If this doesn't chill you to the bone, you are already dead
Back from Va-cay, it having been a week of much energy expenditure and, yes, work. Didn't wanna do it, but there you go. Next time I tell my assistant that I will be in Yap, covering the local sports team and will be unavailable for comment.

I have missed my tie to the e-world! Strange, even while in Japan I felt as though I was still connected; but being away from the desk and away from the PC meant a large void opened up. Filled rather comfortably, I should say by a house full of children at various times, new rollerblades (only fell twice so far) and generally much frolic, but still...I missed the community of voices that I have found out there in my daily twitching through the ether.

My original intent, after digging out from under the 40+ emails and other assorted work related things this morning, was a calm retrospective look at some of the more pithy things that took place, but my need to comment on the following precludes such a gentle walk into that good morning. To wit:

Islamic Bloc, Christian Right Team Up to Lobby U.N.

brrrr....

UNITED NATIONS -- Conservative U.S. Christian organizations have joined forces with Islamic governments to halt the expansion of sexual and political protections and rights for gays, women and children at United Nations conferences.

The new alliance, which coalesced during the past year, has received a major boost from the Bush administration, which appointed antiabortion activists to key positions on U.S. delegations to U.N. conferences on global economic and social policy.

But it has been largely galvanized by conservative Christians who have set aside their doctrinal differences, cemented ties with the Vatican and cultivated fresh links with a powerful bloc of more than 50 moderate and hard-line Islamic governments, including Sudan, Libya, Iraq and Iran.

I almost thought this was an Onion parody, because it's almost too ridiculous to contemplate. This they can come to agreement over...other prejudices get maintained and fueled and continue to polarize, but not these. Fantastic. And Dubya sits in the background wearing the confused look of a dog whose food dish has been moved: "Wait, don't we hate these guys?"

Sigh...I need another vacation.

posted by MT at 3:42 PM |