01-16 April, 2004

This entry was posted on
Thursday, April 1st, 2004
at
11:25 am and is filed
under Uncategorized.

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Date
20040401
Good Advice
Time
11:25
Do watch your step today. And if you’re going to have fun with people, try not to over-do it, try not to be too obvious, and try not to be too cruel.

UPDATE – White house to be painted black to shield it from terrorist attack! Wow! Woman grows extra breasts! Zowie!

UPDATE 2 – Andrew Orlowski falls hook, line and sinker for G-Mail. So have many others. Slashdotters and Farkers see the moon story as a feint. I’m inclined to agree. Still, they’ve gone to a lot of effort, so let’s just sit back and enjoy the show.

UPDATE 3 – If you want to have some fun yourself today, I’d suggest this classic or this one. (Warning: NSFW)

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Date
20040401
In The News
Time
11:26
School officials in Flint, Michigan deny that lesbian gangs are roaming the halls, beating people up and enticing ‘straight’ girls.

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Date
20040401
Riding High on Blogdex
Time
11:28
Top Spot: Our side just got a little bit louder. Finally there’s a grain of truth to the ‘liberal media’ myth.

Taking out the two positions under this, Newsmap, ‘an application that visually reflects the constantly changing landscape of the Google News news aggregator’ that is totally awesome.

Just under that and climbing fast:

Proof that you can fool some of the people some of the time if you have enough money to throw at the problem. Also, some right-wing webaganda that ohmygodidon’tbelieveit Instapundit helped to launch into orbit. I’m seriously hoping it’s a joke.

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Date
20040401
Photoshopping
Time
11:35
Theme: If the British royal family actually had to work for a living…

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Date
20040401
How Weblogs Work
Time
11:36
*snigger*

(Link via Abnu.)

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Date
20040401
It’s War! It’s Legal! It’s Lovely!
Time
11:38
“The bodies were hanging upside down on each side of the bridge. They had no hands, no feet, one had no head.”

Don’t worry, this is only an “uptick in localised engagements”. There’s no need to worry your head about the level of private security forces in Iraq or fear that not all Iraqis are happy with their shiny new mobile phones and satellite dishes.

PS – We took this brave action to save the good people of Iraq. It is for their sake now that we must crush them and their evil ways!

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Date
20040401
Inneresting
Time
11:40
Some action from the ‘duck and cover’ days. (Link via Ultimate Insult.)

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Date
20040401
Activism
Time
11:43
This is not a joke, but it is laughable. There have been many attempts to shift Brian Haw, including ‘sending the boys round’ in the middle of the night, but to manipulate the terrorist threat in this way to silence one man’s voice is beyond the pale.

11 days after two men managed to evade ‘security’ and climb Big Ben, we’re expected to believe that bombs hidden behind bits of cardboard across the road are a threat? Puh-lease!

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Date
20040401
Hatstand
Time
11:47
Mr T Vs. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers!

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Date
20040401
Tony Blair
Time
11:48
I can’t think of a better day to release this:

BBC – Immigration minister Hughes quits: Tony Blair’s official spokesman said Ms Hughes had quit after it became clear she had given a “misleading impression – albeit unwittingly” to Parliament.

Are you as staggered by that quote as I am?

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Date
20040401
Viral Marketing
Time
11:49
Up, up and awaaay! Seems familiar

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Date
20040401
Animal Kingdom
Time
11:51
Don’t worry, you can all come and stay at my place. We’re just about to have a new bug screen installed.

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Date
20040401
Pluggage
Time
11:52
The game I’ve been working on is meant to have a bit of an 80’s flavour, so I figured it wasn’t complete without some overblown cover and/or manual artwork. With you shortly.

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Date
20040401
Consume!
Time
11:56
BMW have gone to a lot of effort today.

BigDaddyMerk has just emailed me to let me know that they’ve put a half-page ad in The Times to publicise this remarkable innovation.

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Date
20040401
Consume!
Time
12:19
Two, please.

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Date
20040401
Photoshopping
Time
12:35
Hahahahahahaha! If you’re a non-B3tan, you may need this first. But by then it won’t be funny anymore. Your loss. You should spend more time in the playground.

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Date
20040401
Yawn
Time
13:59
Bloody hell; it’s dangerous out there today. And with the involvement of the Interweb, nobody’s quite sure when midday is.

Jaclyn Smith nude!

Metafilter is on a free-for-all edit-me binge.

Trans-Atlantic train travel is on the way!

GMail is reported by the BBC and is front page of today’s Evening Standard.

UPDATE – And now we have this nifty snap from Toby.

FFS, even the chap who runs museumofhoaxes.com is hedging his bets.

UPDATE 2 – And now we have copycat virtual/imaginary girlfriends turning up on eBay, just to add to the general confusion (borderline NSFW):

GIRLFRIEND – Imaginary Girlfriend for a week!!!!!!!!!!!

*Imaginary Girlfriend* 22 year old english student

Nagging Virtual Wife – NOT Virtual Girlfriend

Follow the madness if you must.

God help us If this turns into another Ghost In A Jar episode.

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Date
20040401
Photoshopping
Time
15:14
Bwahahahahahaha! Nothing like a spot of joy to brighten up International Headache Day.

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Date
20040401
Pluggage
Time
15:49
OK, here it is; and you chaps get to see it before it even goes live on the main site:

Corgi Model Car Racing

Like all good model car races, this one takes place on the bedroom floor, but watch out for the cat, and do clean up the track afterwards.

I almost broke my neck tripping over your things yesterday – and while we’re on about it, why aren’t you outside, it’s a lovely day etc. etc. etc.

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Date
20040401
NSFW
Time
17:57
Best. Maxim. Hottie. Ever.

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Date
20040405
Google
Time
09:35
Bloody hell, talk about owning the zone. This was the picture on Blogdex this Friday and Saturday, with Google’s actual gag (dismissed by me and others as a feint) topping the list, Gmail all over the place and no room for anything bar Kinja (a new personal blog aggregator that also features some ready-picks if you can’t be arsed making such editorial decisions yourself).

First of all, I think it’s important that I take a bite of humble pie, so you take what’s coming as it’s intended:

I was wr-wr-wr-wr…

I was wr-wr-wr-wr-wr…

I was wr-wr-wrong.

There, now that’s out of the way…

I’m a big believer in Google. I like what the basic fundamentals of its ground-breaking and ever-developing algorithm are doing for the web.

I’m not quite as big a fan of AdWords and the way it’s being sold. I’m not sure how things are in the US, but here in the UK, most businesses don’t even take the time to consider organic SEO as an option. In fact, most trad-heads skip right over it and assume that pay-per-click schemes are SEO.

Some AdWords reps have been contributing to this by appearing as supposed ‘SEO seminars’ that are really PPC seminars. Early in the piece, this involved someone espousing the values of the core database and leaving the sell for AdWords unsaid. As softly-softly as this is, it still crosses the line for me. Way, way waaay over the line is one of their reps appearing at another, more recent, seminar and saying that organic SEO is nothing more than gambling, and that AdWords allows you to reach this ‘same’ audience without risk.

Coming from a representative of the company that revolutionised the way the public conversation drove search results, this is a bit rich.

“Welcome to the Interweb. If you’re a business; there’s no need to connect to the community, just bring your cheque books and leave your brain at the door.”

Smart move, huh?

SEO is about more than getting the top search result for ‘widgets’ (but if you’re one of those rare companies that actually make a genuine connection to the online community, you can pretty much take this as a given). If you run a reasonably high-profile company, people are going to be talking about you. Do you want to be part of this conversation, or simply an ad that appears to one side?

I’m not saying that AdWords doesn’t have its place, but it should not be presented as if it’s SEO and it should not be suggested by Google representatives that SEO is a waste of money.

And recently it has been. This suggests to me that Google, as it grows and the focus on profits increases, is running low on basic equipment such as moral compasses for staff.

Now we have Gmail, and already concerns are being raised about privacy issues (more on this from Wired).

This was the factor that convinced many folks that it was a joke. Me included.

The World Wide Web is primarily a publishing arena. The conversation is public. If you run a database of this public conversation, feel free to insert and target ads at will.

Certain parallels have been drawn to Google successfully saving and maintaining a web-based Usenet archive via Google Groups (feasibility of data storage, the model of the conversation-string, etc.). But again, this is a public forum. I don’t have a big problem with Adwords tagging along.

But email is private. I’d like mine to stay that way.

Google can insist that they will keep everything groovy and above board until they’re blue in the face, but the hints of greed (and corruption of the Google creed) in the UK are enough to make me concerned, even without the introduction of Gmail.

Consider the scale of what can be done with this information if there is a failure to maintain best practice.

Think also about the people who will be using the system to plug their services. The advertisers. Paragons of virtue, one and all.

An example:

Right now, if someone uses your brand name or trademark or company name etc as a ‘trigger word’ in an AdWords campaign (check out peeps targeting ‘tesco’) to see this in action), you have the power to stop it, but you have to spot it yourself first and make a complaint.

This is a bit off in my book, but there are economic realities to deal with and Google is used widely enough to make most people aware of such shenanigans (except the current regime at Tesco, obviously).

But if there’s a campaign that’s guilty of passing off or hijacking your name that only appears within an enclosed email system (scroll down to bottom for screengrab), how the hell are you supposed to find out about it?

Just one possible example to show one vulnerability. The wrap-up I’ll leave to this comment on Slashdot: It’s simple: too much information concentrated into any one set of hands — even hands as apparently benign as Google’s — invites abuse or — even if Google never bends to that temptation — tempts others to steal that data.

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Date
20040405
The Bush Administration
Time
09:47
You’ll want to spend some time this morning following The Yawning Boy saga. You can see a copy of the clip here. (His name is Tyler Crotty, just in case you’re not aware and/or want to do a quick news search.)

I love how the Bush administration took a firm hold of him and pumped him full of ADD drugs for this Late appearance. I also love how the story has reached all the way into the land of British children’s television.

Cliche abuse follows:

‘Twas the yawn that heard ’round the world…

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Date
20040405
Riding High on Blogdex
Time
09:50
Yet another lame quiz what makes you think about the grammar takes out the top spot, but the real buzz is about political blogging:

From the John Kerry For President blog: In light of the unacceptable statement about the death of Americans made by Daily Kos, we have removed the link to this blog from our website.

From Atrios: They’re trying to get their guy elected, and they’re going to do what they think is necessary (I’ll let others judge the wisdom), but it shows they’re not ready to really have a blog and interact with the rest of the blog world. They should just pull down all their links.

Which is more or less what he’s done himself to make his point.

From BopNews: But this is something that was going to happen, and it will happen again, because the web creates memory, and all of a sudden, leaves open to exploitation a huge amount of political speech that was never before traceable.

UPDATE – If you have the stomach for it, you may wish to watch it all unfold between Instapundit and Daily Kos. Oh, and blogged by me a few days ago: (Some Clarke thing that has nothing do do with this issue)… 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.

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Date
20040405
Goodbye, George
Time
10:15
Damn the liberal media scum. Damn them all!

The Independent – ‘I saw papers that show US knew al-Qa’ida would attack cities with aeroplanes’

Washington Post – Top Focus Before 9/11 Wasn’t on Terrorism: Rice Speech Cited Missile Defense

IndyStar – White House admits keeping Clinton files from 9/11 panel

The Observer – Bush and Blair made secret pact for Iraq war

Telegraph – Bush’s administration is worse than Nixon’s, says Watergate aide

UPDATE – More? You want more? Oh, go on then…

New York Times – Mired in a Mirage: By holding back documents, officials, information, images and the sight of returning military coffins, by twisting and exaggerating facts to fit story lines, by demonizing anyone who disagrees with its version of reality, this administration strives to create an optical delusion.

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Date
20040405
I Believe In The BBC
Time
10:22
The Observer – A big hand for Michael Grade: Unanimously recommended by the independent interview panel, whose procedures were closely monitored by the Commissioner for Public Appointments, Grade is the most legitimate appointment as BBC chairman in modern times. He does not need to show his independence because he is a government supporter or contributor to Labour party funds. He is his own man. That Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell and her Conservative shadow, Julie Kirkbride, could both say he was the right man at the right time is, for those who believe in the BBC, something of a coup.

Later today I’ll be putting an archive statement on I Believe in the BBC. It was of a time and all that.

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Date
20040405
Animal Kingdom
Time
10:31
Size does matter.

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Date
20040405
Consume!
Time
10:33
2,744 tobacco ads for you, via The Ultimate Insult.

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Date
20040405
The Lib-Dems
Time
10:36
LNR – Charles Kennedy: a 12-step program for political recovery

It would be nice to have someone in place who actually pictured himself leading a nation instead of a noisemaker.

UPDATE – Also good from The London News Review: The dogs of war go corporate.

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Date
20040405
Tim Yeo
Time
10:49
I’ve decided to have some poster fun with Tim Yeo. Go and see.

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Date
20040405
Your Arse (And How To Get Off It)
Time
10:53
For some reason my brain is alive with projects involving Flash and/or music-video-type things.

If you can play, sing, record, arrange, and deliver as a compressed MP3 (or source existing MP3s and compress those) then I need your help.

If you can hack a decent Flash show, then I could do with some back-up on this, too. (I can edit Flash at home, but not on my current work ‘puter, which really holds things up.)

Some ‘shoppery is involved here and there, but I’ve mostly got this covered. Still, I could do with someone who can take hi-res screengrabs from DVD. If not, I’ll be reduced to taking photos of my television again.

If you can help with any of the above, then please do get in touch. Those what get involved will help to decide what gets done first. (Broadly, the projects involve either exploring the Star Wars universe or targeting George W. Bush and/or Extremism.)

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Date
20040405
Inneresting
Time
11:11
What does breast milk taste like?

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Date
20040405
Video
Time
11:36
Will the B3ta pilot actually making it to broadcast signify The End of Days? Discuss.

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Date
20040405
Flash Music Video
Time
12:34
Squeal like a pig for me boy!

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Date
20040405
In The News
Time
14:03
Disney’s worst nightmare made real:

Disney World character arrested: Orange County sheriff’s deputies arrested a Walt Disney World employee who plays “Tigger” on charges of fondling a girl, 13, and her mother as they posed for a photo with the costumed character.

I do keep wondering how many diddling Ronalds there have been in the past and if McDonalds are as good at keeping such things quiet as the Vatican…

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Date
20040405
We’re Not At Home To Mr Cockup
Time
14:50
The Australian Football League has recalled more than 200,000 Auskick CD-ROMs after a picture of a topless woman was found amongst the data.

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Date
20040405
11/9 (please note correct formatting of date)
Time
15:10
Sydney Morning Herald – Inquiry to find attacks need not have happened: The leaders of the independent commission investigating the September 11 terrorist attacks say the evidence gathered by their panel shows the attacks could probably have been prevented.

That’s a but premature, isn’t it? Escpecially when you consider this…

Reuters – White House to vet 9/11 report before release: The White House will vet “line by line” the report of an independent commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks before it is publicly released, the commission chairman said on Sunday.

All in the name of national security, of course.

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Date
20040405
Bunch of Stuff
Time
15:41
Huzzah for straight pride! Hooray for targeting vulnerable women! (Links via the increasingly addictive Attu Sees All.)

Hey kids! Free Comic Book Day is headed your way this summer! On July 3rd, all you have to do is walk into a comic book store and pick up a free comic. There are ten great titles to collect, but this one is my personal favourite.

(Why oh why oh why wasn’t there a comic book on the subject of teenage abstinence?)

AMERICAN POWER: PREQUEL

by Chuck Dixon & Greg Land

Superstar artist Greg Land and master of action Chuck Dixon unleash America’s new living weapons in the war against terror! They bomb civilians, hurt innocents, and spread fear. But those that have chosen to inflict pain will reap what they’ve sown! Now, the world’s modern monsters will face a new, devastating and living arsenal! Supported by the technology, muscle and brainpower of the U.S. Armed Forces, the next stage in human evolution will scour the globe and deliver justice! Lock and load for high-stakes, high-explosive military action as the enhanced soldiers code-named Ivictus and Scapel strike!

I found this via Die Puny Humans, which also led me to this entry at the blog for Kansa City Independent Comics, which led me to this free comic/leaflet from PeTA with a woman stabbing a bunny on the cover.

BTW, PeTA are now in control of meat.com (which used to be a really naff speculative directory), and this company that often gets mistaken for PeTA sells knives. Isn’t the Interweb wonderful?

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Date
20040405
The Political Weblog Movement
Time
16:35
Slugger O’Toole writes for The Observer on public dialogue and its influence on the popular politics of Northern Ireland.

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Date
20040405
Updates
Time
18:39
Archive message now live on the I Believe In The BBC page. Attu and Kevin added to the blogroll. That’s about it.

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Date
20040405
eBay
Time
20:57
Kind of boring, I know…

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Date
20040406
GMail
Time
10:01
This chap is testing GMail: The joy and genius of gmail is that you pay nothing except having a few unobtrusive ads shown sporadically, and so everybody wins…. Since I feel compelled to provide a summary, I’ll just say that unlike Segway it’s nowhere near disappointing, and if folders and convenience issues make you as frustrated as they used to make me, you’re going to love it.

Tra-la-la, isn’t life grand…?

This chap is speculating: Ignore for a moment the observations about Google leapfrogging their competitors with more user value and a new feature or two. Or Google diversifying away from search into other applications; they’ve been doing that for a while. Or the privacy red herring. No, the story is about seemingly incremental features that are actually massively expensive for others to match, and the platform that Google is building which makes it cheaper and easier for them to develop and run web-scale applications than anyone else.

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Date
20040406
In The News
Time
10:02
Angry druids have offered a £1000 reward to help catch the vandals who have splattered day-glo paint on the RollRight Stones.

If they’re low on funds, I do have a nifty fund-raising idea specifically for Druids. No kidding.

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Date
20040406
Google
Time
10:07
Blogged a few days ago:

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

This isn’t quite exactly and totally the same thing, but the same forces are at work. Doing quite well on Blogdex (6th yesterday; 4th today) is this call for a Googlebomb to knock the anti-semitic site www.jewwatch.com from the top spot for searches for the word ‘jew’ (you can see the current state of play in the screengrab on the right).

The folks behind www.removejewwatch.com are taking another route; they’ve started a petition and are insisting that Google remove the site from their database entirely.

This isn’t the first religious war in Google, just in case you were wondering.

Oh, and on an entirely unrelated note

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Date
20040406
Loving America
Time
10:11
Check your tags.

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Date
20040406
A Blog Is Born
Time
10:15
Newsdesigner.com is an interesting treat, taking a close look at editorial design and its role in getting core messages and/or subtle nuances across.

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Date
20040406
Page 3 – Words of Wisdom
Time
10:31
Coverage of the Posh & Becks infidelity rumour took up every inch of space from pages 1 through 9 in yesterday’s Sun. Today their front page screams: Becks’ girl is bisexual (pedants and lawyers, please note the apostrophe).

A good thing with all this trauma laid bare for the world to see that the Beckhams have Page 3 girl Anna (22, from London) onside and hoping that Posh and Becks ‘can patch up their differences’…

Says Anna: “Victoria and David are the nation’s golden couple and they enjoy the admiration of millions. Sadly, they seem to spend much of their time apart these days. They must find a way to accommodate both their careers.”

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Date
20040406
11/9 (please note correct formatting of date)
Time
10:34
New York Times: Leaders of 9/11 Panel Say Attacks Were Probably Preventable: Their remarks drew sharp disagreement from one of President Bush’s closest political advisers, who insisted that the Bush and Clinton administrations had no opportunity to disrupt the Sept. 11 plot. They also offered a preview of the difficult questions likely to confront Condoleezza Rice when she testifies before the panel at a long-awaited public hearing this week.

Speaking of which…

CNN – Photo may have nudged Bush on Rice testimony: A historical photograph may have helped persuade the White House to let national security adviser Condoleezza Rice testify before the independent panel investigating the September 11, 2001, attacks… The photo, published in The New York Times on November 22, 1945, shows Adm. William D. Leahy — White House chief of staff under Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman — appearing before a congressional panel investigating the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor….

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Date
20040406
Inneresting
Time
10:38
New US study finds that teenage lesbian or bisexual girls are many times more likely to smoke regularly than straight girls their age.

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Date
20040406
It’s War! It’s Legal! It’s Lovely!
Time
11:23
Healing Iraq yells ‘coup d’etat in progress’ and a trail of links beginning at Instapundit has everybody ready to reach for high-tech weaponry in order to save a few more innocent Iraqis. Erm, from themselves. (You watch; if the Bush administration needs it, US public opinion will turn on the Iraqi population faster than you can say ‘Aznar was a big fat liar and paid the price.’)

These thoughts from Riverbend: Let me make it very clear right now that I am *not* a supporter of Al-Sadr. I do not like clerics who want to turn Iraq into the next Iran or Saudi Arabia or Kuwait… but it makes me really, really angry to see these demonstrations greeted with bullets and tanks by the troops. Why allow demonstrations if you’re going to shoot at the people?

Someone should let Riverbend know that protestors are terrorists.

The Independent – US may send more troops as deaths rise: An edgy President George Bush tried to brush off the problems, insisting America’s plan to transfer sovereignty to the Iraqis on 30 June would not alter. In a speech in North Carolina, he said: “The deadline remains firm. Terrorists can’t stand freedom.”

See? See? Terrorists, one and all. Why, just take a look at their grisly methods. (BTW, it needs to be noted for the record that ‘shock and awe’ bears no relation to ‘fear and terror’….)

(ahem)

Now you may not agree with the politics or the methods of the al-Sadr mob, but this looks like a popular uprising to me. Perhaps even a war.

Yep, looks like war to me. Ooh, look who gets to play along.

But don’t worry your head about it. A line was drawn under this months ago. It’s time to move on. We’ll sort this minor blip out shortly and get on with the serious business of mobile phone distribution.

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Date
20040406
Games
Time
11:25
Worst. Arcade. Ever.

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Date
20040406
South West Trains
Time
11:25
Scaryduck has had enough: Travelling on SWT, you really give the impression that the company don’t give a shit about the customers. The staff try their hardest, but in a system so utterly borked, they really are pissing in the wind. And if the company insists on dressing them up as the Fat Controller, no wonder morale is so low. And just to show it’s profits first, customers second, I really don’t need to look further than my own local station.

You’ll be needing this, people:

South West Trains – How To Complain

In other news, Thames Trains, the train company involved in the Paddington rail crash was fined £2m yesterday. Last year they made £65m. So there’s a still a profit to be made, even if people die.

UPDATE – I’ve travelled on SWT recently and it appears to me that they’re running the old stock into the ground ahead of their replacement with spiffy new stock. On one train, two carriages were in service with faulty doors. The measures taken to ensure our safety were quite impressive. Both doors had bright yellow and black stickers on them. The toilet was also broken, but it didn’t have a yellow and black sticker. Someone had taken the time to fix the lock on the door, though. By replacing the knob with a wood screw wrapped in electrical tape.

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Date
20040406
Video
Time
11:40
A new video from IFAW is a bit graphic, and quite PeTA-esque but we do have to save the heffalumps. Because they’re pretty. And they’re bigger than us.

UPDATE – The Guardian – Warning sounded over huge UK trade in illegal ivory

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Date
20040406
Richard Desmond: Label Pending
Time
12:33
Enter The ‘Express Meets Forum’ Writing Competition!

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Date
20040406
The War on Terror
Time
12:46
Hooray.

Learn more about Osmium Tetroxide.

Isn’t the timing funny? Again.

UPDATE – More from The UK Today

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Date
20040406
Christianity Watch
Time
13:54
I want one.

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Date
20040406
Told You So
Time
15:06
The Register has had a long-overdue makeover. Part of it involves (finally) inserting article titles into the Page Titles. I advised them to do this. Two. Bloody. Years. Ago.

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Date
20040406
Inneresting
Time
16:25
Olly olly oxen free! (Link via Balders.)

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Date
20040406
Video
Time
16:46
This is why kids throw away the toy and play with the box.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040406
Virus Alerts
Time
16:52
I’m getting quite a few scrubbed copies of Netsky.Q and its cousins lately. The difference between this variant and others is the level of sophistication in the message delivery. Many of the messages would prompt an immediate response from most unwary web users. Some also come with their own ‘all clear’ message.

Example:

Are you a spammer? (I found your email on a spammer website!?!)

+++ Attachment: No Virus found

+++ MessageLabs AntiVirus – www.messagelabs.com

This ‘Mail Delivery Failure’ variant is also devilishly clever:

If the message will not displayed automatically,

follow the link to read the delivered message.

Received message is available at:

www.bloggerheads.com/inbox/manic/read.php?sessionid-799

(Hidden under this link is a command to open the attachment.)

God forbid anyone who actually speaks English should give this a try. (Ooh, or perhaps it’s all part of their cunning plan to convince us that they’re cyber-activists operating out of Russia… instead of wankers living in their mother’s basement.)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040407
The War on Porn
Time
10:25
Baltimore Sun – Administration wages war on pornography: Drew Oosterbaan, chief of the division in charge of obscenity prosecutions at the Justice Department, says officials are trying to send a message and halt an industry they see as growing increasingly ‘lawless’. “We want to do everything we can to deter this conduct” by producers and consumers, Oosterbaan said. “Nothing is off the table as far as content.”

Translation: Soft porn to hard porn, we want to be able to poke our noses anywhere.

As I’ve pointed out before, the developing War on Porn is as big a lie as the War on Drugs and the War on Terror, in that there is a real threat, but it’s being manipulated to target something else entirely. A full-scale War on Porn (complete with rabid ‘champions of public opinion’) allows the government to destroy the support network of any citizen it chooses to target with a mere wave of the finger. Their computer would be seized and studied as a matter of course.

Even Instapundit labels this a Very Bad Idea (but, typically, offsets this with suspicions that ‘a Democratic mole’ has set this up in order to help Republicans look stupid).

From Game The World: I had gotten to the point where I had thought that my bad opinion of John Ashcroft was a result of some seriously selective reporting. Now comes this crackdown on pornography that shows me that I should pay more attention to my first impressions. Add this to the story about how the Patriot Act is being used in cases with no connection to terrorism, and you can see my truly deep ambivalence to the Bush Administrations attitude toward law enforcement.

Lots of background can be found via Classical Values. You’ll want to watch how this develops very, very, closely. And speak up before it’s too late.

Americans, if you need some ammunition for the playground on your side of the pond, there are two names you’ll need; Richard Desmond and Rupert Murdoch.

Richard Desmond, a Labour party donor and ardent Blairite, has a rather interesting background in pornography. Searching for ‘desmond’ on this page will lead you to all sorts on interesting articles on their relationship.

Rupert Murdoch peddles soft pornography (and supports the policies of Bush and Blair through thick and thin) via his UK tabloid newspaper The Sun. It was The Sun that George W. Bush chose to give an exclusive interview to when he visited the UK last year. (It was also The Sun that claimed that cheering crowds drowned out protestors when Bush appeared at the hot dog stand set up out front of Buckingham Palace.)

See also the separate post today about the editorial content that often accompanies topless girls on Page 3 of Murdoch’s Sun. Oh, and every time Blair gets caught with his hand in the cookie jar, The Sun either pander to paedo-fear, xenophobia, or lust for celebrity sex-gossip (today complete with nipple-slip) in order to bury important stories that might harm The Leader Who Can Do No Wrong.

Perhaps George and Tony can discuss these ideological conflicts when they meet in Washington next week.

Permalink: https://www.bloggerheads.com/x-archive.asp?viewblog=20040406&date=07/04/04

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Date
20040407
Page 3 – Words of Wisdom
Time
10:29
Another one I had to scan for fear that this just would not be believed in America. Today, the girl who chooses to empower herself by appearing with her breasts out on Page 3 of ‘the nation’s favourite newspaper’ is Natasha (21, from Torquay). She believes it’s vital that our troops remain in Iraq and says: “Our boys are doing a fantastic job peacekeeping. To give in to a minority of extremists would be an insult to the brave soldiers who lost their lives fighting to free Iraq from its evil regime.”

UPDATE – Rich informs me that the lovely Natasha Mealey – when not making editorial comments on our government’s foreign policy – appears in the occasional music video. Including the clip for Somebody To Love by the Boogie Pimps where milk-hungry babies parachute from the sky in pursuit of her ample breasts. (The video is suitably hat-stand, but this rehash/loop of a song annoys the hell out of me.)

Click here to see the video.

Click here to send email to Natasha.

Note – On the above page is a link to a ‘Win a Date with Natasha’ competition. To enter the competition, all you have to do is email her at date@natashamealey.net with ‘a question that you’ve always wanted to ask.’ I’m so very, very tempted…

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040407
The Bush Administration
Time
10:31
Hooray for whoever cared enough to bring us a working replacement of the Sloganator.

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Date
20040407
Only Interesting to Bloggers
Time
10:33
erm, and ‘smart marketers who embrace this high-traffic phenomenon’… Blogging Is Booming. But do watch your step.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040407
It’s War! It’s Legal! It’s Lovely!
Time
11:07
pResident Bush’s resolve is ‘unshakable’. He wants to continue keeping the wrong force in the wrong place for the wrong reasons.

I agree withdrawing troops is a silly idea with all of this going on. The only solution I can see to this problem created by Bush and aided by Blair is… the removal of Bush and Blair. New troops from all nations, courtesy of the UN and an efficient hand-over to democratically-elected leaders as soon as possible.

A fair democracy has a hard time of it anwhere there’s a crisis. How is the US supposed to set one up when they’re the cause of the crisis?

There you go; just a few thoughts from a misguided peacenik. We’re all a bit barmy, you know.

In fact, David Blunkett is convinced that we’re all going a bit mad.

Hmm, now I think about it, the Mental Capacity Bill looks set to authorise euthanasia for those suffering from dementia. This brings us one step closer to an even more efficient solution. Not too great for me and you, but at least Blair, Blunkett and Co. will be able to form and drive policy without a bunch of fruitcakes running around criticising their great and good works.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040407
Music
Time
11:09
Damn, I wish I’d though of this. I watched the Kajagoogo reunion jobbie last night. There was many an awkward moment to enjoy, and Limahl admitting that he had to look up his own lyrics on the Interweb was a classic.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040407
Activism
Time
11:30
Aldermaston 2004 – Join the Easter hunt for the UK’s Weapons of Mass Destruction!

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Date
20040408
Follow Up
Time
09:52
The Corgi Model Car Racing Game (Bedroom Floor Circuit) is ticking over nicely at about 1,500 visitors a day.

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Date
20040408
Google – The Adsense Trial
Time
10:03
Adsense is officially on notice.

I’ve had it set up on Bloggerheads, strictly on a trial basis, for two months now and have earned just over fifty American dollars. Whoopee.

And just take a look at the stuff they’ve got me promoting lately. (Cheers, Tim.)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040408
Sex, Sex, Sex (the boys are marching)
Time
10:10
Pravda reports that in ‘in many Middle Eastern countries it is prohibited to eat the sheep you had sex with’ …

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Date
20040408
Told You So
Time
10:12
Atrios points a finger at this transcript of Bill O’Reilly who boldly says: The safety of the American military must become the top priority. The interest of the Iraqis themselves second.

See? It is all about freedom.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040408
Curse the Liberal Media
Time
10:18
Al Franken fisks Sean Hannity’s ‘litany of lies’ about John Kerry.

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Date
20040408
Consume!
Time
10:20
The latest fashion must-have: eyeball jewellery.

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Date
20040408
The Bush Administration
Time
10:22
Watching porno movies while driving may be banned. But watching Barney is OK.

Incidentally, the Baltimore Sun article about the developing War on Porn (read yesterday’s bloggage) currently holds the top spot at Blogdex. Later in the morning, it’s sure to be Rumsfeld and Rice all the way.

(I know that Rice’s testimony will be broadcast live in the US, but does anybody know if it’s also being broadcast live in the UK? If so, I need to top up on popcorn. To throw at the screen.)

UPDATE – Cheers to Martin, who informs us that Rice’s testimony will be broadcast on CCN Europe at 2pm GMT. Nicholas chips in to tell us that BBC News24 is also promising coverage from 2pm.

UPDATE 2 – And now we go to this live report.

UPDATE 3 – Just Kidding. Here’s someone who is blogging it live.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040408
Christianity Watch
Time
10:32
Here’s a bunch of Jesus-related links from Bloggerheads two years ago, complete with a story that’s well-worth repeating in light of this story about a church trying to teach children about the crucifixion of Jesus by whipping the Easter bunny and breaking eggs:

So where did they lose me?

I’m still wondering that myself, but on this day in particular I’m reminded of a certain Sunday School lesson at the aforementioned Baptist church. The same teacher who maintained that men have two less ribs than women was teaching us about Easter. Easter Eggs, she said, were representative of Christ’s tomb, as you open them on Easter Sunday and lo-and-behold they’re empty. Praise Jesus! She then went on to inform us that eggs with Smarties or other such sweets inside were therefore an abomination. I’m not sure how those little solid eggs or milk chocolate bunnies work into this theory, but at the tender age of six I didn’t think to ask. I was too busy trying to look up her dress.

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Date
20040408
Flash Thingies
Time
10:44
A nifty time-wasting Easter Bunny for you. (Link via FunJunkie.)

UPDATE – And now, tripping bunnies.

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Date
20040408
Consume!
Time
12:41
What. A. Tosser. Good thing he’s found the perfect channel to toss on, though.

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Date
20040408
Photoshopping
Time
13:14
Heh. I had this exact same thought.

The B3ta Messageboard is a great place to be today. A 4-day weekend looms and minds are wandering. Politics is tempting, but today I’m Stuck on Jesus:

Jesus No. 1

Jesus No. 2

And here’s an oldie but a goodie.

(Oh, but if you do want politics, best place for Condi and Rummy comments should be Atrios and The Washington Monthly. Me, I’m still trying to find a TV.)

UPDATE – OK, just one on politics. This source image was impossible to resist.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040408
Art
Time
13:54
On the front page of Michael Moore’s website today is an awesome photo-mosaic of George W. Bush formed of the faces of American service men and women who have died in Iraq.

You’ll want to read this statement from the artist.

Personally, I don’t think he has a damn thing to apologise for. It’s the most powerful and eloquent visual statement on the war that I’ve seen to date. The picture doesn’t project a message; it evokes a truth from deep inside you and will cause significant chest pains in anybody with strong feelings about this war.

You should prepare yourself to see this everywhere before the end of the day. And again and again and again until Bush is out of the White House and losing money for his father’s mates.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040408
How Weblogs Work
Time
14:59
OK, I’ll play.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040408
Riding High on Blogdex
Time
15:07
Ah yes, and the only way to get ranked in the Most Cool section is to link to the site. Gotcha.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040408
Flash Games
Time
17:20
Balance that kitty! Go! Go! Go!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040413
Updates
Time
10:23
Hello peeps! I’m not sure what you did over your 4-day weekend, but we managed to piss most of it away redecorating.

Some serious grass-seeding went on in the back garden, particularly on that little strip of land in the back garden that other people’s cats enjoy crapping on so much. This time we’ve popped some netting over the top so this section of yard has a chance to establish itself, instead of being used as a large litter box.

If you come inside and walk this way – –> you’ll see that the upstairs bathroom has been stripped of peeling wallpaper and painted with three coats of water-resistant emulsion. The light fitting has also been replaced. That pile of junk in the corner? Oh, that’s the old light fitting installed by the previous owner.

The grade of wire used isn’t designed to stand up to anything more than intermittent exposure to a 20 watt bulb and this stuff (connected to the mains by a range of connectors that look like they were salvaged from the bottom of somebody’s tool box). This wiring quietly lurked behind a foil stove-top grease pan thingie which seems to have been installed as some kind of heat shield.

The result was a big melty mess – and one very near miss – with the live and neutral wires looking particularly strained and the sleeve for the earth wire burned right through.

So, after ‘wasting’ an hour or two double-checking the batteries in our smoke detectors and triple-checking all of our other light fittings for hidden surprises, we moved on the bedroom.

Come this way – –> and watch your step (there’s furniture everywhere and we’ve yet to return the steamer).

The natty wallpaper with little love-hearts all over it is finally gone and now sits in sodden lumps in two large garbage bags destined for the tip. We had to be choosy about the bathroom paint, but budget was an issue and the main priority in the bedroom was to Get. Rid. Of. That. Wallpaper.

Because of this, we chose the cheapest, nastiest emulsion we could lay our hands on; Magnolia own-brand matt emulsion from Homebase. £8 for a 5-litre bucket. £9 for a 10-litre.

Yes, you read that right; the paint costs less than the buckets it comes in.

It took four coats to come good, so we’ve spent the last 3 nights sleeping on the sitting room floor. And unable to shower for most of that time because of the fun & games in the bathroom.

So really my holiday starts today. I’m showered and shaved for the first time in 4 days, and tonight I get to sleep on a real bed in my own room. Without having to tolerate those little love-hearts all over the walls and without dying peacefully in my sleep from smoke inhalation.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040413
Weekend Reading
Time
10:35
Mostly the Independent over this long, long weeked. Here are the bits that didn’t get laid down to protect the carpet from paint-splashes….

Two from Robert Fisk:

A war that was founded on lies and illusions has one simple truth: Iraqis do not want us

The planners of the war in Iraq have just one answer to their critics: ‘shut up’

Also, see this:

Tony Blair: Why we must never abandon this historic struggle in Iraq

… get the fisking (or perhaps morrising) it deserves:

At last, Blair identifies the real threat: complacency: The PM mounted his latest defence of the Allies’ troubled mission in the pro-war Observer. Nigel Morris highlights the gaping holes, contradictions, and double standards.

A top letter in Saturday’s Indy: Sir: So the Conservatives want our help in making a 30-second television advert? I have the perfect one: “Labour is half-heartedly dragging us into a war of terror that cannot be won. Labour is reluctantly failing to raise sufficient taxes to to fund our ailing schools, hospitals and public services. Labour is toying with restricting immigration. Labour is thinking about curbing your freedom through the introduction of identity cards. We would do all of this and more with far more enthusiasm.”

ROBERT L WEST

Manchester

I’m going to see if we can’t interview this chap for the Desmond thing we’ve got going over at Interwebnet.org:

From blue blood to blue movies: porn baron risks family’s wrath

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Date
20040413
Does What It Says On The Tin
Time
11:07
www.dogshatebush.com

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040413
Useful
Time
11:09
Uptime? Pft! Gimme that inbound link data: Uptimebot.com

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040413
Riding High on Blogdex
Time
11:42
Right up the top; this tool that lets you see images from the most recent entries at LiveJournal.com (which led me to this very strange, NSFW picture and almost certainly ‘shopped picture) and a report that Gopher is still alive and kicking. Climbing fast is the Gurus Vs. Bloggers design shootout and news that music labels are trying to up the price on music downloads.

Beyond the tech, it’s mostly missives from the left and right. Actually, mostly the right….

Things is tough in Iraq. The solution proposed in an editorial in Murdoch’s New York Post? Drop the hammer. Reality is immaterial. We cannot trust Arab opinion. And so on.

While you’re pondering this and other Western/Arab matters, take a few minutes to check out the LittleGreenFootballs or Late German Fascists? quiz. Then reassure yourself that – even if there never was a connection between Iraq and terrorism – a war had to be fought somewhere in order to fight terror.

There you go – clear as mother’s milk.

Oh, and there’s also this PDF of a ‘largely historical’ document that gave no warning of who or where; it just happens to be titled “Bin Laden determined to attack inside the U.S”… *cough*.

UPDATE. Oh, and how. They had no idea about the ‘how’ either.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040413
The War on Porn
Time
11:44
I smell a bandwagon…

Here’s a picture of John Ashcroft’s face, made entirely of little porn people.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040413
It’s War! It’s Legal! It’s Lovely!
Time
11:47
Protester fails to arrest PM: A 61-year-old anti-war protester tried to make a citizen’s arrest on Prime Minister John Howard before being wrestled away by security staff.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040413
Flash Games
Time
11:51
Taxi!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040413
Christianity Watch
Time
11:52
Scientists discover another face on flip side of the Shroud of Turin. Perhaps it’s a really big cash note thing from Them Days. And we don’t see many of them because they were discontinued. Because they were a bugger to fold.

Oh, I don’t know. I’m just thinking out loud here…

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040413
Inneresting
Time
11:55
Yet another fabulous collection of ye olde album covers. (Link via Ultimate Insult.)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040413
On This Day…
Time
11:58
Please be aware that this Thursday is National High-Five Day.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040413
Useful
Time
14:46
NotCon 2004. You’ll want to be there.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040413
South West Trains
Time
15:00
What’s the bet it was the cheapest crane they could get?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040414
Coming Up
Time
10:02
Hoo-bloody-ray for Ashley Revell, who has won his ‘double or nothing’ bet of his life savings and scooped £135,000.

And in the process – with the help of that nice Mr Murdoch fellow and countless newspapers following the ‘story’ – injected into the public psyche the idea of the economic redemption via high stakes gaming.

And just in time for Tessa Jowell’s and her new ‘loose and free’ gambling bill to benefit.

You’ll want to watch how this develops very closely. ‘Problem gaming’ and kiddie gambling is the least of the troubles you can expect from the widespread introduction of high-stakes slot machines and walk-in casinos in your local town.

Some will succumb totally, yes. And it will be a golden age for roaming loan sharks. Quite a few more punters (the type that – after a few drinks – currently spend £50 chasing a £30 jackpot) will, with higher pots to chase, manage to piss away most of their pay for the month and have to crawl back to reality, somewhat poorer, but hopefully wiser. The grand majority, however, will go in out of curiosity and gamble a sizeable but affordable stake away ‘just the once, for a laugh’ and/or only occasionally – possibly as part of their social/weekend routine – until the novelty wears off.

Of course, the government gets to wet its beak in the process. So what this amounts to for most Brits is an extremely inefficient one-off tax hit.

The government will also get a tiny taste of tax income from the shadow economy, as high-stakes gambling of any kind provides the opportunity for some pretty serious money laundering. (I don’t know how things are in Sydney at the moment, but a few years after the new casino was established there, the practice of cleaning money via the casino was so commonplace that some drug dealers were being caught using high-value chips as currency on the street.)

Watch it. Carefully. (Actually, you might want to actually do something about it as well. Your call.)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040414
Just Plain Sad
Time
10:06
Poor Al. Especially striking for me, considering what was blogged yesterday: One thing I would like to ask everybody to do, though… please, go out and get carbon monoxide detectors for yourself and your loved ones. If my parents had had one in their home, there’s a very good chance that they would still be with us today.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040414
GMail
Time
10:19
A draft law is being drawn up by Californian Democratic Senator Liz Figueroa, who calls Gmail “an invasion of privacy”.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040414
RWCs
Time
10:20
Call for direct action, or unfortunate choice of words? Either way, the right-wing bloggers are all over it.

And calling for assassination is so very, very like us. You cannot trust the left. We’re all a bit mad. Etc.

Also doing the rounds and charting quite well on Blogdex three days running, Wizbang’s selection of carefully honed and oh-so-clever misinformation.

The funny thing is they’re claiming that they smell desperation…

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040414
It’s War! It’s Legal! It’s Lovely!
Time
10:27
A Strategy for Iraq – by John F. Kerry

Transcript of President Bush’s press conference

If you’re having trouble telling the difference between the two, one carries the the ever-reliable terror/Iraq/terror/Iraq/terror/Iraq mantra, and the other doesn’t.

A spokesperson for the Bush administration also took full advantage of the passing of time to set in stone the WMD lie on BBC Radio 4 this morning. Because Saddam had WMDs in the past and the war is now in the past (kind of) she quite happily asserted on more than one occasion that the war was good and proper because ‘Saddam had WMDs’.

*sigh*

Also: My eyes! The goggles do nothing! and a quick fisk for you.

Also worth peeking at; a chart-topper from this time last year.

UPDATE – Kevin Drum watched and blogged the press conference live. A highlight I’m dying to watch when I get home tonight:

9:25 – “What’s the biggest mistake you made after 9/11?” Bush just froze. He couldn’t answer for literally 30 seconds. “I can’t come up with something under the pressure of the press conference.” Huh?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040414
11/9 (please note correct formatting of date)
Time
10:48
The Rove-scripted and Rice-fed ‘silver bullet’ line is sticking with me for some reason.

Sorry, boys and girls, only magic could have stopped 9/11!

I’ll try to avoid the words ‘smell’ and ‘desperation’….

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040414
Inneresting
Time
10:53
Links to The Museum of Unworkable Devices and the Hall of Technical Documentation Weirdness come to us courtesy of Abnu.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040414
The War on Porn
Time
11:01
Fundamentalist Christian Anti-Porn “Accountability Partner” Caught Diddling the Diaper Crew

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040414
It’s War! It’s Legal! It’s Lovely!
Time
11:04
Baghdad Burning: The hostage situations are a mess. I watch television and it feels like I’m watching another country. All I can think is, “We’ve become one of *those* countries…” You know- the ones where hostages are taken on a daily basis and governments warn their civilians of visiting or entering the country. It’s especially sad because even during those long years during the blockade and in between wars and bombings, there were never any attacks on foreigners. Iraqis are hospitable, friendly people who always used to treat foreigners with care… now, everyone is treated like a potential enemy.

And the longer this goes on, the harder it will be to draw together a legitimate coalition to fix the Great Big Mess created by Bush and Co.

If Blair continues to cozy up to this administration instead of using the ‘influence’ he’s bent over so often to secure, I am going to be very upset.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040414
The War on Terror
Time
11:36
Pfft!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040414
Photoshopping
Time
11:36
Congratulations to Matt Gilbert, who has won this recent Guardian ‘shopping comp with this ‘inspired’ entry.

Is it just me, or are they all a bit rubbish?

(Link sniffed out by Martin. Added sniffiness by yours truly.)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040414
Flash Music Video
Time
11:53
JPEG Baby cracks the language barrier. Again. Hundreds of visitors have turned up at Bloggerheads as a result of this one post and the link has also spread to all sorts of European blogs, sites and discussion groups, so cheers to Bluephod for the plug.

Just to let you know, the next flash project will involve Star Wars, I just need to draw a few assets together before I start building. You’re going to love it. You’re really, really going to love it….

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040414
Weapons of Mass Distraction
Time
12:47
We have Posh & Becks, you have Michael Jackson (now with added accusations). Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

(For those with poor memories, that search of Neverland and the arrest warrant that followed took place the last time George W. Bush was in danger of looking very stupid.)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040414
Bunch of Stuff
Time
13:33
Lots of familiar stuff here, but you’ll love the way it’s presented. The page just begs to be explored.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040414
Welcome To The 21st Century
Time
14:02
Yes, but can these robots survive a direct metor strike?

(Mechanical servants? Rocks from sky? You, sir, speak of the impossible!)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040414
It’s War! And You Just Volunteered!
Time
14:19
Nader Tells Youths to Brace for Draft: “The Pentagon is quietly recruiting new members to fill local draft boards, as the machinery for drafting a new generation of young Americans is being quietly put into place,” Mr. Nader said in a press release sent out to constituents and posted on his Web site during the weekend.

‘Quietly’ is right.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040414
Video
Time
15:36
“We have activity but I don’t think we need to report it.” (Link via BigDaddyBlog.)

Much cheerier than this footage, I’m sure you’ll agree.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040414
Goodbye, George
Time
15:48
For your reference: A Busy Person’s Guide to the Bush Press Conference

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040414
Consume!
Time
17:30
Woof!

UPDATE – And WTF?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040414
Inneresting
Time
18:04
Some excellent scans of WWII proper-gander for you to enjoy. (Links via Ultimate Insult.)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040415
Riding High on Blogdex
Time
09:36
The tops spots are all taken up by Amazon’s new search portal and news of Amazon’s new search portal.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040415
Tony Blair
Time
09:38
This information came via Private Eye, but they can’t be bothered to put this kind of thing live on the web, so I will.

See it for yourself at Hansard:

Mr. Alex Salmond (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): May we have a debate to clarify what should constitute a matter for ministerial resignation? If it has become a resignation matter inadvertently to mislead Parliament and the people over the Home Office and immigration, why is it not a resignation matter inadvertently to mislead Parliament and the people over weapons of mass destruction and Iraq?

Mr. Hain: Quite simply because there was no misleading involved on the question of Iraq.

What, not even subconsciously?

UPDATE – Not only, but also:

Tony Blair and The Precautionary Principle

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040415
Flash Thingies
Time
09:39
Celebrating the 3rd anniversary of an Interweb classic: Hyakugojyuuichi Forever!!

You can see a copy of the original Hyakugojyuuichi! here.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040415
Fair and Balanced
Time
09:43
Bwahahahahahahahaha! It would seem that the Middle East is also beset by filthy liberals.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040415
It’s War! And Totally Justified At That!
Time
09:48
pResident Bush’s press conference – White House transcript

Watched the full magilla last night. Bush was almost certainly to wearing an earpiece and being fed information, which cast “you know, I just — I’m sure something will pop into my head here” in a whole new light. The poor man was screaming for help. None came.

I also love the new storyline, heralded by former FBI director Louis J Freeh in Monday’s Wall Street Journal, that provides new backup for the Iraq/terror ‘connection’ and also explains Bush’s failure to act on pre-911 intelligence.

1. Bush wasn’t to blame. It was Al Qaeda flying the planes. So they’re reponsible. Obviously. Oh and the UK failed, too. Not that Bush did. Fail, that is. So there. (oh, there’s more on this point here if you want it.)

2. Now for the biggie: America wasn’t on a war footing then, y’see. America needs to be on a war footing to be able to fight – and prevent – terror. Doesn’t matter who the war is with, they just need to be on a war footing. Bush used the phrase ‘war footing’ five times during this press conference, just to be sure that we got the point. Because, gawrsh darn it, he’s simple failed to communimicate it properly before.

Bet I can do it in four words or less:

http://www.google.com/search?q=orwell+1984+perpetual+war

I also love this:

“We knew they were hiding things — a country that hides something is a country that is afraid of getting caught.” – George W. Bush

*cough*memoryhole*cough*

But that’s just me thinking out loud. For proper analysis what like the pros do, see that filthy liberal rag, the Washington Post.

Plus, we also have the wonderful news that Bush and Sharon have cooked up a plan that solves the Palestinian problem by ignoring Palestinians. Me, I’m waiting for the speech that goes: “We’re not building a road map, we’re building a road. And roads need bulldozers!”

UPDATE – And here’s a picture, boys and girls.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040415
The War on Terror
Time
09:52
1-2-3-4, I declare a flame war.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040415
Richard Desmond: Label Pending
Time
09:54
A top post by Balders:

Desmond – Keeping a finger in the pie?

I had a nifty idea for rating the quality of the porn in Mr Desmond’s fruiter titles, but it wasn’t worth doing if they were ex-titles. Now I can forge ahead with it. Dog bless Bladers and his research finger.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040415
Consume!
Time
09:57
Anti-Barbie becomes Russian icon: An unglamorous schoolgirl has become a feminist icon in Russia after she was entered for an online beauty pageant by a friend as a prank.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040415
Games
Time
09:59
Which Lara Croft is the superior Lara Croft?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040415
Animal Kingdom
Time
10:02
Another sign that the End of Days are upon us. Best keep your nail clippings; you’ll need them in heaven.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040415
Flash Thingies
Time
10:03
The Attaaaaaaaaaaaaack of the Giant. Red. Octopus!!!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040415
Activism
Time
10:04
Six years that took. Six bloody years. BTW, that’s not action from Mr Blunkett. That’s re-action. There is a difference. More from the BBC.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040415
Normal People
Time
10:12
Man detained after teaching his dog to play ‘fetch’… with an axe.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040415
The Political Weblog Movement
Time
10:14
Tom Watson helpfully points us to the Conservatives’ intention to put the Internet at the heart of its advertising activity.

The money is already wasted, I’m sorry. The aim should be to put the Internet at the heart of its communications activity.

1. The whole viral=video idea of treating the web like a TV channel and hoping that people will happily share your advertising is outdated. Successes are ntoable, but few.

2. True viral of any kind requires a genuine connection.

3. Name me one Conservative MP who has a weblog. Go on, just one.

But, feel free to ‘create advertising history’ if you feel you must. I’m sure they’ll do really well out of it. I mean, it’s not as if one of their key ministers has been publicly bitch-slapped over a previous Interweb abortion.

UPDATE – Ooohh, I have a brilliant idea to subvert this. And it’s damn easy to subvert, because they don’t have an established online network. Email me for details if you want to play.

UPDATE – A comment or two from The UK Today

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040415
Tony Blair’s Email
Time
12:37
Congratulations to the folks at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, who still haven’t worked out that this isn’t Tony Blair’s email address.

(You can check the PDF file this is from and see it for yourself if you like. Cheers to Joe for the heads-up.)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040415
We’re Not At Home To Mr Cockup
Time
14:54
Hooray for Engrish!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040415
Flash Thingies
Time
15:12
Hypnoterror! Oh, and I haven’t mentioned Model Car Racing for a while…

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040415
Activism
Time
15:17
A little birdie tells me that George Bush Snr. is coming to town on May 18th for a $1000-a-plate fundraiser (the missive I saw includes a request that cheques should be made payable to Bush Cheney ’04 Inc.).

The fun is expected to start after 4:30pm at The Landmark. Mark your calendars.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040416
The Bush Administration
Time
09:12
BBC – In Blair Bush trusts?

The Bush Press Conference Response Generator

Slate – Trust, Don’t Verify: Bush’s incredible definition of credibility.

TPM – We may be for freedom. But if the people we’re trying to ‘free’ don’t think that’s true, then it scarcely matters.

And with all of this going on and Blair meeting with Bush for yet another nutsacking, what does the Express run with? Diana, Hitler and Immigants.

“Immigants! I knew it was them! Even when it was the bears, I knew it was them.” – Moe Szyslak.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040416
Google
Time
09:20
Google’s response to the ‘Jew’ search result.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040416
The Political Weblog Movement
Time
09:21
Government of Canada versus BlogsCanada

Also:

1. Pop Idol-style show will select potential MPs

2. Vote For Me

3. Posted at Bloggerheads 13th October, 2003

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040416
It’s War! It’s Legal! It’s Lovely!
Time
09:26
The Australian – Iraqi ‘beaten to death’ by US troops: An Iraqi has died of his wounds after US troops beat him with truncheons because he refused to remove a picture of wanted Shiite Muslim leader Moqtada Sadr from his car.

Baghdad Burning – Media and Falloojeh: To lessen the feelings of anti-Americanism, might I make a few suggestions? Stop the collective punishment. When Mark Kimmett stutters through a press conference babbling about “precision weapons” and “military targets” in Falloojeh, who is he kidding? Falloojeh is a small city made up of low, simple houses, little shops and mosques. Is he implying that the 600 civilians who died during the bombing and the thousands injured and maimed were all “insurgents”? Are houses, shops and mosques now military targets?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040416
Updates
Time
09:32
Bloggerheads is going to the mattresses. Bloggage will be slow in the near future.

To keep an eye on Bush & Co., see American Leftist, Atrios, Expats Against Bush, Talking Points Memo or The Washington Monthly.

To keep an eye on Blair & Co., see The London News Review or The UK Today.

For Iraq, see Baghdad Burning.

For the latest bits and bobs that you may or may not care about, see Blogdex or the Technorati chart. (Treat any link trail that starts at Instapundit or Little Green Footballs with a big grain of salt.)

For harmless fun, see The Ultimate Insult, hang around the B3ta Messageboard, check out this nifty link digest from that same board or discover Attu Sees All.

Back soon.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040416
11/9 (please note correct formatting of date)
Time
15:21
Ooooooooooooooooooh, spooky!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date
20040416
Communicating Online
Time
17:46
This is totally far-out and right-on guidance for associate spamming. (Link via NTK.)



Oh, and the genius fronting letdownbylabour.com is one Gavin Barwell. Just thought you’d like to know.

Apart from that profile on Conservatives.com (and this profile at westminsterwanderers.com) Gavin has no personal web presence to speak of, but he’s young, so obviously has Interweb knowledge coursing through his veins. And – let’s be fair – he has been involved with some impressive online initiatives…

I clearly remember Save Our Supplements rocking my world. This little campaign (supported by Target Publishing Ltd, ‘publisher of trade magazines within the natural products, organic and CAM markets’) was so hot that even my kids heard about it in the playground and came home bugging me to top up our stash of natural vitamin and mineral supplements before they got banned by The Man.

These bitching ‘More Politicians’ posters also went totally viral, as did this high-impact little number. (Both are PDF files, so you may not bother downloading them. But they’re sheer genius; trust me.)

Gavin was also behind the distribution of ‘I Believe’ by email. Erm, to people who may or may not have opted in to receive email from the Tories.

(It’s called ‘spam’, Gavin. Just in case you haven’t reached that chapter in Carol Vorderman’s Guide to the Interthingie yet.)








About Tim Ireland

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