I Dream Awake

Apparently, it’s tough to eat healthy in Harlem.

The full report, available here, found that despite Harlem’s many bodegas and corner stores, they were half as likely to carry low-fat dairy products and far less likely to offer as large a selection of vegetables as a grocery store on the Upper East Side.

And by the way, Harlem is not a borough.

From MJT:

The independent daily newspaper an-Nahar quoted well informed diplomatic circles as saying Assad made the threat last Wednesday in a telephone discussion with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

The sources, according to the paper spoke of a “heated dialogue” between Assad and Ban, during which the Syrian President “threatened to set the region on fire, from the Caspian to the Mediterranean.”

Japan moves closer to charter change

Japan’s parliament laid the groundwork Monday for amending the country’s pacifist constitution, boosting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s drive to give the armed forces a larger global role, but adding to critics’ concerns about a resurgent Japanese militarism.

As Surge Begins To Take Hold, Tribal Leaders Turn on Qaeda

“Think about it in our terms,” Colonel Welch said. “If I invite you to my home as a guest, and I give you a place in my home, then you slap around my family, it is a huge blow to my sense of honor, dignity, and respect. It is deeper than pride. You have bitten the hand that fed you.”

Dadullah’s death hits Taliban hard

One thing is clear. Dadullah’s death will have no impact on the Taliban’s formal political command structure. Mullah Omar remains firmly as head of the Taliban, with Jalaluddin Haqqani as his deputy chief.

However, Dadullah’s death is certainly a serious blow to the Taliban’s “soul” and their field strategy, as Dadullah had emerged as a ruthlessly efficient leader in the battlefield.

He was to be the driving force behind this year’s spring offensive - Ghazwatul Badr - and he had enhanced his influence in the North and South Waziristan Pakistani tribal areas, and even made contact with the Pakistani establishment.

DSCF5741, originally uploaded by I Dream Awake.

Took this the other day near the new New York Times building.

Just tinkered with the CSS to brighten the main text color in all of the posts. Got tired of not being able to read my posts on my own screen.

Even a week later I can’t get over the happy making feeling that is the Sarkozy election victory in France. Almost makes me want to re-learn French…. Almost.

Well I never figured out how to turn off the autoplay for that futuristic computer interface video that’s been proving an unintended soundtrack here for months… But it’s finally at the bottom of the front page. One or two more posts and it’s back to silence around here, finally.

There’s got to be something wrong with me. I just can’t seem to get enough of this: