] KABUL, Afghanistan - Will Afghanistan become a
] constitutional monarchy, or will it have an
] American-style presidential system, a parliamentary
] democracy -- or something in between?
]
] Such questions are part of the debate surrounding
] creation of a new constitution for the war-battered
] nation.
]
] Religious conservatives and reformists influenced by
] Western ideas all want a say -- and in the middle is
] the transitional government of President Hamid Karzai,
] who hopes to satisfy all sides, including the
] international community.

I see this as an exciting debate -- a country starting over from scratch, and deciding for itself what kind of government that it wants to have. Just as our own American forefathers had passionate debates about the kind of government to set up here, it's exciting to see another country going through the same process for itself. What *is* the best kind of government to have?

Afghans Debate New Constitution, Government

Superb online map collection. This particular link focuses on detailed maps of Iraq and Baghdad, but the site contains maps of many other areas as well.

This page is also maintaining links to many other online maps of the battlefields, including the interactive Flash maps provided by various news organizations. Great one-stop-shopping for maps!

UT Library Online - Perry-Castañeda Map Collection - Iraq Maps

] PHILADELPHIA - (KRT) - Where was Salam Pax?
]
] While bombs rained on his beloved Baghdad and fierce
] battles roiled the sands of Iraq, people around the world
] spent last weekend seeking a man called Peace.
]
] In Brazil and Sweden, in China and Australia, from
] California to Maine, the question flew across the
] borderless Internet: Where is Salam Pax?
]
] For months, the mysterious Blogger of Baghdad, whose
] pseudonym translates as "peace" in Arabic and Latin - and
] who is suspected by some of being a secret agent or a
] hacker - had chronicled the minutiae of life in a city on
] the edge of war. Salam Pax's blog - a log of thoughts, or
] a journal, on the Web - had become a symbol of the power
] and pitfalls of a fast-growing new form of interactive
] reporting that has emerged with this war.

No word from Salam Pax (www.dearraed.blogspot.com) since March 24th. I hope it's just because his internet access is down!

Web surfers worldwide seek Baghdad man called Peace

] The Pentagon has asked all chemical suit manufacturers to
] boost their production by 42 percent by month's end.
. . .
] The boost is needed to replenish supplies used up by the
] deployment of thousands of personnel to the Middle East,
] said Frank Johnson, spokesman for Defense Supply Center
] Philadelphia.
]
] About 90,000 of the chemical suits were manufactured last
] month by five manufacturers with plants in Texas,
] Kentucky, Michigan and Maine, and the Pentagon has
] initiated an increase to 128,000 a month by the end of
] April. That's the maximum capacity for the available
] fabric.
]
] Creative Apparel is doing its part by expanding
] production to 24,000 suits a month at plants in Belmont,
] Eastport, Indian Township and Dover-Foxcroft, in addition
] to Harmony.
]
] The company, which is certified as a small, disadvantaged
] business, is owned by the Passamaquoddy Indian tribe.

American Chemical Suit Makers Work Overtime

] Large sections of Baghdad lost power for the first time
] since the war began after huge explosions rocked the
] capital. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
] Staff, said the U.S. Central Command has not targeted the
] city's power grid.

(tongue in cheek) Maybe it was one of the special ops squirrels?
 http://www.memestreams.net/thread/bid6006/

Baghdad Power Grid Taken Down

] In a religious ruling, or fatwa, Shi'ite cleric Grand
] Ayatollah Ali Sistani urged Iraqis to stop fighting in
] and around the Shi'ite holy shrine of Najaf, the Al Khoei
] foundation in London told Reuters.

It's good to see more local leaders stepping forward, speaking in a language that the Iraqi people understand, so it's not just our psyops leaflets and radio broadcasts trying to spread the message.

Shi'ite Leader Urges Iraqis Not to Resist

] BERLIN (APOnline) -- German Foreign Minister Joschka
] Fischer said Wednesday he hoped Saddam Hussein's
] government would collapse quickly, marking a stark
] turnaround from Germany's previous opposition to regime
] change as a goal of the U.S.-led war.

I anticipate that the closer we get to winning, the more countries are going to be jumping onto the bandwagon. Some because they'll just plain want to be identified with the winning side, and others because they'll be smelling the whiff of war spoils in the air, and will be wanting to try and cash in.

Germany now backs regime change in Iraq

] "The decision also included that Tayseer Allouni should
] leave Iraq as soon as possible. The ministry did not
] provide any reasons for that decision. Al-Jazeera network
] is sorry for this unpredictable and unreasonable decision
] by the ministry," the statement continued.
]
] "Therefore, the network decided to freeze, until further
] notice, the work of all of its correspondents in Iraq.
] However, it will continue to air live and recorded images
] provided by its offices from Baghdad, Basra, and Mosul."

I saw another headline yesterday that Iraq is trying to ban all satellite phones, too:

Iraq Bans Satellite Phones:
 http://news.ninemsn.com.au/Sci_Tech/story_47307.asp

So, given time, they'll probably try to take down the cameras of Al Jazeera and Abu Dhabi TV as well. Those pesky images just keep directly contradicting the messages of the Iraqi Information Minister. Must be a conspiracy. ;)

Al-Jazeera suspends correspondents' work in Iraq

] Chinese hacker groups are planning attacks on U.S.- and
] U.K.-based Web sites to protest the war in Iraq, the
] Department of Homeland Security warned in an alert that
] it unintentionally posted on a government Web site
] yesterday.

Chinese Hackers plan attacks to protest war

] "We know the squirrels are working with Saddam Hussein to
] acquire weapons of mass destruction," President Bush said
] in yet another address to the nation last night. "We even
] know the squirrels have been trained at al-Qaeda
] terrorist training camps. Think about it, al-Qaeda
] fighters hide in caves and squirrels hide in trees.
] They're obviously using the same strategy."
]
] Meanwhile millions have protested in major cities around
] the world against Bush's anti-squirrel campaign.
]
] "We live in absurd times with an absurd president with
] the absurd idea that squirrels are terrorists," says
] Michael Moore, recent Oscar winner and President of
] People Against War with Squirrels (PAWS).

Gotta love April.... ;)

Ripon College Days - TERROR ALERT: Squirrels linked with al-Qaeda