[Dr. Eckleburg]

No, it was just the opposite. He politely sat and listened. There was some question whether or not he knew what was being said, but I'm sure there were priests there that did. Imagine how he would have been condemned in the muslim world for walking out and applauded in the Jewish and Christian world.

Of course you are correct. Amazing, isn't it, how some try to rewrite what we saw with our own eyes?

At the conclusion of Tamiri's six-minute diatribe against the U.S, and Israel, Tamiri walked over to the seated pope and shook his hand.

Then, when the pope stood, they shook hands again!

[Legatus]

Then, when the pope stood, they shook hands again!

Then, when the pope found out what the speech was about he walked out!

The press account makes it pretty clear there's no there there on this one.

The JPII koran thing has driven me nuts for years. There was some talk several years ago that the pope thought or was told that he was being presented with a book of the Gospels which certainly seems plausible because we Catholics do kiss those and I do hope that's what was really going on there. But everything else suggests he knew what it was.

If it had been me I probably would have ended up getting everyone killed by looking at it and saying "uh, no" and dropping it on the floor. Yet another good reason that I'm not the bishop of Rome.

[wmfights]

At the conclusion of Tamiri's six-minute diatribe against the U.S, and Israel, Tamiri walked over to the seated pope and shook his hand.

Then, when the pope stood, they shook hands again!

Thank you Dr. E.!

If ever a moment existed when "good manners" should be ignored this was it!