It's been a hell of a week, hasn't it? Between the weather changing, the Christmas sales commercials starting up, Thanksgiving on the horizon, and the President driving the right wing ever so further bat-guano nutty, it's hard to keep up with everything that's been going on.
Fortunately, we have the weekend to give us a chance to breathe.
So let's reflect on the seven-day whirlwind that just passed us. Grab some tea, take a deep breath, and relax to some warm, soothing ITEMS!
ITEM! Birth defects are way, way up in Fallujah (where, you will recall, the US staged a major offensive against the Iraqi insurgency). More here. The rise in deaths is, "at present unexplainable." I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that it was a war zone just a few years ago, where such things as lead, high explosives, and (perhaps) depleted uranium were in common use.
ITEM! Morale is in the toilet in Afghanistan. More here.
ITEM! 57% of Israelis support peace talks with Hamas, according to a new poll. More here. Someone cue George Will.
ITEM! Portland, Oregon (my fair city) now has the first café that caters specifically to users of medical marijuana. Of course, it opened yesterday at 4:20 PM. More here.
No, they don't keep the weed there, and no, you can't get in without a medical marijuana license. Just so you know, it's also possible that this venture might violate Federal law. Not that that's stopped medical marijuana users so far.
ITEM! For the Love of God, if you really think that your ex is going to go on a violent rampage, get a restraining order. Doing that might prevent another one of these.
ITEM! Antiwar.com's quarterly fundraiser is on, and they need your help to stay open!
ITEM! While Republican idiots are screaming about how awful it is to "import terrorists onto American soil," several small towns (and the politicians that represent them) are aching for the chance to hold these prisoners in their presently unused facilities. One such facility: the Thompson Correctional Center in Thompson, IL. More here.
ITEM! Remember "Dollar" Bill Jefferson, the corrupt jerk who lost his 2008 re-election bid to an unknown named Joseph Cao in the most Democratic Congressional district anywhere? Jefferson got thirteen years for his crimes. Cao got to be the only Republican to vote for health care reform, for which he'll be remembered even in the likely event that he loses in 2010. The moral: clean living might not get you some kind of eternal reward in Heaven, but it sure looks better in the history books.
ITEM! Nate Silver looks at the spread of Swine Flu here. Note where the flu first took off.
MICE!
Fun fact: as I write this, two of my mice are having a disagreement about grooming, as one does the grooming and the other objects.
ITEM! Not to toot my own horn, but I broke the story Wednesday night about Lou Dobbs being deported. Check out the fun here.
ITEM! Commodore 64 games run on the iPhone! More here!
ITEM! Should geeks be skeptical of cloud computing? LinuxToday answers, "duh!" More here.
ITEM! Just in time for Christmas, a new, ultra-realistic FPS game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III is due out soon. The Onion tells us all about it below.
Ultra-Realistic Modern Warfare Game Features Awaiting Orders, Repairing Trucks
ITEM! Here's to Clay and Fawn on their upcoming nuptuals! And while we're at it, here's hoping for good times between LiveJournalers mcpreacher and itrytobeamused. May the breaking hearts of a thousand teabaggers serenade the lovely couple.
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