Julie Brown - “‘Cause I’m a Blonde!”

(A little lighter fare, to break up the news)

For planning purposes, the Army is gearing up to keep current troop levels in Iraq for another four years, a new indication that conditions there are too unstable to foresee an end to the war.

Gen. Peter Schoomaker, the Army chief of staff, cautioned against reading too much into the planning, which is done far in advance to prepare the right mix of combat units for expected deployments. He noted that it is easier to scale back later if conditions allow, than to ramp up if they don’t.

“This is not a prediction that things are going poorly or better,” Schoomaker told reporters. “It’s just that I have to have enough ammo in the magazine that I can continue to shoot as long as they want us to shoot.”

Even so, his comments were the latest acknowledgment by Pentagon officials that a significant withdrawal of troops from Iraq is not likely in the immediate future. There are now 141,000 U.S. troops there.

AP story here

The President of Zogby Polling says the methodology of the Lancet poll showing 655,000 have died in Iraq is good. He adds 30,000 Iraqi deaths is preposterous.

h/t to Joewo from San Mateo for this video.

Asiatic black bear takes a rest at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo.
(Photo/Mainichi Shimbun)

For an obvious reason, I am naming this bear Purple Star

100 Most Often Mispronounced Words and Phrases

100 Most Often Misspelled Words

it’s shameful, shameful……I’ve never seen the department do this before.

Marijuana may help stave off Alzheimer’s
Active ingredient in pot may help preserve brain function

Good news for aging hippies: smoking pot may stave off Alzheimer’s disease.

New research shows that the active ingredient in marijuana may prevent the formation of deposits in the brain associated with the degenerative disease.

Researchers at the Scripps Research Institute in California found that marijuana’s active ingredient, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, can prevent an enzyme called acetylcholinesterase from accelerating the formation of “Alzheimer plaques” in the brain more effectively than commercially marketed drugs.

THC is also more effective at blocking clumps of protein that can inhibit memory and cognition in Alzheimer’s patients, the researchers reported in the journal Molecular Pharmaceutics.

The researchers said their discovery could lead to more effective drug treatment for Alzheimer’s, the leading cause of dementia among the elderly.

Those afflicted with Alzheimer’s suffer from memory loss, impaired decision-making, and diminished language and movement skills. The ultimate cause of the disease is unknown, though it is believed to be hereditary.

Marijuana is used to relieve glaucoma and can help reduce side effects from cancer and AIDS treatment.

Reuters article here

SMALL AIRCRAFT CRASHES INTO MANHATTAN BUILDING

A small plane has crashed into a building in New York City’s Upper East Side, causing a serious fire.

TV pictures show flames and smoke coming out of the high-rise building on Manhattan island.

The FBI has told the BBC that there is no indication that the crash is terrorism-related.

A spokeswoman for the New York Fire Department said the aircraft had struck the 20th floor of a building on East 72nd Street.

Witnesses told the Associated Press news agency the crash caused a loud noise, and burning and falling debris was seen.

BBC story here

UPDATE FROM CNN

Additional info:
The small plane was registered to NY Yankees Cory Lidle. He and one other person were the only ones in the plane and both were killed. A distress call was made before the crash.

White House politico Karl Rove, whose legacy as a strategist hinges on Republicans- fate at the polls on Nov. 7, has raised more than $12 million for GOP candidates this election cycle.

The total is remarkable for a White House staffer, more than any aide has been known to raise before, and confirms Rove’s place among the most celebrated strategists in American political history.

The Hill article here

Sorry. The pic is a fake.

The BBC asks this question:

Will you be voting in the mid-term elections?

The comments are most interesting.