Release the Net!

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Release the Net!

The European Union is demanding that the U.S. give up control of the Internet, joining Iran, Cuba, China and others who say developing countries are being left out.

The U.S. says its administration of Internet routing and addresses — held since the Pentagon created and funded the system more than a decade ago — is "non-negotiable," arguing that the move could threaten the security and stability of the net.

But the E.U. warns that if unilateral U.S. control continues, developing nations could start their own versions of the Internet, creating mass confusion. Their solution? Hand over the Internet to the United Nations.

Torture "Routine"?

Al Gore says that under President Bush, torture by the U.S. military has become a "routine" practice. Gore cited no evidence for the charge other than the abuses at Abu Ghraib — where those involved are being prosecuted.

The former presidential candidate told reporters in Sweden that he had no intentions of ever running again, but argues that things would have been different under a Gore administration, saying, "We would not have invaded a country that didn't attack us. We would not have taken money from the working families and given it to the most wealthy families. We would not be trying to control and intimidate the news media... We would be a different country."

Literary Attacks

The 2005 Nobel Prize for Literature has been awarded to a writer who calls the U.S. a "bully," a "bovine monster out of control," and a "bloodthirsty wild animal" whose only vocabulary is bombs.

What's more, referring to the 9/11 terror attacks, British playwright Harold Pinter said, "The atrocity in New York was predictable and inevitable. It was an act of retaliation against constant and systematic manifestations of state terrorism on the part of the United States over many years, in all parts of the world."

Troubled Times

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is trailing his challenger in fundraising and in the polls. Detroit's unemployment rate is over 14 percent and the city is facing a $100 million budget deficit. And Kilpatrick has taken heat for using a city credit card to pick up the tab at swanky restaurants, and for leasing an expensive SUV for his family with taxpayer dollars.

So how does Kilpatrick plan to turn around his political fortunes? By shedding his trademark diamond earring, of course. The move has worked for the so-called "hip hop mayor" before... he stopped wearing the stud during his successful 2001 campaign, after polling showed that middle aged women disapproved.

— FOX News' Aaron Bruns contributed to this report