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Like a De Beers' diamond, Bush's "war on terror" is forever





July 10, 2006

by Ben Tanosborn



One of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Colossus of Rhodes, lasted almost a millennium. But the colossus of the other [Cecil] Rhodes, De Beers, reached beyond the millennium when it created a marketing campaign which extended the desirability of its product to everlasting time, whether in reference to the lifespan of the diamond's owner or in the durability of the diamond itself - which, we know not, or could care less.



"A diamond is forever," is this monopolistic firm's self-promoting slogan. In an industry that depends almost exclusively on perception; this PT Barnum logic seems to work quite well in an era of supine, gluttonous consumerism.



It's the natural reproductive function of success to breed imitation and plagiarization. which of the two being only a matter of context and circumstance. And guess what! Washington's political establishment - and I don't mean just neo-cons, but lesser-cons and demo-cons as well - has already adopted the idea of fighting terrorism "forever". which I take to mean an indefinite, but definitely large, number of generations. Ouch! That's quite a legacy we are leaving for our children, grandchildren. and lineages to follow; a gift of "love" for our descendants: straps for compulsory self-flagellation.



Indifference and repetition can allow some lies to take the shape of myths in a short span of time, and stay as a dark cloud over us for a very long time, if not in perpetuity. The Bush administration has been very successful in the creation of a myth that may stay with us regardless who is elected to Congress or who occupies the White House. It will make little difference whether the reins are in the hands of Republicans or Democrats. and those are the only two blood types acceptable to the United States' political circulatory system.



And what is the myth? Simply that the nation is under siege, surrounded by the forces of terror and evil, and that to stay safe we must have total faith in a government that keeps watch over our interests. both our lives and our economic well-being. And that we must be ready to pay whatever price is necessary for that, in economic sacrifice or even in the surrender of our cherished freedoms.



It's not a new concept. For sometime now the word is out that wars can be good for us, for our economy, and even to keep the population in check. as if a dietary supplement to natural disasters where nations sacrifice their young, dressing them in colorful team uniforms, giving them weapons to fight with while citizens cheerlead and waive flags. We are told that without World War II our nation would not have exited from thirteen years of depression. the axis of fascism notwithstanding. And the beat goes on!



But as insane and immoral as weighing war is, at least in the past it was exercised against specific nations(s) for specific, even if illegitimate, reasons. Now the war is quixotic, but in a malefic way. The war that Bush personally has declared against terror is a catch-all war. an abstract war to be interpreted solely by those who govern from the White House and the Pentagon. It is a war that can have an unlimited number of fronts. against nations. against ideologies. even against basic human rights. It is a war where the end (victory) justifies any and all means to obtain it.



This "war on terror" is the perfect war for a government that has little need for transparency for a citizenry that adheres to all or nothing choices (usually religious or social causes. plus the sempiternal pro-Israel stand) each becoming politically a force majeure. And it's perfect for the United States because, at least for now, it can exact its desires with a destructive werhmacht (defense force?!) sans pareil.



If we want to abide by the truth, let's not globalize the war on terror as an excuse. It's solely America's "war on terror" for it is basically the germination of the US' ill-conceived foreign policy. We are not fooling the world, only ourselves, when just as we did with the American Indian; we continuously speak with a forked tongue. Our approach to the world is certainly not one of ambivalence, and has been best expressed by a California legislator in Congress who said what many legislators vehemently believe in but are embarrassed to say out loud: "If we [the US] don't change the world, the world is going to change us." That, in a nutshell, is what our current government is all about. anything else is pure, unadulterated nonsense.



De Beers may have come down from an 80 percent to a 60 percent control of the world's diamond supplies, but even the "hot diamond" (or conflict diamond) trading has not gravely affected its monopolistic ways. And, in like manner, the same applies politically and diplomatically to the United States. At least for now the US seems to be telling the world, "we speak, you listen."



"A diamond is forever" and "the war on terror" play on the same perception of deceit and manipulation. the type of perception that has nothing to do with reality, in terms of economic value in the case of diamonds, and of peace for humankind in Bush's strategically-dabbed "war on terror."



Ben Tanosborn [send him email] writes a weekly socio-political column, Behind the mirror, which can be found at www.tanosborn.com Write to Ben Tanosborn at P.O. Box 2324, Vancouver, WA 98668.



� 2006 Ben Tanosborn

http://www.tanosborn.com/

All Articles by Ben Tanosborn



Thank you soldier but you neednt fight for my freedoms

Our moderate press

Foleys Bergere Political entertainment al Americain

Insurgents don't fight invaders repulsers do

Republicans October Surprise

Thugs we can call our own

Shock and awe diplomacy confronts American exceptionalism

Et tu Benedicte

Americans unrealized peace dividend

How about cut and walk instead of cut and run

A nation with an anesthetized conscience

Bush's international diplomacy goes green

Neither the power to act nor to influence

Bush's "wimpification" of the UN

Inconvenient truths: Chaldea, Phoenicia will Syria and Persia be next

Like a De Beers diamond, Bush's war on terror is forever

In search of identity: Citizens, nationals or subjects

Knights and squires of the new millennium

We are those we help elect

The Decider has decided not to be presidential lame duck

Guilt by Exoneration or Hypocrites R Us

The few bad apples alibi in business, military and political crimes

My Lai Haditha and America's whitewashers

America's love affair with irrational exuberance

Beware, Iran! A monosuperpower seldom does dialogue

Work ethic work atrophy and those detestable illegals

UCLA's radical professors of today and of yesteryear

Bye-bye Fox News, hello Faux News

It's NOT about Rummy, dummy

Realities intertwined with undocumented immigration

A letter to two chaplains

No yellow ribbons from this ex-marine

Marching together: The regretful and the contrite

America: From a truth-based, to a faith-based nation

Can America go "private," or is it too late?

Dubai and Dubya: America's political free-for-all

Patriot Act II: Legislating Liberty as Currency

Is it political conjunctivitis, lack of humanity... or both?

Our Choice: Distrust and Hate, or Social Cohesion

Are budgets a true litmus test for politicians?

America's One and One-half Party System

Politics of Extreme Unction: Revolutionary Rights

A Preview of Coming Attractions

Au'voir Afghanistan: A debriefing

America's Pandemic Aristerophobia

Americans in the Bubble

Peace, Truth. and Ramsey Clark

Is the United States a Republic or a Busharchy?

Nuremberg: not a mindset for "the powerful

A Re-publican Nation: the Born-again Publicans

Americans' leap...from concerned citizenry to apathetic public

Global Capitalism Part III

Miller Lite: not a timely brew for the times

Johnny-come-latelies to the reality that is Iraq

Global Capitalism Part II

Global Capitalism Part I

Behind the veil and beyond the hijab

Bush's unwelcome gift to NATO: Afghanistan

Incompetence and the blame game

The Incompetent American (or, the "Ugly American" on Steroids)

Two colossal manmade disasters: Katrina and Alan

The rise and [impending] fall of two Pashtun celebrities

When are foreign troops overstaying their welcome?

Nothing to report from Iraq's front, America

America's Labor Movement. or is it Labor Inertia?

Greenspanomics: Beyond Oz and into Bubbleland

Fourth of July reflections: US is just us. all of us

Eminent Disdain











From the Vault:



Direct and Extreme Democracy in Civil Society



Collateral Damage is Murder



7 Ways to Make Your Neigborhood Safer



How the Federal Reserve Runs the US



Tyranny of the Executive Branch



Neo-Progressives



No Yellow Ribbons from this Ex-Marine



The Dumbing Down of the American Mind



Fascism the American Way



What Happened to my Country?

Foleys Berg�re: Political entertainment "al'Americain"





October 11, 2006

by Ben Tanosborn



Yes. come to Washington's Capitol Cabaret. Whether your preference is for a morality play or a musical, that's where's at; running the entire gamut in popular taste from stupidity to prudishness. And now the cabaret is running this pre-election play, a well choreographed Foleys Berg�re, with the entire Republican chorus line in drag.



Although all the reviews are not yet in, this musical parody turned into a morality play may influence the outcome of the upcoming election more than any substantive issue dealing with political sanity - and the bottom line need for a foreign policy capable of diffusing an entire region of the globe: the Middle East - one that will choose life over death.



It's one of those Anglo-Saxon traits we have inherited; one that we honor with probably more fervor than our cousins across the pond. Apparently three centuries ago those Brits took biblical passages that dealt with death ["the way of the earth"] and quickly reinterpreted them as "the way of the flesh." Our obsession of enmeshing morality with sex has made American society gyrate to sexual impulses in a mentally unhealthy, prudish way. And that's what many of us are, puritanical quacks. sporting moral values that condone breaking "mortally" some commandments, such as "You Shall Not Murder"; while being totally intransigent to the "veniality" in some side issues, such as the implication of lust in "You Shall Not Commit Adultery."



Not that ex-congressman Mark Foley deserves support or pity for the persecution that has befallen him. He should have known better, and not allowed his sexual impulses walk hand-in-hand with risk; for that's the price you pay in this prudish society. So he is now being verbally stoned and, ignorantly, called a pedophile. No, you are not going to find many people going to his corner, even in the veniality of any crime that might yet be uncovered. In America you are free to do most anything you desire, but promiscuous behavior, or any sexual desires, must always be kept in check. It's the way American politicians are expected to behave. sexually-restrained, even if criminally-loose.



So now we have congressmen and senators, of both parties, wearing their inquisitorial duds in defense of the great chaste virtue exhibited by our over-16 youth. Wow! These are the same people - most of them, regardless of party - who for years have been giving Bush the go-ahead to go and kill; or who continuously promote socio-economic inequality to benefit the powerfully rich; or who have sold out the entire middle class of this nation to a program of globalization without first finding a prescription to alleviate the enormous transitional pain. These are the same puritanical folks that will not allow the "love thy neighbor" theme to take hold. for it may have some sexual connotation. Who knows, the neighbor may be under age or, suspiciously, of the same gender.



Americans want the world to know that they honor virtue and virginity, and that even the mere idea of possible sexual transgression, whether or not it breaks the law, is strictly frown upon. In our model society, innocence [real or imaginary] of the young, or the not-so-young, must be defended at all costs. That's why our prisons have two to three times the recluses of prisons around the world; or why the capital crime rate is also three to four times that in the world; or why we are so constitutionally eager to arm our people with guns. Chastity, not unlike property, must be defended at the point of a gun.



Democrats are salivating over this play at the Capitol Cabaret. Not just as a form of payback for what the Republicans did to their poor Clinton, and his adventures with the well-traveled 23-year-old intern, but with the prospect that this salacious move by an indiscreet gay congressman may have provided the Democratic Party a checkmate in the midterm election, allowing the retaking of the House, and maybe even the Senate. This powerful potion of sex-acidity may even melt down both the extensive Republican gerrymandering and any possible Diebold-ical vote count.



Amazing! All those "Iraq Fiasco" books couldn't drown that constant pounding by the Energizer-in-Chief on the issue of phony security. but this morality play, now on its second week, may do the entire Grand Old Party in. Of course, there are still four weeks to go; so, much can still happen to Tweedledee, which will allow Tweedledum to remain in charge of the legislative branch.



Ben Tanosborn [send him email] writes a weekly socio-political column, Behind the mirror, which can be found at www.tanosborn.com Write to Ben Tanosborn at P.O. Box 2324, Vancouver, WA 98668.



� 2006 Ben Tanosborn

http://www.tanosborn.com/

All Articles by Ben Tanosborn

You will have to read the journal entry before this one to understand why Stabb666 responded like he did to this guy, Shadowwalker1981.





This is how Stabb666 responded when he shut down his forum thread.



I will remind you that spamming the forum will be looked upon most unfavourably.



If you continue to post threads for no reason, you will be referred to an Administrator.



I strongly advise you to stop now.





edit: And yes, you are out on your own with this one.





Yes, Stabb he is out on his own with that post. Noone is trying to deal with his particular brand of insanity.

THis was an RIAed post in the general dicussion section of the forum. I do not understand what shadowwalker1981 was atttempting to accomplish, but it pissed me off that he thought it was cool to say Stabb666 was throwing a fit, when he shut him down.



Here is what Shadowwalker1981 wrote:



you can keep shuting them down but i dont care i was talking about the rave had others talking but you dont like how its was going so you throw your lil fit and shut it down



The dominars have a job to do. That is plain and simple. I have said it before, if your thread is closed there is a reason and before you post again complaining about a dominar, wouldn't it make sense to message the dominar and ask why? Of course, in this case there was no reason to ask why. Shadowwalker1981 is the leading candidate for the knucklehead of the year award.



THe next entry will contain Stabb666's response to the knucklehead.

My next door neighbor, Kenneth is dealing with an excessive amount of stress. His girlfriend is the inconsiderate little girl I have written about in my journal on two other occasions. She is 26 years old, but sometimes she acts more like a fourteen year old. This is scary, since she has a newborn daughter.



Kenneth works fifty hours a week or more. He took off Friday night in attempt to get some rest. That did not work out well for him. He later said he would have been better off going to work. That is a shame. I think home should be a peaceful, restful place for a person that works that many hours a week. I do not understand what his girlfriend's problem is. I would chalk it up to home training, but she has been advised many times to start helping this man. He loves her, but she is going to keep doing nothing until he leaves her.



Kenneth does all the cooking and cleaning. I would say this girl has post partum depression, but she was like this before the baby entered the picture. She does not know how to cook a thing. She will burn the food. Anytime she tries to cook, Kenneth has to jump in before the food burns. This is when she is browning ground meat or cooking something out of a can. Kenneth claims her mother tried to teach her how to cook. I do not know that for sure. I have thought about teaching her to cook. I am no Wolfgang Puck or Paula Dean. That would be my roommate. Leo8280 is my roommate, but she has washed her hands of the stituation. Leo8280 has done alot for that girl. She bought baby bottles and a bottle cleaner. She even taught the girl how to sterilze the nipples and bottles, since she did not know how to. From what Kenneth said, his girlfriend does not properly clean the bottles. He has found three bottles crusty with formula.



It was my roommate who suggested they start putting rice cereal in the baby's bottle. The mother had no idea of what to do. She called her mother and got fussed at for wanting to feed her child properly.



Neither leo8280 or I want Kenneth. We are just tired of seeing a person stressed out beyond what is normal. He pays all the bills and is trying to be a good provider. I do not think his girlfriend fully appreciates what he does. I hope she will start before it is too late.

I found this interesting piece of information on www.democraticunderground.com. Too bad no one got Karl Rove on videotape making the remarks this article implys he may or may not have made. I also wish he would have said something about the columnist Ann Coulter. That would have been too funny.



Read further down for the article.





























Tony Snow: Rove Denies Calling Evangelicals 'Nuts'



By E&P Staff



Published: October 13, 2006 3:40 PM ET



NEW YORK Today's press briefing by White House Press Secretary Tony Snow was his first since the leaks from a new book appeared, carrying revelations about the allegedly cynical use of the religious right by the White House for political gain. It quotes Karl Rove or staffers close to him calling evangelical leaders "nuts," among many other hot charges.



The book is by a former top staffer at the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, David Kuo, and is called, "Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction."



Naturally Snow was asked about all this early on. He replied, "we've asked Karl, did you say the things attributed to you? He said, no." He added that Rove explained, "these are my friends, I don't talk about them like that." Snow labeled "false" the reports that the president did not take faith-based initiatives very seriously, and denied any political twists.



Here is the relevant portion of the transcript.



Q Changing topics a bit. In this midterm climate, there are reports coming out that the former number two official at the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives is writing that during his time here at the White House some of the evangelicals who are prominent were described in very derogatory ways, called "nuts," "ridiculous," "goofy," "boorish" -- terms that might be viewed as offensive --



MR. SNOW: Do you think? (Laughter.) Yes, I think you could construe it that way. (Laughter.)



Q -- while they were publicly embraced by the White House and by senior Republicans and so forth. At a critical time, with the election coming up, to have this come out -- first of all, is it true? And do you think it will have an impact on the race?



MR. SNOW: I'm a little confused, again. You guys have had a better glimpse of the book than we have. We haven't seen it.



When David Kuo left the White House, he sent the President a very warm letter, talking about how wonderful it was. He said, "two-and-a-half years later," after joining the White House, "I'm proud of all the initiative has accomplished. Building on the extraordinary work that John," -- John DiIulio -- "started in 2001, we have advanced the cause of the faith-based groups, ensuring that they are treated fairly by the federal government and have the tools necessary to make their efforts successful. He said, "Ultimately, however, it's your staff's keen awareness of your unwavering support for this initiative that's made the difference."



When you're talking also -- I know Karl Rove, we've asked Karl, did you say the things attributed to you? He said, no. These are people who are friends of many of us in the White House, when you talk about a Richard Land or James Dobson. These are people who are friends. You don't talk about friends that way. I don't -- David has apparently written a book that has a lot of this stuff. I think we are going to need the benefit of being able to take a look specifically at what he says and how he frames it up, and all that, before we can give you detailed answers.



I'm a little bit perplexed, because it does seem at odds with what he was saying inside the building at the time he departed.



Q So is he mistaken?



MR. SNOW: I don't know. Like I said, it's hard for me to respond to whether he was mistaken or not. Is he mistaken in thinking that the -- let me put it this way, because, again, I haven't seen the book, but the assumption, or insinuation, seems to be that the administration takes lightly faith-based groups. False. You've seen the President. When he talks about the faith-based initiative, this is something that's really important to him. This is one of these things where he believes years and years down the road, when people are reviewing this White House, this is going to be one of the signal accomplishments. Using -- harnessing the power of faith to deal with people one on one, face to face, in dealing with some of the most intractable problems that our society faces.



Q But these are more about some of the individual characters or personalities --



MR. SNOW: Like I said, I can't -- until I get a chance, until we get a chance to see the book, what we're doing is we're trying to respond to generalities, and I think it's probably unfair to David and unfair to us. So when we get a chance to give it a look, we'll be happy to go through it. I think it comes out Monday.



Q Is it possible that the office was used for political purposes?



MR. SNOW: No. No. And what's interesting -- and we went through this, this morning -- if you take a look at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, which is hardly a conservative group, it came to the conclusion that the faith-based initiative was dispensing money not on the basis of ideology, in fact most of the money was going to blue states.



The President has been really clear, this is not to be used for politics. This is to be used for compassion. You know, talk about the armies of compassion, this is to be used as a way of trying to used faith-based groups who know who the constituents are, who know who the neighbors are, who know what the problems are, to use their own compassion and their own knowledge of the local circumstances to be more effective in delivering services. So, no, not for political use.



Martha.



Q Is it possible that Karl Rove called them nuts, the evangelicals?



MR. SNOW: He says no.



Q You've asked him about the quotes that are already out?



MR. SNOW: The nuts quote he was asked about. I don't know if there are any additional ones, but I'll be happy to run all by Karl. But here's what your -- Karl made the same point I did, which is, "these are my friends, I don't talk about them like that."

I was reading CNN and stumbled upon this little gem. Maybe this self proclaimed honest person will win. Barry Goldwater once told the truth and could not get elected. I like the part about lobbying being"taxation without representation". I do not believe one person can get rid of all the special interest groups that have power in Washington and have sway over what happens. That would be too easy. I understand human nature causes those with like issues and desires to band together and try to get what they want. Some groups have less money than others or less organizational skills. What happens to what they need? I think it goes unoticed until it becomes a major problem confronting this nation.



Drunken pirate swashbuckling for House seat



ELDRIDGE, Iowa (AP) -- Pillaging, plundering and grog, sweet grog -- James Hill is happy to discuss the finer points of pirate life. Just not before you hear him out on lobbying reform.



"Lobbying should be illegal," said Hill, a self-professed "drunken pirate" who is running for Congress as an independent in Iowa's 1st District. "It amounts to taxation without representation."



Lobbying probably never irked Blackbeard, nor is it likely that William Kidd rued the lack of transparency in government. But Hill, a former factory worker and stable hand who's wrapped himself in Jolly Roger in his long-shot bid for Congress, isn't your average buccaneer.



Assuming the pirate mantle is partly about ethos and partly about drawing attention, Hill said.



"I have to get a little bit of notoriety," he said. "On the other hand, this kind of attitude will keep me straight and it will help keep (Congress) straight."



For Hill, being a pirate is more about mind set than physical prototype, which probably explains why he is somewhat lacking in pirate credentials.



Though he sports a suitably scraggly beard, it is carrot-colored, not black. His animal companions are dogs, not parrots. And he opts to navigate the district on a Kawasaki motorcycle rather than a three-mast schooner. His bike does sports a small skull-and-crossbones sticker, though.



It may sound strange coming from a pirate, but Hill insists his campaign is about ideas, not imagery.



"Before we were a country they -- pirates -- were running mini-democracies. We need to get back to that," he said, adding an unsolicited promise that he will bring more "swashbuckling" to Congress if elected.



To many, the pirate's campaign is just a lot of yo-ho-hum.



Hill's major opponents -- Democrat Bruce Braley and Republican Mike Whalen -- have more or less ignored his candidacy in their intense fight for the open seat. Hill also has struggled to get local media coverage and has managed only one debate invitation so far.



Braley spokesman Jeff Giertz acknowledged that the Democrat hasn't paid much attention to Hill.



"I've spoken to the pirate captain," Giertz said. "He was friendly."



But Hill said he's been pleasantly surprised by how much his profile soared on the Internet after his campaign Web site, www.jameshillforcongress.com, was linked by the popular Fark.com.



When Hill announced his candidacy in August, bloggers of all political stripes wrote him up, many expressing surprise that there were pirates in Iowa.



Hill hopes the Web hits keep coming until he reaches his goal -- a sizable percentage in November's election.



"I want to light up the board. I want to have some kind of percentage," he said.



And if he's somehow elected?



"I won't mind getting in front of people and asking them hard questions," Hill said. "I bet I'll be the most honest person in Washington."

habeas corpus



Lat. "you have the body" Prisoners often seek release by filing a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. A writ of habeas corpus is a judicial mandate to a prison official ordering that an inmate be brought to the court so it can be determined whether or not that person is imprisoned lawfully and whether or not he should be released from custody. A habeas corpus petition is a petition filed with a court by a person who objects to his own or another's detention or imprisonment. The petition must show that the court ordering the detention or imprisonment made a legal or factual error. Habeas corpus petitions are usually filed by persons serving prison sentences. In family law, a parent who has been denied custody of his child by a trial court may file a habeas corpus petition. Also, a party may file a habeas corpus petition if a judge declares her in contempt of court and jails or threatens to jail her.



Now that you have read the legal definition it is time for my rant. Apparently, a bill approved by Bush and passed by the House will suspend habeas corpus. Has Bush lost his mind? I think he has forgotten he is President of the United States. Maybe he thinks he is dictator of the Rome. The right to go to trial to find out why you were imprisoned is a fundamental right of everyone in a free society. The only time that right should be suspended is when the country is in danger of a rebellion or an uprising. Bush claims this ban on habeas corpus will help him better do his job in protecting us. How in the hell? He did not prevent 9/11 and I doubt he could protect another terrorist attack. The borders of this nation are not secure. He has no idea of what he is doing. The other first amendment rights guaranteed by our Constitution are not worth a hill of beans without this right. You do not have any rights in prison. If you are falsely imprisoned, you should have the right to petition the court. The only right that would stand up is that you would not have to quarter or put up soliders in your home. Hell, you are in prison. You cannot play host to the military then. At this point, most of them are overseas any damn way.



Four years ago, I was not impressed with John Kerry. I voted for Bush and like many of my countrymen I have come to regret that decision. He is leading the country and any of our allies that choose to go along with him to hell in a handbasket. I should have done what I considered doing in the first damn place. I should have done a write- in vote for Ted Kennedy. I sure that would pissed off Ann Coulter and the other Republican loving people in this country. I do not usually vote the party, but the Republicans would have to turn a million cartwheels to get me to pay attention to them at the moment and I am sure my ADHD would kick in first.



Bush has gone too damn far. Soon, he may bump his head and say I must suspend the freedom of religion to protect you. Yeah right. I would like to suspend his freedom to think for himself. Someone should be doing that job besides him in order to protect the whole country.

Most people who know me what not describe me as the romantic type. I am, but I keep that part of me hidden. I like many others have been hurt and I believe part of the reason was my fault. I was gullible and wore my romanticism on my sleeve. I am also nice and figured out some people played my kindness for weakness. That is not something I allow to happen anymore if I can help it.



I bought the DVD The Lake House last Thursday. I did not get to watch it until Saturday night. It is a great movie. I am a fan of the old classic romance movies and this is the closest I have come to this in a long time. Of course, Keanu Reeves is easy on the eyes. I loved the chemistry between Reeves and Sandra Bullock. This is the first time they have been in a movie together since Speed. Hollywood rumor has it that they are friends in real life. If that is true, then I am sure it contributed to their on screen chemistry.