A Very Bad Sign or Marketing Genius?

I'm going with both, although I'm glad to hear it will soon be illegal (who would let their child do that?)

My Very Thoughts

The Bush Family and American Fiscal Discipline

Obamania Theme Song

Don't get me wrong, I'll vote for the man, but the who Obamamania (an actual word in use in the US) is a bit much.

My Ancestress Came from Atlantis

Through my American grandmother, I am part Mohegan. It is a very small part and I have little to do with the actual tribes, but I'm still proud of my long family history in the US (as well as in Europe), even if it is a small one. Now it appears that this connection may be older than I typically think; new research suggests that nearly all (95 percent) of Native Americans are related to six women who came over roughly 18,000 - 21,000 years ago, most likely to Beringia, a piece of land now submerged beneath the Bering Strait which divides the US and Russia. Which is pretty neat, I think, although its hard to picture actual family doing things like crossing the land bridge into a new continent that long ago.

Top U.S. Commander in Mideast Resigns Early

Respected military official has a differing opinion, which, once this is made public, resigns. I am disappointed, but not surprised.

An excerpt...

WASHINGTON - The top U.S. military commander for the Middle East resigned Tuesday amid speculation about a rift over U.S. policy in Iran. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that Adm. William J. Fallon, whose area of responsibility includes Iraq, had asked for permission to retire and that Gates agreed.

Ga tes said the decision, effective March 31, was entirely Fallon's and that Gates believed it was "the right thing to do."

Fallon was the subject of an article published last week in Esquire magazine that portrayed him as opposed to President Bush's Iran policy. It described Fallon as a lone voice against taking military action to stop the Iranian nuclear program.

"Recent press reports suggesting a disconnect between my views and the president's policy objectives have become a distraction at a critical time and hamper efforts in the Centcom region," Fallon, who is traveling in Iraq, said in a statement issued by his U.S. headquarters in Tampa, Fla.

"And although I don't believe there have ever been any differences about the objectives of our policy in the Central Command area of responsibility, the simple perception that there is makes it difficult for me to effectively serve America's interests there," he said.

A Different Perspective on the "Terrorist Threat"

The following is an American cartoon is from 1919, but, barring the identity of the Scary Terrorist (I blurred the label), it could be from today. That threat and the social uproar over that group is long gone, which is a hopeful sign for resolving the current debate. Anyway, you can find the identity of the bomber and the history behind him by clicking on the image, but before you do that, try to guess who it could be...

A Disturbing Sign of Housing and Credit Difficulties in the US

There is a service called You Walk Away now available in America which, for 1,000 USD, will help you set up a way to walk away from your mortgage, aka give up the house and let the bank foreclose. A growing number of people are doing this, as their mortgage rates go up as interests rise yet the value of their house declines, leaving them making payments on houses they can't afford which are worth less than what they owe.

The service promises to help you do this while avoiding calls from creditors, staying in your house without payments for eight months and removing the foreclosure from customers' credit record (I guess have to promise the eight-months-without-payments part in order to get people already in serious financial trouble to give them a thousand dollars). But the fact that such a service exists means that enough people are in a situation to considered walking away from their home and mortgage that You Walk Away thought that a business was viable. I'm sure it is, and all of the press coverage will only help.