More bad news from Mumbai, where in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks further trouble was averted when a bomb was diffused at the Chharapati Shivaji railway station. Just another terrible sign of the times we live in, when a town which just had a terrorist attack not one week ago is already targeted for a second. It's really crazy to think people actually think they can have their radical political agenda heard if they just kill innocent civilians and destroy people's lives.

In a rare occurrence in Somalia, a bunch of scurvy pirate lads released a ship without receiving a ransom. Shocking. It seems that these dastardly sea dogs might be losing their luster after a cruise ship outran one of their vessels earlier this week and now they're consigned to handing over their booty without even getting paid handsomely. Then again, maybe they're just jaded because every time they get a ransom from a village or family, they're forced to go out and buy peg legs, frilly shirts, eye patches and big, sailor hats. 

How much cooler were pirates in the 1700s, seriously.

So, after watching "Modern Marvels: Doomsday Tech" yesterday, a congressional panel says a bio-terror attack is likely by 2013. Fun. After seeing Batman: Begins a few years ago, I always imagine a bio-terror attack like that - contaminated water supplies, people going insane and lots of pain.

On the bright side, there's a good chance the world will end on 12/21/2012 according to the Mayan calendar, so not only are those fears subsided, I also don't really fear not getting an awesome job out of college. Chances are I'm either going to die in a bio-terror attack or in a mass extinction during the '12 Winter Solstice. Makes me worry a little bit less.

In other, more cheery news, New York Giants wide receiver and former MSU standout Plaxico Burress was suspended for the rest of the regular season after being arrested on charges for illegally possessing a gun. Unfortunately, it was revealed that Plax had a gun when he shot himself in the leg. Idiot. My favorite part of this, personally, is that he's pleading not guilty to the charges. Apparently, he doesn't feel the bullet wound from the illegally possessed gun he owned is damning enough evidence to get him convicted. Way to represent MSU, Plaxico.

Fun stuff out of Romania — a debate on TV goes from productive to a typical scene when you hit on the wrong woman at a club, which somehow gives CNN license to air all the stock footage they have of people getting hit with water, wine and any other liquid they had available

Why can't everything be settled like this?

Today it was announced the U.S. is officially in a recession. To which, everyone who is jobless, scrounging for money to pay bills and money for food, reply say, "No (expletive)." Upon this news, the Dow Jones plunged 680 points, which is scary because that doesn't really surprise me that much any more.

It's amazing how the effects of a recession can be felt far before an actual recession is declared. If the sign of a recession is a neighbor losing their job and a depression is when you lose your job, then we're getting awfully close to the latter. It seems as if it might be a full year after there's a 15 percent homeless rate in this country before economists can safely say, "Yup, it's a depression."

Gov. Arnold Schwarznegger's state of California is feeling the pinch, with an $11.2 billion deficit facing his state. Today he declared a fiscal emergency and called for quick legislative action to help. But, on the bright side the crisis does not appear to be life threatening as Schwarznegger offered this diagnosis in response to a reporter's question:

I have never understood the mad dash for sales on Black Friday and I fear I never will. Last year, me and two of my friends went to Value City in Westland, Mich. at midnight on Black Friday and watched how many people were lined up to bum rush the store once it opened for its marked down prices on already marked down stuff. Crazy times.

But, what happened at a Wal-Mart in Long Island is beyond belief. A worker was actually trampled to death by people who were looking to get their grimy hands on some cheap stuff. Congratulations, people in Long Island — as if people who go to Wal-Mart on a regular basis don't already have enough of a bad reputation, you literally killed someone to get your hands on an X-Box 360 or something. Hope your kids are happy with that present, not only because you woke up at 6 a.m. on the Friday after Thanksgiving to get it, but because you ACTUALLY RAN SOMEONE OVER AND IGNORED THEM AS OTHERS DID TOO.

In related "people are terrible" news, violence led to two people being shot and killed at a Toys 'R Us in California, an incident that was possibly gang related. Awesome. What is it about toys that makes people want to kill each other to get the best one? I mean, for a time of giving and joy, it seems as if a lot of people are giving each other mortal wounds and enjoying the infamy that comes with being the least civil people in the country. Absolutely disgusting.

For the record, I slept in. That tryptophan killed me.

Oddly enough, it seems as though the country took a step away from the edge by electing Barack Obama to be the next president of the United States. Amazingly, it seems there's a bright edge around the black cloud of despair that is clouding the country.

In its first days of preparation, the Obama administration has already included the American people in the transition to the White House. This site is giving updates on the process to ordinary citizens. It seems as if the days of the Bush administration and its ways of treating the American people like children are quickly fading into obscurity.

The process of overturning the past seven years is already in process, as Obama has begun to look at every one of Bush's executive orders to see which ones to over turn with his own executive orders. It's going to take a long time to dig the coutnry out of the hole it is firmly entrenched in, but in his first months in office, Obama seems like he's going to make some pretty big strides.

Well, another day, another collapse on the stock market. I don't know about you, but I'm thrilled to be around at a new point in history - the latest Great Depression! How thrilling to say I was around when Wall Street finally swallowed itself whole … again.

Today's immediate drop was attributed to the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates. Fun stuff. Here's how much faith the financial markets have in our federal government: any time they do anything that's supposed to spark the markets (bailouts, rate cuts, whatever), they drop drastically. Millions more Americans lose hard-earned cash because these chuckleheads in the market and in Washington either don't know what they're doing, don't care what they're doing or just care about what they're doing for themselves.

The real scary thing about all of this? The desperation people are feeling. I mean, just look at this. A man who can't get a job kills his wife, mother-in-law, three sons - including one attending UCLA who was a Fulbright scholar and honor student. The economic crisis is beginning to kill people. You have to wonder if news like this reaches the depths of Congress' souls the way it does for us "normal" Americans.

In the light of last night's debate, something really has begun to bother me about watching John McCain in the heat of this situation. As far as the economy goes, John McCain knows how to fix it … he just won't tell us how. And John McCain knows how to catch Osama bin Laden … he just won't tell us what his plan is. Oh, not to mention he knows how to win the war in Iraq … he's just keeping it a secret. With so many people's financial worlds crashing down around them, aren't we owed a bit more explanation than that about the economy? Aren't military families owed a bit more explanation on the last two issues? I mean, Barack isn't exactly perfect (actually, that's a lie) but at least he gives us reasons behind his statements.


My bad, Tom. I'm done.