The Giuliani option

The president of one of the world's largest terrorist-sponsoring states wants to visit Ground Zero in New York City, ostensibly to "pay his respects" to the victims of America's worst terrorist attack. What to do? Fortunately, some have gone before us down this path:

In October 1995, Yasser Arafat arrived in New York for a 50th anniversary celebration of the United Nations. Arafat liked to masquerade as statesman, but as a U.S. Attorney, (then NYC Mayor Rudy) Giuliani had investigated some of his terrorist activities and refused to play along. When Arafat showed up uninvited to a concert at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall, the mayor had him unceremoniously ejected.

The incident caused an uproar. Former mayor Ed Koch declared that "Giuliani has behavioral problems," and the Clinton administration was, to say the least, less than pleased at the resulting diplomatic firestorm.

Giuliani, however, was not swayed.

"My only regret," he told an aide, "was that I didn't throw him out myself."

Hmm ... yeah, that sounds about right.

Truly, this is progress

What was it Homer said? "Celebrities -- is there anything they can't do?"

Blanchett will have a few blessedly domestic weeks in Sydney, where Dash will
start the new school year and she and Upton will work on renovating their house. Green before it was hip—she cites Al Gore and David de Rothschild as heroes and believes that leaf blowers “sum up everything that is wrong with the human race”—the couple are trying to make the ecological footprint of the home as small as possible, installing solar panels and even a filtration system that will allow them to drink their own wastewater.

Being super rich and consuming your own filth -- how postmodern!