Anyway, so. In The AIPAC kerfuffle, an opinion piece in the Jerusalem Post, one reads:
We are told that the FBI has been investigating Franklin for a year, giving the impression of heft to the story. But as our news pages reveal today, the two AIPAC staffers who are the supposed conduits for Franklin's information have not even been interviewed by the FBI.
Of course, one can also read, in the Knight-Ridder article FBI espionage probe goes beyond Israeli allegations, sources say:
Two or three staff members of AIPAC have been interviewed in connection with the case.
Mind you, both statements might be true; the "two or three staff members" interviewed might not be "the two AIPAC staffers who are the supposed conduits for Franklin's information," after all.
Not that this nit-picking will make even the slightest amount of sense if you're not familiar with what's being termed Iran-Contra II?
On Friday evening, CBS News reported that the FBI is investigating a suspected mole in the Department of Defense who allegedly passed to Israel, via a pro-Israeli lobbying organization, classified American intelligence about Iran. The focus of the investigation, according to U.S. government officials, is Larry Franklin, a veteran Defense Intelligence Agency Iran analyst now working in the office of the Pentagon's number three civilian official, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith.
Which Washington Monthly piece is by Joshua Micah Marshall, Laura Rozen and the no-link-for-him editor in chief of the magazine, Paul Glastris.
The article itself is required reading if you'd like to follow this, but you maybe wanna avoid commentary on it. Unless you have a fairly high threshold for both anti-semitism and bogus charges of anti-semitism.
Also, there's quite a few people and organizations involved. Luckily, a helpful diagram is available at uggabugga, based on Juan Cole's take on all this.
I'd add my own take on all this, but, y'know, hiatus. Also, jury duty tomorrow. I mean, if Oprah can do it. . .
Apropos of not a hell of a lot, besides Michael Ledeen's not-yet-determined role in all this, I'd suggest checking out the Coalition for Democracy in Iran Website:
The Coalition for Democracy in Iran (CDI)has beenwas formed to mobilizethe efforts ofgroups and individuals across the United States, including Iranian-Americans,whoin support of the aspirations of the Iranian people for democracy andrespect forhuman rightsin Iran. In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, there is an even greater urgencyto focusin focusing the attention of the U.S. publicopinionandthepolicy makers on the real agenda of the Iranian regime.If[J]udged by actions rather thanbywords, the battle betweenthereformers andthehardliners appears onlyto bea myth, albeit onethatwhich has resulted in conflicting signals from Washington. On the vital issues of support for terrorism and developmentforof weapons of mass destruction, the Islamic Republic tolerates no dissention.
You can read that Purpose Statement without my edits, for a start. And marvel at the background image they're using; I'd swear I remember that from some of the first sites I visited in Mosaic at U of I way back in the day.
Um, and you probably don't wanna view the source of the page. It's a mess in there, and this is me saying that.
But once you get past the horrible prose, poor design and crap coding. . . well, I couldn't, so if you do, could you write a brief summary for me? Thanks, you're a peach.
Later, I'll explain that entry title. And why there's a watermelon there.
Dude, just admit it. You can't hiatus. You are hiatafree.
Don't be a hiatah.
Good luck with the jury duty.
... and pour the rest of the hiata-ade down the sink.
Buh... but you promised to spend your hiatus with me sipping lattes on the veranda overlooking the Sound. :(
Funny site, funny comments. I was on the floor laughing so hard!
Can I put a link on my funny site to your funny site?
www.americantraitor.us
--Larz
Added you to my links. Keep going.
Paging Aaron, Paging Aaron, are you out there? Worried bout ya. Call me if you can.
EARSHOT episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer
From http://www.buffy-vs-angel.com/buffy_tran_52.shtml with some minor editing:
Buffy smashes through a boarded up tower window behind Jonathan, landing in a crouch.
Jonathan spins surprised and holds the rifle pointing at her.
JONATHAN Get away from me!
Buffy slowly stands up.
BUFFY Ok Jonathan, you wanna point that somewhere else?
He points the rifle slightly to the side.
JONATHAN Don't you try and stop me!
BUFFY (puts her hands up but takes a step forward) No, no no stopping. Just here for view. Hey, look, City Hall.
JONATHAN (frazzled and sweating) Go away!
BUFFY Never gonna happen.
JONATHAN You think I won't use this?
BUFFY I don't know Jonathan. (takes a step forward) I just-
JONATHAN (Lurches back from her, aims the gun straight at her) Stop doing that!
BUFFY Doing what?
JONATHAN Stop saying my name like we're friends! We're not friends! You all think I'm an idiot! A short idiot!
BUFFY (matter-of-factly) I don't. I don't think about you much at all. Nobody here really does. Bugs you, doesn't it. You have all this pain, and all these feelings and nobody's really paying attention.
JONATHAN You think I just want attention?
BUFFY No. I think you're up in the clock tower with a high-powered rifle because you wanna blend in. Believe it or not, Jonathan, I understand about the pain.
JONATHAN Oh right. Cuz the burden of being beautiful and athletic, that's a crippler.
BUFFY You know what? I was wrong. You are an idiot. My life happens to, on occasion, suck beyond the telling of it. Sometimes more than I can handle. And it's not just mine. Every single person down there is ignoring your pain because they're too busy with their own.
Jonathan lowers the rifle more.
Buffy steps toward the window. She looks down at the Quad below.
BUFFY The beautiful ones. The popular ones. The guys that pick on you. Everyone.
Jonathan slowly moves up behind her to see what she sees. He steps up right next to her.
BUFFY If you could hear what they were feeling. The loneliness. The confusion. It looks quiet down there. It's not. It's deafening.
She turns to face him.
BUFFY You know, I could've taken that by now.
JONATHAN I know.
BUFFY (holds her hand out) I'd rather do it this way.
He thinks a moment, then hands her the rifle. She turns and pulls the bolt back, ejecting the bullet. She sets the gun down, then turns back to him.
JONATHAN I just wanted it to stop.
Yes, Uppity-Negro.com is being spam-bombed. Ignore the ignorance (online prozac?!?). We're hoping very much to be able to take care of this shortly. I'm the Sister of the Uppity-Negro. If anyone has any questions, click my name link below and you'll find how to contact me. Thanks!
Meanwhile, check out the new Margaret Cho poster from the American Library Association (ALA) on her blog, at http://margaretcho.net/blog. What people don't know is that they themselves can buy the READ posters that you see in libraries directly from ALA. I'm not sure when Margaret Cho's poster will be available, but see what else they have at the ALA Online Store, at http://alastore.ala.org. I'm going to surprise Aaron with a copy of it... although I'm guessing it's not a surprise any more if I put it on his blog ;>!