NP: U2, "Angel of Harlem" (mix CD)

Catching up on e-mails and the news after being offline for the weekend, I came across a New York Times profile of Wes Clark (registration required). Suddenly, it's abundantly clear why I like this guy. He reminds me of me, and I've always maintained that everything would be much better is I was in charge.

I'm only just barely kidding. Anyway, here's the kicker for me:

Assess yourself, he was asked. He waved it off. "Describe myself in 10 words?" he said. "You've got to give me a series of axes. Lay it out on a series of dimensions."

Then he laid them out himself. He rated himself more warm than cool, more humble than arrogant, as intelligent, as intense ("if you catch me in my A quality time; if you catch me in my D quality time, I can hardly pay attention to you").

And score one for the Guardian in the UK, with regard to last week's meeting between Bush and Blair, excerpted in Slate.

The Guardian responded with its own take on palace security:

The very next day a shifty-looking man called George Bush attempted to get into Buckingham Palace, claiming that he was the president of the United States. A few checks and legal inquiries quickly revealed that this man, who has a history of unstable and dangerous behaviour, is not the rightful president at all but an impostor who lied and cheated his way into the job.

More to come later on varying topics, which could necessitate a change to the way the front page is laid out.