The news throughout most of the world this week was focused on the Gaza Flotilla incident, with repercussions going on for days, and in fact continuing with the latest on-going story on the Irish relief ship Rachel Corrie heading towards Gaza and no doubt another confrontation of one kind or another. But the world had other news. In Japan, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama stepped down, Australian immigration laws were coming under fire (sounds familiar), and the world continued its reaction to the Oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

(Stepping down amid the Okinawa question)

Amid allegations that Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama stepped down as the result of an indecisive stance on the Okinawa question. It was still a surprise when NHK broke in with a bulletin on June 1st informing of the Prime Ministers decision.

(Developing story, even as we speak)

RTE in Ireland reported that 6 Irish nationals had been taken prisoner during the first confrontation with the Israelis during the Gaza Aid run. It was now turning into a diplomatic skirmish as the Irish government was now asking the Israelis for repatriation of the six workers.

(so close, yet so far away for a lot of people)

From ABC Radio National Australia's news program National Interest, news on the immigration problem currently going on in New South Wales, and what is being proposed to be done about it.

(brush up on your French right here)

And finally, for our French friends or people who just want to brush up on their French skills, here's a June 4th broadcast of Journal Francais which discusses the Gaza situation, the Gulf disaster and numerous domestic issues on this 8:00 pm (in France) newscast.

That's the week as it looks from this Friday night. I'm sure in 24 hours everything will change just as it will again by Monday.

If you can't keep up, don't feel bad - nobody else can either.

Seems the issue of Healthcare was having its troubles on this day in 1994 too.

Faced with dwindling support in Congress and a reported drop in popularity in the Polls, President Clinton readied to take his Healthcare Plan message to a series of Town Hall meetings in the hopes of drumming up support. Further evidence this issue has a history and goes way-way back. Even further than 1994.

Elsewhere - the Teamsters were girding up for a possible walkout of nationwide Freight haulers. The only thing holding them back was a dwindling membership and a growing number of non-union companies affected by a walkout. Don't Ask-Don't Tell was under fire as a Judge ruled that 6 Gays kicked out of the service for violating the law couldn't be removed until the case was decided.

The Ukraine sent a 1,000 Peacekeeping troops to Bosnia. The first Palestinian exiles were allowed back into Gaza. Wall Street was heading up on optimistic news, or a "correction" as some called it.

The Arkansas Razorbacks won their first NCAA Championship, defeating Duke in a nail biter.

Darryl Strawberry heads off to rehab and a riot broke out at a Grateful Dead concert in Orlando, Florida.

All that and so much more from this April 5th in 1994, as reported on The CBS World News Roundup.

I don't think a week has gone by in history without some crisis developing, or some settlement reached with regards to the Middle East.

On March 12th in 1979 talks were going on in Israel between Menachem Begin and Jimmy Carter, with an emergency session being held on this day. Speculation among Middle East watchers was President Carter to spend an extra day trying to hammer something out.

And to go along with the negotiations were reports of continued violence in the West Bank, anti-Carter riots around Jerusalem and a general feeling of tension while some sort of peace process was being arrived at.

And if that weren't enough, talk on Capitol Hill centered around what was being described as a disastrous Energy policy and a looming crisis by way of Arab Oil. Only time would tell on that one.

Meanwhile, news from overseas, aside from the Peace talks, centered around continued Rhodesian attacks on rebel bases in Zimbabwe and the Women of Tehran turning out en masse to protest the latest edicts from the Ayatollah regime regarding a severe curtailing of civil rights for women and a reintroduction of the Chador as required apparel for all Iranian Women.

And when the talk wasn't focused on the potential energy crisis or the Middle East, Capitol Hill was focusing on calls for a Constitutional Amendment to the Balanced Budget, with John Stennis leading the charge. And if Jimmy Carter didn't have enough trouble, Republican Presidential hopefuls Howard Baker and Bob Dole were busy making political hay from calls for an investigation of the Carter Family Peanut business based on an FBI investigation that alleged Prodigal Brother Billy was busy cooking books at the warehouse.

And so spiraled this March 12th in 1979 as reported on CBS Radio via their 8:00 am-9:00 am (PST) network news and The World Tonight.

With the latest ceasefire in Sarajevo some four hours old, February 10th 1994 started off on a note of cautious optimism. With NATO and United Nations forces stepping up their efforts at a settlement in the never-ending ethnic strife that had overtaken the region, and air of skepticism and hope pervaded the atmosphere in the troubled former Yugoslavia.

So the news on this day in 1994 was hopeful. Hopeful too were signals a partial agreement had been reached between Israel and the PLO over the autonomy question in Gaza and Jericho. How long this would be in effect was also a matter of time, but it was a start.

Somalia, another up-and-coming trouble spot on the World stage, reported the kidnapping of two British members of Parliament and a British Aid worker. No news on conditions, demands or consequences as of this broadcast.

And the Winter Olympics/Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan Scandal was back in the news with lawyers for Harding filing a $25 million lawsuit over the barring of their client from the Winter Olympics. Hearings were continuing in Oslo over Harding's role as accomplice in the attack on skater Nancy Kerrigan. While attorney's for Harding maintained her innocence, a PR blitz ramped up on behalf of the Harding camp portrayed Tonya Harding as an innocent victim.

And University of Oklahoma coach Bud Wilkinson died at the age of 77.

All that and so much more, this day in history for February 10, 1994 as reported on The CBS World News Roundup.

June 8, 1967 and it was Day Four of the now-famous Six Day War. News was all about attempts at a ceasefire, threats of escalation, finger pointing and lurking around in the background; the nuclear option, which was par for the course in those days. Any sort of armed confrontation that took place during this period always had the caveat of it somehow going into Nuclear territory, even Vietnam as you recall. Cuban Missile Crisis? The Berlin Wall? Yep, the Red Phone always figured in the picture somewhere. And this news special talks about it happening over the Middle East too.

Luckily, cooler heads always seemed to prevail, but at the time it was one more thing to lose sleep over.

Here is a run-down of the days events in the Middle East and the progress (or non-progress) of attempts at a peaceful settlement.

June 8, 1967 - one more fun day in history.

Not a really good news day if you were fleeing Haiti as President Bush (Sr.) pledged to refuse granting asylum to the onslaught of Boat People heading to Florida. The United Nations proposed sanctions against Serbia in their escalating war in Bosnia. The term Ethnic Cleansing would enter our Lexicon of Horror shortly thereafter. Pro-Democracy demonstrators were arrested enmasse in Thailand after the ouster of Prime Minister Suchinda Kraprayoon in a military junta. One military junta ousts another military junta - a "meet the new boss" analogy lurks around there someplace.The Middle East was a "happening place" once again with bombings in Beirut and the Gaza Strip keeping everyone on their toes. And the 1992 Primary Season was roaring to a close with Bill Clinton looking like the lead with Ross Perot trailing and Gov. Jerry Brown coming in second or third, depending on which poll you read. And to top it all off, there were a number of arrests made at Weedstock, a celebration/rally in favor of legalizing Marijuana which came as no surprise to anybody. Except of course unless you were there - but then, how would you know?

All that and more on this particular May 25th, which happened to me Memorial Day in 1992 via the CBS World News Roundup.

(Ball? What ball?)

The Gaza story has a history and a long one, as does the entire region. But one of the things that sticks out is the election of Hamas to the leadership of the Palestinian government in January 2006. It came as a huge surprise to the U.S. and just about everyone else at the United Nations. The question arises whether or not the U.S. and Israel dropped the ball in letting the Hamas faction sway the elections and did the U.S. simply look the other way while all this was going on. In a sit-down (somewhat softball) Radio interview with Condoleeza Rice on January 29th 2006 she's asked that question.

Dan Raviv (CBS News): “Now, we’re hearing from some Arab moderates that the U.S. and Israel blew it. That over the past fourteen months since Yassar Arafat’s death that maybe the U.S. and Israel should have done more to help President Abas. Did the U.S. blow it?”

Rice: Well, I’ve heard a number of Palestinians say that, uh, Palestinian Fatah say that they have to assess what this means about their relationship to the Palestinian people. I think this was about governance. I think this was an issue, um of uh, the legacy that Yassar Arafat left of corruption and violence. Um . . .after the Gaza withdrawal unfortunately, the Palestinian Authority was unable to establish even simple law and order. And I think for the Palestinian people this was . . .this was unacceptable.”

Raviv: “Did we help as much as we could have?”

Rice: “I think we . . .that the United States uh . . did a lot.”

Well, time answered that question.

As a sidebar, Rice answers questions regarding the Bush Adminstration's position on the Immigration issue. Makes for interesting listening as well.

(Rashomon - how many ways to interpret an event? Can we count them?)

With the events in the Middle East of the last 24 hours, and reading the comments posted about it, it seems there are as many ways to interpret an event as incidents taking place in the event itself. I was reminded by one writer to my colleague David Neiwert's post that "as many as sixteen" and "at least sixteen" held wildly different connotations. And were these observations based on the fog of events, the political beliefs of the players, or the simple choice of words? And how these observations translate into reactions on the parts of the viewers and listeners.

So I thought I would take a quick roundup of the English speaking broadcast media throughout the world and get a sampling of how the event was interpreted. Certainly isn't scientific. Some of the reported is decidedly slanted (i.e. the Israel National Radio segment is an extreme example), but you get an idea of just how many views can be had when an international incident takes place.

Let's start with the BBC World Service Newshour, probably one of the most widely listened to broadcasts throughout the world and how they saw it.

RTE, the national radio network of Ireland offers their interpretation of events, which coincide with a member of the Irish government taking part in the flotilla and how the Irish view this event.

CBC's Hourly newscast from 12 noon (EDT) today. Israeli Prime Minister Natanyahu was visiting Canada before his arrival in the U.S. later this week, which was cut short because of the event.

ABC Radio National's PM newscast gives their view on the event.

Closer to the source, Kol Israel, considered the more moderate of Israeli news outlets gives a matter-of-fact description of events in their 10:30 am newscast

And finally, Israel National Radio considered (even by them) to be the most right wing and extreme of radio outlets in the world, offers their views on the event with a 45 minute wrapup.

Somewhere in all of this is probably where the truth of the event lies. The Turkish media, broadcasting the event live and non-stop since it broke does not have English broadcasts available. Needless to say, the event will continue to unfold over the next several hours and days and no doubt the opinions and observations will grow and galvanize as well.

One event seen six different ways.

(Ingrid Betancourt - six years as hostage is eternity no matter how you slice it)

An interview tonight with former hostage Ingrid Betancourt, conducted by the BBC's Alan Johnston, himself a former hostage, held by Islamic extremists in Gaza. Betancourt, you will probably remember was the French-Colombian politician and Senator who was captured and held hostage for six years by the Colombian rebel organization FARC. It was done a short time after her release and broadcast in December of 2008 over the BBC World Service. Betancourt captured the worlds attention from 2002 until her release, withstanding six years as a hostage and a relentlessly uncertain fate.

Ingrid Betancourt (on the experience of 6 years as hostage): “You have to go through it to understand. Because, you . . in the civil world, in the outside, the free world you can have problems but you always have a choice. And you always, I mean even though you could be mistreated or humiliated or whatever, you can just find another space. Here you are submitted to the will of others, to the arbitrary, to the cruelty of human beings and you don’t have a choice.”

Further evidence the human spirit can be remarkably strong.