h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Following that, I feel I should post something lighter!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester/8559404.stm

A pair of embracing students from Greater Manchester have broken the world record for the longest hug.

American school cancels their prom because a student wanted to bring her girlfriend

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8563122.stm

Good to see the Land of the Free meeting that ideal

Wonder if they would have applied the same bigoted principles had it been Republican Senator Roy Ashburn, or a liberal MP.

Here's a good news story - I'm surprised no one has posted it.

Baby elephant back from the dead

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/10/2841589.htm

Latest up date is that he is doing really well

They'll do the usual contest to name him - I'm pushing for "Lazarus"

Not recent news, but it has caught my attention today:

Aarhus university to use Klingon alphabet:

http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fjp.dk%2Findland%2Faar%2Fstudie%2Farticle1442852.ece&sl=da&tl=en&hl=&ie=UTF-8

Compare with http://www.kli.org/pics/piqdemo.gif

And now they are soooo sick of each other.

Back to the Zimbabwe story.

Maybe it has nothing to do with the colour of the players. You don't have to be an economist to know that no one is going to invest time, effort or money in an enterprise that they can't hope to profit from.

Look at countries ruled by gangsters. Haiti, Burma, Sicily, Afghanistan...etc,etc

Subsistence farming is all the Zimbabweans can hope for. So long as there are ZANU goons waiting to siphon off any excess, why plant it in the first place?

For those still in need of their fix of international amateur sport:

'Team Alaska is maintaining a strong lead in the medal count at this week's Arctic Winter Games in Grande Prairie, Alta., but athletes from northern Alberta are catching up.

Alaskan athletes had won 145 medals, or ulus, as of Thursday afternoon, followed by Team Alberta North with 71 ulus.

Meanwhile, third-place Team Yukon moved ahead of neighbouring Northwest Territories on Thursday, securing 58 ulus compared with the N.W.T.'s 54.

About 400 medals — they are shaped like ulus, or traditional Inuit knives — have been handed out so far since competition began Sunday. The games run until Saturday.

More than 2,000 young athletes have come to Grande Prairie from Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Yukon, northern Quebec, Alaska, Greenland, Scandinavia and Russia, as well as from northern Alberta.'


http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/2010/03/11/awg-thursday.html#ixzz0hyw4O5J6


Too bad there's no big television coverage.

Posted too soon. Video highlights are available here: http://www.cbc.ca/north/features/awg2010/

A man has been charged with racial abuse at a railway ticket inspector.
Nothing particularly odd about that, but you have to see the man concerned.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/8562156.stm

I'm trying to train my eyebrows like that but Ms Stress keeps interfering.

http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.20minutes.fr%2Farticle%2F390294%2FParis-Il-creve-les-pneus-des-agents-qui-le-verbalisent-et-se-fait-cueillir-a-la-fourriere.php&sl=fr&tl=en&hl=&ie=UTF-8


Google translation of the story of a guy whose car was being fined for bad parking or something, and who proceeded to puncture the tyres of the police car of the responsible officer.

Next time he will probably make sure the police car is empty before carrying out his revenge

Giant flying pliers menace West Bromwich

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/03/12/giant_pliers/

Lib Dems adopt the Berlusconi approach

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article7060533.ece

Pornographer to stand for parliament.

I think that's terrible. Having read through the article. some of those films were *shot in the front room*!

I had two immediate thoughts...

1. Is nothing sacred any more?

Quickly followed by...

2. Is this some new euphemism employed by Times journalists? To distinguish it from films "shot in the back room"?

RF

I suppose, for the Liberals, it's an improvement from their MP's cruising Hampstead Heath

"Last year she won a battle with the British Board of Film Classification to be allowed to show a scene of female ejaculation."

We're quite used to hearing LibDems spouting drivel, but are we to be expected to watch them now?

That'd get my vote

@ ballynac. It's all very well saying that that Zimbabwe was wealthy and productive under the white farmers. No. *Some* Zimbabweans were wealthy: those who were stealing the products of the breadbasket and fencing them overseas. It's easy to create a surplus by taking it from others.

None of which excuses Mugabe.

No one was starving in Atrica's bread basket then The incumbant despot in charge now, is nothing but a common thief and thug.