Weekend Roundup 9/13/2010

Worth reading…

Every week, the CQR Blog will feature comments from CQ Researcher writers and editors on stories they read over the weekend and liked. We hope you’ll join in the conversation and post your favorite reads in the comment section.
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Here's what we read over the weekend:

Ted Koppel: Nine years after 9/11, let's stop playing into bin Laden's hands
Ted Koppel, The Washington Post, 9/12/10

Synopsis: A useful and timely critique of the American response to 9/11 from the managing editor of ABC's "Nightline" from 1980 to 2005.
Takeaway: He warns that bad decisions on the terror front play into the hands of the very foes we seek to defeat.

  • Tom Billitteri, Assistant Managing Editor, CQ Researcher
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Quran Burning Story: This Is How the Media Embarrass Themselves
Jason Linkins, Huffington Post.com, 9/10/10

Synopsis: Linkins delivers some funny lines as he skewers the media for pandering to pastor Terry Jones, "the leader of a microscopic cult of idiots who announced plans to stage an 'international day' of Quran burning in Gainesville, Fla."
Takeaway: You'll be crying and laughing at the same time on how the media's lack of responsibility is all too true.
  • Tom Colin, Managing Editor, CQ Researcher
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Woman’s link to Mexican drug cartels a saga of corruption on U.S. side of border
Ceci Connolly, The Washington Post, 9/12/10

Synopsis: With so much attention focused on the violence and corruption of the drug wars across the Mexican border, this is a thorough and vivid account of another aspect of the problem: the risk of corrupt agents within the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol itself. The piece details the years-long undercover investigation that led to the 20-year prison sentence of Martha Garnica, a veteran Border Patrol agent who led a lucrative double life.
Takeaway: A Homeland Security official told Connolly that it would be “naïve” to think that Garnica is the only dirty government agent aiding the drug cartels.
  • Ken Jost, Associate Editor, CQ Researcher
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Haley Barbour, race, Ole Miss — from black perspective
Margaret Thaley, McClatchy Newspapers, 9/9/10

Synopsis: Given what I picked up from brain scientists for some reports I've written, I found this an interesting piece on how differently we remember things, based on the emotional impact we have toward interactions or events at the time.
Key Takeaway: A pretty apt encapsulation of the very different experiences individuals have of American life that make it hard for all of us to understand each other. The piece also provides some nuanced insight into the issue of race in America.
  • Marcia Clemmitt, Staff Writer, CQ Researcher
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New Science Sheds Light on the Cause of Alzheimer’s Disease
Elizabeth Agnvall, AARP Bulletin, 5/21/10

Synopsis: New scientific research blows previous theories about the cause of Alzheimer’s disease out of the water. New evidence indicates that the sticky plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients may be the body’s way of protecting against deadly free-floating protein clumps
Takeaway: If true, these findings would mean that current Alzheimer's drugs, which aim to destroy brain plaques, could actually be making the condition worse.
  • Kathy Koch, Managing Editor, CQ Global Researcher

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