Hasn't Turkey said that it could not abide the formation of an autonomous Kurdish state?  I can see why they'd be nervous, since it presents so many problems.  I'll just start with the biggest:  Once Kurdistan has a nice army of it's own - also allowed by the constitution - what's to stop the Kurds in the south of Turkey from all of a sudden purposefully turning to the west... with weapons in hand.  All of a sudden, Kurdistan just got a lot bigger.  I'd be worried about it, if I was Turkey (I pretend to specialize in thinking like large, diverse groups of people).  It also puts the pressure on to deal with the situation quickly, since it's the formation of the army that presents the problem.

Furthermore, Turkey is what's left of the Ottoman Empire - filled with furniture for some reason.  Culturally they have had a taste of great power - and I think they'll be damned before they have to give up MORE of the Empire.

Alright, this is not only hilarious, but also might have further utility in our anti-corruption, smart-government crusade.

This article from the Orlando Sentinel details the laughability of it all.  Drink deep of one of my favorites - pseudoscience!

Four years ago, as the state labored to eradicate citrus canker by destroying trees, officials rejected other disease-fighting techniques, saying unproven methods would waste precious time and resources. But for more than six months, the state, at the behest of then-Secretary of State Katherine Harris, did pursue one alternative method -- a very alternative method.

Once again, one of our troop transport Chinooks has been shot down in Afghanistan.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4631947.stm

That's an unbelievably unfortunate trick for them to be able to pull off.  Let's hope it doesn't get to be any more regular than it has been.

CNN just played a video clearly showing the planning and execution of the attack on the Mosul.  They have drawn out plans with a good deal of detail of the interior.  There's also the obligatory "death to the crusaders" section.  The most shocking part, however, is video from about a half a mile away of the actual explosion.  The optical zoom they're using results in a fairly close-up shot of the explosion going off, and it looks frighteningly powerful.  The fireball rises to at least 30ft off the ground, while ripping the thin roof backwards.

I've been mulling this plan for a few months now.  My family and I have travelled extensively in the area, and after the work and stress of the campaign, it seemed like an excellent time to get away and unwind.

We're still working on exact details, but I just wanted to post this to gauge interest.  I can't think of people I'd rather spend time with than our like-minded friends here at Kos.

Also, feel free to pass this on to any of your friends.

There were 2 occasions on which you could see the top half of Bush's in-debate scratch paper as he flipped it over.  There was writing on it which could undoubtedly be picked out if someone had a quality digital copy.  So, has anyone out there captured the feed raw and not compressed it yet?