And now for something completely different

[mao4269]

US NEWS

• After the recount, Franken won the Minnesota senate race. 
• There's a new, optimistic push for DC finally getting a vote in Congress.  Overall I think that's fabulous, it's about time D.C. got a say in the body to which they pay taxes and that has veto power over every aspect of their governance (though I realize that even if the bill passes there's the slight detail that it's unconstitutional and will almost certainly be challenged in court), but one quote in the article irked me.  "The people of the District have been the direct target of a terrorist attack but they have no vote on how the federal government provides for their homeland security".  Uh, Lieberman, I really hope you aren't referring to Sept. 11 'cause you've been in Congress way to long not to know that the Pentagon is in Virginia.
• Burris was turned away at the Senate.

OTHER NEWS

• Russia halts natural gas flow to Ukraine for 3rd day.  Not to minimize the situation in Gaza (their lack of fuel to run electricity generators, water pumps, and sewage treatment is a huge problem), but I have to admit, my first thought when I saw this story was, "Holy crap, at least Gaza doesn't have Russian winters!"  Anyway, apparently the natural gas embargo is starting to affect other parts of Europe, too.
• Smoker-stink is a health hazard, and now they've given it it's own name: "third hand smoke".
• You've heard of that disparity in survival rates between thinner women with ovarian cancer and their obese peers?  Apparently it goes away when you adjust the dosage by weight, which begs the question of why that wasn't standard practice before.
• Israel was successfully sued for discriminating against Reform synagogues.

OTHER
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