People come. People go.

I missed posting more on Friday and posting at all on Saturday due to the arrival of a friend long since gone to the Army. Due to my own choices, he was still in high school the last time I saw him. He's now 26 and on working on his second marriage.

Anywho, where was I? Ah, yes: the News.

A bomb explodes in Catak, a town in Eastern Turkey near the border with Iran. There was reportedly a suspicioud package in a tea garden (really an outdoor cafe) and the police were summoned. The package exploded as polic arrived killing one of the officers as well as a bystander. It is believed to be the work of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Turkey has been pressuring the United States and the UN to erradicate hideoutsi n neighboring Iraq.

Over 200 Taliban and 4 Canadian soldiers die in Southern Afghanistan. NATO has begun Operation Medusa since taking over the area near Kandahar in July. They also are working with Afghan troops.

Lieutnenat James Daniel of the United states Army has recommended that three soldiers face the death penalty. Army Staff Sgt Raymond Girouard, Spc William Hunsaker, Pfc Corey Claggett and Spc Juston Graber admitted to killing detainees during Operation Iron Triangle in Tikrit in May. They also threatened another soldier if he told anyone about the killings. The last US soldier to be executed was in 1961. Even though there is precedent, it is rare.

The beleaguered nation of Myanmar (Burma) has not had a constitution in a long time. It has actually been run by the miltary since 1962. Aung San Suu Kyi and her political party won election in 1990 by a very large margin but she has never been allowed to govern. Apparently things may be changing... for the better. At various times there have been talks to building a new constitution in an effort to create a democracy. The US has put pressure on the UN to put this in their security council agenda. We'll see if this makes a difference.

Another news item related to Myanmar: Karen refugees livingi ncramped camps in THailand have finally been given the greenlight to live somewhere after nearly 10 years. THe United States is taking them. There was a clause in a National Security Act that banned people who had contact with Rebel forces. This has been waived. The clause is set up to get those who were in the armed forces, not those who happen to live amongst the hotspots they came from. It would be like banning the Irish because the PIRA came from Dublin. There may be 130,000 coming to live here in the US. Welcome!!!

Europe's first spacecraft to the moon crashes after its three year mission. And they were happy about it. It crashed in the Lake of Excellence and sent debris kilometeres into space. They hope that the behavior of the debris will help them study the geology and composition of the moon. Wouldn't getting moon rocks back be better?

This should not be considered news. The American Journal of Preventative Medicine found that those who live in extreme poverty tend to have more chronic illnesses. In other words: you poor, you sick. It does not take a great stretch of the imagination to notice that those who cannot affored to eat well and by extension, live well, will not be well. If a large part of your caloric intake comes from nutritionally poor substances because its affordable then your diet does not help you either. This is news?

Tom Cruise apologized to Brooke Shields. Its been some time since he's made some dubiously sane remarks on the Today Show about Brooke Shields and her treatment for post-partem depression. She decided to anti-depressants to help with extreme symptoms of the depression. In his conversation with Today Show host Matt Lauer, he slammed Shields for her decision and used her as an example of those that should seek help from Scientology, a religion he espouses. He also heralded himself as an expert on psychiatric pharmaceuticals though he is only a highly (over)paid movie star. Cruise, though sincere according to Shields, may be motivated by Paramount dropping his production company and features that he was working on. At the time, he, his associates and his representatives waved it off like it was nothing. But it may have made Cruise think twice about being such a jerk.

Lastly, Andre Agassi ended his 21 year career Sunday after losing to Benjamin Becker. Becker, ranked only 112th, beat him in three sets to move past the third round of the US Open, in New York. As Agassi left Arthur Ashe Stadium, he waved to crowd and was honored with a four minute ovation. He will now be able to spend more time with his wife, Tennis champion Steffi Graf, and their two children.