A Palestinian teenager has been shot dead by an Israeli settler in the occupied West Bank, witnesses and activists said. The settler opened fire after Palestinian youths threw stones at his car travelling along Route 60 in Mazra'a al-Sharqia, east of Ramallah. The Popular Struggle Co-ordination Committee activist group said that Aysar al-Zaben was not involved in the stone throwing, but was tending his family's land when he was shot. "According to his uncle, his lifeless body was found lying face down on the ground with a bullet hole in his back," the group said in a statement.

The Anti-Empire Report: Terminally Dumb People Terminally-dumb people have always been with us of, course. It can’t be that we’ve suddenly gone stupid. If you shake your head and roll your eyes at the nonsense coming out of the Teaparty followers of Sarah "Africa is a country" Palin and other intellectual giants like Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh … If you have thoughts of moving abroad after the latest silly lies and fantasies like "Obama the Marxist" and "Obama the antichrist" … If you share Noam Chomsky’s feeling: "I have never seen anything like this in my lifetime" … keep in mind that the right wing has long been at least as stupid and as mean-spirited. Consider some of the behavior of the same types for half a century during the Cold War with its beloved — albeit imaginary — "International Communist Conspiracy".

Thousands of Afghan people have rallied in eastern part of the country to protest against the latest killing of 11 civilians by US-led troops. The furious Afghans took to the streets of Jalalabad in eastern Nangarhar province on Friday, Reuters reported. The protesters brought out the bodies of dead civilians who were killed in overnight raids. PressTV: Afghan protest turns violent.

Columbia, Missouri Police Chief Ken Burton is apparently frustrated. At another press conference yesterday, a reporter asked the chief what he has learned from the international attention generated by the YouTube video of his department's SWAT team conducting a drug raid last February.

US President Barack Obama will ask Congress to provide $205 million to Israel to spur production and deployment of a new short-range rocket defense system, administration officials said on Thursday. "The president recognizes the threat missiles and rockets fired by Hamas and Hezbollah pose to Israelis, and has therefore decided to seek funding from Congress to support the production of Israel's short range rocket defense system called Iron Dome," White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said. PressTV: 'Obama funding Israel for new war'.

CNN: Congressman to launch inquiry on how much oil is gushing into Gulf: Purdue Professor: "there's definitely more coming out of that pipe than people thought. It's definitely not 5,000 barrels a day", He now Estimates 56,000-70,000 barrels a day. BP does not dispute these new numbers.

WSWS: What caused the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon? The Guardian: Gulf oil spill: firms ignored warning signs before blast, inquiry hears. HuffPo: Lisa Murkowski BLOCKS Bill To Raise Oil Spill Liability Cap (VIDEO). FDL: Scientist: Oil Pipe Pouring 2.9 Million Gallons Per Day. NYT: Size of Oil Spill Underestimated, Scientists Say. Florida State University: FSU Playing Major Role in Monitoring, Assessment of Gulf Oil Spill.

Two astoundingly corrupt Pennsylvania judges who convicted innocent children in order to send them to a for-profit detention facility in exchange for kickbacks have been caught on tape discussing those kickbacks and making plans to commit perjury.

Human Rights Watch said Thursday it had evidence of cases from a 2008-09 conflict in which the Israeli army wantonly destroyed civilian property in the Gaza Strip, even if there was no military necessity. Israel should investigate the alleged cases of destruction during the 2008-2009 Gaza war, and those who committed or ordered them should be prosecuted for war crimes, the international human rights organization said.

Major General Khattiya Sawasdiphol, who supported redshirt protesters, 'shot by sniper' in Bangkok as army moves in. A renegade Thai army officer accused of marshalling a paramilitary force among Thailand's redshirt protesters has been shot in the head, apparently by a sniper, an aide said today. The aide, who answered Major General Khattiya Sawasdiphol's mobile phone, described his injuries as "severe". The Associated Press called Khattiya's phone after several gunshots and explosions were heard in central Bangkok in the vicinity of the area occupied by the protesters. "Seh Daeng was shot in the head," the aide – referring to Khattiya by his nickname – said. He ended the call before identifying himself. NYT: Thai General Shot; Army Moves to Face Protesters.

Drone attacks on Pakistan's tribal areas have intensifiedin recent days. The raids come after it was revealed that the US government had granted approval to the CIA to expand drone attacksto lower-level members of Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters. But the attacks have caused growing anger in Pakistan, as civilians continue to be killed and homes and villages are destroyed. Jamshed Ayaz Khan, a Pakistan-based defence analyst, told Al Jazeera that a "hundred per cent [of Pakistanis] are against the drone attacks".

We’ve known for some time now that the lunatics have taken over the asylum, but this latest story has to take the prize for insanity of the month. A 14-year old autistic boy was arrested on felony charges for drawing a stick figure representation of him pointing a gun at his teacher. It’s all part of the Orwellian newspeak “philosophy” of “zero tolerance.”

In recent days, the US media—led by the standard bearer of American liberalism, the New York Times, has insisted that workers in the US, like their brethren in Greece, have been living the good life for far too long and must accept a drastic and permanent reduction in their living standards. In a May 9 piece, Times columnist Thomas Friedman denounces workers in the US and Western Europe for believing in the “tooth fairy” and expecting government services without paying for them. In America, Friedman says, the baby-boom generation, which supposedly had inherited the prosperity of the post-war years, had “eaten through all that abundance like hungry locusts.”

Mayor In London, Meets With Police Chief And Examine City's Security System Consisting Of 500,000 Cameras. Fact: Average Person Can Be Filmed 300 Times In A Single Day In London. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has his eye on more security against terror attacks. He went to London Tuesday to check out their surveillance camera system, one of the largest in the world. Ever since the Times Square car bomb scare on May 1, the mayor's been looking to build up New York's camera network. That means adding to the ring of steel in Times Square, similar to central London's. The mayor said more NYPD surveillance cameras may prevent another "terror scare". London has 500,000 surveillance cameras, more than any other city in the world. Bloomberg visited London's mayor to see how these help Britain fight "terror". [These cameras have nothing to do with preventing "terror". They are there to tighten the Government's grip over British citizens. -Big Brother Bloomberg wants more power over people in New York, that's for sure.]