News – Election Hassle

Middle East

Hizbollah wins big at the polls in Lebanon, bolstering it to keep it’s weapons in the face of international pressure to disarm. Seeing how often these militant groups win at these elections, it shows we should have been paying more attention to them, trying to shift them away from the violent path and toward the political one. Instead our aggressively negative focus has encouraged them to keep close to the violent path, rather than having the potential for some real transformation. In my opinion, anyway. Now that they’re growing in political power as well, we’ll have to deal with them or violate our own purported values by ignoring the results of fair, if sometimes rushed, elections.

New political battle lines are forming in Afghanistan, with a candidate list posted by a UN-Afghan election commission.

The US military uncovers a bunker network under the desert which was used as a base by insurgents. It included a well-stocked larder, four furnished living spaces and rooms full of machine guns, mortars, rockets, black uniforms, masks, compasses, night-vision goggles and satellite telephones. How many more of these might there be? Something to consider, since there could be quite a few of these secure, hard to find bases.

Israeli police face off against Palestinians throwing rocks</A. during Israel's annual celebration of its capture of Arab East Jerusalem 38 years ago. I can see where such a celebration would cause problems. A bit like any country celebrating taking a strip of land from a neighbor. The neighbor would most certainly look poorly upon such a celebration. Though stone throwing is not a proper response to it.

Extreme Israeli settlers dig into a hotel in Gaza, preparing to resist expulsion. Their set up includes stores of food and guards with uzis.

Jerusalem’s city council makes the decision to raze the homes of about 1,000 Palestinians in a neighborhood claimed by Jewish settlers. I can see this decision causing even more problems. The decision is played off that the 90 buildings were built illegally over the last three decades on a site of religious and archaeological value just outside the Old City walls, and that they are being destroyed to restore the area as a national park. Israeli human rights campaigners contest that, saying that the real intent is to forcibly remove Palestinians from an area.

The US wants the EU to hold off on signing a trade pact with Syria, doubting they’ve pulled out all of their intelligence agents. But they don’t have any proof to cite, instead indicating Syria’s past actions as proof enough. In that case, I suppose we should just keep all criminals in jail for life as their past actions have proven they simply can’t be trusted ever again. What I wouldn’t give for the Bush administration to provide some actual proof of wrongdoing rather than just, “we don’t trust them”.

Saudi Arabia asserts that US criticism on human trafficking is unfounded.

Israel is struck by an odd wave of violent crime.

Africa

The ICC has launched a formal investigation of crimes against humanity in Sudan’s Darfur region.

Asia

Rummy grumbles about China continuing to enhance its ability to project power when it faces no threats. I didn’t know Rummy was Defense Sec for China too. Personally, I’d say the same thing for the US, where we continue to enhance our power in ways unneeded, as we face no threats that require them. For example, the desired research on nukes that we’ll never actually use.. right.

Central America

Does Bush’s push for the spread of democracy apply to Cuba? Doesn’t seem to.

North America

Rummy plays down the possibility, cited by one of those senior Pentagon officials, that the North Korea will be referred to the UN Security Council for talk on sanctions.

Amnesty USA’s leader pulls back from heavy comments on Guantanimo. That’s the problem with making big, grand and excessive comments like that. Unless you’re solid on them, you stand the chance of being forced to backpedal. All sides of every issue continue to fall into that trap.

Researchers say that early school is bad for kids.

MIT muses over providing cheap laptops to kids in developing countries, surmounting the issues of lack of electricity and tech support.

Some other things to know about Mark Felt.

General

Will Apple be moving to Intel and leaving IBM behind? If so, hopefully such a move will lead to lower prices for computers without compromising chip quality. The consumers are alight with opinions.

Explainer notes how the Paparazzi sell their photos.

Today’s Papers has the dangerous Iraqi journalists face, the unsavory details of adeath penalty trial in Iraq, new $250,000 drive-through detectors for our ports that can’t the difference between radiation from enriched uranium and that from cat litter and more in the one page news.

Amusements

A little Flash goodie sent to me by a friend. Put the cursor on his nose.

Paris Hilton is finding it difficult to choose between two engagement rings, so she has decided to wear them both, Farkers still waiting for honeymoon video, expected to be best seller

Apparently unaware of the internet, man starts campaign to have local liquor stores stop carrying nudie magazines. “I feel this is a dangerous situation and police need to take action on it”

Flunking sophomore who was missing, then not missing, then presumed dead, now actually not dead and working at Sam’s Club in Kentucky. At least it’s not Smyrna

Applebees refuses to serve you alcohol because you’re drunk, do you: A) Accept the restaurant’s policy, B) Politely ask that the bartender call you a cab, or C) Throw a temper-tantrum and pull the fire alarm on the way out the door

South African store manages to enrage two major world religions with one package of soup

Pope John Paul II’s testament called for the burning of his personal papers after his death. Instead his former personal secretary, Archbishop Stanislaw “Judas” Dziwisz, has preserved them, calling them “great riches.”

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop Johnny Damon all messed up in center field

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Theme: Fark, The Theme Park

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop this man shooting a .50 caliber handgun