The earthquake that shook China

It is nearly impossible to imagine the enormity of the disaster that struck China on Monday when an earthquake estimated at a magnitude 7.8 shook the Earth to its core. One can only begin to sense the scale of the disaster by its ghastly toll on human life -- estimated at more than 9,000 and rising -- and its merciless destruction of schools, houses, factories, apartment blocks. Jolts were felt as far away as Bangkok, Thailand, which is 1,243 miles southwest of the earthquake's epicenter in China's...

Salute to Israel on its 60th anniversary

On the 60th anniversary of the creation of the State of Israel, the most remarkable fact about the country remains its very existence. From the start, Israel has never known a second of real peace. As Israeli President Shimon Peres noted in a recent interview, ''We have had to face seven wars, outgunned, outmanned, outnumbered. And we won them all. But we never gave up the search for peace.'' Today, the search for peace goes on, as it must, but prospects are dimmer than usual and the peril inexorably...

Time for Congress to help returning vets

In 1940, during the Battle of Britain, Prime Minister Winston Churchill celebrated the daring crews of the Royal Air Force with stirring words: ''Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.'' Today, something similar could be said about the men and women wearing the uniform of the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan. Never have so few U.S. soldiers been asked to sacrifice so much while so little was asked of the rest of us.

HUMOR

Wait a minute -- Shop 'til you drop in the Green Zone?

BY JIM SHEA

RRrrrrrrrrrring. ``Green Zone Marriott, reservations.'' ``Yes, I'd like to book a room.'' ``King- or queen-size bed?'' ``Queen size.''

CLINTONS

Explaining the 'fairy tale' remark

BY PATRICK J. BUCHANAN

`Give me a break. This whole thing is the biggest fairy tale I've ever seen.'' So said Bill Clinton in New Hampshire of Barack Obama's claim to have been a constant opponent of the war. Clinton cited Obama's voting record, which was the same as Hillary's in his early Senate years.

RACISM

Living with injustice

By LEONARD PITTS JR.

I asked you a question. It was two weeks ago in this space. I asked how, given its documented biases against African-American people, I can trust the justice system.

BUSH ADMINISTRATION

Keeping too many secrets

BY RUSS FEINGOLD

The Bush administration recently announced that it will allow select members of Congress to read Justice Department legal opinions about the CIA's controversial detainee interrogation program that have been hidden from Congress until now. But as the administration allows a glimpse of this secret law -- and it is law -- we are left wondering what other laws it is still keeping under lock and key.

Americans mangle foreign names

BY LIONEL BEEHNER

In the delicate world of diplomatic protocol, mispronouncing a foreign leader's name ranks among the worst of faux pas. But that is lost on many Americans.

Immigration sting

Re the May 10 articles Dozens arrested in marriage for citizenship sting on Page 5B and Florida 'American Idol' finalist welcomed home on the same day on Page 1B:

Justify carousel cost

Re the May 11 article Drive to save Virginia Key carousel continues: How much real use does the carousel get by the public to make it worth buying? Do a use study first.

Don't punish charter schools' success

Re the May 10 editorial Pembroke Pines charter schools share district's pain: Pembroke Pines was forced to enter the education business by a School Board that was too inept to keep up with student seat demand while our city's population grew during the early 1990s. The School Board took our tax and developer contributions -- which were ample to build the necessary new schools -- and spent them elsewhere, leaving Pines families in overcrowded schools.