Month: September 2008

Is there a Phoenix Program in Iraq killing all the terrorists?

Bob Woodward of the Washington Post is claiming a new secret “killing program” is being used in Iraq with great success. Based on highly classified intelligence gathering techniques, US forces have been identifying, locating and eliminating terrorist threats (i.e. killing them).

It does sound like Phoenix but one wonders what sort of intelligence gathering we are talking about (mind reading?). We already tap probably every phone in the country and have spies throughout, so something even more advanced may be in play?

]]>

No job for you! Mr Prime Minister / TV soup chef.

Thailand has forced their Prime Minister to resign after he hosted a cooking show.

Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej has been ordered to resign after being found guilty of violating the constitution over a TV cookery show.

His entire cabinet has also been ordered to step down.

Snap elections will be called, and yes, he can run again. Something a bit screwy over there in Thailand.

]]>

Kawasaki 704 Eyeglass–The Sarah Palin look is hot

I have no idea if these are the glasses in question or not either.

I have no idea if these are the glasses in question or not either.

Yea I can’t believe it either, but Sarah Palin is fast becoming a fashion symbol with her rimless glasses and funky hairstyle. The LA Times is reporting on a run on Kawasaki 704 eyeglasses, the Sarah Palin frames. The review of her hair, well you got to read it to believe it:

Her hair is a study in contrasts, carefree and “done” at the same time. The untidiness of her updo has a can-do spirit that says, “I have more important things to do than worry about my hair, so I just twirled it into this clip so I could get to the real business of governing and shooting caribou and having babies and taking them to hockey practice.”
The bouffant in the front, which appears to be teased from underneath, is more traditional, to appeal to the GOP base and those big donors from Houston who’ve been known to fly with their hairstylists on their private planes. And yet, you get the feeling that at the end of the day, she could shake out that lustrous mane (longer than any other major female U.S. political figure’s) and get it on with her man.

]]>

BBC News 'The Box' project to track shipping container around the world.

The BBC has embarked on a rather odd project. They’ve fixed a GPS unit to a standard shipping container and are going to have their reporters around the world report on what went in and out of this shipping container as it moves around the world. It’s sort of like throwing a bottle in the ocean and writing about whomever picks it up.

The Box is an ambitious and unique year-long project for BBC News to tell the story of international trade and globalisation by tracking a standard shipping container around the world.

It is a project which plans to deliver content for television, radio and online audiences – telling the individual stories behind what makes the global economy tick.

You can track the box via the GPS unit. Apparently they got the idea after reading the Mark Levinson book ‘The Box’ (which I’m reading now as well).

]]>

Hurrican Ike now a threat to Texas

Yup, what a difference a day makes.

Depending on how long Ike stays over Cuba, we’ll see a different ’spin’ out into the Gulf and final resting point somewhere along the US Gulf Coast. Originally it was Pensacola, then the possibility of New Orleans, but today’s computer models are sending it toward Texas (though without much accuracy).

I think we’ll have to wait until after Ike destroys Cuba before we know where it is heading next. As for my friends in the Turks, they weathered the storm though the winds were quite nuts.

Ike hit hard about 2am and blew steady at around 135mph straight in from the north until about 6am. Five of us worked hard trying to keep up with all the water pouring in through the big sliders. They held beautifully, but the wind was so strong and direct that it was just pouring in over the track. The eye passed south of us around 5:45 or 6. We never had a lull, but the wind shifted and is blowing hard (still over 100mph) out of the ENE. That’s given us a bit of a break and we were able to catch up on our bailing and mopping. Getting a bit of a rest now, though it’s still very ugly out there. House has performed exceptionally well with no structural strain, just water blowing in. We estimate we’ll be getting hurricane force winds until around 8:30 or 9, at which time we should drop down to TS force winds.

]]>

Hanna update: 1620

Well…guess that’s all over.

Really we didn’t have much of a storm. From about 10-12, there were some decent gusts and sheets of rain, but after that it barely reared it’s head again. We had a 90 minute power outage which is incredibly short for around here (we go 24 hours with just a decent thunderstorm). The waves mellowed and the bulk of the flooding was East of here (surprisingly) in the Virginia suburbs of DC.

I’ll probably dump our backup water supplies on the lawn tomorrow to help the new grass I planted. We did have a few leaks in the ceiling which we’ve been trying to track for the last couple of storms know. We think it gets windy enough that the siding gets lifted up and water pushed underneath, but we’re not sure.

Back to football.

]]>

Hurricane Ike track could hit New Orleans?

Yup.

Ok, it’s still early, and Ike is a mess. It’s going all different directions so don’t run out the door just yet (unless you are in South Florida). But the current curvature of Ike puts it on a direct collision course with New Orleans. However, the computer models (which you really should examine more so than the NHC estimate) still has Ike going everywhere from Pensacola to Texas.

Stay tuned..


]]>