Israeli Strikes Kill 10 in Gaza, Israel Orders Investigation

Israeli Strikes Kill 10 in Gaza, Israel Orders Investigation: "Palestinian officials say at least 10 Palestinians have died in Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip Friday.

The officials say Israeli gunboats fired at the Mediterranean coast of the Gaza Strip, killing at least six people. At least two of the dead were children.

Two Israeli airstrikes in Gaza killed four more Palestinians.

The attacks wounded more than 30 people.

Israel's military has ordered a halt to strikes on Gaza while it conducts an investigation."

(Via GlobalSecurity.org.)

Hamas breaks truce with rockets

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Hamas breaks truce with rockets: "Palestinian militant group Hamas says it has fired rockets at Israel for the first time since its truce 16 months ago, in response to civilian deaths.

Hamas accuses Israel of killing seven civilians, three of them children, who were caught in an explosion as they relaxed on a Gaza beach on Friday

Israel, which has been using artillery against suspected Gaza rocket squads, promised to investigate the deaths."

(Via BBC News.)

Think Tanks Mock Net Neutrality With Fake Amendment

Techdirt Corporate Intelligence: Techdirt Wireless - Think Tanks Mock Net Neutrality With Fake Amendment: "While most of the press attention today on net neutrality is about how the House rejected net neutrality language, there's one side story that's a bit disappointing, in that it shows how low some think tanks and politicians have stooped in this debate. Declan McCullough, over at News.com, plays along with a silly and misleading attempt by some think tanks and a Congressman to mock network neutrality support, by introducing an obviously stupid amendment to apply 'neutrality' to all companies that do business on the internet -- such as Google or Amazon. So, for example, the backers of the bill claim, Amazon couldn't do an exclusive deal with Toys R Us, because that would be 'discriminatory.' They put forth this bill and support it with idiotic quotes from the same think tanks that have been against network neutrality, by saying this proves the bad logic of supporting network neutrality. Except, it doesn't. All it shows is that these think tanks either don't actually understand what network neutrality means (doubtful) or are being purposely misleading in describing what it means. "

(Via techdirt.)

Zarqawi...

Baghdad Burning: "The timing is extremely suspicious: just when people were getting really fed up with the useless Iraqi government, Zarqawi is killed and Maliki is hailed the victorious leader of the occupied world! (And no- Iraqis aren't celebrating in the streets- worries over electricity, water, death squads, tests, corpses and extremists in high places prevail right now.)"

(Via Baghdad Burning.)

Probe of CIA Prisons Implicates EU Nations

Probe of CIA Prisons Implicates EU Nations: "Fourteen European nations colluded with U.S. intelligence in a 'spider's web' of secret flights and detention centers that violated international human rights law, the head of an investigation into alleged CIA clandestine prisons said Wednesday.

Swiss senator Dick Marty said the nations aided the movement of 17 detainees who said they had been abducted by U.S. agents and secretly transferred to detention centers around the world.

Some said they were transferred to the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and others to alleged secret facilities in countries including Poland, Romania, Egypt and Jordan. Some said they were mistreated or tortured.

'I have chosen to adopt the metaphor of a global spider's web, a web that has been spun out incrementally over several years using tactics and techniques that had to be developed in response to new threats of war,' Marty said."

(Via Salon.)

"The Bush administration forced me to have an abortion I didn't want."

AlterNet: Blogs: The Mix: "There was an excellent article in this weekend's WaPo, authored by a 42-year-old mother of two young children, Dana L., who was left with the option of terminating an unplanned pregnancy after she was unable to secure the emergency contraceptive Plan B within the 72-hour window in which it works."

(Via AlterNet.)

Bad Day...

Baghdad Burning: "It’s been a horrible day. We woke up to unbearable heat. Our area averages about 4 hours electricity daily and the rest is generator electricity, which means we can use our ceiling fans, but there’s no way we can use air conditioners.

...

Before that, we heard the news about the dozens abducted from the Salhiya area in Baghdad. Salhiya is a busy area where many travel agencies have offices. It has been particularly busy since the war because people who want to leave to Jordan and Syria all make their reservations from one office or another in that area."

(Via Baghdad Burning.)