The Beast in the Middle East: Day 5 (Confession: We don't know who The Beast is. It just rhymes.)

Passing notes can be a fun way of finding a prom date, spreading rumors, or cheating on an exam. But who would've imagined it could also be used to end generations of war in the Middle East? Well, when the note-passer is Pope Benedict XVI and the note-receiver is God, it just might do the trick. Yesterday, Benedict visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem, an important Jewish religious site, and placed a letter of prayer inside one of the wall's cracks, as per tradition. In it, he called on the Holy Father to ease the suffering of Middle Eastern people specifically, as well as sad humans everywhere. However, he baffled many by asking God at the end of the note, "Do you like like me? Circle one: Yes, No, Maybe."
(source= The Jerusalem Post)

The Beast in the Middle East: Day 4 (Yeast, Fleeced, Creased, Priest)

Don't you hate it when you're trying to host a dialogue on unity and peace and then someone interrupts with a speech about how Israel is desecrating Palestinian culture? Well, so does Pope Benedict XVI, whose meeting with various clergymen in Jerusalem was cut short by a militant anti-Israel diatribe from Sheikh Taysir al-Tamimi. While it did prematurely end the meeting, it did not prevent the traditional exchange of gifts from taking place afterwards. Kind of like how Dad's drunken rants can spoil dinner on Christmas Eve, but cannot ruin the joy of a fresh G.I. Joe the next morning.
(source= Ynet News)