The US military has flown in two forensic specialists to examine the body of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi "to see how he actually died," a US general said. The autopsy was ordered after it was made public that he survived an air strike June 7 that killed five others, including a man identified as his spiritual adviser, Sheik Abdul-Rahman. (Irish Examiner, June 10) Meanwhile, Iraqi eyewitnesses accused the US forces of having beaten to death the badly-injured al-Qaeda leader after he survived the air strike on his hideout, an accusation immediately denied by the US. (Islam Online, June 11)

Since then, statements have been published on Islamist Web sites naming Abu Hamza al-Muhajer as the new leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq. Analysts suggested that al-Muhajer, meaning "the immigrant" in Arabic, is a foreigner like the Jordanian-born al-Zarqawi. US military officials say they're convinced al-Muhajer is actually Abu Ayyub al-Masri, an Egyptian associate of al-Zarqawi who has trained in Afghanistan with al-Qaeda operational leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. (CNN, June 14)

Scotland Yard's anti-terror chief is awarded "Commander of the British Empire"—in the wake of a controvesial shooting of a young Muslim man in a police raid that turned up nothing. From The Telegraph, June 17:

There has been a storm of protest after it emerged that a senior police officer involved in a controversial anti-terror raid in which a suspect was shot was to be awarded a CBE.

Zapatista leader Subcommander Marcos told the Spanish TV show "El Loco de la Colina" in a special broadcast Mexico City that it is "possible to build another Latin America" based in popular movements and new political actors emerging in the region, especially "those lead by indigenous peoples, as is the case in Bolivia and Ecuador."

The dust is being blown off one of the more bizarre schemes to emerge from Washington's so-called "War on Drugs"—which is really a war on plants, on biotic life. Jeremy Bigwood writes for In These Times, June 6:

On April 16, the New York Times ran a full-page ad from contact lens producer Bausch and Lomb, announcing the recall of its "ReNu with MoistureLoc" rewetting solution, and warning the 30 million American wearers of soft contact lenses about Fusarium keratitis. This infection, first detected in Asia, has rapidly spread across the United States. It is caused by a mold-like fungus that can penetrate the cornea of soft contact lens wearers, causing redness and pain that can lead to blindness—requiring a corneal replacement.

The Presbyterian church is currently meeting in Birmingham, AL, to decide the fate of its initiative to divest its holdings in companies directly involved in the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory. The following was received via e-mail:

Open Letter to the Presbyterian Church
Jews Against the Occupation, 14 June 2006

We are writing to you as deeply committed Jews to ask the Presbyterian Church of the United States to honor its commitment to doing justice and seeking peace, and, in so doing, to act as a true friend to our own people. We hope and pray that you will continue to disavow Christian Zionism, to condemn Israel's continuing effort to extend and consolidate its hold on Palestinian land and water in the Occupied West Bank, and to begin selective divestment of holdings in multinational corporations enabling those efforts. These decisions represented an important step forward for peace and justice in Israel and Palestine.

While Human Rights Watch has revealed yet more evidence showing the Israeli army's culpability in shelling an innocent family of Palestinian bathers in Gaza, Israel still officially denies its responsibility. An Israeli parliamentarian is calling for an outside investigation.

The Iraqi "resistance" strikes another heroic blow...against Shi'ite civilians. From Australia's Special Broadcasting Service:

A suspected shoe bomber targeting a Shi'ite imam who criticised Abu Musab al Zarqawi has blown himself up inside one of Baghdad's most prominent Shi'ite mosques, killing at least 13 people and wounding nearly 30.

The New York Daily News (June 16) can make fun of the "pants-less pervert" all it wants. But the fact is that our heroic men and women in uniform are in the killing fields of Iraq to protect the American way of life that allows such behavior. A case can be made that we have a responsibility to act like morons on the streets and highways of America, so that 2,500 servicemen will not have died in vain.

The Brooklyn cab driver killed when a pants-less pervert rammed a van into his taxi had only worked the late shift once before Wednesday night's fatal wreck, his family said yesterday.