State-Controlled Haircuts?

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Hackworth Had His Say

Today's report on CBS shows that former Army Colonel David Hackworth (search), an outspoken critic of the Bush administration, was interviewed by Dan Rather as an expert witness to evaluate those now-discredited memos on President Bush's National Guard Service.

In the interview, Hackworth concluded that the memos were "genuine," that then-Lieutenant Bush was "insubordinate," and that Bush was in fact "AWOL" — a conclusion, Hackworth said, that anyone would reach "unless you're the village idiot."

The report says Hackworth's comments were eventually stricken from the segment because they were too "inflammatory and gratuitous." As for Rather, he found Hackworth to be a "strong and valuable expert witness."

Proof Positive?

The head of the Center for Islamic Studies in Sri Lanka (search) says he now has proof that the tsunami in the Indian Ocean was Allah's "punishment ... [for] ignoring his laws."

Mohamed Faizeen says a satellite snapshot of the ravaged area "clearly spells out the name Allah in Arabic," showing Allah signed his name in the wave. Faizeen says, "Allah first sends small punishments, like loss of business. If we ignore the warning he sends bigger ones — loss of life. [And] If we still ignore the warnings, the big punishments, like earthquakes and tsunamis will come."

Presidential Pals?

Former President Clinton (search) and President Bush seem on their way to becoming good buddies, according to Newsweek magazine.

Earlier this month, President Bush invited Clinton to the oval office, where Clinton complimented President Bush on his new office rug. President Bush then told Clinton to praise his interior designer: Laura Bush.

Before that, at the opening of Clinton's presidential library, Clinton pulled Bush adviser Karl Rove aside, to congratulate him on President Bush's re-election. And while Clinton was recovering from heart surgery, President Bush phoned Clinton twice to offer what Clinton's aides call "good, funny, conversations."

Long Hair Could Rob Brain Energy?

The North Korean government (search) is telling men with long hair to cut their locks, insisting that long hair "consumes a great deal of nutrition" and could rob men’s brains of energy.

Announcements on state-run media say men should not let their hair grow longer than five centimeters and two haircuts a month is recommended.

After all, the announcements say, looking tidy is "important in repelling the enemies' maneuvers to infiltrate corrupt capitalist ideas and lifestyle [into North Korea]," and "people who ... live in others' style become fools, and [their] nation will come to ruin."

— FOX News' Michael Levine contributed to this report