Buddy CanYou Spare A Buck Fifty

THE US dollar touched a new record low against the euro in Asian trade today, hit by jitters about the US housing market troubles and recent falls in global share prices, dealers said.

Disappointment over company results and worries about problems in the US sub-prime mortgage sector – loans to homeowners with patchy credit histories – caused sharp falls on global equity markets on Friday. Analysis

I was aware of the problem but never realised it was on such a scale that it would have such an adverse effect on the money market.

The Planet Is Fucked: China Edition

An outpouring of dust layered with man-made sulfates, smog, industrial fumes, carbon grit and nitrates is crossing the Pacific Ocean on prevailing winds from booming Asian economies in plumes so vast they alter the climate. These rivers of polluted air can be wider than the Amazon and deeper than the Grand Canyon.

"There are times when it covers the entire Pacific Ocean basin like a ribbon bent back and forth," said atmospheric physicist V. Ramanathan at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, Calif.

On some days, almost a third of the air over Los Angeles and San Francisco can be traced directly to Asia. With it comes up to three-quarters of the black carbon particulate pollution that reaches the West Coast, WSJ



An often opaque layer of polluted air covers much of eastern China in this image which was collected on 2 January 2000. (sat photo above)

It says that as many as 300 million people are drinking contaminated water every day, and 190 million are suffering from water-related illnesses each year. If air pollution is not controlled, it says, there will be 600,000 premature deaths in urban areas and 20 million cases of respiratory illness a year within 15 years.

China's water quality causes the researchers great concern. One third of the length of all China's rivers are now "highly polluted" as are 75% of its major lakes and 25% of all its coastal waters. Nearly 30,000 children die from diarrhoea due to polluted water each year. OECD-Guardian .

Geek News: Inside The One Hundred Dollar Laptop

Read all about it.

UK Floods Outlook Grim

The BBC has the roundup.

Maybe it's time for Noah To Build An ARK! Bill Cosby, eight minutes.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn Interview

I had no idea this old bugger was still alive.

(long) Interview Spiegel.

An Unlikely Messenger

This post was originally intended to put before you and recommend two one half hour video. The video, featuring Richard Dawkins, reading from a new preface that Dawkins had written to accompany the release of the paperback edition of The God Delusion.

"During a recent trip to the Galapagos with the Center for Inquiry, Richard Dawkins gave a reading of his new preface to the paperback edition of The God Delusion along with a Q&A session that followed. The event took place in the ship's bar salon area."

It was then, toward the latter end of the first clip that Dawkins, reading from the preface, made mention of the untimely death of a seventeen year old young man.
To hear of this in such a manner, and from this most unlikely of sources, was to say the least quite a shock, and thereafter followed great sadness for myself.

My personal sadness at this tragic news is brought about, that some ten years ago, for a brief period of time, this young man and I were part of, for want of a better description, a family unit.

Rest in peace, Luke (Hebby) Ashton.

Nepal Goddess. If You Say So

A 10-year-old girl who is worshipped as a living goddess in Nepal has had her title reinstated after defying tradition and visiting the US.

Temple authorities at her home town say that she will not be stripped of her title because she is willing shortly to undergo a "cleansing" ceremony.

This line kind of caught my eye.

She was chosen after undergoing tests at the age of two.

Tests is it? whatever.

Only In America: Condo's For Christ

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Built from scratch to fulfill the lifelong dream of Domino's Pizza founder Thomas S. Monaghan, the town of Ave Maria, Florida is being called a "refuge for Christian values in the secular age." Ave Maria is centered around a 1,100-seat Roman Catholic church, and businesses are told not to sell contraceptives. more .

Honourable Danes Offer Asylum To Iraqi Workers

The Danish military has secretly airlifted out of the country about 200 Iraqis who were helping its troops.

The Iraqi civilians, mostly those working as aides and translators in the southern region of Basra, will now be offered asylum in Denmark.

A military spokesman said the operation was carried out because of fears the Iraqis might be targeted by militants after the Danish troops pulled out.....more .

Can't help but wonder if Bushco will show as much concern when the time comes. I wouldn't want to bet the farm on it.

Update: US employed Iraqis nervous over future.

Temporary Presidential Power For Cheney

Now there's a scary headline for a scary situation. Dick Dastardly will have Iran nuked before the shrub wakes up.

You don't think on the off chance the Doctors might find something that resembles a brain while they are peering up Bush's arse do you?

F1 Quali

The Boop and I are off to the Nurburgring, brumm brumm.






Not so sure of her times in the 57.


Cool 800 McLaren wallpaper.
(If you're a fan of either, or both!)


Update: Raikkonen on pole, Hamilton has big shunt.

President Bush, Objection! Overruled

I love this little story, well not so little really, it rambles on. Just read the first few paragraphs.

Apparently President George W. Bush is now so unpopular that some lawyers believe the mere mention of his name in front of a jury could tip the scales against them....more .

Balding Baptist Bonks Black Hooker

It's a scandal and outrageous and I'm not talking about the hypocrisy of the bonking Baptist, I'm talking about the cops actually arresting and charging a guy for buying a bit of pussy.
What a fucked up society. story .

Update: Staying with the Godly man bonks hooker theme, maybe Vitter's forays into fucking might have one or two positive side effects.

Mrs Vitter looks non too happy though with her face like frozen shit, hardly surprising really, but what kind of wanker would drag his wife up on a stage and before the press and talk about bonking hookers?
A putz.



"It sets it back," said Michael Cromartie, vice president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, when interviewer Susannah Meadows asked him if Vitter's admitted visits to prostitutes would harm the political strength of the evangelical movement. "There are people who are pouring their lives into caring for the sick and the dying. They don’t get the attention. They see this stuff and put their head into their hands." more .

Can He Run The Country, Who Cares, Does He Love Jesus?

Must the US president believe in God?

Matt Wells looks at the Jesus factor.

On Capitol Hill, it is a sign of just how important religion is to US politics that only one member of Congress has ever admitted to being an atheist - and that admission came just a few months ago.

The BBC's Heart and Soul programme visited Democratic Congressman Pete Stark, of California, in his busy ground-floor office, to find out what reaction there had been to his declaration.

On the presidential race, he had blunt advice: "Who can say more rosaries than the next person in a certain given amount of time, hardly seems to me, to be a qualification. more .

The Bible is not my book nor Christianity my profession.
I could never give assent to the long complicated statements of Christian dogma.
Abe Lincoln.

Amen brother.

Geek News: Technology Page BBC

Have at it.

Sounds About Right

Staying with the Atlanta Journal, this.

A former Duluth police officer who threw a woman to the ground, pulled her hair and cursed at her during a traffic stop was not indicted Wednesday by a Gwinnett County grand jury... more .

"C'mon, boy, get you some." The Ghastly World Of Dog Fighting

Dog fighting, going undercover.

Michael Vick

Nice doggy

Good dog

A Not So Funny Old World: Granny Dumped On Tip

Authorities in India's southern Tamil Nadu state plan legal action against the relatives of an elderly woman who was found abandoned on a rubbish tip.

Chinnammal Palaniappan, who is thought to be 75, told locals who found her she was driven miles from home in a cattle feed cart and dumped by family members. more .

Charming.

Banaz Mahmod: Father Gets Life for "Honour Killing"

A father who ordered the killing of his daughter after finding out she had a boyfriend has been jailed for life.

Banaz Mahmod, 20, was raped and tortured before being strangled and buried in a suitcase in Birmingham.

Her Iraqi Kurd father Mahmod Mahmod, 52, of Mitcham, south London, will serve at least 20 years in jail..... more .

Jail should not be about being in danger from other inmates and generally facing a hard time, but I wouldn't loose a lot of sleep if this animal was on the receiving end of a bit of rough justice.

Genarlow Wilson's Appeal To Be Heard Today

The Georgia Supreme Court will hear oral arguments at 10 a.m. Friday on a pair of appeals in the Genarlow Wilson case. more .

Trouble At Mill: Pakistan

There is probably more reason to be concerned of what is going down in Pakistan than anywhere, if the wheels come off there it will mean big trouble all round.

Some reasonable degree of stability in the area is essential, if the fundamentalists get a grip the whole place will go up in flames.

More worry should be directed at Pakistan that already has a nuclear capability, than at Iran that doesn't.

Latest and overview from the BBC.

The problems facing Musharraf and Pakistan. opinion .

Threats posed by the war on terror. The Nation, Pakistan .

India assesses the situation and looks at the dangers .

Funny Old World: General Tito Anibal da Paixao Gomes

The protagonist of one of Portugal's most gripping courtroom dramas has died after almost 20 years in which she fooled everyone, including her live-in companion, that she was actually a male army general.....more

Defence Opens In Padilla Trial

The story so far.

The conspiracy – and one doesn’t need 300,000 wiretaps to expose it — is between President Bush, his chosen legal representatives – former Attorney Generals John Ashcroft, former Deputy AG James Comey, current AG General Alberto Gonzales and the representatives in a Miami Federal courtroom prosecuting the case against Jose Padilla — Frazier, John Shipley, Russell Killinger and Stephanie Pell. It is a conspiracy to commit of a travesty of justice. A conspiracy of dunces........more

Black Rottweiler Savages Poodle Bitch: Rice Blair

Tony Blair suffered a humiliating put-down from U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as he started his job as Middle East envoy.

Dr Rice made it clear she was in charge of brokering peace between the Israelis and Palestinians, not the former prime minister.

She said Mr Blair should instead stick to his narrow remit of mending the Palestinian economy and political system, a role merely complementary to her job as leading peacemaker to the region.

Her comments will embarrass Mr Blair....more

Dog Bites Back (Allegedly) Michael Vick

I receive "breaking news" emails from the Atlanta Journal to facilitate my coverage of a couple of stories although it must be said a fair bit of other interesting stuff pops up.
This story wouldn't be of interest to me at all at all, but to you Yankee Doodles it may.

There have been quite a few involving Michael Vick, (who says I) I have paid scant attention to them but he has allegedly been involved in dog fighting.



Without ado, here is the story, the elements being endorsement, Nike and Vick.

Brings back memories of Jackson and Coca Cola, I only make mention of this so I finally have an excuse to use the graphic.

No Charges In "Cash For Honours"

Stroll on.

No-one is to face charges after the 16-month cash-for-honours investigation, the BBC understands.

Four people were arrested - including two of Tony Blair's aides - during inquiries into whether honours were sold and whether a cover-up followed.

Police interviewed 136 people, including ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair and former Tory leader Michael Howard. more .

I put the balloons on this graphic months ago

but could never come up with just the right words, now I can.

Update: It struck me you might need an interpretation, at least of what Levy is saying.

"Hello Tony, the police have arrested me."

A Monumental Flood! Wot No Ark?

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Oh Jesus save us, it'll be hell when the Grand Canyon crazies get a hold of this story.

Video

Reader Help Required

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Post removed problem solved.

Wanker Of The Week: Tweety

Felator of Bush meat eats whore's pussy on own show.







If you can get past the two minute mark on the vid
you will have achieved more than I.
Story. video C&L

Irony, Oh The Bloody Irony

Oh Leeza you do come out with some pearls.

"It's very hard to imagine a partner for peace that refuses to renounce violence and refuses to recognize the right of the other partner to even exist," says Rice of Hamas.


You may wish to view the short video below before you read on.

Sowing And Reaping

The Origins Of Terror. Two minutes


Diplomacy

1.	the conduct by government officials of negotiations and other relations between nations.

2.	the art or science of conducting such negotiations.

3.	skill in managing negotiations, handling people, etc., so that there is little or no ill will;

Well one things for sure there' not much danger of saying the wrong thing.



The wedding that never was. Perhaps Straw's ardour cooled a tad after Leeza had Blair sack Straw from his job as Foreign Secretary.

Little Leeza got the fear when she saw all the brown people that made up a good proportion of Straw's constituency (district)

And in case you missed it.

Condi Fights Dirty. Pussy Power Rules

Lies, Damn Lies, And Great Big Porkies

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How To Create An Angry American.




Brave brave Tankman.

Madman Speaks To Christians For War.

Will someone take pity on this lunatic and explain to him that it's over.

I know he doesn't want to talk about it, if he wasn't such a wanker a fellow could almost feel sorry for him, almost.

Ship Of Fools. What Were You Expecting A World Gathering Of Intellectuals?

In this excellent. lengthy, and oft humourous article, journalist Johann Hari reports for the Independent from aboard a cruise ship loaded to the gunwales with five hundred readers of the National Review.
In my opinion an act far and above the call of duty.


I am getting used to these moments – when gentle holiday geniality bleeds into... what? I lie on the beach with Hillary-Ann, a chatty, scatty 35-year-old Californian designer. As she explains the perils of Republican dating, my mind drifts, watching the gentle tide. When I hear her say, " Of course, we need to execute some of these people," I wake up. Who do we need to execute? She runs her fingers through the sand lazily. "A few of these prominent liberals who are trying to demoralise the country," she says. "Just take a couple of these anti-war people off to the gas chamber for treason to show, if you try to bring down America at a time of war, that's what you'll get." She squints at the sun and smiles. " Then things'll change."

I am travelling on a bright white cruise ship with two restaurants, five bars, a casino – and 500 readers of the National Review...........


The ghosts of Conservatism past are wandering this ship. From the pool, I see John O'Sullivan, a former adviser to Margaret Thatcher. And one morning on the deck I discover Kenneth Starr, looking like he has stepped out of a long-forgotten 1990s news bulletin waving Monica's stained blue dress. His face is round and unlined, like an immense, contented baby.



As I stare at him, all my repressed bewilderment rises, and I ask – Mr Starr, do you feel ashamed that, as Osama bin Laden plotted to murder American citizens, you brought the American government to a stand-still over a few consensual blow jobs? Do you ever lie awake at night wondering if a few more memos on national security would have reached the President's desk if he wasn't spending half his time dealing with your sexual McCarthyism?

He smiles through his teeth............more .

So Many Frogs To Kiss

Me too Boops.

Six Years For Cartoon Capers

Four men have been jailed for their part in protests outside the Danish embassy in London, against cartoons satirising the Prophet Muhammad.

Mizanur Rahman, 24, Umran Javed, 27, and Abdul Muhid, 24, were each jailed for six years for soliciting to murder after telling a crowd to bomb the UK..........more

Enjoy your porridge countrymen mine.

Down The Memory Hole

A Free Press Or The Ministry Of Truth?
Paul Roberts


In this second article by Paul Roberts, Roberts takes a look at how, after each successive failure in Iraq, the goals of the "mission" seem to change and the aims of the previous mission seem to disappear, as if by magic, down the "Memory Hole."

In his novel 1984, George Orwell portrayed a future time in which the explanations of recent events and earlier history are continually changed to meet Big Brother's latest purpose. Previous explanations disappear down "the memory hole."

Sound familiar? Any American who pays attention can observe the identical phenomenon occurring in the U.S. today.

Think about the Bush regime's changing explanations for the failed U.S. occupation of Iraq............



But the reports keep on coming. As I write, the latest story is that the US military “discovered a field of rocket launchers near a US army base south of Baghdad armed with 34 Iranian-made missiles.” Can you imagine? The insurgents went to the trouble of lugging powerful missiles within striking distance of a US base and just left them there unfired to be discovered by the Americans. more .

“What Are We Supposed To Do With Our Dead”

Prolific author Mike Whitney Gives us his views on eleven unrelated contemporary topics.
He touches on a few items that I myself have covered recently, (always nice to know) will you trust me to recommend this eclectic mix of stories without giving you previews? if so read on .


Trivia: The number Eleven evokes the memory of a lady who I once shared pleasures with, she was telling faerie stories to a little munchkin and included was just how magical the number Eleven was. Upside down, back to front, reflected in a mirror or any which way the number always remains the same. Sweet tale, sweet lady, sweet memories.


How magic is that.
And no it doesn't Google.

Impeach Now. Paul Roberts

This is the first of two articles by Paul Roberts that I would like to put before you.
The bottom line is I suppose, just how far this failed administration "gone rogue" is prepared to go to usurp the constitution and bring about a totalitarian regime the likes of which would be unique in American history. Story

The Reichstag

Wicked For Wednesday

The feathers beckon.