(Video source)
The American military has fired 58 Arabic translators under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” since the start of the war in Iraq. I’m not sure how many there were to begin with, but that seems like a significant number. It really makes you want to know if there is some connection between gayness and interest in the Arabic language, or as Stephen Colbert puts it, “Maybe we should start referring to gay sex as translating Arabic.”
Stephen Benjamin is one of the more outspoken fired translators, as he had an op-ed published in the NY Times earlier this month and is now doing a round of television appearances, most recently on The Colbert Report. Watch it above. (via The Malcontent)
I think he looks a bit like Leonardo diCaprio, only cuter. When I watched him on Colbert I seriously considered learning Arabic just to meet the translator 🙂 …
Private Benjamin is so hot that I would like to take him to dinner at a restaurant of his choosing, as soon as is practicable.