He says he intends to return to work quickly.

The article mentions the possible connection between the tumor and his apparent hit-and-run last Wednesday.

Posted by: Ace at 12:25 PM | Comments (19)
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Milk again. Remember Saddam's famous "Milk Factory"? A milk factory in which the workers wore t-shirts reading MILK FACTORY, in English for some reason.

And now it's Milk Subterranean Distribution System. An underground railroad for dairy products.

Palestinian officials from the Gaza Strip have distributed a set of carefully-staged photographs they say are evidence that the smuggling tunnels running under the Gaza-Egypt border are for milk and other essential goods, not weapons.

The photographs show masked Palestinian militants lifting jugs of milk and sacks of baby food from the entrance to one of the tunnels on the Gaza side of the border.

Israel insists that the tunnels, of which intelligence estimates indicate there are hundreds, are used to import small arms and advanced weapons like heavy mortar shells, anti-tank missiles and anti-aircraft missiles. The tunnels are also said to be the conduit via which the Palestinians receive the material used to build their Kassam rockets.

Hamas has acknowledged Israel's position by insisting during ceasefire negotiations last month that it would not agree to halt smuggling efforts as part of the truce.

Uh-huh.

Iran immediately announced its 6000 high-speed centrifuges were only for the purpose of a new milk-blending technique they call "extreme homogenization."

"We need 400 gallons of 2%, Stat!"

Posted by: Ace at 12:03 PM | Comments (32)
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I'm posting this because just last night I flipped over to Extreme Makeover: Home Edition for the first time in like three years. As Ty announced that a family would get a brand-new house, I was about to say to the person I was watching with "And then they'll take out a huge loan on the house and lose it in a year." But I bit my tongue, because I didn't want to be a douche. And it is a cute show. So why be a dick.

But a previous family did in fact take out a $450,000 loan on their new home -- built by the free labor and donated materials of 1800 -- and are now in danger of losing it because they're not repaying.

ABC said in a statement that it advises each family to consult a financial planner after they get their new home. "Ultimately, financial matters are personal, and we work to respect the privacy of the families," the network said.

Some of the volunteers who helped build the home were less than thrilled about the family's financial decisions.

"It's aggravating. It just makes you mad. You do that much work, and they just squander it," Lake City Mayor Willie Oswalt, who helped vault a massive beam into place in the Harper's living room, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

On August 5, the house goes up for auction.

They had a free house. No mortgage. Owned it free and clear. All they had to do was pay taxes on it, which, while not insubstantial, is certainly far, far less than most people have to pay for their home.

Instead, they just took out a loan and then defaulted.

Eesh: Not only were they given a new house (with brand new furniture and appliances to boot), but it was a huge house, and they got $200,000 in addition, to pay (presumably) the taxes on the windfall and help put their kids through college.

More details here. They took out the loan, it's said, for a construction business that failed. I suppose that's... sort of understandable, but they needed to capitalize a construction business to the tune of nearly a half-million dollars?

Posted by: Ace at 11:35 AM | Comments (48)
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"The porn industry in Los Angeles just called. They want to get in on this too." more...

Posted by: Ace at 10:50 AM | Comments (42)
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That droning sound you hear off in the distance might be a drone.

A Pakistani military spokesman confirmed an incident had occurred in Waziristan, but said he was unaware of details, though intelligence officials in Wana gave a clearer picture.

One official told Reuters the madrasa, or religious school, was a militant base and the owner of the targeted house, a tribesman named Malik Sallat Khan, had ties with the militants.

"The owner of the house and seminary had some links with militants, and the madrasa was not used for education, but as a compound," he said.

UPDATE: Abu Khabab al-Masri, confirmed among those who recently suffered Sudden Entropy Increase, as sherlock puts it.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 06:59 AM | Comments (37)
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Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 06:32 AM | Comments (43)
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A deadly reminder that not everyone is happy about the new Iraq.

Three female suicide bombers killed 28 people and wounded 92 when they blew themselves up among Shi'ites walking through the streets of Baghdad on a religious pilgrimage on Monday, Iraqi police said.

In the northern oil city of Kirkuk a suicide bomber killed 22 people and wounded 150 at a protest against a disputed local elections law, Iraqi health and security officials said.

The attacks mark one of the bloodiest days in Iraq in months and underscored the fragility of recent security gains in the country, where violence is at its lowest level since early 2004.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the Baghdad blasts but Sunni Islamist al Qaeda often targets Shi'ite pilgrims. It considers Shi'ism -- the majority Muslim denomination in Iraq -- heretical.

While the trends in Iraq are undeniably good, as General Petraeus reminded everyone over the weekend it's still too early to declare complete victory.

Posted by: DrewM at 06:16 AM | Comments (28)
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This is a pretty exciting development. Now we can genetically screen to see if people will have undesirable side effects from taking statin cholesterol drugs. Death, is one of the more ummm inconvenient possible side effects if you have this genetic issue with the drugs.

...A DNA test based on these findings could guide doctors as to whether a patient at high risk of heart disease will cope with a high dose of a statin, which might be more effective than a standard dose at preventing a heart attack or stroke. If a patient doesnÂ’t have the gene variation, theyÂ’re likely to be at low risk of myopathy even on high statin dose.'...

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 11:18 AM | Comments (18)
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If a Saturday publish date doesn't reduce exposure enough, try just not running it at all.

Tom Maguire notes the AP's story failed to even mention the word "surge" -- after all, Obama is being pummeled for his obstinate opposition to it; better to not mention the victory is due (largely) to the surge -- and of course credits Bush and McCain not at all. Bush in fact is only mentioned once, in order to denigrate him (for declaring "Mission Accomplished").

Posted by: Ace at 11:18 AM | Comments (39)
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Watch it quick if you're interested.

Ghost of a Flea's version was already taken down for copyright infringement.

Posted by: Ace at 10:43 AM | Comments (13)
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