Today we wrote about the impending replay of Rwanda, 1994, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: not enough peacekeepers, foot-dragging on approving more peacekeepers, no one volunteering more peacekeepers, and, yes, the U.N. peacekeepers suck to begin with. But while perusing photos to use with the editorial, I came across these disturbing images from yesterday, near Kibati in the clash zones of the eastern DRC.

It's not a heavily armed Tutsi rebel popping out of the brush, or a village of Congolese running from army looters. It's Ben Affleck.

OK, you say, he's going into the war zone because he's concerned about the Congolese people. Maybe he wants to lift their spirits (or make them flee toward Sudan) with complimentary screenings of "Gigli" and "Pearl Harbor." Or, as he says, he wants to collect more documentary footage, talk with the refugees, and raise awareness.

Look at this picture from his visit:

Look at the kids in the front, and the looks on their faces (particularly the kid in the black T-shirt). Here's how I imagine the caption: "Oh, did you bring us food? Did you bring us some medicine or shelter? Did you bring any promises from the Security Council? How about ... wait, you just brought your celebrity? And a camera to follow you around? Yeah, that helps us a lot. Thanks."

COLORADO SECRETARY OF STATE APPLICANTS: Are in, and include the usual suspects, including Wonder Boy Romanoff. But where are Mary Carey and Gary Coleman? Face the State, meanwhile, is conducting a poll on your next SOS pick.

GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER?: Last night, Andrew Breitbart (No. 2 at Drudge and a right-of-center commentator in his own right) and his wife went to dinner in NYC, and who would be sitting next to them but George Soros? No foie gras was flung, for the record. No fondue was shared, either.

COULD THIS BE THE BEST HEADLINE EVER?: "Hamas TV Scientist Dr. Ahmad al-Muzain: Bayer Invented Its Cure for AIDS on the Basis of a Hadith by Prophet Muhammad About the Wings of Flies." Even better is the droll scientist's backdrop: a skeleton, an unborn baby and a picture of planets. Watch the video!

EVERYWHERE EXCEPT THE CU BOULDER HUMANITIES BUILDING: Feb. 2, 2009, is now the official Hug A Jew day!

SHE WON'T BE PARTICIPATING IN HUG A JEW DAY, EITHER: The latest "commentator" on Greg Gutfeld's blog is Al-Zarqawi's Mom. Greg's mum could take her any day. (The Daily Gut)

FBI STEPS UP HUNT FOR VAIL ECOTERRORISTS: Ten years later, yes, four members of "The Family" are still sought for torching the ski resort. Just look for suspects with a flame thrower in one hand, and a hearty helping of Thanksgiving Tofurky and vegan mash in the other.



(Got a super-hot blog post or other Web news? Tip off Bridget at johnsonbr@rockymountainnews.com, include the URL, and she'll give you a hat tip back if she uses it.)

Here's a copy of the 63rd edition of Tu Do Ngon Luan, an underground magazine in Vietnam that translates to "Free Speech." Which, of course, they don't have in Vietnam. In fact, the amazing part about this Nov. 15 issue is that many of the original founders and contributors -- including Father Nguyen Van Ly -- are currently in prison just for producing the magazine. So more are risking the punishment of several years in prison, along with some smacking around and a seriously fetid cell, just to publish what you see.

Now, Lord knows I don't understand Vietnamese. But it's not hard to decipher the meaning -- and be stirred, considering the background of what these journalists have endured to freely speak their minds -- of the one color photo included in the issue:

Remember that, despite the detractors, to people still aspiring for the most basic freedoms around the world we still stand for something important.

So last time I wrote about Boulder, it was in defense of naked pumpkin-headed people running down the Pearl Street Mall. But last night I drove up there, when the streets were indeed fully clothed, to catch the Colorado stop of the national tour "Separate Is Never Equal: Stories of Apartheid from South Africa to Palestine," presented by the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation and hosted by the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center on the University of Colorado campus. This isn't exactly my idea of an enjoyable Monday evening, but I'd gotten wind that members of the Israeli student group planned to show up, listen respectfully to the speakers (which they did), and then ask hard-hitting questions during the Q&A (which they also did).

As I sat there waiting for the presentation to begin, I saw one young man in the front row scanning everybody who walked into the lecture hall. Another guy walked in with a T-shirt in Hebrew, and the guy who'd been watching the arrivals eventually went over and asked if the Hebrew-shirted guy was there to "listen or argue." I would hope that at an institution of higher learning there's another option to dutifully ingesting every word or an all-out brawl: debate.

The speakers for the evening were Katherine Fuchs, national organizer of the occupation-ending campaign (who said that her "End the Israeli Occupation" group "doesn't take sides"), Diana Buttu, onetime PLO spokeswoman and legal adviser to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and Eddie Makue of the South African Council of Churches. As I was perusing the handouts offered at the door, I saw how much they were leaning on South African sources to claim that Israel practices apartheid in the Middle East. My first thought was the rank anti-Semitism exhibited when Durban, South Africa, hosted the U.N. World Conference Against Racism. The good reverend gave an impassioned lecture about the evils of apartheid in South Africa, a talk that was stirring in its correct context of egregious human-rights violations. Then, as he decried apartheid as "legal forms of discrimination to promote a diabolical philosophy ... that people are unequal," he began to pepper in the comparisons to Israel. "The argument we're having is, 'But it's right to have apartheid,'" he said, and that apartheid there "thrives on teaching its youth, its children that other people are less human."

Like, I thought, "Tomorrow's Pioneers," the Palestinian kids' show that features fluffy Disney knockoff characters aspiring to martyrdom, a Bugs Bunny lookalike vowing to "eat" the Jews, and indoctrinates hate with the help of its cold, little anti-Semitic host Saraa. And, of course, the recent favorite where kids calling into the show advocate chopping off the hand of Assud the Bunny for stealing.

Makue continued to say the "apartheid we have experienced in South Africa is being recycled in Palestine ... but it is more severe."

Buttu then spoke about Israel's "ideology of superiority" while showing maps of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, the security wall (but never using the word "security" in conjunction with it -- and never addressed the "ideology of jihad" behind the intifadas) intended to protect the Israeli border and Israeli settlements, and decried how "nobody can stand in judgment of Israel." At this presentation, though, nobody was standing in judgment of Palestinian suicide attacks on civilians or the Hamas charter that says that jihad is the only way and that Islam will obliterate Israel. This was asked by one audience member during the Q&A, and answered by Buttu (click on the link below to listen):

buttu_on_antisemitism.mp3

(Notice that she waxes about the Palestinian leaders recognizing Israel but doesn't mention Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas prime minister who, when not fighting with Abbas' Fatah in a grisly conflict that has seen warring parties throw each other off buildings, refuses to recognize Israel.)

Buttu also talked about the "evacuation" of Jewish settlers from Gaza, but the reality is that Israel forcibly removed kicking and screaming settlers from their homes in an attempt to further the peace process. And as I wrote months afterward, Benjamin Netanyahu was right when he said that was opening up a big security risk for Israel. Hamas didn't see disengagement as a time to build a flourishing Gaza society and work cooperatively with Israel, but as a victory over Israel and license to launch more attacks on the Israeli people, which they swiftly did. Buttu said that Gaza is a "test case" for West Bank disengagement; let's hope not in the sense that Fatah militants would feel newly empowered to launch attacks in an effort to seize even more of Israel. Buttu cited an unemployment rate of 65 percent in Gaza, but spoke nothing of Hamas' unwillingness to give up terrorism or recognize its neighbor in order to restore aid. She blamed Israeli labor checkpoints -- as we've seen from the post-engagement jihad fervor, border security is Israel's right and necessity -- for the economic morass. I blame jihad -- when your focus is on fighting the Jews next door, it's not on education, job creation (well, other than martyrs), building infrastructure, and getting the trash picked up. Buttu ended her presentation by stating she was so disappointed that the Oslo handshake that had inspired her in her youth didn't end "apartheid" but led to more -- of course, nothing about Oslo falling through had to do with the fact that Yasser Arafat was a liar, would it?

Fuchs urged boycott and divestment campaigns against Motorola for making bomb fuses and an efficient communications system for the IDF (how dare they!), and against construction equipment-maker Caterpillar because they sell armored vehicles that can mow down buildings. So if there are no more Caterpillars, does this mean that Jerusalem residents would be safe from Palestinian construction workers going on the rampage on a busy street?

As Fuchs spoke, I jotted in my notes, "Does 'peace' to them include Israel not being attacked?" Seriously -- you can't have a one-sided peace plan. Anyway, she added that they were launching a hip-hop site to open dialogue between all sides, and I suddenly had an image of Mahmoud Abbas and Ismail Haniyeh launching a boy band with Ehud Barak.

Then things went to the Q&A. Like I said before, Israel supporters listened quietly to the presentation, but were ready with the good questions, which were at first limited to two minutes each and then one minute each. When two women asked about Israel's right to defend itself, and its right to exist, as well as whether the panel would offer solutions to the crisis that would take into account the security concerns, Buttu effectively absolved Palestinians of all blame. Take a listen:

audiobuttu_111708.mp3 

HOW YOU CAN TELL I DIDN'T PARTICIPATE IN THIS POLL: And John Hawkins has asked me before to participate in these. This time it was Right-of-Center Bloggers Select Their Favorite People on the Right. The winner? The moose hunter. The runner-up? Rush Limbaugh. My faves? Down at #12 and #23: Justice Scalia and Charles Krauthammer, respectively. (Right Wing News)

DID RITTER ENCOURAGE LATE VOTING, TOO?: Andrew Oh-Willeke receives a handy reminder from the American Association of University Women -- "On Tuesday, Nov. 4 AAUW of Colorado encourages you to vote NO on Amendment 46" -- on Nov. 14. (Wash Park Prophet)

PIRATES!: This time the Somalis seize a Saudi-owned supertanker -- about the length of an aircraft carrier -- with a 25-member crew and loaded with crude (and the capacity for about 2 million barrels). Hasn't anybody learned by this point to take some protection with them on the high seas? Even the Dubai analyst in this story says that oil tankers typically have armed guards on board. (AP)

THIS IS HILARIOUS: Syrian-born Saudi cleric Muhammad Al-Munajid fires back against Western, er, "Jewish" media for reporting his fatwa on Mickey Mouse.  "I said that some cartoon characters, such as dogs, pigs, and mice - reprehensible animals according to the Shari'a - are glorified in animated films. I said that it is inappropriate to show such things to people, and that a mouse is a 'little corrupter,' which should be killed in all cases. I mentioned Mickey Mouse, or that Jerry, by way of example only. Nobody who knows Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character would ever issue a fatwa that it should be killed. It can only be killed in the world of fantasies, movies, and dreams." It's tough to go through life so misunderstood, eh? (MEMRI transcript, video)



(Got a super-hot blog post or other Web news? Tip off Bridget at johnsonbr@rockymountainnews.com, include the URL, and she'll give you a hat tip back if she uses it.)

Last night the Golden City Council nixed Rabbi Levi Brackman's request for a menorah to be included alongside a Christmas tree (come get me, you "holiday tree" P.C. police!) in the city's holiday-season display. But jolly St. Nick is fine, because he has historical significance. Never mind the menorah's historical significance that goes to, oh, 600 B.C., right?

Bizarrely, the council decided to next year revisit the issue of religious inclusiveness at holiday time, as Mayor Jacob Smith said the council should carefully think out such things. Because Christmas and Hanukkah and Eid are soooo radical, right?

Now, I come from a city where just the thought of the ACLU stepping in -- no distinct action -- caused the L.A. County Board of Supervisors to spend millions of dollars to remove a tiny cross from the county seal. That's changing every emblem and employee arm patch throughout the county, and without any opinion from the angry citizenry who saw the city's rich heritage being messed with. The little cross represented the area's founding by missionaries -- notice that the City of Angels is surrounded by "saint" cities such as San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, San Gabriel, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Maria, San Diego, etc.

So why should Golden's citizens -- who showed up to speak out at the council meeting -- have no say in this issue? I don't remember the last time I saw Christians and Jews physically brawl over a nativity scene and a Star of David. For years in my last newsroom we had a Christmas tree and lit the menorah each night of Hanukkah, and had a "Chrismakkah" potluck on Dec. 25 with a prayer beforehand. When you're not tucking tail and running from groups lobbying and litigating for freedom from religion, you can pause to see that Americans, regardless of belief, are really cool when it comes to respecting others' beliefs. Why does the Golden City Council have such a low opinion of residents' capacity for religious tolerance?

DENVER RALLY AGAINST CALI'S PROP. 8: This Saturday. Square State has the details. I have total faith that you guys can keep it nicer than the Palm Springs brouhaha. Hence the promotional shout-out.

OUR FIRST FEMALE FOUR-STAR GENERAL: How cool is this?? I like what Gen. Dunwoody had to say about her success: that she was raised in a home without glass ceilings. And I love this quote: "Behind every successful woman there is an astonished man." General, we salute you! (AP)

IT'S DEFINITELY NOT MY FAULT: Retail sales fell a record-setting by 2.8 percent last month. No wonder I got all those "let's woo you" free samples at Sephora the other night. (AP)

FIRE, BRIMSTONE, AND CHANGE: Ayatollah Khatami predicts destruction of this and that while decrying the interfaith conference at the U.N. for playing nice with Israel and warning Obama not to be like Bush. "Bush's successor came on the scene with the slogan of change," Khatami said in today's sermon. "The question is what was the source and factor of the slogan?" We'll let you know when we do. (IRNA)

CAJONES CHATTER: Anybody see this Times story on a reported conversation that Nicolas Sarkozy and Vladimir Putin had on Aug. 12?

"'I am going to hang Saakashvili by the balls,' Mr Putin declared.

Mr Sarkozy thought he had misheard. 'Hang him?' -- he asked. 'Why not?' Mr Putin replied. 'The Americans hanged Saddam Hussein.'

Mr Sarkozy, using the familiar tu, tried to reason with him: 'Yes but do you want to end up like [President] Bush?' Mr Putin was briefly lost for words, then said: 'Ah -- you have scored a point there.'"

(Got a super-hot blog post or other Web news? Tip off Bridget at johnsonbr@rockymountainnews.com, include the URL, and she'll give you a hat tip back if she uses it.)