Thousands of Palestinians rallied in Gaza on Saturday to commemorate the Nakbah or national catastrophe of 1948, when European Jewish settlers brought into the Mandate of Palestine by imperial British policy expelled 700,000 Palestinians from what is now Israel and then sealed the border, confiscating all their property without compensation. These actions turned the bulk of the Palestinians into poverty-stricken camp dwellers and/or stateless persons living under the rule of others, and prevented the rise of an independent Palestinian state such as was envisaged by the League of Nations and the British government just a decade before.

Keeping the memory of their national catastrophe alive is especially important to Palestinians since the rest of the world has forgotten it and wealthy and powerful elements of the rightwing Israel lobbies in the US monitor and intimidate media figures and academics who dare depart from the fantasyland Leon Uris “Exodus” narrative of 1948. (Israelis have the right to their narrative, but not to erase the national narratives of others).

Hamas won the January 2006 Palestine Authority elections, an outcome unacceptable to the US and Israel, which promptly cut off aid to the PA, hurting ordinary Palestinians. Gradually a PLO coup was orchestrated on the West Bank, which confined Hamas to the Gaza Strip, which was then put under economic blockade by the Israelis. (This blockade is a war crime since it targets civilians; indeed, half of Gazans are children, so it is depriving children of food, electricity and other needs.) Israeli actions were intended to dislodge Hamas from Gaza just as it had been overthrown in the West Bank, but the Israelis failed to achieve this goal.

Israeli soldiers injure three civilians and arrest eight for protesting against construction of a wall and attempting to stop military bulldozers from destroying Palestinian orchards. Israeli soldiers attacked the anti-wall protesters with rifle butts and batons, injuring three international supporters and arresting eight others in the town of Beit Jala near Beth Lahm (Bethlehem), in southern West Bank.

Julian Assange, the Australian founder of the whistleblower website Wikileaks, says he had his passport taken away from him at Melbourne Airport and was later told by customs officials that it was about to be cancelled. Last year Wikileaks published a confidential Australian blacklist of websites to be banned under the government's proposed internet filter. Julian Assange, the Australian founder of the whistleblower website Wikileaks, says he had his passport taken away from him at Melbourne Airport and was later told by customs officials that it was about to be cancelled. Last year Wikileaks published a confidential Australian blacklist of websites to be banned under the government's proposed internet filter. Assange told The Age his passport was taken from him by customs officials at Melbourne Airport when he entered the country last week after he was told ''it was looking worn''. When the passport was returned to him after about 15 minutes, he says he was told by authorities that it was going to be or was cancelled. collateralmurder.com (VIDEO). 05/15/10: Wikileaks is hinting at something big.

Turkey said on Sunday Iran had agreed on a nuclear fuel swap deal which could help end Tehran's stand-off with the West over its atomic programme. Full details of the agreement were not immediately released by Turkish and Brazilian officials mediating in Iran's dispute with leading world powers, who suspect Tehran of covertly developing a nuclear bomb. Turkey's foreign ministry said a formal announcement might be made on Monday after any final revisions by the Brazilian and Iranian presidents and the Turkish prime minister. "Yes, it has been reached after almost 18 hours of negotiations," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters in Tehran when asked if there would be an agreement. HuffPo: Iran & Turkey Agree To Uranium Swap In Nuclear Deal.

The catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico enters its 26th day as BP's latest contraption to contain the crude gushing form a blown-up well hits a snag. BP on Friday failed to insert a mile-long tube into the gushing pipe to siphon the oil to a tanker at the water's surface. The company now seeks new methods to reduce the growing calamity, the Associated Press reported. Meanwhile, people are growing ever more angry and frustrated on the coastal shores where a fishing ban is in place, according to CBS. In Port Fourchon, La., southwest of New Orleans, many local fishermen are out of the water and are running out of patience. Their only hope for work now is being hired by for clean-up work but they are frustrated by BP's red-tape, a report by CBS said. "BP did this," says one fisherman there. "They destroyed us." Washington's Blog: Dispersants Might Be INCREASING Damage From Gulf Oil Spill.

The weakness of the Kabul government is hindering attempts by US and Nato forces to gain much ground from the insurgents mujahideens. In a leaked memo, the US ambassador in Kabul, General Karl Eikenberry, said Mr Karzai was "not an adequate strategic partner" and was interested only in using foreign troops to keep himself in power. One Afghan politician, who did not want his name published, added that "the problem is not that the Taliban is strong but that the government is so weak".

[Editor's Comment:] -Nobody's winning? This war never was about "winning". From day #1 it was about occupying this country. -Why? Because Afghanistan is strategically important to the world's financial oligarchy and because of the (future) oil & gas pielines. Uranium and other minerals hardly make Afghanistan less interesting to them. These war criminals will not leave until this godforsaken country has been sucked dry and has lost its strategic importance to them.

Suspect in Mabhouh killing had genuine British passport Within 48 hours of becoming Foreign Secretary, William Hague faces a political crisis over the Middle East. The emirate of Dubai has named a British citizen as a 19th suspect of the killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, the Hamas official murdered in the emirate four months ago, apparently by a group that included holders of forged British passports. According to a source in the United Arab Emirates, the suspect arrived in Dubai under his own name and carrying a genuine British passport. The document, the details of which are known by The Independent on Sunday but which we have decided not to publish, shows that he holds a real British passport dated 24 October 2007, valid for 11 years, and was born in 1948. It is believed that his father was a Jewish Palestinian who migrated to the UK just after the Second World War. Dubai police have informed Interpol of the name and passport number of the suspect. The man is believed to be hiding in Western Europe.

When the White House is quiet as protestors are butchered in the streets of Bangkok Thailand, suspicions are raised. Silence often equals complicity. One can only imagine what the U.S.’ response would be to a Venezuelan government slaughter: the U.S. media and Obama would loudly condemn such an act, in contrast to the muted response to Thailand’s blood bath.

The history of U.S.-Thailand relations explains why. During the Vietnam War, the U.S. used Thailand as one of the main “anti-communist” bulwarks in an area that included China, Vietnam, Burma, and other countries that were challenging capitalism. Thailand was thus transformed into a U.S. client state and given money, guns, and U.S. government intelligence to battle Thailand’s “communists.” This relationship has equaled numerous Thai dictatorships that have a very bloody history, including the shooting of untold numbers of protestors that the Thai government named “communists,” or their modern equivalent, “terrorists.” Al Jazeera: Red shirts' military leader dies. Bernama: Seven More Die, Including Seh Daeng.

Interior Ministry seeking IDF approval to let American professor just into West Bank; rights group: Decision characteristic of totalitarian regime. No reason was initially given for the decision, but the Interior Ministry later said immigration officials at the Allenby Bridge border crossing from Jordan had misunderstood Chomsky's intentions thinking initially he was also due to visit Israel. Chomsky, who is on a speaking tour in the region, was scheduled to speak at Bir Zeit University in the West Bank on Monday. Interior Ministry spokeswoman Sabine Haddad said officials were now trying to get clearance from the Israel Defense Forces, which controls access to the West Bank to allow Chomsky to enter that territory. In a telephone interview with Channel 10, Chomsky said the interrogators had told him he had written things that the Israeli government did not like. "I suggested [the interrogator try to] find any government in the world that likes anything I say," he said.

A sleeping 7-year-old girl was shot and killed when an officer's gun went off while Detroit police were searching a duplex for a suspect in the slaying of a teenager, a police official said. Assistant Chief Ralph Godbee said at a news conference Sunday that Aiyana Jones was hit in the neck by a single bullet and died at a hospital. Police said the girl was sleeping on a couch when she was shot. "This is any parent's worst nightmare. It also is any police officer's worst nightmare," Godbee said. CNN: 7-year-old girl killed in Detroit police raid.

A research vessel in the Gulf of Mexico discovered up to four underwater “plumes” of oil Saturday trailing from the BP disaster, strengthening claims that the spill is leaking far more oil than reported by the government. The largest of the plumes was reported to have a volume of 1.7 cubic miles, trailing thirty miles southwest into the Gulf of Mexico. The findings bolster the claims of [scientists] and [captains] who stressed the dangers of submerged oil traveling long distances with ocean currents.

Local media exposed what was supposed to be a secret maiden flight & demonstration. The UAV has onboard cameras that the report says have the capability to look into your home (through the walls & ceiling) and see what the occupants are doing. It is likely the cameras use a combination of IR, radar, and a form of 'backscatter' X-Ray. Privacy rights are now dead. Does your local gestapo have one flying over YOUR home?