ME and Ophelia

PAYBACK TIME FOR U.S. ON IRAQ
US jailers splashed Koran with urine says Pentagon

The only consolation about this kind of story is at least it is out in the open, being reported and dealt with through official inquiries:

Sat Jun 4, 2005 Washington (Reuters) - American jailers at the Guantanamo prison for foreign terrorism suspects splashed a Koran with urine, kicked and stepped on the Islamic holy book and soaked it with water, the U.S. military said on Friday.

U.S. Southern Command, responsible for the prison at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, described for the first time five cases of "mishandling" of a Koran by U.S. personnel confirmed by a newly completed military inquiry, officials said in a statement.

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Payback time for US on Iraq

Today's Scotsman says Tony Blair must tell George Bush to repay British support over the war on terror by backing moves to end African poverty, campaigners have demanded.

The Prime Minister flies to Washington today for White House talks with the president of the United States tomorrow.


Picture: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

See my post on Payback time for US on Iraq at Sudan Watch, cross-posted at Passion of the Present.
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EU crisis may force Blair to stay on as PM

Good news. British Prime Minister Tony Blair could stay in power for three more years to help steer the European Union out of the crisis over the EU draft constitution, ally Peter Mandelson said yesterday. Full Story sapa-AFP via Dispatch online 6 June 2005.
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Blair in secret plan to hold second G8 summit on Africa

The Mirror newspaper today is claiming this story as an exclusive:

Downing Street is drawing up secret plans to hold a second G8 meeting if the Gleneagles summit fails to deliver for Africa.

Sources close to No10 said Tony Blair is prepared to call an emergency "crisis meeting for Africa", probably in the autumn.

He would use the public goodwill towards tackling poverty following next month's Live8 concerts to bounce reluctant world leaders into returning to Britain for a second summit.

Usually leaders of the leading industrial nations meet once a year. Full Story by Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent Mirror Exclusive: We'll Meet Again 6 June 2005.
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The Credit Card Prank

As I mostly shop online or over the phone, I sometimes get nervous about it because I never have to sign for anything, which means my details could easily be used by anybody. Now I shall stop worrying. Thanks to Bob for his post on The Credit Card Prank which makes me realise signatures are meaningless.
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HUMMINGBIRDS ONLY OCCUR IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE
And, despite what Reuters says, there are no blue ones

Note amusing post about Reuters in Silflay Hraka's Adventures in Journalism: The Mythic "Blue Hummingbird" [via Instapundit.com] - here are some extracts and photos from the post:



"You know, I can forgive Reuters the little things, like their bias, slanted reporting and Anti-Semitism. But a man can only be pushed so far, can only take so much before he has to stand up and be counted, to raise his voice and join the chorus of excoriation. I am that man. This is that time. And this is what I have to say to Reuters:

Hummingbirds only occur in the western hemisphere, you dolts."



Why do the news services keep producing mistakes?

The answer seems obvious to me; journalistic mistakes, even ones that end up killing people, normally carry no consequences whatsoever for those who commit them, so they continue to happen. Obviously whatever dolt is in charge of the nature photographs at Reuters has blissfully continued his drunken stumble down the career path over the last two years without consequence, save that, for me, at least, every story with a Reuters byline goes into a mental trash bin. Reuters does not care enough to get the details straight, so there's no point in trusting in anything their stories say.


Photo: [Probably] A Purple Sunbird

Postscript: For those who care about such things, the bird Reuters mistakenly insists is a blue hummingbird is most likely a Purple Sunbird. What it's not, what it can never be, even in the fevered imagination of a senior Reuters editor, is a "blue hummingbird," not even if they moved the location of the picture to the correct hemisphere. There's no such beast.

[First time visitor to House Hraka? Wondering if everything they produce could possibly be as great as the post you just read? Check out the Hraka Essentials, the (mostly) reader-selected guide to Hraka's best posts, and decide for yourself]
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NEMESIS OR DADA -
Part Burmese and part ...who knows?

Laban is a bright shepherd in Dorset, UK. Here is an excerpt from his post on catblogging and ratblogging:

We now have a new kitten - too small to take on anything yet. Part-Burmese, part something else. Call me a cynic, but I think he looks a bit too chocolate-box to be an effective hunter-killer. We shall see.

Photo by Laban.

Note, Laban titled his photo "Nemesis" but tagged the gif "Dada". Maybe the kitten is called Dada.