this & that

• Tourism in Faluja: it's possible. At least for a few hours. (Don't worry, mom. We're just trying to figure it out for my officemate.)
• Vladimir Putin: apparently not a fan of mediocre late 70's disco.
• My morning bus ride podcast ran a series on the life of Charles Darwin in honor of this year, the 200th anniversary of his birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Origin of Species. It's absolutely fascinating and you should listen to all four parts if you have time. (Summary: everything they told you in youth group? Completely wrong.) If not, here's an article on how far ahead of their time Darwin's ideas actually were.
• You really should listen to the In Our Time podcast regularly. It's free on iTunes, and this week they're discussing the sack of Carthage. I am SO excited about this. You have no idea. I took a seminar entitled "Genocide from Carthage to Cambodia" a few years back and have been fascinated ever since. And really before that.
• A discussion of a change on the military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy is happening, and there's a strong chance it will be repealed. Here's an interesting reassessment of the arguments.
• Speaking of the military, one of my friends is an Arabic linguist with this unit. Oh, my word.