Here’s how the Christian Science Monitor’s Jane Lampman summarizes Yasser Arafat’s time on the world stage: In a tumultuous 40-year odyssey, Arafat has gone from armed revolutionary steeped in a violent struggle against Israel; to found Fatah, a militantly nationalist Palestinian organization, in the early 1960s; to peacemaker and 1994 Nobel Prizewinner; to the first elected Palestinian president; and now, to semisidelined leader. “Peacemaker”? “Elected”? “Odyssey“…? C’mon, Jane: A Greek

No.

Sei un uomo buono, signore Berlusconi. Grazie mille. Romano Prodi? Cagna.

From LGF: This Friday the terror-enabling morons of the ISM are converging on Caterpillar headquarters in Peoria, joined by the parents of Rachel Corrie, to demand that Caterpillar stop doing business with Israel: Stop Cat Coalition. After that, they’ll be heading to Kansas to protest dirt and thresher combines, presumably. Because they’re fucking insane.

Rhino-hipped film maker Michael Moore, speaking on NPR moments ago: “So? Even Minutemen make boo-boos once in awhile…” **** [update: more]

Well, when I woke up this morning my right arm actually had grown to be 7300 miles long, but instead of reaching into Spain and smacking Zapatero like I promised, I just kinda scratched my own back for 20 minutes, then fell back asleep. Sorry. Next time.

Israel replies: “What, you think you got it bad? You don’t even know from voting against! We were being voted against when you were just a hegemonic gleam in Mr. Chomsky’s eye. Oy, the stories we could tell….”

Q: What do you get when you cross “American Idol” with Barry Manilow? A: An hour of quality musical television, that’s what. Somebody had better sing “Weekend in New England,” is all I gotta say. **** [update: Two things. 1) Jennifer Hudson sang it and did a spirited rendition. 2) If you put all three of them in front of me, I wouldn’t be able tell Barry Manilow apart from