The Blame Game

The big news story, at least on the domestic front, was Richard Clarke, former White House counter-terrorism director blasting the Bush administration for ignoring the terror threat before 9/11 occurred and putting pressure on the intelligence community to find a link between the attacks and Iraq. The White House, needless to say, has denied all the accusations, accusing Mr. Clarke of political opportunism. Both Colin Powell and Madeline Albright both defended their respective administration's record on terrorism, as one might expect.

All this marks one year now since the beginning of the Iraq war, with violence still plaguing the country and many citizens pondering the benefits of 'liberation.' According to the New York Times, one of the biggest problems the occupying forces have to deal with is the persistant rumors that spread around the capital. Millions of people took to the streets in a day of protest over the continuing occupation and the Bush administration's foreign policy. One of the top Shia clerics is warning the United Nations not to endorse the interim constitution, saying that it could potentially lead to the break up of the country.

As expected, after Spain's declaration that it will be pulling its troops out of Iraq, with the electoral problems John Howard is facing in Australia that could lead to the same outcome, discontent among Japanese lawmakers over the Iraq policy, and growing global dissatisfaction with American foreign policy in general, the US and Britain are seeking a new United Nations backing in Iraq. All of this comes after President Bush called for unity over Iraq last weekend in an attempt to sure up the 'coalition of the willing.'

In Spain the government has detained four more suspects in the bombings, with the country still treating over 100 people from the injuries sustained that day. Attention has now turned to and Islamic cell in Morocco, where one of the suspects allegedly met with an al-Qaeda operative. ETA spokespeople have come forward asking for a dialogue with the new Socialist government of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to look for a peaceful solution to their grievances. Outgoing President Aznar has claimed to have no issue with the election results, defending his position to join the United States in its Iraqi invasion. World leaders gathered in Madrid for a state memorial service for the 190 people confirmed killed in the attacks on Wednesday. The European Union has come up with an anti-terror package that ensures all European nations will support whatever means are deemed necessary by the EU to fight terrorism -- a needed document as the government France has recently urged calm after a bomb was found buried under train tracks, although the group suspected of planning the attack has threatened to try again.

Meanwhile in Afghanistan, hundreds of people have been killed as the assassination of a government minister has led to factional fighting around the city of Harat. The central government has dispacted hundreds of troops in response to try and quell the violence. The father of the slain minister, a warlord himself, has hailed his son as a martyr. Ongoing security problems of this nature are causing the government to consider delaying the elections slated for September.

Jerusalem is turning into a social ghost town as the fear of reprisals keeps people at home. A 14-year-old boy was caught at an Israeli checkpoint with a belt of explosives strapped to his body before they could be detonated. In response to this and other similar attacks, Amnesty International issued a report denouncing the use of children as suicide bombers. A group of 60 prominent Palestinian officials and intellectuals have called on all Palestinians not to retaliate for the attack on Ahmed Yassin, saying that it would only hurt the territory's bid for independence. Despite these attempts to tone down the situation, the Sharon government is continuing its offensive in the Gaza Strip and Jewish religious leaders have been warned that they might serve as the next targets for Hamas. Although Egypt previously declined a role in the Gaza Strip, Kofi Annan offered United Nations assistance in keeping order if the Israeli forces were to pull out of the area. On the international front, the United States has vetoed a Security Council resolution condemning the killing of Ahmed Yassin, deeming it to be 'one-sided.' Here's how the vote went down, in case you're interested:

For: China, Russia, France, Angola, Chile, Pakistan, Spain, Algeria, Benin, Brazil, Philippines
Abstained: UK, Germany, Romania
Veto: US

There has also been ongoing fighting on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border as suspected al-Qaeda militants escaped from Pakistani forces through a series of secret tunnels while the Pakistani military attempted to negotiate a peace deal with tribes in the region. It was also suspected that the number two man in the al-Qaeda organization, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was with the militants, although the New York times ponders whether his capture will really make all that much of a difference in the War on Terror.

The situation in Kosovo continues to be unstable, as top UN officials now believe that the violence was led by Albainian extremists looking to settle a score with Kosovar Serbs. The head of NATO has condemed these groups as the violence claimed the life of a UN police officer. The New York Times reports that the homes of 136 Kosovar Serbs were burned to the ground just 600 feet from a UN peacekeeping base by an Albanian mob. The EU foreign policy chief was met by angry crowds when he visited Kosovo, saying that he had failed to protect them from the ethnic violence and the German Defense Minister has stated that NATO troops will likely need to remain there until at least 2006. Deutsche Welle has a pretty good summary of the historical basis for the problems the country is currently facing.

In an interesting outcome, a panel of 13 Methodist clergy has aquitted an openly lesbian minister from the charge of violating church law citing social inclusiveness and civil rights. This comes a month before the church's annual convention in Pittsburg, where I'm sure the issue will be brought up again.

The Supreme Court is taking on the case challenging whether the words 'under God' in the Pledge of Allegiance are constitutional. The Christian Science Monitor has a pretty good article overviewing the whole issue, but notes that most children do not see the pledge as inherently religious.

Also:
- NASA scientists have discovered life on Mars, except we were the ones to bring it there.
- Recent discoveries in physics may require scientists to rethink their theory of matter.
- Astronomers report that there is no evidence of intelligent extraterrestrial life in the 800 closest starts to the sun -- or at least they're not broadcasting anything.
- A German institute has figured out a way to reproduce surround sound in mp3 files.
- A company in New York is designing 3D ads for beer that will be seen in bars.
- Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are all getting together in the night sky.
- A new planning tool may aid poor communities in practicing sustainable development by predicting the results of the civil decisions.
- A mutation in a gene may have been responsible for the larger brains enjoyed by modern humans.
- A professor of cellular biology at King's College London has found evidence that certain types of bacteria may cause some cancers.
- A new technology known as nano-lightning might result in a new way to cool computer chips.
- A new research center is being set up in London to save lost languages.
- Thinking about buying that cool new controller for your PS2? It might be obsolete if scientists work out all the details on making brain waves control a video game.
- Environmental issues may play a larger role than expected in the upcoming Presidential election.
- A story about how Australian farmers are using urban compost instead of artificial fertilizers.
- Slate discusses the historical reasons behind why Haiti is such a mess.
- The UN is expected to extend its mandate in Sierra Leone another year.
- Argentina has opened up a torture center as a museum. 35 000 people were killed or disappeared during the former military dictatorship.
- Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund has owned up to making mistakes during the Argentinean debt crises in 2001.
- While we're talking about the IMF, Zimbabwe has agreed to start paying off some of its IMF debt.
- Economic reforms in China are harming the environment and creating new forms of poverty, according to a United Nations report.
- The United States has introduced a UN resolution aimed at preventing terrorist groups from obtaining weapons of mass destruction.
- Israel's assassination combined with everything else going on in the world is proving to be a little too much for world markets.
- The Israeli High Court has cleared the way for the evacuation of West Bank outposts.
- Despite the presence of international troops, there are still large parts of northern Haiti which are not yet under control.
- The United States is considering India officially as a major non-NATO ally.
- The New York Times has an interesting piece on right-wing punks that support George Bush. The best comment on this story is from TBogg, who states, "I remember when they used to call 'conservative punks' skinheads."
- Saudi Prince Saud Al-Faisal has called for the Arab world to handle their own affairs independent of American proposals.
- British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has pointed to the candidacy of Turkey for EU membership as a test to whether the West could mend differences between it and the Arab world.
- The FBI under J. Edgar Hover apparently spied on Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry in the 1970s.
- Thanks to an American banker, the UN, or at least its history, is going on tour.
- The ABC has an interview with an Islamic cleric calling for a more constructive approach to terrorism.
- King Abdullah from Jordan is on the record stating that the purpose behind the militants isn't really to destroy the West, but to wipe out moderate Islam so they can take control. Interesting thesis, although apparently events in Indonesia provide a counterexample.
- The Russian flagship Peter the Great has been ordered back to port after it was initially reported that the ship could explode at any minute.
- 73% of the British believe that smoking should be banned in public places.
- Women who served in the 1990 Gulf war now have an increased risk of miscarriage.
- Scientists decide to strap cameras to the backs of penguins, with interesting results.
- Bob Edwards is slated to be replaced as co-host of Morning Edition after 24 years with the show.
- Without changes in the current plan, Medicare is expected to go broke by 2019.
- al-Jazeera interviews a Chechen diplomat talking about the 'slow genocide' that has taken place in his country.
- Germany and Poland have come to an agreement over the EU constitution, leading to speculation that a deal could be in place by June.
- A county in Oregon has banned all marriages altogether until the state decides who can and can not wed.
- Another common problem that gay couples are just starting to face: how does the custody of children work if the couple splits?
- Ha'aretz questions why the IDF allows religious women to be exempt from duty but not secular women.
- A court in Taiwan has blocked a bid by opposition parties to declare the recent presidential elections invalid.
- A judge in Ohio is sentencing people with DUIs to use crimson license plates so that other motorists know what they have done.
- Canada has passed legislation paving the way for its generic drug manufacturers to sell their drugs cheaply to developing nations.
- Can gay men actually be gay on TV?
- Wal-Mart has made a splash on the music download business offering 88 cent downloads.
- Corporate websites may be no more than 'financial black holes.'
- The EU has ruled that Microsoft is abusing its near monopoly status and has ordered the company to pay a fine of more than $600 million.
- A story in the Atlantic Monthly about the fall of the Dean campaign from the inside.
- A Wired article on the goodness that is RSS.
- The post-9/11 edition of The Onion was considered for a Pulitzer Prize.
- The Olympic flame is lit in Athens.
- Monty Python's The Life of Brian is returning to theatres in response to the success of The Passion.