BBC 4 Any Answers broadcasts unwelcome truths, exposes state terrorism.

"Any Questions" is a weekly BBC4 program in which a panel of professional politicians and business leaders, a token woman and assorted celebrities answer questions about issues of the week. It is chaired by Jonathan Dimbleby whose brother David Dimbleby also chairs an equivalent TV program "Question Time".

"Any Answers" is a phone in program moderated by David Dimbleby which follows the Saturday repeat of the Friday evening show. Collectively the brothers are known as the Dimblebores.

Today, at 2.25pm a Liam O' Kelly, from Langley in Nottinghamshire took up the need for an independent public enquiry into the events of 7/7 bombings when 56 people were killed in London and hundreds injured. This can be heard by going to the program repeat which remains available for 7 days on the BBC site. Listen here 25 -28 mins in the 30 mins program. Hint : Download to Real Player or similiar, to speed /slow/reverse/ repeat recording. You Tube version of the relevant clip here

This is a transcript of the call.. (25mins - 28 mins)

Liam O'Kelly : Good Afternoon. The more Tony Blair and Reid try to resist a public enquiry the more the public should demand one.

We know the extremes past politicians and MI5 and the Government have gone to to defy to democratic opposition. We know that what Sir John Stevens of the Metropolitan Police Chief and John Stalker said about collusion between MI5 and loyalist terrorists in the murder of UK citizens is true and not only that, but they colluded with Loyalist killers and in one instance paid £80,000 of taxpayers money.

We also know that bomb warnings in the past were ignored for political ends and we also know that the British Government in collusion with the UVF bombed and killed 34 shoppers in Dublin (see pic) and Monaghan (May 17, 1974) ... now as ...

David Dimbleby : (Evidently very agitated)All these things I have to say that is to say all these assertions you are making are fiercely disputed.. can I just bring you back .... we have'nt got time to go into them are fierecely disputed ...
L O'K ..No...

David Dimbleby : .....will you hold it a second
L O'K : ...they are not disputed

David Dimbleby :Well ..er ... The context in which you place them is open to question and the particular way you place them is highly disputed as I am sure you will know is ....

L O'K : No I don't I know that. What I said is true and that what you said is waffle.

David Dimbleby : OK that's fine by me. Are you saying there should be an enquiry ?
L O'K : Absolutely

Ends.

The Dimblebores are the sons of Richard Dimbleby who was an overweight portentous Reithian BBC man who had an outstanding position as a"the voice of the nation" wheeled out for Royal Funerals, Weddings and State Funerals.

His two sons are the respectable shining face, and mouthpiece of the Lady Dame Jane Pauline Neville Jones Fan Club and can be relied upon to assiduously pursue the establishment line on everything. Quite how Mr Liam O'Kelly, to whom we are all very grateful managed to sneak in his very unwelcome truths is difficult to understand .. one suspects that there was a very lengthy and heated analysis in the glass box after the program to see how such seditious views soiled the domestic airwaves.

It would be good if this exchange were publicised as much as possible and that some kind soul prepares a suitable MP3 clip of the exchange ... a task which defies the technical skills of Patel Towers vast technical staff. ( The result of this request leaves us knee deeep in clips/MP3 s etc., perhaps readers are best directed to the You Tube site here to listen to this historic clip with tasty pictures of the results of UK State terrism visited upon another sovereign state - the Dublin - Monaghan bombings - fascinating historical tidbit, the FCO lawyer who was involved in trying to prevent action by Irish citizens against the UK State was Mrs Wilmshurst - (who famously resigned over the illegal invasion of Iraq) Many, many thanks to everyone - you know who you are.

Mr Liam O'Kelly wherever you may be ... many, many congratulations. Keep it up. Truth is magnificent and it shall prevail.

Judicious laughter

The Daily Torygraph report that Judge Roy Pearson took a pair of trousers for cleaning into Custom Cleaners in his neighbourhood, Fort Lincoln, Washington, in 2002. He never saw them again.

The judge accepted £75 (US $150) in compensation from the owners, Jim and Soo Chung.

3 years later,another pair, this time it is said, the judge's favourite pair of trousers suffered the same fate. After some legal and, for the judge, unsatisfactory legal wrangling he has issued a writ claiming US467Mn from the Chungs, based on the failure by them to to fulfil the promises displayed in their shop window: "Satisfaction Guaranteed" and "Same Day Service".

This reminds Lord Patel of a learned judge full of wisdom and post-prandial port returning somewhat unsteadily to his rooms after a lengthy and generous lunch.

His butler on welcoming him back pointed, to the fresh vomit on the front of his suit and weskit and discreetly suggested that his Honour might wish to disrobe and lie down for a while, whilst he dealt with the noisome mess on his lapels.

"Damn drunk...in the street, Jenkins...damn drunk .... sick all over me," explained his Honour.

The discreet butler took the clothes and as he was retiring the Judge exclaimed further to his helpful manservant, ..."damn drunk Jenkins, .. disgusting ..had him in front of me ... I'd give him six months!".

Some time later the butler returned with the suit, superbly cleaned and pressed accompanied by a restorative cup of tea.

Helping the Judge on with his suit, he murmered to the him that perhaps if the drunk did ever appear in front of him, he might justifiably extend the sentence to 12 months.

The Judge queried this rather savage increase in the supposed sentence, from his mild mannered and courteous manservant.

"Well sir, he made a terrible mess in your trousers as well."

Washington hi-jinks and low life to be exposed

It appears that when the Washington Post uses the terms "sensible heels" in article about Madame Palfrey it merely refers to her footwear when she was required to appear in court this week.

Talking of heels R. Bruce McLean, the chairman of blue chip law firm, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, said they had placed a legal secretary on administrative leave yesterday because , apparently in in violation of a policy barring employees from holding second jobs. She told her bosses on Monday she moonlighted for Palfrey's escort service for "spa money," according to ABC's Web site. This also included using her e-mail account at the firm to correspond with Mrs Palfrey and helped her run the business end Pamela Martin and Associates, as well as servicing clients.

As Vernon E. Jordan Jr., 72, former chairman of the Clinton Presidential Transition Team is a senior partner in the Washington office, the firm must have a deep and wide experience of
the knotty problems of people who cannot keep their mind on the job .. er ... in hand.

Those with a long memory will remember Jordan helped Monica Lewinsky find a job, referring her to Revlon and another company where he serves on the board of directors - after having been asked to by Clinton's personal secretary Bettie Curry. He also had what appears to to be a memorable/unmemorable breakfast with Monica on New Year's Eve 1977 at the Park Hyatt Hotel, where Jordan often eats in the morning. He definitely did remember that he did not tell the former White House intern during their meal that she should go home and destroy any copies or drafts of notes she had sent Clinton that might establish their affair. Which was odd because 5 months previously she had testified that he told her, "Go home and make sure they're not there," he told her, according to her testimony. Lewinsky said she understood that to mean she should destroy the notes and she went home and discarded about 50 draft missives.

At first he denied this meeting but when confronted with a credit card receipt showing that he paid $39.55 for a fruit plate, fruit yogurt, cereal and English muffin on that date, he did say that while he did not remember that encounter when first asked last year, he had come to recall it since reading Lewinsky's subsequent testimony.

He was however anxious to portray his integrity and did admit in close questioning that, "I gave her a ride in my chauffeur-driven Akin Gump car."

If the question of sex with clients arises Jordan could be ahandy guy to have on board because few will forget the exchange reported to the grand Jury on March 3rd 1998

And I put the question to him. And he said –

Q: What was the question you asked?

A: "Mr. President, have you had sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky?" The President said, "No, never."

Which is just as well because that was the same answer he got when he asked Monica Lewsinky the same day ...and went on to clarify what he meant in cross examination..

Q: So in your mind when you asked her if she had sexual relations, you meant solely did she have sexual intercourse with him?

A: Yes, I meant sexual intercourse, period.

Must have been a memorable day that, not everyone, even a lawyer at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, gets the chance to ask the President of the worlds most powerful nation and a college intern if they have been making the two backed beast. Of course he failed to ask either or both of them if she'd sucked his cock or if he'd ejaculated over her pretty little blue dress - probably a bit over excited. Good job that Ringo Starr remembered to.

Apparently says the august Bruce McLean, the lady in question in the Palfrey case, hadn't sought approval for that particular job, and would not have been given it if she had asked. No mention of her running a legal, exotic fantasy sex service and on demand massage service using the firms time and systems. The lady in question , who so far remains un-named, but has a legal representative, the exotically named Athan Tsimpedes (1420 New York Ave., NW. Washington, DC 20005), who says his client is a Government witness.

ABC "20/20" at 10 p.m. EDT.

..was a damp squib if these reports are anything to go buy Here and Here

PS Update . Nice to report that the Dallas office of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld logged in to the read this post n Saturday lunchtime - Howdy folks!

Scottish voters, confused, disenfranchised,.. and the computers failed as well.

Probably as many as 100,000 Scottish voters have been disenfranchised, as they have failed to understand how to complete the two voting slips they were presented with yesterday. So whatever the results are they will not represent the voting intentions of those who took part.

Voters were presented with three ballots on 2 voting papers for two seperate elections ;

A. For the Holyrood elections - One paper combining 2 lists
1. For a named individual candidate which required a single "X"
2. For the "top-up regional list" where voters cast a preference for party only, not candidate, which required a single "X"

B. For local authority elections under the new Single Transferable Vote system requring the need to mark their First and Second preference with a "1", "2", "3" etc.,

A combination of poor design, inedequately clear instructions and lack of experience resulted in many thousands of ballot papers being inadvertently spoilt... and threfore rejected from the count.

On top of this there has evidently been malfunctioning automatic mark sense reading equipment and associated software.

This must have affected the results - for example, in Airdrie and Shotts, Labour's majority of 1,446 was less than the total of 1,536 rejected ballots. In some constituencies up to 7% of the papers were declared spoilt.

The Guradian quote Alex Salmond ...

"The postal voting arrangements for this election across Scotland were totally inadequate.

"It is also the case that the decision to conduct an STV election at the same time as a first-past-the-post ballot for the Scottish parliament was deeply mistaken.

"As a direct result, tens of thousands of votes across Scotland have been discounted this evening.

"That is totally unacceptable in a democratic society."

Ken Ritchie, the chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society, which is monitoring the election, said the situation was "shocking and intolerable".

He added: "We have no reason to believe there's any political bias but its hugely unsatisfactory.

The Scotland Office minister, David Cairns, told the BBC:

"There is clearly an issue about the number of spoilt ballot papers."

It beggars belief that in a modern, educated democracy that such a result could be produced. There will of course be a lot of blowing hard but nothing will happen ...but you can be certain that after the necessary emollient "Inquiry" ...er... "lessons will be learnt."

.. and everyone who lost will claim the election was stolen from them.

For those Prey on us all ....

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 3, 2007, as a National Day of Prayer. I ask the citizens of our Nation to give thanks, each according to his or her own faith, for the freedoms and blessings we have received and for God's continued guidance, comfort, and protection. I invite all Americans to join in observing this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.

Our Leader is shown celebrating National Prayer Day with Shirley Dobson, wife of James Dobson who is generally considered the most influential of lunatic Christian Right leaders in the US. He also believes in hitting kids, and that the wife must be subservient to the husband.

So what did the Great Leader do after preying with the dutiful wife of James Dobson ?

Whye he went for his breakfast at the Willard Hotel in Washington DC. and sat down to talk about the War on Terror, Economy with Associated General Contractors of America, the AGC, the oldest and largest construction trade association in our country.

"For America, the decision we face in Iraq is not whether we ought to take sides in a civil war, it's whether we stay in the fight against the same international terrorist network that attacked us on 9/11. I strongly believe it's in our national interest to stay in the fight

." (Applause.)

You know, the Iraq government has been in office about a year. And they're beginning to make some progress toward political benchmarks it has set, political benchmarks I support. The legislature has passed a budget that commits $10 billion for reconstruction projects. That's $10 billion of the Iraqi people's money -- positive sign (think of all that pork guys!) -- the assembly met, they appropriated money for the good of the Iraqi people. They spent $7.3 billion to train and equip their own security forces. The council of ministers has approved legislation that would provide a framework for equitable sharing of oil resources. We strongly believe -- by the way, both Republicans, Democrats, and independents -- believe strongly that a good oil bill will help unite the country. That's why it's a benchmark. And they're making -- this government is making progress toward an important piece of legislation that would help the security track progress, as well as the political and economic track.

You bet there was applause - Iraq, AND Katrina, suspension of the Bacon Davis Act, US$10 Billion MORE to steal spend AND the "good oil bill" - "equitable sharing of oil resources" with the huge oilcos and us, it's amazing those guys weren't queuing up to kiss his butt.

Then again... maybe they did.

Kent State, May 4, 1970: When America Killed It's Children

Allison Krause, William Schroeder, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer

The bombing of Cambodia was a squalid secret. It's architect was a Jewish emigre, Nixons's National Security advisor, Nobel Peace Prize Winner Henry Kissinger who, Christopher Hitchens, in his The Trial of Henry Kissinger, says is a war criminal... and not just for carpet bombing the Cambodians.

When knowledge of the bombing of Cambodia which had been secretly going on for months, if not years, became public it resulted in student protests in many places in the US. AS a result of riots which involved an attempt to burn down the Kent University State (Ohio) ROTC Building Governor James Rhodes sent in the National Guard.

On the 4th of May the Guard marched down a hill, they had removed identity tags and were unidentifiable wearing gas masks, to a field of angry, shouting, casually dressed young protestors and then back up again. As the group of guradsmen reached the buildings of the University the Guardsmen wheeled and fired into the students killing four and injuring another nine.13 seconds of indiscriminate gunfire (One Mississippi ... two Mississippi...) 67 shots in total 5 per second.

Not known for many years there was there was also an undercover FBI informant, Terry Norman, carrying a gun on the field that day.

The Guardsmen were told the same night that they would never be prosecuted by the state of Ohio. They never were.

The Nixon administration stalled for years, "investigations" were announced and dried up, Nixons notorious White House tapes subsequently released show that Nixon thought demonstrators were bums, and asked the Secret Service to go beat them up, and apparently felt that the Kent State victims had it coming.

As did most of the country; William Gordon graduate of Kent in 1973 and of author of Four Dead in Ohio, called the killings "the most popular murders ever committed in the United States."

President Nixon created a public atmosphere in which students who opposed the war were fair game for those who supported the government. Construction workers rioted on Wall Street a week later attacking antiwar demonstrators and sending many to the hospital.

President Nixon called the parents of one student who was killed and was a bystander--he was a member of ROTC-- and he expressed his condolences.

Ignoring pleas from the families of the victims and current KSU students who set up a makeshift Tent City on the practice football field, Kent State proceeded to build gymnasium annex over a large part of the site of the May 4 confrontation. 192 protesters were removed from the site and arrested. Subsequent protests are similarly unsuccessful.

in May 1990 KSU dedicated, eventually a memorial of granite slabs in a woodland setting, to "the events of May 4" (not the victims). At the dedication ceremonies, Ohio Governor Richard Celeste apologized to the families of the four slain students and the nine surviving victims.

Pic Mary Ann Vecchio over the body of Jeffrey Miller shot in the mouth - a picture that went round the world -

At 9:45 a.m. the Victory Bell will be rung 32 times in honor of those killed at Virginia Tech.

"Truth: The First Casualty of War," the 37th Annual Kent State May 4 Commemoration, will be held in the Commons beginning at noon. Cindy Sheehan, mother of Casey Sheehan, a soldier killed in Iraq, will be the keynote speaker.

Other speakers include: Tom Hayden, founding member of the Students for a Democratic Society; Rosemary Palmer, mother of Lance Corporal Edward "Augie" Schroeder, KIA in Iraq; Gene Young, witness to Jackson State shootings, May 14, 1970; Joe Lewis, Jr., wounded at Kent State, May 4, 1970; Jim Russell, wounded at Kent State, May 4, 1970; Tim Ryan, U.S. Representative for the 17th District of Ohio; Mary Ann Vecchio, woman from the Pulitzer Prize winning photograph shown above; Jim Mueller, former May 4 Task Force Co-chair; Isaac Miller, Kent State Anti-War Committee; Kellie Cornachiore, Alpha Xi Delta.

Alan Canfora, who was shot in the right wrist, that day has an audio recording of the shootings 37 years ago at Kent State University which includes the voices of Ohio National Guard leaders ordering troops to fire into a crowd of students.

When played for the press (NYT report) on May 1st it was possible to faintly hear someone shout “Point!” Through grainy static and the high-pitched calls of protesters. Mr. Canfora said the full command is recorded on the tape, with multiple voices shouting “Right here!” “Get Set!” Point!” and “Fire!” Those words, however, were difficult to discern when he played the recording. A 13-second volley of gunfire follows, during which four students were killed and nine were wounded.

The audiotape of the shooting was recorded on a reel-to-reel machine by Terry Strubbe, a Kent State student whose dorm room overlooked the demonstrations, said Joe Bendo, Mr. Strubbe’s friend and spokesman.

The copy obtained by Mr. Canfora came from the Yale University Library, which received it in 1989 as part of a large donation of materials from David E. Engdahl, a lawyer who represented the shooting victims in a civil lawsuit in the late 1970s. Mr. Canfora discovered the tape in the Yale archives a few months ago, he said, while researching a book.

“It was very precise. They all turned in unison,” said Jerry M. Lewis, professor emeritus of sociology, who witnessed the shooting, wrote a book and taught a class on the events. “That’s why we’ve argued for years that there was an order or a signal to fire.”


At 5:30 p.m. May 4th in the Resource Room, located on the first floor of the University Library, students will have the opportunity to meet some of those wounded in the attack, such as Alan Canfora, Tom Grace and Joe Lewis.

A candlelight drum circle will take place at the May 4 Memorial at 10 p.m., and at 11 p.m., participants will gather at the Victory Bell candlelight march.

Full detail of all events arranged over 2 days here in Cleveland Plain Dealer

Royal Navy fuck up their story .. again .. time travellers ..

James Sherwin, of the Directorate of Joint Comunications, Iraq, based in Zone K, Floor 4 , MOD Main Building, Whitehall SW1A 2HB (Tel 020 7218 9000) is a very remarkable man.

He received an enquiry from a Mr Seale dated 3rd April 2007 regarding the position of the (still unnamed) merchant vessel from which a Royal Naval boarding party was spectactularly seized in March.

James Sherwin answered Mr Seale's enquiry with a letter dated the day prior to Mr Seale's enquiry - April 2nd 2007. (click here to enlarge)

This should not suprise because Mr Sherwin's helpful letter revealed the 2 sets of co-ordinates released to locate the (stil unnamed) boarded vessel, both in text and as a photograph of a civilian GPS device viz;

Text - 29 Deg 50.36 min. N - 048 Deg 43.55 min E
Photo- 29 Deg 50.174 min. N - 048 Deg 43.544 min E

It also reveals that the helicopter photo was taken 2 DAYS later and that the ship had dragged it's anchor by ..er .... UP TO 300 metres....which explained the possible discrepancy in the two locations... No time/date stamped dataloggers in the Royal Navy !

All this is revealed at Friends of Craig Murray who show how, according to their evidently very precise and standardised calculations. that the distance between the 2 points is actually 820 metres.... er .. not "up to 300 metres". Does this remind you of the BBC R4 comedy program with John Pertwee in the '6's "Up Shit Creek without a Paddle"

The Friends conclude ..

Firstly, the efforts to present the British case appear shabby and amateurish. It is also plainly dishonest. A publicity photograph was blatantly misrepresented by the MOD as being the site of the incident when it is actually a photograph of a position nearly one kilometer away. Secondly, the mainstream media fell for the publicity photograph very nicely, failed to check the accuracy of the MOD press release and allowed inaccurate information to be widely disseminated without correction.

This demonstrates that the Royal Navy are incompetent or dishonest or both. Collectors of Civil Service letters that are received the day for they are sent will of course remember when Sir Ian Blair wrote to Sir John Geive about the murder by the Metropolitan Police of Mr de Menezes he received it the day before Sir Ian sent it.

Or do these liars simply live on another planet .. part of the Space / Time continuum ? Or do they simply don't know which day of the fucking week it is.

PS Toni Fabuloso is to make an FOI request to see if Mr Sherwin is a candidate for the curious "Alpha" program that General Dannatt is so keen on.

Watch last Monday's blog for a reply.

Prime Minister not to resign ....

PMOS at today's morning Lobby

"the Prime Minister was not announcing his resignation as Prime Minister next week. That is not what he would be doing. What the Prime Minister would be doing would be setting out his intentions but he would not be resigning as Prime Minister next week. Asked if he was resigning as leader of the Labour Party, the PMOS said it was a Party, not Government matter and the question the PMOS had been asked was about the Prime Minister's role as Head of Government. After the Prime Minister has announced his intention he will remain Prime Minister. Asked if the Prime Minister would not go and see the HM the Queen next week but after the leadership contest has been concluded, the PMOS said at last the penny had dropped."

PMOS at today's morning Lobby

It has even penetrated the intensely thick skull of that fat cunt Guido Fawkes that the Prime Minister Tony Blair will be with us at Christmas.

CENTRAL EUROPEAN MEDIA ENTERPRISES Q1 Sparkling results

CENTRAL EUROPEAN MEDIA ENTERPRISES in which Ronnie Lauder friend of Ariel Sharon and Apax Enterprises (Prop Lord Cohen friend of Gordon Brown)are major shareholders has published spanking Q1 results (end 31.3.07)

Compared to the first quarter of 2006, net revenues for the first quarter of 2007 increased 24 % to US$147.9 Mn.

Operating income for the quarter increased US$3.1 Mn. to US$19.3 Mn. In the quarter, net income from continuing operations increased US$14.2 Mn.

Consolidated results for the first quarter of 2007 include Markiza in the Slovak Republic, which was not consolidated until January 23, 2006.

Michael Garin, Chief Executive Officer of CME, said, "CME continues to perform to exceptional standards. We anticipate EBITDA growth in excess of 35% this year for our Broadcast Operations, which once again will make us one of the fastest growing broadcasters in the world."

For previous posts on this fascinating media company go here

The shares rose US$5.39 at 3.00 BST up 5.92% to US$96.5 (Graph up to close of Business 2/5/07)

Today is World Press Freedom Day

Today is World Press Freedom Day - you can learn more, at their website which is part of the "Press Under surveillance" site.

Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees freedom

'to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers'.

Ho.Ho.Ho.

Historically, tyrannies, dictatorships and the thugs and bullies who run a great deal of the world and are represented at the UN and who are welcome at the Quai D'Orsay, The White House and No 10 Downing Street have long disregarded these declared Freedoms.

These Freedoms are now under assualt, throughout the world's greater Democracies labouring under Post 9/11 hysteria which brought in Patriot Acts, Anti Terrorism legislation and even by unlawful fiat by the President of the United States.

Anti-terrorism and official secrets laws
Criminalisation of speech judged to justify terrorism
Criminal prosecution of journalists and their sources for disclosing classified information
Unlawful surveillance of communications without judicial authorisation
Restrictions on access to government data and information
Stricter security classifications

...... are all eroding the capacity of both employed and frelance journalists worldwide, to investigate and report accurately and critically, and therefore the ability of the press to inform.

The final sanction against journalists is death - in 2006, 110m journalists died at work ( see details here ).

Walid Hassan, 47, a famous comedian and television presenter for Iraqi TV station Al-Sharkiya, was shot dead during a kidnapping attempt on 21, November in Baghdad. Hassan presented a popular satirical programme entitled ’Caricatures’, in which the targets she mocked included the US Army, Iraqi politicians, Shiite militias, and Sunni insurgents. Hassan was reportedly warned to leave her job prior to her murder. (see WaPo profile - when he died 133 journalists and media workers had been killed in Iraq since the illegal invasion)

Anna Politkovskaya, one of Russia’s most prominent investigative journalists, who worked for the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, was gunned down on 7 october in Moscow. According to reports, she was shot dead in the lift of her apartment building. Politkovskaya was known for her investigative reports on human rights abuses in Chechnya. She was also an outspoken critic of President Putin, about whom she wrote the book "Putin’s Russia". During her career, she journalist received many threats on her life. Two years prior to the murder, Politkovskaya was allegedly poisoned on a plane on her way to cover the school hostage in Beslan. (Wiki list of journalists killed in Russia)

Bradley Will, an American documentary filmmaker who worked for New York’s Independent Media Centre (Indymedia) was shot in the chest and killed in Oaxaca, Mexico on 27, October, while reporting on demonstrations taking place there. Indymedia reports that Will was shot by pro-government paramilitaries. The Committee to Protect Journalists has reported that local police may have been involved in the shooting, and has called for a criminal inquiry into the murder to be conducted by ‘federal authorities.’

Karen Fisher and Christian Struwe, two freelance journalists working for the German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle, were shot dead on 7 October in Baghlan, a city north of Kabul. According to reports, the two reporters were killed by unidentified gunmen as they were sleeping in their tent. Reportedly, they were in Afghanistan to do research for a documentary.

“This outrageous incident illustrates that the enemies of democracy and freedom of expression are still very powerful and can kill journalists everywhere,” Rahimullah Samander, President of the Afghanistan Independent Journalists’ Association (AIJA), told IRIN in Kabul.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier condemned the journalists' deaths."This heinous crime must be solved and the perpetrators brought before justice," he said while expressing his condolences to the victims' families, friends and colleagues.

Deutsche Welle Director General Erik Bettermann also gave his condolences to Fischer and Struwe's families and praised their work in the Middle East.

"Karen Fischer and Christian Struwe did ground-breaking work to reconstruct a functioning media apparatus in Afghanistan," he said. "It is tragic that Karen Fischer and Christian Struwe had to die in the country that they have personally supported over the past years."

Please go to the website and read about what you can do.

Top right Picture taken 19 January 2007 shows the dead body of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink gunned down and killed in front of his newspaper's office. Dink, 53, targeted by the courts for his views on the 1915-18 killings of Armenians, was shot dead outside his office in Istanbul 19 January. AFP PHOTO / MUSTAFA OZER

We went in with no intention of coming out

Why there was no exit plan , San Francisco Chronicle Lewis Seiler, Dan Hamburg
Monday, April 30, 2007

"The United States maintains 737 military bases in 130 countries across the globe. They exist for the purpose of defending the economic interests of the United States, what is euphemistically called "national security." In order to secure favorable access to Iraq's vast reserves of light crude, the United States is spending billions on the construction of at least five large permanent military bases throughout that country.

A new Iraq oil law, largely written by the Coalition Provisional Authority, is planned for ratification by June. This law cedes control of Iraq's oil to western powers for 30 years . There is major opposition to the proposed law within Iraq, especially among the country's five trade union federations that represent hundreds of thousands of oil workers. The United States is working hard to surmount this opposition by appealing directly to the al-Maliki government in Iraq.

The attack upon, and subsequent occupation of, Iraq can be seen as a direct result of the 2001 (better known as vice president Cheney's energy task force the National Energy Policy Development Group ) that was comprised largely of oil and energy company executives. This task force -- the proceedings of which have been kept secret by the administration on the grounds of "executive privilege" -- recommended that the U.S. government support initiatives in Middle Eastern countries "to open up areas of their energy sector to foreign investment." As Antonio Juhasz, an analyst with Oil Change International wrote last month in the New York Times, "One invasion and a great deal of political engineering by the Bush administration later, this is exactly what the proposed Iraq oil law would achieve."

Read the rest of this stunning indictment of US /Coalition policy in Iraq.
Lewis Seiler is president of Voice of the Environment. Dan Hamburg, a former U.S. representative, is executive director.

Beer with a PIzza ? ...but PIzza Beer ?

Walter Payton's Roundhouse in Aurora, Illinois, is the oldest existing limestone roundhouse in the US.

It started life as the site for a major car building and repair shop by the Chicago Burlington and Quincy Railroad. Originally, twenty-two stalls were built to house and repair locomotives. Eight additional stalls were added in 1859, and in 1864, the final ten stalls were added to the Roundhouse, making it a complete circle. (Rest of the history for railroad buffs here)

In 1995, the Aurora City Council voted 10-0 to permit Walter Payton, NFL Hall of Famer, and legendary running back for the Chicago Bears (he died in 1999) and his partners Scott Ascher, Pam Ascher and Mark Alberts to redevelop the Roundhouse into a 70,000 sq.ft. entertainment facility in Aurora housing a restaurant and brewpub, 14 bars, and a comedy club.

For the next few weeks this bustling hostelry is going to be offering it's thirsty and hungry customers - pizza beer - a barley-based brew flavored with ....er ..... tomato, basil, oregano and garlic.

Mamma Mia's Pizza Beer was developed by amateur home brewer Tom Seefurth of St. Charles. "The French are always famous for pairing their wine with food, and I wanted to create a beer that's good with food," Seefurth says. "And what's America's favorite food? Pizza."

Walter Payton's agreed to make 24 kegs of pizza beer in a 930-gallon vat, using canned tomatoes, spices and red beets for color.

This isn't the first time Walter Payton's has opted to turn a home-brew recipe into a large-scale beer run, or added off-beat items to their beer. They've made up batches of chocolate beer and a cherry-flavored beer with hot black granite rocks added to it, among others. But this is the first time they've added real food to a beer.

Thursday sounds like a fun night in the Cognac Bar....but count me out on Mamma Mia's Pizza beer.

If you are in Chicago .. don't miss Shaws Crab House simply the best seafood in the world....those oysters...mmmmm

Boy Scouts 100 years old - join in and celebrate

Lord Patel celebrated 50 years of Scouting in 1957 by attending a Jamboree . This year the Centenary will be celebrated around the UK at hundreds of sites which are mapped in an interactive map which uses GIS technology to inform its 500,000 members of the special events happening throughout the country for its 2007 Centenary celebrations.

“This is the first time The Scout Association has used an interactive online tool to organize and communicate information about a major national event,” said Nick Varney, a volunteer leader and project coordinator for The Scout Association. “We are very excited to be working in this new way, because we are bringing the essential skill of map reading into the 21st century, enabling scouts to facilitate their camping adventures online as well as develop and maintain their friendships within scouting.”

ESRI (UK) used ArcGIS Server 9.2 to build the application, and the company will manage the Web site on a daily basis. In addition, Streetmap.co.uk, NAVTEQ and Collins Bartholomew have provided detailed atlas and street-level maps for each celebratory event.

That's the Press Release .. now go here to the Scouting 2007 website and see what is going on near you.

Mike O'Brien QC MP Solicitor General

A man who is very quiet ...but then he might have something to keep very quiet about.

He is of course officially behind moves for trials without a jury.

UPDATE AS US WAKES UP TODAY

US Department of Justice (DOJ) considering launching formal inquiry intobribery and corruption allegations by BAE Systems in Saudi and elsewhere.

Quiet Mike O’Brien, the Solicitor-General, admits that Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has recently discussed allegations of corrupt practices by BAE with the DOJ at a very high level- he told Vincent Cable this in reply to a leter from him expressing the Liberal Democrat's concerns over the reputation of UK industry. The DOJ is said to be focusing on whether they have jurisdiction over payments alleged to have been made to win defence contracts from Saudi ARabia and other foreign governments, invloving at least South Africa, Chile, Romania, Tanzania, Qatar and the Czech Republic.

President Bush’s Corporate Fraud Task Force, which is operated by the DoJ, are said to be fascinated by a company called Red Diamond, a British Virgin Islands company,which is related to BAE Systems.

The key concern is that if money or communications to transfer funds from Red Diamond entered US jurisdiction, even in the form of electronic data, then in theory under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act BAE could be pursued by the DOJ.

Vince Cable, the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats, one of the few businessmen in the House of Commons with experience in this area asks “How can we allow an operation like Red Diamond to be hidden offshore, given the concerns about money laundering and corrupt practices?”

At Mid-day BAE shares were down 3.5 p on the day (0.8%).

For more see Lord Patel
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Aiding Africa - Tony, Barclays and BAE - a curious tale of President Kikwete and kickbacks

The accompanying picture shows the BAE Hawk Trainer with air to air missiles. AS sold to India and especially South Africa - sales which make a fascinating tale.

Dropping the Pilot. Blair to Go ?

BP chief and ex-boyfriend: full text of judgment - Dramatis Personae

Rupe's Rag The Times publishes the full judgement in the case in which Lord Browne sought to injunct the Mail On Sunday from publishing the intimate memoirs of his rent boy... here is an ineteresting section ... read on. (Pic PM & Bobby)

21: There were a number of categories listed in the confidential schedule attached to the 6 January order:

i) Business plans and ideas or potential business plans and ideas of the Claimant or any company with which the Claimant is or has been involved including BP where the Claimant is currently Group Chief Executive;

ii) The Claimant’s relationships with colleagues at BP;

iii) Discussions about business ideas between the Claimant and Gordon Brown, the Chancellor of the Exchequer; (M'Lord was Chairman, Advisory Board, Apax Partners)

iv) Discussions at private and/or confidential meetings or dinner between the Claimant and Tony Blair, Peter Mandelson and others;(Tony Blair is Prime Minister)

v) The Claimant’s personal relationships with any other individual or individuals;

vi) Information relating to the Claimant’s private investments and properties – for example the purported information that:

a) The Claimant discussed with the government/Tony Blair/Gordon Brown the prospect of BP potentially taking an important strategic decision.

b) The Claimant discussed with Gordon Brown the possibility of a scheme for the benefit of BP’s customers and Gordon Brown opposed the idea.

c) There was a dinner with the Claimant and Tony Blair which a woman called Ms Hunter had organised on 8 June 2005 and at that dinner Tony Blair discussed life after government and aspects of his own character. ( The person called Ms Hunter may be childhood friend of the Prime Minister who when she ceased working with him on November 8th 2001 and went to work as the energy group BP's ("Blairs Petroleum") director of communications on an estimated £180,000 a year. She is now Mrs Adam Boulton )

d) There was another dinner with the Claimant, Mr Chevalier, Ms Hunter, Peter Mandelson and the latter’s Brazilian boyfriend at the time (referred to as “Reinaldo”), which was held at one of the Claimant’s homes, and at which they discussed European Union policy and Chinese textile quotas.

e) There was another dinner with Peter Mandelson at which Mr Chevalier was present, but Peter Mandelson’s boyfriend was not, at which Peter Mandelson made certain observations.

f) Allegations about remarks supposedly made by the Claimant about colleagues in BP.

g) The Claimant bought a flat in Venice several years ago and used the same agent to buy it as had Mr and Mrs David Beckham. Builders who had conducted renovation works presented him with two bills, one of which did not include VAT. The Claimant allegedly paid cash for that bill and “dodged” his tax bill (strongly denied by him).

h) [The circumstances in which the Claimant and Mr Chevalier met]

i) The Claimant did not wish certain aspects of his private life to be revealed as he thinks it will reflect badly on BP and its brand.

j) Mr Chevalier and the Claimant had a dispute about certain valuable items of personal property following their break up.

k) The Claimant paid for Mr Chevalier’s studies at university.

l) The Claimant paid Mr Chevalier a large sum of money over a four year period.

m) The Claimant and Mr Chevalier stayed at a well known entertainer’s flat in Venice in 2005.

n) While he was watching a programme on television, the Claimant jumped up and made an observation about his personal investment strategy.

o) On the two occasions when the Claimant visited Colonel Gadaffi in Libya he was accompanied by a secret service agent or a former secret service agent.

The allegations which the newspaper now wishes to publish

Read on .... what can all this mean ? Oddly Alastair Campbells name does not appear ... well it hasn't done so far.

Greater Love hath no man ....

Lord Browne met 27 year old computer operator Canadian Jeff Chevalier through a male escort website Suited and Booted(founded 1998 claims to be the first and largest internet-based service in the UK and describes itself as "London's premier escort agency/ site is down today due to "technical reasons)and not whilst jogging in Battersea Park.

Jeff was not a liar, unstable, and adversely affected by dependence on alcohol and illegal drugs – although Lord Browne's butler said he had noticed their wine stocks were diminishing.

These lies, which gilded his objections and request for an injunction to the Mail on Sunday publishing Jeff's ** interview with them, has led to his immediate resignation, and it is said a further £15 Mn of terminal benefits *** from BP whom he has served for 41 years.

Justice David Eady said today that Lord Browne “quite deliberately, and casually, chose to lie” to the London court about his involvement with Mr. Chevalier. (Full judgement Times today)

Lord Brown tells lies ...loses his job.

In the US "Randy" Tobias frankly tells ABC when he was "outed" as a customer of Madame Palfrey's home massage delivery service that yeas he did " call them up to send over a girl for a massage", and further, that since they closed down, he had transferred his business elsewhere. Not the whole truth maybe ... but let that pass.

The next day he handed in his dinner pail to his boss ... Condileezza Rice.

"Randy" admits the truth .. loses his job.

Gee... it's tough on at the top.

****
The company said that as a result of Lord Browne's decision to resign he would lose his agreed entitlement to a year's notice including a bonus of up to 1.3 times his annual salary, worth in total over £3.5 million. He would also forego inclusion in the long-term performance share plan for 2007-2009 with a maximum potential value of some £12 million.... Ouuuch!!!! (In 2004 he earned over £5m)

** Jeff (see pic)claims ....
• BP resources were diverted for his benefit, he was given computers and technical support staff while a company was set up for him involving BP personnel (Lord Browne is said to have helped set up a company for him to trade in mobile phone ring-tones, with Lord Browne and another executive from BP as directors.)

• A senior member of BP staff was tasked with running personal errands for Lord Browne, including delivering cash to his former lover.

• The BP chief paid for Mr. Chevalier's studies, as well as a large sum over their 4 years 2002/6 together.Lord Browne took various steps to enable Mr Chevalier, whose visa was due to run out early on in the relationship, to remain in the country.

• Browne discussed EU policy and Chinese textile quotas with Peter Mandelson, the EU commissioner, and Mandelson's Brazilian boyfriend Reinaldo Avila da Silva.

• A flat in Venice bought by Lord Browne underwent repairs for which the building company presented two bills, one with VAT and one without. Mr. Chevalier claimed Lord Browne paid cash to "dodge" his tax bill.

• Chevalier said Lord Browne provided him with funds towards a 12-month lease on a Toronto flat and furnishings.

• He also claimed that Lord Browne agreed "that if needed, (he) would assist in the first year of me transitioning from living in multimillion-pound homes around the world, flying in private jets, five-star hotels, £2,000 suits, and so on to a less than modest life in Canada."

UPDATE

"Lemons into Peaches" is a fascinating and very interesting keynote address (In Re:- Terrists strategy US/UK ..7/7 etc.,) to (our old friends in Whitehall) RUSI conference ‘Managing Information Asymmetry’ by Howell James, Permanent Secretary Government Communications, who is/was of course a good friend of Reinaldo Avila da Silva's and Peter Mandelson. e.g

Strategy first.

As you know the government's long-term counter-terrorism strategy for the UK goes under the title CONTEST (what was I saying about acronyms earlier?).

CONTEST has four pillars, the four Ps:

• Prevent
• Pursue
• Protect, and
• Prepare

All four of those pillars has a communications component, two of them in particular – Prevent and Prepare.

and there's more....

There has been an hiatus today - Normal service is resumed ..consequences of trading down from BT internet to TalkTalk.

Lady Dame Jane Pauline Neville Jones - is alive and well and on the BBC ! Rejoice!

Here at Patel Mansions we were showing the first signs of distress...but BBC4 "World @ One" relieved us all.

Lady Dame Jane Pauline Neville Jones was hauled out from the arras, and gave us the benefit of her views on MI5/6/7/8/9 the Metropolitan Police,warmed over apple pie and the undoubted benefits of sunshine.

Well done Martha Carney !

Now all we need is Sir Ian Blair of that Ilk to have a fireside chat with Jermy on The endofhte worldnewsnight
song and dance show and our toni Fabuloso's cups will runneth o'er.

WTF? Turkey talks

No 10 have issued the following ...

"I have been following developments in Turkey following the first round of the presidential elections closely.

As I saw when I visited Prime Minister Erdogan in December, Turkey is a strong democracy. It is essential that all those engaged in the political process do so in accordance with Turkey's well established democratic principles and in compliance with the constitution.

I am confident that this will happen and that Turkey will continue to play a crucial role as a key and democratic partner"

There. Now we all must feel better for that.

Allana - simply brilliant design in hospital gowns.

Probably half a million people have to strip off in hospital for a necessary external or internal examination or X ray / body scan as an out patient. They are provided with a cublicle (if lucky with a lockable door) and then have to wear a garment designed to display your arse , as it has no overlap, and with ties (those which haven't been ripped off in the laundry) up the back which any cannot grasp and most struggle to tie.

Allana is a company (website) who have solved this problem with a simple design using easily closed/opened Velcro fastenings. An example of a range of clothes that the team claim is a sign of the need to dignity, independence, choice and respect as core values

They also offer their designs with a silver woven allegedly MRSA resistant fabric - which sounds like hokum to us.

If you or a family member will be requiring hospital treatment of any sort , we advise a visit to their site.

The sooner the NHS start using these garments the greater your chances of privacy - they will of course put you on a mixed sex ward to destroy that. These are intelligently designed garments and should do for patient's garments what Babygro did for babies.

...and the fuckwhits who run the terrists expect you to believe all this ...

3 pictures, from the left, Channel 4 of Terrists meeting at Teddington Service M1, middle BBC Panorama same pic, right the man in charge of terrism.

So we've banged up the wannabe terrist who couldn't remember what you mixed with ammonium nitrate to make a bomb. We've seen a picture of a 1/2 ton bomb go off (in the California hinterland for some reason) ,when you can see the results of the 1.5 ton bomb in Manchester - the authors of which, like the Omagh Bombers, are known to the secret services.

We've seen the hammy actors, with their hammy English scripts. You can if you wish visit the BBC website and hear hammy actors reading the hammy lines and what we are told is the scratchy original ... tell me. do the bro's speak in English or Urdu ? Probly only when discussing bombing Bluewater.

They are pictured scratching for scratch, yet Asian gangs, like Irish gangs have a massive income from , illegal drugs, VAT fraud (costing the State £400Mn a month, Counterfeit goods, clothing, DVD's, alcohol , credit card fraud, cigarette smuggling ... one thing Al Quaeda are not short of is money.

We will repeat ...

We now know that in Northern Ireland, terrorists who stole, mugged, horribly mutilated, killed, bombed, dealt in drugs were in the pay of and under the control of the state by and through it's secret services (FCO) and Police force(Home Office) and Army(MOD / FRU). (See Operation Ballast report and other reports). The current head of MI5 was one of those involved for many years in manipulating, funding, supplying, directing those terrorists, suppressing information, evidence, falsifying records and even ensuring the removal of armed military and police patrols to enable them to commit crimes. Quite where the State and it's employees fit in, in this case, it is not, at this stage possible to discern.

Essentially you cannot believe a single fucking word /image / statement / fact / figure - none of what appears tonight on TV, on the Radio in tomorrows papers that claims to supposedly re-create events about Crevice or 7/7 has been presented to the scrutiny of a court of law.

Just follow the links above to the Ballast report and others about the activities of state funded, organised terrist in Northern Ireland over many years .... nothing has changed.

What we do know is that over 50 people died on 7/7/05 and many, many were injured .. if you believe that the 4 "suicide bombers" were the authors, planners behind it, then you have been sold the pass.

What people like the Sphincter of the Yard, John Reid, Tony Blair keep telling us, is that another attack is imminent.... You'd better believe it..... This is what the Sphincter said last week in his lecture that so few heard and was so widely broadcast ...

"Nevertheless, we suffered the appalling attacks of July 2005, and the only sensible assumption is that we shall be attacked again." You can read all of his speech here.





Imran Kahn speaking outside the Old Bailey with Nabeel Hussain who was found not guilty. This is a correct transcript of the statement of the 5 accused found guilty which he read out on their behalf. It can be heard here

"In the name of Allah the merciful, the compassionate, we bear witness there is nothing worthy of worship except Allah, and Mohammed as his messenger.

This was a prosecution driven by the security services, able to hide behind a cloak of secrecy, and eager to obtain ever greater resources and power to encroach on individual rights.

There was no limit to the money, resources and underhand strategies that were used to secure convictions in this case.

This case was brought in an atmosphere of hostility against Muslims, at home, and abroad. One stoked by this government throughout the course of this case.

This prosecution involved extensive intrusion upon personal lives, not only ours, but our families and friends.

Coached witnesses were brought forward. Forced confessions were gained through illegal detention, and torture abroad. Threats and intimidation was used to hamper the truth. All with the trial judge seemingly intent to assist the prosecution almost every step of the way.

These were just some of the means used in the desperate effort to convict. Anyone looking impartially at the evidence would realise that there was no conspiracy to cause explosions in the UK, and that we did not pose any threat to the security of this country.

It is not an offence to be young, Muslim and angry at the global injustices against Muslims.

Allah says in the Qur'an, "Oh mankind, worship your Lord who created you, and those before you, that you may become righteous."

Thanks to BD & S - see comments.

5 Wannabe "bombers" found guilty - surprise,surprise..the Crown says they had a connection to Al Quaeda

Top, from left: Jawad Akbar, Omar Khyam and Shujah Mahmood.
Bottom, from left: Salahuddin Amin, Anthony Garcia and Waheed Mahmood

After one of the largest , longest and costliest (£50Mn) terrorism trials in the UK ,Omar Khyam, 26, from Crawley, West Sussex, was found guilty of conspiring to cause explosions likely to endanger life between 1 January 2003 and 31 March 2004. Waheed Mahmood, 34, and Jawad Akbar, 23, also of Crawley; Salahuddin Amin, 31, from Luton, Bedfordshire; Anthony Garcia, 24, of Barkingside, east London have also been found guilty by a jury which spent 27 days considering the case and returning majority verdicts.

Garcia, Akbar, Waheed Mahmood and Amin were convicted with Khyam of conspiracy to cause explosions likely to endanger life.

Hussain and Shujah Mahmood were cleared of conspiracy to cause explosions.

Khyam and Garcia were also found guilty of possession of 600kg of ammonium nitrate fertiliser for terrorism, but Hussain was cleared.

Khyam was also found guilty of possession aluminium powder for terrorism, but Shujah Mahmood was found not guilty.

The jury found 2 other defendents , Nabeel Hussain and Shujah Mahmood (brother of Omar Khyam) , not guilty.

Now the trial is over the prosecution "reveal" ,or at least claim , without revealing a shred of evidence...

1) That Mohammed Sidique Khan who is alleged to be a ringleader of the 7/7 "suicide" bombers was spotted on 4 (!) occasions in 2004 with at least one of the conspirators. At one point MI5 officers followed Khan back to his home in Leeds but no further action was taken.(!)

2) Khyam is also said to have met Shehzad Tanweer another of the 7/7 "suicide" bombers...presumably to discuss their shared passion for cricket.

3) It is also claimed that through these connections there were contacts back to Pakistan and Al Quaeda.

One wonders why the mastermind Omar Kyam, an agent of Al Quaeda therefore found it necessary to borrow the money for the rental space to store the ammonium nitrate from 21 year old student Nabeel Hussain - who the jury found not guilty.

Evidently these guys were adolescent fantasists motivated by some curious quasi religious/political ideology ,who had malign intent, but were hardly trained terrorists - they represented, compared with the threat of the IRA and UDF over 30 years a negligible risk to public safety. The level of knowledge, expertise and experience of making bombs that was exposed in court suggested they were more of a threat to themselves than the larger public.

We now know that in Northern Ireland, terrorists who stole, mugged, horribly mutilated, killed, bombed, dealt in drugs were in the pay of and under the control of the state by and through it's secret services (FCO) and Police force(Home Office) and Army(MOD / FRU). (See Operation Ballast report and other reports). The current head of MI5 was one of those involved for many years in manipulating, funding, supplying, directing those terrorists, suppressing information, evidence, falsifying records and even ensuring the removal of armed military and police patrols to enable them to commit crimes. Quite where the State and it's employees fit in, in this case, it is not, at this stage possible to discern.

Mohammed Sidique Khan might well fit in as part of the larger jig-saw, but quite how, and why remains a tantalising question.

UPDATE 3pm

Aha! MI5 version of events has appeared on their website with the "evidence" which the BBC reports keep saying were presented in court. Presented in court maybe , but not during a trial when their origin, source, provenance could be tested. There is also statement from the head of MI5 called Jonathan Evans "But the severity of the threat facing our country means expanding counter-terrorist operations at an unprecedented rate just to keep pace." (Why have they not learnt to start sentences /paragraphs with a conjunction ?).

Is the relationship between terrists and the State, Symbiotic, parasitic, incestuous ? Discuss.

Long Hot Summer in Washington forecast

Deborah J. (Jeane) Palfrey’s assets and entire life’s savings were seized by the Internal Revenue Service, on October 4, 2006, without notice.(Filing 12/6/06)

There is wild, inaccurate, and wholly unfounded speculation that this has some mild connection with resignation of Kyle"Dusty" Foggo and Porter Goss going off to spend more time with his money in May 2006 - "Hookergate" and his friend Brent Wilkes, founder of ADCS who bribed Randall Cunningham along with Mitchell J Wade of MZM Inc. Not to mention some lissom ladies from the CIS states with short skirts and shorter memories but modestly familiar with the Watergate Complex and Westin Hotels.

Looks like it will be a long hot summer.

Put WHAT! on the Table ?

Have a look quick before they pull it ..





There has to be a caption there somewhere ....

Is a Shia firestorm on the way ?

At least 60 people have been killed and 170 wounded in a suicide car bomb attack near a Shia shrine in the central Iraqi city of Karbala.

Saturday's blast occurred at a checkpoint not far from the shrine which is located in a busy area close to shops and restaurants in Karbala, 100km southwest of Baghdad.

"Many of the wounded are women and children," said Salim Kadhim, a spokesman for the Karbala health department.

Iraqi television images showed a man running down a smoke-filled street holding a dead baby above his head.

Smoke was rising from the child's body.

Elsewhere in Iraq, at least another 19 people were killed on Saturday.

Friendly Fire ?

In Baghdad, U.S. forces fired an artillery barrage in southern Baghdad early today (Sunday), rocking the capital with loud explosions.

The size and the pattern of the explosions, which began after 9 a.m. and lasted for at least 15 minutes, suggested they were directed at Sunni militant neighborhoods along the city's southern rim. Such blasts have been heard in the evenings but are rare at that time of day.

In a brief statement to The Associated Press, the U.S. military said it fired the artillery from a forward operating base near Iraq's Rasheed military base southeast of Baghdad, but provided no other details.

Political betting poll on number of SNP seats in the new Parliament

How many Labour members will be elected to the Scottish Parliament? Selection Votes 51-129 seats 1% 4 46-50 seats 8% 26 41-45 seats 43% 136 36-40 seats 36% 114 31-35 seats 8% 25 0-30 seats 4% 12 317 votes total pollcode.com free polls