President Obama on Dave Letterman last night:

"It's important to realize that I was actually black before the election."

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2009/09/68499503/1

WHAT’S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 11 Sep 09 Washington, DC

[snip]

4. CONTRACEPTION: THE CHEAPEST WAY TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS.
While the United States is focusing on reduction of greenhouse emissions by
technological means, the Optimum Population Trust in the UK issued a press
release this week comparing the cost of reducing CO2 emissions by
technological means to the cost of an equivalent CO2 reduction by investing
in family planning. It concluded that family planning is five times more
effective.

[snip]

googleffffffff8b83e373

A friend in Saskatchewan recently bought a computer and called me for help. "How do I change the language of this thing to English?  Everything's in French on this new machine!"

Helpful as any tech support guy I reply without hesitation: "haven't a clue."

"Then why did I call you?"

After a bit of googling and some back and forth we determine several things.

True story.

In college I had a crush on a very beautiful woman who, at that time,
was having difficulty with her marriage. A mutual friend told this
joke to her to illustrate that sex is all in the mind.

Q: What's a four letter word for intercourse, ending in "k"?

My beautiful friend, petite and fair, instantly turned a very becoming
shade of crimson, but said nothing.

"Why are you blushing?" says our mutual friend. "The answer is
'talk', obviously!"

My beautiful friend was delighted and said she must try the joke on
her husband. Next day she tells this sad story.

Fear of government control and dictatorship greeted local U.S. Representative Mike Rogers when he held a town hall style meeting yesterday at Monarch Estates, a retirement living community here in Auburn, Alabama.  The Opelika-Auburn News, the local paper here, sent reporter Brittany Whitley.  Click here for her full story, including some reader comments.

From Nature Materials, February 2009, Volume 8 No 2

Commentary

An inconvenient truth about thermoelectrics - pp83 - 85

Cronin B. Vining

doi:10.1038/nmat2361

Science Newssn-solar-2007 has a nice introduction to the role solar power may play in fighting global climate change.  Some telling statistics:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6575717.stm

BBC is reporting the "Sunni extremist surge seems to be having more effect than the American one."

One more example that Iraq is a Dollar Auction: each time we up the ante, so does "the extremists". Bush keeps telling us we can't afford to lose.  Trouble is, neither can the other side(s). So the game will go on until one side wises up and walks away.

Nothing to win here.  Please move on.