Protest Turns Violent . . .
Police were attacked during the early evening as part of the crowd attempted to storm the Israeli Embassy in Kensington.
Earlier, hundreds threw shoes at #10 Downing Street.
In the top photo at the UK Mail you can clearly see the resemblance to the Palmetto Expressway incident Friday morning in South Florida, which received very little local attention. The Press here is mostly very Entertainment-oriented. The WaPo TV outlet follows the Happy Talk News format. They recently introduced a new feature: Happy Talk Crime News. A large percentage of residents do not understand English very well. Most English speakers thought the shoes were a promotion for a new Reality TV show and hoped to get a role in it.
...
Saturday, January 3
New DOCTOR WHO (4#) -
Fans just got the BBC announcement.
Matt Smith has been cast into the role. He was previously seen as Jim Taylor in The Ruby in the Smoke which was recently carried in the States over PBS.
He was born in Northampton in 1982
and attended the University of East Anglia.
Steven Moffat will be heavily involved in the new edition. Moffat wrote the episode with the children and the creepy gas masks, which was such a compelling image and memorable story. It was broadcast on PBS which presented the Ninth Doctor season on this side of The Pond.
More Links:
:: What they are saying - DSpy ::
:: In Who News - Fan Site ::
...
Matt Smith has been cast into the role. He was previously seen as Jim Taylor in The Ruby in the Smoke which was recently carried in the States over PBS.
He was born in Northampton in 1982
and attended the University of East Anglia.
Steven Moffat will be heavily involved in the new edition. Moffat wrote the episode with the children and the creepy gas masks, which was such a compelling image and memorable story. It was broadcast on PBS which presented the Ninth Doctor season on this side of The Pond.
More Links:
:: What they are saying - DSpy ::
:: In Who News - Fan Site ::
...
Friday, January 2
NEW YEAR'S CALM (3#) -
Shoes, Airplane Safety & Torched Cars . . .
It's been a relatively calm New Year holiday - or has it? It all depends on what your idea of calm is, I guess.
# Thousands of shoes were dumped on the South Florida Palmetto Expressway southbound lanes between Bird Road and Miller Drive exits, blocking traffic and causing hazardous driving conditions during Friday morning rush hour.
# A flight to Orlando FL on New Year's Day was delayed due to passengers being re-screened after a group of Muslims were removed from the airplane. They had been overheard discussing "the safest place to sit." The flight, AirTran 175, taking off from DC, was delayed for two hours.
# And in Paris: the greatest number of torched cars was in Seine-Saint-Denis (130), then in the Bas-Rhin (91), Val-de-Marne (80), Val-Oise (68) and the Nord (65)." They have their own way of celebrating the holiday.
...
It's been a relatively calm New Year holiday - or has it? It all depends on what your idea of calm is, I guess.
# Thousands of shoes were dumped on the South Florida Palmetto Expressway southbound lanes between Bird Road and Miller Drive exits, blocking traffic and causing hazardous driving conditions during Friday morning rush hour.
# A flight to Orlando FL on New Year's Day was delayed due to passengers being re-screened after a group of Muslims were removed from the airplane. They had been overheard discussing "the safest place to sit." The flight, AirTran 175, taking off from DC, was delayed for two hours.
# And in Paris: the greatest number of torched cars was in Seine-Saint-Denis (130), then in the Bas-Rhin (91), Val-de-Marne (80), Val-Oise (68) and the Nord (65)." They have their own way of celebrating the holiday.
...
Thursday, January 1
BLOG SCANNING (3#)
Kabul, Perugia and Chicago . . .
I decided the best thing to do on New Year's Day was to just stay indoors. But domestic tranquility has been a bit disrupted by the neighboring kids who have been setting off firecrackers downstairs in the alley. Anyhow, I've been catching up on my rss reader's contents which, at times, seem a bit overwhelming. I'm still not used to using it; sometimes it seems to save me some time, but sometimes not.
# Sanjar has written a longish blog entry about returning to Kabul recently after a trip. I've been meaning to link to it because it's atmospheric at a grassroots level. Obviously, Sanjar is multi-lingual and articulate in English. Are there many people like that in Afghanistan? I don't know about "many." There may be some, but they do seem to prefer to maintain a somewhat low profile, perhaps for the sake of their personal safety.
it feels like kabul is like having a penpal in a very faraway place, through whose eyes you can see it in a rather unusual way.
# Frank in Perugia has posted a new entry. Frank seems to think that Amanda Knox and the other defendants have been "lynched" on the Internet; he worries about such bias affecting the trial proceedings adversely.
Amanda's image as a femme fatale may be partly due to the necessity of the Press to organize the information into a digestible story; maybe some of them are pushing familiar buttons and evoking stereotypical memes in the process, but I don't think the jurists are drooling over the tabloids or even perusing blogs.
# Michael Miner posts an appreciation of
Roger Ebert's Blog. I didn't know Ebert had a Blog.
"it's occasional, rather than pounded out in a ceaseless rush like an AP trunk wire; it's meditative; it's personal; and it's deeply intelligent... and it's the only blog whose readers alert me to posts that I can't afford to miss... Blogs such as Ebert's establish a new realm of the public intellectual."
Wow! That seems like rare and high praise indeed. I'll have to try to check it out when I have an available moment. If you're a fan of Ebert's, you'll be happy to discover his Blog.
...
I decided the best thing to do on New Year's Day was to just stay indoors. But domestic tranquility has been a bit disrupted by the neighboring kids who have been setting off firecrackers downstairs in the alley. Anyhow, I've been catching up on my rss reader's contents which, at times, seem a bit overwhelming. I'm still not used to using it; sometimes it seems to save me some time, but sometimes not.
# Sanjar has written a longish blog entry about returning to Kabul recently after a trip. I've been meaning to link to it because it's atmospheric at a grassroots level. Obviously, Sanjar is multi-lingual and articulate in English. Are there many people like that in Afghanistan? I don't know about "many." There may be some, but they do seem to prefer to maintain a somewhat low profile, perhaps for the sake of their personal safety.
it feels like kabul is like having a penpal in a very faraway place, through whose eyes you can see it in a rather unusual way.
# Frank in Perugia has posted a new entry. Frank seems to think that Amanda Knox and the other defendants have been "lynched" on the Internet; he worries about such bias affecting the trial proceedings adversely.
Amanda's image as a femme fatale may be partly due to the necessity of the Press to organize the information into a digestible story; maybe some of them are pushing familiar buttons and evoking stereotypical memes in the process, but I don't think the jurists are drooling over the tabloids or even perusing blogs.
# Michael Miner posts an appreciation of
Roger Ebert's Blog. I didn't know Ebert had a Blog.
"it's occasional, rather than pounded out in a ceaseless rush like an AP trunk wire; it's meditative; it's personal; and it's deeply intelligent... and it's the only blog whose readers alert me to posts that I can't afford to miss... Blogs such as Ebert's establish a new realm of the public intellectual."
Wow! That seems like rare and high praise indeed. I'll have to try to check it out when I have an available moment. If you're a fan of Ebert's, you'll be happy to discover his Blog.
...
KHYBER PASS & BEYOND (2#) -
In an almost poetic lament, Sa'ad Khan
writes about what has happened to his city lately:
"Once the city of flowers and Gardens,
Peshawar... was once a cultural heaven
for artists, musicians and intellectuals."
But more bad news for Peshawaris:
belligerents ended the old year by blowing
up the main gas supply line for the city.
:: Sa'ad Khan's Diary ::
...
writes about what has happened to his city lately:
"Once the city of flowers and Gardens,
Peshawar... was once a cultural heaven
for artists, musicians and intellectuals."
But more bad news for Peshawaris:
belligerents ended the old year by blowing
up the main gas supply line for the city.
:: Sa'ad Khan's Diary ::
...
Mez: SPAGHETTI FANG FEST (2#) -
Meredith Kercher Murder Case -
Nick Pisa reports that Amanda Knox, who allegedly murdered her roommate by pushing a knife through her neck, has been voted "the highest rated woman in an Italian end of year TV personality poll."
It is still unknown whether Knox drank any of Kercher's blood, but a vampire book was found by police on the bedside table next to where Knox and her lover slept. Probably, just a coincidence. Spaghetti vampires: beautiful but deadly. And very popular in Italy.
Not to be out-fanged by Studio Aperto, Newsweek's Barbie Nadeau previews the upcoming trial which is expected to be a Foxy Fang Frenzy at least equal to the OJ Simpson trial in media coverage, according to Nadeau.
:: Nick Pisa :: - - - :: Barbie Nadeau ::
...
Nick Pisa reports that Amanda Knox, who allegedly murdered her roommate by pushing a knife through her neck, has been voted "the highest rated woman in an Italian end of year TV personality poll."
It is still unknown whether Knox drank any of Kercher's blood, but a vampire book was found by police on the bedside table next to where Knox and her lover slept. Probably, just a coincidence. Spaghetti vampires: beautiful but deadly. And very popular in Italy.
Not to be out-fanged by Studio Aperto, Newsweek's Barbie Nadeau previews the upcoming trial which is expected to be a Foxy Fang Frenzy at least equal to the OJ Simpson trial in media coverage, according to Nadeau.
:: Nick Pisa :: - - - :: Barbie Nadeau ::
...
CANNIBALS STEPPED
ON HIS HOMEWORK -
Nathan Smith, a 39-year-old musician and
filmmaker from Los Angeles, claims to have located
a lost shipwreck's treasure using Google Maps.
:: Thomas Claburn - InfoWeek ::
...
filmmaker from Los Angeles, claims to have located
a lost shipwreck's treasure using Google Maps.
:: Thomas Claburn - InfoWeek ::
...
Tuesday, December 30
Iran: HODER BEING HELD (2#) -
Refused Canadian Consular Access . . .
Canadian officials have been unable to get any details about the detention of Blogger Hossein Derakhshan by order of the revolutionary court of Iran.
The 33-year-old Iran-born Canadian Blogger, known online by his nickname "Hoder," has been detained for almost two months without consular access.
:: By Jim Bronskill :: in Ottawa ::
:: Arrest :: confirmed by Iran ::
...
Canadian officials have been unable to get any details about the detention of Blogger Hossein Derakhshan by order of the revolutionary court of Iran.
The 33-year-old Iran-born Canadian Blogger, known online by his nickname "Hoder," has been detained for almost two months without consular access.
:: By Jim Bronskill :: in Ottawa ::
:: Arrest :: confirmed by Iran ::
...
KHYBER PASS & BEYOND -
Peshawaris Fed Up: Female Abducted . . .
Merchants of numerous trading companies doing business in the bazaars of Peshawar are having a collective conniption because for the first time a woman has been abducted for ransom.
They have established a protest position in front of the Peshawar Press Club and have set up a hunger strike camp at Chowk Yad Gar to demonstrate against the increase in kidnappings of business people.
According to one business official, it looks like the abductors are able to operate with utter impunity. Business leaders are demanding more police protection.
Nerves have been severely frayed lately in Peshawar due to a combination of adverse conditions, including electricity outages, carjackings, price hikes, and the increase in abductions. Many residents feel besieged. Recent efforts to counteract the security threats have included the establishment of a citizens' safety patrol and the installation of more CCTV cameras.
:: The Frontier Post ::
...
Merchants of numerous trading companies doing business in the bazaars of Peshawar are having a collective conniption because for the first time a woman has been abducted for ransom.
They have established a protest position in front of the Peshawar Press Club and have set up a hunger strike camp at Chowk Yad Gar to demonstrate against the increase in kidnappings of business people.
According to one business official, it looks like the abductors are able to operate with utter impunity. Business leaders are demanding more police protection.
Nerves have been severely frayed lately in Peshawar due to a combination of adverse conditions, including electricity outages, carjackings, price hikes, and the increase in abductions. Many residents feel besieged. Recent efforts to counteract the security threats have included the establishment of a citizens' safety patrol and the installation of more CCTV cameras.
:: The Frontier Post ::
...
Bookish: PAST & FUTURE (2#) -
Media: BRIEF NOTES (3#) -
Hark the Herald Hijinks . . .
A nasty spat has broken out between Howard Weaver of the McClatchy Gang in Sacramento California and Jeff Jarvis of BuzzMachine Blog. I don't want to get drawn into the middle of this.
# The UK had a Doctor Who Christmas
TV special. I wish we'd gotten it, too.
# Undersea cable breaks again:
Asked if it was common for the same cable to
break twice in two weeks, the France Telecom
spokesman said: "It is not lucky, but it can happen."
...
A nasty spat has broken out between Howard Weaver of the McClatchy Gang in Sacramento California and Jeff Jarvis of BuzzMachine Blog. I don't want to get drawn into the middle of this.
# The UK had a Doctor Who Christmas
TV special. I wish we'd gotten it, too.
# Undersea cable breaks again:
Asked if it was common for the same cable to
break twice in two weeks, the France Telecom
spokesman said: "It is not lucky, but it can happen."
...
KHYBER PASS & BEYOND (3#) -
The NATO supply route through the Khyber Pass has been cut by Pakistani Security Forces for the launch of a major operation against belligerent militants in that area, according to Tariq Hayat the regional administrator. Traffic is being temporarily suspended until completion of the operation.
:: AFP :: -- :: BBC :: -- :: GeoTV ::
...
:: AFP :: -- :: BBC :: -- :: GeoTV ::
...
Monday, December 29
Bookish: A RETRO GLANCE (3#) -
shards from the rear view mirror . . .
This is the time of year for annual reviews. Some are not so much written as compiled and consist mostly of a catalog of items which are supposed to be memorable for some reason or other. But some year-end reviews are too long and tedious.
I liked what Sun-Sentinel Book Columnist Chauncey Mabe wrote: it was mercifully brief and more personal than just a catalog. But something he mentioned just set me off:
"It may not be precisely accurate to call Richard Price's Lush Life a crime novel, but it does follow the conventions of the police procedural on its way to literary excellence."
To say that I was merely offended when this book was announced, just doesn't cover it; I felt quite hurt in a personal way.
Lush Life is the name of a well known song by Billy Strayhorn, which has touched many people quite deeply. It is embedded in the very fabric of my life. It constitutes the backdrop or some of the soundtrack of my life. When I hear it or even remember it, I remember people and places from my past.
The song Lush Life is quite poignant. And it has a haunting quality somewhat like Laura, the title song from the 1944 Hollywood movie of that name. What Strayhorn effectively captured in that song was a mood and an esprit de temps.
It also bothered me a lot that Billy Strayhorn was somehow erased from this situation in most of the mainstream media. Lush Life and Billy Strayhorn are related to a web of other music, movies and culture.
I have nothing against writer Richard Price. I haven't read any of his books, but I've seen Sea of Love, a movie he wrote, which I enjoyed.
Clayton Moore is the only writer I have come across who even mentions this unfortunate conjunction.
Whose Lush Life is it anyway?
...
This is the time of year for annual reviews. Some are not so much written as compiled and consist mostly of a catalog of items which are supposed to be memorable for some reason or other. But some year-end reviews are too long and tedious.
I liked what Sun-Sentinel Book Columnist Chauncey Mabe wrote: it was mercifully brief and more personal than just a catalog. But something he mentioned just set me off:
"It may not be precisely accurate to call Richard Price's Lush Life a crime novel, but it does follow the conventions of the police procedural on its way to literary excellence."
To say that I was merely offended when this book was announced, just doesn't cover it; I felt quite hurt in a personal way.
Lush Life is the name of a well known song by Billy Strayhorn, which has touched many people quite deeply. It is embedded in the very fabric of my life. It constitutes the backdrop or some of the soundtrack of my life. When I hear it or even remember it, I remember people and places from my past.
The song Lush Life is quite poignant. And it has a haunting quality somewhat like Laura, the title song from the 1944 Hollywood movie of that name. What Strayhorn effectively captured in that song was a mood and an esprit de temps.
It also bothered me a lot that Billy Strayhorn was somehow erased from this situation in most of the mainstream media. Lush Life and Billy Strayhorn are related to a web of other music, movies and culture.
I have nothing against writer Richard Price. I haven't read any of his books, but I've seen Sea of Love, a movie he wrote, which I enjoyed.
Clayton Moore is the only writer I have come across who even mentions this unfortunate conjunction.
Whose Lush Life is it anyway?
...
Sunday, December 28
WORLD BRIEFS (3#) -
A local Taleban commander in the NWFP of Pakistan has issued a ban on all girls attending school in the Swat valley during comments broadcast on his illegal radio station.
* * * * * *
PA Prez Abbas said he tried to persuade Hamas to continue the truce with Israel during a joint press conference with Egyptian FM Gheit, who complained that Hamas is preventing the wounded from getting medical attention in Egypt.
* * * * * *
"There are, according to the recently launched World Superhero Registry, more than 200 men and a few women who are willing to dress up as comic book heroes and patrol the urban streets in search of, if not super-villains, then pickpockets and bullies."
...
* * * * * *
PA Prez Abbas said he tried to persuade Hamas to continue the truce with Israel during a joint press conference with Egyptian FM Gheit, who complained that Hamas is preventing the wounded from getting medical attention in Egypt.
* * * * * *
"There are, according to the recently launched World Superhero Registry, more than 200 men and a few women who are willing to dress up as comic book heroes and patrol the urban streets in search of, if not super-villains, then pickpockets and bullies."
...
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