ME AND OPHELIA
Monday, November 29, 2004
KOFI OUT, HAVEL IN - TIME FOR A KOFI BREAK
It's an idea whose time has come, says InstaPundit
Thanks to InstaPundit for speaking out about the U.N. and saying:
"Kofi out, Havel in. It's an idea whose time has come."
See the HAVEL-FOR-SECRETARY-GENERAL bumper stickers.
And a related post here.
The juggernaut is rolling!
KOFI UPDATE: Don't you love the title of InstaPundit's column in today's Wall Street Journal? I do.
Top blogger Glenn Reynolds deserves applause for having the guts to speak out about the U.N. and promoting the idea of replacing Kofi Annan with Vaclav Havel. It's such a milestone of an essay, I've copied it at Sudan Watch incase the link gets broken.
KOFI UPDATE AT INSTAPUNDIT: American writer William Safire says: "This marks the end of the beginning of the scandal. Its end will not begin until Kofi Annan, even if personally innocent, resigns - having, through initial ineptitude and final obstructionism, brought dishonor on the Secretariat of the United Nations."
Yay for William Safire.
- - -
UPDATE - what bloggers are saying - this list will be ongoing and added to - please let me know if you post on the U.N. and I will link to you. Thanks.
Jim Moore at the Passion: Glenn Reynolds on replacing Kofi Annan with former Czech President Vaclav Havel.
Christopher Johnson at Mayflower: US Senator calls for Annan's resignation; when it comes to Oil-For-Food, Annan is guilty of, as Senator Coleman said, nothing "other than incompetence and mismanagement."
Norman Geras of normblog in England writes on the UN's biggest scandal.
Christopher Johnson of Mayflower Hill in America links to the Vaclav Havel for Secretary-General banner.
A rant about Kofi Annan by Blimpish on October 17, 2004. In a comment here today, Blimpish says: "Chrenkoff reckons Polish President Kwasniewski would be a better bet, and I think I agree. Much though Havel is one of my heroes, he's not enough of a pol to make it work."
The Q Speaks: Can lameness be quantified?
October 17, 2004 Cox & Forkum: Hot Water
- - -
ANNAN THREAT
November 19, 2004 Cox & Forkum Annan Threat
[Thanks to Misspent in October 17 comment at Blimpish]
- - -
ON THIS DAY
Anniversary of the UN vote on Resolution 181
On November 29, 1947, the U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution calling for the partitioning of Palestine between Arabs and Jews.
This is a blogburst being cross-posted by a number of websites to commemorate a milestone in Israel's history. A list of participating sites is at the end of a post by Blimpish.
It's an idea whose time has come, says InstaPundit
Thanks to InstaPundit for speaking out about the U.N. and saying:
"Kofi out, Havel in. It's an idea whose time has come."
See the HAVEL-FOR-SECRETARY-GENERAL bumper stickers.
And a related post here.
The juggernaut is rolling!
KOFI UPDATE: Don't you love the title of InstaPundit's column in today's Wall Street Journal? I do.
Top blogger Glenn Reynolds deserves applause for having the guts to speak out about the U.N. and promoting the idea of replacing Kofi Annan with Vaclav Havel. It's such a milestone of an essay, I've copied it at Sudan Watch incase the link gets broken.
KOFI UPDATE AT INSTAPUNDIT: American writer William Safire says: "This marks the end of the beginning of the scandal. Its end will not begin until Kofi Annan, even if personally innocent, resigns - having, through initial ineptitude and final obstructionism, brought dishonor on the Secretariat of the United Nations."
Yay for William Safire.
- - -
UPDATE - what bloggers are saying - this list will be ongoing and added to - please let me know if you post on the U.N. and I will link to you. Thanks.
Jim Moore at the Passion: Glenn Reynolds on replacing Kofi Annan with former Czech President Vaclav Havel.
Christopher Johnson at Mayflower: US Senator calls for Annan's resignation; when it comes to Oil-For-Food, Annan is guilty of, as Senator Coleman said, nothing "other than incompetence and mismanagement."
Norman Geras of normblog in England writes on the UN's biggest scandal.
Christopher Johnson of Mayflower Hill in America links to the Vaclav Havel for Secretary-General banner.
A rant about Kofi Annan by Blimpish on October 17, 2004. In a comment here today, Blimpish says: "Chrenkoff reckons Polish President Kwasniewski would be a better bet, and I think I agree. Much though Havel is one of my heroes, he's not enough of a pol to make it work."
The Q Speaks: Can lameness be quantified?
October 17, 2004 Cox & Forkum: Hot Water
- - -
ANNAN THREAT
November 19, 2004 Cox & Forkum Annan Threat
[Thanks to Misspent in October 17 comment at Blimpish]
- - -
ON THIS DAY
Anniversary of the UN vote on Resolution 181
On November 29, 1947, the U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution calling for the partitioning of Palestine between Arabs and Jews.
This is a blogburst being cross-posted by a number of websites to commemorate a milestone in Israel's history. A list of participating sites is at the end of a post by Blimpish.
# posted by Ingrid @ 11/29/2004
Sunday, November 28, 2004
FAVELETS
New from Technorati
Get this favelet - new from Technorati for IE, Mozilla, Firefox, Safari, etc.
I've dragged it into the Bookmarks bar of my Safari browser. But not yet tried how it works. Don't forget it's beta.
Thanks Technorati. The blogosphere would not be the same without you.
New from Technorati
Get this favelet - new from Technorati for IE, Mozilla, Firefox, Safari, etc.
I've dragged it into the Bookmarks bar of my Safari browser. But not yet tried how it works. Don't forget it's beta.
Thanks Technorati. The blogosphere would not be the same without you.
# posted by Ingrid @ 11/28/2004
Saturday, November 27, 2004
IS WAL-MART GOOD FOR AMERICA?
Lower prices means lower wages and lower standard of living?
According to reports out a few days ago, China's Communist Party-controlled labour union is ready to help Wal-Mart Stores set up union branches at its Chinese outlets "as soon as possible. The 123-million-member All-China Federation of Trade Unions plans to push ahead with its demand that foreign enterprises such as Wal-Mart set up trade unions, its officials say.
This news reminds me of a discussion going on at John Fitzgerald's post concerning free trade and Wal-Mart being good for America.
Do lower prices mean lower wages, which means a lower standard of living? I don't think so - not if the goods are manufactured outside of the country from where they are bought. If you read the comments at John's post, please excuse mine. I know what I was trying to say about manufacturing being crucial. But I'm not sure anyone else will make sense of my poorly constructed comment. That'll teach me for leaving comments while over tired.
Lower prices means lower wages and lower standard of living?
According to reports out a few days ago, China's Communist Party-controlled labour union is ready to help Wal-Mart Stores set up union branches at its Chinese outlets "as soon as possible. The 123-million-member All-China Federation of Trade Unions plans to push ahead with its demand that foreign enterprises such as Wal-Mart set up trade unions, its officials say.
This news reminds me of a discussion going on at John Fitzgerald's post concerning free trade and Wal-Mart being good for America.
Do lower prices mean lower wages, which means a lower standard of living? I don't think so - not if the goods are manufactured outside of the country from where they are bought. If you read the comments at John's post, please excuse mine. I know what I was trying to say about manufacturing being crucial. But I'm not sure anyone else will make sense of my poorly constructed comment. That'll teach me for leaving comments while over tired.
# posted by Ingrid @ 11/27/2004
- - -
NO REPRIEVE FOR BLACK WATCH
This is more sad than Concorde's retirement.
Even as the Black Watch mounted the British Army's largest operation in Iraq since the end of the war, defence chiefs ruled out a reprieve for the regiment.
Read my previous post on the history of the Black Watch and you will see why this news is so difficult to swallow. The Black Watch were formed before the War of American Independence!
Maybe the politicians are waiting for more of a public outcry or something. I have signed petitions and linked to them in my previous post. I'm not sure what else I can do, except to ask others to sign the petition and spread the word. Thanks.
NO REPRIEVE FOR BLACK WATCH
This is more sad than Concorde's retirement.
Even as the Black Watch mounted the British Army's largest operation in Iraq since the end of the war, defence chiefs ruled out a reprieve for the regiment.
Read my previous post on the history of the Black Watch and you will see why this news is so difficult to swallow. The Black Watch were formed before the War of American Independence!
Maybe the politicians are waiting for more of a public outcry or something. I have signed petitions and linked to them in my previous post. I'm not sure what else I can do, except to ask others to sign the petition and spread the word. Thanks.
# posted by Ingrid @ 11/27/2004
- - -
CONCORDE'S FINAL FLIGHT
One year ago yesterday
Exactly one year ago yesterday, the British-French supersonic airliner Concorde made its last ever flight from London's Heathrow airport to Filton in Bristol. Only 20 Concordes were ever built, though they did spawn the short-lived Soviet imitation - the Tupolev TU144, nicknamed "Concordski". Today, the remaining Concordes have been scattered to aviation museums around the world, including Scotland's Museum of Flight in East Lothian.
Concorde sits before moving off to it's final resting place of the Museum of Flight in East Lothian.
Pictured at Beanston Mains where the plane was held overnight.
Taken April 19 2004 by photographer Cate Gillon. Read more on Concorde at http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=400
CONCORDE'S FINAL FLIGHT
One year ago yesterday
Exactly one year ago yesterday, the British-French supersonic airliner Concorde made its last ever flight from London's Heathrow airport to Filton in Bristol. Only 20 Concordes were ever built, though they did spawn the short-lived Soviet imitation - the Tupolev TU144, nicknamed "Concordski". Today, the remaining Concordes have been scattered to aviation museums around the world, including Scotland's Museum of Flight in East Lothian.
Concorde sits before moving off to it's final resting place of the Museum of Flight in East Lothian.
Pictured at Beanston Mains where the plane was held overnight.
Taken April 19 2004 by photographer Cate Gillon. Read more on Concorde at http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=400
# posted by Ingrid @ 11/27/2004
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
DAMIEN HIRST'S BAND AID COVER BANNED
Limited edition print of banned work to be sold for Sudan
A Digital Spy report says "controversial contemporary artist Damien Hirst has shown record bosses what he has come up with for the sleeve artwork for Do They Know It's Christmas? but it has been rejected on the basis that it would frighten small children, reports the Mirror.
Despite having reportedly been given a free reign as to how to adorn the single's sleeve, Hirst's work has been rejected on grounds of unsuitability. The potential artwork in fact seemed very appropriate. On one side it depicts the Grim Reaper cradling a starving African child in his arms, set against a blue sky with fluffy clouds, and on the other is a white child flaunting money.
There is to be a child with some baby reindeer (see picture of cover - in previous post here).
A spokesperson said: "The design Damien produced was for the front and back of a CD but we were later told they only wanted something for a front cover. It's a shame. Damien really wanted to do his bit.
"People have said it's a bleak picture but starvation and death are bleak subjects and there's no getting away from that."
Damien now plans to sell limited edition of his rejected work in order to raise money for Sudan."
- - -
Good. No doubt the prints will sell like hot cakes. His original design with the single would have sold well too. I was looking forward to seeing it. Pity they didn't let it go ahead. But, on second thoughts, maybe not. The Disney style cover is perhaps more inviting to the masses. Parents would probably not buy Damien's cover as stocking fillers even though it would have been a good investment and become a collectors item.
I still have a copy of the original Band Aid single in pristine condition as it's never been played. Hope it hasn't warped. A few years ago, I bought a second hand record player with good speakers in a jumble sale, just for old times sake. Nobody else wanted it. It was expensive when new. Got it for a few pounds. It went straight up into the attic to gather dust with my old Beatles LPs.
One day, when I get well, I'll look forward to having a party and playing the White album with all its crackles and scratches. Now I'm wondering if the Band Aid single is on vinyl or CD only. I'd be surprised if many people still use record players.
- - -
PROTESTS AT BAND AID WHITEWASHING PROVERTY ISSUES
Alternative Band Aid lyrics
International development campaigners, the World Development Movement (WDM) condemned the lyrics of the UK's Band Aid 20 single “Do They Know It's Christmas?” as promoting a negative and inaccurate picture of Africa and its problems. The soon to be launched Band Aid 20 initiative is for famine relief in Darfur, Sudan.
Twenty years ago the Band Aid single and Live Aid concert, for the benefit of Ethiopia, raised awareness around the world of problems in Africa. The "feed the world" concert rocked all over the world and had great impact on a countless number of youngsters who went on to build careers in politics and humanitarian fields.
Recently, British Prime Minister Tony Blair was quoted as saying Band Aid changed his life. He has spent years pushing for the cancellation of debts of the world's poorest nations. Earlier this year, he set up a Commission for Africa and attended its first meeting in Africa. Next year, the UK holds presidency of the G8 summit.
The Band Aid 20 initiative will generate worldwide publicity for Darfur for many months, if not years. Already, in the campaign's first week, tens of millions of people have heard the word Darfur, probably for the first time, thanks to Band Aid. No other campaign for Africa has achieved such widespread interest, for so long, especially among the young.
Band Aid cannot simply be measured in terms of funds raised. The song may be regarded by some as "cheesey" but had it been more "heavy" it might not have captured the attention of the world's media or the imagination of young and old alike. The incredible success of Band Aid in raising awareness among all age groups is unmatched by any other campaign for Africa, or for Darfur.
Those who see it as fashionable to knock Band Aid are probably the ones that have done the least to help the Sudanese. Anyone who is aware of the catastrophe in Darfur would know how long it has taken to get the world's attention, and that any contribution is better than no contribution at all. The people of Darfur need all the help and publicity they can get.
Some visitors at the WDM and UK Indymedia sites have submitted alternative Band Aid lyrics. Can you do better?
Note, as an aside, according to the Pan African News Agency in 2002 alone, Africa paid $21.9 billion in external debt while official development assistance (ODA) to the region was $22.2 billion.
Further reading:
Nov 24: Westlife have been invited to sing Do They Know It's Christmas? at London's Wembley Arena for a charity Popworld concert on December 2. The concert is to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the single and to raise money for refugees in Darfur, Sudan.
Nov 18: Bad reviews, ethical criticism, corporate band wagons, bad feelings - Band Aid!UK Indymedia - Damien Hirst's Band Aid cover banned.
Nov 18: UK Indymedia - Protests at Band Aid whitewashing poverty issue.
Nov 14: UK Indymedia - Action against the recording of Band Aid 3 single - protester arrested.
July: UK Indymedia - Stop the Killing in Sudan - protest in London Wednesday 28th July, 2004.
According to Indymedia, the wars in Africa are all about the plundering of resources by the wealthiest economies and, increasingly oil:
Human Rights Watch Report, Sudan, Oil and Human Rights
http://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/sudan1103/
Sudan: Oil companies Complicit in Rights Abuses: http://www.hrw.org/press/2003/11/sudan112503.htm
- - -
SALGADO TAKES PHOTOS OF SUFFERING
In 1985, Brazlian-born photographer Sebastião Salgado carried out a 15-month project documenting the human toll of the extreme drought that then afflicted Chad, Mali, Ethiopia and the Sudan.
No one foresaw that his book would appear in English 20 years later, soon after the catastrophe in Darfur surfaced as a media topic in the West.
Salgado's photos taken in Ethiopia during the African famine of 1985 are being published in the United States for the first time. Here are a few:
Above, Sebastião Salgado's photo of Ethiopia's Korem Camp is among the many images he took in 1985 during a 15-month project documenting the toll of extreme drought in Africa.
Above, a woman and the rags that shelter her, on the outskirts of Tokar, Sudan, where drought hit hard. Photo by Sebastião Salgado, 1985.
- - -
FACT OF THE DAY - NOVEMBER 24
Courtesy Scotsman.com
On this day in 1859 Charles Darwin's scientific treatise On The Origin of Species was first published. His theory of evolution, reviled by British Christians at the time, became one of the world's most important scientific ideas and revolutionised the way human beings relate to the world as much as knowing the earth goes round the sun.
Limited edition print of banned work to be sold for Sudan
A Digital Spy report says "controversial contemporary artist Damien Hirst has shown record bosses what he has come up with for the sleeve artwork for Do They Know It's Christmas? but it has been rejected on the basis that it would frighten small children, reports the Mirror.
Despite having reportedly been given a free reign as to how to adorn the single's sleeve, Hirst's work has been rejected on grounds of unsuitability. The potential artwork in fact seemed very appropriate. On one side it depicts the Grim Reaper cradling a starving African child in his arms, set against a blue sky with fluffy clouds, and on the other is a white child flaunting money.
There is to be a child with some baby reindeer (see picture of cover - in previous post here).
A spokesperson said: "The design Damien produced was for the front and back of a CD but we were later told they only wanted something for a front cover. It's a shame. Damien really wanted to do his bit.
"People have said it's a bleak picture but starvation and death are bleak subjects and there's no getting away from that."
Damien now plans to sell limited edition of his rejected work in order to raise money for Sudan."
- - -
Good. No doubt the prints will sell like hot cakes. His original design with the single would have sold well too. I was looking forward to seeing it. Pity they didn't let it go ahead. But, on second thoughts, maybe not. The Disney style cover is perhaps more inviting to the masses. Parents would probably not buy Damien's cover as stocking fillers even though it would have been a good investment and become a collectors item.
I still have a copy of the original Band Aid single in pristine condition as it's never been played. Hope it hasn't warped. A few years ago, I bought a second hand record player with good speakers in a jumble sale, just for old times sake. Nobody else wanted it. It was expensive when new. Got it for a few pounds. It went straight up into the attic to gather dust with my old Beatles LPs.
One day, when I get well, I'll look forward to having a party and playing the White album with all its crackles and scratches. Now I'm wondering if the Band Aid single is on vinyl or CD only. I'd be surprised if many people still use record players.
- - -
PROTESTS AT BAND AID WHITEWASHING PROVERTY ISSUES
Alternative Band Aid lyrics
International development campaigners, the World Development Movement (WDM) condemned the lyrics of the UK's Band Aid 20 single “Do They Know It's Christmas?” as promoting a negative and inaccurate picture of Africa and its problems. The soon to be launched Band Aid 20 initiative is for famine relief in Darfur, Sudan.
Twenty years ago the Band Aid single and Live Aid concert, for the benefit of Ethiopia, raised awareness around the world of problems in Africa. The "feed the world" concert rocked all over the world and had great impact on a countless number of youngsters who went on to build careers in politics and humanitarian fields.
Recently, British Prime Minister Tony Blair was quoted as saying Band Aid changed his life. He has spent years pushing for the cancellation of debts of the world's poorest nations. Earlier this year, he set up a Commission for Africa and attended its first meeting in Africa. Next year, the UK holds presidency of the G8 summit.
The Band Aid 20 initiative will generate worldwide publicity for Darfur for many months, if not years. Already, in the campaign's first week, tens of millions of people have heard the word Darfur, probably for the first time, thanks to Band Aid. No other campaign for Africa has achieved such widespread interest, for so long, especially among the young.
Band Aid cannot simply be measured in terms of funds raised. The song may be regarded by some as "cheesey" but had it been more "heavy" it might not have captured the attention of the world's media or the imagination of young and old alike. The incredible success of Band Aid in raising awareness among all age groups is unmatched by any other campaign for Africa, or for Darfur.
Those who see it as fashionable to knock Band Aid are probably the ones that have done the least to help the Sudanese. Anyone who is aware of the catastrophe in Darfur would know how long it has taken to get the world's attention, and that any contribution is better than no contribution at all. The people of Darfur need all the help and publicity they can get.
Some visitors at the WDM and UK Indymedia sites have submitted alternative Band Aid lyrics. Can you do better?
Note, as an aside, according to the Pan African News Agency in 2002 alone, Africa paid $21.9 billion in external debt while official development assistance (ODA) to the region was $22.2 billion.
Further reading:
Nov 24: Westlife have been invited to sing Do They Know It's Christmas? at London's Wembley Arena for a charity Popworld concert on December 2. The concert is to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the single and to raise money for refugees in Darfur, Sudan.
Nov 18: Bad reviews, ethical criticism, corporate band wagons, bad feelings - Band Aid!UK Indymedia - Damien Hirst's Band Aid cover banned.
Nov 18: UK Indymedia - Protests at Band Aid whitewashing poverty issue.
Nov 14: UK Indymedia - Action against the recording of Band Aid 3 single - protester arrested.
July: UK Indymedia - Stop the Killing in Sudan - protest in London Wednesday 28th July, 2004.
According to Indymedia, the wars in Africa are all about the plundering of resources by the wealthiest economies and, increasingly oil:
Human Rights Watch Report, Sudan, Oil and Human Rights
http://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/sudan1103/
Sudan: Oil companies Complicit in Rights Abuses: http://www.hrw.org/press/2003/11/sudan112503.htm
- - -
SALGADO TAKES PHOTOS OF SUFFERING
In 1985, Brazlian-born photographer Sebastião Salgado carried out a 15-month project documenting the human toll of the extreme drought that then afflicted Chad, Mali, Ethiopia and the Sudan.
No one foresaw that his book would appear in English 20 years later, soon after the catastrophe in Darfur surfaced as a media topic in the West.
Salgado's photos taken in Ethiopia during the African famine of 1985 are being published in the United States for the first time. Here are a few:
Above, Sebastião Salgado's photo of Ethiopia's Korem Camp is among the many images he took in 1985 during a 15-month project documenting the toll of extreme drought in Africa.
Above, a woman and the rags that shelter her, on the outskirts of Tokar, Sudan, where drought hit hard. Photo by Sebastião Salgado, 1985.
- - -
FACT OF THE DAY - NOVEMBER 24
Courtesy Scotsman.com
On this day in 1859 Charles Darwin's scientific treatise On The Origin of Species was first published. His theory of evolution, reviled by British Christians at the time, became one of the world's most important scientific ideas and revolutionised the way human beings relate to the world as much as knowing the earth goes round the sun.
# posted by Ingrid @ 11/24/2004
Monday, November 22, 2004
BAND AID SINGLE FOR DARFUR, SUDAN
Twenty Years After
Westcoastmusic blog features the following piece on Band Aid - Twenty Years After:
More than 13m have seen Band Aid debut video in the UK. It was shown simultaneously on BBC One, BBC Two, ITV1, Channel 4 and Five.
The figures do not include Sky One or the other digital channels which showed it. Pop star Madonna, who does not appear on the track, urged fans to "feed the world" before Thursday's screening.
The single "Do They Know It's Christmas" is due to be released on Monday 29 November. BBC One was the most watched terrestrial channel while the video aired, with 3.9m viewers, according to unofficial overnight figures.
ITV1 drew in 3.1m viewers and BBC Two was seen by 2.6m. Just over 1m tuned into Five and Channel 4 incorporated the screening into the end of the Richard and Judy programme, which attracted 2.6m people.
The video began with Coldplay's Chris Martin in the main hall of Air Studios, north London, where the song was recorded last week.
It also featured some stars whose voices did not appear on the song - including Sir Paul McCartney playing bass, Radiohead's Thom Yorke on piano and Blur's Damon Albarn, who served tea.
The video included footage of organiser Bob Geldof in the studio playing the stars a video of an emaciated young girl in the 1984 Ethiopian famine. The girl, now a young woman, was then introduced to the singers, many of whom were moved to tears.
The video included footage of organiser Bob Geldof in the studio playing the stars a video of an emaciated young girl in the 1984 Ethiopian famine. The girl, now a young woman, was then introduced to the singers, many of whom were moved to tears.
Photo: Hungry ... Live Aid revealed Birhan's starving face: Live Aid miracle girl Birhan Woldu
Photo: Birhan with Bob Geldof. She said later: “It was a very special to meet them both. I hope they can help Africa so that no one has to go through the pain I went through.”
Madonna's introduction began: "Twenty years ago, I performed at Live Aid and the world watched. You saw me and my generation demanding a change. "Once again, here we are 20 years later," she said, over images of starving African children. "More people die of hunger in Africa than war and Aids put together.
"In a world of plenty, it is hard to imagine that most African children will go to bed tonight hungry. Bob Geldof and his friends are here to remind you that we can never forget. Not ever. Feed the world. I am honoured to introduce Band Aid 20."
The song, a remake of the 1984 original, was recorded on Friday, Saturday and Sunday by more than 50 artists including Joss Stone, Dizzee Rascal and The Darkness. It is tipped to be the Christmas number one, but bookmakers have shortened the odds on the track's long-term success after it received lukewarm reviews.
The single, which also features Bono, Sugababes and Will Young, was made available to download from the internet on Thursday from a number of music services that will donate proceeds to the cause.
It is also being launched as a charity mobile phone ringtone with proceeds going to the Band Aid Trust, which is supporting food aid to the Sudan's troubled Darfur region.
Click into Westcoastmusic blog to find out how to order the CD now - and see who sings what on Band Aid 20.
Photo: Live Aid Girl, who changed Blair's life 20 years ago, hands Mr Blair a gift during his recent visit to Africa.
- - -
Britain to take leading role in European military force
The drive by the EU to become a military force will take a big step forward today when all 25 nations agree to create battle groups of elite troops able to reach trouble spots such as Darfur within 15 days.
See copy of report 22 November 2004 via Daily Telegraph UK, at Sudan Watch, here in sidebar.
- - -
Rwanda slams UN plan in DR Congo
Interesting report here from the BBC today re the multinational UN force deployed in eastern DR Congo.
Twenty Years After
Westcoastmusic blog features the following piece on Band Aid - Twenty Years After:
More than 13m have seen Band Aid debut video in the UK. It was shown simultaneously on BBC One, BBC Two, ITV1, Channel 4 and Five.
The figures do not include Sky One or the other digital channels which showed it. Pop star Madonna, who does not appear on the track, urged fans to "feed the world" before Thursday's screening.
The single "Do They Know It's Christmas" is due to be released on Monday 29 November. BBC One was the most watched terrestrial channel while the video aired, with 3.9m viewers, according to unofficial overnight figures.
ITV1 drew in 3.1m viewers and BBC Two was seen by 2.6m. Just over 1m tuned into Five and Channel 4 incorporated the screening into the end of the Richard and Judy programme, which attracted 2.6m people.
The video began with Coldplay's Chris Martin in the main hall of Air Studios, north London, where the song was recorded last week.
It also featured some stars whose voices did not appear on the song - including Sir Paul McCartney playing bass, Radiohead's Thom Yorke on piano and Blur's Damon Albarn, who served tea.
The video included footage of organiser Bob Geldof in the studio playing the stars a video of an emaciated young girl in the 1984 Ethiopian famine. The girl, now a young woman, was then introduced to the singers, many of whom were moved to tears.
The video included footage of organiser Bob Geldof in the studio playing the stars a video of an emaciated young girl in the 1984 Ethiopian famine. The girl, now a young woman, was then introduced to the singers, many of whom were moved to tears.
Photo: Hungry ... Live Aid revealed Birhan's starving face: Live Aid miracle girl Birhan Woldu
Photo: Birhan with Bob Geldof. She said later: “It was a very special to meet them both. I hope they can help Africa so that no one has to go through the pain I went through.”
Madonna's introduction began: "Twenty years ago, I performed at Live Aid and the world watched. You saw me and my generation demanding a change. "Once again, here we are 20 years later," she said, over images of starving African children. "More people die of hunger in Africa than war and Aids put together.
"In a world of plenty, it is hard to imagine that most African children will go to bed tonight hungry. Bob Geldof and his friends are here to remind you that we can never forget. Not ever. Feed the world. I am honoured to introduce Band Aid 20."
The song, a remake of the 1984 original, was recorded on Friday, Saturday and Sunday by more than 50 artists including Joss Stone, Dizzee Rascal and The Darkness. It is tipped to be the Christmas number one, but bookmakers have shortened the odds on the track's long-term success after it received lukewarm reviews.
The single, which also features Bono, Sugababes and Will Young, was made available to download from the internet on Thursday from a number of music services that will donate proceeds to the cause.
It is also being launched as a charity mobile phone ringtone with proceeds going to the Band Aid Trust, which is supporting food aid to the Sudan's troubled Darfur region.
Click into Westcoastmusic blog to find out how to order the CD now - and see who sings what on Band Aid 20.
Photo: Live Aid Girl, who changed Blair's life 20 years ago, hands Mr Blair a gift during his recent visit to Africa.
- - -
Britain to take leading role in European military force
The drive by the EU to become a military force will take a big step forward today when all 25 nations agree to create battle groups of elite troops able to reach trouble spots such as Darfur within 15 days.
See copy of report 22 November 2004 via Daily Telegraph UK, at Sudan Watch, here in sidebar.
- - -
Rwanda slams UN plan in DR Congo
Interesting report here from the BBC today re the multinational UN force deployed in eastern DR Congo.
# posted by Ingrid @ 11/22/2004
- - -
INTERNET DATING SERVICE
Sued for poor relations
Recently, in Baltimore, USA, a federal jury awarded as much as $434,000 to a Ukrainian woman who sued the Internet matchmaking service that set her up with the man who allegedly abused her after they wed.
The woman accused Encounters International of fraud and negligence, saying it should have screened its male clients and told her about a law that helps foreign nationals escape abusive relationships without fear of automatic deportation. Instead, she testified, the agency owner told her to endure the alleged abuse or return to Ukraine. The agency had said it had no obligation to tell the woman about the so-called battered-spouse waiver because it never recruited her as a client.
The lawsuit against Encounters International -- whose Web site boasts 257 married couples, 103 babies and 19 current engagements -- was described as the nation's first to hold an Internet dating service responsible in a relationship that went sour. [Full Story]
- - -
Note, the Internet could be mighty useful to those who are up to no good. Modern day slave (and animal) traders spring to mind here. Imagine potential brides from Russia, Thailand, Singapore and women from other countries who want to meet a decent partner, make a new life. Imagine the type of men that might go in for these type of matchmaking and dating services.
People looking to be matched with partners ought to be screened by a matchmaking agency beforehand, so prospective partners know if they are meeting up with someone has a history of trouble with the law or medical problems. Why not? But how? Global ID cards ...
- - -
GLOBAL ID CARDS
From cradle to grave
Last year, I posted on how the introduction of global ID cards could help screen people on the Internet. One day people, as soon as they are born, may be treated issued ID cards that act as log books for the duration of their lives. Even sellers and buyers listed on eBay, get star ratings. Perhaps we will start to rate people in other spheres of life.
It's bound to be divisive though. What do the ones with strikes against them do? Birds of a feather flock together. We could end up grouping ourselves (electronically) into tribes. Eventually, each tribe could develop a leader. With no boundaries, there'd be need for countries. Tribe members would plug in and connect to with each other via cyberspace. Tribes Without Borders. Geeky tribe. Altruistic tribe. Idealogical tribe. Realist tribe. Religious tribe. Environmental tribe. Animal loving tribe. Food tribe. Knitting tribe. Music tribe. Cat tribe :)
- - -
Commons motion to impeach Blair gets go-ahead
Al-Guardeen and fans and Saddam Hussein sympathisers will love this. As far as I am aware, none of the names mentioned in the report have lifted a finger to help stop the genocide in Darfur. What these people are made of, and how they get time to do their jobs - or what they think the troops in Iraq will think about them - is beyond me.
- - -
WORLD'S OLDEST MAN DIES IN N.Y.
12 days shy of his 114th birthday
Born Dec. 1, 1890, in New Sharon, Maine, when there were only 43 stars on the American flag, Fred Hale Sr, died in his sleep Friday, while trying to recover from a bout of pneumonia.
He was 12 days shy of his 114th birthday. Hale retired 50 years ago as a railroad postal worker and beekeeper. He enjoyed gardening, canning fruits and vegetables and making homemade applesauce. He had a routine and he rarely broke it because anyone else was around. He didn't need a lot to be happy.
On March 5, 2004, the Guinness World Records acknowledged him as the oldest living man when Joan Riudavets Moll, of Spain, passed away at age 114.
Hale was a Guinness record-holder for the oldest driver. At age 108, he still found slow drivers annoying.
The world's oldest living man is now Hermann Dornemann, of Germany, age 111. There are 26 living woman older than him, according to Gerontology Research Group.
- - -
VIRGIN MARY SANDWICH BACK ON EBAY
Top bid reaches over $16,000 in second round of bidding
The grilled cheese sandwich is back on eBay up for sale again.
I've posted this news snippet because it demonstrates how eBay is up for anything.
- - -
eBAY HAS BECOME A BAROMETER OF PUBLIC TASTE
The virtual market knows before a media pundit what's cool - or not
Here is a copy of something I posted last year. Sorry I can't find another old post that linked to a picture of an item on sale on eBay - it was the massive drilling machine that was used to dig the Channel Tunnel (buyer had to collect):
For sociologists, eBay has also become a barometer of public taste, Marc Smith, employed by Microsoft to analyse such trends, says the virtual market knows before any media pundit when a pop idol ceases to be fashionable or a once-neglected brand such as Hush Puppy shoes becomes cool again.
"This community is at the cutting edge of contemporary pop culture," says Smith. "With nearly 70m registered bidders around the world, more people watch eBay than any one TV programme. And often it's a lot more entertaining, too."
INTERNET DATING SERVICE
Sued for poor relations
Recently, in Baltimore, USA, a federal jury awarded as much as $434,000 to a Ukrainian woman who sued the Internet matchmaking service that set her up with the man who allegedly abused her after they wed.
The woman accused Encounters International of fraud and negligence, saying it should have screened its male clients and told her about a law that helps foreign nationals escape abusive relationships without fear of automatic deportation. Instead, she testified, the agency owner told her to endure the alleged abuse or return to Ukraine. The agency had said it had no obligation to tell the woman about the so-called battered-spouse waiver because it never recruited her as a client.
The lawsuit against Encounters International -- whose Web site boasts 257 married couples, 103 babies and 19 current engagements -- was described as the nation's first to hold an Internet dating service responsible in a relationship that went sour. [Full Story]
- - -
Note, the Internet could be mighty useful to those who are up to no good. Modern day slave (and animal) traders spring to mind here. Imagine potential brides from Russia, Thailand, Singapore and women from other countries who want to meet a decent partner, make a new life. Imagine the type of men that might go in for these type of matchmaking and dating services.
People looking to be matched with partners ought to be screened by a matchmaking agency beforehand, so prospective partners know if they are meeting up with someone has a history of trouble with the law or medical problems. Why not? But how? Global ID cards ...
- - -
GLOBAL ID CARDS
From cradle to grave
Last year, I posted on how the introduction of global ID cards could help screen people on the Internet. One day people, as soon as they are born, may be treated issued ID cards that act as log books for the duration of their lives. Even sellers and buyers listed on eBay, get star ratings. Perhaps we will start to rate people in other spheres of life.
It's bound to be divisive though. What do the ones with strikes against them do? Birds of a feather flock together. We could end up grouping ourselves (electronically) into tribes. Eventually, each tribe could develop a leader. With no boundaries, there'd be need for countries. Tribe members would plug in and connect to with each other via cyberspace. Tribes Without Borders. Geeky tribe. Altruistic tribe. Idealogical tribe. Realist tribe. Religious tribe. Environmental tribe. Animal loving tribe. Food tribe. Knitting tribe. Music tribe. Cat tribe :)
- - -
Commons motion to impeach Blair gets go-ahead
Al-Guardeen and fans and Saddam Hussein sympathisers will love this. As far as I am aware, none of the names mentioned in the report have lifted a finger to help stop the genocide in Darfur. What these people are made of, and how they get time to do their jobs - or what they think the troops in Iraq will think about them - is beyond me.
- - -
WORLD'S OLDEST MAN DIES IN N.Y.
12 days shy of his 114th birthday
Born Dec. 1, 1890, in New Sharon, Maine, when there were only 43 stars on the American flag, Fred Hale Sr, died in his sleep Friday, while trying to recover from a bout of pneumonia.
He was 12 days shy of his 114th birthday. Hale retired 50 years ago as a railroad postal worker and beekeeper. He enjoyed gardening, canning fruits and vegetables and making homemade applesauce. He had a routine and he rarely broke it because anyone else was around. He didn't need a lot to be happy.
On March 5, 2004, the Guinness World Records acknowledged him as the oldest living man when Joan Riudavets Moll, of Spain, passed away at age 114.
Hale was a Guinness record-holder for the oldest driver. At age 108, he still found slow drivers annoying.
The world's oldest living man is now Hermann Dornemann, of Germany, age 111. There are 26 living woman older than him, according to Gerontology Research Group.
- - -
VIRGIN MARY SANDWICH BACK ON EBAY
Top bid reaches over $16,000 in second round of bidding
The grilled cheese sandwich is back on eBay up for sale again.
I've posted this news snippet because it demonstrates how eBay is up for anything.
- - -
eBAY HAS BECOME A BAROMETER OF PUBLIC TASTE
The virtual market knows before a media pundit what's cool - or not
Here is a copy of something I posted last year. Sorry I can't find another old post that linked to a picture of an item on sale on eBay - it was the massive drilling machine that was used to dig the Channel Tunnel (buyer had to collect):
For sociologists, eBay has also become a barometer of public taste, Marc Smith, employed by Microsoft to analyse such trends, says the virtual market knows before any media pundit when a pop idol ceases to be fashionable or a once-neglected brand such as Hush Puppy shoes becomes cool again.
"This community is at the cutting edge of contemporary pop culture," says Smith. "With nearly 70m registered bidders around the world, more people watch eBay than any one TV programme. And often it's a lot more entertaining, too."
# posted by Ingrid @ 11/22/2004
- - -
DEL.ICIO.US
Three bloggers explain
Here are helpful tips on how to use del.icio.us:
Patrick
alison
plastic bugs
DEL.ICIO.US
Three bloggers explain
Here are helpful tips on how to use del.icio.us:
Patrick
alison
plastic bugs
# posted by Ingrid @ 11/22/2004
- - -
SHARP INCREASE IN GLOBAL SLIME
Shell shock at two-headed tortoise
The tortoise's heads work independently of each other
A two-headed tortoise has come out of its shell in Dorset, England to find itself in the media spotlight. The unusual case of a Mediterranean spur-thighed tortoise, born two months ago in an incubator, made the headlines in various papers last week. I live in Dorset, England.
This reminds me of the monster sunfish and three-headed frog pictures I posted a while back. The frog was found in this part of England.
Apparently, it's all an early warning of environmental problems. Because this area is rural and surrounded by farms and agricultural land it makes one wonder about the damage done by decades pesticides and OP's. Many farmers became ill with OP poisoning from sheep dip and suffered symptoms that resemble ME, Gulf War Syndrom, and other illnesses, causing some to take their own lives.
Recently I posted on how some underwater creatures can't find their way or hear each other calling anymore because man is polluting the seas with noise so badly. Now see this disturbing graph: coral reefs and other complex ecosystems are being replaced by slime - Jellyfish - and bacteria: destructuring the oceans and destroying fisheries. How sad.
SHARP INCREASE IN GLOBAL SLIME
Shell shock at two-headed tortoise
The tortoise's heads work independently of each other
A two-headed tortoise has come out of its shell in Dorset, England to find itself in the media spotlight. The unusual case of a Mediterranean spur-thighed tortoise, born two months ago in an incubator, made the headlines in various papers last week. I live in Dorset, England.
This reminds me of the monster sunfish and three-headed frog pictures I posted a while back. The frog was found in this part of England.
Apparently, it's all an early warning of environmental problems. Because this area is rural and surrounded by farms and agricultural land it makes one wonder about the damage done by decades pesticides and OP's. Many farmers became ill with OP poisoning from sheep dip and suffered symptoms that resemble ME, Gulf War Syndrom, and other illnesses, causing some to take their own lives.
Recently I posted on how some underwater creatures can't find their way or hear each other calling anymore because man is polluting the seas with noise so badly. Now see this disturbing graph: coral reefs and other complex ecosystems are being replaced by slime - Jellyfish - and bacteria: destructuring the oceans and destroying fisheries. How sad.
# posted by Ingrid @ 11/22/2004
- - -
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
With thanks to [insert link]
- - -
PEACE
By Jim Moore
It's so much easier to make war than to make peace. War only requires finding the soft underbelly of the other, and attacking with the force to do violence. Often a single act, well placed, does fatal damage. Peace, on the other hand, is ecological--it is created not out of one move, but through the joining of many moves, in an exquisite dance of increasingly intimate exchanges. Peace requires attention to sequence--some moves are necessary before others can be embraced.
The notion of peace being "achieved" is a misapprehension. War--or rather success in war--can be achieved because its end is the destruction of something dynamic. War renders static what was previously alive. By contrast, peacemaking brings tender life to what was previously barren. Peace is not achieved. Peace is nurtured, cared for, and lived in joy. Peace is alive.
[Posted by Jim Moore on 4/22/03 at his journal of innovation in society and technology; global politics and democracy; global security; health; environment; happiness and peace]
- - -
UNEMPLOYED? WANT TO MAKE A FRESH START NEXT YEAR?
Volunteer to work in field or offices of aid agencies
Volunteer with Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders). Their work would not be possible without your support. MSF website answers many commonly asked questions. Please choose whether you are interested in volunteering in the field or in their offices at MSF-USA: Volunteering.
Or try contacting the many other aid agencies - or even the United Nations - for a heap of opportunities.
Further reading:
Links page for Volunteer Africa
Finding a job in aid work - Aid Workers Network, practical advice for aid workers by aid workers - where to find your next job.
Idealist.org Where the Nonprofit World Meets - Action Without Borders
Web sites devoted to Darfur Sudan
- - -
FACT OF THE DAY - November 22
Courtesy Scotsman and NYT
Hands up who remembers what they were doing today in 1963?
On November 22, 1963, John F Kennedy, United States President, was assassinated while riding in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas, during the run-up to the 1964 presidential campaign. Gov. John B. Connally was seriously wounded. A suspect, Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested, who was in turn shot, while in custody, by Jack Ruby. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as the 36th president of the United States.
- - -
Memory Lane: 41 years ago today, I was at home in London, England. It was late morning or early afternoon. My mother returned home from the hairdressers. She rushed in the door sporting the latest hairstyle and shouting for us to switch on the TV.
Each of her weekly hairdo's had a name. That day, we dubbed it the cottage loaf. One round beehive bun on top of another beehive (looking like a round bread bun on top of a round bread loaf). Believe it or not, she looked great - dressed to the hilt looking glam in a tweedy shift dress, full make up and jewellry, high heels, leather gloves and matching handbag - very Jackie O.
We were all so shocked and upset over the news. Everyone cried. It was sort of like 9/11. Everybody stayed home that night, I think. Nobody stopped talking about it for years. It's a day that changed the world. Hopes and dreams for a better world after WWII were shattered.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

With thanks to [insert link]
- - -
PEACE
By Jim Moore
It's so much easier to make war than to make peace. War only requires finding the soft underbelly of the other, and attacking with the force to do violence. Often a single act, well placed, does fatal damage. Peace, on the other hand, is ecological--it is created not out of one move, but through the joining of many moves, in an exquisite dance of increasingly intimate exchanges. Peace requires attention to sequence--some moves are necessary before others can be embraced.
The notion of peace being "achieved" is a misapprehension. War--or rather success in war--can be achieved because its end is the destruction of something dynamic. War renders static what was previously alive. By contrast, peacemaking brings tender life to what was previously barren. Peace is not achieved. Peace is nurtured, cared for, and lived in joy. Peace is alive.
[Posted by Jim Moore on 4/22/03 at his journal of innovation in society and technology; global politics and democracy; global security; health; environment; happiness and peace]
- - -
UNEMPLOYED? WANT TO MAKE A FRESH START NEXT YEAR?
Volunteer to work in field or offices of aid agencies
Volunteer with Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders). Their work would not be possible without your support. MSF website answers many commonly asked questions. Please choose whether you are interested in volunteering in the field or in their offices at MSF-USA: Volunteering.
Or try contacting the many other aid agencies - or even the United Nations - for a heap of opportunities.
Further reading:
Links page for Volunteer Africa
Finding a job in aid work - Aid Workers Network, practical advice for aid workers by aid workers - where to find your next job.
Idealist.org Where the Nonprofit World Meets - Action Without Borders
Web sites devoted to Darfur Sudan
- - -
FACT OF THE DAY - November 22
Courtesy Scotsman and NYT
Hands up who remembers what they were doing today in 1963?
On November 22, 1963, John F Kennedy, United States President, was assassinated while riding in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas, during the run-up to the 1964 presidential campaign. Gov. John B. Connally was seriously wounded. A suspect, Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested, who was in turn shot, while in custody, by Jack Ruby. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as the 36th president of the United States.
- - -
Memory Lane: 41 years ago today, I was at home in London, England. It was late morning or early afternoon. My mother returned home from the hairdressers. She rushed in the door sporting the latest hairstyle and shouting for us to switch on the TV.
Each of her weekly hairdo's had a name. That day, we dubbed it the cottage loaf. One round beehive bun on top of another beehive (looking like a round bread bun on top of a round bread loaf). Believe it or not, she looked great - dressed to the hilt looking glam in a tweedy shift dress, full make up and jewellry, high heels, leather gloves and matching handbag - very Jackie O.
We were all so shocked and upset over the news. Everyone cried. It was sort of like 9/11. Everybody stayed home that night, I think. Nobody stopped talking about it for years. It's a day that changed the world. Hopes and dreams for a better world after WWII were shattered.
# posted by Ingrid @ 11/22/2004
- - -
DYING WOMAN
Confesses to killing husband
In a recent news report, police in Somerville, Massachusetts, USA, found the remains of man in a freezer at a self storage facility.
They only found him because his wife made a deathbed confession to her daughter of killing him about 13 years ago.
For more than a decade, the woman told her children their father had been killed when he stepped in front of a car in a drunken haze.
Authorities on Thursday found human remains in a locked, unplugged freezer in a rented storage room in Somerville. The cause of death was a gunshot to the back of the head.
Investigators believe the woman killed her husband in 1991 or 1992 in California's Ventura County, though she told people he died in Las Vegas after stepping in front of a car while he was drunk.
The woman later moved to Ventura, where she became a live-in manager at a 36-room motel in 1993. Police believe she stored her husband's body nearby.
"To look at her, she looked like maybe a librarian," said the motel's new manager. "She never projected anything other than that. ... You wouldn't have known the lady had that kind of secret."
In 1998, the woman moved back to Somerville, where she had once lived with her husband. That year, rental company records showed the freezer was shipped from the West Coast.
She claimed her husband had abused her for years. A prosecutor said her reasons for confessing were likely a mix of wanting to unburden herself and ensuring her children were not blamed if the body was ever found. Full Story
- - -
What a secret to keep from her family for 13 years. Imagine her worry and anxiety over the family's last move and getting that freezer transported across the United States. Not only are the daughters now grieving over their mother, they are having to deal with funeral directors and police enquiries, two funerals, the aftermath of the death of their mother and father - not to mention all of the lies they were told by the mother. What a mess. How do you get rid of a big freezer without the door being opened? She should have confessed 13 years ago. I'm in the midst of ordering an additional four drawer fridge freezer .... this news story made me see chest freezers in a new light.... mwaahahahaaa
DYING WOMAN
Confesses to killing husband
In a recent news report, police in Somerville, Massachusetts, USA, found the remains of man in a freezer at a self storage facility.
They only found him because his wife made a deathbed confession to her daughter of killing him about 13 years ago.
For more than a decade, the woman told her children their father had been killed when he stepped in front of a car in a drunken haze.
Authorities on Thursday found human remains in a locked, unplugged freezer in a rented storage room in Somerville. The cause of death was a gunshot to the back of the head.
Investigators believe the woman killed her husband in 1991 or 1992 in California's Ventura County, though she told people he died in Las Vegas after stepping in front of a car while he was drunk.
The woman later moved to Ventura, where she became a live-in manager at a 36-room motel in 1993. Police believe she stored her husband's body nearby.
"To look at her, she looked like maybe a librarian," said the motel's new manager. "She never projected anything other than that. ... You wouldn't have known the lady had that kind of secret."
In 1998, the woman moved back to Somerville, where she had once lived with her husband. That year, rental company records showed the freezer was shipped from the West Coast.
She claimed her husband had abused her for years. A prosecutor said her reasons for confessing were likely a mix of wanting to unburden herself and ensuring her children were not blamed if the body was ever found. Full Story
- - -
What a secret to keep from her family for 13 years. Imagine her worry and anxiety over the family's last move and getting that freezer transported across the United States. Not only are the daughters now grieving over their mother, they are having to deal with funeral directors and police enquiries, two funerals, the aftermath of the death of their mother and father - not to mention all of the lies they were told by the mother. What a mess. How do you get rid of a big freezer without the door being opened? She should have confessed 13 years ago. I'm in the midst of ordering an additional four drawer fridge freezer .... this news story made me see chest freezers in a new light.... mwaahahahaaa
# posted by Ingrid @ 11/22/2004
- - -
TIME FOR SOME CATBLOGGING
And Brendan Loomer Loy
Instapundit's Precious looking out of the window.
Friday catblogging and The Cat Blog at the Irish Trojan's Blog - run by a bright young law student named Brendan Loomer Loy. Currently a first-semester 1L at Notre Dame Law School. It's hard to believe he is only 22-years old. He graduated from University of Southern California last May with Bachelor's degrees in Print Journalism and Political Science.
Brendan is a Democrat and describes his ideology as thus: "Too realistic to be a liberal, too idealistic to be a conservative, too cynical to have much faith in either "side," but too passionate to stop caring. Wait, I'm confused... Yeah, me too. My ideogical and political stances can be all over the map. But if you read The Economist, there's a pretty good chance I'll agree with whatever it says in there. They're so damn sensible."
Here he is, asleep with his cat.
TIME FOR SOME CATBLOGGING
And Brendan Loomer Loy
Instapundit's Precious looking out of the window.
Friday catblogging and The Cat Blog at the Irish Trojan's Blog - run by a bright young law student named Brendan Loomer Loy. Currently a first-semester 1L at Notre Dame Law School. It's hard to believe he is only 22-years old. He graduated from University of Southern California last May with Bachelor's degrees in Print Journalism and Political Science.
Brendan is a Democrat and describes his ideology as thus: "Too realistic to be a liberal, too idealistic to be a conservative, too cynical to have much faith in either "side," but too passionate to stop caring. Wait, I'm confused... Yeah, me too. My ideogical and political stances can be all over the map. But if you read The Economist, there's a pretty good chance I'll agree with whatever it says in there. They're so damn sensible."
Here he is, asleep with his cat.
# posted by Ingrid @ 11/22/2004
Sunday, November 21, 2004
CHINA HAS NEW 30 YEAR OIL DEAL WITH THE IRANIANS
Which will serve to preclude any UN Security Council action against Iran
The Chinese government relies on oil from Sudan and cannot afford to have China running short. Russia supplies Sudan with MiGs and other weaponary. It also helps to lay oil pipes. Over the past seven months, China and Russia have successfully blocked the UN Security Council from imposing oil and arms embargoes on Sudan. This means that no action can be taken by the security council against Sudan's genocidal government - and why it cannot intervene militarily.
Now, going by the below excerpt, it looks like China will be able to control the security council when it comes to Iran. Unless the UN is reformed, China and Russia are running our world's security. [By the way - yesterday I read that Kofi Annan intends to stay in office until the end of his term which expires in 2006]
Read Matthew Heidt's excellent post "Calling Good Evil and Evil Good" - here is an excerpt:
"...China has new 30 year oil deal with the Iranians which will server to preclude any Security Council action against the development of nuclear weapons into virtual perpetuity. France and Russia opposed our invasion of Iraq to protect lucrative financial dealings with a murderous thug. They even sent weapons to Saddam while we were staging for the war. The Russians built the Iranian nuclear reactors, the Chinese and the North Koreans have close ties. The French bomb civilians in the Ivory Coast while criticizing us for liberating 25 million Iraqis from a genocidal dictator. The indifference of these nations and their dependence on illicit commerce has led them to a place where they contentedly sit on the sidelines and cheer for our enemies while lounging in the freedom of the security we provide them by taking up the fight. ..."
Which will serve to preclude any UN Security Council action against Iran
The Chinese government relies on oil from Sudan and cannot afford to have China running short. Russia supplies Sudan with MiGs and other weaponary. It also helps to lay oil pipes. Over the past seven months, China and Russia have successfully blocked the UN Security Council from imposing oil and arms embargoes on Sudan. This means that no action can be taken by the security council against Sudan's genocidal government - and why it cannot intervene militarily.
Now, going by the below excerpt, it looks like China will be able to control the security council when it comes to Iran. Unless the UN is reformed, China and Russia are running our world's security. [By the way - yesterday I read that Kofi Annan intends to stay in office until the end of his term which expires in 2006]
Read Matthew Heidt's excellent post "Calling Good Evil and Evil Good" - here is an excerpt:
"...China has new 30 year oil deal with the Iranians which will server to preclude any Security Council action against the development of nuclear weapons into virtual perpetuity. France and Russia opposed our invasion of Iraq to protect lucrative financial dealings with a murderous thug. They even sent weapons to Saddam while we were staging for the war. The Russians built the Iranian nuclear reactors, the Chinese and the North Koreans have close ties. The French bomb civilians in the Ivory Coast while criticizing us for liberating 25 million Iraqis from a genocidal dictator. The indifference of these nations and their dependence on illicit commerce has led them to a place where they contentedly sit on the sidelines and cheer for our enemies while lounging in the freedom of the security we provide them by taking up the fight. ..."
# posted by Ingrid @ 11/21/2004
Friday, November 19, 2004
STAFF REVOLT GATHERS PACE AT U.N.
Thanks to Mike at Clear and Present for posting on the Sudan - and for pointing out news re UN staff making historic vote of no confidence in Annan. [apologies for broken link earlier]
- - -
UPDATE - November 20 report from The Times - Staff revolt gathers pace at UN. Protest against top management is an embarrassment for Kofi Annan.
Note the report, although not about the Sudan, carries a photo and caption "displaced villagers in North Darfur who need help urgently, but the resolution passed by the Security Council was described as unaminous inaction."
- - -
UPDATE - November 22 - Update: British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, along with many others, are working towards the reform of the UN. Kofi Annan has produced a paper re the UN, due out in December. My view is the UN needs to be reformed as a matter of urgency. Here's one of the reasons why: China has just signed a 30-year oil deal with Irain. If the UN Security Council finds itself needing to take action on nuclear issues, it will be blocked and made helpless, just like it is when it comes to taking action and imposing sanctions on Sudan.
Kofi Annan's successor needs to be brought in to oversee and steer UN reform as quickly as possible. Kofi Annan should not remain in office until his terms expires in 2006. Jim Moore and others at the Passion agree that Kofi Annan should step down. Patrick Hall disagrees.
Thanks to Mike at Clear and Present for posting on the Sudan - and for pointing out news re UN staff making historic vote of no confidence in Annan. [apologies for broken link earlier]
- - -
UPDATE - November 20 report from The Times - Staff revolt gathers pace at UN. Protest against top management is an embarrassment for Kofi Annan.
Note the report, although not about the Sudan, carries a photo and caption "displaced villagers in North Darfur who need help urgently, but the resolution passed by the Security Council was described as unaminous inaction."
- - -
UPDATE - November 22 - Update: British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, along with many others, are working towards the reform of the UN. Kofi Annan has produced a paper re the UN, due out in December. My view is the UN needs to be reformed as a matter of urgency. Here's one of the reasons why: China has just signed a 30-year oil deal with Irain. If the UN Security Council finds itself needing to take action on nuclear issues, it will be blocked and made helpless, just like it is when it comes to taking action and imposing sanctions on Sudan.
Kofi Annan's successor needs to be brought in to oversee and steer UN reform as quickly as possible. Kofi Annan should not remain in office until his terms expires in 2006. Jim Moore and others at the Passion agree that Kofi Annan should step down. Patrick Hall disagrees.
# posted by Ingrid @ 11/19/2004
- - -
PROFESSOR THOMAS P.M. BARNETT
UN Security Council gets up close and personal on Sudan
On searching for blogs posting on the UN Security Council's meeting in Nairobi yesterday, I found Thomas Barnett's post "UNSC gets up close and personal on Sudan."
In addition to his teaching and consulting, Thomas Barnett is a prolific blogger on current global events at his website www.thomaspmbarnett.com, where he counts among his regular readers representatives from all the major U.S. military commands, virtually all U.S. federal departments, numerous foreign governments, and major research and corporate entities the world over.
PROFESSOR THOMAS P.M. BARNETT
UN Security Council gets up close and personal on Sudan
On searching for blogs posting on the UN Security Council's meeting in Nairobi yesterday, I found Thomas Barnett's post "UNSC gets up close and personal on Sudan."
In addition to his teaching and consulting, Thomas Barnett is a prolific blogger on current global events at his website www.thomaspmbarnett.com, where he counts among his regular readers representatives from all the major U.S. military commands, virtually all U.S. federal departments, numerous foreign governments, and major research and corporate entities the world over.
# posted by Ingrid @ 11/19/2004
Thursday, November 18, 2004
ART OUT OF SUDAN
By Teyseert
This is an experimental post created and emailed from flickr. Captions and link to be added later.
Click on photo to access gallery. Excuse mess. I've not done any tidying.
Play with flickr. It's superb.
By Teyseert
This is an experimental post created and emailed from flickr. Captions and link to be added later.
Click on photo to access gallery. Excuse mess. I've not done any tidying.
Play with flickr. It's superb.
# posted by Ingrid @ 11/18/2004
- - -
BRITISH AID AGENCY ESTIMATES DARFUR DEATH TOLL
Is now between 200,000 and 300,000
"The death toll has been notoriously difficult to tally, thanks, in large part, to the obstructiveness of the Sudanese government. A figure of 70,000 deaths has been mooted, but aid workers say that simply accounts for deaths as a result of military action. Yesterday, the British aid agency Save the Children took the plunge: its spokesman, Paul Hetherington, estimated that between 200,000 and 300,000 people had died since the start of the Darfur conflict.
According to the UN’s World Food Programme, about 10,000 people are dying every month."
BRITISH AID AGENCY ESTIMATES DARFUR DEATH TOLL
Is now between 200,000 and 300,000
"The death toll has been notoriously difficult to tally, thanks, in large part, to the obstructiveness of the Sudanese government. A figure of 70,000 deaths has been mooted, but aid workers say that simply accounts for deaths as a result of military action. Yesterday, the British aid agency Save the Children took the plunge: its spokesman, Paul Hetherington, estimated that between 200,000 and 300,000 people had died since the start of the Darfur conflict.
According to the UN’s World Food Programme, about 10,000 people are dying every month."
# posted by Ingrid @ 11/18/2004
- - -
DARFUR SUDAN GENOCIDE OUT OF CONTROL
Yet still the UN refuses to act
When Mr Annan wrote to the Sudanese president in May, it was to warn him that the world was tiring of the killings. We must act, the UN said then, it is urgent.
When Mr Annan travelled to Khartoum in June, the message was the same. We must act, the UN said, it is urgent.
When the UN Security Council passed its resolution on 30 July, they were acknowledging that Darfur had become the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. We must act, they said, it is urgent.
When they met again in September, they gave Sudan more time. But if it did not comply with their demands, they said, they would act.
So, what of today’s meeting? Today, they will say we must act. It is urgent. But they won’t. And in the time it took to read this, another person died.
See full report Genocide out of control yet still the UN refuses to act.
A Sudanese girl cradles her baby sister outside their hut in a refugee camp at Krinding, near the Chad border.
Picture: Getty Images
DARFUR SUDAN GENOCIDE OUT OF CONTROL
Yet still the UN refuses to act
When Mr Annan wrote to the Sudanese president in May, it was to warn him that the world was tiring of the killings. We must act, the UN said then, it is urgent.
When Mr Annan travelled to Khartoum in June, the message was the same. We must act, the UN said, it is urgent.
When the UN Security Council passed its resolution on 30 July, they were acknowledging that Darfur had become the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. We must act, they said, it is urgent.
When they met again in September, they gave Sudan more time. But if it did not comply with their demands, they said, they would act.
So, what of today’s meeting? Today, they will say we must act. It is urgent. But they won’t. And in the time it took to read this, another person died.
See full report Genocide out of control yet still the UN refuses to act.
A Sudanese girl cradles her baby sister outside their hut in a refugee camp at Krinding, near the Chad border.
Picture: Getty Images
# posted by Ingrid @ 11/18/2004
Monday, November 15, 2004
SUDAN AWARENESS DAY
BBC's Panorama documentary The New Killing Fields
Last night on television, I watched the BBC's excellent Panorama programme "The new killing fields". It asked if the first genocide of the 21st century is occurring in Darfur.
Today, in my post at the Passion, I've put together a summary of the documentary and some key quotes from people connected to the disaster and a link to viewers' comments.
In a further post I've highlighted that analysts are fearing Sudan's ceasefire and peace agreements are written in disappearing ink and not worth the paper they're written on, and that Sudan's government forces will return with a vengeance to retake territory they've lost to the rebels.
Also, I've pointed to an interview with John Danforth who was asked if the US should send troops to Darfur. And I've posted this photo (see below) of some Yale students in America participating in a vigil to kickoff today’s Sudan Awareness Day.
SUDAN AWARENESS DAY
Yale Daily News: Students urge action against Sudan violence.
Bearing candles and green ribbons, nearly 30 students gathered at a vigil Sunday evening to raise awareness about the ongoing violence in Darfur.
The vigil was an opportunity for Yale students to think about the meaning of genocide. It introduced Monday's Sudan Awareness Day, when student representatives from Amnesty International and Students Take Action Now: Darfur will be tabling on Cross Campus and in dining halls. Those tabling will encourage students to write letters petitioning U.S. and UN representatives to take action to stop what group members described as a genocide.
At the vigil, students circled around a chalked silhouette of the African country to read aloud Sudanese refugees' testimonies about the rape and violence they have experienced at the hands of the Sudanese government and the government-backed Janjaweed milita. They also read testimonies from survivors of the Rwandan genocide and the Holocaust.
Note, Eleonora Sharef '07, who helped set up the vigil, urged those who attended to spread the word across the campus. "We think that with pressure from the U.S. something can change," Sharef said. "Spread the word about this to your friends."
- - -
Some catblogging from Instapundit's daughter with a link to the digital camera used.
- - -
Intermission
Sorry, I cannot post anymore today or catch up on responding to comments and emails. I need to rest up, and pace myself for keeping an eye on the news following the historic UN Security Council meeting taking place in Nairobi on Thursday and Friday. If you check out the two posts above, you will see I've posted several photos. Flickr is superb and very easy to use, but it all takes a lot of time and concentration. Must take a blogging break for a day or two to catch up on things and replies to emails. Bye for now. Love from Ingrid and Ophelia
PS Ophelia got through the week of fireworks. For the past two nights in a row she disappeared out at night for five hours during what seemed like hours of horrible fire crackers and loud rockets. Could smell the stench of gunpowder in the air. Felt so bereft and worried because I knew she was huddled up and terrified in the cold pitch dark somewhere. Thank goodness she got back safe and sound. Everything is back to normal now and she is here by my side licking her fur. Her vet says cats have anti bacterial in their saliva which is why their coats always smell clean and new. Heh. I'm off to give her another kiss on her head.
BBC's Panorama documentary The New Killing Fields
Last night on television, I watched the BBC's excellent Panorama programme "The new killing fields". It asked if the first genocide of the 21st century is occurring in Darfur.
Today, in my post at the Passion, I've put together a summary of the documentary and some key quotes from people connected to the disaster and a link to viewers' comments.
In a further post I've highlighted that analysts are fearing Sudan's ceasefire and peace agreements are written in disappearing ink and not worth the paper they're written on, and that Sudan's government forces will return with a vengeance to retake territory they've lost to the rebels.
Also, I've pointed to an interview with John Danforth who was asked if the US should send troops to Darfur. And I've posted this photo (see below) of some Yale students in America participating in a vigil to kickoff today’s Sudan Awareness Day.
SUDAN AWARENESS DAY
Yale Daily News: Students urge action against Sudan violence.
Bearing candles and green ribbons, nearly 30 students gathered at a vigil Sunday evening to raise awareness about the ongoing violence in Darfur.
The vigil was an opportunity for Yale students to think about the meaning of genocide. It introduced Monday's Sudan Awareness Day, when student representatives from Amnesty International and Students Take Action Now: Darfur will be tabling on Cross Campus and in dining halls. Those tabling will encourage students to write letters petitioning U.S. and UN representatives to take action to stop what group members described as a genocide.
At the vigil, students circled around a chalked silhouette of the African country to read aloud Sudanese refugees' testimonies about the rape and violence they have experienced at the hands of the Sudanese government and the government-backed Janjaweed milita. They also read testimonies from survivors of the Rwandan genocide and the Holocaust.
Note, Eleonora Sharef '07, who helped set up the vigil, urged those who attended to spread the word across the campus. "We think that with pressure from the U.S. something can change," Sharef said. "Spread the word about this to your friends."
- - -
Some catblogging from Instapundit's daughter with a link to the digital camera used.
- - -
Intermission
Sorry, I cannot post anymore today or catch up on responding to comments and emails. I need to rest up, and pace myself for keeping an eye on the news following the historic UN Security Council meeting taking place in Nairobi on Thursday and Friday. If you check out the two posts above, you will see I've posted several photos. Flickr is superb and very easy to use, but it all takes a lot of time and concentration. Must take a blogging break for a day or two to catch up on things and replies to emails. Bye for now. Love from Ingrid and Ophelia
PS Ophelia got through the week of fireworks. For the past two nights in a row she disappeared out at night for five hours during what seemed like hours of horrible fire crackers and loud rockets. Could smell the stench of gunpowder in the air. Felt so bereft and worried because I knew she was huddled up and terrified in the cold pitch dark somewhere. Thank goodness she got back safe and sound. Everything is back to normal now and she is here by my side licking her fur. Her vet says cats have anti bacterial in their saliva which is why their coats always smell clean and new. Heh. I'm off to give her another kiss on her head.
# posted by Ingrid @ 11/15/2004
Sunday, November 14, 2004
U.S. ACTIVISTS PRESSING PUBLIC FUNDS
To divest $91 billion in Sudan
Full Story and more from the Sudan Campaign.
- - -
JANJAWEED 'LEADER' DENIES GENOCIDE
Panorama documentary 'The New Killing Fields' will be broadcast tonight on UK television at 22:15GMT Sunday, November 14 on BBC One.
- - -
UK BAND AID SONG RE-LAUNCH FOR DARFUR
Also, today, after 20 years, a new version of the Band Aid 1984 hit, Do They Know it's Christmas? is being recorded in England.
The single will be released on 29 November to raise money for famine relief in Darfur.
To divest $91 billion in Sudan
Full Story and more from the Sudan Campaign.
- - -
JANJAWEED 'LEADER' DENIES GENOCIDE
Panorama documentary 'The New Killing Fields' will be broadcast tonight on UK television at 22:15GMT Sunday, November 14 on BBC One.
- - -
UK BAND AID SONG RE-LAUNCH FOR DARFUR
Also, today, after 20 years, a new version of the Band Aid 1984 hit, Do They Know it's Christmas? is being recorded in England.
The single will be released on 29 November to raise money for famine relief in Darfur.
# posted by Ingrid @ 11/14/2004
Saturday, November 13, 2004
KEN BURNS FILM MAKER EXTRAORDINAIRE
The Shakers got their name by dancing
In future, when anyone asks me what video I'd like to watch I can now simply answer - thanks to Madhu's post on film maker Ken Burns - "anything by Ken Burns".
Note this excerpt that I've taken from PBS* re his film THE WEST:
"... In a conversation with us several years ago, the Kiowa poet N. Scott Momaday remarked that the American West "is a place that has to be seen to be believed, and it may have to be believed in order to be seen." For five years we have travelled that landscape, photographed its vistas, talked to its people, sought out its history, all as part of our production of THE WEST, an eight-part documentary series for public television. Now -- 100,000 air-miles and 72 filmed interviews and 74 visits to archives and collections and more than 250 hours of film later -- we have begun to understand at least something of what Momaday meant. ..."
Also, at the site is this excerpt re the Shakers:
" ...They called themselves the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, but because of their ecstatic dancing, the world called them Shakers. Ken Burns creates a moving portrait of this particularly American movement, and in the process, offers us a new and unusually moving way to understand the Shakers."
He sure has chosen some great topics, and even made a film on the Civil War. Looks so young too. Well done him.
*my favourite TV station in America. In its infancy, I participated in local telethons by being one of a few dozen volunteers manning the phone lines. Embarrassingly, the cameras would pan in on my phone and shy me. My phone got a lot of male callers wanting to donate generously and listen to my English accent .. heh. Not telling any more.
- - -
HAPPY DIWALI MADHU
Photo courtesy BBC News Online
The Golden Temple in Amritsar is lit up during Diwali, which is being celebrated by Sikhs and Hindus worldwide.
Members of the Hindu, Jain and Sikh communities are commemorating Diwali, or the Festival of Lights.
Diwali is a celebration of the triumph of good over evil, light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance.
Small oil lamps or diyas are lit and placed around the home, in courtyards, gardens and roof-tops.
Festive meals are prepared, gifts exchanged and lights and fireworks feature strongly.
This post is a special hello to Madhu and to wish her a HAPPY DIVALI :)
See comments at BBC's Have Your Say - Are you celebrating Diwali?
- - -
Week in pictures: 6 - 12 Nov
Here is another great photo courtesy BBC News Online.
Candles surround a portrait of Yasser Arafat at a makeshift shrine outside the hospital in Paris where the Palestinian leader was seriously ill.
- - -
QUOTATION OF THE DAY - NOVEMBER 13
Courtesy New York Times
"I believe that the responsibility for peace is going to rest with the Palestinian people's desire to build a democracy and Israel's willingness to help them build a democracy."
PRESIDENT BUSH
- - -
FACT OF THE DAY - NOVEMBER 13
Courtesy Scotsman.com
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is dedicated today in 1982. Commemorating over 58,000 American dead in this most controversial and divisive of wars, it a simple and evocative memorial naming each of the US's fallen in chronological order.
Also, today in 1850, the great Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson is born. His works include classics such as Kidnapped, Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
And in 2004, Blogger for the first time in a year, has speeded up. This morning, it's taking seconds to edit - and just a few minutes to post - instead of the usual grindingly slow 20 minutes or more. Hope it stays that way. Blogging isn't much fun when it takes up to an hour or more to publish, edit and publish again. When I post over at the Passion using Typepad, there's never a problem so I know it's not my Mac or ISP that's slow. Others have noted same. Technorati plays up too. Wish they would just stick to the basics and get them right, instead of keeping on introducing fancy new features. I must not complain. Blogger and flickr are free. Typepad can run at $14 per month.
My blog proves almost anyone can blog. Where there's the will, there's a way. Even those who can't read or write, can post pictures. People who aren't physically able to use a computer, can find someone to post on their behalf. We love Blogger.
- - -
DUKE STUDENTS BEGIN REPLICA OF DARFUR SUFFERING
Germany to send airlift planes to Sudan
Britain may deploy troops to quell fighting in Darfur
This morning, I've published a post (with photo of students building mock Darfur villages) at the Passion - and I emailed the journalist of the report at The Herald-Sun.
Jim has written an excellent short summary on Darfur that puts the whole hellish story in a nutshell:
"It's not that complicated: a genocide in Darfur, by proxies of the government of Sudan, in order to suppress an insurgency and intimidate people in other regions of the country."
- - -
Note, for reasons of keeping with my "Watchdog" theme, I have changed the name (but not the URL) of my health blog from A Breath of Hope to ME/CFS/CFIDS Watch and published a back log of posts on M.E. research and BBC report on Gulf War Syndrome link to toxins (and sarin). See link in sidebar here on right.
The Shakers got their name by dancing
In future, when anyone asks me what video I'd like to watch I can now simply answer - thanks to Madhu's post on film maker Ken Burns - "anything by Ken Burns".
Note this excerpt that I've taken from PBS* re his film THE WEST:
"... In a conversation with us several years ago, the Kiowa poet N. Scott Momaday remarked that the American West "is a place that has to be seen to be believed, and it may have to be believed in order to be seen." For five years we have travelled that landscape, photographed its vistas, talked to its people, sought out its history, all as part of our production of THE WEST, an eight-part documentary series for public television. Now -- 100,000 air-miles and 72 filmed interviews and 74 visits to archives and collections and more than 250 hours of film later -- we have begun to understand at least something of what Momaday meant. ..."
Also, at the site is this excerpt re the Shakers:
" ...They called themselves the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, but because of their ecstatic dancing, the world called them Shakers. Ken Burns creates a moving portrait of this particularly American movement, and in the process, offers us a new and unusually moving way to understand the Shakers."
He sure has chosen some great topics, and even made a film on the Civil War. Looks so young too. Well done him.
*my favourite TV station in America. In its infancy, I participated in local telethons by being one of a few dozen volunteers manning the phone lines. Embarrassingly, the cameras would pan in on my phone and shy me. My phone got a lot of male callers wanting to donate generously and listen to my English accent .. heh. Not telling any more.
- - -
HAPPY DIWALI MADHU
Photo courtesy BBC News Online
The Golden Temple in Amritsar is lit up during Diwali, which is being celebrated by Sikhs and Hindus worldwide.
Members of the Hindu, Jain and Sikh communities are commemorating Diwali, or the Festival of Lights.
Diwali is a celebration of the triumph of good over evil, light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance.
Small oil lamps or diyas are lit and placed around the home, in courtyards, gardens and roof-tops.
Festive meals are prepared, gifts exchanged and lights and fireworks feature strongly.
This post is a special hello to Madhu and to wish her a HAPPY DIVALI :)
See comments at BBC's Have Your Say - Are you celebrating Diwali?
- - -
Week in pictures: 6 - 12 Nov
Here is another great photo courtesy BBC News Online.
Candles surround a portrait of Yasser Arafat at a makeshift shrine outside the hospital in Paris where the Palestinian leader was seriously ill.
- - -
QUOTATION OF THE DAY - NOVEMBER 13
Courtesy New York Times
"I believe that the responsibility for peace is going to rest with the Palestinian people's desire to build a democracy and Israel's willingness to help them build a democracy."
PRESIDENT BUSH
- - -
FACT OF THE DAY - NOVEMBER 13
Courtesy Scotsman.com
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is dedicated today in 1982. Commemorating over 58,000 American dead in this most controversial and divisive of wars, it a simple and evocative memorial naming each of the US's fallen in chronological order.
Also, today in 1850, the great Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson is born. His works include classics such as Kidnapped, Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
And in 2004, Blogger for the first time in a year, has speeded up. This morning, it's taking seconds to edit - and just a few minutes to post - instead of the usual grindingly slow 20 minutes or more. Hope it stays that way. Blogging isn't much fun when it takes up to an hour or more to publish, edit and publish again. When I post over at the Passion using Typepad, there's never a problem so I know it's not my Mac or ISP that's slow. Others have noted same. Technorati plays up too. Wish they would just stick to the basics and get them right, instead of keeping on introducing fancy new features. I must not complain. Blogger and flickr are free. Typepad can run at $14 per month.
My blog proves almost anyone can blog. Where there's the will, there's a way. Even those who can't read or write, can post pictures. People who aren't physically able to use a computer, can find someone to post on their behalf. We love Blogger.
- - -
DUKE STUDENTS BEGIN REPLICA OF DARFUR SUFFERING
Germany to send airlift planes to Sudan
Britain may deploy troops to quell fighting in Darfur
This morning, I've published a post (with photo of students building mock Darfur villages) at the Passion - and I emailed the journalist of the report at The Herald-Sun.
Jim has written an excellent short summary on Darfur that puts the whole hellish story in a nutshell:
"It's not that complicated: a genocide in Darfur, by proxies of the government of Sudan, in order to suppress an insurgency and intimidate people in other regions of the country."
- - -
Note, for reasons of keeping with my "Watchdog" theme, I have changed the name (but not the URL) of my health blog from A Breath of Hope to ME/CFS/CFIDS Watch and published a back log of posts on M.E. research and BBC report on Gulf War Syndrome link to toxins (and sarin). See link in sidebar here on right.
# posted by Ingrid @ 11/13/2004
Thursday, November 11, 2004
The 11th day of the 11th month at the 11th hour, let us remember
"NEVER AGAIN"
[Thank you to boo for the Poppy]
- - -
Arafat, Father and Leader of Palestinian Nationalism, Is Dead
R.I.P.
Yasser Arafat for almost 40 years symbolised his people's longing for a distinct political identity and independent state.
"NEVER AGAIN"
[Thank you to boo for the Poppy]
- - -
Arafat, Father and Leader of Palestinian Nationalism, Is Dead
R.I.P.
Yasser Arafat for almost 40 years symbolised his people's longing for a distinct political identity and independent state.
# posted by Ingrid @ 11/11/2004
- - -
PETITION TO ASK KOFI ANNAN TO RESIGN -
AFTER HIS FAILURE OVER DARFUR SUDAN
Letter to President Bush
China's Africa policy, oil, and Darfur Sudan
Regular readers here will know I've blogged almost daily for the past six months about the catastrophic situation in Darfur. The situation is as dire as ever. And getting worse. Terrible news: Darfur is sliding into a state of anarchy and emergency.
Government of Sudan forces are out of control. It's taken up until a few weeks ago for 500 African Union soldiers to be on the ground in Darfur, despite months of negotiations and promises of 3,000 AU soldiers several weeks ago.
The AU troops are forced by the Government of Sudan to act as observers and watch refugee camps being bulldozed by government forces. A few days ago government forces attacked innocent civilians, threw tear gas into refugee camps, took refugees against their will, drove away with them in vehicles (against international law) and shot at a BBC reporter ... I'm lost for words ... and cannot repeat what is happening. Please read posts over at Sudan Watch and especially the most recent ones on the front page at Passion of the Present. Here are links to today's posts:
(1) HERE'S CALLING FOR THE RESIGNATION OF KOFI ANNAN (my post)
(2) Petition to ask Kofi Annan to resign, after his failure to stop the genocide in Darfur Sudan (Jim's)
(3) Petition to UN Security Council asking Kofi Annan to resign, after his failure to stop the genocide in Darfur Sudan (my post)
(4) Dear President Bush (another great post by Jim)
(5) China's Africa policy, oil, and Darfur Sudan (Jim - great links, thanks)
Note, Nick's buddy, Dr Jonathan Spector, who recently returned home to Boston after working in Darfur with MSF Doctors Without Borders is, at long last, featured in a post at the Passsion (authored by Jim or his wife, I think). Seems the hold up getting Jonathan's photos online is to do with them being on CD. Click on the photo of Jonathan's screen. Pity the photo is too large for flickr to size and post here.
PETITION TO ASK KOFI ANNAN TO RESIGN -
AFTER HIS FAILURE OVER DARFUR SUDAN
Letter to President Bush
China's Africa policy, oil, and Darfur Sudan
Regular readers here will know I've blogged almost daily for the past six months about the catastrophic situation in Darfur. The situation is as dire as ever. And getting worse. Terrible news: Darfur is sliding into a state of anarchy and emergency.
Government of Sudan forces are out of control. It's taken up until a few weeks ago for 500 African Union soldiers to be on the ground in Darfur, despite months of negotiations and promises of 3,000 AU soldiers several weeks ago.
The AU troops are forced by the Government of Sudan to act as observers and watch refugee camps being bulldozed by government forces. A few days ago government forces attacked innocent civilians, threw tear gas into refugee camps, took refugees against their will, drove away with them in vehicles (against international law) and shot at a BBC reporter ... I'm lost for words ... and cannot repeat what is happening. Please read posts over at Sudan Watch and especially the most recent ones on the front page at Passion of the Present. Here are links to today's posts:
(1) HERE'S CALLING FOR THE RESIGNATION OF KOFI ANNAN (my post)
(2) Petition to ask Kofi Annan to resign, after his failure to stop the genocide in Darfur Sudan (Jim's)
(3) Petition to UN Security Council asking Kofi Annan to resign, after his failure to stop the genocide in Darfur Sudan (my post)
(4) Dear President Bush (another great post by Jim)
(5) China's Africa policy, oil, and Darfur Sudan (Jim - great links, thanks)
Note, Nick's buddy, Dr Jonathan Spector, who recently returned home to Boston after working in Darfur with MSF Doctors Without Borders is, at long last, featured in a post at the Passsion (authored by Jim or his wife, I think). Seems the hold up getting Jonathan's photos online is to do with them being on CD. Click on the photo of Jonathan's screen. Pity the photo is too large for flickr to size and post here.
# posted by Ingrid @ 11/11/2004
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
MEDICAL BLOGGERS THEORIZE ON YASSER ARAFAT'S DEMISE:
AIDS, or poisoning or malpractice - did the French kill Arafat?
There has been much confusion about 75-year-old Yassar Arafat's condition. On October 29 Mr Arafat, leader of the Palestians, was flown from his compound in Ramallah to Paris suffering from a mystery illness and stomach pains. Last week Israeli TV reported he was dead. Other reports, rejected by his wife Suha, suggested he is brain dead.
Mrs Arafat, a resident of France for past five years, has been controlling access to her husband. On Monday she accused other Palestinian leaders of conspiring against her husband. They were, she told Arabic TV station al-Jazeera, trying "to bury Arafat while he is still alive".
Today, a team of senior Palestinian officials arrived back in the West Bank after visiting the Paris hospital where Mr Arafat is lying in a coma. But Palestinians are still in the dark about their leader's true condition.
Latest BBC report says doctors have confirmed Mr Arafat's coma has deepened and that he suffered a brain haemorrhage. Reasons for his illness are still not clear. Doctors ruled out cancer and poisoning.
- - -
Here is some food for thought for conspiracy theorists. A post entitled "Did the French Kill Arafat?" I found at CodeBlueBlog via a neat aggregator of medical blogs.
A commenter at the post says "the big mystery about Yasser Arafat's diagnosis makes the diagnosis either of two things: either Arafat was poisoned with a hepatotoxin (and the pro-Israelis are trying to avoid making him a martyr), or Arafat is an alcoholic (and the pro-Arafat faction is trying to hush this story up)."
CodeBlueBlog thinks the final diagnosis is going to be Hepatitis and iatrogenicide - and says, quote, "He had hepatitis all along (viral illness, flu like, elevated WBC, elevated LFT's, inanition) and they got so crazy flying him to Paris and rushing to rule out Leukemia that they killed him in the process."
Also, here's an update (found via Kevin, M.D.) on Arafat's demise: AIDS, or poisoning or malpractice. [Heh. Note the subtitle: "The Medical News From France Smells like Yesterday's Brie"]
More theories later, as and when I find them. One thing is for sure, he is very ill and must be feeling horrible. I hope nobody pulls the plug on him though. He'd probably enjoy hearing all the news and controversy. It's been said people who are in a coma can still hear and absorb information.
It would be great to see him recover. He could hear what everyone was saying about him and find out where he is to be buried. Seems his burial plot will be at his compound, the plan agreed on by the Israeli government, which ruled out burying him in Jerusalem. And he'd also see that Egypt has offered to host a funeral ceremony for him at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, allowing Arab leaders to pay their respects without having to pass through Israel for the funeral.
- - -
PALESTINE AND ISRAEL
Palestine is in the Bible
I'm embarrassed to admit that I've not followed the ins and outs of the Palestine/Israel story. Seems it's gone on for so long, I feel I'll never be able to catch up. I do read the news and watch TV documentaries, but can't grasp it - in the same way I couldn't grasp what was behind Northern Ireland which at times seemed to have funding tentacles from North America. If I put my mind to it, I could try to get more understanding but, like Northern Ireland, I find it too upsetting. Can't bring myself to follow every twist and turn. Religion is involved and there's so much ingrained hatred going back hundreds of years.
When I was 10 or 11 years old and at school, I recall learning about a place called Palestine. It must have made an impact and deep impression on me because my memory is poor on other details of school work. Right now, I can picture the text book we used (the Bible) to learn about Palestine. I still have the book. It has line drawings of Palestinians and maps that I traced neatly into my exercise book.
We were taught about Palestine in our classes for Religious Instruction, geography and history. For sure in the Bible there is a country called Palestine, and people called Palestinians. I guess Israel must have taken over and the Palestinians want it back again. Why not? Can any reader here explain it in a nutshell? Why is Israel being so mean - is it because they refuse to give in to terrorist demands - which is what the PLO are, aren't they? I'm not sure that I know the difference between freedom fighters, murderers and terrorists. Like I said, sorry I don't really know what I am talking about here.
- - -
PATTY HEARST AND THE SLA
What is "Stockholm Syndrome"?
See if you don't check facts, how your memory can play tricks. For some reason I'd always connected Yassar Arafat's PLO to the amazing story of what happened to Patty Hearst 30 years ago - and Stockholm Syndrome. Perhaps I'd confused the two because the PLO and SLA were one of the first terrorist groups to spring out of our TV sets and into our homes.
Stockholm Syndrome is what happens to people when they are kidnapped, and whilst being captive are brainwashed into being sympathetic and positive about their captors' cause, eventually siding with them, and even falling in love. The name came about in 1973 when some bank robbers in Stockholm, Sweden took members of the public hostage, inside of a bank for six days. The hostages went (psychologically) on the side of their captors and even resisted rescue attempts. Afterwards they refused to testify against their captors.
Some people are suggesting the recent Elizabeth Smart* kidnapping sounds like a case of Stockholm Syndrome. [*See overview: nine months after being abducted from her Salt Lake City home, 15-year-old Elizabeth Smart is reunited with her family after tipsters recognize Brian David Mitchell, a self-proclaimed prophet who once worked as a handyman in the girl's home. Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee, face kidnapping and sexual assault charges.]
Yahoo describes Stockholm Syndrome and the most famous incident in the U.S. that involved the kidnapped heiress Patty Hearst: "Captured by a radical political group known as the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) in 1974, Ms. Hearst eventually became an accomplice of the group, taking on an assumed name and assisting them in several bank robberies. After her re-capture, she denounced the group and her involvement.
What causes Stockholm Syndrome? Apparently, captives begin to identify with their captors initially as a defensive mechanism, out of fear of violence. Small acts of kindness by the captor are magnified, since finding perspective in a hostage situation is by definition impossible. Rescue attempts are also seen as a threat, since it's likely the captive would be injured during such attempts.
It's important to note symptoms occur under tremendous emotional and often physical duress. The behaviour is considered a common survival strategy for victims of interpersonal abuse, and has been observed in battered spouses, abused children, prisoners of war, and concentration camp survivors."
- - -
"They weren't bad people. They let me eat, they let me sleep, they gave me my life"
- A hostage from Flight 847
- - -
Note, Hearst's sentence was commuted after 22 months by President Jimmy Carter. She was released from prison on February 1, 1979 and pardoned by President Clinton in January, 2001 during the final weeks of his presidency. Hearst's notoriety led to her being cast in several films, including John Waters' Cry-Baby, Serial Mom, Pecker and Cecil B. DeMented. She is now known as Patricia Hearst Shaw, which means she must have married. Her autobiography has been published.
Here is the full story about Patty Hearst, Kathleen Soliah and the SLA by Katherine Ramsland at Court TV's Crime Library. It gripped the world for much longer than the OJ Simpson case.
- - -
JONBENET RAMSEY
Murder case and investigative analysis
This morning, afted reading a medical blog, I started on a post about Yassar Arafat and ended with this about the tragic mystery of JonBenet Ramsey.
Searching for a link to the PLO led me to do search on Patty Hearst and the SLA - whose kidnapping story linked me to Stockholm Syndrome - and flagged up the story of Elizabeth Smart's kidnapping - which triggered my memory of OJ Simpson - and another story that gripped the nation: the murder of JonBenet Ramsey.
The parents of JonBenet Ramsey, a little American beauty pageant princess, reported that she had been kidnapped from her bedroom in the middle of the night. The little girl's murdered body was found in the house later on (covered with a white blanket) which police had missed during their initial enquiries.
Last I'd read, in a Sunday Times report a few years ago, was that her wealthy parents (father in particular) were under suspicion. See the strange murder case of JonBenet Ramsey, an investigative analysis - from The Crime Library.
On searching further for the outcome, I found an analysis that says:
"...At the end of 2002, the Boulder Police Department in Colorado announced that it will no longer investigate the case, despite new leads and new information. The Boulder investigators have transferred the investigation to the district attorney's office.
The Denver Post wrote on January 8, 2003, that the Ramseys settled their defamation suit against the New York Post. Terms were not disclosed, but the Ramseys had sought $4 million in damages against the paper..."
Nothing is ever as it seems. This is a very sad (and sordid sounding) story of a poor little rich girl who appears to have been exploited all of her life. Certainly, in my view, her egotistical and vain parents were guilty of tarting her up as an adult glamour model and pushing her into the limelight for creepy competitive adulation and commercial gain. Hopefully, one day, someone's conscience will be so troubled they will confess. It's rare for people to take deadly secrets to their grave without leaving any clues. God bless and RIP JonBenet Ramsey.
- - -
ON THIS DAY
Courtesy NYT
On Nov. 10, 1871, journalist-explorer Henry M. Stanley found missing Scottish missionary David Livingstone in central Africa and delivered his famous greeting: ''Dr. Livingstone, I presume?''
AIDS, or poisoning or malpractice - did the French kill Arafat?
There has been much confusion about 75-year-old Yassar Arafat's condition. On October 29 Mr Arafat, leader of the Palestians, was flown from his compound in Ramallah to Paris suffering from a mystery illness and stomach pains. Last week Israeli TV reported he was dead. Other reports, rejected by his wife Suha, suggested he is brain dead.
Mrs Arafat, a resident of France for past five years, has been controlling access to her husband. On Monday she accused other Palestinian leaders of conspiring against her husband. They were, she told Arabic TV station al-Jazeera, trying "to bury Arafat while he is still alive".
Today, a team of senior Palestinian officials arrived back in the West Bank after visiting the Paris hospital where Mr Arafat is lying in a coma. But Palestinians are still in the dark about their leader's true condition.
Latest BBC report says doctors have confirmed Mr Arafat's coma has deepened and that he suffered a brain haemorrhage. Reasons for his illness are still not clear. Doctors ruled out cancer and poisoning.
- - -
Here is some food for thought for conspiracy theorists. A post entitled "Did the French Kill Arafat?" I found at CodeBlueBlog via a neat aggregator of medical blogs.
A commenter at the post says "the big mystery about Yasser Arafat's diagnosis makes the diagnosis either of two things: either Arafat was poisoned with a hepatotoxin (and the pro-Israelis are trying to avoid making him a martyr), or Arafat is an alcoholic (and the pro-Arafat faction is trying to hush this story up)."
CodeBlueBlog thinks the final diagnosis is going to be Hepatitis and iatrogenicide - and says, quote, "He had hepatitis all along (viral illness, flu like, elevated WBC, elevated LFT's, inanition) and they got so crazy flying him to Paris and rushing to rule out Leukemia that they killed him in the process."
Also, here's an update (found via Kevin, M.D.) on Arafat's demise: AIDS, or poisoning or malpractice. [Heh. Note the subtitle: "The Medical News From France Smells like Yesterday's Brie"]
More theories later, as and when I find them. One thing is for sure, he is very ill and must be feeling horrible. I hope nobody pulls the plug on him though. He'd probably enjoy hearing all the news and controversy. It's been said people who are in a coma can still hear and absorb information.
It would be great to see him recover. He could hear what everyone was saying about him and find out where he is to be buried. Seems his burial plot will be at his compound, the plan agreed on by the Israeli government, which ruled out burying him in Jerusalem. And he'd also see that Egypt has offered to host a funeral ceremony for him at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, allowing Arab leaders to pay their respects without having to pass through Israel for the funeral.
- - -
PALESTINE AND ISRAEL
Palestine is in the Bible
I'm embarrassed to admit that I've not followed the ins and outs of the Palestine/Israel story. Seems it's gone on for so long, I feel I'll never be able to catch up. I do read the news and watch TV documentaries, but can't grasp it - in the same way I couldn't grasp what was behind Northern Ireland which at times seemed to have funding tentacles from North America. If I put my mind to it, I could try to get more understanding but, like Northern Ireland, I find it too upsetting. Can't bring myself to follow every twist and turn. Religion is involved and there's so much ingrained hatred going back hundreds of years.
When I was 10 or 11 years old and at school, I recall learning about a place called Palestine. It must have made an impact and deep impression on me because my memory is poor on other details of school work. Right now, I can picture the text book we used (the Bible) to learn about Palestine. I still have the book. It has line drawings of Palestinians and maps that I traced neatly into my exercise book.
We were taught about Palestine in our classes for Religious Instruction, geography and history. For sure in the Bible there is a country called Palestine, and people called Palestinians. I guess Israel must have taken over and the Palestinians want it back again. Why not? Can any reader here explain it in a nutshell? Why is Israel being so mean - is it because they refuse to give in to terrorist demands - which is what the PLO are, aren't they? I'm not sure that I know the difference between freedom fighters, murderers and terrorists. Like I said, sorry I don't really know what I am talking about here.
- - -
PATTY HEARST AND THE SLA
What is "Stockholm Syndrome"?
See if you don't check facts, how your memory can play tricks. For some reason I'd always connected Yassar Arafat's PLO to the amazing story of what happened to Patty Hearst 30 years ago - and Stockholm Syndrome. Perhaps I'd confused the two because the PLO and SLA were one of the first terrorist groups to spring out of our TV sets and into our homes.
Stockholm Syndrome is what happens to people when they are kidnapped, and whilst being captive are brainwashed into being sympathetic and positive about their captors' cause, eventually siding with them, and even falling in love. The name came about in 1973 when some bank robbers in Stockholm, Sweden took members of the public hostage, inside of a bank for six days. The hostages went (psychologically) on the side of their captors and even resisted rescue attempts. Afterwards they refused to testify against their captors.
Some people are suggesting the recent Elizabeth Smart* kidnapping sounds like a case of Stockholm Syndrome. [*See overview: nine months after being abducted from her Salt Lake City home, 15-year-old Elizabeth Smart is reunited with her family after tipsters recognize Brian David Mitchell, a self-proclaimed prophet who once worked as a handyman in the girl's home. Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee, face kidnapping and sexual assault charges.]
Yahoo describes Stockholm Syndrome and the most famous incident in the U.S. that involved the kidnapped heiress Patty Hearst: "Captured by a radical political group known as the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) in 1974, Ms. Hearst eventually became an accomplice of the group, taking on an assumed name and assisting them in several bank robberies. After her re-capture, she denounced the group and her involvement.
What causes Stockholm Syndrome? Apparently, captives begin to identify with their captors initially as a defensive mechanism, out of fear of violence. Small acts of kindness by the captor are magnified, since finding perspective in a hostage situation is by definition impossible. Rescue attempts are also seen as a threat, since it's likely the captive would be injured during such attempts.
It's important to note symptoms occur under tremendous emotional and often physical duress. The behaviour is considered a common survival strategy for victims of interpersonal abuse, and has been observed in battered spouses, abused children, prisoners of war, and concentration camp survivors."
- - -
"They weren't bad people. They let me eat, they let me sleep, they gave me my life"
- A hostage from Flight 847
- - -
Note, Hearst's sentence was commuted after 22 months by President Jimmy Carter. She was released from prison on February 1, 1979 and pardoned by President Clinton in January, 2001 during the final weeks of his presidency. Hearst's notoriety led to her being cast in several films, including John Waters' Cry-Baby, Serial Mom, Pecker and Cecil B. DeMented. She is now known as Patricia Hearst Shaw, which means she must have married. Her autobiography has been published.
Here is the full story about Patty Hearst, Kathleen Soliah and the SLA by Katherine Ramsland at Court TV's Crime Library. It gripped the world for much longer than the OJ Simpson case.
- - -
JONBENET RAMSEY
Murder case and investigative analysis
This morning, afted reading a medical blog, I started on a post about Yassar Arafat and ended with this about the tragic mystery of JonBenet Ramsey.
Searching for a link to the PLO led me to do search on Patty Hearst and the SLA - whose kidnapping story linked me to Stockholm Syndrome - and flagged up the story of Elizabeth Smart's kidnapping - which triggered my memory of OJ Simpson - and another story that gripped the nation: the murder of JonBenet Ramsey.
The parents of JonBenet Ramsey, a little American beauty pageant princess, reported that she had been kidnapped from her bedroom in the middle of the night. The little girl's murdered body was found in the house later on (covered with a white blanket) which police had missed during their initial enquiries.
Last I'd read, in a Sunday Times report a few years ago, was that her wealthy parents (father in particular) were under suspicion. See the strange murder case of JonBenet Ramsey, an investigative analysis - from The Crime Library.
On searching further for the outcome, I found an analysis that says:
"...At the end of 2002, the Boulder Police Department in Colorado announced that it will no longer investigate the case, despite new leads and new information. The Boulder investigators have transferred the investigation to the district attorney's office.
The Denver Post wrote on January 8, 2003, that the Ramseys settled their defamation suit against the New York Post. Terms were not disclosed, but the Ramseys had sought $4 million in damages against the paper..."
Nothing is ever as it seems. This is a very sad (and sordid sounding) story of a poor little rich girl who appears to have been exploited all of her life. Certainly, in my view, her egotistical and vain parents were guilty of tarting her up as an adult glamour model and pushing her into the limelight for creepy competitive adulation and commercial gain. Hopefully, one day, someone's conscience will be so troubled they will confess. It's rare for people to take deadly secrets to their grave without leaving any clues. God bless and RIP JonBenet Ramsey.
- - -
ON THIS DAY
Courtesy NYT
On Nov. 10, 1871, journalist-explorer Henry M. Stanley found missing Scottish missionary David Livingstone in central Africa and delivered his famous greeting: ''Dr. Livingstone, I presume?''
# posted by Ingrid @ 11/10/2004
Saturday, November 06, 2004
THERE IS ONLY ONE AMERICA
Not a divided nation
Here below is a map by county. It's not just red states and blue states. It's a red country with some blue spots. Not much change from 2000. [Source: courtesy of Irish Eagle]
IS AMERICA A DIVIDED NATION?
Not really. As this map illustrates
Here below is a different map which shades each county according to the % of the vote for Bush or Kerry. This really puts paid to all the "nation divided" talk. Americans had a vote. Some voted for Bush and some for Kerry, but they are not as "polarised" by region as many would have it. [Source courtesy Internet Commentator]
Blue = 100% democrat
Purple = 50% democrat, 50% republican
Red = 100% republican
Further reading:
Secession in New York: "I'm John Kerry and I Confused This Message."
Normblog in England: Four more years
Belgravia Dispatch in England: They Don't Get It
Belgravia Dispatch: They Don't Get It Either (Part Deux)
Jim Moore in Boston: 5 most important things the Democrats did wrong
Don Park in California: Urgh
Joi Ito in Tokyo: The people of America have failed us today
Burningbird in Missouri: Moving Foward, Not Pulling Back
Burningbird: Through the Rubble Gently
BarlowFriendz in Wyoming, NY, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, On the Road, and in Cyberspace: Magnanimous Defeat
Normblog: Gone wrong
- - -
THE NORMBLOG BLOGGER PROFILES
Features a new profile every Friday morning
On September 17, I received a great surprise email from Norman Geras inviting me to participate in an interview by email.
Every Friday morning Norman posts a "profile" of a blogger, based on a standard questionnaire which he sends to each person who is to be the subject of the profile.
Bloggers profiled so far include: Glenn Reynolds, Matt Welch, Natalie Solent, Andrew Sullivan, Michele Catalano, Tim Blair, Jackie D and Jeff Jarvis, among many others.
Not long after receiving the email, I did agree but on condition that there was no deadline. Norman kindly confirmed there was no pressure and sent me the questionnaire.
See the full list of profile links and the latest profile number 59, featuring Marc Mulholland at Daily Moiders.
The profiles make a fun read but after I'd read two, I decided to keep the rest until after I'd completed mine incase they influenced any of my answers.
Here's a note to Norman to say a warm hello and sorry for the delay. I promise to start reading the questionnaire tomorrow and will try to complete the 30 answers as soon as possible.
- - -
ON THIS DAY NOVEMBER 6
Courtesy Scotsman.com
One of the bloodiest offensives of WWI draws to some sort of conclusion today in 1917 as Canadian troops secure the village of Passchendaele, in Belgium. The battle, which has been raging since the summer of that year, costs the lives of some 300,000 British and Commonwealth troops.
Not a divided nation
Here below is a map by county. It's not just red states and blue states. It's a red country with some blue spots. Not much change from 2000. [Source: courtesy of Irish Eagle]
IS AMERICA A DIVIDED NATION?
Not really. As this map illustrates
Here below is a different map which shades each county according to the % of the vote for Bush or Kerry. This really puts paid to all the "nation divided" talk. Americans had a vote. Some voted for Bush and some for Kerry, but they are not as "polarised" by region as many would have it. [Source courtesy Internet Commentator]
Blue = 100% democrat
Purple = 50% democrat, 50% republican
Red = 100% republican
Further reading:
Secession in New York: "I'm John Kerry and I Confused This Message."
Normblog in England: Four more years
Belgravia Dispatch in England: They Don't Get It
Belgravia Dispatch: They Don't Get It Either (Part Deux)
Jim Moore in Boston: 5 most important things the Democrats did wrong
Don Park in California: Urgh
Joi Ito in Tokyo: The people of America have failed us today
Burningbird in Missouri: Moving Foward, Not Pulling Back
Burningbird: Through the Rubble Gently
BarlowFriendz in Wyoming, NY, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, On the Road, and in Cyberspace: Magnanimous Defeat
Normblog: Gone wrong
- - -
THE NORMBLOG BLOGGER PROFILES
Features a new profile every Friday morning
On September 17, I received a great surprise email from Norman Geras inviting me to participate in an interview by email.
Every Friday morning Norman posts a "profile" of a blogger, based on a standard questionnaire which he sends to each person who is to be the subject of the profile.
Bloggers profiled so far include: Glenn Reynolds, Matt Welch, Natalie Solent, Andrew Sullivan, Michele Catalano, Tim Blair, Jackie D and Jeff Jarvis, among many others.
Not long after receiving the email, I did agree but on condition that there was no deadline. Norman kindly confirmed there was no pressure and sent me the questionnaire.
See the full list of profile links and the latest profile number 59, featuring Marc Mulholland at Daily Moiders.
The profiles make a fun read but after I'd read two, I decided to keep the rest until after I'd completed mine incase they influenced any of my answers.
Here's a note to Norman to say a warm hello and sorry for the delay. I promise to start reading the questionnaire tomorrow and will try to complete the 30 answers as soon as possible.
- - -
ON THIS DAY NOVEMBER 6
Courtesy Scotsman.com
One of the bloodiest offensives of WWI draws to some sort of conclusion today in 1917 as Canadian troops secure the village of Passchendaele, in Belgium. The battle, which has been raging since the summer of that year, costs the lives of some 300,000 British and Commonwealth troops.
# posted by Ingrid @ 11/06/2004
Thursday, November 04, 2004
DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY ENABLES A GLOBAL DIALOGUE -
To help bridge cultures around the world
Last week, I posted a graph showing the world's top broadband subscribers. Here below is a copy of a BBC report that I meant to post with the graph. Countries that lag behind the West in telecoms infrastructure may end up leaping ahead of us because when they do install, it's the latest technology.
Wireless internet networks seem to have loads of potential. Here is how one network is being used. Note, to foster cultural links across the globe, a children's learning lab has been incorporated in the network that will enable children at local primary schools to hook up with their peers in the US.
PANDAS BENEFIT FROM WIRELESS NET
The world's dwindling panda population is getting a helping hand from a wireless internet network.
The Wolong Nature Reserve in the Sichuan Province of southwest China is home to 20% of the remaining 1,500 giant pandas in the world.
A broadband and wireless network installed on the reserve has allowed staff to chronicle the pandas' daily activities.
The data and images can be shared with colleagues around the world.
The reserve conducts vital research on both panda breeding and bamboo ecology.
Infant pandas need a lot of care
Watching pandas
Using the network, vets have been able to observe how infant pandas feed and suggest changes to improve the tiny cubs' chances of survival.
"Digital technology has transformed the way we communicate and share information inside Wolong and with the rest of the world," said Zhang Hemin, director of the Wolong Nature Reserve.
"Our researchers now have state-of-the-art digital technology to help foster the panda population and manage our precious surroundings."
The network has been developed by Intel, working closely with the staff at Wolong.
It includes a 802.11b wireless network and a video monitoring system using five cameras to observe pandas around the clock.
The wireless network allows vital data to be recorded
Schools link-up
Before the new infrastructure arrived at the panda park, staff walked or drove to deliver floppy disks across the reserve.
Infant panda health was recorded on paper notebooks and research teams in the field had little access to the data.
To foster cultural links across the globe, a children's learning lab has been incorporated in the network, in collaboration with Globio (Federation for Global Biodiversity Education for Children), an international non-profit organisation.
It will enable children at local primary schools to hook up with their peers in Portland, Oregon in the US.
"Digital technology brings this story to life by enabling a global dialogue to help bridge cultures around the world," said Globio founder Gerry Ellis.
To help bridge cultures around the world
Last week, I posted a graph showing the world's top broadband subscribers. Here below is a copy of a BBC report that I meant to post with the graph. Countries that lag behind the West in telecoms infrastructure may end up leaping ahead of us because when they do install, it's the latest technology.
Wireless internet networks seem to have loads of potential. Here is how one network is being used. Note, to foster cultural links across the globe, a children's learning lab has been incorporated in the network that will enable children at local primary schools to hook up with their peers in the US.
PANDAS BENEFIT FROM WIRELESS NET
The world's dwindling panda population is getting a helping hand from a wireless internet network.
The Wolong Nature Reserve in the Sichuan Province of southwest China is home to 20% of the remaining 1,500 giant pandas in the world.
A broadband and wireless network installed on the reserve has allowed staff to chronicle the pandas' daily activities.
The data and images can be shared with colleagues around the world.
The reserve conducts vital research on both panda breeding and bamboo ecology.
Infant pandas need a lot of care
Watching pandas
Using the network, vets have been able to observe how infant pandas feed and suggest changes to improve the tiny cubs' chances of survival.
"Digital technology has transformed the way we communicate and share information inside Wolong and with the rest of the world," said Zhang Hemin, director of the Wolong Nature Reserve.
"Our researchers now have state-of-the-art digital technology to help foster the panda population and manage our precious surroundings."
The network has been developed by Intel, working closely with the staff at Wolong.
It includes a 802.11b wireless network and a video monitoring system using five cameras to observe pandas around the clock.
The wireless network allows vital data to be recorded
Schools link-up
Before the new infrastructure arrived at the panda park, staff walked or drove to deliver floppy disks across the reserve.
Infant panda health was recorded on paper notebooks and research teams in the field had little access to the data.
To foster cultural links across the globe, a children's learning lab has been incorporated in the network, in collaboration with Globio (Federation for Global Biodiversity Education for Children), an international non-profit organisation.
It will enable children at local primary schools to hook up with their peers in Portland, Oregon in the US.
"Digital technology brings this story to life by enabling a global dialogue to help bridge cultures around the world," said Globio founder Gerry Ellis.
# posted by Ingrid @ 11/04/2004
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
FUTURE OF THE FREE WORLD
Is being decided in Ohio, USA
At the moment it is 6.29 am. Awoke at 4.15 am. Pitch dark and cold outside. Switched on fire and TV to find President Bush ahead in votes. Seems it didn't start that way when the news special started at midnight.
News cameras were taken into the White House where Mr Bush was sitting in an armchair, looking relaxed in shirt and tie, surrounded by family and friends stitting in armchairs. Considering the gruelling re-election process and campaigning, he looked remarkably well, genuinly happy and beamed a smile at the cameras with a twinkle in his eye.
Within an hour, Fox and ABC News projected a Bush win in Florida. Mr Kerry is sitting in a hotel in Boston watching the returns coming through. The count is still on in Ohio. Right now, Fox News predicts Bush wins Ohio.
Although Senator Kerry has won Pennsylvania, people speaking on his behalf are thin on the ground. Hardly anyone in the Kerry camp has given a public statement since the Bush win in Florida was predicted. The square in the center of Boston looks quiet compared to the Reagan Building near the White House which is jumping with live country and western music.
If the newswires and pundits are correct, indications are that Mr Bush will be President of the United States for another four years. Electoral College votes, at the moment, are Bush 249 Kerry 221. It could still go the Democrats way but one pundit says for Kerry to catch up now would be like climbing everest with one leg.
If Mr Bush wins Ohio, the Presidency will definitely be his. Everything still hinges on Ohio. Seems we still have to wait another hour or two. More later. It's been said the future of the free world is being decided in Ohio, USA.
- - -
CONGRATULATIONS TO PRESIDENT BUSH
Commiserations to Senator Kerry and supporters
It's 4.35 pm here Wednesday afternoon. I've just caught the tail end of a TV news bulletin. Senator Kerry has conceded in a telephone call to President Bush. Formal announcement is expected at six o'clock news tonight. President Bush has been elected for four more years. The Democrats must be terribly disappointed.
It's estimated 120 million Americans voted and the whole process, of both sides campaigning, cost around two billion US dollars. Both candidates did perfectly well. Each fought an amazing campaign. They could not have tried any harder that's for sure. In the final analysis, what I believe went wrong for the Democrats was that they never conveyed what they were about. We never really got to know what Mr Kerry was all about or what he believed in. It seemed he was on auto pilot taking instructions and tips from his advisers - like if he carried everything out without making a mistake, it would be a winning formula.
Some people portray Mr Bush as a stupid buffoon He may have clay feet and speak in simple straight terms but he seems like an OK guy and is certainly no dummy. See my previous post re comments at Pauly's post as an example of how Mr Bush is perceived as a fun guy who can hang out in his sweats with a beer and pretzels watching tv sport. One commenter imagined Mr Kerry at home with cognac and caviar, dressed in a suit.
With Mr Bush, what you see is what you get. He means what he says. You get the feeling you know what he is all about. With Mr Kerry, one never knew what he thought or stood for. His drive just seemed to be ambition to get into the White House and continue elite networking. He appeared to have no genuine burning desire to change the world and make it a better place. In other words, Mr Kerry and his friends are part of a wealthy snobby elite that talk down to people and don't really have a clue how the other half live or what makes them tick. People are not stupid. Bush knows this and is not a snob.
Thankfully, it's all over. I am pleased with the outcome and believe it was for the best. God bless America.
Is being decided in Ohio, USA
At the moment it is 6.29 am. Awoke at 4.15 am. Pitch dark and cold outside. Switched on fire and TV to find President Bush ahead in votes. Seems it didn't start that way when the news special started at midnight.
News cameras were taken into the White House where Mr Bush was sitting in an armchair, looking relaxed in shirt and tie, surrounded by family and friends stitting in armchairs. Considering the gruelling re-election process and campaigning, he looked remarkably well, genuinly happy and beamed a smile at the cameras with a twinkle in his eye.
Within an hour, Fox and ABC News projected a Bush win in Florida. Mr Kerry is sitting in a hotel in Boston watching the returns coming through. The count is still on in Ohio. Right now, Fox News predicts Bush wins Ohio.
Although Senator Kerry has won Pennsylvania, people speaking on his behalf are thin on the ground. Hardly anyone in the Kerry camp has given a public statement since the Bush win in Florida was predicted. The square in the center of Boston looks quiet compared to the Reagan Building near the White House which is jumping with live country and western music.
If the newswires and pundits are correct, indications are that Mr Bush will be President of the United States for another four years. Electoral College votes, at the moment, are Bush 249 Kerry 221. It could still go the Democrats way but one pundit says for Kerry to catch up now would be like climbing everest with one leg.
If Mr Bush wins Ohio, the Presidency will definitely be his. Everything still hinges on Ohio. Seems we still have to wait another hour or two. More later. It's been said the future of the free world is being decided in Ohio, USA.
- - -
CONGRATULATIONS TO PRESIDENT BUSH
Commiserations to Senator Kerry and supporters
It's 4.35 pm here Wednesday afternoon. I've just caught the tail end of a TV news bulletin. Senator Kerry has conceded in a telephone call to President Bush. Formal announcement is expected at six o'clock news tonight. President Bush has been elected for four more years. The Democrats must be terribly disappointed.
It's estimated 120 million Americans voted and the whole process, of both sides campaigning, cost around two billion US dollars. Both candidates did perfectly well. Each fought an amazing campaign. They could not have tried any harder that's for sure. In the final analysis, what I believe went wrong for the Democrats was that they never conveyed what they were about. We never really got to know what Mr Kerry was all about or what he believed in. It seemed he was on auto pilot taking instructions and tips from his advisers - like if he carried everything out without making a mistake, it would be a winning formula.
Some people portray Mr Bush as a stupid buffoon He may have clay feet and speak in simple straight terms but he seems like an OK guy and is certainly no dummy. See my previous post re comments at Pauly's post as an example of how Mr Bush is perceived as a fun guy who can hang out in his sweats with a beer and pretzels watching tv sport. One commenter imagined Mr Kerry at home with cognac and caviar, dressed in a suit.
With Mr Bush, what you see is what you get. He means what he says. You get the feeling you know what he is all about. With Mr Kerry, one never knew what he thought or stood for. His drive just seemed to be ambition to get into the White House and continue elite networking. He appeared to have no genuine burning desire to change the world and make it a better place. In other words, Mr Kerry and his friends are part of a wealthy snobby elite that talk down to people and don't really have a clue how the other half live or what makes them tick. People are not stupid. Bush knows this and is not a snob.
Thankfully, it's all over. I am pleased with the outcome and believe it was for the best. God bless America.
# posted by Ingrid @ 11/03/2004
Tuesday, November 02, 2004
CRAZY UK GAMBLING BILL
Super-casinos open 24 hours coming from US to UK
Here is a big gamble. A big shake-up in the gambling laws has been announced. MPs back gambling laws shake-up.
For future reference, I am posting here below a copy of a comment I left at Clive Soley's post on Gambling. Unfortunately, my comment was written in a hurry and didn't cover all that I wanted to say.
Clive posted his request for comments shortly before he was due to vote. It's amazing how some things seem to be rushed through the House without much delay. Yesterday's vote by MPs was a second stage. The crucial third stage, that sets things in stone, is yet to come (early on next year I think) which, thankfully, gives time for voters to object.
The Bond spirit stalks the casino. An illusion of glamour created by film makers.
In reality casinos are glorified amusement arcades, packed to the rafters with banks of loud slot machines and generally patronised by poor folk who gamble their weekly housekeeping money. Behind the scenes, casinos are dens of inequity, funded by degenerates. What about UK gun laws? Armed security guards ala Vegas will be needed to patrol casinos in Blackpool.
Here is the comment: Clive, I agree with every word Peter Todd has posted here. ***Gambling destroys lives and families and is a cruel lure to working people who are tempted with the possibility of escaping their economic condition, when the reality of the economic bargain is masked that the little they have is being fleeced away.***
Except I would go as far as to say gambling should be MORE tightly controlled than alcohol, smoking etc. Someone in the British government is being very naive by even contemplating the introduction of such a dirty business. Casinos may seem lily white these days - but don't you believe it - they are just more slick and sophisticated in the layers of connections that go to launder money from drugs, arms, tax evaders etc. The gangsters must be rubbing their hands with glee knowing the UK will endorse them and give them even more respectability. The casino industry behind the scenes is degenerate.
Many people with addictive personalities who have champagne taste and beer income get very quickly addicted to gambling. Casinos and everything to do with the business of gambling is a sleazy business that attracts many people behind the scenes who are up to no good, looking to make a quick buck - money laundering, skimming, cheating and rackets of various kinds, to name a few.
If gambling was made less restrictive it would only be because those who have a vested interest - or the government - are looking to make money out of people's weaknesses: nothing else. Pure greed all round. Horrible.
What good would come out of more people gambling? None that I can think of. Las Vegas was not built on winning customers. Casinos are fixed 95% or higher in favour of the house. It's a low-life business with high stakes that needs expensive sophisticated security and monitoring. Probably what is earned in tax revenues will be spent on servicing a gambling industry that spawns all sorts of social ills.
No person benefits from gambling except the casino owners and the State. There are no other winners. Of the customers who do win - 99% of the time lose it back trying to win more.
Slippery slope. Seedy business. Can't think of any good that would come out of expanding gambling in this country. Las Vegas had well over 70 years experience of running gambling halls to get where it is. There's a lot more to the casino industry than meets the eye. If people want to gamble, there plenty of existing ways and means - right down to scratchcards at local corner stores.
If there was an opportunity to vote on the issue - I would vote against the introduction of more casinos - it's a mugs game with a dangerous and ugly side to it that I do not want to see introduced into Britain. We don't have to copy everything America does. Not everything they have is great you know. The underbelly of Las Vegas and Atlantic City is ugly and mean and has a dark side that attracts organised crime like bees to a honeypot.
Posted by: Ingrid at October 31, 2004 10:46 AM
Super-casinos open 24 hours coming from US to UK
Here is a big gamble. A big shake-up in the gambling laws has been announced. MPs back gambling laws shake-up.
For future reference, I am posting here below a copy of a comment I left at Clive Soley's post on Gambling. Unfortunately, my comment was written in a hurry and didn't cover all that I wanted to say.
Clive posted his request for comments shortly before he was due to vote. It's amazing how some things seem to be rushed through the House without much delay. Yesterday's vote by MPs was a second stage. The crucial third stage, that sets things in stone, is yet to come (early on next year I think) which, thankfully, gives time for voters to object.
The Bond spirit stalks the casino. An illusion of glamour created by film makers.
In reality casinos are glorified amusement arcades, packed to the rafters with banks of loud slot machines and generally patronised by poor folk who gamble their weekly housekeeping money. Behind the scenes, casinos are dens of inequity, funded by degenerates. What about UK gun laws? Armed security guards ala Vegas will be needed to patrol casinos in Blackpool.
Here is the comment: Clive, I agree with every word Peter Todd has posted here. ***Gambling destroys lives and families and is a cruel lure to working people who are tempted with the possibility of escaping their economic condition, when the reality of the economic bargain is masked that the little they have is being fleeced away.***
Except I would go as far as to say gambling should be MORE tightly controlled than alcohol, smoking etc. Someone in the British government is being very naive by even contemplating the introduction of such a dirty business. Casinos may seem lily white these days - but don't you believe it - they are just more slick and sophisticated in the layers of connections that go to launder money from drugs, arms, tax evaders etc. The gangsters must be rubbing their hands with glee knowing the UK will endorse them and give them even more respectability. The casino industry behind the scenes is degenerate.
Many people with addictive personalities who have champagne taste and beer income get very quickly addicted to gambling. Casinos and everything to do with the business of gambling is a sleazy business that attracts many people behind the scenes who are up to no good, looking to make a quick buck - money laundering, skimming, cheating and rackets of various kinds, to name a few.
If gambling was made less restrictive it would only be because those who have a vested interest - or the government - are looking to make money out of people's weaknesses: nothing else. Pure greed all round. Horrible.
What good would come out of more people gambling? None that I can think of. Las Vegas was not built on winning customers. Casinos are fixed 95% or higher in favour of the house. It's a low-life business with high stakes that needs expensive sophisticated security and monitoring. Probably what is earned in tax revenues will be spent on servicing a gambling industry that spawns all sorts of social ills.
No person benefits from gambling except the casino owners and the State. There are no other winners. Of the customers who do win - 99% of the time lose it back trying to win more.
Slippery slope. Seedy business. Can't think of any good that would come out of expanding gambling in this country. Las Vegas had well over 70 years experience of running gambling halls to get where it is. There's a lot more to the casino industry than meets the eye. If people want to gamble, there plenty of existing ways and means - right down to scratchcards at local corner stores.
If there was an opportunity to vote on the issue - I would vote against the introduction of more casinos - it's a mugs game with a dangerous and ugly side to it that I do not want to see introduced into Britain. We don't have to copy everything America does. Not everything they have is great you know. The underbelly of Las Vegas and Atlantic City is ugly and mean and has a dark side that attracts organised crime like bees to a honeypot.
Posted by: Ingrid at October 31, 2004 10:46 AM
# posted by Ingrid @ 11/02/2004
- - -
GREAT CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE
CBS online 24 hr coverage of US election
Melt-in-Your-Mouth Chocolate Cake recipe from Chocolate & Zucchini - via great new British blog Eric the Unread:
This recipe is very easy to make, no need for a food processor. Like all dark chocolate cakes, it is better if made the day before (or at least in the morning if served for dinner). Pre-heat your oven at 200°C (400°F). Line an 8 inch cake pan with parchment paper. If using a non-stick pan, you can just cut out a circle to line the bottom.
Melt 200g of butter with 200g of good quality dark chocolate. If melting in the microwave, be sure to do it slowly, blending with a spoon between each pass. Add 250g of sugar, and let cool a little. Then add 5 eggs one by one, mixing well with a spoon after each. Finally, add a rounded tablespoon of flour and mix well. Pour the dough in the pan, and resist the urge to just dive head first into the pool.
Bake for 25 minutes. The recipe says the very center can still be a little trembling but mine wasn't. Let the cake cool down a bit, then turn out on a rack to cool completely. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, refrigerate, and take it out about an hour prior to serving the next day.
- - -
Election Day in the USA
Midday TV news today here in Britain says it's the closest race in history. At least 270 electoral votes are needed by a candidate to win. There's an outside chance both candidates could receive 270 votes. In the event of a tie, Congress will decide - it's said a solution will be found in the Constitution.
CBS online provides 24 hour coverage of the election.
GREAT CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE
CBS online 24 hr coverage of US election
Melt-in-Your-Mouth Chocolate Cake recipe from Chocolate & Zucchini - via great new British blog Eric the Unread:
This recipe is very easy to make, no need for a food processor. Like all dark chocolate cakes, it is better if made the day before (or at least in the morning if served for dinner). Pre-heat your oven at 200°C (400°F). Line an 8 inch cake pan with parchment paper. If using a non-stick pan, you can just cut out a circle to line the bottom.
Melt 200g of butter with 200g of good quality dark chocolate. If melting in the microwave, be sure to do it slowly, blending with a spoon between each pass. Add 250g of sugar, and let cool a little. Then add 5 eggs one by one, mixing well with a spoon after each. Finally, add a rounded tablespoon of flour and mix well. Pour the dough in the pan, and resist the urge to just dive head first into the pool.
Bake for 25 minutes. The recipe says the very center can still be a little trembling but mine wasn't. Let the cake cool down a bit, then turn out on a rack to cool completely. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, refrigerate, and take it out about an hour prior to serving the next day.
- - -
Election Day in the USA
Midday TV news today here in Britain says it's the closest race in history. At least 270 electoral votes are needed by a candidate to win. There's an outside chance both candidates could receive 270 votes. In the event of a tie, Congress will decide - it's said a solution will be found in the Constitution.
CBS online provides 24 hour coverage of the election.
# posted by Ingrid @ 11/02/2004
Monday, November 01, 2004
DR PAULY'S POLL RESULTS:
Kerry's a winner. Bush's a poker buddy
Pauly, an American blogger in New York City, reveals the results of his recent poll: Kerry's the winner.
The second poll (Who would you rather invite to your home poker game? Bush or Kerry?) is a good laugh: Bush won by a landslide. Make sure you read the comments. There are some hilarious answers from Pauly's fellow poker bloggers.
Pauly thinks that's part of the reason why so many undecided voters might end up voting for Bush: he has a likeable quality, that despite his politics, you can sit down and have a conversation with the guy; he's flawed and that makes him more real... more like one of the guys... than Kerry, who often appears stiff and overtalks like a two-bit preacher with that cheesy used car salesman's smile.
Verdict: Pauly's readers have spoken. Send Kerry to the White House and let Bush play in your home games.
Can Kerry succeed like the Red Sox?
- - -
Note: On the Internet, I get the feeling it is mostly 20-30 something American liberals who blog. So, I've a hunch that Pauly's poll was not a fair cross section of society as it gives no clue as to how the over 40's, who are not computer users, may vote - especially senior citizens. I would not be surprised if Bush wins by a clear margin - even a landslide.
- - -
If the election were held yesterday, Kerry would be the winner with 272 electoral votes; Bush would lose with 266 votes. Pauly says whoever wins Florida and Ohio will be President.
What a nuisance there is a third party in Nader. Seems like a wasted vote. What is the point in voting for someone who has no chance of winning? If you vote for Nader, it's like voting for Bush AND Kerry.
Pauly says he doesn't think the recent Osama tape made any difference (I agree) and was disturbed by the number of people who admitted they were not voting or voting for third party candidates... almost 18% of the total votes cast. An alarming number of these people live on the West Coast and in New York.
If you are an American, no matter who you vote for -- please make sure you, your friends and family vote. Every vote counts. Make sure you vote. The world depends on it.
- - -
Note, this tracker loads the most recent poll as the default option. Check back for updates as new data is published.
Also, if you are in Britain the Sudan Times TV guide for tomorrow, Tuesday 2 November, says: 11.50pm - 5.00am "US Election" on BBC1; and 12.30 midnight - 5.30am on ITV1 West "America Decides - An ITV News Special".
Hopefully I'll be awake flicking between the two channels. I've not yet decided whether to try and stay up late (and miss the finale) or go to bed real early, sleep 6-7 hours, wake up and watch it through to 5.30 am. Maybe it's best to go to bed early and set the video to cover the first 2-3 hours if needed.
Wish I hadn't scheduled Ophelia's vet for 11.30 am Wed Nov 4. Our routine will be all upside down and Ophelia may stay outside longer than usual and won't be here when her vet arrives with her booster shots (she senses these things).
Kerry's a winner. Bush's a poker buddy
Pauly, an American blogger in New York City, reveals the results of his recent poll: Kerry's the winner.
The second poll (Who would you rather invite to your home poker game? Bush or Kerry?) is a good laugh: Bush won by a landslide. Make sure you read the comments. There are some hilarious answers from Pauly's fellow poker bloggers.
Pauly thinks that's part of the reason why so many undecided voters might end up voting for Bush: he has a likeable quality, that despite his politics, you can sit down and have a conversation with the guy; he's flawed and that makes him more real... more like one of the guys... than Kerry, who often appears stiff and overtalks like a two-bit preacher with that cheesy used car salesman's smile.
Verdict: Pauly's readers have spoken. Send Kerry to the White House and let Bush play in your home games.

Can Kerry succeed like the Red Sox?
- - -
Note: On the Internet, I get the feeling it is mostly 20-30 something American liberals who blog. So, I've a hunch that Pauly's poll was not a fair cross section of society as it gives no clue as to how the over 40's, who are not computer users, may vote - especially senior citizens. I would not be surprised if Bush wins by a clear margin - even a landslide.
- - -
If the election were held yesterday, Kerry would be the winner with 272 electoral votes; Bush would lose with 266 votes. Pauly says whoever wins Florida and Ohio will be President.
What a nuisance there is a third party in Nader. Seems like a wasted vote. What is the point in voting for someone who has no chance of winning? If you vote for Nader, it's like voting for Bush AND Kerry.
Pauly says he doesn't think the recent Osama tape made any difference (I agree) and was disturbed by the number of people who admitted they were not voting or voting for third party candidates... almost 18% of the total votes cast. An alarming number of these people live on the West Coast and in New York.
If you are an American, no matter who you vote for -- please make sure you, your friends and family vote. Every vote counts. Make sure you vote. The world depends on it.
- - -
Note, this tracker loads the most recent poll as the default option. Check back for updates as new data is published.
Also, if you are in Britain the Sudan Times TV guide for tomorrow, Tuesday 2 November, says: 11.50pm - 5.00am "US Election" on BBC1; and 12.30 midnight - 5.30am on ITV1 West "America Decides - An ITV News Special".
Hopefully I'll be awake flicking between the two channels. I've not yet decided whether to try and stay up late (and miss the finale) or go to bed real early, sleep 6-7 hours, wake up and watch it through to 5.30 am. Maybe it's best to go to bed early and set the video to cover the first 2-3 hours if needed.
Wish I hadn't scheduled Ophelia's vet for 11.30 am Wed Nov 4. Our routine will be all upside down and Ophelia may stay outside longer than usual and won't be here when her vet arrives with her booster shots (she senses these things).
# posted by Ingrid @ 11/01/2004
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- - -
BUSH IS AHEAD OF KERRY - AND LEADS IN HAWAII?
The Spectator magazine started in 1828
"What’s up with Hawaii? Two polls in two Honolulu newspapers over the weekend showed George W. Bush with a small lead over John Kerry. That’s not supposed to be happening. Hawaii’s solidly Democrat." writes Mark Steyn over at the Spectator, Britain's longest running magazine - now run by the infamous Boris Johnson who recently started a quasi blog. Excerpt from the article:
Last week the pollsters at Harris released their latest findings in two versions. Using the model of likely voters that proved accurate in 2000, Bush led Kerry by 51 to 43. However, if you discard that model and use some new model factoring in a lot of folks who didn’t bother to vote in 2000, Bush leads Kerry only by 48 to 46. Which is accurate? The first? The second? Neither? Harris can’t say. Is there a third model that shows Kerry leading by 73 to 26? Doubtful. If there was, some pollster would surely have come up with it by now. Maybe some other model entirely is the one to use, but it seems unlikely any one will devise it before next Tuesday.
So my hunch that that first Harris poll is the correct one is only that — a hunch that Bush is ahead outside the margin of error. Unfortunately, on election day, he also has to be ahead outside the margin of lawyer, which is a tougher call. The Democrats already have thousands of chad-chasers circling the courthouses in Florida, Ohio, New Mexico and even New Hampshire, alas. It’s important for Bush to win big enough both to compensate for Democrat fraud and to deter litigation. Full Story
- - -
Note, in the above article, readers get to vote: "Do you agree with the argument put forward in this article?" The poll results so far show: Yes 92% - No 8%
The Spectator magazine, established in 1828, says it's the oldest continuously published magazine in the English language - and that the best British journalists, critics, authors and cartoonists turn out their best work for the magazine, to produce an extraordinarily wide-ranging title.
Today's Scotsman says Bin Laden's intervention may be dominating the airwaves, but four opinion polls say result is still too close to call. See Eric's Have your Say on Bin Laden.
[Spectator link via Instapundit]
BUSH IS AHEAD OF KERRY - AND LEADS IN HAWAII?
The Spectator magazine started in 1828
"What’s up with Hawaii? Two polls in two Honolulu newspapers over the weekend showed George W. Bush with a small lead over John Kerry. That’s not supposed to be happening. Hawaii’s solidly Democrat." writes Mark Steyn over at the Spectator, Britain's longest running magazine - now run by the infamous Boris Johnson who recently started a quasi blog. Excerpt from the article:
Last week the pollsters at Harris released their latest findings in two versions. Using the model of likely voters that proved accurate in 2000, Bush led Kerry by 51 to 43. However, if you discard that model and use some new model factoring in a lot of folks who didn’t bother to vote in 2000, Bush leads Kerry only by 48 to 46. Which is accurate? The first? The second? Neither? Harris can’t say. Is there a third model that shows Kerry leading by 73 to 26? Doubtful. If there was, some pollster would surely have come up with it by now. Maybe some other model entirely is the one to use, but it seems unlikely any one will devise it before next Tuesday.
So my hunch that that first Harris poll is the correct one is only that — a hunch that Bush is ahead outside the margin of error. Unfortunately, on election day, he also has to be ahead outside the margin of lawyer, which is a tougher call. The Democrats already have thousands of chad-chasers circling the courthouses in Florida, Ohio, New Mexico and even New Hampshire, alas. It’s important for Bush to win big enough both to compensate for Democrat fraud and to deter litigation. Full Story
- - -
Note, in the above article, readers get to vote: "Do you agree with the argument put forward in this article?" The poll results so far show: Yes 92% - No 8%
The Spectator magazine, established in 1828, says it's the oldest continuously published magazine in the English language - and that the best British journalists, critics, authors and cartoonists turn out their best work for the magazine, to produce an extraordinarily wide-ranging title.
Today's Scotsman says Bin Laden's intervention may be dominating the airwaves, but four opinion polls say result is still too close to call. See Eric's Have your Say on Bin Laden.
[Spectator link via Instapundit]
ME AND OPHELIA
This is the personal blog of Ingrid Jones.
I live by the sea in Dorset, England, United Kingdom.
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