WASHINGTON, December 17 – President Bush is more and more getting himself in trouble. On Friday the Senate rejected the renewal of the Patriot Act which was established after 9/11 to prevent renewed terrorist attacks.

The rejection coincided with the New York Times report about Bush’s order to illegally spy on thousands of alleged terrorists. Today Bush addressed this issue by confirming the existence of this order and defending it. In Bush’s mind he had to do everything to protect the citizens of the United States but many begin to wonder if he didn’t overreact.

Many senators actually stated that they think Bush is more acting like a king, with total autonomy rather than as a president who has some sort of responsibility. This is one of the biggest factors for rejecting the renewal of the Patriot Act. Bush earlier urged the Senate to approve the renewal because according to him it is vital for the safety of the U.S., apparently many people think otherwise and the mere thought that Bush is acting outside of his authority to gather intelligence is frightening to say the least.

WASHINGTON, December 16 – Once again President Bush finds himself in troubled waters. Senator Specter announced today that the Judiciary Committee will look into the reports which indicate that Bush has given instructions to spy on U.S. citizens and foreign individuals in the U.S. without any legal grounds.

The New York Times published the existence of this report not long ago after having spoken to a dozen government officials who all confirmed the facts. The presidential order is alleged to have granted the National Security Agency to monitor phone and e-mail messages of certain individuals. These individuals were all suspected to be involved with terrorist activity but the order to spy on them was given without any legal grounds or justification.

Possibly thousands were monitored this way, some with success but nonetheless all without any judicial approval. Normally the NSA needs court orders to allow eavesdropping on any individual.

Condoleezza Rice reacted in a NBC show today declining comment to the actual report but saying that President Bush would never order anyone to do something that is illegal. This is of course expected from someone on the Bush administration, most are known for their lack of knowledge and sense for the truth.

The Judiciary Committee will begin investigating the claims in 2006, the item has a very high priority on their list but there is no clarity on when exactly they will get around to it.

BAGHDAD, December 15 – Strangely and unexpectedly enough there were little reports of violence in Iraq today. On one of the most important days in the entire history of this Arab country it seemed like insurgents took a day off to vote also.

Apart from a few reports of mortar shells in Baghdad and Mosul no mentionable attacks occurred. Indications lead to believe that about seven Iraqi’s were injured during these attacks but none of the in life threatening situations as we know of.

The citizens of Iraq enjoyed this day, many wandered pleasantly over street celebrating this day of democracy. The talk of the way was simply the realization of dreams which slowly moves forward as the people are allowed to choose their representation for the coming four years. For most Iraqi’s this is a novelty and they are actually enjoying every step of it.

Critics believed that this would be a day of blood-shed but nothing seems further from the truth than that. One minus on this day is the sure win for the Shiite Muslim United Iraqi Alliance, thanks to mere demographics they are absolutely certain of barring any two-third majority in the National Assembly. The Kurds and Sunnis will undoubtedly be in minority, how this will reflect to the democratic process is yet to be seen.

PARIS, December 13 – Swiss senator Dick Marty, who is in charge of a committee to investigate the claims of secret prison in Europe, explained in a presentation today that the allegations could very well be true. Reports and evidence found so far support the claims although Marty believes no prisoners are being held in Europe at this moment.

He said he has information that indicates that all the prisoners have been moved to North Africa since the beginning of November, the same time the information leaked. One of the target countries is Morocco where he believes that most prisoners were moved.

Marty held his presentation before the Council of Europe, an important human rights watchdog consisting of 46 European countries. He expressed especially that he believes that Poland and Romania were two of the main hosting countries for these secret detention centers and satellite footage has been requested to establish whether two airports in these countries may have functioned as such a center.

He clearly also condemned Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for not denying the allegations of secret prisons but merely ignoring these questions without any explanation. Marty also admitted that the information available to his committee clearly shows that individuals have been abducted and transferred without any respect for legal processes.

PENNSYLVANIA, December 12 – President Bush held his first speech in a series of three leading up to the elections on December 15th in Iraq. His goal is to increase support for the war in Iraq in times that his approval rating is at an all-time low.

Several causes can be identified for the lacking support for this war. One of the most important reasons is the casualty rate, over 2,100 U.S. soldiers have died in this war and the rate is not slowing down. Also a major factor is the fact that the public sees no real progress, the insurgent attacks remain and even increase on times, the democratic process is slow and the citizens in Iraq would rather see the U.S. troops go.

Despite all this Bush still thinks he has made the right decision, in his speech today he even noted that if he had to make the choice again with all the knowledge he has gained since he would do it the same. Some might say that just makes him a hard learner.

In an unusual move the President allowed questions from the audience after the speech, a risky move. One reporter asked why he keeps linking 9/11 to the war in Iraq. Bush answered that 9/11 changed his view on foreign policy forever and the threat of Saddam Hussein was accentuated by the terror attacks. Another reporter asked if he knew how many Iraqi’s died in the war so far. Bush responded with an estimation of 30,000. An unreal number but quite possibly accurate, he added that every new democracy faces its challenges and even compared the Iraq situation to the foundation of the United States.

It’s highly unlikely he will be able to round up support for a war that should have never been started. Instead of learning from his mistakes he keeps making new ones, luckily it’s just a matter of time before he will be gone from the stage forever.

LONDON, December 11 – The residents of Hemel Hempstead, 30 miles north of London, had a rude awakening this morning as a nearby fuel depot suffered blast after blast. The cause of these explosions are still unknown but an attack should not be discarded immediately.

Witnesses reported either hearing a plane crash or seeing a plane crash into the fuel depot but there has been no official response toward these statements or any other regarding the cause of these immense explosions.

The town of Hemel Hempstead was awakened by these big blasts which lit the sky and rocked many homes. There have been reports of blown in doors and garage doors, cars have been damaged and many windows shattered when the shockwave hit the town. The Ramada Hotel not far away of the disaster site was evacuated as many injuries occurred because of the shattered windows. There have been no official reports on casualties or deaths but it seems as though there should be a large number of casualties given the power of the blast.