|
|
|
(my PGP key, and you can get PGP from here)
|
|
When reports first started appearing on the internet questioning the authenticity of the video apparently showing the beheading in Iraq of the US civilian Nick Berg, they could easily be passed off as wild conspiracy theories. ... But it is another matter when a respected news outlet such as al-Jazeera picks up on the speculation and posts the headline "Berg video filmed from inside Abu Ghraib prison", as it did on Monday. ... Despite the blunt matter-of-factness of its headline, however, Al-Jazeera takes a much softer line in the story, saying the video "has raised numerous questions concerning its authenticity as evidence grows that the event took place from inside the US controlled Abu Ghraib prison".Now I'm on tenterhooks waiting for al-Jazeera to report "numerous questions" and "growing evidence" that shape-changing alien lizards are using mind-control beams to manipulate the stock market, or something.
 Spiky tropical leaf. |
 Wall with pipes. |
 Lakeland sheep. |
Tony Blair has lost the election. It's true he wasn't standing, but we won't split hairs...Now that's what I call quality punditry! "Tony Blair has lost an election in which he wasn't standing, in a foreign country with a different history, different economy and different political parties. But let's not get obsessed with mere details..." I stopped reading after the opening two sentences but I've scanned the rest of it, and he manages to mention General Pinochet, the Adam Smith Institute, Bernie Ecclestone, the Hinduja brothers and "the world's most dangerous economic experiment". No sign of the kitchen sink, though.
The White House tried to halt the making and release of Michael Moore's new film Fahrenheit 9/11, the film-maker alleged in Cannes on Sunday. The director told a Cannes audience the Bush administration wanted to keep the film off screens in the run-up to November's US election. ...Now that is serious stuff. Please, do tell us more:
... He has given no evidence to substantiate his allegations, but said "someone connected to the White House" and a "top Republican" had put pressure on film companies not to release the film. ...Let's recap the gist of what he's said here: "The government's trying to censor me by leaning on film companies, but I won't give you any details that you might be able to check. This is being done by someone connected to the White House in some unspecified way, but I won't tell you their name or anything else about him or her, other than that they're in the same party as the president."
...The video showed five men wearing headscarves and black ski masks, standing over a bound man in an orange jumpsuit who identified himself as an American from Philadelphia.I suppose that would rather seem to show him being beheaded, then. Or maybe it was all done with camera angles ("seen that latest jihad video - the special effects are fantastic!").
After reading a statement, the men were seen pulling the man to his side and cutting off his head with a large knife. They then held the head out before the camera.
I wonder if those responsible for organizing traffic awareness campaigns and programs aimed at educating motorists and pedestrians have realized the role of women in the chaos characteristic of our streets and the accidents which occur there all too often. ...Memo to self: concept of driver being responsible for vehicle clearly not ingrained in Saudi society, so never fly on Saudi Airlines ("Yes I flew into the mountain, but what else could I do? The stewardess wouldn't stop asking me whether I wanted coffee or tea!"). Via Damian Penny.
If the driver finds that the woman in the back seat is in a bad mood, he braces himself for trouble. Such behavior definitely impacts upon the poor man who, knowing he cannot answer back, usually resorts to the only thing he can do — stepping hard on the accelerator ...
The shock [of the abuse of prisoners by American guards] is probably salutary [to Americans]. Since 9/11 the US has been generating some very unpleasant energies. This can be seen in such disparate developments as Disney's attempt to block Michael Moore's film Fahrenheit 9/11 (because it was critical of Bush's relationship with powerful Saudi families) and in the hysterical treatment of tourists passing through US immigration which has become inexplicably rude and vindictive towards those who simply want to see the sights in New York, LA and Florida.I've mentioned the Michael Moore "censorship" thing before, and I think Mr Porter's a bit behind the story. How does this from Michael Moore:
Friday, May 7th, 2004 ... The Disney spin machine has been working overtime dealing with this censorship debacle of theirs. I don't think they thought they would ever be outed. ... Disney has been hoping for nearly a year that they could keep this thing quiet. As I promised on Wednesday, here are the details behind my sordid adventure with the Magic Kingdom:... square with this from Michael Moore:
In April of 2003, I signed a deal with Miramax, a division of the Walt Disney Co., to finance and distribute my next movie, Fahrenheit 9/11. ...
07 May 2004... Less than 24 hours after accusing the Walt Disney Company of pulling the plug on his latest documentary in a blatant attempt at political censorship, the rabble-rousing film-maker Michael Moore has admitted he knew a year ago that Disney had no intention of distributing it. ...And I know this is anecdotal, but when I visited New York last June the man who checked my passport was friendly and polite, I wasn't beaten up once and nobody was rude or vindictive towards me the whole time I was there.
BASRA, Iraq - A senior aide of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr told worshippers during a Friday sermon in southern Iraq that anyone capturing a female British soldier can keep her as a slave. The aide, Sheik Abdul-Sattar al-Bahadli ... spoke at al-Hawi mosque in central Basra.Got to admit it's a catchy slogan, though: "Join the jihad and get yourself a slave girl!" Of course the holy warrior must be careful to treat his slave girl decently, right? Why, I'm sure the word "slave" is a mere mishap of translation. No doubt only light duties such as domestic cleaning and a spot of cookery are appropriate? Heck, let's Ask an Imam:
Q: What does the Islam say regarding intercourse with slave girls?Oh. Riiiight. I like the "slavery is not in vogue nowadays" bit at the end. The same answer, but with a long and mind-boggling justification, is given to the vexed issue of "Is having a Slave (girl) for sex nowdyas is allowed?" (remember - Allah Ta'ala Knows Best).
A: A man may have intimate relations with his wife or slave girl. This applies no matter how many slave girls one may possess. He may not have intimate relations with his servant. A slave is one whom one physically owns. Since slavery is not in vogue nowadays, this does not apply today.
May, 2003... [Miramax], part of the Disney corporation, is to provide cash in temporary "bridge" funding, which offers it less risk, although it will get a lower return.Where in that does it say, or even remotely imply, "Disney is to provide cash and distribution"? No, it doesn't. I wonder whether it was made even clearer to Michael, one year ago, that Disney wouldn't distribute the film? From the New York Times:
[Disney] said it was made clear to Miramax [which is part of Disney] last May, when it became the principal investor in the film, that Disney would not let it be the distributor.Oh, and wait, what's this... Michael's changing his story:
"Mr. Moore has had and continues to have every opportunity to either find another distributor or distribute the film himself," a spokeswoman for Disney, Zenia Mucha, said in a statement.
Less than 24 hours after accusing the Walt Disney Company of pulling the plug on his latest documentary in a blatant attempt at political censorship, the rabble-rousing film-maker Michael Moore has admitted he knew a year ago that Disney had no intention of distributing it.Hmmm. He's done this sort of thing before. He said that the police in San Diego "raided his book-signing" (oh, feel the jackboot of oppression on Michael Moore's neck!) when the pathetic truth was that the caretakers had to call the police because Michael was still busy signing books at midnight when he'd only hired the hall until 11. I saw comments nearer the time from people claiming to have been at the "raided" book-signing saying the staff had asked him politely to leave, several times, but he'd just ignored them. Idiot.
And if he's prepared to twist the truth about his film's distribution like this, why should anyone believe anything he says in the film?
Anyway, that's enough ranting from me. I'll watch the Kenya cartoon again to cheer myself up.
Lions... and tigers... only in Kenyyyaaaaa...
"The first thing the gorilla did was rip my jeans and bite me on the buttocks," [the robber] said.He bit you on the buttocks, and then he became violent? Strange people, these armed robbers.
"Max then dropped me... (He) ran around and became violent, grabbed me by my right leg, swung me around and threw me against the wall and I became dizzy," Mofokeng told the court.
Phoney captain fools RAF base for five months.Very useful the identity card was there, despite presmably being clearly marked with her rank and status as a reservist.
When Kelsey McMillan arrived for duty at RAF Valley the soldiers guarding the airbase snapped a salute after taking note of her captain's uniform and checking her identity card. ... For more than five months she was welcomed at the RAF base in Anglesey, north Wales, [and] showed her mettle on training missions in Sea King helicopters and in the hospital block, where she sat in on medical examinations. The 35-year-old was also popular in the officers' mess; always generous in the bar, even running up a £300 bill. ... But "Captain" McMillan sparked off a major security appraisal after it was discovered that she was an impostor with an obsession for uniforms; her only connection with the Armed Forces being as a private in the Territorial Army. ...
I'm afraid the BBC 'Have Your Say' spot now has some even more eye-rollingly bad comments than it did previously.
"As an ex-serviceman I have no problem carrying any bone-fide document which personally identifies me. You'd be surprised how effective my reservist ID card is at quashing any questions about my identity. A civilian ID card system is a great idea and I'm all for it, but I have no wish to pay for it, we are taxed enough already thanks. So if it's free, great, bring it on." -- Dave Chriscole, Wigan, LancashireCertainly a reservist ID card is surprisingly effective at, oooh let's go crazy here, stopping people wandering onto an RAF base and pretending to be someone they're not for five whole months. Or maybe not. And please shrug off this strange idea that any card would be free if the government hands them out gratis. Who does he think pays for the government to hand them out gratis?
"I think the ID cards are a great IDea, (sorry!) - I work in Holland a lot, and at Schiphol airport they have a facility called Privium, which I use. Basically, your Privium card is your passport for getting into the Netherlands - it holds my passport details, picture, and retinal scan. It is a fantastic advancement in security, and a wonderful way to skip queues on a busy Monday morning!" -- Mark Conlan, ManchesterWhat he describes is called a passport. By the sounds of it, an upgraded passport which he freely chooses to use and is limited to a particular application.
"I've carried an ID card, both in the UK and overseas, of one sort or another since 1970 and found it to have more advantages than I could list here. My view is that those who are 'anti-ID cards' probably have something to hide or have some sinister reason for not having one." -- Paul, ScunthorpeYes, Paul. That's right, I have only "some sinister reason" for not wanting them. Now you've found me out I shall flee the country before the forces of justice lay their hands on me. Quick, saddle my horse, I must away to Newfoundland! Note that despite having "more advantages than I could list here", Paul gives not a single specific advantage of whatever ID card he carries.
Robbers Die Trying to Hold-Up Suicide BomberD'oh!
A Hamas suicide bomber blew up two armed Palestinians who tried to rob him at gun point in the Gaza Strip.
A Hamas official said that whatever their intention, the two should be considered agents of Israel. "[blah blah blah]" he said, speaking on condition of anonymity...... while scanning the sky nervously and flinching at the sound of a distant helicopter ...
[Council's pest control man said]: "We recognise that at the moment we do not have any provision for squirrels or pigeons, but we feel we have the skills to provide it."The obvious answer to this sort of thing is to encourage banquetting.
INTERVIEWER: But how will identity cards actually make us safer?Note this 'Register' article about the reliablity of fingerprints and this one which reports that the public want ID cards while expecting the government to foul them up and mistrusting the government to handle their personal information. Staggering. And there are some pretty lamentable comments in this 'Have Your Say' on the subject at the BBC:
BLUNKETT: They'll have biometrics. These biometrics will all be stored in the super new reliable unpolluted secure and reliable biometric database (which will be very reliable and secure). So if someone tries to set off a bomb in a tube train he won't be able to because, erm, a biometric will jump up and hit him on the head, which wouldn't happen if we don't have these biometrics. So the thing is that with these secure biometrics and the clean secure database we'll be much safer and if anyone says otherwise they're obviously either a luddite or a paedophile. Or maybe a luddite paedophile. Have I mentioned biometrics enough? I love biometrics because biometric technology is shiny and perfect and will also stop us from being eaten by giant alien ninja attack squirrels. Can I have my medicine now?
INTERVIEWER: What are you talking about?
BLUNKETT: If you've got nothing to fear you've got nothing to hide.
"ID cards are essential for the future. It will make our life easier and only people who want to hide something will be against it. ..."Oh well, given the strength of those arguments I find myself won over. Go ahead and embed a location transponder in my buttocks while you're about it, why don't you? Rant rant rant. Note also the strange misconception many people seem to be under that things are free if the government pays for them ("Okay, but not if I pay for 'em - let the government pay" type comments). *sigh*.
"If it's good enough for some of our EU partners, it's good enough for us. ..."
"The rest of Europe has them without any problem. If one has nothing to hide, cannot see it makes any difference, as long as they don't bill us for them. ..."
"Definitely, if people have nothing to hide, it prevents terrorism and illegal immigrants it seems a great idea, especially if 15 other European nations have it and have happily accepted it. ..."
"Only those who have something to hide are not in favour of this scheme. ..."
"I don't have anything to hide so I think these cards if they do reduce crimes etc then yeah all good for me! "
"I feel that if you have nothing to hide you shouldn't be opposed to the cards ..."
When I met Saddam for the second and final time six months before the war, I asked to see him privately after listening to an hour of denials that Iraq still possessed banned weapons. When the room cleared of all but him, me, Tariq Aziz and the then foreign minister Naji Sabri, I suggested he had not been honest. "Look," I said, "if Iraq is to avoid a devastating war, you have to let Hans Blix and his team return, co-operate and destroy all remaining weapons of mass destruction."Yeah, right, George Galloway thought Iraq had prohibited weapons because George Galloway ever believed anything George Bush ever said. Or something.Looking me straight in the eye, he spoke quietly, translated by Aziz. "Mr George, the people of Iraq are greatly in your debt, we appreciate everything that you have done to try to help our people. Please believe me, I would not lie to you, we do not have any weapons of mass destruction".
My heart sank. How could that possibly be? Even I, the archest of sceptics when it came to western fables about Iraq, had fallen for the biggest hoax in modern history.
PS: The 'Telegraph' comes out punching to George's (allegedly) impalusible denials of major wrongdoing.
... while the bike went under the van, my body avoided direct impact and slide[e] across the bonnet with pedals and stems sheared from the bike still attached to my feet. I went through the windscreen backwards and still remember watching with interest the explosion of small bright squares of glass fly over my head. As the car put on its brakes I slid[e] out of the van cabin, across the bonnet, and landed on my feet. I walked a few feet and passed out. ...Gosh. I may recount my own personal "major traumatic injury" anecdote if I receive enough adulatory e-mails, linkage, cheques etc...
| I was bored. So I drew a self portrait. There you go. |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|||
An Israeli helicopter missile strike on a car in Gaza City killed top Hamas leader Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi on Saturday.Apparently Jack Straw is upset. He should send his condolences quickly, before anything happens to Mr Haniya.
Witnesses said two of Rantissi's bodyguards were also killed in the attack in which two missiles were fired.
...
"Israel will regret this. Revenge is coming," senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniya told reporters at the hospital.
"Kilts are something that fighting men wore many years ago, and we know that the Marines are fighting men. So real men wear kilts."
zzzzz
[Grey squirrels] are sweet and succulent. You need four per person - not because they are particularly small, but because they are surpassingly delicious ... Marinate the squirrel for a few hours in olive oil, with salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice; then skewer the length of its body and grill on both sides.Are you taking note, Jackie?
"Numbers [on the Easter Aldermaston march] were lower than hoped, but it's hardly surprising given that UK workers work the longest hours in Europe [...] Tony Blair is still refusing to give up the UK's opt-out of the EU working time directive. Though he does so using industry language of productivity and competitiveness, could it be that he is enjoying the spin-off benefit of keeping us too tired to complain?"Yes! It's not that people couldn't be bothered to go on the march, it's that they were being kept chained to their looms in the cotton mills.
You may remember Dr Caroline Lucas MEP for detecting such other sinister capitalist plots as "women treated as 'grey goo' guinea pigs" and "commercial value of nanotechnology stems from the fact that the laws of physics don't apply at the molecular level".
Digital TV channel BBC Three is to broadcast what it says is the first televised sperm race later this month.My mind boggles. And stop sniggering at the back.
The race, to be shown as part of the educational Lab Rats series, will pit the sperm of presenters Dr Mike Leahy and Zeron Gibson against each other.
It will be filmed [cheaply] inside two tiny glass tubes by a microscope and relayed to a crowd watching a pub's big screen.Erm, ohhhhh...kayyyy...
BBC Three controller Stuart Murphy said it was being done ["cheaply"] for an audience that usually "balks at [actually educational] educational shows".
Dr Leahy, a scientist, and Gibson, a comedian, say they will adopt different [yet notably inexpensive] "training routines" to find out how different lifestyle choices affect reproductive abilities.Because this is how clinical research is actually done.
The programme will be shown on 15 April at 2330 BST and is one of a four-part Lab Rats series.How long until we really do get Monkey Tennis?
[Former Northern Ireland secretary] Mo Mowlam has called on the British and American governments to open talks with Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda.Opening talks? Good idea, Mo. That'll work really well. Scott Burgess has an idea of how to open the negotiations. Mo added:
If you go in with guns and bombs, you act as a recruitment officer for the terrorists.Actually no, you kill them or force them to hide. People who do act as recruitment officers are different people entirely, and should be among the targets of the guns and bombs.
They are now restricted to flying above 500ft in cloudless skies, with pilots using landmarks on the ground to navigate, and can only be used on limited trial flights.Absolutely ideal for a modern agile war-fighting force of the 21st century. Grumble mutter mutter.
Mr ElBaradei said five hours of talks with Iranian officials had produced "welcome and positive steps" to end doubts about Iran's nuclear ambitions.It's not my doubts about Iran's nuclear ambitions that worry me. I have no doubts about Iran's nuclear ambitions whatsoever.
Singer Alanis Morissette wore a "nude suit" on stage at Canada's equivalent of the Grammys to complain about censorship in the US.Oh, the oppression!
Morissette, who was hosting the Juno Awards in Edmonton on Sunday, wore the cartoon-style bodysuit in protest at TV and radio censorship in the US.
"We can't show nipples on national TV," she said
"I am proud to be able to stand here and do this," she told the audience....while fully clothed. Which was very brave of her.
"We live in a land where we still think the human body is beautiful and we're not afraid of the female breast," the singer said ...
Morissette then criticised a radio station in the US for forcing her to change strong language in one of her recent songs.Do please shut up, you whining prima-donna.
"They're in an era when they're scared, when there's lots of fear," she said.
They're scared. There's lots of fear. Lets see what was she forced to sacrifice:
When Alanis Morissette was putting the finishing touches on her new album, So-Called Chaos, due out on May 18, she decided to change the lyrics to her single "Everything," for fear that radio stations and television networks wouldn't play it because it could be considered offensive. Instead of singing "I can be an a--hole of the grandest kind," Alanis changed the words to "I can be a nightmare of the grandest kind." ... "It got to the point [where] they were basically saying that they wouldn't play the song. People not hearing the song, based on my [taking a stance of artistic integrity] wasn't worth it. And I understand some parents not wanting their seven-year-old or daughter hearing the word 'a--hole,' even though they probably use it already."More dissent crushed! Isn't it ironic: you make a minor change to your lyrics to secure more radio play, and then you gripe at the radio station.
I may grumble about this topic at greater length later.
Clearly, rather than treating train-spotters as the enemy, we should be harnessing their enthusiasm for all things railway and encourage them to form bands of anorak-clad volunteer wardens to patrol the rail network.
altern_active
It is available in 6 through 14 cylinder versions... Ship owners like a single engine/single propeller design and the new generation of larger container ships needed a bigger engine to propel them.Awesome pictures, and impressive efficiency as well: 50%! That's incredibly high for a heat engine.The cylinder bore is just under 38" and the stroke is just over 98". Each cylinder displaces 111,143 cubic inches (1820 liters) and produces 7780 horsepower. Total displacement comes out to 1,556,002 cubic inches (25,480 liters) for the fourteen cylinder version. ...
Link via Synthstuff.
