Despite flowery speeches, discussions of "transition", and 50,000 "non-combat" troops remaining, America is still losing men and women and spending tens of billions of dollars in Iraq.  And as violence escalates once again, and a new government remains elusive nearly six months after parliamentary elections, some worry that U.S. forces may have to resume "combat" operations.

Bizarre weather events are presenting scientists and lay people alike with the opportunity to put different global warming and climate change models to the test this year.  Here's a brief, but relevant list of recent phenomena that could serve as independent tests for assessing the validity of competing views: 

Republican Congressman Ron Paul is pointing to a recently released study by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) as more evidence that rising "collateral damage", specifically in Afghanistan, fuels anti-American violence. 

By September 1, President Obama pledges to have only 50,000 "non-combat" troops stationed in Iraq to assist with security oversight.  Currently, about 65,000 U.S.