This entry was posted on
Tuesday, March 16th, 2004 at
10:24 am and is filed
under Uncategorized.

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Date
20040316
Riding High on Blogdex
Time
10:24
A well-deserved chart-topper this morning:

City officials city fall victim to Internet hoax, consider banning items made with water.

To learn more about the threat of dihydrogen monoxide, the “odorless, tasteless chemical” that can be deadly if accidentally inhaled, click here. Or use any search engine, most of which present this Snopes entry on the first page of results.

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Date
20040316
Activism
Time
10:32
Flashmobs with a purpose: Protests in Madrid organized by SMS, chatrooms.

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Date
20040316
Guantanamo Bay
Time
10:33
Sydney Morning Herlad – US frees 26 from Guantanamo Bay: The US military today said it had released 23 Afghan and three Pakistani citizens from the US Navy prison for terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, leaving about 610 still in detention. In a brief statement, the Pentagon did not say specifically why the 26 were let go, but said each case was reviewed separately to determine whether a prisoner was of further intelligence value to the US and whether he was believed to pose a threat to America.

I love bold-assertion-with-zero-details about one of them going ‘back to the fight’, it’s almost as if they can’t resist tacking on an ‘I told you so!’

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Date
20040316
Spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace
Time
10:43
Once again, astronomers make life hell for astrologers. Blood will be spilled one day, you mark my words.

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Date
20040316
The Bush Administration
Time
10:45
The Scotsman – Bush Administration Accused of Manufacturing the News: The Bush Administration is being investigated for producing “ready made” television news packages in which actors were paid to pose as journalists, it emerged today. “TV news releases” were sent to local stations to be run as part of main news programmes. But Federal investigators have launched an investigation into whether the adverts were “propaganda”, amid allegations that they were an attempt to “manipulate the press”.

UPDATE – More on this here at the New York Times and here at The Guardian (latter link requires registration).

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Date
20040316
Rupert ‘The Evil One’ Murdoch
Time
11:05
Once again, we turn to The Scum for Blair’s lies in their purest form. Today’s editorial space is devoted 100% to convincing readers that the Spanish have flip-flopped at the whim of terrorists, when in reality what cost Jose Maria Aznar his job was one callous manipulation of the terror threat too far. Blair has also manipulated the threat in many questionable ways, and is very worried about parallels being drawn. That’s why The Scum finds it so very important that they set the tone with this today:

WHAT is Tony Blair to make of the extraordinary outcome of the Spanish election? Putting it bluntly, it is the first time a terrorist act has toppled a government. A nation believes it can opt out of the war on terror. Like their new Prime Minister, Jose Zapatero, the Spanish are living under a dangerous delusion. He has convinced 43 per cent of his shell-shocked voters that the war on Iraq is to blame for the carnage in Madrid. Now he promises to pull 1,300 Spanish troops out of Iraq in July. It is unpleasant to criticise a nation at a time of great mourning, but what the people of Spain have done is very wrong. Their country was not targeted by al-Qaeda because it supported America and Britain. The Muslim terrorists are out to destroy the modern way of life which they hate. Their wicked acts have precious little to do with events of the 21st century. The Muslim fanatics of al-Qaeda want to turn the clock back to the Dark Ages. They are fighting a war which, in their warped minds, began 500 years ago. New York, Washington, Moscow and Madrid have been attacked. But so too have Islamic countries like Turkey, Indonesia and Iraq. This is truly a war on the world and we are ALL in it. In Britain, there are many who use Blair’s perfectly proper support of America as an excuse for sniping and sneering at the world’s only superpower. They are everywhere — on the left of the Labour party, throughout the Lib Dems, in the Guardian and at the BBC. They are content to shelter under American firepower but like all who would occupy the moral high ground, they are overcome by altitude sickness and feel the need to empty bile over their protectors. There are even some in Government who seem to waver. So where does this leave Blair? The Prime Minister has acted with great courage and skill since the horrors of 9/11 awoke the world to the threat it faces. He was entirely right to give full backing to President Bush and our great ally across the Atlantic. No one should delude themselves that Britain would have been a safer place if we’d sat on the fence like Germany and France. Blair deserves the country’s full support.

The poor ‘shell-shocked’ voters. They deserve our full sympathy because they’ve just been blowed up, but you have to admit that they’re acting a bit loopy. Kind of like that hysterical Clare Short woman. And let us not forget 911! With great courage and skill, Blair took the hand of the shell-shocked Americans and invaded Iraq to reduce the threat of terror by doing away with an evil dictator who wanted us blowed up as well. The only way to fight terrorism is to support Tony Blair 100% and believe everything he says!

(What do you mean there’s no link between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda? They both want to see us blowed up! What further proof do you need?)

UPDATE – I haven’t commented on their ‘hooray for taking the law into your own hands’ front page, but somebody else has. Pfft!

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Date
20040316
Consume!
Time
11:10
Now the Spanish are all traitorous socialists, what is to become of the this classic dish? Will The Supreme Court have to step in again, banning the unholy combination of onions and eggs, or will simple rebranding suffice?

‘Liberty Omelette’ has a nice ring to it, but I prefer the snap of ‘Broken Egg Breakfast’…

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Date
20040316
Anyone but George
Time
12:10
Time’s guide to ‘the suddenly fast and loud presidential race’ is a jolly good read, but if you want to retain a fair and balanced level of input, you’ll want to start by watching Kerry and Bush’s campaign output side-by-side.

Also interesting is this somewhat belated side-by-side video of Dean and Bush. The Bush segment is drawn from this video of him looking somewhat squiffy 6 years after he gave up drinking. Alone. Or gave up drinking alone.

Me, I’m not too fussed about whether or not he took a drink at a wedding in 1992. Or when he choked on that pretzel. Hell, I wouldn’t even blame him for taking a few drinks this time last year. I’m even OK if he is drinking every day right now and lying about it.

What I have a problem with, and what I think we have a right to know, is how often is wakes up hung over in strange rooms like this one and how long it takes him to get out. Without cheating.

UPDATE – It took me 45 minutes. Having your view change every time you click somewhere that’s not-quite-near-an-object is a right pain in the arse, but don’t let it stop you poking around. Oh, and cheers to Mirjam for the Crimson Room link. It’s not as if I have any work to do.

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Date
20040316
It’s War! And You Just Volunteered!
Time
12:11
Slowly but surely…

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Date
20040316
Video
Time
12:20
Some very cool aircraft footage courtesy of the plane-lovin’ folks at the Alexis Park Inn.

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Date
20040316
Normal People
Time
12:49
Meet Ulrich Haarbürste. He likes to write stories about Roy Orbison being wrapped up in cling-film.

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Date
20040316
The War on Terror
Time
13:23
What every atrocity needs is a snappy name. It doesn’t have to be original. Just snappy.

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Date
20040316
Richard Desmond Is a Pornographer
Time
13:31
The Indepenedent – BoI withdraws funding for purchase of Desmond adult titles: Bank of Ireland yesterday confirmed it had pulled out of a deal to finance the £20m acquisition of 45 of Richard Desmond’s adult magazines by the publisher Remnant Media following protests from its customers.

Poor Richard, just when he had some lovely bunnies lined up….

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Date
20040316
Photoshopping
Time
14:08
Farkers invited to post their ‘technical best.’ Proceed with caution; it’s a big download from multiple servers.

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Date
20040316
Spain: Beacon of Democracy
Time
15:49
Luke from Expats just got back from Spain and has posted the following in reaction to all the ‘terror wins’ and ‘Spaniards are cowards’ garbage:

“I could not say this more clearly: The Spanish were not voting in fear, but in defiance.”

“The word on the street was that Aznar had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, and that as of 5PM on the day of the bombings functionaries within the Spanish government had been told from on high to exploit every opportunity to blame ETA. Aznar himself called several newspapers (including Britain’s Observer) to personally press this line. This was too much for the Spanish to take.”

“… the PSOE did not ‘win’ in the traditional sense. Aznar and the PP lost, because the Spanish people had had enough of deceit and opportunism, and they wanted their country back. In the clearest street-level grassroots sense of the phrase, they voted with their feet.”

Well said, that man.

UPDATE – You may also wish to give Peter Kilfoyle a moment or two of your time.

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Date
20040316
It’s War! It’s Legal! It’s Lovely!
Time
16:19
Yes, but what was the donkey doing in southeastern Afghanistan in the first place? Sorry, that whole backpacking to learn computer skills and meet a wife story just won’t wash. Everybody knows that donkeys are a bit queer and love a bit of barnyard servicing. Chase me! Chase me! You couldn’t make it up. Etc.

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Date
20040316
The War on Terror
Time
16:41
Yahoo! News – Bush says foreign troops should stay in Iraq.

The best bit is this quote: “…al-Qaeda has an interest in Iraq for a reason. And that interest is they realize this is a front in the war on terror.”

This is an excellent example of the new line that Iraq and the War on Terror are linked (and therefore have always been linked) because of the terror attacks happening in Iraq. Because it’s a front on terror. That we helped to create by illegally invading that country after claiming that it had links to terrrorists.

Infuriating, isn’t it?

UPDATE – Spain’s new socialist Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero says here: “Military intervention in Iraq was a political mistake. It divided more than it united, there were no reasons for it. Time has shown that the arguments for it lacked credibility. You cannot bomb by chance. You can’t lead a war with lies.”

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Date
20040317
Bunch of Stuff
Time
09:56
I have a lot to get on with today, so you won’t be seeing much of me, I’m sorry.

Here are a few snacks to keep you going.

Topping Blogdex: David Blunkett the Great Humanitarian strikes again.

Google has just gone live with another significant update to their algorithm and it looks like most clients will be very happy with the results.

One thing I always check on after an algorithm change is how my long-term generic query project is going. This time last month, the Universal Church of the Interactive Network had just climbed to 62nd place for the generic query ‘religion.’ Today it’s in 43rd place. Slowly but surely… (Oh, if you search for it in Google.co.uk and specify pages from the UK only it’s 3rd.)

What else, what else…?

Ah, here we go. Email:

YourParty has launched with a new site.

The Movement had a record deal, but the company they were signing with went bust. Then their manager dumped them. Then they got thrown out of their studio. Oh well, at least they’ve got their health.

On the subject of bands, you’ll love what The Descendents are up to. Check out the growing flyer archive and wonder at how fantastic other ‘old guard’ sites could be with a little extra typing and scanning. (Link via Ultimate Insult.

Mark Cuban has a weblog. Who he? Hrm. Perhaps I should make a living out of selling weblogs to rich eccentrics. I tried to start up with Prince Charles last year, but didn’t get very far.

I have no idea what this guy is banging on about. As far as I’m concerned, the world was created – human beings, Grand Canyon and all – at 9am on October 23rd, 4004 BC.

Wibbler would like to bring this proposed bill to your attention. He also invites you to watch Donald Rumsfeld squirm after a failed bluff about what he may or may not have said about Saddam being an imminent threat.

UPDATE – More on this from Metafilter

Finally, take a look at what I was thinking this time last year. Difference between now and then? Now you can send email to Tony Blair. Not that he’ll listen. The arrogant, lying, appeasing tosspot.

Sorry, just spitting some bile from the moral high ground…

*cough*

Meanwhile, the police warn us of terror attacks but the police are working ever so hard to stop them and citizens are being asked to keep an eye out for suspicious bags and we don’t have any bins on the London Underground, just a few thousand hidey-holes where I’ve seen litter lay for months on end but they’ll be searching passenger bags anyway, no doubt a little bit extra over the weekend but the measure won’t be used to harass protestors, anti-terror laws have never been used to do this and they are there to protect us from terror attack but an attack is inevitable and we’re all going to die.

And breathe….

I’ll be marching this Saturday, and urge you to do the same. The map of the route is hidden here.

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Date
20040317
Photoshopping
Time
10:24
Ooooh, look what The Guardian is up to.

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Date
20040317
It’s War! It’s Legal! It’s Lovely!
Time
10:43
A coward and a traitor! He deserves what’s coming to him if he fails to present himself for Guard duty.

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Date
20040317
The Interwebnet
Time
10:48
Via The Fix comes this handy registration bypass tool.

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Date
20040317
Christianity Watch
Time
10:57
Toby wishes to bring to your attention this, a far more disturbing bill in the works.

UPDATE – But, as we all know, the only dangerous fundamentalists are those who wear towels on their heads. God is love, right? With his Word as law, what could possiblye go wrong?

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Date
20040317
Trains
Time
11:22
Via The UK Today, we learn of louder whistles that will make the trains run on time. How about bigger sticks to beat the passengers with? Or guard dogs to chase the lazy buggers on and off the carriages? To cries of Mach schnell! Mach schnell!

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Date
20040317
Normal People
Time
13:08
Have you seen an Angel today?

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Date
20040317
Photoshopping
Time
13:45
The Coca-Cola Nazi Advert Challenge now has a special home all its own.

Send them your art.

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Date
20040317
OK, So I’m a Star Wars Geek
Time
14:12
Huzzah to FunJunkie for discovering these free paper models of Star Wars vehicles.

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Date
20040317
NSFW
Time
15:58
– Go to www.financepage.co.uk

– Click ‘Focus’

– Look for the hidden ‘s0e’ link in the graphic above ‘The Market’

– Every link you follow in that next section – with the exception of the panic button – is NSFW.

I can’t help but wonder what the point of this subterfuge is. Nudie pictures are still easy to spot as nudie pictures, even if they are surrounded by dull finance-oriented graphics.

I can see this becoming common knowledge very soon, too. So your IT manager will know exactly what it means when he sees repeated downloads from financepage.co.uk in your HTTP logs.

UPDATE – Here’s what the B3tans made of it and here’s the chap who built it.

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Date
20040317
The Bush Administration
Time
17:16
Hooray for Henry Waxman for bringing us The Iraq on the Record database, which contains ‘237 misleading statements about the threat posed by Iraq that were made by President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Secretary Rumsfeld, Secretary Powell, and National Security Advisor Rice.’

The full report is available for download as a PDF file, or you can just access what you need via the handy lie-finder. The Washington Post reports.

Brilliant. Now who will build one of these for Blair, Hoon, Straw, Campbell and all their mates?

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Date
20040317
11/9 (please note correct formatting of date)
Time
17:34
*cough*

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Date
20040318
Updates
Time
11:21
Busy. Work to do. Need filthy lucre. Art-wank sector of my brain going into overdrive for the march on Saturday. Plus a new project for interwebnet.org in the final stages of development. I may blog this afternoon. Then again, I may not. Cheers all.

PS – Confession is good for the soul. Happy Anniversary.

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Date
20040318
Bunch of Stuff
Time
12:36
A clear-headed post on the current cries of ‘Appeasement!’

An enlightening post on Lisa Myers’ ‘Why didn’t Clinton kill Osama when he had the chance?’ story

Riding high on Blogdex:

1. Watch Rumsfeld squirm, courtesy of MoveOn.org

2. The Iraq war lie-finder.

3. Don’t click on http://www.sunrise-adams.biz/ – it’s only there because of comment or referral spam and will repeatedly try to install a porn downloader on your ‘puter.

4. Localised searches from Google. Only useful if you live in the US.

Calpundit’s move to washingtonmonthly.com (see top link) is also charting well. As is this report on the Al Qaeda statement that allows right-wingers to scream ‘Appeasement!’ and left-wingers to giggle at Al Qaeda’s endorsement of Bush. A relevant flame-war is here, if you have the stomach for it.

Hands up who would believe a story written by The Sun based on a letter addressed directly to them from the U.S. Embassy?

Thought so.

Here The Scum dutifully reports on the ‘guilt’ of four freed Guantanamo Bay detainees, complete with ‘fair and balanced’ headlines such as ‘ENEMY ON OUR STREETS’ and ‘ENEMIES WITHIN’.

This comment at The UK Today nails it.

Oh, and today’s Page 3 girl in The Sun has some thoughts on the budget. Natasha (21, from Torquay) welcomes the move to ‘sweep away Whitehall waste’. She says: “I don’t want my tax wasted on pen-pushers and bureaucrats. The axe should fall next on those silly politically-correct council jobs.”

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Date
20040318
Photoshopping
Time
15:47
A little treat for you on this special and happy day.

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Date
20040318
Normal People
Time
16:22
I was looking for a picture of a sock. I found a picture of George Harrison meeting a man who is wearing a sock.

From ‘The Life Story of the Singer from Deep Purple’. This site also includes a How Pure Is Your Devotion To Deep Purple? quiz.

I’m going home now.

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Date
20040319
Flash Games
Time
09:20
So cool and so fun that it’s already old news. Yet another awesome Yeti/Penguin game.

Hint: Angle it right, and the seals do their best to help out.

(Link found via Funjunkie; game is already 3rd on Blogdex.)

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Date
20040319
Riding High on Blogdex
Time
09:23
Looks like people just can’t get enough of tracking the lies of the Bush administration and watching Donald Rumsfeld get caught out. They still hang in there at 1st and 2nd place respectively (but the Yeti/Penguin game is sure to crack the top spot within an hour or so).

A new chart topper for you: 100 Most Often Mispronounced Words and Phrases in English. My favourite is – and always has been- forte.

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Date
20040319
The Bush Administration
Time
09:27
I hate to draw yet another Nazi parallel, but I can’t help but feel that very soon the U.S. is going to suffer from a massive brain drain.

365gay.com – LGBT Federal Workers Lose Job Protections: Gay and lesbians in the entire federal workforce have had their job protections officially removed by the office of Special Counsel. The new Special Counsel, Scott Bloch, says his interpretation of a 1978 law intended to protect employees and job applicants from adverse personnel actions is that gay and lesbian workers are not covered.

And it’s just persecution we’re dealing with here, but an administration that’s less-than-helpful or openly hostile to scientists that dare to engage in actual science. The state of the economy doesn’t help either. Things are look up, you say? Then why is Donald Trump looking to make a buck by trademarking the phrase You’re Fired?

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Date
20040319
The Political Weblog Movement
Time
09:47
MySociety awarded £250,000 by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. This post includes a list of projects submitted by the public that now look very likely to go ahead.

That’s quite inspiring. Do I dare chase funding for some of my less subversive projects?

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Date
20040319
Sex, Sex, Sex (the boys are marching)
Time
11:01
Man sues after ‘male enhancement’ product fails.

On a somewhat related note, Jessica Pivik laments the decline of the hand-job.

Stop laughing at the back! You know very well how committed the Bush administration is to curtailing teenage pregnancy and the spread of STDs. That’s why Bush is seeking to double funding for abstinence-only education. But the effectiveness of the programme is in question and this new round of funding looks like it’s going to some people who may not have the control of STDs as their highest priority.

Take Denny Pattyn, founder of the Silver Ring Thing, for example. He believes that we’re approaching the End of Days and it’s his duty to recruit as many souls as possible. He’s not concerned with the physical health of his charges, because he’s not entirely sure that this will be an issue for very long. He is instead primarily concerned with their spiritual health. Fair play to him, but he has no business taking funding that’s earmarked for the control of pregnancy and STDs.

So I think it’s time for a compromise. I think it’s time to grasp the nettle firmly and introduce a programme that will win hearts, minds and souls across the country while limiting teenage pregnancy and the spread of many common STDs.

I call this programme Hand-Jobs For Jesus.

Those who wish to take part, please step forward for the laying on of hands.

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Date
20040319
Activism
Time
11:09
Ther’ll be a report later this afternoon about what I have planned for the march tomorrow. Some posters (old and new) will also be available for download. Hang in there.

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Date
20040319
Rebekah ‘Red Mist’ Wade
Time
15:21
On the subject of Rebekah Wade and the downloading and publication of child pornography to shift her papers and boost her ego…

For background see:

Bloggerheads – Wed, March 9, 2004

Bloggerheads – Wed, March 10, 2004

Now, agreement and some extra data from from Private Eye No. 1102 (19 March – 1 April, 2004):

On May 8 last year, after police decided to give (Pete Townshend) a caution plus five years on the sex offenders’ register, (Wade) wrote a furious article insisting that he should have been charged: “A court should decide whether Townshend should be punished.” Why take such a hard line? Because, Wade thundered, “every person who views child pornography – even if only once – creates a market for the evil peddlers of filth”.

Thanks entirely to Rebekah Wade, every reader of here paper has now viewed child pornography, even if only once. She has thus done far more to “create a market” for it than anyone else in Britain. According to her own logic, Inspector Knacker should prosecute the flame-haired filth peddler without delay.

But it suddenly occurs to me that – for this to happen – one of us may need to file an actual complaint. So, who wants to play hardball with the ginger-freckled one?

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Date
20040319
Consume!
Time
15:23
From Toby:

BBC – Coke recalls controversial water: Coca-Cola is to recall all bottles of its Dasani water in the UK, after levels of bromate were found to exceed legal levels, Reuters has reported.

Funny because they deserve it. Hilarious because they put the stuff in there.

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Date
20040319
Activism
Time
15:30
Tony Blair says: “The idea that if we were to give in over the issue of Iraq that would be an end of the matter in so far as they (possible attackers) are concerned is completely and hopelessly naive.”

He just doesn’t give up insulting us and our intelligence, does he?

*sigh*

1. Granted, changing our Iraq policy will not stop us from being a target for terrorists. But the invasion of Iraq certainly didn’t help matters, now did it? Hooray to Hans Blix for coming right out and saying it.

2. That’s not the f**king issue, and Blair knows it. The issue is his manipulation of the terrorist threat for political gain. It screwed Aznar, and he’s next if he keeps it up.

Many of us still remember the note on which this War on Terror started. The 11th of September, 2001 was a great day to bury bad news. Jo Moore may be long gone, but the culture remains.

Oh and remember the tanks in Heathrow during the week before the million-strong march? We still haven’t been told why. Was it stage management or mismanagement? Either way, it places us at greater risk.

Right. Saturday…

The march will start in Hyde Park (Speaker’s Corner) and proceed to Trafalgar Square (here’s a map of teh route if you need it and a webcam facing Trafalgar Square if you want to view the final assembly from out of town).

I have the following to hand:

50 A4 ‘One Down, One And A Halfwit To Go’ posters

Click here to download a copy for yourself

25 A3 ‘Deaf To All Reason’ posters

Click here to download a copy for yourself

25 A3 ‘Guilty of Treason’ posters

Click here to download a copy for yourself

The posters print out as A4. Enlarging to A3 is a doddle if you have access to a suitable photocopier but – as you can see – I’ve planned on something a bit bigger.

This just in: The Rasterbator is as awesome as it seems.

Two hours. One tarp. One can of spray adhesive. 90 sheets of A4 paper.

Result: One 2m x 3m poster showing exactly why we went into Iraq.

Oh, and a fume-induced hallucination of Tony Blair and George W Bush having rough sex on my kitchen table while Osama bin Laden spanks them both screaming: “Who are you? You’re my *bitches*, aren’t you?”

(ahem)

I also have two unmade posters, one of Bush the 911 hero and one of ‘Deaf To All Reason’.

The plan will be to try and put one or both of these up ‘live’ (as an art/wank installation and performance piece) on a suitable section of protective hoarding as the march passes through town and/or as it arrives in Trafalgar Square. (These are slightly smaller and, using my trusty staple-gun, will come together much faster than the sticky mess you see before you.)

If this looks unpossible, doesn’t work out, or if I’m cautioned for disturbing the tourists again, then I have the other posters for distribution throughout the crowd and my large back-up that you see here.

(As massive as this poster may look in my kitchen, I’m sure it will appear somewhat tiddly when I reach Trafalgar Square, but I’m emotionally prepared for that.)

I hope you choose to march tomorrow. If you do so in London, I hope to see you there.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040319
The Political Weblog Movement
Time
15:37
Would any Bloggerheads readers care to subvert American Candidate? If so, sign up now. We’ll nut out the details later.

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Date
20040319
I Believe In The BBC
Time
16:02
Dot Journalism – Beeb defenders rally online. OK, so it’s not the New York Times, but it’s a nice piece and Jemima picked up on an off-the-cuff remark about Rupert Murdoch that pleases me more every time I look at it: “He’s got his massive media networks – we have our little web pages.”

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040319
Bunch of Stuff
Time
17:25
A brilliant find, courtesy of NTK. Please note the source of the only errant arrow on this page and which way it’s pointing.

The latest B3ta newsletter, another spark of light in my otherwise dreary afternoon, leads us to this brilliant game that challenges you to shoot the Invader Nuns as they emerge from the Mother Superior Ship and this, the rather NSFW Labour Government Scandal Generator. A few more towels on the bed wouldn’t go astray. Just a thought.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040322
Activism
Time
10:01
Not arrested. Just busy. Here’s something to tide you over.

Something to chew on: Many people I talked to on Saturday were urged by loved ones not to attend just in case they got blowed up. The fear factor is sure to have had an effect on numbers.

UPDATE – Here you go; Luke got some shots off, too.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040322
It’s War! It’s Legal! It’s Lovely!
Time
13:05
The Guardian – History will damn them: In the past 12 months, deserters from the Bush/Blair cause have revealed piecemeal the reality. War was planned long in advance against a soft Arab target that nobody much liked.

But, hey, why wait for history when we have Richard Clarke and Jimmy Carter?

CBS News – Did Bush Press For Iraq-9/11 Link?: In the aftermath of Sept. 11, President Bush ordered his then top anti-terrorism advisor to look for a link between Iraq and the attacks, despite being told there didn’t seem to be one. The charge comes from the advisor, Richard Clarke, in an exclusive interview on 60 Minutes. “Frankly,” he said, “I find it outrageous that the president is running for re-election on the grounds that he’s done such great things about terrorism. He ignored it.”

Actually, he did worse that ignore it; once threat became reality he manipulated it. Once he’d finished shitting his pants and reading that story about a goat, that is.

This thread over at Atrios should give you an idea of the impact of this interview. RWCs are already lining up trying to discredit Clarke. He’s in for a rough week.

UPDATE – Here’s a response from renowned bastion of truth, Condaleeza Rice.

The Independent – Carter savages Blair and Bush: ‘Their war was based on lies’: Jimmy Carter, the former US president, has strongly criticised George Bush and Tony Blair for waging an unnecessary war to oust Saddam Hussein based on “lies or misinterpretations”.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040322
11/9 (please note correct formatting of date)
Time
13:24
If memory serves, these screen shots from 911 survivor disappeared pretty sharpish last time they came to the fore. You may have to be quick to see them.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040322
Interesting Times
Time
14:07
BBC – The killing of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. What’s your reaction?

Mine (in order of occurence):

1. Shit. Fan.

2. Another day of explaining that “bad man gone” does not equal “all is well”…

3. The flame war at Fark should be interesting.

2. Liar.

3. Hyprocrite.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040322
Only Interesting to Bloggers
Time
14:10
Six Apart is launchingTypekey, a comment authentication service designed mostly to do away with impersonation and comment spam. Find out more about what it is and what it isn’t.

Also, Six Apart and Ublog SA have signed an exclusive representation agreement in Europe.

Of slight interest to non-bloggers; is this the first blogged proposal?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040322
Art
Time
14:23
A wonderful exploration of our world and how much of it is media and/or information space. This is why you have a headache when you get home.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040322
Activism
Time
14:26
Another image from Saturday for you. I really should do a full photo report when I get the chance, but I’m bust juggling toy cars and mustard sachets right now.

Don’t ask…

Charting well on Blogdex (mostly thanks to a plug on LGF) is a collection of protest signage complete with sarky commentary.

1. Yes, quite of few of these do miss the point, hijack the issue or rate as completely hatstand.

2. The right has its fair share of crazies and idiots, too.

The Guardian – Hain demands security investigation after scaling of Big Ben: In a statement yesterday Harry Westaway said: “I just hope people recognised we just wanted to make a statement about the war and not about security.” Greenpeace spokesman Ben Stewart said: “If our actions have exposed a security flaw – and we are not really convinced that they have – then that has got to be a good thing for everyone concerned.”

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040322
Page 3 – Words of Wisdom
Time
14:41
Never mind the suitcase bombs, just going to hospital can kill you! (Assuming, of course, that you actually make it to hospital.) You will fear the killer bugs, so says Melanie (23, from Watford): “People need to feel safe in hospital. There’s a growing feeling hygiene standards on the wards are not as high as they were a generation agao. With all the money thrown at the NHS recently it’s startling to see a killer bug spread so rapidly.”

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040322
Coming Up
Time
14:50
This Observer report on Saturday’s demonstration includes “assorted Big Issue sellers” in its list of those in attendance.

However, what the reporter fails to mention is that the people selling Big Issue were fraudsters one and all. More tomorrow.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040322
Activism
Time
16:20
More photos of the London demonstration via Indymedia.

The Bush/Hero poster features in Collection No. 6. Reason/Treason combo appears in this, the 2nd photo report.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040322
Art
Time
16:58
OK, done with the mustard. Now I’m onto toast.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040323
Seems Fair…
Time
10:29
During the demonstration on Saturday, there were a number of women doing the rounds in Trafalgar Square, touting The Big Issue.

The selling or buying of this magazine in such circumstances did not seem at all out of place. In fact, this article in The Observer casually lists the sellers as part of its ‘all types’ rundown.

The problem is that not one of these people was a genuine and authorised vendor of The Big Issue.

I knew this straight away because I recognised the ‘uniform’ from an encounter well over 18 months ago:

– Babe in Arms

– Kids In Tow

– Scarf On Head

– Lots & Lots of Gold Teeth

– Fake Vendor ID (or, in this case, no ID at all)

A quick word on that last encounter; I may have been a little harsh on the bogus vendor. This practice robs The Big Issue and authorised vendors of income, but this scam is almost certainly gang-related, so the children and the women involved are victims themselves.

Hell, I’m even willing to be admit that they may be homeless or at risk of homelessness. If this were the case, they would be more than welcome to sell The Big Issue, I’m sure… but I’m also sure that dragging babies or children around at all hours of the days and night would violate the Vendor Code of Conduct (available via this web page) in that it places these children at risk and is certain to ‘bring The Big Issue into disrepute.’

The Vendor Code of Conduct also insists that vendors refrain from ‘aggressive behaviour or offensive language’ and that they carry and display a badge whilst selling.

So, call it a knee-jerk reaction if you like, but as each and every seller of this type has told me to ‘fuck off’ when I’ve asked to see their ID or questioned its authenticity, I’m of the opinion that they would not make suitable vendors even if they did wish to apply.

Moving right along…

The big question, especially considering that profit is the motive, is where do they get their stock?

I think I may have the answer and – regrettably – it’s not a pretty one.

Again we turn to the Vendor Code of Conduct, which forbids the supplying of magazines to ‘suspended vendors, non-vendors for re-sale to the public, vendors who have been refused magazines from the distribution outlet’ or anyone else who intends ‘to sell on your behalf.’

1. Consider how many immediately visible aspects of this scam play on human weaknessneses. It’s pretty likely the supply line also relies on exploitation of the weak-willed.

2. If organised gangs were raiding distribution outlets on a regular basis, I’m pretty sure The Big Issue would have no problems publicising these crimes and tackling the problem, but I’ve emailed them a number of times about this and have never received a reply, so I don’t think it’s too unreasonable to assume that a significant amount of re-selling is going on and The Big Issue is either hoping that it won’t come to light (it will) and/or that the problem will simply go away (it won’t).

Of course, that’s just an opinion at this stage. It’s strengthened by a lack of any reply from The Big Issue, so perhaps you’d care to get in touch with them today and ask them for clarification.

Wherever this stock is coming from, the problem of unauthorised vendors should be a priority for BI, but this gang appears to be well-organised and well-established. Why let them continue when they stand to do so much damage to the magazine and the people it helps?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040323
Riding High on Blogdex
Time
11:18
Here’s an unofficial transcript of Richard Clarke’s appearance on 60 Minutes.

Meanwhile, as yet another whistle-blower shows what Bush’s War on Terror is really all about, RWCs continue to bleat that the ends justify the means, thanks in no small part to this selective collection of placards including some that – I do agree – are ignorant and/or offensive in the extreme. And, of course, this tears every argument we have against the war to shreds, which makes for very handy conversation fodder when you want to avoid talking about yet more damning evidence against the Bush administration and the lies that are finally, publicly, falling apart.

John McGuinness says it best: You’ll notice that Lileks never engages serious opponents to the war — nope, it’s always a silly celebrity, a college kid on a web board, or a silly protestor.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040323
Richard Desmond Is a Pornographer
Time
11:21
Telegraph – Bank forced to apologise over ‘porn’ acquisition: The bank pledged to review its lending policies after admitting that it extended more than £5 million of debt financing to Remnant Media. The company used the cash to buy the adult magazines from Mr Desmond, whose portfolio of top-shelf publications included Asian Babes, Readers’ Wives, Mothers-in-Law and 60 Plus.

All very embarrassing, but it seems like Desmond has offloaded his porn just in time for the big bid. ‘Seems’ being the operative word. The latest issue of Private Eye suggests that this is little more than an ‘arm’s length’ deal and Desmond is retaining his adult channel Television X and the adult contact magazine Forum, so I think he still qualifies as a bonafide pornographer… but soon I’ll be asking for your opinion.

UPDATE – And it’s sure to be very interesting when I do. I didn’t know that Desmond owned Attitude magazine. It also passed me by that Desmond’s Star has been lambasting gay storylines on TV in the same week he launches a new soft-porn channel Gay TV. Cheers, Scott. Keep your eyes peeled. We’re about to have some fun with Mr Desmond.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040323
Normal People
Time
11:29
Cheers to Abnu for this wet-yourself funny look at Hot Or Not listings.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040323
Only Interesting to Bloggers
Time
11:31
New Technorati beta launches. Well, it looks much prettier…

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040323
The Happy Poster Project
Time
11:35
A lot of traffic is coming in to The Happy Poster Project via Atuu Sees All and I can see why; that’s one very fine link log he’s got there. Bookmarked for the blogroll….

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040323
Rebekah ‘Red Mist’ Wade
Time
11:40
Sun sez ‘Our Boys in Flames’ under attack from ‘Revenge mobs’ in Basra : British troops were set ablaze in a firestorm of fury yesterday over the assassination of Muslim terror boss Ahmed Yassin. Fourteen soldiers were injured – three seriously – in petrol-bomb attacks by hate-filled mobs screaming Yassin’s name in the southern Iraqi city of Basra.

Ah yes, this would be that Iraq/911/Terrorism/Palestine link, then. Nothing to do with frustration over unemployment and poor amenities in that region.

Too bad there’s no Page 3 girl today. I’d really like to hear some bare-breasted thoughts on the matter.

(For fine commentary on that adjacent statement by Lord Greville Janner, see this post at The UK Today.)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040323
Established Media
Time
12:01
Tch. They’lll let anyone be a journalist these days.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040323
Animation
Time
12:06
You’ll probably need broadband to enjoy this totally awesome 1258-frame GIF.

UPDATE – More can be found here.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040323
Art
Time
12:11
Cover Art from Pulp Magazines, Periodicals and Vintage Magazines. and The American Gallery of Psychiatric Art. (Links via The Ultimate Insult, both bookmarked for future photoshopping fodder.)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040323
We’re Not At Home To Mr Cockup
Time
12:16
Read all about the doctor who left his patient on the operating table so he could cash his paycheck.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040323
The Interwebnet
Time
12:18
We can only hope that Karl’s drivers are at least half as good as his banners.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040323
Flash Games
Time
12:19
Homeland Insecurity; fun and educational. Roll, click and learn.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040323
Guantanamo Bay
Time
13:39
I laughed milk out of my nose when I first heard that Capt. James Yee had been cleared of all charges of espionage because of ‘national security concerns’. (You might want to take a few minutes to compare some media coverage on this.)

That War on Terror solves just about everything, doesn’t it? Clears any drain, removes any stain…

Actually, I’m beginning to think that Capt. James Yee will be remembered as the nexus between between the War on Terror and the Bush’s upcoming War on Porn, especially considering the grudge-f**k the Army still plans on subjecting him to, no doubt in order to damage and discredit him.

What other reason can there be? If it’s Army policy to publicly stamp out sexual impropriety in such a way, how do you explain their shielding of the men accused of prisoner abuse in Iraq?

UPDATE – You’ll also note that this latest round of charges against Capt. Yee has made just about every news service. But we don’t hear much about this, now do we?

Female GIs report rapes, assaults by fellow troops. Pentagon accused of foot-dragging.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040323
In The Courts
Time
14:00
Dane Carlson has an interesting idea for anyone wishing to dodge jury duty in California. I’m warming up my man-nipples just in case.

(Of course I’m kidding. I’ve done jury duty before and would do it again in a shot. But yes, I *am* playing with my man-nipples. Because it’s fun.)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040323
Google
Time
15:00
Yahoo Style Porn Search Engine YaSEXHoo! Copies Booble Idea: Once again, porn people are playing “come and get me” with large web sites and Internet entities, looking for law suits to build their traffic via online news outlets making a big hoopla over the whole thing.

Oops. Forget I said anything, then.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040323
The Bush Administration
Time
15:46
I was working overtime cutting out images of cars (fun game on the way, folks) so I missed the Newsnight interview with Richard Clarke. There’s a RealPlayer version here, but I think I’ll live with the transcript on this same page. (I hate RealPlayer so much that I’m not even willing to install an old slightly-less-hijacking version.)

RICHARD A CLARKE: I have had to stand up to people in the past, never to a president, but I believe there are certain lines that you don’t cross, and one of them is you don’t make up intelligence and you don’t cherry pick intelligence to suit your political agenda.

JEREMY PAXMAN: Are you saying that he made it up?

RICHARD A CLARKE: I am saying that the President and his administration have given an impression that Al-Qaeda was involved with Iraq in a serious way, and that perhaps Iraq had something to do with 9/11.

Curse the BBC and their anti-American agenda; they didn’t prompt him to use the word ‘subsconciously’….

(Cheers to Adam for the heads-up. You’re one step ahead on my missus, mate. Can you cook?)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040323
Activism
Time
16:00
The Rasterbated posters from Trafalgar Square have been included and ‘cooled’ in the Rasterbator gallery.

More photo collections are turning up at this Indymedia feature. I may just submit mine to this collection, as I’m pretty sure I won’t have time to draft a full photo report like last time. At least not this week.

These are quite powerful images and you can see some more large pics of the Bush/Blair mega-poster in this new collection.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040323
Flash Thingies
Time
16:15
Bwahahahahahahaha! Simple and clever always does it for me.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040323
It’s War! It’s Legal! It’s Lovely!
Time
16:21
Do you remember the first time you read ‘Dear Raed’? To be honest, I had to dig into my archives to trigger my memory. And I never quite cottoned onto him as a writer.

Riverbend, on the other hand…

I’ll never forget the first time I read this. (Though it was the same day that I invoiced Tony Blair, which – I must admit – does help with the mental filing.)

This recent entry also deserves your attention and should be brought to mind every time you’re told how much happier Iraqis are now they have mobile phones, satellite dishes, flunjers, capdabblers and smendlers:

A year later and our electricity is intermittent, at best, there constantly seems to be a fuel shortage and the streets aren’t safe. When we walk down those streets, on rare occasions, the faces are haggard and creased with concern… concern over family members under detention, homes raided by Americans, hungry mouths to feed, and family members to keep safe from abduction, rape and death.

And where are we now, a year from the war? Sure- we own satellite dishes and the more prosperous own mobile phones… but where are we *really*? Where are the majority?

We’re trying to fight against the extremism that seems to be upon us like a black wave; we’re wondering, on an hourly basis, how long it will take for some semblance of normality to creep back into our lives; we’re hoping and praying against civil war…

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040323
Only Interesting to Bloggers
Time
16:42
Typekey: do you want the patriot-act paranoia, the hilarious rant or the voice of reason? Your call.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040323
The Bush Administration
Time
16:50
Listen to Rush Limbaugh blowing Dick Cheney live over the radio. Sorry, there’s no other way to put it.

UPDATE – Pandagon’s post on this interview and attacks on Richard Clarke in general is worth reading in full (comments and all), as is this jolly good fisking of the White House response.

Seriously, guys. Impeach. Impeach. Impeach.

Now.

Please?

Look at how much changed in Spain in three days. In Israel in two. There are over 7 months until the election.

Look how ruthless this administration is. Look at how clumsy they are. What makes you think that they’re not going to do something incredibly bold and downright f**king stupid between now and November?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040324
Flash Thingies
Time
10:39
Via one of many foreign blogs that have recently discovered The Happy Poster Project…

Opera Baby!

It should make your morning. Cheered me up no end.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040324
Riding High on Blogdex
Time
10:43
Mark Pilgrim’s TypeKey rant and Six Apart’s response to user concerns in FAQ format take out the top positions.

A Wired article on RRS feeds is climbing fast.

(guilty look)

There’s also a 5-year-old boy who took a bag of marijuana to school and was sprinkling it over a friend’s lasagna like oregano before being collared.

But the one to catch you should be this very interesting article by two chaps who have been purchasing old ‘wiped’ hard drives and retrieving their data. Prepare to shudder: In fact, only 10 percent of the drives I purchased had been properly sanitized. Much of the data we found was truly shocking. One of the drives once lived in an ATM. It contained a year’s worth of financial transactions—including account numbers and withdrawal amounts—from a organization that had a legal requirement to not divulge such information. Two other drives contained more than 5,000 credit card numbers—it looked as if one had been inside a cash register. Another had e-mail and personal financial records of a 45-year-old fellow in Georgia. The man is divorced, paying child support and dating a woman he met in Savannah. And, oh yeah, he’s really into pornography.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040324
South West Trains
Time
11:01
A month after completely screwing up a meeting with 16 MPs and their researchers, South West Trains have attempted to make up for it with a form letter and £10 in travel vouchers.

Way to placate me, SWT. Your form letter doesn’t even give me details of the incident that caused the delay.

– What caused the points failure?

– Why was the delay more pronounced than with most other point failures?

– Why did it take you 30 minutes just to decide that we should go backwards because we couldn’t go forwards?

FFS… the letter also promises me that 2004 will be ‘a time for genuine improvement in performance’ and informs me of shiny new rolling stock on the way very soon. Meantime me and everybody else on their network pays top dollar to sit (maybe) in carriages that are decades-old and held together with wood screws and electrical tape.

Today I discover via this post at Annie’s London Underground Tube Diary that SWT is up fro an award (Rail Station of the Year) at tomorrow night’s first-ever London Transport awards.

I’m tempted to go down there and do a little picketing and heckling. Just to be mean, I can use my travel vouchers to pay for 89% of the train ticket there and back. What do you think?

UPDATE – Ooh, now you’ve gone and done it. I already have a placard in mind: YOU GET BACK-SLAPPED, WE GET BUTT-F**CKED! Keep feedback coming in.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040324
The Bush Administration
Time
11:31
It’s the right-wing press to the rescue!

Murdoch’s New York Post goes with the ‘Richard Clarke is a fantasist’ angle.

The always-balanced National Review begs for a fisking on this one.

Can I start?

“At the height of the presidential campaign season, Clarke has made irresponsible and untrue allegations that the Bush White House was indifferent to the threat posed by al Qaeda in the months leading up to the 9/11 attacks.”

As Atrios points out, the White House was responsible for a 3-month delay on Clarke’s book. The timing of its release is their fault as much as anybody’s.

You can run the URLs for both of those articles through Technorati to see a bunch of RWCs accept and endorse this bull and bluster without question if you like. They’re already describing the 9-11 Commission as a ‘joke’ because they know what’s coming.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040324
Christianity Watch
Time
11:43
Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!!!

Something else to brighten your day…

BBC – Monty Python’s Life of Brian to go head-to-head with Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ: Adverts will challenge Mel Gibson’s blockbuster with the lines “Mel or Monty?”, “The Passion or the Python?” Distributor Rainbow said it hoped the film would “serve as an antidote to all the hysteria about Mel’s movie”.

Huzzah and hurrah. The intelligent application of satire and hatstand in the ongoing fight against Extremism.

I do believe I will try to write a nice email to one or all of them. Terry Jones looks like a good start.

(Heads-up via ScaryDuck.)

UPDATE – Terry Jones can be reached through Casarotto Ramsay & Associates (contact Jenne@ or Abby@ ). Now I have place to send it, it’s time to draft my email.

UPDATE 2 – Email drafted and sent.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040324
The War on Terror
Time
11:57
You know those anti-piracy trailers at the start of home videos? The new one over here at Airstrip One by FACT: The Federation Against Copyright Theft (which has also been running in cinemas since February) has a well-evil demon chappie with a maniacal grin processing his pirate videos in a foundry (as you do) and stamping his illegal copies with a big branding iron in the shape of an ‘X’ (as you would expect).

The voice-over boldly warns us that “video piracy funds terrorism”…

As usual, we turn to this pinko broadsheet for an enlightened view: A sceptic might accuse Fact, which is funded by distributors and cinema chains, of scaremongering to protect industry profits…. Rita Katz, a leading US investigator of terrorism finances (says), “I have never found, in any of my investigations, any terrorist attacks financed by the grey market” in counterfeit videos, DVDs or music.

UPDATE – Kuro5hin – Congress: File-sharing and piracy linked to terrorism?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040324
Page 3 – Words of Wisdom
Time
12:18
Today is a cracker: Katie (19, from Liverpool) says ‘pop hunk’ Enrique Iglesias should not worry if he is under-endowed: “It’s not size that’s important, it’s what you do with it. And Enrique has got a nice bum and nice body so that makes up for it. Even if he has a small willy, it wouldn’t put me off him in any way.”

UPDATE – The Sun article on this subject wonders what Anna Kournikova makes of the whole thing and goes on to speculate on the size of other celebrity lunch-boxes.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040324
It’s War! It’s Legal! It’s Lovely!
Time
12:29
Well said, Balders.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040324
Consume!
Time
12:31
The Ultimate Insult todays gazes in wonder and the riches within Sam’s Toy Box. Me, I’m not all that impressed. Does he own a Merlin? No. He also appears to live life without any Lego, the poor dear.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040324
Doing The Rounds
Time
12:43
Martyn found this joke in the most recent Newsnight newsletter and wanted to share:

“Doctor, Doctor, I think I’m going deaf!”

“Really? What are the symptoms?”

“…?!?… They’re a cartoon family on TV…why?”

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040324
Flash Thingies
Time
16:11
Grow. Up.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040324
Michael Carroll
Time
17:49
Michael has been ordered to pay £70 costs and submit himself to a 12-month drug testing order.

The Sun is all over it, of course, describing him today as having ‘swaggered’ out of the courtroom, which is a complete lie. It was actually more of a saunter.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040325
Riding High on Blogdex
Time
10:19
Two from the left:

Slate – Dick Clarke Is Telling the Truth – Why he’s right about Bush’s negligence on terrorism.

Richard Clarke terrorizes the White House: In a provocative Salon interview, the former terrorism czar fires back at the Bush administration, blasting its “big lie” strategy and “attack dog” Dick Cheney.

One from the right:

FOXNews – Transcript: Clarke Praises Bush Team in ’02

You’re all grown-ups. Make up your own minds.

Also charting well this morning:

A county in Oregon has banned all marriages – gay and heterosexual until they can decide who can and who cannot wed and Victor Hanson argues that liberals are fat-walleted and all talk, while with Republicans ‘you know what you get.’ Watch RWCs chew it up with glee.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040325
Flash Games
Time
10:23
Waste an entire morning playing with Lego. (Link via Funjunkie.)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040325
It’s War! It’s Legal! It’s Lovely!
Time
10:26
A Calendar of US Military Dead during the Iraqi War.

This link came via the happied-up IdleType, who also features this incredible collection of manipulated ultrasound images.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040325
Art
Time
10:33
Some demented cartoons for you.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040325
Richard Desmond Is a Pornographer
Time
10:39
You may have noticed this header/headline at Bloggerheads in the past.

However, I must shamefully admit to basing this assertion my own personal opinion, formed from quite limited research.

All of that changes from today. In fact, you are quite unlikely to see this header/headline again until the following has reached a satisfactory conclusion…

The nex project for Interwebnet.org aims to settle this matter once and for all:

Is Richard Desmond a Pornographer?

(We) intend to establish exactly what role – if any – pornography played in the building of his empire, and what percentage of that empire is currently involved in the production, distribution or broadcast of pornography (be it soft, heavy, big, bouncy or otherwise). We will then balance this with the sector of his empire that is not involved in the production, distribution or broadcast of pornography (be it soft, heavy, big, bouncy or otherwise). In each case, we will attempt to calculate how widely the porn and non-porn material was distributed and what monetary profit was gained from each activity.

By doing so, we hope to establish whether the title ‘Richard Desmond the pornographer’ is fair, if it applies now, and if it should apply when he finally unloads some, none or all his adult-oriented interests on the long and arduous path to respectability and knighthood.

There’s some poster and magazine insert action to enjoy, but if you really want to get your hands dirty, you’ll need to help with the research.

We want numbers, we want facts. Send anything verifiable in and we’ll run it past the public.

Cheers all.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040325
Consume!
Time
10:54
Make your old banger into a supercar on a budget of £30. The reactions to his plans and their realisation are hilarious. As is the design solution for the dual exhaust. This guy’s a bloody genius of the highest order.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040325
Interesting Times
Time
12:37
I can see the need to show him to the media, but the parading of this boy still made me feel uncomfortable. And is it just me, or does that third shot look like an album cover?

UPDATE – I’m also amazed that Rebekah Wade isn’t foaming at the mouth over the release of this filthy child pornography.

UPDATE 2 – Well now we know; it’s not just me.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040325
A Blog Is Born
Time
13:08
Noam Chomsky now has his very own weblog and RWCs are already lining up for a comment flood. Beware the attack of the mental giants.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040325
The War on Terror
Time
13:28
Jose Aznar – “But before I go, just let me say this…”

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040325
Interesting Times
Time
18:24
‘Little bomber’ fascinates Israeli media. Crikey! It’s Jade with a fuse!

*shame*

(Stands in corner. Looks through wall.)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040326
Bunch of Stuff
Time
10:28
A busy one today. I have a keyword research project to start and a game to finish. There’s a lot of other stuff going on, but filthy lucre comes first.

I did manage to get get this off my chest this morning, but have no time to comment on Tony’s brave PR exercise or Lawrence Lessig’s freebie read.

I have some fun in mind for Tim Yeo, but that’s going to have to wait for a bit. Still, it’d be nice to know how many readers actually live in or near his constituency. Got a mo? Drop me a line.

I’m thinking of using the mighty Rasterbator to do a huge Happy Poster, but I’m trying to find a place to do it with *permission*. And it’s not turning out to be easy.

If you want to help out, the best thing you can do is provide some grist for the mill on this:

Is Richard Desmond a Pornographer?

Googling can reveal some interesting bits and bobs, but we’re really after the stuff that isn’t being published and/or broadcast online.

If you know a journalist; ask them what they have to hand. I’m willing to bet that a lot of research has been done and not a lot done with it.

Another thing you can do is talk to anyone you know who reads OK! magazine *and* either the Daily Mail or The Express and get me a quote regarding what they know about Richard Desmond (please provide with your quote a first name, age and county of residence).

I promise you, just asking will be fun. But try not to upset the poor dears…

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040326
The Bush Administration
Time
11:30
CNN – Bush pokes fun at himself at dinner.

Guardian – Bush jokes about search for WMD, but it’s no laughing matter for critics.

Washington Post – Democrats Call Bush’s Comedy Skit Tasteless.

But hey, that’s OK. As FOXNews notes, it ‘segued into a sombre ending’…

Aaand cue the inevitable ‘thread of infinity’ at Fark.

For me, the contrast between this and Richard Clarke being the first (and so far only) government respresentative to apologise at the 9-11 Commission speaks volumes. As does Rush Limbaugh’s attempt to label the apology as ‘arrogant’. See how well this ties in with the ‘self-important fantasist’ theme?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040326
Riding High on Blogdex
Time
12:26
At the top, Noam Chomsky’s new blog, which today has closed comments after an invasion by freepers, footballers and assorted RWCs.

Under that, 100 movies that deserve more love, and a wide variety of views on Richard Clarke’s testimony:

Washington Post – Clarke Stays Cool as Partisanship Heats Up.

Time – Richard Clarke, at War With Himself.

Slate – Richard Clarke KOs the Bushies.

New York Post – Clarke’s Collapse.

There’s lots to chew on this over at Oxblog today. A sample: Now, if Clarke were so persuasive, why did Charles Krauthammer, Rich Lowry, and Romesh Ratnesar (of Time) have such an easy time coming up with compromising material? One reason is that the Bush administration has been remarkably forthcoming with once-classified material that helps discredit Clarke.

Meanwhile, Atrios brings us this article about the Republican rush to discredit Clarke and Kevin of Calpundit wonders Who’s going to be the next administration turncoat to go ballistic on George Bush?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040326
Inneresting
Time
14:23
Toilet paper.

Tissue paper.

That’s all I have to say about that.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040326
Friday Afternoon
Time
15:30
Damn. I hoped to have a sneak preview of that game ready, but no dice. You’ll just have to wait.

Check out the latest B3ta newsletter instead. It’s got demented eBay shoppers, Post-It note madness and Magic 8-ball dissection.

Oh, and I found this great time-waster over at Bingobowden. Have fun.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040326
Normal People
Time
17:36
Meet John Paul Riley. He’s into wrestling and amatuer philosophy. Could be worse.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040329
Weblog ‘Marketing’
Time
09:53
My greatest fear about the Raging Cow campaign was that it would be held up as a great success, leading to a number of copies based on this flawed model. Think how bad comment and referral spam has gotten in the last 12 months. God forbid we should be invaded by tosspots with a serious budget.

That’s why I’m happy to be a small part of at least one curriculum.

(For an example of how fast a bad idea spreads, see Howard Dean’s campaign-site-posing-as-personal-blog, cited every other day this time last year as Political Weblog Prime. This detached approach was quickly adopted by Wesley Clark and George W. Bush.)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040329
Google
Time
10:09
Google has gone live with a more streamlined, minimalist look on the front and throughout the results (which should look even neater once the last of the ‘sponsored’ listings fade away). Search options and service extras are enjoying a bit of a new push as part of this makeover, and Froogle has also graduated to the front page, suggesting that it’s finally about to come out of beta status, ready for a little regional testing.

Strangely, they’ve shunted their version of the ODP – the Google Directory – right into the background. This includes the removal of the category links previously displayed under resulting sites with ODP listings. I can’t see this move being a popular one, unless they have a superior directory of their own just about to go beta.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040329
Riding High on Blogdex
Time
10:11
Back-of-the-neck tingles await you in this report of of a rummage through Stanley Kubrick’s archives. They sound like they rival Tony Benn’s. How many scanners and researchers do you think it would take to put the whole shebang online?

After a quick and totally justified nose-picking, we see a similar sentiment being raised with this request for audio recordings of Lawrence Lessig’s new book. Right now they’re all but done. It took 3 days.

Another ‘successful’ blog-spammer pops their head up, before Elena’s photo report of a motorcycle tour of the Chernobyl area make a welcome return to the chart. It’s hosted with Angelfire, which means that this small amount of attention is sure see the site temporarily disabled for excess use of bandwidth in about 15 seconds. Go and see it while you can. (And if you can’t, bookmark it so you can see it tomorrow.)

Climbing fast: A new group-blog on the subject of evolution and the opportunity to send an email to your future self.

I’ll leave the Bush/Clarke content for another post.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040329
The Bush Administration
Time
11:05
The Independent – Clarke fends off White House dirty tricks: After a week of relentless attacks on its credibility, the White House is desperate to muzzle Richard Clarke, the former counter-terrorism chief who claims that the Bush administration was too preoccupied with Iraq even in its first months in office to pay proper attention to the most immediate threat to national security. Shutting him up, though, is not proving easy. None of the usual attack-dog techniques – character assassination, intimidation and reciprocal mud-slinging – has entirely worked on Mr Clarke, though it has not been for want of trying.

This article covers or references a lot of the Clarke-bashing listed here as recent chart-toppers on Blogdex. That they charted so well is a testament to how even our beloved two-way channel can be manipulated if you have enough brown-shirts ready and waiting to whore your links. Interestingly, a quick look at the link cosmos (through Blogdex or Technorati) for most of this propaganda shows a trail that begins at Instapundit and/or Little Green Footballs. I look forward to what they have to say when this criminal gang is finally voted or thrown out of office. Me, I’m betting on a modicum of denial.

Happily, the best chart performer on this issue today is this transcript of Richard Clarke on Meet The Press. Back-tracking (mostly through Technorati) reveals a number of people who actually watched Clarke deliver one answer after another. This contrasts nicely with Bush’s recent bumbling and fumbling appearance on the same show.

Actually, the latter transcript is worth another look for an entirely different reason, especially as the interview begins with a question regarding Bush’s reluctance to launch a commission to look into ‘intelligence failures’ leading up to Iraq war. You also have to keep in mind how (ahem) open and forthcoming his administration has been with the 9-11 Commission. Then take a look at this quote and think about the resources they threw into trying to destroy Richard Clarke.

“And… but I will continue to work hard to unite the country. I don’t speak ill of anybody in the process here. I think if you went back and looked at my comments, you will see I don’t attack. I don’t hold up people. I talk about what I believe in, and I lead, and maybe perhaps I believe so strongly in what we are doing around the world or doing here at home.” – George W. Bush, Feb 8 2004

But of course we’re not allowed to call him a hypocrite or a liar. That would be a personal attack. And quite possibly a hate crime.

UPDATE – Want more? Snigger at Condi Rice giving her best ‘cat’s bum’ face, visit Atrios to watch him nail her lies and take a look-see at this Time feature on Condi, Bush and Clarke. Finally, you might want to read Kevin Drum’s report on Clarke’s book (and the many comments that follow).

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040329
Consume!
Time
11:07
There is nothing I could say to make this funnier. No, wait… perhaps there is. Your savvy burglar knows about decoy/hidden wall safes, book safes, rock safes and can safes. Now a determined burglar, fresh from his hunt through the garden for out-of-place looking rocks and his scan of your walls and shelves for known-brand decoys, will be reduced to sniffing undies to determine authenticity. Then again, perhaps a quick rummage would reveal the crinkly presence of bank notes in your daks.

Hmm. My advice is to buy a pair and slip a mousetrap inside. Just to add injury to insult.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040329
11/9 (please note correct formatting of date)
Time
11:18
Frank Rich: Faux journalism is the White House’s new ally: There is no point in bothering with actual news people anyway, when you can make up your own story and make it stick. No fake news story has become more embedded in our culture than the administration’s account of its actions on Sept. 11. As The Wall Street Journal reported on its front page this week – just as the former counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke was going public with his parallel account – many of this story’s most familiar details are utter fiction…. Yet the fake narrative of Sept. 11 has been scrupulously maintained by the White House for more than two years. Although the administration has tried at every juncture to stonewall the Sept. 11 investigative commission, its personnel, including the president, had all the time in the world for the producer of a TV movie, Showtime’s “DC 9/11: Time of Crisis” The result was a scenario that further rewrote the history of that day, stirring steroids into false tales of presidential derring-do. To shore up the Karl Rove version of Sept. 11 once Richard Clarke went public with his alternative tale on last Sunday’s “60 Minutes,” the White House placed Condoleezza Rice on all five morning news shows the next day. The administration is confident that it can reinstate its bogus scenario – particularly given that Rice, unlike Clarke, is refusing to take the risk of reciting it under oath to the Sept. 11 commission.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040329
The Bush Administration
Time
11:24
Read about this bunch of liars.

Read about them calling Richard Clarke a liar.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040329
In The News
Time
11:28
Woman traces obscene phone caller and corners him in a public phone booth.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040329
Goodbyes
Time
11:30
Keep half an eye on the B3ta messageboard today for any number of references and tributes to the recently departed Peter Ustinov.

UPDATE – Here’s mine.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040329
RWCs
Time
11:38
ProtestWarrior.com: Proud to turn a blind eye to the idiots on their side.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040329
Interwebnet.org
Time
11:41
Is Richard Desmond a Pornographer? is already 4th in Google when you search for his name. More specific searches (such as those looking for a connection between Mr Desmond, his adult channels and his adult magazines – recently sold or otherwise) more often than not bring us up in the top spot. This situation will only improve as we expand on the content and keep asking that all-important question.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040329
LOTR
Time
12:13
The Lord of The Rings: ‘see spot run’ version.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040329
Advertising Genius
Time
13:19
Dragon ‘hoax’ turns out to be a complete fabrication.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040329
Told You So
Time
17:21
*sigh*

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040330
Activism
Time
09:57
CNN – Group protests outside Rove’s house: Hundreds rallied Sunday outside the home of Karl Rove, President Bush’s chief political adviser, urging legislation that would allow undocumented immigrants who graduate from high school to legalize their status and qualify for in-state college tuition. Emira Palacios, the group’s co-chair, said Rove agreed to meet with group leaders in his garage but then chastised them for protesting in front of his house and scaring his children.

His children?

Washington Post – Demonstrators Swarm Around Rove’s Home: (A protestor) said that Rove was “very upset” and was “yelling in our faces” and that Rove told them “he hoped we were proud to make his 14-year-old and 10-year-old cry.” A White House spokesman said one of the children was a neighbor.

Pfft! Just goes to show that you can’t keep a good liar down.

Run either or both of these links through Technorati and you’ll see a lot of bleating about how this is going too far.

Karl Rove has rights! Why can’t these people go through proper channels like the rest of us? Just who do they think they are? Won’t somebody pleeeease think of the children? And so on…

1. Perhaps these people would be less inclined to harrass Karl Rove at home if the current administration’s policy didn’t involve curtailing the average citizen’s legal right to protest and be heard.

2. Karl Rove was thinking of the children. He saw their presence as leverage, and even enhanced the truth a bit to make the most of his moral objection.

This is a telling symptom of public frustration. I have the feeling it’s going to be a long, hot summer.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040330
Google
Time
10:00
Google introduces Personalised Search. Potentially useful to many, but not to me. I need – and like – my data raw.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040330
Christianity Watch
Time
10:02
Republicans are outraged that John Kerry would use the Scriptures as political leverage. This day just keeps getting better and better.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040330
11/9 (please note correct formatting of date)
Time
10:08
Washington Post – Rice 9/11 Testimony May Be Released: After resisting for months, White House officials worked yesterday to negotiate a compromise that would allow public release of national security adviser Condoleezza Rice’s testimony before the independent commission looking into the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, according to administration aides. These aides said the White House believes Rice’s refusal to testify is becoming a political problem and officials are looking for a way out. The leading possibility is for Rice to submit to another private session with the commissioners and allow them to release a transcript, the aides said.

This is why things like media control and Free Speech Zones are so vital to the Bush administration. Just take a look at what happens when we’re allowed to make a little noise.

UPDATE – More on this from Kevin Drum.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040330
The End of Democracy
Time
10:11
Wired – How E-Voting Threatens Democracy

There goes your vote. Oh, and here comes searches of your home or office without any of that pesky warrant nonsense.

Today is a good day to decide to impeach. Just think about it; that’s all I ask.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040330
Only Interesting to Bloggers
Time
10:16
Some bloody good advice for anyone operating a weblog and wanting to build their audience.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040330
Video
Time
10:20
Trunk Monkey makes me want to invest in a depreciating asset, and the Suburab Auto Group is a name I trust. I mean, they have a 9-11 memorial on their front page; what more could you want?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040330
Only Interesting to Hardcore Geeks
Time
10:30
Did Evan Bayh’s web designer steal John Kerry’s style sheet?

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Date
20040330
Page 3 – Words of Wisdom
Time
10:31
Finally, a tit-tastic editorial that actually sounds like it came from the model herself:

Today Ruthie (22, from Kent) is suspicious about male scientists who claim housework beats cancer. She says: “I’m sure this study is just a plot by men to get their wives and girlfriends doing the housework.”

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Date
20040330
Rupert ‘The Evil One’ Murdoch
Time
10:37
When Tony Blair manipulates the terrorist threat to justify an illegal invasion of Iraq, The Scum is there, full blast, with ‘Our Boys’ and ‘Let’s Get Saddam’. But when the issue is Europe, just watch how fast the tune changes: It is wrong for the Prime Minister to use terrorism to scare us into believing the European constitution is good for Britain.

Littlejohn comes out all guns blazing, too, and asks: Why is the proper response to a terrorist outrage in Madrid handing over the running of Britain to an unelected, unaccountable bunch of foreigners?

More:

He insists it is a “tidying-up” exercise, nothing that we should worry our silly heads about. Anyone who argues otherwise is “dumb”, he adds contemptuously.

Sorry, Dick. You’re not allowed to play this game and wonder out loud if Clare Short might be going a bit bonkers. Oh, and we all remember you sneering at ‘Guardianistas’ with their Bliar placards…

Blair is lying. Not spinning, not economical with the truth. Lying.

Finally:

He is proposing to rush this through without a referendum. It is the act of a dictator not a democrat.

That would be the referendum that your boss plans to subvert, then?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040330
The Political Weblog Movement
Time
12:13
Bloggers used in attempt to unseat incumbent Republican in Pennsylvania.

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Date
20040330
Photoshopping
Time
12:20
Last night a special music and ‘shopping project hit me like a bolt of lightning. It’s going to take some time, but it’s definitely going to be worth the effort. It’ll be bigger than JPEG Baby and The Star Wars Photoshopping Project combined. I may have to do the flash meself – or I may have to ask for a little help bringing the final show together. Flashers: let me know if you’re lurking and want to play.

PS:

Useful.

Wonderful.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040330
Normal People
Time
13:01
Surely there are more efficient (and hygienic) ways to distribute pornography…

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Date
20040330
Useful
Time
13:05
Via Off On A Tangent comes this handy fast food conkulator. Now you only need to carry your laptop and the Interweb around with you all day. The Interweb can get a bit heavy, what with being made up of 10 billion or so pages and all, but you shouldn’t be afraid of a little heavy lifting. The exercise will do you good.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040330
Tolerance
Time
13:43
Chavs now have their very own category in Yahoo.

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Date
20040330
Spam
Time
14:29
Bwahahahahahaha! (Link via Balders.)

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Date
20040330
Literature
Time
14:36
Pfft! Woof!

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Date
20040330
Normal People
Time
17:17
Jeezum crow! If you went to DragonCon 2001, you would have found this waiting for you. And this. And this.

You’d think at least one of them would have the decency to dress up as Chewbacca.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040330
The Bush Administration
Time
18:01
Tharrr she blows! Rice to testify in public and under oath to the 9/11 commission.

The fun thing is she won’t be able to say anything in public that contradicts what she said in private.

Also on the positive side, though Bush & Cheney will still be testifying in private, they won’t just face the two co-chairmen, but the entire commission. Including Bob Kerrey.

More from Atrios, who is also questioning the latest attack on Richard Clarke – a gay smear.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040331
Bunch of Stuff
Time
09:57
Must finish fun driving game. Must finish boring specification document.

Flash Thingies

Farewell, Sloganator…

Must finish fun driving game. Must finish boring specification document.

Viral Marketing

The Adventures of Seinfeld & Superman. Fighting for Truth, Justice and American Express.

Must finish fun driving game. Must finish boring specification document.

Christianity Watch

“Mass isn’t a time for people to voice their opinions about what they agree with or disagree with.” Showing anti-gay propaganda is fine, though.

Must finish fun driving game. Must finish boring specification document.

South West Trains

Passengers yearn for the return of British Rail. Two words: election issue.

Must finish fun driving game. Must finish boring specification document.

The Bush Administration

This Is Not America. Fa-la-la-la-la.

Must finish fun driving game. Must finish boring specification document.

11/9 (please note correct formatting of date)

Condi Rice will testify under oath before the 9/11 commission. But there are hitches…

Must finish fun driving game. Must finish boring specification document.

NSFW

Action figures that get a lot of action.

Must finish fun driving game. Must finish boring specification document.

It’s War! And Somebody’s Telling Porkies!

Iraq: Focus switches from finding WMDs to finding A Possibly Imaginary Intention to Develop Weapons of Mass Destruction Preliminary Programmes.

Must finish fun driving game. Must finish boring specification document.

Anyone But George

Salon.com asks is Bush is creepier than Nixon. Bush did get a little Nixon action, you know….

Must finish fun driving game. Must finish boring specification document.

Music

All hail the beatbox harmonica!

Must finish fun driving game. Must finish boring specification document.

Seems Fair!

Wal-Mart stocks Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will, but not Robert Greenwald’s Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War. Apparently the latter has been deemed unpatriotic. No matter. Wal-Mart do stock a wide variety of more mainstream fare, including D.W. Griffith’s The Birth Of A Nation…

Must finish fun driving game. Must finish boring specification document.

In The News

Ongoing hoax prompts string of restaurant managers to strip-search employees and/or customers.

Must finish fun driving game. Must finish boring specification document.

Art

The Circus of Disembowelled Plush Toys.

Must finish fun driving game. Must finish boring specification document.

Civil Liberties

The UK Today on Blair’s crackdown on ‘Britain’s 5,000 most prolific criminals.’

Must finish fun driving game. Must finish boring specification document.

Sport

Fruit Fly Fight Club!

Must finish fun driving game. Must finish boring specification document.

Video

Download the entire original version of Night of the Living Dead. Brains are the new black.

Must finish fun driving game. Must finish boring specification document.

Huzzah!

Tom Watson has been promoted to the role of Uncle. And, just to show that there’s no preferential treatment on this blog…

Must finish fun driving game. Must finish boring specification document.

Inneresting

Tabloid photos from the Los Angeles Herald Express (1936-1961)

Must finish fun driving game. Must finish boring specification document.

Follow Up

Afghan soldier who had sex with a donkey released without charge. And still without a girlfriend.

Must finish fun driving game. Must finish boring specification document.

The War on Terror

MI5 agents foil bomb plot. Security sources are playing down suggestions of any direct link between the arrested men and al-Qaida, but The Scum runs with a ‘Home Grown Bin Laden Gang’ headline today. When’s someone going to arrest them for possession and distribution of large amounts of fertiliser?

Must finish fun driving game. Must finish boring specification document.

To work!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040331
Flash Thingies
Time
11:43
Spring is here! Enjoy Koit’s view on the fantabulousness of life. (Erm, but if you’re viewing it at work, do use headphones.)

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Date
20040331
Photoshopping
Time
11:48
Funnier than a turnip shaped like a thingie.

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Date
20040331
Cool, Just Cool…
Time
13:34
Vroom! Does this look familiar?

Whoever decided to go live on the site for the Batman movie with just these images of the Batmobile, I doff my cap to you. Also nice to see that Warner Bros. aren’t wasting time with unnecessary domain names.

(Main link via Ramblings and Revelations.)

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Date
20040331
Weblog Marketing
Time
14:38
The effect described is real, but as usual Andrew Orlowski has the wrong end of the stick and his conclusions are skewed rubbish.

1. Google is improving its link-diddling detection every day.

2. Any Googlebomb that other bloggers consider to be objectionable will soon prompt a competing Googlebomb. Example.

Having a web presence is somewhat akin to having a vote online. Don’t have a web presence? Tough. No vote for you. I’d like to think that’s fair; you’re either part of the ecosystem or you’re not.

Also, if you have a more influential presence, it usually means there are more people watching what you’re up to. There aren’t a lot of political shenanigans you can get away with without a fair amount of support, and you’d want to be pretty straightforward about any commercial links.

Andrew Orlowski is also pretty good at blog-bashing, but blogs themselves only have a marginal advantage. Any pronounced effect involves the involvement of other people. Yes, weblogs make this level of involvement more efficient and immediate, but without the people, you’re lost.

Try diddling links for commercial purposes in any automated fashion (or in a way that is clearly out of order) and you will either get slapped down by Google or more angry people than you can shake a link at.

So there.

UPDATE – Also on this topic, and fresh to my Inbox: Martin Lloyd’s case study of his MBA Blog

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Date
20040331
Updates
Time
17:29
Boring specification document complete. Game time tomorrow.

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Date
20040331
Rupert ‘The Evil One’ Murdoch
Time
17:37
Well, well, well… look at what The Scum is up to.

It’s no surprise, really – but it is nice to see Rebekah ‘Red Mist’ Wade asking such a thing in the weekly reader survey, just in case.

Do you think she’s losing her nerve?