Wednesday Linkage

Oh goody!! Bring on the forced gaiety and bonhomie of the holiday season!! Can't. Wait.

Thai government teeters as protests shut airport

New cancer cases decline; melanoma on rise

World's most expensive kennel: Great Dane owner shells out £250,000 for doghouse complete with spa and plasma TV

NYT: For Biden, No Portfolio but the Role of a Counselor
The day before Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s birthday last week, Barack Obama surprised him after lunch with candlelighted cupcakes. Within hours, the photograph of the president-elect and his running mate, smiling over the dessert, was on the evening news.

Government Jobs Generate Interest Among College Seniors

EU proposes €200 billion economic stimulus plan

Reality TV is making people think they are in their own Truman Show, say psychiatrists

CNN: Ex-first lady Barbara Bush hospitalized for tests
Former first lady Barbara Bush will spend the night in a Houston, Texas, hospital Tuesday night after falling ill, according to a family spokeswoman.