The Bush Doctrine

The Bush Doctrine refers to the main principles and foundation of the Bush Administration's foreign policy, particularly regarding the "preemptive war" on Iraq. In a recent interview with Charlie Gibson, Sarah Palin, possibly the next Vice-President of the United States, clearly was unfamiliar with the Bush Doctrine - the current guiding foreign policy of her party.

And, now the McCain campaign folks have provided Palin, who by all accounts is a quick learner, a copy of the video that inspired George W. Bush in the creation of the current policy.

Back to the Grind

Tony and I had a fantastic time in Italy. We spent three beautiful days in Rome, then took a train to Bergamo to visit Tony friend Battista and his boyfriend Mario, who were kind enough to put us up for a couple of days, make us laugh a lot, and take us on a day trip to Lake Como, near the Swiss border. Then, we headed to Venice for two days - one of which was Tony's birthday. Finally, back to Rome - with a day stop in Florence. For pics, just click here.

It really was so nice to be completely disconnected from 24 hour news cycles, and it was nice to come home and discover that not much had really happened while we were gone. Well, except that the entire American economy collapsed, the fundamentals of the McCain / Palin campaign short-circuited, Hurricane Ike destoyed much of Texas and the Midwest, Clay Aiken admitted that he's a lesbian and a plague of locusts enveloped the entire East Coast.

Looks like I'm back to the grind.

Roman Holiday

Tony and I are off to Italy for 9 adventurous and romantical-type days of La Dolce Vita. Arrivederci!

The Elusive Okapi

Now, here's some wonderful news - that's of particular interest to this blog....

An African animal so secretive it was once believed to be a mythical unicorn has been caught on camera in the wild. Camera traps set by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) in the Democratic Republic of Congo have captured rare pictures of wild okapi.

* snip *

The sightings in Virunga National Park prove the species is surviving in the jungle despite years of civil conflict.

Dr Noelle Kumpel, ZSL's bush meat and forests conservation programme manager, said: "To have captured photographs of such a charismatic creature is amazing. "Okapi are very shy and rare animals - which is why conventional surveys only tend to record droppings and other signs of their presence."

Click here for the whole story.

Acid House Flashback # 8

"Garden of Eden" - Garden of Eden - 1988

The Real Fourth Estate

This, my friends, is important stuff. Apparently, Comedy Central has become the pillar of thorough and responsible journalism. Sampled from Boltgirl's sampling of Pam's House Blend.....

Way Up North In The Deep South

Tony, Olga and I roadtripped to Atlanta over the long weekend to visit the Stimpasaurus. The Deep South sure is far north of Miami....about 10 hours north. But it was well worth the grueling drive....