Yank in London
"We have it in our power to begin the world over again"
Tom Paine - Common Sense
"A republic, sir, if you can keep it."
Benjamin Franklin
"War! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!"
Norman Whitfield / Barrett Strong
occasional musings on politics, culture and life in general from an american in exile
"We have it in our power to begin the world over again"
"A republic, sir, if you can keep it."
"War! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!"
30 December 2006
Saddam carries Qur'an to execution...
...and Dennis Prager demands that the former Iraqi tyrant be resurrected and re-executed, this time carrying a bible. Prager claims that presence of Islamic holy text demeans the Christian aspects of death by hanging and says ritual as conducted was anti-American.
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Does anyone know where Rod Hull was on Wednesday?
(Yes. I know he's dead")
Nonetheless he is my prime suspect in this crime that was committed in Lancashire. I mean, who else would want an emu anyway?
¶ 14:06:00 0 comments
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Nonetheless he is my prime suspect in this crime that was committed in Lancashire. I mean, who else would want an emu anyway?
Bush wish list
Andy Borowitz shares with us his conception of the Decider's (TM) New Year's resolutions:
¶ 13:57:00 0 comments links to this post“I resolve to pay close attention to the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group’s report, as soon as it comes out on a books-on-tape version.”
“I resolve to make sure that by the end of 2007, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki gets to spend more time with his family.”
“I resolve to tell John Kerry that I thought his joke was hilarious and he should keep ’em coming.”
“I resolve to learn how to use the Internets, especially the Google.”
There's more...
When in Rome
It doesn't happen very often so I think it only proper to note that, for today at least, the Vatican and I are as one.
I also agree with the Church of England.
¶ 13:43:00 0 comments
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I also agree with the Church of England.
George's hard day at the office
I love the first line of this Yahoo News story about the Decider’s (TM) Herculean effort to devise a solution to the outright debacle that is Iraq.
”President Bush worked nearly three hours at his Texas ranch on Thursday to design a new U.S. policy in Iraq, then emerged to say that he and his advisers need more time to craft the plan he'll announce in the new year.” (Emphasis mine.)
Well George, even though it’s Xmas time and all, you might try putting in a full half day and perhaps you might be able to come up with at least one cogent idea!
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As the New Year approaches...
...listen to a voice from Iraq.
"You know your country is in trouble when:Read the rest here. ¶ 11:54:00 0 comments links to this post
The UN has to open a special branch just to keep track of the chaos and bloodshed, UNAMI.
Abovementioned branch cannot be run from your country.
The politicians who worked to put your country in this sorry state can no longer be found inside of, or anywhere near, its borders.
The only thing the US and Iran can agree about is the deteriorating state of your nation.
An 8-year war and 13-year blockade are looking like the country's 'Golden Years'.
Your country is purportedly 'selling' 2 million barrels of oil a day, but you are standing in line for 4 hours for black market gasoline for the generator.
For every 5 hours of no electricity, you get one hour of public electricity and then the government announces it's going to cut back on providing that hour.
Politicians who supported the war spend tv time debating whether it is 'sectarian bloodshed' or 'civil war'.
People consider themselves lucky if they can actually identify the corpse of the relative that's been missing for two weeks."
Those artsy fartsy Geordies!
Residents of which British city, on a per capita basis, are the most likely to visit an art gallery or a museum, go to the theatre or just be generally cultured and arty?
Bath? Nope.
Oxford? Nope.
Cambridge? Nope.
Edinburgh? Nope.
Cosmopolitain London? Nope.
Try Newcastle!. "Ya not taakin shite, man!"
¶ 11:42:00 0 comments
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Bath? Nope.
Oxford? Nope.
Cambridge? Nope.
Edinburgh? Nope.
Cosmopolitain London? Nope.
Try Newcastle!. "Ya not taakin shite, man!"
1 I = 28.7 P (where I = "Israeli" and P = "Palestinian")
Palestinian deaths at the hands of Israelis in 2006 have tripled year on year according to Israeli human rights group, B'Tselem. 660 Palestinians have been killed by the IDF so far this year with about half not taking part in hostilities at the time of their death. One hundred and forty one of the dead Palestinians were minors (aka children). Twenty three Israelis, including one minor (child).
More information is available here.
¶ 11:25:00 0 comments
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More information is available here.
"Barney, we're not in Texas anymore"
When there were reports yesterday of a hurricane headed for Crawford, TX yesterday the Decider (TM) and the missus were driven to a tornado shelter where they cowered outside in an armoured car until the wrath of God, er, storm passed.
Stories that vice-Decider Dick Cheney was moved to an undisclosed location during this faux crisis have not be confirmed.
¶ 11:09:00 0 comments
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Stories that vice-Decider Dick Cheney was moved to an undisclosed location during this faux crisis have not be confirmed.
Topsy turvy world
The Tories continue their journey into uncharted territory after hailing Page 3 girl, Keeley Hazell, as an environmental hero. Her contribution to the cause? Painting herself green and getting her kit off.
Note: despite the fact that she hails from Bromley I've never seen her on the High Street, green, undressed or otherwise.
¶ 11:04:00 0 comments
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Note: despite the fact that she hails from Bromley I've never seen her on the High Street, green, undressed or otherwise.
It could be a tragedy
I imagine that Tony Blair is ruing the day his BA pilot overran the runway in Miami thereby allowing the world to find out that he is holidaying at the home of Bee Gee Robin Gibb. Two MPs, one Liberal Democrat and one Tory, are to ask the parliamentary standards commissioner to investigate whether the holiday has violated the rules of parliament. Even if he did pay full whack where did he raise the estimated £50,000? I mean he only makes £187,000 and after taxes....
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"A thug who used terror and war to stay in power"
The above is the headline to an article in the Guardian today. Imagine my surprise to find that it is about Saddam Hussein and not George W. Bush.
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Saddam dead
With George Bush's record as executioner par excellence continues this morning with the news that Saddam Hussein was hanged at dawn this morning in Baghdad. I wonder if the Decider (TM) got an erection.
He was, undoubtedly, an evil man but killing him was not the answer although I suspect that there are those in the American government (and others) that are relieved that he has taken many embarrassing secrets with him to his grave.
¶ 10:35:00 0 comments
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He was, undoubtedly, an evil man but killing him was not the answer although I suspect that there are those in the American government (and others) that are relieved that he has taken many embarrassing secrets with him to his grave.
"Arise Sir Dodgy"
This year's New Year's Honours List is notably short on political party financiers for rather obvious reasons. There's not much of interest really with the exception of Rod Stewart's CBE for servicing women half his age (or less); the 11th in line for the British throne, Zara Phillips, gets an MBE for services to jodhpurs; best of all John Scarlett, the head of MI6 and famed proponent of the "dodgy dossier" on Iraq, receives a knighthood for services to mendacity.
For the terminally bored or enthusiastically royalist the full list (PDF) is available here.
¶ 10:26:00 0 comments
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For the terminally bored or enthusiastically royalist the full list (PDF) is available here.
29 December 2006
"Do you want ice in your Coke?"
A sixty six square kilometre chunk has broken off of the Arctic ice shelf at Ellemere Island Canada. The force of the break was so great that earthquake monitors 250 kilometres away detected it.
A White House spokesperson, speaking off the record said:
A White House spokesperson, speaking off the record said:
¶ 17:14:00 0 comments links to this post"Hey. Ice breaks off in my freezer all the time. It doesn't mean that my freezer is any warmer though, does it?"
A hero for our time
Meet Stephen Henderson. He has already served two tours of duty in the Army as a Sergeant in Afghanistan and was honourably discharged twenty months ago. Two weeks before Christmas Henderson, who is enrolled at Northern Illinois University and whose father is waiting for a liver transplant, received a letter from the Army ordering him to report for active duty by 14 January so that he may serve for a period "not to exceed 545 days" in Iraq.
His reaction? Hell no. I won't go.
As yet there has still been no sighting of the Bush twins in uniform.
¶ 16:51:00 0 comments
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His reaction? Hell no. I won't go.
As yet there has still been no sighting of the Bush twins in uniform.
Meanwhile back in the Theatre of the Absurd...
...the Busheviks push science just a wee bit further to the side by refusing to allow National Park employees from giving an estimate of the canyon's age to visitors. It is possible that they are allowed to say something to the effect of
"Golly I don't know. It looks pretty old to me though."
Ostensibly this prohibition is to "to avoid offending religious fundamentalists". Keeping this is mind I feel that we should report the office National Park Service Grand Canyon website to higher authorities as it tramples on the sensitivities of our fundamentalist brethren and by telling us that "geologic formations such as gneiss and schist found at the bottom of the Canyon date back 1,800 million years".
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"Now where's that bloody opera house?"
German insurance salesman (well he’s a trainee anyway) Tobias Gutt has a wee problem with spelling. If you ask him for life insurance you’re likely to end up with wife insurance.
With the best of intentions he set out to book himself a holiday to visit his girlfriend who is living in Sydney Australia. Beaches, opera house, beaches, beer. Unfortunately when he went to book his plane tickets on the internet he misspelt “Sydney” as “Sidney” and he ended up in Montana instead.
No opera house. No Harbour Bridge. No bloody harbour! Oh, and it's fucking freezing!
I'm guessing that he won't make this mistake again anytime soon.
¶ 16:27:00 0 comments
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With the best of intentions he set out to book himself a holiday to visit his girlfriend who is living in Sydney Australia. Beaches, opera house, beaches, beer. Unfortunately when he went to book his plane tickets on the internet he misspelt “Sydney” as “Sidney” and he ended up in Montana instead.
No opera house. No Harbour Bridge. No bloody harbour! Oh, and it's fucking freezing!
I'm guessing that he won't make this mistake again anytime soon.
Imperial Liechtenstein
Watch out America! Liechtenstein may be small today but it's growing! It can only be a matter of time before they take on the mantle of the world's only superpower.
Not a minute too soon in my estimation. I mean is there any reason to suspect that Ottmar Hasler would be capable of fucking things up more than GW has?
¶ 15:58:00 0 comments
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Not a minute too soon in my estimation. I mean is there any reason to suspect that Ottmar Hasler would be capable of fucking things up more than GW has?
Hillary Clinton: Doyen of the centre right
I am always amused to hear right wing American commentators like O'Reilly and his ilk describe someone like John Kerry or Hillary Clinton as "hard" or "far" left. By the standards that apply in the rest of the world there are few, and certainly no one prominent, in American politics who would qualify as left of centre at all.
Le Figaro explains. (An English translation is to be found here.)
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Le Figaro explains. (An English translation is to be found here.)
"Haben Vater, Sie Rover gesehen?"
"I don't know how to break this to you Gertrude but I think your father has a wee drinking problem."
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Odd goings on in Red America
I thought that Republicans were supposed to be decent, law abiding, God fearing and monogamous people. You won't find a much more Republican state than Nebraska (it went for Bush over Kerry by more than 2-1 in 2004).
Surely behaviour such as this shouldn't be expected in such a moral climate.
¶ 15:18:00 0 comments
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Surely behaviour such as this shouldn't be expected in such a moral climate.
George Bush - villain of the year!
He has already been named as the "Worst President Ever" but he fancies himself to be "The Decider" (TM).
Now according to an AP poll George W. Bush is both the villain and the hero of the year for 2006 although he garnered only 13% to win the later competition even though he managed 25% in the former. Perhaps most worrisome for the lame duck President who obviously has one eye on his "legacy" in the listing of good role models he came in behind Katie Holmes and tied with Mel Gibson.
¶ 14:56:00 0 comments
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Now according to an AP poll George W. Bush is both the villain and the hero of the year for 2006 although he garnered only 13% to win the later competition even though he managed 25% in the former. Perhaps most worrisome for the lame duck President who obviously has one eye on his "legacy" in the listing of good role models he came in behind Katie Holmes and tied with Mel Gibson.
A taste of the future
The Karimojong tribe of Uganda are nomadic herders who raise cattle and this time of year is particularly trying for them. It is the dry season in their homeland and resources such as grass on which their herds may graze and water are in short supply. This year the competition for these scarce resources has led them into conflict with the Ugandan army. At least forty people have died so far this year and the dry season will continue into February of next year.
As arid regions suffer from increased drought and desertification armed conflicts over grazing rights and water are sure to increase throughout the globe.
So the next time that you are pumping petrol into the SUV take time to think of those who suffer to support your profligate lifestyle.
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As arid regions suffer from increased drought and desertification armed conflicts over grazing rights and water are sure to increase throughout the globe.
So the next time that you are pumping petrol into the SUV take time to think of those who suffer to support your profligate lifestyle.
Mourning, Texas-style
Is there any precedent for a sitting American President not attending the state funeral of a former President? The Decider (TM) has decided to give the Washington services a miss presumably so he can stay at his country estate in Crawford TX and clear brush.
Is he that pissed off over Ford's statement that the invasion of Iraq was "a mistake"?
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Is he that pissed off over Ford's statement that the invasion of Iraq was "a mistake"?
"If we haven't got enough bodies we'll recycle the old ones!"
The news that the American government is asking for authorisation to return reserve and National Guard soldiers to Iraq after they have already served the maximum time allowed by Pentagon regulations is incredibly disturbing. These are people who have served their country well and beyond the call of duty and yet this evil man still doesn’t believe that he has received his pound of flesh.
Meanwhile the progeny of "the Decider" (TM) continue to serve their Daddy's country in their own way.
¶ 12:29:00 0 comments
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Meanwhile the progeny of "the Decider" (TM) continue to serve their Daddy's country in their own way.
Guns don't kill people....
...er, well, maybe they do.
It is (not) good to see that my old home town, Philly, ranks highly in something at least.
¶ 12:26:00 0 comments
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It is (not) good to see that my old home town, Philly, ranks highly in something at least.
Is this kosher?
How long after religious right groups decide that they have a religious objection to eating cloned meat and drinking cloned milk will the USDA reverse its preliminary decisionto allow the sale of meat and milk from cloned animals without any labelling requirement?
One month? One week? One day? One hour?
¶ 12:20:00 0 comments
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One month? One week? One day? One hour?
Coming soon - "GPS for Peace"
The "road map" for peace is clearly dead. I wonder what will replace it.
In the meantime Israel believes that it is acceptable to prevent international aid or other funds that would be used to pay government workers wages from reaching Palestinian territory. The US apparently concurs.
Israel also believes that it is acceptable to arm one side in what would seem to be an impending Palestinian civil war. Again the US seems to agree.
¶ 12:11:00 0 comments
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In the meantime Israel believes that it is acceptable to prevent international aid or other funds that would be used to pay government workers wages from reaching Palestinian territory. The US apparently concurs.
Israel also believes that it is acceptable to arm one side in what would seem to be an impending Palestinian civil war. Again the US seems to agree.
American hypocrisy
Lest we forget, the American government is still working behind the scenes to protect admitted terrorist Luis Posada Carriles. The US is resisting extradition of Posada to either Venezuela, with which it has an extradition treaty and therefore an obligation to comply as Posada is a dual Venezuelan / Cuban national, or Cuba. The government is even considering a request for US citizenship.
Should the government fail to extradite Posada or, in lieu of that, put him into indefinite custody (Guantánamo Bay would be the perfect, if ironic, choice) it will prove conclusively that "war on terra" is indeed just an illegitimate exercise in noveau imperialism.
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Should the government fail to extradite Posada or, in lieu of that, put him into indefinite custody (Guantánamo Bay would be the perfect, if ironic, choice) it will prove conclusively that "war on terra" is indeed just an illegitimate exercise in noveau imperialism.
American science falls behind
The Guardian today features an article describing the absurd situations created in American research facilities, at least those with significant private funding, by the Bush administration's gift to the religious right in the form of the effective ban on human stem cell research.
Communications between different projects in the same facility is restricted or barred. Equipment is ring fenced so that it may not be used by stem cell projects. It's a wonder that the scientists are allowed to talk to each other at lunch; maybe they don't.
¶ 11:41:00 0 comments
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Communications between different projects in the same facility is restricted or barred. Equipment is ring fenced so that it may not be used by stem cell projects. It's a wonder that the scientists are allowed to talk to each other at lunch; maybe they don't.
Did Jane Jetson have a pair of these?
It is possible that I might be convinced to do the Hoovering more often if I could get my hands on a pair of these. Unfortunately the product is still a few years away from the marketplace but I don't see why I shouldn't let the cleaning wait until then!
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Tony's quiet winter break goes tits up
Tony Blair tried to slip off for a quiet holiday break and it almost worked until his plane overshot the runway whilst landing at Miami.
Once the press found out where he was it was a small matter to find out where he was staying. Lo and behold it turns out he was putting up in the lavish waterfront mansion of Bee Gee Robin Gibb.
It all seems innocent enough until one finds out that Gibb is one of those most active and outspoken in opposition to the government's plans to restrict copyrights.
Downing Street insists that the home has been paid for in a private commercial arrangement. Similar waterfront properties in Miami rent for from £10,000 to £40,000 a week. I hope that Cherie's practice is booming because the PM certainly doesn't make that kind of dosh!
¶ 11:17:00 0 comments
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Once the press found out where he was it was a small matter to find out where he was staying. Lo and behold it turns out he was putting up in the lavish waterfront mansion of Bee Gee Robin Gibb.
It all seems innocent enough until one finds out that Gibb is one of those most active and outspoken in opposition to the government's plans to restrict copyrights.
Downing Street insists that the home has been paid for in a private commercial arrangement. Similar waterfront properties in Miami rent for from £10,000 to £40,000 a week. I hope that Cherie's practice is booming because the PM certainly doesn't make that kind of dosh!
28 December 2006
I can hardly wait!
The Decider (TM) is poised to make a statement about Iraq after meeting with his "senior advisers" at his "ranch" in Crawford Texas. Undoubtedly he will tell us how boldly he is ignoring the advice of the experts and doing what he wants thereby proving what a bold and intelligent leader he is.
(Why do they call his place in Crawford a ranch anyway? If it was in New York or Virginia it would simply be "a country estate".)
¶ 16:59:00 0 comments
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(Why do they call his place in Crawford a ranch anyway? If it was in New York or Virginia it would simply be "a country estate".)
"You wanna know what about what?"
Via TPM Muckraker the ever expanding list of the things that you wanted to know and the Bush administration was afraid you would ask about.
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DIY at Xmas a very, very bad idea
Especially if you don't know what you're doing. Especially if your proposed remedy to your household problem involves the use of fire.
"I would have left it alone” said Charles "Junior" Woodland after burning down much of his house attempting to thaw out the pipes with a propane torch.
¶ 15:35:00 0 comments
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"I would have left it alone” said Charles "Junior" Woodland after burning down much of his house attempting to thaw out the pipes with a propane torch.
"That steak was great. I'll have another JUST LIKE IT!"
If you live in the US you are already exposed, without your knowledge, to genetically modified (GM) foods on a daily basis (unless you eat organic) so I guess there's not much room for argument about the pluses and minuses of allowing cloned food without any labelling.
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"Onward Christian Soldiers"
Meet US Congressman Robin Hayes (R - NC). He has a better idea for solving the problems in Iraq. He seems to think that conversion to Christianity ought to do it. After all Christian countries such as the US of A are bastions of peace and tolerance. Just ask Keith Ellison.
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Is the surname just a coincidence?
His name is Joshua Bush and he's from Texas. He's seventeen years old and is the prime suspect in a robbery and murder attempt. He has been issued with a search warrant for evidence that is in his possession.
The evidence? A 9mm bullet. Where is the young Mr. Bush hiding this evidence? In his head.
His lawyer is opposing the execution of the search warrant on the grounds of the right to privacy.
¶ 15:05:00 0 comments
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The evidence? A 9mm bullet. Where is the young Mr. Bush hiding this evidence? In his head.
His lawyer is opposing the execution of the search warrant on the grounds of the right to privacy.
Feeling safer yet?
A container of enriched uranium has been stolen in India and is still missing after three weeks. Neither the degree of enrichment of the ore nor the amount contained in the device has been released by the authorities although they indicated that its radiation "could have an adverse effect in an area of 1.5 kilometres".
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"They were here just a minute ago"
I am certainly worse than most in terms of misplacing my keys and probably spend a good two hours a week, sometimes more, searching for them only to find that I've discovered a completely new and unheard of place to leave them.
A man in Berlin has outdone even me after having to be rescued from a drain after falling in whilst searching for his car keys.
Well done mate!
¶ 14:48:00 0 comments
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A man in Berlin has outdone even me after having to be rescued from a drain after falling in whilst searching for his car keys.
Well done mate!
First - losing the "war on terra"
Now - losing the "war on drugs".
What's next I wonder? ¶ 14:42:00 0 comments links to this post
What's next I wonder? ¶ 14:42:00 0 comments links to this post
Skiving off in grand style
A young German woman from Straubing in Bavaria who couldn't face up to the pre-Xmas rush at the fast food outlet where she worked sent a text message to her parents saying that she had been kidnapped.
Theoretically this was a valid excuse for not turning up to work but, as it wasn't true, she spent Xmas being grilled by the police and now faces a thousand Euro fine.
¶ 14:34:00 0 comments
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Theoretically this was a valid excuse for not turning up to work but, as it wasn't true, she spent Xmas being grilled by the police and now faces a thousand Euro fine.
What's a little detour amongst friends?
Israeli spin doctors will undoubtedly be in high gear as they strive to explain away their government's decision to build a new settlement in Gaza despite a fairly unequivocal pledge not to do so as part of the "roadmap to peace".
It would seem that the blasting required to lay the foundations is scheduled to begin at any moment.
¶ 14:05:00 0 comments
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It would seem that the blasting required to lay the foundations is scheduled to begin at any moment.
Bush seeks counsel
We've all watched NYPD Blue haven't we? So we are all familiar with the term "lawyering up" and that is precisely whatthe Decider (TM) appears to be doing as he gets ready for a Congress that might actually have a minor interest in pursuing its constitutional mandate to oversee the executive branch.
I, for one, can't wait.
¶ 12:21:00 0 comments
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I, for one, can't wait.
Watching you watching me
The US government has few, if any, qualms over keeping an eye on their citizens, legally or otherwise. It seems, however, that they have a completely different attitude when it comes to others keeping an eye on them with those charged with independent reviews and audits of government departments, the Inspectors General, coming under increased and unprecedented political attack.
Is anyone at all surprised?
¶ 12:07:00 0 comments
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Is anyone at all surprised?
Get your fizz from champagne
Give up Coke for Xmas. No. Not the Colombian kind. The Atlanta kind. If you drink lots of fizzy drinks, especially those with sugar, you might be better off with a fag.
Think about it.
¶ 12:01:00 0 comments
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Think about it.
From beyond the grave
Gerald Ford turns on Bush. Too bad George. I still don't think you'll be able to skip the funeral.
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Lohachara - first among many
The island of Lohachara in the Bay of Bengal may not long be remembered but it is, it seems, the first inhabited island to succumb to global warming and disappear. Once the home to around 10,000 inhabitants it has now vanished from the scene. In the area, where the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers form their deltas up to 70,000 people are already refugees from rising sea levels. 17 million people in Bangladesh alone live less than one metre above sea level.
It is not just the Indian subcontinent that is at risk either. Heavily populated areas of Florida and the coast of the Gulf of Mexico are also under threat. This is clearly not the time to buy a shore house.
¶ 10:59:00 0 comments
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It is not just the Indian subcontinent that is at risk either. Heavily populated areas of Florida and the coast of the Gulf of Mexico are also under threat. This is clearly not the time to buy a shore house.
Spanish prayers
Should Muslims be allowed to pray in the Cathedral at Córdoba (Spain) which was once a mosque and which still contains a mihrab or prayer niche facing Mecca? Any Muslim who stops or bows to pray at the mihrab is generally asked to move on, to make way for tourists with video cameras, by the security guards.
Spanish Muslims have asked the Pope to intervene and allow Muslim worship at the World Heritage Site.
¶ 10:28:00 0 comments
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Spanish Muslims have asked the Pope to intervene and allow Muslim worship at the World Heritage Site.
Bush goes green!
Perhaps more accurately it should be said that Bush goes white as the US Fish and Wildlife Service moves to add the polar bear to the list of endangered species. The move is likely to force the American administration to acknowledge and act on global warming.
I wonder what has changed their minds as they usually ignore any scientific advice with which they don't agree especially on environmental matters. Perhaps Dick Cheney heard that they made for good hunting and no one told him that you couldn't just go to a farm in Texas where they released them in front of you and you could call it hunting!
¶ 10:17:00 0 comments
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I wonder what has changed their minds as they usually ignore any scientific advice with which they don't agree especially on environmental matters. Perhaps Dick Cheney heard that they made for good hunting and no one told him that you couldn't just go to a farm in Texas where they released them in front of you and you could call it hunting!
Breakfast grudge match
In the red corner we have the Food Standards Agency of Britain's New Labour government.
In the black corner we have the lobbyists, the assembled scientific experts and the advertising might of the prepared foods industry led out of Battle Creek, MI by the industry behemoth Kellogg’s.
Who will win in the battle of the food labelling? The smart money ain't on the government!
¶ 10:10:00 0 comments
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In the black corner we have the lobbyists, the assembled scientific experts and the advertising might of the prepared foods industry led out of Battle Creek, MI by the industry behemoth Kellogg’s.
Who will win in the battle of the food labelling? The smart money ain't on the government!
Xmas Day exclusive. Bush reads newspaper!
White House says that"if all goes well books will follow" (reg. reqd).
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27 December 2006
On to Guantánamo!
On Xmas day British forces attacked and destroyed an Iraqi jail and police station citing as a reason that prisoners were being tortured there. How far is it to Cuba again?
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Will they become citizens posthumously?
Given the Bush twins refusal to serve their country outside of a barroom the American armed forces are considering several dramatic proposals in order to overcome the shortfall in recruiting for even the existing army let alone the new larger army that the Decider (TM) has decided he needs.
One of these measures would entail the opening of recruiting offices overseas and offers of fast track citizenship to recruits.
I think that soldiers such as these are ordinarily known as mercenaries.
¶ 14:35:00 0 comments
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One of these measures would entail the opening of recruiting offices overseas and offers of fast track citizenship to recruits.
I think that soldiers such as these are ordinarily known as mercenaries.
Am I pond scum?
As if monkeys weren't bad enough is it now possible that we have evolved from scum.
You only have to look around the US Congress to see that, even if it is true, we haven't really progressed all that far.
¶ 14:25:00 0 comments
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You only have to look around the US Congress to see that, even if it is true, we haven't really progressed all that far.
Offing Fidel
Surely there must be a law against publicly calling for the assassination of a foreign leader or, indeed, anyone. I eagerly await the indictment of Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) who has admitted calling for the murder of Fidel Castro.
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Terminated
I am disappointed to learn that after the Governator broke his leg skiing that he had to have Doctors repair the damage rather than fixing it himself.
Would he have ever been elected Governor in the first place if the people of California knew that he wasn merely a steroid abusing Austrian rather than a malevolent android?
¶ 14:09:00 0 comments
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Would he have ever been elected Governor in the first place if the people of California knew that he wasn merely a steroid abusing Austrian rather than a malevolent android?
The MBA administration
Somehow I missed this before Xmas but it seems that, in the interests of running the country like a business, US Secretary of State thinks of the dead, wounded and otherwise damaged American servicemen and women in Iraq as an investment. I wonder what rate of return she is expecting? Perhaps she will issue a prospectus.
As of Xmas day the death count in Iraq has surpassed the number of those who died on 9/11.
It sounds as if we are getting a negative rate of return to me?
¶ 13:57:00 0 comments
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As of Xmas day the death count in Iraq has surpassed the number of those who died on 9/11.
It sounds as if we are getting a negative rate of return to me?
2006 - the year of the fence
It all started with Israel wanting to build a wee fence to separate them from their neighbours.
Then the US decided it wanted in on the act and is considering building building a fence to keep the Hispanic neighbours from crashing the pool parties all the time.
Now Pakistan wants in on the act.
Who's next, I wonder.
¶ 13:50:00 0 comments
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Then the US decided it wanted in on the act and is considering building building a fence to keep the Hispanic neighbours from crashing the pool parties all the time.
Now Pakistan wants in on the act.
Who's next, I wonder.
"I think I have tinitus. The ringing just won't go away."
There's nothing like a nice quiet Xmas interrupted only by the occasional ringing of a church bell. However in Bergen, Norway Vidar Aarhus did think to ring the vicar after the bells kept ringing for five hours.
Said Arvid Andreas Fosse, the local priest:
Said Arvid Andreas Fosse, the local priest:
¶ 13:42:00 0 comments links to this post"They were supposed to ring in Christmas for one hour in the evening. I don't know what went wrong. But I'm surprised nobody called earlier."
Think before you peel
I don't want to catch anyone hoarding onions because it looks like there could be shortage coming.
¶ 13:40:00 0 comments
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Crystalline strokes
Let's face it. Meth is bad for you.
People who don't use it know it.
People who do use it know it and it doesn't stop them. Is it really necessary to do more research into just how bad meth is for you?
¶ 13:35:00 0 comments
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People who don't use it know it.
People who do use it know it and it doesn't stop them. Is it really necessary to do more research into just how bad meth is for you?
The hardest working man in show business
James Brown - 1933 - 2006
R.I.P
¶ 13:30:00 0 comments links to this post
R.I.P
¶ 13:30:00 0 comments links to this post
24 December 2006
Happy Christmas everybody!
I will shortly be off to the Kentish countryside to spend Christmas with friends and their two year old sons. (No - they're NOT TWINS - you work it out!) There will result in a short break from blogging. I should be back Boxing Day or the day after. Have a happy Xmas and try and drink just enough and then a bit.
In the meantime I leave you with a short clip from my favourite anti-carol.
A longer version may be found here.
(Remember Kirsty in your prayers.)
¶ 14:42:00 0 comments
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In the meantime I leave you with a short clip from my favourite anti-carol.
A longer version may be found here.
(Remember Kirsty in your prayers.)
23 December 2006
Back in the USSR
The NY Times publishes the Op-Ed piece by Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann as redacted by the White House.
I feel a Siberian chill coming on. ¶ 16:21:00 0 comments links to this post
I feel a Siberian chill coming on. ¶ 16:21:00 0 comments links to this post
You're in no hands with Allstate
The second largest insurer in the states, Allstate Insurance, is slowly moving its business away from the coasts. It is alleged to be concerned about the risks associated with global warming.
Don't they listen to our leader? Don't they know that it is a loony, far left conspiracy?
¶ 16:14:00 0 comments
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Don't they listen to our leader? Don't they know that it is a loony, far left conspiracy?
The innocence of youth
Overhead this afternoon on Bromley High Street; a 10 year old kid fighting his way through the frenzied crowds asks his mum "why is it so crowded?".
¶ 16:07:00 0 comments
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Interesting...
Did the French twice have an opportunity to kill Osama Bin Laden only to fail to get approval to fire from the US*? Who knows?
The Americans are denying it. This could be because it is untrue or because it is true and they don't want to admit that the intelligence services are still a shambles.
The French are denying it. This could be because it is untrue or because it is true and they don't want to admit that they were taking orders from the Yanks.
*Note to wingnuts - both occurrences allegedly happened in the last 3 years so it is on Bush's watch rather than Clinton's.
¶ 15:39:00 0 comments
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The Americans are denying it. This could be because it is untrue or because it is true and they don't want to admit that the intelligence services are still a shambles.
The French are denying it. This could be because it is untrue or because it is true and they don't want to admit that they were taking orders from the Yanks.
*Note to wingnuts - both occurrences allegedly happened in the last 3 years so it is on Bush's watch rather than Clinton's.
Too late for The Ashes I'm afraid
Tennis world number one Roger Federer played a bit of cricket in India yesterday as he toured areas struck by the Boxing Day tsunami.
He's probably good too!
¶ 15:19:00 0 comments
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He's probably good too!
British Browns v Buccaneers preview
With the clash between the Premiership football sides owned by the owners of American football sides (Aston Villa v Man U for the uninitiated) having just kicked off I share with you the concerns of the Guardian’s Barney Ronay as to the potential impact that this injection of American football money will have on proper football:
¶ 14:56:00 0 comments links to this postSpike that pigskin
The standard football goal celebration is long overdue a makeover. Expect tearing your shirt off and making a shushing gesture to be replaced by the NFL standard mass Bill Cosby-style funky jive dancing, provocative "spiking" of the ball in the opposition six-yard box and a 30-stone centre-half in tight, shiny trousers doing the Bruce Grobbelaar spaghetti legs.
Soak the manager
The traditional handshake to be phased out in favour of sneaking up behind the gaffer and pouring an enormous tub of Lucozade Sport over his head, thereby ruining (a) his extremely expensive black cashmere overcoat; and (b) any chance of that improved contract offer.
Half-time spectacular
It's time for football to raise the light entertainment bar. The standard penalty-shoot-out-with-club-mascot-in-goal could easily be replaced by a 15-minute musical extravaganza starring Eminem, Barbra Streisand and Metallica, with at least one flesh-flashing "wardrobe malfunction" plus a heavy metal version of God Save The Queen. We can keep the raffle though.
Jazz up the roster
Having endured over a hundred years of professional football players with names like Alf, Gary and Keith, an injection of NFL exoticism can't come soon enough. Look forward to a future England XI made up of men called things like Chuck Tieclip and Jamal Johnson-Cheeseburger III.
Break it up a bit
Regularly exhausted by being made to concentrate for a whole 45 minutes, football supporters would welcome a US-style dumbing down into easy, bite-sized chunks. Expect to see Premiership games interrupted every two minutes by George Foreman trying to sell you his revolutionary fat-draining pasty-warmer.
Get some specialists in
Gridiron squads are all about specialisation: kicking teams, kicking return teams, Sunday afternoon at 3.42 with the wind from the south-west teams. Expect Premiership clubs to respond by employing a player whose sole job is to hoof the ball absolutely miles every 10 minutes while everyone else rushes after it. Although, those who saw Martin O'Neill's Leicester City may suspect he's already thought of this one. Barney Ronay
Popularity of burgoo falling
Kentucky concerned!
It sounds absolutely revolting in the original recipe at least. ¶ 12:43:00 0 comments links to this post
It sounds absolutely revolting in the original recipe at least. ¶ 12:43:00 0 comments links to this post
"Bush Reste Bush"
It says it all really.
English translation is available here. ¶ 12:36:00 0 comments links to this post
English translation is available here. ¶ 12:36:00 0 comments links to this post
Irony alert!
Story headline from Anarkismo.net:
The Role of an Anarchist Organisation¶ 12:21:00 0 comments links to this post
Jeb waxes nostalgic
Dubya's brother Jeb is now officially unemployed and possibly homeless. He has to move out of the Florida governor's mansion today.
Apparently he will miss the towels. Maybe he can pick up a part time job in a laundry. ¶ 12:19:00 0 comments links to this post
Apparently he will miss the towels. Maybe he can pick up a part time job in a laundry. ¶ 12:19:00 0 comments links to this post
The generals change their minds
Ain’t gonna let nobody turn me ‘roun’In military terms isn't volte-face just a fancy term for retreat? ¶ 12:10:00 0 comments links to this post
Turn me ‘roun’
Ain’t gonna let nobody turn me ‘roun’
I’m gonna wait until my change comes
Don’t let nobody turn you ‘roun’
Turn you ‘roun’
Don’t let nobody turn you ‘roun’
Wait until your change comes
I say I’m gonna hold out
Hold out, hold out
I say that I’m gonna hold out
Until my change comes
I promised the lord that I would hold out
Hold out
I promised the Lord that I would hold out
Wait until my change comes
Anyone for calamari?
Japanese scientists have captured a live giant squid for the first time. Well, it was alive for bit; then it died. I wonder if they're good to eat...
¶ 12:09:00 0 comments
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I think this is actually a subtle form of infiltration
Am I right to be suspicious about the assistance that current and former members of the law enforcement community across the world seem to be providing to users of illicit drugs these days or is this just cannabis induced paranoia?
¶ 12:04:00 0 comments
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"This is a test of the emergency call up system"
Is it getting drafty in here or is it just me?
¶ 11:47:00 0 comments
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Dresden and victor's "justice"
A new book by German Jorg Friedrich 
entitled The Fire: the Bombing of Germany 1940-45, a best seller for four years in Germany, has just been released in English. Its main topic is the bombing of Dresden and other German cities during World War II and raises the question of whether Churchill and "Bomber" Harris were guilty of war crimes. I intend to get a hold of the book and give it a read. I'll let you know what I think.
The war crime question needs to be seriously discussed as regards Hiroshima and Nagasaki as well.
¶ 11:05:00 0 comments
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entitled The Fire: the Bombing of Germany 1940-45, a best seller for four years in Germany, has just been released in English. Its main topic is the bombing of Dresden and other German cities during World War II and raises the question of whether Churchill and "Bomber" Harris were guilty of war crimes. I intend to get a hold of the book and give it a read. I'll let you know what I think.The war crime question needs to be seriously discussed as regards Hiroshima and Nagasaki as well.
Persecuted ExxonMobil finally catches a break
Much put upon corporate giant ExxonMobil has had the punitive damages assessed against it in the Exxon Valdez oil spill law suit cut by 2 billion USD. The San Francisco based 9th Circuit Court of Appeals (I thought that was one of those dangerous liberal courts) ruled in the oil company’s favour in reducing the original damages from 4.5 billion USD.
ExxonMobil feels that the award is still too high and may appeal. The remaining 2.5 billion USD represents only slightly over two days of sales based on 2005 turnover. Not very punitive in my book!
¶ 10:58:00 7 comments
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ExxonMobil feels that the award is still too high and may appeal. The remaining 2.5 billion USD represents only slightly over two days of sales based on 2005 turnover. Not very punitive in my book!
El Gordo comes to Rebollo de Duero
The residents, numbering about twenty five, of the small Spanish village of Rebollo de Duero have won the lion's share of an €18 million lottery jackpot in El Gordo which is Europe's biggest lottery.
Well done you lot and "Feliz Navidad".
¶ 10:37:00 0 comments
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Well done you lot and "Feliz Navidad".
The perfect gift for (In)Curious George
It isn't exactly Where's Waldo but if either of the twins have a sense of humour Dubya will find a copy of Where's Bin Laden? under the Crawford Xmas tree on Monday morning. It should provide the erstwhile terrorist hunter with hours and hours of entertainment. Actually it should provide an infinite source of amusement given his proven inability to find the tall, distinctive Arab in a non-Arab country.
The book is apparently a surprisingly strong seller in the UK.
¶ 10:19:00 0 comments
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under the Crawford Xmas tree on Monday morning. It should provide the erstwhile terrorist hunter with hours and hours of entertainment. Actually it should provide an infinite source of amusement given his proven inability to find the tall, distinctive Arab in a non-Arab country.The book is apparently a surprisingly strong seller in the UK.
Another rift in the "special relationship"
Despite sharing languages that are kissing cousins and their governments having that "special relationship" that they so like to brag about there are many, serious differences between the British and American peoples. Things such as warm beer, a Friday night curry, orderly queuing and the definition of football separate us.
Not the least of these differences in is their differing attitudes toward religion. One of the reasons I always note for my remaining here for fourteen years is that, as an atheist, I find that my religious beliefs, or perhaps better stated the lack thereof, are treated with more respect here and never with the scorn that was often the reaction in America.
Most Americans, by a sizable percentage, define themselves as religious. Now a new survey of British attitudes shows that not only are most British not religious, despite the fact that most people still identify themselves as Christian, but that more than 80% believe that religious faith does more harm than good versus only 16% who believe the opposite.
I would think that it will be a very long time, if ever, before this gap in thinking is closed.
¶ 10:04:00 0 comments
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Not the least of these differences in is their differing attitudes toward religion. One of the reasons I always note for my remaining here for fourteen years is that, as an atheist, I find that my religious beliefs, or perhaps better stated the lack thereof, are treated with more respect here and never with the scorn that was often the reaction in America.
Most Americans, by a sizable percentage, define themselves as religious. Now a new survey of British attitudes shows that not only are most British not religious, despite the fact that most people still identify themselves as Christian, but that more than 80% believe that religious faith does more harm than good versus only 16% who believe the opposite.
I would think that it will be a very long time, if ever, before this gap in thinking is closed.
22 December 2006
Who elects these people and why are they allowed to vote?
Once I am become a benign dictator and am justly and sanely ruling over America you needn't worry about things like this.
Until then, unfortunately, people like Congressman Robin Hayes (R - NC) will have a say in how the American government and the world are run. He thinks that we can bring victory and peace to Iraq if only we would convert the Muslim heathens to Christianity.
That kind of thinking has worked so well in the past.
¶ 17:21:00 0 comments
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Until then, unfortunately, people like Congressman Robin Hayes (R - NC) will have a say in how the American government and the world are run. He thinks that we can bring victory and peace to Iraq if only we would convert the Muslim heathens to Christianity.
That kind of thinking has worked so well in the past.
D'oh!
This report highlights new research into occupational injuries and sword swallowing that must be considered an early front runner for an IgNoble Prize.
¶ 17:13:00 0 comments
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Just a thought
Would this guy be amused if he found out he was related to this guy?
Probably not. ¶ 17:09:00 0 comments links to this post
Probably not. ¶ 17:09:00 0 comments links to this post
Iraqi voices
The BBC website has a selection of posts from Iraqi blogs. Go have a read.
¶ 17:05:00 0 comments
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Meet the new Rip van Winkle
His name is Vance McDonald and seems to have been asleep at least since the invasion of Iraq.
In his column he quite seriously states that:
In his column he quite seriously states that:
"The Saddam Hussein dictatorship was directly associated and supportive of the dark Islamist fascist perpetrators who attacked America and committed mass murder on September 11th 2001."
"He was...actively exploring ways to join forces with the al Qaeda movement."
"He was joined to the Islamist fascist goal of conquering and enslaving mankind in Sharia tyranny. Hussein and his ilk, in fact, were principals in the Islamist fascist terror movement."
It is hard to imagine that one man could be so completely misinformed AND given an outlet to speak.
God bless America.
¶ 16:40:00 0 comments
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God bless America.
"Don't look now but I think Father Christmas might be on fire"
If you're Swedish you are used to things around you being generally safe and secure (think Saabs and Volvos). This year it turns out that this may now be true for anyone donning a false beard in order to play Father Christmas.
So have a safe Xmas and keep Santa away from open flames!
¶ 16:32:00 0 comments
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So have a safe Xmas and keep Santa away from open flames!
Shouldn't this go to the horse?
Whilst we are on the subject of the British Royal family does any feel it is really necessary to use the New Year's Honours list to give a gong to a royal family member? And all for sitting on a horse whilst it does all the bloody work.
What is it for anyway? Service to toffness?
¶ 16:25:00 0 comments
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What is it for anyway? Service to toffness?
Saved by the web
It is early afternoon on Christmas Day. You've stuffed yourself with sprouts and turkey and the L-Tryptophan combined with a surfeit of champagne already has you nodding off. How will you stay awake until the most important moment of the day, the Queen's Xmas message?
Not to worry. Thanks to the miracles that are the semi-conductor, fibre optics and the internets, you need not miss a word. This year the message will, for the first time, be available as a podcast.
If you're really keen you can avoid the rush. If you go to www.royal.gov.uk you can pre-order it and it should be delivered to you promptly on 25 December at 3 PM. (Who wants to bet that doesn't go tits up?)
¶ 16:10:00 0 comments
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Not to worry. Thanks to the miracles that are the semi-conductor, fibre optics and the internets, you need not miss a word. This year the message will, for the first time, be available as a podcast.
If you're really keen you can avoid the rush. If you go to www.royal.gov.uk you can pre-order it and it should be delivered to you promptly on 25 December at 3 PM. (Who wants to bet that doesn't go tits up?)
Saudi Princess to be deported from US
I am sure that the Bush administration wouldn't deign to interfere in this little matter. Nonetheless I'll keep a look out just in case.
¶ 16:08:00 0 comments
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We pause for an important announcement
I guess this means that all those folks who insist on abstinence as the only way are warmongers, for today at least. Now get out there and get shagging!
*Note to wing nuts - the word "partner" is used in an inclusive sense here and married people are not excluded from having an orgasm with their spouse. There are not excluded from having an orgasm with someone else either but I suggest that they ask for permission first to avoid any unnecessary confusion. Remember - "all spouses are partners but not all partners are spouses"!
¶ 15:49:00 0 comments
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If you haven't got a partner* you'd best get out on the pull straightaway because today is Global Orgasm for Peace Day and I'm not certain that solo efforts count. (They're certainly not as much fun!)
I guess this means that all those folks who insist on abstinence as the only way are warmongers, for today at least. Now get out there and get shagging!
*Note to wing nuts - the word "partner" is used in an inclusive sense here and married people are not excluded from having an orgasm with their spouse. There are not excluded from having an orgasm with someone else either but I suggest that they ask for permission first to avoid any unnecessary confusion. Remember - "all spouses are partners but not all partners are spouses"!
All's well that ends well
Sanctions against Iran look to go forward despite Russia's hesitance. When you combine this plans for the US to flex its remaining military muscles I can only assume that this is not going to end well.
¶ 15:24:00 0 comments
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Don't fuck with MY subsidy, mate
There have been calls for years that the American system of agricultural subsidies, largely to huge agribusinesses, needs significant reform. The American system, coupled with the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), has led to the problems that now exist in extending any free trade discussions any further. The American system in worth in excess of 15 billion USD annually.
Perhaps there is the political will to deal with it in Congress now. But that will all change once the vested interests get to arm twisting and bribing (aka doling out contributions) and pointing out how all the other subsidies, save the one that benefits them, are anti-competitive.
¶ 15:15:00 6 comments
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Perhaps there is the political will to deal with it in Congress now. But that will all change once the vested interests get to arm twisting and bribing (aka doling out contributions) and pointing out how all the other subsidies, save the one that benefits them, are anti-competitive.
This is horrible
At best this incident will be the root cause of many a deep neurosis. At worst, well I don't even want to think about the worst.
¶ 15:12:00 0 comments
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No room at the inn. No room in the stable.
With apologies to Robert Frost but I am not certain that good fences always make good neighbours. America, a land of immigrants, where an extremely small portion of the population can lay claim to native blood, is trying to slam the door shut. Very few Americans would be able to say that their immigrant ancestors would meet the qualifications for immigration that many of them now believe should be mandated so that their quality of life is unaffected.
Of course the attempts to eliminate or at least restrict legal and illegal immigration have been controversial and little, if any, direct legislative action has been taken. Is it possible that the "War on Terra" (TM) is being used as a smokescreen for more restrictive policies?
Nah! Forget I even mentioned it. The American government would never be so deceitful.
¶ 11:25:00 0 comments
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Of course the attempts to eliminate or at least restrict legal and illegal immigration have been controversial and little, if any, direct legislative action has been taken. Is it possible that the "War on Terra" (TM) is being used as a smokescreen for more restrictive policies?
Nah! Forget I even mentioned it. The American government would never be so deceitful.
Bush contributor on the loose in Iraq!
It turns out that Aiham Alsammarae, the Iraqi-American dual national and former government minister, who was sentenced for corruption and recently escaped from a Green Zone prison with the assistance of private American security personnel donated to both Bush Presidential campaigns.
Can we judge a man by the company he keeps?
If he's George Bush of course we can!
¶ 11:17:00 1 comments
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Can we judge a man by the company he keeps?
If he's George Bush of course we can!
Happy solstice!
Today's sunrise: 0803
Today is the winter solstice; the shortest day of the year and the first day of winter. Due to subtle shifts in the Gregorian calendar some sixty druids got confused and showed up a day early at Stonehenge. It is not exactly the time of year one wants to spend an extra night on Salisbury Plain.
Today's sunrise: 0803
Today's sunset: 1553
At least tomorrow will be longer!
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Whither Turkmenistan
It remains to be seen what the sudden death of Sapurmurat Niyazov, the dictator of Turkmenistan, will mean to the country he ruled with an iron, if strange, fist for the past twenty one years. He has no anointed or obvious successor and most members of the opposition are in exile or in prison.
As the country is host to the world's fifth largest natural gas reserves its former overlord, Russia, while want its influence felt as will China and Western Europe to whom it is a critical energy supplier. Of course, the Decider (TM) will probably want to mosey on through on the back of his faithful mount "Freedom Agenda".
If the Turkmen are not as unlucky as the Iraqis it is possible that things could get marginally better. Maybe, maybe not.
¶ 10:54:00 0 comments
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As the country is host to the world's fifth largest natural gas reserves its former overlord, Russia, while want its influence felt as will China and Western Europe to whom it is a critical energy supplier. Of course, the Decider (TM) will probably want to mosey on through on the back of his faithful mount "Freedom Agenda".
If the Turkmen are not as unlucky as the Iraqis it is possible that things could get marginally better. Maybe, maybe not.
Piergiorgio Welby - RIP
Piergiorgio Welby, an Italian poet and fierce advocate of the right to die, died yesterday after his doctor switched off his respirator in apparent defiance of a court decision last weekend which said that his respirator could be switched off but that his doctors still had an obligation to resuscitate him.
In a country that is home to the Vatican we can expect further developments.
¶ 10:44:00 0 comments
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In a country that is home to the Vatican we can expect further developments.
Buon Natale
It seems that there is no end to the controversies surrounding nativity scenes in Italy. Following hot on the heels of the naked porn star we now have gay Barbies and Kens in the Parliamental crib.
It would seem that the war on Xmas is now threatening the gates of the Vatican!
¶ 10:34:00 0 comments
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It would seem that the war on Xmas is now threatening the gates of the Vatican!
Justice for Haditha?
I wonder if those who trumpet their support of the death penalty will raise their voices in dismay over the fact that none of the eight US Marines charged in the brutal slayings of twenty four Iraqi civilians in Haditha are facing the ultimate sanction.
Somehow I doubt it. After all the victims were only brown infidels. Now had they been white Christians that would have been a different matter entirely.
¶ 10:32:00 0 comments
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Somehow I doubt it. After all the victims were only brown infidels. Now had they been white Christians that would have been a different matter entirely.
Some might consider this an omen
It's that time of year folks; time for the year end news. There are the year in review sections, the year end quizzes and, in Britain at least, the year end rankings of babies names.
First the mundane.
The number one boy's name remains "Jack". (Jack? I always thought it was a nickname for John.)
The number one girl's name is now Olivia, overtaking Jessica whose reign only lasted one year.
Now for the omen.
With George Bush's popularity sinking ever lower everyday in the states the evidence of disapproval here is more subtle. Mohammed has overtaken George in this year's rankings coming in at 22nd.
¶ 10:01:00 0 comments
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First the mundane.
The number one boy's name remains "Jack". (Jack? I always thought it was a nickname for John.)
The number one girl's name is now Olivia, overtaking Jessica whose reign only lasted one year.
Now for the omen.
With George Bush's popularity sinking ever lower everyday in the states the evidence of disapproval here is more subtle. Mohammed has overtaken George in this year's rankings coming in at 22nd.
21 December 2006
I have the answer!
At AlterNet Evan Derkacz asks us "who do you root for" in the battle between the Faux Network and the FCC.
The answer is quite simple and comes to us courtesy of the Cold War: Mutual Assured Destruction.
¶ 17:46:00 0 comments
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The answer is quite simple and comes to us courtesy of the Cold War: Mutual Assured Destruction.
“It’s a Hail Mary to Judas in the end zone!”
Whilst I love Miss Poppy's fine products I think this one is misnamed. It should, of course, be the Jesus Sports Statue - American Football. I mean do you see anyone playing with their feet.
¶ 17:45:00 0 comments
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I don't know if any of this is related to (non-existent) climate change...
...but some bears have stopped hibernating whilst at roughly the same time some humans seem to have started.
¶ 17:37:00 0 comments
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We interrupt your reverie for this important news bulletin
The American President George W. Bush has said that "the United States remains clear about its purpose in Iraq".
The United States says "maybe we are clear about our purpose but you sure as hell ain't"!
¶ 17:24:00 0 comments
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The United States says "maybe we are clear about our purpose but you sure as hell ain't"!
War of words
Bush: Iranians "can do better" than Ahmadinejad.
Ahmadinejad: Americans "can do better" than Bush. ¶ 17:14:00 0 comments links to this post
Ahmadinejad: Americans "can do better" than Bush. ¶ 17:14:00 0 comments links to this post
Frankenstein's ganja
Has someone been developing genetically modified marijuana and started growing it in Mexico?
Anyone? Monsanto - do you have anything to say for yourself?
Oh well. We report. You decide.
¶ 17:13:00 0 comments
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Anyone? Monsanto - do you have anything to say for yourself?
Oh well. We report. You decide.
Night farming in Germany
I think we can safely assume that this gentleman is not a member of PETA then.
¶ 16:52:00 0 comments
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I thought Islam was the religion of violence
At least that is what "respected" members of the blogsphere are always telling me anyway.
So how can we explain this then? ¶ 16:44:00 0 comments links to this post
So how can we explain this then? ¶ 16:44:00 0 comments links to this post
Xenophobe or just Islamaphobe? Does it really matter?
"I am a xenophobe", so saith US Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA). Well he didn't say it in so many words but he may as well have. He wrote a letter to a number of his constituents who had commented on the decision by US Rep.-elect Keith Ellison (D-MN) to carry the Koran at his swearing in next month. In this letter he said that, if America didn't adopt his immigration policies, and I quote
"I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States".
There's not much I cab add to that.
¶ 16:36:00 6 comments
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Those pesky French are at it again
Now they, along with their newfound friends the Greeks (and you know what they're like), have introduced a resolution into the UN Security Council that reminds "all parties to conflicts of their obligations as regards the protection and safety of journalists".
I guess it is OK as long as they exclude al Jazeera.
¶ 16:18:00 0 comments
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I guess it is OK as long as they exclude al Jazeera.
What would you say to Leah-Beth Richards?
She is an eight year old Welsh girl who has been battling a rare form of cancer in her kidneys since she was two. She has now told her parents, who support her wishes, that she doesn't wish to have any more treatment.
I hope this turns out for the best and that there needn't be a protracted court battle over this. I am sure that there are those, especially in America, who believe that she should be compelled to have treatment (unless she hasn't got insurance of course).
I think that this is one of the reasons I am an avowed atheist. I refuse to allow myself to believe in any superior, let alone omnipotent, being that could allow, or worse yet, cause, this to happen to a child.
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I hope this turns out for the best and that there needn't be a protracted court battle over this. I am sure that there are those, especially in America, who believe that she should be compelled to have treatment (unless she hasn't got insurance of course).
I think that this is one of the reasons I am an avowed atheist. I refuse to allow myself to believe in any superior, let alone omnipotent, being that could allow, or worse yet, cause, this to happen to a child.
Excommunicate Cardinal Carlo Caffarra
Continuing with my Italian Catholic theme let it be noted that the Archbishop of Bologna must be driven from the church after he blessed a nativity scene in his city which shares space with one created by artist Wolfango Peretti Poggi which featured naked porn star and PM Prodi on a bicycle.
I am sure that the appropriate folks will raise their voices in righteous indignation until the church deals with the matter.
¶ 15:37:00 0 comments
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I am sure that the appropriate folks will raise their voices in righteous indignation until the church deals with the matter.
And I was so looking forward to watching Serie D(io) action on Sky
I am extremely disappointed to hear that the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, was "just kidding" when he said that the Vatican should be able to assemble a football side capable of challenging the great sides of Serie A.
Oh well. There's always the Kent Saturday Church League.
¶ 15:28:00 0 comments
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Oh well. There's always the Kent Saturday Church League.
R2D2 to be "extraordinarily rendered" to Saudi Arabia
Immediately after learning of a British study that says that robots could soon claim human rights the American government announced plans to form an Android Division within the Department of Homeland Security.
The new division will be responsible for the profiling of all domestic, industrial and experimental robots. Those found to have suspicious contacts, such as an assembly robot at a GM factory which was responsible for welds in a car in which Osama bin Laden once travelled, will be declared "enemy combatants" and may be permanently detained at Guantánamo Bay or other, invisible, American facilities or delivered against their will to the governments of allies in the "War on Terra" (TM). The division will also be responsible for illegally monitoring all robotic software on the planet for terrorist influenced code.
An unnamed DHS spokesman was quoted as saying:
The new division will be responsible for the profiling of all domestic, industrial and experimental robots. Those found to have suspicious contacts, such as an assembly robot at a GM factory which was responsible for welds in a car in which Osama bin Laden once travelled, will be declared "enemy combatants" and may be permanently detained at Guantánamo Bay or other, invisible, American facilities or delivered against their will to the governments of allies in the "War on Terra" (TM). The division will also be responsible for illegally monitoring all robotic software on the planet for terrorist influenced code.
An unnamed DHS spokesman was quoted as saying:
¶ 15:18:00 0 comments links to this post"Go ahead give them human rights. Like we would pay any attention to that!"
US finds new reason not to rebuild New Orleans
Hey, it's sinking anyway. Why should we bother?
¶ 14:54:00 0 comments
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"Honest officer. I thought it was a buddy of mine."
A dead dear has been spotted at Dick Cheney's Washington home.
¶ 14:42:00 0 comments
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Collision course
It could end up as a bit of a grudge match, Leahy v. Gonzales. Incoming Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, Patrick Leahy, has indicated that he plans to call on the US Attorney General to explain why Maher Arar is still on a US watch list, how the US could have got things so wrong and how to resolve the issue.
You will remember Arar as the Canadian citizen who was seized by US authorities at JFK airport whilst in transit home from a holiday. He was delivered to Syrian authorities who tortured him and forced a confession from him. A Canadian inquiry has found him innocent of any connection with terrorism or terrorist.
I guess this is just one more mistake that the Bush administration is too frightened to admit to. It is just unfortunate that it happens to be someone's life.
¶ 14:06:00 0 comments
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You will remember Arar as the Canadian citizen who was seized by US authorities at JFK airport whilst in transit home from a holiday. He was delivered to Syrian authorities who tortured him and forced a confession from him. A Canadian inquiry has found him innocent of any connection with terrorism or terrorist.
I guess this is just one more mistake that the Bush administration is too frightened to admit to. It is just unfortunate that it happens to be someone's life.
Quid pro renes
Xmas came early for the dialysis business this year when Bush signed into law a measure that will, among other things, raise Medicare reimbursement for dialysis by 100 million USD annually.
Guess who got their donations.
¶ 13:42:00 0 comments
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Guess who got their donations.
Welcome to the OK Corral
As usual gun control opponents have come up with a "better" idea when faced a shooting in a public place that may have been prevented with better (or indeed any) regulation and licensing of gun ownership.
This time it is Guns for everybody!
Good thinking Batman.
¶ 13:32:00 0 comments
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This time it is Guns for everybody!
Good thinking Batman.
Dubya panders to his mates
Is it too much to ask that once, just once, before he leaves office will George W. Bush (aka "the Decider" (TM)) actually do something, anything that actually favours the American people over corporate interests?
Probably not before the end of 2006.
¶ 13:28:00 0 comments
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Probably not before the end of 2006.
Winning hearts and minds
Join the US Army. Travel to exotic places. Don't build nations. Don't earn the respect of the locals. Raid their hospitals.
From the Geneva Conventions:
From the Geneva Conventions:
¶ 13:18:00 0 comments links to this postArticle 18
Civilian hospitals organized to give care to the wounded and sick, the infirm and maternity cases, may in no circumstances be the object of attack, but shall at all times be respected and protected by the Parties to the conflict.
States which are Parties to a conflict shall provide all civilian hospitals with certificates showing that they are civilian hospitals and that the buildings which they occupy are not used for any purpose which would deprive these hospitals of protection in accordance with Article 19.
Civilian hospitals shall be marked by means of the emblem provided for in Article 38 of the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field of August 12, 1949, but only if so authorized by the State.
The Parties to the conflict shall, in so far as military considerations permit, take the necessary steps to make the distinctive emblems indicating civilian hospitals clearly visible to the enemy land, air and naval forces in order to obviate the possibility of any hostile action.
In view of the dangers to which hospitals may be exposed by being close to military objectives, it is recommended that such hospitals be situated as far as possible from such objectives.
Article 19
The protection to which civilian hospitals are entitled shall not cease unless they are used to commit, outside their humanitarian duties, acts harmful to the enemy. Protection may, however, cease only after due warning has been given, naming, in all appropriate cases, a reasonable time limit, and after such warning has remained unheeded.
The fact that sick or wounded members of the armed forces are nursed in these hospitals, or the presence of small arms and ammunition taken from such combatants which have not yet been handed to the proper service, shall not be considered to be acts harmful to the enemy.
It's beginning to look a lot like Xmas
Surely it can't be far off now as the papers and other media are full of predictions ofXmas travel chaos.
Fog at airports! Railway repair works! Motorway repairs!
I suggest staying home and saving the planet!
¶ 11:58:00 0 comments
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Fog at airports! Railway repair works! Motorway repairs!
I suggest staying home and saving the planet!
Make way for Private Jemma and Private Not-Jemma
After years of denying the need GW has now seen the light and decided that America needs a larger army. Given that recruiters already have to cheat on educational and intelligence standards, criminal records and also make promises that can't be kept à la Private Benjamin in order to maintain the armed forces below the levels they target today one wonders how this is possible.
Perhaps George and Laura will prove an example to mothers and fathers across the land by marching the twins down to the nearest recruiting office right after Xmas and sign the two of them up for a tour of the garden spots of Asia.
¶ 11:44:00 0 comments
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in order to maintain the armed forces below the levels they target today one wonders how this is possible.Perhaps George and Laura will prove an example to mothers and fathers across the land by marching the twins down to the nearest recruiting office right after Xmas and sign the two of them up for a tour of the garden spots of Asia.
Christian erotophobia
Stephen Tame was a warehouseman and a devout Christian before he fell at work and seriously injured himself. One of the conditions that ensued, for which he has been awarded £3.1 million in compensation, was a loss of sexual inhibition which led to the break up of his marriage. We are getting more like America by the hour!
¶ 11:35:00 0 comments
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G7 a failure
So says Bank of England governor Mervyn King. In speech in Melbourne he suggested that it should be disbanded rather than enlarged into the G8 by the inclusion of China and that its functions should be taken over by the International Monetary Fund after that institution is significantly reformed to remove the stranglehold currently enjoyed by the US and Western Europe. Curiously the story seems to be unreported in America.
¶ 11:24:00 0 comments
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The good news is he isn't a bomb...
...he hasn't any cavities and all his limbs are intact.
The bad news is that his grandmother isn't too clever and neither are the security staff who stood by and watched the one month old child be put through the X-ray security screening at LAX.
¶ 11:17:00 0 comments
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The bad news is that his grandmother isn't too clever and neither are the security staff who stood by and watched the one month old child be put through the X-ray security screening at LAX.
UAE fights back against the wingnuts!
In a move that is certain to inspire a fierce reaction from a particularly vocal and rabid subsection of the right wing nut-o-sphere the government of Ras al-Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates has announced a new dress code for employees that will, among other things, ban the wearing of pyjamas whilst at work.
How could they so hate freedom as to go this far?
¶ 11:07:00 0 comments
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How could they so hate freedom as to go this far?
"Yes David. There was a holocaust."
Discredited British historian David Irving has been released from prison in Austria and is to serve the remaining two years and a bit of his three year sentence on probation.
No matter how reprehensible I believe his views to be I strongly believe that it is wrong to ban his, or any other's, speech if it stops short of inciting violence and that Germany and Austria have gone too far with these laws. Mein Kampf, the pathetic ramblings of Hitler's distrubed mind is banned in both countries. I think all Germans and Austrians should be forced to read it rather than being prevented from doing so!
¶ 10:57:00 0 comments
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No matter how reprehensible I believe his views to be I strongly believe that it is wrong to ban his, or any other's, speech if it stops short of inciting violence and that Germany and Austria have gone too far with these laws. Mein Kampf, the pathetic ramblings of Hitler's distrubed mind is banned in both countries. I think all Germans and Austrians should be forced to read it rather than being prevented from doing so!
A gift for understatement
I think we can all agree that skydiver Michael Holmes has a subtle way with words. Faced with a 15,000 foot plunge to ground after both his main and his reserve chute failed to open he said to himself "shit I'm going to die" and then blacked out.
It turns out that he was wrong and he managed to somehow survive the fall with just a punctured lung and a broken ankle. Perhaps gravity is somehow different in New Zealand.
Note: I find it terribly amusing that The Sun cannot bring itself to actually spell out the word "shit" in the story, substituting the ever popular "s**t" in its place. This despite the fact that it flashes tits (NSFW) all over page 3 six days a week. Oh well. Its owned by Murdoch. What did we expect?
¶ 10:49:00 0 comments
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It turns out that he was wrong and he managed to somehow survive the fall with just a punctured lung and a broken ankle. Perhaps gravity is somehow different in New Zealand.
Note: I find it terribly amusing that The Sun cannot bring itself to actually spell out the word "shit" in the story, substituting the ever popular "s**t" in its place. This despite the fact that it flashes tits (NSFW) all over page 3 six days a week. Oh well. Its owned by Murdoch. What did we expect?
Remembering the bad old days
We are reminded of that shameful time in the distant past when the US government was so paranoid that the FBI spent considerable taxpayer resources finding out that ex-Beatle John Lennon certainly was not fomenting world revolution.
It is a great comfort to me that I know that nothing of the sort could possibly happen today!
¶ 10:42:00 0 comments
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It is a great comfort to me that I know that nothing of the sort could possibly happen today!
I guess this means the end of the reunion tour
Procul Harem keyboardist Matthew Fisherhas won his court case and been awarded 20% of the song writing royalties for A Whiter Shade of Pale on the basis of the organ riff at the beginning (which in turn was largely inspired or based on JB Bach). The bad news for Fisher is that the decision is only retroactive to May 2005. Its still reported that he should receive a six figure sum.
I wonder why he waited so long. Did the drugs just wear off or something?
¶ 10:30:00 0 comments
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I wonder why he waited so long. Did the drugs just wear off or something?
Things that make you say "hmmm".
Was the Virgin Mary a komodo dragon?
It seems that the females of the species are capable of breeding without any male participation. ¶ 10:10:00 0 comments links to this post
It seems that the females of the species are capable of breeding without any male participation. ¶ 10:10:00 0 comments links to this post
20 December 2006
I wonder where he will end up
General John Abizaid, the highest ranking Army officer in the Middle East, is planning oncutting and running, I mean retiring, in March. He's only fifty five. What do you reckon - a seven figure salary at a defense contractor somewhere?
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"It's in Pennsylvania, ain't it?"
Most Americans believe that Jesus was born in what is now Israel. What a surprise! Americans are bad a geography not to mention current events.
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Dubya's ephiphany
What do you reckon he will think of next now that he seems to realised that Iraq isn't going quite as well as he has been telling us all along.
¶ 17:40:00 0 comments
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Jesus is King!
Or at least he will be if some Polish lawmakers have their way! Unfortunately the Catholic Church in balking at the idea of making Jesus the honorary "King of Poland".
If they need a back up idea I'm sure that the Presley estate would be more amenable to the idea.
¶ 17:36:00 0 comments
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If they need a back up idea I'm sure that the Presley estate would be more amenable to the idea.
Baghdad now more dangerous than Washington DC
Violence in Iraq is at its highest level ever according to a report issued by the Pentagon.
Rumours that Washington DC, Detroit and New Orleans are lobbying for Iraq to be joined to the union as the 51st state so that Baghdad will become eligible for, but not necessarily win, the distinctly un-coveted annual American Murder Capital award cannot be confirmed at this time.
Many American cities are reacting positively to the challenge.
¶ 16:43:00 0 comments
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Rumours that Washington DC, Detroit and New Orleans are lobbying for Iraq to be joined to the union as the 51st state so that Baghdad will become eligible for, but not necessarily win, the distinctly un-coveted annual American Murder Capital award cannot be confirmed at this time.
Many American cities are reacting positively to the challenge.
Listen to the Gernerals then ignore them
Doesn't Bush always say that he listens to the Generals and then does what they say needs to be done?
So why doesn't he do just that? ¶ 15:48:00 0 comments links to this post
So why doesn't he do just that? ¶ 15:48:00 0 comments links to this post
You'd get quite a few pints of Guinness for this much lolly
Can Ireland give Italy a run for its money as the European capital of corruption?
They can if they can find more politicians like the late Charles Haughey the former Irish Taoiseach of Fianna Fáil. An Irish government investigation has found that he absconded with over €11.5 million of public money between 1979 and 1996. That's around €45 million in today's money.
If you're going to steal you should steal big and die before you get caught; both of which Mr. Haughey did.
¶ 15:39:00 0 comments
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They can if they can find more politicians like the late Charles Haughey the former Irish Taoiseach of Fianna Fáil. An Irish government investigation has found that he absconded with over €11.5 million of public money between 1979 and 1996. That's around €45 million in today's money.
If you're going to steal you should steal big and die before you get caught; both of which Mr. Haughey did.
"If I had ever been here before I would probably know just what to do"
Why do I feel like this has all happened before and that I am simply reliving a prior and recent experience?
Could it be the news that the US is seriously contemplating increasing the size of the American fleet in the Persian Gulf so as to flex its muscles at Iran?
The American state as it is today reminds me of an ex-body builder living with the after effects of a pattern of steroid abuse. It has muscles too big for its frame, a tiny willy, there are signs of brain damage and it probably has cancer.
¶ 15:31:00 0 comments
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Could it be the news that the US is seriously contemplating increasing the size of the American fleet in the Persian Gulf so as to flex its muscles at Iran?
The American state as it is today reminds me of an ex-body builder living with the after effects of a pattern of steroid abuse. It has muscles too big for its frame, a tiny willy, there are signs of brain damage and it probably has cancer.
And he's not even a Yank!
A (former) Air France passenger, Jean-Jacques Jauffret, is suing the airline after he had his waist measured, was told he was overweight and charged for an additional seat last year. M. Jauffret is asking for €8,000 and for reimbursement of the cost of the additional seat. M. Jauffret said that he was "shocked and humiliated" by his treatment.
Humiliated he may have been but he should not have been shocked. M. Jauffret weighs in at a svelte 160 kilos. Would you want him jammed into the seat next to you?
¶ 15:15:00 0 comments
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Humiliated he may have been but he should not have been shocked. M. Jauffret weighs in at a svelte 160 kilos. Would you want him jammed into the seat next to you?
19 December 2006
Not even the Bushies....
...would use the military to break the Goodyear Tire strike. Or would they?
Maybe they can find a way to blame the shortage of armoured vests on the unions. I'm surprised they haven't thought of that!
¶ 19:46:00 0 comments
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Maybe they can find a way to blame the shortage of armoured vests on the unions. I'm surprised they haven't thought of that!
Maybe Laura doesn't read the papers either
You'd expect better from a librarian, you really would. But then Laura married into the BFEE and it was all down hill from there.
From that damn liberal media Laura wants to hear more positive news about Iraq's schools but it seems that the only news is, well, very, very bad.
¶ 19:41:00 1 comments
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From that damn liberal media Laura wants to hear more positive news about Iraq's schools but it seems that the only news is, well, very, very bad.
Whilst no one was looking
The Bush administration takes another step to ensure that logging and mining companies will have easy access to federal land by gutting the National Environmental Policy Act.
Congress makes laws. The President ignores them. Welcome to the Imperial States of America.
¶ 19:38:00 0 comments
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Congress makes laws. The President ignores them. Welcome to the Imperial States of America.
Promises, promises
This is the most compelling reason yet to support Hillary Clinton for President in 2008. Dick Morris says he'll leave the US is Hillary wins the Democratic nomination.
Hey. Wait a minute. What if he comes to the UK?
Go Barack!
¶ 19:33:00 0 comments
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Hey. Wait a minute. What if he comes to the UK?
Go Barack!
"We just want to take a little look"
The American government knows that the Saudi's don't torture anyone. How else could you explain the US decision to return sixteen detainees from Guantánamo to Saudi custody.
So I wonder why the Saudi's have reneged on an agreement to allow Human Rights Watch to have access to their prisons.
¶ 19:11:00 0 comments
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So I wonder why the Saudi's have reneged on an agreement to allow Human Rights Watch to have access to their prisons.
Dissecting Christopher Hitchens
He is erudite and well spoken. He is also a drunken arse. So it is always enjoyable to have the opportunity to watch someone pick him apart. Hence I heartily recommend John Barrell's review of Mr. Hitchen's latest book, a biography of Tom Paine, in the London Review of Books.
Do read the whole thing but here are a few snippets to get you started:
Do read the whole thing but here are a few snippets to get you started:
¶ 19:03:00 0 comments links to this post"But compared with any other book on Paine I can think of, this one is casual, even perfunctory. Long before I reached the end of what is a very long short book, I was at a loss to know why it had been written."
"...this book, which reads like the work of a tired man. Too tired, to begin with, to check his facts."
"Hitchens’s casual attitude to facts is not compensated for by a corresponding precision with ideas, or any concern for the range, the richness, the complexity of Paine’s thinking."
The hard working American farmer
"Free market" capitalists will tell you that if the prices of the commodity you are producing are declining to the point at which you are not making a profit that this is a signal.
Most American farmers have taken it to mean that it is a signal for them and their associations to spend millions lobbying the US Congress for subsidies and special treatment. What the "free market" capitalists actually mean that it is a sign that you should actually move into other goods or crops, if you are a farmer.
Obviously those American farmers who dealt with this message appropriately and stopped farming soy beans, tobacco or whatever and moved into marijuana have reacted appropriately and have therefore been richly rewarded.
All without subsidies.
We should all give thanks to those ganja farmers out there who have shown the American farmer how the market operates.
¶ 18:56:00 0 comments
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Most American farmers have taken it to mean that it is a signal for them and their associations to spend millions lobbying the US Congress for subsidies and special treatment. What the "free market" capitalists actually mean that it is a sign that you should actually move into other goods or crops, if you are a farmer.
Obviously those American farmers who dealt with this message appropriately and stopped farming soy beans, tobacco or whatever and moved into marijuana have reacted appropriately and have therefore been richly rewarded.
All without subsidies.
We should all give thanks to those ganja farmers out there who have shown the American farmer how the market operates.
An inside job
Meet Ayham Sameraei. He is a dual Iraq-American citizen. He is the former electricity minister of the interim Iraqi government and he was jailed for corruption. Up until this weekend he was a prisoner in one of the few safe places in Baghdad, inside the Green Zone. He is no longer thanks to a crack team of American security contractors who busted him out.
The American embassy says that it is assisting the Iraqi government in looking for him. I'll bet they're not assisting too hard.
¶ 18:51:00 0 comments
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The American embassy says that it is assisting the Iraqi government in looking for him. I'll bet they're not assisting too hard.
Either evolution is true or God hates mankind
I go for the later but I guess the religious have no choice but to opt for the later.
How else can you explain so many new and fatal diseases? AIDS / HIV, drug resistant TB, variant CJD and now variant MRSA.
If anyone can come with an adequate explanation that doesn't involve evolution (or God hating mankind) please let me know! Ta.
¶ 17:36:00 0 comments
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How else can you explain so many new and fatal diseases? AIDS / HIV, drug resistant TB, variant CJD and now variant MRSA.
If anyone can come with an adequate explanation that doesn't involve evolution (or God hating mankind) please let me know! Ta.
Hamleys gets hammered
You make one or two little pricing errors on your website and your Xmas goes up in smoke. At least that is what happened to famed Regents Street toy retailer Hamleys. Now it looks like the warehouse has been emptied and anyone who was planning on picking up a few last minute toys or games late this week appears to be shit out of luck.
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18 December 2006
"Is that Qur'an in your pocket or are you out to destroy Judeo-Christian American civilisation?"
Does anyone know what he may have had in his pockets when he was sworn in?
If it wasn't the Holy Bible I say we throw him to Dennis Praeger!
¶ 15:07:00 0 comments
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If it wasn't the Holy Bible I say we throw him to Dennis Praeger!
True family friendliness
You know if they just tried the wingnuts wouldn't have to look to far to find things that they would like in the campaign of French Socialist Presidential candidate Ségolène Royal. Most recently she has extolled the virtues of the legally mandated 35 hour work week. What could be more family friendly than that?
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You are what you eat
The trouble is you may know it because you don't know what you are eating!
It is still hard to believe that there are no requirements to identify the inclusion of genetically modified (GM) ingredients in products in the US. Virtually all non-organic foods in the states contain one or more GM ingredients but no one is telling the Americans and it seems that they are blissfully unaware of the fact or its potential implications.
You have been warned.
Maybe if they knew they wouldn't be so eager to poison our rice!
¶ 14:08:00 0 comments
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It is still hard to believe that there are no requirements to identify the inclusion of genetically modified (GM) ingredients in products in the US. Virtually all non-organic foods in the states contain one or more GM ingredients but no one is telling the Americans and it seems that they are blissfully unaware of the fact or its potential implications.
You have been warned.
Maybe if they knew they wouldn't be so eager to poison our rice!
Is India the new East Germany?
Since the fall of the Berlin Wall international athletic competitions just haven't been the same. We were always wondering if the East German sprinter/gymnast/shot putter was really a woman.
Well their great tradition continues but it has now moved on to Asia. Santhi Soundarajan, an Indian silver medallist in the 800 metres at the recent Asian games in Doha looks to be stripped of her(?) medal based on the results of a gender test which apparently showed that she did not have the "sexual characteristics of a woman".
Now if I were a misogynist or a male chauvinist running dog I could joke that the gender test included parallel parking (which he passed) and picking the best handbag to go with a pair of shoes (which he failed).
But I'm not.
So I won't.
¶ 13:59:00 0 comments
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Well their great tradition continues but it has now moved on to Asia. Santhi Soundarajan, an Indian silver medallist in the 800 metres at the recent Asian games in Doha looks to be stripped of her(?) medal based on the results of a gender test which apparently showed that she did not have the "sexual characteristics of a woman".
Now if I were a misogynist or a male chauvinist running dog I could joke that the gender test included parallel parking (which he passed) and picking the best handbag to go with a pair of shoes (which he failed).
But I'm not.
So I won't.
"How many times do I have to tell you? I don't know where the handcuffs came from!"
19 year old David Griffin of Clinton Iowa was minding his own business and stealing stuff out of parked cars when he was nabbed by the local police. They handcuffed him and took him down to the police station from which he slipped away. He was subsequently recaptured and now, in addition to burglary charges, he is to be charged with theft for stealing the handcuffs he was wearing.
Sounds like he's one for the Army!
¶ 13:49:00 0 comments
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Sounds like he's one for the Army!
I'm confused
When the debate was raging in America over the misguided Medicare drug benefit bill didn't the Bush administration steadfastly refuse to allow price negotiations over drugs?
So why are they now suggesting it for Medicaid?
¶ 13:05:00 0 comments
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So why are they now suggesting it for Medicaid?
But he lied to me before!
Why should I trust Colin Powell now after all the lies he told me in the run up to the invasion of Iraq?
Well because, after all this time, he finally agrees with me!
¶ 12:48:00 0 comments
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Well because, after all this time, he finally agrees with me!
Most expensive hit ever?
British police now estimate that the Polonium-210 used to kill Alexander Litvinenko would have been worth more than ten million USD.
You've really got to want someone dead to splash out that much lolly.
¶ 12:45:00 0 comments
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You've really got to want someone dead to splash out that much lolly.
Are you busy Frday night?
Note: please practice safe sex!
¶ 12:25:00 0 comments
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Even if you are abandon your Xmas shopping or leave the Xmas party early and do your bit for world peace.
And ladies, no faking please.
And ladies, no faking please.
Note: please practice safe sex!
Note this date
24 April 2007 will mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Beeb's Sky at Night. They have already filmed the 650th show of which host, lovable curmudgeon, Patrick Moore, has only missed the one!
Well done Patrick.
¶ 12:22:00 0 comments
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Well done Patrick.
Attorney General's Overseas Corruption Inquiry Checklist
1) Is affected country a critical cog in the "war on terra"?
NO
2) Does affected country have a pending business deal with a major UK arms merchant worth in excess of £1 billion?
NO
3) Does US ambassador of affected country regularly hold hands with the American President?
NO
Attorney General's decision: PROCEED WITH INQUIRY
¶ 12:14:00 0 comments
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So why do they talk such rubbish?
A new study has shown that black cab drivers brains actually grow additional cells in which to store "the Knowledge". They still tend to be a batch of miserable racist misogynists in spite of their additional brain power.
¶ 12:09:00 0 comments
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Swear off palm oil - save a primate
Our seemingly insatiable thirst for palm oil may mean that we are seeing the last days of the "man of the forest". The huge forest fires in Indonesia, that are probably being lit to clear the way for palm oil plantations, may spell the end for the gentle orang-utan, a close relative of man (should you believe in such nonsense). There may only be a decade left for them to survive in the wild.
¶ 11:51:00 0 comments
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There is a gynaecologist waiting at the end of the aisle
A Romanian priest is set to strike a hard bargain with couples who wish to get married. If the woman is not a virgin the couple will be fined up to half a month's wages.
There is no word as to how he will enforce this requirement, although it is self evident when the bride is preggers or has kids already, nor why only the woman has to suffer prenuptial chastity.
¶ 11:44:00 0 comments
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There is no word as to how he will enforce this requirement, although it is self evident when the bride is preggers or has kids already, nor why only the woman has to suffer prenuptial chastity.
Will Gran be coming for Xmas?
How did you spend the weekend? Xmas shopping? Xmas parties?
Well Alice Beer, aged 94, spent the weekend camped outside the Trident base in Scotland along with other members of GOAT (Golden Oldies Against Trident).
I wish her well and thank her. I should be so dedicated! In fact we all should.
¶ 11:37:00 0 comments
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Well Alice Beer, aged 94, spent the weekend camped outside the Trident base in Scotland along with other members of GOAT (Golden Oldies Against Trident).
I wish her well and thank her. I should be so dedicated! In fact we all should.
How the other half (of a percent) live
Whilst most of Britain struggles to find a way onto the property ladder and the means to buy that starter home a very, very small proportion of British youth get a leg up with a starter palace.
I prefer this Royle Family myself.
¶ 11:30:00 0 comments
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I prefer this Royle Family myself.
They're married! Oh no they're not! Oh yes they are!
The wing nuts are right. Gays will ruin marriage for the rest of us. At least if the ceremony for the civil partnership of Little Britain star Matt Lucas is any indication.
Surely it must have been the first panto-wedding! All I got to wear at my wedding was a DJ.
¶ 11:20:00 0 comments
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Surely it must have been the first panto-wedding! All I got to wear at my wedding was a DJ.
I'm dreaming of a pissed Xmas
The British love Xmas. The trouble is that they love it so much they drink. They drink a lot! We will average more than 10 units of alcohol a day for the twelve days of Xmas. Somehow that doesn't seem like nearly enough what with Xmas Eve down the pub, Xmas day itself, Boxing Day at the footie, New Year's Eve.
I hope I remember what I get!
¶ 11:15:00 0 comments
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I hope I remember what I get!
17 December 2006
Maybe Santorum was right
If first you let men marry men and then you let dogs marry dogs how long will it be before someone wants you to let men marry dogs.
¶ 13:31:00 0 comments
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Why I won't use salad cream!
Especially in public places. You can never tell when something like this could happen!
¶ 13:28:00 0 comments
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Surely there must be another "st" word to describe him
An analysis piece in the Washington Post can't decide if President Bush is "stubborn" or "stalwart" with his refusal to change course in Iraq or to admit that he might ever have been mistaken.
I think they should compromise and settle for "STUPID".
¶ 13:21:00 0 comments
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I think they should compromise and settle for "STUPID".
A wish for Tom
Dear ex-Congressman Delay,
I know I am not important enough to be named as a leader of the liberal conspiracy but if at all possible I would consider it a great privilege if you would at least include me as an unindicted co-conspirator.
Kind regards,
Yank in London
¶ 13:15:00 0 comments
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I know I am not important enough to be named as a leader of the liberal conspiracy but if at all possible I would consider it a great privilege if you would at least include me as an unindicted co-conspirator.
Kind regards,
Yank in London
Quote of the week - III
From The Decider (TM)
“I must tell you, I’m sleeping a lot better than people would assume.”
That fact that he can sleep at all, even with drugs, tells me what a morally bankrupt human being he is.
¶ 12:58:00 0 comments
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Quote of the week - II
From the universally famous David Gest, estranged husband of the luverly Liza Minelli.
"I've actually had hundreds of marriage proposals since I left the jungle. It's incredible.
I couldn't agree with you more David. It is incredible.
I would think that whoever these hundreds of deluded folks are that they would be better off picking someone off of death row.
¶ 12:49:00 0 comments
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I would think that whoever these hundreds of deluded folks are that they would be better off picking someone off of death row.
Quote of the week - I
From our own Prince Hal who was speaking about his recent trip to Lesotho:
"We chose Lesotho because it wasn't even on the map, I'd never heard of it."
With apologies to the young royal I feel duty bound to infrom him that it is in one's commonwealth and has been since long before you were born!
¶ 12:45:00 0 comments
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Poor Nelson Mandella
You would think that he had suffered enough after all those years in prison and then having to put up with Winnie. It would seem not. David Beckham has thoughtfully sent the great man and ex-President of South Africa a copy of his autobiography for Xmas. He included a handwritten (possibly by Brooklyn) note that said
"To Mr Mandela. It was an honour to meet you. See you soon. David Beckham".
This would seem to imply that the Beckhams are coming to see him. I wonder if Posh will go.
¶ 12:39:00 0 comments
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Not Jon Bolton
I am sure that these fine gentlemen are not accusing the "Great Moustache" of throwing his weight around at the UN and actually blackmailing countries using US aid to get what he wants.
Then again as the people responsible for the research are from Harvard they are probably are a couple of those evil professors that David Horowitz is so kind as to warn us about.
¶ 12:33:00 0 comments
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Then again as the people responsible for the research are from Harvard they are probably are a couple of those evil professors that David Horowitz is so kind as to warn us about.
New Labour - Old Ethics
I seem to remember that at some point Tony Blair told us we were going to have an "ethical foreign policy". I assumed at the time, foolishly as it turns out, they he meant that they would apply positive ethics based on accepted Western values to their engagement with the world. It seems that I was wrong. The meant that they would apply standard and flexible capitalist ethics. These basically say you can do what you want in the interests of the shareholder or big business if you are in power.
Oh and the police squad running the investigation are convinced that they were being bugged.
Has anyone seen Patricia Dunn lately?
¶ 12:16:00 0 comments
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Oh and the police squad running the investigation are convinced that they were being bugged.
Has anyone seen Patricia Dunn lately?
16 December 2006
Headline of the day
Incontinence sufferers have lower quality of life
Is this news to anyone?
¶ 15:27:00 0 comments links to this post
Is this news to anyone?
¶ 15:27:00 0 comments links to this post
Xmas comes early for George Allen
He may have lost his seat in the Senate but now unemployed Virginian George Allen has been awarded something greater.
The Global Language Monitor has recognised "macaca" as the politically incorrect word of 2006!
Is there an award ceremony? Does he get to make a speech? If so I hope he makes it unscripted. There should be more entertainment value that way.
¶ 15:23:00 0 comments
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The Global Language Monitor has recognised "macaca" as the politically incorrect word of 2006!
Is there an award ceremony? Does he get to make a speech? If so I hope he makes it unscripted. There should be more entertainment value that way.
What's in a name (redux)
Via Susie we find we have an additional candidate for twinning with Fjuckby in Sweden.
¶ 15:17:00 0 comments
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Learning from the occupiers
I don't know where they might have picked up ideas like this but it seems that the Iraqi government is negotiating in secret with oil companies and freezing out the unions.
By the way, have the minutes of "Biggus Dickus" Cheney's Energy Task Force been released yet?
¶ 14:59:00 0 comments
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By the way, have the minutes of "Biggus Dickus" Cheney's Energy Task Force been released yet?
Faith based violence
What a game! You get to convert your own army of true believers to fight the forces of darkness. You get to kill those who don't believe as you do and then god recharges your soul. It is all based around "spiritual warfare". Undoubtedly it is jihadist propaganda. It is available at Wal-Mart for just $39.82.
"What? Available at Wal-Mart you say. First they join forces with Sodomites and now this!"
The game should be OK for (real) Americans though because you get to be a Christian killing the evil doers. I bet that the twins will get one for George for Xmas!
¶ 14:37:00 0 comments
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"What? Available at Wal-Mart you say. First they join forces with Sodomites and now this!"
The game should be OK for (real) Americans though because you get to be a Christian killing the evil doers. I bet that the twins will get one for George for Xmas!
“I shot the whole of the moon”
It would seem that some American soldiers in Iraq don’t seem to understand that an ambulance adorned with a Red Crescent is entitled to the same Geneva Convention protections as one that displays a Red Cross. Or perhaps they just believe that the Geneva Conventions are a quaint anachronism. Where they could have got such an absurd idea is beyond me.
I wonder if they’ve heard of the Red Crystal as yet either.
¶ 12:25:00 0 comments
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I wonder if they’ve heard of the Red Crystal as yet either.
The road to Damascus
Should Florida Senator Ben Nelson have gone to Syria or should Massachusetts Senator John Kerry meet with Syrian President Assad? The White House thinks not.
So what? Even the President's own party members don't seem to care!
¶ 11:40:00 0 comments
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So what? Even the President's own party members don't seem to care!
What the Americans Did for Us
The telling thing about an empire is how it shares its most prized cultural advances with its colonies.
The Romans brought indoor plumbing and straight roads.
The British brought railroads and the civil service.
The Americans bring automated political telemarketing campaigns.
Sigh. ¶ 11:31:00 0 comments links to this post
The Romans brought indoor plumbing and straight roads.
The British brought railroads and the civil service.
The Americans bring automated political telemarketing campaigns.
Sigh. ¶ 11:31:00 0 comments links to this post
Detention lottery
Despite being "among the most dangerous, best-trained, vicious killers on the face of the earth" hundreds of Guantánamo detainees have managed to strike it lucky; transferred by American authorities to other countries, ostensibly for continued detention, they have subsequently been set free.
Of course this course of events seems to be rather random and certainly doesn't apply to everyone.
I am so proud to live in a society consisting of civilised, rational men and women under the rule of law.
¶ 10:30:00 0 comments
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Of course this course of events seems to be rather random and certainly doesn't apply to everyone.
I am so proud to live in a society consisting of civilised, rational men and women under the rule of law.
Crocodile tears
It is always sad when someone loses their job and source of livelihood.
Well, almost always!
Ms. Regan is now said to be working on an autobiography, If I Hadn't Signed O.J. (I Might Still Have My Job. ¶ 10:23:00 0 comments links to this post
Well, almost always!
Ms. Regan is now said to be working on an autobiography, If I Hadn't Signed O.J. (I Might Still Have My Job. ¶ 10:23:00 0 comments links to this post
15 December 2006
Tony's bad hair week continues :-)
I think we knew this all along, didn't we? Tony lied to get us into Iraq. At least it is official.
I am rather worried about something though. I know that the Tories have been drifting to the left quite considerably of late but now I find myself agreeing with John Major. I may need to go have a lie down.
¶ 16:20:00 0 comments
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I am rather worried about something though. I know that the Tories have been drifting to the left quite considerably of late but now I find myself agreeing with John Major. I may need to go have a lie down.
What do long arms and long legs mean?
No. Not long sleeves and long trousers.
They mean "animal lover". ¶ 16:14:00 0 comments links to this post
They mean "animal lover". ¶ 16:14:00 0 comments links to this post
If you can't beat 'em, tax 'em
If every hooker, porn cinema and sex shop in America had to pay 150 USD a month to the government how much of an impact would it make on the federal deficit?
The city government of Cologne (aka Köln) in Germany seems rather pleased with their results so far.
¶ 16:07:00 0 comments
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The city government of Cologne (aka Köln) in Germany seems rather pleased with their results so far.
"Honest judge, I was only having a wee kip"
1956This is a gentle reminder to behave responsibly during this holiday season that is so full of good cheer and, well, booze. If you are on your way home and you are really feeling knackered a park bench is a much better choice than the railway tracks if you really must have a nap.
Personally, if you are planning on getting that pissed, I would seriously recommend booking a mini cab for the trip home.
¶ 16:02:00 0 comments
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Personally, if you are planning on getting that pissed, I would seriously recommend booking a mini cab for the trip home.
Extra! Extra! Men put off shopping
When I last lived in the states it was on the edge of King of Prussia PA, home of a rather large shopping mall. Until they finished the Blue Route my route home took up US 202 right through the worst of the mall traffic. I began to notice a phenomenon at Xmastime every year. About the middle of November the traffic used to begin to worsen but the additional cars all seemed to be occupied by two or three women, sometimes with children. It would remain that way until some point before Xmas itself and the day of the "big switch" as I used to think of it used to float around anywhere from 2.5 weeks to 1 week before the holiday when the traffic would get even worse. The difference was that nearly all of the incremental traffic was made up of cars containing one and only one man.
So, to me at least, this story about how men shop later hardly qualifies as news.
¶ 15:52:00 0 comments
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So, to me at least, this story about how men shop later hardly qualifies as news.
Is it civil war in Palestine yet?
I wonder if the wingnuts will use the same set of definitions that they seem to want to use to deny that they is a civil war ongoing in Iraq to deny that there is a civil war in Palestine.
No matter what you want to call it I have a sneaking suspicion that this story is in some small way related to this one.
What do you reckon?
¶ 15:38:00 0 comments
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No matter what you want to call it I have a sneaking suspicion that this story is in some small way related to this one.
What do you reckon?
One for all of the conspiracy enthusiasts out there
Now that the Princess Diana murder conspiracies have seemingly been put to bed you'll need something new to move on to and to obsess about.
Well I have just the thing for you. A former air traffic controller out of Boston has gone on record to assert that the attacks on 11 September were an inside job.
Happy now?
¶ 15:28:00 0 comments
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Well I have just the thing for you. A former air traffic controller out of Boston has gone on record to assert that the attacks on 11 September were an inside job.
Happy now?
Surely they jest!
Its budget is over 150 billion USD a year so why is the US Army broke?
Scary, eh? I wonder how that will work out for them. ¶ 15:23:00 0 comments links to this post
Scary, eh? I wonder how that will work out for them. ¶ 15:23:00 0 comments links to this post
What's in a name?
If you are a resident of Fjuckby, Sweden apparently a lot. They are tired of the bad jokes and have appealed to the National Heritage Board for a new name.
Should that effort fail I suggest that they twin themselves with Phuket in Thailand.
¶ 15:13:00 0 comments
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Should that effort fail I suggest that they twin themselves with Phuket in Thailand.
Size does matter
If you are going to draw a big willy on the roof of your school you had better make it big.
¶ 14:57:00 0 comments
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Afghan improvement
Well not everyone is going to view this news as good news but at least junkies around the world will be happy this Xmas.
¶ 14:49:00 0 comments
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Satire that should be true
Creator to boycott Creation Museum opening in plagiarism row
Maybe. Just maybe. ¶ 14:41:00 0 comments links to this post
Maybe. Just maybe. ¶ 14:41:00 0 comments links to this post
Today's headline:
Tomorrow's headline:
US circulates UN draft calling for release of political detainees in Myanmar
Tomorrow's headline:
Myanmar circulates UN draft calling for release of political detainees in United States¶ 14:33:00 0 comments links to this post
Drag Gran down the pub for Xmas
It could save her life. New Australian research shows that moderate drinking in older woman correlated with an increased quality of life and longer life span.
So before dinner on Xmas day take Gran down the pub with you get a couple of Smirnoff Ices down her. At least it will enhance her enjoyment of the Queen's Xmas message to the nation!
¶ 13:04:00 0 comments
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So before dinner on Xmas day take Gran down the pub with you get a couple of Smirnoff Ices down her. At least it will enhance her enjoyment of the Queen's Xmas message to the nation!
Shorter Charles Krauthammer
"You should listen to me! Me! Only to me!".
¶ 12:58:00 0 comments
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My God they are everywhere!
I am refering to the religious nutters who want to stop the teaching of evolution to school science students. Now they have invaded Russia!
¶ 12:27:00 0 comments
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Cruel but not unusual
Jeb Bush presided over his final execution as the governor of Florida yesterday. I wonder if he'll miss signing the warrants. I bet that George did.
The actual ceremony itself didn't go so well. It took two sets of injections and over a half an hour for Angel Nieves Diaz to die.
¶ 12:17:00 0 comments
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The actual ceremony itself didn't go so well. It took two sets of injections and over a half an hour for Angel Nieves Diaz to die.
Want Viagra? Quit smoking.
Due to "computer error" a number of doctor's surgeries in Glasgow seemed to have made a wee error dispensing prescriptions. Instead of being given Zyban to help them with the nicotine urges the patenients ended up with Viagra instead.
¶ 12:08:00 0 comments links to this post"I don't understand it Doc. Now that I've managed to quit smoking I'm running around with an erection all the time and the wife won't leave me alone. Should it have been like this all along?"
Thieves in the graveyard
One of my favourite ways to spend a drizzly Saturday morning in Paris to have a stroll around le cimetière Père-Lachaise. It is a beautiful place conducive to contemplation and full of the last resting places of the famous and infamous from Heloïse and Abelard to Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison.
Now it is being targeted by thieves who are stealing sculptures and busts from famous graves seemingly "to order".
¶ 11:49:00 0 comments
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Now it is being targeted by thieves who are stealing sculptures and busts from famous graves seemingly "to order".
Carbon offsets - good deed or license to pollute?
Carbon offsetting has become a favourite method of supposedly undoing the damage that you have done to the planet by giving a few quid to a firm that will plant trees that will, in theory, absorb the carbon dioxide that your travel, heating or whatever created.
Surprise! Surprise! It turns out that it is really not that simple and you are probably not doing any good at all.
So the capitalists are selling us what they claim are the means to assuage our liberal guilt without actually altering our lifestyle. Sorry. You are going to have to do it the hard way.
- Cut out flights.
- Ditch the SUV/MPV/petrol guzzler
- Walk don't drive
- Use public transport
- Turn off the air con
- Eat less meat
- Eat local produce
- Turn down the heat
I'm sure you know hat you need to do. It is just a matter of doing it. So this year instead of wasting your New Year's resolution on claiming that you will quit smoking/ / quite drinking / lose weight try pick two or three things from the list above (or other of your own chosing) and help save the planet.
¶ 11:26:00 0 comments links to this post
Britain set to destroy the family and Christianity
I am certain that the American Christian right will be calling for the Bush government to sever diplomatic relations with the UK once they get wind of the fact that Britain is set to make fertility treatment available to all couples irrespective of sexual preference and the doctors will no long need to consider the potential child's "right to a father".
We've also had civil partnerships for same sex couples and as far as I can tell "traditional" marriage is not in ruins.
¶ 11:16:00 0 comments
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We've also had civil partnerships for same sex couples and as far as I can tell "traditional" marriage is not in ruins.
Tony's bad hair day
I'm sure that Tony Blair wishes that the Xmas break were here already. He didn't have a very good day yesterday. Shall we sum up how it went?
First thing in the morning the door bell at Number 10 rings. "Who can that be?" the PM wondered. It turns out that it was Old Bill wanting a quiet word. In the end they didn't question him under caution about those gongs awarded to Labour Party financial workers so he would let the little woman go off to work.
Then his party's green credentials, so recently applauded, turned out to be as transparent as the Emperor's new clothes.
He must have been getting testy by this point as he decided to blame the fact that the government is to close around 2,500 Post Offices on the man in the street rather than official heartlessness.
But the coup de grace had to be the decision late in the day to put the interests of BAE ahead of the finding out the truth behind the corrupt dealing that lead to BAE getting a multi-billion pound deal from the Saudis for the EuroFighter.
A few more days like that and Gordon is never going to get to be Prime Minister. Shame that.
¶ 10:59:00 0 comments
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The next generation's feet
Am I the only one who get irritated by these new trainers with wheels in the heels that seem to be hugely popular with kids these days? I was in a train station yesterday and I got slammed into about a half a dozen times by kids wearing them. Perhaps it that I'm turning into a grumpy old man!
Independent of my annoyance there is one thing I've noticed about them, or perhaps more accurately the kids that wear them. Have you ever watched anyone with them on try to walk? They inevitably end up walking on their tippy toes all the time. Surely that can't be good for them.
¶ 10:48:00 0 comments
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Independent of my annoyance there is one thing I've noticed about them, or perhaps more accurately the kids that wear them. Have you ever watched anyone with them on try to walk? They inevitably end up walking on their tippy toes all the time. Surely that can't be good for them.
14 December 2006
A coalition of the Islamaphobic
We all know that the US and the UK are part of the coalition but everyone likes to forget the Aussies.
¶ 18:39:00 0 comments
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A topsy turvy world
Whilst they think no one is looking the Tories are trying to stake out a position to the left of Labour.
The question is - do we dare believe them?
¶ 18:37:00 0 comments
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The question is - do we dare believe them?
Haven't got health insurance?
Not to worry. Treatment is cheap in India.
See. Globalisation works! ¶ 18:33:00 0 comments links to this post
See. Globalisation works! ¶ 18:33:00 0 comments links to this post
Lead in your pencil - that's good
Lead in the air is not so good. So why is the US Environmental (Non)Protection Administration planning to eliminate the regulations which led to the introduction of unleaded petrol and helped make significant progress in reducing lead exposure possible?
In case you were wondering, the preceding question is not rhetorical. I haven't a bloody clue myself.
¶ 18:28:00 0 comments
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In case you were wondering, the preceding question is not rhetorical. I haven't a bloody clue myself.
Why do they hate science? (part II)
The American Union of Concerned Scientists has issued a statement condemning government interference in science. The statement has been signed by fifty two Nobel laureates and 10,000 other American researchers. They have also released an A to Z list of government scientific abuses which I shall read at my leisure and, undoubtedly, profusely comment about later.
Curiously that damned liberal main stream media in the US doesn't seem to have noticed this. Do a Google news search on "American Union of Concerned Scientists" and see what you get.
¶ 18:04:00 0 comments
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Curiously that damned liberal main stream media in the US doesn't seem to have noticed this. Do a Google news search on "American Union of Concerned Scientists" and see what you get.
European TV advertising rules changed
They will be more like those in the US. More adverts. Less restrictions. Product placements. You don't suppose they might have discussed this over moules frites in a Brussels eetcafe do you know? You know - a lavish meal paid for by someone else.
Thank heavens for Auntie! ¶ 17:45:00 0 comments links to this post
Thank heavens for Auntie! ¶ 17:45:00 0 comments links to this post
Fuck the blind!
As I have noted before people often used to ask me about American money all being the same size when I first moved here. They inevitably closed the discussion with the remark "but what do your blind people do?".
I never had an answer for that but the Bush administration, in appealing a court decision that the current US currency discriminates against the blind and must be changed, has one. "Fuck 'em if they can't take a joke!"
¶ 17:33:00 0 comments
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UPDATE: do you reckon that it was intentionally or unintentionally ironic that the government appealed the decision a day before the UN approved the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities?
As I have noted before people often used to ask me about American money all being the same size when I first moved here. They inevitably closed the discussion with the remark "but what do your blind people do?".
I never had an answer for that but the Bush administration, in appealing a court decision that the current US currency discriminates against the blind and must be changed, has one. "Fuck 'em if they can't take a joke!"
A state for tourists to avoid
Ohio.
Not there's much to see anyway!
The most amazing thing about the story is that the legislature overrode the governor's veto without even bothering to debate whether it was a good idea.
I humbly offer them a new state motto: "Guns don't kill people. Ohio does."
¶ 17:20:00 0 comments
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Not there's much to see anyway!
The most amazing thing about the story is that the legislature overrode the governor's veto without even bothering to debate whether it was a good idea.
I humbly offer them a new state motto: "Guns don't kill people. Ohio does."
Star Wars - for real
The US government has again warned that it reserves the right to attack anyone, presumably pre-emptively, that it believes "might attack" American interests in space. They also stated that there is no need for a treaty to prevent the weaponisation of space. Who wants to be that they haven't already got weapons up there?
¶ 17:17:00 0 comments
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Why do they hate science so?
The Bush administration has being working hard these last six years to muzzle the part of the scientific community that is employed by the American taxpayer. They’ve interfered with scientific publication at NASA and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Now it is U.S. Geological Survey’s turn.
A spokesman for the USGS said “What we're doing is ensuring the scientific excellence of USGS products”. I’ll bet they are indeed.
¶ 17:14:00 0 comments
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A spokesman for the USGS said “What we're doing is ensuring the scientific excellence of USGS products”. I’ll bet they are indeed.
Pity poor Tom
I am referring to Tom Delay of course, late of the US House of Representatives. He had to resign his seat, he is facing possible charges and now the seat he used to hold, despite his grand plan to gerrymander the Democrats right out of Texas, has has now gone to a Democrat.
Oh happy day!
¶ 17:13:00 6 comments
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Oh happy day!
The perp walk of all perp walks
It would be a glorious thing indeed to have the opportunity to watch HM Constabulary walking a handcuffed, and preferably hooded, Tony Blair out of Downing Street under arrest. They questioned the PM today about "Peeragegate", unfortunately not, as yet, under caution.
Does anyone want to guess what I want for Xmas?
Does anyone want to guess what I want for Xmas?
Note: this will irritate the wingnuts not end; spell check does accept "Xmas" as a legitimate word!
¶ 16:32:00 0 comments
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Suppressing science in Nairobi
I know I've written about this before but it really winds me up!
The Kenyan equivalent of the religious right wants Kenya's national museum to hide any evidence of human evolution that it might have in its collection. The museum is home to some of the oldest and best examples of the predecessors of Homo sapiens in the world.
I think we should make a deal with them. The National Museum will hide the evidence of evolution if all the churches in Kenya agree to hide all "evidence" of God. So when I walk in a church anywhere in Kenya I won't be offended by the presence of crucifixes, icons, Bibles, hymnals, holy water fonts or any other such rubbish which they might like to present as "fact".
OK? Do we have a deal?
¶ 16:14:00 6 comments
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I think we should make a deal with them. The National Museum will hide the evidence of evolution if all the churches in Kenya agree to hide all "evidence" of God. So when I walk in a church anywhere in Kenya I won't be offended by the presence of crucifixes, icons, Bibles, hymnals, holy water fonts or any other such rubbish which they might like to present as "fact".
OK? Do we have a deal?
A new American industry
How do you invest in faith based prisons?
The state of Florida (run by the BFEE) is being encouraged to open more of the controversial institutions "despite no evidence that the institutions work any better than conventional facilities". One wonders why?
Perhaps the new facilities will at least be able to supply more desperately needed prison labour for the Pentagon. Who does that remind me of, I wonder.
¶ 16:05:00 0 comments
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The state of Florida (run by the BFEE) is being encouraged to open more of the controversial institutions "despite no evidence that the institutions work any better than conventional facilities". One wonders why?
Perhaps the new facilities will at least be able to supply more desperately needed prison labour for the Pentagon. Who does that remind me of, I wonder.
Karzai speaks out
I can only assume that the Bush administration will soon be telling Afghan President Hamid Karzai to keep his mouth shut after he accused Pakistan of aiding the Taliban and hampering the cause of peace in the region.
Doesn't he know that "the General" is on the side of God (or at least George) in the "war on Terra"? The next thing you know he'll decide that he actually is in charge of an independent and viable state and is allowed to make decisions without consulting Washington first. The nerve of some people.
¶ 15:47:00 0 comments
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Doesn't he know that "the General" is on the side of God (or at least George) in the "war on Terra"? The next thing you know he'll decide that he actually is in charge of an independent and viable state and is allowed to make decisions without consulting Washington first. The nerve of some people.
Honouring the warriors - Republican style
The rightwingnuts are always reminding us that we must all honour and respect those who are serving or who have served in the American armed forces. Fair enough. I don't disagree with that.
I eagerly await that chorus of righteous anger at the Bush administration in the form of these self same armed forces for their disgraceful treatment of soldiers who are suffering from mental illness especially those who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan.
The silence is deafening.
Had any memebers of the 101st Keyboarders actually served their country outside of their flats their drill sergeant might have screamed at them: "I can't hear you!".
Note: spell check doesn't think "rightwingnuts" is a word so I had the pleasure of instructing it to "ignore all ringwingnuts"!
¶ 13:07:00 0 comments
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I eagerly await that chorus of righteous anger at the Bush administration in the form of these self same armed forces for their disgraceful treatment of soldiers who are suffering from mental illness especially those who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan.
The silence is deafening.
Had any memebers of the 101st Keyboarders actually served their country outside of their flats their drill sergeant might have screamed at them: "I can't hear you!".
Note: spell check doesn't think "rightwingnuts" is a word so I had the pleasure of instructing it to "ignore all ringwingnuts"!
Discouraging news from home
It seems that the county commissioners of the Chester County PA (where I grew up and spent my young adulthood) has bowed to pressure from the Christian right and decided to include a nativity scene on the courthouse lawn. ACLU suit to follow I assume.
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Welcome to St. Billy's Funland and Final Resting Place
Billy Graham's son and heir, Franklin, has been plans for Dad once he shuffles off his mortal coil. He wants to bury him in a shrine of sorts complete with a cruciform glass entryway.
Others in the family aren't so sure suspecting that the plans are essentially a cover for fundraising.
I think I'd rather go to le cimetière Père-Lachaise instead (and I didn't even take into account that I would be in Paris rather than Charlotte NC).
¶ 12:49:00 0 comments
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Others in the family aren't so sure suspecting that the plans are essentially a cover for fundraising.
I think I'd rather go to le cimetière Père-Lachaise instead (and I didn't even take into account that I would be in Paris rather than Charlotte NC).
Ethnic cleansing Louisiana style
Imagine you are the US federal government and you are wondering what to do about 5,000 public housing units that received minor damage from Hurricane Katrina which you haven't yet repaired. What would you do?
The answer is obvious. You would tear them down of course.
No room for poor folks in the Noveau New Orleans!
¶ 11:24:00 0 comments
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The answer is obvious. You would tear them down of course.
No room for poor folks in the Noveau New Orleans!
Dear Gordon,
Before you leave your current position as the Chancellor of the Exchequer and move on to whatever the future may hold for you may I offer you a piece of advice?
Instead of trying to cut red tape you might be better served to concentrate on reducing what you buy it for! After all £660 million ain't chump change, is it?
¶ 11:10:00 0 comments
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Instead of trying to cut red tape you might be better served to concentrate on reducing what you buy it for! After all £660 million ain't chump change, is it?
Everything is bigger and better in America
Even torture. American "interrogators" in Iraq didn't think that their British counterparts were doing their questioning properly. So they told they to "toughen up".
Now that he has nothing else to do perhaps Donald Rumsfeld would care to visit Basra and give the hapless Brits the benefit of his sage advice. I'm sure he has been wanting to finally get his hands dirty! ¶ 11:04:00 0 comments links to this post
Now that he has nothing else to do perhaps Donald Rumsfeld would care to visit Basra and give the hapless Brits the benefit of his sage advice. I'm sure he has been wanting to finally get his hands dirty! ¶ 11:04:00 0 comments links to this post
Just when you thought it couldn't get worse
There either is or isn't a civil war raging in Iraq today. Whatever you may wish to call it there is no doubt that it is nasty. It could soon get worse.
When the US leaves (there isn't an "if" anymore is there?) will the Saudi government step in to arm and support the Sunnis? If so will the Iranian support of the Shias become more comprehensive and more overt? And what of the Kurds? We will stand by and hope the Arab populations destroy themselves or will they violently stake out their claims to the oil fields in the North?
Civil war. Proxy war. Does it make a difference?
¶ 10:55:00 0 comments
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When the US leaves (there isn't an "if" anymore is there?) will the Saudi government step in to arm and support the Sunnis? If so will the Iranian support of the Shias become more comprehensive and more overt? And what of the Kurds? We will stand by and hope the Arab populations destroy themselves or will they violently stake out their claims to the oil fields in the North?
Civil war. Proxy war. Does it make a difference?
Goldman Sucks
If you work for Goldman Sachs in the City you stand to have a very, very wealthy Xmas as they announce their year end bonuses. The average employee will get a bonus of around £319,000 (625K USD).
Unfortunately if you are one of their cleaners you are going to miss out on the largesse.
Goldman Sachs aren't the only guilty party in the City but I like to pick on them!
¶ 10:40:00 0 comments
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Unfortunately if you are one of their cleaners you are going to miss out on the largesse.
Goldman Sachs aren't the only guilty party in the City but I like to pick on them!
CLANK
That is the sound that Jeffrey Skilling, late of Enron as well as much posher digs in Houston, would have heard as he moved into his new home in Minnesota yesterday. I hope he enjoys his stay. If he's a good boy and doesn't misbehave he should be moving again in about 2026!
He made tens of millions out of Enron. He'll now be able to earn up to one dollar and fifteen cents an hour! Maybe they'll give him options in the company the owns the prison.
¶ 10:32:00 0 comments
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He made tens of millions out of Enron. He'll now be able to earn up to one dollar and fifteen cents an hour! Maybe they'll give him options in the company the owns the prison.
Feeling warmer yet?
Welcome to the end of what scientists say will be Britain's warmest year since records began in 1659. There will be those who shrug the news off and say it's just a fluke. However of the twenty warmest years on record six have occurred since 1995. That's a bit harder to suggest doesn't represent a trend. Do you hear me George?
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"I said I'm in the car!"
The Crown Prosecution Service has suggested that it plans to be more aggressive in prosecuting motorists who use mobile phones while driving. They also plan to get tougher on other offences such as tailgating and jumping lights. Drivers who are nicked using handheld mobile phones could face charges of dangerous rather than unsafe driving. The later charge is generally punished by fines but under the former charge drivers would face prison time.
Not a moment too soon in my estimation. Use of handheld phones whilst driving has been an offence for at least three or four years and it hasn't maybe the slightest impact. Maybe harsher penalties will do so.
I did a little survey this morning whilst I was waiting for the green man to cross a busy road. Eighteen cars passed me during that time; ten of the drivers when talking on mobiles (to whom and why remains a mystery); one of the ten was a copper in a marked car!
While they are tightening up on mobile phone related behaviour I would suggest that they also introduce an offence of "texting whilst walking". How many times have I been driven off the payment by someone (usually but not always a woman) who is walking along merrily texting away and paying not a bit of bloody attention to where they are going?
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Not a moment too soon in my estimation. Use of handheld phones whilst driving has been an offence for at least three or four years and it hasn't maybe the slightest impact. Maybe harsher penalties will do so.
I did a little survey this morning whilst I was waiting for the green man to cross a busy road. Eighteen cars passed me during that time; ten of the drivers when talking on mobiles (to whom and why remains a mystery); one of the ten was a copper in a marked car!
While they are tightening up on mobile phone related behaviour I would suggest that they also introduce an offence of "texting whilst walking". How many times have I been driven off the payment by someone (usually but not always a woman) who is walking along merrily texting away and paying not a bit of bloody attention to where they are going?
13 December 2006
Concerns over human rights cause US government to cut back on prosecutions
Unfortunately their concerns only seem to extend to to the rights of humans wearing white collars. La plus ça change.
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Dreaming of a blood red Baghdad Xmas
So what if Baghdad's burning? So what if American soldiers and Iraqi civilians continue to die at a frenetic pace?
Any new strategy for Iraq can wait until next year*. I assume that means that the Decider (TM) has decided to reserve the next for weeks for clearing brush in Texas and that anything that isn't an absolute emergency will just have to wait.
*I thought that a link to a Vietnamese news site for the story link was a nice touch (especially now that Bush has finally had an opportunity to visit). Don't you?
¶ 17:18:00 0 comments
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Any new strategy for Iraq can wait until next year*. I assume that means that the Decider (TM) has decided to reserve the next for weeks for clearing brush in Texas and that anything that isn't an absolute emergency will just have to wait.
*I thought that a link to a Vietnamese news site for the story link was a nice touch (especially now that Bush has finally had an opportunity to visit). Don't you?
The 100 million year old bee
Scientists at Oregon State University in the US have found a fossil of bee believed to be 100 million years old or about 35 million years older than they previously had believe bees to be.
Of course the fossilised insect would only be 6,000 years old if you add up the age of all the bees in the bible. ¶ 16:58:00 0 comments links to this post
Of course the fossilised insect would only be 6,000 years old if you add up the age of all the bees in the bible. ¶ 16:58:00 0 comments links to this post
Afghan justice
I have no doubt that the Bush and Blair teams will support this initiative wholeheartedly.
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Hey! Law evolves too!
Our friends at the Discovery Institute, fans of "(Un)Intelligent Design", think they have found something. They think that the judge's opinion in Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District (the case prohibiting the teaching of Intelligent Design in a Pennsylvania scholl district), was plagiarised from ACLU documents. It is, of course, not news to anyone familiar with the law that it is not unusual to include findings from either side in the process of preparing a judicial opinion, especially if the briefs were well researched and documented which those from the ACLU undoubtedly would have been.
Imagine these otherwise sensible folks getting all het up about something silly.
¶ 16:32:00 0 comments
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Imagine these otherwise sensible folks getting all het up about something silly.
Whatever happened to private lives?
My only response to this story is "so what if he did".
I bet that few of the members of the school board would be thought of as setting "an example for students through personal conduct".
¶ 16:28:00 0 comments
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I bet that few of the members of the school board would be thought of as setting "an example for students through personal conduct".
Proving that I am "Fair and Balanced"*
I obtained a great deal of enjoyment from taking the piss out of George Bush all those years ago over his "I call him the general" moment so I need to spread the wealth a little and take the piss out of Congressman Silvestro Reyes (D - TX) who is the incoming Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. He seems to have little or no knowledge of the Middle East which should, I reckon, be getting a great deal of his attention.
*or perhaps that's "Fairly Unbalanced". Oh well never mind.
¶ 16:17:00 0 comments
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*or perhaps that's "Fairly Unbalanced". Oh well never mind.
A small victory for freedom of speech
The British law lords have held the police violated the rights of antiwar protestors in March 2003 when they prevented coaches carrying 120 protestors from reaching RAF Fairborn. The ruling a Court of Appeals ruling that the protestors rights had not been violated.
Chalk one up for the good guys.
The Gloucestershire constabulary make a statement to the effect that they accept "the judgment, and we will be reviewing our policies accordingly...The force would like to take this opportunity to express its regret for any inconvenience caused to the peaceful protesters who were affected by its actions on March 22 2003."
Have the New York police apologised for their actions at the last Republican convention yet? I thought not.
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Chalk one up for the good guys.
The Gloucestershire constabulary make a statement to the effect that they accept "the judgment, and we will be reviewing our policies accordingly...The force would like to take this opportunity to express its regret for any inconvenience caused to the peaceful protesters who were affected by its actions on March 22 2003."
Have the New York police apologised for their actions at the last Republican convention yet? I thought not.
12 December 2006
Infamous frat boys lose in court
If you're a racist (or a homophobe or bigot of whatever ilk) you have to able to face the fact that someone, somewhere is likely to find out some day. If you're really unlucky lots of people everywhere will find out.
And then it's just too late to do anything about it!
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And then it's just too late to do anything about it!
Where's the uproar?
Where's the outrage?
Imagine that a group outside of the American government were to film a video inside the Pentagon featuring interviews with military officers and other Pentagon officials who state that their priorities are
Imagine that a group outside of the American government were to film a video inside the Pentagon featuring interviews with military officers and other Pentagon officials who state that their priorities are
Allah, my family, and then my country
or
Marx, my family, and then my country
or
Darwin, my family, and then my country
Well that's more or less what has happened except the first stated loyalty was to the Christian God. So that's OK then because we all know that God is an American and Allah is not; don't even mention Marx or Darwin!
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Where will all the dollars go?
If you are American this is not especially comforting news. The oil states are moving funds out of US dollars and into Euro, yen and pound sterling.
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Do you know what discourages me?
That 30% of Americans still don't think that Iraq is an unmitigated disaster! I didn't know that the Bush and Cheney families were that big.
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Condi plays the Tricky Dick game
She claims that she is responsible but not to blame. It fills me with nostalgia for my salad days.
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If you're sick in America....
....stay away from the private sector, run for profit hospitals. You'll get better care in a non-profit hospital. Why would that be? I thought the profit motive made everything better.
Oh. I see. It does make everything better - at least for the shareholders.
¶ 15:31:00 0 comments
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Oh. I see. It does make everything better - at least for the shareholders.
I certainly hope that NICE is looking into this!
Oh my aching knees. Years of sports injuries and other abuse have reduced my knees to centres of pain and discomfort for me. Fortunately a new study out of America promises some relief for sufferers of osteoarthritis (like me); an intensive course of Swedish massage!
I wonder if they'll let me pick the Swede!
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I wonder if they'll let me pick the Swede!
Incarceration for fun and profit
If US prisons were a state unto themselves there would be fifteen states with smaller populations (counting only prisoners not staff). America currently has 2.2 million people in jail with a further 5 million on parole or probation. The total number in prison in the US exceeds even that of China.
See the Thatcherites are right. Privatisation leads to growth!
¶ 15:05:00 0 comments
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See the Thatcherites are right. Privatisation leads to growth!
Dumbing down
For years the US State Department has used a rigorous examination process as the primary means to select candidates for the Foreign Service. Among other things this has led to a level of professionalism that is probably unequalled in any other American governmental organisation.
That's all about to change. The new system would utilise "resumes [CVs}, references and intangibles such as "team-building skills".
The Republicons wouldn't be trying to politicise the Foreign Service would they?
Just a thought. Do you reckon cheerleading is anything like team building? ¶ 14:13:00 0 comments links to this post
That's all about to change. The new system would utilise "resumes [CVs}, references and intangibles such as "team-building skills".
The Republicons wouldn't be trying to politicise the Foreign Service would they?
Just a thought. Do you reckon cheerleading is anything like team building? ¶ 14:13:00 0 comments links to this post
Justice deferred
Justice denied.
Has anyone seen the Constitution lately? It seems to have gone missing. ¶ 14:05:00 0 comments links to this post
Has anyone seen the Constitution lately? It seems to have gone missing. ¶ 14:05:00 0 comments links to this post
Maybe the Bushiviks aren't so stupid after all
We all know that the Bush administration has done absolutely nothing to combat global warming.
We also know that the Bush administration has done little or nothing to prevent nuclear proliferation or to lead to nuclear disarmament.
Perhaps it because they know that if they start a nuclear war it could cure global warming.
Sly like a fox!
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We also know that the Bush administration has done little or nothing to prevent nuclear proliferation or to lead to nuclear disarmament.
Perhaps it because they know that if they start a nuclear war it could cure global warming.
Sly like a fox!
Filling up your Hummer v the third world eating
As the West increasingly looks to biofuels to save it from having to make sacrifices in lifestyle a dialectic is being created. Those who believe in the "free market" approach as a solution to all problems will tell you that if Americans are willing to pay more for supplies of grain to turn them into fuel for their inefficient means of personal transportation than people in the third world can pay to buy the grain as food than the winner is the high bidder.
So when someone suggests to you that biofuels are the answers to all our prayers and that we can keep on as we were you should probably think about the impact elsewhere before you agree!
¶ 12:33:00 0 comments
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So when someone suggests to you that biofuels are the answers to all our prayers and that we can keep on as we were you should probably think about the impact elsewhere before you agree!
Just say "no" to Tutu
The Israeli government has blocked Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Desmond Tutu from going to Gaza to investigate the deaths of nineteen civilians from Israeli shells. The mission was planned on behalf of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
An Israeli government official explained that "the human rights mechanism of the UN was being cynically exploited to advance an anti-Israel agenda" when it should be being cynically exploited to advance a pro-Israeli agenda! In any case the Israeli Defence Force had already investigated the incident and surprisingly found that they were not to blame.
An Israeli government official explained that "the human rights mechanism of the UN was being cynically exploited to advance an anti-Israel agenda" when it should be being cynically exploited to advance a pro-Israeli agenda! In any case the Israeli Defence Force had already investigated the incident and surprisingly found that they were not to blame.
I'm sure that the White House will of course condemn this grevious failure on the part of the UNHRC to agree to do Israel's bidding.
¶ 12:25:00 0 comments
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Christian compassion in Florida
Starve 'em out and maybe they'll go away.
Just a note the city of Orlando estimates that it has 10,000 homeless people. 10,000! That's about 5% of the population of 200,000. Is there something wrong here perhaps? Doesn't Jeb know that his brother believes in faith based charities?
¶ 12:16:00 0 comments
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Just a note the city of Orlando estimates that it has 10,000 homeless people. 10,000! That's about 5% of the population of 200,000. Is there something wrong here perhaps? Doesn't Jeb know that his brother believes in faith based charities?
Oops
That fact that Israel is a nuclear power is a worse kept secret than Paris Hilton's sex life. So why is everyone surprised that Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, let it slip yesterday that they have nuclear weapons.
They are still going to try and be coy about it but I don't think that'll work anymore, if it ever did.
¶ 12:06:00 0 comments
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They are still going to try and be coy about it but I don't think that'll work anymore, if it ever did.
Now I know why the Sixers suck
It's the balls.
Does this mean that AI will stay? ¶ 12:02:00 0 comments links to this post
Does this mean that AI will stay? ¶ 12:02:00 0 comments links to this post
Kofi's says "adieu"
Yesterday Kofi Annan said farewell to his time as the UN Secretary General in a speech at the Truman Presidential Museum and Library.
Depending on who you listen to he "tooka jab at Bush policies", he took "a swipe at Bush" or he was guilty of "attack on Bush".
Guess who's upset?
He wasn't perfect but then who could be in that job. At least he wasn't Washington's poodle which is why the wing nuts hate him. If they bothered to listen they might find he made some salient points; not least of which "no nation can make itself secure by seeking supremacy over all others".
¶ 11:34:00 0 comments
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Depending on who you listen to he "tooka jab at Bush policies", he took "a swipe at Bush" or he was guilty of "attack on Bush".
Guess who's upset?
He wasn't perfect but then who could be in that job. At least he wasn't Washington's poodle which is why the wing nuts hate him. If they bothered to listen they might find he made some salient points; not least of which "no nation can make itself secure by seeking supremacy over all others".
Does toilet paper have a half life?
Normally the Swedish are pretty sensible people but sometimes they're as stupid as the rest of us. So way back in 1986 when a supply clerk for the Hagfors Police Department accidentally ordered 20 pallets of toilet paper, plastic bags and kitchen rolls instead of 20 packets rather than sending the excess back they kept the delivery. Now over 20 years later they've finally run out.
If anyone in Hagfors is listening I have considerable expertise in inventory management and am available on a consulting basis. Just drop me a line!
¶ 11:24:00 0 comments
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If anyone in Hagfors is listening I have considerable expertise in inventory management and am available on a consulting basis. Just drop me a line!
"Google me up some sanctions willya Condi?"
Let's just imagine that we are a major US governmental organisation. We'll use the State Department as an example. We need some information from the CIA so we can raise sanctions on individuals connected with a programme we don't like. Let's say the Iranian nuclear programme.
Well those secretive bastards at the CIA won't give us anything because they say they're too busy and besides it would expose their sources. What do we do?
We use Google instead. That'll teach 'em! Who needs spooks anyway?
¶ 11:14:00 6 comments
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Well those secretive bastards at the CIA won't give us anything because they say they're too busy and besides it would expose their sources. What do we do?
We use Google instead. That'll teach 'em! Who needs spooks anyway?
Shell bows to Russian pressure
The Kremlin continues to flex its energy related muscles. Royal Dutch Shell has "agreed" to reduce its stake in the troubled Sakhalin-2 gas project in Siberia under fierce political pressure. The Russian state energy company, Gazprom, will take up over 50% of Shell's 55% stake. The pressure from the Kremlin in unrelenting however as they continue to threaten legal action and pursue damage claims of up to 30 billion USD for Shell's alleged violation of environmental regulations.
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Converting the Godless in the sixteenth century
"Once when I asked a chieftain in a certain province if he was a Christian, he said "I am not quite one but I am making a beginning." I asked him what he knew of being Christian and he said, "I know how to swear to God, and play cards a bit, and I am beginning to steal."
Fray Domingo Santo Tomás - Arte de la Lengua General del Perú
¶ 10:50:00 0 comments links to this post
11 December 2006
Does Tony Blair have a Superman complex?
The Times seems to think he does. An analysis of reaction to Baker report suggests that the British Prime Minister is trying to "bridge the gap" between George W. Bush and reality.
A Herculean task if there ever was one!
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A Herculean task if there ever was one!
Tell me this is satire. Please!
A four year old boy has been barred from a Texas school over "inappropriate physical behaviour interpreted as sexual contact and/or sexual harassment".
What did the boy do? He hugged a teacher's assistant and allegedly rubbed his face in her chest.
He's four for Christ's sake! As far as he knows that's what boobs are for and has no idea it might be considered inappropriate. What's the country coming to?
Wait. I forgot. The US is still a country that freaks out over breast feeding!
¶ 15:44:00 0 comments
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What did the boy do? He hugged a teacher's assistant and allegedly rubbed his face in her chest.
He's four for Christ's sake! As far as he knows that's what boobs are for and has no idea it might be considered inappropriate. What's the country coming to?
Wait. I forgot. The US is still a country that freaks out over breast feeding!
OK I was wrong
Up until now I haven't criticised the Iranians for their conference on the holocaust. With my usual naïveté I thought that I would give them the benefit of the doubt. I thought that if I ignored it, much like Bush with the problems in Iraq and Afghanstan, things would just turn out OK