70% of Americans say: America is on the wrong track

Since President Obama assumed office in January 2009, confidence in the nation’s current course has ranged from a low of 22% to a high of 35% measured in early April 2009.

Seventy percent (70%) of voters now say the country is heading down the wrong track. Since January 2009, pessimism about the country's direction has ranged from 57% to 72%.

Most Republicans (88%) and voters not affiliated with either major political party (74%) believe the United States is heading down the wrong track. Among Democrats, 36% say the country is heading in the right direction, while 49% say it's heading down the wrong track.

Entire story & thank you @bconsdr8 (on Twitter) for this link: http://ht.ly/4GnUc

U.S. Having Varying Responses to Mid-East Unrest

President Barack Obama accused Assad of seeking Iranian help to use "the same brutal tactics" unleashed against demonstrators almost two years ago.

For Iran, its ties with Syria represent far more than just a rare friend in a region dominated by Arab suspicions of Tehran's aims. Syria is Iran's great enabler: a conduit for aid to powerful anti-Israel proxies Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Should Assad's regime fall, it could rob Iran of a loyal Arab partner in a region profoundly realigned by uprisings demanding more freedom and democracy.

"Iran and Syria represent the anti-US axis in the region. In that respect, Iran wants to ensure that Syria remains an ally," said Shadi Hamid, director of research at The Brookings Doha Center in Qatar. "The problem is that Iran's foreign policy has become quite inconsistent."

Iran may still have other options in the region. It has ties with Iraq's Shiite-led government, growing bonds with Turkey and is making overtures to post-revolutionary Egypt.

Entire story http://www.scpr.org/news/2011/04/23/iran-edge-ally-syria-fights-survival/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+893KpccSouthernCaliforniaNews+%28KPCC%3A+News%29

USS Cole Bombing: Obama Drops Charges

Thank you to @bconsdr8 on Twitter for this link: http://ht.ly/4CZBU

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Rape used 'as a weapon' in Libya

VIDEO: Rape used 'as a weapon' in Libya - Africa - Al Jazeera English

Several doctors say they have found Viagra tablets and condoms in the pockets of dead pro-Gaddafi fighters, alleging that they were using rape as a weapon of war.

They say they have been treating female rape survivors who were allied with pro-democracy forces.

Furthermore, 175 people, including doctors, have been reported missing from Ajdabiya, and many have now been found to have been killed.

... My thoughts: Does anyone know who these so called Pro-democracy Arabs are?

See What $60,000 a year at Columbia University Buys

http://ht.ly/4bSrx
(Special thanks to twitters' @bconsdr8 for the link)

Thousands of Muslims torch Christian homes, churches in Egypt

According to the Assyrian International News Agency, several thousand Muslims have attacked Christian houses and places of worship in a town 30 miles from Cairo. The fate of the clerics who worked at the church is unknown - they may have been detained as hostages or burned to death in the fire.
The violence was the result of a Christian dating a Muslim woman

link: Thousands of Muslims torch Christian homes, churches in Egypt

Illinois' Northwestern University Succeeds With Shock Value But Little Else

 
Northwestern University President Morton Schapiro said today he is "troubled and disappointed" by the live sex toy demonstration on campus last week and has launched an investigation.

He released a statement saying the university is looking into the appropriateness of the demonstration, where about 100 students in a psychology class witnessed a naked woman being penetrated by a sex toy.

Schapiro called the decision by Professor J. Michael Bailey "extremely poor judgment.

For the entire article click below:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chibrknews-northwestern-president-criticizes-sextoy-demonstration-20110303,0,7493639.story