Why go halfway?

It seems that it wasn't enough for Spain's new Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero to just announce the removal of Spain's troops from Iraq. Today, he followed up by directly criticizing the US and UK for their Iraq policy, saying, "Mr. Blair and Mr. Bush must do some reflection -- you can't organize a war with lies," and then announcing that Spain's global alliances will be moving away from Washington and towards Paris and Berlin. Though this seems like an abrupt and somewhat harsh turnabout for Spain, Salon published this article describing how the country's history has created this situation and explains the why the election turned out the way it did. Regardless, this is fairly bad timing for the Bush administration, who was just changing up his aggressive global tone in an attempt to reconcile with the European powers, taking a potential issue off of the table for the election in November. The administration is rumored to be responding by drafting a proposal for the United Nations to increase their power and role in the occupied Iraq.

Evidence is pointing increasingly towards al-Qaida as the Spanish government cleared the Basque separatist group ETA in the bombing, and the other European nations are left wondering where the next strike will take place. There has been progress in apprehending suspects, as Spanish police arrested six Moroccans whom they suspect carried out the attack today. As with the 9/11 terrorist attacks though, Muslims in Spain are very worried about potential repercussions for the attacks against them and their places of worship.

So you think that the whole new planet thing is cool enough as it is? It just might get cooler, as astronomers believe that they may have detected a moon orbiting Sedna. They are planning on using the Hubble Space Telescope to verify their theory. Scientists have so far determined that it is about 75% of Pluto's size with an orbit of 10 500 years. The discovery is causing a debate as to whether Sedna belongs to the Kuiper-Belt Objects or is part of the Oort Cloud. Still, there are many scientists who believe that all the hoopla is over nothing.

The Guardian reports today (to no one's surprise) that elderly Jewish Floridians are very much prepared to vote against Bush. The question is whether they're going to vote for Buchanan again. Families of soldiers killed in Iraq protested at the White House on Monday against the war, although things might be looking up as a recent poll shows that Iraqis are now slightly happier than they were before the invasion began. Of course, we are talking about comparing now to an Iraq that was crippled by 10 years of international sanctions, so its not exactly time to break out the champagne yet. Americans, however, seem to be displeased with the direction that the country is going, according to a new New York Times/CBS poll. Of more interest though, is a report showing that President Bush's plan of lowering taxes to create jobs might be an economic fallacy, as historical studies show very little correlation between levels of unemployment and tax rates.

Israel has caught an 11-year-old boy who was being used as an unwitting suicide bomber by Palestinian terrorist organizations. Recent suicide bombings in Israel have reportedly led Israeli defense officials to consider an 'exceptional' response from the military. Meanwhile the Knesset has backed Ariel Sharon's plan to evacuate settlements in the Gaza Strip and the government has announced plans to reexamine the planned route of the wall they are building between Israel and the West Bank.

- Researchers at the University of Bordeaux believe that a series of parallel lines etched into an animal bone between 1.2 to 1.4 million years ago are the earliest example of symbolic behavior by humans.
- WHO is concerned at the apparent rising levels of drug-resistant TB.
- Tornado season is coming up, and scientists are ready to study this year's storms.
- Salon does a story on methane hydrates, a series of compounds that some are expecting to be the next great energy source.
- Did you know that William Shakespeare bequeathed his 'second-best bed' to his wife? You can find out everything you need to know about famous Brits wills now available online.
- Slate gives a brief overview of the history of maiden names.
- With St. Patrick's Day coming up tomorrow, the University of Edinburgh has completed a study showing that Guiness bubbles really do sink.
- Rwandan President Paul Kagame is accusing the French government of direct involvement in the 1994 genocide that killed over 800 000 people, claiming that they provided the weapons and training for the militias that carried out the atrocities.
- 12 000 Pakistani soldiers have mounted an offensive against al Qaida and Taliban guerrillas in western Pakistan.
- The United States is putting more pressure on Pakistan to dismantle any existing paths for nuclear proliferation.
- The Sierra Club is finding itself split between a new proposal to advocate immigration restrictions to control the environmental damage associated with rapid population growth.
- Two Unitarian ministers have been charged in New York for marrying same-sex couples.
- The Chairman of the National Intelligence Council has stated that the United State's role as the sole superpower in the world could end by 2020 as the rising nations of India, China, Indonesia and Brazil will acquire enough power to create a new global order.
- A group of MPs in Britain are looking into restricting the Prime Minister's ability to engage in war.
- Think religious activity in the US is fairly standard? A recent report shows that only about 4% of Norwegians attend regular church services, which I assume is much lower.