"Are We Rome?" asks a new book authored by an editor at Vanity Fair magazine. The subtitle is "The Fall of an Empire and the Fate of America."
It seems, given the dour mood of the country, that this would be a good time to market such a book. And, indeed, as I check its sales clip on Amazon, it seems to be moving at a brisk pace that must please both author and publisher.
So, is America creaking and crumbling like a latter-day Rome?
If it is, the word hasn't gotten to our financial markets. Stocks are booming, interest rates, inflation and unemployment are low, and companies are making money.
Usually this is the formula for a happy electorate. But, for some reason, not now.
According to polls, less than a third of Americans are happy with their president, barely more than a fourth are happy with their Congress, and three-quarters feel the country is on the wrong track.
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A recent New York Times/CBS poll shows pessimism extending among our young people. In a survey of 17- to 29-year-olds, 70 percent said the nation is on the wrong track.
When asked if "your generation will ...   more »

Paul Williams is the bestselling author of "Day of Islam: The Annihilation of America and the Western World" – which details al-Qaida's efforts to acquire and detonate nuclear devices on U.S. soil. In this special to NewsMax, Williams, a former FBI consultant, reveals what al-Qaida may be planning this summer. To get a free offer copy of Williams book Click Here Now
Experiencing extreme intestinal discomfort, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said in Chicago last week that America faces a heightened chance of an attack this summer.
"I believe we are entering a period this summer of increased risk," Chertoff told the Chicago Tribune's editorial board in a blunt assessment of America's terror threat level.
"Summer-time seems to be appealing to them," he said of al-Qaida. "We do worry that they are rebuilding their activities."
Chertoff indicated his remarks were based on "a gut feeling" formed by past seasonal patterns of terrorist attacks, recent al-Qaida statements, and intelligence he did not disclose.
Days before Chertoff made this announcement, ABC News reported that a secret law enforcement report prepared for homeland security warns that al-Qaida is preparing a "spectacular" summer attack.
On Tuesday, ABC News also reported that "new intelligence ...   more »

By Javier Blas and Jenny Wiggins in London
Rising prices for food have led the United Nations programme fighting famine in Africa and other regions to warn that it can no longer afford to feed the 90m people it has helped for each of the past five years on its budget.
The World Food Programme feeds people in countries including Chad, Uganda and Ethiopia, but reaches a fraction of the 850m people it estimates suffers from hunger. It spent about $600m buying food in 2006. So far, the WFP has not cut its reach because of high commodities prices, but now says it could be forced to do so unless donor countries provide extra funds.
Josette Sheeran, WFP executive director, said in an interview with the Financial Times: “In a world where our contributions are holding fairly steady, this [cost increase] means we are able to reach far less people.”
She said policymakers were becoming more concerned about the impact of biofuel demand on food prices and how the world would continue to feed its expanding population.
The warning could re-ignite the debate on food versus fuel amid concerns biofuel production will sustain food inflation and hit the world’s poorest ...   more »

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/
Al-Qaida infiltrating America as medical patients  

--WND Exclusive--
 
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=56693
HOMELAND INSECURITY
Al-Qaida infiltrating America as patients
Clinics warn of medical visa scam by foreigners looking to get in U.S.
Medical clinics across the country have been flooded with requests from foreign nationals from Pakistan and other Muslim countries to help them gain visa entry into the U.S. as patients.
The post-9/11 trend concerns authorities who fear al-Qaida could be using the medical industry to infiltrate terrorist cells into the country.  Some clinics have sponsored foreign patients only to have them fail to show up at their facilities.
The Caster Eye Center in Beverly Hills, Calif., for example, stopped granting such foreign requests after a couple of no-shows.
"In the last few years, we have granted this request only twice. The first was for someone in Uganda, and the other was for someone in Sri Lanka," said Diane Sylvester, surgery coordinator at the Caster Eye Center, one of the leading Lasik eye surgery clinics in Los Angeles. "On both occasions, we issued the letter of invitation, and on both occasions the patient in question never showed up at our facility."
Sylvester told WND the clinic recently has received ...   more »