Saudi king warns West will be jihadists' next target AFP 1 hr ago  —  Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) (AFP) - King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has warned that the West will be the next target of the jihadists sweeping through Syria and Iraq, unless there is “rapid” action.

Considering Catcalls  —  No one is catcalling Rosie O'Donnell, Barbara Bush, or Janet Napolitano.  No one is catcalling my plump elderly mother as I wheel her down the sidewalk in her wheelchair.  Marilyn Monroe once observed that she could walk down the sidewalk without drawing attention …

Myth of arctic meltdown: Stunning satellite images show summer ice cap is thicker and covers 1.7million square kilometres MORE than 2 years ago...despite Al Gore's prediction it would be ICE-FREE by now  — Seven years after former US Vice-President Al Gore's warning, Arctic ice cap has expanded for second year in row

Douglas Carswell's defection to Ukip is a seismic shock to the British political system  —  There are very few MPs I admire more than Douglas Carswell.  He is principled, decent, and has gone into politics for all the right reasons.  He believes in all the things to which ordinary politicians pay lip service …

McConnell campaign chief resigns amid scandal  —  Jesse Benton resigned as Sen. Mitch McConnell's campaign manager Friday following reports that he had emerged as a figure in an endorsement scandal during the 2012 Iowa presidential caucus.  —  In an emailed statement Friday evening …

Coverage for End-of-Life Talks Gaining Ground  —  DUNDEE, N.Y. — Five years after it exploded into a political conflagration over “death panels,” the issue of paying doctors to talk to patients about end-of-life care is making a comeback, and such sessions may be covered for the 50 million Americans on Medicare as early as next year.

Walnut Creek officer accused of beating woman with bat  —  A man who'd been in charge of upholding the law for three decades is now accused of breaking it.  Richmond police arrested an off-duty Walnut Creek Police Officer for allegedly donning a mask and beating a woman with a baseball bat on August 16.

Lost chapter of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory published  —  Chapter with more characters and Quentin Blake illustration deemed ‘too wild’ for British children appears for first time  —  A lost chapter of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, deemed too wild, subversive and insufficiently moral …

Why the $#&@!  Did Your Airline Cancel Your Flight Today?  They Had a Very Good Reason.  —  An airline-industry expert explains why you get screwed over—and how to avoid it  —  Comedian Louis CK has absolutely no patience for the complaints of airline passengers, as he explains in one very funny, albeit profanity-laced bit.