weekend update, segunda parte

According to a Scottish study that attempts to document the inner workings of the highly complex Western mind, to whose core values all are to aspire,

Adolescents have become so inured to violent images that they find photographs depicting animal cruelty more distressing than pictures of dead humans and severed limbs, new research has discovered.
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A study involving more than 500 from the north-east of Scotland found that teenagers become more visibly distressed when confronted with pictures of a starved dog than a heap of human bodies.

Turning to one of the West's offshoots - hereafter referred to the Middle East's only democracy - "Israel's Supreme Court has upheld a controversial law barring West Bank Palestinians from living with their spouses and children in Israel itself." Is the South Africa comparison strong enough to really convey the criminality of this?

Finally, in what can only be interpreted as extreme hubris and desperation...

Career appointees at the Department of Agriculture were stunned last week to receive e-mailed instructions that include Bush administration "talking points" -- saying things such as "President Bush has a clear strategy for victory in Iraq" -- in every speech they give for the department.
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There's a sample introduction: "Several topics I'd like to talk about today -- Farm Bill, trade with Japan, WTO, avian flu . . . but before I do, let me touch on a subject people always ask about . . . progress in Iraq."
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"The Iraqis have also discussed specific products, like tomatoes, which they are anxious to export into the world community," the e-mail notes.

[Tags: Israel, Iraq]