- The G-8, with all the backbone of the UN Security Council, issued a statement about concerns with the post-election violence in Iran. Supposedly, it expresses “growing impatience.” However, no new sanctions are imposed.
- It looks like Nancy Pelosi is right. A couple of months ago she said that the CIA had misled Congress. Now, CIA Director Leon Panetta said that the CIA did mislead Congress over the last eight years.
- 20,000 security troops poured into Urumqi as China tried to put a lid on the deadly protests there.
- Congresswoman Sheila Jackson’s tribute to Michael Jackson went on so long at Staples Center that the teleprompter cut in, “Please end your comments.”
- Arnold Schwarzenegger wants the world to know that he is “pro-fruit.” Schwarzenegger has expressed his dissatisfaction with the legislature’s discussion of pomegranate, blueberry and honey legislation, emphasizing that all efforts need to focus on the budget.
- Norm Coleman contributed $96,000 to Al Franken’s campaign. Well, actually, the court ordered him to pay that for legal expenses Franken incurred over Coleman’s legal actions.
- New York Governor David Patterson is seeking to end the State Senate stalemate by selecting a Lt. Governor. The position has been vacant since Patterson ascended to the governorship after Elliot Spitzer’s resignation. Most state officials doubt if Patterson has the power to make the appointment. The next move will be a court challenge.
- China is now the world’s largest auto market, surpassing the United States by 6.1 million vehicles to 4.8 million sold this year.
- North Carolina legislators engaged in a milk chugging contest to promote the state’s dairy industry.
- Past experiences with states issuing IOUs have resulted in them trading at 40% or lower their value. Hopefully, this doesn’t happen with California’s.
- The Chinese security forces may have modern anti-riot equipment to confront the Uyghur uprising, but they are also using crossbows. No kidding.
- According to a psychiatrist, Sarah Palin is “dogmatic, incurious, irascible, vindictive, dishonest, manipulative, trivial in her view of the world, and unjustifiably self-righteous,” but he is not certain she has narcissistic personality disorder.
- Kern County in California does not have as difficult of a budget crunch as it once thought it had. Kern County County officials found an extra $50 million. The problem is that they do not know where it came from. It looks like there will be some openings in the accounting department.
- Half of the Russian planes lost in the Georgian war came from friendly fire.
