News – The US Allows Condemnation of Israel? Wow.

Israel/Palestine

The main force that entered Ragah has left, perhaps under the mildly unprecedented world pressure, including(for once) the US. A small force has remained outside of the refugee camp, however. We also have, says a US State Department official, an assurance from Israeli Vice Premier Ehud Olmert that no more homes will be destroyed. We’ll see.

Marwan Barghouti has been found guilty of five murders( a Greek Orthodox monk in the West Bank in 2001, an Israeli at the Jewish settlement of Givat Zeev in 2002 and three people at a Tel Aviv seafood restaurant, also in 2002). He was also found guilty of one count of attempted murder and a count of membership of a terrorist group and acquitted of 21 other murders. He remains defiant and will be sentenced June 6th.

Looking back at the damage done.

Iraq

Governing Council member Mahmoud Othman says US forces were wrong to raid Chalabi’s HQ and accuses them of seeking to hijack Iraq’s political future..

The Mahdi Army and US forces continue to rumble in Kerbala. Moqtada al-Sadr has told his followers to continue fighting, unfortunately. Rashid Hamid Wali, an alJazeera journalist, was reported killed amid their clashes.

The last of Spain’s soldiers will have left by 10 PM today(Likely their local time, I’m not converting it to EST).

Spanish National Radio correspondent Fran Sevilla has been captured by Shiite militants loyal to Moqtada al-Sadr. Spain is currently seeking his release.

More Abu Ghraib photos published. This situation is shaping up to be a steady feed of difficulty.

Survivors of the wedding attack give statements. The US military continues to give a sharply different account of a raid of a “suspected foreign fighter safe house”.

The press reviews the court martial of Jeremy Sivits.

On the raid of Chaabi’s abode, the US military says it followed an “arrest warrant” for up to 15 people in connection with “fraud kidnapping and associated matters”. The Council will be meeting on the incident and two members have considered resigning in protest. It appeared to be a pretty insulting raid, even for Chalabi. Not that I like the man any more. But it is curious why they would do this much. Has Chalabi been a bad boy in some way we don’t know about?

Afghanistan

Angry locals of Tani(In the Khost Province) say US helicopters killed three civilians. A US patrol came under fire and they called in air support says Khost’s Mayor, Jalil Ahmad Hasani. But villagers contest that, saying there was no patrol.

US

Bush and Kerry raise hundreds of millions to bash at each other when it would be much cheaper to merely rent them space on a web forum and let them have their own little flame war. And less annoying.

The head of a ‘task force of bishops’ is open to talking over the possibility that Catholic priests might start denying Eucharist to Catholic politicians who support abortion rights.

A bipartisan bill has been introduced to subject the trade embargo on Cuba to an annual congressional review.

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is having the state’s top prosecutor look over a few marriage licenses to see if they were given to gay couples from out of state. That’s a no-no. You gotta live in state.

Seisint Inc gave the government a list of 120k names of those who scored high on a computer profile designed to identify likely terrorists. This was shortly after the attacks on 2001 and the ACLU wants to know who had access to those names and how the information was used. Personally, I’d like to know too.

Fear of an impending attack sparked the increase in intensity of US interrogation techniques at Guantanamo Bay.

The federal governemtn might get a few privacy overseers soon if Reps. Kendrick Meek (D-Florida) and Jim Turner (D-Texas) have hteir way.

A look at Douglas Feith, the Pentagon’s number three man. He seems to take blame for everything.

General

Before you get a hybrid thinking you can peel rubber now and not feel the pinch at the pump, as with any car driving style dictates how good your mileage is. Learn to drive responsibly. :p

Looking at how Gay Marriage effected Scandinavia. Stats and trends are easy to misunderstand, especially when you have an agenda to promote.

Today’s Papers has a passed $447 billion military package including the extra $25 billion Bush wanted, more Abu Ghraib tidbits, more on the Chalabi raid and other tidbits.

Amusements

<A HREF="http://abclocal.go.com/wtvg/news/519_pieinface.html”>Student suspended for throwing a pie in the principal’s face, after winning a school-sponsored contest to throw a pie in the principal’s face

Dennis Hastert, who was too fat to serve in Vietnam, gives John McCain, who spent five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, a lecture on the sacrifices of war

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop these screaming Calgary Flames fans. Watch the hand

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop these roofers. Difficulty: Not falling off of the roof

Fark Photoshop Challenge: We need more fruity gear. Photoshop your favorite fruit with your favorite electronic thing

Newgrounds: Marks Conspiracy – An interesting little series. 120 minutes between the 11 parts. Check the other submissions box to the lower left for the other parts.