Back on Track?: Jobs lost per month between December 2007 and January 2010 (via GOOD).

In any world menu, Canada must be considered the vichyssoise of nations — it’s cold, half-French, and difficult to stir.

– Stuart Keate

As Iran prepares for today’s festivities…

– Moscow seems surprised that the world gets a bit nervous when Russians start talking about reenacting Red Dawn.

– And if you weren’t yet feeling nostalgic for the Cold War… that’s okay, because we may be on the verge of a new one with China. And it’s the Chinese who say so.

– Nate Silver crunches the numbers and possible scenarios for a 2012 Palin bid in the Republican primary. There are many more avenues open than I care to see.

– A nifty little overview is available at Howstuffworks on snipers. More detailed than I thought it would be.