• 5 people arrested on terror charges related to the Pope source

• I must say that these revelations were a shock for me, a great sadness.
• Pope Benedict XVI • Stumbling to the kind of response he should’ve made a long time ago about the sex abuse crisis, and the church’s pathetic response. “The first interest is the victims,” he said, and that the church was trying to figure out “how can we repair, what can we do to help them to overcome the trauma, to re-find their lives.” Pope Benedict made these comments in Britain in the first papal trip to the country since 1982. source

• I was asked recently which of the political leaders I had met had most integrity. I listed George near the top. He had genuine integrity and as much political courage as any leader I ever met.
• Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair • Geeking out about George W. Bush in his new memoir, “I Love George” “A Journey.” In the book, he claims that, while the former president was very smart, he had “immense simplicity in how he saw the world.” He says that while they got on a little awkwardly at first (due to their differing  politics), the relationship improved over the years. He also had kind things to say about Bill Clinton, too, saying he was a “political soulmate” and defending him over the Monica Lewinsky affair. source

• The U.S. chose not to force hens to get vaccinated for Salmonella. They claimed there wasn’t enough evidence that it did anything. (And it wouldn’t raise costs much; it’d cost less than a penny per dozen eggs.) With the very large egg-tainting problem in the U.S., it’s probably good to look at what happened after Britain mandated hen vaccinations:

• 14,771the number of cases in England and Wales caused by the most common strain of salmonella in 1997, the year a new hen vaccine was tested by the country’s farmers
• 581the number of cases in England and Wales last year, a decrease of 96 percent; the hen vaccine, which has been in use since 1998, has helped lead to yearly declines source

• » So why didn’t they? Well, the FDA, while it claims that it looked at the vaccine seriously, said that there were significant differences between the U.S. version of the vaccine and the British one. The vaccine-maker, however, says that the differences were minor and the drugs were equally effective. Meanwhile, the current recall is at around 550 million eggs.

• The situation in Gaza has to change. Humanitarian goods and people must flow in both directions. Gaza cannot and must not be allowed to remain a prison camp.
• British Prime Minister David Cameron • Using harsh language to describe the situation in the Palestine-occupied area. He also had not-nice-things to say about the flotilla attack. “I have told prime minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu we will expect the Israeli inquiry to be swift, transparent and rigorous,” he said. “Let me also be clear that the situation in Gaza has to change.” source

• Somehow, a tribe that recognizes lacrosse as a sport doesn’t recognize passports. Members of the Iroquois lacrosse team, who had gotten a one-time waiver from the U.S. government, couldn’t get the same from the British government. The tribe uses their own non-standard passports, not American ones, creating a weird area even beyond the realm of exception. (Oh yeah: In case you’re wondering: Lacrosse originated with the Iroquois and Huron tribes, not douchey high school students.) source

• citizens How the Declaration of Independence refers to people who live in the United States of America. A pretty good description.
• subjects What Jefferson originally wrote – something which he tried to erase but historians figured out earlier this year. Oops. source

• As protest songs go, the U2 hit has been very effective. One of the band’s earliest and most-well-known hits, the most affecting lyric in the entire song is “how long, how long must we sing this song … how long, how long …” Today, Bono and company got their answer, as Britain finally acknowledged that Bloody Sunday – a key conflict with Northern Ireland – was the fault of their government. Some pop culture math for you guys:

About the conflict

• 38 number of years since the
  historic incident took place source

• 13 people were killed during the incident; another died months later
• 14 more people were injured (not counting the man who later died)
• 5,000 number of pages in Britain’s latest report on the incident

• » What happened? During a civil rights march in Derry, Northern Ireland, soldiers that were part of the Parachute Regiment opened fire on a number of civilians. The British government  – which initially said in a discredited 1972 report that the victims were armed with weapons and bombs – has long been criticized for the incident, which led to years of conflict and disruption in the region.
• » Today’s findings: In a new analysis, the British government found that the civilians had done nothing wrong, were fired on first, didn’t have any weapons, and weren’t even provoking the soldiers before they fired. Representatives for the soldiers say many things were overlooked, but that hasn’t stopped David Cameron from offering an apology.
• » What happens next? Despite the long passage of time, the soldiers involved in the incident could still be prosecuted for murder or lying to the inquiry, giving the report some real bite.

How long did U2 sing this song?

• 28years since they first played the song live (12/01/1982) source

• 682 number of times they’ve played the tune live
• yes they played the song in Belfast back in 1982
• yes they have dedicated the song to other things

• » Key performance: During a performance in Denver in 1987, Bono spent much of the song railing against Irish-Americans who didn’t understand the nature of the conflict: “I’ve had enough of Irish Americans who haven’t been back to their country in twenty or thirty years come up to me and talk about the resistance, the revolution back home. And the glory of the revolution, and the glory of dyin’ for the revolution. Fuck the revolution! They don’t talk about the glory of killing for the revolution.” (There’s more, be sure to read the full quote.) The brutal ripping of those railing against Northern Ireland, immortalized during “Rattle and Hum,” was so perfect that it led to the band not playing the song for a number of years.
• » Will they sing it again? Good question. Strangely enough, they’ve yet to release a statement regarding the song which literally was their meal ticket for a number of years and did more to draw attention to the incident than any other single entity. Bono must be having an off day. He was recently injured and stuff.

Footnote: A lasting message

• That’s an incident, the most famous incident in Northern Ireland and it’s the strongest way of saying how long? How long do we have to put up with this? I don’t care who’s who – Catholics, Protestants, whatever. You know people are dying every single day through bitterness and hate, and we’re saying why? What’s the point?
• U2 drummer Larry Mullen • Pointing out in a 1983 interview that the message of the song isn’t just limited to Northern Ireland and the events of that day. “Let’s forget the politics, let’s stop shooting each other and sit around the table and talk about it,” he said. Say what you have to about U2, but they’ve certainly lived this message, no matter how rich Bono has gotten and how reflective his shades are. source

• Dude got Israel to agree to open up Gaza. Israel was at the point where they needed to do something, though, because the International Committee for the Red Cross deemed their approach illegal. So, instead of only allowing a small number of things through the border, Israel will allow general goods and specifically block things they don’t want in the country. “Some of these issues, drawing up the negative list, that will take some time,” Blair said. “But we hope very much we can start getting stuff into Gaza.” He’s like a regular Bill Clinton! source