WASHINGTON-State Department diplomat Nelson Milstrand, who appeared on CNN last week and offered an informed, thoughtful analysis implying that Israel could perhaps exercise more restraint toward Palestinian moderates in disputed territories, was asked to resign Tuesday. “The United States deeply regrets any harm Mr. Milstrand’s careful, even- ( Read more... )

Well, Canadian politics has certainly been shaken up tonight. Final results ( Read more... )

Sorry if that's an insufficiently serious/sober response, but it sums up my views at the moment. If my US friends (and heck, people from anywhere else) don't know what prompted it - for goodness sakes' turn on the newsCongrats to the US. I'm going to New York in about a week and wow, they're just going to be throwing a giant party ( Read more... )

I've just finished reading the Hunger Games trilogy and...wow. That is some heavy stuff for a series geared at teen readers. Suzanne Collins doesn't have Rowlings skill as a wordsmith and world-builder - actually, her writing style is fairly clunky - but the narrative is impressive ( Read more... )

The number of individuals in the US Senate whom I respect has just declined from 1 to 0.

Congratulations, Wisconsin.

If anyone wants a taste of old-timey HP ship wars, head over to Mark Reads Harry Potter. Chapter 14 is just the thing to bring all the old grudges out of the woodwork.

I can't reply with spoilers on Mark's site so I'm doing it here because some of his predictions are so hilarious. My replies are in bold

- Aunt Petunia will apologize to Harry for the way she has treated him. No.
- We will see Harry return to the Burrow. YES!- We will see the first Voldemort-related death of a Muggle before the halfway point of ( Read more... )

Just finished rereading DH for the nth time. I'd forgotten how good it is - by far the best of the series, even despite the inconsistent worldbuilding (Fidelius charm, wand ownership) because we get to see how the characters change and grow into adults. And I just love the Dumbledore storyline ( Read more... )

...is a humour site that relies heavily on dick jokes. Also, a more reliable and honest source of information than Fox, right-wing radio, any representative of the Republican Party, and many representatives of the Democratic Party.

A lot of the time, it feels like the comedians are the only ones in America with their heads screwed on straight.

A letter from the head spokesman of the Tea Party, Mark Williams, who has called Barack Obama a "welfare thug", in response to the NAACP's resolution calling for the Tea Partiers to denounce racists within their ranks ( Read more... )