June 19, 2004
Eminem 'Stan' - Irish style
This is only my second post on Eminem - but this must be one of the funniest take-offs I have ever heard. It sounds like Pat Shortt but not quite sure who it is. It's a 7:27 minute MP3 of non-stop hilarity.
I think for alot of it, you might have to be Irish to understand it - but everyone should find the lyrics hilarious.
Listen to it. LISTEN TO IT! (The lyrics are pretty graphic, but only to people not from Ireland)
Emineire.mp3 (3MB)
June 18, 2004
Senate votes to add 20,000 troops to Army
Defying the Bush administration, the Senate voted overwhelmingly Thursday to add 20,000 troops to an Army stretched thin by the war in Iraq and other commitments around the world.The 93-4 vote in the Republican-led Senate -- following a similar action by the House -- reflected the anxieties lawmakers have been hearing from families of service personnel whose tours in Iraq keep getting extended and whose return to civilian life is repeatedly postponed.
Oil chief: my fears for planet
The head of one of the world's biggest oil companies has admitted that the threat of climate change makes him "really very worried for the planet". In an interview in today's Guardian Life section, Ron Oxburgh, chairman of Shell, says we urgently need to capture emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, which scientists think contribute to global warming, and store them underground - a technique called carbon sequestration.
Paul Johnson beheaded
The deadline has passed, and reports indicate that the US captive has been beheaded in the style of Nick Berg. Shall we also see a video of Johnson's beheading?
Update: My website has been deluged with people looking for a video of Johnson. 2,500 people so far today. Strangely I rank number one on the Google for 'islamist website johnson', higher even, than the BBC.
Ogrish.com are seeking a copy of any video of Paul Johnson. They also have copies of the Nick Berg and Robert Jacob videos.
Update: Ogrish have posted the pictures. I have linked to them -
June 16, 2004
Free wireless nearly gone
Well Ireland stops being the President of Europe soon, so I presume the free wireless access I'm using in Cork airport will also stop. It is a great facility and not something that EsatBT should be charging such high rates for.
Irish blogger bash venue
Myself and Dick have been discussing possible venues for July 10th in Dublin. We came up with :
The Pembroke, Pembroke Street, off Baggot Street.
Dakota, South William Street.
Market Bar, off Georges Street.
Sosume, Georges Street.
The Mercantile, Dame Street.
Or maybe even upstairs in Oliver Goldsmiths, Trinity Arch Hotel, opposite the Mercantile.
Please make suggestions as to possible venues. Or make a comment on the ones listed.
We are thinking of an afternoon start, perhaps around 2 or 3pm? If this does not suit we can put it later at 5 or 6pm.
Colombia Three freed
News just out, the three lads who were 'on holidays' in Colombia, on false passports, have been released.
Phoebe taken by Cassini
Spectacular photos of Phoebe are coming from Cassini. Lots more to look forward to in the coming years. I especially look forward to more Titan photos.
Invisibility Cloak?
The BBC with the story on a cloak that makes people invisible, well kind of. Exciting technology though.
New DSL technology designed for video, voice
Now its 'UDSL'. When will there be enough of this high-bandwidth content to take advantage of all this speed?
The Uni-DSL technology, which is backward-compatible with standardized variations of DSL, including asynchronous DSL (ADSL) and very high-speed DSL (VDSL), will allow carriers to boost their bandwidth to 200mbps (megabits per second), said Pete Chow, Texas Instruments' chief technology officer for DSL technology.
And we are going to need 400GB hard drives to store all this stuff.
June 15, 2004
Canada's spam king apologizes
Here's a new one on me:
A Canadian man accused of being one of the biggest spammers in the world by Yahoo Inc. has agreed to stop sending unwanted e-mails and plans to help educate children about the dangers of the Internet.In March, Yahoo sued Eric Head and his father and brother as part of an industry crackdown on unsolicited e-mail, or spam. Yahoo alleged the Heads ran a huge spamming operation and sent more than 94 million e-mails in one month alone to users of Yahoo's e-mail service.
Great that Yahoo are taking on these guys.
Islamist website shows Paul Johnson
It is reported that Paul Johnson, the US citizen kidnapped in Saudi Arabia, has been shown on video. He appears blindfolded, giving his name. The video has been shown on CNN apparently.
Update: Indeed it has. It appears now that demands have been made:
A masked man armed with an automatic weapon also spoke on the video, identifying himself as Abdul Aziz al-Muqrin, the self-proclaimed military leader of al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia. His identity has not been independently verified.The masked man, speaking on behalf of a group called the Falluja Squadron that claims to have ties to al Qaeda, demanded that Saudi Arabia free al Qaeda prisoners it was holding and that Westerners leave the Arabian Peninsula. If the demands aren't met within 72 hours, Johnson will be killed, the militant said.
The gunman also claimed that at the time of Johnson's kidnapping, one of the American's colleagues was killed. On Saturday, when Johnson went missing in Riyadh, another American, Kenneth Scroggs, was found slain.
Update: It appears Paul Johnson has been beheaded. CNN are saying that three photographs appear on an Islamist website depicting Johnson's decapitated corpse.
Update: The pictures are available here. I urge extreme caution in viewing these images. They are extremely graphic. There are three pictures. And a picture of the website itself.
Attacks cripple Iraq oil exports
Thamir Ghadhban said blasts on Monday and Tuesday had damaged a pipeline from the southern oilfields - severing the flow to the Basra oil terminal.It was the second attack on the Basra terminal - one of the few operational outlets - in just over a month.
It comes two weeks before the US-led coalition is due to hand over power to an interim Iraqi government.
Sounds like the insurgents will be welcoming the new administration with a bang.
Clive nominated for New Statesman Media Award
Clive Soley has been nominated in the New Statesman New Media Awards - along with party colleague and blogger, Tom Watson. Great to see Clive getting recognition for his blog, but Tom is now an old hand at it! :)
UK CALL FOR A "NO FLY" ZONE OVER DARFUR
Ingrid is still tirelessly working on the Sudan story - I read her news every day, if I only I blogged about it a bit more. But for more information please go there -
In the Line of Fire
Jon points to an interview in the Atlantic with Robert Kaplan, who joined US Marines as they stormed Fallujah.
I still await the print edition to pop through my door. Patience is a virtue.
Bono apparently reads this blog
John has some interesting news from Newstalk 106, apparently Bono reads Irish Eagle. Now there is a scoop, if only Newstalk had an archive section!
Less known facts about Kim Mathers and her twin sister
On January the 9th 1975, Kathleen Sluck (Kim’s mother) gave birth to twins: Kim and Dawn.
June 14, 2004
Saudi Arabia created the monster now devouring it
Far more than the secular Ba'athist regimes targeted by the Washington neo-cons, the Saudis have turned the face of Islam against the west. The war on Iraq has only provided a rallying cry for al-Qaida supporters. The country that has played by far the greatest role in advancing global Islamist militancy was never listed in Bush's "axis of evil" speech, and is a major US ally. Indeed George Bush Snr continues openly to lobby for the Saudis and to take a salary from the Carlyle Group, a multi-billion dollar corporation channelling US investment into Saudi Arabia.The ultimate irony is that Saudi money comes from the west as oil revenues and investment: in the end it is we who are funding the export of Wahhabi intolerance. If the Saudi regime is now crumbling, we have only ourselves to blame.
June 13, 2004
Meet Joe Blog
Time have a good lengthy article on the world of weblogging. A world that so many of us have been a part of for a number of years now. It is strange to read about the rise of blogging these days - and yet so many people still don't know what they are.
Moon-to-Mars Commission Recommends Major Changes at NASA
A commission chartered by U.S. President George W. Bush to advise him on implementing a broad new space exploration vision is recommending streamlining the NASA bureaucracy, relying more heavily on the private sector, and maintaining more oversight of the nation’s space program at the White House.
An Oil Enigma: Production Falls Even as Reserves Rise
For six consecutive years, ChevronTexaco has had good news for anyone worried that the world is running out of oil: the company has found more oil and natural gas than it has produced. Over that time, ChevronTexaco's proven oil and gas reserves have risen 14 percent, more than one billion barrels.
'Electric armour' vaporises anti-tank grenades and shells
An electric "force field" for armoured vehicles that vaporises anti-tank grenades and shells on impact has been developed by scientists at the Ministry of Defence.
Fame makes his life a living hell
Many people don’t realize it, but fame sometimes leaves a sour aftertaste. People usually only see the glory and the money that goes with fame, but they don’t see the numerous disadvantages of being a celebrity.
Continue reading "Fame makes his life a living hell"June 12, 2004
Gimme that organised religion
"I want God, but I don't want organised religion." It sounds fine. Who, in their senses, wants to be like those poor saps on the parochial church council? But, sorry, you cannot have it that way; God is simply not available on those terms.Your private religion may afford you a brief satisfaction; there is, no doubt, such a thing as a spiritual placebo effect. But for the real thing - the true encounter with God - there is nothing else for it; you have to roll up your sleeves and get out your diary, not to mention shouldering that rather disagreeable bit of penal apparatus, the cross.
Hard? Yes. But this is the way to enlightenment, glory and joy. There is no other.
Yes there is another way. The non-Colin Sedgewick way.
"Get My Gun" D12
“Get My Gun” from the new D12 World album offers us a hilarous parody of what could possibly happen when Eminem and his crew gets angry. Things will get overheated very fast and he may get his gun very fast.
The introduction that features Kon Artis shows us a man (Marshall) who reacts before thinking in a very concrete situation when he feels bad. This situation looks like a typical bad day in Marshall’s life who will start beefing with somebody who just asked for an authograph:
June 11, 2004
June 10, 2004
Karlin returns
Karlin returns with a post from Cannes no less, she is down sunning herself and enjoying some new Dell wizadry. Maybe she will bump into Charlie Haughey who enjoys the Cote d'Azur this time of year.
Glad to see her wireless connection will be back working again soon too.
Why not bring China into the cosmic club?
Michael Benson asks the question, and it is a fair enough one. Though my libertarian friends might prefer to see Richard Branson do it all first with Virgin.
Two things, I love this quote from the Branson article:
Andrew Nahum, the senior curator of aeronautics at the Science Museum and visiting professor in vehicle design at the Royal College of Art, said he doubted it would ever become a profitable enterprise."You have got to put it in proportion - what you are doing is something more ambitious than Concorde. Even that was too expensive and never made a buck."
That sounds horridly like so many quotes I have read, people who doubted flight would work, television, courier services...the list goes on. It strikes me as incredibly short sighted.
And the second from the Benson piece:
So wouldn't it make sense for NASA to cooperate with Russia and China in a meaningful way as it prepares to send humans into the greater solar system for the first time in history? Such an approach would enable a consolidation of the financial burden,and it would free NASA resources to develop a more ambitious and versatile manned deep-space vehicle.There are plenty of good idealistic reasons, too, for being inclusive. A multilateral effort to open the solar system could be a perfect antidote to our Earthly fractiousness.It's high time we took some more giant leaps - together.
I agree.
UK study assigns Leaving Cert high A-level ratings
Whenever I have had interviews for jobs in the UK, the question has always arisen: What is the Leaving Certificate? To which the reply is: Well, it's kind of like A-Levels, but not quite, its kind of...umm...emm.
Now finally I have the answer, its two-thirds of an A-Level. According to a study done by Oxford University it is anyway.
The difference is that we don't do two or three subjects, as is done in the UK for A-Levels, we normally do at least 7 subjects, of which the best 6 are taken into account for points.
Does this reflect well on the Irish education system? I guess it does?
How Come
Marshall Mathers and his D12 crew will certainly amaze you with their new video to the D12 World song “How Come”.
Lyrical Judge Praises Eminem in Lyrics Fight
Comparing Eminem to Benny Goodman, Elvis Presley and Paul Simon, a federal judge ruled yesterday that the company that publishes a leading hip-hop magazine was in contempt of court for failing to comply with orders in a copyright battle with the rapper.
Continue reading "Lyrical Judge Praises Eminem in Lyrics Fight"June 09, 2004
July 10th?
Provisional date for Dublin Blog get-together...Saturday July 10th. If this date is not good for people please comment or email. Comment here too.
The D12 members speak out about each other
People usually focus a lot of attention on the comments that the media have to offer about groups like D12.
Continue reading "The D12 members speak out about each other"June 08, 2004
The limits of being Irish
The Guardian, with its editiorial take on the Irish Citizenship referendum. I, for one, intend to vote no.
Oil is running out...
Yet more fuel into this fire that has been on slowburn on this blog over the last few weeks. George Monbiot, yes I know some of you hate him, with his views on the likely scenarios that may meet us once the oil runs out.
I think Frank will enjoy this...and he also mentions issues raised by Peter. Monbiot deals with some of the issues we raised earlier:
The world's problem is as follows. We now consume six barrels of oil for every new barrel we discover. Major oil finds (of over 500m barrels) peaked in 1964. In 2000, there were 13 such discoveries, in 2001 six, in 2002 two and in 2003 none. Three major new projects will come onstream in 2007 and three in 2008. For the following years, none have yet been scheduled.The oil industry tells us not to worry: the market will find a way of sorting this out. If the price of energy rises, new sources will come onstream. But new sources of what? Every other option is much more expensive than the cheap oil that made our economic complexity possible.
The new technology designed to extract the dregs from old fields is expensive and doesn't seem to work very well, which is why Shell was forced to downgrade its anticipated reserves (other companies, under pressure from the US Securities and Exchange Commission, will surely follow). Extracting oil from tar sands and shales uses almost as much energy as it yields. The same goes for turning crops such as rape into biodiesel. Nuclear power is viable only if you overlook both the massive costs of decommissioning and the fact that no safe means has yet been discovered of disposing of the waste. We could cover the country with windmills and solar panels, but the electricity they produced would still be an expensive means of running our cars.
Just as the oil supply begins to look uncertain, global demand is rising faster than it has done for 16 years. Yesterday morning, General Motors announced that it is spending $3bn on doubling its production of cars for the Chinese market. Seventy-four minutes later, we saw the first signs of entropy: the International Air Travel Association revealed that the airlines are likely to lose $3bn this year because of high oil prices. The cheap carriers complained that they could be forced out of the market.
If the complexity of our economies is impossible to sustain, our best hope is to start to dismantle them before they collapse. This isn't very likely to happen. Faced with a choice between a bang and a whimper, our governments are likely to choose the bang, waging ever more extravagant wars to keep the show on the road. Terrorists, alert to both the west's rising need and the vulnerability of the pipeline and tanker networks, will respond with their own oil wars.
"Every time I see an adult on a bicycle," HG Wells wrote, "I no longer despair for the human race." It's a start, but I'd feel even more confident about our chances of survival if I saw George Bush and Dick Cheney sharing a car to work.
Royston Brady and Today FM
Dick wonders if Matt Cooper has been playing the chicken song on the Last Word. Indeed he has, every week, more or less, for the last number of weeks. The latest time I believe the chicken noises lasted a good 30 seconds. Which is a long time to listen to it on live radio...
Matt tried to interview Brady down in Ringsend, Brady was having none of it, and refused to answer any questions, and even went as far as to take the piss out of Matt and the Last Word, for lacklustre listenership figures since Dunphy left.
It was all quite entertaining really, and shows Brady to be nothing other than a coward, to me at least.
Anti-Chomsky
Thanks to An Oasis for this one...the anti-Chomsky blog (linked to by Andy Sullivan too) I too watched Chomsky take on Paxman a few weeks back, it was curious to say the least. My interest has been heightened having seen Des Bishop's blogroll including me and Chomsky. Des has been critical of the US administration lately, it makes for entertaining reading.
As for Chomsky, I have read many of his books, but have also read too many eloquent criticisms of him - and I am falling of the side of disagreeing with Chomsky more often than not.
America's ignorance is a threat to humanity
The director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, Jeffrey D. Sachs, with some criticism of the Bush Administration.
The undoing of U.S. foreign policy is captured in the budget numbers. Long gone are the Marshall Plan times, when America dedicated several percent of its gross domestic product to European reconstruction. The United States will spend about $450 billion this year on the military but only $15 billion on official development assistance.The 30-to-1 ratio is mirrored by a similar imbalance in American thinking. America's military expertise is undoubted. America's ability to understand what exists before and after wars in low-income countries is nearly nonexistent.
Changing all of this will require much more than recognizing the errors of the Iraq war. A good starting point would be to rebuild USAID into a pre-eminent agency for understanding and resolving human catastrophes and security threats arising from extreme poverty.
This agency requires a professional, nonpoliticized leadership and staff; a new mandate to study a world economy of startling inequalities; increased financial resources to help fragile and impoverished countries before they fall into chaos; and a rank as a cabinet-level department, so that expertise gets a hearing at the centers of power. America's efforts will need to go beyond one agency, however. The United States must have leaders who recognize that the problems of the poor aren't trifles to leave to do-gooders, but are vital strategic issues. For the first time in decades, America must strive to understand problems - tropical disease, malnutrition and the like - that are unfamiliar to Americans but are urgent concerns of billions of people abroad.
In the case of a superpower, ignorance is not bliss; it is a threat to Americans and to humanity.
Another Toronto picture
Rannie, a photo blogger I met up with in Toronto, has posted another picture of me over on his blog. God that spot on my face looks awful hehe. I hope you are well Rannie!
Tired today
Suffering from some blog fatigue... I have lots of articles to post about, lots of organising to do for Dublin, lots of reading to do...does it ever end? :)
Keep the UFO flying
The Guardian continue their series of extracts from Timothy Garton Ash's new book, Free World: Why a Crisis of the West Reveals the Opportunity of Our Time .
MTV censors Eminem
Eminem's moon has been eclipsed.
http://www.news24.com/News24/Entertainment/Abroad/0,,2-1225-1243_1539230,00.html
MTV plans to edit out a shot of the rapper exposing his rear end to the audience at the 2004 Movie Awards when the show is broadcast on Thursday, a network representative has confirmed.
Continue reading "MTV censors Eminem"A couple of cowards against Eminem
Hailie Jade, Eminem’s daughter is one of the most popular kids in the music industry. The world knows her since she is 2 and a half. The song « 97’ Bonnie and Clyde » is Hailie’s first introduction into the world of music.
Continue reading "A couple of cowards against Eminem"June 07, 2004
Ugly Americans: Europe cannot blame it all on Bush
Pierre Lellouche with yet another analysis of transatlantic relations, he notes:
I can remember U.S. presidents who were derided for being ignorant (Reagan), incompetent (Carter), or bumbling (Ford). But never have I such a rejection, bordering on hatred, as I see today for Bush.
He dislikes the anti-Bush line, but would like to see something more constructive:
Anti-Americanism and European weakness are the two sides of a coin. It is time both sides try to find the path towards constructive dialogue, without which neither will be able to face up to the dangerous world of the 21st century.
Eminem vs Limp Bizkit
You probably all remember those few lines taken out of “The Real Slim Shady”:
“Shit, Christina Aguilera better switch me chairs
so I can sit next to Carson Daly and Fred Durst
and hear 'em argue over who she gave head to first...”
June 06, 2004
More on the oil story
Coincidentally, about the time a small discussion between myself Frank and Paul, Kevin Drum has posted a lengthy analysis of the demand/supply issue with regard to oil. I think I will quote the thing in full.
The crucial point in relation to the discussion we were having:
If we're lucky, of course, there won't be any serious catastrophes, the market will adjust to tighter supplies with gradually higher prices, demand will slowly decrease in response, and there will be only a little bit of pain. The downside to this semi-cheery scenario is that it will convince everyone that we can continue with business as usual and make no serious efforts to curb oil use. But unlike previous oil shocks, the forthcoming one won't be just the result of an artificial shortage mandated by a cartel, it will be a real shortage caused by the fact that we're finally beginning to bump up against physical and geological limitations. The piper will eventually be paid, and the longer it's put off the worse it's likely to be.
Here's the full piece:
Microsoft gains double-clicking patent
This one stumped Kevin Drum, and me too, but the Beast of Redmond has been granted a patent for double-clicking. Jaysus.
The Religious and Psychological Sources of Islamic Terrorism
Two excellent essays in the latest edition of Policy Review. Shmuel Bar writes one on the religious sources of Islamic terrorism, while Michael J. Mazarr writes a piece on the psychological soures. Both are worth a look.
US and France: We still need each other: Felix G. Rohatyn
Felix G. Rohatyn, United States ambassador to France from 1997 to 2001, has another piece in the IHT on transatlantic relations. Another appropriate piece to be reading on a day like today...
I have seen France at its most tragic in 1940, and I have seen it at its best in later years. Although there will still be differences about Iraq and other issues, I know that France and America need each other strategically, economically, culturally.And beyond that, there is the history buried in the cemetery of Omaha Beach. We need a relationship built on mutual respect as well as mutual interest. Perhaps it will be rekindled on Omaha Beach.
Knowledge as Power
Bruce Berkowitz reviews John Keegan's latest book, "Intelligence in War: Knowledge of the Enemy from Napoleon to al-Qaeda."
Berkowitz's conclusion:
Keegan can draw upon a lifetime of studying armed conflict, and the facts of battles from ancient times to recent times fall readily to his mind. Alas, Keegan’s strength is also his curse. His approach — deconstructing a big event into many small events — inevitably leads to a conclusion that is almost a tautology.Because intelligence was always just one of many factors, it is hard ever to make a case that it was the most important one. No serious military analyst believes that for want of a nail a kingdom was lost, and using this method, no one is going to believe that for want of intelligence, a battle was lost (or won).
Human nature
Human nature is universally imbued with a desire for liberty, and a hatred for servitude. Caesar, Gallic Wars.
D-Day and anti-Americanism: It's hard to love a savior
Josef Joffe, editor of Die Zeit, has written a piece in today's IHT. He decries the levels of anti-americanism prevalent in Europe today, while hoping for an improvement in transatlantic relations. I agree with his criticisms of anti-americanism:
Perusing the European media from Madrid to Munich in the wake of the Abu Ghraib scandal, one might think America is Darth Vader and Adolf Hitler rolled into one. On the 60th anniversary of D-Day, Europe is awash in a tsunami of anti-Americanism that is light-years removed from a rationally argued critique of U.S. behavior in Iraq.Why are the second and third post-D-Day generations so obsessed with America that they will stop at nothing to discredit and dehumanize the country?
He rightly nails some hypocritical views Europeans have of America:
And then there is Temptress America, a culture that radiates outward and pulls inward. Europe eats, listens, dances and dresses American, and if the lure of low culture weren't enough, there is the glamour of U.S. universities that makes the worst anti-American diatribe usually end with: "Can you help get my daughter into Harvard?"Will this, too, have passed by the time we mark D-Day 2014? It might, but only on two conditions. Europe will have to shed the arrogance of weakness, and the United States the arrogance of power. Watch George W. Bush on D-Day '04 for signs of a kinder and gentler America. The United States is still the greatest power in history, but it has learned the hard way in Falluja and Abu Ghraib that even giants can't go it alone.
Indeed it can't, but can it go the right way?
June 05, 2004
Trife thieves
“Trife thieves” is a less known song from Bizarre’s “Attack Of The Weirdos EP” and a good example of Eminem’s collaboration with Bizarre.
Continue reading "Trife thieves"June 04, 2004
Nathan's studio: maybe a chance to listen to his music soon?
Two persons are really important in Eminem’s eyes: his little daughter Hailie and his little brother Nathan.
June 03, 2004
Emceeing and magic
Would Harry Potter be interesting in the public’s eye if he wasn’t gifted for magic? Honestly, I don’t think so. He’d appear as an annoying teenager who is complexed by his physical appearence. His scar and his glasses would make him look disadvantaged in front of an average teenager.
Continue reading "Emceeing and magic"June 02, 2004
Rolling Blunder
Fred Kaplan wrote an article I almost missed on how North Korea succeeded in getting nuclear weapons, and how the Bush administration let them.
But the existence of the weapons is as yet unproven - though plutonium is known to exist. Kaplan concludes by blaming Bush:
Last January, a (genuinely) private delegation--which included Jack Pritchard and Sig Hecker, a former director of the Los Alamos nuclear weapons lab--flew to North Korea for a tour of the Yongbyon nuclear reactor. It was the first time since the crisis began that any Westerner had been inside. Hecker came away convinced that the North Koreans had indeed reprocessed the fuel rods; he saw the plutonium. But he saw no sign that they had actually converted the stuff into weapons. In hearings before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Hecker made clear: This doesn't mean they don't have any bombs--just that he was shown no evidence that they do.Nobody knows precisely what North Korea has. This is what makes negotiations both difficult and necessary. Bush's failure to make a deal, while the fuel rods were still locked up, constitutes one of the great diplomatic blunders of our time. It may not be too late to avert the coming disaster. The question is whether the president--whoever he might be--recognizes that a disaster is coming, decides to deal with it, and does so fairly soon. The time is already late; at some point, it will run out.
Sept. 11: Why were Saudis allowed to leave the U.S.?: Craig Unger
Craig Unger, author of "House of Bush, House of Saud: The Secret Relationship Between the World's Two Most Powerful Dynasties.", with a brief piece in the IHT today. He poses a question asked by Michael Moore in his latest film.
It has also emerged that:
In addition, new evidence shows that the evacuation involved more than the departure of 142 Saudis on six charter flights that the commission is investigating. According to newly released documents, 160 Saudis left the United States on 55 flights immediately after Sept. 11 - making a total of about 300 people who left with the apparent approval of the Bush administration, far more than has been reported before.
The records were released by the Department of Homeland Security in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by Judicial Watch, a conservative, nonpartisan watchdog group in Washington.
The vast majority of the newly disclosed flights were commercial airline flights, not charters, often carrying just two or three Saudi passengers. They originated from more than 20 cities, including Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit and Houston. One Saudi Arabian Airlines flight left Kennedy Airport on Sept. 13 with 46 Saudis. The next day, another Saudi Arabian Airlines flight left with 13 Saudis.
Why did this happen?
Two questions...
Just two things I was thinking about today...
If the UKIP do well, what questions does it raise about whether the UK will stay in the EU or not? Kilroy-Silk was on Newsnight last night with John Redwood, Silk was articulate while also quoting polls saying the support for the UKIP is growing substantially.
If the UK ever left the EU what would it mean for transatlantic relations?
Secondly, with China and India growing up to 10% every year, will world oil supplies be able to meet demand? Car ownership in China doubled in one year - and India will go the same way. The US has managed to secure oil reserves in Iraq, but from where will China's and India's oil come?
Can we envisage resource wars going forward?
Curious...
New AIB charging allegation is being examined
Yet another AIB scandal, I can't say im surprised. Though I am surprised by the reaction of some bloggers...
This time:
This allegation again concerns rates charged to foreign exchange customers and the possibility that AIB branches that were not meeting their targets altered their exchange rates to increase profits.
Does this actually surprise anyone now? Does it cast the other overcharging issues in a different light? Were they even mistakes?
DJ Graffiti
DJ Graffiti aka Martin Smith is a Michigan MC from Ann Arbor. He calls himself “the underground mixtape king of Michigan”.
Martin Smith grew up in Oak Park and West Bloomfield. He graduated at Bloomfield High School in 1996.
His nickname “DJ Graffiti” comes from the lyrics he wrote. About his own lyrics, he says: “I spray mentals like lyrical graffiti.”
Continue reading "DJ Graffiti"NTT DoCoMo's 4G Test Results in 300Mbps Data Rate in Moving Car
The company said that the test achieved a maximum downstream data rate of 300Mbps with an average rate of 135Mbps in a car running at the speed of 30 kilometers per hour in areas 800m to 1km away from the 4G wireless base stations.NTT DoCoMo aims to realize much faster communication speeds by adding the multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) technology, which uses multiple antennas, to the current wireless system. The goal of the wireless data rate is as high as 1Gbps when not moving. The experiment will continue until July.
1Gbps while not moving? And on wireless? Woah.
June 01, 2004
Sudan crisis
The situation in Sudan needs urgent attention, as Ingrid has been pointing out for weeks now. Time is wasting, action surely needs to be taken now. Should we let Rwanda happen again, the ethnic cleansing may have largely ceased, but starvation still threatens upwards of 350,000 people, with perhaps upto 500,000 people in danger.
The blogging community should be behind action - 100%. Read PassionofthePresent for the latest - and as a primer read Nicholas Kristoff's piece.
As Passion notes:
In Darfur, a region in southern Sudan approximately the size of Texas, over a million people are threatened with torture and death at the hands of marauding militia and a complicit government. Genocide evokes not only the moral, but also, the legal responsibility of the world community. Under international agreement, a nation must intervene to stop a genocide when it is officially acknowledged. "Officially" is the key word here.Though President Bush has publicly protested the "atrocities" in Darfur and U.N. Secretary Kofi Annan has urged the international community to act, no nation has officially acknowledged the truth: Sudan is a bleeding ground of genocide. In this void, the Sudanese government continues to act with brutal impunity. Perpetrators of genocide do not want anyone watching, but individuals working in human rights organizations watch and witness, and courageously support the victims.
These individuals represent, for all of us, a personal capacity to bear witness to the passion of the present; one candle lit against the darkness. However, before one can light a candle, someone has to strike a match: a donation to any of the human rights organizations active in Sudan will help the candlepower of witness overcome and extinguish the firepower of genocide.
And as Kristoff rightly says:
Islamic leaders abroad have been particularly shameful in standing with the Sudanese government oppressors rather than with the Muslim victims in Darfur. Do they care about dead Muslims only when the killers are Israelis or Americans?As for the United States, we Americans have repeatedly failed to stand up to genocide, whether of Armenians, Jews, Cambodians or Rwandans. Now we're letting it happen again.
Irish blogger bash
Having attended one in Toronto recently...and a couple in London last year, I have yet to attend an Irish blog bash.
I have sounded out the idea with Dick O'Brien over at BSD - and he is keen as long as its on a Friday or Sunday. Friday night in Dublin suits me fine - even though I live in Cork lol (anyone put me up?).
So any Irish bloggers interested in attending a blog get together over the summer please leave a comment or drop me a mail. I will try and set a date that suits the maximum number of people. Dublin seems to most logical option since it is the hub of the transport network.
I am suggesting a Friday night sometime in late June or early July...
Irish bloggers in my blogroll are:
Karlin Lillington
Back Seat Drivers
Frank McGahon
Slugger O'Toole
Des Bishop
Bernie Goldbach
Ryan
It Comes in Pints?
At What Cost?
Broken Irish
Stunned
Broom of Anger
d2r
On Gaien Higashi Dori
Tony Allwright
David Havelin
Keith Gaughan
Justin Mason
Defiant Irish Woman
Alt-Tag
Tom Cosgrave
Sarah Carey
Atlanticblog
Murphy's
Da Berries
Annette
Irish Eagle
North Atlantic Skyline
Religion quotes
When did I realize I was God? Well, I was praying and I suddenly realized that I was talking to myself.
Peter Barnes, The Ruling Class
It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.
Albert Einstein in Albert Einstein: The Human Side, edited by
Helen Dukas (Einstein's secretary) and Banesh Hoffman
Believing is easier than thinking. Hence so many more believers than thinkers. Bruce Calvert
Latest banking scandals
Uncle Anthony with yet another letter in the Irish Times (sub. required)
Madam, - So, what exactly is it that auditors do? - Yours, etc.,
ANTHONY SHERIDAN, Cobh, Co Cork.
