We're having a special at Tulip until the end of January: 15 crown beer all day before 8pm. If you haven't looked at the price of beer lately, that's pretty damn cheap. No strings attached: Just come before 8pm and have a beer for half our regular price. Of course, the general idea is that some people will get hungry and want to eat, but that's no necessary to take advantage of the promotion. (Should have mentioned this earlier, since many people don't check the web over the weekend. Will plug throughout the week.)

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Here is my own wrap-up of a story that's not getting much play outside Britain: It's the UK's version of the Abu Ghraib scandal. From what I've read so far, it's difficult to get a good grasp on what happened, why, and who knew about it. The thing that's the most striking is actually the most obvious: The entire scenario, divorced by hundreds of miles and a completely different command structure, mimics what went on at Abu Ghraib almost exactly. Frankly, I find it bizarre.

In the first draft, I included a barely-related bit at the end about the ongoing kerfuffle about Prince Harry. My favorite quote: "Let's face facts: the British simply like to engage in some Nazi fun, they cannot help it" (Der Tagesspiegel).

On the proof-read, it occured to me this inclusion was rather inappropriate (or maybe all too inappropriate?) given the context, so I nixed it.