Senators have witnessed the new abuse photographs and video from Iraq, and many have declared them to be even worse than the originals that were published in the New Yorker and the Washington Post. The feeling was bipartisan, as even Republican Congressman Edward Schrock was quoted as saying: "They were incredibly dehumanising, things you wouldn't expect one human being to another, do to another human being. I guess I'm just real disappointed that any man and woman that wears the uniform of the United States would engage in such activities." A New York Times article though would make Iraqi detainees thankful that they aren't suspected al-Qaeda members - it reports that the CIA used exceptionally harsh interrogation methods including threatening detainees with a gun and forcibly holding their heads underwater until close to drowning. The methods were reportedly so bad that the head of the FBI told his agents to stay out of room when the detainees were interviewed because a role in such conduct could compromise the agents' future criminal cases.

In Iraq, US soldiers continue to skirmish with the forces of Muqtada al-Sadr in Karbala, with al-Sadr comparing the fight to Vietnam. Because of the load on the troops, the US is expected to seek a United Nations security council resolution that would encourage more countries to contribute troops to Iraq. This can come none too soon, as the Arizona Daily Star reports that the army is quickly running out of supplies of vital necessities such as bullets because producers are having trouble keeping up with demand. The New York Times features a story on the increasingly blurred lines between soldiers and civilian contractors in postwar Iraq. Continuing the Nick Berg story, the Christian Science Monitor reports how his beheading is symptomatic of the culture of revenge in Iraq. It also highlights the PR push in Iraq attempting to sell democracy to Iraqis.

In what can be seen as a large upset, the ruling BJP in India has been tossed from power in parliamentary elections with Sonia Ghandi becoming the new Prime Minister. The Congress party and its allies have won 220 seats with the BJP and allies winning 189. The BJP were expected to win another majority because of a thriving economy, but the new opportunities are not shared by all, leading to a rejection of his party from those missing out on the economic boom. Indian financial markets have rebounded after receiving the news of a majority Congress government, outgoing Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is expected to resign this evening, and Congress is now preparing to form government.

The New York Times published an interesting article on the complexities of this year's presidential race for the campaigns and the candidates. In a what could make an interesting match, John Kerry has announced that, if elected President, he would likely name Arizona Senator John McCain as Secretary of Defense. McCain of course dismissed the comments when made, but how much if it is just party loyalty in an election year? Kerry has also launched into Bush about his policies in Iraq, calling it an "extraordinarily mismanaged and ineptly prosecuted war." He could mention, in addition, the work of student of U of I Champaign who, in a recent paper, catalogued 27 different rationales used by the Bush administration at one point or another to defend the decision to go to war in Iraq.


Also:
- A quantum physics breakthrough could boost the capacity of CDs by a factor of nine or more.
- The world is becoming a darker place -- physically. The amount of sunshine reaching the Earth has dropped 10% to 37%, depending on the location, since the 1950s.
- Physicists are building a particle detector inside a Teotihuacan pyramid to discover whether there are hidden chambers.
- An overview of what NASA's Cassini mission is expected to accomplish.
- Gene therapy may help in blocking the spread of HIV.
- Too much testosterone may inhibit social development.
- So called 'junk' DNA, long sections of genetic code that scientists previously thought did nothing, is found to have not evolved for millions of years in certain studied animals, creating a new interest for scientists.
- EPA estimates on fuel mileage are always higher than reality, but for hybrid cars, the difference can be stunning.
- Militants on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border have agreed to register with the Pakistani government.
- A Greek extremist group has claimed responsibility for the Athens bomb attacks last week.
- China has jailed yet another human rights activist for illegally entering the country and spying.
- More than 30 000 Chileans who claim to be victims of torture under the former regime of General Augusto Pinochet have come forward to voluntarily testify to a government commission examining his abuses.
- Oxfam is launching its own fair trade coffee shop.
- Michael Moore will have his new film, Fahrenheit 911, distributed in the United States, but not under Disney.
- Following up the record set for the most expensive painting last week, Jackson Pollock has set a personal best with a selling price of $11.65 million. While we're on Pollock, I thought it would be interesting link to an older BBC article showing that his paintings aren't as random as they look.
- Canada has pledged over $100 million dollars for AIDS treatment in developing countries, winning the support of developing nation activists like Bono.
- Looks like the Sydney tarponds cleanup is now international news, as the BBC has run a story about it. Being picky though, their map seems to show only one part of Cape Breton Island labeled correctly, with the other half looking like it's attached to the mainland.