Mommy, can I swear like a President?

So President Bush got "caught" saying "shit" in a private conversation with Tony Blair while they were discussing the escalating conflict in the Middle East between Israel and its neighbors Palestine and Lebanon. Who gives a FUCK? It's an English-language profanity. Oh well. Once again, the media overblowing a non-story while the Middle East burns, the janjaweed continues to run largely unchecked in Sudan, New Orleans remains a disaster zone, farmers are paid to fallow their fields while thousands die of famine every day, um, need I go on?

And as for Israel v. Lebanon and Hezbollah ... it's very sad how many are dying. And as Israel's allies argue over the merits of the "proportional response" I am sickened by the notion that there is an acceptable amount of people to kill.

Today's must-read is from slate.com's Today's Papers written by Eric Umansky:

A piece inside the Post mentions in passing that an Iraqi official said 628 people were killed in Baghdad last week, "a figure that far exceeded the numbers previously suggested by news reports." The story also details just how complete the breakdown has been in Baghdad the last week: In some neighborhoods, people haven't been able to go out and buy food. Meanwhile, some residents have reportedly "sold off their furniture to buy AK-47 assault rifles and ammunition." In a day of stiff competition, this is today's most sobering story.

The NYT notices that followers of radical cleric Moqtada Sadr boycotted the Iraqi parliament yesterday. "It's become obvious that the occupation forces are responsible for the devastation taking place in our country," said a legislator from Sadr's bloc. Sadr has been threatening to attack U.S. forces as a solidarity move with Hezbollah.

Only the Journal seems to flag news that the Taliban seized two towns in southern Afghanistan and "forced police and government officials to flee."

As of the early morning hours, about 300 people were reported killed by the tsunami that hit the south coast of Indonesia's main island, Java; another 160 were missing. The U.S. issued a tsunami alert 15 minutes after the underground earthquake that created the wave, but Indonesia hasn't installed such a system yet.

The WP off-leads a fine program approved by the president back in 2002 meant to compensate ranchers who've faced droughts. Ranchers don't have to prove they were actually affected by drought. And, go figure, it seems plenty of them weren't.

The WP goes inside with a Democratic House report concluding that 20 of 23 federally funded "pregnancy resource centers" gave bogus info, telling callers (Democratic staffers) that abortions increase the risk of breast cancer and infertility.

Another piece inside the Post says Justice Department investigators backed up the claim by the FBI's highest-ranking Arabic speaker that he was blacklisted after he complained of being cut out of counterterrorism programs.

Meanwhile the U.N. estimates that 14,000 Iraqis have died in 2006 and iraqbodycount.net puts its figure for the entire war at a ceiling of 43,600 dead. That does not include more than 2,500
U.S. military personnel. Check out: http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/