World Cup Musings




Germany 1-1 Argentina

Germany beat Argentina 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out after a tense quarter-final in Berlin ended 1-1 after extra-time.

The Argentinians were the best team by far in the World Cup, they should of won!

They blew it big time, the coach got his players all mixed up, I would be pig sick if I was an Argentina supporter.

The final 4 I reckon are going to be four ex-imperial powers

England
France (because I think they will beat Brazil, all they need to do is put Thierry Henry on the left!)
Italy
Germany

Friday Cat Blogging


Heidi and George are very close friends


George all snuggly


Heidi taking it easy

Two Pieces of Good News

US Guantanamo tribunals 'illegal'

The US Supreme Court has ruled that the Bush administration does not have the authority to try terrorism suspects by military tribunal.

In a landmark decision, justices upheld the challenge by Osama Bin Laden's ex-driver, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, against his trial at Guantanamo Bay.

The court's ruling that the proceedings violated Geneva Conventions is seen as a major blow to the administration.

But the ruling does not mean the closure of the Guantanamo Bay camp.

Judges spark 'constitutional crisis'

Judges have sparked a "constitutional crisis" by their decision to quash the government's control orders, the chair of the home affairs select committee claimed today.

A key plank of the government's anti-terror legislation is now in legal limbo after a high court judge ruled yesterday that orders confining suspects to their home and curtailing who they can meet breach the European Convention on Human Rights.

Today John Denham, a former minister and highly respected backbencher, put the blame firmly at the door of the judges and demanded urgent talks between politicians and the judiciary to resolve the situation before it escalated any further.

Good days like these are so very rare these days, make the most of it.

Palestine



Israeli missiles pound Gaza into new Dark Age in 'collective punishment'

As a textbook example of hi-tech precision bombardment it could hardly be improved. Smoke was still rising yesterday from the scorched wreckage of the six transformers at Gaza's only power station, each destroyed by a single missile fired by an Israeli warplane some 10 hours earlier.

Had they hit the huge cylindrical diesel tank 100 metres away they would have set the whole power station alight. But the strike was clinically effective, cutting all the electricity to 700,000 Gaza consumers, threatening water supplies and depriving its public of light, cooking, broadcast news, and a crucial issue in scorching summer temperatures fans.

"I'm so surprised that they did this," said Dr Derar Abu Sisi, the operations manager at the Al Nusirat power station. "We have been right through the worst of the intifada but this didn't happen." It would, Dr Abu Sisi said, take a "minimum of three to six months" to restore supplies at a cost between $5m (£2.8m) and $7m. "The Geneva Convention says it is not allowed to attack infrastructure for the civilian people," he added. "You might expect that economic infrastructure could be a target in the last stages of a war. But this is not like that."

It is upsetting reading about what is currently going on in the Gaza Strip, I have a friend there, a nurse who works at Rafah Hospital and when I ask him how he is, his first reply is 'I am surviving', I honestly don't know how he does it.

It always seems like one step forward and two steps back with the Israel/Palestine situation and it provokes such fierce arguments from both sides.

I don't claim to have the ultimate solution but I think if Palestinians were given jobs and are able to earn a decent wage I'm sure young men would not be tempted to blow themselves up or kidnap Israeli soldiers, its really quite simple, give them something to live for.

Random Thursday View Blogging


A view from the little piece of heaven on earth that is the Cafe Sidi Bouhdid, Hammamet, Tunisia.

Erosion of Civil Liberties

Blair laid bare: the article that may get you arrested

In the guise of fighting terrorism and maintaining public order, Tony Blair's Government has quietly and systematically taken power from Parliament and the British people. The author charts a nine-year assault on civil liberties that reveals the danger of trading freedom for security - and must have Churchill spinning in his grave

In the shadow of Winston Churchill's statue opposite the House of Commons, a rather odd ritual has developed on Sunday afternoons. A small group of people - mostly young and dressed outlandishly - hold a tea party on the grass of Parliament Square. A woman looking very much like Mary Poppins passes plates of frosted cakes and cookies, while other members of the party flourish blank placards or, as they did on the afternoon I was there, attempt a game of cricket.
(snip)
The non-demo demo, or tea party, is a legalistic response to the law. If anything is written on the placards, or if someone makes a speech, then he or she is immediately deemed to be in breach of the law and is arrested. The device doesn't always work. After drinking tea in the square, a man named Mark Barrett was recently convicted of demonstrating. Two other protesters, Milan Rai and Maya Evans, were charged after reading out the names of dead Iraqi civilians at the Cenotaph, Britain's national war memorial, in Whitehall, a few hundred yards away.

This article voices many of the fears I have about Blair's government. Under his Premiership he has done more to crimialise behaviour, its a case of guilty untill proven innocent. Its ironic that the Judges and the House of Lords would become bastions of civil liberties, standing up to the obessive controlling behaviour of Blair and his NuLab lackeys.

Palestinian Blogging


My friend handool gave me permission to post this photo of him

Random Tuesday Photo Blogging


The Giza Pyramids of Khafre (l) and Khufu (r)

Second Round Match Three



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English fans let the side down... and even the Wags are causing trouble

As 32m viewers in Britain wait anxiously for today's clash with Ecuador, riot police in Germany are mobilised as the English lose their cool. By Ruth Elkins


Eriksson: It's life or death but we will win

Sven-Goran Eriksson is confident that his reign as England manager will extend beyond this afternoon and says that his players have much more of a winning mentality than they did in Japan four years ago.

'I have never thought this will be my last game, never even dreamt of that,' Eriksson admitted as he prepared his players to face unfancied Ecuador in temperatures verging on the tropical at 35 degrees. 'The heat will not help us but World Cups are often played in conditions like this and we will just have to cope. We can't go on complaining about it.

'We have reached the stage of life or death for the team now, not just for me, and that is extremely exciting. I think we will thrive on it and firmly believe you will see a better performance from England. We will play good football and we will win.

Ecuador should give England a run for its money, after all this is a team that practices at 9000 feet, so that must cound towards something.

The Final 16

Saturday 24 June

Germany v Sweden
Munich, 1600

Argentina v Mexico
Leipzig, 2000

Sunday 25th June

England v Ecuador
Stuttgart, 1600

Portugal v Holland
Nuremberg, 2000

Monday 26th June

Italy v Australia
Kaiserslautern, 1600

Switzerland v Ukraine
Cologne, 2000

Tuesday 27th June

Brazil v Ghana
Dortmund, 1600

France v Spain
Hanover, 2000

World Cup Thoughts



My dad has high hopes for Spain (one of the teams he has backed to lose in the final), for the first time they have proceeded onto the final 16.

Argentina are also one of the best teams in this world cup, if there was a league, they would be top, whether they will last the distance is another matter.

England are a slow burner, I bet we'll end up against Germany and lose to penalties.

and finally France, a team with lots of great players, but they don't seem very cohesive, the French coach has not learnt from Arsène Wenger who built his Arsenal team round the extremly talented Thierry Henry.

Skeptical

Seven charged over 'Chicago plot'

The US authorities have charged seven suspected militants in connection with an alleged plot to destroy the country's tallest building.

They were planning to blow up Chicago's Sears Tower, the FBI says. It adds that the seven had sworn allegiance to al-Qaeda, but had no contacts with it.

They were arrested at a warehouse in Miami, during an undercover operation.

The group - infiltrated by an agent posing as an al-Qaeda member - includes two foreigners and five US citizens.

I think the FBI informant must of been just walking around the area making suggestions to this Miami group and hoping one of them bites and start talking about their fantasy of 'bombing' and 'terrorism'.

They probaly have thousands of FBI agent provocateur's around the USA trying to get other male muslim men to open up and talk about their fanatasies, and thats just what they are, fanatasies, but its enough to lead to arrest and all the publicity that it entails.

It all seems a little bit staged to me

George Bush is tanking in the Polls, so I bet he rang up whoever runs the FBI and demanded that good news be produced.

Tony Blair is Batshit Insane

Blair pledges to 'reclaim' criminal justice system

Tony Blair today defied some of Britain's leading crime experts by outlining plans to "reclaim" the criminal justice system and change the mindset of an "out of touch" political and legal establishment.

The prime minister signalled moves to introduce more laws "that properly reflect reality", despite a welter of criminal justice legislation already introduced under nine years of Labour rule.

Politicians and the legal establishment were "in denial" about the changing world, which has seen crime spiral in the past 50 years, while both detection and conviction rates had dropped, he said.

The prime minister complained that previous efforts to introduce tough summary powers that had been watered down by parliament.

In a long speech outlining his philosophy on crime, Mr Blair said "unpalatable choices about liberty and security" needed to be made to "rebalance" a system in favour of the law-abiding public.

Tony Blair is bonkers I've finally decided.

Blair and his cretins believe that they can change people's behaviour via legislation

This is complete and utter bollocks, we have more than enough laws to deal with problems today, creating new laws will not make them go away.

Friday Cat Blogging


George resting


Heidi chilling out in my room

Random Thursday Photo Blogging


The Mohamed Ali Pacha Mosque, Cairo

Royal Ascot



Home of the wild and extravagant hats

Happy Summer Solstice!



Peaceful start to summer solstice

Celebrations to mark the summer solstice at Stonehenge in Wiltshire have passed off peacefully with only four arrests.

Police estimate around 17,000 people watched the sun rise at 0458 BST on Wednesday despite cloudy conditions.

English Heritage allows the public access to the 5,000-year-old stone circle for the annual event.

Drum-beating and chanting turned to cheering as the sun broke through the clouds shortly after 0500 BST.

Final Scores

GROUP A
Ecuador 0-3 Germany

Costa Rica 1-2 Poland

GROUP B
Paraguay 2-0 Trinidad & Tob.

Sweden 2-2 England

England will will play Ecuador in the last 16 of the World Cup having been confirmed as Group B winners

Sweden will face the host nation, Germany.

2006 World Cup



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Schedule:

GROUP B
Paraguay v Trinidad & Tob.
Kaiserslautern, 2000

Sweden v England
Cologne, 2000

If your having an ethical dilemma of who to support in this tournament, be sure to check out:



According to the website, England is 27th most supportable team in the World Cup compared to Sweden who are in 2nd place.

No doubt this match is fixed for a draw, that way everybody is happy.

Alternative to the 2006 World Cup

If you suffer World Cup overload, you can take a break and enjoy the delights of Royal Ascot, which starts today.


Famous for the horse racing


and the hats of course!

Final Scores

GROUP G
Togo 0-2 Switzerland
Dortmund

GROUP H
Saudi Arabia 0-4 Ukraine
Hamburg

Spain 3-1 Tunisia
Stuttgart

2006 World Cup - Germany



I am really enjoying this World Cup, I am not usually a big football fan, more into rugby but there is something about the FIFA World Cup which can inspire such interest.

I think its wonderful the way that some of the very poorest countries can compete with some of the richest in a tournament such as this, they are all given a level playing field (no pun intended).

Fans from all over the world are brought together as well.

Matches Today:

*update*

GROUP G
Togo 0-2 Switzerland
Dortmund

GROUP H
Saudi Arabia 0-4 Ukraine
Hamburg

Spain v Tunisia
Stuttgart, 2000

My Top 5 Tunes Of The Week

1. Sergio Mendez feat. The Black Eyed Peas - Mas Que Nada
2. Primal Scream - Country Girl
3. Busta Rhymes (feat. Kelis and Will.I.Am) - I Love My Bitch
4. Nelly Furtado - Maneater
5. Dannii Minogue - So Under Pressure

NAHALEEN*

How many moons
departed tonight? How many homes
remain without light?
The fields mourn
for their lovers
and for the vines.
The jujube explodes in the conqueror's face.
The wall is red
the street is red
the color of trees
is red
as is the color of the earth and the sun.
The ears of corn tell me
that martyrs' blood
are the songs' wine
that maidens' dreams
are dewdrops
on the eyelids of wheat.

Nahaleen

what could have driven
the sorrow out of your eyes
other than the steadfastness
of the grass
under the conqueror's boot?
What could protect theand pigeons' nests
from the blaze
the daisies' field,
children's eyes,
or wild thyme
or bare arms? Oh Nahaleen!
The horses are racing toward you
to place a paradise at your feet.
And passionate songs blossom everywhere
life emerges victorious.

Saturday Palestine Blogging

Nahhalin - A village located 20 km to the southeast of Bethlehem city, in the West Bank.




The houses in the distance with the red roofs is the Israeli Settlement of Betar Ellet.

posted with permission from Handool

Friday Cat Blogging


Heidi and George The Gorgeous Felines

A Bit Of Fun

You Are 18% Evil

You are good. So good, that you make evil people squirm. Just remember, you may need to turn to the dark side to get what you want!

How Evil Are You?

Shameful

'Killing themselves was unnecessary. But it certainly is a good PR move'

· Bush officials' hard line provokes condemnation
· US ally admits prison is hampering war on terror

The Bush administration stared down a new wave of international condemnation of Guantánamo yesterday, dismissing the suicides by three inmates of the prison camp as a "good PR move" on their part and an "act of asymmetrical warfare".

The deaths of two Saudis and a Yemeni, who used knotted bedsheets to hang themselves in their solitary cells, brought renewed calls from European governments and human rights organisations to bring the 460 inmates to trial, or close down the camp. But Bush administration officials rejected suggestions that the three had killed themselves in despair over their indefinite confinement.

This makes me so angry, the US and British governments should be ashamed of themseleves, what despicable people we have in power at the moment, they have no conscience at all.

It is repungent the way these detainees are held in limbo, either charge them with something or let them go, it is inhumane to keep them caged like animals and refusing to tell them what they are charged with, I am sick and tired of the excuses the Bush Junta and their lackey Blair make, its an abomination.

Its no wonder much of the Muslim world has a poor view of the American and British governments, both countries should give some serious thought to what freedom, justice and democracy really mean.

Hedgehog Blogging

In-ger-land



Yes its that time of year again, the World Cup, and today at 2pm it is In-ger-land vs. Paraguay


St. George says Come On England!

Friday Cat Blogging

Sleepy Heidi and George

Extremly Cute

Freeance

UK 'colluded in terror flights'

The UK has helped the US fly terror suspects to secret detention camps, says a report from Europe's leading human rights watchdog.

A Council of Europe inquiry says the CIA used Prestwick Airport in Scotland as a stop-off point. It claims the UK gave details used in alleged torture.

Tony Blair told MPs the report contained "absolutely nothing new".

But minister Harriet Harman suggested the rules on declaring what planes are carrying need to be examined.

Europe colluded in CIA prisoner "spider's web"


via Blogzilla

PARIS (Reuters) - More than 20 states, mostly in Europe, colluded in a "global spider's web" of secret CIA prisons and transfers of terrorism suspects, a European rights watchdog said in a report released on Wednesday.

European states were aware of or took part in a network run by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency that stretched from Central Asia to the Caribbean, via the Middle East and North Africa, the Council of Europe's parliamentary assembly said.

"It is now clear -- although we are still far from having established the whole truth -- that authorities in several European countries actively participated with the CIA in these unlawful activities," said investigator Dick Marty.

"Other countries ignored them knowingly, or did not want to know," Marty said in the conclusions of the 65-page report released on the body's Web site.

Gives me the warm fuzzies knowing that Europe has been colluding with the CIA in the rendition of terror suspects.

Don't leaders like Blair always go on about how we're a 'bastion of freedom and human rights'? The west with its supriority complex thinks its so much more better than everyone else, yet are quite happy to send terrorism suspects to torture friendly countries.

We are on a slippery slope thats for sure.

Sympathy For The Devil



The Nick of time

Be afraid, be very afraid. It is the 6th day of the 6th month of the 6th year (ok, the 2006th year, but disregard that minor distraction) and 666 is the number of the beast. Is it a bad omen or just hype?

Significant dates have an uncanny appeal, whether they portend the apocalypse or just a big party. When it came to 1 January, 2000, it inspired hopes and fears of both.

Something similar happened on New Year's Eve 999, when a huge crowd gathered in Rome to await the end of the world, until at midnight the Pope blessed them and sent them home. Whether a smaller group of pedants turned up twelve months later is not recorded.

The date of the beast - 06/06/06 - should be irresistible then. "Let anyone with understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a person. Its number is six hundred and sixty-six," says Revelation, the last and obscurest book of the Bible.

God Is Dead - Friedrich Nietzsche



Lioness Kills Man Invoking God

KIEV -- A man shouting that God would keep him safe was mauled to death by a lioness in the Kiev Zoo after he crept into an enclosure, a zoo official said Monday.

"The man shouted, 'God will save me, if he exists,' lowered himself by a rope into the enclosure, took his shoes off and went up to the lions," the official said.

"A lioness went straight for him, knocked him down and severed his carotid artery."

The head of the zoo, Yevheniy Kirilyuk, said the man had wanted to commit suicide, RIA-Novosti reported.

Police identified the man as a 45-year-old ethnic Azeri with Ukrainian citizenship.

Well clearly God was busy that day.

An incredibly stupid thing to do as well.

Quagmire

Violent Baghdad deaths top 6,000

The bodies of 6,000 people, most of whom died violently, have been received by Baghdad's main mortuary so far this year, health ministry figures show.

The number has risen every month, to 1,400 in May. The majority are believed to be victims of sectarian killings.

But observers say the real death toll could be much higher.

Meanwhile police said nine severed heads were found near Baquba to the north of Baghdad - days after a similar discovery there.

In another development, Iraq's prime minister says he plans to release 2,500 prisoners.

I thought Iraq was a 'democracy' now? Seems to me its looks like an ongoing bloodbath, beside the insurgency and the civil war, you have mini civil wars breaking out amongst the Shia militias, and guess who is caught in the middle? yep its the US led Coalition of the Ever Decreasing who are caught in the middle and are quite clearly out of their depth.

Those who supported this war need to stop deluding themseleves that everything is going well in Iraq. Its not and it will not improve anytime soon.

Some Things Never Change

Experts say US funding Somali warlords

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has been funneling more than $100,000 a month to warlords battling Islamist militia in Somalia, according to a Somalia expert who has conferred with the groups in the country.

The U.S. operation, which former intelligence officials say is aimed at preventing emergence of rulers who could provide al Qaeda with a safe haven akin to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, appeared to be seriously set back on Monday when an Islamic coalition claimed control of Mogadishu. U.S. government officials refused to discuss any possible secret U.S. involvement in the strategically placed Horn of Africa state, which has been wrecked by years of fighting.

But former U.S. intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, said an operation to support the warlords' alliance appeared to involve both the CIA and U.S. military.

John Prendergast, who monitors Somalia for the think-tank International Crisis Group, said he learned during meetings with alliance members in Somalia that the CIA was financing the warlords with cash payments.

This is not suprising, the US during their invasion of Afghanistan were quite happy to work with less than savoury warlords there.

Then you have the US history of backing the death squads in Central America and propping up fascist dictatorships.

So excuse me why I remain cynical of the Iraq War and 'The War on Terror'.

Hedgehog Close Up

Special Saturday Hedgehog Blogging





Apparently we have a Hedgehog famliy living underneath the garden shed, my mother caught one of their memebers attacking the rubbish bags.

Friday Cat Blogging


George and Heidi relaxing in the sun


George has his eye on you.