News – Iraq to Split?

Middle East

Iraq’s Parliament is looking at legislation that would create autonomous federal areas in the southern region of the country. This is mostly being pushed by dominant Shia factions in the government. Considering that would leave the center for Sunnis and there is little oil in that area, it’s a legislative nugget that’s ripe for strife. Might this be a catalyst for true civil war? Only if they don’t work out an agreement.

Ehud Olmert is holding secret talks with the Saudis. This is new for Israel and one wonders just what Olmert wants to talk to them about.

An as of yet unidentified gunman kills Safia Amajan, head of Kandahar’s women’s department. It’s surmised she might have been a target due to her active campaigning.

Saddam gets tossed out of court again and his defense lawyers boycott the trial. While the last judge was a soft touch, this one is too far in the opposite direction. Something needs to be done to bring this trial back under control, otherwise who can say it’s been a truly fair one?

Another ‘maybe Osama is dead’ moment pops up and is denied.

Iraq’s National Theatre in Baghdad sits empty, the threat of suicide bombs and kidnappings sufficient to keep away any audience for the players there.

The war in reverse. If you trace the concept of “victory” in his remarks on Iraq, and those of subordinates, you discover a war that was won three and a half years ago, and today has barely started.

Asia/Pacific

Chinese party secretary Chen Liangyu is fired for seeking benefits for companies and relatives and protecting people around him “who had seriously violated discipline and law”. Good to see China dealing with a corrupt member of its government. They should do it more.

Japan launches a space ‘microscope’ to study sun flares. They hope to learn enough about the sun’s dangers to better protect future space operations from mishap when it comes to solar activity.

Europe

The Pope meets with reps from 21 Muslim countries and one from the Arab League, seeking to diffuse the ire he called up with a poorly chosen quote.

Milan is setting a ‘catwalk code’ to help protect models from anorexia and exploitation. Under the code, models will have to have a medical certificate showing they are healthy and younger, school-age models will have to be accompanied by a tutor or guardian. It also aims to ban rogue, unlicensed, modeling agencies that trap young women into trading sex for hopes, rarely fulfilled, of a life in fashion. I must say, this is a welcome change.

Americas

A US intelligence report says that the Iraq war is making terrorism worse. Didn’t need a report for that, I’ve been saying it for a while. And it’s pretty obvious as well, anyone should be able to make the connection.

Venezuela makes a formal complaint after its foreign minister was detained at a New York airport, ignoring US apologies. He says he was verbally abused and strip searched.

General

Yet another Internet Explorer bug. This one involves a bug that allows an exploit of vector graphics to install things on your computer. The fix will be in the Oct 10 patch, so until then you’ll just have to wait. Unless ‘the situation warrants it’ in which case they might release it earlier. I dunno.. millions of consumer PCs at risk sounds like enough of a situation to warrant patching ASAP.

So where should we put our space colony? On the moon, on mars or in orbit?

Explainer muses the scent of Satan.

The Blogs feathres Lebanese bloggers who weigh in on today’s Nasrallah-led rally in Beirut. Then there are the rest who peek at the latest torture stats out of Iraq and the magical realism of The Science of Sleep.

Today’s Papers has a dispatch from Lebanon that illustrates the murky mission of the new peacekeepers there, fallout from press reports yesterday about an intelligence document that said the war in Iraq has increased the threat from terrorism, a story profiling the 3rd Infantry Division—which helped lead the 2003 invasion of Iraq—and how its readiness has suffered and more in the one page news.

Amusements

New cemetary in part of England that is five-percent Muslim will bury everyone facing Mecca to follow Islamic law, whether they’re Muslim or not

Toledo workers in unemployment line spontaneously burst into song

How you know drug testing has gone too far: Participants in fishing tournament forced to submit to urine tests for performance-enhancing substances or be disqualified

Not news: Judge repremanded for using laptop in chambers. News: He was looking at porn. Fark: He’d been doing it for 3 years

Here’s something that you never knew existed until now: state dinosaurs

Local moms compete for “Hottest Mom in America” title

Mark Fiore: The Delaying Game

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop this phallic-looking building

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop this cute scene

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop the epic battle between Star Trek Red Shirt Cannon Fodder and the graduates from the fabulous Imperial Stormtrooper School of Marksmanship