Israeli nuclear capabilities are on the provisional agenda for the International Atomic Energy Agency's June 7 meeting. srael's secretive nuclear activities may undergo unprecedented scrutiny next month, with a key meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency tentatively set to focus on the topic for the first time, according to documents shared Friday with The Associated Press. A copy of the restricted provisional agenda of the IAEA's June 7 board meeting lists Israeli nuclear capabilities as the eighth item - the first time that that the agency's decision-making body is being asked to deal with the issue in its 52 years of existence.

I made some graphs. And yes, I am a nerd. But these make the scale of the unfairness clear.

A senior US official has attempted to put a negative spin on Iran's role at the NPT review conference in New York. On Friday, the director of policy planning at the US State Department, Anne-Marie Slaughter, said she saw Iran's actions at the conference as a sign that it is worried. Addressing the 2010 Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad criticized the United States, Britain, and France for failing to fulfill their commitments as signatories to the NPT and said their silence about Israel's nuclear arsenal is an example of their double-standard policy. He also called on the White House to dismantle its nuclear bases around the globe. Slaughter described Iran's actions at the New York summit as signs of Iran's 'embarrassment'. Global Research: Iran, the US and the UN Nuclear Conference.

Israel does not accept U.N. proposal for a Middle East free of Atomic Weapons: US will reassess its 40-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" policy toward Israeli nuclear arsenal.

It's a time-honored adage that anyone in Washington who wants a friend had better get a dog. But who knew that man's best friend would also be a boon to Greek rioters? Amid the turmoil of the Greece financial crisis, photos and videos of street protests have turned up a kind of canine "Where's Waldo" figure: a mutt that may have some German shepherd genes, and clearly has a strong interest in civic disorder. While one can't be certain that it's the same pooch at every protest — Athens is something of a magnet for street-savvy stray dogs — this mutt does sport a distinctive blue collar, which may indicate that, while he's a stray, he's also current on his shots. By some accounts, the dog has been on the Athens protest scene ever since 2008 (though some say the 2008 pooch is a similar-looking dog named Kanellos who established himself as a fixture at demonstrations and died that year). [RE: This dog's name (Kanellos): Kανέλα ("Kanela") means 'cinnamon' in Greek. (His name (Kanellos) ends in -ος (“-os”) because he is a male dog.)] The current mutt has won a long string of blog tributes and a number of online nicknames, including "Rebel Dog," "Riot Dog" and "Protest Dog." He even has a Facebook page devoted to him (as "Riot-Dog"). Here's a sample of his protest outings (with apologies to Kanellos partisans if he's inadvertently included here). Corriere.it: Kanellos the dog - legendary front line activist protesting in Greece. The Guardian: Debt crisis: The EU is waterboarding Greece: The austerity measures forced on to the Greeks are not only unfair, they set a bad precedent for the rest of Europe. WSWS: Fears over Greek crisis continue to drive down global markets.

The growing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on May 7, 2010. On April 20, an explosion destroyed the Deepwater Horizon oil platform operating in the Gulf 80 kilometers (50 miles) offshore, resulting in substantial loss of life and releasing 5,000 barrels of oil per day into the water. The huge oil slick was being carried towards the Mississippi River Delta, and small amounts of oil had reached the Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. NPR: Oil Rig Workers Conned into signing away their legal rights.

One of the oil and gas companies currently drilling off the coast of the Falkland Islands says it may have struck oil. Rockhopper Exploration said that initial data collected from one well "indicated an oil discovery". The find would be the first in North Falkland Basin, the area north of the islands currently being explored. Earlier this year, another exploration company, Desire Petroleum, said its drilling programme had disappointed. It is currently drilling further wells after it decided to abandon its first oil well. UK-based Rockhopper said further tests now needed to be carried out on the well. "We are extremely excited by the results of this well," said Samuel Moody, managing director of Rockhopper. TimesOnline: Argentina denounces British ‘pirates’ after oil discovery in Falklands waters.

Countries most likely to be subject of a US invasion in 2010

Using legal injunctions, Dov Zakheim’s lawyers forced this website to remove an article we posted with the same title; which tells us he may have something to hide. Seems like others also think so as this video indicates. Watch it while you still can [TruthSeeker]

Pro-immigration protest sign...

Last Friday, April 30th, was the 35th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War, and last Tuesday, May 4th, was the 40th anniversary of the shooting of protesting students at Kent State University. The Vietnam War and America's involvement in it affected the lives of millions for well over a decade, exacting a massive human cost with millions of deaths and countless injuries - both physical and mental - that plague many of those involved to this day. United States military involvement and troop strength grew rapidly after 1964 - at its highest level in 1968, with over 500,000 troops on the ground. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. now bears the engraved names of 58,267 of those troops. It's nearly impossible to encapsulate an event of such scale in a handful of photographs, but here, 35 years after the end of the conflict, is my attempt. (47 photos total)

Russia probably killed all 10 pirates they arrested.

Medvedev denounces Stalin for ‘mass crimes against the Russian people’ - President Medvedev has issued a stinging repudiation of the Soviet Union, condemning it as a totalitarian state that had deprived Russians of their basic rights.

Doctors and experts are baffled by an Indian hermit who claims not to have eaten or drunk anything for several decades - but is still in perfect health. Prahlad Jani, a holy man, or fakir, who is over 70 years old, has just spent 10 days under constant observation in Sterling Hospital, in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad. During that time, he did not consume anything and "neither did he pass urine or stool", according to the hospital's deputy superintendent, Dr Dinesh Desai. Yet he is in fine mental and physical fettle, say doctors. Most people can live without food for several weeks, with the body drawing on its fat and protein stores. But the average human can survive for only three to four days without water. Followers of Indian holy men and ascetics have often ascribed extraordinary powers to them, but such powers are seldom subject to scientific inspection. "A series of tests conducted on him show his body mechanism is that of a normal person," said Dr Desai. Mr Jani spends most of his time in a cave near the Ambaji temple in Gujarat state. He spent his 10 days in hospital in a specially prepared room, with a sealed-off toilet and constant video surveillance.