WOW  JUST WOW:  The Universe Is Not Only Stranger Than We Imagine…  A planet with four suns… I wonder if there’s a way to write it habitable…

CRACKED: In Reversal, Cash Leaks Out of China. Years ago my friend and colleague Dave Freer told me that China’s economy was a beautiful lacquered vase, all cracked underneath. I’ve yet to find a reason to doubt him.

IN WHICH CASE THE ELECTION CAN’T COME SOON ENOUGH: Small Study Reveals How Poor Sleep Might Be Linked to Obesity, Diabetes Because I plan to sleep for the week after.  Of course if government takes this to heart we’ll all be issued sleeping pills punctually at nine pm, bars in NYC will be forced to close at nine p.m. and late shows will be strictly forbidden.  (Is this where I shout WAKE UP?)

PYRRHIC:  Biden’s toxic victory.  As  General Nathanael Greene said “I wish we could sell them another hill at the same price.”

EUROPE STANDS UP FOR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS:  Against Google. No, seriously. (I’m having trouble not saying this is like two wolves arguing whether they want their sheep broiled or baked. So, I guess I’ll say it.)

THIS IS WHAT MY GUT SAYS:  Romney Wins In A Landslide — Las Vegas Oddsmaker Doubles Down on Prediction.  I’ll point out though I have never won a lottery or even a raffle, and my head is worried sick.

SHOCKED, I TELL YOU: Legal Expert: Salazar Violated Hatch Act During Colorado Campaign Swing.

KAISER HAS A CUNNING PLAN: Kaiser’s Faux ‘Study’ of Premium Support  The only resemblance to the Ryan-Wyden plan is that it is in fact also a plan.

DESTINY: The picture that proves Felix Baumgartner always dreamed of reaching for the skies.

SOMEONE TELL THE PRESIDENT: Chinese paratroopers storm island during mass exercise.

A recent joint exercise by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army is caught on camera, as the world’s largest military force mounts a show of strength in response to mounting tension with Japan over disputed islands.

Apparently a weakened US does NOT mean peace on Earth.  — Unexpectedly!

ARAB SPRING: Great News: Arms to Syrian Rebels Going Mainly to Jihadists

ABOUT TIME: Romney campaign files federal suit to ensure all military ballots count in Wisconsin

I HATE BEING PUT INTO GROUPS ON FACEBOOK: One of those, recently was for “Progressive Women in SF” — which means that some people have a google dysfunction.  (I mean I don’t talk politics on my writer accounts, but all the same I’m no longer in the political closet!)  So I cheered Eric on as I read this.  Quitters are joiners who never joined, while joiners are quitters who never quit!

PAYING IT BACKWARD: Kristine Katherine Rusch, whose blog I’ve linked here before, gave me — and a lot of other writers — a start in the field with her writing workshops.  Now she and her husband Dean Wesley Smith are doing the same for a generation of indie-publishing writers.  And Kris has contributed to helping writers with Her Freelancer’s Survival Guide.

We don’t always see eye to eye in politics (though both of us have changed so much the last ten years, who knows anymore? [Me?  I’m now a small l libertarian]) but she’s a great teacher and always a great writer.  She is also prolific, so there’s something for everyone.   First there’s Blowback, which is on audio first and will be in print in December.  Then there’s her acclaimed Retrieval Artist SF series, of which the first book is The Disappeared.  If you read romance, try Charming Blue, a light, sweet romance.  For darker Romance try  Assassins in love: Assassins Guild.  Her mysteries are being reissued, starting with Dangerous Road.  And she has FREE stories on her blog every Monday.   Free is always good, particularly these days. Give her a try.

CAMPAIGN OPERATIVES WITH BYLINES: Wag That Dog: Obama Administration Reveals Top Secret Plans To Surprise-Bomb Something, Somewhere, To World Media

WITHOUT EVEN TRYING: Amazon.com Exposes The Fraudulent Nature Of The 2008 Bank Bailouts.

PROGRESSING BACK TO THE MIDDLE AGES: Germany facing power blackouts

OF COURSE HE DID: Fidel Castro ‘recruited Nazi SS members to train troops during Cuban missile crisis’.  Red fascism, black fascism; international socialism, national socialism; six, meet half a dozen — Making one hip and burying the other was always a sign that Western intellectuals had bought Agit Prop.

TEASING THE MULLAHS:  Tiny Azerbaijan unleashes pop-power against Iran’s mullahs. (My alternate intro for this would be I WANT TO TEACH THE WORLD TO SING.)

MORE EDUCATION BUBBLE UNDERPINNINGS: Biased Against the Bright  And as the mother of bright kids, I must tell you some bias is impossible to eliminate.  Teachers tend to encourage people who resemble them (which is why driving men out of teaching was a serious mistake) and the majority of teachers like the majority of everything else are “average.” But “social justice” and Marxism make this (as everything else they touch) worse.

LOWER EDUCATION BUBBLE:  Exam schools.

When my kids were going through K-12, I found “gifted” meant mostly “will do what the teacher wants.”  Real gifted kids, with the scores to prove it, were more often than not treated as “behavior problems” even if perfectly respectful and controlled.  I’m not surprised “exam schools” are showing up to meet the need, but my bet is they too will get watered down, because let’s face it, if you cater to the top 2% your client base won’t be very large and not all of those people can afford expensive private schools.  (In my experience, in fact, most of the poorer parents took at its face value the teacher’s assessment that their kid was a “bad seed.”)  There has to be a better way to educate our young in the age of computers.

MERE SCRATCH, WILL BUFF RIGHT OFF: US Navy cruiser collides with nuclear submarine.

THE PAST ECHOES IN THE PRESENT: In everything we say, there is an echo of 1066

YOU CAN’T FIGHT A CULTURE WAR IF YOU AIN’T GOT NO CULTURE: Is what L. Neil Smith used to say.  In the interest of disintermediating the culture gatekeepers and destabilizing the cultural-industrial complex — which makes giving my readers and friends a leg up sound so culturally relevant! — every week I put up a post with links to my commenters’ books and other work.  Here is this week’s post.

OPERATION DEMORALIZE CONTINUES: Pollsters: 1/5 of Ohio Vote Already In! Me: Bull by CAC over at Ace Of Spades Headquarters.