Candy Man

No surprise that some Catholics in New York were upset over a depiction of the crucified Christ made of chocolate (which is cleverly titled, "My Sweet Lord"). Their threatening tactics have caused the display venue to cancel the exhibition. Church leaders, however, don't seem too upset by similar images on T-shirts or made of plastic or any of the million other tacky religious items that can be found.

But in the story on the ABC News web site, Catholic League head Bill Donohue said the chocolate Jesus was "one of the worst assaults on Christian sensibilities ever." Wait a second. How about the illegal and immoral war in Iraq, for one example? You're telling me that this sculpture is more offensive to "Christian sensibilities" than the deaths of hundreds of thousands? The Bible clearly says, "Thou shalt not kill." I want to smack this Donohue guy in the head and ask him to show me where it says, "Thou shalt not make a chocolate Christ."

Give me an, Ouch!

In the past 15 years, cheerleading injuries have doubled. When I was a sports reporter, I saw high school cheerleaders performing amazing, and dangerous, tosses. I've also witnessed fliers -- the girls who are tossed in the air -- not get caught.

There's a story in today's New York Times about the growing perils of cheering.

Fountain of youth

On Boston.com today there is an article about a current trend: breastfeeding children well beyond their initial months -- and years. The percentage of mothers who breast feed overall has gone up the past dozen years, from 57 to 72 percent, and today one in five are still nursing their child at their first birthday. Some moms mentioned in the story don't wean their children until as late as five years old.

Sounds crazy to most of us, but there are medical references in the story that indicate it's physically good for the child's health and not the cause of any psychological issues that we might assume.

On another front, people who are squeamish about mothers nursing in public are, I think, ridiculous. Get a grip, America.

Fox trough

A high level political appointee at the Interior Department -- the part of the government that, according to its mission statement, is supposed "to protect and provide access to our Nation's natural and cultural heritage" -- was sending emails that included internal documents to at least one oil company and other businesses and development advocates.

Julie MacDonald, the deputy assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks, also "bullied, insulted and harassed the professional staff" of the Interior Department to alter reports, making them more favorable to business interests, according to a report by the department's own inspector general.

It's a pattern we've come to expect from the Bush Administration. The foxes have totally infiltrated the henhouse. Professional personnel with years of experience are being overruled by political appointees who come out of the boardrooms of companies that are diametrically opposed to the mission of the department. It is despicable and unethical. Our only hope is to oust this administration while there is still something left to save.

Illustrative Eastie

The image above is from the weekly caption contest at Boston.com. This week's cartoon is set in East Boston, with an airplane landing on a roof. Maybe there is still time for you to submit a caption. Otherwise, click above and you can find out who won.

International law an enemy combatant?

Australian David Hicks is the first of the prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay to be tried. His trial began today, after five years of imprisonment at the isolated US military base in Cuba. He is charged with "providing material support for terrorism by fighting for al Qaeda in Afghanistan." I believe that Hicks' trial, like that of "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh, is unjust and that the Bush Administration is violating both American and international law in the way they are holding opposition fighters captured from Afghanistan and Iraq.

Though the administration dreamed up the designation "enemy combatants," these are unquestionably prisoners of war, and there is an accepted and legal way for dealing with such captives: the Geneva Conventions. Prisoners are held in humane conditions until the end of the war and then they are released to their home country. Only those who have committed atrocities are tried, and that should be done before international war tribunals. It is not illegal to fight for your country or your cause, and American law does not apply on foreign battlefields.

I am not defending terrorists or the Taliban, but the US does not have the right to stomp around the world and apply our own criteria when there are laws and there is a format. I would have no problem with John Walker Lindh having his US citizenship stripped from him and banishing him from America for good as a consequence for fighting against our military, but he was a foreign fighter when captured and should have been treated according to established conventions, as should the rest of the fighters. Once Kabul fell, the actual war in Afghanistan was over. Time to release the prisoners. In Iraq, Baghdad's fall was the end of Saddam's reign, and anyone held from the Iraqi army should have been let go.

If there is any evidence that those people were part of terrorist plots they should be tried according to the laws they violated in countries where the terrorist actions took place. Either one is charged by a war-crimes tribunal or by the domestic laws of a country; otherwise, they are prisoners of war and must be released. Guantanamo Bay is intentionally outside of US law, outside of Cuban law and, according to the Bush Administration, outside of international law. Such a policy is not just illegal, but it is immoral as well.

Our own nemesis

I just watched professor and author Chalmers Johnson on C-SPAN2's BookTV, and it was a sobering hour. He said a number of things that were noteworthy, including that there are 737 American military bases outside the United States and that, at any moment, China, Japan or Saudi Arabia could refuse to accept US dollars, which are worth less and less, precipitating the crash of our economy.

Johnson has written a trilogy that examines the consequences of American imperialism. The third volume, published recently, has the subtitle The Last Days of the American Republic, and he spoke about his beliefs that -- because of our out-of-control military-industrial complex and consumption in the face of massive debt -- the end really is near.

Ghost of winters past

The snow that was forecast last night did fall, but in lesser amounts, and was virtually gone by this morning. This winter Boston has had a total snowfall of about 16 inches, one of the lowest amounts in the 115 years of weather records for the area.

Above is a photo taken just outside my old apartment in Portland, Maine, last winter, just after a decent-sized storm. I went for a walk that day to the center of the city, which was nice.

Taking the plunge

Gary Richard didn't spare much time thinking yesterday when he saw a 5-year-old fall off a dock in Barnstable. He immediately jumped in and saved the child's life.

Despite the cads and phonies we see every day -- especially in the media that seems to be all around -- there are heroes among us.

Reviewing reviews

While living in Maine, I wrote a pair of film reviews for a small magazine called Wolf Moon Journal before I was hired as a sportswriter by a string of weekly newspapers. The reviews, still available online, are of The Motorcycle Diaries, of which I am particularly proud, and Closer. Roger Ebert better watch out.

Lights! Camera! Eastie!

Boston. com reports that Kevin Spacey, Laurence Fishburne and Kate Bosworth are in the Boston area filming a movie of "the true story of how a band of MIT students used card-counting techniques to win big in Vegas casinos." The article says that one scene was filmed in a warehouse in East Boston. The film has no name at this point.

Fueling station

Caffe Italia is the best place in East Boston for an espresso or cappuccino and a nice place to hang out with friends on weekend evenings, but it doesn't have the right atmosphere to have a hot beverage and to sit for a while and read. For that, I usually head to Somerville.

However, there is a little cafe that opened in Eastie, called Meridian 155. It's small and was closing too early when I went by there today, but I was assured that the hours will be extending soon, with the warmer weather. The bagels looked good, and there are some pastries as well. It's located, of course, at 155 Meridian Street, next to Walgreens.

While living in Portland, Maine, there was a place directly across the street from me called Youngo's Cafe. It was open for most of the time that I was there, and I stopped by often, for a latte or some soup. Unfortunately, Youngo's closed a few months before I left. it's tough for a small place to make it, but I wish Meridian 155 well.

Hang onto your valuables

Seems that car break-ins are up across the city, particularly in East Boston. Electronics like cell phones, stereos and iPods are often the targets, as is cash or anything else of value that is visible to a would-be thief, so take your stuff with you when you park or hide it well.

Weird science

Among the many offenses of the Bush Administration is the politicization of science. Testimony before a House committee today revealed that the White House edited reports by the National Academy of Science for political reasons, while some scientists working in the federal government were muzzled on issues like global warming.

Said James Hansen, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies and one of the country's leading climate scientists, "Interference with communications of science to the public has been greater during the current administration than at any time in my career."

Worn thin

Today, on the fourth anniversary of the start of the US invasion of Iraq, President Bush asked citizens to be patient. By any measure, Americans have been extremely patient -- to a fault, those of us who argued against the war would say.

The numbers are immense ... and depressing: hundreds of thousands of Iraqis dead; more than 3,200 US soldiers killed, and 25,000 injured; more than a thousand contractors and other coalition forces killed; more than 2 million refugees; and many billions of dollars.

All this, and he wants patience, too?