islam

The FBI may be tapping your phone, monitoring the Internet, hanging out at environmental law conferences and a host of other things, but they deny they are investigating your falafel.

In a Nov. 2 issues of Congressional Quarterly it was alleged that there was plan for an FBI program to monitor the sales of Middle Eastern food products in the San Francisco Bay area in support of counterterrorism intelligence gathering.

Given that the Los Angeles Police Department recently called off a plan to create a map of LA's Muslim communities, the falafel plan doesn't sound all that far-fetched.

But a recent press-release from the FBI calls counterterrrorism managers Willie T. Hulon and Phil Mudd’s Involvement in the so-called “Falafel Investigation,” "too ridiculous to be true."

Falafel is no laughing matter to the feds. FBI assistant director of the Office of Public Affairs John Miller, says in his statement that he's setting the record straight on "something that touches on something so important as national security and civil liberties."

So rest assured Eugeneans, you can eat your falafel without fear of persecution. For now.

1. What has the federal government done for New York lately? Perhaps because of its semi-Republican mayor, NY gets millions to help relieve traffic congestion.

2. Pakistan is 60. Celebrations, confabulations follow.
(Oh, and let's remember Partition, shall we?) That is to say, not everybody is celebrating.)

3. Those are my ancestors, thank you very much! "Bronze Age man was a bit of a boozer."

"There were up to 4500 breweries in Ireland in the Bronze Age, which means it was the most widespread brewing industry in prehistory in the world," Mr Moore said.

4. What's up in Turkey? Looks like a religious-secular clash.
(Plus an interview on "the state of science in Muslim countries," just in case Turkey becomes one.)

5. Holy suitcases stuffed with cash, Batman! International conspiracy between Argentina and Venezuela?

6. Oh yes, let's give a squirming, lying creep control over states' death penalty cases, shall we?

7. Stop buying plastic crap for your kids. Even Mattel says so.

8. After Dick Cheney gets out of the way, what will happen to the dams on the Klamath River? The O weighs in.

9. When good companies go bad. Oh, Jones Soda, we knew you when.

10. Incroyable! Les Français aiment Ratatouille! (Er, the article is in English; I'd link to the one in French, but those bâtardes want 6 € a month. And BugMeNot can't help b/c it's pay-per-view. Zut alors!.)

BONUS: Who's Afraid of Incestuous Gay Monkey Sex?