Battle over the nominee expected

WASHINGTON, July 20 – As expected President Bush grabbed his chance to put a conservative judge in the Supreme Court with both hands. He has chosen John G. Roberts as nominee for the vacancy left by Sandra Day O’Conner at the beginning of this month. Speculation rose high the last few days since there were indications that Bush would announce his nominee this week, rumours spread that he would focus on women, African Americans and Hispanics but apparently he even ignored his own wife’s advice to appoint a woman and chose the conservative Roberts.

The battle on his appointment is expected to be fierce because his election in the Supreme Court could guarantee the far right side to prevail on very important ethical decisions like abortion, euthanasia and same sex marriages. Analists are expecting that this particular battle would center around Roberts’ stance on abortion, one of the major ethical problems of the last decade. Roberts’ views on abortion have contradicted in the past but White House official Thompson, appointed to guide him through the process, urged that he only entertained these views as an advocate defending his clients’ interest.

Bush has insisted that Roberts should get a fair and timely hearing, and he is confident that Roberts will receive enough support from the senators to take place in the Supreme Court. Bush and Roberts both agree this should be all done before October when the new term for the Supreme Court begins. In the meantime conservative groups are extremely happy with today’s news claiming that Bush has now kept a campaign promise he made his supporters earlier.

Cover up tactics?

WASHINGTON, July 19 – President Bush has decided to raise the standard by which someone in the administration could his/her job. Last year he stated anyone involved with the leaking of a CIA operative’s identity. Now he revoked this and set a higher threshold by making clear that he will only fire someone guilty of committing a crime in leaking a name. This step is of course highly disputable since his high ranking officials Karl Rove and I. Lewis Libby, chief of staff of Dick Cheney, are being named in a recent case.

Democrats are already accusing Bush of trying to shield his aides from punishment. Bush however urged to await the result of the investigation as prosecutors are told to be near finalization of the investigation.

Already several politicians have grabbed this chance to pounce on the President, stating that this will interfere with his (already damaged?) credibility. Rove meanwhile has admitted he spoke to reporters about covert CIA agent Plame, but said he did not know her status was covert. Libby’s involvement is not know at the moment but is suspected to be less than Rove’s. The end of this investigation is expected soon and this will clarify the consequences for Bush’ administration.

Nomination could be announced in the next few days

WASHINGTON, July 18 – Republican strategists have released information that Bush has narrowed down the candidates for the Supreme Court vacancy and he could be announcing the final pick this week. The announcement was expected at the end of the month but the White House has informed allies over the weekend to be ready for an announcement this week.

Bush accelerated his search for a replacement after chief justice Rehnquist announced he has no reason to retire at the moment. Knowing he has only one spot to fill, that of Sandra Day O’Connor, Bush can now weigh in all the factors to this decision. The First Lady publicly stated that her husband should pick a woman for the vacancy, seeing it’s also a woman retiring. Advisers say the focus has indeed been targeted at women, but he has also considered several African Americans and Hispanics. Rumors have spread that he may appoint his longtime friend, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales.

Since the resignation by judge O’Connor on July 1st Bush has had a lot of unwanted advises by officials, some suggest he should appoint a Politician, pointing back to the era of chief justice Earl Warren, others suggest he should appoint someone who will be supported by the Democrats as well as the Republicans since the country has long been divided and should now be brought together.

Start date to be determined soon

BAGHDAD, July 17 – Charges have been filed against the former leader of Iraq. The first criminal case will be about the slaying of dozens of Shiite villagers in 1982. The chief judge of the Iraq Special Tribunal Raid Juhi announced this today, confirming that the preliminary investigation has been completed and that the case has been referred to the courts for trial.

The date for the trial has to be established within 45 days but the chief judge said that it will only take a few days to establish this date. Saddam is not the only one on trial, his co-defendants in this case are Barazan Ibrahim, intelligence chief at the time and Saddam’s half brother; former Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan; and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, at the time a Baath party official in Dujail, where the massacre took place. If convicted they could face the death penalty.

The tribunal will try to charge Saddam with up to 14 charges but they’re starting off with this fairly “small” charge because it is far more easier to prove and thus get a conviction. Later on he will face bigger charges like genocide. The investigating judges are basing their cases on over 2 million documents, over 7,000 witnesses and forensic reports of over 200 mass graves.

Hellish fire consumes at least 54 people

BAGHDAD, 17 July – The worst terror attack in Iraq since February wounds at least 80 people and kills over 50 people. A suicide bomber detonated a bomb near a Shiite mosque setting off a tanker truck near a gas station which created an enormous fireball. The explosion struck a crowded marketplace where a lot of families did their shopping while the worst heat of the day disappeared.

The bomb even damaged homes located at least half a mile away from the scene. The unknown terrorist struck at 8PM in Musayyib, located about 35 miles south from Baghdad. This part is as good as lawless and often referred to as the “triangle of death”.

The mosque was especially busy since crowds came together for the evening prayer, local police said the scene looked like a pure hell. Houses nearby went up in flames immediately and body parts were scattered all over the place.

Medical facilities could not harness the large amount of wounded Iraqi’s as most of the wounded were critically burnt. Some of the wounded were being transported to Hilla and Karbala, trying to spread the load as much as possible. This week has been horrendous as over 100 Iraqi’s have died in insurgent attacks.

Egyptian chemist caught in Cairo

CAIRO, July 15 – Magdy El-Nashar, dubbed by the English media as the mastermind behind the recent terror attack on London has been arrested last night by the Egyptian police. They have been interrogating the 33-year-old biochemist ever since, with no result yet. Egyptian Interior Ministry stated that he has denied any connection with the bombings and that he was on vacation in Cairo when the atrocity took place.

El-Nashar has been identified as the man who rented an apartment in Leeds in which allegedly the bombs should have been assembled that were used in London. Police sources say the explosives used are believed to be TATP, triacetone triperoxide, an explosive constructed of easily purchased chemicals, similar to those used by the attempted shoe bomber Richard Reid.

In a separate news report yesterday there has been a link established between El-Nashar and one of the suspected bombers, Lindsey Germaine. It has been confirmed that they were friends and even roommates for some time.
Scotland Yard is not giving any information whether they are trying to extradite El-Nashar although they do confirm they know about the arrest, other than that they’re still terribly vague on details. The only thing they released is: “This remains a fast-moving investigation with a number of lines of enquiry, some of which may have an international dimension.”

Neighbours and family members shared that Magdy El-Nashar was a quiet man who led a solitary life. Though they deny he could be a religious extremist. His brother adds to this that he is a keyboard player and is often accompanied by belly-dancers, something a religious extremist would not have allowed. El-Nashar even received a government grant of $58,000 to study in England. “We can confirm that Dr. Magdy el-Nashar was awarded a Bioscience Yorkshire Fellowship, supported by Yorkshire Forward in 2004,” they confirmed.