"Look at that mosque. It's glowing!"

Courtesy Aziz at City of Brass:

according to US News and World Report,the federal government since 9/11 has run a far-reaching, top secret program to monitor radiation levels at over a hundred Muslim sites in the Washington, D.C., area, including mosques, homes, businesses, and warehouses, plus similar sites in at least five other cities, U.S. News has learned. In numerous cases, the monitoring required investigators to go on to the property under surveillance, although no search warrants or court orders were ever obtained, according to those with knowledge of the program. Some participants were threatened with loss of their jobs when they questioned the legality of the operation, according to these accounts.

Somehow I doubt this is, um...legal? But sadly we know this appears to be no great impediment to the current administration. There are still people out there who care about these things, right?

If they're so pre-occupied with radiation around mosques, it would be nice if they tested for depleted-uranium related radiation around mosques in Iraq. And hospitals. And storehouses of food.

For that matter, I imagine the US soldiers there would like to know what they've been exposed to as well. You'd think you could get the US press to be interested in that, at least.


photo of the Blue Mosque at Shah Alam, courtesy Ian and Amanda.