Iran/contra: 20 Years Later and What It Means: "It's the 20th anniversary of the Iran-contra scandal. Two decades ago, the public learned about the bizarre, Byzantine and (arguably) unconstitutional actions of high officials in the post-Watergate years. But many Americans did not absorb the key lesson: the Iran/contra vets were not to be trusted. Consequently, most of those officials went on to prosperous careers, with some even becoming part of the squad that has landed the United States in the current hellish mess in Iraq."

European universities fear "Americanization" - CNN.com: "PARIS, France (AP) -- German universities are trying to charge tuition. Paris schools are considering selection instead of open admission. Dutch colleges are pushing students to finish faster. Greece wants to lift a ban on private universities.

Change is rattling Europe's temples of learning.

Resistance remains fierce, driven by fears of the 'Americanization' -- or commercialization -- of higher education."

MotherJones.com | MoJo Blog - Social Issues and Political Commentary: Iraq Study Group a/k/a Baker Commission Outlines Four Point "Victory Strategy"; Will Likely Call for More Troops: "According to an article in the Guardian, officials at the Pentagon working closely with the Iraq Study Group have leaked the key parts of the group's upcoming report. There appears to be a four point 'victory strategy.' Because President Bush is rumored to be taking the Iraq Study Group's recommendations very seriously, the content below may be as good an indicator of where Iraq policy is headed as we could possibly have. Worth a read. T"

Blackmail & Bobby Gates: "One risk of putting career intelligence officer Robert Gates in charge of the Defense Department is that he has a secret—and controversial—history that might open him to pressure from foreign operatives, including some living in countries of U.S. military interest, such as Iran and Iraq."

From the editorial comments re the above story that appear at Whatreallyhappened.com:

While giving Gates another pass might work for Official Washington, which always has had a soft spot for the polite mild-mannered Gates, it won’t solve the potential for a problem if other countries have incriminating evidence about him. So, before the U.S. Senate waves Gates’s through – as happened in 1991 when he was confirmed as CIA director – it would make sense to resolve two issues in particular:

Did Gates participate in secret and possibly illegal contacts with Iranian leaders from the 1980 election campaign through the Iran-Contra scandal of 1986?

Did Gates oversee a clandestine pipeline of weapons and other military equipment to Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq starting in 1982?

Y! News: "MELBOURNE, Australia - A meeting of top financial officials from around the globe opened Saturday against a backdrop of 3,000 marching protesters, some of whom turned violent, pelting police with stones, bottles and smoke grenades.

Some 3,000 protesters marched on a downtown hotel where the Group of 20 meeting of finance ministers and central bankers opened, but most of the violence appeared to center around a group of about 200 demonstrators dressed in white coveralls with red bandanas tied around their faces.

Police struck out with batons as protesters rushed the barrier in at least two places, and at one site overturned fences and broke through the initial cordon, according to Associated Press reporters who witnessed the incidents."

AlterNet: Young Borrowers Face A Life of Debt: "Financial insecurity is one of the staples of American life, and fuel for our nation's politics as well as cable TV shows. Once the elderly worried endlessly about money matters, athough now people over 65 count as the wealthiest group of Americans. Rather, today the biggest worriers about what's euphemistically called our 'financial future' are the young, and especially people under 25 years old."

AlterNet: Ollie North Returns to Nicaragua: "With the election of former Sandanista leader Daniel Ortega as president, Nicaragua shows its refusal genuflect to Washington's commands, and that makes Cold Warriors like Ollie North furious."

Corruption named as key issue by voters in exit polls - CNN.com: "(CNN) -- By a wide margin, Americans who voted Tuesday in the midterm election say they disapprove of the war in Iraq.

But when asked which issue was extremely important to their vote, more voters said corruption and ethics in government than any other issue, including the war, according to national exit polls.

A large majority of voters also disapproved of how Congress and President Bush are doing their jobs. However, Bush fared slightly better on that score than members of the GOP-led Congress.

And defying the traditional political maxim that 'all politics is local,' 62 percent of voters said national issues mattered more than local issues when deciding which House candidate to pick. (Watch how national issues are playing a more critical role than local issues, which could favor the Democrats -- 2:19 Video)"