Issues of Global Import

15 March 2004


Madrid Hit by Rush Hour Bomb
On March 11, 2004, every civilized human being became a Spaniard. In a rush hour attack not unlike that in Moscow on February 6, terrorists blew up four trains during rush hour as Madrilenos tried to get through another day. By the next day, 198 had not made it, while around 400 were injured, some of whom will not survive. A shadowy Fascislamic group claimed credit, but the Basque group ETA may have committed the atrocity. For the dead it doesn't matter much, but for the survivors, it matters a great deal.

Lords Halts Blair's Hurry to Establish British Supreme Court
Americans are often astonished to discover that the United Kingdom does not have a Supreme Court. The Law Lords, peers who sit in the House of Lords and due to their legal training are qualified to act as such, are the highest court in the land. They are both legislators and judges, and that is messy. The Labour government was derailed last week in the House of Lords in a rash attempt to continue changing the British constitution without due consideration of the new system.

Greek Conservatives in Surprising Win
The Greeks are credited with the invention of democracy, and it was an interesting exercise in the same that brought the Greek New Democracy to power last week. Led by a man who has never held elected office, the conservative party won 165-170 seats out of 300. Thus ended the rule of the Pan Hellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) party that has held power since 1981, save for a single 3-year interlude more than a decade ago. The election was a vote against that rut in which Greece has been stuck.