The Iranians have come back with a negative response to the American proposal to talk faster than you can say… Mahmoud Ahmadinejad! [A lot faster. I can't even pronunce it.-ed. Well, you better learn.]

According to the NY Post, a double-amputee Iraq War vet is suing Michael Moore for 85 million for making the vet sound anti-war in “Fahrenheit 9/11.”

Sgt. Peter Damon, 33, who strongly supports America’s invasion of Iraq, said he never agreed to be in the 2004 movie, which trashes President Bush.

In the 2003 interview, which he did at Walter Reed Army Hospital for NBC News, he discussed only a new painkiller the military was using on wounded vets.

“They took the clip because it was a gut-wrenching scene,” Damon said yesterday. “They sandwiched it in. [Moore] was using me as ammunition.”

Damon seems to “voice complaint about the war effort” in the movie, according to the lawsuit.

But what the father of two from Middleborough, Mass., was really talking about was the “excruciating” pain he felt after he lost his arms when a Black Hawk helicopter exploded in front of him.

Damon wasn’t expressing any opinion about the war, the suit charges, but rather extolling the drug.

Of course this is typical of the auteur who is well known to have exploited members of the Writers Guild for years. Taking advantage of amputees is more repellent. I hope this one goes to trial.

UPDATE: It’s official now. We are in talks about talks. From Ms. Rice herself:

“To underscore our commitment to a diplomatic solution and to enhance prospects for success, as soon as Iran fully and verifiably suspends its enrichment and reprocessing activities, the United States will come to the table,” Rice said in remarks prepared for delivery at the State Department.

In other words, as soon as Iran has a President who reveals himself to be a Venutian. [Wait a minute. That could happen.-ed.] Meanwhile, Ms. Rice continues:

“We hope that in the coming days the Iranian government will thoroughly consider this proposal.”

On a satellite phone with Zarqawi.

ORIGINAL POST: According to this report of an hour ago, the US is in talks about talking with Iran:

The United States is prepared to join other nations in holding direct talks with Iran on its nuclear program in return for concessions from China and Russia, diplomats said Wednesday.

But the diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the information was confidential, said Washington would only do so if Beijing and Moscow agreed to back U.N. Security Council sanctions against Iran if it refuses to give up uranium enrichment.

One of the diplomats told The Associated Press that the Bush administration was planning to make an official announcement later in the day on Washington’s conditional readiness to join in such talks.

You know, I think if anyone asks me about something from now on, I am going to tell them I am “speaking on condition of anonymity.” It certainly sounds cool and, who knows, I might get quoted in the New York Times.

We see it now before our eyes. In this interview, Ahmadinejad seems the bastard son of Hitler and Caligula. Allowing Iran to have nuclear weapons is the equivalent of giving a loaded gun to a three-year old.

Indonesian villagers who have seen tsunamis and earthquakes, now have to deal with bird flu. No wonder they think it’s magic. One of the villagers said of the victims who evidently came from one extended family: “I think the family was cursed. It must be, because if it’s bird flu, why only their family? Their blood?” Good question. Why Indonesia in general?

At this moment Vietnam and Indonesia have the highest number of avian flu cases.

Well, with or without Gorby, it already seems to be happening.

Christopher Hitchens’ bleak yet spirited Memorial Day essay ends this way:

“Always think of it: never speak of it.” That was the stoic French injunction during the time when the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine had been lost. This resolution might serve us well at the present time, when we are in midconflict with a hideous foe, and when it is too soon to be thinking of memorials to a war not yet won. This Memorial Day, one might think particularly of those of our fallen who also guarded polling-places, opened schools and clinics, and excavated mass graves. They represent the highest form of the citizen, and every man and woman among them was a volunteer. This plain statement requires no further rhetoric.

Of course, “Always think of it: never speak of it”, though a worthy admonition, has its own complexities. This particular Memorial Day contains within it, unspoken or not, like it or not, the spectre of Abu Ghraib and now Haditha. I find the likes of Jack Murtha contemptible because in their self-regarding pronouncements on these matters they fail to take into account (probably deliberately) the obvious – that all wars of any serious length have events of this nature. And yet these events are still disturbing. They test us. Just as it looks as if it is getting better, it gets worse. And the reverse. The one thing you learn from this is whom you would like next to you in a foxhole – in the physical, theoretical and emotional senses.

For Memorial Day, my humble advice is this. This time don’y follow the Mafia rule. Keep your friends, not your enemies closer. Make a generous pitcher of margaritas. And salute those who have fought for liberty before. We’re all in this for the long haul. And… as they say… have a good one.

Hard to say, but we’re covering what we can at Pajamas. The MSM is, not surprisingly, ignoring the whole thing. We’ll do what we can to figure it out. Meanwhile, have a good Memorial Day.

The new poll released by the LAT today shows Phil Angelides pulling even with Steve Westly (with Westly “stagnating”) in the race for Democractic nomination for the California governorship. The primary is ten days off. It’s hard to know how these things happen, since as far as I can tell the public is about as interested in this contest as in Ben Affleck’s last movie. 28% of the voters are undecided, I think, because they never heard of either of these guys and could care less. One of the outgrowths of having Reagan, Schwarzenegger and, yes, Jerry Brown in the governorship hereabouts is that we are used to flashy, charismatic figures. (Grey Davis didn’t stand a chance in that crowd.) Anyway this is certainly good news for Schwarzenegger who, the same poll shows, is neck and neck with Angelides but trails Westly by ten points. No surprise there. Angelides is just the kind of tired party hack Arnold will eat for lunch in the general election. Westly, at least, seems awake. As a registered Democrat, maybe I’ll go vote for him, just to keep things interesting. [I better go warn Angelides.-ed. Yes, do that. Who're you going to vote for in the general?-ed. Arnold, probably...not that I think he's done that great a job... but to see the reaction at the LATimes if he gets reelected. I'd vote for Boss Tweed for that.]

The Jerusalem Post has a summary of the much talked-about Palestinian prisoners document that is the basis for presumed talks between Fatah and Hamas:

The 18-point document, known as the National Reconciliation Document, calls for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, and stresses the right of return for all refugees to their original homes.

The document also calls for the establishment of a new body to coordinate attacks on Israelis within the 1967 borders.

In this case the devil is not even in the details. It’s right out front. This is just another hudna. Well, time to keep building that wall.

UPDATE: Haaretz recounts a Sunday Times report that PA officials now see Palestinian civil war as inevitable. Also in Haaretz, the IDF is debating whether to arm the PA. Debkafile has a hair-raising tale of a visit to Cairo by Hamas leader Siad Siam. These people live strange lives indeed.