Heiling in Turkey

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will press Turkey to fulfill its obligations to the European Union if it wants its membership talks with the bloc to succeed when she begins her two day visit to Ankara 5 October(AFP/DDP/File/Roland Magunia)

Heil again...

Friedbert Pflueger, top-candidate for the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Berlin's regional election on September 17, 2006, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel wave to the crowd during a final election rally in Berlin September 16, 2006. The sentence reads: 'Can More'. (Tobias Schwarz/Reuters)

"Stay away from my LiLo!"

Actress Lindsay Lohan (front) and her companion Harry Morton arrive in Venice September 4, 2006. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz (GERMANY)

My eyes! Your venom spit, it burns!!!

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) passes by Health Minister Ulla Schmidt during a debate of the Bundestag, German lower house of parliament in the Berlin Reichstag building September 20, 2006. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann (GERMANY)

Congrats Angie, you deserved it!

German chancellor Angela Merkel displays the 'golden hen' media award in Berlin Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2006. Merkel got the award for her merits on the coming together of eastern and western German people. (AP Photo / Soeren Stache, pool)

"Say we're peaceful or we'll behead you!"

(Sep 15, 2006) However, anger still swept across the Muslim world, with Pakistan's parliament unanimously adopting a resolution condemning the pope for making what it called "derogatory" comments about Islam, and seeking an apology from him.

"Anyone who describes Islam, as a religion, as intolerant encourages violence," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said. (AP)

Whistle while you work

German Chancellor Angela Merkel claps her hands and whistles to the music of a band (not pictured) during a cornerstone laying ceremony of the 'Ozeaneum Museum' in Stralsund September 15, 2006. REUTERS/Christian Charisius

Oktoberfest coming up...

Pope Benedict XVI stands with three children wearing traditional clothing, as German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, and Bavaria state governor Edmund Stoiber, second left, stand behind after his arrival in Munich's airport, Germany, Saturday Sept. 9, 2006. At right background is Pope Benedict XVI's personal secretary, Rev. Georg Gaenswein. The pontiff began a pilgrimage to his native Bavaria on Saturday, a six-day visit laden with meaning for him and the future of his increasingly liberal Roman Catholic flock in Germany. (AP Photo/Maurizio Brambatti, Pool)

Sexy Angie

German Chancellor Angela Merkel reacts to the noise of 'Tornado' jets flying over the F124 class frigate Sachsen of the German Navy (Deutsche Marine) in the Baltic sea off Warnemunende August 31, 2006. REUTERS/Christian Charisius (GERMANY)

Down you go, Angie!

A combination photo shows German Chancelor Angela Merkel as she enters a 212A class submarine U 33 of the German Navy in the Baltic Sea port of Warnemuende near Rostock August 31, 2006. REUTERS/Christian Charisius (GERMANY)

"Have another drink, my brother"

(AFP/File/Saul Ramirez)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel toasts during the laying of the foundation stone in Grevenbroich, near the western city of Duesseldorf August 23, 2006. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender (GERMANY)

"Jacques, you tease!"

France's President Jacques Chirac (R) kisses the hand of German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Elysee Palace after their Blaesheim meeting in Paris August 25, 2006. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen (FRANCE)

More Heil Photos

Of course, taken by Reuters...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel waves to the crowd at the chancellery in Berlin August 27, 2006. German government has opened its doors to the public for two days and invited citizens to visit several politic areas in the German capital. REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz (GERMANY)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel waves to the crowd as she arrives to a party rally for Friedbert Pflueger, top candidate for the German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Berlin's September state election in Berlin August 24, 2006. REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz (GERMANY)

Ah yes, the lovely Iranians

Israel will fade away and disappear?


An Iranian woman looks at an exhibit during a visit to the Holocaust International Cartoon Exhibition in Tehran August 14, 2006. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN)

No comment necessary

Sex workers perform a show about safe sex during the XVI International Aids Conference in Toronto, Canada on 15 August 2006. With the crack of a whip and swish of maracas, dozens of prostitutes from Bangladesh to Brazil and from Cambodia to Canada demanded recognition of their frontline role in the war on AIDS.(AFP/File/Jorge Uzon)

"Israel out of the Middle East!"

Demonstrators march past the Washington Monument in Washington, DC. Thousands of people demonstrated outside the White House to protest Israel's US-backed military operations in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.(AFP/Mandel Ngan)

A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition hosted yet another "Tribute to Goebbels" March this past Saturday, complete with Burka-clad grandmothers and kids wearing Olive Garden tablecloths. I ran into it by accident, as I got caught in the middle of the march while jogging through DC. Over my mp3 player I heard the distant chants of "Israel out of the Middle East" and the favorite "Money for jobs and education, not for war and occupation!" I walked up 15th St. and ran into some people from Free Republic who were counter-protesting. Things got heated, and cops were guarding them from the crowd. Many of the marchers, eager to show their peaceful nature, shouted "Come over here, you coward!" and "I'll kick your Zionist ass!" Overall, it was cheaper than buying Syriana but I got the same message: blame the Jews, Bush is Satan, and the more of your body that's covered, the more street cred you have. Pics at the link below:

Age of Hooper (The)

Three Cheers for the Moderate Iranian Students

Iranian students attend in a pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli demonstration in front of the U.N office in Tehran, Saturday, Aug. 12, 2006. An Iranian student holds a poster of Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah in center. (AP Photo/Hasan Sarbakhshian)

You is Retarded

An Iranian female student attends an anti-Israeli demonstration in front of the U.N. office in Tehran August 12, 2006. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN)

A Wet T-Shirt Contest I Never Wanted to See

Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan pours water on herself to keep cool after marching in the Texas heat towards the ranch of U.S. President George W. Bush in Crawford, Texas August 6, 2006. Sheehan, whose military son Casey was killed in Iraq in 2004, recently purchased land near President Bush's ranch and has sought to meet with Bush since starting her peace vigil last year. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES)

More "Moderates"

A man holds up a poster of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in a demonstration supporting Hizbollah outside the Palestinian Authority headquarters during Rice's visit in the West Bank city of Ramallah, July 25, 2006. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES)

Memoirs of an Al-Geisha

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, clad in a Tajik national robe, attends the opening of a mountain tunnel north of the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, on Wednesday, July 26, 2006. The tunnel, built with the Iranian financial assistance, will fascilitate travel between the Tajik capital and the country's northern provinces. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)

I'll have "Not Funny Former Contestants" for $200 please, Alex

'Jeopardy' champ Ken Jennings blasts show
AP- Tue Jul 25, 8:55 PM ET
"Jeopardy!" ace Ken Jennings, who won $2.5 million during his 74-game winning streak, has a few unkind words to say about the show — and dapper host Alex Trebek.

"I know, I know, the old folks love him," Jennings writes in a recent posting, titled "Dear Jeopardy!" on his Web site.

"Nobody knows he died in that fiery truck crash a few years back and was immediately replaced with the Trebektron 4000 (I see your engineers still can't get the mustache right, by the way)."

Jennings also takes aim at the show's "effete, left-coast" categories and "same-old" format.

"You're like the Dorian Gray of syndication," he says. "You seem to think `change' means replacing a blue polyethylene backdrop with a slightly different shade of blue polyethylene backdrop every presidential election or so."

In a "correction" posted Monday on his Web site, Jennings offers an apology of sorts.

"We regret the insinuation that Mr. Alex Trebek is a robot, and has been since 2004. Mr. Trebek's robotic frame does still contain some organic parts, many harvested from patriotic Canadian schoolchildren, so this technically makes him a `cyborg,' not a `robot.'"

Edward Scissorhands has found a wife...

Dancer Sarah-Jayne Howard uses scissors as prop during a dress rehearsal of the show 'Black Milk' by New Zealand choreographer Douglas Wright at the Sydney Opera House in Sydney Wednesday, July 19, 2006. Wright uses black humor with themes of love, fear, memory and death in the show that runs at the Opera House from July 19 to 29. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

New NAFTA

In a photo provided by the Miss Universe Organization, contestants, from left, Priscila Perales, Miss Mexico 2006; Tara Conner, Miss USA 2006; and Alice Panikian, Miss Canada 2006; pose in their BSC Swimwear Thailand swimsuit at the Wilshire Grand Hotel in Los Angeles, Monday, July 17, 2006. They will compete for the title of Miss Universe 2006 during the Live NBC broadcast of the 55th annual Miss Universe competition from Los Angeles, July 23, 2006 at 9 PM (ET/delayed PT). (AP Photo//Miss Universe L.P., LLLP., Darren Decker)

Awkward

Angie lets Bush hold her hand, but she's not too happy about the end result...


REUTERS/Chris Wattie- AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth

Are you there God? It's me, Angie!

German Chancellor Angela Merkel gestures while Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) watches as they get ready for a family photo of G8 leaders and guests in St. Petersburg July 17, 2006. REUTERS/Chris Wattie (RUSSIA)

Merkel brings back the Iron Cross

German Chancellor Angela Merkel leaves the plane as she arrives to take part in the G8 Summit on Sunday in St.Petersburg's Pulkovo airport, July 15, 2006. REUTERS/www.g8russia.ru/Pool (RUSSIA)

Be mein valentine

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) welcomes U.S. President George W. Bush in the Baltic town of Stralsund July 13, 2006. Merkel hosts U.S. President George W. Bush on Thursday in a visit intended to solidify their ties and likely to focus on Iran and her concerns about the Guantanamo Bay prison camp. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay (GERMANY)

Merkel goes back to the future

Wind blows in the face of German Chancellor Angela Merkel as Marine One takes off with U.S. President George W. Bush on board after a barbecue in the north-eastern German village of Trinwillershagen at the German Baltic sea July 13, 2006. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

"Never do that again!"

France's President Jacques Chirac speaks with France national soccer team captain Zinedine Zidane (L) at the Elysee Palace in Paris July 10, 2006. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer (FRANCE)

BERLIN, July 10 (NYTIMES)- While Italy welcomed home its triumphant World Cup champions on Monday, France awaited a full explanation of why its national team captain, Zinédine Zidane, head-butted an opponent in the chest and was ejected from Sunday’s championship match here.

Zidane has yet to say anything publicly about the incident. But family members, in telephone interviews, said they believed the Italian defender Marco Materazzi had called Zidane, the son of Algerian immigrants, a “terrorist.”

“We think he either called him a terrorist or a son of Harkis,’’ said Mokhtar Haddad, one of Zidane’s cousins, who with friends and family studied the pivotal scene on a big screen in the family’s home village Aguemoune, 160 miles east of Algiers.

Angie trying the new "Lemon Flavor" Beer

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, and Italian Sports Minister Giovanna Melandri prior the final of the soccer World Cup between Italy and France in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Sunday, July 9, 2006. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

"Waves" they say...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel waves prior to the start of the World Cup 3rd place soccer match between Germany and Portugal at the Gottlieb-Daimler stadium in Stuttgart, Germany, Saturday, July 8, 2006. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Klinsmann hearts Merkel

AP Photo/Daniel Maurer; REUTERS/Thomas Bohlen; AP Photo/Frank Augstein

July 9 (Bloomberg) -- German soccer fans, who were braced for World Cup humiliation, clogged central Berlin to celebrate the team's third-place finish as coach Juergen Klinsmann reflected on his embrace by Chancellor Angela Merkel.

``I was very proud to be hugged,'' Klinsmann, mulling the offer of a new contract, told reporters after beating Portugal 3- 1 in a playoff yesterday. ``She was at our side when times were hard and supported us when the critics were all over us. I'd like to thank her.''

Klinsmann's impact was international. Mexico's El Universal newspaper said the proliferation of flags on display across Germany hadn't been seen since World War II.

``The collective penance lasted 61 years,'' said the paper. ``It took the World Cup to put an end to it.''

Chairs are like, so Corporate...

Former Deputy Ambassador to Mongolia, Afghanistan and Sierra Leone, Ann Wright; seated left to right, peace activist Cindy Sheehan; Iraq War veteran, former Army Sgt. Geoffrey Millard; and Franciscan Friar Louis Vitale, eat their last meal before beginning the fast at midnight to end the Iraq War, in front of the White House, Monday, July 3, 2006, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Another "Heil" Photo

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, and President Horst Koehler walk across the pitch after Italy defeated Germany 2-0 in the semifinal World Cup soccer match between Germany and Italy in Dortmund, Germany, Tuesday, July 4, 2006. Italy won the match 2-0 after extra time. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Premiere of "Darfur Chic"

British Actress Keira Knightley arrives at the Leicester Square Odeon cinema London for the UK premier of Pirates of the Caribbean 2, Dead Man's Chest.(AFP/Shaun Curry)

"Not Bad"

AP Photo/Jan Bauer; REUTERS/Eric Thayer

"Come to Mama"

REUTERS/Thomas Bohlen (GERMANY) ; REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

WMD Tastes like Chicken

Ivorian soldiers help sanitary workers to capture poultry 24 May 2006 in the Anoumabo quarter in a Abidjan. West African ministers adopted a plan for fighting the outbreak of deadly avian influenza in the region and preventing its spread to humans.(AFP/fILE/Issouf Sanogo)

German Undercover Security is quite good

Who would guess that the RedBull drinking skater is a human weapon?

An unidentified woman skates in front of Bavarian State Prime Minister Edmund Stoiber (R) and his fellow party member secretary general of the German Christian Social Union (CSU) Markus Soeder (L) on their way to a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin June 25, 2006. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann (GERMANY)

Das Booty

A female German soccer fan holds a German flag as she watches the soccer World Cup Group A match Germany against Ecuador at a public viewing zone in Berlin on Tuesday, June 20, 2006. The other teams in Group A are Costa Rica and Poland. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)