Associated Press:

Omar Osama bin Laden bears a striking resemblance to his notorious father — except for the dreadlocks that dangle halfway down his back. Then there's the black leather biker jacket.

The 26-year-old does not renounce his father, al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, but in an interview with The Associated Press, he said there is better way to defend Islam than militancy: Omar wants to be an "ambassador for peace" between Muslims and the West.

"It's about changing the ideas of the Western mind. A lot of people think Arabs — especially the bin Ladens, especially the sons of Osama — are all terrorists. This is not the truth," Omar told the AP last week at a cafe in a Cairo shopping mall. Read on...

(Nicole:) One of the things that has always annoyed me about the current demonization of Muslims by many in the press and GOP as silently complicit with the "Islamofascists" (a word that makes no sense) is that they are not silent. But rarely does the press give air time to someone who believes in peace.

You’ve no doubt heard quite a bit about the recall on toys manufactured in China reaching U.S. stores, because of the use of lead-based paints.

What's received far less attention, though, is why the Bush administration bears responsibility for the public-health scare.

AP Via Yahoo:

A federal appeals court has ordered Shell Oil to stop its exploratory drilling program off the north coast of Alaska at least until a hearing in August.

The order, issued Thursday by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, comes after the federal Minerals Management Service in February approved Shell's offshore exploration plan for the Beaufort Sea.

Opponents contend that the Minerals Management Service approved Shell's plan without fully considering that a large spill would harm marine mammals, including bowhead and beluga whales. They say polar bears could also be harmed, and they question whether cleaning up a sizable spill would even be possible in the icy waters.

Company officials are obviously disappointed, said Shell spokesman Curtis Smith. Read more...

Boy, is this sure to ruffle some Christian feathers. Paging Mr. Donohue... Mr. Donohue...

WaPo :

Filmmakers and researchers on Monday unveiled two ancient stone boxes they said may have once contained the remains of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, but several scholars derided the claims made in a new documentary as unfounded and contradictory to basic Christian beliefs.

"The Lost Tomb of Jesus," produced by Oscar-winning director James Cameron and scheduled to air March 4 on the Discovery Channel, argues that 10 small caskets, called ossuaries, discovered in 1980 in a Jerusalem suburb may have held the bones of Jesus and his family.

One of the caskets even bears the title, "Judah, son of Jesus," hinting that Jesus may have had a son, according to the film. The claim that Jesus even had an ossuary contradicts the Christian belief that he was resurrected and ascended to heaven. Read more...

David Edwards of RawStory compares CNN and FOX's coverage of the story. For more about the show, visit the website at Discovery.com.

BBC :

Chile's former military leader Augusto Pinochet has died at the age of 91.

The general entered a Santiago hospital a week ago after a heart attack. He was thought to be recovering when his condition suddenly worsened on Sunday.

Gen Pinochet seized power in a coup against an elected government in 1973. More than 3,000 people were killed or "disappeared" over the next 17 years.

He was accused of dozens of human rights violations and fraud but never faced trial due to poor health.

[..]Opponents have expressed anger that Gen Pinochet died without justice being done over the charges that had been brought.

Supporters gather outside Gen Pinochet's residence to mark his 91st birthday on 25 November. Despite his human rights record, the general had staunch supporters.

"What saddens me is that this criminal has died without having been sentenced and I believe the responsibility the state bears in this has to be considered", human rights lawyer Hugo Gutierrez told La Tercera Online. Read on...

Shorter William F. Buckley:

I'd stand up for America's honor, morals, and liberties - but I'm too scared.

As justification for his lack of moral fiber, Buckley quotes a military historian who makes statements like these:

"The most widely respected Islamic authorities ... all assume that Muslims have a duty to spread the dominion of Islam, through military offensives, until it rules the world."

Leading Islamic scholars might find this statement, from someone who doesn't know their field, absurd. Savvy anti-terror strategists might observe that it plays into Al Qaeda's hands by defining all Muslims as terrorists.

But if it justifies Buckley's timidity, and his lack of reverence and respect for America's values, I guess it bears repeating.

Shorter Stephen F. Hadley (Bush National Security Advisor):

It takes guts to be this stupid.

What he actually says is that Bush "didn't take the easy way." That would be the way that looked at the facts, told the truth, and acted accordingly. No, says Hadley, we're too smart for that ...

Sam seems to understand the law a little better than Power Line does.

Download | play -WMP Download | play -QT

via Think Progress:

STEPHANOPOULOS: Are you confident that the administration has acted lawfully in this case?

BROWNBACK: I think we need to hold hearings on it and we’re going to. Both in the intelligence committee, there will be closed hearings and then the judiciary committee will have open hearings. I think we need to look at this case and this issue. I am troubled by what the basis for the grounds that the administration says that they did these on, the legal basis, and I think we need to look at that far more broadly and understand it a great deal.

I think this is something that bears looking into and us to be able to establish a policy within constitutional frameworks of what a president can or cannot do.

STEPHANOPOULOS: You don’t think the 9/11 resolution gave the president the authority for this program?

BROWNBACK: It didn't, in my vote. I voted for that resolution. That was a week after 9/11. There was nothing you were going to do to stop us from going to war in Afghanistan, but there was no discussion in anything that I was around that that gave the president a broad surveillance authority with that resolution.

No Caption required

(Thanks to Brodo for the graphic) Saturday, December 3,
2005, "Bulls and Bears

Scooter and Horny Bears

Pandagon has the copy and it's sick. Reminds me of a certain Bill O'Reilly book.