The U.S. State Department considers the MEK a terrorist organization — meaning no American can deal with it; U.S. banks must freeze its assets; and any American giving support to its members is committing a crime.
The U.S. military, though, regularly escorts MEK supply runs between Baghdad and its base, Camp Ashraf.
“The trips for procurement of logistical needs also take place under the control and protection of the MPs,” said Mojgan Parsaii, vice president of MEK and leader of Camp Ashraf.
Well, the world is a complicated place. And one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom figh….oh, wait. That’s not right. Is it?
This morning Megs was lying with her butt in the sunshine, obviously warming it up. She was awake, but definitely drowsy. But when I approached with the camera, she gave a little meow and stretched.
It’s things like this: the completely fabricated story by ABC and Brian Ross on how Saddam Hussein was behind the anthrax attacks. False from start to finish, and never retracted to this day. Glenn Greenwald reviews it at the link.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has virtually wiped his public schedule clean to bone up for his long-awaited April 17 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee—a session widely seen as a crucial test as to whether he will survive the U.S. attorney mess. But even his own closest advisers are nervous about whether he is up to the task. At a recent “prep” for a prospective Sunday talk-show interview, Gonzales’s performance was so poor that top aides scrapped any live appearances. During the March 23 session in the A.G.’s conference room, Gonzales was grilled by a team of top aides and advisers—including former Republican National Committee chair Ed Gillespie and former White House lawyer Tim Flanigan—about what he knew about the plan to fire seven U.S. attorneys last fall. But Gonzales kept contradicting himself and “getting his timeline confused,” said one participant who asked not to be identified talking about a private meeting. His advisers finally got “exasperated” with him, the source added. “He’s not ready,” Tasia Scolinos, Gonzales’s public-affairs chief, told the A.G.’s top aides after the session was over, said the source.
Lots more at the link, including informed speculation about why he’s so stupid having problems getting the facts straight. But, as Kevin Drum points out:
Everyone prepares for congressional testimony, but this is ridiculous. If Gonzales was planning to simply tell the truth, he wouldn’t “keep contradicting himself” in practice sessions and he wouldn’t need to bring his schedule to a standstill in order to figure out what he’s planning to say. He’d just review the appropriate documents to make sure he had his dates straight and then tell Congress what happened.
Obviously, though, that’s not quite what he’s planning to do, is it?
From The Accidental Hedonist this morning, where you can see a beautiful photo of the completed salad. She was surprised at how the flavors work together to achieve a great balance, but I expected that: onions, oranges, olives—they all start with “o”.
Sometimes recipes are all about balance.
1/3 cup orange juice
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper, to taste
4 large oranges, peeled, sectioned and each section cut into thirds
1 red onion, quartered and sliced
1/3 cup Kalamata olives, chopped
Chives, chopped
In a bottle or jar with a lid, combine the orange juice, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Close the bottle or jar and shake in order to combine the ingredients. Set aside.
In a glass bowl, combine the oranges, onion and olives. Toss well, and pour on the amount of vinaigrette you desire. Serve with chives as a garnish.
Because I skipped shaving Sunday—so I’m both eager to shave again and have a nice crop of stubble. I used QED’s special Badger & Blade shaving stick and a Rooney brush sold by Tone’s Barber Shop, unbranded but recognizably Rooney.
The razor was a Gillette Fat Boy with date code E2 (2nd quarter of 1959—the year in which this razor was introduced). I noticed this time how very deep is the chequering on the handle, which is applied to high vertical rows: a razor that’s not going to slip in a soapy hand.
The shave was absolutely superb—quite smooth and close, with no nicks at all. Alum bar and Proraso splash aftershave. I love Mondays now.
Written for the man who wants to enjoy his shave. User comment: "I bought this as a gift for my fiancé, along with a wet-shaving starting kit and a safety razor. He DEVOURED this book, and finds himself reading it again and again. He finally enjoys shaving. This book has helped him figure out so many things about wet shaving, and has recommended it to all of his friends and family. Truly a great source of information for any man."
