The Saudi royal family has been, by turns, both a sponsor and a target of Sunni extremists, who object to the corruption and decadence among the family’s myriad princes. The princes are gambling that they will not be overthrown as long as they continue to support religious schools and charities linked to the extremists. The Administration’s new strategy is heavily dependent on this bargain.

The latest from Sy is particularly disturbing in a lot of ways. It's painfully obvious the shrubery still has no understanding of the religious, national or tribal divides in the mid east, and doesn't understand the games being played by ANY of the players there.

This is sort of like watching a train wreck in super slo-mo, but you're not sure if you're going to get hit by shrapnel, and don't know if those tanker cars are empty, or full of something else that could make the whole thing much, much worse.

The New Yorker : The Redirection - Seymour Hersh

So to ensure that Griles not roam too freely, an Interior official was assigned to keep an eye on him. That official: Sue Ellen Wooldridge, then the deputy chief of staff to Interior Secretary Gale Norton.

After a couple of months, the two were dating.

Fox? Henhouse. Henhouse? Fox. Good grief.

Sex, Lies, and Energy Interests

Federal prosecutors and the FBI have significantly overstated the number of terrorism-related investigations and prosecutions they pursue, according to a highly critical report released Tuesday by a Justice Department watchdog.

The study by Inspector General Glenn Fine concluded that the overstatements occurred in large part because authorities count offenses such as document and marriage fraud and immigration violations as terrorism-related even when there was no discernible tie to terror.

Your "War on Terror" inaction.

Report: Feds overstate terrorism cases | Chicago Tribune

Judge Raymond Randolph said: "Federal courts have no jurisdiction in these cases."

The appeals court rejected the main argument by lawyers that it was unconstitutional to deny the prisoners a right to challenge their imprisonment in the federal courts. Judge Randolph said of the lawyers' case: "The arguments are creative but not cogent. To accept them would be to defy the will of congress."

Yes, and the courts have such a fine history when they uphold the will of congress over that which the Constitution proscribes. We get such admirable work as Dred Scott, Plessy v. Fergusson, US v. Reynolds...

The question is not the will of congress, the question should be, "Does this violate the letter or spirit of the Constitution?" The blunt answer is, yes it does, and there is no way to remove habeas corpus from people in US custody that does not, regardless of the location of their incarceration.

Guant�namo inmates refused day in court | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited

See, he's helping lay out a basic health care plan. One of the problems we have at state level is that over time a lot of mandates have been added to insurance. You know, the hair follicle benefit -- well, you don't need hair follicles, particularly if you have hair. (Laughter.) If you're going bald, you might think you do, but it's probably not a necessary part of a health care plan.

Hair follicle benefit? I'm not sure what Georgie is talking about on this one, but I don't have Rogaine, Propecia, or plugs on my insurance policy...

President Bush Participates in a Roundtable on Health Care Initiatives

Years ago I heard a rumor of a rare coffee that was collected from the droppings of a wild animal. For quite a while, having nothing to substantiate this I had dismissed this as either an urban legend, or something so rare I was unlikely to ever have access to it.

Well thanks to the coffee explosion this rare and unusual blend is readily available, though still very expensive. My interest in this was rekindled when I noticed Armeno Coffee Roasters, my favorite source for fine coffee is now carrying Kopi Luwak Coffee.

I don't even know what to say about this one. Coffee for $100 a pound?

Life After Coffee � The Straight Poop on Kopi Luwak Coffee

It worked. As the plane landed on Gran Canaria, the man was standing in the middle aisle when the pilot carried out his maneuver, and he fell to the floor, dropping one of his two 7mm pistols. Flight attendants then threw boiling water in his face and at his chest, and some 10 people jumped on the man and beat him, the Spanish official said.

Why hijacking is no longer a very good idea.

Independent Online Edition - Bumpy landing foils plane hijacke

Rep. Gil Herbel, a Republican, said he initially thought the resolution referred to Sonny Bono, the former singer, Republican congressman and husband of Cher.

"When I saw the resolution, I was looking for Cher's name in there," Herbel said.

I realize Sonny Bono managed to get elected to congress, but he's been dead for 9 years. In the meantime, Bono has been the biggest rock star of the past 20 years, a frontliner for a variety of social issues, and a repeated nominee in the past few years for the Nobel Peace Prize (losing to Shirin Ebadi in 2002, Mohammed ElBaradei of the IAEA in 2005, and Muhammad Yunus for his microloan ideas in 2006).

Mr. Herbel? I realize North Dakota is pretty much the middle of nowhere, but living in a cave there is no better than living in a cave anywhere else.

N.D. House rejects bill to honor Bono - Yahoo! News

Manhart, who appeared in a six-page spread in Playboy's February issue, said she got word Friday that she was removed from "extended active duty" and was also told that she was demoted in rank from staff sergeant to senior airman.

Language specialists? Oh, you're gay? Tossed. Drill Sergeant? In Playboy? See ya. I can't decide between "ridiculous" and "stupid" as the best way to descibe what W has done to the military. "Don't ask, don't tell," wasn't a very good policy, but the way things are going now bears more resemblance to "one party, one volk," than I care for. If what you do on your off time is legal, then the government should follow the gamers code, STFU.

Drill sergeant who posed nude discharged - Yahoo! News

"Bush suffers from an addictive personality, and was an alcoholic. I don't know his present condition ... but the one who examines his personality finds that he is addicted to two other faults — lying and gambling," al-Zawahri said in the audiotape.

Excuse me for a moment. HAHAHAHAHA!!! There's an old line which says "just because you're paranoid, it doesn't mean that they really aren't out to get you." Well, Zawahri may be a terrorist and sociopathic ass, but that doesn't mean he didn't call this one pretty much right on. For more reference see some old but amusing footage of a drunk W here , commentary on the drunk topic here, commentary on the gambling issue from Maureen Dowd here, and I don't think I need to bother deliniating the Augean stables full of crap he's told us since day one.

Al-Qaida's No. 2 calls Bush an alcoholic - Yahoo! News