News – No Money For You!

Sorry Bush. You got a mediocre resolution through, but you won’t be getting significant backing as a result.

Iraq

There is much arm twisting at the Iraq donors meeting. The money situation hasn’t changed much at all. The biggest potential donors remain unwilling to commit. One can see it from their prospective. They didn’t start the war, they didn’t advocate or support it. Yet now they’re being asked to pay for the aftermath without having much say in what is done with it. As much as I dislike my tax money going to this as well for the same reasons, Bush should be forced to go unilateral on the reconstruction, just as he did on the war itself. We made the mess, now we have to clean it up. Now that the die is cast, the money has to be spent.

Asia seems to be the main one that’s changing toward the positive. Though military aid is most of what’s coming from that quarter.

It is quite possible that the UN bombing was as bad as it was, simply because the UN never saw itself as that much a potential target. Thus the result is lax security.

Israel/Palestine

A Jerusalem paper notes, through a purported senior military source, that the Israeli military is ready to take out Arafat when the government says the world. Entirely possible. I don’t trust that Sharon has ruled that option out entirely, no matter what he says. His MO has given me no reason to trust his word on anything.

Palestinian gunmen executed two men in a public display after they played a tape which contained their confessions to collaborating with Israeli Intelligence. And so the monstrous acts continue. Where are the sane people?

A small group of Palestinians and Israeli’s are set to take an adventurous trip to Antarctica. Another productive show of unity, which likely won’t shift hardliners like Sharon and Arafat.

More anecdotes on the security fence. The thing that annoys me the most about it is how the Israelis (A supposed light unto other nations) seem to have no feeling or thought toward the lives they’re destroying for their own security. If there was some modicum of thought toward the innocents they effect, I could have more respect for the nation as a whole, but I don’t put their government much above the terrorists they hate so much.

So whatever happened to the Israeli left? It’s all history, set here for the taking.

Afghanistan

US and Afghan forces, backed by hardware, are making a big push against rebel forces. There is also some division over just what progress Karzai’s government has made in regard to diplomacy with the Taliban. If any.

Iran

The IAEA has received what Iran says are the full details of its nuclear history. Though it’ll take the IAEA time to go through them all.

UK

Aid to Latin American, East European and central Asian countries may be cut to provide the UK more cash to back reconstruction in Iraq. As might be predicted, many overseas charities are not pleased by this.

US

Some more on the Rumsfeld memo. Looking at the info, I think less that Rummy might have hand an awakening, as much as thinking we’re not being bold enough in this war on terrorism. I wonder how much more bold we can get without causing a serious problem.

A report notes that launching a fresh crew to the International Space Station came at the objection of NASA experts in charge of astronaut health. They warn that “the continued degradation” of the environmental monitoring and health maintenance systems and exercise equipment vital to the astronauts’ well-being. It isn’t an immediate thing, but inevitable.

Wesley Clark gives basics on his economic plan. At the very least, sacking part of Bush’s tax cut will generate funds with which to jumpstarts other aspects of the economy. But most democratic candidates will be doing that.

The Senate is passing legislature to outlaw deceptive spam and to make a ‘do-not-spam’ registry. Though I don’t see how they culd enforce that very well, since most bad spammers are pretty good at covering their tracks.

Data Mining. Where does it step over the line between privacy and security? Finding the right procedure that will please all is, obviously, hard.

General

Day to Day: Life, Law and Legislatures, looking at the Abortion issue and Terri Schiavo.

Explainer goes into how a Catholic saint’s miracle is verified.

The Myth of “Partial-Birth” Abortions revealed. At the very least, make sure you know the details of what you’re arguing about. The question for many doctors is, what next?

Today’s Papers has an experimental blood test that could tell if someone having chest pains is likely to have a heart attack, John Allen Muhammad’s deciding to cease being his own legal council, Wall Street backing Bush and more.

Amusements

Foamy’s Card Cult – Diabolical. 😉

Kegel “Whistle Tip”

Mark Fiore: Road Show