Monday, March 19, 2007
Howard Comes To Earth With A Bump - And A Sore Head.
Politicians are brave enough when it comes to ordering troops into life-threatening situations, but of course they seldom have to face anything more dangerous than a ballot box full of votes for their opposition parties
Australian Prime Minister John Howard, however, paying a wee visit to Baghdad the other day, was unfortunate enough to find himself aboard a Hercules aircraft which started to fill with smoke, which prompted a rather hasty emergency landing.
Howard, exiting the aircraft as fast as his flak jacket and Gucci shoes would allow, ran across the tarmac away from the plane, looking extremely unhappy, and was reported as shaken but not hurt.
Apparently, though, he did suffer from a headache caused by the steep descent to safety, poor dear.
See all recent posts.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard, however, paying a wee visit to Baghdad the other day, was unfortunate enough to find himself aboard a Hercules aircraft which started to fill with smoke, which prompted a rather hasty emergency landing.
Howard, exiting the aircraft as fast as his flak jacket and Gucci shoes would allow, ran across the tarmac away from the plane, looking extremely unhappy, and was reported as shaken but not hurt.
Apparently, though, he did suffer from a headache caused by the steep descent to safety, poor dear.
See all recent posts.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Dead Certain Way To Get An Upgrade.
When Tony Blair and the Missus nip off on holiday they get free upgrades to first class from British Airways, a Prime Ministerial perk worth thousands of pounds.
For the rest of us, dying after takeoff will guarantee a free jump-up from business class or economy, with comfy pillows and extra legroom, and the cabin crew will even carry you there.
See all recent posts.
For the rest of us, dying after takeoff will guarantee a free jump-up from business class or economy, with comfy pillows and extra legroom, and the cabin crew will even carry you there.
See all recent posts.
Labels: People
Cleaning Up Bush's "Bad Energy."
A Guatemalan religious site was spiritually “cleansed” by Mayan priests armed with incense and candles after a recent visit by US President George Bush.
Coloured candles were lit at the four corners of the ruins, incense was burned and drums beaten to clear out residual “bad energy.”
“During President Bush’s visit here snipers occupied this entire area,” said Mayan youth leader Jorge Morales Toj.“It’s a violent way of showing how disrespectful the US empire is toward indigenous people.”
See all recent posts.
Coloured candles were lit at the four corners of the ruins, incense was burned and drums beaten to clear out residual “bad energy.”
“During President Bush’s visit here snipers occupied this entire area,” said Mayan youth leader Jorge Morales Toj.“It’s a violent way of showing how disrespectful the US empire is toward indigenous people.”
See all recent posts.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Iran Attacks Blair's Trident.
”Britain does not have the right to question others
when they're not complying with their obligations
under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.“
(Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's envoy to the IAEA)
It was entirely predictable, and it has not taken Iran long to comment after Tony Blair won the vote in parliament on 14th March to renew Trident.
"It is very unfortunate that the UK, which is always calling for non-proliferation ... not only has not given up the weapons but has taken a serious step towards further development of nuclear weapons," said Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
See all recent posts.
Labels: Iran, Scotland, Terrorism, War
Friday, March 09, 2007
Bravo Bravia.
As a dedicated hater of television commercials, it’s a wonder at all that I ever caught the one for Sony’s high-definition Bravia TV, which featured a block of flats in Glasgow and lots of brightly coloured paint exploding all over the place.
When I did see it I presumed the whole thing was computer generated, rather clever and quite fun.
Now the ad has won best commercial at the British Television Advertising Awards, and it turns out that the paint, 70,000 litres of the stuff, was real, and took sixty people five days to clean up!
You can SEE THE COMMERCIAL HERE
See all recent posts.
When I did see it I presumed the whole thing was computer generated, rather clever and quite fun.
Now the ad has won best commercial at the British Television Advertising Awards, and it turns out that the paint, 70,000 litres of the stuff, was real, and took sixty people five days to clean up!
You can SEE THE COMMERCIAL HERE
See all recent posts.
Kids Starve For 'Democracy' In Iraq & Afghanistan.
While Blair and Bush keep trying to convince us that life is so much better for the people of Afghanistan and Iraq since the violent occupations of their countries, children are dying for the want of a decent diet, despite billions of dollars in aid spent on the two countries.
Iraqi children suffer from high levels of malnourishment because of poverty and insecurity, with violence and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people making it very difficult for monthly food rations to reach those that need them most.
UNICEF say about one in ten children under five in Iraq are underweight and one in five are short for their age, which means that around 4.5 million children in the country are under-nourished.
In Afghanistan, where an average of 165 out of every 1,000 children born die within a year, and one in four do not live past the age of five, the Taliban offer food and money to recruit fighters to use against NATO forces - a sort of Save the Children Fund that reaches the parts Save the Children can’t reach.
Hungry kids, dead kids, don’t win hearts and minds.
See all recent posts.
Iraqi children suffer from high levels of malnourishment because of poverty and insecurity, with violence and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people making it very difficult for monthly food rations to reach those that need them most.
UNICEF say about one in ten children under five in Iraq are underweight and one in five are short for their age, which means that around 4.5 million children in the country are under-nourished.
In Afghanistan, where an average of 165 out of every 1,000 children born die within a year, and one in four do not live past the age of five, the Taliban offer food and money to recruit fighters to use against NATO forces - a sort of Save the Children Fund that reaches the parts Save the Children can’t reach.
Hungry kids, dead kids, don’t win hearts and minds.
See all recent posts.
Labels: Afghanistan, Iraq, Poverty, War
Thursday, March 08, 2007
A Delusional Bush Sees Encouraging Signs In Iraq.
President Bush speaking about Iraq on Tuesday 6th March 2007 said:
"It is too early to judge the success of this operation. . . . This strategy is going to take time, yet even at this early hour, there are some encouraging signs."
On the same Tuesday 6th March 2007, in the real Iraq:
10 American soldiers killed and 4 injured in separate incidents.
115 Shi’ite pilgrims killed and 237 injured in a double suicide bomber attack in Hilla.
Also in Hilla, a former Baath Party member was shot dead.
Mosul: around 140 prisoners were freed in a jailbreak staged by dozens of militia members.
Mosul, two bodies found in the town, and a car bomb killed five and wounded 18 others.
The head of the tourism agency, Ahmed Gati'a, shot dead in Iskandariyah.
One child killed and two men injured by a roadside bomb in Hibhib.
Six people killed in Balad by mortar rounds.
Gunmen kill one man and injure another in Muqdadiyah.
Baquba: two policemen injured in an armed attack.
Baghdad: in the Doura neighborhood, a car bomb kills 12 and injures 23, gunmen wound four, including a policeman, and mortars wound five.
A car bomb kills five and injures 10 in the Yarmouk district of Baghdad.
A car bomb kills one and injures three in western Baghdad.
In east Baghdad, gunmen kill one and injure three others.
Two wounded in the Sulaikh neighborhood by a roadside bomb.
A bomb at a Ubaidi area checkpoint kills four soldiers and wounds one.
24 bodies recovered in Baghdad.
Udhaim: Three pilgrims killed, 25 wounded when gunmen opened fire on their convoy.
Tikrit: gunmen kill three and wound ten, including women and children.
Hawija: roadside bomb injures two children.
Five people wounded in a mortar attack in Kirkuk.
Kut: bomb hits police convoy, kills Colonel and wounds three bodyguards.
Latifiya, three pilgrims killed, 13 injured.
Gunmen kill a man in Iskandariya.
Gunmen kill two Shi’ite pilgrims and wound 15 in drive-by shooting.
Just some of the 215 Iraqis killed or found dead, and the 406 wounded on Tuesday.
Monday 5th, the day before Bush's speech, 126 Iraqis killed or found dead and 196 Iraqis injured. Three American soldiers killed and one injured.
"Even at this early hour, there are some encouraging signs."
See all recent posts.
"It is too early to judge the success of this operation. . . . This strategy is going to take time, yet even at this early hour, there are some encouraging signs."
On the same Tuesday 6th March 2007, in the real Iraq:
10 American soldiers killed and 4 injured in separate incidents.
115 Shi’ite pilgrims killed and 237 injured in a double suicide bomber attack in Hilla.
Also in Hilla, a former Baath Party member was shot dead.
Mosul: around 140 prisoners were freed in a jailbreak staged by dozens of militia members.
Mosul, two bodies found in the town, and a car bomb killed five and wounded 18 others.
The head of the tourism agency, Ahmed Gati'a, shot dead in Iskandariyah.
One child killed and two men injured by a roadside bomb in Hibhib.
Six people killed in Balad by mortar rounds.
Gunmen kill one man and injure another in Muqdadiyah.
Baquba: two policemen injured in an armed attack.
Baghdad: in the Doura neighborhood, a car bomb kills 12 and injures 23, gunmen wound four, including a policeman, and mortars wound five.
A car bomb kills five and injures 10 in the Yarmouk district of Baghdad.
A car bomb kills one and injures three in western Baghdad.
In east Baghdad, gunmen kill one and injure three others.
Two wounded in the Sulaikh neighborhood by a roadside bomb.
A bomb at a Ubaidi area checkpoint kills four soldiers and wounds one.
24 bodies recovered in Baghdad.
Udhaim: Three pilgrims killed, 25 wounded when gunmen opened fire on their convoy.
Tikrit: gunmen kill three and wound ten, including women and children.
Hawija: roadside bomb injures two children.
Five people wounded in a mortar attack in Kirkuk.
Kut: bomb hits police convoy, kills Colonel and wounds three bodyguards.
Latifiya, three pilgrims killed, 13 injured.
Gunmen kill a man in Iskandariya.
Gunmen kill two Shi’ite pilgrims and wound 15 in drive-by shooting.
Just some of the 215 Iraqis killed or found dead, and the 406 wounded on Tuesday.
Monday 5th, the day before Bush's speech, 126 Iraqis killed or found dead and 196 Iraqis injured. Three American soldiers killed and one injured.
"Even at this early hour, there are some encouraging signs."
See all recent posts.
© Colcam 2005-2007
