News – Pending Justice? Perhaps.

Russia

Aslan Maskhadov, Chechnya’s rebel leader, has said “I responsibly announce that after the end of the war, individuals guilty of conducting illegal acts, including Shamil Basayev, will be passed to a court of law,” reacting to Basayev’s claim of masterminding the raid. Looking at his entry in Wikipedia, I feel I can give a measure of belief to this statement: Through spokesmen, he has consistently denounced the series of increasingly brutal terrorist acts carried out by Basayev’s followers since 1999. Russian officials consider these denouncments insincere and have always accused both Basayev and Maskhadov of being the masterminds behind them. Most western observers, on the other hand, agree that while Maskhadov might not be the most pleasant person in the world, he is indeed not connected to Basayev’s terrorism.

Israel/Palestine

A Palestinian mortar attack kills an Israeli woman in a settlement, further stirring the pot. Such shortsighted fools are these, Israeli and Palestinian, who remain slaves to the old cycle.

Two Israeli policemen died preventing a female bomber from entering a packed bush shelter, likely saving lives at the cost of their own.

An influential Anglican group is asking church leaders to impose a boycott of Israel and firms that do business with Israel to protest the occupation.

US

Yaser Esam Hamdi, not an unstoppable terrorist killing machine after all as he was released and sent to Saudi Arabia with a few conditions. Chalk up another screw up.

The continuing battle over Theresa “Terri” Schiavo continues. The Florida Supreme Court struck down the hastily made law that allowed Jeb Bush to keep a severely brain-damaged woman on life support against the wishes of her husband and legal guardian. Though that’s hardly the end as a rehearing is entirely possible, continung the struggle over whether she will be allowed to die or kept alive despite her reduced mental state.

Hurricane Jeanne threatens the Bahamas and Florida, headed west in the Atlantic with sustained winds near 100 Mph. Seems like mother nature has it in for the Caribbean and Sunshine State this year.

Congress has voted to extend the tax cuts for children and married couples, two of the most popular. They’ve also voted to protect the pledge of allegiance from being reverted back to it’s pristine state, leaving in the politically motivated religious fragment of decades past. Pity, I think the pledge should be returned to what the original writer created.

Bush is, of course, heavily criticized for the predicted rise it eh deficit due to his policies.

Kerry criticizes Iyad Allawi’s abetting of Bush’s ‘best face forward despite it all’ policy. Bush says Kerry’s criticisms hurt the war effort. Bush also obliquely cites a poll that says Iraqis are more upbeat about their future than Americans are about theirs. Considering the vastly different scope of what our future is with regard to theirs and what we consider when we look toward the future, I’m not surprised. The article notes neat the bottom which poll was being referred to.

American Indian or Native America, which is the proper term? Explainer muses this.

General

A news study says that a number of massive glaciers in the West Antarctic are sliding into the ocean at an accelerating rate and raising sea levels. Not an iminent threat, but one that needs to be looked into. In the long run it could be a danger that dwarfs any conventional threat, even that of terrorism. Cause you can’t just blow it up to make it go away.

Scientets have derived retinal cells from embryonic stem cells for the firs time, opening the way to testing replacement cells for human eyes as soon as within two years.

A review for The Forgotten, described as being built on emotional logic without asking for any substantial intellectual work. But I might have to pass it up for the British horror-comedy, Shaun of the Dead.

In an effort to wipe out malaria, scientists are engineering mosquitoes that can’t cause it. Of course, there are always concerns when letting a genetically engineered organism free into the environment.

Welfare capitalism dying in the US? If companies no longer watch out for their employees well being, who will?

How to beat Bill O’Reilly.

Amusements

Atkins buys influence in schools to brainwash children. Fat idiots and those getting paid to pretend this garbage is acceptable wonder what the problem is

After you stab someone to death, don’t leave a voicemail for your girlfriend saying, “I stabbed him a couple of times and, um, don’t repeat this to the police”

East St. Louis City Manager may or may not have shot himself in the leg. It may or may not have happened at home. There may or may not be witnesses

Man, asked to leave video store, gets angry, whips it out and starts whizzing all over the merchandise

Mark Fiore: Font Politics

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop the Fark.com link approval process

Fark Photoshop Challenge: <A HREF="http://forums.fark.com/cgi/fark/comments.pl?IDLink=1132446″&gt; Theme: Inappropriate sports training methods.

Fark Photoshop Challenge: In honor of Kalashnikov Vodka, photoshop some other product endorsements