U.S. officials still maintain that Iran is helping Iraqi Shia insurgents build bombs that are particularly deadly because they can penetrate armored vehicles. But three U.S. officials familiar with unpublished intel (unnamed when discussing sensitive info) said evidence of official Tehran involvement is “ambiguous,” in the words of one of the officials. For example, U.S. troops have been attacked by homemade bombs triggered by infrared sensors (like ones used on American burglar alarms). U.S. agencies know Iranian purchasers have made bulk orders for the sensors–which cost as little as $1 each–from manufacturers in the Far East. Some analysts think most of the sensors are used for innocent purposes: they note that the devices are so widely available that would-be supporters of Iraqi militants could simply buy them in an Iranian store and smuggle them to Iraq; high-level government involvement wouldn’t be necessary. (Another intel challenge: it’s difficult for U.S. personnel to ID Iranian operatives among Iraqi Shiites or Iranian pilgrims who visit Shia shrines in Iraq.)
Last week U.S. military officials in Baghdad were set to brief reporters about evidence American forces had assembled about Iran’s interference in Iraq. But the briefing was canceled; one of the U.S. officials suggested it had been put off because intel officials couldn’t agree about the info.
And now, a gas OPEC? Iran has long favored the idea of forming a gas producers’ cartel to fix prices, modeled on OPEC. Vladimir Putin seems to agree. “A gas OPEC is an interesting idea. We will think about it,” said the Rus-sian president last week on the eve of a visit to Qatar, the world’s third largest gas producer.
That’s bound to send shivers through Europe. Russia also recently signed an energy cooperation deal with major gas producer Algeria. If Russia were to strike a gas entente with Algeria, Iran and Qatar, the EU could all but say goodbye to its dreams of diversifying supplies. Fortunately, gas can’t be bought on spot markets unless it’s expensively liquefied. Putin assured Europeans that Russia doesn’t “plan to form any kind of cartel,” only to “coordinate activities.” But after suffering gas cutoffs via Ukraine and Belarus over the past year, Europeans are rightly skeptical.
THE SOLUTION The problem: With a Taliban offensive looming, senior NATO officials say coordination snafus–“interoperability” problems in the jargon–are elevating the risk of friendly fire among the 32,000 allied troops in Afghanistan. U.S. troops monitoring computer images of the battlefield can identify U.S. units but not allied ones, because the alliance lacks an integrated GPS. Coalition radio kits also operate on shared, but unsecured, frequencies that limit what troops can say. Allies from Europe and the Commonwealth must get permission from Washington regulators to supply each other with U.S.-made ammo, even when under fire.
The fix: A senior European defense attaché in Washington, also not authorized to speak publicly, has been lobbying Congress hard to ease cumbersome red tape, but don’t count on fast action. Snafus are as old as war itself.
– Stephen Glain
THE SOLUTION The Problem: For politicians, creating a personal rapport with voters is both expensive and exhausting, given the amount of travel involved. And even when a politician does manage to get to a nation’s heartland, there’s no guarantee that Joe Voter will get much face time with his chosen representative.
The Remedy: “Capitol Hill,” launched in early January, is a new location in the 2 million-plus-member online community Second Life–a 3-D world that users across the globe traverse with personalized characters called “avatars.” (U2 even performed live in Second Life.) The forum may soon allow everyday people to meet with America’s elected leaders. Rep. George Miller of California appeared “on the Hill” Jan. 4, fielding questions via his avatar, which he described to NEWSWEEK as having “a big mop of gray hair.” Since that appearance, Clear Ink–the Internet marketing firm that designed “Capitol Hill” for Second Life–says three more House members’ offices from both parties have expressed interest in the forum. An avatar for Speaker Nancy Pelosi has already been created; Pelosi’s office says she would consider appearing.
– Jonathan Mummolo
Japan has long been a gold mine for the intrepid music fan. Bands there are both bracingly experimental and jubilantly retro–and most of them sing in English. They’re getting good, too. There are now thousands of Japanese bands that play circles around their U.S. counterparts. King Brothers’ “100%” is a song that could make the Black Crowes eat humble pie, while “Johnny Depp” by Triceratops is an amp-crunching reanimation of “Physical Graffiti”-era Led Zeppelin. You’d also swear that the Pillows’ “Degeneration” was a hidden track on Matthew Sweet’s “Altered Beast.” Other bands are less easily categorized, but no less revelatory: the Miceteeth’s “Think About Bird’s Pillow Case” conjures up a Japanese troupe stranded ina 1930s British music hall, for instance.
Many of these bands have gained increasing popularity in America of late. In fact U.S. aficionados of J-rock are so determined, they’ve even figured out a way to download their favorites off iTunes Japan, despite the fact that it requires customers to use a Japanese credit card. They use dummy addresses and e-mailed scans of prepaid Japanese iTunes cards, picked up by friends in Tokyo convenience stores or openly sold online. So now the likes of Rodeo Carburettor’s head-rattling “R.B.B.” are no longer out of reach across the Pacific Ocean. It might be time to change that old joke–“We’re big in Japan” apparently means something.
Taking ecstasy is dangerous, right? Maybe not. A Harvard study has found that when isolated from alcohol or illegal drugs, the long-term effects of popping MDMA may be virtually nonexistent. And Harvard researchers are now even examining whether the drug can help alleviate anxiety and pain in terminal-cancer patients. “There’s nothing like this in psychiatry–a fast-acting anti-anxiety medication that makes people alert and talkative,” says Julie Holland, a psychiatrist at New York University’s Medical Center.
