Look!  It’s Carnival of the Cats #97.

PZ has Circus of the Spineless #5: Wordless Edition up at his place.  Ooh, pretty pictures for those normally confused by all the customary scientific jargon that goes along with this circus.

Exxon Mobil once again sees record profits — $10.71 billion for the fourth quarter and $36.13 billion for the year.  The price of gasoline is once again going up and the unbelievably high prices have worked against the American economy.  Sadly, the Republicans are in charge, so I expect this consumer rape to continue.

The death of a 15-year-old girl in Iraq is the first confirmed case in the Middle East of infection with the deadly H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus.

Quite possibly the most expensive shoelaces trip ever!

ABC News’ Bob Woodruff and Doug Vogt show improvement.  Both men remain in critical condition and may be moved to the United States as early as tomorrow.

A moment of frozen monkey zen…

I didn’t know the Inquisition ended only 40 years ago, and they only apologized for it two years ago.

I pointed out how much I like Tales & Tails of New York, a blog written by mandy787 who does animal rescues in New York.  I cannot agree with her more about a pet owner’s final obligation — being there during a pet’s last moments rather than abandoning them to endure their final hours and eventual death absent those they love and trust and need in order to face the challenge.  Go read “That Only They Could See…” (The Final Obligation) to see what I mean.  This woman is amazing, and this particular entry is one I might have written myself: it is exactly how I feel.