The Crown Prince of Bahrain was last night forced to pull out of attending the wedding, hours before he had been due to fly in to London, amid anger over his role in the Gulf state's brutal crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators.

Human rights activists had pledged to disrupt Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa's stay in Britain with a series of protests, insisting that he is the chief architect of the Saudi-backed security forces' violent response to the demonstrators, which has left up to 31 people dead...

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Protesters Thursday interrupted President's Obama speech at a $5,000/ticket San Francisco fundraiser to demand improved treatment for Bradley Manning. After the speech, one of the protesters, Logan Price, approached Obama and questioned him. Obama's responses are revealing on multiple levels. First, Obama said this when justifying Manning's treatment (video and transcript are here):

PayUpNow.org is an online effort to "uncut" the cutbacks by promoting boycotts of corporations who pay little or no federal income tax.

According to a US Senate subcommittee report, eliminating tax havens could save $100 billion a year. That's a conservative estimate. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) calculated that companies and individuals are holding up to $5 trillion in foreign tax havens.

The office of Tasmanian independent MP Andrew Wilkie has confirmed he said Opposition Leader Tony Abbott would make a good Prime Minister.

Mr Wilkie is quoted in News Limited papers as declaring support for Mr Abbott's potential.

A spokeswoman says Mr Wilkie repaired his relationship with Mr Abbott last year.

Mr Wilkie has repeatedly threatened to withdraw support for the Federal Government if there is not progress towards putting restrictions on poker machines.

Asked about his comments, Prime Minister Julia Gillard said she would keep working with Mr Wilkie on problem gambling.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve’s experimental effort to spur a recovery by purchasing vast quantities of federal debt has pumped up the stock market, reduced the cost of American exports and allowed companies to borrow money at lower interest rates.

Most Americans would very likely deny that their government is a global empire, horribly destructive to national security, liberty, and wealth. But whatever we call this U.S. system of ubiquitous military bases, satellite regimes throughout the world, ever-growing "defense" budgets, and an ever-expansive international presence in military hardware and personnel, it is probably even more controversial to say that the whole apparatus cannot be sustained forever and that the pressing question is not whether it will be dismantled but whether its dismantling will happen disastrously and violently or deliberately and peacefully.

Anzac Day has been appropriated by those who manipulate the cult of state violence - militarism - in order to satisfy a psychopathic deference to foreign power and to pursue its aims. And the "legend" has no room for the only war fought on Australian soil: that of the Aboriginal people against the European invaders. In a land of cenotaphs, not one stands for them.

From Elizabeth Farrelly

It may be, as one correspondent wrote last week, that advertising works on the "80/80 principle", the assumption that 80 per cent of Australians have an IQ average of 80. Now I'm fine with stupidity in advertising. Indeed, I expect nothing less - isn't that why God gave us the mute button? But what makes the 80/80 thought especially gripping - as in, by the throat - is how much it explains that branch of advertising we call politics.

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It had been a term of endearment which had cemented links with her Greek heritage and first adorned her cars more than five years ago following a loving gift from her husband.

But the nickname Kiki, given to lawyer Kristen Perry before she could even walk, has now put her in hot water with the Roads and Traffic Authority because her number plate also translates into a term for female genitals in the Filipino language of Tagalog.

''I rang my father last night and said: 'Do you know you have been calling me vagina all my life?','' she said.

From the Drum / ABC

By Scott Stephens

There is no surer way of bringing the simmering debate about the role of religion in Australia to a full boil than by invoking the money and tax concessions given by government to fund certain religious activities.

But under the current arrangement, because of the top-down provision of government funds, the mediation of state-level providers (such as Scripture Union), the lack of adequately (by which I mean theologically and pastorally) trained chaplains, and the concern to avoid the appearance of publicly-funded "proselytising," the relationship between the chaplain and the school is marred from the outset.

artwork on a wall in newtown...

The case about global warming scheduled to be argued on Tuesday before the Supreme Court is a blockbuster. Eight states — from California to New York, plus New York City — sued six corporations responsible for one-fourth of the American electric power industry’s emissions of carbon dioxide.

Gus toon from ages ago...

The minutes of a series of meetings between ministers and senior oil executives are at odds with the public denials of self-interest from oil companies and Western governments at the time.

The documents were not offered as evidence in the ongoing Chilcot Inquiry into the UK's involvement in the Iraq war. In March 2003, just before Britain went to war, Shell denounced reports that it had held talks with Downing Street about Iraqi oil as "highly inaccurate". BP denied that it had any "strategic interest" in Iraq, while Tony Blair described "the oil conspiracy theory" as "the most absurd".

The fact that Facebook won't allow the word "suicide" to be used in an event title shows how much the subject has remained taboo in this new electronic information age. While understandable that nobody wants to see folks invite others to their deaths, it certainly doesn't help those who are trying to stop more suicides from happening.

Oil and gas companies injected hundreds of millions of gallons of hazardous or carcinogenic chemicals into wells in more than 13 states from 2005 to 2009, according to an investigation by Congressional Democrats.