We're still eight months away, but some of the coverage given to the Presidential election so far would make you think that its next week. Even the British Guardian newspaper gets into the ring, writing a whole piece on a recent poll that shows John Kerry ahead of George Bush by four percentage points. Although somewhat meaningful in the sense that it's the first time Kerry has been ahead of Bush in a national poll, the latter analysis is almost pointless given that the campaigns have only really begun to get going. They follow up with a piece on Karl Rove, the supposed mastermind behind Bush's 2000 election win (which given how close it was, can you really brag about it?) who will be leading the troops again in 2004.
The Christian Science monitor chimes in by contrasting the many differences between Kerry and Bush and follow up with a piece on how the 9/11 tragedy will affect the way the presidential campaigns are run, specifically on whether it is beneficial to use the event as a political tool. They end their series with a story on who the Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate could be and whether it matters much. Brad is gunning for New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (who for some reason has an incredibly crappy looking website), being both Hispanic and a foreign policy expert on North Korea. As with most things, political affiliation and support is not straight up and down. The New York Times ran a piece about gay Republicans who are still supporting the Republican party despite President Bush's support for a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The Democrats, on the other hand, are apparently getting geared up to basically run two campaigns at the same time. On the international stage, its been reported that many foreign leaders have quietly expressed their support for John Kerry's presidency over that of George Bush's, including German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. Meanwhile, the Republicans might have their own version of Ralph Nader to deal with.
The big news in Iraq is the signing of the Iraq interim constitution after Shia representatives walked away from the original signing last week because of special provisions given to the Kurds, effectively giving Iraq the most liberal constitution in the Middle East. At the same time, the US military has handed out oil contracts to mostly Turkish firms after Vice President Cheney's former firm Halliburton was found to be overcharging for their services.
Haiti continues to be a problematic situation with continued acts of violence over the weekend, though moves to normalize the situation are taking a step forward with the swearing-in of a new president, Boniface Alexandre, who was the former Supreme Court chief justice. Canada is expected to send 450 personnel for peacekeeping operations despite criticism on the perceived lack of goals for the operation. Complicating matters though are the pronouncements of the former President Jean-Betrand Aristide, who is publically urging peaceful resistance against the new government from his exile in the Central African Republic, claiming that he is still the democratically elected president. The current occupation be international troops is receiving a mixed reaction in Haiti, since although it normalizes the current chaos, to some citizens it is also representative of the nation's failures.
Six men accused of the massacre of almost 200 prisoners of war have begun their trial process in Serbia. Representing the first time that the war crimes committed during the Baltic conflicts of the early 90's have been tried in the former Yugoslavia instead of an International Court at the Hague, there are fears by human rights groups that Serbian courts will not deal with the highly politicized matter fairly.
Political and economic instability continues to characterize many countries in South America, as Argintina first flirts with default on $3 billion of loans from the International Monetary Fund and then reaches a deal in the 11th hour. In Venezuela, thousands of protesters marched against the government of Hugo Chavez. The opposition parties recently fell short of the 2.4 million signatures they needed to obtain to force a referendum on Chavez's presidency. Fearing an intervention by the United States after the State Department supported a failed coup against him in 2002, he issued a public warning for the United States not to get involved militarily.
Pakistan has tested a new long range missile capable of hitting most targets in India despite protests from India and the international community. On the other side of things, the one-day international cricket competition between India and Pakistan to be held in Karachi sold out in a matter of hours, marking the first time that the Indian team will be playing in Pakistan since 1997.
The United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan is on a two-day visit to Canada, where Prime Minister Paul Martin welcomed him with a $25 million donation to the Secretary General's special projects. Mr. Annan is expected to address the need for Canada to increase its role on the international stage by increasing spending on the military and international relief. Speaking to Parliament today, he will emphasize the need for a multilateral approach in solving the world's pressing problems.
Also:
- The Mars Rovers are performing tasks much more efficiently than scientists had originally expected, leading to an increase in potential mission time from 90 to 250 days.
- The Mars rover Opportunity has witnessed the first lunar eclipse ever seen on another planet.
- A coalition of environmental groups is calling for the discontinuation of whaling, citing that the methods used to kill the animals are overly cruel.
- A study by the Royal Academy of Engineering has put a damper on plans to build alternative energy wind turbines offshore in Britain, citing that the electricity generated would cost twice as much as current production.
- Quantum cryptography is now being used by government and the military to ensure document secrecy.
- A United Nations University report calls on the manufacturers of computers to find greener ways of producing their products, citing the large use of energy needed to create a computer and toxic chemicals that inhabit current computers.
- Scientists at the World Conservation Union in Kenya have raised some concerns over the rapidly growing popularity of eco-tourism.
- Another story about the reportedly new technique to create a fusion reaction at room temperature.
- The latest Hubble telescope pictures have found objects 'a stone's throw away' from the Big Bang.
- The Economist talks about how our diets might collectively be changing for the better.
- Dr. Stephen Urwin, a graduate of Manchester University, has published a book called The Probability of God, where he calculates that there is a 67% chance that God exists.
- China is facing a shortage of women as the results of the one child policy now leave the country with a 40 million person surplus in men.
- The Right Reverend Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Anglican bishop, was sworn in yesterday at a ceremony in Concord.
- Gasoline prices across the United States are expected to exceed all-time highs in the coming months.
- Human Rights Watch issued a report detailing how American troops are accused of killing and abusing non-combatant Afghans.
- Egypt has rejected the idea that it could serve as an policing force if Israel were to withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
- The Christian Science Monitor features a story about how Palestinian suicide bombers are getting younger.
- The New York Times has an article about a college specifically designed for evangelical Christian home-schoolers.
- The United States is facing UN opposition as it attempts to harden the rules governing non-proliferation violations citing a lack of balance in the proposals.
- Israeli-Arab laborers working on a new wing of the Knesset have been made to wear helmets with a red mark on them to distinguish them from other foreign laborers. Although the effort was meant to show which workers had yet to gain security clearance, you would think that somebody would have been aware of how bad this looks.
- Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi has criticized Islamic governments across the world for failing to respect the rights of women.
- A story from Deutsche Welle on International Women's Day about how Germany is trying to close the wage gap between men and women.
- A Berlin woman has come up with a product line of headscarves that combine tradition and modernity.
- A look at the choices that a poor girl must make growing up between life goals and sexual activity.
- The Liberal government in Canada has promised to amend the criminal code to stem the trade in human beings.
- Iran is accusing the United States of trying to 'bully' the UN's nuclear watchdog into taking a tougher stance with Iran's nuclear program.
- Remember California's 3-strikes law? The Christian Science Monitor takes a look at its effects over the last 10 years.
- Concerns over sanctuary provisions are being issued after policy in Quebec City arrest an Algerian refugee who took refuge in a United Church.
- The Israeli and Palestinian Prime Ministers have scheduled their first summit meeting next week.
- The UN, in the meantime, has come up with a proposed peace plan between Israel, Syria and Lebanon.
- The Economist examines the issues around wealth inequality in China.
- Samuel "Clash of Civilizations" Huntington has come out with a new book about how Latino immigration is bad for America.
- A new look at how Social Security might not be doomed after all.
- It's not just America that has disputes over religious interpretation -- the Norwegian Bible Society is planning on retranslating the Lord's Prayer, but not without some controversy.
- Japan has stated its intention to be the first country to sign a global smoking treaty.
- Took 'The Pledge?' Looks like you and your compatriots still have about the same rate of STD infection.
- A woman in Georgia decides to try and buy over a thousand dollars worth of goods at Walmart with a fake million dollar bill. Did she expect change?
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