War, destruction and not much else...

Not all is rosy today.

A car bomb has exploded in the Pakistan city of Faisalabad today, killing at least 20 and injuring plenty more. Police suspect militants of the Punjabi Taliban movement, which is a group closely linked with al-Qaeda. This is the latest in a recent spat of attacks by this gang on the Pakistani Government.

al-Qaeda, for those who need reminding, is a militant Islamic group run by Osama Bin Laden. It operates as a multi-national network of extreme Sunni Muslims who oppose the west and whose ultimate wish is Islamification of the world. Many experts argue that the group has become increasingly scattered and fragmented and that ‘al-Qaeda’ is more a brand name now than anything else. Others think it is still tightly integrated and strongly driven from the top by Bin Laden. The important thing really, is that these guys are nutters, and in no way represent Muslims or the Islam faith in general. Most people would agree however, that al-Qaeda terrorists who blow things up should be punished. But how severely?

Obama has been forced to do a U-turn on his campaign pledge to close Guantánamo Bay.  He has always insisted that terror suspects held there should be tried instead on US soil and by the US justice system. Guantánamo bay is a prison located in Cuba and run by the American military. Former president Bush set it up primarily so that he could torture and try terror suspects the nasty way. When I say that, I mean that prisoners were treated in a way that wouldn’t fly in a standard civilian prison. Allegations range from prolonged sleep deprivation and water boarding to far more violent methods of 'information extraction.' We don’t really know what goes down but we can assume it’s all pretty unpleasant. The first Guantánamo detainee to be tried ‘the Obama way’ - in New York, under civilian law – was convicted of only one bombing offence last year. He had actually committed more like 280. There was such a general outcry that Obama has finally caved and military trials in Guantánamo will now resume.

Gaddafi is still bombing his ‘greasy rats.’ Europe and America are making more noise about stepping in and helping the Libyan rebels, but haven’t done so yet.

You’d probably appreciate some happier news now. I did look for some. Turns out there is none, so here’s some ‘lighter’ news instead…

Kevin Federline has been caught wearing horizontal stripes, which critic’s claim makes him look fatter than he actually is. Charlie Sheen has been photographed drinking ‘tiger’s blood.’ And a baby penguin in the Antarctic has been found with a heart shaped mark on its chest.  See above.

And see you tomorrow.