RTFA: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/20/us/20geronimo.ht…

OUSTON – The descendants of Geronimo have sued Skull and Bones, a secret society at Yale University with ties to the Bush family, charging that its members robbed his grave in 1918 and have kept his skull in a glass case ever since.

Legend has it that Prescott S. Bush stole Geronimo’s skull.

The claim is part of a lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington on Tuesday, the 100th anniversary of Geronimo’s death. The Apache warrior’s heirs are seeking to recover all his remains, wherever they may be, and have them transferred to a new grave at the headwaters of the Gila River in New Mexico, where Geronimo was born and wished to be interred.

“I believe strongly from my heart that his spirit was never released,” Geronimo’s great-grandson Harlyn Geronimo, 61, told reporters Tuesday at the National Press Club.

Geronimo died a prisoner of war at Fort Sill, Okla., in 1909. A longstanding tradition among members of Skull and Bones holds that Prescott S. Bush – father of President George Bush and grandfather of President George W. Bush – broke into the grave with some classmates during World War I and made off with the skull, two bones, a bridle and some stirrups, all of which were put on display at the group’s clubhouse in New Haven, known as the Tomb.

The story gained some validity in 2005, when a historian discovered a letter written in 1918 from one Skull and Bones member to another saying the skull had been taken from a grave at Fort Sill along with several pieces of tack for a horse…

Members of the Skull and Bones, who guard their organization’s secrecy, could not be reached for comment. Though the society is not officially affiliated with the university, many of Yale’s most powerful alumni are members, among them both Bush presidents and Senator John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts.

“Of all the items rumored to be in the Skull and Bones’s possession, Geronimo’s skull is one of the more plausible ones,” said Alexandra Robbins, the author of “Secrets of the Tomb” (Little Brown 2002), a book about the society. “There is a skull encased in a glass display when you walk in the door of the Tomb, and they call it Geronimo.”

RTFA: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/01/26/world/ma…

President Barack Obama’s administration will engage in “direct diplomacy” with Iran, the newly installed U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said Monday.

Not since before the 1979 Iranian revolution are U.S. officials believed to have conducted wide-ranging direct diplomacy with Iranian officials. But U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice warned that Iran must meet U.N. Security Council demands to suspend uranium enrichment before any talks on its nuclear program.

“The dialogue and diplomacy must go hand in hand with a very firm message from the United States and the international community that Iran needs to meet its obligations as defined by the Security Council. And its continuing refusal to do so will only cause pressure to increase,” she told reporters during a brief question-and-answer session.

Her comments, reflecting Obama’s signals for improved relations with America’s foes after eight years under President George W. Bush, came shortly after meeting with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on her first day in her new job.

This is certainly interesting… There’s no doubt that Iran is a major player in the Middle East – the biggest, if you don’t count Russia. Does anyone know of some thinktank policy papers that might shed some light on what’s happening here? Given that this action is contingent on nuclear regulation, is this some good cop/bad cop, when contrasted with Bush? …or is this action intended to engulf the region in conflict, in the somewhat likely situation that Iran does not relent in its nuclear ambitions?

RTFA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFX-dKpcDz8

U.S. President George W Bush is attacked by an Iraqi reporter with a shoe.

Here’s the obligatory “Bush attacked by man with shoe” post. Reviewing the comments, I can sum up three key perspectives that were expressed by different viewers:

1) Bush is a ninja, and matrixed out of the way
2) Arabs are animals, disrespectful of US troops, and deserve to be nuked once they’ve been liberated
3) If only the shoe hit him, but it was epic lulz nevertheless

And now for my perspective: the reporter who threw the shoe displayed a remarkable amount of respect by using a deeply personal, culturally significant expression of profound disgust. Bush has made a major impact on the region, and people seem to care about expressing their opinions to him. In short, mission accomplished; the Iraqi people have officially been liberated!

RTFA: http://www.baltimoresun.com/topic/chi-obama_code_n…

President-elect Barack Obama: Renegade

Michelle Obama: Renaissance

Malia Obama: Radiance

Sasha Obama: Rosebud

Vice President-elect Joe Biden: Celtic

Jill Biden: Capri

President George W. Bush: Tumbler

First Lady Laura Bush: Tempo

Hmmm… I don’t know… I mean, sure: name W after: a form of falling/a cup to drink from. The thing that’s a little off is the Secret Service issuing a press release. Or is the Sun just bluffing?

Well, the Baltimore Sun has names going all the way back past Reagan – it’s pretty cool. Check it!