World News!

China

• China and the US will have another two day summit, beginning today, this time about economic issues.  It is expected that the US will demand Chinese currency reform once more, which will be countered by a Chinese demand that the US do something about its debt levels.  Human rights may come up again, as well.

Iran

• Close allies of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have been arrested and charged with being magicians and with invoking djinns.

PIGS

• The European Union is considering lowering interest rates on the bailout loans made to Greece and Ireland, and is also working on a second bailout for Greece.  Not every member state is in favor of the move, however.
• Standard & Poor's has cut the Greek sovereign credit rating from BB- to B, and has indicated that further cuts may occur.

Pakistan

• Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani will be addressing his nation about the US infiltration of Pakistan and the killing of Osama Bin Laden last week, and is expected to deliver a stern warning against further military missions inside Pakistan by foreign forces.  The main opposition party is not impressed.  "We want resignations," stated an official of the Pakistan Muslim League, "not half-baked explanations."

Syria

• Tanks, snipers, and infantry have cordoned off a suburb of Damascus and have begun a house by house sweep for pro-democracy protesters.  Electricity and telephone services have been cut, and "heavy gunfire" is being reported.  The number of civilians killed has not been confirmed.  The ICC chief prosecutor has not yet indicated whether he will seek warrants for the arrest of any Syrian top officials.

United States

• Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker warned that the current national debt is unsustainable, and that Congress and the White House would need to act soon to ensure economic stability and national security.
• Senator Charles Schumer called for a "no-ride list" for US trains, similar to the current "no-fly list" for the airlines, after learning that Osama Bin Laden and his allies had discussed the possibility of attacking a train or trains on September 11, 2011[1].  In additional good news for fans of civil rights, he has stated that "Circumstances demand we make adjustments by increasing funding to enhance rail safety and monitoring on commuter rail transit and screening who gets on Amtrak passenger trains, so that we can provide a greater level of security to the public."[2]
• A Congressional panel will be grilling Apple and Google executives tomorrow over the possibility that location-tracking may violate the rights of users of their products.  Presumably, the government resents the competition.
• Atlantic Southeast Airlines had two men in traditional Muslim dress removed from a flight from Memphis to Charlotte and were refused admittance to the plane even after the TSA confirmed they were not a threat, because "passengers were uncomfortable with them".  The two men, Masudur Rahman and Mohamed Zaghloul, were Imams flying to North Carolina for a conference  on prejudice against Muslims.
• Gary Faulkner, best known for being arrested in Pakistan while hunting Osama Bin Laden with "a pistol, a samurai sword, night-vision goggles and a map", has stated that he deserves a share of the $27 milion reward for Bin laden because "I had a major hand and play in this wonderful thing, getting him out of the mountains and down to the valleys....  Someone had to get him out of there.  That's where I came in.  I scared the squirrel out of his hole, he popped his head up and he got capped."  Now, bear in mind that he was arrested last June while wandering around in the mountains, and that Bin Laden had been living in his resort compound for five or six years...
• A man in Alum Creek, WV, described as being "high on bath salts', stole and then killed his neighbor's pygmy goat.  Police found him in his bedroom, dressed in a bra and panties, with the goat corpse.

 

[1]  Surely you remember this one?  The news item from Friday in which the Department of Homeland Security stated "We have no information of any imminent terrorist threat to the US rail sector"?

[2]  No word yet on whether or not the US government will be taking additional steps to "provide a greater level of security to the public" such as restricting internet content, banning groups in excess of ten individuals from meeting, confiscating firearms, requiring homeowners to house soldiers, or suspending warrants.