INTERESTING TIMES

Arabian peninsula = Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Leb¬anon, Oman, Palestinian territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Yemen

MERS is the viral infection that's causing severe respiratory disease in lots of folks over there. There have been just a few cases in the US, starting in May. I'm wondering if military personel are coming back sick? Apparently pretty much all of the camels on the Arabian peninsula have this virus. We don't know if it causes chronic infections, but I wouldn't be surprised if it did, considering what we are learning about viral DNA mingled with our own.

While a resident at Walter Reed Medical Center, Hasan, a Muslim born in the United States to Palestinian parents, reportedly told colleagues he believed the United States was waging war on Muslims. He said Muslim soldiers shouldn't be asked to kill fellow Muslims.

In case you missed it, Hasan is the psychiatrist who shot 43 people at a military medical center. According to several docs on Medscape, he's not looking all that crazy in court, but rather highly effective as a terrorist. Plenty of evidence of careful premeditation has been presented. Like this:

The entire sale was odd, the gun salesman recalled, because Hasan took out his cell phone and videotaped the manager's demonstration of how to load the new pistol, remove its magazine and break down the weapon. Brannon told the court he'd never seen anyone make such a videotape. Hasan said that "he wanted to review it later."

Medscape is free but you have to create a sign-in to access the articles.

This Washington Post story is particularly rich. First, the man with the guns was an Army major, and the location of the shooting was in a US military processing center in Virginia. Second, he was a psychiatrist and a doctor in the Medical Corps. Third, he was a devout Muslim, born of Palestinian parents in the US. Fourth, he was about to be deployed. Five, he disagreed with the US wars in the Middle East. Six, he opened fire with two handguns killing 11 military and police men and injuring another 31 before he was shot dead. Seven, there was the suspicion that other men were also shooting people but they were questioned and released. There are lots more details, but just that bit of info is ample food for thought. EDIT: Initially it was reported that the shooter was killed in the incident, but now they're saying he's alive and in stable condition. So we will know the motive, eventually.

I just keep getting more impressed with Carter's work. I am excited that he went to speak with Hamas, in spite of Shrub and Israel. Hamas was elected by a majority vote, after all. Even if Shrub says they are terrorists, the Palestinian people chose them in 2006. Aren't we supposed to be spreading Democracy around the world? http://therealnews.com/web/index.php?thisdataswitch=0&thisid=1382&thisview=item&renewx=2008-04-23%2B09%3A03%3A15#

Today, after his victory in North Carolina, it became pretty much clear to me that Obama will be the democratic nominee. I feel comfortable that McCain can't beat him, and that we may have our first black president. Certainly he has been privledged, but that is no reason to discount his blackness, or his ability to know the hearts of people. I look forward to a day when America stands for truth and honor again, when I do not have to disown my government while traveling.

I didn't catch Obama's whole speech today, but I did catch part on NPR and part on therealnews.com. It appears to me that Obama knows he has the Democratic nomination sewn up. He conceded Indiana to Clinton in a way complimentary to both her and Indiana. He is trying to make peace. He sounds as if he is already the president.