Quickies

Europe has it's own massive security scandal. Civil servants have sold the personal information of somewhere up to 100,000 persons. People worry about hackers and rightly so, but old fashioned methods of bribery are still effective and they always will be.

Iraqi Army units are fighting amongst themselves, but no worries - it's not a civil war yet.

Report from the Guardian on "desperate Republicans" (in the U.S.) chasing the black vote. Because the only reason Republicans would want black voters is if they were "desperate". *Sigh* Why can't our own media reach even this modest level of honesty? Clip:
'We have a lot of ground to make up, but we have a message that is resonating,' said Tara Wall, director of outreach communications for the national committee. 'We are now talking to people we have not been talking to before.'

By the way, I hear that Bush is planning on sending National Guard troops to the border. At least we finally have an explanation for the Iraq War. I mean, what better way to train troops on combat in desert conditions than to provide them with real life scenarios which I'm sure will be applicable in Arizona? Train the troops and send them on a junket at the same time! It's a win-win.

This animation video (mpg - 18 MB) by Winsor McCay from 1921 titled The Centaurs might not be safe for work since it features rather crudely drawn breasts and a baby centaur (implying sex). (hat tip to WFMU's Beware of the Blog)