Headlines under the fold

No I'm not watching the convention, but if you want to be up to date, Dave Barry is there: He missed the naked ladies protest, but:

Finally, after much wandering, we found the protest march. I have been to every national political convention since 1984, and I have seen many street protests, and I am here to tell you that, despite the fervent desire of the protesters to be edgy, they are by far the most traditional actors in the kabuki theater of American politics. These protesters were no exception: They were mostly young people carrying signs expressing their opposition to racism, sexism, fascism and of course capitalism, and they were shouting slogans that only they were listening to. They were far outnumbered by the news media and the police, who were busy closing streets so the protesters could pass through, to the annoyance of the actual public.

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via Dave Barry: 

UK Mail:How to make a rocket from Pasta.

don't tell the terrorists.
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DavidReneke discusses the Zodiac in history. The signs used for astrology are those of Babylon, but the sky has changed since then....

includes this factoid:

But for 17 days in December, the Sun does not sit in any of the 12 signs you’re familiar with. It rests in the constellation Ophiuchus. What’s an Ophiuchus? The Greeks believed this to be the god and inventor of medicine. Now the good doctor is up in the sky wrestling a snake. It’s a long story, but if you were born between Dec. 1 and 17, you may have to rethink your horoscope. According to astronomy, you are an Ophiuchus.

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PhysOrg: how hummingbirds avoid collisions.

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Tim Blair is tired of the press blaming the victims of terrorism for not being nice enough.

and Crisis magazine is tired of "catholic" blogs for ridiculing Maria Goretti's heroism as "slut shaming".

and despite all the rhetoric, biracial marriages and children are common and socially accepted.

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The Turkish coup question of the day: Why were the lists of who to purge already made up up before it happened? LINK2

update: Formerspook discusses, and has several background links on the issue.

we have had these small military coups all the time in the Philippines, but rarely have so many been arrested or purged or killed in them.

INdeed, Trilianes not only didn't go to jail for long, but he's a senator now.

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