speechless

Meanwhile, South Korea's foreign ministry claims the US has informed Seoul that it plans to redeploy a contingent of American troops from South Korea to Iraq.

from the BBC

I heard this on the radio this morning. I couldn't believe it. This is pretty much the unthinkable in US military policy in Asia. This tells me that things have reached a critical, almost catastrophic phase in Iraq. Given US policy in the last 50 years, it's more conceivable that we would move all regular active service units out of the continental US than move divisions out of Korea. This is the Bush administration's 1968: if the terrorists and/or al Sadr are able to launch a serious and concerted range of attacks on US troops in Iraq now, I would foresee a Tet Offensive-like situation where even complete military success becomes seen as the final straw, the ultimate evidence of US failure.

Even after Tet, though, the war went on for another 7 years...

wigging out

from the BBC

Orthodox Jews in New York and Israel have been burning wigs made of Indian human hair after rabbis ruled they may contravene religious law.

Hundreds gathered in the Brooklyn suburb of Williamsburg on Sunday to ignite a bonfire of more than 300 wigs.

Orthodox women often wear wigs because custom requires that they cover their own hair in public once married.

No offense to the Orthodox, but this has always been one of the silliest (IMO) examples of all the silly things that Torah-twisting can get you into. "You can't let other people see your hair," says the rebbe, "but, nu, if it's someone else's hair..." ROFLOL! If someone were to invent a silly interpretation of a religious principle, they might be hard-pressed to invent one sillier than this.

I find this hopeful

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/3718595.stm