Wake me when it’s Tuesday

In Iraq, the brother of the Vice President is assassinated in his own home. Several hundred police are poisoned at the iftar, the evening meal during Ramadan.

Stay the course? Does anybody in charge know what the hell they are doing?

Moving on, it has been pretty well confirmed that North Korea successfully tested a nuclear weapon yesterday. Even compared to Iraq, this is the biggest foreign policy failure for the Bush Administration thus far. Expect a much more aggressive posture from South Korea and Taiwan, and for Japan to remilitarize. Way to fucking go guys – top notch job.

In the US, the Foley scandal gets worse for the GOP. For the AP:

The Washington Post reported Sunday night that Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.), confronted Foley about his Internet communications with teenagers as early as 2000.

The Post said that a former page showed Kolbe some Internet messages from Foley that had made the page uncomfortable. Kolbe's press secretary, Korenna Cline, told the Post that a Kolbe staff member advised the page last week to discuss the matter with the clerk of the House.

So they have known for six years. Explanations for Republican House leadership’s actions are coming down to two bad options: either they lied and covered up to preserve political power at the expense of kids' wellbeing or they are so manifestly incompetent that they recklessly endangered kids. Not a choice that any pol wants to make thirty days from an election.

And finally, CBGB, the birthplace of puck rock and home to some of the seminal bands of the 70’s and 80’s, is closing its doors and moving to (gasp! say it ain’t so) Las Vegas. That hurts…

This is no way to begin a week.