Oct. 14, 2006

Many years ago, I stood in a cemetery in Santiago, Chile, as the fall leaves swirled in the wind. I had traveled — thousands of miles — to this immense burial ground, where I furtively made my way to the back lot. Oddly, it was the most beautiful spot I had found in this city.

A just-released report by U.S. and Iraqi public health researchers estimates that 600,000 Iraqi civilians have died in violence there since President George W. Bush ordered U.S. troops to invade in March 2003.

Last month, before congressional Republicans headed home to try to hold onto their seats, the GOP leadership pushed through the House the hypocritically labeled “Federal Election Integrity Act of 2006,” HR 4844.

Karl Rove’s fear factor is falling flat. Yes, the threat of terrorism is a scare, but a lot of folks are getting even more scared by the combination of Bush in the White House and a Republican-controlled Congress.

Some voters believe South Dakota's ban on nearly all abortions “goes too far” because there is no rape or incest exception. Polls show that the ban would be approved if it had those exceptions, even without a health exception and without regard for other circumstances of women’s lives.

Iran’s nuclear issue has preoccupied the international community for more than two years. Meanwhile, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s administration is tightening its oppressive, suffocating grip on every aspect of life in Iran. Workers, women, youth and progressive intellectuals are daily experiencing the brutality of Islamic rule.

A new U.S. intelligence report, representing the consensus of all 16 intelligence agencies, comes to the same conclusion many have known for a long time: The Iraq war isn’t making us safer.

The Toronto International Film Festival featured two impressive stories about music and the trials of surviving in the music world: the elegiac “The Violin” about an aged and humble violinist with one hand missing, and “Half Moon” about a man and his musical sons who travel a long and treacherous path to play in Iraqi Kurdistan.