THE WAR AGAINST PHOTOGRAPHY (CONT’D): Miami Beach Police Ordered Videographer At Gunpoint To Hand Over Phone: But video survived even after police tried to destroy phone. Reader Matthew Hennessy writes: “Dunno if this was already linked, but I’d recommend UStream.tv for videographers at live events where this might happen, as it runs on smartphones and will save copies of livestreamed videos for later viewing.”

MICHAEL BARONE: Who Put The Chill On American Business?

Related: A Tornado Of Destruction.

PIPELINE NEWS: Reader Jon Shore writes:

I noticed that you posted on the Keystone XL pipeline the other day. The State Department is accepting public comments until tomorrow, June 6th. There is no reason that the State Department should be stalling on this issue because first of all, we ALREADY use Canadian crude from oil sands in our energy mix and secondly, this will be a huge job creator from a very friendly nation. If the Obama administration nixes this, they can never speak credibly on energy security ever again (not that they can now but I digress).

Here is a link to the State Department’s comment site.

If you’ve got something to say, say it. Some background is here.

THE HILL: Ron Paul And Austan Goolsbee Agree: Debt Ceiling Deal Is Likely.

BRIDE ASKS WEDDING GUESTS to buy her new breasts.

DAN MITCHELL: Crikey, Australia’s a Good Role Model. “Australia is not exactly Hong Kong. Marginal tax rates are still far too high. The burden of government spending is lower than in the United States, but is still far too onerous. Nonetheless, the Aussies have made impressive strides in reducing the overall size, scope, and level of government interference and intervention. And this has translated into much better economic performance.”

FROM SUITS TO SWIMSUITS: At Amazon, the Clothing & Accessories Outlet Sale.

MY SUNDAY WASHINGTON EXAMINER COLUMN IS ON WISCONSIN: It’s Hard To Find Good Goons These Days.

When people who are used to dealing with cave-ins, or ladles of molten metal, hit the streets, they’re putting those traits to work in an environment that’s probably less dangerous than the one they work in every day. That makes them pretty formidable. . . . But miners and steelworkers are one thing. When the public employees of, say, Wisconsin hit the streets, it looked more like a bunch of disgruntled DMV clerks and graduate teaching assistants, because, well, that’s what it was.

Er, read the whole thing.

DISTURBING TRENDS IN NUCLEAR SMUGGLING: “There is another danger that is of great concern . . . It is the growing connection between nuclear insiders and organized criminal networks in this volatile part of the world.”

GATEWAY PUNDIT is all over the Weinergate story. Just keep scrolling.

A RIDE IN the Weinermobile.

WAR AGAINST PHOTOGRAPHY UPDATE: ACLU welcomes MTA’s response on photography. “The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland welcomed the decision of the Maryland Transit Administration to disavow efforts of some of its transit police to prevent photographers from taking pictures of its facilities and the agency’s vow to promulgate policies emphasizing the rights of photographers.”

Related: MTA chief repudiates photographer curbs.

READER JOHN MACDONALD EMAILS, “WHY DO WE HAVE TO GET ALL THE NEWS FROM THE BRITISH PAPERS?” Daily Mail: What would Michelle say? President Obama wolfs down TWO chili dogs and fries… the day after his wife unveils new dietary guide. Their photo choices are different than what you see in the American papers, too.

UPDATE: Jim Bennett emails an answer to MacDonald’s question:

Because they don’t have to suck up to the White House to get their most important stories.

This is one of the many little revolutions brought on by the Internet and Web. As the Clinton administration discovered, the existence of well-written, well-researched newspapers in English, readily available to the American reader, but beyond their ability to control, threaten, or manipulate has permanently changed the media landscape. Merely by being able to read the British press, we start to see how much the American press has always been manipulated by the American political establishment.

Somebody should write a book about this.

Yeah, they should.

JERRY POURNELLE on bioterror. Plus this: “As to garage biochemists, you grossly underestimate what many of them are capable of doing.”

DAVID FREDDOSO: More than three-fourths of House members believe Libya operation is questionable, illegal or unwise.

OBAMA ADMINSTRATION Facing Internal Divisions Over Drone Strikes in Pakistan?

SYRIA UPDATE: Tanks Move in on City as Thousands Mourn Protesters’ Deaths. “The government’s violent crackdown against a three-month-old popular uprising continued, with helicopter gunships killing 10 people in a neighboring province and residents of Hama bracing for a military assault that would be the first on the city since the government bombed it in 1982, killing at least 10,000 people.”

YA THINK? Anthony Weiner’s bulging controversy a classic example of abysmal damage control.

IT’S NOT MY FAULT! Reuters: Obama Blames Europe, Japan for US Economic Woes.

MARKDOWNS ON Duracell batteries.

MY COLUMN FOR TOMORROW’S WASHINGTON EXAMINER is now online.

HOW NOT TO choose a Presidential candidate.

THE TRUTH ABOUT GUNS: Mexico Wakes Up. “Ever since I began covering the gun violence in Mexico, I’ve been banging on about two elements of the conflagration. First, the drug thugs are armed with weapons funneled from legit sales (not Bob’s Gun Store). Second, arming the Mexican populace is the only possible ‘solution’ to the cartels’ reign of terror.”

WHICH IS MORE THAN YOU CAN SAY FOR SOME MEDIA OUTLETS: Andrew Breitbart Did Not Run ‘Weinergate’ Evidence Which Turned Out To Be Fake.

PAUL RAHE: Paul Ryan’s Strategic Vision.