Blog Heap of Links for the day 19 May 2011

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was quick on the draw Thursday in voicing clear displeasure with President Barack Obama's mideast policy speech. "Israel appreciates President Obama's commitment to peace," the response began, curtly. "Israel believes that for peace to endure between Israelis and Palestinians, the viability of a Palestinian state cannot come at the expense of the viability of the one and only Jewish state." "That is why Prime Minister Netanyahu expects to hear a reaffirmation from President Obama of U.S. commitments made to Israel in 2004, which were overwhelmingly supported by both Houses of Congress." "Among other things," Netanyahu reminded Obama, "those commitments relate to Israel not having to withdraw to the 1967 lines which are both indefensible and which would leave major Israeli population centers in Judea and Samaria beyond those lines." "Those commitments also ensure Israel's well-being as a Jewish state by making clear that Palestinian refugees will settle in a future Palestinian state rather than in Israel."

In a speech at the state department, Mr Obama said the future of the US was bound to the Middle East by forces of economics, security, history and fate. "It will be the policy of the US to promote reform, and to support transitions to democracy," he said. The speech was Mr Obama's first comprehensive response to revolts sweeping the Arab world, analysts say. "We face a historic opportunity," he said. "We have a chance to show that America values the dignity of a street vendor in Tunisia more than the raw power of the dictator." "As Americans have been seared by hostage taking, violent rhetoric, and terrorist attacks that have killed thousands of our citizens - a failure to change our approach [in the Middle East] threatens a deepening spiral of division between the United States and Muslim communities," Mr Obama added.

President Barack Obama will use his speech to the Arab world today to call for billions of dollars in financial assistance to Egypt and Tunisia as part of a comprehensive approach to the "Arab Spring" movement that he hopes will boost democratic reforms and America's reputation in the region. The aid package, which would unfold over two to three years, would include an estimated $1 billion in debt cancellation, $1 billion in loan guarantees and several billion more in financing from multilateral institutions such as the World Bank, according to three senior administration officials who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House.

Knesset members on the Right expressed outrage on Thursday night at US President Barack Obama's call for the creation of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps in an exchange of territory for security. They called upon Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to reject Obama's plan when he meets with him on Friday in Washington.

President Barack Obama is endorsing the Palestinians' demand for their future state to be based on the borders that existed before the 1967 Middle East war, in a move that will likely infuriate Israel. Israel says the borders of a Palestinian state have to be determined through negotiations.

"President Obama has thrown Israel under the bus. He has disrespected Israel and undermined its ability to negotiate peace," Romney said in a statement. "He has also violated a first principle of American foreign policy, which is to stand firm by our friends," added the former Massachusetts governor.

a teacher found bags of heroin in the backpack of a 7-year-old student. ... 7-year-old kindergarten student cut his finger with a razor blade. His teacher started questioning him and discovered 18 suspected heroin stamp bags in his backpack and locker. ... told them he got the drugs from his father's bedroom. Police searched the boy's home, but did not find any drugs. The boy also said he gave heroin to three of his friends. ...

Some students say Principal Kenney has been hypnotizing students for a couple of years, either in a classroom group setting or individually one-on-one. But school district officials say, while they were aware of Kenney's technique, his permission had limited use." "He was authorized to demonstrate in psychology class with parent permission," says Leatherman. Kenney reportedly had permission from Wesley's parents to use hypnosis on their son. "It's ridiculous to hold him responsible, to say because that child was hypnotized [and] he killed himself, that's just wrong," says parent Vincent Giacinto.

someone mentioned a letter, handwritten and dated 1876, with what appeared to be a smallpox scab pinned inside -- light brown, about the size of a pencil eraser and crumbling. The scab got the attention of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), home to one of the world's two known caches of live smallpox viruses. Alerted by a government scientist in Maryland who was concerned that the scab might transmit infection, the agency dispatched two CDC representatives to Richmond. They donned disposable surgical gowns and gloves, lifted the scab from a display case, sealed it in bio-bags inside a red cooler and whisked it back to a high-security lab deep within the CDC's Atlanta headquarters.

United Airlines ad across the street from ground zero that reads "You're going to like where we land"

New districts like Kangbashi are springing up across China as the world's second-largest economy undergoes an unprecedented urbanisation process with hundreds of millions of people heading to fast-growing metropolitan areas. Ordos is part of a nationwide building boom that has been fuelled by a massive credit binge, raising fears of a real estate bubble and a potential explosion in bad debts, especially among local government investment vehicles.

Noted illustrator and sometime comics artist Jeffrey Catherine Jones died yesterday of complications from emphysema.... In one of the highest compliments imaginable, illustrator Frank Frazetta called Jones "the greatest living painter."...

not once did Josh Ferrin even think of laying claim on the more than $45,000 cash that he found in his garage. In fact, he gave it all back. "You can't make plans for money like this that's found in a situation like this," Ferrin said. "It just doesn't feel right to do anything but give it back."

"Right now, we don't know exactly what happened, but from what we are told, she was cooking, and for some unknown reason, the pressure cooker fell," said Lt. Ignatius Carroll, of Miami Fire Rescue. "The impact caused it to explode. Maybe pieces from the pressure cooker severed her leg completely." The woman's leg was severed below the knee

accused of stealing two laptop computers from Walmart. ... 35-year-old... during his appearance Thursday in Washington County District Court, upon hearing the bond amount asked the judge to lower it, his reason being he had two daughters to care for. ... Associate District Judge [said] his daughters were not a reason to lower his bond, but rather would have been a good reason not to commit the crime in the first place. ...

Police now believe a man who allegedly ran down another man with a car while wearing clown-type makeup is not a "Juggalo," as initially suspected.... "We don't have any evidence to support him (Davis) being in the Juggalos," Holland said today. "We know our Juggalos here. They've always been law abiding and, for the most part, keep to themselves. We've never had problems with them in the past." Holland said the investigation indicates Davis is not a member of the local group. "There is a group of Juggalos that gets together here locally," Holland said. "As a national group, they have their own slang (and) their own signs."

Within seconds, TSA officials notified police that the bomb was fake and the incident was merely a drill to test the response of screeners and the communication system. For security reasons, Hogan declined to say how many officers responded to the incident.

A 12-year-old Dallas student was bound to a chair with duct tape and beaten by four classmates as a substitute teacher stood and ignored the attack

Is Tim Pawlenty the Process-of-Elimination Candidate? [quick answer... no.]

"I want a government that is much more humble about it's ability to tell you what to do whether it's people on either side of the ideological spectrum," Gingrich said on Limbaugh's radio show. "And by the way it was not a reference to Paul Ryan, there was no reference to Paul Ryan in the answer." Gingrich apologized to Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, on Tuesday and said he regretted calling the Wisconsin Republican's Medicare plan "right-wing social engineering." But when asked Thursday by Limbaugh why he apologized to Ryan if he was not referring to his plan, Gingrich said, "It was interpreted in a way which was causing trouble, which he doesn't need or deserve and it was causing the House Republicans trouble."