NewsCore, by Staff Posted By: Photoonist- Mon, 31 May 2010 23:57:03 GMT Israel offered a vigorous defense Monday amidst a rapidly deepening international dispute over its deadly overnight raid on a flotilla of ships carrying aid bound for Gaza. Under pressure from even its allies over the incident that killed at least nine people, Israel’s Deputy U.N. Ambassador Daniel Carmon took to the floor of the international body to fire back against the idea that the ships were peaceful, unarmed and humanitarian. “What kind of peace activists use knives, clubs and fire from weapons stolen from soldiers...to attack soldiers to attack soldiers who board a ship in accordance with international law?,”

Los Angeles Times, by Max Boot Posted By: Dreadnought- Mon, 31 May 2010 23:52:24 GMT Much nonsense has been written in recent years about the prospects of American decline and the inevitable rise of China. But it was not a declining power that I saw in recent weeks as I jetted from the Middle East to the Far East through two of America's pivotal geographic commands — Central Command and Pacific Command. The very fact that the entire world is divided up into American military commands is significant. There is no French, Indian or Brazilian equivalent — not yet even a Chinese counterpart. It is simply assumed without much comment that American

Associated Press / NBC San Diego, by Eric S. Page Posted By: NorthernDog- Mon, 31 May 2010 23:46:07 GMT Officials are investigating an incident that took place near the border Friday, according to a published report. Anastasio Hernandez was shot with a stun gun at a San Diego border crossing on Friday, KPBS reported. He has been unconscious since that time and, a family member told the station, he is now brain dead. The Mexican consulate in San Diego said in a statement Saturday night that agents from the Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection agencies appear to have used excessive force in the Friday confrontation. It said it was trying to establish contact with the Mexican man's family.

Associated Press, by Darlene Superville Posted By: JoniTx- Mon, 31 May 2010 23:12:52 GMT CHICAGO– President Barack Obama is going to deliver his Memorial Day speech after all.The president is expected to deliver the speech late Monday afternoon after he lands at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington.He was scheduled to give the speech earlier in the day at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Ill., but a severe thunderstorm forced the commander in chief to flee the scene in a downpour. Obama had mounted the podium to give the address when rain, thunder, lightning and high winds began.

Politics Daily, by James Grady Posted By: bamapreacher- Mon, 31 May 2010 23:12:09 GMT Of all the chiseled stones standing silent watch over us in these uncivil and dangerous political times, this Memorial Day consider one modest white'marble slab on a green hillside at Arlington National Cemetery: Michael Joseph Mansfield PVT U.S. Marine Corps Mar 16 1903 Oct 5 2001

The Times [UK], by Mary Bowers Posted By: JoniTx- Mon, 31 May 2010 22:27:59 GMT Fears were growing today for 28 British citizens reportedly aboard the Gaza flotilla, including two Britons being detained by Israeli authorities and facing prison. A spokeswoman for the Israeli Interior Ministry said that the Britons were among 16 passengers detained at Ashdod Port after the first ship, Challenger 1, was towed to shore. Despite being given the option of immediate deportation, 15 chose to stay and face prison, including both UK nationals.

ABC News, by Anna Schecter Posted By: Photoonist- Mon, 31 May 2010 22:11:14 GMT An African warlord has moved to block supermodel Naomi Campbell from testifying about "blood diamonds" that she allegedly received from him. On Monday, defense lawyers for former Liberian president Charles Taylor, who is on trial for war crimes in an international court, filed papers opposing the prosecution's request to subpoena Campbell (Snip) However, when Campbell's former modeling agent Carole White heard about the ABC News report, she told the international war crimes court that she remembered Campbell receiving diamonds from Taylor's men after a dinner at South African President Nelson Mandela's house.

NewsBusters, by Noel Sheppard Posted By: DW626- Mon, 31 May 2010 22:09:23 GMT CRITICAL UPDATES at end of article. It's now all over the headlines: "Israeli Soldiers Kill at Least 10 Protesters on Boat Carrying Supplies to Gaza." But with all stories, there are indeed two sides. As international outrage mounts, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancels Tuesday's scheduled meeting with President Obama, it is crucial that news outlets here offer an accurate, fair and balanced assessment of exactly what transpired in the Mediterranean Sea early Monday morning. After all, according to Israel's Haaretz, this isn't the unprovoked massacre some in the media are depicting

The Spectator (UK), by Melanie Phillips Posted By: Desert Fox- Mon, 31 May 2010 21:55:32 GMT As the international community rushes to condemn Israel for the violence on board one of the ships in the Gaza flotilla, which left a reported 10 people dead and dozens injured, it is now obvious that the real purpose of this ‘armada of hate’ was not merely the further delegitimisation of Israel but something far worse. Gaza’s markets are full of produce, thousands of tons of supplies are travelling into Gaza every week through the Israeli'controlled border crossings, and there is no starvation or humanitarian crisis. It was always obvious that the flotilla was not the humanitarian exercise

Baltimore Sun, by Staff Posted By: FL_Absentee_Voter- Mon, 31 May 2010 21:45:58 GMT Two more men were shot and killed in Baltimore Sunday night and another person was fatally shot Monday morning, bringing the number of shootings in the city over this violent Memorial Day weekend to nine and the number of deaths to seven, according to police. "There's some people in the city who decided to make everyone's Memorial Day miserable," said Anthony Guglielmi, a city police spokesman, speaking at a news conference early Monday afternoon. He said detectives have issued an arrest warrant in one shooting and have a person of interest in another, but no arrests have been made.