Photohunt: thankful

The theme for this week PhotoHunt is "Thankful". It reminded me of our experience in Hoi An, a beautiful small city on the coast of the South China Sea in the South Central Coast of Vietnam.

Hoi An has many historic artefacts of value and beauty. Like this Japanese bridge

which is guarded on one side by two dogs like this one

and on the other side by two monkeys like this one:

Or like this exquisite Chinese temple:

Walking around all these wonders, we have stumbled on a small square with a monument that looked strangely out of place:

Until we have read the brief story you can see here (click to enlarge):

In this nice way citizens of Hoi An expressed their gratefulness to the man, who came from afar to help them preserve their rich history.

And I want to use the opportunity to say that I'm thankful to Canon, whose good ole 10D withstood the vagaries of our mostly wet and humid journey.

If you liked what you have seen (or read) in this post, add your link in the comments:

I promise to visit your place as soon as possible!

To look for other photo hunters, go there.

***

Atta Awisat, Daniel Seaman, what's up etc.

It's time for some diversity on this blog. Too much time and effort was invested here on subjects like Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iran and other external irritants, and why? After all, they are not going to disappear overnight, so why not lay off for a while? Why not dedicate some time to the internal issues? Where is, to take one example, our own esteemed director of GPO (Government Press Office), Daniel Seaman who was once a subject of some irritation here?

It is nice to be able to state in advance that everything's cool and that Danny is where he was back then, although Wiki notices that there was a minor detour:

He took a leave of absence from his post and announced his candidacy in the Likud party primaries for the 18th Knesset, but has since withdrawn his candidacy.

Which is a pity - being one of 120 could have reduced significantly the damage he is able to cause...

Anyhow, Danny is thriving in his post. Writing fiery articles blaming foreign press in all possible sins and wondering why Palestinian PR succeeds to win where his office is losing.

Showing his considerable muscle in a one man show against mighty Al Jazeera. It will learn them. Definitely.

Personally attending to ensure pro-Israeli coverage of Gaza events by Fox News. More about it later.

Topping all of the above by an unbelievable interview with a sympathetic JP journo:

Branding foreign journalists "spoiled crybabies" unwilling to make "a little effort" to get into Gaza during Operation Cast Lead, Government Press Office head Danny Seaman denied Sunday there had been any ban on their entry into the Strip during the battle.

So there was no ban, after all? Good, and then:

"There was no ban," Seaman declared, "Israel did not want to endanger the lives of the workers at the crossings so we didn't open them, not for humanitarian reasons and not for foreign journalists."

See now? There wasn't no ban, it is just that the gates were closed. Mmm... logical and simple. And the journo laps it up like a good boy. No questions, moreover he is quite helpful, notice the next quote:

"Those spoiled crybabies just didn't want to put a little effort in [to getting into Gaza]," he said "We never arrested anyone who went in, nor are we running after them now," which proves that it wasn't an actual Israeli policy.

Obviously Seaman sees foreign journalists as some kind of actors in a reality show. Lock them out and let's see how they get in on their own, illegally of course. Maybe they should have used Hamas' tunnels? And this dumbo of a reporter helpfully ads a conclusion: "which proves that it wasn't an actual Israeli policy ". But wait, there is more:

"In hindsight, next time we should make it[the ban] an actual policy. This week proves it. All of the reporters have been let in and they are accepting everything everyone says at face value. Maybe 3% are calling and asking for an Israeli response, or talking to the IDF spokesman. They are a fig leaf for Hamas.

Yep. In fact, it might be even better to lock them all up and throw away the keys. The beating should continue until morale improves and/or until they start calling the GPO for GPO's view on everything they write about. Until they learn to accept everything Daniel Seaman says as a gospel... oh boy, where does stupidity end? Not at the above quote, in any case. Because:

"Their coverage right now is a disgrace to the profession. Instead of reporting, they are settling scores. Reporting without both sides, without a context is an abuse of the profession," he declared.

I don't know, Danny might be right at that. Many of them (what the heck - most of them) may definitely be settling scores... with GPO in general and Daniel Seaman, its chief, in particular. But I'm sure that thought hasn't even started to consider the possibility of crossing the ravaged desert of this peculiar mind.

Oh, and I almost forgot: Danny is still diligently working on the endless corrections and amendments of his own Wiki entry. Under a moniker GiladRaz he edits the entry, mercilessly deleting anything that could be construed as criticism (just click on the tab that says "History" and enjoy). Consistently forgetting to throw out the sentence "During his tenure as GPO Director he has implemented several measures which have improved working conditions for foreign journalists in Israel." That makes him look kinda ridiculous, but who am I to advise a PR man on his own folly?

Well, let's not forget the other name in the header of this post. Atta Awisat - an employee of the largest Israeli newspaper "Yediot Achronot", an Arab, a good photographer. Here is a sample of his work:

There is a story related to this picture:

The best Israeli photographers must chose one picture each. The picture represents the country they are nostalgic about and they should explain why.

The picture above was chosen by Atta and here is his explanation why:

In this picture from a circus that took place in the Denmark High School in Jerusalem, Palestinians and Israelis built a pyramid of their hands. In the country I pine for Israelis and Palestinians, Christians, Muslims and Jews will live hand in hand, regardless of religion, gender and race.

Admirable sentiment any way you look at it, right? Especially coming from a person that, pursuing his duties as a reporter, has been beaten by police - and more than once. I cannot prove that the beating was more severe because he is an Arab - sometimes Jewish and foreign journalists get it in the neck just for standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. Still...

But let's look at the next picture from Atta's portfolio, it has more relevance to this post:

I guess most of you recognize the character in the picture: our incumbent (for a few weeks more) PM Ehud Olmert. Even more important, at least for Atta, is the place where the picture was taken - the Knesset.

To take a picture like the one displayed above, Atta Awisat must have a press card - a piece of laminated plastic that looks like this:

The press card is a prerequisite for any journalist who dabs in political issues. It allows access to government offices, press briefings, West Bank (and Gaza, when Danny has a mind to allow access at all), diplomatic events, airport VIP lounges where heads of states and other big cheeses pass through, sites of terrorist attacks etc.

Lack of this card could cripple a career of a political journalist, but it definitely finishes a career of a political photographer. And, after almost 20 years of professional photography for various press outfits and carrying this card, Atta suddenly discovered (this January) that getting this card twentieth time could be a problem.

You see, issuance of the press card is conditioned by a security check performed by our GSS or Shin Bet, as it's popularly known. As other Yediot Achronot journalists and photographers, Atta has submitted a necessary form (probably even via Internet - it is all so high-tech today). But, unlike other, Jewish, journalists, Atta still hasn't got his card at the time he was used to every year. According to the linked article, Dalia Dorner, a retired judge and president of association of journalists, recommended to turn to the High Court of Justice. GPO's answer, meanwhile, is that they still haven't received a security clearance for Atta.

I must state that I was impressed by the response of Yediot Achronot folks who refused to pick up their own press cards until the case of Atta Awisat is resolved. Kudos to all.

In the next article from the same source there are no useful news. Neither Shin Bet nor GPO were much impressed by intervention of the PM's office director Raanan Dinur and by MK Chaim Oron. Shin Bet, as per its usual, does not respond to inquiries of this kind, and Daniel Seaman remains unavailable for comments on the subject.

Update: A few days ago I was told that Awisat eventually got his card. Happy end?

And I want to state it loud and clear: Atta Awisat is only one case of several other - Arab, Jewish and foreign correspondents that were denied a press card for being politically incorrect, for saying something less than complimentary to or about our Danny or just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Now back to that Fox News interview Danny so manfully carried out on the background of Gaza (I guess). There was a small (?) problem:

You can see that they've misspelled his last name. I am sure it's due to an anti-Zionist (or anti-Seaman, which is one and the same by now) elements in the ranks of Fox. And that strict measures, including (but not limited to) revocation of Fox people's press cards, cancellation of Fox contracts with Israeli cable and satellite TV networks and deportation of all related personnel, should be implemented immediately.

And make them squirm during the security checks at the airport!

Porn Plot: Vivid's Sordid Plans for Nadya 'Octomom' Suleman

Vivid Entertainment has offered Nadya "Octomom" Suleman $1 million to star in a pornographic video. They want Suleman, who gave birth to octuplets in January, to have sex in eight different scenes with eight different men.

Well, at least she knows now how to count up to eight.

Probably a book coming up next, and a movie, since she is checking out a $1.2M house, according to this.

Pius X society: not just Bishop Williamson's pretty face

While most of the media interest is focused on the story of the Bishop, some people have decided to take a close look at the Pius X society. Quite a can of worms it appears to be too.

This is in many ways worse than the outrageous statements of bishop Williamson denying the Holocaust and the existence of gas chambers. Williamson is a lone fool and not taken serious by the masses, whereas here we are talking about an entire society comprising thousands of priests spreading hatred to hundreds of thousands around the world (The Saint Pius X society is believed to have between 600.000 and 1 million followers). Another difference with Williamson is that, how undeniably awful his lies may be, they negate the past. Yet what we have uncovered here is preaching of lies and hate against Jews today thereby once again promoting hatred against the Jewish people.

So, as it appears, belittling the issue by concentrating on a single odious character, could as well be a deliberate exercise in misdirection by Vatican.

Hat tip: Christian Attitudes.

Cut it - or else!

My favorite James Bond says so:

NASA satellite crashes minutes after launch

The satellite, which would have monitored greenhouse gases to study how they affect the Earth's climate, was launched on a Taurus XL rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 1:55 a.m. PT.

Cold weather blamed for the failure.

Lisa Lavoie and the missing teenager

Police found a missing 15-year-old Holyoke boy late last night in hotel room in Morgantown, W. Va., with his eighth-grade teacher.

It's a relief really. Found healthy, unharmed and moreover - under supervision. Don't you hate it when kids disappear?

Oh, these Jewish...

From the Chechen martyrs' Kavkaz Center site:

Jewish kidnapped 7600 Palestinian children

Palestinian researcher, specializing in detainees' affairs, Awni Farawna, stated that the Zionist gangs have kidnapped a total of 7600 Palestinian children, males and females, since the year 2000; 246 children are still behind bars, International Middle East Media Center reported.

Let's see: 7600 - 246 = 7354. Divided by 9, it makes an average of 817 kids per year. Assuming each kid is good for 4 liters of blood, it comes to 3268 liters of blood each year. Hmm... almost sufficient for this:

Taking into account our other sources from abroad, it covers the country's needs for every Passover.

Jewish happy. Jewish fill stomach. Jewish baaaad....

Cross-posted on Yourish.com.

Technorati - just asking

Is it only this here blog that feels like Technorati is dead or others feel it too?

And if I am right, is there any alternative way to find out the recent links and stuff like that?

Thanks in advance.

Indy unmasks America

No, really, it is neither a joke nor an exaggeration, here is the full headline:

America unmasked: The images that reveal the Ku Klux Klan is alive and kicking in 2009

I'm not sure it's my job to protect America from Independent, besides the article is ridiculing the headline so well:

Today the Klan is a mere shadow of what it used to be and there are at least 34 differently named Klan groups. “They are a fairly low-rent bunch of people, many of whom use their local organisations as a way of raising money for themselves,” says Mark Potok, director of the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama.

And more:

At its peak the KKK boasted four million members and controlled the governor’s mansions and legislatures of several states. Since the 1930s the KKK has been in a state of disorganisation and today it probably has 6,000 members.

Anyway, if a British scribe decides to unmask America, who am I to argue? Unmask at will.

Just, after finishing it, maybe he could spare a few minutes for a small local issue:

BNP.

What do you think?

Cross-posted on Yourish.com.

Bingo...

Yeah... my favorite view too...

Via Dick Stanley aka Texas Scribbler.

The twelve steps of the optimist

George Szirtes on the end of Israel in twelve distinct and logical stages.

I think George is an incurable optimist. Besides, I am always betting on a whimper against the bang.

There is an interesting comments thread there as well, worth your few minutes.

Northwest Airline - serving what?

After the turbulent landing in Japan's Narita International Airport, Northwest Airline seems to be heading for more turbulence:

Photohunt: warm

The theme for this week PhotoHunt is "Warm". That term is very subjective. To a Canadian (to take one example), warm means something completely different from what it means to, say, someone in North Australia. But in any case you are going to be subjected to some pictures taken during our last trip - Vietnam and a bit of Cambodia. A day in North Vietnam to start with, and not too hot indeed - I guess around 16 degrees C.

To start with - a mandatory tourist viewpoint at a rice-growing valley: foggy and drizzling.

Definitely not too cold for a buffalo ride:

But some kids consider the temperature unsuitable for a swim:

And if, at the end of the day, you feel cold, here is a perfect remedy (for men only!):

Have a nice weekend!

If you liked what you have seen (or read) in this post, add your link in the comments:

I promise to visit your place as soon as possible!

To look for other photo hunters, go there.

***

CBS working on organ transplant pilot

According to this.

Tom Hanks is rumored to be the front-runner for the role of the skin graft, with George Clooney the strongest pretender for the kidney.

Baldwin family is to be assigned several roles of assorted reproductive organs.

Chimp attack - not what it seems

After this headline:

Owner Treated Chimp Like Husband

Sandra Herold gave him the finest food, and wine in long-stemmed glasses. They took baths together and cuddled in the bed they shared. Travis brushed the lonely widow's hair each night and pined for her when she was away.

Yeah - a family affair, after all...

Passover is nigh and some Elders' security issues

Inter-departmental memo

Elder's HQ



To: Internal Security mgr.
Fm: Hasbarah dept mgr.
CC: Inhuman Resources dept. mgr.
Date: _____________

Subject: Sensitive information leakage.

Yigal,

It will be a short one this time, just take a look at this:



















I have only two points to make on the above:

1. Did I or didn't I tell you that your bright idea to install CCTV in the offices to find out who steals the silverware and the napkins from the officers' cantina is crap?
2. Did I or didn't I tell you that your push for the Al Quds Catering Ltd. as our food supplier is bound to end in tears? Equal opportunity - shmequal opportunity notwithstanding? You want the best humus in the Middle East - get your fat ass off your chair and go buy it outside for all I care.

Now the contents of my secret meeting with K. from G. are public property, my mug is all over Middle East (to start with) TV stations and your chances to partake of properly baked Passover matzos are not much better than your chances to keep this job, you miserable ....[censored before publication].

My recommendation for your transfer to the latrine detail for the rest of your service attached.

Yours [censored]

Hat tip Israellycool.

Let them be, David

David Taube, aka David T of Harry's Place, makes another valiant effort to separate the wheat from the chaff in his article Why we must reclaim antiracism from the far left (on CiF, of all places). Of course, it got the CiF sewer life boiling and babbling, as could be seen from the comments (don't read them all, it's a clear health hazard).

What can I say to David? It's too late, in my humble opinion. There is one (admirable) attempt to explain the behavior of the so called "anti-Zionist" crowd in the comments, made by participant nicknamed afinch:

But, the real problem with anti-semitism is that the those who hate Israel for political reasons, and those who hate Jews for racial or religious reasons, each assume the other is on their side and really thinks like them. The Guardianistas assume the thugs painting swastikas on graves are poor troubled Muslim kids protesting about big bad Israel, and when the thugs hear the incessant righteous condemnation of Israel for everything it does, they see this as tacit support for their hatred of Jews.

Beg your pardon, afinch: you err on the side of caution. Your description could have been relevant some years ago. Today those who hate Israel for political reasons and the Jew-haters have inter-married so closely, embracing Guardianistas and poor troubled Muslim kids that it's virtually impossible to distinguish between the ones who paint swastikas on graves, the ones who simply hate Zionizm and/or Jooz, the ones who get off condemning Israel for everything and the ones who post hateful comments in that thread.

No more time for that luxury.

Cross-posted on Yourish.com.

Had a bad day at work?

Try this:

On your way home from work, stop at your pharmacy and go to the thermometer section. You will need to purchase a rectal thermometer made by Johnson and Johnson*. Be very sure you get this brand. When you get home, lock your doors, draw the drapes, and disconnect the phone so you will not be disturbed during your therapy. Change to very comfortable clothing, such as a sweat suit and lie down on your bed. Open the package and remove the thermometer. Carefully place it on the bedside table so that it will not become chipped or broken. Take out the material that comes with the thermometer and read it. You will notice that in small print there is a statement:

“Every rectal thermometer made by Johnson and Johnson is personally tested”

Now close your eyes and repeat out loud five times: “I am so glad I do not work for quality control at the Johnson and Johnson Company”.

Remember: there is always someone with a worse job than yours.

(*) For all I know, Johnson and Johnson may not produce any rectal thermometers - I have never visited the rectal thermometer section at our pharmacy. I got this recipe via e-mail.

Many heartfelt thanks to L.G. - you made my day that much better.

Flatulent Fuehrer Frightfully Foul

It figures.

Combatting Antisemitism in earnest

How it should be done.

More liver distribution control measures

We have just commented on a controversy stemming from the shortage of liver transplants. Now, it appears, a new measure is being taken to insure that only deserving people get their pound of liver:

"I was stunned," he wrote, "to find that the police were prepared to approve – ie not fight – our licence on condition that we installed CCTV capturing the head and shoulders of everyone coming into the pub, to be made available to them on request."

Drinkers of the world - unite!

Via Olly Onions.

Gau Jal / Cow Water - a new drink for environmentally conscious

Finally a drink that will alleviate at least one problem of the overpopulated world - the water shortage.

Does your Pepsi lack pep? Is your Coke not the real thing? India's Hindu nationalist movement apparently has the answer: a new soft drink made from cow urine.

This initiative has a solid scientific, political, moral and religious backing:

The drink is the latest attempt by the RSS – which was founded in 1925 and now claims eight million members – to cleanse India of foreign influence and promote its ideology of Hindutva, or Hindu-ness.

The drink wouldn't be a simple thirst-quenching liquid:

The RSS claims cow urine can cure ailments ranging from liver disease to obesity and even cancer.

I cannot wait. And I have already a few ideas in support of this venture.

First of all, a draft version of a sticker on the bottle:

(The authors of that picture will be happy to help, I guess)

Then: the snack to go with that drink. I have a capital idea for a cheap source of raw material for the cookies (saltines, maybe) matching the unique taste of Gau Jal. Of course, I am not putting it in writing here for somebody to steal it, no sir!

Now to the needs of the demanding Western market. First of all, the great selling point will obviously be the recycling element of the whole process. Since European and American potential customers don't have an easy access to cows, unless in the form of a steak, a hamburger, etc, a new line of product should be developed immediately: a home brewing kit, just like for beer, but adjusted for processing of human urine instead of the bovine.

The marketing should develop a brochure selling the eco-friendly features of the kit, and I am sure that at least the tree-huggers will swallow this (no pun intended) no questions asked. The second target to attack will be the hypochondriacs - the wondrous medicinal qualities of the drink will practically sell themselves. And then - the rest of them, which is not a lot, after the first two categories are done with.

And the last one: the issue of the name for the drink. It appears that there already is a drink, specifically a wine, coming from Domaine Gaujal de Saint Bon. I understand that this is a completely different drink, at least on the face of it, so the (hopefully unintended) affinity of the names should be resolved as soon as possible.

Way to go, fellas!

Chelsea Handler or Heidi Klum nude pictures

As usual, wouldn't be found here. However, here is a picture of two totally nude animals.

Concentrate on the one at the bottom. A right guess about the kind of the animal will not entitle you to anything at all, but concentration and slow deep breath may help you forget Chelsea...

Armstrong's bike stolen

The media will remain in the dark, as usual, if we don't intervene.

The truth of the matter is simple and it is out: the vengeful French, using their infamous DGSE - General Directorate for External Security, lifted the bike to test it for controlled substances.

They are also said to be training sharpshooters toward this summer Tour de France.

Watch out, Armstrong...

First they came for the smokers

And the drinkers were silent, now it's the drinkers' turn:

Heavy drinkers are receiving nearly one in four of the UK's liver transplants, it was revealed last night, igniting a furious row about the ethics of allocating organs to people with alcohol problems.

Next the carnivores, the chocolate addicts, the obese, the politically incorrect...

The toxic forces or what is happening to the Israeli left

A toxic force rises in Israel, says Jonathan Freedland, and he is right.

Reading the latest deluge of articles on the Gaza war, on the attitude of the left toward Israel, on the elections I cannot help but feel intermittent waves of unpleasant odor(s) coming from two sides (not related in any way to the authors of the linked articles, of course).

The first one - the rank odor of nationalism coming from our own ultra-right politicos, riding high on the latest developments in Gaza. Yes, Lieberman is a highly toxic concoction (by the way, whether he is a Moldovan-born immigrant or a British-born starry-eyed repatriate or a Brooklyn-born Messiah is less important - why it should be important to Jonathan?). And yes, his "invention" of loyalty oath is nothing short of fascism. I and many people like I, can and will show Lieberman exactly what he has to kiss, where he can get our signatures and what to do with that oath.

The second one - the toxic vapors of anti-Israeli propaganda that is slowly but surely is eating its way into the remains of critically-minded left - even the best of them. Starting with the persistent refrain of "war crimes" that eventually was accepted by most as a given. Without attempting to understand what the term means, many of the left have clearly shown that the Jew that fights back is, in fact, not really acceptable (outside of a Defiance-like WW II flick). Maybe in theory - somewhere, sometimes, but not now, not in practice. It started earlier, after the "disengagement" from Gaza in 2005. I clearly remember the deafening outcry after every "targeted killing"/"assassination" of a Hamas or Islamic Jihad bozo, when every peace-and-freedom-loving "progressive" demanded that the cruel and inhuman practice stop immediately, that the nice folks in question be subjected to a due process of law and only then, if found guilty... How exactly it should work in practice, no one of the progressives had a slightest idea, but the feeling of riding a high moral horse was too intoxicating. Then came the Cast Lead - after 8 years of Qassam attacks. As with targeted killing, no one on the left had a slightest inkling of an idea about a better way to stop the rockets - but the outcry has started immediately.

And here is the key to analysis of the current situation of the Israeli left. People who supported the Oslo fiasco, who have done their best to make the disengagement from Gaza happen now feel like fish out of the water. On one hand, there is no peaceful solution to the 60 years of strife on the horizon. Gaza, that was supposed to be a first step to the future two state solution, turned out to be a total failure.

On the other hand, the painful feeling of being slowly but surely betrayed by the international left (whatever is left of it), slowly but surely pushes the Israeli left in the same direction as does the belligerent Hamas and its ilk - to the right.

The contrast between the level of vitriol directed at Israel by the left from abroad and their total silence on the alternative ways to reach that elusive peace with our neighbors is another wrinkle on the generally sour picture. No one, not a single critic of Israel (aside of open Jew-haters who know exactly what to do with this frisky nation) has offered a solution that will hold water - nay, let's make it honey to simplify the task. Aside of generic calls for Israel to get back to the borders of 1967 (tried already in Gaza, to what effect - everyone knows) and to sit down to negotiate with Hamas (OK, fine, now get the other side to that table, please, or, to be precise, start with persuading them that there is a table) - literally no one is able to offer a practical way to get out of that morass.

And the kind of the advice that Jonathan F. is able to offer in his "Above all, it is Israeli society that has to take a hard look at itself. For so long, it has lived inside a bubble in which it can only see its side of the story: they hit us, so we hit back; we are under siege from hostile forces, we are the victim." - no, really, Jonathan, come off that horse. It isn't even that high, rather a pony, old and lame at that. There is hardly a person on the left, and I doubt that there are that many on the right, that will sign under this imaginary "they hit us, we hit them" scenario. We hit each other, so what is your point then?

Add to this the unmistakable signs like Europeans: Jews killed Christ, caused financial crisis (of course it is not about the left now, how could it be?), and the causes for the Israeli left's disarray are more or less explained.

And then there is the intangible - the emotional side. In the article linked above: What makes the left vilify Israel?, Martin Bright says:

Others have written about the open sewer that the blogosphere becomes as soon as the subject of Israel is raised.

It is not just the blogosphere, I have to correct. There are quite a few of the mass media outfits that are doing exactly the same. But it is not about blogs and mass media that I am worried, it is about the "progressive left" that are able to stand near that sewer and breath the miasma. It is about almost total lack of concern about the brown waves overflowing this sewer and the gradual habit-forming it causes.

And if someone thinks that this hatefest doesn't push the Israelis further to the right, one better do some more thinking.

Another, slightly different angle, by TNC.

Richard Goodsell or Alfie Patten?

Confusion reins the British Kingdom over the parenthood of the Maisie Roxanne baby.

Richard Goodsell, aged 16, was claiming he was Maisie's father.

And it may be even more confusing:

And amazingly the News Of The World has uncovered claims that Chantelle was sleeping with as many as EIGHT teenage boys around the time the baby was conceived on the Old Town estate in Eastbourne, Sussex.

But no worries, the British Conservative party leader David Cameron promised to look into it.

In the picture: Cameron looks into it:

Hilary Clinton - wooing Kim Jong Il

This is what CNN says. Offers proof, too:

So I have entered the state of mind of Kim Jong Il (successfully*) , watching the picture. And no, the wooing didn't work.

Well, maybe just for a moment, during the first minute.

Nah... just a heartburn from the sushi...

(*) I am short and pudgy too and can wear glasses with the best of them. Oh, and SWMBO says that only her timely appearance on the scene prevented my further development into a full-blown tyrant.

500,000

Well, the Sitemeter is not a most precise measurement tool, and during these years it surely missed a thousand visitors here and ten thousand there, but here we are - visitor # 500,000:

And with a good enough reason to stop by: "longest fart" (it's about Galloway, of course).

Of course, some blogs reach that number in a day, but still, for a microblog it's a milestone.

There are a few surfers that I caught on the way to this number that surely deserve a mention:

"is angelina jolie jew"? I am not sure, but these kids of her should be watched, seeing as Brad is into Jewish hillbilly issues lately.

"mossad miss deeds". Well, everyone gets his own: you get a missus and Mossad gets a miss. Sometimes.

"jennifer lopez snake". It's a tough one, but I think it's rather Cicciolina you had in mind.

But the best one was this - number 500001:


"bar refaeli and peace in the middle east". Yes, bro, I really dig this! Thanks - it's a capital idea.

13-Year-Old, Barely 4 Feet Tall, left without dessert

Alfie deserves it, says mom. British Ministry of education demurs.


Details.

British trade-union of gardeners plans a preventive strike under a slogan "We are all Alfie".

MPs shocked by Boris Johnson LP expletives

Maybe David Icke is somewhat right? Maybe we should put more effort in the maintenance of our trained reptilians?

The Mayor of London repeatedly used the F-word and accused Keith Vaz of "bullshit" during a telephone call.

'You are trying to make me look like a fucking fool'

Still, it was a good one. Pity to cut that streak...

Topless protestors urge end to foie gras 'cruelty'

PETA (pronounced like "pita" but much less useful) with another show of er... force:

Animal rights protesters went topless today to expose what they described as the "naked cruelty" involved in creating foie gras.

I have to say that, aside of the usual pointlessness and stupidity, this time PETA show a somewhat refined choice of protesters, at least from that angle.

Of course, PETA are not concerned much with their own cruelty to some senior citizens with high blood pressure and other maladies that will definitely watch this picture. But these are the ways of PETA, so what could I say more.

Only this, related news item:

Two satellites, one Russian and one American, have collided some 800 kilometers (500 miles) above Siberia, the Russian and U.S. space agencies, said Thursday.

I believe I don't have to explain what the operators of these two satellites were busy with while the girls strutted around Selfridges.

At least, I hope that they saved the clips...

P.S. If PETA really think that this expo will give me a turn off where foie grass is concerned - bring them on!

Besides, let Brits quit the habit - there always will be Paris.

And now to some responses

To start with, Meryl has done an excellent roundup of some choice headlines. A must read. I shall quote only one:

The Times of India:

Israel has voted for extremists, Hamas said...

Believe it or not.

There is one that even Meryl missed - in Haaretz:

The fact that Olmert is leaving under the present circumstances does not diminish the fact that he is a leader of many accomplishments in most areas he was responsible for.

That we should have come to this...

And you know what: that... nah, enough said...

On the credit side: Bar Refaeli

Let's all forget the elections crapola for now, here is a completely different win:

Now let's see Haniyeh doing this one...

Israeli elections: the loosers and the winners

It is not yet finalized, but any changes in the election results will be minor. So:

The biggest looser of them all. He thought that pushing the elections forward will speed up his way to the throne. In fact, I am taking the previous sentence back - no one, including himself, knows what exactly he was thinking about. What is definite - the knives in the Labor's kitchen are already being sharpened. Time for a barbecue, and the calf is fat enough.

The man whose results always end up quite a bit short of his long-range (ballistic?) plans. He will probably end up as a PM, in a government teared apart by mutual hate between his partners, some of them so far right-wing that he will find it hard to swallow (but swallow he will). Another short-lived abomination of a government...

She made a valiant effort, however the real winner has done his best, and his best was good enough to derail her efforts.

This one really thinks he is a winner. However, is it indeed a win - being able to bite PM's sensitive bits when it's considered convenient or simply for fun? I don't know. Do you?

Now - the picture of a real winner. He has done his best* to put a right-wing government in place, to ensure that the strife will continue and that more "martyrs" will die for the cause. He probably knows that he is leading the list of the candidates for the virgin-groppers, but he's already visited Mecca and it doesn't bother him in the slightest. So be it - I, for one, wouldn't waste tears for the creep.

And so it goes...

(*) The statistics show overwhelming support for right-wing parties in all areas that suffered rocket attacks, so Hamas didn't miss its target after all. And no, I don't believe Bibi will be able to do better with rockets.

Netanyahu: After elections we must ask, who will deal with Hamas, Iran, economy

Wrong again: it is before the elections that we should have asked this.

A bit too late now...

Vatican - taken over by solipsists?

So it looks in the next round of that tragicomedy "Second Stupid Sermon Sayer Slips into Solipsism". Following that first character from Treviso, the British/Argentinian bishop Williamson decided to play the "I haven't seem the evidence" trick.

"If I find proof I would rectify (earlier statements)... But all that will take time," Bishop Richard Williamson was quoted as saying by the German weekly magazine Der Spiegel.

Rectify this, dear Bishop...

More interesting: does Vatican as a whole start sliding into solipsism?

In related news: Pope denies existence of Bishop Williamson.

They say there is some British SOB in Argentina who regularly spits in our lasagna? I have not investigated this, ergo he doesn't exist.

The salary rosters of Vatican are being updated as we speak...

Sunday links

This Sunday, as most others, bring with it the latest Haveil Havalim. This time, however, it is an especially humongous one, due to elections hype and other stuff, but especially due to Ben-Yehudah's energy and diligence. So here it comes, Haveil Havalim #203 - the real #203 edition.

And the only other recommendation of the week: a post by Philosemite, End the Holocaust Memorials.

Let's put an end to the shallow declarations of "Never Again," which have degenerated into denunciations against long-dead Nazis made from a safe historical distance. This is risk-free grandstanding, which German writer Johannes Gross summed up well: "The resistance to Hitler and his kind," he once wrote, "is getting stronger the more the Third Reich recedes into the past."

Yep.

1/15 revisited and NTSB as a ranning lackey dog

of the ChimpHitleroBush, of course, what have you thought about?

This article shows clearly enough to what lengths some people are ready to go to protect the ZioImperioFascists. Even now, with the advent of the enlightened age of Obama, the cover-up continues:

Investigators said last month they found a single feather and evidence of "soft-body impact damage" on the aircraft. The find reinforces the pilot's report that the plane was brought down by a flock of birds.

Is anyone really able to believe that pathetic concoction? A feather, the likes of which could be collected in thousands during a half hour stroll in a park, is supposed to cover a controlled demolition of the plane's engine? Who do these people think the readers are? When the evidence of Bush running away from the scene of the crime, holding what is clearly a remote control unit, is out there for all to see:

And you, our dear reader: doesn't the whole story of the feather miraculously and conveniently surviving the passage through the furnace of 100,000 degrees hot plane engine, the impact of the plane hitting the water, the Hudson river with its voracious cod, its sardines, its cuttlefish, its octopi sound preposterous to you?

No worries - the Truth Will Out!

Yes - let's save a lifestyle!

Via the Watcher.

Photohunt: bridges

The theme for this week PhotoHunt is "Bridges".

Not having any serious bridges photographed as far back as I remember, I have found a good escape clause. So here are two bridges from Natural Bridges National Monument in Utah.

The second one is a bit more colorful:

And the last one is, strictly speaking, not a bridge but an arch:

But I happen to like it, so here you go...

And the conclusion: you don't have to have all these fancy materials like iron, titanium, plastic and stuff. If you put your mind to it, even from simple sandstone you could create beautiful and useful things.

Have a nice weekend!

If you liked what you have seen (or read) in this post, add your link in the comments:

I promise to visit your place as soon as possible!

To look for other photo hunters, go there.

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A snake that could eat Jennifer Lopez finally discovered

In the spirit of "we can" times:

It grew up to 45 feet long, weighed more than a ton and dined on giant turtles and fearsome crocodiles. It was also the biggest known snake to have ever lived - even dwarfing the Hollywood snake that tried to eat Jennifer Lopez in the film Anaconda.

My doctoral thesis - here it is

The glimmer of the idea came from this inspirational clip. Apparently, scientists discovered A new cigarette hazard: 'third-hand smoke'.

Parents who smoke often open a window or turn on a fan to clear the air of second-hand smoke, but experts now have identified another smoking-related threat to children's health that isn't as easy to get rid of: third-hand smoke.

That's the term being used to describe the invisible yet toxic brew of gases and particles clinging to smokers' hair and clothing, not to mention cushions and carpeting, that lingers long after smoke has cleared from a room. The residue includes heavy metals, carcinogens and even radioactive materials that young children can get on their hands and ingest, especially if they're crawling or playing on the floor.

Imagine the poor innocent tykes glowing through the night in their cribs from radioactive poison spread by their unthinking parents... oh the horror of it. But no worries, the cavalry is on the way:

Doctors from MassGeneral Hospital for Children in Boston coined the term "third-hand smoke" to describe these chemicals in a new study that focused on the risks they pose to infants and children. The study was published in this month's issue of the journal Pediatrics.

That's it. Now the babies are safe, the science has made another big step forward and the Bostonians could be deservedly proud of the new addition to their already overflowing collection of prodigies. And, of course, let's not forget the forthcoming doctoral degrees and the accompanying generous research grants from NIH.

The whole story had a serious impact on my remaining brain cells. You see, many years ago after pulling my MSc degree from the unwilling talons of my Alma Mater, I have been too busy with other-gender-related activities to think about the next step. Now, seeing how the time passes by and how people succeed where no reasonable human being will suspect a possibility for a BSc, not to speak about a doctoral degree, I have decided to have a go at it.

So, after a week or two of 24x7 brainstorming, here it goes - the subject of my doctoral thesis is: Doctoral Degree as a Derivative of Another Doctoral Degree - Proof of Relation Infinity. Or, in other words that could be appreciated by general population: Milking a Dead Cow Forever.

I hope there is no need to write a long boring text to support the self-sufficiency and brilliance of the subject. I have not decided yet which school of high learning will be honored by the right to issue the doctorate certificate, so proposals (with research grants checks attached) could be sent to me until further notice.

And to the good doctors of MassGeneral: to help you out, using my newly discovered methodology, I have defined the subject for your next research and coined a term for it: Fourth-Hand Smoke Hazard", and I already see a glimpse of the one after that. Keep up the good milk work!

A general question re Bar Refaeli and all that

It is about this headline:

Bar Refaeli picked as the new face of Marks and Spencer's lingerie line

I am, of course, asking as a layman: why does lingerie need a face? I mean normally one doesn't put one's underwear on one's face?

Just asking.

Bill Gates Unleashes Swarm of Mosquitoes on Crowd

Windows 8 is here!

The "close" button is abolished from now on, same for the "Power Off" switch.

Screw Abraham Foxman & Co

Seconded.

Still, I would prefer to outsource this job. Volunteers?

Iran's Mysterious Spy Satellite

Time to reuse this old post. Seeing as how excited some people are.

As it is widely know (for example from here), Iran is operating its first spy satellite since last October. What was not so widely know is that a long row of mysterious malfunctions was baffling Iranian scientists from the word go. The first three pictures produced by Sina-1 leaked to our sources and are presented here for the first time.













At the last interview the Iranian Space Agency chief scientist refused to comment on the above pictures, claiming that "a) the pictures are fake and b) we'll find the source of the leak and deal with him anyway".
The only other sentence uttered by the chief scientist was: "Allah willing, under unwavering and glorious guidance of our wise Ayatollahs and our dear President, the Islamic scientists will overcome the.."
At this stage the man broke down in tears and was escorted away by his assistants.