TODAY'S TOP FIVE: 82 to 73.
It's Not Often I Use the Word "Hero," But Emeka Okafor is the Greatest Hero in American History 24 points and 15 rebounds, ladies and gentlemen. Forget the last three minutes: This whomping of Georgia Tech wasn't even close. Also, ignore the condescending tone of this article, which is typical of the sports media's impression of UConn: "...Connecticut has moved up with the big boys. They have been on the edge of the elite, these Huskies. A very good program yearning to be great." Um, one national championship, more Big East championships than any other program in history, and 12 NCAA tournament appearances under Jim Calhoun, and the Huskies weren't "with the big boys"? Like who, Cincinnati? Chump. But, as Tupac once said, I ain't mad at cha: This is a day to bask in the glow of another Husky championship.
June 30 Can't Come Soon Enough This is also a day to reflect on just how poorly things are going for our occupation of Iraq: Eight more American soldiers were killed in fighting today, along with who-knows-how-many Iraqis. In addition to the operation around the restive city of Fallujah, our troops are still squaring off with the supporters of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Don't worry, though. Paul Bremer's on top of it: "We have problems, there's no hiding that. But basically Iraq is on track to realize the kind of Iraq that Iraqis want and Americans want, which is a democratic Iraq," Bremer says. The question, though, is what kind of America do Iraqis want?
"10 Years Into the Future and We're Still Counting the Dead and the Dying" 10 years ago today, the Hutu Power government in Rwanda began the worst campaign of genocide since World War II against the country's Tutsi minority. By June 1, 800,000 people were dead, most killed by guns, clubs, and machetes. 10 years later, the Rwandan government is showing signs that it's not going to accept the international community's "Oops, my bad" and move on: In addition to tribunals for Hutu genocidaires, the government also wants trials for foreigners who were complicit or active in the genocide, specifically the French. During 1994, the French military actually intervened on the side of the Hutu Power government: their aid, which included training and weapons as well as combat troops, led directly to the deaths of tens of thousands. Meanwhile, the UN - at the behest of "humanitarians" like Madeleine Albright and Bill Clinton - refused to allow their troops in the country to intervene and stop the genocide. Says Romeo Dallaire, the Canadian who was in charge of the UN military mission in the country at the time: "I'm sure there would have been more reaction if someone had tried to exterminate Rwanda's 300 mountain gorillas."
That's Not a General Strike: That's a Three-Day Weekend A three-day general strike called by Maoist revolutionaries in Nepal has shut down much of the country. Nepal's bloody little civil war is interesting in that it pits two hopeless anachronisms against each other: a hereditary monarchy versus Maoist guerrillas. This war just needs an economy based on maintaining a favorable balance of trade in the form of gold to be complete.
On Second Thought, Perhaps Maoist Revolutionaries Are On to Something Here's a real kick in the ass: Between 1996 and 2000, 60 percent of US corporations paid no federal taxes. Yes, read that again: In the year 2000, you paid more in federal income tax than Raytheon did. Raytheon makes missiles: You make $28,000 a year at the only job your liberal arts degree could obtain for you. In fact, corporate tax receipts have fallen to the second-lowest percentage of federal revenue since 1934. You know what this country needs? A tax cut!
-Consider Arms, Husky Diehard
