I have been accumulating a wealth of links these last few days. They are all wonderful in one way or another. I will share them here now.

But before all of that, here is a video featuring the parents of a fine cyclist and, wouldn’t you know it, Davis and Connie Phinney were world class cyclists themselves. They have an incredible story of success and heartache and recovery and peace and satisfaction. It is worth 15 minutes for the archival footage alone:

And now for some interesting news from near and far:

Al Qaeda Wasn’t ‘on the Run’:

In all, the U.S. government would have access to more than a million documents detailing al Qaeda’s funding, training, personnel, and future plans. The raid promised to be a turning point in America’s war on terror, not only because it eliminated al Qaeda’s leader, but also because the materials taken from his compound had great intelligence value. Analysts and policymakers would no longer need to depend on the inherently incomplete picture that had emerged from the piecing together of disparate threads of intelligence—collected via methods with varying records of success and from sources of uneven reliability. The bin Laden documents were primary source material, providing unmediated access to the thinking of al Qaeda leaders expressed in their own words.

A comprehensive and systematic examination of those documents could give U.S. intelligence officials—and eventually the American public—a better understanding of al Qaeda’s leadership, its affiliates, its recruitment efforts, its methods of communication; a better understanding, that is, of the enemy America has fought for over a decade now, at a cost of trillions of dollars and thousands of American lives.

Incredibly, such a comprehensive study—a thorough “document exploitation,” in the parlance of the intelligence community—never took place. The Weekly Standard has spoken to more than two dozen individuals with knowledge of the U.S. government’s handling of the bin Laden documents. And on that, there is widespread agreement.

From the Office of There’s a Special Circle for This Guy … Woman beheaded ‘with machete’ in north London garden:

One line of inquiry for detectives is understood to be that the man was inspired by recent footage of terrorists beheading two American journalists in Syria.

Some residents claimed last night that the suspect was a local man who had converted to Islam last year, but those claims could not be verified. Detectives said they had ruled out terrorism.

For a different kind of frustration … We Could Have Stopped This:

(T)he world largely ignored the unfolding epidemic, even as the sole major international responder, Doctors Without Borders (also known by its French acronym, MSF), pleaded for help and warned repeatedly that the virus was spreading out of control. The WHO was all but AWOL, its miniscule epidemic-response department slashed to smithereens by three years of budget cuts, monitoring the epidemic’s relentless growth but taking little real action.

Even as the leading physicians in charge of Liberia and Sierra Leone’s Ebola responses succumbed to the virus, global action remained elusive. The neglectful status of the WHO was, horribly, by design.

Meanwhile, closer to home … Stop and seize:

After the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the government called on police to become the eyes and ears of homeland security on America’s highways.

Local officers, county deputies and state troopers were encouraged to act more aggressively in searching for suspicious people, drugs and other contraband. The departments of Homeland Security and Justice spent millions on police training.

The effort succeeded, but it had an impact that has been largely hidden from public view: the spread of an aggressive brand of policing that has spurred the seizure of hundreds of millions of dollars in cash from motorists and others not charged with crimes, a Washington Post investigation found. Thousands of people have been forced to fight legal battles that can last more than a year to get their money back.

More than 100 teens swarm Memphis plaza, ‘knocking out’ shoppers

Seldom do most people wish to be a teenager again, but there are some people who would like the chance after reading this … Teen with autism victimized in disgusting ALS ice challenge prank:

Although their son is doing well and bravely returned to school, the parents have a message for the teens that humiliated him:

“I hope you will be punished to the full extent of the law, which still to me would not be enough, but that’s what I wish,” said Mensen.

School officials say no disciplinary action will be taken until after police have completed their investigation.

We watched this documentary this weekend:

You should watch it. There will be sobbing. I’m not sure you can say enough about It’s Time. Not every story is as great, or terrible, as the one that brought Chucky Mullins and Brad Gaines together, but it is a tremendous look at what football, the region and story telling can be. You’d be hard pressed to make a much better sports documentary.

You can tell a lot about the world around you by the business news:

Alabama’s economy in slow recovery

August Jobs Report Disappoints

Fed: Under Obama, only the richest 10 percent saw incomes rise

The 3% Surcharge Catches On: The Lucques Group Introduces Healthcare For Employees

On the other hand, there is apparently a market for this … Pampered Babies Kick Back and Relax at the Floating Baby Spa

And, finally, some good economic news, locally speaking …

Reliance Worldwide Corp. plans $50M expansion in Cullman

YP affiliate to add 165 jobs in Shelby County

If you can end a post with good economic news, and on a Monday, no less, you’ve really done something, I think, so we’ll call it a day. Hope yours was a great one!