It is amazing how over the past six or seven years the Internet and the online world has played an increasingly important role in politics. In the 2004 U.S. Presidential elections, blogs and political websites really came into their own and played a big role in the political arena, and during the 2006 U.S. elections, we saw several prominent candidates have their campaigns blown to pieces after some stories caught fire online, or a damaging video popped up on YouTube and went viral.
Well, I like the rest of the world, have long wondered what could possibly bring an end to the endless spiral of violence in Iraq. At long last a solution has appeared. No, it is not the Bush administration pulling out and leaving the Sunni’s and Shia’s to fight it out amongst themselves, it is not a troop surge, or even an attack on Iran. It is something much more simple, something people do every day all over the world (Japanese people exluded), the simple act of hugging! continue reading »
There has recently been a lot of talk over what has become known as the Wimbledon Controversy. For those in the dark about what this is, the Women’s Tennis Association have raised concerns about the fact that the prize money for women’s and men’s competitions are not equal, men receive more. They claim that this is unfair and that the women should be paid the same. At first glance this does appear to be unfair. Before we jump to that conclusion it is important to look at the facts behind why the prize money is different.
New reports released this week show that the White House is already in the process of searching for a replacement for embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales as his support among republicans quickly erodes. This comes following the revelation that US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald was given poor standing on the now infamous ranking list Gonzales had made of US District Attorneys, despite Fitzpatrick’s spotless record and widely praised performance as a top attorney, even winning the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service back in 2002.
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales remains in the firing line over the firing of 8 U.S. Attorneys, a move Washington insiders say was politically motivated. Sen. Patrick Leahy has called for subpoenas against White House officials involved in the firings, including Bush strategist Karl Rove and ex-White House Counsel Harriet E. Miers. Leahy has vowed to get to the bottom of the scandal saying he will settle for nothing less than public testimony from those involved. continue reading »
As the 4th anniversary of the Iraq war approaches tens of thousands of anti-war protesters marched in a rally at the Pentagon. Saturday’s rally was organized by ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism) who led the march with chants of “US out of Iraq Now.” Demands for immediate withdrawl of troops were made by Ramsey Clark, former US attorney general and well known anti-war advocate Cindy Sheehan. continue reading »
The issue of how to pull the troops out of Iraq has topped all other issues among democratic front runners as the early caucuses take place, starting this week in Iowa. The importance of the issue to democratic voters was seen this week as Hillary Clinton pulled an about face on her previous opposition to deadlines for troop withdrawls and is now supporting a plan which would see all troops out of Iraq by March 2008. continue reading »
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier this week in a newspaper article sent warnings to the US not to attempt to divide Europe into ‘New’ and ‘Old’ following US announcement of plans to deploy missiles into Poland and the Czech Republic as part of their unpopular Missile Shield program. Steinmeier warned such a move could lead to a new arms race in the region, a development which would run counter to Germany’s policy of increasing disarmament. continue reading »
In a speech given Thursday night at a National Republican Congressional Committee dinner President George W. Bush pledged to recover the Republican party’s control of the Senate and the House by 2008. He touted tax cuts, a strong economy and the creation of 7.5 million jobs as proof that his policies are strong and correct. continue reading »