News – Dramatic Lack of Recovery

North America

Bush calls the recovery in New Orleans ‘pretty dramatic’. I don’t consider it much in the way of recovery when most of the returning is being done with areas that were relatively untouched by the storm. To be honest, ‘pretty dramatic’ recovery, in my opinion, will be when those more heavily damaged areas start to come to life with residents and businesses. Until then, the recovery is less than dramatic. Of course, I still maintain that the areas that were flooded and destroyed shouldn’t be rebuilt.

Pat Robinson apologizes for associated Sharon’s illness with the retribution of God.. after Israel decides to cut him off from a planned Christian centre in Galilee. Not necessarily because he believes they were wrong, but becomes they were insensitive. He’s such a tool, same as Falwell.

What is left of Rummy’s legacy, military transformation? Not too much of what was there before, it seems. The last thing we need now is some half baked hodgepodge idea to further distort and weaken our already inadequate(to the tasks we set for ourselves) military.

Middle East

Iran threatens to halt snap inspections of its nuclear facilities by the UN if taken to the security council. Honestly, I don’t consider that news, that’s an expected reaction to them being taken to the security council.

Syria says it will not let a UN investigatory team question President Bashar al-Assad about the death of Lebanese ex-premier Rafik al-Hariri. That won’t go over well.

Rumor has it that Israel has plans all drawn up to hit Iran’s nuclear sites with bunker busters supplied by the US.. should things go in that direction.

Blame is traded between the Saudis and Muslim pilgrims in the wake of a deadly stampede on the last day of the Haj.

General

Roche, maker of Tamiflu, promises to donate more antiviral pills to Asia and aid organizations promised to speed the flow of funds to help the region battle bird flu at a meeting of Asian health officials.

New research proves that women aren’t as fragile as has been and still is thought. Women are just as good as men — in some cases, perhaps even better — at handling intense exercise and decompression sickness, even though they are smaller and less physically powerful on average than men.

Today’s Papers has late revelations on the Donner Party, Iraqi troops picking clean one of Sadam’s largest palaces when it was turned over to them by US forces, Maryland’s assembly reversing a veto by their governor and essentially requiring Wal-Mart to increase spending on employees’ health insurance and more in the one page news.

Amusements

Happy Trogday: Three-year anniversary of the more different S

Even though they knew the location, Sprint refuses to tell cops the whereabouts of a stolen SUV with 10-month-old and Sprint GPS phone inside because of privacy issues

Self-professed vampire plans on running for governor of Minnesota. Platform includes promise of better health care for veterans, impalement of criminals in front of state capital

Republican legislator refered to as “Turkey Baster Bob” has introduced a bill to assure that unmarried women will have only one option if they wish to become pregnant: Namely to have unprotected sex with yahoos just like himself

Government to install metal poles four feet apart on the Mexican border. Because hey, nothing stops people from running across like poles spaced four feet apart

Bad: You’re a white supremist. Worse: You are arrested for various carjackings. Fark: Your mother calls and threatens your victims

Lying author’s attorneys threaten The Smoking Gun to stop them from calling him a lying liar. The Smoking Gun is there

Man claims 9/11 caused him to rob 15 banks, the trrsts have won

Hospital goof means man spent vigil at bedside of woman who, technically, was not his dying mother at all

It’s just bad luck when police find your indoor marijuana garden because some drunk driver crashes into your apartment

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Theme: Make your own Minor League Baseball team logo

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Theme: Soccer vs. American Football — The Final Battle