NAFTA me up

Following in their tradition of ignoring international laws and agreements the US administration has rejected the ruling of a trade court on the softwood lumber issue. The Canada-US dispute has been going on for ages and in a final decision the court ruled that tarrifs placed on Canadian lumber imports were illegal and against the NAFTA treaty. The US promptly replied that it didn't care and it would maintain the tarrifs and not pay back the billions in lost income. The US did say they would consider further talks to resolve the issue, but the blatant disregard for the NAFTA agreement which they helped pen is yet one more blemish on their already filthy and tattered record of respecting treaties and international law.

King Fahd of Saudi Arabia also died recently. The long time Crown Prince Abdullah has been crowned his replacement. Abdullah has long been taking care of the kingdom due to Fahd's ill health.

Israel has finally begun the withdrawal process from the Gaza Strip. Binyamin Netanyahu has resigned his cabinet position in the Knesset in protest to the withdrawal. In spite of the finality of the decision many pro-settler Israelis have been mounting major protests against the pullout. The plan is to withdraw from Gaza so that several major settlements in the West Bank can be maintained. This is of course unacceptable to Palestinians, but Sharon isn't worried about that right now.