Enter the Blogswarm

What do Alisher Usmanov and Disney have in common? They've both had bloggers censored. You'll remember at the beginning of this year that Disney had Spocko's blog silenced because he was speaking out against their hate speech radio station. Well this week, Usmanov, a russian tycoon, hoping to buy Arsenal Football Club, has thrown his money against two british bloggers, Tim Ireland and Craig Murray, who dared to criticise him. (note: the last two links don't go anywhere, because both those blogs have been wiped from the Blogosphere.)
The problem is one of resources. Usmanov and Disney have vast amounts of money. Bloggers have nothing but their keyboards. Their sites are crashed and burned by the service providers at the first hint of legal action. It doesn't even matter if the blogger complies instantly with any cease or desist order - they're toast!
The only recourse bloggers have is to publicise this censorship. Let the public be aware that Usmanov and Disney believe in stifling free speech on the internet. Only bad publicity can make them pause.
Usmanov wants to put the arse into Arsenal. If his mickey-mouse operation is stalled due to the ensuing blogswarm he's engendered, that will be justice.

No fecking ID 'ere

Be warned, the enemy is at the doorstep. If you thought the battle against creationism was confined to the USA, think again. The DUP in Lisburn, Northern Ireland in the form of Paul Givan, want to have creationism taught in schools there. Because Paul Givan doesn't believe in evolution, he doesn't want anyone else to either, especially the schoolchildren of Lisburn. And some craven blowhards in the Corporate Services Committee have agreed with him, especially Councillor Bill Gardiner-Watson who sees no harm in writing to schools. No harm!?! Ulster is a festering canker of toxic religionism, a sectarian Chernobyl, where the last thing that anybody needs is the infection of crass ignorance from across the Atlantic.
Fortunately, saner heads may prevail. There is opposition from within the committee, but there argument seems to be more that they shouldn't be interfering in schools' curriculae rather than telling Mr Givan that he's a sanctimonious arsehole who's beliefs are a steaming pile of horse hooey which he's trying to foist on schools as part of a theocratic agenda. the guy needs to be publicly ridiculed and hounded from office - and that goes for Gardiner-Watson too.

Ah'm no weel

Flu sucks.

Blog anzeigen

Can anyone explain why Blogger has started speaking German?

Please, please help me!

Help me please. I want to blog about a song. I know the tune, but I can't sing it over the internet. It's a folk song from the seventies. The only line I can remember is the refrain at the end of the verse which goes like "Bring in the new day." I have tried googling the line, and got nowhere. There's at least one woman in the group if that helps.

Wolves in the wires

It looks like it was just a rumour after all. We're nearly a week post 11th September, and the charm offensive against Iran hasn't materialised so far. It's a bit of a relief, because as long as they don't start persuading, then an attack on Iran seems unlikely.
Of course, the rumour could be disinformation. If the Iranians can be made to believe that Bush and his crew are batshit crazy enough to launch an attack, they might take the desired measures to avert conflict, ie halt Uranium enrichment. A few carefully baited nuggets seeded into the blogosphere setting off blogswarms like Roman Candles, gives the illusion of veracity to an imaginary policy of invasion.
Another purpose of manufactured rumour could be to make bloggers cry wolf. If blog rumours are seen as unreliable, then future unintended leaks might be ignored.
The blogosphere is a battleground, and the unscrupulous and machiavellian will manipulate it for their own ends.

Worst verse

I have come across the worst poem ever written, and, surprise, it wasn't by Macgonagall. It's called A Tragedy, and it's by Theophilus Marzials. It was published in 1874.
Warning! Before clicking on the link, clear your desk or immediate vicinity of hot or cold beverages. Any fluids currently residing in your mouth are liable to exit via your nasal passages on reading the first lines of this poem.
OK? If you think you can handle it, click on this link.

Next week's attack on Iran

The Interweb buzzes with rumours of war. Next Tuesday, the sixth anniversary of the Twin Towers tragedy is going to see the launch of a charm offensive by Bushco. The US will see a media blitz demonising Iran. They hope to persuade a third of Americans that their planned attack on Iran is necessary.
Of course, these could be rumours deliberately seeded. If the Blogosphere believe that war is coming and propagate that belief, then the Iranian government might take that belief seriously and capitulate, by scaling down their nuclear ambitions. Or Bush and friends could be spoiling for a fight, and there's nothing anybody can do to prevent it.
The thing to do, is observe next week to see if the charm offensive takes place. If it does, then the rumour is true. If not, then breathe a sigh of relief.

Q

It's a popular book, The God Delusion. We had it on holiday with us, but my wife wasn't able to read it in the car. When we got back, we discovered there was a waiting list at the library for it, so we had to return it. My wife was going to reorder it, when the librarian told her there was a large-print copy available at Dalkeith library. So we got it, and now she's half way through it, and enjoying it.

Return of the native

I'm back. Refreshed in body and spirit. Ready to blog. More anon.