Offbeat News

[Greyson]

Israeli Rabbi Blesses Honeytrap Sex For Female Spies
Mossad Agents Can Trade Sex for National Security

By RICHARD ESPOSITO

Oct. 11, 2010

An Israeli rabbi has blessed the use of
female spies in "honeytrap" or "honeypot"
stings against terrorists, according to a study
called "Illicit Sex for the Sake of National
Security."

The ruling by Rabbi Ari Schvat, contained in
a study published by the Zomet Institute,
was first reported by the news agency DPA
and published by Haaretz.com.

Israeli officials confirmed the rabbinical
ruling and the gist of the study for ABC
News.

The Zomet Institute studies the intersection
of religion and modernity. It examined
whether it was acceptable for female agents
of Israel's foreign secret service, Mossad, to
have sex with the enemy in so-called
"honeypot" or "honeytrap" sting missions.

Israeli intelligence has made repeated use of
honeytraps. In 1966, a female Israeli spy
convinced an Iraqi pilot to defect to Israel
with his MIG. Twenty years later, a female M
ossad agent lured Mordechai Vanunu, a
nuclear technician who had revealed details
of Israel's nuclear program, from England to
Italy, where he was abducted and brought
back to Israel.

But according to Haaretz.com, Rabbi Schvat
wrote that honeypot missions are "not just a
thing of modern-day espionage."

In fact, honeypot missions are rooted in
Biblical lore, according to the report. "Queen
Esther, who was Jewish, slept with the
Persian king [Ahasuerus] around 500 BC to
save her people," Schvat noted.

And, the report noted, Yael, wife of Hever,
slept with the enemy chief of staff Sisra to
tire him and cut off his head.

However there is a catch for married
honeypots. "If it is necessary to use a
married woman, it would be best [for] her
husband to divorce her. ... After the [sex]
act, he would be entitled to bring her back,"
Schvat wrote.

"Naturally, a job of that sort could be given
advertisement Israeli Rabbi Blesses Honeytrap Sex For Female Spies
Mossad Agents Can Trade Sex for National Security
to a woman who in any event is licentious in
her ways."

Rules for male Mossad agents were not
mentioned in the writings.

Schvat's study was praised by Zomet's
director, Rabbi Yisrael Rosen, according to
Haaretz, though Rosen conceded that
"women employees of the Mossad are
probably not going to come consult with a
rabbi" before their missions.



http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/israel...1834845&page=1

[Jet]

ATM Skimmers; Please Read

One in 5 people hit....

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home...y-kids_parents

[Jet]

Solid Gold Monopoly Set

Video..

http://news.yahoo.com/video/odd-1574...-gold-22465763

[Jet]

'Leave It to Beaver' mom dead at 94


http://omg.yahoo.com/news/barbara-bi...-dies/49082?nc

[rlin]

its news... its offbeat.... and i want a whole shitload of ppl to see it

[Glenn]

Do you think it will last?

http://www.cnbc.com/id/39827228/

[Greyson]

Russian bears treat graveyards as 'giant refrigerators'A shortage of bears' traditional food near the Arctic Circle has forced the animals to eat human corpses, say locals


Luke Harding in Moscow guardian.co.uk
Tuesday 26 October 2010

Bears are reported to be raiding graveyards in search of food in Russia's Arctic Circle republic of Komi. Photograph: Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images
From a distance it resembled a rather large man in a fur coat, leaning tenderly over the grave of a loved one. But when the two women in the Russian village of Vezhnya Tchova came closer they realised there was a bear in the cemetery eating a body.

Russian bears have grown so desperate after a scorching summer they have started digging up and eating corpses in municipal cemetries, alarmed officials said today. Bears' traditional food – mushrooms, berries and the odd frog – has disappeared, they added.

The Vezhnya Tchova incident took place on Saturday in the northern republic of Komi, near the Arctic Circle. The shocked women cried in panic, frightening the bear back into the woods, before they discovered a ghoulish scene with the clothes of the bear's already-dead victim chucked over adjacent tombstones, the Russian newspaper Moskovsky Komsomelets reported.

Local people said that bears had resorted to scavenging in towns and villages - rummaging through bins, stealing garden carrots and raiding tips. A young man had been mauled in the centre of Syktyvkar, Komi's capital. "They are really hungry this year. It's a big problem. Many of them are not going to survive," said Simion Razmislov, the vice-president of Komi's hunting and fishing society.

World Wildlife Fund Russia said there had been a similar case two years ago in the town of Kandalaksha, in the northern Karelia republic. "You have to remember that bears are natural scavengers. In the US and Canada you can't leave any food in tents in national parks," said Masha Vorontsova, Director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) in Russia.

"In Karelia one bear learned how to do it [open a coffin]. He then taught the others," she added, suggesting: "They are pretty quick learners."

The only way to get rid of the bears would be to frighten them with something noisy like a firework or shoot them, she said.

According to Vorontsova, the omnivorous bears had "plenty to eat" this autumn, with foods such as fish and ants at normal levels. The bears raided graveyards because they offered a supply of easy food, she said, a bit like a giant refrigerator. "The story is horrible. Nobody wants to think about having a much loved member of their family eaten by a bear."

The bear population in Russia is relatively stable with numbers between 120,000 and 140,000. The biggest threat isn't starvation but hunting - with VIP sportsmen and wealthy gun enthusiasts wiping out most of the large male bears in Kamchatka, in Russia's Far East. Chinese poachers have killed many black bears near the border, selling their claws and other parts in markets.

The Russian government is drafting legislation to ban the killing of bears during the winter breeding season.

• This article was amended on 27 October 2010. The original referred to Masha Vorontsova of WWF Russia. This has been corrected.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010...ses-graveyards

[Nat]

Please excuse this man's gender language ignorance, but I wanted to post this because it's interesting for other reasons:



There appears to be a lady talking on a cell phone in some old charlie chaplain video.

[rlin]

this is pretty cool....
go KY!

http://www.365gay.com/news/lexington...nly-gay-mayor/

[Jet]

San Francisco's Happy Meal Ban

San Francisco fast food restaurants will be forbidden from offering free toys with meals that exceed certain limits on calories, fat, and sugar and do not include fruits or vegetables. More.....

http://news.yahoo.com/s/theweek/2010...20101104144500

[Jet]

'Wheel of Fortune' Contestant Solves 27-Letter Puzzle
With Just One Letter as a Clue

Amazing or suspicious? Story and clip:

http://tv.yahoo.com/blog/wheel-of-fo...s-a-clue--1717

[1PlayfulFemme]

*laughing* Well, I've started to respond 3 times and am at a loss!! I consider myself good at the game and would have NEVER managed that!! Thus, I conclude...Amazing AND Suspicious!

[Zimmeh]

What a shame...

http://www.wesh.com/news/25674878/detail.html

[Jet]

Ga. Workers Search For Slave Cemetery

WSBTV

City officials have hired a company to use ground-penetrating radar to find a possible slave cemetery in Columbus.
Officials contacted Brockington and Associates after determining through historians and records that the suspected area was designated as a burial ground for blacks from 1828, before the Civil War.
City Manager Isaiah Hugley says they hope to preserve the knowledge for future generations.
The property, which is near an apartment building on Sixth Avenue, is controlled by Nofolk Southern Railway Company. It also contains an active Georgia Southwestern Railroad track and a parcel of land that's owned by the city.
The Norcross-based company specializes in identifying archaeological sites.

Sidebar:
I hope they find it, pay homage and document the burials through historical accounts, if any, and remind us, yet again, the atrocity of slavery. I don't like the south because of its nasty history and its ongoing prejudices. Today, I spoke with a friend who visits a 19-year old black woman in prison. The woman is in dire need of medical attention; the pen won't attend to her needs and her condition is getting more severe daily. I told him to call her attorney to ride up their ass and get her to a hospital. Prisoner or not, her civil rights are being violated. Two days ago, another black female inmate was sick, fell down the stairs and cracked her head open on the cement. She died 5 hours later, in a pool of blood, because no one would respond. The pen called it a suicide.

[Jet]

Originally Posted by Jet

Ga. Workers Search For Slave Cemetery

WSBTV

City officials have hired a company to use ground-penetrating radar to find a possible slave cemetery in Columbus.
Officials contacted Brockington and Associates after determining through historians and records that the suspected area was designated as a burial ground for blacks from 1828, before the Civil War.
City Manager Isaiah Hugley says they hope to preserve the knowledge for future generations.
The property, which is near an apartment building on Sixth Avenue, is controlled by Nofolk Southern Railway Company. It also contains an active Georgia Southwestern Railroad track and a parcel of land that's owned by the city.
The Norcross-based company specializes in identifying archaeological sites.

Sidebar:
I hope they find it, pay homage and document the burials through historical accounts, if any, and remind us, yet again, the atrocity of slavery. I don't like the south because of its nasty history and its ongoing prejudices. Today, I spoke with a friend who visits a 19-year old black woman in prison. The woman is in dire need of medical attention; the pen won't attend to her needs and her condition is getting more severe daily. I told him to call her attorney to ride up their ass and get her to a hospital. Prisoner or not, her civil rights are being violated. Two days ago, another black female inmate was sick, fell down the stairs and cracked her head open on the cement. She died 5 hours later, in a pool of blood, because no one would respond. The pen called it a suicide.

Scenes of enslavement, slaves building the White House and a brilliant discourse before the Supreme Court in defense of slaves by John Quincy Adams played by Anthony Hopkins. These scenes are from Stephen Spielberg's Amistad, which is probably the best movie ever made about slavery. Take a history lesson....

[Jet]

Refusal of Calif airport screening is Internet hit

Associated Press

SAN DIEGO – A man who refused a body scan and pat-down search at a San Diego airport has become an Internet sensation in the debate weighing fliers' security versus their privacy.

John Tyner posted a cell phone audio recording of his half-hour encounter Saturday at Lindbergh Field.

The software engineer couldn't board a flight after refusing a full-body scan that reveals an image of what's under his clothes. He also wouldn't allow a Transportation Security Administration worker to conduct a groin check.

Tyner tells the worker, "If you touch my junk, I'm gonna have you arrested."
Tyner's blog says he left the airport — but only after being threatened with a lawsuit and fine for failing to complete security screening.

A TSA statement Sunday said body scans and pat-downs make flying safer.

John Tyner's blog account: http://johnnyedge.blogspot.com/2010/...y-between.html

[Jet]

America's Meanest Airlines

By Hamooda Shami, Yahoo Travel


Simply put, flying can be a stressful activity.

A lot of the time it begins with the airports: dizzying parking garages, overpriced food and a series of long lines have a way of making even the most serene travelers a little bit agitated. And that's even before the airplane leaves the ground. So it's easy to see how poor service from an airline can put the finishing touches on a ruined day -- long check-in lines, flight delays, lost luggage, baggage fees and general rudeness have a way of doing that. Not to mention the scary food (at least it used to be free scary food).

Based on the Airline Quality Rating (AQR) Report, which covers 18 domestic carriers, here is a list of the airlines that could stand to do the most work on making their customers happy. The report's conclusions are based on surveys of airline industry experts, with positive and negative values assigned to different elements in airline quality. Several common complaint areas were factored in -- including on-time arrival, mishandled baggage, delays and involuntary denied boardings -- the scores of which were then calculated to produce an overall quality score. We also took a look at a number of other sources, including the American Customer Satisfaction Index and the Air Travel Consumer Reports by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Regional airlines are ranked separately because of their tendency to score lower.


Worst Major Airlines

5. US Airways

2009 AQR Score: -1.19

While US Airways improved five percent in passenger satisfaction according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index, they were one of three airlines cited as having the rudest flight attendants and serving the worst food, in a survey conducted by SeatGuru last year. Additionally, US Airways received a below-average score in the J.D. Power 2010 North America Airline Satisfaction Study.

Domestic Baggage Fees:
1st Bag: $25
2nd Bag: $35 3rd Bag: $100

Overweight Bags: $50 Extra (51 - 70 lbs) $100 Extra (71 - 100 lbs)

Oversized Bags: $100 Extra (larger than 62")

4. American Airlines

2009 AQR Score: -1.25

American Airlines has an Airline Quality Rating (AQR) of -1.25 -- which isn't awful, but where its reputation takes the hardest hit is with its regional airline, American Eagle (more on it later).

This year AA has had frequent incidents of mishandled baggage with an average of 4.07 reports per 1,000 passengers, according to the Air Travel Consumer Reports (this is the worst rating among the major airlines in the study). SeatGuru's survey named American Airlines as one of the three airlines that have the rudest flight attendants and the worst food.

Domestic Baggage Fees:
1st Bag: $25
2nd Bag: $35
3rd Bag: $100

Overweight Bags: $50 (51 - 70 lbs) $100 (71 - 100 lbs)

Oversized Bags: $150 (larger than 62")

3. Alaska Airlines

2009 AQR Score: -1.39

Alaska Airlines has an Airline Quality Rating (AQR) of -1.39, which can be partially attributed to the airline's high number of mishandled baggage reports. According to Air Travel Consumer Reports, the airline averaged 3.98 incidents per 1,000 passengers last year. However, Alaska Airlines did a stellar job when it came to delays, with 88 percent of its flights having on-time arrivals (in the 12-month period ending August 2010).

Domestic Baggage Fees:
1st Bag: $20
2nd Bag: $20
3rd Bag: $20

Overweight Bags: $50 (51 - 100 lbs)

Oversized Bags: $50 (63 - 80") $75 (81 - 115")

2. United Airlines

2009 AQR Score: -1.43

Now that the merger with Continental Airlines is official, United can turn its attention to improving customer service. United received a score of "about average" in the J.D. Power 2010 North America Airline Satisfaction Study but it placed last in passenger satisfaction in the American Customer Satisfaction Index. According to the SeatGuru survey, United joins American Airlines and US Airways as one of the three worst airlines for meals and rude flight attendants. In addition, the Air Travel Consumer Reports places this airline second in consumer complaints (behind Delta), averaging 1.82 per 100,000 enplanements in 2010.

Domestic Baggage Fees:
v1st Bag: $25
2nd Bag: $35
3rd Bag: $100

Overweight Bags: $100 (51 - 100 lbs)

Oversized Bags: $100 (larger than 62")

1. Delta

2009 AQR Score: -1.73

Delta had the worst AQR among major airlines with a -1.73, and a couple of its regional airlines did even worse (see Comair and Atlantic Southeast below). It also had the largest drop in passenger satisfaction in the American Customer Satisfaction Index. According to the Air Travel Consumer Reports, Delta was number one in delays for major airlines (78 percent of flights arriving on time in the 12-month period ending August 2010) and first in consumer complaints (averaging 2.23 per 100,000 enplanements in 2010). Also, make sure to note Delta's baggage fees below, as they can get quite painful for those hauling heavy and/or large cargo.

Domestic Baggage Fees:
1st Bag: $25 ($23 if checked online)
2nd Bag: $35 ($32 if checked online)
3rd Bag: $125

Overweight Bags: $90 (51 - 70 lbs) $175 (71 - 100 lbs)

Oversized Bags: $175 (larger than 63 - 80") $300 (larger than 81 - 115")

Worst Regional Airlines

Please note that the regional airlines follow the baggage fee structure of whichever major airline you happen to be flying under.

4. SkyWest

2009 AQR Score: -1.57

SkyWest Airlines has several hubs throughout the United States, including Chicago and Los Angeles. SkyWest received a -1.57 AQR, which is the fifth worst score overall among the airlines covered in the 2010 Airline Quality Ratings. One area that contributed to this score was mishandled baggage, where they averaged 5.69 incidents per 1,000 passengers last year. It acts as a regional airline for AirTran, Delta Connection and United Express.

3. Comair

2009 AQR Score: -2.22

With a -2.22 AQR, Comair got the third worst score overall among the airlines surveyed in the 2010 Airline Quality Ratings. Mishandled baggage was an issue, with an average of 6.04 incidents per 1,000 passengers last year. Comair was also number one in delays overall, with only 73 percent of flights arriving on time in the 12-month period ending August 2010, according to the Air Travel Consumer Reports. Comair is a regional for Delta Connection, with its main hubs at Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky and JFK airports.

2. Atlantic Southeast

2009 AQR Score: -2.49

Atlantic Southeast serves as a regional airline for Delta Connection and United Express with several hubs in the States, including Memphis and Chicago. It has the second most incidents of mishandled baggage (6.67 reports per 1,000 passengers on average in 2010 so far) according to the Air Travel Consumer Reports. Atlantic Southeast received a -2.49 AQR, which is the second worst score overall among the airlines covered in the 2010 Airline Quality Ratings.

1. American Eagle

2009 AQR Score: -2.83

With a -2.83 AQR score, American Eagle has the unwelcome distinction of having the worst score overall among the airlines covered in the 2010 Airline Quality Ratings. According to the Air Travel Consumer Reports, it also had the most incidents of mishandled baggage (7.41 reports per 1,000 passengers on average in 2010 so far) and was number two in delays, with only 76 percent of flights arriving on time in the 12-month period ending August 2010. American Eagle is the main regional for American Airlines. American Eagle operates out of a number of hubs in the United States, including Boston and Dallas.

[Nat]

Fake doctor jailed for giving breast exams in bars

Kristina Ross, 37, remains in Ada County Jail in Boise on two felony counts of practicing medicine without a license.

Police say Ross introduced herself to victims -- one at a downtown Boise bar and the other at a nightclub in a Boise suburb -- as a plastic surgeon named Berlyn Aussieahshowna, a name that turned out to be bogus.

The two women told Boise officers they believed Ross was a physician because of her apparent medical knowledge, and they agreed to undergo what they thought were breast exams, which happened at the bars.

As part of her ruse, Ross gave the women the telephone number of a real licensed plastic surgeon in Boise, the state capital, authorities said.

[Zimmeh]

Enjoy!!!


http://www.reuters.com/article/idUST...?asid=26ada452

[MsTinkerbelly]

Vatican: Condom use less evil than spreading HIV


By VICTOR L. SIMPSON and NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press Victor L. Simpson And Nicole Winfield, Associated Press – 12 mins ago
VATICAN CITY – In a seismic shift on one of the most profound — and profoundly contentious — Roman Catholic teachings, the Vatican said Tuesday that condoms are the lesser of two evils when used to curb the spread of AIDS, even if their use prevents a pregnancy.

The position was an acknowledgment that the church's long-held anti-birth control stance against condoms doesn't justify putting lives at risk.

"This is a game-changer," declared the Rev. James Martin, a prominent Jesuit writer and editor.

The new stance was staked out as the Vatican explained Pope Benedict XVI's comments on condoms and HIV in a book that came out Tuesday based on his interview with a German journalist.

The Vatican still holds that condom use is immoral and that church doctrine forbidding artificial birth control remains unchanged. Still, the reassessment on condom use to help prevent disease carries profound significance, particularly in Africa where AIDS is rampant.

"By acknowledging that condoms help prevent the spread of HIV between people in sexual relationships, the pope has completely changed the Catholic discussion on condoms," said Martin, a liberal-leaning author of several books about spirituality and Catholic teaching.

The development came on a day when U.N. AIDS officials announced that the number of new HIV cases has fallen significantly — thanks to condom use — and a U.S. medical journal published a study showing that a daily pill could help prevent spread of the virus among gay men.

"This is a great day in the fight against AIDS ... a major milestone," said Mitchell Warren, head of the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition.

Theologians have debated for years whether it could be morally acceptable for HIV-infected people to use condoms to avoid infecting their partners. The Vatican years ago was reportedly preparing a document on the subject, but it never came out.

The groundbreaking shift, coming as it does from the deeply conservative pontiff, would appear likely to restrain any public criticism from Catholic conservatives, who insisted Tuesday that the pope was merely reaffirming the church's moral teaching.

Conservatives have feared that a comment like this would give support to Catholics who want to challenge the church's ban on artificial contraception in an environment where they feel they are under siege from a secular, anti-Catholic culture.

George Weigel, a conservative Catholic writer, said the Vatican was by no means endorsing condom use as a method of contraception or a means of AIDS prevention.

"This is admittedly a difficult distinction to grasp," he told The Associated Press in an e-mail. What the pontiff is saying is "that someone determined to do something wrong may be showing a glimmer of moral common sense by not doing that wrong thing in the worst possible way — which is not an endorsement of anything."

Benedict's comments come at a time when bishops in the United States are intensely focused on upholding the strictest views of Catholic orthodoxy, emphasizing traditional marriage, natural family planning based on a woman's menstrual cycle and making abortion the most important issue.

In the book, "Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and the Signs of the Times," Benedict was quoted as saying that condom use by people such as male prostitutes indicated they were moving toward a more moral and responsible sexuality by aiming to protect their partner from a deadly infection.

His comments implied that he was referring primarily to homosexual sex, when condoms aren't being used as a form of contraception.

However, questions arose immediately about the pope's intent because the Italian translation of the book used the feminine for prostitute, whereas the original German used the masculine.

The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, told reporters Tuesday that he asked the pope whether he intended his comments to apply only to men. Benedict replied that it really didn't matter, the important thing was that the person took into consideration the life of another.

"I personally asked the pope if there was a serious, important problem in the choice of the masculine over the feminine," Lombardi said. "He told me no. The problem is this: ... It's the first step of taking responsibility, of taking into consideration the risk of the life of another with whom you have a relationship."

"This is if you're a man, a woman, or a transsexual. ... The point is it's a first step of taking responsibility, of avoiding passing a grave risk onto another," Lombardi said.

Those comments concluded the press conference, and Lombardi took no further questions about how broadly this interpretation could be applied.

The clarification is significant.

UNAIDS estimates that 22.4 million people in Africa are infected with HIV, and that 54 percent — or 12.1 million — are women. Heterosexual transmission of HIV and multiple, heterosexual partners are believed to be the major cause of the high infection rates.

Benedict drew harsh criticism when, en route to Africa in 2009, he told reporters that the AIDS problem couldn't be resolved by distributing condoms. "On the contrary, it increases the problem," he said then.

In Africa on Tuesday, AIDS activists, clerics and ordinary Africans applauded the pope's revised comments.

"I say, hurrah for Pope Benedict," exclaimed Linda-Gail Bekker, chief executive of South Africa's Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation. She said the pope's statement may prompt many people to "adopt a simple lifestyle strategy to protect themselves."

In Sierra Leone, the director of the National AIDS Secretariat predicted condom use would now increase, lowering the number of new infections.

"Once the pope has made a pronouncement, his priests will be in the forefront in advocating for their perceived use of condoms," said the official, Dr. Brima Kargbo.

Lombardi said Benedict knew full well that his comments would provoke intense debate. Conservative Catholics have been trying to minimize what he said since excerpts were published this weekend in the Vatican newspaper.

The Rev. Tim Finnegan, a conservative British blogger, said he thought the pope's comments were unwise. "I'm sorry. I love the Holy Father very much; he is a deeply holy man and has done a great deal for the church," Finnegan said on his blog. "On this particular issue, I disagree with him."

Lombardi praised Benedict for his "courage" in confronting the problem.

"He did it because he believed that it was a serious, important question in the world of today," Lombardi said, adding that the pope wanted to give his perspective on the need for greater humanized, responsible sexuality.

Luigi Accatoli, a veteran Vatican journalist who was on the Vatican panel that launched the book, put it this way:

"He spoke with caution and courage of a pragmatic way through which missionaries and other ecclesial workers can help to defeat the pandemic of AIDS without approving, but also without excluding — in particular cases — the use of a condom," Accatoli said.

The launch of the book, which includes wide-ranging comments on subjects from the sex abuse crisis to Benedict's belief that popes should resign if physically unable to carry out their mission, drew a packed audience. Making a rare appearance, Benedict's secretary, Monsignor Georg Gaenswein, sat in the front row — an indication of the event's significance.

In the book, the pope reaffirms Vatican opposition to homosexual acts and artificial contraception, as well as the inviolability of marriage between man and woman.

But by broadening the condom comments to also apply to women, the pope was saying that condom use is a lesser evil than passing HIV onto a partner, even when pregnancy is possible.

"We're not just talking about an encounter between two men, which has little to do with procreation. We're now introducing relationships that could lead to childbirth," Martin said.

Individual bishops and theologians have applied the lesser evil theory to the condom-HIV issue, but it had previously been rejected at the highest levels of the Vatican, Martin said.

Monsignor Jacques Suaudeau, an expert on the Vatican's bioethics advisory board, said the pope was articulating the theological idea that there are degrees of evil.

"Contraception is not the worst evil. The church does not see it as good, but the church does not see it as the worst," he told the AP. "Abortion is far worse. Passing on HIV is criminal. That is absolute irresponsibility."

He said the pope broached the topic because questions about condoms and AIDS persisted, and the church's teaching hadn't been clear. There is no official Vatican policy about condoms and HIV, and Vatican officials in the past have insisted that condoms not only don't help fight HIV transmission but make it worse because it gives users a false sense of security.

"This pope gave this interview. He was not foolish. It was intentional," Suaudeau said. "He thought that this was a way of bringing up many questions. Why? Because it's true that the church sometimes has not been too clear."

Lombardi said the pope didn't use the technical terminology "lesser evil" in his comments because he wanted his words to be understood by the general public. Vatican officials, however, said that was what he meant.

"The contribution the pope wanted to give is not a technical discussion with scientific language on moral problems," Lombardi said. "This is not the job of a book of this type."

___

Associated Press reporters Rachel Zoll in New York, Jason Straziuso in Nairobi and AP Medical Writer Marilynn Marchione contributed to this report