Before September 11th, 2001, American military strategy in Africa was little more than a cursory investment to buffer its interests against those of the Soviet Union, then Russia, China, and the Middle East governments. Now the Pentagon is taking a new approach to the African continent, one that may be especially welcome.
Part of the new strategy is to create a new regional headquarters called “Africa Command”
responsible for coordinating American military projects on that continent.
After being
found guilty of kidnapping and robbery, OJ Simpson is being being held away from other prisoners for his own safety, and is planning a motion for new trial. He's waiting to see if he'll be released on bond pending that appeal, a move considered unlikely due to the seriousness of the crimes he was convicted of. His attorney said Simpson will be alone, is planning not to do media interviews and is allowed to see only family members and a few friends.
Update: Here's
how each representative voted on the bill, by state.
Update II: In a speech from the Rose Garden, President Bush noted the effect of the Bailout Bill will "take some time." He's
expected to sign it this afternoon.
Nebraska recently became the first state to
permit the abandonment of anyone under 19 years of age, despite speculation that such a law might encourage anyone with an unruly or disabled child to simply leave them at a safe haven. It looks like those fears have been justified.
Last month, 15 older children in Nebraska were dropped off at safe-haven spots after their parents or guardians deemed them unmanageable, according to the
New York Times.
These pictures of kids in Gaza celebrating the end of Ramadan stopped me in my tracks this morning. The celebration, Eid al-Fitr, marks the end of Ramadan, the 30-day period of daylight abstinence from food and drink observed by Muslims. It's a three-day "festival of the fast-breaking," a joyous time to visit friends and relatives and to give to those in need ensuring that everyone will have a holiday meal —
especially important this year as more and more feel financial woes.
Despite assertions that AIDS is
a government conspiracy (recently by Rev. Jeremiah Wright) a
new study released in the journal Nature yesterday, pinpoints the origin of the disease 100 years ago. The new finding shifts the origination back in time from the previous estimation of 1930.
When American politicians do something awkward they
have to answer to YouTube, but Pakistan's new president, Asif Ali Zardari, has to answer to religious leaders and feminists. A religious leader issued a fatwa, a nonbinding opinion on Islamic law, condemning Zardari for flirting with Sarah Palin at the UN. The radical prayer leader
said Zardari disgraced the whole nation with "indecent gestures, filthy remarks, and repeated praise of a non-Muslim lady wearing a short skirt."
The Senate has
passed their version of the Bailout Bill with a vote of 74-25. McCain, Obama, and Biden all voted "yes." The Senate burned the midnight oil tonight, voting on a new version of the Bailout that failed the House earlier this week.
Spread out
across the floor in John McCain's Senate office, Code Pink protesters chanted, "Bailout over my dead body," yesterday. Along with a plethora of cameras, the protesters then made their way over to Barack Obama's office. The group is among those Americans who oppose a Wall Street bailout.
Jamil Ziyadaliev is
a professional Stalin impersonator in Georgia. Hosts of weddings and other events pay him to dress up as the Soviet dictator. But he also sports the costume on days off, and I don't blame him.
