The CTDP Network Certification Reference Introduction: "This is a reference for those interested in learning and referencing information relevant to obtaining a professional certification. This reference is for the networking side and does not cover operating systems or programs that are used on them any more than is necessary. This material is intended as a reference, not specifically as a learning tool. It repeats some of the information in the networking guide with the purpose of being a single reference as an aid for a network certification examination. "

The culture of secrecy is hindering the War on Terror and putting Americans at riskFOXNews.com - Politics - Government Holds Information Close to Vest: "'Somewhere in the vast cache of data that never should have been classified, and may never be declassified, is that tiny nugget of information that, if shared, could be used to detect and prevent the next deadly terrorist attack,' "

Another example of misinformation by one of my fellow countryman Dr. Gian Luigi Gigli president of World Federation of Catholic Medical Associations. He is stating that the only "crime" that Terry did is to be a "burden" to her husband!!!!
Dear Dr. Gigli if Terry it is a burden for her husband why in the world HE had been close to her bed for 15 years!!! Global Catholic News - Schiavo Case Could Open "Floodgates," Warns Group

I am Catholic. But I am ashamed by this misinformation about the Schiavo case. The article in "Catholic Cuture" is stating: "A woman who can talk, who is aware, who expresses laughter, who has swallowed on her own, who expresses fear". This is quite different from what the medical reports are stating. You can find a thoroughly discussion
here Catholic Culture : Document Library : High Noon In U.S.: If Schiavo Is Allowed to Die, It Will Be to Our Everlasting Shame

Informed Comment: "Republican Hisba will have the same effect in the United States that it does in the Middle East. It will reduce the rights of the individual in favor of the rights of religious and political elites to control individuals. Ayatollah Delay isn't different from his counterparts in Iran. "

Informed Comment: "The Muslim fundamentalists use a provision of Islamic law called 'bringing to account' (hisba). As Al-Ahram weekly notes, 'Hisba signifies a case filed by an individual on behalf of society when the plaintiff feels that great harm has been done to religion.' Hisba is a medieval idea that had all be lapsed when the fundamentalists brought it back in the 1970s and 1980s."

Informed Comment: "The cynical use by the US Republican Party of the Terri Schiavo case repeats, whether deliberately or accidentally, the tactics of Muslim fundamentalists and theocrats in places like Egypt and Pakistan. These tactics involve a disturbing tendency to make private, intimate decisions matters of public interest and then to bring the courts and the legislature to bear on them. President George W. Bush and Republican congressional leaders like Tom Delay have taken us one step closer to theocracy on the Muslim Brotherhood model."

Beautiful actualization of the Samaritan encounter with Jesus Just how shocking is the Gospel?: "Just how shocking is the Gospel?"

Analogy between Iraq and Vietnam Martin van Creveld: The Blemish of Conquest: "To kill a much weaker opponent is unnecessary and therefore cruel; to let that opponent kill you is unnecessary and therefore foolish. As Vietnam and countless other cases prove, no armed force, however rich, however powerful, however advanced, or however well motivated, is immune to this dilemma. The end result is always disintegration and defeat; if American troops in Iraq have not yet started fragging their officers, the suicide rate among them is already exceptionally high. That is why the present adventure will almost certainly end as the previous one did�with the last American troops fleeing the country while hanging onto their helicopters� skids. "

Respectful of Otters: "The natural course of life ends with death. To allow that natural process to take its course is profoundly different than hastening it along. Asking others to refrain from interfering with nature is profoundly different from asking them to make, or be complicit in, the decision that nature is not progressing quickly enough - as in euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide. Euthanasia asks the physician to play God, to decide whether another person's life is sufficiently without value that it should be actively terminated. The cessation of life support asks the physician to stop playing God, to refrain from intervening further in a disease process which has its natural terminus in death."

Respectful of Otters: "We have the right to say 'enough,' and let the natural dying process take its course. We have the right to have the integrity of our bodies unviolated by unwanted medical treatment - just as we have the right to insist on aggressive efforts for life extension. We have the right to choice. And when we are no longer able to exercise that right ourselves, we have the right to designate our closest others to do so on our behalf."

Respectful of Otters: "What is at issue in the Terri Schiavo case is not whether it is legitimate to kill her or actively promote her death (for example, by an overdose of morphine), but whether it is legitimate to refuse medical treatment intended to prolong her life. (Make no mistake about it: nutrition and hydration are medical treatment, when they're supplied through a stomach tube.) While the distinction between active promotion of death and witholding lifesaving medical treatment may seem like hair-splitting, in fact they are critically different."

Respectful of Otters: "The 17 affidavits all put considerable weight on the fact that, in the video snippets on Schiavo's parents' website, she appears to be responding to stimulation. Her eyes track a balloon. She smiles in response to her mother's voice. The affidavits therefore conclude that Schiavo is appropriately responsive to external stimuli, and that she is at least minimally conscious - not in a persistent vegetative state (PVS) at all. Yet none of the exhibited behaviors are, in themselves, unusual for patients with PVS."

Tom Reeves: Exposing the Coming Draft: "11% of the 648,560 soldiers (including officers) who fought in the Vietnam War at its height were Black--when they were 13.5% of the general population. The Black percentage of combat marines and army infantry was 14%. Among the 1.8 million who fought in Vietnam at any time during the 20-year conflict, 16% were black, but of all U.S. combat deaths in Vietnam, 12% were Black. It is interesting to compare some religious demographic figures: though less than 25% of the general population was Catholic at the time, more than 33% of combat deaths in Vietnam were Catholic. "

Tom Reeves: Exposing the Coming Draft: "The Pentagon admits there were 5,500 desertions last year--and some feel this figure is far too low. As many as 1/3 of the 4000 Ready Reserves called back for duty last year applied for exemption or simply did not show up. "

Tom Reeves: Exposing the Coming Draft: "By early March, Bush had given Syria a May deadline to withdraw completely from Lebanon or face--what? Invasion?"

Tom Reeves: Exposing the Coming Draft: "during the election debates in November, both Bush and Kerry categorically denied that either would allow the activation of a draft. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld dismissed the idea as ridiculous, noting that he has always supported the 'volunteer army' which he helped create and is now 'reorganizing.' Most major media called the 'draft scare' pure urban myth created by internet rumor mills. The Selective Service System website states categorically that there are no 'active plans' to revive a draft."

U.S. military killed in Iraq: 1,469
Number of U.S. troops wounded in combat since the war began: 10,938
Monthly average before the June 28, 2004 “transition”: 449
Monthly casualty average (dead and wounded) since the “transition”: 802
Iraqi soldiers and insurgents killed since May 1, 2003: approximately 24,000
Iraqi civilians killed: Estimates range from 15,000 - 100,000
Number of civilian contractors killed: 207
Number of insurgents in Iraq:
November 2003 estimate: 5,000 fighters
December 2004 estimate: 40,000 fighters and 200,000 Iraqi sympathizers
What the Iraq war has created, according to the U.S. National Intelligence Council: “a training and recruitment ground
(for terrorists), and an opportunity for terrorists to enhance their technical skills.”
Effect on al Qaeda of the Iraq War, according to International Institute for Strategic Studies: “Accelerated recruitment”
Percentage of Americans who believe the situation in Iraq was “worth going to war over”: 39%
Percentage of Americans who believe that the Iraq War has worsened the U.S. image in the world: 65%
Percentage of people polled in 21 countries around the world who believed Mr Bush’s re-election to the White House made
the world more dangerous: 58%
Percentage of Iraqis expressing “no confidence” in U.S. civilian authorities or coalition forces: 80%
Fraction of the 148,000 U.S. soldiers in Iraq who are Guard members or Reservists: 4 out of 10
Status of Army National Guard recruitment: down 30%
Average number of attacks by Iraqi resistance per week: 425
What General James Helmly, the Army Reserve’s commander, told the Pentagon in December 2004: his men were
“degenerating into a broken force”
Percentage of reserve troops who earn lower salaries while on deployment: 30-40%
Percentage of U.S. police departments missing officers due to Iraq deployments: 44%
The bill so far: $146.6 billion
February 14 request from the President: $61 billion more
What $207 billion could have paid for in the U.S.:
Affordable housing units: 1.86 million or
Health care for uninsured Americans for one year: 47 million or
Scholarships for university students: 40 million
Head Start slots for a year: 27 million
Port container inspectors: 3 million
The $146 billion already allocated could pay for 2 years worth of:
Food for half the hungry people in the world and
A comprehensive global AIDS treatment and prevention program and
Clean water and sanitation throughout the developing world and
Childhood immunizations for all children in the developing world
Estimated cost of war to date to every U.S. household: $2,000
Average monthly cost of the Vietnam War, adjusted for inflation: $5.2 billion
Average monthly cost of the Iraq War: $5.8 billion
Amount contractor Halliburton is alleged to have charged for meals never served to troops and for cost overruns on fuel
deliveries: $221 million
Kickbacks received by Halliburton employees from subcontractors: $6 millionTomPaine.com - The True Costs Of War: "The True Costs Of War"

TomPaine.com - Mapping The Oil Motive: "It appears that the U.S. incursion into Iraq�begun with such high expectations two years ago�has largely failed to achieve its intended purposes. No weapons of mass destruction were ever found in Iraq, so the invasion cannot be said to have eliminated a potential WMD threat. The danger posed by terrorism is no less severe now than it was in 2003, and in some cases has grown stronger. It is true that democracy has made some inroads in Iraq, but it is not al all evident that elections will produce a stable, unified state. And it is clear that Iraq is in no position to quench America�s voracious thirst for petroleum."

TomPaine.com - Blogs: "The assassination of Rafik Hariri, the Saudi-connected billionaire, could have been carried out by any number of factions�from personal, business enemies of Hariri�s, Hezbollah, other Shiite factions, Syrian intelligence, Israeli intelligence, Iran and even some factions in Iraq. To believe that Syria did it�thus making itself is the instant target of U.S. wrath�seems ludicrous. More likely, to speculate, it seems that the murder was carried out specifically as a provocation to embarrass Syria and to provide Washington with a pretext to do what it wants to do anyway: Regime Change II."

TomPaine.com - The Democracy Lie: "President Bush and his supporters are taking credit for spreading freedom across the Middle East. Middle East expert Cole disputes the domino theory in the region and labels Iraq�at best�a failed state. Where changes are genuinely occurring they have nothing to do with the U.S. invasion of Iraq."

New evidences appears confirming the connection betweeen the war in Iraq and Oil Supply. It's worthy to be read this article by BBCBBC NEWS | Programmes | Newsnight | Secret US plans for Iraq's oil