Depending on your definition of "soul" there are either 0 or 100% of the human race to which this applies. I tend to choose 0.

Religion is the source of pretty much all the trouble in the ME (not only, but let's start there) and I don't know why you'd want to encourage it. Warm fuzzy teddy-bear religion is still religion, and the promise of angel wings and harps and fluffy clouds to lie on is as pernicious as the promise of 72 {virgins or ripe olives, depending on translation}.

So, will Ramzy's father be hanging out with billy's grandpa, the cute little kid of Family Circus fame? The one who's always looking down on Billy and the other members of the family? maybe Billy's grandpa and Ramzy's father can find common ground, maybe bowling or something. or I am being condescending to our darker skinned brothres, maybe Billy's grandpa should learn some Palestinian game. Oh, suicide bombing : ) Oh, that's a joke in very bad taste. But speaking of tasteless, my little firecracker tells me that spermicide is not tasteless.

Oh, and we are just finishing up a very nice little weekend in Czech Republic. Really, you folks should travel more, the world is an interesting place.

Damnit STUBBY I was worried that Putin had stuck YOU in the basement of Lubyanka and YOU were squeeling like Beria. (YOU did ask him to give Nan a call(1-202-225-0100) didn't YOU?)

Mike, I think you've fallen for an impersonator satirizing the real troll. Who would have stayed clear, having read Jon's helpful disclaimer.

StO: THANX for the heads up. One troll looks just like the other on this side of dialup, but they are ALL just as much fun.

I have much less respect for Barghouti after reading this interview, not at all what I expected going in.

"What Hamas did in Gaza is obscene, it weakens the Palestinian cause. The unity of the people is all we have, our history."

Ummm.... Tell it to Dahlan?

Barghouti is as sectarian/partisan as they come. "Unity" to him appears means unity on Fatah's terms. Does he seriously believe that it was Hamas who destroyed the unity government?

I have much less respect for Barghouti after reading this interview, not at all what I expected going in.

Yes, that's exactly what I noticed too, and also not what I expected. On the other hand, Barghouti seems generally to be taken seriously by non-Fatah people, including Hamas. I don't know what's going on here. Maybe LoC will explain what she thinks.

Perhaps it's easier to believe that from a prison cell? I don't know. He seems to get enough newspapers to know better, though...

The first commenter seems quite certain that everybody and/or nobody has souls. An alternative viewpoint is expressed in the central scene of Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, when Harry reports to the board of directors of the Very Big Corporation of America about "Item 6 on the Agenda, the Meaning of Life":

What we've come up with can be reduced to two fundamental concepts....One...people are not wearing enough hats. Two... matter is energy; in the Universe there are many energy fields which we cannot normally perceive. Some energies have a spiritual source which act upon a person's soul.

However, this soul does not exist ab initio, as orthodox Christianity teaches; it has to be brought into existence by a process of guided self-observation. However, this is rarely achieved owing to man's unique ability to be distracted from spiritual matters by everyday trivia.

Jacob Needleman discusses a similar idea in his book Lost Christianity.

I noticed the Hamas coup comment also, and it was what I expected, because I think I've seen that before, though I don't remember where. Barghouti is a politician, which generally means "liar". He's Fatah and so I guess he's not going to admit that his party colluded with the Americans and maybe the Israelis to overthrow an elected Palestinian government.

He might still be the best leader the Palestinians can get.

WE execute the INNOCENT because WE have forgotten about JUSTICE.