World News!

Israel

• Israeli troops used live ammunition to suppress Palestinian protesters attempting to enter Israel from Lebanon.  The protesters were there to commemorate Nakba Day, by throwing rocks at the soldiers.  Reports are that 10 Palestinians died and 112 were wounded.  Syria, winning the chutzpah award for the day, condemned Israel's "criminal activities".

Japan

• With the Fukushima nuclear plant still in meltdown, Japan has expanded the evacuation zone around the plant from 20km to 30 km.

Libya

• Luis Moreno-Ocampo, International Criminal Court prosecutor, asked for warrants for the arrest of Muammar Gaddafi, Saif al-Islam, and Abdullah al-Senussi on charges of war crimes - suppressing protests using live ammunition and heavy artillery, deploying snipers to kill civilians leaving mosques, and attacking civilians at home.

North Korea

• The land of the furry hat of power is back!  North Korea Crazy[1] has, according to a leaked UN report, been exchanging ballistic missile technology with Iran.  The exchanges have taken place through "a neighboring third country" identified as China.

Syria

• Syria suppressed pro-democracy protests in Talkalakh on Sunday with live ammunitiion and heavy artillery.  So far there is no word as to whether Luis Moreno-Ocampo will seek warrants for the arrest of "President" Saleh and his key government officials, who have had over 700 civilians killed in the past two months.

United States

• In "the Singularity is coming" news Google (yes, that Google) is lobbying the state of Nevada for legislation that would make it legal to operate self-driving cars on public roads.
• The Walt Disney Company has trademarked the name "Seal Team 6"[2].  I can't wait for their next animated movie:  "Disney's The War or Terror", with 3 new songs by Phil Collins.
• Pepsico will be test-marketing a soda bottle made from 100% PET plastic, which is a plastic made out of plant matter.  It uses no petroleum (yay!), is 100% recyclable (yay!) but, despite it's source material, is not compostable or biodegradable (boo!).  But hey, it's a good start.  Coca-Cola's response was to pout and sullenly mutter "we've been using plastic bottles with PET content since 2009".
• With no agreement yet on raising the debt ceiling, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has announced that he will be suspending investments in two government retirement funds[3], which he calculates will free up $147 billion in additional borrowing capacity by not allowing Federal pension money to be invested in Treasuries until August 2nd.
• Dominique Strauss-Khan, the current Managing Director of the IMF, was arrested Sunday for the alleged attempted rape of a Manhattan hotel maid.  He is appearing in court today, where he plans to plead not guilty to charges of a criminal sexual act, attempted rape, and unlawful imprisonment.  If convicted, he faces 15 to 20 years in prison.
• The Nasdaq OMX Group Inc has withdrawn its hostile bid to take over NYSE Euronext.  "The acquisition would have substantially eliminated competition for corporate stock listing services, opening and closing stock auction services, off-exchange stock trade reporting services, and real-time proprietary equity data products," stated the Justice Department, whose opposition is credited with ending the bid.
• The space shuttle Endeavour has launched today for its final mission.  Once it returns to earth, and the Atlantis completes it's final mission in July, the United States will be without any orbit-capable launch vehicles.

 

[1]  Hitting the charts with their new single "Japan Is My New Yeongpyong".

[2]  To look at the actual applications, go to the United States Patent and Trademark Office's Trademark Electronic Search System.  You can just search for "Seal Team 6",  They've got serial numbers 85310970, 85310966, and 85310957.

[2]  Specifically, the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund (CSRDF) and the Government Securities Investment Fund ("G Fund").  The CSRDF is invested in special-issue Treasury securities, and the "G Fund" is a money market that uses special-issue Treasury securities.  The Treasury Department has put out an FAQ on the matter, if you're interested.