The Week
From the IRA, A Farewell to Arms
As Britain scoured the globe for those responsible for the deadly London transit attacks, there was a flicker of hope for peace with another enemy. The Irish Republican Army last week ordered its followers to lay down their arms after a bloody 36-year drive to end British rule in Northern Ireland. "The leadership has formally ordered an end to the armed campaign," the outlawed group said. "All volunteers have been instructed to assist the development of purely political and democratic programs through exclusively peaceful means." British Prime Minister Tony Blair welcomed the move but said the group needs to back up its words with actions.
"This may be the day when, finally," Blair said, "after all the false dawns and dashed hope, peace replaces war, politics replaces terror."
Congress Passes A New Energy Bill
As early as this week, President Bush is set to sign into law a massive new energy package that supporters say will promote new, cleaner energy sources but critics warn is a boon for energy companies and will do nothing to reduce high pump prices and dependence on foreign oil. Among provisions: some $14.5 billion in tax breaks, including $2.6 billion for the gas and oil industries; loan guarantees and other subsidies for clean energy technologies and new nuclear reactors; and $1.3 billion in tax breaks for conservation and efficiency programs, including credits for buying hybrid gas-electric cars. The legislation also extends daylight saving time by a month. Lawmakers nixed a plan to open Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling.
But much to enviros' chagrin, GOP leaders say they'll revisit the hot-button issue.
Unions: Breaking Up Is Hard to Do
Is the labor movement crumbling? Not exactly, although employer groups were cautiously optimistic its political clout might dip after two of the AFL-CIO's biggest members--the 1.8 million-member Service Employees International and 1.4 million-strong Teamsters unions--quit last week. The dissidents say declining union membership, from 20 percent in 1983 to 12.5 percent of the workforce today, and the loss of labor-backed candidates in recent elections show that the AFL-CIO's strategies aren't working.
They hope to beef up membership with a splashy PR-style campaign designed to shame employers into OK'ing union contracts.
Auctioning a Little Patch of History
Now here's a real must-have item: an eye patch worn by the late Israeli military and political leader Moshe Dayan. That's right: If you hustle, you might still have a shot at snapping up the black swatch Dayan began sporting after losing an eye during World War II. The patch, reportedly given to Dayan's bodyguard after he died in 1981, is being put up for bid on--yep, you guessed it--eBay. "To us, Dayan is like Admiral Nelson is to the British," Moti Sender of Pasarel, the Israeli art dealer selling the patch, told BBC News website. "It's as if we were selling Nelson's hat."
So what on earth are you waiting for?
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