IRAQ has given its first warning to the West that it does possess weapons of mass destruction and that President Saddam Hussein would be prepared to use them if his regime was threatened.

Like any of us ever doubted that he had them, or that he would use them?

The remarks were a complete contradiction of the official Iraqi position. Baghdad has insisted repeatedly that it no longer has chemical, biological or nuclear weapons nor medium-range missiles.

Isn't Baghdad full of contradictions, all the time?

Speaking in an interview with al-Quds al-Arabi, a London-based Arabic newspaper, an unnamed senior Iraqi official said that Iraq had used chemical weapons during the war with Iran and would use them again if necessary.

There ya have it, straight from the horses mouth.

Happy Turkey Day!

Go thank someone!

As you know (if you read my blog, or check out my boycott list regularly), I recently called for a boycott of Germany. Well, I have changed my position somewhat.

I still think they need to end all trade with Iraq until this whole "mess" is straightened out, BUT, I do believe they no longer need to be boycotted because of it.

Germany will provide Israel with Patriot anti-missile systems, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was quoted Tuesday as saying, indicating that Germany wants to help Israel defend against any Iraqi attack if war erupts in the Middle East.

They also added:

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Friday softened his opposition to a war on Iraq after patching up relations with Bush at a NATO summit, making plain that Germany would serve as a staging area for US forces in any invasion to oust Saddam Hussein.

If they will be so kind as to supply missiles and provide a staging area for our troops, then I guess I shouldn't boycott them any longer.

*Please Note: Germany now holds the record for the SHORTEST boycott on my list (22 days).

First we have this interesting article:

Salem School shut down after students get rashes again.

Educators closed the school on Monday after 17 students were sent to area emergency rooms to be treated for rashes that officials believe may be linked to the school. Officials said most of the children's symptoms cleared up by the time they got to the hospitals, WTIC-TV reported.

Then of course, we have this one:

East Texas schools close as illness spreads.

High student absence rates associated with a flulike illness spreading in East Texas have prompted several small districts to shut down. In the North Lamar Independent School District, about 95 miles northeast of Dallas, the Thanksgiving holiday began early after hundreds of students got sick. "We had 417 students out yesterday and sent 67 more home," Superintendent James Dawson told The Paris News on Tuesday. The trend has apparently reached Tyler, where St. Gregory Catholic Elementary School on Monday closed after reporting 28 percent, or 101 students, absent out of 359 students, said Principal Kathy Harry.

It's all just a little bit odd if you ask me.

Not all "walls" are made of stone or brick.

One paragraph states: "Foreign companies, including Websense and Sun Microsystems, Cisco Systems, Nortel Networks, Microsoft have reportedly provided important technology which helps the Chinese authorities censor the Internet. Nortel Networks along with some other international firms are reported to be providing China with the technology which will help it shift from filtering content at the international gateway level to filtering content of individual computers, in homes, Internet cafes, universities and businesses."

It's progress I tell ya… (cough)