Edwidge Danticat, New York Times

Miami — On Sunday, Oct. 24, United Nations troops and Haitian police forces launched a military operation in Bel-Air, one of the poorest and most volatile neighborhoods in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince. Their stated goal was to oust armed gangs, some of which are still loyal to Haiti's deposed president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

"Is 'Fair Use' in Peril?"

Eric Hellweg, technologyreview.com

The far-reaching Intellectual Property Protection Act would
deny consumers many of the freedoms they take for granted.

Do you like fast-forwarding through commercials on a
television program you've recorded? How much do you like it?
Enough to go to jail if you're caught doing it? If a new
copyright and intellectual property omnibus bill sitting on
Congress's desk passes, that may be the choice you'll face.

Former Head of CIA's Bin Laden Unit Says the U.S. Misunderstands the Al Qaeda Leader

Nov. 17, 2004 — Michael Scheuer, a former CIA analyst who headed the agency's Osama bin Laden unit, tells ABC News' Peter Jennings in an interview that the U.S. government has a fundamental misunderstanding of the al Qaeda leader.

Scheuer, who published the book "Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror" under the name "Anonymous," started profiling bin Laden in the mid-1980s. He resigned from the CIA this month so he could speak freely about what he regards as a general failure to understand bin Laden.

Following is an excerpt of the interview:

Peter Jennings: Can you tell me, first of all, what do you think of Osama bin Laden?

Michael Scheuer: He is a dedicated pious Muslim. An apparently devout family man. He is also that odd combination of a 12th century religious person, and a modern, almost the CEO-type, officer. He manages an entirely unique multinational organization and does it very well. His actions, of course, are reprehensible in our perception. And we need to kill him and defeat him.

Jennings: Why is his "piety," or his "religion," if you will, relevant to our security?

Scheuer: It's relevant, sir, because, many Muslims in the Islamic world regard as an "assault on their religion" — certainly our presence on the Arabian peninsula remains a grievous offense to many, many Muslims, whether they support bin Laden or not.

Jennings: Because that's where two of the holy places are located.

Scheuer: And the homeland of the prophets, sir. It's the first holiest place in Islam. With the war in Iraq, we now occupy the second holiest place in Islam. And with the Israelis holding Jerusalem, they occupy the third holiest place. So in a sense, we have managed to portray ourselves as the "invaders of Islamic sanctities."

"Dollar's Decline Is Reverberating"

David Streitfeld, Los Angeles Times

During a routine sale of U.S. Treasury bonds in early September, one of the essential pillars holding up the economy suddenly disappeared.

Foreigners have been regularly buying nearly half of all debt issued by the U.S. government. On Sept. 9, for the first time that anyone could remember, they stayed home.

"Thoughts of panic flickered out there," said Sadakichi Robbins, head of global fixed-income trading at Bank Julius Baer.

U.S. Judge Finds Islamic Groups Liable in West Bank Death
Michael Conlon

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Two U.S. Islamic organizations and a man charged with bankrolling the Palestinian group Hamas were found liable for damages on Wednesday in the death of an American-born student gunned down in the West Bank in 1996.

"This ruling is very significant because it sends a message that organizations which try to pose as charities or individuals who are actually fronts for Hamas... run the risk of being held liable for harming people," said Stephen Landes, a lawyer who brought the suit on behalf of the victim's family.

"Blue States Buzz Over Secession"

Joseph Curl, Washington Times

Secession, which didn't work very well when it was tried once before,
is suddenly red hot in the blue states. In certain precincts, anyway.

One popular map circulating on the Internet shows the 19 blue
states won by Sen. John Kerry — Washington, Oregon, California,
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Maryland and the
Northeastern states — conjoined with Canada to form the "United States
of Canada." The 31 red states carried by Mr. Bush are depicted as a
separate nation dubbed "Jesusland."

The idea isn't just a joke; one top Democrat says, "The segment of
the country that pays for the federal government is now being governed
by the people who don't pay for the federal government."

$17 an Hour Technology Nomads:

IT Unemployment Now Exceeds Overall Jobless Rate

Greg Schneider, Washington Post

YORK, Pa. — David Packman knocks on the motel room door and his wife lets him in. His 9-year-old son is waiting with sneakers on, hoping for a trip outside after a day of sitting around. Packman's other son, 4, dances gleefully around the room. Dad's home from work.

This is no holiday getaway; this motel room, for the moment, is where the family lives. Packman, 34, is one month into a four-month contract fixing computers at a local company, and one day closer to the end of the line. It's Monday, and the $50 in Packman's pocket will have to cover food, laundry and incidentals for the coming week.

Guantanamo Tribunals Derail
As Judge Invokes
Geneva Convention

Jess Bravin, Wall Street Journal

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba — A federal judge ruled the Geneva
Conventions protect prisoners captured in Afghanistan and
that suspected terrorists can't be tried before military
commissions that deny defendants the right to see evidence
against them.

The order stunned military officials here and halted a
hearing under way for Salim Hamdan, a Yemeni who admits
serving as Osama bin Laden's driver but denies involvement
with terrorism.