Daniel asks:

I’m a long-time reader (only about three months, actually, but I’ve read the entire archive, including one Ann Coulter article I accidentally clicked on and was very confused by), first time writer, and I was moved to ask you a question after reading the absurd attack mail you recieved after the H&C interview. I didn’t see the interview myself, as we don’t get Fox News here in Canada (yet), but I can’t imagine you doing anything to warrant that kind of a response. You mentioned that you do recieve civil correspondence from conservatives that disagree with you, but rarely print them because they lack comic value. I was wondering what the rough split is between the reasonable and the insane. Of course, I’m also curious about just how a reasonable attack would look. Do they point our percieved flaws in your reasoning or facts, use irony (which, as the accusations of treason against you prove, can be misread in print) or do they just respectfully disagree and occasionally promise to pray for you?

Conservative hate mail runs about 10-to-1 in favor of the “fuck you, sperm drinker” genre. The other tenth typically wonder whether I really believe the things that I write (well, what do you think?), where I grew up or what happened to me to make me so bitter (I’m not), and yes, the random promise to pray for me (which I appreciate because hey, you never know). I’m sure right-wingers receive hate mail; I wonder how many threats of violence and sexual-orientation comments they receive from liberals compared to reasoned discourse. If you’re one of my many readers among the rightist blogosphere, please email me and let me know.

Full Text of This Week’s Column

A technical glitch affected this week’s column, effectively cutting roughly half the words. Here’s the complete version.

IF IT’S 2005, IT MUST BE TIME FOR ANOTHER WAR

Bushies Gear Up for Invading Iran

NEW YORK–You’ve heard this song before. There’s this country, see, and they hate America. They’d nuke us if they had the chance, you bet they would. Damn Muslim religious fanatics! Guess what? They have weapons of mass destruction! Either that or their scientists are about to develop them. Whatever–we can’t let that happen. We’ve gotta hit them before they hit us! What’s that? Of course we’re sure! Our intelligence says so. Huh? No. We can’t show you the proof. We’ll say this much…a little bird told us. A little exile bird that wants to run the country after we overthrow the current regime. They wouldn’t lie, and neither would we. And while we’re at it, can we borrow your son for the next few years?

Colin Powell, disgraced by his 2003 fictional anthrax speech at the U.N., is closing his run as Bush’s poodle-in-chief with a bravura repeat performance. His last big PR project: conning us into war against Iran.

The Administration’s sales pitch for “Attack on the Ayatollahs” reads a lot like the one for “So Long, Saddam.” There’s a supposed “grave and gathering threat”–a nuclear-capable, America-hating Iran. Even as presented, the intel is sketchy. Iran, Powell says, has “been actively working on delivery systems”–missiles that could carry nukes. During the Cuban missile crisis, JFK went on television to show us the satellite photos. Powell thinks we should believe him just because. “I have seen intelligence which would corroborate what this dissident group is saying,” says the outgoing Secretary of Rationalization. Not that there’s much there there: “I’m talking about information that says that they not only had these missiles, but I’m aware of information that suggests they were working hard as to how to put the two [missiles and nuclear weapons] together.” Bombs haven’t even started falling on Tehran and the WMDs have already become WMD-related programs.

Powell’s intel is enough to make a 2005 gold star mother pine for George “Slam Dunk” Tenet. First, it’s ancient. The Iraq WMD info ended in 1998 and was proven wrong in 2003. Powell’s claims that Iran obtained schematics for an atomic bomb from Pakistan are even older, dating to 1996. Moreover, the Iran sourcing–the National Council for Resistance in Iran (NCRI)–makes Ahmed Chalabi look like a Boy Scout. The NCRI, a front organization for the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), is a bizarre, Shiite, pro-Baathist (yes, you read that right) guerilla army infamous for crushing the 1991 Kurdish uprising on Saddam’s orders. Better yet, it’s designated as a “known terrorist organization” by Powell’s own State Department.

Only the Bushiban know whether they plan to invade Iran. But, as Time magazine reports, “the neoconservative hawks who championed the Iraq war have long advocated an aggressive pursuit of regime change in Iran.” Washington kremlinologists are waiting to see whether Bush will promote anti-Iran neocon John Bolton from Undersecretary of State for Arms Control to Deputy Secretary of State. A Bolton ascension, goes the word on K Street, probably means a third war. At bare minimum, writes centrist New York Times scribe Nicholas Kristof, “the United States will discuss whether to look the other way as Israel launches airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites,” a move that could easily lead to a broader conflict if Iran retaliates by attacking U.S.-occupied Iraq or Afghanistan, or Israel itself.

Does Iran pose a threat to the U.S.? The rejoinders are obvious. If Bush cared about real threats, he’d go after North Korea, which has at least six nuclear weapons and an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that can hit the U.S. Of course, North Korea isn’t the second biggest member of OPEC. Iran is, with 10 percent of the earth’s proven oil reserves. Besides, no one with sense believes Bush about anything.

But enough snark.

Iranian nukes, minus a high-precision long-range delivery system, can’t do us much harm. Iran’s Shahab-3 missile has a maximum range of 800 miles, far enough to hit Israel. But that’s Israel’s problem. Iran has no ICBMs capable of traversing the Atlantic and accurately hitting an American target–and no immediate prospect of developing one. Besides, the Iranian government has repeatedly made overtures to the Bush Administration to talk about their nuclear program, only to be rebuffed. It would be truer to say that the U.S. is a threat to Iran.

I Was Waiting For Someone to Ask

MIKENOMGI@aol.com writes:

I get a kick out of you saying you will report all threats to appropriate law enforcement agencies. There aren’t enough law enforcement officers in the world to investigate all the threats you must get. Besides – what officer in their right mind would go after anybody who threatened a worthless piece of shit like you? Jackass!

and

Sorry Ted. I forgot in my last email to tell you to go fuck yourself. Please accept my apologies.

and

Hey Fuckface! Oops., Sorry. fuckface shouldn’t be capitalized when referring to you. I notice you post the email addresses of those of us who despise you, and would love to meet you on a street corner, preferably in Pat Tillman’s home town. Tell us, Jackass; why don’t you post the addresses of the few sick fucks who agree with you. Anyway, keep on posting. You are giving all us Rall-haters a forum to see who hates you the most. How does it feel to be the most despised human bein…..oops, again – I meant piece of shit – in the whole country?

Angela writes:

I was reading your blog and was just sickened by those nastly e-mails that you were bombarded with. I couldn’t help thiking that a bunch of 12 yr olds had e-mailed you. I can’t beleive there are adults that talk like that – just sad.

Anyway, the reason I’m writing though is I saw an unfair patter in that post. All the nasty e-mails you received, you posted their e-mail addresses. And the nice ones, you only posted their first name. I don’t know if you did it on purpose, but it seemed like you were saying, “go ahead and tell these assholes what you think, but leave the good guys alone.” Yeah, they were immature jerks, hardly worth talking to since you can’t reason with such, but it wasn’t fair at all. And I’ve come to expect better from you.

I publish the email addresses of those who show no respect or courtesy when they write. Right-wingers feel no accountability when they write hate mail to liberals; well, that stops here. It’s my website and my email address; I make the rules. Is it unfair? In the same way that Sean Hannity treats his Republican guests with deference and his Democratic ones like Abu Ghraib torture victims, sure it is. I’m nicer to liberals because they’re nicer to me. Pretty simple, and it’s high time that Democratic legislators start treating their Republican counterparts the same way: Act like a pig, get treated like one. Act civilly, so shall we.

Don’t want your email address posted here in the ? Don’t write things you wouldn’t want the world to see.

Speaking of which, tlv822@yahoo.com writes:

If you post an e-mail public….You will continue to solicit those of us that are decent enough to recognize slime for what it is.Look forward to me and many many others to fill your box with our special kudos you asshole.

Sharp-eyed Republicans will note that I don’t print the email addresses of conservatives who disagree with me in a civil fashion.

And Rita writes:

Ted, I’m thrilled to hear from you. Sincerely. Since you’re in an advice-taking mood, may I offer another piece? Post more positive responses. I’ve sent a few. The illiterate morons do not deserve

disproportionate representation, hilarious (scary) as they are.

Yeah, think I’ll do that. Though it seems a tad immodest, no? Anyway, Randy sez:

I did not see you on Fox last night. I stopped watching that channel long ago. I used to watch O’Reilly quite regularly; some of his comments are right on the mark. But more and more it became apparent that he was mainly there to toot his own horn rather than calmly and intellectually argue a point of view. I’d get pissed just listening to his rude interruptions night after night. Hannity wasn’t much better. He interrupts and offers no intellectual rebuttal, just emotional retorts that often have no persuasive substance.

Interestingly, most of these anti-Rall bloggers you have posted tonight are impressively vulgar and threatening. Hmmm, so these are the righteous and moral God fearing/respectful patriots that have delivered us another 4 years of the Bushiban regime? I notice they don’t have a command of the English language, either.

Exactly so. So amusing that these are the so-called Christians. What happened to turning the other cheek? Where are their precious moral values?

The Washington Post Dropped My Cartoon, Yet Ran This

www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000725897

Hannity Fallout

So last night I did “Hannity and Colmes.” The topic, as sold to me as well as the viewers, was whether editorial cartoons by Pat Oliphant, Jeff Danziger and Garry Trudeau about Condi Rice went too far and whether they were racist in their depictions of the Secretary of State Designate. Unfortunately for anyone who had to sit through what must have been pretty dull television, Sean “Johnny One Note” Hannity resorted to his now old schtick of yelling about “offensive” cartoons that *I* have drawn–terror widows, Pat Tillman, etc.–and barking at me to apologize. Thanks to Hannity’s continuing obsession over cartoons of mine that date back more than two years (!), we never got to discuss Condi, whether black conservatives are sellouts, or whether those cartoons in question were in fact racist.

‘Tis sad. I was longing to get the chance that race is a legitimate subject of cartoons about Rice. After all, she serves a “president” who gave a key speech at Bob Jones University and a vice president who called Nelson Mandela a communist terrorist and voted against sanctions on apartheid South Africa. Bush’s father voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Ronald Reagan launched his 1980 campaign in Philadelphia, Mississippi, a small town to which he had no tied save for the race-baiting message of symbolism: it was where the four “freedom riders” were murdered in 1964. The Republican Party is racist to its core and Condi’s skin color shouldn’t innoculate her from criticism for serving people who hate people like her.

Instead, we got Hannity yelling. Oh, well. Now, on to the post-Hannity mailbag. And you wonder what kind of people vote Republican? Well, here they are:

PLigeti@aol.com wrote:

you are one of the most arrogant shitheads I have ever seen in my life.

jerryfenimore@msn.com wrote:

Rall is. in my opinion, the most disgusting excrement masquerading as a human being. Jerry Fenimore Littleton, CO

ddonley@hot.rr.com wrote:

I cant believe you on Handy Combs, and what you said about Tillman, you are one SICK sonofabitch

Whatever you say, Handy Combs.

beck1932@cox.net wrote:

I agree with Sean your the most despicable excuse for a human being I’ve ever

seen! Your human garbage….. I hope your mother has had her tubes tied…. Bob

Cch4m@aol.com (a regular stalker of mine) wrote:

My My what a stinking litlle asshole….has little teddy rall had his diaper

changed today. Boy teddy I’ll bet you really shit your pants the wednesday

after the election huh? What a disgusting piece of shit…………

Phillip wrote:

Having just watched you on Hannity and Colmes, I’d like to ask you

if you’d still believe Pat Tillman to be an “idiot” if he had died serving

in Haiti, or Somalia, or Kosovo, or Bosnia instead. Sincerely, Philip Prindeville

Portland, OR

No.

Many Republicans, who are obviously closeted gays themselves, are obsessed with homosexuality. dwimmer@sc.rr.com wrote:

You are an absolute piece of gay shit. More people than you think voted for George Bush. HE DID WIN. You are a dumb idiot. You and Michael Moore would make a “cute couple”. Pathetic.

dhildreth82@yahoo.com wrote:

Looking at you on TV, im sure you have never had sex. You are very fat and very ugly, and sound like a whiney little baby. You are a ugly, fat snot nosed weasel.

Does this mean our date is canceled?

PayneDA@msn.com wrote:

I think you the worst human being in the world. You are an animal. I hope

that all the horrible, hateful, discussing comics you have drawn are visited

back a 1000 times over. May God forgive you, America will not. You discuss

me. You write and draw garbage and you are garbage. I will continue to write

any and all newspapers to hammer you until you are finished in my country.

You are an animal. You are a hateful, ignorant, animal. Thank you, David A Payne PayneDA@msn.com

ka3kzh@adelphia.net wrote:

I just watched you on Fox and I don’t know of your cartoons but if you said something about Pat tillman , a hero in my mind , you are a piece of shit . Someone has to protect this country and I’m glad its not you . If you don’t like this country move to Canada like your friends .

Yeah, good thing Tillman went to Iraq and Afghanistan after 9/11. To, um, “protect” us. I wonder if he found the WMDs before his own comrades shot him.

neuro1953@yahoo.com wrote:

You are a female.Your estrogen level is quite high and you have 0 testosterone.I would bet that you have sexual problems.i would gladly diagnose and treat yor hormonal problem which is quite obvious.Sincerely.Dr.Tom Moore

BassmanNFL@aol.com wrote:

Dear Ted, I am a Democrat and even you made me sick. As a Viet Nam vet you

do not get it. We at war, you big dummy. Ever hear of 9-11 and all the

assaults of terrorism since 1979. I’ll bet you never served a day in the

military. Every GI that has served has made it possible for you to spill you

garbage. And your comment and cartoon regarding Pat Tilman was below the belt.

I’ll bet your mother and father are ashamed of you. If I had been there on

the show, I would have kicked your sorry ass. Take that, you punk.

nutclub@yahoo.com wrote:

You are a DISGRACEFUL low life to shun a great American like Pat Tillman.

In case you forgot, Pat Tillman died (A HERO) in Afghanistan, not Iraq.

You’re so out of touch that you probably think we shouldn’t have even gone

into Afghanistan.

I can’t believe Hannity and Colmes gave you this much face time push your

propaganda.

Doug Duncan

Evansville, IN

Actually, Tillman volunteered in the spring of 2002 to go to Iraq. That’s where we went first. Then they rotated back for another tour of duty to Afghanistan, where he died tragically, another young life lost for BushCo. But yes, I do think we shouldn’t have gone into Afghanistan. Pakistan, on the other hand…Saudi Arabia, on the other hand…maybe even Egypt.

antmanv1@yahoo.com wrote:

i know you won’t read this, but if given the chance I would punish you for your homo shit.I would love to meet you boy, oh boy , would I…my name is pain and you can report me fag, but you can go to hell! you are a loser in a loser party with a loser future. bye, bye. maybe I’ll see you on a street corner soon…

michael_g_b@hotmail.com wrote:

Hey, I was wondering. Do you have a birth defect that causes you to speak out of the corner of your mouth? I mean, I just want to know. You’re pretty much the goofiest looking guy I’ve seen on television in a while, and I’m really interested to know how someone so ugly got to be a guest on Foxnews. You’re an inspiration for all the closet freaks! By the way, will you be making any appearances in Texas any time in the near future? I’d really love to meet you face to face!

Thanks for asking about my facial disability. Yes, it’s true–I suffer from Dick Cheney Syndrome.

Paulcamaro5@aol.com wrote:

I saw you last night on Shawn Hannitys show!,you are the most

despicable,loathsome,and detastable waste of protoplasm I have ever encountered.A pox on

your house.I hope you and your family are killed in the next terrorist

attack.The only good thing about you panty wearing linguine spined liberal scum is that

you abort your own crack babies.Oh, by the way asshole, before you refer to

me as a bible thumping idiot FYI I am an atheist.I wish I could have been there

to see the look on your face when Bush won the election.Remember asshole we

have political capital and we are going to spend it :).

DRUMDETEC@aol.com wrote:

well? aren’t you? adam/ohio…red state conservative

Why? Are you hitting on me?

bobjones77@gmail.com wrote:

Saw ya on Hannity & Colmes tonight. Great job. Thanks to the wonders of television, I now think you are queer in addition to being a liberal idiot asshole.

jespada7@juno.com wrote:

You are one of the sorriest son-of-a-bitches that I have ever seen.

You’re nothing more than a really sick bitch-ass bitch. F U sick bitch!

reckstam@yahoo.com wrote:

I seldom see Alan Colmes go after liberal guests. When you get him saying you don’t represent his views in the Democratic party, you are really out of step w/ America. To be left of him is a LONG ways left. And your 9/11 widow cartoon and others discussed were out of line and disgusting.

Ron

Best laugh of the day so far! Alan Colmes doesn’t go after liberals? To be left of him is a LONG ways left? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

Juan wrote:

I really was disturbed by your comments at the Hannity and Colmes show, as well as your cartoons. I believe in freedom of expression but not like that. Death is the end of one’s life, and it must be treated with the utmost respect. You are treating it as a diversion. Death is not to be mocked. Are you compelled to apologize to the people you have offended? Do you have a conscience? Please revisit your heart!

Either you believe in freedom of speech or you don’t. And yes, death is the end of life. But life can seem like death when you’re sitting between Mssrs. Hannity and Colmes.

sierraview@charter.net wrote:

I saw your appearence on Hannity and Colmes, and I just wanted to sent you a

heart felt fuck you. You are scum, and a real ass hole. May death find you

soon you coward.Matt Minden, NV

jer.lyn@verizon.net wrote:

I was watching Fox earlier, and heard you make the comment that “Michael Moore Is A Patriotic American”, among other comments.As I watched your mouth open, I could see soft streaming shit pouring out. The more you spoke, the more shit spewed out. You are a worthless punk, and you should really be shot for treason. Maybe you are motivated by sexual frustration. Perhaps you and Michael Moore butt fuck each other while your mother watches.Have a nice day!!

Gerald B. Braverman

P.S. You have my email address. Please look me up if you ever come to Pittsburgh.

Fortunately, not all Fox watchers are assholes:

Ted wrote:

Good job on Hannity and Colmes last night.  The lack of dialogue is frustratrating. I wanted like never before to grab Hannity by his ad hominem and tell him to shut up and let you talk. You kept your cool, something I couldn’t have done.

Jeremy wrote:

Just bumped into you on some Fox “news” show and wanted to give you kudos for your courage for being on the program and the way you handled yourself. Well done!

Zack wrote:

I just viewed you on some horse shit news program, and I found it strikingly

ironic how i had just gotten out of a long conversation with my father about American policies. My father did the exact same type of jumping on thoughts that those bigots did to you! I think its another type of brainwashing that the news provides, I was just looking up the word hypocirit dehumanization and brainwashing. Its insane how hypocritical America is, they first dehumanize others, then kill them, then say that America loves them by giving them schools. And you are not sick as the guy is calling you now,

Stick to your principles, above all else. Mainstream Republican news programs just don’t understand that there are other ideas out there besides their own. Do not say you regret making any of your comics, they are out of humor, and because a few people are offended for some reason, they should consider those whom they offend, such as you or I. So I commend your bravery of subjecting yourself to that! So yea, it would be cool if you emailed me back some of your political ideas, I would be very greatful.

-Zack

(sorry its kinda nonsensical, I was trying to watch T.V. and think at the

same time)

Chris wrote:

Thank you for (all) your cartoons! I saw you once again on Hannity’s show tonight and thought you did well once more. I think you are a fine American and are speaking the truth in your cartoons and trying to get the message out that what is happening in Iraq is a national disgrace. Each time Hannity accuses you of being a sicko I love the way you respond by telling him he is helping to kill Americans in Iraq. He and his type are trully leading America down the wrong path!I also 100% understand and agree with the cartoon about the football player. once again, thank you,

Deirdre wrote:

Watched H & C tonight with the hopes of actually HEARING what you had to say. So much for “fair and balanced”…

Robert wrote:

I don’t usually watch Fox news channel, but here I am in Boston on business, flipping through the hotel channels, and there you are being insulted and attacked by Sean Hannity and Michael Reagan.

I heard some words about you representing Condi Rice in fat lips and using “jive talk” but when I checked out the cartoon I didn’t see either of those – I guess it fit their plan of attack, like the non-existent WMDs for which reportedly 1227 Americans and approximately 100,000 Iraqis, mostly women and children, have lost their lives over.

Kudos for keeping your cool in the face of intolerable rudeness.

I also got up-to-date on your blog and saw the stuff about the developmentally disabled metaphor.

My daughter has been a special education teacher for about a decade, and I think she would have seen the point of the cartoon and not been offended. I was a little confused as to whether you were comparing Bush himself or Bush voters to developmentally disabled kids. But I did understand that it was a metaphor, not making fun of developmentally disabled folks.

On the other hand, if I were mentally slow, I would be insulted at being compared to Bush and Bush voters.

Keep up the good work. Don’t the let the bastards get you down. I enjoy Steve Bell’s cartoons, too – got a bookmark for Guardian and Observer and Greg Palast and those dudes.

That’s all for now, I’ve got to change the channel off of Fox before I vomit.

Mark wrote:

i am a 24 year old michigan resident. i just finished watching you on hannity & colmes, and i am not sure if i have ever wanted to choke sean hannity so badly. i honestly cannot stand him, or the obvious bias of the show format- but i watch regardless, just to know what they are saying. hannity is an obvious bully, nothing more, nothing less. i just wanted to congratulate you on a firm stance. sean’s whole agenda was to embarrass and belittle you, and i think you should be proud of your appearance- you made the best of what he was trying to do to you. i appreciate what you have done and what you are doing. thanks for fighting the good fight.

Fox News, “Hannity & Colmes”

I’ll be a guest tonight at 9:30 East Coast time. Topic of the discussion will be cartoons by Pat Oliphant et al. about Condi Rice: Is making an issue out of her race fair?

“Renewed Hope for Afghan Pipeline”

That’s the headline from today’s Asia Times, essential reading for South and Central Asia watchers.

Some highlights:

Renewed hope for Afghan pipeline

By Raouf Liwal

KABUL – Prospects for the trans-Afghan pipeline seem good, with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) indicating that it is set to launch a preliminary report on the US$2 billion project linking the vast gas field in Turkmenistan to Pakistan, through Afghanistan.

The earlier contenders for the project, first mooted in the 1990s, were US oil and gas company Unocal and its Argentinean rival Bridas. Both had initially agreed to pay $300 million to Afghanistan per annum as premium for using the land. But in December 1998, Unocal said it was withdrawing from the Central Asia Gas (CentGas) pipeline consortium for business reasons and would no longer have any role in supporting the development or funding of this project. Bridas, too, withdrew from the project, analysts suggest for security reasons. But now, according to insiders, there are strong indications that Unocal could be favored by Afghan officials to return to the venture, though the company’s role is not exactly clear in the ADB-led project.

Half of the 1,800-kilometer pipeline will pass through Afghan territory to supply gas from the Dawlatabad city of Turkmenistan to Gawadar Port of Pakistan. The trans-Afghan pipeline has been one of the most controversial issues among Western politicians, investors and major world gas companies, including Unocal and Bridas, since 1995.

ADB officials say the primary plan of the project will soon be released. Engineer Mandokhil, an advisor to the mines and industries ministry, told Pajhwok Afghan News: “ADB’s technical and economic study will be completed and the three countries involved in the project – Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkmenistan – will hold a meeting in Islamabad at the end of November. The final results will be announced then.” Gul Ahmad Kamali, head of the energy and road projects with the ADB, said his organization’s part in the pipeline project was to assess the facilities, provide technical advisors, and conduct surveys.

Oil analysts in the region say whoever takes the project will reap millions of dollars each year from the venture. But Afghanistan’s security has been a major concern for investors. Mandokhil added that should India participate in the project, it will give more momentum to regional business.

Turkmenistan, the world’s biggest producer of gas, is desperate to get its huge gas reserves out to the market and boost its weak economy by presenting its energy supplies to South and Central Asian countries. The trans-Afghanistan pipeline will first go to Pakistan’s Gawadar Port of Pakistan and then to India. The gas will then be transferred to Bangkok through ships.

Hakim Taniwal, the former mines and industries minister, now minister of employment and social affairs, told Pajhwok that the three partners discussed the pipeline’s security at the seventh meeting in Islamabad, as well as India’s role in the project.

Engineer Nazar Mohammad Mangal, acting minister of mines and industry, said the pipeline would give Afghanistan the opportunity to get involved in regional development and economic projects. “I’ve just returned from India, where I attended a conference of South Asian Energy [SAE]. Afghanistan joined SAE in this conference, so the windows of hope are open for us,” Mangal said.

Salam Azemi, a former Unocal advisor, said the project was very important for Afghanistan in terms of economic and regional benefits and would provide jobs for many Afghans. Afrasyab Khattak, a Pakistan-based regional analyst, said the project would benefit both Afghanistan and Pakistan, despite past hiccups. “Our region is very backward in economic development. This project will benefit our nation tremendously. Though improper rivalry and some initial problems had impeded the business, it’s a good time to seize the initiative,” Khattak said.

The revised scheme, apart from the $300 million annual income, should pave the way for extension of a railway alongside the pipeline, provide jobs to thousands of Afghans, distribute free gas to the areas through which the pipeline passes, and should ensure construction of electricity and road facilities in these areas. Azemi says Pakistan-India relations should improve and the Kashmir dispute settled before the project comes into effect.

I Hate Being Right

A few days ago, U.S. and Iraqi collaborationist militia stormed a Baghdad mosque, trashing the joint. I called that entry “How to Win Friends and Influence People.”

Here’s today AP update:

BAGHDAD, Iraq – A U.S.-Iraqi raid on the Abu Hanifa mosque — one of the most revered sites for Sunni Muslims — spawned a weekend of street battles, assassinations and a rash of bombings that changed Baghdad. The capital, for months a city of unrelenting but sporadic violence, has taken on the look of a battlefield. The chaos has fanned sectarian tension and deepened Sunni distrust of interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, a Shiite installed by the Americans five months ago. It has also heightened the anxiety of the city’s 6 million people — already worn down by years of sanctions and tyranny, then war, military occupation, crime and deprivation.

“Baghdad is now a battlefield and we are in the middle of it,” said Qasim al-Sabti, an artist who kept his children home from school Saturday, which is a work day in Iraq. When he sent his children back to school Sunday, the teachers didn’t show up.

In a sign of public unease, merchants in the outdoor markets, where most people buy their meat, vegetables and household supplies, say crowds are below normal. Many shops near sites of car bombings have closed. Adding to the sense of unease, U.S. military helicopters have begun flying lower over the city. The distant roar of jets has become a fixture of Baghdad at night. The latest escalation appeared to have been triggered by a U.S.-Iraqi raid Friday on the Abu Hanifa mosque in the Sunni neighborhood of Azamiyah as worshippers were leaving after midday prayers. Witnesses said three people were killed, and 40 were arrested.

The next day, heavy street fighting erupted in Azamiyah between U.S. and Iraqi forces and Sunni insurgents who tried to storm a police station. The fighting, involving mortars, rocket propelled grenades and roadside bombs, raged for several hours and left several stores ablaze, according to witnesses.

Almost simultaneously, clashes broke out in at least five other Baghdad neighborhoods. In all, at least 10 people, including one American soldier, were killed throughout the capital Saturday. Lt. Col. James Hutton, spokesman for the U.S. Army’s 1st Cavalry Division, which is in charge of security in Baghdad, acknowledged that there has been an increase in insurgent activity in the capital. But he linked the increase to the fighting in Fallujah, where U.S. troops are still fighting pockets of resistance after recapturing the city last week, rather than the raid on the Abu Hanifa mosque.

I’m just a cartoonist and writer sitting on my ass in front of a computer. Maybe because I’ve spent a little time in the Middle East and talk to Muslims, I saw this one coming.

Why didn’t the Pentagon?

FYI

I now accept PayPal for original artwork, books, etc.

Ted Rall on Air America Monday Morning

I’ll be a guest on Air America’s “Unfiltered” with Lizz Winstead, Chuck D and Rachel Maddow on Monday morning, at about 11:30 am East Coast time. The topic will be–what else?–censorship by the media. Case study: The Washington Post. But there will be, I’m told, other things to talk about as well. Set your RCRs!

For those who live in Jesusland, you may livestream Air America online through their website.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Today’s Mail

Alex writes the Good:

I read your column religiously every week. Who says the Left isn’t devout?

No journalist better articulates my hopes and fears about this beautiful country. Your writing has inspired me, and made me a better citizen. Armed with information and emotion from your work (and other progressive sources), I have spent the last few years engaging people in discussion whenever I can. Like loving and responsible parents owe it to their children to teach them right from wrong and let them know when they make mistakes, patriotic citizens owe it to their country and their leaders to do the same, and your writing plays a pivotal role in galvanizing this effort. While the mainstream media rewards passivity and complacency, your writing inspires action and commitment.

When this wonderful nation behaves like a drunk driver, the mainstream media behaves like the bad friend who jumps gingerly into the passenger seat, while you try to do what a true friend should and take away the keys — and yet it is responsible and progressive citizens such as you and I who get called “un-American” when we are the only ones actually trying to save America.

I was shocked to read about WashingtonPost.com’s recent actions where you are concerned. I have already written them to express my total dismay. As I said in my letter to them, it is nothing short of shameful that they would dismiss their most intelligent, well-researched, courageous socio-political commentator, in the midst of the most censorship-heavy and repressive period in recent media history.

Ted, you have my unconditional support and gratitude, for everything you have done and continue to do for our great land.

If there is ever anything I can do for you, please let me know.

As I wrote below, I do have regrets about the cartoon that prompted the Post’s (heavyhanded) decision. But Alex understands what I’m trying to do, conveying it perfectly with his DWI analogy. When this country that I adore goes off the rails, yielding to its worst impulses, it’s the duty of patriotic Americans to speak up, to try to get us back on the straight and narrow.

Frequent correspondent Izzy writes:

My general feeling is, what the hell is the point at this stage.

I’ve spent most of my waking hours since Nov. 3 feeling physically sick and trying not to scream. I don’t see any way out of this. Friend of mine says it’s time to just let go of the wheel put the car in the ditch (metaphorically, scene from fight Club comes to mind…) and then go on from there. Considering the last few years, and the exponential growth in horror that we all expect to see (and are already seeing) from BushCo, what answer is there??? The game is rigged… There’s no way out. As the Good Doctor (Hunter Thompson) says, “We are as doomed as shithouse rats”. My signature line use to be, “Keep the faith” or “March or Die”. Too late…

Yes, things seem grim. Things are grim. Our country is in the hands of a stupid, vicious dictator. He’s already started sabre-rattling against Iran–talk of “regime change” is already being bandied about in D.C. We, the United States, run an extensive system of concentration camps around the world where thousands of innocent people are being tortured by our own government employees. Bushism is neofascism minus the cool uniforms.

The United States, not to mention the world, have been in far worse situations–and we’ve survived, even gotten better. It is our duty not to give up or give in, but to keep on fighting. This is all the more true when the situation looks bad. After all, do you want to be like the “fans” of a losing baseball team who only show up to cheer at the stadium when there’s a chance of winning? Any liberal asshole can work to get rid of the Repugnicants when, as occured before November 2, we had a good chance of expelling them. What takes genuine commitment is to keep fighting now. Chin up, Izzy. And don’t go to Canada unless they start rounding us up too.

MIKENOMGI@aol.com writes:

You’re such a whacked-out lefty, even the NYT and Washington Post don’t want you. Maybe you could do a singing gig with Streisand or that nutcake washed up hippie Ronstandt. Jackass!

This one stands for itself.