Afternoon Links

Things worth reading:

1. An earthquake in Italy is estimated to have killed a hundred people so far, and left tens of thousands more homeless.

2. Florida: bringing back debtor's prison (sort of.)

3. Turkey: President Obama visits Turkey, calls Turkey an important ally, speaks of resolving the conflict over the Armenian genocide. Turkish PM Erdogan tells us to accept the reality of Hamas.

4. Thirty-three Iraqis die in coordinated car bombings in and around Baghdad.

5. The brain: Researchers are working on ways of "editing" memory. Scientists have also concluded that the stress of being poor alters the brains of children.

6. Secretary of Defense Gates proposes to make cuts to several big-ticket defense items. To which I say, we'll see about that.

7. President Obama aims for a world free of nuclear weapons.

8. Millions of shelter animals die, while morons buy designer "hybrid" breeds raised in appalling conditions.

9. Sports: Can Brazil's talented soccer player Marta revive women's soccer in the U.S.? Speaking of soccer, FC Dallas has stunk it up in the first three games of the season, losing all three while giving up seven goals and scoring only two. The Dallas Mavericks, as is typical in this up and down season,lost to a woeful Memphis team with less than half their win total on Friday night and then blew out similarly struggling Phoenix on Sunday. They are now one win or one Phoenix loss away from wrapping up the eight seed in the playoffs, and still-amazingly-in the hunt for the seventh seed, which they can get with some help from Utah. And the Texas Rangers open their season today with a game at home against Cleveland.