Irish Hotels and Unorthodox Lullabies

Wow! A post that's not lame and/or short! First, the news.

AP: No More Opium, No More Money for Afghan Villagers - Apparently, there are villages in Afghanistan where opium has been used as currency for years, and the opium crackdown is adversely impacting those villages. This is where some of that international development effort ought to be coming into play.

AP: U.K. Military Raises Concerns about Fat Soldiers - This follows up on a story from December in which many German soldiers were also rated too fat to fight.

BBC: Taliban slick propaganda confronts US

BBC: Cactus commerce boosts Morocco - Brilliant!

BBC: Chechnya ambush leaves five dead - But the Russkies swear, combat operations in Chechnya have come to a close.

BBC: Haggis is English, historian says - Mother of God.

Guardian gallery: Satellite eye on Earth - Gorgeous satellite pictures.

Guardian: All the President's E-mails - One of the comedy writers at the Guardian pokes fun at President Obama's "beer summit". Hilarious. Go have a look.

Guardian: Armed forces face deep changes, says minister - "Bill Rammell says MoD needs to 'rebalance investment in technology, equipment and people' to meet demands of warfare." Gee, ya think? Start with helicopters, chaps.

Guardian: US Episcopal church nominates gay and lesbian priests for assistant LA bishop - The leadership of the Episcopal Church has about the same level of maturity as a room full of kindergarteners. Seriously.

Guardian: The ugly truth about The Ugly Truth - A feminist whines about Hollywood. She makes a few good points.

Times: NATO chief: EU Nato members 'not doing enough' - Absolutely correct. The United States can carry a lot of the load, but the issues we're facing after eight years in Afghanistan are symptoms of European NATO member states that have become complacent, and who are content with letting American troops fight their battles. In most cases, it's not a failing of the troops, it's a failing of their governments and their electorates.

Times: Buried riddle of girl in cellar stirs again - An article about the Austrian girl who was kidnapped and forced to live in a dungeon in the cellar. Not the one who was kidnapped and repeatedly impregnated by her father; the other Austrian girl who was forced to live in a cellar dungeon. Maybe Austrian's should take a cue from their neighbors and obsess over David Hasselhoff, as opposed to the concept of imprisoning girls in basements.

AFP: US calls missile defense test in Hawaii a success - But trust the peaceniks: the system could never work.

UPI: Defense budget cuts favor independents

Fars: Iraqi MP Urges for Rapid Expulsion of MKO Members - Iran really hates the MEK/MKO.

Michael Yon: Resurrection - Another excellent update from Michael Yon, writing from Sangin, Afghanistan.

Michael Totten: Hamas Pretends that Resistance is Futile - Michael Totten has a great update on a recent disingenuous statement by Hamas leader Khaled Meshal. As always, very much worth the read.

When I was in Ireland, I went to the Octagon Bar at the Clarence Hotel, in the Temple Bar area of Dublin. You can see the satellite view here, and just for the record, there's a pretty decent diner nearby called Eddie Rocket's, just in case you're hungry. Why would I go to the Octagon Bar, and in fact, go twice? Simple: it's owned by Bono and The Edge, and I was hoping they'd show up. That would have been sweet.

So, I was looking a few things up last week, and I learned something very surprising: Bono, The Edge, and their co-owners have decided to revamp the hotel and expand it by about ninety rooms. There were some complaints, but the permit was ultimately approved. And apparently, this all happened like, two years ago, and I only just learned of it. I guess the moral of the story is don't mess with Bono and The Edge.

One last thing: Karen Alloy, AKA Spricket24, finished up the bun that was in her oven.



Miraculous - not only the baby, but the fact that she sings "Kung Fu Fighting" as a lullaby... Oh, what the heck, one more semi-related video: "Lullaby" by Stephen Lynch. If I'm ever allowed to make a baby with Themis, Goddess of Justice, this will probably be the kind of lullaby we'll sing to the kid.



Check in tomorrow for more from yours truly, and have a great day.