News – Borrowed Time

Americas

Bush wants folk to give the surge plan more time to work. Personally, I’m fine with that. I still don’t think it will work, but I’ll give Bush time enough to prove that opinion right or wrong. Only problem is, once that time is given, he’ll be back again with the latest poorly thought out scheme, asking for the very same thing again and again. For some, their patience for him and the ineptitude of those around him have reached the limit. They’re tired of giving him chance after chance, time after time. They want real, lasting results.

Personally, I’ll be inclined to give Bush credit when there is an overall, lasting decrease in the violence in the country that doesn’t involve the fact that US forces are solely focused on whatever region has quieted down. Iraq is a great big balloon that, when you squeeze somewhere, causes the air within to shift elsewhere. When that balloon gets smaller, then he can come looking to me for some consideration.

Another Bush speech, little new to find within it.

Looks like McCain’s run for the presidency is faltering early.

Canada will be plans to set six naval vessels and a port up north to assert a claim over territorial waters in the Arctic. Other nations say those are international waters.

The most expensive house in the US? $165 million.

Might the US legislature have OPEC in its sights?

Middle East

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas makes accusations that Hamas allows alQueda into Gaza, but offers no actual proof of this. I’m going to have to default to not believing until I get some proof.

Arcadi Gaydamak, a Russian billionaire, has decided to start a ‘Social Justice’ party in Israel. He thinks this new party could win 20 seats in the next election, though he himself won’t be running. One thing is for sure, he’s been doing good works enough to get some public opinion brownie points in his favor.

Peace talks between Israel and Syria? It would be nice, but I won’t hold my breath on real progress toward peace. Still been burned too many times by the monkeys running the show.

The Turks are lining up troops along the Iraq border, by the sound. What a perfectly bad time for Turkey to consider a unilateral invasion of northern Iraq. Never think things can’t get worse. Often you’ll be surprised.

An amusing little note, Hamas returns a lion to the Gaza zoo that was stolen by one of the areas largest clans two years ago.

Africa

A Libyan court upholds the sentence of death given to a Palestinian doctor and six Bulgarian nurses, sentenced for infecting children with HIV. However a deal appears to be in the works to stay the death sentences, though no details are yet available.

The ban of public smoking hits Nairobi, Kenya.

Some personal experience from the radical price cuts in Zimbabwe.

Asia/Pacific

The travails of an Australian boy named Hell.

A Chinese doctor blames half of the teen pregnancies in Shanghai on Internet access. Because many of the girls that call a helpline he runs say they met the boys they boinked on the net. Interesting anecdotal evidence, but not really proof since there is no way to know how many of those girls would have done it regardless of the net’s existence.

Europe

Gordon Brown makes sense. Ultimately, in regard to the so called war on terror, doesn’t matter what happens in Iraq. Regardless of that outcome, those who want to hate will continue to do so and act accordingly. Terrorism won’t be eradicated by bombs and bullets. You have to hit it on cultural and social levels to truly defeat it.

Worries about the US economy has the Euro on the rise vs. the Dollar. The same is going with the Pound as well.

GDR nostalgia lingers in Germany. Distinctive times that have come and gone often become a subject of nostalgia. Even those that aren’t necessarily good. One need only look to the market for Nazi memorabilia for an aspect of that.

General

The use of ice baths after exercise as a means to recover. Useful activity or hyped and ineffective?

A review for Order of the Phoenix. Looks like they made another good one, which is impressive considering the massive nature of the book itself.

Find the best water gun for your summer battles.

The Blogs look at the bloody Pakistani assault on militants holed up in an Islamabad mosque, the fate of the National Hurricane Center chief and the former head of China’s Food and Drug Administration.

Today’s Papers has Springfield in Vermont as winner to host the premier of the Simpson’s Movie, the massive problems that Bush will leave for whoever ends up taking his place, Dr. Richard Carmona telling Congress that the Bush administration frequently tried to shape his public statements so that they would fit its political goals and prevented him from speaking out about several issues and more in the one page news.

Amusements

Bar of chocolate sold for $1,300. Buyer thought it was cannabis. Seller thought he was clever. Police think it’s fraud

Feigning racism to get out of jury duty backfires. Jailarity to ensue

77-year-old takes down convenience store robber with bar stool. Vince McMahon in route with contract (with pic and video)

Artist ordered to remove fake road signs after multiple accidents (pic)

A man travels from Canada to Britain for a friend’s wedding, then realizes he’s a year too early

Medical students go to porn shopsfor anatomically accurate mannequins to practice on

British nanny state reaches new incongruous milestone with call for families to be limited to a legal maximum of two children

Idiot manages to screw up four attempted robberies in four hours. Some men you just can’t reach. Which is what we got here today. Which is the way he wants it

Not news: Motorcyclist busted for doing 70km/h over speed limit. News: On one wheel. Fark: Carrying amphetamines, $26,000 and a weapon

Man sues Microsoft for 5 million dollars when his XBox 360 scratches two games

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop this woman whose God wants rocks

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop this little girl and her new plan to never doing homework again… ever

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Theme: Right instructions, wrong product