Shut up already. Damn.

Great post over at emptywheel:

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/

Joe Persichini, the Assistant Director of the DC FBI Field Office said of Bruce Ivins yesterday, "It appears, based on the evidence, that he was acting alone."

Yet he and DC US Attorney Jeff Taylor seem painfully aware that their evidence doesn't add up to a compelling case. In particular, Taylor and Persichini dodged and weaved whenever asked about any hard evidence that tied Bruce Ivins to the mailing--rather than just the production--of the anthrax.

For example, Taylor made an incredibly misleading statement to suggest that the envelopes used in the attack were only available in Frederick Maryland. He claimed that, "based on the analysis, we were able to conclude that the envelopes used in the mailings were very likely sold in a post office in the Frederick, MD post office in 2001." He continued to say that Ivins maintained a PO Box "at the post office from which these pre-franked envelopes were sold."

But the truth is that Frederick Maryland is just one of hundreds of post offices at which those envelopes would have been available [...]

I play forward in the less competitive league and defense in the more competitive league. I'm more of a natural defender. Used to play midfield but I don't have the stamina for that anymore as many of the teams I'm on don't carry a lot of women, so playing an entire game happens fairly frequently.

Goalies are a special breed. Truly. I love it when my goalie gets to have a nice day in the sun. It means I've done my job (when I'm playing defense, that is). ;-}

i forgot to put BEGIN QUOTE and END QUOTE in my post.

Pedinska - I apologize if I seem to be too intellectually combative about the Ivins case. For some reason, this particular case (the 9/11 anthrax attacks case in general) has bothered me from the very beginning, and there is an emotional edge to my posts on the subject.

Since this was preeminently a political crime, my instincts with regard to Ivins were to start digging into his politics from the beginning. You and others may prefer other areas to research, and you are more than welcome to disagree with my interpretations about Ivins' politics without having to explain your thinking. Perhaps evidence will emerge that Ivins was indeed a strong supporter of ecumenism, interfaith dialogue and religious tolerance all across the board (including Islam). Maybe he was being sarcastic in his newspaper letter. I've been wrong before about matters I was certain about.

re: kabbalah, kabbala, qabbala

I was involved in the study of studied of several forms of mysticism, like Sufism and Christian mysticism, in the early 70's when it was "cool" to do that and later in college, philosophy and comparative religions, before I switched majors.

That kind of interest or study is one thing. Comparing that abomination in LA, designed to bilk money out of American airheads like Tom Cruise (in Scientology) or Madonna with the Kabbala centre is like comparing Glenn's blog to Rense or WhatreallyHappened.com. Legitimate Kabbalism is interesting to study but after years of involvement with serious study on the matter, I decided to do something else. Perhaps it is a phase everyone goes through. Cults don't appeal to me and I've never been much of a joiner. Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Madison and Paine all felt the Christian Church was a scam. What do you think they would make of these pseudo-religions today? It is no secret that L. Ron Hubbard founded the Church of Scientology largely as a joke and tax scam.

Controversy and Criticism

General

The authenticity of the organisation's teaching is disputed. The Kabbalah Centre has been described as an "opportunistic offshoot of the faith, with charismatic leaders who try to attract the rich and the vulnerable with the promise of health, wealth, and happiness." [13]

Holocaust

There was also media controversy in 2005 related to a recorded comment by a Kabbalah Centre leader regarding the Holocaust. According to a BBC news article, Eliyahu Yardeni, a senior figure in the London Kabbalah Centre has been quoted as saying, "Just to tell you another thing about the six million Jews that were killed in the Holocaust: the question was that the Light was blocked. They didn't use Kabbalah." This claim caused international outrage, with one scholar calling the statement "obscene".[13]

Claimed cancer cure

A probe by an undercover journalist working for the BBC revealed that the Kabbalah Centre had made claims that spring water sold by the group had, amongst its effects, a curative effect on cancer. Reportedly, bottles were sold to cancer sufferers for "hundreds of pounds"[13].

Accounting

In Israel, authorities have refused to give the organization a certificate of proper management for three years running (as of 2005) because of accounting inadequacies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabbalah_Centre

you are way above my 'league' - i just 'play' for fun afternoons and weekends with everybody who is willing to join in.

I'm no gnatnik.

Or Gnatologist or whatever. Was merely using the obvious size of an insect acne eruption to prove a point.

I could sell you some aphids for rendering if you'd like. I hear tell they're more plentiful and have better yield.

L.W.M. - Pedinska can show you how it's done. She is now the resident expert in malapropisms and miss spellings.

I see no need to bring up my voles at a time like this. Really.

Nevermind.

Now you're just trying to ride on my petticoat..... ;-}

If you are in a lobbying group, you need to work on the presentation a bit. I work with a charity (volunteer) that has a main focus of the urban hungry and homeless. Nice to meet a fellow worker here. Ah, we all work. I mean a fellow charitable ... ah, screw it --- you know what I mean.

That kind of glad-handing and friendly persuasion is handled by others. I mostly dig up dirt on recalcitrant and obstinant legislators and do some other types of research as warranted. We are not talking blackmail here, just minimal oppo research and other PR shit. It's a hardball world, pal.

;-)