Came across this somewhat obsolete sponsored ad near the bottom of a Yahoo News photo page, during a search under the word "Beirut":

Worst.  Ad.  Placement.  Ever.  And just so goddam sad.

I was actually searching (unsuccessfully so far) for the original source of this chilling photo, published here by the conservative Oslo tabloid Aftenposten, comparing satellite shots of Beirut before and after the bombing:

Dozens of Israeli civilians.  Hundreds of Lebanese civilians.  (This might seem inequitable, but then our UN Ambassador has explicitly stated that the Lebanese deaths don’t count the same way.)  Probably the greatest recruiting tool Hezbollah ever had.  No end in sight.  Iraq falling into chaos.  And our leaders refusing to acknowledge even obvious realities.

I wish I had something wise to say, or even something even mildly cheerful, but I don’t.

UPDATE: turns out the source of the aerial comparison seems to be an obscure little paper called the New York Times.  Well, duh.

From Tom Toles:

Hat tip to roughly a dozen readers.

Takes the pro-Armageddon side.

Takes the pro-Armageddon side.

Some pudus even have the reflexes and agility to save lives.

This leaf was blowing at high speed right at that guy’s shins.  And this valiant little pudu leapt in and snatched the menacing leaf right out of the air, saving the day.  Or at least I like to think so.

Photo taken at the Jacksonville Zoo by this guy, who I suspect may have been wearing the snakeskin pants.  He is lucky to have his tibias.

Normally, I would now make gentle fun of someone wearing anything that warm in Jacksonville in August… except I’m about to head for Florida in August myself.  Apparently the heat wave in Ohio wasn’t enough for me.

Too bad we don’t all have valiant little pudus looking out for us.