Fox on the Run
World Where You Live--27 Dec 2005 Edition

What's happening outside the confined media borders of the U.S. today? Let's take a spin 'round the globe, starting with... Iraq:

WaPo - Chalabi Lacks Votes Needed to Win Spot in Iraqi Assembly
Unexpectedly low support from overseas voters has left Ahmed Chalabi -- the returned Iraqi exile once backed by the United States to lead Iraq -- facing a shutout from power in this month's vote for the country's first full-term parliament since the 2003 invasion.
[...]
With 95 percent of a preliminary tally from the Dec. 15 vote now completed, Chalabi remained almost 8,000 votes short of the 40,000 minimum needed for him or his bloc to win a single seat in the 275-seat National Assembly, according to election officials. Without a seat in the assembly, Chalabi would presumably be unable to obtain a post in the resulting government.

Staying in Iraq, here's an article that points to the difficulty of getting the Iraqi army to "stand up," as President Bush might say:

WaPo - Dispute Delays Handoff to Iraqi Unit
A dispute between the U.S. military and Iraq's Defense Ministry over who will command the Iraqi army unit assuming responsibility for some of Baghdad's most sensitive sites has led to the postponement of a formal handover scheduled for Tuesday.

Since August, Col. Muhammed Wasif Taha has served as acting commander of the 5th Brigade, 6th Division of the Iraqi army, the unit set to take charge of a section of the capital including the airport road and the perimeter of the fortified Green Zone.
[...]
With the Iraqi army still viewed in parts of the country as a Shiite Muslim-dominated sectarian force, the appointment of Taha, a Sunni Arab considered an outstanding officer by U.S. forces, would be an important step, American commanders said. American officials have long sought to recruit more Sunnis for the Iraqi army in an attempt to improve its reputation among the Sunni populace. Sunnis make up the bulk of Iraq's insurgency.

The transfer of sections of the country from American to Iraqi hands, underway since earlier this year, is considered a prerequisite to any further reduction of U.S. service members in the country.

Speaking of Sunni participation in the creation of an independent Iraq, the NYTimes notes:

NYT - Iraq Vote Shows Sunnis Are Few in New Military
An analysis of preliminary voting results released Monday from the Dec. 15 parliamentary election suggests that in contrast to the remarkable surge in Sunni Arab participation in the political process, the Sunnis still have comparatively little representation in the Iraqi security forces.

The indication is troubling because Sunni Arabs, who are about 20 percent of Iraq's population, came out in greater numbers largely as a response to the recent domination of the government by Shiites and Kurds. In particular, Sunni Arabs say they fear that the security forces will be used against them.
[...]
In the special tally - which the officials said overwhelmingly consisted of most of the ballots cast by security forces, but also included votes from hospital patients and prisoners - about 7 percent of the votes were cast for the three main Sunni Arab parties. Across the whole population, though, officials have estimated, Sunni Arab candidates won about 20 percent of the seats in the new Parliament.

Along the same lines, the tally also suggested that Kurdish pesh merga militiamen seemed to have a heavily disproportionate presence in the security forces.

Still in Iraq, protests over voting irregularities continue:

Agence France Press - Thousands protest election results in Baghdad
At least 5,000 demonstrators rallied in western Baghdad to protest alleged fraud in Iraq's December 15 general elections and demand a re-run of the poll as top politicians discussed the formation of a national unity government.

"No democracy without real elections", "rigged polls", "down with the electoral commission" read a number of banners.

Tuesday's demonstration was called by the Maram alliance, an Arabic acronym for the Conference Rejecting Rigged Elections which includes both Sunni Arab and secular factions, dissatisfied with the preliminary election results suggesting that the Shiite-based religious parties will control the next parliament.

In other news...

Boston Globe - Schwarzenegger's name quietly taken off stadium
Officials in Arnold Schwarzenegger's hometown of Graz quietly and under the cover of darkness removed giant metal letters spelling out his name on a soccer stadium.

The California governor had asked for his name to be stricken from the 15,300-seat arena after critics in his birthplace, where opposition to capital punishment runs high, scorned him for refusing to block this month's execution of convicted killer Stanley Tookie Williams.

Late Sunday night or early yesterday, authorities in the southern Austrian city unbolted the 20 letters spelling out the action star-turned-politician's name from Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium. They timed the work to take advantage of the Christmas lull to avoid attracting attention ''and keep the media from taking photos," a city hall official who declined to be named told Austrian television.

And finally, some happy news

Happy News.com - Thousands join Britain holiday fox hunt
Hunters in scarlet coats leapt on horses and sounded brass horns Monday as noisy packs of hounds flew at their heels, pursuing the centuries-old holiday tradition of fox hunting.

The colorful post-Christmas hunt looked the same as ever, but this year there was a crucial difference _ the highly trained hounds were under orders not to chase and kill the fox.

It was the first Boxing Day hunt since Britain in February outlawed the use of dogs to kill prey, a measure that angered enthusiasts of one of the British countryside's most ingrained traditions.

But the ban did not dampen spirits Monday as sportsmen in black riding hats set out, said Michael Moore, joint master of the East Devon hunt. He said the turnout of hunters and spectators was similar to last year, when a record number watched.