3. januar 2007

Spain's Zapatero humiliated by ETA bombs Terrorist bombs brought José Luis Zapatero to power in Spain, but terrorists bombs may well erase his political capital. Just a day before the Madrid airport bombs, which we now know killed at least two men, he had boasted about the peace process with ETA that had brought an end to the terrorism campaign. As well as presiding over a roaring economy and laying the legislative foundation for a healthier, more tolerant Spain, the prime minister had sown the seeds of a peace process that could end 40 years of violence by Eta, the Basque separatist group. Mr Zapatero ventured that Spain would be even "better off in a year's time than it was at the end of 2006". Less than 24 hours after uttering those words, Mr Zapatero was forced to eat them. A powerful car bomb at Madrid's Barajas airport that killed two people made a mockery of his optimism as it derailed the peace process on which he had staked much of his political credibility. "This is a huge setback for the prime minister," said Antonio Camuñas, the head of Global Strategies, the Madrid-based lobbying group. "By making the peace process his personal project – there were no teams, no delegation – there was always the risk that a failure would be a personal failure." Then again, war has its pitfalls for a politician, too. Just ask George Bush. 10:27:25 PM    comment []  trackback []

Mars Rovers get brain update The toughest robots in the known universe are getting smarter. Engineers have transmitted new flight software to the rovers' onboard computers — just in time for the third anniversary of their landings. The software is aimed at boosting their intelligence and independence so that they can roll around the Red Planet with less help from humans. "We're teaching an old dog new tricks," said John Callas, the mission project manager with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the NASA agency in charge of the rovers. Among the rovers' new skills is the ability to automatically recognize and transmit to Earth photographs that they take of swirling dust devils or floating clouds. They can also independently decide whether it is safe to extend their robotic arms to sample rocks. Remember that the two Mars rovers were expected to function for only three months or so. Today, Spirit will have been on the job for three years, and Opportunity for just a few weeks less. Link: Mars Rover site. 9:10:13 PM    comment []  trackback []

Two Fatah officials killed More violence between Fatah and Hamas. Gunmen have killed two Fatah-allied Palestinian security officials in the southern Gaza Strip. Officials said a third security official was injured in the ambush in the town of Khan Younis. Sources in the mainstream Fatah group blamed the ruling militant group Hamas for the attack. So far there has been no comment from Hamas. Another Fatah official was killed earlier in the day, and there have been low level skirmishes around the territories. Just imagine how bad it would be if they didn't have a, you know, truce! 9:03:01 PM    comment []  trackback []

Pat Robertson: God predicts major terror attack on USA in late 2007 Pat Robertson has got a message from God, and it's all fire and brimstone. Evangelical broadcaster Pat Robertson said Tuesday that God has told him that a terrorist attack on the United States would cause a "mass killing" late in 2007. "I'm not necessarily saying it's going to be nuclear," he said during his news-and-talk television show "The 700 Club" on the Christian Broadcasting Network. "The Lord didn't say nuclear. But I do believe it will be something like that." Robertson said God told him about the impending tragedy during a recent prayer retreat. God also said, he claims, that major cities and possibly millions of people will be affected by the attack, which should take place sometime after September. Very Old Testament. Pat Robertson probably knows that Deuteronomy prescribes the death penalty for false prophecy. 2:33:41 PM    comment []  trackback []

Iraqi prime minister wishes his term was already over It's difficult to blame him: In an extensive interview with a US newspaper, Mr Maliki said he would certainly not be seeking a second term. A compromise choice, his tenure has been plagued by factional strife within both the country and government, and rumours the US has no faith in him. "I wish I could be done with it even before the end of this term," he said. "I didn't want to take this position," he told the Wall Street Journal. "I only agreed because I thought it would serve the national interest, and I will not accept it again." Maliki has been accused of being a puppet of Moqtada al-Sadr, an accusation at least somewhat supported by the fact the execution of Saddam Hussein was passed to his militia thugs. The government now says it is going to investigate how it happened, but appears mostly concerned with how a mobile video documenting the sorry spectacle was made and spread to the world. Hot Air writes that there is speculation that Maliki has used the execution to build political capital with the Shias to go after Moqtada al-Sadr and the Mahdi militia. We'll see if this ever happens. I have no doubt the US wants to do that. Too bad the coalition didn't put an end to him back in 2003, when it was pretty obvious how dangerous the man would become. 11:22:53 AM    comment []  trackback []

© Copyright 2007 Jan Haugland. Last update: 01.02.2007; 06:21:41.