The evil bastards who were caught with a huge amount of ammonium nitrate fertilser (600 kg) and were just given life sentences have claimed they were victims and that its all an islamophobic plot. Iman Khan, their solicitor, even quoted the Koran at us and read out their “grievances”. They are also claiming torture, but funny enough they are not claiming innocence.

Oh and they have links to the 7/7 bombers as well. But they were just “young, Muslim and angry.”

It seems they are “victims” because they were denied their human right of martyring themselves.

As my British readers will know but my American ones might not this Thursday sees Britain have local elections. This lot are crucial for several parties in various locations. There is a prediction that the Scottish National Party will kick Labour out of being the largest party in Scotland. While all over the UK the Conservatives, under golden boy David Cameron, have to do really well to look strong in the lead up to the next general election.

Expect to see UKIP doing well in England as well. The only real worry for many is the continued rise of the British National Party (neo-Nazis) in areas that are affected by high unemployment and an influx of immigrants.

Be sure to check out Iain Dale, Freedom & Whisky and Arsembly for news in their respective countries.

You can expect posts from our various contributors who are involved with their post-game analysis. It will make for quite an interesting week methinks.

Don’t understand why they don’t have Ron Paul since he is announced.

The internet kicks up some rather interesting things it has to be said and a lowest bid site is one of those interesting wonders. You get the thing you bid on if you are the lowest unique bid. This is the sort of thing that is used at fundraisers for charity organisations and its one that is rather odd to do well. But its fascinating to think of the stretegy behind it. The site is called bid4prizes and does exactly what it says on the tin. The current one of interest is for a Scion vehicle. You know those funky fugly cars that the cool kids are driving? You have to admit that in a world of samey cars the Scion stands out.

As these posts were coming in I was in the recording studio recording a couple tracks for a new double single which will get their debut at the wedding.

Nickel presents How to Profit from 0% Balance Transfer Credit Card Offers posted at fivecentnickel.com.

Mom & Dad presents Potty Training Success (So Far) posted at raising4boys.com.

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Marriage Catch posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.

Mark A. Rayner presents Ask General Kang: I have a hot date tonight—should I wear boxers or briefs? posted at the skwib.

Sitemeter Has Gone ‘round the Bend.

And, of course, there is a great collection of dog posts. A rather nice CoTV is up as well.

Please visit these links and show your apprecation to their authors. We shall be back next week with another collection.

But I bet some Conservatives were rather surprised their worst Prime Minister of the last century shared something in common with George Michael.

... the late Ted Heath, accused this week of having been warned over 50 years ago of the dangers of pursuing carnal assignations with other men in public lavatories.

I found this somewhat surprising, for cottaging would be the first remotely normal and relatively harmless thing the Grocer has ever been accused of.

He betrayed his country by taking us into Europe and ending centuries of our sovereignty; he picked a fight with the trades unions, and lost; he instigated and presided over an economic catastrophe that culminated in 27 per cent inflation just after he was thrown out of office, and a three-day week. Now, at least, we know what Ted was doing when the lights went out.

Not that this is terribly surprising however. Simon Heffer will probably get hate mail from the wets in the Conservative Party for this column.

Love to Lead has another question for us this week.

Readers of this blog will probably not be terribly shocked that I think this is a bit of a ludicrous suposition. I mean how could bloggers making a few quid now and then kill the blogosphere? Surely its a matter of person choice for both the readers and the writers of blogs. If readers have some problem with a blog paying for itself they will no longer read a blog that gets too commercial for them. As a blogger I really could care less if people don’t want to read my blog because i write ad copy and get paid for it. Its my blog and I do whatever the hell I want to do with it.

I do think its a bit presumptious of some that they feel agrieved becusse a blogger seeks to turn his site into a bit of earner for himself. Some of our readers seem to think that we should be providing them entertainment and information for nothing. Despite what some might think to have a good reliable host and a good looking blog takes investment. Personally I think writing the occasional bit of advert copy for this blog is a good way of keeping my writing skills up and current.

In the end I think adverts and paid blogging will help the blogosphere and help bloggers. It will provide the good ones the means to make their blog even better and give them more time to write good things. It will reward good bloggers for all their efforts in the field. And bloggers will want to improve their writing, content and frequency in order to garner hits to help them get the level of income they want from their blog.

There is nothing wrong with making money from your blog, getting paid for certain posts or being paid to blog full stop. There is a scope for all types of blogs from the occasional amateur to the full time professional. As with life so with blogging: variety makes things interesting.

This time the no life meddling cretins want to persecute parents for giving even the smallest amounts of booze to their children. The idiots seem to think that children who are introduced to alcohol at home are the same ones who head out and get hammered every weekend. Never mind the fact that France and Italy have lower rates of public drunkedness by teens but traditionally give their children alcohol with a meal from an early age. Do these idiots want criminalise everyone?

Oh yeah and the head of this fascistic organisation…Srabani Sen…a good Anglo-Saxon name isn’t it?

Times Online:

Now, in addition to their often murky powers of illumination, low-energy bulbs have been shown to bring another inconvenience in their wake – they disrupt television remote controls.

Scientists have found that the infrared waves given out by some models of the bulbs are almost exactly the same frequency as those from the hand-sets. Sometimes this means the controls fail altogether. On other occasions the channels may be spontaneously switched by the impostor rays of the bulbs.

[ . . . ]

Nick Flynn, 46, who runs a project management consul-tancy in Exmouth, Devon, replaced his light bulbs with CFLs two months ago.

Then he discovered the remote control for his 27in Sony flatscreen television had packed up. Flynn sent it to a repair shop, which found nothing wrong but charged him 100 for the check.

He phoned again to tell them the remote control was still not working. It was only then that the guy on the phone said, “Have you recently changed your light bulb?” said Flynn. “Now every time I need to change the channel I pull the plug on the lamp.”

the blog québécois

It seems everyone is trying to get into using Voice over IP. I am quite often offering advice to people on how and what to use for their chats. Many are rather amazed that I have in fact been using VoIP since iChat was first launched by Apple all those years ago. While I am sure that most of you, dear readers, are au fait with VoIP, I am guessing you might be rather sick of repeating yourself over it. Why not send you inquisitors over to this forum which is about Vonage. Now I know Vonage is just one of ways of doing it but its a fairly good overview of what it all entails.

After reading this story, one has to come to the conclusion that all the hype about global warming is a hoax of massive proportion being forced upon the peoples’ of the world. As stated in the article, back in the 1970’s there was the scare of global cooling. So what’s the difference now, the facts prove themselves out here. Thank you CFP

read more | digg story

A low point in their otherwise quality short video/adverts releases. This one is pretty dire it has to be said and continues in a rather “white man’s guilt” attitude towards the region.

Surely this is just a wee bit patronising to Africans? If the nice white man does not help them they are too stupid not buy small arms and kill each other.

The trick to stopping these wars is not to limit the legitimate arms trade (because the illigitimate one will just fill the gap) but to try to get these people to stop wanting to kill each other.

This video comes across as yet another patronising elitist bit of preaching.

As you may or may not already be aware, members of the Watcher’s Council hold a vote every week on what they consider to be the most link-worthy pieces of writing around… per the Watcher’s instructions, I am submitting one of my own posts for consideration in the upcoming nominations process.

Here is the most recent winning council post, here is the most recent winning non-council post, here is the list of results for the latest vote, and here is the initial posting of all the nominees that were voted on.

Arnd Drossel is enclosed in a steel-wire sphere as he walks down a country path between the German towns of Dorsten and Raesfeld on April 11. The artist walked for 300 kilometers (186.41 miles) to draw attention to the many people he said are “out of balance” and in need of “social psychiatric” help.

OK, one comment. His device does seem to have its uses.

the blog québécois

A bit of fun is always nice these days. It especially nice when its a piece of technology that makes your life easier. I rather enjoy the beer tossing refrigerator that was developed by a college student who was bored and thirsty. In the video I have seen it is tossing rather dire lager beer but I am sure it would work with ale. One has to worry how shook up the beer is when you get it though. Just a thought.

Boat found high on Syrian Mountain may be The Ark

The Sage laughed to himself as once again people spent money chasing a fairytale. Millions has been spent in costs and bribes to chase the mythical Noah’s Ark even though it in fact sat in the English (nee British) Museum in London. An encouraged ignorance of the double meaning of the word ark had allowed a great secret to be held in plain sight.

The Sage was one of those few people who knew secret. He knew both the actual cause of the biblical flood and the nature of the actual ark.

When the Sage was a young man he was frustrated by the “lie” as he was keen on getting the truth out. As he got older he realised that it was a better lie than telling the average person that actual truth to the tale.

“What are you laughing about,” asked Claire.

“Just another headline about the Ark,” he responded.

“Oh yes, I remember you told me they were on about the wrong thing and it was a large secret but you never told me why..,” she paused and sat down, “you told me you would tell me sometime.”

“Oh yes, I did that is true,” he smiled and in a mocking tone, “I suppose I can trust you.”

“What about Eden?” She patted the dog’s head, “Should I send her onto the couch for a rest?”

“Oh no she is alright, her hearing is good enough so she would hear anyway.”

The Sage took a sip of the tea that had appeared by his side while he was not looking.

“I am sure you realise that the whole two by two thing is a load of cobblers right?”

“Well doh, yes that does seem a bit muchembellished myth no doubt.”

“Well you see there was never a boat in the first place. Noah was heavily involved but he was not building a boat. As with many tales it was half right; he was collecting specimens. Just not of animals.”

Claire opened her mouth to respond but thought the better of it.

“He was, with his sons, collecting plants samples before the incoming cataclysm. They knew they would not be able to return to their lands and they wanted to take what they knew with them. Noah was in fact a great leader and a very wise man. He saw the signs of the deluge and acted accordingly.”

“Ah”

“He knew it was coming and would bring disaster to the area. The earthquakes and strange gasses were a clear sign of what was coming.
Noah had listened to the ancient tales of woe and paid attention to them. He was keen on legends and myth from the time of early man.”

“Wasn’t he told by God to build the Ark?”

“Well he certainly was “told” by the heavens. But it was a case of observing the stars and their alignment. Or rather certain stars.”

“Ohlet me guess a certain bit about when the stars are rightyou are not telling me Cthulhu was responsible for the flood?”

“Yes, of course, it was yet another attempt at his rise from his watery grave and one that almost succeeded in fact. The Med was mostly created by this event. If we could get to the bottom of that sea you would find some interesting temples, ones that would surprise archaeologists without the knowledge.”

“Ah so what happened that stopped it all”

“Well that is something that has been lost in the mists of time. It had almost completely risen and something or someone managed to close the portal. Rumours persist that it was in fact a massive volcanic eruption or even a meteor. But that we will never know.”

“So it was miraculous in a sense”

“Oh very, it was almost the end of all human life on earth. The Phoenicians worshipped Dagon which some believe is the embodiment of the creature that arose and others hold it the “god” that prevented it all. It has been rather muddled since then.”

The Sage then took a picture out of a file of a rather plain looking
Omega shaped pottery jar with an embellished lid on it. ?

“This is the Noah’s Ark. Even the experts at the museum admit it’s a “rare find” . When it was filled it contained specimens of all the important plants to Noah’s people. Enough seeds of each kind to start things again.”

“Wonder how many other mythical things are hidden in plain sight like that.”

“Oh plenty I can assure you. It’s the greatest way of hiding things the world has ever known. Its only obvious to those who know what to look for.”

“Good point. I guess as an “occultist” I have learned not to think that way,” said Claire with a sigh.

“And, like many other such secrets, I doubt if the truth is ever to be known to all. It is too much to risk. Revealing one mystery might lead to another mystery the world is not yet nor might ever be able to handle.”

“So, if that happened does that mean that Ry’leth is in the Med?”

“Its possible. Its strange songs certainly would explain the constant turmoil that curses that region. Or it could be that is just one opening of several.”

“Oh there you go cheering me up again” she rose, “more tea and a cheerier subject perchance?”

“Oh you’re no fun anymore,’ The Sage complained.

“Do be quiet you ole’ wizard you,” she threw over her shoulder as she trotted off to the kitchen with Eden trotting behind for some more tea.

“Fine, I won’t tell you where the other Ark is then”

The Sage turned back to the screen to the next story.

New Island found off the coast of Antarctica

This is a most interesting find. I have lots of close female friends who have less than stellar luck finding the right man for them. Now when it comes to dating for either a man or a woman I am bit like Pete Doherty is to sobriety. I tended to find women by accident or worse. The last one, ie Kim, the one I am to marry in a few weeks, was mostly down to the persistence of a very close female friend of mine playing wingman all night and forcing things. Then for the next week she badgered me to call Kim, whose phone number I had somehow acquired. I suppose I was being given advice on how a woman would want me to go about things.

Not everyone male or female have a good wingman, or is that person, to help them through the minefield that is finding the right person. If you meet someone special in a bar you are very lucky indeed. Anyway there is a new book out that aims to help teach women how to seduce a man and to get the man of their dreams. The book has visualisation techniques and solid advice on how a woman is to get the man she wants and keep them. This is just to help women pull, its to help women find the right man to have a relationship with. Its all about strategy and tactics much like a military campaign.

There is an online e-book, an audio version for the iPod and even a few bonuses for your trouble.

So if you know a woman who is in need of some solid help to get a good man then send the way of this book.

Senator John McCain (R AZ) made it official today:

He’s running for the Republican presidential nomination.

In a speech in the first-in-the-nation primary state, McCain stressed the wisdom he’s acquired over time rather than the decades as he sought to make the case that he’s the most qualified to succeed President George W. Bush amid challenges at home and abroad.

[...]

The announcement, seven years after he lost the GOP nomination to George W. Bush, was no surprise; McCain’s intentions have long been clear as he has spent months campaigning in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and elsewhere.

McCain has been spending every spare moment drumming up support for his candidacy, courting GOP conservatives in an effort to prove that he is exactly who they need in order to keep the White House.

The softness of the site is amazing, makes me feel warmly evil.

Panthrowzay

America’s first confrontation with the Islamic world helped forge a new nation’s character. This piece by Hitchens is an excellent piece pointing out that the US has been in conflict with Islam well before 9/11. Jefferson knew how to handle them by getting to know their motivations. Too bad that many that have followed him failed to follow his advice and ideas. A bit of knowledge about what you actually face goes along way.

read more | digg story

Well that great friend to blogs PPP have yet another scheme to get your attention. This time they are trying to get their RockStartUp.com on VH1 and they have asked those of prone to do a bit of video to record our thoughts on the matter. Well despite the hay fever, less warming up than I should have done and a mic not designed to sing into: below please find my contribution. As for the idea…I just had to do it.

An excellent track from the unsigned, but amazing Circus, with an interview with Brett from Linky Love Army and Michael Lorrey on his upcoming SL stock market IPO. So have a listen to the latest Dodging Reality and enjoy its informative goodness. We will try to get another episode out before the wedding.

In case you need a reminder of what I said about Circus, take a look at this review.

A quite clever little ditty from www.nahets.com about a career in driving heavy machinery. Rather than lame advert trying to attract new people into the industry, they have tried to do it with a poem and a great video. It is quite nice to see that they have added a nice bit of patriotism towards the end.

Leave it to the moonbats at Daily Kos to come up with this weepy eulogy for the Virginia Tech shooter:

Cho lived in shadows, deep and dark. He attended classes at a prestigious University. He was a scholar, a writer.

Not much of one, if this example is any indication. Maybe the diarist was comparing it to her own wretched prose:

I beseech us all; I ask Americans, migrs, and individuals in every corner of the globe, do not hold your children tighter, lock them up in buildings where there is little genuine affection.

What the hell that means is anyone’s guess. To be fair, a lot of the comments were very critical.

Still.

the blog québécois

We are all concerned about the security of our data, especially in the light of online identity fraud and the frankly pathetic security of companies like TJ/TKMaxx. Now many of us thing that stuff on our computers is nice and secure. We don’t have any open ports, make the bluetooth undiscoverable and use hard-wiring for our broadband connection at home and whenever possible way. However there are still people with the right skills who can hack pretty much everything. You are never 100% secure unless your computer is off and in a safe. It is necesssary to do all you can to protect your sensitive data. To do less than all you can is a mistake for both you and yours.

A company has come up with a new form of ZIP that they believe is far more secure than other forms of zipping up files. Its called “SecureZIP – The next generation of ZIP” and they want to help you protect your files with this free download. If you are interested in checking this out you might want to head over to www.SecureZip.com and check out their software. Read up about it and see if it will help you protect your data more than you are already.

That lunatic who stared in the Channel 4 documentary on Islamists in British mosques has finally been arrested in a series of dawn raids this morning. One has to wonder if it was the Dispatches program that finally got the authorities in gear to grab this guy. No doubt the usual suspects will be crying foul in the media in the next few days. The program was highly distributed all over the internet all across the world probably encouraging John Reid to act.

Snoopy offers up a refersher on the rhetoric of this scumbag.

A gentleman bet 100 that he would make 100 years old. He got, quite foolishly, 250-1 odds, considering he was 90 at the time. Any way the guy made it to 100 and is getting $25k from the betting company for his efforts. Not a drooling fool either and completely capable of chatting on camera as if he were a natural. William Hill got so burnt by this guy they are going to increase the amount required for such a bet. Its great to see someone winning for a change.

This is an interesting bit of news. It seems that there is going to be a new Death Wish movie entitled “Death Wish Returns”. I have always liked the Death Wish series with good ole’ Charles Bronson kicking arse and taking names. The amusing thing about it is that I found out this bit of fact out via Eric Schiffer who has got himself a part in the movie that is going to film in Scotland. The fact they are filming in Glasgow seems rather appropriate as its one of the most violent places in the UK. Schiffer also seems to be in the running to get a buddy list film with an A-lister as well. It will be fun to see how well he does in these two films.

Thaddeus over at Samizdata asked the above question. Well below is my answer.

Well part of me wants to see France wallow in its own filth so Royale who will probably not change much. But it would be good to see Sazkozy put in all his plans in place and watching the French left squirm.

So ultimately its a win-win for me.

Most of you know that in my guise as Marty over at Blogcritics I write reviews as well as for a few other places. Well I get a few DVDs from time to time as well. It is rather nice to watch something for a change instead of just listening.

Those of you who are real fans of DVD can get quite a good deal from Blockbuster these days. For $9.99 your first month and then $17.00 thereafter, you get 3 DVDs at a time either via mail or in store and then return them either by the mail or in store. This sort of subscription type rental is great for movie fan as it means you don’t have to shell out each time. Blockbuster who is and always has been one of the leading lights in the movie rental game is pushing the envelope again.

It nice to be able to get DVDs right to your door without having to worry about getting them last minute. 3 DVDs at any one time for an unlimited time is a pretty good deal too. Blockbuster is a great company that is really doing its best for customers. And to think I remember Blockbuster when it was a local company in Florida.

Blockbuster – Get DVDs delivered to your doorstep. Start a FREE trial now!

My weekly forays to Islington to see my beloved’s parents and use their spare room as a gig/party/dinner engagement crash pad has a sometimes amusing but more likely angering side affect. It allows me the opportunity to read some of the local free rags. Generaly filled with the pontificating of the “Islington elite” there are articles that sometimes are so out there the Guardian would not touch them. The latest issue of the Islington Tribune has a piece about an upcoming series of talks on the subject of terrorism at City University.

The series “asks whether terrorism is a reaction to the Western language of dominance, if terrorist can really be contained by the “war on terror” or if its time for a new radical form of culture politics.”

It points that terrorism has become “a major theme” these days. Well it so happens that a certain group of people celebrated the opening of century with a massive act of terrorism in the US. Surely almost all of the terrorism in the world today is inspired by one single religion and has sod all to do with the language of anything but the Koran.

Surely it was radical politics of the 60s that empowered many of these religious loons in the first place? The blame-everyone but the bomber brigade has been busy making excuses for the worse atrocities since th 60s.

I better normal residents of Islington, you know the hard-working ones who have lived their all their lives and tried to the best for themselves, resent their exorbidantly high taxes being spent on rubbish like this series of talks.

I am guessing a talk with the theme of “terrorists are the scum of the earth and sought out to be killed before they kill anyone else” is not likely.

Speaking of this sort of mindset a group of “journalists” are being activists again this time on the arms trade.tags technorati : terrorism, Islington, PCism