George Bush gave his big speech about the future of Iraq last night. I enjoyed the positive spin he gave towards co-operation with the militias, which was essentially forced on them, and the UN support that he mentioned, since the United States has so much political capital with other nations these days. Slate outlines better than I could the other 'issues' with the speech. His calls to tear down the Abu Ghraib prison sounded good, but were apparently not met with much enthusiasm in Iraq itself. Bush needs to get a bounce from this appearance, as the polling on his handling of Iraq has reached an all-time low.

An explosion rocked the main public entrance to the coalition compound in Baghdad yesterday. American forces and loyalists of Moqtada al-Sadr continue to clash in Kufa, with the United States claiming to have killed 32 insurgents over the weekend, 20 of whom were killed in a Mosque. Fighting also continued in nearby Kufa. There are still persistent stories though that the US and al-Sadr might be close to a deal.

More photos of Iraqi prisoner abuse continue to surface including some videos. Though Donald Rumsfeld has issued an order banning the use of camera phones in American military institutions, it won't stop the stories of the victims from coming out. There are also new reports that the highest-ranking American military officer, Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, was present at some of the interrogations, though the military denies these accusations. Though Spc. Jeremy Sivits was given the maximum sentence possible for his role in the abuse, the Iraqis see it as more of a show trial than actual justice. Susan Sontag writes a lengthy article in the Guardian about what this all means, Slate continues its analysis of how this could have happened, the Atlantic examines the philosophy behind the abuse, and the Christian Science Monitor reports how events in Iraq are making democratization in the Middle East more difficult. Further undermining the idea of sovereignty for Iraq after June 30th is the recent announcement that coalition forces will have immunity from prosecution over any allegations of mistreatment by the new government. A video reportedly showing revelers at the Iraqi wedding before it was bombed has been released.

Canada is going to the polls June 28th, as Prime Minister Paul Martin visited the Governor General to dissolve Parliament on Sunday. Martin's Liberals started off the campaign by promising $3 billion dollars for healthcare to the provinces, while Jack Layton of the NDP threw an election party. Polls indicate that the Liberal's have a tough fight ahead of them to win another majority government, but overall, the election is really Paul Martin's to loose.

Manmohan Singh has been selected a India's new Prime Minister, the first Sikh and first non-Hindu to ever to hold that position. The Congress party has also divied out the new cabinet positions.

Massachusetts has legalized same-sex marriages, and it didn't take long for most news sources to weigh in -- Slate looks at how same-sex marriage has effected Scandinavia and the Atlantic argues that banning same-sex marriage is riskier than implementing it. The Christian Science Monitor reports that historically, once instituted, same-sex marriage usually gains general acceptance, but the Economist believes that this may just be the beginning of a long and protracted fight between rights activists and social conservatives. In Canada, however, things are different, with a recent poll showing that almost 60% of Canadians believe that being homophobic is as bad as being racist or anti-Semitic, and 74% believe that homosexuals should have the same rights as heterosexuals. Back in the states though, a group of conservative Christians are so outraged by the event that they are planning on taking over a state in order to sucede from the Union and create a Christian nation. I love the quote from the leader of the group, "Our Christian republic has declined into a pagan democracy," only because he probably honestly thinks that there must be some hidden Wicca majority out there, not to mention the way he contrasts 'republic' as positive but 'democracy' as negative.

Michael Moore Fahrenheit 9/11 has won the highest prize, the Palme D'or, at the Cannes Film Festival. Judging panel spokesperson Quentin Tarantino has already stated that the film was judged on its artistic merit and was not politically motivated. The New York Times believes though that it will have a political impact when released in the United States. In other Cannes highlights, a 14-year-old Japanese boy was the surprise winner of the best actor award.

Sure John Kerry is a veteran, but does that necessarily mean that they will vote for their brother in arms? Hopefully he'll be doing better with them than he is currently doing with white males. Bush supporters have recently attempted to Google-bomb Kerry by linking the word 'waffles' to his website, but their efforts will be somewhat wasted with the Kerry campaign's plan to buy ad space on Google with the same word. On this note, miserable failure still works. Also, we hear a great deal about Nader siphoning votes away from Kerry, but CBS points out that the same problem could be possible on the right wing.

In brief:
- Astronomers have discovered an asteroid with the smallest known orbit around the sun.
- Observations made by the orbiting Chandra X-Ray telescope have confirmed the existence of dark energy.
- The Atlantic features an article about Brian Greene, author of books that make universal forces in physics understandable.
- US scientists are going to conduct an underground nuclear experiment at the Nevada test site today.
- Spam now accounts for 70% of email messages.
- Researchers at the University of South Wales have announced a formula to explain how music can convey certain emotions.
- A 76-year-old Norwegian industrialist is giving $100 million in grants to solve what he sees as the world's largest scientific questions.
- Climate change might cause shortages in fresh water supplies.
- A new center in the United Kingdom is looking for alternatives to animal experimentation.
- The cicadas are coming, which could be a boon for both their natural predators and for humans as an appetizer.
- According to geologists, Canada is on its way up in the world, while the United States is going down.
- If you are a hypochondriac, here are two stories you might not want to read: a new strain of Ebola is found in Sudan and the resurrection of the Black Death might be just around the corner.
- A public research think-tank is warning the Australian government of possible trade sanctions by signatories if it does not ratify the Kyoto agreement.
- Six people have been killed as part of the roof of Charles de Gaulle airport collapses.
- Iran is apparently threatening diplomatic and trade sanctions against Australia as well, although it's unlikely to have the same effect.
- On a positive side, it did get it's first non-cleric Speaker since the revolution.
- The Commonwealth has readmitted Pakistan after four years of being banned because of positive democratic reforms.
- North Korea and Japan are holding talks in an attempt to quell the tensions over North Korea's nuclear program.
- Oxfam, concered with the escalating humanitarian crisis in Darfur, Sudan, is sending more staff and aid to the region.
- 240 people are missing in the sinking of a ferry in Bangladesh.
- The tides may have turned in ethnic clashes in Kosovo, but not for the better.
- Although it wasn't a 'sudden arboreal stop' like in the West Wing, President Bush did injure himself falling off of a mountain bike this weekend.
- In a strange twist, a government witness is being charged with perjury in the Martha Stewart trial.
- The Atlantic examines the historical impact of neo-conservative international thinkers.
- The mayor of London, Glen Livingstone, has described motorists in London with four wheel drive vehicles as "complete idiots."
- Wal-Mart stores are putting unneeded strain on small-town police forces.
- The French health system is in need of an overhaul.
- A strange story involving a lost Stradivarius.
- David is now all cleaned up.
- A webpage of webcams.
- A very interesting piece on the economics of Everquest.
- Roy Moore, everyone's favorite Christian conservative, apparently thinks he can copywrite the ten commandments.
- The Mossad has launched a new site for recruiting. Anyone looking to be an Israeli spy?
- A humorous story about the RAF's 'pigeons of death.'

Finally, scientists studying a volcano in New Zealand have come across something they never expected to find - a pink dinosaur living in the crater. Apparently someone went to the uninhabited island and placed it in front of the digital camera that monitors the volcano. Scientists are not expected to retrieve the item, stating that the high acid environment should take care of it nicely. However, until then: