Blog sprinkles

• Rumpus over nuclear warheads in Pakistan:

Nuclear fallout rocks Pakistan
By Syed Saleem Shahzad

ISLAMABAD - Sharp differences between Pakistani leaders over safeguarding the country's nuclear arsenal are placing increasing pressure on the embattled administration of President Asif Ali Zardari.

Zardari is already seriously at odds with the military establishment over dealing with the Taliban-led insurgency and there is a strong likelihood that his government will face a make-or-break test within weeks in the form of mass street protests.

Pakistan has reacted strongly to an article in The New Yorker by investigative reporter Seymour Hersh on November 16, "Defending the arsenal", in which he claimed that Pakistan was discussing "understandings" with the US that could even see specialists take sophisticated nuclear triggers out of the country to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands.

• Excellent Afghanistan Conflict Monitoring site and Pakistan Conflict Monitoring site. And considering the Taliban in Afghanistan.

• When you can have only one child and that one is a girl, you might be tempted to buy a kidnapped boy off the black market.

• Michele Obama talks about the need for dedicated teachers for our economic future.

• Don't talk about pulling the plug on the 'comatose' patient within his hearing...

• What if the earth became hotter by 4 degrees Celsius?

• But who cares about keeping perspective, just frantically buy buy buy!

• JJ of Unrepentant Old Hippie has a suggestion for teabaggers in your family for this War on Christmas season.

• Blue Girl of They Gave Us A Republic: The growing demand on community food pantries.

• Republican distortions.

• Ok, we've got two of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse... Should the two others be Glenn and Rush?

It's obvious that the world needs this:

• 'World's strongest' beer with 32% strength launched