KwAcKy's Konfessional |
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Nothing of interest; just mindless links to bikes Birmingham City Football Club and useless junk  
  
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29 April 2004
Nobody Died When Clinton Lied I fought the law.... Me Again Crap at this blogging aren't I? Well, we had a grand time in Cardiff. Nice to meet up and get pissed with old mates. Ed called me a few days after to announce he and his wife may be joined by their own bundle of fun. Bit hard to spot that one, what with Nikkie not drinking all weekend (that "I'm on anitbiotics" excuse only works on non-parents), the questions about how painful labour is (to Sam, not me) and spending Sunday breakfast talking about the costs of preparing for a new born kinda gave it away. Good luck to both of them. Talking about expensive and intrusive additions, little Kwacky struck the magic 1 yesterday. Can't believe that a year ago today I was sat in this empty house absolutely shitting myself. I think I coped by getting pissed and stoned. A making the most of it moment if you will. The little numpty is up on her feet and can't be too far from walking. She can walk if she holds onto a toy she's got. She motors acorss the floor until she strikes something, then moves the toy backwards and forwards, continually striking the object. Just like a woman parking. Must be getting some practice in. Some noisy cats Learn to speak like a c**t. I mean Bush I'm going to start a new feature. There's loads of tat on the web and I think we should share it. Each week I'm going to go for a waste of web space award. Send me your nominations and I'll pick a winner. This week I kick off with this tat. Nope, I haven't got a clue either. Maybe you should mail the contact and ask? Back soon. 16 April 2004
I'm off to Cardiff for a few days followed by a track day Have some links while I'm gone. Iraq War News The real reason for invasion Iraqi Hostiles Feeling lucky,punk? Trippy nonsense Mourn the mercenaries? Art? Snip at home? Miss Spears naked Have fun yawl ;-) 12 April 2004
Devoid of originality I've copied the 23 questions 1: Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find line 4. Write down what it says: "Puppy Gets Mucky" only goes to page 12. 2: Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What do you touch first? Nowt 3: What is the last thing you watched on TV? Dunno. Dont' pay much attention to it 4: WITHOUT LOOKING, guess what the time is: 12.15 5: Now look at the clock; what is the actual time? 12.32 6: With the exception of the computer, what can you hear? Georgie pulling apart my headphone STOP THAT YOU LITTLE COW BAG 7: When did you last step outside? What were you doing? About 15 minutes ago. Not much, just walking in the garden. 8: Before you came to this website, what did you look at? Bluetitch's blog. 9: What are you wearing? Scruffies 10: Did you dream last night? Yep. Very rude it was too. 11: When did you last laugh? This morning whilst entertaining Georgie 12: What is on the walls of the room you are in? Jenny the Giraffe. 13: Seen anything weird lately? Yep. A blues fan being kicked out of St Andrews for wearing a bowler hat. 14: What do you think of this quiz? A time waster (but in a nice way) 15: What is the last film you saw? Sign of Good Faith 16: If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy first? A big home for a big family. 17: Tell me something about you that I don't know When I was 6 I wanted to do tap dance. 18: If you could change one thing about the World, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do? Remove money 19: Do you like to dance? Not any more. 20: George Bush: is he a power-crazy nutcase or some one who is finally doing something that has needed to be done for years? Not even power crazed is he? 21: Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her? Georgina. 22: Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him? George :-) 23: Would you ever consider living abroad? Yep. Loads of places. I like Spain. I wouldn't cross New Zealand off the list. Or Thailand. 11 April 2004
Blues v Man United 
Blues' hopes of reaching Europe in only their second season in the top flight suffered a set back thanks to some poor defending and poor decision making. With the number of remaining games dwindling, Arsenal's recent result and the widening points gap, Manchester United's hopes of another title were all but dashed before the game. Blues lined up in familiar 4-4-2 but with Lazaridis at left back and a midfield of Hughes, Clemence, Savage and Johnson. Man United appeared to be going with 3-5-2 with Giggs partnering Saha and Solskjaer on the wing. Blues looked the more comfortable of the two teams and passed the ball neatly and with confidence. However, United had brought along their own ref and Dermot Gallagher allowed Morrison to be used as a climbing frame and gave free reign to Djemba-Djemba to use any method to win man or ball. Lazaridis went down within the first 15 minutes and had to be carried off and was replaced by Grainger. This change didn't slow down the home side as Blues looked to take the early lead and they twice came close within a couple of minutes. Carroll saved well from a Hughes attempt and then the crossbar thwarted an excellent shot from Savage. Clemence squandered a good chance when he tried to lob the ball into the net when a straight forward first time smash would have sufficed. At the back the usual pairing of Cunningham and Upson mopped up what little there was of Man United's attacks. Manchester seemed to lack a decent ball in from the wing and clearly miss a player like Beckham. Birmingham, on the other hand, were dominating the right hand side and also proved that Blues have their own free kick maestro. Grainger powered in the opener from a free kick. Both the wall and the keeper were beaten and Blues rightfully took the lead. Half time couldn't come quick enough for the visitors. An injured Grainger didn't reappear and was replaced by Clapham. This left back spot appears to be jinxed. Not long after the restart Fergie brought on Ronaldo and changed the formation to 4-5-1 with Giggs dropping back. Blues struggled to deal with the change and Ronaldo was having little trouble in terrorising the wing. Forssell's shot was sandwiched by some fine flowing football from Manchester which saw Maik Taylor save well from Scholes and Saha. Savage appeared to be tired but it was later revealled he had an injury. The midfield was being lost, as were most of the decisions. Man United drew level when Ronaldo scored, despite the fact that Saha appeared to be both offside and interferring with play. Blues tried to fight back but a Giggs free kick (which shouldn't have been awarded) was met by Saha who managed to head the ball home over what must be one of the tallest defences in the league. Blues were unlucky to come away empty handed. Ratings M Taylor - 8 - some first class saves Lazaridis - 7 - just getting warmed up Upson - 7 - looking more relaxed Cunningham - 8- would have made the manager proud Tiny - 7 - coped well (apart from the Saha goal) Hughes - 9 MOM - some quality football, unlucky not to score Clemence - 7 - Drifted in and out of the game Savage - 8 - played well and really got stuck in DJ - 8 - Looked like he was enjoying himself Morrison - 6 - Man handled out of the game Forssell -7 - His hesitation could have cost us Grainger - 7 - great goal but lacked pace Clapham - 6 - looked unsettled John - 6 - offered little 10 April 2004
Journalists are viable targets? Mon 22 March, 2004 13:50 LONDON (Reuters) - An American soldier who killed Reuters cameraman Mazen Dana in Iraq was justified in opening fire, a U.S. army report says. The report, made public on Monday seven months after Dana died, found that the soldier's "decision to fire at Mr Dana, though tragic and regrettable, was justified based on the information available to him at the time." Reuters said it could not agree that the death of Dana, a prize-winning Palestinian cameraman, was justified and called for the urgent implementation of recommendations in the report to improve the safety of journalists in war zones. It said Dana would not have died in the shooting outside Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison on August 17 [2003] if the recommendations had been in place. The Army report said the soldier, who shot from a tank, had a "reasonable certainty" that Dana was about to fire a rocket- propelled grenade (RPG), having mistaken his camera for a launcher. But it said the tank commander recognised Dana was holding a camera immediately after the fatal shots were fired. The report concluded that lack of procedures for communicating the presence of journalists among U.S. troops contributed to the tragedy. Dana's widow Suzan said in the Palestinian city of Ramallah: "I am not satisfied with the investigation at all. They said that Mazen did not do anything wrong, but at the same time they did not criticise the soldier who killed him. They are only trying to justify their actions." The Guardian's report at the time of the shooting suggests that the American forces were more than aware of the presence of Mazen and other journalists Nael al-Shyoukhi, a Reuters soundman, said the soldiers "saw us and they knew about our identities and our mission. "After we filmed we went into the car and prepared to go when a convoy led by a tank arrived and Mazen stepped out of the car to film. "I followed him and Mazen walked three to four metres. We were noted and seen clearly. "A soldier on the tank shot at us. I lay on the ground. I heard Mazen and I saw him scream and touching his chest. I cried at the soldier, telling him 'you killed a journalist'. They shouted at me and asked me to step back and I said 'I will step back but please help, please help'." He said they tried to help but Dana was bleeding heavily. "Mazen took a last breath and died before my eyes." 
Meanwhile the bodies on both sides pile high. As of Thursday, April 8, 642 U.S. service members have died since the beginning of military operations in Iraq last year, according to the Department of Defense. Of those, 448 died as a result of hostile action and 194 died of non-hostile causes. No one defines "non hostile causes" but a quick scan through the web site seems to suggest that bullets from American guns and road traffic accidents are the biggest causes of casualties. Just like being back home eh? 05 April 2004
OK, so it's late But when was I ever on time? Apologises (or should that be apologizes?) for the US spelling, but it's from an e-mail and I can't be arsed to amend it all. Besides, it gives you a strong clue as to the origins of these ludicrous legal cases where America seems intent on rewarding stupidity. Subject: 2003 'STELLA' AWARDS Awards. The Stella's are named after 81-year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled coffee on herself & successfully sued McDonalds. That case inspired the Stella Awards for the most frivolous successful lawsuits in the United States. Unfortunately, the most recent lawsuit implicating McDonalds & the teens who allege that eating at McDonalds has made them fat, was filed after the 2002 award voting was closed. This suit will, undoubtedly, top the 2003 awards list. THE WINNERS 5th place (tied) : Kathleen Robertson of Austin, Texas, was awarded $780,000 by a jury of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running inside a furniture store. The owners of the store were understandably surprised at the verdict, considering the misbehaving toddler was Ms. Robertson's son. 5th place (tied): 19-year-old Carl Truman of Los Angeles, California, won $74,000 & medical expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda Accord. Mr. Truman apparently did not notice there was someone at the wheel of the car when he was trying to steal the hubcaps. 5th place (tied): Terrence Dickson of Bristol, Pennsylvania, was leaving a house he had just finished robbing by way of the garage. He was not able to get the garage door to go up since the automatic door opener was malfunctioning. He could not re-enter the house because the door connecting the house & garage locked when he pulled it shut. The family were on vacation & Mr. Dickson found himself locked in the garage for 8 days. He subsisted on a case of Pepsi he found & a large bag of dry dog food. He sued the house owners insurance claiming the situation caused him undue mental anguish. The jury agreed to the tune of $500,000. 4th place: Jerry Williams of Little Rock, Arkansas, was awarded $14,500 & medical expenses after being bitten on the buttocks by his next door neighbor's Beagle dog. The Beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced yard. The award was less than sought because the jury felt the dog might have been a little provoked at the time, as Mr. Williams who had climbed over the fence into the yard, was shooting it repeatedly with a pellet gun. 3rd place: A Philadelphia restaurant was ordered to pay Amber Carson of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, $113,500, after she slipped on a soft drink & broke her coccyx (tailbone). The beverage was on the floor because Ms. Carson had thrown it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument. 2nd place: Kara Walton of Claymont, Delaware, sued the owner of a night club in a neighboring city when she fell from the bathroom window to the floor & knocked out two of her front teeth. This occurred whilst Ms. Walton was trying to crawl through the window in the ladies room to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge. She was awarded $12,000 & dental expenses. 1st Place: This year's runaway winner was Mr. Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Mr. Grazinski purchased a brand new Winnebago Motor Home. On his trip home from an OU football game, having driven onto the freeway, he set the cruise control at 70 mph & calmly left the drivers seat to go into the back & make himself a cup of coffee. Not surprisingly, the RV left the freeway, crashed & then overturned. Mr. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not advising him, by reading the owner's manual, that he actually could not do this. The jury awarded him $1,750,000 plus a new Winnebago Motor Home. (The company actually changed their manuals to alert against this act on the basis of this suit just in case there were any other complete morons buying their recreation vehicles!!) 
P.S. sorry about The Tick reference but I've recently rediscovered my collection of comic books. Guess which player left his mark? Claimant: Male: 28 years old at date of accident; 34 years old at date of settlement. Sporting accident: On 3 February 1998, the claimant, a professional footballer, was playing for Charlton Athletic FC against Wolverhampton Wanderers FC (D1). The second defendant (D2), who was playing for D1 at the time, tackled the claimant as the claimant was running for the football. The claimant sustained injury and brought an action against D2 alleging that he: (i) deliberately and/or negligently performed an excessive tackle; (ii) deliberately brought his foot over the top of the ball with his studs showing and stamped down on the bottom of the claimant's leg; and (iii) was reckless and negligent in making the challenge, which was in breach of his duty of care towards the claimant. Liability disputed. The defendants alleged that the claimant's injury was an unfortunate accident and of a type that occurs in competitive professional football. Injuries: The claimant sustained a severe fracture to his left lower tibia in the accident. Effects: The claimant suffered from a spiral, displaced fracture with multi-fragments. He suffered from an open wound over his lower medial leg, which was classed as Grade II. The claimant also sustained a stud mark from D2's football boot in the bone of his leg. The claimant underwent a series of operations which included the insertion of an intramedullary nail into the bone of his leg and a skin graft, which was performed by a consultant plastic surgeon shortly after the incident. The claimant was seen by the plastic surgeon as an outpatient on several occasions following his discharge from hospital and he was left with unsightly scarring at the back of his leg over his Achilles tendon. Prior to the accident, the claimant had intended to continue his professional football career with his club for several more years before transferring to lower division football clubs and then coaching and/or managerial positions. However, as a result of the accident the claimant suffered a loss of confidence, proprioception and pace and had to retire from professional football. The claimant did not recover from his pre-injury pace and acceleration that he submitted had been among his main attributes as a top class professional footballer. At the end of his contract, the claimant accepted employment with a non-league football club. Prognosis: The claimant was able to play competitive football for the duration of a match at non-league level, but was unable to return to professional football. Out of Court Settlement: £250,000 total damages. Background to damages: The claimant's solicitor estimated that the award for pain, suffering and loss of amenity was £20,000-£25,000 based on the decisions in similar cases. It was also estimated that the figure for loss of earnings was approximately £220,000. 04 April 2004
Fulham v Blues 
I can't decide if this was a point gained or a 2 points lost. Blues haven't won away from home all season. Fulham have an impressive home record. Fulham haven't beaten Blues in the Premiership. None of the games have seen 22 men leave the field at the final whistle. The pitch looked like it had recently been ploughed and this meant that neither side could pass the ball. Stats 5 Shots On Target 1 1 Shots Off Target 5 24 Fouls (Conceded) 22 4 Corners 2 4 Yellow Cards 2 0 Red Cards 0 Player Ratings Maik Taylor - Not much to do but did well when called on - 8 Tiny - Steady game and growing in confidence - 7 Upson - much improved - 7 Cunningham - another stalwart performance MOTM - 9 Grainger - played well - 7 DJ - kept trying to create something - 7 Hughes - still in a rich vein of form - 8 Savage - not at the races - 6 Lazaridis - faded when asked to drop back - 6 Forssell - quiet game - 7 Morrison - looks better as a winger than a forward - 7 Clemence - nothing special - 7 Stern - lacked service - 7 Clapham - guest appearance - 6 |
