huh?

do we need FURTHER proof king george has no clothes? the man is f**king INSANE
Bush certifies Saudi Arabia as anti-terrorism ally
US President George W. Bush certified Saudi Arabia as an anti-terrorism ally on Friday, weeks after a top US Treasury official sharply criticized the kingdom's record.
Bush's move came in a memorandum to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, required under US law to free up aid from Washington to Riyadh, that the White House released to reporters.
"I hereby certify that Saudi Arabia is cooperating with efforts to combat international terrorism and that the proposed assistance will help facilitate that effort," the president said.
His memorandum came a little more than a month after the US Treasury undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Stuart Levey, charged that Saudi Arabia has failed to prosecute the bankrollers of terrorist groups...............

there is NOT A DOUBT in my mind saudi arabia hosted most if not ALL of the 9/11 terrorists.

Saudi Government Provided Aid to 9/11 Hijackers, Sources Say

nancy pelosi

is a giant piece o' steamin' shite LOSER
the more that woman opens her mouth the more i dislike her.
coward

Pelosi Rebukes Stark for Iraq Comments
By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press Writer
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rebuked a fellow San Francisco Bay-area liberal Friday for what she said were "inappropriate" comments about Iraq during a congressional debate.
During a debate on children's health care Thursday, Rep. Pete Stark accused Republicans of sending troops to Iraq to "get their heads blown off for the president's amusement."
Condemnations rolled in from Republican politicians, right-leaning bloggers had a field day, and a White House spokesman declined to "dignify those remarks" with a response.
Pelosi issued a statement Friday evening rapping Stark, who is in his 18th term representing the liberal East Bay. He's California's longest-serving House members.
"While members of Congress are passionate about their views, what Congressman Stark said during the debate was inappropriate and distracted from the seriousness of the subject at hand — providing health care for America's children," Pelosi said.
Stark's comment came as the House failed Thursday to override President Bush's veto of legislation to expand the popular State Children's Health Insurance Program...........

CNN Poll: 88% say Rep. Stark should not apologize

strange fruit

Strange Fruit
By Billie Holiday and Abel Meeropol (1937)
Southern trees bear strange fruit,Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.Pastoral scene of the gallant south,The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,Here is a strange and bitter crop.
history is a weapon

why is this happening now, happening all over again?
i was going to post a picture of a lynching, but decided against it. it is far too haunting AND disturbing
In Jena and Beyond, Nooses Return as a Symbol of Hate

By Darryl Fears Washington Post Staff Writer
When he reached his third-story workstation at a construction site near Pittsburgh two weeks ago, Errol Madyun saw the noose -- thick, neatly knotted and strong enough to hang a man.
"It was intimidating," said Madyun, a black ironworker.
More than 400 miles south in North Carolina, Terry Grier, superintendent of Guilford County Schools, saw the same type of noose last month at predominantly black T.W. Andrews High near Greensboro.
"It was huge," Grier, who is white, said of a noose he discovered hanging from a flagpole, one of four nooses placed at the school. "I became very angry. Part of what you think is it's a copycat of Jena."
Law enforcement authorities, including the Justice Department, are expressing concern over a recent spate of noose sightings in the aftermath of events in Jena, the small Louisiana town that has been engulfed by racial strife and was the scene of a recent civil rights demonstration....

ok let me just get this ONE thing (out of a kazillion)

straight. this dude, golden who was the state department contractor dude in charge of the us embassy in iraq project ATTEMPTED TO ALTER some shite at the construction site when it was bombed in may. THEN, our dear friend and current ambassador to iraq, ryan crocker BANISHES (isn't this JUST like a fairy tale?) the dude golden FROM iraq YET (and this is THE best part of this ONE story) this golden dude IS STILL IN CHARGE OF OVERSEEING THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT

yikes

oh and there's more, i just wanted to mention ONE thing
(and remember OUR KIDS DON'T HAVE HEALTH COVERAGE)
Criminal probe into U.S. Embassy in Iraq construction
By Warren P. Strobel and Jonathan S. Landay McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — A mortar shell smashed into the hulking new U.S. Embassy that's under construction in Baghdad last May, damaging a wall and causing minor injuries to people inside the building. It also exposed enormous problems in the management of what's become a $592 million government construction project.
The State Department contractor in charge of the project, James L. Golden, attempted to alter the scene of the blast, according to government officials familiar with the incident. The State Department inspector general prevented Department officials from investigating the incident, according to interviews and documents.
A congressional committee is examining whether the walls of the still-unfinished embassy complex, which are supposed to be blast-resistant, performed as they should have during the mortar attack.
U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker banished Golden from Iraq, but he continues to oversee the construction of the embassy in Baghdad; to be the liaison with the contractor, Kuwait-based First Kuwaiti General Trading and Contracting Co.; and to supervise other projects for the State Department's Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) bureau.......

the nutmeg grater: chris dodd#links#links

the nutmeg grater: chris dodd#links#links

of course the white house isn't going to apologize

first off, kings DON'T apologize. second off, they (everyone in the king's court and white house) CAN DO NO WRONG. don't be idiots. so they tortured an innocent man. SO WHAT!
the constitution? WE DON'T NEED NO F**KING CONSTITUTION! geneva convention? WE DON'T NEED NO F**KING GENEVA CONVENTION! morals? WE DON'T NEED NO F**KING MORALS!

souls? WE DON'T NEED NOR WANT NO F**KING SOULS!!!

U.S. lawmakers apologize to Canadian torture victim
By Andy Sullivan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers on Thursday offered apologies to a Canadian citizen who was deported by U.S. counterterrorism officials to Syria, where he says he was imprisoned and tortured.
Lawmakers from both parties also called on the Bush administration to apologize to Maher Arar, a Syrian-born software engineer still barred from entering the United States even though the Canadian government has cleared him of any links to terrorist groups.
"Our country made a mistake and has been unwilling to own up to it," California Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher said. "It reflects an arrogance I don't like to see in our government."
An administration official said she was not aware of any plans for the White House to issue an apology to Arar.
Arar described his ordeal to the House of Representatives Judiciary and Foreign Affairs committees via video link..........

rep. pete stark couldn't speak

truer words
(video at the link below)
House Rep. Stark on SCHIP veto: Bush, GOP prefer funding illegal war over health care for children
Nick Langewis and David Edwards

.......First of all, I'm just amazed that they can't figure out-- the Republicans are worried that we can't pay for insuring an additional ten million children. They sure don't care about finding $200 billion to fight the illegal war in Iraq. Where are you gonna get that money? You gonna tell us lies, like you're telling us today? Is that how you're going to fund the war? You don't have the money to fund the war or children, but you're going to spend it to blow up innocent people, if we could get enough kids to grow old enough for you to send to Iraq to get their heads blown off for the President's amusement.
This bill would provide health care for ten million children and, unlike the President's own kids, these children can't see a doctor or receive necessary care. Six million are insured through the Children's Health Insurance Program and they'll do better in school, and in life. In California, the President's veto will cause the legislature to draw up emergency regulations to cut some 800,000 children off the rolls in California and create a waiting list............

mona 'the hammer' shaw is my new hero!

note: i do NOT advocate violence, even against keyboards, monitors and phones (although i will admit i occasionally DREAM about violence against computer, monitors and phones)

oh, did i mention mona is 75 years old???

Taking a Whack Against Comcast
Mona Shaw Reached Her Breaking Point, Then for Her Hammer

By Neely TuckerWashington Post Staff Writer

............Fear not, fellow Americans! In these dark days of war, pestilence and Paris Hilton, a new hero has arisen. She is none other than 75-year-old Mona "The Hammer" Shaw, who took the aforementioned implement to her local Comcast office in Manassas to settle a score, and boy, did she!
This was after the company had scheduled installation of its much ballyhooed "Triple Play" service, which combines phone, cable and Internet services, in Shaw's brick home in nearby Bristow. But Shaw said they failed to show up on the appointed day, Monday, Aug. 13. They came two days later but left with the job half done. On Friday morning, they cut off all service. ........

......................So on that Friday, Mona Shaw and her husband, Don, went to the local call center office to complain.
Let's pick it up, mid-action, according to Shaw:
Mona demands to speak to a manager. A customer service representative says someone will be right with them. Directs them to a bench, outside. (Remember, it's mid-August.) Mona and Don sit.
Tick, tick, tick, goes the clock. Sit, sit, sit, go Mona and Don.
For. Two. Hours.
And then -- this is the best part -- the customer rep leans out the door and says the manager has left for the day. Thanks for coming! ..............

picture: Mona Shaw found just the tool to register her complaint about service, or lack thereof, at Comcast's Manassas office. (By Richard A. Lipski -- The Washington Post)

'when i came home'

"When I Came Home": The Best Film Yet About Iraq War Veterans
Through the story of Herold Noel, a homeless Iraq war veteran suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and living out of his car in Brooklyn, "When I Came Home" reveals a failing system and the veteran’s struggle to survive after returning from the war.
This post, written by Josh Bolotsky, originally appeared on Open Left
My situation is right now! Not five years from now, not two years from now, not next year, not next month, it's right now!
- Herold Noel, a homeless Iraq War veteran, roughly 5 minutes into When I Came Home
If No End In Sight is the best film yet to be produced on the effects of the Iraq War on the Iraqi people, then Dan Lohaus' When I Came Home is the best film yet to be produced on the US troops who fought that war. Not that there's much competition - the Iraq war is much like the Vietnam War, in that no matter how one views Hollywood's politics, it's hard to deny that there haven't been a lot of films about Iraq. Barring one or two documentaries, the films about the Middle East made in the last few years almost invariably limit themselves to other conflicts (e.g. the brilliant Syriana, the decidedly less brilliantThe Kingdom).........

add one more 'highly qualified' person to

king george's amazing picks! he's done it again!

heck of a job brownie susie!

Bush Taps Birth-Control Opponent for Family Planning Office
Posted by Amanda Terkel
This post, written by Amanda Terkel, originally appeared on Think Progress
On Monday, President Bush appointed Susan Orr to oversee federal family planning programs at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Orr, who is currently directing HHS child welfare programs, was touted by the administration as "highly qualified."
But a look at Orr's record shows that her strongest qualifications appear to be her right-wing credentials and endorsement of the Bush administration's failed abstinence-only policies. Before joining HHS, Orr served as senior director for marriage and family care at the conservative Family Research Council and was an adjunct professor at Pat Robertson's Regent University. Some highlights:
- In a 2001, Orr embraced a Bush administration proposal to "stop requiring all health insurance plans for federal employees" to cover a broad range of birth control. "We're quite pleased, because fertility is not a disease," said Orr...........

Birth-Control Foe To Run Office on Family Planning
Posted by Jill @ 9:32 am
It sounds like an Onion headline, but it’s not.Dr. Susan Orr is the new Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of The Office of Population Affairs — she’s also a staunch birth control opponent, a supporter of the Global Gag Rule, and former senior director for marriage and family care at the right-wing Family Research Council. According to RH Reality Check,
In 2001, when President Bush proposed eliminating the requirement that federal employees’ health insurance offer a range of options for birth control coverage, Dr. Orr, then the senior director for marriage and families at the Family Research Council 4, told the Washington Post, “We’re quite pleased because fertility is not a disease. It’s not a medical necessity that you have [contraception].”.......

Oppose Susan Orr as Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs

yup i agree, practicing safe sex is JUST like beating the shite out of your mate

yeah right

i'm sure it was HIS own idea to leave............

(perhaps it IS possible it was his own idea to leave. first tell the truth. we are NO safer from terrorism since we ILLEGALLY IMMORALLY invaded iraq, then 'retire'.)

more likely, THEY (king george and his court) made him 'retire' for 'knee surgery'

After Comments, U.S. Terror Chief Resigns
Justin Rood Reports:
Three days after Americans saw the Bush administration's counterterrorism chief say the Iraq war has likely not made the United States safer from terrorism, the official announced his resignation, citing health reasons.
In an e-mail sent to his staff Wednesday afternoon, Adm. Scott Redd, head of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), said he was stepping down to "take care of some long-delayed surgery that I can no longer neglect.".........

what he MEANT to say was

i am REVOLTING

Bush: 'I Am Relevant'

By Dan Froomkin Special to washingtonpost.com
A defensive President Bush insisted that he was still relevant this morning in a news conference dominated by his bitter complaints about the Democratic Congress.
Asked how he found himself vetoing a children's health insurance bill that had passed Congress with bipartisan support, Bush insisted that using a veto is "one way to ensure I am relevant."
When a reporter followed up and asked Bush if he felt he was losing leverage and relevance, Bush replied: "I've never felt more engaged and more capable of getting the American people to realize there's a lot of unfinished business."
Which, let's be blunt, is hard to believe.,...,

you GOTTA admit the dude has his own self one giant texas sized set o' balls

from cv rick (whom you should be reading EVERY day anyway)

A Speech by Al Gore

A Speech by Al Gore
This is the speech I wish Al Gore would make. It'd be on National Television, during Prime Time. He'd simulcast it on the Internet and upload it to YouTube immediately.


My fellow Americans,I'm speaking to you from my home in Carthage, Tennessee. After much consideration, weighing all my options and discussing all possibilities with my family, friends, and advisors, I've decided to once again run for the office of President of the United States of America. My goals as President will be many. I will bring our troops home and extricate this nation from it's military entanglements in a responsible and careful manner. We've done some good and some bad in the places where we've deployed our military and while we don't want to erase the good things, like removing a heartless dictator and not replacing him with another heartless dictator, we also need to repair the damage we've created. We're going to do that with international support and with the involvement of the United Nations. I will put the United States back in a leadership role in Science and Technology which will create well paying jobs. I will improve our education at all levels which will give our children and young people the best opportunity to succeed in a competitive world. I will work to repair the health care industry and under my administration we will have health care for all Americans, not just those fortunate enough to be able to afford it. ....... (continue the read by clicking the link ABOVE)

this is the sort of man

we idolize. we give a radio show to - that MILLIONS (allegedly) listen to. yet another thing i don't understand. every once in a while, i accidentally hear him. if i'm in my car at 3:00 pm, i listen to colin mcenroe. he comes on right after flush. if i'm just a tad early tuning in, i hear his blow-hearted self-absorbed steamin' piece o' shite voice. ewwwwwwwww just gives me the chills thinking about it. he talks like he owns the world. in his mind i really think he believes it. remember this is the man that said ALL people who do drugs should be in jail. (and he did 'em but he didn't do time). remember this is the man who got a draft deferment because of a disability (yet he's out there on the golf course ALL of the time. hey is he the one with the pig-tail?)

Limbaugh Brags About Threatening Children of Journalist Writing Unflattering Story About
Posted by Chet Scoville
............Limbaugh continued: "[W]e found out who was writing it and made a couple phone calls to the person writing it. And we said, 'You know what? We're going to find out where your kids go to school. We're going to find out who you knocked up in high school. We're going to find out what drugs you used. We're going to find out where you go to drink and do -- we're gonna find out how you paid for your house. We're going to do -- and we're going to do exact -- and we're going to say that, you know what? You are no different than Al Goldstein. You both masturbate.' ".......

this isn't from the onion

believe it or not. it's from reuters.





Cheney and Obama are distant cousins: Mrs. Cheney

.WASHINGTON (Reuters) - There's no sign of a family reunion planned, but U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama are distant cousins.
So says the vice president's wife, Lynne Cheney, who said she discovered that her husband of 43 years is eighth cousins with the senator from Illinois.
The two men could hardly be more different. Cheney is an advocate for pursuing the war in Iraq to try to stabilize the country, while Obama wants to get U.S. troops out of Iraq........

picture: U.S. Senator Barack Obama (L) (D-IL) re-enacts being sworn-in by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney (R) on Capitol Hill in Washington, January 4, 2005. With him are his wife Michelle and their two daughters Malia (L) and Sasha. Obama, 43, is the only African-American in the Senate, and the fifth in its history. Cheney and Obama are distant cousins. according to the vice president's wife, Lynne Cheney, who said she discovered that her husband of 43 years is eighth cousins with the senator from Illinois.
REUTERS/Jason Reed

no no no

an accident is when you gently tap someone else's bumper while parallel parking. it's NOT an accident when a patriot missile is fired.

US missile fired 'by accident' in Qatar
A Patriot missile was launched accidentally from a US military base in the Gulf state of Qatar, crashing into a farm but causing no casualties.
"A Patriot missile landed on a farm belonging to a Qatari national after being fired by accident from the As-Sailiyah camp," Al-Jazeera television reported on Tuesday.
According to unconfirmed reports, the missile exploded in mid-air, scattering debris over the farm, which is situated in the desert north of As-Sailiyah.
"We're investigating the incident, which happened last night," said a spokswoman at the US base, Holley Silkman, who refused to make any further comment on what had occurred.....

let freedom

RINGGGGGGG


Of Seniority, Glazed Chicken, and Rice Pilaf
by BooMan Remember this?
On 11 March 2003, Representatives Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio) and Walter B. Jones, Jr. (R-North Carolina) declared that all references to French fries and French toast on the menus of the restaurants and snack bars run by the House of Representatives would be removed. House cafeterias were ordered to rename French fries "freedom fries". This action was carried out without a congressional vote, under the authority of Ney's position as Chairman of the Committee on House Administration, which oversees restaurant operations for the chamber. The simultaneous renaming of French toast to "freedom toast" attracted less attention but was mentioned in the film Clerks 2.
Four and a half years later, Bob Ney is in prison. And Walter Jones? He's against the war.
"If I had known then what I know today, I wouldn't have voted for that resolution."
He contends that the United States went to war "with no justification."........

i don't wish anyone harm

it is not good karma. when one commits illegal or immoral or unworthy acts, especially on the american people, i DO feel a need for it to come to the surface. if one is willing to do these things, one should be willing to face the consequences. i didn't wish him death though

my original posting huh, a tax exempt charity

From the Front Page of the 'Post' -- To a High-Profile Suicide
(note, i corrected the spelling of profile. it was misspelled in the article)
NEW YORK Exactly two weeks ago, a front page story in The Washington Post by Robert O'Harrow, Jr. began: "While waiting to be confirmed by the White House for a top civilian post at the Air Force last year, Charles D. Riechers was out of work and wanted a paycheck. So the Air Force helped arrange a job through an intelligence contractor that required him to do no work for the company, according to documents and interviews. "For two months, Riechers held the title of senior technical adviser and received about $13,400 a month at Commonwealth Research Institute, or CRI, a nonprofit firm in Johnstown, Pa., according to his resume. But during that time he actually worked for Sue C. Payton, assistant Air Force secretary for acquisition, on projects that had nothing to do with CRI, he said. .........

i'm a smoker

and this is even appalling to me

Is Pink the New Color of Death for Women?
Posted by Lucinda Marshall at 11:00 AM on October 15, 2007.
........This post, written by Lucinda Marshall, originally appeared on Feminist Peace Network
R.J. Reynolds has introduced a new cigarette targeted specifically towards women. You can tell that Camel No. 9 is a girl thing because it has lots of shocking pink on the box. According to the New York Times,
"For decades, Camel has been a male-focused cigarette; only about 30 percent of Camel buyers are female. By comparison, for competitive brands like Marlboro and Newport, women comprise 40 percent to 50 percent of customers. Almost half of adult smokers are women, so that limited Camel's potential.
Wall Street analysts praise the introduction of Camel No. 9, in regular and menthol flavors, as a further step by the R. J. Reynolds, a unit of Reynolds American, toward a new marketing strategy. The goal is to refocus on the biggest, most popular -- and most profitable -- brands, which include Kool as well as Camel."...............

holy shite!

i can't take ALL OF THIS HONESTY
my heart is giving out

Abizaid: ‘We’ve Treated The Arab World As A Collection Of Big Gas Stations’
During a round table discussion on “the Fight for Oil, Water and a Healthy Planet” at Stanford University on Saturday, Gen. John Abizaid (Ret.), the former CENTCOM Commander, said that “of course” the Iraq war is “about oil“:
“Of course it’s about oil, we can’t really deny that,” Abizaid said of the Iraq campaign early on in the talk.
“We’ve treated the Arab world as a collection of big gas stations,” the retired general said. “Our message to them is: Guys, keep your pumps open, prices low, be nice to the Israelis and you can do whatever you want out back. Osama and 9/11 is the distilled essence that represents everything going on out back.”...........

wow a couple of honest words

from the head of a counter-terrorism organization. will wonders NEVER cease?
(and once again, this is something EVERYONE knew yet it's unusual for one of the big boyz to say it aloud)
Counterterror head says US not 'tactically' safer following invasion of Iraq
David Edwards and Jason Rhyne
The director of the National Counterterrorism Center, the primary US organization responsible for analyzing terror threats, told NBC News that the nation is probably not "tactically" safer from the threat of terrorism following the invasion of Iraq.
Asked by reporter Richard Engel if the war in Iraq had created a "giant recruiting tool" for terrorists, Center head Scott Redd said that "in the short term, that is probably true. But the question is you've got to look at this, I believe, in the long term strategic view." .......

hmmmmmmmmm

doctor doctor, it hurts when i do this................

(well don't DO that)

so verizon provided data without warrants (yeah, we KNEW that already. we also knew at&t and goddess only knows how many other phone companies did it) for HUNDREDS OF EMERGENCY cases .... HUNDREDS mind you

'hello grandma? this is koko calling. just calling to find out how you're doing. oh good! ummmmmm and oh by the way, can i borrow fifty bucks?'
Verizon Says It Turned Over Data Without Court Orders
Firm's Letter to Lawmakers Details Government Requests


By Ellen NakashimaWashington Post Staff Writer
Verizon Communications, the nation's second-largest telecom company, told congressional investigators that it has provided customers' telephone records to federal authorities in emergency cases without court orders hundreds of times since 2005.
The company said it does not determine the requests' legality or necessity because to do so would slow efforts to save lives in criminal investigations.
In an Oct. 12 letter replying to Democratic lawmakers, Verizon offered a rare glimpse into the way telecommunications companies cooperate with government requests for information on U.S. citizens. ......

stop by and say hola to

renegade eye

he sounded sincere

then i looked at his eyes (and his haircut which was reminiscient of a certain leader of a european country involved in a world war, NOT on the same side as us) and NOT FOR ONE SECOND did i buy a THING he was saying

Blackwater Chief Welcomes Extra Oversight
Founder Erik Prince Says Blackwater Guards Came Under Fire In Controversial Shooting

(CBS) Blackwater USA has been called the largest private army in the world but little is known about how it operates. The company has a thousand highly trained and well armed security specialists on the ground in Iraq alone, hired by the U.S. government to protect American officials. But some of those men are now under investigation for the killing of 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad last month. It's not the first time the company has been accused of reckless Rambo-like behavior. The man who founded Blackwater, former Navy SEAL Erik Prince, doesn't like talking to the press but with his company under attack, he agreed to do an interview with 60 Minutes' Lara Logan this past Friday to defend his men and reject charges that they are arrogant guns for hire, mercenaries, accountable to no one.

it's absolutely

frightening there are 'professors' like this ANYWHERE, much less columbia

The Columbia Professor Who Also Doesn't Think Gay People Exist in the Middle East
Queer Theory
by James Kirchick
.........................Yet while the audience in the Roone Arledge Auditorium and millions of television viewers laughed and booed at the Islamist rube, there was one man--ensconced at Columbia University, no less--who was likely nodding along in agreement. His name is Joseph Massad, Associate Professor of Modern Arab Politics and Intellectual History, and he legitimizes, with a complex academic posture, the deservedly reviled views on homosexuality espoused by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
According to Massad, a Palestinian Christian and disciple of the late Columbia professor Edward Said, the case for gay rights in the Middle East is an elaborate scheme hatched by activists in the West. Massad posited this thesis in a 2002 article, "Re-Orienting Desire: The Gay International and the Arab World," for the academic journal Public Culture, and he has expanded it into a book, Desiring Arabs, published this year by the University of Chicago Press. In it, he writes that such activists constitute the "Gay International" whose "discourse ... produces homosexuals as well as gays and lesbians, where they do not exist." The "missionary tasks" of this worldwide conspiracy are part of a broader attempt to legitimize American and Israeli global conquest by undermining the very moral basis of Muslim societies, as the "Orientalist impulse ... continues to guide all branches of the human rights community." Massad's intellectual project is a not-so-tacit apology for the oppression of people who identify openly as homosexual. In so doing, he sides with Islamist regimes over Islamic liberals. .....................

another instance of

the sun was in my eyes
the dog ate my homework
i had a flat tire
i had to save a school bus full of children from terrorists...............

I'M NOT GAY
Vatican Official Insists He's Not Gay
VATICAN CITY (AP) -- A Vatican official suspended after being caught on hidden camera making advances to a young man said in an interview published Sunday that he is not gay and was only pretending to be gay as part of his work.
In an interview with La Repubblica newspaper, Monsignor Tommaso Stenico said he frequented online gay chat rooms and met with gay men as part of his work as a psychoanalyst. He said that he pretended to be gay in order to gather information about ''those who damage the image of the Church with homosexual activity.''
Vatican teaching holds that homosexual activity is a sin.
''It's all false; it was a trap. I was a victim of my own attempts to contribute to cleaning up the Church with my psychoanalyst work,'' La Repubblica quoted Stenico as saying..........

i very firmly believe

we ought to be VERY careful or what almost happened in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Scotty: Admiral, there be whales here.

Sounding Out Whales for Clues to Sonar's Effects

By Marc Kaufman Washington Post Staff Writer
Twenty-two varieties of beaked whales roam the seas, diving as deep as a mile to feed on bottom-dwelling squid and small fish on the dark ocean floor. Shy and seldom seen by man, they are among the least understood large creatures on Earth.
But in recent years, these deepest-diving whales have sent out an unexpected distress signal, alerting researchers and marine mammal advocates, through their confused behavior and beachings, to an environmental hazard that until 10 years ago was not known to exist. The threat comes from very loud noises, especially from Navy sonar, that on at least several occasions have proved fatal to the whales. ..........

mission accomplished?

remember the LAST time he said that (and how fetching he looked in that jaunty jumpsuit)

Al-Qaeda In Iraq Reported Crippled
Many Officials, However, Warn Of Its Resilience

By Thomas E. Ricks and Karen DeYoungWashington Post Staff Writers

The U.S. military believes it has dealt devastating and perhaps irreversible blows to al-Qaeda in Iraq in recent months, leading some generals to advocate a declaration of victory over the group, which the Bush administration has long described as the most lethal U.S. adversary in Iraq.
But as the White House and its military commanders plan the next phase of the war, other officials have cautioned against taking what they see as a premature step that could create strategic and political difficulties for the United States. Such a declaration could fuel criticism that the Iraq conflict has become a civil war in which U.S. combat forces should not be involved. At the same time, the intelligence community, and some in the military itself, worry about underestimating an enemy that has shown great resilience in the past. .........