U.S. House approves Iraq funding plan

The Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday night to pay for military operations in Iraq on an installment plan, despite President George W. Bush's threat of a second straight veto.

The 221-205 vote, largely along party lines, sends the measure to an expected cool reception in the Senate, where Majority Leader Harry Reid is seeking compromise with the White House and Republicans on a funding bill.

Bush has signalled some flexibility, offering to accept a spending bill that sets out standards for the Iraqi government to meet.

The vote Thursday was one of two that challenged Bush on the war. Both votes came despite Bush's proven ability to sustain his veto in Congress — the House upheld his rejection of a troop-withdrawal timetable last week.

The first vote Thursday was on a bill that would have required the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from Iraq within nine months. It fell 255-171, with 59 Democrats joining almost all Republicans in opposition.

"This war is a terrible tragedy and it is time to bring it to an end," said U.S. Representative James McGovern, a Democrat from Massachusetts and a leading advocate of the bill to establish a nine-month withdrawal timetable.

"For four long, deadly years, this administration and their allies in Congress have been flat wrong about Iraq."

Republicans argued a withdrawal would be disastrous.

"Now is not the time to signal retreat and surrender. How could this Congress walk away from our men and women in uniform?" said Representative Jerry Lewis of California.

'We reject the idea': Bush

A few hours later, the House passed legislation providing funds for the war grudgingly, in two installments. The first portion would cover costs until Aug. 1 — $42.8 billion US to buy equipment and train Iraqi and Afghan security forces.

Under the bill, it would take a summertime vote by Congress to free an additional $52.8 billion, the money needed to cover costs through the Sept. 30 end of the fiscal year.

"We reject that idea. It won't work," Bush declared after a meeting with military leaders at the Pentagon.

Democrat officials, speaking privately, said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had agreed to allow the vote on the withdrawal measure in the hope her rank-and-file would then unite behind the funding bill.

But in an increasingly complex political environment, even that measure was deemed to be dead on arrival in the Senate, where Democrats hold a narrow advantage and the rules give Republicans leverage to block legislation.

Blair will step down as British PM in June

Leader says he leaves country more confident after doing his best
Last Updated: Thursday, May 10, 2007

CBC News

British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced Thursday he will step down on June 27 after a decade in office.

Blair made the formal announcement in his northern England riding of Sedgefield.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced he's stepping down next month as he addressed supporters at Trimdon Labour Club in his Sedgefield constituency on Thursday.
(Owen Humphreys/Associated Press)

"I've been prime minister for just over 10 years," Blair told supporters at Trimdon Labour Club, where he launched his campaign to become Labour Party leader in 1994.

"In this job, in the world of today, I think that's long enough for me but more especially for the country. Sometimes the only way you conquer the pull of power is to set it down."

In an announcement that drew mixed reaction from world leaders, Blair said Britain has changed in the 10 years he has been in power because of Labour Party policies. The country, with higher living standards and a stronger economy, has become confident of its future, he said.

"Britain is not a follower today. Britain is a leader.

"There is only one government since 1945 that can say all of the following: more jobs, fewer unemployed, better health and education results, lower crime, and economic growth in every quarter. Only one government, this one."

'Comfortable in own skin'

Blair said Britain is now "comfortable in the 21st century, at home in its own skin."

'Hand on heart, I did what I thought was right.'—Tony Blair

He said he always put the country first and he saw that priority as his duty.

"Hand on heart, I did what I thought was right."

In his short speech, the British prime minister said his government has accomplished much during his term in office. He helped to bring about peace in Northern Ireland and has contributed to the war on terror by joining the U.S. in its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Blair acknowledged, however, that British military involvement in the Iraq war has been "bitterly controversial."

He said removing Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and his sons from power, as well as the Taliban from government in Afghanistan, was done with "relative ease."

"But the blowback since from global terrorism and the elements that support it has been fierce, unrelenting and costly. For many, it isn't and can't be worth it. For me, I think we must see it through."

Blair admitted when he came to power that expectations may have been too high, but it was a new beginning for the country, "a sweeping away of all the detritus of the past."

Blair added: "I may have been wrong. That's your call."

Several world leaders agreed with Blair that he did his best while leader of his country.

U.S. President George W. Bush, who has long considered the British prime minister an important ally, said Blair was a man of his word and a "long-term thinker."

Sean McCormack, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, said Blair was a "staunch defender of freedom" and a "terrific leader."

In Brussels, European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said the "debate for Europe is not yet won" in Britain, but Blair was a good negotiator and advocate for the EU.

"So if Blair was successful in Europe, bringing Europe closer to Britain, he has not yet been able to change the mood completely in Britain regarding some of the most important issues in the European agenda," he said.

'His friendship was both political and religious for Israel with a real understanding about the tragedy of Jewish life ….'—Israeli Vice-Premier Shimon Peres on Blair

Israeli Vice-Premier Shimon Peres praised Blair for his thoughtful leadership, saying Blair was a "man of special meaning.

"His friendship was both political and religious for Israel with a real understanding about the tragedy of Jewish life and great influence of the biblical background," Peres said.

But not all leaders agreed with such a positive assessment.

Palestinian Information Minister Moustafa Barghouti said he hoped a new British prime minister would lead to "serious change in the British politics, that is less biased to Israel, that is more reasonable in co-operating with the Palestinian side."

And Kamal Daneshyar, head of the Iranian parliament's energy commitee, said Blair had committed "crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan" because of his foreign policy.

"The soul of all those men, women and children who have been brutally killed are waiting to witness his suffering," he said.

Uneasy relationship

Before he made his announcement, Blair informed cabinet of his plans.

The resignation was not a surprise. After leading the Labour Party to its third straight election win in 2005, Blair said he would not seek a fourth term.

Treasury chief Gordon Brown, Blair's friend-turned-rival, is expected to win the upcoming leadership contest and become the next prime minister.

The two have had an uneasy relationship in recent years as party members loyal to Brown have pushed for Blair's departure before Labour's annual fall conference leading up to the next election in 2009.

Blair's popularity in opinion polls has plummeted due to government scandals over mismanagement, and controversy over British participation in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Labour's bruising defeat last week in English municipal elections has been blamed on the party's increasing unpopularity over the Iraq war, while in Scotland, where Labour has won every election for the past 50 years, Blair's party lost the majority of seats to the independence-seeking Scottish National Party.

Conservative Leader David Cameron — himself compared to a youthful, vibrant Blair when the prime minister took office — grilled Blair in Parliament on Wednesday, asking why a "government of the living dead" needed to remain in power for the next few weeks until Blair stepped down.

Blair responded he needed the time to see through the government's economic, health and education policies.

Iraq decision could haunt Blair's legacy: observers

Amid a wave of optimism, Blair and his "New Labour" team took power in an overwhelming victory in 1997 after 18 uninterrupted years of Conservative rule.

Blair also displayed a remarkable instinct for understanding the public mood in the wake of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, that same year, demonstrated in a speech he gave in which he re-crowned her "the people's princess."

Blair's government oversaw a wide range of social reforms, including increased funding for the National Health Service and the public education system, as well as the introduction of the first minimum wage in British history.

Blair also delivered significant constitutional reform in the creation of provincial parliaments for Scotland and Wales, and the gradual reshaping of the House of Lords.

After almost three decades of bloodshed in Northern Ireland, Blair successfully guided talks between warring Catholic and Protestant factions that culminated in a peace agreement signed on Good Friday in 1998.

The resumption of power sharing in Northern Ireland this week is seen as Blair's crowning achievement during his stewardship.

But Blair's close alignment with the U.S. on foreign policy, especially over Iraq, has led critics as well as former cabinet members to question his legacy.

How do you 'go' in space?

WHO, WHAT, WHY? The Magazine answers...

A tour of a space facility in the US apparently prompted Prince Philip to ask how astronauts deal with "natural functions" in space. So how exactly do they go to the toilet (or should that be the loo)?

It's all to do with air flow. On earth, in the West at least, your standard toilet is a water-flush affair, that takes waste and washes it down a pipe.

THE ANSWER Space toilets use air flow as water flushes have drawbacks in zero gravity Adult nappies are used on space walks and during take-off and landing

The lack of gravity on the shuttle and the space station mean a water-flush system is not an option. You don't need a particularly vivid imagination to see the potential problems.

Instead, on the shuttle, urine and faeces are carried away by rapid flow of air.

The unisex toilet resembles a conventional loo, but with straps over the feet and bars over the thighs to make sure that the astronauts don't drift off mid-go. The seat is designed so the astronaut's bottom can be perfectly flush to make a good seal.

The good news for fans of convenience is that, on the shuttle at least, urinating standing up is possible. A funnel-on-a-hose contraption is included so that astronauts - both male and female - can urinate standing up. Or sitting down if they prefer. They just attach it to the toilet using a pivoting bracket.

I would wait for 10 hours and then once back inside get someone to help me off with the suit and rush to the bathroom British astronaut Piers Sellers to Prince Philip

The system separates solid and liquid waste. Solids are compressed and remain on-board to be unloaded after landing. Liquids are released into space. Nasa hopes one day to recycle waste productively.

Researchers at the University of Guelph in Canada have said such recycling will be key to tackling any future mission to Mars in order to feed the astronauts.

The air used in the space shuttle's toilet system has to be filtered to get rid of the smell and bacteria before it is returned to the living area.

Incinerated waste

On the International Space Station, the fundamental principle is similar. The fan-powered air-flow toilet system stores waste. Urine is sucked up and stored in 20 litre containers which are dumped into the Progress resupply craft. The ship is later ejected into the atmosphere, where it burns up.

WHO, WHAT, WHY? A regular feature in the BBC News Magazine - aiming to answer some of the questions behind the headlines

For solid waste, a plastic bag covered in holes is placed inside the toilet. Air is sucked through the holes so everything ends up in the bag. The elasticised top closes and the bag is pushed into a metal container. A new bag is popped in for the next visitor. Again the waste heads off to Progress.

Space toilets have come a long way. In the book The Right Stuff and its film adaptation, an astronaut on an early mission feels the need to urinate during a massively delayed take-off. With no facilities provided - and no adult nappies, as used today during take-off and landing - he is eventually allowed to urinate in his suit, causing his sensors to go haywire.

And Prince Philip is among good company in wondering how astronauts attend to their bodily functions.

A spokesman for Nasa confirms it is a question much asked by children and journalists alike.

Israeli PM Blames Israeli Army for Failures of Lebanon War By Robert Berger

The testimony of Israel's embattled Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to an official inquiry investigating last year's Lebanon War has been released for publication. As Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, his comments have brought further calls for his resignation.

Ehud Olmert, 03 May 2007

Mr. Olmert blamed the army for the failures of the Lebanon War when he testified before the Winograd Commission. He said "the army disappointed itself and did not meet expectations. The Prime Minister said the military brass told him the army was strong "and ready to carry out any mission." He said he "could not have known this was not the case."

Last week, the inquiry commission sharply criticized Mr. Olmert's handling of the war, describing it as a "severe failure in judgment, responsibility and caution." It accused him of rushing into war without a battle plan or exit strategy.

But in his testimony, the Prime Minister said there was no other choice but to strike at Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon immediately after they kidnapped two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid. He said he knew Hezbollah would respond with rocket attacks, but he had two options: to strike decisively or do nothing.

Mr. Olmert has faced an avalanche of calls for his resignation since the commission issued its interim report 10 days ago. And now, the publication of his testimony has brought more calls for him to step down.

Gideon Saar is chairman of the opposition Likud party. Saar told Israel Radio that Mr. Olmert's testimony is another attempt to blame others for the failures of the war, this time the army. Saar said the Prime Minister has not learned the lessons of the war, and therefore, he should resign.

But Mr. Olmert's Kadima party is defending him.

Parliamentarian Menachem Ben Sasson of Kadima told the same radio program that Mr. Olmert's testimony shows the government was functioning properly. He said that when Hezbollah captured the two soldiers, Mr. Olmert properly appointed the army to deliver a decisive response.

The embattled Prime Minister has been holding on to power. But there are many obstacles ahead. The Labor Party will elect a new leader at the end of this month, and some candidates say that if elected, they will pull Labor out of the government.

And if he survives that long, Mr. Olmert will no doubt face further pressure to resign when the inquiry commission presents its final report in July or August.