Too Many to Choose

There is lots going on in the world today. 

• Sonia Sotomayor was confirmed by the senate yesterday afternoon and will be the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice.  
  
• Pakistan's Taliban chief, Baitullah Mehsud, is thought to be killed in an attack which also claimed his wife.
• Filmmaker John Hughes dies at the age of 59. He is a sentimental favorite of mine- Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, and Sixteen Candles will always bring me back to my childhood. 
• More attacks targeting Shiites in Iraq.  Over 36 people reported dead.
• The Cash for Clunkers program gets $2 billion in new funding from Congress.  

Day 282

Sovereingnty Day for Iraq

Today marks the deadline for US Troops to pull out of Iraq.  Prime Minister Nouri Malaki has declared June 30 a public holiday dubed Sovereingnty Day. Iraqis take to the streets in celebration as US soldiers dismantle 86 bases and several foreign firms bid for Iraqi oil contracts, the first time in over 40 years- "I drink your milkshake, I drink it up!"

First Day of Summer

I guess it is appropriate that I am returning to Boston on the first day of Summer and even more appropriate that there is rain in the forecast.  In the context of world news, when it rains it pours. Iran election protests continue with increased violence, 19 reported dead at press time.  Pakistani forces are stepping up their fight against Taliban forces and are sending aircraft closer to the Afghan boarder. Suicide bombers near Kirkuk, Iraq destroys 50 buildings, kill 80 and wound another 211, the deadliest single attack this year.  

Day 202

Sons of Iraq

A suicide bomber killed 9 people and injured 31 in the town of al-Iskandariya (40 miles south of Baghdad.  The bomber attacked when "awakening councils", also known as Sons of Iraq, were meeting to collect salaries.

Awakening councils, also known as Sons of Iraq, are primarily a Sunni movement composed of former insurgents or sympathizers who have turned against al Qaeda. The U.S. military credits them with having played a key role in bringing about the nationwide drop in violence that coincided with the "surge" in U.S. forces in Iraq. 

This Shoe's For You

More shoes appear, this time at the US embassy in Ankara, Turkey in support of Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi.  

Gordon Brown's Iraq Promise

PM Gordon Brown announced yesterday that all British troops would be home from Iraq by the end of July 2009.  Today, he rejected immediate inquiry requests into the Iraq War.  

Muntazer al-Zaidi

The reporter responsible for the shoe attack on Bush, Muntazer al-Zaidi, has created quite a buzz. Before hurling the projectile at Bush's head he reportedly yelled, "this is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog." 

It is almost time for the American people to say goodbye to Bush.  I wonder if our send off will have the same dramatic flare.  One can only hope.