There’s some evidence that the Red Planet has (relatively) high concentrations of hexavalent chromium.

So, let me get this straight. They’re talking about going to a planet that has an atmosphere with the density of a light-bulb interior, temperatures that range from frozen air to boiling platinum, a radiation environment that will turn your offspring into Godzilla and theirs into Rodan, red-dust storms with three-hundred-mile-an-hour winds, and they’re going to worry about some trace chemicals in the dirt?

When did we become such a nation of wimps?

People in the Middle East don’t like losers.

While the anger seems to be about the perception of selling out to the Israelis, if this results in the downfall of the old terrorist, it presents an opportunity for a more rational Palestinian leadership.

The story that the California media doesn’t want you to know: Gray Davis is in big trouble. The only poll that’s been publicized has been the Field Poll, because it’s apparently the only one that shows him ahead.

The problem is, the Field Poll doesn’t poll likely voters. It polls registered voters. And even then a majority don’t support Davis. When an incumbent can’t get majority support from registered voters, its time to start polishing up the ol’ resume.

The poor, noble, oh-so-sophisticated, benighted Europeans are scratching their heads. They just can’t understand why we think they’re anti-Semitic, and biased in favor of the Arabs.

The poor, noble, oh-so-sophisticated, benighted Europeans are scratching their heads. They just can’t understand why we think they’re anti-Semitic, and biased in favor of the Arabs.

The poor, noble, oh-so-sophisticated, benighted Europeans are scratching their heads. They just can’t understand why we think they’re anti-Semitic, and biased in favor of the Arabs.

So Arafat came out of his hidey hole and blinked at the sunlight. Did he see his shadow?

When we can’t have charter schools because slime-of-the-earth politicians in the pockets of the teachers’ unions use post-911 budgets as an excuse, the terrorists win. [via Joanne Jacobs]

Not a massacre, but gang rape and murder by Israeli soldiers, if this email is to be believed. I don’t necessarily accept it as credible without further information.

If what he’s saying is true, there should be many other witnesses who could confirm it. I’ll leave it to others more familiar with the cultures over there to judge whether it rings true. Sometimes, regrettably, soldiers do do such things, even in the best of countries.

If it is true, of course, those responsible should be brought swiftly to justice (a much more likely outcome than if the situation were reversed), to demonstrate vividly the difference between Israel and her enemies (many of whom would likely reward their soldiers for such a thing, though probably not as much as if they simply blew them up).

How did I find this? As someone interested in the travel industry (via my interest in the adventure-travel market and space tourism) I’m a subscriber to a travel email update called eTurboGlobalTravelTradeNews, designed for travel professionals. They often receive emails and letters from people all around the world, and use them to provide additional color and background on the countries being discussed, but as they say, it’s rare that they get anything from the West Bank.

Should they have run this without verifying its authenticity? They’re not a formal news organization, and don’t necessarily have either the journalistic experience, or the resources to do so. I don’t know, and I hesitated to publish it myself.

But I’m figuring, if it’s true, it’s news. If it’s false, like the mythical “Jenin massacre,” it should be shown to be false, and one more lie to be added to the niagara of lies to come out of the area controlled by the Palestinian Authority, thus further diminishing their credibility (not that it will ever matter to their apologists in the Middle East, Europe, and Berkely).

I see that Virginia has finally gotten rid of that red-headed imposter, and put up a picture that’s looks more like her. She’s even blonde now, just like in real life.