CANADA
Al-Quanada
On the evening of Friday, June 2nd, 2006, the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police (RCMP)—with the help of the Canadian Security
Intelligence Service (CSIS)—rounded up 17 Muslim men and
boys in a suspected terrorist plot. The RCMP and CSIS had been
monitoring the accused for approximately two years—from
online chat rooms all the way to cottage country, where “terrorist
training camps” were held. But when an order was placed
for three tons of ammonium nitrate, which can be used to create
explosives (for example, one ton of it was used in the Oklahoma
City bombing), police were quick to intercept the delivery and
set up a sting to thwart the apparent plot. While it has not
been officially stated, it is thought that the Parliament Buildings
and Peace Tower in Ottawa, along with the Toronto Stock Exchange
and CSIS headquarters in Toronto were targets. And one of the
accused is believed to have stated that he was going to decapitate
Canada’s new prime minister, Stephen Harper.
SOUTH
AMERICA
New Leaders in South America
New Bolivian president, Evo Morales, has become a symbol of
leftists around the world. The country is even starting to be
in the “Che Guevara” business. Morales, a former
coca farmer (coca is the substance that cocaine is derived from),
has been outspoken against the policies of the United States,
following in the traditions of Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez.
The United States was worried that one of Chavez’s allies
was going to win the presidency in Peru. But balancing political
thought in South America, Alan Garcia prevailed, saying, “We
defeated the efforts by Mr. Hugo Chavez to incorporate us in
his strategy of expansion of the militarist and retrograde model
he wants to implant in South America.”
WALES
Did You Hear Something?
Compound Security, out of Wales, created a device
that was meant to repel loitering teenagers. The Mosquito—aptly
named for its incessant buzzing noise— emits a 17-kilohertz,
high-pitched noise that can apparently only be heard by people
under 20ish years of age (the highest key on a piano is four
kilohertz). Sounds far-fetched, but adults usually lose the
ability to hear extremely high-pitched sound in their early
20s (although in the next generation, this could change to the
teen years, due to hearing damage caused by increased used of
earphones). But it seems today’s youth are one step ahead.
The Mosquito has spread virally across the internet, and it
is now a popular ring tone—one that can’t be heard
by teachers in a classroom or parents at the dining room table!
IRAQ
Bombs Finally Catch Up to al-Zarqawi
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the militant leader
who incited a rash of suicide bombings in Iraq, was killed when
the United States apparently targeted him with their jets and
dropped two 225-kilogram bombs onto a rural safe house located
50 kilometres northeast of Baghdad. He was killed after U.S.
Intelligence had tracked his spiritual aide going into the house.
Seven of Zarqawi’s aides were also killed in the attack.
There has been no word yet as to whom, if anyone, the $25 million
reward for al-Zarqawi’s capture will go to.
INDONESIA
Nearly 6,000 Lost
On
May 27, 2006, a 6.2-magnitude earthquake devastated Java Island
in Indonesia, killing nearly 6,000 people. Adding to the misery
already inflicted, conditions are said to be so unsanitary that
a wave of illnesses are expected to hit the region—including
the possibility of an avian flu outbreak. 200,000 homes were destroyed,
while another 200,000 were severely damaged. Total damages are
said to be over $3 billion and counting. The area, often referred
to as the Ring of Fire, is at high risk of seismic upheaval because
the Pacific Basin is surrounded by volcanoes and fault lines.
GREECE
The Great Escape
Thinking
it was a surprise inspection, guards at Greece’s Athens
Korydallos prison didn’t react when a helicopter landed
smack in the middle of the prison population. Vassilis Paleokostas,
40, and another criminal were picked up from the prison and
deposited in a nearby cemetery by the pilot. Realizing shortly
after that this was a prison break, the guards immediately dispatched
a manhunt. The helicopter pilot said he was forced at gunpoint
to take on the breakout mission. Apparently, Paleokostas’s
fugitive brother was behind the plot. If only it were that easy
for Michael Schofield and his lot on Prison Break.
MONTENEGRO/SERBIA
(former Yugoslavia)
Yu Go montenegro!
Officially
ending any semblance to the former sixmember Yugoslavian Federation,
Montenegro decided to split from its union with Serbia, the
only other remaining member. Serbia’s lawmakers then voted
and proclaimed Serbia a sovereign state, becoming the union’s
legal successor and inheriting all international alliances,
including a seat in the United Nations. The European Union,
Russia, and the United States have already accepted Montenegro
as an independent state, paving the way for it to begin a brand
new history.
