Violence In Burma

This week, Burma made headlines around the world. The Guardian fills us in on why the military and monks are at odds, while the Times of London details the history of oppressive rule in the country. And why is it called Myanmar and Burma? The BBC News explains.

Here Come The Judgments

AP (via MSNBC) reports a federal judge has ruled that two parts of the Patriot Act are unconstitutional. The parts in question are the ones that allow searches without probable cause. You know, Fourth Amendment to U.S. Constitution-foundation of our system of government-type stuff.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed hear arguments on whether lethal injection is constitutional. The Reuters video is below.

Dollar for Dollar

Remember those days when you could travel north to Canada get a great exchange rate on their dollar? You could spend a lot of time and money on St. Catherine’s Street in Montreal (You know who you are, and you know what you did!). CTV reports those big-dollar days – big U.S. dollar-days – are over.

Long-Winded, But..

By now, you’ve probably heard about that University of Florida student who was tased (or is it, “tasered”?) at the John Kerry event. This kid was definitely running off at the mouth and over-staying his welcome at the mic. But as you can see from the video below, it didn’t seem to warrant the cops tackling and tasing the guy. The top video below shows his questions (yes, there was more than one). The bottom video is a better view of the cops’ "answer" to his question. In that one, it appears one the cops was quick to pull his gun.

A Quick Flip

Rally Acident - The most amazing videos are a click away

"240 Me"

Are you stranded at the airport because your flight was cancelled, delayed or overbooked? This Aviation.com article (via MSNBC.com) explains there’s a now-expired airline regulation – rule 240 – that might help you get to where you need to be.

#2 No More

Bin Laden wanted to make sure we didn’t forget about him and released two video messages right before the sixth anniversary of 9/11. But this Bruce Hoffman op-ed piece in the Washington Post suggests Osama’s, “time of active involvement in al-Qaeda operations is behind him.” The real threat, says Hoffman, is his #2, Ayman al-Zawahiri: “He may lack bin Laden's charisma, but Zawahiri is the superior strategist.” “He has not only revived the movement's fortunes but has also made it once again the global threat poised to strike the United States that was depicted in the National Intelligence Estimate released in July.” Read the entire piece here.

Astronomy 101: F

What’s worse? The contestant had to think about it for more than two minutes, or more than half the audience thinks the same thing?

A Little Bit Softer, Now

Pro football season officially kicked-off on Sunday. If you think the hits are getting harder, they can now be measured. Time magazine reports there is a new helmet that can measure how hard a player is hit in the head. So far, a few colleges are using the $1,000 helmets.