WAR UPDATE: Loss of supply lines in Pakistan costs $100M a month, says Panetta.

The continued closure of Pakistani supply routes to U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan is costing the Pentagon nearly $100 million a month, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told Congress on Wednesday.

American military planners have been forced to use supply lines in Central Asia, known as the Northern Distribution Network, to move men and materiel to and from Afghanistan since last November, after an errant U.S. airstrike ended in the deaths of Pakistani troops. . . .

U.S.-Pakistani talks on the issue have since been suspended and the U.S. negotiators were pulled from the country on Monday.

If only we had someone who could solve this with smart diplomacy or something.

JOEL KOTKIN: Is Perestroika Coming To California?

IS MARYLAND THE NEXT CALIFORNIA?

FIGHT THE POWER: Blocking Gun Laws With Patents.

NIGEL FARAGE EXPLAINS THE EURO SITUATION.

JIM TREACHER: There are actual facts, and then there are PolitiFacts.

12 SIGNS OF THE EUROPOCALYPSE.

PROF. JACOBSON: We Are All Crackers Now. “You know it’s bad when a Democratic President is having trouble with the female postgrads.”

#DOJFAIL: Justice Department Won’t Retry John Edwards Case. They probably shouldn’t have brought it to begin with. Edwards is clearly a sleazeball, but it’s not so clear he’s a felon.

AT AMAZON, coupons galore in Grocery & Gourmet Food.

OUT: OBAMA GIRL.

In: Obama Boy.

HOW’S THAT CAMPAIGN TO SHUT UP BLOGGERS WORKIN’ OUT FOR YA?

UPDATE: Not so well.

ELECTION APOCALYPSE: Greeks Hoard Canned Food. “Nervous Greeks are withdrawing up to 800 million euros ($1.01 billion) a day and stocking up on canned food as they fear the country will be forced to leave the eurozone after this Sunday’s election.”

OUCH: Epic: Michelle Malkin Destroys Juan Williams After He Snidely Calls Her ‘Just a Blogger.’ “Considering it was bloggers who came to this boob’s defense after he was canned by NPR, condescendingly referring to Michelle Malkin as ‘just a blogger’ tonight on Hannity wasn’t exactly showing his thanks.”

#GREENFAIL: Solyndra Layoffs Much Larger Than Previously Reported: “Information like this represents a great deal of ammunition for Romney and his allies.”

ANDREW MCCARTHY: Obama’s Classified Leaks Are Probably Not Prosecutable.

TAXPAYER-FINANCED ELECTIONEERING: Homeland Security-Funded Study Pushing Tea Party Terrorism Narrative.

HOW’S THAT “SMART DIPLOMACY” WORKIN’ OUT FOR YA? (CONT’D): Global Opinion of Obama Slips, International Policies Faulted. “There remains a widespread perception that the U.S. acts unilaterally and does not consider the interests of other countries. In predominantly Muslim nations, American anti-terrorism efforts are still widely unpopular. And in nearly all countries, there is considerable opposition to a major component of the Obama administration’s anti-terrorism policy: drone strikes.”

2008 seems a long time ago, doesn’t it?

HOW TO AGE WELL. “One of the most important determinants of our emotional well being in our golden years might be whether we learn to stop worrying about what might have been.”

CAN SLEEP-DEPRIVATION cause junk-food cravings?

21ST CENTURY BIGOTRY: Study: Liberal Anti-Mormonism On The Rise.

RESEARCHING INFECTIOUS DISEASE TRANSMISSION ON AIRCRAFT. “A new study is expected to provide the first detailed information on how infectious diseases may be transmitted onboard commercial airliners. Sponsored by aircraft manufacturer Boeing, the research will document patterns of passenger movement inside aircraft cabins and inventory the microbes present in cabin air and on surfaces such as tray tables and lavatory fixtures. The information provided by the three-year study could help improve health and safety for both passengers and airline flight crews. Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University are working together on the project, in collaboration with environmental sustainability personnel from Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines.”

THE RISE OF NAKED VACATIONS:

When the Carnival Freedom sets sail from Florida next February for an eight-day cruise to Panama, it will offer the same amenities as any other Carnival cruise: three pools, a jogging track, a 1970s dance club and a cigar bar.

But there is one stark difference. Passengers on the white behemoth of a ship, which can carry 2,974 passengers, will enjoy those facilities naked.

Warning: Few, if any, of your fellow passengers will be supermodels.

LEGAL EDUCATION UPDATE: Competing Sets of Advice for Parents of Law School Applicants.

UPDATE: From the comments: “6. Keep their room intact as they will likely be moving back in after they graduate.”

CHANGE: How Aging Is Recorded In Our Genes. “Recent research suggests that changes in DNA methylation patterns as a person gets older may contribute to human diseases for which risk increases with age, including cancer. To get a better idea of how methylation patterns change with age, a team led by Manel Esteller, an epigenetics researcher at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute in Barcelona, Spain, looked at two extreme cases: A newborn male baby and a man aged 103 years.”