News – Vagueness in Iraq

Iraq

The struggle continues to quell the new spate of violence in Iraq. By all accounts, the death toll on the Iraqi side sits around 280, though they don’t indicate if militants, civilians and police are included in this number. They never do and I’d really like to get a feel for what the numbers are. 400 is the general number of wounded. There are notes of air strikes and more, yet this situation continues for now.

The ‘Mahdi Army(this Mahdi?) that has been leading the violence has drawn from the predicted pool. The dispossessed. The estimates of their number go from 3,000 to 10,000. Either way, I wouldn’t coin it ‘tiny’ as I’ve heard Rumsfeld do.

Japan has pledged to make no rash reaction, but the upswing in violence has to have them on edge. Sending troops was already unpopular for their leadership.

The cities of Najaf and Kut aren’t currently under direct CPA control. I was listening to Cspan on the way in today and noted a bit with Rumsfeld where he said they’d voluntarily backed of from Najaf due to a pilgrimage underway. Likely a good idea for the time being.

The Bush administration blames minority extremists for the violence in Iraq now. Well, duh.. question is, what is he going to do about it to not only stop the violence, but foster goodwill? Stopping it with bullets is easy, but afterward there tends to be a lingering bad will as a result.

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has been calling for calm and grumbling at the US for how they’ve been handling he situation. “We condemn the way the occupying forces are dealing with current events, just as we condemn aggression against public and private property which leads to unrest and stops Iraqi officials from carrying out their duties in the service of the people,” said a statement issued by Ayatollah Sistani’s office in Najaf.

Did the US hamstring it’s efforts in Iraq by not making a social contract early with the Iraqi people?

Ted Kenedy’s comparison of Iraq to Vietnam is dismissed. Personally, I think that the comparisons are a bit overdone. There might be some similar elements, but we can consider it lucky that it is highly unlikely that Iraq will ever match the scope of Vietnam.

Israel/Palestine

The Israeli government claims that Tony Blair called in last night with support for Sharon’s plan to withdraw from Gaza. As can be expected, the British government is a bit annoyed that the confidential discussion was made public. There’s no doubt the Israeli government simplified whatever was discussed and a statement was made in response to the declaration, all noted at the above link.

Did Condi sabotage the Road Map to peace? A heavy accusation made in an interesting read that begs consideration.

A writer moves to Tel Aviv for four months and then tells a deep tale of her experiences and conclusions about Israel drawn from within the bubble of denial. I’ll say no more, it really should be simply read and considered within one’s own experience before conclusions are drawn.

Philippines

Philippines soldiers say they’ve killed six members of Abu Sayyaf. One of them was Hamsiraji Sali, noted to be a wanted by the US.

Africa

For all of it’s progress, Rwanda remains a divided country.

US

Buzz is that Condi plans an unapologetic testimony. Wouldn’t surprise me, that’s the stance of the whole Bush administration.

Counterterrorism officials quitting over frustration? Some, perhaps, feeling he is too focused on Iraq and others who feel sidelined as the prez listens mostly to his cabinet on these matters.

Kerry vows a return to credible budgeting.

Thirteen gay couples sue New York over the right to marry. Nope, the issue hasn’t died or faded over much in the glare of the Iraq situation. What’s next on the gay marriage front? Video games! Personally, I’m just waiting for the hardcore version of the Sims to come out. Give it a decade and we’ll see. 😉

VoteHere is a company offering e-voting software. Though this group, unlike most companies, is open about their source and about the inner workings of their devices. Could we have a good apple amongst the bad?

Timothy Noah disagrees with the ACLU’s lawsuit against the TSA’s no-fly list. And he’s on it, apparently. Read on and he’ll tell you why.

General

Google is getting heat from privacy groups on their Gmail plans. But when you start talking about seeding people’s emails with ads and holding onto them even after someone cancels their account, you get into murky waters.

Apple’s retail stores are profitable, but are they drawing new converts? Personally, I couldn’t say, I don’t tend to hang around much. And I’m already a convert from several years back. 😉

Today’s Papers is chock full of new tidbits about the trouble in Iraq, along with notes about the marines.

Amusements

When transporting a portable meth lab in a car, don’t do something stupid like commit a toll violation.

Women who eat chocolate during pregnancy have happier babies. And umm…men allowed to drink beer and go to strip clubs during pregnancy make better fathers

Steve Bell: Major Combat Activity is Over Being Over

Mark Fiore: Iraqi Idol

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Iron Photoshop: Crop circles. Difficulty: Not a wheat field caption contest

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Theme: Emoticons come to life