Saddam Hussein's cousin Ali Hassan al-Majeed, also known as “Chemical Ali,” was sentenced to death for his role in Iraq's Kurdish genocide.1
Hamas militants released an audio recording of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in which he states, “I am sorry that the Israeli government has not shown more interest. It should meet the demands of my kidnappers so I can be released.”2
Seven children were killed during a coalition-led airstrike in Afghanistan,. 3 and the Gaza kidnappers of British journalist Alan Johnston released a video of Johnston wearing an explosives vest, which he says will be detonated if force is used to try to free him.4
In North Korea, 110 people foraging for gasoline were killed in an explosion at a fuel pipeline,5 and the North Korean government announced it would begin dismantling its nuclear program after the U.S. Treasury unfroze certain bank accounts in Macau.6
A Marine Corps memo, circulated after the 2005 Haditha massacre, was made public. “'Fighting terrorists associated with Al Qaida' is stronger language than 'serving',” read the memo. “The American people will side more with someone actively fighting a terrorist organization that is tied to 9/11 than with someone who is idly 'serving,' like in a way one 'serves' a casserole.”7
It was reported that despite the U.S. “surge,” the black-market prices in Iraq for weapons and ammunition have remained stable, indicating the failure of supposedly strengthened checkpoints. 8
The military was concerned about a marked drop in the number of African-American recruits since the start of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars; “We just want to make sure,” said Marine Commandant General James Conway, “that we continue to look like America.”9
Scientists called Europe's winter of 2006 - 2007 the warmest in 700 years. 1
Flooding in Karachi, Pakistan, left 200 people dead and 1,000 homes destroyed,2 and a five-acre glacial lake in the Andes vanished.3
Tuna shortages were forcing Japanese chefs to consider deer and horse meat as substitutes for sushi.4
Japan rechristened the island of Iwo Jima, made famous by World War II, with its prewar name of Iwo To.5
Authorities in New Zealand prevented a couple from naming their baby “4real” because the name included a numeral.6
The South African education department announced that male students may be granted paternity leave,7 and Lydia Playfoot, a 16-year-old English schoolgirl, went to the High Court to protest her school's ban on wearing “purity rings” (used to symbolize chastity), which she characterized as discrimination against Christians.8
Researchers announced that firstborn children develop higher I.Q.s than their younger siblings,9 and a two-year-old English girl with an I.Q. of 152 joined Mensa.10
One and a half million Thomas the Tank Engine toys produced in China were recalled after they were found to contain lead paint.11
The actress Cameron Diaz apologized for carrying a bag printed with a Maoist political slogan when she visited Peru, where up to 69,000 people died in a decade-long war between the government and Maoist rebels.12
A study found that paying taxes activates pleasure-centers in the brain.13
Zimbabwe's rate of inflation reached 11,000 percent and was predicted to approach 1.5 million percent by the end of the year.14
The Australian government announced a ban on alcohol and pornography for Aborigines,1 and the Swedish government recognized that one man's preference for heavy metal music constitutes a disability, making the man eligible for state benefits.2
A District of Columbia judge ruled in favor of a Washington dry cleaner in a $54 million case brought over a missing pair of pants. The plaintiff, himself an administrative law judge, was ordered to pay the dry cleaner's court fees.3
A study found that Facebook users are wealthier and better educated than their MySpace counterparts,4 a Minnesota man was fined $3,000 for putting dog feces in a parking ticket envelope,5 and in Idaho, a black Labrador drove his owner's Chevy Impala into a river.6
An eight-year-old two-headed hermaphrodite albino rat-snake named “We” died of natural causes at the City Museum in St. Louis,7 and Six Flags closed eight thrill rides across the country after a teenage girl in Kentucky had her feet severed on the Superman Tower of Power.8 3
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Permanent URL for this column:http://harpers.org/archive/2007/06/WeeklyReview2007-06-26
General URL for the Weekly Review:http://harpers.org/subjects/WeeklyReview
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