It doesn’t help to speculate about kind of apocalyptic scenarios

Must-read: Billmon analysis of the Israel-Palestine-Lebanon situation.

Condi says of Israel, “I think they understand the need to exercise restraint.” She does not present any evidence of this. (The Israeli ambassador to the US immediately responded that Israel has “tried restraint” with Lebanon.) Asked about the possibility of all-out war in the Middle East, she replies, “I think it doesn’t help to speculate about kind of apocalyptic scenarios.” Smoking gun, mushroom cloud, ring a bell, Condi?

A great step forward in Iraq! Foreign occupying forces will hand Muthanna province (which is mostly desert) over to the Iraqi security forces! Prime Minister Maliki was there to celebrate, but “Most of his speech at the ceremony to mark this historic event went unheard because the sound system failed due to a power cut.” The Indy continues:

There were no members of the public present at the ‘Olympic Stadium’ of the sleepy and dusty provincial capital, Samawa, to witness the Prime Minister’s tussles with broadcasting. All those present were invited, and the date of the handover had not been publicised to prevent an attack by insurgents.

Angela Merkel took Bush to the village of Trinwillershagen yesterday. I hope, for the sake of all our sanity in a week like this, that someone has, and posts to YouTube, footage of Bush trying to pronounce Trinwillershagen.

It wasn’t just invisible herring. Here George, according to the Reuters caption, is preparing to kiss the invisible wife of the American ambassador to Germany.


And if it’s Friday, it must be whatever they’re calling Leningrad this week. Goosestepping soldiers with flowers accompanied the Bushes to the Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad.