Link: http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-05-29/torture-photos-depict-sex-rape/?cid=bsa:mostpopular1

[The] photographs of abuses at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison, which President Obama, in a reversal, decided not to release, [do] depict sexually explicit acts, including a uniformed soldier receiving oral sex from a female prisoner, a government contractor engaged in an act of sodomy with a male prisoner and scenes of forced masturbation, forced exhibition, and penetration involving phosphorous sticks and brooms. America must hide from the world what it has become.

Link: http://bodyontheline.wordpress.com/2009/05/30/65-years-in-jail-for-providing-charity-to-palestinians-that-is/

If you funnel money to the Israeli terrorist army, it is tax-deductible in the US. And if you funnel money to any Palestinian group, you serve time in jail.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/01/business/01lobby.html?_r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss

As the financial crisis entered one of its darkest phases in October, a handful of the nation’s largest banks began holding daily telephone sessions. Murmurs were already emanating from Washington about the need for a wide-ranging regulatory overhaul, and Wall Street executives girded for a fight.

Link: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/05/31-3

CARACAS - Undaunted by a slowing economy, Venezuela's still popular President Hugo Chavez is picking up the pace of his left-wing revolution with a relentless raft of nationalizations and an offensive against opponents.

Link: http://bellaciao.org/en/spip.php?article18847

The UK BBC has just reported that the founder members of what was once the biggest Muslim charity in the US have each been jailed for 65 years for giving money to aid the orphans from Israeli killings of Occupied Palestinians.

Link: http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=10808

Israel has begun its largest-ever defence drill, testing the response of its emergency services to a "doomsday scenario" of missile attacks, bombings and natural disasters.

Link: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1089205.html

Tensions between Washington and Jerusalem are growing after the U.S. administration's demand that Israel completely freeze construction in all West Bank settlements. Israeli political officials expressed disappointment after Tuesday's round of meetings in London with George Mitchell, U.S. President Barack Obama's envoy to the Middle East.

Link: http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=33633

The International Federation for Human Rights denounces the Israeli decision to deny its representatives access to Gaza. FIDH had introduced on April 22nd, 2009 a request to enter Gaza through the Erez entry point, to conduct a mission from May 24th to May 31st, composed of prominent judges and lawyers from France and Germany. The purpose of the mission was to investigate grave human rights violations allegedly perpetrated by the Israeli army and the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip during the `Cast Lead` military operation.

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/31/new-york-billionaire-philanthropists

Paul Harris in New York The Observer, Sunday 31 May 2009 Article historyIt is the most elite club in the world. Ordinary people need not apply. Indeed there is no way to ask to join. You simply have to be very, very rich and very, very generous. On a global scale.

Link: http://www.armscontrolwonk.com/2319/lick-the-carrot

Amid reports that North Korea is preparing to launch another missile and fears it may conduct additional nuclear tests, KCNA has released one hell of a statement: The recent nuclear test conducted by the DPRK is the 2054th one on the earth. The five permanent members of the UNSC have conducted 99.99 percent of all the nuclear tests. Those countries have posed the biggest nuclear threats to the world. But they took issue with our first nuclear test, which was conducted in October 2006 as a self-defensive measure to cope with increased nuclear threats by the U.S., terming it a “threat to the international peace” and adopted the sanctions resolution against the DPRK. This is exactly the UNSC Resolution 1718. This resolution fabricated by the hypocrites has immediately invited a total rejection by the DPRK and we still do not recognize such resolution.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/30/nyregion/30kadish.html?ref=nyregion

Mr. Kadish said in court that he leaked classified United States military documents to an Israeli agent in the early 1980s. But he was not arrested until last year, and was allowed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to act as an unregistered agent of Israel. “This offense is a grave one that implicates the national security of the United States,” Judge Pauley said, adding, “Why it took the government 23 years to charge Mr. Kadish is shrouded in mystery.” Reuters: U.S. man who gave secrets to Israel spared jail :: U.S. District Judge William Pauley fined Ben-Ami Kadish $50,000, but Kadish received no prison time at his sentencing hearing. He pleaded guilty in December to acting as an unregistered agent of Israel. USA Today: Ben-ami Kadish charged with conspiring to disclose U.S. national defense documents to Israel and that he acted as an agent of the Israeli government. American Conservative Blog: Justice Denied?

Link: http://www.newson6.com/Global/story.asp?S=10436256

In the video, you see a confrontation between first responders and troopers outside of an ambulance, as a patient inside waits for medical care. OHP trooper Daniel Martin, who placed his hands around the neck of a paramedic, is now the subject of an internal investigation, although he and his partners remain on duty. Watch the raw footage of the fight captured on a camera phone.

Link: http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,627626,00.html

Rosa Luxemberg's grave has long been a magnet for leftists. But a pathologist in Berlin now thinks her body may never have occupied her tomb. A corpse he found deep in the cellar of a Berlin hospital, he says, may be that of the communist revolutionary who was murdered in 1919.

Link: http://bodyontheline.wordpress.com/2009/05/29/note-literature-is-illegal-in-palestine/

i went to the last night of the palestine festival of literature expecting that it would be shut down yet again. five minutes after they got started israeli terrorist soldiers invaded al hakawati. they came in and posted a court order in hebrew and arabic on the door and asked everyone to leave the theatre.

Link: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/69014.html

In a reminder that the nation's economic problems aren't going away anytime soon, the report also found that the foreclosure rate on prime fixed-rate loans to financially healthy borrowers has doubled in the past 12 months. SacBee: New 5 percent cut for state workers on the table.

Link: http://wsws.org/articles/2009/may2009/pers-m29.shtml

The events of the past few days have demonstrated the naked class interests behind the Obama administration’s “restructuring” of the auto industry and its plan to throw General Motors into bankruptcy.

Link: http://firedoglake.com/2009/05/29/abuse-photos-pentagon-cya-with-oak-leaf-clusters/

The UK's Daily Telegraph says that the abuse photos being withheld by the DOD at Obama's request show rape by uniformed US military personnel. At least one picture shows an American soldier apparently raping a female prisoner while another is said to show a male translator raping a male detainee. Further photographs are said to depict sexual assaults on prisoners with objects including a truncheon, wire and a phosphorescent tube. Another apparently shows a female prisoner having her clothing forcibly removed to expose her breasts. Detail of the content emerged from Major General Antonio Taguba, the former army officer who conducted an inquiry into the Abu Ghraib jail in Iraq. URUKNET: FLASHBACK: Pentagon Blocks Release of Abu Ghraib Images: Here's Why.

Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8071491.stm

Israel will continue to allow some construction in West Bank settlements despite US calls for a freeze on its work, a government spokesman says. Mark Regev said the fate of the settlements should be decided in peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

Link: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/france/090522/the-slaves-next-door

Yasmina was 12 years old when an aunt and uncle brought her to France from Mali to be a live-in nanny to their children. Once she was settled in a suburb near Paris, her new life consisted of 16 hours of household chores and regular beatings with electric cables. Although slavery is illegal in most of the world, an estimated 27 million people live in bondage, according to Free the Slaves, a Washington D.C.-based non-profit group working to eradicate the phenomenon globally.

Link: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6383449.ece

With the world’s media and aid organisations kept well away from the fighting, the army launched a fierce barrage that began at the end of April and lasted about three weeks. More than 20,000 Tamil civilians were killed in the final throes of the Sri Lankan civil war, most as a result of government shelling, an investigation by The Times has revealed. The number of casualties is three times the official figure.

Link: http://wsws.org/articles/2009/may2009/tort-m29.shtml

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph published Wednesday, former US General Antonio Taguba said that photographs the Obama administration is seeking to suppress show images of US soldiers raping and sodomizing Iraqi prisoners.

Link: http://wsws.org/articles/2009/may2009/iraq-m29.shtml

Amid mounting violence in Iraq and preparations for a major escalation of the US war in Afghanistan, the chief of staff of the US Army said that the military is preparing to continue its interventions in the two countries for at least another decade.

Link: http://www.alternet.org/environment/140297/how_much_has_changed_obama_administration_deals_series_of_anti-environmental_blows/

The Dems have unleashed a slew of anti-environmental policies that would have enraged any reasonable conservationist during the Bush years.

Link: http://www.consortiumnews.com/2009/052809c.html

Watching retired Gen. Colin Powell cite Jesus's parable of the Good Samaritan during Sunday’s Memorial Day ceremonies on the Mall in Washington, it struck me that Powell was giving hypocrisy a bad name.

Link: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/05/29

Global Warming is already responsible for 300,000 deaths a year and is affecting 300m people, according to the first comprehensive study of the human impact of global warming. It projects that increasingly severe heatwaves, floods, storms and forest fires will be responsible for as many as 500,000 deaths a year by 2030, making it the greatest humanitarian challenge the world faces.

Link: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19325973.800-cancer-therapy-when-all-else-fails.html

Lawrence Burgh has a sober outlook on life. A 48-year-old physician whose career has centred on treating seriously ill patients, Burgh was diagnosed with cancer in December 2006. Yet despite his clinical experience, he has taken an extraordinary step to try to rid himself of his illness, a step many would consider to be a medical heresy.

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/28/barack-obama-jewish-settlements-israel-palestine-relations

Increasingly fractious relations between the US and Israel hit a low unseen in nearly two decades yesterday after the Jewish state rejected President Obama's demand for an end to settlement construction in the West Bank, and the president responded by suggesting that Israeli intransigence endangers America's security.

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/29/hugo-chavez-venezuela-books

Cultural revolution had been declared and the crowd jostled in anticipation of receiving the latest tool in President Hugo Chávez's effort to transform Venezuela: books. Government trucks were unloading crates of books in plazas across the country, some 2.5m volumes in total, and those gathered in the capital, Caracas, surged forward to collect their prizes.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/29/us/politics/29cyber.html?_r=1

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon plans to create a new military command for cyberspace, administration officials said Thursday, stepping up preparations by the armed forces to conduct both offensive and defensive computer warfare.

Link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/5395830/Abu-Ghraib-abuse-photos-show-rape.html

Photographs of alleged prisoner abuse which Barack Obama is attempting to censor include images of apparent rape and sexual abuse, it has emerged. At least one picture shows an American soldier apparently raping a female prisoner while another is said to show a male translator raping a male detainee. Further photographs are said to depict sexual assaults on prisoners with objects including a truncheon, wire and a phosphorescent tube. Another apparently shows a female prisoner having her clothing forcibly removed to expose her breasts. at-Largely: Photos Obama won't release include images of rape...(warning, graphic) + Something I missed.

Link: http://wsws.org/articles/2009/may2009/pers-m28.shtml

The introduction of Sonia Sotomayor as President Obama’s first selection for the US Supreme Court took place at a White House media event of a completely choreographed and stereotyped character. Such ceremonies have become an essential part of how America is governed. The less the political system is capable of actually responding to the needs and aspirations of working people, the more it must put on the pretense of concern, using biography as a substitute for policy. Sotomayor will go to the Supreme Court, not as the representative or advocate of Hispanics, women or the socially disadvantaged more generally, but as the representative of a definite social class at the top of American society—the financial aristocracy. Open Salon / Thought Possible: What Sotomayor Actually Said in 2001 Lecture.

Link: http://wsws.org/articles/2009/may2009/brit-m28.shtml

Several reports published in the last few days testify to the increasingly serious impact the financial crisis is having on Britain’s financial institutions, the broader economy, public finances and the living conditions of working people. They portend the introduction of sweeping austerity measures, the likes of which have not been seen in the post war era and which the traditional organisations of working people will do nothing to oppose. ITV: Britain: the depth of corruption (John Pilger).

Link: http://www.rense.com/general86/cap.htm

It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American descent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people. True, the situation has been well prepared on and off for the past century, especially the past twenty years. The initial testing grounds was conducted upon our Holy Russia and a bloody test it was. But we Russians would not just roll over and give up our freedoms and our souls, no matter how much money Wall Street poured into the fists of the Marxists.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtoHCUMpNMY

Narcy is once again bringing it hard for Arabs world wide. Support this man. Premiere Title Track Music Video for The Narcicyst's upcoming album out. Directed and Edited by Hala Alsalman. Animation by Waleed Zaiter. Song written and performed by the Narcicyst (Y.Alsalman). Song Produced By SandhiLL Productions (N.Al-Rufaie). Available on The Narcicyst "P.H.A.T.W.A." LP May 26th 2009. Starring- Yassin Alsalman/The Narcicyst. Yushua Scott/Yusho. Liam Turner/ Agent Sam White. Habib Siam/ Mohamed Toomas. Nantali Indongo/ Agent #1. The Bagheads/ The Bagheads. Paranoid Arab Boy Music 2009.

Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8071234.stm

Correspondents say it is the first time in years that US officials have been so vocal in calling for a settlement freeze in the Palestinian territories. The comments come hours before Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is to meet Mr Obama at the White House. Israel's PM has defied US demands, saying some settlements can expand. The Israelis describe construction inside existing settlements as natural growth. Mr Netanyahu has said that this will continue. BBC: Netanyahu says settlements can expand.

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/28/israel-settlements-jerusalem-west-bank

Israel is to continue construction inside existing Jewish settlements, an official said today, despite a clear call from the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, for a halt to all settlement growth.

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/27/israel-palestinian-water-dispute

Palestinians losing out in access to vital shared aquifer in the occupied territories. In some areas of the West Bank, Palestinians are surviving on as little as 10 to 15 litres a person each day, which is at or below humanitarian disaster response levels recommended to avoid epidemics. In Gaza, where Palestinians rely on an aquifer that has become increasingly saline and polluted, the situation is worse. Only 5%-10% of the available water is clean enough to drink. IPS News: Humanitarian Crisis Deepens in West Bank. The People's Voice: Palestinian Economy: From Bad to Wretched. + Instant Greater Israel –Just Add Water. + Drought and Israeli Policy Threaten West Bank Water Security. PLUS: Ban on imports for reconstruction in Gaza, including paper, under claim of weapons manufacturing (URUKNET).

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/may/28/general-motors-europe-sales-vauxhall

All-night negotiations over the sale of General Motors's European arm broke up without agreement in the early hours this morning, leaving UK carmaker Vauxhall facing an uncertain future.

Link: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/may2009/terr-m28.shtml

In a high-publicity “terror” arrest, authorities seized four men in New York City May 20, alleging they intended to blow up synagogues in the Bronx and shoot down jets near the US Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York. The evidence against the men was marshaled by a paid government informant, who authorities admit spent nearly a year attempting to convince the men to carry out such attacks and provided them with phony weaponry.

Link: http://www.truthout.org/052809J

Over the last few weeks, there's been a lot of commentary attributed to the incident of Sgt. John M. Russell, the soldier charged with killing five fellow service members at a mental health treatment facility in Baghdad. The natural question is: Why did he do it?