Sidelights.(al-Qaeda recruitments)(Americans belives on United Nations)(profane language use by Americans)

If you do not have mirth you will certainly have madness--G. K. Chesterton

Recently discovered documents reveal that al-Qaeda recruits sign a contract specifying salary, vacation, and home leave travel benefits. * Over 70 percent of Americans and Chinese, 66 percent of Britons, and 65 percent of Germans believe that the free market is the best system available, according to polls by GlobeScan. Only 36 percent of the French share that belief.... The Economist reports that about three quarters of young French people want to become civil servants. * A fifth of Americans believe winning the lottery is the "most practical" way for them to accumulate $200,000, according to Opinion Research Corporation. * A small Italian company has launched a line of blue jeans made specifically for Muslims. "Al Quds"--Arabic for "Jerusalem"--jeans are cut baggy to ensure comfort during the frequent kneeling required in Islamic prayers. * Within the next few years, members of racial minorities will constitute the majority of residents in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, according to a report from the Washington Post. Racial minorities currently make up 47 percent of the residents in the metro area.... 45 percent of minority households in greater D.C. earn at least $75,000 each year, more than in any other metropolitan area.... The Washington Tithes reported recently that the largest number of immigrants in the Washington, D.C. metro area come from El Salvador.... 1.6 million U.S. businesses were owned by Hispanics in 2002, a rise of more than 30 percent from 1997.

Americans spent $14.3 billion on dog food in 2004, according to the Washington Post. That is $10 million more than was spent on baby food.... Americans spent over $34 billion on coffee in 2005, an increase of 8.7 percent from 2004. * ...