Quote of the day (on Basra and badgers)
I didn't realize this, but there's a species of badger that's indigenous to the Middle East (the honey badger, or ratel). Apparently, the residents of Basra didn't realize it either, since these critters have lately been moving out of the marshes and into town. The locals are accusing the British of introducing these beasts as a means of terrorizing the populace.
That's just silly, say the Brits (thus leading us to the quote of the day):
UK military spokesman Major Mike Shearer said: "We can categorically state that we have not released man-eating badgers into the area."
This war degenerated into farce long ago, so today's quote isn't entirely out of place.