Sky is reporting that is there have been three bus explosions in Be’er Sheva. At least 12 people have died in these vile attacks.

I’m not really sure what this site’s about, but it’s got 3D car racing in a topsy-turvy world of kaleidoscopic horses and spinning turtles. What more do you need?

Warning: Music.

the blog québécois

The BestofMe Symphony is up for the week.

An 80’s themed Bonfire is up for week.

Blog Slovo has got the Carnival this week.

Over at InJewCon they are casting their eye over the RNC developments.

Paul reports on another case of Greek justice, and Colby has the full poop on the idiot involved. Oh and the IOC have honoured that judenhass Greek composer.

Via G’day Mate!

Little Tim was in the garden filling in a hole when his neighbour peered over the fence. Interested in what the cheeky-faced youngster was up to, he politely asked, What are you up to there, Tim?

My goldfish died, replied Tim tearfully, without looking up, and Ive just buried him.

The neighbor was concerned, Thats an awfully big hole for a goldfish, isnt it?

Tim patted down the last heap of earth then replied, Thats because hes inside your cat.

And the Blogs of War have all the details. If you want pictures of the morons, this page has some good ones. Apparantly some of the leftie idiots weren’t keen on the Protest Warriors taking the piss out of them, so they decided to beat em’ up.

Its the middle of summer and things are quite right before the RNC. Why not get Steve Graham’s cookbook and have some fun in the kitchen?

It is a bit sad. really, but last night was the last time that G.o.D. will gather at Kingston Road to work on our music. The place has fond memories for us all and gave name to our demo. which we call The Kingston Road Sessions. It looks as if we will be moving operations, at least until John finds a place suitable for his Steinway, to Rob’s house in Orpington. Next Saturday, barring problems, we plan to reconvene at Rob’s to continue working on the tracks for our next album. Rob has excelled himself in learning the bass and was able to impress John with his playing of a rather hard 80s track. Now that we know he can sing, John and I are arranging a few songs for his vocal abilities. Having at least three different voices to play with is most useful and greatly increases the range of songs we can write and record. Once Rob tottled off home, John and I continued to work on music (aided by a bottle of Johnny Walter Red Label Birger had donated to the cause) well into the wee hours of the morning.

This morning John and I had a look at our merchandise and discovered a few rather amusing things. First of all the Teddy Bears are sold out and that whomever wrote the description of the thong has to be taking the piss. The plan is for the band to all buy golf shirts to wear when we all go out together.

The only other amusing things from last night were that there was wee altercation outside the pub while Rob and I waited for Tom. It involved someone who got banned getting violent with staff. A few of the more burly patrons sat on him (literally) until the fuzz arrived. On the other end of the evening, John and I lent our gullets to helping to clear the taps of a few of the beers in the pub. It was our civic duty to help them out before they cleaned the pipes.

Oh yes, and it’s time for those of you into sacrificing things to do so in the cause of our latest attempt to get a deal. If any advice is needed one of my co-writers at Temple of Dagon has written a handy guide. Of course if you don’t know the significance of Dagon, you do worse than read my handy guide to all that is Cthulhu.

A potentially addictive little game. There’s music, but it’s quiet and unobtrusive.

the blog québécois

The final settling of the long running dispute between the fire service employers and the Fire Brigades Union has produced some interesting insights into the black heart of this government and its equally black-hearted minions in the Civil Service. The agreement reached and accepted last Thursday bears a remarkable resemblance to the one rejected by the Minister’s stooges “bussed in” to vote it down just four weeks ago. Indeed, the whole question of the “Bank Holiday” working arrangements – a formula of words and arrangements the employers themselves wrote – seems suddenly to have been relegated to a footnote. The truth is that it never was the main issue, it was merely the excuse this venal party needed to provoke a confrontation which could then be used to destroy the Union.

As I have said before, I am not a member of the FBU, nor would I wish to be. It is a Union that needs to be radically reshaped and to have the “hard” left removed from control since they do not represent the majority of Fire Fighters in the UK. Removal of the dead handed grip of the “Socialist Worker” and “Militant” mentality there would be useful to say the least. Equally, a removal of the morons who walked into negotiations on improving the pay formula (which needs updating because it is holding back the process of updating the pay of highly qualified fire fighters) with a demand for a 40% pay rise, would be a damnded good step towards sorting out this bunch of moronic Trotskyites.

The dispute having been exacerbated by the continual intervention of Ministers and Civil Servants whose arrogance is surpassed only by their complete ignorance, is now (I suspect temporarily) over, with neither side having achieved their declared objectives.

Harry is reporting that Howard will not be meeting Bush at the RNC. Not too surprising considering the behaviour of some of the Tory youth wing and a few nitwit MPs.

They see Tony Blair as a true ally against terror and the Tories as a bunch of w*****s.

I bet Howard now regrets his little anti-war hissy fit in the Commons.

The Sunday Telegraph analyses the lastest saga in Howard’s reign. If anything d’Ancona is too kind to Howard and Co, much too kind in fact.

David Carr has written a wonderful piece on this debacle over at Samizdata.

The Daily Telegraph criticises the row in its leader. While the piece makes a few good points it seems to ignore the evidence that senior Tories and its youth wing are actively supporting Bush’s opponent. There are even some CF members interning for Kerry. Howard and Fox are proving to the Republicans that they have no control over their party.

As you expect from the subject matter, Mark Steyn has written a biting piece in Telegraph about this whole row. Kamm has also weighed in on the subject.

This Wednesday there was no get-together of the band. Of course that does not mean that we haven’t been doing anything band-related. We have sent the demo off to another record company, this time Frontiers, who are actively seeking bands. Coincidentally, the same day I sent off the band bumpf, I sent off the final edit of my new unnamed novel. I also learned that our shop has sold merchandise which is rather exciting. In futher band news, John has managed to get himself employed, and Jon survived his week in Malta. Our newest member, Per-Ove, Birger, Anders and I managed to go out for a drink on Wednesday night to celebrate the end of their course. We spent most of the evening at a Moroccan bar in Farrington before popping over to the west end for a bit of late night revelry. Of course, we were not without a few young ladies, 2 from Sweden, 2 young Oriental girls, and an imposing ex-girlfriend (not mine). Several of the girls probably think that Per-Ove and I are nuts…(althought more me than he)...Of course earlier in the day, the Norwegian shredder did the business at Sounds music store in the basement of Virgin, not only impressing Rob with his skills but drawing an audience. Watching him wail on a Gibson Explorer was pretty damn impressive. He even managed to get away with doing the intros to a few songs on the music store band list including ‘Sweet Child of Mine’ and ‘Stairway to Heaven’. We hadn’t planned to meet, just bumped into him while I was waiting for Rob.

Tomorrow Rob, John, and I are going to get cracking on demoing material for the album.

“Disabled gun control activist Jim Brady weighed in Wednesday on Republican U.S. Senate nominee Alan Keyes’ declaration that the U.S. Constitution grants private citizens the right to own and carry machine guns, calling the remarks an ‘insane’ call for a return to ‘the Al Capone days.’ ... Keyes, a former presidential candidate from Maryland, said Tuesday he supports a system in which people undergo different levels of training before they would be allowed to own and carry various sorts of weapons. Keyes said the Second Amendment grants properly trained Americans the right to ‘the kind of weapons our ordinary infantry people have access to,’ including machine guns.” (08/26/04)

This latest bit of Brady inanity comes via Rational Review. Keyes is a strict constructionalist, and Brady could care less about the Constitution. It’s a shame Brady got shot, but his campaign against guns is idiotic, inane, and wrong.

The Vox Populi has spoken with great precision and accuracy. This little gem demonstrates the validity of that old saw that “modern art” is naught but rubbish.

Away to the dustbin with it.

Dear Prime Minister,

I distinctly remember your promise in the past campaign; that if you were elected, the Government of Canada would make it a top priority to put Carolyn Parrish in a locked, weighted steamer trunk and send it over Niagara Falls. (The Canadian side is far more picturesque, of course.)

Alas, yet another Liberal promise broken. But who’s counting? I see that Ms. Parrish is again in the news:

Canadian Member of Parliament Carolyn Parrish had said she hated “damned Americans” and called them bastards in the run-up to the Iraq war. She found a new moniker, idiots, on Wednesday in discussing the planned U.S. missile defense system.

“We are not joining the coalition of the idiots. We are joining the coalition of the wise,” the Liberal legislator told a small group of demonstrators.

Parrish, who had to apologize for her “bastards” remarks last year, at first denied using the word idiots, and when reporters pointed out they had her remarks on tape, she said: “I don’t mean Americans are idiots.”

Parrish then begged reporters not to use the remarks: “Please guys don’t put that on tape,” she said. “I already got into trouble once…. Really, please, I’ve had enough trouble.”

Four hours later, however, she hardened her line.

“The last one was a really stupid thing to say,” she told Reuters. “Bastards is an inappropriate word. Idiots is a term people use in everyday conversation,” she told Reuters.

Quite so, Prime Minister. I myself have used, and continue to use, the term “idiot” in everyday conversation, usually when discussing you and your government.

However, I’ve been trying to think of a more appropriate term for Ms. Parrish, and by Jove, I think I’ve got it. Addlepated douchebag.

Kind of rolls off the tongue, does it not? Addlepated douchebag.

You might object—is this not a “sexist” term? No, Sir, it most manifestly is not!

Although addlepated douchebag will first and foremost bring to mind the distinguished member from Mississauga-Erindale, it works extraordinarily well when describing other Liberal politicians. It’s really quite flexible that way:

Bill Graham, addlepated douchebag. Erwin Cotler, addlepated douchebag. Pierre Pettigrew, addlepated douchebag.

Works for me.

With your assistance, Prime Minister, we can put addlepated douchebag where it belongs—at the top of the Google rankings. Let Canada be known as the number-one location for discriminating consumers of addlepated douchebaggery.

I remain, your loyal servant, & etc.

gnotalex

the blog québécois

You’re a Rivethead! You probably get pissed off
when people call you goth, but realise that
most of the world doesn’t even make the
distinction between the two very similar
cultures. You revel in the decadence of the
computer age and like to pretend that you could
actually survive in a post-apocalyptic world.


What kind of Goth would you be?
brought to you by Quizilla

Yet another silly quiz found via Ghost.

Steyn believes that the best thing for Canada and the US is for Quebec to bugger off. Wonder what Paul Jane’ and our own contributor, Gnotalex will think about the piece.

The moonbat protestors have now been denied permission to hold their rally during the RNC in Central Park

The city had argued against a permit for United for Peace and Justice to hold a rally in Central Park, saying that so large a demonstration would cause enormous damage to the park, particularly to the Great Lawn and the North Meadow.

Stay off the grass, kids…

We all love a drink. Some of us love them so much they want to see them again on the way out of their mouths. I once got caught by surprise by the boozy sickness while chatting to some friends in my kitchen. Quick as a flash I grabbed a nearby pan and chundered away merrily in it. Realising it was probably time for bed I staggered off to my room. Unfortunately, my co-ordination failed just as I reached the landing and I somersaulted down the entire flight of stairs with my saucepan full of vomit. Beat that!

Um, nothing that dramatic. I do recall a lazy summer afternoon with large quantities of dark rum and orange juice. It tasted so very, very good going down. It tasted so very, very bad coming up.

To this day I can’t drink a screwdriver without at least mentally gagging.

Some funny stories (if you’re into that sort of thing) at b3ta.

the blog québécois

He thinks Paul Martin got stuck with a bad bunch. I can’t say that I disagree with him.

There is a new political quiz about and it isn’t bad. I got 35.

Via Pagan Conservatives

Michele is taking a break (maybe permanent) from blogging. She will be missed.

“In a break with months of Republican efforts to outlaw gay marriage, Vice President Dick Cheney yesterday offered a defense of the rights of gay Americans, declaring that ‘freedom means freedom for everyone’ to enter ‘into any kind of relationship they want to.’ Cheney also said he preferred to let the states define what constitutes a marriage, in contrast to President Bush, who has argued that a federal constitutional amendment banning gay marriage is essential. But Cheney noted that Bush sets policy for the administration.” (08/25/04)

This is good news and shows that not everyone in the administration is bent on pursueing the ludicrous consitutional amendment on marriage.

Via: Rational Review.

MosNews:

If youve ever seen a rubber woman, you know it must take a lot of imagination to, er, handle her the way youre supposed to. Some Russian men and women apparently have even more imagination to spare 126 of them used inflatable sex dolls as flotation devices to raft down rapids in the vicinity of St. Petersburg.

The second Bubble Baba Challenge (in Russian, baba stands for woman, only unlike the other word for woman, zhenschina, conveys not a shred of respect) was held on the Vuoksa river that runs in northwestern Russia a year after the first contest. Dmitry Bulawinov, the mastermind and organizer behind the unusual sporting event, says the idea of floating down the river in the embraces of a rubber woman was conceived as a joke at a party where the men got drunk and the women didnt show up. While considering the possible uses for a rubber woman on a camping trip, someone voiced the thought that a sex doll would make a handy flotation device.

[ . . . ]

Although vastly outnumbered by men excited about floating down the river atop a rubber chick, women did compete in the contest, finding nothing odd about using such unusual lifesavers. Bulawinov and other organizers try to be fair and leave open the option of floating down on rubber men dolls, but unfortunately, they cant rent them out like they do the rubber women.

They rent them out?

Ewww.

the blog québécois

The European Union has put its best bureaucratic minds together in a bid to dominate the automotive market.

Hope the guy doesn’t mind me Photoshopping the background out of the page. If he does, I will mollify him by linking to his main page. (He’s a quite talented artist and designer, doing work for the likes of Sony and Microsoft.)

the blog québécois

Closin’ In Blues

Hot on the heels of launching our merchandise line and my having an excellent phone chat with our pinch-hit guitarist Mitch Benn, we have made some more progress. But not before the usual amount of dramas and bizarreness. Jon was off in Malta last week until early Sunday and Rob was off dealing with various familial dramas. Nevertheless, John and I were determined to audition a possible guitarist in the form of Per-Ove (aka P.O.) on Saturday. Per-Ove, friend of Birger and Anders claimed he could play a mean guitar. But first, the drama of the day.

John was out with a client until late afternoon. Not a problem for a Norwegian and a rocker, that is for certain. Eventually John joined us for a drink. It was on the way back that things got odd. In the time it took John to get to us and have a belt, some arsehat had glued his front-door lock so we couldn’t get in. A quick return to the pub and the acquisition of Gav, assistant manager and solver of problems, resulted in our getting back into John’s flat. This was not until after Gav and John had to break in the back way, after scaling a wall. Very rock & roll, especially considering the brick used for entry bounced at least once.

It was not for naught, however, as Per-ove impressed John and me with his guitar skills. I wasn’t too surprised, as we had a chat in the pub and turns out he has been playing for 14 years (he is 28) with live experience. He was also the man responsible for the guitars on the drunken song-writing session that happened after the beer-festival. We went through a few of our songs and he heard the demo in all its glory. Most amusing moment of the evening was his description of my vocals as “a bit death-metal”; yes it was meant as a compliment. He then went on to describe how he liked the juxapostion between my scratchy growl and the backing vocals.

After hitting the music curfew, P.O. and I headed back into London. While I joined Birger and Anders for a few more beers in the company of two lovely Swedish ladies on Hoxton Square, P.O. went home, content. Per-Ove might be a break from the norm…a sensible guitarist!

9/11 was supposed to be 9/18? It does make a wee bit of sense.

Drudge reports that Janet Jackson believes this

was used by President Bush to distract from the Iraqi war. Of course, accusing her of bringing this up again to distract people’s attention from her brothers child molestation trial would be unreasonable.

Via: Telemachus

Yesterday I wrote to Walter Block regarding his critique on a recent Wall Street Journal piece on libertarianism. Out of curiosity I sent the link to my piece on the subject. I am not sure I entirely agree with his critique of my piece, but I welcome it none-the-less. I frequently get into friendly debates with fellow libertarians who are more of theoretical nature than a practical one.

Thanks for your comments on my piece:

Block, Walter. 8/21/04. “Libertarianism and ‘Sex, Drugs, and Rock ‘n’ Roll’” http://www.lewrockwell.com/block/block42.html

I am sorry to have to be critical of a fellow libertarian’s writings, but I can’t see my way clear to agreeing with your contention that R&R IS libertarianism. In my view, it is no more quintessentially libertarian than any other non aggressive act, such as playing checkers, eating eggs.

I think you are in danger of conflating libertarianism and libertinism, two very different things. On this see my:

Block, Walter. 1994. “Libertarianism vs. Libertinism,” The Journal of Libertarian Studies: An Interdisciplinary Review, Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 117-128; http://www.mises.org/journals/jls/11_1/11_1_6.pdf

Best regards,

Walter

“Thousands of voters who say the country’s two-party system has become too homogenous, bureaucratic and inept have begun a pilgrimage to New England with the dream of starting a new party that will become a national force and unite legions of the equally disenfranchised.’Most elections are like trying to get lunch out of a vending machine,’ said Philip Boncer, 41, a biomedical engineer from San Diego. ‘You have choices, but they’re all bad for you. Democrats are increasing regulations and the strain on business, and Republicans are increasing moral laws.’” (08/22/04)

And some entire towns in Vermont want in…

“They may not wear breeches or padded doublets. Nor do they boycott tea. But a group of 21st-century revolutionaries in Vermont say they want nothing short of a tax revolt. Their plan? Secede to New Hampshire as a means to save millions in property taxes they say unfairly penalize resort communities across the state. The push began in Killington, a ski town of 1,000 some 25 miles east of the New Hampshire border, where residents voted last spring to explore the practicalities of becoming Granite Staters. Now there are similar rumblings in Dorset, Manchester and Ludlow.” (08/23/04)

Both these bits of Free State news come via Rational Review.