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June 02, 2007

Regulating the Monopoly on Death and Violence

A little more craziness than usual in the world today.. JFK airport bombing plot foiled, US Navy ship shelling a small Somali village, officially approved and controlled pre-G8 riot taking place.. just a few that stand out amid the everyday mess on Google News. I guess death and violence are OK as long as they're government-approved.

Protesters attack riot police at G8 summit

[...] "The police were attacked massively from the violent protesters," said Police spokesman Frank Scheulen. "They threw bottles, fire crackers, rocks and Molotov cocktails."

He estimated the number of violence-minded demonstrators at about 2,000. Police put the size of the demonstration at 25,000, while organisers said it was 80,000.

Demonstrator Peter Mueller had tears streaming from bloodshot eyes after the tear gas was released. "As long as the police were in the background it was OK, but as soon as one took a step closer, it went out of control," he said. [More on the story here...]

Four arrested in plot on JFK airport

Four people, including a former member of Guyana's parliament, have been arrested in connection with a plot against ground operations at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, U.S. officials said on Saturday.

Another one of the suspects was a former airport cargo worker at the airport. The four were charged with conspiring to attack the airport by planting explosives to blow up the airport's major jet fuel tanks and pipeline, the U.S. Justice Department said.

The plot was foiled well before it came to fruition and the FBI said there was no threat to the public from the plot. [More on the story here...]

US Navy Ships Fire on Northern Somalia Village

Officials in Somalia say U.S. naval warships have bombarded a remote coastal village where suspected Islamist insurgents had set up a base.

The attack happened Friday night when a Navy destroyer opened fire around the village of Bargal, located in northern Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Puntland. Officials say the extremists arrived in Bargal earlier this week, then fought with troops from the region.

A U.S. Department of Defense spokesman would not confirm or deny the report. He would only say the United States remains committed to reducing terrorist capabilities when it finds them. [More on the story here...]

Posted by Nathaniel at June 2, 2007 11:11 AM

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