Odds and Ends

My gaydar must be off, you took me by surprise, Dumbledore! Anyway, here's the news...

Climate change is creating all sorts of exciting new adventures for people. Here's how the Coast Guard is reacting: "The Coast Guard is planning its first operating base [in the Artic] as a way of dealing with the cruise ships and the tankers that are already beginning to ply Arctic waters... Such a long-hoped-for polar route would cut 5,000 miles or more from a journey that would otherwise entail passage through the Panama Canal or the Suez." Yay! :D

Turkish forces have "massed on the [Iraqi] border and tensions rose over a threatened military incursion," after a cease-fire with Kurdish rebels was rejected. Kevin Drum laments the lacking coverage of the details of all this.

The NY Times had a good editorial on immigration, Eliot Spitzer's controversial proposal, etc.

Andrew Sullivan actually has a decent piece on how the Bush years helped 'The Daily Show' and 'The Colbert Report' hone their satire skills, though I disagree that the shows have peaked. Hey, speaking of... check out the Daily Show's new video archive site!

Finally, Sen. Obama doesn't hate gay people. So why's he hanging around people who do?