By now, you've probably heard something about the pastor of Thorington Road Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, who was a friend of Jerry Falwell and was found dead in lots of rubber with a butt plug in his ass.

There have been plenty of blog entries about how he was yet another closeted, kinky, conservative hypocrite who preached salvation but practiced sin.

But in reading the details—especially from the coroner's report—I was struck by something else: Man, this guy was really into bondage.

He was found alone wearing two rubber wet suits, a face mask, a rubber head mask, rubber underwear, diving gloves, and flippers; the various ways he was restrained seem to indicate he was hogtied, which is difficult (but not impossible) to achieve by yourself. He was definitely not a novice bondage fan.   more »

And so today I've come to talk to you about the war on terror, my firm commitment that we'll do everything in our power to protect the American people, and my call on the United States Congress to give us the tools necessary so we can do the job the American people expect.

It's been now more than six years since the enemy attacked us on September the 11th, and we are blessed that there has not been another attack on our soil.

With the passage of time, the memories of the 9/11 attacks have grown more distant. And for some, there's a temptation to think that the threats to our country have grown distant as well. They have not.

The terrorists who struck America that September morning intend to strike us again.

We know this, because the enemy has told us so. Just last year, Osama bin Laden warned the American people, "Operations are under preparation, and you will see them on your own ground once they are finished."   more »

As if his marital challenges were not enough cause for concern, "Sarco the Sayan" has suddenly emerged as the most infamous accolade of French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

The influential French daily Le Figaro last week revealed that the French leader once worked for -- and perhaps still does, it hinted -- Israeli intelligence as a sayan (Hebrew for helper), one of the thousands of Jewish citizens of countries other than Israel who cooperate with the katsas (Mossad case-officers).

A letter dispatched to French police officials late last winter -- long before the presidential election but somehow kept secret -- revealed that Sarkozy was recruited as an Israeli spy.

The French police is currently investigating documents concerning Sarkozy's alleged espionage activities on behalf of Mossad, which Le Figaro claims dated as far back as 1983.   more »

A successful struggle will require the largest possible mobilization of writers, directors, performers, technicians and others in the film industry.

More than that, however, it will require the revival of socialist consciousness and opposition to capitalism in the film industry. Those who work in the industry need to consider film, television and culture generally from the broadest possible vantage point.

The intransigence of the film and television studios, their refusal to give up a cent of their massive profits, points to a far deeper issue:

The essential incompatibility of a system based on the private ownership of powerful means of entertainment and communication with not only the immediate needs of film and media workers, but the democratic aspirations and cultural needs of the population as a whole.   more »

Citing the "poison rhetoric and policy paralysis that have characterised conduct of both countries," Laingen said: "We can all agree that the wall of mistrust is damn high. It will be difficult to remove."

Against the backdrop of U.S. failures in Iraq, Washington's bellicosity towards Iran has intensified.

The Bush administration last week imposed the most sweeping set of unilateral sanctions on Iran since 1979, and proceeded with its controversial decision to brand the Quds unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps as a "terrorist organisation" for its alleged proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the Quds Force's alleged support of "terrorism" in Iraq.

"The label of the word terrorist is so devoid of meaning now, it's hypocritical," said Stephen Kinzer, a former New York Times bureau chief and author of the book "All the Shah's Men", about the 1953 Central Intelligence Agency-backed coup d'etat to oust democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadeq.   more »