Morning Newsdome: Philadelphia Archdiocese suspends 21 priests for touching little boys March 09 2011

• [http://clatl.com/atlanta/ImageArchives?by=1942446|Wikimedia]
• Cardinal Justin Rigali previously denied the charges against Philly priests

>> The Philadelphia Archdiocese suspended 21 priests for allegedly sexually abusing minors after a grand jury reported in February that the church was part of a “widespread cover-up of predatory priests.” It’s the most sweeping mass suspension in U.S. history of Catholic priests, and 37 priests remain active despite credible accusations against them. Did you hear that joke about the 37 priests that walk into a Philadelphia preschool? (the New York Times)

>> It’s not just Sunnis and Shi’ites. A fatal clash between Muslims and Coptic Christians in Egypt on Tuesday highlighted religious tensions once again in the country. The Copts are led by their own Cairo-based pope and are the largest Christian minority in the Middle East, about 9 percent of Egypt’s 80 million people. I wonder if Coptic priests molest little boys or if that’s just a Western thing. (the Christian Science Monitor)

>> Rep. Peter King, the chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, will begin a series of hearings tomorrow on the radicalization of Muslims in America, or a “witch hunt” as Muslim congressman Keith Ellison put it. But King has a history of supporting the I.R.A., the Irish terrorist group that bombed the British Army, Protestant paramilitaries and public spaces. Well, that’s different—they were white. (the New York Times)

>> As the U.S. was moving toward friendly trade with Libya before the current political unrest, the U.S. sold to Libya spare C-130 aircraft parts, equipment for border security and blasting cartridges for oil exploration. Italy and Russia reportedly provided $10 billion in weaponry to Qaddafi’s regime. Of course, all transactions are now suspended due to an international arms embargo. Seems like we should supply weapons to Libyan rebels just to balance it out. You know, until we need to go to war with them. (NPR)

>> And finally: Remember all those birds that kept mysteriously dying, a clear sign of the coming apocalypse? Now thousands of dead anchovies have washed up in a California marina and dozens of sick seals have washed up on New Jersey shores. What’s next? Thousands of mosquitoes to infest Atlanta? (Huffington Post, NBC)