The Peanut Gallery

Statements, comments and forecasts that have no substance, but just might turn out to be relevant.

1.The United States has decided to resume formal contacts with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, a senior US official said on Wednesday, in a step that reflects the Islamist group's growing political weight but that is almost certain to upset Israel and its US backers.

COMMENT:First step is to throw Mubarak under the bus. Second step is the above. keep it up Obama. If you think this goes unnoticed, you are mistaken.

2.The Gaza Flotilla: Despite the mysterious sabotage, and Greece's announcement that it will not allow ships to sail to the Gaza Strip from its ports, the flotilla activists are as determined as ever to break the naval blockade. Message from the peanut gallery: Fizzle..pop...fizzle..fizzle... the world watches as these morons (probably more left wing media participating than activists) look more pathetic every day. 

3. Assad, supported by Iran and Hizbullah, is still waging a civil war against against Sunni muslims supported by Saudi Arabia. The peanut gallery believes that Assad will hold onto power as long as the army supports him. Look for cracks in the army hierachy for an indication that this situation is changing. The flashpoint might be the Sunni dominated city of Hama.

4..ONONDAGA, N.Y. -- Police say a motorcyclist participating in a protest ride against helmet laws in upstate New York died after he flipped over the bike's handlebars and hit his head on the pavement. State troopers tell The Post-Standard of Syracuse that 55-year-old Philip A. Contos of Parish, N.Y., was driving a 1983 Harley Davidson with a group of bikers who were protesting helmet laws by not wearing helmets. No comments from the peanut gallery...

5. So you think the world is changing? India's health minister has derided homosexuality as an unnatural "disease" from the West. The comments Monday by Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad at a conference on HIV/AIDS in the Indian capital echoed a common refrain in the conservative country that homosexuality is a Western import. "Unfortunately this disease has come to our country too..."

6.Climate change may be the last thing that leaders of revolution-riddled countries in the Middle East want to deal with now. But before long, experts say, the problems caused by rising global temperatures could disfigure the land they are fighting over. From disappearing snow in Lebanon to rising seas threatening Bahrain to flooding in Tunisia and Egypt, climate change already is giving the Middle East and North Africa a good deal to worry about. And those who work in the region note that governments -- struggling to maintain power and in some cases engaging in all-out warfare with their citizens -- are losing valuable time needed to adapt. If you snooze...you lose.

7.The U.S. released 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as part of an international effort to make up for disruption in Libya’s oil production. The price at the time was $95 a barrel and immediately fell to $89 a barrel. Today, less than a month later, the price is well above the $95 mark. The peanut gallery smells a political rat in this suspiciously cynical move.

8.The U.S. economy barely added jobs for the second month in a row in June and the unemployment rate rose to the highest level this year, adding to concerns the labor market will take years to recover. Unemployment now stands at 9.2%. The peanut gallery urges Barack Obama to make even more inspiring speeches.

9.Remember Prince, the rocking pop star? This is what he has to say about islam: "It's fun being in Islamic countries, to know there's only one religion. There's order. You wear a burqa. There's no choice. People are happy with that." This from the fellow who sang "'23 positions in a one-night stand" and a song celebrating a rendezvous with a "sex fiend" who likes to "grind." He must be smoking some real weird stuff.

Some people should have their tombstone inscribed "Died at forty. Buried at 80" - Bob Moawad