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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31 December 2004
List of charities working on the disaster The Disasters Emergency Committee - http://www.dec.org.uk - is an umbrella group of UK aid organisations - including Action Aid, British Red Cross and Oxfam - working to provide clean water, food and shelter to thousands. To call from the UK, dial 0870 60 60 900. The United Nations World Food Programme - http://www.wfp.org - is seeking donations to feed victims of the earthquake. Medecins Sans Frontieres - http://www.msf.org - is sending aid workers to the region, focusing on medical care for survivors and displaced people after the rescue operations. The United Nations Children's Fund, Unicef - http://www.unicef.org.uk - is working to meet the "urgent needs of hundreds of thousands of people" affected by the tsunami disaster. The UN refugee agency, UNHCR - http://www.unhcr.ch - which has been helping victims of conflicts in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, is delivering relief supplies to tsunami survivors in both countries. Save the Children - http://www.savethechildren.org.uk - has already flown a plane out to Sri Lanka carrying plastic sheeting for temporary shelter, tents to run children's services from and essentials such as clothing and cooking utensils. Anti-poverty organisation Care International - http://www.care.org - has already provided food for thousands of affected people in Sri Lanka. Cafod, the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development - http://www.cafod.org.uk - is working with partners across Asia to provide shelter, food aid and medical assistance, and assessing what further relief is needed. The Red Cross, with its sister charity the Red Crescent, is supplying blankets, cooking utensils and other crucial goods. It has had to set up a new site - http://www.ifrc.org - because of the unprecedented demand from people wanting to make donations. The Hindu Forum Disaster Relief Task Force - http://www.hinduforum.org - comprises 50 organisations and is raising money, clothes and medicines. Donations can be made online or by calling the ISKCON Disaster Appeal on 01923 856848 or Sewa International on 0116 261 0303. Christian Aid - http://www.christianaid.org.uk - has already allocated £250,000 from its emergency fund to help the victims of this disaster but says more money is needed. Christian charity Tearfund - http://www.tearfund.org - and its partners in Sri Lanka and India are helping devastated fishing communities and coastal villages get back on their feet. Islamic Relief - http://www.islamic-relief.com - has also launched an appeal to provide medical supplies, tents and sanitation facilities for those affected. The Islamic Aid Emergency Relief Fund - http://www.islamicaid.org.uk - aims to provide immediate relief and long-term support to people in the affected areas. Another Islamic charity, Muslim Hands - http://www.muslimhands.org- is collecting money and sending volunteers to help in Indonesia and Malaysia. Medair - http://www.medair.org - is providing emergency support to agencies with a long-term presence in Sri Lanka and its medical experts are assessing the likelihood of malaria and diarrhoea. World Vision - http://www.worldvision.org.uk - has also launched an appeal and has already delivered relief goods to thousands. Concern - http://www.concern.net - is working with local partners to meet the needs of families in the devastated coastal villages of Tamil Nadu, the worst-affected state in India. The International Rescue Committee - http://www.theirc.org - is providing emergency supplies and materials to "people most affected by the crisis". The Salvation Army - http://www.salvationarmy.org.uk has local teams working in a number of affected areas and is sending a team from its international headquarters on Wednesday evening. Muslim Aid - http://www.muslimaid.org - has already donated £100,000 towards the purchase of food, clothing and medicine in the region but wants to raise more. Action Aid - http://www.actionaid.org - is the biggest charity working in south India. It is focusing its relief work on the coast of Tamil Nadu, where 7,000 people died. It is working on providing medical assistance and sanitation for the survivors. Oxfam - http://www.oxfam.org - is active in Indonesia, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Sri Lanka and India. Their relief operations include distributing food packs and hygiene kits and setting up water and sanitation facilities. Asia Quake Relief Appeal UK, a UK-based Sri Lankan organisation, is also raising money and can be emailed at asia-quakerelief@europe.com Hindu NGO Baps Care International - http://www.bapscare.org - is working in villages around Chennai in Southern India distributing food, drinking water, tarpaulins, utensils, stoves, clothes and blankets 29 December 2004
Tsunami 
The pictures of the aftermath are haunting. Hard to believe so many lost their lives. The area in Sri Lanka worst hit is nothing but small villages and scrubland. The locals would have had little chance to avoid the waves. A beautiful place and beautiful people. They have little but are willing to share. Many of the returning holiday makers have spoken about the Sri Lankans helping others, despite their own losses. Getty Images Patpong Beach Sri Lanka French Coverage 19 December 2004
All quiet on the Falluja Front? 
Most of the press in the West has little coverage of the continuing battle in Falluja as the American and Iraqi troops try to flush out the final few fighters. The US military has renewed its aerial assault of Falluja amid reports of fierce clashes with the city's resistance, an Iraqi journalist said. According to independent Iraqi journalist Fadhil al-Badrani, US warplanes targeted Falluja's eastern and southern districts. He said fierce clashes had broken out in the city centre between US forces who have been in the city since 8 November and Iraqi fighters who had infiltrated back in across the Euphrates river. "There is no way to determine the number of casualties as US authorities have barred journalists and aid workers from entering Falluja," al-Badrani told Aljazeera. The US military had earlier said it could not recommend to the Iraqi interim government the return of residents to Falluja. The Iraqi interim government had promised on Thursday residents could begin returning to the city, west of Baghdad, as early as next week, saying that basic services and aid had been restored. But US marines, backed by a small Iraqi force, are apparently still engaged in fighting with the city's remaining resistance. There are also fears that some civilians may be trapped. "We know of 150 civilians trapped in the city," al-Badrani said 12 December 2004
Too pissed to post 
It's Derby time There's no need to be afraid At Derby time, they let in goals and we beat the_shite And in our world of plenty we can spread a smile of joy Throw your arms around the vilers at Derby time But say a prayer Pray for the vile ones At Derby time it's hard, but when you're having fun There's a world outside your window And it's a viler world of fear Where the only water flowing is the vilers sting of tears And the Derby bells that ring there Are the clanging chimes of doom Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you And there won't be points in Aston this Derby time The greatest gift they'll get this year is Ellis (Oooh) Where nothing ever grows No rain nor rivers flow Do they know it's Derby time at all? (Here's to you) raise a glass for everyone (Here's to them) underneath that burning sun Do they know it's Derby time at all? Beat the vile, beat the vile, beat the vile Let them know it's Derby time again Beat the vile Let them know it's Derby time again Beat the vile Let them know it's Derby time again Beat the vile Let them know it's Derby time again Beat the vile Let them know it's Derby time again 05 December 2004
Highbury Blues 
Okay, so we didn't expect to win. That's fine. I can deal with that. What I didn't expect was to see Bruce take a cautious approach and play 4-5-1 with Heskey up front and Dunn supporting. In the last couple of weeks, we've seen the inkling of a new partnership in Heskey and Morrison. Morrison is looking lively and is creating space. He's shouting for the ball and harassing defenders to find their weaknesses. Heskey is hte sort of forward who needs someone with him up front. He looks to lay the ball off and then adds support to the attack. He is not the player you want when you're going one up front. Even more so when the ball comes in like a wave skipping Exocet that has to be brought down by jumping up in the air and hopefully getting it on your head. When you've playing with one up front, the ball has to be on the deck. Cunningham showed some of his old form, simply nicking the ball off a red shirt and skipping away as if it were an after school kick about. Melchiot threatened but this left us a tad exposed. I thought Clapham had a good game, but others disagree. Such is football. Gallagher didn't have much to do. He did seem to believe that there was little prospect of a Birmingham player taking the ball off an Arsenal player (or an Arsenal player simply losing control) without BCFC employing foul methods, so there were a few strange free kicks handed out. An uneventful first half passed us by. Soon into the second half, Pires sent Ljungberg into the area and when Jamie Clapham came across with a sliding tackle, he failed to connect with the ball and seemed to bring down the Gooner. However, Gallagher gave a goal kick. Which brings me onto my gripe. Diving. If Gallagher thought that the challenge to Melchiot was just, and Clapham's tackle was fair, why weren't these players booked for diving? They weren't the only ones involved and Freddy certainly lept like a salmon. Celebrating a goal can get you into hot water. Many a card has been produced this season and, as a result, post goal celebrations are limited to shaking of hands. If we can stamp out the shirt raising, the disco dancing and the touchdown jiving, why can't we get rid of one of the more unpalatable aspects of the game? Next week we go to Viler Park. Villa aren't playing too well but are nicking points. An impressive home record meets a team weak both home and away. It's not looking good. 01 December 2004
The first battle of Fallujah 
Ok, I'm not so naive as to think that there isn't a large slice of propaganda pie in the following link but there's enough in it to make you realise that the US has had it in for Fallujah since the war in Iraq started (and ended, if you believe the hype). The link takes a while to load it probably 5 minutes to watch, but it's worth it. March For Justice 28 November 2004
Steve Bruce is losing my respect Well excuse the fuck out of my for having "excitement" and "expectation" but didn't Brady question my loyalty to the club come renewal time? Wasn't I told that Bruce had all of his targets signed up and that this season would be special? The club tells me to pay £500 or question my commitment yet is prepared to spend £25k a week on players who at times don't appear to give a shit and currently Savage tops that list. Dunn looked lively, Morrison and Heskey looked like forming a great partnership and Melchiot was, once again, one of our most threatening players. So who did Bruce take off? Melchiot, Dunn and Morrison in that order. Melchiot was replaced by Gronkjaer. I've tried to defend Gronkjaer but yesterday he was poor. His passing was almost as bad as Savage who seemed to insist on either a giveaway ball or a hospital pass. Savage has been off the boil for some time. Rumours abound about him beings cared of picking up his 5th yellow. GET FUCKING BOOKED AND GET THE FUCK OFF THE FIELD. Please. There are also rumours of a move to Blackburn. I'll ask the wife if I can borrow her car for a few hours. If we're in a fight for survival, then the team needs to find bite and spirit. We've got less than handful of players who seemed concerned. Upson looked like he had given up, Cunningham appeared ready for the Shady Palms Retirement Home and DJ will never make a right back. Which gets me back to Melchiot. He would have stopped that cross going in. He also would have cleared the ball after it bounced away from Maik "Flapper" Taylor. 17 November 2004
How many warnings can one biker get in a week? 
On Friday, coming back from the Bike Show, I got flashed by a speed camera. Reckon I was doing about 55 in a 40. Not too bad. My own fault really but it was hidden and it's near a McDonalds drive thru, so I was too busy looking out for chavved up Novas to be spying cameras. As it was on a very busy road and the main road from Brum to the Bike Show, I'm hoping the film was full (it was the old type). Fingers crossed. Last night, on the way home, I came up to a very large island. 3 lanes of traffic on my side, 2 lanes on the right and 3 ahead. I'm in the outside lane coming up to the island. Car in front indicates right, so I flash my lights to let him pull across in front of me to take up the right hand lane. The car in front, the car to his left side and me all pull away. All turning right, go past exit one and then 2, all 3 vehicles indicating left to turn into the exit with two lanes for outgoing traffic. The car in front of me slows and drops behind the other car, so I go past. Car in front decides that's not he exit he wants so swings his car infront of the other car and me. I close my eyes, lean my weight towards the oncoming car (so I land on the bonnet), open the throttle and grimmace as I wait for him to hit me somewhere just behind my legs. Nothing. Nowt. Fuck knows how but he misses. I'm scared shitless but still moving along. I get home and demand a hug from my wife. So tonight, I'm coming back from work. Round the same island only this time I see my wife in the traffic. Much nicer surprise. I carry on along the road. This road drops from a 2 lane to 1 lane road. But, it's still very wide. Cars are bumper to bumper. I'm filtering past them. A car decides he wants to block me . Only thing I can think of. He's got no where to go. I open up the bike to get past, as I do so I realise there's a knocked down bollard warning of a concrete road partition. Bike hits the concrete, engine screams as the rear wheel leaves the ground, I go light as I float upwards, still holding onto the handle bars I drop down and land on the bike, which bucks as it hits the deck and I land on top. Thing is, all wheels are in contact with tarmac, I'm sitting on the bike and we're still going forwards. Bike swerves across the road as it regains balance. Nothing coming the other way. I make it home in one piece. For some unknown reason, God is looking after me this week. Think I should go to Church 07 November 2004
“…The Parties to the conflict shall at all times distinguish between the civilian population and combatants and between civilian objects and military objectives and accordingly shall direct their operations only against military objectives…” Article 48, 1977 addition to the Geneva Conventions, Part IV</span> On Oct. 8, U.S. fighter bombers carried out what the Pentagon called a “precision strike” against “terrorist leaders” in Falluja, a sprawling city of 300,000 west of Baghdad. For the past two months Falluja has been the target of a bombing campaign. According to the New York Times, the attack wounded 17 people, nine of whom were women and children. The victims were apparently from a wedding party that had just dispersed. The Times went on to quote a “senior Pentagon official” who said, “We know what the strike was supposed to hit and we hit it. If a wedding party was going on, well, it was in concert with a meeting of a top Zarqawi lieutenant.” Zarqawi is a Jordanian who has claimed credit for numerous roadside bombings and assassinations in Iraq. But according to Article 50 of the Geneva Conventions, “The presence within the civilian population of individuals who do not come within the definition of civilians does not deprive the population of its civilian character.” In short, the attack violated the Conventions, and the “Pentagon official” — most likely Assistant Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz — should be arrested and tried for violating international law. Since the attack constituted a “grave breach” of the Geneva Conventions, the official could also be charged under the 1996 U.S. War Crimes Act. In the same article, the Times also quoted a “senior Bush administration official” as saying that the bombing was helpful for exploiting “fault lines” in Falluja, and that it would push the “citizenry” of Falluja to deny sanctuary and assistance to the insurgents, adding “that’s a good thing.” The “official” might, indeed, think it was “a good thing,” but it also violated Article 51 of the Geneva Conventions, which states: “The civilian population as such, as well as individual civilians, shall not be the object of attack.” A “Pentagon official” also told the Times: “If there are civilians dying in connection with these attacks, and with the destruction, the locals at some point have to make a decision. Do they want to harbor the insurgents and suffer the consequences that come with that?” In other words, terrify the civilian population into cooperating, a strategy that Article 51 of the Geneva Conventions explicitly forbids: “Acts or threats of violence, the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population, are prohibited.” The violations of the Convention are not limited to the bombing campaigns. The Washington Post recently revealed that the Bush administration allowed the CIA to transfer Iraqi combatants out of the country - a violation of Article 49 of the Geneva Conventions - and to hide them from the Red Cross - a violation of Article 63 of the Geneva Conventions. According to an FBI report, FBI agents visiting Abu Ghraib Prison, witnessed hooded and chained Iraqi prisoners being slapped by U.S. soldiers, who told the agents it was a sleep depravation technique. The agents also saw prisoners held naked in tiny isolation cells. The Defense Department readily admits it uses loud music, painful restraints, and a semi-drowning technique called “water boarding,” to “soften up” prisoners for interrogation. All of the above behavior breaks numerous parts of the Convention. Article 85 of the Geneva Conventions, for instance, says that, “Sleeping quarters shall be sufficiently spacious and well ventilated.” Article 90 of the Geneva Conventions instructs that, “The clothing supplied by the Detaining Power to internees and the outward marking placed on their clothing shall not be ignominious or expose them to ridicule.” Article 117 of the Geneva Conventions says, “Imprisonment in premises without daylight, and in general, all forms of cruelty without exception are prohibited.” Besides transgressions of Geneva, the agents also witnessed violations of several other international treaties to which the U.S. is a signatory. Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” The UN Convention Against Torture prohibits, “any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession,” adding “no exceptional circumstances whatsoever… may be invoked as a justification for torture.” On Oct. 27, Theo van Boven, UN director of reports on torture, expressed “serious concern” over “allegations of attempts to circumvent the absolute nature of the prohibition of torture and other forms of ill treatment in the name of countering terrorism, particularly in relationship to interrogation and conditions of detention of prisoners.” While he did not charge the U.S. by name, there is no argument about to whom he was referring. The Bush administration likes to invoke the so-called changed nature of the post-9/11 world as the attacks created new conditions that render the Conventions obsolete, somehow trumping U.S. adherence to international law. White House counsel Alberto Gonzales dismisses the Geneva Conventions as “quaint,” and the U.S. Justice Department wrote up memos giving the CIA the right to violate both international laws and the U.S. War Crimes Act. But systematic violations of the Geneva Conventions by the U.S. hardly started with 9/11. Indeed, they are characteristic of virtually every conflict the U.S. has been involved in since the end of World War II. The following are just a few examples: * According to a 1999 Pulitzer Prize winning series by Associated Press, it was the official policy of the U.S. military to fire on South Korean civilians during the Korean War. U.S. bombing also obliterated virtually every civilian target in North Korea. * In Vietnam, civilians living in “free fire zones”—most of the country—were considered valid targets, and civilians were overwhelmingly the victims of bombing during the Indochina war. Then National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger instructed the U.S. Air Force to bomb “anything that moved” in Cambodia. From 1967 to 1970, the “Phoenix Program” assassinated some 60,000 to 70,000 civilians in South Vietnam. A U.S. Congressional study found that the Program “appears to have violated the 1948 Geneva Conventions for the protection of civilians.” * Bombing attacks in the first Gulf War and the Kosovo War systematically targeted power plants and grids, railway stations, refineries, communication networks, sewerage treatment facilities, and water purification plants, in spite of Article 54 of the Geneva Conventions, which prohibits attacking any objectives “indispensable to the survival of the civilian population.” One could even make a case that the use of hundreds of tons of Depleted Uranium Ammunition (DUA) in Kosovo and the two Gulf wars constitutes a war crime. The Conventions clearly require the victorious party to assume responsibility for the conquered civilian population and to clean up the chaos of war. DUA has poisoned water supplies in Iraq, parts of Kuwait, and Yugoslavia, and birth defects and cancer incidences are far higher in areas where DUA was used. The U.S., however, claims that DUA poses no potential health risks, and therefore it doesn’t have to remove the low-level radioactive debris. It is not only a record Americans should be ashamed of; it is one that should make us afraid. The Geneva Conventions and other international laws were not drawn up by bleeding heart liberals, nor were they designed to protect weaker nations. They were a response to the enormous numbers of civilian casualties inflicted by World War II, and as a practical way to shield everyone’s armed forces from humiliation, torture and death at the hands of an adversary. If we are cavalier or dismissive about international law, it will encourage others to be so as well. The most likely victims of that policy will be we civilians, as well as our own uniformed forces. If we torture prisoners and hide them from the eyes of organizations like the Red Cross, why shouldn’t others do the same to our soldiers and civilians? In a recent commentary in the Financial Times, Jakob Kellenberger, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, wrote: “The struggle against terrorism cannot be legitimate if it undermines basic values shared by humanity. The right to life and protection against murder, torture and degrading treatment must be at the heart of the actions of those engaged in this struggle. The struggle will lose credibility if it is used to justify acts otherwise considered unacceptable, such as the killing of people not participating in hostilities.” Apart from the inhumanity our actions engender, as an entirely practical matter, to do anything less than Kellenberger suggests is to place our own people in harm’s way. Do you know enough to justify going to war with Iraq? 1. Q: What percentage of the world's population does the U.S. have? A: 6% 2. Q: What percentage of the world's wealth does the U.S. have? A: 50% 3. Q: Which country has the largest oil reserves? A: Saudi Arabia 4. Q: Which country has the second largest oil reserves? A: Iraq 5. Q: How much is spent on military budgets a year worldwide? A: $900+ billion 6. Q: How much of this is spent by the U.S.? A:50% 7. Q: What percent of US military spending would ensure the essentials of life to everyone in the world, according to the UN? A: 10% (that's about$40 billion, the amount of funding initially requested to fund the US retaliatory attack on Afghanistan). 8. Q: How many people have died in wars since World War II? A: 86 million 9. Q: How long has Iraq had chemical and biological weapons? A: Since the early 1980's. 10. Q: Did Iraq develop these chemical and biological weapons on their own? A: No, the materials and technology were supplied by the US government, along with Britan and private corporations. 11. Q: Did the US government condemn the Iraqi use of gas warfare against Iran? A: No 12. Q: How many people did Saddam Hussein kill using gas in the Kurdish town of Halabja in 1988? A: 5,000 13. Q: How many western countries condemned this action at the time? A:0 14. Q: How many gallons of agent Orange did America use in Vietnam? A:17million. 15. Q: Are there any proven links between Iraq and September 11th terrorist attack? A: No 16. Q: What is the estimated number of civilian casualties in the First Gulf War? A: 35,000 17. Q: How many casualties did the Iraqi military inflict on the western forces during the Gulf War ? A: 0 18. Q: How many retreating Iraqi soldiers were buried alive by U.S. tanks with ploughs mounted on the front? A: 6,000 19. Q: How many tons of depleted uranium were left in Iraq and Kuwait after the Gulf War? A: 40 tons 20. Q: What according to the UN was the increase in cancer rates in Iraq between 1991 and 1994? A: 700% 21. Q: How much of Iraq's military capacity did America claim it had destroyed in 1991? A: 80% 22. Q: Is there any proof that Iraq plans to use its weapons for anything other than deterrence and self defense? A: No 23. Q: Did Iraq present more of a threat to world peace before the current conflict than 10 years ago? A: No 24. Q: How many civilian deaths has the Pentagon predicted in the event of an attack on Iraq in 2002/3? A: 10,000 25. Q: What percentage of these will be children? A:Over 50% 26. Q: How many years has the U.S. engaged in air strikes on Iraq? A: 11years 27. Q: Was the U.S and the UK at war with Iraq between December 1998 and September 1999? A: No 28. Q: How many pounds of explosives were dropped on Iraq between December 1998 and September 1999? A: 20 million 29. Q: How many years ago was UN Resolution 661 introduced, imposing strict sanctions on Iraq's imports and exports? A: 12 years 30. Q: What was the child death rate in Iraq in 1989 (per 1,000 births)? A: 38 31. Q: What was the estimated child death rate in Iraq in 1999 (per 1,000 births)? A: 131 (that's an increase of 345%) 32. Q: How many Iraqis are estimated to have died by October 1999 as a result of UN sanctions? A: 1.5 million 33. Q: How many Iraqi children are estimated to have died due to sanctions since 1997? A: 750,000 34. Q: Did Saddam order the inspectors out of Iraq? A:No 35. Q: How many inspections were there in November and December 1998? A:300 36. Q: How many of these inspections had problems? A:5 37. Q: Were the weapons inspectors allowed entry to the Ba'ath Party HQ? A: Yes 38. Q: Who said that by December 1998, "Iraq had in fact, been disarmed to a level unprecedented in modern history." A: Scott Ritter, UNSCOM chief.# 39. Q: In 1998 how much of Iraq's post 1991 capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction did the UN weapons inspectors claim to have discovered and dismantled? A: 90% 40. Q: Was Iraq willing to allow the weapons inspectors back in? A:Yes 41. Q: How many UN resolutions did Israel violate by 1992? A: Over 65 42. Q: How many UN resolutions on Israel did America veto between 1972 and 1990? A: 30+ 44. Q: How many countries are known to have nuclear weapons? A: 8 45. Q:How many nuclear warheads has Iraq got? A: 0 46. Q: How many nuclear warheads has the US got? A: over 10,000 47. Q: Which is the only country to use nuclear weapons? A: the US 48. Q: How many nuclear warheads does Israel have? A: Over 400 49. Q: Who said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter"? A: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Racism is alive and well 
A WASP writes (on a motorcycle mesage board of all places) "if the yanks or anyone else were to hit a municipal shit tip the wogs would ship in a load of dead ragheads and claim it was a hospital so the dumfuck journalists with their bloody cameras could take pictures and write up a load of shite to try and convince us at home that they were being ill treated. doesn't work on me, any dead raghead wherever the scum is killed is just fine by me. yanks could nuke that temple at mecca when its full of the dum bastards, men, kids [women if they let em in] dont give a rats arse, if its muslim, bomb it and if you dont kill em all first time round go back and bomb the scum again." She met with several sharp responses. But she's not a racist, oh no. Just to prove it she posts " just hope one day you are in the same position I was 14 years ago and have to sell your house at a knock down price to some vermin scum just to get away from the muslim filth. if you've not had to live with such vermin on your doorstep you have no right to call those that have racist. now just shut the fuck up will you?" and then we get "look kwacky, calling muslims vermin etc. is not racism, [inciting religious hatred maybe? who gives a rats arse?]I was slagging all muslims of whatever race or colour. and your prattling on about yank gun ships shooting a few farmers up in their fields: so what? what about all the people killed by suicide bombers in the name of islam.......get real. prat." No wonder the Daily Mail can always find readers. It's her balanced, reasoned and well construed arguments that win me over. A dose of the Blues 
Blues are in a bit of a slump. By slump, I mean 1 win in 19 league games and no away win since we managed to defeat a depleted Leicester back in December 2003. A string of recent games has seen us dominant in terms of defending and possession but, despite boasting some of the best "shots on target" stats in the Premier League, we've failed to find the back of the net. Take Palace for example; 1 shot on goal to our 11, 68% possession. Guess which team took all 3 points? Blues travelled up to Anfield to face the only team with a 100% home record. Best home record v one of the worse, there could only be one result. Right? Liverpool did everything possible to put this game out of the reach of Bruce's side but, despite a lot of possession, an appeal for handball and forcing Maik Taylor to make more saves in 90 minutes than he's done all season, Liverpool couldn't get that ball over the line. The stats showed the Scousers had 68% of the possession at half time. Blues dropped the sweet and subtle stuff for some good old fashioned kicking and clogging. It paid off. Anderton managed to make sure Blues left with all 3 points. It wasn't a stunning shot or heroic header. A 1 yard tap from an Upson header. We'll take it. A minutes silence for the demise of Liverpool's 100% home record will be held at Mersey Docks on Thursday. 03 November 2004
22 October 2004
A milling of Milligan 
There was a young man from Blighty Who wore a transparent nightie The vicar said "Son. It's not really done. It's not wrong - but it's not rightie" So what's going down in my world? Georgie is coming up to 18 months old. That's flown by. She's entertaining but hard work (as all kids are). She's talking a bit now. She seems to understand a lot of what is said but obviously the replies are limited to "yesh" or "no". Unless you get a "Daddy, bike". She seems to think that anyone on a motorbike is her dad. Even when I'm standing next to her. Have to have a word with Mrs Kwacky ;-) She's still not sleeping very well. Probably wakes up twice in a night. We've tried everything, nothing seems to work long term. We'll get a couple of weeks were she'll sleep right through but that patten is soon broken. Can't work out why as we're not doing anything different. Same routine every night before she goes to bed. House goes on the market next week. Put an offer in on another property. Bog standard semi in Walsall but it's got a huge garden overlooking Walsall FC's training ground. If Brady puts the price of season tickets up again next year I may become a Saddler ;-) There's a massive garage to the side and the current owners have planning permission and designs for a 1 bedroom self sufficient granny flat to be built over it. That'll have to go on the back burner, when we move we'll have little in the way of cash. High property prices are fine if you dn't have to buy a property. If people are using a large part of their income on paying the mortgage, that means little cash for other goods and services. They has to be a knock on effect soon. The plan is still to buy a new bike when we move, I'll just have to make sure there's enough money to go round once the financiers, surveyors, lawyers, estate agents, movers etc have all had their cut. Have some links How I paid for College Angry White Boy Polka The Ebay Song And let's not leave out I love Egg 17 October 2004
Julian Gray gave Ronaldo a torrid time at St Andrews. So effective was Gray at left back that Gray made Ronaldo look like the poorer player. Chants of "ladyboy" rang out as Fergie realised his future star player was being kept out of the game by two players who between them could one day help solve that troublesome left hand side for England. More later. I need some food :-) 12 October 2004
2004 Daytona 600 v 2001 Triumph Sprint RS 
I'm kidding, I'm not going to do a full write up on both bikes. I've just taken a Daytona 600 ("D6") for a test ride. I'm thinking of getting a sportsbike but I'm worried about the loss of torque that the in-line 955i triple has. The Sprint is an easy bike to ride. In any gear you just crack open the throttle and she responds with instant drive, which is great for commuting which is where I spend most of my time on the bike. The more upright position gives an excellent viewpoint for when you're weaving through the traffic and the loud thump of the triple via a carbon or titanium race can means people often hear you before they see you. That's another thing I'm worried about - that sweet sweet triple sound versus the harsh and howling rasp of an inline 4 cylinder 600 sportsbike. I dropped my bike off for an MOT and took the keys for the D6. Yellow with the Union Flag on the front cockpit. Many people think the D6 is too angular but photos hide the softness of the edges. The tank is designed to make sure your legs are snug up to the bike and the seat is large and roomy for a sportsbike. The position is obviously much sportier than the RS but you're not flung forward like most sports bikes. This gives you the impression that you're sitting in the bike rather than perched on top of it. But, if you do want to be that pretend racetrack god then the pegs and seat allow you to stand on the pegs and ride it jockey style, with all of your weight through the legs. I rode the bike for just over an hour - through twisties and traffic and at no point did I get any wrist ache. The heart and lungs of any motorcycle is its engine and the Daytona’s 599cc liquid-cooled four-cylinder motor pumps out plenty of power. The target output – 112PS (110bhp) – was reached but not at the expense of driveability and, by utilising Keihin twin-butterfly EFI throttle bodies and 32 bit processor, throttle response is razor sharp and precise. The lightweight exhaust system is made from 1.2mm thin wall steel tube and is of a 4-2-1-2-1 design with header lengths tuned to suit the intake system, head porting and combustion chamber shape. Peak power arrives at 12,750rpm. Peak torque, 68Nm (50.5ft.lbf), is delivered at 11,000 rpm. The RS has about 108 bhp at the back wheel, coming in at about 7800 rpm and torque is 65 ft/lb at about 5000 rpm. It's been a long time since I saw 11,000 on a speedo and it took some getting used to. The engine spins up quickly and the rate of rise through the revs is rapid. The demo bike had the standard can on so it's hard to pass judgement on the noise, but there was a strong hint of Banshee from about 8,000 revs. I can imagine it wouldn't be too difficult to see 144 mph appear quickly on the clock if you knew a deserted dual carriageway just outside Birmimingham. I also believe that at 144mph you could snick the bike up another gear as the engine might possibly sound like it's not even working hard. Handling was sublime. The bike moves quickly but with confidence; there's no sudden falling on its side or twitchy turns. I've read a lot about the handling and all of it was good. No surpise. This really is one of those bikes that can be ridden well by the inexperienced. The suspension felt good although the front was a little harsh on the city roads. The front 43mm cartridge forks use single-rate springs. All fork internals – rods, cartridges and fixings – are made from aluminium and the forks are adjustable for spring preload, compression and rebound damping. The lightweight rear shock is also adjustable for spring preload, compression and rebound damping. If the rear shock is good enough for Jim Moody in a BSS race then it's good enough for me. Triumph offer their usual high standards when it comes to the brakes. Twin braided hoses come as standard and the bike stops strongly without pitching you over the bars (although a wee stoppie was possible without much effort ;-) ) In traffic the fuelaing was tested. The bike felt a little snatchy below 6000 revs and doing some roll on tests showed a hole at about 5000 - 5500 rpm. I'm sure that can be ironed out with a can and re-map. I had fun. I was surprised how well the bike behaved in traffic. There's a decent amount of torque there so I didn't get frustrated when filtering. The bike looks good and the quality of the demo bike was sound. There's no bling such as USD forks, radial brakes or a tracksuit paint job but the brakes and suspension felt top quality so I doubt you would notice any difference. If I did buy this bike then the only thing I would do is change the can for no other reason than aural pleasure. I dropped the bike off and had a chat with the salesman. Then I took the keys for my bike and rode home. The RS is very underrated. That ride home was just as spirited and exciting as the D6 ride but the biggest difference has to be the handling. The RS was never designed to win races. The Daytona 600 can and does.  06 October 2004
War Pigs 
British army soldiers stand next to the coffin of British Army soldier, Corporal Marc Taylor, from the Royal Horse Artillery Regiment on October 5, 2004 at Basra Air Station, Iraq. The coffins of Corporal Marc Taylor and Gunner David Lawrence from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers were flown to RAF Brize Norton on a Royal Air Force Hercules after a ceremony at Basra Air Station. Corporal Taylor and Gunner Lawrence were killed in an ambush on September 28, 2004 in the outskirts of Basra. (Photo by Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images) Generals gathered in their masses just like witches at black masses evil minds that plot destruction sorcerers of death's construction in the fields the bodies burning as the war machine keeps turning death and hatred to mankind poisoning their brainwashed minds, oh lord yeah! Politicians hide themselves away they only started the war Why should they go out to fight? They leave that role to the poor Time will tell on their power minds Making war just for fun Treating people just like pawns in chess Wait 'till their judgement day comes, yeah! I was going to post about the announcement that the Iraq Survey Group reports Iraq had no stockpiles of biological, chemical or nuclear weapons before the US-led invasion, but it seems petty when you consider the lives that have so far been lost in Iraq as a result of the invasion. 04 October 2004
Player Ratings Taylor - mixed performance - 6 Clapham - should have been rested - 6 Upson - first goal for Blues made up for earlier error - 7 Cunningham - rare glimpses of his previous self - 6 Melchiot - gaining in confidence - 7 Gronks - showed aggression and tenacity but final ball is sometimes lacking - 7 Dunn - boy have we missed this bloke - 9 Savage - played some nice football - 7 Izzet - looked sharp and linked well with Dunn - 7 DJ - got into good space but failed to use it - 6 Heskey - injured after 5 minutes Yorke - Well taken goal and good play with Dunn - 8 Clemence - added little - 6 Gray - on for all of 5 seconds Emile Heskey was taken off due to an ankle injury. An injury he had before the game started. So what did Bruce do? He not only stuck him on the pitch he used him as the only striker. Baffling. The silver lining from Heskey's early bath was the player Bluenoses feel uneasy about supporting - Dwight Yorke. Ex-villa and another Sourness reject, Yorke and Dunn ran the show up front. Newcastle looked rattled each time Dunn had the ball - and rightly so. Dunn, if fit, will be Blues' best player of the season. No question. Despite his bulky appearance, the lad is light on his feet, quick footed and quick thinking and a danger going forward. His foresight is second to none at St Andrews and with a seasoned pro like Yorke ahead of him the goals we've lacked might finally arrive. Both Dunn and Yorke were slagged off by Sourness for living the high life. So what? What would most single blokes earning more in a week than most in a year do? So long as they train as hard as the rest of the team and put in 100% when Saturday comes (or whichever time off time Sky kindly allows us to play footie) then let them get on with it. Bruce has to start thinking ahead. Our 4-5-1 formation showed our intent and Newcastle soon pulled it apart. We've got an established partnership in Gronkjaer and Melchiot being ripped up just so Damien Johnson can start. Bollocks to that. When Izzet was injured Bruce could have switched Gronks over to the right, stuck DJ in the middle and placed Gray on the left. The Newcastle defence has more holes in it than Internet Explorer and with Gronks, Gray and Dunn all pushing up, there would have been plenty of food at the table for Yorke to feast on. And don't play just one up front. Certainly not at home. 26 September 2004
Leave Blues, score goals 
In the last couple of weeks we've seen a lot of ex Birmingham City players score goals. Horsfield and Fagan in the same game, Forrester, Furlong, Woodhouse and of course Andrew Johnson. AJ was going to be the prodigal son of Trevor Francis and when Bruce and Francis played musical chairs, AJ followed Francis to Palace, with Morrison coming the other way (after we had handed out £4.25m). Although born in Bedford, AJ is an adopted Brummie and despite his move to London, he maintained a base in the Midlands and is often seen at St Andrews or out on the lash with current BCFC Players. Many argued that AJ should have stayed at Blues. Young, promising and under the guidance of a new manager he may well have become a class player. AJ for me was always frustrating. Some games he would play at break neck speed, darting into defences, finding space or neatly laying off the ball for someone to put into the back of the net. In other games he would run straight towards the corner flag and appear to get lost, or lose the ball and look for a scapegoat. His enthuasiasm was and is unquestionable. He found his feet at Palace and last season he got a total of 32 goals helping Palace to the top flight. This season he's already bagged 4. Morrison on the other hand has failed to produce the goods. Harsh but a striker is judged by the number of goals he scores. It's all well and good to say he works hard but no one credits an industrious goalkeeper who can't keep the ball out. Last season Morrison scored the same number of premier league goals that AJ has already bagged in 7 games at the highest level. The previous season he (Morrison)scored a measley 6. Since joining Birmingham, Clinton has had the pleasure of playing alongside Dugarry, Heskey and Forrsell. Each a very different player but each very skillful and experienced. If you can't improve playing alongside full internationals and world cup winners then, I'm afraid, it's time to don the black cap and pass Judgment. Bruce made a mistake. Clinton wasn't worth the money we paid for him and Jordan must have been laughing all the way to the bank. Bruce recently said that the players he bought at the start of our life in the Premier League were designed to either keep us afloat or ensure an immediate return. Fine. I've no problem with that, but you don't spend that sort of money on a player just in case we go down. Stern John cost us next to nothing and he is capable of doing a job in either division. Should we have left AJ go? I don't know. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. It's a tough call to make when buying and selling - will this player make it? AJ seems to be providing the answer. 23 September 2004
One man's plea I am Ken Bigley from Liverpool in the Walton district. I am here in Iraq, and I think this is possibly my last chance to speak to someone who will listen from Europe. No commentary is needed. 05 September 2004
Georgina's baptism 
That's me with my wife and our daughter. For those of you who don't go to church, the bloke in the green is the vicar. 02 September 2004
Strange World The following link is not safe for work. It's also not recommneded viewing for anyone under the age of 18. It's a webcam plea from a psycho webcam weirdo who is making a plea to some guy called "Matt". I can't work out if he's an ex or if he's turned her down point blank in the not too distant past. This delightful nutter proceeds to strip then attempt to seduce "Matt" by distracting him from her Kathy Bates monologue by prancing around the room naked and fiddling with herself. The link What possess someone to put themselves on display in such a pitiful manner via a media which enables half the World to see your madness within minutes? Matt, I don't care if the sweets in the shop look good. There's a mouse trap in the middle of the lucky dip barrel and the shop keeper put razor blades in the toffee apples. Run home. QUICK. Whilst I'm picking on people, check out this twit. He's up for a martial arts audition. What was I saying about the internet? I bet he's stopped telling people in the pub how hard he is. Bluetitch was recently tempted to go and see "I, Robot". I think I put her off, but if not, here's a succinct review Chavs are the current media hobby. Goldie Looking Chain seem to have arrived at the right time. Long standing nutters from Newport, they've managed to crowbar their way into Joe Publics CD collection. Fat-Pie.Com have a couple of classy interviews with blokes who are both called Darren. Both are twatted on "pills". Both have caps. Both love to call everything "gay". Sounds like half of Brum. BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi militants said Thursday they had killed three Turkish captives, as France pressed on with diplomatic efforts to win the release of two French journalists held hostage by another guerrilla group. The Arabic Al Jazeera satellite station said the Tawhid and Jihad group had claimed responsibility for killing the Turks. Tawhid and Jihad is the group led by Jordanian al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Washington's most wanted man in Iraq with a million price on his head. The U.S. military said it had launched an air strike late on Wednesday on two buildings in the restive city of Falluja being used as safe houses by Zarqawi's loyalists, and had earlier observed the men killing a captive and burying his body. "Surrounded by fields, the two targeted buildings served as safe houses and meeting locations for known Zarqawi associates," a U.S. military statement said. "The Zarqawi associates were observed removing a man from the trunk of a car, executing him, then burying his body." Doctors in Falluja said at least 17 people were killed in the air strike, including three children and one woman. U.S. forces pulled out of Falluja in early May after weeks of fighting that killed hundreds of Iraqis and sparked nationwide outrage. Security was handed over to an Iraqi force, but the city is largely in the control of insurgents and is regarded as a haven for foreign militants. The U.S. military has launched several air strikes on suspected Zarqawi safe houses in Falluja in recent months. Iraqi Vice President Ibrahim Jaafari, who has been critical of some U.S.-led military operations, said air strikes were not the best tactic for pacifying Falluja and efforts should focus instead on isolating insurgents and cutting their supply routes. "Blind bombing does not distinguish the terrorist from the non-terrorist," he told Reuters in an interview shortly before the latest air strike Wednesday night. It appears reasonable for the occupying forces to bomb residential areas and to watch hostages being executed. 22 August 2004
Football - Blues v Chelsea 
Our first home game of the season saw the multi million pound line up of Chelsea pitted against our more modest team. With Forssell barred from playing against his own team and Morrison nursing a knock, Blues went with just one upfront. I'm not sure if this was to enable Bruce to accomodate his current lover, Damien Johnson, or if Bruce wanted to pack out the midfield to stiffle the visitors. Melchiot Tiny Upson Lazaridis Gronkjaer DJ Savage Izzet Gray Heskey Blues did well from the off and looked the better team for most of the match. Gray and Gronks played as true wingers and were supported by Lazaridis and Melchiot to cause all sorts of trouble down the flanks. The midfield trio snuffed out most of Chelseas threats and were successful enough in the first half to ensure that both Maik and Lampard looked like spectators. Maik however did not doze and responded well when called. In a game that was going to be decided by a single goal Blues must have rued their inablility to take the limited chances. With just one up front the visitors didn't have too much of a problem to limit our shots on target. Heskey came close with a couple of half decent efforts but it is Julian Gray who should have bagged the opener, having initially put his shot on the upright then to blast the rebound over the crossbar. Joe Cole claimed all 3 points with a cruelly deflected shot off Tiny which gave the other Taylor no hope. In all a very promising game which reminded me of our efforts at the start of our life in the top flight when we outplayed Blackburn, only to lose. I still can't fathom why Bruce insists on starting with DJ. He's a good squad player but we've got better players than him who should be in the starting XI. With all the best will in the World, Heskey isn't the sort of player you want up front as a lone striker. Not many Bluenoses like Stern John and I know he was tired after his recent interntional, but I feel that we should have played a 4-4-2 for the last 30 minutes of the game with DJ taking an early bath. When Bruce did decide to make a switch he took off Jesper and broke up a very good partnership on the right thus reducing the number of crosses in the box for our front pair to get hold of. Special mention has to go to Savage. I'm no fan of his due to his inability to hold the ball or look before passing but yesterday saw him at his best. He read the game well and harrassed anyone who dared think the ball was theirs. Player Ratings Maik Taylor - had little to do but reacted well - 8 Melchiot - looks very good and pairs well with Jesper - 8 Tiny - still settling in with Upson but looks promising - 7 Upson - our defensive man of steel (and worth more than £8m!) - 8 Lazaridis - making that left back berth his own - 7 Jesper - needs a little more self belief - 7 DJ - why Bruce? why? - 6 Savage - if he could look before he passed he would be awesome - 8 Izzet - pairs well with Savage - 7 Gray - excellent home debut but sometimes tries too hard - 8 Heskey - won most balls and uses his strenght well but lacked a goal - 7 Hard to call man of the match. Upson and Maik seem to be getting taller each week. Gray looked very lively and caused all sorts of problems. Him and Stan will improve as a unit as time passes. But, I have to admit, Savage caught my attention for the right reasons. Sure, he still lets the ball go to early and often pases without looking first but he did well to push Chelsea back and allow Maik to enjoy the sunshine. Who knows what would have happened if we had been able to call on the services of Forssell and Dunn (and just how would Bruce have found room for DJ?) but when this Blues team finally gels we'll be able to give everyone in the league a dose of Blue Mondays. 13 August 2004
Man on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown I can't recall the last time I had a good nights sleep. Sleep with both ears closed. Sleep where the slightest noise or whimper didn't stir me. Sleep that was deep and refreshing. Sleep that meant silence didn't feel wrong. Sure, I've slept through but usualy when I've been pissed or stoned or both, but that's not proper sleep. Once again Georgina hasn't slept. I've been up since about 4.30 trying to get her to nod off but without success. I'm very tired and feeling very low. I feel drained. My head is zizzing. I also feel like a failure. I know it's not my fault she's got eczema but that doesn't stop you from thinking you should be able to do something. To help, to make it better. She should be sleeping with the knowledge that you're doing everything you can but she's not. I take her downstairs and cradle her in my arms and try to soothe her. Her eyes close, her breathing slows, her body relaxes. Then she screams. I can feel my body tense and my blood pressure rise. I'm getting angry. I'm sure that's helping no one. Lyrics ring in my head "there are times I could have strangled her, but I would hate anything to happen to her". Sam's parents are away at the moment and Sam has suggested that one of us move in to get some rest. Truth is I can't do that. On the selfish side I can't sleep when Sam's not about. But it's not that. I can't leave Sam on her own to deal with Georgie. It's just not fair. Anyway, even if I did get a house to myself, I'm programmed to get up at about 6.30, expecting the little monster to wake. A lie-in seems alien to me. I'm sure we'll all get through. Darkest before the dawn and all that. On a brighter note, Georgie had her operation last week to remove the dermoid cyst just above the bridge of her nose. The most difficult part was taking her to surgery. I had to hold her while she took the gas to send her to sleep. I could feel her fight it. Her body went tense, she clenched her fists then just went. Her whole body sagged. I don't want to go through that again. The operation took about 40 minutes. She was very upset when she came round but she was soon on her feet and offering people toast. Her baptism is coming up. We took her to Church last week. She was well behaved for about 30 minutes then got bored. She walked about stealing orders of service and delivering them to one person with an enthusiastic "ta ta". Kids eh. Who would have 'em? 31 July 2004
 I had a wheelie great time :-) Last weekend I met up with Dan Uk and Crowley from the Sportsbiker website. We rode off to sunny lincolnshire to a quiet B&B where Racy was waiting for us with some nice cold beers. A quick change and off to the local pub to talk crap over a pint or 2. Next day we went to the Jimmy Fireblade Wheelie School. I don't think that's his real name. We then proceeded to spend the day acting like little kids, riding up and down an airstrip, trying to hoist the front wheel into the air. No real reason, but everyone loves a good wheelie. Midway through the day I started to get the hang off it but then lost it. Only had a quick go on my bike. I'll get some more practice in next week when the bike is back from it's service. You can stunt from the safety of your own home Some Links This Land is my land The Real Address of the Nation How it should have been written A modern day tale for modern kids Bitch slap Remember a while back when I liked the new US to the Germany of 1930's? Flag waving through fear and all that? Well, it looks like some citizens of the US have decided to take matters a step further with a "show your colours" stance. One Nation Under God encourages "immigrants" to show just how much they love their adopted country. Hang on, remind me, which North American country was invaded by "immigrants" who slaughtered the vast majority of indiginous peoples and displaced those who remained? Which country prides itself for being the land of opportunity? Bunch of fecking hypocrites. Check this out 18 July 2004
From Anne Gwynne, a Welsh Nurse living in Nabulus Today in Nablus, a total force of two tanks: one of which was a very big tank - Number 2, and Number 13, which is made to move something as big as an apartment block; two army personnell carriers; eight large armoured Druze jeeps; and five other armoured jeeps entered the city. The soldiers occupied three houses - of course, these are actually people's homes. [This took place] from 6 o'clock this morning until quarter pas 7 this evening. When they occupy your home, they either shoot the door down or hit it with their boots and break the lock and burst in and put everbody into one room in the whole block and there they remain without food or water for the whole day until they decide to go - or indeed for two or three days. They then go to the roofs of these occupied homes, where! of course they have a wonderful view of the children in the street below. It's the first day of the school holidays today - oh that's why they came, of course, it's the first day of the school holidays! And therefore there are many children in the daytime, not just after three or four o'clock. And there were hundreds and hundreds, possibly thousands of children in the streets, literally everywhere. They would provocatively drive up and down, and when the children would start throwing stones each time, they would then [start out in] bursts of fire at them. They're very large bullets. I haven't seen such big ones as today. They're 10 centimetres long, they are enourmous bullets! They're not huge cannonballs [as I called "cannibal" in a previous transcription], but they are very very long. I'm going to get some to bring back with me to Berkley. When you used those for firing at children throwing stones, they injured 50. Eight of them are fighting for their lives tonight with ! chest wounds and groin wounds. Groin wounds bleed very badly, and they lose most of their blood before they get to the hospital - and of course the chest wounds are horrible - they lose their liver and bits of their lung. By 10:00 this morning, ___ Hospital was already full, and in another two hours, Al Rafidiyah Hospital was full. The overflow went to Al Watani, and a lot went to a speciality private hospital called the Nablus Hospital, which is also now full. We don't have any more room for any more injuries tonight. I'm sure they are___. These are *all* children. This is the point that I wanted to make particularly. I checked on this very carefully. Almost everyone is under 15, and most were under 12. Over half of them were shot with these large live bullets. About 40% were shot with steel rubber-coated bullets. They sound quite friendly; [but] they're not, believe me. At 7:15, after this exercise in entrapment, they exploded a bomb in each of the homes that they occupied, destroying a room, and left." There are some photos on this link WARNING THESE PHOTOS ARE VERY GRAPHIC 17 July 2004
I'm Back Sorry it's been so long but my puter was hijacked by a rather nasty Trojan. More on that another time.
Just a brief post to tell you about the Cheltenham v Blues pre-season friendly.
Despite being charged 50% more than usual for a game, the ground was full with the Brummies taking about 2/3rds of the gate. The food was nowhere near the standard of last season's fodder served up at Burton, so I went hungry. Little Kwacky meanwhile stuffed her cakehole with organic pasta and tomato mush.
Blues lined up with :-
Taylor
Melchiot Taylor Upson Clapham Johnson Izzet Clemence Gray Dunn Forssell The home side's Jerry Gill got a very warm reception from the visting fans.
Dunn looked very keen and was roaming all over the pitch, picking up the ball and running at defenders. Gray showed off his pace and ability, linking up neatly with Forssell who set up Izzet for the Blues goal. At the back, Tiny looked composed and wasn't afraid to keep the ball until he could pass to someone with space. Before the game Melchiot made a special effort to spend time with the junior fans - 1-0 in the hearts and minds camp. Melchiot and DJ linked up nicely on the right hand side but DJ still can't beat a man. This was spotted by Dunn who frequently went to his rescue. Izzet looks solid in the centre but it was Dunn who went for the spectacular with a free kick, the ball just millimetres above the Cheltenham bar. Gray's pace troubled the Robins but a short pitch meant he couldn't exploit his skill. Expect to see Gray as a regular sub next season - he'll run at tired defences and get something from it. Some nice crosses in from the young lad but there were signs of frustration when things weren't going his way. I'm sure Bruce will iron that out before Gray replaces Stan. There was only one change at half time (Nico for Maik). The hosts got an equaliser from an unchallenged header. The scorer just happened to be the replacement for the player Tiny had earlier laid out. After 60 minutes Carter, Cisse, John and Morrison all came on replacing Forssell, Melchiot, Izzet and Clemence. Of the new players Carter impressed the most with some good runs from the heart of the pitch and some nice crosses. Talking of crosses, did I mention that both Izzet and Melchiot can cross the ball to another players feet? Motteram was the last sub, coming on for Dunn. Now this lad is good. Very quick but he's got fast feet and can keep the ball close to him whilst waltzing through a defence. Missing today were the likes of Lazaridis, Heskey, Gronkjaer and Savage, players who I imagine will be in the starting line up once the season starts. In all it was the usual friendly. Good natured fun with the locals and a chance for Blues to check out the new faces. Big up to Southy for making the effort today ;-) 21 June 2004
Congrats to SpaceShip One and the team at Scaled Composites for the fine achievement of getting a manned craft into space. SpaceShipOne has rocketed into the history books to become the first private manned spacecraft to fly to the edge of space and back. The craft, built by aviation pioneer Burt Rutan, went over space's 100km (62 mile) boundary, said mission control. The craft was carried to 50,000ft (15km) by its launcher White Knight at which point it was unleashed. It fired its rockets to continue its trip. I don't know about you, but to me, the craft looks like the sort of thing you'll find in 1950's SciFi comics and books. My dad fed me a heavy diet of Science Fiction when I was a child. I spent one summer, when I was about 10 or 11, reading a huge collection of H.G. Wells. Dad is an Asimov fan so I read the I Robot Series. I'm not sure how the books will carry in cinema, especially when it appears from the trailers that it's going to be an action movie. I'm in the middle of doing some professional exams so my blogs will be short and irregular. Don't worry, I'm saving up a load of links each time I see something of interest. In the meantime, if anyone has any spare cash, then help a racer. My mate wants to step up a class but he's got to find £20k from somewhere. Any donations or sponorship, no matter how small, gratefully received. 16 June 2004
13 June 2004
I forgot to mention 
I went for a full medical a couple of weeks ago. Everything checked out fine. All the results showed normal readings excpet for homocysteine which came in at 16.2 (should be between 7 and 12 or lower).According to a medcial website, Homocysteine (ho"mo-sis-TE'in) is an amino acid in the blood. Too much of it is related to a higher risk of coronary heart disease, stroke and peripheral (peh-RIF'er-al) vascular disease (fatty deposits in peripheral arteries). By all accounts, a regular intake of B6 and B12 should lower this. Overall my general health was described as "excellent" but I've been advised to take more exercise (no? really?) On the downside, a pigmented naevus (mole to you and me) reared its ugly head. I've now had that removed and I am sporting a nice wound with 3 stitches. I should get the results within 2 weeks. Fingers crossed. Morning pop pickers Looks like another wonderful day in terms of the weather. I'm off to Donington Park on the yellow whale to catch up with some of the sportsbiker bunch. Some to watch and others to chew the fat with. I must remember to keep my speed down on the A roads. Sam and I took little Georgie to my Dad's house for a barbeque. Always nice to spend some time with family, getting pissed. Pat (Dad's wife) told me that Dad has suffered from a series of mini strokes. Typical of my Dad not to have told me but I do hope he's going to get advice on this. Dad likes to leave any ailment run its course rather than bother the doctor. That's fine with a sore throat or cold but not with something as serious as this. Pat took my Dad to Turkey for a few weeks. They've got a place out there. The plan is to get my Dad to finally retire and live out there in the winters. It's a really beautiful place and my Dad loves the people out there. Dad should have retired years ago. He's one of a dying breed. Left school, got an apprenticeship and has worked his way up. From a sparky, to foreman, to director. But he hates being behind a desk. He's in his 60's and still insists on getting into work when The Royal Show or the Town and Country Festival are on. Work have tried to help him get used to the idea of retirement by giving him as much holiday as he wants, but I think he's too afraid to stop working. When Grandad stopped working, Alzheimer's set in. I think Dad is worried he'll go the same way. That links in to the death of Reagan. It seems that death has given hima rewrite of history. No longer a bumbling old fool who almost triggered off WWII and caused untold suffering in the Middle East and Central America, he's now painted as the man who ended the Cold War. What scares me is when you have the likes of Colon [sic] Powell, Secretary of State expressly comparing President Bush to Ronald Reagan Friday morning, telling NBC "Today Show" host Katie Couric, "I think there is a similarity." Hell yeah. Both waiting for a few shilling to be put in the meter. Of course, Maggie couldn't wait to say a few words. In his lifetime, Ronald Reagan was such a cheerful and invigorating presence that it was easy to forget what daunting historic tasks he set himself. He sought to mend America's wounded spirit, to restore the strength of the free world and to free the slaves of communism. These were causes hard to accomplish and heavy with risk. Yet they were pursued with almost a lightness of spirit. Oh good, always nice to know he saw the funny side of things. Reagan's policies and successes or failures remain controversial in many areas including: Many of Reagan's supporters credit him with winning the Cold War. Others believe that the collapse of communism in 1989 was a result of internal failures much more than American policy. There is disagreement over how much Reagan's policies contributed both to the severe recession that took place in 1982, and the strong expansion that began late in his first term and ran throughout his second term. The combined tax cuts and military spending increases of his first term led to enormous deficit spending and a dramatic increase in the national debt. The debt increased by approximately 450% between when Reagan took office and when his successor, George H. W. Bush, left office. It is generally agreed that Reagan substantially weakened environmental protection. Reagan's tactics in the "war on drugs" emphasized imprisonment while slashing funding for addiction treatment. This resulted in a dramatic increase in the USA's prison population. Critics charged that the policies did little to actually reduce the availability of drugs or crime on the street while resulting in a great financial and human cost for American society. Reagan supported missile defense, hoping to make the US invulnerable to attack by the Soviet Union. Many of his critics felt that the goal was unattainable in practical terms, and that the attempt would be likely to increase the Arms Race, as well as being extremely expensive. Despite his frequent pronouncements that he advocated smaller and less intrusive government, Federal spending and bureaucracy increased in size during his administration; his increases in military and "drug war" spending were far larger than his cuts in social spending. Reagan's most infamous foreign policy decision was in illegally financing a civil war of the Contra guerrillas against the Sandinista government in Nicaragua. The civil war claimed over 15,000 lives, according to former CIA agent David MacMichael. Reagan's determination to continue support for the Contras despite opposition in Congress led to the worst scandal of his presidency, the Iran-Contra Affair. Reagan was regarded by some critics as indifferent to the needs of poor and minority citizens. Although considered personally honest by most Americans, there were multiple scandals of bribery, corruption, and influence peddling involving Reagan's aides and subordinates, resulting in some 30 members of his administration spending time in prison. When Thatcher goes, I reckon we'll get some short people to sing and dance and re-enact a scene from the Wizard of Oz. Anyone know where I can hire some winged moneys? 09 June 2004
"To be governed is to be watched over, inspected, spied upon, directed, legislated at, regulated, docketed, indoctrinated, preached at, controlled, assessed, weighed, censored, ordered about. Such is government, such is justice, such is morality." Pierre-Joseph Proudhon 
Family values, Bush style. Book keeping pays off Kill the sonsofbitches fahrenheit911 trailer In the shadow of a gun hosts some stark and shocking photographs from the war in Iraq. Below is a small selection of the disturbing images of those who were caught up in the way we introduce Western style "democracy" One Two Three Four and this is a small example of the injuries sustained by American servicemen Some of them look too young to drive or vote. 05 June 2004
Top of the morning to ya Went out last night with some mates from the first law firm I worked at, Wragge and Co. When I worked there a group of peeps used to have a "girls night out" and I was an honourary girl. I never knew how to take the title, but spending a night with a bunch of drunken women and being the only male was an offer I never refused. Anyway, I'm older, shacked up and with loud and demanding child, as are the people I meet last night, so these reunions tend to be tamer as folk have big 4x4 5 litre child carriers to drive home before the Jonathan Ross Show. Well, that's not entirely true, but you catch my drift. The tide carries us in a particular direction, off to shores new. We went for Thai and talked about how simple life used to be when we worked our fingers to the bone for a lot less than we earned now, only to piss it up the wall. That always leads to the same question "how could we earn much less but afford to go out all the time?" No mortgage? No nursery fees? Not having a petrol guzzling metal house on 4 wheels? Pubs selling beer for 50% of today's prices? Little Georgie is finding her own feet. She's now at the stage where she refuses to be fed, she'll feed herself thank you very much. I wouldn't mind but she's not developed the cognitive skills to operate the vacuum cleaner. She's selfish that one, I tell thee. Here are the classics in five words or fewer. PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (Jane Austen) Feisty heroine: "Won't marry!" Marries. GREAT EXPECTATIONS (Charles Dickens) Virgin. Discovers humility. Still virgin. THE ILIAD (Homer) Fight. Games. Fight. Games. Fight. FINNEGANS WAKE (James Joyce) Riverrun. Bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk! Irish incomprehensibility. The THE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE (Thomas Hardy) Wife sold. Guilt. Regained. Misery. ROMEO AND JULIET (William Shakespeare) Hormones conquer Verona. Cast expire. MACBETH (William Shakespeare) Macbeth king. Witches: "die!" Does. THE BIBLE (God with co-writers) Creation! begat begat begat Saved! PARADISE LOST (John Milton) Devil pontificates. God somewhat irrelevant. THE PRINCE (Niccolò Machiavelli) Teach yourself bastard. Be thanked. ON THE ROAD (Jack Kerouac) Bored. Travels. Bored. Travels. Bored. Link time Name your penis Sing a Song For Fox sake Bush. When I was a lad that meant two things: "sweet mary jane" or a "fluff covered mons". Now it means "piss hole eyed dangerous moron in power" The media remind us that this excrescence in a suit is "on the campaign trail". Why? We all know he cheated his way into power before murdering thousands of people to show them just how great democracy is. He's now attempting to defended the US-led war on terror, casting it as a struggle between freedom and tyranny similar to World War II. Is he for real? He went on to say that the only way to ensure that good decent American folk remain "free" is "to go on the offensive". Remind you of anyone? Hitler said "I have summoned you to this meeting in the midst of our tremendous struggle for the freedom and the future of this nation. I have done so, firstly, because I considered it imperative to give our people an insight into the events, unique in history, that lie behind us, secondly, because I wished to express my gratitude to our magnificent soldiers, and thirdly, with the intention of appealing, once more and for the last time, to common sense in general." Hmmm. It's starting to sound all too familiar. Maybe they have the same script writers? Did I mention that the Bush family made their money in 1930's Germany? Bush will " accept nothing less than victory over the enemy," . In attempting to sway the people of the USA, Bush is trying to play on the current re-visit to Normandy. "Like the US involvement in World War II",Bush said "the war on terror began with a surprise attack on the US". Where have you been? It's been shown that on both occasions the US was aware of impending attack but did nothing about it in order to go to war, a war used as an excuse to impose American imperialism. The Far East has never recovered from America's involvement. Back in the 1930's a social misfit with a criminal record cheat his way into power then went on to take his country to war to ensure it's freedom and way of life. This power mad despot removed many civil liberties from his own people for "national security" The very same person identified a particular race as the cause of all of the ills of a nation (despite having the "enemy" as family friends). 
Nationalism was whipped up and everyone had to wave the flag. On to glorious war with God on your side. "We will accept nothing less than victory over the enemy" The last bloke to say that topped himself. Please promise you'll follow. 
30 May 2004
Ah, the joys of parenthood. Little Georgie seems to bring home a new bug every week. This week we thought she was teething again; she's been unsettled and running a tad hot. Plus her cheeks are bright red. She looks like a cabbage patch doll (why did pictures of Pamela Anderson come up when I googled images for that?). Anyway, she's been unsettled all week. Friday morning I got up at 3 and spent the next 4 hours downstairs trying to get her to sleep. Good job I had the day off. For the avoidance of doubt, early morning TV is still shite. Only time I used to watch it was after a night out at Snobs. We all used to pile back to someones house to try and smoke enough weed to erase the speed. It never worked. Talking of which, this site was brought to my attention. I've downloaded all the old Sasha mixes and still struggling to come to terms that I did all that 14 years ago. Feck, I feel old. Some crap links Strange media for a strange product Good luck to Huddersfield Town How to deal with a speeding ticket Hide and Seek Strange flash site Name your Chav Child 22 May 2004
Whilst the World continues to tut and shake its collective head at the maltreatment of Iraqi prisoners, Israel goes about it's business of ethnic cleansing. At least ten Palestinians, three of them children, were killed and some 55 others were injured, as shrapnel and explosives tore their bodies when Israeli tanks and attack choppers fired heavy artillery and missiles shells at a non-violent demonstration in Rarafah. 43 Palestinians have been killed thus far and scores of homes - 191 house - have been destroyed in the latest Israeli army carnage in the Gaza Strip. Overwhelmed doctors, who were treating the injured on blood-drenched hospital floors, said most of the injured were also children. The contested area is an extremely densely populated yet arid region. Enclosed by a security fence on three sides and the Mediterranean Sea on the fourth, Gaza has become a prison for most of the population. Within it live 1.3 million Palestinians, of which over 900,000 are refugees who moved to the region after losing their homes in 1948. There is barely any industry in the Strip, and very few residents have been able to obtain permits to leave in search of work. Unemployment rate is estimated at 50 percent, and figures indicate that 84 percent of the Palestinian residents live in poverty, with an average per capita income of $2 per day. Considering that the Strip is on the brink of a humanitarian crisis, it is not surprising that most people have become dependent on aid handouts. Practically all doors have been closed, except, of course, the mosque doors. Sharon, so it seems, is destroying Gaza in order to withdraw from it, thus suggesting that the new Sharon is still the old Sharon. His myopic plans, informed by short term security concerns, totally ignore Israel’s aspiration to be a democratic state in the Middle East and have nothing to do with a vision of peace. Regardless of whether he manages to implement his plan, the vision of a Greater Israel, as opposed to a state of Israel, has, for the time being, triumphed. 
The effect of all this? An opinion poll conducted by the Palestinian studies center in the West Bank has revealed that 31% would vote for Hamas while 27.1% would vote for Fatah in any local elections. This is the first time that Hamas wins top spot in any poll in the West Bank. Although Islam prohibits suicide, the Middle East scholar Daniel Pipes explains that there are Muslims who argue that going into war knowing with certainty that one will die, is not suicide (intihar) but martyrdom (istishhad). Istishhad is a much-praised form of self-sacrifice in the path of God, and a way to win the eternal affection of the virgins in paradise. In addition as the quote given above (3.169) demonstrates the Koran says that martyrs do not die. Therefore they are not really suicides. Nasra Hassan wrote an article called "An Arsenal of Believers" for the New Yorker 11/19/01 for which he interviewed would be suicide bombers. He wrote: One condition of the interviews was that, in our discussions, I not refer to their deeds as "suicide," which is forbidden in Islam. (Their preferred term is "sacred explosions.") One member of al-Qassam said, "We do not have tanks or rockets, but we have something superior—our exploding Islamic human bombs. In place of a nuclear arsenal, we are proud of our arsenal of believers. Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi issued a fatwah legitimizing suicide attacks in which he argued that suicide bombings are not suicide. His fatwah stated: The actions committed by the young Muslims who defend the land of Islam are the greatest form of Jihad for the sake of God and they are part of the permitted terror which the Quran talked about...It's a mistake to call these actions suicide because they are brave actions for the sake of God and the ones who commit them are considered 'shuhadaa' for the sake of God." One of the masterminds of the terrorist attack in Bali, Amrozi bin Nurhasyim was interviewed by Australia's channel 9 television (worldnetdaily 5/18/03). When asked if he was a terrorist Amrozi replied: Terrorism is ordered by Allah in the Quran. Richard Roberts in a great article called "Why There Can be No Peace in the Middle East" wrote: Moderate Muslims, who fear Wahabbism or Islamism as much as Westerners, claim that it is an aberration and contrary to the Koran; yet on closer examination of the Koran, we find that the faithful are enjoined “to fight in the cause of Allah.” Indeed, the only guarantee of attaining Heaven with Allah is through the “sacrifice of life in the service of Allah.” Those Muslims who refuse to fight in the cause of Allah will find themselves in Hell drinking boiling water. Thus, the only “peaceful” or moderate Muslims one will encounter are those who have rejected these parts of the Koran’s behest to murder non-Believers. There are Moslems who say suicide bombing is against their religion. Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani, chairman of the Islamic Supreme Council of America in an OpEd in the New York Post of 5/24/02, wrote that Muslim-Americans and their leaders need to reject violence in all its forms -- particularly the terrible suicide bombings that stand in such stark opposition to everything that Islam represents. Even the mufti of the most fundamentalist school of law in Islam, the "Wahhabi" sect, declared that suicide bombings have never been an accepted method of fighting in Islam. The mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Al-'Aziz Al-Sheikh, declared, "To my knowledge, so called 'suicide missions' do not have any legal basis in Islam and do not constitute a form of jihad. I fear that they are nothing but a form of suicide and suicide is also prohibited in Islam." This echoes an earlier fatwa by his predecessor, the late Saudi mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Baz.... The Islamic rules of military conduct never permit using civilians as targets or as hostages.... The popular, yet controversial, Islamic scholar Shaykh Yusuf al-Qaradawi issued a fatwa condemning the tragic suicide attacks of 9/11 stating: "Even in times of war, Muslims are not allowed to kill anybody save the one who is indulged in face to face confrontation with them." He added that they are not allowed to kill women, old persons or children, and that haphazard killing is totally forbidden in Islam. Another widely followed religious scholar, As-Sayyid Tantawi, Grand Shaykh of Islam's highest institution of learning, the University of Al-Azhar, has said that attacks against women and children are "not accepted by Islamic law." Al-Azhar's Research Academy, shortly after Sept. 11, declared that a "Muslim should only fight those who fight him; children, women and the elderly must be spared."... God says in the Qur'an, "Fight in the cause of God those who fight you, but do not transgress the limits; for God loves not transgressors." Jamie Glazov in his article "Suicide For Allah" (FrontPageMagazine.com 2/7/02) wrote: Many of Islam’s apologists insist that suicide bombing is not Islamic because the Koran forbids suicide. Mmm-hmm. So where are all the Muslims gathering in mass demonstrations to vehemently condemn this practice that slanders their religion? Why does contemporary Islam promote “martyrdom” as the highest duty of Muslims? Why are photographs of suicide bombers plastered everywhere in Beirut? Because Islam is what Islam does |
