Χριστε, ελεησον

Atlanta
Powerful Tornado Damages Downtown Atlanta
New York Times - 1 hour ago
Dave Martin/AP Windows were shattered at office buildings after a powerful storm crashed through Atlanta on Friday night. By SHAILA DEWAN and BRENDA GOODMAN ATLANTA - A powerful tornado scored a direct hit on the commercial center of downtown Atlanta ...
Tornado watch issued in metro Atlanta Atlanta Journal Constitution
Atlanta Braces for Another Severe Storm The Associated Press

Tibet - China
Exile Group Says 30 Killed in Tibet
The Associated Press - 1 hour ago
BEIJING (AP) - China ordered tourists out of Tibet's capital Saturday while troops on foot and in armored vehicles patrolled the streets and confined government workers to their offices, a day after riots that a Tibetan exile group said left at least ...
Video: Protests Turn Violent in Tibetan Capital AssociatedPress
Chinese Army Won't Quash Tibet Protests, General Says (Update3) Bloomberg

China sets deadline for rioters to surrender
Washington Post - 9 hours ago
By Chris Buckley and Benjamin Kang Lim BEIJING (Reuters) - China set a "surrender deadline," announced deaths and showed the first extensive television footage of rioting in Lhasa on Saturday, launching a crackdown after the worst unrest in Tibet for ...

Iran
Reformers Make Gains in Iran Vote
New York Times - 1 hour ago
TEHRAN, March 25 - With about half of the races for Parliament decided Saturday, more than 30 reformers appear to have won seats although most of their most prominent members had been barred from running by the country’s conservative establishment.
Iranians Loyal to Islamic Regime Lead in Early Count (Update1) Bloomberg
Iran Counting Votes in Parliamentary Elections Voice of America

Israel - Palestine
Israel's Deputy PM: West Bank Outposts Should be Dismantled
Voice of America - 3 hours ago
By VOA News Israel's deputy prime minister says the Jewish state's delay in dismantling unauthorized settlement outposts in the West Bank is hurting its relations with the United States.
China to supply crime-fighting gear to Palestinians AFP
Israel: Barak Skips Three-Way Meeting New York Times

US envoy presses Israelis, Palestinians on peace plan
Los Angeles Times - 10 hours ago
{US presses Israel, Palestinians on peace plan } {Tension over Jewish settlements persists after the three-way meeting. } By Richard Boudreaux, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer JERUSALEM -- An American envoy Friday gave Israeli and Palestinian officials ...

Albania
Albania depot blasts 'kill many'
BBC News - 1 hour ago
Many people have died in a series of huge explosions at a military arms depot near the Albanian capital Tirana, Prime Minister Sali Berisha says.
Explosions rock Albanian capital Aljazeera.net
Explosion rocks army depot in Albania, at least 50 feared dead Xinhua

Plus de 160 victimes dans une série d'explosions en Albanie
La Tribune.fr - Il y a 2 heures
TIRANA (Reuters) - Une série d'explosions a fait environ 160 victimes, dont plusieurs Américains, samedi, sur une base militaire des faubourgs de Tirana, ont fait savoir les autorités sans distinguer les morts des blessés. Les déflagrations se seraient ...

Iraq - Chaldaean Catholic Church
Iraqi Christians mourn archbishop
Los Angeles Times - 9 hours ago
At the funeral, the Chaldean patriarch urges patience for the beleaguered minority in Mosul. Some members see it as the last straw and prepare to leave.
Iraq Christians mourn kidnapped cleric's death Reuters
Funeral mass for Iraqi archbishop BBC News


Wall Street - Economy
US stocks plunge on Bear Stearns bailout; wipe out week's gains
MarketWatch - 3 hours ago
By MarketWatch US stocks are hammered for a third session this week after Bear Stearns Cos. says it is in need of a bailout from the Federal Reserve and JP Morgan Chase, with shares of the investment bank plunging 55%.
Behind the Fed’s Bear Loan: Systemic Risk Fear Wall Street Journal
RBS, JC Flowers Interested in Buying Bear Stearns, NYT Says Bloomberg

Inflation Held Steady in February
New York Times - 21 hours ago
By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM Inflation held steady in February as consumers prices stayed flat, the government said on Friday, taking some pressure off the Federal Reserve as it considers a new round of interest rate cuts.

East Asia
Hu Jintao Re-Elected As China President
The Associated Press - 7 hours ago
BEIJING (AP) - China's legislature re-elected Hu Jintao as president Saturday, giving him a second five-year term as leader of the world's most populous country.
Hu Jintao re-elected China President CNN-IBN

China calls for technology sharing mechanism for anti-global ...
Xinhua - 6 hours ago
CHIBA, Japan, March 15 (Xinhua) -- The world does not lack innovative environmental technologies which help cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but is short of an effective mechanism supporting distribution and common sharing of such beneficial ...
Japan Urges G-8, China to Cooperate on Green Energy Technology Bloomberg
Asia Security Role Goes Global Rright Side News

Malaysia PM urged to resign as rift opens in party
Reuters - Mar 14, 2008
By Jalil Hamid KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - The son of former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad on Friday asked Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to step down from office following the ruling coalition's election debacle at the weekend.

Pakistan
Pakistan buries victims of blasts
BBC News - Mar 12, 2008
Funerals have been held in Pakistan for the victims of two bomb attacks on Tuesday in the eastern city of Lahore. At least 24 people were killed and 100 injured in the attacks by bombers using vehicles packed with explosives.
Blasts Push Pakistan Toward New Policy TIME
NGOs slate Tuesday’s suicide bombings Daily Times

Au moins 10 blessés dans une explosion à Islamabad
TF1 - Il y a 56 minutes
Une explosion d'origine encore indéterminée a eu lieu samedi à Islamabad dans un restaurant fréquenté par des étrangers, faisant au moins dix blessés. "Il ya eu une explosion à l'intérieur du restaurant italien dans le centre de la capitale", ...
Explosion à Islamabad : 1 mort et 12 blessés nouvelobs.com
Un étranger tué et neuf blessés dans un attentat à Islamabad Le Point

Iraq
UN Report: Glimpses of peace a 'window of opportunity' in Iraq
International Herald Tribune - 3 hours ago
AP BAGHDAD: A decrease in insurgent attacks in Baghdad that followed a surge of US forces to Iraq has held, but violence elsewhere raise questions about the sustainability of peace, a United Nations report released Saturday determined.

Facts About al-Qaida in Iraq
The Associated Press - Mar 14, 2008
A look at the shadowy group known as al-Qaida in Iraq: _ Membership estimated by US intelligence agencies to number between 2000 and 6000.
[Caveat: this is the AP - one cannot assume they are not parroting the WH]

Iraq: A nation in pieces
Telegraph.co.uk - 16 hours ago
Five years on from the invasion and occupation of Iraq, I have returned to Baghdad to find people whose lives have been changed in ways that none of them could have forecast even at their most pessimistic moments.

Iran wants joint action with Iraq and Turkey against PKK
Tehran Times - 12 hours ago
DAKAR (Reuters) -- Iran, Iraq, and Turkey should work together to defeat Kurdish rebels while respecting each other’s territorial integrity and ensuring civilians are not harmed, Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday.

Chad
Chadian opposition says France must stop playing Africa's policeman
International Herald Tribune - 12 Mar 2008
AP STRASBOURG, France: A Chadian opposition politician on Wednesday criticized France for wielding too much influence in his country and called for a new form of military cooperation with the former colonizer of the central African country.

South Africa - Global Health
SAfrican study suggests heart disease growing in developing countries
AFP - 13 Mar 2008
PARIS (AFP) - Heart disease, once predominantly the preserve of rich countries, is expanding fast in developing economies, although for rather different reasons, a study carried out in South Africa suggests.
SA health system in poor state: report SABC News
Spectrum of heart disease and its risk factors are broadening in ... RxPG NEWS

South Australia
50 people seek hospital treatment for heat stress
Adelaidenow - 12 Mar 2008
AT least 50 people have succumbed to Adelaide's record heatwave, seeking hospital treatment for a range of conditions related to the relentless heat.
Searing SA heat could trigger bushfires NEWS.com.au
Planes seek out hotspots in SA bushfire The Age

Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: US throws lifeline to Tamil Tigers
Reuters - 14 hours ago - COLOMBO, March 15 (Reuters) - Smarting at mounting criticism of its human rights record amid escalating civil war, Sri ...
Sri Lanka bombs rebels, 39 Tigers killed in fighting: ministry - AFP - 5 hours ago
COLOMBO (AFP) — Sri Lankan jets bombed a Tamil Tiger training base as new fighting across the embattled northern region claimed the lives of at least 39 ...
Sri Lanka sets an example by fighting terrorism: PM - Hindu, India - 6 hours ago
Colombo (PTI): Sri Lanka has set an example to the whole world by fighting terrorism and establishing democracy in the war-ravaged Eastern part of the ...
Sri Lanka summons US envoy over rights report - AFP - 9 hours ago
COLOMBO (AFP) — Sri Lanka summoned US ambassador Robert Blake to denounce Washington's criticism of Colombo's human rights record in an escalating ethnic ...

Latin America
Chávez reafirma su voluntad de 'recuperar la confianza' entre ...
Terra España - hace 14 horas
El presidente venezolano, Hugo Chávez, reafirmó hoy la voluntad de su Gobierno de trabajar para 'recuperar la confianza' entre Venezuela y Colombia, un día después de que sostuvo su primera conversación telefónica en cuatro meses con su colega ...
Hugo Chávez llama a Uribe para sellar la paz entre ambos países El Faro de Cartagena (España)
Hugo Chávez gira hacia la paz, pero deja dudas Periódico Latino

Canada - Middle East
Protesters to continue opposing Afghan mission
CTV.ca - 2 hours ago
Protesters plan to rally in 20 communities across Canada today against the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. "This war has nothing to do with the defense of democracy or women's rights in Afghanistan and everything to do with advancing US ...
A moving target Winnipeg Free Press
Peace group plans protests in 20 cities over extended mission in ... The Canadian Press

Dakar - Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC - OCI in French)
Sommet de l'OCI à Dakar: adoption d'une nouvelle charte pour un ...
L'Express - Il y a 20 heures
Les chefs d'Etat de l'Organisation de la conférence islamique (OCI) ont adopté vendredi à Dakar à l'unanimité une nouvelle charte, qui remplace un texte datant de 1972, pour donner un "nouvel élan" à cette organisation représentant 1,3 milliard de ...
L'OCI prône le "dialogue des civilisations" Le Point
Le sommet de l'OCI prend d'importantes décisions pour l'Afrique Afrique en ligne
And why do I have to go to the French google headlines to learn about this Islamic gathering, its deliberations and its proposals?

Turkey
Menace d'interdiction du parti au pouvoir: la Turquie sous le choc
L'Express - Il y a 2 heures
La Turquie était sous le choc samedi d'une demande de dissolution par la justice du parti gouvernemental qui oppose une nouvelle fois l'establishment laïc aux cadres dirigeant depuis six ans le pays et qui sont soupçonnés d'islamiser la société. ...
Turquie: le recours est une "atteinte à la volonté nationale ... France Info
La justice veut fermer le parti du pouvoir RFI

United States (Guantánamo) - Al Qaeda
High Al Qaeda figure captured, Pentagon says
Los Angeles Times - 10 hours ago
Muhammad Rahim arrives at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. He allegedly helped Osama bin Laden flee Afghanistan in 2001. By Josh Meyer and Carol J. Williams, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA -- A high-level Al Qaeda operative who ...
US Transfers Bin Laden Aide Washington Post
Officials Say CIA Secretly Detained Suspect New York Times

So we hold him in secret for six months (per NYT article) and then announce that we have him just before the anniversary of launching our invasion of Iraq. Which leads the public to believe the U.S. is making progress in its war on terror. Don't you love the timing of announcements? (Or the withholding of announcements in the case of this week's report from the Pentagon that concluded, after reviewing 600,000 Iraqi documents that there was no demonstrable link whatsoever between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda?)

Stop Being So Religious

What
Do sad people have in
Common?

It seems
They have all built a shrine
To the past

And often go there
And do a strange wail and
Worship.

What is the beginning of
Happiness?

It is to stop being
So religious

Like

That.

—Hafiz, Persian Sufi Poet, tr. Daniel Ladinsky

--the BB