We are therefore in an extraordinarily difficult crisis. The three players each have strategic interests that simply don't mesh. If Washington convinces New Delhi to wait, it will have to convince Islamabad to stay in India's crosshairs and India to put up with intolerable attacks. If India proceeds, it essentially would save al-Qaida by shattering Pakistan. In the event of complete mismanagement, a nuclear exchange costing millions of lives is a genuine possibility.

This is a well written summary of the current cluster-fuck in Central Asia. World War III has to start somewhere, and Eastern Europe isn't what it used to be.

India, Pakistan, The United States, Kashmir, and Nuclear Bombs: Its a party, and everyone is invited!

Maybe it is a way to tame a fearsome subject by Hollywoodizing it, or maybe it is a way to drive home the dreadful stakes in the arid-sounding business of nonproliferation, but in several weeks of talking to specialists here and in Russia about the threats an amateur evildoer might pose to the homeland, I found an unnerving abundance of such morbid creativity.

From the Sunday NYT Magazine. Here's the table of contents:

Not If But When
25,000 Warheads, and It Only Takes One
The Garage Bomb
Weapons of Mass Disruption
The Peril of Power Plants
Being Afraid

Nuclear Nightmares

"Labeling itself Independence for New Jersey, the Haddonfield-based group insists that Springsteen's "Glory Days" are ahead, and it intends to gather the 800 signatures needed to place the Monmouth County superstar on the November ballot. The deadline for filing petitions is June 4."

Springsteen for Senate

"Marijuana was placed here for a reason people."

More Manifestos from the Smiley-bomber... Mostly random mish mash of Hindu and New Age stuff; arguing about the afterlife. I think he predicts the end of the earth in 2011, but "the word" is open to interpretation.

Lucas Helder Mailbox Manifestos

In reality the documents portray Mr Arafat's military impotence. The papers the Israeli intelligence service have so far produced – assuming that most of them are genuine – paint a vivid, pathetic picture of his loss of power within the Palestinian community over the past 12 months, the suborning of his lieutenants and the gradual recruitment of his men by Hamas and Islamic Jihad opponents.

Book of Terror Panned by Critics

Mary-Anne Kenworthy said she was forced to close the doors of her famous Langtrees brothel for only the third time ever yesterday because her prostitutes were so worn out they could no longer provide a quality service.

American troops pound Perth prostitutes

Google is working on a news site!

I love Google.

Google News

War Coverage weblog, cynical slant.

Cursor.org - Media Patrol

The man, described as in his late 20s or early 30s, doused himself with a chemical, according to witnesses, and set himself ablaze. They said he was hurling flaming objects onto the center court below and shouting "freedom and liberty for all" among other things as he leaned over the mezzanine railing.

RRSTAR: Man sets himself on fire at Mall

Of course, this dosen't mention how many people in the terminal wet themselves..

(AP) Texas Wire - Passenger accidentally discharges rifle at D/FW Airport ticket counter