Lileks:

Mm-hmm. We here in the corrupt and decadent West recently read of an interesting twist in suicide bombing. One report said that a female suicide bomber planned to board a plane with explosives secreted in her nether zones, so she could escape detection and kill everyone on the plane. This story ran right alongside news of the successful landing on Mars of the Spirit probe -- an interesting contrast, really. A question: Do you want to go down in history as a culture of death-besotted killers who came up with the concept of the lethal Birth Canal of Death, or the culture that put another robot on another planet?

(Silence) "Is this a trick question?"

No, really. Which would make you more proud? Coming up with cunning ways to blow up men, women and children on airplanes, or putting rockets on other planets?

(Thoughtful silence) "This planet, it is an infidel planet?"

Depends if there is life there, I guess. That's what the probe is meant to find out.

"So the probe could discover Zionest infidels on another planet."

They'd be microscopic Zionists.

"But infidels nevertheless!"

Most probably.

"So! This robot you send -- when it finds these deviously small Zionists, it blows itself up! Correct?"

I wish he would get more syndicated work.