Well, The Passion of The Christ still manages to make news. Today it was revealed by the Guardian that the 'blood libel' line where the Jews self-implicate themselves for the death of Christ was not removed from the movie as promised by Mel Gibson several weeks ago. Instead, he just removed the subtitle but kept the original Aramaic. The New Republic weighs in on how the use of blood encompasses the film and provides some historical context for the emphasis on Christ's suffering.

The San Francisco same-sex marriages continue to occur, with Rosie O'Donnell marrying her girlfriend Kelli Carpenter. And if you're someone who believes that this sort of thing is Biblically immoral, just remember, God hates shrimp too. Although I think the most disturbing part of this page is the real protesters in the background carrying signs that say: "Gay? Got AIDS Yet!" I thought we were over the 'gay plague' thing.

The United States military has issued a release stating their intent to change their current landmine policy to focus on landmines that self-destruct after a period of time with the intent to minimize their adverse effects on civilian populations. It will also double the aid it gives to foreign countries for the removal of existing landmines to $70 million. This is still not in compliance with the 1997 Ottawa Landmine Convention which calls for the ban on their use and the elimination of stockpiles, but it certainly is a step in the right direction.

A story about some espionage of the 1980's CIA has recently been reported. According to the author of an upcoming book, At the Abyss: An Insider's History of the Cold War, the CIA provided covert transfers of faulty technology to the Soviet Union, one of which caused a massive explosion in a Siberian natural gas pipeline that caused significant damage to the Soviet economy.

In addition:
- Astronomers at UC Berkeley and the University of Hawaii have found what they believe to be rings of dust capable of forming planets around a nearby star.
- NASA scientists say that from the data collected by the two Mars rovers they are within a few days of concluding whether Mars ever had fresh water.
- A physics professor at the California Institute of Technology has figured out what gives snowflakes their shape.
- Scientists at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine are questioning whether most animal experiments have any benefit to treating human disease.
- Spain has kicked off its federal election, with the governing Popular Party facing some stiff competition with the opposition Socialist Party and their leader José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero
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- Israel has asked Egypt to take control of the Gaza Strip if it chooses to withdraw from the territory.
- The EU is threatening the United States with $4 billion in trade sanctions if the US government does not eliminate overseas tax shelters for American exporters that were declared illegal by the World Trade Organization.
- Former Saskatchewan premier Grant Divine has lost his legal challenge to be allowed to run for the Conservative Party in the upcoming federal election. Although supported by grassroots members, there were those in the federal party who felt that the person that destroyed the Saskatchewan Tories through corruption and scandal might not be such a great standard-bearer for the party.
- Talks between George Bush and Gerhard Schröder are apparently going well as the Chancellor visits Washington.
- CNN has this story about how promoting education is no longer a source of economic success.
- Syria has taken action to restrict Islamic teaching in the country, no longer permitting foreign students from studying Islam in the country.

Finally, a little piece of gif animation in anime style about a guy trying to get through a door. It's rather entertaining.