With so many things going on, it's difficult to figure out which story I should catch up with first. But as interesting as the intelligence failures of the CIA are, I think the real news in terms of international repercussions has to be the assasination of Hamas spiritual leader and cofounder Ahmed Yassin. His death led to tens of thousands of Palestinians coming out to mourn and protest his passing as Israel braces itself for a new onslaught of violence. This is not the first time that Israel has attempted to kill Yassin, with an attempt last September that bombed a building just as the Sheikh was leaving. The Hindu has published an article providing a step-by-step analysis of how the assassination was carried out for all of you tactical people out there. Hamas has already held elections to replace Yassin with a new leader, Abdel Aziz Rantisi, who the Guardian describes as a veteran militant dedicated to the destruction of the Israeli state.
His killing has been widely condemned in the international community, including Norway, Saudi Arabia, India, Canada, Japan, and the European Union. A protest in Sweden had to be broken up with attack dogs after anti-Israeli demonstrators began to encroach on a group of pro-Israeli demonstrators. The United Nations Security Council could not come to a statement that was agreed by all parties because of differences between the United States and Algeria, although the United Nations Human Rights Commission did not have the same problem. The American response changed dramatically over time, with almost tacit support of the operation just after it was committed growing to open criticism as the rest of the world almost uniformly condemned the attack.
The government of Israel remains unrepentant, stating that they have a 'natural right' to target militants whose sole purpose is the destruction of the Israeli state. Prime Minister Arial Sharon stated that, "This is a difficult struggle that all the countries of the enlightened world must participate in. It is the natural right of the Jewish people, like that of all nations in the world that love life, to hunt down those who rise to destroy it," adding that the government will continue to kill the entire leadership of Hamas as the organization is a "strategic enemy of Israel and should be destroyed." Spokespeople from Hamas retaliated saying, "Words cannot describe the emotion of anger and hate inside our hearts. The enemy should expect a response that will turn the ground under his feet to hell ... All of Palestine will turn into a volcano that will burn up the enemies." Even al-Qaeda representatives got in on the action with, "We tell Palestinians that Sheikh Yassin's blood was not spilt in vain and call on all legions of Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades to avenge him by attacking the tyrant of the age, America, and its allies," although Hamas itself has declared no intention to seek out American targets. The Bank of England has frozen assets on Hamas leaders as the organization declared Prime Minister Sharon a target for their attacks.
As we can all see, this conflict isn't going away any time soon as the families of the victims on both sides continue to bare the weight of the conflict. Both Ha'aretz and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation believe that the assassination will lead to the strengthening of Hamas over Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority. It also seems to signal the end to what has so far been called a 'low-intensity conflict.' Overall most analysts expect there to be a definite price for Yassin's assassination. Hours after the killing Hezbollah units in southern Lebanon fired rockets and mortars at Israeli troops, to which Israel responded with an air raid.
I'll be getting to other major stories later on, but have a few other snippets as well:
- A story on how to properly filter your life from unnecessary input.
- USA Today now has its own Jason Blair.
- For the 3rd year in a row, Walmart tops the Fortune 500 list.
- AOL is now blocking spammer's websites, even though some claim that it is a legitimate business.
- Kasparov managed to fend off the 13-year-old Norwegian chess prodigy in a rematch.
- Regional elections in France have given Prime Minister Chirac something to worry about.
- Tony Blair, on the other hand, is a sure thing in the next election -- at least according to a computer simulation.
- A former Japanese Prime Minister is urging the Japanese government to help improve American/French relations.
- The government of Rwanda has put together a list of 300 people living outside the country who are suspected of playing a role in the 1994 genocide.
- Clashes between Maoist rebels and Nepalese government forces have left over 130 dead in recent days.
- President Bush has called on both sides of the Sudanese conflict to come to a peaceful resolution.
- Traditional New Year's celebrations in Afghanistan have left 4 people dead and over 100 injured as crowds crushed them while trying to enter shrines.
- The peace talks between tribal leaders in Somalia have run into some issues.
- An area in western Sudan known as Darfur is combating the worst humanitarian crisis since Rwanda.
- The BJP has declared their intent to ensure that India becomes one of the three major world powers by 2050.
- China and India are looking to boost their military ties.
- A French citizen has been caught by Australian authorities who believes he was attempting to conduct a terrorist attack against a nuclear installation or a US military base.
- Stephen Harper has won the leadership of the Canadian Conservative party, and so will be going up against Prime Minister Paul Martin in what could be an epic battle.
- A second seat has opening up on the Supreme Court of Canada.
- Slate asks if a one time unwanted sexual advance is really a feminist issue. Once you're done with that, you can go on to find out about the IPO of a Russian defence firm or the economics of faking an orgasm.
- Apparently 1/3 of Germans have cheated on their partner.
- If you're going to produce campaign apparel, you might want to ensure that they don't come from a country you currently have a trade embargo with.
- Virgin Airways has decided to scrap their plans for lip-shaped urinals. You have to check out the picture if nothing else.
- If the definition of marriage were up to the Bible, people (especially women) might not like all the results.
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