Israel Clashes With Protesters on Four Borders  —  JERUSALEM — Israel's borders erupted in deadly clashes on Sunday as thousands of Palestinians — marching from Syria, Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank — confronted Israeli troops to mark the anniversary of Israel's creation.

Shadow Stat Misery Index Highest on Record  —  John Williams, over at Shadow Stats, compiles economic data for inflation and unemployment the way it used to be calculated pre-1990.  Based on that data, the CPI inflation rate is over 10%, and the unemployment rate is over 15% (see charts).

Newt Tacks Left, Slams Ryan's Medicare Plan  —  Newt Gingrich's appearance on “Meet the Press” today could leave some wondering which party's nomination he is running for.  The former speaker had some harsh words for Paul Ryan's (and by extension, nearly every House Republican's) plan to reform Medicare, calling it “radical.”

I.M.F. Chief's Arrest Throws French Politics Into Disarray  —  PARIS — For months, France has been buzzing with speculation that Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the popular chief of the International Monetary Fund, would quit his job in Washington to take on President Nicolas Sarkozy in next year's presidential elections.

Union whistleblowers: We were beaten and harassed after they accused bosses of looting  —  Unionized phone company employees say they were beaten or threatened after they accused their labor bosses of looting their coffers through various scams.  —  One member of Communications Workers …

Newt Gingrich Proposes Reviving “Poll Tests” Of The Sort Outlawed In The Civil Rights Era  —  Ta-Nehisi Coates heard the dog whistle loud in clear in Newt Gingrich's proclamation last night that Barack Obama is “the most successful food stamp president in modern American history.”

Patterico Criticizes Google; Gets Locked Out of Gmail  —  Over the last day or so, I have written several posts criticizing Google's treatment of Ann Althouse.  So did my guest blogger Aaron Worthing.  —  I collected several examples of people getting locked out of their Google accounts …

Major Delusions  —  THIS month American college seniors will don caps and gowns.  As they await receipt of their diplomas, they will absorb lessons handed to them by the accomplished men and women who deliver commencement speeches.  More often than not the speakers will be outliers: rare individuals who made it against all odds.

What kind of immunity does the IMF Managing Director Have?  —  The arrest on sexual assault charges of IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Khan (or “DSK” as he's known to the French tabloids) is big news this morning.  Most of the main stream media attention (quite naturally) …

Senate GOP Embarrasses Dems Over Boeing  —  Senator Mike Enzi and Boeing lawyer Michael Luttig show up the Dems at their own hearing.  —  At a hearing held this past week by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions, it was amusing to watch the Democratic majority …

The Other Torture Debate  —  IT wasn't long after Osama bin Laden's killing that the arguing began: did the Bush administration's torture policy produce essential intelligence that led the United States to Bin Laden's hideout in Pakistan?  —  Bush administration figures weighed in “yes” …

Ryan will decide soon on Wisconsin Senate race  —  House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said on Sunday he'll decide this week if he'll run for the Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Herb Kohl.  —  “Herb just announced this Friday,” Ryan said on CNN's “State of the Union.”

Obama's hypocritical rhetoric on immigration reform  —  Senior Political Analyst Follow Him @MichaelBarone  —  Barack Obama's immigration speech in El Paso, Texas, on May 10 was an exercise in electioneering and hypocrisy.  Hypocrisy because while Obama complained about “politicians” …

A trail of stalled or abandoned HUD projects  —  The federal government's largest housing construction program for the poor has squandered hundreds of millions of dollars on stalled or abandoned projects and routinely failed to crack down on derelict developers or the local housing agencies that funded them.