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

Lightning bolt slays giraffe.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11718785

Shocking!

>>Maybe he really meant he doesn't care how the English think of him, as opposed to the Scottish and Northern Irelanders, whose opinion he highly values.<<

everybody forgets the poor Welsh.

http://www.aolnews.com/weird-news/article/florida-gov-charlie-crist-may-pardon-the-doors-jim-morrison/19707527?icid=main%7Ccompaq-desktop%7Cdl1%7Csec3_lnk1%7C182997

Pardoning someone for indecent exposure 41 years after they have died doesn't seem terribly urgent to me.

for forgetting the Welsh! Won't happen again

I couldn't forget the Welsh even if I wanted to. I'm singing a lot of songs in Welsh for my Christmas concert.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11715577

"It doesn't matter how people perceive me in England. It just doesn't matter any more. And frankly, at times, it didn't matter then," he said.
Continue reading the main story
Decision Points: Bush's revelations

Mr Bush said when Mr Blair faced a possible vote of no confidence in Parliament on the eve of war, he offered him the chance to opt out of sending British troops into Iraq.

However, Mr Blair told him: "I'm in. If it costs the government, fine."



That isn't a revelation. But it indictment of Blair.
The level of hubris and incompetence to chose to involve the UK in an operation of that size jeopardising personnel and the success of the commitments as part of NATO in Afghanistan, without the funding or capacity in the supply chain or personnel numbers to deliver success in both theatres.

Before one even begins to consider the legal and ethical questions of a pre-emptive strike on a contained "problem" like Iraq, especially in the light that the threat was not credible and could be confidently judged such prospectively.

The only remotely compelling argument for UK involvement in Iraq was that the US would punish us if we didn't join them.
And Bush wasn't fussed if were there or not and told Blair as much.

That's the line I picked up on too -

"However, Mr Blair told him: "I'm in. If it costs the government, fine."

Blair was prepared to sacrifice the entire New Labour project, with all the reforms and changes that were then underway even though *he didn't need to*. The US didn't need us militarily and would only have needed our diplomatic support

It's surely damning evidence that the man put his own ego first.

'It's surely damning evidence that the man put his own ego first.'


If, that is, we are willing to believe the testimony of Mr. Bush.

Unlike Gerhard Schröder then:

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,728217,00.html

Ex-Chancellor Schröder Says Bush 'Is Not Telling the Truth'

To be honest, Bush would have motive to lie about it. If his pet project was enough for friendly foreign leaders to put their necks on the line, it *must* have been important...

anhaga >> If, that is, we are willing to believe the testimony of Mr. Bush


Or Blair. Blair already stated Bush had made such offer at the beginning of the year; at the Iraq inquiry.

I don't much believe either of them.

That's it: we're doomed:


'Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.), who will seek the Energy and Commerce Committee chairmanship maintains that we do not have to worry about climate change because God promised in the Bible not to destroy the world again after Noah’s flood.'

http://www.juancole.com/2010/11/energy-committee-chairman-candidate-says-god-promised-no-more-catastrophic-climate-change-after-noah.html




This is nothing other than horrifying -- No, actually, it's a whole lot of things in addition to horrifying, none of them good.

[Anhaga, we have probably been doomed for some time. If Global Warming were a black hole, we would be past the event horizon. Anyway, if we survived Senator Helms, we can probably survive Rep. Dimkus, whose name seems surprisingly apt ]

I saw a news article about a study that found fat kids were making better food choices than normal-weight ones. The people who set up the study neglected to factor portion size into it, though.

Sorry, I missread "Shimkus" and thought it was "Dumkus."

Q. What's even worse than basing political decisions on theology?
A. Basing political decisions on an incomplete reading or understanding of theology.

Even for those who are into Biblical literalism, this guy's message shouldn't make sense. I think that anyone remotely familiar with the impact of climate change knows that worldwide flooding covering all existing land isn't likely and that flooding isn't the only consequence. With that in mind...

Genesis 9:11 "...life will never again be cut off by the waters of the flood, and the earth will never again be destroyed."

Point one - it says that life won't cease to exist as a direct result of flooding.

Point two - No disaster to humanity, including extinction, is the same as the destruction of the Earth, which may well be better off without us.

Also...

Genesis 9:15 "...the waters of the flood will not again destroy all life."

Again, this contains no promise not to destroy all life, just not to do it as a direct consequnce of a worldwide flood that erases all land.

If you're gonna use the Bible as an argument against taking action against climate change, you're already not making a whole lot of sense. At least get it right.

NBY

and . . .



a bunch of people voted for this joker!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-11712783

You can almost sense the eagerness to capitalise on such things as:

Extortionate entry fees justified by the costs of ground maintainence
Cafe's and theme parks
Additional charges for access to particularly spectacular viewpoints
Absolutely no photography, aside from the those on sale from our special on site photographer - extra costs apply

I could go on, but just take Lands End as an example of what will be ultimately achieved

Who knew you couldn't take notes in Parliament?

http://www.bigbrotherwatch.org.uk/home/2010/11/bercow-must-lift-the-ban-on-bloggers-taking-notes-in-parliament-.html

"Whilst fully accredited lobby journalists are permitted to take notes from their privileged perches in the Press Gallery, normal members of the public, you and I, are not."