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By PATRICIA COHEN Published: February 24, 2009 One idea that elite universities like Yale , sprawling public systems like Wisconsin and smaller private colleges like Lewis and Clark have shared for generations is that a traditional liberal arts education is, by definition, not intended to prepare students for a specific vocation. Rather, the critical thinking, civic and historical knowledge and ethical reasoning that the humanities develop have a different purpose: They are prerequisites for personal growth and participation in a free democracy, regardless of career choice. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/25/books/25human.html?em

"In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. -43- On account of their arrogance in the land and their Plotting of Evil. But the Plotting of Evil will hem in only the authors thereof. Now are they but looking for the way the ancients were dealt with? But no change wilt thou find in Allah's way (of dealing): No turning off wilt thou find in Allah's way( of dealing)." Author By: Yusuf Ali. He knows well each and every thing so precisely with aboslute perfect knowledge, verily He has perfect knowledge. Human Beings are plotting, Plotting of Evils, though The Almighty Allah knows well about their plotting.

By Amy Zalman, Ph.D. , About.com There Are Two Causes of Terrorism All terrorist acts are motivated by two things: Social and political injustice: People choose terrorism when they are trying to right what they perceive to be a social or political or historical wrong—when they have been stripped of their land or rights, or denied these. The belief that violence or its threat will be effective, and usher in change. Another way of saying this is: the belief that violent means justify the ends. Many terrorists in history said sincerely that they chose violence after long deliberation, because they felt they had no choice. This explanation of the causes of terrorism may be difficult to swallow. It sounds too simple, or too theoretical. However, if you look at any group that is widely understood as a terrorist group, you will find these two elements are basic to their story. http://terrorism.about.com/od/causes/a/causes_terror.htm

By Amy Zalman, Ph.D. , About.com Terrorism is the threat or use of violence against civilians to draw attention to an issue. Those searching for the causes of terrorism -why this tactic would be selected, and in what circumstances- approach the phenomenon in different ways. Some see it as an independent phenomenon, while others view it as one tactic in a larger strategy. Some seek to understand what makes an individual choose terrorism, while others look at it at the level of a group. http://terrorism.about.com/od/causes/tp/Causes_of_Terrorism.htm

By PHILIP TAUBMAN Published: February 18, 2009 Stanford, Calif. THE Obama administration seems ready to resuscitate relations with Russia, including by renewing nuclear-arms-reduction talks. Even before the inaugural parade wound down, the White House Web site offered up a list of ambitious nuclear policy goals, with everything from making bomb-making materials more secure to the eventual abolition of nuclear weapons. That’s welcome news, but for such goals to be realized, the White House will need to be prepared to reimagine and reshape the nuclear era and, against strong opposition, break free from cold war thinking and better address the threats America faces today. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/19/opinion/19taubman.html?ref=opinion

By LYNNLEY BROWNING Published: February 18, 2009 In the hush-hush world of Swiss banking, the unthinkable is happening: secrets are spilling into the open. UBS, the largest bank in Switzerland, agreed on Wednesday to divulge the names of well-heeled Americans whom the authorities suspect of using offshore accounts at the bank to evade taxes. The bank admitted conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service and agreed to pay $780 million to settle a sweeping federal investigation into its activities. It is unclear how many of its clients’ names UBS will divulge http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/19/business/worldbusiness/19ubs.html?hp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_IW7RWIGG4

With thanks of Little sister.

Children of Heaven ( Persian : بچه‌های آسمان) is a 1997 Iranian film by Majid Majidi . It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1998 . It deals with a brother and sister and their adventures over a lost pair of shoes. The film was shot in Tehran . It was attempted to keep the filming secret in order to capture a more realistic image of the city. The production costs have been estimated at US$ 180,000. Children of Heaven premiered in February 1997 at the Teheran Fajr Film Festival and was awarded several national film awards. It started in the US on 22 January 1999 , with a total US box office result of $930,000. After the film had become well-known worldwide due to the Oscar nomination, it was shown in several European, South American, and Asian countries between 1999 and 2001. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children_of_Heaven

The central government is widely seen as weak, dysfunctional and utterly corrupt. Disgust with its performance has reopened the door for the Taliban, who are unpopular almost everywhere but who promise justice—albeit very rough justice—rather than the chaos of the Karzai reign. http://www.newsweek.com/id/182651/page/2

By PAUL KRUGMAN Published: February 12, 2009 The Congressional Budget Office, not usually given to hyperbole, predicts that over the next three years there will be a $2.9 trillion gap between what the economy could produce and what it will actually produce. And $800 billion, while it sounds like a lot of money, isn’t nearly enough to bridge that chasm. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/13/opinion/13krugman.html?em

This week in Baghdad, the city once terrorized by those killings, Sheik Mazin mingled in a white-walled art gallery as the patron of an exhibition of paintings and sculptures that would not, exactly, be out of place in Chelsea or SoHo: abstract art, expressionist paintings and conceptual works larded with symbols of Iraq’s ancient history and today’s reality. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/14/world/middleeast/14baghdad.html?_r=1&hp

By ETHAN BRONNER and ISABEL KERSHNER Published: February 10, 2009 JERUSALEM — Israel ’s centrist Kadima Party led by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and the more conservative Likud Party led by Benjamin Netanyahu were locked in a tight battle for leadership early Wednesday that left unclear the shape of the next Israeli government. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/11/world/middleeast/11israel.html?_r=1&hp

Biden Addresses Munich Conference Vice President Biden spoke to the 45th Munich Conference on Security Policy this morning during his first overseas trip since taking office. Below are his comments as released by the White House: Mr. Ambassador, thank you very much. Ladies and gentleman, it's an honor to be back in Munich. I've attended this conference many times as a United States senator, and three of my congressional colleagues are here with me today. But I am honored to be back here, as well, as the Vice President of the United States, representing a new administration and, hopefully, a new day. Today I am especially honored to represent this administration. And we've gone through the oldest of our traditions: that is the peaceful transfer of power. And now, I bring the regrets of two friends who are usually here. But because we are still grappling with legislation relating to our so-called stimulus package to deal with our economic issues -- both Senators John McCain a...

By MAUREEN DOWD Published: February 3, 2009 WASHINGTON http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/04/opinion/04dowd.html?em

Financial cost of war will exceed = 03 Trillion $ The US troops that have lost their lives = 4000 Number of serious injured US Troops = 30,000 Number of Iraqis peoples that have lost their lives =100,0000 ( 01 Million) Number of Iraqis Orphans children = 50,00000 ( 05 Million) 35% of total Iraqis children Number of Orphans that living in streets without home or family care = 500,000 Number of refugees of Iraq = 4.7 Million 16.3 % of Iraq population Sources: Wikipedia; " Iraq war" ( Some Statistical data shows the result since March 2007)

The Political Suspicions of 9/11 By BRIAN STELTER Published: February 1, 2009 A coming episode of the acclaimed FX drama “Rescue Me” will tackle what may sound like a far-fetched plot line: that the attacks of Sept. 11 were an “inside job.” The actor who espouses the theories on camera, it turns out, also subscribes to them in real life. The actor Daniel Sunjata calls the attacks an “inside job.” Claims that Al Qaeda terrorists were not solely responsible for the attacks have a lively following on the Internet, including on YouTube , but the second episode of “Rescue Me’s” fifth season, starting in April, may represent the first fictional presentation of 9/11 conspiracy theories by a mainstream media company (FX is operated by the News Corporation ). “They’re not discussed a lot in the press,” Daniel Sunjata, the actor who plays Franco Rivera on “Rescue Me,” told reporters at a television press tour last month. He predicted that the episode would be “socio-politically provocative.” In...