U.N. Opted For Less American Security to Present A 'Friendly Image'

And now the most compelling two minutes in television, the latest from the wartime grapevine:

FOX Fans: Missed the Grapevine? Click here to watch it!

U.N. Opted For Less American Security to Present A ‘Friendly Image’

It seems there was more to the U.N.'s (search) refusal of the U.S. offer of more security at their Baghdad (search) headquarters than a desire to keep it from looking like a fortress. U.N. spokesman Salim Lone told the Associated Press that U.N. officials also, ‘did not want a large American presence outside.’ And U.S. officials say that despite their warnings that car bombings and other such attacks were possible, U.N. officials did not want the kinds of heavy barriers U.S. forces had been putting in front of other soft targets because the U.N. wanted to present a friendly image to the Iraqi people.

Madeleine's Make of It

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (search)…who two weeks ago said she found North Korea's brutal dictator Kim Jong Il (search), 'respectful’ and ‘quite charming’…is now saying the Bush administration's (search) approach to the war on terror is wrong. Albright says 9/11 did not change everything, as President Bush has asserted. What's more, Albright, writing in the latest edition of Foreign Affairs magazine, says the international community would have truly embarked on the war on terrorism (search) together, ‘had Al Gore been elected president.’ In addititon, she says, Gore would not have invaded Iraq, though she admits President Bush's decision to do so, ‘indeed made the world, or at least Iraq, a better place.’

Digital Dean

Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean's (search) campaign for president…thought to be the most technologically savvy of the democratic candidates…has become too savvy for some, who have received not one, but two unsolicited spam emails from Dean asking for support and personal information. One email recipient tells Wired magazine, ‘I hate spam,’ adding that if Dean is truly responsible, ‘it would impact my opinion of him and his campaign.’ Dean's campaign, however, blames a system error, saying the messages were only meant for people who had specifically asked to receive campaign information.

Blackout Does Not Stop Parking Tickets

And here's a scene from last week's blackout (search) in New York. Nearly one hour into the whole ordeal, as New York's police were being stretched thin, 70-year-old Robert Richter, the ordinary private citizen you see in the background, took it upon himself to help drivers navigate the snarled traffic. Everything throughout the city was stopped... well, everything that is, except for parking enforcement officers, one of whom you can see writing tickets in the foreground.

— FOX News' Michael Levine contributed to this report