The Morning Blog

Regrettably, a quick scan of the international headlines shows that the news today is not very good. Not very good at all. Granted, I might just be a bit shell shocked (sorry, accidental pun), over the latest outrage out of Pyongyang but things seem pretty grim this morning.

But why the picture of the Road Warrior?

Because things have gotten so bad in Mexico due to the drug war, that the Mexican government is urging people returning to Mexico during the holidays to form convoys for safety.

The West has been making strides of late in discussions with Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour. Unfortnately, he's not Mullah Mansour. Or a Taliban leader. He's just some dude.

“It’s not him,” said a Western diplomat in Kabul intimately involved in the discussions. “And we gave him a lot of money.”

A number of terrorists have been arrested in Belgium. Supposedly, they hate us because of our freedom. So what? They hate Belgium because of it's chocolate?

Iran continues to do it's best to aggravate everybody. The Gambia has severed all ties with the Islamic Republic following the seizure of an Iranian arms shipment in Nigeria. The weapons were destined for The Gambia in violation of international law. Prior to this, the two countries had enjoyed remarkably warm relations.

Foreign Policy has an interesting analysis of opposition to the START Treaty. The argument is an interesting one: The United States is simply too secure. We're enormously powerful economically and militarily. As such, we can afford to use a foreign policy issue like the START Treaty for partisan rather than practical ends. Worth reading in full. And not too long!

As a break from the grim... Really good news! The UN reports that the number of HIV infections and deaths are falling globally. Last year, the number of infected was down 20% from the peak in 1999. I am cautiously optimistic.

Undoubtedly, it's because the pope has approved condoms for rent boys.

The Irish government has inevitably, collapsed. There's a lot of talk around the webs about whether or not this signals the end of the EU as well. I'm really not in a position to say one way or the other. However, I'd have to bet that Germany is getting awfully sick of the economic shenanigans of the rest of the Union.

Heh. From the article I've learned that the hottest clothes item in Dublin is a t-shirt that reads "The IMF took me coat".

Strange...Pittsburgh has had all sorts of school bus related news today. Here's the good. Here's the bad.

Here's a bit more on the ridiculous, ridiculous officiating from Sundays Steelers game. It makes a good point in defense of the refs: They're terrified of being penalized if they miss a call. As such, when you have a rough team like the Steelers on the field, every incentive they have is to be over zealous and flag, flag, flag every little thing.

God... Will the midterms never end?!?!? Does Alaska even want a Senator?

Apart from all the nastiness going on today, here are photos of the last 24 hours.

On the very rare chance that the creators of the Stuxnet worm are reading, would you mind, terribly?

Here are some people with a little too much time on their hands. The elderly prank victims efforts to free the "barricaded midget" are notable however.

That's it for the Morning Blog. Lots of pretty scary stuff to digest. Take care of each other.