This and That

Unfortunately, nobody told the baby.

Despite being closely vetted by both the U.S. secret service and German intelligence agents, the startled infant voiced a noisy protest as it was handed to George Bush.

Meanwhile, the Administration has refused to devote adequate resources to bolster security in our nation’s ports, on railroads and public transit systems, in airports and airplanes, and at chemical and nuclear facilities – infrastructures which are far likelier and far more susceptible targets for terrorists. To put the Administration’s priorities in perspective, the Administration’s ballistic missile request is roughly double the amount the Administration requested for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Services. The amount is triple what the Administration requested for the Transportation Security Administration. The request is more than triple the request for state and local first responders.

* Russia has signed a $1 billion deal to sell missiles and other weaponry to Iran, despite the fact that Iran has called on the Muslim world to envision a world without the United States, repeatedly called for Israel to be “wiped off the map,” and denied the Holocaust ever happened.
* Russia has continued to sell nuclear technology to Iran, despite the fact that much of the West is convinced Iran is trying to build, buy or steal nuclear weapons.
* Russia has agreed to sell missiles to Syria.
* Russia has resisted U.S. and European efforts to place sanction on Iran (or North Korea) for threatening to annihilate sovereign nations and for repeatedly lying about the development of its nuclear program.
* Russia has agreed to sell arms to Hamas, and Mr. Putin has denied that Hamas is a terrorist organization.
* Russia has sat by passively as Iran and Syria have created a formal defensive alliance against the U.S., Israel and moderate Arab regimes in the Middle East.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert described the Hizbollah attacks as an “act of war” by Lebanon and promised a “very painful and far-reaching” response.

Defense Minister Amir Peretz said Israel held the Lebanese government responsible for the two soldiers’ fate because it let Hizbollah operate freely against Israel from its territory.

“Israel sees itself as being free to employ any means it deems fit, and the army has been instructed accordingly,” he said in a statement, hinting at a broad military response.

Israel began calling up reserve troops, signaling a large-scale campaign to retrieve the two soldiers, Israel’s Channel 10 television said.

UW-Madison Provost Patrick Farrell said Monday that Kevin Barrett can present his view as one of many perspectives on the event when he teaches the introductory course as scheduled this fall.

Some state politicians had called for the university to fire Barrett after he spoke about his theories on a radio talk show last month.

Farrell rejected those calls, saying, “We cannot allow political pressure from critics of unpopular ideas to inhibit the free exchange of ideas.”

After all, how could the president pass by a young girl sporting pink sunglasses and a sign that reads: “Lemonade, 50 cents. Bush Free.”

In the wife-carrying competition, men physically transport their spouses over a grueling 831-foot obstacle course that includes log hurdles, hairpin curves, changing terrain, and a four-foot-deep pool of cold water. Husbands can haul their brides any way they wish–piggyback, fireman’s carry, over-the-transom style–but they are severely penalized if they drop their wives at any point.