Red Wine, You Had Me At Hello

It is always a good day when you sift through the news and find that rare article that puts a smile on your face.  Today’s article is about the health benefits of pairing red wine with red meat. Apparently, when “the two mix in the stomach, compounds in the wine thwart the formation of harmful chemicals that are released when meat is digested…The digestion of high-fat foods such as red meat releases oxidising toxins. One in particular, called malondialdehyde, is implicated in arteriosclerosis, cancer, diabetes and a host of other serious diseases…if the polyphenols [found in red wines] arrive in the stomach at the moment when the fats are releasing malondialdehyde and its kin, then this might stop these toxic materials from getting any farther into the body.“

Crooks-In-Chief

It has now been five years since Dr. Sami al-Arian has been detained and held captive by the U.S. inJustice Department. For the first two and a half of these years, al-Arian was held without trial for alleged ties to terrorism (giving money to “terrorist” organizations—otherwise known as Palestinian resistance groups). No jury has since seen the allegations against al-Arian stick, but this was no deterrent to a government that thrives on a web of lies. The Bush Administration has thus made sure that its high-profile show-and-tell “we’re-cracking-down-on-terror”case keeps going despite lack of evidence.

The fact is that according to Bush style inJustice, Sami al-Arian is guilty whether it is true or not. To America, al-Arian’s case is merely a façade for an Administration “doing its job of keeping Americans safe,”and a false pretense for some dire need of expansive executive powers, more Patriot Acts, and invasions of privacy. By realizing this political objective, al-Arian and his attorneys, which include Jonathan Turley, entered a plea agreement that would spare him and his family the wrath of a persistent power-hungry Administration and he consequently opted to leave the country altogether. 

After relentless campaigns by his defense team and family, hunger strikes, and even a documentary about his struggle U.S.A. vs. Sami al-Arian, the former University of South Florida professor still sits in jail today waiting for the government to fulfill its end of the agreement. In fact, he is now being held in contempt for not cooperating in a separate case that was not part of his plea agreement and to which he has no relations. (See this article for more details and reactions).

Just what would it take to impeach Bush?

Update: Here is another piece I found regarding Sami al-Arian in The Nation

Making My Way Downtown…

White Chicks is a hilarious movie.  This is one of my favorite scenes.