"X" men, and other items

What about "+" signs?
Via Beth, Will Saudis Ban the Letter 'X'?

The letter "X" soon may be banned in Saudi Arabia because it resembles the mother of all banned religious symbols in the oil kingdom: the cross.

Read the article - I"m not the only one asking about "+".
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Miracles Appear in the Strangest of Places

Last year's remarks by Pope Benedict XVI might just have signaled a watershed event in the global struggle against those who are most willing to use that sword.

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More reasons to blame Bush: Economists upgrade US outlook after surprisingly strong data

Lehman Brothers chief US economist Ethan Harris on Friday boosted his forecast for fourth quarter 2006 growth to an annualized rate of 3.3 percent, a leap from the firm's prior call for just 2.0 percent growth.

Also via Dr Sanity, War? - What War?
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Via Larwyn,
Liberal Blogs Attack Conservative Radio Station

US Rep. Ellison Uniquely Positioned To Launch Bush Impeachment Effort

V2K, Baby: Tinfoil Hat Brigades (Literally!) Form Support Groups. I woke up in the middle of the night a couple of weeks ago when the clock radio malfunctioned and there is a late-night radio talk show where people that believe in this stuff call in. Very strange.

MSNBC: Blames Jew Lobby for Carter's Mental Illness Update Deceit, Dysnfuction And The Dance Of The LeftMoney quote:

The terror that has become an acceptable form of political expression has never been about a religious endeavor. It is the misuse of a religion, a calculated attempt to realign a religion to serve the needs of a few evil men. It is an effort that is succeeding, because there are people that are chained and in servitude and their willing, desperate search for an escape from their dark medieval prisons.

Terror organizations and terror supporters are using our own language to defeat us. Suicide bombers and terrorists are now 'military factions,' while those that plan and pay for the crimes are now referred to as 'political factions' - as if patterning themselves after legitimate political organizations will somehow camouflage their identity and objectives. Ever dutifully, the media parrots these ridiculous assertions as credible.

How many people will the peace movement kill this time? Part II.

Iran smog kills 3,600 in a month
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Via Irwin, Two Alliances
President Bush has managed to divide and conquer the Middle East

When the Bush administration came into office, only Egypt and Jordan were functioning allies of the U.S. Iran and Iraq were already declared enemies, Syria was hostile, and even its supposed friends in the Arabian peninsula were so disinclined to help that none did anything to oppose al Qaeda. Some actively helped it, while others knowingly allowed private funds to reach the terrorists whose declared aim was to kill Americans.

The Iraq war has indeed brought into existence a New Middle East, in which Arab Sunnis can no longer gleefully disregard American interests because they need help against the looming threat of Shiite supremacy, while in Iraq at the core of the Arab world, the Shia are allied with the U.S. What past imperial statesmen strove to achieve with much cunning and cynicism, the Bush administration has brought about accidentally. But the result is exactly the same.

Related post, Have a little faith

Via Maria, A Campaign for Order
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Jay: "It shouldn't be long now before we start hearing the 'human rights' crowd start crying about how inhumane this was".
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Ignoring Proven Stem Cell Therapies For Political Gain
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In a lighter mode,
Via Maria, For the birds. Unfortunately what attracts birds also attracts deer.

More blogging later.