Random News Roundup

- While CNN's Blitzer was discussing the fate of Afghan Christian Adbul Rahman with Senators Pat Roberts (R) and Jack Reed (D) on Sunday's Late Edition, it was clear that no one had informed any of them (via the Associated Press) that Mr Rahman's case had already been dismissed due to "a lack of evidence". Interesting choice of words since they were going to kill him simply because he had converted to Christianity. What more evidence did they supposedly need? In reality, everybody and their dog knows that he was spared due to massive international pressure.

- Meanwhile, back in Iraq: "Writer jailed for defaming Kurdish leader in Iraq". Yes, freedom is on the march, right Bush?

- Blitzer also discussed the fact that the US military command in Doha had been infiltrated by a Russian spy who had given Saddam Hussein intel on US troop movements during the invasion of Iraq. Roberts didn't seem to be overly anxious about nailing the spy as soon as possible, simply stating that the Intelligence Committee would take a look at the evidence and move on from there. Some are taking this a bit more seriously:

The revelations, based on captured Iraqi intelligence documents, could jeopardize U.S.-Russian relations more than any single event since the end of the Cold War, analysts said. Although they cautioned that Moscow might have an explanation, the analysts said some of the details were so sensitive that they would be difficult for the government of President Vladimir V. Putin to justify.

- speaking of Putin, it seems he's a plagiarist too. This is turning into an epidemic. (For the record, I write all of my own, original stuff).

- Senator Roberts on Feingold's censure resolution: "This isn't a Bush issue. It's an issue for future presidents." Excuse me, but when the US president breaks the law, it definitely is a Bush issue. Is this the new Republican strategy? To foist everything onto the shoulders of the next president? That's exactly what Bush said about troops withdrawing from Iraq this past week: the next president will have to deal with that one. Republicans: the party of personal responsibility for everybody but themselves.

- Senator Arlen Specter (R) has announced that the Senate Judiciary Committe will hold a hearing about Feingold's censure resolution this Friday and he's already determined the outcome:

Specter said his intent was not to use the session as a political forum but to explore issues surrounding the proposed censure. He said he believed the proposal was baseless.

- This story in Sunday's New York Times is a must read: Bound, Blindfolded and Dead: The Face of Revenge in Baghdad.

In the last month, hundreds of men have been kidnapped, tortured and executed in Baghdad. As Iraqi and American leaders struggle to avert a civil war, the bodies keep piling up. The city's homicide rate has tripled from 11 to 33 a day, military officials said. The period from March 7 to March 21 was typically brutal: at least 191 corpses, many mutilated, surfaced in garbage bins, drainage ditches, minibuses and pickup trucks.

- There are unconfirmed reports of the presence of 30 beheaded bodies north of Iraq. Iraqi troops, according to the article, have not been able to make their way into the area yet due to fears of possible insurgent violence.

Civil war? What civil war?

- Massive protests against new immigration laws to be debated this week in congress have been held all over the United States this past week. A staggering one-half million people marched peacefully in Los Angeles on Saturday.

The demonstrators oppose legislation passed by the U.S. House that would make it a felony to be in the U.S. illegally. It also would impose new penalties on employers who hire illegal immigrants, require churches to check the legal status of parishioners before helping them and erect fences along one-third of the U.S.-Mexican border.

Ductape Fatwa offers his snarky advice on how to win the war against illegal immigration over at Man Eegee's place.