RIP Richard Pryor

Comedian Richard Pryor dies at 65 (Mercury News)

A heart attack. Damn it.

We've Got Him Right Where He Wants Us

Charles Krauthammer of the Washington Post (who are going to demand a registration in order to view the document, so visit BugMeNot) opines that Saddam Hussein should be tried in a glass box, which marks one of the few things I happen to agree with him on. (I'm still undecided on whether the glass box should have breathing holes. . . .)

Broken clock, twice a day, yadda yadda.

Move Aside, Jackie Chan

Sure, they're not martial arts pros, but these Russian Le Parkour kids are outstanding gymnasts, and the city is their jungle gym.

This video from Google Video knocked my socks off. (Google vid; sound optional; some silly film-making aspiration wankery; doesn't want to work with Firefox on my Mac, but opens fine in Safari.)

Why Iraq Has No Army

Atlantic Monthly has a fascinating (and horrifying) article on why Iraq's army and police forces are slowly but surely becoming less and less capable of holding the country together. What continues to amaze is just how little is being done to resolve issues stemming from problems created when we first got there.