The Evening National and World News for Monday, June 4, 2007

U.S. NATIONAL REPORT

Bush's Iraq Plan Coming Undone

The recent surge in Iraq doesn't appear to be faring any better than all other previous attempts to bring the country under control. The goal had been for the U.S. to have control over all Baghdad's neighborhoods by July, but with time winding down the military controls less than one-third of the city.

The biggest hindrance, other than a determined enemy, appears to be a less than enthusiastic Iraqi military. Iraq's military was supposed to "hold" the neighborhoods after being cleared by the U.S., but they appear to be turning a blind eye to returning insurgents.

Vermont Wants Out of U.S.

A group in Vermont is working hard at creating a movement for the state to secede from the United States. T-Shirts declaring, "US Out of Vt.!" are selling almost fast as they can be produced.

Disillusioned by what they call an empire about to fall, [the movement's leaders] hope to put the question before citizens in March. Eventually, they want to persuade state lawmakers to declare independence, returning Vermont to the status it held from 1777 to 1791.

The drive for Vermont to secede appears to have plenty of supporters. Vermont has a history of being decidedly progressive, outlawed slavery before any other and is currently represented by the nation's only socialist federal Senator.

"The argument for secession is that the U.S. has become an empire that is essentially ungovernable — it's too big, it's too corrupt and it no longer serves the needs of its citizens," said Rob Williams, editor of Vermont Commons, a quarterly newspaper dedicated to secession.

"We have electoral fraud, rampant corporate corruption, a culture of militarism and war," Williams said. "If you care about democracy and self-governance and any kind of representative system, the only constitutional way to preserve what's left of the Republic is to peaceably take apart the empire."

Republicans Look to Thwart Democrats' Gonzales 'No Confidence' Vote

An online news outlet, Raw Story, is reporting that an effort is underway among Republicans to try and undermine a Democratic vote of 'No Confidence' against Attorney General Gonzales. Gonzales has been caught, while under oath, lying to Congress on at least two occasions and some believe he may have also tried to obstruct justice by possibly trying to manipulate his aide, Monica Goodling, into altering her testimony to match his.

According to the report:

Republicans are likely to tie up the Senate floor with all kinds of procedural mischief and introduce any number of amendments, including perhaps one on whether the Iraq War is actually 'lost' as Reid has suggested.

THE WORLD REPORT

Fighting in Lebanon Worsens

There is growing concern that the two-week-long battle taking place within a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, might be spreading to other camps. A second skirmish erupted at a second camp and claimed the lives of two soldiers and two militants.

Thousands of the camps inhabitants fled, but officials say as many as 6,000 people are caught in the crossfire.

Radical Fringe Moves into Gaza

As instability spreads from Iraq across the Middle East, al-Qaeda inspired groups are finding fertile ground for establishment and growth within the chaos. The latest enclave to play host to a newly emboldened "radical fringe" is the Palestinian enclave, Gaza.

Some Palestinian officials blame the radicalisation of some of Gaza's 1.4 million people on poverty and despair deepened by sanctions imposed by Israel and Western powers last year after the Hamas Islamist movement won a parliamentary election.

On Friday, a group that emerged this year, the Righteous Swords of Islam, threatened to "slit the throats" of women presenters on Palestine Television if they do not cover their hair: "The corruption that is coming from their mouths and their faces ... raises fears for the future of our children," it said.

Along with The al Qaeda Organisation in Palestine and other mysterious groups, the Swords have claimed several bomb attacks.

Canada Backs Germany in G-8 Climate Fight

Originally Canada's conservative government refused to take sides in the U.S.-G8 fight over how best to meet the challenge of climate change. Canada's government, however, softened its tone and aligned itself with German Chancellor Angela Merkel's position.

Despite the Canadian Prime Minister's more supportive G-8 stance, he didn't win too many friends after making clear his country would not be meeting its Kyoto obligations.

Merkel [told] the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. on Monday that "of course at this point we are not happy that Canada has abandoned Kyoto's goals".