News – Progress in Lebanon

Middle East

With the collapse of the Syrian backed government in Lebanon, Condi Rice has offered to help the Lebanese people hold free and fair elections. Bloggers muse the developments.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says that Palestine needs peace, not just reform. Palestine can reform all it wants, if Israel doesn’t stay at the table, peace won’t be manifesting.

An unidentified US counterterrorism official says that Bin Laden has recently communicated to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi that the U.S. homeland be a target.

Tony Blair’s Middle East peace talks open up in London with hopeful initial words.

Asia

After their recent success in space launch, Japan is musing a colony on the moon.

China shrugs off US criticism of it’s rights record. Why should they care? We won’t do anything appreciable to prompt change in them. Our economic ties are too close.

Europe

A clash between Nepalese soldiers and Maoist rebels have left four soldiers and fifty rebels dead by accounts.

North America

U.S. District Judge Henry Floyd has ruled that the president has no right to hold a US citizen indefinitely as an enemy combatant. I consider this a victory, as I don’t think it right for a US citizen to lose his or her right to due process. Regardless of if Padilla is guilty or not, we must safeguard our rights or lose them. If they have evidence against them, let them put him to trial like every other US citizen who is charged.

Condi’s put off plans for her trip to Canada. In part, perhaps, because of Canada’s decision to opt out of the US missile defense system. If so, it would be yet another show of how our government acts improperly toward allies when they show disagreement.

Cris Feldman, a lawyer, has said that a political action committee formed by Republican house majority leader DeLay illegally used $600,000 in corporate money to help Republicans win control of the Texas Legislature in 2002.

General

A report from UNICEF note that child poverty is on the rise in many rich nations.

Copyright bull keeps some old TV shows off of DVD, such as WKRP in Cincinnati.

Jef Raskin, original designer of the Macintosh, dies.

Any firefox users should update soon, to close a security hole in the browser.

Explainer talks boulder breaking goo.

The continued proliferation of Annonymice.

Today’s Papers has the Whote House imposing a six week deadline on itself for convicing the nation abot Sosical Security reform, the falling opinion on said reforms, a massive carbobm in Iraq and more in the one page news.

Amusements

Man stands naked on lawn in Iowa in February. Neighbors ask man to put on clothes. Man gets mad. Man gets sword from house, chases neighbors

It’s bad enough when you use your mobile phone to take naked pictures of people. But when you work in a nursing home, well that’s just gross

If decency bill passes the Senate, Bono saying “f*cking brilliant” on the air would carry the exact same penalty as illegally testing pesticides on human subjects

If you rob a house, don’t A) dial up porn sites, B) try on women’s clothing and C) leave your wallet

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop some Krispy Kremes. It’s less fattening than eating them

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop this surreal Japanese scene

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop this guy with a broken mallet</A