Thursday morning roundup

Gotta love it when your policy of ignoring a regional basketcase works, because you let it self-implode; or when, for example, in Somalia, long-standing battles benefit from an indigenous resolution. Speaking of international basketcases, Zimbabwe's diplomatic corps apparently engages in heckling.

Through Nicholas Kristof's column, quote of the year:

“True Christians, like Sister Margaret, understand that real life is full of difficult moral decisions and pray that they make the right decision in the context of Christ’s teachings. Only a group of detached, pampered men in gilded robes on a balcony high above the rest of us could deny these dilemmas.”

Gail Collins on the latest state political developments.