then when i got to the office, i discovered i'd been hit by the phantom.
this is an office version of what's apparently an old tradition. in this secret santa style scenario, the phantom ghost haunts you by anonymously giving you candy & treats. along with the candy is typically some sort of poem or chain letter (see link above), as well as a "ghost sign" to be posted on your door so everyone will know the phantom has hit you. then it's your duty to become the new phantom ghost, and hit 2-3 innocent victims of your own. (i went out to target at lunch to be sure i had the requisite candy & goody baskets.)
the phantom is a tradition here in our office. i think it's been around every year i've been here (though maybe not the first couple). this was the first year i've been hit by the phantom, presumably because i have no friends. i've started to wonder whether the phantom chose me by default: looking around, there don't seem to be many cubes that the phantom hasn't hit yet. maybe they didn't know where else to go. then again, my candy was delivered in a purple goody basket (with a cute li'l vampire & the slogan "i want some candy"), so either the phantom knew my taste well enough to know my favorite color (not too hard considering my wardrobe), or it was all pure luck.
i've looked online for the specific graphic we use for our phantom signs, but can't find it. there seem to be many variations on the ghost signs & poems the phantom leaves.
so it was a good morning for me. but not such a good morning for bush, because the story of the 380 tons of explosives broke free today & is probably the top story in the news now:
The Iraqi interim government has warned the United States and international nuclear inspectors that nearly 380 tons of powerful conventional explosives - used to demolish buildings, make missile warheads and detonate nuclear weapons - are missing from one of Iraq's most sensitive former military installations.
The huge facility, called Al Qaqaa, was supposed to be under American military control but is now a no man's land, still picked over by looters as recently as Sunday. United Nations weapons inspectors had monitored the explosives for many years, but White House and Pentagon officials acknowledge that the explosives vanished sometime after the American-led invasion last year.
The huge facility, called Al Qaqaa, was supposed to be under American military control but is now a no man's land, still picked over by looters as recently as Sunday. United Nations weapons inspectors had monitored the explosives for many years, but White House and Pentagon officials acknowledge that the explosives vanished sometime after the American-led invasion last year.
380 tons of plastic explosive is one hell of a lot of blow-up-sauce, especially as powerful as this stuff is. most likely, these looted explosives are what the iraqi resistance is using in its assaults on us occupation forces. so if we'd been guarding this stuff in the first place, they wouldn't be using it now to kill american soldiers.
white house falsehood factory has tried to pass off the blame on the iraqi interim govt, despite the fact that this stuff was most likely stolen months & months before the us "power handover".
if that's not bad enough, what about further proof of geneva convention violations by the cia? or yet another investigation into improprieties at halliburton?
none of these stories are good for bush, assuming the corporate media does its job & keeps reporting them. on the other hand, today's revelation that chief justice rehnquist has cancer could energize voters on both sides who are worried about whether bush will get to appoint far-right ideologues to the supreme court next term.
