1) The Communist Party in China has expelled Bo Xilai. Bo maintains a very strong power base in China and the party needed to handle him delicately. You may remember that Bo's wife, Gu Kailai has been implicated in the murder of Neil Heywood, a British businessman. In addition, complaints of rampant sexual harassment and abuse as well as the ubiquitous "corruption" charges were levelled against Bo. Obviously, he had to go and ahead of the party congress on November 8, but the punishment had to be moderated as Bo is the scion Bo Yibo, one of the legendary Eight Elders of the Chinese communist party (Deng Xiaoping was another).
2) In other "expelled" news, the Beach Boys have dropped founding members Al Jardine...and Brian Wilson! WTF? This is not unlike The Beatles kicking out George Harrison and John Lennon (either of which would have been a loss, but both?) This is very confusing, and I'm sure this story will develop over time. I have a confession to make: I'm a huge Beach Boys fan, particularly of their early stuff up through the Surf's Up album. So this is like hearing a childhood idol has been arrested for something.
3) Your weekly mass killing.
4) Here's a SCOTUS case that's sure to cause controversy: Is affirmative action necessary if a) a school choses students based on academics and b) the school is still achieving diversity? Oddly, as an alumnus of a specialized high school grappling with this precise issue, how to achieve diversity in a school that requires standardized testing, this is of particular concern to me.
5) I'm thinking that maybe Bill Clinton's next job will be President Emeritus of the planet. There are so many places he could assist in these times of trouble.
6) Attention President Obama: this is how you do it.
7) Happy birthday, Critical Mass!
8) Say goodbye to Olympus cameras. Yes, it's only a small stake, but Sony has its own line of digital cameras and they wouldn't help a rival unless they planned on using them or owning them.
9) If you need a feel-good story today to cheer you up, here. His life story will be a movie, albeit made for TV, but it's a terrific story of a pretty great guy making good by doing good and having it all come back to him. I mean, really, how many major league pitchers write children's books or climb Kilimanjaro (both of which he's done)?
10) How bad are Mitt Romney's chances? David Brooks has stopped writing about politics.
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