I read the news today oh boy...

Some interesting things in the news:

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L27662839.htm - According to Reuters, there have apparently been at least 36 messages from bin Laden/Zawahri since 2001. This is a pretty interesting chronology of the messages aired on al-Jazeera this year.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5220388.stm - A heatwave in France this summer has already claimed the lives of 64 French citizens this summer. According to Former VP Al Gore, global warming is caused by CO2 in the atmosphere. Could it be that all the hot air coming out of the French government is actually causing localized global warming over Gaul? Either way, this is quite a sad day for France. France now has to live with the knowlege that the American South is better equipped to cool off its citizens than France is. Switzerland is having its own problem with the current heat wave, namely how to properly care for the animals in the Zurich zoo. But, never fear, "zookeepers said they [have] been serving the animals ice creams made of berries, meat and bones to cool them down."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5217438.stm - I am always curious as to handle articles like this one. While I understand why it may be difficult for a German security force to guard the Israel-Lebanon border, the fact remains that current German soldiers should not have to feel guilty or be kept from doing their jobs because of the errors of the past. German soldiers have done amazing security work in recent years, especially in the Balkans and Afghanistan. The current situation Israel/Palestine/Lebanon should in no way be compared to the Holocaust, and it is almost a disservice to German soldiers to not give them the chance to put the past behind them by doing their jobs now. If Germany feels that it should be involved in this peacekeeping mission, it should not have to make the decision because of the past but rather should be able to make the decision based on where they stand currently. But, history will win out I'm sure. No one can see past the Holocaust anymore.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5218164.stm - I'm a horrible human being for thinking this was funny, because it really isn't, but the irony was too much even for me. Picture this, Wednesday, Liberia. Monrovia to be exact. Four world leaders (Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, and of course Liberia) sitting around, prolly noshing on something. Suddently, and without warning (as sudden occurances usually are), FIRE!!! The ironic part? This was the first time in fifteen years that Monrovian streetlamps had been turned on... This is horrible, it really is. But it is funny....

And that's the way the cookie crumbles...