BBC NEWS | Middle East | Tanks raid Gaza after fresh salvo
–Rockets are htting Israel so the tanks have rolled back into Gaza.

CBC News:Martin ready for minority ‘challenge’
–Minority government… the NDP should have done better than 19 seats with 15% of the vote… but there is always next time.

CBC News: Popular vote numbers tell the tale
–It is called a shift left. Even with the strategic vote taking votes away from the NDP, they still gained in numbers over the last election. Do people see that Martin is not as left as he should be…. or is it the protest vote went left? I think that it is a combination of both. People hav seen what the Liberals have failed to do, what the Conservatives have promised to do, and they have answered by voting NDP.

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | US hands over power in Iraq
–The US administration have appointed a new government early in Iraq. It just goes to show who has the say in what goes on. in a real democracy it takes a long time to change governments… however, if someone else it pulling the strings and it doesn’t matter what the “government” does then it is quite easy to shuffle things around. Iraq will have “full sovereignty” to do what ever the US tells it to do.

Yahoo! News - Families, tourists, activists join to celebrate gay pride parade in Toronto
–Gay Pride in Toronto. The pary continued through the afternoon and evening to end pride week.

BBC NEWS | Americas | Close call in Canadian elections
–Canada hits the world news. This election is going to be interesting. Get out and vote.

CBC News:Union protest slows Canada-U.S. border traffic
–If you give people an increase in things to do and dangers on their job then a pay raise is supposed to accompany that increase. These are the people protecting our borders, we need to treat them fairly.

News
–Pro-weastern president elected in Serbia. Keep a close eye on the changes and happenings in this country over the next year.

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Chirac leads resistance as Bush courts Nato allies
–France has put its foot down again abou the use of NATO troops in Iraq. i just hope that it stays down. There is no sense in extending NATO beyond what it is already. The UN should be in Iraq not the “peace makers”.

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Scientists say watching TV hastens puberty
–Light and radiation accelerates puberty…. again, one wonders about the science in these articles, but it is interesting to consider. Something has to be driving the trend we are seeing in the young these days.

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Mobiles cut sperm count, says report
–Yet another reason to not use cell phones. i am not sure how much stock I put in this but it is rather interesting to concider.

OneWorld.ca - Ahead of UN Meeting, Group Highlights Contemporary Slavery
–Anti-slavery group highlights that the practice of using people to do forced labour still goes on.

rabble news
–Rabble.ca has come out in support for the NDP. Not really shocking.

Pride Parades
–Gay pride from around the world. Keep flying the flag.

CBC News:Invasion of Iraq “enormous mistake,” ex-counterterrorism chief says
–Richard Clarke is about the best thing for the US (besides Moore’s new film) right now. He says it straight with all the credentials behind him.

Yahoo! News - Israel Kills Top Militant Leader Linked to Arafat
–More violence in the West Bank. Desperation.

Annan Wants Sudan To Deal With Catastrophe
–More on the Sudan and the people that are dying. It is not getting enough focus.

News Detail
–Some key differences between the Liberals and the NDP from the NDP.

Chilling Call to Murder as Music Attacks Gays
–I am not sure about this. I think that hate filled music is wrong but there is a market for it and that is the problem… the music itself is just a symptom. Education is the key. Musicians that are enraged can speak out with their music to combat the hate and community leaders need to start speaking out for solidarity with all people.

TomDispatch
–Tom Engelhardt. Found his site again. It is almost always a good read. This on is no exception.

News
–Trains in the UK have not gotten better even with subsidies and privatization. I would suggest that maybe the government stop the subsidies and re-nationalize the system… that is if they have a plan that is better than the private sphere… something that should not be that hard.

News
–Another example of private companies not fulfilling their commitment to the people. There needs to be more oversight of these sorts of things and the ability of governments to force change. It should not be put in the hands of whistle-blowers to tell the people that something is wrong. Whistle-blower protection also needs to be increased.